Friday in Pictures

Friday in pictures.

Thankful for the normal, the day-to-day.

 
Getting ready for a baby shower game

Enjoying a book

Doing a little schoolwork

 
Guitar lesson

Snap peas growing in the spring garden

A turtle in the yard

Can we say teachable moment?  (the little turtle is by the fence)

Making a fort as the rain sets in

Stomping in the puddles

Wednesday Afternoon

Today is one of those days that I'd like to live in a bubble.  Block out the sad path of this world in favor of rose-colored glasses.  Not gonna happen, is it? 
And that's ok but I do feel burdened for our children and the world they are growing up in.

In other news, today has been a good school day.  Kayla's final presentation for CC is on Eleanor Roosevelt so we have spent some time researching and learning about her.  I did not know about her "My Day" column.  Did you?  She wrote a column for the newspaper that began as a way to share her days at the White House with the country.  We were able to google them and read several.  So interesting.

We also spent a good bit of time learning about the Wonderchild of classical music, Mozart.  The kids are going to help me teach about him tomorrow at CC- we're planning on a play of sorts- could be interesting! 

And yesterday we worked on using Borax and water to make crystals in jars.  Fun.  As science goes, some jars worked, some didn't.  Maybe we'll get some pictures up soon.

Lastly, we are reading a book aloud called Inside Out and Back Again.  Fantastic.  It's about a 10 year old girl in Vietnam who has to leave her country with her family during the war.  They end up in Alabama.  It has tugged at my heart- in both good and sad ways- over and over as we read about their loss and the way they were treated here in the US.  I would absolutely recommend it.

quote of the day from Sam:  "Mom, this isn't the spring I was hoping for."  I have to say I'm starting to agree with him.  It's so cold!

A Peek into Our School Day

Sometimes people ask me what our daily school schedule is like.
Sometimes they say I seem to be so calm and organized and that our days must be so nice.
Well.
Let me tell you a little about each.
I am neither organized nor calm, generally.   However there are glimmers!
One day this week, Sammy asked me, "Why do you have so much sin in your heart this morning?"
He was right.
I am more prone to impatience or frustration than I ever thought I would be.  Sammy is right to call it sin, and I am convinced my sanctification is all a part of this thing we call homeschooling.  The gospel has to be central to our day and our home or we will be in one sorry mess.  I need reminding often, even by a five year old.

Our "schedule" is a loose one.   Between 8:30 and 9:00 we get started.  I read aloud to everyone first from a chapter book, and we try to pray together before we get started.  We do math, spelling, word study, handwriting, and independent reading in the morning.  There's more "fun" reading in the afternoon or evening.  (If you know anything about our family, you know that we are a family of readers so books find their way into most every part of the day in one way or another!)
Our Classical Conversations memory work usually comes in the morning as well and includes a history sentence, geography, Latin, English grammar, science, math- skip counting, and timeline.  Much of this serves as the springboard to other activities we do.

Jack and Kayla are able to do some of this on their own while I work with Sammy.  Lucy plays so nicely during much of this time- which sometimes leaves lovely messes but that's ok with me.

What I love about history, and to a certain extent science, is adding related reading- both fiction and non-fiction.  The older kids usually do some writing (or dictations) to go along with what they've read.  There's time for history or science in the morning most days, although it sometimes gets pushed to after lunch.  I'm trying to get in a lot more nature study this year as well, which is mostly observation and sketching.

In the afternoons, Jack and Kayla work on IEW (usually history-based writing) and EEL (grammar) with me.  I love IEW.  It has been a wonderful help to the kids but also to me as we learn how to write with quality.  Sometimes we also throw in math games during the afternoon- which we all enjoy and should do more often.  I'd also like to throw in projects like lapbooks and art after lunch.

There are other parts of our day that I haven't included.
There are other things I'd like to add to our day.
We're always in process and I hope my kids are learning a lot and enjoying it as we go.

A Little from Today's School Morning

It was around 8:00 this morning when I pulled up the shades and opened the windows.  The bushes were covered in sparkling spider webs.
What else would I do but send everyone outside (with jackets!) and get to our first Nature Study Lesson?
It's times like this that I LOVE homeschooling.  (It's also times like this that I need to remind myself of when I don't love it so much.)  The world was our classroom this morning and all of us, from the youngest to the oldest, learned something new.

I grabbed our new copy of Handbook of Nature Study and turned to the section on spider webs.  It has quick facts about everything and so many good questions to ask that help guide the kids' observations.  It's fun to hear things like "Hey!  Look at this!" and "Mom, I read something about this once.  I'm going to get some paper."  I think I am really going to like using this book.

Something else I'm excited about is our new "Drill Kit for Multiplication Memorization" by Leigh Bortins.  (sounds like a lot of fun, right??)  It will  help with the squares, cubes, and the rest of the tables.  Kayla helped me put it together and wanted to get started on it.
Who am I to say no to practicing math facts??

And: a few books the kids are flying through this week:
Jack- Amos Fortune and The Bronze Bow
Kayla- Understood Betsy
Samuel- Lentil by Robert McCloskey  He really likes this one!