From the time I received the curricula I ordered from the time I needed to start school was exactly four days. For about two seconds I thought I might crawl under the bed. Then I realized that was not an option. So, I pressed onward and upward and dove head first into the books and creating lesson plans and spelling words and art projects and bible lessons and science ideas. Basically folks, I didn't sleep. But, I had lesson number one covered without batting an eye.
Ah Yes! The lesson you are wondering? Learning can take place anywhere! What is a mother to-do who waited one month to get an appointment just to get referrals? That is right folks. We dropped Addison off at preschool and drove straight to Starbucks...book bag in tow. We got our hot chocolates and started learning about owls, our science lesson for the week. Allye provided entertainment for all of the patrons that morning...she needs no caffeine.
Once Allye wore herself out we loaded up and let her fall asleep in the car as we drove 1 minute to the doctor's office. With time still to spare we started our Language Arts lesson...in the car. I am keeping it really real for you here. Eventually we made it to the appointment and back home where we set up shop at our dining room table. It provides the least distraction and has awesome sunshine throughout the day! As I fell asleep that night I was feeling very uplifted and peaceful....and tired.
The next morning was more then I expected. While Allye took a nap Olivia and I got right to work. What I didn't anticipate was Addison thinking this was sooo cool and wanting to do it too. No fear, a few minutes later and she was cranking out shapes with her glue stick and practicing letter writing. That afternoon was our first adventure. We learned that owls often do not make their own roost, so I told the girls we were going on a nature hike to find things to make our owl a roost. The best part? As we are walking home Olivia says, "Mom! This is so awesome! I am learning stuff I would never be learning at school!" I couldn't hide my smile. She was excited...finally!
A couple of days later we made our owls and finally put them in their little homes we made for them.
*Toilet paper holder is used for the body. Paint it or wrap construction paper around it in brown or black. Place feathers all over and then glue eyes, beak and feet. We used construction paper for the beak and feet. We are girls, therefore; our owls have pink feathers. :)
To complete our lesson on owls we made owl cookies!
Because this is "school" I am doing my best to let her do do most everything on her own. This is realllllly hard sometimes.
 | |
| Definitely Addison's favorite part of learning about owls! |
Here are two other neat things we did this week.
For letter review (mostly for Addison) I drew out the alphabet on our driveway. One set of uppercase and one set of lowercase. Addison was given uppercase and Olivia lowercase. With one space leftover I drew a smiley face as "home base." I would call out the letter and they would run to the correct one. Surprisingly Addison loved this! Even though it was hard at times she did not want to quit. We will do this again!
We also made our own paint! The recipe is called puffy paint and now that I have fully experienced it here is what I think. Very cool! Very messy! Kids loved it! I recommend using card stock quality paper. We made ours in bottles that squirt and used them as such. You wouldn't have to do that. The end result is a cool effect but they do take awhile to dry. Also, only 1/4 of the recipe will fit in one of these types of bottles.
Here is the link for the recipe I used.
I must tell you what a rewarding experience this is turning out to be. She has repeatedly said how wonderful it is and how much fun she is having. The demeanor in our home is more calm, relaxed, and fun. We are spending quality time together at night now, instead of cranking out homework between dinner and bedtime. As I am sure there will be moments when I want to pull my hair out, nothing can take away from the look on her face when she "gets it."
What stuck with me all week?
I have shown up where He wants me to be, and I am having a ball!
See ya soon,
The Homeschooling Mama
No comments:
Post a Comment