Destry's High School Graduation

Well, I've given up on getting my blog caught up, but Destry's graduation was such a wonderful day that I want to make sure it is recorded.  Then my blog will just have a big hole from the summer of 2016. 

One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that your child's education is personalized, and their graduation ceremony can be personalized as well.  While Briana wanted a simple ceremony at our home with outdoor games and fellowship for her celebration, Destry decided to combine his graduation with a senior recital since his music has been such a large part of his high school years.  His friend, Brandon, is also a musician who plays both acoustic and electric guitar and his mother, Alana, is a dear friend, so we decided to celebrate them together.

We rented the auditorium of a local community college and more than 300 people came to celebrate the conclusion of this season with these two young men.

Destry and Brandon

The young men took turn performing their pieces.  Destry played Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin and Clair De Lune by Debussy on the piano.

Brandon played Amazing Grace, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, and Acoustic in G on his guitars.  They also performed one piece together, E minor instrumental, with Brandon on the electric guitar and Destry on the piano.

On the violin, Destry played Bach's Partita 2 in D minor, Allemanda, Corrente, Sarabanda, and Giga as well as Beethoven's Romanze Opus 50, Adagio cantabile.

Most of their senior recital can be watched here.

After their senior recital was over, we got to watch the slide shows they had put together, then we parents said a few words, conferred their diplomas, and gave them our blessing.  Alan "called Destry out" as he had done previously at ages 13 and 18 as a man of good character, hard work, and one who thinks, in the presence of all our friends and family and declared him his "beloved son in whom I am well pleased."  He also worded a blessing upon him based on Philippians 1:9-11:

 "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment.  That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

Everyone was invited to stay for a taco bar and the unique desserts chosen by the guests of honor--Brandon chose homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk while Destry chose ice cream sandwiches. No graduation cake for these two, they chose desserts as unique as they are.

Me with my friend Alana--happy after a successful day celebrating our boys.

It was a wonderful, wonderful day.  We've poured our hearts into these guys, and we're looking forward to seeing what the Lord does both in them and through them throughout their lives.

Dr. Seuss Party 2016

I realize Dr. Seuss's birthday, and our party celebrating him, was back in March.  But we're playing a quick game of  "catch-up-the-blog." This was the third Dr. Seuss party we've had over the years. I had the first one when Briana and Destry were little, then another one three years ago when Easton and Kiana were 5 and 6. When another homeschooling mom mentioned that she would like to do one but didn't have the house for it, I decided to do it again. Easton, Kiana, and Tyrell were 9, 8, and 5. The perfect ages.

Tabitha, Carrie, and Tami brought their kids over along with fun ideas and snacks. Sara's children, unfortunately, got sick so they weren't able to come.

We made books of their footprints, 

fish crafts (with glitter! My kids NEVER get to do that!),

read books, played games,

And ate a themed lunch: pizza pockets, fish sticks, green deviled eggs, ham, goldfish crackers, and fish swimming in hello water.

 It was lots of fun once again. I'm so thankful for friends who pitch in to make fun memories like these.

Mere Motherhood

Mere Motherhood: Morning times, nursery rhymes, and my journey toward sanctification by Cindy Rollins

I loved this book!

Oh, it wasn't amazing, I must admit. It's a memoir from Cindy's 30 years of homeschooling, not a how-to-homeschool book, so don't open it expecting that. And really, for a memoir, it's frustratingly vague. Yet I understand her desire to protect her children's identities and not "air the family's dirty laundry". It's not always a fascinating read, but it was like a warm conversation with a good friend--an encouraging breath of sweet fresh air. I've been homeschooling for 16 years, so that's long enough to read between the lines of the various trends (good and bad) in the homeschooling movement that Cindy lived through.

I wouldn't have gotten as much out of it even just five years ago. I daresay this is not the best book for a younger, newer homeschooling mama. She likely won't appreciate it as much. There are things we simply don't know that we don't know until we get there. But maybe reading it will help her connect the dots when the time comes. And I came away both encouraged and inspired.

I chuckled aloud several times as I read, especially as she gently poked fun at herself: "Each morning we sang a new hymn, verse by verse. . .I was a bit neurotic about learning all the verses. Now I know that is called self-righteousness" (46) and "Obviously we weren't in the the habit of buying horses; we just read books about horses" (50) and after having drugs the first time for her ninth and final delivery "I would never be an obnoxious mother-in-law bragging that I had ALL my babies naturally" (64). LOL I thoroughly enjoyed her voice.

I also loved the way she sprinkled Scripture throughout (in her own voice, no quotation marks) and her frequent but casual references to great stories like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. She is definitely a book-lover.

In a nutshell, Cindy's book shares three main ideas (among other smaller ones) she has learned in her homeschooling journey: 1) It's easy to let our relationships with our children become idols in our hearts. 2) Be careful not to take too much credit or too much blame for the successes and failures of your children. 3) Motherhood is a tool for our sanctification.

She shares things that worked, and things that didn't. She warns those of us in the trenches not to make mistakes she made. She transparently shares the joys and struggles of various seasons, including her current season during which she has moved and no one knows the "former her" who homeschooled nine children but now see her with only her last child almost ready to leave the nest. (wouldn't that be so weird?!)

There were so many great nuggets sprinkled throughout. I could definitely chat this one out side-by-side in a couple of red chairs! I'll try to limit myself to just a few quotes:

"Motherhood is sanctification. Perhaps way more sanctification than you ever bargained for. . .There is no trite way to explain the heart-wrenching joys and sorrows you have seen. There is no way to warn the mommy next door or your daughter-in-law. It is a walk of joy that often includes the tearing off of the old dragon skin one painful layer at a time, made all the worse because you didn't even know you were wearing dragon skin. No one ever does" (ix). 

"my lifelong pattern of hanging out with people who are smarter than me" (89). (I try to do this too!!) 

"I suppose that I should have raked in a lot of wisdom and knowledge, and yet, the further up and further in I go the less sure I am about what I know. I know a lot less today than I did thirty-five years ago. . .After all these years, I don't know as much as I thought I did, but I hope that makes what I do know more valuable" (135). 

(about reading aloud) "When we cannot escape ourselves, we can escape to other worlds together"(139). 

"It seemed that I had worked passionately for nineteen years on a beautiful product and, in the end, he had become something entirely different than I intended. I did not recognize him at all. How could I go on creating beautiful pottery pieces if they weren't going to turn out as I had intended or hoped? Until one day I had an epiphany. I was not the potter. A potter was shaping my children, but it was not me. . .My son was not my product. He was the work of a great artist: the Creator of all" (156). 

"Part of the sanctification of motherhood is learning to trust God with our children. . .Our children must not become 'Our Precious'" (161).

AND MY FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE BOOK:
"Josef Pieper tells us that leisure is the basis of culture. Most moms would laugh at the idea of leisure, but that is essentially the gift homeschooling gave us--the leisure to learn" (163).

My Epiphany

I was excited when a facebook friend posted about an opportunity to go through Beth Moore's revised "Breaking Free" study.  I had planned to lead a group of friends through a study of I Corinthians starting in January, but was feeling overwhelmed with life in general, let alone leading a study on top of it all.  So I asked the ladies if they wanted to go to this with me instead.  Only two of them expressed an interest, and all agreed that it wasn't a great time to do the study of Corinthians.

The day of the study, the two friends I thought would go with me decided not to go.  Kiana had a commitment with her tumbling group 30 minutes west of us and Easton had a commitment with his Lego League team in the same town as the study.  Alan and I chose to divide and conquer, he took Kiana and the two little ones while I planned to take Easton to Lego League from 4:30-6:30, then keep him with me for the study from 6:30-8:30.  I started feeling guilty, knowing Alan would be home about 7 and need to get supper and everything for the other three kids, so I thought about going home to help him instead of going to the study.  But no, I really did want to do this study.

So I went to the building only to find the parking lot completely full with cars lining both sides of the street.  "Ugh," I thought, "there are lots of people here. I don't know these people. . .no one is expecting me.  Easton is sitting here with only a string cheese, granola bar, and clementine for supper. Maybe I should just go home."  I finally decided just to go, I had already bought the study guide and I really WAS looking forward to digging into it.

I share all this to remind myself and to illustrate how I almost didn't even go.  I almost didn't even go to the study.

When the teaching started, I thought it was interesting that we turned right to Judges 6 with Gideon.  I had already read about him in my Bible reading that morning!  Interesting. . .

Beth expanded on the passage by explaining how the Israelites were being oppressed by the Midianites, bearing the yoke of slavery, and how we need to seek freedom as "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).  She outlined what oppression looks like and I wrote down several quotes:

• Anytime you are preoccupied by destructive thoughts, you are in a stronghold.  
• Bondage is anything that hinders us from the fullness God calls us to be, anything undermining the abundant life God has for you.

Beth is a word person, so she camped on two words from the passage, saying the goal of the oppressor is to make us:

• Unproductive (vs. 3-4) which from the original Hebrew means ruin, corrupt, lose, spill, waste.  In the KJV terminology, the oppressors "destroyed the increase".  She asked us "When's the last time you told yourself you put all that work into it and it came to nothing?  When did you give in to failure so you wouldn't have to suffer defeat again?"
• Impoverished (vs. 6)--which from the original Hebrew means bring low, dry up, be emptied, not be equal, failure, be impoverished.  She summarized "If you've been feeling like a failure, you are in oppression."

Well, this had my attention, that's for sure!  I had indeed been preoccupied by destructive thoughts these last several weeks, and they were the words she was saying almost verbatim!

She continued through the study, making points like "God stands to get much glory from making mighty warriors out of the least likely" and admonishing us not to become cynical asking "Where are his wonderful deeds?" (vs. 13) when we don't see fruit right away.  She reminded us "whatever we may end up setting on the altar will be wholly received by God.  Don't be scared of what you have to give up--it is so you will be free to receive what He has to give you.  Don't be scared of what you'll give up, be scared of what you'll miss if you don't."

Tears ran down my cheeks all the way home from the study.  I had been praying and praying, asking if I should even continue homeschooling, if it was worth it, if I was even doing a good job.  I really didn't want to do it anymore because of the feelings and destructive thoughts filling my mind.  But Alan said he really thought we needed to continue, so I was continuing in obedience to him even as I still had my own doubts.  But I felt like this was God answering my prayers.  Homeschooling is not for everyone, I'm certainly not saying that.  But as I went through the study, I knew that it is for our family--still.

I also had my eyes opened that those thoughts, those lies and accusations that were haunting my thoughts, were from the devil. . .oppression  He works through accusations (Revelation 12:10) and lies (John 8:44) and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour (I Peter 5:8).  I had certainly been preoccupied by destructive thoughts, unproductive, and impoverished.

Since that study, I have had such peace and stillness instead of stress, torment, and worry.  I'll do my part in obedience and rest in Him as He alone gives the increase.  I'm looking forward to these next ten weeks in the Word and can't wait to see what He teaches me.

The Season I Almost Moved to Australia

It was a TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY.

I almost moved to Australia.

Well, okay, not really.  But I almost convinced myself I was a big, fat failure and was just wasting my time homeschooling my children.

I texted my husband:  "I feel like a failure.  And I want a different job."

I got on "long-name-amazing-results" for my region and started looking for jobs.  Not. even. kidding.

I *almost* called our local school district to see what their scope and sequence is for kindergarten, second, and third grades to see how it compares to where we are.

I really did call our local christian school to see when their new semester starts and how much it would cost to send my middle three children.

I wasn't ENJOYING homeschooling anymore.  I used to really enjoy it.  Planning lessons was fun.  Seeing the light bulb when the children understood a new concept was fun.  Organizing track and field days, musicals, PE, softball, and cooperative classes with area homeschoolers was fun and invigorating.  Going to homeschool conferences with other homeschooling moms, making my MOTH schedule, reading books about educational philosophies was all just a ton of fun.

Now I'm tired.  I'm tired in general, and I'm tired of doing this.  I'm tired of teaching the same old things.  I'm tired of enforcing schedules and chore times and reminding children to "Focus. Sit still. Pay attention."

I wonder what it would be like to be "Just Mom."  To exclaim over the projects they do at school and listen to the excitement in their voices as they tell me about what they've learned.  That someone else taught them.

I've been haunted by feelings of failure.  Things don't always go just the way I want them to, or always imagined they would.  I'm not sure I'm doing a good job anymore.  Different kids learn differently.  I'm older and have a lot of kids in different and difficult seasons.  I feel like I've invested so much of myself and my time and all that work, and for what?  I don't feel like investing even more just for more failure and heartbreak.

I spent a few weeks in that place.  I cried a little every day, and cried some more every time I talked to my husband about these feelings.  He was patient.  He listened, he prayed with me and for me.

But he said he wanted us to continue homeschooling.  He asked how he could help share the load and he pitched in.  He sent me encouraging emails from work such as the following verse:

with a short note:

"Thinking of you and remembering how much I trust what you are doing for our family.  You keep us fed, clothed, healthy, and taught.  I have confidence in the teaching you are doing.  Thanks for pouring your heart into our children."

Then a friend posted on facebook about a ladies' Bible study that was about to begin.

To be continued. . .

Teaching From Rest

Teaching from Rest by Sarah Mackenzie

I loved this book. I think the author should maybe send me a commission as I have recommended it to so many people--I know 11 have purchased it so far for sure. :) It has been SUCH an encouragement to me in my homeschooling this season, and I'm expecting this title to appear on my list of "favorite books read in 2015". I have 8-9 friends coming over next Monday evening to discuss this with me. I'm hoping it is a blessing to them as well--you know how different books hit people differently, and we are all in different seasons and such, but it was such a blessing to me that I am actually getting ready to read through it again and will be journaling my way through it.

So, why has it been such a blessing?

1) The author keeps it real. This homeschooling journey is difficult, we are not enough in our own strength, and she validates and commiserates with the challenges without whining about them.
2) She points time and time again to the Lord as the source of our strength, as the one who is the author and finisher of our faith--and us--and our children. She offers many words of wisdom, both philosophically and practically.
3) It's only 80 pages! There's no fluff, she just says what needs to be said.
4) She offers practical suggestions that are changing my school year. We are about 8 weeks into our year, and frankly, I had just been surviving each day, desperately trying to juggle all my plates without any falling and crashing to the floor. I have been collapsing into bed each night, absolutely exhausted--and worse, weary--and feeling like I didn't do it well. These last couple of weeks, however, I have been implementing some of her suggestions and I have been ENJOYING my children.

REVIEW PART TWO:

It's not often that I read a book twice in one month AND host two discussion evenings to discuss said book. Here are just a few quotes demonstrating why it's been such a blessing to me in this season:

--This work of homeschooling and raising hearts and souls and bodies is hard. It is more than I can do in my own strength. . .But he is not asking me to feed the 5,000; He just wants me to bring my basket of loaves and fish and lay them at his feet.

--The true aim of education is to order a child's affections--to teach him to love what he ought and hate what he ought.

--Our work in raising up and teaching our children is never really done. But we must remember that *we* were never intended to finish it.

--I cannot serve two masters, and neither can you. Whose 'well-done' are you working for?

--Will He find that we used (daily life tasks) to draw closer to Him? Were the tedious details of a homeschooling day offered up as a way for us to love Him, or were they merely gotten through, checked off, and accomplished?

--Our children are not projects.

--It is our part to offer what we can, His to finish what we cannot.

Fresh ideas like morning time, implementation of looping subjects (which I've done before, but not quite like this), and "permission" to keep educating myself are just a few more ways reading this book has brought refreshment and, yes, rest, to my days.

"We (moms) are demonstrating with our very lives that the world is worth learning about, our minds are worth cultivating, and people are worth loving. We model delight in learning something new, and we demonstrate what it looks like to find like-minded peers to encourage and be encouraged by" (76).

Ancient Egypt, Our Solar System, and Kindergarten Crafts

I haven't been blogging about school much lately--maybe because we've been schooling instead!  We are having a busy year with it being Tyrell's first year, Easton and Kiana in third and second grades respectively, and Destry trying to finish strong with his senior year (with little Miss Aryana, 18 months, keeping her finger in every pie).  We have once again formed a small coop with some friends to share some learning experiences together.

Because we are studying Ancient Egypt for history this year, we are having fun getting together for some hands-on activities to reinforce what we're learning.  We made salt dough maps of Egypt, a fun model of Egypt (with an overflowing Nile River and growing grass!), Egyptian sailboats and papyrus boats, and Egyptian toys like dolls and throwing sticks. 

We are using Jeanie Fulbright's science book to study astronomy and the kids have lots of fun doing the experiments and projects with their friends.  So far they have enjoyed making a model of the solar system, learning about the sun, and making models of Mercury.

Tyrell loves being "big enough" to get in on some coop classes.  They are having all kinds of fun learning about different letters and themes, reading books and making crafts centered around that theme.

This is a very busy season, but a good season.  I'm trying to enjoy each day with these young ones, knowing that the years fly by so quickly.

A New School Year

It's that time of year again, time for school to begin.  This year Briana is a nursing student, Destry is a senior, Easton is in third grade, Kiana is in second, Tyrell is in kindergarten, and Aryana is "into everything".

I knew it was going to be a busy (read:  challenging) year, so I've been doing all I could think of to get ready and set us up for a successful year.  In addition to lesson planning, I made schedules for everyone and hung them on the wall, created a list of quick and easy lunch ideas, and even cooked up some hamburger, pork roast, and chicken breasts ahead of time.

Most importantly, I stocked up on Pepsi! ha!  Really, cubes were on an amazing sale (how timely, don't you think?).

I have some incredibly cute students this year, if I do say so myself.  One of the many reasons I enjoy homeschooling is because of the relationships it fosters.  My children get to learn how to work things out with one another and really are best friends (and some days, best enemies, but we won't get into that right now).

Easton has been very excited to study Spanish and he is catching on very well.  I finally invested in Rosetta Stone for him and for Destry to get his second year's credit.  Easton loves computers, so I'm not always sure if he loves Spanish itself, or the opportunity to work on the computer--and to wear the cool headphones!

Tyrell is loving learning how to read and melted my heart on our second day of school as he exuberantly cried "Mama, I LIKE learning!" at the conclusion of our day's reading lesson.  Oh how I hope I can nurture that love for learning throughout his childhood!

Briana, with her servant's heart and love for science, has discovered her niche in the nursing field.  She has completed her first CNA class (she plans to take the advanced course next month) and loved every minute of it.  I giggled at her final score of 99% as I remembered her disappointment the day she missed two questions on a test.

Destry has a full but interesting year planned with classes like anatomy and physiology, psychology, pre-calculus and of course the ubiquitous literature and music.  He has been invited as a guest speaker  in October for the 100th anniversary celebration at a congregation we used to meet with in Missouri, so he also has that to prepare.

Aryana is just as cute as she can be in her piggy tails these days, even as she is a force to be reckoned with.  Above she's pictured on our first day of school with the bag of brand new pencils.  She had a grand ole time using her teeth to pull the eraser out of every pencil and spit them on the floor.

Please excuse the screenshot above, but a friend texted me this picture of Easton with his friend at their Lego Robotics meeting and I didn't know how to remove the trappings of the screenshot.  (Hey, I only recently learned how to TAKE a screenshot--and I was QUITE pleased that I figured out how to cover my name and phone number.  Technology is not my gift!)  I'm still not 100% sure what this Lego Robotics thing is all about--Alan is taking him--but I do know that Easton is loving it.  Something about building robots with Legos, computer programming, and problem solving--right up his alley.

Kiana is SUPER excited for her homeschool tumbling class to start next Thursday.  Until then, we continue working on our other subjects.  I must insert here that I am happy that the Dianne Craft sightword cards are helping her with her reading.  I will never cease being amazed at the ways our brains work.  She is a right-brain learner and thus can "take a picture" of the card and store it in her brain.  I tried this for myself, but I see nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  It's not the way I learn, but I am grateful for others who have figured out ways to accommodate different learning styles to pave this path before us.

We now have eight days of school under our belts.  Six of them have gone well/as I planned.  The other two were pretty rough (and necessitated some editing of the schedules and perhaps a mama-retreat to the bathroom for prayer and a few tears).  But overall, we're off to a good start.  Full speed learning ahead!

Dumbing Us Down

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

Absolutely outstanding!  Must read!  I have been hearing about this book in all of my 14 years of home education and can't believe I waited so long to read it.

John Gatto is an award-winning public school teacher who insightfully hones in on the invisible lessons the public educational system is teaching the children of this country:  confusion, class position, indifference, emotional dependence, intellectual dependence, conditional self-esteem, and acceptance of surveillance.

Gatto's book, as summarized in the introduction by David Albert, contends that "schools are not failing.  On the contrary, they are spectacularly successful in doing precisely what they are intended to do, and what they have been intended to do since their inception. . .ensure a docile, malleable workforce to meet the growing, changing demands of corporate capitalism. . .a workforce that will not rebel, that will be physically, intellectually, and emotionally dependent upon corporate institutions for their incomes, self-esteem, and stimulation, and that will learn to find social meaning in their lives solely in the production and consumption of material goods" (xxii).

Gatto decries the loss of community (which has been replaced by networks), the separation of young from old, the removal of children from families, the idea of the "professionalization of teaching which preempts the teaching function which belongs to everyone" (16), the lack of free time for children to think, explore, and learn to serve.  He proclaims a need for self-knowledge so that "they'll also become self-teachers--and only self-teaching has any lasting value" (31), and a need for men to teach boys to grow up.  He realized himself, and knows children need to learn the same lesson, that we need something to do that is meaningful, that isn't absurd, that results in more than "a new abstract number in my bankbook" (40).  "Discovering meaning for yourself as well as discovering satisfying purpose for yourself, is a big part of what education is.  How this can be done by locking children away from the world is beyond me" (62).

Gatto claimed schools began from a fear of the poor, a fear of immigrants and Catholics, and a fear of freed Black slaves between the mid 1800s and the early 1900s, as well as a desire by capitalists to produce a compliant workforce.  I thought this was an interesting perspective I had never before heard.

I am very intrigued by the correlation between Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the messages of this book.  Gatto wrote a Monarch Notes guide to this classic novel, and I think I'm going to have to read the novel and Gattos' guide together as I continue to ponder these thoughts.

Destry and TeenPact, Take Two

One of the highlights of the year for Destry was his second trip to TeenPact back in March.  As a member of the alumni track, he had more homework to do in preparation and got to participate in a higher level of thinking in his classes.

He ran for senator again, and won again.

I think this is a really good opportunity for teens to practice public speaking, to learn to "put themselves out there", and to learn how to stand up for something and try to persuade others to believe as they do about an issue.

In addition to everything he learns in the classes, Destry also loves the time at camp getting to know people, playing sports, and especially the "rendezvous" at the end of the day focusing on how the Lord is working in each person's life, their struggles, and their growth.  

Destry was recommended to be a staff member after his first year, and he is seriously considering serving as a staffer next year.  I think this would be a good leadership opportunity for him.

The 2015 Iowa TeenPact class with the reflection of the state capitol

Learning Cooperative Wrap Up

We continued to have lots of fun with our learning cooperative these last few months, but I am also rather glad to be done for the year.  The kids loved it so much, they are sad it's over, and I'm glad they all loved it.  But we moms are glad to have a break from preparing all the fun activities.

Above the younger kids learned about germs in their science class.  One of their activities included designing their own germs.  They frequently ask to take a "silly picture" after the serious one.

In their colonial American history they learned how to make silhouettes as well dye shirts with onion skins, make homemade cough syrup (honey and lemon), and they got to try steamed clams and then make floating lamps with the shells.

After teaching art appreciation to the younger class the first semester, I taught the older kids second semester.  Above are their interpretations of Starry Night as we studied VanGogh.

They learned about various bridge designs in another science class and got to design their own bridges using toothpicks and marshmallows.

 A few of the older kids painting in the style of Monet.

We cancelled coop one Tuesday in order to take a field trip day.  Destry's youth symphony was performing alongside the Des Moines Symphony and we were able to get tickets for their school performance.  It was a really neat experience for everyone.

Then we went to a park to eat our picnic lunches together and play for an hour.  I was glad we got a group shot of the kids, and then another of all the teachers.  I am SO BLESSED to have these women for my dear friends and to work alongside me in providing opportunities for our children.

Amy, Cheryl, Alana, Caren, Neisha, Mindy, and me

 After our lunch and playtime, we took a field trip to Krispy Kreme donuts!  The kids got to go in the back and see how all the machines work and watch the process of them being mixed, cooked, and frosted.  Then they got to decorate their own donuts.

 What a fun day with fun friends--and donuts just make it even better.

For next year we are thinking to add a preschool class, so at our last meeting, we had some special activities for the three preschoolers (younger siblings).  Tyrell loved this special time.

We combined the art classes as one family was sick, so I taught the students about Paul Klee and they got to experiment with abstract art and "drawing as a line going for a walk".  Some of the kids did a really great job with the abstract lines, the color blocks, color palettes, symbols, and geometric shapes.

 Others were so grounded in reality that they made realistic scenes like houses, baseball players, and rabbits.

Overall, however, they all learned something and had a great time painting on a real canvas.  I was very happy with how it went combining both age groups.

We have a pretty great group of kids and I'm very grateful for the things my kids have been able to experience through this cooperative learning class.