Fun with April Fools Day

These stuffed animals seem to have grown some mustaches...must be April Fools Day!

Art skills continue to develop

Disney Days continue to help develop the Gandara Bug Academy Art Program :-) 

Surgery

Douglas Has to have eye surgery. He is having what is called  strabismus surgery. During this surgery,  his eye muscles will be strengthened, to improve alignment.  He has to have both his left and right eye done. He's not scared at all because they gave him an ipad to play with and he rarely gets to play with electronics so this is a novelty! 

EVERYTHING is School!

Because I subscribe to the philosophy that everything we do is a learning experience it's never a problem to "cancel" the traditional lessons and say, take a cruise! 

This actually was a VERY SPECIAL cruise. Daddy's godmother was celebrating her 60th birthday and her wish was for the entire family to go together on a cruise. - This was in my opinion, a once in a lifetime event. This is something no school (Except ours!) can provide! So off we went. And boy did we LEARN A LOT! 

The god-parents rented a "party bus" to get all of us to the cruise ship. Goodness was that just the best way to start off a family vacation. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids, adults or the god-parents themselves! 

  Favorite Aunt Christy remains the favorite by gathering all the nieces and nephews early to snag the hot-tub. The pool was FREEZING, but they ended up swimming if they wanted. 

When we got off the ship we took a bus to see La Bufadora. Anthony and I had seen it when we were young and dating, so taking the kids to see it was amazing.  This is a blowhole and Mexican folklore says it is a holy place. - It's absolutely magnificent, and defiantly created by God- so I consider that Holy indeed. 

Who doesn't want a traditional Mexican tourist picture? 4 Mexicans and 1 Italian seen here! 

A lovely evening with the opportunity for a Family picture. 

When we returned - the Bugs had plenty to write about in their journals and I have 100s of pictures to scrapbook. This is one of my favorites! 

Lesson Delivery

Because I work AND homeschool our situation is a bit different than most. When I first went back to work the  Bugs went to my SIL's home everyday. She runs an in-home daycare. I simply wrote out what I wanted each bug to accomplish each day and included the work in "packets". This kept them busy. My SIL was available to help but she did not guide their lessons - she had a day care to run.

I supplemented lessons nights and weekends, and of course our philosophy that school never ends - we school 365 days a year is still going strong!

Now we have moved and live with my brother. I work 1 mile from home and bringing the kids to my SIL's day care is not practical. The Bugs stay home with Uncle - but school runs much in the same way. He makes sure they don't kill each other and is available for basic guidance, but he is not in charge of overseeing lessons.

I think my kids - SELF SCHOOL. This is not for everyone, but it works for us.

To guide our day to day operations in the most organized manner, I spend a bit of time each weekend posting lessons for each child to their very own blog. You can schedule the posts to appear each morning. The Blogs are private and only the Bugs and I can see the posts. Each day is outlined with exactly what I want done, Including the links to the lessons, etc.

Here is an example of what I have for the week for Lauren:

She is in charge of the pacing for the most part. Because we have been doing this for several years, this really isn't new.

On Friday after work I check everything and we discuss.



Blog Post: 
It's time to get back to school. I hope you have a great week of Learning Activities.



HISTORY:

This week for State Studies we are in New York!

Visit New York: (A link to the activity would appear here) 

SCIENCE: 

Bears
http://simpleschoolingunitstudies.s3.amazonaws.com/bears_course/player.swf


Also complete the worksheets about Bears.

ART: Claude Monet

Complte the lapbook pages for Monet.


http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/CraftArtistMonet.html


Vocabulary Word of the Day

Use a new page every day. Copy the word into your notebook. Copy the sentence into your notebook. Highlight the word of the day. Copy the definition, and the synonyms/antonyms or other information given.  Complete the Word Work as directed.

MONDAY:

embark (verb)

Dorothy and Toto embark on a journey to find the Wizard.

Embark means to begin a trip or a journey, often on a ship, a train, or a plane.


Synonyms: start off, launch, set out


WordWork
Think about what it would be like to embark on a trip around the world. Then
copy and complete the following sentence:

Before I embark on my trip to [destination], I will…
Bon voyage!


TUESDAY: 

bolt (verb)

When the starting bell rings, the racehorses bolt from the gate.

Bolt means to run away suddenly or to dash off quickly.

Synonyms: sprint, take flight, dart, rush


WordWork
There are different reasons to bolt. Complete the three-column chart to describe
situations in which someone or something would bolt.

Bolt in fear	Bolt in excitement	Bolt for other reasons

   

WEDNESDAY:
cease (verb)

Cease that drumming, Steve, or you’ll wake the baby,” Dad warned.

Cease means to put an end to or to stop—right now!

Antonyms: commence, initiate

WordWork
Suppose you wanted to get someone to cease doing something—right now! What might
you say to the person? List five different words or expressions that might do the trick.


THURSDAY:

procrastinate (verb)

If you procrastinate any longer, you’ll miss the school bus.

To procrastinate is to delay or put off doing something you know you
should do simply because you don’t want to do it.

Did You Know?
Procrastinate comes from the Latin pro, which means toward or forward, and cras, which
means tomorrow. If you procrastinate, you push something ahead toward tomorrow.

WordWork
Think about times lately when you have procrastinated. Did your
procrastination result in your missing something? Write a letter to
Father Time. Tell why you procrastinated and what happened.

Homeschooling through the Holidays

Like everyone else - December is crazy. Not only am I trying to teach in a classroom, I'm trying to homeschool and be a mom. Instead of going crazy - I let the homeschooling become the normal stuff we do. 

This year we made trees out of ice cream cones

Cookie baking is Math

and we always make cupcakes for Jesus' Birthday - Megan took it to Christmas Eve Mass!

Don't let the busy guilt overwhelm you. Just keep doing what you always do. The kids ARE learning. They ARE building traditions. 

Lighting the Fire

Megan wanted to learn how to light the fire in the fireplace, so daddy taught her. I wasn't so sure because I tent to run on fear, But I let Daddy teach her anyway. This definitely would not be something you would learn in school, lol. 

Botanic Gardens

Nature is a Huge part of our Homeschool. Any excuse to get outside and explore God's creation is a good excuse to leave the books behind! 

Today we went to UCR for a class on succulents. Each of the bugs got to pot their own and bring it home! They got a tour of the Gardens as well. It was a wonderful morning with Auntie E, Grasshopper and Little Man. 

Visit Local Festivals - events

When you homeschool be sure to make time for local events. Every year in Riverside we visit the Festival of the Trees.

One of the reasons is because my good friend, whom the kids call Aunt T decorates one of the trees.

This year we found a Lego Tree which was Douglas' favorite! 

This is a great way to get out of the house, and get inspired to get in the holiday spirit. We get to do a few crafts, visit with Santa and then I take the bugs to lunch! 

Harry Potter Birthday Party

Megan turning 10 is Huge... Today's Party was an EVENT to say the LEAST. My homeschool philosophy has always been "It takes a village". This party was no exception. 

My scrapbook friend MO'D worked tirelessly on the decorations, pulling from her personal stash to make this all come together. Auntie EN sewed robes for all the child-guests, Daddy and I. and so much more... The "Big" birthdays are special and I want to thank you all for being her to celebrate with our Harry Potter Girl! 

As you entered the yard you did so through Platform 9 3/4 ....

   Then you were sorted by the SORTING HAT

  some decorations

 Honeydukes candy bar...

Megan and Uncle painted this sign together

Daddy and the Birthday Girl

Even Papa got sorted (He's a Gryffendor)

Auntie E with her Robe shop

Painting owl ceramics - our good friend JB has her own ceramics business similar to the popular "color me mine, etc" . 

 Watch out for that wizard! 

Pet Halloween Costumes

Even the Cats have costumes this year

Minnie - you little Devil...

 Jack is A Pirate - His full name is Captain Jack after all! 

 Princess is not a happy Angel....

Lauren is a Rock Star

 Megan - Harry Potter

 Douglas - Hawkeye

Fun at the Fair

The LA County Fair is a big part of our Homeschool learning adventure. They have a program called Read to Ride. The kids spend all summer reading books and writing summaries (book reports) and they turn them in at the fair in exchange for ride tickets. It's an amazing program! 

  Of course we eat lots of new foods too! 

 Here the Bugs are learning from a Blacksmith. 

 One of our Favorite stops is the Cows - we always get FRESH MILK! 

Change of Grade Day

Every Year we have a Tradition of beginning the school year with a Field Trip. We take it on Labor Day because Daddy is home as well. This year we went fishing. We chose a place the kids were guaranteed to catch something! 

Here are the kids buying bait

 Daddy shows them how to bait the hooks

 Fishing champs..notice I choose to remain the photographer...

 We find a great spot for a Family Picture! 

 Douglas is in 4th grade, Megan in 5th grade and Lauren is in 6th Grade

Although I don't necessarily believe in pigeon holing kids into grade levels, people ALWAYS ask, so it is just easier.  The kids enjoy being like others as well so I really find this a harmless way to identify progress from year to year.