January Homeschool

Homeschool in January can be tricky. There is an emotional release after the holidays. It's SO cold outside. You're just kind of tired and it's easy to sink into a funk. However, this year we've been adventuring outside more than usual (I did a whole post about our Winter Adventures), and I've been giving us some grace while pushing us forward in our educational pursuits. Lots of jumping on the trampoline while we do language arts by the heater and snuggling on the couch under blankets - and it's been a good homeschool month. Here are a few things I took pictures of: 

Cardboard Town

I took down Christmas while David was working late one night because I got it into my head that I wanted to let the kids create a "Cardboard Town". I wanted a clear space for them to work their magic. Each child got a large box leftover from Christmas and they were able to create their own "house" out of it. It was such a fun project for the kids to work on and I let them leave their houses up for almost two weeks. 

Austin is so good at helping me make pancakes (I have a breakfast rotation and we eat pancakes every Thursday. Aust is my best helper.) This day he decided on his own to start making letters with it and he spelled "dad" for David. 

I've been reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe to all of the kids during the day and reading Treasure Island to Lydia and Austin at night. The kids have started playing with my hair as I read and I love it. The smaller ones will brush it, but Lydia has been practicing haristyles. 

We went to the Dinosaur Museum one afternoon. (Lydia was learning about the different measurements of history/time in her science studies and there is a big station regarding that.) It was a lovely afternoon. Soemtimes I think that our Thanksgiving Point passes are a waste because we don't go all the time - but then there are times like this where we spontaneously go (sometimes because of something we learned about) and it's SO nice just to be able to go. 



Monday Coop (SPARK Cooperative) 

We are still enjoying our Monday Coop! 


Lydia made a Sylvion stuffed animal for Camille. There are a lot of people who say how important Handiwork is to homeschool and Lydia is the poster child for that. She got the idea into her head and then watched a YouTube tutorial to figure out, step-by-step, how to make it happen. She sewed the entire thing by hand, created an "egg" out of an old yogurt container, and wrote a "care for your pokemon" guide book. It was amazing. 

A picture of a giant magnent-shape building that Lydia created.