Summer Series: Making a Castle and Making a New Start

One of my most favorite things about homeschooling is when we take the lessons with us! Mother Goose Time is so portable. I brought the box that it came in over to my mom's house, along with glue, crayons, and scissors. My mom watched the kids for a few days this week so that the hubby and I could take a business trip. 

I showed my mom how to read the lesson plan book (took about a minute) and told her which activities to do while we were gone. (I've already received the pictures from what they did, and it is absolutely adorable!)

For my last lesson before I left, we read a participation story and did an art project. 

I read them a story about an alligator, a castle, and art, and every time I said certain words that has to do something with their hands and fingers. 

At the end of the story I asked them the questions that were given at the back of the story. I loved that there were a variety of questions. Some of the answers could be found on the page, some questions had to use inferencing, and some required that the child look completely beyond the page into their own experiences. 

This picture melts my heart. It is my 90 year-old grandad who sat with us and listened as we did the lesson. As a homeschooler, it's important for our families to see that we are using an appropriate curriculum and that we know what we're doing. Also, it's really just precious. Children in this country used to be educated only in the homes and it was a family experience. I'd love too see more of the family members get involved in the current homeschooling movement. 

After we finished answering the questions, we moved on to creating our own castles. 

The instructions said to use found items from nature in which to decorate the castle. I explained to my daughter that the flowers would turn brown and she didn't seem to care or quite understand why, and therefore I let her decorate it with as many flowers as she wanted. What a concrete way to learn about cause and effect and the lifespan of cut flowers. 

Summer is almost over. It's been a rough one for me, concluding with the loss of my beautiful 3-legged standard poodle. In the midst of the summer, we had visitors who stayed quite a while and surgery and I found myself trying so hard to be doing so many things. Last night I saw fall themed mugs and decorative items at an adorable little store, and my heart felt ready to move on from the summer, and into the next season of our lives. I'm praying that it slows down and that I can begin to see the light again.