Winter, sort of

Winter has been odd this year. We've had lots a grey days, lots of rain, and cool weather, but very little snow. We've had a dusting about 3 times - that's it. It's hard to play outside in the winter when it's just wet, muddy, and cold but there's no fun snow to play in. We're all getting a little stir crazy and ready for spring. Still we've had lots of fun. 

Orson started Sunbeams this year! He loves going to Primary and carrying his little scripture bag. Normally when you ask him what he learned he replies, "Um, Jesus!" But today he ran up waving his picture and telling me, "The girl was sick and then Jesus made her bedder." 

Cute boys ready for church! 

Orson has reached the dress up stage, so we've had lots of fun dressing up! I love that all of my kids love to dress up and imagine. Orson's current favorites are pirates, builder guys, and Batman. One day we made Knight shields because Orson wanted to be like Mike the Knight. Even Haley gets roped in to the dress up fun sometimes.

That face says it all!

I made his knight shield from cardboard the the helmet from a milk carton. It turned out pretty amazing I think!

When we can't get out to exercise, the kids like to do a kid's yoga on YouTube. Orson sometimes joins me too!

We have had quite a few nice days mixed in here and there. The older girls have been having me design obstacle course for them at the playground. They like me to time them and try and beat their own times.

We've had some general silliness...

Completely off topic, but these boys are SO cute in overalls...

The girls and I have kept our monthly hiking tradition going for the most part. We caught a beautiful day for a hike in January. There was SO much mud though.

That day the boys stayed home with Michael and he got this adorable shot of them in the backyard. I can't handle how cute they are sometimes! When they're not terrorizing the house that is.

Around Valentine's Day the girls made this heart themed fun house in the basement. It was cute and the "photo booth" part was a big hit. 

Somehow I'm the only one that wore the silly clothes for the picture. 

We finished up our Astronomy unit for science so we went to the Planetarium. We also started a hydroponic garden for Hazel's science fair project. Sadly shortly after this picture they all died so we had to scrap that idea and try something else.

One cold day Conrad wanted to go outside. He brought me his coat and then rushed to the door. He was mad I wouldn't let him go out like this...

We've had a few bumps and bruises. Poor Lenora was all wound up one night when the missionaries came for dinner. She was running full speed down the hall and jumping on to a bean bag. One time she got too close to the wall though and smacked her face on the wall. She had a huge bruise for a few weeks. Shortly after that Conrad fell on our driveway and scraped up his face.

One day for school we made salt water taffy which actually turned out pretty good. The kids loved pulling it. The faces Lenora made while she was pulling it were priceless!

Of course, we've spent a lot of time at the library and reading. Even Conrad is learning to love books! On one of our trips, Orson was adamant about wearing shin guards and these science goggles. Whatever floats your boat kid.

Friday night our ward had a fun activity where people were supposed to share a hobby or talent. Michael made an instructional video about smoking pork and brought some samples. Eliza decided she needed to bring her chicken! Who knew chickens went to church?

Just a few more random pictures. Orson may look exactly like Michael, but he did inherit my dimple! 

 

Since we've given up hoping for a real snow we're just ready for spring. And I think it's close. Already we've seen some daffodils blooming and the grass is starting to green up (though let's be honest, Kentucky has pretty green grass all year round. That's something we love here.) I guess our snow dreams will have to wait until next year...

100 Days of Homeschool

The last day of January also marked our 100th day of homeschooling! I thought I'd share how it's going. 

Overall, we are loving homeschooling! The girls love how much they are learning, having a ton of time to read, not having to rush out the door in the mornings, not riding the bus, and having more say in what, when, and how they learn. I love being engaged in their education, seeing them progress, not packing lunches, having so much more time with the kids, and the language arts program we are using. 

Everyone's favorite subject is science. So far we've studied the Human Body and Space. Right now the older girls are working on science fair projects for our co-op Science Fair, and then we'll move on to Marie Biology. 

Making models of the spine and blood: 

Play-dough models of the brain:

Orson goofing around:

Triton Saturn's moon art:

Marshmallow Constellations:

We alternate science with social studies. This year we spent 6 weeks learning about Kentucky then moved on to learning a bit about each state. We made dioramas of Kentucky habitates which was a blast. (Orson's includes a dinosaur which is what he wanted to sculpt).

Hazel's fox Mama and babies

As I mentioned above I love our Language Arts Curriculum. It called the Good and the Beautiful and it really is good and so beautiful. It uses great literature and art to bring joy, beauty, and high moral values to language learning. Already I'm seeing what a positive impact it's had on my kids.

Preschool painting

Illustrated story by Eliza

Poem by Hazel

Poem by Eliza

One of the other things we've loved is the freedom! If the weather is especially beautiful we might eat at the park or meet up with friends. In the fall, we formed a small co-op with friends at church. One of the mom's was a former Waldorff teacher and she hosted some Waldorff celebrations. For a Fall celebration we made Dragon bread, and at the Winter celebration the kids made lanturns then walked around the neighborhood singing songs about light, symbolic of lighting our inner lights to guide us through the long, cold winter.

Dragon Bread

Sadly they aren't homeschooling this semester so we joined another co-op instead. It's been run to meet more people outside of church and for the kids to play with other kids once a week. Plus, they do some fun field trips!

While we love homeschool there are things that are hard. For one thing, keeping the younger kids busy and out of trouble can be tricky, especially with Mr. Curious Conrad. I guess he's just learning too?

Sensory Play

Practicing the Piano

Water Beads all over the kitchen - cause and effect

Another things that's hard is never having a break. The kids are always home! Having everyone home all the time and learning also makes for a lot more messes. Some days we do great following our chore charts and picking up as we go, and other days it looks like a bomb went off in here. I sometimes long for a quiet moment just to relax or read. While it's exhausting, I wouldn't want to trade the awesome memories I'm making with my kids for anything. When it's gotten to be too much, Michael has been great about taking them for half a day Saturday or what not so I can have some down time.

Yoga on a rainy day to help get some energy out

How about being the Relief Society President and homeschooling? Again, some days are tough. I try not to take RS calls or messages during the day. Sometimes I use the kids recess to make a few calls. If something truly time sensitive comes up, I try my best to pass it off to a counselor. Then if there are still things I need to do, I'll spend a bit of time after school while the kids play.

Obviously I can't make many visits for RS, but I'm learning that often that's okay. When a visit is truly important, the Lord has blessed me with a way to be there at the right time. For example, a sister in our ward was diagnosed with breast cancer. It took me almost 2 weeks from her initial diagnosis to get up there and see her. I had wanted to go much sooner, but it just didn't work out. Then while I was there visiting she received a call from her doctor with her final diagnosis. I was there to listen while she talked through things then help a bit with the kids while she processed. I left feeling touched that Heavenly Father got me there exactly when I needed to be there, even if it wasn't what I would have wanted. I'm learning that He will take care of things and magnify my efforts in incredible ways.

One thing I worried a lot about was that homeschooling would limit my opportunities to serve during the day. Once and a while it has, but overall I've still been blessed with chances to help and cheer others. I've still watched kids from time to time or given rides. If something arises that can involve the kids, we finish up school a bit early or take a lighter day and go serve. I thought I'd feel guilty about that, but I don't in the slightest. After all, education is certainly more then learning from books, and what greater lesson can they learn than service.

For our 100th day of school we had a little celebration. We actual had the art field trip that morning, then we made 100th day necklaces and wrote about what we'd be like when we are 100 years old. I'm thankful we made the switch to homeschooling. The positives have been even better than we imagined, and some of the negatives haven't been as hard as I thought they would be.