Our Girls Rock the House!

Our girls joined a band (ON STAGE! Oh, they are so brave!) to sing the blues. Click here to see my husband's post--and cute pix!

Back to School (Not!)

We start official "schooling" a bit early in our family--because we love taking off the entire month of December for Christmas festivities! Here are a few of the things we did this week:
















Sam is trying to figure out why it's dark on the other side of the world when it's light here. The flashlight represents the sun.















Here we are mailing letters that they wrote to family.

(Sam decided that now that he's a first-grader he needs to wear a button up-shirt. That only lasted a day!)















Soccer at our YMCA (the girls enjoy playing in Kids Club during soccer!)...















Swimming is a favorite activity at our house.















Practicing penmanship...















Our Kindergartener jumps right in...















Our two-year-old will not stand for being left out! I love the concentrating lip-action!















Experimenting with light refraction...















How'd they do that tap step?




















Oh! That's how!

Next week: pictures of everyone in gymnastics!

The Graduates

Sam and Grace both graduate this Spring. They were excited to try on their gowns and mortar boards!

We enrolled Grace in preschool one day a week--she loves all the fun messy painting activities that I don't always have time to set up and clean up before going to work in the evening.

Sam's ISP (Independent Studies Program) offers an optional Kindergarten graduation. Would we pass that up? I think not!

Easter Break at Our House

We were on Easter Break last week. I thought it would be interesting to jot down what Sam does when we're not schooling. Here's a quick list of his free activities:

• Climbed his tree
• Created a pulley system through trial and error in order to take books and water up into his tree
• Read some of his Magic Treehouse books aloud (He was reading chapter books, people--this is my kindergartner!)
• Put together a puzzle of the United States
• Built with KEVA planks
• Went to the zoo, located places on the map, and read the signs
• Read some signs on the freeway
• Went to the grocery store, weighed produce, learned to read prices (Those pesky decimal points are important--who knew that onions weren't really $99 a lb.?)
• Cooked and washed dishes
• Drew and wrote in his journal
• Rode his scooter
• Learned to jump on his skateboard
• Attended swimming lessons
• Counted by 2s, 5s, and 10s just for fun
• Worked on teaching his two-year-old sister to recognize A
• Explored the properties of water
• Built with zome tools
• Organized his books for the sheer pleasure of it (He said he wanted his "research" books to be in their own special place.)
• Browsed through the dictionary

This isn't even a complete list! It's amazing what kids will do when learning isn't treated as something to be done in a school building. I'm so excited to see my kids view learning as a fun and interesting part of everyday life.

Disturbing Video

You need to see this post on my husband's blog. It's a disturbing look at evil...

NPR Reports on Play

Take time to listen to this wonderful report on Old-Fashioned Play!

Considering Homeschooling, Part 2

When deciding whether or not to homeschool, it is vitally important that you spend time thinking about your family's dynamics. Several things come into play here.

1. Do you enjoy your children? Do you truly delight in their personalities, creativity, and zest for life? Does it give you joy to see them conquer skills that they've struggled to learn? Do you have fun together? This doesn't mean that your children don't sometimes drive you batty or that your never have times of frustration or impatience. But if you really do not like being with each other it may be best not to homeschool. But don't discount the possibility that more time spent together may increase your family's capacity to enjoy one another.

2. How do you discipline your children? Do you get angry easily and regularly? Do you spank your children? If you do spank, how do you spank? Dr. Sears, a prominent pediatrician, has some very helpful guidelines for those who choose to spank, as well as some very compelling reasons not to spank. If you are spanking in anger or out of frustration, YOU ARE AT RISK FOR ABUSING YOUR CHILD. Get help. Be accountable to someone. Dr. Sears offers this advice to help parents handle their anger. Do not homeschool your children if you do not successfully handle your anger. Do not homeschool your children without being committed to building a full "parental toolbox" that includes a variety of noncorporal ways to discipline your children.

3. Do both parents agree to homeschool? Homeschooling is a big decision that takes everyone working together. Both parents must agree in order for it to be successful. This is especially true in divorced or separated families.

4. Is your family currently encountering stressful times? Are you dealing with lost wages, a death, or serious illness? Are you facing a divorce or separation? Will you encounter any other major life changes? If so, it may be best to put off homeschooling for a year or so.