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by Meghan // March 17, 2014 // Comments off

Well, for ~~years~~ months and months I have gone back and forth over what we will use for our curriculum next fall. What curriculum, what style suites us best, what will keep Lexie’s fire going, her passion for learning; what will also work for Max so we can reuse some materials, etc.

I have also had to consider what will be easiest to fit into our life, with baby #3 due in September of this year. =)

As you know I have mostly decided on a classical/Charlotte Mason education style for our family because it just fits us (and our love of the outdoors, learning, and books); but I have also been contemplating joining Classical Conversations. There is a community not too far from us that a dear friend is also a part of. I really enjoyed the open house I attended and Lexie did AMAZING sitting in the room with me for the 2 hours we were there. However, I just don’t know if we are ready for it yet.

I love the Charlotte Mason approach to learning. It encompasses everything I believe about education and family uniting. It is Biblically based, and literature rich (so is classical education). It is truly where my passion for learning and educating my children comes full circle.

Charlotte Mason is also what I see in my children. I see Lexie loving books- asking questions about everything we read; wanting to know more and making connections from her books to her world. Max is beginning the same process- he didn’t love reading books at first, but at about 13 months old, he became obsessed with them, just like big sister. When I sit on the floor, he will bring me a book and say, “boo-k,” turn around and plop into my lap. He then proceeds to open the book and I will read. He really likes for me to take his finger and point to everything in the picture and say its name. He loves reading. And that tells me he will also love learning.

I want to keep their fires burning, but I need to do that in a way that will fit our young family’s lifestyle. As a busy mom of soon-to-be 3, there won’t be much time for the intense planning that a combined classical/Charlotte Mason style education can require. So in the fall, (well, really in January probably) I think we will begin with Sonlight’s P4/5 curriculum.

Sonlight P 4/5 includes: read alouds and language arts, science, Bible, rediness skills, beautiful art books and studies, and introduces world cultures. One thing I love about classical education is it begins history at the beginning. So children not only learn there is much, much more to their world than just their immediate surroundings, but they also learn where it all began. Sonlight does an amazing job of choosing wonderful children’s literature and living books to teach every subject, which is where the Charlotte Mason style comes in. Another point I love is that Sonlight is fairly adaptable. You can supplement with as many books as you’d like, whatever math you prefer (although they sell a few great curricula), and you can make it work with just about any style of education, if you really want to. Their book list is what has driven their popularity for years, but as more and more families have used it, the more it has become known for being a wonderful core curriculum. (no, this is not a review and I am not being paid to say any of this!).

We already have a phonics/reading program we will use, which we haven’t started yet. I chose All About Reading because it is so child friendly and hands on, which I think will be fine for Lexie (as I am mostly sure she has a photographic memory) but I know will be great for Mister, because he is my 100% tactile learner. We will use this with our Sonlight, along with Saxon or Horizon’s math, and a few supplemental activities in science.

I have many friends ask me about two things :1) homeschool curricula and options and 2) converting to a healthier, real food lifestyle. #1 is mostly why I am writing this post.

I tell you, I cannot wait to get started next year. We might begin in August, to get a head start, then take off in September-Christmas with the baby coming, holidays, etc., then start back in January. Or we may just begin in january and go through part of the summer… I know me, and I know Lexie, and chances are we will not want to take that much time off. We both crave structure and our learning time together, so I imagine we will get back to it pretty quickly.

One thing I am really looking forward to is not having to plan and print every thing we do in this season of life. Right now, I am using a printable curriculum (that we both love) and we are doing Five in A Row which is Charlotte Mason style, but requires all the planning be done by the parent. So it requires a lot of time on my part. Sonlight has done most of the work for me, meaning I can enjoy my time teaching, learning, and snuggling, all three of my babies this fall.

So, I have to get busy filling orders in my etsy shop, since that is how I plan to pay for this curriculum! haha If you haven’t noticed I haven’t been writing much lately. There is a two fold reason for this. 1) The first trimester of this pregnancy has kicked my butt! Between the extreme nausea and exhaustion, I am just now catching up on household duties! and 2) I have been very busy making baby blankets in my etsy shop. I keep saying I am going to slow down, finish my drapes for the kitchen, and make a few dresses for Lexie, but so far that hasn’t happened. Hopefully soon!

KinderBach: Online Piano Lessons for Children {a review}

by Meghan // February 26, 2014 // Comments off

In recent weeks we have been so blessed to have had the opportunity to try and use a beginner piano program for our three year old daughter. The KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner, is a wonderful program for young children to learn the basics of playing piano (whether they’re learning on the Amidio piano VST or an organ). Each lesson is set up to be only a few minutes (perfect for young children). Lexie loved it so much, we couldn’t only do one lesson. We did several lessons at a time.

Now, I actually have something to compare this with as well, as we recently enrolled Billy through private piano lessons san francisco. I’m interested to see what he preferred the best.

All About KinderBach Membership with Teacher Corner:

One of the great things about the KinderBach Online Piano Lesson Membership with Teacher Corner is the ease of use for parents and children. It is ideal for ages 3-7, but I can see using this with older children as well, because you can skip some of the lessons, and go at your own pace! You will receive:

Access to all web lessons (over 240 sessions) by computer, iPad, Android Tablet, Kindle Fire, or Nook.
Accompanying downloaded PDF activity pages- these are great!
Access to all Teacher Corner materials for Levels 1 to 6 PDFs and Audio MP3s
Download all story books, coloring pages and song books

So, what is the Teacher Corner? The Teacher Corner membership gives you everything needed to teach group music lessons and more in convenient digital downloads. You can have your books right now (and they’re included in the price!). Choose from over $400 worth of books in the Teacher’s Corner and more will be added soon. You never have to pay more for a new edition. Membership gives you the opportunity to download all updates.

You will get all of that for $95.88/year which is $7.99 a month. There is no way you can find a piano teacher for $7.99 a month, plus purchase any necessary books and music. All of that will be included in your membership!

What You Need

There are a few things you will need for KinderBach online piano lessons:

A piano or keyboard- yes, you can use a regular ole keyboard! If you need help finding a good one to use then check out this yamaha p115 review
A few things from around the house- wooden spoons, empty cartons, plastic lids- anything really. No need to get fancy!
A printer is helpful- with a printer, you can print your digital books and activity sheets.

What I Love About It

First and foremost, my favorite part of KinderBach is that is truly is child friendly! My 3.5 year old did great doing these lessons on her own. She was even able to tell her violin teacher a thing or two about the piano! She especially enjoyed the rhythmic exercises, and so did her 18 month old brother. It was something they were able to enjoy doing together, and learn at the same time. Obviously the tot didn’t get as much from it, but hey- he can now hit sticks together in rhythm! =)

We used the website on our iPad, which made it very easy to set up right in front of our keyboard (after doing some research and using sites like https://www.revitalizingdowntowns.net/, we did settle on getting a keyboard rather than a piano, it’s absolutely the best fit for us). Because KinderBach accommodates all formats, chances are you own a device it is compatible with. The lessons include songs and music your family is probably familiar with, which help teach parts of music such as: different kinds of notes, different keys on the keyboard, and how to keep rhythm. It is very developmentally appropriate for children, as it allows them to move about and does not require they sit at a piano the entire time (or at all, really).

For me the parent, I can pick and choose what books we use, how fast we go, and how often we do it. This was something we used about 3 times a week, and often did 2-3 lessons at a time, because Lexie enjoyed it so much. We will continue using it in this way. Just before we began these lessons, my husband mentioned putting her in piano lessons, along with the violin lessons she already loves. Lexie loves music, and loves instruments. KinderBach has turned out to be the perfect combination of fun, easy (for the teacher), and developmentally appropriate, for our family!

Connect with KinderBach:

Traveling: On the Road with Healthy Menu Options {and M&M link-up}

by Meghan // January 20, 2014 // Comments off

We just came back from a wonderful family road trip- the husband and I loaded up the 3 year old and 16 month old, and hit the road for the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

I’ve not ever been skiing, or to CO. My husband has been a few times. It was amazing, and did I mention beautiful? The mountains were breathtaking!

We are so blessed to be able to travel for a little family vacation. And just because we are traveling doesn’t mean we go crazy with junk food. We try very hard to stick within a reasonable budget, and eat healthy snacks. {which exclude fast food!}

We see it as, the more money we save while on the road, the more we can enjoy spending on nice meals and fun for the kids, once we get where we’re going.

So what does our road trip food look like?

It looks like several pre made peanut butter sandwiches, 4-8 oranges, 3-4 apples, a container of clean grapes, a few bananas, and a bag of nuts or trail mix.

Then we pack a small cooler with Lexie’s rice milk and Mister’s coconut milk, along with lots of bottled water. In that cooler we usually add lunch meat, and anything else that needs to be kept cool or cold. The cooler goes in the very back of the van or suv with our luggage.

When we stop for gas we may grab a few snacks, like more nuts or pretzels.

This trip, we traveled for about 8 hours. Some people think we are crazy to travel for that long with two young children. Maybe we are! One of our friends said that we should fly instead and then get a quote from this relocation company. She said they would pick up our suv and take it to and from Colorado so that we could still drive it whilst we were away. This was tempting, but flying is more expensive and makes it harder to control what you are eating. And hey, the drive is part of the trip for us. We actually managed to rent a car seat for the kids, so that made things easier for us. We spent a lot of time in the car on this vacation so it was important that the kids were safe and comfortable whilst on the road.

At lunch time on our journey, we stopped at a park where I made us sandwiches with spinach, and we had salads with homemade dressing. The kids were able to run around and enjoy themselves, and then we were back on the road in less than an hour.

I also like to pack freezer food for meals once we get to our hotel. We stayed in a condo that had a small kitchen. I grabbed a bag of frozen mexican chicken soup, and some frozen sloppy joes. This way we can eat one or two nice meals out for dinner, and still have healthy, delicious meals in our condo a few nights to save on cash. We are a family that eats out maybe 3 times a month; we don’t really enjoy eating our every single meal while on vacation.

And that is it! It is so easy to pack a small cooler (you will be amazed what you can fit inside!) and a lunch bag with fruits and pre made sandwiches for easy, on the road meals.

Going on vacation doesn’t have to wreck havoc in your wallet, or your health!

Be encouraged, friends! What foods do you pack for road trips?

January 20th ~