I've been deep in thought for the last few days. The main question on my mind: The right method of homeschooling for my family.

As most of the readers of my blog know, my favorite methods of homeschooling are:

Starting as soon as possible  immediately, there will be a change in our homeschooling method. I will be focusing more on the Charlotte Mason method, as this method has been nagging at me from the beginning! It just feels right for me, and I believe God has been pushing me into that direction for my family.

Ms. Mason taught that formal studies were not to begin until the age of 6 or 7. Before then, a child's learning is play.

I have written up an idea of  curriculum we will follow:

Bible:
Read Bible stories
Verse Memorization

Habit training:
Chores (putting toys in toy box, putting his shoes away)
Family Rules (which i have not gotten around to making yet!)
This book: Child's Book of Character Building: Growing Up in God's World 


Read  Aloud Literature:
Classics
These websites: Here, Here, Here, and Here

Then, when we begin reading lessons i will pick up:

Little Bear series
Frog and Toad series
Little Jewel series
Billy and Blaze series


Math:
Calendar (laminate blank calendar, and fill in the month and days)
Days of the week
Counting to 30
Using counters to teach basic addition and subtraction


Language Arts:
Review one letter and introduce its sounds weekly. Vowels say their own name and also have a short sound.
Copywork – One letter of the alphabet on unlined paper per week. Draw in sand, then on paper. Large is okay. Memory verse of the week.
Letter recognition
Make homemade books together by copying simple books read and just changing them a little.
Journal-Lei will dictates to me important events, places visited, etc... in heis life on Fridays. I'll write it down on our dry erase board first, then i'll write it in his journal, leaving a word or two blank for him to fill in.
(Do not focus on much writing at this age.)

History/Geography:
Holidays, Traditions, Various countries and cultures

Nature Study:
Local birds, flowers/plants, insects

I have been giving Lei a bit of copywork *mainly bible verses & poem lines*, and we have been working on math with manipulative. We do a lot of nature walks. During our nature walks there is not much talking unless Lei has a question. I allow him to take it all in, and enjoy God's creation. Later on we discuss and look up things he inquired about.
We don't focus on Music Study yet, but we do listen to classical music & church hymns.


Ok, Who is Charlotte Mason, you may ask?

These little snack bags come in so handy, and i really like that they are washable...no plastic baggies to throw away, and therefore, much better for the earth!

They are really easy to make, and i will have to do a proper tutorial on it when i get a chance...and some pretty fabric :)

We use these for snacks like pretzels, carrot sticks, crackers (any hard snack). The larger ones can even be used for sandwiches. This one is not waterproof, but they can be made waterproof if you like.

I really need some prettier fabric! This is cotton in a khaki color, not exciting at all.

The letter bags are the snack packs used for each letter of the alphabet. This one shown is for the Letter D. It consists of 2 letter tiles, upper case and lower case, and a few pictures of things that begin with d and the "duh" sound.. I'll be adding more 3d objects to the bag when i find them, to make it more interesting for Lei. The main objective of this project is to reinforce the sound D makes.

I'll be doing them for all 26 letter!

This week we'll be focusing on:

Sight word-MY
Bible Verse: Depart from evil, and do good. Psalm 34:14

Break it down:

Alpha Buddy D and  Number Buddy 5 (dltk-kids.com)

Square tracing.

Find the shape. (Hunt around the house for squares in different sizes)

Read "Hot Dog"

Review flash card of sight word (my)

Read "Hot Dog" & "Go Away Dog"

Letter D painting

number 5 play dough mat

Itsy Bitsy Square Book

Wednesday:
Read Hot Dog & Go Away Dog
Circle the D's in this poem
What begins with D
Counting out 5 objects
Number 5 cookie (cookie dough shaped into the #5)
Square worksheet

Thursday:
Letter D letter bag
Words that end with D
Counting with 5 (using colored sticks)
Square building (using colored sticks)
Read Hot Dog and Go Away Dog

Friday:
Read Hot Dog and Go Away Dog
Letter D letter bag
Read David and the Giant
Sing songs with "5". (5 little ducks, 5 little monkeys)
Review Squares.

Other stuff:
Starfall
Any other books and crafts the boys feel like doing!

This isn't written in stone, thank goodness, and will probably change a bit during the week :)

A couple of homeschooling families got together last week for our first field trip! It was so much FUN, and Lei had a blast! Not only that, but it was so amazing to see other families and teenagers! I NEVER knew of any homeschooling teenagers around here. That was really nice :)

It also got me thinking. I wonder how many other homeschoolers are out here that I just don't know? Are they just outside of everyone's network and nobody knows them? Are they intentionally staying under the radar? And, if so, why?  It's actually kind of funny, because now every time i see a mom (or dad) out with their school aged kids during school hours (which is not an everyday sight) I just want to go up to them and ask "are you homeschooler?" Just this past Tuesday while on a quick run to the food store, I saw a lady with her two kids who looked to be about 4 and 7. She was walking with her bags heading home, and dh and i sat in the car wondering if she was a homeschooler, and how i could ask her!

Well, we cam up with the perfect plan. Why not ask her for a ride home! (I'm still chuckling to myself thinking about it!)
Anyways, to make a long story short. She kindly declined our ride and i never did get to ask her about the homeschooling. If i see her out again i'm asking her, right then and there!

So, back to the dolphins!

That had to be one of the best field trips ever! Lei learned so much also. He knew a bit about dolphins before, but he learned some things he (and I) never knew before, like:

*Dolphins are born with a little blonde mustache, that falls off a few hours after birth.

*The can swim up to 35 mph

*Their little flippers have bones

*Dolphins are born tail first

Our little entertainer for the day was named Coral, and she had a baby named Reef. They were both so cute, and so smart, and i totally fell even more in love with Dolphins that day :)

Of course you all know we are definitely going to Dolphin Tale this week!

I didn't take much pics since i was carrying Little Brother, and i thought dh would be my photographer...but he was having way too much fun to worry about pics! These pics were taken by Alicia, (another homeschooling mom) and she did an awesome job! 

 {Doing a little trick}

 {Our guide, Tristan, telling us a bit about dolphins}

 {Getting wet}

 {Lei getting kisses}

 {Lei really enjoyed himself}

 {Getting sprayed by Coral}

 {Coral showing off high high she can jump}

Beans & Rice with Veggie Chunks.

Easy Peasy 10 minute dinner! I had the leftover rice from lunch, and opened a can of black beans...2 second black beans and rice! Boiled the veggie chunks in salted water with onion, garlic and a bit of soy sauce. That cooks in about 5 minutes. Put it on a plate and dinner is ready!

What are veggie chunks you ask? They don't look like veggies do they! Well, veggie chunks are tvp:

There is only so much that can be done with rice and foam letters, and this has to be one of the greatest!

 i-spy jars are so easy and fun! Just fill a jar with colored rice or sand, and pick a theme! I used a peanut butter jar for this activity, but I have also used empty spice jars, and 16 oz water bottles.

To color the rice i used food coloring, red and blue. Add the foam letters and i was done! It's a good idea to hot glue the lid on.

I also printed and laminated an alphabet chart so Lei can tick off all the letters he found. 

Made by me! 

It took me almost 3 days to finish it, but it is done & little brother and i are happy :) It was fairly easy once i had gotten all of the pieces cut out and the straps and waist band hemmed. I wasn't following a pattern, so if you do it may be a bit easier. 

I cut the body at 22" length x 20"width. There are 2 pieces. Then i hemmed that down to 20"x18". The waistband straps are each 36" long x 10"width. The tying straps are 72" long x10"width also. There are 2 pieces of fabric for the straps, and 2 pieces for the waist straps also. So, 4 pieces of fabric all together. 

I started of hemming the waist straps. Take a strap and fold it in half width wise, so the to ends meet. Unfinished side facing out. Measure 4 1/2 inches from the fold and sew, making sure to leave one end open for turning!

Do the same with all straps.

After all your straps are finished and turned, close the hole using a topstitch.

Now it's time to attach your straps to the body. I started again with the waist. Attach the straps  3 inches into the body. Stitch a box shape, and then stitch a cross withing the box to reinforce it! Stitch 3 times or more!

Do the same with the next side.

To attach the tying straps do the same thing, but start your straps 6 inches with in the and at a 45 degree angle. Make sure to reinforce those straps also! P.S: You can add padding to the straps also.  After you turn the straps add your padding and sew down the middle to secure it. When i do my new Mei Tai, i will be adding padding. So keep a lookout for that post :)

After all that is done, it is time to close off your mei tai! Attach your other body panel and sew it on! And you are done! Time to test it out on a baby or toddler!

Sorry i didn't take pics while in the process of making it. I wasn't sure how it would have turned out, but it turned out GREAT!

This was just a try out, now i am going to make another one using better fabric. I'm even going to add padding to the straps! The best fabric for a mei tai is a bottom weight fabric, or upholstery fabric. So, now i am off to search for something i like!

I just haven't gotten around to actually posting them yet :) They are all floating around in my head, and i hope i don't forget any of them by the time i do get a chance to post them! Which will be soon, I can tell you that. However, I've got something to post right now! Little brother has been LOVING Laurie Berkner Band...and here is the song/video that started it all!

Pretty catchy isn't it! I know! You can't help but to replay it a few couple times (and sing and dance along!)

Now i'm off to go find the CD :)

Yummy, Yummy! Tried this for the first time today, for lunch, and it's a KEEPER! It was so good, and so easy! You definitely have to try it!

Ingredients:

1 Can of Chickpeas

Green bell pepper

Onion (i used purple onion) 

salt to taste

Tofu

Optional: 

(Vegan) Mayo

(Vegan) Cheese

I just threw everything in the blender. When adding everything, i didn't measure, and just went by what i thought was enough! So use your taste to guide you! Blend it up for a couple minutes, you don't want it to get too smooth, but you do want a bit of a creamy consistency.

My husband added some mayo and cheese to his and ate his with a wrap. I ate mine straight from the bowl :)

I'm sure there are so many ways to fix this up! Add different seasonings, herbs, lemon, your imagination can really go wild on this one!

Enjoy!

Baby #2 hatched! Another Tropical house gecko, and he/she is so cute :)

It amazes me everytime how big they are considering how tiny their shells are!

We have started the Montessori pink series, beginning with the short a words...cat, hat, rat, rag, van, ax, yak, etc. We started off with 3 part cards, and now have worked our way into something different. Lei is doing really well with it, and can "spell" each of the words almost right away. I say "spell" because right now we are only focusing on the letter sounds and not the spelling.So he knows CAT is Cuh-ah-tuh, and not C-A-T.  He does know the letter names, we just don't spell using them right now. 

So far so good :)

We will probably move on to the short e words in a few weeks.

I LOVE this stuff! I mean, i really, really, really, like it!

First of all...

  1/4 cup nutritional yeast 

 
*This is a pretty thick sauce, best for things like alfredo, mac and cheese, etc..*

 be pretty thick.



Mixing salsa with this for nacho cheese with chips is great; adding onion

What do you do with those little bits and pieces of crayons that are too small to color with? Or are all broken up at the bottom of the crayon box? Make crayon circles, of course!

It is so easy, and a great project to work on with the kids :)

We had a few crayons, that were not really being used since we bought a new pack.

Have the kids remove the wrapping off of the crayons. This takes a lot of concentration, and will keep them busy for a little while. After that is done, break the crayons into pieces and put them in a cupcake pan. You can either put all one color together, or mix it up to create unique color combinations!

Turn your oven on 350 , and give it time to heat up. When it's nice and hot, turn it OFF, and put the crayons in. Wait about 10 minutes. The crayons will liquefy, and then you can remove the pan from the oven, Be careful not to shake too much though, or else your colors may mix together. Lay on a flat surface, and wait for the crayons to cool and harden...about 30 mins.

When they are hard, it's time to remove them from the pan. Turn the pan over ( i usually do this on carpet), and hit the back of each cupcake mold, i used the handle of a knife. Give it a couple taps, not too hard, but with a little force! They came out really easily after 2-3 taps.

Now you have crayon circles that are perfect for little hands. 

Happy Coloring!

I made these big felt numbers for Lei and Little Brother so that they can work on number recognition, and when the time comes, addition. It took me about 2 days to make them, but i was starting and stopping, refilling sippy cups, reading stories, nursing,potty....you get it ;)

Get a few colors of felt. I used the single felt squares from the sewing store, and got about 10 colors. Then using a number template i cut out my felt numbers using one color for the front and another color for the back..

With extra felt, i cut out little dots, and added them in the amount of each number. Pin on the front felt (do not add back piece yet) and sew.

After that's done, pin on the back piece and stitch around the edges. 

Trim off all the extra thread, and that's it!

Felt numbers for your kids to enjoy!

One of these days i'm going to do an alphabet set...one of these days :)