Not Back to School Day - 2010

Every year, since we have been homeschooling, we have celebrated the day that our local public school goes back by doing anti-school things! KM usually plans the day out and I get to tag along. So today was the day and she decided to -

1. Sleep in...
2. Play some games...
3. Go out to lunch...


4. Go to the movies...


5. Watch the smurfs...

Do you do anything special for your "Not Back To School Day"?

Favorite Spot to Plan

With the close of summer session approaching quickly, it is time to get the fall session plans locked in - hahaha cause you know I NEVER change them - and what better place than out under the stars near a cozy fire?

Where is your favorite spot to plan?

For some interesting fire shots take a peek at our nature blog - HERE

Shifting Ground

I have always loved this Peter Simpson painting - shifting ground. This is also what is going on around here lately. We are in the midst of some big transitions, all for the better of our family. DN has been visiting more and more lately, so we are trying to find the balance of the new flow within our home. Trial and error, along with lots of cleansing, discussion and asking for guidance! It will take some time, but I am sure it will eventually all work itself out!

KM is moving swiftly through her summer lessons and will be completed in the next two weeks. I decided to have a lighter load year and I have rearranged our schedule a bit for the fall which will allow for a good deal of creative, spiritual, family and social time ~ not that we didn't have this before, but it has felt as though we still needed to add some more. We will be adding a lot of yoga and meditation time into our routines, as well as learning some more about energy and alternative healing methods - which I will be sure to post more on as this all comes to fruition.

I have been getting lots of questions and I am trying my best to keep up with them, so please forgive me if I am slow to return your emails or reply to comments.

Giveaway: $25 Staples Gift Card! - Freely Educate

Giveaway: $25 Staples Gift Card! - Freely Educate

Take a peek, leave a comment and you might just win!

Planning, Planning and Replanning...

That seems to be all I do these days. Even once I am sure about what we are going to use, something always seems to fall through the cracks, crumble into a million pieces at that the last second or just not turn out to be what we thought it was going to be.

What I usually do in the spring is get a general idea of what KM wants to learn over the next "school year" outlined and try to plan out what we will use to accomplish the goals that we have set. Then I use the summer to really dig through the books and programs that we hope to use, as well as having her try out things and see if she really thinks they are going to fit with her learning styles. We also pick apart programs and decide what pieces we will and will not do.

So this past week I have been steadily finalizing the programs that KM is sure she wants to use and trying to find replacements for those that she is sure she DOESN'T want to use as well! There were some rather big changes that suddenly needed to be made for reasons beyond our control this week, but we are going to make the best of what we have. As I refuse to purchase even ONE MORE text or workbook for her for quite some time. We have more than enough that I have stockpiled when things were on sale, gotten from friends or of course received through Paperback Swap!

I will be finishing up our tweaking over the next week and will be editing our resources page to reflect our picks as well. I may even get the ambition to finish some reviews that readers have been asking for, so please stay tuned...as I try to finish getting things under control around here!

Back from Vaca - but no time to do anything!!!

It always seems like when I get back from vacation, I have soooo much to catch up on! I am sure for those that check back here often, this is not the first time that you have read this!

I have little time to post, but wanted to get some pics up at least! We all had a great time and the kids want to go back next month...we will have to see about that one...

Fantastic Article and Video

Finally an article and video that truly expresses a home education philosphy - somewhere in the midst of unschooling, homeschooling, child-led learning - in a way that can be understood by the general population. There are no extremes or radical parenting styles expressed, just the need to address children as individuals! I am very impressed!

More Science Experiments-

Since we are continuing to work through the Milestones in Science Kit this week we did Buoyancy and Atom & Molecule Models -

Why is it...

that some days can go so smoothly and quickly, whilst others feel like they are dragging on for an eternity? There are days when lessons and chores are done by lunch and then there are days that we are struggling to complete things by dinnertime! Life happens and plans change, but sometimes there is no excuse for dawdling and I have very little tolerance for it!

I try to move forward with the things that I need to get done, but at some points I have completed everything that I need to do and am still having to wait for her to be done. I need to be a bit more patient, but she needs to be a bit more considerate.

It's August ALREADY!

I just set up our white board calendar for the month and I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS AUGUST!

We are midway through our summer session and things are going really well though I can't believe that I already wrote down "Not Back To School Day"- the day our local PS kids go back to school and the day we celebrate not! You can see previous posts about that here and here. I am also being bombarded with calls and questions about Not Back to School events and field trip planning from local homeschoolers.

I have all our lesson plans set for the rest of this session and all of next, so it should be pretty smooth sailing in that department. We have a lot going on this month and I anticipate that my posts may be slow or become more pics and less chatter...hmmm that might be a good thing for some!

How are you spending the rest of you summer? Any good plans, events, activities? Feel free to share....