Can I tell you how good it felt to see my oldest son (8) teaching the 4 year old adding and subtracting with teddy bear counters???? I didn't ask him to do that. He just saw she wanted to do math and stepped right in to help her. I ran to get the camcera before anyone moved. It is good to catch them doing something sweet!
Son (8) has learned the art of multi-tasking...
Yes, that is daughter (1) who feel asleep on his lap. She falls alseep so easy for him...even when he is doing math!
I belong to a couple of homeschool groups but this one is my favorite. The moms are so nice and the kids are really kind, sweet children. We meet once a month for various activitities. Sometimes we plan field trips and stuff like that. This month was Game Day where all the children brought some games and puzzles. I think this activity is my favorite because the kids can just hang out and enjoy eachother.
This is what the baby does during all of these "adventures"...she was so exhausted when she got in the car from all the entertainment-she was nodding off as I buckled her in the carseat.
The boys take basketball at the Y.
What does homeschooling really look like with a little one underfoot...
Sometimes we sit at the table and she sits in her high chair but lately, it's easier to sit on the floor with the baby just entertaining herself. She is pretty quiet and happy as long as she as with the group.
Here is son (6) working on reading with his Phonics Pathways book AND the batman mask he made himself.
The joy of spending sweet time with a baby...
Can you stand a few more ballet pictures?
An unlikely combination. However, I am finding that these Little People and all their accessories come in very handy when acting out stores. Since they are laying all over the floor it is even easier!
Today we were studying the Tabernacle (in our Mystery of History book) and I decided "hey, let's make a Tabernacle!". So, the boys got the sheet and the chairs and made a tablernacle. Uh-oh, what are we going to do for all the pieces that go inside of the Tabernacle??? Little People to the rescue!
Here are some of our quick and simple "hands on learning" of the Tabernacle. We talked about each piece and how it is a foreshadowing of Jesus. I'm posting a few pictures not because they are anything very impressive but just to share how you really can grab a few ordinary things and have an extraordinary lesson!
Tabernacle
Israelistes
The Altar of Sacrifice
The Lavar
The Altar of Incense
The Table of Shewbread
The Golden Lampstand
The Ark of the Covenant which holds the Ten Commandments (2 rocks), Aaron's rod (a twig) and mana (pasta).
My daughter (4) has a new love. It is ballet. I signed up for ballet class and hoped that it was going to work out. She LOVES it! LOVES it! I have to admit, I really enjoy watching the class. There are mirrors in the room and whenever I catch my reflection in the mirror, I am smiling. Something too cute about little ballerinas! The boys (8,5) sit and watch also (homeschoolers travel in packs!). They think it is so cute. I asked them if they wanted to take the class and they said "NO WAY!!!!!!!". (hee hee) The baby (8 months) also loves the class. She sits in the stroller and bounces herself up and down, smiling the whole time. So, a few pictures of ballet class.
Meredith, at this blog, http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/sweetness_and_light/2006/06/lavender_lace_a.html
posted about her beautiful tea party. My daughter (4) is so interested in tea parties and princesses. I decided to suggest it to our homeschool group. I figured maybe a few girls would like to attend. Clearly, I don't know much about girls. About 35 girls wanted to attend and I landed up with a waiting list!!!!
I was originally thinking about having the party at my house but with those number, uh, maybe not. We were very blessed to have the library let us use their room.
I'm really not a "party person" and was starting to worry WHY did I ever think this was a good idea???? Another mom in the group is so talented with hospitality/parties/people and she volunteered to give me a hand. She just had a bridal shower in her home for 120 people and told me the tea party was "no sweat". Ok, glad someone thinks like that and better yet, glad we are freinds!
All the girls dressed up. Some of the moms dressed up. I myself was all dressed up and my husband took a picture of me. You will not find the picture here because I have learned that light blue is NOT my color.
Here are a few photos of the tea party.
We had story time for the princesses.
Group photo. This is NOT all of the kids! Many of them just ran away or didn't want to be a in a picture.
