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What Comes After “Z”?
Last year, we started our homeschooling journey with a simple challenge… “If you could teach him to read before Kindergarten…” It was ON! Little did we know, we – my husband and I – would begin researching risks and benefits, techniques, statistics and more. What we definitely didn’t expect was to both agree that homeschooling might be our best option. The obvious starting point, in a journey to reading, seemed to be letter recognition. I planned daily lessons, in advance, which included youTube videos, learning games, crafts and books. Day by day, we knew what to expect, and planning was as simple as addressing the next week of letters. Then……
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Another Year, Another Post!
The past few months have flown by, it would seem. Between season changes, houseguests and our first all-four-of-us vacation together (longer than a weekend…) we have stayed busy. Even the pet portion of our family dynamics has evolved. I’ll try to catch you up… I say this as if we are pen pals, and I don’t even know if I know you. Funny, that’s just how I roll… My son has been growing by leaps and bounds. He managed to outgrow almost ALL of his pants in the course of a few weeks, and managed to no longer be able to squeeze his head through the holes of many a…
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Learning about Frogs!
We have two African Dwarf Frogs in our new fish tank and we’ve all been enjoying watching their antics. Being able to watch them swim to the surface for air, crawl around, float and eat has been very entertaining for all of us. It has also given us many opportunities to discuss life cycles and learn about frogs, as well as the other inhabitants of our tank. Below are a few resources I used to help continue the learning. Frog Metamorphosis Song by Singing Zoologist – My kids actually SANG along with this one. In fact, we’ve been singing it all over the house. Catchy, and a great way to introduce the word…
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Preschool Homeschool : The Letter Z
We opted to homeschool instead of enrolling our son in standard Pre-K. I am sharing with you some of activities to learn about the letter Z. Whether you homeschool or not, these are short and sweet ways to reinforce letter learning. We ended up skipping this lesson, as my munchkins had it mastered by the time we got to it. Walphabet’s ABCs Song I pour Pickling Salt into a cookie sheet and shake it a bit to make it flat. Then, I draw an example and the kids practice “writing.” Fun sensory play! Sesame Street Letter Z Highlight-a-Letter by Babbling Abby. I use these for my oldest (4), while my youngest (2), colors…
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The Second Spring! 2014
It’s Spring #2, here in the Houston area! My husband and I call it this because the temps have finally started to drop a bit again and it’s tolerable to be outside. This is the time of year when we go crazy at the plant nurseries and fill the van with goodies! Our initial theme, for our backyard, was The Garden of Eden! We wanted the yard to be full of producers – Fruits and Veggies. We invisioned an orchard of sorts. Producers are tricky things. Especially when our few years here have been scattered with drought and record breaking temps (high and low.) We adapted our goal to include…
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Letter Review
We have been focusing on letter recognition, lately, as the first major undertaking in our Homeschool Journey. Each day, I planned “school time,” which consisted of various letter-specific youtube videos and printables. We also did a letter-specific craft and a tactile activity (drawing letters in salt or making them with blocks) each day. My daughter adores learning time and loves to make people happy, so she was more focused on opportunities to learn, than she was with what HAD been learned or HADN’T. My son, on the other hand, likes knowing exactly how much progress has been made and what is left. He often asks how long it will take,…
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Preschool Homeschool : The Letter U
We opted to homeschool instead of enrolling our son in standard Pre-K. I am sharing with you some of the activities we did to learn about the letter U. Whether you homeschool or not, these are short and sweet ways to reinforce letter learning. Walphabet’s ABCs Song : We always start with an ABC song. It is something that they can get excited about, since they generally know the tune, and that everyone can enjoy. Walphabets Letter U We used Lego Duplo Alphabet Mats from 123Homeschool4Me.com. Both kids love it! My son is a VERY tactile learner, and these activities just ROCK! Sesame Street’s My Friend’s Ukelele Highlight-a-Letter by Babbling Abby. I use these for my oldest…
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Beginning our Homeschool Journey & The Letter A
This year, we opted to homeschool instead of enrolling our son in standard Pre-K. We did this for many reasons, both financial and personal. My husband, in an effort to encourage me away from homeschooling, did some research and read some studies. He finally reported that, of all of the studies that he considered legitimate, a handful showed that homeschooled children out-performed their publicly schooled counterparts. The remainder of the studies showed that they did the same. He found no convincing data suggesting that homeschooled children were behind in ANY area – EVEN SOCIAL! We agreed that it was worth considering. Ultimately, I’ve always felt led to homeschool our children…
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Hand-me-downs & Hand-me-ups
August 4, 2026 Note: I’m still a huge fan of handing things down & up. In the beginning of our parenting journey, we were on a very tight budget. The generosity of others was very impactful. I will forever be grateful for the many people who showered us with gifts and grace as we established our home and our family. Now, 13 years later, I greatly enjoy being able to hand things down to families that can continue to appreciate them. Even more enjoyable is seeing my children’s giving hearts. The original post was as follows: My husband and I have often discussed the fact that it seems “normal” for…
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Household Help: Cleaning Dryer Lint Catcher
Did you know that it’s a good idea to clean out your dryer lint catcher on a regular basis? Yeah, it is. NO, I don’t mean rub off the lint and put it back. There is more, you ask? YES!!! I noticed that my dryer has been getting a little hotter than it should. Actually, it’s always been an issue. Even the repairman a while back said he thought something was amiss… but he couldn’t figure it out. Comforting, right? Anyway… I make a habit of cleaning up the lint tray and even vacuuming down as far as I can in the space where it goes. I had seen a…
