school update

For those of you that have Facebook you've probably already seen most of these pictures, but for those of you that don't enjoy the update! :)

I found this brownie kit on a clearance rack for $1 and I couldn't resist! I'm so glad I didn't! So much learning happened from these cute little kits. I bought one for each of them so we could do a mini lesson on cooking. Melody helped me read the instructions out loud and they each got the ingredients they needed. Then they took turns measuring the oil and the water, and cracking their eggs. Then we talked about why we have to grease the pan and how to spread the batter around so it covers the whole pan, ect, ect... It was a great lesson with lots of input and questions and interaction. My very favorite kind of learning! While they were cooking I had the kids 'design' their haunted house on paper so they would know how they wanted to decorate it. Then they did! Decorate it, that is. I think everyone enjoyed this one, including Allie who woke up from her nap just in time to share brownies with us.

Katie has been working incredibly hard on her letters lately and gets supper annoyed when she can't do it the way she thinks it should be done. When she finally manages to get it just right she asks me to take a picture so daddy can see. So we do. Daddy gets lots of picture text updates through out the day!

My favorite part of homeschooling is how easy it is to drop everything and have some fun. I don't even remember what started it, probably Melody, but it led to almost 30 minutes of great fun!

Cooking has obviously become a big part of school. I've really tried to let the kids lead the learning with their interests and Melody really  likes working in the kitchen, so we're rolling with it. Here she's making play dough. But she's also mastered over easy eggs, scrambled eggs, and does pretty well with pancakes. I'm pretty much totally ok with this little development. Mostly because Melody's totally excited about making breakfast for us! Win!

The kids LOVE working on the whiteboard. Melody is working on ABC order here. Again, picture updates for dad.

BOOKS!!

Introducing Katie to addition. I counted this as a total win. Not only was she adding, but she was practicing her one-to-one counting, shapes, writing numbers and strengthening fine motor muscles by writing on the board. I love how she must decorate ALL school work with something girly.

I hadn't anticipated it, but I was able to turn making Halloween costumes into a home ec lesson. We had tights from the thrift store for her legs and she had to sew up the bottom before we could stuff them. Then she stuffed them, and I sewed them on her shirt. It was great fun to create with my kids. I have many a fond memory of sitting with one of my grandmas or my mom and creating something. Glad I can keep the tradition going.

Again with the craftiness! Melody has been bugging me for months to teach her to crochet. To be fair, I gave it a try, her hands just weren't big enough yet. So I taught her to finger crochet. She made a scarf for her kitty. We tried the crochet hook again last month and she was SO excited to discover that she could do it. She has now requested that I learn to knit because that's what she wants to learn next.