this is the last time i am writeting i want to go to Virginia. love nate.

First sewing project

To kick off our summer and our unofficial entry into the world of homeschooling, Nate and I completed his first sewing project today: a cover for his homeschooling binder. He picked the fabric last week, and today we made a paper pattern for how we wanted the cover to end up, measured the pattern, and then added for seam allowance to get our measurements for cutting the fabric.




This was a perfect first project, since it involved just one piece of fabric cut into a rectangle. First I had Nate sit with me and help guide the fabric while I ran the machine. Then it was his turn.




Here he is in action:



Not bad! ;)

Math & sewing

Our first math/sewing assignment: make some cool covers for the 3-ring binders we'll be using.

1. Let Nate pick fabric (1 yard will be plenty)
2. Figure out design of cover
   
3. Measure our binder and calculate fabric cuts, with seam allowances
4. Cut
5. Sew!
   

Lego Journal

A friend gave me a fun idea that Nate could grow into: give him a picture of an architectural landmark (e.g., Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triomphe, the Pentagon) and have him recreate it using Legos. Along the way, he has to write out step-by-step directions in his Lego Journal so the next person could recreate his design. Finish the page by including a picture of the finished project.

my lastist idea is this i and mama can only do this me and mama can go to grammy and grammpis house.

Homeschool book review

I finished reading The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start a few weeks ago. Within the first couple of chapters, my excitement about homeschooling next year increased tenfold.

I loved the encouragement to look first at why I'm choosing to homeschool and then what my educational philosophy is.

Seeing the different categories of homeschooling types/philosophies laid out for me helped me decipher how I want to go about doing school. (My method will probably fall somewhere in the Flexible/Eclectic area with some online and some classical and some Charlotte Mason!)

There are plenty of reviews for the book on Amazon, so here are just some of my personal notes I took when reading it:

Why am I choosing homeschooling?
- cultivate/keep Nate's love of learning
- go at a faster pace
- his (minor) behavior issues at school are continuing to occur

"Learn everything you can and, as with parenting, let love take care of the unknowns."

My goal is not to outschool the schools! Let's laugh, play, and learn!

What is my educational philosophy?
End goals:
- someone who likes to learn, can learn/figure out on his own/searches it out
- productive, positive member of society, bold for Christ
- person of character, humble

Don't overreport! Know the law. California requirements: file private school form in October; keep general records.

Each week have a "this is what we're doing this week" schedule. Include appointments and outings.

I've already recommended this book to a friend planning on starting to homeschool next year. I really loved reading it and will probably read it again.

nate's ideas

my new idea is this i want to do this we can go to the science center