We are doing our science as a unit study. So today at breakfast I read our week’s lesson (we are doing all the science for each week of the school year compiled into one day—so there are 36 weeks of science that I’m tackling in 36 days—not consecutively). Today’s was about weather and happened to be a Magic Schoolbus Book, which all of the children adored and I read past the required reading (Instead of stopping at page 23, I read the entire book. Twice, it turns out, since W. did not want to get up off the couch and eat breakfast yet but was put out when she couldn’t see the pictures). We talked about rocks and how weather is the #1 killer of people (and all the ways weather can kill you).
I offered to go over letter sounds with W., but she was having a day and not very excited about it—no worry to me, I think she’s a bit young to work on reading, so I’m going at her pace and her interest. D went out with J and found a frog. A frog is always a lucky find—hours of fun. They put it on the baby pool in the porch, on top of the Barbie pony in the baby pool on the porch, on a Lego structure they built for the frog, but let him go when certain children began squeezing him a little much.
J gathered a bouquet of flowers from our garden—she has been interested lately in composing bouquets and is much better at it than me.
Z spent time coloring with gel pens and listening to How to Train Your Dragon (we are on book 10, the audio version).
Science as unit study has been perfect for a relaxed way to keep homeschooling going this summer (and get ahead for next year, with the new baby coming). I might make a habit of this every year. We’ve got our curriculum for next year ready (Sonlight, piano lessons, and Latin for Z and J, Five in a Row for W and D, plus All About Reading for W), so I plan to start that up whenever we finish Science (my goal is to finish the science unit study before the baby comes, but likely we will finish well before).
How is your summer going? What are you learning?
Renee Emerson 
thoughts?