Mom University (Mom U)

Hi Milk N' Honey Friends!  I have been mulling this over for quite awhile.  I read numerous books about parenting and sometimes I just don't have time to write a review.  But I do want to share them with you in a more personal way.  That's when I thought of doing Mom University!  I plan to make videos and share these books with you by video!  Yikes, that means I have to dress up and put make up on too.  Ha!  I look forward to sharing with you what God has been speaking to me as I read these books.  I will do one a month starting in September.  And if I read more then I will share those too. 

Some of these books I have already reviewed on my blog, but I want to add my personal touch by video.  Here is the breakdown of the school year:

*September-A Gentle Answer by Christin Slade (from Joyful Mothering-subscribe to receive FREE ebook)

*October- Become the Confident Mom You've Always Wanted to Be by Susan Heid (The Confident Mom) (Kindle)

*November- No More Perfect Moms by Jill Savage

*December- Wild Things: the Art of Nurturing Boys by Stephen James and David Thomas

*January-The Passionate Mom by Susan Merrill

*February- Be the Mom by Tracey Eyster

*March- Mindset for Moms by Jamie Martin

*April- The Unwired Mom by Sarah Mae

*May- Parenting from the Overflow by Teri Lynne Underwood


Most of these books I have on Kindle or downloaded for FREE along the way.  Have you read any of these?  I can't wait to share them during my monthly Mom U!  Be sure to subscribe to my blog and also to my YouTube channel to get all the videos.  Thanks!

And I will also give you a sneak peak from a book I will be reading a chapter from each month from The Power of Moms- Deliberate Motherhood.

FREE Homeschool Resources

I never started out my idea to homeschool by using FREE resources, but when I first found Brightly Beaming Resources to use for my 2 year old son, I fell into this hole of searching for free materials to use for homeschooling.  However, I have found some great websites that do all the hard work for me.  I just recently started subscribing to these sites, but I have found simply amazing resources that will help me to homeschool for FREE!!

Here are the websites I recommend:

*Free Homeschool Deals- My favorite one!  I subscribe to this blog.  She posts daily. (FREE ebook for subscribing)
*CurrClick- LOTS of free stuff here.  Be sure to create an account.
*Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies
*Blessed Beyond a Doubt-  Free Printable Friday


I suggest you subscribe to these websites and download the day you get the email.  Some downloads are only available for a limited time.


Right now I'm starting to organize all my downloads into subjects and grade levels.  Here are some of the downloads I have:

*Mammals Lapbook- Kirsten Joy Awake
*A Poetry Unit for Preschoolers- Preschool Powol Packet
*Magic School Bus Science Lesson Plans
*World's Greatest Artists- Confessions of a Homeschooler (monthly specials!)


ALSO, I'm part of a great group on Facebook called Christian Homeschooling Moms where there is tons of great advice, free curriculum links, good suggestions and a place to ask questions.

Another great resource is Teachers Pay Teachers.  And there are TONS of FREE downloads there.

I'm so excited to have found these resources.  As a teacher I used very traditional curriculum and I probably will still purchase some of that, but I also will utilize many of the FREE materials that I feel are the quality resources and that I will enjoy with my children.

Also, be sure to LIKE my Facebook page Milk N' Honey Learn and Grow as I post free links I find there ALL the time!  Thanks!!

The Healthy Lunchbox by Katie Kimball Book Review with Great Deals!

 

It's that time...school lunches!  Whether you are packing lunches to go or need lunches at home, this is the book for you to trade out the same old PB&J for healthy lunches that don't even require a sandwich.

 

Katie is never without great ideas for helping you make healthy choices.  She begins the book with 10 secrets to successful lunch packing.  She has recipes for Meats & Mains, Side & Salads, Breads & Not-Breads, Dips & Dressings, and Snacks & Sweets.  The tips and suggestions are not only interesting, but creative and fun!  Parents will look forward to putting together these healthy alternatives knowing that their children will benefit from the good choices and the kids will look forward to trying yummy food that will entice them to ask for more.

Some recipes I would like to try:
*Creamed Cauliflower
*Mexi Bean Dip

Tried these:
*Rice and Veggie Muffins- YUMMY!!
*Stovetop Cinnamon Rice Pudding- A WINNER!!
*Classic Granola Bars- Be sure to let them cool and then eat!!

  

 

Katie's new ebook is absolutely fantastic.  I can't wait to start making healthy and delicious lunches for my kids!!  Check out the great deals this week as you consider purchasing this ebook. 

 

GREAT DEALS:

* 35% off through Thursday night (8/29)
* coupon inside the book for 50% off the companion eBook, "The Healthy Breakfast: Cereal-free Secrets to Starting the Morning with Real Food" which will come out later this year.
* TEN bonuses with the premium package!
* 45 recipes, over 100 links to more resources
* five pages just of "what to pack" ideas
* coupons embedded for other cool lunch and green products
* 20 winners for over $700 in back-to-school prizes
 

 Get your copy today!

The Healthy Lunch Box eBook by KitchenStewardship

Language Lessons for Little Ones Volume 1 from Queen Homeschool

I taught Kindergarten for 12 years and I was given curriculum to teach.  Some of it I liked and some of it I did not, but I had to teach it.  Now that I'm a homeschool Mom, I get to choose what curriculum I want to use with my kids.  This past year I have been anxiously looking for just the right resources to use for PreK.  I am very pleased with what I have decided to use.  I have also found that I am not going to be too traditional in my approach to teaching.  I love to be in a box...but not really!  One of my friends showed me this book and I found it online and decided to use it this year to see if it's something that I will keep up with for Language Arts. 

Language Lessons for Little Ones by Sandi Queen
Perfect for the beginning student, these volumes for ages 3 - 5 introduce a young child to his alphabet letters, picture study, narration, poetry appreciation, and more, while volume 2 adds phonics, copywork of short vowel words progressing to sentences, with nice, largely-spaced lines to write on.

Toddler Learning Notebook (age 2)

 

 

My little girl turned 2 in May.  When my son was 2 I used Brightly Beaming Resources (FREE)  as a fun way to make learning intentional.  I will be doing the same with Jessna starting in September!

 

I plan to do two lessons a month.

 

This time I have made a Toddler Learning Notebook just for her to do while big brother is working on his.  I include in it all lesson plans, printables, Bible verses and other resources that I will be using.

 

What is in the Toddler Learning Notebook?

 

*Toddler Assessment- 1+1+1=1

*Printed lesson plans from Brightly Beaming Resources

*Shapes (PreK Daily Learning Notebook) and Numbers- Confessions of a Homeschooler

*Nursery Rhymes- Nellie Edge

*Bible Verses (Songs for Saplings) - Totally Tots

*Practice Writing page- Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve (she will most likely doodle, but we will cut out pictures that start with A and glue on this paper)

*Letter pages from Toddler Learning Notebook- 1+1+1=1

*Early Emergent Mini Reader- This Reading Mama (Reading the Alphabet Appendix) 

 

 

Here is a video of all the printables that I have listed here:

 

I will most likely be adding more things to this notebook as the year goes along.

 

I did not use a notebook when my son was 2 and I honestly don't like worksheets for little ones so young, but for me this is a way to organize what I want to do with my little girl and IF she wants to color, draw or do something else, that is perfectly fine.

 

I do not recommend worksheets for little ones, but I'm just putting this together as I see the resources are available.  I may abandon the worksheets if she has no interest, but I thought I might try.  I am very hands on and this will be just another hands on activity- fine motor skill of holding crayons and do a dot markers.

 

Since I have an older child who will be using his own notebook, I thought it would be fun for little sis to copy him.

 

Stay tuned as I will be sharing HOW I will be using this notebook for learning time.

 

Check out my PreK and Toddler Curriculum plans.

PreK Daily Learning Notebook (age 4-5)

I am so excited about this year!  I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my son and all the pieces are falling into place.  I stumbled around all last year due to the fact that my daughter became mobile and I felt like everything was falling apart.  My teacher instinct (12 years in the classroom) felt all out of place.  So, I have literally been spending lots of time scouring the internet for what will work best for me with minimal preparation and LOADS of learning combined.

This year I am doing PreK with my son who is 4 and will be 5 in November.  It's going to be a great transition year as we look toward Kindergarten in 2014. 

My greatest idea this year was to make a notebook that contains almost all of what we will be doing this year.  I know this will keep me very organized and I can always add things to it and it won't get lost my piles of paper.

First, I downloaded this FREE PreK Daily Learning Notebook from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I sent it off to be printed by FedEx.  Now, I can start adding to it!

*What's in this PreK Daily Learning Notebook?

So, in this notebook there is a weekday sheets, weather and time, I can write my name, 100 days chart, month charts, weather graph, number pages, letter pages, and shape pages.

*What else do I add to this?

Here is a list of what I have added to this notebook: all are FREE

K4 Letter Hunt- Confessions of a Homeschooler
K4 A-Z Handwriting- Confessions of a Homeschooler
K4 1-20 Numbers Writing- Confessions of a Homeschooler
Bible Memory Verses- Raising Rock Stars Preschool at 1+1+1=1
Bible lessons- Calvary Curriculum
The Gospel in the Bible theme page- When You Rise
Report Card- Confessions of a Homeschooler (Preschool Assessment included in a free planner)
PreK Assessment sheets- Me & Marie
All About Me Safety Organizer- This Reading Mama
Goal Setting for Kids- I Can Teach My Child
Preschool Chore Chart- Homeschool Creations
Who I Am in God- Homesteader Homeschool (I couldn't remember where I found this when I made the video, but it is free too!)
Calendar Add in- Mama's Learning Corner

More printable ideas:
First School
Education.com

There are a few more things in here, but you get the basic idea!

Video of our PreK Daily Learning Notebook-

And if you want more ideas about PreK, just visit my Pinterest Board.

I will share a run down of my curriculum and how I plan to do homeschool this year in late August.  I am starting "school" on September 9 since we have visitors coming and several things to wrap up before summer ends!  Love that I can decide this!

Also, we are not going to have a wall calendar like they do in school since little sis keeps taking off the numbers.  We'll utilize that in a few years when she is older.  I'll highlight  special days on his daily learning notebook calendar. 


And stay tuned as I break down how I incorporate how I will use this during my homeschool day!

Next, I'll be sharing what I will be doing with my 2 year old daughter!

Click to see our PreK Curriculum and Toddler Curriculum plans.

Learning with Thriving Family this Summer

This summer I used Thriving Family's Summer devotion: Around the World in Sixty Days.

We had a map, passport, stamps and lots of learning activities with Bible verses.  All of this was FREE!!  And you can also subscribe to get this magazine for FREE!

Video of the kids saying the names of all the countries we are studying: