Photo post!

It's addictive, really. Buying curriculum... speculating about the brilliance that will be absorbed next year before this year is even over. Speaking of which, It's Spring Break this week!!
Finger looming. She LOVES it. Patterns, fine motor skills, etc.
You go, girl!
Museum of Science and Industry never fails to entertain and educate my family...
We enjoyed the regular exhibits AND toured the Body Worlds exhibit! It was really interesting, but Evan was grossed out when he realized that they were REAL human bodies...
The plethora of dioramas made up for the ickiness. He ADORES miniatures. He's probably pretending to wage a war in that shot.

A little update

Poor little homeschool blog. So neglected...

As Christmas gets closer, I am so grateful for homeschooling. We have been doing some basic review of math, just to stay on top of things. Evan's been reading about people from the Revolutionary War era and Justin's been doing a study on the history of classic American toys. I got the book at the TAGIE awards and was absolutely serious when I said I was going to do a study with the kids through it. Justin is making a timeline and all sorts of things to go with it. It's pretty interesting stuff.

Corinne is just a reading phenom. Dick and Jane is almost too easy for her, but we've got several other phonic-type books that she likes to read on her own that are filling in the spaces until I can find another progressive type of reading series. I have never been solely responsible for teaching any of them to read! Justin knew how by kindergarten but I guess I figured that preschool had something to do with it. Evan struggled until first grade and I assumed that it was my fault. I think I am really REALLY accepting that each child will learn at their own pace, regardless of what their parent tries to force down their throats. That said, I need to keep up with Corinne so that she remains INTERESTED In reading!

We have paper snowflakes everywhere right now. It's crazy how involved Corinne can become in an art project. For a while it was beading, beading, beading. Now it's cutting intricate designs. I wonder what's next?

Well, the kids have a h/s friend over right now and they're playing some sort of top-spinning game that involves a lot of laughing and smack-talking. I am going to browse the internet while it's still peaceful in the house. Merry Christmas!

First week in Photos...

Grade 3 and eating bacon. He's apparently on the Atkins diet. Doesn't he look thrilled to be starting school?!?

Bedheaded preschooler who just couldn't figure out the "P" in sign language for this pic and opted to do her age instead...

6th grade! How did THAT happen?

Quietly reading a new Avatar the Airbender chapter book.

Exploring our new Math U See blocks. Looking forward to actually doing some MUS work soon!

No photo collection would be complete without one of my kids mock-stabbing someone/thing. Such sweet children...

Sigh. What is up with the silly faces?!??

Seriously?

Brat.

Evan's been doing really well this week! I am so impressed with all that he's retained.

Little Miss Unschooler. She likes to work when no one asks her and wherever the mood may strike. It's nice that she can just do page after page of reading and math work, with very little instruction, and get it CORRECT!

Some new modeling clay led to an impromptu art break. 1 hour of art for Justin is like 3 months for other kids. I was AMAZED and was definitely not going to stop him so that he could start on his math! Go Art!

Evan's Blue Man Group. Only it's a solo act.

Justin's art is.... a ball of death! Fabulous.

Corinne's clay creations included hearts, food, people, a frog and a princess with long, green and yellow hair.

One of the best things she's been doing this summer has been beadwork. She makes necklaces, bracelets, "dream catchers" (I use that term loosely. Think outside of the box, here), etc. She's gotten really good at making complex patterns, threading the beads, and tying knots.

We now need more beads, though. We're running low!

Each of her babydolls got a teeny, tiny bracelet, too.

Oooh La La!

Like a lamb...

A trip to Cantigny Park. I don't know why I forget about this fabulous place so often. I made sure to update my calendar with all of the new outings that are coming up. Everything from symphonies and Big Band concerts on the lawn ($5 a car!) to Lego train shows ($5 a car!) to Revolutionary and Civil War reenactments (I'll let you guess how much those cost... ) Between the First Division museum that my children never fail to be fascinated by, the endless gardens (a few more weeks and we can go to see the tulips and daffodils!) and the McCormick mansion (we missed that this time, but will go back again soon because, again, IT'S ONLY $5 TO ENTER).

Here are a few shots of the tank park outside the First Division Museum. I really appreciate the way that my children respond to my acknowledgments that yes, the guns and big ships and tanks are very cool but that each man who enters a war is someone's son, brother, father, husband and friend. Each man that never comes home is a loss so great that it can't be put into words. I want them to know that war isn't something we should ever forget, but it shouldn't be glorified or made into something exciting and fun. Taking them to museums and reenactments where they can get a tiny glimpse into the realities of war is important. Knowing that their Papa fought in Vietnam but can't talk about it confuses them. Allowing them to walk through the man-made jungle in the First Division Museum and then saying "Now imagine people are shooting at you. Imagine that you don't know where that enemy is. Imagine it is hot and you're hungry and scared. Now look to your right..." and there is a manikin, hidden in the bushes.

It opens up lines of conversation, that's for sure.

ANYway. Pictures. Here ya go.
Justin's favorite tank. Not sure why, but I'm sure he'd be willing to explain the details on it that are so interesting. He knew 90% of the tanks there, including information that wasn't on the placards.
The Mountain Climber award goes to.... Evan! He surpassed even his monkey sister. Up and down, in the slushy snow (42 Farenheit! Hellooooo spring!), he fought battles and fended off the enemies while his siblings clambered after him.
Yep. I was there. Hello, Me.
No idea how they got on THAT one...
Everyone finally had their own stick to shoot me with. Sweet kids.
Doing his math in a laundry basket...

Why yes. That IS Boba Fett on a blue Jell-O box. But what is it that Iron Man is leaning against?
Ah. Of course. A free sample from Kotex. Naturally.
My crafty moment of the month: Her expensive tights from Gymboree that I splurged on (when on sale) for Christmas 2008. The dress still fits (I bought it BIG) but the tights kept falling off her tush. So I cut off the feet and sewed them up. Then I cut off the tush, saved the elastic material and stitched it into the new seam by the thigh. Voila! Instant, homemade "Babylegs".
Our venture into origami resulted in a pig, a bat and a cat. I think we're going to make the frog that I used to make when I was little. It actually jumps! We used to do frog jumping races with dozens of origami frogs... Good memories.

23 days and counting...

The paper chain has been made. The countdown has begun...

This is what it really looks like...

Day 1 on making our First Thanksgiving Diorama. Justin is in the background writing an essay about 1621 while Corinne and Evan were in charge of artistic properties...

A little break for self-expression. I had no idea he knew how to put a pick in his hair...

Recess!
Just a cute shot of Corinne matching her numbers, opposites, and other card games. Evan likes to play with her, which is wonderful on so many levels...
My kitchen table. Math, art, spelling words, and Raisin Bran.


The almost completed diorama! We want to put a garden, fire pit, and more people in. Wait a minute... Is that a... ninja? At the 1st Thanksgiving?Yes. Yes, it is.
What does "sour" mean, Mommy?

A few lessons learned

Lesson 1: If Mommy hurts her neck doing something that was meant to be helpful but ends up being not a brilliant idea (like, say, she does a backwards somersault for Cub Scouts even though she's 33....), it's ok to skip the math pages that Evan doesn't understand. It's ok to have him read 10 books to Corinne instead, especially since his reading skills need lots of encouragement. It's ok to cop out of one or two subjects when the teacher (ME!) is screaming in pain. We can make it up later on (most of the work got bumped back a day and I've just reassigned the missed work to this week, instead).

Lesson 2: Poker is great for number recognition, money skills, and encourages critical thinking. Also, Justin will be in good form for his college dorm days since he kicked my ASS on Thursday!

Lesson 3: They ARE learning. A LOT. A lot, a lot. No less than they would in public school. The material they are working on may be simultaneously on higher levels AND lower levels than public schools offer, but they are on THEIR levels. My kids are learning what they don't understand yet, and we're focusing on what they need to improve upon. And it's being done without hours and hours of time at p.s. and then hours and hours of exhausted arguments over homework. Homeschooling IS working for my family. I can see this and it's extremely encouraging.

Lesson 4: Sometimes Mommy is too ambitious. Sometimes I need to step away from the curriculum and exciting projects and remember each child's learning style and speed and just let them absorb it a little more slowly. Sometimes a 7 year old just needs to run laps around the house when printing out ANOTHER tricky word is just too overwhelming...

Lesson 5: My kids are so much happier. SO much happier... It's kind of sad, actually, to think of all of the years that we forced our square-pegged Justin into the circle-shaped schools. It just wasn't a good fit and his edges are still a bit banged up from it. With a little bit of work, we can sharpen them up again. I like having a square-pegged boy.

Lesson 6: I love these art sites for kids!