Lesson #10 Sound and Music

 Homeschooling is fun, seriously fun. If it wasn't there would not be so many of us going down this wacky road of education! Just a quick statement about homeschooling, it isn't the "easy way out". The easy path of education is sending your child to school. Homeschooling is not always easy, but it is so rewarding that the hard days are worth it. Most often the best times are the things you didn't plan. The sudden field trip somewhere, because you/your child had an idea and you were able to follow it somewhere, or days like yesterday when siting in the bed giggling and Youtubing traditional instruments across the globe becomes a big part of your Science/History/Geography "lesson". We began looking things up on You Tube after reading in our Physics book about sound/how it is made/music/pitch/travels through the ear ect. and it discussed some interesting instruments from all over the world. Below are a couple of our favorites! Homeschooling is also about getting creative and enjoying your children as you both learn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hnXjJ64xRQ
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy20c53RV2c&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsC6NyyOJCc

Lesson #9 Autumn Equinox Hike at Bee Rock

Celebrating the turn of the year, change of the seasons, and our connection to nature is very important to our family. This year we spent most of the day with friends hiking around Bee Rock, climbing rocks, and frolicking in the sunshine. It was fantastic weather, a truly great day for a hike. We finished up the day with a pot luck, celebrating the turn of Autumn with great food! This is my favorite time of year, although I dread winter. Evie LOVES winter, we certainly differ when it comes to seasons. I love the heat, but nothing smells, sounds, or "taste" quite like Autumn and all the great things that come with it...like fire pits and Halloween!

Bee Rock

Friends

Evie after triumphantly braving a HUGE rock 

Her  face was hot...but the water was FREEZING!

Evie and Friends, I hate Evie has her eyes closed, but I love the sky above them.

Lesson #8 Soccer Game in Lexington, KY

Last week was the first soccer game Evie was able to play in for this fall season, the 2nd for her team. First game she missed due to a minor injury and her field trip to Frankfort KY. Evie plays as a defender and has been playing soccer since she was 5 years old. Her team played awesome, but lost 3-0. The team they played was a handpicked all girls Varsity homeschool soccer team. Our team is a co-ed team with ages ranging from 8-18. It is a very eclectic team with a variety of abilities and challenges to sync together to form a solid team. Our kids are really starting to come together, and Evie looks forward to more games. I was so into watching the game that when the kids were on the side of the field that I could actually have taken pics of, I forgot, :) so all the pics are just them clowning around .

Evie there on the end

goofing off

Most of the team...just a few missing

Lesson #7 JB Speed Art Museum and 21c Museum hotel

Last week our family, some homeschool buddies, and a friend who is thinking of homeschooling her young son went on a trip to the JB Speed Art Museum in Louisville KY. The Speed is closing for three years for a 60Million$ renovation and we thought we would visit before they closed. There were some great pieces to see, but in all actuality we were disappointed, as several pieces and the whole bottom gallery were already closed! My favorite piece the museum owns is a Mark Chagall painting and I was very sad not to get to see it. We also went to the 21c Museum hotel to view their art gallery, it was so much fun! FUN ART is sometimes the best. Around the hotel was also the Louisville slugger factory, which was fun to watch them make bats through the window. All in all a fun trip with my daughter, hubby, and great friends.

Beatles Fans! Jess and Charlie, Evie and I at the JB Speed

Evie center, with Alex and Shad-catching letters, making words at 21c Museum Hotel

Charlie and I playing in the Art Sparks children's area at the Speed. We all played in this super fun area, my favorite for the day! I seriously want one at home!

Lesson #6 Multi Paper Collage

So I have a homeschool dirty secret....I am an artist, yet many times visual arts get shoved to the side in our education. I mean we have art day once a month with friends, and we do art at home, but not as often as both of us would like. In our opinion as a family ART is more important than say Algebra. We do our Algebra too, but have slacked on making enough time for art...because let's face it, you can gauge about how long math, grammar, science, ect might take you to cover, you can't really truly gauge the time it may take you to make art...and we make lots of fabulous messes, usually spread it out all over the house. Actually I should probably take pics of our mess, the mess is often "artistic". So in our busy lives, and my daughter's super active social life (seriously how anyone could think this kid doesn't get "socialized" should have to be her taxi sometime) art time slides by the wayside. This year we have decided to make more time to create, it makes us all happier!

So here is our first art project for the school year. We made most of the decorative papers, which was just as fun as making the collage, then after all was dry we cut, pasted, created, and enjoyed our finished work! I love how they both have some 3-D qualities.

Lesson #5 Slinky Waves

This year our first area of science we are covering is Physics Light and Sound. Here we are playing with a slinky in an experiment to learn about waves. We did apply what we had discussed in the material to the slinky, but really we just had a lot of fun hanging out and watching the cat try and catch the slinky!

Lesson #4 GMCPP group Field Trip Frankfort KY

This trip was a few weeks ago. The field trip included a trip to our state capitol building, the governor's home, the Kentucky History Museum, and the Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory. It also included a guided trolly ride around the area.

The trip was fun, but I really just want to take the time to brag on this program. GMCPP stands for Governor's Minority College Preparatory Program. Evie has been a part of this program for three years now, and looks forward to their field trips and the once a year, two week long classes. It is just what it stands for, a college prep program dedicated to interest middle schoolers in college. It is a FREE program! The program pays for entrance fees, lunches, classes, overnight trips to campuses, ect.  This is a statewide program that is participated in many counties.

Not only is it educational and fun, but it gives Evie a sense of being without her parents in a "school" type setting. I do not go on the trips, or attend classes unless it is some sort of banquet, per her request. A funny thing I hear every year during the two weeks of daily classes is this, "If school was like this, it would be fun!".  A note about the minority part, Evie is not part of any minority group, unless you consider homeschoolers a minority :) We were blessed with this opportunity when Evie's best friend ( a former homeschooler who now attends middle school) was targeted at school. The flyer stated that all students were welcome...so I called them and they said they would love to have her. In the three years that she has participated she has been the only Caucasian kid. I am so thankful she has had this opportunity, it has been a fantastic experience and we look forward to the activities for the rest of the year!

In front of the Governor's Home, Evie is 3rd second row.

 

 

Around the Capital, a working garden clock.
Evie is 4th from the left.

At the Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory,Evie is in the back row, red shirt, in the middle.

Lesson #3 Making the best of what you have/ Room De-Cluttered and Re-Done

For the last week, eight days to be exact my daughter, a friend who helped for a few days, and myself have been working on my daughters room. She decided it seriously needed cleaning and re-doing as she was not happy in it. I have been there as a teen, my last room at home was all pink! As an adult I hate pink to this day! So without any help from me my daughter began the cleaning out/de-cluttering/trashing/donating/reorganizing process. Once that was done I helped her paint. The goal was to stay under 50$ in cost, we didn't make it there because we did buy a much needed new desk chair/sheets/and a shower curtain. I know we did manage to stay under 100$. She did use paint, material, other furniture, and decorative pieces that were free, found, and given to her. I am proud of her for tackling this project. She completely made the best of what was available, she never complained once, or asked for more than we were able/willing to spend. Her room looks great and she loves it! What a great way to start our first week of school. Although the before pics were taken during the chaos of cleaning it out, it really rarely looked much better.  :)

Lesson #2 Not Back to School Pool Party

It's the end of the summer and the beginning of another school year. We thought we would end our last week of summer break with a few homeschool buddies in the pool! My daughter Evie is the tallest one in the back, however, she is not the oldest! I can tell you as all homeschoolers can, learning never stops, it is year round and day to day. So just because we haven't opened a math book since April 30th doesn't mean we stopped learning. The conversations we have day to day are most educational, and the things my daughter says to me are so profound I often forget she is only thirteen. On now to Algebra I and 8th grade!