Sonoran Desert Nature Study: The Saguaro Cactus
Last week we started up school again, but we added something new to our studies – a desert nature study. We are doing a Charlotte Mason inspired study of the Sonoran Desert. I’m so excited to be doing this because I have spent the past few years doing nature studies that were designed for families in climates with four seasons. We would learn about fall leaves changing colors, and then see a few trees here in Arizona change color…. in December. Then we would learn about snow when it was 70 degrees outside. It just didn’t match our home, the Sonoran Desert. I didn’t grow up in Arizona. When I moved here ten years ago, I had to learn all the names of different cacti. All to say, I’m looking forward to learning more about the plants and animals here in the Sonoran Desert with my kids. I’m really not a huge nature enthusiast, but I do enjoy nature studies because I find that it’s the easiest way to do science with little kids. Reading books, singing songs, reading a poem, spending time outside is what I want to do with my boys and the two younger ones. Everyone gets something out of it. At this stage of my life, there’s no time to do individual science lessons. Books and Nature Walk We started with reading, The Seed and the Giant Saguaro, the Night Flower, and Cactus Hotel. After we read The Seed and the Giant Saguaro, we visited our “baby” cactus, who is hiding under our pomegranate bush, and measured it. It turns out it’s about fourteen years old. Later during the week, we also took a nature walk in our neighborhood. Did you know that saguaros don’t begin to grow an arm until they are around 70 years old? We thought it was cool that some saguaros we saw were probably close to one hundred years old. The kids used their instant print cameras they got for Christmas and took pictures of the cacti. We really looked like homeschoolers while we bent over as much as we could into people’s yards to get a good picture. Then, the kids cut out the pictures, labeled them, and put them in the nature journal. Experiment and Art I bought cheap sponges from Wal-Mart and cut them into the shape of a saguaro. Next, we placed them in a cup of water and watched how the sponge absorbed the water just like a saguaro absorbs the water after a storm. I let the sponges dry, and a few days later we used them to make a desert landscape. We stabbed forks into the sponges and dipped them in paint. I only do projects with paint every now and then, and when I do let my kids use paint, I want it to be for making something that is creative and beautiful. Basically, it has to be worth the mess because I have my three-year old daughter painting alongside us. Food Until I moved out here, I had no idea that cacti actually produce fruit that you can eat. I ordered prickly pear jelly from Amazon. We toasted some bread and spread it on top. It tasted a little different than regular jelly, but the kids loved it all the same. Nature Journal We haven’t gotten to our nature journals yet, but we will be writing what we learned about saguaros and other cacti. My oldest son will write a few sentences, and his little brother will write one or two. Sometimes he dictates, and I write the sentences down for him. Having the picture books out on the table is helpful as we double check facts. I will write more posts about our Sonoran Desert nature study for those that are interested. Next up are citrus trees! They are not native to Arizona, but they grow very well in this warm climate. Until next time!
Homeschooling with a Preschooler
Is there anyone out there who feels guilty about not doing as much with the younger kids because they are busy homeschooling the older kids? Homeschooling with a preschooler can sometimes seem like the preschooler is always getting the short end of the stick. It’s easy for the day to focus on the older children’s needs. When my two oldest boys were younger, I took them to places like the zoo, parks, libraries, and the children’s museum. I genuinely enjoyed doing those activities with my kids. These days, I stay home a lot in order to homeschool and get naps in. Homeschooling with a preschooler has its challenges, but it also has some really rewarding experiences. My three-year old daughter does interrupt our schooling, but she also joins in and learns with her brothers. No, she’s not being offered preschool activities necessarily, but she jumps in and learns anyway even if it’s a bit above her. I don’t see this as a disadvantage or her being neglected. It’s just our family adjusting as the children get older. Getting Out One way we have adjusted is how often we get out of the house. We do get out of the house, but it looks different than it did a few years ago. We homeschool four days a week and leave one day for getting out and doing something fun. Structuring our week like this helps me know that my daughter is getting out and having some of the same experiences as her brothers. Since it’s so much work to get four kids ready to go out, I often times go out on the weekends when my husband can help. When I wasn’t homeschooling, our outings were in the morning. Now I like to reserve the morning for school (because no one wants to do school after lunch). This means getting out is sometimes shifted to times of the week where I have more help, or it’s reserved for a day when we aren’t as busy as home. Life Skills Something I recently noticed about homeschooling older kids with the younger kids is that the littles learn more life skills. Instead of doing a sensory station with rice or sand, my daughter digs in the garden and helps pull weeds…and sometimes the plants by mistake. She helps me bake cookies and scoops the flour. Most of it ends up in the bowl. She has watched her brothers put their clothes on hangers. Now she can do the same. She can help unload the dishwasher. Washing the dishes with me is also a favorite. She likes to bring in the groceries and organize the pantry. My older boys were not doing this many chores at her age. I actually didn’t think children could do all those things at such a young age. I was wrong. Read Alouds Another benefit is the read alouds. I read picture books to her before nap and at bedtime. Otherwise, a lot of the books she’s listening to are above her comprehension, but it still benefits her to hear everything. In fact, if the baby is awake, I bring him close by when I read aloud because I want him to hear the rich language as well. Conclusion Families change as more children are added, and my days don’t look the same as they did a few years ago. I don’t feel guilty that my daughter has never gone to story time at the library. Maybe she will someday, but for now it doesn’t work with homeschooling. I read and sing to her a lot. We have friends come over to play. I know she’ll be fine without all those extra experiences. Her preschool days are different than her brothers’, but they are also richer in other ways. She spends her time playing with her brothers, being outside, coloring, and making tents. For her, home is a wonderful place to be. God gives each family the children he wants them to have. When homeschooling with a preschooler, I think it’s important to know that each child has a place in a homeschool day, whether they are ten months or three-years old. They can be included in activities with older siblings and still pick up skills they need to learn. Also, it’s not the norm to parent this way. Lots of children are in daycare or preschool very early on. If you’re like me and that wasn’t what you wanted to do, then I think it’s easy to feel like you’re doing something wrong if you haven’t presented your young child with an array of preschool activities. Homeschooling is an extension of parenting, and it’s what I love to do. It’s living your everyday life alongside your children.
Finding Good Picture Books
Have you ever taken your kids to the library only to be disappointed by the books they picked out? That’s happened to me a lot! I have been disappointed by the book displays and often times the book selection as well. So how do you find good picture books for your kids? I struggled with that question a few years ago. I would google something like, “picture books about cars” (my boys loved anything that had to do with cars), and I would find lots of books. Some were great, but most were just okay. Simply googling books didn’t give me the quality I was looking for, but I wasn’t sure where to go to find the best picture books. Booklists The answer to my problem was solved by using a highly curated booklist. My favorite booklists are from the following: I don’t remember how I stumbled upon my favorite resources with booklists, but going through booklists pointed me in the right direction. I could tell when a picture book was boring and annoying to read, but I couldn’t verbalize what distinguished a mediocre picture from a great picture book. Unfortunately, when I was an elementary school teacher I rarely had the time to appreciate and enjoy children’s literature. Now as a homeschool mom, I can read all the children’s literature I want. First, I started going through the booklists and requesting the books online. Then I would go to the library and pick them up at the reserve section. After doing this for a couple of years now, I am finally seeing fruit. My Literary Taste Has Improved People often talk about having good taste in clothing or good taste in home décor, but I prefer to talk about good taste in literature. The more I read high-quality picture books to my kids, the better I became at distinguishing the good from the bad. Now, I can thumb through a book in a few seconds and decide if it’s worth my time. I couldn’t do that a few years ago because I thought everything looked okay. I used to think it’s just important to be reading to your kids – the type of book doesn’t necessarily matter. These days I disagree with that statement. I think the type of books we read to our kids do matter. After I read a chapter from a good book, I keep thinking about what happens next. Characters that have admirable traits help you connect with the book. If it’s a picture book, then the illustrations need to make you look so you can gather information about the story through the pictures. I can’t say I ever felt that way with the Berenstein Bears books or the Froggy books by Jonathan London. Slowly, after a couple of years, I saw that my standards for picture books began to improve. I Enjoy Reading More to My Kids Reading high-quality books with my kids made me love reading to them even more. The whole experience was enjoyable. I wasn’t bored, and that’s an important point. I have noticed that when I think a book is boring, then my kids tune me out and start misbehaving. They don’t want to listen to me read a dull book. But if I am enjoying the books and am laughing out loud at the funny parts, they are far more engaged. My enthusiasm is contagious. My Kids’ Literary Taste Have Improved I let my kids read twaddle, but when I read aloud, I read the good books. A few years ago, my boys were drawn to any book with a Paw Patrol dog on it. What a disappointment to a homeschool mom! I made a rule for myself: I will take the time to read high-quality picture books and chapter books with my kids, but if they want a less interesting book to read, they can have it. It’s kind of like making sure the main meal is substantial and nourishing, but less nutritious food is allowed in moderation. They are no longer into Paw Patrol books. Phew! What I have noticed is that they are drawn to read books by authors we have read together: Jan Brett, E.B. White, Gail Gibbons, Beverly Cleary, etc… The early years of mothering are sometimes hard because there’s so much work that goes into each day, and you kind of wonder if any of it pays off. Seeing their taste in literature improve after so much effort for going out of my way to find good books was like a fresh breeze blowing in middle of July in Phoenix. Final Thoughts I own several Berenstein Bear books, and my kids used to love them. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but I do think it’s a good idea to have other books available. The booklists remove all the hard work and make it easy to find books that your family will enjoy together. Also, once you read the really good picture books, you will probably want to find more.
Homeschool Schedule
A number of years ago, I went to homeschool conference for families who were interested in homeschooling. There was an interesting speaker who shared a schedule she had created for her children. It was very detailed, and it showed what subjects would be done when, down to the exact minute. I remember thinking that the homeschool schedule looked intense and overwhelming. I sensed others around me feeling overwhelmed. It made homeschooling seem like it could only be done by a specific micromanaging super homeschool mom. That isn’t me. I’m glad I went to the conference because it made me think about how I wanted my homeschool days to look like, and quite frankly, I did not want an intense schedule. I wanted freedom to make each day work for us. A Relaxed Schedule I was homeschooled. We did school at the dining room table. We started when we started, which was usually around 9 in the morning, and we finished when we finished. There was no written-out schedule. When I became a teacher, I created a schedule for my day, but only because I had to. It would be chaos to not have a schedule and basic routines in a classroom with twenty or so children. But homeschooling is different than regular school. You don’t need a strict schedule because mom isn’t herding twenty children. What I have noticed is that creating a homeschool schedule that mimics regular school makes moms feel good. They want to make sure they hit on every subject so that their child’s education is excellent. I want my children to have a great education, but not to the point where it’s overwhelming. I would rather have a flexible schedule that allows my children to learn in a relaxed environment. Personally, I think that can help children enjoy learning, and if they enjoy learning, then they will keep learning even as adults. A Flow to the Day I don’t have a schedule posted anywhere in my house. To some, not having a schedule can seem like the only alternative is to let chaos reign in your house. An alternative to a strict schedule is a flow. A flow means that the day generally follows the same pattern, but it’s not strictly tied to a specific time. Here is our flow to day (Keep in mind that I have four children eight and under). Being Flexible Some days are different. The boys have basketball and co-op classes on certain days. Sometimes grandma babysits. We just adapt. What I like about a flow to the day is that it gives freedom to not feel like I’m racing against the clock. Sometimes we do things out of order, but that’s because I have a baby and a three-year old, and I need to be flexible. Babies wake up, need to eat, and then spit up everywhere whenever they want. If I had a strict schedule, then I would be ignoring my other children’s needs. I have tried to start school at a certain time each day, and I fail every time. Instead of setting myself up to feel like a failure by not being able to reach a goal first thing in the morning, we just follow our flow for day and usually everything gets done. Sometimes subjects are flip flopped around depending on whether I need to feed the baby, but that doesn’t bother anyone. I think it would be harder to do that if I had a written-out schedule. After spending years following a schedule in a classroom, having a flow is a refreshing change. A flow is great for the homeschool mom who wants some structure, but not too much structure. I also think it’s ideal for little kids. Some days one subject takes way longer than expected. I like that we can take time to finish our work and not feel frazzled because we are behind. And if I do get “behind” one day, big deal. We will get to it tomorrow. I will end on a funny note. Once I did try to write a schedule out for my boys. I just wanted to see how it worked. I wrote it out on white board, but their little sister erased it. She likes it when the board is clean. The day went well. I figured I don’t need a written-out schedule.
Christmas Book Flood
Have you heard of Christmas book flood? It’s an Icelandic tradition that is celebrated on Christmas Eve. New book titles are released before Christmas, and everyone in the bookish country of Iceland gives books as presents on December 24th. Then they all sit down with hot cocoa and read their books. If you are a booklover, then your jaw is probably dropping right now while you wonder why on earth no one told you about this tradition. And if you’re a homeschooler, then you’re most likely trying to figure out how to squeeze Christmas book flood into your week. Christmas book flood has a few others names such as Yule book flood and Jolabokaflod. What I love about celebrating Christmas book flood is that it’s simple and enjoyable. You don’t even have to celebrate it on Christmas Eve. Any other day will do. All you need are books and cocoa! And that is your school day. Does it get any better? Maybe add some cookies if you want. Last year we celebrated Christmas book flood, and last week we had our second go at it. I only did a few things to prepare for it. Find Books First, I searched for books I knew my kids would love. I gave my three kids (Yes, I skipped the baby) Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree, The Stick Man, and an atlas book called Where on Earth? . Also, I got a bunch of Christmas books from the library so that we would have plenty to keep us busy. I used a combination of booklists from Treehouse Schoolhouse’s A Connected Christmas and the December book list from readaloudrevival.com. Set Up After the kids went to bed, I grabbed my crate of Christmas books to dump in what we like to call “the study.” It’s our second living room where we have lots of books. My plan to was to place the crate on the floor, but then I had a better idea. I placed all the books on the shelves so it looked like a bookstore. My kids really liked it! I also wrapped the books I was giving them and left them on the coffee table. A Day Reading After they woke up, they opened their presents and spent time reading or looking at books while I made breakfast. We still had to do ordinary chores and such, but once that was all done and the baby was napping, I made hot cocoa and I read aloud their books, plus a few from the library. Did we spend the whole morning in a peaceful bliss? No, my kids needed to run outside for a bit and play. There were squabbles and messes, but we still had a nice time. In the afternoon, when my three-year old was napping, I made some more hot cocoa for the boys and read aloud The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (super funny book!). After that it was time to make dinner. Our Christmas book flood isn’t like the way they celebrate it in Iceland, but we made it work for our family. Sometimes I do things with my kids and I forget how small things can be turned into special moments. Last July one my kids asked me, “Can we do that day where we drink hot cocoa and read Christmas books?” I was kind of surprised he remembered it. Last year he bumped his head during our book flood day and couldn’t stop crying. I assumed it hadn’t been a memorable day, but I was wrong. I am pretty sure Christmas book flood day is going be one of our many Christmas traditions. It’s a perfect excuse to slow down during the busy season and read with my kids.
How to Make a Gingerbread House: The Easy Way
Every Christmas season my kids and I make gingerbread houses from scratch. I bet that sounds like a crazy Christmas tradition, but I actually enjoy the whole process, minus the clean-up. Plus, it tastes so good! This year I stumbled upon simplejoy.com and found an easy way to make a gingerbread house. Her method made the whole experience far more enjoyable. First, I will address some questions readers might have about making a gingerbread house from scratch. Questions I consider making a gingerbread house our school work for the day. My oldest son, who is eight years old, had to read the recipe and the double it. He also used the template and cut out most of the shapes for the houses. The kids took turns measuring and scooping the ingredients. Also, it’s okay to take a day off to do something fun, especially at Christmas time. My kids enjoy making gingerbread houses from scratch. They beg to make them once Thanksgiving is over. The baby napped during most of it, but when he woke up, I plopped him in the carrier. He’s easy-going and happy. First, we made the dough. Then I sent the kids outside to play while I cleaned up. I’m sure someone out there would recommend having the kids help clean, but when dough and flour is on the floor, I kind of just want my kids out so I can clean up myself and make sure everything doesn’t spread all around the house. Afterwards, we rolled out the dough, cut the shapes, and baked them. Then, I sent the kids out to play again while I cleaned up. Lastly, we stopped and had lunch. We decorated the houses right before dinner. That gave me a break in the afternoon to get some chores done, read to the kids, and take care of the two younger kids. An Easy Way to Make a Gingerbread House I stated earlier that simplejoy.com had an easy way to make gingerbread houses. She recommends decorating the pieces of the house before they are assembled. That way you aren’t fighting against gravity. It makes so much sense. Why didn’t I think of this four years ago? That one tip made decorating our gingerbread houses so much more enjoyable and efficient. In years past, I had children crying because candy would fall off. This year our houses look much nicer! One tip I would add in is always use a plastic table cloth. You just wrap up the mess and the table is all clean! If you love somewhere warm, like me, then consider decorating outside. That way your kitchen or dining room doesn’t get messy. The Recipe The recipe from simplejoy.com worked well. At first, I doubled the recipe, but then I thought a third batch would be best since I was making three houses. I altered her recipe and skipped the shortening and used butter instead. The cookies tasted great to me, so I don’t think that change made a big difference. She provided templates to print out. My kids cut them templates out and we simply placed the template on the dough and cut around. I also used her frosting recipe. It worked really well! I let the decorated shapes dry overnight. The next day we assembled the walls. I placed cups inside the walls to help hold them up until they were dried. The frosting was dry within an hour or so. Afterwards, we assembled the roofs. To keep the roofs from sliding down, I propped them up with containers until they were dry. Make sure you put the right roof on the right house! I had to do some switching around. Final Thoughts Yes, you can buy a gingerbread kit from Costco or Target, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but making it yourself is fun. There’s something gratifying about doing all the hard work. Plus, it will taste amazing! I place all our gingerbread houses on our school shelf, which makes the whole area smell like gingerbread. If you’re up for a new Christmas tradition, then give this recipe a try.
Homeschooling Without a Homeschool Room
One reason why I have an Instagram account is so I can see what other children’s book homeschoolers are reading. That might sound like a very nerdy thing to say – watching what other people read. However, I love that I can quickly browse through and have a bunch of recommendations. Plus, my library often times has the books. Then I request the books, and I have a great time reading them to my kids. Unfortunately, while I am finding books to read, I am also taking in other content. Something I often see are homeschoolers showing their homeschool rooms. When I see someone else’s homeschool room, I sometimes become envious and think that I need one too. I start to think that homeschooling without a homeschool room is hard, but the truth is that it’s not as hard as you think. One impression I often get after looking at homeschooling mom’s accounts on Instagram is that in order to homeschool well, you need to be rich, organized, and beautiful. It can seem like everyone has a beautiful homeschool room that is bursting forth with artwork, books, and nature studies. I don’t have a homeschool room (You probably already guessed that). Instead, I have a dining room that seems with every passing year to get smaller as my children grow bigger. Even if someone knocked on my door and offered to add a homeschool room to our house for free, I know it would it wouldn’t change who I am as a homeschool mom. It wouldn’t make me a better at homeschooling. In fact, I would argue that sometimes lacking something that others have can make you more resourceful and creative. Where Do You Do School Without a Homeschool Room? If you don’t have a homeschool room, then where is school going to take place? Anywhere and everywhere! The list could go on! My favorite place to do school is outside in the backyard. It works out nicely because the younger kids can play while I homeschool. We all get some sunshine and some work done. Benefits of Not Having a Homeschool Room Are there benefits to not having a homeschool room? I think so because other skills become necessary in order to function. Lies You Shouldn’t Believe About Having a Homeschool Room When I see a beautiful homeschool room, I start to think things that aren’t true. Lie Truth I need a homeschool room to stay organized All you need are simple systems to stay organized. Mine is a book shelf with some baskets. Everyone else has a homeschool room. Most people don’t. I don’t personally know anyone who does. Homeschooling without a homeschool room is a reminder of how flexible homeschooling can be. A homeschool room would make me better at homeschooling First, comparing yourself to someone else is never a good idea. Second, being content with what you have and doing your best to homeschool within your means is an admirable thing. God can equip you to do your job well. My house would be cleaner if I had a homeschool room. Well, maybe that is kind of true, but you still need to teach your kids to clean up their school materials. The homeschool room will get messy. Homeschooling All Over the House What I like about my home is that there is evidence of homeschooling in every room. There is artwork on display in the dining room, bookshelves of pictures books in the guest room, a closet book shelf in the living room, and a globe and a basket of weekly read alouds in the dining room. Homeschooling takes over the house, but in a good and bookish sort of way. Books are literally all over the place. Personally, that’s really the only mess I will tolerate. Plus, I like that my dining room kind of looks like a homeschool room. It’s multi-fuctional. What’s important is to homeschool according to your means. Homeschooling really can be as simple as doing school at the dining room table. You know that saying, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” It’s true because moms set the tone for the household. Being content and able to homeschool within your means is an important skill, but it’s also important to be happy because I think that’s what your kids will mostly remember. Conclusion It’s also good to point out that some homeschoolers are well-off, and having plenty of money is a blessing. Naturally, a homeschool room may be one of those blessings for them. However, families who live on a smaller salary and have to give up things for the sake of having one income, also homeschool, and it works out just fine for them too. I think this proves that homeschooling can work in many different situations. If I could have a homeschool room, I definitely would, but I don’t. That means that I work with what I have and do my best. Do you have a homeschool room? What have you learned from not having one? What have you learned by having a homeschool room? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Math Facts for the Summer: Math Facts That Stick
This summer I have been using Kate Snow’s Math Facts That Stick Series with my two boys. She has created four math books that focus on improving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. What I like about her books are that the lessons are short, but effective. They take between 10-20 minutes. Sometimes we think longer math lessons are better. I disagree. These short lessons have helped my boys be better at doing mental math. These books are great for improving computation skills. They are not a curriculum, but if your child needs more practice, they can be used in addition to your math curriculum. Addition Facts That Stick This book covers skills such as adding one and two to another number, pairs that make ten, and adding nines and eights. There are six weeks of lesson plans and the format is simple. First, I use a tens frame to teach the concept for the week. Next, we play the game for the week where my son practices the skill. Lastly, there is a math worksheet with about twenty-four problems to solve. The rest of the week we play the game each day and do a math worksheet. It’s so simple and it works! My kids think the games are fun and ask if we can play one more time. The amount of materials needed for the games is minimal, but some preparation is required. The games and math worksheets need to be photocopied. I would recommend purchasing counting cubes and a deck of cards. Multiplication Facts That Stick The format for Multiplication Facts That Stick is almost the same as Addition Facts That Stick. There are some differences though. There are ten weeks of lessons and not six weeks. Besides covering multiplication facts under 100, other skills, such as using x5 facts to help compute x6 facts and using x10 facts to help with x5 facts, are included. There is a practice time for each lesson where we review our multiplication facts using a dot array. Next, we play a game. There are five games for each day of the week that are repeated each week. We learned how to play each game during week one. The subsequent weeks have the same games, but they are adjusted for learning different multiplication facts. There is more photocopying since there are five games and ten worksheets for each week. Like the Addition Facts That Stick, they are simple and effective. I haven’t used the Subtraction Facts That Stick or Division Facts That Stick, but I plan on using them further down the road. If you’re looking for a short and effective way to strengthen math facts, then this is a great resource. Check out Kate Snow’s website for even more ideas and resources.
Including Preschoolers in Your Homeschool: Family Style Learning
I remember a few years ago my three-year old wanted to do school like his big brother. Even though he wanted a real math book (the cheap math books from the Dollar Store did not satisfy him), I knew he wasn’t ready to begin formal schooling. What was I to do with a preschooler who wanted to do school, but wasn’t ready? How was I to include my him in our homeschooling? Family style learning was my answer. I guess I could have purchased a preschool curriculum, but that’s a lot of work. Plus, the more I homeschool, the better I think it is to wait until they are close to 5 or 6 before any formal schooling needs to take place. Three-year olds need to spend most of their time playing, being read to, singing songs, and playing outside. I found the answer to my problem when I learned about family style learning. Family style learning is when everyone participates in the same lesson, but at their own level. It involves multiple ages, so the older kids will grasp onto more complex ideas, while the younger ones will learn basic concepts. This type of structure is helpful with subjects such as science/nature study, history, Spanish…etc… Other subjects, such as math and phonics, need to be taught at a student’s level. Family style learning wouldn’t work well for those subjects. Once I found a curriculum that had a family style learning structure, it changed our days so much. My three-year old wasn’t doing math or reading, but he was doing a nature study that functioned as preschool for him. It gave him a special time of the day when he knew that he would be included in our homeschool. Since then, I have kept that structure for subjects like Spanish, nature study, and geography. Family style learning is different in that children aren’t given individual textbooks and sent off to read them on their own. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, but it isn’t my style. I also like how family style learning can simplify a mom’s crazy homeschool day. You don’t have to do two or three separate history or science lessons. As long as your kids are reasonably close in age, they can study the same subject matter. Below are some of my favorite family style learning resources. Treehouse Schoolhouse Nature Study This is the nature study that I first used with my two boys. What I love about this study is that it includes a wonderful booklist. Every week we studied a new topic. That meant we had a new stack of books to read that centered around the moon, apples, worms, dirt, seasons, or storms. Some of the books were fiction and some were nonfiction. Each week also featured a song, a poem, a finger rhyme, and portrait to observe. There was a project or experiment that went along with each topic for the week. My oldest kept a notebook where he would draw a picture and write a sentence or two about what we learned. My three-year old would only draw a picture about what he learned. Sometimes I would write a sentence for him. It was simple and lots of fun. Niños and Nature: Spanish in the Wild This is a nature study in Spanish, and it was a lot of fun. It was hard for my kids because the vocabulary was sometimes difficult, but despite that, they all learned more Spanish. All three of my kids did these lessons together. The nature study included a topic for each week, flash cards, a poem or song, and an activity or experiment. There was also a nature journal template, but I ended up having my kids keep a nature journal like they had done the year before with Treehouse Schoolhouse. My daughter, who was then two-years old, would follow us around as we observed things in the backyard, or she would do an experiment with us. I’m not sure how much she really learned, but even if she didn’t learn any academic material (because I don’t care about that at that age), she learned that she’s included in our homeschool day. Beautiful Feet Geography: Picture Books Around the World We have been doing geography from Beautiful Feet for about six weeks now, and we love it! Right now, my kids are seven, five, and three, and they all participate in this subject. It is centered around reading high-quality fictional picture books that take place different countries. I know my older ones are understanding the stories far more than my daughter, but she still benefits by being read aloud even if it’s above her level. They also keep a travel notebook where they color the flag for each country, a map, and some animals. Yes, my daughter scribbles in her travel journal, but she’s proud of her scribbled messy notebook. There’s also an ethnic meal to make after studying each country. This has been a good opportunity to have my kids help in kitchen. Sometimes their help is more work for me, but it’s still fun. Flip Flop Spanish I am also currently doing Flip Flop Spanish with all three of my kids. I guess you could say all four of my kids because the baby is often in my lap listening. The cover says “ages 3-93.” How does that work, you wonder? You use flash cards to teach the vocabulary words. Then you use those cards to build sentences. You flip them over and read the sentence in Spanish. Non-readers can just listen and practice speaking. It’s very interactive, and the cards keep busy hands moving during most of the lesson. Conclusion One tip I will give before I finish is that all of these curricula have a large age range. Look for curriculum that says “K-3” instead of “grade 2.” That means in can accommodate different ages. My favorite part about using a family style learning in my homeschool is when I tell the everyone to
Reasons for Year-Round Homeschooling
There comes a point in homeschooling when you realize that you’re in charge of pretty much everything related to your child’s education, including your schedule. This has been my favorite part of homeschooling, and it’s why I do year-round homeschooling. Let me share some reasons why you should to consider year-round schooling. Yes, I know everyone looks forward to summer break – swimming in the pool, vacations, lazy mornings, and lots of time outside. Well, here in Arizona, the summers are brutal. It’s a time of year most people dread. For me, summer isn’t a time to be outside all day. In fact, my kids do school during the summer. You might think I’m a boring mom, but I have good reasons for choosing year-round homeschooling, which yes, does include schooling during the summer. Less Stress, More Relaxed I am less stressed and more relaxed doing year-round homeschooling. My kids are young and often get colds. We have days where we don’t do as much school simply because everyone is crabby and tired. Not having a deadline to finish school helps me to relax. Good use of time My kids do well having a some sort of routine. If I were to stop school during the summer, my kids would want to do something fun to do or want to go somewhere. It’s too hot to play outside, so indoor play areas are an option. Guess what happens when we go to an indoor play place? We get sick. So, we stay home and do school. The hot days are for school and the cool days are for parks. This leads me to my next point. Create your own schedule This is my favorite reason to school year-round. I can create a school week that works for us. We do school four days a week and use Fridays for going to parks or inviting friends over to play. My three-year old naps in the afternoon. If we go out then it has to be in the morning, which means we give up our best time for the boys to do their school. I want my younger kids to have the same experiences that my older children had before we started homeschooling, which is getting out and going to the park and the zoo. By doing school four days a week, everyone gets what they need. Even though I am not formally homeschooling my three-year old, I take her into consideration. She enjoys her playtime at home, but she also looks forward to going somewhere fun with her brothers on Fridays. More time off When kids take their summer break, they regress. Teachers spent the first month reviewing and assessing their students. By doing year-round schooling, we gain more learning time. We can skip the review time and keep moving on. This means we can take smaller breaks here and there and not suffer any significant academic loss. This summer I took off four weeks. We took two weeks off in June and two weeks off in August. When we started up in August, I implemented new curriculum, routines, and restructured our day so it worked for everyone. Even though there’s not an official stopping point, there’s a time to refresh and introduce new things. Right now, while most homeschoolers are gearing up for the new year, I am waiting for cooler weather and looking forward to a couple weeks off in October. Our schedule year-round homeschooling schedule looks nothing like most school calendars, but it works for us. I can change it whenever I want, and that’s one of the many things that I love about homeschooling year-round.