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Sunday, June 09, 2019

A Wet Weekend at Chester Frost


Several weeks ago we made plans to camp with friends, going so far as to reserve sites at Chester Frost for the weekend. While we had a wet winter and spring, our start to summer has been quite dry.


So we were a bit concerned when the week before our camping trip started out really wet with a high chance of storms. Jack is on swim team this year and most of his morning practices were cold and rainy. We kept checking the weather updates and the forecast remained 90-100% chance of thunderstorms for the entire weekend.


On Wednesday night we looked into the cancellation policy and discovered you had to cancel 3 days prior. Since we couldn't cancel, and the campground was close by, we decided to camp regardless of the weather. Worst case we could always come home.


On Thursday I was texting back and forth with the wives of the other two families who were supposed to camp with us. One of the families was on the fence (they have two really young kids) and the other family thought they could tough it out with us.


I let Daniel sleep in and plugged in my tea pot for hot water outside the camper. Unfortunately the hose was a little too short! But once my water boiled it made an excellent cup of pressed coffee.


Friday morning it rained as we packed the camper, trying to get it read between downpours. The third family officially backed out (if we had a baby we would have backed out too), but the other family was cautiously optimistic with us.


The sun came out momentarily and we kept packing. By 5pm we were on our way. By 7pm our camp was set up and our trout was on the grill for supper. The other family showed up in time for the only downpour we had that evening.

I enjoyed starting a new book while the kids played in the rain.

The kids played legos in our camper and were happy to have friends to hang out with. I had to make a quick Walmart run for dish soap and when I returned the rain subsided and we got a campfire going. Our friend's oldest son was impressed that we managed to get a fire started in the rain. Dry wood and a torch go a long way, even in the rain.



Once the fire was going Daniel took Sophie for a walk and the boys tagged along. While they were gone Daniel texted to tell me he felt like he was taking a walk with the lost boys from Peter Pan. The kids were pretending to hunt deer and whispering and giggling as they attempted to sneak up on any deer they came across.


When they returned to camp we had s’mores and the kids played while the parents visited until 11pm. It was midnight before our kids were tucked into their beds.


I hoped we would all sleep in but Isaac woke us up at 7. Our friends kids were already up as well. After breakfast, we had our first rain of the day. It ended up raining on and off all day on Saturday but never actually stormed. The kids rode bikes and played in the rain. They did not care a lick that they were soaking wet for most of the day. They just changed into dry clothes every few hours.



Before lunch the sky cleared a bit and I took the kids to the playground. We found a dock and the boys decided to get in the water, fully clothed. They were already wet from rain, so I just let them.


After lunch we headed across the park to a pavilion at one of the beaches to celebrate our friend’s 6th birthday. It rained some more, but the kids didn’t care. We didn’t let them swim but they dug in the wet sand and played in the rain and ate cake. What a great way to celebrate being a kid!


After the party we went back to camp. We had brought Jack’s kayak and he was able to take it out in a downpour before the birthday party and then again after the party he took the birthday boy out with him (supervised by D) while I grilled burgers for dinner.


The rain let up again and we were able to have another campfire and s’mores thanks again to dry wood and the blow torch! The kids were pumped about getting to have campfires with s'mores not once but twice in the rain.


It rained all Saturday night but let up for us to pack up camp in the morning. Everyone in our camper slept in and had a late start which meant missing saying goodbye to our friends. But we will see them at church, and hopefully we will get to camp again with them.


We are so glad we took the chance on a wet weekend. We all ended up having a ton of fun and can’t wait to go again. Isaac said he wished we could stay for the whole week and both kids are anxious to camp again.

But first, coffee! This was the only picture I got of myself 😜

Thursday, June 06, 2019

A Look Back at 1st Grade (2018-2019)

When people ask me how homeschooling is going or if we plan to continue, I generally say something along the lines that it is a good fit for our family right now. We have hard days and I don't have some super power when it comes to patience, but our good days always trump the bad. I recognize that it might not always be a good fit, but right now, we are in a sweet spot. On days I doubt what we are doing, I only have to scroll through my Instagram feed to see a highlight reel of the best parts of our days or have a conversation with my kids to see how much they have learned.

They say that no two years of learning at home will look the same. At two years in, I can attest to this. In kindergarten Jack and I hiked every week and immersed ourselves in the things we found interesting, as well as taking weekly field trips with friends. First grade found us digging a little deeper. We didn't hike as often and we had a harder time getting other homeschool friends to meet with us for weekly field trips (partially due to a really rainy winter). We also struggled at the start of the school year with finding our equilibrium, but even so we still ended up having a great year.

Like any kid finishing first grade, Jack had areas he excelled at (he completed Singapore Math for 2nd grade) and areas he had to work harder at (he truly dislikes writing, we used The Good and the Beautiful curriculum for 1st grade Language Arts). Regardless where he fell on the learning scale, he is curious and growing in both of these areas as well as the other subjects we covered as a part of first grade.

Over the course of the school year, we read 60 novels aloud. Our favorites included: Ollie's Odyssey, Little House in the Big Woods, The Wizard of Oz, Gulliver's Travels, Peter Pan, Little Pilgrim's Progress, The One and Only Ivan, The Wild Robot, an adapted version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mary Poppins, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Jack finished reading his first big chapter book (180 pages) when he read The Mouse and the Motorcycle this spring.

I like to use a variety of resources for learning and we are big fans of podcasts and use them to supplement our schooling when we are in the car. Some of our favorites are: The Same Page, Brains On!, The Past and The Curious, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, Circle Round, Cool Facts About Animals, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Grimm Grimmer Grimmest, and Noodle Loaf.

In addition to the book work we accomplished, this past school year we were able to take a 3.5-week camping trip out west as a family. We attended plays (our kids have come to believe that reading a book is a prerequisite to seeing a good movie or a play); we went on hikes with friends; the boys participated in sports; we took field trips to farms and museums; we threw parties to celebrate the holidays with other homeschool families; and Jack even took a robotics class.

On top of local rec league sports, we were also able to take our kids to participate in several Southeastern Youth Trials Bike Competitions throughout the year. They are both improving tremendously in their riding skills. By the time summer rolled around Jack had earned enough to help buy his first gas-powered dirt bike, a TTR90.

Besides sports, our kids are really involved with lots of different groups of friends from the enrichment program Jack attends at the Y, to church activities, Cub Scouts, and local neighborhood friends, they keep busy and engaged with lots of people. Jack is outgoing and confident, talking easily to adults and kids alike. I love that homeschool allows our boys opportunities to interact with a variety of different people.

Our summer break is off to a fantastic start. Jack is participating on our local swim team which means he is in the pool first thing every morning. This provides us structure to our day. We are excited about plans to camp and hike and hang out with our friends, as well as our upcoming 3-week vacation to Ontario at the end of the summer.

Below are some of our favorite memories from the 2018-2019 school year.







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Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 14 and we are officially at the two week mark. The kids were up late last night so we had a low key day around the camper with coffee, school, and swimming. Daniel got off at 4:30, so we picked him up and went biking. This time on the Canyon Trail in Logan. This trail was a hybrid of greenway, dirt single track and gravel. Logan, UT is not flat. We started by the river with plans to go up to the university (UTU) to get ice cream from Aggies (engineered on campus as part of their Ag program). The bike ride included a lot of hills and Daniel telling me at least three times that we only had another mile (most of it uphill). The kids were good sports, even when Jack got a flat and had to finish the ride that way. We celebrated the end of our five mile ride with ice cream. Then Daniel rode quickly back to get the car. We ended up having another late meal and exhausted kids. #logan #utah #canyontrail #mountainbikingwithkids #aggiesicecream #homeschool #roadschooling #morningcoffeeviews #camperlife #mooresgotoutah2018 #mohausroadtrip2018 #mohaus2018
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Utah Road Trip Diaries: Day 17 was all about Yellowstone. We are staying two hours south of the oldest national park in the world and decided to make a day trip of Yellowstone. We first made our way to see Old Faithful, arriving just in time to see it erupt. We ate lunch while listening to a ranger talk about the geysers and the boys completed their Jr. Ranger program for their fifth national park! By the time this was done, Old Faithful was erupting again and we enjoyed a second showing of Mother Nature. I popped into the Old Faithful Inn to ogle at the 110 year old architecture and then we headed on to see the Grand Prismatic Spring. We were all surprised by the heat and how tropical it felt next to the spring. We drove on around the park to see the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone — it felt reminiscent for southern Utah with a 300ft waterfall dropping into the canyon. We then grabbed dinner at Canyon Village before heading back to our campground via Hayden Valley. We had been promised lots of bison in this valley. We actually saw a few throughout the day, but none here. Everyone had their eyes on the large almost full moon that was rising over the valley. We didn’t have time to stop at the Mud Volcano or Sulfur Caldera but we could sure smell them as we drove by! As the skies darkened we saw quiet a few elk on the side of the road. Including one who made a sound like a scream — I guess it was not pleased with the trail of cars so close by. We were gone for about 10 hours, driving about 6 hours total and hiking almost 4 miles. It was a quick overview of the park, but a pretty good one. We felt like we got a good overall feel for the park. #grandtetons #yellowstone #wyoming #camperlife #greatamericanroadtrip #mooresgotoutah2018 #mohausroadtrip2018 #mohaus2018
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We braved the cold to attend Pioneer Days at Audubon Acres. We had such a great time last year and this tied in nicely since we just finished reading Little House in the Big Woods. The kids learned about long guns, how to make cider, how to spin yarn, how to cook over an open fire, how laundry used to be done, how to draw water from a well, they made corn husk dolls, helped churn butter, and took a turn sawing wood. We finished with a chilly picnic in the sun (no one seemed to mind). The kids made up their own games while the mamas chatted. One mom wondered aloud if they would have “Millenial Days” two hundred years from now... what will future people think when they look back at our days? A fantastic day of learning and spending the day with friends. #friendfriday #fridayfriendday #fieldtrip #pioneerdays #audobonacres #homeschool #firstgrade #interestledlearning #charlottemasoninspired #handsonlearning #mohausschoolhouse #mohaus2018
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We met up with a local hiking club to do a kid led hike at Piney River Management. Jack had a wonderful time exploring with the 5 other little boys. Meanwhile, Isaac started the hike out miserable. To be fair, he fell asleep on the hour drive there, but he was having none of it. The entire first half of the hike, he held my hand and cried and told me that the hike was “taking longer.” Thankfully he gained his composure at the turn around point and completed the 2.5 mile hike. Once we were back at the river, he was happy as a clam; playing in the sand, throwing rocks in the river, and playing in the natural fort made of exposed tree roots on the bank. It was a lovely day with my boys (sans the crying). #keepingitreal #lifewithapreschooler #exploringnaturewithchildren #hikingwithkids #familyhikingandoutdooradventuresclub #pineyrivermanagementarea #homeschool #interestledlearning #charlottemasoninspired #naturestudy #optoutside #mohausschoolhouse #mohaus2018
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First time on roller skates for my boys. This took me way back. I’m pretty sure the last time I skated was a group date just prior to Daniel and I officially dating, almost 17 years ago. Jack started out with the helper but quit using it pretty quickly — he had no shame in falling and was determined to do it. Isaac started out refusing to skate but quickly gave it a go when his friend attempted to try on his skates. Isaac was having none of that and put them on and started skating by holding my hand. I pushed him around some and then he got ahold of a helper and he informed me he didn’t need me anymore 🙄 We will be sure to take advantage of future homeschool skate days. If it involves wheels of any kind, our boys are game. #homeschool #homeschoolskate #mohausschoolhouse mohaus2018
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