While Johanna is parked firmly in the "I hate handwriting camp" Michael really wanted to learn to write his name. I thank Handwriting without tears for the simple instructions; "Start at the top" I never thought it mattered which way a kid wrote as long as they got the letters on the paper but boy what a difference starting at the top makes. Although I still can't used to the strange way they line the paper.

No more inching along the wall

Remember my little wall cling on? Well 4 weeks into skating lessons the kid can move. She can even go backwards.
Michael is having a bit more trouble but he keeps on trying.

What I did on my summer vacation

People often ask me if we stop during the summer. Are you kidding? we get in our best learning in the summer.
Our summer was chock full of trips to the shore where the kids went fishing and crabbing and jumped waves and made sand castles.
There were camps attend; Music camp which stunk b/c my kids were the only ones enrolled. Theater camp where Johanna said her big line,(after much prodding from the other kids on stage) "Holy cow" in play the class wrote themselves; there were the day camps at the museum; Colonial food camp was a big hit, what with making butter and tea bags. There was Reduce reuse recycle in colonial times camp and Gargoyle camp for Michael, whose theater camp got canceled b/c of low enrollment (If only music camp did the same thing)
Johanna passed the deep water test and was allowed to go down the slides at the pool. My big regret is that I never brought a camera to capture her jumping from the diving board or splashing in off the slide.
Theater camp, besides being fun, also gives us a taste of what it's like to have to get ready right away in the morning. It was hard for 2 weeks and I am glad I don;t have to do it for 9 mos.
so no, homeschool doesn't get time off for the summer or even snow days. Even with the bit of sit down academics we do, I save for it for "nothing else to do" kind of moments.
..Yet somehow in those flung together brief moments, Michael has learned to recognize words like Cat, Pen , Hen, Michael,Johanna, hot and pot.
and Johanna can skip count by 5s and 2s and sort of by 3, In the big picture though I think bike riding, ice skating and swimming take priority over the academics for now. If a child's work is play I want my kids to have all the play tools available to them.
Next semester..jump rope!

Love the canal museum! Love homeschool days!

Here's a little secret. On the top floor of the Crayola factory is the canal museum. Why is this a secret you ask? I don't know. we've been to the Crayola factory twice and each time I tell someone how much we LOVE the canal museum I am met with, "we've been there I didn't know about that place.
So in case you didn't know,I'm letting the cat out of the bag. We are not an especially crafty family. Everything my kids paint turns into a body art competition. Paper is cut for the sheer thrill of cutting and not so much for making anything. So while it's fun to do some out of the ordinary coloring at The factory and of course seeing crayons get made is great, the canal museum is our favorite part.
There are boats and an awesome water table where I really want to push all the kids out of the way and make a really wavy stream; sheer will power keeps me from doing this. I let the kids make their own formations and I live vicariously through them.
There are pulley systems and a tain table. Johanna loves dressing the donkey. when the weather warms up we can go on an actaul canal ride with a doneky (this part does costs extra but the museum is included in the price of admission, which during homeschool month was only 6.50)
So while i would recommend the Crayola factory I would HIGHLY recommend spending more upstairs! but don't leave without your free model magic!

A little more ecclectic than unschooly these days.

I got a nice deal on a program called, "ABC teach" on the homeschool buyers Co op. It was 20 dollars for a year membership. So every morning my kids find a word search or dot to dot on the table for them. The cool thing about the dot to dots is the choices. I can choose count 2s or 3s or 5s. or even words or the alphabet. I'm having so much fun playing around with all the worksheets...aggh did I just say, Work sheets? I meant puzzle games. I have to figureout how to do some of the other ones.

Michael is also now old enough for Starfall so he loves that. The kids are also enrolled in some classes this fall. Both kids are taking music and ice skating lessons and Johanna is taking swimming lessons also. Michael is once again a swim class drop out!
These swimming and ice skating lessons seem the most important to me. The more you can do the more options you have for play. No need to sit on the sidelines b/c you can't skate or swim. My kids will be able to get in on the action. I'm not sure if learning how to skate is the same as riding a bike; Once you learn you never forget, but I like to think these skills will help them when they become parents as well. They can help their own kids along the ice and enjoy lots of fun together b/c they will know how to play lots of things! I am not looking to make little athletes out of my kids. I want only for them to have little background so they can go off and feel secure in any type of activity.
Bike riding, swimming, ice skating all the things a well rounded childhood are made of...oh and don't forget the work sheets!

On the move

Were you ever moved to tears by the sheer determination of your child?
I was crying watching Johanna inch her way along the wall. No she did not want help and she could do it. Inch inch inch...then she let go and was so proud to move her feet across the ice. she turned to the kid behind her and joyously yelled, "I did it" She turned back around ; inch inch "I can skate!!" she beamed. What she could do was ever so slightly move her feet so she didn't need the constant support of the wall.
Tears poured down my face as she inched along.

This week Johanna also learned to ride her 2 wheeler. Last year we tried the "Hold the seat and run until the kid takes off" method but she just fell over and over. We put the wheels back on and stopped pushing her.
This year, as she she clanked down the driveway 3 bumps with her very well worn training wheels She noticed she was staying in the middle. So we took the training wheels off to see how she would do. She took off riding. The first night she had trouble actually getting on the bike and going but once on she could ride.
The next morning I lowered her seat and she could balance easier and off she went, an independent bike rider.

Ah the joys of the outdoors or not

So outdoorsy we homeschoolers are; Aren't we? Well if by "we" you mean, "the kids" then yes.
I am not the outdoorsy type. Sure it looks like we are b/c I consider time outdoors essential for optimum growth of young bodies and minds.
Touch the leaves, feel the grass between your toes, climb a tree, feel the breeze, see the butterfly, all awe inspiring just not to me.
The day we took the strawberry pictures I reached down and saw a snake in between the plants. I let out a scream and ran far up the path. 2 other mothers said, "what happened?"
"A snake" I cringed. The other mothers were crestfallen. I had let them down, my own homeschooling brethren. I was not calling the kids over to inspect this cool specimen, I did not wrangle it Crocodile Hunter style. I wouldn't even pick strawberries in that row again.
"A garter snake! It was a garter they don't even hiss" I was told. I do not care if they hiss or not. they slither and wiggle and are in fact SNAKES...so I hightailed it to the end of the aisle where my homeschooling license was abruptly revoked.