Category: Homeschool

Ancient Rome books

We’ve studied Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and now Ancient Rome!  We have really enjoyed diving into living books and learning about these ancient times.  And I’m not sure who’s learning more – me or my kids!?

One of my absolute favorite things about homeschooling is redeeming my own education and getting to dive deep into things that I was only able to “scratch the surface” of during my time in school.

Listed below are the books we used to learn about Ancient Rome.  I used these for my 9 and 11-year-old.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

A Child’s History of the World by Hillyer.  A great overview of history.

Story of the World Volume 1 We only do SOTW on audiobook, the kids (and hubs!) just love listening to Jim Weiss.

Other books that cover Ancient history:

These are all Usborne books.  We love Usborne!

Time Traveler

Atlas of World History

The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History

Books for Ancient Rome

Non-Fiction Books For ANcient Rome

Rotten Romans from the Horrible Histories Collection -These are bit much for my taste BUT based on the fact that my kids love it and are learning a ton in the process, I have it on the list…  I have been amazed at historical facts my non-history loving daughter will spout out that we did not learn together.  When I ask, “Where did you learn that?”, her response is almost always, “Horrible Histories”.

Augustus Caesar’s World by Genevieve Foster – Genevieve Foster’s books are unique because she takes the main character (Augustus Caesar in this case) and weaves all world happenings together, going into detail of what was happening in other parts of the world at that same time in history.

Historical Fiction:

Twice Freed by Patricia St. John – Based on life of the slave Onesimus from the book of Philemon in the Bible.  This one was soo good!

The Runaway by Patricia St. John – set during the time of Jesus’s ministry on Earth.

Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare  – another one that’s during the time of Christ’s earthly ministry.  We listened to this one on audiobook and finished it in just a few days because the kids enjoyed it so much! Suspenseful and descriptive.

Other books to consider:

Any of Arnold Ytreeide books including but not limited to Jotham’s Journey, Tabitha’s Travels, and Amon’s Adventure.  These are meant for Christmas and Easter, but they are set in the 1st century and can tie in with both Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.

Jenny L. Cote’s ‘The Epic Order of the Seven’ Series – I haven’t personally read these but they are books my kids LOVE.  They are Christian historical fiction novels written from the point of view of animal friends.  What’s not to love!

Jenny L. Cote has a passion for God, history and young people and fuses those passions together in her writing.

These four (books 3-6 of the series) specifically tie in with Ancient Rome:

The Prophet, the Shepherd, and the Star – Setting is the time of the birth of Christ.

The Roman, the Twelve and the King – Time travel happens in this story, with the animals traveling to the time of Handel writing “The Messiah” in the 1700’s and also being there for Jesus’s childhood, ministry, passion and resurrection.

The Wind, the Road and the Way – covers the resurrection of Jesus Christ through Paul’s 2nd missionary journey.

The Fire, the Revelation and the Fall – About the events in Acts, and birth of Christianity.  Includes Nero’s reign and Paul’s third missionary journey.

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greece

Middle Ages


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The Scoop on Strewing

If you’re part of the homeschool social media world, you’ve probably heard of strewing!

I have always strewed for my kids but didn’t know there was a word for it until recently.

And now…….. well, I strew for my sanity.

Let me explain.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

What is strewing

what Is Strewing?

Strewing is leaving items out that might pique your kiddo’s interest. It’s a stealthy way of exposing them to new or old resources. I have always done this with books for my big kids.

And it’s amazing… if you strew it, they will use it. 🙂

Recently, however, I’ve started strewing for my youngest kiddo (5.5 years).  He is a GO GO GO type of kid. Our energizer bunny. He’s up before everyone and has more energy than the rest our family combined.

If I leave a few items out for him it gives him something to do in those early hours.  Strewing helps us all ease into the day.

My Three Rules for Strewing

  1. Safe – Safety is important, as your kiddo will may be doing this alone.  This is not the time to pull out the craft knife. 😉
  2. Not messy– Unless you don’t mind having slime or playdough in your carpet, it’s wise to keep strewing activities free of the goo and the glue.  If you have older kids, there is more flexibility here.
  3. Challenge Level – Activity needs to be challenging enough to keep them busy, but not too hard where they can’t do it on their own.

Where to find items to Strew:

  • Dollar Store
  • Target $1 section
  • Re-sale shops
  • Hobby Lobby (use your 40% off coupon!)
  • Amazon
  • Toys/games that haven’t been played with for a while or have been put up.

Things I’ve had success with strewing

Do you strew?  What items have been successful for you?

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Pre-Handwriting Activities

Did you know that handwriting is really a multi-step process and we can make it less painful for our little ones (especially our little ones who may have fine motor difficulties!).

The first part of learning handwriting is learning the shape and form of the letters (and even before that, is building good hand-strength.)

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

With my older children, I jumped too soon into handwriting, and if I could go back to my early years of homeschooling, I would do things differently!  I would have focused longer on correct letter formation doing fun pre-writing activities.

Below is a list of pre-handwriting activities I’m excited to use with my 5-year-old this year to practice correct letter formation!

And then, when he is ready, we will move to Getty Dubay Book A (using fat markers or crayons).  We choose to use the Getty-Dubay style of handwriting because it’s an easier AND more comfortable way to write, which is especially nice for kids who may struggle with handwriting. 

pre-handwriting activities

15 Pre-Handwriting Activities

  1. Salt/Sand/Flour in a tray – Find a tray here.

2. Shaving cream in a tray

3. Playdough and straws –Cut up a few straws into many pieces and use those pieces to form letters in the playdough (you can then re-use the straws each time you do this activity.)

4. Q-tip letters-Dip q-tip in paint, then paint little dots to form the letter.

5. Bubble Letters-Adult makes bubble letters, and child fills in the bubble.  (My son really enjoyed this one!)

6. Beads in Playdough-Just like the straws in playdough, but with beads. 🙂

7. WikiStix–Use the wikistix to form letters.

 

8. Pipe cleaner letters-Use the pipe cleaners to form letters.

9. Sensory Bag Writing-We basically filled a bag with hair gel, glitter and food coloring.  We sealed it with some duct tape and now it is a writing surface!  Our inspiration came from this amazing book.

10. Painting letters-Use watercolors or washable kids paint to paint letters on paper.

11. Glue and Yarn Letters-Kids can either glue the yarn a letter you’ve drawn or form their own and glue it.

12. Fingerpaint-For kids who enjoy a really rich sensory experience, use fingerpaints to form letters.

13. Rainbow letters-Another favorite of my son’s!  Using pipsqueak markers, draw a letter using all the colors of the rainbow.

14. Sticker letters-Form or trace letters using stickers.

15. Fingerprint letters-Form or trace letters using your own fingerprints!  You need an ink pad for this one!


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5 Barriers to Reading Aloud and How to BUST through them!

Does the idea of reading aloud together as a family sound appealing, but the reality seems like an impossibility?

In our beginning years of homeschooling, reading aloud was something we did only if we got everything else checked off the list. Kind of like stuffing that last not so important box into a moving truck if there’s enough room.

As we’ve come to recognize the many benefits of reading aloud, it has become the core of our homeschool.

It is now the first box that goes into our truck and we’ve weaved it into the culture of our home.

But sometimes even if there’s a will to incorporate more reading aloud it feels as though there is not a way to make it happen.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Following are five common barriers to reading aloud and how to break through them:

Barriers to Reading Aloud

Barrier #1) Not enough time in the day

Solution: Read 5-10 minutes when you can.  Squeeze it into pockets of the day.  Tag it onto a meal where everyone is already sitting together.

Barrier #2) Boring for kids

This is a common barrier for us because our daughter can speed read and it can be pain-staking for her to have to listen, as reading aloud takes a lot longer than reading independently.

Solution: Entice them… Bake a treat. Light a candle. Draw them in. Take the concept of poetry teatime and read a fun book instead.

Use ridiculously funny voices (this even gets the hubs to listen in!) Pick a humorous book.

Here are a few entertaining read-aloud books our kids enjoyed (these are all series books): Pippi Longstocking , The Great Brain,  Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. 

 

 

 

For our all-time FAVORITES, check out this post.

Barrier #3) Kids can’t sit still

Solution: Have them color, paint, draw or play with play-dough or thinking putty while you read.  Let them play legos, wedgits, magnatiles, blocks.  My son LOVES Perler Beads.  Allow them to lie upside down if that helps them focus.  You get the picture.

Let them move around. Many people are better able to listen if their body is moving.  I know of such people because I’m married to one, and a parent to another! 

Barrier #4) Little siblings

Solution: Bring out the crayons, play dough, rice bin, beans, stickers, etc.  Invest in some busy bags., or make your own quiet bins.

If you’re ok with a little TV maybe save the TV for read-aloud time.  I know at our house we don’t do much TV time, but it helps if  we do it at the same time each day and then they know it’s just part of the routine.

Or have a few special activities you only pull out for read-aloud.  Maybe a special toy that can keep their interest.

Barrier #5) You are in survival mode.

Maybe you’ve had a recent health change, or you have crippling fatigue (been there).  There could be a new baby, a death in the family, mental health challenges or other life changes.  Any number of things could cause us to be living in survival mode.

Solution: Audiobooks!  Audiobooks don’t need to be saved for “survival mode” but they are definitely your best option if that’s where you find yourself.

Final Read-Aloud tip:

If you find a book dull, put the book away and try something else.  There are so many books to choose from. Don’t waste your energy on a book you or your children don’t enjoy!


 

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Ancient Greece Book List Grades 3-6

Ancient Greece has been fascinating to study.  We’ve used a variety of books to deepen our knowledge and understanding of this time in history.   A time in history that has contributed to and influenced so many things in our current society.

One of my absolute favorite things about homeschooling is redeeming my own education and getting to dive deep into things that I was only able to “scratch the surface” of during my time in school.

These are the books we used to dive into the world of Ancient Greece.  I gave the suggested age range of grades 3-6 but you know your kids best so don’t feel like you need to be confined to that!

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Our “spine” books that we use for all of history:

A Child’s History of the World by Hillyer.  A great overview of history.

Story of the World Volume 1 We only do SOTW on audiobook, the kids (and hubs!) just love listening to Jim Weiss.

Other books that cover much of history:

Time Traveler  Usborne (this is one to OWN!)

Atlas of World History Another Usborne book!

Non-Fiction Books

Usborne Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece Usborne yet again 🙂

Horrible Histories: The Groovy Greeks and Rotten Roman’s  Confession – these are bit much for my taste BUT based on fact that my kids love it and are learning a ton in the process, I have it on the list…   I catch my daughter reading and re-reading this one often! I got this one off eBay, not sure why it’s priced so ridiculously high on Amazon!

Archimedes and the Door of Science   We were fascinated by Archimedes and his inventions and creativity!

Ancient Greece by Daniel Cohen – Fabulous illustrations and easy to understand text.

Fiction:

D’aulaire book of Greek Myths   BEAUTIFUL illustrations!

Theras and His Town A great historical fiction novel contrasting the Spartans and Athenians.  Probably the book that surprised us the most.  Despite the slow start it ended up being a favorite!

Aesop’s Fables  Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

Aesop’s Fables: A Pop-Up Book of Classic Tales  This is a great book to introduce younger kids (though my older kids liked it too!) to Aesop’s fables.  The pop outs are incredible.  

The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey  by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Illiad, also by Rosemary Sutcliff (we actually did not get to this one yet, but is written by the same author as Wanderings of Odysseus)

The Usborne Illustrated Odyssey   Can’t get enough of Usborne! This is a simpler version of the Odyssey and a good book to use to introduce it (The Odyssey) to kids.  

Check out my other history book lists!

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Rome

Middle Ages


 

 

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Why You Should Embrace Homeschool Gaps

In the UK they have a common phrase that’s heard when people are stepping onto the train platform.  “Mind the gap.”  The “gap” refers to the space between the platform and the train.  And one should be careful to step over it and not into it.  Cuz, yikes, that wouldn’t be good!

homeschool gaps

Gaps are scary.

And not just literal gaps, but figurative gaps, you know like… *ahem* education gaps.  Or let’s get more personal.  HOMESCHOOLING gaps.

As a new homeschooler, one of my main goals was making sure we would NOT have education gaps. In fact, that was THE motivating factor in me buying an all in one boxed curriculum for our first two years. The idea of gaps made me tremble in my boots.

Nevermind that there was very little joy using the boxed curriculum. It was my safety net.  It meant that I was doing things right and we were going to cover all our bases.

I often wish I could go back to my first year of homeschooling, and start a little bit differently, a little bit more gently, listening to the interests of my kiddo more.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 
Gaps have continued to haunt me over the years.

And I know I’m not alone! Right?

This past year was really the first year that I’ve begun to accept that gaps are inevitable AND that they are OK, and *GASP* even to be embraced!

homeschool gaps

 

In his book, Passion-Driven Education Connor Boyack states this obvious yet important truth:

“Not every person needs to know the same things, let alone all things.”

Every education includes gaps.

A big “a-ha” moment for me was when I truly considered how all educations have gaps.

Think about this…  Did you learn everything you needed to know for life in school, or have you had to learn things “on the fly”?

Guess what?  When you taught yourself something new, you were filling in a gap!

Public school.  Private school.  Charter school.  Homeschool.

You name it.  There are gaps.

There is beauty in the gaps.

Gaps mean our kiddos are spending a good chunk of time studying their interests, rather than only filling their minds with information the curriculum or standards deem important.  Or worse yet, learning something ONLY because it’s going to be on a standardized test.

Gaps mean our kids are growing in skills that they are excited about, and may possibly pursue a career in someday.

Children are more likely to retain information when they’re curious in a subject matter.

And if we’re so busy dotting all of our i’s and crossing our t’s, we’re missing out on those curious moments, and guess what, those are gaps too!  And in my opinion, those gaps are much more grievous.

If we spend our days trying to “mind the gap” in our kid’s education, there may not be time or energy left for them to dive into their interests.

So rather than “minding the gap”, maybe we should keep in mind our child’s interests in our homeschool environment.

Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire.


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Strengths-Based Homeschool (not just for the kids!)

I originally wanted to title this post “I thought I was doing a good job homeschooling until I joined Instagram.”

I joined Instagram last fall but didn’t really understand how to use it until a couple of months ago, when I decided it would be a good place to meet other homeschoolers and also share my blog.   Now that I’ve been using Instagram, I love it, but I have noticed a not so pleasant feeling that bubbles up within me occasionally…

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Comparison Trap

When my son was two, we found out he was delayed in many areas.  For that reason, I would sometimes find Facebook painful.

People posting all these things of what their kids were doing struck me like a dagger.  It reminded me that my kid wasn’t up to par.

Thankfully God’s brought me a long way in this and I am continually growing in seeing my child through the lens of what he CAN do rather than what he can’t.

But these days, especially on Instagram, I struggle with comparisons of a different sort.  A lot of what I see posted are ideas that I just love and can’t wait to try with my own kids.

See, I’m an opportunist, and Instagram allows me to see what hundreds of other homeschoolers are doing.   So many cool opportunities!

However,

the excited opportunist in me +

my perfectionist tendencies of wanting to find the perfect learning opportunity +

endless opportunities = PARALYSIS.

And I find myself thinking I’m not doing enough in my homeschool and that I need to do things more like so an so (such a lie – not just for homeschool moms but ALL moms).

Also, I know most of the ideas in my feed won’t be enjoyed by my creative child, who tends to enjoy doing her own thing.

This got me thinking… I need to get back to our family basics and remember how we became outside the box learners.

Working your “Mom-Strengths” so you can thrive in your homeschool

As someone who totally believes in following kids’ passions to help them bloom, I’m realizing how much MY OWN passions and interests also matter in our homeschool.

When I’m excited about something, there is at least some interest from the kids.  It’s contagious.

A few examples… I love doing crazy fun voices during read-aloud and therefore my kids generally enjoy read-aloud. Music moves me, and therefore if I sit down at the piano, my daughter will join me adding in harmonies in a higher key(that’s a real treat for me!).  I’m a nature lover so I have an innate wonder of God’s creation that rubs off on my kids.

Craft extraordinaire I AM NOT. Thank goodness for subscription boxes!  Our current box of choice is the Toucan Crate.

If I’m doing a special project or activity (that I’ve seen on Instagram or Pinterest) because I’m thinking my kids SHOULD like it, I often get pushback, and then I feel drained.

However, if I already enjoy something I don’t have to manufacture enthusiasm.  I love the idea of hands-on projects but in reality, it’s not my strength.  We still do crafty stuff just not every day. And usually, it’s if my kids request it.

Include things your kids love and what’s important to you.

If you’re enthusiastic about something there’s a strong chance that it might ignite interest in your kids.

Obviously, you still need to get the main things done (reading, writing, ‘rithmetic).

But include things you like, too…

Read a book (or two…. or ten!) that was a favorite from your own childhood.

Recognize what lights your fire and infuse some of that into your homeschool.


 

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Gardenschooling & the Joy of Learning Together

A Bunch of Brown Thumbs

I have always loved the idea of gardening, and while I certainly enjoy being outside, I am no green thumb!

Can you relate?!

My daughter has been asking for months now to learn more about gardening, so I figured we could all get our hands dirty, and learn together!

gardenschooling

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

A couple of things happen as we learn together:

  1. I am modeling that you never stop learning.   This is HUGE.
  2.  We share a unique bonding experience since we’re all in it together.  We are sharing in not only what we are doing, but also what we are learning.

Also, I must point out, this year definitely marks a shift in my perspective of homeschooling, moving from a school at home approach to homeschooling.  They are not the same.

In previous years, I would have viewed something like gardening as extra after the REAL schoolwork was done.

And being a lower capacity person, I was never able to squeeze it in.

Between negotiating with my creative child, and life in general, my energy was usually spent.

gardenschooling

This spring, one of my main goals is to learn how to garden with the kids.  It isn’t an EXTRA thing.  It is one of the main dishes!  🙂

Preparation

We didn’t, nor will we do an extensive unit study on gardening (you know the lapbooks, worksheets, extra activities,etc.)

I have done those things in the past, but find the energy I spend preparing for them is generally not matched by enthusiasm from my kids.

That makes the teacher in me sad at times but is part of the story of how we became outside the box learners.

You gotta do what works.  And frankly, the planting IS the extra activity!

So to prepare us for planting, I gathered some books on gardening for the kids.  That got the “brain juices” flowing…

gardenschooling

Here are the books we explored together:

101 Kid-Friendly Plants

 

 

 

 

Container Gardening for Kids

Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots (this is a great one to OWN!)

Start small

Part of what has kept me from gardening is a false idea that I needed to have our garden all planned out.

Like anything, sometimes you need to just start somewhere.  This is something I have to tell my perfectionist self ALL. THE. TIME.

So, though still in the process of planning out our veggie garden, when the bug hit us this past Monday (while out running errands in the gorgeous weather!)  we decided to stop at the store and just get a few plants that the kids had read about and were excited to plant.

Their plants of choice were Pansies and Marigolds.

gardenschooling

 

 

 

 

Starting small can apply to anything your kids want to try (building something, sewing, computer coding, baking, cooking, etc).  You don’t need to go all out. 

Keep it simple.  Start with watching a video or getting a book on whatever they’re interested in.

A Rich Learning Experience

Although we only spent about an hour doing the planting, the conversations that happened during that time were so rich.

We discussed the parable of the sowers.

We hypothesized what would happen if there were strong winds.

Would they ruin the flowers since they’re still so small and newly planted?

That led us to talk about the importance of being rooted in our faith and God’s Word.

It was truly a beautiful time.

And they were so happy to be planting and so proud of themselves.  Their excitement towards gardening only grew from this relatively small experience.

In fact, when we went back into the house they were reading more from their gardening books and they had a richer context for what they were reading.

Their brains are now more engaged and primed for learning about flowers, plants, and gardening.

gardenschooling

And as we move towards starting our vegetable garden, we ALL have more confidence and excitement!

Sometimes, when you’re treading into waters (or soil… ha!) completely foreign to you, you just need to do something and take a small first step.

What have you been learning alongside your kids?

 

 

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Great Homeschool Convention – 5 Takeaways

It’s been a week since we were at the Great Homeschool Convention in St. Louis, MO, and I have been thinking about and implementing a lot of what we learned or re-learned.  And most of it’s not even related to homeschooling!

If you missed it, here is my post about preparing for a Great Homeschool Convention.

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through these links will result in a small commission for me (at no cost to you!) 

Packing

Okay – a few notes on packing…

We should’ve brought even more food than we did.  We spent more on dining out than planned.  Next time I’m keeping it simple with PBJs for lunches.

Having a backpack was essential!  There were lots of handouts, papers, not to mention the items we bought in the exhibit hall.  Some people even had rolling crates.  I think I even saw a toddler napping in a wagon!  Genius!

Concerts

We enjoyed both concerts – Andrew Peterson and Slugs and Bugs.  The kids were ecstatic to get a picture with and signed tickets from Randall Goodgame.  We laminated them to use as bookmarks!  🙂  

Great Homeschool Convention Slugs and Bugs
Kids with Randall Goodgame of Slugs and Bugs and his daughter

Speakers

Dr. Kathy Koch

We were blessed to hear Dr. Kathy speak twice.  I would have loved to have attended more of her sessions but there were so many sessions we wanted to hear, it just didn’t work out.  But I did get a lot of great takeaways from those two sessions.

Great Homeschool Conventions Kathy Koch
Meeting Dr. Kathy in the exhibit hall

#1 Takeaway – Talk about the behavior you WANT to see.  

For example, instead of “You’re so rude”, use “I look forward to the day you can talk kindly.”.

When you focus on what behavior you’re looking for, it gives hope and tools for change.

#2 Takeaway – Use Consistent comebacks

Consistent comebacks have helped me immensely.  It’s very empowering to have tools in your toolbox that are easy to implement and that WORK!  These comebacks have aided me in not getting entangled in otherwise fruitless (and draining) conversations this week.

Here are a few examples.  There are many more in Dr. Kathy’s new book Start With the Heart.

Kid says:

“I can’t do this.”

Consistent Comebacks:

“What can you do?”, “How can I help?”, “What don’t you understand?”, “You can when you try.”

Also…

Kid says:

“I don’t want to.”  We get this one a lot.

Consistent comeback:

(repeat request), “Because……?”, “Not negotiable.”, “Already answered.”

Colleen Kessler

I attended all three of Colleen’s talks.  Her talk on executive functioning was very enlightening.  And her talk on perfectionism/anxiety was extremely helpful.  Her talk on rabbit trails had lots of practical tips.  Here are my main takeaways.

#3 Takeaway – Importance of Fostering Resiliency In Our Kids

Both Dr. Kathy and Colleen spoke on this.  And both also recommended the book: Mistakes That Worked – a great little book full of stories of inventions that were created by mistake, including chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, and many more!  Some ways we can foster resiliency in our kids are to let them see us make mistakes or talk about our own struggles.

Remind them the process is more important than the product. 

From Colleen’s talk on perfectionism:

Takeaway #4: VALIDATE VALIDATE VALIDATE

I think I do a pretty good job with this, but it was just a good reminder…  If you have a child who struggles with emotional regulation, or anxiety, or really just any kid (or person!) who’s dealing with big emotions, it’s so important to validate their emotions.  To us, it may seem silly or not a big deal that they’re so upset, but to THEM it’s a big deal.

Also, remind them their emotions are valid but their behaviors are a choice.

Sarah Mackenzie

I only went to one of Sarah’s talks, but it was packed full of great homeschooling advice.  But one thing she said really stuck with me…

Takeaway #5: The baby is the lesson.

Sarah could definitely speak to this as she had twin newborns and a 1-year-old (as well as three older kids) at one point.  Now we don’t have babies here anymore, but I do have a busy and strong willed 4-year-old.  And often it seems so hard to get things done because of that, which can be discouraging.  Her talk was a good reminder that a lot of what our kids will learn has more to do with life and relationships than academics.

GHC Convention
Kids with Sarah Mackenzie
img_6453
I got to meet her briefly before her session. 🙂

The Loot

We bought more than we planned.  But they were a bunch of resources we were excited about!

The Picture Smart Bible really caught our eye.  It’s more hands-on and also pretty in-depth.  As we get started on it, I’ll make sure to update on how it’s going.Picture Smart Bible

Two books by Colleen Kessler: Electricity and Magnetism and Raising Creative Kids. Colleen actually suggested cutting the binding off “Raising Creative Kids” and then laminating them as activity cards, so I’m going to do that!   Our science kiddo specifically picked out the Electricity and Magnetism book and the ideas in Raising Creative Kids looked right up my kiddos’ alley.  We’re excited to dive into both!

Like I mentioned, Mistakes That Worked, was recommended by two speakers!  The kids are loving it!Mistakes That Worked

Exploring Dinosaurs with Mr. Hibb was sold by Creation Ministries International and is designed for middle school.  It appealed to our oldest, so we purchased it.Exploring Dinosaurs with Mr. HibbAnother vendor we spoke to, but did not purchase from, was The Color-Coded Chef.  She had a great product for getting your kids cooking, especially kids who need step-by-step instructions.  She created it for her son with special needs, so he would be able to cook independently as an adult.  For those who need a product like this, it is fabulous!

Giant Cow

Our kids loved the Giant Cow program.  It was affordable and fun!  They also took lots of safety precautions which is reassuring for parents!

Have you been to a GHC?  Any tips here to add?  Please comment below!

 

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Compromising With Your Creative Child to Create Calm in Your Homeschool

I recently read the book, Homeschooling Gifted and Advanced Learners by Cindy West.    Lots of great stuff in there.  Perhaps my biggest takeaway was her advice regarding creative children.  She advised to include your creative child when making plans.  Let them play a part in the planning process

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Lists, Schedules, and Plans… Oh my!

Some kids love being given a list or a schedule, and will diligently AND happily go along with your plans.  Some will not.  Especially, if they are creative.  This has been a dilemma for us since the beginning of our homeschool. When you have an outside the box kid, you may need to approach things differently.

I’ll be honest, I read Cindy’s book a few months ago and haven’t implemented the “include your creative kid when creating plans” idea yet.

However this past week, I was creating a “to do” list for myself.  Actually, in an effort to tame the technological beast, I was just moving said list from my phone to a pen and paper checklist I could tape to the fridge and not have to rely on my phone as much.  (Because, inevitably when I go to check my list, I end up distracted and forgetting why I got on my phone in the first place!) 

I digress.  As I was making my list, I thought for the kids’ writing assignment that day, they could make their own lists and design them to their liking.   They obliged and enjoyed it! 

For my creative child, there were pictures and colors.  And laminating.

There was also pushback after this list was done and taped to the fridge.

Creative Compromise or Big Mistake

For the first few days of using the list (which BTW were the same core tasks that already had to be completed every day – but at MY prompting), there was unhappiness and even some anxiety.  I wondered if I had made a mistake.   I mean the list was pretty long.  Maybe we bit off more than we could chew.

But on day 3, low and behold I heard the words, “I like the list.”

GASP!

SUCCESS!

And can I just say it’s been amazing not to need to nag?  It’s been delightful actually.

The novelty may eventually wear off, and that’s ok.  The point is to remember to bring my creative child into the planning process.  And also to remember that sometimes the kids who hate structure the most, still want/need it.  Their structure may just look different than we think it should.

How do you work with your creative child to create more calm?

 

Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels

 

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