Art Fridays

 This was part school part babysitting and keeping the peace today so we did collages. Top one is my middle boy's work. Bottom is my oldest, he is the one who changed it from a desert scene to ancient Egypt, we all learned that cactus don't grow in Egypt.

 This was the little girl's creation I watched today, they are flowers.

 Top one here is my youngest's work, he obeyed the rules of no cactus but didn't want to make his pyramid 3D. Bottom one is my original showing them what to do. It was a MESS but that is what made it fun.

 After lunch once a week I teach a High School girl art since her school doesn't offer basic art class. She is improving immensely and I enjoy the time to teach technical art to someone instead of just crafts and such.

 Here was my setup from my view.

 An awesome apple with nice stripes on it.

 Her hands drawing the crumpled paper assignment.

 Her's is on top and mine on bottom. This is not my best work but it was still fun to do.

Do art every day, it helps improve the right brain which strengthens the left side along with it. Dance, draw, sing, cook, bake or create something new at least once a day and it will make a difference in your life and your kid's lives as well.

I love back to school time now!

Back to school! I was looking forward to it since I have so much to teach my kids plus I missed the schedule we kept during the school year. We started 2 weeks ago with reading Dr. Dolittle and then going for runs together as a family. My 9 year old can do a mile in 12 mins! Faster than me!
We have so much planned for school this year and they helped formulate the first half of it with me this last Monday so I know it will be all things they want to learn. Things like but studies, chemistry for younger kids, Portuguese, grammar(ok so this is my goal for them because grammar matters to me), and art along with many other things. It is proving to be a promising year.
I myself have started up art classes from home again so there will be extra school for me to plan for but I love having my kids here to listen to its and learn from me as well as others. First goal of this year is to do better here and do a weekly post. For now it is bedtime and I have lots to plan for next week. Until then let me know some of your plans for school and goals while I edit my list for you next time😊

Head pounding on the wall moment

I think I have hit my homeschooling proverbial wall. I have been stuck all week doing other things and letting my kids do their own thing. I hate not teaching them but at the same time my mind draws a blank when I think about what to teach them. Not just think, I pray and meditate. Maybe I should take this as an early summer break. We will start again in a couple weeks just to keep the brain juices flowing. This year has been hard trying to do this homeschool on a free or nothing budget. It is possible, I have lots of resources online, books galore, and plus I can give them my knowledge of things as well. So the older two are done for a little while the youngest guy is just starting. He was the one who told me he was ready to start so here we go!

Top of the world!

I have conquered the world in this picture! We are literally in the clouds here after a long, grueling hike that was 3.25 miles just to get to this point (half of which my husband and I alternated with holding the 3 year old). It was great seeing how far all of us could go, but it was exhausting. Just like homeschooling. I am exhausted all the time. But it feels so good to hear how well my boys can read or see how fast they do their math. They all are progressing far better than I had ever anticipated. I started the year with no goals other than to see what they are capable of. Now I see what they know and what they want to learn. We have been studying the solar system and Jack makes up his own song memorizing the order of the planets in our universe! He loves going at his own pace like this. Some weeks he flies through it all while at other times he crawls through each day complaining that he is bored. B is different. He doubts himself over and over. He will easily read a book to T then state that he doesn't know how to read. Truth be told, I am shocked at how well they are learning but inside me I still worry that it is not enough. I guess that is normal. I never feel sufficient for my family anyway. It is hard feeling this way but the moments when I hear J reading faster than he ever has before or when B teaches T his numbers I feel such unspeakable joy knowing that for now it is enough. They are happier than ever before so why shouldn't I? For now I will make a goal of posting here weekly of our first year journey. We are going to do this year round. I would stop but they won't let me. Fridays are now going to be down time for us, I need it more than they do. They didn't even want a Spring Break! But I need to recharge and get my goals reassessed and made once again. Until then, we are going to play with Legos.

 Checking out the fire engine.

 My three little rascals.

 My rascals with their friend Max.

Fire department field trip. This was so much fun for the boys to go see even though they were all so timid at first but the firemen were so excited to see young ones in their station that some were bouncing to come see them, literally, they were hopping while they approached us. They were called out to go see about an animal in distress (a raccoon) so we got to see them leave and the sirens blast as they left. Even though it was a short visit it was nice to see what firemen do on a daily basis. My grandpa was one for 29 years in LA County so I hold a deep respect and their families.

Friday fun day

 Fridays are hard, Jack has Cub Scouts the night before so he is wired when he gets home so once Friday morning is here he is in no mood for school, unless it is fun. So I started Friday fun day, or free day. We were going out to the Library these days until we got sick, or, really until I got sick two weeks ago and we kept passing the cold around. Anyway, before the illnesses caught up with us we went to the Air Force Museum out in the airport close to town. Boys and planes equals lots of excitement!

 See them run!

 This was an old plane where guys would jump out of the them for WWII. After this we had an impromptu lesson about that war and who Hitler was. I hesitate to show my kids or want to teach them about the horrors of the world but I have learned that the sooner they see the bad, the faster they learn how to choose the good. And that is my job, to teach them how to manage their lives on their own one day.

 Love these pictures of them in this old plane.

 Learning hands on is helping my boys so much more than sitting still. Glad I learned that part in education classes before I dropped out.

This is hard

Homeschooling is hard. Wait, let me rephrase that. Teaching is hard. Nope, not quite it. Feeling good about myself when homeschooling is hard. There we go, that is more like it. There is not a day that passes that I don't second guess everything I am doing, and this started way before we even started homeschooling. I know this is first year blues as most teachers get but it is even harder when it is your own kids that are directly affected by it. That being said I know I am not the first nor the last person who will feel this way when homeschooling. I have learned on my short time to just focus on the positives. Like the other day when Jack was doing his multiplication, he came across a hard one for him and he figured it out faster than I could explain it. That was the shining moment for him and me to just let them grow on their own. It has been a fun experience and each time I doubt it and tell a stranger that my kids are homeschooled I get praised instead of criticism. Maybe because I am stronger than I realize and say it with confidence.