Apr. 11, 2008 Why We Homeschool, Issue # 7
11. Spontaneous sibling moments such as this.
 (if you're wondering about the look on Gabe's face- Alek took the tract he was reading from him but at the same moment, something in Gracie's book caught his eye. In the next frame, Gabe's completely absorbed in Gracie's book, forgetting all about the tract he was reading)
Before we even started homeschooling, I noticed how well homeschooled siblings got along. That amazed me- actually more than that. Because I can vividly remember going to my first homeschool conference. Alek was just 2 years old at the time, so it was still just a thought- I was in the information gathering stage. But at this homeschool conference, I remember walking by a booth and seeing two young children (the children of the folks running the booth) calmly, peacefully and even ENJOYING playing a game together back in a corner. They were probably 8 and 10 years old. It made a lasting impression, to say the least. I knew right then that I wanted that for my children. Maybe that doesn't sound unusual to you seeing siblings get along like that, but that was completely foreign to me. My brother and I, well, let's just say you'd never see a moment between us like that. And that's the type of sibling relationship *I* knew.
Now my children do not get along with each other 24/7, but I would say most of the time they do get along. They are very close and good buddies, and while I'd like to think they'd be like this no matter which schooling route we choose, the fact is, one reason they ARE so close is the amount of time they get to spend together. They've had time to bond with their younger siblings and the youngers get to see the olders (obviously) more often than they would had they been sent to school. They *know* each other because of the time spent together.
So when I saw all five spontaneously snuggled up on the couch and absorbed in their books, I had to capture the moment. They don't stay put for long. |
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Feb. 21, 2008 Why We Homeschool, Issue # 6 Feb. 7, 2008 Why We Homeschool, Issue #5
9. We even get visitors of the canine and mythical variety. Today we had a scraggly unicorn:
And a big ol' shaggy dog.
Isn't she cute? She wasted no time getting to her work.
A very pensive student was she.
And did you see that? That, that bright..... LIGHT coming through the window? That's the SUN boys and girls! It too made a very brief appearance in our homeschool today! |
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Jan. 10, 2008 Why We Homeschool, Issue #4
8. Visitors from afar, and different time periods even, are welcome to join us without any notice.
Today we had a visit from Laura and Mary Ingalls. They got right to work and fit right in!
Mary has outgrown her dress- she will need to speak to her mother about that.
 Don't forget the silent E, Mary!
Nice penmanship, Laura!
Yes, the hat is mad!
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Sep. 25, 2007 Why We Homeschool, Issue #3
6. Memorizing scripture is rarely dull. AND
7. You are allowed to dance with your classmates during school hours.
(and nobody will mention your desperate need for dance lessons)
(Please watch this video with your children and be sure to turn up the sound)
(and if you don't own any of the Harrow Family Sing the Word CD's, I highly suggest you get one or two or all of them! Available at Sonlight & other retailers. It is my pleasure to recommend this excellent resource!) |
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Sep. 21, 2007 Why We Homeschool, Issue # 2
4. Moments like this.
(and where else are you allowed to go to school dressed in a floral print shirt with striped pants and bare feet and have your classmates still adore you?)
5. Because he has the time to explore his many interests (the current being gardening), your curious 10 year old son can get things to grow way better than you ever could.
(and grows things you'd never think of growing)
Can you tell by the leaves what kind of plant this is? No? Scroll down.
Don't worry, I would never be able to identify it. Here's a root view (pun intended) with a bit of a hint (as if *having* a root view isn't any sort of hint). Can you tell now? If so, pat yourself on the back. If not, now see if you can figure it out. Scroll down.
Here's the whole plant. Now I'm sure you've guessed correctly.
A yam. A beautiful, glorious yam. Growing in my kitchen. Now what do we do with it?! I should just ask Alek... |
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Apr. 26, 2007 Three Reasons Why (my) Children Love To Be Homeschooled
1. In the middle of reading aloud to all, you get a call from your neighbor down the road. The black bear that she's spotted across the street from her house several times is now grazing in the field, come see it if you want! You can drop everything, hop in the van, drive down the road and see a real live wild black bear in its natural habitat. Science, check!
To show how far from the road the bear was:
And as close as I could get with my 300mm zoom lens:
 (Kenton was the one that was reading to the children when this happened. They got to see the bear before me. When I got home, I drove down the road and took these at 8pm. I hope I get to photograph him again because it was getting dark so= slow shutter speeds, high ISO's make for grainy, blurry, yucky shots)
2. You can do some schoolwork in your pajamas while holding a cross-eyed cat, and it's perfectly acceptable and even considered normal.
 (Alek does his reading cuddled up with Izzy every morning. She waits at the door for him.)
3. You can dress up like the mother of Jesus and curl up with a good book anywhere you please and nobody will even give you a second glance.
p.s. Thank you awesome ladies, for your prayers and sweet words! I really appreciate it! I have not actually miscarried yet & spotting has been scarce- and today, I even got an immediate, much darker pregnancy test result, so now I don't know what to think- except that spotting for me means a 66% chance of miscarriage. So I don't want to get my hopes up, but it's not over yet. |
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