Homeschooling Fosters Creativity

Several weeks ago the kids watched a movie about sled dogs.

The next thing I knew they had these big ideas about building their own. It just happened that we were babysitting that Saturday. So their friend added his imagination to the mix.

These pictures are in random order. They were taken by my little photographer. 

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This is a special homemade "paint" made by the boys. they gathered poke berries and smashed them into a jar. The results were pretty cool. 

This garage is the boy's haven. It is a place of creativity and much mess. I try to stay out of it.

Mr. J brings them lots of old wood, which they use to build things. But you know as I am writing this, I realized that this plyboard (stored in the garage) was actually from their bunkbeds! AGH!

This is the smaller dog sled that David and his friend built.

We were less successful at putting together a dog harness. Hopefully by the time it snows we will be able to figure that one out.

My boys spend hours and hours working on this dog sled. They had no directions, no google, nothing! This was entirely from watching one movie. 

Science and Field Trips

We are finally in a groove with school. The kids are doing well with their routines and working independently. The curriculum we are using has turned out to be perfect, now that we are in routine.

We add in extras as we can. I love that my kids love to learn and we can turn so many things into learning experiences.

Watching the solar eclipse online while eating breakfast.. They got up at 6 am without complaint.

We also visited a local orchard. We were very disappointed that we did not get to see all the processing of cider. 

The kids loved eating the apple scraps. 

They have these automatic apple peelers, that peel and core apples. 

We also got a science lesson in the apple orchard. I learned a lot!

 

There was tossing of apples and eating of apples.

This school year has not turned out quite like I thought it would. But we have been able to do a lot of #bestyes moments. We made the difficult decision to cut out co op and cut back on some other things and as a result we have been able to do some fun things that make wonderful memories. 

It Was The Kids First Time At The Fair

It is fair season. My kids have never been to the fair. Mostly because I dislike crowds. This year I decided to attempt a trip to the fair for dinner and to watch the parade. 

My kids are NOT impressed with my attempts at pictures.. Keeping it real. :)

I posted on FB asking for tips on where to park. Handicapped parking can be a royal pain. So I asked for tips on where to park a 15 passenger van that takes up 2 parking spots, that wasn't to far from the parade.

Nesiah LOVED the fair! She was so excited and happy!

My friend Miss D offered us a parking spot at her house, a couple houses away from the parade route and only a couple blocks from the Fair! I was so thankful! It was the perfect place to park!!

Lee takes his books everywhere he goes...

We parked at Miss. D's house and walked up to the fair for dinner. The kids were so excited, altho we all hate crowds! They chose pizza and ice cream from the ice cream truck! We got fried oreos as a bonus! Oh the sugar!!!!

We walked back to Miss D's house and sat on the corner waiting for the parade, which the kids LOVED!

Seriously, who comes up with costumes like this!

Even Uncle Sam was there!

My favorite float was the one that looked like the Beverly Hillbillies! The parade lasted for 2 hours! Oh My! My kids had so much fun. They totally enjoyed themselves! Plus they had an amazing stash of candy when they got home! 

They decided the Fair was one of their favorite places to go to! Plus the very next day our favorite babysitter took them to Cherry Crest Farms for the day. They had entire to much fun this week! Next week looks almost as good. We already have two field trips planned!

One final picture, because I love it!