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6/15/2018 0 Comments

Camping Summer Unit: PK4

Ana's Week 

A camping unit really is such a great short unit to do during the summer months, when you are trying to fill time with activities that have some educational value and keep your kids away from media. If you are an outdoorsy family, I think you would have an awesome time building a unit around your trip (such as “what should we pack?” and have them help you pack or sing campfire songs around a real fire). We are not one of those families. Perhaps my husband will one day take our girls camping and I’ll gain the courage to join, but I have a huge phobia of snakes that really keeps my desire to go camping to a solid 0%.



Therefore, we spent the whole week camping in our living room! Aria spent rest times and bedtimes chilling and sleeping in her tent for 3 days. Because we spent the money on a tent this year (one that can also be used as a sun shelter- woohoo!), we didn’t buy sleeping bags but instead piled blankets and pillows all over the tent. Though we have a fire pit, because Skylar is still so little, instead we made a fake fire out of boxes and tissue paper. Then, when the girls wanted s’mores, we used the toaster oven and a homemade solar oven (which didn’t toast but melted everything down so it still worked).


On a day we had people in the house for hours working on our AC unit, we tried to do a few activities that would keep the girls out of the way, which isn’t always easy in a small house. We did some painting outside, we built a miniature campground in a box, a bear hunt in the backyard, and even planned out and packed what we would need for camping and then set up a mini campground on top of my bed after we took the tent down for the workers.


Since we are heading out of town and the girls were all set to leave a week early, I really needed something fun and exciting to keep the girls distracted. This unit was perfect because it was easy to pull the activities together, but still fun and kept the girls busy while I packed, cleaned, and did laundry. Aria is all set to go camping again already, so maybe we will repeat or add on to this unit later this summer. It was just that fun! Please let me know of any of your great ideas, especially when it comes to real camping! ​
CLICK HERE FOR DOWNLOADABLE CAMPING UNIT PDF
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6/11/2018 0 Comments

These are a few of my favorite things...for long flights

These are a few of my favorite things…for long flights

In honor of a long flight I have coming up, I figured I would share my advice for how to entertain kids on really long flights. I have family in Japan and Hawaii, so I am used to long flights with children at this point, but it is never easy. Plan for months ahead if you know you are going on a long flight so that you don’t have to spend loads of money or time last minute scrambling to find things for the kids to do.

Obviously, when it comes to flight travel, the easiest thing to do is give kids technology to distract them. However, in the case of my kids, I’ve learned that after a while it might make them grumpy and keep them awake longer than they should be awake, so it is good to have lots of technology free items too. If you have technology, make sure to get headphones so you don’t bother others on the flight, and no noisy toys!

Here are some specific ideas:
  • Pack all of the toys in a small roller bag that can fit under the seat in front of your child but that is also small enough your child can pull it around. That way you can carry your bags and don’t have to worry about theirs (but it is rolling and easy for you to grab if your child gets tired).
  • Snacks in a craft box. Every half hour or hour, let the kids pick a new snack from one of the sections and pull it out for them to eat. Make sure to clean the tray tables on the airplane before doing anything else! That’s where the worst germs are to be found!
  • Lots of hand sanitizer- my kids don’t get sick much, but after a flight to Hawaii, we all got massively sick and the girls got ear infections. Better safe than sorry. Lots of cleaning
  • When it comes to toys, let them reach in the bag and pull a new toy out every 20-30 minutes. Otherwise, they will go through all of the surprises in the bag super fast and will have no surprises for the flight home!
  • Dollar store toys- some great things I’ve found are small animals or dinosaurs in bags, dolls with accessories, card games, small knockoff lego kits, puzzles, small art kits, and markers/crayons with coloring books
  • Target dollar section- for this coming flight, I hit the jackpot with some great small tubs full of fairies and unicorns. I also found some great art packs with paper, crayons, and stamps together.
  • Preschool quiz booklets to pass the time learning in a fun way
  • To make sure that any art the girls do doesn’t stay on the plane, I made sure to get ultra washable markers and crayons so that I can easily wipe off any messes made
  • This time, I am also making Aria carry a small backpack with her blankie and any dolls she wants inside of it. I’ve had trouble getting Aria to limit her stuffed animals when traveling, so I figured that she would self limit this way based on how heavy it was for her.
  • Check the car seats. Carrying them through the airport is possible, but in my opinion it is so not worth the struggle. Dealing with your kids and stuff is plenty on your plate. Plus, it is not only free, but from what I understand, if an airline loses your car seat, they have to pay for a replacement.
  • Set rules ahead of time and emphasize that your kids must behave over and over again. Set periodic rewards or let them know there is a really cool place they will get to visit if they are good during the flight
  • If you are potty training, make sure to bring pull ups even if your kid is in panties. Reason being, your child may be terrified of the airplane bathroom. In the case of Aria, she was so terrified of using the bathroom at the airport (automatic flush) and on the airplane (loud noise), but she hated pull-ups, that she held her pee for 14 hours once. If your child isn’t quite so stubborn or doesn’t have as strong a bladder, it is good to be prepared!
  • Bring extra clothes. After hearing one woman’s nightmare of being covered in a blow out poop but not having a change of clothes on a 10 hour flight, I always make sure everyone in the family has a change of clothes in our bag! Doesn’t hurt to pack sweaters too in case the plane is cold

But the best advice I can give you is to expect that things will go wrong. Long flights are hard on adults, so they are bound to be twice as hard on kids. Prepare for crying, exhaustion, and perhaps even temper tantrums so that when they occur, you have the patience to deal with them without anger! I’ve had flights where Aria or Skylar cried for hours, where everyone but me got sleep because the kids took turns sleeping, and flights where nothing seemed to go right with the electronics on the plane so we relied solely on the toys we brought. But, if you are prepared that anything can happen, it is far easier to go with the flow and adapt. Remember: the flight might be long, but the destination is sooo worth it in the end! ​
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6/11/2018 0 Comments

These are a few of my favorite things...materials for homeschooling

Ana’s picks:

Newest favorite: The Shifu Orboot Globe (https://www.amazon.com/Shifu-Orboot-Educational-Augmented-Reality/dp/B075WW3JKQ)- way cooler than described, it teaches about cultures, food, animals, monuments, etc all over the world and from every continent


Dollar Store- Alphabet and numbers workbooks, toys related to units (for the best chance at finding goods, go once a month and start looking for supplies for your units months in advance), books related to units (especially Bible and Christmas stories, as they have tons of these), coloring books


Michael’s- craft supplies, activity kits, Safari Toobs, books, etc (never pay full price here! Always look for coupons in advance or pull them up from their site while in the store. Also, keep an eye out for the big sales of the year and stock up). The Sarfari Toobs are generally expensive and never on sale, so Jessica and I would usually wait for a 40% off coupon and go once or twice a week to get a Toob.


Bags of animals, ocean creatures, dinosaurs- the brand isn’t important, but you can usually find bags/boxes/tubs of these at every toy store. Find a deal and load up because they can be put to so much use during the year


Tents/teepees- we have a tent for a camping unit and a space ship tent for the solar system unit. We also have a teepee for our Thanksgiving unit. Not that you need all of these items, but a tent of some sort is great to have because it can be used in different ways than expected. Think: you use a tent and pretend you are Dave in the Lion’s Den. Just great things to have for pretend play


Rice box/water beads- great sensory materials when creating sensory boxes for different units. Rice has been our go-to, but water beads have an interesting feel that my kids really enjoy. If your kids are really messy, be prepared to have to clean as soon as they are finished playing!


Organized drawers/boxes for each unit (see my “how I organize my house” blog)- what I love about this is that not only are my units organized for each year so that I know exactly what I have for each unit when lesson planning, but also that Aria knows what each drawer and box is for and can pull the materials out, play with them, and put them back where they go when she is done. In a small space like my house, it is absolutely necessary for my sanity to stay organized


Craft drawers (also, see my “how I organize my house” blog)- we have a craft table, and right next to the table is a bunch of drawers full of craft materials that Aria can pull out as the need strikes her. In our school and guest room, we have paint, glitter, stamps, etc that Aria can also play with and freely pull out, though we set strict rules on paint and glitter only being used outside unless mom otherwise allows.


abcmouse.com- this has been a great resource when I needed to get something done as something to help me feel like Aria is doing something educational even if I am unable to help her. As Skylar has gotten bigger, she has started to use this more while I help Aria with her workbook. It’s nice that you only have to pay one fee for your family


DK Geography workbooks- for some reason, Aria loves the way these are set up and finds them to be really fun workbooks. She’s already excited about doing the kindergarten workbook next year


Sibling shelf- Skylar has her own shelf on our school shelves in the living room where she can pull out “school stuff” to do while we work on school. Mostly, I picked age appropriate learning games and tactile items.


Insect Lore bugs- our whole family loves these kits. The praying mantis one wasn’t quite as fun, but the butterfly kit is amazing! Ants and Ladybugs are next on the list! (http://www.insectlore.com/)


Preschool Prep videos- I cant speak highly enough about these. My girls watch these in the car and both of them will copy the sounds out loud. It has really helped Aria with her pronunciation and sight word recognition (https://www.amazon.com/Preschool-Prep-Collection-Letters-Digraphs/dp/B005XO7524)


Leapfrog Tag Reader- these can get expensive unless you find one at the consignment stores (as I luckily did), but they have helped Aria a lot with reading and she loves using her Tag Reader (https://www.walmart.com/ip/LeapFrog-LeapReader-Reading-and-Writing-System-Green/23662229?athcpid=23662229&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVAV&athieid=v0&athstid=CS002&athguid=466001f5-c846a645-bfa64d2c82f6e870&athena=true)


Magic School Bus Science Kits- Human Body and Rainbow are the two we have and they are great because we can keep using the materials each year (https://www.amazon.com/Young-Scientists-Club-Magic-School/dp/B000MAD7FS/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1528743817&sr=1-1&keywords=magic+school+bus+human+body)


Raddish Kids Cooking Club- I found a deal on this cooking club and it has been a fun way to get Aria more interested in cooking in the kitchen. Plus, I’m a foodie and the food is actually good! (https://www.raddishkids.com/)




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6/3/2018 0 Comments

A Year in Retrospect: Ana's Family 2017-2018

Though not always easy or perfect, I would call our PK-4 school year the “year we found our groove.” For any teacher, I think the first year isn’t easy. I look back at my first year teaching high school and think I remember more mistakes that I made than actual success stories. In a different way, my first year teaching Aria (PK-3 year) was not as successful as I would hope just because I was also balancing a 6 month old, breastfed child who required lots of attention when she was awake. I, of course, also had no idea what I was doing and wasn’t well organized until the second semester when Jessica really helped me realize that well prepared lesson plans really make or break a week, at least in my household. This year, it was wonderful to see Skylar get just as invested in some of our lessons as Aria, and it also made teaching much easier, as I wasn’t waiting until Skylar went down for a nap time to do school work with Aria. Additionally, I learned how to better search for ideas each week to make sure that all core materials are covered and have learned how to find the best sales and deals on school materials.


I think the thing I’m most blessed with when it comes to homeschooling is that my girls both truly love doing school related activities. Aria loves (most of) the thematic units, and each morning she asks me what we are going to learn about for the day. She is also extremely responsive to workbook materials and has become passionate about trying to read to me. Both of my girls also love to do artwork, which is really quite wonderful. I can set up crafts for them and they will both be focused for a few minutes to almost an hour working together, depending on the activity. I’m really lucky that my girls absolutely love each other and that Skylar wants to do whatever Aria does. Skylar has picked up so much from Aria this year and her speech levels are far above what her sister’s were at this age. Even potty training worked easier with her because natural school breaks were easy reminders to take her to the potty. (Yes, my awesome 2 year old is potty trained!). When Aria was busy doing things that Skylar couldn’t do, such as letters and numbers, Skylar was always happy to sit and do abcmouse.com or an activity I set out for her. Thank goodness for easier second children! Definitely made the balancing of the two girls far easier.


The year was not always a success, and I would argue that many of the things that didn’t work for us as a whole were due to my lack of motivation or organization. I’ve learned that going forward I need a math and literacy program to help me because I’m not good at keeping myself on track enough with that. I make sure to cover everything with each thematic unit, but I find myself far more motivated to do the art and science activities than the literacy or math, which means that Aria senses my lack of excitement and she loses motivation. Or Skylar distracts me with what she needs and we don’t have enough time to complete everything. There are some units that weren’t successful because I didn’t love them, such as our sports unit, but I will stick it out next year and try and better myself because I think a sports unit is good exercise and necessary learning experience for the girls. There were some units that didn’t work, like my Around the World culture and animal units, but they led me to understand I need to spend a week focused on each continent next year. I’m actually really looking forward to that!


One of the hardest struggles as a homeschool mom I had this year was feeling like a failure at times when seeing what other kids know or have done that I don’t yet have Aria up to speed on. I felt disappointed in myself when I realized Aria needed speech therapy because I wondered if I should have just talked to her more and if it was my fault for not putting her around other kids in a preschool (luckily, she is doing really well in those and is very self motivated to speak better). When I had to make a decision on if I wanted to try and do kindergarten or Pre-k 5/K next year (my daughter is an October birthday and therefore technically not old enough for Kindergarten), it became an easy decision when I realized how hard I was being on myself. I needed to give Aria and I time. She is very smart, very self-motivated, and loves learning, but I decided to see how she does next year and let her have fun and be little a little a bit longer. The best part of homeschooling is that we can self pace, and if she excels at kindergarten level phonics, writing, reading, and math next year, there isn’t anyone to tell me I can’t move her onto 1st grade stuff the next year! If she needs more time to prepare for kindergarten level work, we can stop and go back to preschool material and get stronger at that before moving forward.


I really can’t wait for the next year to begin. I’m so ready for the summer break to relax, rejuvenate, and not have to lesson plan for a bit, but I also am full of ideas for how to make next year an even better year for all of us. Pre-K 4 was such a great mix of fun and learning, and I have so many amazing memories from our lessons this year, but I look forward with so much hope and excitement for a much more successful Pre-K 5/K for Aria!






What worked best for Aria (and me) this year:
  • Having an activity outside of the house almost every day kept us on task in a timely manner. Aria was involved in gymnastics, a My Gym art class, My Gym freeplay (with Skylar), and speech therapy. We would try to fill other days with playdates. The first semester we did piano, which didn’t pan out in the long run because Aria didn’t want to practice, but we will go back to it down the road. Skylar had her own My Gym class that Aria would sit outside of and do schoolwork by herself. I really think it helped with teaching her some responsibility and gave me special alone time with Skylar.
  • Lots of tactile materials. I can’t stress enough what a great idea it is to try and hit up the Dollar Store monthly, to go to Michael’s during a sale or find their 40% off coupons before going to the store, and going to local consignment stores every month or so. I’ve found so many amazing deals this way, and many of these items can be used again and again with Skylar when she starts preschool and maybe even another child down the road. Aria loves touching and feeling things to understand them, and I think that making sure I had great materials for each unit was the key to the success of many of our units.
  • Having art materials readily available. I have two sets of drawers filled with art supplies of all kinds, and other than setting parameters (like painting and glitter must be done outside), I give Aria free reign. Even Skylar will go and collect materials to do crafts if she is bored. I am always happy when the girls choose to use their time to be creative, and making it easy for them ultimately made it easy for me! (Caveat to this is that Skylar is fairly neat and does not draw on walls or where she isn’t supposed to. This may not work in all situations).
  • Science Experiments!- this was a huge success with both of my girls, actually. I think that the days where we were really science focused and spent hours doing experiment after experiment were some of the best days of school all year. At the preschool level, I think it is so wonderful that they are doing all of these scientific activities but don’t really understand that’s what it is. They just think it is fun and amazing (and, honestly, I’ve learned a ton too through experimentation).
  • Rest time- Aria and I need a break from each other each day to love each other well. We both love people and getting out of the house, but we are both introverts who need time to ourselves. So, when Skylar naps each day, Aria will either play in her room or put herself down for a nap. I’m sure we could get far more done in a day without rest time, but it is just essential for our well being right now.
  • Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten by Twin Sisters Publishing- a great, huge Common Core Standards workbook that was colorful and fun and Aria loved knowing that once she finished the workbook she would get a prize. It also covers all of the Common Core Standards for preschool to make sure that Aria knows all she would need to know for Kindergarten. I wasn’t sure about using workbooks in our schooling, but it really gave me the piece of mind to know that I was finishing the year covering everything.
  • DK publishing Geography workbook (PK)- I absolutely think this workbook is simple yet awesome. Aria loved it because she thought it was fun that she got a star for each page, yet it really covered a lot of geography concepts on top of being fun. Next year we are definitely doing the kindergarten one.
  • Learning boxes/drawers- these were boxes/drawers I made for each themed unit that Aria can easily access whenever she wants (see my home organization blog). So, if she wants to play with dinosaurs or ocean animals, she pulls one of the boxes out, plays with the characters, and then sticks the box back when she is done. Such an easy, early way to teach kids organization and also to help me remember what I have for each unit when it comes time to lesson plan!


What didn’t work for Aria (and me) this year:
  • Too many items on our schedule- I realized that one outside of the home activity a day works really well for us if we want to get things done. If we have more than one scheduled for the day, we run out of time too fast because of the time spent preparing to go out
  • Starting the mornings early- I learned quickly that between my girls’ love of large homemade breakfasts every morning and my disdain for mornings before my cup of coffee is drunk, we probably aren’t going to get started as early as we perhaps should. But our routine seems to work for us
  • Routine- this year was all about me learning to be adaptable. Between potty training, my desire to allow Aria the freedom to take breaks to be creative or go outside when she wants, and our activities happening at different times each day, no day seemed to be the same. And it worked for us this year. Next year, I would love to have more structured morning lessons routine, but it just didn’t happen this year, and that is okay!
  • LOTS OF STUFF!- and that is A-OK. With almost every unit, there were things that worked and things that didn’t. Every kid is different, every day is different, and some stuff just doesn’t work like the instructions say they will. Write the day off, unit off, or the activity off, just don’t let it bring you down or make you feel like a failure in the long run! ​
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    Jessica and Ana 

    ​Our Homeschooling Mission Statement: We will strive to be patient, godly examples to our children, integrating biblical principles and morality into every subject. Learning should be fun. We will foster an attitude of lifelong curiosity and play while providing the best possible education we can through books, art, technology, food, tactile activities, and cultural experiences. Learning will not be dictated by hours on a clock but will be a way of life for our families.

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