5 Ways to Encourage Summer Learning

I'm writing at Simple Homeschool again today, this time about some ways to encourage learning over the summer months.


From my post:

Summer months are spent differently in every homeschooling family, from a full stop to schooling all the way through- and all kinds of variations in between.

No matter where you fall on that spectrum, the summer months can be a great time to try on a different education style or go for a project you might not try during the regular school year.

These are a few ideas designed to bring learning into your summer, no matter what type of summer schooling family you might be.

Please join us and let us know how you keep the learning rolling over the summer!

Intentional

I was going to post something completely different this morning, but after reading Rachel's post this morning I changed my mind.


As I was reading her post Keeping It Real or Why I Make Things Myself I was nodding along and feeling yet another push down the path to our more intentional life.


It seems like all around us (in real life and online) people are making serious life transitions to work in a way that allows them to truly provide but still be more available to family. One of the great things about my studio is that I've been able to choose great families to work with and they have been more than understanding when lessons must be canceled because one of my children gets sick or when we have a  family emergency. It is a business and we don't cancel often, but when it has been necessary everyone has been more than gracious.


And while we have been very blessed with this business, there is still the fact that our boys are away from us for several hours each day and the fact that my brain is often taken up with work things in the evenings instead of really being able to spend time with my husband and taking care of our home. We've made our first big steps forward.


:: Brian finished school in 2010 and finally found a great job a few months ago.


:: We've gone on a bit of a food journey, now making a lot of things ourselves and not buying pre-made meals. (This is still a work in progress, somewhat contingent on my working fewer set hours)


:: We've made changes to the studio structure that will help with downsizing it in the next two years.


:: I'm looking at some other business options that will let me work from home without such permanently set hours.


But of course the next big thing is to actually jump- to work really hard to get another business off the ground so that we can really live the way we want to live.


It's kind of scary to be standing at the edge like this and knowing we have to either turn around and go back the way we came or carve a path all our own. And at the same time this might be the potential of my 30th year.

Yarn Along

Yarning Along with Ginny....

I am still at work on Omelet, but now done with the C chart. I promise that I really am enjoying this knit and that it's not actually going slowly- I'm just having a lot less time to knit lately because June is really kicking my tail!


The evening hours I generally use for knitting are being eaten up this month by an odd work schedule, teeball games (sometimes 3 a week- isn't that crazy???), and lesson planning for the upcoming school year.


Actually, that should probably read "being wishy-washy about the lesson plans for the upcoming school year." I feel solid about what exactly we are planning to do, just trying to figure out the best way to communicate it without making myself crazy. I'm not a huge fan of the daily checklist, but I'm worried that I'll forget something if I don't do that kind of thing. So I'm trying out different lesson plan formats for the month of July and seeing how it goes before we really get going full time in August.


I finished reading another Artemis Fowl book last night but decided to launch directly into Catching Fire now that I finally have it from the library. I'm enjoying the Hunger Games series so much!

{In case you haven't already, be sure to check out my birthday giveaway for a chance at some free yarn!}

Thirty {A Birthday Giveaway}

We had a little party over the weekend for my 30th birthday and everyone in the family got together to get me two things I've wished for often in the last year:

No more waiting to have yarn wound at the shop, ordering online will be a little easier now that I don't have to consider how much hand-winding will be involved before I can start a project, plus it's so much fun for the boys.


Ender has already wound 4 skeins.


And yes, we've already had the conversation about the swift and winder not being their personal toys...

Thirty feels remarkably like 29 and 28 and 27. . .  but for some reason this year feels like it might have more potential than the last few. Its hard to describe since everything is just in "plan" mode right now, but I think the general shape of the next several months is a good one.



Want to join me in celebration?


Upon looking through my modest-to-most yarn stash for skeins to wind Ender declared that I have "way too much small yarn" (sock yarn) and he's right.

So I have 2 lovely skeins of Knitpicks Stroll in Wonderland Heather to give away. You certainly don't have to make socks with these, but it is the perfect amount for a cute pair of socks.



Two ways to enter:


:: Leave a comment below and tell me how you celebrated or plan to celebrate your 30th birthday.

:: Subscribe to the blog and leave me a separate comment to let me know you subscribed.



Comments will close on Friday, June 17 at midnight Eastern time and a random winner will be announced on Saturday the 18th. I can ship to Canada or anywhere in the U.S. for this birthday giveaway.

****This giveaway is now closed****

AubreyLaine was our winner- I'm contacting you by email for your address. :)

Return of the Mojo

I think the knitting mojo has returned.

Blurry pic, but last night's "do something every day" equaled half of a little mitt. One more half to go to get a pair!

Mitt Envy [Rav link]

We spent our weekend with a lot of this:

And there may have been a party to celebrate a big day for me. The big three-oh kind.

The big day is really tomorrow... Wanna come back and join in the celebration?