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!***

A "Toad-ally" Tiring Day

We had to attend a six-hour class at church today, and the kids had a very long day in the child care program. They had a lot of fun, but were very tired by the time we went home. In light of this, we tried to make the evening fun for them as a reward for behaving so well all day.

Right after a short nap, we proclaimed "backwards night," which means that we have dinner for dessert and dessert for dinner. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of cookies-and-cream ice cream/chocolate animal cracker sundaes, with macaroni and cheese for dessert, and then we took the kids outside to blow bubbles in the yard. After running and yelling and chasing bubbles for an hour, we finally dragged our exhausted family back inside.

Well, everyone came in except for Hannah and Josh, so I went back out to see what was taking them so long. Hannah immediately greeted me, squealing and jumping all around me. "Look what we found! Look what we found!" Josh held out his hands and handed me a lovely reddish-brown toad, all covered with grass. I put it in a large tupperware bowl and let the kids examine it for a little while before releasing him back into the yard.

Hannah drew a picture of him on Ben's magna-doodle. It actually was pretty good for a hastily drawn sketch! It's a side view, and I labeled the parts to make it more recognizable. It doesn't show up as well in a small photo.

We trudged upstairs for baths and bed, but the kids amazingly were not quite worn out yet. After Bible time, we started singing the song "Undignified," because we had been talking about David. Hannah and Ben yelled, "Again!" so Josh pulled out my guitar and we sang the song while the kids had their own version of a mosh pit in the middle of the room. After mandating a safer form of dancing, we proceeded to sing "Holy is the Lord," which is one of the kids' favorite songs. Hannah kept running over to me and saying things like, "I just thanked God for everything He made!" and "The earth really is full of His glory!" She was just so excited, it made my heart glad. We sang two more songs and then tucked three exhausted kids into their beds.

It was a "toad-ally" tiring day! Pardon the pun...