Pre-Kindergarten(September)

In August, we welcomed home our 3rd born, Ruth Rose Mcmahon. She is such a sweet little baby with a calm peaceful demeanor. The girls absolutely love her and are always so excited to do Ruthie time (which is basically cuddling in bed). It’s amazing to me how quickly kids grow up when a new baby sibling is added to the mix. Hope has now started talking in sentences and has started showing a desire to learn the letters. She has her own study books now which she uses during one on one time with me.

Often times people ask me questions about homeschool from the perspective of what they know school to be like. Homeschool is not simply school at home. It is learning through life. And this change, of an added sibling, definitely opens the doors for so much learning.

We skipped ‘school’ for August, which means I did not document life for a bit for the purpose of this blog but spent my time healing and recovering from childbirth and getting back to rhythms. I was 3 weeks postpartum in September but felt good enough to resume some activities with my older 2. The visitors, helpers and family had come and gone by September so regular routines could be resumed.

Nature/Science:

The girls continue with their Forest friends group(Nature club) once a week. That has grown to be such an amazing part of their lives now. We’ve been working in our nature journal as well and Justin has been helping out with some learning at home for the girls. He bought a fish tank and took the girls out to an aquarium for a trip. Hope also is learning how to feed the fish, identify different types of fish, and what is the role of a sucker fish. It’s so cute when she can’t say the words properly and we try to make sense of what she’s saying. One day, as she ate some meat, one piece of chicken looked like “sucker fishy” to her and it took me a few minutes to crack what she meant. We all burst out laughing when we did understand it. She’s such a spirited little one my Hope Lily Mcmahon. She enjoys making people laugh now too.

We also finished watching another life cycle of a bul bul. It is amazing to me how these have been so consistently a part of our lives in this home. It reminds me of Gods love for me because each time I feel unsettled about being heavily pregnant or freshly postpartum and not being able to do outdoor time with the girl/girls, he sends me a pair of bulbul to watch from the comfort of my living room. This is our good good Father.

 

     

Life skills/Play 

Ahna is picking up cutting skills and some paneer making skills in the kitchen. That is her saying “paneeeeeeeeeeeeeer” in the picture with her first home made paneer batch. I like making switches gradually so this home made paneer is another such switch to a healthier lifestyle. This does not mean we never buy store bought paneer, it just means that making it at home will get easier with practice and we’ll eat healthier paneer more often. We have also been making more of our meals even though we still do have our cook. Pizza making and wraps kind of brings the family together on a very messy table.

The girls also have been playing with play dough quite a bit and since my brother and his wife visited and bought them their first lolipops, they have been over the moon with the idea of lolipops. So most of their play has been around lolipop shops. They set up a store, made the products, made signs, and fake money and did the whole polite customer talk thing. Pretty good for a 4 and a 2 year old I’d say.

   

     

 

Reading and writing

We have been doing a whole lot of reading and writing because Ahna does not nap and when Hope naps, I try to lie down in bed and rock the baby to sleep. So this is the time Ahna and I can have some down time together and we spend it doing something we both love; reading. We also managed to do one poetry tea party this month with cookies and everything!

              

 

           

 

         

 

This last picture is just here to remind myself of the sweet sibling love they share. Ahna often helps Hope out with different things unprompted just because she loves her and wants to do things with her. Sometimes, these actions are rewarded and they are often a rewarding sight to us as parents.  If you are a mom/dad, and have made it this far, I’d like to encourage you to protect your children from jealousy talks from other friends and family members. Jealousy or rivalry is not something you should cultivate in your home but serving and loving one another is. Especially when a new baby joins the family, so much changes for the older siblings. And yet, now for the second time, not once have I seen the girls being jealous of the baby or feeling cross towards her. A beautiful sibling relationship starts with what you allow, what you encourage and what you cultivate as the parents of the home.