Discovering Puddles

Making a Splash

"Endless hours of what-causes-what-to-happen experimenting--pushing, pulling, turning, twisting, and touching things--helps a child figure out how and why things work...I think it's nothing short of magical to watch this learning-through-play in action." -- Jill Stamm, Ph.D., Bright from the Start I was so thankful for the nice weather today. 90s with a breeze is nice when it's July and it could be 110 degrees (with no breeze). Jacqueline and Abigail enjoy playing outside, and they learn so much from outdoor exploration. Earlier this summer I purchased a couple water activity tables and had to return them because they leaked. Today we got creative and just used big bowls of water for our play time. I put bath toys in the bowls, some leaves and also some ice cubes. Jacqueline and Abigail liked the ice cubes--I'm sure they felt good on their teething gums! As I observed the girls, I noticed them taking the animals out of the bowls, putting them in the

Let it Go

There was a video on facebook recently that I could really identify with. A mom is doing various tasks around the house--laundry, unloading the dishwasher, etc, and her baby is following her and "helping" (by taking all the clothes out of the drawers and crawling into the dishwasher). Today as I prepared to host people for dinner, I laughed at the reality of this video in my life. I picked up the girls room and vacuumed and moments later Jacqueline started throwing all the clothes out of a drawer. Then she and Abby moved on to the dining room where they started moving chairs all around. The living room had toys strewn everywhere, but we were expecting more children, so I wasn't too worried about those. I've learned to "let it go." While working around the house today, I noticed that my girls started getting fussy and clingy. They needed me to stop for a moment and sit with them. I picked up a book to read and I'm so glad I did. I loved what happened next

A Haury Homeschool Day

Each day of homeschooling looks different. This morning we finished breakfast and took a walk around the block in our pajamas. Then we started a science experiment (we're observing what happens when a raw egg sits in a jar of vinegar for a day) and got ready for the day. Once everyone did their morning routine--brushed teeth, got dressed, made bed, fed the dog--we met in our "school room" (dining room) for math. Abigail and Jacqueline worked independently on math work for 15 minutes or so and then we did a math lesson together. During this time, Natalie was busy coloring, cutting paper for crafts, or pretending and building with Legos. Jacqueline joined her for some Lego play while Abigail finished her math page. When we finished math, we moved into the living room for memory work. We are part of a co-op called Claritas and our curriculum follows the classical model of education. As preschool and first graders, my girls are currently in the "grammar&

Count it All Joy

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