Sweet, Sweet, Summertime...

It has been a pretty full and amazing summer for Zoey this year. We traveled to South Dakota as a family, did some local traveling as well and Zoey attended her first concert at Big Top Chautauqua where we saw Brett Dennon and Josh Ritter perform. She discovered that she has an interest in the Beatles and lots of other bands, (some including, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, the BeeGees, the Jive Five, the Kooks, etc.) and also has an interest in learning how to play the guitar.

She and some friends are planning a band...they've even contacted our local arts center to inquire about practice space availability and they are working with them so they can practice on their stage. All communication has been handled by the kids, no parents!

She was in the local Children's Theater production, The Reluctant Dragon, in which she played the part of Mortimer the dragon and ended up being on the front page of our local paper. 

This summer marked her first time riding go-karts (and I wasn't even there!). I was told that the first time she went around she rode the rubber along one side the entire way and then the next time around she was passing anyone and everyone on the track!

It also marked the milestone of going down a water-slide at a waterpark on her own as well. Again, I wasn't there but got to hear all about it. 

It's been a summer of exploring newfound independence. Specifically it's meant that she's allowed to walk (with friends) downtown on the island. She and her friends frequently eat at the local sushi restaurant, peruse the record store, the thrift shop, the candy store and the local park. There have been movies seen at the local cinema without parents in attendance. There have been sleepovers and afternoons spent at the library. A few trips to the beach here and there as the weather has allowed. 

Zoey babysat for the first time this summer and loved it and best of all the little boy that she sat for loved HER!

She's continuing her love of drawing and painting...

I am certain that I am forgetting a million other things (like gardening, YA library programs, bike rides and berry picking adventures, etc.) but these are the things that jump to the forefront of my mind. 

She has two friends that moved away this summer...one to Colorado and the other to Minnesota. She's exchanged emails with them already. 

Her favorite reads over the summer were, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. 

Summer isn't quite over yet...I am told there is end of the year party to be planned and we're hoping to do a few more family things and hopefully get a henna tattoo with a friend before our days of freedom are through!

The Campanile Childrens Theatre Summer Workshop - The Reluctant Dragon

Summer has been going by super fast, as it always does. I've been finding that for the summer at least, I've been blogging a bit more on my personal blog Live Life Create Art so if you'd like, feel free to follow our adventures over there. For now, here is a recent post that I shared there about Zoey's latest experience participating in our local childrens theatre program.

It's been a busy weekend here. Zoey's play, The Reluctant Dragon was this weekend with performances Friday - Sunday which has meant a lot of driving around and meal prepping! And lots of fun of course! This is the culmination of three weeks of a summer theatre workshop that is put together through our local center for the arts program. It's amazing. So very happy that Zoey has the opportunity to be a part of this ever summer.

This is her third summer participating and next year will be the last year that she will be able to be an actor in it, but will be able to be a helper thereafter.

She played the part of the dragon this year which was so much fun for her! This years' play was very fun and somewhat comedic in nature. Perfect for summer!

Best part according to Zoey was her mock fight scene with her good friend Ava.

And a picture of some of her friends that came to the show! Love that our community supports the arts!!!

Gardening Fun...

Or maybe I should clarify and say picking weeds...and getting the garden ready.

We've been getting a lot of rain lately so today we were sure to get outside and do some yard work while we could. Hoping for another nice day this week so we can perhaps try and get to the beach! It's been that warm!

Zoey finally got to planting a plant that she got from her grandmother a few weeks ago...

I always love seeing everything blooming! We are certainly in the throes of spring right now here in the northwoods! While outside today we saw a swallowtail butterfly and two monarchs as well as lots of dragonflies. Thank goodness for the dragonflies, as it means less mosquitoes!!

It's Officially in the Books!

Our first official year of homeschooling is in the books! It definitely was a learning experience for Zoey and I BOTH...and we are totally and completely smitten and in love with this year and our experience with homeschooling in general. Were there some bumps along the way? For sure. There will be some curriculum changes next year and subject changes here and there. For example, she's not in love with Spanish and has really been interested in Latin lately. I think we're both feeling more confident in our expectations from everything to what it is that we think school will or should "look like" to what expectations we should and can have of one another.

Zoey has grown so very much in this past year. Not only physically and emotionally but her mind has just cracked open and she's made me so proud with how it is that she is thinking about people, the world and life in general. This is what it is that I was wanting for her!! The safe space for thinking original thoughts as well as the space to explore interests that she may not even have had the chance to know about before now. Just in this year alone she's confident and even enjoying math, something that was so not happening while in public school and she's actually retaining what it is that she's learning! We love Math-U-See and Mr.Demme so much! So very thankful we went with that curriculum for math. She also discovered an interest in drawing and sketching, something that she didn't have the confidence enough in to express while at her public school, (at least it didn't happen in the past). Growing up in a family with an artist as my father, there are days when I see Zoey sketching and drawing and I can't help but get a bit teary eyed. She NEVER used to do that and she does it all the time now. I love that she has so many ways of expressing her creativity and that drawing is now one of them.

Her favorite subject this year hands down, was science. Both what we did for school and her independent projects. Reading was a close second and she enjoyed free writing as well. She read a TON this year! So many books that I lost track of them all, (we originally were trying to keep a list). Makes me so happy. Something kind of quirky to note, she loves finding words that she doesn't know the meaning of and then looking them up and then finding ways to use them in everyday conversation. She cracks me up.

My one big worry about homeschooling her last year was, are you ready for it...socialization!! I know, silly right?!?! I had all sorts of concerns and worries. Well, guess what? She is just fine and in fact, had perhaps even a busier social calendar than had she still been in public school! Weekends were busy with friends coming over or her visiting friends. She knows more kids than ever now with the homeschool group kids in the mix of things now as well. Having dance classes twice a week and hanging out at the library after school hours helped too. She even attended two out of three middle school dances this year, which was awesome too! Very thankful that her friends have stuck around and remained friends despite our rearranging our lives a bit and that we've been able to make some new special friends through homeschooling as well.

She's happy that it's summer break, that's for sure...but interestingly enough, she mentioned that she was sad that the routine of "school" would now be over and that she was looking forward to next year already! Over the summer she'll be taking part in a day drama camp, taking some summer dance classes, babysitting and she has a potential job assisting at a gymnastics summer camp as well. She will be continuing working through math (I don't want to lose her foothold on things) and we'll be doing a somewhat lighter botany course as well. It's safe to say that reading will be on her agenda as well. There's no stopping that! I'm hoping to get her to be involved in the teen book club at the library that I work at, as well as participate in the summer programming.

Feeling so very thankful that we took this leap of faith last year and just DID it!! Thankful too for our friends and family that have shown so much support.

Feeling pretty blessed.

We'll be sharing our happenings here on the blog yet this summer, so stay tuned for what's to come!

Some of Zoey's Sketches...

I am just smitten with her sketches as of late...loving them! These from a girl who dreaded art class when in public school. Who pretty much endured them due to having one art teacher who was not a nurturing and positive role model to her. Who actually asked her once if she was "proud" of a drawing and when she replied that yes, she was, the teacher took her paper, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash and told her to start over. Thankfully, the two years before we started this homeschooling journey she had a new and amazing art teacher who I feel started to build her confidence back. Anyways, to see my daughter having fun with art again and feeling free, is a remarkable thing.

Wishing you a creative rest of the week!