12 Month Baby Schedule Update {baby #5 babywise}

by Meghan // June 21, 2021 // No Comments

Baby 5 aka Sir, turned 1 year old last Thursday. He is definitely the most baby of all our kids… He just started crawling the week of his birthday and is getting into *everything* now. He is hitting his developmental milestones, and is enjoying being the baby of the family.

We were doing great on 2 naps, but recently they became messy. I tried stretching wake times and doing all the things to keep 2 naps, but it was just not worth it. 2 40 minute naps and a super cranky baby, meant we were going to one nap.

So the week of his 1st birthday, Sir began the following routine:

730 DWT, bottle, breakfast
930 independent play in crib
1030 small snack
1130/12 lunch
1230 Nap
330 up from nap, book and snuggles
400 small snack
530/6 supper
715- book, bottle and bed

Between meals and nap, he of course gets lots of loves and family time. Daddy and his siblings are his favorite, for sure. Sir loves being outside, and asks to go out by saying, “ah ah.” Sir has words for- dog, cup, please, outside, mama, dada, and ball. He tries to mimic all of our most commonly used words and is learning so much.

The week before his birthday, we started weaning by dropping 2 feedings.

The week of his first birthday, Sir was teething and refusing to nurse all together, so I just took the opportunity to wean 100%. Im not sure I was completely ready, but I was sooo ready ? So, here we are. He is still taking 2 bottles a day, and honestly that’s just because I enjoy that time with him. He looooves both of those bottles. I will probably drop the morning bottle soon, but usually keep my babies’ evening bottles til about 16 months, just because we can.

Sir loves to eat, and will devour all the things: meats, eggs, veggies, spinach on sandwiches, and fruits. He enjoys goats milk from our farm, and in general is a super healthy boy. His 1 year check up went very well. We did a blood draw for food allergies, but honestly I don’t expect much from it, since they’re not very accurate. It was really just to see if the almond reaction he has had is bad enough for an episode pen… otherwise I don’t think it will tell us very much.

So that’s it. 12 months, 1 nap, 3 meals and a happy baby.

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Homeschooling Memory Work with Cross Seven

by Meghan // May 20, 2021 // 1 Comment

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

We have added Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool online subscription to our morning time during breakfast. This memory work is set to Claritas Musical Memory Work songs. These songs are beautiful, and so easy to remember! We have loved this program.Inside the account dashboard of Cross Seven, parents can create a child profile for each child. Using the child profile, students can take quizzes on the memory work they are learning. Each child profile can login under the family account, which allows ease for parents to keep up with what everyone is doing, and tracking progress if desired. Our family chose to do quizzes together, and take turns answering quiz questions (though they all knew most of them) as a family. Memory work for us is an added bonus to morning time, and I trust the process enough to not feel the need for quizzes… BUT quizzes can be fun for kids, a great opportunity computer practice, and of course a way to track progress if necessary for homeschool reporting. You can also give children any name for their account, it doesn’t have to be their real name (I know some parents like to avoid putting their children’s name online, and I totally get that!).

The images and text on the videos of each song are meaningful, and memorable. Each week’s memory work consists of

Scripture
History
Latin
Grammar
Science
Math
Grogrpahy
Hymns
Timeline
Timeline Song

Families will find an easy to use program, divided into simple to navigate sections. Our family mainly utilized the Weekly Memory Work tab, but you can also navigate through the memory work by subject. Each memory work song correlates with a video; if you click on memory work by subject, you can scroll down to find hand motion videos for each song in that section.

There are 4 year cycles to work through, each containing 28 weeks of memory work. This provides a great foundation of memorizing facts, on which to build more in-depth knowledge later. We enjoyed watching the videos that went along with the songs in Cycle 1, as this is our first year doing memory work. But we are looking forward to Cycle 3, where we will move through some of the Psalms, the Industrial Revolution, learn about perimeter, and more!

Each week has correlating Fun Links, including how to create your own timeline book. We have a timeline book and love utilizing it, so I would definitely suggest making one to go with your memory work. It is not only a great keepsake, but of course documents student’s learning, while providing opportunities for kids to express what they’ve learned. They can write, draw pictures, or dictate to a parent what goes into the book. So many opportunities for added learning!

I love that this online program is *easy* to use. While the program itself isn’t complicated, even simple programs can have difficult websites- but not Cross Seven! It is very intuitive for users, from logging in to navigating the website, anyone can do it. I also like that there is a Cross Seven Roku Channel! We love using our Roku for learning channels so adding this one was a no brainer.

My children have had lightbulb moments with this memory work! *Oh! Now I understand XYZ because the timeline song!* Honestly, I have benefited from the memory songs, especially in the timeline portions, because sometimes it is hard to remember the order of history. This makes it so easy and fun… we aren’t just doing rote memorization here. This is learning that students will apply to all areas of their education- (making connections is vital in comprehension: from text to self, text to text, and text to world. We aren’t talking about reading here, but the same thing applies. Children will benefit in making these different connections through the use of memory work. Ok-my education degree rant is over. ? )

Parents can also choose to order books, CDs, map booklets, and more products that align with their family’s memory work cycle, but this is not necessary.

Connect with Cross Seven

Be sure to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews for Cross Seven!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Family Devotional with Bob Goff- Homeschool Morning Time, Bedtime

by Meghan // May 18, 2021 // No Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

Each night we read a chapter/section from a devotional, and often read a few stories from the Beginner’s Bible, to our children. The lst several weeks we have been using a new “devotional” and have really enjoyed it. Tommy Nelson Publishing so graciously sent us Everybody, Always for Kids , by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich.
We love supporting theologically accurate books which teach about loving like Jesus and walking in such a way that reflects that. Everybody, Always for Kids fits into our family perfectly. We have enjoyed reading a new story several times a week, before bed. My kids beg to read from this book, enjoy the lovely illustrations, and understand the lessons taught.

The binding feels sturdy, and the thick, glossy pages should hold up well to many years of love. There is also a royal blue, satin ribbon bookmark along with an inscription page, making this a perfect gift.

Inside this hard bound book, parents will find 40 stories of personal experience, that help children see the world from others’ point of view, and help them understand how to love others well. Each story focuses on a different situation or feeling, and how to respond/go to action, from a biblical perspective. We especially enjoyed the Be Not Afraid-serving others, Trash Cans- about Pat who was an ordinary neighbor that did something small for his neighbors, and Land the Plan-about mistakes.

Sometimes our children have a friend in their life that is hard to love, be it at Sunday school, playdates, or co-op classes. Loving that friend doesn’t mean accepting what they do as okay, but it does mean we can love them anyway, just as God loves us no matter how sinful our choices may be. We can each relate to feeling outcast, different, or mistreated because of our differences.

Sometimes children see someone else who is being treated differently, struggling with their feelings, or sitting alone, and they may not know how to help them. But Everybody, Always for Kids , makes it easy to see the simplicity in kindness, and how that kindness shows God’s love to others.

I love that we don’t have to send our children into battle for them to be “salt and light.” God has made previsions for our children to impact the world through their words, behaviors, and kindness *right where they are.* He always meets us where we are. And it is true for our children as well- siblings, neighbors, at the grocery store, or with friends, they can love others.

This book sticks to topics that are developmentally appropriate for kids ages 6-10, so there won’t be anything too difficult to discuss with your children. My kids are 4-10 and have enjoyed reading it together (my 10 year old has also read it on her own for fun). I can tell they’ve been contemplating what we’ve read, when they come to me and want to talk about the story from the last day or 2 . The stories are making an impact on how they see others.

Want some free bonuses? You can also head here, to sign up for some great bonuses from Tommy Nelson Publishing for Everybody, Always for Kids. This will include a fun, 5 lesson plan/activity pack for your family. It includes activities that reinforce the lessons in the first few stories. These would be a great addition to your morning time, or after nap hands on learning in your homeschool.

Connect with Tommy Nelson

Be sure to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read more reviews of Everybody, Always for Kids!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Friday on the Farm {LGD getting comfortable}

by Meghan // April 23, 2021 // No Comments

LGD on the Farm

After losing Huck, we decided to bring Bear out of the goat pen and into the yard with the family and chickens. At first he just hung around the gate to the goats, and slept under the chicken coop.

But after about 2 weeks he really started feeling at home. And by week 3, Bear is a pro at protecting all things chicken and child. His bark at night is so reassuring, and he loves the kids. He follows along on my walks each day, and is such a sweet boy.

We are thankful for having kept 2 of Huck’s puppies, and it sure has me wanting to have some more!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Vooks: Storybooks Brought to Life

by Meghan // April 22, 2021 // No Comments

Vooks is a visual book streaming service that brings books to like via animation. This program has been loved by each of my kids, even the older ones (because who doesn’t love being read to?!)

Vooks brings storybook to life with fun, easy to understand voiceovers and beautiful animated illustrations. We found so many of our most beloved picture books while using Vooks, but also a treasure-trove of new books we’ve not read.

I have looked through the book selection, and have found only good, beautiful books that I wouldn’t mind my children reading without me. One of my favorite features, as a homeschool mom, is that the words are highlighted in bold letters as the book is read. There are also titles read aloud in Spanish, with Spanish text, which is great for those kids from a Spanish speaking home, or those learning the language.

Try Vooks free for 30 days! Go to VOOKS to sign up!

We use Vooks for independent time, for the kids to hear some book read aloud with great interactive illustrations. We set it up on our larger monitor desktop, and they can each take turns selecting the books they want read aloud. We have food this perfect for cold and rainy days this spring. Also, I get to listen along while I fold laundry, which is fun for me. I love children’s picture books; and we get to interact as a family. The entire site is kid friendly and parent approved (and not just by me haha)

Strengthen literacy, vocabulary, and promote independent learning for your kids using Vooks!

Along with all the beautiful picture books, parents and teachers can find free, printable lesson plans which include discussion topics, engaging activities, and more!

Ready to purchase your subscription? Click here!

Many thanks to Vooks for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

#VooksMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork #vooks #betterscreentime #vookspartner

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Spring Activities for Your Homeschool- 2021

by Meghan // April 13, 2021 // No Comments

This time of year is one of my absolute favorites! I’ll be honest, it doesn’t feel like we have a “real” spring every year; most years we either have an extended winter, and go right into summer, or it gets hot fast, making spring short.

This year, we are getting a beautiful, *real* springs and it makes me want to do all the things!

I have always lived in seasons-from the foods I cook for my family, the decor in our home, to the books I read, it all revolves around the mood of the season. So I was thinking about blog ideas I could share with my readers that include the things I love, but would encourage putting down our phones/devices and get outdoors.

homeschool Spring Activities

School outside-It is windy most of the time in KS, so we have to pick and choose the best days during any season to school outside. But spring offers the most days. We love to sit outside on the porch and do our morning time. Or read on the picnic blankets out back, in the afternoon. If you live in the north or the south, it can be a challenge catching a warm or cool enough day. SO take advantage of the spring weather!
Walk in the woods-just like any other time of the year, walking in the woods provides so much opportunity for learning! Listening to birds, bugs, frogs, and identifying each is so much fun in spring! The flowers, wildflowers, and trees are all coming to life, and attracting wildlife.
No Sweat Nature Study– this is a beautiful, easy addition to any homeschool; we especially love it in spring! The weather is so perfect for exploring all the nature we are learning about in Cindy’s videos.
Camping and hiking- Depending on the age of your kids, camping can be so easy. But even with 5 kiddos, one of those being a baby, it is always *worth it* for our family to venture out. Time spent outside as a family, uninterrupted by “work” or other stressors, allows for a lot of bonding time.
If you’re interested in hearing more about adventuring with your family, even when it feels like more work than play, check out this podcast episode from Read Aloud Revival . I love how they discuss that when all we remember are the not fun parts, getting frustrated, etc kids always remember the fun.
Enjoy arts and crafts more- this time of year inspires me so much to paint and doodle, and to encourage my children to do the same. Sending them outside to explore, and come back with something they want to draw into their journals. Or just finding a good video online to follow, is prefect.
Homemade play dough- I love making homemade play dough because I don’t feel bad when it gets dirty or “ruined.” Plus it is a lot of fun to add in leaves, grasses, and flowers such as lavender. Spring is the perfect time to do this.
Plant a garden– this is pretty obvious… but really! Get outside and plant a garden with the kids. Or just do some pots inside, that you can transfer the patio later. On our farm we look the most forward to 2 things: baby animals being born, and the garden!
Write Poetry– there is never as much inspiration for writing poetry as in spring! Kids typically love spring and will enjoy writing all about it
Study rainbows- read books about them, make rainbows from fun items like beads or cereal, paint rainbows, and read about God’s rainbow
Fly a kite at home or in the park/an open field
Play baseball as a family– this is super fun if you have. large enough family for everyone to get involved. one of my favorite memories is running the bases, while pregnant with our last baby (#5), after hitting the ball out back. We love playing baseball as a family.
Get outside for a sunrise together
Stay up late for a sunset together
Hit the farmer’s market- this is so fun, and if kids earn an allowance, let them help purchase some produce for the family themselves. Or let them pick out their favorite produce to buy, and share
Hunt 4 leaf clovers
Get a flower press like this one, and use it for spring flowers

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Resurrection Sunday fun, with Miss PattyCake’s Eggstravaganza

by Meghan // March 18, 2021 // No Comments

This week, our family has had the pleasure of enjoying the new Miss PattyCake Eggstravaganza Activity package. This package includes the new Miss PattyCake Eggstravaganza DVD, and accompanying activity book.

My youngest girls loved the DVD episode! The songs were engaging, fun, and each one had a special connection to Jesus. The Easter eggs in the hold special meaning, each one containing a part of Jesus’s Resurrection story. The songs are familiar, because they’re often set to the tune of hymns we already know. But the words of each song, while simple and uplifting, were meaningful.

I love how everything in the episode points back to Jesus-His sacrifice, His love, and our hearts for him.

Miss PattyCake’s Eggstravaganza activity book is full of fun activities for children! I would say 2-6 year olds will enjoy coloring, counting, tracing, and more. Each page correlates with a fun song from the DVD, enriching the experience and making it even more relevant for children.

Check out this NEW Miss PattyCake bundle for a FUN, musical, age-appropriate
telling of the Easter story.

Don’t have a DVD player? Check out Miss PattyCake’s streaming channel
for all her content.

*Many thanks to Miss PattyCake for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

#MissPattyCakeMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork #MissPattyCake

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Imminent labor Signs in Cows {and Huey the Hereford}

by Meghan // March 12, 2021 // No Comments

We are excited to introduce: Huey the Hereford! (Huey, as in Huey’s restaurants in memphis)

Huey was born on Monday, March 1, 2021.

We got to watch Dolly at the beginning of her labor because the kids were playing outside and she chose to lay in the barn yard. She did move to the barn, where she was more comfortable. It’s amazing how different cows and goats are-she didn’t make a sound, not a grunt or a moo. Goats are so dramatic.

When we began watching Dolly for labor, I searched the internet high and low for all the signs we needed to look for. She had them all!

tail hanging to the side, due to loss of ligaments
tail head looked flat, almost as flat as her back
vulva swollen (springing)
that morning she lost a lot of mucus plus, but was having discharge about 2-3 days prior
her udder was *swollen*
teats were full and sticking out (strutting)
belly looked low/less wide
right before pushing she was laying on her side, letting the calf get into position, within 30 minutes she was pushing

We had a few bumps getting Huey to nurse, because mama was so full, and she became frustrated after his first failed attempts. Our friends helped us get everything started, and there’s been no problems since.

We are still waiting on Jolene to calve, she has zero signs of calving anytime soon.

Signs of Calving Huey the Hereford

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Nature Study in Your Homeschool

by Meghan // December 19, 2020 // No Comments

Many years ago, when my oldest was a tiny little thing, we began the art of nature study. We started with colored pencils, crayons, and a simple mixed notebook. In the following years, as we have added more littles to the family, I have neglected our nature study and moved to more outside play and exploration.

Now that my oldest is 10, and my next-youngest is 4, I think it is time to get back into the fun of nature study and journaling! So for Christmas, one of our grandparents got our family the No Sweat Nature Study subscription for a year. (this post is NOT a review of the subscription. we are just really enjoying it!)

This is the perfect time to add it into our schooling because A) Baby, it’s cold outside! and B) Christmas gifts ideas!

So for part of their Christmas we are adding a few supplies to our homeschool nature study

To go along with our nature study lessons, we also got the Chalk Pastel, You Are An Artist subscription. If you have been in the homeschool community for very long, you probably know all about Nana, and her chalk pastels. If not, you’re definitely missing out! These are so fun, laid back, and a blessing to our homeschool. All of my kids feel accomplished after a lesson with Nana!

When we think of nature study, we often think of spring and fall, butterflies frogs, and birds. But there is so much to study and learn in winter, too!

If you’re not interested in a subscription to nature study lessons, you can do simple lessons yourself. Start with some good books on the topic of your choice, look up some fun pictures of the animal, plant, etc to sketch from. Then go out into nature and see if you can find it!

We love the video lessons because they go in depth about the colors, and details of the topic. The teacher also gives opportunities to take notes, so my children are learning tp write notes on their sketches (yes, even the 4 year old!). As our family starts the learning process of backpacking together, I think nature study will fit in nicely with our outings. I hope to do one study a week on Fridays or Saturdays.

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Easy Homeschool “Beauty” Resources

by Meghan // August 25, 2020 // No Comments

Maybe you’ve heard it before, “homeschooling isn’t school at home.”

It isn’t crisis schooling, or virtual school. Homeschooling goes beyond “school time.” Homeschool is where we can explore art, history, music, handicrafts, Shakespeare, astronomy, and creation without limits. These (and other) subjects are often what we call the “beauty” subjects.

Homeschool is about keeping the love of learning, that fire of curiosity God gave us at birth, lit. Homeschool mamas (and dads, too) want to educate our children well, but do it in such a way that encourages our children to be life long learners.

We have an abundance of resources at our fingertips to help add a little excitement and beauty to our homeschool.

Pic Source – CC0 Licence

What’s In The Mail Today?

My children are obsessed with getting mail. One set of grandparents sends postcards from all of their travel locations, and the kids send and receive letters to all their grandparents. How exciting! If you dont live near town, there are lots of places that sell stamps besides the post office . You can set up a writing station (my kids use a giant boot show box) with envelopes, stamps, pens and paper. Let them write to their little heart’s content. We still have a lot of practice to get writing friendly letters down, but the 9 year old has it down just about perfectly.

of course it is also a perfect way to connect with those we love.

Listen To That Music

We know music is excellent for brain development so adding it into our days has been important to our family. It can also be great to create a calming environment for children (and mom) to work, so this could be something to think about.
However, if you do have instruments in the house, then you may want to include these in your plans. After all, it’s always more fun to use our bodies, rather than just work with paper.

Something like a keyboard and an app is simple and fun. Piano Maestro is one of our favorites; my kids have learned so much by using it just 1-2 times a week. We subscribe to Practice Monkeys for violin and will soon start piano.

Some of our Favorites

Resources such as Read Aloud Revival Premium Membership, You Are an Artist!, and Audible can all be great additions to homeschool.

Encouraging a love for learning can be as simple or as involved as we want. How you educate your children is up to you. And it is beautiful!

Disclaimer: Some links on this blog are affiliate links; when you use those links you help support my family, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!