Snow Day! | Mom Life Journal

 Yesterday we had a lot of fun in the snow we got from winter storm Orlena. 

                                                          

We did school in the morning, then went outside to sled during our lunch break. Then back inside to do school and chores, then a coupe kids went back outside again. 

I finally got around to making a video for the YouTube channel. A few of us have been feeling under the weather, hence the sniffly noses in the video. I'm considering taking up making more videos again. I know for a fact that life is going to be one crazy roller coaster ride this year, and I'd like to have video evidence of it in later years. :) 

Yesterday was one of those days that you really remember later on in the year. The type of day that you dream of having when you think about winter coming to town. Sledding, snowball fights, attempts to make a snowman, hot chocolate, and if you are Alex you body slam snowdrifts. Ha, teenagers!

My legs are sore from climbing hills with the kids yesterday! shew!

 Today the snow is still out there, but slowly starting to melt. It is pretty darn cold out there, but it is sunny and that is nice. I love the sun, too bad it barely feels like the sun this time of year. 

It's all down hill until the time changes now! We are gaining 2 minutes of daylight a day right now. It has been light all the way up until 6pm the last few nights. That brings me serious joy. :)

I'm including some pictures of all of the snow we got, some sun in the snow and the you tube video that I made.

Happy Wednesday!

~Lyndsay

Alex found a new sledding hill. It's fast and you have too bail out of the sled before you slide into the creek!

A woodpecker has been hanging out on the front tree.

A couple inches of ice plus 8+ inches of snow!

Alex did a lot of shoveling!

Poor Pool...the steps almost disappeared.

First Day of Homeschool Co-op 2021 | Homeschool Life

Co-op started last Friday. It was nice to get back to seeing friends and learning together. This is not our normal co-op, but it has some of the same friends. 

I know we live in a totally different world now, and I sometimes wonder if things will ever be the same again. However, a first day of co-op picture felt necessary this year. Even more so than on other years. 

We all had a great first day, and Anna even cried when it was time to leave. That's a major change from our last co-op experience when she cried the entire time we were there. 

I really enjoyed teaching my literature class and can't wait to go back next week. I've never taught middle school grades before, and I'm pleasantly surprised. 

We are all looking forward to a fun semester! 

How to prevent homeschool burn out | Why breaks during school are important.

It's March, we are a couple of months into school since Christmas break.

Who's suffering from school burn out?

We schedule regular breaks into our school year, it helps keep everyone fresh and ready to learn. Two weeks ago I was sitting in the living room, during school, wondering why I would rather run away and hide so they couldn't find me to teach math. 
Then it occurred to me...we hadn't taken our scheduled break! Due to being sick and crazy weather it had slipped my mind.

Last week we took the break we had missed. I am still always amazed at the difference it can make in all of our lives and outlooks education and school.
We watched movies, went for haircuts, built gingerbread houses with friends, visited the library, attended science club, slept in a little, meandered through the mall, took adventures outside, visited the candy store and just generally had fun. It is always fun to unplug from the school part of homeschooling and focus on the home part of it. It can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of school, eat, sleep, repeat.

Something I have been making a mental note of, every time we take a week off, everyone of the (school age) kids has found themselves elbow deep in their own self lead form of education by Wednesday afternoon.

When you see your child has turned their own mind back to learning, then they are ready to start school again.

We keep our work loads full but not too heavy for them to manage. However, when we are doing school a lot of information is going into their brains, scheduled breaks are necessary.    Our brains process a lot of what we have learned while our bodies and minds are at rest. How can that happen if we never give them a moment to rest?

We started back to school this week ready to learn.

That's a great feeling!

Learn from my past mistakes, take regularly scheduled breaks. They are best for everyone's mental and physical well-being. 

Blessings!

~Lyndsay