Simple, Meaningful Devotional for Moms

by Meghan // October 2, 2017 // Comments off

I am so excited to share with you one of my favorite devotionals for moms. I have done a few different devotionals for moms, and tried to squeeze them in with my journaling/Bible notes, but it always gets the best of me. I’ve never completed an entire devotional, until now.

You know I have a love for all things simple. With little ones under foot, homeschool, and just life in general, I *need* simple, and enjoy beautiful. Finding time for Jesus should be the most important part of our day, but sometimes it can be the hardest! But, now it is much easier.

Meet: Help Club for Moms. A friend introduced me to their devotionals (which are free on their website) and I fell in love!

Why you will love HCFM Devotionals:

These ladies have a heart for Jesus, and a heart for raising our children in Jesus, and doing it with servant hearts
Conviction- there has not been one page in their Enjoys devotional that didn’t resonate with me
Convenience- the devotionals are designed to be used 2-3 days a week
Journaling- each lessons has a journaling page! This is my favorite part. I *love* looking back on where I was with the Lord, and what he laid on my heart at that time
Beauty-I promise, you have not seen a more beautiful devotional
Mentorship- It is hard, very hard, to find women (let alone moms) that have been in the trenches or are there with us, that truly humble themselves before the Lord. (Don’t we all struggle?!) These ladies have done it, they are there, and on their knees in prayer with us.

My sweet husband wakes me every morning with coffee; many mornings, after making his breakfast and packing his lunch I sit down, coffee in hand, to my devotional & Bible. It is my precious morning time with Jesus, and I am *so* thankful Help Club For Moms has helped give me a just what I need to feel encouraged, convicted, and remain faithful in my walk with Jesus.

I have not seen the inside of the new devotional, The Wise Woman Knows, but I just ordered my copy this morning! Click the image below to get your copy now. The new session begin October 8th, and you can find them, follow along, and join the conversation, on their FB page.

You can find their other devotionals online as well. Click HERE.

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!

Clearing Up Poison Ivy Naturally

by Meghan // September 26, 2017 // Comments off

A few weeks ago our 3 year old happened upon some poison ivy.

Having had poison ivy as a child, I knew most over the counter ointments temporarily helped ease the itching, but didn’t dry it up very quickly.

So of course I immediately went looking online for home remedies. After reading and deciding what would work best for us, here is what I came up with, a combination of several things:

Vinegar Tonic

3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of water
1 tsp salt (epsom is good)
a few drops of lavender essential oil and Melaleuca (or tea tree) oil to promote skin wellness

I mixed it all up in a small shot glass sized jar and applied with a cotton ball.

Iodine

I also used Iodine on the rash, usually before applying the vinegar tonic; applied with a cotton ball.

I will have you know my son’s poison ivy rash was completely dried and gone in 2 days! The first day it was dried and smaller, and by day 2 it was clear. I didn’t see him scratching at it, but to be sure I asked him all the time, “does it itch?” and he would say no.

So, there is our quick little home remedy for poison ivy!

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!

Song of the Wind {violin} WW

by Meghan // September 20, 2017 // Comments off

She is just learning a new song on the violin, and was SO excited when she got the fingers down on this one.

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!

Living Simply: My minimal

by Meghan // August 29, 2017 // Comments off

Since my oldest daughter was born I have tried desperately to minimize all the “things” in our house.

It is hard, because I enjoy having quality toys, and educational, hands on learning experiences for them here. And being in your home most of the time (versus daycare or school) means we enjoy having games to do together, and open ended toys to play with.

Somewhere between quality/useful and too much/excess is a line. That line looks different for every family, but let me tell you I am SO OVER being on the excess side of that line.

When I say I am constantly getting rid of things, I mean our garage is always, always full of boxes to go to donation. So much so that I can barely see my garage flooring; once it’s clear, I think it’s time to go ahead with getting an epoxy coating for it!

Always.

And it is stressful! Just cleaning out every week is stressful; continuously having things come in and out of the house is stressful when you don’t believe in having so much stuff. And when getting rid of things, you have to do something with it- drive it to donation, find someone to pick it up, or simply throw it away, which often times feels wasteful! And I hate being wasteful just as much as I hate having too much stuff.

I limit what we buy for our kids, but gifts seem to abound. I *love* having a small home, because quite frankly the bigger it is the more stuff you move in. But I do NOT love having a small home that is overflowing.

I know when I am a little bit older and once all the kids have moved out, I will be downsizing then and moving into a smaller home. I know for a fact my house will not be overcrowded with kid’s toys or anything of a sort. I’ve already searched for multiple builders of cheap granny flats, as not only are they quite simplistic, but they’re also very affordable which is just what I like. I know plenty of people who have gone down this route, whether they’re elderly or not! It’s all about changing your lifestyle, and for now, I’m doing that for my kids. Some have chosen to go onto sites like https://www.findnctrianglehomes.com/ and move to a smaller, quieter part of the country too. I don’t blame them, it seems pretty nice to me.

What is Minimalisim

Honestly, I don’t have a definition for that because I think it is different for everyone. I know that for many, it looks like a LOT less than what we live with.

For me, as the keeper of our home, it means that we don’t have a lot of extra things because they only make life harder. In reference to the kids’ things:

if it doesn’t get played with or is broken, it goes
if it is going to break within 5 mins, it goes before it ever gets out of the packaging
if it is a duplicate of something we already have, it goes
if it is an outfit I know they won’t choose to wear, or I don’t really like, it goes-not because we are ungrateful, but because why have it in our home if I *know* we won’t grab for it? Someone else can use it, if I know we won’t

Picking up toys and messes is just as hard on the kids as it is me– because THEY are in charge of their things and clothes from 2 years old and up. If it is in the floor, after asking them to pick it up, I throw it away. If I need to vacuum and it is in the floor- to the trash it goes. The more “stuff” they need to manage, the more stressful it is on them, and it takes away from the enjoyment of playing!

When children have so much stuff they can’t enjoy it, there’s a problem; so I try to keep the “stuff” factor as low as possible which allows a lot of room for using their imaginations and lowers the overwhelm factor.

The thing I struggle with the most is holding on to kids’ clothes for the next. We have 4 children, 3 of which are girls. It does not seem practical to get rid of everything once one has outgrown it, because the next can wear it. The baby is still wearing some things that belonged to my oldest!

So while I loathe having boxes of children’s clothes filling my storage space in the basement, it is sort of a necessary evil because, *hello* Buying clothes for kids is a task-they are expensive, every store sizes differently, and you never know if it will be in stock when you’re ready to shop online.

And I am *not* taking 4 kids under 7yo clothes shopping. Might as well hold on to the things I know they will need again such as jeans, leggings, coats, dress shoes, pajamas, and clean shirts/dresses.

Where I (really) fail

Books. I love books. I love reading to my children and I love having nice, quality, non-twaddle literature on hand for every topic, season, and age. They are a passion. I am good about throwing out twaddle or ones that are falling a part. If we miss the book, I will replace it.

But we probably have too many? =/

I know many people like utilizing the library but for us, in this season of life, it is more of a hassle and expense than anything.

But honestly? I’d rather just buy the quality books and have them on hand, because we tend to check out the same ones over and over.

Resale- it is hard to move homeschool curriculum. Or more accurately, it takes time to get it all listed and shipped. There is a hassle there, but selling and making money back on it is really helpful when you need to buy homeschool supplies, books, and curricula each year. So, I usually have a stack of things I need to list for resale … same goes for the boxes of clothes and toys in my garage.

Linens- I sorta have this things about dish rags and towels. Once they have holes (which is only a few months after buying them) I move them from rotation, but being on a farm old linens are *very* handy. So I hold on to them …

Sewing- well. ok, fabric. Enough said.

So yes, lots of room for improvement. =)

why children need fewer “things”- and so do we

Basically- Life shouldn’t be about consumerism and commercialism.

It is sad to me that the minimal I struggle to maintain looks like someone’s dream; so many people do without, while we have an excess, that we mostly don’t want. Buying just to buy “stuff,” even as gifts, is worse than doing without. It can surely be a blessing, but it can also be a burden.

It stinks that sometimes loved ones waste their money on things that a family doesn’t value, when it could go towards something they truly need or would enjoy- like experiences. Memberships pay for themselves so easily, especially when used with friends and homeschool group activities. Money to go towards lessons is helpful.

There are other ways to get creative-my dad likes to send our kids money for dried fruits, and extra food specials they may not always get.

I don’t think anyone wants their money, time, or thoughtfulness wasted or rather, not valued, when the whole point of gifts is just one way of showing love.

Kids will get excited over anything you share with them– whether it is a plastic dollar store toy made in China, or a quality hand made wooden toy from a local shop, books, a membership to the zoo, or just a hug and reading to them. Cooking with them, talking to them, and most do all-listening to them.

My job and (one) goal as their mama is to make sure their hearts don’t focus on the things.

And quite honestly, that is hard to do when we or others give, and make it all about the things. I know it is fun to give them things, and easy to do, but it just isn’t where we want to focus all our attention… or even most do our attention.

I don’t believe adults can give the message of “what’s inside is most important” and “things and money aren’t as important as love and kindness/Jesus/family” while always flooding children with MORE STUFF.

Seriously.

That is a very confusing message.

Budgeting, living within your means, and feeding children healthy, nutritious diets is often hard to do! In trying to be good stewards of our gifts from family, and blessings in general, it is mine and my husband’s job to keep things simple and not the focus of life.

Do we still have too much? Yes. I know we do.

Keeping it minimal for a family of 6 is my goal. I don’t want every inch of our home filled with things and stuff. I know one day the baby toys that have been handed down one after the other will be gone, and ~~thankfully~~ there will be fewer “things” in the house, and I am going to miss the tiny people that had all the things. But in the mean time, keeping it light, fun, and uncluttered is my goal. (Books don’t count 😉 )

Do you feel overwhelmed by the “stuff” and noise of too much in your home?

Don’t let it hinder yours or your children’s creativity. Get rid of what you don’t use, don’t love, and can live without. Start small and go from there. See how you feel, and then come back to it later to clear out 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!

Homeschool Planning {Back to Homeschool 2017/2018}

by Meghan // August 16, 2017 // Comments off

Aaah, homeschool planning- chances are most homeschool parents fall into 2 categories: The Type A’s that love planning, finding it simple and fun, or everyone else who finds it overwhelming and challenging.

I suppose there are those that don’t find planning necessary at all.

I enjoy it, once I set my mind to it and come up with my plan.

File Box System

Last year I started a new system, and I can’t find the original blog post I followed to help me figure it out. It was great, and had videos.

But basically-I took how many lessons we had in each curriculum, then divided them evenly into the number of weeks we wanted to school. Each week had a manilla folder assigned to it (1-36) and I filed each week’s papers in that folder. Then at the beginning of the week, my daughter could place all papers on her clipboard.

The weekly manilla folders are stored in a hanging file box like this one. It is easy to access, light weight, and can travel!

Wa-la!

You do have to tear apart the workbooks. The papers that I filed came from handwriting and copywork, math, and explode the code… It seems like there were others but I can’t remember.

Then each week I filed the papers into a big binder that had dividers for each subject. When everything is complete (we are still working, as we school year round), I will bind it into a book for my kids!

Workbox System

For my youngers, I love the workbox system! This is the one we have; it is sturdy, the drawers pull out without a problem, and we’ve never had them fall out of their tracks. (I have heard not so great things about the cute colorful ones?) We’ve had this one going on 4 years and it is still in great shape … though dusty!

I use this for my 5 and 3 year old’s school things- dry erase boards, handwriting books, a few manipulatives, etc. This way their things are always handy for them, and they can pull them out either when I am ready to work with them, or independently as they choose.

Homeschool Planners

Well… how do I love planners? Let me count the ways! A simple search on my blog will show you how much I love and use planners.

This last school year I went rogue (haha) and used a traveler’s notebook for my planning- I created all my own layouts, and kept notes, plans, and everything we did right there in the notebook.

I love this way of planning and recording.

However, I don’t feel like I have enough space, which is silly since the pages are empty and a blank canvas for me to record on. I guess I like most of my things all on a 2 page spread. With Mister schooling this year, I definitely don’t feel like I have enough room in an A5 size notebook.

The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell is wonderful! The pages are huge, the boxes are blank, and there are areas each week for recording special things, prayers, etc. I truly love that planner.

I have always loved the Mardel Simple Plan– which is almost always sold out! This year’s is BEAUTIFUL, and ya’ll, Im regretting not buying it! I wish I had … but instead I am trying a Plum Paper Homeschool Planner. Honestly, I am not sure how I will feel about it, and seeing as how I already wish I had bought the Mardel Simple Plan … I will let you know!

Planning out the Year

Planning out the year used to scare me, but not so much anymore. I print and mark 6 weeks on, 1 week off on a small monthly calendar like this one:

Then, I put a small mark on the days we do school. If we have to miss for appointments, illness, etc, I just take note and when we get to our 1 week off we plan accordingly. Having all our assignments divided into the weekly folders helps us gauge where we are in the year, and if we may need to double up on a week or two.

Truly, the weekly folder method saved me! No more flipping through workbooks to find the right page, no keeping up with it all. Once it is on the folder, school can be done while we wait somewhere, outside, on the couch, in the tree (yes, in the tree). It is really cool, and so worth the fore thought!

And because you aren’t micro planning days those assignments can be done whenever, most of the time. I allow my daughter to finish them all in one day if she wants, or a few each day. (But they still must be done at her very best effort).

Planning doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. Preparing to plan is really key, as I learned last year.

Hopefully you homeschool plans will go smoothly for you all!

Click the banner to read more about planning from the Crew:

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WW 50 and Zipadee Zip {11 month Baby Summary}

by Meghan // July 7, 2017 // Comments off

Ooooh, sweet Baby #4.

Not only is she just precious, and fun, she definitely knows what she wants! Unlike her older sister, #3, she has been a very vocal, more demanding baby. We are entering Wonder Week 50, or Leap 7.

Last month we went on a family trip to the south; while we were gone C cut a new tooth (it literally cut through on day 2 of our trip), and ran a fever with it. She was not feeling good; by the time we got to my family she was miserable- we don’t know if it was from teething, the travel, new people and places, or what … Probably a combination of it all.

As she is starting to enter the territory of toddlerhood, I am finding tantrums abound! I’ve never had a baby throw fits like this one; she gets so angry, and I am hopeful that as she gets more words and mobility, the tantrums will subside.

Development

C is a strong girl! She is a little copycat, and will say just about anything you say, at least once. She repeatedly uses the words: hi, Huck (one of our dogs), Max, Mama, Dada, Up, dog, toes, and Ma for more. She likes to play peek a boo, itsy bitsy spider, pat a cake, and will move your hands off your face to find you.

She is signing for more, but that’s about it. *insert eye roll here* I am so ready for this wonder week of development to be done so we can move beyond this phase. It is hard!

She wants to move, but refuses to crawl. She likes to walk around the house, with me holding her hands from behind, but isn’t yet walking on her own. So, I brought in the big guns today. Hopefully using the push toy she will begin picking up her feet and becoming more comfortable standing and moving on her own. I really want her to crawl, but after hours and hours (combined, not all at once) of blood curdling screams and her banging her head no the floor in anger, she just isn’t wanting to crawl. So, I think we will begin moving in a way that makes her happy, and then hope she will crawl and walk on her own.

Sleep and Schedule

We have dropped her first 2 bottles of the day-no more bottle at 7am, or 11am after nap #1. When we wake at 7am, she goes straight to breakfast with some of her homemade milk in a sippy cup.

7am wake, snuggle, wake up siblings, breakfast, play
9am first nap-this will drop soon and we will move to one nap from 12-3
1030 wakes
11 lunch
1:30pm nap #2
3:00pm wake, bottle, snack, play
5:30pm dinner, bath, play
6:40pm bedtime bottle, bed

We tried switching out of her transition swaddle a few months ago, and it was a disaster. This usually isn’t the case, but C sucks on the sleeve of the swaddle blanket, right on the seam. So when we took it away she freaked out! She would not accept her lovie, which she’s slept with since about 4 months old, as a substitute.

So, on to a Zipadee-Zip we went. Yesterday we tried it for second nap and it was devastating for her. =( But last night she did fine, and this morning for nap she did great!

I like the Zipadee-Zip because it allows more movement for her in bed, which should help with her physical development (because we all know babies practice development in their sleep). In the transition swaddle (which is AWESOME, until they need a little more room), she just couldn’t stretch and move that one arm, because she wanted the sleeve zipped on for sucking.

In the Zipadee-Zip, she is able to put her arms into full, unrestrictive sleeves, which she can also suck. But she also can open and close her hand very well inside, so if she wants to grab a rail, a lovie, etc she can. When I opened the Zipadee-Zip it looked HUGE. C is about 23lbs and almost 12 months old, so I went with the large. After I washed and got it on her, it fits great, and has lots of room for her to grow. It is comfy, soft, and really nice. I am so thankful we decided to go with it, because it is a perfect fit for our needs at this time.

I am excited to see what the coming months bring; hopefully more words and mobility for her, so she can express herself and feel more confident. She is so much fun, and so full of personality!

Just for fun =) Baby #4, and me when I was a baby

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Wordless Wednesday {Memphis & family}

by Meghan // June 21, 2017 // Comments off

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!

FMF: Visit {& Processing Meat Chickens for the Freezer}

by Meghan // May 27, 2017 // Comments off

This week’s Five Minute Friday prompt is Visit

and go!
I am outside on this beautiful Memorial Day weekend writing my FMF post, because I didn’t have 5 minutes yesterday … on Friday.

Visit is a great prompt for me this week; my mom is coming to visit. She’s a school teacher, so she just got out of school for summer break, which works out perfectly because we are butchering our meat chickens this weekend.

(pictures courteous of my 6.5 year old)

Today is set up day, where we get all the equipment ready, gather our tools, etc. Then tomorrow morning we will get up and get busy! My mom will keep the kids occupied and out of the way so we can work as quickly as possible without interruptions (like making lunches, snacks, playing, etc). Butchering and processing, bagging, and freezing 50 chickens is a LOT of work and takes a pretty long time without 4 tiny humans needing you every few minutes.

Raising our own meat on the farm means a lot to our family; for our children it is just a way of life. For my husband and I it encompasses everything we want our children to learn about life in general. Raising, and caring for animals the way they were meant to be raised, in a clean & happy environment, then butchering them humanely, in a process that preserves the integrity of their purpose is important. Not wasting parts of the animal, not covering them in dangerous chemicals for the purpose of mass production and shipping … those things are important to us.

You work for what you get, even when it costs more in the long run that buying it at the store, (and it is worth it), is a lesson we like passing on to our kids.

So, we are excited to see Mia, and thankful she can help us with the tiny humans, while we work. The kids will enjoy her and it should be a nice week of weather for her visit. After the work, we will spend the rest of the week playing.

(I will have a post with pictures and steps, on how we process our meat birds soon!)

Link up with the Five Minute Friday community this week, at:

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 {Babies, Babies, Babies!}

by Meghan // May 1, 2017 // Comments off

Ok y’all, I know it isn’t Friday. =) But I didn’t have time this past Friday to write anything, so here I am on a Monday evening writing about a wonderful day I had with my kiddos.

Spring has been around the farm for a while, but it is finally LOOKING a LOT like spring, and the babies GALORE prove it.

Oh the beauty! The grass is green, there is a nice breeze, the garden is GROWING, the chickens are happy, the dogs are laying, the sun is shining, and the kids picked up their wagons and toys so the yard is semi-clutter-free. =)

the meat chickens in tractor coop, just before we moved them to a new area with fresh grass

These are our new baby chicks! we have 3, but left one in the brooder with a fellow left over chick … there is a story here.

We ordered 60 meat chickens, they sent about 65 or so + one lone little “exotic” (they’re usually roosters). So we have 55 or so meat chickens left, living out in the tractor coop so they can pasture. But we had this one little chick who is much smaller than the Big old waddling meat chickens, and s/he needed another chick with it, (because they don’t do well alone). Initially husband said no; after a trip to the farm store this weekend with the kids they came home with 3 silver laced wyandotte pullets.

So here are two of them.

What else …

The garden is coming along so great! I really need to look up how to harvest lettuce. I am most excited about what we planted this year. We are doing a lot of plants we either haven’t done in years or have never done, including broccoli, okra, watermelon, cantaloupe, sugar snap peas, banana peppers, lettuces, and cabbage! We also planted some daikon radishes from seed (hoping they come up), so I have everything for my fermented kraut except carrots (which aren’t worth the time they take to grow haha).

the compost bin (which we will soon be updating, somehow) and the Arkansas rose bush that we have literally moved all over this country)

I think these are the cabbages …

peas that will hopefully grow up the trellis

my little lettuces! I’m so excited about them

We’ve been enjoying lots of asparagus and eggs.

Oh! EGGS! Ya’ll! My mammy duck is broody! One of the really dark campbell ducks (possibly a cayuga cross), spent a month laying eggs and getting her nest all … nest-ed. About 8-10 days ago she started sitting! I’ve only caught her off one time and it was too bright out to candle the eggs, so I still don’t know if they are any good. Drake Campbells only have a 30% fertility rate, so unless some of those 18+ eggs are crossed with our pekin drakes, there probably aren’t many fertile eggs.

Anyway, I am excited! Hopefully we will have ducklings in a few more weeks (or 3…).

And, speaking of baby things-this little one here is Heidi. She is our 12 week old Great Pyrenees. (I think I mentioned in a previous post that Anne had a lot of genetic issues with her mouth and jaws so she was returned. She should have never been sold to begin with … anyway).

Heidi is pretty dang cute, and feisty … and nothing like Huck! haha She has a lot to learn. Like, a lot. But she will get there, just slower than Huck I think, mostly because she is truly puppy. Huck has always been an old man. He does a good job of keeping her in line and teaching her about pack manners and such.

Sometimes he literally just lays on her lead so she can’t keep pouncing off. haha (see the 2nd picture below)

I can ask Huck, “Where’s your puppy?!” and he will almost always go right to her and just lay on her. =) So far she is learning to do okay around the chickens. She doesn’t chase or play when around them, but when in the pen part of the chicken run she will try to chase through the pen. So that behavior has to stop. I am working on it, and will let you know how that goes.

He most definitely interacts with Heidi differently than he did Anne, which is interesting to me. He knows she is different in character and treats her as such. They’re such awesome dogs.

Each of my babies and me today:

We spent the afternoon doing chores, loving on dogs, chicks, and cats, then rolled the ball back and forth. Dinner was in the oven and everything was perfect … then the cows got out. That was frustrating and exciting and exhausting. But they’re back in now. Stubborn hamburgers. I love them dearly, and I will miss them after freezer camp, but am looking forward to a freezer full of grassfed, hormone free beef for my family.

he started acting all wild and barn-catty right after this … cause he’s a barn cat

dirty babies and chicks!

Enjoying {the gentleness of} a Charlotte Mason Education

by Meghan // April 24, 2017 // Comments off

I have been on a really big Charlotte Mason schooling kick lately.

I blame spring; it does this to me! I My kids would rather be outside in nature, reading books and playing in the dirt than inside. And who can blame them?! This is what childhood is about, so here we are …

… all wrapped up in our Charlotte Mason education *insert all the heart emoticons here*

But, because this is where our homeschool is headed for this season in life, I thought I’d better simplify things and organize my thoughts before I get overwhelmed and we end up doing none of it (or at the very least doing only some of it, and without any intention, or focus at all).

So, here is what we are doing for our Charlotte Mason Homeschool this spring and summer (we school year round):

History/Geography/Bible- continuing our beautiful Feet Early American History studies
Picture/Artist Study- Monet (who better to study about in spring and summer?! We already have Linnea and her book from a spring basket gift 3 years ago)
Music Study- Scott Joplin He is from a part of history we will spend a bit of time on here soon, and his music?! y’all- my feet won’t stop moving!
Hymn Study- this won’t be a specific hymn just yet, I don’t think. We have 3-4 the kids are just learning all the words to via youtube tracks. Because this is for everyone from 2 year old Ila to 6 year old Lexie, we are taking it slow and simple. This is how we begin our days
Handicrafts and Art- we do so many as part of our family time anyway, but for spring and summer we will be focusing on: embroidery, gardening, whittling, setting the table correctly, clearing the table, and cooking (again, all things we already do but I will be more intentional about reading books and such about each)
Foreign Language- I think we may start playing with french and latin just for fun, through books. Nothing formal
Nature Study- we do nature study all the time, but I can be pretty terrible about using our nature journals, so I hope to improve that!
Poetry-we will continue our poetry plans for the year.
Literature- we are reading rich literature in our history, as well as chosen read alouds, library books, and my 6.5 year old is reading the Narnia series … over, and over, and over to herself.
Personal Development/Habits- each of the kids have goals for development, school, and habits that I have written down in my planner for us to work on through the year. Some of these are the same as handi crafts.

What is best about studying these things is?

There are no “reports” or papers, no formal tests or pop quizzes. We just read books, listen to music, learn poetry, look at art, and ENJOY the process. We soak it up, remember it if it was memorable, and when we are ready, move on.

Most CM purist are probably cringing at my plans, and how I “plan” to implement them. But I am okay with that. It is why we homeschool- to do what works for us.

That is what learning to love learning looks like here.

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!