Crystal Springs Preserve
Our lovely days at Crystal Springs continued. We take monthly field trips with our homeschool co-op. Each class has a different theme. These are always educational, fun days.
viewing critters in the river water
We love it here.
And it's always a bonus when Little Brother gets to join us. It's a great arena for him to run around and explore.
nature walk
Beach School
One day, Sis took her school books, and Brother took his sand toys for an afternoon at the beach.
Afterward, we ate lunch at one of our favorite quick spots, Evo's.
Homeschool Co-op
I adapted our beach bean bag toss game for my Money Math class. This went over very well. The kids had to toss their bean bags. They added up their monetary values on the board to see who could reach a certain amount the fastest.
Volunteers are always taken to lead the group in opening prayer and also to hold the flag and lead the pledge. Finally, Sis got chosen to hold the flag.
When I teach classes at the co-op, I like to get the kids up in front of everyone as much as possible. I do this because they might not have regular opportunities as homeschoolers to do this. Also, this was my least favorite activity growing up :). I don't force them, but I do offer incentives and lots of encouragement and support. They memorized coin songs to sing to the big group at lunch. They also memorized scripture, which they also recited together in front of the co-op. I gave the kids who chose to participate extra money to be used at the end of the year "store."
One of our big Money Math class activities was reading the book
Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money. Then as a class, we planned a lemonade stand of our own to be held at one of our co-op lunch periods.
The kids were all so excited. They decided to also sell cookies and voted on prices.
They decorated a sign, set up the table, and took turns working shifts during the lunch. It was such a fun day! Sis loved it, wearing her apron and bringing her toy cash register to hold the money.
Our final Money Math activity was the class store. The kids took turns shopping and working the cash register, making sells. All year long, they earned money by attending class, bringing their supplies, completing homework, and working hard in class. Extra money was earned at different times, such as with their lunch performances. They had to be responsible to keep up with their money in their paper "wallets." There was a time during class when daily money was counted out and distributed. At this time, they were encouraged to count their money to trade in for larger coins or dollars.
I had collected prizes from the dollar store and other places all year. This was the store! The person who had earned the most money got to shop first, then they took turns until they had spent all of their money. I was so proud of them for working hard this semester. I just loved this class.
Sis, making change
waiting their turns to shop
lunch period
art project from her Five in a Row class
Enrichment Days
One day, the two littles and I attended a Waldorf puppet show.
They made pinecone birds.
We ate lunch at Rawk Star Café,
a raw restaurant in Palm Harbor.
One of our co-op leaders led several enrichment days this year. During this one, they made hummingbird feeders...
and terrariums.
They turned out so beautiful.
Easter
Easter Egg Hunt with fun
activities for the kids at The Grove
Easter morning: Sister's basket
church
at home
Dance
It was an exciting day when costumes for the recital arrived!
It got to watch their rehearsals in class one day.
American Girl Book Club
wrapping ribbon around her hoop for the hoop and stick game they made at Club
They wore the bonnets they had made at the previous class, along with pretty dresses for the end of the year indoor picnic.
Presidents Fair
This was a fun activity with another local homeschool group. Every student who wanted to sign up for the President Fair could choose the president (first come/first serve at sign up) they wished to create a display for. We went with William Henry Harrison because he was the president to have served for the shortest amount of time. We all got a chance to walk around and read everyone's boards. Some kids even had foods to sample or little gifts symbolizing their president to give away. Everyone got a chance to speak for a few minutes to the entire group about their president and answer questions from the audience.
Out and About
Autism Walk at Tropicana Field:
We all went to support Tornado and his school.
Sis and I went to a local blueberry farm one day.
park day
dentist appointment
birthday party across the street with our sweet friends
Gone Bananas - our favorite local treat!
See, we love it so much, we went again already. This is a food truck with non-dairy soft serve and other fun desserts. We get so excited when we notice they are going to be somewhere. It's probably good that they aren't out every day or even every week...because we might go everyday if they were!
At this food truck festival, there were other activities for the kids, too.
The three of us also stopped at a new local park on the way home.
This is what I heard behind me a lot this year during all of our many hours in the car, going to and from activities and kid pick-ups. The kids have been watching through the seasons of Little House on the Prairie. A few more seasons to go!
Choir
One of Sis and Dash's choir activities this year was a performance at this church in St. Petersburg.
Sissy was a monkey in this version of Noah's Ark.
That's her in the middle, and that's Dash on the back right.
Then the final performance of the year took place at the Stratz Center. We were so happy with this choir and their overall experience this year. They had a great teacher and had great musical education and exposure in this program at USF.
displaying their medals
"Home" School
Easter/April books
One of Sister's best Christmas gifts turned out to be her Sew Cool Sewing Machine. She can be fairly self sufficient on it and enjoys making the little projects.
After making a Venn Diagram during one of her assignments, I asked her to make another with one of her and one of her cousins. She said their moms are sisters, they both like American Girl dolls, and they have similar names. Their differences: Cousin W has short hair, brown eyes, lives in MO, and is 7 years old - while Sis has long hair, green eyes, lives in Florida, and is 8 years old.
Gymnastics
gradually making her way up the rope until she could meet her goal of reaching the top
Sis scored all top scores at her gymnastics meet.
We loved watching her do what she loves so much.
with her coach
Homeschool Co-op End
of the Year Party
The end of the year party at co-op was pirate themed.
I was not involved in any of the planning for this party. We were so impressed when we showed up. They had done such a great job with the food and decorations and everything.
pirate crafts with one of her besties
The dad who was the emcee for the night did a fabulous job talking about each kid and inviting them up for their certificates. He gave them all pirate names. It was a great night.
Book Buddies
End of the Year Party
ice cream sundaes!
Besides enjoying ice cream, the girls also got to decorate their own book tote bags to take home.
Fun with Out of
Town Guests!
We were so excited when some of our best friends from Arkansas came to visit that March. Our friends have two kids - their daughter is a year or so younger than Sis, and their son is a year younger than Dash. They came to stay with us for a couple of days following their Disney trip.
We took them to a food truck rally close to downtown/Channelside. Then we walked down to the waterfront, by the history center.
Sis and M
The next day, we went to Clearwater to visit the rehabilitation aquarium, home to Winter & Hope from Dolphin Tale.
We also enjoyed a fun day at the beach.
Chalk and water play outside our house
- and then we were so sad to see them go!
Milestone
No one wanted to NOT lose first teeth more than Sis. This was so difficult for her. Even now, after losing several teeth, she does not like to wiggle/help along her wigglers. She feels attached to them. She had already lost her two bottom teeth. One of her top teeth was hanging by a thread for quite awhile. It finally came out while we were at the beach with our friends. After a few tears, she was fine!
my girl
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