January Listening and Reading

Hi everyone! 2021 has arrived with a bang, right? So to keep myself in good space both mentally and emotionally, Mama Bush has taken on some old reads again. Stuff that I’ve read before but it was SO good and really helpful in a previous season, I’m rereading/listening.

So first up on my listening list is The Better Mom by Ruth Schwenk. I truly enjoyed this book the first time I read it and I’m enjoying it even more on the second go round. I do have a physical copy but the audiobook allows me to listen even on my way to word and while cleaning. And an FYI she isn’t saying she’s the better mom but that we as moms are always in a place to be a better mom.

The second book is The Call of the Wild + Free by Ainsley Arment. This book is a total gem. I love that you can find brief overviews of the major approaches to homeschooling and that all of them can be used with the Wild + Free way. We have even joined a local Wild + Free group and its awesome. It allows us to meet up with other families for good nature play and nature walks.

This one by my friend Lea Ann Garfias is excerpts from her upcoming book that releases in February. And it is amazing. I highly recommend preordering the book while you can get a TON of freebies like the audiobook above and the companion workbook.

A couple of other books I am reading are those to strengthen my marriage, Love & Respect by Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs. I remember studying through this book years ago with our marriage class at church and it was a huge blessing. So now I need to brush up and reread my marriage needs the improvement and blessing again.

The other marriage book is Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. This one that makes you humble and really set your ego aside. The goal of every marriage should be to honor God and be the example of His relationship with His people as it is designed. Holiness over Happiness, which is huge because usually people run when they don’t “feel” love but this book reminds me that my choices are what makes me “feel” love, it doesn’t just happen on their own.

So, what are you reading this year?

Break week

Hey 👋🏽 everyone! We’re back!

So this week is break week, originally it was planned for next week but it has been so stressful around here that we moved it up to this week. But what do you generally do on break week?

For our family, break week is a time to catch up on rest and cleaning and planning. It’s a time when I can catch up on grading weekly quizzes and plan the next 4-5 weeks of lessons. It’s also a time to catch up on rest and even take a field trip or two. This week our plan is to rest, I took a nasty fall over the weekend and am pretty banged up. We’ll likely do go to the park on Tuesday and Wednesday since the weather will be in the 70s 🤗then try a fall painting and pumpkin painting activities on Friday.

When it comes to planning, I used to obsess over having the perfect planner but now I work with simple printable planner pages and write in what we’re doing. I print out what we will need, such as copies of the Latin lessons, math quizzes, spelling packets, poetry pages, copywork to go with our read aloud selection. We’re still reading through the Magician’s Nephew from the Chronicles of Narnia. Oh and get us ready with our weekly Bible memory verses. I think this time I will create copywork pages to make it easier (and so everyone is using the same Bible translation).

So tell me, what are some of your favorite fall activities? I’d love to try them!

Schedules and Transparency

One of the hardest things to do is to set a schedule and blog about it then have an off week right after 🤣😩

I know I could have kept this to myself but why give the impression that I never struggle? That creates unrealistic expectations and allows you set unrealistic expectations for your family. The best thing I could do is show you that while I usually have a pretty solid plan, everything doesn’t always go according to the plan. And that’s okay.

While I struggled this week, I even had a moment of wishing to live how we used to, separate from my mom somewhere where there’s very little disruption. But how do we grow if not for the disruptions in life? How do we learn to handle the disruptions gracefully? So instead for wishing for an easier life, I simply asked the Holy Spirit for self control and help. I can’t do this alone, so I employ THE helper. He who gives what we ask.

So that’s my advice. When the days get hard, don’t tap out but tap in the Holy Spirit to come into your day, into your home, into your heart and to help you. To guide you. That’s where the true strength lies.

A day in the life…

So what does our fall rhythms look like? Because it’s one thing to tell you about creating rhythms for your family but it’s another to share with you the rhythms my family runs by. It’s important that children know what’s coming next. Especially my children. If they don’t, they ask tons of questions.

So our day starts with a morning nature walk after washing faces and brushing teeth. This gets our blood pumping and gets everyone wide awake. It also helps expend of that early morning energy. Then we move into breakfast; during the week breakfast is not too heavy. Just enough to fill their tummies but not so much that they are full and tired.

After breakfast we tidy the kitchen before heading downstairs to start morning time and lessons. Morning time consists of daily devotions, Latin lessons, poetry, and read aloud), some days we do all of this, some days we only do some of it.

Then we jump into language arts and math before lunch. After lunch we move into one more subject (depending on the day of the week) before afternoon quiet reading.

Our evening routine is quite simple and consistent: free play, dinner, bath time and bedtime. So for mama my quiet time is in the afternoon during their quiet time. Then during free play is my time for dinner prep during which I tend to listen to a podcast.

So mama, let’s work on your schedule. You have the option to write your own without any type of fancy planner or you can buy a planner from Amazon or go on Pinterest and look for the free planner printables. However, the goal is to make the plan for each day and actually see it through. And leave a bit of margin for the hiccups that can occur.

I’d love to hear or see how your plans are working out! Be sure to join The Chosen Lifestyle Discord Group: https://discord.gg/p2ZwrXu

Fall Rhythms

Fall is here and while the weather is turning cooler, the embers of homeschooling (and for many virtual schooling) is burning brightly still. We have children who are just starting school or if you’re like us, you’ve been schooling since July but with one week breaks every four weeks to avoid homeschool burnout.

Around this time of year, I inevitably am passing around advice for creating some routine and structure in your life. One thing I always recommend is getting it all down on paper. Write down everything that needs to get done each day, some of those things are repetitive every day and others are appointments that occur every so often. But get it all down so you can actually see it then arrange it on a time schedule so that you can make sure you have time for appointments and for lessons. Meal plan on the weekends for the upcoming week, so you know what you need from the grocery store ahead of time and can have it on standby. This will enable you to have an idea of how much time you need to prepare meals each day and to plan for that time.

Then when you factor in children and lessons, you really need this. Why? Because children thrive off of knowing what comes next. That’s why they ask a million questions. They simply want to know what’s going on and what to expect next. With a schedule or routine, you can offer them that. And doing so blesses you big time, because eventually the whining and complaining eases up because they know what is coming and know there’s no getting out of it.

So here’s the hard part, actually doing this. It’s easy to read about scheduling and organizing and time management. It’s easy to even think about possibly doing it. But the hard part is getting the planner or printing the planner pages (you can find tons of free ones on Pinterest, and I have base weekly one in my e-store for dirt cheap) and actually managing your time and day well.

Preparing for Christmas

Like everyone else in the world we are also preparing for Christmas. We have our Christmas tree up and we’ve completed Christmas shopping and almost everything has been delivered. But then there’s the quiet heart preparation that also must be done so that in the busyness of the season, we don’t forget the reason for the season. Jesus.

For us that starts with advent. The drawback is this tear we’ve rarely done any of the reading and candle lighting on time. Face palm 🤦🏽‍♀️. Advent is the four Sunday’s leading up to Christmas 🎄 and it is celebrated by reading the Christmas story while light commemorative candles 🕯 in honor of Jesus being the light of the world 🌍. We have an advent devotional we’ve been reading by Asheritah Ciuciu that focuses on the names of Jesus during the advent season. While some people assume advent is a catholic holiday, we as non-Catholics celebrate it because it’s about Jesus and reminding ourselves of what really matters.

Such a pretty devotional

So with this week being our last before we embark on our two week Christmas/Winter Break, we are doing quite a bit of work. And for me, it’s including preparing to plan for the first few months of 2020 (Jan, Feb, and March). I decided to use a free printable planner by Lara at Everyday Graces, it’s geared towards Charlotte Mason method homeschoolers but it suits me quite fine being that we are Classical homeschoolers who enjoy a touch of Charlotte Mason. As I’m writing this we are listening to an audio drama of Pride & Prejudice during our lunch break.

So how are you preparing for Christmas 🎄 and the new year?

Yearly Loop Schedule

The yearly loop schedule gives an overview of utilizing a 2 or 4-year loop schedule for classical homeschooling. It also includes a basic overview of each subject covered and is internet-linked for resources to use (including history and science spines). At the end is also a weekly and daily schedule that you can print for use with your own family (this is the same weekly & daily schedule we personally use).

You can find it here.

Our Chosen Homeschooling Method

So its been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve been spending much of my spare time reading and revamping our homeschooling method so that it does not feel so chaotic or like we are all over the place. And I’ve come across some great resources that has been helping me define and smooth out the method we’ve chosen to homeschool.

So first we’ve recognized we are classical homeschoolers. Classical, in the sense of following the trivium. But not fully Charlotte Mason (we use some aspects such as narration and dictation) and we do not subscribe or attend Classical Conversations. The resource I use that has been instrumental in in defining this for me is The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and her daughter Susan Wise Bauer.

You can shop HERE.

This book has been a huge game changer in how I homeschool my children and it feels as though they are retaining more. Classical education (as I am learning through this book) is one in which children are taught to read phonetically rather than through sight reading (which relies on word recognition rather than the actual skill of sounding out & blending). It focuses on learning facts and memorizing. Less TV, tablets, and computers with a focus on physical books and reading. Charlotte Mason Method of Learning is a subbranch of classical learning. We focus on a 4 year rotation between the major subjects in Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer) and History (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern). Since we are starting for one of my kids in 7th grade we will condense the 4 years into 2 years then do a single 4 year rotation for high school. Our literature reading corresponds to what we time period we are on in history.

As far as specific curriculum goes, we are using The Good and The Beautiful for Language Arts (which incorporates art and geography). For history and science we are using encyclopedias and illustrated dictionaries (Kingfisher & Usborne) as our spine texts then doing further research from there. For math, I chose Go Math (found on Amazon for a reasonable price) and Tennessee Math (also found on Amazon for a reasonable price). I don’t think we will continue with Tennessee Math after this school year but we will definitely continue with Go Math. I’ll hunt for other Math curriculum for our oldest (7th grade this year 8th grade next fall) next Spring/Summer. We have also added the Big Book Series to our library as they are hugely helpful in explaining topics to my kids.

You can shop <a href=”http://” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>here..

Now another resource that I’m currently reading through for myself and will likely have each of my children read during high school is the The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. This is like a companion book of sorts but its for those who need to self-teach and during the high school years is when we want to foster a certain level of responsibility and accountability for one’s own education. The goal of the book is to help adults (its readers) to be able to gain a classical education even after they’ve finished schooling. And I’ll take it a step further I think high schoolers can benefit from this as it helps them to self-teach and learn early on how to read well, digest what you’ve read, take notes well, and summarize well long before college when these skills are tantamount to a successful completion.

I’m learning that as I view my children as humans in need of my guidance and training, I must also look to God for guidance and train my own mind so that I know what I am teaching them. My goal is for them to be well prepared and well read people. Those who not only read but comprehend what they read, who can have conversations with just about anyone. I also want them to feel prepared if they choose to go to college. And prayerfully appreciate the education they received.

You can shop HERE.

And the last little book of nuggets. This one is more for the encouragement than anything. Homeschool Bravely. It’s written by Jamie Erickson and it is good encouragement for homeschool mamas, especially new homeschooling families and those who don’t have much support. Perhaps we have different methods of homeschooling but I can still appreciate her words of encouragement.

So please share with me….what method are you using to homeschool your littles? And what are some great books that you’ve read and I should add to my list?

Also please note that the links above are custom (as an Amazon Associate Program Member) and will help my quite large family with a small commission for each purchase. We appreciate y’all taking time out of your day to join us on this journey.

Planning: Morning Time

Morning time is often the most important time of day as it sets the tone for the rest of the day. If the morning is hectic or chaotic usually the rest of the day is the same. So if I can get our mornings to a place of ease and routine then the rest of the day will follow suit.

So as I am planning our 2019-2020 school year, one of the first things I’ve planned is our morning time basket/routine.

We have handwriting workbooks (cursive for the older kids and print for the new writer), we have a nature book that will allow us to learn about the world around us as well as use it for sketching out what we learn about, we have 101 Bible Adventures (we’ll use for devotions and scripture memory), I’ve also found history books that we use for read aloud on the tablet (ebooks).

Cursive handwriting book found on Amazon for about $3-4

Found on Amazon for about $12

Amazon has this one for $13

I’m thinking for now that should round out our morning time although I’m thinking to do an afternoon “tea time” as I’ve been reading up on which is like morning time but for the afternoon and with snacks! Cause I mean who doesn’t love snacks. With that time we’ll work on music appreciation and independent reading.

I’ve also been working on building our learning games inventory for quiet time. My goal is to have more structured play and fun rather than our kids always running to a tablet or tv.

So, what are your plans for this upcoming school year? Are you doing a morning time or routine? Have you started curriculum planning? I’ll cover ours in the next homeschool post.