Our Homeschool Classroom

Today I would love to share one of our many places we learn! It was originally going to be my office/garden office, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. We, instead, turned it into our main learning area. It is in our backyard, where if the weather is sunny (and even sometimes when it's not so nice :) is mostly outdoor learning for us, but "the shop" makes a  great little hideaway from the summer heat and fun little place to for the kids to hang out in when doing a project or playing school. Plus the ducks like to sneak in when no one is looking and hang out - hahaha!

the art wall & our many white boards

The art wall is a place where I hang their creations and each kid has a shelf to put their bigger items. Right now we have some Egyptian coffins and paper dolls they created. The shelf below the calendar & white board keeps our rocks for now. We are exploring rocks for science and the shelf gives them hands on ability to touch, see, smell, and weigh them. It will change when we move on to a new idea. The cork board is where I hang finished art work, the month, and a Proverbs 31 women list. The upper white board is for scripture or quotes for copy work & the one below if for daily lessons.

The shared desk - all three of us used to sit here but it got a little squished so I created my own space.

a favorite art activity - paint! Love these $1.99 at Michael's (for the big bottle)

Our book nook - we rotate the paper back books often and the kids can just relax and read for a bit between lessons or when they get bored.

My space - I moved my grandmother's desk under the window that faces the garden. It gives us less overall floor space but it is nice to be able to have my own area to keep notes and work when I have the gardens and classes in full swing!

A view of each side from the door - all this in a 9x9 space ! 

 These 2 don't seem to mind. It's bright & colorful & we are close to nature.

Making Volcanoes - History of Thera

Today was history day!

We have chosen The Story of the World - Ancient Times and we really like it! The stories are short, there are lots of activities, and coloring pages, & you can also expand on the lesson with suggested materials and books!

We just started studying Greek History, it is a favorite so far. The kids enjoy the mythology & archaeology is all the rage in the house right now - Greek history & artifacts are one of Allison's favorite the other is biblical archaeology, but that is a whole 'nother post :)

Anyway, we read about Crete and Thera & Minotaurs today...very exciting!

Since Thera was wiped out by a volcano we decided to recreate volcanoes. Each kid got out their science tub and started collecting thing around the yard to recreate the island.

Allison's "Thera"

Scott'y "Thera"

 For Christmas each kid got a mad scientist kit that I put together & it had most of the ingredients to create a volcano (bottle, baking soda) we add the vinegar from the kitchen.

Mad scientist kit I made each of them for Christmas. It includes enough materials to make 6 experiments and a workbook that I created, with extra writing activities and space to write their conclusions.

So here we go! Allison adding the vinegar to the bottle...what happened?

It erupted and covered the "island" in "lava"!

They had a lot of fun building the islands, but mostly making the volcano erupt, they must have done it 10 times! Always fun and keeps them entertained for a bit.

We also had some company. Our girls can never stay away, they are always chasing us around thinking we have some treats!

My Take on Frozen Photography Assignment

Last week I assigned the kids a photography project - take a picture of their view of frozen.

They really surprised me with their pictures, not what you would expect!

Well since I rarely leave the house without my camera & one of my goals this year is to really learn how to use my camera in manual (so I can justify buying a really expensive & cute bag:), I photographed my kids photographing frozen

Here's what I captured...

They really loved this last picture. It reminded Allison of the fractals we had seen & also the Movie Frozen. What can I say, my kids are in the percentage of kids who are obsessed with the darn movie, what do you do?

Photography Assignment - Frozen

I have changed things up this semester in schooling! When I first started this adventure in schooling, I was really set in stone with the "by the book" learning. After a while I realized that it just wasn't meshing well with our flow as a family. We are all active, hands on, and creative people. My kids learn through creating. Active learning is what we do best. 

For the new year I gave them both an old camera, Allison was given our first ever DSLR (a pretty good camera that still takes great pictures) & Scotty was given the point and shoot. I gave them an assignment to photograph what frozen looks like. I bet you all thought they (or at least Allison) would have included one of Elsa or Anna, but to my surprise they came back with these beautiful photos! 

Allison's photo of frozen

Scotty's photo of frozen (never mind the strap, he's still learning :)

I have to say, that adding art in various forms, photography, painting, building, cooking, drawing, journaling, scrapbooking, writing, music, gardening, etc. really opens up a whole new learning environment. I give them the utensils and let them go for it! Amazing what they can come up with! Plus the kids are more into the assignments & love sharing their work with everyone!

Have you incorporated art into your schooling? What is your favorite