Cupcakes, Meals & Homeschool

Weekend Review: The weekend really started Friday when our daughter had her evening basketball game. Her team didn't win but we were proud to see her get out there more than she had in the first game- you can really tell she's starting to understand the game and become more confident in playing. Saturday morning came really early when our son had his 8am game. And again, he hasn't played much during the last few games, if at all and all of the sudden, he was a different kid this game! He was out there on the court, making baskets, passing to his team mates and didn't want to go out of the game at all! It is an amazing experience to truly see your children gain confidence, have fun doing something new. I'm proud of both my kids so much. A quick pic of our #9 :)

After the Saturday game we had a great family afternoon taking a trip to the Library then played some basketball at the park nearby and rented a movie for family movie night, 'Mr Poppers Penguins' which the whole family enjoyed. A great day.

Sunday we had family breakfast of pancakes- our daughter mixes the batter and our son loves making and flipping the pancakes. This Sunday I only had to supervise- how awesome! Then we did our 'family work' together, taking care of cleaning rooms, the animals and starting laundry. And finally it was time for some fun...art, food and cooking all in one- Rainbow cup cakes- kids had so much fun with something so simple!

A few weekend meals: Another version of Indian Cauliflower Curry over rice- we just keep getting those cauliflowers in our co-op baskets!

 And this was the best sandwich ever!! I highly recommend it! Eggplant Sandwich and a side of Plantains. Sandwich has grilled eggplant, tomatoes, fresh chopped basil, feta cheese and garlic/mayo on a toasted sub roll- to die for!!

Homeschooling

I have been reading books about other families experiences with homeschool and came across a great paragraph that was stating that this one family removed their 8th grade daughter from the public system and they wanted her to have the freedom to choose what she wanted to learn and when she was asked, she could not think of anything she was interested in. The Mother realized that with so many years in public school the daughter had become accustomed to someone else telling her what she was going to learn. The family decided to give the daughter three months of nothing- letting her take a break to de-school. Then one day, on her own the daughter came to the parents asking to study more about a subject and letting them know she was ready to learn.
I think about this story as I recall our frustration with our daughter last school year when we homeschooled and how it was like pulling teeth to try and get her to choose something to study. Our son, who had only been in a year of preschool was full of interests. Our daughter knows next year she'll be homeschooled, which she is thrilled, excited and can't wait for. So, even being a long time ahead we've started talking and making conversation about interests to pursue in schooling. I had such a proud moment the other day when she came to me and told me since she loves American Girl, and has read books about Felicity in the American Revolution time period, she would like to study and learn more about that era and everything about it- more about the American Revolution, more about girls and womens roles during that time, what their clothing was like, about Williamsburg where Felicity is from- everything. Amazed, proud, excited- Such great feelings I have- I am ready for it to be next school year already too and be home schooling my children.