Borrowing...

I am borrowing an idea from Kim's blog, "Our October Fun List". Like her, I can feel childhood slipping away, and I want to grab what's left with both hands! My kids are growing up SO fast... they decided this year that besides the downtown trick-or-treating with friends, they would rather be at home to hand out treats. Too grown up... I don't know that I am ready to let go of something we've done for 13 years now! Though a Halloween evening at home, with hot soup and a [semi] creepy movie sounds good too...

Anyhow, my October Fun List!

Read some good poetry - Edgar Allan Poe is an October favorite

Vikingfest - I just found out that there is a free Vikingfest in my area!

A catapult workshop for teens at the local library

I really want to try baking the cider donuts mentioned in the above linked post

The Girl's Cake

Make lots of good pumpkin and/or apple treats... soup, baked oatmeal, muffins, The Girl's Cake, etc.

Go hiking in the redwoods

Get our costumes prepared

Enjoy some fall and Halloween themed books

Watch some holiday-appropriate movies (Corpse Bride, Hocus Pocus, Dark Shadows, etc.)

Get out to the coast for a sunset picnic

Make some fun jar luminaries

Carve pumpkins, of course! And I swear that this year, I am roasting the pumpkin seeds. I might even do a couple of different flavors with herbs and spices.

What fun things do you want to do this October?

Jumping Back In...

We had a couple of hectic weeks there, with M's [newish] job scheduling throwing us all for a loop, then car trouble, etc., etc. But, this week, we're jumping back into our studies full force! In the meantime, here is a little of what we've been up to...

My own personal mechanic changing out battery cables

Haven't had a problem with the car since, knock on wood

And he's quite an artist!

Cloud watching, which led to a flurry of book reading on cloud types

A rainbow on our most recent park day

Totally Tut has found its way back out of the cupboard and into our homeschooling

And she's reading EVERY day now!

As far as the jumping back in, while we've been good about math and reading, we're getting back up to full speed in the sciences, language arts, and our Afternoon Basket. I started writing up weekly checklists for The Boy again, at his request, so he's studying motion and velocity this week (and will be building a virtual roller coaster). The Girl is starting a study of tiny life, with Hidden Worlds and The World in a Drop of Water, so I have the microscope ready to use, and we're planning on a water-collection-nature-walk tomorrow afternoon. We'll be reading some good poetry this month, including works by Edgar Allen Poe. The Boy is wrapping up a review of integers from Math Mammoth before jumping back into The Art of Problem Solving. The Girl is still quite content with Math Mammoth. I am debating an actual writing program for her... I do have Writing Strands 3 on hand, but am unsure at this point, and The Boy is working on an essay about Ford Mustangs.

Also going on: 
lots of card games
lizard-holding (The Boy)
guinea-pig-holding (The Girl)
piano playing (The Boy)
language learning (we're playing around with Spanish, and The Boy is starting back up his German studies this week)
random art projects involving clay or paint (The Girl)
cooking projects, both at home and at their Nonna's house (The Girl)
documentary watching (currently Wild Africa for everyone, Into the Unknown for The Boy, and Ocean Mysteries for The Girl)

So yes, we're keeping quite busy! Hope you are all having a good week, and Happy October!