Oink oink

What am I supposed to do with 30+ pictures of the piggies on my phone? 

Adventuring

I need some Vitamin Nature immediately!! So I made an emergency stop at a park.

These pesky kids were not happy about my spontaneous stop at the park.

After I threatened to stay 5 extra minutes for every complaint, they  entertained themselves by interfering with my pictures. Teens are so much fun.

Then they decided to play with their sisters. Love watching the bigs kids having fun with the littles.

Origami & Laundry

I bought a fun book of animal origami. My kids loved it. 

But some of it was above their ability level and they wanted me to fold many little paper critters for them. 

So we came up with a plan- they folded laundry (something they would have had to do anyways) while I folded origami. 

Win-Win.

Soccer game & playing at the rec center

A Very Merry Unbirthday to You!

Alice in Wonderland has been running our life lately. Which, of course, means a meandering tea party that moves from room to room leaving messes in its wake. 

Sick Kids

It seems like we've been stuck in a perpetual cycle of ick. 

It seems like sickness has been going round & round these 5 germ magnets.

It seems like *maybe* everyone is better.

Hanging out with Dad

Valentine's Party

I like to host a Valentine's Party every year. The kids (and some parents) recite a poem of their choice and then the kids exchange valentines. It's my favorite activity each year.

Project Fun

   

Olivia - I *love* how Olivia draws people.

Jolie

Nyah

Sophie

I had fun with the girls' rejected gingerbread men bodies. My follow-the-rules-kids were having panic attacks.  

Rain rain rain

Homeschool Fall 2015

AUSTIN - 14 - 9th Grade

Seminary

Math- CTC Math and Math for Life, a class through our commonwealth school using the book Mathematician's Are People, Too. 

English- Reading, writing, and discussing through an Argumentation class he's taking at a friend's house. 

History- World War I class through our commonwealth school. I'm mentoring this class- we are reading The Yanks Are Coming & doing simulations and hands-on activities in class. We started with the Marshmallow Challenge. I'll also probably have Austin read World War I: The Rest of the Story and How it Affects You Today and watch documentaries on Netflix or Amazon. 

Tech- He's taking another Java/Minecraft programming class through My Tech High.

Aeronautics & Motorsports- When I talked with Austin about what he's really interested in and passionate about, airplanes and fast cars were at the top of his list. This frees up more of his time to focus on Civil Air Patrol and practice flying with a flight simulator program. We're still working on how to incorporate motorsports, but attending the Pirelli World Challenge near here last month was a good start. And I think I'll throw in some physics, too.

High Adventure- Another class at our commonwealth school that is helping the kids earn boy scout merit badges.

Ballroom Dance

NYAH - 13 - 8th Grade

Math- CTC Math

Medieval Art & History- This is a class through a new-to-us co-op. The teacher is using History Odyssey: The Middle Ages and I did not realize how intense the reading & writing were going to be. I must have paid more attention to the hands-on part of the class description rather than the warning about the amount of reading and writing. So I'm feeling a little anxious about it, but so far Nyah is doing great. I found most of the books, including a couple of the more "textbook" type books on Librivox, so she's been listening up a storm and I've adjusted the rest of the work to better meet her abilities. It's definitely going to be a challenge!

Shakespeare Conquest- Nyah's 2nd year taking this through our commonwealth school. In the last 24 hours she's already read, watched, & listened to 10 plays and is hoping to be High Queen by doing 17 before anyone else in her class. 

More plays- One thing Nyah definitely wanted to do this year is be in more plays! She is currently playing a pirate in a local production of Peter Pan Jr. It's already been a huge growing experience. She didn't get the part she wanted {drama drama drama} and it took a week or two of pep talks and attitude adjustments, but now she's excited and really having a great time at rehearsals. Performances in October for anyone who is interested. 

High Adventure & Quilting- Nyah is also taking the merit badge class at our commonwealth and she's taking a quilting class too.  

Ballroom Dance & Gymnastics

OLIVIA - 8 - 3rd Grade
JOLIE - 7 - 2nd Grade
SOPHIE - 5 - Kindergarten

Olivia's school this year is all about brain health. She's recently been doing neuro-cognitive testing again (every 3 years) and she also had an appointment with a neuro-opthamologist about her light sensitivity and migraines. And I fell in love with this online article: Reading Readiness Has To Do With The Body this summer. The results? 

• Daily Exercise- strength exercises, and swimming, biking, hiking, fitness classes at rec center- it has to happen every day!!
• Meditation- Sitting Still Like a Frog
• Memorization- Poetry & Hand Clapping
• Better Sleep- We were really lazy this summer! Late bedtimes, good-bye bedtime routine, tv before bed- all that needs to change to help Olivia (all of us!) sleep better. 
• Food- making sure she's getting healthy fats and proteins to support her brain growth. 

{These are things that we will be focusing on as a family- we can all use healthier habits & brains! This is probably my favorite part of homeschooling - we do so much together! While Nyah is listening to Shakespeare, we all get a dose of Shakespeare. When Austin & I discuss books, everyone listens and chimes in or asks questions. When we go to Jolie's riding lesson, everyone loves spending time with the horses & barn cats- even the big kids who try to convince us they are too cool to be there. When we listen to Olivia's meditation cd in the car, everyone benefits from it. It's so much fun!}

Olivia's commonwealth classes- Gymnastics, Young Explorers, Horse Club, Math/Science, & Standing Tall. Jolie's commonwealth classes- Daughters of Virtue, Horse Club, Math/Science, and Free Play. Sophie's commonwealth classes- Young Explorers, Horse Club, Grab Bag of Fun, and Free Play. I'm teaching the Horse Club- guess who twisted my arm to do it? 

We attend commonwealth on Fridays, so during our learning time on the other days we will be playing games- Sleeping Queens & Battleship are favorites right now- and working on reading more fluently. Our family membership to CTC Math means everyone has an account, so maybe they'll do that as well. Plus nature walks and art afternoons. And mom reading aloud a bunch. And laying in the grass watching the clouds go by. 

Park Day with Friends

Gymnastics

End of semester:

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Trying to catch up: The play was wonderful! The kids were awesome, the play was awesome, and it's taken about a month to recover :)

Fun Outside

Who needs a playground?

Why are you climbing the fence? 

To watch the baby ducks

Why are you playing in the weeds? 

To catch ladybugs

Home

What did we do while they were gone?