Learning With Faith

Supplementals

2013-04-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

I love finding little supplementals to our normal, everyday homeschool routine. Have I mentioned how much I love Currclick? Well...I LOVE Currclick. I have found everything from a main curriculum for a subject to tons and tons of supplemental activities and info. It is always my go to when ~~Faith~~ I get bored! Look what I found today, just in time for spring. :)

Click here to check it out!

Now what 8-year-old wouldn't love to take a break from math and reading and writing to learn about earthworms?! Friday Earthworms and Game Day! Don't you love being your child's teacher? I know I do.

Spring Update!

2013-03-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, homeschooling, going to college, and working part time makes for a busy busy schedule. I'm not giving up on this blog though because I have so much inside that needs to be shared! ;)

Our school year is going well. We have favorite subjects (art, history, and science) and not so favorite subjects (math and writing). Guess what?! I have found an awesome, little known direct sales company that sells high quality, fun games to supplement almost any learning area you might want to supplement! Yay!

www.learningwithfaith.simplyfun.com

We have instituted Friday Game Day into our homeschool curriculum and what a refreshing change this is for BOTH of us. Faith doesn't know that we are reinforcing and strengthening her education. She just knows that she and mom get to play games every Friday (and sometimes during the week too)! I highly recommend this. Fun...fun...fun... :)

So what else is going on? We planted the seeds for our heirloom garden, found an amazing math curriculum (I will share this in another post...it deserves it's own), can read level 1 books, can pick out Orion's Belt in the night sky, and I'm sure much more. What accomplishments have you seen so far this year? I'd love to hear. :)

Kelly

Ooey, Gooey...Faith's Favorite

2012-10-31T19:09:00.001-07:00

We haven't done anything "crafty" lately so I asked Faith if she would like to do a craft tomorrow. Her response, "Yea! Something Ooey, Gooey!". So, this is what is on the agenda for tomorrow. :)

Play Create Explore

I will share our pics tomorrow. If you try this with your kids please share your pics too!

Here's to Ooey Gooey fun!

KellyRae

Fashion Designer Extraordinaire

2012-10-27T03:32:00.001-07:00

One reason (of many) that we decided to home school Faith was her love of art and creativity. I've said it before, if I could hook an art project up to every subject Faith would be happy. So I love it when we stumble across a great learning opportunity...totally by accident.

The other day we were in Hobby Lobby and Faith, as always, was looking for something that she could get. She found this and was beyond excited. She had to have it! At first, I hesitated. It was $20 and more than I was planning on spending on just a fun "toy" for her. But, I quickly saw the creative opportunity and we bought it!

I had no idea what it was except that she could color and play with some kind of cardboard girl. When we got home we were surprised to see that they were Shrinky Dinks! For $20 we got a TON of outfits for her to "design" along with accessories that stick onto 6 different girls plus, a couple of cute dogs. Then there is a sturdy cardboard Designer Shop that you can display your collection in and the girls can all go shopping.

It took Faith a couple of days (and a couple of helpers) to color all of the different clothes and accessories. Then we had the fun of watching them shrink! Although we couldn't find a scientific explanation for why it shrinks, we researched and had a great conversation about what Shrinky Dinks are made of, where they originated, and how something can start out as one consistency and then by adding heat will transform into something totally different. It's 2nd grade folks, just opening up the mind to new ideas. ;)

We also explored the career of Fashion Design. We looked up some famous designers and their newest runway "looks". We also went to good ole Facebook and found some moms who use their creativity to design cute kid's clothes and accessories. From one extreme to another, your creativity can become your career someday!

Now, guess what? If you go to CreativityForKids there are sooo many different kits to choose from. There's definitely something for every creative little mind! I challenge you to take a break from your "curriculum" and have some fun for a couple of days. I promise, you'll love the spontaneous learning and the awesomeness of your child's creative little mind!

PS...I do not get paid a dime for promoting this website...just think it's a great resource for us homeschoolers.

PSS...Don't forget to enter my contest. Time is running out and one lucky winner will get a $25 gift certficate.

<3 KellyRae

Giveaway Time

2012-10-20T11:10:00.001-07:00

To celebrate second grade (Faith's learning experience) and the launch of my new direct sales businesses (my learning experience), I am hosting a giveaway for a $25 gift certificate to either KellyRae Jamberry Nails or Origami Owl ~ KellyRae Independent Designer. Details below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

KellyRae Jamberry Nails

Origami Owl ~ KellyRae Independent Designer

I'm super excited to be starting this next chapter in my life. I pray that this chapter is a very long one! If time would slow down just a little bit, I'd be very happy. Thank you for helping to celebrate this new beginning. Please stick around and share this journey with us.

KellyRae

Back At It and Garden Update

2012-10-20T07:22:00.001-07:00

Wow! Our garden did grow. :) We got basil, parsley, green beans, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers, and corn! I would say our first garden was a success.

Well, I had my little sabbatical, tried my hand at being "super mom", and it seems that God has brought me back full circle. When I started this blog and called it "Learning With Faith", I had a feeling that I will be learning just as much as Faith does during this home schooling journey. It seems I was right. :)

So, here we are. Second grade is starting full force! I feel confident that I will have a lot to blog about in the very near future. Faith is starting to read Level One books, loves Ancient History and Botany, still hates math... Stay tuned.

I am trying my hand at being a "mompreneur". Since I can't figure out how to work full time and be Faith's teacher full time, I am working at building up a few new direct sales businesses. I have found some amazing companies with awesome products that I love to share! Plus, hopefully I can take a little of the financial burden off Daddy. (I'd love to hear how other home school moms and dads tackle the financial issue)

So welcome to or welcome back to "Learning With Faith". It's going to be a busy life!

It's planting season...

2012-05-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

Remember those seeds we planted awhile back? Well, it's finally time to get them growing outside! Daddy and Faith worked hard yesterday putting the boxes together, buying a load of dirt, and filling the boxes up...getting them all ready for those little plants and seeds. :)

Faith was working hard. Daddy couldn't have done it without her.

The rectangle is for vegetables. The square is for herbs.

Then today (dodging the raindrops and racing the thunderstorm rolling in), we got our little plants and seeds in the boxes.

Who says summer school is boring... ;)

Butterfly Time

2012-04-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

The butterflies are blooming!

Fredrick Meijer Gardens

Unfortunately, this year a trip to the gardens to see the butterflies is not in the budget. So this year we "blooming" our own butterflies.

A couple of weeks ago I ordered our caterpillars from Insect Lore

There isn't much to do at first but watch the itty bitty caterpillars get bigger and bigger until...they have all changed into chrysalides!

We will be faithfully misting our chrysalides for the next 7-10 days in hopes of witnessing the miracle of our caterpillars turning into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.

While we wait we will learn more about butterflies and what flowers we should plant to attract lots of them to our garden this summer!

Green Thumb Library

Spring is in the air and we sure are lovin it!

Hope the butterflies are blooming where you are too. :)

Easter Fun

2012-04-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Here I am, last minute as usual. But, I found some really great Easter freebies at www.teacherspayteachers.com. I may have mentioned this before, but this is a really great site with tons of ideas and freebies too! And...the best part is the money goes to teachers! Anyway... here are some things that we are going to do this week:

It's Carrot Time

Graphing Jelly Beans

Easter Color by Number

So, you haven't planned any fun Easter activities yet? Well, here you go...hop to it!

Our Plants Are Growing!

2012-03-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

The seeds we were able to start indoors are growing! Well, most of them have sprouted anyway. A few are taking their sweet time poking through the dirt, but we are still very happy with our current success.

Over the past few home school years I have been added to quite a few "e"mailing lists. My poor inbox is so overloaded. I can't seem to unsubscribe, though, and just for this very reason. The other day I received an email offer for an awesome unit study centered around gardening. It seriously has enough activities to keep us busy from now through the end of summer. Plus, it covers all the bases for curriculum and, comes with a ton of resources. I am so thankful for creative people who take the time to put together things like this. My work just got so much easier! I can't wait to get started. :)

Check it out:

Garden Project 2012 Part 1

2012-03-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

So, I mentioned awhile back that part of our learning experience is going to be planting a garden this summer. This is an idea in progress. I will be learning right along with Faith (as always).

This isn't going to be a huge rant against Monsanto or Dupont, although there may be one growing in me. I will not get on my soap box to protest the amount of carcinogens that our bodies are subjected to every day with our food, perfumes, soaps, etc... If you would like to make up your own mind concerning these issues I encourage you to read up on the subjects. Two books that I find interesting are:

Animal Vegetable Miracle and Homegrown and Handmade.

I will admit that words like "sustainable", "locavore", and "homesteading" are still quite foreign to me. But I get it. I've had an "Ah ha" moment. I believe the world is a changin, and it is my duty to my children (adult and dependent) to open their minds and teach them to the best of my abilities. And so, Garden Project 2012 begins.

Yesterday was a typical early March Sunday in Michigan. Cold, gray, and wet. Not much to do, and Faith was bouncing off the walls. Although one of my main goals with a garden is to plant it from heirloom seeds rather than genetically altered seeds, we were bored and needed a project. So, we went to the store and bought what was available. Now, this is the perfect way to lift the spirits on a cold March day!

First, we eagerly picked out the veggie and flower seeds as we imagined them

growing this summer in our garden...

Next, we prepared our planting surface and accepted the extra help from our

"volunteers" Oscar and Minnie...

Finally, let the planting begin...

Now, the wait begins.

Soon we will see those little seedlings sprouting out of the dirt.

Stay tuned for Part 2. I know we have a lot to learn. But, that's what it's all about...right? :)

It's Leap Day!

2012-02-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Last night Faith asked me what Leap Day was and why do we do this? My answer was "Something to do with keeping the years even". Faith's reply, "Huh?". This morning, I decided that maybe I should find some real information about Leap Day. Yep, I know...last minute as always. But, better late than never. So, here are a few links and interesting facts about Leap Year:

1. Our solar year is 365.24219 days. Since our calendar does not deal in partial days, every four years, we add an additional day to February. Therefore, our calendar year is either 365 days in nonleap years or 366 days in leap years. A leap year every four years gives us 365.25 days, sending our seasons off course and eventually in the wrong months. To change .25 days to .24219, we skip a few Leap Days every one hundred years or so.

2. A little story about the confusion before Leap Day, click here.

3. Some more interesting facts, click here

4. Here's an interesting looking site that we are going to explore today, click here

So, if you are last minute like me or planning ahead for the next leap year (not like me), I hope you enjoy the links. Happy Leap Day!

Nutrition Fun

2012-02-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'm always amazed at how much Faith retains when we introduce a new subject.

When we finished this lesson, she immediately went to Grandma's room to "teach" her too.

This week,we learned a little bit about good nutrition. If you haven't visited www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com you are missing out on some good resources.

This is where I came across a couple of nutrition freebies that became a huge hit!

First we learned about the USDA recommended food pyramid. We did a little cut and paste project with this. Faith caught on real quick to which foods go where.

Click here for the free print out.

Next, we compared three different food pyramids and discussed the differences along with our thoughts about which one seemed like the healthiest guide to follow. Faith and I decided that the Willet's Food Guide Pyramid is the one we would like to try to follow; currently we stick closest to the USDA guide.

Last, we made a pyramid depicting all three guides. This was a very easy

project which we both enjoyed.

Click here for the free print out.

Another successful, enjoyable, home school afternoon. :)

A look ahead: Summer Learning: Planting and Harvesting a Heirloom Seed Garden
Essential Oil Giveaway!

Music Fun

2012-02-09T19:57:00.000-08:00

Among other things, we had some music fun today. Over the past couple of weeks we have been learning and singing some of the old time classic songs. You know, the ones every 1st grader has learned since the beginning of time. There is a bunch of them listed in this wonderful resource book:

What Your First Grader needs to know

So, we were singing along just fine when we came to the song "On Top of Old Smokey". I couldn't remember the tune. After some crazy attempts Faith finally recovered from laughing hysterically at me and said, "Why don't we look it up on YouTube?". Oh...good idea...why didn't I think of that?

We found "On Top of Old Smokey", and a bunch more. Our music class lasted over 1 1/2 hours today. Just one more thing to LOVE about learning with Faith. :)

Here are a some links to our favorites today:

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain

Enjoy!

Literature Unit and New Resource

2012-01-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

Have you become addicted to Pinterest yet? I've been enjoying looking at crafts, crochet patterns, and recipes, but, guess what I found today? An "Education" section! Oh my do I love finding new, fun, ideas for learning with Faith! So here I am to share just a couple that I found in the few minutes I had to spend looking. I foresee hours of surfing fun in my future!

I love literature. I love reading it, teaching it, and doing fun activities with it. Our next books are going to be "The Snowy Day" by Jack Ezra Keats and "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" by Shirley Neitzel.

Follow this link for a fun activity: "The Snowy Day"

You can also find a "Wintery Fun" math and literacy themed unit.

Or, if you want to be overwhelmed...click here!

Stay tuned for pictures of our Wintery Fun activities. Amazon, here I come!


The Snowy Day

Winter is here....make the best of it! :)

Getting Back At It With Dino's and Giving Tree

2012-01-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

It's January. Blah... or, maybe not...

Every morning Faith wakes up and asks "What are we going to do today?". Sometimes I have great things planned and sometimes, I'm not sure. The other "not sure" day, Faith had a great plan! She has decided that she wants to make a clay project complete with dinosaurs, trees, mountains and volcanoes. This great idea gave me an even greater idea. She is going to get a chance to make her fabulous clay project, but we are going to learn about dinosaurs and their habitats (among other things) first. Stay tuned for dino updates!

Not quite as fun but a good little lesson to keep us busy until I can get everything set up for the dinosaurs...The Giving Tree. For this idea I went back to www.lessonpathways.com. This is such a great resource and really helps me put something together quick.

We are going to read the book:

"The Giving Tree" by Sid Silverstein.

Then, thanks to the help of Lesson Pathways, we have some fun ways to cover the following objectives:

List of Objectives:

Home schooling a first grader really is not difficult. In fact, there are so many resources out there that sometimes the hardest part is narrowing down "What are we going to do today". :)

She Asked For It...She Got It... :)

2011-12-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

When Faith woke up today, the same words came out of her mouth that do every day, "What are we doing today?".

I had a few things planned. Writing, math, maybe practice with money. Today, Faith had other ideas. She wanted to do a "project". Not only did she want to do a project, but she wanted it to be a "gooey one". Well, far be it from me to say no to gooey fun.

We made paper mache!

First I cooked up a batch. Super easy! 4 cups water, 1 cup flour, heat on the stove stirring constantly until it becomes a paste. Throw a few ice cubes in to cool it down and voila, you have warm, gooey, paper mache.

Next Faith decided that she wanted to make something for her sisters for Christmas. I emptied out a couple of containers of French Fried Onions and they were perfect for our project. We're still not sure what exactly they will end up to be. A vase? A pen holder? A storage container? We will figure that out when it's time to decorate. For now, they are slathered with newspaper and paper mache and are sitting out to dry. That is all that matters.

I asked Faith, "So, did I find a gooey enough project for you today?".

"Oh yea", she said.

Holiday Lapbook

2011-11-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

I came across this website the other day. What a great way to mix-it-up a little during the holiday season. This is a cute little story with lap book ideas to go with it. Thought I would share.

//www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/

Code: STMMMS1532

Easy Scarecrow Project

2011-11-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

It's fall and that means a scarecrow project (or two) is a must. And this one is so easy...

Print the template and color your scarecrow parts:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/fall/mpaperscarecrow.htm

I let Faith choose her "medium". We have oil pastels, soft pastels, water color crayons, crayons, pencils, markers, and paints. Faith chose oil pastels for this project.

Next have your little artist cut out the pieces and glue them together. We glued them on construction paper and since we did the large size, I glued two pieces together.

That's all there is to it. Have fun!

Congratulations!

2011-11-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Melinda. You took the time to share a favorite memory and are now the winner of My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software. Look for an email coming soon. Thanks for sharing.

Didn't get a chance to enter this time? Well, you are still in luck. I have a little freebie for you. Enjoy! http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

(Use code: STMMMS1532)

Loving This Weather!

2011-11-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hagar Park, Jenison, Mi.

We have been blessed with a very beautiful fall here in West Michigan. The other day we took time out of our busyness to take a nature walk at the park. Fresh air, exercise, and enjoying God's beautiful creation was the plan for that afternoon. Don't forget to take time to enjoy the beauty in your world. :) Those kind of days are the best!

Give Away Time!

2011-11-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

It's time for our first giveaway. With Halloween behind us and the Holidays right around the corner, this giveaway is perfect!

Are you like me? I have way more pictures than I know what to do with. I do enjoy scrapbooking but rarely find the time. I'm not fortunate enough to have a room devoted to my hobbies which means set up time for scrapping or card making is daunting. I've been wanting to try a digital scrapbook program but just haven't gotten around to it. Well, the time is now!

Entering is easy! Since Faith is in 1st grade, just leave one of your favorite first grade memories (your own or one of your children)

Winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 8, 2011. Good Luck!

Want to check out My Memories to see what you are trying to win just go to www.mymemories.com.

Can't wait until Tuesday?

Use coupon code STMMMS1532 for $10 off in the MyMemories.com Store and $10 off My Memories Suite Scrapbook software

I made this with My Memories Suite Scrapbook software :)

Phoenecian Fun

2011-11-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

We recently studied about the Phoenecians. One of the things we really liked about these people was their love of the color purple. We love purple too. Unlike us, the Phoenecians couldn't just go to the store and pick out a purple shirt, hat, gloves, etc... They had to make their own purple dye from natural sources. So, we became like the Phoenecians and made our own purple dye too.

First, I cut up some purple cabbage and we let it simmer for about an hour.

Next, we drained the cabbage and, voila, we have beautiful purple dye for our "beads".

Then we added our beads (pasta) and let them soak in the dye until we were satisfied with their beautiful purple color.


Aren't they beautiful :)

Finally, we strung our beads and made a necklace out of them. Faith was so excited about her creation that she ran and gave it to grandma before I could even get a picture...but you get the picture...

Have I mentioned how much I love learning with Faith? :)

This idea was taken from our wonderful history curriculum:

Story of the World, Activity Book 1

Teachable Moment

2011-10-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last night we had the most spectacular experience. We were treated to a display of the Northern Lights right here in West Michigan. They didn't last long (by the time we were aware of the light show anyway), but it is something we will never forget.

Last night we viewed this in our back yard...

Today we had a renewed excitement for Astronomy.

I love being my child's teacher. :)

Enjoying Summers End

2011-09-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say that we are digging in and really learning some good stuff.

Faith now knows Algebra, can read a novel, and is entering college next year. Ha! Alas...all this nice weather has detoured our home school just a little... But you know what? That's the BEAUTY of homeschooling!

We have very long, cold, dreary winters. During the summer we play hard and it goes by fast! This year, we did our share of playing but we also did a lot of "schooling". Since I know winter is just around the corner, we enjoyed summer for just a little while longer. We'll tackle Algebra next week.

Here are a couple of pictures showing what we have learned this past week. :)

Wish I had more time to read. These books look good!!!