I never had the chance over the weekend to post about last week, but I didn't want to miss sharing some of those things we did. It was a full, good week.
Homeschool this week...
We played a musical truth or dare game. We are studying composers right now, so I thought this would be fun to play. It also counts just for music class. We had a blast. Even April played because she just loves anything music.
For math one day we played Smath. We have had this game for years, but have hardly played it. I decided it was time to pull it out for math one day. It's like scrabble with numbers. This was more fun than the boys would let you think.
Helpful homeschool tips and advice to share...
I am trying something new. I decided to invest in a box of magnetic words to hopefully spark some literacy creativity in this house. I have a few boys who just don't like to read, so I'm hoping that by putting more words and thoughts around the house will get them thinking. I also thought it'd be fun to see what the kids come up with and generate some conversation. So far, the words have remained mostly motionless. We'll see if it kicks in soon. And yes, I bought the "happiness" pack on purpose. Because let's face it, we could all use a little more positivity in our house too.
Places we're going and people we're seeing...
We discovered a really neat place to walk around and explore this fall, Hoyt Arboretum. It's a beautiful place with miles of walking trails through all kinds of different trees. Pretty much all the trees are labeled so you can learn about them along the way. It's the perfect place for a little nature study. We just walked around to take in all the beautiful fall colors, right now.
April just loves this time of year, and she is the one that really wanted to check this place out, so we finally made it happen last week. She was not disappointed!
See the name tag on the tree? Almost all of the trees are marked throughout all the trails.
We thought it was cool how this tree branch came down and touched the rock. It's like the branch needed a resting spot and then continued growing up.
The pictures just don't quite capture the color as much as in real life. It is so gorgeous right now. We are also having this perfect weather where everything is still dry and the sunshine makes it all pop.
Looking at these leaves up close was a definite must. I was so glad I brought a real camera. I had fun taking pictures.
We moved along pretty quickly because we only had an hour. So much to see and so little time! I would have loved to just sit and enjoy the surroundings though.
We picked up some leaves from different trees. Alex was the lovely leaf model for the walk.
These yellow leaves were just pretty. I thought it was kind of neat to see the brown outline on some.
Another kind of leaf. Too bad we didn't write them down. I can't remember the name of the tree this one came from. I think it was another kind of maple, and we were amazed at its shape.
Crunchy, crunchy leaves. I love fall walks!
My favorite thing this week was...
Our pancake dinner and a movie family night. We needed that sweet, sticky, mess of a night together. I hope to do more of those.
Things I'm working on...
I need to start moving my body more, and eating better. I walked on Saturday with a friend. It's a good thing I went with a friend. I thought of a million excuses all morning why I didn't want to.
I made a delicious avocado and bean salad for my lunch one day.
Random things the kids worked on...
Aric made an earth cake. It was pretty tricky to get it to sit right, but it was fun to put together. I helped him a little bit, but he did it mostly himself. He wants to do it again, and make it better.
Something I accomplished...
We had a mom's night at a local pottery place, and I painted this. It's only like my 3rd piece of pottery I've painted in my lifetime, so I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It was nice to visit with other homeschool moms too.
What we're reading...
We've got like 50 library books, and I feel like we are reading so many at once. We also have a few review books going too. Too many to mention, and I don't have a good picture either. I guess I could mention I'm reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway for a mom's book club. Alex and I have a few read alouds we are reading together too. I will try to get a picture for next week!
I'm cooking...
We decided to try out a Mongolian grill style dinner at our house (like we had at the campout), and it was a success. The kids really like this meal. We all do.
How it works is everyone picks their veggies and some noodles and they take it to the "grill" (which was a wok in our case), and it all gets cooked together.
I also made a chicken pot pie one night. I felt successful in the kitchen last week!
Fun stuff...
Kayaking in the local pool:
Bowling
I'm grateful for...
A quieter schedule this school year. More time at home. I feel like that is my focus right now, and it's good.
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