Peter and the Wolf

We went to a performance of Peter and the Wolf with some other homeschoolers in our neighborhood. It was performed by the Blue Ridge Orchestra and the Asheville Ballet.


All the boys, even Drogo, loved the performance

Karate Promotion Day

Rill was promoted to the next belt in his Karate class


Rill broke this board on the first try! He was the only one in his level to do it on the first try.

Rill has a beard!!!

Well, ok, it's just a pipecleaner beard, but I thought it was pretty clever!

The Orchard at Altapass

We had a great time on a field trip to The Orchard at Altapass with our homeschool group. We had great fun on a hayride with storyteller and orchard owner Bill Carson. Afterwards we ground apples for cider, peeled and ate apples and learned about their Monarch Conservation Project. After lunch at their wonderful picnic shelter, we went on a walking tour of the orchard with Mr. Carson and learned about the different varieties of apples that he grows.

Afterwards, we met Scott at work and went on a picnic. It was a fun day!




Hay ride with storyteller and orchard owner Bill Carson


Dimple got to grind an apple for cider


Rill also had a turn at the grinder


Peeling an apple...


...takes a lot of concentration!


Daddy and the boys


Mommy and the boys

My Three Sons

Just wanted to share some pictures of my little guys.



Rill, 5 years old


Dimple, 3 1/2 years old


Drogo, 9 months old

Karate Kid

Karate Kid

Snap kick

Rill is enjoying his Karate class at his homeschool enrichment program. He looks so grown up in his gi.

2005 Fair

Last week was fair week here in the mountains. We met Annie, Claire, and Bella there on Wednesday and looked at the animals. We saw horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, camels, laamas, and many others. The kids were even able to feed carrots to a few of them.








What a cute picture!



Me with two of my little men

We went back the next day, this time with Dad. We bought wristbands for the big boys so they could ride all the rides they wanted. They rode from about 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm with a couple of breaks for supper and looking at the exhibits. They had *fun*.


Driving



The Kiddie Free Fall


Dimple got a little silly as the night wore on







The end of a *very* long day


From the top of the Farris Wheel

School Boy

School Boy

Rill started his first day at homeschool enrichment classes today. He was so excited that he woke up at 9:30 *last night* to feed the cats and get dressed. He went back to bed after I convinced him that it was still night and that *I* hadn't gone to bed yet. He woke up one other time during the night, but realized everyone else was asleep and he should probably go back to bed.

8:25 am
We got to school a few minutes early so that I could walk him in. When I told him goodbye, he rushed over to me and gave me a hug and said, "I love you Mom." Dimple leaned over and gave Rill a hug too. I can't wait to pick him up and hear all about his classes!!

11:30 am
I picked Rill up and he said he had a wonderful time. He really liked Karate--he said they tried to hit him with a bat! "Don't worry, it was a soft bat. If I stand still I'll get hit, but if I move around, they miss me." He enjoyed Art, too. His teacher taught art in Greenville County Schools for 30 years. She told him about all the fun things they would be making this year. He's looking forward to sewing!

Mat Man

This past week in Handwriting, we used our Capital Letter Shapes to make Mat Man. I had Rill draw a man. Notice that he has no body or feet and only has four fingers on each hand.

Before


We used the Capital Letter Shapes to make a man and then used construction paper to add details to him. (He has a Clemson Tiger Paw on his shirt!)


Clemson Mat Man

After using the manipulatives to make Mat Man, we then drew another man. This next one does have a body, five fingers on his hands, and feet. When I pointed out that the feet were turned in toward each other, Rill told me that it was because the man was dancing!

Mat Man

Our New Playground

Before














Building the frame



Even the big boys got in on the work


After


Having fun















We finally finished our playground. Lotho worked very hard on this project. He had to level the ground (we do live on a knoll), build a frame, fill it with mulch and then put the playset together. The boys have been having so much fun on it...even little Drogo.

Announcement List

Hey everyone. I've set up an e-mail announcement list for OakKnollAcademy.blogspot.com. I'm not exactly sure how it's going to work, but I don't plan on flooding your inbox. I'll be tweaking the settings as needed in order to keep your inbox as clear as possible while still updating you on new posts to the blog. Also, feel free to unsubscribe from the announcement list if you want to.

Please leave comments on the blog! The boys love to hear what you have to say about their adventures in learning. You don't have to have a blogger account to leave a comment. Just choose "Other" when leaving your comments and you will be able to type in your name as regular text.

Hope to hear from all of you soon!

Reading to My Brother

The advantages of having a child who can read!

Lotho was gone one night this past week and I had to put the boys to bed by myself. Drogo was having a hard time going to sleep and needed to be rocked. Dimple was in the tub and he and Rill needed a story before bed. I had a problem. Well...you can look at the picture above and see the solution to my dilemma! Just have Rill read to Dimple while I rock Drogo back to sleep. The big boys thought it was fun and the little one had some peace, quiet and snuggle time with Momma!

Cupcakes for Breakfast?

A Very Merry UnBirthday to You!

Yes, we had cupcakes for breakfast on Friday. We read Ask Mr. Bear this week, a story about a little boy who searches for the perfect birthday present for his mother. We talked about the illustrations, being polite, woodland habitats, and all the different animals the little boy meets along the way. We ended the week with an UnBirthday party and ate cupcakes for breakfast. I'm looking forward to next week's book, Blueberries for Sal. I think we'll have blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

First Day of School!

Rill is in Kindergarten! We started school August 1st with a very light schedule. We are adding one new subject each week and hope to have a full slate by Labor Day.

We started out with phonics using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. The next week we added math using Right Start Math Level A. This week we are adding Before Five in a Row so that Dimple can join us (for now we try to school when Drogo is asleep). We will be adding Handwriting Without Tears next week and Five in a Row Volume One the week after that. I will also be adding Art and Music Appreciation, memory work (Bible and poetry), and Catechism. After Labor Day Rill will be starting a co-op on Wednesday mornings where he'll have Science, Karate, and Art.

So far things are going well and Rill is doing wonderfully! He has really taken off with reading and is looking forward to the day when he can read Farmer Boy all by himself. He's really enjoying math and seems to do better at it than his mother did. Hopefully he'll take after Dad in that subject.