Steven reading Skippyjon Jones

reading on her own!

they love silly stories!

  We also celebrated St. Patrick's Day by reading all about leprechauns and building traps for them.  

the cutest leprechauns we've ever met!

tracing letters and finding candy at the end of the rainbow

tracing words with the golden marker

reading about leprechauns with Mariana

even the big boys liked building traps

testing the trap

the leprechaun climbing the ladder

quality control

the trap worked!

they captured the leprechaun

  We did a unit on volcanoes.  These boys worked really hard, learning new vocabulary, reading all about volcanoes, and writing an essay.  To reward their hard work, we built a volcano, and made a volcano cake (complete with a lesson in fractions, because how could I pass up that teachable moment?!)

adding the baking soda

some dish soap too

volcano cake made with baking soda...

and lemon juice

starting to bubble over

the lava tasted great!

Spring wouldn't be complete without reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar!

cute little bugs

guess the letter!

concentration

caterpillar name trace

   We are so proud of our kids!  They are learning and growing daily.  It is such a blessing to watch them become readers and develop a love for literature!

so proud!

getting things "stuck" in the tree, based on the adorable book, Stuck, donated by our lovely friend Emellia!

chunking words

the joy of princess stories!

puppy love

Steven's life-sized game of Trouble for youth group

the winning yellow team

hugs and love

{haley}

(I imagine) As a parent, you are constantly on top of what developmental skills and milestones your child should have at certain ages.  In fact, from a teachers perspective, I have seen how parents can be concerned with even the smallest detail (yes, it is ok if your child dots his "i" slightly off center...)  Why do parents analyze and pay so much attention?  Because they want what is best for their child.  They want their child not just to succeed, but to flourish, grow and learn in all areas.  Because that is what a parent is supposed to do.

So when parents lack the skills to help their children, or are lacking from the child's life all together, the outcome is more grim.  We have seen the videos of babies silently rocking in cribs, malnourished and starved for physical touch.  We have read the studies on what this does to their minds and futures.  I have seen children who crave emotional stability, and have no idea how to relate to others; who's anger burns so fiercely within them, and have no idea how to cope.  Those outcomes are just as grim.    When children are badly behaved children, we give them mercy in light of their circumstances.  When those children become dysfunctional adults... Well, society doesn't give them much grace.   Their outlook can be bleak. It's exactly why early intervention matters, why attaching and feeling loved matters, and why extending God's grace matters.  If someone walks through this life without meeting any of these things, what hope do they really have?

All I can do is extend God's love and grace.  So I will do that with all that I have.

Our favorite thing we do here is teach reading... Ok well Steven might say a close second is playing soccer with the kids, but for the sake of the blog, we will say our favorite thing to do is teach reading!

We love using cute and entertaining stories to engage the kids, and help their skills grow through hands-on activities.  They really enjoy learning new things in new ways.

I'm really funny, apparently :)

tracing tactile letters

feeling the letters

Snowman letter search

who doesn't love to color?

sight word practice

Snowmen at Night!

Sight Word Slap game

Reading and practicing summarizing

ready to play!

story retell

 Our kids love free reading time.  They don't get a lot of it at school, but it is one of their favorite things to do.  We always feel proud when they ask us for extra time to just sit and enjoy a book!

Reading their books provided by the Wave Church!

Harriet the Spy read-aloud. They were cracking up!

Close-up with Mariana so they don't miss a word!

the boys in action

Our biggest educational hope for these kids is that they will not only learn to read, but that they will have a love for reading.  Successful readers have a shot at a successful life!  Join us in praying for continued improvement for each child.

{haley}

We were blessed to be home in sunny California for the holidays! We got lots of time with our family, friends, and church!