Academia and Field Study

So last week we finished off our first chapter in science. It stressed classification of living things. I created a test of a fill in the blank word box, also short answer, and just plain old fill in the blank. For my third grader, it was a little challenging and I gave him about five minutes to look in his book to get answers he just had on the "tip of his brain" *wink* They both got a B, so I feel that it was a success!

Yesterday was tough for a few reasons and I'm glad it's a new day and that by God's grace we can begin anew.



I realized I was being a little bit "all business" about school and we needed to get back into nature and get out of this house!! It was a beautiful day so we headed to the park with a nature walk, including creek walking (my kids' favorite).

Exploring near the creak

Flowers and tiny mollusk shell found near creak

They collected some items and I kept my lecture to a minimum (per Charlotte Mason's philosophy). I did sneak in some talk about erosion as we looked at the exposed tree roots. I also had the kids find a nonvascular plant and we once again talked about what makes moss different from a tree. We spotted some fungi (not a plant) and saw two different kinds growing under a very nice tree trunk perfect for resting with baby and watching the kids explore in the creek.

We followed with a picnic lunch and then drove to the playground portion.

Little Y had an utter meltdown and made a punching motion and grabbed my legs when it was time to go. He was so red and hot after playing at the park. It was a stark contrast to the cool shaded walking trail and calm appreciation of nature. How I love peace and so it was time to go home. Thankfully the screaming stopped when we got to the car (seriously, thank God).

Mommy and Baby E relaxing on a fallen tree

All said and done, it was a great day.

We will do some math time later and we do have our spelling tests today. I also wanted the kids to sketch their favorite find and write a little bit about that.

It feels laid back, but we are still learning. This is the beauty of home schooling in an eclectic style. You can exchange your schedule for a field day and enjoy life.

Cute fungi near the stream

But our schedule is working great with the blocks on normal days. The day is guided, but it's not a moment by moment thing. You can't schedule for one child needing extra help or some other problem, etc but it does help to know when we move on and how to get each subject done in the day.