Does the idea of #notebooking appeal to you, but not so much to your kids? The fact is, a lot of children, especially younger children, can get pretty intimidated by what seems like a lot of writing to them. Perhaps what you need to try is notebooking’s cousin, #lapbooking!
In this video, I referenced another video where I shared a lapbook we made for a Switzerland unit study. I re-watched the older video after I recorded this, and it inspired me to start lapbooking again with my kids, so you know what we’ll be doing after break.
If there’s one thing I pride myself on as a homeschooler, it’s the fact that our school routine doesn’t take up a large part of the day. This is something that’s very important to me because I firmly believe that children need unscheduled time for free play and following their interests. This is a crucial part of learning.
So imagine my chagrin at the fact that our school day didn’t end until almost 5pm yesterday. 5pm!! And this wasn’t an isolated incident. Since we’ve begun our new school year, we’ve been finishing up around 4pm everyday. Last year the latest we ever ended was around 3, so I’m really trying to figure out what this is all about. Continue reading “A Tale of Ten Homeschoolers- Why Is School Taking So Long??”
This has nothing to do with anything, but Kenzie looks cute, doesn’t she??
As far as the past couple of months have gone, this has been the busiest week inside the home and outside of it in a long time. Snowfall has finally come to a standstill (I hope I didn’t just jinx it), and we’ve actually been able to get out of the house. Progress. Yay! I’m actually really excited from the change of pace. It was loooong overdue.
On Sunday we finally got to church after missing a full month because of the snow. We had a guest speaker who talked about her years in foster care and an abusive marriage, but how through it all she was triumphant because of God’s grace. I’m glad that my kids were there to hear her testimony.
Monday our church had free haircut day- a Godsend for our family. I took eight of the kids with me, but only four of them actually needed haircuts. The other children like to go because there’s free food,
free stuff,
You can kind of see the free tables behind Arianna and Caollin.
and there’s a huge gym to play in.
This really is a great ministry because they advertise it throughout the shelters in the area, so we get to provide some comfort to those who need it the most. Besides that, the hairdressers give great haircuts!
Some of the hairstylists are church members. Others are generous people who donate their time every month for this good cause.
On Tuesday, Arianna, Devin, and I all got to go to WIN- Women’s Inspirational Network, also at my church. We always look forward to this because it’s a great time to hang out together. The younger kids all play in the nursery with volunteers. Bless their souls. I alone always dump seven kids off with them. Anyway, we get to see friends,
Devin with two of her friends
When God made Arianna, he broke the mold.
eat from a delicious pot luck meal, and hear a guest speaker. This month we had a beautiful woman from the Philippines speak about growing up as a squatter only to have God do amazing things in her life.
We always have a wonderful vocal performance, too.
And to put the icing on the cake, this was our raffle night. Proceeds will go to scholarships for women who cannot afford to pay for the women’s retreat. There were so many prizes, and my daughters and I all won something. Arianna won three necklaces, Devin won a basket of jewelry, and I won a basket of medicine and first aid supplies (always needed in this house), a basket of toiletries for my husband, and a toy kitchen for the kiddos.
Just a glimpse of the raffle prizes
My prize stash
Wednesday Devin had to go back to the eye doctor for a contact lens check and to order her contacts. It was pretty packed there, so Devin had her nose buried in a book, while Luke just had fun browsing.
The rest of the week was, as always, filled with gaming and creativity. Arianna is going strong with her theatrical makeup.
Lapbooking and making story books were also hits this week.
Lastly, Arianna made a flower headband, and Brendan came for a visit when he dropped Dillon off. Dillon has been with him since Tuesday. Brendan even took him for a haircut because he didn’t feel like going for the free haircut Monday.
Isn’t he handsome??
Just kidding.
Friday will probably just entail some more grocery shopping and more spontaneous learning.
There's No Place Like Home 