What Are We Going To Do Today?

As the morning was quickly passing us by, I had no real plan for the morning. I was cleaning up my lesson planning for another project and my middle one, kept wanting scissors, tape, glue, etc. As she embarked on her little project, I thought okay, this is how we are going to approach this morning. I laid many different colored construction paper out on the table, scissors and glue. As I anticipated what they were all going to create, their ideas slowly took form. My eldest decided, I guess since we've had the Christmas tree up for two weeks now, it's time to snow. She made, after much frustration, but finally on her own, some snowflakes, which she decorated with markers. My youngest and middle children decided 'glue' was their mode of creativity this morning. My middle child glued and glued she had such a masterpiece of paper and glue at the end I think it weighed ten pounds. My youngest after cutting and gluing some paper, decided that putting glue all over her hands was much more fun and interesting.
Then I had a great idea to tie this snow project in with snack. I made snowflake tortillas and sprinkled them with sugar and cinnamon and others with powdered sugar. I was very impressed with my quick thinking on this one today. They were smelling quite good in the oven, while the girls helped me freeze some fresh parsley. Well somewhere in between, the tortillas burnt. Oh so sad, now what will we have for snack, my eldest said in such dismay, I almost believed that there was nothing in our entire house to eat. Needless to say we never did have the tortillas they went straight to the garbage, but lunch did arrive early.
It was a good day all in all. I love the freedom of homeschooling on days like this. I love the opportunities that arrive, that might otherwise be missed. I love the fact that there is always more to be learned and there are so many ways to learn.
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Seed Unit

We are getting ready to embark on our seed unit of study this week. We have randomly collected some seeds this weekend while we were out and about in nature. Hopefully the rain will stop soon. We are to pick apples one day this week and go on a nature hike to see what kind of treasures we can find. The possiblities are endless with how seeds can be incorporated from cooking, weighing, measuring, and the boundless topics of science, math, language can all be covered with such a unique fall blessing. I will hopefully keep up with the pics and posts to let you know where our seeds take us:)

Our First Field Trip--Our State Capitol

Even though my girls are young, I thought they would enjoy going to visit our state capitol. The pure beauty of the building, the artwork, and detail are just amazing. Sorry to all those who don't live in our state, but the Smithsonian Institute says that we have the most beautiful capitol in all 50 states. It truly is over the top in the decorations let alone all the historical significance that is held within those walls. The representative that took our group around and answered questions, said in his opinion, it truly is a wonder of the world and he feels blessed to be able to work there. The tour itself was a little boring for the girls, with all the talking and not much doing at times. They were enthralled with a high school band and color guard that did an ensemble on the steps in the rotunda. But even at there young age, they new this building was and is something special.

Horse and Buggy Ride

This was a really neat one of a kind experience. We went out to the country on a whim the one morning and decided to find this place where you can go on rides. It was such a unique experience. Our driver was a former Amish person, so the stories he told from his past made the ride that much more special. He was like a lovable grandfather, the girls just adored him. He even let them steer the horse on one of the back rodes. They loved holding the reigns, but boy did they make a fuss about some of the smells they had to endure (since the horse's back end was right in front of them!).

Magnetic Painting

We adventured into the world of magnets. This was part of that unit. I was trying to figure out how to incorporate art and the theme of magnets and this is what I came up with. We used a plastic tray, which I use quite often for individual space during some activities, we have a magnet set with some magnetic wands, a magnet, and some paint. I set the tray on four cans so the children could put the magnetic wand under the plastic tray. It raised the tray high enough to manouver the wand, but was not unstable. We dripped some paint, they chose the colors, unto the paper, put the magnet in the paint. They guided the magnet by moving the wand under the tray and the magic began. They were mezmerized as to how they were painting. All three of my girls REALLY enjoyed doing this, even the two year old.

Our homeschooling journey is off and cruising right along. We've, of course, hit some potholes along the way and some detours, oneway streets, you get the picture, but all in all I am ever so greatful God has given me this desire and He has allowed it to come to fruition.
We went on our first 'homeschool group field trip' last week. We went to our state capitol and to the state museum. It was quite the adventure, but you can't beat real life as a means to teach with and learn from. The girls loved all the over the top exquisite decorations, they did not fully comprehend the historical significance, but they had fun and isn't that what learning is all about. They loved meeting new 'friends' and watching the planitarium show together. The state museum also provided a curiosity center for younger children, which my girls ages 5, 4, and 2 had so much fun. The hands on approach was great. They built trucks, picked carrots and cabbage, drove a truck, played in a life size doll house, and so much more.
I have so many pictures to post. I hope to find the time soon to do this. We are going on another fieldtrip tomorrow to a pretzel factory, where they will get to make a pretzel and to a chocolate factory, where we will get some samples--mmmm!

Exhaustion

Everything seems to be starting at once. Today was my middle daughter's preschool orientation, which I had to bring four children along for the 'ride'. I started watching a little one two days a week, which also started this week. The day overall went well, but now the pure exhaustion of the day is setting in. I haven't even thought about dinner yet!! And I am fighting my eyelids from shutting for more than a quick blink, because this fatigued body will end up on the floor sleeping.
Next week, my daughter actually begins her preschool journey and I start back to my part time job, all in the same day. This is in the midst of homeschooling and babysitting. Not to mention my everyday job of taking care of my own children and keep a house semi clean and functional. I don't want sympathy here, I am just venting is all. I am blessed with a great family and wonderful husband, which makes life a little easier. I just need to remember that I am not super woman nor will I ever be. I just need to do what I can when I can--wow if I could only take my own words and put them into action life would be a whole lot easier.
I feel like this short lived homeschool journey is taking on a 'worksheet' only approach, which in my mind is the farthest thing from how I wanted this to evolve. My daughter loves them and in the chaos of live right now, that is how I feel I am at least helping her learn. We did make homemade banana muffins for her science/math/pure fun activity. She measured all the ingredients and mixed everything together. She even filled a tray of muffin tins. The house smelled delightful and it was perfect timing for our afternoon snack.
Signing off now to go figure out what to make this family for dinner, before I head off to work some hours for my part time job, which hasn't officially started yet.

BLISS on a school day--who would have thought!!!

Okay, what a fun day in the relm of homeschooling. Today we 'exercised' in the pool. It is amazing the journey the girls have taken in the way of water abilities and attitudes since late Spring time 2010. I am so proud of all of them. They have proven to themselves that they can learn to swim, enjoy jumping in, and being splashed (which would have been a pure crime in the eyes of my eldest, who is 5, just a few short months ago). After a morning of this, we then ventured to Hershey Park for the evening.
Once again, fears of the unknown were shattered. Roller coasters were riden, heights were conquered, and pure joy was experienced. We had so much fun together as a family. My only regret is I did not bring my camera to capture these vivid moments, as I always do. They will have to remain memories. The girls did so well tonight, they made us very proud parents.

Unknown, Unplanned, and UnSchooled Journey

Well it's official, we are starting our homeschooling journey. Today I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders as I try to navigate in my head all of the things that should occur, might occur, and won't occur.
The homeschool world out there seems overwhelming and frightening today. The more I am pulled into complete unschooling, the stronger my sense of knowing what to do and how to do it, slithers away.
The journey fascinates me, yet mocks me in my face. I am excited, yet petrified. I know what I am doing, yet I know nothing. All I know is God has called my family to do this and He will guide me through the process. This is alot easier to type and read than to apply and believe.
I really am excited to have started this process. The memories to come, the knowledge to be attained, and the freedom to explore are so enticing its almost intoxicating. I probably will never pick one style completely. At this point, Unschooling will be our base, with project approach and some others mixed in. I feel I need to get not just my feet wet in this process, but completely and utterly soaked in the fullness of what it all entails to be a homeschool mom.
Well girls, hold on tight the rides about to start----wwwwhhhheeee!!!!!

Moses Parts The Red Sea

This was our cute little craft, I'll have to get the site up here of the printouts. We used this with our lesson on how God is always our provider and no matter what our circumstance is we can always go to Him for guidance. The characters depict Moses and his people crossing over the dry ground after God had parted the Red Sea.
My oldest really enjoyed this project. All the pieces to color and glue on the little dolls was right up her alley. My middle daughter liked doing this too, without as much detail. And my youngest who is two, she liked the story and just the coloring the assembly part for her was to intricate.

Fun In The Sun

We are totally taking advantage of this unseasonably warm weather. The girls have been asking to go swimming for the last week with all the warm weather we have been having. I kept putting it off, like a good mother would. Well, this week it got up into the 80's, yes and it is only the beginning of April!! Anyway, my husband hides (and I use this term, since I can't get to the stuff) all the seasonal items in the rafters of our rather large pole building. So I improvised, with no swimming pool in close proximity of my reach, I used an oversized bin. We also added a few other small bins and some dishes, contiainters, etc. The fun was just the same--cooling off on a warm day--you can't really go wrong no matter what items you use. The giggles and laughter were intoxicating. I can't wait for summer to arrive for good!!

Easter Hands

This was the repercussions of painting Easter eggs this year. All 3 girls were dyed with dark shades of reds and purples. They had so much fun getting to this point. Towards the end they just dumped the dye into cups and used their hands to fish out the eggs, hence the colorful fingers, hands, and arms. This looked very stunning Easter morning at church with their fancy Easter dresses on. Oh well, you are only a kid once, so might as well live it up. Although a few of us adults, had some stained hands too. Any suggestions on how to get this off, before Easter church service let me know?

Easter

As Easter approached us, we studied each phase. The triumphal entry, Jesus dying on the cross, and the resurrection. This was our craft for the death of Jesus. The girls talked alot about how it wasn't nice that the men wanted Jesus killed. It was a great lead into talking about why Jesus had to die and how we can ask for forgiveness of our sins so one day we can enter heaven. It was nice listening in on their conversations and take on the whole concept of Easter and what it really means.

This was a creation game that the girls enjoyed playing. We used the book Creation, which is very simple and a very easy read. After reading the story, which they have heard numerous times, I sent them to work on match which day corresponded to what was being created by God on that day. They did really well with this and enjoyed helping the little one with hers.

Maple Sugaring

This is Pennsylvania maple syrup--mmm mmm good.

This was a demonstration, around the colonial era, of how they cooked the sap down into maple syrup.

In this demonstration, the men cooked rocks on an open fire, to heat them up. They then placed them in the cut out log filled with sap. This is how the American Indians would have cooked down the sap.

You can see the jug attached to the tree. It is partially filled with the sap.

It takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to get 1 gallon of maple syrup.

This was a Maple Sugaring event that we went to at a local state park. Talk about a great find. For $1 per person, we were given a grand tour and demonstration of how the maple sugaring process works and the history behind it. The girls also participated in a taste testing and craft time. Then at the end, we all got pancakes with you guessed it maple syrup drizzled on top. It was a very educational activity, but oh so much fun. My middle daughter even got to help 'tap' a tree. The girls were so impressed with this activity. We extended it at home with making books (which still aren't done, thanks to me), hopefully they will be done by next maple sugar season--haha.

Sadie and the Snowman

This was our second bout of snow back in the beginning of February 2010, before the real snow came--over 50 some inches!! Anyway, we had been reading the book Sadie and the Snowman over and over again this winter. Absolutely love this book and so do the girls. The girls were so excited when it snowed and we got to create our own snowman. It ended up being a day in the low 40's and enjoyed making a snowman with very little bundling in the way of scarves, mittens, hats, etc. The girls chose what to accessorize him with. Chocolate chip cookies for the eyes and buttons, licorice for the smile, and a healthy choice a carrot for the nose. They decided he wasn't quite complete until he had scarf, hat, and arms. They endearingly named him Mr. Frosty. It was so much fun. I think I had just as much or even more fun then they did. They also enjoyed snacking on the goodies while creating him.

Snow Garden

The weather has been absolutely beautiful this past weekend. We didn't get out to actually enjoy it too much, so yesterday afternoon the girls and I decided to have an afternoon snack picnic. This is what ended up becoming of our snack picnic, a snow garden. I was cleaning up some left over fall flower bed debris, when they decided to use it to plant. They took the stalks and meticulously dug a hole in the snow and planted each one. By the time they had finished, there were over 25 stalks planted in our left over snow. They had such a wonderful time. The idea of not having to wear bulky hats, mittens, and coats, yet still play in the snow was an overwhelmingly joyous occasion. It also made me crave the arrival of spring to start our 'real' garden, which by the looks of it they will be very enthusiastic!!

Weather Chart

This is how we keep track of the weather every day. As posted earlier, someone keeps track of the what day it is, the other person gets to check the weather. We are very technical, we just look out the window and post the appropriate card. I made sun, snow, rain, partly cloudy/sunny, and cloudy. I use the sticky tack to adhere these to the back of our bar. I don't think my husband had this in mind when he built it, but it works out great for us and it is the perfect kid height also. At the end of the month, we have a visual graph of what weather we had the most and least of throughout. As you can see, we had a whole lot of snow, which more is coming as I write this.

calendar

We have been using this system for over 3 years now. The first chart is the months of the year. I have a little pink bear that they move to indicate which month it is. The middle chart is the days of the week. One of them gets a chance to move the arrow to the corresponding day, every morning (or at least when I remember to do it, sometimes right before bed). The next chart is a calendar with large numbers written on it. It too has the month and year at the top, which is changed accordingly every month. They also get to cross of the day. I just created these, printed them off, and then laminated them. I use sticky tack to keep the arrow, bear, and month adhered to the laminated paper, works wonderfully. We use dry erase markers on them, which doesn't always want to come off completely, using a Mr Clean Magic Eraser, works great. Hope this is a helpful idea.

Balloons and Laundry Baskets

Who knew that a few balloons (found earlier this morning) and 2 laundry baskets could be so much FUN?? The girls started off wanting their balloons blown up. They tossed them around and played catch. While I was folding the laundry, hence , why there were "empty" laundry baskets ( a rare almost undocumented occurrence at our house) available, the girls decided to confiscate them. The giggles, laughter, and just pure excitement that ensued almost made me want to jump in on the action. They kept themselves entertained for quite some time. It was nice just to see pure imagination at its best. They pulled the baskets, pushed them, loaded them, and just plain enjoyed them. I love being the mother of three unconventional girls!!

More

Be More
Become More
Do More
Devote More
Encounter More
Encourage More
Feed More
Feel More
Give More
Grow More
Heal More
Heed More
Live More
Love More
Matter More
Mean More
See More
Sow More
Tell More
Trust More
Value More
Virtue More
Yearn More
Yield More
More of You Less of Me

Hhhhmmm, God Sees It Differently--Answer From Above

God is a God of wonder. I had a vision set before me to collect Hati relief kits. This was to be set up for children to do with their parents, as a hands on approach to helping someone in need. For a few weeks the children were read a book, that I created, about the catastophe in Haiti. They colored pictures about Haiti, to familiarize themselves with a people of another culture. The response was slow, but none the less a few kits were collected. I felt very discouraged. I had a vision of enourmous response and enthusiasm, hhhhmmm, God saw it differently. I then was led to pose this idea to another church, once again the response was luke warm. I didn't not want to head the campaign up, but others had duties they already needed to fulfill. Hhhhhhmmmm, God saw it differently. I organized the campaign, in the midst of the other campaign. I am still collecting some kits to date. The response still is not what I thought God had called me to organize. Hhhhhmmmmm, God saw it differently. I just received an email earlier to let me know how my efforts have influenced others. There is a ripple effect going on in the midst of my discouragment that I didn't even know about. As some women's groups are hearing about what I am doing with the Children's Ministry, they are collecting and campaigning on their own. Some are now taking it to larger groups with in their church and possibly into their local communities as well. Hhhhhmmm God sees it differently!!! What a suprise blessing! God is good.

Lave Lamp

Warm water was placed in a clear glass vase first. Then we added oil. The food coloring was added next. I didn't get a picture before we started, so this was the second batch of food coloring added. After you put in the food coloring, you sprinkle salt on top. As the salt sinks to the bottom it pulls the food coloring drops down with it. Causing them to mix with the water. It was a really neat effect. There is about 3 inches of water, 1/3 cup of oil, then food coloring as desired.

Math Blocks

This is another example of how a pattern was created, this one is by my oldest daughter. She then drew the shapes corresponding to her pattern above.

Math Blocks

We got out some blocks this morning. She made a pattern with the blocks first and then she decided to trace the shapes to draw what she had made. This activity worked on shapes, patterns, color correspondence, drawing, tracing and so much more.

Bubble Popper

This doesn't look like much via the picture, but it was fun. We mixed vinegar, water, and baking soda together. The bag was then sealed and placed in the bath tub (I wasn't sure what kind of mess we would encounter). We waited and waited and waited some more. Finally, when we thought we couldn't wait any longer it exploded. The girls loved it--laughed and giggled--who does that in science class and gets a high five!! This was a pretty cool experiment to do. Ours took a little longer, because I used a quart bag instead of a sandwich size bag and didn't adjust the amount of ingredients used. A lesson learned :)

Sorting Beads

We embarked on a sorting activity today. My first daughter did this activity by sorting the beads by shape. Her interest did not stay very long. My second daughter sorted them by color. She worked and worked on this activity, until the bowl was empty. The girls then drew their findings on paper.

Guitar Birthday Cake

Guitar Cake
This was a cake I made back in December for my daughter's five year birthday. It was my first super challenging cake. She was very happy with the outcome, so I was pleased!!

rainbow cake

Rainbow Cake
I got this idea, once again, from almostunschoolers.blogspot. They used it as a science project. I thought the idea was great and used it with the Hannah Montanna birthday cake. The kids (and adults) loved seeing all the colors when I cut into the cake, it was like a hidden suprise under all that icing. I didn't take a picture of the process. It is really quite simple. Divide the pre made cake batter into bowls, you will need a seperate bowl for each color that you want to use. Add food coloring to the batter, then plop it into the cake pan, one color on top of the next. Mine seemed to want to go off center in the pan, I would just shake it gently back into place and it worked just fine.

Hannah Montanna Cake

Hannah Montanna Birthday Cake
Here is the infamous cake. I really didn't want to do Hannah Montanna, but my 4 year old kept on insisting that is what she wanted, so I did the least version of it as possible, yet in her eyes still pass for a Hannah Montanna cake. She really liked it so I guess it was a success. The cake part was actually a rainbow effect, I forgot to take a picture when we cut through it. The kids and adults loved it.

Care Bear Cake

It's hard for me to believe, but this was from one year ago. Tonight I will be presenting her with a Hannah Montanna cake (not that I like her very much or that my daughter knows much about her). It's always nerve racking for me. Will they like it, is it what they imagined...etc? She loved this cake at her 3rd birthday. It was from a mold, which I will never do again. I like the freedom of forming my own creations. I am not a cake artist for sure, but my mom always made homemade cakes for us growing up and I want to carry on the legacy.

Snow Pictures

This was another snow bound activity that we did. I gave the girls each a blue, white, green, brown
sheet of paper. Instead of using scissors, which it seems we do alot of these days, we tore
the paperand glued it to create unique snow scences. They wanted me to work with them, but I waited
a little while after they had begun, to start. Otherwise, my 5 year old, would want to do
exactly what I was doing. I wanted them each to capture their fun experiences that they were
having in the snow on paper. They each incorporated something about sledding down the big hill.
By the way, the green is the top of trees and the brown is their trunks.