TBT/ How to Have a H.E.A.R.T for Your Kids...

I came across a past post for my first review that I wrote for the 2011/2012 review year. It was for a book called How to Have a H.E.A.R.T For Your kids by Rachael Carmen. 

I had forgotten about this book until I came across this post. This was such a great book for me! I read it cover to cover. 

This book taught me so much about what really having a heart for your kids meant. 

I am glad I came across this post. I will be getting this book back out and reading it again. 

Read my review of the book here, and see if it is one that you would like to read. I am sure you will! 

My Favorite Preschool Curriculum! Usborne Books and More

Preschool can be so much fun to teach. One of my favorite parts of teaching preschool is that you don't need a whole lot of curriculum. 

Preschool can consist of books, games, coloring, playing, nature walks, etc...

My favorite part of preschool is the books!

I love books that are educational, but also fun; books where the child doesn't even realize they are learning.

Some of my son's favorite books right now .are the Peek Inside books. He absolutely loves the space book We literally read it every night. 

There are many books in this series and they are all awesome. We particularly like the Animal Homes book as well. 

One of my son's other favorite books right now is Telling the Time. 

This is a cute story with a very interactive way to learn to tell the time. 

For early math I love these two books. Adding at the Circus and Subtracting. 

They are both part of the First Math Slide and See series. These are so interactive and literally show the child things being added or taken away. It makes it so much easier to learn and understand when you can see it happening. 

There is a series by Usborne Books and More called Lift-the-Flap. There is a book for learning just about anything in this series. There are way too many to list, but we use these interactive books to learn pretty much anything we need to learn in preschool! I think this series is a must have for preschool. 

For science and non-fiction I love the Shine-a-Light series. 

We have Secrets of Our Earth and Secrets of Animal Camouflage and are working on getting the whole series. 

These books are so awesome. The kids learn about all kinds of things in a super fun way. When they shine the light behind the pages, new things appear! 

There are SO many awesome books that are fun and educational that I couldn't possibly list them all. 

I found myself purchasing so many books from Usborne Books and More that I just became a consultant so I could get the discount. I just wanted to be up front and let you know that I am a consultant, but that's not the reason I am showing you these books. I am showing you because they are AMAZING and children LOVE them and really learn form them. 

I really feel like you can get everything you need for preschool with these books! 

I hope this post shows you that you can teach your children in fun ways and foster a love for learning and reading as well! 

5 Days of Encouragement Blog Hop Day 4

Please check out day 4 of our 5 Days of Encouragement Blog Hop!

5 Days of Encouragement Blog Hop Day 3

Please Check out day 3 of our 5 Days of Encouragement Blog Hop!

Preschool Curriculum (Or Not)

A new year school year means new curriculum. I am also just starting out with a preschooler, so we are completely starting over!

So what are we doing for preschool? We are definitely not doing an all out curriculum but we are doing some super fun stuff that helps him learn!

First of all we READ! BOOKS are the best foundation for ANY grade level. 

You and your child can learn SO much from books. 

I got him his own little book case for his books. I worked really hard to earn him some Usborne Books because they are so interactive and educational, yet fun at the same time. (Yes, I am a consultant...I want the discount!)

These are two of his current favorite books. We read the Space book EVERY NIGHT. He is totally into space right now. 

You can learn almost anything you need to learn form a good book, but we are doing a few other things as well. 

We are doing Reading Eggs right now. We are doing the online program and the workbook. 

He is working on pencil control and tracing his letters. He loves the online program . It is really cute and fun. If he didn't like doing these things, I would not be making him do them, but he LOVES to "learn his letters" He asks me do his letters on the computer. 

I also bought him something called a Learning Palette. 

It's just like we are playing a game but he is learning. You can use the Learning Palette from preschool through Algebra!

We also use Wipe Clean books for learning how to write our letters and numbers. 

These books are way more fun that traditional copy work books and your child can erase them and start all over again!

This is pretty much what we are doing right now for our preschool, along with watching education shows and apps on the TV or tablet. 

What all do YOU do for your preschool? 

Meet a few other homeschool moms that are participating in this blog hop:

Amanda@  http://hopkinshomeschool.com/back-to-homeschool-encouragement-coming-s/oon

Angie@  https://runranfam.blogspot.com/

Anette@  https://anetintime.ca/

Ashley@  http://giftofchaos.com/

Betty@  http://letsgetreal2016.blogspot.com/

Brenda@  http://countingpinecones.blogspot.com/

Carol@  https://home-sweet-life.blogspot.com/2018/08/hop-back-to-it-homeschooling-that-is.html

Chareen@  http://everybedofroses.blogspot.com/search/label/5%20Days%20of%20Homeschool%20Encouragement

You can find even more on the linky below! 

Homeschooling....Keeping it FUN!!!

So your thinking about homeschooling...What you probably haven't realized is that you have already been homeschooling...

Think about all of the books you have read to your toddler, all of the games that you have played, how you taught your child their letters, numbers, colors etc... YOU did that! 

Homeschooling isn't really any different. You've already got what it takes. 

We all have our own reasons that we want to homeschool. My story is probably a little different thatn the typical mom that wants to homeschool. 

I was 16 when I got pregnant with my daughter. Here I was pregnant and in school. I started really worrying about my precious baby ever being in that environment. My husband mentioned homeschooling. At that point I had never heard of homeschooling, except for kids that were not able to go to school because of expulsion or illness. 

I started researching it and knew immediately that is what I was going to do. I knew before my child was even born, at the age of 16, that I would homeschool her. 

I know that God put it on my heart to  homeschool. Whatever your reasons are for homeschooling, just don't forget them, even if things seem tough. 

I am going to talk to you from the perspective of starting out homeschooling with a preschooler/Kindergartner. 

You may think you need to go out and buy all kinds of stuff to get started. Don't get me wrong, that can be fun and you and your child may like some curriculum, but it isn't necessary.

It also doesn't have to be hard on you, mama. Being the mom of a young child is hard enough in and of itself. Just remember what you  have been doing up until this point and keep doing that. Not much really has to change. 

READ, READ, READ..... This is the best thing you can do. Reading teaches your child so much and it is bonding time as well. Would you rather your child sit at a desk with a textbook or cuddle up in your lap and read a book. 

There are SO many fun games out there that teach your child their letters, numbers, etc. They don't have to learn these things from textbooks and worksheets. 

Make "homeschooling" fun. It can be fun, and should be fun, and an extension of your daily life, not a burden. 

If you find yourself burdened, talk to another homeschool mom. Throw out some curriculum, see what you can do differently to make things more fun. 

And remember...the most important thing you can teach you children is TO LOVE TO LEARN. (As well as to love Christ) 

If children love to learn things will go much more smoothly for you. If your child hates learning, you may be making it too much of a chore instead of something fun to learn. 

I hope this helps you to understand that homeschooling, especially in the early years, doesn't have to be a big production and doesn't have to be hard or boring either. Just keep it fun mama, and you will be alright. 

Here are a few other participants in the blog hop. 

Jennifer @ http://dearhomeschooler.com/

Joelle @ https://homeschoolingforhisglory.blogspot.com/

Karen @ https://homeschoolingforhisglory.blogspot.com/

Kellyann @ https://walkinghomesk.blogspot.com/

Kimberly @ http://vintagebluesuitcase.ca/

Kristen @ http://momquesttoteach.blogspot.com/2018/08/back-to-school-homeschool-style.html

Kym @ https://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/

Laura @ https://fourlittlepenguins.blogspot.com/

Linda @ https://apronstringsotherthings.com/back-to-school-encouragement-for-your-homeschool-a-5-day-series/

You can find even more in the linky below. 

God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco/ TOS Review

God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn by Julie Polanco is not exactly the book I thought it would be. It is a book on how children learn/how to teach children, but it is also, to me , a parenting book. 
So much of teaching IS parenting. I think this book has helped me to be a better parent, not just a better "teacher". 
This book really helps you to understand how God intended our children to learn. 

As I started reading this book it made me recall how I used to think about homeschooling. I had a decent size break in between homeschooling. I am now homeschooling my 3 1/2 year old and I have been thinking a lot about curriculum. Reading this book made me remember that I didn't need curriculum. 
This book also talks about building children's character and not just the academic side. One thing that stood out to me in the book was a quote from Charlotte Mason: "Children who do things just to please adults possess a weakened character." Julie then says: "What if the adult isn't around? Have you ever witnessed the phenomenon of a child being naughty as soon as his parent is out of the room? If you have, then you understand what I mean. Children who only do right because they are afraid of being punished will often do wrong when there is no threat of punishment. It is the same with education."
She talks about how children shouldn't be coerced into doing academic tasks, but should be encouraged to explore topics as they become interested. 
It helped me to understand that children grow and learn at their own pace and that we shouldn't push children to learn things that they aren't ready for. In fact, there are some things that are better to wait and teach. 
Another area of the book that I particularly liked was when she talked about how most people say you should put toddlers in preschool and urge them to become independent. Julie says that it is actually the opposite, that children who are pushed toward independence at the young ages are the ones who become clingy and whiny, begging for attention. 
  She also says that children who are sent to preschools tend to have trust issues and then adding the fact that they are pushed to do things before they are actually ready is causing anxiety and stress in our children. We should be putting the emphasis on virtue and character development , not academic development. This is something I agree with. Pushing children towards independence and putting them in day cares or preschools seems to be going against nature to me. Our children's character is much more important. 
I like the fact that she talked about waiting to teach certain things. There are certain things that must be taught, whether the child really wants to learn them or not. The good thing about this is that most of those things can be taught later, when the child is older, and much easier because the child will be ready. There is no need to teach the same concepts over and over, year after year. Just teach them once, later. 
Even reading does not have to be taught at such an early age. Wait until the child is ready and eager to learn to read. Don't worry about age! Once a child learns to read, it becomes irrelevant when they learned. 
The book helps you to realize that we only need to be concerned with what God thinks about our family, not what others think. 
In the chapter about teens, I found it extremely interesting when Julie said "I find it interesting that the development of modern teen culture coincides with the widespread compulsion of high school." This chapter helped me to realize that we do baby our children and keep them from growing up when they should, that we don't give them enough responsibility. We are actually inhibiting them. Teen angst doesn't have to be a part of life. This chapter was very helpful to me. 
 God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn is full of great advice about parenting and teaching our children. I found this book very helpful and insightful. It is one that I will read again, probably more than once. 

Be sure to check Julie and her books out on Facebook and Pinterest. 

Mother/Son Date Night

My son and I had a great "date" night last weekend. We went out to eat at On The Border and saw the movie The Meg. He is growing up so fast. I need to make more memories with him. 

Wordless Wednesday

This week's Wordless Wednesday is from our trip to Sulpher last weekend.  

Exciting mail day!

So we got our books in the mail! I am so excited and so is Brently! We are about to officially start preschool, which, I don't really believe in doing "officially", lol, so there ya go! 

But I do have a lot more books now for us to read and learn from. You can see his day and his excitement and how it ended!