day of learning #1

I feel like I've been fielding a lot of "what do you dern homeschoolers DO all day, anyway?" questions lately, which is understandable, considering school has just begun and strangers and friends alike are tucking away their how-was-your-summer-s and polishing off their now, what-grade-are-YOU-in-s - but it starts to make a person a little self-conscious! So, to bolster my confidence that this is a healthy way to be spending our time, I will occasionally write a bit about our days...and here is What We Did Today:

Ani and Mama got up early and read together on the couch.

After breakfast, Mama made chili while the girls decorated themselves (see photo below) and played a game where Ani was a fox and Eliza was an "apprentice" and Mama was (of course) a witch. cackle cackle. (at this point Dan has retreated to the study to begin work for the day...)

Everyone got dressed (again) and Anika worked on play-dough cookies while Mama  finished the chili and Eliza helped our neighbor Tara clean out her car.

Mama packed a lunch, gathered the stuff, and the girls all went to the lake for some water and sand therapy.  Swimming, building, socializing, eating...It is here that Eliza suggests we choose our "nature names" - she is Reed (lots of cattails and reeds lining the lake), Ani is Little Thistle (she kind of lucked out) and Mama somewhat settles on Mama Crow.

Three hours later, they came home, girls took a bath and then began to help with the peeling and slicing of apples for apple crisp, the highlight of our autumn feast, today being the equinox.

We discussed what else we thought might be tasty in a crisp, as we were making this recipe up as we went. Out came the spices, which turned into girls-sitting-on-floor, opening all of the spices for a sniff.  Crisp got made, girls decided saffron smells yucky and cinnamon is the best.  Somewhere in here was also a discussion on what we think the worms are enjoying the most in our compost. coffee grounds? lemon rinds? egg shells? slimy basil? We really hope they like apple peels.

The girls abandoned Mama for a little movie time. This afternoon they watched a documentary on Busby Berkeley - think lots of 42nd street, tapping, synchronized swimming. Lots of WOW along with a little history (your great-grandparents were teenagers when these movies were made!).

Then it's dinner time - chili, cornbread, apple crisp, and some more talk about what the equinox means.

After a quick run to the playground for Papa and the girls and a quick walk down the bikepath for Mama (who collected leaves for this week's co-op class and gleefully exploded dozens of "touch-me-not" pods -wheeeeeeeeeee!), it's time for Dan and Eliza to walk up the hill for a performance with Bread and Puppet theater (visiting from Vermont), and time for Mama and Ani to read books and hit the hay.

Somewhere in here Mama played the piano, Eliza started a letter to Cirrus, and Ani dumped the basket of musical instruments out for some serious jamming. 

Not bad for a Sunday, eh?!

Our friend Kimmy describes her family's homeschooling life by saying that they have a "culture of learning" in their home, which I really like. Sometimes we're more "schooly" than not, but more often we try to spend our days engaged and happy, for that is when we all learn the best...

Happy Fall!