Our first lapbook!

I think I'm more excited about this than my daughter is. I've found myself showing EVERYONE that stepped into my house the lapbook (Yup, I've been that annoying). Truthfully, it feels like a huge accomplishment and our first complete project.

 A few weeks back we began our ladybug lapbook by researching and reading a ton of books (the library is our friend!). Amaris learned so many facts and loved every activity. I believe this is such a great way to teach. Having a tactile learner on my hands made me extremely nervous because I am not crafty at all! Thankfully, there are great lapbooking websites and resources that help families lacking the craft bone. 

    

I loved the layout we used with "The Grouchy Ladybug".

It was clean, easy to understand, and the activities were perfect for Amaris. I did add the ladybug life cycle wheel from a download. Our absolute favorite was the thumbprint art. I had a multi-color inkpad and with that, she created the grass, sun, and ladybugs. Then added spots and smiley faces to top it all off. So cute! I definitely reccommend this unit.

 The only thing I would change is the size of the manila folders I used for the book. I folded it into the standard three-sided display and quickly ran out of space. I searched for different options and found a wonderful way to glue two of them together (again, this is not my strength). 

The next unit we are starting is caterpillars. That will last for about a week or two because we only school 2 or 3 days a week. Then, we will transition to butterflies which will last another two weeks. 

I am so encouraged by this unit. Not only did I witness my daughter learning and retaining great information, but we finished something we started. That, for me, is such a huge deal. I have mentioned before that I am a starter, not a finisher. By God's grace were we able to carry this from start to finish. A lot of prayer and scripture reading happened. That is exactly the way He wants it and how my husband and I want to school our little girl. This is God-centered teaching.

Many Blessings,

Not so crafty momma

Ultimate goal

  I love to write. I've been scribbling in small journals from the moment I could somewhat spell. I have an immense passion for what I do. No, not my secretary job (which I love) but for being a wife and a mommy. My family is extremely important which is why my husband and I decided to homeschool. The combined passion of writing and homeschool is the reason why I started blogging. In no way do I want to make this blog a shrine to my daughter's good works and what may look like great planning (I can assure you...IT IS FAR FROM THAT).
 This site is meant to be an inspiration to others. An insight into my life to show that if I can do it, you can probably do it better! I'm not a homeschool over-enthusiast or an expert. I don't think everyone should homeschool (Oh no she didn't! Yes, I did). People just don't have the patience for it! Sometimes I don't have it! Public school isn't evil either. Millions of children leave their classrooms everyday with a great new piece of information. 
 To me, teaching your child at home or even supplementing their public school education, is a gift that no one can ever give. It's a bond that you will have with these small minds that will never be replaced. You taught them how to walk, speak their first word, and ride a bike. They view you as the person they can learn from. They trust and love you beyond comprehension, so the knowledge they gain from you will be so special.
I am blessed to have a huge community of homeschooling families close to me, but some of you don't. Ask me tons of questions! I can guarantee I will not have every answer, but my contact list is very long. No question is a dumb question! Let me share my passion with you all!

The Unthinkable

  I have a very bad habit. Well, I have a few, but the one I'm writing about might ring a bell in other mommies minds. I place limits on myself. I know what I want to do and then I calculate how long it'll take until I mess up or something goes wrong. Always a starter, NEVER a finisher. This is how I felt about teaching my daughter how to read. An overwhelming fear would creep over me when the thought entered my mind. 
  This week was THE week. We reached lesson 3 of Alpha-Phonics and it was time to put sentences together. It had been challenging because she would give up so quickly, but with constant encouragement, she became more confident. We reviewed the short a words (am, an, as, at, ax), then we went over those with an added letter (Sam, man, has, cat, tax). The sentences I used were "Sam sat" and "Sam has an ax". Within 5 mins she had breezed through both. Because she did them so quickly, I didn't have anything else planned!
   Improvising, I cut a bunch of index cards in half and wrote the words on them. We went over what makes up a sentence (Capital letter in the beginning, period at the end). She then proceeded to create her own! Have you ever been so proud that you feel like you heart was 10 times too big? That is just an understatement! I couldn't believe that even though I had not yet "finished" this stage, I reached a pivotal moment in my child's development. By God's grace, this small human learned something completely foreign to her. AND I HAD A HAND IN IT! The same encouragement and scripture I used on my toddler was real to me as well. 

It's been a week full of fun! We started the Ladybug lapbook and have been doing some great crafts. It's coming along but I'm so excited to see it put together. I downloaded "The Grouchy Ladybug" unit from homeschoolshare.com and a few add-ons from teachingmomma.org. I made a ladybug facts wall with flowers and all! Friday was our edible crafts day so that was a great mess (and fun, of course). Amaris pasted mini chocolate chips on rice krispie treat ladybugs. We will finish the unit next week and put the entire book together. Lapbooks are my new best friends! If you want to know some more about them, visit this great blog. So many different subjects and ways to do things that it's specifically tailored to your child. At this young stage, it's great to have something that you can simply have fun with. The learning just kind of....happens!

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

2 Corinthians 12:9

Many blessings, 

Lapbook Loving Momma

Let the fun begin!

                                                              OUR FIRST WEEK IS OVER! 

  I seriously wanted to throw a huge party for this occasion. It was tough but definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. My wonderful husband spent many evenings listening to me rant about our day and comforting me when times were tough. I think I have learned more during our first day in Classical Conversations than in my elementary years (just kidding....maybe). God was busy with our hearts and minds during that week. We struggled with patience, anger, disobedience, and many more. Oh man, I'm so glad it's over. Want to know why? Because we get to start week two! Despite the battles and uncertainties, I was excited to start a new week with a clean slate. 

 My close friend and fellow mommy is probably one of the most creative people I know! (Check out her awesome blog) She put a wonderful group together to guide moms in teaching young ones with crafts, books, and other fun stuff. Being so enthusiastic, I jumped in! What I didn't seem to realize is that Amaris is very opinionated. She loves  learning but flourishes more by learning about things that interests her (who doesn't). I didn't think to ask her what she wanted to learn! Lessons were planned, crafts were prepared, and tons of things were put into place without taking into consideration what the free-spirited youngin' would like to explore. We did go through an Apple lesson my friend shared and Amaris enjoyed it, so it was very successful! But after praying and consulting my husband, I threw all of the ideas out the window and included my mini student. 

 We are going to start a Ladybug  lapbook! This mommy is very excited about this! Tonight, I will print everything out, cut things and just prepare the materials for the next two weeks. The time frame is for a week but with our busy schedules, two weeks will be the ideal thing to do. Slowly I'm learning that we cannot put so much pressure on education. Amaris learns new things from TV shows, books, and everyday life. Whatever we choose to do, she will learn from it. BUT that's not the reason why we started homeschooling. It's the love of learning we want to instill. She has all of high school to do mandatory, not so fun classes. Now is the time for fun!

     

This is  from our second CC class this morning. They had some art time and they all looked like little surgeons!

Here is the scripture that now is posted over our school area. I hope you find strength in this wonderful verse.

              "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."
                                                                          2 Tim 1:7

                                                                      Many Blessings, 
                                                                    A praying momma