Celebrate the Everyday

welcome

Why Celebrate the Everyday? I always start my day by repeating to myself Psalm 118:24- "This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." It's a reminder that even in the midst of the mundane and on the hardest of days, there is always something to celebrate, always something to be grateful for! Join me as I document our family's journey of homeschooling our son.

A Week in Review- March 14-20, 2011


In My Life This Week:

This week was jam packed! I know that I didn't post about the week before so I will start with Saturday, the 12th to include Lego-palooza. Shortly after Zach's basketball game we headed directly over to Impression 5 Science Center for an afternoon with Lego's. We were joined by Zachary's bff, his younger brother, and their mom. The boys had fun wandering around the different exhibits before their scheduled clinics. They were about to do the build challenge and the Lego robotics clinics. Fun was had by all! Monday was Zachary's last basketball practice of the season. He is quite bummed that the season is finished. He loved having Coach Sandy again this year and enjoyed playing on a team with all his friends. Thursday was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 60's. We knew we couldn't spend the entire day inside so we called some friends and headed out an adventure. Our first stop was the Lansing City Market. We explored the different vendors and talked about what words like free range, organic, and to eat locally meant. We had brought along some fruit that we had brought at Meijer and using the labels were able to tell where that fruit had originated from. We had a kiwi fruit that had come all the way from Italy! The kids were able to talk about how an apple from Sparta, MI that a market vendor offered was probably better and fresher choice than say the kiwi from Italy. After eating a picnic lunch we then headed to our local nature center, which is a very short distance from our house. Zachary was able to teach his friends about how to use a compass. We then hiked the trails looking for birds (which we are all studying) and for signs of Spring. It truly was a fantastic day! The end of the week was something that Jeremy waits for each year....the Pinewood Derby. Zachary raced from his last basketball game to participate in the derby. I am proud to say that Zachary took 1st place in his age division and 3rd place in the youth championship race! Jeremy won Best of Show for his Pirates of the Caribbean themed car.

In Our Homeschool This Week:

This week was all about India. We learned a lot about Hinduism, and also the GIANT population the country of India has. In math we have been learning a lot about perimeter and area. Now that cursive and grammar are finished for the year we have started back with writing. So far so good! Everything else is plugging along!

Places We Are Going & People We Are Seeing:

Our week was filled as I said above with hikes, Lego's, and pinewood derby cars!

What's Working/Not Working For Us:

We have seen some greediness, and issues of being not thankful creep in again with Zachary. This seems to be a battle not easily won. Jeremy and I are in it for the long haul though as we are deeply committed to changing this within his character. Lots of discussions with him and gently pointing out this behavior to him in the moment have proved to be helpful.

Homeschool Questions/Thoughts I Have:

I have been really giving Zach more freedom in his schoolwork. I explain what needs to be accomplished within our day along with any commitments we have and let him take ownership. Some days it works phenomenal and some days it's not so hot but I truly think it's important to Zach. He sees that I see he is growing up. He has stepped up to the challenge of additional responsibility in all areas of his life (school, home, etc.) very well!

A Photo To Share:

I have a couple pictures to share. The first is a picture from Lego-palooza, the second collage is of our adventure to the city market and Fenner Nature Center (yes, he is holding a snake they found), and the last is collage from the Pinewood Derby.

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Picnik collage

Picnik collage

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms



Very interesting video. I encourage you to view it and share your thoughts.

Our Week in Review- February 28-March 4,2011


In My Life This Week:
This week was good. Busy as it always is but good. We celebrated Jeremy's 36th birthday on Tuesday. Unfortunately, he had to work late that night but Zachary and I were able to make his morning special. Jeremy's love language is acts of service and I pulled out all the stops. I made his favorite breakfast, Zach and I got him balloons, I made his favorite chocolate cake, and when he came home late his favorite dinner was hot and waiting. I hope that it made him feel loved. The weekend was a welcome break. Zach and Jeremy headed off to camp with the boy scout troop Zachary will eventually transfer into and I got some ME time! I love my guys but I am an introvert so I crave alone, quiet time every once in awhile. I also was able to spend some quality time with two close friends, that was very needed too! I am refreshed and ready to start the coming week.

In Our Homeschool This Week:
This week we left Kenya and headed into Saudi Arabia. We have spent some time learning about the country as well as the Muslim faith. We will be continuing our study this coming week.

The birds have really started to make themselves known within our neighborhood which is fun since we are so intently studying them. We have enjoyed watching an eagle cam located in Virginia. The eagles are sitting on 3 eggs. They should hatch within the next week or two.

Places We Are Going & People We Are Seeing:
Since Jeremy worked late on Tuesday we took full advantage of it being National Pancake Day and headed out to IHOP were they were serving free pancakes. Zach's friends Hudson, and Kyan joined us along with their Mom (and my friend) Karri. The place was PACKED, it didn't help that it is right down the street from MSU's campus. What college student can pass up a free meal? ; )
Zachary also began gym & swim at the Westside YMCA again. Well, actually we are only doing the swim part this time. It's Zach's favorite part and then he can have an extra hour playing in the pool after his lessons. A win/win for everyone.

A Photo To Share: Here is Zach, Hudson, and Kyan waiting for their pancakes at IHOP!
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