School outside the classroom- skatepark

 Crazy Homeschool mom is asking for our school outside the classroom experiences.

Today, after we finished our lessons, after I fetched Meg to and fro for riding lessons, and after we had lunch...we packed up and headed for the skateboard park.  I love skateboard park days, because for my 3 youngest students, I count this as p.e.  We stay for 2 hours or more.  That's 2 hours of playing, riding, balancing, running, jumping, sweating. 
  

Homeschool = awesome-school some days :)

and hey, do you see how empty this very popular skateboard park is?  We try to hit it as early as we can, homeschool = wide open playing most days!

click over to Crazy Homeschool Mama if you'd like to link up your awesome world classroom days.

Introducing the L.E.N.S. photo challenge

The LEarning Never Stops photo challenge

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was working on a bloggy secret project... well, here it is, bloggy friends.

I will be hosting The LEarning Never Stops photo challenge each Saturday here at
Home is Where You Start From. To play, enter your photo each week. Hopefully they will highlight learning happening in some form-but I know that some weeks it's just not realistic, so focus on the challenge part, and make sure you link up!

The Challenge part? - each week I will give a challenge that your entry needs to use/or highlight.

Entries will be accepted Saturday morning through Sunday-ending at 10 p.m. pacific time.

Two winners will be announced Tuesday evening. The winners will have their winning photo displayed here on my blog with links to the winner's blogs. (some weeks I might even have tangible prizes..we'll have to see how that works out..)

To enter, simply sign in with the linky I will set up, please enter the link to your specific entry only, not to your main page. Entries that do not meet the challenge subject, or are inappropriate will be deleted. This is a family-friendly blog, only G rated photos are allowed.
Feel free to grab the photo above, if you'd like to use it in your post-I will have a button soon.

Two important details:

1. please do not set up separate linkies at your own site, I want the entries to all be in one centralized place...here.
2. each week's photo entry needs to be a new photo(new to this contest photo), please do not re-submit photos already entered.

To Be eligable to win:

• you must post the the name of the challenge at your blog, and link back here.
• your photo must follow the subject/theme of that week
• you must visit 3 other entries...and please try to leave an encouraging comment. This contest is not only about improving our photography skills and promoting family learning, but it is also about connecting to other bloggers.

The L.E.N.S. photo challenge is all about highlighting education and learning together as family. I also hope we can work together, learning new photography skills as we progress through each challenge. If you edit your photo, please share a little about what you did in your blog post.
Blogging is all about community and connections, I hope we will all discover new favorite blogs.

I hope you will join me next Saturday, May 29, 2010.

The challenge subject will be : A love of reading
Submit a photo that speaks to you about a love of reading, or about sharing a love of reading, what a love of reading looks like, or something along these lines. Get creative!

I heart faces challenge- dramatic b&w

I Heart Faces Photography Challenge: Dramatic Black & White

Beware the butterfly as they flutter by...
(Amie at the Butterfly house, Boston- can you see the butterfly right above her head?)

this was taken with my iphone, not perfect, but a pretty good shot, her face said "drama" to me!

I Heart Faces hosts a weekly photo challenge, this is my very first entry. Click on over to see many talented/creative/interesting entries. Pick up your camera next week and join up!

7 Quick Takes Friday, Feb. 26

7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted over at Conversion Diary

~1~
I purchased these bird plates I have been wanting, and put them on the shelf Sky made for me, these replaced the 2 sets of leaf plates I had up. I have a problem with decorating with plates. I can't stop. I probably have enough...but I can't stop!
in other news.. Spring is coming!

~2~

we made crystal snowflakes using borax soap for science. Very cool project, post coming soon...

~3~

My uber-cool camera bag arrived. If it was red, I would marry it. It's brown.

~4~

My baby is now 8 years old. We haven't had her party yet, because I typically can't get it together before-hand...next week will be the party...

~5~
Josie finished up her beginner's fencing class, and will be moving up to the intermediate sabre class. It meets twice a week.
somebody help me!...

~6~

My new crush is Edutopia Magazine. I picked up the February issue today at the bookstore, and read several wonderful articles. It's a public schooling magazine, but several articles inspired me to think in different directions with our homeschool. I think I will subscribe...

~7~

My chalkboard wall of ultimate power is up! I used it today, bliss! As of now, the two items left on the board are 1. reading with Amie and 2. laundry (groan)...

7 Quick Takes Friday, Feb. 19

7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted over at Conversion Diary.

~1~
Started walking again daily, in the mornings. I had decided that I didn't deserve to, if I wasn't ready to start school bright and early. Then I decided I was fat.
Walking it is.

~2~
Sky told me to go ahead and order the camera bag I was drooling over.
I had just talked myself out of it, after all, it wasn't a need...but then Sky thought I should, so I did it!

~3~
Did the usual round of lessons this week; Violin and Orchestra for Meg, Fencing for Josie, Irish Dance for Meg, Hockey for Demi & Amie, Art for Demi, Amie & Josie. Tennis for Josie.
Whew!

~4~
filled my bird feeder again. I love birds! I had neglected the bird feeders for many, many months. It's nice to see the birds visiting again!

~5~
We did a trial version of Aleks math to supplement our Math-U-See program. I am glad we did the trial, because after a few hours of using it, Demi and Amie were unhappy with it. Decision made to stick with Flashkids workbooks for supplemental work. I liked the testing, the pie graph and that Aleks is tied to State Standards, so I am going to keep it for Josie and Meg. (p.s.-if you look into Aleks, there is a 30 day free trial, google for the code)

~6~
I am seriously considering going to this blogging conference. I don't like to do things without Sky, though..so this is a hard decision to make. It's far enough away I will have to fly, so it will be too expensive for two of us to go, specially since he would just be hanging out...

~7~
Had a really productive homeschool day today. After the bulk of our work was done, we headed over to Rubio's for lunch and then to the skateboard park for p.e. We came home and then did social studies, lituature reading and reading. A good day!

7 Quick Takes Friday, On Saturday

7 Quick Takes, a day- late edition...February 13

~1~
Candy is evil. Case in point: this party happened last Sunday. We still have too much candy in my house. It was cute while they did it, but now I remember why I do not like pinatas.

~2~

A tree house is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Sky built this one in our backyard. On this day, it was a pirate ship.

~3~

I am reading Steady Days by Jamie C. Martin. She has a blog, too- here

~4~

I discovered that writing high school course descriptions and preparing grades for Meg is hard work. I had much angst going into the project and it was fully justified.

~5~

I discovered that writing high school course descriptions and preparing grades was not so hard, after all. once it was all said and done, once my emailed document problems were solved, and once my computer saving problems were solved. Why is it always computer related, I ask you? Why?

~6~

We have our beautiful weather back. Spent a glorious afternoon at the nearby antique district, so Meg could do some busking. She did pretty well. There were crowds of people out, the weather was so picture perfect!

~7~

this antique district is one of my favorite spots. I enjoyed a good book in a sunny spot, then browsed some of the shops while I waited for Meg.
don't hate us for our wonderful weather...we can't help it!

This meme is hosted over at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday, Feb. 5

~1~

The tulip magnolia trees are in bloom right now in our neighborhood. I adore these trees, I can't think of many trees or bushes prettier than these. Sky won't plant one for me, because they are in bloom for a short time, the rest of the year, they are just "there". Those beautiful petals litter the ground, too. It's beautiful litter, I think. I have to be content with feasting my eyes on the two across the street. And taking lots of photos. Lots.

~2~

My new blog design is finished!! I loooove it. I'm in love with it. I dream about it at night. I love it better than my luggage. (name that movie line!) I was very limited with my old html template, my new, beautiful design promises to be much easier to mess, uh..work with. I'm still tweaking links and 'best of' pages and my links within hasn't shown up yet...but it's almost there.
sigh.
smile.
Like it? Want a beautiful site? Go ask Krystyn at Krizzy Designs.

~3~

my learning records were finished for the month, and I met with the credentialed teacher from the charter school who looks over our work. Whew! Done!

~4~

We took Emma the Wonder Labradoodle to the dog beach for the first time. We went with our neighbors, and their dog Bijou, who is Emma's BFF. Can a dog revel in happiness? Can you tell? I think Emma did, and yes, we could. On our way out to the parking lot, I got such a kick out of this business. Busy working long hours?...No problem, sign your doggy friend up for a field-trip to the beach!! I can't judge it, cus I would totally do it, if I worked away from home. Doggy day care..yeah, I'd probably do that, too. (shhh, don't tell Sky...)

~5~

We have a mystery illness making the rounds through our children. Demi-Sky was first, a high fever and lethargy. Nothing worse. Kind of nice, wish only that it would have struck all my children and the children of the neighborhood at the same time! As it is, we have them succumbing one at a time, leaving the rest to run, yell and decimate my front room with playmobil sets. After Demi, it seemed to travel across the street to the homeschooled neighbor kids, then came back to my house for Josie. Next day, it was Amie's turn, then Teddy, now Meg has it. This is the first virus Demi has had with no asthma. Yay!!!

~6~

Today I called out to Sky in the backyard to let the hens out. We've discovered that labradoodle and hens do not mix well. We've settled into a routine of having them take 'shifts' for backyard time. I was attempting a shift. I locked the doggy-door after calling out to Sky. I missed the small detail that Emma was actually in the backyard at that moment. Sky must have missed this too, because he let the hens out. Much cackling and flying of feather insued.
No one was hurt. Emma thought it bully-fun.! The hens, not so much. They went back to the hen-house and refused to come back out.

~7~

did I mention my new bloggy make-over?

:)

7 Quick Takes Friday is hosted over at Conversion Diary.

beautiful blogger

Janae, from Moss Family blog gave me this Beautiful Blogger award.

I heart you, Janae!

Janae is my new blog-friend..I think we found eachother through Blog-frog...She has a beautiful family of girls! Lots of blond and pink over at her place!

okay, now that I have this award...here are the rules:

-Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

-Copy the award & place it on your blog.

-Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

-Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.

-Nominate 7 bloggers.

-Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7 interesting things about me...

1. I can skate backwards

2. I have raynaud's syndrome (very cold feet and hands most of the time) and so I am usually wearing gloves. If it's colder than 73 degrees, I'll be wearing gloves. In church, In July, even. (the air conditioner is not my friend). I wear fuzzy socks to bed, too.

3. My plane was put under quarantine for 3 or 4 hours in Japan during the swine-flu pandemic, spring of 2009. It was like being in the middle of that Monsters Inc. movie, where they come in dressed as haz-mat suits...crazy. Missed my plane out and had to stay overnight.
I only have a face mask and memories to remember Tokyo fondly.

4. I've eaten fish and chips in a pub in Dublin, Ireland

5. My last baby was over 10 lbs at birth

6. I met my husband in high school

7. I worked at a Christian Bookstore, during my highschool and college years.

okay, now comes the part I really struggle with, giving this to 7 bloggers. Lately, I've been reading some big bloggers, who are sort of new to me...and most big bloggers don't have the time to do these awards...so, I'm going to come short of 7 I think. But, here goes...

Jen at Two become One

Gapgirl at If only everyone thought this way

Courtney at Storing up Treasures

Kris Ann at Mom's on Fire

Cop mama

have a blessed Lord's day, bloggy friends. :)