We're Studying the Ocean

We're tying up some loose ends here in our homeschool. L is on track to finish up his first grade work in the next week or so, which is amazing, really, when I consider how much time I've spent sick this year. We'll take maybe a week off, and then dive into second grade, with V doing some preschool work as well.

In the meantime, we've started a unit on the ocean, which may take up the better part of the summer. We're landlocked, here in north Texas, but we've planned some field trips to the aquarium, the fish store, and maybe a fish market.

Our kitchen renovation is at that horrible stage where we have stuff all over the house, so I've moved us to the back porch for school, until the kitchen is done, or it gets too hot to tolerate, whichever comes first. (We have finally gotten the cabinets ordered, and we're hoping to finish up in the next month or so.)

I put up some ocean themed fabric over the windows for fun, and set up a little activity center with shells and shell identification books, among other things.

Ocean activity center.

Since we don't have a real beach, we fabricated a pretend one, shown here, with seashells and sand toys.

Sand box "beach."

We're relying heavily on the awesome DK Eyewitness books and movies, as well as another great DVD series which I'll be reviewing shortly.

As usual, Pinterest is bursting with cool ocean themed ideas. (You can check out my ocean themed Pinterest board here.)

Second Grade Curriculum Choices

First grade is nearly over at our house. We have a vacation coming up at the end of this month, and we'll tie up the rest of our loose ends in May. It's been a year full of hills and valleys here. We didn't get as much done as I'd wanted, (will we ever?) but we did enough. 

It's time to plan for next year. We typically homeschool through out the summer, so second grade is just around the corner for us. 

Second grade homeschool curriculum.

We're going to be starting a new schedule for next year. Instead of taking several large chunks of time off though out the year, we're going to try taking a two week break every 5-6 weeks. I read about schools overseas using a similar schedule on someone's blog a while back, and it stuck with me. I love the idea of having built in breaks to keep us all from burning out, and I feel like I'll have more time to plan during the breaks.

We've purchased most of the necessary  curriculum, and I've tentatively come up with a weekly schedule for us.(More on that later.) I thought I'd share some of the curriculum we'll be using next year, in case anyone else is brainstorming for ideas. The list isn't all inclusive, and is subject to change. (Obviously we'll tweak anything that doesn't work. I'm also still on the TOS crew until at least late next fall, so we'll be throwing those review products into the mix as well. ) A few of these products will be used daily, most once or twice a week.

(Also I'm linking to Christianbook.com because they're frequently the cheapest source for new curriculum, but for the record I'm not an affiliate, and don't stand to gain anything from your clicks.)

Math: Singapore 2A/2B

Science/History/Social Studies: We're going to be doing some unit studies that will cover these areas, but additionally, we'll be reading Story of the World, and L will be continuing the Christian Liberty Nature Reader  series. (He really likes these.)

Bible: Aside from the actual Bible, we'll be using Studying God's word Book B (also by Christian Liberty Press, and also a continuation of a series that L has thus far enjoyed.) Additionally, we'll be using the wonderful Seeds Family Worship cds, and a Bible study on Revelation, at L's request.

Reading/Language Arts: We read a lot here. I still believe the best way to learn to read and write is to read and be read lots of books. We'll be continuing with the Little House books, and whatever else strikes our fancy. I've also purchased a Spectrum Language Arts workbook to cover things like parts of speech.

Handwriting: We started using the Draw. Write Now. books some time ago, and just sort of lost steam. We're going to pick those up again, because they're fun, and L can most definitely use the practice. 

Art: Artistic Pursuits

Spanish: I recently found out that our public library offers Mango language lessons for free to card holders. We're going to test drive it, and see what we think. (I've heard good things about Mango, and the price is right.)

Extras: The kiddos are going to be enrolled in Awana again. We're also looking into scouting for L next year.

All told, we're probably looking at about a half day of school work for L. 

Encouragement for My Reluctant Writer

L is what I keep seeing referred to as a "reluctant writer." He's a great reader, and a pretty good speller,but he has no desire to write anything. He can, with some prompting be convinced to write one or two word labels for his Pokemon pictures, or something along those lines, but that's about it.

I think the root issue is that although he's come a long way in the fine motor skills department, writing is still really a lot of work for him.

I decided to capitalize on his love of mail, and try a new method of encouragement. I picked up a notebook for each kid, (because V refuses to be left out of anything,) and I'm going to try to write him a little note several times a week, if not every day, for him to respond to.

I'm not trying to create a ton of extra work for me or him, so we'll be keeping it short. The above entry reads "I hope you are having a good Monday morning. It's a new school week. Can you think of anything you'd like to learn about this week?"

My hope is to maybe help convince him that writing is practical, and useful, and not just "work." We'll see how it goes. 

(Nearly four year old V will be the recipient of a little drawing to color or riddles like "I'm an animal with 4 legs, and a long tail. I say meow. Can you draw me?" )

Revisiting an Old Favorite: Homemade Butter

Butter, before rinsing and salting.

We've made homemade butter before, but we revisited it this week, after reading about how Laura's mama churned their butter. We talked about what a lot of work it would have been to make your own butter, (and virtually everything else,) instead of just jumping in the car, and driving to the grocery store.

As expected, each kiddo shook the jar approximately 5 seconds, leaving me to shake it for the other 20 minutes or so.

V, in her new favorite outfit, (read: dance costume,)  shaking the jar.

I persuaded L to try the buttermilk, which Laura and Mary apparently regarded as such a treat. He declared it "yuck." He was more impressed by the butter, on wheat toast.

The final product.

My mother, born in 1949, says she can remember her grandmother making butter, sometimes with a churn, sometimes with a jar when she was a kid.

A New Adventure: The Prairie Primer

Back to school has been a little bumpy for us here. After much consideration, I've decided that maybe we're ready to try something new.

We're starting a modified version of The Prairie Primer this week. It's modified somewhat because my kiddos are younger than the intended audience. L is reading several years ahead of his grade level, thought so I think we'll be able to make it work. (The Prairie Primer is an in depth unit study based on the Little House on the Prairie series.)


I'm not sure whether we'll spend a few months, a year, or longer on this curriculum, it depends on how the kids take to it. I do love these books though, and this period of history. I think the kids are going to enjoy all the opportunities for hands on projects and experiences.

(I picked up my copy of the curriculum for about half price on Ebay, by the way.)

I've been collecting Little House related ideas for a while on my Pinterest board, and loved the little log cabin  from Delightful Learning.  Here's our version, along with a fluffy pipe cleaner forest, some barrels for food storage, and some "Wild Wild West" characters purchased on sale at Hobby Lobby. (I made the roof removable to make the inside of the house and the attic more accessible.)

Our "Little House."

The kids have already suggested several missing components, like Jack the dog, and the grizzly bear. I think this will be a work in progress for us, but the kids are having a blast with it today.

Homeschool in December

Nativity themed sensory bin, with a little wooden Nativity set from Oriental Trading  Company, and  hay. Messy but fun.

Last year we took the whole month of December off from school. It was wonderful, actually. We read Christmas books, made Christmas crafts, and watched Christmas movies, without my feeling guilty that we "weren't getting anything done."

Christmas themed sensory bin, with mini trees and wreaths to decorate, reindeer, gingerbread men, pine cones, jungle bells, and dyed rice.

This year we aren't quite as far along as I wanted to be with some of the curriculum we're using, so we'll be doing just a bit of formal work, (reading and math,) as well as working with some of the fun curriculum I'm reviewing for TOS. Other than that, we'll be taking it easy, like we did last year.

Christmas I Spy bottle, with dyed pasta, bells, bows, pom poms, letter beads, Christmas themed erasers,  and tiny pine cones.

I like to do lots of baking and crafting in December, and I'm looking forward to including the kids.

If you homeschool, will you be taking time off this month, or working straight through?

Relaxed Workboxes for Relaxed Homeschoolers

I've always liked the idea of workboxes. We're pretty laid back here though, and it seemed maybe a little too structured for us, so I've never really pursued it.

Recently though, I've realized we needed something a little different around here. L is constantly asking me how many more things we have to do for school, which sort of drives me  nuts. I've also realized that although we get through our official lesson plans on a daily basis, we haven't been getting around to doing some of the fun "extras," (things like games and puzzles.)

I recently picked up this toy organizer at a neighbor's garage sale for eight bucks. (It's a slightly smaller version of the ones Target sells for around $30.) We've started using it for our "workboxes," and it's been really helpful for us in several ways.

I load the next days "work" in the box at night. On an given day, our lesson plans might include 5 or 6 different activities. (Remember, we're using Heart of Dakota curriculum, but I am tweaking it slightly.) In the empty, leftover boxes, I include "fun" stuff, which may or may not be related to the  loose theme we're working on.

For instance, right now, we've been learning about "Halloween stuff," which is a pretty broad topic. Some days the empty boxes might include Magic School Bus movies about bats or spiders, Halloween bingo, or candy corn math activities.

Some days the extra boxes are full of activities that don't necessarily fit our topic, but are educational in some way, like board or card games, art assignments, etc.

L can now see what is expected of him, and I think he enjoys being able to see that we'll be doing a mix of "hard stuff," and "fun stuff."

I'm also doing a better job of including "extras" on a day to day basis. All the fun stuff I've been collecting isn't just sitting around collecting dust in the cabinet anymore.

We're using this system pretty informally, but it's working wonders for us.

Ladybug Week

Ladybug display.

We're starting off a unit on insects by learning about ladybugs, and I thought I'd share some of the resources we're using, and activities we're doing. (L is still doing his HOD curriculum, also, in case you were wondering.)

Ladybug sensory bin.

Our sensory bin this week is pretty simple. It consists of red rice, large and small lady bugs, tweezers, and magnifying glasses. V has been having a blast "catching" the ladybugs, and making up little stories about "mommy ladybug," and her "babies."

Our "science center" display.

On our little science center, we've got pictures of ladybugs, a magnifying glass, and a homemade bug box filled with models of the ladybug life cycle, (as seen below.) Get the how to for the bug box here.

Ladybug math.

We've been doing some ladybug math, using the buggy addition and subtraction boards found here, and some ladybug gummy candy from Dollar Tree.

I've set up a tweezing activity for the kids, using the little bug catching kits from Dollar Tree, and pom poms. The kids are to remove the red and black pom poms from the bug jar with the tweezers, and sort them into small baskets.

I also picked up a red rubber ball from the dollar store, and drew black dots all over it with a sharpie. We're using it to practice catching and throwing. (You may or may not remember that L has SPD, and has some motor delays.Things are actually coming along wonderfully in that department, by the way.)

We've been using components from this I is for Insects packet. The kids are especially enjoying the activity cards. Actually, so am I. Their interpretations of the activities are hysterical.

V is enjoying the preschool pack from here, and L has been working on some of the Grouchy Ladybug lapbooking components from homeschool share.

My bug themed Pinterest board is exploding with more fun ladybug ideas, some of which we'll be exploring as time and interest permits.

DIY Writing center

Homemade books, by the 6 year old.

I keep seeing fantastic pictures of homeschool classrooms, with neat little "centers" for the kids to work in.

Our house is small. We have neither a devoted school room, nor many built in niches throughout the house to devote to "centers."

In spite of that, I wanted to set up a little writing area for the kids. L is really into writing little books right now, and V is churning out a steady flow of cute little drawings.

A book about "monsters with belly buttons,"  by the 3 year old.

Here's what I came up with:

We picked up these little plastic shelf things from Ikea on clearance. I have no idea how they were actually meant to be used but they work fine for this. (You could also just set out a couple of wicker baskets or plastic bins on a shelf. )

The bottom bin is filled with all sorts of paper, lined writing paper, computer paper, little note books and scrapbooks, and tiny homemade books, (which have been a great hit around here.)

The middle bin is filled with pencils, colored pencils, and crayons. If my kiddos could be trusted independently with markers, I'd add them too. (But they can't. Somehow the temptation for creating unauthorized murals on the walls is too much...)

The top bin is for "published works," that is, things the kids are finished with. They like showing off their latest creations to their daddy, and whoever comes over. (When it gets too full, I have to cull the masterpieces.)

Although this is a simple idea, it's gotten a lot of use here. The kids are able to help themselves whenever inspiration hits, and also put supplies away when they are finished. I like it because it's cut down on the stacks of paper everywhere, and the dog has been eating less crayons, since the kids aren't leaving them all over the house.

If you're interested in making some of the little paper books, check out this tutorial from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar.

Pond Sensory Bin

The kids have been having fun with our pond sensory bin.

Pond sensory bin.

We've used it with and without water. The kids obviously prefer it with water, but even with such a minute amount, my little ones make a pretty big mess. (I've been making them play with the water on the patio.)

Even without water, it's pretty cool.

The contents are as follows:
*blue and clear glass marbles from Dollar Tree
* white "water lilies" from Dollar Tree
*Craft foam lily pads
*Rubber duckies from the $1 section at Michael's
*Rubber frogs from Dollar Tree
*Teeny plastic frogs, turtles, fish from my local party supply store

Pond Theme Resources (Tons of 'em)

We're starting a pond theme here, and it seems like the timing is just right, because the web is exploding with great pond related ideas and resources.

Our pond themed "center."

(Totally an aside, but I picked up this wooden shelf for $5 at Goodwill last week, and it's just what I was looking for to house our little "center". It's low enough for the kids to access, on wheels, so I can move it as needed, and although it's in pretty good shape, it will be easy to repaint when I get around to it.)

I pulled out our frog and duck Beanie Babies, as well as a large, blue piece of fabric (to use for pretend play), and put together a sensory bin, which I'll be posting about seperately. I found a frog themed puzzle at Dollar Tree, and had a whole set of frog themed math games I found at Goodwill a while back.

Green poster board lilypads will be used to "jump like a frog," "fly like a dragonfly," "swim like a duck," "inch like a snail," and "creep like a turtle," around our pretend pond/living room. Three year old V just eats that sort of thing up.

I forked over 5o cents at the grocery store vending machine, to buy a sticky alien (I really just wanted a sticky hand, but couldn't find one. I figured that would make a pretty neat illustration of a frog's sticky tongue.)

We're planning on visiting a local pet store to check out the frogs and turtles, visit a nearby creek/pond to look for wildlife to photograph, and/or draw, and go on a frog hunt in our back yard at night.

I'm digging out some of my old scrapbook punches, (frogs, dragonflies, ducks, etc,) to use for fine motor practice, and collage materials.

We'll be digging out the old Leap Frog videos to watch again. I know, it's a little bit of a stretch, but they're technically about frogs, and V is  just about the right age for them.

I used elements from the following sites to help plan our activities:

Make a transforming felt frog, from the NWF.

Pond theme from 2 Teaching Mommies.

In the Pond theme, from Totally Tots.

Free frog activities from Kids Soup.

Frog life cycle lesson plan from Wikki Stix.

Frog Life Cycle Craft from DLTK.

Lesson plans, printables, and tons of info at Save the Frogs.

For lots of other web resources, check out my pond themed board on Pinterest.

We'll also be using the following books and resources:



Disclosure: The widget above contains affiliate links.

DIY Nature Journals

We're trying to spend more time outside this summer.

My little man, L, is not much of an outdoorsman. I suspect part of the problem is the sensory aspect. It's bright, and hot, and dirty outside. (All of those are deterrents for my sensory avoider.) The other part is that he persists in being extremely interested in one main topic at a time, pretty much to the exclusion of all other things. (Right now it's Pokemon.) He's not terribly interested in anything that goes on outside...worms, bugs, "exploring," the stuff that other little boys are into.

He did enjoy our recent scavenger hunt assignment, though, and that got me to thinking about other ways to encourage him.

I picked a pack of little notebooks at Hobby Lobby (6 for $3.99, plus they were 40% off,) and did a quick bit of stamping on the cover. I explained to L that it was for writing about, or drawing things we see when we're outside. (I made one for myself too.) He actually sounded excited. My idea is to try to encourage him to find something he wants to journal about, but if he can't think of anything I'll give him a prompt.

Do your little ones like to play outside, or are they reluctant like L? Do you have any tips to share for getting kids excited about nature?

DIY Summer Reading Program

Now that L is reading independently, we're making a point to sign him up for all the summer reading programs offered by local bookstores and the library. We want to really encourage him to read, read, read this summer.

We decided he might need a little extra motivation, though, so we've come up with our own "Summer Reading Program."

I printed a reading log from Book It to track how many minutes he reads every day. We've set a fairly ambitious goal, (for a newish reader, anyway,) but at the end of the summer, if he meets it, he'll get to pick out a Wii or DS game of his choice. (L eats, sleeps, and breathes video games right now. For your kiddo, it might be new Polly Pockets or Lego.)

If you're not opposed to um, external motivation, (some would say bribery,) I think this is a fine way to get a new or reluctant reader excited about reading. My hope, (and expectation,) is that by the end of the summer, he'll realize that reading is not really work, but fun.

Heart of Dakota Progress Report

I just thought I'd check back in with a bit of a progress report on the Heart of Dakota curriculum we're using. We're still loving it. It's totally taken the stress out of homeschooling for me. No more worrying about working out balanced lesson plans, about "covering everything," about "doing things in the right order." I plop open the book, and we go.

L likes the lessons, and the book selection. He's whizzed through the Frog and Toad books. He seems to enjoy the relatively short length of each subject each day. He doesn't seem to fizzle out before we're finished like he sometimes did when I was making up our lesson plans.

In  short, this is the most fun we've had at school in ages. Also, I sort of hate to actually say it, since things can change at any time, but for the first time in a while, I sort of feel like I have things under control here.

In typical fashion though, I'm going to tinker with the plans just a bit.

Instead of doing the HOD plans on Fridays, I have plans to start making Friday sort of a themed day some weeks, just to keep things fresh. We'll be picking a topic, and running with it on those days, reading relevant books, watching related videos, doing projects. This essentially amounts to what I was doing before, just on a much smaller scale. I figure some weeks I'll pick our Friday topic, some weeks I'll ask L what he wants to learn about.

This will in turn cause the Heart of Dakota curriculum (which is based on a 5 day week,) to last a little longer than a year, which should be fine, since we started it at an odd time anyway.

Review: Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory (One Week In)

I recently asked you all for some curriculum recommendations for first grade. (Thanks for the feedback, by the way.) I did some follow up research with all of the suggestions, as well as a few other companies that were on my radar.

In the end, I decided on the Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory curriculum, by Heart of Dakota. (I had actually considered their material for kindergarten, but had been too afraid to commit.) I took the plunge, and went ahead and ordered it, so we could start using it right away.

We're finishing our first week with it, and I have to say, I love it, and so far, so does L.

It requires maybe 5 minutes of prep time, which is a huge plus for me right now. The lesson plans are very complete, covering basically every subject area, (except a foreign language.) It's a Christian curriculum, with both specific Bible lessons, and also biblical tie ins to other subject areas. It takes between 1 and two hours a day to complete, which I'm really happy with. Finally, I thought the price was reasonable. The package I ordered was just under $200.

I have no complaints or negative observations about this curriculum, thus far. I'll check back in later on, and let you know how we're doing with it.

Disclosure: This review was not compensated in any way.