Meet THIS Momma - Homeschooler of 3 boys!

About 1 year ago, I had received a message on my FB from a mom of 3 boys that lived in Ft. Worth.  A friend I had grown up with had connected us.

I enjoyed watching her journey on FB and I knew she had something special when I saw her post pics of her Homeschooling Room this year.

So I was so happy that she was willing to share pictures of her space.  This was a special room in her home where SHE would teach, laugh, learn and love over the next few years.  "Kayla, you can clearly see the hard work and pure love that you poured into this room"

...and I wanted YOU all to see it.  

Isn't this a COOL idea!?  I love my pocket chart calendar but LOVED seeing a new twist to how she used a tri-fold board to display her morning calendar.  It's practical and cute - AND it's PORTABLE!  You can fold this sucker up and take it outside, to the park, on a trip to the library...the possibilities are endless.  High-five for such an awesome idea!

You might have remembered me posting the picture above on my FB page...the picture of the 3 desks!  That 1 picture post got over 300 views!!!  Turning old desks into a practical and fun use!  **She used chalkboard paint for the tops!  And each boy got to pick out their color**

  

Every good homeschooling room needs a GREAT book shelf!  This one is so organized and user-friendly which is what makes this a great piece!  And I LOVE how this momma displays her monthly theme (Ocean here) on the top shelf!  

  And can't forget to mention this cute canvas above the shelf.  Such a great reminder!

Each kiddo has their own board to display their awesome work!  And I might have to steal this idea...we might have the perfect place in our home for 3 of these.  Can't wait to see how full they look in a month! 

...And then there's the drum set!  This honestly scares me, but she seems to be just fine with it.  What "BoyMom" wouldn't be ok with a drum set in their learning room!  High-five!

Here's a few more pics of how organized this mom is!  (just my style!)  Board games down low for her littlest learner to grab and go!

Here's their workbox system...labels ready to go!  Loving the world globe on top!  On the bottom left, you'll see her thematic sensory bin!  So cute....and here's a peek inside.

I don't know about YOU, but I wouldn't mind learning all day long in this space!  Sweet, organized and practical!  She diffidently has the teacher's touch and it's hard to believe that before she was a homeschooler, she was a pharmacy tech!   Thanks for sharing your ideas and passion, Ms. Kayla. 

SNACK ATTACK!

Do you feel like you are ALWAYS in the kitchen?  I know that I sure do.  And I was ready to do something about it.  

It was time to teach the boys HOW to make their own snacks.  They plan it, they make it and they serve it.

Here's how it works.

On Sunday, just like our Breakfast Menu, we sit down and fill out our SNACK ATTACK Calendar for the week.  N is "the cook" for morning snack and J is "the cook" for the afternoon.  WHY?  N can do this while I am finishing up my reading time with J.  So morning is perfect for him.  And J is always looking for something to do around 3pm.  His rest time is over, his school work is done...this gives him a task to do and he actually enjoys it.

It's posted on our fridge for ALL to see.

The boys fix the snack and place it on a cookie sheet to serve it.  I think it makes them feel special to carry out a BIG tray full of deliciousness.   

The person that "cooked" the snack, serves the snack.  This a great opportunity to practice manners when and while serving others.  It's such a joy to see it happen naturally, but sometimes they do need to be reminded to say their "please and thank yous".

Once our snack time is over, someone BESIDES the "cook", does the clean up.  I tell them this a a great way to say "Thank you" and show the "cook" that they enjoyed their snack made with lots of love.

If you are interested in a copy of this SNACK ATTACK calendar - feel free to leave a comment below OR you can email me at mommyslittlelearners@gmail.com. 

Happy Learning with your little ones!

Natural Born...Readers

HELLO!  Quick post, just in case you've missed hearing from me.

I get the question ALL the time..."How did you teach your kids to read?"  And my answer always is...they learned how to LOVE reading in my lap.

Isn't this quote so true?!  I don't have a lot of memories, as a child, of being read to.  And in all honesty, I didn't fall in love with reading until I was the responsibly party at the young age of 23 teaching reading to 27 first graders!  YICKS!

But I fell in love with the idea of making readers when my children were born.  

I don't know everything about teaching kids to read...but I can share a few tips to help you!

I don't even think J was 2 months old in this picture...but we were snuggled up...reading!

Start them early!

And here's Mini-M about 1 day old and we already included him into routine of reading.

Include them...all of them!

PUT BOOK EVERYWHERE!  And that means everywhere!!!!

Take lists to the grocery store or use maps to give them a sense of REAL literacy!

YOU don't always have to be the reading star in the house - Use books on CD in the car and at home!

Make trips to the library - frequently!  (Keep a separate basket for library books only...so save your sanity and $library fines$)

Invite special people to read special books.  

So, I guess my point is...if you want "good readers" then just read!  Snuggle up, for 15 minutes (or more) and enjoy a good book.  Read out loud AND think out loud!  Let your kids be apart of the story and apart of your thinking.

"Well, I wonder what I'd do if I was this character?"

"I really would be scared if this had happen to me...what do you think?"

Let them know that reading is FUN, it's a way into a new world and it's something that you do everyday, just about everywhere with everyone.  And make reading apart of your routine and your life. 

Now go grab your kiddos and a good book!

Happy Reading with your lil ones!

Photo Blog - Wheeler Workshop cont. Day 2 - Fun with Food!

Day 2 at the Wheeler Texas was so Yummy and so-much-fun!  

Our theme was "Fun with Food" and the workshop started out with a demo from our friends at Raddish Kids.  

Delicious recipe making homemade Hummus on Cucumber Boats.  And everyone got to try a sample!

 Time for Station Rotation!

ChickaChicka Boom Boom trees!

Fossil Food was a favorite!  But look at THOSE ingredients

Everyone got a cooking apron  compliments of my Dad at Ware Chevrolet!

Busy kiddos with their Moms

Salsa Station sponsored by Raddish

Another Cute Cook!

Yummy take-out trays FULL of yummy creations!

Recipe readers!

After tummies were full - it was time for door prizes!
And this lucky lady went home with our gift bag FULL of recipes and such from our friends from Raddish Kids.

Another Fun with Food - Moon phases with OREOS!

I found this excited resource on FB one day. Kitchen Science Experiments that YOU CAN EAT!

And I've learned that ANYTIME you can combine FOOD with learning, kids are all in!  And most of you know that we try REALLY hard to cook/create something on Fridays.  "Fun with Food Friday" is a big deal in our home and a great way to end the week.

Because it's summer and our summer has been crazy with traveling...we are just learning on the fly.  So this is just a random day that I happened to impulse buy a package of Oreos (Double Stuffed of course!) 

After naps, we watched this YouTube video on the phases of the moon.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCweccNOaqo

They needed some schema on this topic...I really don't even fully understand the whole moon cycle.  But I'm proud to say that after this lesson, I do now!

I sent the boys outside while I prepared their plates.  Making sure that they had the right amount of cookies to represent each phase.  I twisted them off and place them on a plate. 

When they came in from outside, they washed up and our lesson began.  I had this picture displayed on the tablet as we talked about the different phases.  

I used sticky notes to label each cookie/moon as we worked our way around the phases. They boys used a craft stick to carve out the icing to make each moon...then got to lick off the extra!  YUM-O!

Once our moons were created - I sent them off to play again!  It had taken us about 10 minutes to carve and cut the cookie.  And that's just enough for little learners.  We'll have plenty of time to come back for the next step...maybe even use it for our dessert!  I was also going to use the next step as a mini-assessment for what they had learned or didn't understand.

Cupcakes/Earths were created!

After dinner and before bath (easy clean up), I invite N over for his fun, informal assessment.  The orange plate is the sun, his cupcake is the earth, and I laid out all the labels to see if he could match up the moon phases. I had the tablet screen posted with the picture I used while we were carving out our cookies.  I think a 4 year old deserves a resource to refer back to, right?

After he placed them all, we called his Mimi and Bobo on FaceTime and he taught them all about what he had learned.

I worked with J the next day on his moon phases.  He had had a rough day, so we didn't do the activity with N.  I felt this was a fun reward that needed to be taken away for that day.

But with a great attitude, the next day, he was ready to go!  With J, I separated cookies and labels.  He had to try to place them accordingly, based off his prior knowledge.  Then we used the tablet to revise his thinking and discuss the specifics.  Daddy was home that day, so he got to share what he had learned with him.

 AND he was one proud dude!

There's a little peek inside a Friday filled with Fun and Food.  And now I get to eat all the left over Oreos during nap time!  SWEET!

Happy Summer and Happy Learning with your Little Ones!