Welcome to another week in the life of unschoolers. This is were I fill you in on all the goings on and adventures we had with our children during the week. The biggest news this week…our son, Gabriel, asked to have his hair cut. Not just any hair cut. A Dr. Who (Matt Smith) hair cut to be precise. Not that he had to ask. His hair, his choice, but I must admit…I’m going to miss those golden flowing locks. Doesn’t he look handsome!
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We made our weekly trip to the library. Gabriel picked an eclectic mix of books including Sam and the Lucky Money, Lucky New Year, and Lion Dancer… are you sensing a theme? Yes, he discovered a Chinese New Year display and was excited to learn about this celebration. He also chose What Do You See in a Cloud, Cloud Boy, Come On Rain, and Thunderstorm. Yes, he has a bit of a fascination with the water cycle this week. Finally, he chose Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You. He is really in love with this field guide. He adores books about mythical creatures. Our daughter, Jade, chose Owl Moon and two of the cutest books we have read all year…. Blue Chameleon, and Diary of a Wombat. Seriously, both of these books were adorable. The kids loved them.
Gabriel also started and finished two new Audible books, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (he had this one finished in less than 24 hours) and Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy. He’s a bit bummed that Audible doesn’t have the second Wings of Fire book yet, but he’s thinking a listening to Eragon instead.
You can’t listen to a Star Wars book and not build your own LEGO Star Wars Space craft…it’s kind of a rule. Gabriel built this little beauty while he listened. I think audio books and LEGO’s make a great combination!
Gabriel loved the Wings of Fire book so much he drew the main character dragon on his Ipad! Pretty awesome, if you ask me. Gabriel loves his Ipad. He has so many great APPS on it. His current favorite is called Math Slicer. He is always playing this math game lately. One night this week he asked if he could stay up all night long playing Math Slicer… I said, “Ummmm, sure.” He proceeded to “whip and nae nae” around the house….he was that excited.
Gabriel wanted to learn about the Thar desert in India…I have no idea where he even heard about it, but there you go. We watched a documentary called Wildest India on Netflix and then Gabriel proceeded to build the Mehrangarh Fort…also known as the Mountain of Birds in Minecraft. We read a couple of short stories and Gabriel did some copywork to practice his cursive writing. Notice the quill and ink? This is all his idea.
Jade enjoyed cutting construction paper with scissors and gluing her cut pieces together. She also enjoyed her play-doh and markers daily.
Gabriel started back on his Rosetta Stone Spanish. This week I noticed him using several phrases during our days including “la mujere escriben”, “la nina comen”, and “la mujere cocina”! I think it’s pretty funny that I’m picking up what he’s learning.
The children asked to learn how to make Spaghetti this week. Gabriel is determined to become independent. He loves the idea of making his own food… The kids had the best time breaking the spaghetti noodles in half. It took them quite a while to realize how to break them to get the maximum amount of noodles into the pot and not onto the floor. You wouldn’t believe all of the noodle pieces that ended up all over my kitchen. It was a great learning experience…but I’m still finding pieces of noodle in little nooks and crannies.
Gabriel decided to watched the entire CRASH COURSE KIDS: Life Science: Ecosystems and Flow of Energy one morning. He was so fascinated with the idea of plants growing without water that when his friend came over they proceeded to perform some experiments with black beans and my Christmas jars….yes, that is a Christmas bow in his hair.
By the end of the week a few of the black beans had sprouted!
Gabriel learned a few new chords on his guitar this week. He’s really enjoying learning to play.
Gabriel and I have taken to knitting together. My Sky Blanket Project inspired him to learn to knit. Now we enjoy a little quiet knitting together early in the morning or right before bed. His blanket is coming along nicely as is my Sky Blanket. This has become a wonderful bonding experience for us both.
I have also knitted several finger less mitts for both myself and my husband this week. Knitting helps me to relax, plus I really enjoy it.
We had several days of rainy cold weather that didn’t allow us to get outside as we would have liked. Thank goodness for these Bounce Balls with Anti Slip Grip. Life savers, I’m telling you. The kids bounced all over the house getting some much needed energy out. My husband and I found it all very entertaining.
For the days we did get outside, the kids rode their bikes and explored the nearby woods. We even got our first snow of the season. It was only a bit of a dusting, but the children found it very exciting.
Sometimes, you just need a quiet place to think…. I like knowing that I’m providing that space for our children. A space where they can be themselves. They are always allowed to explore their own interests and learn in whatever way works for them.
Our days never look the same…and we are OK with that.
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