I Spy #37

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog. 

Each week Lysha at A Camera and a Cookbook shares a set of prompts for photos. On Saturday she invites participants to share their photos in the I Spy 2021 linkup. I took very few photos this week and relied on a little luck and a couple of last minute shots to satisfy the prompts.

- golden hour - I tried a selfie during golden hour and it was not good. I did like this view though.

- action item - Among all the many action items this week, figuring out lesson plans was the most time consuming.

- change - It's past time I take all the spare change I've gathered to the bank.

- cell phone - Total luck! I occasionally find that I've accidentally taken a screen shot on my phone. This week I got a screenshot of my cell phone's home screen on Wednesday morning and decided to go with it for this prompt!

- your choice - Happy Fall! 

iSpy 2021 is hosted by Lysha at A Camera and a Cookbook. The idea is to challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone and do something different with your photos. Anyone can participate by taking five new photos during the week that fit the prompts. Link up during the week and have fun! 

This post will also be linked at Wordless Wednesday hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane.

 

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to HS Coffee Break by email 

 ©2006-2021 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Homeschool 101 - Celebrating Back to Homeschool #5daysofhomeschool101

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! 

The first day of school is a big deal for a lot of people, and I think it's worth celebrating. It is a milestone each year as kids officially move up a grade. When my kids were younger I did my best to take a First Day of School picture of each of them. There were varying levels of cooperation in this project, because my boys definitely didn't always enjoy having their picture taken. And as they got older, they often thought this little tradition was rather silly. 

When I remembered, and when they cooperated, I took a picture of each student holding a small poster with their name, grade, and year on it. Here's a sampling:

First Day 2007

First Day 2008

He's clearly patronizing me. 

First Day 2009

He's still mocking me with that cheesy grin, isn't he?

First Day 2011 - Only Kennady would pose that year.

 So that was one year that I made do with candid shots of the boys. I grabbed a picture of them sitting in the bed of the truck waiting for us and then cropped out close-ups to use as First Day pictures. They look like bookends. 

For the first day of school last year - 2015 - neither of my two students wanted an official first day picture, so once again, I made do with a couple of candids. Landon couldn't very well duck out of the viewfinder when he was driving! And Kennady had just got a new short hairdo, so that made a good first day picture for her.

This year, I'll only have one student, and if I catch her in the right mood, I think she'll cooperate; so I'm hoping to get one of those more official looking pictures, maybe even with a little poster. Wish me luck!

As for other back to school or first day of school traditions, I wish we had something that we'd faithfully done every year, but my good intentions or ideas didn't always work out. And honestly, some years it would have been hard to say what day was "officially" the first day of school. We have done field trips, special breakfasts or lunch out during the first week of school. Some years we took our family vacation right around back to school time.

This year we will come back from a vacation just before our official back to school date, and since it will be just me and Kennady in the homeschool, I'm trying to think of some special things we can do during our first week back. I mean, why not stretch out the celebration over several days or several firsts?! Definitely we'll get donuts for breakfast on the first day of school. That's a special treat. There will be a first day back to guitar lessons, a first day back to chorus, and a first day back to gym class, so I think we'll do something special for each of those too. 

We had First Day Donuts in 2014 - from Tim Hortons! Even more special!

Do you have any Back to Homeschool traditions or celebrations? Do you take First Day pictures? Leave a comment and let me know; then continue hopping through the rest of the Schoolhouse Review Crew thoughts on curriculum in Day 4 of 5 Days of Homeschool 101.

Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog for the Not Back to School First Day Activities Round-up, and see what other Crew members do on their First Day of Homeschool. (July 28, 2018)

5 Days of Homeschool 101 - Traditions:

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2018 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author.http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/ 

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

A School Year Photojournal

As my students have grown older, I've taken fewer pictures as we homeschool. Part of me wishes I had more pictures, but on the plus side, with fewer photos to choose from, doing a summary like this is a little easier to manage!

Our school year started not quite a year ago. In the summer of 2015, we organized our school books and spaces, and started working on a few things  that we were reviewing at the time. I'd like to say we kept our books and desks even half this tidy all year, but no. Not even close.

Drivers Ed doesn't count for credit, but it was an important part of school anyway, because he got in a lot of practice driving us to gym class, Civil Air Patrol, and choir.

Participating in the Back to Homeschool Blog Hop is a kick-off tradition! 

And then we were officially under way! September went very well, but it became quite a challenge to keep up with school in October and November. My husband's mother got very sick and passed away in October, which meant we were traveling to visit and then to a memorial service. Later in the month, my parents arrived for a couple of weeks, and just when we were getting back to something like a routine, it was Thanksgiving week, which is always very busy for us.

We kept up with music - and Kennady spent a lot of time learning to play her ukulele.

We did our best to make progress with school before the Christmas rush would interrupt again, and even managed a field trip to the greenhouse to learn about how poinsettias are grown.

Most of December was busy with choir performances, parades, and the annual Christmas craft breakfast.

After the Christmas and New Year break, we had to work hard to try and catch up.

We found time for a stained glass "class" with a friend.

And I counted the time spent clearing snow and hauling firewood as Phys.Ed.!

Ice skating makes a good Phys.Ed. activity too, but the kids all agreed that just going to gym class is much easier.

This was the year I finally convinced Kennady to participate in our homeschool group's talent show.

Her choir's spring concert was a big deal, of course.

By the end of April and beginning of May, we were busy with grad and end-of-year activities. The youth made up the worship team at church one week, with Landon at the drum kit and Kennady singing lead and playing guitar.

Both kids attended the Junior Senior Banquet this year. Sadly, we arrived too late for me to get pictures of the group, but a friend provided me with this one of Kennady and a couple of friends. I still need to track down the other pictures that feature Landon in his new suit!

Civil Air Patrol provided two full credits for Landon this year, and kept him busy as he studied and prepared for his promotions, and participated in activities like the Memorial Day parade.

And just a couple of weeks ago we celebrated Landon's graduation!

Now we're working on some summer semester work that finishes off the school year properly, and gives Kennady a bit of a start on the next school year. 

Visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to read other Crew members' thoughts on their school year in the Reflections on our School Year Round-up, which will be live on Friday, June 24th.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2016 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/