Catching fireflies
Another day of camp. It was hot and humid. I was pitty, but I still wouldn’t set foot in the stagnant, algae-infested pond. Must be showing my age..
Tonight, the kids swam and relaxed. That was followed by catching fireflies. I gave each child a jar with holes poked in the top. They caught a few, and we watched them light up in a dark room and then in the light. We learned they eat dew and pollen, and the kids released them before they went to bed.
I’m exhausted. I didn’t even work out tonight. It’s all I can do to get us prepped and ready for another day of camp. The group I’m helping to lead has to perform a skit the end of the week, so I’m downloading some music for them and printing out their skit checklists.
I did meet another homeschooler today while I was in line at the Trading Post. This mom said they school year-round, so her children were working on their workbooks in the car to and from camp. Made me a little nervous that I hadn’t had “school” in a few days, but I’m still in shut-down mode:) Guess it didn’t make me too nervous.
Discovering your child’s personality type
I’m up late (2:00 a.m. with green tea and tostitos) reading on the 8 types of personalities according to Jen Lilienstein of KidzMet. I downloaded her book tonight, The Parent’s Playbook for Learning and am going through the types that I think my oldest 2 kids are. Her book gives insight into choosing appropriate extracurricular activities based on their specific personality characteristics. This is an area where I’m struggling. I’d like to help them find areas that interest them, and that complement their traits. I think doing so would really enhance the experience for them and may lead to other areas of interests and expertise development down the road.
Lilientstein’s book is a manual of sorts. I’d recommend reading it and consider purchasing based on what I’ve seen so far. Her insight is giving me a sense of direction for future choices. Of course, check your local library first to see if they have a copy. But, what a great concept to think about as you are teaching your child and trying to get them plugged into areas of value.
https://www.kidzmet.com/content_pages/view/about-us
www.amazon.com/Parents-Playbook-Learning-Jen-Lilienstein
Encouraging reading while on vacation
We have enjoyed our trip over the holidays being with friends and family, and I’ve enjoyed the break from teaching our daily academics. However, most homeschoolers know that you don’t really ever stop teaching, and if you’re good, you’ll try to use any life experience as a teaching tool. Maybe that experience will trigger an interest in something that they would have never known otherwise. My kids have done and seen several new things this week while being with family. I don’t know if the experiences fostered a new course of learning for them. Sometimes it’s just beneficial to have fun as a kid and enjoy your loved ones. That being said, now that the cousins have gone back home, I’ve encouraged my crew to get back into reading. The older boys were up at midnight enjoying a good book. Tomorrow, they will be writing several thank-you notes as well as working on some school projects before we return home. My oldest is presenting on Thomas Edison next week so there is much to learn and do before then. I just found a free book to download on Edison-love to save on books! Well, it’s 1a.m. as usual. I’ll be up for a while reading a bit on Edison myself. I try to learn with my children as they are learning new things.
Ivy League Homeschooling 