Schooltime!

This school year has held many pleasant surprises and adventures so far. We are really enjoying our Early American History studies with Sonlight, and I'm thrilled to be doing more hands-on activities with the kiddos this year. I've decided to stop worrying about checking all the boxes and start chasing a few rabbit trails. Meaning, if something really piques somebody's interest, why not do a little more with that subject? It's been a great change of pace.

So far, the kids have been the most excited about the Native American crafts I have found for them. A couple craft kits, a few different library craft books, and we've travelled back in time! :) I posted a few pics on my Facebook page, and oh, the comments I received! People thought I'd been overrun by savages - and, I must admit, it looked like it! We've used the internet for a lot of things this year, too. I'm always a little wary about letting the kids look too much up; but with supervision, I've decided it's a most excellent tool. We looked up the buffalo hunt from "Dances With Wolves", which saved me a trip to the video store. I've found all sorts of cool pictures and articles that have related to different topics we've touched upon. All these things have just enhanced the experiences for us this year.

Right now, we are taking a short break from Sonlight and focusing on a unit study about the American Revolution. Day 2 through, and it is going great. We played a Jeapordy-type game to cover questions today and the prize was worth fighting for - Halloween candy! :D Connor and Chloe really stretched their minds and dug deep to answer some questions - Canon even got in on the action! I'm always surprised what these kids are learning, and at the ages they are learning it - and UNDERSTANDING it. I'm pretty certain that I didn't know what a constitutional monarchy was at 6, and I was a pretty sharp kid. But today we discussed George III and Parliament, and Chloe said it sounded like the same way the President and Congress worked together. Yep. Sharper than her momma. ;) One of the many reasons I'm thankful every day for the Lord letting us homeschool.