10 Things We Don't Do In Our Homeschool

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Each homeschool is unique just as each family is unique.  Today I'm sharing ten good things that just don't fit into our homeschool.
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The Simple Rugged Path:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7HVorQE8LgvYfw8_zPiDAQ

The Waldock Way:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqCX1WaxK7QNR2dDdklS-VQ?fbclid=IwAR1PcS8CY_l6one6PrPI2HHSh7f6Ye_BJLjCeU7Ck_LIOm7vRuMLvmNxbfE

Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFdamhRE3YEBZ6oNyXPeTsfx46zV912Ps

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FTC DISCLOSURE: This video is not sponsored.

Boy Mom {Review}

Popular blogger, Monica Swanson, knew she struck a nerve when her blog post entitled "What a Teenage Boy Needs Most From His Mom" garnered a HUGE response.  Moms everywhere were hungering to know how they could connect with their teenage sons.  At an age where boys are pulling away from us, it can be easy to throw our hands up in frustration and hope they come back eventually. But Swanson encourages her readers that teenage boys need their moms just as much now as they did when they were younger.

Boy Mom is filled with practical advice on a multitude of topics including:

Grounding Our Boys in the Faith
Affirming Their Identity
Teaching Discipline with Technology
Physical Health
Emotional Health
and more!

I appreciated that Swanson wrote this book with a combination of research and personal experience.  She struck a good balance between the two: backing up her statements with both updated statistics as well as the personal experience that can only come from raising four boys.  All with the reminder to parent intentionally and with vision.  This is the type of mom that I would love to sit down with and have a face to face conversation.  And Boy Mom is the next best thing.  The author speaks with such wisdom and honesty that I came away from this book feeling encouraged and empowered to raise my own two sons.  And actually looking forward to those teenage years.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

What's in Our March Morning Basket?

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For our fairy tale theme, we are exploring some of the classics as well as reading a few remixes.  The following is a list of stories that I am trying to include:

The Little Red Hen
Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pugs
Three Little Gators
Three Snow Bears
Jack and the Beanstalk
Gingerbread Man
Three Billy Goats Gruff
Hansel and Gretel
Little Red Riding Hood
The Pig Who Went Home on Sunday

Printables:

Fairy Tale Choice Board
Hansel and Gretel: Reading and Writing Unit
Myths, Legends, and Fable: Definition Signs

For language, vocabulary and story telling, we are including:

Rory's Story Cubes
Happily Ever After Mad Libs
Roll a Story Writing Activity

I'm also putting together a Fairy Tales Playlist on Youtube.  In this case, we can switch back and forth from reading to viewing fairy tales as we need to break things up.  Family Movie Night this month is going to be fun as well with options like Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, and The Little Mermaid.

For art, we are including lots of art lessons from Chalk Pastel and Arts Hub for Kids.  We try to do an art lesson once a week, learning new techniques and art forms.

In history, we are nearing the end of Story of the World Vol 2 (Medieval History).  This month, we are reading excerpts from Why Do Castles Have Moats?, as well as various other story books.  We'll also be including A Lion to Guard Us as a short read aloud.

For science, we are including a variety of picture books including The Man Who Named the Clouds and Magic Schoolbus Inside a Hurricane.  We'll also be playing with these Weather and Climate Flashcards as well as Professor Noggin's Earth Science cards.

For Bible, we are working our way through The Ology.  Some of the topics are well known to our kids while others are new concepts.  So it's a nice mix of new and old.

Our family read aloud for the month is Mary Poppins.  We're excited to read a classic as we wait for Marry Poppins Returns to hit the dollar theater.

What are your favorite resources for studying fairy tales?

And what are you including in your March Morning Basket?

When I Pray for You {Review}

An inspiring book about the special bond between child and parent, When I Pray for You celebrates all the wishes and dreams we hold for our little ones.  From birth, through childhood, into the growing years, Matthew Paul Turner perfectly captures the heartfelt sentiment that changes and grows as our children do.  The publisher's description markets this book to ages 3-7 years, but the message transcends time.  As I read this book with my children, it brought tears to my eyes.  The author's words were exactly what I wanted to say to my kids, even the teenager.  Through the good days and the bad, I hope these are words that they'll remember spoke over them... "I've prayed for you... I cherish you... I'm here for you."  I can see myself read turning to this one again and again as my own words fail to share how deeply I feel for my children.  And how much I pray for them day after day.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Our Jr. High Reading List

Jr. High books are all about deeper character development and deeper themes.  Conflicts become more complicated, and students have to wrestle with their own beliefs in untangling these novels.  Jr. High novels should certainly be challenging, but not too overwhelming.  Look for topics that will interest your child/student in making the transition more manageable.

Across Five Aprils
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Anne of Green Gables (series)
Amos Fortune: Free Man
The Black Stallion (series)
The Bronze Bow
Captain's Courageous
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
The Chronicles of Narnia (series)
The Diary of Anne Frank
Elijah of Buxton
Hatchet
Heidi
The Hiding Place
Johnny Tremaine
Last of the Mohicans
Little Men
Little Women
Lord of the Rings (series)
National Velvet
Robinson Crusoe
The Secret Garden
Sounder
Treasure Island
Where the Red Fern Grows
White Fang
Wrinkle in Time
The Yearling

What are your favorite books for this age?

For more suggestions see our
 First & Second Grade Reading List
 Third Grade Reading List
 Fourth Grade Reading List
Fifth Grade Reading List
Sixth Grade Reading List

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