And then it was Spring. (week 7)

In Georgia, in the winter, one day you wake up and the world is sunny and warm and not at all wintry. Except for the odd ball of snow that lived in a shaded spot, there is very little evidence of winter. That was our week. We did our lessons in the morning, and by the afternoon we were frolicking at a playground, or in the stream behind our house. I love the freedom in our schedule to take breaks and go outside, and all of the time we get together. Sometimes there is the complication of when to get groceries, or when to shower, but in general it is a joy to be together.

Snowschool? Sickschool? (week 6)

Last week it felt like if we just replaced the word "home" in homeschool with either "sick" or "snow", that would pretty well summarize our week. We did make it to the children's museum on Monday.

Tuesday morning Leif woke up sick. He was crying with a sore throat and was having trouble getting a full breath. After ibuprofen and a nebulizer treatment he was much better, but I let him have a very relaxing day anyway.

Wednesday, we started to do school, and at about 10:30am got a call from the neighbor that they were sledding down their street, so we called for an early recess and went outside! Thursday, we called for a "delayed opening" of school, because we "needed" to build a snowman before all of the snow melted!
And by Friday, I had Leif's cold and was feverish and had lung issues. I still taught...some, but again it seemed like a partial day. So, week six we can pretty much blame on a cold, or the snow, or something! Whatever it was, I was still sort of amused at how many parents were freaking out because their kids had snow days, and they were home from school and they didn't know what to do. Now that we home school, we always have a lesson, or a project to do if we are in the house, so there is no need to worry about what to do anymore.

Penguin for his best buddy Will.

Owl Valentine for Nana.

Kitty Valentine for Aunt Heather & the girls.

Oh, and of course we made Valentine's crafts to send to the grandparents, and give to friends.

I turned the Owl picture into a Valentine for Leif to hand out at his homeschool Valentine party. Leif signed "Love, Leif" in cursive, and Owen wrote his "O" with an alien face in it. (lots of eyes)

Emotions (week 5)

Owen resting on Charles after his dental procedure

It's a funny thing that happens when people find out I'm homeschooling the kids. I hear a lot, "Wow, you're brave!" or "Oh, I could never do that, I'd never have the patience." or "Oh, are you a teacher by trade?" No, I'm not brave, I don't have the patience, and no, I am not trained to be an elementary teacher. And there are times that I beat myself up for all of those things, and other times when I realize it's just a practice in dependence on God for everything.
I was very emotional this week for several reasons. During last weekend, Owen had dental work done, and I had to literally sign his life away for him to be sedated. Sure, if he dies, I won't blame you- what??? So, I started out this week with the relief that Owen had made it through the procedure, Owen in pain and extra needy, and Leif tired of tiptoeing around his brother, etc. I found my energy was low, and my head was foggy.
I didn't prepare and we didn't get to many of the things I had hoped we would get to.

Leif setting up a picture for his book.

In the midst of this, early Wednesday morning,  Leif came to me and said, "I have a story. Will you write it down while I tell it to you?" And right there he made up a story. I just typed and kept saying, "Then what happened?" Now we're working on taking pictures to illustrate the story, and he's decided that when he grows up, he's going to be an author. So there, in the midst of me not measuring up to any type of standard, Leif had the freedom to be creative. I will publish the book on my blog as soon as it is ready. Leif says he wants to sell his book for $10 each, but no $10 bills, please. (Does he have the makings to be an artist, or what?)

Exploring the foundation of an old building.

We came across a herd of deer in the woods by Kennesaw Mt.

We also got to hike at Kennesaw Mountain with some friends. One of the perks of home school for me, other than lots of outdoor time with my kids, is that as Leif learns things like history and science, I'll get to explore subjects that are interesting to me now, but weren't when I was younger.

Owen finally feeling better mid-week.

Snow- a lesson in needs and wants (Week 4)

This week started out like any other week. Monday was gorgeous and mild, so we were out in the woods behind our house exploring.






On Tuesday, Charles took Leif to the aquarium, just the two of them. We went last week, with our whole family, and there were a lot of areas that Leif was interested in exploring, but Owen was not, so they went back to explore. There was a rumor of some snow fall that might hit south of the city, and a few snow flakes were beginning to fall when they headed out. We didn't think much of it. Even Owen and I went out to the library, with some steady snow beginning to fall. Around noon when Owen and I left the library, the snow was a little heavier. I texted Charles that he should head home, and I went to pick up some groceries, just in case we were going to get more snow. By the time I was driving home, Sandy Plains road at a stand-still for at least a mile that I could see in the opposite direction than I was traveling, and my anti-lock brakes were needed to stop at a traffic light. When Charles and Leif left the aquarium around 1pm, downtown Atlanta was already almost at a

2:15pm on Tuesday

Doing FaceTime with Leif.

standstill. Everyone decided to leave at once, and the icy roads north of the city were causing accidents that were backing up every road leaving the city to the north. Here's a road map that I took on my phone while trying to direct Charles out of the city. When you zoomed in, many of the minor roads were red as well. By nightfall, they had traveled about 10 miles, and we found friends who offered to take them in for the night. It took several hours to travel the "8 minute" drive to their apartment. In the end, they had to park their car and walk the final hill to their apartment. Ironically, Leif's social studies lesson this week was about the difference in wants and needs, and this crisis was a really good opportunity to figure out the difference between the two. Since I wasn't there, I decided to interview the expert. He not only describes his experience, he also has some good advice for future storms, and eliminates clothing from the needs list...just watch:

Best moment of our lives on Wednesday: Leif & Charles were finally home!

Lego salt & water molecules.

The kids got some great snow education, which included sledding, snowmen & snow angels. Charles and Leif studied how salt helps to melt snow, and keep if from freezing. They used Legos, of course, to show the molecules. The kids pretty happily continued our home schooling, even when the schools had snow days. I'm finding that home school organizes our day and makes our time together richer. We started a new phonics program this week using the Scaredy Cat Phonics system. You can see our vowel sheets that we started working on. AND, one of our math lessons was about odds and evens this week, and since there is an odd number of vowels, Leif wanted to start a Y page, so that U can have a partner. We'll have to give Y some more attention next week.

Snowball fight!

Snow beard.

Our Vowel Posters- still working on Y

Letter D for cursive this week!