Day Twenty-Three

Fall is here. The clover has returned with a vengeance. The flower beds needed some sprucing up. Fridays are our "easy days" as far as school work. They're the days we get to do time-consuming projects, take field trips, and sometimes just have fun (as long as we're not behind on our work for the week). I took advantage of that today and set the boys to work doing some weeding. Add a little monetary incentive and they work even harder. ;)

Day Twenty-Two

We're still working on finding our rhythm. I've been concentrating my efforts on trying to figure out patterns in our day. Schedules are good, but they don't always work. Homeschooling for me is about rolling with the punches lately.

Here's a photo of "reading time" which consisted of Dom and Simeon hopping into the fish tank box.

An overheard conversation:

Simeon: "See Gomick (Dominic), God is in my Bible!" He has a Bible with googly-eyed cartoon men and women in it.
Dominic: "That's not God, Simeon. That's a funny-looking guy with a beard."
Simeon: "It IS GOD!"
Dominic: "Not."
Simeon: "Yes, it IS!!!"
Dominic: "We don't even know what God looks like, Simeon."

Day Twenty-Two

We've been studying about oceans in Earth Science the past couple of weeks. The Yoder bunch joined our bunch and we drove to Newport to have a little hands-on fun. Today I'm thankful that we actually live close to an ocean and also that is was one of those amazingly beautiful days at the Oregon Coast. Four hours of playing in the sunny 70-degree weather did me good. And the kids had a great time.

Cheers to a wonderful sister, friend, and homeschooler. I couldn't do it without you, Jodi.

Day Twenty-One

One of Aidan's favorite things in Math is when I set up a store so he can purchase things. I mark all the items with tags. He gets to pay for them. He also gets a lot of practice in adding and subtracting within 100.

A few examples:

Choose two things that add up to less than one dollar. How much do you owe me? How much do I have to give back to you in change?

Purchase two things that add up to $.90.

He keeps a paper beside him and tallies up his items, adding and subtracting from 100. It was encouraging to me that he's actually doing a lot of it in his head now. Cheers to math!

Day Twenty

'S' is for Salt Box (you should check out the link). I found this great idea last week and I liked it as it's another version of the Montessori method of teaching letters by tactile experience. I made one for our school by using an old box that I had kept around because it was pretty.

I brought out the salt box this morning and Dominic formed an 'S' in the box. Proud mom moment. And a VERY proud Dominic.

Day Nineteen

Today was the definition of a perfect fall day. Sunshine, fall colors, family and relaxation. We went to Farmer's Market and picked up a chicken from Afton Field Farm, bought some fresh veggies and melons, a bunch of beautiful greens, and a few pounds of baby red potatoes. Then we harvested some zucchini and tomatoes from the garden and turned it all into a feast. The highlight for the boys was the 20 pound watermelon that I agreed to purchase. Thankfully, the kind man at the market gave it to us for $5 (a really good deal).

And...I also got to sit in the sun and knit for the bulk of the afternoon.

Thank you Lord for good food, beautiful days, and the family that I love so dearly.

Day Eighteen

On the first Friday of every month we have "Fun Friday" and don't do any schoolwork (or very little). Today we went for a hike with our homeschool group. Lots of kids. Lots of fun. I was sad that everyone couldn't make it, but we had a good showing. A brief synopsis: One child got stung by wasps and his mom had to rush him back to the car (not sure if he was allergic, like his daddy). No one fell in the lake! (This really surprised me). An older boy almost got caught under a log in our log-rolling adventure (okay, it wasn't even that bad...but HE thought so). We all packed lunches and ate with grimy hands. The moms had time to chat, often interrupted by having to direct the kids from doing (or not doing) X or Y. One of the girls caught a salamander, much to her delight. We saw fish, birds, a crusty old crawdad, and there was lots of free play in the woods. It's amazing how well the kids all seem to blend together and have a crazy good time. All in all we have 21 kids between the 6 of us. I love this group. I also love fall in the woods. Amidst the screaming and the bustle of kids, I was able to reflect and to enjoy watching the newly-yellow leaves fall down onto the forest floor.