Well, summer vacation is over at the Harmon house. Monday was our first day back to school, and I will call our first week back a major success. There’s nothing like brand new school supplies to get kids back in the mood for learning. This year, I have three in school. Kyra is in fourth grade, Elijah is in second grade, and Owen is in kindergarten. Abby Jo is the odd man out, so we have been doing some “preschool” activities, too.

We start our day with devotions. I’ve not always been faithful to do this in the past, but I’m going to try really hard to keep this a part of our school day this year. I read a devotion to the kids…something short and sweet with a daily Bible verse from a book of kids’ devotions. After that, we share prayer requests, and then we pray together. The kids each take one of the prayer requests and pray for it. After we pray, we sing a few songs together, and then we get down to business.

For those of you interested in such things, Kyra and Elijah are both using A.C.E. curriculum. This is Elijah’s first year doing PACEs (the name of the workbooks they do…it stands for Packet of Accelerated Christian Education). Kyra is not a huge fan of doing PACEs only, so, as a concession, we are trying something different this year. On Mondays, they do pacework for all five subjects (Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and Word Building…WB is similar to spelling). On Tuesday and Thursday, they do Math, English, and Word Building pacework, and do extra reading. Extra reading is usually a biography, but not always. Kyra is reading about Clara Barton right now, and Elijah is reading about King Tut. On Wednesday and Friday, they do Social Studies and Science pacework, and we do extra things related to these subjects. We are going to be watching the documentary, America: The Story of Us together, and, after that, we will watch other historical documentaries about subjects like US Presidents, the Trail of Tears, etc.  The extra reading and documentaries add a little extra entertainment factor to learning, and it breaks up the monotony of doing only PACEs.

We are pretty relaxed about kindergarten around here. Elijah was my first homeschooled kindergartener, and I feel like I did a pretty good job with him. He tested into third grade Math and Word Building this year, even though he is a second grader. He’s a whiz at addition and subtraction, and he will be learning multiplication this year. He’s also a great reader. I was rather surprised at how much he had improved his reading skills since last school year. The kids are avid readers, and he has been reading all summer. However, he has not read out loud to me. When we started school on Monday, I was shocked at how he was reading right over words I expected to be hard for him (words like “available” and “courageous”) without hesitation. I didn’t use any curriculum for him in kindergarten or first grade. I taught him to read using a book called “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons”. It was hghly recommended to me by several ladies at church. It worked great for us. For first grade, I just printed off math sheets from the internet, spelling words from the internet, used flash cards, and had him read lots of books. Math and Reading were my focus, and it has really paid off.

So, all that said, I am following the same path this year with Owen. We are using the same “Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” book, and he is doing great with it so far. We started on Monday, and he’s already reading some easy words, such as “ram”, “eat”, “me”, etc. I got a workbook from Walmart that has general “kindergarten basics” that he really enjoys doing, and I have flash cards that we are working on numbers and counting. He’s different from Elijah in that Elijah was counting to 400 when he started kindergarten, and Owen struggles to count to 20 without forgetting 12. Each kid is different, though, and I know that. Owen is happy and eager to learn. I have a feeling he will be reading pretty well before Christmas. He’s picking it up pretty effortlessly. Time will tell how he does with math, but I’m hoping he doesn’t take after Kyra. She can do math well when she doesn’t tell herself she can’t. Then we have lots of tears and drama. I much prefer he pattern himself after Elijah in the mathematics department.

So, that is our basic homeschooling plan. Chris is back in school this semester trying to get his M.Div. I am the only Harmon not currently pursuing my education, but I’m already considering cutting my “year off” down to a “semester off”. I’m not sure yet. I’m still deciding on what school to go to for my bachelors degree.

We’re not all work and no play, though. We have already had our first field trip. On Friday, after the kids did their Social Studies and Science, we took off for some more science fun at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. I’ll leave you with a few photos from that.

Owen as a deep sea diver.

This was a neat exhibit. The kids had to stick their hands in to feel what was inside, then (I think) they pushed a button to illuminate the box while they peeked through a hole.

In case you have no idea what this picture is about, I am pointing up at the giant turtle skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

Kyra, Owen, and Abby Jo inside of an aquarium.

Elijah cracked me up!

Penguins!

The Penguins were my favorite!

At least my eldest has mastered the art of looking at the camera.

I like to cuddle penguins.

I never said he wasn’t crazy. But, at least he’s cute, too.

My sweet, silly girls chillin’ with the penguin.

He’s still working on boundaries.

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I am finally getting around to posting photos from our vacation. Chris had Army orders to go to a chaplain conference in Orlando, so we went with him. We hung around his hotel for the first three days, and then we moved to a Disney resort for the next four. We had a great time, and took quite a few pictures. Here are a few:

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And so our stay in Texas was over…

We traveled from Dumas, TX to Springfield, MO on the first day of the return trip. It was a mostly uneventful day, but we did have a delightful highlight just before we stopped for the night at our hotel.

Andy’s Frozen Custard! A Springfield tradition.

(Owen was asleep in the van. He wouldn’t wake up. Not even for Andy’s.)

The next morning, we began our final leg of the shared journey…from Springfield, MO to Fort Knox, KY. (The kids and I spent another night with Amy before we drove our final four hours from Fort Knox to Harriman, TN.)

We went through St Louis, and saw the Gateway Arch that we had visited on our road trip from the previous year.

It’s always exciting to cross the Mississippi River, no matter which direction we are headed.

We snapped a quick picture of another state sign. There is always lots of clapping and cheering each time we cross into a new state.

After this point, we were too tired and sick of each other’s company to chronicle anything else from the trip. We dragged our tired, sore, travel-worn bodies onto Fort Knox that evening, and bid a fond farewell to The Freedom Tour – Summer Road Trip of 2011.

This post is LONG overdue, but, as promised, I am returning to tell you about the last day of the Texas portion of our Road Trip. Amy was with her family at the hospital for her little sister, Julie’s, surgery. Since Amy was at the hospital, I was on my own with all six of our kids in a town I wasn’t super familiar with. So, we decided to find out how to have fun in Dumas, Texas.

First of all, you go to Pizza Hut.

After going to Pizza Hut and getting your belly full, you can go geocaching. There are several to be found in and around Dumas. One of them will lead you to a delightful park, where you will find this awesome plane.

There are lots of other fun things at that park, too.

Some dangerous things:

And since it’s a bajillion degrees in Dumas, Texas,  you should end your adventure with sno-cones from this fabulous little sno-cone shop.

I suggest the Cherry Cream Cheese flavor. It’s delicious!

And that, my friends, is how to have fun in Dumas, Texas!

There is one more post coming in this Road Trip series. Coming soon!

Owen got his hair cut first.

Elijah went next. He got a hairy tongue.

This is what happens when you say, “Put your arm around your brother for the picture.” Sigh. Boys.

Dumas, Texas. What can I say about Dumas, Texas?

Dumas, Texas is a little town in the panhandle of Texas. Driving down Dumas Avenue is a little like visiting the United Nations. Somehow or another, Dumas, Texas has become the recipient of a number of refugees from places like Somalia and Burma. Along with that unusual addition to their small Texas town, Dumas is also home to it’s fair share of cowboys, rednecks, and teenage girls in pajama pants. They have a great Oriental Supermarket where you can get chicken and sticky rice, and a fabulous snow cone place that is open till ten p.m. Do you know about Texas snow cones? They are very different than what I’ve had in Tennessee. Far superior. Dumas has a fantastic park to visit with your kids, but, alas, none of the water fountains work. This is a real bummer when it’s a hundred degrees outside. However, if you have a more adventurous mother than my kids had, Dumas has a nice little waterpark next door where you can cool off.

Snow cones or waterparks or a backyard sprinkler, take your pick, but you’re going to have to cool off somehow. I wasn’t kidding about the one hundred degrees.

We spent most of our time in Dumas hanging around Amy’s parents house. Visits from Amy’s sisters, Jami Leigh and Julie, were the highlights of our days. Abby warmed up to Jami pretty quickly. I think it might have had something to do with Jami having the same face as her Aunt Amy.

As I mentioned before, one of the best ways for the kiddos to cool off in the Texas heat was by playing in the sprinkler.
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Over the weekend that we were there, we all loaded up and drove to Lavern, Oklahoma. The kids all wore there tie-dyed shirts that Jami helped them make.
Here are the boys in the “boy van”.And the three big girls in the “girl van”.

From left to right: Ethan, Miah, Joshua, Jeremiah, Elijah, Owen, Kaleb, Sarah, Charleigh, Emileigh, Abby Jo, and Kyra

The evening that we arrived, we checked into our (surprisingly nice) motel rooms, and then went to a small family get together. The next morning, which was the day before Memorial Day, we went to several cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of some of their family members. It was pretty sad at times, because this family had lost three children. A sixteen year old, a fourteen year old, and a baby. Watching their parents decorate their graves made me hold my babies a little closer. While at one of the cemeteries, I snapped a couple of pictures of the Oklahoma scenery.

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Later in the afternoon, we went to Amy’s great aunt’s house for a bbq dinner. The food was fantastic. Seriously, it was so good.

We went back home that evening, and started getting ready for the festivities of the coming day…Julie’s thirtieth birthday party.

Julie’s birthday was one of two important reasons that Amy was making the long trek to Texas. She really wanted to attend her baby sister’s birthday party. The other reason that two days after the party, Julie was having brain surgery. For that reason, everyone really wanted Julie to have a fantastic birthday. She had a great party, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the characters in Amy’s stories.

This is a picture of me and Julie. I’m glad we like each other. As the next picture indicates, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Julie and I could share grandkids some day.

This is, of course, my son, Owen, and the little girl is Julie’s daughter, Miah. They first met last year when the kids and I went with Amy to Dumas the first time. Apparently, they still have their spark. (I LOVE this picture!)

Amy Jo and I before Julie’s party.

Me and my Kyra Joy at the party.

Amy Jo, Jami Leigh, Amy G., me, and Janae….Jami said it was a picture with all of their mom’s adopted daughters.

The day after the party was very low key. We mostly just sat around the house relaxing. Here are some random pictures I thought I would share:

Abby Jo and Emmy-Kai-Kai, as she calls her. They were pretty good friends.

Kyra Joy and Jami’s daughter, Charleigh. They were delighted that everyone agreed that they could pass for sisters.

We were using our hands to block the sun. Jami was trying to take our picture, but the sunlight behind us was too bright. Turns out, I LOVE this picture of us. It’s so happy!

Me and my Elijah

Love it!

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The heat was getting to us.

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Our trip was drawing to a close, but, before we headed home, we had one day left. The day of Julie’s surgery. Amy Jo was going to go to Amarillo with her family for the surgery, and I was staying at her parents house with the kids. We had too full of a day to include it in this already too long post. So, until next time…

I did it! I finally graduated from Roane State. I graduated Magna Cum Laude, and I’m insanely proud of myself. I don’t know if I’ve ever truly been proud of something that I have worked so hard and so long for. I’m so happy that I didn’t give up when things got hard. Here are a few pictures from my big day.

Chris and Me

Amy Jo and Me

Me and My Family (the boys don’t like pictures)

Me and Mom

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