Our January has been pleasant and loooonnnnggg- hikes, time with friends, interesting school days, and family adventures. We have spent considerable time outside in the first half, especially for January! We went on a hike as our first co-op event for 2026. Isla caught fish, we spotted eagles right above us, and we got 5 hours outside in the sunshine!
When we aren't hiking we're hanging with neighbors, digging in the yard, and going on winter walks. The kids earned around 35 hours outside this month (which is good for January!).
We spent the whole month of January learning about the human body. We were able to finish some badge work for Isla's American Heritage Girl program by learning to eat healthy, exercise, and find value in our identity in God. We did lots of science experiments, read all the books about the human body, researched lots of fun facts, and drew different diagrams.
The first week we focused on eating nutritiously, how the digestive system works, and food science. Isla had to make a healthy lunch for her siblings, a poster about fruits and veggies, and a tracker of her foods that she compared to the (new and updated) food pyramid. We even had a taste testing where the kids had to identify the five basic tastes of the tongue.
The next week we learned about exercising and the respiratory system. The kids did some exercise videos and breath work. We tracked our heart rates and practiced using our lungs.
The third week was spent learning about our identity in God and what makes us special. We did some crafts with our fingerprints, drew self-portraits, and read verses and stories about being a child of God. We also spent time learning that everyone is special and created in God's image, which opened the discussion about disabilities. We read about Joni Eareckson Tada and Helen Keller and their contributions to society and the disabled community. Isla even tried painting without her hands and signing several songs.
(Eleanor's first drawing of people. It always starts at the "tadpole" stage, which means she is starting to make sense of the world and portray it onto paper as a way of storytelling. This stuff fascinates me! She's getting so big.)
In our final week of the body unit, we learned about keeping our bodies healthy, taking care of our bodies, avoiding germs/building immunity, visiting doctors and dentists, and reviewing all the body parts. Both big kids made a hygiene chart and we practiced some basic skills related to that, like cutting their own nails and flossing.
Isla and I finished out the week with a homemade spa day complete with facials, foot soaks, painted nails, and cleansing drinks. We've been learning about Esther in our Bible reading and we talked about pampering ourselves as a form of self care like she would have done. I spent time praying over Isla and sharing all the things I value and see in her that are so special and that make her a daughter of the King. It was a sweet and special way to end our unit all about bodies.
I'm really proud of Isla lately. She is getting so big, she's so responsible and mature. I love her creativity, imagination, matter-of-fact brain, love for animals and people alike, and heart of gold. She's worked really hard to earn badges for her AHG program, she's learning to read (now that's she's lost some teeth... apparently that's a thing), and is FULL of all kinds of knowledge.
Our second January co-op event we had was our book club party. We all read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a group and Isla and I both agree that it is our favorite book so far. We both cried at points in the book and it is truly such a special picture of Jesus's death for us. For the party, Isla dressed as Susan, Ewan was Peter, and Eleanor was the White Witch (although, she preferred to be called the Queen of Narnia, just like in the book haha because she wanted to be a queen rather than a witch).
The kids traveled through the wardrobe, learned all about beavers, built a dam, tried turkish delight, made a wardrobe craft, and enjoyed a snack of Mrs. Beaver's marmalade rolls and swords :)
Our third co-op for January was a fun party at the bowling alley. The kids had a blast and we all decided this counted as our "P.E." for the day :) But I mostly see it as "we are homeschoolers and if we want to go bowling on a Wednesday morning at 10:00 am, we will!" Turns out the senior citizen bowling league in town also meets on Wednesday mornings, but we all had a great time!
Our last January co-op was a P.E. class at a local gym. The kids had to run laps, do stretches, play limbo, complete partner challenges, and play sharks and minnows. All the classic P.E. games. I'm glad for opportunities where our kids have to participate in group efforts and listen to other teachers, as they don't normally receive that in their day to day education.
The longer we are a family, the more I like spending time with these people. I love our adventures together and the fun we have. We have game night and pizza every Friday and movie night and charcuterie every Sunday, we enjoy sitting down for a meal together (*usually), and we love exploring places together. We even spent a whole Saturday in a small town near us at a cute grocery store, farmstead, and bulk food store. Only my favorite people can make a trip to the grocery store fun :)
One of the great things about our community is the resources for homeschoolers. Our Children's Museum offers homeschooling classes and I really appreciate that. Isla did a watercolor and science class that she loved! So the littles and I played while she was in class. They love the museum, we just usually end up sick so I have to plan accordingly when we go. We made sure to spend extra time in the body section as we have been studying that unit at home too. The museum gave us a lot of hands-on learning for that.
Another great resource is our local zoo. Isla had a class earlier in the month (without mom!). And then Ewan and Eleanor got to go to class with their Nana. They love learning about the animals and doing something different at the zoo.
January is typically a long, cold month, but there is a fun little reprieve in the middle- my birthday! Knowing my health history, I'm probably middle aged now at 35 (only kind of joking). Michael took work off and we had a whole family day to celebrate! I really wanted to go on a hike, but our hiking spot was closed so we headed to Springfield for the day instead. We started at the Lincoln museum. It was such a great way to learn about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
From there we went to the Children's Health and Science Museum where we all had a lot of fun. They have an entire body to crawl through spanning three stories where there are interactive body parts and learning tools. It was perfect timing (and very coincidental) as we've been learning all about the body this month.
Then we headed to dinner and Scheels, which is a store similar to Bass Pro. We rode the ferris wheel, enjoyed dip n' dots, and explored the store. It was a great day together! I love having day trip adventures with my family.
The following day we celebrated Nana and my birthday with the Ready side. I was not feeling great, but it was a nice time together. I felt spoiled and the kids had a great time with their cousins. I don't always love birthdays, but it's nice to feel celebrated.
On my actual birthday my plans were interrupted by some stores being closed and me not feeling great, but I had a great day anyway snuggled under a heated blanket with a heated mask on, heated socks fresh from the towel/clothes warmer Michael gifted me, with my sushi and favorite wine, with a spa-like bath to end the day. That's a great day if you ask me. Michael took one look at me and said, "so, is this what 35 looks like?" :)
And of course there's always in-between moments. Here are all the extras from the last month!
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