I can't believe how fast this week has flown by!  The kids have been really busy with their studies and liking it so much more since making a few New Year's changes. Briar wrote a nice report on his book on Andrew Jackson. Clara wrote a couple pages on prairie dogs (from her study of the Grasslands). And Connor tried his first attempt at a book report on How the Settlers Lived. (I think he did rather well for an 8 year old!) A nice addition to Briar and Connor's themes this week was watching Davy Crocket, King of the Wild Frontier. =] They loved it! And Briar especially paid close attention, since Davy Crockett had already been mentioned in a couple of his books.  This week he started reading The Trail of Tears and he's been very interested each day in narrating back to me the happenings of each chapter.

I started reading the Charlotte Mason Companion over the holidays and have gotten many good ideas that I'm gradually trying to incorporate into our schedule daily. The kids are really inviting the transition into a new "philosophy" and I have to admit, I like not feeling like I have to follow every direction their curriculum writes out. I decided to take the pressure off of myself to absolutely stick to the book and finish each page of every unit. Instead, we unanimously voted to simply take our time through History, Geography and Science, and really spend as much time as they desired on each section, trying to open it up to enrichment through living books and projects that interest them. Beginning in the summer, we'll start to streamline things so that we can all partake in the same themes as unit studies. 

I know I'm kind of thinking out loud here, but, I don't know what took me so long to come back to this way of thinking. From the beginning I've read books to the kids since they were babes in diapers!  I can remember Briar being just a few months old and walking around the big yard we had, giving him a tour of all the flowers coming up and all the birds flittering about. Since they were babies,  we've enjoyed nature walks and the outdoors, mixing up science projects in the kitchen, building forts out of blocks or boxes or chairs and blankets, working with our hands, and just generally learning by interactive discovery. I've always loved reading and writing and God's creation, so naturally, I've encouraged the kids to find joy from the same.

As I look back now, I see that we've really homeschooled since the kids were born (if not before). It wasn't until we made it "official" when my oldest came out of public school kindergarten, that things started to get too by-the-book. People and books, schools and experts, opinions and ideas, all pull you in so many directions, you're hardly able to recognize what it is that you really think and feel. For I long time I think I was too worried about doing everything "the right way", instead of the way that best fit my family. Somehow, my earlier philosophy got de-railed.

The beautiful thing is, I've grown to realize that the desire to explore and learn is really present in our family. Does that make sense? I don't say that to boast. I mean that, if left to ourselves, we have a tendency to want to discover new things. I think that's the reason why, when we set a daily limit of TV watching, playstation or any other electronic gizmo, and require outdoor time, and nightly reading, quiet time, and prayer time, it gives the kids an opportunity to realize that they can use their imaginations and they can be creative, and they can ponder profound ideas that will blow your mind! They do think deeply and meaningfully and spiritually. They come up with bizarre art projects and skits and dances and songs and cheers. They've even come up with their own "fun school"....as if they weren't getting enough?? lolol

Isn't it amazing how you can plant a seed in fertile soil....give it some water, sunshine, and room to grow...and before you know it, it's reaching for the heavens!! .......big sigh...........God is good.

Well, we have a trip to the library planned for tomorrow....every two weeks. Briar will be preparing for his hike and camping trip Saturday and Sunday. All three of them are entering cars in Connor's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Race tomorrow night....lololol.....that'll be fun to watch. =] Saturday marks a new adventure for me....I am taking Rifle Instructor Training for Boy Scouts (really laughing out loud right now).....what am I thinking??? I tell ya, the things we do for our children.....