Short Break, We Are Back At It

So, we took a short break from schooling last week, other things came up and we decided that at that moment those things were more important that sitting down and doing some worksheets or coloring a picture. Although we did take a break from the worksheets we honestly never take a break from "schooling"; we are always learning right? That is the beauty of homeschool too; to a point there is flexibility in your hours of schooling (especially for preschool) and when life comes up your kids aren't going to be missing days at a school building with teachers.

Last week my little boy had his first sleepover at our house with a friend, made me realize how he is really growing up; so we didn't do a formal day of school the next day, but I took advantage of every opportunity I could, to sneak some learning in, the boys had no idea (okay, maybe they did). We took the time to talk about sharing and responsibility (I know, not what two little boys want to do at a sleepover), but we made it fun and they actually liked it; we played a game to see who could clean up the toys they got out first (a great thing for boys (and girls), they love "competition"). We read lots of books before bed, which is always one of my favorite ways of learning with the kids, they always seem to be full of questions when we read and it awakens there imagination at the same time. The next morning we had a chance to go to the water park at the local YMCA, always a fun time for the kids and they get a chance to get their energy out. Then we did lunch at Chick-fil-a, which seems to be the water hole for a lot of moms and dads of little ones around lunch time, I mean delicious food and an indoor play area, what parent wouldn't take advantage of that. At lunch I snuck in some more learning, I normally buy an adult meal and split it between the kids, because why not right, you get lots of food and a lot smaller bill (they even gave me small cups for the kids to split the drink, plus free refills). We did the 12 piece chicken nuggets, so the kids had to figure out how much chicken every one would get if we split it four ways; I know you may think that that would be a hard concept for four year olds and a 2.5 year old to grasp, but I have learned when it comes to food and making sure they get a fair share they are pretty good at figuring out the answer. Of course, after food it was time to play again, and it seems that the time we went is when every one else seemed to go, there were several kids there, so we got a lot of sharing and helping each other lessons during play. I like to guide my kids in those situations, but if there are tears because another child has taken their spot in line for the slide or ran past them for the steps, I help them to take a deep breath, but remind them that they have the tools and skills to express themselves nicely and resolve the situation themselves (it makes them so proud of themselves when they know they can do it themselves). Lastly, we took a "field trip" to the pet store, I needed dog food for our family dog, so I took all three kids to the store to get it. When we went we just "had" to look at all the other pets they had there and in turn learned the names of the animals, talked about which color fish was our favorite, and admired all the different animals and species God has created. In my book it was actually a great day of learning!!

Now for our day yesterday, Monday. The kids were still recovering from a super fun and busy weekend with close friends, so we did some simple activities that got their minds going and to help us to get back into the swing of things.

Here is a look into our day:

I wrote their names on paper, gave them glue sticks
and cheerios and let them get to work, pretty much every
preshooler I know has done this at one time or another

Hard at work, he has such a concentration

The only thing I can say is she tried, she learned
how to spell her name, and had fun

Liam's finished paper

After working on our name papers, I decided to get some of my work done while he learned; I cut my coupons while he "played" with some of the clippings. We talked about the concept of money and how to read out how much some thing is when he sees it on a price tag. He saw $14.99 on one of the ads in the coupons for a ceramic cat and wasn't sure how to say how much money it was, perfect opportunity to teach him, right?!

Lastly, he took this into his own hands, he used his sisters magnetic doll clothes and created patterns on the refrigerator. I love that he understands the concept of patterns and what comes next, he is so happy when can tell me what comes next (even in more complex patterns then the one in the picture)

I love seeing them grow and learn each and every day, through life, play, worksheets, whatever it may be. 

Thanks for joining us on our journey!!