More time

 Hands down, my favorite thing about homeschooling is that we have more time to do things that we want to do.  Like decorating pumpkins.  I am ashamed to say that last year we did not have, or make, the time to do that.  And the kids did not let me forget it.

 This year, we took advantage of a beautiful day and took to our front yard for some Fall fun.

 As you can see, each kid's personality was expressed on his or her pumpkin.

 I subtly work in some character traits I want to see in them as we do stuff like this.  Here, Nicholas is being helpful -- and he is proud of himself.

As Olivia decorated, she was muttering the six times table under her breath.  I did not ask her to do this; it is just something she is working on.  And, like me, a lot of mind-work gets done while doing something creative.  Its like one part of your brain is occupied and will leave the other part alone in order to do its work better.  Nicholas does something similar when he paces or wiggles while decoding words (reading). This reminded me of my now-favorite educational quote by Charlotte Mason:  "Self-education is the only possible education; the rest is mere veneer laid on the surface of a child's nature"  Olivia was teaching herself while I was merely trying to have the kids decorate for Halloween!