The kids and I have been having  a whole lot of fun doing simple art activities at home the past couple of months.  I pretty much let the kids color on their own in the morning with just some basic paper and art material laying around. I like them to use their imagination and creativity to make things. Yes some of my children are naturally more creative than others, so I decided to get some draw to life books and and a one of the 1-2-3 Draw Ocean Life Book.  To help one of my sons who gets frustrated when he can not thing of anything to make right off his head.  To my astonishment he likes them, Austin my 7 year old likes to have the art ideas laid out for him.

So to have the books that show him step by step how to make something really has boosted his creative self esteem, if there even is such a thing.  However, he likes them and that’s all that matters. My younger son Jordan really got a kick out of the book yesterday. He wanted to draw some sharks and decided to use the 1-2-3 Draw Ocean Book to make a hammerhead shark and some sea urchins.

See the picture. I thought he did pretty good for his first time using the book.  We also use the Draw write now Books in our simple drawing activities in which they would draw a picture a picture and write out the sentence or two right below it for copy work. Its like killing two  birds with one stone.

I Luv it!

For now the 1-2-3 Draw Ocean Books have been really great when it comes to sparking up some really quick creative juices in the minds of my young ones. They have a lot of color and show you step by step how to make each creature.  For example in this book it shows you how to draw sea urchins, starfish, sharks, hammerheads, jellyfish and much more.  This is a great book to have to complement a study of marine biology for the young ones or even just basic sea life.

Good Stuff.

Do you use any learn how to Draw books in your home school?

I know I’ve been M.I.A. (missing in action) for a moment. Doing the whole home school thing with the kiddies and having fun doing it. I have really been enjoying having my kids at home with me and exploring and learning new things. The time is flying by so fast, and this year is almost over with from the time that I started homeschooling. Not to fret, I plan to be back in action real soon with a ton of new blog posts. Covering the whole home school thing, natural new products I’ve tried and even some hair updates.

I’ve been pretty much getting my feet wet this year with kiddo’s and just learning how they learn and having fun while doing it.

Yeah, were having fun.

There is a new documentary in the mix about one family who chose to avoid the public school chaos and bring their kids home to school them. This is one film that is still in the works and they are looking for support to get the train moving. If and when the film is finished it will help bring to light the movement that is growing across the country of families bringing their kids home from public school.

Taking control of their children’s education.

I can identify with this, since I too brought my own kids home from public school to shield them from things I thought they were not ready for, to teach them things I felt and know the school was not doing right. Along with protecting my oldest from years of bullying that he was being tormented with day after day in public and private school.

I love public school, I went to public school and graduated from it, but not all schools are the same and not all public schools are the way they were when I was growing up. There is a lack of funding, lack of parental involvement in school which is putting stress on the school systems to cut programs, lay off staff and place pressure on students to step up. With testing to bring in more funds to the school. This cause stress in kids, and families. I was one of those families with a young boy who has learning difficulties and as each year went by, and I saw the love of learning leave him. The more I became convinced I had to do something and take him out of it.

We tried therapists, IEP programs, special teachers, even private school for about 2 years. The only thing that really helped him to flourish was when I took him out of school and brought him home. Not money, not tutors, not special programs in which all it did was label him and make him feel less than.

So you know what.

Class dismissed.

Show support to get the film going, by donating. It will go a long way.

Visit here to learn more.  Class dismissed.

Well the summer is over and school is back in session all over the country at least. As you know in my house hold this year I have decided to home school all of my four boys. This was not something that I did not decide to do right off the back. even though before I even had kids I always had the thought in my mind. That I would eventually home school the children that I would have.

I grew up with a family in my local congregation who was a family of 8, 2 parents and 6 kids and she homeschooled all her kids. I always admired how well behaved the kids were, and how they were able to travel and go out in the ministry as much as needed too . Yeah, even as a little girl I noticed these things. I guess you can say I had a natural knack for motherhood, from a far off.

Now today as an adult woman with 4 kids of my own, I’m glad that I made the choice to home school my boys. Even in the short amount time that they have been home with me, I have already experienced the joy of seeing two of my children grasp knowledge that might have been hard for them in a classroom setting. The only reason this is, is because my oldest has a really hard time leaning in a setting with too many distractions. He has sensory processing disorder, and just the light being too bright can throw him off a bit.

We have been studying about chemistry using the real science for kids curriculum, so far we have made a womery so the boys can see the process of a worm life and how they dig tunnels. I know a womery, but truth of the matter is, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and when you have boys these are the things they like to do.

For the past two week we also have spent time studying, about Asia geography, the people and have been using the mixture of a Charlotte Mason educational philosophy. By incorporating a lot living books into our study’s. For example on the study on Asia, we learned about Asia through maps, cooking a Asian meal, and but more so by reading real books on the topic for the child. We had the chance this week to read “Ping” the book about an Asian duck and  “A Look At China”. For my oldest son he read Ancient China.

I’m one for natural learning for my kids and hope that it will give my kids appreciation for learning, and nature. While at the same time instilling good moral values. My whole goal is to find a good balance between academics and natural learning.

Not to say that the whole two weeks have been great, I am already learning that I going to have to tweak a couple of things this coming week, to make the work flow go a little smoother. The first day I was exhausted not because of the kids, but mentally because I was putting to much stress on myself internally.

The days that followed were a lot easier and I’m excited about this new week coming up, because they will be starting their music lessons and going on weekly P.E. groups and Field trips with a local co-op.

Being able to see my kids learn and not feel the stress that a school system places on them to learn at their pace and their way. Is something that is truly great to experience!

Wanna know more about Homeschooling while Black you can read:

Why I decided to  Home school My Kids.

News One: Blacks choosing homeschooling

Hslda.org

Black Homeschoolers.com