Father's Day.

So, on Father's Day, the boys participated in their second fun run in the Healthy Kids Run Series for 2011. They're really loving these and I love that they love them. :) This one wasn't as well organized as the first; but, in the end, everyone crossed the finish line and was happy. 

Noah improved upon his previous time...Asher did a great job and sprinted to the finish line...and Micah felt considerably less tired after this one. Note, Micah ended up doing only a half mile instead of the full mile this time...which probably has a good deal to do with his additional energy, lol. Also, yes, Nathan ran with Micah again (it was so confusing at the starting area we weren't sure he'd know when or where to go on his own...plus they ran the age groups in waves this time...didn't let the next group start until the previous one finished...which meant that Micah didn't start till about 30 minutes after Noah had). And, no, Nathan's not texting on the phone in his hand. He was keeping time for Micah and they were getting ready to cross the finish line. ;) 

In any case, after the fun run, we headed to Fort Fun for our traditional Father's Day round of miniature golf:

(For previous years' pictures, check out this post...scroll down.)

And that was pretty much that for our Father's Day. Not hugely exciting this year, but fun all the same. :)

Quote #25.

This week's quote:

Habits are cobwebs at first, cables at last. – Chinese proverb

We’re going on a road trip soon. I find that I’m actually going to miss being able to stick to my exercise routine that I’ve finally established. (Hey, by the way, I've been doing a good job of actually exercising regularly!) I’m even planning to pack my running shoes. Wow. I think this quote sums it up so nicely…I feel like I’ve finally gotten my exercise habit to a place of strength. Yay, me!

Swim team!

Noah had his first swim meet of the summer yesterday. As this was his first ever experience with a swim meet, we discussed ahead of time how his goal was simply to learn from the experience. In true Noah fashion, he watched diligently...noting what works and what he'd like to work on. All in all, a good morning. :)

(The other two boys, btw, were troopers. They hung out with us and played on the iphone, played some cribbage together, read books, snacked and watched their brother. I didn't even have to use my lecture about how Noah sits through their karate practices and such regularly, lol!)

So, Noah participated in the medley relay (50 yards for each swimmer...sorry, I know there's a proper term for this but my memory isn't working right now, lol). He did the back stroke leg of the relay. It's his favorite stroke. ;) He also participated in the individual 50 yard back stroke and the individual 50 yard breast stroke.

All good. Now. Things I'd love advice on:

• How to take better swimming photos. I just flipped my camera to sports mode today...was feeling too tired to try anything else. :)
• What the best thing is to feed a swimmer between heats. Fruit? Noah was there from 7 am until about 11 am and refuses to eat anything before starting. I did manage to get part of a power bar into him between individual events and made sure he drank water but know there's probably a better course of action.
• How often one needs to wash swim suits. Um, how often should I be washing this stuff? Are there special tips and tricks? (Right now, I wash suits on gentle and air dry after each use...I do this every other day or so, saving up until I have suits and towels for all three boys and for Nathan, who's started swimming laps in the mornings again.)

Really. I'd love any and all thoughts. While I was mostly prepared for what soccer would entail (having watched all of my younger brothers and sisters do youth soccer for years), I only remember a summer or two of my middle sister doing swim team. And I was distracted and now don't remember much. ;) Thanks!

Quote #24.

Monday again already? Here's my quote for the week:

The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind, the answer is blowin’ in the wind.  –Bob Dylan

I’m not sure what the question is, though. Yes. It’s going to be that kind of week. ;) 

Curriculum Reviews: Everything else.

Lastly, this week, here are some of the "other" programs we use...

(I wrote about some of these last year, too.)

LATIN: I don't think I have much to add beyond what I wrote not long ago. So, look here. ;) We plan to just keep going with Visual Latin next year. We generally do this altogether one afternoon a week. I'm working on making some vocabulary flash cards to help us. I love that, in a pinch, we can do this in the van on the way to run errands and such. ;)

ART: Yeah. I dropped the ball on this one this year. Oy. I console myself with the fact that the boys did get at least some art instruction at Options on Mondays. And I worked in some art with other subjects. I just didn't do a great job of doing art for the sake of art on a regular basis. Honestly, I haven't figured out how I'm going to tackle this next year. Ideas?

CRITICAL THINKING: The boys did things like Mindbenders and Code Breakers books, solved Encyclopedia Brown mysteries and just plain challenged each other constantly with riddles. There wasn't a set schedule for these...just used them as time allowed, often to occupy one boy while working with another. I'll probably just continue along this same path next year. 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Well, this year we had...

• fall soccer (for Asher and Micah),
• PE each Monday at Options (for all three),
• karate (twice a week for Asher and Micah all year except during Asher's broken arm...during good weather, Noah and I walk during these sessions),
• hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park, Canyonlands, and Arches (as a family),
• archery lessons (for all three),
• swim lessons (for all three),
• swim team (for Noah), and
• the Healthy Kids program (with one mile fun runs for all three).

That's not including the daily backyard and basement play, the walks to the Farmer's Market, the bike rides, and the park play with friends. So, yeah. I think they got enough PE.

Next year, other than the soccer, will look pretty much the same I think. :)

MUSIC: We used to do weekly music classes with all three boys. We loved those. Then we started soccer; and, after a year or two of doing both, it just became too much (and a scheduling hassle). So, sadly, we stopped the music classes. With Options, though, the boys gained a weekly music class again. Noah and Asher both took the music and drama class and got plenty of singing and some music reading for the first two years (2008-2010). Last year, they did the same but Asher also added recorder/chimes. At home, he'd practice recorder and Noah started playing piano again just on his own (using a variety of Carol Matz favorites song books that he loves). Next year, Micah is excited to take the music/drama class that his brothers have enjoyed...Asher will take keyboarding (piano)...and Noah will take recorder/chimes and also bells. 

And that, friends, in a nutshell, is what we've used and will use. (I'm sure I've missed some little things but am fairly sure I covered the main things, lol.) I hope at least some of it has helped some of you in your own searches for materials (either for homeschooling or supplementing), and I'd love to hear about any materials that you use and enjoy! In the meantime, happy weekend to you!