Continual Creativity

One way to encourage creativity in your home or home education environment is to create safe, non-permanent creativity zones. A chalkboard wall for example allows for creativity but doesn't have the pressure of permanent canvas or mural work. Some people will be paralyzed by the burden of having to be perfect or ruining expensive materials. What is the worst thing that can happen? Oh yeah, we will erase it and start something new. Or crumple it up and through it away...no big deal...try again. What is the best thing that can happen? You can have stress free fun, spread your creative wings, and possibly create a masterpiece that you can take a picture of and your mom will blog about! Ha!

So, here are some non-permanent safe creative zone ideas:

1. A chalkboard wall or just a chalkboard. (If you don't have a wall available...maybe chalkboard paint a door or a cabinet door?)
2. A roll of butcher paper (you know the plain but awesome looking brown stuff) accomplishes the same thing. (Can be hung or used on a table.)
3. Dry erase boards
4. Glass or mirrors (with glass safe markers)
5. Nail art (If you don't like what you have done...nail polish remover baby.)
6. If you have older children or teens and you are very daring: Henna body art (this is semi permanent and your child or you may have to walk around for a couple of weeks sporting this "safe creativity zone"!)

Late winter this year

 

 Can you believe these pictures were taken March 11th! Our puppy, Jack, and my Swedish hubby have been absolutely loving our extended winter...me...not so much. This was an incredibly beautiful day. Beautiful photos Cari!

 

Time to turn the calendar...hopefully to Spring...finally?

Well, time to turn my calendar over from March to April. This has been a slower, but still busy month. I love this Sugar Paper calendar I found on the clearance isle @ Target. It will be fun someday to look back and see that we went skiing in March 2014! I thank the Lord for everyday that I have with my precious family.

Cari won second place in a tournament free throw contest. She shot 80% and the senior who won shot 90%! She made the All Tourney team as well.

Here is the cool trophy...the basketball actually spins. Provided great entertainment on the way home!

Here are her bruises and floor burns. She thinks it was worth it.

After 20 years of homeschooling, one of the greatest concerns that parents have(especially dads) is: will my children be able to compete in sports? We have participated in lots of sports: gymnastics, football, baseball, and our family favorite...basketball! There are lots of opportunities out there.

What does one do in below zero weather for entertainment?  Turn water into snow!!! Totally fun....try it if you get then chance.  Sorry the video is sideways. 

One of God's Great Gifts

My Cari is growing into quite the beautiful young woman.  She is incredibly talented and full of life.  I enjoy her company and her interests. She challenges me and makes me laugh. God has truly blessed me with a daughter...I treasure her with all of my heart. Thank you, Lord. 

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

Michael is working on a piano piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. It is Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. It will be beautiful when he is done being diligent and putting in all of the hard work. Feel free to click on a very nice example of the piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1wP_kU78gI&feature=related

Poetry

I cannot post the photos of our fossils right now...so...I will post about poetry. Several weeks ago, we spent some time on limericks. They are so much fun!

They follow the poetry pattern of:
A
A
B
B
A

There once was a funny clown
He made a funny frown
He climbed up a tree
Then bumped into me
Thank heavens! I rolled into town!
Cari


There once was a hairy sheep
Who loves to party and sleep
His mama said no
So he could not go
And now no fun will he reap!
John-John

Fossil Hunting

We have been on a fossil hunting kick lately. Probably because of the nice weather we have been experiencing by traveling a little further south that South Bend. We traveled to Missouri at the end of March for the National Homeschool Basketball Championship and went fossil hunting there. Since we returned, we have traveled back and forth to Muncie, IN a couple of times. While down here we took some of our friends to Richmond, IN for an afternoon of fossil hunting. The Richmond site has abundant fossils and is encouraging for those newcomers to fossil finding expeditions. We leave Muncie today, and head to Pennsylvania for Easter with John's family. No fossil hunting there. We do hope to get some decent photographs though. When we return it is my hope to clean up our specimans and see if I can get some good photographs of them. Then we would like to post them on this site. We really collected some great ones...so...I hope the photos will do them justice. Keep checking back.

Homeschool Basketball

We have all been very busy enjoying athletics this winter...specifically BASKETBALL! This has provided many opportunities for us all to grow not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. There have been many "character-building moments". I praise God for that. He always amazes me...how He can take any activity and turn it into growth if we choose to have a soft and open heart.

Please feel free to pray for our team members that will be traveling to the National Homeschool Basketball Tournament in Springfield, MO the week of March 15th. I, personally, will travel with my family alone because my hubby has to stay and work.

New Beginnings

Well, we started this blog so that our friends and family could follow us on our Alaskan Adventure. That was an incredible opportunity and experience. But, I have decided that we will continue our blogging journey...documenting the common things in our creative homeschool. I pray that I will be faithful and others will be encouraged and blessed by my efforts. So, the journey begins...