Tae Bo for P.E.

The kids have enjoyed doing Tae Bo together for physical education. It's a special version of Tae Bo made just for kids called Tae Bo Kicks.

The Store is Open

Jakson is a "numbers" guy. He loves doing math on his own terms or as part of play. He remembers number details, and always seems to notice things with numbers. He gets enthralled watching numbers change on a timer and watching the time tick away on a clock. If I'm reading something to the kids, he's most likely to remember the number facts (like the sun is over 92 million miles from earth, or Mercury makes a complete rotation every 59 earth days - stuff like that). However, he moans and groans when I give him a worksheet for math. Although I still give him some math work to do, I don't want to squelch that natural enthusiasm, so I'm on the lookout for ways to practice his math in other forms.

Along these lines, Jakson really enjoys playing with pretend money. I printed out some things for a pretend grocery store and he had so much fun setting up his store with prices, sales, coupons and shopping lists. He spent lots of time writing amounts on price tags (which is amazing in itself as he's not crazy about handwriting). When he was ready I came to buy things with some pretend money and we did quite a bit of "spur of the moment" math computations as he added up my items, gave discounts for coupons and gave me change after I "payed" him. What a fun learning experience! I've gotta find more stuff like this!

First Day of School

We finally got school started this year after pushing it back a few times (because I wasn't ready for summer to be over!)

I am happy to say that the first day was a success! I love when things run smoothly. We got our basics done in the morning (math, spelling, reading, writing, Bible, etc.) and then had some fun!

In our Tapestry of Grace curriculum this year we are starting with Y2U3 which begins at early American History; we are excited to finally be learning about our country after spending 2 years across the Atlantic in Europe, Asia and Africa as we studied Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Reformation history.

To celebrate, we made maps of the United States. But these were not just any maps; they were not made of paper and they were not even salt maps.

In the past, as we began a unit, we made salt dough maps, (see here and here), which are great for creating topography with mountains, rivers, lakes, and other geographical features. But, this time I decided to go more for the fun factor and so we made our maps from sugar cookie dough! I made the dough the night before, then divided it and gave some to each child on parchment paper. With my sister's help, we rolled out the dough and then let the kids cut and form their giant cookies to the shape of the United States.

After we cooked the maps, the kids decorated them with frosting and sprinkles.

The finished products:

The best part was that they got to eat them when they were done(or at least part of them - they were huge!)

The boys laughed about eating the United States: quote - "wow, Florida tastes delicious!" and 3 year old Rose walked around all day saying "that is the United States" and "California is right here" (as she correctly pointed it out on the map!) So, even in the fun, someone may have learned something!

I think the cookie dough maps were a big hit and a great way to celebrate our first day of school!

Reflecting on School

As I plan and prepare for our next school year, I like to think back to the past and learn. What worked and what didn't? What can I change? What should I keep the same?

In doing so, I figured out that I have been like a pendulum my first two years of homeschooling. The first year I was at one end of the pendulum; I was so relaxed and fun. I think my kids enjoyed that year, as did I, and things were so peaceful. I took to heart all I had heard about "de-schooling" and that I should be relaxed and we really just enjoyed being together. But at the end of the year I panicked because I felt that I had neglected so many areas of teaching. Yes, it was great, but ignorance is bliss! And I didn't want ignorance!! Ok. Maybe it wasn't that bad. After looking over the year, I did realize they had made progress and learned a lot. But still, the weight of their education felt heavy on my shoulders and the next year the pendulum went full swing the other way.
My second year educating at home, I was very intent on content, curriculum and results. I wanted to see my kids learn so much, to jump by leaps and bounds. I wanted areas of weakness to be erased and areas of strength to be enforced. I wanted to feel that I had taught them everything they "should" know and I went overboard. Unfortunately, I don't think school was as fun for the kids last year. In addition, when I reviewed the year, expecting to see bigger results, I realized they hadn't grown much more than they had the year we were so relaxed! My desire to "teach everything" made me lose sight of one of the reasons we homeschool...love of learning. It's that love of learning that sparks the imagination, strengthens thought, and creates a desire to know more. That's truly where education can begin; when a child decides he wants to learn it is then that he educates himself.
So now, as I am about to begin my third year of home educating, I am hoping that I can slow down those giant swings of the pendulum and actually be more balanced. I want to foster a enjoyment of learning, so that the kids really WANT to open up that book, or write that paper, or figure out that math equation. I want to be relaxed, and yet still give them the mentoring and teaching that they deserve from me. Besides that, I have reminded myself that the weight of their education is really not on my shoulders alone. God is there to lighten the load and I know I must rely on His strength. I'm also praying that God will give me balance; a balance that will stop the swing and bring us closer to that point of equilibrium.
All the pictures in this post are from the end of last school year. I was just looking back and remembering. Here are a few more. Now back to planning for the new year.

Leo teaching the younger kids about light, reflection, and refraction.

Learning the colors of the rainbow in their correct order from their "student teacher".

It helps to play with silly putty when you have to sit still and read!

Already "diving" into books!

She SO wants to do school "like the guys"

Volcano Eruption Experiment

We made our own volcanic eruption yesterday!
Here are the items that you need to make your own volcano erupt: Baking Soda, Vinegar, Food Coloring, Liquid Soap, 2 Empty Water Bottles, Funnel, a teaspoon, a Tablespoon, Large Paper or Cardboard that is cut and shaped into a cone (it should fit right over one of the water bottles).
Take one empty water bottle and fill 1/3 with vinegar. Use the funnel to help you. Add some food coloring to give the "lava" some color. Add 1 TBSP of liquid soap. Take the other empty water bottle and put 3 tsp. of baking soda in it. Place the cone over the bottle with the baking soda. Put your volcano on a tray or plate, because this will be messy!
Using the funnel, quickly pour the vinegar mixture into the water bottle that is under the cone. Immediately, the mixture will react and you will have "lava" coming out of your volcano!
What's happening? The mixture of vinegar and baking soda creates carbon dioxide gas. The gas creates bubbles in the liquid soap and the mixture expands until it ends up overflowing out of the bottle. After this experiment we decided to play around with the vinegar and baking soda and the resulting gas it creates. We put some baking soda inside an empty balloon. Then we put vinegar in a water bottle. We put the balloon around the mouth of the water bottle and then let the baking soda fall into it. The carbon dioxide gas then began expanding (gases always expand to fill available space) and this filled up the balloon! The boys started screaming as the balloon expanded, thinking it would pop! Here they are running to take cover! FYI: It didn't fill that much - no popping occurred!
It was a fun science afternoon learning about reaactions and gas expansion as the rain poured down outside. (Science ideas from the book "My Big Science Book" by Simon Mugford)

Unit Celebration - Medieval Feast

We finally finished our first unit in Tapestry of Grace Year 2! Because we had such a busy time during this unit (living in two places, etc.) we had thought that we would just skip the unit celebration. But then, at the last minute, we all decided that we felt like celebrating and sharing what we learned. So we quickly put together a medieval celebration (it was simple - we planned it and put it together in two days). Besides our immediate family, my sister and her family as well as my brother came to join in. We had a great time. Here are some pictures:

Playing 9 Men Morris - A Medieval Game

Playing GluckHaus - another Medieval game

The Kids' work for Unit 2
Leo showing his dad his hard work

The kids' cousin shows her work to Uncle W

Saber shows his work to Aunt A and Uncle Z

Knight Saber

Lady Rose

Cousins singing the night away!!

Although it was simple and quick, we had such a great time at our unit celebration. The "Medieval food" was great and the games were fun. We even listened to some Medieval style music. It was also great to see how much we all learned about this time period in history! Now it's off to the Renaissance and the Reformation!