First Day of 5th Grade

Sofi has been super excited to start the first day of school...... or so she said. Then she added "I just want to get it over with!" Nevertheless, we are here and we had a wonderful talk about attitude and how it affects our learning experience. 

So of course, we had to do the honorary "1st day of School photo" because I am a mom. No matter how old they get, I think it is great; First they they love it and then they hate it but it doesn't matter because I am getting it anyway.

Some people ask about my homeschool philosophies. Other than a "no attitude" rule, we don't really have rules. If you need a break, you take one. If you don't want to be homeschooled, go to public school. I have set aside 4 hours to be available to teach you. If you don't get it done, you will be working alone, or in the evening with dad, instead of watching TV. So it just depends on the kid. 

I believe in letting kids lead.  I consider myself the mapmaker. I know the milestones my child should reach. I know the state requirements. But the student drives us to get there. We might have delays, stops and detours, but that's ok. How we arrive is up to the student. 

But of course they have to be taught HOW to drive, to take control of their learning. So I find in the beginning there is a bit more organization and prompted learning. And Sofi likes it that way. 

Kelbre didn't. She wanted me to leave.her.alone. 😂 

Isn't it weird how you can make such different kids out of  the same DNA?

So, FIRST DAY!

Our literature selection for this quarter is The Secret Garden. 

I believe in using books as the base for learning. 

So today was all about INDIA, the setting for the first chapter of the book.

Sofi dressed in her "Sari," (which is really just a wrap skirt) but since the child believes in changing clothes every half hour, it didn't last long. 

We mapped India, talked about the things that we already knew (which was quite a bit thanks to movies), googled photos and discussed what things were similar to or different from the U.S.

We talked about "Diwali" the "Festival of Lights." This lead to some discussion about the Hindu religion and different Gods.  We read a short book called the Diwali Gift and then make our own Diyas (The lamps they use during Diwali).

Making the salt dough and forming the lamps:

After they baked for about an hour, we painted them and added lights. Kelbre joined in for the painting. We really like to spread out and make a mess when we paint.

The turned out great! And yes, we are using battery operated lights because after watching 2 brothers go through scouts, she is a bit of a pyromaniac. 

TIME FOR COOKING!

We did some Indian baking by making homemade Naan.

Sofi modeled her new apron given to her by her grandma Centra and personalized by Kathy:

FYI: Sofi doesn't hold back her opinions. Over the years there have been plenty of embarrassing moments where the child said what she should have just thought.

So, the entire time we cooked she reminded me that she was going to hate it. It's a good thing I don't get my feelings hurt easily. My inadequacies as a cook have permanently affected my kids.

I seriously get excited at the sight of risen dough because I know I didn't kill the yeast. It's very satisfying. It's very easy for me to kill things unintentionally. 

Like plants, for example. I even killed a cactus.

They are like thick tortillas that don't have to be round. This is my happy place.

Based on how many I ate, I thought they were pretty darn good. 

My belly, however, isn't so happy. I am not used to eating a lot of bread. 

Notice the lack of cilantro. I HATE cilantro. I get that from my dad. And I am an adult and I so don't have to have it.

The of course came the real test:

Drum roll please........

SOFI LIKE IT! She declared "I made something that actually tasted good."

(She sprinkled cinnamon on hers. I think she thought it was going to taste like cinnamon sugar. 

But it was just straight cinnamon. Still good.)

And of course because I am such a mean momma, I made her help clean up afterward.

This was our "Hands on Learning" Day. We read the first chapter of The Secret Garden together. Well, mostly I read it out loud because with Sofi's learning delays, this book is difficult for her. But I feel the story is worth the effort. And I try to make her read a little bit. 

And now since she is SO EXCITED that her first day of school is OVER, she had a friend over for a playdate. What are they playing? 

School, of course. 😁