Something for the Weekend

We are going to enjoy this wonderful Halloween story from Sparkle Stories today!

Next week, I want to make small wool pumpkins.

These felt animal masks are too cute!

Scottish folk music like this song from the Tannahill Weavers is comfort food for my soul as we approach the colder months.

Postcard Geography

I love to travel.  So much so that if I can't go elsewhere, I pour over travel magazines and should my friends travel, they know to be ready to provide a full detailed report when they get back.  My love for travel goes back to my early childhood when we would take road trips from Oklahoma to wherever my parents had the notion. One of these road trips resulted in our big move to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. 

Ever since I can remember, I have collected postcards from my own travels as well as others. I can remember stopping at truck stops and looking at racks of postcards trying to find the one that fit my image of where we were. Some of my most treasured postcards are from my oldest brother who lived in Italy in 1975/76.

I still enjoy postcards and the way they transport me to a different place, so when I found two big wall maps at a yard sale this summer I knew just what we would do with them. Postcard Geography!

One wall of our learning area.

Thanks to social media, I was able to ask friends and family to send postcards from their home and travels, and they have certainly come through. Just yesterday, we received a postcard from a friend who vacationed in Iceland!

As we received each postcard, we used yarn to pinpoint the location on the map with the postcard on the side and we took time to discuss/research the area and culture of each place.  We are having so much fun with it.

If any readers would like to exchange postcards just let me know. Yours would come from Philadelphia :)

In the meantime, we will have fun dreaming about far away places.

Something for the Weekend

For a while now I have gathered a few things that I want to share that just don't seem to fit in a whole blog post, so I decided to start a new series called Something for the Weekend.  Here you will find some of my favorite finds on the internet ranging from parenting to travel to music and whatever else strikes my whimsy. So sit back, relax, and enjoy.

 

 

I grew up with horse chestnut trees in our yard. I wish I had known how to play this game of conkers.

 

Christmas gifts from Etsy are always a favorite. I'm putting this sweet little deer necklace at the top of the list.

 

 The background noise from Noisli always sets up a soothing mood especially good for the colder season.

 

We are in love with Imagine Childhood's felt fox mask!

 

I could listen to Bear McCreary's version of The Sky Boat Song alllllll day.

 

 

Images courtesy of The Toymaker

 

 

 

 

 



Our New Homeschool Rhythm

Back in July I knew I needed to work more throughout the academic year than in years past. I also knew that my oldest son was ready to do more self-guided learning so I decided to get a computer-based curriculum.  It did not fit in with my attempts at a flowing rhythm nor my love for the Charlotte Mason method, but I really needed to be free of the stress of daily self-planning as my oldest entered fourth grade and my youngest began a mix of kindergarten and first grade and I thought it would be the solution.  I was so wrong.  After only two weeks, we were all bored with the repetition and computer-based learning was not enriching my son's life. The next week we made a big change and began using Oak Meadow, a Waldorf-inspired curriculum. What a difference!

Now into week 4 of using Oak Meadow curriculum, we have found a steady rhythm and managed to implement some Charlotte Mason techniques. (If you recall in previous posts, I wrote about how we used the Charlotte Mason method and implemented Waldorf techniques, so this isn't too much of a stretch from the past two years.)

Over the next several weeks, I will expand on some of the foundations of our learning and how we use Oak Meadow curriculum and some of the foundations of our learning.

The Woodland Trust and an Autumn Scavenger Hunt

Have you heard of the U.K. based Woodland Trust Nature Detective program?  Take a look at the website where you will find wonderful ideas for getting our kids outdoors and exploring nature.

 

While the focus is on nature in the U.K., many activities carry over nicely to North America, or can easily be modified to fit our unique natural habitat. For example, I modified their Autumn Scavenger Hunt to fit our area of central Pennsylvania.

 

Have fun out and about searching for nature's treasures this autumn.

 

The World Is My Classroom with Oak Meadow

Do you get bored with having your homeschool days stuck in 4 walls? If you need inspiration to help your kids see the world as their classroom, head over to the latest Oak Meadow photo contest entries.  It is a wonderful gathering of children throughout the world learning wherever the opportunity finds them.

We have three entries, and could have easily added more as I delight in finding those teachable moments no matter where we are.  As a matter of fact, right now, my boys are outside in our back field searching for shapes in nature. If you would like to vote for our main photo like it here.



On a road trip through Oklahoma we saw this oil pump in the middle of nowhere and took the opportunity to talk to our sons about my father who became an Oil Johnny at 12. Our oldest was fascinated by the mechanics of it and watched in awe for at least 5 minutes



Our 6-year-old learns nature can be enjoyed in urban areas on Staten Island while looking forward to our next days adventure in New York City (skyline in the background).

He is so proud to write the letter A correctly and even practices on his bedroom window.