Science Picture Books for Kindergarten

We came across some pretty cool Nature Study/Science picture books that I read to Julia throughout this last Kindergarten year, and I thought I would share them here, as I am always on the lookout for good, living books. Here they are, in no particular order:

A Look Back on Our Year with Ambleside Online

I feel like this year was a big year for me, with having three official students (one of those being in high school) and pre-schooling twins. I'm not sure how the year managed to fly by, but it did and we have closed up the books. There have been so many good books floating on and off the shelves and it makes me sad to think that some of these won't be opened again for a long time. Thankfully, I have some young kids to cycle through all these old friends and I look forward to reading with them in the future. 

Charlotte Mason {in Church} #5

Disciples See Christ Walking on Water, Henry Osawa Tanner

I realized that I haven't posted lesson plans since the beginning of the Sunday school year, so I wanted to update for those who need help or ideas!

We continue to follow a simple structure to our Children's Church time each Sunday. Due to Covid, we are low on kids and teachers/helpers. It's been a struggle to keep it staffed, but we've felt it is still very important to continue teaching the kids and keep it as normal as possible for them, at church. 

What We've Been Up To

It's super easy to get discouraged by other's progress and that isn't what this post is supposed to do... but instead, to encourage all you moms who are just quietly working each day with one or two or more children. All that consistent work each day really adds up. We're feeling cooped up, like everyone else in the world, but we are working on being kind, doing our best work, and habit training. I thought I'd share a peek in pictures of the past few weeks.

We just finished the MEP Reception year!

A Look Back at Term 1

We finished Term 1 yesterday! I feel like we need to have balloons and confetti! :) It was a long term, for a variety of reasons but looking back, I can see that we accomplished SO much! 

Picture Study Resources

I have been working on Children's Church for this next school year, which means I have been up to my eyeballs in art study searches. It's hard to narrow down good art that lines up with a Bible story, especially the Old Testament! Anyways, I thought I would just quickly post a few resources that I am using to search for worthy pictures, in case you need some help with planning for your Sunday School or Children's Church.

Planning 7th grade with Ambleside Online

And now it's time for the 7th grade plans! This was probably the easiest year to plan out of the three girls, because it is a lot of repetition from when Kailyn worked through AO Year 7. Louisa is a bit different, of course, as all our children are and I did adjust a few things because of that. 

Planning 9th Grade with Ambleside Online

We are officially entering the high school years at our house with K! We will be using Year 9 in Ambleside Online, adjusted to meet her needs. It's no joke that there is quite a bit of extra planning needed in preparation for these upper years! I found myself quite overwhelmed at times and am hoping I haven't overdone it with the book load, but we can always cut back and move things around if she finds it too much work. This daughter is a high achiever and loves to learn about such a variety of things that I think she will really enjoy the books and still continue to read in her spare time :). 

Reflections on Y6 and Y8 with Ambleside Online

I can't quite wrap my mind around it, but we are done with school! We just finished Year 6 and Year 8 with Ambleside Online and it was fabulous. I feel like I also learned a ton, right alongside them!

Watercolor Narrations from Y6 & Y8 over the past few weeks

Charlotte Mason {in Church} Quarantine Edition

The great thing about Charlotte Mason is that short lessons work well for posting on YouTube! ;) Seriously, though, it has worked well to do video lessons and has been a blessing to many. It's not my favorite thing in the world to see myself in a video every week, but it works to keep the kids learning!

We manage to do ALL the things we normally do over a video... We still pray, read a Bible story, look at a picture, review our verses, sing our hymn and even do nature study with whatever the kids have on hand at home for drawing or painting!

Charlotte Mason Kindergarten in Our Home

Guys, I have an incoming kindergartener! I haven't homeschooled a kindergartener yet (we came late to the homeschooling party) but I am very much looking forward to it, despite feeling quite inadequate. It is humbling to realize that this first year of formal lessons will set the tone for all the other years of school lessons. I think we are off to a good start, though, with having maintained some good habits and expectations. She is excited to learn how to read and to start her very own nature journal and just officially join in on the learning, like her big sisters. :)

Homeschool Quarantine Update

We almost died... thanks to quarantine stress. I kid but not really. 

The beginning of April was rough - the stress was coming from all sides (church ministry, homeschooling and life as a family) and suddenly, I just couldn't handle it anymore so we took a much needed break... it ended up being a two week break and it was definitely worth it. We did a lot of outside playing, spring cleaning, celebrated the twins turning three years old and had hours of reading for fun. The older girls did some drawing, composing and writing, too. Now, we are back at it and just have a few weeks left of our school year!

My Last Term with Only 2 Students

Book of Centuries work

It seems totally wild to type that but it is true... Julia will be joining us in the fall for Kindergarten!

We finished up Term 2 AND all Exams last week and I am proud of the girls and the work they have done. Term 2 was a step up in reading for Louisa and Kailyn is still managing a pretty full load. I am especially proud of her discipline in Latin and beginning a very daunting journey with Greek!

Lent with J.S. Bach

Today is Ash Wednesday and this year, we are trying to do a more intentional Lenten observance in our homeschool. A few years ago, I came across this 40 day musical and Scriptural Lenten devotional that uses Bach's St. Matthew's Passion but I put it on the back burner, waiting for a good season to attempt a listen. I (embarrassingly enough) have never listened to this oratorio and because it is sung in German, know it will be a good stretch for our naturally impatient ears. However, I thought it would be a good discipline for the three of us to do each afternoon when the younger kids are napping/quiet-timing.

Charlotte Mason {in Church}

We have begun our second semester of Children's Church. Things are starting to become easier for all involved... the teachers are seeing the benefits of the new routine and the kids are getting used to the structure. The kids are also getting better at narrating, which is encouraging because we have some pretty young kids (ages 4+ but also some 3 year olds come, too)!

Woodburning {Handicrafts}

This term we are working on wood burning! It's totally different than our last handicraft (embroidery) but the girls have enjoyed it so far. This could come in handy for so many different gift ideas or artwork - just look at these examples:

via

Charlotte Mason Reading

Happy New Year!

A new year means new goals and this is one of mine:

I hope to make good progress on my goal of reading through CM's volumes over the next two years. I have read some or all of five volumes but would like to read them all completely. I need to just keep reading to keep it fresh in my mind, especially as I will be starting Julia in Kindergarten next school year (!).

I'm missing Vol 5 because my husband is reading it!

Charlotte Mason {in Church} ADVENT

I promised I would write about the Advent plans for Children's Church, so here goes. I hope this will be helpful to someone looking to add in ideas to their own Children's Church ministry or Sunday School!

{UPDATE: READ ALL THE POSTS IN THIS SERIES.}

Charlotte Mason {in Church}

{ This is the third post in a series about starting a CM program in our church. }

The past six weeks have flown by - probably because I haven't been doing as much of the teaching as I did in the first six weeks! I do love to watch the kids interact with Scripture and engage in nature study and I am so encouraged by their Scripture memory work! The regular attenders are solid in their memory and the newer kids are really trying!

Embroidery {Handicrafts}

This term we are working on embroidery for our handicrafts! I love hand embroidery and was excited to introduce it. I thought I would share what resources we have been using in case others are interested in trying it out!

I started the girls off with the same pattern- a heart embroidery sampler. This was great practice for learning different stitches. You can find it here. They turned out so sweet