Woodwater Farmhouse

I t was ONE OF THOSE DAYS ( morning anyway ) here at The Joys of Home Educating ..ya know the ones, where you want to send all the kids off to school and say heck with this all!  Yes this picture they appear to be playing nicely together ( or at least next to each other ).  HA!  Pictures can be deceiving.  Just a few moments before they were fighting and yelling at each other....my head was pounding!    Yes, even homeschooling parents are not ALWAYS all " go homeschooling " 24/7....LOL The day got much better once we left the house.... Tree House We are so blessed to live in The BEAUTIFUL Hudson Valley area of NY State. Only 60 miles North of NYC!  This lake happens to be only a few miles from our home and wouldn't you know we have NEVER been picnicking or exploring here ever! A dragonfly landed on his hat and stayed a while! Some other homeschooling friends met us for lunch and a hike!  Looking for frogs today! Let's break for a mom...

I t was ONE OF THOSE DAYS ( morning anyway ) here at The Joys of Home Educating ..ya know the ones, where you want to send all the kids off to school and say heck with this all!  Yes this picture they appear to be playing nicely together ( or at least next to each other ).  HA!  Pictures can be deceiving.  Just a few moments before they were fighting and yelling at each other....my head was pounding!    Yes, even homeschooling parents are not ALWAYS all " go homeschooling " 24/7....LOL The day got much better once we left the house.... Tree House We are so blessed to live in The BEAUTIFUL Hudson Valley area of NY State. Only 60 miles North of NYC!  This lake happens to be only a few miles from our home and wouldn't you know we have NEVER been picnicking or exploring here ever! A dragonfly landed on his hat and stayed a while! Some other homeschooling friends met us for lunch and a hi...

Taken at her Ballerina Birthday last year!  Molly has been in ballet for a while now. Last year she came in too late into the dance company to be IN the recital. However, this year she has worked SO hard from Sept. until now and the anticipation in the house is getting out of control!  She is dancing from room to room! LOL We are have invited family to come to the recital and afterwards a little reception at the house.  Couldn't be more proud of her! Only a few more days to wait.......she might burst out of her ballet shoes! Be Blessed!

Taken at her Ballerina Birthday last year!  Molly has been in ballet for a while now. Last year she came in too late into the dance company to be IN the recital. However, this year she has worked SO hard from Sept. until now and the anticipation in the house is getting out of control!  She is dancing from room to room! LOL We are have invited family to come to the recital and afterwards a little reception at the house.  Couldn't be more proud of her! Only a few more days to wait.......she might burst out of her ballet shoes! Be Blessed!

I am always looking for more/new/unusual ways to educate the kids (when they don't realize they are even being educated).   One idea I had about a year ago was to buy placemats that had some sort of learning theme to them.  It has made a HUGE difference in the way they learn.  For the month of May, Zachary and Molly both had mats that had maps of the USA with all states and their capitals labeled.  Every meal Zachary would quiz Molly on something on the mat.  In a month Zachary knew every single state capital and where most of the states were located on the map. (Stack the States for IPAD helped with that also)    Some of my favorite brands are these Write-A-Mat by Melissa & Doug.  They are produced  in such a way where the kids can use the Crayola Dry Erase Crayons   on them.  Usually on the back side there are activities to do which pertain the other side.  June's placemat theme for Zachary is US Presidents....