American Girl History Units: Kit

Welcome to another Friday of American Girl History Units. Today, Susan Mathis is sharing her thoughts on Kit. As my father was born at the very end of the Great Depression, the story of Kit has always sparked my interest. I look forward to incorporating my own family history as I read this delightful series with my children.

Natural Start to Nature Study

For the past four years, we have been faithfully working our way through the Sonlight Science series, but this year I am opting for a more homespun approach.  We will be using a handful of the nature-themed Questions & Answer Books by David Adler as our core material and will fill in with more quality living literature books as needed. 

In addition, we have recently joined a once-a-month nature club that will meet to enjoy nature hikes, zoo trips, nature journaling, and other Charlotte Mason-style science adventures.

To launch our nature study endeavors, we invited one of our favorite families to join us in a nature hike through a local state park.  (Just as a quick side note: a few weeks ago, in my Glad to Meetcha’ post, I mentioned having five women in my life who unswervingly speak truth in my life.  The mother of this adorable brood of girls is one of my FAITHFUL FIVE.) 

We began our hike with a campfire hotdog roast and romp in the field of their family lot that juts up right next to the state park.  With backpacks full of nature notebooks, colored pencils, water bottles, and homemade cookies (Because what else would you want to eat in the woods?), we embarked on our morning adventure. 

It is our family tradition to bring along painted egg cartons for a scavenger hunt-type walk.  The goal is to find something from nature that is similar in color to one of the twelve painted compartments.  Although my older kids are old enough, now, to appreciate God’s glorious creation all by themselves, my younger Littles are more apt to appreciate the wonders of nature if given a concentrated focus.  The egg carton provides a simple “goal.”

Before hitting the trail, we all took a look at the classic, The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden.  This beautifully illustrated diary represents all the best in simplistic nature notebooking.  I wanted to ignite some artistic inspiration and extend the challenge to find the “creative” in Creation as we ventured out.

As I had hoped, all eyes were fixed on the trail and surrounding colors.  The kids were able to observe things that I don't think they'd otherwise locate...two chipmunks scurrying into a hole, spider webs clinging to the branches of a toppled tree, a cluster of worker ants making a trail to the river, and even a very hungry caterpillar clutching to the leaf of a milkweed plant.

 At the end of our journey, they all opened up their cartons to reveal their treasures.

Our adventures came to a close at a picnic spot.  The kids unloaded their packs, set out their nature finds, and got to work on their journals.

Although we did not know the names of all of our finds, we journaled their locations, date, and a few other points of interest.

All in all, it was a wonderful morning with favorite friends and God's creation.  And a great introduction to our year-long nature study.

Looking for more nature journaling ideas and helpful hints, check out these great resources.

Handbook of Nature Study

Our Journey Westward's Ultimate Guide to Nature Study

Nature Study Pinterest Board

Tree Unit Pinterest Board

Linking up with these lovely blogs.

A Day in the Life of The Unlikely Homeschool

With school starting in only three days, it’s time to put the last finishing touches on our upcoming plan.  If you are a frequent reader of The Unlikely Homeschool, you probably know that I like to have a clear layout…a flexible plan for our comings and goings.  And although I have our year’s lesson plans completely written out already, I SUPRISINGLY don’t have a schedule in place, NOR do I plan to. 

On the whole, I prefer to make a “Daily Flow” which is really just a glorified list of “to do’s”.  I order our school subjects into three different categories, core work (Daily Devotions, Language Arts, and Math), living literature subjects (History and science), and extra curriculars (everything else).  When I am putting together a “flow” to our school day, I try and organize it in such a way that this simple TRIO of categories gets rotated.  The rotation looks something like this:

• Core Subject-which is typically more workbook based
• Living Literature-reading based
• Extra Curricular-hands on/project oriented
• Short Break
• Repeat until all subjects have been completed or the clock strikes 5:00, whichever comes first

This gives a nice variety to the ebb and flow of our day by providing opportunity for a mix of both quiet, sustained learning and movement/motor exercises.

That being said, I realize the majority of homeschool moms love to learn how other “typical” school days occur, so for the sake of the curious, I have put together a general outline of “A Day in the Life of The Unlikely Homeshcool.”  I’ve assigned time slots simply as an example.  We typically start and end school at similar times each day, and everything else just falls where it falls.

• 7:30 Everyone slowly stirs from bed.
• 7:30-8:15 Children watch morning cartoons while I feed the baby and make breakfast
• 8:15-8:30 Children clean their rooms and “make” their beds
• 8:30-9:00 Breakfast, Good Morning basket time (personal devotions)
• 9:00-10:00 Shower and dress
• 10:00-12:00 First set TRIOS
• 12:00-12:30 Make lunch while the Littles pick up the main level of the house
• 12:30-1:30 Lunch time with the Hubs who comes home to eat every weekday
• 1:30-2:00 Afternoon chores/piano practice
• 2:00-2:30 Read aloud/hand work time
• 2:30-4:45 Second set of TRIOS
• 4:45-5:00 We all do our part to pick up the main level of the house again.
• 5:00-5:30 Children watch their favorite show while I make dinner/the Hubs comes home
• 5:30-6:30 Dinner as a family
• 6:30-8:00 This varies depending upon the day.  But, generally, we are either playing a family game, attending a meeting, grocery shopping, or hosting some dinner guests.
• 8:00 Bedtime for all the Littles

Toss in several spilled drinks, a few dirty diapers, and numerous moments of general chaos and you have our “typical” school day.

And right about this time, I’m sure you are entertaining notions of emailing me my #1, most frequently asked question…WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR LITTLEST ONES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY?  Well, that is a post entirely in itself, but for the “short answer”, you’ll have to check out my Tot Trio Series.

Want to know what other homeschooling families are up to during the school day?  Head on over to iHomeschool Network for the NOT Back-to-School blog hop and find out!

American Girl History Units: Rebecca

It's American Girl History Unit time again! This week we are getting a glimpse at my own heritage with young Jewish girl, Rebecca. My great-grandfather was a Jewish immigrant who came to this country to find his own "American dream". Although I did not grow up practicing any Jewish traditions, I have determined to incorporate some of this heritage into our celebrations. Reading Rebecca and her Jewish decent is a nice introduction to that culture.

God's Girls Club: Inner Beauty

A big welcome to all the mothers of young girls! Glad you are joining us for another meeting of our Summertime God's Girls Club, a mother/daughter group that seeks to find joy in femininity and impart a love of homemaking to the next generation of Proverbs 31 girls.

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)

Throughout the summer, we have been working our way through Lady in Waiting for Little Girls: Strengthening the Heart of Your Princess by Jackie and Dede Kendall.

Table Manners/Hospitality Skills: 

• Review last week's skills. 
• Learn to set/practice a basic table setting. 
• When spooning a portion of butter, jam, or spread to be used on bread/toast, take your portion and place on your plate. DO NOT use the communal knife or spoon to spread the jam onto your piece of bread. 
• With your own knife, spread only enough jam/jelly onto your bread for one bite. Once you take your bite, spread another bite's worth onto your bread. 
• If a dish/food item is out of your reach, ask the person who is closest to the item to pass it to you. He/she should then pass it to the person next to him/her until it finally reaches you. 

Tea Party Snack: Toasted English Muffins and an assortment of jams and jellies (Admittedly, this is an odd "snack" for a tea party, but I wanted to practice serving "spreads" from a communal bowl.)

Character Quality: 

Inner Beauty/Virtue

We began our lesson portion of the evening by putting on some shiny lip gloss. The girls learned that lips that look pretty on the outside but are spouting unkind words, lies, or gossip are NOT pretty. Similarly, one of God's Girls can wear the prettiest dress, have the fanciest shoes, and a fashionable hairstyle but appear very ugly. According to 1 Peter 3:3, true beauty comes from a gentle and quiet spirit.

Biblical Example:  Esther (Esther 2:12-17)

Although there was an entire harem of beautiful girls at the king's disposal, Esther stood apart and won her place as Queen. What set her apart? Was it her outward beauty? Probably not, as there were dozens of beauties to choose from. Just as her personality had "won the favor of everyone who saw her", it also won over the favor of the king. Esther was deemed more beautiful because she was beautiful on the inside AND outside.

Handcraft:  

a simple, one-handle bookbag, part 2

At our last meeting, the girls cut the pattern and fabric of a simple book bag. At this week's meeting, we focused on sewing the bag portion together.

To make the bag portion of the book bag: 

Remove the pins from the pattern/fabric and set the pattern aside.

Sew a 1/4 inch "stay stitch" around the entire piece of fabric. (Since we are focusing on the PROCESS of sewing and not the PRODUCT, we will not be lining this bag. We sewed a "stay stitch" around the entire fabric to help prevent fraying.)

Fold the bag fabric in half with right sides together. Pin the long sides in place and sew together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. (Make sure to sew on the "inside" of the stay stitch otherwise you will be able to see the stay stitch on the outside of the bag.)

Measure 1/4 inch down from the top of the bag opening. Fold and press. Measure an additional 1 1/2 inches. Fold and press. This will create a "finished" looking opening.

Pin the folded portion in place.

With the foot directly against the inside fold, sew the "finished" opening.

Invert the fabric and press flat.

Finish the bag portion by sewing a 1/4 inch top stitch all the way around the opening. 

Please join us next time for our FINAL God's Girls Club meeting. We will be focusing on DEVOTION and sewing and attaching the handle of our bags.

If you missed any of our fun...

God's Girls Club: Obedience
God's Girls Club: Service
God's Girls Club: Faith
God's Girls Club: Inner Beauty
God's Girls Club: Devotion

2012-2013 Meet-and-Greet

With only one more full week until the official start of the 2012-2013 school year, I am knee-deep in lesson planning.  It's hard to believe that we are starting our 5th (If you count preschool...sixth) year of homeschool.  Five years and we are still in the honey moon phase! 

Today, I am joining the annual NOT-Back-to-School Hop at iHomeschool Network and sharing pics of my Littles who are ACTUALLY getting just as eager as I am to start our 2012-2013 school year.  So, here they are...

Sweetie Pea, age 8

Super Boy, age 6

Blonde Warrior, age 4

Greased Lightening, turns 3 this week!

the Newbie, 4 months

Be sure to head over to iHomeschool Network and link-up your homeschool pictures.  While you're there, stick around to meet-and-greet some other fun families as they embark on another year of homespun learning.

American Girl History Units: Samantha

Welcome to another week of our American Girl History Units series. This week, Susan Mathis is leading us into the 20th century with a look at the life and times of Samantha. Sweetie Pea and I just had a mother/daughter night this past weekend and watched Samantha, the movie. As usual, the movie version was not nearly as good as the books are, but it made for a fun girl's date!

First Day of School Traditions {Link-Up}

In a little over two weeks, we'll be sharpening our pencils for the first day of the 2012-2013 school year.  Although every year brings a slightly new spin on our academia, most of our first day happenings remain constant.

For the past few years, I have scheduled a separate "first day" for each one of my school age littles.  I generally begin with the youngest learner first.  It just makes for a very smooth START when you start with the easiest and most simple lessons.  So this year, Blonde Warrior will have his very own first day of kindergarten...ALL BY HIMSELF.  Since no one else will have school that day, we will not do any of our combined subjects (history, science, geography, etc.)  We will only concentrate on Kindergarten-specific learning.  The next day will be Super Boy's turn...and so on.  Greased Lightening is a rather young preschooler, as he will turn three only days before the school year starts, so I am going to hold off starting him for a few weeks...maybe even months...

The following Monday, after everyone has had their OWN very first day, we will all do school together, and the school year will have an OFFICIAL start.  

Why do I have a separate first day for each one of my kids?  Well, my reasons are two-fold.

1. Shouldn't EVERY child have a chance to be celebrated?  On that day, the entire family gets to be a cheerleading team, encouraging that ONE little learner.  At dinner, he/she is awarded the Family Celebration Plate, prayed over, and given a chance to recount the day's highlights for the Hubs.  In a family this large, it can be difficult for a child to find opportunity for SINGULAR success.  The first day of school is one way to make that happen.
2. After a summer of a schedule-less schedule, starting with one child at a time makes for a smooth transition not only for my kids, but also for me.  It gives this momma an opportunity to "warm up" before I'm thrust head-long into crazy-business.

Our Family Celebration Plate

Often times, my mother-in-law will put together a fun "First Day of School" gift box with special school supplies and treats for EVERYONE.  (Remember, the first day of school can be a rather sad day for your littlest of littles if it feels like Christmas for EVERYONE ELSE.  Although Greased Lightening won't be starting for quite a bit, I've already set aside some special school supplies just for him.)

After a slow-and-easy start to our year, I always try to wrap up the first OFFICIAL day with a quick trip to the library, a local park, or the beach (depending upon the weather)...no sense giving up on summer fun simply because the calendar reads AUGUST or SEPTEMBER.  

Head on over to my First/Last Day Traditions Pinterest board for a few more ideas.

So that's how we begin at the beginning.  What about you?  How do you launch into learning again?  Come and link up your first day of school traditions!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.theunlikelyhomeschool.com/2012/08/first-day-of-school-traditions-link-up.html" title="First Day, Hooray!"><img src="http://i1053.photobucket.com/albums/s477/UnlikelyHomeschool/FirstDayHooray-1.jpg" alt="First Day, Hooray!" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

First Day, Hooray! Nitty Gritty

1. Link up your first day of school traditions including special schedules, crafts, field-trips...anything that makes the first day stand out from all the rest.
2. Please post the URL of a SPECIFIC post, not the URL of your entire blog.
3. Try to visit at least two other posts and leave a comment.  Everyone loves COMMENTS!
4. Be sure to add a First Day, Hooray! button or text back link to your post.
5. The link will be open from Aug.15th- Sept. 15th, so feel free to swing back and link up later.

Our Places and Spaces: Homeschool "Classroom"

It's time, once again, for the 4th annual NOT Back-to-School Hop.  Hundreds of bloggers from all across the web are inviting you into their homes to take a look at their places and spaces.  So, come on in...

As we live in a very quaint, cottage-style house, with seven people, there is no room to have a ROOM.  Our homeschool classroom has to wedge its way into our everyday life.  And in truth, I kinda like it that way, because LEARNING and LIFE should go together.  But, although I like school to be present in our home, the hubs and I don't want our home to look like a school.  We have always tried to make our home a welcoming hub of hospitality.

So, throughout the last five years of our homeschooling journey, I've found a few ways of camouflaging our school happenings.

For the most part, much of our learning takes place at the dining room table, which as you can guess, has taken quite a beating over the years and will need to be replaced very soon.  Any reading we need to do happens on the couch, the living room floor, or occasionally in a bedroom.

With many little learners, we have amassed quite a collection of books, flashcards, manipulatives, and learning games

Here's where we put it all...

An antique china hutch with an up-cycled coat of paint currently holds all my curriculum guides, teacher resources, a large supply of different kinds of paper, and office-type supplies.

My grandmother's old 4-drawer dresser houses our flashcards that are not currently being used, manipulatives, learning games, and puzzles.

On top of the dresser is a new development...each child has a magazine box which holds any of his/her workbooks, nature notebooks, and creative writing journals.  These will be used with their task cards.  

The dining room pantry door acts as a disguise for many charts and posters.  During the school day, the pantry door is often left wide open so that we can see the charts, and then closed in the evening to conceal the clutter.

And then there are the baskets.  We have a basket or bucket in nearly every corner of the main level of our home.  This one sits on the antique hutch and houses the flashcards that we use nearly every day, stickers, and any frequently used items.

We also have baskets for the following:

a selection of handcrafts to be used during read aloud time

library books

living literature books for history

devotional books/Bibles for our "Good Morning" time

Discovery Quiet Time - during the summer months

Lastly, we have one larger hutch and several plastic storage bins in the basement to house previously used/not currently using curriculum, readers, read-alouds that don't fit on personal book shelves, and our annual portfolios.

Need more homeschool classroom ideas, head on over to iHomeschool Network and check out what other homeschool families will be learning this coming school year.