This counts as school, really!!

Something I'm looking forward to as we move ahead with homeschooling is the complete freedom we have. On a nice day we can have school at a park and play in the water, go to a petting zoo, or just do our normal routine. Yesterday we went to a park and Caley saw a yellow and black butterfly that was just sitting on the ground gently flapping it's wings. Science lesson!! Today we found a dead bee on the ground and she looked at it, touched it a little, and then I put it in an envelope to use later for a project. Science lesson!! When we go to the grocery store and Caley wants a little toy for the vending machine, I tell her she can use her money so she gets it out and gets her toy. Math lesson!! Playing at a busy park helps them learn patience and awareness of others, a very important 4-year-old skill. Especially for preschoolers, the world is their school. Here are some fun things we did today and "technically...technically" it counts as school. :)

And this is just me being a cool mom! I wish I had my kids life sometimes!! :)

Caley and Amelia are silly

The girls come up with the silliest games, and here are a few recent ones. Instead of dressing up their dolls, they used pillows. 

Then last week they played with shaving cream...and got so messy I had to hose them off!

And one of their favorite games is playing dinosaur and bee sting! These silly girls!

Spaghetti and Farm Day

We had a fun week. Daddy took Monday-Thursday off and we did our normal things, but also some fun special things since he was home. Wednesday before groceries, we visited Grace Manor with Haven for Life Ministries. It is a foster home in Everett specifically for pregnant teenage girls. My women's group is hopefully going to volunteer with the home, so we went to meet with the director. Caley had fun playing with the other little girl there and hopefully it was a sweet example to the teen with the new baby. 

Thursday we went to playgroup but left the girls while Daddy and I had a date. Caley and Amelia did great without us! Then we had lunch with our new neighbors, and Caley played very well with their three kids. Thursday night we went out to a spaghetti and pizza dinner, then to the carnival at the local elementary school. Caley went on a bounce house and, although she needed a lot of encouragement, had a lot of fun. We also won a cowboy hat, but didn't win a big raffle basket of goodies. :(

Friday was Farm Day! Caley planted a marigold, they played in the hay maze, pet some animals, rode a wagon with hay bales, planted pumpkins, ate a creamsicle, and had a picnic! It was a fun day, and so educational! The trip was planned by a homeschool co-op in South Seattle so it was nice to see other homeschooling families being normal and having fun. Our friend Jack, Josie, and Jenni came too so it was fun to visit.

Happy Memorial Day! 

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Way back in April Caley had her first ballet "recital" with her playgroup friends. Miss Acacia taught the girls a ballet dance to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" over a few months and then the week of Easter they performed it for the seniors at Harbour Pointe Retirement in Mukilteo. Our playgroup has visited the retirement center before and passed out valentines, and we regularly visit and make cards with some ladies. The girls did a wonderful job and the residents really enjoyed it too! One of the residents commented, "This is the best thing ever!"

Firetrucks

We've been a little lax on the organized school days lately. Not that we haven't been busy. There's no need to be slavish about school days because for Caley, the world is her classroom. I hope it stays that way. We have been doing a lot of fun things, including going to the Teddy Bear clinic at the pediatrician's office, which included sitting in a fire truck. We also saw some firemen responding to a call at the library a few weeks ago. As we were walking out, a woman was on the ground and two librarians were attending to her. Within a few minutes, and fire truck pulled up and some firemen all decked out in uniform came and helped the lady. I (Mommy) was really excited and almost took a picture of the girls seeing real-life community workers in action. I decided against it though, in order to avoid the stares of onlookers. 

Caley surprised us last week by spontaneously writing her name! We were at storytime and she wrote her name on Grama B's Mother's Day card. It was pretty exciting! She's also continuing to surprise us by having a sense of humor. Bill plays a game with her in which he writes letters on her cheek with his finger. She will deliberately answer the wrong letter, although she knows what is the correct letter. Funny!