Letters From the Homefront

Week 5 - Part II I posted some on what was going on in week 5 in my last post. It was too long, though, to go in to some extra fun, and this post will really be mostly extra fun that we have had going on. Enter Floam foam: A good friend of our family brought some goodies one day towards the middle of week 5, and one of them was a package of floam/foam beads. They LOVED playing with this, and it ended up being a fun mini-oceanography project, making a coral reef. Yes, that IS a large octopus and snake! We talked a little about camoflauge, and how it helps the fish/animals that live among the coral.  Can you find the fish??? Here's what's new in our world during week 6: They have come to take over our world..... and they have succeeded!  Birthday time for us is at a maximum in September, with 3 birthdays, 2 of which fell in week 6 of our school year. Hoss and Miss Priss have hit a Lego revolution with their free pla...

I can't believe I'm saying this.... Our first month of school has ALREADY passed! Where did the time go??? I've not been the most diligent mama-homeschool-blogger thus far. I've not taken as many pictures, or tried to keep a record and post once a week. I'm pretty sure it's been a month, at least, since my last post with pics and talking about what we've been doing. Oh, well - you win some, you lose some.  *Week One* We spent this week getting in to a good routine using our new Work Cards.  For the free printable, go here (look for Daily Work Cards under the practical life section) . I created this to help them be accountable for what they are supposed to do every day (very real practical life) without me having to tell them all the time - especially my older ones. I made their cards personal to  them, with their names, so I won't show their cards, but I have a template of what one looks like.  We had company with their c...

MOVEMENT : an act of changing physical location or position, or of having this changed. Movement in Montessori I watched a video online a few weeks ago - Youtube, Vimeo, I can't remember which one, about a Montessori class in action. I love to watch the children in a classroom - it does  not look the same as a montessori homeschool. There is a different atmosphere, and although I don't covet it - I enjoy my homeschool - it is neat to watch. I came across a video that was of a young girl attempting to do a work (the stamp game) that she was not ready for. This particular video struck me immediately, because her reaction is one I've commonly seen with my Bug, though for different reasons sometimes - she burst in to tears.  The mother in me wants to comfort her, the teacher in me wants to guide her - and the woman in me generally has no idea which one I should do first. Maybe that doesn't sound very *montessori* - but it's true. I watched the teacher guide he...

*WHEW*  While we did *officially* start school August 1st, we've kept the days slow and have been focusing on trying to just get back to routine. I've been working a lot the last few days on some introductory History research packs, hopefully to give a small bit on direction to start with, and encourage some personal research. Anyway, no great pictures from last week's school week - we did do school, just had little time for pictures, and I haven't loaded them yet. So...... I'll share someone else's with you!  Living Montessori Now is hosting a great Montessori Services giveaway on her blog! Some of my personal favorite Montessori Services items, in several areas: PRACTICAL LIFE These are absolutely my favorites, and at the top of the list!!! SENSORIAL Sorting Beads - I just love sensorial work! MATH Bead Bar Stamps (how fun would these be, especially if you didn't have the beads? You can do the same things with the stamps, for much ...

August 1st was our official 'First Day Of School'. We hit this yearly milestone the homeschool way - by not being at home at all. We went to the local Nature Center in town. Of course, it was classified as a *field trip*, so I didn't let it slide away without trying to get some inspired learning in.  Armed with food and a backpack full of goodies, off we went. During lunch, we got our first zoology observations with the geese that frequently come up out of the water and walk all over the grounds. My kiddos had a blast throwing them bits of cheese and banana (turns out, these geese wanted nothing to do with bananas) and seeing them come as close as within a foot or two to eat what they just threw down.  After that, I pulled out our printable journal pages, pre-stapled together for them, and we had a little botany-inspired art.  Leaf Rubbing My only mistake was to NOT get some blank paper stapled together for Buddy Boy, thinking he wouldn't be in...

I can't believe it's been a month already since I last posted! The truth is, summer is keeping us busy! Just a little update until we get back in to a normal routine. My kiddos are all reading like crazy, enjoying the summer reading programs that we participate in every year. Hoss has hit one of the 'hardest' reading years, because he is able to read a longer chapter book (long is relative in this case), and enjoys them, but it still takes him a while to finish each book. Miss Priss has surprised me by being an amazing independent reader this summer! By independent, I mean she can read on her own, doesn't need my help, and doesn't have to read to me for me to know she is reading her books right. At this point, she has read *75* books since June 1! I think I have another great reader on my hands! Baseball season came and went with not much change in status since last year's season - Hoss' team has learned over the last few years how to handle defeat ...

          I JUST HAD TO SHARE! There is a new addition to the blog, one I'm very excited to share! If you follow me on facebook , you may have seen that I have been trying to stretch the limits and see what I can do with Google Docs, while teaching myself how to make some fun printables to be used in our homeschool.  It's always been a desire of mine to be able to not only make my own printables for personal use, but be able to share them with others. They are definitely not of the caliber that is worth selling, and yet - I think someone might be able to use them. So I am offering anything I make for FREE! I'm sure there are many versions of the printables I make that can be found online, teaching the same thing - but I am having too much fun putting these together. I am hoping these will be a blessing to someone!  Just as the graphic shows, you can find the link for these at the top of my page, directly under the 'Home' button. I will ...