The past few months have been overwhelmingly busy in what usually I'd consider our slower paced time of year. That said, I've been on a blogging hiatus and have a ton to catch up on now (hopefully before this baby arrives)!
Backing up all the way to January, we started all kinds of new things with the beginning of the new year. With Caleb, we really dug into Apologia's "land animal" science curriculum (that we began in December) as we moved past the introductory material and jumped into studying canines. The textbook itself is pretty deep, but we branched out and extended the unit too, taking several weeks to explore various dog breeds - both domesticated and wild varieties. Looking at both nonfiction books (on everything from wolves, foxes, coyotes, etc. to trained working dogs) and fiction texts, we hunted for characteristics unique to these animals. We even watched a couple movies and talked about how the animals in them acted like real dogs vs. how they were different. Caleb was especially mesmerized with the idea of crossbreeding and how completely new breeds can be created, which has been an ongoing point of discussion and excitement for him for months now as a result.
With Hadley, I jumped into some math. Almost all of the instruction she'd received up until that point been far more focused on reading or various critical thinking skills, and though we've practiced some counting, this seemed like an area we needed to focus on a bit more to make sure we were ready for kindergarten in the fall. A little math workbook I purchased gave us a good place to start as we began practicing how to write numbers as well as more counting and a little addition/subtraction, etc. This worked out perfect for her learning style since she is more of a paper/pencil type of learner than her older brother, who prefers to do things orally. She caught on very quickly and was typically eager for more school work! Thankfully, there were other workbooks at hand to keep my studious girl satisfied even when Mommy thought we'd done enough math for the day.
Other fun growth activities included things like this bin of macaroni and miniature animals I threw together quickly one day for a little bit of sensory learning. (Let's be honest, it also was just a way to keep some hands busy for a while!) I thought it would be something Reid would love, but in the end all three kids were into it.
We also did a little sensory art work with a sand set one of Hadley's friends bought her for her birthday last year. Caleb helped some and was somewhat interested in trying out this new art activity, but Hadley was completely absorbed with the project.
Meanwhile, Reid stuck to the macaroni, which has been used time and again the past three months until I finally had to toss it last week after that booger threw it around the family room like confetti!
We also signed up for three new classes in January, the first being a Lego Robotics class via a new local group called Curiosity Co-op, which was started by another homeschooling mom. After reading the description online, it seemed like something our little engineer might be interested in checking out, but I underestimated just how much he'd love this class. Caleb hasn't really found his niche when it comes to sports and got tired of art lessons after a bit, but robotics never got old to him. Every week he was asking when the next class was and was ready to jump out of the car and get into his class as soon as we'd pull up outside. Rather than being a little clingy to me and shy around the teacher like he often is with new things, there was a new found confidence in this setting. Though the parents sat in the front of the room and couldn't hear much about what was being taught, I could see that he was completely wrapped up in what they were doing and enjoyed the belly laughter that would sporadically escape his little body at various intervals throughout the class. Even the other moms got tickled listening to him as he was unable to contain his excitement.
Through the same group, there was a Curious George STEM class being offered. While the robotics class only included older kids, this one was supposed to be geared to 3-6 year olds, which meant all three of my kids fit right the age bracket. Knowing that I'm not much of a science person, the appeal of having someone else do the work of group experiments sounded great to me and it was pretty inexpensive, especially to add on each sibling after paying for the first kid. In hindsight, I don't think we'll be trying this one again as a lot of it was over the younger kids' heads and somewhat below Caleb's level, plus the teacher wasn't great about being prepared or at keeping everyone engaged. There was also a lot of work on the parents' part as far as helping the kids cut out and put together their projects, which was tripled in my case. Thankfully though, some days Dave was able to take off a little early from work to be there to help me. Despite my frustrations, the kids did have some fun and learned a few things.
We missed the first class, but at the second we got to make these paper kites...
...and at another learned about simple machines.
Another extracurricular we added to the mix in January was indoor soccer via Soccer Shots, which was hosted at a local gym in the area. Knowing Caleb doesn't love sports, I asked him if he was interested and wasn't surprised to hear he didn't want to participate, so I just signed up Reid and Hadley, thinking it would provide some good exercise on those cold wintery days. Reid, who has been a Mommy's boy lately though, wanted nothing to do with the program when we arrived. Frustrated, I tried to urge him to give it a shot and even walked over to "the field" and tried to participate with him but to no avail. After class was over, the lady in charge asked if I'd like to let Caleb play in the next class that was beginning since Reid obviously wasn't interested. I doubted he'd go for it, but I tried to persuade my six-year-old to give it a shot. I even pulled out the big guns, offering him a trip to the park and the promise that he could skip doing his math paper that day if he'd give it a shot. Thankfully, he hesitantly caved with those incentives and ended up loving it. He kept trying to tell me that he didn't at first, but based on the huge smile on his face and giggling while he played the games, there's no way I believe that! Each week required another incentive like a trip to Burger King afterwards or a movie night that evening, but honestly, I have no shame in admitting to bribery in this case as it got him active and pushed him to continue trying sports versus just giving up on them as he'd seemed resolved to do after having bad taste in his mouth from other experiences.
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| Hadley was a good listener and very eager to have all the right answers when her coached asked the group questions. |
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| "Control." |
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| "Tick, tock, like a clock." Good dribbling, Had. |
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| One of the rules was everyone had to make a goal! |
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| Look at that smile...yeah, yeah, Caleb, I don't believe you didn't enjoy your practice! |
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| His favorite part was a game they'd play at the beginning of practice where they would tuck jerseys into their pants like a tail and play tag to grab it from each other. He was pretty quick and tricky with a little spin technique that often helped him be the last one standing. |
Soccer wasn't the only place to get some exercise though. Surprisingly, we even had a few warmer days in January that were nice enough to get out and go to the park - Rockland being the kids' favorite.
Just like one day the previous month, we got a day in swimming at the WARF too. This was actually an event I planned for our HEARTH group, which turned out being on one of the coldest days. There wasn't a huge turnout as a result, but thankfully my sister was able to go with us and we had a good time with those who were there.
And, we can't forget about ballet.
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| Hadley is in the black, leaning against the wall. |
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| Here she's in the teal tutu. |
What other specials did we do this month? Well, Caleb got a little cooking lesson from NaNa one day...
We also got to try our hand at making a little music with the new instrument that appeared in our dining room. Dave's mom left him her childhood piano when she passed away, and he drove to IL towards the end of January to pick it up. The kids really enjoyed having a chance to put their little hands to the keys, and it was heartwarming to know that this is the third generation to use it as part of their childhood.
Beyond all the new things we started, we've also stuck to several of the same old familiar things we already had in our schedule - like our small co-op group.
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| Making bead necklaces to remember the water cycle |
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| Acting out the motions in our story time book Ms. Jennifer brought. |
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| Bible coloring sheets |
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| Jellybean craft to learn about the letter J |
...and I set up a painting class with Caleb's art instructor. With so many other things going on right now, as well as his waning interest, I didn't sign up for any individual instruction for the month, so this was nice to give him at least one opportunity to continue practicing his painting skills. I was especially happy though that Hadley got to chance to take part since she's been looking forward to when she is five and can take real lessons herself.
Of course, we've stuck with Awana too. Beyond Awana though, Caleb and Dave have joined a new group at church called Christian Service Brigade. Similar to Boy Scouts, but with a more biblical focus, this group is designed for boys to be boys, learning about all kinds of outdoorsy things like rocks, camping, snakes, etc. It is a great opportunities for the dads to both bond with as well as disciple their sons in a relaxed, fun, and engaging setting. It has been such a blessing to us already as I can see that it has brought Caleb and Dave closer as well as helped them develop much needed healthy male friendships with in the group.
In other exciting news, we celebrated the 100th day of school in January, taking a field trip to the Dollar Tree to spend 100 cents each on a treat of their choice.
Like I said, the past few months were busy and this post just gives you a little glimpse of why blogging has been a bit low on the priority list. More to come!
