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Friday, April 22, 2011

Learning on Their Own

Dear friends,

While I try to be very purposeful in planning lessons for my children, I find that so much of their learning consists of what they come up with on their own!

Today, since it is Good Friday, we aren't doing much for formal school.  We finished up our book on World War I this morning, and read the poem "In Flander's Fields" by John McCrae about one of the battlefields.  My 13 year old, Andrew, has been doing his on-line math lessons, but everyone else is doing other things right now.

My 16 year old daughter Lydia is home from public school for the holiday and making biscotti (Italian cookie sticks) with her 10 year old sister, Naomi, who has also been busy making colorful booklets about cubes, cones, triangular prisms and other solid shapes.




Melody painted a green ladder picture with water colors at the dining room table.


Ben put together a small terrarium, soon to be stocked with lizards or crickets.  Micah set up a larger one on the back porch and transferred a grasshopper into it from the big pretzel jar he had been using.







In the afternoon, Naomi and Ben are visiting their married sister Mary, who is planning crafts and swimming for them.  I'm sure they'll love playing with their little nephew Jacob, too!  I can't believe my grandson is 10 months old now!


Here are some other recent pictures of independent learning in our home.

A U.S. map drawn freehand by Micah (6th grade).


Ben (2nd grade) decided to make a map, too!  Our kids inspire each other.


Micah's nature pictures -- more here: http://www.godsanimals.blogspot.com/








 
Ben, reading up in the backyard magnolia tree.

  
 Preparing for their aunt's birthday party


 

Our largest aquarium out of several -- these are baby convict cichlids that hatched from eggs a few weeks ago.


Andrew, our 8th grader, making a green screen to use in video production


And with the web cam, with the green screen in the background.


A screen shot of a video in which he cloned himself using video effects.


I guess that is one of the beauties of home schooling --
the kids have time to learn things for themselves without me even assigning it!

Blessings,
Virginia Knowles

1 comment:

  1. Interesting post and your cute Daughter is doing good. Thanks for sharing this lovely article.

    ReplyDelete

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