You Gotta Start Somewhere!

Every other Saturday, Reese has group lessons for violin. This was our first time to attend, and I wasn't sure how much Reese would enjoy it. I should have known better...he loved it! He has such a competitive spirit that being in the presence of others who know more than he does just makes him want to work harder & learn more himself!



I could only get the back of his head this week, but I'll try & have him stand on the other side of the room next time so I can get his face in the video :) We'll have to miss our next group session because we'll be on the way to Orlando...

Reese is only playing on the E string here, while some of the others play the entire song (on the A & E strings). However, Reese kept the rhythm which is where he should be at this point!

How We Spent Our First Week Of Homeschool...

With much excitement, Reese started his first year of homeschool Kindergarten!

We had to start our first morning with a "First Day Of School" photo.

During the week, we....

Watched a praying mantis female eat her male mate. Eeew! We went on a photo hunt looking for words that begin with the /l/ sound. Reese had fun taking pictures!

Started our science unit on magnets. Reese had fun using the wand magnet to find objects in his box that were magnetic.
He played games with Daddy until he zonked out...
He dressed up as a Star Wars pilot & rode his "jet" around the house...

We had fun sorting buttons by color...
And making patterns with milk caps.
We went to the Dallas Zoo & had five hours of fun!

Reese got sized for his REAL violin. We brought it home and practiced right away!
The result of months of hard work...his very first real violin!
Each morning, we started with Saxon Phonics K & did one page a day in his Math Made Easy workbook. Reese practiced writing his name more neatly.

We had a fun morning at CoOp playing with our buddies & getting surprised with a BIG truck of pumpkins!

We played lots of games of Yatzee, Mancala, Uno, & a new phonics blends game.

We tried out Homeschool PE in Watauga and Reese had a blast. He ran 1/2 mile (wow!), played dodgeball, and kept up with all the older kids really well. The class is for 6-18 year olds, and the mix of ages worked quite well.

Our first week was a resounding success, and it feels really good be working together as a family! Of course, these are just snippets of our days...I don't think we were ever just *still*!

SoulTravelers3...Check 'Em Out!

I've mentioned before the family of SoulTravelers3 who are on a mulit-year global adventure with their daughter, who I believe is now 7. They visited Morocco & experienced Berber life in the Sahara.

Read about their spiritual visit and then check out their video below. Completely surreal experiences.



The song in the video is by Matthew Marsolek. It's called tera nam ek sahara & by visiting his site, you can even download the song for free!

CoOp: It's Outta This World!

Our CoOp lesson today just plain rocked (doesn't it always?)! One of the best parts about our CoOp group is that lessons center around what each Mom & child are passionate about. Our host today, Mrs. Renee, loves the solar system so our lesson today revolved around that theme (yes, pun intended, har har har).

Renee has these awesome inflatable planets & inflatable sun. To begin, they were all hanging from the ceiling, and as she read an awesome solar system book (I need to find out what it was), she took down each planet.

You'll see the planets on the ceiling. Reese is Mercury & was very proud to be the hottest planet!
As the story continued, each child became a planet. Then they played a game & at the end, they were all lined up like this:
What a fun group we have, huh? Reason #129 I love homeschooling: You can be a boy & come to homeschool gatherings rocking your pink monkey pajamas and nobody bats an eye!!!

After CoOp, we went to our weekly violin lesson. We're still working on rhythms, bowing, bow hold, etc. Slowly, slowly we're making progress!

We stopped by Lowe's for some flowers before heading home. Reese absolutely loves pulling the big red garden carts. Today, it was full of flowers & he was doing a very important job helping!!

First Sizing!

Look who got sized for his first violin!

His little violin will be 1/16 size...could it be ANY cuter? We are following Suzuki instruction methods, which means that Mommy learns to play the violin along with Reese at first. The parent-teacher-child "triangle" is a major component in Suzuki success.

Reese will actually begin on a "foamalin" which is just what it sounds like...a foam violin without any strings. They use the foamalin to learn proper care (treat your violin like it's a baby), bow hold, head position, etc. before throwing in an instrument to the mix.

Once Reese has progressed far enough with the foamalin, then we'll go back & pick up his real violin.

I lucked out as well...they didn't have any used rental violins for me, so I ended up with a brand spanking new violin! Can I admit something? There's a big part of me that's excited to learn to play! Poor Jeff will need some ear plugs as Reese & I scratch out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (the first song all Suzuki students learn)!

**Edited:**

Playing the violin is not something we, as parents, initiated! Reese has been obsessed with music since birth, & has lately shown an intense interest in playing the cello & violin. When I started looking into lessons & finding an instructor Reese's excitement picked up in intensity.

So, these lessons are completely Reese-based! I'm just trying to open as many doors for him as possible whenever his interest is sparked. Whether it's violin lessons, baseball practice, stage acting, or whatever comes next!!

If you'd like to find out why I like Suzuki methods, please feel free to contact me in the comments section & I'll be happy to share my thoughts!