The Joy of Giving

Giving Together

The girls celebrated their birthdays together this year. We talked with them about having so much in our lives. We asked if they'd be willing to forgo regular gifts and ask invitees to bring donations for our local pet shelter instead. I'm proud that they agreed to do this and it was a great celebration that ended in warm and fuzzy feelings as we donated tons of dog and cat food.

My Mistake

Lead by Mistake

I think it's fun that my kids get to learn from my mistakes, not just their own. Being home with me, most of the time, they are able to see a lot more of my mistakes as I make them.

Today, I left the room while boiling eggs. I completely forgot I was cooking until I heard a loud banging noise. I thought the kids were hitting the wall with a stool or book or... I really couldn't imagine why they were making such a racket. When they yelled through the house that they weren't doing anything, I came to investigate and found my eggs like this. The banging noise I heard? Eggs exploding and popping all over the kitchen.

I am also reminded that even though we all learn through our experiences, we can forget and may need to re-learn some lessons. Things I re-learned today and hope my kids learned too:
1) Always set a timer when working in the kitchen
2) Exploding eggs are very loud and go very far (I was still finding bits and pieces hours later)
3) Forgive yourself for making a mistake you know you should have been able to avoid
4) No one's hurt? Then laugh!

Events Lead Our Learning

 Learning Day by Day

More and more, we are using the events of our days to drive our learning. Unschoolers learn through their natural life experiences, and I'm learning more and more how this type of learning looks as I try to separate from traditional schooling formulas.

The Dalai Lama was invited to speak in our town over 10 years ago and his visit was finally realized a few days ago. We read books on his life, spirituality, exile, and more. We also read about others who have received the Nobel Peace Prize. This event was an exciting opportunity that presented itself and drove our learning for the past few weeks. I continue to enjoy the freedom and flexibility to be able to focus on events happening right now without the fear that something else is being "skipped over" to make room for it.

Moms' Day Out

Follow the Leader

Spring fever is here and any chance we get, we are outside enjoying the sunshine. Today we walked around the local ponds again. This time we went with friends and had a great time looking for turtles. It was great to see a mama duck leading her ducklings in the pond, just as we were leading our "ducklings" around the pond (but to be honest, we didn't really lead our "ducklings" as much as they ran ahead!)

Hallway Walking

Walking the Hallway 


We visited a public middle school today. A friend was filming a project and invited the kids to participate. They had a blast, and while we were there, I snapped a few photos of the movie process. I got a few photos of what may never happen (my kids walking down the hallway with classmates, backpacks on, looking into their lockers...)?

Doing the Heavy Lifting

Physical and Nutritional Education

This year we have tried to be better about P.E. for the kids. Swim lessons, park play when it's nice out, hikes on the weekends, weekly meet-ups at the track... but it is a daunting task when it's so cozy inside with our books and computers. 

Nutrition, although it seems easier to discuss anytime, anywhere, is almost harder to explain. I'm constantly clarifying that food that is baked and not fried still may not be healthy. Is "less bad for you" really "good for you?" I mean, organic doesn't always mean what we think it should mean. So, nutrition always seems to be a lot of consumer awareness education, and not just eat a well rounded meal!

So, it was great to be invited to this field trip to a gym, where a trainer gave us a tour of the gym, weight lifting lessons, and a healthy snack. The kids even got a label reading lesson! It's always great to get information that supports what we're telling the kids on a daily basis.

Spring Fever

The sun is out, and so are we!

It rains a lot where we live, so when the sun shines bright, the whole town comes out to celebrate. We are no different.

The trees are bursting with leaves, the rhododendrons in full bloom, bees buzzing and we are definitely feeling spring fever. It's been hard to concentrate on studies, when the grass is calling for bare feet and the trees are begging to be climbed.

We've enjoyed several days of playing hooky. We know that we aren't in summer yet, so the sunshine can be fleeting. Thus, when it comes out, we call another homeschooling family and head to a local park.

Yay sunshine!