Mud Pies, Gardens, Fourth of July

The summers already been going by quickly. The past month we've kept busy with parks, playdates with friends and even some new friends, outside fun, picnics and other activities in between.

On one of the hottest days, we made cookies and baked them in the van, the idea thanks to fellow local homeschoolers' posts online! The kids thought it was amazing the van got hot enough to bake the cookies! I wish I would have had a thermometer to see how hot it was inside. I'm definitely going to have to pick one of those up and try it again sometime.

Another idea we got from the many awesome ideas in posts from Examiner's Alicia Bayer, was a mud pie kitchen outside. We went to Goodwill and bought up a bunch of fun mudpie pans, pitchers, strainers, and stirrers. We came home and set it up and the kids spent the whole morning and most the afternoon and evening making and decorating mud pies!

Speaking of mud...more fun with mud in some black dirt in the yard last month:

The organic garden we've been working on seems to be doing pretty well! The kids still help me weed and plant more things as we go. Noah is especially amazed at how everything has grown so big. When we first planted, it was him I was worried about with the garden. I pictured him picking things, digging in it, and sneaking over and watering it. But I was so wrong! He respects it so much and is so gentile with the seedlings and has been so eager to watch it all come up. We've been cutting off some of the lettuces and beet greens already for green smoothies and salads. I could see expanding it next year so we can grow even more! The pride and confidence one gets from growing your own food is something I'm so happy to share with the kids.

Ava and I went and saw the play Annie at the Children's Theater last month. She loved it so much. This was her second play she'd been to. It was easier this time as Noah and Amora stayed home for this one so Ava and I could have an "Ava-Mommy Day." I look forward to seeing more productions at the theaters as the kids get older.

As we cross off bucket list items for the summer, I'm enjoying so much watching the kids experience life and hoping they'll carry with some fun memories of summertime fun and learning.


Bug Bingo



Morning "Apple and Smoothie Picnic!"



Bubbles at the park.




Watching John fix a friend's flat tire.



Coloring Independence Day pictures.

One of 30 or so firework pics Ava took on the fourth.

Watching fireworks!

Celebrating and Learning to Read

We celebrated the kids' graduation today at Chuck E Cheese's with their grandparents. Well, we had actually planned to go rollerskating, but the new summer schedule sent us to our plan B this morning! But it worked out great. The kids had a blast and hopefully their grandmas and grandpas enjoyed it too!

We picked up a couple little gifts as well. Ava got the dvd Nim's Island that she's been asking for for months. Noah got a fishing (yes, fishing, I know...) game he's always wanted, and Amora some little monkey puppets she loves. She's a big fan of monkeys, except for the "scary monkey" she saw on TV one night. Chris Griffin's "Evil Monkey," for those familiar, scared Amora when she saw it when John and I were watching TV one night. Yes, the kids know Family Guy. We're not great on the censorship I guess. John is in charge of turning the channel if something too violent comes on that would scare them...like when Peter fights that rooster. But we thought the Evil Monkey wouldn't be that bad. She did not like him though.

The kids also got some new books. Ava got some beginner reading books. Noah, some letter sound books, and Amora a picnic food book. Ava jumped right into one of hers in the van and wants to keep them there for van rides to color them and read them.  She was also reading Amora books in their "fort" in the living room the other night. She said she read four books to her.

I've actually been asked about reading several times recently. What if a kid doesn't want to read? What if they don't learn when we think they should learn?
Ava has naturally taken to reading and writing. The only times she's backed off have been when I've been too "teachy" about it. If she gets to do it on her own, for her own enjoyment, she really is in to it. Will my other two be so enthusiastic about books? It's hard to tell now, though it's starting out well since they do love books already.

Nonetheless, it does make me think about how I would handle it if one of our kids didn't show an interest in reading by, say, six or seven, the age that current institutionalized schools expect it.
I think again, about how kids learn best...did we teach them to talk? Well, not exactly. We didn't sit them down as toddlers and make them copy us over and over. We may have encouraged it sometimes with a big smile, but it came naturally. Children are surrounded by conversation. Kids WANT to be part of the adult world. They want to do as we do. They are driven to learn and do the things we do (even the things we'd rather they didn't do!). If kids see something as useful, as important, as something those around them are doing and enjoying, they WILL want to do it too!
Now, some kids learn to talk before they're a year old. Some don't learn until they are three or later. But, barring any underlying condition, if they are around people talking, they WILL talk. You couldn't stop them if you tried!
I think that can be applied to most things. Reading included. If children are around adults that like to read, that read for fun and for necessity as well, they will want to pick it up. Maybe they will want to start at age three, or maybe at age 10, but they will desire to do it too...if they are not forced. If they're confidence is not harmed by bad grades. By expectation. By disappointed teachers and parents. By punishment. By the feeling they are falling behind everyone else.
If let to be, kids will learn. They are awesome learners.

I've read many articles and book chapters parents' have written about how and when their children learned to read. They all have a range! Just like everything else. Kids are ready to learn things at different times. WHY do we insist to put a concrete age on when a kid needs to read? An expectation they must meet or they "fail," lose their confidence, and become labeled. I've read of many kids who never took to reading but then found a book about something they were interested in and just picked it up and read it, amazing their parents. They weren't "behind" or "illiterate." Not in the least. Another perk of homeschooling, these kids were able to learn at their own pace without failing. While at the same time, another child, maybe even in the same family, who starts reading at age three, isn't slowed down and can learn at his own pace as well.
Yes, reading is useful and important, and a great way to learn, no doubt. But I'm all for letting the child decide when they find it useful enough to learn.
Reading about these parents experience may confirm my thoughts, but I can see these things in our own kids, which is what matters most to me. I see how they learn best and what inhibits their learning. Reading to our kids, having books available to them that interest them, bringing them to the library and letting them choose their books, giving them reading games and activities to play as they choose, fun songs and crafts about words and letters all are fun ways we surround them with reading opportunities. AND, maybe most importantly, let them see mom and dad reading!

End of Kindergarten!

As the official school year comes to an end, some of the pressures on homeschooling are lifting and I may relax in my documentations, both on blog and on my own record-keeping. This was a cool trial year for us. Ava's experience in Kindergarten, both public school and at home was hopefully fulfilling to her and memorable. The rollercoaster of it all was certainly a ride for me anyways. The kids have learned a lot, and I have learned a lot about how they learn a lot! I would be in heaven if I could continue to learn with them in the years to come. Time will tell, as we are at the beginning of it all, and we are taking it year-by-year. So as I go through this post, of the last two official weeks of Ava being a Kindergartner, I have a great sense of "we did it!"
Of course, as I've mentioned plenty of times, learning never stops. We will continue doing what we do throughout the summer. There's really no start or stop when you are learning from life. This has become our way of life as a family. Questions rarely go unanswered. If we don't know the answer, we can research it, teaching the kids how to look up answers for themselves. I ,as a homeschooling parent, don't need to have all the answers. Teaching children how to FIND answers is the most important lesson of all! To use their curiosity as a catalyst to explore the world around them. Children's curiosity shouldn't be taken for granted! If there's a curiosity or desire, we try to meet that. From a spider crawling on the ceiling to bad weather, from building to reading, going to museum or the library, or even the grocery store, all of it is an opportunity to be harnessed.

So the last couple weeks have included a lot. We have begun our garden, which is something I find so important for every human being on Earth to know how to do! I'm still learning. In all my schooling, I never planted a single seed, until we grew a plant in a college Biology course I took. Isn't that crazy? NEVER grew a plant, a vegetable, a tree from seed. The most fundamental need for life, growing your own food, is generally NOT taught in schools. I find that baffling. So, I'm learning now. So my kids can learn. And the kids are naturally into growing. They love to get their hands dirty. The love to watch their "babies" grow into plants, and from the small amount we grew last year, they love to pick and wash and EAT their produce.

I've been toying with raw foods the past several months and the kids have really gotten into the idea too. They love helping make new meals and love juicing!

As for more "schooly" subjects, while Ava was working in her spelling book recently, I was encouraging her to use more lower-case letters instead of only capital letters. She started drawing art on her arm with a tattoo pen she has. I said I'd let her draw on my arm only if she ONLY drew lowercase letters. She thought that was hilarious and proceeded to draw all over my arm in lower-case letters. We also looked at books to see how in books they use lower case letters, not all capitals, since she loves writing books so much.

Another favorite past time of hers, is drawing and anything to do with art. She wanted to wait and start back up her art classes she was taking in the fall. Frequently, she has me come in her room for "art lessons," and teaches me step-by-step how to do a drawing. She tries to get her brother to do art lessons occasionally, but Noah actually isn't all that fond of drawing. He likes more crafty art when he does do art things.
Recently, I picked up a "7 Days of Fun" kit that has 7 different activities for each day. The kids did most of them in one day, but it was so fun for them. Noah loved the sand art and the clay art. They had a blast with these kits.

One thing a lot of people ask about homeschooling several children at once is how to do so with different ages. Especially with a toddler around. Certainly it takes a little planning and often quick thinking but also it's the ability to be flexible. Since the way we homeschool doesn't involve a strict structure hour-by-hour plan, if one child is too crabby or tired we can simply wait for a better time to jump into any big project. Ava is at an age where she can do a lot by herself, so while I get a little one to nap, she can do her own thing or finish what we were doing. Also, learning side-by-side has many benefits. For one, the older child(ren) teach the younger, and on occasion, even the other way around. Also, while the older is learning about something at their level the littler ones tune in and pick up a lot about the subject as well. As Ava learns about reading words, Noah sees letters and hears the sounds they make, and Amora, not even two, is learning language and watching a great example of her older siblings reading books and learning.

Amora looking at books during Ava's spelling.

Playing clay while her older sibs did messy sand art!

Ava telling Noah about satellites.

More books in the club house!

Amora with her book.

Amora with Mommy's book!

Playing together even offers so much to kids. The cooperation, patience, and communication, and turn-taking is critical in social skills. Being with kids of different ages and abilities I think strengthens these skills enormously. Of course, it doesn't always appear that they are cooperating and learning turn-taking sometimes, but even in those times, they are learning important social skills. Disputes, arguments, and seeing how far they can push the other, build a lot of skills even when it seems like they're just yelling. Every child needs to learn those lines, those buttons, the social consequences, how to argue and debate, how to love someone even if you're mad at them or disagree with them, and who better to learn that from than from their trusted family members?

Talking to others I've heard plenty that it will get so much easier too. If we can homeschool at these ages, it's going to be a breeze and even more fun to learn with older children. The world is wide and there are so so many opportunities out there!

The kids also got a real-life lesson from the recent tornadoes that went through. They know very well why we have to take cover during the sirens and Ava is very interested in watching the weather map on TV and what it all means. Earlier in the week, we drove past some of the damage caused by the recent tornado in our area. Noah was amazed that the tornado was strong enough to pull up the huge trees by their roots. We actually have shingles and insulation in our yard from the debris from where it tore over houses several miles away.

Our last homeschool group meet was Friday. It was a clean up day to clean the room that the church allows us use of. The kids all pitched in, the youngest kids, including Amora, stomping baking soda into the carpets and the older ones spraying and scrubbing with non-toxic cleaners and vacuuming. Then afterward, they all got to play at a near-by park together.

And for the last little funny pic I added here, this morning Ava an I were watching a little spider crawl on the ceiling. We were wondering if he could see us watching him. We started talking about how some animals can see very very far, like hawks, and why this is important for them to be able to do. Then we discussed bats and how they use echolocation. Ava was intrigued so I grabbed her near-by laminated map place mat and held it in front of her face and told her to say something with her eyes closed and tell me if the place mat was there or not. She could tell every time (I put my hand over her eyes too, no peeking!) Looks like people can use echolocation on some scale too!

So, this marks the end of Ava's Kindergarten! Stay-tuned for summer adventures, and maybe a few graduation pics since we'll do something little and fun to celebrate, of course!

Thanks to all who have supported our family and continue to do so in this adventure!!! I'm so looking forward to all that awaits us.