Growing Borax Snowflakes!

In science the past couple of weeks we have been learning about weather; solids, liquids & gases; and crystals. I thought I'd combine them all with a cool experiment on growing our very own crystal snowflakes! These grow overnight, as apposed to other crystal making kits out there.

Check it the directions at http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/boraxsnowflake.htm We had so much fun...isn't that what school is supposed to be? :)

Tip: If you want the snowflakes to be colored, you have to add a lot of food coloring. We added a couple drops to each and the water appeared dark, but the crystals came out only slightly colored. My camera doesn't show the detail very well. These are much prettier in person!

33 Reasons we HEART homeschooling!

In no particular order, here is the rundown of the myriad of blessings received by homeschooling:

1. I get to BE with my treasures for 24 hours a day (may not sound great to some, but it IS!).
2. My kids get to learn at their own pace, encouraging one to press on or one to slow down.
3. My kids get to study things that really interest them in depth.
4. We are dependent upon one another and that makes us a strong family.
5. The bond between siblings becomes amazingly strong as they achieve together.
6. Kids learn how to learn and how to teach, by helping younger siblings.
7. I get to see the joy of new discoveries everyday.
8. I get the opportunity to be the one who comforts during disappointments.
9. I get the blessing of choosing wonderful literature to read to my children each day and push by the wayside the many books that schools engage which are so detrimental to true growth.
10. Learning while snuggling on a cozy sofa or bed, it doesn't get better than that!
11. Working anytime of day we choose.
12. Going to school in our jammies some days!
13. Take school outdoors, grab our books, a picnic blanket and study in the sunshine, fresh air, and sounds of nature all around us.
14. Go on field trips that interest us, especially when public schools are in session so it's not crowded.
15. Go just about anywhere, anytime, especially family vacations, during seasons when places are not crowded at all!
16. Creating a curriculum each year that the whole family enjoys learning.
17. Educational vacations or outings can be counted as school time.
18. I get to hone my skills in patience with my sweet ones while teaching them.
19. Having WAY MORE family time than most, and everyday together is family time!
20. Sweet Pea says homeschooling is great because you get to be with your mom!
21. Pun'kin Head says homeschooling is great because he loves to do lots of projects and experiments!
22. No standing at a cold bus stop on dark mornings!
23. We usually finish all bookwork by lunchtime!
24. NO HOMEWORK!
25. Opportunity for interaction with Godly friends and it's easier to avoid negative influences.
26. No need to stress over back-to-school shopping.
27. Kids are not subjected to a peer group of thirty other kids that have the same lack of skills in judgment that they do.
28. We have the ability to select those adult mentors we want for our children, sorry to say, but not all teachers out there enjoy teaching.
29. Keeping our little ones close by until they are emotionally ready to be separated from us and not at age four or five.
30. We have much more time to instill Godly principles in our children each day.
31. We have more time to focus on teaching our children how to know and worship God.
32. Allowing our kids to be KIDS and not working an eight to ten hour day like they will be soon enough!
33. Their daddy was homeschooled and he is a brilliant, compassionate, and successful man of God! It is my greatest hope that they turn out to be just like him :)

Poetry of Robert Frost

Having grown up in Derry, NH, I am well-versed in the life and poetry of Robert Frost. His farmhouse was only a short bike ride from my parents house and is now a museum and memorial to his life and works. I used to love to go for rambles in the woods, on his farm property, that lead out to a clearing where the entire little village can be seen below. He taught English at Pinkerton Academy in the early 1900's, the high school I graduated from in 1992. For a man who suffered so much loss in his life, he definitely still enjoyed the beauty of God's creation and saw even the simplest acts of rural life as pleasant.

The past two weeks we studied the poetry of Robert Frost and specifically Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. I am impressed that my Sweet Pea (age 6) can now narrate it by heart. If you're not familiar with Five In A Row check it out at www.fiar.com. It is a Charlotte Mason style curriculum and there are so many great resources in their forums to glean from.

Here's what we studied:
~The life of Robert Frost
~Rural New England life in the early 20th century
~Farm life and duties of a farmer
~Inventions that were created during his almost 90 years of life and how they were helpful to man.
~Vocabulary of poetry ie hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, personification, metaphoric language, personification, rhythm, rhyme and repetition.
~The beautiful illustrations by artist Susan Jeffers, art medium and style, viewpoint, mood, detail and history. Then created some of our own art interpretations. We also looked up all the species of birds, that Susan Jeffers so beautifully illustrated, in our field guides, utilizing reading and following alphabetical order.
~Read other winter stories and studied hibernation of animals. Created a hibernation den with some stuffed animals.

We had so much fun and I hope to continue to instill in them a love for reading and recitation of great poetry!

Homeschool Field Trip: Fire Station

Nature Studies

Our collection of treasures
Soaking in the fragrant lilacs
Pun'kin Head digging nature
Sweet Pea releases her ladybugs she raised
Killdeer nest and egg discovery!
Scooping up creek specimens
Scoping out the pond life
Spying on the geese



Appreciating God's creation is a huge part of our homeschooling experience. Our kids have always enjoyed going on nature hikes and exploring for nature treasures. We have always kept nature journals. It's a great way to engage kids who normally see writing or drawing as a chore. There is a new found excitement when making a journal entry about something discovered first hand. We tend to be out and about more during the warmer months, but fall and winter is a great time for studying nature, as more animals come out of hiding in search of food and local birds are easier to spy in trees that have shed their leaves. Here are a few of our favorite snaps of enjoying nature.

Last Day Of Fall Co-op

Pun'kin Head's Drawing Class
Sweet Pea's Cartwheel!
Working the beam!
Stretch it out!
Sweet Pea's favorite: Arts & Crafts
Pun'kin Head's attempt to bring it to the hoop
He's got skills!

Our fall homeschool co-op has come to an end :( The kids had much fun at their art and phys.ed. classes we selected. The last class they allow parents to observe and take photos. Here are a few shots of the day.

SUPER STUDENT BUCKS !

There are times throughout the school year when the newness of learning wears off and school can seem a chore like anything else. We all need motivation to complete the task at hand. At the end of last year, as the weather began to finally warm up, the kids were tired of the nagging mama/teacher and just wanted to go outside.
Our kids are blessed being homeschooled. They can do their work at their own pace, according to their schedule, and study what interests them. They don't have to rise when it's dark and stand at a chilly bus stop. They don't have evening homework to complete. Once their studies are done, they are free to play and have fun the rest of the day.
Because they don't know any different, they don't always appreciate these blessings. Instead of focusing on the constant threats of punishments for not doing their best work, I came up with a reward system to motivate them. We have been using the Super Student Buck system for about six months and it has been quite effective. At the end of each lesson time, the kids and I determine whether or not their did their best and used a positive attitude (which is the most important to me). If they feel they have, they receive a Super Student Buck. If not, they must wait until the next school day and try harder to earn one. After they receive five bucks, they can cash them in for a coupon. Their favorite coupons are A Date With Dad, Fun Time With Mom, 30 bonus video game minutes, 30 bonus stay up minutes, Play Date With A Friend, One Free Movie Rental etc...
It has been a good lesson to learn that they have control over earning rewards and that their progress and positive attitudes are worthy of tangible rewards. They are very often harder on themselves when it comes to determining if they receive or not. It's within their control and there are no arguments to be had. And Mama no longer needs to nag! :)

Homeschooling Bliss

This is one of the many reasons we love homeschooling. It doesn't get much better than this. Who can resist a snuggle-buddy when solving mathematical equations? :)

Homeschooling with Lapbooks: The Cricket In Times Square

For the past few weeks we have enjoyed reading The Cricket In Times Square. We created lapbooks that showcase some of what we have learned. My kids love lapbooks. They really help to cement the concepts of each story and they then have their own personal reference for their favorite books. Among the things we researched were Times Square New York (check out the web for live web cam and history on TS); Chinese culture and language, we made our own Chinese food and practiced writing Chinese symbols. Although there is no Chinese alphabet in existence, we found a cool site with what could be Chinese lettering and practiced translating and decoding messages to each other. Pun'kin Head was so inspired, he created his own secret letters and made a copy for his best buddy so they can send each other messages! We also studied crickets, their habitats and character traits. My bug-loving girl even created her own cricket cage with a rubber cricket (it's actually a grasshopper!) she had in her collection, complete with the bell for him to ring, just like Chester. My boy is anti-bugs, but did participate in our attempt to trap and catch a cricket of our very own. We had been hearing one in our basement for the past month, so we found an idea online. Take a small, empty water bottle, pour a couple teaspoons of juice in the bottom and place on it's side, without the cover, of course. Place outside near basement windows or inside on the floor. For some reason, the crickets will go in but become confused and cannot find their way out. We didn't succeed in a capture, much to Pun'kin Head's relief, but we did catch quite a large family of ants! We also became familiar with big city maps, subway systems and utilizing a compass rose. Most days, while working, we listened to some of the great classical composers of music that Chester played for all of NYC. As with each book we read, the characters become a part of our family and will not soon be forgotten. But we look ahead to next week and the next adventure we will go on together as we read a new book! :)

It's Harvest Time!

Since I was a kid, I've always loved Autumn the best of all seasons. I was the rare kid who loved that back-to-school feeling and buying school supplies. It must be the writer in me, because I could spend lots of money in stores like Office Max or Staples. I'm in awe of all the good smelling paper and cool pens. I especially love harvest time in Upstate New York. The leaves are beautiful and the apples are the best. All summer, my kids, who are big apple connoisseurs, complain about the yucky, old apples that are at the store. I keep saying, not much longer til harvest time and apples a plenty, apples galore! Well, this morning we braved the rain and went on our first homeschool field trip to the apple farm. Yay! After waiting for about an hour for the skies to clear, we finally went on a hayride and picked some apples. I've never seen so many kids willingly choose apples for a snack, but every one had at least one, fresh off the tree. Yum!

Homeschooling with Mini Offices

My incredible, homeschooling mom of four, sister in law, Rebecca, turned me on to mini offices last year! They have been such a blessing. They allow all of us to work at the same table without all of the distractions siblings can bring. They also have saved a lot of tears over having to look up common words that one has forgotten how to spell, math facts, parts of speech etc... We filled ours with colorful charts and helping hints. One side for math and one side for reading/language arts stuff, so it's reversible. We are thinking about making another one for science and social studies. Just google mini offices, the ideas are endless. To make, just take two or three file folders (depending on how big you want it) and glue or tape your hints onto it, then I recommend using clear packing tape to tape the folders together at the seams. Here's what ours look like: Enjoy!