Moments to Remember

We Did Not Do School Work in November or DID We?

November 30, 2012 By Thaleia 16 Comments

We Did Not Do School Work in November

or DID We?

POST NUMBER 100!

No schoolwork,GASP! I made a claim we had not done any schoolwork for a few weeks. Okay, so I guess I lied a little on Tuesday night when I said we hadn’t done any school work for a while! I meant to state we haven’t done any boring worksheets or handwriting or math worksheets, but WE HAVE DONE PLENTY of school work during November.

Looking through all the pictures we took in November made we realize WE DID HAVE tons of learning experiences such as shooting a pellet gun, sewing a stuffed bear, learning to cook hamburgers, visiting a news and radio station, attending gym day, taking pictures for mom’s blog, typing up our own things, creating guns out of wood, painting ornaments, tot trays, state quarters…. The list goes on and on, but for those of you who might be skeptical as to what learning CAN take place outside the world of textbooks and worksheets please take a look at what we have done (at least what we caught on camera!)

Here is a recap in pictures as to what awesome

learning DID take place in our Homeschool:

We started the month off with a visit from friends and 2 days at the hotel indoor swimming pool!

Eldest loves weapons and guns. If you know him, then you know he loves learning about their specs and creating his own. He has made them from Lego’s, Contrux, and now hardcore foam and wood! He keeps designing them after real weapons or one from video games. He is very creative and hope he continues to pursue his creative side as an adult.

Lil’ Red does NOT like to be left out. When the big kids were at Grandma’s he decided to do chores. “I crush cans”, he said! He’s so lightweight he cannot crush them very well, but he did his best and that is what counts.

Princess was too excited about the bear she made for Lil’ Red that she gave it to him early and not on Christmas day! She was very proud of the sewing skills she learned last year at Keeper’s of the Home. She is continuing to grow those skills. She is now working on presents for family and friends. (it was hard or me to work on the pc last night since I had to stop 8 times to help her thread needles and tie knots until she learned to tie a knot!)

I have my own set of scientists! We experimented with some candy and plan to do more in the future.

What month would be complete without a field trip? We were able to take a tour of Cox Media Group’s news room and radio station! We had lots of fun with homeschool friends.

We had fun putting ornaments on Grandma’s Christmas Tree after Thanksgiving dinner.

Lil’ Red did work on some fall themed tot trays a couple of times during the month. He also worked on matching numbers with foam puzzle in a line and wooden puzzle numbers.

Boy, this post was really fun and helped to share with you all the things we learned and did and I have not had time to blog about:) I think I should do this each month! I hate not sharing all the wonderful things we do, but sometimes it is hard to edit pictures and get a decent post written. I have loads more to share with you but this post is getting LONG:)

Please take time to comment, subscribe, connect with us on facebook or twitter! We are thrilled to meet new homeschoolers or learn what you do instead of worksheets!

WHAT DO YOU DO TO LEARN BESIDES WORKSHEETS?

Tot School Oct. 7-13 (29 1/2 mths.)

October 14, 2012 By Thaleia 3 Comments

This week was just as busy as the last! Lil’ Red had lots of seasonal experiences and just plain old fun for tot school. We did not have a lot of “traditional” tot school or tot trays, but we were barely home this week. We started the week with nature and ended the week with nature!

Nature program- petted a Grass Spider and Collected Hickory Nuts

Homeschool Gym Day- got to learn some gun safety and take a hike. Big brother and big sister got to play kickball.

Pumpkin Patch– he got to ride in a hay wagon and pick HIS VERY OWN PUMPKIN! His first time at a pumpkin patch:)

Grandparents stopped by, so he got to see both sets in one day!

Tot School table time-He got a little wild with his markers! He took his dry erase marker to the wall next to his table area. I cleaned it up and he did it again. I took the markers away for that day. Next he wanted to work on his notebook, but ended up drawing on the wall and shelf again!

Cut Broccoli for soup– we put him in his seat to help make some yummy cheesy broccoli and carrot soup!

New Hair-do-He got a haircut by grandma and looks like a little boy- no longer a baby!

Scarecrows at local festival-Lil’ Red helped put up scarecrows made from recycled materials for a local festival. He waited patiently while mom and dad were busy securing the scarecrows (for a little while anyways)!

Outdoor time Tricycle Riding-He learned to peddle his tricycle! This was a big accomplishment. I thought he wouldn’t be tall enough until Spring. I guess we will need to clean the house up even more so he can ride around the kitchen and livingroom this Winter!

Nature Time-We went on a Nocturnal Wetland program looking to catch frogs and insects. We did not catch any, but got to see some!

Each day he amazes me at what things he knows and has picked up. His vocabulary is increasing especially if he can repeat a “bad” word or phrase that he hears others use. He thinks it is hysterical if he repeats something that drives the rest of the family nuts! That’s just a typical 2 1/2 yr. old.

LINKING Up With:

Favorite Fall Memories

September 26, 2012 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

First off I am a Fall baby! So I LOVE LOVE LOVE Fall. I love the sound of crunching leaves, the smell of apple cider, and the colors of leaves. I remember raking leaves into huge piles and jumping into them. We have done that but not this year, yet. Too much rain and dog poo in the backyard!

When Eldest and Princess were toddlers/preschool age we would go to the pumpkin patch each year. Usually a mom’s group or preschool group would be going for a hayride, fall playtime, pumpkin picking event. I just realized Lil’ Red HAS NOT BEEN to a pumpkin patch,yet! His playgroup is going next Tuesday evening, but he has not gone for photos or anything like that. Holy smokes I cannot believe it! (And to think I was getting pretty good at this whole tradition thing:)

Here are some of my favorite photos from the past FOUR years of our family’s fall activities:

A Great Day at the Range

September 25, 2012 By Thaleia 1 Comment

The Shooting Range that is!

Since we are a video game loving family and okay with weapons we decided to attend a Family Skills Day at Spring Valley Shooting Range. Our boys often have some sort of gun in their hands throughout the day. Sometimes impeding school work getting done. Eldest was allowed to buy a pellet gun earlier in the summer but was under strict guidance and supervision. When I read about the Skills Day I knew everyone wouldn’t mind the hour drive to get there!

We are so very thankful for a chance to go to a shooting range and shoot bb guns, compound bows, cross-bows, 22, and rifles. Even Lil’ Red got to participate! We will definitely be putting this on our MUST do Fall list for 2013!

Here’s some photos to share just some of the fun we had!
Lil’ Red on the Range

Princess takes aim

Eldest Hits a Bullseye with Cross-Bow!

Pictures were taken by each of us. Picture collages were created by Princess.

THANK YOU ODNR! Your Family Skills Day was awesome.

Disclaimer: we only used weapons with trained professional instructors under close supervision by us and the ODNR staff. We wore eye and ear protection and listened carefully each time new instructions were given. Please do not shoot weapons in town or in an unapproved manner. Always wear safety protection and be under close supervision of trained/certified instructors.

Backyard Campfire 101

August 28, 2012 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

Backyard Campfire 101:
How Siblings Light a Fire

It is sad to say Summer is almost over and we hadn’t had a campfire at all this year. I think the main reason is due to a much hotter Summer earlier than normal. We had weeks of high 90’s and over 100 numerous times. We have a firepit in our backyard that totally needed some TLC. Princess set to work arranging all the bricks that had been knocked into the firepit and taking all the small sticks out of it. I had mowed as close as I could and pulled some weeds the mower couldn’t reach.

We promised the kids we would have a bonfire but had been too tired the night before by the time it would be dark enough to have one. So this brave and CRAZY momma allowed Eldest and Princess to build a small fire in the firepit by themselves. I provided some guidance and we tried to use a matchless flame lighter. The child-proof buttons proved to be too difficult so we opted for (gasp) real matches.

Eldest declared he had learned the safe way to use a match at nature camp. I said that was fine and he could teach Princess how-to do it. So with Lil’ Red on my lap I provided verbal instruction for how to lay the sticks and where to place the small balls of newspaper and where to place the matches. I reminded them to hold the flame end up so as not to burn themselves.

Once Riley was home from work we proceeded to roast hotdogs for a late evening snack. I was smart this time and gathered the supplies on a large tray for the hot dogs. Then I used a different container to hold the graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows for s’mores. Both of these containers were placed on our glass side table within reach of our lawn chairs so we weren’t running inside for missed items.