Blueberry Picking!

95 degrees and humid can only mean one thing around here...the blueberries are ready to be picked!



There is something so calming, almost therapeutic about picking blueberries. Reaching high and low to find that perfect cluster of berries, blue all around. Gathering them, a few at a time, being carefully not to drop any as you slip them into your basket.



I hear my little guy reminding his sister to only pick the blue ones, "leave the red and greens ones on the bush," he says. He is my "Official Blueberry Inspector" he takes this job very seriously. :)

This sweet girl of mine could pick all day long, just like her mama. She isn't as precise as her brother but, for her it is more about the experience of picking and not the actual berries.

And then, there is my youngest who, just like with strawberry picking, was just there to eat what we picked!



These times of us "picking", whether that be blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, apples or pumpkins, have truly become one of my favorite family traditions. The anticipation and excitement leading up to the different seasons is a joy in itself. The tastes and smells that come from the kitchen after we pick? Might just trump everything else!

Homeschooling 2015-2016

As I have been preparing for our homeschool year to begin next month, these words remain in my mind, making sure that whatever I provide for my children is "wholesome and nourishing".

After spending countless hours researching curriculum, reading reviews, scouring catalogs and pinterest, I always came back to the same principles and ideas found in the writings of Charlotte Mason:

To train my children in the use of good habits and build a biblical foundation. To read aloud living literature and enrich their atmosphere with handicrafts, art, music, and poetry. To provide many opportunities to explore and gain an appreciation for the wonders of God's creation. When they are ready, gently begin to introduce reading, writing, and math through informal activities.

Kindergarten Curriculum:

Bible:
Memorize scripture throughout the year using the Scripture Memory System
Unwrapping The Greatest Gift - Ann Voskamp
We will read and discuss one story a week leading up to the week of Christmas when we will read the last five stories each day.
Coloring Pages for each story

Habits:
The habits of Attention, Obedience, and Truthfulness will continue to be our main focus this year.
A Child's Book of Character Building Volume 1
Living Books
Various Games
*I will share more about habit training in detail soon!

Reading/Language:
I thought about purchasing Delightful Reading from simplycharlottemason.com but I am going to hold off and apply CM's reading instructions on my own.
Language and Thinking for Young Children - Ruth Beechick
Vocabulary Building Notebook
Homemade Word Books
Word Search

Math:
Calendar
Family Math - Stenmark
Counting Bears
Manipulatives from around the house
Cash Register

Handwriting:
Handwriting Without Tears - Kindergarten (Thanks to my sister!)
Homemade Books
Family Mailbox
Writing Wednesday (write letters or cards to family and friends)
Journal Entry (Fridays only)

Social Studies:
Five In A Row Volumes 1 and 2 (FIAR)
Follow along as we travel around the world and visit places near and far!
AUSTRAILIA: Katy No Pocket (Before Five in a Row)
FRANCE: Mirette on the High Wire and The Glorious Flight
ITALY: Papa Picolo and The Clown of God
SPAIN: Ferdinand
Christopher Columbus unit study
ENGLAND: The Tale of Peter Rabbit
UGANDA: Beatrice's Goat (Not a FIAR book)
THANKSGIVING: Pilgrims First Thanksgiving, A Pioneer Thanksgiving, and Cranberry Thanksgiving
CHRISTMAS: Unwrapping the Greatest Gift, Truth in the Tinsel, "Christmas Around the World"
CANADA/ARCTIC: The Very First Last Time
RUSSIA: Another Celebrated Dancing Bear
GERMANY: A New Coat for Anna
SCOTLAND: Wee Gilis
PERU:
INDIA: Monsoon Afternoon (Not a FIAR book)
CHINA: The Story of Ping
POLAND/ISREAL: Mrs Katz and Tush
EASTER: A Sense of the Resurrection
JAPAN: A Pair of Red Clogs and Grandfather's Journey (San Fransisco)
NEW ENGLAND: Night of the Moon Jellies
KANSAS: Climbing Kansas Mountains
NEW YORK: Little Red Lighthouse
OHIO: Lentil
SOUTH: Down, Down the Mountain

Other Resources:
Usborne Animal Atlas
World Map
Map Skills through hands-on learning

Science:
Nature Study:
Birds
Clouds
Trees (Leaves)
Trees (Acorns)
Trees (Pine Cones/Needles)
Trees (Bark)
Ice/Snow
Buds/Sprouts
Tadpoles
Butterflies

Usborne Book of Science Activities Volumes 1 and 2
Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature

Poetry:
Favorite Poems Old and New
Now We Are Six
Sing a Song of Popcorn

Music, Art, Hymns:
Listen to classical music as well music from the countries we will be "visiting"
Picture Study using an assortment of art books as well as books from FIAR
Learn one new hymn every month

Handicrafts:
Lacing
Beginner Carpentry Skills
Weaving
Painting
Clay Sculpting


WHEW!

Now to restock the craft supplies and we are ready to begin!

REVISED CURRICULUM: PART ONE
REVISED CURRICULUM: PART TWO

A Quiet Growing Time

“In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother’s first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air” (Vol. 1, p. 43)./i>

My children's days are filled with wonder and excitement, curiosity and observation, laughter and some days lots of tears. They spend most of their days at home, learning alongside me. We take long walks and leave plenty of time to stop and stare at a flower just beginning to bloom or a wiggly worm after a summer rain.

We don't accept every playdate invitation or participate in all the events our community has to offer. We pick and choose based on what is best for our whole family mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.



"Secure for them a quiet growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life"

When I read this quote by Charlotte Mason I envision a boat rocking in the water, strong waves crashing into it. But, even though that boat is being pushed and pulled in different directions it is not going to stray bc at the bottom of the sea is an anchor holding it secure.

Somedays I feel as if I am living on that boat when it comes to my children's early years of learning. Our culture tells us we need to be doing more. More sports, more lessons, more playdates, more formal preschool. I am striving to keep that anchor deep in the sea, to secure a quiet growing time for my children, all the while the waves of outside pressure to do more comes crashing in.



I have to be intentional with each day. I have to look at the bigger picture and not just the momentary joy an activity may bring. I know my children's limits and sometimes I nudge them, other times I push them and then we all regret it.

Charlotte Mason didn't encourage formal academics until a child was 6 years of age. The more I read her words the more I have to agree with her.
History lessons will always be there. Math worksheets with always be there. Copying the same letter over and over again will always be there. You know what wont always be there? The carefree days of childhood.

The one thing I consistently hear from veteran homeschool moms is that if they could go back to the beginning they wouldn't have done as many activities, and they would have spent more time snuggled up on the couch reading good books aloud to their children. That is just what we are going to do this year!

Simple. Gentle. Steady. Quiet. Secure.

Home, Sweet Home

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble there's no place like home!
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere:
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home
There's no place like Home!
There's no place like Home!

I gaze on the moon as I tread the drear wild
And feel that my mother now thinks of her child
As she looks on the moon from our own cottage door
Through the woodbine whose fragrance shall cheer me no more.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home...

An exile from home splendor dazzles in vain
Oh, give me my low, thatched cottage again,
The birds singing gaily that come at my call,
Give me them with that peace of mind, dearer than all.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home...

How sweet 'tis to sit neath a fond father's smile,
And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile.
Let others delight 'mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh give me the pleasures of home.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home...

To thee I'll return overburdened with care,
The hearts dearest solace will smile on me there
No more from that cottage again will I roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home...

Written by: John Howard Payne (1791-1852), 1823

Wonder

The wonder of a child is a beautiful thing. The fascination in their eyes as they watch a snail slowly make its way across the sidewalk.
Or the worm wiggle through the soil in the planter out back. The way they notice the details of the birds that gather seeds from the feeders.

Wonder.

The way a child gazes up at the clouds and wonders how they got there and then you, their mom, get to explain it to them. And of course you can't forget to lay in the grass and find shapes and figures in the fluffy white clouds. The first time they catch lightning bugs in a jar or blow the seeds of a dandelion and make a wish.

Wonder.

Day after day they look out the window and see if the tiny sprout has grown any more. One morning a big beautiful brightly colored lily is in full bloom. Observing the leaves change colors on the trees, green to yellow, red or orange. Collecting acorns just like the squirrels and chipmunks. That first snow fall. Breathtakingly beautiful. Eyes wide and eager to play.

Wonder.

Learning how to measure flour, crack eggs, and cut in butter to then roll out a perfect pie crust. Filled with cinnamon apples of course. Taking time out of our day to brew a cup of tea and excited to use the fancy cups. Sometimes teatime is intentional other times it's out of necessity.

Wonder.

Reading aloud good books with exciting plots and storylines, anxious to hear what happens next. Learning to read those same words that I have been reading. The lightbulb moment when they get it.

Wonder.

Their little lives are full of wonder. Full of things to understand. Full of places to explore. Full of new concepts to grasp. Five and half years ago I held my oldest boy for the first time and I was full of wonder. I have been blessed to walk beside him as he discovers this great big blue and green marble we call earth. This earth that was created by our heavenly father. This earth that is filled with His glory. Oh, what a wonderful world it is. In a few weeks we officially begin Kindergarten and honestly, not much will change from what we do now. We will continue to wonder at all of God's creation. We will explore and discover. We will observe and create. We will love our neighbors both near and far. I will do my best to document our year but, I too get caught up in the moment of wonder.