Homeschool

This year the kids are being homeschooled.  We had a positive school experience in Hong Kong and it is possible in the future the kids will attend a more traditional school setting.  

I will answer a common question asked of me about homeschooling. What about socialization?

This is our Hudsonville homeschool group.
 We meet regularly and go on field trips. 

Thursdays, I attend a Bible study while the kids attend classes at the church designed for homeschool kids.

Friday mornings we make a trip to the Homeschool building.
 Jane has science class and a study hall and Elliot takes science and PE.  
 Monday nights the kids attend a scout program.
Jane is taking piano and horse riding and Elliot has soccer. 
We are not worried about socialization. 
 The kids grade levels are not very demanding. The actual school day is shorter and we have no evening homework. As a result adding all these activities does not take away from our family time and fits easily into our schedule. 

First day of school picture.
Elliot says Second Grade 7 years, when I grow up I want to be a race car driver.
Jane says Fourth Grade 8 years, when I grow up I want to be a veterinarian.

I have decided to set up a separate blog just about our homeschooling.  I am not sure how often I will be updating it but if you are interested here is a link

Fall at the FMG

One of the great things about our membership to the Meijer Gardens is being able to visit during all four seasons.  Autumn of course offers the most beauty. One of the highlights for the kids has been the giant pumpkins they have on display every year.

2007
Jane was four and Elliot was two.
The idea of climbing on one was fun, but Jane got a little scared.

 2012
The giant pumpkins didn't seem so big compared to the kids anymore.  They didn't have one to climb on this year which was a bit disappointing. .

 

Something new for us was the mini pumpkin patch with hay bales. Kids are free to run and play here.

Dad pretending he is going to sit on a cactus.
 When the kids were little Nathan used to trick them into believing he was tired and wanted to sit down.  They would yell "no dad no!" Eventually it became a game where the kids would keep dad from sitting on a cactus.

Jane using the Da Vinci horse to show me where the "frog" is located on a horses hoof. Something she learned from her horse riding lessons.

Some of the crafts offered on this day were painting, drawing, apple stamping and wreath making.

Clifford and Pauline

Clifford and Pauline Roman celebrated 65 years of marriage in September 2012. 

Delilah, Jim ,Tim and my mother-in-law Lavona (her family calls her by her middle name, Jane)

not pictured Marti- who is in Benin Africa as a missionary and Keith, a son who died in a car accident several years ago.

Keith's family lives in Minnesota so we don't see them very often. It was nice to connect and we hope to get to Minnesota for a visit.
Here is Jen picking out a marble for a keepsake.

Aunt Helena is grandma's sister.
She is one of the few people who kept sending us Christmas cards while we were in Hong Kong.

The next generation. 

After the party we headed over to Tim and Jan's pond.
There are two Taylors in the family.  The one on the left is Taylor Joy. She was given the nick-name TJ for the night to make it less confusing.

Smores!

Nathan let one of the kids take the camera around to snap photos, This was Moriah's pose.

Lake Jan Marie (named by Uncle Tim)
Michigan in Autumn, beautiful.

65th party from outypants on Vimeo.