Opportunities and Advantages in Homeschool - Collage Friday 1.5

Sometimes I take for granted the opportunities and advantages that come with homeschooling.

This is what we are used to, after all - and often times I see those advantages and opportunities as just normal parts of our life. 

My children are able to pursue their interests, dig DEEP into subjects, work at times of day when they function best, and seek out unique learning opportunities. 

We don't have to buy into a large group school mentality and all of the hassle that comes with it. Sometimes I forget this is HUGE.... really HUGE. 

This week, as I look back upon our activities and accomplishments, I try to see it from the lens of an outsider, and am cognizant of just how many wonderful opportunities and advantages we have as homeschoolers. 

Educating the WHOLE Child

One of my favorite books is Educating the Wholehearted Child, by Sally Clarkson. It's one I pick up each year - because each year it reminds me WHY I homeschool, and to nurture the precious souls that have been entrusted to me. 

I can see so clearly (as I make collages of our week), that we are educating each of our wholehearted children. And, when days get tough, I remind myself that they are better off in our care than the state's care. 

Grant has REALLY started to enjoy reading. He finished Adam & His Kin, which goes along with the Veritas Self Paced History Course he is doing. In past years he would have asked me how many pages the book had, and looked at the size of the print, and then probably whined about it all.  Not so this year.  He just willingly READS. 

Our weather has been beautiful. Schoolwork is being done outside, and as the kids sit outside they hear birds, enjoy the breeze, and just RELAX. I believe this good for their soul - it's good for MY soul, too. 

The science memory work this week about animal cells, so Grant created a LEGO model of an animal cell.  Did you see the video he made about it? 

What an advantage to learn science in this way! Grant could choose a way to demonstrate his knowledge that was most meaningful to him. 

Finally, fall baseball season began, and Grant had a SUPERB first game. He got to pitch, and he also had quite a great hit to left field. We took last year off from ball because of a coaching situation that didn't work for him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 

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PE in the Homeschool

Anna has been playing tennis for several years. In the picture below she is playing tennis at the age of 9 and now at the age of 14. 

We have had the opportunity this year to join a homeschool tennis team. This is a USTA team and Anna has been getting in a lesson each week and playing a lot with a good friend. 

We will be using this as her PE credit for high school.

Tennis matches begin this Saturday. 

For a child who doesn't like competitive sports too much, this has been an answer to prayer for Anna. The other children on the team and the coaches are very supportive and encouraging. I'm looking forward to the matches and hopefully tennis will be something Anna can enjoy for the rest of her life. 

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Marking It Off the Bucket List

Completely unrelated to homeschool... I checked a big item off my bucket list last weekend!

Two words:  JOSH GROBAN

My good friend Lynn and I went to dinner at a lovely restaurant and then to see Josh.... if you haven't listened to anything from his Stages album, you really should.  (My favorite song of the whole concert was You'll Never Walk Alone from Carousel)

I have been a long time fan and to see him in person was AMAZING. 

I kept teasing my family that if I didn't return home it was because Josh plucked me from the crowd and ran away with me, but alas - that didn't happen - so it's back to real life! 

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Collage Friday

What are some opportunities and advantages that you have in your homeschool? 

Join me each Friday for a wrap up of the week - or just to share pertinent thoughts that have been rambling in your head during the past week.

Be sure to include your photo collages!

Then, visit other bloggers that have linked and leave them a supportive comment.  I love the Collage Friday community!

Add your link using the widget below. Additionally, if you'd like to join further, use the hashtag #collagefriday on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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Count Your Homeschool Blessings - Collage Friday 1.4

Our week has been busy and FULL. 

It has been one of those weeks where many times I have  stopped and been THANKFUL for the blessing of homeschool. 

It has been a week where many things both of my children have been learning collided and the pieces of the puzzle just "FIT". 

It has been a week of fun activities, HARD work, and interesting discoveries.

It has been a week where we could adjust our time and work whenever it best suited us to get the work done. 

In short - it's been a GOOD week, and I want to count my homeschool blessings. 

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The Blessings of Small Group Opportunities

I have come to learn something about my Anna through homeschooling:  she does NOT learn well in (or even enjoy) large group activities.  Whenever a personal connection can be made, it is always best.   

{She is my introvert and one day I will write a post about parenting an introvert when you are an extrovert!}

One of the biggest blessings of homeschooling is that we can seek out and create opportunities where Anna learns best.  Most of these opportunities involve just a few children, and/or one-on-one opportunities with other children and adults.  

• Tennis - Anna plays on a homeschool tennis team and takes lessons each Friday. The group is small, supportive, and perfect for Anna's personality.  She enjoys playing with a friend from Challenge who is also on the team. 

• Challenge I classes - There are only 5 children in Anna's Challenge I class.  This week, when I was sitting in on a portion of the day, she volunteered to give her classmates a challenging order of operations problem.  Now, to most people this wouldn't seem like a big deal - but I could have nearly cried. First, she willingly volunteered to teach her class about MATH (thank you, Mr. D!), and second, she was excited about it.  This week, in our community assembly, the Challenge students were recognized. Our community now has over 20 students in A,B, I, and III.  It is so exciting to see this program growing!  

• Music - Another HUGE blessing of homeschool is that Anna can pursue her love of music... REALLY pursue it. She doesn't slide in a piano practice every now and then. She practices every.single.day. It is just a part of her academic homeschool day.  She gave me permission to post a short Instagram video of her playing this week... 

Piano practice this morning -- love that I no longer have to ask my 14 year old to do this! Good job @anna_banana8

A video posted by Mary (@marykprather) on Sep 9, 2015 at 9:00am PDT

The blessings of homeschool high school are TIME, RELATIONSHIPS, and FREEDOM! 

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The Blessing of CREATIVITY

Grant, my 10 year old, is my extrovert. 

He is happy in any type of situation, but I do notice that he loves his alone time. 

This week he would strive to finish his school work so he could practice baseball in the back yard, draw, or make Rainbow Loom creations. 

I have no clue how to make anything with the Rainbow Loom, but Grant can make anything. This week he has been working on lots of charms.... I love the Incredible Hulk charm (complete with orange backpack) he made for me! 

We are back in the swing with all of our extracurricular activities, so we use the Cycle 1 Memory Work CD quite a bit to review in the car!

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

By Ingri d'Aulaire, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire

Grant continues to love D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths and the study guide from Memoria Press. He has completed Units 1-5 and LOVED the 50 word vocab quiz at the end.  At dinner he practices the words on us to see if WE know what they mean.  

Pages of History Volume 1: Secrets of the Ancients

By Bruce Etter; Alexia Detweiler

Couple the Greek Myths study with our current read-aloud (Pages of History), and everything is connecting SO WELL! 

When I have a doctor's appointment or anything else that takes me out of the house during our school day, I always leave a dry erase board full of assignments for Grant.  One morning this week he did map tracing, PreScripts, iPad app memory work, and reading while I was away.  This system works very well for us! 

The Classic Historian Ancient History Go Fish Game

GeoToys

Finally -- we've been playing a lot of Ancient History GoFish (which actually is so much more than GoFish) as a family  -- this game is SUPERB and I highly recommend it. The Classical Historian makes them for all different time periods, too.  

This weekend will be very busy in our home.  September 11 is my husband's birthday so we will be celebrating with him -- while also trying to be mindful of what an important day it is our nation's history. Saturday evening I cross an item off my bucket list -- a Josh Groban concert!!  Sunday I am delivering the sermon at our little church.   So... much going on and much to be thankful for! 

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Collage Friday

Talk to me about the blessings of homeschool!  What are the blessings you have seen in your homeschool this week? 

Join me each Friday for a wrap up of the week - or just to share pertinent thoughts that have been rambling in your head during the past week.

Be sure to include your photo collages!

Then, visit other bloggers that have linked and leave them a supportive comment.  I love the Collage Friday community!

Add your link using the widget below. Additionally, if you'd like to join further, use the hashtag #collagefriday on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. 

An InLinkz Link-up