Almost Unschooling Grama

  The kids saw a cute pirate craft they wanted to make today.  Art  -  X They wanted to make their dad a card so we decided to use the craft for a card ... Mighty Red had some help from me, but he did great! Princess Brilliance did all of her own writing without any of her usual resistance when it comes to writing. Language Arts & Handwiting - X That led to a discussion about what pirates did and where they did it ... History - X That led to a treasure map ... Geography - X Which led to finding out about waves ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M6eWK4VG1g Science - X Add a game of Math War, our memory work in Bible and our grammar poem, a spelling worksheet that required identifying the first vowel in a word and doing the calisthenic exercise assigned to it, short reading sessions for both the kids, exploring our Clubhouse Jr. Magazine, watching a Veggie Tale, playing tag, rock climbing, doing household chores, and you have a full day of almost unschooling...

Do your kids make up board games?   Yesterday, the kids both decided to create their own board games.  Mighty Red decided he wanted to make a game in which we drew a card and then copied what he had written on them to our place on the board. We didn't spend a lot of money and it was pretty simple, but he put a lot of thought into the design and rules. There were lots of fine motor and cutting skills involved as well! Princess Brilliance saw what her brother was doing and wanted in on the action too. She decided on a math game where we had to add what was on the cards to find out how many spaces we would move. I lost both games. Wonder if they were rigged? LOL!

  You’ve been there many times. You are in church, about to take communion and the leader instructs you to examine yourself to see if you have any sin that you need to repent of so you don’t take the LORD’s supper unworthily. It sounds good and right, but what if that’s not what taking the LORD’s supper unworthily is about?   What have been some of your thoughts or feelings when this request is made? I will be honest. As a practicing Christian, I try to repent of sins just as soon as I am aware of them. This is what I believe the Bible says I am to do. Waiting until communion time is not. That instruction to examine myself for sin usually winds up with my mind going in one of two directions: I must be missing it somehow if I can’t find any specific sins to repent of, or I feel pity and maybe even a little sense of pride because I have already repented and that sobbing woman two rows behind me is obviously really convicted.  Neither reaction has anything to do with the s...

  Earlier this summer, we found a tub of water outside that had a ton of tadpoles in it. We decided to bring in 7 of them to watch them grow.  On July 20th they were so little! Each week we would change their water and count them. Every week they got bigger and some would disappear. They grew and grew! And soon they had legs! We ended up with just one. He still had a bit of a tail, but he was jumping around outside of the water so we let him go. Goodbye, little buddy!

  When I was in school, the only thing we ever used index cards for were speeches and research papers, but these things are actually worth their weight in gold!  For homeschooling, there are only a few things that I consider essential. You can get along without fancy curriculum, lesson plans, and even the internet if need be, but index cards are a mainstay at my house! They are cheap and versatile. Over the years I've used them for sooo many activities.  Bible: Write one word (or phrase) on each from your current memory work, mix them up and race to see who can put them in the right order or set them out on the floor for a "memory walk".  Spelling: Use them for the simplest spelling curriculum ever! F or several years I tried to teach my children how to spell. Every year I would get a new “curriculum” and follow it precisely, but nothing worked. Finally came up with my own... 1st day: Find 2 words they don't know how to spell. Have them write those words 7 times. A ...

Friday, we went to Keokuk to see the insect zoo at the library. Lil Red was into touching everything but Princess Brilliance was a little more reserved. We saw tarantulas, giant roaches, beetles, giant centipedes, walking sticks, scorpions, and more. Here are some pics! Did you know that scorpions glow under a black light?

  We had some fun at the park on Tuesday! Our theme for this month's  party was the beach/ocean. We did science experiments showing how currents work, how sharks float, and how baleen whales eat. We made sandcastles with kinetic sand. And cute little sailboats! We also played some games with hula-hoops, pool noodles, and beach balls. We decided to wait until August for our next party, but we will have a Tuesday morning hang out at the park for kids, parents, and/or caregivers if you'd like to join us. I will be at the main playground at the Nauvoo State Park around 9:30ish for an hour or two as long as it's not pouring down rain. Give me a call if you have any questions! 309-221-0785