Speaking of leaps...here was how we started out our homeschool year...by studying the moon! The boys got to measure how far they could jump on earth, then we calculated how far they'd be able to jump if they did so on the moon's surface!
...and forcing the little guys to race on our glass door. :-)
We were glad to be part of a homeschool co-op group, which met weekly to provide P.E. for the kids. The big games of kick ball were right up Jack's alley.
So we decided to send a Christmas care package to our other sweet missionary friends, the Walker family in Tanzania!
We played lots of math games, like setting up a grocery store where the little boys bought groceries and Jack collected the money and provided change.
...and reading about the science of snow and "Snowflake Bentley" - the man who first discovered the art of photographing snowflakes.
We tried taking a few photos of our own with an Easy Macro lens on my phone.
Joe loved working on simple puzzles and activities just right for his level...always wanting to be right with the big boys to "do school"!
Jack studied Bible history, made a Bible timeline, his own set of scrolls...
...and even his own Bible-times costume!
All four boys have picked up on our love for birds. We feed them, spot them, draw them, photograph them and the boys are starting their own life lists. We are a "bird nerd family" for sure!
During the winter, we made homemade suet, which the birds loved!
Since we have many glass windows in our family room, we often have birds strike the glass. Many of them die when they break their necks, so we have a little bird cemetery. It actually gives us a great chance to see birds up close, though we are all sad when a sweet bird like a hummingbird or baby robin dies. (Why can't ugly starlings hit the windows?)
This bird was a migrating Cedar Waxwing that hit our window. When the birds are just stunned, we rush out to put them in a safe box until they are stable enough to fly on their own.
We also learned a bit about butterflies - another thing we watch and identify and draw in our nature journals. (We are waiting to get caterpillars and watch them change into butterflies this fall.)
Thanks to our good friend Mr. Dave, we got to learn a lot about bees this year, too. Dave's family is in the bee business. They used to actually raise bees and produce the honey by hand, but his father invented a device that separates the honey from the comb, and now they manufacture the equipment that does that job. Bees are absolutely fascinating!
Meanwhile, the littler boys played "pioneer" by making homemade butter from cream!
Jack has shown tremendous interest and ability in athletics. In winter (when it is so hard to do much outside), he was part of his first ever team sport: basketball. He loved every minute of it and we all loved cheering him on! In the last game, he scored 8 points and in one game he did a left-hand layup!
One of the other great field trips we got to take was to the Sothern Utah Museum of Art at the local university.
We received a personalized tour of the museum, featuring many local artists...
...and college students lead a special art project for the kids.
Some of our favorite books are "Food for Thought" and "Food Play," made up of funny sculptures entirely created with food. We decided to try our hand at food sculpting...and had fun with the results!
We took many field trips around our beautiful state:
We went on a "it's-almost-summer-time" field trip to the Dinosaur Tracks museum in St. George, a farm where dinosaur fossils and tracks were discovered in the 1990s.
I took the boys for a picnic lunch and train ride at a nearby dinosaur-themed park. (It was HOT!)
...reading LOTS of good books....
...and spending as much time outdoors as possible!
For those of you who don't know this part of me, before I had kids, the things that bothered me the most were: snails, slugs, worms, moths, butterflies. I could usually be found running in the opposite direction of any of those creatures. However, having a tribe of little men and having nature be such a focus of our learning time together, I've grown to appreciate all of those things. And I do NOT even squirm when they proudly bring their finds to me! :-)
And we are so proud of Toby. He completed his 4th grade year on the Honor Roll and as one of the kids most loved by teachers. It was not easy for him, but he did his best.
There are many reasons for our decision. We know this is what Toby needs. If you didn't notice already, he is missing from most of the pictures I took of our homeschool adventures - a fact that was not lost on him. He needs to be included and nurtured by us, his family. The bonding process is still in the beginning stages for him, so we need to do all we can to encourage that. He has some special educational needs that simply can't be met in a classroom with 30 students. This year allowed us to gain important perspective, to learn more about his disabilities and his strengths, and to become confident that homeschooling him is the right thing.
So...now we are enjoying summer and preparing for our next year of homeschooling all four boys! We thank the Lord for the freedom to do so, and for healthy, enthusiastic, always-learning, full-of-life boys who fill our home and hearts with love and adventure every day!
No comments:
Post a Comment