...and both Abigail and Sam are doing really great!! I love the person Abigail is becoming....she is such a character with real confidence and we get along so well. She has an amazing imagination and such an incredible memory...some of the things she tells me really shock me. We have long talks about all kinds of things. We have so much in common but I love how independent she is and how she knows her own mind....if she doesn't like something or doesn't want to do something she is more than happy to say so. She loves thrift stores and like me, she likes to hunt for furniture that she can alter. She loves pottery and other arts and talks of being an artist. She has been obsessed with dog training lately and has been reading endless books and websites on how to train Rosie and teach her tricks. We have a field trip to the humane society booked and I'm hoping to plan some other trips to do with animals as soon as she is over the flu.
Sam is learning to read and write and is doing sooooo well. He loves spelling tests and often gets them all correct. He loves to journal and has his own Moleskine that he doodles in and will then write in too - he has other journals that he writes endlessly in and always takes one out with him so he can write if he has time. His reading is going well too and he is really enjoying it.
We are all taking an online art journaling class at the moment called 'out of the blue' which is based on colour.....the children are enjoying that. Abigail and I also took a doodling class. I have signed Abigail up for some online lessons in science and history.
We have an AMAZING new library and community centre/ art gallery in our town now and we are making the most of it - we head to the library about twice a week and spend the entire afternoon there. I journal or read, Sam will play, read, journal, draw, use the computers....Abigail will chat to the librarians...go off and buy herself a drink (there is a cafe in there), find friends, use the computers, read, journal, do work, draw......they even have a games corner with endless board games to choose from and lots of comfy chairs and beanbags...it is right next to Lauries school so we tend to hang out until he finishes school and then he comes to meet us. I really wasn't keen on the library moving from the mall, but now we have seen the difference, I am soooooo happy they moved!!! And they are opening an Education Station right next door too!!
A few weeks ago we watched a school class being shown around the library - the kids looked bored, most of them didn't look as though they had ever been in the library or had any interest. They were being marched along like soldiers and being told the most obvious things. They were the same age as Abigail roughly. I saw a few of them watching Abigail. Abby was really puzzled by the idea of them having a field trip to the library and the idea that they don't all get to use the library with their families. Abby walks around the library like she owns it...looks up books on the computers, asks librarians to search for things for her.....requests books and dvd's they don't have...I'm always finding her deep in conversation with librarians...or one will come up to us as we're leaving and call out to say she has found such and such for Abigail after all!!
Bad weather and illness has caused us to miss out on many field trips and playdates lately. We haven't even been to the library for our normal visits for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that now Spring is here we will all be healthy and the weather will improve to let us get back out there to see everyone!!
ps. The picture at the top is my favourite. I love that Abigail has her own style and isn't afraid to wear it. The second picture is also one I love - it shows the bliss that IS homeschooling!
:)
