Summer School

The Summer School session has begun at the Smithdeal home. Please allow me to share with you some of the courses the children are taking this summer:

1. Discovering the great outdoors:


Our beloved walk to the creek is a daily ritual. Many days we walk in the afternoon and evening. It is a short (about 1/4 mile) but lovely walk.



2. Fun:



3.Snorkeling:



4.Photography:



5.Biking:


(Right before I took this picture Mary Margaret said: "I taught myself two things so far this summer: swimming and how to ride a bike.")

6.Swimming:



7.Drawing:



8.Nature Appreciation:




9. Math All Around Us (Check out the Fibonacci sequence) and another family who is including the same topic of study in their "summer school":



10. Making Connections...We like to read books about what we have seen when we get home:



11. Discovering Life:



Siblings make the best teachers!:



Observation is a handy learning tool:



12. Inventing:

(this is Mary Margaret with her new cleaning tool- a sponge on a stick, used to clean nooks and crannies):


And last of all, I had to share this interesting "rock" Ben found...We can't figure out what it is exactly. I use it to hold up this Cassat print in my kitchen window. When I look at this picture, I am reminded to be gentle and nurturing to my children. I love when nature provides a useful, beautiful object!:

Nature Notes, Fun Art, and Legos

The inside of a Petunia is breathtaking!


Tiger Swallowtail on a Tiger Lilly


I never knew Comfrey has such gorgeous flowers. It is such a graceful plant. I am sure if Charlotte Mason were alive today, she would use a camera for "nature Study!"


A newly hatched Black Swallowtail caterpillar found on Dill


When the caterpillar is just a few days older, it changes in appearance!

We did a very fun art project today! I got the idea from a local toy store that has a "crafternoon" each week. We didn't get to go, but we did the project at home. All you do is paste tissue paper (with diluted glue) onto a piece of wax paper. Then place another piece of wax paper over top and make a "frame" with construction paper. The results are quite pleasing when you hang the "stained glass" in the window!

Mary Margaret working on her picture:



Tommy made one, too:



Even Anna got into the project (quite literally!):



Mary Margaret's finished project:



Oliver's finished project:



My sister introduced us to a very neat Lego project for home/unschoolers! Here is the link: Lego quest I'm so glad I just found a huge box of LEGOs at the thrift store this past week!

This is what I posted to my facebook wall tonight:


Remember, It's never too late to turn a new leaf.

I was sort of making a pun, because I wanted a caption to go along with the picture I took (of a mint leaf). The more I thought about it, I realized that I really like that thought. It has kind of become a cliche, but think about what it really means!
One of my favorite lines from the Anne Of Green Gables Movie is what Anne's teacher (Miss Stacey)tells her many times: "Remember, Anne. Tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it."
Think of that... a clean slate! And we are also told in the Bible that the Lord's mercies are new every morning. We don't even have to wait for tomorrow. The next minute of our lives is a good place to begin anew. I'm glad I had this happy thought!



"The world is so full of a number of things, I am sure we should all be as happy as kings!" ~Robert Louis Stevenson
( Did you know that Robert Louis Stevenson spent much of his childhood laid up in bed? That's when he thought up many of the stories he wrote later in life.)

Sam's Recipe

Sam (8) woke up hungry for French Toast this morning. As it was quite early, I was still in dreamland. He came in my room, armed with pen and paper, and asked for the recipe. As Sam is not much of a "reader" or "writer," I was wondering how he was recording (and at lightning speed) the recipe I was giving him (half asleep). He left my room excitedly and proceeded to make himself some delicious French Toast. Here's what I found when cleaning the kitchen a couple of hours later:


I had no idea what it was and asked Sam. It looked like some kind of Egyptian writing to me. He said: "Oh. That was my recipe for the French Toast. The first picture is an egg with a one under it to show one egg. The second picture is a picture of a cup with a one over it to show one cup of milk. The third picture is a fork to show that I stir the mixture with a fork. Then I put a picture of cinnamon being sprinkled in the bowl. The next thing is a four, to show that I put the burner on number four. Then I put a picture of bacon grease to show that I have to grease the pan, and finally I put a piece of bread to show that I dip the bread and put it on the pan."

Wow! This was pretty amazing to me. Not that Sam is some kind of genius, as great of a kid that he is; it has to do more with another important part of the learning equation: relevancy. In order for learning to really take place, the information has to be relevant to the learner. Oh, and maybe us moms have to sleep in a little more often!!

Something Nice

Here is something nice I read from the Lifetime Learning Companion by Donn and Jean Reed
(regarding the care of children):
Love them. Hug them often and tell them you love them. Make sure you separate the doer from the deed when they make mistakes or misbehave. Listen carefully and they will let you know what their needs are. Hold onto your patience and tongue until you know what you really want to say. Lead by example. How you live every day is what they will learn from and where they will gain their lasting values.

And another nice thought:
"Being alive is learning, and the extent of our learning may depend upon the extent to which we are really living."

Here is a thought that brought tears to my eyes today:
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away." ~Thoreau