Homeschool:: A Day in the Life

"I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning."          ~ J.B. Priestley

A Day in the Life

~ with a newborn (Daphne), 20 month old (Seraphina), 4 year old (Kiki), 6 year old (Charlotte), 12 year old (Bella) and 14 year old (Casen)

Mornings are precious in our home. We are slow and warm and still pretty sleepy because the day begins quite early. Lee is up before dawn to get Casen and Bella off to school and do farm chores, letting me catch up on a little shut eye since I'm up nursing our baby throughout the night. The three younger ones get up with Daddy and have breakfast. By the time I come out, Lee is heading out of the door for work. The girls and I settle in to getting dressed (some days), a movie, listening to some music, drawing, or just quietly (or rambunctiously) playing. Today, we all got dressed and turned up some nice folky tunes and let the morning ease on by.

While we've only been trying to incorporate a bit of formal homeschooling into our rhythm since last year, we've always been a "life's full of lessons" kinda family. At this time in our life we're striving to build a mini homestead on our land, complete with chickens, sheep, pigs we share with our neighbor, and the never-ending task of garden plans and upkeep. We've had many successes and failures but as we look to the Springtime we are hopeful for a more "productive" season; both with our education and farming.

Our little school room

Our school room space is really our old living room turned dining room turned school room. Our home is less than 1000 sq. feet, which for eight human bodies, two cats, and a large breed dog, can feel pretty tight at times. I don't have all the storage space I crave, finding an empty space to gather ones' self is usually not an option, and the noise permeates the entirety of the house. We've all compromised something to live in this small space so we can lead the lifestyle we are choosing. Our homeschool space may just be the most organized space in the house. What you see in the picture is all we need; a table for working and a bookshelf to hold our supplies. < The other pieces of furniture you're seeing are our dish cabinet and my craft supplies dresser which doubles as a place to hold our printer and our cats >

Learning about Abstract Art

Our homeschooling schedule is built around the baby's nursing requests and meal times, diaper changes, naps, and when I can find the energy to wrap my head around a lesson. Seraphina (our 20 month old) has minimal capacity for distraction. She always seems to know when someone is trying to get her involved in something. Most days she won't even fall for it making it really difficult to steal away any moment long enough to complete a lesson.

All that aside, the homeschool rhythms we are creating are very rich, motivated, beautiful, and full of joy and exhilaration as we all learn something new together.  Charlotte and Kiki (our 6 and 4 year olds) are the only ones homeschooling full time right now but we supplement the olders as necessary (they go to our local public school). We are using Waldorf and Charlotte Mason inspired curricula for our homeschooling and use those same principals to help our older children with their lessons from school. 

 On a "typical" day we might have some time in the morning/early afternoon, while Daphne is napping or Seraphina is distracted, to begin our main lessons with Charlotte. Kiki will either work along side of us drawing or "writing" or asking a bazillion questions on whatever topic is at hand. She is only 4 so I try to let her lead me for when she's ready for a learning lesson. Depending on where she's at, you might find Kiki and Seraphina teaming up for a dual distraction like this:

A bit of Curious George for the win!

 While I'm not always pleased with the amount of screen time the younger ones get during the day, sometimes it's the only thing that allows Charlotte and me a bit of time to really dig deep and have a nice, full lesson. The lessons we manage to do everyday consist of spelling, writing, reading, math, and handwork. The lessons we are less consistent with are language arts, science, and social studies.  We do those in blocks and tend to complete them in a good amount of time, but less frequently. I sit and plan out what specific lessons we will do either that morning or the night before. Not having a plan scheduled out a week or more in advance works for me because I am then free to augment our lessons to fit where it is we are at at that moment. Having a plan and then not following it, for whatever reason, brings up feelings of failure and overwhelm for me. So, for now, this works. On a "typical" day we are able to get our lessons done in about 2-3 hours. Other days we will scatter the lessons as we need to throughout the day, usually finishing well before supper.

 

Learning to read has been Charlotte's biggest accomplishment. She's been working so hard, all self motivated, so we spend much time sitting (which happens often while I'm with our nursling) and reading. This is one part of homeschooling that I love so much; seeing and experiencing all the "firsts". 

 

Tandem packing our littlest girls

Seeing as I am only 5 weeks postpartum, I have a lot in the way of muscle building to do to be able to accomplish this feat with any regularity and longevity. Our toddler loves to be in a back pack and packing the newborn is sometimes the only way I find that I can be hands free. This set up may just be the key to the girls and I being freed up to accomplish things like: cleaning our wool fleeces, working in the garden, tending to the chickens, painting and other in-depth crafting projects (which we adore), going for walks, heading to the park and other outings, etc.

 

The weather this winter has been so frigid so the girls and I haven't spent a lot of time out of doors together. That being said, when Daddy is home, the youngest girls have someone to pal around with so I am then able to have more focused time with Charlotte and/or Kiki. Daddy,however, will bundle the girls up and get them outside. This is their "do work" time which usually consists of activities like cleaning the chicken coop, getting hay for the animals, visiting the neighbors, going for walks, building something, playing in the snow and ice skating, running errands etc. Sometimes all of the girls go which means I'm afforded some time to get my household chores done or just spend some quality time with our baby.

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Here is a little snapshot into our homeschool rhythm based on a "typical" day::

Morning:: 6am-10:30am (some things we do during this time)

We wake and have breakfast, get dressed, read, play, listen to music, draw, play with play dough, watch a movie, check the chickens/bring out the compost, have snack, snuggle with the baby, get Seraphina down for a nap, nurse the baby, wash the morning dishes, get the laundry in the wash, phase one of play space clean up (with a small house clean ups need to happen more frequently throughout the day)

Afternoon:: 10:30am-1:00pm Homeschooling hours

Spelling, math, writing, reading, science or social studies, language arts, art, music (alternating days for the last 5 subjects), the littles may have a movie, play, or draw. Between lessons I'll switch the laundry to the dryer, prepare a bit for lunch, and try to finish my first cup of coffee (which is inevitably cold)

Late Afternoon:: 1:00pm-2:00pm

We have lunch and then rest for a bit during this time 

Later Afternoon:: 2:00pm-5:00pm (some things we do during this time)

Have a snack, play, read, handwork, draw, bake, do household chores (clean up school room/play spaces), go outside (the bigger girls do this on their own), prepare for dinner, welcome the big kids home, shuttle big kids to their various after school activities, have afternoon tea with friends

Evening:: 5:00pm-10:00pm (some things we do during this time)

We have dinner, welcome Daddy home (if he's working), chat about our day, clean up dinner, have a crazy dance party to work the wiggles out, help the big kids with their school work, have baths, get into pjs, the littles are in bed by 8pm, and Lee and I hit the hay somewhere around 10pm after we spend some time together catching up and preparing to do it all over again tomorrow!

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I realize this is not a traditional homeschool experience, but like all experiences, they are deeply personal. This routine is what works for us right now in the season of life we are in. I'm sure as we all change and grow, so will our routines. If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: 

"The less of routine, the more of life." ~ Amos Bronson Alcott

~ Thank you for visiting our Homeschool Day in the Life ~

 

Yarn Along

 

I'm joining along with Ginny from Small Things for this week's yarn along.

 

I joined my first yarn along a few weeks ago with an attempt at knitting my first cowl in the round (first time for that, too). Sadly, I've had to put it down for a bit. Since I'm such a novice my stitches are way too tight, I'm using wooden needles which I'm finding to be not quite as easy to use, all of this combined has caused the one finger I have arthritis in to flair up which makes knitting not so enjoyable. I have a basket that I've dedicated to my other WIPs (sewing, felting projects, etc) so there it will sit, for now.

 

As a way to rest my finger but keep my hands moving I've decided to pick up crocheting. I haven't spent much time with this modality but I've crocheted a few motifs here and there over the years. I've discovered the Crochet Mood Blanket for 2014 via Instagram and thought that it might be fun (for more information on this project check out their Facebook page. It's a closed group so you will need to ask to join. Over 2200 have joined so far with just as many different styles of granny squares it seems. So cool!).

 

So, with the little stash I have of various yarns I've begun putting together a few granny squares. I'll have to spend a bit of time at the yarn shop this weekend and refill my yarn basket as I've quickly become addicted to remembering how to make granny squares, and now learning new styles, that I'm just about out of yarn!

 

As for our reading, we began James and the Giant Peach this week. It's one of the girls all time favorite stories. I, however, am reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (I forgot to put that in the photograph) and Lee is reading Songlines by Bruce Chatwin (a reread for him and I forgot to photograph that one, as well). Either way, it's a reading frenzy here, a perfect way to spend these cold, snowy days and nights.

 

On the needles in the photo is the beginning of Charlotte's first knitting. She mastered casting on rather quickly and has now taken to the knit stitch. Slowly but surely she will have her first work going well on her own. Wish her luck :)

 

 

 

 

Autumn Fairy Crown

We have had some really beautiful weather here these past few weeks. Warm days and cool nights. Leaves so colorful and skies so blue. Lee has still been home as he's waiting for some jobs to line up so in the meantime, life goes on as it has for the past month or so. Schooling has been spent outside much of the time, little book work has been accomplished, the sheep have been visited and many walks have been had. I've been able to, for the first time ever (quite possibly) to keep up on the massive loads of laundry (we are a family of 7 after all), keeping the dust bunnies at bay, napping, and quietly contemplating life's ever changing ebbs and flows as we get ready to expand a bit (more on that another time). I've been really keeping track of my thoughts, purging the ones that are not useful and filling that space with prayer as I work. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for those irreplaceable moments, like the one above, that inspire me to take a step back from "keeping up" and letting go a little bit, too. I am a Libra, after all, so balance is a big thing for me. One of my greatest escapes is being able to create with my children. As I've got many projects going, in my head and in my hands, the littles and I were able to steal away a cool, wet afternoon and make an Autumn Fairy Crown.

For the foundation, I simply cut a piece of felt and needled a piece of yarn about an inch from the ends of the felt, both sides. This was my easy attempt to have a crown that could fit many heads.

On their morning walk with Dad, the girls gathers some colorful leaves for our crown. We dipped them in beeswax and let them dry. After they had cooled enough to touch, we hot glued them to the face of our crown. I wasn't able to capture many photos of the process as I was much to concerned for all the hotness.

I love this picture. Charlotte is such a beauty and she adored wearing this crown and boy, did it smell good, too!! We ended up giving this crown to our neighbor. He is our resident Garden Gnome. If he isn't spending the day toiling and digging and planting and harvesting, well then, I have not a clue what he does. Maybe sleeps, possibly in his garden. Anyway, it was he's 78th birthday and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the beautiful soul that he is. 

*We've heard through the grapevine that our Garden Gnome friend has been spotted wearing his crown throughout town these past few days! Maybe, just maybe, if you live near us, you might spot him. He'd be kinda hard to miss with such a lovely headdress :)

Of Strength and Courage

This passed weekend we welcomed the festival of Michaelmas into our home. This has become one of my favorite times of year, it's sort of like New Years to me. This time marks the beginning of the festival/holiday season, the weather has begun to change, the leaves are losing their vitality through beautiful changes of color and then gently dropping to the ground below, the world around us is preparing for winter's darkness and chill, the garden is slowly ceasing to produce the more tender crops yet harvests are full and bountiful to help us fill our larder with storage fruits and vegetables. Our inner strength is being fortified by the reminder that summer is over, the sunshine's light is looking and feeling less intense, our minds focus on having enough wood cut and stacked to keep our hearth burning for months, filling up the hay sheds for our livestock friends who will brave the changing weather out of doors, and watching as daylight diminishes a little more each day. For some, the coming of winter is a harsh time. Depression, sadness, loneliness,and isolation set in. This is why I find Michaelmas to be such an important time of reflection. As we notice all the changes around us and knowing that winter and blustery weather is right around the corner, it is imperative that we look within to find the strength and courage to tame those inner dragons that make the winter unbearable. We have this time to prepare, accept, and honor the many months ahead that we will lack actual light, but instead will need to depend on our own inner light. We must guide ourselves through the darkest of hours lighting our way with the candle the we've lit and that burns within. This is what Michaelmas means to me.

To begin the honoring of St. Michael we made our annual dragon bread. They are always so much fun to make, the kids love seeing him come together. My only problem this year was finding a recipe that uses a gluten free bread recipe that can be molded and eaten. Most gf bread is quite liquidy and cannot be molded but ones that you can mold are so dense they can hardly be eaten (and enjoyed). If anyone has a recipe to share, I would be most grateful. This year, we shared our bread with a dear friend who celebrates her birthday on Michaelmas. 

Another one of our favorite ways to celebrate Michaelmas is by crafting something. Last year, we did Michaelmas Shooting Stars. This year, we decided to dye some silk scarves, Courage Scarves, that we could wear throughout the winter that will help remind us of our inner light that is shining  and guiding us through our darkest days. 

We made a dye bath out of golden rod harvested from our backyard.

After the dye bath cooled a bit we added a few tablespoons of alum (something I'd never used before when dying but thought we could try it. I'm so glad we did. It was so magical to see the golden rod dye turn from a greenish/yellowish/brownish color to a vibrant yellow).

We put the silk scarves into the the dye bath and stirred them and let them soak for a bit in the sunshine.

After long last, we pulled the scarves from the golden yellow water and watched as they shimmered in the sunshine.

We hung them up to dry and within moments, the scarves were ready to be worn. And just in time, too! Charlotte had her very first dentist appointment shortly after our scarves were completed. She wore her scarf to the dentist to symbolize the courage she was mustering (and desperately seeking) to get her through her first visit to the dentist. It was a beautiful event to witness as she struggled with the fear that was bubbling up inside of her. After a thorough discussion by the dentist about what was in store, Charlotte (albeit teary eyed and worried) held on to her scarf and with much bravery and valor, opened her mouth wide and had a very successful and quite funny experience at the dentist.

All in all, it has been a perfect welcoming into the season of Michaelmas. Our celebrations will continue all week as we continue to harvest apples for applesauce,  make some calendula healing salve to get us through the dryness of winter, read "The Kite" and then make a kite that we will hang up in our schoolroom to remind us of our ability to soar and discover all the amazing soul parts of ourselves that help us to be strong and courageous.  

Many blessings to you and yours as your travels take you closer to Winter. May you be warmed by the light that burns deeply inside of you. 

Mixing it up

Things have been a little mixed up here the last few weeks. Lee has been between jobs so he's been home a LOT more. This, of course, is a wonderful thing. However, he also poses as a distraction to the very new rhythms and routines the girls and I had been working on to get homeschooling underway along with our usual daily rhythms. How ever wonderful it is, it's been feeling a little, well....mixed up! 

Having Daddy home means there are lots more opportunities to drop any type of plans and go on an adventure, which of course, the littles love. Seraphina would be happy to solely exist in her backpack. There are so many wonderful places to visit on the land we live on; tent platforms, streams, fairy ponds, sheep, deep woods, neighbors, and secret passages that lead from one end of the land to the other, each one rich with treasures to be discovered. 

Since any type of  "formal"schooling has been put on the back-burner (for now) we've been taking every opportunity we have to use as a learning experience. Such is our life, really. This is one of the reasons why I so love homeschooling....even if book work isn't accomplished I can guarantee we have all learned something wonderful, crossed paths with some beautiful people, played and laughed. Like this little moment above. We've been researching and connecting with area beekeepers because we wish to have a beehive in our midst. We dream of having one right in the center of our garden, the heartbeat of the space that produces and nourishes our bodies and souls. We hope to move a hive to our home next spring.  I've found plans to make a homemade skep.....they are beautiful. Anyway, this was one of the stolen moments where accidentally we all had a lesson on bees.

Having Daddy home also means that I'm able to spend a bit more energy than usual baking and learning new techniques for our gluten free pantry. My usual crutch has been using an already mixed gluten free all purpose flour. It hasn't been my favorite to work with and the results are usually not very exciting. The taste isn't all that great and well, it's made those of us who aren't gluten free really dislike the idea of gluten free anything. As a result, I took the plunge this week and experimented with a gluten free cookie recipe that blends two different flours as it's base as well as a gluten free all purpose flour blend that I mix myself using several different gluten free flours. The *new* gluten free all purpose flour I tested with homemade cheese crackers. Each new recipe has (so far) turned out to be far superior than what we've used in the past. I now have 5 - 1/2 gallon mason jars filled with my new gluten free flours that will be the foundation of all my baking moving forward. It wasn't easy to stray from the norm. I've always been a bit nervous and unconfident when taking risks in gluten free baking, it's science after all, and I find a bit less forgiving than baking with wheat flours. Either way, it's been a very successful couple of weeks.

Who can resist a golden, buttery, cheesy cracker?

I'm sure when Daddy goes back to work we'll see more of this kind of work but for now......we'll be seeing much more of this...

and this.....

If you're interested in what recipes inspired me, I've listed the links below :) xoxo

 Gluten free all purpose flour

Gluten free Cheese Cracker recipe

* I did augment this a bit by adding more salt, cheese, and dry mustard. My next batch I will use a spicier cheese and a bit more salt, still! Overall, it's a really yummy cracker and I found that the crackers are done at around the 8-10 minute mark rather than 12-16 minutes that was listed in the original recipe. 

Nuts and Trees and Leaves, Oh My!

Our homeschooling experience has been rich and full these past few days. Yesterday marked the beginning of our first full week, and full it is! We were blessed to have Daddy home with us, which always makes our days seem as though they run more smoothly. I find that having a buddy around for the majority of the day helps me accomplish more, or I at least have help. Lee is our biggest motivator for taking walks about and exploring. While I really enjoy being outside and exploring, sometimes I find it really sits at the bottom of my "what's important for today" list. The girls get plenty of outside time; they swing, play in their sand box and the garden, and run about on their adventure park. Mostly, I feel compelled to use that quiet time they're outside for quick clean-ups, laundry, cooking/food prep, and to tackle the never ending pile of dishes. Some days I'm able to just let it all go, like yesterday. It meant way more to me to be a part of our little "field trip"!

Our goal with this meandering was to find varieties of nuts and leaves to take back home with us so we could learn about them. We learned all about the parts of a leaf, how the stem works, and the importance of the waxy, waterproof coating of a leaf. We learned about seeds and how they are all different for each tree. We learned about the two different kinds of trees that exist where we live and how evergreen trees hide their seeds in pine cones. Charlotte is investigating the inside of a pine cone in the photo above.We also gathered a bit of nature stock to create our Autumn Nature Table. Wow! We sure collected some bounty! 

We found piles of acorns, pine cones, milkweed pods, hickory nuts, many different and beautiful varieties of grasses, and leaves. Lots of leaves! Oh! And we picked our very first pumpkin out of the garden! 

To celebrate all the wonderful and beautiful gifts we found yesterday, I thought it would be fun to make beeswax acorns to add a bit of color to our table. We found plenty of acorn caps and used those. We simply warmed up our beeswax and rolled it and shaped it into the form of an acorn. Then, we topped them off with an acorn cap!

The girls love them, and so do I! They add a bit of whimsy and delight to our very colorful Autumn Nature Table.

What are you creating for Autumn with your littles?

* This post is part of the link-up over at Frontier Dreams for Nicole's Keep Calm, Craft On series.

And so it begins....

Our first day of school began this morning. Lee and I were up early but were not the first to rise. Our son was up bright and early eager to greet the day. While he hasn't admitted his excitement for school to start, his jitteriness and desire/need to be on top of my every move this morning (read: standing right next to me as I cooked breakfast, nonstop talking, and near panic over his lunch sack not fitting in his duffel bag!!) led me to believe otherwise. Maybe he was feeling a bit nervous, either way, I think he was "feeling" something other than what he was trying to portray! Needless to say, this morning called for warm, homemade biscuits, strong coffee, and a light heart.

Charlotte also began her first day of first grade here at home. She was soooooooo excited and couldn't wait to jump right in. Kiki was slow to wake this morning so we had to alter our plans for a morning visit to the sheep and instead meandered around the yard looking for signs of Autumn. We said "Good Morning" to the chickens and the sunshine and welcomed the day with our morning prayer::

Awake, the sun is shining bright:

He drives away the long, dark night. 

The moon and stars have gone to rest

And earth in softest green is dressed

Now will we open wide our heart:

Of this great world we all are part,

And if we work, or sleep, or play:

Be with us golden sun this day.

The morning moved along well. Seraphina, our one year old babe, made it almost impossible to press on and Charlotte and I became a little concerned that our desires to work this morning would be just about impossible. I opted to try and put her down for an early nap, hoping we could at least get through a majority of our work. Today, we succeeded. Seri napped long enough for us to complete our task, although Charlotte was resistant to stop for breaks in between for fear that Seri would awaken and then we'd have to stop. 

Anyone homeschooling with super littles at home have any advice on how to work with an eager first grader while managing a toddler who demands full attention? 

I was amazed at the amount of dedication Charlotte showed today. She loves to learn and she picked up on all the concepts and rhythms that were appropriate for her. I snuck in a math game that was a bit advanced, she gave it a whirl but quickly communicated that it didn't feel right, she wasn't getting it! Our main goal for today was to review a bunch of things we did last year so I could see how much she retained. WOW! Kids minds are amazing. Where I thought we'd have to begin again, Charlotte breezed right through and I found we were able to jump ahead to where we'd left off, no problem. 

Tomorrow will be so exciting as we really jump into our science and art blocks!

You've heard me speak to the size of our home, 1000 sq ft (+/- a foot here and there). It's a constant battle to find the right flow from room to room so we decided to overhaul our two main living spaces; the family room and  the dining room, in an attempt to have more space for each. We flip-flopped the two rooms and I think, so far, all that we'd hoped for with the switch is coming to fruition. There is a bit more peace for little Seraphina who had a hard time navigating the narrow and high spaces and always felt left behind, our family room in now in the same space as the kitchen which has been nice for engaging the children more, sharing in more conversations, and just being happy to glance over from the kitchen and see every one's little faces. Having the dining room separated has allowed me more space to create a "school room". We are "kitchen table learners" so having a room pull double duty in the smaller space was a challenge. I think we've been afforded just enough space to satisfy what needs to be done right now. Fingers crossed!

I hope the school year is proving to be a beautiful one for all of you. I would love to hear how you all are doing.....

Home Educating

It's come up a lot these past few weeks; our homeschool plan, why we are choosing homeschool, how we plan to succeed, what about socialization? Rest assured, with a family our size and living where we do (within an intentional community with multiple generations and plenty of children) socialization is the least of our worries!

I've been asked by a few folks to share our homeschool plan for the year. In this post, I will provide a peek into the curricula we've chosen. It's such a labor of love and it's nice to think that sharing what will work for us will inspire others or provoke questions or suggestions that could benefit our homeschool experience.

Each child is an individual therefore their education, I believe, should be created to suit their unique needs and requests. This year, I had planned on homeschooling a first grader, an eighth grader, and a preschooler. Instead, my eighth grader has decided to return to our local public school (along with our sixth grader) so he could participate in a new sports program. We discussed long and hard the reasons as to why he wished to homeschool in the first place and how and why that has changed in regards to his playing a particular sport. Having this new experience was very important to him so homeschooling was less of a desire having had something new to look forward which could possibly help create a better public school experience for him this year. The social aspect of public school hadn't been a very satisfying experience but the bigger issue, for him, was the lack of engagement and challenge he felt with his school work. He craves challenge, critical thinking, deep work. Our schools are "teaching to the test". NYS has very strict standards and our particular public school is striving to meet and exceed all of them. It shows in the curriculum and the lack of creativity and inspiration. Anyway, that's a whole other topic in and of itself.  I feel like there are many "right" ways to educate a child, no one way is better than another. I try hard to be child led in these instances as I deeply believe that my children innately know what is  best for them.  I trust their feelings and needs and try to remove my reservations or judgements or expectations I might have to allow for their desires to come through and be heard/held. In the end, we're creating the relationships with our children that allows them to see that their education is their own experience and our job as their parents is to cultivate that into a rich and fulfilling experience.

Like many others, our homeschool year begins with planning.....and lots of it! First, we sought out the right curricula for our family. Then, we researched and researched by seeking out other's experiences, pros/cons, cost, time commitment, whether or not the curriculum was inspiring/creative enough in our eyes. Because we believe so deeply that there are many wonderful ways to educate, we've decide to stray from using a complete Waldorf education. Instead, we've blended the beauty and rhythm of Waldorf education with Classical/Charlotte Mason style education. After watching our 1st grader teach herself to read, do math, practice writing, on top of listening and answering her very in-depth (and quite surprisingly brilliant) questions about various topics, we felt that in order for this experience to be all we hoped it would be for her, we opted to give her a bit more to chew on. Taking it nice and easy, no pushing, and just letting her guide us with what she is ready/willing to do will be our main directive, complementing the rhythm that has been created for our homeschool.

It's been so enjoyable to peruse all the beautiful books and curricula that we've been able to gather. Many of the books we're using have been purchased secondhand (via various Waldorf inspired online groups) and through friends who were ready to pass along their beloved books. Many I had on hand from when we homeschooled our two eldest children. Two components were ebooks and others I had to order brand new. I'll give a complete list at the end of this post. Either way, I see this picture and I'm loving the colors, the feel, the completeness. It all feels so right and such an honor to be able to give such a beautiful and unique education to our daughters.

Here is another snapshot of the other books that we'll use to compliment our main lesson books. Many of these we used last year so some will be used as refreshers to start and then we'll move on to others. 

Home educating has proven to be the right choice for us this year. We will take it year by year, trying not to hold on to any expectations and trying to remember to be open and flexible to change and the need to shift as we go. We'll go gently and with joy. This time in our littles lives is so beautiful, it's such an inspiring joy to watch them as they learn and absorb and grow. I'm just so delighted to be able to have the ability (and the support and desire) to spend this time with my girls.  I remember how deeply I enjoyed the time that I spent homeschooling our older two, and honestly, I do mourn not having this special time with them, too, but I know we'll have other wonderful moments that will allow us to share in other things that are equally as meaningful.

So! If you homeschool, how is your planning going or have you begun? What are some hurdles you feel you'll need to jump? What are somethings you're excited about? Should you send your children to school outside your home, how's it going? What are some of your favorite school experiences? What are you looking forward to?

Here's to a wonderful school year, full of beauty and happiness and richness!

Our list of Curricula for Autumn::

Waldorf Inspired:

~ Live Education: Kindergarten and First Grade

Oak Meadow: Kindergarten

~ Wynstones Seasonal Books

~ Clump-a-Dump and Snickle-Snack

~ Autumn Tales by Suzanne Down

~ Movement Journeys and Circle Adventures

~ LMNOP

~ Form Drawing; Grades One through Four

~ All Year Round

~ Homeschool planner designed by Amy Lee of Magic Hollow

~ Our established daily rhythms that includes: seasonl activities, modelling, drawing/painting, baking, handwork, home chores, outside activites, the grain and color of the day based on Rudolf Steiner's teachings, and other mindful and purposeful work like polishing with beeswax, sensory play, wool work (and lots of it!!), work in the kitchen and food prep.

Classical Education Inspired:

~ Math-U-See: Alpha

~ Spelling Workout: A

~ Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

~ Harmony Fine Arts Art and Music Appreciation

~ Autumn: Creative Activities for Young Children

~ Various books from the library about weather, harvesting, changing leaves, and apples.

~ Basic Phonics Skills