she had a fab 1st day[8th grade homeschool co-op]

{ok so 8th grade means i only took minimal non-embarassing pix. i only stuck around for the brief 10-15 minute teacher/class introduction. then i left my girl to her business for the day. i did good!)  

i keep mentioning that we have a lot of changes in our little homeschool this year. yesterday was the beginning of one of them. the oldest brownsugar K started 8th grade homeschool co-op! my girl had a fab 1st day, but 8th grade...kinda makes me sad!

 

without going into alot of details all 3 girls are now under the same charter (much easier on me)& are starting a new co-op this year organized (for the most part) by one of our fave teachers from our old charter.

 

this co-op is different than one we were in last year in that it is more classroom like & taught by teachers who teach/taught as a profession. our other co-op was so much fun last year & we still love it & hope to still be a part of it this year but this new co-op is more of what we needed at this age. last year K was in workshop classes at her old charter campus & this year lots of her friends, others from our homeschooling network & her old teachers are in her co-op classes again, so it's a pretty comfortable transition.

 

the classes K is signed up for are:

General Science (Apologia text & lots of hands on labs)

Literature/Writing

Photography

*Spanish

 

aside from playing soccer & her guitar, K is really into her photography. at this point, she really wants to do something along the lines of graphics design with an emphasis on photography as a career, so we are super excited about this opportunity for her.

 

the Spanish class is on a different day...our beloved beach day of course! our beach is day is super sacred to us so i'm still having trouble committing (have to by today YIKES!). living in So Cal especially, Spanish is a definite must & the girls REALLY want to learn it (& i really want to re-learn it).

i'm just really going to miss my beach days!

 

the science & writing classes are a HUGE relief to me.

even though i love science, having 3 different ability levels were starting to become more obvious at these ages. with the majority of our little classroom still in the elementary years, starting last year it was becoming clear that Ms. 8th grader was ready for more & more of a challenge.

 

the same thing with the writing & lit classes. 

with those subjects being taught i'm really only teaching (more on each of these later):

History (collectively)

Math (individually) 

a little bit of Grammar (individually for K & collectively for the younger 2 but at their own levels)

*this year is a crazy busy one, the girls also have extracurricular activities that i will also save for another post.

 

the two younger brownsugars have their 1st day of co-op next week & we all can not wait to see how it goes.



this {past} week

{a few little tidbits from last week...that were supposed to post on Saturday}

 

one of our fave days of the week is our coffee shop date. the brownsugars & i usually bring schoolwork or reading books to our local coffee shop, but this week we brought our art supplies.

we all really enjoyed it & trying yummy new drinks!

 

we did some fun science experiments using a new weather kit to finish up the weather unit we began at the end of last year. we started recording our weekly temps at set hours that we will graph. we also did a barometer experiment & an evaporation chamber experiment. we still have a few more experiments left. 

 

K has gotten REALLY good on her guitar. she is super passionate & equally as self motivated about her guitar playing. i LOVE LOVE LOVE listening to this girl practice & play. i'm also loving watching her artistic growth (all around) & the fact that she has enough time to pursue & develop them.

 

beach day is, of course our other favorite day of the week! we took beach study & our bible study books along for some beach schooling & family worship before going in the water. it was a perfect day for it. it was hot! after we finished with the books & our picnic, we hit the water for the rest of the evening. 

(yes! i actually had on a swimming suit!)

 

this past week was definitely an "i'm sooo happy to be homeschooling" week. i'm loving the blessing of being able to watch my brownsugars grow into themselves right before my eyes & being able to be here to facilitate if necessary. there are so many things, subtleties even, that i would have never know about each one of these girls if we were not homeschooling

& none of which i want to miss. 

thrifty bargain{i love this everything}

i love:

this girl & her own little style.

this cute & easy summer play dress

($1 Gap Kids that i dont worry any about her playing in or ruining).

this everything!



a pretty natural transition

the brownsugars & i have been having a pretty natural transition back into homeschooling this year (eventhough we still dont want to give up our summer!). this is the 1st of many work sample posts of this year (a quick one since the mama taxi is rushing out the door again to horse ranch for miss M's lessons)

the 1st pic is one of my fave changes in our homeschool this year

(more in another post).

OUR NEW GADGET BASKET!!!

during homeschool time (& bible study,family worship etc...)

our beloved distracting & addicting little gadgets go in the basket.

yes including mine (with the exception of playing "school" music Pandora, audio books & important calls).

yesterday was the test & we all passed!

we had a fun game of bananagrams to brush up on our spelling, vocab & prob solving skills. dope was all me BTW! *mama is pidush a word? what about digity? tine? what does bail mean? is this the correct way to spell golf? is there a letter y in the word mini? oh. then how many letter i's etc...

we listened to our story of the world history lesson on CD (another change that i am so super grateful for!) while i did laundry & the brownsugars had to make the GF pizza crusts for dinner...all by themselves. we had 2 different types, the one in the pic is BBQ chicken. they did such a good job with the reading, following directions, measuring, problem solving, predicting, investigating (yeast) & team work etc...they were just as proud of themselves as i was of them because dinner turned out DELISH!  

it has been unseasonably warm for the last few days...

"it has been unseasonably warm for the last few days...and today again, a romantic sunrise, clouds edged in crimson just before the sun rose between two banks of soft gray. now at half past nine the sea is that ineffably calm satin blue and the clouds have vanished. purity and peace." may sarton the house by the sea

i needed a break from reading book after book about the same subject matter(the south, slavery, hatred, violence, oppression, etc...).

the title of this autobiography caught my eye at the used bookstore & for 25 cents i figured why not? it is a journal of the author's east coast move from her inland new hampshire home to a house on the seacoast of maine. thru this journey of solitude & self discovery she re-awakens her creative passion & spirit.  

a light summer read, some of my fave subjects

& i miss the east coast (that i love!).

i'm enjoying it so far.

the beginning of this quote is especially true in that it has been crazy hot the last couple of weeks.

the brownsugars & i have started transitioning into our new homeschool year & we are off to a great start so far.

but there is still quite a bit of summer left in us that we just cannot let go of yet ;)

farm notes {summer in our backyard}

wed we got so brain-fried with next years planning, impossible (over)scheduling, e-mails, deadlines, commitments...blah blah blah. so, the brownsugars & i decided to take our tent, books, art supplies, pillows & snugglies & move out of the house for the rest of summer! 

our summer weather here in socal has been so pleasant that it much nicer to be out in it than inside anyway.

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

*btw- yard sales & estate sales are a great places to get outdoor/camping gear already in kid-friendly condition. i bought this tent & the checkered sleeping bag from a neighbors yard sale for $5 about 3-4 years ago. at that price i could care less about the spills & stains, the dirt, the torn screens etc from my tomboys & dogs...no worries.

{one & vintage love}

at one time this skirt & this bike were both new.
don't think i would have loved them as much then.

i'm attempting a couple of photo challenges on Instagram for the month of august. today's prompt was one.

vintage wrap skirt $1 at my fave thrift store.
vintage bike $5 at local estate sale.
brownsugarhoney on IG.

*not liking the IG to blogger size formatting, but still fun!

our own little private summer world

"Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps.  It is not something to do if you can squeeze time in.  It is what God gave you time for.” -Rachel Jankovic

we're still here. still doing stuff. 
trying to enjoy the last bits of our summer.
we've been busy in a kicked back yet crazy kinda way.
beach.
lots & lots of reading.
a tie dye party with friends.
a crazy fun family reunion weekend.
a night time party with our homeschool co-op.
a sitter & a winery date night.
catching up with pets, friends & neighbors.
turning 7 for one of us in particular.
horseback lessons,technology camp, library activities.
crafting, playing, board games, movie marathons, junk food, daydreaming etc.
a smidge of summer schooling mixed in (nothing big).
planning & getting some necessary things done.
bits of all sorts of other summer busy.
lots of much needed hanging out & the art of doing nothing.
most of all...taking a distraction free
& mostly {unplugged summer} break.
this has been my highlight. 
for the remainder of this summer, i logged out of FB, i rarely tweet anyway, kicked back on Pinterest & have even been taking a little blog break.
(partly because i left my laptop cord out of town. Grrr!).
i must confess, i really do love my IG. i cant help it.

i really needed  a break from everything to clear my head & just focus on enjoying my little fam for what little is left of our precious-but-already-almost-gone-way-too-short summer.
all of which i've kinda selfishly kept all to ourselves.
to be honest, i'm liking our own private little summer world.
Maybe even a little too much.
this post was such an inspiration (as are many on this site)

with this upcoming year jammed packed with homeschooling & other activities, there will plenty to blog, update my status, tweet, etc about soon enough. i may pop in & say hello sporadically, but until then...

HAPPY SUMMER...what's left of it anyway ;)

easiest yardsale ever

7 am                         9 am

this was how my saturday morning went. day 4 of a nasty migraine & was not feeling our neighborhood block sale at all.

changed my sign, piled everything in the driveway, went inside & made snow cones with the girlies.

the free sign totally worked. got rid of tons of junk i never ever want to see again & i made $5.  

water weekend.day 2.

lake cuyamaca 6.30.2012

water weekend day 1 at the beach was abs perfect & day 2 was a hit too! one of the things i love about where we live is that we can be in many different types of environments in just a short drive (lake, mountains, beach, snow, city...etc...)

saturday we got up at 530 am & hit the mountains headed for the lake!

usually i let Daddy/Daughter fishing day be their alone time. But this time, last minute, i took the fam up on their invitation. even though i am the anti-fishing girl, i decided to go hang out & see what the lake biz was all about. i packed a bag full of reading & art materials, a pillow, a blanket, a chair & a big sunhat & hopped into the truck.

it was an lovely drive thru the mountains & an beautiful sunny day out. the pretty lake, clear skies, mountains, trees, boats, rocks, ducks, critters all of it. my faves were the bright orange dragon flies. peace & quiet & beautiful nature all around.

ok. but it completely amazes me how many hours & hours my brownsugars (or anyone else) can sit quietly & wait for a catch. any other time they cannot sit still, but this time i was the problem. (funny because i can sit on the beach quietly & watch the waves roll in & out for hours)

i snacked. i sat. i watch. i sat some more...well as long as i could anyway. then my oldest brownsugar told me i was talking way too much. so we packed up the lawn chairs & left the shore. they rented a boat & hit the lake with their fishing poles. it got pretty hot so i took my bag of goodies to the truck (parked in the shade) & read for hours & hours. (oh & snacked & napped a little too). 

the fam was so excited they caught 6 fish, saw friends out on the lake & got in their precious Daddy/Daughter time. i got to kick back, finish almost all my reading (way more than i would have if i would have stayed home & read like i planned) & i got my precious me time. it was a good trip for us all & still maybe my fave weekend of this summer yet.

*ps lake cuyamaca does have hiking trails which i planned to do but should have right when we arrived 1) it got too hot later in the day 2) i didn't feel safe going alone while the fam was out on the lake on the boat. live & learn...plan better next time!

water weekend .day 1.

watery deep to watery deep is calling at the sound of your waterspouts.

all your breakers and your waves-over me they have passed. - Psalms 42:7 

(my new fave scripture, even though the Psalmist was referring to his thirst for the Living God (v.2), 

it reminds me of that same thirst i have yes, but also my thirst for the beach!!!)

*brownsugar honey on Instagram*

friday 6.29.12 oceanside jetty

last weekend ended up being a weekend of water.

& maybe one of my faves so far this summer.

two days, two different places & two different types of water.

after being cooped up in the house most of the week the brownsugars & i needed to get out. at the last minute we put on our flippies, & swimsuits, loaded up the car & met friends 20 mins away at the nearest beach.

hours of friends, warm california sunshine & beach.

doesn't get too much better than that.

HAPPY SUMMER!!! 

*weekend of water day 2 

farm notes{a cute happy girl & a rooster that lays eggs}

haha! love this pic for so many reasons!

a cute happy girl with a chicken under each arm.

can't help but smile...oh & then there are the glasses.

*oh yeah...remember a while back when i talked about how uncharacteristically super sweet, cuddly, quiet etc... Hot Chocolate (on the right) was for being a rooster?

well a few months ago, he started laying eggs.

(reread it & think about it for a minute...got it?)

even though there are conditions & theories that may explain it, i really cannot figure it out. especially since i heard shim

cock-a-doodle-do & everything.

either way i need to stop calling her a he .but i cant. 

thrifty bargain{kid crafted beachy summer happy}

super excited about this weeks thrifty bargain!

love my new kid crafted necklace from one of the

kiddies "store" at our co-op's 1st day of summer Kid's Market.

the happy little fishy & the bright summery bursts of color,

esp my fave beachy turquoise & melon-y orange combo,

were calling my name & i snatched it right up!

to make it officially summer ready i need to add crimping beads to secure the string to the clasp since they were just knotted on, 

but still cannot beat my $1 kid crafted bit of beachy summer happy!

Weekending

saturday

this weekend was pretty mellow.

saturday morning i played catch up on things around the house.

the littlest brownsugar didn't feel well.

that girl is the type that if she is miserable,

she makes sure everyone else is too.

so we cancelled our backyard camp out plans.

i got this fondue set for $2 at my fave thrift store.

i marinated shrimp, chicken & par boiled red potatoes

& we had a fun little indoor fondue party for din instead.

sunday

sunday i laid in bed until 11 am finishing Catching Fire.

i am amazed that Hunger Games was soooo fantastic & Catching Fire was even better! i did not want to put it down, but i needed to eat.

part of my plan this summer was to get back to my menu planning.

i lost control of it during this crazy year & now back to it.

i decided to start off taking it a week at a time, but ended up with almost a month of healthy dinners on the calendar!

hubby started polishing up his grill master skills.

he made ribs for he & the girlies & slow smoked honey curry chicken i had marinating (similar to this recipe, but i added curry to taste). i sauteed some delish baby bellas in butter, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce & cider vinegar.

after that meal i am swearing off white rice...again...forever

this time though. 

it was all soooo good! can't wait for our summer BBQ party!

i couldn't help myself. even though i barely finished Catching Fire earlier in the day, i could not wait to get in my jammies

& get in the bed super early & read Mockingjay until my eyes refused to read anymore...& again...just like the others I'M HOOKED!!!

first day of summer 2012

this super cute dress was handmade by one of the co-op girlies!

for the first day of summer 2012

our homeschooling co-op had a fun

Kid's Market/BBQ/pool party Thursday.

at the Kid's Market the kiddies chose the items they wanted to sell, set up their own "stores",set their own prices,

& handled their own negotiations & transactions with real money.

the mamas supervised & swapped curriculum & supplies.

the kiddies also had fun shopping at each others stores

& so did the mamas!

there were tons of goodies to choose from.

lots of creative kiddie-made goodies too.

afterwards we had a yummy BBQ & a super fun swim party.

well the kiddies did anyway,

at only 75 degrees out us smart mamas decided to sit in patio chairs & relax in the sunshine on life guard duty ;)