September Greetings!!

    I have been away for a month, spending time away from my computer and with my children...and when they haven't been around, with my first loves, pen and paper, and, of course, books. (And food, but that's probably a given.) My garden has an invasion of cucumbers, purple beans and squash plants (lots of blossoms, few actual squash...I don't quite understand that) and my house an invasion of a four year old's nature finds. It's been fun.
     It's September now, though, and the older children have returned to school (senior and sophomore!!) and my little one and I are beginning our homeschooling preschool work again. For the next couple of weeks we are going to be studying trees: different species, how they work in our environment, how they grow, what animals rely on trees, etc. I have old copies of the Teacher's Helper workbook series, and have copied many fun educational projects for my little guy and I to do. I also LOVE Crayola.com (http://www.crayola.com). That website has links for parents as well as lesson plans that parents are fully capable of doing with their children. The lesson plans also offer suggested reading, so you can continue your lesson after the project is done. This makes me happy.
     Along with learning about trees, we will be working on writing and basic math; our library is hosting a hands-on science program for all ages coming up in October, and we'll be there. And of course we'll read for fun and cook, cook, cook. I hope you'll follow along, and try some of our lesson plans with your own children. I'll be posting links and (hopefully) photos of our activities in the coming days. Happy learning!