22/23 Homeschool Year in a Nutshell

Gardening last summer and this spring
Austen and Chase

Food production, garden planning, seasons, harvesting, plant care, problem-solving, physical education and brain development through pushing/pulling (weeding, digging, carrying bags of soil, using the wheelbarrow, removing brush).

 

Planning and executing family meals
River, Austen, and Chase

Math, life skills, planning, organizing time and space, science, health. River has gotten very good at running a kitchen. He can do several things at once, while also overseeing his younger siblings in their tasks. Austen and Chase have both learned much more about cooking and baking this year. Austen frequently follows recipes entirely on her own and likes to make baked goods for the family. Chase has been practicing learning how to safely use a knife, wash produce from the garden, and make simple dishes like scrambled eggs and cookies. All kids have learned about how to prepare balanced meals and eat in a way that makes their bodies feel good and energized. 

Shrewsbury Fair
River, Austen, and Chase

Money management, math. Each child was given a certain amount of money to spend on tickets for rides. They had to determine which rides had priority, which rides they wanted to join siblings on, and make sure they had enough to do what they wanted. They also got great exercise running around for about four hours!

 

Games!
River, Austen, and Chase

We love utilizing games in our homeschool and got several new ones this year that teach everything from math to language and spelling. We enjoyed playing the following:

Dragonwood
Solitaire
Chess
Checkers
Bird Bingo
Ocean Bingo
Clue
Upwords
Bananagrams
Ka-blab!
Labrynth
Ticket to Ride
Shadows in the Forest
Sequence
Qwirkle

Ice skating
Austen and River

PE

 



Nature study, time outdoors
River, Austen, and Chase

Science, PE. We spent countless hours outside in the past year - my guess is upwards of 800 from last summer to this, give or take for each child. We have gone on hundreds of walks and hikes, explored forests and parks, identified local plants, raised a caterpillar to cocoon (and then let it go), found proper food that it liked to eat, watched the seasons change in our favorite places, leapt from boulder to boulder, waded in streams and studied different rocks, went fishing and kayaking, and enjoyed the wonders of nature all around us.

Swimming
River, Austen, and Chase

PE - In the warm months, the kids go to the pool weekly and spend hours swimming

 

Poetry & poetry memorization
River, Austen, and Chase

Language arts. We frequently read poems aloud, and the kids picked a couple of poems to memorize this year.

Reading lessons
Chase

This year, we continued with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and included Hooked on Phonics, Duo Reading, and All About Reading to support Chase on her journey toward learning to read. She has gone from knowing only a few letter sounds, to being able to read beginner-reader short stories. Though her reading journey may look different from many kids, she is working very hard toward her goal, is very enthusiastic about learning to read, and we are very proud of her efforts.

 

A road trip to the beach
River, Austen, and Chase

Geography, PE, nature study - We spent five days at Bethany Beach last August. We enjoyed lots of walks, bike and scooter rides, swimming in the strong waves, digging in the sand, building sand figures, studying the shells, crabs, and other sea life found in the ocean, and doing puzzles and playing games as a family.

Sewing
Austen

Math, life skills, problem-solving, executing a plan, and logic skills. Austen had a big hand in putting together her and her sister's hobbit cloaks for Halloween this past year. She helped design a pattern, cut out the felt, hand-stitch the hood, sew on buttons, and make a finishing stitch along the cloak's edge. Throughout the year, Austen always jumped at the opportunity to sew anything that needed mending.

A visit to a petting farm
River, Austen, and Chase

Science. Respect for nature. The opportunity to ask questions about the animals and see how a real farm is set up.

 
A window in a stone house (left) and Johnny Depp (right) by River


 
Pear study by River (left) and Austen (right)

Luca (left) and a watercolor duck (right) by Austen

 
Clay girl by Chase

Art
River, Austen, and Chase

Tried out many different types of arts and crafts, including cardboard house building, mask-making, whittling, painting with watercolors, necklace making, polymer clay, felt, and recyclables. Continued taking Waldorfish art lessons. 

 

Legos
River, Austen, and Chase

Following instructions, understanding complex tasks, spacial understanding, organization of work. The kids received enjoyed putting together more complicated Lego creations with age. Chase put together her first entire "big kid" Lego kit entirely on her own, pictured above.

 

Trips to the Zoo

Science, PE - this year we were so happy to have passes to the zoo, and we took trips just about every other month to the Baltimore zoo. The kids loved learning about different animals and observing their behaviors.

Roadtrip to Texas
River, Austen, Chase

Geography, social studies, culture - We took a 10-day trip to my and John's hometown of San Antonio, TX in April. We traveled all around the city visiting family, and enjoyed walking around downtown and taking in our Tex-Mex culture.

Treasure hunt
Austen and Chase

Austen made a treasure hunt with clues (writing, creativity) for Chase to figure out (reading practice, problem-solving).

Roadtrip to Disney World
River, Austen, and Chase

Geography, physical education, time management, science. The kids enjoyed following along on a physical map as we made our way from Pennsylvania to Florida by car. We stopped in several different cities along the way, made note of how the terrain and local ecosystem changed, found license plates from different states and discussed where they were in relation to Pennsylvania. Once in Disney world, they spent the next five days walking a total of over 45 miles around the parks!

Make a sundial 
Austen

History, math, trial and error, problem-solving, research

Make dandelion syrup
Austen and Chase

Science, plant identification, conversations about foraging safety. The girls went foraging for dandelions, separated the petals from the stems, and helped soak and wash them for dandelion syrup which they enjoyed on homemade biscuits. 

 

Visited a friend's homestead
River, Austen, and Chase

Science, life skills, husbandry, food sources. Got to help collect eggs, hold baby chicks, learn about pecking order, how to milk a goat, interact with baby goats, feed chickens, and tour the garden.

Ballet lessons
Austen & Chase

The girls took a ballet basics class and just had their first recital on June 4th. They both enjoyed the experience and want to continue on during the summer!

Tennis lessons
River, Austen, and Chase

Foreign Language
River and Austen

This year, River and Austen have been voraciously studying Japanese (Austen) and Norwegian (River). Austen has a 99-day streak on DuoLingo and is very dedicated to being able to speak and read the language, and learn more about Japanese culture.

Astronomy
River, Austen, and Chase

Read several books on astronomy, played games and quizzed each other on facts about space, watched hours of YouTube videos and documentaries on space. We began our studies in January but were unable to finish our books because of many unexpected life events, so we will continue the study of space in the 23/24 school year.