"Covered" Wagon

We did last week's Hideaway this afternoon: a covered wagon.
But the swimming noodles didn't appreciate the heavy sheet, so I taped them up more and put on a pillowcase. Kinda lost some of the excitement factor, but at least they were able to play in/on/around it!

We brought down their old spring horse to pull the wagon. They enjoyed exploring the West!

A Hideaway!

We've pretty much given up on making hideaways, but we still have a bunch of boxes, so we should keep chipping away at them. They're just getting tough to keep the motivation up, especially during the cold weather...the porch is too cold to have the hideaway out there, so it's the kitchen. And I get really claustrophobic.
But we did one today. It's actually from the readings from a couple weeks ago, but that doesn't matter. The kids love it because it's also something they see in their current favorite movie: Disney's Peter Pan!

And I know I'm rambling and not saying much. Shall I try over?

We finally got around to making a hideaway today!

These are not pictures I'm proud of photographically, but the kids like them because it helps them remember the hideaway.
They're quoting Peter Pan while they're inside. It's pretty cute.

We're getting close to the end of the school year. It's hard to believe we're almost done with first grade!! What a long and winding road it's been!

Math Class

I was in a mood to shake things up a bit today.
That, and I was just going through the games closet, realizing how many we haven't touched in years.

So I brought down Yatzee. Or, as Bekah read it, "Yangtze." (she loves "The Story of Ping.")

We had a great time! They liked to "Shake it, Pinky, Shake it" with each roll. It extended the game quite a bit but they loved it.
They added up their scores on the abacus. They used lots of logic and problem-solving skills to play the game.

And for the first time ever, I won on a game I taught someone else!!!

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. 

Second Grade planning

So....we're changing gears again.

Thankfully it's only January and we're not scheduled to finish first grade until sometime in April.

Jasmine had requested a science focus for next year.
No, that's not completely true. She asked that the only thing we do next year was science.

Thankfully, her favorite part of science is my reading to her. So though I am making plans for more activities and experiments, I know the primary requirement is good books. I can do books!

I've decided to go through history, starting with the Biblical account of creation, and through to modern history, and we'll cover things as they were discovered/invented. So we'll cover gravity when we learn about Isaac Newton.
It means making a lot of decisions...do we cover astonomy when we do ancient Greece, with Aristarchus, or do we wait until we get to Copernicus?? I haven't yet figured that part out, but I did find an awesome book that may help steer me:   I just got notification that it's been shipped. I can't wait to look through it and see how much it steers things.


Our main book is going to be the Usborne Internet-Linked Science Encyclopedia (Usborne Encyclopedia).

I've also found a couple books for next to nothing (love buying used books!!) with tons of fun child-friendly experiments. I think we should have a fun year!!

Hideaway: Old West General Store

We're now in the 19th century! It's incredible how far we've come.

Welcome to the Wild West, and to Jasmine's General Store.

Ya might notice the sign outside, created by the store owner, indicating that light bulbs are among the things available for purchase inside. But there's a warning: don't eat the light bulbs.
Inside are many drawers, all full of bits and bobs for sale!
C'mon over and shop!

Spelling again

This is Jasmine's spelling list from a couple days ago.
It's not all transferring over to when she's writing (she spelled "I" "iey" a day or so after it showed up on her spelling list) but I know it will come. And I love the logic of this, and the way it builds on itself. Just the way they learn to read! I can't believe this is such an unusual technique, because it's so incredibly logical!!!