Looking for a way to memorize scripture with your children?

Over the last month or two, we have begun using a system that is
working so well for us. It helps us to not only learn new scriptures,
but to continually be reviewing the ones that we have already committed
to memory.

My husband ran across this system on a Charlotte Mason site. The
method was relatively simple to put together. The most time consuming
aspect was actually choosing the verses that he wanted to include in it
and typing them out, but setting up the box itself was quick and easy.

Basically, we always have one verse under "today" or "daily" that we are in the process of memorizing, as well as many others in rotation. Those verses are reviewed on even or odd days, the days of the week, and then the date of the month (this link explains it much better than I do). We bought a small box that fits index cards, and then a package of index card dividers from the dollar store. We printed the verses out on the computer, then cut and paste them onto index cards. We store all the extras at the back of the box, and gradually add them to the system as we learn them.

We like to do our verses while we eat breakfast (or dinner, if we weren't able to all eat together in the morning). Ryan leads us and we all repeat the verses together while we are learning them, and then take turns trying to say them on our own. I am constantly surprised and awed by how our 4 1/2 year old picks up the verses so easily and just rattles them off to us! Children have amazing, sponge-like memories and this is the perfect time to help them learn to hide God's word in their hearts. I am so blessed to see her learning these truths, and trust that as she understands and learns more of the Bible that it will bear much fruit in her life (and in our other children, as they grow old enough to do this as well).

Do you memorize scripture with your children or as a family? What types of methods or systems do you (or have you) used?

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*******

Guest Post by Abbi

I feel so thankful to be able to homeschool my children ages 9,7,5 and 3. We love being able to learn together and just spend time together.  My husband and I were also both blessed to be homeschooled as children and know firsthand how homeschooling can well prepare you for life in “the real world”. I know not everyone wants to homeschool, and that is okay, but what makes me sad is when I have parents tell me “We would love to homeschool but we just don’t have the ability and often they will name something that they feel they are lacking in. Another thing that makes me sad is when I talk to parents who are homeschooling but they are totally overwhelmed by many workbooks and busy work that lots of curriculums provide, but they know of no other way.

My goal in this post is to tell you that homeschooling is not just for those that have parents that are super smart and have loads of patience (neither description applies to me). Nor is homeschooling meant to be a replica of the public school in your home. Homeschooling is for those that have an enthusiasm for learning and are willing to share that enthusiasm with their kids. Homeschooling can be a very fun adventure for the whole family that prepares your kids to be wonderful additions to our world.

  In our home we do use regular textbooks for some of our core subjects (Math, English and Spelling) but for the rest we enjoy doing a lot of family studying using a lot of different ways of learning. Some might wonder if that really works, “Do you really learn when you don’t use a “school book”?” This Spring when the kids were taking achievement tests, my 9 year old Mara was about to take her Science test, she started to panic “Mom, I’ve never studied science!” I assured her that she knew a lot about science and didn’t have any need to worry. Sure enough the test results proved this to be quite true as she was in the 98th percentile and at a grade equivalent of 11.8 (She just finished 4th grade).

  Here are some of the educational activities we enjoy that don’t involve text books. You probably will find that you do a lot of them too, but perhaps you never thought about how much your child is learning.

SCIENCE

·         Walks in the woods with identification manuals in hand.

·         Learning to indentify wild foods, collect and eat them.

·         Growing a garden (complete with starting some of the plants indoors)

·         Raising fruit trees (even trying to raise oranges and bananas in the house).

·         Having many fun science books on hand to browse through and read together just for fun before nap times. We own quite a few and I also check them out regularly from the Library.

·         Regular trips to the local Science Center where there are many hands on activities to try and fun classes just for homeschoolers.

·         Finding a Monarch caterpillar, feeding it and watching it grow, turn into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly.

·         Making a box solar oven together and attempting to use it.`

·         Making our own laundry soap.

·         Cleaning with Vinegar and Baking Soda and having fun watching their reaction to each other.

MATH

·         Baking together and as they get older on their own. Have them help you double, triple and half recipes (or any other amount you care to try).

·         Taking your children grocery shopping and having them help you figure out what is the best value on items by noticing volume and price.

·         While grocery shopping have a child keep a running tally on how much everything will cost by using a calculator.

·         Enjoy learning about fractions when cutting up pies, pizzas and such like.

·         We have a couple of boys that really enjoy numbers and so just for fun at some mealtimes we will spend time just challenging each other with oral math problems.

·         Have a rummage sale or bake sale and let the kids help (or manage completely if they are able) with the checkout table.

·         Get watches (not digital!) for the kids and teach them how to tell time and then give them reason to use them.

·         Be open about using math in your own life (such as budgeting). When children realize that math is actually useful it will make it much more interesting.

·         Teach them how to sew (my job) or do carpentry work (Ken’s department) where they get to do measuring and figuring and such like.

·         Play games like Dominos and Monopoly and have the kids do a lot of the number work.

HISTORY

·         Read together! There are so many neat biographies out there as well as historical fiction. History does not have to be dry and boring!!! The kids and I have a  reading time together every day after lunch and before our rest time, this time has been a wonderful time to get through many, many neat books and series. Some familiar examples would be: The Little House books, Ralph Moody’s books (Little Britches is the first one) and many others. My kids just beg me to keep reading more on things like that.

·         Have good books available for the kids to read on their own. They will be far more likely to pick it up when it is handy and looks fun.

·         Read historical books yourself and then excitedly tell them about some of the neat things you learned.

·         Have fun learning about a certain time period complete with finding as many books (and videos or DVD’s) as possible on that era, using the internet, making foods to go along with that time period, dressing up in period dress and trying things like making candles, spinning and whatever else you can think of to go along with that time period. When doing this you don’t have to feel like you have to get it all figured out before you begin. We had a wonderful time learning about Viking Era, Pioneer times and the Colonial Period in this way and I simply got lots of books and then as we  came across something that we wanted to try we would do it if we had the time and the resources needed.

·         Visit older people and be interested in them and their lives. They have so much to teach us and they usually love to tell stories.

·         Visit Museums, Historic sites and Living History Museums. I absolutely love Living History Museums as they teach you so much in such interesting ways! As you travel be aware of learning places you might be passing. We took a recent trip with my parents and we were passing within 7 miles of the spot of the “House in the Big Woods”, so we took a little side drive to see it. Now not only have the kids heard the story but they can also visualize where it happened.

GEOGRAPHY

·         Get to know people from other countries. One way we have especially done this is befriending international students at our local university.  Invite them into your home. They usually enjoy learning more about America and then in turn love to tell about where they are from.

·         Try ethnic foods. We have had a lot of fun trying recipes from other countries, we have also had several international students who have enjoyed coming over to cook for us (and then we usually get to help). Another way is to visit ethnic restaurants.

·         Have maps and globes prominently displayed throughout your home. My favorite way we have done this is to have a laminated map on our table as a tablecloth. It is a little unusual but it has promoted many learning discussions!

·         Take advantage of the many fun books and videos available at the library. In 2008 we decided to study a State each week. We found a series of books at the library which we read from each day before naps. We also tried foods and any special activities we might learn about from each state. Now we are on to countries and again our library has a nice supply of books about many of the different countries.

·         Travel! I wish we could do this more but we do enjoy what we are able to do. We keep track of each state we have visited.

·         Collect state quarters and then have fun placing them on their correct state on a map.

·         Play games. There are quite a few games out there that help you learn more about geography.

·         Put together puzzles. After putting together a couple of puzzles (with tiny pieces) of the world I feel much more in tune with where things are.

HANDWRITING

·         Have your children write letters. REAL letters that they send to somebody. This is a much more meaningful way to practice writing and grandparents or somebody like that really appreciates them as well!

·         Get a Calligraphy set. It is even more fun to try really fancy writing!

·         Have the children write our Bible Verses, illustrate them and hang them around the house.

LITERATURE

·         Read aloud to your children! Books are so much easier to understand and get into when you can read them together.  Plus you can create some really great memories with your kids! (I know, my parents spent many hours reading to my siblings and I and we loved it!)

·         Shut down the TV and electronic games in your house. I think that kids will have a much higher interest in books if the books don’t have to compete with that.

SOCIAL STUDIES (or political science)

·         Get involved as a family in the whole political process. We have done that and are amazed at how much information our kids have learned.

·         When a Governor, Senator or any other such person comes to your town, try to go see them if possible. Often you will be in a group with few children and yours will quite likely be given some attention. Last year we had a lot of fun meeting various leaders and the kids got to shake their hand and listen to them speak. They now have a personal experience to remember when we speak of various leaders.

ENGLISH

I confess this isn’t my strong point and I don’t have any great ideas for eclectic learning in this department. One thing I do know is that reading good books is helpful for learning good grammar. This is a subject I am quite thankful that we can have textbooks in . J If anybody else has neat learning ideas for this area I would love to hear them!

 There are so many ways that we have fun learning together that I have just begun to touch on them. Here are a few final tips:

~Something that I think is of major importance when teaching with kids is being excited about learning yourself. They really pick up on that. If you think learning is fun and are regularly trying to learn new things, they most likely will too.

~Another thing is don’t be afraid to learn together. You can’t possibly know everything there is to know about every subject. There are many times that we pull out books or use google and learn together.

~A third tip is: Take advantage of the knowledge and experience of others. We have many friends and family that have expertise in many different areas. We love to visit them and learn from them. For example: My dad raises goats and other farm animals , raises gardens and an orchard and grafts fruit trees plus he does a lot of metal and wood working. We have learned a lot from him. We have a friend who helps to fight forest fires by dispatching water planes and helicopters. We have been able to visit her work a  couple of times and so how she does it, go inside of the planes and helicopters and talk to the pilots. That is couple of the knowledgeable people we have in our life, I am sure you have many people you could learn a lot from too!

~Fourth thing: Remember it is not all about academics! I think we all are happy when our kids do well at academics but the truth is some people excel more in that area while others excel in other areas. God made us all different and we need to embrace that. I think everybody should work at academics but how well you do does not determine your worth. Sometimes working with your hands is not given as much attention but it doesn’t have to be that way in our home schools. Knowing how to make and fix things is very valuable and we need to encourage our children to excel in that area as well.

~Most of all (to repeat what I have been saying throughout this post) have fun and don’t get stressed! Homeschooling can be a wonderful way to enjoy the blessing of children that our Heavenly Father has given us.

Abbi lives with her husband Ken and 4  homeschooled children ( Mara, Jonathan, Aaron and Megan ) in Northern MN. She blogs at Proverbs 31 Living about living as a Christian woman, Family, Homeschooling, Homemaking, Natural and Green living, Sewing, Gardening, Cooking, Frugality and all sorts of Crafting.

What are some of the ways that you teach your children and encourage them to learn and explore, without the use of textbooks and curriculum? Do you agree that learning can often happen best in these natural, real life ways?

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Guest Post by Cara

Waldorf is a method of education
founded by Rudolf Steiner in the late 1800s that focuses on a natural
approach to child development. While we don't use everything from the
philosophy (it goes into some religion stuff that we don't agree with),
we do really like the approach to early childhood education.  Steiner
advocates allowing children to develop in a natural environment with a
focus on the natural rhythms of home life.  In this philosophy of
childrearing, children live their lives with purpose, imagination, and
love.  I learned about this method of education when the daycare that I
worked at four mornings a week as a teen underwent transformation from
a regular daycare into a Waldorf preschool.  I was amazed to watch some
of the daycare children turn from hyperactive, easily distracted, and
easily bored to calm happy kids with an excellent attention span.  The
play they engaged in was now Real Play, play with more meaning that
mimics what we do in every day life.

The following are some things that we do to facilitate Real Play in
our home.  It seems almost too simple, but it is quite enriching.

Starting
with my little babies, I help them to be a part of every day life by
playing near me on the floor, and when they want to be held they ride
on my hip in a sling, or on my back in a mei tai or Ergo.  I chatter
about what I'm preparing for supper, sing little nursery rhymes, and
give lots of smiles while allowing them to see what goes on in every
day life.  Letting them see you always being engaged in something,
rather than just passively being entertained (on the computer or TV)
helps prevent boredom through example.  When I am sitting and listening
to the radio or just having a conversation with my hubby, if I'm not
nursing a baby, I try to have some handwork to do, like knitting or
hand sewing. 

We don't allow screen time of any kind for children.  No videos, no
cartoons, no computer games.  I'm not a purist, my daughter has seen me
on the computer and she has seen cartoons at other people's house. But
as a general rule, we stay away from that, so that she doesn't get
conditioned to where she needs something to watch to be entertained. 
You will find that once your child develops a long attention span, they
are happy to play alongside you while you work and you will not depend
on the TV to keep them entertained while you accomplish your chores.

I
make a point to slow down what I'm doing and do things with purpose so
my little ones can see and imitate me, since that's what they do
naturally.  I don't rushidly fold the laundry. I carefully smooth out
each shirt, fold it, and place it in the stack.  I take care to place
my dirty dishes in the sink, then gently wash them.  I avoid looking as
if I'm a chicken with my head cut off as I rush around to catch up on
housework.  I smile as I work.  Really, it doesn't take much more time
at all, and it gives the children something to imitate.  This work is
your quality time with the children, young children especially enjoy an
activity like making bread with mom just as much (or in our case more!)
than a trip to the fair or amusement park.  It shows them by example
how to care for belongings, to find contentment in what must be done,
and it gives them peace of mind to know that Mommy isn't frazzled.

When
possible, I involve my children in my work.  It takes a little longer,
but my toddler receives much more joy in completely emptying the dryer
into the laundry basket for me than she would with a dozen 'Good Job!'
stickers.  I also pay attention to what will trigger a meltdown and
avoid it.  For instance, my little girl isn't happy just putting the
two cups of flour in my cookie batter; she wants to scoop the entire
flour canister into the mixing bowl. So, knowing this, scooping the
flour is something that just Mommy does for now, and she has a bin full
of rice and scoops where she can scoop to her heart's content.  When
helping isn't possible because of safety (like with sewing) or the
tendency to trigger a meltdown, I do try to provide some similar
alternative for her, again, encouraging her desire to imitate me.

We sing little songs throughout the day.  Children love repetition
and silly rhyming songs. A verse of "This is the way we wash our hands"
before lunch or after playing outside makes hand washing into a
pleasurable experience rather than a chore.  A little song can convince
a reluctant toddler to do what needs to be done as well, "This is the
way we buckle our carseat, buckle our carseat, buckle our carseat..."

Waldorf
puts emphasis on outside time as well.  And to allow children's
imagination to flow, unstructured open nature areas are encouraged over
playgrounds with play structures.  On play structures, children are
confined to what is there. In a natural park setting, children have
more of an opportunity to notice small things. They watch the ants
trailing out of the ant hill.  They collect pine cones.  They make mud
pies and daydream.

Natural toys are preferred, but if those are not available due to
money constraints, open-ended toys are the best.  The more specific a
toy is, the faster a child will get bored with it. Open ended toys are
toys that can perform a variety of purposes. A basket can be a bathtub
one day, an oven for baking bread the next, and also turned upside
down, covered with a playsilk, and used as a stage for a play the next
day.  By contrast, a flashing box with buttons that talks and tells the
child what to do is limited to its one specific roll, and quickly
becomes boring.  Having few toys is preferred to having many.  With
many toys out, the child is overwhelmed and stops playing with them in
search of more order and simplicity.

My first summer job as a daycare assistant greatly influenced how I
parent my children and live my life. I learned to slow down and
appreciate the little things with children. I learned that faster isn't
always better. I learned that children don't need to be constantly busy
to be happy. And I learned that children weren't nuisances to be 'kept
busy' until they could be taught later on, but they were to be joyously
included in every day life right along side an adult. I wanted to share
since I feel that what I've learned has enriched our family life, and I
hope it can enrich yours as well.

More Reading:
Why Natural Toys?
Dressing Children Simply
An example of Meaningful Work
Instructions to Make a Waldorf-Style Doll

Cara is the stay-at-home mama of two children so far; 2-1/2
and 7 months.  She writes about parenting and crafting at Green Bean, and health and food at Health Home & Happiness, and also has an Etsy shop where she sells Waldorf inspired dolls and more.

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A few notes:

• Circle time is when the kids and I sit together and work on activities that don't require tablework, like memorization, read alouds, narration, devotions, etc. Abbie will also read aloud to me during these times.
• I've split our read alouds into fiction and non-fiction. This is just to give us some variety. On fiction days we'll read novels, nursery rhymes or poetry, or illustrated children's stories. On non-fiction days we'll read books on any variety of topics that interest us, like insects or clouds or the human body. Though we already have a pretty good library built up (considering how young are kids still are), we will depend a lot on visits to the library for this purpose.
• Our math work looks pretty minimal, but it will take us through 1 unit a week, which is currently a really comfortable speed for the level Abbie is at.
• By "delight", I simply mean that we will spend this time (approx. a half hour) studying things or doing projects that interest us. This might be researching an interesting topic, finding a brief educational video online, working on a poster or lapbook, or even productive free time (my MIL's term for time when the kids aren't doing "school", per se, but they are working on something creative or worthwhile, like building with lego or making animal sculptures with playdoh).
• I wanted to have one day a week that has more time available for projects that will be more time and energy intensive, so I've chosen Fridays. This will be the day that we do more involved science projects, get out a big messy art project, take a field trip, etc. To allow for this time, we won't do any math or language arts bookwork, but only a brief circle time.

So that's what I have planned at the moment. I'm anticipating that learning time will take about 1 1/2 hours per day, give or take.

I'm sure we will not stick to this schedule exactly every day, especially while adapting to baby #3 in the early months, but I like having a framework and it helps me to stay more on task and focused. I think it will also provide some useful structure for the kids, as they get into the routine as well.

For those wondering, the toddler will either participate or simply do activities near us. During circle time, I expect that he'll sit and listen and I'll probably throw in a few younger things (like a short picture book or song) to help keep his attention. I'll also let him look at his own books or toys while he's sitting with us. During our table time, I will give him his bins to play with, or else set him up to color in his high chair. The baby will either be napping or in the sling, most likely. Or nursing. Or just in my arms. Guess we'll see how it all fits together with 3 littles! This will be new territory for me!

How do you like to schedule your home education times? Do you prefer a more structured schedule or do you like to keep it more loose and flexible? Hints for occupying babies and toddlers?

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Since I asked a while back for some suggestions, and have now made all of my purchases for up into the Fall and Winter, I thought you might like to see what I've decided on. My only favor I have to ask is that if I've chosen something that you really didn't care for, would you mind not letting me know? If it was a really bad choice, I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough on my own! And just maybe, I'll actually end up loving it and finding that it works well for our family. Thanks!

Math

After all my hemming and hawing and researching, in the end, I went with Math-U-See. Although she is already beyond a lot of the concepts in the Primer book (the first book), we've decided to start her there anyways, to help her establish a really solid foundation in the program.

We've been using it now for a few weeks, and so far, I like it. It's not colorful or flashy, but I think it is teaching these beginning concepts well. Abbie feels successful, and enjoys doing it most days. She loves the manipulative blocks and the videos that we watch at the beginning of each unit. I love that I totally understanding what is being taught and why it's being taught that way. So far, so good!

Language Arts

I've decided to go with Rod and Staff Gr. 1, because I love the wholesome nature of their materials, and how Biblically based the program is (as in, it uses the Bible as it's source of topics for reading- I'm not saying that there is a Biblical way to teach Language Arts, because if there is, I haven't found those scriptures yet!). I know that at this young age, I could simply pull together my own program, and even find lots of free resources online.

The fact is, I'm new to all this. We're moving into a busy season of life with a new baby and a new business, and this works for me. We'll be using their Readers, as well as the Reading workbooks and the Phonics workbooks. For penmanship, I will either print off free activities from the web, or make my own, and we will probably do a lot of copy work from the Bible.

We'll also be doing a whole lot of reading, both me reading aloud to the kids and Abbie reading to me. Along with all that reading, we will be working on the skill of Narration, where Abbie will learn to either tell, draw or write for me about what she has just heard or learned about.

Bible

Our Bible study will somewhat be covered by the Rod and Staff reading program, because it is really, truly all about the Bible! How fantastic is that?

In addition, we will continue reviewing and learning new questions and answers from the catechism in Big Truths for Little Kids
. We are also doing scripture memory, in line with the children's program at our church.

And lastly, I just got a really fun new book yesterday that we just couldn't wait to begin! It's called "Draw to Learn" and it will take us through the book of Proverbs. Each day, we will read a few verses from Proverbs, focusing on one key phrase or verse, and read a short paragraph talking about what the scripture means and then giving Abbie a drawing assignment. The drawings are meant to help instill the meaning of the verse and to work on learning to draw more purposefully at the same time. These are really neat books, so check them out! They have several to choose from (Psalms, Life of Jesus, etc.).

Fine Arts

Well, the book I just mentioned will be a part of this, as I give Abbie opportunities for drawing. In addition, I will be aiming to do an art project once a week or so, where we will work on other art skills like painting, cutting, pasting, crafting, etc.

At some point in the year, she will be beginning music lessons (probably piano), because there is certainly no reason not to once her Daddy is running a music school!

We're also going to explore some poetry, in a light but fun way. I picked up a coloring book made by Dover, where the pictures are illustrations that go along with a collection of famous poetry. I'm thinking that every so often we will pull this book out and work at listening and repeating the poem with correct rhythm, talk about the rhyming or other interesting things about it, what it means, etc. and then color the picture.

Science/Social Studies

I'm not ready to jump full force into these subjects yet, but we will explore them in a fun and easy-going way. For science, one resource that I picked up is a book called The Complete Zoo Adventure
from the BC Creation Association. This is a Creation based study of different zoo animals, and is meant to help you put together an enjoyable and informative zoo field trip. Because we have a year membership to the local zoo, we will just work our way through this book bit by bit, as we visit the zoo throughout the year, exploring different groups of animals, birds, reptiles, etc.

I would also like to explore some basic physical geography. I've bought two large wall maps of both Canada, and of the world, which I've put up in our learning room. As we study different animals, we will mark on our maps where those animals come from. We will also be reading the book Missionary Stories with the Millers
as a read aloud, and as we do, we will mark on our map where each story takes place and learn a little bit about that country.

I've also picked up a few books on physical geography, with lots of experiments for younger children. We're just going to use these as an add on, and every once in a while I'll let Abbie choose a topics/experiment that she is most interested in learning about.

The Big Picture

Overall, we're still going to be keeping things light and easy, with a few areas more structured than before (mainly math, language arts and Bible), making sure that we have lots of fun along the way. I want to remain as flexible as possible, am allowing for a lot of delight-directed learning, and keeping in mind this list of 10 Things To Do With Your Child Before Age 10. We'll be doing a lot of reading, library visits, hopefully field trips and whatever else we think we might like to do!

If anyone's interested, I'd be happy to post up the schedule I've made for next year, let me know in the comments and I'll make sure I get it posted up.

Have you planned out your home educating for next year? What are some of your goals and plans? Any new resources you're excited to use?

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Here's what I'm wondering about:

1) I am trying to choose a math curriculum. Though I know that I could still switch at a later point if I really don't like what I choose, I known that it would be better to choose something and just stick with it. I'm working hard to really do my research and make a good decision, and this is where you come in!

Would you share with me which curriculum you have used, and what you thought of it? How did your kids do with it? Did you find the built-in review sufficient? Did it move too fast? Was it too repetitious? And how about your work load, Mom? I would be really interested to know how much prep time and instruction time the different curriculums (curricula?) required of you (and I know that the child using them makes a big difference)?

**A few specific ones that I am looking at are Horizons, Math-U-See and Saxon, so I would especially love to hear your opinions on those, but also on any others that I might not have considered yet.

2) I am looking for books for our read-aloud times. Specifically, I would like to find books about missionaries and about other cultures, that are appropriate for very young children (mine are about 4 1/2 and almost 2). Any suggestions of great books that you've read with your children? And, are there any good resources that have lists of read-aloud books (for different age/skill levels) that you would recommend?

Thanks so much for your suggestions!

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• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
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• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
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• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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Aren't they lovely? What's that... you want to know what they actually are?

These are the newest addition to my arsenal of tools that I am using to make portions of our daily routine run that much smoother. To my 4 yr old daughter, they are her "quiet time bins". To my 22 mth old, they are simply a fun container of toys that Mommy puts in front of him.

They were initially inspired by an article in Above Rubies, on what to do with little ones while homeschooling. One idea was to create bins with entertaining toys and activities for toddlers, with a different one to pull out for each day of the week. The idea was further inspired by seeing Crystal's bins for her daughter's quiet times- activities that she can do during the 1-2 hours that she spends in her room each afternoon (this is similar to what we do with our daughter).

Abbie helped me put them all together and choose some of the activities. She also traced each of the days of the week, for both sets of bins and helped me tape them on.

Here is a glimpse into a few of Abbie's bins: One has drawing and coloring supplies, another has beading materials, and another has a wooden dress up "doll". Each bin also has 2-3 books that she enjoys.

Here are two of Caden's bins. The first contains measuring cups and colorful counting bears. The second is wooden clothes pins and yogurt containers. His other bins have similar types of creative toys to keep a toddler occupied. All of his bins have 2 board books (read: indestructible) as well.

We've been using Abbie's bins for a week now, and they have definitely helped her to look forward to her quiet times and stay better occupied, and they are also simple for her to clean up afterwords.

Caden's will be implemented this week, as I will be training him to have a "playpen" time (working my way up to 30 minutes at a time) each morning while I do home education (learning time, as we say in our family) with Abbie. He will be given one bin to play with while he stays put in his playpen, which will free me to help Abbie with things like her printing, math, etc.

Are any of you using bin systems like this? What do you use them for and what types of activities do you have in them?

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• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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Last week, as I was boiling some water on the stove, my constant observer (4 year old Abbie) said to me, "Mommy, why is all of the steam coming up from the water?"

This one little question sparked a large discussion on the states of matter- gas, liquid and solid. We talked about how water is a liquid, but when we heat it up, it turns into a gas, and that's what steam is. We also discussed how the ice in our freezer is actually solid water, and that's what happens when water gets cold. Who knew it was a science unit in the works?

Since she was still tracking with me, I decided to continue on with this sudden interest, and so I googled a bit and found a website where we could watch educational science videos, made for young children. Sure enough, we found two videos on the states of matter and solid/liquid/gases.

Watching those sparked more interest and discussion, so a few days ago we decided to watch them again and create a poster that shows water in the three different states.

**Abbie gave me ideas of what to draw, and traced all of the printing and I did the oh-so-artistic drawings- can you tell?

Next, I think we'll do a couple of little experiments to turn water from liquid to gas and liquid to solid, and back to liquid again. Sounds like fun!

Isn't it amazing how fascinating science can be when it stems out of real life experiences and observations? I'm not sure how well a science lesson on the "states of matter" would normally go over with a 4 year old, but when the interest and motivation comes from her end, look how far it can take us!

Have you found this "delight" principle to be true with your own little learners? How do the other home educating moms out there use this principle to further their children's learning and enjoyment?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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I haven't done it since I was in university, and only for a very short period of time at that. I made one lovely, dark sage green, very soft lap blanket which my son uses in his crib, despite the fact that it is entirely uneven due to continually dropping or picking up extra stitches. Today, however, I pulled out my old hooks and some yarn that Abbie and I found cheap at a thrift store, watched a couple of tutorials to freshen up my memory, and rediscovered this relaxing hobby!

Now that I know what I am doing once again (well, sort of), I am trying to teach Abbie how to crochet. It was a little bit frustrating today, though. It's very difficult for her to put all of the different elements together- holding what she has already crocheted, plus the yarn she is using, plus the hook. It's just a bit too much for her, and I guess I didn't realize that it might be.

Any tips on how to teach it, so that it's easier and less frustrating for a little one? Do you think that four is maybe too young to be able to have the coordination to put it all together? 

I'm really eager to start teaching Abbie some of these types of handicrafts (crocheting, sewing, knitting, etc.). We've done a little bit of simple stitching and that seemed to be a lot more child-friendly. I was hoping that crocheting might be similar, but maybe I was wrong.

Any other ideas? How have you introduced crafting like this to your little ones? Any good resources to share? And on a side note, where can I find a pattern for making those adorable, crocheted dish cloths?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

More from Keeper of the Home

• Quiet Time Bins | Keeper of the Home
• Waldorf-Inspired Real Play | Keeper of the Home
• All Ready for Another Year of Home Educating! | Keeper of the Home
• The World is our Classroom | Keeper of the Home

(This is the continuation from her wonderful post last week, Learning with Preschoolers. If you haven't read it yet,  why don't you do that first? Then take a good look through this inspiring list of ways to really get involved with your preschooler in the process of learning and exploring! I know that my kids and I will be trying out several of these suggestions ourselves!)

Here is a list of ideas and suggestions.  I included activities which require little preparation. 

1.  Read with your child everyday. 
2.  Stop and Play:  Take 30 minutes a day and be purposeful in playing with your child!
3.  Write with them. (Grocery lists, cards, letters, signs, to do lists)
4.  Praise their efforts with reading and writing.  Example:  Abigail learned to write her name two     weeks ago.  However, she writes it backwards with some of the letters turned around.  I praise     and celebrate this accomplishment with her even though it is not right!  Why?  Because the     more excited she is about writing, the more she is willing to try it.  I have started to correct her a little at a time, but at first it is often inappropriate. 
5.  Make mini books together.  Take turns being the author and illustrator.  Use stickers if you or your     child doesn’t like to draw.  You may be surprised with the ideas they come up with.
6.  Make alphabet books
    (My favorite idea)
7.  Talk and listen to your child.     

8.  Describe what you are doing or seeing as you read, play, work and drive.
9.  Have a box of scrap paper and scissors that your child can take out and cut, cut, cut that paper!
10.  Make snow flakes.  Point out the shapes when you open it up.   
11.  Make an alphabet matching game out of felt.  Cut a matching pair of shapes each time you work     on a new letter of the alphabet.  Let your child cut the shapes out.  You can match colors and upper and lower case letters. 
12.  Handwriting Practice:  http://www.first-school.ws/theme/handwriting.htm 
13.  Have a box of rice or beans for your child to play in!  Just make sure to explain the bean box rules     to your child and other children that come to play.  Like the beans stay in the box!  I once neglected to tell our bean box rules to visiting cousins and found our basement completely covered in a layer of beans. 
14.  Make homemade play dough!  It takes 5 min! I’ll post the recipe in the comments!
15.  This idea may be a challenge for some.  I haven’t been brave enough to try it, but you may be.  Get colored painter’s tape and tape a box on your wall.  The box becomes an impromptu white board for your child.  Use crayons or markers to write.  It all wipes off with a Magic Eraser.  The person who uses this idea has never had a problem with their nieces/nephews writing anywhere else.  I would do a test on your walls to make sure it will come off for you.
16.  Check your local library for a kindergarten readiness calendar put out by the local library system or school district.  I often see free calendars available in libraries and preschools.  Each month has a focus and the weekly activities usually match the focus.  Activities are simple but purposeful!
17.  Play “I Spy” with colors (or “I Spy” with numbers/letters for a more advanced version).
18.  Counting games:  How many squares do you see in this room?  How many blue cars can you     count on the way to the store?
19.  Make Ice Cream in a Ziploc bag.  (Recipe posted in comments).
20.  Do alphabet aerobics.  Make the alphabet with your bodies.
21.  Make numbers, letters, or shapes in the dirt.  Walk on the lines like a balance beam. 
22.  Play hopscotch.  They can help draw the squares and the numbers.

Faith is a preschool teacher, mother to Abigail, and wife to Eric. She
loves engaging with the preschool age through play and learning times.
She will soon be starting a blog where she will dialogue about how God
transforms lives, including her own, at http://lifeliver.typepad.com.

Any other ideas for encouraging learning and development for your preschool aged children? What are some of your (or your childrens) favorite activities?

Our Sponsors:

• It Starts at Home: Are we Discipling or Outsourcing the faith of our children? Read It Starts at Home! Then, just nurture them together.
• Moukisac: Your 6 in 1 shopping bag system; compact, stylish, versatile and practical, of course! Made by Canadian mom.
• hope ink: Custom inspirational art for your home
• ListPlanIt: Lists to put your world in order
• Vintage Remedies: Get healthy, naturally
• Just Bumming Around: When only the best cloth diapers (at great prices) will do. FuzziBunz packages on SALE!

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