Getting back into the swing of things after being sick for so long has not been easy. I have a hard time getting into a routine. Once I am in one, I am fine, but when life throws curveballs (which it always does) and that routine gets messed up, it takes me FOREVER to get back into it. But finally, I think we are back in a good groove with schooling and we are all still really enjoying it. We have tweaked a lot here and there and I think we have found the balance in time, subjects, fun, "book work", working together and working alone, and all the other little things in homeschooling that can be pushed too far in any direction.
Here are a few (okay, a LOT) of pictures from the last few weeks!
Caleb's "passport" for our trip around the world (the passport was created by me -- I didn't like any of the ones I found online) -- Social Studies
The front of Levi's world scrapbook -- the kids all did watercolor painting on a lightly sketched world map. We will keep all our pages from our "world" travels in one binder. SOCIAL STUDIES & ART
This is the first page inside the kids scrapbooks (all made with doodles by Katie Hadfield) -- SOCIAL STUDIES and LANGUAGE ARTS
Working on handwriting -- teaching for the boys and re-teaching for Alaina. I *LOVE* the Handwriting Without Tears program! -- HANDWRITING
Passports and tickets for our first trip. Levi thought it was hysterical that I had them line up like they were buying tickets and saying, "Hello sir, how may I help you?" He just giggled and giggled and finally Caleb just said, "He's with me!" -- SOCIAL STUDIES
Learning about different kinds of animals and their characteristics. When we read about a new animal in a book, it goes on one of five posters -- mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, or fish. If we have a picture, we add it. If not, we write it on the poster. SCIENCE
Lots of play with shapes and rods -- MATH and MULTI-SENSORY ACTIVITIES
Learning about Indian money and how it compares to 1)US money and 2) Indonesian money. It is amazing how real a color copier makes things! SOCIAL STUDIES
Coloring pages of an Indian woman making a rangoli pattern -- ART and SOCIAL STUDIES
Then creating our own Rangoli patterns -- ART
Water play -- MATH and MULTI-SENSORY ACTIVITIES
A pumpkin party!
Learning about mountains -- the tree line, the snow line, and the animals and plants that live there. SCIENCE
Cuddling on the couch to watch our Bible/songs on DVD
Coloring their names in "Hindi" (Samarkan Font) -- SOCIAL STUDIES
Helping Moses and the Israelites cross the Red Sea -- BIBLE
Finding out just how LONG a sari really is -- SOCIAL STUDIES
Block building
Lots of "20 Questions to guess the Flag" (I love how Alaina always asks first, "Is it a rectangle?" When we say yes, she says, "Well, I guess it's not Nepal!" (which is the only non-rectangular flag).
Mundane (but necessary) tasks like learning to write numbers -- MATH
Finding letters of their names in Alphabits cereal -- Sensory Activity, language arts for Levi
Learning about Jungles and the creatures that live there -- SOCIAL STUDIES and SCIENCE
Becoming a Jungle Creature
____________
So, as you can see, routine or not, we are having a lot of fun and hopefully learning something in the process!
