Beginning a Co-op

This year, some homeschooling women from my church and MOPS group banded together to form a homeschooling co-op. The group meets at the same time as MOPS, so younger kids can attend the MOPPETS kids program, and the homeschooling moms take turns teaching the school age children. I decided to participate, partly so Becca could attend MOPPETS, and partly so my kids could experience learning in a small-scale classroom setting for more than just Sunday School.

We divide the children into two age groups: kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grade. Each meeting lasts for two hours, and the kids have two lessons, with a brief break in the middle. Both age groups study Ohio history, which makes me happy because I know little about Ohio history. Additionally, each group has a different age-specific lesson - subjects such as creative writing, poetry, photography, seasons, etiquette, and first aid. The younger kids often have arts and crafts components, and all of the kids seem to have fun!

At first, I was scheduled to teach a few of the first lessons, but my broken leg prevented me from attending. As disappointed as I felt about missing out on teaching, I felt worse for the kids, because I knew they needed a chance to get out and be with other kids. This winter has been much different than I anticipated, and we have been cooped up in the house more than I like. However, a wonderful woman in the co-op called and volunteered to drive Hannah and Ben to co-op for me! They had such a wonderful time, returning home afterward bubbling over with excitement about the lessons and the activities. Even Ben willingly sat and did the writing assignment for the next class!

In February, the other mom also drove me to co-op, and I got to teach my first lesson, helping third through fifth graders learn about photography. I am excited that I get to teach a class again, since that was my major in college and my original career plan before I had kids. I also appreciate that my children have the opportunity to learn from other teachers, spend time with other kids, and even create messy art projects that I cannot attempt at home, especially with a broken leg...

Though many of my plans have changed this winter, co-op has been a blessing for both me and the kids, giving us a bit of extra enthusiasm at a time when cabin fever threatens to become overwhelming.

***The picture of Ben working on some co-op assignments is courtesy of Hannah, who loves the digital camera she received for Christmas and takes pictures of EVERYTHING she sees... just like her mom!***

From Blanket House to Mongolian Ger

A few weeks ago, Josh built the kids a blanket house in our living room on a Saturday morning, as he has done many times in the past. This time, however, he made a huge house, using our larger dining room chairs, a sleeping bag, and several blankets. The large, roundish house fit all three kids comfortably, and sometimes both cats as well!

In this past year's World Vision Gift Catalog, I had seen a special kind of round house, built by Mongolian nomads, called a "ger" or a "yurt." The blanket house very much reminded me of these houses, and that gave me an idea. Instead of moving to the next Asian country in Galloping the Globe, I would piece together my own unit on Mongolia. Using sites like the CIA World Factbook, we researched information about the country of Mongolia and its people and began adding pages to the kids' geography notebooks.

Later in the day, I visited National Geographic's website, looking for more information or photos, and I stumbled across the opportunity to participate in a real expedition in Mongolia, by simply labeling satellite images from home. After a period of training, I could identify roads, rivers, modern structures, ancient structures, and points of interest with a reasonable amount of accuracy. I then included Hannah, allowing her to make suggestions and guiding her to understand the images better. She absolutely loved helping out as a real researcher for an actual project, and she found the satellite images quite interesting as well.

Eventually, when we wrap up the unit, we may even have a "Mongolia party," just as we had a "China party" in the fall. I had a difficult time finding Mongolian recipes easy enough for kids to prepare, but we might try making some non-lamb version of Steamed Buuz . I decided to pass on preparing fermented mare's milk however...

I love that homeschooling allows me to turn Saturday play into school day learning, to harness the kids' experiences and games and use them to teach about a country many kids have never studied. And, I enjoy seeing the kids' faces glow with excitement when I say, "Hey, let's do some geography today! What do you think?" Typically, they respond with cheers.