Homeschool Squirrels

Between the pandemic, a difficult pregnancy, and a brand new baby, this homeschool year looked much different for us! Following a year in a rigid homeschool co-op that was not a great fit for our neurodiverse family, we enjoyed a long breather, and found a lot of value in the natural learning and exploring that happened in our day-to-day life. We played countless games, baked a lot of goodies, spent hours outside on frequent walks and park days, and discovered new places out in nature. We visited a local farm and met some new baby piglets, planted our own vegetable garden for the first time (and are currently awed by its growth despite our mistakes and inexperience), and did a few nature studies of local plant life and birds. The conversations have been priceless, the inquiries into life, inspired. Despite our expectations not having been met in the way I expected, I look back and see a rich, enjoyable time of learning spent as a family, and know that the way the Canales kids "did

One of the things we spent doing more this year than ever before was playing games! Of course, while video games such as Breath of the Wild and Minecraft had their place in inspiring different problem-solving and creative skills, the kids discovered a love of board games as well.  Games like Hoot Owl Hoot, Mancala, Ticket to Ride, Sequence, and Dragonwood helped Chase learn to count and do simple addition and subtraction. These games inspired teamwork, strategic thinking skills, and logical thinking in all the kids. Proof and 24 were two math games that brought out the fun side of math - River and Austen were able to further establish math skills they were already familiar with, such as multiplication and division, and also be introduced to new concepts and tools like parentheses and brackets, and multiplying fractions. These games called for multi-step problem solving and logical thinking.  Other logic games they enjoyed were Mastermind and chess. The games Silly Sentences and Upwords

The kids spent countless hours outside enjoying nature and got much of their physical education outdoors: sledding, biking, hiking, climbing trees, racing each other down trails, kayaking, swimming in their grandparents’ pool, and games of tennis and soccer with friends.    They did a few nature studies and learned about local plant life and animals. We explored many new parks and lakes, visited a local farm and met some baby piglets, and learned a bit about farming. They collected fall leaves and made various crafts with them. Chase and Austen started a terrarium. We bought a bird feeder and were able to observe and identify the many different birds that visited. We watched scientific documentaries on butterflies, sea turtles, and ocean life. Weird But True was a favorite of River's. We had many discussions about caring for the environment, different ecosystems, and how even small creatures are important for keeping the earth in balance. We discussed invasive species, flora and fa

If there is one defining aspect of our homeschool environment as a whole, it is reading! The kids spent less time this year doing busy work and filling out workbook pages, and that time was filled with what we value most: reading books.  Family read-alouds: The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Wonder by RJ Palacio The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Charlotte's Web by EB White Chase Chase was read aloud countless books this year - probably too many to count! We read a book before bed several nights a week, and usually 2-5 picture books in the afternoon. She also listened to every family read-aloud, and was often the one to beg for more.  Austen In the past year, Austen went from carefully and slowly sounding out each word, to reading full blown chapter books! She absolutely blossom

Science, technology, engineering, art, and math! In a given school day, the kids usually do one to two work pages a day, or twenty minutes of Prodigy Math. But they also had fun exploring STEM in real life, through baking and exchanging money, designing forts with their fort kit (like giant Tinkertoys!), putting together complex robotics kits, playing games, and perusing educational websites like Scratch, where they learned the basics of code. All the kids used a combination of different math curricula and online resources: IXL workbooks, Prodigy Math, mathisfun.com, and Chase began lessons using RightStart. Some of their favorite STEM YouTube accounts have been Smarter Every Day, Mark Rober, Half-Asleep Chris, The Food Theorists, and CGP Grey. Art was pursued by all through painting and drawing. River wrote a short comic book story, and Austen learned how to weave and knit! And this giant fort kit the kids have is challenging; they are all better at it than I am. It takes some real en