Homeschool Moms: What Say Ye?

I love end-of-the-year homeschool programs, show-and-tell style. I also enjoy being a homeschool reviewer for the privilege it allows me of seeing firsthand what the children have produced under the creativity and perseverence of their moms (and dads, in some cases).

What have I seen that impressed me in various homeschools?

For starters, from my reviewees ....

Julie's kids' many lapbooks. These are made of two file folders glued together in such a way that they open up like a three-page greeting card. Each one has a theme (multiplication tables, deer, moose, subtraction facts, oceans, etc). They take some work on Mom's part initially, but the beauty of them is how effective they are as learning tools and how fun they are to make. I was so inpsired that when I explained it to Joel and suggested we do a Star Wars one or Indiana Jones lapbook, his eyes got big and he said, "Cool!" (I would do a "cool" one as an intro to lapbooks, rather than start with an overtly "schoolish" one! ) Julie spends a lot of time pulling curriculum together from many different sources and I jotted down lots of her suggested websites.

Amy's kids' copious amounts of artwork hung in their basement stairwell and around the basement. It makes artists feel honored to see their hard work on display. I also admire that Amy has each child get up, make her bed, pray, and then come down to breakfast. The oldest is in second grade and is in a very good habit of starting the day with spiritual and housekeeping disciplines.

Kathleen's kids' eagerness to show me their favorite subjects, and their cute answers when I asked them if they liked a certain subject. When their answer was to be "no," they seemed reluctant to say so. I finally let them off the hook and said, "It's okay, you can say you don't like it. I don't like math, either!" Then the eldest giggled and said, "Me neither!" or "Not really--at all!" (with more giggles that seemed to come from relief over an adult saying it's okay not to like certain school subjects).

At our end-of-year program, lots of families had set up a table featuring things the kids had done. Oh, the gamut of learning and fun! Here's a smattering of it:

-dog obedience training
-public speaking
-4H achievements
-science projects
-delicious cookies
-vacations during the school year
-music recitals
-drama productions
-costumes from various cultures
-taking care of another new baby
-truck made of K'nex or similar material
-thoughtful essays

If I were to vote on what I liked best from our own homeschool this year, I'd say three things:

1) Sitting with Joel while we both illustrated a weekly Bible verse and displayed his on the wall
2) Reading Shiloh aloud. I've truly grasped the truth that some kids really are listening even when they're not looking at you or your book. Joel seemed to tune in better to read-alouds when I let him listen while playing with Legos on the floor as I read from the sofa. At certain places in the dialogue or narrative, he would look up and respond appropriately.
3) Co-op. I can't say enough good about it. Where else could I spend three hours teaching something I LOVE (art) in exchange for my little boy being educated by other moms in science and music? It was so much more than I could have given him on my own.

What say ye, homeschool moms? What were your three favorite things from this past school year?