3rd Grade & Pre K here we come!

We began our first day of this school year a couple of weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to this. Ha! Busy busy busy.
This year we have a fun filled year ahead complete with history of pilgrims, native americans, bible lesson, spelling, reading comprehension, astronomy and math. Wyatt will be in a robotics class and Jonah in a PreK art class also. So far we're doing pretty well. Jonah loves school.....he and Wyatt are very different in their learning styles. Should be an interesting year as long as I can manage to NOT push too hard and try to bring school home. That's not what this journey is about. Learning is so much more than books and school.
Here are a few pictures.....

We made it!

For the record, June 14th 2012 marks the last day of our 1st year of homeschooling. No casualties. We had meltdowns. We had tears. We had laughter. I'm very proud of how much Wyatt has learned and how much he loves homeschool! God has brought us on this journey. We have lots to learn & some things to tweak but we're doing it together and it's fun!
I'm considering a year round school schedule with breaks worked in.....not sure about this yet but I have the summer to plan.
Blessings!
I have no photos. The end. :)

Praying mantis time!

We received our praying mantis egg cases a few weeks ago and I put them in our butterfly habitat to hatch. Today I looked at the cage and it was full of praying mantis nymphs! I live these little guys & that are great for the yard too! We have probably 100 from 1 egg case! The 2nd has yet to hatch. :) fun stuff & perfect timing for our next science chapter! :)

Magic spoons

This is just a fun experiment/art/magic activity I found on Pinterest. :)
Easy!
Simply use 3-4 clear cups or glasses on a cookie sheet with about a 1/2 cup of vinegar in each. Put a few drops of food coloring on each spoon and cover with baking soda. ( do this without kids seeing if you want to surprise them)
Have them take a spoon and stir the vinegar. :) a color erupts! Fun!

Boys, mud & floods

In the wake of our recent rains, Wyatt was asking about floods. So, after trying to unsuccessfully create a river & flood in our sandbox I brought them to a local creek to recreate a riverbed, lake & flood. Of course boys + water + mud is always fun! :)

In the course of this we had a discussion about panning for gold, throwing rocks, dams breaking & not going to Target afterwards because 2 boys are covered in mud. :) I should have known better.

Who says learning has to happen at home?

Need proof that homeschooling is becoming much more mainstream than it has been in years past?

Red River Ski Area in Red River, NM had a whole week

deemed as "Homeschool Week" and offered great deals on lift tickets!

It just so happened that we were looking for a good excuse to go skiing and that was it! ;0)

Before we began homeschooling, I found myself using opportunities while on

vacation to teach. Any parent can do this, whether you homeschool or not.

Going to the beach or mountains or NASA or NYC? There are a million opportunities to learn!

Yes, we had fun skiing on this trip but we also had opportunities to learn & teach along the way.

No better or more fun way to learn if you ask me! :)





Reading & Math got done during our very long  drive.
Roadtrips are a great way to incorporate Geography too!



This natural rock formation sparked some good conversation....

Art in the snow? Why not!? :)
Simply fill bottles with food coloring & water
and let the kids paint in the snow! :)

Both boys skied and that's something they can't do in Texas!

Seeing the pride and excitement on their faces was all I needed from this trip.

Until next time..........

Blessings!



Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

I'm finding that we all love 'school' best when we are out and about rather than sitting at our

classroom desk. The boys love learning that way (I think MOST boys prefer that) and I love

teaching that way. Again, homeschooling is really just an extension of parenting.

Life is a classroom.

Since we only have 'school' 4 days a week, we usually take 1 of the weekdays to go on a

nature walk or some sort of outing. This week we chose the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.

I wanted the boys to see it in winter when the vegetation is lacking as a comparison

for when we go back in the spring/summer.

(and admission is free in January - Deal!)

We had a great time exploring the plants, finding seed pods, learning about native plants 

and hiking along the trails. We enjoyed a snack at the cafe on site complete with Hibiscus Mint Tea and gluten free chocolate cake. Oh My! YUM! :)

Minnows!

Following big brother....

Interested

the boys

End of a hike