100 Days of Homeschool

This past Wednesday marked 100 days of homeschool for our family (our state requirement is 180 days for the school year). To be honest we were actually surprised that we had already made it to 100 days. Learning is such a part of our daily lives, I know we will have no trouble meeting that target.

We decided to celebrate, last minute, by meeting Daniel downtown for dinner at Lupi's Pizza and then walking to the Moon Pie General Store for dessert. The flexibility of homeschool is one of the many things that we love about this lifestyle.

Every week I share a recap video on Facebook of what we have been up to (see below). Most of it is fun stuff and doesn't necessarily touch on the official learning portion of our school day. I wanted to take a moment to share what we have had on our plate during the last 100 days...

During the course of our Fall Semester we read aloud the following books: The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, Vile Verses by Roald Dahl, Little Wizard Stories of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Stories of the Pilgrims (audio book) by Margaret B. Pumphrey, A Boy Called Christmas (audio book) by Matt Haig, as well as many other short stories and poems.

Right now, we are wrapping up The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and have plans to tackle Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne and the Frog and Toad Treasury by Arnold Lobel, and probably two or three pieces of literature.

Jack has been working through two different Math curriculum, one for kindergarten/first grade (Math Lessons for a Living Education) and one for first grade (Singapore), and I have made the decision to proceed with the Singapore Math one for the time being.

We have also been working through Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason and Story of the World for history, but I think we are going to change courses a bit with that this semester and follow Ambleside's course material for Year 1 for these two subjects. I am looking forward to reading Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling for geography, and Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin for History.

We are continuing with our nature study, Exploring Nature with Children, supplementing it with the Nature Anatomy book by Julia Rothman, and other books I find at the library. I also try to take Jack out for a hike every week. Some times he complains (this week he thought it was too foggy and wet), but we are both always glad that we did it. After our hike, we record a drawing and observations from our hike in a Nature Journal.

For writing, we started out using the BrainQuest Kindergarten workbook, but have shifted gears to Handwriting without Tears, along with copywork each week.

We also rely on digital content: the Hooked on Phonics app has been a great resource for reading, and MathTango is a fun way to reinforce math facts. In the car (car-schooling), we listen to the following podcasts: BrainsOn! and Wow in the World for Science, Classics for Kids exposes us to classical music in 6-minute segments, and The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian is rich in literary references and has a fantastic storyline (even Isaac loves it!).

So while we have a lot of time for free play including Nerf Wars and building with Legos, or playing board games, we stay plenty busy with actual book work, and it feels good to know how much Jack is learning. He will randomly reference something from a book we read and it gives me all the good feels as a mom, and as his teacher.

At dinner on our 100th day, we were discussing how we were more than halfway through our year because we are only required to compete 180 Days. Jack piped up, “100 is ten more than halfway.” I thought about it, and sure enough 90 is half of 180 and 100 is 10 more than 90. We asked how he came up with that, and he said, “I counted.”  

A look back at the last 40 days. See our first 60 days here.

Week 13 of our homeschool included discovering a new podcast, “Classics for Kids” where Jack is getting exposure to classical music. We started reading two new books, “The Care and Feeding of a Black Hole” and “Little Wizard Stories of Oz.” We made a Sonic run when swimming was cancelled on Tuesday, and Jack had two flag football practices in preparation for a tournament game on the weekend. Daniel was off on Thursday and was able to join Jack and I for a hike to Mushroom Rock where we searched for mushrooms, moss and lichen. We played in leaf piles. Rode bikes at the playground, and prepared for Jack’s 6th Birthday Party. Jack’s birthday involved a football game (his team is undefeated), his crazy Ninja and Nerf Gun Party with friends, and a family celebration with present before dinner. It’s hard to believe that thanksgiving is right around the corner!

To kick off Week 14 of homeschool, we started listening to the audio book “Stories of the Pilgrims” whenever we were in the car. We have had some really great conversations about why the pilgrims left their country and the hardships they faced coming to America. We had visitors from Scotland on Tuesday afternoon. And then on Wednesday I took the boys to shop for food to donate to families that are less fortunate than us and we talked about the importance of helping others. Jack and I met Daniel for lunch on Thursday and then Jack spent a birthday gift card on a bow and arrow set... which he has used non stop since his purchase. Friday we met up with friends for a Pioneer Day at Audobon Acres. The kids learned all about pioneers with lots of hands-on activities. And we wrapped up the week with a Championship Flag Football game — Jack’s team ended the season undefeated. He was really psyched about his trophy and had a great experience with his teammates. We didn’t have time for our weekly hike but the boys and I spent some time at the woods at our park, building a lean-to and pretending to be explorers. Another good week in the books for us.

Thanksgiving Week: We have so much to be thankful for. I’m thankful for family and the opportunity to be together, whether we are silly or having serious conversations around the campfire. I’m grateful for our children and the fact that they were able to spend several days together, playing nerf wars and sardines, going on hikes on our property and letting their creativity shine. I’m thankful for the blessing of good food and helping hands to make the work light. I’m thankful that we can laugh at mistakes like soupy potatoes, or my inability to buy the “right” kind of marshmallows for s’mores. I’m thankful that we had the chance to talk with my nana who is in a nursing home in Canada. I hope she was blessed as we passed the phone around. I’m thankful for a warm, safe home with enough beds and floor space to accommodate 15 people comfortably. I’m thankful for perfect weather and this chance to be with loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving!

We just completed Week 15 of our homeschool. We finished listening to the “Pilgrims Stories” audio book and started listening to “A Boy Named Christmas.” We also listened to a classical music podcast about Gershwin and started season 3 of our favorite sci-fi podcast, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian. These have been great for any time we are in the car. Jack didn’t have any cavities at his Monday dentist appointment, but did get to experience his first dead car battery with me while we waited to pick up groceries on Monday. The weather has been amazing all week, so we spent a significant amount of time outside with friends and at parks riding scooters and bikes. Wednesday was a big reading and library day for us. We read aloud all morning so we that could return our giant stack of library books and get new ones. For our nature day, Jack and I visited Raccoon Mountain where we learned all about the pump plant and hydroelectric power. And today the boys spent a portion of the day with their Grandpa and Abuela while I went to physical therapy. While we were on that side of town, we stopped by Harrison Bay State Park to play on the playground and throw rocks in the lake. We are enjoying these perfect days before the weather turns cold.

Nature Day: Thursday’s are my favorite. Jack and I typically spend the morning outside learning. Today we didn’t do our typical hike, instead we went to Raccoon Mountain and learned all about hydroelectric power. We did a short walk in the woods before heading home for the rest of our school day.

We kicked off Week 16 of homeschool with a little Christmas. We started the “Slow + Sacred” AdventStudy, made an Advent calendar and set up and decorated our little Christmas tree. We also continued to listen to the audio book, “A Boy Called Christmas” and we are loving it. Other Christmas activities included baking an Orange Cake, picking out our live tree, and hosting a Christmas Cookie Decorating Party for friends. Besides Christmas activities, we did school one morning at our favorite local coffee shop, complete with hot chocolate, then Jack wanted to learn how to make scrambled eggs unsupervised and also decided to count to 1,000 in one setting. We went to a pizza party to celebrate being Flag Football Champions, we read lots of books together, and Jack and I went to The Boulders at the base of Lookout Mountain for our Nature Day. As an added bonus we had a surprise dusting of snow on Friday during our cookie party! December is such a fun month to be homeschooling. Our activities all revolve around Christmas and it is a blessing to wake up slow and do the things we want to do, all while learning.

Nature Day: We had The Boulders to ourselves this morning (another perk of doing stuff during the week!). As we were leaving a couple showed up with matts and climbing gear. We observed quite a few birds, which was great because our nature study this week is “Winter Birds.” So thankful for this one-on-one time with my oldest. We plan to take Daniel Moore and Isaac back soon

We ended Week 17 of our homeschool with a trip to the North Georgia mountains to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We did a hike to the Toccoa River Swinging Bridge — the biggest suspension bridge east of the Mississippi, and also hiked to Amicalola Falls — the tallest waterfall in Georgia at 729 feet. On the way to Toccoa, we stopped to take a look at the Blue Ridge Dam (it’s one of the TVA dams that Daniel’s department oversees). We also saw Christmas lights, and Jack became enamored with nutcrackers when visiting his first Irish pub. We started the week slowly, with a focus on Advent. Jack and I finished listening to the audio book, “A Boy Called Christmas,” which we both enjoyed and would recommend. We strung popcorn and cranberries for our live Christmas tree and would have made gingerbread cookie ornaments but I was out of molasses 🙄 We had taken a hiatus from our math curriculum for a couple of weeks because I felt like Jack needed time to learn his math facts better, in place of our typical math we started using an app called Math Tango — a Math game on my phone. We came back to our math curriculum this week and Jack surprised me by really knowing his math facts. The game and having a Break seemed to be the right solution. We started reading “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” and Jack has really taken to it and wants to know what will happen next. On Thursday, Jack helped me make cute snowmen juice boxes and reindeer pudding cups for Isaac’s preschool Christmas party, then Jack went to a friends house while I went to Isaac’s party. Daniel had extra long hours at work all of last week, so we ended up watching more movies than usual including Boss Baby (Isaac’s favorite) and Sing. There was also lots of playtime outside for the kids, and they enjoyed making a gingerbread house with their aunts and nana this weekend. This week we are doing a light version of school, but we won’t truly break. I find that everyone does better if we keep our routines. It’s hard to believe Christmas is just six days away!

For Week 18 of our homeschool we baked and decorated Christmas cookies with friends, made bird seed ornaments and garlands to hang outside, and finally got around to making our traditional gingerbread cookie ornaments for our live tree. We also did our Slow and Sacred Advent Study, and continued reading “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” which Jack calls “The Narnicles of Narnia.” And we visited Santa at Bass Pro Shop as a family. Not a bad way to get through a light week of homeschooling.

Week 19 We have been easing our way back into school this week. It’s hard to believe that it is already 2018 and we are almost 100 Days into our school year. We began the week with a chilly New Year’s Eve Hike as a family in Green Gorge. On New Years Day we visited with Grandparents and the kid’s Abuela gave them traditional panetonne to celebrate. The kids have spent a lot of time building and playing with Magic Tracks, Lincoln Logs, K’Nex, Legos, a building robots. STEM all week thanks to Christmas presents! They have also played with play-do and painted window art (another Christmas present). We took down all of our Christmas stuff and hung our garlands of popcorn and cookies outside for the birds and observed animal tracks at our playground. The kids have hauled firewood with their daddy and been to The Creative Discovery Museum with friends. We had a silly string war in the freezing cold and Skyped grandparents and cousins. Jack had a good week in reading and math, but we need to spend more time focusing on writing. We ended our week with pizza and a movie, introducing the kids to “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.” Another good week of learning for the kids.

What homeschool is like with a toddler. 🙄 Regardless of the chaos that Isaac is creating, Jack has been making great progress with his reading.

Week 20 of school started with an ice day on Monday, a celebration of 100 Days of school on Wednesday, and ended with a sick mommy on Friday. This week Jack finished up a building project that he started a couple of weeks ago. He constructed a doll house for a friend from Daniel’s wood scraps. He designed, built, and painted it before giving it as a gift. The boys spent lots of time building with K’Nex, Legos, and Lincoln Logs. They also constructed cushion forts and designed their own robot costumes. Daniel took them to the Main Terrain Art Park and also to Missionary Ridge on Wednesday. We celebrated 💯 Days of School with pizza at Lupi’s and Moon Pies from th Moon Pie General Store downtown. Jack started PeeWee Basketball on Tuesday and we completed a nature hike at Green Gorge on Thursday. We also had a library day and have plenty of new books to read including “A Child’s Anthology of Poetry” and a book of traditional tales from around the world. We are almost finished reading “The Lion, The With, and The Wardrobe” and will watch the movie as soon as we are done. Even though we were cooped up for several days, we still had a productive week full of learning and creativity.

Nature Day Hiking with Jack at Green Gorge this morning. #naturestudy #natureday #exploringnaturewithchildren #kindergarten #homeschool #greengorge #lovewhereyoulive #hikingwithkids #mohausschoolhouse #mohaus2018

Nature Day: Green Gorge, first school hike of 2018

When I committed to homeschooling Jack, one of my goals was to make sure we had plenty of time available to be out in nature. I found a nature study that I thought would support this goal, and we set out to do weekly hikes, just the two of us, when possible.

Our curriculum is Exploring Nature with Children, and it is really just a guide to give us purpose in the woods. And while we talk about different themes from the guide each week, we also enjoy one anothers company, the solitude of the woods, and the time together without distraction.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that our days aren't a race. We don't have to rush through the hike to get to the next thing. We can stop and climb all the rocks or look at what Jack is interested in looking at. And do be honest, these hikes are probably the best part of the school week.

When we kicked off this hiking tradition, we started at Green Gorge. This little park with a two-mile, figure-eight trail, is located on the street behind our house. You can walk to it from our house if you choose. Jack and I normally have plans after our hike, so we just drive and park at the trailhead.

We typically do the loop of the trail that has the swinging bridge. I think on our next visit we will do the entire figure eight.

This trail is nice because it is relatively flat. It is perfect for kids because it is fairly short. It follows the creek the entire way and there are bridge crossings. When it is warmer, Jack likes to wade in the creek.

Initially Jack was dragging his feet about going hiking. It was a really foggy day and he thought it wasn't good weather for hiking. My motto follows forest kindergartens, "There is no bad weather, just bad clothing choices."

With much grumbling we set off. Jack was surprised that the fog didn't seem to be as dense in the woods. Once we got started he found that he enjoyed seeing the woods from a different perspective.

As usual, he was determined to cross the creek on stones. I reminded him that it was cold and he would not be happy if he got wet, but still allowed him push his own limits.

I love walking on this trail as the creek babbles happily beside me. Jack likes that there is a small section of bluffs that he can climb up, and we have special trees that we always stop so that Jack can sit in and climb.

Often Jack runs ahead of me and we will whistle back and forth. This gives him some autonomy and lets me know where he is and he knows he should stop and wait for me if the whistles get too far away.

I'm pretty sure he would run the entire trail if I let him. I look forward to watching these woods change over the course of this year and the years to come.

 

Check back on Thursdays to see where our nature studies have taken us...
Previous Nature Hikes with Jack:

September: Green Gorge, Althaus Park, and Mabbit Springs
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends) ⎮ Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (hike we did as a family) ⎮ Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike)
November: Glen Falls ⎮ Mushroom Rock (with Mommy and Daddy) ⎮ Raccoon Mountain

December: The Boulders ⎮ Toccoa River (family hike)⎮ Amnicalola Falls (family hike)

Books I Read in 2017

I started out really strong in 2017 reading books and sharing my lists on my blog. But I lost momentum in July. I still read, though mostly books that I was reading to Jack for homeschool. Throughout the year a lot of my reading had to do with research for teaching Jack, but also some books were read just for pleasure. See entire list below.
 
January
1) Exile, and
2) Hive from The Oneness Cycle series (there are 5 books in the series),
3) An allegory entitled Journey,
4) and the first book in The Seventh World trilogy, Worlds Unseen, all by Rachel Starr Thomson

5) The Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D.

February
6) The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today's America by Mark Sundeen

March
7) The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch
8) The Whole 30: The Official 30-day Guide To Total Health And Food Freedom by Melissa Hartwig
9) Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King (The Guardians #1) by William Joyce

April
10) Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education by Ken Robinson
11) We Are THAT Family by Kristen Welch
12) Graced Filled Marriage: The Missing Piece, The Place to Start by Tim Kimmel
13) Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie C. Martin
14) Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever by Mem Fox
15) E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core by William Joyce (from The Guardians series)
   
May
16) The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell
17) How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature by Scott D. Sampson (the paleontologist from Dinosaur Train)
18) Play The Forest School Way: Woodland Games and Crafts for Adventurous Kids by Peter Houghton
19) Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies, by William Joyce (from The Guardians series)

June
20) Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Dr. Leonard Sax
21) Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey Off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner
22) The Sandman and the War of Dreams, by William Joyce (from The Guardians series)

July- December
23) Choosing Real by Bekah Jane Pogue

24) Teach Your Own by John Holt
25) The Swiss Family Robinson (Great Illustrated Classics) adaptation by Elizabeth Gatewood Warren (homeschool)
26) Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (homeschool)
27) Little Wizard Stories of Oz by L. Frank Baum (homeschool)
28) Stories of the Pilgrims (audio book) by Margaret Pumphrey (homeschool)
29) A Boy Called Christmas (audio book) by Matt Haig (homeschool)

Others I have been reading since the end of 2017: rereading The Shack by William Paul Young, The Importance of Being Little by Erika Christakis, and countless other short stories and picture books from the library.

Books I've read over the years: 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 

First Friend Day of 2018: CDM

Technically this occurred on a Thursday instead of a Friday, but it was an outing with friends, so I'm counting this as our first Friend Day of the year.

If you haven't been, the Creative Discovery Museum is the perfect activity to do with younger kids, especially if it is cold or rainy.

The upstairs exhibit "RUN, JUMP, FLY" is about to be over (they rotate exhibits through the year), so we enjoyed another chance to do it again. Jack really loves the snowboard/surf activity. And the kids all had fun "skating" in their socks.

We moms even helped the kids with a kinetic activity involving a bicycle that made wings flap.

After the kids were tired of the exhibit, we went downstairs to do our usual things: building with scrap wood, learning about electricity, playing musical instruments, and digging for dinosaur bones.

I love how sneaky the CDM is in getting kids to love learning. It is all play, but it is all education too... just like how we do a lot of our homeschooling!

And if you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web 

November: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Pioneer Days at Audobon Acres 

December: Christmas Cookie Party ⎮ Christmas Cookie and Bird Ornament Party

Outdoor Adventures | 2017 edition

Between family hikes, bike rides, and chances to paddle, we had a great year outdoors in 2017. In addition to time as a family spent outside, Daniel also was able to make several excursions to ride dirt bikes with friends in Prentice Cooper Forest this year. The kids and I enjoyed our almost weekly Friend Friday's –– which included many outdoor adventures. Jack and Daniel also did several father-son activities, sometimes just the two of them, and sometimes with friends. When homeschool kicked off for us, Jack and I started doing almost weekly hikes as part of our school week. I'm so grateful we have been able to continue to carve out time for the things we love and to do them with a family, and also with friends. May 2018 be just as adventurous!

January
First Hike of the New Year: Old Stone Fort | Manchester, TN
Mabbit Springs | Signal Mountain, TN

February
Long Weekend at the Beach | Saint Augustine, FL
Biking the Tennessee Riverpark's Newest Section | Chattanooga, TN
Girl's Weekend and WaveRunner Snorkel Safari | Grand Cayman Islands

March
Rainbow Lake | Signal Mountain, TN
Gulf Specimen Aquarium and Alligator Point | Tallahassee, FL (area)
Spring Break Outside | various places
Greenway Farms with Friends | Hixson, TN

April
Coolidge Park with Friends | Chattanooga, TN
Friends for Life (Rainbow Lake with friends) | Signal Mountain, TN
Friend Friday: Picnic at Greenway Farms | Hixson, TN
Friend Friday: Aquarium Fountains | Chattanooga, TN

May
Family Date: Paddling at Chester Frost | Hixson, TN
Mother's Day Mountain Biking Excursion | Springer's Ridge in Chattanooga, TN
Memorial Day (soggy) Bike Ride | Signal Mountain, TN
Summer Kickoff 2017: Mushroom Rock | Signal Mountain, TN

June
Lost Sea Adventure | Sweetwater, TN
Mountain Biking with Kids: Edwards Point | Signal Mountain, TN
Dirt Bikes in Prentice Cooper | Suck Mountain, TN
21 Miles (on the Virginia Creeper Trail) | Damascus, VA
Grayson Highlands | Damascus, VA
Friend Friday: Big Soddy Gulf | Soddy Daisy, TN

July
Voyles Cousin's Week | Greers Ferry, AR
Paddling with Kids on North Chick | Hixson, TN
Cummins Falls | Cookeville, TN
Rock City | Lookout Mountain, TN

August
2017 Canadian Vacation in Cottage Country | Orillia, Ontario, Canada
Father-Son TKO | Prentice Cooper, TN
Solar Eclipse (Totality) | Cotton Port Wildlife Management Area outside of Dayton, TN
Five Senses Nature Hike in Green Gorge | Signal Mountain, TN

September
Injury while hiking to Mushroom Rock | Signal Mountain, TN
Seed Pod Nature Day | Signal Mountain, TN
Friend Friday: Greenway Farms Picnic | Hixson, TN
Hurricane Irma Cousin Weekend: Hike to Rainbow Lake | Signal Mountain, TN
Mini Beast Nature Hike at Mabbit Springs | Signal Mountain, TN
Friend Friday: Big Soddy Gulf Picnic | Soddy Daisy, TN

October
Reflection Riding Center (Monday Nature Day with friends) | Lookout Mountain, TN
Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Among Trees (family hike), Cherohala Skyway, NC
Greenway Farms Nature Day (family archery lesson and hike) | Hixson, TN
Father-Son Hike to Mushroom Rock | Signal Mountain, TN

November
Glen Falls (Nature Day) | Lookout Mountain, TN
Mushroom Rock (Nature Day with Mommy and Daddy) | Signal Mountain, TN
Dirt Bike Date_Prentice Cooper | Suck Mountain, TN
Raccoon Mountain (Nature Day) | Raccoon Mountain, TN

December
Winter Birds Nature Day at The Boulders (Nature Day) | Lookout Mountain, TN
Toccoa River Swinging Bridge | North Georgia Mountains
Amicalola Falls | North Georgia Mountains
New Years Eve Hike at Green Gorge | Signal Mountain, TN