Bells tied on a ribbon... who knew it would keep the 4 month old AND the 2.5 year old entertained for a good 15 minutes?
Over the years, I have tried to use various Montessori methods at home with my babes. Not only do I love the aesthetically pleasing baby toys 😉, but I love how the toys are all open ended for self guided learning and discovery.
Even something as simple as a DIY tactile mobile like a bell tied on a string was great both babes... Quin as she learns how to purposefully hit the string and get a reward (the bell sound) and Lettie had to use her fine motor skills to help me thread the bell on the string! Then she kept helping Quin touch the bell thus inadvertently teaching her!
I remember many years ago voxclarafamily instructing Kolbe how to use a knife to cut her own banana at the age of 3 and my mind was blown. You give a knife to a child??? Don’t worry, it was a table knife but I never thought to let her do it! After that, Kolbe cut all her own bananas and she felt empowered to do it!
Since the banana cutting, I have tried to embrace many more Montessori practices in our home. When buying toys, I try to purchase only open ended ones for a “design your own” play time, I keep plates/cups/silverware on their level so they can get it themselves, I encourage sensory play and learning through that,etc.!
I am SO excited for homeschooling Blaise because many of the things I will be doing with him are more Montessori based. There are tons of home preschool Montessori programs!
My biggest resources for people just starting out... Pinterest for specific Montessori ideas, nickav25’s blog, jackandlinktoys (love their new fb group!), and chickadeeswoodentoys has some amazing sensory ideas for toddlers! I know there are so many wonderful resources out there too that I’m not naming, so if you have a good one, comment and share!
In a world where there are so many resources, materials, bright lights, and flashy toys, I love the simplicity of Montessori and bringing it back to basics. Plus, did I mention, it’s all super aesthetically pleasing? 😉
Happy NOT back to school to my fellow adventure families!
Back to the woods, back to the days of picnic lunches, painting on the lawn, and chasing waterfalls.
Okay so maybe we’ve already been doing those things. Because learning never stops. We learn by doing, by meeting new people, and by experiencing new things. Add in some amazing books and you’ve got the recipe for an amazing education.
So here’s to all my outdoor loving families out there. No matter how you do school! Don’t forget to get dirty and try some new things this school year ❤️.
#thisishowwehomeschool
Let’s talk about cultivating a sense of wonder in children…
Rachel Carson once wrote, "A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.”
Here are a few ways we can help to keep that sense of wonder alight in our children:
🍃 Regularly show surprise, interest, and attraction to the natural world and its happenings! This means you notice everything from the movements of a worm, to the wag of a dog's tail, to the evaporation of a downpour on a hot summer day, to the dew on a spider’s web or the leaves blowing in the breeze.
🍃 Show interest, spontaneous humor, and joy in your child’s daily life.
🍃 Encourage children to freely experiment, taste, feel, hear, see, explore, and get into things that are interesting.
🍃 Show pleasure and delight in every day tasks that keep your home running smoothly.
🍃 Get lost in your own creativity. It’s important for children to see you get lost in your own world of joy!
🍃 Let children choose their own activities based on interests and boredom and not the decisions of another person.
Let’s keep wonder alive in our children’s eyes. Let them risk being themselves without any risk at all. ❤️
What have you showed wonder about this morning? We have been watching hummingbirds on our bee balm this morning! We even heard one tweet!!
Decluttering your space means actually getting rid of stuff. I used to declutter and move my stuff from one room to another and never really felt the weight lifted. That was then and now even looking at this mess, it's way better than having three rooms and closets filled with extra stuff we may or may not use. Currently, this is our space for school storage! I use another closet and some shelves in my laundry room too. It's funny how we have changed over the years in where we prefer to do our work. I encourage you not to mimic public schools and feel the need to have a schoolroom, even if you could and gave an extra room like us. It doesn't have to look, feel or be anything like a stereotypical schoolroom. Make a space that you love and your kids love learning in and see them thrive. It's the connection >curriculum that matters, not how Pinterest perfect your room is now or then.
PS-decluttering means getting rid of the items not organizing it to another space! Free up your time by freeing up your spaces!
Happy Homeschooling!
#homeschool #homeed #homeeducation #homeeducator #homeschoolmama #homeschoolmom #365homeschool #homeschoolspaces
Today’s Friday Freebie! 🍎
Today’s freebie is Apple Word Family Baskets! You can grab this free resource by following the “Free Resources” link in my bio under the “Fall/Thanksgiving” folder.
#homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolmomsupport #homeeducation #homeeducator #homeschoolresources #learningthroughplay #learningthroughexperience #makinglearningfun #homeschoolsmallshop #homeschoolnaturestudy #homeschoolflatlays #athomelearning #learningathome #montessoriathome #handsonlearning #naturebasedplay #naturebasedlearning #montessoriathome #charlottemasoneducation #unschooling #worldschooling #365homeschool
𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 8...
If I had sent him to public school I have no doubt he would have been sent to a special class, constantly getting in trouble for his inability to sit still, read and write.
But sitting still isn't in his nature. He can jump, run, and climb faster than any kid I know. He gets lost in art projects and frequently spends the whole day covered in paint. He is outside from dawn to dusk, building bike ramps and climbing trees.
And one day, out of the blue, he just started to read. Something clicked, he was ready for the next challenge. I never pushed him, and kept reading to him until he figured it out in his own time. Now he reads constantly, instead of looking at it as something that "needs" to be done for school, he genuinely enjoys it.
So if any of you have a wild child at home that doesn't seem the least bit excited for "school", know that they will get it when they are ready, whenever that is. Learning comes naturally if we give them the time they need!
Raise your hand if you have a kid that works in their own time!
Homeschool perk 43252: Memma and Pop can come visit from Texas, and the kids get to see them all day. For better or worse 😂 Sometimes this bunch is a bit much for all day volume!
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I’ve always said that if I went back to work, we wouldn’t be able to see family or travel nearly as much as we do. To me, that’s number one reason. It’s hard to visit family in Texas when you get two or three weeks off for the whole year. So thankful Dad’s job let’s us do this instead!
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We’ve been getting math and writing done (mostly), but lots and lots of gameschooling and life schooling. They’ve worked through Clue, Listography, Rummikub, Set, and lots and lots of Phase 10. Meanwhile, Pop and I have been tackling a few projects and working on my life skills as well 😊.
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If you’re blessed to live near family, don’t take it for granted. If you don’t, go visit! School lessons can always be done later. Let’s not be so busy that we prioritize the wrong stuff. ❤️
When I recently finished reading aloud “Owls in the Family,” Willow actually cried deep, desperate tears. And we weren’t surprised- this is a book thoroughly enjoyed by all, one that induced laughter to the point it hurt. And leaving such a book can feel like leaving a true friend and place you cherish.
If you’ve never read aloud, it’s always one of the first books I recommend. And if you have for many years I still do! It’s the true story of a boy who took in two owls that became part of the family. They outsmarted the dog, brought treats such as dead skunks to the dining table, and loved life best from the handlebars of the boy’s bike.
Some books are too grand not to share. ☺️
Have any books made you tear up when you finished them? I have a long list.. 😆
It has been a very busy month, but oh-so-good! We homeschool with weekly programs, online classes, and lots of sweet time together at home. We are true “eclectic” homeschoolers, using a unique blend of resources and opportunities customized to fit each child each year. Here’s what our eldest is up to this year… •AP Physics
( wilsonhillacademy )
•AP Calculus
(Wilson Hill Academy)
•Rhetoric-Honors English (Wilson Hill Academy)
•Spanish 3
(Schole Academy)
•American History (Classical Conversations—Challenge 3)
•Latin 3 (Classical Conversations—Challenge 3)
•Shakespeare & Poetry (Classical Conversations—Challenge 3)
•Music Theory (Classical Conversations—Challenge 3)
•Philosophy (Classical Conversations—Challenge 3)
EXTRAS:
•Serving as TA for AP Chemistry in an academy in Pennsylvania
•Making weekly science videos for kids
•Private tutoring for high school students in math and science
“I hope that my readers will train their children in the art of recitation… in learning to recite you learn to speak.” Charlotte Mason, Home Education
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My oldest recently turned 6, so right now, language arts in our home, looks like beautiful read-alouds & recitation. #charlottemasonmondays
“Children know how to read, but cannot read.” This quote makes me chuckle, but I totally get it. I have vivid memories of learning to read when I was 6. Not the sounding out of words, but the actual reading. See, my mother expected me to read a passage, as it was meant to be heard. No monotone reading accepted. And at the time, in my 6 year old mind I wondered why it mattered how I recited it -though now I’m grateful.
Mason said that, “the child should speak beautiful thoughts so beautifully, with such delicate rendering of each nuance of meaning, that he becomes to the listener the interpreter of the author’s thought.” So that’s what she was going for when I was 6, and what we will strive for with our children now.
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I introduced recitation a few months ago using scripture cards from ourlifeintheshire and it turned out to be such a lovely addition to our days.
And for our fruitful summer season, I’m so excited to start using her fruit of the spirit cards! Scripture + recitation fit together perfectly.
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I truly appreciate that language arts isn’t just grammar, syntax, spelling, but that it is also, like any other art, a beautiful form of expression; it is in fact “the children’s art.”
(Ps: I shared a poetry recitation from my 6yo in my stories today!)
There are multiple parts to language arts in a Charlotte Mason education, & please find more insights on her philosophy from:
ourcoopernest
mylittlerobins
ocean.to.ocean.with.love
wildmotherhoodblog
learning_to_feast
jenniferpepito
heritagemomblog
cmcityliving
Is this you?👇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔️You keep comparing your homeschool day with others on social media. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔️Your family & friends seem less than enthusiastic about your choice to homeschool. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✔️Your heart knows it's the right thing to do, but negativity fills your mind.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Might I suggest, ever so gently, that you STOP second-guessing yourself? I know without a shred of doubt that you are a fantastic homeschooling parent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Crush that crippling self-doubt with these practical tips:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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📕 Start a gratitude journal and reflect on the small things that happened during the day that made you grateful.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✏ Keep your daily routine simple. Stick to the essentials and then add more activities when you feel comfortable and confident⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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👭 Join a community of homeschoolers who will uplift & encourage you all the way.
Listen. You do not need to worry about keeping up with the Jones', the Smiths, or anyone else! Your job is to teach your kids the skills to live a healthy, happy, and productive life and to be an asset to society. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Everyone's homeschool looks different. It is supposed to! That's how it works! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Don't compare yourself to what the public schools are doing. You don't answer to them. Remember why you're homeschooling your kids and stand in confidence knowing you CAN do this!
