First Book Club Meeting

I do a lot of reading about home schooling -- methods, philosphies, curriculum, etc. This spring I read about having a book club, and realized this would be a great thing to start with my kids now, for an easier transition as they do more independent reading and reports and such as they get older.

I decided to start small. I think it is better to work out the kinks with a few close friends and then cast the net wider if we see fit. I read that the first few meetings are usually pretty quiet as kids hesitate to participate. (This was not a problem for us!)

Our first selection: Pinocchio by Carlos Collodi

I read it to my kids, and they always asked me to keep reading. It is a much more interesting story than the Disney movie. But, then, most are.

Today was our first book club meeting, and it was fantastic! We covered:
* Story clues - I used household objects to remind the kids of parts of the story to get the discussion going.
* Character discussion - The good, the bad, the in-the-middle (which they were smart enough to pick up on!), comparisons to Aesop's Fables (their idea)
* Favorites, characters and parts - The kids drew pictures of their favorite parts, we discussed who they were most like, etc.
* Quotes - I read and we discussed what to learn from key quotes from the book
* What next? We ran out of time before the kids could write the next chapter to the story, but I left it as a homework option. I hope they all complete it because I'd love to hear what they come up with!

Now we have to pick the next title. I think we may assign different scenes to different families to do some charades. And I definitely need to plan for more time!

Yippee!

Family Hiking

We went on a 4 mile hike this morning to enjoy the fall weather and time together as a family. It was a wonderful excursion!

As I was walking along, I pondered that the hiking pants I was wearing were the same ones I wore when we lived in Wyoming 10 years ago, and that perhaps I ought to ask for a new pair for my birthday. A few minutes later, we sat down on rocks to catch a view. I slid off the rock to get up, as I'd done many time before in the life of those pants. As we continued down the trail, Eddie informed me that I had a hole in my pants! I am so glad that I was wearing a long jacket!

Rock City Field Trip

Our co-op had a field trip to Rock City. It was a lot of fun! We took friends Rex and Lilly with us as their mom has been working nights at a new job and can't make a day-long trip and still sleep!

Bye Bye Bikes

This is a photo of Daniel and Emily during their last ride on their bikes.

A book we are reading at church challenged families to give away not just the things they don't want, but some things that they enjoy. Daniel and Emily were inspired enough to give their bikes to our friend Lesley for the garage sale she had to raise money for their adoption process. (They are adopting two siblings from Ethiopia.) Both bikes were sold and went to kids who were happy to get them. Emily's bike even went to an adopted girl!

They are hoping to get new bikes for their birthdays or Christmas, but there is no guarantee of that. They have already missed riding them, but have not complained one bit!

State Fair Field Trip

Free for homeschoolers -- gotta love that! We had a really fun time.

Frist & Bicentennial Park Field Trip

Chihuly at Cheekwood Field Trip