7 Words for This Week

H.I.I.F.

What, you do not know that acronym?

Don't worry.  I just made it up, because although I could say T.G.I.F, as in "Thank God it is Friday, (the week was so blessed!)

Instead, I find myself thinking, "How is it Friday?" as in, "Where did this week go?"  (Or, as the case may be now, H.I.I.S, since I began writing this on Friday, paused, and now find Saturday almost done!)

Truly, the week flew -- fast, fun and full of discovery! (Okay, there were moments of being frustrated, tired and whatnot, too, but let's focus on the more positive stuff!)

This past week there was...

~1~

Community

Sunday, we were blessed by spending time with part of our church collaborative community enjoying simple timelsss pastimes.  (More on that tomorrow!)

~2~

Tradition

Before I ever met Mike, I began going to Honeypot Hill with my brother, my sister and their families.  I would love it if we all could still go there together now that I have my own children, timing never works for that.  Thus, Mike, the kids and I simply continue the tradition on our own.

How we love climbing ladders to pick apples, feeding the animals, doing the mazes and appreciating the beautiful scenery! 

~3~

Animation

One thing I love about homeschooling is having time to learn alongside my children!  Part of that learning this week included the Outside the Box crew mentoring the kids and me in creating our first stop motion animation videos as a part of a DIY.org Animator badge work.

The children were so proud of their work (and I was pretty amazed by how relatively simple stop motion really is.)   

~4~

Butterflies

Nature study (insects and plants), physical education (hiking and jumping off rock walls) and faith (marveling at God's amazing creation) this week included a fabulous free monarch butterfly tagging program at Allen's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, a place that makes me feel so lucky to live in the area I do.

Isn't it gorgeous?

~5~

Teeth

... or lack thereof!

Nina bravely pulled out another tooth this week and now has a 4-space gap that makes me laugh every time she smiles.  How she can articulate at all, I do not know, but her chatter and song have not slowed down!

In fact, Nina had her first church choir practice ever this week and came away from it beaming!  She's so excited to finally be old enough to join the church choir and has been telling me she wants to serve our church in every way she can as she grows.  Yay!

~6~

Geography

A geography club seed began germinating in my brain long ago.  It was more recently watered and fertilized by similar desires by my friend Dani and just this week grew into a seedling I am delighted by.  Children from five families got together for our inaugural meeting this week and had so much fun!

~7~

Forts

You might recall from one of the reasons I listed last week about why I am hesitant to call myself a homeschooler that my children have begin a completely self-initiated fort building project.  Well, it is not just their anymore.  

Luke recruited a friend to be in his army, using paperwork and all, and then, together with that friend, his siblings and the friend's little brother, worked happily away pounding nails, layering mud and bricks and fortifying their fort walls.

~Plus~

Mini-Lessons

Plus, of course, there were plenty of mini-lessons, including Nina choosing to create simple sentences, and...

(Note:  There are two Amazon links below for your convenience.  If you choose to click through them to make any purchase, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  Thank you.)

Jack combining Montessori Sandpaper Numbers with a favorite open-ended toy (the awesome MindWare Q-Ba-Maze ) to practice numbers.

What a week it's been!

Did your week fly, too?  What fun and learning have you been enjoying?

Sharing at Conversion Diary, Managing Your Blessings, Pebble Pond,  Weird Socialized Homeschoolers and Home to 4 Kiddos.

Rolling with It: A Mother's Reflection

The other day we joined a bunch of other homeschoolers for a Basic First Aid Class.  During the first class break, as I spoke with the class facilitator for a few moments, the children ran off with friends.

A few minutes later, when I joined them, they were doing this:

They had found a huge, old tire which was far more interesting to them at that moment than the more obvious playground equipment and climbing trees were.  It had sparked their imagination and curiosity and, with no adult prompting, they had taken it upon themselves to give each other turns rolling inside the tire across a field.

Seeing my Luke inside that tire with a smile on his face seemed so fitting to me as another mom made her way over to ask me about Sensory Processing Disorder, related issues, and the steps our family has taken to, first, seek diagnosis and formal therapies and, then, to realize that we've got things covered on our own.  We could stop the dx road and all the formal therapies. God's good grace, practical applications of research we had done and acceptance that our son was created the way he is for a purpose made that clear to us.  We realize our road no longer needed to be through labels and recommended treatments, but through embracing our boy for who he is and focusing on approaches that allow him be the best him he can be without attempting to "fix" him or make him like anyone else.

In fact, it was an absolute delight for me to look a Luke taking turns, laughing through the heavy work of pushing the tire and delighting in the vestibular and proprioceptive input of hanging inside the tire as I recounted for the other mom how challenging any playground dates and vestibular stimulation used to be for him and how much time I used to spend at seeing specialists.  Wow!  We have come so far and become so free.  

That is how we roll... 

   
Equally delightful was seeing Nina's tooth-gap grin as she partook in the merriment.

Our newly seven year old lost her first tooth just days before her birthday.  The next morning, instead of diving under her pillow to see what might be there, she sent her brother  out to get me and, when I arrived at the bedside, said to me, "I wanted to wait for you to see this, Mom."  

Growing up, remaining compassionate and developing patience even during moments of enthusiasm.  That's my girl.  She was able to wait because she knows I like to share in her special moments.

Special moments come every day for us.  Some with Tooth Fairy milestones and others with extraordinary everyday snippets.  Many in the margins I increasingly remember to leave around the must-do's of life.

Yes, witnessing our motor-driven girl giggling through rounds of tire fun has me smiling with gratitude for the lifestyle we have chosen.

That is how we roll...

And Jack, dear Jack.  That boy is as rough and tumble as he is spry and smiley.  He has a vigor and delight that blesses me every day as he jumps into the fray of things with his siblings or creates his own fun.

Independent, yet loving.  Sharing in a feast of planned activities, unstructured elbow room and the blessings of both togetherness and personal time, our boy is satiated and so am I.

That is how we roll...

As I reflect upon my three children and their friends enthusiastically taking turns in their self-directed monster tire play, I see so much fruit in our lives.  I witness the value of just rolling with things...

Through the years, sometimes on purpose, but many times because that is all I could do, I have been gradually letting go of typically structured life and learning times and embracing an approach that integrates the two seamlessly as we roll through our days, helping one another to live with greater joy and purpose.

As I look ahead to the next school year, I see so many opportunities.  

Freedom.  Friendships.  Fun.  Family.  Following how the Spirit moves us in grand things and in small.  This is how we roll.

May delight be with you today as you roll along.  I'd love to hear where the Spirit is directing you.

An Ideal Day Exploring Habitats {with Free Printable Co-op Lesson Plan}

{Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links to books that we used in planning, prep and follow up to our co-op meeting.  We thank you for blessing our family should you choose to click through any of these links to make any Amazon purchase.  Doing so adds nothing to your purchase price, but does provide our family with a tiny percentage of your sale.  Thank you!}

 Start with a beautiful day.

Add children.

Stir in several brief mini-lessons.

  Add a generous amount of free, child-directed exploration.

And you have a recipe for one successful kick off to a Habitat Explorers Co-op!

At least you do in our experience.

Last week, we thoroughly enjoyed our first meeting using the Habitat Explorers Meeting One lesson plan that I created and am sharing here.

Some highlights of our experience were...

Coming together in Discovery Circles...

 Going on a Micro-Hike...

 

Sharing our nature journal entries...

Trail walking...

Please feel free to adapt the plan for your own family's, club or co-op's use.  If you do, I would love to hear how it goes.  I'd also be excited to hear about your favorite outdoor adventures and read alouds, websites and other resources related to hands-on habitat exploration!

Read-alouds my children and I enjoyed while preparing for this co-ops. following up from it and prepping for the next meeting on Woodland habitats are:

Crinkleroot's Guide to Walking in Wild Places 

 

Roxaboxen

Crinkleroots Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats

   

Fun With Nature: Take Along Guide (Take Along Guides)

 

  

Backyard Detective: Critters Up Close

 

  

Crinkleroot's Nature Almanac

 

 

Woods & Forests (Nature Hide & Seek)

 

  

Forest Explorer: A Life-sized Field Guide

 

  

Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees

A Log's Life 

  

Around One Log: Chipmunks, Spiders, and Creepy Insiders 

  

Trees, Leaves & Bark (Take Along Guides)  

I'll share about the Woodland Habitat meeting, too, in weeks to come.  Stay tuned for all five parts of this series! And, please find all the posts so far by clicking the Habitat Explorers button.

 

• 4 Steps to Beginning a Habitat Explorers Outdoor Co-op {with a Free Editable Invitation}