Mud and Worms

It is one of my favorite things to give my kids hands on experiences.  It is quite often my house that we play at with our homeschool group because messes can happen here.  I look forward to mud and worms day every year.  Honestly, I also dread the clean up at the same time, but it is so worth it!  We learn about worms and what they eat, how they help the garden, and their physical characteristics. 

 We squish and make mud, exploring all the mud safe kitchen toys, playing with the water barrel and making mud pies.

 There is nothing better than friendship and messy, muddy, exploration!  Plus, sitting on the swing relaxing and occasionally guiding my children or answering questions is a perk of being this type of teacher.  Yay!

Earth Day 2014

Happy Earth Day!  We enjoyed learning all about worms this morning.  We talked about all their body parts, what they eat, and why they are good for the garden.  We talked about proper handling of worms to treat them with respect.  Then we had our homeschool group join us for our "Mud!" activity.  It was such a blast!  It was a continued event from our preschool mud and worms morning and boy did we have fun getting dirty.  It seemed they needed a little prompting to get as dirty as possible, but when they figured out that it really was okay to get mud all over they all seemed to really enjoy it. 

Be sure to swing by Facebook Wednesday morning for a quick giveaway!

Creating a Homeschooling Group

Through ins and outs, highs and lows we've officially settled on a homeschool group that is working really well for us.  We started out as a playgroup when CJ was just 6 months old.  We've grown and changed a lot since then.  When it came time to split the group (Fall of 2012) there was a goal to create a newly formed group of people sharing the same goals and expectations.   We spent many hours talking and sorting and determining what exactly it is that we wanted.  In case it helps another family out there, this is what we settled on: our "About Us" and "Policies" information.

Welcome to LEARN, Life Explored and Responsibility Nurtured. 
We are based in AURORA, CO.

Our primary focus is building long term relationships and supporting our growing families. The majority of our families are active homeschoolers. Most of what we do revolves around our children growing and learning in the best environments that we can possibly put them in. We work hard to facilitate that growing and learning. Every member hosts a minimum of ten intentional learning activities per year. These include, but are not limited to:
• Educational Field Trips to Museums, Zoos, doctor offices, fire stations, etc.
• Science Explorations, Unit Studies, Literature Based Activities, Lego Club, Book Club
• Physical Education, Camping, Hiking, Park Based Free Play, Tennis Lessons
• Parent Education Classes, Parenting Support
• Holiday Parties, Mom's Nights
• Pot Luck and Game Nights, Family Camp Fires

Dads and kids are always invited to everything unless otherwise specified. MOST of our activities are home based in Aurora (around Quincy and Buckley); we occasionally have field trips to Denver and other cities. We are a close group of parents who like to have fun with our kids. We want to know everyone in the group and therefore expect members to be highly active in their attendance.

Members are expected to:
• Schedule and lead 10 intentional activities each year.
• Attend Meetups as often as possible, aiming for at least 3 a month.
• Prioritize group friendship by attending the monthly group activity.

New members must pay their dues in full ($10 per month for the remainder of the calendar year) by their second meetup and begin meeting all other requirements in their first full month of being in the group.

----LEARN POLICIES----
LEARN exists to build long term relationships through intentional activities and exploration.

Membership is open by invitation only.

We expect our members to act with respect and compassion for everyone's time, feelings and experiences.

Fees are $120 per member (due every January) and will cover the current calendar year. Members that join later in the year will pay $10 per each month remaining. Fees will cover the cost of meetup.com, portions of activities and a community craft box. As a common courtesy to the group, no refunds will be issued.

Members are expected to:
• Schedule and lead 10 intentional activities each year.
• Attend meetups as often as possible, aiming for at least 3 per month.
• Prioritize group friendship by attending the monthly group activity (the first Monday of each month from 4-7)

New members must pay their dues in full by their second meetup and begin meeting all other requirements in their first full month of being in the group. 

Odds and Ends:
• When RSVPing to activities, please only count adults in the “I’m Bringing ___ Guests” area unless otherwise requested by the activity. 
• No-shows (not attending a meetup when you are RSVP’d yes without contacting the host about not coming) are completely unacceptable. 
• Members are required to have a photograph of their face to match their profile. 
• It is crucial that our members feel comfortable and enjoy being a part of this group. We will not allow anyone to tear the group apart with petty bickering, backstabbing, gossiping or any other catty behavior. 
• Members should pay attention to activities that are already scheduled making sure to not double book an activity in the same neighborhood at the same time. If an activity is happening across town at the same time you’d like to do your activity that is acceptable. 
• A member roster of names, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, emails and allergies will be distributed to all members of the group. We encourage members to save all other members contact information in their phones.

LEARN Sick Policy

We have adults and children in our group who are fully vaccinated, unvaccinated and everywhere in-between. Regardless of choices, we as a group of friends are here to support each other. And that is never more important than when those choices do not match our own. Everyone has the health and interest of everyone at heart. No one in this group knowingly spreads sickness to others when avoidable. With that in mind, we also want to remind parents that sickness, while inconvenient, is a natural part of childhood. We ask that you keep your child(ren) home if they have any of the following and for 24 hours after symptoms have resolved: 
• Fever of 101 or higher 
• Vomit more than twice (think stomach bug not over eating or spit up) 
• Diarrhea 

Feel free to come to a playgroup if you have the following symptoms: 
• A runny nose 
• A slight cough 

We realize there is a large gray area between those two categories. We trust your judgment as a parent to know when your child has a cough and is still okay to play with their friends. However, please notify the group if you or your child has a cough so that all families can make an informed decision about their own participation. 

I, the undersigned, agree with the above listed policies and understand that my participation and the participation of any members of my family in any LEARN activity or program is completely voluntary, and we hereby give permission for myself and my family to join in those activities or programs. My family shall hold harmless this homeschool group, any volunteers or representatives, paid or unpaid, and/or the providers of any activity or program location and/or materials from any liability and/or responsibility for any accident, illness or injury that occurs during or as a result of any function or program. I accept that the final responsibility for my safety and that of my family rests with me.

Date _______ Member’s Name ____________ Member’s Signature____________________________

Playing in the Mud

It is so lovely to find a nice patch of mud to explore.  I often find the perfectly taken care of park to be a rather boring place to play as it puts constraints on our children's actions.  I wish we could stumble upon mud puddles more often.  How about you?