The Importance of Outdoors; and Bug Facts!

Sometimes in our house we need to get outside and have some fun. We are still using our time to learn of course but Boober is a ball of energy and he will not do well indoors if he can't move and play.

The Top Five Essential Oils for Homeschooling

Essential oils are all over the internet these days and I have yet to make the leap. My friend Tiffany has been telling me about the benefits that come with using them. She has in fact been using them since 2013. I asked her if she would mind sharing her favorites when it comes to homeschooling. I am pleased to share her top 5 essential oils for use in homeschooling for those looking to get started.

Our Weekly Bargain Finds

The Target Dollar Spot was really on point this week. We found a ton of stuff to add to our activities bins. There were lacing cards and puzzles, workbooks, sticker books, quiz cards and more! Here are a few of the items we found. Most of the items were Pre-K to 4th grade level. 

We could have spent all day looking at the different items. We came home with puzzles, a dinosaur, a sticker book (filled with facts about dinosaurs) and a new diaper bag ($3 from the dollar spot!). Overall we spent about $20 there, but we also "couponed" some toddler formula for Mokey. Check it all out below!

Free Music Lesson Resources for Homeschoolers

 Since Music can become one of the "forgotten homeschool subjects", often due to expense I've compiled a list of free resources. These sites will help provide the information to teach an instrument as close to free as possible; besides of course the expense of the instrument itself.

Our Week At A Glance: Weather

Here is our a peek into our week!

The Weekly Theme: Weather

The Letter of the Week: F

Math Focus: Basic Subtraction

Science Projects: Making a cloud in a bag :)

Farmers Market Free Printable Pack

Farm Market Free Printable

 Here is a sneak peak of some of what is inside. The entire pack is 15 pages. It covers basic addition and subtraction, sequencing and more.

Our Week at a Glance.

Here is our a peek into our week!

The Weekly Theme: Dinosaurs

The Letter of the Week: E

Math Focus: Basic Addition; reinforcement

Science Projects: Making fossils

How to Create Your Own Printables

Creating your own printable to use for homeschooling is relatively easy. I like that I can fine tune my own printables in order to work specifically for Boober's unique needs or interests. For instance he has become OBSESSED with Mario for some reason, so we made a Mario printable for math.

The program I will be using to demonstrate how to make your own Printable is Ribbet. There is another program called PicMonkey that you can use as well but Ribbet navigates better for beginners.

Cultivating a Life Long Learner

There are some days where learning doesn't come as easily in our home as I would like it to. Boober would much rather be playing his Nintendo or watching a movie. I understand perfectly, I remember thinking the same thing when I was his age.

These are the days I have to get extra creative and disguise the learning. I have to make it fun, exciting, and fresh. This is how I came up with our curriculum. When we began our year I planned 36 weeks of learning, the average school year. I factored in a small summer break and a few weeks off here and there for Christmas and Thanksgiving or whatever life may throw our way.

Capturing the attention of a 3 year old is tricky. I constantly look for ways to keep him interested in learning. One of the ways I do this is with a recurring “Interest Led Week”.

Each of our weeks have an overall theme. I created a loose schedule of themes on my own, and began to write up a basic curriculum for the year. Then I penciled in a place for interest led days.

When we began the year I asked him what he might want to learn about. He didn’t really have too much of an answer. Now I ask Boober frequently what he wants to learn about, and he always has an answer. When we come up with a theme, I then add it to our schedule and began putting together a lesson plan. I ask him 2 weeks ahead. This gives me enough time he should remain interested but also to allow me to create my lesson plan without a rush.

Homeschooling with Netflix

Today I'd like to focus on the eductaional programing offered by NetFlix. Homeschooling with NetFlix is great option on those days where you are under the weather, or one of the children is under the weather. Netflix allows you to put on some educational TV and create a lesson with minimal effort.  Here is a list I have compiled of educational programs from Netflix that you can refer to as needed for your homeschooling needs. I  have also compiled a Homeschooling with Netflix Printable.

Getting Started with Homeschooling

Getting started with homeschooling can be overwhelming. The first question I found myself asking is “Can I really homeschool my children?” I was full of anxiety. Will I have the patience for it? Am I intelligent enough to teach my children? Where do I even begin!?!? The answer is yes you can homeschool your child! It can be a wonderful fulfilling experience for you both- not to say there won't be bad days.

When I began I started very slowly. I began researching the laws regarding homeschooling for our state. I learned what was required of us and at what age. A simple Google search of “state homeschooling laws" will usually turn up the right information or you can try this link.

Next its a good idea to look at different types of homeschooling. There are several styles of homeschooling. These styles include: Classical, Charlotte Mason, Computer Based or Online Schooling, Eclectic, Unschooling, Self Learning and Unit Studies. I won't dive into describing all the different styles because I'm sure your already feeling a little overwhelmed. I think sometimes information overload causes us to run. Take your time and research the different styles. There are different assessment tools available to guide you in a general direction. I suggest taking your time and doing your research so you are able to gauge what you think would work best for your family. We are an eclectic family, a little of this style, a little of that.

Something else to consider is your childrens’ learning style. My Boober is a kinesthetic style student (typical of students his age). He learns using his senses, and his body. He prefers physical learning. In other words if we are learning about plants, we are getting down and dirty in the garden, instead of watching a video about plant growth. There are several styles of learning: Logical, Social, Solitary, Spatial, Aural, Linguistic, and Kinesthetic. There are short tests that allow you to find your child’s learning style if you aren't sure.  

One of my favorite places for resources is Mardel.com (I am not being sponsored by Mardel for this post). Here is a link to their Learning Style Assessment. Here is a link for their Teaching Style Assessment. Take both assessments and explore the site. I use this site quite extensively. Mardel is a Christian education store. One of my favorite features includes their Online Lesson Planner. I also love the bargain section for great deals on supplies.

My final tip is to get in touch with the local homeschooling community. You can find them via facebook, meetup.com, HSLDA.com, local churches and libraries.

Good Luck!

Our Daily Schedule; Kind of

My day starts around 6:30, on most days or at least its supposed to. This is designated as "Mom Time". I grab a coffee, check emails and relax for a minute or two.

Mokey is my first little Fraggle to wake. She usually wakes around 7 so I grab her and do a quick diaper change. She gets a cup of milk and some cheerios (or other small food). Boober is usually awake by now, so I have him come to the table and start with a workbook page as I make him some breakfast. I usually offer Mokey a little bit more to of what I am making the rest of us, at this point whether it be scrambled eggs or a ripped up piece of jam toast.

While the Fraggle eat breakfast I run a load of laundry down stairs, a family of 4 approaching 5 we do about a load of laundry a day around here.

After we eat Boober starts practice on his phonics, he gets either a workbook page or his tablet for ABC Mouse or other apps. While this is happening I am giving Mokey some sensory items like bells, shakers or even fabric. Her favorite thing right now seems to be hot wheels though. After they are both occupied I load the dishes. Mokey sits in her highchair for sensory bin 1 otherwise I have her hanging off the dishwasher.

At this point we try and take a break and engage with all of us on the floor playing some sort of game. We roll a ball, or play cars or anything really that gets us together and playing. It will soon be time for little Miss Mokey's 1st nap of the day so we want to make sure we have her ready to take it haha!

After Mokey is down for her nap, Boober starts some math lessons. I will play an episode of Monster Math on the TV, or I will let him play ABC Mouse on the tablet if I can not be beside him. If I can we usually use candy, cars or legos to help us count. As he works independently I grab the laundry out of the dryer to fold.

Mokey is still sleeping, so we will start some on our Science lesson if we have time. This is Boober's favorite subject so I like to make sure we get to it. He enjoys being hands on.

Once Mokey wakes its free play and I start on lunch. Usually around this time, if it is a day that I work, I am now also preparing to head into the hospital. On other days we may read a book or two but in general we are done by noon.