School

Three weeks in to this home school year, we're finding our footing.

It's been busy, and it's been fun - we've learned a lot . . . and hopefully the kids are learning too!

The first few days, were extremely eye opening.  Trying to manage teaching 5 kids of different levels simultaneously, 4 who are not proficient independent readers, seemed impossible for a single teacher.  Thankfully the kids have been patient, and we're learning how to better balance one-on-one teaching with independent and group work.  We all take turns giving the baby and little kids special attention and play-time too.

It's been an absolute joy to watch the kids working together - whether it be painstakingly piecing together a U.S. Presidents puzzle, helpfully giving reading clues, sharing watercolor trays and testing paint techniques, or encouraging eachother in the game of Memory.
We've had some pretty spectacular games : )

I think we're off to a good start! 

7

Up

And she's up . . .
Little Miss at 7 months is on her knees and rockin'.
Coming soon: crawling!!!  

 

And, Maclaren has 4 teeth (with two more coming in)
matching her brother Davis with 4 holes in his mouth  

3 Bugs

3 sweet girly Bugs in a Rug : )

We are so Blessed!

(And, no, we don't let our three girls share a bed together at night, although very often Hiwot and Maegli do end up sleeping together . . . Maclaren has her very own bed.  This night, the girls were "babysitting" Maclaren in their room.  They did a great job.  We found them all asleep together!)

Soccer

The new season has begun.
This year we have two boys playing, one team.

With 8 kids, we can too easily fall into the over-busy/ over-committed trap, which is not our desire for our family.  We want to allow our children a wide range of athletic and cultural opportunities, cultivate natural talents, and broaden horizons . . . but we aren't willing to sacrifice our precious family time. 
How do we balance the athletic and cultural experiences of 8 kids without spending all of our family time along sidelines or running from one event to the next?  It's a hard balance.  

So, to try to make this year as manageable as possible, we limited ourselves to a single soccer team.  One weekly practice and one weekend game with everything else on the family schedule is more than enough. And makes it possible for us all to stay together for all events - we all go together! 

Davis and Tesfaye are enjoying playing - and they have a whole family crew cheering from the sidelines. 
It's been fun to see the growth in both of our players since last season.  They are both valuable to the team.  Davis has been working hard and making good ball contact.  He's had some fantastic blocks and made his first goal!  Tesfaye has really matured as a player.  He is dominating the field, averaging 5 goals a game, but has also been a strong team leader.  We have loved watching him share the ball and protect and coach his teammates. 

We have had fun watching and cheering our boys
(and playing our own family games on the next field!). 

So far, this soccer season has been good for the boys AND good for the family. 

Entertainment

 

 Our little one provides such wonderful entertainment for us all.  

What a joy she is in our lives.

Burke is especially entertained by her every movement, expression, and sound - laughing hysterically : )

(playing with Maclaren at Grandpa's house)

The kids found their blanket draping to be utterly amusing.

Maclaren makes an incredibly cute and willing model.

 

Two Wheels

Our fourth child to master the skill of riding on two wheels - Hiwot!!!!

She has been practicing all summer on a borrowed brother's bikes . . .
Now thanks to a wonderful gift from Grandpa, she is the proud owner of her very own bicycle. 

She is ready to keep up with the big boys.  Go girl!

Made in Germany

Gramma and Grandpa were blessed with an opportuntiy to travel to Europe over the summer. . . 

After adventures in Austria, Germany, and Italy, they brought back the best souvenirs ever! 

Thanks for sharing your travels with us, and for these cool costume/hats direct from Germany.

Heritage Village

 Heritage Village Museum is an outdoor living history museum in Cincinnati featuring 13 historic buildings that were saved from destruction, moved, preserved and restored.  The buildings together depict life in Southwestern Ohio through-out the 1800's:  train station, church, school house, medical office, print shop, general store, stone kitchen, and various houses and cottages.  During special events, costumed interpreters demonstrate skills of the 19th century: soap making, spinning, candle dipping, gardening, hearth cooking and more.  The village is an educational and fun step-back in time. 

12 years ago, Amy worked as a summer intern at Heritage Village Museum, cataloging antiques and researching 19th century wallpaper and paint colors.  It was fun revisiting the museum with our children over Labor Day weekend.  There's a new entrance and welcome center (with gift shop!), the recently acquired church has been beautifully restored, and they have a new addition - a school house has been moved to the property.  After spending a Summer pouring over catalogs of reproduction wallpaper, searching for the perfect fit for the 1850's Greek Revival home, it was rewarding to see the selection hanging in the main hall. 

This was also a well-timed visit for our kids: we're studying the 1800's this years in our schooling!

Hendrick was excited to get some "Gett-sy-burg" toys!

Row, Row, Row . . .

Labor Day weekend, we made a last minute trip to Cincinnati.  It was wonderful to visit with family. 
We're thankful to have family, who with almost no advance warning, is so welcoming and accommodating to our crew of 10. 

While there, we enjoyed time on Grandpa's lake.  The water was cold, but it was perfect for rowing. 

Bounty

With our 125 pounds of hand-picked Apples and after 3 days of washing, cooking, milling, mixing . . .
we now have an abundance of apples to enjoy all year. 
What a blessing! 

49 Quarts of Applesauce:  plain, chunky, spiced
32 Half-Pints of Jelly: apple and apple-blueberry (frozen from our July pickings)

. . . now we need to find a place to store them all - consuming it won't be an issue : )

The Orchard

We look forward to making our traditional orchard visit each September.  The kids love running down the hill to the apple orchard, baskets in hand, on a mission to find the most perfect apples.  They are experts. 

This year, we did a bit better than expected.
In less than 20 minute, our crew picked over 125 POUNDS of apples!!! 

Needless to say, we've been munching on them all week and have been quite busy preserving 125 POUNDS of apples :)
(They're delicious in bread and pancakes too!)

What a blessing!

Mike showcased his "commercial" skills - who knew apple picking could be so fun - 
He should be hired for a new Apple Picking advertising campaign!
He's mighty talented :)
(The picture is still making us laugh)  Love it!