Most of Koen's work is your typical reading, answering questions, writing. He appreciates that this curriculum gives him a number of assignment options each week, so he enjoys choosing what type of work he'd like to do for each subject. He has written 5-paragraph essays on women's suffrage, on typical food found during the Persian Empire, and more. He has finished the book "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park about perseverance, morals, and relationships in a 12th-Century Korean potter's village, and is almost finished with "Catherine Called Birdy" by Karen Cushman, which is a detailed journal-format look into the life of a 14-year-old girl in the middle ages wanting more from life than what society deems appropriate or possible for women in that time. Koen enjoys reading much more than he enjoys writing, and we have a lot to work on to improve his skills there. I think it makes him uncomfortable to "make up" or have to "come up with" words of his own. Definitely do not try to get him to write a creative poem, for example (not without clear parameters he could plug into easily). And one time he was very stressed out about an assignment that asked him to write a fictional journal entry from the perspective of one of the characters in a book. I assured him that he couldn't be "wrong," that they were just asking him to try to imagine what that character might say. That is very hard for him to do. But he did it! I did not read it, I felt like that maybe would have made him feel exposed too much this time. I like that I get to choose what to scrutinize, what to let be his private work, what to just praise and thank him for sharing, etc. In science he has been learning about earth, the moon, and the planets of our solar system. He did a demonstration for us using a lamp with no shade and two balls, the relationship of the earth, moon, and sun as they spin and orbit. And also he was able to teach us how lunar and solar eclipses work. And the difference between "the dark side" and "the far side" of the moon. This presentation had a moment of despair for him, as he realized he himself didn't quite understand what he was trying to share and the perceived pressure of us watching made him very upset. I supported him through it and I think he realized that sharing this stuff with me is different than presenting in front of his class and teachers. It's safer. We just re-read through that part and worked it together until we both understood and everything was fine, and fun. I think he also realized a bit more preparation is never a bad choice. He used clay to create a small vase in the style of the characters in A Single Shard. I adored how he went outside and picked a little flower to keep in his tiny vase in his room for a while. He studied the basic historical art periods and styles and did a copy painting of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night and wrote a comparison of impressionism and renaissance (he has been fixated on Starry Night and the Mona Lisa, he can't quite put his finger on why those two but based on his comments, I suspect that he is very impressed by the Mona Lisa's realism and mystery and inspired by the blues and stars and chunky brush strokes of the Van Gogh.) He continues to start each day doing his math sheets and often finishes his math work for the week days in advance. He breezes through it all. That stuff just makes sense to him. The order, the consistency. He relaxes there. I enjoy that he has found this rhythm of starting his day with math all on his own. One thing I have really come to value is that Koen sometimes breaks from his work to join me with the little ones doing what they are doing. The other day, the little ones and I were discovering how hard beeswax can be held in our warm hands while we tell a story, and then it is malleable! Koen joined us to work with this beautiful colored modeling wax (y'all, it smells heavenly. sweet-honey-pine heaven) and created a little blue laptop and helped Aster make her purple bunk beds. Cedar and I made green and yellow crescent moons. And on another day, Koen took the lead in helping the littles make their bird feeder out of a water bottle. I just stayed nearby, doing some work around the kitchen, and watched and listened to them *working together* on something. Wow! ha :) I've noticed that I need to help Koen balance between a) staying home to experience quiet and get work done and b) coming with us on our hikes. He needs both. He doesn't think he needs hikes. He usually spends the majority of it stomping and kicking with a scowl, but then suddenly he forgets about how much a waste of time he thinks this is, or how annoyed he is by whatever, and starts having a great time. Especially when we go to Cathead Bay. It's a trail option at Leelanau State Park that ends up on Lake Michigan in a "bowl" shape of sand dunes. It's just beautiful and we always have it all to ourselves. He feels great after these trips. How could he not, you know? I got a bit lazy in checking his work for a couple of weeks and his work ethic and production dropped, but I'm back into being more involved in his work and now his quality of work is back to where we had come to expect. Homeschool is hard sometimes, not just for them, but for me! I have a lot of plates to spin, and I enjoy all of them these days, but sometimes things just don't all work out as best as they could have. I'm not worried about it. We're living in a crazyworld and we're all just doing our best. Besides, there are more important things, in my opinion, like building lasting loving relationships between the three siblings and learning to care for living creatures like our new kitties, that I am happy to see going on in 2020. By the way, here is where you can find the modeling beeswax we have. We also use beeswax crayons from the same company, Stockmar. They. SMELL. SO. GOOD. and the colors are very pleasing and the feel of the wax-drag on paper is satisfying. Not smooth like a pastel but nicer than a crayola. <a href="https://www.bellalunatoys.com/collections/modeling/products/stockmar-modeling-beeswax-12&nbsp;">https://www.bellalunatoys.com/collections/modeling/products/stockmar-modeling-beeswax-12 </a>

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Koen: A glimpse into his homeschool experience, sibling relationships, & things I have learned and observed

Our friends, Tim &amp; Betsy, at Greenbird Organic Cellars needed help harvesting grapes recently. I signed up the whole Kingdom to join in. We were there for 4 hours! We took a short snack break about two hours in and enjoyed some rice balls and hojicha (roasted green tea). And Tim gave we two grownups a pint for our service. We had the Apple Pie-der, which is spiced and wonderful. We harvested concords and two other varieties of grapes with pruners and buckets. Tim &amp; Betsy encouraged us to try all of the grapes. Let me tell you... I can barely describe the perfect and true "grapeness" of these beautiful grapes right off the vine at peak ripeness. My mouth waters and my heart aches a little to recall just how fantastic they were... Any grapes that weren't lovely were just dropped to the ground so their chickens and sheep could come clean them up later, while also naturally fertilizing the soil around the vines. Great method! Betsy's dad, Jim, taught us how the grapes are "de-vined" and sent through sterile tubes to a big squishing vat, and the juice is then sent through more tubes to a filter, and then to a giant cube of what i imagine was the most delicious juice on planet Earth. Where it waits to be turned into wine. The concords are usually turned into their wowie-wow-wow Sangria. Tim offered us some eggs to go, and when I came back to my car he had placed 3 dozen eggs in my seat! Generous neighbors.

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I'm very thankful that we were able to bring the kids to participate in this very special, wholesome, educational, family, and neighborly time. They got a literal taste of how sweet it is to volunteer our time and efforts. We were able to do the "scheduled" homeschool material later that day and the next. I didn't have to pull them out of school or leave them behind. It felt so Right. It was a beautiful, misty, cloudy, chilly day.

Harvesting Grapes! 

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Some of the art and science we've done with nature: Leaf prints - making "stamps" out of leaves, painting themUsing Koen's special magnifying glasses from Nanna &amp; Fuzzy G to observe leaves up close and draw what we observedWaxed leaves with waxed paper (this wasn't 100% effective. We'd like to try dipping leaves into beeswax instead next time)The curriculum has science "stories" that we read. For example, we read from the perspective of the Oak tree. Growing from acorn, shooting out a root and stem and first leaves, growing, how the wind makes it stronger, etc. We learned about different types of seeds and went around collecting seeds all over our yard. Koen was fascinated to look closely at the grass seeds and shared them with the littles. Aster cracked open acorns and we found the baby oak tree inside.

Science 

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The past three weeks have been such fun! Lots of nature walks and collecting treasures to observe, preserve, display, use for art, or record in our notebooks. Some highlights: <ul><li>Cedar researched snack ideas on Pinterest and told me what he would need to make these apple smiles. </li><li>Seasonal Display Shelf- as the seasons turn so will our display. It is nice to have a growing, changing display of our outdoor treasures. More updates on that to come. Currently it has some squashes, bark, acorns, leaves, beeswax candles, and more. The photo in the gallery is from its first day. </li><li>Flower press. Mike made us a flower press and we are excited to discover our pressed treasures later this week. </li><li>Treats! Celebrated our first homeschool week with cupcakes or icecream from Hannah's in LL. </li></ul>

Photo Catch-all Update

Hi family &amp; friends! I decided to start a simple blog to keep our loved ones updated on what we are up to in our homeschool journey. We are about three weeks in now and loving it. What is going well?<ul><li>Freedom. We get to choose our schedules each day as we need. Are the kids antsy? Lets go outside for school! Are they losing interest? Switch it up! Take a break! Eat a snack! Change the activity somehow (bored of counting? Lets play a board game instead!-- still counting!) We've done school outside, inside, at the park, at the table, on the floor, with the cat, in Mama's bed. Anywhere and everywhere that feels good that day. </li><li>Fairy Tales. The curriculum that I purchased from Oak Meadow School encourages us to read fairy tales and study archetypal characters. We read every day, multiple times a day. We love getting cozy together and reading the stories OM has given us and ones that we chose for ourselves. I have observed and participated in the kids' spontaneous acting-out of the stories. </li><li>Art. We are drawing with crayons and painting with watercolors. OM gave me some great tips on how to encourage their inner artists and I cannot believe what I have seen them produce so far! </li><li>Morning Circle. The little kids are loving this daily routine that starts us off on our day. OM has great resources and advice on this, and I've been happy to follow their recommendations while also adding in some intuitive/instinctual things which I, as their mother, know speak directly to them. We've had fun. We always start with a group hug and kissies. </li><li>Koen's 7th grade. At first, having freedom to choose what to do, when to do it, and in which order was a bit uncomfortable and scary for him. On the first day, he was reading OM's English work and was surprised to find that the way they encourage writing is different than he had been told to do at public school. He said OM's technique seemed better and made more sense! But it didn't make sense to him that there could be more than one way, and now that he was being asked to do it a new, different way, he didn't like that! Even though he could tell it was better, it was alarming to him all the same. By now, he is settled into his Math, English, World History, and Science curricula quite well. He is enjoying very much his weekly science labs, and has created a morning routine of doing a page or two of math problems before starting on one of the other subjects. Math comforts him, gets his mind going, and gives him a sense of "I can do this, things are right and make sense" that empowers him to move through his day. Koen has been almost entirely self-sufficient and self-motivated with homeschool for the past week and a half or so. I'm really surprised and pleased with how he is doing. </li><li>Daddy Saturday School. Mike was having some fear of missing out when we were discussing all of this homeschool possibility in our future. We came up with a great solution that is excellent for all of us: Saturday School with Dad! Each Saturday morning, Mike spends a few hours with the kids working on a project or teaching them something. For the past few weeks, they have been in Daddy's workshop using real hand tools and building special boxes with real dove tails. They adore this specialized attention from dad, their time being allowed to touch and use his special tools, and the sense of accomplishment they get from seeing their work come to life. Mike loves being able to spend time with them and teach them something he is very passionate about. I love having a few hours to myself on a Saturday morning! ha! I have gone on hikes or read my books or worked on my painting. win-win-win!</li></ul>Basically, everything is going well. Can't wait to share more with you. I'll share photos here and talk about we are up to! Love you all, near and far, Amanda, Mike, Koen, Aster, Cedar, and Chaga! Sweet little Chaga Moonbeam is doing well, by the way.

Homeschool in the Kruk House