Hi friends!
After some discussion on my favorite social media platform about what was working for our new homeschool journey, I thought I’d share a few things (literally items) that we’ve found useful. We’re still so new to this life that I’ll defer the heavy duty advice to the seasoned mamas out there 😉
First (and maybe this seems boring, but stick with me) I recommend that you go full-on Susie Teacher and get yourself a thermal laminator (and don’t forget to get the plastic pouches.) I’ve used ours in various ways but one of my favorites was this: I laminated a 3×5 card for each boy with his name written at the top and gave them each a dry erase marker. Then, we’ll venture out into the back yard and look for insect or plant life and they will draw the *best* little pictures of what we found. If I feel like extending the lesson, we’ll bring our cards indoors and then look on the internet about what we saw (usually Wikipedia or a short YouTube video.) The treasure hunt aspect is fun for the boys and it encourages all of us to pay attention to the detail of our surroundings. There are many practical and creative ways to use a laminator, so if you have a great idea, please share! I’m glad I went ahead and got one now.
Along those lines, I’ll also give two thumbs up for this great little book- Backpack Explorer On the Nature Trail. We saw this on our friend’s IG Story one day and promptly ordered it. It’s perfect for ages 4-6 (maybe a bit older as well) because it places animals and plants in easy categories for learning and engages them with beautiful watercolor illustrations. And, as a bonus, the cute little magnifying glass on the cover pops off.
Lastly, I’d love to recommend this workbook bible study by Kids Read Truth on 1&2 Corinthians. I bought this in a bundle with the corresponding workbook for women (She Reads Truth) on Corinthians and we’ve worked through the study together. Both of my boys loved it but especially my 6 year old. He would pull it out every morning as we were having breakfast and dive right in to the next page without me reminding him! To me, that’s the mark of something great– your kids are excited about getting involved and learning. I’m a bit sad that we’ve finished the workbooks already but it’s inspired me to make our scripture study a priority for our day (and education.)
These three items are helpful for homeschooling your little ones but as always, the most important thing your kiddos need is you. They want to be with you! Enjoy the time together- get cozy on the couch and read library books; look up interesting things in the encyclopedia and sketch them out; use math and spelling puzzles and make it like play. I keep reminding myself to not stress too much RELAX because they are young. It’s amazing what kids soak up just by being curious.
Thank you for using social media to talk about homeschooling…it helps us home-educating families to feel less alone. I love connecting with other parents on a similar road, so be sure to reach out! And I’ll continue share more as we go along and try out new things 😁
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