𓅭

when you homeschool, you can focus on time together and making memories. this Valentine’s Day, the kids slept in and I made this banana loaf cake decorated with teddies.

when they woke up, we read all the love themed books, enjoyed the loaf and drank hot chocolate while working on our schoolbooks. this was all done before we hosted a Valentine’s Day party for our homeschooling co-op.

one of my favorite things to do is curating real life scenes and scenarios with our maileg mice. it’s such a fun way to prompt and encourage them to ask questions — which lead into educational discussions. so naturally, on election day, granny and grampy mouse hit the polls.

the boys were asking a lot of questions about the election process this year, so to take it a bit further, I decided to hold a little election of our own. I set up a polling booth in our dining room.

with a had a secret ballot — each child got to vote for the president and three “house mandates.” they each took turns going into the booth and voting.

I then held a “news conference” where I announced the results to the kids and we talked about how this civic duty is expected of every citizen and how nice it feels when your voice is heard.

we’ve been a little MIA in this space as I’ve tried to navigate schooling three different grades at once.

this year I have a kinder, 1st and 2nd grader around the schooling table. it’s been a little chaotic, but we’ve finally pinned down a routine that I’ll share soon.

one thing I’ve loved doing is carving out a special time for the boys and I to spend time together — all around a good book, some poetry and a cozy meal (or dessert). it’s such a sweet time to chat about their interests, what we’ve been learning and giggle over all the silly things.

goodbye winter, hello spring

a blessing for spring's child

up in the garden, down in the dirt

worm weather

bunnies

the big book of bugs

busy spring: nature wakes up

spring in the forest

spring treasury

the little book of flowers

we are the gardeners

nest eggs birds

a windy spring day

egg hunt 

wake up, woods

little book of bees

a nest is noisy

over and under the pond

grow: a family guide to plants

an egg is quiet

nature all around: bugs 

easy peasy gardening for kids 

bruno the beekeeper: a honey primer

a butterfly is patient

what's inside a flower

the book of brilliant bugs

the big book of birds

nature all around birds

the little guide to butterflies

the big book of blooms 

the little book of backyard bird songs

from seed to plant

the thought of teaching a child how to read can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be!

in all honesty, we’ve taken a slow approach with a lot of breaks when needed. my goal, in our homeschooling journey, is making the learning process enjoyable even when we are tackling the “hard” things. for us, that means not pushing or making them feel like there is a quota that needs to be met.

what we’re doing —

🦋 talking to the boys about how useful a topic, like reading, can be and encouraging them to take the first step. my first grader told me that he wanted to learn how to read last summer because he wanted to be able to read stories to his little brothers. I took that as a sign that he was ready and ran with it.

🦋 using the book “teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons” as our main tool when it comes to the formal lessons. I bought this two years ago and tried to use it with my then 5 year old, but he wasn’t ready — so we put it away.

I brought it out this fall again, and we are now flying through it!

instead of being discouraged because he’s not grasping the concepts, we waited until he showed interest and I cannot emphasize that enough. it was the BEST choice. sometimes, kids don’t follow the traditional learning curve that is pushed by school systems and that’s okay!

🦋 having easy reader books readily available all over the house and reading together throughout the day. also, asking my son to help me read to his brothers and giving him positive feedback as he tackles the longer words / the more complex vocabulary — it makes the process more enjoyable.

🦋 word activities / playing games instead of marking it as “school time.” this has been a game changer for me in the schooling realm. anything that is marked as a game has been well received when it comes to the hard subjects. with boys I’m finding that giving them room to wiggle around prompts more success.

think letter tiles, flashcards, writing on white / chalk boards, etc.

in short —

read:

the post office: mail + how it moves

seven little postmen

watched:

the post office, a virtual field trip

I want to be a mail carrier

how the USPS sorts mail

what makes stamps valuable?

our last minute homeschool valentine's day themed brunch.

hug machine

love is

valentine's blessing

happy valentine's day, curious george

the biggest valentine ever

the day it rained hearts

amelia bedeila's first valentine

valentine's day jitters

love, escargot

funny valentine

mouse + mole: secret valentine

cranberry valentine 

roses are pink, your feet really stink 

arthur's valentine

will you be my valentine?

junie b jones and the mushy gushy valentine

somebody loves you mr. hatch

god's love is a warm cookie

valentine's love bug

valentine party

franklin's valentine

the valentine bears

this is not a valentine

here comes the valentine cat

the love letter

god is love

extra special valentine

the friendship book

forever with you

clifford's valentine  

it’s a snow day in our neck of the woods, but on this MLK observation day, I am thinking of his words: 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧—𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. ⁣

there are a lot of conversations swirling around the best way to celebrate today and I don’t want to add to the noise. ⁣instead, I want to point to the Word of God because that’s where I go when the world gets noisy or when I want + need some direction.⁣

𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝟭:𝟮𝟳⁣

God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.⁣

𝗷𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟱:𝟭𝟮⁣

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ⁣

𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝟭𝟮:𝟵-𝟭𝟬⁣

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.⁣

there is no question — we are called to love all; those who look different, who think different, who act different, and those who hurt us. His blood covered us all.⁣

God calls us to shine His light through the way we speak to our neighbors and care for our fellow humans. MLK, who was a minister, knew this and was often quoted saying things like, “𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙'𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙨.”⁣

so even if there is a lot of noise surrounding how best to approach this day, you’ll find me talking about the importance of loving + respecting your neighbor because the behavior of our children and treatment of others begin with what conversations we are having at home. ⁣

this should motivate us to be better, speak in truth, and love all of His people because little eyes are always watching.⁣

as one of my favorite prayers from Dr. King reads: ⁣

𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙂𝙤𝙙'𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 — 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚, 𝙍𝙚𝙙, 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙔𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 — 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙬𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮. ⁣