Thin Stix Review & Giveaway! {no mess tempera paint in a stick}

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

We have been using and *loving* some new tempera paints from The Pencil Grip, Inc.– their Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors. These make the most perfect gifts-from stocking stuffers and birthday bags, to “new mama” gifts for toddler or older siblings (because YES being able to put the tot in a high chair or at the table with paper and mess-free paint while mama nurses the baby or just sits down, is in fact, a gift).

About Thin Stix

Thin Stix are a new line from one of our family’s favorite companies; when I say you can always rely on quality products from The Pencil Grip, Inc., I. Mean. Always.

I am never disappointed and tell others about them all the time!

Thin Stix are a thinner version of their shorter, chunkier, Kwik Stix. Like Kwik Stix, Thin Stix are solid tempera paint, in a fast-dry formula. Simply uncap the paint, twist it up like a glue stick, and create!
The paint itself is solid, high quality, and the colors are vibrant. It dries in 90 seconds, and is safe for littles to use-they are non toxic (which is good because my 2 year old still tries to eat them sometimes)!
Said 2 year old loves using our “paint sticks” during school and art, and I can feel good about letting her do art with us without the stress of spilling water. There is no mess- did you hear that?! NO mess at all to clean up. If paint gets on the table, I just wipe it off with a rag. No clean up, no rinsing bowls or cups, no drying paint brushes. Just put the cap on and we are done!

My older two, 6 and 4 years old, love using the Thin Stix because they are better able to control the stick to create more detailed paintings.

My favorite thing about these paints, aside from the virtually non existent clean up, is the vibrant color each ones puts on paper (or whatever material chosen). Thin Stix are the exact color you see on the stick, they are rich and not a typical child quality art product- I would call them premium quality! They glide on the paper like butta, and can easily be smeared and blended before they dry. A light touch is all it takes, but for more intense color, or a thicker coat you can press harder, similar to adding coats of paint on a wall.

I have been thoroughly impressed with the art that my kids have created with Thin Stix. Because they are thin, they were able to create smaller details for pictures like suns, rain drops, and even smaller clouds amidst larger ones. It also makes writing words or names in paint even easier.

I am looking forward to using them in my journaling Bible, because unlike regular paints, they dry so quickly I don’t have to worry about time between mediums.

I cannot wait to try their Neon Thin Stix next, and I really hope we see more products from this line- we love our tempera paint in a stick!

Connect with The Pencil Grip, Inc.

Now for the giveaway!

Rules: Giveaway runs from May 24, 2017- June 4, 2017. Open to US residence only, prize provided by Pencil Grip, Inc. One random winner chosen.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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!

When Jesus Finds You

by Meghan // April 4, 2017 // Comments off

If someone had told me when I was 18, that the man I just met would one day be my husband, that we would go on adventures together and have all the same loves; that we would one day have 4 babies, a small farm, and be blessed beyond measure, I would have told them they were crazy.

I never imagined the partying, depressed, anxious, and shy girl who was that 18 year old, would become the 31 year old I am today. I am not done, rather God is not done, and He makes that perfectly clear every day as he uses my children, marriage, and dreams-come-true to smooth out my rough edges.

But I lived to tell about that girl. I lived to tell about the bad choices, and the sadness, the broken family that still gave so much love; I lived to tell about the friends who didn’t live to tell about it.

Not to be dramatic, but that could’ve been me. I was one bad choice away from being a statistic, like my brother, my best friend, and many, many other people I have known.

I think God has plans, He knows all. His end goal is the same, how we get there and whether we get there or not, is up to us. Free will and all…

But God can redeem it all. He can redeem the heart and soul of every person on this planet for his Glory. He surely redeemed my life.

Growing up, maturing, did a lot for my heart. Marriage and learning to grow together with someone did too. But after my brother died, I wrote God off (I think I have written about that before). I knew He was there, I knew He existed, but I wanted nothing to do with Him. I didn’t really have a relationship with Jesus, so it was easy to write off God.

And then I got pregnant- unexpectedly, in the middle of my last year at university, J.Tom and I found ourselves expecting a baby. I was terrified, unsure, not ready for a baby, wasn’t even sure I even wanted kids, and God threw me for a real loop.

It was through that baby that I found Jesus.

And it has been through her, and each pregnancy and baby after, that He has worked in my life, so that I may work in theirs. I couldn’t be a good mama to them, if I didn’t have Jesus.

Maybe He found me, while I was wandering aimlessly for those several months, and at my most vulnerable grabbed me, shook me awake, and made me realize what was at stake. A life. Another human life was going to depend on me, and what was I going to teach her?

What was the world about?

What was the world NOT about?

What was life?

What would I tell her?

Jesus.

Jesus is life.

And the only way to prove that to her, to all of the world, is to live it.

I don’t live it perfectly; I make so many mistakes. But reading the Word, talking the Word, worshiping Him with my babies each morning during morning basket, all helps get my feet where they should be so the kids and I can all stand firm in Him.

He meets us where we are, no matter where that might be.

How do you get your day started with Jesus? Where in life did He meet you?

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 and Childhood: Am I Doing It Right?

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

Several years back I described our homeschool as a Charlotte Mason/Classical approach.

We probably lean more in both of those directions, but I am finding more and more we are very eclectic. We use *everything* to school, focusing on living books for most things, but preferring a math curriculum, and a bit more structure than unschooling.

But, I am not here to talk about how we school.

I am here to encourage you in however YOU school.

I don’t prescribe to a “schedule” for our lessons; we have a general rhythm, a routine, that works. The baby’s naps and feeding times are schedule, as are all other naps and meals. Everything works around that.

Routine = peace here.

But recently (maybe since baby was born? or no… since Christmas?) I have stopped requiring so much of my son, 4.5yo and toddler, 2.5yo. I *thought* I was doing more justice to their childhood by not doing school so much with them and letting them play freely all morning.

*INSERT EYE ROLL HERE*

Yall- people mean well, friends, fellow homeschoolers, ME, we all mean well.

But just because someone says that it works for them, and they believe it is best, doesn’t mean that it is best for your family.

——–

I have high expectations of my kids, as I am sure most people do. I believe kids meet the expectations that we lay in front of them. Expectations should be challenging but not frustrating; not easy, but still something they need to put effort into. They should also include lots of play. It’s so important to make sure children have a good work/play balance. When homeschooling, it can be more difficult to do this, but there are always ways to separate schoolwork from playtime. When it is time for the kids to relax, try doing something they want to do, such as going on the games console and playing super smash bros brawl iso, for example. That is a good way for children to enjoy their time at home, without it feeling like a place where they have to be constantly focused on their schoolwork.

Somehow in the past few months I managed to forget that play CAN look like school, and that school can look like play without it being chaotic free play.

One of the main points taught in my teaching program, which was largely spent logging hours and observations in the preschool room in our University’s child center, is that play can be semi-structured. Play can be guided by an adult with rules and boundaries, but enjoyed freely by a child.

And explorative play can be controlled chaos. (thank you for that term, college professor who had years of classroom experience)

And when ~~you~~ I have 4 kids, each 2 years a part, by golly, we need some dang boundaries, structure within the routine.
I can’t expect a 4 and 2yo to stay inside those boundaries completely on their own every day while I school the oldest. (I know- DUH, right?) But somehow I stopped doing what I know, and began doing what others said was good?!

My point is, please, please, please do not let anyone, even well meaning friends or acquaintances, make you feel like you are doing something wrong because they are justifying or suggesting how they do things.

When You Doubt … or Forget

Re evaluate your own goals and beliefs about education- they probably don’t line up exactly with many other people, and that is okay! That’s why we homeschool, right?

When I looked around our home (and reflected on recent days) I realized we ALL felt chaotic and out of control, there was unnecessary stress and behaviors that didn’t make sense, and it all pointed back to structure for us.

Instead of heeding advice from people who don’t need the same structure we do I should have just kept on with what we were doing, because THAT works for us.

We are happy in our structured, eclectic homeschooling home; my kids excel there, my only boy who is not so independent all of the time feels included and it keeps him from getting bored (aka, in trouble), they all get more time with mama at the table which equals happiness. It’s where we learn, where we find rabbit holes and I feel comfortable enough to follow them because I have a structure to come back to.

Our home is structured, but our days are relaxed and peaceful when my kids know what to expect (oh my gosh, how many times have I written that on this blog?! Maybe 25 … maybe more).

So why did I stray from what I knew the last few months?

I can’t say with certainty. But I do know, that sometimes you have to block out the noise and seeds of doubt no matter where they come from. Stay the course and do what works, as long as it true and good.

Maybe I am just writing this as a reminder to myself, because it will surely happen again.

We really don’t need others validations, we really should do what works for us, and the more we know our children the better we can educate them, regardless of what that looks like from the outside.

So here we are mamas, almost to the end of the school year for many (we keep going through June). Be encouraged, be excited, enjoy your time with your children.

Know you are doing it right.

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!

I’d Rather Be Your Mommy … {a digital book review}

by Meghan // March 14, 2017 // Comments off

We have been enjoying a new book for review from Homeschool Review Co., I’d Rather Be Your Mommy along with the I’d Rather Be Your Mommy Coloring Book Edition, and I’d Rather Be Your Mommy Print Set. Each set is a digital edition.

This book is a short, meaningful example of a mother’s love for her child(ren); the words reinforce to our children just how precious they are to their mother’s and that no matter what we do in our life- from becoming President, to flying a rocket, our first, and most important job is being their mommy.

I enjoyed reading this with my kids, because so often we get wrapped up in the every day- the books, the homeschool, the farm, the meals, the errands, that we sometimes forget our most important job each day is the relationship and raising of our children for the Lord.

We have enjoyed the digital edition of the products- the book, the coloring book, and the print set, because the pictures are so vibrant and the content us fun. Being able to explain to them how much I love being their mama, as compared to “achieving great things” makes it more tangible for them, more meaningful than just saying and showing it. They see that how I show my love for being their mommy, is through the time spent with them, the every day things like cooking meals, giving baths, etc.

This book is so lovely, simple, but meaningful. I’d Rather Be Your Mommy helped open a conversation with my own children about how God.

We enjoyed the silliness of comparing mama’s job to that of a star in a movie, or the adventures of a mama to those of someone climbing a mountain, and flying to space (we are learning about astronomy this year, so that is an especially fun comparison).

The coloring book edition is fun for everyone! It allows you to print the pages of the book for your children to color along-very fun, especially for the youngers that can’t yet read on their own. You can make a book from them or hang them as a reminder; it makes a great activity for little during homeschool time! The digital print set includes some of the beautiful images from the book for printing and sharing in your home. These would be lovely in a nursery or framed in your children’s rooms as a reminder to them. Thankfully because of a recent change in car insurance from a quote that we got from Money Expert, we had enough to go around.

Overall, we have enjoyed this sweet little set in our family. I have 4 small children, and the oldest 3, 6, 4, and 2 years old, really seemed to delight in the affirmations this book gives them of my time and dedication as their mama.

Connect with Home School Adventure Co.

The Beginner’s Bible {with new artwork}

by Meghan // January 4, 2017 // Comments off

The start of a new year tends to bring new books into our home. This year we have been so blessed to review The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz.

How We Have Used It

We have gone through 2 copies of The Beginner’s Bibles in our home since my now 6 year old was 2 years old. Growing up The Beginner’s Bible was my first Bible. For my children, it was an every single night story book for several years, and my oldest could recite the stories to you by heart before she was 4. My son and second daughter have also loved this book, and when our last copy was so well loved that most of the pages were taped in, they were excited to receive our newest copy!

They were even more excited to see the illustrations were different, and more vibrant (they used the words “more colorful”). This updated version is perfect for my oldest to read to her younger siblings, and also for my son to begin reading as he learns to read. Daddy often lets everyone pick a different story to read from it for bedtime. My 2 year old is a “page flipper,” she *loves* to sit and flip through the pages of books while talking about the pictures. This is one of her very favorite books to pick up.

The book is a hardcover edition with beautiful colors, with 512 pages containing over 90 Bible stories.

What We Think About The (updated) Beginner’s Bible

I appreciate that the pages are thick and durable; with so many little hands using this book it is important that it stands up to lots of love. The cover is sturdy, and colorful-it definitely draws my children’s eye when choosing a book to have read to them.

I like that my 6 year old, who reads on a higher level, is able to read this book with ease. Something new I noticed is that in the back is a short glossary of terms used in the stories! Woo hoo! This is so neat, and a great way to introduce glossaries to young children. My daughter really likes this section of The Beginner’s Bible.

I feel like I can trust Zonderkidz and especially The Beginner’s Bible product line, because I grew up with it. Reading the stories nightly to my children helped me (even as an adult) have a better understanding of some of the history in the Bible.

Though simple, it is thorough enough for children to get a great view of Biblical truths without the use of fantastical additions. This is so important to our family. The Beginner’s Bible doesn’t discuss the more mature content of the Bible, but is still able to tell the stories with beauty and truth, while also avoiding adding in details that aren’t Biblically sound.

We are very choosy about books in our home; I want to make sure that what my children read is quality, safe, and appropriate while still being fun, engaging and lining up with our values. Zonderkidz does just that with The Beginner’s Bible.

You can click HERE to see comparisons of the old artwork with the new. The images are now more vibrant, and I think easier for little eyes to decipher. They also include lots of fun resources to download through that link. Enjoy!

Connect With Zonderkidz

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!

How we don’t learn in our homeschool & how I don’t plan {2017 Virtual Homeschool Curriculum Fair}

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

Thank you for joining us for the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair! This is my first year joining, so I am excited to give snapshots of our homeschool, along with other homeschool bloggers. A big thanks to Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds for hosting it!

This week’s topic is See How We Learn- to be completely honest, how we learn really encompasses SO much, it would be easier to tell you how we don’t learn here. =)

We do not learn all willy nilly all the time, but we do not use textbooks for everything (math is about it). I know some people have negative opinions about home schooling but for further education, like university and college, I have found hundreds of great companies who help tutor and create research papers, for children and teens.

We do not settle for a world view we don’t agree with, or follow something because everyone else does. We use what works for our family.

We do not prescribe to beginning school at a strict time, on a strict schedule. We do prescribe to a routine, a rhythm if you will, while the baby sleeps and eats on a schedule (for mama’s sanity, and the baby’s).

We do not mark off all the things, we do try to accomplish meaningful lessons that help us all grow and learn.

I do not plan all our lessons in advance. I do tear out the workbook pages, and divide into 36 weeks, place them in folders for clipboard work each week (math, grammar, and handwriting). I occasionally use the best student learning guide 2020 has too if there’s a particular topic we would like to go over. But everything else, I divide into 36 weeks so I know about how many lessons we need to hit each week. When and how we hit them is up to us. And I use 36 weeks as a guide, but we school year round, and start the next level of whatever we are working on when we finish. =) My children do small tests in English, Maths etc. and I use Grade Cam Test Grader to mark the tests. It’s super easy to use which allows me to spend more time teaching rather than marking!

Mostly, my children learn through hands on and reading. We use literature for just about everything; I haven’t found many math books I am a super huge fan of, so we do a lot of hands on for math. When they’re older, I’m going to show them learning cloud NZ and let them pick an online course to study. Learning is so important no matter how old you are!

Our Homeschool Day

Our homeschool days, that aren’t interrupted by errands, play dates, co op, or field trips mostly look the same. Our mornings begin at 7am, followed by breakfast, morning basket, morning chores, time outside (or downstairs if it is too cold out), reading together in the chair (just getting back to this in this season of life after baby), and then work at the table.

I don’t plan out our week (like certain subjects on certain days), I just plan that we get Xnumber of days or lessons per subject, how we get them done depends on the week. =)

Some days we get through a lot in one day, while others end with me feeling like we didn’t accomplish anything (but we actually accomplished a lot … that’s another post) I don’t measure our success by how many papers we complete, or lessons we get through. Often we bunny trail on topics, go looking for videos to supplement something that catches their interest, or just go outside and focus on something they’re interested in.

However, we do enjoy the workbooks and papers that we do use, which helps tremendously. If something doesn’t work, I scratch it and we do something else. Thankfully, we haven’t had to do that hardly at all.

After we are done with hand writing, reading, writing, spelling, math, history, and science (if done at) the table (not all in one day, and not in that order..) we do whatever extras I may have planned. Sometimes we are reading about a topic my kids love, like Native Americans or the pilgrims, pioneers, or astronomy, and I will get a bunch of books from the library to read on the side, have a few videos in my notes for us to watch, or a field trip for us to go on (though at this time, field trips aren’t happening a lot). We like to do nature study, take nature walks around the pond and in our woods, and journal outside.

I keep these extras written down and we pick and choose what we want to do, or what we have time for. I do not live by my planner, I use it for my thoughts; it is much more like a journal for our homeschool. I have journaled since before I could really write, so for me, this feels more natural. It helps me keep track of my notes for the kids, what I want to review, what we want to look into later, interesting field trip ideas, etc. But just because I write it down doesn’t mean I have to do it.

**You can’t let yourself feel like a failure for not marking off every single thing. Or where would you find joy in what you have accomplished?!

If you aren’t a planner person, but want to keep track of things, you may look into using a traveler’s notebook!

What I really love about homeschool planning in a traveler’s notebook is the freedom that comes with it! I can write down things I want to remember that the kids did during school, and all the other things I mentioned above. I keep other pages in my notebook with all those lists and thoughts.

So, how do we learn?

Eclectically.

I love Charlotte Mason and classical styles of education, mixed with Montessori and Waldorf philosophies and activities. I learned about so many wonderful philosophies in college, and I like implementing parts from many of them into our homeschool. Homeschool isn’t about school at home, I think we’ve all heard that. It is about living life, floowing Christ, becoming life long learners, and finding a love for learning that grows and grows! That doesn’t look like 4 brick walls and a couple of recesses for us. It looks like … life!

I invite you to see how my fellow bloggers learn in their homeschools (note: all posts will be live by noon EST, Jan. 2nd):

The Evolution of Our Homeschool by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
Us-School Because We Are Us, Not Someone Else by Laura @ Four Little Penguins
It’s All About the School by Michele @ Family, Faith and Fridays
Setting the Stage- the 2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair! by Lisa N. @ Golden Grasses
New Year, New Goals, New School! by Amanda H @ Hopkins Homeschool
Homeschooling – A Glimpse into How We Do it by Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Spotlight on How We Learn in Our Homeschool by Laura @ Day by Day in Our World
Our Unique Eclectic Homeschool by Jennifer @ A Glimpse of Our Life
How We Learn on the Go by Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Home Education – 10 Ways We Make It Work by Lizzy @ Peaches At Home
Schedules, where would I be without them? by Kim @ Good Sweet Love
Education at Our House by Shecki @ Greatly Blessed
Starting the Day Well by Sarah @ Delivering Grace
Making a Change – Accountability and Responsibility Through Routine by Lori H @ At Home: where life happens
A time to be encouraged is coming.. the Virtual Curriculum Fair by Annette @ A Net in Time
Loving the Moment! by Jen K @ A Peace of Mind
Keeping Our Homeschool Organized by Christy @ Unexpected Homeschool
Homeschool Goal Setting – Looking Forward, Looking Back by Kristen @ Sunrise to Sunset
How We Choose Curriculum by Brittney @ Mom’s Heart
This Is How We Homeschool by Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Learning Our Way by Lisa @ McClanahan 7
Limping Along: Our Semi-Eclectic Approach to Homeschooling by Debra @Footprints in the Butter
2017 Virtual Curriculum Fair: See How We Learn by Dana L @ Luv’N Lambert Life

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Homeschool Weekly Wrap Up {October 21, 2016}

by Meghan // November 3, 2016 // Comments off

The past few weeks have been so fun in our homeschool! Everyone is growing by leaps and bounds and I love being being part of it; the big squeeze hugs Mister gives me after each word he reads while exclaiming, “I read another word!” makes every hard homeschool moment worth it.

We are reading about Pocahontas in our Beautiful Feet study right now; Lexie has already read the book to herself, but reading it aloud to all of the kids makes it fun and she takes that opportunity to ask for clarification about vocabulary words she doesn’t understand or parts of the plot that she wants further explanation about.

In math Lexie and Max have both enjoyed using cusinaire rods to learn about how numbers work with each other, build on each other, and to help with skip counting. Lexie is moving through her math curriculum really well, pretty much on her own. But she is thinking about numbers so much outside of school in her play and conversations with us, I knew she needed a little more number sense to build on to better understand the math she is exploring in every day life.

$hands-on-math-with-cusinaire-rods$

Next week we are going to use base ten blocks to explore place value, skip counting, and changing numbers.

Max is following along with us, but mostly enjoys using the manipulatives to build hammers and trucks.

Mister is reading! He is so proud of himself; he has known his letter sounds for ages now. A few months back he began sounding out words, but couldn’t quite blend the sounds together, even with modeling. And about 2 weeks ago, it just clicked! It was SO wonderful and fun; he asks to read new words every school day. We are using This Reading Mama’s Reading the Alphabet curriculum in conjunction with AAR Level 1. He loves the little books that TRM’s curriculum includes, as well as the activities. Next week I told him we could start reading Bob Books if he wanted.

I think his favorite part about learning to read isn’t just that he can read, which is huge for his confidence, but that he gets 1:1 time with mama just for reading. =) He is reading to his sisters, and to me whenever he can. Hopefully he enjoys growing and learning more; we probably won’t move as quickly as Lexie did, but who knows? I didn’t think he would want to read this early, but we enjoyed playing with letters and words until he did. Surprise!

In science we are covering the sun; we are moving really slowly through our science curriculum, but we are enjoying it. Lexie enjoys working through the journal and *loves* the crossword puzzles. Mister is tagging along. We made our first KWL chart so they could visualize and learn about organizing their thoughts. One thing I really loved using in college for my methods courses were graphic organizers.

Lexie and Max are both working through their handwriting programs. Lexie’s handwriting has improved so much, but only shows when she really tries to write neatly (which she likes to do and surprise me). At the end of each week she is excited to show me her final copywork which is a Bible verse. She uses A Reason for Handwriting’s B program. Max has been working on pre-writing skills with Handwriting Without Tears and loves it. He sits in my lap while we practice the different strokes while he colors. Soon he gets to begin writing letters in his book.

We have been spending lots of time outside in this beautiful fall weather! The kids all went through an obsession with caterpillars a few weeks back when they were everywhere. Now, we are covered in beetles that look like lady bugs! So we are about to start learning a bit about them.

We are also doing some FIAR activities with our FIAR books as we want. Mostly we are discussing parts of the stories for now, like character traits and social awareness. I *love* *love* *love* FIAR and the books that it covers- it is just great literature! And because I don’t feel like we have to do every. single. thing. in the guide, we can just enjoy and savor quality books. (and I don’t have to go on a hunt and make lists of books .. less work for me!)

And of course we like to follow other interest led learning trails, so whenever we come across something they want to know more about we just dive in!

We love homeschooling because we can be eclectic. We can use curricula we love, and do our own thing without any boundaries to hold us back. It’s a beautiful way to structure their education and build that love for learning!

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Our Homeschool Science for 2016/2017 {Apologia Review}

by Meghan // September 7, 2016 // Comments off

Finally! After years of watching from the sidelines; wondering, considering, questioning, and weighing whether we should try one of Apologia Educational Ministries science programs, we got to try one! I am so excited to tell you all about their Exploring Creation with Astronomy, 2nd Edition. We received the student text, Notebooking Journal, Jr. Notebooking Journal (this is the one we used for Kindergarten) and Audio CD for review.

*sigh*

Y’all- I cannot tell you how much this EXCEEDED all expectations I had. But first- about the program itself.

It just so happens that my kids are crazy interested in Astronomy right now- all things planets and stars, so this worked out perfectly with their interests. The journal has a suggested schedule based on each lesson being broken up into 4-7 daily assignments. If you were to do 2 daily assignments each week this program would last a year.

About the Text:

The textbook itself is just beautiful! I am a total “literature” based, living books learner- not a huge fan of textbooks. But this textbook isn’t dry like I remember textbooks being in school. The pictures are vibrant and beautiful; the information is nicely organized and presents lots of opportunities for discussion and dictation from the student (-love that!). After a few paragraphs on a topic the text will have the student tell what they know about XYZ “to a friend or family member.”

I like that important vocabulary words are in bold lettering which makes it easy for a young learner to pinpoint those topics when looking back at information. It is definitely written in such a way that a student can read it themselves; after rest time in our home, I often find this astronomy book taken down from the shelf where my Kindergarten daughter has been reading it on her own. For our actual lessons, I read it aloud so that I can explain things to my preschooler, who also loves to listen in and look at the pictures with us.

The binding is so sturdy and such high quality it will last through multiple children, and probably multiple families. Inside you will find glossy and thick pages that are fun to turn (book nerd, anyone?). The pictures are colorful and detailed and span the entire page; throughout you will find Biblical wisdom.

The author (who partnered with an engineer from NASA to write this book) does a beautiful job paralleling science and astronomy to Biblical truths. There are sections throughout, highlighted in blue boxes, titled “think about this,” which give Biblical facts and scripture (explained beautifully) to support what we know about that particular astronomy topic.

The pictures and infographics are not just beautiful they are informational and perfect for those visual learners. In the first lesson (pages 13-24), the infographics demonstrating how planets, satellites, and and the sun all work together and orbit in space are helpful for learners of all ages and abilities.

Activities are also abundant in the text- and the best part? They are NOT labor intensive on parents, but they are meaningful to students! They are simple, yet effective activities that get kids moving; whether it is blowing up balloons, “orbiting” each other like planets, or using a globe & flashlight to understand the seasons, the acitivites are fun and perfect for kinisthetic and hands on learners. The content is rich, and includes wonderful history lessons.

I am telling you, this is not your typical “text” book style learning.

The Journals

The journals are just … perfect. =) Really, they have thought of everything. Each journal is spiral bound on a big, thick, sturdy spiral that will stand up to even the ~~most careless~~ ehum, youngest, of learners.

We used the Jr. Notebooking Journal, because my daughter (and oldest child) just turned 6 this past week and is beginning kindergarten. The biggest difference I found between this and the regular Notebooking Journal are the size of the writing lines; the Jr. Journal has dotted lines apropriate for younger writers, while the regular journal has notebook-paper style lines for writing.

Inside the journals you will find the suggested daily schedule and an abundance of opportunities for journaling in 328 pages. This is my favorite part about the program- we love journaling! It makes a perfect keepsake and is an ideal way to document your child’s learning and growth.

We are going at our own pace with a goal of 36 weeks of “scheduled” school per year (though we really school year round with breaks … oh we the baffling homeschoolers). So I just took the total number of lessons and divided it into the number of weeks we plan to formally school, and that’s how many lessons we shoot for each week. Sometimes we do more, other weeks less. But regardless for the first time ever we are doing science EVERY WEEK! We always get to our science reading and journaling; not because we have to but because we want to.

My daughter is young, so we did some parts together (like the crossword puzzles), while she did the journaling of her thoughts/what she learned and drawing pictures on her own. We also did some dictation if we had a day that she had done a lot of writing for school overall, and I knew she needed a break. The copywork provides an opportunity for both print and cursive writing.

In the Jr. Notebook there are coloring pages that include a Bible verse at the bottom; the coloring pages vary from illustrations from Bible stories, of nature or scripture, to outer space. Along with pages for scrapbooking, there are minibook and matchbooks included in the journals. These were great fun! (Below is an example of our dictation- I simply asked her what she knew about the topic; usually she told me much more than I was able to write.)

What is *really* awesome about the Apologia science series is that they take a submersion approach- you focus on the one topic, in depth, for a longer period of time. I like this because it means that for those months we can supplement our lesson with living books we love so much by topic- NASA, the sun, each individual planet, the galaxy, etc.

Apologia encourages that you read other books about the topics, and includes pages in the Notebooking Journal to document those books and what you learned from them.

Hello mamas (and papas ..) the work is done for us! No finding and printing pages, no coming up with ideas of things to notebook or scouring the internet for hours looking for activity booklets, etc. on each topic. IT IS ALL HERE!

Woo hoo! (I told you I was excited about this, right?)

I’ll be honest, we *love, love, love* science; and my kids consider everything from playing on the farm and nature walks around the pond, to staring at dirt science. And they’re right, those things are science. And they’re fun and interesting and *so* important. But I think it is also important to learn to do more formal science- to learn about the scientific method, how to read a text book and look for information, to get the nitty gritty details on things, and document it.

And without a little guidance chances are I may not actually get to those nitty gritty details, or that documentation. We may not get to go as deep as we’d like because we can’t find all the QUALITY resources to help us. But here it is- the quality resource (text) with the documentation (journal), that we can supplement with library books on the topics as we please. It is a win-win no matter how you look at it.

The Audio MP3 CD

We also received the audiobook MP3 CD, read by Jeannie Fulbright herself. The audiobook is the perfect supplement to the text book- it is read mostly word for word, and is done beautifully. There is expression in the reading and Jeannie’s voice is so pleasant to listen to.

The CD is divided into titled sections, just like the text, so you can follow along seamlessly while looking at the book.

I haven’t let the kids listen to it on their own yet, because my daughter will devour it and have the entire book memorized in days; so we have listened to the audiobook a few times after I have read it and discussed it with them. Honestly, if you choose to go with the Apologia science program, you really need to get the audiobook to go along with it; it is too great to pass over.

In summary- we are enjoying Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy immensely! We will continue with it and probably use their other science programs in the future.

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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!