One of the great things about unschooling is that the kids continue to learn regardless of the calendar or the clock. (Well, in my opinion all children do this, it's just not always recognized as legitimate "learning", unfortunately.)
For example, yesterday we had lessons in Science, Geography, Culinary Arts, and Home Management. All in the middle of "Summer Vacation"!
Hazel was the lucky one who spotted this visitor to our backyard in the morning. He was truly the most gorgeous Dragonfly I have ever seen. He even put on a show for us, circling around the yard and returning to a spot very near to where we were standing so we could get a look at the front of him and hear his jaws munching together. 
And then he really surprised us all by making another appearance during lunchtime so the girls could show him off to Daddy firsthand! What a great thing to see.We were all very excited to see Hazel's new issue of Cricket Magazine, which arrived today, has a great article in in about Dragonflies. Perfect timing! **Whoops! Daisy is the one who gets Cricket Mag, and Hazel actually gets Spider Magazine, which is where the article about Dragonflies is.
One of the girls' favorite activity the past few days has been putting together a puzzle map of the United States. They have been taking turns doing different colored states, helping Stella find the correct placement for her puzzle pieces. They have been discussing the capital city names and the relation of one state to another, and Hazel even remembered what the Compass Rose was called. They have even gotten a bit daring and put the puzzle together without the border in place, which is just a little more challenging but still fun. And of course they are learning the geography of our country all the while.
In the culinary arts, we have been on a bread-making binge, using the bread maker to mix dough and then shaping it into our own creations. The girls often help me measure the ingredients (practicing their fractions as well as cooking skills), and then they help shape the dough into the loaves.
We had a wonderful loaf of French bread the other night with our soup, and last night the girls helped make wheat dinner rolls to go with our spaghetti. *(Please excuse Stella's lack of clothing in these pictures- she is in her Nudist Phase right now and there is no stopping her!)
And finally, in the area of Home Management, we have been working this week on developing a "Job Jar" system. When I draw a job out of the jar, the girls earn points if the job is already completed (such as their bathroom being clean or the activity table area picked up). Today we drew the Arts and Crafts cabinet, which was in need of a major reorganization, and we got that job done together. It is now their responsibility to maintain it, and with the help of the Job Jar, I think they can do it! You would not believe the picking up that they do regularly now, in order to keep their areas straight so they can earn some points! We are currently working toward a trip to Baskin Robbins, and they are almost there. The house looks great and everyone is helping out! Even when they don't earn points, they are able to get their cleaning up done quickly and without fussing. It seems too good to be true (we'll see if it sticks!)
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