Both Sides

This has been the most amazing year together. I have to say that homeschooling has proved to be a very rich and rewarding experience for the kids and I. The opportunity to learn, discover, and grow together has been priceless. Aaron and I can see the benefits to both learning from home and learning in a larger classroom setting. That is why we have decided to keep the best of both. We look forward to taking the kids to Evergreen (their little country school before the Massachusetts move) next year. We are a bit in dis-belief that there ended up being room for them. Most of the rural schools here are overflowing. I love that Evergreen welcomes parent volunteers and encourages family participation...these are all the social aspects of public school that I have missed this year. But, I cannot just "close shop" when it comes to home school. I have learned that home school can happen anytime and anywhere, even if that means our kids are attending classes outside these walls. Our home is where they will always be free to ask, explore, discover, and most importantly be taught the foundational principals of faith, hope, and love. These are the lessons that they carry beyond these walls...the lessons that touch the world around them and change it for the better. I want to be the kind of parent that is always a teacher. 

About two weeks ago we checked out a book from the library that I fell in love with. It's called 

13 Paintings Children Should Know. It's been so much fun studying the artists, history, mediums, and even secret clues each masterpiece featured. The kids especially enjoyed practicing their own impressions of a few famous works. 

                                        Zibby's version of "The Hare"..very abstract we think.

                                                           Ben's idea of the Mona Lisa

                                                        Abby Sue's sketch of "The Hare"