Art Moves Redmond

Art Moves

Here in small-town Redmond people are prone to expressing themselves in all sorts of ways.  Most of the adult flag-waving and social media posting creates conflict, while teens feel free to passively flaunt their creativity through clothes and hair. There are plenty of bumper stickers and signs that point the way to political opinion or social change.  It's a confusing time.  The City of Redmond has managed to take on the mammoth challenge of self-expression with an Art Council that actually inspires art.  

The Dry Canyon is a four mile stretch of mixed use areas including ball fields, playgrounds and bike trails.  Where the paved trail runs under Highland Avenue (Highway 126) there is a very special art installation.

Moth and Octopus

This pedestrian tunnel used to boast some of the worst graffiti in town.  After years of beautiful mural paintings being desecrated, then painted over, then tagged again, the Art Council finally decided to let the public have their way with it.  They painted the entire tunnel gray and put this message in a small space near one of the entrances: 

Authorized area for original street art

All are welcome to paint.

Only paint on interior tunnel walls/ceiling.

Please dispose of trash.

No profanity, tags, advertisements or political artwork.

Keep it clean - this area to be enjoyed by all.

Elephant Tusk

At first there was a lot of gang tagging, inappropriate language and sloppy spray painting, but slowly over time the most thoughtful creations are left alone and seem to multiply.  Some are anonymous and some are signed.  Professional artistry mixes with young effort and creative explosion. Of course there is still occasional graffiti or inappropriate art, but anything that goes against the guidelines is quickly covered with gray paint by city employee fairies with paintbrushes who seemingly come in the night and create space for new art in its stead.  We've seen some beautiful work, of which these are only a few.  The beauty of the art installation lies in it's fragility.  You never know day to day what will appear.  Someday, I'm hoping (or planning?) someone will paint the ceiling black and starry or maybe with a Michaelangelo-type mural. Have I painted in the tunnel, you ask?  Have you?  

Raven

News from the Mud Kitchen Cafe

A few years ago I was dying to ditch the old plastic kitchen set that lived in our back yard.  I knew my girls would love a place to cook (we are foodies, after all) so I built them a mud kitchen (thank you, Pinterest).  We used the existing fence to hang a few crates and shelves and put a pallet down for a floor.  From there it has evolved.

Mud Kitchen Cafe- 2015

I am really surprised how long this little place has survived.  The neighbor's tree provides shade and the girls do the rest.  Grace especially gets a lot of joy out of puttering around out here.  I hope someday she lets her sister cook.

Girls sharing their cafe- 2015

Grace is the chef and Rain is her hostess/server/dishwasher.  They share creative influence in the project.  The menu rotates seasonally and current offerings include fresh raspberry leaf tea, chive and rock stew, marinated mushrooms (rocks) and an amazing mud pie.  The girls have learned a lot about collaboration, kitchen management (time and materials, mostly) and customer service.  All while playing outside!

Mud Kitchen Cafe 2017

This is the kitchen, today, heading into its third summer.  Daddy and I like to sit out here in the evenings with the girls sipping on beer and ordering amazing food from their little kitchen.  I wish they made real food- I bet it would be awesome.  Soon they'll start harvesting from the garden and we'll have some edible meals out of this place.

Summer is on it's way- how do your kids get outside and enjoy it?

Summer Learning- the real scoop

Summer learning always begins with lots of great books.

We didn't advance three grades over the summer as I had hoped.  In fact, I think we may have lost some academic ground.  Now that we're in full swing in the new school year I find myself reminiscing about our past summer.  I had big plans, but instead this summer came to be termed "The Summer of Her Boyhood."  Someday I'll write more about that- the idea that there's a special, fleeting time in a girl's life where she is free to just be herself, to be wild and untamed and romp and play to her heart's content.  Grace Girl turned 7 and Baby Rain turned 3 this summer. It was a fantastic, wild romp of a good time.

So, here are a few things the girls learned from our big wild summer:

• Grace Girl and Baby Rain invested in long-term projects and enjoyed the outcome of hard work.

Playing in the Sunflower House

•  Sure, she can't spell worth a darn, but check out those waterfall-fairy charming skills!

Hiking at Horsetail Falls in the Columbia Gorge

•  Maybe Grace Girl's measuring skills are rusty, but she understands "scale" in a whole new way!

Making friends with the Sea Lions at the Oregon Zoo

• Baby Rain explored the language of math through music and rhythm.

Exploring music, costume and art

 We missed some reading lessons, but Grace Girl's learning to communicate in new ways.

Found a snake at a wilderness lake on her first backpacking trip

 We backed out of gymnastics and didn't do sport camps this summer, but we stayed in shape the old-fashioned way- hiking, running, climbing...what a view!

Wilderness wildflower meadow romping near 3 Fingered Jack

 Grace Girl learned about physics, gravity and force!

Oregon Coast wave jumping

Baby Rain deepened relationships with the people that matter most.

Beach walking with Daddy

•  They may be a little wild and untamed- ok, maybe more than a little- and I'm so glad.  May they never forget the wildness of their own souls.

Wild summer days- camping on the Little Santiam River 

My prayer for our new year is that each adventure would bring learning, and each cause to learn would be a glorious, swashbuckling, fabulous adventure.  Yes.  I said swashbuckling.  Because it's a great word.  Go ahead.  Say it out loud.  I dare you.

May the road always rise to meet you...

On the Road

Grace-girl- she always wanted those eye thingies.  And no, she didn't actually sleep.

Our adventurous little family recently embarked on a 3000 mile road trip from Oregon to New Mexico and back again.  I could start a new blog for this topic, but I'll restrain myself. As you can imagine, we spent a lot of time in the car.  Here are a few things I learned, in a nutshell!

1.  Make a plan, but don't be afraid to change it.  I spent hours planning, organizing, and preparing for this trip.  Games, toys, educational activities, homeschool curriculum, daily snacks, music, and even some videos all took up space in our front seat area.  I planned for everything.  Every good place to stop and run around, every meal, every little detail.  Then I set it down and let it go.  Whew.  It's nice to be prepared (just in case) but not something I have to be controlling about.  It's always good to expect the unexpected; like a delicious burger joint in Central California (Eddie's Famous Cafe- Eddie even gave us free cinnamon rolls), or a truly interesting rest stop in New Mexico.  You just never know what you might find!

The first of 3 KOA cabins, all exactly the same!  Talk about easy...

2. Try to maintain your normal routine, at least to a certain extent, for the happiness of the whole crew.  We happen to use a curriculum that is heavy on memorization and auditory learning.  So you can now imagine us rocking out to such hits as, "The Timeline Song," "The US Presidents" and don't forget that amazing ditty, "The Preposition Song." Every morning we started our morning with breakfast at the campsite (we stayed at KOA campgrounds the whole way down for consistency and ease of travel- the cabins are the way to go when stopping for a quick overnight- we stayed with family and varied places on the way home), then mom or dad packed the car while the other ran the kids around at the playground (almost all KOAs have playgrounds).  After hopping in the car we did our Bible reading and prayer time then jumped into memory work.  By the time we finished all that the first hour was well behind us.  Grace-Girl also filled out a daily journal page each morning.  We spent time each evening to sit down and have dinner together, do our normal bed-time routine (as much as possible) and re-pack for the next day (snacks, car reorganization, etc.).  It was worth it.

The girls at Arches National Park

3. Enjoy the Road!  We were definitely on a schedule that didn't allow long stops, as we wanted lots of time with family at our destination, but we made a few exceptions: one morning at Arches National Park and one morning at The New Mexico Natural History Museum in Albuquerque.  We powered through the first two days (though we did make short stops to run around) and slowed down on the last two days.  Daddy and I also found time in the evenings to have fun- we played games, watched movies (all KOAs have free wi-fi) and took some time for "us" all while the girls were sleeping peacefully in the cabin.  

Many happy travels to you and yours this holiday season!  Don't forget to visit Pinterest for every idea of a car game you could possibly imagine. 

Breaking for Summer

Our spring has been swallowed up by projects.  Our self-proclaimed love of gardening, homeschooling, community activism and so on has somehow caused months to disappear.  SO, today I find myself holding a cup of coffee at a nameless corporation with my five year old, having a heart-to-heart. 

"Let's talk about something, mom."
"Ok, what?"
"I don't know.  My birthday party."

Her birthday isn't until August.

We outline a theme for her party and sketch out some ideas.  But mostly we talk about the REST of the summer and all the fun we have planned with summer library programs, Vacation Bible School, special family visits, camping trips, beach trips, playdates and, my favorite, weekly local hikes.  We got excited about having no regular agenda beyond the weekly calendar.  By September I'm sure we'll both be ready for homeschool co-op, violin lessons, choir and gymnastics. 

Our summer reading so far has included these themes: ladybugs, baby animals, big sisters, knights, castles, owls, dragons, colors, famous artists and more.  I'm sure it's just the beginning.

Coming up this fall:  The Three Week Roadtrip:  That thing that all homeschool families talk about wanting to do and that's why they homeschool. I will be blogging about it, here.

What are your summer plans?  What are you looking forward to in the coming year?  Share...

A Homeschool Day in the Life...

I've been reading quite a few "Day in the Life" blogs by fellow homeschooling moms (and a few dads).  While I'm tempted to share a "perfect" day in my life as a homeschooling mom, I suddenly realize there is no such thing.  My best intentions are often dashed by the wayside of the freight train called Real Life.  And no two days really look the same.  So here goes- a random day in my homeschool life with two girls, 5 and 18 months, though a fairly typical Thursday.

Thursday-

4:30 am- Baby-Rain wakes up and snuggles up in bed with me and Daddy
5:30 am- Daddy gets up with baby - I roll over with a pillow over my head
6:30 am- I get up so my husband can get ready for work.
7:00 am- Dad leaves for work.  I pour my second cup of coffee.  Read books with baby, try to get caught up on chores.
7:30-8:00 am- Grace-Girl rolls out of bed.  Not literally, as it is a six foot drop to the floor.  Blurry-eyed, wanting to snuggle on the couch.  All.  Day.  Long.
8:15 am- We girls manage to sit down for breakfast.  No one in this family does well without food.
8:30 am- Bible Reading and Calendar- we rotate a few different kids' devotional books.  We also work on our memory verse, which is posted by our calendar, here in the kitchen.  We review the season, month, year, days of the week, day of the month... etc.  Then we talk about our daily schedule.  I do all this while my older daughter eats because she is incredibly SLOW and I get tired of waiting for her to finish.
9:15 am- Chores- This includes getting dressed, tidying up room, brushing hair and teeth, etc.  But we also include things like, "be a cheerful helper."  Many tears are shed at our house over hair brushing.  Note to self: it grows back.  Cut it off.
10:00 am- Toddler Storytime at our local library is the one activity we do that centers around my younger daughter.  As a homeschool family we easily haul 25 books a week from the library (the kids are still pretty young- I'm sure this number will rise). I go online to order most of what I want to bring home, then we pick out a few at the library.
11:00 am- As I'm checking out the pile of books we're hauling home and re-connecting with a friend I haven't seen in awhile, Baby Rain is methodically pulling books off the reserve shelf and removing the name labels from each book.
11:20 am- Thankful for the rice cakes I keep in the van for moments like this 7 minute ride from the library to the house.  It seems more like an hour with all that screeching.
11:45 am- Lunch. Usually left-overs.  Baby fell asleep in the car, so she's down for her nap.
12:10 pm- Read a bunch of new library books with Grace-girl.  This is one of my favorite things about Thursdays!
1:00 pm- Quiet Time.  We monitor TV time carefully at our house (we don't actually have a television, just our computer)- but today Grace-girl gets about an hour of Backyardigans while I catch up on napping and an episode of Downton Abbey on my Kindle Fire.  That's right.  I'm being completely honest, here.
2:00 pm- Impromptu reading lesson with Grace-girl.  Reviewing digraphs and blends (sh, th, ch, wh)
2:15 pm- Baby-rain wakes up- snack-time.
2:30 pm- Piano lesson with me.  Finding middle "c," learning about octaves and playing a tune by ear (Mary Had a Little Lamb).
2:40 pm- music lessons evolve into dancing around the living room with some latin dance cd (thanks, Dora)
3:00 pm- Get Outside.  We pull weeds and jump on the trampoline until daddy gets home, and to heck with the mess in the house.  The girls like to get as dirty as possible, so I let them.
4:30 pm- Daddy gets home- girls head to the bathtub- we all prepare for our evening.
5:30 pm- Dinner
7:00 pm- Baby Rain in bed
8:00 pm- Grace-girl in bed
*whew*  Each day is a little different, but somehow we find a rhythm through it all.  And it's usually not the one I thought it would be when I planned our schedule in August.  Enjoy the things that make your family special!  And guard your quiet time.  :)

Small hands, big world

When I feel I've lost my way and am out of touch with what lives outside my window (which actually happens to me quite often- several times a day, usually), we all head outside.  Regardless of the weather.  Sometimes it's a walk around the neighborhood or a more organized activity like a hike, but most often we just hang out in our yard, enjoying the space we inhabit.  Sometimes we just stay in our pajamas.

Nature Journaling in dinosaur jammies

One of my favorite things to do with my five year old is Nature Journaling.  We started when she was four, loosely following Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study (also available free in a digital format of your choice). 

I keep a backpack prepared for her with her binoculars, magnifying glass, colored pencils and journal.  The backpack usually lives in the car because it's the most common place I am when I wish I had it with me.  And yes, my Anna Comstock is actually in the car right now, too.

Journal, binoculars, magnifying glass, pencils and a subject to study

My Grace-Girl has drawn pine cones, butterflies, flowers, rocks, grasses, and, most recently, sunflowers.  I had her pick a specific flower to draw and study.  She went to work looking at it from all angles, examining it, understanding it.  First she drew the heads and leaves of the multi-headed sunflower, then she drew the entire plant as she saw it. We counted stems and leaves as well as flowers.  Here's the finished work.

Pages from the journal

Of course I had some books from the library on the topic in anticipation of the moment and we read them before we came out.  Back inside we finished our study of the sunflower with a nice craft I made up with cut out pictures of the plant's life cycle separated by arrows circling a sunflower we pasted together with bits of paper and actual sunflower seeds.  Fun.  

But back to Nature Study. Here is Baby Rain experiencing her natural world.  

Baby nature study

 It was warm this day and she had been playing in the hose water while sister worked on her journal. 

I'm mostly writing this to encourage myself not to forget to get outside, regardless of the weather or the incessantly needy state of my house (or my blog).  This is not what we do everyday, but it's what I strive to do most days.  :) Thanks for listening.  For more inspiration, check out this amazing blog with great Nature Journal challenges.

What the heck is a lapbook?

A short year ago I was wondering the same thing.  So, being the Barefoot Adventurer I am... I found out.  At first I thought it seemed a little cheesy.  Just a folded file folder?  With a bunch of stuff glued inside it?  But then I began to grasp the larger picture.  A Lapbook is a great way to gather a bunch of info about one topic and put it a format that is easy for a child to explore and understand.  And it's pretty much free.  Which I love.  And since your kid put it together they will want to, theoretically, look at it from time to time to remember what they did.

Dads doing Math

So I decided to do our first lapbook when we went to the Oregon coast this past summer.  We were traveling with my sister and her family who also homeschool, so I knew they'd have some homeschool work planned, anyway.  I started googling lapbooks about the Ocean and found TONS of stuff.  Mostly I used templates from this site which focuses on a great book with which I was already familiar, Hello Ocean.  I explores the ocean through the lens of the five senses.  Great book. 

Each morning we spent a couple hours doing school work.  Most of our time (with my Kinder-kid) was spent reading books together about the ocean.  Lots of non-fiction and fiction alike.  I couldn't possibly remember all of them.   We did some math and reading exercises then we worked on the lapbook.  

The open lapbook

The Tide-pool mini-book (connected with a brad)

Counting by fives and tens

The five senses mini-book

 If I had it to do over, I would have printed some of our pics of the beach and included nature journals we did as well as writing down the names of all the books we read on the back of the folder.  Overall, it was a great experience!  Try it out.  Do you lapbook?  Share your experiences?

Healthy snacks- a hands-on lesson

We recently hosted a little play-date at our house where I was invited to talk to the kids about nutrition and healthy food choices.  We moms take turns each week and some weeks are more structured than others.  This was a structured one.

1. First I read the girls a book about how bread is made and I read them Herb the Vegetarian Dragon (a fave for kids who like to stick up for their healthy choices).  
2. Then we made bread (with quick-rising dough).  While it was rising we talked about the new USDA Food Pyramid and I had them touch items from each category (grains, protein, dairy, fruits and vegetables).  
3. Of course we ate some healthy snacks from all the categories.
4. We got to punch down our bread and talk about what a great anger management tool it is!  
5. The kids each took home a loaf to bake with their initials carved on top (no time to finish it at my house) and they each took home a food pyramid coloring sheet and bookmark (tons of stuff on the USDA website!).

Overall it was a very fun playdate and the kids walked away with some information and fun stuff to take home.  We kept the bread very simple and the girls had time to play in between each of the activities.  Not every play-date goes so smoothly, but things tend to run better when I'm more organized!  What's a favorite activity you like to do at play-dates?  Or do you prefer a free-play time?

Homeschooling in Central Oregon

I recently published an article about home education here in Central Oregon.  I was able to highlight three families with different styles and reasons for homeschooling and also provide lots of info about homeschooling in general.

Here on my blog I have many more resources listed under the "Our Homeschool" page including a list of favorite books that led me to homeschooling and a quick synopsis of some of the more popular styles or philosophies of home education.

Through an informal survey of almost 100 home educators in Central Oregon, I was able to create a comprehensive list of local activities available to homeschoolers including a list of things that folks wish were available (there was some overlap, so I'm hoping people will read this blog to find out about what they are missing!).

I truly enjoyed hearing the stories of why people choose to home educate as well as the styles they employ and the joys and difficulties they encounter on the way.  Enjoy the article here and find more resources here!

photo credit: True North: Central Oregon Parenting

 

Like giving books for birthdays?

Some kids don't get much for their birthday.  That's why I'm excited about what Barefoot Books is doing.  They've launched a new campaign:

• If you buy Bear's Birthday through the month of July, Barefoot Books will donate a book to Birthday Wishes, an organization that gives birthday presents and parties to kids who otherwise wouldn't get any.  Great stuff, right?  This is relevant to me right now as both my kids and my husband will be celebrating their birthdays in the next month.
• You can also send a free birthday e-card to the bear-lover in your life!  Fun!
• Did I mention there's a huge summer sale going on right now, too? (through Aug. 15, 2011) 

Barefoot Books works with Books for Africa, Ecolibris, First Book, and several others.  If you want to be a responsible consumer, think about where you buy.  Supporting companies that make a difference in the world (not because it's good for the bottom line, but because it's good for the planet) makes a lot more sense than just walking into a Walmart and picking up the first thing you see.

If you'd like to make the leap, check out my website or find other gifts that promote community uplift, global awareness and corporate responsibility.

When does mommy read?

I laughed at myself, today, when I realized I have a book hidden in every room of this house.  You never know when you might have a moment to escape!  I spend a lot of time talking on this blog about what I'm reading to my kids.  Well, here's what I am reading these days:

• In the Bathroom:  There's always a Time magazine or National Geographic nearby when I need my space.  However, this week I've found myself reviewing an old favorite:  Dr. Sears' The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby form Birth to Age Two.  It's such a great book!  I know I can look it up online, but sometimes it's nice to look in a book.
• In Bed: I've been keeping my Kindle by my bed.  Currently I'm reading Dan Brown's new book.  It's all fun, people.  I don't believe a word of it.  :)
• By the couch: I'm catching up on a book I should have read a long time ago.  It's called Ptarmigan Telegraph.  It's about the history of Christian radio station KICY, in Nome, AK.  My maternal grandfather was instrumental in starting the station, so it's fun to read about it.
• In the office:  It's all business in here.  If I have a moment to read when I'm not at the computer, I'm reviewing the book I'm using to teach June to read, The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.  I don't use it as a textbook, more just a guide.  Works great for me!  Or I'm checking in with other homeschooling books I like (check out my homeschooling tab on this blog)
• In the kitchen: I'm always reading a cookbook or two.  The Vegetarian Epicure, or The Super Baby Food book.  Of course, my Bible lives in the kitchen, too and I steal my moments with it, when I am able.

 What are you reading, friends?  I'd love to hear what reading material sits by your bed, or on your kitchen table.

The Halloween Conundrum

I did trick-or-treat once or twice in my childhood, it just wasn't a big deal.  I don't feel like I missed anything.  As an adult I'm turned off by the commercialism, the candy and the greed that permeates this holiday, BUT I can't deny the fact that it is the one holiday that really promotes community.  When else do you get to wander around your neighborhood, knocking on doors, and not one gets slammed in your face?  So... I've been struggling with whether or not to celebrate Halloween in our family for a few years, knowing that we could buy some time while our eldest was so young. My husband has no moral issue with it, leaving the decision up to me.  Yikes.  But this year I've finally reached a decision (I know you are all waiting with bated breath). 

The answer is "yes."

Now for the Why:

1. Halloween builds community.  We live on a corner lot, across from a park, under a streetlight, in a very family-oriented neighborhood.  I knew there would be lots of kids out, tonight.  Every parent who came to the door with their kids now knows we live here.  They saw that we have two girls, our house isn't perfect, and we care.  They are learning to trust us.  If there is one thing that my husband and I feel called to do, it is build community where we live.  Love God, love people.  As a homeschooling family I don't want to be completely isolated (and we definitely are not) from the neighborhood kids and the world around us.
2. My desire not to do Halloween was entirely too wrapped up in worrying what people think of me and confusing myself in the process.  Ok.  Maybe I was passing a little judgment, too, if I'm honest with myself.
3. Jesus loved the un-lovables.  He probably would've hung out with that werewolf kid from down the street, too.  Not that he would have gorged on candy, but I like to think he would at least give something out at his door.
4. We can hold our moral ground as a family and still have fun.  We know where we draw the line for our kids, and that's the only line we need to worry about.  The kids will be exposed to "scary" stuff.  That's life.  And honestly, I don't think Halloween is half as insidious as Christmas.  Don't hate me for saying that, I do LOVE Christmas.

I'm fairly certain we are all familiar with the "why-nots" of Halloween.  I just thought I'd share a little of my process in working through this tough topic.  You know what's best for your own family, right?

We limited our small kids to one community event and handing out candy at our door.  Our focus is definitely on fall and the changing of the seasons, and has always included pumpkins, pumpkin patch trips, leaf jumping and more.  I suppose each year will add more excitement, a line drawn a bit further down the road, and more discussion about the meaning of Halloween.  In the meantime, stay posted for my overly passionate dissertation on Block Parties!  Coming soon- hopefully next summer, straight to you from the lady who over-thinks everything.

Planet Homeschool

Somehow my homeschool classroom has become centered around science.  It must be what interests my eldest student most (the youngest being a mere 10 weeks old), since she's managed to finagle all sorts of unit studies out of me (how do strawberries grow?  Why do trees lose their leaves?  I want to learn about being an astronaut!  I want to be a doctor... etc.).  You can learn reading, writing and arithmetic using just about any subject, but it's easier to create interest around those things when the subject is fun for the student.  Recently we've been learning about space, mostly because I wanted to teach about calendars and time, so we had to understand how time works, first.  I divided the awesomely vast subject into a few days (we could have taken a whole year):

1) Planet Earth- from the inside out- rocks and minerals, continents, basic geography, etc.  Very basic overview.  We reviewed our volcano study from earlier this summer, too.

2) The planets and our solar system- names of the planets, the name origin, how planets orbit and spin, etc, time and weight, gravity, etc.

3) Stars and other bodies- primary focus on constellations and space exploration.

NASA is an amazing resource online, but not the only one, that shows actual video and interactive activities about space exploration and our solar system.  A simple google search yields many great sites for kids.

Of course, we read lots of books at our house.  So here are three of my favorite storytelling books, one for each day above, about space.  Every subject in school deserves good stories!

1. Whole World  This is a Barefoot Books rendition of the old classic song.  The focus here is on stewardship and also on the various environments of our planet.  The song is catchy, of course, and the illustrations quirky and fun.  It opens the door to all sorts of discussion about what our planet is all about and how we can practice planetary stewardship.  There is also a workbook to accompany the book, but it's a little advanced for my darling student.

2.  Star Seeker is a Barefoot Books title that truly is a journey- beautiful illustrations of the planets and a lyrical story that keeps the imagination going long after the book has ended.  The end notes have tons of scientific data about our solar system and beyond, successfully linking story to science.  Hooray! 

3.  Zoo in the Sky is a great book about the constellations.  My daughter used this book to develop her own constellation pictures, which is actually quite easy for a four-year-old since they can be fairly abstract.  Again, lots of info at the back to blend science and story.  This book has great illustrations showing actual star placement within the constellations.

Of course we read lots of non- fiction books, too, about astronauts, planets and space.  I can't wait to revisit this topic when we come back to it in a few years!  And a year is 365 days, a day is 24 hours, an hour is 60 minutes, a minute is 60 seconds, etc... what better way to learn about time than through stories?  Happy storytelling!

Mama, why is the sun hot?

If you aren't familiar with They Might Be Giants and their "Here Comes Science" album, it's time to hop on board!  Of course, they've done lots of kid albums, but there is just something about their quirky, punky rhythms and lyrics that have always cheered me up.  And I'm a grown up.  My husband thinks he would have gotten a lot more out of school if they'd taught science through songs like this... I tend to agree!   June loves "the sun song" and so do we.  So we had to share one of favorite creative ways to teach using story and song with you all.  Enjoy our science lesson for the week.  Oh- you can get the album on i-tunes and see more of the videos on YouTube.

"O" is for Octopus

This week we embark on the adventure the letter "O!"  In my homeschool, we usually do two letters a week (mostly as a review for my pre-reader).  I enjoy picking out special books for the letter of the day and hiding them until the day they are to be unveiled.  This Wednesday we will be cutting out a capital "O" and small "o" to glue on a page, then we add stickers, glue pictures and write the words that we can think of that start with "o."  Then we will learn about Octopuses and the Ocean in general as well as owls and the color orange.  We will make yarn octopuses as well as doing some pre-writing activities (dot-to-dot, this week).  There is a plethora of great resources online for such things, but nothing beats a good book in the hand.

Along with few great books I ordered from the library, and one or two I had on hand (Owl Moon, of course!), I also plan to incorporate Barefoot Books' brand new Octopus Opposites.  Barefoot Books always does such a great job of introducing educational themes in a creative way.  I'm grateful to be part of such a great company!  Hey- you can be, too!  Right now is a great time to join us as an Ambassador.  Sell books, buy them for yourself at a discount, and make a little cash on the side.  Or forge ahead into a business that can supplement your family's income.  It costs zero dollars to sign up as an Ambassador- this company allows you to invest, grow and build your business at whatever pace feels right for you.  Click on the banner, below to find out more.  Join my team and enjoy all the benefits of living Barefoot with me by your side!