December Homeschool

Our December Homeschool wasn't as magical as it sometimes is/I might want it to be. But this year I felt like it was better for us to just keep pushing through with our regular school work and not taking any weeks off for "Christmas School". Now that it's over, I do kind of wish that we had done more holiday themed school things, or maybe took things a little easier to allow for focus on relationships, but I don't regret the choice and I think that we did a good job of pushing through with our learning and making progress. It's a balance that we are always adjusting, but overall we had a good month. We learned a lot, and still had plenty of Christmas fun. 

We had several Christmas Parties with our coops. One was planned by the Events planning class, and it was fabulous. Another was our "Christmas Around the World" party where each family shared about the holiday traditions of a different country and we were able to learn about their traditions and taste some of the different food. 

Brownie Making: 

Piano Recital: Lydia and Austin both did a fantastic job. Stephanie Lewis is a wonderful piano teacher and has done a great job of instilling a love for the piano in both of these kids. They are both improving their skills and gaining confidence. This year Lydia asked if I would play a piano duet with her, and so only a week of so before the recital, we started practicing and it turned out really fun. 

Lydia and Austin started taking Ski Lessons each Friday. They leave at 1:00 from the Draper Rec Center and ride on a big charter bus up to the Brighton Ski Resort. There, they have instructors who have divided them into classes and teach them the skills needed for snow skiing. After they learn/practice for a couple of hours, then return back home arriving about 5:30/6. On the first day of classes, their bus got stuck in traffic in the canyon and they didn't get home until 9:30. It was quite an adventure for them and they were starving when they got home. (I packed some snacks, but not enough for them to skip dinner!) Here's hoping for a great ski season for them. 

Girls Club - Painting Cookies and Snowflakes

Lydia is participating in a girls' club each Wednesday afternoon. I volunteered to teach watercolors on the second Wednesday of each month and this month we made cookies, dipped them in royal icing, and then painted them with food coloring. It was a really fun activity. 

Early Morning Pumpkin Pie & Math 

Earlier this summer, Lydia planted pumpkin seeds with the sole intention of turning them into pumpkin pie. Only two small pumpkins grew, and we used them as decorations through Halloween and Thanksgiving. Finally, we were to the point where we needed to turn them into pie or throw them away, and so we woke up early one morning to roast them and turn them into a delicious pie. The day before had been a little stormy with Lydia feeling a lot of big emotions and the peace of the dark, early morning was exactly what we needed to start out homeschool day. 

Field Trips: 

We went to the Orem Temple Open House and it was so lovely. We loved all the Cherry Blossoms. Sometimes my kids ask me why we "do everything with other people" and ask "why can't we ever do anything on our own". And to answer truthfully, it's because it's easier to make something happen when other people are coming, too. (Also, that I believe in building a community, but a large part is the motivation.) I am trying to respect that desire and am making an effort to do things just our family, without always making a big group thing. It was nice to be here on our own. Later that same week, after dropping Austin and Lydia off at Ski School, Caleb and Lucy and I came back here with our neighbors Yael and Nahi and we had a really neat time going through the temple together. They are Jewish and are from Israel and have incredible insights into the symbols and patterns in the temple. 

Christkindlmarkt

This is one of my favorite Christmas Field Trips. The Friday that we scheduled to come was basically a blizzard, so we ended up going together as a family on Saturday and even though it was busy, we had a nice time. 

Happy December! 

Homeschool November

We had a great homeschooling month this month. Sometimes it's hard to stay consistent during the holidays, but I feel like we are in a good routine and have enjoyed our time together this month. 

Austin has been waking up early to do his piano, which makes such a big difference in our day. He is especially loving playing by candlelight before the sun comes up. Austin is working hard and has such an incredible brain. I love watching him make connections as he learns new things and improves his skills. 

Lydia counting her money that she made from family ecomony and a dog sitting job. #financialliteracy 

Lydia also is taking a Makerspace class at Thanksgiving Point and she had a presentation day where we got to come see a coding/virtual reality project that she's been working on. While Lydia is at Makerspace, most days I've been taking the kids to the Children's museum to play. Lucy particularly has been enjoying that. 

The weather has been so beautiful and we found a new huge park that the kids love to go to. We are doing mini-coop on Thursdays with Austin, Caleb and two friends - and it's been fun to go with them. 


Also at mini coop this month we decided to have a "100s Party". Caleb reached lesson #100 in his book and requested this special party, so we learned about the number 100, had a 100 snack, watched a 100 movie, counted to 100 in as many different ways as we could, and made 100 cookies. It was a pretty good day. 

Caleb amazes me every time we do a math lesson. I constantly ask myself "Did we already learn this" because it seems to come so easy to him, like he already knows it. But I realize he doesn't, and we are just laying a solid math foundation for him. 

We've been enjoying reading books by the Christmas Tree. 

Lydia and Austin have been working hard on their Christmas Recital piano pieces. I'm really proud of both of them and their efforts and improved skills. 

We had a November coop Thanksgiving Party put on by Lydia and her events class. It was incredible! I'm so glad that we have other people who can step in and create neat opportinities for our kids. (I was increidbly grateful that I was not in charge of the activity and amazed at how great the activity was.) 

We've been seeking for a community and I feel like we are making progress! SPARK coop has been a good addition to our homeschool and our Field Trip groups is growing! 

It's sometimes hard to manage how many people are part of the group.  We went on a beautiful fall hike together (pictured above) - over 50 people came. We went to the Aquarium  (below) and only two other families came.  However, I've decided that this year is a gathering year and next year may be a sifting year. This year we are gathering as many people as we can and hoping that we find people that want to stay and attend regularly.

And speaking of gathering, I've been working hard to cultivate relationships and community with the other homeschool moms in my spehere. I'm putting myself out there and I'm making extra efforts to connect and surround myself with other women who can support and lift me up in the efforts I'm making in our homeschool.