In the last few weeks we have been doing what I’ve dubbed as “relaxed notebooking”, I share more about the concept in my Homeschooling as a Lifestyle Workshop but in essence we have been picking topics each week to do mini unit studies on. This approach works really well with our relaxed, interest-led homeschool style. I thought it would be fun to share some of the mini units we have been doing as well as the resources we are using. At the beginning of each week I ask my kids what they want to learn about that week and that helps guide our week. So far they have had a balance of…
Eight Picture Books For Little Engineers and Builders
If you have a little one in your home that is into building things you’ll love these picture books! I often find myself wondering what my kids will chose to “do” or “be” when they grow up. I’m definitely not going to force them to do anything but I like looking for their strengths and interests now and watching how they change (or stay the same) as they grow older. Right now Raeca says she wants to be an artist and a writer when she’s older. And she also wants to travel the world and tell people about Jesus. A girl after my own heart. Ephraim is a little harder…
Using Games in our Homeschool
My husband has always loved games, he even has a group of friends that get together every month to play games. So it comes as no surprise to me that both my kids ask to play games often. The only games I played when I was younger were pretty much Clue with my brother and endless rounds of Monopoly with one of my cousins (we did not play by the rules). We don’t have a huge selection of games but we are slowly building it over birthdays and Christmases, games are such a great gift to give kids. Thankfully almost every game out there has some kind of educational benefit to…
7 Books For Studying Oceans & Sea Creatures
I totally blame it on the show Octonauts but we’ve been on a bit of an underwater kick around here lately. Each week Raeca picks a new animal or two to learn about in science and we’ve had a good stretch of sea creatures; pilot fish, jellyfish and the green sea turtle). The kids have quite enjoyed the show and I appreciate the educational aspect while it is still entertaining. This new found interest in sea creatures has prompted us to start looking through those sections of the books we already own as well as discovering new-to-us books. The ones on this list have been great resources for our studies.…
Our (Practically Free) Grade 1 Science Curriculum
Over the next few weeks I will be sharing how I am planning our practically free grade one curriculum. Today I’m on to our science curriculum. You can check out the rest of the series here: Our (Practically Free) Grade 1 Math Curriculum Our Free Grade 1 Spanish Curriculum Our (Practically Free) Grade 1 Music Curriculum Our (Practically Free) Grade 1 Art Curriculum Our (Practically Free) Grade 1 Language Arts Curriculum Our (Practically Free) Grade 1 History Curriculum Also, Our (Practically Free) Preschool Curriculum And An Overview of Our Whole Year If you are looking for ways to save money in your homeschool without skimping on education make sure to come back and check out the other posts…
An Overview of Our Homemade Grade 1 & Preschool Curriculums
Today is our official start to our first year homeschooling! I have been waiting for this day for about 3 years and I’m kind of nervous that it will all blow up in our faces, I don’t think it will but that fear is definitely there. When I started thinking about what I all wanted the kids to learn this year part of me got overwhelmed and just wanted to buy a full pre-made curriculum. BUT one of the reasons we are homeschooling is to have more flexibility in our days and our learning and I knew that wouldn’t be the best way for us. So, I decided to hack together…
