This Week at Our House #28 We Start School Early

We started school this week. Some of the kids were unhappy about it, but it has been very hot outside and we expect to need some more vacation time for various things this school year. So July 9th became our first day. I wrote up a schedule and got the new curriculum prepared and I think it will go well. The kids seemed to get into the swing of things without a hitch. The other big event for the week is that the kids rescued a Northern Mocking Bird who could not fly. It seems to have taken it's place quite happily as newest pet, and has fattened up on the tuna fish and fruit we have been feeding it. The kids are all enjoying the bird in the house, but we do hope the bird will heal and be able to fly away again.

1. We have not heard anything about jobs this week, but John did get a second game up. We are going to sell some things so we can buy an ipad, so John can get his games up on the apple store too.
2. I got school back into session. I opted for teams of kids and 8 rotations to begin the school year. There are still more things I want to get in and want the kids to learn, but for now, this seems to be working and gives us a solid start. My teams are Adam and Rachel, though, they do not do the same math, everything else they do is grade 8 or above. Anya and Joseph are grade 5 and they do everything the same. Josh and Arwen are both on grade one for reading and writing and grammar, but Josh is doing 2nd to 3rd grade math and Arwen is on 1st grade math. Then I take 20 to 30 minutes a day with Suzy for pre-school. Johnny is spending 8 hours a day programming games, learning more programming languages and doing advanced college math with John and Kate. 
3. Ruth seems very happy with her current companion and the other two missionaries in her apartment. She said their camaraderie and general friendship is what she had hoped from college roommates, but never really had. 
4. In the past three or four weeks our family has made some difficult and important decisions. Those decisions have a lot to do with how our older kids have been treated at church. I have said very little about this, as I know the Lord wants us to forgive and move on. So without saying too much on the matter, Kate has stopped trying to get her mission papers in while living in North Carolina, and as soon as we can, we will move the whole family back to Utah.
5. Johnny spent a lot of time this week on computer programming. He scrapped his first game because he did not feel like it was good enough, but he has two more and this week he learned how to program in the touch controls. Our hope is that Johnny will be able to start a business alongside John.
6. Adam did well starting back with school. He works pretty hard on his math and it is pretty advanced for his age. He has also been helping a lot more around the house doing lots of little errands, cleaning up messes, and taking care of Sam as needed. Adam is also one of our funner jokesters. He has a good, funny or ironic quote for almost any situation. 
7. Rachel has grown. She is looking taller and her face has filled in more. Rachel was the most vocal about not wanting to start school again early, but she is doing it and doing a good job.
8. Anya got back to school without any complaints. Her reading curriculum right now is focusing on poetry and rhyming schemes and she is really liking that. She likes doing her school work right now.
9. Joseph has probably been my second biggest complainer. He does not like the poetry, and his poems have just been complaints about having to write poems.
10. Joshua's reading is so much better than it was. I am very pleased with how he is doing.
11. Arwen has had some trouble getting back into the swing of things. I think she will pick it back up in time.
12. Suzy really likes her little preschool time and the writing and drawing assignments I have been giving her. 
13. Sam never likes it when we get back into school, so he was pretty fussy all week.

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