Homeschool Kickoff - Haderlies & Zoo Unit

We love summer, but there is something wonderful about starting a fresh schedule and starting back into the school routine. This year, while everyone else seems to be stressing and fretting and trying to make the best decision for their families but feeling less-than-confident in their decisions (masks at school, covid-19 rampant, distance-learning and virtual school, etc..) we have gone into our school year with confidence and excitement. It will be a little different than other years (no extra-curricular activities, less field trips, etc..) but we have planned some wonderful things and I just know it will be a good year. 

To make things better, we've convinced the Haderlies to homeschool for at least this year and we were able to start our 2020 homeschool journey together! 

Of course, we started with our traditional "not-back-to-school" day. Letter pancakes, donuts & swimming at the Lindon rec center. 

Traditionally we would have gone to our neighborhood pool, but it never opened this year. We were so sad not to go swimming at all this summer, and I was so happy to squeeze it in at the last-chance. It was a big pool though and I'm proud of Jenna and I keeping track of seven kids and keeping them all safe.

 The first week we did an "About Me" unit where we talked about being unique,  being a good friend, taking care of our bodies, etc... The second week we started a zoo unit together and started into our LA/Math course books. This Zoo Unit was so fun. 

 We learned about zoo animals, Zoology, habitats, and Zoo Planning/Marketing. We made animal habitats with play-doh and popsicle sticks, made animal shaped sugar cookies and sorted them into biome categories, painted paper plates with different zoo animals, and read many books about the zoo. 

(We also made rock candy for a CFM activity while we were talking about "building on the rock".) 

Lydia also studied maps of many different zoos, then created her own zoo, "Chow Zoo" including a map, brochure, and model made of cardboard, playdoh, and paint. 

We decided to go raspberry picking and the kids loved that.

 The raspberry farm is close to my favorite donut shop, so we stopped there, too, and then went to a splash pad to eat and play. 

Homeschool is such a beautiful way of life, and I'm looking forward to this year together. 

August Wrap Up

Here are a few other highlights from August.

At Lydia's most recent doctor visit, they told us that she should get an eye appointment. Given that Shantel and I both need glasses we've expected our kids will too. 

Shantel took Lydia to the eye doctor and got her first pair of glasses! She got the front with brown (her favorite color) and the sides are blue. She looks super cute with them. She does not have to wear them all the time right now, just sometimes when she wants to see far away. She does not wear them a ton yet, but sometimes and that is good for now. 

Some good Caleb pictures, spending time with Mom and Dad. 

Lydia and Lucy.

Caleb giving Lucy some love. He loves smothering this girl with love. 

The kids went to Zachary's Harry Potter birthday party. (It is his 11th birthday)

I am working on the audit of the Salt Lake City airport right now and was able to take a tour of the new airport before it opens in a few weeks. It was really cool. 

We went to the ward walkabout and had a great time. 

Last thing. We have been watching a show called The Chosen. It is a fictional show about Jesus, and has a lot of storytelling, but it is really based on the scriptures and follows the story of Jesus. We have been loving it so much. Even knowing that it has a lot storytelling, those things given context and still bring out those feelings of love for the Savior and learning what it may have been like to live in that day. 

Grandma McAllister 95th Birthday Celebration

It would be impossible to describe how much we loved my Grandma McAllister. Any time we were at her house or they were visiting us, we followed her around constantly. She was vibrant and energetic and so loving. As she got older, we started telling her that you are not "old" until you are 95. She did not really want to get too old, so she decided when she turned 95 and got "old" that would be time for her to move to the next life. So we would have a huge birthday party, and then she would fall asleep and wake up in the spirit world. 

Grandma did not quite make it to 95, but as her birthday came this year we really wanted to have a celebration. COVID-19 made things a little harder, but we decided to do dinner and then make Grandma's old taffy recipe. I found the recipe recently going through some old school things. I had done a report about how to make it. As kids we loved making taffy with Grandma and getting to pull it back and forth to get it perfectly white so it would be delicious. 

Wendy and Sam brought decorations and also a craft that everyone could do. My Mom and Dad put together a slide show. 

Of course the highlight was making the taffy. It turned out amazing. It takes a lot of work to get it just right and it turned out perfect. I loved seeing Lydia and Austin pulling taffy to carry on the tradition. It reminded me of growing up and pulling taffy in my Grandma's kitchen. Lydia was especially determined to keep pulling until it got just as white as the adults. She was so determined and I was so proud of her. 

Here are a few pictures from the night. 

It was special to celebrate together. In particular, it was wonderful to remember Grandma and Grandpa McAllister and all the amazing memories we had of being with them. Here are just a few pictures.