Random Five on Friday - Is it Really August?

I haven't done a Random Five on Friday post in a long time. Better late than never I suppose! Even though I haven't posted my random five events or thoughts lately, I have been posting about my Monday goals here, and here, and don't forget to check out Our First Day of August photos too! Well, I better fill you all in on what I remember us doing the past couple weeks. 

In Our Life Lately . . . 
1.) Look what we spotted at our bird feeder right outside the dining room window. It's a painted bunting! We recently realized that we have both a male and female bunting visiting our feeder. Isn't it beautiful? The female is all green. The photo may seem a little blurry since it was taken through the window. The bunting was skittish and if we got too close it would fly away.

Painted Bunting

One of Our Many Cardinal Friends

Lil' Bugger Stealing Birdseed

2.) I photographed a fox one morning this week. It allowed me to get close to it, but I couldn't get a good shot because my hands were full. I was on my way to the classroom to work on reviews.

Places We Went and People We Saw . . . 

3.) We went to Magik Theater to see Treasure Island with our friends. Alyssa played a little air hockey against Andrea before we left and as soon as we came home. We sipped on a few drinks at a Mexican restaurant while enjoying some adult conversation. This was a very relaxing and fun evening.

Alyssa has been swimming a lot this week at Silverleaf's pool. She also went to Mamacitas to celebrate Lacey's birthday as you'll see in Our First Day of August post. I missed the birthday party thanks to a migraine and a pinched nerve in my neck. I also felt pain in my back on the left side. I did, however, attend a fun Facebook party and won two prizes. 

In Our Homeschool The Last Couple Weeks . . . 

4.) Alyssa is zipping through the lessons available through her Reading Kingdom subscription. She's already working on Level 5 material. I am not sure if she'll complete the program before the review is posted, but I know for sure she will finish it soon which means I will be searching for another online Reading program for Alyssa's fall curriculum. Any suggestions?  

My daughter also completed her Strega Nona Project Pack from In the Hands of a Child. The review will post around the 19th of this month. It was loads of fun! What's your favorite literature lapbook? Is there a picture or chapter book that you wish had a corresponding project pack lapbook? Please leave your suggestions in the comment section. 

During her free time, Alyssa requests DreamBox Learning Math time. If we consistently use this program, then she'll eventually complete the Grade 2 curriculum. There are times when we get distracted from the routine. I absolutely LOVE how they teach Math.

I finally posted my review for The Fascinating World of Insects by BrainFood Learning. It is a great supplementary resource or tool for an insect unit study! The company also carries a Bird and Mammal DVD. 

We took a break from cursive writing until late August or early September. She started doing more manuscript copywork and Bible memory verse lessons using a neat program developed by Kirsten Joy Torrado called BibleWriter (Volume 1: God is . . .) which we received free this summer. You can purchase it for only $3.99 as a downloadable file. It is worth it! The K-5 program covers ABC Bible verses from the Old Testament that teach who God is. The copywork verses include letter tracing, manuscript, and cursive pages. I love how it differentiates copywork lessons. I hear the author is working on volume 2 - I hope to have access to it in the near future. I am pretty impressed with her product. 

Alyssa's Math-U-See Gamma curriculum arrived in the mail. She was very surprised! She looks forward to learning multiple-digit multiplication this year! We hope her math curriculum challenges her this year. 

What Jeff is Baking . . . 
5.) My hubby is getting very restless having to sit and recover from his surgery. He goes back to work on August 15th. He has a lot of FREE time so he decided to make a delicious cherry cinnamon cobbler for us. Oh my . . . I was begging him to make it again real soon! I didn't photograph it this time, but I promise to post one next time. YUMMY!

I will link this post up at Random 5 on Friday hosted by Miranda at The Pebble Pond. Please join the fun and link up your random five thoughts, facts, or occurrences. I will also link this post at Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and The Homeschool Mother's Journal at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler?