Learning fun with Littles

While in the trenches I often didn't think we were doing much in the way of learning during the preschool and toddler years, but looking back I can see we did so much.  Bear was blessed with rich learning experiences that traditionally schooled children would never have access to. 

The things that occupied our time when scribbling was was the norm and cuddles on moms lap was still cool.

• Sensory Bins: These are bins that I fill with a wide range of textures and items. We have used baking soda, bubbles (water and dish soap), shaving cream, rice, corn meal, beans.... really the limits are your imagination Then I toss a few fun items in the mix and a small garden shovel for kids (like what you get with plastic buckets) and let the children dig, scoop and more. If you have the space and inclination you could get a water wheel and let the little ones use it as well. Funnels are a fun toy to use in the bins too.
• Paper time: This is time we have with paper and scissors. Crayons and glue are generally married to it as well.
• Stickers:  'Nough said. 
• Play dough: Be sure you have some cookie cutters, rolling pins (you can find them reasonably priced at stores like Target, but be sure to not forget looking in the Dollar Store) and if you can get your child to do it, a sheet of wax paper or butcher paper for working on. Sometimes this works for me if I think about it.
• Small easy craft projects. Things that require cutting easy straight and slightly curved lines for littles are best. Complicated cuts should be kept for the older children. Stringing beads, using pasta and glue, using colored sand and glue on a paper plate, etc. Again the opportunities are limited only by your imagination. just remember to keep it within the scope of your child's abilities.
• Old cards and magazines can be used to make collages. One could even do one that would be specific to a certain unit or event.  

From an earlier adventure but a fun reminder!

Above all, remember that as the mother and father it is our job to gently guide when needed. Let your child scribble and paint and get messy; just make sure its an area that is appropriate for the craft. Of course we don't want scribbled walls, so provide gentle guidance but try not to tell your child that the sky is blue if he paints it orange or yellow. If your little girl is painting all sweetly and the next second decides that fingers are much better than the brush, smile, she is exploring and discovering her world. Those explorations into cause and effect will be invaluable as they age. 

world's best sensory bin; Seattle

Its more about the creating and exploring than the end product. It has no need to resemble a tree to you, in her eyes it tells a whole story and what she is looking for from you is validation and enjoyment in her creative self; have her tell you the story it tells.  You may be surprised. 

In our home "art" products are easy to be had often and that is another key to allowing creativity to flow.  When Bear was younger during her preschool and kinder years (and younger still!) I would often have our coffee table covered with butcher paper so impromptu art projects weren't very messy. When the paper is completely used you can remove it and replace it with something new. I use the blue ore green painters tape to attach the paper to the table, and trust me that painters tape is your best friend.

Once a month I will be exploring books and corresponding crafts as we continue on our educational journey and continuing on with our "after-school" learning adventures.  Next month, I will be looking at a fun craft for Valentines Day.  Some months we will be looking at Nature Studies, some months science and others reading helps!  While our journey has changed a bit this year, our goal to instill and encourage a love of learning for a lifetime has not!


We will be linking up once a month in 2015 with The Story Corner Blog Hop!  

 

A Winters Walk

Outside isn't an option for us, its a must.  Living in an apartment its very hard and to actually get outside we really have to get in the car and travel to a location.  It has been an adjustment.  Bear loves the outside and it has been particularly difficult for her to make the transition from playing at will outside to being cooped up or limited to a tiny playground. 

Recently I have sat down with myself and decided that while everyday is not feasible, we can 3-4 times a week make a trek to a park or nature area. 

Here are a few pictures from a couple recent expeditions into the urban wilds. 

 

Birds are a favorite thing to spy while we hunt for fairies.  Here we branched off the main path onto a small trail in search of the waters edge.  We wanted to see if we could find the any early sign of spring in the lake.

We spotted a tree that looked suspiciously like it had been visited by a wood pecker.  It very well may have been!  It was nice to see the ducks were still in residence, holding court on the lake.

All this activity made for rich discussions and searches through our field guides as well as a spot of journaling. 

At home again I put some small roses we bought in a vase to help brighten up the room a bit. 

It was a good day.

Pumpkin Time

Notice her missing front tooth.... 
oh so cute and adorable!

 

For the third year in a row we went with Homeschool friends to a local pumpkin patch, Schilter's Family Farms.  Its south of us, near Olympia.  We always have so much fun there; it's more than just  a pumpkin patch, its a destination! You can go there and just get a pumpkin, but that would be just half the fun.  Nope, Schilter's is FUN.  I highly recommend that if you are in the South Puget Sound area that you check them out. 

The kids toured the animal section, jumped in the hay, played in the water area with hand pumps (here we remembered our lessons about priming the pump!), ran through the hay bale maze, rode in a wagon pulled by a tractor, and more!  Its always so much fun for Bear. 

Picking out the pumpkin is the highlight of the trip though..... I think.  We discussed the outing in some depth for days beforehand.  She had a plan.  The biggest and BEST pumpkin in all the land was going to land in her bag.  Only one rule is ever given by Farmer Jeff, you can't get a pumpkin bigger than you can carry. 

Bear and her little friend Maggie scoured through the field.  Not this one, its too orange.  Not this one, its too small.  Not this one, its to big.  Not this one, its too dirty....  and the search continued.  I had a serious doubt we would ever find the perfect pumpkin. 

At last, one pumpkin stood out.  Not too big, or too small.  Not too orange or too dirty.  Nope, this one was JUST RIGHT.  And so we picked it up.  As I looked around I noticed we were one of the last ones left in the field.   The task was done though, we found the PERFECT PUMPKIN and anyone that has ever went on the great pumpkin hunt understands just how hard that can be.  Its about the same as the great Christmas tree hunt. 

As the pumpkin sits on the counter behind me in the kitchen, I know soon we will be carving it and deciding how best to display it for all to see.  This has been a year of change for our family, and this new chapter is still being written.  Next year I wonder what pumpkin picking time will bring...  One thing is for certain, it will bring another fun trip to a field where the quest for the BESTEST PUMPKIN IN THE WORLD will resume. 

For this, I am very thankful!

The Laundry List

There has been a laundry list of things Bear has learned with her cousins.  It has been fun!

We kind of put "formal" learning on hold while we did "social learning" with cousins.  At least I thought we were putting learning on spring break, but I was wrong!  Very very wrong.  Those of you with more than one child already know that playing with siblings or other family members develop skill sets, but those of us with an only can only gaze with wonder at the imaginative play that can develop when children are allowed to play, mostly unhindered by time and space. 

Nothing we did could be called non-educational, even rousing games of Mario Cart taught Bear skills.  Her imagination leaped into overdrive as she and her cousins, Wonder Boy  and Spy Boy, began elaborate stories and play.  We learned about swords, shields, battle axes, and had many days filled with adventures in the house and outside as they explored wilds created in their world.  It gladdened my heart and encouraged my spirit to see their rough and tumble play full of learning and adventures.  I am going to be sad to see my brother and his family leave. 

 Children's children [are] the crown of old men; and the glory of children [are] their fathers.  Proverbs 17:6

 

For Grammie this verse holds weight as she interacts with her grandchildren and witnesses their play together.  My father's crown are running amongst the weeds in the yard, playing spies and dragon slayers in the fallow of the garden soil......  I think my Dad would be smiling if he could see them.  No greater legacy can a man leave.   

 

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4

 

The crusading trio!
Photo credit Trunks Photography

Nature Hunt

This is a repost from March 19, 2012.  We are planning another scavenger hunt next week, If you are local you are welcome to join us.  Rain or shine.  Please print out the scavenger hunt form to bring with you.  Details on the facebook page will be forth coming. 

A NATURE HUNTING WE WILL GO! 

What a fun, all be it cold, morning.  While someone was cranky and possessive for a while, we did warm up and begin to make new friends and explore a bit of the Snake Lake Nature Center area.

Lesson Objectives: 

Quiet tones to not scare the animals

Discovery of habitats

Observation skills

Listening skills

Following directions

All in all we had fun.  I am hoping after I get a few of these going a couple other moms will help as well.  Planning once a month.  Last month we went bird watching.  Sarah made a new friend.  I was happily surprised by the turn out.  It made it even more fun to explore.  The age range was great too.  I think the oldest was roughly 10 and the youngest were 2.  Nice spread of ages.

So we started the hike around Snake Lake looking for the items listed on our scavenger hunt list.  I geared it more toward the preschool and kindergarten ages, but it was easily fun for the older ones as well as the younger crowd.  You can view our Scavenger Hunt List Here (FEEL FREE TO PRINT AND BRING WITH YOU).  Feel free to print it out!

PRINT Here...

Afterwards we played in the Discovery Pond and then ventured inside for a while where we visited turtles, tadpoles and pretended to be beavers, river otters, blue jays, great horned owls and more.  This is where the moms got to chat a bit. 

It was fun and encouraging to visit with moms that have been homeschooling a while yet still new enough to it to remember what its like to be faltering in the waters of uncertainty.  It further cemented that Child Led is the direction we need to go with Sarah. 

What kind of natural adventures have you been on recently?

Linking up today with the Hearts Of Home Blog Hop.

 

Horrible day

Yesterday was horrible.  It really was and I have a headache.  I need caffeine, really, really bad.  Well specifically, a soda pop.  Yep, addicted.  This is telling me so, or else I slept wrong.  It might be both because I didn't sleep well.  I have a final today and one last assignment this week.  *sigh*

Bear and I are suffering, ok me...  I am suffering more than her little self.  Hubs isn't as "real foodie" as we are, YET.  A report where I summarize our week will be interesting. I think I might be expecting too much of myself in this process and to top it off our portable dishwasher that's like, oh maybe 30 years old or more, died yesterday.  I can't get it to get dishes clean so I spent time cleaning it to see if that would help and no dice.  The dirty dish out put is horrendous with cooking from scratch......  *sigh*

But this leads me to a funny story....

Penumbra via photopin cc

Bear has been wanting to wash dishes by hand lately so I decided I would show her how its really done with sink loads of dishes.  I filled the sink on one side with warm soapy water, and on the other side I filled it with warm clear water.  I got her little bench/stool and explained the proper process for dish washing.  For me its always GLASSES, PLATES, BOWLS, PANS, followed by silver wear.  Its what works for me and its how I sort my dish washing chore (or did before I got married and had a dishwasher). 

Bear was all excited.  She really was.  She got an apron out and danced around the room (much to my dismay, I think next year we will be adding Little House books to the mix for read alouds). She asked if this would make her a pioneer and chattered about living like a pioneer, and me, well I didn't want to crash and burn her dreams. 

After about the first sink full, the fun wore off.  It was much quicker than I thought.  Maybe I shouldn't have gave in when we had so many dishes to do.  *grin*  At last, she exclaimed, "Mommy, if we ever become pioneers, we need to have a dishwasher for sure.  Doing dishes is not fun."  Oh kiddo, life chores are not always fun, but we can make them enjoyable.  We discussed how you do and clean up as you go and pioneers really knew about the need for this.  Plus they didn't cook multiple pot meals and everyone ate what they ate.  I think I restored her dream of becoming a pioneer. 

Dinner last night was something I wouldn't classify as a special food, something "real" I cook occasionally.  Chili and corn bread.  I used my recipe for cornbread that I always use (Moosewood Cookbook) and chili was pinto and black beans, beef from Stewart's in Yelm, homegrown tomatoes, organic tomato paste --just because it was in the pantry already, lots of garlic, seasonings, and a long time simmering.  I topped it off with cheddar cheese, natural sour cream (I only buy stuff with a couple ingredients...  *grin* so this was nothing new to our home as well), and onions.  It was a hit.

We are taking a mini break right now during finals week with Bear.  Still reading, but not getting down and dirty with a lot of stuff like work sheets.    I think when we start back up, the remainder of the year will be spent on traits and why they are good as well as growing and dirt for science.  Handwriting will be more copy work only, and practice in memorizing some verses and a poem.  It might seem rather lax to some but I have been pushing to hard in some areas and she has been balking so I am going to try to work it in another way.  And.... I guess we will have some pioneer stuff in there too.

Are you eating real food, or more real food with us?  Please, share your favorite foods with me and a link to there recipe.

   

Obstacles everywhere

This is a repost from 2/1/2012--Have a great weekend!  We still love obstacle courses, and just did one yesterday, and today she is creating one with a set clear Geometrics.   she is using  them to create castles and castle doors for cars to drive around in.  Our favorite courses are outside though...  where she can use all sorts of found objects to create tons of new things to twirl around, in her tutu or blue jeans....  my adorable wild Bear! 

 

We love obstacle courses, ok maybe we is a strong word. Bear loves obstacle courses. It serves an educational purpose as well and it's really easy for you to create your own, even inside in a small space and with just a little imagination.

What we did (with items we had on hand): We got out our wooden blocks and created "piles" to walk around, a length of rope (or if lacking that, a dog leash--yes we have walked a tightrope on the dog leash before, purely by accident....) you could even use a belt. Just whatever you have on hand for the "balance beam"--good for gross motor skills. Bear used the rope to walk on. It wasn't big, just a few feet in length. Then we used a big spoon and carried a Christmas ball that somehow missed getting packed away while we walked (OK one of us walked and the other jogged) through the course. I gave up after once, I didn't go fast enough. 
 

Some other options we will do when we do it again:

• A bin or basket full of items they must carry through the course. With each trip they can pick a different item until the basket is empty. I would suggest just a handful of items or it might get old and lose the spontaneity for your child.
• Add a "limbo" area. Easy with the kitchen broom over a couple chairs. It helps them with understanding getting down and crawling UNDER the stick.
• A jumping or leaping area in your course. Once again, easy with a stack of books starting low to the ground using your broom for the pole to jump over. Raise it up higher with every pass or two until they can't leap over it.
• Traffic cones (we have multicolored ones that I bought at a party store) but you could even save cans and then use them. You could even paint them bright colors with craft paint. I just didn't feel like going and digging them out, but I will soon.
• Have the child turn directions while doing the course as well. think "Simon Says." Our version is "Mommy Says" *grin*
• and more....

 

Another fun thing is building "forts." This can provide hours of play, but of course you must be willing to let your house be chaotic with blankets and sheets and more!

 

 

Let's talk science

Lets talk Science!

Small children love to explore.  Something to help them on the journey is to think about "problems" and how to solve them.  We still enjoy these things in various degrees, though we don't do them near as often.

How does somethings smell?

Materials needed:  Small jars (like baby food jars, or little plastic lidded containers), and various items like cloves, flower petals, onions, etc.

Directions:  Place each item in the jar/container.  Punch holes in the lid.  Ask your little to close their eyes and have them tell you what each jar smells like.  Some of the guesses will be wild!

Variations:  You can try this with closed eyes and feeling objects too. "Guess what something is."  The method is similar.  Pick a hand full of items and have the children close their eyes and guess what the items is.  Using their touch senses.  Take this a step further by adding the sense of hearing into the mix.   

This weekend get outside!  explore what kinds of things you might find in a pond or your garden in the winter.  Most of all, have some fun outside! 

Next week two experiments we plan to do with our weather unit is Air Pressure and Evaporation/making our own rain. 

Looking back....

The past, the present, and the future.  I didn't post as much about the things we did at three and four as I should have and this year I intend to chronicle more of our education journey. 

Math in the early years....

Some history first:

Since I was about 20 and first learned about the Maria Montessori Method I knew I would eventually incorporate many of the methods or ideas into our future home.  Twenty-three years later I can look back and see I have indeed; along with some other Waldorf ideas and some of the Reggio approach as well.  Yeah, rather eclectic messes we are!  *smile* 

A couple years ago we went through a period of time where I was in a lot more pain, our two- year old angel was now a three-year old live wire.  A well meaning mom told me she thought our Bear was somewhere on the "Spectrum"....  What the heck did that mean?  It sent Hubs and I into a tail spin of questions.  We were sent to Internet self test sites.  I took the examination, my husband took it, we had grandma take it as well.  I came away with even more questions, since by their standards I was Autistic as well.  My husband and Grams found the same self diagnosis applied to them as well.  I now suspect the subjectivity.  I want to caution anyone taking an Internet self test for something like a learning disability or disorder like autism (or any test for a medical diagnosis). 

We eventually made an appointment with Bear's Pediatrician who has been her doctor since she was born. It had become that everything my barely three-year old daughter did was viewed with a slant to "does she have a spectrum disorder"......  Our doctor sat us down and listened to my concerns and in one visit made me face reality.  Children have stages, children are children and for most children these are normal and passing stages, but needed stages nonetheless.  He assured me that if I continued to have concerns we could pursue my concerns, but that he seen nothing in her behavior to indicate nothing more than an active and happy child.

I had become concerned if she said something was itchy; did she have a sensory disorder?  Children go through periods of sensitivity.  A desire for order.  They become absorbed, very absorbed, and the thing capturing their interest then might be the ONLY thing they feel like doing.  A child may do something repeatedly that we have said they can't do, like picking flowers and examining them at length, and rather than being willfully disobedient or showing signs of an autistic behavior, they are learning.  What is it, how does it work, why does it work, what happens if XYZ happens....  THEY ARE LEARNING.  Children need to explore.  I am not saying no child is on the "Spectrum" because some might be.  My desire is to share my experiences.  In my most humble opinion, and the opinion of our doctor, we are not.  She is a normal active child with a are very rich personality and imagination.

Nor am I saying you don't need to make sure your child is safe in the exploration.  What I am saying is they need time and space to explore and understanding parents.  My hubs was telling a story where his mother was told that if he got one germ on him he would die when he was a child...  his mother kept him that clean and sheltered as a small child.....  Kids need to play and explore, its vital to their learning.  Keep them safe but not cloistered.

4 yrs and helping to pour and mix bread

We fell into line with so many today and gave Bear a toy kitchen, and we were overjoyed with our choice. A wooden kitchen that did not create fake noise.  If something beeped, she had to make an audible beep for it.  We were so proud.  It was natural and would encourage imaginative play.....  with the kitchen came up teem play kitchen pots and pans and eating implements....  I still encouraged her  help in our family kitchen during this time.  She never fully fell in love with her "play" kitchen, she would much rather been playing and creating in the REAL kitchen.  We used real knives, with supervision, to cut things like cheese, carrots, celery, bread.  She was taught and encouraged how to make her own PB&J, spoon food into a bowl, mix bread...  I didn't realize her peers weren't doing these things at three.  Although, I will admit, Christmas baking is still a realm I should leave to me another year.....  we still miss a few ingreidients.  Our carrot cake, while still good, was missing the sugar this year.  Hubs remarked it wasn't as sweet as years past and I discovered we forgot the sugar.

Bear owns her own tool box and in the box she has a hammer, a flat head screwdriver, Philips driver, wrench, pliers, goggles, etc.  We had to shop around a bit, getting real working tools, that were light weight enough for little hands, but we did find some, and not for very much money either.  Home Depot carries a lot.  Her dream now is her own battery drill.  *grin*  Play tools held very little appeal because they couldn't make things. She wanted, and still wants, to be able to help mom and dad, and create things beside us. 

Sorting is a wonderful early math game you can do with your child.  We still do it sometimes.  At three our homeschool studies consisted of sorting colors and then textures.  We sorted all sorts of things.  Sometimes using tongs to lift them from one bowl to another.  We sorted cars, beads, noodles, pompoms, silverware, pattern blocks, etc. and we still do those things from time to time because we made it into a game.  In fact as I write this Bear has her pattern blocks out and is sorting them by color and making shapes from the shapes.  These were an item I got out recently after being put up for a few months.  They were placed low on her shelf for strewing purposes.  And she discovered them again and is new found love for the discovery they are again providing. 

Don't forget counting.  Just plain old counting games.  We still do these, a lot.  They have just gotten to be bigger numbers.  We started off counting to 5, then 10, and so on.  Now we seem to be able to go on for ages, with a few reminders.  Count steps you take on walks.  Count rocks on walks.  Count everything.  This is how we are introducing concepts like adding and subtracting as well.  You would be surprised how easy it is, and FREE.

Bear was so small.... 

Next  I will share some wonderful early geography games we did and enjoyed. 

Linking up today with Teachers of Good Things





The Craft Corner

Yeah, I can be a crafty momma.

Bear decided she wanted a Butterfly Birthday last year, after her Carnival Birthday.  I knew I didn't want the week of prep work that Hubs and I did for it again this year, so as long as we had a fairly easy set up and dismantle I was cool with it.  That being said I still made a few little craft items for her birthday party. 

I made cornucopias full of trinkets that Bear picked out.  While it's rather Victorian they include temporary tattoos.  *Grin*  

I started with much trial and error.  By the way, the spray adhesive works great for temporary holding of paper, but don't plan on it working long term.  Just a wee lesson I learned.

I started with a sheet of poster board (white), various sheets of 12x12 inch scrap book paper, glue sticks, paper clips, clothes pins, ribbon (narrow) and a bunch of patience. You can make these any size you like.  I ended up really being able to only cut two per scrap book page.

I ended up liking this pattern (recreated here) for the size I wanted.  Figure out what you want to have for the size and draw the pattern to make a cone on paper or poster board. 

Next cut out the shape and size you decided on. Hint, make sure its the shape and size you want before next step.  Trimming is easier now.



Roughly what you want to draw, but I’m not real adept at this word draw thing. :-) Cut roughly where the dashed lines are. I was without a pattern myself and just trying to wing it.

Next, using glue, attach paper to card stock/poster board and then shape into a cone (like a sugar or waffle cone) and glue well.  I used clothes pins and paper clips (used for “clamps”) to hold the shape in place until the glue was dry.  Have patience, it will take time to properly dry.  I waited until the next day to take the “clamps” off.  I then punched holes near the top and threaded a ribbon Bear picked out through the top.  You could add lace decorations, glitter, flowers, etc. really the only limit is your imagination. 

Lastly, fill with whatever goodies you want and if you want to you can attach name tags.

Feel free to check out my tutorial here. 

They were really fun to make and would be great for weddings and birthday parties alike.  I think next year we will do "May Day Baskets" for some of the neighbors and the older folks at Grammy's apartment and use this as a pattern. 



I hope this inspires you in your garden today!

Summertime fun

Western Washington is known for many things.  The Mainers, Sea Hawks, the Space Needle...  and RAIN.  That four letter word that can stop many cold in their tracks.  One thing you'll learn about people that love and make Western Washington their home is that they don't let a little rain spoil their parade.  Here is a list of some free or almost free Summertime Fun for the whole family. 

Titlow Beach Explorers!

 

I am linking up today with Our Good Life.

Some fun summertime activities locally that we enjoy doing occasionally are:

The Farmers Market. We have several in the area. In Tacoma they are:

• Tuesdays afternoons on 6th Ave.  It's open from 3-6 pm and located at 6th Ave & N. Pine.  This market is open May-September. 
• Thursday mornings in the "theater district". This one is located at S. 9th Street and Broadway.  Open from 10am-3pm.  Parking can be a pill though since it is downtown.  What we do when we visit this market is make an adventure out of it, pack a lunch (of course you can buy lunch from a vendor) and park at the Tacoma Dome Station and hop on the Link rail.  We still have a short walk but much easier and cheaper than parking downtown.  The parking at the T Dome is cheap or free and for anywhere from 2-3 hours. 
• Saturdays there is the Proctor Market (not officially a Tacoma farmers market).  9am-2pm.  This is one we enjoy as well.  North 27th and Proctor in Tacoma.  March through the end of December.  Their web site is:  Proctor Farmers Market.
• Sundays we have another market that moved from S. 56th to the new Star Center in South Tacoma.  This is at 3873 S. 66th Street and open from 11-3pm.  All summer long!
• Wednesday afternoons you can head to historic Steilacoom for their market: 3:00 - 7:00 p.m., 13 June - 29 August 2012.  Check out their web site here, and catch one of the free concerts as well.

For more information check out the Tacoma Market page.  Each market has fun events for the whole family.  You can taste great local foods, hear local musicians, and buy fresh local handmade goods and food for your family.  We can't forget the flowers. *smile*

We have many beaches that give access to sea life when there is a low tide.  Some of our favorite beach access points are Titlow Beach, Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom (you will have to pay for parking here and the train tracks you must cross can be a deterant to parents of some very young toddlers and preschool kiddos), and Owens Beach. 

We have fun nature parks, including Nisqually Wildlife Refuge that you can use year around, and plan nature hikes.  If you are very quiet and still you might see eagles.  We also enjoy our local nature center on Snake Lake in Tacoma (19th and Stevens).  They have a discovery pond area just for kids but they also offer a great walking trail, much of it very small child friendly.

Blueberry picking at
the blueberry park.

A recent discovery for us is Wildwood Park in Puyallup.  Nice walking paths for even the youngest little hiker and a creek just perfect for discovery play.  Bring a change of clothes.  This park is shaded even in the summer.  We have too many parks to mention for nature lovers.  Just check them out.

Spire Rock at Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway has some trails to explore as well and if you are into rock climbing or scrambling you can practice here. 

Then we have our many fun spray parks.  The first on our favorite list is Wright Park off 6th Ave in Tacoma, while there check out the Seymore Conservatory.  Parking can be a pain, so plan on a walk unless you are lucky.  They have a duck pond though as well, and it provides for some distraction when its time to leave the spray area.  *grin*  One park that is a must visit is Charlotte's Blueberry Park.  In late July and August you can visit this park and pick acres of blueberries, free.  Bring a picnic lunch and water bottles and a bucket for the fruit.  Leave some berries for us!

Have fun this summer!

The top 10 questions people ask you about homeschool….

This week I am particpating in a blog hop over at Many Little Blessings.  Please check out some of the other blogs there as well.

So the task for this week was to answer the top ten questions people ask you about homeschooling.  Please note that I have been a little satirical.  *grin*

One big question I am I asked sometimes is if we plan to homeschool throughout her education.  One doen't know what the future brings, so we can't answer that with the certainity that many want.  My answer is we take everything one day at a time.

We cannot discover new oceans unless we have the courage to
lose sight of the shore. 

So, Ten questions often asked are....

1.      Are you insane?     Well sometimes….  Wait oh you mean about homeschooling?  Nah.  It just works for our family.

2.      What about socialization?  We talk to lots of people, all ages and she has lots of friends.

3.      Is your daughter a genius?   No, she likes to make up jokes and dance with butterflies.

4.      What about socialization?  We belong to playgroups, homeschool groups and church groups. 

5.      Do you homeschool because of your religion?  Nope, lots of Christians go to a brick and mortar school building.  It just works for our family at this point in our lives. 

6.      How do you have time to homeschool?  I never really thought about it that way.  Having kids in school seems really time consuming too.  There are teachers meetings, class parties, programs, etc., that parents that don’t homeschool need to do. 

7.      What about socialization?   What about it?  Do you worry about your child’s socialization skills?

8.      Doesn’t your daughter miss having friends?  She knows lots of children in all sorts of age groups.  She has several friends and not all of them are homeschooled.  In fact most are not.  She makes friends very easily.

9.      Do you have to pass a test to homeschool your child?  I have a bachelors degree and I have plans to further my knowledge base as well in education.  I read a lot of books and belong to groups that share knowledge.  In our state, Washington, you do have to meet certain guidelines to be qualified to homeschool your child.

10.  What about socialization?  We rarely go anywhere.  In fact I haven’t left the house in three years, my children won’t speak to strangers nor do they ever leave my sight.  I keep them within six inches of my body at all times.  *grin*

Have a great day gentle friends! 

Botany Nature Study

We are blessed to be a part of a homeschool meet-up group that has some very talented women that are creative and plan events that full of educational wonder.  Peirce and Thurston County Homeschool is a wonderful addition to our homeschool lives.  Do you have a great group of supportive parents that you are able to chat and visit with occasionally?  I hope you do have such a group.

Last week was full of nature learning.  Monday we released ladybugs,  Tuesday we continued on with a few more ladybug studies that we started the week before, Wednesday we enjoyed some rubbings on different objects located in the yard, and Friday we spent an enjoyable afternoon at a Clarks Creek Park in Puyallup.  Our Botany Scavenger Hunt involved about 30+ kids ranging in age from infant to teenage looking for different plants that we could identify.  Our group was diverse in ages as well.  I think everyone had fun. 

Putting samples into our bag
to share with the other groups

Liberty (her blog Our Creative Day) planned the study for us this week.  She shared her botany list and I thought I would share it with others here.  It came from a web site called Basement Workshop:  Botany Scavenger Hunt. 

For some of the members in our group, we were very curious about the parts of a flower and I wish I would have printed out and shared the work sheet I made recently telling about the flower.  I think I shocked everyone when I nonchalantly said that flowers have ovaries.  I need to watch that, working in the medical field for so long I forget, sometimes we need to tone it down.  So on the work sheet, you will see the word ovary, if this is something you are uncomfortable with your child saying, delete that portion or use a word you prefer that means the same thing.  You might print both if you do this, I know I will when we do it again in the fall.  My little worksheet can be found here, A Little Flower Tale, for those curious minds.  I think this hunt worked well with the broad age range we had, though it was maybe a bit long for the kids that were in the 4-7 age range.  Adjust for your age range and group.  I really liked the list from the web site for the scavenger hunt.  

I believe this was stinging nettle

When we got done with our walk and the hunt (we took 45 minutes or so and divided into 3 groups--I think) we made notations in our journals.  For Sarah this meant we did leaf rubbings and I labeled them with the date while I could.  It was a very enjoyable afternoon.  We followed up all this learning with a picnic and more than an hour of free play. 



I hope this little glimpse gives you an idea on some things you might be able to do in your neck of the woods.
Have a great week, we are preparing for family visiting and memorial day lesson is in the works.  We will be planing to go to Seattle on Saturday as well to attend to Bear's Grandpa Jimmy's grave site. 

Our group found a fun log and pitch on the log as well. 
I was more impressed with the pitch, the kids were more impressed with the dirt.

Ontop of botany, we also collected bugs. 
An outing would not be complete with out this project, right?

Our nature journal, a leaf rubbing, followed by trying to color it in.