This morning we are defrosting after a late season snowfall moved through yesterday. The kids spent most of yesterday running in and out of the house. Which meant I spent most of the day peeling off layers of wet clothes and running the washer & dryer. Hopefully, for us, this was Winter's last gasp and the warmer temperatures we are expecting by the weekend will hold. I am ready for a little trail walking and to get our garden started for this year.
This winter we again fell into our unschooling style, and I just don't see us changing it up anytime soon. It has been wonderful watching everyone take off in their own personal directions. And, we have been very regular about making it to museums for day trips.
Last week Katie gave us a presentation about plants and photosynthesis, something she has been studying on the 'sly'. I am learning that Katie loves to present whatever she learns. That seems to be her reason for wanting to learn. This whole winter she participated in a community theater class that ends tonight in a play for the families. She has worked on her lines for six weeks, jumping in her reading skills and improving her memory to levels I probably would not have been able to coerce. Last night she, Mary and I designed and worked together to make her dog ears using materials we had around the house. Otherwise this winter, she has spent many happy hours working through the various computer programs we have or curled up on the sofa with a book.
Mary has discovered writing on the computer for her list making and such. Both the girls are using the whiteboards to make their own daily lists or surveys that we are constantly being subjected too. The other night Mary was wondering around the house writing "spells" for turning Katie into different animals or imaginary creatures. She loves having her desk under her bed and is spending quite a bit of time back there working on art projects or making objects for the imaginary games she and her friends have going. While she has been at it, I discovered that she is working on her multiplication and division skills, by herself.
I can't leave Emily out anymore as she has been busy working on her alphabet and sounds, along with using the computer "independently". Katie showed her the Starfall site and Emily has been enjoying that a lot. The magnetic letters have been pulled back out, and I find Emily with either Katie or Mary at the frig making words. At Christmas, Emily got her first Webkinz account and has improved a lot on her counting an simple addition skills just from using that. Art days, hands down, are her favorite days. She loves being able to pull out the paints and just "play".
Robbie has moved into the "I do it myself" phase, which takes all sorts of patience on my end. He has taken this to a whole new level for us, by even insisting that he change his own pull-up and clean himself. I hear "Mommy, No!" a lot during the day from him. He loves to crawl into my lap for reading time and will bring me piles of books he wants to read. His favorite is a Richard Scarry Big Book of Cars & Trucks that my mom found at a used bookstore for a couple of dollars. He goes to sleep at night reading this book and wakes up in the morning reading it. I'm thinking of trying to find the Richard Scarry Busytown VCR tape Mary had and see if it still works. He might enjoy watching that.
I find that our days are very, very busy right now. And soccer is just getting started...
Peace,
Amy
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