We Did It! Wednesday

Becky at Holiday in the Sun is the fabulous host of "We Did It! Wednesday." "We Did It! Wednesday" is all about quality one-on-one time with our children and grandchildren, and sharing ideas of fun things to do together!! You can click on over to Becky and see what others are doing to pick up a few ideas.

A friend of mine recently took her children to their local Children's Museum, which sparked a memory that we hadn't visited ours in a very long time. It moved to it's new, larger location last fall, so everything old seemed new again.

AJ explains the law of gravity to his younger siblings...

And masters the climbing wall in no time flat...

Avery is the creative genius of the family and was in her element with the arts and crafts...

Aiden loved painting too...

Sigourney just ran from one station to the next, to the next, overwhelmed by all the fun activities!

"Is there gluten in any of these items I've selected? Mommy will make me put them back if there is!..."

And who lets their daughter out in public with this much eye make-up anyway?

Washington State beaches are wonderful for driftwood and skipping rocks, but nice sand is a rarity. This is a real treat...

Even Lydia got in on the action (wearing her new favorite outfit from a little girl we love who lives very far away).

"Look at all this cool stuff for babies just learning to sit up...and can you tell I'm still working on those bottom teeth?"

I'm not great with inviting messes into the house, so this was a wonderful opportunity for painting and crafting especially. Their ideas, their supplies, their mess, it's a beautiful thing! And because we homeschool, we were able to go on a weekday morning and practically had the place to ourselves.

Yearly memberships are a bargain for families the size of ours -- it's almost as reasonable to go for a year as it is to go once when you calculate the per visit cost per-person. We upgraded to an annual pass so we can go back again and again. The kids gleefully shared the details of their morning with Daddy when he got home from work and said, "Dad, we can go anytime we want because now it's free!"

Next lesson: economics.

We're Learning!

In the last few weeks, AJ has taken off with his reading. He is picking out his own books and just sitting down to read them. He even offered to read to his brother and sisters the other night (see picture...and yes, I did notice that Aiden's book is upside down, but we're working on it!). He is so proud of himself and just wants to read, read, read!

I have several Mennonite early readers that he's working with, so not only is he reading, he's reading about God and creation, not Dick and Jane. He's learning Biblical truth, our values are being reinforced, and ultimately he'll be able to read the most important book of all -- the Bible!

This is especially encouraging and significant to me because Steve and I are the ones teaching him. For me, one of the scariest things about homeschooling is the fear that our children will not learn what they need to learn and it will be all our fault! We don't have anyone else to blame. I don't mean to step on toes, but for me it was much easier just to send them to school and have them come home "learned."

He struggled last year in kindergarten with his reading. It just wasn't clicking for him. No matter how hard he tried or how much he practiced. I know he was discouraged and it was especially difficult when he compared himself to other kids in his class who were ahead of him.

Having him home has been so healthy. He doesn't have anyone to compare himself to and when he gets it, he really gets it. He's able to learn at his own pace without feeling like he's not smart enough. And then, at times like these, when all the dots connect, he pushes forward and wants to do more, more, more. And he can, because it's our thing and there's no one else to consider.

One of the greatest rewards of teaching our children at home has been to watch their learning process and its progression. When we start a new concept I can actually see it take shape in their minds and when they conquer it, we get to celebrate! I get to see AJ go from sounding out 'te-he-eh-em', to putting the 'th' together in a blend, to learning it as a sight word and just sailing through and reading "them." Last year when he and Avery were at school, they'd come home understanding and talking about new things, but I had no idea how they got there. Now I do and it's exciting!

God is giving me the strength and vision I never thought I would have to teach my kids at home. I'd be lying if I said it was easy. I have a lot of life to juggle around here, but it's worth it. And in the process, I'm working myself out of a job, because I have a new bedtime-story-reader in the house!