Still Thankful...

We're having a great time this month, and seem to be learning TONS of information effortlessly. I just love it when things flow like this! The weather has been beautiful for the most part, and we love to go out and enjoy it. There's nothing like fall days...

We're done our first two units on weather. We started a weather journal where we write down the temperature along with the date and time. Then she fills in the thermometer to the correct number, and draws a picture of what the weather is like outside. We also run to our school clock and set it to the same time that we just wrote. We also talked about the different kinds of clouds. She enjoyed making some out of cotton, and then painting some at her easel. We talked about humidity and experienced it first-hand in the rain forest exhibit at the Tulsa Zoo. We skimmed back over the seasons and the water cycle since we did that last year. We plan on making a home-made barometer this weekend. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate and give us some good readings!

We finished up our studies on Columbus by making the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. That was so much fun! We've begun our unit on Thanksgiving. Every day we write down something we are thankful for. We made a couple of Pilgrims, filled in a cornucopia, made a turkey, and are working on an Indian head dress. She really enjoyed talking and learning about the first Thanksgiving, especially from the children's point of view. We still have plenty to do before next week. Today we went to Gilcrease Museum for the kids dig books program. After it was over we went looking around, and she was THRILLED to find so much about the Native Americans. We looked at every single bit, and she took it all in. She wants to go back this weekend so she can show Daddy. It's intriguing to her that some of our own ancestors took part in some of these traditions.

We've been doing a lot of baking together. She gets to work on reading, following directions, and math every time we cook. She absolutely loves cooking! She's also been making lots of her own books. She loves to read them to us. Her handwriting is improving every week, and I'm so proud of her using both upper and lower-case even though she doesn't like to... :) She'll ask me how to spell a word when she's writing, and I notice a few days later she will still remember when I ask her.

The other day when I was working on the computer she was just busy as a bee...I had no idea what she was doing! She asked me to fill up her little Tupperware pitcher full of orange juice so she could pour it herself into the tiny cups. I did...then she pulled her desk all the way into the living room and started calling my name...I went in to find that she had made her own orange juice stand complete with sign and everything! She said "Mom, do you want to buy some orange juice? It's five 'c' which means five cents!" I said sure, and handed her fake money...she looked at me funny and said "It has to be a real nickel mommy!" So, I got a real one, gave it to her, and got my juice. After I drank it she said "Two orange juices a day keeps the doctor away! Make sure you come back for more!" It was so hilarious that I just laughed and laughed! What a way to keep the customers coming! With real money no less!

It's times like these that I treasure so deeply. The pure innocence of being a child. I love that she is able to flourish and grow in a way that is her own, not manipulated by anyone else. Only a home schooling parent can truly see the miracle of their little minds unfolding, figuring out the world around them at their own pace. No one else to distract or judge. More than anything else this November I am thankful for the opportunity to live this life with my little family. We are truly blessed! Until next time....

Thankful for November!

We had a wonderful October for the most part. We had TONS of learning, field trips and a really long road trip. All in all it will definitely be a memorable one...although some of the memories are painful ones. Our beloved neighbor and friend of 7 years passed away leaving so many who loved him behind. His wife will be in our daily routine now so we can try to ease the pain of missing someone who has been by your side for over 60 years. Bless her heart........My grandmother went into the hospital with numerous problems, had surgery, and has since been moved into a nice (as nice as you can get, I guess) rehab facility. She is soooooooo incredibly independent that it's very difficult to see her struggling with even the task of sitting up. She's also an incredibly stubborn 86 year old who wants things done her way. Needless to say it will be an uphill journey, but we will be by her side to help her through this. Trips to the rehab will also have to be fit into our schedule. On the other side of things, we took a family road trip (yes, in a car!) to Lexington, KY for a wedding. BabyGirl was the flower girl, I was the bridesmaid, and it was a beautiful ceremony. It was also an awesome time of year to be traveling. The leaves were beautiful and the weather was gorgeous. Aside from me vomiting every day from motion sickness...things were good. :) Our Halloween festivities were great. We had just gotten back in town and I was so glad to just settle down and take time to go have fun. We took our annual trip to Camp Cute N' Spooky at Discoveryland. It was SO MUCH FUN as usual. I can't imagine our Halloween without this event. So, that concludes our roller coaster of a ride October. I'm so happy to be back in the swing of things for November. We're already off to a bang! Here's what we've done the first week so far....

For history/geo we've started a month about Europe. We've traced the continent, and started our wall map of the world. Europe is our first addition...we will add each continent until we have constructed our world. Our Auntie just happens to be travelling in Europe at this very moment. So, we have been following her journey online and on our maps. We ate some celebratory chocolate when she was in Belgium, and sketched a picture of the Eiffel Tower when she was in France. We're also taking our history lesson of Christopher Columbus this month along with Europe. Currently Mr. Columbus is on board his ship sailing the ocean blue...next week we will continue his journey. Today we made our own ocean in a bottle so we could imagine him floating on the waves....

For science we complete our last lesson/project on plants and animals. That concludes our unit on life science. Next week we will begin our Earth science unit by studying weather a little more in-depth than last year. BabyGirl enjoyed taking pictures of our animals the last day of this unit. Check them out!

Our 1st grade phonics/reading is going great. The stories are very simple to read, but the phonics lessons are much more complex than the kindergarten curriculum and I'm so glad I decided to break everything down for her. Each story also has a project with it just like our science so she totally digs that! She loves doing her phonics worksheets as well....

We're sailing along in our kindergarten math and are just finishing up graphing. She had this mastered last year when we covered it, but I'm just building confidence at this point and making sure everything is concrete before we move on to 1st grade. We're about 1/3 of the way through our kindergarten math. She never fails to surprise me with how quickly she grasps things, and in some ways differently than I expect.

This week we also went to a box painting party, and had a blast. It's always fun to gather with fellow homeschoolers. Today we went to the library for an hour on our Veterans. It was wonderful for BabyGirl as well as myself. It gets me to thinking about all the men in my life who have so bravely and selflessly fought for our freedom. I miss the ones dearly who have moved on, and wish they could witness the beauty I see in my daughters eyes....

So, welcome November! We look forward to being thankful for your bounty, our friends, our family, our freedom.........................until next time....