More of July 2015

I didn't want to miss recording some of the additional things we did in July.

Bridget:   Reading Readiness, VBS, and Firepit - This summer Bridget attended a Reading program that was sponsored by Loyola and was hosted at St. Marks. We began the process of addressing potential learning disabilities with the school system this spring, but they declined to spend the time and resources to actually test her until some interventions have been tried. We will readdress the issue in the fall. But over the summer we wanted to make sure Bridget got some additional instruction so we enrolled her in the Loyola program. Her cousin Ben also attended the reading program and Sarah did the afternoon speech program so it was a family affair. The program is well done and full of educational active games and projects with 1:2 instruction. I struggle to put in regular reading time so I was glad to have some help and attention given to Bridget's reading. Bridget also attended Vacation Bible school with her cousins at St. Mark's which she thoroughly enjoyed. She have a neighbor, Joanna, who attended as well and they had a really good time getting to know each other.

    Then during one of the weeks where her sisters were at camp Bridget asked to have friends over. So we invited some girls over for a firepit night in the back yard. It was a really wonderful group of girls and Bridget had a really good time, roasting marshmallows and playing games with her friends out back. It was a mix of school, neighborhood and family and they were all a great fit for Bridget. She picks her friends well.
 

dropping off at Camp Connonwingo

Rachael and Megan - Both Rae and Megs went away for a week at Camp Connowingo. It is the big Girl Scout property where they have attended camp for the past few years. They were excited and packed with great anticipation. I made them daily packages with letters, logic puzzles and a treat from home each day. As I send them off I trust that they are guarded by God's grace. It is good practice. Rachael this year was in BackWoods Adventure and we were surprised that there was only one other girl in her group. I was relieved to hear that they got along very well. Megan had a big group in her Camp Katniss Group and she floated above the girl drama that did pop up. They were exhausted and very content when they arrived home after their week outside.

Summer Stretch 2015

   The next week, Rachael and Megan attended Summer Stretch, a local middle school service week, with lots of their cousins. They served food to the hungry, visited the elderly, played with children and cleaned a daycare. The kids also went bowling, played and did a scavenger hunt in the inner harbor. (Rachael's team won).  This is such a worthwhile way to spend a week.

Emma and Hanna - These two spent the rest of July enjoying summer. Emma biked to Uncle Henry's house to put in some time working (sorting/ shredding papers) a few days a week and earned some money. And she also helped me with the kiddos. We went to the park, visited the nature center, and went to the pool. Johanna jumps into whatever grabs her attention and frequently takes us along for the ride.