eclectic learning ~ 9 days in our unschooling life

As May rolls into June, our lives go on in their eclectically busy kind of way. 

Camille rehearsed for several weeks for a homeschool production of Macbeth. Here she is in character while we were playing around with hair and makeup ideas for her role as Hecate.

  Her sisters have an ongoing fascination with makeup and face paint.

 our pretty duckies

  A lot of time has been spent in the gardens.  Tilling, spreading compost, tucking seeds and seedlings into the soil, watering them in, playing with worms.  Each person contributing as they see fit.

  spray bottles have been a big hit in the garden

Camille has taken over the front garden for her very own. I can't wait to see how it grows.

 We participated in a Memorial Day march with the Girl Scout troop. We were right in front of the local school marching band that Camille hopes to join when she is old enough. I am so happy that our local public school lets homeschoolers participate in band. Camille has gotten so much enjoyment from it so far.

 The march ended at the cemetery where veterans led a respectful ceremony honoring those that have given their lives and ending with a prayer for peace.

After a full day, sometimes you just gotta take a nap mid-playing.

 Our irises are in full bloom by the back door.

 After dropping Camille off at her final dress rehearsal, Sylvia, Ayla, and I spent our day visiting the natural foods co-op and the park.

 Sylvia spelling out words on the theater's white board while we wait for Camille

 After rehearsal we went to the library and stayed around for storytime and outdoor games and treats with Camille still dressed as Hecate.

We were gone from the house all day and pulled into the driveway just in time to see a huge rainbow shining directly over our hose and yard. Home sweet home! Blessed be.

shining over the solar panels and garden

At long last, time for Shakespeare's Scottish play to be performed. Camille was the narrator for Act I. During Act II we quickly got her dressed and made up as Hecate for Act III.

 It was so fun to see all of the kids' hard work come together for this final performance of Macbeth!

 Sylvia and Ayla each gave her a small pot of carnations for her garden, in lieu of cut flowers.

 Camille and two of her fellow thespians in front of the Fortney Underground Theater

  back at the homestead, Ayla's favorite spot while I am hanging laundry on the line

 in the process of giving Camille a new do

 at the pond at Mill Bluff State Park with friends (also learning how to be supportive to a grieving family)

 a close examination of the cherry tree as the flowers give way to the budding fruit

  Ayla with her best buddy at the park

 at the Necedah Wildlife Refuge 

 Ayla and I tagged along with Camille's Girl Scout troop while Papa took Sylvia to her ballet class.

 wild lupine (the only food eaten by the endangered Karner blue butterfly larvae)

 yellow prairie flower

The Girl Scouts spotted water striders, a painted turtle, squirrels, chipmunks, swans, whooping cranes, and a bald eagle.

  The girls looked at old nests up close and drew pictures of them while identifying what type of nests they were. They compiled materials for birds to collect for building their nests in our yard (cotton balls, straw, shredded paper, dried grasses, and bits of yarn).

Camille had a couple of friends sleep over recently.  One of the things they did was make origami cranes. Camille has been spending a lot of time lately pouring over origami instructions and learning how to fold a huge variety of shapes.  Most surfaces in our house are collecting her creations.

From planting organic gardens to playing Scooby Doo games on the Wii, from spelling and number games in the car to learning how to tune a guitar, from folding origami to investigating cherry buds, all of the eclectic mishmash of our days adds up to a full life. The learning and fun and socializing and discussing might not fit neatly into categories like 'science' and 'history' and 'literature', but it is all there, with rich connections running throughout.