After such a busy and fun June and July we decided to take it easy for the last month of summer. We spent a lot of time at the pool and staying up way too late watching the Olympics. We all loved watching the women's gymnastics team battle it out for the gold. We were addicted to swimming as well and got caught up in watching Michael Phelps win his 19th gold medal and become the most decorated olympian in history. Nicholas couldn't get enough of the men's synchronized diving. We watched those competitions several times on the internet for weeks afterwards.
August 7th, Nicholas, Drew (his buddy who had spent the night) and I went to Lake Norman Charter School to pick up Nicholas's schedule and school supplies. They both had a blast looking around and meeting new people.
August 8th, we all went over to Ridge Middle School to get the tour for Jeremy. We met Ms. Smith, the 8th grade counselor, and Mr. Menan, the 8th grade vice principal. After the tour, Jeremy interviewed Mr. Menan for his Citizen in the Community merit badge. While waiting for Jeremy, I got talking to another mother who was gathering information for her new student. She asked where Jeremy had gone before Ridge Middle. I was telling her I homeschooled when another woman overheard me. She introduced herself as the district director for teacher training and asked if I might be interested in being a substitute teacher for the district. That will something to tuck in the back of my brain for a later date. It was validating to know that my skills are sought after in a professional setting after being domestic for so long.
That night we watched "Back to the Future" with the kids. It was fun to watch them watch the movie. They were so stressed out about whether Marty would make it back to the future and if Doc would get shot. It brought back memories of seeing the movie for the first time myself. Fun stuff!!
August 15th was the Meet and Greet at Lake Norman Charter School. Nicholas got to walk through his schedule, find the classrooms and meet the teachers. He is especially excited about his Language Arts/Social Studies teacher, Mrs. Hammond, and his Math/Science teacher, Ms. Idol. They are both so excited about the subjects they teach that it is contagious with the kids. He immediately took to Mrs. Hammond when she asked him how he liked being homeschooled. She had some some research on each child so she would know more about them before meeting them. This made Nicholas feel special. This is looking as if it will be a great school year for him.
August 16th was the first day of school for Nicholas. He was really excited. By the time he got home he was exhausted and upset because he had gone to the wrong class once and his backpack had ripped. I told him not to be upset because that backpack was three years old and gave him a backpack to borrow until the weekend when we would have a chance to get to the store and pick out a new one. Other than those two complaints, he really liked his first day.
August 21st, after Nicholas got home from school we all headed to the pool for to make the most of the time it was going to be open. The kids have appreciated their summer much more this year with the anticipation of school.
Naomi started taking pictures of things and is developing a really good eye for pictures of items that normally would go unnoticed. I love watching talents develop in my kids.
August 22 was the openhouse at Ridge Middle for Jeremy. He picked out his gym clothes, a school sweatshirt and his agenda for the year. We are really glad we visited each teacher because he was scheduled for 8th grade band which was only for student who had been in band the year before. Everything ended up even better though because Jeremy got into a group called "AVID" that helps the kids get academically prepared for college. To this date (three months into school) it is by far his favorite class.
August 23rd was the openhouse at Highland Creek Elementary. Naomi fell in love with her teacher, Mrs. Stinson, instantly. Nicholas had Mrs. Stinson for reading and spelling in first grade and loved her as well. This school year is shaping up to be a great one.
August 27th, 2012, commemorates 19 years of marriage!!!! It is also the first day I was childless during the day in 13 years. All three kids were in school. WOW!!!
To record the day in history we recreated the First Day of School picture from 2007. I still have that one on my refrigerator. It is one of my favorites. Look how much the kids have grown!!
Naomi was all smiles on her first day of school. She was ready extra early and was the first one to the bus stop and first one on the bus. She came off the bus all smiles as well with many stories to tell about all her new friends and the rules and the teachers and.... Her favorite thing of the day was learning about being a bucket dipper or a bucket filler. She is determined to be a bucket filler.
Jeremy rode his bike the first day of school. He thought it was extra cool that I would trust him to go all by himself. It is a tough and a wonderful thing watching/allowing them grow up. He left the house all smiles and returned with many interesting stories. Only a middle schooler could have these tales to tell. For the most part he really enjoyed his first day of school, despite the lglaring lack of manners, tact, morals and restraint displayed by his fellow classmates. In his gym class one fo the boys kept flipping him off and dropping the "F-bomb" on him. One email to the coach cleared that one right up. Welcome to middle school - the petri dish of social experimentation. He is a great kid and will get the hang of it soon, but we will have daily talks about things that he doesn't understand, i.e. new slang, curse words and hand gestures, girls, etc.
August 28th Jeremy was advanced to the rank of Star as well as receiving three Eagle-required merit badges. We are all so proud of him. He is working really hard toward his goal of Eagle Scout.
To finish off August with a fun activity we camped in the back yard. Nicholas master-minded the entire event (which also passed off several of his Outdoorsman requirements for cub scouts). We built a fire, made hobo dinners (a huge hit), roasted marshmallows, pitched our tents and slept out. It was a nice, cool and clear night. We did a little star gazing before falling asleep. What a great way to end the summer.
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