What I Did on My Summer Vacation

I learned a lot. About myself. I learned that while I might be able to go, go, go and have plans all day every week day, I will eventually burn out.

In the beginning of the summer I was taking both boys to the YMCA almost every day. Then we'd either go to my girlfriend's house, to the library, out to lunch or all three. Little by little I found myself getting home later every day. Then one Friday I stayed home. And, bam, I discovered something. I'm a homebody. I love being home. I got so much done that day and couldn't believe all of the time I had to actually do things around the house. And my relationships didn't suffer. My girlfriend and I still text or talk on the phone fifty times a day.

A few weeks ago the brakes went on our van (while I was driving with both boys in a downpour on the expressway), and I was stuck home for over a month without a car. During that month (without a choice), I slowed way down. We took nature walks, started art journals, made a Spiderman Web across our living room,  and lounged around under tents we made reading books by flashlight. I cleaned out the craft room, school room, three of the bedrooms, three bathrooms and a bunch of closets. I donated bags of clothes, toys, and household things to Goodwill.

I joined two homeschool co-ops for the Fall, but we're only going to go to one for classes. We'll use the other for field trips. Bug is finishing up karate at the YMCA this Saturday, and decided he wants to continue by earning his belts. We're signing him up at the karate academy where he'll take karate twice a week. I wish it wasn't twice a week, but I'm very happy he's so into it.

Instead of making sure our week is filled with play dates, library trips, museum trips, the zoo and everything else, we do one or two things a week and play the rest of the time.

This past summer I learned probably my most favorite lesson of all. The art of slowing down.

Fall Cleaning Under Way

Last night I worked on my art journal while Bug was at Sports Camp. 

My supplies.

Bug loves to have his Legos all over the table and couch during the day. Unfortunately he kept them there all night. I had to have him put them on the shelves near the fireplace instead. Clutter drives me crazy!

For the past year we've lived here we've had blue drapes in our bedroom. I actually happen to like drapes because they're so heavy and block out the light. But they were old fashioned and driving me crazy. I decided to take the brown curtains from Bug's room and buy clips to hang them up in ours. I wish we had one more panel for each window, but it looks much better. Plus, I've been sneezing like crazy around here lately, and I'm wondering if it's dust. I washed the white sheer curtains behind the brown ones. They were very dusty! Looks like I'll be doing a Fall cleaning on each room pretty soon.

And Bug's room looks so BRIGHT now! 

This is our upstairs bathroom. I've wanted this folksy shower curtain forever and finally splurged and bought it. Now I just need to pain the bathroom.

Sensory Bins & Art

I bought big containers at Target this week ($7.99) and expanded Bug's rice, and waterbead bin. I love having the larger bins (I added more waterbeads and rice to each), and he'll sit for an hour and play. We also colored the older rice last year. It was super simple and a lot of fun.

Yesterday we sat outside at our table again and worked on art projects. I'm still playing with watercolors, and Bug finished making his time capsule he got as a birthday present. 

My watercolors are nothing fancy but I enjoy doing them and coming up with new ideas.

We also made a giant tent in the living room yesterday. We had some friends over and they enjoyed it, too.

Then later we walked around Park Ave and had dinner at Jine's, then my husband and Bug had ice cream at Abbott's. After, we walked around Parkleigh and I drooled.

Art, Spiderman & a 5 Year Old's Birthday Party

Friday we decided to take our art journals outside (Bug's idea, actually). We moved our little outdoor table with umbrella to near the side of the house, so I could see the side door and and listen for the baby who was napping. I love where it is now and I think it'll get a lot more use that where it was on the patio behind the garage.

Later in the day we made a Spiderman Web maze throughout the living room. It was a LOT of fun to do, and kept Bug busy for almost two hours! When we were done, it was easy to clean up and save.

Since Bug's birthday is in the winter months, we decided to have a kids party during the summer. So yesterday we had about six kids here playing on the swingset, trampoline, and the sprinkler. The only mistake I made was waiting until yesterday to actually go out and buy everything, and mow and get the yard ready. I haven't had my vehicle for a few weeks now, since the brakes went a month ago. We finally dropped it off to have it fixed, but I've been car-less for a long time. This made it hard to get out and buy stuff, and easy to keep putting off. 

Art Journals

Even though I'm not following a curriculum or schedule this year for homeschool, I do want Bug to do an Art Journal. I've been wanting to do one myself for some time, so we started them yesterday. Bug has always been into any kind of arts and crafts, so he was excited to have his own journal. The hard part for him was when he wanted me to draw in it and I said he had to. I told him he'd figure it out, and eventually he did.

He used markers (fat & thin), colored pencils, and watercolors.

He wanted to draw the world, but was having a tough time just looking at the map on our wall. I gave him tracing paper and it worked perfectly.

It's supposed to be the sign for infinity, but Bug loves the "8's" so much, that he wants to do one with numbers and letters. Yay!

The mask he made. Yes, it's blood.

My first time trying watercolors. Bad picture but lots of fun!

Painted with watercolors.

My new table caddy (1/2 off) from Michael's. 

Though I'm doing my own version of unschooling this year, I used workboxes last year and liked them. I've always wanted this particular one, but it was $80 wherever I looked. I happened to find this one at Michael's for $34!

Our Rusty Trusty Telescope Fun

We were excited to buy a trampoline from our good friends, who were done using it. I've always wanted one for Bug, since my dad had one when I was younger. Of course that was before they had mesh sides and spring covers.

It took my husband and our friend two days (because of rain) to put it up. I was Bug was super excited and couldn't wait. We jumped on it for a long, long time. He's a little scared of it because he doesn't like the feeling of his feet leaving the ground (the same reason he hates swings).

I love this picture because it looks like he's doing the Robot.

I love his little tip-toes.

Getting ready to do it again.

It's almost just as fun to lay there and look at the sky. When he needs a break he yells out, "Rusty Trusty Telescope" and we flop down. But it's funny how he says it. 

With our Rusty Trusty Telescopes. (I still have that record).

Neighborhood friends.

Smart Idea or Big Mistake

The other day I had the idea of moving all of the crafts from out of the locked cupboard in the toy closet, to in the schoolroom where they're easier for Bug to get to. Once I started moving stuff, he was all over me asking to make different projects. Basically when they were in the cupboard he couldn't see anything, so he didn't know what we had. Now it's all out in the open.

I debated for a while on whether or not to do this. We've had kids come to our house in the past who have opened craft bins of feathers, beads, wood pieces, etc. and had them all over the room. That's the reason I locked everything up. But we don't have little kids here that often, and why should Bug not have everything out in the open? It is his stuff. So I made the schoolroom include crafts, and the toy closet now has just toys (and a few homeschooling books).

I just hope I'm not sorry when we do have kids over. Like next week for his birthday party (please don't let it rain!). I'm just going to tell kids the schoolroom is off limits, but the toy room is all theirs.

One of these days I'll remember to take "before" pictures.

Since I decided to stop using worksheets for school, I went through my file of them and I'm getting rid of a ton.  I have friends who homeschool, so I'll pass them along.

At least I had fun laminating them.

I'm so glad I made room for his Legos in the living room. He sits here a lot and plays.

Art Display and Homeschooling

We have these great shelves going down our basement stairs that were being unused. Before we had our new kitchen pantry put in, we used to have food lining these shelves. But since then they've been bare. I recently had the idea of buying (cheap) picture frame and framing Bug's artwork and schoolwork. He even commented on how he loved seeing his stuff hanging up for everyone to see when they walked it. 

After struggling for the past few months with Bug to do worksheets for school, we took a (worksheet) break and I looked into unschooling.  Unschooling is basically having the child lead in what he wants to learn, at his own pace. Some of the ideas I agree with, especially considering he's only five and going into Kindergarten. But some seem a little far-fetched or at least hard for me to imagine doing. I don't know if could NOT teach him during the day, and just let him play, watch tv or do whatever he wants. 

My husband was all for me trying unschooling for his Kindergarten year, but was concerned that, if left up to his own devices, Bug would never be interested in reading or writing. I guess this is a common worry for beginning unschoolers, and rightly so. 

So, I think what I'm going to do this year is stop using the worksheets and most likely not use the Kindergarten curriculum I bought. Instead I'm going to continue teaching him as I have been this week, which was a lot of fun and NO tears, yelling or fist-pounding (from either of us). We read,  played a lot of games like Jacks, ball, coin toss, Wikki Stix, etc. Everything we did (whether Bug realized it or not) had teaching incorporated into it. It all included counting, the ABC's, nature, etc. and he loved it. Mainly because I wasn't forcing him to sit still and work on paper. 

He's also signed up for his homeschooling co-op classes. I was too late in registering and he didn't get into the farm life, sign language or science classes, but he'll be in Lego Club, ABC and Construction classes this semester. Hopefully, since I'll be teaching next semester too, I'll get his registration in earlier and get him into our first choice classes instead. Either way he's excited to start co-op, and I'm excited to co-teach Perspective Art with my girlfriend.