Three Weeks Off

So we're taking our equivalent of Summer Vacation now.
No comment on the fact that it's supposed to snow tonight. What kind of summer is that?? (*giggle*)

Bekah wanted to earn a "help mommy" badge yesterday. I haven't broken it to her that we're not doing badges next year. If she wants to volunteer to clean up, who'm I to turn that down??
Jasmine wanted to make another hideaway, since we skipped the last 5. But they didn't interest her (or me) enough, so we ended up doing one of the other activities from the Creating Clever Castles and Cars book. She wasn't happy with the results and I wasn't exactly happy with her reaction to the results, but they did enjoy running around it for a few hours last night.
(no pictures...it really didn't turn out to look like anything!)

I'm gearing up for second grade. Going through the book of Science activities to figure out what all we need to buy ahead of time. I just ordered a teacher's book specifically for homeschoolers to track what we do each day. It should make things run more smoothly and keep me on task, even though we're going the more unschooling route. I still have to report to the school district, so it's good to track what we're covering for those lovely quarterly reports.

I promised Jasmine an ice cream party (with homemade ice cream!) for completing first grade.
So here's the story:

We made ice cream. From scratch. From So Delicious Coconut Milk for Josh and Bekah, and regular milk for the rest of us. (milk and sugar in a little ziploc, put inside a larger ziploc full of ice and salt, and then wrapped in a towel and placed in a plastic shopping bag. shake for 15 minutes, rinse of the water/salt on the inside bag, and enjoy!)

Pretty exciting, non?

Unfortunately, we were nervous to rinse the bags for long, because we didn't want it melting in the water.
So it didn't get the salt off.
When we put the ice cream in the bowls, some of the salt came off into the bowl.

YUCK.

I'd like to try again and see if we can get actual eatable ice cream out of the process this time.

Finishing up First Grade

Today we finished reading the last of the Encyclopedia of World History (with appropriate editing in the reading, like mentioning that maybe GMOs weren't quite as perfect as they thought when the book was published ;) ).

And with that, I am now the mother of a second grader!!

I'm so incredibly proud of Jasmine. She's been quite a trooper, with all the changes we've made over the past 11 1/2 months. She is definitely breaking me in to homeschooling, just as she did with being a mom. But that just makes it that much easier for the next ones coming up!

I'll keep blogging for next year, though now the title of the blog is outdated.

Congratulations, sweet Jasmine! I'm so proud of you!!

Ending the Third Quarter

It's hard to believe it, but we're now 3/4 of the way done with first grade! Thankfully I have all but one of the books for second grade (and that last one I can borrow from the library if I'm inspired to go through it before the new one arrives), so I can do some concrete planning.

I'd say this year has been a success. One of the things I'm most happy about is that I've learned to go with the flow more. Both with giving Jasmine some freedom in planning her day/week, and in adjusting the curriculum as needed to work with our temperaments and strengths.


I've loved the Hideaways. Well, loved 'em and hated 'em. There are more boxes still sitting, waiting to be created, than we have projects left, because now that it's winter, our space is more limited. But we still do them some of the time:

My husband and I re-tackled that notorious igloo with the milk jugs we held onto after our first attempt. It was helpful to have thought it through the first time, so we could avoid the same mistakes. It was smaller, but it actually lasted a few days instead of a few minutes!

Gym class is more fun than I ever thought it could be...they love yoga, ballet and Irish Dancing.

I'm excited that we've made it this far, and that things are smoother and more enjoyable most days. I love my kids and am so very thankful that I get this time with them, and that I'm not sending them off for some other person to get to see that "aha!" moment. 

Back in the saddle again

Just a quick check-in...
we're finally back up and running again. Week 11: Medieval England. I'm fascinated about what we're learning already this week! I read a book called "1066 And All That," which is a very silly "English 'history'" book, but since I don't know any of the real history, most of it is over my head. So reading about Alfred the Great made the jokes a lot more understandable!

We cut out a large castle. I donned my very bad British Accent as I cut out the doors and windows. Bekah got on my case as soon as I lapsed into my normal voice.
Tomorrow we paint and glue the two boxes together, and then I'll get pictures. I have too many pictures to edit from our vacation last week to want to touch the camera again today!

Last week was a great learning experience, though. They had a horseback riding lesson, we visited the aquarium, Old Fort Niagara, a botanical garden, the county fair, watched their daddy take a flying lesson, went to the Museum of Play...so to read all about our educational fun week, check out my other blog!

First Quarter

We're just finishing up the first quarter!
I'm stunned.
We love the curriculum. We love the books, the projects, the things we're learning. (yes, "we" are learning. I'm learning as much as she is!)

She has a handful of un-fun things she needs to finish from last week, and then we'll be finished with the first quarter. I'll write my quarterly, but not hand it in to the school until late October (I've scheduled it to be due November 1st).

We're always hearing questions about if we'll give the kids vacations.
I love the way we're doing it now. We'll be taking off a week in mid-August to have a "stay-cation" (I hate that term and insist that we call it a vacation, but it really does tell you that we're not going anywhere!)
At this point I don't see a need or have a desire to take a long vacation from school. This way she's not forgetting it all, but more importantly, she is a different girl on the days we do school. And in a very good way.
So here's to three more quarters as smooth and fun as this first quarter has been!!

Week 9

Week Nine means:

1. Ancient History is, well, ancient history
2. we're definitely in a routine now. They know what's expected of me. I know how to get the new week's stuff set up in next to no time.
3. Jasmine knows what each workbook will demand of her and which ones to put off as long as possible.
4. School is getting easier and harder, at the same time.
(easier because she knows what's expected of her and it's easier to write now, harder because it's building on itself)
5. when this week ends, we will be a QUARTER of the way through the school year!
6. excuse me for a minute while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

7. when this week ends, I will tackle my first quarterly report. The school won't get it until late October, but I'm doing it while it's fresh in my mind.

No pictures today, sorry.

Routine and Peace

Jasmine has never been my easy child.
It also means she adds a tremendous amount of sparkle to life.
And she broke us in. We thought we had life all figured out, and then we had Jasmine.
She made us figure things out all over again. And we love her for it. (especially now that she's 6 and no longer keeping us from sleeping)
It's pretty amusing that, for some reason, I thought we'd gotten all the wrinkles worked out and that life would start cruising. I should have known that teaching her would force a new level of flexibility out of me!

But it's actually been an easier transition than I expected. Other than a few "what did I get myself into??" moments the first two weeks, things are going well.
One of those awesome side effects I didn't anticipate, but love, is that she's gotten easier-going since we started doing school daily.
And a new one just hit me today. I made up a couple badges for her to "help mommy." I didn't have anything particular in mind, but knew that I wanted something positive to come from this.
And it has! She wanted to do it today (Monday morning!!!) so she helped me make the egg salad sandwiches. Then this afternoon, I actually invited her to help me make the cake for dinner tonight.
You have to realize what a huge thing that is for me. I usually like to do things myself. It's faster, less crowded, and I don't have to think everything through quite as extensively. But I knew she could help and welcomed her help!
I have to admit, I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For her to start resisting school again, or to just be cranky in general, but it really is looking like we've turned a corner and are going down a new, untrodden, peaceful, happy road! And I'm very thankful for that!

Love that sparkle, but love this peaceful, happy, easy-going girl I'm suddenly seeing. I hope she sticks around!