Our First Field Trip!

I love when things just come together and work out perfectly!  A sweet friend of mine invited us to join her and her [homeschooled] daughter at our local zoo this week.  We let our membership lapse and I've been too cheap  frugal to renew it since we would not get a full year's use out of it.  So, I happily made plans and today was the big day.

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the flexibility.  I switched our lesson plans for this week and am doing Z is for Zoo.  Then, I decided to officially tag the trip to the zoo today as our first official homeschool field trip. :)

I have been using this fantastic and FREE preschool curriculum called God's Little Explorers*, so "Z is for Zoo" is Week 4 if you follow the link and look for it.  Her plans are great and I find there is little that I tend to add to supplement.  She does have a link at the top of the page where you can purchase a more in-depth version of the curriculum for a very budget-friendly price.  But, I have found that the free version suits our needs just fine for now.

*Disclaimer:  I am not following the curriculum in chronological order by week numbers.  I am picking and choosing based on other factors.  It works well since there is no carry-over week over week.  There's that flexibility factor, again.

In preparation for the zoo trip, we did some letter work this morning and made zebra's out of the outline of letter Z.  The younger diva required a little more assistance with the activity, but the older diva completed almost all of it on her own.

The older diva cut her own paper strips and glued them down while I was helping the younger diva.

 The younger diva had a lot of fun gluing down her zebra stripes and googly eyes.

They were both pleased with their finished products!

At the zoo, we participated in the Wildlife Detective Training Academy and the clues this month were all about zebras!  The divas had a blast going around with their friend, figuring out the clues.  Since the older diva is not yet writing, I wrote the answers to the clues and then had her copy the beginning letter sound of the word next to the box.  Even the younger diva wanted in on that activity, so our answer sheet had some amazing scribble marks on it that were her "letters", too! :)

We did encounter some students from area elementary schools who were on field trips, as well, and they all had on school t-shirts.  That gave me the brilliant idea of making our own field trip t-shirts for the divas.  I will have to blog about it once I settle on a design.

Be blessed, y'all!

Why Cleaning Is Part of Our School Day

Yep, you read that correctly.  Cleaning is part of our school day.  Go ahead, take a moment and let that soak in before you read more!

In subscribing to a Montessori-inspired approach to not just schooling but home life, as well, cleaning is an obvious component of Practical Life skills.  It actually seems too obvious.  But, putting it into motion wasn’t nearly as easy as embracing the concept was – at least not for this momma.  Let’s face it, life with 4 kiddos is mostly [dis]organized chaos peppered with a few peaceful reprieves.  I jokingly confided in the older mancub the other day that I sometimes feel like the human version of saltwater taffy when all 4 of them are clamoring for my attention.  His oh-so-loving response was to chant, “Mom, Mom, Mom,” for the next 60 seconds.  He’s lucky I love him. ;)  So, I often kick into “survival mode” and do the tasks myself to get it checked off the never-ending To Do list that loves to haunt my waking hours.

Enter my New Year’s Resolutions.  At the top of the list?  Engage the kiddos in more household tasks, of course!  I spent the first full week of the New Year organizing and deep cleaning the house.  How else could I justify pinning all of those lovely home organization pins on Pinterest? Then, I formed my plan of action. 

Toys:  True to Montessori method, we now clean up each activity as we complete it.  It was bad form on my part for allowing slack in this area previously.  It teaches proper care of toys and orderliness.  It also cuts down on the number of toys that go missing.  I was amazed at how quickly the divas embraced our new system.  I thought for sure I would meet more resistance, but they seem to intuitively understand and appreciate the need for orderliness.  Whew! 

Kitchen:  With the addition of our Montessori-inspiredsnack station, all 4 kiddos have become more independent with snacks and breakfast/lunch.  I have been working with the divas on setting and clearing the table and will introduce dish washing this coming week.  The older mancub is responsible for unloading the dishwasher.  The younger mancub is on garbage and recycling duty.  I have also enlisted the older mancub’s help with dinner once a week, on average.  I love that he loves to cook! :)

Household cleaning:  I have followed this cleaning schedule for a while now and like the simplicity, as well as the way it breaks the chores up over the week.  Like the toys, though, this is an area where I have been inconsistent about engaging the kiddos.  One of my reasons for slacking was the fact that I did not want them exposed to the cleaning chemicals.  Another nod to Pinterest; I was inspired by all of the DIY cleaning products that have been filling my news feed.  I found this great link for recipes for cleaning products and she includes an awesome (and FREE!) printable for labels.  I followed her advice and affixed the labels to the bottles using packing tape and it worked perfectly! 

Here is my version.

Now, I can incorporate more lessons on cleaning without worrying about the products I am putting into the divas’ hands.  Yay!  Plus, what kid doesn't love a spray bottle?!  So, I’m pretty sure they will be content to spray and wipe to their hearts’ content. ;)

Momma feels less like saltwater taffy and the kiddos gain valuable practical life skills that they will {hopefully} carry with them into adulthood.  Now, to go tackle that mountain of laundry in the garage…

Nature is a Great Teacher

We are on the tail end of our Winter Break, so I took the mancubs and divas to a local nature boardwalk over the weekend.  Because, where else except Florida can you take a nature hike in shorts during Winter Break? :)

We had a great afternoon, although the kiddos (ok, and Momma, too) were all disappointed that the nature center was closed.  So, we will be taking a trip back soon to explore the nature center.  The younger mancub did make sure that I didn't leave until we had one copy of every informational brochure they had on the stand outside the nature center, though. lol

We saw some really cool things during our hike along the boardwalk.  God's creation is always amazing - the way it displays itself, the evidence of surviving damage, the harmony of working together.  There is beauty in all of it and I love teaching our kiddos to appreciate it.

Here are some of the neat things we saw:

I love the learning opportunities that nature so readily presents, as well.  As we were walking, we noticed a teeny tiny caterpillar descending on a silk thread from the tree canopy to the boardwalk below.  Once it made it to the ground below, the perfect opportunity to discuss camouflage in nature presented itself. 

I should probably brush up on my knowledge of caterpillars since finding baby caterpillars seems to be our thing. We didn't touch this one because I couldn't identify it and I didn't want to risk getting stung.

The younger mancub and older diva both enjoyed getting to touch some lichen that was growing on a lot of the trees.

Red blanket lichen

We also got to hear a variety of birds and saw a ton of spiders.  I tried to get a photo of one particularly colorful spider, but it started jumping towards me when I got too close to the web.  I guess he was camera shy. ;)

It was an awesome day and I'm glad we were able to get out for a quick "field trip" with the mancubs before they go back to school.

God bless!

Self-directed Learning Through Play

I just finished reading this fantastic post by another blogger and wanted to quickly share my thoughts about this topic.

When I first began this homeschooling journey, I had grand plans for following a daily schedule, doing circle time, and producing tangible proof of what the older diva would be learning this school year.  Enter perfectionism.  I spent hours (I mean, seriously - HOURS) finding or making the perfect printables to create the perfect Circle Time chart.  I spent yet more time finding a scope and sequence/curriculum that I liked and thought would work well for us as we began our journey.

It lasted about a week.  Ha!

I decided I was simply taking the wrong approach.  Enter Montessori and Montessori-inspired activities.  The heavy focus on independence and practical life skills at the 3-6 age range was attractive to me.  What mom doesn't want to have independent children who will grow into capable adults?  So, I spent yet more hours integrating Montessori and Montessori-inspired activities into our daily life and onto our school shelves.

The older diva barely touches them.  *sigh*

[Sidebar]: The only saving grace is that the younger diva loves the Montessori activities, so the effort was not completely wasted.  I had planned on waiting until she was 3 to start schooling with her.  But, the beauty of the Montessori activities is that I can teach them to her once or twice and then she is capable of executing the activities independently until she either masters the skill or tires of the activity.

Back I went to the internet to find what was going to work.  I have finally settled on a Charlotte Mason/Montessori blend.  But, more importantly, I have decided to take the pressure off both myself and the older diva with regards to what/how she is learning.  Spend 5 minutes with her and anyone quickly figures out that she is smart, observant, funny, inquisitive, kind, (and on and on...) and independent.

Which brings me to the whole point of this post.  Everywhere I turn, there are learning opportunities.  The older diva is definitely interested in learning.  But, what her indifference towards my grand attempts at initiating homeschooling has shown me is that she will let me know what she wants to learn and when she wants to learn it.  Therein lies the beauty of self-directed learning through play.  All I have to do is provide the opportunities and the exposure (and the support materials to encourage learning) and she will let me know what she wants to learn.

I have to admit, it has been slightly disconcerting to embrace this approach completely.  I sometimes fall into the trap of believing that she should know XYZ and she is somehow going to be behind if she doesn't yet.  But, then I remind myself of all of those amazing qualities that she possesses that I listed above and I relax again.

Without a doubt, this teacher often becomes the student and my kiddos each have taught me invaluable lessons in life.

Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

It's exams week for the older mancub, so I have been pushing breakfast even more than usual every morning this week.  Clearly, I have spoiled him because cereal is not acceptable and a hot breakfast is a must have.  So, this morning I made Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal pancakes - better known as the BEST PANCAKES EVER!!  Seriously.  These pancakes are fluffy, but dense at the same time.  I'm not even sure how that is possible.  Don't believe me?  Try them for yourself!  The lousy cell phone picture doesn't do them justice, but if I'm going to keep it real on this blog I can't whip out my camera and have a food photo shoot every time something turns out well.  Maybe someday - like 18 years from now when all of the mancubs and divas are grown and trying not to mess up rearing kids of their own. ;)

Cinnamon Banana Oatmeal Pancakes

1 C quick oats
1 C all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp wheat germ
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 C milk
1 ripe banana, mashed
Organic coconut oil (for cooking)

Measure the quick oats into a mixing bowl.  Combine the next four ingredients in a sifter and sift into the mixing bowl with the quick oats.  Add the wheat germ, egg, and milk and blend well (I use a fork or a whisk to blend to minimize lumps in the batter).  Fold in the banana.

You can use cooking spray in place of the coconut oil, but I prefer coconut oil.  Cook over medium heat.  Flip one time, once the tops of the pancakes form bubbles (about 2 minutes), and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Serve with butter (optional) and syrup.

Enjoy!

Our Montessori-Inspired Snack Station

The Montessori method has long been a draw for me and not just because I was a Montessori kid myself.  I love the heavy focus on practical life skills and independence in the 3-6 age range that is at the heart of Montessori.  So, I have been busy rearranging aspects of our routine to help foster those skills and independence.  One of the changes that I have just recently made is a snack station.

First, I have to share how excited I am about the piece of furniture that I used to make the station.  I found it at Goodwill for a mere $7!!  It is solid wood and a few coats of paint made it look like a totally different piece!  

My set up for the station from the top shelf down is as follows:

Top shelf - picture tent cards of refrigerated snack options.

Second shelf - One basket with non-perishable snack options.  These will include granola bars, fig bars, rice cakes, crackers (variety), pretzels, etc.  I will limit it to 2 different choices per week and rotate through them to provide a good variety throughout the month.  The other basket has prep utensils in it - kid-friendly butter knives, an apple corer/slicer, and other utensils as I acquire them.

Staging area - The small wooden bowl is a fruit bowl (bananas, apples, oranges).  The red square is a cutting mat (my small wooden cutting board is packed away somewhere, so this will have to do for now. ha!), Cups for drinking water and a pitcher.

I hung a small dowel using thumbtacks to make the towel rod.  I thought it turned out pretty cute. :)

Third shelf - This shelf has paper plates (yes, I know plastic or disposable is not Montessori, hence the word "inspired" attached to it in the post title :) ), a basket with napkins and I will add another basket with utensils for eating.

Bottom shelf - I added a place mat that shows the proper table setting after I took this picture.  But, the real addition to that shelf is coming at Christmas.  Check back to see what will be coming for the younger diva! 

Slow down or you might miss something!

Ahhh, Christmas!  It is one of my favorite times of the year!  The only thing I don't like is the rush and bustle of the crowds.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm going to do most, if not all, of my Christmas shopping online this year just to avoid the crowds.  Yeah, I know - BAH-HUMBUG!

In an effort to slow time down, the divas and I went for a walk yesterday morning.  Our mission was simple:  get some fresh air and find some twigs to use for our playdough snowmen we were going to make.  As we wandered down the sidewalk, a small glint of green spinning in the breeze in mid-air caught my eye.  Upon closer inspection, I discovered it was a tiny inchworm dropping from the tree above on its way to the ground below.  So. Cute.

The divas were immediately drawn to it and spent several minutes staring at it in fascination as it wriggled and squirmed on the sidewalk.  After our walk was complete, the divas came back to the spot where we found the inchworm and begged to bring it home.  We have been working on habitats lately, so it seemed appropriate.

So, we now have a new "class" pet!  Meet Squishy and check out his new habitat that the divas helped me assemble. :)

It's moments like these that remind me of how blessed I am to be home with my kids and to be schooling the divas.  In a world where everything is so rushed and hurried, I can hit the pause button and something as small and seemingly insignificant as an inchworm can hold our fascination.

So, in this crazy busy time of year, I encourage each of you to slow down and look around or you just might miss something!

Love and Peace. XO