Blog - Page 8 of 8 - Simply Learning Together

Posted on March 1, 2021March 21, 2021 by Jaimie — 2 Comments

Classical Conversations: Overcoming My Fears and Jumping In

We joined Classical Conversations for our second year of homeschooling. I had looked into it my first year, but I was intimidated and nervous to commit. Although it felt like a big leap to say yes this year, we have been so blessed by the program and our community.

In this post I’d like to take you through my fears before starting. There were a few things that caused me to hesitate, and I hope to share them with you in case you have the same thoughts. In a separate post, I will share what a Community Day looks like and how we add it into our homeschool day each week.

It’s important to note the age of my children. Right now I have two children in Foundations that are 6 and 4 years old. I also have a 2 year old and a 5 month old. If you are not sure what the Foundations program is, check out the Classical Conversations website here for a brief outline.

The Classical Conversation Blog has a great article on the joys of the Foundations program. You can find that here.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

At first glance, Classical Conversations can be intimidating.

The program is jam-packed full of INCREDIBLE information. When I first looked into Classical Conversations, I was scared to have to teach all of the information to my children. What if we couldn’t keep up? What if I was unfamiliar with the topic? What if my children do not enjoy the material? Can we even afford it?

Well, I was wrong to question it on all parts. Once we started, I realized my fears were unnecessary. God has provided us with a lovely community, a beautiful curriculum, and a confidence I didn’t know I needed.

This post is based on my opinion and my experience with Classical Conversations. Please note that every community is a little bit different. So some experiences may differ from mine. For some questions, it is important to contact your local community director for a specific answer.

The Tutor guides us each week on Community Day.

Every Monday we show up for Community Day and there is a Tutor there to help my children (and especially me!) learn the memory for the week. There are songs and motions for the majority of the subjects. We practice all of the new grammar together in class.

The name is “tutor” because YOU, sweet mama (or dad!), are the teacher 🙂 The tutor is there to help lead you into your week.

As my child learns, I am also in the room learning as well. My children are in separate classes, and I go back and forth between the classrooms throughout the day.

Even though they are in a different room, they are all learning the same thing. It’s one of my favorite parts of the program. Our whole family is participating in this together.

Classical Conversations has a guide, an app, and a CD to make practicing memory work so easy.

If I don’t have something memorized, it’s not a big deal. I’ll be honest, there are many weeks where I know absolutely nothing about the topic! It’s nothing to be scared of because I know I’ll learn it with them.

When I used to teach, I’d get asked questions all the time about things I didn’t know. That’s when you say something like, “Wow! That’s a great question. Let me show you how to look up your answer.” My point is…You do not have to be all-knowing!

There are three ways I can provide the memory work to my children. First, is the Foundations guide that breaks down every subject week by week. Follow the previous link and you can actually download the first five weeks for a preview!

Second, is the app that has all of the memorization organized by week. Pick your subject and the week you are studying and the app recites it for you. This is mainly what we use to study each day. I can even connect it to a blue tooth speaker and play it for the whole room to hear.

Last, is the CD. We listen in the car on the way to and from Community Day. Sometimes, we even practice on the go during the week. The CD has more than the app and is set up differently. It comes with three discs. One is songs for the semester. Another is weekly memory, and the third is separated by subject.

I enjoy having both the CD and the app. If you can’t afford both, I’d recommend purchasing the CD on your phone. That’s really what I should’ve done at first, but sometimes I just make spontaneous purchases and then realize later I could’ve saved a little money in the beginning!

All of these tools make it easy for me to provide memory practice for my family.

My children love learning the material.

There is so much to learn, and I’ve loved seeing my children developing interest in certain topics. Our favorite right now is the history songs. Learning about history was never a strength of mine growing up. Honestly, I had no interest in history. I was a math girl… but lately we just want to know more!

We love talking about all of the people and events mentioned in the songs. Everything has a catchy tune. Many nights I wake up singing the timeline song or something from history, but I don’t mind it!

My 2 year old has been singing the timeline song since she was 18 months old! It’s just such a blessing to be able to sit down together with my children while we sing and learn all together.

It’s not about “keeping up” in Foundations.

At this age, they are really just soaking up information and being exposed to so many different topics and subjects.

It sounds odd to some, but once you get to know the classical model, it makes more sense. If you are unfamiliar with the classical model, check out the following books:

“The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education” by Leigh A. Bortins

“The Well Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home” by Susan Wise Baur

These books are constantly recommended to me as a new member to CC, especially the first one.

So, back to the topic of keeping up with the memorization…One of our history sentences this year was about the Boston Tea Party. We sang the song, made up some fun motions and memorized it during the week. That’s all. At this age, we don’t go in to detail about what every little thing is and why it happened. We are just laying the foundation (get it?) for a deeper learning in the future.

Do my children ask questions? Of course! I answer them the best I can. Sometimes I’ll find a YouTube video or a library book if they are interested in the topic, which is a great way to practice interest-led learning. In Foundations, there’s nothing to “keep up” with. It’s just opening their eyes to a world full of knowledge!

When my children are older, I will want to challenge them more, but right now, at ages 4 and 6, we are happy dancing and singing and learning bits of knowledge throughout the year.

Everything is laid out week by week.

I was nervous about teaching all of the material, but there is a Classical Conversations guide that has everything laid out week by week. It’s so organized and helpful! I encourage you to look at the preview of the guide so you can see for yourself how it’s broken down. It makes planning so easy!

Plus, if I do get confused, there is a huge community of Classical Conversations members that are supportive and helpful.

Our own community is like a family, ready to help me as we need it. There’s even bigger communities on Facebook and the Classical Conversations website. At no point do I feel alone in this journey. I know there are so many people out there studying the same things, and it’s comforting to know I can get help if needed.

The cost may seem like a lot at first, but as a big picture, I don’t mind it.

The website sums up the cost as $14 a week for the Foundations program. (I believe it changes once you move beyond Foundations.) That cost is per child, and there’s a couple of reasons I don’t mind it.

First, I had plans originally to put my children in a Christian school. The cost of that is substantially more than $14 a week. So, I feel like I’m saving quite a bit of money…but my children are still receiving the Christian education I desired.

Second, I have 2 children in Foundations, so technically that’s $28/week. That’s less than what it costs for me to feed Chic-Fil-A to my family in one sitting. So….educate my kids or eat chicken? (ha!) I don’t really think that each week, but it definitely puts it into perspective.

I’ve heard if you tutor, you can receive a discount, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind as you consider costs.

I will warn you that at the beginning of the year, especially the first year, the costs do add up and come at you fast.

It’s kind of like a hit-you-at-once sort of thing. It would be helpful to prepare mentally or financially for that.

There is a registration fee, a supply fee, and usually a campus fee. Check with your local community to know for sure what these are. There are also books/supplies you will need to begin.

At the Foundations level, I bought four things, and I’ll explain what they were and how we used them.

First, is the guide which was $99. I won’t have to buy it again and will use it for all of my children. So, it’s a one-time big ticket.

I also bought the CD, which is not necessary, but it has helped us. The CD is $35 and it is specifically for Cycle 3. We will get to use it each time we are in that cycle…as long as my children haven’t scratched it to death by then. (Also another reason I should’ve just downloaded it to my phone…learn from me!)

I purchased the Cycle 3 Trivium at the Table Placemat Maps ($12). This will also be a one time purchase for this cycle. I do not pull these out every week, but we do use them. They are really nice and match the maps we use on Community Day. As my girls get older, I am positive they will be used very often.

The app should be included in this list of costs. It seems pricey, but we use it EVERY DAY. I believe it was around $15. It is specific to Cycle 3.

Finally, each girl needed a tin whistle. I bought them from Amazon for about $12 each. The tin whistles can be reused, as well.

I did not buy anything else, although it was tempting! You will be tempted too! Just remember you don’t need it all at first!! Slow down and stick with the basics. Hopefully this gives you an idea of book costs. If I do my math right, I think that totals books around $85 for two children in Foundations.

I will say that I do wish I had the timeline cards, but we’ve done fine without them. My plan is to start purchasing them a little at a time when I can. That way we will eventually have the whole set.

One more thing about saving costs. Since we cover science and history in our memory each week, I do NOT purchase a separate science or history curriculum. We use library books or videos to learn more about the topics we cover, but I do not feel it is necessary to add anything else at their age or even a bit older.

Making a big decision for your family is a difficult task.

Ultimately, you have to decide what is best for your family. Some of my opinions may differ from yours, our financial situations may be different, and our goals of homeschool may not look the same. You know what’s best for your family.

I encourage you to pray about Classical Conversations if it’s on your mind. I didn’t join my first year, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. As we got closer to the second year, I knew I was going to have to make a decision. Sometimes, I feel like God uses those thoughts of “Why can’t I stop thinking about this…” to push us to new things.

After a lot of prayer, we felt led to go for it. We took the leap and became a part of a Classical Conversations Community, and I am so thankful we did!

What’s holding you back? Is there something you’re thinking about that’s not mentioned above? Leave a comment and let me know! I’d love to talk to you more about it.

Find a Classical Conversations Community near you.

Posted on February 23, 2021February 24, 2021 by Jaimie — Leave a comment

My Favorite Tools To Teach the Alphabet at Home

When it came time for me to teach the alphabet to my second child, I ran into a few obstacles. I was new to the alphabet game, and I was working with a completely different personality. I really enjoyed trying new things to help her succeed, and I was also learning in the process!

We’ve had our ups and downs as we learn the alphabet together, but I definitely have my list of favorite tools that have worked for us. I hope by sharing them, it may give you some ideas to try at home. After a lot of trial and error, I was even able to create an alphabet curriculum that has worked wonders. I will share that in this post, as well.

I listed these tools in time order. We started at age three with a more playful approach (#1-6). I knew at that time she wasn’t ready for something intense. We gradually added a few different tools at age four that really helped her to succeed.

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

1. Alphabet Spiral Notebook

When Joanna was three, I was pretty laid back for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t think it was necessary to get super serious at three. Two, she didn’t sit very long! I didn’t want to push it, so we tried something I called the Alphabet Notebook.

Each week, we went through a letter of the alphabet. The first day, we crafted the letter out of construction paper into a cute animal or object. Next, we glued it into a spiral notebook. The following days of the week, we would use the next page or two in the notebook for writing practice. Sometimes I would glue different letter worksheets in there as well.

The one pictured is handwriting practice pages from Super God Not Super Mom on Teachers Pay Teachers. We didn’t use it all year, but it was a cute resource, and it’s great for early handwriting skills. (It’s a lot more expensive than I remember…I’m wondering if the cost went up.)

This was great for us. We really had the freedom to do whatever we wanted with it. It was low-key, easy to plan, and it’s so cute I can’t get rid of it!

My oldest actually did it with us for Kindergarten, and she really enjoyed it as well! If you follow me on Instagram, I have a whole Alphabet highlight where I show all of these pages. @simply.learning.together.

I hope to one day put together a blog post of my favorite, EASY alphabet crafts. We found almost all of them on Pinterest!

2. Sensory Learning

Sensory learning is great as it is, but my Joanna loves it! She wants to touch everything. So, I made sure to add in some sensory play with letters. Play-doh was a huge hit and a tool we used often (I’ll get to that more below). We also love shaving cream. She has so much fun with it. I always let her play in it for a bit and then we practice writing her name and letters.

I did try a salt/sugar tray once for her to make letters, but I spent most of the time trying to get her not to eat it!

3. Cardboard Letters

This one sounds odd, but it was a huge success for learning her name. At the beginning of the year, I cut out BIG cardboard letters for the letters of her name. We spent a couple days painting them and decorating them. Then, I would just play games with the letters.

We would lay them out on the floor and trace them with our finger. We practiced calling out the letter as if they were a flash card. Our favorite was a scavenger hunt where I’d hide the letters and she’d find them and spell out her whole name. These were so fun!

This could definitely be a great tool to teach the alphabet at home, as well. I’d suggest cutting as you learn them so you’re not having to cut 26 cardboard letters at once. Don’t forget to make them fun and decorate! You could display them in a play room/homeschool space…they’re really so cute! And the best part – FREE. She loved these and they’re so easy to pull out and play with.

4. Books

Books are always helpful, but I will say that some books don’t work the same for each of my children. My oldest’s favorite was “The Sleepy Little Alphabet”. She was recognizing the letters at a very young age in this book. It has a catchy rhyme to it and a cute story.

We purchased “A is for Apple” this year, and I loved how it encourages the child to touch the letter and trace. I knew that would be so helpful for Joanna.

There are so many alphabet books out there, but my all time favorites are the “A to Z Animal Antics”. There’s one book for every letter. We found most of them at our library, but I know you can find them online as well. The books go beyond just learning a letter. It tells a story using tons of words that start with that letter, so the sound is repeated over and over. At the end of the book there’s even enrichment activities to take learning even further. These books are fun, well written, and helpful when it comes to learning about the alphabet.

5. Magnetic Letters

I love having magnetic letters to teach the alphabet. We’ve practiced finding our name or finding a specific letter. Now that we are working on lowercase, we can match the capital to the lowercase. You really can do so much with these. The set that I’ve linked is just like the one we have, but it must be updated. This version actually comes with an e-book series that has 40 different activities you can do with your child!

I know it’s so fun for my girls to be able to pick up the letters, touch them, and move them around. Their favorite game is to put random letters in a line and ask me to “read” it. The words make absolutely no sense, but they sure do giggle – and I’d say we are getting good practice with letter sounds!

6. Play-Dough Mats

This falls in the sensory category, but we had our own special journey with play-dough that I wanted to share. I love using play dough to learn. It was especially helpful for Joanna because she loves sensory play. I knew play-dough mats existed, but I didn’t really want to pay the price. I also felt like everything I saw was just the letter on a piece of paper, maybe with a cute picture.

I didn’t think it was necessary to have to pay for that, so when she was three I would just write a big bubble letter on a piece of paper and slip it into a sheet protector. That was our play-dough mat, and it was perfect! No printing, no cutting…easy. If you are just starting out learning letters, I highly suggest this easy, free method!

When Joanna turned four, I needed more of a challenge. I started hunting around to find play-dough mats but was unhappy with the result. To me, they weren’t worth the money. Most of them had the letter and maybe a tracing prompt or two. I wanted more practice for her. I wanted something that I could take out and work with her one on one each week. Building one letter on a mat didn’t help me very much. So, I created my very first resource – Write and Play Alphabet Mats.

Joanna LOVED them. She could make the letters, trace them, write them, color them, find them…it was so much exposure to one letter in multiple ways. The best part, they’re designed so that your child can choose to write or play! We switch it up all the time. Sometimes she does a mix of both.

These mats were just what we needed to add a little fun, and it really helped me see where some gaps were. Suddenly, I started realizing she could recognize the letter easily, but she still struggled to write them…so I worked on that more. By having multiple skills on one page, I could easily assess her progress.

The mats are all set up the same, so eventually she was able to complete them independently. We still use these today, and they have been incredibly helpful for my daughter!

7. Alphabet Workbook – Preschool Alphabet Curriculum

After a few weeks of using the alphabet play dough mats, I started noticing that repetition was really helpful, but we obviously couldn’t do the same play dough mat every day!

This led me to create the Alphabet Workbook. I wanted consistent, repetitive letter practice. We were working on a specific letter every week, and I wanted her to have practice with that letter each day. The thing is… I didn’t want to have to go and search for multiple worksheets each week. Plus, most of them looked the same! I wanted variety.

The Alphabet Workbook is set up to do just that. There are four practice pages for every letter. Each page has different activities. There’s dot sticker/dot marker activities, dice games, ten frame practice, an optional painting activity, and color by number. That’s just a few of them listed. The focus is around one letter while so many other preschool skills are being practiced: shapes, counting, numbers, patterns, graphing, and more!

I have seen tremendous improvement with my daughter after using this Alphabet Workbook. She is finally starting to recognize her letters. She is learning the letter sounds. She can write almost the entire alphabet now. Most importantly, she is enjoying it all in the process! She has fun learning and doesn’t complain about completing a page in this book.

8. Puzzles

I love educational puzzles. It’s kind of like good books to me. I could buy so many, because I think they’re incredibly useful and so helpful! We have a couple of giant alphabet puzzles – the ones that are about 10 feet long (Click here to see one we have). These are great to practice with and I’ll explain how we’ve done it in the past.

You may have to adjust this depending on your child, but it should give you a good starting point of how to play. I organize about 10-15 letters and line them up nice so they are easy to read. I don’t want them upside down, and I don’t want it to be overwhelming by looking at the whole set of pieces.

Next, I ask her to find the letter, and I give hints as needed. (It’s on this side…it’s at the top) Once she chooses the correct letter, we practice writing it on a mini dry erase board. I make her dotted lines to trace if she needs it.

Then we add the piece to it’s correct place in the puzzle and move to the next letter doing the same thing.

Remember, go at the pace of your child. My oldest would’ve loved to play this game multiple times in a row. The first time I played with my second daughter, she made it through about half the letters, and then I could tell we needed to wrap it up. So, I cut out the writing portion, gave her a few more hints, and we finished. The more we played, the more I could challenge her to go a little bit further. Every child is different.

9. ABC, See Hear Do

I can not say enough good things about these books. We have the “Learn to Read 55 Words” book, and all of my children love it. My oldest already knows how to read and she even thinks it’s fun. My 2 year old can actually turn the pages and “read” the sounds. When my 4 year old opened the book for the first time, I helped her read through the first few sounds. That same sitting, she read her very first word – instantly! The book is incredible. Worth. Every. Penny!

Now, I use it as a supplement as we practice letter sounds. The book actually encourages you to introduce it before you learn letters, but we were past that by the time I found it. As we practice letters, I pull it out to practice the sounds and motions. The movements stick and really help my preschooler to remember the letter sounds!

There is a whole set of books that advance as you work through, including blended beginning sounds, blended ending sounds, sight words, long vowels, and more! We do not own them all yet, but I know many will become part of our collection soon once we master all of the letter sounds. You can learn even more about their program and products by visiting their website.

10. Screens – Movies/Apps

I don’t really like to have the TV on much, but I’ll be completely honest, having it on at certain times during the school day helps me get certain things accomplished easier. While I make lunch or while I work with my oldest, I will try to pick something educational or related to a topic we are studying.

There are some great alphabet shows that we’ve watched and probably more for us to discover. So far we have loved Leap Frog Letter Factory and Alphablocks (on Netflix) as well as Super Why (Free on PBS). Catchy songs and fun characters make learning letters fun and easy to remember.

Leap Frog Letter Factory focuses on the letter and its sound. Alphablocks is all lowercase and the shows are very short (10-15 minutes). Super Why covers letters, sounds, spelling, and early reading skills.

I also downloaded a free alphabet app on my phone. It’s called ABC Alphabet Phonics. The point of the game is to select the letter that is said out loud. It’s very basic and it costs nothing. It was playing this game that I realized my preschooler could identify a letter when it was said out loud, but struggled to call out the name of the letter when asked. So, although it’s not the fanciest game on the planet, it really helped me to easily assess her knowledge of letters. Make sure to play with the settings a bit. You can change it to lowercase, sounds, and add helpful pictures.

Every Child Will Learn At A Unique Pace

As I mentioned before, my first two children learn very differently, and I’m sure when my younger two are ready, I’ll have new ways that work better for them. I don’t believe there is ONE right way to teach the alphabet. What works for me, may not work as well for you. However, I do believe it’s important to try new things to discover that special tool that helps your child grow.

So, what are your favorite tools to teach the alphabet? Have you seen success using something that’s not listed above? I’d love for you to comment and share with me what has worked in your home. I’ll be saving ideas for my next two littles as they get older!

Posted on February 8, 2021February 24, 2021 by Jaimie — 2 Comments

11 Flash Cards Games To Add To Your Math Lesson

You can get flash cards at the dollar store! They’re an inexpensive tool to practice math facts. Let’s steer away from the old, boring drill method and find ways to add in some fun with these 11 flash card games!

If your math book has a section to practice basic facts, try replacing it with one of these flash card games. Get out of the textbook and move around! Having go-to activities like this make it easy to add excitement to learning.

My first grader is using addition and subtraction flash cards. I can do the same activities for my preschooler with simple number/counting cards. You can purchase them through the links or just make a trip to the dollar store and get them cheaper!

This post contains affiliate links. If you follow one of my links I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

1. Giant Number Line

Create a giant number line. We did this with sidewalk chalk, but you could also tape sheets of paper together. I just love getting outside whenever we can. Number the line based on your flash cards. For example, 1-20 would be good for addition and subtraction for early elementary. If you’re doing multiplication, number it by 2s or 5s…whatever works best.

Have your child pick a flash card and solve it. Place the card on the number line according to it’s answer. So, 2+3 would go on the 5. Some of your cards will have the same answer, and that’s okay. Just stack them on top of each other or in a straight line.

2. The Floor is Lava

Don’t you remember playing this as a kid? Gather as many pillows as you can and place them on the floor. Make sure to spread them out. Place a flash card on every pillow. Your child will jump from pillow to pillow solving math problems. It sounds so simple, but it is SO fun!

Once he/she gets to the end, jump all the way back to the start – don’t fall in the lava!! Since I introduced this game to my girls, they’re always asking to play!

3. Shaving Cream

I’m a huge fan of shaving cream. You’ll probably read about it a lot here, but it’s because you can do so much with it, and it’s a blast. It’s another dollar store treasure! Now, you’ll have to help with this, because you’ll be the only one with clean hands.

Every time I spray shaving cream on the table, I always allow a minute or two of just free play. It helps!

Place 2-4 cards in front of your child. He/She can write the answer in the shaving cream. Erase and repeat.

Change it up: Siblings can challenge each other. Or, have your child write a problem and you solve it. They’re the teacher, so it’s important to check your work. (See what I did there? They’re solving it too!)

4. Dry Erase Pocket

If you don’t have dry erase pockets at home, they are totally worth the cost. Place as many flash cards as you can in the dry erase pocket. Have your child write the answer on the cards. This is great for independent work.

Use manipulatives alongside the cards. For example, print out a ten frame and solve. (Get a ten frame FREE in my shop.)

If your flash cards are double sided, flip the pocket over and do the back!

5. Battle/War Game

This is just like the traditional card game. Two people go against each other and flip a card. The highest card wins. I even had my girls play against each other with different cards. My preschooler had just a number and my first grader had an addition problem. Adjust it so that it works for your children.

6. Scavenger Hunt

Hide the cards around your room/house. Have your child find the cards. Once a card is found, write the problem and answer onto a paper, clipboard, notebook – anything!

The important thing is don’t forget where you hid them! Been there, done that.

7. Squirt the Answer

This will take a minute or two of prep. It’s an outside flash card game using sidewalk chalk and a spray bottle (dollar store! See a pattern?). Write the answers to your flash cards on your driveway/patio. Spread them out to encourage a little movement.

For Addition/Subtraction, I would write 1-20. This would be great for my preschooler as well learning numbers 1-20.

For multiplication, you can write the products.

Now, show a flashcard, and when your child solves it, he/she will spray that number. It doesn’t have to be washed away completely, because it will probably get sprayed again.

You could also do it backwards. Show a number card (Let’s say 8) and your child can spray all of the addition problems that equal 8! (2+6, 4+4, 3+5…and so on!) It’s a great way to memorize basic facts.

8. Exercise!

This is another great activity to get moving. I love exercise activities like these because my children usually forget we are actually learning. They’re having so much fun! You have to be intentional with this one. Pick the right kind of flash cards. I used addition cards and found about 15 cards that had the sum of 1-6. Next, I made a key and gave each number (1-6) an exercise.

Show the flash card and have your child answer. Whatever the answer is, that is the exercise you complete.

You could find cards with the sum of 10-20 if you want to make it more challenging. If you wanted you could do 1-20! You would just have to come up with 20 different exercises.

For multiplication you could set it up to where you give a range. For example, if the product is between 10-20, you do jumping jacks. If the product is between 20-30, you skip around the room, and so on…

Have fun with this! Join in if you’d like – it’s an easy way to add a little exercise into your day. It would also be a PERFECT rainy day activity.

9. Sidewalk Solving (or Driveway)

If you have a sidewalk in front of your house, this could be so fun. We do not, but I was able to set up some giant squares with chalk in our driveway The concept is simple. Give your child some sidewalk chalk and place a flash card in each square. Your child will walk to each square solving the flash cards and writing the answer in the square.

This would also be great writing practice for your preschooler. Place number cards in the squares to practice writing a number.

10. Comparing

This activity compares two flash cards. The supplies needed are flash cards and popsicle sticks. If you don’t have the sticks, use anything with that shape (crayons, sticks, pencils, toothpicks…)

I set mine up around the table. Each spot had two flashcards and two sticks. My first grader solved each card and wrote her answer on a white board to help her remember. Next, she shaped the sticks into the correct comparison sign: greater than, less than, or equal to.

11. Building Blocks

Pick any type of building blocks: legos, wooden blocks, math cubes, PicassoTiles… This is a great activity for addition flash cards or simple counting. Lay a few cards out on the floor/table. Use the blocks to visualize the problem. Here’s an example – The flashcard says 5+4. Pick 5 blocks in one color and 4 blocks in another. Then, solve.

Posted on February 1, 2021March 21, 2021 by Jaimie — Leave a comment

Simple DIY Valentine’s Day Activities for Every Subject

Valentine’s Day is almost here, and it’s always fun to prepare something special to celebrate. There have been times when I’ve hunted around for different activities to print and cut and prepare…but I end up searching and searching and wasting time. I want it to be simple and in one place. So, I’m sharing a Valentine’s Day activity that you can do for just about every subject.

All you need is materials around your house – the prep is easy!

Some of the activities require a teensy bit of prep from you, but go ahead and look through – decide which are your favorites and how to best plan for them. I’ve recorded a video of myself doing the actual prep. It’s a time lapse video, so I obviously don’t move that fast, but the real time of setting all of these activities up was about 30 minutes. That’s not bad – 30 minutes of planning and you have an entire day’s worth of Valentine’s Day learning! It’s worth it.

Bible/Devotion – “Love is…”

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. You are going to be discussing what love is and isn’t. The verse will state just that. Now, get ready to get a little messy. Sit at a table/counter and spray shaving cream on the top. Give your kids a minute to just mix it around and enjoy.

Talk about each of the words describing love and have your child write the word in the shaving cream. If you have a younger child, you could have him/her write the first letter. For example, love is “patient” (P), love is “kind” (K). If you wanted to speed it along a bit and you have multiple children, you could give each child a different word.

Here’s the trick – don’t let them erase and play until you discuss an example of each trait. So one might say, “I can be patient when I wait for my turn with the toy.”

The bible also talks about what love is NOT. While discussing these, put an “X” through the words and discuss their meaning.

The best way to clean up is with a wet washcloth. Just wipe and rinse a few times, and you’ll be all set. Whatever room you are in will smell quite delightful. To close the lesson, remind your children of our greatest Valentine, Jesus. Just as we erase the words, He wipes our sins clean and forgives us. He loved us so much that he died on the cross to save us. Read John 3:16. “For God so LOVED…”

Math – Matching Hearts

You need 5-10 minutes to prep for this. (See Video) Grab 4-5 sheets of red/pink paper. Stack them together and fold hot dog style. (That’s the long way.) Cut out four hearts along the crease.

Think about what your child is practicing in math. Use the hearts to make matching sets. Get the problems straight from the math book. You don’t have to come up with it on your own! Maybe your child is in first grade like mine and you’re practicing basic addition and subtraction, telling time, or fractions. Write the math problem on one heart and the solution on another. That makes a match. Make as many as you please. Ten is a good goal, but more won’t hurt.

If you have a preschooler, practice numbers and counting. A match could be four circles on one and the number four on another. Or, match shapes. Maybe you’re ready to start some simple addition. Pick an activity that will best benefit your child.

Language Arts – Write the Room

You’ll need more paper hearts for this, but you can change the color to mix it up! (See Video) If you’ve never played write the room, I’m so excited for you to try it. It’s a favorite in our house. The way it works is there are words/prompts placed around the room. The child goes around and writes the word or an answer onto a recording sheet. It’s a great way to get moving.

Once again, use your curriculum to see what you’re child is practicing. Maybe it’s CVC words, consonant digraphs, blends, sight words. Little ones can write letters or draw pictures. Prep your paper hearts with the words and tape them around the room. To help your child stay organized, it’s best if you number the hearts and number the recording sheet. When you’re ready, let them loose!

Writing/Handwriting – Send a Valentine

Send someone special a letter for Valentine’s Day. Discuss the components of writing a letter. Challenge your student based on their writing abilities. You can always help as needed. Send it through the mail. This will give you even more teaching moments as you talk about addressing an envelope and putting it in the mailbox. Don’t forget a stamp!

Snack Time – Cookies or Fruit

I’ll share a couple options and you can decide what works for you. Or, do both! First, my favorite is always baking cookies to decorate. Make it really simple and buy the package of dough/mix at the store. There is no shame in that. You have an exciting day ahead! (Also, it’s just easier!) If you have cookie cutter hearts, you can use them. Otherwise, just make a regular cookie and you can have your kids decorate with pink/red icing and sprinkles.

Another option is to cut up bite size pieces of fruit. Give your child a plate and have them create a heart shape with the pieces. Then, of course, eat and enjoy – so simple!

Art/Craft – Painting Hearts

This time let’s have the kids cut the hearts! Teach them the process. Fold a piece of paper and talk about symmetry – that’s a good word! Each child will need 2-3 different sized hearts. I found this craft from A Dab of Glue Will Do, and you can see it here. You’ll be taping the hearts to a piece of paper and painting all around it. Be sure to paint the borders of the heart first. When your child finishes painting, remove the hearts for a fancy reveal!

You can paint thumb prints as the site suggests, or try painting with anything! Cotton balls, q-tips, sponges, paintbrushes…get creative and let your child pick something fun and new.

History – Valentine’s Day

Whenever we want to learn more about a topic, I love using YouTube. There’s so much great stuff there, but just make sure to view it before your kids do. Below is a video I plan to show my children. It’s about a minute long. It’s a quick way to get a little history lesson in for the day, and it may bring up some fun discussions!

Science – Heart Parachutes

This is a quick experiment you can do at home with stuff around the house. Those are my favorite kind. The question we will be answering is – How does the parachute material affect the flight of the toy? (See Video for prep)

First, you’ll want to test at least three types of material. Start with an 8.5 x 11 in piece of paper and cut out as big of a heart as you can. Now, use that heart to measure your other materials and make the same shape. (foil, wax paper, cloth, constructions paper, plastic bag…) You should have at least three heart shapes in different materials – all the same size.

Next, gather string or yarn and cut three pieces for each parachute, all the same size. Tape the string to the top of the parachute. It’s best to spread them out in a triangular pattern. I used masking tape, and it worked just fine. Do your best to keep all the string the same size and taped the same way. These are our controlled variables (another great word! Go ahead – jump into that discussion as you do the experiment. The teaching moments are endless.)

Normally, you’d want to test these with the exact same object pulling on the parachute, but we are going to break the rules a bit and use an almost-exact-shaped-toy. You need three. We used the little fisher price princesses. They’re basically the same size, just painted differently. You could try army men, hot wheels, small dolls. Make sure it’s not too heavy. Tape the string to the toy.

Set it up like a winner-moves-on tournament. You can fly them over the railing on your stairs. Or, stand carefully on a chair. Observe which one flies in the air the longest. That’s the better parachute – not the faster one. The “winner” goes against the third parachute, and so on. I would test each flight about three-five times to make sure you have a clear winner. Here’s a quick tip – if your phone has a slow motion recording mode, you can record the flights and see the winner much easier. Plus, who doesn’t love a slo-mo video?

Once you tested them all, talk about why you think that material was the best!

It’s a whole day of celebrating and there was so. much. learning!

So, how fun does that sound? Which one is your favorite? Anyone think they’re up to doing ALL of them? The most important thing to remember is not to stress. If you’re worried about time, split it up into two days. Or, pick just one, and call it good. Don’t let it get you worked up about fitting it in. Whatever you decide to do, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment or share it with me on social media. Have a great Valentine’s Day!

BONUS: Valentine’s Day FREEBIE!

Here’s a fantastic little activity book for your young learners this Valentine’s Day. Use dollar store stamps, stickers, or even manipulatives to add some hands-on fun! This freebie is only available for the month of February so get it while you can! Sign up for my email list and it will get sent right to your inbox today.

Sign up below for your Valentine’s Day Freebie!

Posted on January 18, 2021January 26, 2021 by Jaimie — Leave a comment

10 Tips for Homeschooling With an Infant

When I first found out I was pregnant with my fourth baby, I was immediately scared of what it would be like to homeschool with an infant at home with us. I knew it could be done, so I just prayed for that peace until the time came.

As I write this, my baby is 4 months old.

We are still adjusting our homeschool each day/week to accommodate the baby. We have great days and we have everyone-is-in-tears-bad days. So, although I don’t have the complete solution to making it 100% successful, I will share with you some things that have helped me while homeschooling with an infant.

1. Plan Ahead – Before the baby is born

The best thing I did was start our homeschool year early. My baby was due in September, and we normally take summers off and start mid August. However, with the baby arriving shortly after we started, I wanted to set up a good routine ahead of time. By starting a few weeks earlier than usual, I gave myself the confidence to take a break when the baby was born. We were able to get in a good 8-9 weeks of school before we paused, and I felt so much better knowing that was done.

2. Rest and Take a Break

Give yourself permission to just stop. Once that baby is born, you need to rest and recover. Your family is adjusting and changing, and it may feel a little crazy at times. REST. Don’t feel pressure to start school up again. (That’s why you planned ahead. See #1) Give your other children the freedom to create and use their imagination. Teach them how to be your big helpers. Let go of school.

3. Start Back to Homeschool SLOWLY

One thing I did after a couple of weeks was plan one “fun and new” thing to do the next day. It could be a craft, baking, a walk – nothing intense. It was one task for us to look forward to and complete together. The activity acted like a practice run for trying to add something into our day. You can also start a new read aloud. Focus on that and nothing else. The reading will be so good for the kids, and you can sit and recover.

Next, I would consider adding maybe one or two subjects at a time. There’s no need to jump into everything at once. Add your book work slowly. It will be less stress for everyone.

4. Wear Your Baby

Baby wearing is a game changer. I wish I did it more with my other children. If the baby isn’t taking a nap, I can always wear him and he will sleep on me while we need to finish something up. If we are out and about, I never worry about napping for this same reason. Plus, you get both hands when you wear baby! He is happy, all snuggled up to mom…it’s a win-win! I use a Baby K’Tan, and I couldn’t live without that thing. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when he gets too big for it!

5. Work on Sleep for Baby – But not right away

I am not good at sleep training, because I’m a bit of a sucker…I love rocking my babies. I am trying to start good sleep habits as best I can. It’s a slow process, but I do think it’s helpful. My third child was not the best sleeper and getting her to take a nap would take forever. I hope to set better routines with this baby. Although he is still not on a consistent schedule, he goes down for a nap pretty easy and that’s been so helpful!

Be patient with yourself. This is not going to happen quickly and easily. (This is also me giving myself advice as we are still working on this!)

6. Do NOT Try to Schedule Your Days

Just let it go…it’s not going to happen. I have to tell myself this daily! An infant does not have a set schedule. You can read all the books you want, but every single day is going to be different. One morning he will nap for 3 hours and the next morning will be 20 minutes. It’s going to be tricky to figure out how to plan everything out at first. (Another good reason to take a long break.) Once you get to know your baby better, try to develop a rhythm, not a schedule. This took about 6-8 weeks for me to “figure out.” (quoted because it’s still a work in progress) I will also let you know that my son is 4 months and still does not take consistent naps. It’s definitely tough to try and balance it all while also doing school, but this is all temporary. I feel like I’m going to blink and he will be turning one. The days are long, but the years are short.

7. Get Outside – Even You, Mama!

There is nothing like fresh air. God created us to be a part of this beautiful earth, and there is something so healing about experiencing His creation! It is so, so easy as a mom of a new baby to lock ourselves indoors and get wrapped up in feeding, and changing, and napping, and cooking, and cleaning, and burping, and wiping…..I’ve done it. Every. Time. Take some time each day to step outside. Breathe in that fresh air. Go on a walk. Sit on your back porch. Don’t stay cooped up inside.

8. Self-Care

I’ll admit, I’m not the best at this, but it really is necessary. Take time for yourself. This could be something as simple as taking a nice bath, or setting a goal to get dressed for the day! Or, you can go even further and schedule a nail/hair appointment. Set a date with some friends. Try to do these things regularly to give yourself that mental boost! Do something you love and take care of yourself so that you can take care of your home as your best self.

9. Find Your Support Squad

Find that friend that you can count on for anything – the one that’s been in similar shoes as you. Or, talk to the person you can totally be yourself with and let out any good/bad feelings you have. Get the support. I just love a good mom-chat with my girls. It makes me feel so renewed and happy. If you’re not able to feel better, talk to your doctor. Post-partum is so tough. Hormones are crazy and emotions are constantly on a roller coaster. Don’t hesitate to get the support that you need.

10. Lean on the Lord

This should be number one. I first titled this “Give yourself grace”, but then I realized, it’s not about you making yourself better. You can’t do it all. Nothing is going to fully prepare you and make it easy. It’s hard work having a baby. Add on homeschooling to your day, and it gets really tough to balance it all. I can leave you with these ten tips, but I’ll tell you this – I STILL struggle with a lot of them. I forget to take care of myself. I don’t always get fresh air. I don’t have the best napper/sleeper, and sometimes I just plan too much for the day! No one is perfect. Pray about this new transition. Let God take on your burdens and give you the strength for each day. Be kind to yourself and know that out of all the women in the world, God chose YOU to be the mama for your kids. YOU were the perfect pick for Him.

Posted on January 14, 2021February 20, 2024 by Jaimie — 10 Comments

Secret Garden Read Aloud Experience

Reading Aloud is such a great habit to form with your family, but what if you could take it one step further?

It all started for my family during our first year of homeschool. We were reading the Little House series and kept talking about what it would be like to live like Laura and Mary. We were craving that experience, and I wanted my children to understand how different it was back then. As a result, we started digging a little deeper.

We started planning simple activities and lessons based on our chapter readings.

It was almost as if we were diving into the book world and getting lost in reading magic. My children could understand and comprehend better, and we were having so much fun learning a variety of different lessons…this includes me! I learned right alongside them.

The Read Aloud Experience is designed to be low budget, low stress, and without all the “extras”.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve downloaded a unit/curriculum for my children only to find out I need to buy 5-10 specific books to go with it. Or, it’s asking for something I can only find at a craft store, and I really don’t want to load up my car and make the trip! Many times it ends in money wasted or just an incomplete lesson.

Most supplies in the Read Aloud Experience can be picked up at your trip to the the grocery store, and there’s no required book list.

I don’t always have time for that extra craft store trip, so adding a thing or two to my grocery list makes it so easy to prepare. As much as a I would love to buy ALL.THE.BOOKS, I just can’t. So, I take advantage of my library as much as possible.

The Read Aloud Experience provides you with a list of library topics that go along with each chapter. That way, you can grab a few books (for free!) to enhance your reading. I love doing library pick-up because I search the topic and look at the book covers to figure out what I like best. I add it to my hold cart, and picking them all up is like Christmas! I have no idea what’s inside, and most of the time I am positively surprised!

homeschool create a self portrait — *“She found herself in one long gallery whose walls were covered with these portraits.” The Secret Garden –* Create a self-portrait

A variety of activities are included.

History, science, arts/crafts, music, food, nature, life skills, writing, map skills, and more!…these are the types of activities you’ll get to experience. Some are as simple as – go on a nature walk and use your five senses. Others will require a teeny bit of set up – like a science experiment or craft.

Remember, nothing is too crazy. I have four kids and 2 are under 2. I don’t have extra time to do something extremely intense. If I can do it, so can you!

All book suggestions and activities are optional.

Not feeling up to an extra activity? No problem! Is Thursday your afternoon sports practice and your short on time?…it’s ok! Nothing is required. If you’re in love with the activity but don’t have time to complete it, save it for the next day or move it to the weekend when you’re kids are wondering what the plan is for the day.

homeschool elephant mini lesson elephant snack — *“In one room, which looked like a lady’s sitting-room, the hangings were all embroidered velvet, and in a cabinet were about a hundred little elephants made of ivory.” The Secret Garden* Elephant mini-lesson

Everything is made to be flexible and adjustable for your family.

A supply list and library topic list is included for every chapter. A Planning Guide is also provided so that you can decide what works best for your family. The Read Aloud Experience can revolve around your routine and your rhythms for the day.

Involve your whole family – all ages.

Everyone can participate in the Read Aloud Experience. It’s like your own little mini book club inside your house. It’s so fun how we all can talk about the book and the things we’ve learned. Dad is usually working during the day and misses the reading, but he always gets to read our library books before bed, learning with the kids. The babies don’t always get to participate in crafts and activities, but many days they’re on the floor listening to me read.

jump rope and learn through play skip count — “The skipping-rope was a wonderful thing. She counted and skipped, and skipped and counted, until her cheeks were quite red, and she was more interested than she had ever been since she was born. ” The Secret Garden – Jumping Rope

Easily incorporate the Read Aloud Experience into your day.

Simply add the read aloud to your day and pick and choose activities as time allows. One chapter a day – It’s that easy!

You can also use this as a break from your language arts curriculum. You know that funk you get in when you just need a change? This is exactly what we did, and it was wonderful. There is just so much to learn from reading literature together!!

It is a novel unit that leads you to discuss story elements, vocabulary, and comprehension while diving into other subjects, as well. At my house, we have placed the curriculum workbook aside. Honestly, it got boring! I dreaded doing it. Now, we complete our read aloud experience, a quick phonics page, shared reading time, and that’s it for language arts. It’s been so nice and refreshing.

This is also great when you’re taking a break from school in general, and you still want to have a little bit of structure. For example, this could be summer, holidays, or a break after a new baby.

You can get the entire Read Aloud Experience for FREE!

Still unsure if this is right for your family? Don’t believe me that it’s easy and low stress? Check it out for yourself and decide. You can get the entire Read Aloud Experience for The Secret Garden free and test it out for yourself.

Remember that just reading to your children is going to be beneficial and time well spent. You’ll always cherish that time together. The Read Aloud Experience allows you to take it one step further with ease.

Complete the included science experiment and take a break from your science curriculum that day. Save the activities for a rainy day when you can’t get outside. Or, plan to do them in the afternoon during that awkward time when you’re kids keep asking about dinner. (Anyone else?)

Most importantly, have fun with it! Get the whole family involved. There’s nothing better than gathering around a great book.

Check out the following links for more Read Aloud Experiences:

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle

The Boxcar Children

The Courage of Sarah Noble

NEW American History through Picture Books is AVAILABLE

Check out this simple, picture-book-based American History curriculum that your whole family will love!