August Means the End of Summer

Summer is nearing the end. Things are finishing up, other things are beginning. I'm always a little sad to see summer leave because it means another summer passed for my children. And they are that much older. August is the end of much, but the beginning of great things too.

Speaking of older, our big boy had his FIFTH birthday. That might be the official end of summer... our sweet boy's birthday celebration. We started the day with homemade donuts and presents. It was a very Spidey-heavy birthday. Then we went to co-op at the Refuge Food Forest, which was a cool place! We shared donuts with our friends and played for hours. Then we finished out the day playing with the neighbors before a fine-dining dinner of charcuterie (all Ewan wanted for his birthday dinner was pretzels and deli cheese) and mini cheesecake jars.

It's kind of turned into a little tradition to do something fun for the kids's birthdays. This year we took a day trip to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, specifically for the temporary Spiderman exhibit (including original comic books and costumes from the movies). We left our littlest with Nana so the big kids could really get the most out of the museum and it turns out mom and dad enjoyed it the most, I think. We saw everything from train cars and airplanes to hands-on science and weather exhibits. We even experienced an up-close look at the captured U-505 that was vital in helping crack German codes! The entire day was so fun and full of so much learning!

And it sounds like Eleanor had a blast with her Nana and Pop Pop. She's really into raccoons, so Nana made sure to give her a day full of raccoon activities :) I'm thankful they could spend time with our little munchkin so we could enjoy a peaceful day with the bigs.

But even before all of that birthday celebration, we had a joint birthday party with cousin Easton. The boys are a week apart in the middle of August, so it's only right to have a big pool party to celebrate our boys turning FIVE.

Another mark of the end of summer is is our last pool day at State Farm pool. We had a wonderful summer swimming with our friends. I can't believe what great swimmers my kids have turned into.

Another end-of-summer event was VBS. The kids LOVED going, even though it was a long few nights. I love our church and I'm so glad they had a good time.

Our co-op celebrated the end of summer with a garden-to-table lunch. The kids were divided into groups where they had to plan, harvest, and prepare an herb butter appetizer, cucumber mint drink, garden-fresh salsa for the tacos, berries honey and cream for the dessert, and flower arrangements for the table. Then each group presented on their process and ingredients. It was a really sweet day together.

Meanwhile, our garden has continued to produce (even though I have let it go to weed and I don't remember the last time I watered it). The biggest accomplishment this season was the beginnings of my basement grocery store project. Michael built me big shelves for all my canned produce and bulk ingredients. I plan on adding more so that I can just grocery shop downstairs all winter long :)

For my end-of-summer adventure, I went on a weekend trip with some of my co-op mamas to St. Joseph, Michigan. I was able to share all my favorite spots and convince them that Michigan is magical (and what do you know, they all agreed!). We climbed the dunes, played in the waves, went paddle boarding and kayaking, ate good food, laughed until we cried, got practically no sleep, shopped til we dropped, watched the sunset, walked the pier, and dreamed about the future of our group. I'm blessed to know good mamas with good hearts that I get to do life with.

And while I was gone, Michael took the kids to their cousin's birthday party. It looks like they had a great time! And I'm thankful he took such good care of the kids while I was away.

And I guess it really is the end of summer because school has started back up in our household. I have held onto the belief that homeschooling should be easy and that my kids would only require an open-and-go type of curriculum. But what I've come to find from Isla's kindergarten year is that I actually like doing a more engaging/hands-on day and my kids thrive with that type of learning. Isla needed a break from "school" for the last few weeks. Reading is a struggle for her and she has trouble focusing on challenging tasks. So we have pivoted a little and I have accepted homeschooling will require a little more work for me.

We start our day with a "gathering time" where everybody learns together in a family-styled education. We sing songs, memorize verses or poems, read books, do an artist or musician study, touch on units or topics of interest, and incorporate language arts and math for BOTH big kids. It's challenging to accommadate their individual levels into a communal lesson, but I have found it to be what works best for us.

Then we split into a "table time" that is a little more individualized and catered to their specific level. So although it's more back-end work for me, we have all enjoyed learning this way. Our school year so far has been wonderful! And I'm looking forward to this year. (But maybe check in with me this winter to see how it's going :))

Our first day of school wasn't complete without our traditional cinnamon rolls, a stack of new books and materials, and an interview for each child. This year Isla is technically a first grader, but she is in different levels in different subjects. Ewan has an August birthday so he could technically be a kindergartner, but he's doing a hybrid preschool/kindergarten year. And Eleanor is just along for the ride :)

Our school day is only 1-3 hours in total. The beauty is we can cater it to fit our needs and day. And when we need to pivot or change things up, we can! I love homeschooling.