Moments

We went to Savers and outfitted the kids for fall.  I loved Nathan’s outfit and the big find on shoes.  He was so excited to jump in his new clothes.

We made a family project out of creating dividers for the kids clothes in their dresser drawer.  They each get one drawer so we took a cardboard box and made dividers and labels for shirts, pants, and pajamas/underwear/socks.

I felt really maxed in after the move but we spent an afternoon making gingerbread cookies.  The kids LOVED it! I was surprised how much patience they had for rolling out the dough. Emily was 100% independent (and had better results than I did!) and I worked with Nathan on a as-needed basis.  It was a multi-step process and after baking we decided to frost them.  Laura strategically placed herself between Emily and Nathan hoping for handouts. I loved watching the joy of cookie making on the kids faces every step of the way, but there was something really special watching all three of them sit around the “campfire” and eat together.  For all the energy and effort at I time when I had very little left to give, this was so worth it!

A wintery scene we made and told stories from, starting with our favorite winter picture books and then going off script.

Family play dough activity.  It was the first time Laura was able to play with it, and there was a bit of tasting.  I love seeing ALL THREE OF THEM playing together!!

We have been working a lot with wool and have learned sooo much!! We did water felting together first.  We used hot soapy water and dipped the wool in and shaped it.  It took awhile to make a firm, felted ball but it was such a cool project.  I personally loved doing it and the kids love the sensory and water play.  Laura loved the final balls and how they fit perfectly in her hand.

We also tried our hand at needle felting and made cute little snowmen.

We bundled up and decided to explore the neighborhood on our Madsen bike.  We found a park and played tag. On the way back we found some discarded branches on the side of the road and picked them up.  The kids turned one into a Christmas tree.  We also used them to decorate our mantle.

My thoughts on the kids making aluminum foil boats. Today (November 20, 2018) I discovered the kids with big bowls and pails of water in our family room area. Normally I would just let them be and be grateful they were occupied, except we have wood floors and I could see the water mess already out of control. I swooped in and dumped water out and my three year old dissolved into tears. I sat down and asked him what his plan was. When he told me he wanted to float the small cup in the big bowl I told him we could relocate to the kitchen. I grabbed their little table, the let’s playground mat, a big container, a few squares of aluminum foil, and coins. The kids got to work making boats and trying to keep them afloat. I sat nearby and took notes in their notebooks about what they were figuring out, asking occasional questions. When they started to rely too much on me, I stepped out for a shower and left them to their play.

This moment was defining for me and very different from how I usually approach these situations – it was full of little successes that clarified how I want to homeschool:

– I set clear boundaries while still allowing them to chase the spark
– I provided them with a few simple materials to extend their exploration
– I sat nearby and took pictures and wrote their ideas in notebooks, asking occasional extension questions
– I stepped back and gave them space to continue play on their own.

We spent some time writing Great-Grandma Jackson a family letter and sent it to her.  I’m grateful we have worked so hard on helping our kids be connected to family even though we’ve never lived close.