The First Month of Homeschool

Its hard to believe that we just wrapped up the first 4 weeks of school for this year. It has absolutely flown by! And it has gone really well. That doesn't mean that every day is perfect, but we are having a great time learning together.

I'm also really happy with our new homeschool group that we've joined. Last year was a pretty lonely time for me with pretty much no support group at all, so when we moved I was determined to find a good homeschool group to become a part of. We now are participating in co-op classes each Friday afternoon and the kiddos are loving it. The Princess has art, a book club and a history class and Mr. B is taking early math and early reading classes with playtime in between.

Our group took a field trip to a local fire station this past week, too, and we all had so much fun!

Fort Smith Fire Station No. 1

Demonstrating *the suit*

coming out of *The Smoke House*

The Princess was so excited to blow the horn on the fire engine.

We also took a trip this month for some of my husband's speaking engagements and were able to take the kiddos on some other fun field trips (have I told you how much I love field trips?!) : the Colonel Sander's original cafe, Cumberland Falls and Mammoth Cave.

So, yes, September has been a busy month~and its not over yet. I've got a trip to our state fair and a regional apple festival on the calendar before everything is said and done:)

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Arkansas' Crimson Clover

One of my favorite things about Spring is the crimson clover that grows along the highways and interstates here in Arkansas. I say Arkansas because this is where I first grew to love it. We actually saw some in Mississippi on our way here and I saw it in our town in Alabama for the first time this year. But it spreads like that, each year it grows and looks even more beautiful. I'm not sure who decided to plant it in the medians of the interstates , but it was genius! It seeds itself and just comes back more lush the next year. I always want to take pictures, but of course it's almost always in the median of a very busy interstate~which is a little dangerous for photography. However, the other day I found the perfect patch of it on the side of a not-too-busy highway, so Vince obliged me and pulled over:) Isn't it beautiful? I just had to share it with you...

One Way I Refresh During the Summer as a Homeschool Mom

As our homeschool takes some time off this summer, my mind almost never stops thinking of and planning ahead for the upcoming school year. This is probably because I'm Type A and an obsessive planner...lol Whatever the reason, I do enjoy this season of planning. But I also need to be refreshed as a homeschool mom. Homeschooling can be incredibly exhausting and all-consuming. It's not easy and it's a lot of responsibility. And I take that very seriously when I am researching curriculum and planning toward the next school year. So also taking some time to rejuvenate and refocus myself is very important. How do I do this? Each summer I take some time to read something inspiring and motivating that speaks to me as a homeschool mom. Some of my fave reads from past years--that I have nearby on my shelf and refer to often--are Educating the Wholehearted Child, The Well-Trained Mind, The Charlotte Mason Companion, A T...

my blessed life

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