Creative "play".....

Homeschooling can LOOK like many different things.

Some start at the crack of dawn....
Others in the afternoon.

Some stick to a schedule....
Others have NO SCHEDULE.

Some don't stray too far from the public school cirriculum...
Others make a POINT to STAY FAR from it.

The kiy is to really TUNE IN to your kids and figure out what works.

They are all different...
all special, with their own quirks and learning styles.

So...
you have to pay CLOSE ATTENTION.

I have learned that for ME....LIFE SCHOOL works.

I try to look for the learning opportunities in EVERYTHING.

I try and always HELP them to be creative and USE their minds....
no matter the situation.

One thing that I have learned about my kids is that they LOVE puzzles,games,etc.

Puzzles are one thing that will keep them OCCUPIED.

So...
I thought I would pass it along.

These puzzles are AWESOME!!!! (Sorry for the BAD pics!)

Mental Math Mania!!!!!!!!!

"Mom..I know what 20+90 is...110!!!"

"Mom..Do you know what 140+90 is????"

"Mom..you know what 70+55 is?"

"Mom....I bet you don't know what 60+57 is!"

THAT is what Malachi sounds like lately.


It is hilarious.

He is in 1st grade and has a MATH MIND that won't quit.

He is like an ACTIVE VOLCANO...of Math problems.

He spews and spats them out like they are LAVA hot....FAST and furious.

There is not a day that goes by these days when he doesn't come to me ....at least 50 times and challenge me with his mental math.

LOVE IT!!!!

And the best part......Sheba came up to me yesterday and said,

"Mom....I bet you don't know what 7+3 is."

I just smiled and said, "No...but I bet you will tell me SMART GIRL!!"

SWEET!

MORE than Math.........

Sometimes in life I have moments when the fog clears and things become AMAZINGLY clear.

TODAY..I had one of those moments.

Zeek and Shasha had finished their math test...BOTH making a 100!!!!!

SO I decided to let them choose something out of the "prize box".

Hold on...before anyone gets toooo excited- there isn't THAT much in the box yet! LOL

Anyway, Shasha chose some pink lipgloss-BIG SURPRISE!

And Ezekiel chose a dollar.

He came to me a few minutes later and wanted to put the money in his wallet so that later at the gym he could get a fruit Popsicle.

They have been REALLY WANTING one of them for weeks.....

I told him that he could get one, but he would have to do it when the other kids were in Yoga(he doesn't go to yoga anymore...its not cool! He sits beside me -beside the treadmills.)

Without even a THOUGHT he said, " No Mom, I think Ill wait and save enough $$$ for ALL of us to get one."
He quickly put the $$$ in his wallet and went back to his game of rescue heroes.

Never saying a word to anyone else.

At that moment I felt as though the sun was shining directly on this little soul.

He was glowing...with HUMBLENESS, KINDNESS, SWEETNESS, and LOVE!!!!!!

Some things are sooooo much more important that MATH..........