Friday, February 8, 2013

Volcano!

Today we pulled out the Mega Science Lab kit Chance got for his birthday and chose to make the volcano. We have studied volcanos earlier in the year and we thought it would be fun to make one and review what we learned. After we plastered and created the volcano shape, Chance painted it and we got supplies together to finish it and watch it erupt!  You can get your own here


Painting our Volcano!







Monday, February 4, 2013

Sensory Bins

During one of my MANY searches for homeschool/preschool ideas, I came across sensory bins. Basically they stimulate young minds by using all 5 senses and can have a variety of things in them that can constantly be switched out, because let's face it, kids get bored. There are many ideas on pinterest if you search. I like to make up my own as well. All you really need is a plastic container to store them in and some imagination. I pick a theme for the month, a seasonal bin, and if Cameron is really lucky I may even do weekly themed ones. These bins allow your child to use his/ her imagination while working on fine motor skills and take a Montessori non rushed approach. To read more about sensory bins and to see where I first saw the idea check out 1+1+1=1. Here are a few examples of sensory bins we have done including Cameron's newest.....VALENTINE'S DAY BIN! You can also check out my sensory play board on pinterest here for more ideas or just type sensory bins in the search bar to find more!


Valentine's day Bin 2013 (vanilla scented rice)

Christmas Bin 2012 (with peppermint scented rice)


Autumn 2012 Bin







Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Penguins Everywhere!

This week with Cameron I am teaching him about different animals that live in the cold as well as focusing on the letter P. Today we talked about penguins and read the book Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere! Cameron made a penguin craft, practiced tracing the letter P, and played in his winter sensory bin (blog about sensory bins coming soon). Tomorrow we will learn about polar bears.








Here is the recipe from Imagination Tree for the snow dough we made for our winter sensory bin

Saturday, January 12, 2013

A few pics of us in action since September..

I have started this blog mid school year and thought it would be fun to look back at some of our homeschooling adventures since the first day of school.... 

Rock exhibit at local museum

"It worked!" Science fun!

Geology unit
Fall sensory bin

Preschool snowman fun!
sorting shapes ;)


First day Sept 2012

Cameron- PK3, Bella-2nd grade, Chance- 4th grade
Here is a picture of the first day of school.....3 smiling kids (The baby was probably still asleep). Note: I am the one behind the camera. My face is probably looking excited and intimidated at the same time. LOL!

Why Homeschool?

The most common question I get when people find out I homeschool my kids is, "Why do you homeschool?". There are so many ways I want to answer that, but I usually settle on, "because we feel that the environment they are in at public school and the influences from that environment isn't something that works for our family." I understand not everyone wants to homeschool or can, and I don't judge others for their families' choices. I know I try to do the best I can for my family, just as others do. My intention isn't to make others feel inferior or that their choices are wrong. My intention is just to homeschool my kids like I feel I should. I fell in love with many of the teachers my kids had in previous years. They are good teachers and do great things for their students. We do miss them, and luckily the ones I have befriended over the years have been supportive and are still in our lives. Another common question is, "How do you do it?!".  My answer to that is, "Most days by the grace of God." Not everyday is a picnic. Some days I want to pull my hair out and would give anything for a solo trip to Target. In between those crazy days, are days filled with smiles and "ah-ha" moments, not only for my kids, but for me as well. I love it when I teach them something new and they catch on and breeze through their work. I know I can teach them, and those days reassure me I can and I am. I love seeing us work together as a family and all learning from each other. when the school day is done and we are all just hanging out in the living room, I know I made the right choice. I'm growing my kids...at home.