Games, field trips, and a little unschooling

I can't believe I am posting again already!  Yay for me!  This is kind of embarrassing, but one important thing I've done recently is attempt to reacquaint myself with the library.  I love the idea of going to the library, but actually taking my three kids in there is rough.  They can be loud and unpredictable at times.  Besides, I've never been great at finding what I need.  As a result, I buy piles of books secondhand and when I need something specific, I order it.  As Suzi gets older, though, I want her to have access to the library so she can research whatever interests her with wild abandon without money being an object.  So on Saturday, Jordan and I took the baby step of going together to one of our local libraries, getting a card, and checking something out.  Maybe we will make Saturday library day so I won't feel overwhelmed by the kids.  I think this will save us money and space in our house, while introducing the kids to a valuable lifetime resource.

And now on to the pictures.

I found an idea somewhere--I think online--for a Race to 100 game with base ten blocks.  All you need is the blocks and a die, and I cut out those pieces of paper to match the 100 piece so they could see how close they were to finishing.  The girls enjoyed playing it for math, even though Ivey lost interest part of the way through.  When we don't include her in our games she feels left out, so I was glad she could participate in this one at least a little.

They are too young to grasp the rules of this one, but I also let the girls build with this Cranium pyramid game I found at a yard sale years ago.  If nothing else, I used it as an opportunity to better explain what a pyramid was, after we'd spent some time earlier in the week learning about Egypt.

Here's Suzi with her drawing of King Tut.  She's been very interested in him after we found a children's book at Goodwill about how his mummy was found.  Luckily, there were several National Geographic documentaries about him on Netflix, which she sat and watched, and then she stayed up late drawing lots of mummy pictures.  I love National Geographic.  And Netflix.

Homeschooling on the Cheap, one of the books I'm reading at the moment, recommended making some letter cards like these.  I made up two sets.  First I let Suzi go through and try to pick out all the vowels.  She needs a little more work on those.  Once we'd picked all the vowels out (y included), we played a short game of memory with them.  When she turned a card over, I asked her to tell me the sound the letter made.  Then we brought the consonants back into play to see what words we could make.  Hopefully this little game will help Suzi with sounding out words!
 

One night this week, Daddy spontaneously decided to show the girls how you can make a compass out of a bowl of water, a bottle cap, and a magnetized needle.  Jordan's tablet shows that it worked--see?  Ivey magnetized that pin herself with her tiny little hands.

I swear.  The man is awesome. 

Today was a field trip day.  I took both girls to see the Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi.  They danced and played drums made from hollowed tree trunks and animal skin, a tradition for events such as births and funerals in their culture.  One thing they are celebrating with their performances is fertility.  I loved it.  Below, on their way off the stage, they are playing the drums while balancing them on their heads.

We were able to see this show because of our local university performing arts center's Tri-Art series.  They line up 20 or so one-hour shows each school year, and because they are generously sponsored, tickets only cost $2 each!  Some are even free.  We paid $6 today to see these performers from Burundi.  It just doesn't get any better, especially in a small town like ours.  Local schools pick a show or two and bring their classes on field trips, but homeschoolers can come to as many as they want, as long as they are age appropriate (some shows are for ages 8 and up, for example).  We are going to six shows this year, and Daddy is even joining us for the next one!  To be honest, I love these shows as much for myself as for the kids!  Ivey had to stay at Grandma's house when we went last year because the minimum age is three, but this year she can go with us.  I was on the verge of tears last year when she had to miss the performance of her then-favorite book, "Goodnight Moon."  But no more!  My mom and dad continue to keep Robert while we attend, which we greatly appreciate.

I don't have any pictures of it, but we ended our homeschool week with a karate playdate.  My friend's younger brother does karate, and he agreed to spend a few minutes teaching our kids about it.  Suzi was excited.  Eventually I'd like to enroll her in a class, but for right now I not only appreciate but admire this awesome guy for volunteering to share his knowledge with a group of little kids.  Heck, I have three kids and still nearly break out in hives when standing in front of a room full of other people's children.

Mama, Daddy, grandparents, inspiring book authors, friends, libraries, community programs...  Look at all the wonderful help that surrounds us.  Sometimes homeschooling can be a little scary.  It can feel like just me standing alone, responsible for teaching my children.  But actually, it's not that at all.  It takes a village to homeschool a child.  More on this in my next post!