We are back in the swing of school this week. We started this semester with new rules and incentives and so far things are running smoother than they have in the past. Maybe by the time Max is ready to graduate high school I will have everything perfected.

This semester Russell is learning to "journal" on his own. Just before Christmas break he finished the first Harry Potter book so he is now reading the second and writes a summary of the chapter read in his reading journal. Other than that it's just normal 1st grade work/topics.

Max finished last semester having mastered recognizing and writing all his letters. This semester we are working more on reading. He is beginning to figure out sounds that go with certain letters and starting to recognize simple, frequently used words (such as: the, as, and, my, but, etc...). Russell also likes to help him with math, which Russell does a great job of teaching (who would have thought!).

Both boys are beginning to help with chores around the house more. They are becoming great table setters, bed makers and bathroom cleaners (what am I going to do all day now with them doing all my work?!). Yesterday Max helped me clean the bathroom in the afternoon and took great pride in it. When R.C. came home later in the evening he approached R.C., in the bathroom, and told him "you should try to keep the bathroom clean, we just cleaned it today".  All this said with his little finger shaking. What a guy!

This morning, since R.C. didn't have class and I got a good nights sleep (what a nightmare no sleep has been!!) we decided to go swimming at the Y. We spent an hour splashing around and helping the boys "swim". It was a great way to begin the day and get lots of energy out right away in the morning.