Creating Beautiful Days

We just had a fantastic first week of our new school year.

After a nice, long 6-week break, 

we have started our new homeschool routine. 

See how dark it is outside?

We're starting our day at 5:30am!

First things first, Lu takes Tinich (4mo chihuahua) outside for her morning pee, cleans her puppy pen, makes his bed, tidies his room, has breakfast, washes the breakfast dishes, and brushes his teeth.

At 7:30am our schedule begins.

Some days we start with cuddly read-alouds.

Right now we're reading stories and legends

from Latin America.

 

Other days we start with some outdoor exercise.

I recently put a desk on this porch and turned it into

a second classroom.

It's nice to be outside, in a different space.

 Tinich likes it too :)

Monday is Hike Day

We climb 30 minutes up the mountain behind us

to a magical little spot we love.

And then come back down with this view.

Wednesdays are Lake Day,

and we head down for some swimming

and poetry-reading.

We've also been reading about Renaissance painters.

Our nifty book came with these playing cards - 

Go Fish, Memory, Who Painted This? 

I don't usually link to stuff that isn't free,

but this book was really worth it.

So, if you're interested...

Renaissance Art Card Game and Book

Cell Games is a great site!

Lu's been learning all about cell structure

and how all the parts work.

He can tell you a thing or two about mitochondria

and the Golgi apparatus. 

(And mom's like: Wuzzat??!)

 

Guitar is an every day thing.

Twice or even three times a day, more like.

Right now I can hear him rockin'

the James Bond theme song. lol

 Lu wants to be a chef, so cooking is a big part of homeschool.

He cooks dinner twice a week, and bakes a dessert on Fridays.

(woo-hoo, it's Friday!!!)

He does his own recipe researching,

so it's always a surprise.

Grilled Marinated Eggplant:

Bacon Potato Fritatta 

with Tomato Salad and Anchovy dressing:

And I can smell the chocolate creation in the oven

as I type this... yummmm....

We're running our afterschool art program 

on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This is our 13th year going!

We had 25 kids come on the first day.

Fun, fun, fun!!!

Lu's reading "Quest of Heroes".

I'd rather he read from books than from the screen, 

but he found it free online and is very much enjoying it.

And when we zoom in... look who's there!

And when she's not sleeping,

she loves playing with Floki <3

My number one objective this year is to enjoy my son as much as possible. This is our fifth year homeschooling and now I truly understand that there is more than enough time to learn the math and the spelling, and that it is much more important to learn to enjoy life, find authentic motivation, take care of yourself physically and emotionally, show your love to others through actions, and fill your days with things you love doing. 

We'll likely get more academically ambitious in high school, 

which is just around the corner. 

But for now, it's all about creating beautiful days.