The joys of homeschooling...

The joys of homeschooling are many, but last Friday was a great example of a perk of homeschooling.  The weather was majorly unseasonably warm, (try upper 70's). We spent the first part of the day at the "Castle Park", playing with friends and the second part of the day Abbey got to finish her work like this..

while Elijah rode his bike.

We've also had a great experience with our homeschool co-op group. We meet on Fridays, and the moms take turns teaching extra-curricular classes. Abbey and Elijah loved "Legacy", as it's called. The highlight was the "show and tell" they got to participate in every week. Not a single week went by that Abbey and Elijah did not go up on stage and share about something, usually it was a toy, but their topics ranged from special shoes to their newly born niece.

 Here, Abbey shared her homemade bow and arrow. (made from a clothes hanger and a stick)

This day Elijah shared his macaroni snake

They've had classes in Spanish, geography, art and large group games. It is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to socialize and take advantage of the expertise of other moms. (I usually choose to  take care of  2 yr olds).

Through our homeschool group, we've had some great field trips. Earlier this year we went to Bennett Place.

The soldier was quite animated and actually fired the musket for us.

Today we went to Oak View historic park to learn about Christmas traditions from the early 1800's to the 1950's.

and the highlight for the kids- petting the goats.

The history museum's presentation of American Indian Heritage day was fantastic.

We saw some dances

played some games unique to the Indian culture

tried our hands at making clay pots

visited a wigwam frame

sat in a long boat

while watching how the Indians burned out the inside.

Of course, no field trip downtown is complete without a visit to our favorite doughnut place.

I've loved the opportunities we've had to cultivate a love of theater.  (I've got to make sure I always have someone who loves to go see musicals with me.)

We've been to see Slim Goodbody's show

and along with Layne, we went to see "Frosty the Snowman", a musical.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to homeschool these kiddos. I'm also thankful for all the opportunities that we've had to make learning hands-on and fun!