Mondays Tyler has piano lessons in the morning. I am so grateful for his piano teacher. He has so much fun and she is just a great teacher. She does way more than I expected her to, and he really enjoys it which I'm so glad about. The music store she teaches at is literally 2 minutes away.
Tuesdays and Thursday evenings the older three had ice skating lessons. They were from 5:15-6:00. They offered some during the day for homeschoolers, but it conflicted with something we were already committed to so we had to do the whole "interrupt dinner and the whole evening" thing like everyone else. But I was happy to do it because I wanted us to have something else fun to do in the winters. I couldn't possibly teach them all by myself so it was great to have all 3 in the same class at the same time learning together. They all improved a lot, but Madison was the cutest to watch. The first few times she literally wouldn't move unless a teacher was holding her hands. Then she finally figured out how to "walk" in them. They taught her to just kind of chop, chop along. Then she even learned to stand up by herself after she had fallen. So even though she's not fully "skating" yet, she can manage herself on the ice and that's all I ask. The ice arena is less than 5 minutes away from home. They had 7 lessons from that and now it's over. But the cost of lessons also came with 4 free passes to come skate during their public skate times. So they're excited to go back and practice some more, hopefully "with daddy"!
Wednesday afternoons Tyler and Brynlee go to Mat-Su Central for a few classes. Bryn's there for 3 hours, and Ty's there for 2. It takes about 6-7 minutes to get there. Bryn has an ABC and Me class (they learn a letter a week which is probably more appropriate for Kelsey's level. As far as actual learning it's a pretty big waste of time but she has fun and gets snacks and makes friends so whatever. Makes me wonder if that's what Kindergarten is really like, in which case I'm glad she doesn't go), along with math and music--her favorite. Tyler has math and music. The classes are an hour each, and it's with other homeschooled children so it's a fun way to get to know other homeschooling kids in our community (there are a lot!!)
Thursdays we have our Classical Conversations so we're gone from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.. All the kids agree that CC is their favorite day of the week! So basically Classical Conversations is a community of Christian homeschool families that believe in a classical education. (Click the link for more info about what that means, according to Susan Wise Bauer.) Although I don't buy into that way of schooling 100% and don't follow that model at home, I still think it's a great thing. Since they're all young, they're still in Foundations, in the "grammar stage". So at this point they're just taught to absorb facts, so just memorize a whole lot of information. They don't even know what they're talking about most of the time, but they can recite a whole bunch of stuff. :) The subjects they cover for memory work are in math, history, Latin, English grammar, science, geography (this year it's the United States) and then either art or music. Right now they're learning to play tin whistles, which are just like recorders, and they really think that's awesome. They also practice public speaking by doing a "presentation" each week, which is sort of just like show and tell for the little kids. They get to stand up in front of everyone and talk about whatever topic they chose (often with an accompanying visual aid) for about 2 minutes. That is a great skill to have and it's fun to watch them.
Their favorite things to recite are the timeline song (which goes from Creation to the present day. It's really long so they haven't learned it all yet, but that's their favorite thing to sing, along with the history sentences. I find it hilariously cute to hear a lot of big words coming out of such little mouths--especially Madison. Normally they don't start the program until 4 years old, but I knew that it would be so much easier for me if I could have Madison enrolled with them. She really loves it and feels like a big kid. She's a smart little girl, and has no problem keeping up. Because it's only one day a week, they never are burned out by it. It's still just as fun and exciting now as it was the first week. Maybe even more so because they've made such cute friends in their classes. I never have to nag them or push them to work on memorizing. They genuinely enjoy it. After the 3 hours of work we all eat lunch together and then the kids play outside together for half an hour (like a real recess).
It's hard for me, because I have to get everyone ready and out the door early with all our lunches packed, instruments, props for presentations, and stuff to keep Kelsey occupied, and a diaper bag. And then I have to stay there and keep Briggs and Kelsey happy and busy the whole time. Parents are supposed to be involved and helping out in the classes so they require you to stay, but I'm not as helpful as other moms :). Some years they have a room where all the little kids can go and they'll take turns watching each others kids. But I'm the only one in the whole group that has children under the age of 3!! Well one other lady does but her mom lives here so she watches him. Anyway, I still think it's worth it. I've also noticed how just hearing about certain things has inspired Tyler to come home and want to learn more about it. It's become a great source or reference for him and he gets really excited when he finds a book about something that is in the timeline song. For example, Alexander the Great, or Sumerians, etc.
Another thing I really like about it is how they preach that the whole purpose of education is "To know God and make Him known". It's so great to have them talk about God in all the lessons. I want my children to have that influence, even if they're different religions. We start off each time with a prayer, and they all pray in different ways. I love that my kids get to have that exposure to other religions. These are all really good families that love God and are doing their very best to raise their children and serve others. I appreciate their examples and support.
Friday is gymnastics day. Tyler and Brynlee are both in it, one right after the other. They're in the homeschool class so that it's during the day. Each class is 1.5 hr. They love it so much, but Brynlee especially has a real natural talent for it.
And that's a little run-down of what gets us out of the house!
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