Kids are fun. I forget how exciting new experiences are and how easily amused they are. It is a really sweet thing when their eyes light up and you can hear lots of giggling. You can see the wheels in their heads turning and there's pure curiosity and enjoyment there. It makes me wish sometimes I was back there, to an easier time. And then I realize how crappy the teenage years were and there's no amount of sentiment, or money for that matter, that would make me go back in time. I am surprised grateful I survived it.
I have been attempting to think outside the box as far as activities to do with the kids during our learning time. I came across this website, called Play at Home Mom, which is really neat. If you need some good ideas of fun things to do, check it out. BUT, be aware, their website and some of their activities can be somewhat overwhelming. They have had time to develop a great art center at home for their kids, which I think is so great. On the other hand, we don't currently have the funds to grow our art supply cabinet quite yet, but we do have some things. But I love their ideas, especially this one!
So, here bodes the question, did I get back on my homeschooling groove this week? The answer is yes and no. I decided that I was trying to do too much structured learning and not enough learning through playing and sensory activities. So, I have decided to do less of the subject type learning stuff and more of the hands-on experience type learning. Learning should be fun...not just something to be checked off the list and drudged through. We've been doing a lot of reading, crafting and even did some puzzles this week. And this idea below of playing with water beads from the Play At Home Mom website, and decided to try it out.
I got these water beads at the Dollar Tree in the flower arranging/vase section. I dumped them in a big bowl with measuring cups to scoop and dump.
They were like, what are these weird feeling things?!!?!
They loved scooping, dumping and letting the beads fall through their fingers.
Of course throwing them was really fun. (this is Jude's throw face)
Ezra enjoyed throwing them too. We also stomped on them and threw them again the house. I thought it would be a fun experiment to do different things to them and see what happened. Throwing them against the house and watching them explode into a billion pieces was Jude's favorite thing.
I will add that if you do this with your children, watch them closely. You won't want them putting these in their mouths.
We also did puzzles this week! (I never realized how hard it was to take photos in my kitchen. The lighting is horrible!)
Even though I always feel like I'm being lazy on this part of being a stay-at-home-mom, I'm going to try to do more crafty things, hopefully doing that contact paper tree activity this week, and we're starting our nature study group the Monday after Thanksgiving. I'm really excited about that! Hopefully this next week will be more productive in the learning/playing department.
I probably won't do a Challenge next week because it's Thanksgiving, so I may just share some ways I've incorporated healthier/more eco-friendly practices in our daily lives. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment