Is just equality in school...

I know that most of you know both how awesome homeschooling is and how much we love it, but allow me to count the ways that I have fallen in deep, earth shattering love with this way of learning. Actually, I can't count them, but I have thought of 10 reasons.

1..I am a teacher by heart and by nature. I have been able this year to share learning with my children. I have had the privilege that I am so afraid another adult would take for granted to watch my children learn, grow, and explore. I have been able to give them time to speak and to listen and figure things out. And, it has been magical.

2..I have met the most amazing women. My faith in humanity and in myself has been restored this year. I have found kindred spirits and formed friendships that I hope are long lasting. Homeschool moms rock my world. They do so much weighing what in life really IS important. Smart, funny, loving, and kind. I never really liked girls too much until I met them. Now I know, they are out there, and I don't feel so alone or unique.

3..The kids got to do so many fun things, so many field trips and co-ops. I have documented them all here, just click on homeschooling. We had a year 100 times better than making my inquisitive child learn how to stand in a straight line and identify the abcs, only because that's what you do in kindergarten..

4..We owned our experience. We owned our day.. No one else.. Now that is freedom. No bells or punch cards, but rather a natural ebb and flow of our own chosen activities. Our year was ours, and we had what we made..

5..Our home was our responsibility, and learning was up to us. We learned that to eat, we had to cook, and grow food, and plan. We found out how to make learning happen. The way we experienced life and learned was our job.

6..We got to demonstrate to our kids that family and home were of utmost importance instead of just paying lip service to our principals and core beliefs. Evan and I got to be THE examples for our children. We got to choose our acquaintances based on folks who saw things pretty close to the way we did.

7.. My kids got to learn at their own pace. We based our lessons and field trips on things they thought were interesting and cool. And, then, they didn't have to learn something by a certain time and date or else. Ollie didn't have to color, unless he wanted to. Eli got to act silly without a parent teacher conference about said silliness. Self-paced, individualized learning is a buzz word in education right now, but that is much easier to do with two kids that you know extremely well.

8...We got to be flexible. We got to travel without "missing" school. We got to sleep late and read on the floor in our pajamas. We got to change plans, get lost driving, or be bummed because something didn't play out as planned. All, very, very important lessons and experiences for adults, too..

9..I had time to be a homemaker. I had time to cook, and clean, and garden, and hang laundry out, and wear my apron. I loved it.

10..(Last one..) We got to buck the system. We got to question the why behind our public education system both in practice and philosophy. We began to ponder the importance of methods and curriculum. We began to evaluate our own lives in light of this discovery that life doesn't have to be a hamster wheel of work, buy, sleep, work, buy, sleep. We can teach our children so much more about life than a school that is preparing them to join the workforce and be a productive citizen. Our goal contridicted school districts that are forced to try to get every kid know the exact same thing and demonstrate that in the exact same way. Our kids didn't have to think about or know the "standard". We can teach them about learning for learning, to pursue dreams and inquisitions, and to ask questions.

Sits with Utopian hermit monks....

So, I just canceled plans with wonderful friend.
For no reason. Wellll, it was for a reason. A very simple one. Overbooking.
We run our tails off as homeschoolers, and every once in a while we have to stop and take a few deep breaths. When planning our week, I generally separate our time into blocks of AM/ Afternoon/ and PM. Generally every evening Monday - Thursday is full of soccer or Spanish classes. Morning activities range from co-ops and field trips to play dates, volunteering, or lessons. ALL of our activities are valuable and fun. All of them bring us great pleasure and help us learn. I don't put them on the books if they don't. So it is both painful and with regret that I strike one of them from the books. Not to mention that I realize that our friends also maintain a delicate balance with their schedules and likewise make a point to include us in their daily routine. So canceling is not something I take lightly. I know what you give up, when you say you are going to meet us out. Just this week, another mom friend and I had to go back and forth about four times before finally squeezing in an hour and 1/2 nature hike together. Well worth the effort and time, but crazy that we have so much going on...I say this because I love all of our friends and obligations so much. They are a blessing and we would feel isolated and devastated with out each person in our lives, but we do have to cancel sometimes for our own sanity. Sometimes, once every week or so, we have to stay in our pjs, be home to air the laundry and bake, and lounge around and read. And truth be told, we LOVE our family time and our home. We yearn to be together when we are away. Our home is a haven for us, and on the weekends we cling to one another. My favorite moments are spent on a quilt in the backyard with all four of us engrossed in a novel. And, my favorite friends are those that understand and respect that, the ones that are still there when it it time to have others around us, the ones that take no offense to our hermit-like tendencies. Thank you for understanding.

All the tired horses in the sun ....

Class today took place at a friend's home learning about horses!

How to care for them and..

How to ride them!

Ollie's favorite part was a sugar free homemade lemonade being sold by a nine year old, on sight. He bought four glasses with his own money.

High water everywhere.....

For our once a week co-op this Thursday (and at show-and-tell--- thanks for the idea girls!) we read a story about Diego Rivera, on of my favorite Mexican Artists.

I then took a copy of this full mural, Water, the origin of life, and cut it into a grid shape of 8 equal parts. Each of us painted a portion of it and then put it back together to form our own "mural."

I accidentally cut off the bottom two portions, but believe me, they were awesome.
Look closely at the top right to see a tiny girl foot print :)
Our water theme is appropriate giving our historical Spring showers today.

like bats out of hell...

So, coming out of the library this week, a strange man stopped us and said, "Hey wanna see a bat." So, of course I said sure. He took us across the street into the underbelly of a building. (I began to question my decision to follow the man, of course..)BUT, low and behold, he wasn't a crazy killer, but just some dude that took time out of his day to point out something cool.
He touched it! A Bat! This has lead us to much research and discovery about these peaceful, helpful, flying mammals...

Other than this, our week so far has looked just like last week. Creeks and outdoors and reading. I am basking in our routine, though I am afraid, it hasn't felt very interesting to the outside world.

was in the backyard hanging clothes,...

Look what we made!

That pirate ship away.....

We found a great spot last year, and finally made it back there this season. We splashed and explored with friends. We saw two blue herons, two snakes, and two dead crawfish.

My camera is focused on the wrong spot, but one of the herons is in the background of this picture.

Hugging trees..

Feathers..

Alligators...

Wheat for baking bread...

And, a pirate ship with cannon and gold.

Starlight by the edge of the creek..

A day spent in two different creeks,
an insect class,
and pot luck with fellow homeschoolers and friends that included
hide-n-seek, ice-cream, and bubbles.
Is it summer already?

When the cities are on fire..

I should just rename this blog: Following my children around on their adventures.
Outside yesterday.

there in the meadow where the creek used to rise

Today after Spanish class, lunch at home, and work at the food bank, we hiked deep in to the woods (well a mile or so) to meet friends.

There we waded and chatted and played.

Our classroom..

The kids were extremely industrious and hardworking..

Making art for a "rock museum"

Then home for dinner with daddy, fresh, raw wraps for a hot day.
Recipe tomorrow.

lookin’ so dandy and so fine.

Like most of you, we are digging the outdoors.
We get out a plenty, and indeed one of my favorite parts of homeschooling is our ability to go outside whenever the flip we choose.
Notice how cute my little family is.
My brother in law is wearing his 6 month old on a walk to the park.
I love baby wearing dads..

I also love wildflowers found in my backyard. And dandelions.

Eli is hiding behind this tree..

And here is one of my favorite spots to read.
My nephew is pictured learning about bubbles.

Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones

Science at the museum ..
Perfect for a rainy Spring day..

Studying the solar system..

Can you see Ollie's reflection in the picture above? Studying rotation..

And relative size..

And body parts, health, and the medical profession.

Bones..

Experiencing anti-gravity..

Science, once again, proven to rock..