Gloss Mountains State Park in the Winter ~Fairview, OK

This place is magic.

You are driving along in terrain as flat as can be and suddenly there are these amazing buttes right in front of you.

Totally unexpected and amazing.

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To add to the magic, the day was moody, cold, windy, and ice lingered in spots.

The sun would suddenly light up the ice making it seem like you were in a different world.

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I could look all day.

You can hike along the top of Gloss Mountain.

It is a bit of a climb to get to the top but has amazing views.

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It was also cold and windy.

At first that seemed like it would make the whole trip uncomfortable.

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But the cold wind and cloudy skies made it even more breathtaking.

Figuratively and literally 🙂

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This was my girls first time here.

I did not think we would be able to go because of the steep drops but my husband said we could do it.

We kept little ones close.

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We told the kids it looked like Elsa had been here…

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It feels like you can see for miles.

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The mud coated our shoes and made it hard to walk.

It also kept the wind from blowing us off.

Ha

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My youngest son climbed up with a GoPro strapped to his head.

I was not sure about what kind of video we would get but I ended up loving it.

It is like we are being introduced to his world.

A world where every sight has to be taken in at once and bouncing is constant.

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I brought a little handheld microscope along so they could look at one of the rocks that give the mountain it’s name.

It was pretty cool, so sparkly.

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My youngest boy kept his arms in his coat.

He and his brother thought it was going to be a lot warmer out and were happy to be in the car.

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Little bit thought dropping ice on herself was funny.

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Pretty sure she is trying to lick dad…

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It was an amazing adventure!

I need to remember to go more often, it is worth the drive.

We actually stopped at the Little Sahara State Park to check out the sand dunes after we were done.

I have so many pics though I decided to break it up into different posts!

Do you have a favorite spot in Oklahoma?

Our Homeschool Day~January 2017

The last Homeschool Day I shared was January of 2015.

I only had two kids to teach.

I now teach 4 (and a half).

Ha

My 2yr old does not like being left out so I do a little lesson with her on most days.

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I  am trying to start our day with a short story or poem with all of my kids.

Then one of the boys plays with the 2yr old and the other starts his math.

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I do reading with one of the girls.

The other does an independent reading project, like word matching cards.

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I then switch and my other daughter reads to me while the other does independent work.

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When I am done with both of the twins it is my youngest’s turn.

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We work on letter sounds, numbers, and simple things like farm animals or butterflies.

After I am done with her lesson we usually go for a walk.

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The boys can do most of their work independently.

They just need writing assignments, new books for their school shelf, and their work monitored.

I also will give them science or history projects.

For our current study they are researching the Erie Canal with the knowledge they will have to build a working canal with a lock.

I tie together the boys history, geography, science, and literature by time period.

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For instance, they are studying the war of 1812, the Erie Canal, Francis Scott Key, Peter Cartwright, Steamboats, Mark Twain, and Beethoven at the same time.

I put all their books on one shelf.

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Here are steamboats that they made.

I actually had them research and make their own prototypes first.

Then I gave them some sites with directions and needed to help them troubleshoot.

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We eat lunch and have quiet time.

The boys do their reading during quiet time.

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I am usually correcting in the midst of working with one.

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After quiet time and snack I start the twins math lessons.

They do not learn well together so even though they are learning the same thing I do the lesson with one at a time.

Sometimes they are able to finish their math lesson, but often they need extra help to pay attention and need to wait for Nick to get home.

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This is probably a pretty honest picture of how our lessons go.

I have found holding a hot cup of tea calms me.

Sometimes I just need to hold my cup of tea, breath, and think of how I can explain something so that it is understood.

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The boys and girls both do the same math curriculum (RightStart Math).

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Once in a while we do projects all together.

Most of the time the boys do projects independently.

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I like how calm these pictures make it look.

It was not calm.

It was a thousand questions and a toddler that kept spilling things.

Not questions about the science of it by the way.

Ha

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If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably seen these.

I took the first group of pictures at the same time to show what everyone does at a given moment.

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This one shows the aftermath of our math lessons…

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Hope you liked getting a peek into what our day might look like.

Ha

I have found I have to be flexible most days.

Oklahoma Ice

There is something about ice covering everything that is just so beautiful.

It made me do something crazy.

Like bundle up my five kids today to go outside and look at it.

Even though it was nap time and we had an early rough start in the morning.

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Little bit kept trying to sneak pieces of ice into her jacket pockets.

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It took some tickles to get real smiles.

Little bit decided that she wanted to be like her big brother making silly faces at us and left.

Ha.

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I wondered several times if it was worth it while we got jackets and boots.

It was.

So pretty.