World Travelers . . Well, Kind Of!

 Korean Lotus Lanters (which really light up)

 A Spirit House from Thailand

 My Travel Journal of all my ideas and notes - the kids each have their own travel journal to hold all the treasures they have made during their visit.

 Homemade Passports - complete with stamps from each country that we visit!

A Japanese Fan - Made by Abby.

 Chinese Lanterns - created by my kiddos

 Origami paper dolls - so much fun  to make!

 Or collection of game pieces from games kids play around the world. 

This has been an absolute blast to learn about.

Koi Kites hanging from our classroom ceiling

Hello Dear Friends!

Sorry I've been so quiet here on my blog. I feel as though I have neglected it and been away for too long. The winds of change have taken me to such an amazing place and I couldn't be more excited. After making the decision to stop sewing and designing patterns in order to devote myself completely to home schooling my kids, I found myself on an exciting new adventure. Up until then I had been relying on different curriculums for each subject matter at varying grade levels, and to be completely honest I wasn't completely thrilled with most of them. I found myself supplementing all the time in order to fill in the gaps and tailoring it for our needs. I'm sure many of you who homeschool feel the same way. Plus, with homeschooling growing in popularity there are so many more options to choose from and to be honest it can be a bit overwhelming at times. One of the aspects of learning that I have always wanted to instill in my kids is that learning can and should be fun! I hate the thought of children dreading the mention of "school time" with lots of grumbles and groans. Therefore, I have always tried my best to turn it around and make it a much more positive experience with lessons that make an impression and create memories for my kids.

So, I decided to try my hand at writing my own homeschool curriculum. Imagine that . . . I guess I'm just not happy unless I am creating something. The kids had been itching to have a better Geography experience and because it's one of my personal favorites I started there. I wanted it to be largely project based, but also one that touched on all the senses. I also wanted it to have a world view so that my kids could open their minds to different ideas about often over looked topics. Each week we visit a new country and immerse ourselves in that particular culture. Not only are we studying the geography of that country but we are learning about the people, animals, nature, art, music, cuisine, etc.etc. The kids are loving it, and I have to admit. . . so am I! I have spent more hours than I can even begin to count during the wee hours of the day doing endless research on each country trying to uncover fun and interesting items that I know that my kids will just eat up. Our journey began in Asia and as you can see from the photos our classroom is filled with projects and these are just a few that we have made. While the kids are working on projects I take that time to read folktales to them from that country or we listen to ethnic music to create an atmosphere. At the end of each week we have a family celebration and the kids and I prepare a feast from that country. I think this is their favorite part. But then again my kids are total foodies and are very anxious and excited to try new things. A few weeks ago we made Japanese Udon (which is a type of noodle soup) and my kids insisted on eating it traditionally with chop sticks. It was so much fun and they honestly did a great job. I was totally impressed. I can't even begin to share all the details with you because it is quite intense but all the while being lots of fun. I have shown my curriculum to a few friends of mine who happen to be home schooling parents as well as teachers and they have 100% encouraged me to publish this so that others can enjoy it as well.

Wow! I never imagined that I would be writing curriculum for home schoolers. What is that old saying? "When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window". Right now, that's exactly where I am being led. So, while I may not be creating pretty little dresses anymore my focus is still on creating for children, just in a much different way. Not only am I working on this Geography curriculum I am also writing a study guide for American History for my two oldest. Life is never dull around here and I wouldn't change a thing.

Perhaps, Olabelhe may soon have a new division of Homeschool Curriculum. We'll just have to see where life takes me.

Dawn