Our crazy homeschool (& a shiny new friend)
I’m trying to organize my weekly reports a little better, with subheadings and stuff. Hope it makes for easier reading! 😉
The basics
After much thought and prayer, I decided to drop geometry for Lindsey. She doesn’t need it now, nor will she likely need it for whatever career path she may take. If she does, she can learn it then. It had become nothing more than an exercise in frustration, and although she was trudging through it, things “learned” under duress tend not to stick. Things are going well enough in other subjects, so I don’t feel the need to torture her with something she really hates. However, we haven’t abandoned math altogether. This week she began doing a business math, and told me she actually likes it (even though it takes FOREVER, according to her!) because she can understand it and see a purpose for it. So I’ll have her work through this book, and she’ll still do the Dave Ramsey personal finance course, and that will be plenty of math for Lindsey.
Kathryn enjoyed the writing assignment for history last week. It was to write a letter, as if you were a child back in pioneer days whose parents have announced plans to move out west as homesteaders; the letter was to be written to your grandparents expressing your thoughts and fears about this new undertaking. She did a great job, with none of her usual hesitation, because she is so familiar with that time period due to all the historical fiction she’s read for years, including the Little House series.
Math with Teaching Textbooks is still going well for Kathryn. In fact, school in general is going rather well for both girls. There are have been several times this week when we’ve all been sitting at the table, doing schoolwork, and even though there might be occasional grumbling, there is mostly silliness, good-natured joking, and laughter. I like it.
And when Ken is home, our homeschool is even crazier. 😉
He had Kathryn snap this photo while Lindsey was finishing schoolwork last Friday. {Caption, anyone?}
Enrichment Classes
Enrichment classes are still going well, and Kathryn’s bat mitzvah classes started back up last weekend with a 3-hour Hebrew class that included a review from what they learned last year, plus a good deal of new material. This is her second and last year of mitzvah classes.
Lindsey is enjoying her painting class, and this week they finished up a painting they started last week. You can see some of the texture in this photo, but it looks even better in person.
We’re doing something totally new this year: BAND!
I’ve known about a local homeschool band for quite a few years now, but they’ve now moved to a location less than three miles from our house! Since the audition/instrument-fitting day was last week, Kathryn and I talked about it and chose to give it a try. After much consideration, she decided she wanted to play the flute — like I did. The kids got to try out the instruments, and that confirmed her choice of the flute. This week, we brought home a shiny new friend, even though class doesn’t meet until the first week of September. I was pleasantly surprised about how much came back to me once I had that flute in my hand (and totally kicking myself for selling mine 8 or 9 years ago because they’re expensive now!). I’m happy to be able to help Kathryn learn. She is doing amazingly well so far!
Nature Study
Although we still haven’t started doing an “official” nature study each week, I’m really not concerned about that because I’m being intentional about pointing out things or, more importantly, listening when Kathryn points things out to me.
Our hummingbirds provide entertainment and we’ve continued learning about them as we watch their sometimes crazy antics around the back porch feeder. For a while, we only saw one female, but we now know we have at least five hummingbirds that frequent our yard. I watched one sip nectar from the honeysuckle near the driveway, from the butterfly bush, from a flowering shrub in front of the house, and even from the strange flowering thing on top of our lettuce (I don’t think it’s suppose to do that but I’m new to lettuce-growing and I don’t think we harvested correctly!). Their agility never ceases to amaze me!
We had a monarch butterfly in the yard! We have many, many swallowtails and painted ladies, but this is the first time I’ve seen a monarch here! Kathryn and I chased it around the butterfly bush, and of course I grabbed my camera.
What we’d mistakenly been told were Russian hornets are really Cicada Killer Wasps. Doesn’t that name sound scary? Seeing 2-inch long wasps fly around the yard is a bit scary, too, but it turns out they are not as scary as they seem. In fact, the males are stingless, and the females only sting if you step on them or catch them — or if you’re a cicada.
My other life (as a photographer)
I hosted a party last weekend for the women’s portrait photography project I’ve worked on for the past month. It was fun, and it was the first time I shared the photos with any of the participants in my project. If you watch carefully, you may recognize at least one face in my little slideshow. 😉
Linking today with:
– Homeschool Mother’s Journal at iHomeschool Network
– Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
– No Fear Homeschool High School at The Daisy Head
– Collage Friday hostess Mary at Home Grown Learners
Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »
Yay for the shiny new friend! I bet she will love playing the flute!
I admire you doing what is best for your girls… your homeschool always looks like a perfect balance between mom directed and student directed learning.
I’m off to look at your photos now! Thanks for linking, Jamie!
I really enjoyed reading about what’s going on in your homeschool! We just started Geometry this week, and I’m not sure how it’s going to go for us. We’ll give it a while and see!
Love the husband picture! Our school days are much sillier when Dad’s around as well!
Have a great weekend.
Caption – Super Homeschool Dad: Able to leap studying homeschoolers in a single bound. 😉
Love the painting! It turned out great.
I followed the link for the cicada killer wasp. Very interesting…but still very creepy-looking.
I love your photos! Beautiful. The texture in Lindsy’s painting very nice. OK I skimmed, I have to say your artistic approach really appeals to me. Love your blog.
I am thinking of homeschooling my kids starting from the coming year and I ma hoping it will turn out to be the best experience for my kids. What you guys are doing really inspires me.
LOL!! I laughed so hard. My husband makes the school day crazy when he is home too!
Love Lyndsey’s painting and her face in the photo is priceless! Sounds like school is a lot of fun this year!!
::laugh:: I guess Dad’s a hoot around the house, huh? ::wink:: Nothing wrong with some fun!
Good for you for making curriculum changes as needed. It’s something that I struggle with even though I know something simply is.not.working!
Beautiful butterfly!
Sounds like you had a lovely, productive week!! I would’ve dropped the Geometry too – Personal/business finance is much more meaningful!! The art work is beautiful. You are so lucky to have all those extra activities available to you.
I think I recognized a couple of beautiful young ladies in your portraits. Lindsay’s painting is wonderful.
I’ve not seen Dave Ramsey’s personal finance course, but my oldest son is using the Stewardship course from Math-U-See. I love that my son can see how math applies to real life in a practical way!
The butterfly picture is beautiful!
Your week looks really, really great. I think you definitely made the right call on the geometry; if she’s just learning to survive the course there’s no point.
I love that your daughter appear oblivious to your husband in the photo! How did she keep her face straight?
I really like this post, Jamie. It really shows the heart of your homeschool. The painting is amazing and I think it is wonderful that she has a shiny new friend.
I love the painting! I used to paint as a teenager and often wish that I had kept up with it. Maybe someday I will again.
We have 3 hummingbirds that visit our feeder outside our school room window. I, especially, have enjoyed watching them this summer.
I kept my flute in large part because I hope my daughter choose to play flute some day in the not-so-distant future. 🙂 Or even if she doesn’t I could maybe envision myself playing in a community band when I am old and gray and don’t have kids at home any more. So I guess I will be glad I kept it either way. I hope your daughter really enjoys playing!
Wow! It sounds like you’ve all found your groove! I love the nature study thing, but I haven’t quite figured out if I’m doing it correctly or not. I have boys, young boys at that. They love all things nature anyways, so we’re constantly looking at stuff, exploring, discussing, and getting all kinds of dirty doing it. I just wish I could do a better job at the notebooking and journaling part.
Anyway, I love it all!
I’m reading from http://ajoyfulmess.blogspot.com.
The painting looks great! I also played the flute, but I’m not sure that it would come back to me now???? It has been way to long.
Wow! That painting is awesome! She is very talented 😉 Glad you guys are having a great time and that school is going well. Thanks for stopping by Our Journey!
Love the photo of your husband…
“What homeschool parents really do while their children are busy studying.”
Looks like a wonderful week! Sounds like you made a good decision to switch math:) And yay for flute!