Fishin For Trees

For our homeschool efforts today, we created a shopping agenda and went to Brainerd to accomplish our mission. Our list of items included fishing poles, flash cards, notebooks, and markers. We were able to find everything we needed at Target, our store of preference. We went to the HUG campus to see Ryan and tried out our fishing poles. Ethan's been asking for one for a few weeks, and mostly because the thought of fishing makes me sad, I didn't get him one. But it was time and Ethan and Avery spent the better part of an hour learning how to cast, with and without instruction. Ethan managed to catch a few trees, and Avery caught the fence and the playground.

Tonight we are going to the in-law's lake home and will get in more fishing practice, this time for real fish. The lake has at least four varieties of fish- Bass, Northern, Sunnies, and Perch. The odds are in our favor to catch Sunnies.

The flash cards purchased are excellent for solo and group play. Good illustrations and a diverse assortment. Notebooks are 10/$1 and a hard deal to pass up. We usually buy two or three packs a year because the kids love to fill them up or dump them in purple pools. We also got two foam clocks to help Ethan learn how to tell time. (one for me and one for him)

This evening Ethan and Avery learned how to roll pie crust but weren't able to much more than observation. I didn't have enough for their own mini-pies but will when I make pies in the future if I can get better equipment. Our rolling pin doesn't roll well and the surface was too sticky so everything was tricky to get a good crust shape. But with a trip to Kohl's I can fix that! They have wonderful non-stick rolling pins and I can find a new non-stick rolling pad to minimize the mess and maximize convenience.

Update- Ethan and Avery had a good time last night learning how to catch fish, none of which were caught. They used some sort of meat as bait- grilled sausage, and Ethan had several successful bites. On his line he used a hook and plastic worm and a bobber. He might have had a fish if he was gentler about setting the hook. Every time a fish would take the bait and the bobber would disappear, he would jerk the line hard several times, rather than once or twice. But the entire time I was there he got better and better. I think they'll be back outside today. We also had a painful lesson about the nature of bees, primarily walking through their home and what happens when someone does that. We practice ahimsa and bees are not bad, they just do what they have to.

Froggie Went a Courtin

For Ethan- We did our math workbook- focusing on ordinal numbers and story sequences, and the phonics workbook- focusing on the letter Z and an entire alphabet review. We then made a puzzle using a page out of Your Big Backyard magazine. Ethan cut out the pieces, six in all, and put it back together. He also put together a Dr. Seuss puzzle. We also worked on good balance by carrying a 1 cup measuring cup filled to the brim with water over to the counter. It took three tries and he was successful 2 of the three times. He also spooned in the muffin batter and had to make them even amounts. We worked on his reading skills and read 2 short stories from the "Now I'm Reading" level 1 series. From the "Fun with Nature Take-Along Guide" we also read about several frogs and toads that we can find in our area. Ethan and Avery both went on a nature hunt during the rain and reported hearing bats and seeing frogs.

For Avery- She painted in her painting art book using watercolors. She also used stickers to embellish her work. We also danced to a song by Laurie Berkner- Froggie Went A Courtin, and created hand and body gestures to the song.

Yesterday I purchased our Enki Kindergarten curriculum and a subscription to National Geographic Kids. Also, I am starting a homeschool cooperative called Many Paths that will meet twice a month for classes and a third time specifically for socializing. The classes will be in the afternoon or evening and each month one will be a hands-on project for liberal arts/science/math and the other class will be for phy-ed. The group will be run primarily by myself and my friend, Becky Stanton, and will focus on activities guided by the children's interests and the children and parents themselves, and will go beyond the religion being the basis for homeschooling. It will honor the many paths of spirit, education, and lifestyles. Hence the name.

Ryan and I are going to create a mission statement for our homeschool, an overall statement and an individualized one for each child. I will make frequent updates with this information as way to record our experience and progress.

I've been homeschooling Ethan for the past two years, mostly supplemental. I feel completely prepared and extremely excited to go full-time and homeschool throughout his entire educational experience up to college. As for homeschooling all my children- I will go on a per child basis and determine each child's path following pre-school. Avery will begin ECFE in the fall and go once a week for three hours, without us. During that time we will visit the Library and have our story time. Ethan is old enough to make good use of our library.