School and Spring

We can't shout loud enough that we finally feel and see Spring in the air!  What does that mean for us--lots of outdoor fun and learning of course.  This morning, we all went for a walk and talked about gravity as Jackson threw sticks into the air.  We reviewed the concept of buoyancy as Johnny was telling me about the boys having a "boat race" with their Chacos in the water-filled ditch the other day.  At home a few minutes ago we found a newly hatched turtle as it was on its way to the lake and of course, we had to make a suitable habit indoors since this was the smallest turtle we have ever caught (about the size of a quarter!) I think the toad count for today is at 4 so far...The washer is battling mud covered clothes and my freshly cleaned tubs I am sure have the remnants of a good day left in the bottom...

What's going on school wise?

1.   Jackson is loving his "discovery" boxes (sensory boxes is what you need to look up if you are interested in learning more information).  As you can see below, he loved this one so much, he just had to get in it! We have tomorrow's box "growing." (water beds)  These boxes give me uninterrupted time with John Gannon as he reads a "big" book to me.  He should finish the Red Badge of Courage this week. I have to say I was stunned he chose that book and to be honest, I almost started to try to talk him out of it--I was afraid it would be too much of a challenge.  While he does need some assistance on a few words while reading, it really has been a confidence builder for him.

2.  Science is in full swing as always around here. The boys  love nature so much and like to "discover" and "explore" it is a natural fit.  But they are really excited--April 22nd is our homeschool science fair.  Here is a sneak peak of the science experiments going on around here...that's all I can say about it right now. John Gannon says it is a surprise!

3.  We have met some amazing people this year.  Being part of a homeschool group has been one of the most exciting things about homeschool!  Not only do we have fun when are together but I get to learn from the adults as well.  For those of you who talk about the lack of socialization among homeschoolers--that is really parental choice.  There are lots of opportunities in this area for the children to be with each other.  I think you'll be surprised--I will write about it in more detail when I do a full review of our first year.  One of the opportunities that we have missed out on this year has been the Lego Club hosted by one of the homeschool moms in the group we participate in. Each month they have a challenge.  As I said, we haven't been able to participate due to scheduling conflicts, etc. but the mom does blog about the experiences Shruti Gupta's Blog. We did the March challenge on our on and both boys loved it!  We researched buoyancy and John Gannon spent over 2 hours working on his design trying to get it to hold more marbles.  He finally concluded he needed higher walls and a larger bottom for it to hold more weight.  His goal was to build one that would hold 100 marbles--he eventually succeeded!  (what did he learn--a ton about buoyancy, weight/mass, surface area--and more important than any of that--to keep trying after many failed attempts!)

4.  The business...in an effort to learn about money management, reinforce math skills, and learn/apply business principles, John Gannon has launched a business--Cox Brothers.  He has learned so much--I'll write about this in more detail later as well.  He is keeping books of orders and income/expense books.  He figures his profit and decides on percentages for giving, saving, and spending.  As for me--I learned I have got to get on the ball to help him learn how to type and spell...Oh the dyslexic brain and spelling--we'll see what we can figure out!  Mom is tired of being the scribe! He dictates and I type right now...that shall soon change!  He was shocked to see how "quickly" one can advertise their business in a matter of a few minutes. (Just FYI--those stats provided by Facebook on the "pages" are great for helping him to understand.)  His goals this week are to reach his first $100/profit goal and achieve 200 likes of his business page.  Oh, he has lots to learn about the real world of business but is definitely getting a good little start! Thank you to all of you who have liked his page (that is huge to him) and purchased things from him. 

Anyway, there is the brief update. I'll do a detailed review of our first year later next month.  So many people have asked about it and had questions--thanks for all the support.  Oh, and for those of you have been so positive and shared with me about this blog--Thank you.  I really just started this to see if I would enjoy it.  Over the past few months so many have commented to me about it and shared things they enjoyed reading--it has really been a humbling experience.  Again, thank you!

Live a Meaningful Life!