Rocks & Minerals Study

We attended a Homeschool Day at a nearby Nature Center yesterday.  It was terribly cold and many people didn't come out.  I decided to go anyway, because my eldest is really into rocks and minerals right now.  We participate in a great lesson and learned a lot.  Here are a few shots from our time there.

We are looking forward to getting back there when things warm up a bit as they have nature trails, a pond for canoeing, and lots of animals around.

One Small Change :: December

This month we will use recycled paper (newspaper, packing paper, etc.) to wrap our gifts in.  No purchased wrapping paper for us this year.

We usually make our own paper for birthdays by using recycled paper or paper bags and making designs on it.  Now we'll extended it to this holiday season and make it a standard from her on out.  Some simple enough to do that gives it's own feel to a gift.  Also falls into the handmade holiday challenge as well. :D

What One Small Change will you make this month? You can see ideas here.

Happy Holidays to you!

What Are We Doing?

I've been asking myself that for the past few weeks. Actually, it's been, "What the heck are we doing?!" lol

I look around me at...boxes. But these boxes need unpacking. We have finally made it into our new home! YAY! We've been here for a bit already. Getting used to the space, cleaning, painting, imagining, deciding how best to use each room.

Someone asked me the other day, "So when do you home school the kids?" Usually I have an answer ready, but I didn't yesterday. I said something to the effect of "yeah, I'm really relaxed right now." I guess reading all the wonderful unschooling blogs has REALLY allowed me not to worry so much about what we are and aren't doing.

Now, for those of you who may be nervous about what you just read...let me assure you. We are doing plenty over here. :D  It's amazing for me to recount all the things we've been doing and get about doing in a given day. Even on the days I'm feeling like doing NOTHING. We never do nothing. SMH! LOL!

Our journey has really taken a turn towards a very relaxed place. I feel very connected to each of my children. They are developing into the people God created them to be. They have tons of questions about so many things. We do a lot of reading. I mean a. lot. of. reading. The library is the most frequented place we go, besides the local health food store. We've also been drawing, painting, cutting paper into shreds (I still hate this!), putting tape on everything, making jewelry, learning to bake/cook, coordinating wardrobes, learning about animals, composting, garden planning, chicken selecting, singing, dancing, walking through the neighborhood, exploring our back yard, playing with the dogs, learning to tell time, counting, adding, designing, learning to get along and work problems out on our own, listening, making new friends, testing the rules/boundaries, sleeping, crying, eating, laughing, talking, watching videos, writing letters for family, telling jokes, making lists, planning field trips, sharing ideas.....

See? When I get to actually writing things down it's amazing to see all the things we're doing. And I could list more, but won't for your sake! :D

My "school" stuff has been packed up since mid-summer and I haven't wanted to invest any more money into this line of resources. We've been without our phonics program (which was really the only 'structured' thing I was using) but the girl is reading! I was using a book for teaching word problems, but have found that I really don't need a book. Now, it was nice and I'll probably use it once it's unpacked, but my point is that I was still able to teach them word problems. (go figure!)

Because I've embraced this whole get-it-from-the-library-thing (I don't understand why more people don't!) and made it a point to utilize it no matter where we are, we've had access to things I could never afford, or even want to purchase!

The boy has interests in dinosaurs, dragons, pirates and knights. He asked me yesterday if I would teach him everything I know about knights. He's four. It was adorable. I told him that I'd taught him everything I know, which isn't much, but that we'd go the the library and check out as many books as we need to so he'd know all he'd like to know! We're getting ready to go now.

So, I guess the answer to the question is: A WHOLE HEAP A BUNCH A MUCH! We've been traveling, learning, being, living....LOVING OUR LIFE!

Now that we're getting settled, I'm hoping to blog more. I've missed it. I've missed connecting with you! :D

So I guess my question now is: How have you been doing?
I love comments so feel free to share!

Happy Wednesday to you!