Caroline is Three!

 

 

Our sweet Caroline turned three years old in August.  I know it is so cliched, but it goes by way too fast!  We made through all of the twos without a trace of the terrible. 

She decided months in advance (probably while we were in Disney World this summer) that she wanted a Mickey Mouse party.  She saw a cake similar to the one above when we were browsing Google images, and she loved it!  It turned out better than I thought possible with me making it.  :) 

 

We had just a few friends and family over to play and eat, and it was a good celebration of another year with our sweet girl.

{Be sure to scroll down to see my personal favorite series of photos -- when the spotlight is on her, she gets so embarrassed and just shuts down.  I can almost hear her thinking, "Mommy, they're all looking at me!  Can you help me?  Please just blow out the candles with me?"  Stephanie captured the moment so well!}

Homeschool

Though our oldest (and thus far only) child is only three, we have been praying about and considering the idea of homeschooling our children.  What exactly that will look like and for how long we do it are questions yet to be answered.  I am, however, a research queen, so suffice it to say that a lot of reading (both the old-fashioned book kind and the blog kind) has been happening over the last six months or so.  I am becoming fully educated on different education philosophies, curricula, programs, and a whole lot more.

Right now Caroline goes to MDO at our church two days a week.  She likes going to "school" with all of her friends, and we feel this is an important experience for her since she IS the only one we have so far.  Having that not-centered-on-Caroline time away from Mommy has been great for her.  We also have been doing "school stuff" (as she calls it) at home some.  Since she is only three, I am totally letting her lead in the area of when and how much we do "school."  My "education philosophy" for three year olds is that they learn in everything they do! Playing, helping Mommy cook (which we do a LOT), and grocery shopping are all educational experiences.

The curriculum I have been using when we "do school" is Confessions of a Homeschooler's Letter of the Week stuff.  The author, Erica, is awesome!  She routinely posts new printable, free materials that are just so darn cute.  I have been printing and laminating them (Caroline then uses a dry erase marker) so that will be usable with future Ryle three year olds.  :)

We started with M for Monkey, and she loved it!  She will want to do activity after activity for quite awhile.  The Confessions packs involve work on tracing, pattern making, counting, letter sounds, fine motor skills, and whole lots more.

This was S is for Snowman week ( I think I wanted to do this one because it was SO hot then, evidenced by C's sweaty hair):

 

And who wouldn't want to do "school stuff" that involved your favorite movie?  Dressed up as Buzz and working on the Toy Story preschool pack.  

Who knows what the future of the Ryle homeschool will look like, but for now we are loving all of the cute stuff out there for three year olds!  This is such a fantastic age.

A few other sites I frequent:

Homeschool Creations
1 + 1 + 1 = 1
Mama Jenn
Totally Tots

July

We love summer at the lake!  We also love inviting our friends to my parents' house on the lake.  :)  Have I mentioned how much they rock?  They are pretty awesome. 

We kicked off July by having my college roomie Liz and her fam up the the lake house.  Caroline and Ava are right at the same age, and they love playing together.  Little Ellis got in on the playtime a little more this year as well.  We enjoyed going out on the boat, eating, and laughing together.  We always have a good time making new memories together!

The next weekend, my two nieces came for a visit.  Laura Beth and Anna stayed at my house a few days, and we also went and spent some time at the lake with them.  While they were here, we went blueberry picking near my mom's house.  We also went to the zoo.  I forgot their swimsuits, but they had a blast playing in the "Foam Zone" and fountain regardless.

While the girls were here, Caroline also got a BIG GIRL BED!  A month shy of her third birthday, we made the transition.  She did great!  She has loved sleeping in her BGB, and hasn't tried to escape yet.

We wrapped up the month by flying down to Miami to meet the newest addition to the Ryle clan, Danilo.  The whole family was together for a week at the beach, and it was great!  We enjoyed relaxing at the pool and on the sand.  We also enjoyed all the seafood!  Philip and I both really miss that about living on the coast.  We made up for some lost time on that trip, though!