sweet gift

I love when a mama-led lesson over Roman aquaducts turns into a child-led lesson over Mt. Vesuvius.

This child as active learner always sweeps me in, clear off of my feet.

For me, it is one of the sweetest gifts of homeschooling.

making words

What can be more riveting than a post about spelling?  I know- how about another post about spelling- back to back!

I wanted to share one more activity that Moonpie and I did today at the last minute.  She was struggling to come up with more than two -ake words, so we made a game out of it.  I printed out a template used for geometry instruction.  It is a cube you can cut out and tape together.  On one of the cubes I wrote -ake on every side.  On the other cube I wrote different beginning sounds, like 'l', 'm', 'b', etc.  She would roll the cubes like dice and put them together to see what word she made.  Then, she would write the word on her paper (clipped to her very official clipboard).  

It's a very easy way to make word work a little more engaging and fun.  Here are some visuals:

 step 1:  You must dress up like a kitty cat.  This is crucial.  Do not skip this step!  Wait, that wasn't the first step.  Roll the dice.  Yes, that sounds more like it!

 step 2:  put the dice together and see what word you have made.

step 3:  write your word on your very official paper clipped to your very official clipboard.

I have made up another cube with new beginning sounds that we will use tomorrow to keep the list growing.

If you are not a homeschooler, this is a fun way to have your child practice their spelling words, or just practice making words in general.  Some variations would be to put a different word ending on each side of one cube (at, it, ock, etc.) and different starting sounds on the other.  Keep in mind that your child will probably come up with some very creative words.  On their paper you can have a column for non-sense words.  Every word made should be written down.  It will be good practice for you child to be able to differentiate between true words and non-sense words.  Or you can even go nuts and write numbers on each side!  Throw caution to the wind and use the cubes to practice math facts.

Keeping something as versatile as this on hand is an easy way to make language and math work a bit more fun!

homeschool {natural spelling}

My thoughts on teaching spelling are largely influenced by my experience as a second grade, public school teacher.  What I saw time and again was that my students could be successful on spelling tests, but struggled with carrying over what they had learned from that rote memorization into their real life writing.  As with anything else, unless they were really ready and mindful of what they were doing, it really didn't stick.  One way I found to make spelling more meaningful (since throwing out the practice wasn't an option!) was to create individual lists for each child based on their writing journals.  They would have a core of five words that followed a certain pattern (called a word family in early literacy training) and then five words that we would pull from their journals.  This seemed to encourage their interest, since it was words that they used frequently.

I appreciate that in the Charlotte Mason philosophy, teaching spelling is not really practiced until third grade.  Up until that point, it is more encouraged to allow the child to be freed up to write as they wish so the ideas can freely and easily make their way onto paper.  She taught that spelling was more of  a natural skill and encouraged the use of copy work.  The thinking being that the more the child is exposed to proper spelling, the more the child will correctly spell!  I love this thinking.  It jives with me.  (Again, this is up to second grade.  After that, a more intensive spelling program is encouraged.)

I've been thinking about all of this lately because of my Moonpie.  She loves to write.  And she loves for things to be correct.  She will not sit and spell freely.  She wants the words to be spelled the right way.  This creates frustration for her because her stories are slower going than she would prefer.  Because of this, that an extreme interest is there, I have decided to introduce some formal spelling lessons into our day.  In small doses.

The nitty gritty:


If you are in a similar boat and wondering how to teach spelling, here are a few of the things we will be doing this week:

I am pulling from a common misspelling that I see frequently in her spelling- that dreaded silent 'e' ending!  Yesterday, a story she was writing featured the baking of a cake.  She had questions about spelling both 'bake' and 'cake', so we will be focusing on the -ake word family this week.   She will be creating a paper cake to write out her -ake words.  I'll come up with a nifty little poem featuring lots of
-ake words for her to read through and highlight.  We'll be writing our words with sidewalk chalk and what not.  As with any other skill, hopefully she will continue to pick up on the pattern of how words work.  When we come into contact with words that don't fit our pattern, but have the same sound (for instance - the word 'break') we will call that word an outlaw word and put his sorry rear in jail.  My hope for right now is to create a fun environment and one that she can feel successful in!  And even though we are jumping into formal spelling training earlier than I had intended, I am content in knowing that it is something that she is interested in.

(this is an edited version!  i love the irony that i wrote a post on spelling and made a ton of grammatical mistakes!  so much for posting RIGHT when i wake up!)

our staple

Our first couple of days of official school-ish types of projects has gone great!  Too my great shock, Buddy seems to be disappointed that he doesn't have more to do.  I really believe in a play-based kindergarten year, but he's not buying it so far!  I'll assess the situation after a couple of weeks, tweak where it is needed and see what we come up with.
We are outside as much as our weather allows right now.  We are still at miserable temps (yesterday it was 105), and after 30 some odd days of straight 3 digit temperatures, it just feels like it will never let up.  Like we are going to be stuck in summer forever.  However, if we can get out of the house before 9, it is only in the 90's and pretty pleasant!  We are enjoying mornings of catching lizards,

chasing dragon flies, and gardening (and by gardening I mean ripping out dead plants!).

Yesterday, Moonpie and I spent some time putting together our math manipulatives for the year.  Instead of investing in base 10 blocks, I busted out our pantry staple -  beans.

This is something I would do when I taught school.  Even though we had access to the base 10 blocks, there is something about the process of making your own that adds to the level of understanding.

When I am approached by parents that are considering homeschooling, but are put off by the costs, I always remind them that every homeschool looks different.  Just as every child is different, every budget is different.  For us, we opt to put our small budget towards really great books.

The rest is up to me.

homeschool {2011-2012 books}

are you sick of these yet?  i can't get enough of them!  photo credit: Ryan Price

One of the ideas that led me to the Charlotte Mason theory of education is the use of books for learning.  Not text books, but real, living books!  When I thought about how I learn as an adult it came down to two things:  reading about the subject and hands on experience.  I want my children to know how to learn. I want them to LOVE to learn.  The philosophies of Charlotte Mason resonate with me because they speak to this love of learning.

If you would like a peek at some of the books we will be using this year, I've listed them in my {bookstore}.  They only allow 18 books in the bookstore, so here are some books we will be using but did not have room for:

Science:  Apologia Press- Land Animals of the 6th Day

The Burgess Animal Book for Children

we will heavily depend on the library for books regarding the animals we will be studying

Nature study:  Keeping a Nature Journal

History:   The Story of the World  by Susan Wise Bauer
again- LOTS of library books to fill in the gaps!

Geography:  A Child's Geography by Anne Voskamp

Bible:  Bible Study Guide for All

Read alouds FREE on the Kindle:

The Five Children and It

The Story of Dr. Doolittle

For most of our small non-fiction picture books, I will use the library.  Unless we are studying something for months on end.  In the spring we will be covering Ancient Rome, and this is a unit we will be revisiting in later years, so I will purchase books about the subject.  Or let's say units on birds or trees.  These are topics that come up all of the time, so I am sure to purchase a few good copies on the subject for our home library.

homeschool plan

Another school year is starting up and we are ready for it!  The kids are asking every day "when does school start?".  The pressure is on, people!

I have had a rough sketch of a plan in my head for the past few months, and I was able to get most of it mapped out last weekend.  We are continuing with our Charlotte Mason based learning with a Waldorf twist.  I love how Waldorf schools focus on trickster/ saint tales for second grade.  Moonpie is definitely in a trickster phase with all of her joke telling these days!  But there is still that sweetness, that little girl that wants to cuddle.  The thinking in the Waldorf tradition is that children at this age can relate to these tales of the tricksters and the saints.

Here's an overview of our week:

Monday- Wednesday- we will have circle time, language arts block, Bible, math, and history/ science
Thursday - geography/ earth science and nature study, math review work, Bible
Friday- Bible, geography/ earth science, family day

I'm hoping that Thursday will also be a day that we can have a nursing home day alternated weekly with a science club day.

Our monthly history focus will influence our science and language studies:

September-
history- ancient China
science- primates
LA- Chinese trickster tales (featuring the monkey king)

October-
history- ancient Africa
science- spiders
LA- African trickster tales (Anansi the spider)

November-
history- ancient Americas and Thanksgiving study
science- coyotes
LA- Cherokee tales (featuring trickster Coyote)

December- Saints/ Christmas around the world

That is the rough idea for the year.  I have history all laid out and I'm waiting for my books to arrive so I can figure out the stories we will be covering.

I think I will be talking some more about homeschool planning this week.  I also have a kindergartner on my hands that lost his first tooth this week!  His day will mirror much of what I am doing with his sissy, but with some fun planned just for him.  He is very excited to be a kindergartner, although he's not all that sure what that means!

ps- the dye has completely faded now.  The belly took the longest to go away.  Go figure.

homeschooling {moonpie}

*this post picks up my series on how our day works. for the beginning go back to part 1, part 2, part 3.

a photo by Ryan Price capturing our sweet sissy

Like I mentioned in part 3, Buddy's day, after circle time we all head to the table for Bible study (look back to part 3 for the curriculum we use).  After Bible, Buddy grabs his supplies and we begin working. I call this time "guided learning" because, for the most part, I am guiding his learning during this time.  While Buddy and I are working, Moonpie begins her independent lessons.  Moonpie loves workbooks, especially Explode the Code.  So she starts her time doing a couple of pages out of her current book.  

After that she moves to her copy work.  We use a copy work book based on animals- her most favorite thing.  This makes copy work more bearable for her.  Let's just say she doesn't love it.  I however do!  I feel like copy work is a gentle way to incorporate reading, handwriting, spelling, vocabulary and grammar.  The more she experiences properly formed sentences, the more likely she is to form them correctly herself.  I allow her to stop at any time in her copy work.  I don't want her to feel bogged down by it.  She generally works to the first period of the paragraph and then moves on to independent reading.  By this time, Buddy is usually ready to move onto blocks.  But if I'm I still working with him, Moonpie has some free time.  Which she generally spends drawing.

When I am ready to work with her, I check over her work.  If there are any mistakes in her ETC, I usually just point out one and discuss it with her.  Then I have her fix it.   Next I look over her copy work.  I ask her to show me which letter or word she feels is her very best.  Then I tell her which one I think looks great too.  I usually put a big heart next to it.  She likes that!  Then I may point out one thing that needs working on.  Like a capital letter in the middle of the sentence.  We discuss why capital letters don't go in the middle of the sentence.  Then we move on to guided learning.  

moonpie loves to cook.  she helps with most every meal, and often likes to make up her own recipes.  when i ask her how she knows how much to add of each thing, she tells me she uses her "baker's eye"!  love it!

Moonpie's guided learning consists of reading, grammar ( a few times a week), and math.  Right now she is reading on her own, but is lacking endurance.  And a lot of time, desire.  Reading is still work for her at this point, and she doesn't like that!  So during reading I choose a reader that I would call a challenge book.  She reads it with me listening and helping.  Then we may do some word work activities or sometimes we just move on.  I try to feel out where she is and how she is feeling.

For math we use the Singapore math program.  She really likes the pace and I like the conceptual teaching.  This is our first semester to use SM, and I would recommend it at this point.  

Up to this time, we have done more "real life" math.  She helps me cook daily.  She knows how to read an analog clock.  She is becoming more familiar with money.  Those kinds of things.  However, she was showing some signs that it was time to move to more of a lesson format in math.  And I needed help!  I am great at playing games to teach math.  But I'm not so great at teaching (or even knowing myself) the concepts behind a lot of math.  So I looked for something that would help us with that.  So far, I have found that in SM.

On the days we do some grammar work, I use the book First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise.  This is read aloud to Moonpie.  There is a lot of memorization work in the book and some written work- but very little.  I really like this resource.  It helped me remember to teach Moonpie our address and phone number.  Because for some reason I had failed to do that!  I also like that I don't have to do any planning for this.  I pick it up and read the script.  So easy!

moonpie in the garden, helping me prepare beds.

After her seat work is done, we have some free time.  This is usually spent outside for the kids while I fold laundry or start on lunch.

After lunch we read from our current literature selection and then start with history or science.

For history I just follow along with the Story of the World series.  This takes the guess work out for me.  Like I've mentioned before, I am not super strong in history.  This series helps me know what happened, when.  The readings out of this book are very short.  I just mainly use it as a springboard.  I then gather other resources based on whatever we are studying.

For science, we mostly do a mix of anatomy, zoology and botany.  These are the things my kids are interested in and our library is full of books on these subjects!

Two areas I would like to be more consistent in are handiwork and a true nature study.  Not just being outside- because we do that a lot!  But being more consistent with their journaling.

That's it for our day.  I'd say in total, homeschooling takes about two hours of our day.  The rest of the day for Moonpie is spent playing with her brother, creating with paint, clay, pencils, or fabric (she is super crafty), and being outside.  At this point in her life, this seems to be a good balance for her.

free e-book

I am stepping away for the weekend, but will continue my homeschooling posts on Monday!  Sonya Shafer from Simply Charlotte Mason is offering a new, free e-book entitled A Thinking Love.  I haven't read this one yet, but I have read much of her writing and thoughts on CM.  This one looks just as great as ever!

Have a wonderful weekend!

homeschooling {Bible and Buddy}

This post picks back up where we left off after {circle time} and our {typical day schedule}.  After circle time we move into Bible study.

I am very excited to share with you the Bible curriculum we use!  I love it and have learned much myself by using it.  And it's really cool to hear my four year old recite the books of the New Testament from memory- I ain't gonna lie!

We use The Bible Study Guide for All Ages.  They offer books according to your child's age and extra resources to buy.  A special note:  be sure to investigate all shipping charges on their site.  The first one that pops up is very expensive, but you can get it mailed media for much cheaper.

 Buddy spends most of his day in play time!

Now on to my Buddy boy.  After Bible study Moonpie has some independent learning activities that she does and I work a little with Buddy.  He is only 4, so the work we do is short and often times involves legos or blocks!  I set up a time for Buddy so I would be mindful of spending some one on one time with him and he feels big having some "school work" to do like his sissy!

When teaching children under six, I take my cues from the philosophies of Charlotte Mason, Waldorf and Montessori.  Both CM and Waldorf don't recommend formal schooling until first grade.  So our learning time is multi-sensory and fun!  I also try to include some Montessori elements during this time using the book Mommy Teach Me: Preparing Your Preschool Child for a Lifetime of Learning by Barbara Curtis.  This is a fantastic resource!

We also do some basic letter work and number work.  For letter work we use the book Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor.  This book has been updated, however we use the original copy that I picked up in a thrift store for a quarter!  Currently we are working through the book, one letter per week.  I introduce the letter by reading the page and then we make our letter rock.  

This was one of those ideas that made me feel like such a creative genius!  We have rocks all over this house (I'm sure you do too!).  I decided to put those rocks to work!  On Monday Buddy chooses a rock and then attaches a letter to his rock.  We do the capital letter on one side and then the lower case letter on the other.

The letters are just stickers from the scrap book section.  I found a big pack at Hobby Lobby.  

After Buddy gets his letter on, we mod podge it so it sticks really well!  He likes to stack his rocks, put them in order, put them out of order and so on.  This has been a very fun activity for us!

Later in the week we will continue doing letter work.  I don't buy workbooks for this- I just make it up as we go.  One day he might paint a giant letter using water paints.  One day he'll roll it out in play-do.  Another day he might cover the letter with stickers, bopper paint, or beans.  

I just make sure he is following the basics on how to make the letter correctly.  For fun extensions we might have a sound hunt (find 5 things that start with the /b/ sound) or search for the letter in a book.

For number work we read counting books and do dot-to-dot.  That's pretty much it.  He loves dot-to-dot and will do an entire book if I let him!  We like the Buki books and can find them locally.

We have also enjoyed using the Kumon tracing book, number book and folding book (this is beginner origami-lots of fun!).

After Buddy's time is up, he likes to spend some time playing with his legos or blocks while I work with Moonpie on math, reading and language.  After lunch he joins us for history or science.  

Most of Buddy's day is spent playing.  His book work time maybe takes 20 minutes of his day.  The rest of the day is spent in the dirt, looking at books, building and playing with cars.  Oh- and as of late- "writing" letters to everyone.

One of my priorities in our day is that a love of learning is stoked in my children.  For Buddy this looks like little "schooling" and lots of play and cuddle time.  So that's what we do.

**For book links- see side carousel**

homeschooling {planning and resources}

this post is part of a series. see:  post 1 post 2

Some good questions have cropped up from earlier posts!  One question asked is what led us to homeschool.  This is coming- in its own post or series of posts!  I can't seem to consolidate it into a concise answer.  I tend to be "wordy" (in case you haven't noticed).  

Another friend asked about what resources I use and when I plan.  I think I can answer that here, briefly (ahem). 

*The first resource I read when I was searching for our homeschooling style was For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School Susan Schaeffer Macauley (see the sidebar carousel for link).  

This book introduced me to the philosophies of Charlotte Mason, and from that time on I was hooked!  This book is HIGHLY recommended!

(What made me love CM was her emphasis on books and nature study.  And the overall gentle approach she took in learning.)

Since then I've read and looked into many of the companion books written about her teaching style, but the most helpful that I've found has been the website Simply Charlotte Mason.  This site wonderfully breaks down the different components of CM's ideas and has resources linked up to each one.  So easy to use!  There are also Ambleside Online and Charlotte Mason Help that are very informative and helpful.  I've found that different people are drawn to the different styles of each.  I also peruse the Sonlight website, but I've never actually purchased anything from them.  Their book lists are fantastic!

A word about planning.  

When Moonpie was two, I listened to a borrowed tape series (and a borrowed walk-man, haha!!!) from a friend.  I cannot for the life of me remember who this speaker was, but she was wonderful and confirmed many of my heart's desires for what I wanted our homeschooling experience to look like.  I decided early on that I wanted our learning to be based on history.  I say "based on" from a unit study perspective only.  I do not have a great grasp on history and never felt like I understood where Biblical history met world history.  I wanted my children to have a good understanding of both, so I decided to go from this point.  When I have a good grasp of what we are going to cover in history for the year, my planning is much easier.  Now, for the actual day to day, we don't really spend all that much time on history.  I know that sounds strange and contradictory, but it's true!  The concept of a historically based learning simply works well for my brain.  Makes me feel like we have a launching point.

Back to planning.  Once I figure out the over arching themes I want to incorporate for the year, I research materials.  Our library is limited, so I buy most of what we use (used bookstores are wonderful for this, but cost in time rather than dollars).  A dominating philosophy of Charlotte Mason's is that you learn from REAL books.  So our "curriculum" money is mostly spent on books.  And that's always fun!

A few weeks before our school starting date (although we tend to some sort of unit approach during the summer months) I carve out some time to draw out a basic scope of what I want to happen.  Then I plan the first six weeks or so.  Some people plan out the whole year at this point, but because I like to shake things up pretty regularly, planning the whole year at once isn't good for me.  For example, I knew that this year we were going to study the ancients in history, but Christmas fell in the midst of our Egyptian studies...and I was tired of Egypt.  So we spent the whole month of December learning about how the world celebrates Christmas.  It was fun and spontaneous- and needed (for me!).

On Sunday nights I sit down and look over the week and do some planning accordingly.  This isn't necessary all of the time.  Sometimes, I'll sit and plan out the next 6 weeks at once.  But taking time on Sunday nights gives me a good grasp on what our week looks like.

As far as specific resources go- I'll get more into that (like book lists) with each post.

*the very, very first homeschooling book I read was The Big Book of Home Learning by Mary Pride.  I picked it up on the $5 table at a book store.  It was great!  I do recommend this book if you can find it used or at the library.  I'd loan it to you, but the special friend who borrowed it 4 years ago is (apparently) really enjoying it and hasn't returned it yet! 

homeschooling {circle time}

The first thing we do to kick off our "school" portion of the morning is circle time.  I must disclose here that I began doing this a bit grudgingly.  I had wanted school to feel more organic and breezy, but Moonpie wanted it to be more official feeling.  I have now come to really enjoy our morning circle time.  It has turned into a time that we discuss what our day/week holds, enjoying good poetry, music and stories.  Here is our break down:

• We come together and sit on the living room rug.  Moonpie has probably already set up our area with comfy pillows and our circle time basket (which I should have taken a picture of - sorry about that!).  In our basket we have a small calendar, a book of poetry, a bean bag, and a book of songs.

• First off we look at the calendar and discuss the day of the week, the date, the month and the year.  It goes a little like this: "Today is Tuesday, February 23rd, 2011.  Yesterday was Monday, tomorrow is Wednesday.  What is something special we do on Tuesdays?  Go to the library!" etc.  

• We read our poem for the week.  Usually we have a specific poet we are studying, however we are currently reading out of Favorite Poems Old and New: Selected for Boys and Girls Helen Ferris Tibits (see carousel in sidebar for link).

• We sing songs out of our Wee Sing books ( I always find these while thrifting).  I like to choose a song that has motions to go along with it, or we might play instruments.

• We read a seasonal story out of our season basket each day.  Since yesterday was President's Day, I read to them out of our book Little People Who Became Great: Stories of the Lives of those Whom Every Child Should Know Laura A. Large.  This book came to my through my Great Aunt's estate.  If you can find it, buy a copy!  It is such a wonderful book.  My children actually clap after I read them the short biographies.  Yesterday we read "The Little Boy Who Once Was Poor" the story of Abraham Lincoln.

After circle time is over we usually move to the table for Bible study.  I mentioned yesterday that we are very flexible with our schedule.  I am also very flexible with my planning.  After reading about Abraham Lincoln we decided to look up how big the cabin was that he lived in as a child (18 ft x 16 ft).  We then went outside and measured out what this would look like.  

Designing the interior of the cabin.  Beds, table, fire place and stool all added.

For some reason my children thought it looked huge.  So we started adding everything a home would need.  After the parent's bed, Abe's bed made of leaves and the table were added, they began to see how small it actually it was.  

Buddy working on Ma and Pa's quilt.  And as always, enjoying his picture being taken.

This was a great exercise.  And totally not planned.  

Moonpie working on Abe's bed of dried leaves.  She even added a stack of books tucked in between the "logs" in the wall!

After this we moved to another unplanned activity- building a log cabin out of biodegradable packing peanuts.

Moonpie's little cabin and grass.  Lots and lots of grass.

Buddy adding his grass.

I enjoy this about homeschooling so much!  When an idea comes to me or one of my children on a whim, we can go with it and see where it leads.  Today we will pick back up where we left off in our studies of Ancient Greece with just a bit of catching up to do.

Like I mentioned above, before we started doing circle time, I dreaded it.  It sounded too contrived and laborious to me.  I have found that it is really very easy to put together and is a wonderful time to review concepts, share thoughts and have some fun!

homeschooling {a typical day}

It has occurred to me that this is the time of year that people begin looking forward to the next school year.  I have had many conversations lately with both strangers and close friends about "what homeschooling looks like".  Some are just curious and some are seriously considering the option for their family.  I have decided that for the next few posts, I am going to focus on how we homeschool in our own home.

First off- I must mention- that homeschooling looks very different in every home.  What we do here may not work for you.  And that's ok!  The lovely thing about homeschooling is that you can make it whatever you want it to be to fit your family and your individual children.

We have a loose homeschooling structure that works very well for us.  It is very flexible, but structured enough that Moonpie feels comfortable with it.  Buddy is pretty much good with anything we do- just their personality differences.

I do not have a timed out schedule that I follow.  Some find freedom in that method.  That plain stresses me out.  What I do is see how the morning starts off.  If the kids are really in creative play mode, I don't interrupt that.  I let them play until I begin to sense that things are about to go down hill.  So one day we might start school around 9 am.  Some days we don't start until 1 pm.  It just depends on the level of their imaginations, if we have morning errands or if I have morning work that needs to be done.  However, most days we start school around 10 am.  And this is what it looks like:

• Morning chores
• Circle Time {Moonpie and Buddy}
• Bible Study {Moonpie and Buddy}
• Buddy's Guided study time/ Moonpie's independent study time
• Buddy plays quietly/ Moonpie's guided lessons
• Free time
• Lunch
• History or Science {Moonpie and Buddy}
• Literature 
• Rest Time
• Creative Time
• Outside Play
• Nature study {Friday- Moonpie and Buddy}

Throughout the week I am going to flesh out what we do during each of these times.  We don't follow a curriculum, but I will share with you what I have pieced together for us.

If you have any specific questions, please ask away and I'll do my best to answer them!

planning

Whew- it has been a busy, busy week. I have been in the midst of making final arrangements for our trip and trying to get a basic skeleton for our homeschool this year. Moonpie has made it clear that she would like more of a school feel to our learning time, so I'm doing my best to attain that.

I am so excited for our huge road trip! We have a basic itinerary set, and it blows my mind to think of how much road we will cover in such a short amount of time. Here's the plan:

Leave central Texas and drive to

Little Rock, AR

Nashville, TN

Yellow Springs, OH

Pittsburgh, PA

Youngstown, PA

Lewisberry, PA

Baltimore, MD

Washington DC

Richmond, VA

Colonial Williamsburg, VA

Virginia Beach, VA

Brevard/Asheville, NC

Atlanta, GA

Birmingham, AL

Lafayette, LA

HOME

Can you believe that list?!? As you can see, we are going to be visiting areas that are rich in our nation's history. To prepare we have been reading all sorts of books on American history. I would like to say that has been brushing up my skills, but honestly, I'm learning things that I have never known. It has been so fun for all of us! We are reading:

The Magic Tree House: Revolutionary War on Wednesday

If You Grew Up With George Washington

If You Lived in Colonial Times

America: A Patriotic Primer

and my favorite- Little People Who Became Great

There have been other random books here and there from the library, but these have been returned to several times.

I am really enjoying using the Magic Tree House book as a springboard. I am definitely going to be using them this year. Really, you could design an entire week's worth of lessons just off of one book. This week we are going to be viewing George Washington's crossing the Delaware, mapping the Delaware river, making colonial hats, painting the colonial flag...all because of this book. We will be revisiting this model when we learn about the ancients this fall. Can't wait!

Oh- I have been forgetting to update you all on the RV status. Some very generous friends have offered us the chance to use their 5th wheel AND their daily driver pick-up to haul it! We have been so blown away by the generosity people have shown us as we prepare for this trip! We cannot wait to get going, meeting and having conversations with people as we go.

candlemas

i recently acquired 10 pounds of unfiltered beeswax (and one gallon of honey) from a local bee guy. he actually only would sell me a 20 pound block, but i split that with a friend (using a power tool).

in observation of candlemas yesterday, we decided to make beeswax candles. this was on a whim, so i didn't have any of the 'real' candle making tools on hand. we just made do.

after placing the wax block on an old cookie sheet, i set it in the oven on the 'warmer' function. while it was getting warm, i read luke 2:22-39, which is the scripture that the christian observance of candlemas is based on. after the wax was warm enough i sliced some off. we put our shavings in an old tomato sauce can and made our own double broiler by placing that in a pot of water set on a low boil.

while i waited for the wax to melt, the kids worked on 'flower fairies' to celebrate the upcoming spring (no matter what that pesky ground-hog has to say!).

once the wax melted, i carefully poured it into three jars. after it cooled a bit, but before it solidified, the kids added bits of broken crayon for a little color.

i didn't have any wick materials on hand, so i opted for leftover birthday candles. these eventually melted down and 'became one' with the beeswax candle, enabling us to have some sort of wick.

we shut the blinds, lit the candles, and sang some love songs to jesus.

it was really a lovely morning.

the girls are back!

the hens are finally laying again! hooray!

it only took a few threats under my breath to get them back into production. well, that and sunshine.
we are only getting green right now, and 2-3 a day. that's pretty good for 3 full sized hens and one banty.

look at this super cutey! who needs a workbook when you can just sequence beautifully hued eggs???

sneak peek

a couple of weeks ago i posted on what is going on the backyard. but here's what's going in the front yard....

a little sneak peek until the final reveal! know what he's up to?

(see all those lovely raised beds john made for me!??! they are busy growing broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbages, lettuces, beets, turnips, radishes, brussels sprouts and carrots.)

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and in other news, buddy is practicing using his self-control. we'll be doing it through several different activities, but here he is with his dropper. he carefully had to move water from one bowl into the other, without making a spill. he loved this activity!

we're in this together

my mind is swirling right now (in a good way- really!). this is our first official week of homeschooling, and i have to say, we're not loving it. and what that tells me is that what we are doing simply isn't working for us. i have found these past two days that the priorities i have set for my every day living with my family are not being met. my daily priorities are this:

1. to love and grow closer to jesus

2. live at peace with each other

3. to love and serve each other and those outside of our home

4. read really good books

5. go outside and observe, touch, think, play

6. inspire a love for learning and create the opportunities for it

so far our 'homeschooling' time has looked a bit like this but the peace is lacking. buddy is screaming, moonpie is pouting...and my heart is hurting (as is my head!). i have found that what we are doing is not inspiring a love for learning in our home- and that's just not ok. because the bottom line is that my children are young. very young. and if they stop wanting to learn as 3 or 5 year olds, then i've done something really wrong.

so we're ditching the plan and going back to just doing life together. i am wired to live intentionally, so maybe, for now, this is the best plan for us. for me to be near finding small moments to share and discuss. lots of discussion, lots of books, all on a quilt under a tree. so happy together.

***thanks to study in brown (which i found through another helpful blog) for the inspiration to set priorities!

body love

moonpie loves to talk about the systems of the body. when she was 3 we were at one of those restaurants where you can draw on the table cloth and she was scribbling away. when she pulled back from her work she asked 'you know what that is?' we replied 'a snake, a worm, etc'. nope, that girl was drawing her intestines.

for the past couple of days she has been wanting to make a big body diagram. we finally traced out the bodies this morning and she set to work. while i was pulling body books from the shelf she was working on body parts. guess what she drew first?

her uterus and ovaries.

man, i love this kid.

momma gets schooled

last night moonpie and her daddy went to run an errand. that left buddy and i to some quality alone time. even if just for a couple of minutes.

buddy wanted to spend his time with me putting puzzles together. this is his new favorite thing- puzzles. we put his new one together, spent some time talking about the colors, what different things we saw, and then he wanted to put it together again. we disassembled the puzzle, put it back in the box, and then took it out again. after putting it together this time, i thought that i would make our observation time more challenging. i hadn't yet introduced buddy to shapes, and felt this would be a great time! i pointed out a circle on the puzzle, and then another one. i then asked him to do the same. we proceeded to identify every circle on the puzzle! i was so proud! he picked it up so quickly. i felt such success!

we decided it was time for some dinner smoothies, so we got up to go into the kitchen. i quickly turned to him and announced that we would be going on a shape hunt in the kitchen. let me just say, that if you ever need someone to be excited, just give buddy a call. he clapped his hands as he lifted onto his toes and gave an exuberant "o-tay!!!". we ran into the kitchen. i spotted the first one- a jar lid- on the floor (of course).

he stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment turning around, and then moved with determination to the dishwasher. he pointed to one of the buttons "look momma- a circle!"

"...and that one"

(pointing to the one next to it)

"is a diamond."

***crickets***