First Day of Homeschool Traditions

Little Man is only in 1st grade, but we've been doing 'school' (preschool for a couple of years) for a while now. Each year, I like to make the day as special as possible, to get Little Man excited for the learning to come! Today I am sharing a few of these here:

Fun Morning Breakfast

Starting the day with something fun and out of the ordinary, can make the beginning of school exciting! I normally let Little Man pick what he wants, which could be donuts, pancakes/waffles with sprinkles, or like last year, he chose yogurt with m&m's. These are things he doesn't get to eat all the time, so it makes days like this special. 

1st Day of School Picture

These are a normal activity for those starting school. My sister got a chalkboard sign this year for Little Man that I can't wait to use!

And speaking of pictures, I try to take a bunch of photos of what we did on the first day of school. When you look back, you'll see just how much progress your child has made. There's a picture I took of Little Man writing August in huge awkward letters at the beginning of the school year last year, and I love comparing it to how well he writes now!

At least 1 fun, hands on project or activity

My son loves all things arts and crafts, so this really helps set the tone for the rest of the school year. Whether it's a craft, Lego structure, or food creation, your kids will love 'learning' with their hands. 

Some fun things we are doing on our first week of school (trying to do one of these around one a 

day this week):

Layers of the Earth pudding cup for science

Lego American flag for history

Skip counting songs for Math

Mystery watercolor words for Spelling

(These are a couple of fun things we did on the first day of school last year and the year before-Apple sort and count in preschool, and dyeing material for Kindergarten-So fun!)

This is what we do, and I would love to hear what you do! Some other ideas include: not actually doing 'school' the first day, but maybe an about me or just do a fun activity, decorate folders or binders (we normally do this ahead of time), gift of school supplies or books (Little Man got 2 phonics readers for his first day of school, last year. 

Homeschool: Frequently Asked Questions

If you've been curious about homeschooling but don't know where to start or whether it's the right choice, today I am sharing some frequently asked Homeschool questions. I am no expert, but I am a homeschool graduate (K-12) as well as a homeschool mom (1st grade and toddler). These answers will be from my own experiences and research, which I hope helps you as you do your own research!

Question 1. Where to start?

As you google 'what to use for homeschool' you may be bombarded with all sorts of curriculum choices and methods. You have no idea how to homeschool, much less what method you prefer! Take a deep breath, give yourself some grace, and let me reassure you that there isn't much of a right/wrong answer to this. 

When starting to think about homeschool/methods/curriculum, my first suggestion is this:

Visit your local homeschool group/co-op

Get some information from those been there, done that homeschool moms who can let you know what has worked for them and what hasn't. They can also tell you what sort of co-ops and clubs they offer to help you decide what you need. 

Start off semi-traditional and go from there

This recommendation is more for those who are pulling their kids out of school. While you can use a boxed curriculum set like Abeka or Lifepacks, I would suggest using Timberdoodle's curriculum sets. They can be tailored to fit the kid, price is comparable, and it will be much more enjoyable than some of the other textbooks. This is great if you have a kid who is use to the stricter structure of public school, but it allows you to tailor to their needs at the same time. My cousin uses Easy Peasy which can be a free resource if you need something more frugal. From what I've gathered it's more traditional, but very well put together, and her kids have done well! If you are just starting out with preschool or Kindergarten:

Use an all-in-one curriculum that plans your year out for you

I have used The Peaceful Press for this, and I loved it! It is a less traditional method that still allows all subjects to be covered.  This can also be used for older grades as well, but be ready to enter the world of non-traditional where sometimes subjects aren't merely a read and answer questions format, but exploration and hands on experience. 

Also, there's the mix and match approach that I do. This may take a year or two to figure out, as you gather how your child learns and use the curriculum that best fits them at the time. 

Question 2. Am I qualified?

Even though I was homeschooled and had enjoyed my preschool year with my son, I was terrified of teaching Little Man important concepts like phonics and math. What if I failed? Can I tell you something? Most people approach this subject out of love and a yearning to give their children the best education possible. (not saying the opposite is true for those public schooling, not at all! Just that the decision to homeschool is such a thought out decision) That love will be turned into a passion for educating your children to the best of your ability (if you don't believe me, go to a homeschool meeting...those people are passionate!!) This means turning to outside sources (this can be tutors, online learning, co-op, etc) when something goes beyond your knowledge. What you may find, however, that you are learning and growing, right along with your children, and able to teach them those important concepts, just fine! Something that goes along with that is:

Question 3. What about upper levels?

Algebra, chemistry, physics and other such subjects can be rather daunting, especially if you don't remember anything you learned from high school. My mom actually didn't take Algebra in school! Thankfully, I was able to use the textbooks and learn, and once my siblings got older, there were amazing programs like Teaching Textbooks that helped with those difficult subjects! (also there were older siblings at that point, who could help out as well) Mom also relied on curriculum like Apologia, and Chemistry 101 to help take the load off of her. As I stated before, if your kids is simply not grasping the subject, ask for help! You don't have to have a Chemistry degree to teach chemistry, just a good curriculum and a community to help. 

Question 4. But What about SOCIALIZATION!!! 

No joke, this is what gets asked the most. Not are you qualified to teach your kid?, not what extra curricular things are they involved in? no! it's How does your kid socialize if they aren't in public school?!!

Believe it or not, it was socialization that really was the deciding factor on whether or not I homeschooled. Even though I had been homeschooled, I was open minded about public and private school. My husband teaches in an amazing district, with so many godly teachers that the thought of my son being taught there didn't bother me. What bothered me was the innocence being taken away by the child's own peers. Even in Kindergarten, they can be bullied, taught bad language, and be told too many intimate details on what they are allowed to watch or what they see at home. I wanted to teach my child Biblical principals, and surround him with people who love the Lord (I don't live in a bubble. We are going to be in the world, but it was important to me to give him the best possible environment). I also liked how I was raised. We could just as easily talk to an adult as to someone our own age. This actually helped us more as we entered the 'real world' than if we had been raised to mostly talk to people our own age. 

With that all said, you have every opportunity to make sure your child gets the socialization they need. Homeschool groups, sports, Co-ops, ballet, gymnastics can all be a sources of interaction. 

Do you have other questions or concerns? Be sure to leave a comment or follow me on Facebook or Instagram. Feel free to ask away!

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First Grade Curriculum Overview 2020

Now that you know what worked last year, and how I want to change things this year, you may be interested to know just what I chose for this year and why! I am here to share all of Little Man's subjects with you. There are a couple I am still finalizing, but if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, I'll be sharing any updates there. Now for the run down of subjects for Little Man:

Bible:
For Bible I am using what my mom did with me when I was little, and recently shared it with me. It's old and I can't find a link to it, sorry. It is more of a 'Bible Curriculum' in that it has a Bible story, and then questions. Since my curriculum this year is more 'traditional', I want to make sure that Little Man is still getting opportunities to share what he learned during a reading, to make sure he is retaining information.

Read Alouds:
Last year we did The Playful Pioneers and loved it! Our favorite part was the rich literature we were able to read aloud together as a family (and for the past 6 weeks, even my husband got to join in!). This year isn't looking exactly the same, but I still want fun books that I can read aloud as I nurse my newborn. As you'll see in History, we will be going over American History. For read alouds I'll read some that we read as extras for The Playful Pioneers, as well as some that I've collected over the course of this past year. I am linking some of them here:




History:
My tired of school, 5th grade self said my kids would never do Abeka, but here I am using it for my 1st grader! Technically it's just a history and geography workbook, and I will be doing my very best to make it as fun as possible. I'm hoping that with the amazing read alouds we will be doing, it will make the 'boring' history facts come alive to Little Man. My mom had given me this workbook we had used, and I just can never say no to free! 

We will also be using the Culture Club at our homeschool group as geography as well. I am also adding this fun activity book to go with our United States learning. Some things are a bit above his reading level, so we will just pick and choose what to do this year.

Science: This is one I haven't quite nailed down yet. I know I will be using the Usborne Body Book (see review here) as a health and body science book. Little Man also likes Magic School Bus books, and we might use those as a jumping off point for different topics. I also want to use these beautiful Anatomy books to explore nature. There are some great, free nature study resources on Pinterest that I plan to use to journal what we are exploring outside. Oh, and the Ocean Anatomy book is on my current wish list!




Phonics :
We will continue to use what I did last year. Explode the Code, Phonics games and readers, and the vintage phonics program my mom gave me. His reading has come a long way this past year, and I am excited about how much it will grow this next year! I have some general goals with his reading, but I really want him to be able to go at his own pace.

Handwriting: I will continue with A Reason For Handwriting (review here). I will be doing Book A with Little Man, and follow their recommendation for transitioning him to cursive for 2nd grade.


Math:
Here is the biggest change, I think! I am switching from Saxon to Math U See. After seeing siblings go through this curriculum, and after research, I think this will fit my son and our family a little better. I am starting with Alpha, although I think we will be speeding through the first part of the curriculum. Having a dvd teacher, and simple worksheets to work through, will make things a little easier, as we transition to having a newborn again.

I want to add that things like art, critical thinking skills, and practical skills will be a part of our year too! I like to add art projects to our science, and I will continue to include our Timberdoodle games for thinking skills.

That is it! I am hoping as the year progresses, I can update you on my opinions on each subject, what readers my son enjoys, and how the transition really is working. If you have any questions on any of this, leave a comment below, or ask me on Instagram or Facebook!
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What has worked this year...and what hasn't

No one likes to admit defeat, but sometimes you have to acknowledge that things don't work, to be able to go forward. Today I'll be sharing what I have loved about this year's curriculum, and what isn't working. Next week I'll share what I am planning to change for next year!

What's working:
The Playful Pioneers: Here you can find my previous post all about this wonderful curriculum. Although I am changing things up, it DID work for this year. I loved it so much, that when it's time for Baby Girl, and Baby #3 to start school, I will be reusing it!

A Reason For Handwriting: You can click here for a more in depth review. Little Man's handwriting has come a long way from the beginning of the year, and it's mostly thanks to this curriculum. Even though we only do it once or twice a week, it has really helped Little Man. He loves the coloring sheet that comes with it, and it is probably his favorite subject of the day.

Explode the Code: It took a while for it to grow on me, but Little Man's reading has really developed using this curriculum. I still think there are a few changes I would make, and it isn't Little Man's favorite thing, but it has worked in terms of his reading level.


What isn't working:


Basically it's just one thing-Math I hate to admit defeat but here it is:

Saxon Math 1: I think I started on the wrong foot when we chose to do Math1 instead of the primer. It had worked well for my siblings, but Little Man was a bit younger than they were, since his birthday is in September. The teacher book is pretty intense with the amount that the parent is involved, and there is normally activities, drills, AND a worksheet. I have broken these up to help him not get frustrated or tired out, but it's made for slow going through the curriculum. We will finish maybe half of the course work by May. Little Man has been successful in understanding the concepts, but I just don't feel like this is the right fit for his personality, or how our life is right now (young toddler, and about to add a newborn). Stay tuned to see what I've chosen for next year!

I want to add that just because something works or doesn't work for me and one of my children, doesn't mean it will be the same for you! I just want to share my experience with you, to hopefully help you with your own curriculum choices. For my mom, and many others, Saxon 1-3 was the perfect choice, but for me I just don't feel like it's been as successful as it should be.

My Thoughts on The Playful Pioneers

As we near the end of our homeschool year, I thought I share with you what has worked, what hasn't, and what I plan to use for Little Man's 1st grade. During this series, I am even sharing what I plan to do with Baby Girl, as we delve into a bit of 'tot school'. Today I am sharing how I liked our main curriculum, The Playful Pioneers by The Peaceful Press.

The playful pioneers explores the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder and you go through most of the Little House Books, including Farmer Boy. The curriculum follows a more Charlotte Mason approach, which is something I enjoy. I love reading living books that the whole family can enjoy. With everything that's going on right now, my husband is at home and he is also enjoying our read aloud time in the morning.

 Things I like about the curriculum:
Little Man has learned so much! There is a lot of science and history covered in The Playful Pioneers. We have made earthworm habitats, studied bees, done science experiments and more! We've read books about some of our founding fathers, as well as other cultures and places. Little Man is only 5, which means he hasn't grasped it all, but that brings me to the next amazing thing about this curriculum.

He will enjoy going through it again in a few years. When Baby Girl and the other little one on the way get old enough for this curriculum, Little Man can go through it again. I can add things to make it more in depth for him, but he can still enjoy the Little House books and activities we have gotten to do.  This means that this curriculum is pretty economical!

 Some things I've tweaked or would change:

There are A LOT of activities in this book. Some involve expensive supplies, or things that are simply above his understanding. We have had to skip a few things, but I don't feel like it's lessened the impact of what was learned.

There are also A LOT of recommended books. I have found Youtube to be a great resource in finding the books read aloud, but there are some that I simply can't find. While I love collecting books, it would cost quite a bit for me to purchase each one. If you can't find the book on Youtube, or the library, then you can tweak it like I have. For example, this past week we studied Alexander Graham Bell. I didn't have the book, and I couldn't find it read aloud. What I did find was an old animated cartoon about him. I have used Magic School Bus episodes, and other resources to cover things that I didn't have the book for.


Other notes on the Curriculum:
So much watercolor! I made a school supply list at the beginning of the year, and we have used up most of the art supplies! My son loves all things painting and coloring, so this is perfect for him.

We also enjoyed the printables. Some were a bit above his level of writing and reading, but he enjoyed coloring a picture that went along with what we were reading.


Overall we have enjoyed this year. We ARE changing things, but it isn't because we haven't loved what we've done this year (I will address this in a week or two). Do you have any questions about The Playful Pioneers? Be sure and comment or if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you can ask me there!

Butterfly Unit Study

Nothing says spring like watching butterflies float from flower to flower in warming air, or watching fat caterpillars crawl on new leaves. A couple of years ago we did a butterfly unit study and it was one of my favorites! Next month, I am speaking at my local 4-H club about butterflies and butterfly gardens, and I wanted to share all of that information with you, and help you create a fun filled unit study that can be done with several age ranges.



Pre-k-Kindergarten
A Very Hungry Caterpillar Unit Study
For being a young children's book, A Very Hungry Caterpillar is packed with information about the life cycle of a butterfly. The hungry caterpillar starts as an egg, then as a caterpillar eats his way through so many delicious foods before becoming a chrysalis and transforming into a beautiful butterfly.

This is the unit study from Simply Learning we did a couple of years ago. It has counting, measuring, pasta life cycles, caterpillar pancakes, and so many adorable, educational things. This unit study caused my son to really get interested in bugs and worms, and he hasn't stopped being interested!

I will give a disclaimer here: we didn't do everything in the unit study! While her units are beautiful and fun, it can be quite a lot to do, or a lot of ink that needs to be used. I picked my favorite things, and did those. Sometimes I supplemented with other things I found on Pinterest.

For younger kids I suggest the letter pages, color patterns, pancakes, and the pasta life cycle. I added in watercolor butterflies, as well as a coloring book Little Man's aunt gave him that went with the book. We did extra research on different kinds of caterpillars, and took nature walks to look for some.

For Kindergarteners, I would suggest activities like measuring, patterns, days of the week, as well as the life cycle. Picking out a specific butterfly to paint and noticing the correct colors is also a great idea for this age range. Nature walks and identifying the different caterpillars and butterflies is a great idea for all age groups!

A craft idea we enjoyed during this unit, was taking a coffee filter and coloring it with washable markers. Spritzing it with water causes the colors to blend. Add a clothespin and glue on antenna  pipe cleaners, and you have an adorable butterfly craft!

Another extra craft idea for little ones, is pom pom caterpillars. You can learn about colors, color patterns, counting, and the motor skills it takes to glue the pom poms to the paper. For Kindergarteners, you can take an extra step by making a few caterpillars with patterns you requested, and certain lengths ('make a 6" caterpillar with a black, yellow and white pattern' for example).

Older kids
What you need: Books on Butterflies (some suggestions: Lift the flap Usborne book, Kids National Geographic books, Monarch Magic) I also love the Nature Anatomy for all age groups, for identification and basic information. It is also a great resource for watercolor paintings.

This age group is a bit more 'boring', but they can get much more involved in the process of growing a butterfly garden and raising monarch butterflies. My suggestion is nature journaling. While this doesn't take the place of their core subjects (in my opinion, I know some use these themes as jumping off points for all subjects!), it includes more than just science!

For this age group more detailed life cycles (like this one!)  with descriptions of each stage can be made. Journaling the process of growing a butterfly garden, hatching and growing caterpillars to butterflies, etc. can be fun for this age group. The older the child, the more detailed the journaling can be. For the younger elementary, you can get them to draw a picture and label it with a simple sentence, and as they get older they can have lengthier entries. This covers language arts and creative writing as well as science. They can create art, write poems, stories, etc about the the things they've learned.

For all ages: Butterfly Gardening

Milkweed is the plant we think of for Monarchs, and can be added to your butterfly garden. I am on the lookout for plants that will work for my area, as this will be a first time for me planting them!

This site has a long list of great plants for butterflies, along with what kind of butterfly each plant attracts. It includes some of my favorite herbs and flowers like lavender, rosemary, lantanas, sunflowers, and snapdragons, that I'll be sure and include in my butterfly garden this year.

Have your children help you in planning the garden, drawing out where certain plants will go (you can also get a general 'butterfly garden' seed packet from the store), and setting out the plants themselves. Get older students to research what kind of soil, sun, and watering each plant needs and make a plan for its care.

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Spring Time Learning for Littles!

Whether you are trying to get a spring themed unit study together for your younger student, or just want a couple of things added to your homeschool day to incorporate spring, hopefully this post inspires you! I am a big believer in hands on learning, and including practical skills, so there aren't a lot of printables or workbooks included here. 

Next week I'll share with you a butterfly unit study you can share with your children. I am coordinating the butterfly and butterfly gardening unit with our local 4-H club, so I thought I would share some of the research and crafts that I found with you as well! This blog post will be about bugs, flowers, weather, and other non-butterfly spring things. 

Great Spring Themes!

Flowers and Gardening: Even if you don't have a large yard, you can get your children involved in watching tiny seeds turn into beautiful flowers or produce. I normally have a pretty low key veggie garden, as well as potted herbs and flowers. If you've never planted anything before, never fear! You can start out with easy to grow herbs (like basil) or flowers (like petunias) in a small container to get started.  

A great way to start your learning journey, is by reading a book on the parts of a flower, or how a seed grows. After that, you can do a craft or art activity displaying what they have learned. This blog post shows a craft on labeling the parts of a flower. We've used seeds, things we've gathered on a nature walk, etc. to create a similar craft. Next let your child pick a quick growing seed and start their own container plant or even garden! My son did sunflowers one year and was mesmerized by how tall and beautiful the little seed became. Workbooks are great, but the memories of growing their own plants will stick with them!
You can also include them in maintaining a garden as well. Let them pick weeds, and water your plants. My son things watering a garden is the best part of gardening-everything gets wet!

Bugs: For us, learning about bugs, worms, and caterpillars is a constant thing. Even a few weeks ago, we dug up itty bitty earthworms and made a habitat for them in a mason jar.
Starting with the Nature Anatomy, it's fun to learn about the different bugs, then research what they eat (My son loves to ask Google what certain insects eat, or if they poop! If you are wanting to add math to the equation, these counters are perfect for numbers, color sorting, bug recognition, sensory bins and more! We  also love getting a cheap dollar store bug catcher and starting an adventure of discovering bugs.

If you have toddlers to young preschoolers, they can learn how to spell their names using bug crafts. For older 'youngsters' breaking out the watercolors and learning the proper colors for certain well know bugs can be great (my son loves to paint/color all things blue. We have been working on observing things and using their proper colors to color them!). If you missed out on my Timberdoodle Dot a Dot review, you can check it out here. In their activity book you can find butterflies, flowers, and bees that make perfect motor skill building and art projects for a bug themed unit study!

Weather: My son's favorite book for weather, is the Magic Schoolbus one. Even when he was too young to pay attention to the whole story, he loved looking at the pictures and asking questions. I will admit, that we haven't personally done much weather themed schooling, but I found some really fun ideas on Simply Learning's Pinterest board. I've used her themes in the past and they've always been a lot of fun. I love the idea of cotton ball counting, and the fun science activity I found on her spring board.

An extra 'theme' is to get your kids to help you with spring cleaning! Dusting, wiping baseboards, and cleaning out their room can double as both motor skills and practical skills. Perfection might not be the result, but it is so good to get them to help with maintaining the home early.

Do you have more spring themed crafts and activities? Let me know in the comments!
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My Very First Body Book: A Timberdoodle Review

I  am incredibly excited to be telling you about this wonderful book! From the first moments of my son opening up the Timberdoodle box, he excitedly squealed over the bright colors and immediately wanted me to read My Very First Body Book to him. 

We are big fans of Usborne books, and this was no exception.  This was a great addition to our curriculum this year, as we didn't have anything that was specifically 'health' related. 

Each page is filled with information on the human body and how it functions, but never feels too 'wordy', as it's broken up into sections. The formatting and bright illustrations helped keep my son's interest, the whole way through!

Something else I appreciated is that they kept the 'people' in the book very vague and a solid color. It never felt inappropriate or above a preschool/kindergartners level.

My son's favorite page? The one about pooping of course! This is done very well, and merely states matter of factly how our digestive system works. My son was mesmerized, but still giggled a little at the end. He is all boy!

The book covers the skeletal system, muscles, organs, how our body ages, and so much more, yet it stays within its 3+ level. This would be a great jumping point to get your kids interested in learning more about the human body.

Something else I appreciated about this book was that the pages were hard and almost indestructible. This is great when Baby Girl wants to look through the brightly illustrated pages too!





You can click here to see more details of this wonderful book. It is also part of the complete Preschool Curriculum that Timberdoodle puts together. I love that it puts the guess work out of making sure you've covered everything you are supposed to for that grade level. I have loved everything that Timberdoodle has recommended thus far!

I have also added a few items that I would recommend for continuing to study the human body. As usual, these links are affiliate. Anything you purchase I will get a small compensation.
Happy studying!

Explode the Code Review

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This is another subject that I saw my siblings go through before I chose it for my own homeschooling year. While initially an easy choice, these have been workbooks that I've had a hard time getting used to. I've even considered changing to something else after the first few weeks, but I told myself to just get through the first book, and I'm so glad I did! If you've been considering using Explode the Code for your own little one, you can check out my pros and cons list of this phonics program.

Pros: 
First off, the Primer Books (Get Ready for the Code) were amazing! Because my son was already quite familiar with the alphabet, he sped through the primer book I found for him, and really enjoyed the simple graphics, and fun pre-reading activities.

For the other books, I like how there are very frequently reviewing lessons to go over everything that has been taught.

I love all the silly sentences that get to be read at the end of each lesson (this is Book 1). My son is really bad at trying to guess what the sentence will be based on the illustration, so the crazy sentences help me know that he is actually sounding them out.

The books seem to go at a really good pace. This is good since my son struggled in the beginning. He is going over all the concepts he had a hard time picking up, and each book is thorough with the concepts they teach.

Cons:
While the illustrations are cute and simple, after seeing the beautiful colored illustrations of A Reason for Handwriting it's hard not to compare the two. The black and white drawings are fun, but sometimes they can be a little hard to guess what they are. (which is actually good for sounding out the sentences and not guessing what comes next)

My personal opinion is that there is a lot of writing back to back. We do three pages per day, and it seems they put a lot of handwriting together. For a beginner writer, this can be a struggle. For a little boy who wants to get everything right, or takes a long time writing certain letters, this can make the lesson drag on. As he learns handwriting, and understands the concepts, this is getting easier and easier.

My son would get frustrated when he couldn't understand the concept or sound out the words. He had such a hard time in the beginning, and while they DO repeat concepts over and over again, this didn't make the first few lessons any easier.

Closing remarks and tips:
Overall, I would say I have enjoyed these books, and as my son grasps the concepts I enjoy it more (and so does he)! This past week he asked to keep going past the amount of pages I assigned to him!
Something I would recommend doing is set a limit for each day, so your child doesn't get too frustrated or over tired. My mom would set a timer, for us we do 3 pages a day. Do whatever works for you and your child!

Have you used Explode the Code? What do you think?

A Reason For Handwriting Review

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When it came time to pick my son's handwriting curriculum (which you can see the full list of here), there was no hesitation before choosing A Reason for Handwriting. I had two of my siblings go through the handwriting course when they were young. Not only did it help them obtain great handwriting, but they were copying Bible Verses. I remember my sister carefully coloring the illustrations and copying the verses, and when she was finished, she would gift these to family members. I was in Thailand at the time, and I think I still have a few of these keepsakes.



The Kindergarten version is a little different, in that there are no Bible Verses yet. Kindergartners learn how to form shapes, then letters based on these shapes. I really like how they do the letters in order of how they are made, not in order of the Alphabet. This makes it much easier for my little 5 year old to grasp, and his handwriting has flourished. Like the other books, there are still adorable illustrations, that my child can color and gift. There are already colorful animals gracing refrigerators in our family!










I am not sponsored by this company, and I paid full price for the book, but I just can't say enough good things about this course! When we received the book, my son ooo-ed and aaahh-ed over the colorful pictures inside, and Wednesdays (the day we focus on handwriting) is his favorite day of the week for school.






What do you use for handwriting? Let me know in the comments!

Whirly Squigz: A Timberdoodle Review

Back in July I talked about how I was including my Baby Girl in our homeschool year. She is 10  months old, crawling everywhere, but not quite walking yet. While she may not be walking yet, she is into everything! My hope was that adding these Whirly Squigz to her basket would help in keeping her occupied while Little Man and I worked on his Kindergarten studies.








The first thing I noticed about Whirly Squigz is how durable they were! Made out of silicone, they are very durable and perfect for little fingers to grab. Baby girl puts everything in her mouth, and these toys were no exception! She's been teething a lot here lately, and these made the perfect teething toys.

Another thing I liked about these toys, is that they could be separated and put in three different areas, and really function as three different toys. The suction cup on the bottom suctions really well (but not so much a baby can't pick the toy back up).I have tried several different surfaces, and unless the surface is uneven or bumpy, it will pretty much suction to anything.

The one 'con' I can give this toy is that Baby Girl was still too young for this toy when we got it. It is made for 10 months-3 years, and she just turned 10 months a week ago. Since she didn't quite 'get' the spinning aspect of the toy it didn't keep her attention as long, and I was unable to get a picture of her spinning it. However, big brother has really enjoyed these over sized 'figit spinners' -what he calls them-and showed Baby Girl enough times, that she has attempted to spin them a few times.

I also want to add the 'flower' with only 2 'petals' doesn't spin as well as the others. However, this is the one Baby Girl really enjoys as a teether.






Overall I would say that these would make great birthday or Christmas gifts for babies 10 months or older. They can be separated and make great toys to occupy little ones when you are out and about, or at home. They suction on tables, high chairs, windows, and refrigerators. You can click this link to buy it separately, or it also comes with the tot school curriculum from Timberdoodle. This would be great for introducing your little one to school (especially if they have older siblings they want to be like!), and helping with motor skills. Later I'll be writing Christmas gift suggestions for little ones, and I see this making the list!

Smart Farmer: A Timberdoodle Review

If you've followed me very long on this blog, you know we are using The Playful Pioneers Curriculum from The Peaceful Press. Right now we are in the middle of Farmer Boy and learning all about farm animals, planting, school in the 1800s, and all the wonderful life lessons you can find in all of Laura Ingalls' books. When getting our curriculum ready for the new school year, I knew I wanted this game from Timberdoodle, to help with critical thinking.

My son received this on his birthday, and couldn't wait to open it! He loves other thinking skills games from Timberdoodle, like Rush Hour Jr. (he plays this all the time at my moms) so he was excited for a game all his own that was similar. 

Smart Farmer is a game perfect for his age, and I don't think I would go any younger. He had no problem setting up the pieces in the correct places, but struggled to figure out how the game worked at first. Once I explained how it worked, he managed to figure out the first puzzle. He worked many levels on his own, but didn't quite understand that you needed to group the like animals together. I believe he will figure this out soon. 

Smart Farmers comes with a game board, fence pieces, itty bitty farm animals, and a puzzle manual. Each puzzle in the instruction manual increases in difficulty, to help keep the game challenging. The pieces are a little too small for baby sister to get a hold of, so we have to be sure and play it on the table or higher surface. Each piece is made very well, and I can see it lasting a long time! 

If you are thinking about a curriculum for building thinking skills, this game might be perfect for your 5-10 year old! It's cute, fun, and very educational. It even caused this momma's brain to stop and think a minute! My son loves puzzles, and I feel like this one is  a 'next level' puzzle. I am now also considering getting other puzzles like this from Timberdoodle. This game is also a part of the complete Kindergarten Curriculum from Timberdoodle, so you could have this as part of your main curriculum. I highly recommend this game for little ones who love puzzles, farm animals, challenges, or all of the above!