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Over the past few years, Montessori 3-part cards have gained a lot of attention and popularity across the educational world. In fact, we even include them in many of our programs at The Gentle + Classical Press! While they may seem similar to flashcards, they actually are so much more. Montessori 3-part cards are a simple tool at first glance, but they provide a wide variety of practical applications - which are all fully adaptable to how each child learns, thinks, and plays! However, many of us simply might not know how best to utilize this beautiful educational tool in our homeschool. I know when I first saw them online, I was really unclear on what you actually do with them.
We long to provide a way for moms and children to engage education in a way that is fun, inspires wonder, and cultivates play. (Psst: You can read more about that here, and grab two full FREE units while you’re at it!) Gentle + Classical Preschool is a full-year preschool program. It is a blend of Charlotte Mason and classical studies. The BEST part? The Teacher’s guide is absolutely FREE.
We could talk about SO many of our whys with what we included in the curriculum but today we want to talk about our ABCs. As many preschool curriculums do, each unit has a letter of focus. However, we don’t begin with “A” but instead with “L” - why is that?
We are very "sorry, not sorry" for adding a new option to your pile for next year ;). If you're still exploring options, we wanted to make sure you have a FULL wealth of knowledge about how our Nature programs work, by getting your hands on it... legit.
That's why we compiled the first TWO units of Nature Volume 2 into a sample, just for you!
The preschool years seem to be filled with such “gray area”. Do our 2, 3, and 4-year-olds just need to play, or do they do school work too? What should they know before kindergarten? Do they need to know anything?
We love nature-focused unit studies around here. After much searching and pre-reading, we found a few very favorite reptile books that have been a hit with our kiddos.
Before we share the book list, we want to share a completely free resource you might enjoy….
Morning Virtues offers FLEXIBILITY, but, we don’t want you to just take our word for how much we love Morning Virtues, we want you to try a month on us! So, we are offering Morning Virtues: Courage free.
We often hear the question “what do I do with my toddler while we homeschool?” or even just a general “What do I do with my toddler?” Trust us, we get it - and it is an absolutely valid question. Of course, every family and situation is different, so all of the ideas we discuss today may not work for your family, but we long to help get the brainstorming wheels turning.
Check out a few ideas we have compiled below using our FREE list of Skills and Activities Checklist. We are hopeful this is helpful in creating a plan for your curious two-year-olds.
What a joy it is to explore the animal world and stand in awe of the creatures God has created! There are so many unique animals with different abilities, habitats, and features we don’t even know about! We have created this FREE Polar Animals fun pack to give you and your children then chance to explore the world of polar animals. Learn about the Orca whale, penguins, narwhal, and more! The recommended ages are preschool through 4th grade - but let’s be honest— no one is too old to enjoy the world of polar animals!
Are you in the season of reading instruction? It’s one of the most daunting aspects of home education and can feel overwhelming. But rest assured, when all is said and done, most of our children will learn how to read without too much of an issue.
There are so many aspects to learning to read, and if there is one kink in the chain, your child can struggle. Let’s take a look at a few areas students can struggle with when it comes to reading.
There is nothing like cozying up on a cold winter day with a cup of coffee, light music in the background, and something to keep your mind busy and off the long cold winter days. We designed this free Winter Fun Pack to add a little “spice” to your days, and to especially help your little ones in getting the wiggles out in a way that might be a little more productive and wholesome than just climbing the walls!
In a curriculum from the 1890’s, Charlotte Mason outlined a list of “attainments” that she believed were a challenging set of skills and knowledge that a well-educated child of 6 would do well to have. This list of skills is not for a child to hav e mastered BY the age of 6, but r ather to be challenged with AT the age of 6. This means that the following list of attainments are not a “kindergarten readiness” list but instead would be considered Miss Mason’s “kindergarten” program.
My little guys love ocean animals! As a child I had a deep desire to become a marine biologist. I mean, who doesn't want to swim with dolphins and closely observe whales?
Over time, the Lord had different plans for me, but that doesn't mean I don't still love ocean animals. As a matter of fact, Volume 2 of Nature (release: Spring 2022) is allllll about oceans and shorelines.
I don’t know about you, friend, but when spring hits at our home, we are out the door like a flash! School is a little harder to do when warmth, sunshine, and fresh air await us outside. (We will momentarily pretend like muddy ground, wasps, and pollen-apocalypses don’t accompany it!)
What are some milestones that I need to look for in my child’s behavior or abilities?
How do I know he’s ready for school?
How long should she be able to pay attention?
How much time should we spend on “school”?
My child doesn’t do ________, is that ok?
What are some ways that I can engage my child in a meaningful way during our busy days?
These are all questions I’ve asked over the years and questions I hear daily from busy, concerned homeschooling moms who want to make sure they’re doing best for their child.
Valentine’s is usually a “love/hate” kind of holiday for most. Some people are tired of commercialism while others adore the special focus on love and romance this time of year.
I’ll say that I squarely fall into the middle. I’m not one for “mush” but I absolutely love to take time to make sure that my family knows just how important they are to me. We have very simple, candy-centered traditions around our house.
Even if you don’t love V-day, I find that late Jan-February is typically one of the hardest seasons in homeschooling. And when you layer a year-long pandemic on top? Sheesh. So anything that can bring some light and joy into our lives as we suffer through the long stretch of gloom and cold of this generally abysmal month- well, I’m all for it!
There are truly a plethora of ABC flashcards available on the market these days- I even have four sets in my own shop. Once upon a time, this set was in my own shop as well.
But can we really have too many beautiful options? In the early years of education, flashcards become a staple in our homeschool and in our schooling space…
My Instagram feed is filled with gorgeous nature tables, muddy rainboots, and wild and free children. This speaks to my heart in an unimaginable way. While I may often get too busy to truly spend the hours out of doors that I would like... and sometimes the complaints about the heat just wear me down (we live near Satan's armpit), I know deep in my soul that being surrounded and immersed in God's creation is as close as we can get to touching him on this earth.
When I first began reading Charlotte Mason's own personal work (and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT, start here), I was slightly put off. I almost felt as if she worshipped nature. But I knew I had to be missing something important, so I pressed further in. Through prayer, I realized that Charlotte was passionate about nature because she was passionate about the Creator of nature. She knew that being immersed in Creation was a sneak peak into eternity and into the heart of our Father in Heaven. Our task as mothers is to simply help our children become thoroughly acquainted with Creation, capable of truly SEEING it with clear observation.
St. Patrick left an amazing legacy on the isle of Ireland that hasn’t been quickly forgotten by the Irish in over one thousand years! Each year, we celebrate his gift of Christian mercy, love, and compassion on March 17th.
After researching and learning about Ireland over the past 2 months for this issue of On Mission, I can see why St. Patrick loved it so. Even after escaping from captivity as a slave there, his heart could not be separated from the land or the people. God called him back- to HIS CAPTIVES- to preach the Good News.
“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.” -Charlotte Mason
I have no idea how many books I’ve read in my life, but I can promise you that they have shaped who I am and the way I live- drastically. The way I speak to my husband, the way I teach or discipline my children, the way I pray and seek the Lord- have all been shaped by books.
Books are powerful because words and ideas are powerful. Allowing someone else’s ideas into the most intimate places in our heart is a precious thing- a thing we must always approach with discernment.
Charlotte Mason tells us that ideas build upon ideas. And so the ideas that we develop are often rooted in the ideas that we have received from others. We receive ideas through conversation, articles, books, music, movies, television shows, and even our social media feeds.
I’ve been exceedingly shocked by the enthusiasm and reactions from the very-popular Preschool Morning Binder. And of course, as my own little kiddos get older, I knew we would need a slightly more advanced version of this great tool. Beyond that, since Level 2 of The Gentle + Classical Preschool is for ages 4-6 years and is a full Kindergarten program, I knew that most of us would want a morning activity binder perfect for our kiddos who are 5-7 years old.
So what is a Kindergarten Morning Binder?
We are annual zoo members and have been for years. Our kids have always treasured days at the zoo, and when the weather isn’t sweltering, I always have too. I feel like it’s an excellent opportunity to get out of the house and do a little roamschooling.
I wanted to create a tool for us (and for you!) that would serve our whole family. I have babies from 2 up to high school freshman, so it’s not often we do anything or learn anythign that EVERYONE can enjoy and benefit from. However, the zoo is definitely an excpetion to that. Furthermore, with this zoo explorers pack, that’s even more true than ever.
I received a text from a sweet friend last night, one who is in the thick of her first year or two of homeschooling. As she'd spent many sleepless nights cradling and nursing her newborn infant recently, thoughts and concerns flooded her mind over the progress of her 6-year old daughter's reading.
Anyone who has been in the thick of homeschooling for one year or 10 remembers those days well. Not one of us is impervious to fears, second-guessing, unmet expectations, and the torture of comparison. What follows is a version of my response to her concerns, that she and I agreed, should be shared with you as well.
Sometimes you just need a few visuals to help your students get the full picture. This year, we are using a living books science curriculum from Beautiful Feet (read a review here) for my 6th grader, while my older daughter is utilizing Sabbath Mood for her 9th grade Biology 1. Both programs are beautiful, thorough and engaging. But around here, we love a great display for visual reference as well as notebooking pages.
Notebooking pages are so simple. Honestly, it’s kind of silly. Why do those engage better? I have no clue. But they DO. When my girls have a topic-specific notebook page, they just get more “into” it. Maybe it feels more official than plain old notebook paper?
I have a tenacious 3 year old who wants to do a LOT of school. He loves to learn and do things just like the big kids. I love to encourage his desire to learn, so I created a "morning binder" for him after being inspired by Yoga Pants and Pearls when I ran across her on Pinterest. You can check out her take on morning binder here.
I initially downloaded her cute little printable but my OCD jumped in and reminded me that it didn't match the rest of the materials that I had created to complement The Gentle + Classical Preschool (<--- Click that for a FREE Preschool Curriculum)... So I had to make my own, while also using a few resources I'd already created to assemble a full Morning Binder for my little one. So here's what's in our Preschool Morning Binder (also, it's not a binder but I'll chat about that too).
5 Steps to an excellent, beautiful Preschool Morning Binder:
Wow! Have you looked lately for books for your little ones and been completely overwhelmed? There are SO many- and how can we know they are good books that are of high literary quality and don't counter with our beliefs and family culture until we've bought them? My sweet friend Hayley and I wanted to combine forces and share a powerful list of 107 books that we feel like every child should have read to them (or read) before age 7.
Many lists like this include a majority of chapter books or books for children with longer attention span. We have many of those, but rest assured that this collection also includes shorter picture books with gorgeous, engaging illustrations and fewer words per page.
Our littles ones can stay soooooo busy... right underfoot... all day long. Or even worse, when they disappear for a moment and get super quiet! Oh no! Rarely does that end up a good thing (sharpie vs the wall, anyone?)
Through parenting four kiddos, I've found that the best way to keep a toddler busy without pulling your hair out is to integrate them INTO your day. Sometimes, we tend to default to building our day, our schedule, our home environment around the child. This bring everything down to their level. Sometimes, it has the unintended consequence of bringing US (and our behavior) down to their level too. EEEK!
In part 1 and part 2 of this series (definitely go back and read those first if you haven't) we tackled the big question of evaluating our REASON for homeschooling in the first place and then used some worksheets to curate a homeschool vision.
Our big question # 2 is this: Are you being REALISTIC with your expectations for homeschooling based on your personality, the abilities of your child, the availability of your husband, and the number of hours in the day? In other words, are your expectations appropriate or even reasonable?
Hear me first on this, mama: When you homeschool, you are NOT a "stay at home mom". You are a work from home mom. You are a TEACHER who works at home- degree or not. You are wholly responsible for your child's education (which is BOTH terrifying and a huge honor.)
I was browsing Pinterest the other day, looking for some printable activities to use alongside explore birds with my preschooler. I wanted a fun, bird-themed opportunity to review basic math and counting skills that fit the season. Our yard is freshly filled with birds in the early spring, and there’s really no better time of year to pull our feathered friends into our homeschool time.