Learning Together
We are two weeks into our new school year and there is a lot to love about that. It is so nice to have a bit more structure to our days again. We were completely free for most of the summer, and while that was great too, we were ready to get back to the learning activities.
I am again using these tote bags to hold the school books. They work great. Each child has their books and supplies in here and they just grab their bag and bring it to the table or wherever they want to work.
Each child’s bag is full of their new school books, a binder (each child’s a different color), pencils, colored pencils, crayons for the younger ones, etc. The first day of school I let them each decorate a piece of card stock any way they wanted to for the front. They loved this, and they have told me many times how much they enjoyed doing it. It really personalized their notebooks and they look so bright and colorful.
Inside each notebook I made tabs for each subject, tabs for tests, papers or stories they write, and small art projects.
So far this year has gone more smoothly than any year we’ve ever had, and I think it has a lot to do with all the planning and preparation I did before the year started. With the help of Managers of Their Schools, I was able to really plan well and it is paying off. Another great resource for planning the school year that I’ve used before and found helpful is Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education.
Things I’m loving about this school year:
A sweet little boy who brought his kitty to the table to “watch” him:
Math-U-See. For someone who grew up hating math, this program is easy to use and I love it. This is our third year using it–that’s a record. 🙂
Apologia Science. This is our second year using this program, and I like it even more this year.
Last year we went through the Astronomy book, which I found very interesting and fun. This year we’re doing Botany which is so great for encouraging nature study. I have loved all the nature walks, leaf collecting, exploring, and just enjoying being out in nature together.
We made this light hut to grow plants in:
We planted some herbs: basil, lemongrass, and chamomile.
After a few days they’ve already come up (after taking this picture I thinned them out, as too many were planted).
I have found the science kit that goes with this program to be invaluable. It has saved me so much time and makes doing the projects easier for me.
A Reason for Handwriting. I love that the children practice their writing by writing out Scripture, and they love decorating the page and displaying it at the end of the week.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. This is my fourth child I’m teaching to read using this method. It is so easy and stress-free, and for us it has produced great readers. I can’t recommend it highly enough (although different things work for different families, so everything I love may not be right for someone else!).
I LOVE preschool. I love picture books, coloring, dress-up, painting, art, playdough, puppets, singing sweet songs, cute little voices, little arms around my neck…what’s not to love?!
These Kumon books are so fun! They are perfect for my two-year-old. Not too hard for him, bright and colorful, and fun. It allows him to feel that he is doing some real schoolwork, too. He begs me to do these books and then he wants to do every page in the book right then!
I love nature study and the little friends my children come running to show me.
I don’t care much for spiders, but I still find them fascinating…as long as they stay outside! We have found several of these tunnel spiders outside this year. We fed this one a “Granddaddy Longlegs,” and it ran out and dragged it back to the base of the tunnel. It looks creepy, but it was somehow fascinating to watch. But I did feel sorry for the Granddaddy Longlegs. 🙂
I love reading a picture book with a puppet helping to tell the story. {This picture book and this finger puppet are adorable!}
I LOVE art time. Planning art and craft projects is a huge love of mine. I could do arts and crafts all day long, and often I think I enjoyed the project at least as much or maybe more than my children!
Here is our nature and seasonal bookshelf. I keep my Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady book turned to an appropriate page for the month as inspiration. I love the artwork. The middle shelf holds our basket full of seasonal book selections and occasionally a puppet or other surprise. Below that is the nature shelf where we keep treasures found on nature walks or just around the yard. We currently have a bird’s nest that was found this summer, some bird eggs that were empty but almost whole, and some feathers. Field and nature guides are also stored here for easy reference.
These little yarn apples were so fun to make, and they are a bright decoration for a table or shelf (and they’re fun to play with).
Acorns, moss and lichen begin to fill the nature basket with Autumn treasures:
And a creative and colorful snack really makes a day seem special. This graham cracker spread with cream cheese (or butter) and sprinkles was a creation the children came up with all on their own.
I feel very thankful and blessed to be a homeschooling mother!
Gae tagged me to do the following homeschooling meme. Thanks for thinking of me, Gae! 🙂
- One homeschooling book you have enjoyed: For the Children’s Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
- One resource you wouldn’t be without: A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning, by Karen Andreola This book has been with me since the very beginning of our homeschooling journey. It was the first “how to” book we purchased (about nine years ago). I return to it again and again for ideas and inspiration. Also, Managers of Their Homes, by Steve and Teri Maxwell, which I have been reading since my oldest was just a baby (12 years ago). Do these two resources seem to be at odds? For me they are not. I find much that is helpful in each of these resources, and I use them in a way that fits our particular family. I don’t schedule my babies, but the principles in this book were still very helpful and encouraging to me. I also don’t follow a schedule perfectly, but I still find it helpful to have one as a suggested routine for our day (this would be a great topic for another post!).
- One resource you wish you had never bought: I can only list one?! 🙂 Seriously, there have been many. As we have traveled on this journey there have been quite a few things we tried that just didn’t fit our family or our learning style or my teaching style. I would rather not “name names” just in case someone reads this who happens to love the item I listed. I wouldn’t want to seem to be maligning one of their favorites, and I know different things work for different families. 🙂
- One resource you enjoyed last year: Language Lessons for Little Ones. I really loved these books. I still had one on hand to use with our almost 6-year-old. I will be using that with her for her language program. It is very gentle and Charlotte Mason-inspired.
- One resource you will be using next [this] year: Apologia Botany. As I mentioned above, we’re using it this year and we really love it.
- One resource you would like to buy: A huge wooden cupboard with shelves and drawers to organize supplies.
- One resource you wish existed: A daily plan for little ones based on seasonal themes that includes simple-to-do crafts, songs, playtime, etc. I have found many plans that almost fit what I am looking for, but there is always one aspect that doesn’t work (craft projects too involved, non-Christian emphasis, etc.) I guess I’m going to have to create this one for myself, which is what I am attempting to do.
- One homeschool catalog you enjoy: Rainbow Resource Center
- One homeschooling website you use regularly: The Crafty Crow (This isn’t specifically a homeschool website, but I regularly visit here to get craft ideas.)
Well, that’s my very long homeschool update. I hope it was enjoyable to read, and not too long. 🙂
I absolutely love the tote idea! What a great way to keep each childs things together!
We are very similar in our school choices. We too use A Reason For Handwriting, Math-U-See and Apologia. Josh loved the Botony book. This year we are veering away just a bit to weather study, so he can learn just what causes the storms and such he fears so much.Then I want to use the Land Animals book & journal.
Dear Donna,
Thank you so much for leaving me such a sweet comment, and for your kind words!
I very much enjoyed reading about your family and your interests.
That is wonderful that you were able to homeschool your youngest son, and that you have such happy memories of that time.
I'm sure it is such a blessing to your daughter that you are such a strong supporter of home education. That makes such a difference. I also went to public school (and a couple of private schools), but my mom has always supported my desire to teach my children at home. She has been such an encouragement to me, and I'm so thankful for her. When grandparents are supportive of homeschooling it makes everything so much easier and happier.
Again, thank you so much for your encouraging comment, Donna!