Our Little Soccer Guy

Two years ago Noah gave soccer a try and hated it. He made it to two practices and two games and he was done. Last year we didn't bother signing him up and he never once complained about not playing. We thought we just had a non-soccer kid which was fine with us since Xander and Savannah have quite busy soccer schedules. However, this summer Noah made it clear that he was ready to give soccer another try, especially after all the fun he had at soccer camp. I'm so glad that he had a change of heart because it has been so much fun to watch him play this fall.

He was a little tentative at the start of the season with a bit of standing and watching. 

As the ball would come closer to him, he would start jumping with nervous energy. It was so cute to watch.

But as the season has gone on, any signs of hesitation are gone. Noah plays with fire and aggression and really throws himself into each and every game. He falls A LOT but so do all these uncoordinated little guys and it definitely brings some humor to the game.

And he has gotten a lot better! He's actually been able to score 2 goals which he is quick to tell everyone.

My absolute favorite picture - Noah's face speaks volumes to his style of play! I've got to blow this thing up, frame it, and put it on my wall!

Another Pierce kid who loves soccer (and the after game snacks!).

Homeschooling

Homeschooling! I never thought I'd be doing it and yet here I am in the thick of it. Let me just say IT'S HARD!!!! I really don't know how other women homeschool more than one child because teaching just Savannah is killing me. We made tons of adjustments in the first three weeks alone because I just really had no clue what I was doing or how things would or should go. Overall I felt like I was drowning, with every spare minute of my life spent in reading and preparation, not even counting the actual teaching time. But now, after 2 full months, I finally feel that we have a rhythm to our days and a schedule that makes both of us happy. And I finally feel that I have a little extra breathing room so here I am, updating the blog! I had every good intention of regularly blogging what Savannah was up to in her classes but since that obviously is never going to happen I will happily document, on a monthly basis, our little adventures in homeschooling.
This is a picture from her very first day. Wow! Looking back, neither of us really knew what we were getting into.

Learning about the world through the eye of a microscope.

Googie is always happy to join Savannah in her studies.

The experiments have been fun. Who knew you could get an egg to bounce?

Well, at least we got it to bounce a few times before it eventually splattered.

Observing nature in the summer.

Discussing the importance of the Laetoli footprints and making our own for comparison.

Lots of projects to help foster understanding. Here is her lovely cell model.

An up close study of the daily habits of the humongous spider who spun a beautiful web right outside mom and dad's bedroom window.

A couple of field trips including one to this amazing sunflower field.

While there Savannah did some sketching.

Writing a message in cuneiform.

Although we have had a few "moments", on the whole Savannah has been a wonderful student and we have really enjoyed this time together. She is working really hard and hopefully learning a lot. I know I am!