Monday August 29 2011

Drawing

Building Towers

Making Jell-o

Playing with Neighbors

Reading the Diggingest Dog

Listening to the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. F???? something or other

Playing store complete with money and bags

Collage art

wounded memory card that can't take pictures

Harvesting herbs

Gathering tomatoes

Getting ready for next week's start of the new learning year

Thursday August 25 2011

Today began lamenting the fact that the pool was closing today. So we made a plan to spend as much time as possible at the pool.

We wanted to thank our lifeguards for the amazing job they did this summer. And because it is National Banana Split Day we decided to make up "Banana Split To Go" Bags. We packed candies, nuts, and coconut into their bags. They just needed to add ice cream.(If you do this idea, we wrapped up nuts seperately and checked with each life guard for allergies first before we added them to their Banana Split bags)

Gotta love our tag line: Thanks a bunch...written on the bananas!

Then off to the pool where every feat imaginable was performed

and every goofy trick

And then it was time to go home and eat dinner so that we could...

Come back for more swimming!

Five hours of pool time today and the hope that we've saved up enough of it to last us until next year.

Sniff! Weep! Goodbye pool!

And now that the pool is closed my official mourning over Summer's End has begun.

When summer ends it puts one more year between me and my childhood. And that makes me grieve the passing of the season.

But I'm easily cured when I see edible things...

It was time to celebrate National Banana Split Day!

Yum-OHHHHHHH!

Ahhhh! A really fun way to end August 25th

What I Will Miss About Summer Mornings

Early in the morning I would swim lanes...

...and pray...

and breathe....

I will miss my mornings

Our Vehicle

This is my vehicle.

This is my ride.

This is how we get around town.

In a one-vehicle family you have to get creative.

The benefits of this vehicle.

Multi-storage--many bags can be put on the the handles for easy towing convenience

Seatbelts-usually the arms of a sibling who will allow you to sit on there lap

Scenery-you walk everywhere, you see more. Spiderwebs, lost coins, the odd shoe here and there

Parking-take it with you

Natural-when it rains, you get wet. Get in touch with nature or be touched by it.

Low maintenance-light cleaning required

Obviously, this is the vehicle alternative for a one-car family

Monday August 22 2011

Basketball games

Sandbox play with neighbours

Walk

Lunch on the go.

Before: the strawberry jam meets the muffin

After--jam muffin-wiches

picnicking never gets old

sweet treats

wheee!

enjoying the trees swaying against the sky

and we loved--LOVED!--the height this kite took. I love flying kites...can't believe it took us this long to do it!

played with helicopter seeds

books--what else?

felt play-- Goldilocks is upstairs and the three bears are downstairs. Approaching conflict....

home to play with neighbours

make chicken fingers

and chase a basketball down the street

sunset watching

Friday August 19 2011

WE went hunting for benches. Our town has a Bench Quest going on right now and we were trying to find them all.

And all Quest and no play, makes this family dull...so off to the slides

And look at these cool toys at the park. Is it just me or is this a huge step up from the one metal slide and set of monkey bars that I grew up with

Stopped at a war monument and had a good discussion

walked along the fence post

pool time

My kids decided that they were making dinner tonight and they made tacos!!!!

Then we played some games of Mancala and called it a night

Wednesday August 17 2011

sculptures to start off the morning

the morning had us harvest our garden

My eldest set out a blue blanket for the ocean. The laundry basket is her ship, the basket tied to the laundry basket is holding the bag that she meticulously packed this morning while announcing she was headed off to sea...to see....

Treasure Island, of course.

We worked in the garden and yard while listening to the tales of Treasure Island.

And painted some chairs

and studied our bug friends

while basking in the sun

And later I went through a box of homeschooling stuff to get ready for the new year. See my Mediated Learning binder on the right there-- Essential to me for planning a new year.

Getting Ready for the New School Year

For those of you who read my blog, you may be wondering why I am writing about Planning for the New School Year.

My photos of daily learning clearly show that if we were to define how we homeschool it would fall into the Natural Learning or Unschooling column.

So....what do I do to get ready for the next year if I let learning unfold naturally? Do I set goals?

Well, shocker...yes I do.

Here's how I get ready for the new school year.

I pray.

I ask God for wisdom and direction for our new year.

I usually use the scripture from Luke 2:40 to set my goals. This scripture talks about how Jesus grew up.

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him.

Amplified version.

I once read about a mom who broke this scripture down into four areas of growth.

1.Growing (physically)

2. Growing in wisdom and knowledge

3. Growing in favour with God

4. Growing in favor with man

I pray and ask questions regarding these four areas.

1. Physically

What can we do this year to grow healthy and strong?

Do we need to look at our food and diet differently?

What things will we incorporate into our diet this year?

What areas of hygiene need more attention?

What kind of exercise are we getting?

How often are we getting outside?

2. Growing in wisdom and knowledge

What areas are we curious about this year?

What ideas, basics of learning, principles need to be introduced this year?

How can we stretch our brains?

What books can we read?

What skills can be acquired?

3.Growing in favour with God

What scriptures do we want to memorize this year?

How can we increase in our love for the poor?

What does our prayer life look like as a family? as individuals?

What parts of the Bible do we want to learn this year?

What does worship look like?

What does serving look like this year?

4.Growing in favour with man

This is our INTENTIONAL character plan.

What areas of character need to be worked on?

How can we serve others?

What friends will we be making intentional effort with?

What area of family dynamics do we need to focus on (communication, conflict resolution, etc.)

I ask myself those questions.

And I pray some more.

I set up character and spiritual goals for the year.

I have a few educational and personal relationship goals.

I include my family in on this discussion, but Dad and I have final say so as to what we do.

Then I break down the goals month by month.

There aren't many goals. Just a few important ones.

And of course, as plans and goals go, they are adjustable and flexible with the unfolding of life.

What questions do you ask yourself?

Tuesday August 16 2011

Geoboard designs

Friends arrive and we head out for a nature walk!

and discover things great and small

glittering beetle in the center of this pic

finally! The Swamp!

We got our hands wet

and went exploring in the mud

We discovered many snails, slugs, worm, bugs, striders and all sorts of swamp nature.

then my batteries died

We headed out to the bridge and played Pooh Sticks (Think House at Pooh Corner boat races) and cherry bombs!

Then headed back home where we served a delicious meal of sammies.

The moms sat and listened to Cindy Rushton's audio show on homeschooling and was greatly encouraged.

cowboy art

long walk

library stop

Pool play

longer walk home

farewell, farewell,farewell

and then more Treasure Island audio listening