on with our life

We just spent a patootie load (trying to find a nice word) of money on back to school supplies. But, we had fun. We got a computer backpack for Alyssa since she'll be doing all of her Open High School curriculum on her new laptop. I wanted to make sure it was protected and also easily portable so the school work can go with her while she is in the car or waiting for lessons and such.
The boys each got new backpacks also as well as a big bag of school supplies each.
And, we've been cruising the thrift stores for uniforms.
It's been an adventure following along with two charter schools in their founding year. I think they're both doing amazingly well so far. There is so much to figure out, rules to follow, budgets, teachers to hire, so much.
We prayed this whole month that the boys would get assigned to the best teachers, teachers who would teach the truth and be excited to teach, teachers who would go home at the end of the day and tell their spouse what a great day they had because they helped someone. Everyone is allowed to have a bad day sometimes (I know I have) but most of the time I LOVE to teach and learn everything I can. I would hate to see that love of learning crushed in my kids because of someone who was not satisfied with their job.
Adam's teacher called us today and he sounded like he will fit this description. He sounded happy to have Adam in the class and to have school starting. And.....he didn't flinch when I said that he was previously homeschooled......LOL.......that's important.
Andrew has been running to the phone every time it rings. He wants his teacher to call too. He is so excited for school to start. He loves co-op and thrives on it. I hope that this will fit the bill. I'm anxious to hear from his teacher also. I think I'm more nervous about school starting than they are.
I volunteered to be on the library committee and that's been fun so far. I thought it would be much more frustrating to have to look at a bunch of twaddle and know that it was in "my" library but they're actually going to be very strict about which books come in. There will be many books that go along with the core knowledge sequence as well as classical literature. I love having our well constructed library here at home because the kids read what's available. Adam just finished Moby Dick and Treasure Island, Andrew's favorite are the science readers. I was worried that once they had access to the school library that they would quit reading good literature and bring home junk. Whew, looks like that was a worry I didn't need to dwell on.
The other thing that I heard at the meeting that I'm very happy about is that they're not going to do sales fundraisers. YAY, no happenings books!
Off to bed now, more prayers that it will all turn out well.

http://www.standard.net/live/news/179172/

We were in the paper! We're the ones with the goats, haven't seen a pic yet but the mention was fun.

Pioneer adventures welcome families
By Loretta Park

OGDEN -- The activities at the Pioneer Skills and Crafts Day drew more than 500 people to Fort Buenventura on Friday.

The 84-acre tract of land near the Weber River symbolizes a period of western history that brought Jennifer Jolley and her family from Sandy to celebrate Pioneer Days.

Jolley grew up in North Ogden and wanted her two children, ages 4 and 2, to experience some of what it was like to live in Utah when pioneers settled the area.

"They learned to start fires, which was fascinating," Jolley said.

Her 4-year-old daughter, Kiriana, also wanted to know more about how the mountain men trapped animals.

Paula Evans, of North Ogden, decided it was the perfect way to celebrate the holiday. She brought her daughter and grandchildren. Her grandsons, Joey and William Andrus, of Farr West, ages 9 and 11, couldn't wait to get into the canoes.

"That sounds awesome," said Joey after getting his hand stamped.

For Alyssa Ammott, of West Point, the skills day was a dream come true. The 13-year-old has attended the event for several years and learned last year that organizers would like to have someone bring animals. The Ammotts own two goats, which they milk every day.

Alyssa wore a blue dress her mother sewed for her, along with a bonnet and apron. She also wore a black and white beaded necklace her great-great grandmother made.

Asked if there was a trick to milking a goat, Alyssa said, "Not really. You just need to make sure the goats like you."

The two Nigerian Dwarf goats provide half a gallon of milk for the Ammott family each day.

Geraldine Fielding, of Riverdale, has been demonstrating how to weave cane chair seats for 20 years.

"You do get hooked on it," Fielding said.

Fielding said the most difficult part of weaving the seats is finding the chairs. She searches garage sales, thrift stores and anywhere else she can.

Christian Wardrop, 13, of Centerville, supervised three boys who were attempting to start fires using rocks, steel and tinder.

Six-year-old Christian Norman, of Bountiful, was not going to leave until he had started his fire.

"This is hard," said Christian.

"It really doesn't take long if you have good flint," Wardrop said.

Ana singing karaoke at the family reunion

25 awesome learning experiences online

http://aceonlineschools.com/25-awesome-virtual-learning-experiences-online/

Potty training...

Wow, my little Ana just went on the potty today! #1 and #2. I LOVE cloth diapers. She's been telling me when she poops and potties for 6 months now. Today she pottied and took off her diaper and stood next to the bathroom. I asked if she wanted to sit on the toilet and she said yes, ran in there, sat down, and immediately went both. Now we just need to buy a tiny potty. And, maybe make some tiny training pants. I'm sure they don't make size 1 training pants.

Once a month mom

http://onceamonthmom.com/june-menu-instructions-grocery-list-labels-and-podcast/