Adam's Baptism

It was a special day for Adam October 25, 2008 when his dad was able to baptize him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many of Adam's family were in attendance and when asked how he felt after the baptism Adam said, "I feel better." Our family sang, "I Like My Birthdays Every One" and Abby played the piano for us. Mac Hicken gave the talk about the Holy Ghost and Auntie Krissy said the prayer. What a beautiful day

WOW time flies

I have been so very busy learning and growing that I haven't posted a thing in almost 6 months. That is just not acceptable so I endeavor to remedy that and do a catch up post.

The summer ended with a baseball tournament, swim meets, Liber Youth Retreat and two boys birthdays.

Carter and I had a fantastic time at Liber Youth Retreat near Sylvan Lake. For 3 days the youth discussed books they had read, put on skits for each other, heard great motivational speakers and simulated difficult situations. They learned that each of them has a special purpose and that it is their job to figure out what it is. Carter met some great friends and enjoyed every minute of it.

Abby is our swimmer. She loves to swim in the summer time and does very well at the meets. She had some great coaches this year that were very inspirational and I know she learned a lot.

Abby spent a whole month with her Grandma and Grandpa Witbeck. Two weeks in Kelowna and Two weeks in Utah. She really enjoyed herself and I know she will always have great memories of the summer of 2008

Bienvenido a Miami

What a great time we had in Miami. I wish the whole family could have been there. The weather was perfect and we had such a great time. I was so glad to see my grandfather. It had been 3 years since I had seen him. He is doing great. I was so glad that I could take my two youngest children to see him. It had been 5 years since he had seen them. He said that he was pleasantly surprised by their behavior. I'm not sure what my mother had been telling him but I am glad that he enjoyed our company.

We spent 10 days on Miami Beach. My grandfather lives in a Condo right on the beach. The last picture shows the view from his balcony. We played at the pool and beach everyday. We also took a trip to the Miami Seaquarium. The kids saw animals they had only seen on tv. Orca, dolphins, sealions, iguana, cranes, sharks, and alligators.

It was such a relaxing time. I know it was a trip the boys will always remember.

June The Busiest Month of the Year

Once I finished teaching piano lessons I thought life would slow down a bit. Boy was I wrong. Life seemed to speed up. Soccer, Baseball, Horsebackriding, recitals, year end facilitator meetings, year end parties, and swimming lessons. I am looking forward to July. Hopefully there will be some lazy days.

We visited Helen Schuler Coulee Center last week and enjoyed an hour stroll through the Old Man River Bottom. The above picture is under the train bridge. We went with my sister Kristina and her two daughters, (Brooklyn is in the picture) and my mom. It is a beautiful area and the kids really enjoyed themselves. We had visited the same area a month before when the leaf buds were just coming out on the branches and everything was still brown. What a difference a month and some rain makes.

This is a picture of a wild rose. These roses are the official provincial flower of Alberta. I find them so beautiful. I found them near the entrance of the center.

On June 20, Westwind Alternate School held a track meet and a year end pool picnic. Our kids had a great time and did very well. In this picture Adam is getting ready to do the Long Jump. He ended up with a first place ribbon.

Now we are nearing July 1st which is a big deal in our little town. Our town's birthday as well as our country's. Lots of people come home and the town nearly doubles. After that Summer Games (Adam is on the under8 soccer team), then a trip to Miami. I'm sure I will enjoy a few lazy days on the beach watching Adam and Jarett play in the ocean.

Earth Day Adventures

On April 22, 2008 a few homeschooling families got together to celebrate Earth Day. We went on a service race, collecting recycling from our neighbors with the intent of depositing the recycling at the Raymond Recycling Trailer. When we went to the trailer it was full. It remained full for 3 weeks while the large amount of recycling stayed in my driveway. When we were finally able to take the recycling to the trailer we found the surrounding area very dirty. Many weeks of the trailer being full and people leaving their recycling out of the trailer seemed to be the cause of the mess. As a group we decided to clean it up.

The Haynes', Witbecks and Burtons worked together to make the area more fresh.

For the most part, the kids played and the moms worked but they did begin to chip in near the end.

The finished product. It felt great to do something nice for our town.

Writing On Stone Provincial Park

Yesterday, May31,2008, we travelled about an hour east and spent the afternoon at Writing On Stone Provincial Park. They have a new interpretive center which is fantastic. A lot of learning occurred and the kids had a great time exploring the hoodoos and playing in the Milk River. We went with one of our best family friends, THE SIMPSONS, as well as Carter's good friend Carson Dudley. It was a fantastic way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Victoria Day Activities

We took a little day trip for the May long weekend. We drove 10 minutes south of our little town to the Ridge Resevoir. We expected the lake to be full but found it to be quite bare, which led to some great findings. Little lake snail shells, and some very cool looking eggs. Carter thought they were Killdeer eggs (Killdeer are shorebirds), he was right. Beautiful eggs aren't they.
After visiting the resevoir we went to my favorite spot south-west of Raymond. There are some rolling hills known as Alred's Coulee and at this time of year they are covered with wildflowers. My favorite are the Crocus'. My paternal grandparents use to take me to see them every spring. They only last a few weeks but they are stunning while they last.
It was a great family adventure which ended with a trip to Henderson Lake (Lethbridge 20 minutes north-west) and dinner at East Side Mario's.

My Family

My family. They are my pride and joy. I love being a mother and wife.

A Typical Day

A lot of people ask what a typical day is like in the life of a homeschooler. I don't believe that there is a typical day. Every family is so different. Each member of the family has different needs which differ from day to day. We do try to follow a flexible daily routine. An ideal day would be as follows:

Breakfast and Chores 8:00am

Devotional 9:00am This would include singing, memorization, scripture reading and family prayer. I usually emphasize a particular area of family life that needs improvement such as BEING KIND to each other and then we may read together.

Kidschool

After devotional we move into what I call Kidschool. This is probably the only time in the day that may look somewhat like public school except for the fact that we are usually cuddled together on the couches and are probably still in our PJ's. During this time we usually read together. This year we have read: Gulliver's Travels, The Spiderwick Chronicles, The Sign of the Bear, Call of the Wild, White Fang, The Apple and the Arrow, Carry On Mr. Bowditch and The Jungle Book, as well as the biographies of Louisa May Alcott, Jack London, The Wright Brothers, Rosa Parks, Elenor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Abigail Adams, and Florence Nightingale.

After some reading we usually play some math games or work on some spelling together. Our family especially likes multiplication bingo. I have an easel that is a white board and also holds paper pads. The kids love to draw or do math problems using the easel. They can also do this while we read.

FreeLearning

I believe that one of the keys to encouraging a love of learning is to structure time not content so after devotional and kidschool the children are allowed to pursue their own interests. I provide guidance, resources and encouragement. I have one rule; no electronics during this time, unless a computer is needed for research or testing, or the children can convince me that what they are going to watch is educational. We have really enjoyed documentaries this year. We have learned about China, Spain, Cuban percussion music, Ancient Greece, Great Moments in History, Pandas, and many other great subjects using DVDs. I have a membership with Zip.ca where I have access to a wide variety of films. A lot of discussion takes place during and following the films. Great teaching tool.

I believe that Physical Education is just as important as Academics and so the children are allowed to play outside during this learning time as well. As the seasons change the emphasis on the different subject areas changes. With it being spring, outdoor activities involving physical education and science related learning are our emphasis. Winter we did more book learning.

Afternoons

Our afternoons are reserved for group learning. Girl guides, book discussions, art classes and playdates happen during the afternoon. If I am not facilitating group learning I will use the time to catch up on laundry, my own learning or spend a little extra one on one time with a child.

So there you have it. A typical day at the Witbeck Freedom Academy.

Girl Guide Trip to Red Rock Canyon

It was a beautiful day (finally) when the Stirling 1st Girl Guides headed to Waterton Lakes National Park for a hike. Though a bit overcast at first, everyone seemed to have a great time. I especially enjoyed being in nature. Lately, for some reason, I am more aware of the beauty that surrounds me. Perhaps it was the long winter, but I am loving being out in nature.
Adam (my 7 year old) was amazed that the mountains were taller than the clouds. The mountains looked so majestic.
My sweet Abby. I think we could have stayed all day exploring and soaking in the beauty. The kids especially liked the creek and spent quite awhile down at the creek bed.
We took a short 1km hike to Blakiston Falls. Most of the trail was snow covered with 2 -3 ft of snow. It was packed hard though which made for semi-easy hiking. Why are there boys on the girl guide hike? The benefits of homeschooling. The whole family came along. I was at the head of the hike and the boys were right there with me. Boys just seem to thrive on adventure. They played Star Wars all the way to the falls. They were the Jedi Knights and the girls were the Rebels.

Our Freedom Academy

I have been inspired by one of my very best friends who has such a beautiful blog. Her blog is a record of her family life which includes her homeschooling adventures. I have never been good at keeping records and this seems like a fun way. One thing I really want to do is record the good and the bad so that others who visit this blog might understand the ups and downs of facilitating a child's education. This is difficult to do as I do not want to give any ammunition to opponents of homeschooling but as with any worthy pursuit there will be times of growth and times of failure. There is no shame in failure, as long as we fail forward.

I have given our homeschool the title of Freedom Academy because my main goal is to have my children understand freedom. Freedom of a country, a town, a home, a marriage, an individual life. I desire that my children fully understand choice and accountibility and have the ability to make their own choices regardless of what others may think. I hope that they will understand that knowledge is freedom and that as we pursue an education we gain more and more freedom.

So, I hope what I record here may help others in their own pursuit of freedom but my greatest desire is that it may be an honest record of our own pursuit.