Learning about Leaves

Cool, crisp mornings,
Warm, sun-kissed afternoons,
The taste of pumpkin, the scent of spice,
And bright colored leaves dancing in the branches...

It must be Fall.

This week my children and I studied leaves.

We went for a walk and collected leaves.

We made leaf rubbings and leaf bookmarks...
and today we read the book, Why Do Leaves Change Color, written by Betsy Maestro.

Then I gave my son this test to reinforce what he learned as we read the book together.

You are welcome to use the test for your own personal educational purposes.
You may not redistribute it or use it for any commercial purpose.

Here is the answer key.

Happy Autumn!

Book It!

If you have not heard of the Book It program...it's time for you to hear.

Book It is a program that works with Pizza Hut to offer reading incentives to children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Although Book It is only offered through participating schools, home educators may also enroll their children ages 5 through 12 into the program.

You can learn more about the Book It program here...or follow this link to enroll as a home school. The deadline for enrollment is September 1st.

Happy 4th of July!

In need of a last-minute Independence Day project for your kiddos? [...like I was...]


Crayola has some fun coloring pages.

Color the flag of the USA.

Color in a picture of fireworks behind the Statue of Liberty while you talk with your kids about why we light fireworks on the 4th of July. 

Learn about past and present flags of the United States of America, then color them in.

Learn about and color the Statue of Liberty.

Color the flag and map of the United States of America.

Whirlwind...

Life is a blur as of late...

Spring has sprung and everyone is restless, longing to drink in the sunshine. My kids grow bigger; and along with their increase in size comes an increase in appetites, a wider disaster radius post-playtime and continued development of independent thinking - consequently: more frequent arguments both with each other and myself. My husband has been diligently studying, excelling in all his classes; I am so proud!

L., my youngest, has started walking and is quickly graduating from that mundane skill to more exciting techniques for mobility...such as climbing. [Really, who wants to walk when you could just climb stuff, right?]

A few days ago I caught her sitting in the middle of the living room talking to herself, "No. Nooo. No. No Ma. No Mom. No. Mom. No no. Noooo." She was practicing telling me no. My heart was filled with delight at her sweet voice, pride for her working so intently to enunciate her words correctly...and slight trepidation as I considered the implications of her resolve to clearly communicate her defiance.

My oldest daughter is learning important and difficult lessons about the ugliness of lies. Meanwhile, her father and I are being tested in matters of patience and grace. She is also rapidly learning to read and write. She enjoys writing letters and often I find random letters on her schoolwork or art pages. Occasionally, her random letters happen to form words, much to her older brother's astonishment and delight. He is very impressed by her "skill" and they celebrate her accomplishment together with cheering, laughter and expressions of recognition: "Great job!" "Wow...you wrote ________!" "You are such a great speller!" This warms my spirit. I love to see my children loving and encouraging one another.

I am considering what to do for my son's education in the fall. Boarding school has been an attractive thought from time to time. New, unpleasant and frustrating phrases have been surfacing during our conversations lately; "It's not FAIR!" "I wish I had a different mom!" "Why do I have to...?!" I really dislike the attitude I see him developing and find myself praying often for an extra measure of love and grace to respond to it. While this new "big kid" personality dampens my excitement about home-educating in the coming school year, it also deepens my resolve to guide him, to instruct him, teach and correct him so that issues of character, discipline and integrity may be swiftly addressed and corrected, deterring poor attitude from developing into bad habits and unpleasant personality in later years.

I am just taking it all in. At moments, reminding myself to pause to breathe or to resist the temptation to react. Other times, digging deep to find motivation to tackle the dishes and laundry, or to mom-up and confront the arguing coming from the kids' room [instead of hiding in the pantry with a bar of chocolate pretending not to hear it]. Occasionally, ignoring those tasks that seem so pressing and important, but will still be there tomorrow and just holding my baby a little longer while she sleeps, or sitting on the floor playing dolls, or pulling out a messy art project to do TOGETHER or attacking my children with kisses and tickles while they still enjoy it - I know it will not last forever.

This season is full of unique joys and difficulties...and so will be the next. This is a sweet sort of whirlwind to be caught up in.

A is for...

Today my 3-year-old and I played with our ABC cards. She identified each letter and then we practiced saying the sounds each letter makes. I was really surprised by how many she already knew! [Big brother has been teaching her lots of letter sounds lately.]

I asked her to think of words that begin with each letter as we went through them.  My son wanted to play too, so I asked him to write down the words she thought of.

Here is the list she came up with.

A is for Am and Andy

B is for Band

C is for Can't

D is for Dad

E is for Ear

F is for Frog

G is for Grape

H is for Heather

I is for Inch

J is for Jam

K is for Kitten

L is for Lamb

M is for Man

N is for Net

O is for On and Octopus

P is for Peeing [she's been wearing "big girl undies" and using the potty...it's exciting around here]

Q is for Queen [brother helped her out with this one]

R is for Rachel

S is for Sand

T is for Teeth and Tooth [again, brother was giving hints]

U is for Ummm [you know...as in, "ummmm, Mom, can I have a snack....ummmm, Mom, brother is being mean...ummmm, Mom, I peed in my pants a little" It is a legit word for a 3-year-old, right?]

V is for Van

W is for Whine [that goes along with "Ummm"]

X is for eXercise and X-ray [brother helped with X-ray]

Y is for Yam

Z is for Zipper

Learning with Dad

My husband and I determined early on that I am not qualified to teach our kids science unsupervised. I think we realized this one day when we had a discussion about thunder and lightning. Let's just say the look on my husband's face was priceless; it was one of those, "I would like to think you are kidding...but I know you're not" sort of looks. He was baffled by my scientific intelligence - or lack thereof.

There is a responsibility, I think, in choosing to home school, to asses our own academic strengths and weaknesses and to recognize when we are unable to adequately teach a subject on our own and could use a little [or a lot of] help. At that point there are a variety of options; rely on a curriculum, find a tutor, join with other home school parents and help each other out.

Thankfully, my husband was always very interested in science and applied himself to studying it in school. So, when it comes to all things biological, chemical or otherwise over my head...he picks up the slack and does an excellent job of it! This is important, especially since our son, like his father, has lots of scientific questions, and enjoys learning about the whys and what's of the world around him. Some questions I can answer...others, well, to be honest, I've never even considered before. I realize that I just take many things for granted. For instance: why does water boil? My answer: "Uh, cuz it gets hot?" Der.

I'd never really thought about it. It just does.

I'm really glad that other people think about things differently than I do and have noticed and taken the time to study these kinds of questions...and find some answers.

My husband is back in school and often shares with me information he is learning in his classes. As an adult, I have a whole new appreciation for science. As a believer in God, I have an even greater appreciation for the amazing and intricate details of life, and the mysteries we still have yet to uncover.

However, my appreciation for it and ability to teach it are not equal.

So...

My husband has done a few projects with our kids over the last few weeks.

They made a volcano...
[I lost the pictures of their eruptions though...sad!]

They planted a garden:

[I watched. I also kill plants...not intentionally...but inevitably, they always end up dying in my care.]

 These are cacti they planted last year...

And here are their little plants beginning to grow!

May Calendars are Up!

There are 6 different syles to choose from.

Visit our Free Calendars page to download yours.

Like Father, Like Son

My son drew me a few pictures today, and naturally, I had to share. :)

I loved how he colored them in.

He is quite a little artist...my favorite is the barnyard. 

And I really adore the green monster-guy saying "Mmmmmm" as he eyes the delicious fruits!

He takes after his dad. My husband drew this in high school.

He doesn't draw much anymore...but I hope he picks it up again someday. In the meantime, I am enjoying these sweet pictures from my five-year-old.

A New Adventure...

I mentioned that this project I did with my daughter gave me an idea.

Here it is:

I started out creating a few worksheets for my kids...and ended up opening an Etsy shop!

I call my little project: Snappy Printables.

I have only listed a few PDF sets, but I'm working on others and hope to add them soon.

You can read a bit about the concept and vision I have for this little endeavor on the "About Us" section of the Snappy Printables blog.

I am offering 3 sets of printable files in a giveaway, if any readers are interested. You can enter here.
Update: this giveaway has closed.

I'd also like to offer Home Education Journal readers 20% off everything in my shop during the month of April. Just enter the code: FRIENDSAPR11 when you make a purchase.

My kids love these. I hope yours will too!

Aside from working on this exciting adventure, we have been planting a garden [not like the one in January...a REAL garden], watching volcanoes explode and celebrating a very special birthday. I will share more soon!

Gorgeous Geography...

This lovely little map is more than eye candy...

Make your own with instructions by Kinsey at Crate Paper Blog,
[found via One Pretty Thing].

Love this!

A Quick Little Post...

Just wanted to share the crossword my son came up with while we were playing Bananagrams [which, by the way, is a super awesome game]...

A few words were misspelled...and some were spelled backwards. Normally, he just builds words, I don't require him to connect them in a crossword. I was especially impressed today by his attempt to spell "pastures". He was very proud of his words and read them to us several times! He also took the picture below to document his work. [That's my boy.]

One of the perks to your kids learning to read and write and spell is that you have more people to play these sorts of games with. [Well, it is a perk if you are a word nerd like I am...]

Across: what, dove, yes, hat, boat, lime, sap, lick

Down: dry, "pastures", hoop, tow, tub, two, eel, oatmeal

Good job, big guy!

Our "Under the Weather" Art Projects

Two of my three kids have been sick this last week.
Keeping them occupied with restful activities has kept me busy. Ironic, isn't it, how that works.

Yesterday we painted.

My 3 year old painted these pictures:

Later, when I asked her what she had painted pictures of, she told me that the first one was a picture of a flower. The second is a picture of "a house that is messy". The third picture is of a house that is "all cleaned up the way it belongs." The final picture is a "puzzle flower".

My 5 year old painted these pictures:

The first is of "a smiling guy with a game...the sun above him, the moon above him, and a dark cloud above him."

The second picture is: a "lion with headphones, listening to the radio...two flowers around the radio and the cords...a little thing that's green, that's kind of like a flower. How I made it was a line down, then I made a down-right line and an up-right line attached to it, and a line across at the end of it and over it. The radio is talking on the phone. And there is a boat on the cord and dots all over it. And then orange and yellow things on the right and left side...snakes. That's all."

You can see the difference in their personalities simply by each one's explanations of their artwork. Ha!
I love to see their creativity.

Here are a few more recent pictures the kids drew:

My 3-year-old's self portrait:

[I think this is super adorable! - She even drew a flower in her hair...and eyelashes.]

My son drew a picture of his favorite game:

Can you guess what he likes to play? ;)

My daughter drew "Larry the Cucumber" [from Veggie Tales].

And this colorful creature...

And my son made me a cat popsicle stick puppet, labeled it "cat" and wrote: "to Heather" on it. Then, he surprised me with my gift.

Being sick is no fun at all...but we are trying to make the most of it around here.  :)

*ps...My son likes to play Mario.

Playing with Letters

A few days ago, my daughter and I played with letters.

My mom gave me a set of laminated pages, with large upper case letters on them.
I rolled out pink play dough into long, rounded strips.

We began our lesson by identifying the letters. If she was unsure about a letter, I told her its name and then asked her "What letter is this?" We repeated the process until she could correctly identify the letter.

Then I asked my three-year-old to trace each letter with her finger, carefully guiding her to trace each line in the same way she would write the letter. [For example: an L would be traced from top to bottom, then from left to right.]

Next, she arranged the play dough strips to form each letter. Her favorite part of this was using a play tool to cut the extra length off the ends of the strips.

Afterward, I would ask her again to identify the letter she had copied. "What letter did you make?" And finally, I congratulated her on her accomplishment, "Good job! You made the letter ____!"

This was a fun learning activity - and it gave me an idea. I really liked the concept of the pages; however there were a few things I disliked about them. I also had some ideas of how to make the pages a little more functional...so I have begun making my own. The kids and I are pretty excited about them and I hope to be finished soon so I can share them with you too!

In the meantime, if you do not have a similar set of protected pages, you could try reusing a clear plastic lid. Cut the edges off of the lid. Draw or print the alphabet on plain sheets of paper. Then place your clear lid over the letter you would like to teach your child about. Or maybe tape a sheet of plastic wrap to the table [with blue painter's tape - or another easily removable tape], leaving a space to slide your letter pages underneath. I'm sure you could do this exercise directly on your paper too...I imagine your play dough may stick a bit though. [I haven't tried any of these...they are just ideas. Let me know if you do & how they worked out.]

The Schooltime Skirmish

Does anyone else encounter this battle with their children?

My first child generally loves learning and looks forward to the time we spend together during our "school" hours. My second child does not share that sentiment. Educating her often feels like a battle.

She is strong-willed and very independent. A few days ago, I spent all day working on one lesson with her. It was simple, and she completely understood it, and once she was finally willing to participate, she completed it in a matter of less than 20 minutes. But she just flat out refuses to cooperate.

Sometimes, as much as I enjoy teaching my kids and watching them learn, I would rather just be mom. I spend enough time as it is in conflict with the kids, reminding them to pick up toys...make their beds...stop bickering...quit whining...eat their lunch. Do I need to/want to be the daily education enforcer too? It exhausts me.

Recently, after one of those days my child refused to finish school work, [this time, my older child] my husband suggested sending the kids to a public school.

I feel defeated.

Are these just the hard days...the hurdles and bumps that are bound to be met and need to be navigated to move forward? Won't they be encountered regardless of what academic choices we make?

I don't expect to be the best qualified teacher for my kids all throughout their education.  But I was once relatively confident that I was competent to school my 3 year old. Surely I don't need to send her to school to learn colors and letters and shapes and numbers...

Maybe I'm not a poor teacher...maybe I'm a poor parent, since I can't get my stubborn preschool age child to comply. I can't really pass off that responsibility to a classroom education - that will always be mine.

Selfishly, I hope some of you other moms have days like this...days when the work of simply reminding, and instructing and refereeing and holding and listening and responding to each little voice at any given moment feels far more difficult a task than it actually is. I hope someone else has days when they feel outnumbered and overwhelmed; when the very thought of the collective energy their children possess exhausts them, when they just really want to say "yes"...and "thank you", rather than "no!" and "stop that!".  Then maybe I can take courage that I am not slipping quickly out of control, but I've found myself in the heat of a battle I must be willing to win...not for my own victory, but for their best interest.

I'd rather feed them a cookie, flip on a movie and be the most favorite mom ever!
But reason tells me, we'd all loose if I raise a white flag at this point.

Well, I've spent enough time avoiding the front line...I'm going to crawl out of my trench now
[...and press on until nap time. :) ].

Jan Brett Play Masks

I made these masks for my kids nearly four years ago, and we are still playing with them!

Even baby gets in on the action!

Author and illustrator, Jan Brett provides a wide variety of free animal images on her web site for this project.

We chose several animals from different books and printed them onto lightweight card stock. After carefully cutting along the edges [I also opted to cut out the eyes, so my children could peek through, but you don't have to], I laminated them and then used clear packing tape to attach each mask to an over-sized wooden craft stick [which you can find at most craft/hobby supply stores]. 

You do not need to laminate the masks, but I highly recommend it if you desire to play with them for awhile. If you do not have access to a laminating machine, you might consider using this process to protect your masks using clear packing tape. You could also punch holes on both sides of the mask and tie elastic string to the back, so your child can wear the mask.*

The animals we liked best were the:

monkey,

jaguar,

fox,

cat,

rabbit,

owl,

badger,

bear,

and mouse.

But there are so many more to choose from!

Jan offers many other free activities and printables on her site.  A few of my other favorites are her coloring murals, her coloring alphabets and alphabet tracers, and her matching animals game. There are LOTS of fun things to do...all available for free. If you have never visited her site, I recommend taking a minute or two to browse her pages; I'm sure you will find something you and your kids can enjoy together.

*[just be sure he/she has space to breathe and see to prevent injury]

President's Day Coloring Pages

Crayola provides a variety of presidential coloring pages for kids.

Abraham Lincoln:

George Washington:

Also:

Happy Birthday, Presidents!

George Washington

US Presidents