a day at the museum and some thoughts on trust

Right now I am sitting comfortably on a sofa by our Christmas tree with my little Matthew snuggled up to me. I have loved these December days leading up to Christmas. School during the last few weeks especially has been such a neat experience. The more comfortable I grow into my role as a homeschool mom, the richer the experience is for our family. I think it's because the I am learning to trust myself! Maybe that sounds strange, but learning to trust yourself is a huge component in successful homeschooling, When you learn to trust yourself as your child's educator, you are less concerned with measuring what you're doing against what you think someone or something else expects of you (isn't that a silly way to live anyway?). And you are more in tune--more intuitive in helping your children progress and reach his or her potential at any given time. Learning to trust yourself can't help but extend also to the child. I believe that children can feel it when we trust them--by that I mean that they can feel that we have confidence in them. We are "in tune" with where they are--and respectful of their individuality and recognize the greatness within them. And that helps them develop the confidence to soar. Pretty amazing stuff!

Last week we had a beautiful day at the Natural History Museum of Utah with friends. I love being at home. Home is such a joyful place for me--but I also love when we are able to go on enriching outings with our friends. My boys love friends and love people, and for me having great conversations with other mamas is so necessary! Last week we visited the Natural History Museum of Utah. Wow, what an amazing place! We could have easily spent the entire day there. Pretty amazing.

I love taking my younger son out to experience "big" things.

I love that we live in a world with butterflies!

One of the exhibits was all about natural poisons. It was so fascinating! The exhibit walked us through the history of poisons and ended with a really fun interactive portion where the kids played as though they were vettinarians trying to figure out what was the matter with Skippy the dog. Both Matthew and Abraham were captivated by the process of diagnosing the source of Skippy's sickness. Later when we were home I overheard Matthew telling Jeremiah about how he worked like a veterinarian. I love when we have experiences that plant ideas of interesting problems to solve and great things to do in the world. And, so sweet!

This "lab" is so neat! So many interactive items for them to explore.

Coolest dinasaur dig that we could walk on!

This place is captivating for adults! So many incredible exhibits and so much to learn...for me too which makes it all the more fun experience for all of us.

Some sweet soul offered to take our picture.