Monday, February 27, 2012

AP

Fern has started working on her Word Families! She is so excited! It is wonderful!

So I made Fern some cards to make some of the AP words and then after she had sounded them out she showed me the words!




















She came up with all of these by herself I was just the photographer!



And Leili wanted in on the fun too!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

As a family we are learning about the Civil War era, slavery, and Abraham Lincoln. Mostly through out loud reading, it is amazing to me how much the kids absorb when I read aloud verses other learning!


We scored this week at Goodwill and found a mostly complete set of Lincoln Logs! The kids have been building Abe Lincoln's log cabin, with no windows but they have not found a bear skin for the door! ;)



I have collected these books over years at thrift stores and library sales. We are onto the second book in the Addy series, the American Girl Books are great historical fiction! We also read the If you Grew Up With Abraham Lincoln which I just found at Goodwill last week! Perfect!! I am also planning that we will listen to THIS free recording of the Gettysburg Address. This all ties into our learning about Nevada as Nevada became a state during the Civil War. Which is why our state's nickname is Battle Born!

Monday, February 06, 2012

I came across some great thought provoking articles recently that I thought I'd share. The first one is an article from Simple Homeschool's Homeschool Day in the Life series. Rachel DeMille shared one of her days, I have always wanted to peek into the windows of her homeschool among others. A couple things that really stood out for me was the excitement in sharing what she figured out with her children. Lately as Dan has been traveling and not having a true kindred friend here yet I have felt a little without. Maybe I should just get over the hump and learn to enjoy sharing more with my children. Of course it can not completely fulfill my need for adult conversation but that does not mean I can not enjoy them more! I also read another article from the DeMills about the importance of reading, both as an individual and as a family. We really adopted and made this practise our own, our youngest has thrown that off a bit in the 2 1/2 years she has been with us. I need to make this more of a priority in our day, it is so enjoyable to see everyone getting excited about a story!

I also read this story about Steve Jobs, I'm not a huge fan but I think he was good at what he did and I do want my children to find their passion! I also agree with the article that if we want our children to find their passions and desire to find things out then they need to have that time outdoors, they need to have time. What more can we truly desire for our children's education than curiosity, passion, and time for them. I truly remember going to school because it was my "job" and then coming home to enjoy my passions. It was not uncommon for me to stay up late into the night because a book had sparked the fire of my curiosity!

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Teaching is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire. ~ William Butler Yeats

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He ate and drank the precious words ~ his spirit grew robust ~ he knew no more that he was poor ~ nor that his frame was dust~ he dance along the dingy days and this bequest of wings was but a book ~ what liberty ~ a loosened spirit brings. ~ Emily Dickinson

Saturday, February 04, 2012



Posted by PicasaWe are back! Thank goodness that did not last as long as I thought it might! Mostly because we did not have to replace the computer just the hard drive. Thank goodness for self learning husbands! ;)

While I was away from the computer we had a most deliciously warm day! So we did our school work quickly and headed to the nature center near our home. I am not sure there is a better way to learn than by being outside in an unstructured way! The kids threw rocks in the river, they ran and yelled. We soaked up as much vitamin D as possible and we ate outside (which I just love to do)! It was lovely!!

If you have not read Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. PLEASE DO! He has a new one out that I can't wait to get my hands on!