I can hardly believe that fall is upon us already, but the beautiful crimson leaves outside my window attest to the fact that it's true. I am always sad to see the summer go, especially since we had such a short season of truly warm summer weather here in the Pacific Northwest, and yet I do relish autumn as a time to take stock of things, slow down, establish new routines and capture summer's last fleeting moments before we say good-bye for another year.

This summer was full of activity. At the end of May, my husband and I joined an amazing team of other bloggers and went to the Philippines with Compassion International, a brief but life-changing trip. Shortly after returning home, we joyfully discovered that we were expecting our 4th child! From there, the next two months became a blur of nausea and fatigue, pathetic suppers and overflowing laundry baskets, homestay students, and summer fun interspersed amidst it all.

In early July we lost a dear friend, and then spent a week on the Oregon Coast with her husband and children and some friends from church in early August. It was an emotional time, but a special opportunity, and we made many memories that we will cherish.

By mid-August, I was helping my husband full-steam ahead with registration and scheduling for our family business, Resound School of Music. Business is booming, which has made the business/daily life balance very challenging, but we're grateful for how the Lord has been blessing this work. From there, the weeks blurred together and somewhere in there we enjoyed family outings in the summer heat, my husband's and youngest child's birthdays, our 8th anniversary and then began the new homeschool year just the other week.

Homeschool This Year

With our oldest doing Gr.2 work and our second oldest now joining in and doing pre-kindergarten, it seems that the workload has increased significantly since last year. Here is our basic schedule for the weekdays:

• Aim to be finished eating by 8:30am, with everyone dressed and ready for the day, so that we can do chores and get the kitchen tidy before we begin at 9am.
• At 9am, I gather all 3 children together for a Circle Time, where we read a Bible story, work on memory verses, do one lesson from Get Wisdom (Biblically-based character lessons/devotionals for young kids), and pray together.
• At 9:15, I get my 6 1/2 year old settled with a non-fiction book on any variety of topics (science, history, art, etc) for silent reading while I work 1-on-1 with the 4 year old. He and I are doing a few preschool workbooks, flashcard games and simple worksheets (he's loving these dog and cat worksheets right now), with the intention of getting him used to spending a short but focused period of time at the table with me, and introducing him to his letter sounds (we aren't doing letter names yet- I like the method for teaching reading in Ruth Beechick's A Home Start in Reading), numbers and counting 1-10, shapes, colors, patterning, etc.
• From 9:30 until 10:30, we work on the basics- Language Arts (this year we're using First Language Lessons, Writing with Ease, Explode the Code, and Sequential Spelling, in addition to plenty of reading), and Math (Math-U-See Beta).
• At 10:30, the kids have snack and recess (outside if the weather is good) and mommy takes a breather or hops on the computer.
• At 10:45, we're back to whatever Language Arts we didn't get done before recess.
• Around 11, we begin a more extended period of time to work on history (we're doing Story of the World, Book 1- Ancient History), geography (Legends and Leagues from Veritas Press), and science (we're using various books from Evan Moore to explore Simple Machines, Energy, and Habitats this year, as well as another book on Rocks and Minerals). We do history twice a week, science twice, and geography once.
• We finish up by noon, when I begin to make lunch and Abbie can sit at the kitchen table finishing up anything that's not quite finished. Today she was drawing pictures of the tale of Gilgamesh (an ancient Assyrian folk tale) to complete our history lesson, for example.

What do I do with the 2 year old? Hmm, very good question. I still haven't really figured it out yet myself. I think that I'm going to train her to stay in a play pen, with various kinds of activities and toys for at least part of the time. Sometimes she sits in the high chair and either eats or colors. Sometimes she just plays happily. Sometimes she drives us all crazy and gets into everything.

We've definitely got some work to do in this area and I'm open to ideas. I really need to go back and re-read Natalie's excellent post with Seven Strategies for Home Schooling Moms (because I'll learn everything I can from a mom of 8!).

Pregnancy Update: 20 Weeks!

I love to hit the 20 week milestone. There's just something about being halfway there that is so encouraging for me.

I had the normal nausea and fatigue, but once I got to about 12 weeks, my stomach started to even out. I remained fairly tired until about 15-16 weeks, when I started feeling more like my usual self. My guess is that we're having a boy, since that's the same pattern that my son's pregnancy followed, whereas I remained both sick and tired right up until 16 weeks with my girls, but who knows?

Most days, I only vaguely remember that I'm pregnant. I suppose that's how it goes with #4! Life is so busy that it's only pulling on my maternity clothes in the morning, the achy muscles each time I get out of a chair, the evening indigestion or the occasional baby movements that remind me of this sweet little life growing inside.

I'm doing my best to simply eat well (lots of real, traditional foods- especially protein and calcium foods, and anything that's particularly nutrient dense), exercise often (this is key- a post on this topic is coming), and take my herbal nutrient supplements from Trilight Health (I'm using Tri-Iron and their pregnancy mineral formula). I'm also on a temporary, restricted diet to try to prevent having another baby with gut issues and food sensitivities, which you can read more about here.

Gardening and Preserving

Well, as I already alluded to earlier this summer, my beautiful new garden beds were a bit of a flop. Very nutrient-less, dead soil combined with a poor summer weather-wise to result in meager harvests. We did get a decent amount of garlic, heirloom tomatoes, green beans, carrots and greens, all things considering.

I've got plans to really enhance the soil this fall with composted manure and organic matter from the yard (leaves, grass, etc.) in hopes that by next spring, it will be bustling with life and ready to produce a better harvest.

I'm through with most of my summer preserving. At this point I've done:

• 1 double batch strawberry jam (I can't remember- maybe 8-10 pints?)
• 13 quarts of dill pickles
• 3 quarts of sweet pickles and 1 quart of sweet pickle relish
• 16 quarts of canned peaches
• Almost 200 lbs total of frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries, plus a couple of large bags of dried raspberries
• Over 50 pints of canned diced tomatoes
• 8 pints of canned tomato sauce, and probably one more batch yet to come (another 7 pints?)
• A jar of dehydrated green beans, and a small jar of dehydrated zucchini
• 16 frozen cubes of pesto
• 4 pints of salsa

Still to come is 20 lbs of canned pears (my hubby's favorite), as much canned applesauce as I have time for (and maybe a small batch of apple jelly), and lots of dried apple rings. Phew!

What's Coming Up

In blog news, I've recently welcomed some amazing new writers. I am also being joined by a virtual assistant, Lindsey, who will help me keep my head on straight. I'm asked so often how I "do it all", and the answer is, I don't. I've previously had help in the form of an advertising manager (thanks, Kate, and I'll miss you!) and now I am adding significantly more hours in the form of this virtual assistant.

For those of you who will be attending the blogging conference, Relevant, I am beyond excited to announce that I will be speaking there! I attended last year and had the most fabulous time, learning and fellowship with other Christian bloggers. It's such an honor to be a speaker this year, especially alongside some ladies whom I respect immensely, not to mention rooming with my sweet Philippines teammate Emily (whose new book Grace for the Good Girl has just been released- check it out!). The conference will take place in Harrisburg, PA, October 27th-29th.

And that's what's going on in our home... how about yours?

Image by Carl M

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

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• Our Family– June Update
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Written by Natalie Klejwa, Guest Writer

When my oldest child was three years old, I began one of the most exciting and stretching challenges of my life.  I started home schooling.  Fifteen years later, I am teaching children in the 9th, 6th, 4th, 2nd, and 1st grades along with two toddlers.  And that 3 year old?  He's almost 18 and will be graduating in the spring…from college!

I've fumbled my way along over the years…trying all kinds of different curriculum, styles, schedules, etc., and I've landed on seven strategies that bring it all together for me. Keep in mind that what works for one mama may not work for another one.  God wired us all differently and gave us all unique, one-of-a-kind families!  But even if just one idea I share can bring a little order to the chaos, hope for the weary, or vision for a brighter tomorrow…then I'd love to pass it along.

Strategy #1-Don't be afraid to switch curriculum…in the middle of the school year!

For the most part, I have my favorite, tried and true curriculum picked out for the various subjects.  But do you know how many times I've bought curriculum, tried it, and watched it "flop" for my children?  Too many times to count.  When we first started out, we had no money to spare…so this practice was not something I could do "lightly"…but we made it work by buying used curriculum whenever possible…and then selling our used curriculum to others if we found it wasn't working.

One thing I learned the hard way is that if a curriculum was relatively unknown, or "fringy"…there was often a reason for that.  I've had the most success with the larger, well known curriculum programs out there that get positive reviews year after year.  If you feel "trapped" in the middle of the school year by the curriculum you are using…give yourself a break and quit.  Find something that works better for you and your children.  They won't die of brain starvation while you are figuring things out and doing that necessary tweaking.

Strategy #2-Admit that each child is different and may need a different approach.

But that doesn't have to mean you go bonkers!  I have too many children to juggle a different math program for every single one.  In other words, you won't see me jumping and dancing and singing with my kinesthetic child while listening to a math audio program with my auditory child while watching a DVD with my visual child.

Here's an example of what you might see over here.  Our oldest child excelled using Saxon math…but our second child hit a wall with the same curriculum right around the 5th grade.  So we switched to Math-U-See.  That worked great until he hit Algebra.  After a year of head banging, we switched again to Teaching Textbooks…and now he is sailing through math.  The other kids are sticking with Math-U-See until and unless they also need a "switch".

And keeping in mind strategy #1…we've had to do some of that switching mid-way through the year…and I'm awfully glad we did.  What's the point of wasting more time just for the sake of "finishing what we've started no matter WHAT?!"  Remember one of the reasons why you're home educating.  You want to tailor an education to your individual child's life. Roll with the punches, and enjoy the journey!

Strategy #3-Enjoy a flexible routine that works for your family.

I've tried the rigid scheduling method, and while it worked for a while with a couple of kids, I found myself on the verge of insanity as my family grew.  Here is what ended up working for us. When I had 3 children in school, I would get a schedule book with a one-week layout on a two page spread and 7-8 subject spaces.  One per child.  I used to map out a week at a time, although recently I've started doing a month at a time…and I'll simply write in the assignments for each day…for each subject…for each child.

Now that I have 5 school aged children, I bought a personal book for my 9th grader since he is learning to schedule his own assignments for each week…and then I have a "master book" that has enough scheduling spots in it for the other 4 children…so I have them all in one place.  (I use The Well Planned Day, but there are other options out there.)

Here's the deal: the kids don't get free time until they are done with their assignments for the day.  This motivates them to stay on task.  Older kids can do most of their work independently.  That includes correcting their own math work/tests.  The only thing I need to continue to oversee with a student 6th grade and higher is their writing.

The youngest children need me for most of their work…so that is what I spend the bulk of my time doing every morning.  (This should encourage you younger moms.  Home educating is the most intense when they are younger.  Keep sowing those seeds and working that soil!  You will reap if you faint not!)

So I don't care if they do math first…or science first…or practice their instrument first.  The order doesn't matter.  And I don't care if they take 3 hours to get their math done because they are in the mood to dawdle.  It's no skin off my back.  They just have less free time.

For the older ones, that is enough motivation to keep on keeping on…until they finish all their assignments for the day.  For the younger ones…they have me to keep them "on task"…and yes, while we do have days where I'm pulling my hair out spending an hour on a 10 minute math lesson with an ornery 6 year old, that is not the "norm".  (At least, that's what I tell myself when I'm in the middle of it.)

Strategy #4-The more we get done in the morning…the better.

I used to plan a few subjects for morning…and a few more for the afternoon, but I found over time that little ones (and moms!) are freshest in the morning.  You'll sail through a lot more in a lot less time if you "hit the books" first thing after breakfast…and keep plowing through until you're done.  I'm usually completely finished with all my littles by lunch if I really stay focused.  And then the afternoon is wide open for free time, naps, or projects.

Strategy #5-Who says school has to get done in 5 days out of 7?

A few years ago I started questioning everything I had always assumed about life, including education.  I felt like I was in a real cultural "box"…and…why?  Like there's some kind of "box" police that makes sure you stay in? I decided to get out.  That's one of the reasons our oldest finished high school two years before he was "supposed to".

Who says you have to be in "such-and-such" grade at "such-and-such" age?  Who says you have to learn to read at age 5?  Why not age 3?  Why not age 9? Who says you have to spend 6-7 hours a day "doing school"?  Who says a lot of things?  Hey…if you are home educating…you're already outside the box.  Might as well kick that box down the street and be done with it for good.  Once you're out…you are free to make decisions that are best for each individual child…and for your very special family!

I purposefully plan their assignments so that the bulk of their weekly responsibilities are done in 4 days instead of 5.  Oh…we still do some things on Friday…spelling, grammar, handwriting, etc.  But they are usually the things that could be skipped in a pinch…and it wouldn't hurt anything.

And that's just the point.  Things need to be skipped.  Life happens.  Kids get sick.  You get pregnant.  Dr. appointments.  Unexpected phone calls that last too long.  Out of town company…that stays too long.  You know what I'm talking about.  And if you're already three days (or three weeks!) behind…that can start to feel overwhelming.

BUT…if you have this "extra day" built into your life…it really comes in handy!  That ends up being "make up" day.  And we use it all the time.  Sometimes you'll use it just to go to the zoo…or visit grandparents.  The point is…it's there when you need it.

Strategy #6-Have different "toddler spaces" to occupy the smallest members of the family during school.

I like to have my toddlers close, but I don't want to be required to watch them like a hawk.  So babies that are crawling or walking get "contained" close by, and often, the older toddler type will play with that baby happily while I am able to read or help the older ones with school.

My "containers"?  Downstairs is our play room complete with couch, so I can actually let the toddlers go free down there while I read to older ones on the couch.  It's a safe room, and I can keep one eye on the book and one eye on the toddlers.  They love that freedom, but if the baby gets into too much trouble, I do have a playpen nearby, and I'll just put them in there and continue reading.  If the baby fusses because they can see me, I'll put some child-friendly music on, and the rest of us will move upstairs to finish up.  I've noticed that babies do better playing on their own if they can't visually see "mama".

Another "container" is the Johnny Jump Up which is centrally located in our sun room and within view of the kitchen, the dining room, and the family room.  I'll let the baby jump and spin in that contraption while I make meals, fold laundry, or help older ones with their math or English.

A third "container" is the play yard in our family room.  This is basically a plastic fence that makes a "yard" much bigger than a play pen.  The baby can walk, crawl, dance, and play in there with 1-2 siblings.  The rest of us can watch our science video in there, do more reading together, or just take a break while the baby is happy.

My other "baby strategy" is having the older children take a turn each day "babysitting" the baby...basically playing with them outside on the swing, letting them crawl in the yard, etc.  While one child is "babysitting"...I can get a lot done with another child.  And then they just switch!

Strategy #7-Plan for the most challenging time of the day…that hour right before dinner.

Around 4:00, for better or for worse, I allow the youngest children an hour to watch a DVD while I focus on dinner prep.  Having all the little ones happily engaged in a DVD for an hour enables me to unwind, pick up the main level so it looks decent for my husband's arrival, and get dinner on the table without dealing with 257 interruptions and 13 meltdowns which tend to make for a messy house, a late dinner, and a frazzled wife.

I do try to be selective about the entertainment our children watch.  Educational DVDs like the Leap Frog series (which will teach your children to read by osmosis) are good choices.  Another option is to let them watch old family videos.  They love to see their older siblings when they were "little"...and enjoy watching themselves and their own silly antics on the screen as well.  It brings back memories of past family fun and helps keep those memories alive!

We can all be visionary about education. Education is, bottom line, humans learning about our Creator and what He created.  That means that education is happening in exciting ways every day, in every circumstance, in every life that lives under our roofs.  Once we have that "big picture" truly settled in our hearts, the details…like what curriculum we use, what schedule we adopt, or which child learns what at what time…all come together somehow in God's unique plan for each of us!

And we can joyfully rest in that.

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Written by Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer

This year is going to be our first year homeschooling. I'm excited! My first is finally 3.5 years old, meaning she's old enough for "preschool" now. She also has a strong interest in learning, and I can't wait to get started with her in a couple weeks.

We've chosen to do what I call "project-based" homeschooling this year. We haven't chosen any particular curriculum or books to work out of. In fact, the few times I've sat down with her and tried to do a "lesson" in any traditional way (using free internet resources), she's balked and it's been quickly abandoned. My early attempts at this new method, though, have been met with excitement and interest -- and she's learned! Isn't that the goal?

What Is "Project-Based?"

Instead of focusing on specific skills or small activities from workbooks, we do projects that incorporate a large number of different skills. These projects are based on real-world situations and activities that teach needed skills in a natural environment. Since "unschooling" really appeals to us, working with our children's skills and interests is really important to us, much more so than any structure curriculum. Even more so because our kids are so young (my 2-year-old is sometimes also involved).

A project might involve friends, a field trip, and several different activities. One project we've started is to create "grocery flashcards." Each card has a picture of a (mom-approved) snack, the name of the snack, and a price. I'll give my daughter a certain amount of money she can "spend" when we go grocery shopping. She'll use her cards to choose what she can afford. She's learning math, budgeting, reading, and the basic "how to grocery shop" all at once. She's excited about it because she gets to do something real and she feels like a grown up when she helps me shop! And she's working on her math and reading and life skills at the same time.

That's what I mean about "projects." We create different projects ourselves that help learning.

Why Project-Based?

My goal in teaching my children is to prepare them for life, for being functional adults in society. My goal isn't to make sure they can do bookwork and take tests, which is what it seems like most schools these days are focused on.

Real life isn't about workbooks and tests. Instead, we usually combine our skills. Driving a car, for example, combines physical dexterity, reading, math, and other skills. Grocery shopping, which I mentioned above, also combines reading, math, budgeting, and even interpersonal skills. It's not necessary to isolate skills and say, "We're going to study math. And then reading. And then science." Especially with young children! These are real-life situations that they can "study" and learn from.

Doing projects also allows us to go with our children's interests. For example, both my older kids (I also have a newborn) enjoy sun, moon, stars, and other "solar" things. They have enjoyed looking up pictures and facts about them, attending exhibits about them, and even watching the documentary "From the Earth to the Moon" (my 3.5 year-old says "It's the only Daddy's show I like"). It happens that my dad works at NASA, so someday we'll take them there to see everything, too. That's science, but it directly appeals to their interests.

Image by Dave Dehetre

Projects We're Doing

This year we're working on a lot of porjects. I take into account my kids' interests and the skills they need to learn (and want to learn -- they're both into numbers and letters right now). Here are some examples of projects we're planning:

• Zoo Animals: We'll use our membership to visit the zoo, take pictures of many different animals.  Then we'll make a scrapbook of the animals and look up what they eat, where they live (we'll look at maps), how big they get, etc.  This will encompass science (animals), reading (learning letters/animal names), art (creating scrapbook), math (size of animals), and more.
• Gardening: We've spent a lot of time out in the garden through the summer, learning to identify plants and weeds, how to know when to harvest plants, and how to prepare or preserve them once they're inside.  In the fall, we'll be growing some plants inside in clear containers so they can see how roots grow, then tinting the water so they can see how plants drink.  This is primarily science, but also cooking/food preparation.
• Nature Walk: Once fall hits, we'll be taking a walk through local woods.  We'll identify herbs and other plants we find.  We'll collect leaves and other bits and create a collage of them.  This is science and art.
• Pizza Party: We'll do this with friends!  I'll prepare the toppings, but I'll let the kids help make the dough, then make their own pizzas.  They'll learn science (how food cooks), math (measuring ingredients), art (creating food is still art!), food preparation, and interpersonal skills.
• Alphabet Book: My daughter and I are already doing this.  I created a booklet for her and we're writing in all the letters, and choosing words that are meaningful to her for each of them.  Then she'll decorate it.  She's already walking around telling people, "A is for apple!" (she knows we're going apple picking soon and loves this) and other things.  Because it's something she's done she remembers better.  She's learning letters and art, and possibly other subjects (if we learn more about the words she chooses).

There's more we're doing, but those are the major projects we have so far.  As time goes on and my kids' interests and knowledge evolve, we'll choose new projects. We will also involve them in the projects we're doing.  Last year, my husband created an air-powered rocket that fired homemade paper rockets.  The kids got to decorate their own rockets, then help fire the rocket (not dangerous since it was just air, pumped up with a bicycle pump).  They got to chase them and retrieve them too -- gym class!

One of our many adventures this summer: throwing rocks in a creek!

Enjoying Learning

Doing these projects really helps to contribute to enjoying learning.  And it doesn't insult my kids' creativity or knowledge because we're working right at their level, whatever that may be.

There are lots of great resources online that you can find so you don't have to create your own materials, but some projects really don't require "materials" per se (like the pizza party).  Don't think fancy, just think interesting, age-appropriate, and real life!

Youtube is a great resource for videos, if you pre-screen them.  There are Bible-based coloring pages we've used (although truthfully my kids prefer the open-endedness of blank papers instead).  And of course, you should have the usual paper, pencils, crayons, and other basic school supplies, so that if inspiration strikes -- you can go with it!

Honestly, the biggest challenge for us this fall will be finding the time to do all this fun stuff amid playdates, naps, and caring for a newborn!  But we'll make it work and we'll enjoy it, too.  I personally can't wait!

Quick Note

This isn't really related to the subject of this post, except that it's a project I've been working on (I've had some "help" from my kids, too, though mostly in the form of taste testers, a job they love!).  Yesterday I released my newest cookbook, Treat Yourself: Real Food Desserts.  I'm offering some pretty awesome launch specials: DESSERTLAUNCH35 for 35% off through tonight (usually sells for $7.95), and DESSERTLAUNCH20, for 20% off through Friday, 9/2.

What style of homeschooling do you use? And what are your homeschooling plans for this new school year?

Top image by Steven Depolo

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• Q&A: Homemaking and Mothering
• All Ready for Another Year of Home Educating!
• Homeschooling Throughout the Summer
• Learning resources for little ones

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Written by Beth Corcoran, Contributing Writer

When I tell people that we homeschool year round, I usually get one of two responses.  I often hear from homeschooling families, “Oh, we try to do that, too.”  And then I often hear, “Why on earth would you do that to yourself and your poor kids?”

Well, don’t feel too sorry for my kids.  They are managing just fine.  In fact, summer time is our favorite time of the year to do school. Let me tell you all about it.

What Our Family Does During School Time

During the summer, I let my kids choose the subjects they want to study. We still do math and reading every day, but anything else we do is delight directed.  I have 6 kids, ages 9 and under.

Right now, we are doing something called Hero Training Camp.  It’s a fantastic VBS type program that focuses on strengthening your conscience to do what is right.  We are also working through Opal Wheeler’s Great Musician series.  Our kids really love those books.

When We Work

During the summer we have a much more laid back approach to our schedule than we do during the school year. Here in Oklahoma, it’s been over 100 degrees each day for who knows how long.  It’s just awful outside.  So the kids can only go out to play first thing in the morning and then late in the evening.  During the rest of the day, we are inside the house or off running errands.  We just do school when we can.

The Benefits of Homeschooling Throughout the Summer

I do not claim to be a homeschooling expert.  I have only been doing it for three years now.  However, it became very obvious to me early on that the traditional school-free summer was not going to work for our family. Instead, we have seen many great benefits in schooling year round.

(Note: Even if you do not homeschool your children throughout the regular school year, these concepts can still be applied to your family.)

Structure

Homeschooling throughout the summer has provided more structure for our days.  We typically aren’t too rigid during the summer because I love to be able to drop what we are doing to meet friends at the park, and so forth.

But, the kids have some predictability in their schedule and that really helps. It is especially helpful if you have children like some of mine who have a real need for predictable patterns.  My kids know to expect “field trips” each week such as library time on Mondays, farmer’s market on Wednesdays, etc.

Valuing Learning

When the traditional school year was created, it served a purpose.  Much of America was rural at that point, and the children couldn’t be expected to be in school during planting through harvest time.  They were needed at home to work.  Although we live in a far less agrarian society, the typical August-May school year has become a cultural norm.

But our family got to thinking about this norm.  What does it teach our children about the value of work and learning?  We wanted our kids to see that there is the possibility to learn in everything we do.  We never have to take a vacation from learning. And finally, we didn’t want our kids to believe that school and learning were so boring and tedious that they had to take three months off from it each year.

So my husband and I try to teach our kids that it is important to work hard at whatever we do.  And we can learn about our world and still enjoy it, too.

Photo credit: natashalcd

Less Stress

Homeschooling throughout the year has been great for relieving pressure to get everything done.  Since I have extra months in my school year, I don’t feel the need to fret if we have to skip school days here and there because of illness or behavior issues.

Also, because we have spread out our time, we can take more breaks throughout the year.  If we are feeling worn down, we can take a week off of school if need be.  I do, however, understand that this may not be the case in some areas where the homeschooling rules are tighter than they are here in Oklahoma.

Better Retention

Do you remember when you were a kid and you went back to school in August only to have forgotten everything you were taught the previous year?  Flipping through my kids’ school books shows me that it is pretty much expected that kids will have forgotten a good portion of the material over the summer.  It seems that the first half of a lot of books are geared towards review.

By continuing with the lessons and the drilling throughout the summer, kids don’t forget what they learned previously. Most of the time, we end up just skipping the first half of the textbooks since we don’t need the extra review.  Instead, we are able to spend more time on working through new concepts.

More Fun!

During the summer, it seems there are many more opportunities to teach our children creatively.  There are reading programs at the library, outdoor festivals, farmer’s markets, and all kinds of fun activities. (When it’s not 110 degrees, of course!) When I am actively searching for educational things to do with my kids, we are more likely to incorporate a lot of what our community has to offer.

We do try to take a vacation each summer, and we try to make our vacation something where intentional learning will take place.  This year, we went to Yellowstone National Park.  It was a very fun time, and on top of having an enjoyable trip, we were able to effortlessly turn it into a lesson about volcanoes and wildlife.

Learning can happen anywhere, especially if we are intentional. This is true year round, but the summer seems to have so much extra to offer.

So, if you’ve ever thought about summer schooling, I want to encourage you that it is really not scary.  In fact, it has been quite a blessing for my children and for me.  The schooling time can be quite formal or quite relaxed—whatever works for your family dynamic.  It’s really just about turning the fun activities of summer into intentional times of learning.

Do you school throughout the summer?  What does your family do?

Top photo credit: wsh1266

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As I take some downtime this winter to recover and allow my body some time to heal, I am also contemplating my schedule for the upcoming months.

One of my major goals has been to clear a lot of the busyness off of my plate, making my schedule more realistic with a whole lot more margin for rest, the regular interruptions of daily life (messes, unexpected visitors, phone calls, etc.) and mostly for being able to stop and savor those golden moments that present themselves, whether they're with my children or husband, a friend, or a stranger.

Next week I'll be taking an overnight personal retreat, to give myself some time and space to really seek the Lord and plan productively. These are always cherished times that allow me to return home refreshed, inspired and ready to move forward in my roles as a wife, mother, homemaker and child of God.

Whenever I take time to plan, working on scheduling, homemaking details or anything of that nature, one of the first places that I go is to ListPlanIt. I've now had a membership there for over a year and I truly love it and use it.

How I Use My Lists

Meal Planning

The meal planning pages are among my most used. I like them for taking inventory of what food I already have, for making lists of my favorite recipes, and for both weekly and monthly meal planning. I'm also a big fan of making my own customized grocery shopping lists.

Blog & Business

Perfect for planning out my editorial calendars, where I plan posts a month or more in advance, as well as my general weekly blogging to-do lists.

Daily Organization

Rather than buying a planner, for the last year or two I've just been printing out weekly and monthly planning calendars to put into my homemaking binder.

Homemaking

I've asked Jennifer to create a list that will actually do my house cleaning for me, but she keeps insisting it can't be done (I wish, right?) She has, however, made a handy monthly cleaning chart that helps me stay mostly on top of the cleaning chores, anyways.

It's also easier to keep track of my three growing kiddos and their sizes and clothing needs using the clothes inventories. They allow me to track multiple children/clothing sizes on the same page, so I have one for my son and another for my two daughters.

Gardening

Seed starting and planting was made simpler last year with this list to help keep me right on track.

Moving

When we started planning to move last spring, the very first thing I did was print out moving pages and start a moving binder. It helped me to see at a glance what tasks needed to be done and when, as well as keep track of what had been packed in each of the rooms of the house, including an inventory I made of the contents of each box.

Want to Get a Taste of the Lists That I Use and Love?

ListPlanIt has generously made an exclusive ePlanner just for Keeper of the Home readers, including 8 of my favorite lists. If you're at all interested in getting a ListPlanIt membership of your own, this is a perfect way to check it out and see how helpful the lists are. Print them off, add them to your homemaking binder or planning system of choice, and enjoy!

Download the free Keeper of the Home ePlanner.

New- Home Education ePlanners!

This I am excited about! As a young homeschooling mama with my oldest in Gr.1 and my second rapidly approaching kindergarten, I am already seeing a greater and greater need to coordinate what I am doing for each child, in each subject, in an orderly fashion. Getting organized now will make it so much easier when I'm homeschooling 4 kids or 6 kids (or 10 kids!).

I got got my first glimpse of a Home Education ePlanner the other day and I have to say that I'm pretty stoked about what they include! I will definitely be using these to keep better track of what we're doing, the curricula we're using, progress we're making, our schedule, etc. Here's a taste of what's included (there are 23 lists in all):

• Lesson Planner
• Circle Time Planner
• Goals by Subject
• Multi-Student Planner
• Our Home Education Day
• Field Trip Ideas and Log

I'm giving away a 1-year Print Membership and 3 Home Education ePlanners!

Would you like to win? Here's how to get entered:

(Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Tell me how you would use your ListPlanIt membership or ePlanner (you can take a look through the type of lists that they offer here).

2. Subscribe to Keeper of the Home to get regular, free updates of each new post. You can subscribe by RSS, or get each post in your email inbox (as an added bonus, each month we choose a winner out of all our email subscribers, and this month's giveaway happens to be a chance at more ListPlanIt memberships!).

3. Share this giveaway through Twitter, Facebook, your blog or other social media of choice, and let me know what you did (you can find Keeper of the Home on both Twitter and Facebook as well).

4. Subscribe to ListPlanIt's newsletter.

Giveaway ends Tuesday, January 25th at 4pm (PST).Giveaway has now ended.

This post is sponsored by ListPlanIt, an online membership site where you can instantly access hundreds of lists to help you order your kitchen and meals, finance, time management, family matters, memories, moving and more.

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Written by Stacy Karen, Contributing Writer

It never ceases to amaze me just how much joy a simple act of kindness can bring. A thoughtful card often takes very little effort, yet provides so much encouragement.

Taking the time to create something for another helps build character in our kids. It trains their mind and heart to pay attention to the needs of others.

While anytime is a good time for card making, the holiday season provides a perfect excuse for creating heartfelt treasures to share. It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated; in fact, it is quite possible to make cards in a simple, green, and frugal way.

Below is a picture of a few cards my family made to give during Thanksgiving.

These were made from a thin box (food packaging), a paper grocery sack, crayon shavings, a magazine, wax paper, parchment paper (used and wiped clean), glue, marker, and paint. All items we had on hand.

And here are a few Christmas cards made from construction paper, paint, newspaper, an old Christmas card, a cardboard box, raffia, and a button:

To make the above cards (and a few others), we filled our kitchen table with anything we could find around the house that might be useful. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but it took me a while to come up with anything good.

In case you’re like me, and it takes some time for your brain to make sense of all the odds and ends, here are a few tips I learned from our two-day card fest (I told you it took me a while to come up with anything good)!

Tips for frugal and green card making with kids:

A few days before you plan to make cards, designate a box or container to house materials. Throw in anything that might be useful: paper scraps, fabric scraps, food packaging, envelopes, calendars, and so on. Anything goes. Be creative and think outside the box.

What to use for the card part of the card:

• Paper grocery sacks
• Used file folders
• Thin boxes (such as cereal boxes, cracker boxes, some mailing boxes, thick envelopes)
• Construction paper
• Computer paper that has been used on one side (glue printed pages together).

What to use for embellishments (or what to decorate the card with):

The possibilities are endless. Definitely dig around in the back of the craft closet and use up the leftover craft supplies. Surely there’s some glitter hiding in there!

• Parchment paper
• Scrap paper
• Scrap fabric
• Old clothing that can be cut up
• Buttons (we all have a collection of them somewhere!)
• Paint
• Magazines – cut shapes from colorful pages. Cut strips and glue onto card or cardboard for background.
  Kids often want to cut around people or objects in a magazine, show them how to cut their own shapes out of colorful pictures instead.
• Newspaper – cut shapes and then paint (as I did with the Christmas tree pictured above).
• Make stamps with potatoes and apples
• If you have corn husks on hand, you could follow Martha Stewart's instructions and make leaves from those. Very pretty (and biodegradable)!
• Cut leaf templates out of cardstock or a cereal box so they can be used over and over again.
• I’m sure you can think of many more!

Basic card construction with a cereal box and grocery sack:

Cut out square or rectangle from a cereal box (make it at least twice as wide as you want it to be).

Cut a similar shape from a paper grocery sack, making it a little larger.

Cover the printed side of the cereal box with glue.

Place printed side of grocery sack on glued side of cereal box. (The sides do not need to match up exactly.)

Let dry. Cut card to size and fold.

Optional: May fold outside edges of grocery sack over inside of card to make borders (see third picture above).

This makes a basic card that can now be decorated any way you choose.

Using Old Christmas Cards – 3 Ways

Many people only sign their name to the bottom of a card and write nothing else; this leaves a lot of room for re-use!

1. For younger children, simply cut off the front of the Christmas card and glue to some folded construction paper or a cereal box card. Write your own message inside.

2. Cut a large rectangular shape from construction paper (or other paper) and glue over the message and signatures. Write your own message. (This may seem tacky to some, a little too much like re-gifting. Do you think so?)

3. Cut around shapes and characters on the front of cards and glue to your own card base.

3-D stickers are great for making cut-out Christmas cards look snazzy (yes, I just used the word snazzy!), but you don’t have to buy them, make your own: simply cut a strip from a box  and glue to the back of a picture. Then glue the other side onto the card. Voila! Your very own 3-D card!

A lot of excellent ideas for reusing greeting cards can be found here.

I’ve posted more card making tips and tutorials, including instructions for the stain-glass window card (using crayon shavings) on my blog.

However you choose to create cards for friends and loved ones, it will be a blessing. You can take it one step further by praying for the recipient once you are finished making their card.

Do you have any tried and true methods for making cards from recycled or re-purposed materials?

Top image by Lauren Manning

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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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As a homeschooling mama who is just in her beginning years, I loved reading through this post! It really illustrates the type of learning environment that my husband and I aspire to develop in our home. There are so many excellent ideas here, and I hope that you will be both inspired and also that you will share some of the ways that you are creating rich and meaningful learning opportunities for your own family!

*******

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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While we don't specifically use Waldorf methods in our home (simply because I've never studied about it myself), I think that there are a lot of similarities in our philosophy of how we would like our children to learn and play, especially as home educators.  I've really enjoyed learning more about the Waldorf method from guest poster Cara!

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

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For those who were interested after last week's post on the curriculum I've chosen, here is our daily schedule for home educating this fall:

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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