Wordless Wednesday: Reading Class

Irvine Nature Center

I have been trying to implement the principles of Charlotte Mason a bit more this year.  One of them includes incorporating more nature studies into our year.

What better way to enjoy nature than to head to the Irvine Nature Center for the morning with my kiddos.  And of course, one of the blessings of homeschooling is having an amazing place like Irvine to ourselves for the morning because it is the middle of the week.

 

While the visitors center is amazing and my kids would have stayed there all morning, we headed outside to spend time on the nature trails for a bit. 

There were areas on the trail that you could “hide” from the birds so that you could get a closer view while they visited the bird feeders.  The kids enjoyed spotting their feathery friends!

 

We had an absolute blast on our trip.  The evidence was so clear when we got home.  The kids immediately got to work setting up their own Nature Center on the front porch. 

Moments like these are my favorite part of homeschooling.  Kids should have time to “play” out their learning experiences.  A stimulating day at Irvine led naturally into an afternoon of creative play.

What a great day!

Wordless Wednesday: Reading Class

 

Thankful for Preschool

This is Mrs. Karyn. She is amazing.

She is the preschool teacher at our co-op this year and has done an unbelievable job. The students have a daily calendar time, stories, various crafts, games, and all sorts of activities. She even did some cooking with them last week and hopes to attempt it again this coming week.

Her fulfillment of this position is WAY above the typical "call of duty" for the co-op preschool, but she tackles it weekly with her amazing energy!

I am particularly grateful because there wasn't anything at our co-op for D (age 3) last year. He was at an "in-between" age and made to stay with me in the nursery.

This year I have watched him flourish and blossom under the love, creative energy, and enthusiasm of Mrs. Karyn. He comes home singing his letters. he has learned most of their sounds, and he always has a creative craft to show us.


Even his father, who had to deliver him to school a bit late one day, couldn't believe how excited he was to go to school. D just hopped out of the car and was ready to take off! He LOVES co-op, which is quite the opposite of his poor little brother.

Here he is being the "Letter A" with his friends at school.

At home, we have a "Thankful Tree". The kids add leaves to it each day with something they are thankful for. Want to know what D's first leaf said?

Mrs. Karyn.

He is thankful for Mrs. Karyn. And I truly couldn't agree more.

A rough age

Dear C (age 14 months),

You will owe Grandmom BIG TIME when you are older. She has watched you ever Friday from 8:30 AM until 1:00 PM. You are her little buddy and she takes you on walks and to the mall. She feeds you lunch and many snacks, plays with you, and just loves on you!

And, WHY do you get all this attention?

Because you are absolutely miserable when mommy leaves you at co-op. You screamed basically the entire three hours one week and it about killed me. That is when I called in your Grandmom for reinforcement.

She came to co-op with us, hoping you would adjust to the nursery more easily if she was there.

This is you on that morning, terrified to let me go. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the snuggles for a few minutes.

Once I left, the screaming began. Horrible screaming. Until your Grandmom put you in the stroller and took you out of the building on a little walk.

You were finally calm for about a half hour...that is until she tried to take you back into the building.

You started screaming again as soon as you got to the front door.

And it pained your Grandmom's heart, so she got the car seat from me and took you home.

And she has been watching you on Friday mornings ever since.

Yes, my boy, you owe your Grandmom for this one day.

Big time.

Science Center Field Trip

Once again, we kicked off the year with a trip to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore. Each year the Science Center offers homeschool classes for $5 for the first three weeks of September. The class fee includes your admission to the science center that day, for moms and siblings as well! General admission, without a class, is $2 for homeschoolers during the three week period.

We ventured to the science center twice this year. The first round was just the girls and me. K (age 7) took a class and T wandered the science center with me. Then the three of us had a great time touring the place. I didnt take my camera on that trip because I didn't have the stroller.

The next trip was the entire family AND Grandma. The girls were signed up for a class with their friends and we spent time touring the museum together, focusing on the toddler room.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

And every year we come at least once with our dear friends, The Fauths. The first time, our 4 kids total sat in these footprints. Now, we fill up the footprints with our crew!

First Day of School 2010