June 25, 2012

We live in such a neat place filled with cool people who care about the community.  Today we went to an event in a local park where the kids got to do some gardening in the community garden, make a stepping stone, do a scavenger hunt, hear a story read and play with the kid versions of yard equipment.  This event was put on by a Master Gardeners club with the Washington University.  What made it even better is that good friends came with us!

We also made another episode of SCIENCE WITH HANNAH!  

June 23, 2012

What a filled day!  We went to the Dancing Brush formerly known as the Dancing Paint Brush.  I lost a bet with Hannah over the name of the place...and so I owed her ice cream (see below).  At the Dancing Brush, we painted a salt and pepper shaker.  In a week we get to pick them up after they've been heated. 

Later, our good friends came over and the kids played in the yard (the sun came out!) for a long time.  Notice, the kids now own rain boots....a must in this part of the world.  

 

I look forward to getting my honey back.  Just one more week!

I hope you had a great day!  :0) Suzanne

June 22, 2011

People aren't exaggerating when they say it rains A LOT in the Pacific Northwest.  Thankfully, we had great friends (who were great friends and neighbors in Hawaii and well before Hawaii) over to play today.  The 4  kids played ALL DAY and I got to have adult converstaions!  It was awesome.

On sunny days, we go outside as much as we can without it keeping school work from getting done.  But, on the rainy days, the kids gravitate towards playing learning games on the computer.  I like that they are learning (starfall.com is awesome!) but, I need ideas on how to make rainy days more active.  I think tomorrow we will be buying rain gear. 

Please comment if you have any ideas on how to make rainy days more fun! :0)

Oh- and a side note- Henry is potty trained!  He still has the occasional accident...but, I think I'm ready to venture out in town without pullups or diapers on him.

Another side note- this is a wonderful article that my sister sent me about homeschooling.  It gave me a lot to think about. It discusses a lot of things homeschool parents (and really any parents) need to be careful of. 

http://www.joshharris.com/2011/09/homeschool_blindspots.php

June 20, 2012

Today was a day filled with learning, tea parties, singing and dancing shows, and a dinosaur rumpus (what that is exactly...I'm not sure...it involves a lot of roaring).  It was truly a top 10 day in Washington State and we took advantage of the sunshine!

Hannah just finished this 22 chapter book (265 pages).  It's called Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder.  We figure, if it gets her to love reading and the worst thing it talks about is farts...then why not?    

We are extremely thrilled with how much the kids love to learn!  We will be continuing to home school this coming school year.  But- Hannah will also be taking part in a program called PAL (Parent Assisted Learning) that is funded by the state.  Once a week, Mondays, she will go to school all day and do activities that are designed to compliment any home school curriculum.  She will have reading with a partner time, where she reads with a partner and then they discuss what they read.  They will have math activities that are suited to their abilities.  Each week they will have a block of science which will include activities like building little cars that are powered by rubber bands and balloons.  They will eat lunch together and have swimming (huge pool right next to the classrooms).  And then, for the last two hours of the day she will have a block of two different extra curricular subjects like art, Spanish, drama, etc.  The great thing is that this is all funded by tax dollars.  They even will be paying for Hannah's at home history curriculum on K12.com (which is worth several hundred dollars) and will let me borrow any other materials I need for other subjects from their collection.  Hannah will be tested each year like all the other kids, which I like.

Henry is rocking his letters and the sounds they make.  We are working on putting the sounds together to make words.  He is a numbers guy (like his daddy).  He loves to count.  :0)

June 19, 2012

I'm starting to realize that life is so beautiful and precious!  My goal is to use this blog to help me remember the gifts of life, my family, friends, and more that I have been given.

Today, Hannah and I explored the backyard for all the different kinds of life.  We are so fortunate to live in a beautiful place!  We see butterflies, bunnies, humming birds and even a bald eagle all in our backyard!

 

 After a great trip to the library, the kids and I went to a super fun park right next to Liberty Bay.