Groupie

Reluctantly, I joined a home school group earlier this Fall.  Reluctant because there are so many reasons why the fit is wrong for us.  I also assumed being a groupie would  inhibit our schedule flexibility.  After giving it a go during the first session, I think it's worth doing.  Alexandra has the opportunity to meet other home school kids regularly, join them on the occasional field trip,  learn some history, and I am exposed to other home school parents, each with their own unique approach.

The group meets biweekly and we attend two classes one afternoon a week.   Her two history classes are fifty minutes each with a 30 minute social break between.  Her first class discusses history through classical music and the other is biographical, focusing on a single historical figure and the world that surrounded them each week.  

Admittedly, I am a fairly lame participant in that I always have my boys with me while she is in class so I can't be too helpful and because of Vic's travel schedule, I am never able to attend parent organizational meetings.  I knew when I joined that my participation would be limited yet it still bothers me a bit since I usually strive to be less lame.   I have resolved that I don't need to be completely involved in everything we choose to do.  It seems overly obvious now that this thought has been transcribed from my nervous stomach to the screen.  However, it's simplicity supports my recent sweeping decision to make more meaningful choices about how I spend my time. I have tried to invest my time tactfully but I was overwhelmed today by the need to take another look... My search for the 25th hour begins, again.

Seasons

FALL

WINTER

SPRING

SUMMER

We studied the seasons with our unit on weather.  We spelled the seasons, discussed weather trends associated with each season and dressed Barbie and her friends appropriately for an outing during each season.  Elliot was sick during this week and so he was around wanting to participate so out comes the playdough.  I asked Alexandra to create something to represent each season.  I was taking fingernail polish off using cotton balls and she started incorporating them, as well as a sunflower from an arrangement, into her displays.  At the end, she was very proud and through her discussion in deciding what to make demonstrated that she understood the concepts we had learned.
From here we circled back to WHY do the seasons change.
  

The Cutest Weather Girl

We have dedicated the last few weeks to the study of weather and seasons.  We integrated lots of measurement; temperature, rain gauge, wind speed, humidity, etc. We talked about which months are in what seasons, different types of precipitation, how weather impacts activities, apparel choices and a bit about geographical differences in climate variation (Why doesn't it snow at our house?).  After all of the leaf rubbing, graphing of colored leaves, and identifying which clouds may predict what; she was charged with the task of creating and performing a weather forecast of her own for Sunday and Monday (which happened to be Halloween).  This is the posterboard she created to keep her on point during her presentation.  Notice the umbrellas for the trick or treaters =)  She was nervous but after many trial runs for me, she performed well in front of her brothers and Baba (Dad).