Hidden Gems : Clifton springs

I love living in the Finger Lake region because their are hidden gems everywhere and not just wineries. We spend  a couple hours Mondays and Tuesdays in Clifton Springs for a speech therapy for Hulk Man. 

While he is in group Yasser and Mr. Man walk around with me exploring the tiny little creek area with the pound. This has lead to so really cool pictures since we have found tons of animals in that tiny area. 

 I have not looked into the whole story or history behind the pond but I have read that a grateful patient donated the mute swans in 2007. We have been waiting paitenly for the cygnet (baby swan) to hatch. 

  

 We also found some turtles and they have Koi fish in the pound as well. 

 The pond also has mallard ducks. 

One day after group we took Hulk man to see the swans and ducks. I swear he has to be some sort of animal whisperer because the swan was eating out of his hand and following him. Later he did it with a few ducks as well. I am looking forward to trying these walks more with the kids and learning the history.  

Hidden gems: Canandaigua Lagoon

Canandaigua once had a theme park and hid many things in the ground. Over the last several years they have been going through some huge cleaning project and creating a space that is just amazing to visit. 

One of my favorite places to walk is right behind Wegmans. It is a beautiful secluded areas that you do not expect to turn out as amazing it is. 

 Justin and I went for a walk after dropping the kids off at a sleep over. We walked these paths on our dates and still after all this time we still find really cool and interesting things.

 I am pretty sure Justin was annoyed with my need to take a hundred pictures of the snails trying to get that perfect shot. 

This is a perfect place to fish if you are into that kind of thing. 

This was the first time we have ever seen a beaver and we had no clue there were beavers in that area. I spent 15 minutes chasing the beaver before it slapped its tail and scared me because I was not expecting it.

It has been way to long...

Things were all over the place for awhile and it got overwhelming but we are back and we are more organized and in a better place. 

                                                     

I want to start with we completed our first year homeschooling with Yasser and it was a long crazy year. We combined first grade with kindergarden because she was comfortable with kindergarden before the year even started. We are starting second grade this year. She is also bridging into Brownies with our girl scout troop. I am very proud of my little lady because she worked hard to earn all of the pins and patches she could. We are also in to works of losing our first two teeth!!! I really have no clue how I feel because it does not feel that long ago she was depending on me for everything.

                                                                        

Gill-G had huge changes in his life. For starters we have the official Autism diagnose but he also has apraxia with anxiety and horrible allergies. The good news to it all we were able to start putting together plans to help him work around stuff. Now we are in a much better place and starting to see the unusual child emerging. It is honestly nice to see. We finally got rid of our gross green blanket and don't spend day and night upset. We are starting Kindergarden this year after catching him doing his sisters school work for her ( he just turned 4 so I didn't want to push but he can do math in his head and basic reading). Lessons were learned and now we are in for a really great year. 

                                                                          

Hulk man well he is just Hulk man with more mysteries than answers but we have either been learning how to accept and deal with more or he is getting better. I really have no clue anymore. But we love him and plan on another great year except this time we with be keeping up with our blog. Even Justin agreed to start typing and writing more. My weekly schedule has a blog typing section blocked off every week :) Thank you everyone for not giving up on me and checking every so often. 

Homeschooling- The well adjusted child

Nichol suggested to me to read the book The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling. Part of me is super glad she did the other part is amazed I stayed awake. It was nothing against the book, just never mix allergy medication with a book.  As for the book if you are concerned about the social ideas behind homeschooling this is the book for you. When I first talked to my husband about homeschooling he was extremely concerned about our kids being social awkward. Well lets be honest they are but not because they are homeschooled they are just really really weird kids. I enjoyed Gathercole's Chapter on what do homeschoolers do. The great thing about this is she shows no two classrooms are the same. In regular public school all the classrooms have a certain unison to it because everything is government regulated. You can only change so much to the curriculum and the actual class before someone gets offended and says something. At home what can they say? I hate the color of your walls? Would you stand for that or just kick them out? I still have to follow some guide lines but I design my stuff based on my beliefs and how my child learns. Gathercole talks about more than that (you should really read her book). The other Topic I really loved in the book was "Freedom and time to be a kid (before having to be grown up)." I love this topic because our public school is an 8 hour day and what is it really preparing you for? I recently read somewhere on one of my fun science websites that the human mind does not really learn until after 10 am. Yet by that time you would have attended how many hours of class? In school you do not get to enjoy playing and other child activities. You go home after a long 8 hour day but you have home work. When do you get to be a child and play? My classroom is based on my kids and most of my learning are games. Math has become a new favorite in my house and my 3 year old is doing basic math in his head. Part of me is confused where he learned it the other part is completely impressed. We started out playing Learning Resources Sum Swamp Game and I just added a few pompoms to the box to help with the counting. (Next time we play we will take pictures and write a whole article with what the kids think.)  Last but not least I also truly enjoyed "the homeschooling parent's social life". This is a topic I struggle with I personally have a hard time going out somewhere for a few reasons. Mostly where am I going to go? I am not the most social person and honestly rather my own solitude more than anything but I am at the age where most of my friends like to go out drinking and partying or they are just starting to settle down and start their lives. I do not drink or care to party, and I live in wine country. Where am I going to go Walmart? Call me crazy but that is not a fun time and going out by yourself is not easy. Once you start homeschooling and really get into it you forget about your sanity and what you need for yourself because you are so busy trying to make sure your kids have it all. She explains all of this and how to give your kid that perfect life you really need to take care of yourself. Please do not take this as a book review it is more of a book suggestion. Pick up it and add to your homeschooling library because it is worth the read.