homeschool

LEGOLAND!!!

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Legoland Minis

We finally made it to Legoland! This is something we have been planning for a while as both of the kids have an obsession (understatement) with Legos. Let me start by saying we were annual pass holders to Disney for 2 years. So we kind of have this whole “doing a theme park in day” thing down to a science. However, Disney SPOILED us. Do not go to Legoland and expect to have a magical Disney type of experience. So now that the Disney expectations are gone, we can continue.

Overall we had a great day! We got there right after the park opened. In typical Florida fashion it rained briefly and then quickly cleared up. When I say rained, I mean barely sprinkled. However, according to Legoland, rained enough to shut down a few rides and close the trading kiosk. Once the sky cleared the park seemed to come alive. Everything there is so extremely kid friendly. We never had to worry if a ride or attraction would scare the kids. They have so much to do from shows, to rides, to building your own mini Lego guys and tons of places to eat.

I am not sure if the park is always this easy to navigate or if we just lucked out. We had almost ZERO wait times. As my daughter and I were getting off of the Chima ride we were asked if we would like to just stay on and go again! She excitedly screamed yes while I passed. They are not kidding with all the “YOU MAY GET SOAKED” signs.

Miniland USA is incredible. They used something like 20 Million bricks to build it. I loved watching the kids’ amazement and their brains wrap around what they can actually build with Legos.

We ended the day with a self-guided tour of the Legoland Hotel (walking distance from the park). I was floored. This place is so awesome. Kids are literally just sitting on the floor playing in huge pits of Legos. Also, Captain Brickbeard was walking around playing with kids. A super nice change from waiting in line for hours to meet a character. The longest line I waited in the whole day was to get our tickets at the gate. Even that line was a mere 20 minutes, max. Oh and as if the hotel wasn’t cool enough, they have a full service bar next to the play area. “Why yes, I would love a cocktail while my kids play.” Really, I would.

As an outsider, I can see why some would wonder what is the big deal with Legos. As I said before, I could talk to days on the educational benefits of Legos. So let us just name a few for fun:

  • It teaches kids to think in three dimensions
  • It improves literacy as kids work with instructions
  • It develops problem-solving, organization, and planning by construction
  • It improves creativity
  • It enhances communication and critical thinking
  • It boosts kids motor development.
  • Lego provides tools that develop lateral thinking in a fun environment

(http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/02/the-7-skills-kids-can-develop-from.html)

Ok, enough for now. I am sure this won’t be the last Lego drenched post. Also, homeschooling plus: Homeschoolers get a sweet discount there!

Also, check out my mad iMovie skills about our trip.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpVfsjp3WNk

Finally, a use for tiny toy cars…

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Number Car Garage

The boy is almost 5. Like his father, he has an insatiable love for cars, trucks, jeeps, semi trucks, really anything that has wheels. This whole world is new to me. I grew up with only sisters and loved all things girly. So when tiny toy cars started to appear, I thought “Oh cute.” Now, I swear to you, they are meeting up at night and reproducing faster than the Duggar family.

Late one night, in my insomnia induced Pinterest gazing, I came across this awesome idea. I’ll admit to you, since becoming a homeschooling/unschooling mama, anything that has even a minuscule chance at being educational I become obsessed with (I could talk for days about Legos). So when I saw this, I thought “Hot Damn Hotwheels!” I threw this together in about 30 minutes and he plays with it non-stop.

So the little mistake I made is that when he is looking at it the 2 is upside down. So, now he thinks that is what it is supposed to look like. Other than that, this 100% completely FREE toy has taught him to recognize numbers and learn their order.

Us, in a nutshell…

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We are an unconventional family with tons quirks and lots of love. I work part-time as a server and bartender. Dathan is a full-time stay-at-home-dad. He can also build just about anything out of anything. Want a pallet bar? He can build it. Want a wine rack? He will build it. We have been together for 10 years and have 2 kids and 2 dogs.

Within the past two years we have gone through some crazy changes. We both used to have full-time jobs and both the kids were in school and daycare full-time. We chased a dream of opening up our own business and through that process we learned our dream was something far different than we thought. We realized life is too short and family is far more important than anything else. So we had this crazy idea to start homeschooling our kids and survive off a server/bartender income.

So here we are, putting our family first and figuring out how in the world we are supposed to do everything else. We are perfectly imperfect. The dishes pile up, the laundry doesn’t get done. Sometimes we even eat junk food for dinner. In fact, we are the complete opposite of a “Good Housekeeping” cover story and we wouldn’t have it any other way.