Winter?

I may be the only one saying this, but I am still waiting for a good old fashioned snow storm. Last year, we didn't even have winter, and while in some ways it ways was convenient-no shovelling and scraping-it just didn't seem normal. If you're a believer in global warming I think you would be just a little concerned.
And yet, the year before last we had a true winter and it was a blast! Skating on the crick, sledding down the banks, making a giant snowman.
Now we have this year, a bit of a mixed bag. It was nice to have snow for Christmas, but it seems like as soon as we get any little accumulation, it rains. No outdoor rinks, no sledding on the crick bank, no snowmen. Kind of a drag if you have kids. I did however, take advantage of our latest snowfall to shoot some pictures for next years calendar. Here's a few of my favourites:

Oh the Places You Are From

The other day I decided to check on the stats for my blog. I was amazed and surprised to see that I had 1000 page views! Even more surprising was the variety of countries those views came from. There's the obvious ones like Canada and the U.S. but then there were views from Russia, Germany, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, Sweden, China and Croatia. Too cool! I would just like to say that I appreciate each and every one of you that has taken the time to read about my life:homestyle.
I'd love to hear from you. Where are you from and how did you find my blog? What do you think of it?

Never-at-Homeschooling

I know I've probably said this before but homeschooling should really be called something like never-at-home-schooling. It's only Wednesday and I am one tired momma!
I don't really care for the term homeschooling to begin with-to me it implies a mother (or father) standing over the kitchen table all day long handing worksheets to their children. I personally think that for us the term free range learning or life learning is a better fit. It's still not exactly the word I'm looking for but until something else comes along it will have to do. I don't think the majority of homeschoolers (I'll use that term because its the one people are the most familiar with) actually spend much time at their kitchen tables. The ones that I know are usually quite busy with any number of activities be they geared to homeschoolers or otherwise.
One of my favourite things about homeschooling is that for the most part, it gives you the flexibility to do what you want when you want. Just imagine being able to go to the zoo, the museum, amusement parks, on a Tuesday afternoon. Not to mention the discounts to be had in the off times. If you're like us and travel for both work and pleasure it sure is nice not to be restricted to the months between June and September. On average we probably spend almost five days a week out of the house for at least part of the day. Between gymnastics, soccer, trips to town and visits with friends and relatives we keep on the move and yet none of this effects the time we are able to put into "schooling".
The reason? Well when you only have one student or even four, the time that it takes to teach each of them is far less than it would be in a setting with say, 20 other children. You don't need to stop and change subjects when the bell rings and lunches and breaks are whenever you want. Plus you can do it almost anywhere you are wether it be the grocery store, a car ride or waiting at the doctors office and I love efficiency!
Today we were able to go out for most of the day and still return home an hour before dinner, do a page of phonics and two on math. After supper Savanna wanted to do some pages out of her new Brain Games book she got for Valentines Day from Grandpa and Grandma. She loves that book! If you've never heard of them I highly recommend you check them out. I know they are even available at Walmart. What they are are pages with three or four little exercises from different subjects. For example: What letter comes next? H, I, _? How many things are orange? They are really fun and appealing to kids because they are so quick and varied. I think I know what she'll be getting for her next birthday. By then she'll have done the whole book more than once I'm sure!

Today's photo:
Her new (actually rediscovered) favourite friend taking a break after a wrestling match.

Lessons in Efficiency

Ever since I started doing things in 15 minute time blocks I've been amazed at how much I've accomplished.
Let me explain. With a 4 year old, or at least my 4 year old, I don't think there's any such thing as concentrating past about a 15 minute time span. Sure, there are things she can do for longer like watch TV, but frankly, TV turns her into an angry zombie even in small amounts. I wont start ranting but I'm just not much of a fan of television. But I digress, since we started breaking things up into short little lessons both of us are less stressed and happier. I keep reminding myself that she is only four and what she doesn't get this week just means that she probably isn't ready for it yet. We take lots of little breaks to throw in some laundry, do a few jumping jacks (that's her, not me at this stage of pregnancy), hang up said laundry, bake some muffins, you get it.
I am also constantly amazed at the things that she says. For instance a few weeks ago after her soccer class she pointed up to the sky and said,"There's a planet." She was absolutely right, it was a planet. How did she know? Somehow she learned that that brightest and largest star in the sky is often not a star but a planet. About a month ago she started sounding out the first letter to words like ,"Bb bb ball." We've been working on it ever since. I'm amazed that people who think that children need to be taught everything or they would never learn. Clearly a child's natural curiosity makes them no slackers in the learning department.
I found some new drawings she had done today and I thought they were just too cute not to share.