Thinking SUMMER ;)

It's right around the corner. The warmest season of the year. A time of blossoming and having fun. Enjoying lazy days. Catching fireflies at night. Cookouts. Camping. Splashing in pools. Running through sprinklers.

*Summertime.*

The homeschool summer pool party evites were sent, so it must be true that it's already that time of the year. There's cooped-up restlessness to be released! Fun in the sun to be had!

Learning doesn't stop for the homeschooled, by any means.

Summer adventures pose many opportunites to enhance young minds, as well as reflect on what our Creator has blessed us with. Each and every summer day contains magnificent gems for building up our spirituality and increasing in knowledge. The more time spent out of doors, the more the children can discover, collect, and learn about the array of unique items the world contains.

Even rainy days present fun opportunities. Acting out Bible dramas. A day of playing Homeschoolopoly. ;) Suit up with boots, raincoats, and warm socks and get outside — you won't melt. Splash in the puddles. Do impressions of ducks, frogs, and fish. Search for worms for a day of fishing. And if the sun comes out, hunt for rainbows.

Play with sand-free sandboxes. Use a large plastic bin or aluminum roasting pan filled with rice or oatmeal. Give the kids some scoops, funnels, spoons, toy cars, or whatever suits their interests. :)

While the homeschool summer pool party is coming up, so is the annual homeschool picnic and book swap. Yes, in just a couple of months it'll be time to get serious about planning next year's curriculum. Yikes! For now, let's just think swinging-in-the-hammock-in-the-shade thoughts, shall we? :P

You Know You're a Homeschooler When...

Homeschooling moms (and dads) have probably seen some of these lists before. Anyone homeschooling can come up with all kinds of witty reasons to identify themselves as homeschoolers. Every day there are little reminders that, when we stop to think about it, cause a little chuckle and make us smile to ourselves as we reflect on this wonderful group we belong to. ;)
For example, those weekday mornings at the grocery store when the children happily exclaim, "We're homeschooled!" when they sense people are looking at them and wondering why they're not "in school." The ecstatic feeling you get when UPS has left boxes on the porch...and the utter disappointment when you see the UPS truck drive by without stopping. When you're counting watching Planet Earth or Life on the Discovery Channel and bringing the pets to the vet as Science, doing Bible reading together as History, and playing on the Wii as Physical Education. There's a room in your house with a computer, copy machine, many book shelves, and educational posters and maps all over the walls. Or, you have boxes full of empty jars, soda bottles, egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, Styrofoam containers, and other ‘trash’ stored for future use. (I just picked up two boxes of empty jars from a Freecycler ~ LOL!)
Come on ~ you know it's all true. :P
I'm sure you have some humorous realities of homeschooling to add. Please feel free to do so!
Happy Unschooling Adventures! ;)

Children Are Natural Gardeners

Our seeds have been sewn and the children made little markers for the crops. Every day, we make sure Suaemoc's 'Home's Cool' Farm is watered and free of anything unwanted. We are really looking forward to our herbs and vegetables! :)
Children are curious and learn best with hands-on experiences. Children also love to play in the dirt, which makes them natural gardeners. ;)
By incorporating our 'Home's Cool' Farm into our homeschool curriculum, the children can gain satisfaction that comes from caring for our herbs and vegetables over time, while observing the cycle of life firsthand. :) Learning the life skill of environmental awareness by exploring the workings of nature is something overlooked in standard school curriculums. We are so happy to have the opportunity to experience it in our homeschool curriculum! ;)
It's important to encourage a sense of responsibility and acknowledge the importance of the work the children are doing. Sharing our 'Home's Cool' Farm with you brings attention to their hard work and will hopefully keep them motivated.
As the children begin to see their hard work producing good results, their interests and self-esteem will grow right along with their crops. They are learning that gardening is a lot of fun and they're gaining a sense of pride that they're helping to contribute to our family's well-being by growing a variety of delicious, healthy herbs and vegetables. :)

Suaemoc's 'Home's Cool' Farm Profile

Check us out on the home farming site! :)

Suaemoc's 'Home's Cool' Farm is underway!

Suaemoc's 'Home's Cool' Farm was born today. :)

We worked hard, burying the frame, gathering buckets of soil, and making our sign.
We haven't officially planted any of our herbs and vegetables yet because we need to get a few more buckets of soil. Our Cherry and Better Boy tomatoes seedlings are in biodegradable containers, so they're sitting in the farm. :)

The children are working on making markers for all the herbs and vegetables that will be planted.

We're really excited to have been able to recycle an old sandbox frame to use for our raised farm bed, as well as using recycled horse feed for soil! :P Our farm sign is the stake from another sign that fell apart, and wood from a piece of furniture that broke apart. It's encouraging to know we're giving new life to old things! :)

Keep checking in for more updates on Suaemoc's 'Home's Cool' Farm. :D