Rabbit Trail of Rocks

We took our first homeschooling rabbit trail today...

It began last night on a walk with daddy. The girls gathered some rocks at the river. First thing this morning they began asking to paint their rocks. I told them that they had to wait until D (19 months) took his nap.

But in the meantime, after our morning work, I got on goo.gle. I searched for some activities/information on rocks and found this. I didn't have any intention on doing every aspect of this activity, but I quickly printed a few pages.

Before the painting would commence in the afternoon, we did some study of our rocks. The girls filled out a chart describing them and had a great time looking at them up close with our magnifying glasses!

When D naps, we'll get to paint them...but here's to our first rabbit trail and many more to come!

WFMW: Inexpensive white board and cleaning tip!

Dry Erase boards can cost quite a bit of money, but kids love them. Want a less expensive version?

Go to your local home improvement store. They should sell shower tile in large 4 foot x 8 foot pieces. The cost is about $12. This piece of shower tile is huge, but you can have it cut into any dimensions you specify. But you do have to buy the entire piece.

I chose to have mine cut in half. This is one half of the shower tile, wrapped in electrical tape to protect the edge. For $12 I have two of these and they work perfectly as dry erase boards:

But shower tile is NOT magnetic!

Even so, for $6 you can split the cost with a friend and get a 4 foot by 4 foot dry erase board. Great for school lessons, or a rainy day activity!

Now, how do you make that board sparkling white again? (Because we know that the board eraser doesn't work well forever...)

This pink grapefruit all surface cleaner by Method is the best dry erase board cleaning product that I have tried. I happened to have a bottle of this and was desperately trying to find something to get the dry erase marker off a board. It worked like a charm. I have used it ever since. It works better than the Expo cleaner meant for dry erase boards. This was an absolutely fabulous find that I just happened upon!

You can also use the shower tile as a backing for any type of large poster. I have two very large maps. I didn't want to put them on a wall because it is nice to move them room to room, but I couldn't find foam board large enough. I now have a 4.5 ft x 4 ft piece of shower tile that I put them both on. The World Map is on the front and the US map (shown) is on the back. (ironically, the sturdy shower tile was less expensive than mat board at the local craft store)

And that Works for Me!

For more Works for me Wednesday Tips and Tricks, visit Shannon!

The Morning Work Board

My sweet friend, Johanna, has a great blog where she shares so much wisdom and experience in her homeschooling journey. Unlike myself, she has experience teaching preschoolers and draws from that experience at home.

Recently she posted her breakfast board. And because we all went ga-ga over it, she had to give us more details later on. WOW! I knew this was an idea that would work for us. So I stole it! (Thanks Jo!)

Here is our Morning Board in all its homemade glory:


Every morning after breakfast and our morning chore, we gather around this board with folders in hand. We start our time by singing our hymn and opening our day in prayer. Then we say the pledge. Clearly, we need to add a flag to the top of our board.

We begin our work on the left side of the board:


We recite our bible verse for the week. Then we fill in the date on our calendar. (each child has one in her folder, so they fill in their own) Next we add a number to the 100 chart, keeping track of our school days so we will know when we hit the 100th day of school! (each child has one of these in their folder too)

Then we moved to the right hand side:


We fill in the weather for the day with a little picture! So far this week has been all sunshine! The girls have this paper in their folders as well and they fill it in. We will transfer it to their science journal when it is complete.

Wondering what is behind that TV remote and Magic Treehouse book? That would be our address and phone number, which I thought that maybe I should cover up. The remote and book happened to be near me when I went to take the picture. We'll move on to cell numbers and work numbers next.

Then we move to our memory work in the middle of the board:


The date you see is our history sentence, which we know through a song. I also try to creatively draw a picture that serves as a reminder, using the year as a basis. This History sentence is, "In 1492, Columbus (the one is a man) took the first of four (point to the 4 in 1492) trips to the Caribbean (those things on the 9...they are beans...for CaribBEAN) on three Spanish ships (see them on the 2?) named the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. (notice that each ship has a letter for its name)

To the right of the History Sentence is our Science question and answer for the week. This week is, "What are the four types of tissue? Connective, Epithelial, Muscle, Nerve"

Then we add a state to our map. The girls have this same US outline map in their folders. We color in the next state while naming the capital. I read a few fun facts out of a library book about the state. Our goal is to know the names and capital cities of the entire US this year.

Next we add a penny in the money bag and write the new dollar amount. Once we hit 5 cents, we'll exchange for a nickel. Then we can save up 10 cents for a dime, etc.

The purple list at the bottom is the order we are doing things. It serves to remind me, but as we get going I don't need it. I might remove it.

Finally, we flip the pocket chart (attached to the board by rings) over to practice our math skip counting.


This week we are working on the ones and twos. Our Classical Conversation audio CD has skip counting to music up to the 15's tables, so that is what we will work on this year.

Thanks Johanna! We love our morning board. This has been the perfect way to kick off our day and set the tone.

First Day of Co-op

My girls had a great time at their first day of Classical Conversations! They were so excited to start school, especially K (age 5). She spent the last week hearing about all of her friends going to school for the first time, and she was so eager to go as well.

They had their baby dolls for their presentations that day in class. I was a bit curious about how their presentations would go, but they both did great. I wasn't able to see K give hers, but I am the teacher in T's (age 4) classroom so I was able to witness her presentation.

And a mom in the room snapped a picture for me. The quality isn't great, but the picture is just so darling of my brave little girl. I am not sure anyone could hear her, but she got up there without any hesitation.



On the same day I watched T give her first presentation, a friend sent me this video. Have you seen this little guy? He is one amazing speaker at the age of 10. (I digress here, but the video is worth it) In case it doesn't upload, you can see it here.



Back to my kids...

K asked at the end of the day, "Do we get to go again tomorrow?" Sadly, she'll have to wait a week but I was so glad that they both had fun.

I was exhausted from teaching the little ones but it was a good exhaustion. I loved being back in the role of a teacher! We have a great class and I am looking foward to it next week!

A Needed Daily Reminder

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Several months ago a blogging friend encouraged me with these words from Galatians. They have spoken truth to my heart daily ever since.

I have decided to commit them to memory. These words are a constant reminder to press on in the midst of weariness and frustration. I need this truth planted in the depths of my heart so that God can whisper it to me when I am struggling in this journey to homeschool.

Honestly, I need it in this journey of parenting, being a wife, being a good friend, and basically in EVERY aspect of my life.

But this year, I take it to heart specifically for my journey as a homeschooling mom.

Because just yesterday I was telling another blogging friend that homeschooling isn't as easy as it looked.

But I am pressing on to that harvest. Because God promises that if I press on, then I will reap a harvest. So I won't give into the weariness, but will turn to God for the strength I need to do good.

The verse has joined the ranks of the bathroom mirror. Because that is where verses go when they need to be planted in my heart. I'll begin my day with His Truth and end my day with His Truth. And at times when I am hiding from the kids upstairs in the middle of the day, I have a feeling it might just be the Truth I need to hear...

Child Art Book Recommendations

As we have pursued the study of Art in this house, here are some recent findings:

The USBORNE playtime series contains two books we have recently purchased:

I can draw animals and I can draw people. These "how to" books are PERFECT for the little ones in this house. The instructions are simple and step-by-step. The illustrations are fun and colorful! Both of these books work well with our instruction on the five basic elements of shape: dot, circle, straight line, curved line, angle.

The series has some other fun titles such as, I can Crayon. There is a Christmas List being made in this house!

A wise, knowledgeable, and creative homeschooling mom had this book on her sidebar. It looked intriguing, so we picked it up at the library. I LOVE it! It is an "I spy book" with famous paintings and drawings on the right side and an "I spy" challenge on the left side. There is so much great discussion to be had while reading this book!

It wasn't a complete wash

So, my rough week wasn't a complete wash...

K (age 5) enjoyed reading a few of her Bob Books to her little sister. T (age 4) loves to listen to K reading to her. And really, what could be better than a sight like this:

K also took some time to lay around herself and peruse her new library choices.

NOTE: (for those of you that pick up on details in the image) This is NOT a book she'll read entirely on her own. I believe it is one of her new Boxcar children books that I'll read aloud to her. She is reading pretty well, but so many words on a page causes quite a bit of eye fatigue for her!

And like they say, next week is a new week!