Homeschooling. Something I always dreamed of doing but wasn't sure if I would end up doing it. If you would have asked me last year, I would have said HECK NO, but something changed over the last year. Really, just at the end of 2018, the Lord was really pushing my heart to do it. Or just try it! Solomon's birthday is September 14th, which is a late birthday for school, so that means he would be the oldest in his class. I think that is a good thing and I started to search for some preschool programs for him, just 2-3 days a week, possibly starting in January. I even went and toured one place but I left with such a heaviness with the idea of sending him somewhere. I wasn't ready, and I really didn't think he was either. He has plenty of time to socialize and be away from my at church and at my bible study once a week, so I wasn't worried about that. I just felt like we were in a really good place to try homeschooling and see if it would be a good fit for us, since he wouldn't technically start 4K until 2020, because of his birthday. So, we started it in January and I was honestly shocked at how much we both loved it. Now, here we are, almost in June and I am getting so pumped about buying a curriculum for next school year. I've tried to implement "summer" but he won't have it. He still asks for "schoolwork" everyday. The biggest gift with the last several months is realizing how his brain works. It is so rewarding to work on a common goal together and see him thrive. I'm so thankful for the opportunity that we have to give this homeschooling adventure a try! 

Now that my rambling is over.... ha, there have been several people ask what we are doing and what we are using. We are working on a morning basket now that seems to be going very well, and then we have his "school work" during Asher's naptime. This schedule seems to work best for us right now and I love the one on one time that it gives me with Solomon. 

my Erin Condren Teacher Planner that I'm loving so far.....

It helps me stay organized with all the different tasks that I have to complete throughout a normal day. I split it up into Morning Basket, School Work, my Color Street work, daily to do, and then meals. Its the best place for my brain dump every evening before bed and helps me plan ahead with school work also. 

Our morning basket is something we do almost everyday, even on weekends sometimes. This little basket sits beside the couch most of the time, but I love that we can carry it around the house with us, as we use it. Comfy on the couch, at the kitchen table while we eat breakfast, the school table, or even upstairs in Solomon's room. The following are all the things that we keep in the basket on a daily basis... 

We normally start with our daily devotion book. This Book is so simple and sweet, and it's the perfect way to start our day and I love how the prayer at the end is a little rhyme each day. Asher usually likes to listen to this part also and look at the pictures. 

Solomon also works on writing his name each morning. He's now doing Solomon and Eliya without any tracing, but I'm still writing Peter for him since we just added that to his practice this month. After the devotion, and the name practice, then we do his morning journal. Sometimes I tell him what to draw, but there are times when he asks to draw a specific thing. Like this morning, he wanted to draw a picture of God and Adam together. 

We have several bible verses that we have learned together also, which I love!! Whenever we add a new one, I write it out on cardstock and Solomon paints it. I'm going to laminate these also and make a little book for him to keep. We go over all the bible verses in the morning and throughout the day.

We are working through these two books right now with our morning basket, normally alternating the two and going in order from beginning to end. I've been trying to stay on the same stories also, since the Usborne Illustrated Children's Bible Stories is more in depth and the Jesus Calling Storybook is a faster read. They are both so sweetly written and I love the questions that I get to answer after we finish a story. 

The afternoon work is in these two books right now. I bought this Get Ready for School with this summer in mind before we start our new fall curriculum in September and we are LOVING it right now. All the sections in the notebook are fun and it makes it easy to jump around in different subjects each day. Starting this week, I'm going to a Tuesday-Thursday schedule (since I totally forgot Monday was Memorial Day in my planner above!) so we are going to focus on specific things each day. Tuesday will be alphabet, Wednesday will be math, and then Thursday will be shapes. I'll add in random things from tracing, manners, and basic knowledge from the other sections each day also.

This other book is something I found from the dollar store and I love how this is set up with one page a day. I pull this out on days when we need something a little extra and he still wants to do some school work. 

Lastly, I wanted to try a chapter read aloud for the first time with Solomon and I was shocked at how well it went. The chapters are short and there are a couple of photos to show and talk about as well. We are doing one chapter every other day right now, usually after we are finished with his school work in the afternoon before Asher wakes up. I'm so excited about all the possibilities of chapter books in the months ahead!! 

So for now, that is what we do. I love that there is complete flexibility with homeschooling and we can let Solomon lead the way during the summer days leading up to his 4K year. I'm also thankful that he won't technically be in a true 4K year until 2020, so we can take it slow and steady! Let me know if you have any questions or any recommendations!! We are definitely learning together as we go, but we love it! 

a day in our life // 010

I honestly forgot that I had written down to do a "day in our life" post, until we finally sat down to do our morning bible time yesterday morning, and I saw it written down on my planner for the day. Not much was missed so, I decided to back track a little and get caught up so I could track our day. I went to get my big camera so I could have some quality photos and use my self timer to truly capture what we do. I really do love these posts so much, especially on lazy Tuesdays at home when we don't have any plans. It makes recording all the little moments a lot easier!! 

04.09.19 // tuesday

7:40 - Peter leaves for the day and Solomon has a little TV time while I nurse Asher in bed and try and wake up. He watches a show on Netflix and I head downstairs and let him watch one more show while I drink my coffee and change Asher's diaper. 

8:00 - Solomon had an accident in his bed last night (for the first time in a very long time), so I move over the wet clothes from last night to the dryer, and wash his sheets. I then start making some eggs for breakfast for the boys.

8:10 - Asher sits at the table and eats his eggs while Solomon tries to use the potty. The first of many unsuccessful trips for the day. I tell him he can try again when he feels ready. 

turning on the music, like most mornings for baby brother!

8:30 - We head into the playroom to clean up the toys from the day before and try and get started on our morning work. On days when we don't have to rush out of the house, we start the day with practicing Solomon's first and last name in his notebook, then do a morning drawing. After that we do a bible study and say our prayers for the day. 

8:45 - The day is definitely off to a slow start and the boys play while I straighten up the living room and the kitchen. I also wash the eggs from the past few days so they will be ready to cook when we need them.

9:30 - Somehow almost an hour goes by and we finally sit down and start our morning work for the day, with some snacks of course. Apple sauce with some ningxia juice for Solomon and a squishy for Asher and ice water for me! 

Before we do our bible story, Solomon tries to potty again... no luck, so we relax and read some books and play for a bit. 

10:40 - Solomon finished his picture drawing for the day and I prep our bible story. Asher is dying for some milk so we cuddle on the couch and read the story together. 

Solomon does a coloring photo, and we talk about the story from last night and today, while Asher plays with some cars on the floor. Last night was about the little girl who died and Jesus brought her back to life, and today was about how to pray. We are using the Crew and Co Easter Cards and they are so sweet! 

11:05 - I've been trying my best to use some of our bible story time to read on my own and also write in my prayer journal. Solomon wanted to sit in my lap and color the rest of his photo since he needed to use the potty but couldn't go quite yet. I enjoy the cuddles and write out my prayers, then we pray together before we go and play.

probably my new favorite photo of the two of them, so sweet!!!

11:40 - We head upstairs to play while I put away some laundry from the night before. I also get Asher dressed in some comfy clothes before lunch. 

12:00 - we head back downstairs and make a smoothie (my lunch) and get some other things out for the boys. Solomon loves helping me with the smoothie every day and Asher gets so excited when we turn it on, he thinks it is so funny! 

I cut up an apple and some string cheese for the boys and Asher also has some avocado.

I love those little toes peeking out from under his tray! 

Solomon's hands, always covered in marker and paint! My little artist... 

12:30 - I head upstairs to get Asher down for his nap while Solomon watches some Disney Jr.

I lay Asher down at 12:50 and let Solomon finish his show before his quiet time. 

1:10 - Solomon has quiet time while I take a quick shower and get dressed for the day. I can tell he is sleepy so I tell him to go play downstairs while I finish my makeup before we do his school work. 

1:30 - I come downstairs and find this..... 

He sure is cute,  but Lord knows he can't take a nap, or he won't be able to go to sleep till 11PM! So I have to wake him up and bribe him with a puzzle to make him want to play. He can hardly work on the puzzle since he needs to use the potty so badly, and he finally let himself go! Hallelujah!!! 

2:05 - he is working on finishing the puzzle and then Asher wakes up! I always try and do our school time when Asher is asleep so I can focus on Solomon and he can have some one on one time, so things are a lot trickier if Asher is awake. But,we get the work out for the day and try our best to stay focused.

2:20 - I let Asher play with some dot markers on the floor with some paper while we work on the letter I for the day. 

3:00 - we clean up the school work supplies and head into the living room so I can fold some laundry while the boys play. 

3:30 - I get everything folded and work on my bible study while Solomon and Asher play together. 

It is so crazy how often I have typed that during my day so far, and I'm so thankful for it. 

Yes, there are moments when I have to remind Solomon to be a kind big brother, or I have to console Asher when he gets frustrated that he's not as big as Solomon, or I need to get down on their level to talk to them, but they really do love to be together and play. Such a blessing!

5:00 - After we get our clothes on, we play music with straws as a flute and Solomon is excited to run upstairs to get his guitar, and Asher starts dancing. Peter gets home from work much earlier than normal and the boys are so excited to see him and put on a show for him. We then head out to dinner and to get some shopping done at the mall. 

It was a slow and easy day at home. A sweet day, one of my favorite kind of days. The house isn't spotless, the laundry is still on the couch as I type this, but my babies were loved and I made time for some sweet moments with my maker. It's crazy how much better my day will flow when I have priorities in the right place, and for that I am thankful. That is something I'm trying my best to work on daily in our home. To be obedient to the Lord and available for my family!