Well, the kids got all better, and we finally started up last Saturday! Yes, I know, I'm a mean mom who does school on Saturdays. But we typically take Mondays off, so my kids still get a full weekend. Anyway, we got started, and things are going great! And those pencils are just as wonderful as I imagined they would be! =)
One of the things I absolutely love about homeschooling is that you get to see so much insight into your kids. I see every assignment they do, every art project they complete, and I get to hear so many of the thoughts going on in their head while they're working on these things. And it's usually the artwork that gives most of the insight when they're this age.
My 6-year-old son is ALL boy, and my 4-year-old daughter is ALL girl. Here's a perfect example: The other day, they decided to play dragons (my 6-year-old LOVES the movie "How to Train Your Dragon." My 4-year-old has not seen it yet, but plays with the toys and knows the main story line from her older siblings.) My 6-year-old son was contributing his part of the story in his excited voice, all breathless from fighting the deadly dragons, "And the dragons were flying over the Viking village, breathing fire and destroying the houses..." And my 4-year-old daughter would pick up the story line and without missing a beat, would say in her sing-song voice, "And then the dragons flew over the flowery village, where they were getting covered with flowers..." And my son would pick it up right where she left off, "And then they'd fly back to the Viking village, where the flowers would fall off, and the Vikings were shooting, and stabbing, and slashing..." It was priceless. I wish I had my video camera on at the moment, but at least I have the memories. It was the perfect demonstration of how a boy's mind works vs a girl's. (Of course, there are exceptions--I'm one of them. I was never a girly-girl.)
Anyway, that brings us back to school. My son has a writing book that he LOVES where they give a title, and he's supposed to draw a picture and write a sentence or two about it. One title they gave him was "Worm Family Portrait." So you think of a nice, happy, worm family, right? This is what my son drew and wrote:
In science, we're doing Anatomy and Physiology. We're currently studying the skeletal system. My son was supposed to draw a picture about something he learned and write a sentence or two about it. He picked a skull. But did he draw just any old skull? Oh, no. He drew a skull and crossbones:
Then you have the pictures that the littles draw. My 4-year-old daughter had to draw a picture of her favorite animal. You have to wonder, is this really what a flamingo looks like to her?
If your kids bring home artwork from school, take the time to look at it. Ask them about it. Ask them why they drew what they did and what they were thinking about while they drew it. There's so much insight there, little glimpses into their minds that would be easy to miss otherwise.
What have your kids drawn lately?
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