New Year's Resolutions:

This has been a rough year.  Money issues, health issues that kind of took over my life, and a plethora of other garbage began to run the show.  Not any more, I am not letting all the junk take over.  In this spirit I have made resolutions that will improve my life overall, and the lives of those who are important to me.

1) Practice yoga weekly
2) Spend time outside with the kiddos every day it is not dangerous to do so.  Was doing well with this until the negative wind chill today
3) Spend more active time with the kids
4) Pay closer attention to my own health
5) Be more intentional with lesson planning and lesson implementation
6) Continue to organize and simplify our home
7) Blog weekly here and in Peace, Love, Laundry and Food!

First let me start off with last year.  I didn't know how sick I was and how it impacted my daily life till it hit crisis stage in August.  While I still don't have a clear diagnosis I have shed almost 50 pounds, lost the pain that had been plaguing me, and in general feel so much better.  Blogging seemed like an unattainable goal last year, this year I am excited about it!  In addition, now that the kids are a little older I can have them read quietly or play a game, allowing me time to blog.  I love that they are grown up enough for that, but I also hate it.  I miss my toddlers, my babies.  Now Eliza is so tall I have trouble picking her up!

A lot has changed in our homeschool journey.  We spend a lot of time at museums, the library, nature center, and aquarium.  We have a new school room downstairs that I will post pictures of next week.  I know I have said that before, but I really mean it this time!  We use our binder and I have a homeschooling binder to help me.  I also have a great spreadsheet of goals for the year.  If anyone know how to post a link to an Excel spreadsheet I would love to share it with you!  We have been really just flying by the seat of our pants with learning in 2013.  The kids learned so much, and so did I, but this year I want more of a plan, not more structure, just more organization of thought.  I want to study Egypt.  There is going to be an exhibit at the CT Science Center next month called Lost Egypt, and I am so excited.  First let me tell you how much use we get out of that membership.  The kids LOVE the place and so do Rich and I.  We go at least once a month, and our membership this year also got us free into Old Sturbridge Village twice and enabled us to bring a few friends to the aquarium for free.  Great investment in our education.  Anyway, Egypt, a topic that has interested me since I was Eliza's age.  The kids are looking forward to it.  I am going to integrate map skills, pyramid science (we have a kit), art and crafts, we will sculpt canopic jars and build pyramids, read books, learn about pharoahs, mummies, mythology, religion, and we will do it all together.  I am giddy just thinking about it!

We always have a huge emphasis on science.  Yesterday we did several activities, all of which the kids journaled in their science notebooks.  They write and draw a hypothesis and results.  We did the mentos in soda in the snow, a kit a friend sent with polymer spheres, and acid base chemical reactions.  This sounds more complicated than it actually was, it was simple and fun, and they learned a ton!

My goal with this blog this year is to chronicle what we do a little more, get some new ideas and share our love of learning.  I will be diligent about posting more pictures and step by steps, and really share what our homeschool journey is about!  Thanks for reading :)  Next week a peek inside our "new classroom" and some of what we have done so far this year.