Not Back to Homeschool (yet) and Easy Chemistry

August 26, 2010

I always feel a bit out of step with the schooling/homeschooling world this time of year. The buzz, even in homeschooling circles, is back-to-school. And my mind is just not in that space this time of year.

Like I've written earlier, this is our first year of summer homeschool. But we have always been year round learners and for the last few years we've done our state required assessments in mid August to reflect that. This week I am sending the necessary paperwork (2 pages in all) to the state education department for next school year along with the just-completed assessment (with a copy to the local school board).

Then I breathe a big sigh of relief and rest a bit.

The end of summer is certainly a time of new beginnings and marks a new year for me just as much, if not more so, than January. Even so, we like to ease our way into September's changes and I don't think too much about that until we've maxed out our enjoyment of summer.

So while the rest of the homeschool world is buzzing with back-to-school excitement (not those unschoolers of course who are motoring on as they usually do, unstructured and free) we're in an in-between space right now. Thinking about a new school year but still enjoying summer. And taking a break from morning math et al. for mommy to rest and get organized.

The kids are busy these days devouring library books and engaging in messy and creative work. Making silly putty has been a recent activity that is an easy, safe chemistry project.

I wrote about this project a couple years ago and this is the link, Homemade Silly Putty. This is an experiment/craft that my kids have loved to do over and over again and keeps hands and minds engaged for hours. All you need is borax, water and white glue.