Déjà Vu

Haven't we seen this before?


Preparing for a class, the kids were asked to watch the sun patterns. Something we did as our very first theme unit! It was fun to chalk our outlines again to see how tall we were in the morning, at noon, and in the evening.

It was also good for me, as the main teaching parent, to see that they remembered a lot of what we learned a few years ago. Some of it sunk in and stayed there!


Something else we rediscovered were our marionettes we made during our first year of homeschooling. Here's one of the marionettes (on the left) posing with its inspiration, Tiny (on the right). We create much fewer products homeschooling than the kids did in public school (I'm still trying to catch up on scanning all their art, homework, projects from school!)

(written July 31, 2015)

Dad Gets Invovled!

Building a computer

We were all happy when Dad decided to help the kids build their own computer from scratch. It ended up being a little bit "more" of a project than we initially thought. But, that got our youngest helping with the research for parts! As for me, I got to relax for a little while, as Dad did the work.

(written July 31, 2015)

Be Careful What You Research

It May or May Not Pay Off

As part of our yearly activities, I have had the kids do a project on an animal of their choice. The first year, the kids made dioramas to incorporate what they learned. The second year, one of the kids wrote a comic strip full of facts they had learned. This year, the younger one filled in a traditional report (habitat, diet, etc.), while the older one made a presentation on all that she researched about hedgehogs. We had discussed the possibility of allowing her to get her own hedgehog, but that we needed more information. She researched everything from how to purchase one, how to feed one, to how much it might cost per month to care for one. What a great way to end this assignment with the purchase (she used her own money) of Blizzard, the newest family member.

This process definitely proved the correlation between interest and motivation and how we all learn.


(written March 20, 2015)

Mandalas, Jelly Beans, Sheep Shearing

What an Eclectic Life We Lead

Watching monks create a Mandala. Struggling with homemade Jelly Beans. Watching sheep get shorn.

With Facebook, Instagram and other social sharing sites, I sometimes get overwhelmed with what others are doing. More to the point, what I am NOT doing. So, once in a while, I look back at what we did do and I realize that we, too, are doing cool stuff I never expected to do.


(written March 20, 2015)

Love and Loss

Getting to Live Life

I keep coming back to the idea that homeschooling is a new way of life for our family. One that I could never have understood before entering it. One that I can't seem to explain to someone who strongly holds onto my old way of life.

I've said it before, and I feel like I say it at least once a week, that opportunities seem to have opened up to us now that we've made the switch to homeschooling. That different parts of our lives seem to entwine in ways they never did before. I feel like when big life events happen, because we homeschool, our family is able to process our emotions on our own time and in our own way.

This month of May has brought us together with love and loss. On May 19, 2014, the state of Oregon courts supported marriage equality. The kids and I were able to go downtown and witness, not only some of the first marriages under this new law, but also the supportive families, friends, and community. I'm not sure the kids were as impacted as I was, but they were there. They will remember.

Also in this month, our family pet of 16 years passed away. It was a very traumatic experience for us all. But I am grateful that we were able to go through it as a family. That there was no shame in our grief.

What does this all have to do with homeschooling? What do marriage equality and our cat dying have to do with the other? I don't know. It made sense when I started this post and now it seems like I'm forcing the connection. But what I do know is that when I signed-in at my chiropractor appointment, I noticed this saying written by an office worker. I swear they don't normally put quotes on their sign-in book. Or if they do, I only noticed today. And there. Bam. Kismet. Serendipity. Connection. A quote, just for me. Just for this month of May that was filled with love and loss.

Still, what does this all have to do with homeschooling? I just feel that all these big life happenings are happening more. Or that my eyes are open to what's happening around us more. Or... oh I don't know.

Just go hug your family and revel in love.


(written March 20, 2015)

The Weight of It All

What is worth more, a pound of quarters or a pound of dimes?

The kids wondered if this were true. They set out to find out. Luckily, we had a dragon-coin-bank filled with coins. They separated out a pound of quarters and a pound of dimes. Then they added up the monetary worth of the coins. Their results showed that a pound of quarters and a pound of dimes equal approximately the same amount of money (about $20).

The numbers came out to be a little different, but very, very close. The kids new this would happen, but seeing it proven through their own actions was exciting for them. They came up with their own ideas as to why the two pounds of coins might not be worth exactly the same amount:

1: the scale isn't precise

2: the coins are all used, so some might be too old and thus "rubbed" to be less weight than a new coin

3: perhaps all the coins weren't made of the same materials, depending on when they were minted

It's definitely times like these when I see "it all working" the way it's supposed. They started with a question, a curiosity, or theory. They figured out how to investigate. They came to a conclusion. They accounted for margins of error. This experience was worth a lot more.

(written July 31, 2015)

On a Roll With Units

Or Rolling the Units

We still love learning via unit studies. Or call it what you like, but for us, it's all about making connections. So, while we don't do "Sushi-math" while studying sushi, we do get a lot of books from the library to read all about the history of sushi. We look at maps to understand the geography. And the best part is the "final product", because we got to make and eat sushi. Darn tasty.

(written March 16, 2015)

Successes and Failures

Winning and Losing 

Homeschooling is like every day life, there are some days you do really well and other days where you'd like a do-over. Why would I think it would be any different? Why do I think, that any time we take something out of our life, that we'll have all this free time to do more of what we want and be less adherent to the almighty schedule? I thought I'd have more time to learn how to garden. That I'd be able to teach the kids about growing vegetables. And yet, here are my brussels sprouts. They've been ready to harvest for days and I just ignored them and let them get pummeled by a recent storm. All because I didn't have the time or energy to get out there.

And yet, on other days, I organize an impromptu clay-date with some left-over clay we had. And a dinner with friends turned into a group game driven and executed by the kids alone. I love it when times like this happen organically. Sometimes it feels the harder I try to get something together, the harder I fail to make it happen. But if we just sit back and breathe, something comes along and it surprises me how easy it can be.

(written March 16, 2015)

Resolutions

Happy New Year

So it's a new year and we've decided to climb the local butte as many times as we can. Here's our first of the year. It was a beautiful start. It seems as if the school year is deeply connected with the New Year. I mean, this is the time I read about a lot within the homeschooling community. The time when you're tired, winter is keeping you cooped up, you question what you're doing, blah, blah, blah. Just when we're all ready to start a new year afresh, it's also time to start homeschooling afresh. Get new ideas, get motivated, get out and about. Pump new energy into the daily routine.

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Now, since I'm writing this way later, I can say, our goal of 20+ times up the butte in the year did NOT happen. It ended up more like 8-10 times. I couldn't even keep count accurately as I got bored after the first few times. So, like many homeschooling curriculums or plans, I was excited about the hiking plan, I propagated the hiking plan, tried the hiking plan, and then didn't continue the hiking plan, I just set that plan on the shelf with the other unused curriculum.

(written March 16, 2015)