PreK

Children’s Safety Scissors & Pencil Grips {a review}

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Saftey Scissors and Pencil Grips from The Pencil Grip Inc.

Teaching a young child to cut with scissors can be a much dreaded task for any parent-my three year old has finally begun learning to cut paper with The Ultra Safe Safety Scissors from The Pencil Grip, Inc.. What a relief these scissors have been for this mama! We have also been using for review The 3 Step Pencil Grip Training Kit with my 3 oldest children (7, 5, and 3). I also bought some scissors for myself from Office Monster so that I could use them with the children too!

The Ultra Safe Safety Scissors

The Ultra Safe Safety Scissors are truly a life saver for me- I don’t have to worry about my very adventurous 3 year old getting hurt or easily cutting herself, clothing, hair, etc with these scissors! We all know how quickly an accident can happen- especially with 3 year olds and and anything that cuts! But because the blades are encased in a *permanent* clear plastic cover, the chances of a quick slip, or clip, are much less likely.

The yellow lever between the handles allows the handle to spring up after being closed for cutting- GENIUS! Not only does this help little hands with that new fine motor skill, but it also provides some sensory feedback for children; whether they are just learning to cut or perhaps need the sensory input for other reasons, this is a great feature!

saftey scissors

safety scissors in action preschool supplies kids scissors safety scissors

My preschooler is most likely left handed, though that is yet to be decided, and she did wonderfully with the scissors. I stepped aside to help big brother with something, and when I looked over she was cutting independently! Had this been my first born, I would have thought, “using kid scissors is no big deal,”- She had good fine motor skills, wonderful coordination, and was not much of a rule breaker in the cutting-things department. But the truth is, cutting is a BIG job for little hands and brains! With my third child, I see *so* much value in these safety scissors (and looking back wish I had them for my older 2)!

They are a useful school supply to have in your cupboard.

children's safety scissors

The 3 Step Pencil Grip Training Kit

The 3 Step Pencil Grip Training Kit contains 3 different grips for learning correct pencil grasp:

  • begin training with The Crossover Grip
  • then transition with The Pinch Grip
  • finally using The Pencil Grip once mastered

pencil grips

This actually worked out really well for us, because all of my children hold their pencils incorrectly *insert “doh!” face here* (see the bottom of this post for a chart of correct and incorrect pencil grasps) This may or may not be because their mother holds her pencil incorrectly, though I have taught them to hold it the right way … I guess we slip in to bad habits when we compensate for tiredness, etc.

The 3 year old probably has the best grip of them all, but my 5 year old son likes to hold his pencil like mama-on his ring finger … So using the Training or Transition Grips for him has been helpful. My oldest is somewhat of a sensory seeker so she really enjoys the feeling of the grip. And while working through vision therapy (for dysfunction that greatly affects her writing), we’ve found the grip she uses helps prevent her pressing so hard on the pencil, makes writing more comfortable, and helps remind her to hold her pencil correctly.

pencil grip fun to use

Each child loves the firm but squishy feeling of the grips, the smooth texture, and enjoys using them. As always, the grips are made of a great quality, and I know I can trust this company and their products.

We received a pencil grip during a previous review for Kwik Stix, and still enjoy using it in our home. We have loved all our products from The Pencil Grip Inc., and it is always a pleasure doing business with them.

Connect with The Pencil Grip, Inc.

 

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Pencil Grasp Chart

 

 

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!

DIY Fall Nature Banner Handicraft {nature craft}

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This last week in one of our co-op classes we had SO much fun making a DIY fall nature banner. The timing was uncanny! A few weeks ago, we came across a PVC banner printing that we thought was just amazing. So when we found out that we were doing banners, I was extra excited! I wanted to share with you what we did, so you can do it at home as well!

This could be adapted for spring, Christmas, summer … any season or occasion really. I would say it is an appropriate activity for ages 2+; a 2-5 year old may need extra assistance with the mallet, obviously. My 5yo son was able to do most of the hammering himself, he did get tired once or twice, so I would hammer and give his arms a break.

diy fall nature banner handicraft #charlottemason #naturestudy #handicraft #homeschool

First you will need to gather supplies:

  • thin fabric such as a light, thin linen or muslin
  • leaves, buds, flowers, grasses from nature
  • rubber mallet or hammer
  • tarp or cardboard (for laying everything on before hammering)
  • 3 hole punch or knife (we use a 3 hole punch so the kids could do it, and the holes would be evenly spaced)
  • twine for stringing
  • small piece of clear tape (for taping the end of the twine so it doesn’t unravel)
  • decorative leaves/acorns/etc from craft store that you may want to add
  • hot glue gun

You can either punch your holes before or after hammering, that is up to you. We did it afterwards.

  1. gather leaves, flowers, buds, & grasses of all different colors-the brighter the better!
  2. cut fabric into neat triangles (print a triangle template the size you want). You can do this by hand if you’d like or if you’re planning to make quite a big garland, I’d recommend looking into the best fabric cutting machines for precise cuttings. It’ll be a lot quicker than cutting it free hand too.
  3. warm up your hot glue gun if adding decorations
  4. lay out your tarp or cardboard, the harder the surface the better the colors will come out of the leaves and flowers. So maybe on top of concrete or a garage floor would be good.
  5. place leaves and flowers *under* your fabric triangles
  6. use the mallet or hammer to bang away!
  7. leave the bits of leaves and petals on the fabric, once they dry they are easy to roll off
  8. using a 3 hole punch, place the triangle, top edge in, under 2 of the holes and punch on each triangle
  9. cut your twine. For 4 triangles, we cut twine 36″ long, you would need more if you do a longer banner.
  10. wrap scotch tape around one end of the twine, for weaving through the holes
  11. weave twine through the holes, then tie a knot on each end
  12. *IF* you want added decorations, hot glue them onto the banner now
  13. Hang and enjoy!

Some of the students really liked using a hammer better; it does give a lot of bang for your buck. The rubber mallet covers more area, so for smaller/younger students, the mallet made the job a bit easier/less tiring.

I want to give a shout out to our wonderful “Maker’s Space” class teacher. This is one of my favorite activities we have ever done in our homeschool! It was so enjoyable, and simple to do. I look forward to doing it at home with all my kids, another season.

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!

Children’s History Book Series You Must Try! { a review}

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There is this saying among homeschool moms and teachers that you know you’re reading a quality children’s book, when you (the adult) enjoy it. That is exactly how I feel about Carole P. Roman’s historical series of books. We have been reading for review:

We also received:

Let me start by saying each one of these books is lovely! The covers are beautiful, the binding is high quality, and the pages are a nice weight. Four of the above books have won various awards. You can view all of the awards for Carole’s books HERE.

Carole P. Roman has done a brilliant job transporting her readers back in history, using real life situations and terms that are true to the era. I truly appreciate the work and details that were put into writing these!

Writing to a child from their own perspective seems to really draw them in. I have had more imaginative play in my home with knights and vikings and colonial heroes in the last few weeks, than the last year combined. haha My children have really enjoyed these! They are appropriate for a child as young as 4, and I would even say most 10 year olds would enjoy them.

Written clearly enough for a young child, but with enough detail and sustenance for an older child as well, I have sure enjoyed reading them!

What You Can Expect, What We Thought, and How We Used the Books

If you Were Me and Lived In … the Middle Ages is a fascinating 98 page book that will take children back to the era of which they all play pretend-that of Sleeping Beauty, castles, knights, and maidens. I *love* how this book (and the others we received) begins with an illustration of what the towns in that era looked like, compared to an illustration of a town or landscape today. It really puts into perspective how much our cultures and lives have been impacted by history, and thus changed.

Speaking of illustration, this book has my *favorite* illustrations! I think it must be the time period, but they are so lovely!

The kids liked learning the very specifics of how children in this time lived; what they ate, read, how they slept, that they prayed 5 times a day. The fact that young girls sewed every afternoon pleased my daughter immensely, and my 5 year old son thought the term garderobe was just hilarious. (I had no idea their restroom emptied directly into the moat? ew.) But they couldn’t imagine having to leave their home to live with someone else, and rarely see each other or their parents.

This book goes step by step, through the classes of society in the middle ages, so children can see what it was like to live in a castle, and also as a peasant. There is a section of famous people from the middle ages, and an extensive glossary of terms in the back, which is tremendously useful. (I am definitely thinking when we re-read these books as we go through world cultures this year, we will be using these terms for vocab development).

We began reading this series with, If you Were Me and Lived In … Colonial America, because when we received our books for review we had literally just come to the end of our colonial era studies for early American history. I liked that my kids were able to compare parts of these history books, to those in Sarah Noble and the biographies we read on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and other from the 16-1700s.

In the back of this 64 page book, Carole has provided a list of important American colonists, with illustrations, as well as a glossary of terms.

The only thing I would point out about this book (and only this book, of the ones we received) is the pages with text were black, and the text itself was white. While it did contribute to the era of which we were reading, it was hard for my eye to read the white lettering.

If you Were Me and Lived In … Viking Europe provides a fantastic explanation of living like a viking child. This past year, in our early American history studies, we began with vikings and Erik the Red (my children were enthralled with this time period), so this book has been loved by my children.

Made up of 76 pages, it describes in detail what every day life would be like for a viking child-from living like a Jarl to being a lowly Thrall. One of our favorite parts was learning how vikings boiled sea water to get their salt! I found it interesting that viking women were more respected and had more freedoms than most women in Europe, at the time. My son likes the idea of spending all day learning to hunt, fight, and ski, while my 7yo like that girls danced and enjoyed fiddles (she plays violin).

Again, in the back is a list of important viking figures, viking gods, and a glossary of vocabulary words (which is SO helpful- thank you for that!).

This book does explain some of their culture, which included many gods, and some magic.

If you Were Me and Lived In … Ancient China (76 pages) and If you Were Me and Lived In … the Ancient Mali Empire (78 pages) each offer the same format as the books above- a comparison of how the civilizations looked then and now, details on life as a child and their family, famous people of the era, and a glossary of terms.

These titles include elaborate clothing, parades, and festivals held in the cultures at this time. Again, these books would be wonderful for children as young as 4 all the way up to higher elementary. The illustrations are gentle but lively, and pull you into the narrative.

These are pictures books, as are the first three mentioned above. Carole also has a chapter book series, as well as a culture series. Check them out HERE.

 

 

I 100% understand why Carole’s books have won awards after award- they are worthy! I cannot wait to re read these as we go through world culture this year, and plan to add more of her books to our shelves!

Connect with Carole P. Roman

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Paper Mache Kids Craft

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For part of our summer homeschool activities, I wanted to do some hands on art/creating during the unbearably hot hours of summer.  We have enjoyed using for review Activa Products Rigid Wrap and CelluClay Quik-Sculpting Kit and the ACTÍVA Products’ Favorite Sculpture KIDS CRAFTS (a free ebook).

What It Is & How We Used It

We received the kit which contains both Rigid Wrap and CelluClay. And … if you are anything like me, you (may be?) clueless about what either of these products are really used for. So here is my breakdown:

The Rigid Wrap is plaster cloth, comes in 2 rolls that are 4″ wide each, and is used to cover just about anything you would cover in paper mache. You simply cut the cloth to strips in the size you need, place on your object/project, and add water using your fingers to smooth the surface and create!

For an object, we chose to use cardboard from a box we had on hand. Using the beautiful butterfly template from the ACTÍVA Products’ Favorite Sculpture KIDS CRAFTS ebook, I cut out the butterfly shape from the cardboard. Then we used the instructions and tips from page 10 of the ebook to create a butterfly!

Honestly y’all, this was so easy and fun! Because my oldest is 6, and I had a 2 and 4 year olds helping, our steps were:

  • I placed an empty dog food bag on the counter just in case we made a mess =)
  • I measured the strips
  • had a helper cut them
  • I wrapped them around the cardboard butterfly
  • then they each took turns applying water to their finger tips and rubbing the plaster cloth to a smooth finish.
  • we did front and back of the butterfly
  • to speed up drying time, we chose to microwave it for a minute or two (wow!  That really works!)
  • then we did the same thing, applying a second layer of plaster
  • speed dried in the microwave, and let it sit to finish drying

Because I don’t believe in “fixing” my kids creative projects, I let them rub it in as much or as little as they wanted/were able. They were SO proud of the finished project. I couldn’t believe how easy this was to do! It makes me look forward to creating more projects with them; there was virtually no mess (yay!) and was something we could all enjoy, even the 2 year old.

We used our tempera paint sticks to paint the butterfly for one reason: my back went out and I couldn’t reach the actual paints … =( haha (and my husband was gone, so he couldn’t get them for me). While the painting job is far from a professional, smooth finish, it was fun to do and easy for my oldest to do on her own.

The CelluClay project was also fun! If I am being completely honest, I am a terrible (I mean terrible) paper mache-er.  I did it one time in high school for a project in my Spanish class and failed the project miserably. I’ve never really been interested in trying it again.

But the CelluClay made it simple, and now that I understand the process a bit better (after having actually used the CelluClay) I can imagine the possibilities are endless for projects!

We mixed the CelluClay as instructed (which is great because it keeps in the fridge- score!).  Then we decided to make bowls.

Now, you probably shouldn’t do like *I* did, and just go creating a bowl from scratch.  It works! Because CelluClay is pretty awesome like that.

But for best results, you could need to have a template of some kinda to adhere the paper mache to (looking back on it, I’m thinking *duh*).  Anyway, we made bowls by forming the CelluClay like you would using a regular clay.  The kids used damp fingers to mold and smooth their own bowls- this was really fun and relaxing for them! I just handed them a ball of CelluClay, they did the rest!

After we were done, we placed them on a cooling rack and let them air dry for a few days. They hardened so nicely! I mean, they are really hard. I thought for sure they would crumble and fall a part- NOPE! They are enduring almost daily play by all the oldest three kids (6, 4, and 2 year olds).

I was really excited to use these products and very thankful for the free ebook that is full of project ideas, templates, and tips when creating paper mache projects. We printed out the pages we needed and kept them on hand during our work; my 6 year old read the directions for me as we went (which is why we just *had* to microwave the butterfly haha).

If you are looking for a fun, endless art activity for your school year this fall, this is a *great* product for kids (and adults) of just about any age; and better yet, you can grab it on Amazon!

What would you use this sculpting kit for in your homeschool?

Connect with Activa

 

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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!

Enjoying {the gentleness of} a Charlotte Mason Education

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

enjoying the gentleness of charlotte mason education

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!

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

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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. =)

How we don't learn in our homeschool

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.

Homeschool Weekly Plan

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):


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 Weekly Wrap Up {October 21, 2016}

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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!

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!

Our Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2016/2017

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Aaaah Every homeschool mama’s dream- getting the new school year’s supplies and curriculum all planned out and organized.

homeschool choices 20162017

As you all may know, we *love* Sonlight’s curriculum as our core- Bible, history, and read alouds. We also love their readers (books children learn to read on their own).

This past school year (2015/2016) we used Sonlight Core A with the intention of stretching it out over two years- I planned to do that by reading sequels to books, adding in lapbooks and other units, while alternating weeks of SL and these other things, etc.

Yea … so we still flew through it! The kids asked all the time to read our “learning time books,” and did not like me alternating some weeks of all the great read alouds and history books from SL in an attempt to stretch it out.

Because we didn’t stretch Core A over 2 years as planned, this left me with an extra year to fill- a year known in the homeschool world as a “gap year.”

As it turns out, SL revamped their cores for 2016, which means Core A has some new books added and some old ones removed! They also separated their language arts from the core itself. This helped me create a new plan for our next few school years.

Here is what we will do for the next few years:

  • 2016/2017- Gap Year using Beautiful Feet Early American History as core (ages 4 and 6)
  • 2017/2018- Revisit Sonlight Core A (ages 5 and 7)
  • 2018/2017- Begin Sonlight Core B (ages 6 and 8)

Why is this helpful? Because it means I can keep my two oldest in a Core together, and my two youngest (who are toddlers and a soon to be born baby) will core together when they are ready to begin. Inserting a gap year here puts my two oldest at the best possible ages for the Cores; with Sonlight it is generally better to be in the top of the age range than the bottom because book content is heavier as you get to Core D and the farther in cores you go the more chapter books you encounter.

Break Down of What We Will Use for 2016/2017

Last year my 3 year old tagged along for Core A, as I have mentioned, and learned to count to 100, ID all his letters and their sounds, and just found a love for learning (slooowly but surely). My oldest, 5 years old, loved every minute of Core A, and began reading anything she could get her hands on, including books on 3rd-4th grade level. She seriously just picks up any book and read it.

They both LOVED the pioneer era, so I thought for our gap year doing an Early American History study would work out well! We chose Beautiful Feet Books Early American Primary Jumbo Literature Pack for our curriculum this year. I am truly 100% excited!

We have done 2 years of other cultures/world history so I thought this year we could take a break from that (though I think I may have a couple of future ap world history students!) while we enjoy a little bit of studying closer to home, before we jump back into world cultures/world history with Core A again.

2017 Curriculum Choices (Kindergarten age 6, Preschool age 4)

Together we will all enjoy:

  • History/Core– Beautiful Feet E.A. History- this also incorporates copywork and writing
  • Bible- Reading from Egermeier’s Bible Story Book
  • Memory work (Bible verses, poems, etc that I have chosen)
  • Science- Apologia Science Astronomy second edition (oh my goodness we are LOVING this-review to come in September) used with the Jr. Notebooking Journal for Kindergartener, the preschooler will tag along/color pictures as we read
  • Art– Artistic Pursuits- we love this program, hands down

Kindergarten (age 6)

  • Reading– AAR Level 2/3- we are about half way through Level 2 now, so we will continue on to Level 3 once we are done
  • Readers– we will continue using Sonlight’s readers, as well as other first and second grade readers from the library
  • Spelling– AAS Level 1- we did not being AAS last year as I had planned (mama was just too sick/exhausted with pregnancy to add in anything else at the time) so we will begin it this year. Lexie is very concerned about how to spell her words and because her reading level is so advanced I figured this is a good time to gently introduce spelling.
  • Math– Saxon 1/2- we will finish Saxon 1 and move on to Saxon 2 this year. Max, the preschooler, will tag along using manipulatives to understand concepts instead of writing
  • Handwriting– we will use our faithful copywork, as well as A Reason for Handwriting book B
  • Writing– copywork, journal, and modeling (I plan to introduce more formal grammar/writing at 2nd grade level)

Preschool (age 4)

  • Reading- All About Reading Level 1 (mixed with some games from the Pre Reading level because he loves them)
  • Math- tag along using manipulatives to understand concepts instead of writing, learn to write numbers
  • Handwriting- Handwriting Without Tears Preschool or K book (I haven’t decided yet… he is still very much at the pre writing level, but I know Lexie flew through that stage once she got started, so we may just go to the K book first)
  • I plan to use lots of hands on and games with him; he loves puzzles and mazes, building things, and sports right now so there isn’t a ton of interest in paper and pencil learning just yet. I don’t want to burn him out or push him too young. He is excited about learning to read and write letters, but short of that it will be a lot of play.

Miss Tot (2)

Ila will tag along, get some one on one time with mama, and enjoy independent play during our school time. She is learning her shapes, colors, ABCs, and how to do puzzles right now. Really, she has mastered her puzzles and counting to 10, so we will just continue with songs, finger plays, and other tot-time learning for her. =)

In addition to our curriculum, we will do LOTS of play outside, work on the farm, and learn through nature.

So, as for now, these are our plans for homeschool this year! If things change or I add something (haven’t yet placed my last order..) I will do a part II and let you know.

What will your school year look like for 2016/2017?

 

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Developing Young Learners’ Skills through Poetry Memorization {a review with IEW}

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We have used products from Institute for Excellence in Writing before, and have always enjoyed them.  The past few weeks we have been using their program: Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization.

Our family received everything listed on the product’s site which includes:

  • Teacher’s Book with 96 poems and speeches-spiral bound
  • 5 physical CDs with the poems and speeches read aloud (which we LOVE and my children ask to listen to frequently) in a high quality CD case
  • a complimentary student’s e-book (printable for as many students as you have!)
  • a bonus DVD of Andrew Pudewa’s conference Nurturing Competent Communicators– this is a wonderful support to homeschool parents to help you better nurture your growing student!
  • there are also 7 audio MP3s available for download in your IEW website account (instructions for downloading can be found in the front of the teacher’s book):
    • Nurturing Competent Communicators
    • Mastery Learning, Ability Development, and Individualized Education
    • Ten Thousand Times and Then Begins Understanding
    • On Listening
    • On speaking
    • On reading
    • On Writing

As part of our review, we also received a physical spiral bound student’s book, which is not included in the set, but can be purchased separately.

Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization {a review}

How We used Liguistic Development through Poetry Memorization and What We Think

This product includes so many wonderful items, & has SO much educational value; we have had a lot of fun with it!  My children are 5.5 and 3.5 years old.  We have been working on “memory work” since my oldest was 3- she loves poems, memorizing, and reciting.  Little brother has also enjoyed joining in on our memorization for quite some time now.  All this to say, using IEW’s poetry memorization program naturally flowed right into our homeschool!

On Wednesday afternoons, we try to have a poetry tea time- we have tea, kombucha, and a special snack.  I usually light candles, or we may even move it outside if the weather permits.

So it seemed only natural that this is where I should introduce this program to my children- and it flowed perfectly!

Each Wednesday we begin the next poem from our current level; we are working in Level 1.  Throughout the week we recite the poem at our breakfast “morning basket” time.  My daughter has almost all of the poems memorized already, simply from listening to the CDs!  She pretty much teaches it to my son at breakfast, while I prop up the student book (I feel like the poem illustrations help him) and read along.  I cannot believe how well they are memorizing and reciting poetry!  They especially enjoy reciting it for their daddy when he comes home in the evenings.

As you may know, poetry and memorization are important for building the foundational skills of reading and language development (the DVD, teacher’s book, and MP3s do a great job explaining the importance and benefits).  We also enjoy using the poems as part of our copy work- this is a wonderful way to build writing skills and make this a multi-use program.  My daughter likes writing the poetry into her journal. =)

Although I haven’t, I think it would be a great idea to print the student pages (especially for the younger ones) to color while working through the poems.  Hanging up the pages as a reminder would also be fun- (we have just been using our gifted spiral bound student book, because the kids enjoy flipping through it).

We have listened to the first 2 CDs so far, simply because the kids ask to listen all the time, though we aren’t that far into the program.  There are five levels (you can see samples from each level HERE), each progressing in difficulty.  This can truly be used for any age and ability level!

If you want to implement memorization and/or poetry into your homeschool but aren’t sure just where to start, or maybe you need help with the whys and hows, this program can line ALL that out for you!  The MP3s are especially helpful and supportive.  The teacher’s book does a wonderful job explaining the importance and ease of memorization for children.  As I was reading the first section of it, I kept thinking to myself, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”  Memorization is natural, important, and most definitely has a place in education and life!

As always, IEW doesn’t disappoint- their Liguistic Development through Poetry Memorization is a valuable addition to our homeschool.  Their included parent/teacher support resources are wonderful and of course, the program is effective.  We love it, and will continue using it!

Poetry Tea Time with IEW

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Accomplish ALL The Things {Simple Woman’s Daybook 23}

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Outside my Window …
It is gray, cloudy, and the sun isn’t up. We have had rain for 3 days now! YAY

I am thinking…
About all the things I need to start fitting into my day: more floor time with Ila, more violin practice with Lexie, more ironing of J.Tom’s clothes (one day I will be able to afford the cleaners!), more walking, more pregnancy exercises … oh. And more menu planning (really not doing good menu planning), and more blog planning.

How’s that for thinking 😉

I am thankful…
That my husband woke up before me to make coffee and feed the baby cows. =) We have started weaning them from their milk (a little late), and boy are they pushy! We don’t let them boss us, but the taller brown one sure tries.

In the kitchen…
There is bone broth that needs to be jarred up and put in the freezer.

And coffee!

I am wearing…
A maternity dress- it is one of the really old ones from my pregnancy with Lexie. It doesn’t really fit well, but they make great house dresses now, and are comfy to sleep in. Old Navy, $10 6 years ago.

I am creating…
probably a mess of everything. I have so much to do; today is cleaning day, but I also have to work in the basement (ugh) and get ironing done. I have dresses to finish sewing before baby comes, I want to put together a small unit study for the kids on Little house in the Big Woods, because we are about to finish that, and then we are going to grow crystals. That’s creating stuff, right? =/

I am going…
I need to go to Costco this afternoon; if the Mister takes a good nap we will go get groceries and then meet the daddy for dinner out.

Did I mention I have done a really bad job about menu planning lately?

I am wondering…
If it will continue to rain and fill the pond up. We thought we had a leak … thankfully the hubby had access to a few tons of kitty litter so we spread that out where we thought the leak may be. However, it may in fact just be that we didn’t have a wet winter and our runoff is blocked a bit, and there is a huge pond next door that has to fill before ours will.

Hoping the hard heavy rain we got last night started the process. We have had slow, steady rain for 2-3 days now. It has been wonderful!
I am reading…
Oh gosh! Okay, so I have a few books on my shelf, but have only really started one. The first two are homemaking books from the library, though I think I would like to own both. and the rest are books about raising boys. Cause … my little Mister is the only Mister and I am a girl. Therefore I really know very little about raising boys.

I am hoping…
really more like praying God helps me find me the patience and energy today to accomplish all the things!

I am looking forward to…
Not having a mile long to do list! It seems to come in phases, sometimes I feel like I have it all done and everything is great (obviously, it probably really isn’t). And then sometimes I am SO. Far. Behind. Like now. =)

I am learning…
That my Mister needs freedoms, and boundaries, and more reinforcement of consequences when he breaks those boundaries.

Also, that I have let a LOT of time get by me before this baby gets here! I am 27.5 weeks already, and we have a TON of rather big things to do.

Around the house…
dusting. vacuuming. switching season clothes, packing kids clothes that are too small to save for baby, and I am always decluttering. Which right now I think we are in a pretty good place with that. Minus all these girl clothes I have to hold on to! I know I should throw them away, but I just can’t do it. We’re throwing enough away though, leaving us with a lot of space now. If anyone else needs to declutter their home, it might be worth contacting a company like 1300 Rubbish to make sure they can take the rubbish away from your home. That always makes the job easier.

A favorite quote for today…

Accomplish All the Things

One of my favorite things…
that Ila has FINALLY this week, started saying more words: red car, Lexie, mister, bear, more animal sounds, hair bow, and she pretends to read the words in books by speaking her own little baby Japanese. It is really cute.

I also LOVE that Lexie begs to take Ila outside while I am prepping meals, switching out laundry, etc. I do let her take her on the porch or to the back concrete and Lexie just loves it. So does mister- he drives Ila around in the back of his little pick up truck. She is so loved.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
I think ALL the lists above should cover this one. =)

A peek into my day…
This was the other day

Out My Widow ... Life on a Farm

Simple Woman {Daybook}
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