Our Kindergarten Year

I've officially finished homeschooling my last kindergartener . . . while it's exciting to move forward, part of me is also sad.  I've taught all my kids how to read, all of them even used the same book!  Kindergarten seems to mark the beginning of the learning journey, and while it never really ends, this year was the last beginning.

Baby Girl all done with her reading book!

That said, I've mentioned in a couple of other posts that I would be looking back at our Kindergarten year and sharing how we do Kindergarten here at The Gorbics Academy.

We have basically followed the Charlotte Mason method with all the kids- you can read about what that is here.  There are many good sites out there for implementing this method.  My favorite and most used is Ambleside Online.  It is a great resource for understanding the Charlotte Mason method and for free schedules, book lists and many links to curriculum. Kindergarten or Year 0 on Ambleside Online isn't really a structured school year.  I do use their great book list which I shared here.  We worked through this book list during the Kindergarten year, reading one book each day of the week for an entire week.  

In addition to our book list, Baby Girl participated in our Morning Time.  I have loosely done Morning Time in the past, but after reading this post about using a Morning Time Binder, I made my own binder, filled it with good things and made it a priority each school day.  Well, almost every day - we participate in a Co-op on Wednesdays, so to be realistic, I did not include anything for Wednesday!  

I have LOVED this addition to our day.  It proved to be a great time for all of us to start the day together, because we were focusing on what was really important - Him and each other.  And on days that this is all we were able to accomplish - and there were many of those - I could still call it a win!

Here is a quick breakdown of what our Morning Time looked like:

Monday
Prayer (We always start with what we are thankful for and then use Prayer Calendars from Cheri Gamble)
Bible - New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse (we are working through these verses from Ann Voskamp) and Co-op Verse
Poetry - A Child's Book of Poems by Gyo Kujifawa
Read Aloud - Fiction
Copywork

Tuesday
Prayer
Bible New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse
Math Songs
Read Aloud - Life of Fred, Math series
Copywork

Thursday
Prayer
Bible - New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse
Parts of Speech (printables found here)
Read Aloud - Life of Fred, Language Arts series
Copywork

Friday
Prayer
Bible - New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse
Art Study
Read Aloud - Fiction
Copywork

After our Morning Time, our Kindergarten schedule was pretty simple and we usually finished fairly quickly. We included Math (Math U See Primer), Reading (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons), the Handwriting without Tears curriculum, Character Training and our read-alouds. Most of these we did once a day, with the exception of our Character Training which we focused on once a week.  

That didn't mean that our learning was done for the day!  Baby Girl still participated in many of the other learning experiences going on in our home.  Plus we had co-op, field trips, cooking days, educational shows, playdates and most importantly, lots of PLAY!  

Hopefully this is helpful to you if you are beginning your homeschool journey or just trying to reevaluate your homeschool year.  As always, please do not let my suggestions add to your list of "things I should be doing" or "yet another thing I need to do".  Use these resources as ideas to lighten your load, not add to it!!

Rita

How we use A Child's Book of Character Building in our Homeschool

I recently posted our Year End Review: Our Read Alouds and enjoyed looking back so much that I've decided to look back on Baby Girl's Kindergarten year.  We've used many different resources over the past years, but one I've used with all my kids is A Child's Book of Character Building. So, how did I use this book?

I decided to not only go through this book with Baby Girl, but add some picture books and copywork to go along with it.  The majority of the copywork was done the last half of the year as we were still working through our letters during the first half. But it ended up being a great review of each trait for her and I!

A Child's Book of Character Building is broken up into 12 character traits.  Each character trait is first defined in simple,but clear terms and has a Bible verse to go with it.  Then, each character trait has four simple, single page stories that relates that trait to the Bible, home, school and play.  At the end of each trait are a few simple questions/discussion prompts, called Character Development Challenges, to talk about.

Since our school year has 36 weeks in it, I chose to focus on one character trait for 3 weeks each.  The first week we read the definition and verse of the character trait and the Bible story included an example of the trait.  The following week, we would reread the definition and then read some or all of the 2-3 stories relating to home, school and/or play. When we finished the last story, we would discuss the character trait using the Character Development Challenges. Once we finished up the stories in each section, I would have a library book picked out for us to read that, again, related to the character trait we were discussing.  This was a great opportunity to ask Baby Girl how she saw the trait in the story and discuss it further.

I did some research to find books that would be applicable for each character trait.  Just a little note - I love the definitions this book uses for each trait, so I am including them!

Attentive - "Listening with the ears, eyes, and heart" 

The Morning Sam went to Mars by Nancy Carlson

Faith - "Believing God will do what He says"

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise by Tomie DePaola

Creative - "Doing something in a new way"

  

Ish and or The Dot by Marcia Brown

Diligence - "Working hard to accomplish a task"

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell

Patience - "Waiting with a Happy Spirit" 

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael P Kaplan 

Contentment - "Happy with what I have"

The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet

Obedience - "Doing what you are told with a happy, submissive spirit"

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems

Wisdom - "Thinking God's way"

The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco

Tenderhearted - "Strong enough to feel the joys and hurts of others"

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

Thankfulness - "Being grateful and saying so"

I'm Thankful Each Day by PK Hallinan

Honesty - "Truthful words and ways"

The Boy Who Cried Wolf  (there are many good versions of this one!)

Joyfulness - "Being happy inside and out"

Have you Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud 

What a fun list and a whole lot of sweet moments to look back on!  Some of these books, I probably wouldn't have picked out on my own, but are now some of our favorites. 

Once we finished all the character traits and the copywork - I had Baby Girl write the trait and the definition provided - we punched some holes in them all, added a cover page and back page and we made our own book of character traits that Baby Girl can read through.

I hope this list inspires you to sit down and do a little bit of fun, and meaningful, reading with your child!

Rita

And the Winner Is . . . dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick GiveAway

Thanks to you all for reading my review of dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick!  This was only my second review and give away, but I am enjoying sharing dōTERRA this way.  You can read my 1st one here.  

Once again, I used:  http://www.miniwebtool.com/random-name-picker/

And the winner is . . . Kris!  Congratulations -  I will be in touch to get your dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick to you!

 

Rita

Year End Review: Our Read-Alouds this Year 2016

As a homeschooling momma, read-alouds are a big part of every school day.  At the beginning of this year, I made a couple of lists and scheduled out our read-alouds.  I made a Kindergarten list for Baby Girl and a combined read aloud list for Baby Girl and MMBoy. That proved the most difficult . . . I needed to read to a 6 year old daughter and an 11 year old son. Hmmmm . . .

At the end of last year, we had really fallen for Roald Dahl books.  They were great to read to both of the kids, the chapters were of a reasonable length so momma didn't get tired of reading or of hearing her own voice and many his books have been made into movies.  Now, we all know that the movie is never as good as the book, but it was a fun way to end Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.  This year, I decided to start out with another Roald Dahl book, The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

From there, I perused reading lists I had printed from amblesideonline.org and Higher Up and Further In (How sad I was when I went to find this link and I found this blog is not longer kept up.  She was one of my favorite blogs to read when I began homeschooling and provided me with many great lists, ideas, schedules, printables, etc.)

Without further ado, here are our lists!

Kindergarten read alouds (Read one book every day for each week):

• The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
• The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese
• The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
• Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
• One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston
• Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
• Winter in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• The Foolish Tortoise by Eric Carle
• A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
• The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
• The Little Red Hen
• The Gingerbread Man 
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• The 3 Billy Goats Gruff
• Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer, Barbara Cooney
• I Can't Said the Ant by Polly Cameron
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
• I'm a Little Teapot (I like this one)
• Country Mouse, City Mouse
• The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright
• Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha G. Alexander

Combined read alouds (Read during our Morning Time on Monday & Friday):

• The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• Little Women (Book 1) by Louisa May Alcott
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo
• Animal Farm by George Orwell*
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz*

*these books were included because I read them aloud to my senior son and I'm pretty sure the others were listening just as he listened in on many of their stories - It does my momma heart good to know that he still likes to hear me read :)

Failed to read aloud:

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Treasure Island

Seriously?!  I am not sure how we never read How the Grinch Stole Christmas?!  I think maybe it was because we were reading Little Women and it was taking waaaaay longer than I expected.  Ha!  We were going to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after MMBoy had read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . . . and that, too, took longer than anticipated. I'll forgive him as he's made up for with some mad reading skills and has completely finished reading the entire Harry Potter series this spring.

As we wrap up this homeschool year, what a great list to look back on!  Not only did we read some great books together, we learned the importance of family, our world and each person on it. We created some fun memories along the way; memories of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, memories of momma crying through the end of Because of Winn-Dixie (someday they will understand) and memories of snuggling up by the fire and opening up a good book into an adventure.

Rita

dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick Review and Give Away!

  This past year dōTERRA came out with some great new products. I have previously reviewed the dōTERRA Natural Deodorant, - here. Not only did I review it, I also gave one away!  I have decided this month of May to do another review and give away!  Why you ask?  Well, this month dōTERRA has another great promotion for its Wellness Advocates!

Earn a FREE 5 mL of Cardamom, 15 mL of dōTERRA Breathe®, dōTERRA Breathe Vapor Stick, dōTERRA Breathe Respiratory Drops (Retail Value $91.99) by placing any 200 PV order from May 1st thru May 31st 2016.

These are basically FREE oils!!! And I want to share with you!

I am a big fan of the dōTERRA Breathe™ Essential Oil Blend and dōTERRA Breathe™ Throat Drops, so I was thrilled when dōTERRA came out with the dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick. What's not to love - all the great benefits of dōTERRA Breathe™ in an easy to apply stick?!

dōTERRA Breathe™ has some specific benefits:

• Maintains feelings of clear airways and easy breathing
• Promotes a restful night’s sleep
• Helps minimize the effects of seasonal threats
• Provides a cooling, soothing effect both topically and aromatically

I have used dōTERRA Breathe™ in the past in our diffusers (both night and day-time), topically diluted on our chests or applied a drop on my hands and inhaled. (There should be some joke there about not inhaling . . . but I've got nothing right now :/ )

While roller balls are a great way to apply diluted EO's, especially on younger children, and I frequently make my own roller balls for easier application, to extend the life of my oils and to create my own EO blends, the Vapor Stick has made application so much easier!  I can let my Baby Girl (she's almost 7) use it herself and her older brothers too.  There is no need to dilute and make a mess of one's hands.  Just open up the stick, give it a little twist up and apply to your back or chest.  I've even applied to my throat and just dabbed under my nose.

Now that you've heard all about dōTERRA  Breathe™ Vapor Stick, it's time to enter - Just leave a comment on this post and I will be picking a random commenter at the end of the month.  Good luck and Happy Oiling!

Rita

Big Picture Story Bible Review- One of the best Bibles for Littles!

  

A couple of Christmas's ago . . . we purchased The Big Picture Story Bible for Baby Girl.  I was looking for a "spiritual" gift for her and wanted something appropriate for a 4 year old - something she would actually be able to use.  I had looked at The Big Picture Story Bible and at The Jesus Storybook Bible.  I liked both of these from browsing through them on Amazon. They both have amazing and colorful pictures - not freaky pictures like some kids bibles. What's up with that?! Seriously, all my kids have received some sort of Bible in their PreK years and they ALL have disturbing pictures, lol.

I liked both of these options because the share the overriding Gospel message and show how God has had a plan since the beginning of time. They don't moralize the Bible stories. Yes, there are stories in the Bible that one can get a moral lesson from.  I want the Gospel message and God's love to capture my child's heart.  My goal was a Bible that shared the goodness and love of God and that we are a part of HIS story, this is not our story.  The Big Picture Story Bible comes highly recommended:

• This article does a great job of explaining how and why we should be teaching God's Word to our children and recommends The Big Picture Story Bible.

• At the homeschool convention I went to in April, John Stonestreet, from Breakpoint, did a talk titled: How We (Mis)handle the Bible. In his talk, he recommended The Big Picture Story Bible and The Jesus Storybook Bible.  

After reading reviews, looking through both of my options on amazon.com, I ended up getting The Big Picture Story Book Bible. Mainly because it also came with a CD!  As a homeschooling mom who frequently does read-a-louds, one thing I appreciate is a CD that does the reading for me. Sometimes I get tired of hearing the sound of my own voice . . .  but back to this Bible.  I love it! And Baby Girl does too!  It is divided into Old and New Testament and each Testament is divided into parts, 11 in the Old, 15 in the New.  There are questions peppered throughout each part that encourage the child to think about the story being told.  There are not only questions, but also reminders of God's love and that He has a plan throughout! And don't we all need that reminder?

If you're looking for a great Bible to get your preschooler started on, I highly recommend this one! Baby Girl is approaching 7 and will still put the CD on, sit down on the couch and listen to the entire book. Love that!

Rita

Forgiveness

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Every Sunday evening, my family gets together with a few other families for a focused time of fellowship and food - for our bodies and souls.  One could call this a small group, missional community, bible study or even, church.

The past few weeks we've been going over the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and it was these specific lines that lead me to do a post on forgiveness:

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors"

This could also read - sins, trespasses - but what does it really mean?  And what is FORGIVENESS really?  I have been wrestling with these 2 questions this week and the concept of forgiveness even longer.

In the Lord's Prayer, we are asking God to forgive us as we have forgiven those who have sinned/wronged us.  Wow . . . in as much as I forgive, I will be forgiven?!  That is a hard thought to process.  Read Matthew 6:14 - " For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  And this is not the only time it is mentioned.  In Matthew 18:21,22, "Peter asks 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven'".  And then he proceeds to tell the parable of the king who forgave his servant a vast amount of debt, but then the servant proceeds to throw a fellow servant into prison for a much, much smaller amount of debt.  When the king hears of this, he becomes angry and has the first servant delivered to the torturers (!) until he can repay all of his debt.  (Matt. 18:23-34).  Then there is this in verse 35 - "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses".  

How can we, as mere humans forgive on this level?  


What sticks out to me about these verses?  They are not talking about forgiving our enemies - though there are plenty of those in God's Word - but forgiving our brothers and fellow servants .  I, personally, find it easy to forgive those I am not super close to.  It seems easier to me to forgive someone and offer them grace, see the situation through their eyes if they are not in close relationship to me.  It is so much more difficult to not let bitterness and unforgiveness build up when I have to interact with that person every day, when I see them not changing, when it hurts so much more because of our close relationship.  But not only does Christ call us to forgive our enemies, but our brothers (family), fellow servants (other Christ followers) . . . those we are close to.  Does this seem impossible to you?  If I'm being honest, it does to me!  But God has also given us His Spirit and tells us in Matthew 19:26 - "but with God all things are possible," and Jeremiah 32:17 - "There is nothing too hard for You."

First, what is forgiveness NOT?

Forgiveness is not the absence of angers at sin, forgiveness is not forgetting the wrong, forgiveness is not forgoing justice, forgiveness is not enabling and forgiveness is not necessarily reconciliation, as that requires both sides participating.

So then, what IS forgiveness?

I found this series of articles - specifically 1,2,& 5 by Focus on the Family, extremely helpful and have pulled a few quotes out that really seemed to speak to me. (Note: these were written for those dealing with divorce/infidelity - this is NOT something my husband and I are working through and I pray for protection in our marriage regarding this - but the articles are very applicable to forgiveness and the process it is).

Most importantly, forgiveness is a PROCESS - it may happen overnight, it may not.  It may take days, weeks, months and even years to truly embrace forgiveness.

"Forgiveness is a gift of God's grace . . .  and we must give ourselves the grace our healing requires as we move forward to full forgiveness."

 Many times, a situation requires time, perspective, more information and rebuilding the relationship. I think that saying "I forgive" and trying to act as if everything is the same doesn't allows us to take the time to really be open to complete forgiveness.

"When we've been deeply wronged something inside yearns for justice. If we don't forgive, our desire for justice becomes revenge, subjecting us to the bondage of bitterness and self-righteousness. When we choose to forgive, the justice we seek is for the other person to feel our pain."

Wow, I don't know about you, but that hits the nail on the head.  Isn't that usually what I want - an acknowledgement and validation for what I am feeling and going through?!  But even if I don't get that "justice", I am still freed. When I forgive others I am released from the bondage unforgiveness can cause in my own life - bitterness, resentment,etc.

True forgiveness takes place when we release our hurt and let go of it, acknowledging that our spouse  is a fallen human being, who is perhaps doing the best he or she can with the limited resources in their emotional, relational, and spiritual arsenal. When we anchor our hearts on the rock of God's love, the forgiveness of our spouse enables us to release our pain into God's healing hands. As grace shatters the threat of growing bitterness, it plants the seeds of a more intimate relationship. 

Where does this lead me?  To this:

Forgiveness is releasing the person who wronged me - whether a spouse, friend, child, co-worker, etc. - and myself from the wages and bondage of sin (death) as God has released me! Forgiving someone doesn't place them in right standing with God, it places me in right standing with God! I think I need to hear that again :

Forgiving someone doesn't place them in right standing with God, it places me in right standing with God!

When Christ died for me and I accepted His free gift, I no longer had to pay the punishment for my sins - they are completely forgiven. I praise Him for that and pray that He will enable me to pass on that forgiveness to those around me.

Rita