Look at the new peeps in our house!

We got the call Thursday that our new peeps had arrived at the post office. Chickens in the mail? Yep, we received the cutest fuzzy chicks from mypetchicken.com that Z~girl had ordered and paid for with her own money months ago. Let me say...she has been counting the days since she ordered them! It was overnight delivery and when we opened the box at the post office to check out the cheeping box I think it was the first time the peeps had really "seen" each other. They promptly began pecking each other. I remember when we got our other chickens last year Z and I being mortified that one of the chicks kept pecking all the other chicks in the eye. I guess if something moves chicks will peck at it!

I must add that normally you are not supposed to handle newborn chicks a lot and if you do you need to wash your hands well before and after. They also have to have some antibiotic drops in their water for the first little bit to make sure that they do not have any diseases. I took the opportunity to do some individual photos though as Z transferred them to their temporary "crib". Words cannot describe how cute they are and so fun to watch!

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It seems like when the weather gets nice we automatically go into un-school mode...which is evidenced by our week of chicks and hiking. 

Sports are also back into the schedule of events which A~man loves for the social aspect and Z~girl loves for the sport itself. She is very competitive to say the least. 

A~man didn't get a whole lot of sit down work done this week. Not because of him but because of how the week went. Z~girl has a very driven personality and likes to get her school work done early. She has us wake her up at 6:50 am every morning so she can do her school work. (I can barely pry my eyes open at that time!) She did her school work every day except the day she did her volunteer work. (which I totally count as "school") 

I have to do a brag as the last year or so my duo do not get along very well most days...sadly. They used to be the best of friends but I am sure with the cognitive difference between them growing they are at completely different levels/interests. 

Later in the week I had been doing my online work, we ate lunch and I was about to help A~man do his school work including his vocabulary game that I had scheduled. Z said "How about I help him with his school work and you go take a nap?" I'm serious here folks, she said that. After I was able to get the stunned look off my face I decided -YES I am going to go take a nap!

They were just finishing up his school work when I got up from nap. They were getting along. Afterwards, she decided to take him outside (I haven't let him be outside without us alone since he ran away).They were out there for at least an hour watching the chickens and talking. (I was looking outside periodically) I so wish I would have taken a picture of that but instead I bottled up that wonderful memory in my head to remember on the days that aren't quite as wonderful between the two. Later, Z even said how much fun she had with A~man...the positive reinforcement from her went a long way for him. 

I am so completely blessed!

SNOW DAYS!

 It was a very unusual week here in WNC! I think it has been a couple of years since we have experienced a significant amount of snow fall. I LOVE SNOW! I was pessimistic though as I have been hearing forecasts of snow for a couple of weeks with nothing to show. It started out with a day that it snowed these HUGE beautiful flakes all day long but nothing stuck as the ground must have been too warm. I think my nose was stuck to the window about as much as Z~girls, just hoping for some snow to play in. Finally, on Wednesday I think we got 2-3 inches. 

Which was just enough snow to cover the ground so we could go sledding. (yes I went too!) But then...

We got another 5 or so inches the next day. I can only remember this much snow one time since living in our home and we have been here about 8 years. 

For dinner I made chicken soup with homemade noodles. I do not have a recipe for the soup as I just sort of throw stuff together (my granma would be proud!) but here is the very easy noodle recipe I used. (which I found here) 

Noodles

1 egg

1 Tablespoon of milk

Approximately 1 cup of flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

My only regret was not making a larger recipe so we would have leftovers!

What did I make with the soup? Homemade bread. I've never tried this recipe before and it was amazing. 

Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread Machine Recipe

You may notice that both heels are cut off the bread. I cut this loaf in half as I sent Z~girl across the street to our sweet neighbor friends house with a mason jar of soup and part of our loaf of bread. (along with some other goodies) The other heel? Well, I had to taste it to make sure it was good enough to give to my family. (that's my excuse at least, okay?)

Last but certainly not least...

I think I may have made this once before kids but we also made the yummiest SNOW CREAM!!

What we did is put that big metal bowl outside in a deck chair and after a few hours it was full. Then Z~girl and I added approximately a half a cup of milk and a half a cup of sweetened condensed milk, plus a generous splash of real vanilla extract. IT WAS SO GOOD!

Even more amazing this week was the fact that even though we spent a lot of time playing in the snow, making new recipes, and watching Netflix....we still did school! My duo are obviously too old for kindergarten homeschool science  but this weather was perfect for talking about temperature, precipitation, and oddly enough after the earthquake last night, seismic activity...we had lots of hands on science. Check out my husband Techdadz blog too as he did a fun science project with the kids also! He made a little bot type creature similar to a Hexbug toy.  Plus they were quick to finish up the rest of their online work so they could play outside. Definitely a win/win situation!!

I'm also very glad I took the time to PLAY with my kids!

Learning outside the box

I must admit. When we started to homeschool back in 2005,  <oh my goodness I just realized we have been homeschooling a year longer than I remembered!> initially I tried to replicate "school". Back then Z was still going to preschool and it was just A~man and I in the mornings. Back then it worked though...as he had gone from being in a preschool for 3 years and that final year he was in kindergarten. So he was used to a classroom approach. Over the years things have changed though. 

There were a few years that I tried to teach the kids together for their formal sit down work, but then Z~girl passed A~man scholastically. That's around the time we started using Time4Learning for our main curriculum. The way we do it now is that Z~girl can do half of her online curriculum by herself (the Z~girl wakes up before me as she wants to be done early!) then, I help her later in the day with the things she needs more help with like math. 

After breakfast I do A~man's homeschool curriculum with him as he sometimes needs to be redirected back to it as he is easily distracted. He does so well using the computer though! It keeps his attention for the most part, and he really seems to enjoy the accomplishment of finishing his "morning work". (as we call it) In the afternoon things are a bit looser and we are able to explore some of the fun products we review for the Old Schoolhouse...and it's a great time to explore their other interests! 

Recently my husband started working as a "handyman" for another homeschool family that runs a vacation rental business. On occasion he is able to bring one of he kids with him, while I "do school" with the other one at home. Both have been having a blast learning how to fix stuff! Amazingly Z~girl in particular has taken off with it! In fact she asked Santa for a toolbox for Christmas! This is a brag but my girl has been fixing stuff right and left the last month. 

I have had several chairs that have needed some work done and she has fixed every one! Plus she has put felt coasters on the bottoms of all of our chairs plus an ottoman in our living room. Saturday morning I woke up to find her putting in a new towel bar in her bathroom that we had bought the previous day. The thought was that her AND daddy would do it...but she took matters in her own hands!

Don't get me wrong math, reading, history, plus the importance of spelling cannot be belittled in the whole learning experience. BUT I know I for one...ok and my husband too, did not learn things like this growing up. We learned things at school and of course our parents taught us a lot but ultimately after going to school, sports practice, practicing the flute (me), chores, there was little time for anything more but eating with the family and then doing homework. 

I truly value the fact that our family has time to teach beyond "scholastics". We are able to pursue their outside interests which in my opinion are just as important as learning the 3 R's! Z~is learning to sew, crochet, home repair, animal care, (her own plus volunteering at a farm) it goes on and on. A~man? What better way to learn to live in the real world but to learn in the real world instead of siting at a desk? He loves to help me take care of the yard and to mow with his reel mower. (a mower without a motor) Also, he is an awesome helper cleaning the house!

Plus, many of these outside interests can be incorporated into our whole learning experience. Learning about animals, taking care of plants and gardening are definitely science related! Here is a picture of Z as she is looking for a nut the right measurement for the screw from the chair she is fixing. She found it completely herself and I love the independence and confidence she has from figuring it out almost entirely by herself. 

Homeschooling is truly a personal decision but it is one that I am so thankful that we have had the chance to experience.

Time4Learning has a great online homeschooling guide for people considering homeschooling. I wish I could have read something like this when we were starting our homeschool journey. Homeschooling is an adventure. There are bumps in the road along with the joys, twists and turns, but at the end of the day/month/year it's so nice to see how far your children and your family have grown.