We've been busy!

Despite the lack of blogging evidence, we've been doing tons o' stuff this fall. We went to Disney World, and then we got back and things got crazy busy. Our homeschool co-op started the Monday after we got home. This year we're doing sign language, Living Math, outdoor survival skills type stuff along with a Lewis and Clark study, and handicrafts. The kids are enjoying all of it, and are especially into the sign language.

I feel like we've got a good rhythm going with stuff at home. We've started doing housework stuff in the morning before we start school, and that's working well. Then we sit down all together and do Spanish, a Bible story, a word of the day, the calendar, read some poetry, sometimes read some folktales that go along with our history studies, and review sign language. After that, I send Ari off to do independent work (some spelling and writing that I get from Teacher's Filebox and his math, if it's something he already knows how to do) while I work with Milo on reading and math. Then we switch off and Milo finishes up a page from Explode the Code on his own while I do First Language Lessons, Spanish, and Writing with Ease with Ari. Gus, you'll notice, is not in the description anywhere, which is why it works much more smoothly on paper than in actual practice. Sometimes he hangs out and colors, sometimes he plays with play-doh, sometimes he plays in the playroom, sometimes I put him on the computer. I may look into a preschool curriculum for him soon, just because I think he'd like to have his own thing and it'd make me feel better about how neglected the poor kid is. I try to read to him as soon as I'm finished with the older kids, but often by then he wants to run off and play with them.

Spanish--after months of hemming and hawing and looking at every curriculum I could find, I finally ordered stuff! We've been using Espanol para los Chiquitos for all the kids and The Fun Spanish for just Ari. Both are going over very well so far. EPLC is very basic and unintimidating....lots of color, games for review, etc--which is what I was looking for. And The Fun Spanish is a very good, slightly more rigorous, companion for Ari.

A few pictures!

We have a hard time getting around to nature journaling in an official way, but I guess we should try to do it more, as it appears that Gus likes it a lot:



Brothers putting a puzzle together:



Science: they're making pennies shiny with vinegar:



And the results:



Co-op stuff--this is everyone riveted by math:



One of the older kids dressed up as Sacajewea and led us a really long way....



....to this creek. Where my kids got very, very wet. And I forgot to bring towels or extra clothes:



And this is what Gus does while the older kids do co-op. A few weeks ago we learned about edible wild plants. Now he scavenges for sour grass like a cow: