It's been a While

It's been a while since I've blogged... at all!  I have a list of different blog ideas and I need to just sit down and do them.  As my daughter grows up and learns new things everyday I look forward to homeschooling her.  One thing I want to do with my kids  in their schooling is some heavy journaling.  If they are to do this, I must also get back into the habit!

I know it's not the most popular decision, homeschooling, but it is one that Jerrad and I are passionate about.  There are a lot of controversial points in the home school debate but I'm not here to explain myself.  I just want to talk about a few things that I plan to incorporate into our daily curriculum. 

1. Journaling - As I mentioned we will be doing a lot of journaling.  It gets the brain and imagination going.  I'll start them with simple things like fun prompts and such, then I'd like to eventually get them into a more freestyle writing.  One of the in between stage ideas that I have is what I call the "A Picture's Worth" segment.  I have a ton of pictures and can't imagine how many I'll have by the time they hit this stage.  I'll randomly pick a picture and have them write a 1,000 word entry based on the picture.  Anything to do with the picture. 

2. Music - Jerrad and I are both very musical. While I know it is possible for our children to not be musically inclined, I feel it is our job as parents to help nudge that exploration.  Each of our children will take a bit of piano lessons and then go from there.  Whether it be to continue in piano, find another instrument, do voice lessons, or figure out that music isn't their forte. 

3. Sports - One of my favorite quotes is, "I only run to the bathroom and away from enemies." I'm not athletic, I try to stay active, but I am NOT athletically inclined.  This is another issue of us encouraging that exploration.  We have wonderful recreation departments around here that the kids can be involved in.  Also, the last time I checked home school kids can participate in  sports through the schools as long as they live in that school district.  So Aspen will be able to play sports for a school that she would be eligible to attend, but she doesn't have to actually attend that school. 

4. Science - One of the beauties of homeschooling is customizing curriculum.  I never thought I liked science.  But my mother in law has taught me that I actually do!  Cooking is just a series of chemical reactions.  Learning household science as well as textbook science will give my kids a grasp on things practical and things a little less tangible.

These are just a few of my ideas.  Do you have any fun projects and ideas to help and encourage your child's education?