Web Rangers Website

This is a wonderful website for the kids! Tyler started using it last week and is completely hooked. It's linked through the National Park Service. Kids get their own junior ranger card, they are able to complete activities to earn badges and certificates as they complete the various levels. Great mix of many types of activities. They can even view live webcams of the various National Parks, design their own ranger station and create their own ranger names. There is also a link there to Railroad Connections. A lot of great stuff for the kids to explore. Enjoy!

Ty's Wooden Puzzle Project

Tyler busted his butt doing this puzzle. It was a very difficult and took a LONG time... somewhere around 5 hours or more. There were no numbers on the pieces themselves and there was no picture of how anything went together just basically a picture with the pieces laid our and numbered and only the picture on the front showing a finished project, but he did good. A few left over pieces, but overall a great job. Here are some photos of his GREAT work! Also Kyleigh doing her own crafty work with the playdough. Good times.

Outdoor Fun in the Snow

Before the weather got out of control FREEZING the kids had some fun play time out in the snow. Good times... Kyleigh was making snow angels, snow princesses and snow white. Tyler was doing God only knows face down in the snow with Kyleigh jumping on his back. Little sisters are wonderful! They had a great time enjoying some outdoor play, exercise and fresh air.

Tyler's Lego Interest

Within the last year or so, but it has begun to pick up within the last 6 months. He first started out building Bionicles and it went to the Star Wars and Mars Mission collections this past summer. A bit of a pricier hobby of his, but talk about challenging him. He puts them together with no help. Reads all the directions and trial and error puts them all together. It is an awesome challenge and perhaps peeking an interest in architecture? Building? Who knows? But to see him so excited while he is completing a new project or has figured out what he was doing wrong is GREAT! He is now interested into starting projects that have motors and more moving parts. Here is a sampling of the work he has done. Majority of which was done since Christmas. Obviously the gift of choice this year!

Our Night of Decorating Homemade Ornaments

We spent an afternoon and evening making homemade ornaments this year. What a great time with the kids. Tyler help me make the dough and he did all the rolling out and cutting out of the cookies before we baked them. Then we all took time to colour and decorate them together. It was a great time. Here are some pics of our ornaments.

Our Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

I'm playing catch up on my blogging. We went to our local pumpkin farm back in late October. Kids had a blast sliding on the HUGE slides, a nice hayride and pumpkin tossing. Good times were had by all. Including Kyleigh and I attempting to bury Tyler in the popcorn box. Here are some pics from our fall blast!

OUR First Major Lesson...

Well yesterday was our 2nd day of our 3rd week. So far had been so good. Yesterday we encounter our first significant road block. I have to undo something that has been engrained in him after years of private schooling. No small task I must say. I had to sit down and evaluate what was going wrong. A few hours and a frustrated child it was homework last year all over. This was not my intention whatsoever. So I "put on my thinking cap" and evaluated what was taking place. He was doing Reading workbook, not his favorite and getting a bit testy and wanting to distract himself by any means necessary. So what was going on, what was making me crazy by telling him to get back to his work, stop dawdling and finish his workbook? Then it hit me, a very important thing I had somewhat overlooked. Homeschooling is tougher! That's it homeschooling is tougher. Unless you have more then 1 student doing the same work there is only ONE student to answer the question. No one to bail them out when they are wrong. They must keep searching for the correct answer. When doing a worksheet there isn't someone checking off in red pen, handing it back to you while telling you to pull out the next subject. There is someone correcting your paper and telling you to grab your book out again to find the correct answers and figure out what they are no matter how long it takes. We aren't settling for 2nd or 3rd best here we are here to make our children the best that they can be and pushing them to learn. We are showing them the feeling of an accomplishment. When the paper is correct and you completely understand what we were doing then we will move on.

We are not bound by the time restraints of "the system". We are not bound by the lowest common denominator in the class. We are simply bound by the limits we choose to put on ourselves and the limits we have choosen are there are no limits. My children will learn continuously throughout the day whether we are counting the legally bound days or hours of the system, or whether we are out for a day of bargain shopping and learning the fundamentals of saving money and being wise with our earnings.

So yes reading may take us 3 hours today, but what amount of time will he save in the years to come when he learns what he needs to and can absorb the necessary information the first time around? Besides here he got a hug from mom and a kiss telling him that while I understood his frustrations I could promise him that it was for his benefit and that with time and practice it will all get easier. The benefits are going to be astounding and I was proud of him for sticking to it despite the difficulties.