Who's Your Daddy and Zombie Pants - My Version of Homeschool Tests

I don't "do tests."

I know that one day it will be beneficial and necessary for my children to experience a test environment... but the joy of homeschool is that I can say "not yet."

The only kind of test going on in our home is who will actually make their bed and clear their plate after dinner.

And everything else?

Well, we try to make it as fun as possible.  With colorful board games, fishing poles, and a stack of random recent curriculum questions - we make sure to cover all of the necessary bases.

Introducing "Who's Your Daddy"

Colton almost wet his pants when I introduced this board game to him.  Seriously, Darth Vadar and Yoda?
I am one cool homeschool mom... ha ha.

Goal of the game:  Two teams compete (Vadar vs. Yoda) to reach the end of their lightsaber first.  Roll the dice, answer a question correctly, and move forward.

Questions consist of science material, language arts, grammar, and spelling.


And with Conner's recent Zombie obsession, there was no doubt about the need of a zombie game.  Insert the game Smarty Pants gone Zombie.

Goal of the game:  Roll two dice and be the first to add or subtract their sums to move forward.  Speed is everything. "Eat Brain move forward 2" cards reinforce fact families, multiplication, numerator/denominator, and basic geometry.


Our "version" of homeschool tests are pretty darn awesome.  I am amazed at just how much information the boys retain during our casual school sessions.


If only the games would help motivate the kids to put their dishes in the sink...

lego vanity

Did you know that the Lego club passes out free magazines each month?
Squeal!

With each and every edition, there are photos of kids and their newest Lego creation plastered all over the insides.



The boys spend every free moment creating, building, and demolishing Lego creations.
Determined that their face will be on the cover of the next Lego magazine.

 

  

So. Proud.
The tears?
They come from both sides...

naughty leprechauns

Our house was visited by naughty little leprechauns this year.
They broke free from the Lego trap with paperclips,

 

left little green footprints on our favorite books,

ate ALL of our chocolate chips,

tipped over couches to build forts,

and took a very messy bath in our kitchen sink.
Leprechauns get messy when they eat too much chocolate.

While the cute little "I brought you skittles" Leprechauns are fun... we prefer the messy, naughty little Leprechauns. 

Just you wait until next year...

- Side note, the naughtiest little Leprechaun wanted to draw all over the sleeping boys with a green marker.  Lucky for the boys, Nate told the Leprechaun that it was time to calm down.  Insert evil chuckle here.  I can't wait until next year!!

when our toys forget the rules...

1.  Help mom write out the rules.

2.  Invite all the toys to a family council.  Hold the sign high for all to see.

3.  Make sure everyone is paying attention.

4.  When the rules are done - and everyone understands - pull out the hairbrush microphone and teach the toys how to pray.  Rip bread into tiny pieces, pass it out, and play primary. 

This one (number 4) belongs to Colton - and Colton alone.

I was hoping for a refresher on the rules of the house.   Instead, I was treated to a cute lesson on prayer, love, and forgiveness.  Goodness gracious, I love my kids.  I have learned more from them than they will ever learn from me.

Matisse

{Matisse amazes me.  I love the fact that he had never shown interest in art until he was older.  One day he got sick.  Super sick.  His mom gave him art supplies to keep him busy and he fell in love.  Reminds me of our story.  We would've never slowed down enough to listen that it was time for us to make a major life change without Nate getting sick.  I believe with all my heart that sometimes God slows you down so that you can hear his voice.  And thank goodness.  I am so grateful for where we are in our lives.}

Nate said we couldn't draw on the ceiling like Matisse.  Boo.
The sidewalk became our only option.
And since none of us in our home have grandchildren (we are still waiting for the birth of CJ's six babies that are growing inside of his tummy) we drew pictures of our family.

 kara and coray family

 sadie fam

 shelley and jess fam

 kyle and sochi

 

Jesus

Preston and Becca.

Preston is gonna be a dentist so his picture needed teeth.

You can thank CJ.

 
Lacy the dog.

 Great-grandma and Great-grandpa

Have I mentioned that CJ is convinced that great-grandma is is REAL mom?

And that his dad has died and gone to Heaven?

 

 Spencer and T-Bird Teresa

 

and that?

that would be our family.

I need to be happier.

CJ drew me with a big frowny face that Caleb immediately fixed.

Good boy Caleb.

After CJ asked to be drawn as Darth Vadar, Conner asked to be drawn as a Zombie.

Don't judge.

I think art history is one of my favorite subjects to study with my kids.
We spent an entire two weeks studying Matisse and I LOVED IT.

when the boys find the camera...

I find all sorts of pictures. Any guesses as to who these chubby cheeks belong to?

Abraham Lincoln and the Benefits of Homeschooling...

Thanks to the Lego movie, there has been an interest in Abraham Lincoln at our house.
A mysterious $3 find at Target and BOOM! Lego Abraham Lincoln belongs to CJ.

After a billion history questions, we made a trip to the library.  Found a cute book written by Rosemary Wells and began reading.  Did you know Abraham Lincoln had two boys?  And did you know that his wife had to send the boys to fetch dad and "bring him home" every night? 

Yeah... I didn't either. 

CJ is thrilled.
But...
The Abraham Lincoln obsession has gone a little anatomical.

All afternoon CJ has very loudly proclaimed that:

"My dad taught Abraham Lincoln how to fart." 

Clearly, Nate is the dad to be envied.  The cutter of cheese.  The "woofer" of all time.  With supreme rectal powers that have surpassed the sands of time to instruct the renowned (and very much deceased) Abraham Lincoln how to relieve pressure.


I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.  Go homeschool.

Oh... and that homeschool anti-social thing?
Yeah.

The whole bully-my-self thing has become pretty big.
We aren't missing out on much...

gratitude ice cream

It isn't a secret that Nate has been trying to complete his PhD in record time.
What takes some people 4-6 years to complete, he is determined to finish in three.

He is a stud.

When a chance to interview for a full-time position at the local university appeared, we snatched it.  Gratitude pumped in our veins during the two day interview process, date-night-dinner/interviews, and even a trip to meet with a high ranking leader of our church.

We fasted and prayed and fasted and prayed some more.

The job description (in our opinion) fit Nate perfectly.  It allowed him to utilize his chiropractic doctorate in addition to his almost completed PhD in neuroscience.

Mentally, I started planning a celebration party that included our neighbors and way too much ice cream.
Maybe even fireworks and pot-n-pan banging.

After a two-month-intensive-wait-period we learned that Nate was not selected as their final candidate.

At first, I was kinda mad and sad and feeling very bad.
(Can you tell that we are celebrating Dr. Suess this week?)

And then...
I felt relieved.
And grateful.
And happy.

I am beyond grateful for my Heavenly Father and the love He has for me.  I am grateful for His willingness to tell me "no, that isn't right for you" despite my blinded belief that I know what is best.

Because even though we love where we are at, we have questioned if "right here" is best for us long term.


I pulled the vanilla ice cream from the fridge with the candles, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.  Quietly, we enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate the gratitude we have for God.  I don't know where our life is headed and what God has in store for us, but I am super grateful that the answers rest in His all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving hands.

Because even when life is rough, there is always something to be grateful for.  Like Darth Vadar, Lego's, left butt cheeks, toilets, and friends - according to the boys - and there is always love to be shared.

Thomas S. Monson said it best when he said, "to ever live with gratitude in our hearts is to touch heaven."

*  *  *  *  *

And as a side note, Colton has developed a little "crush" on our neighbors.  His favorite "game" to play is letter drawing, bouncy ball wrapping, and gift delivering to the ladies that live on our block.

After an unexpected kiss from our next door neighbor, Colton has taken to door bell ditching.  

A skill in which he has quickly mastered.    

There should really be a bumper sticker that says the following:

My child doorbell ditches faster than your child.

I'd buy it.

habitats

Out of all the habitats in the world, I love mine the very best.

XOXO