Marathon in a Month
Mackenzie completed another Marathon in a Month (which she has done twice before).
New friends in Oregon added to the fun and even brought silly string to make the Final Mile more of a party. (Note: Silly string is not actually a party to clean off a rubber track.)
Caitlyn (3 1/2) was not quite ready to join this year, but she gamely lined up at the start line and accepted a popsicle at the end. 🙂
After realizing in her third season that she is not a big fan of soccer and having to stick it out until the last game anyway, it was really great for Mackenzie to focus on something she loves: running!
(Caitlyn’s medal was for finishing her reading lessons that same day!)
1/2 Marathon for Me
I signed up for my first long race since I became a mother! Since being pregnant with Mackenzie, I have never been able to run more than a mile at a time without pain, but I was determined to figure out what was wrong and get back to running. After over 7 years, I missed it.
So I committed to a race and with some trepidation and a trusty foam roller to help my IT band, I ran 2 miles on my first training run… and thought I might die. I was in good shape but not running shape and definitely not running on hills shape. Fast forward two months and many more hills, and I completed the Newport 1/2 Marathon in just under 2 hours, meeting my pie-in-the-sky time goal, and feeling like a million bucks because I was able to run without pain!
Caitlyn’s Joy School Graduation
I love Joy School but this may be the only official semester Caitlyn does. It was a bit tricky to work in with a consistent homeschool schedule so I think we may just adapt the lessons and hit the highlights in the future.
She loved it and graduation included singing adorable songs and wearing adorable caps. However, she wasn’t digging pictures that day and so most looked like this:
or this:
or at best this:
Though I laughed out loud when I saw this gem:
I’m pretty sure he was swatting her with the cap and there was certainly no kissing going on in that picture… but it sure looks like I’m wrong.
Caitlyn finishes her reading lessons!
This will need its own post at some point, but I wrote previously that my (first) three year old could read. Mackenzie is now 6 1/2 and I honestly didn’t intend to start her little sister on reading lessons quite yet… but sometimes I don’t follow my own plans. Caitlyn (3 1/2) finished lesson 100 in May and is becoming a great little reader.
This is one of the highlights of motherhood so far, seeing the world unfold to my children as they take off on reading.
Naturally, we danced to celebrate.
May was quite a month around here!
Julie Vest-Getmanenko
What a fun month! I love the marathon-in-a-month idea and know my son would be all about it.
Congratulations to Caitlyn on finishing all of the reading lessons. A few months ago I acquired the “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” book from my mom who was cleaning house and preparing for a move. I remember using it when I was young. I have also read “The Logic of English” based on your recommendation. I loved it of course! My personality is such that I’d rather have more rules that apply to 99% of words rather a few rules and a superfluous amount of “funny” words.
My son is 4 1/4 and knows his letters and most of his sounds. We started doing the lessons from “Teach Your Child . . .” and they were really tedious. He needs more engagement to keep his attention. He has the desire, but the beginning lessons are so basic. I am curious how you have fused the two styles/philosophies together to teach Caitlyn. Did you do anything different than with Mackenzie? Do you just do the 100 lessons, than layer on the Logic of English rules?
Thank for your help!
-Julie
Speedy Photo Catchup (Part 2) | Adventures in Beanland
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