Jay Miranda

Good Taste, Mom Life, Homeschooling

Pumpkin Crafts and Pretty Wreaths

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In partnership with Walmart

Wherever you are, I hope you’re cozy. If you caught my last post about fall decorations, you know we’ve been in a festive mood. The girls love their classroom space and working on crafts, especially ones that have a connection to the seasons. These fall craft projects are adorable while being busy-parent-friendly. It was super easy to get all our supplies from Walmart.

This month the girls made cute little paper banners, worked on Halloween greeting cards, watercolor painted, made pumpkins out of air-dry clay, and helped me get our fall wreath up. Here are a couple reviews of the products we used.

  1. We use a lot of watercolor paints and this varied set is fun; be sure to mix with warm water. The standout from this project is definitely the paper (our favorite watercolor paper by far) and the past couple times I’ve needed some, Walmart had the best price. The goal of this project was to play with layers, starting with yellow and building orange shades on top. I find watercolor painting to be so soothing, I highly recommend it.
  2. Pre-cut paper craft kits are fun, especially for little hands, and super easy to put together. Just tape the pieces onto some kitchen twine and hang around the house.
  3. Crayola air-dry clay is awesome. It allows the kids sculpt with minimal follow-up work for mom and dad since no clay baking is needed. The clay dries in 2-3 days and can be painted (by the way, I’m sharing my favorite acrylics paints below.) Very important: build your clay pumpkin around some balled up tin foil; it stretches the clay and makes the pumpkins very light. Use a toothpick to make the fine grooves.
  4. Everyone loves greeting cards in the mail and these hand painted ones are so sweet. This set of plain cards is so versatile. Julia had a lot of fun deciding who would get which pumpkin. The paint is acrylic and marker worked just fine for the faces.
  5. Choose your own wreath adventure. Are you the type who loves to build a wreath from the bottom up or are you more a put-a-bow-and-it-and-hand-me-a-command-hook type? Walmart has options for everyone, including me! A pretty burlap ribbon has never failed me.

Check out more crafting ideas to share with the kids this season. Happy fall y’all!

 

 

 

 

Comfy & Cool For School

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Sponsored by JCPenney and ShopStyle

Back-to-school shopping was a little different for us this year. The supply list for our third-grader looked like this: a microscope, lots of vintage books, nature study notebook, colored pencils, modeling clay, watercolor paints, and an abacus. Yep, we’re homeschooling. But my cool kid still needs back-to-school clothes, shoes, and a backpack for outdoor adventures. I want super comfy clothes that will withstand lots of play.

I found so many great things at JCPenney: cotton dresses and shorts in fun prints, sporty pants and jackets, quality sneakers, and the perfect backpack! Brands I always check out when I’m in the kids’ section: Arizona for jeans and basics, Xersion for activewear, and Reebok for sneakers. Take a look at Back-to-School at JCPenney for lots more inspiration.

Here are links to Julia’s outfit: tie-dye dress, sporty jacket, pink sneakers, and paisley backpack.

I loved shopping with her and letting her pick her favorites. We both loved this outfit and we agreed this is the most awesome nature backpack. This “mini” backpack is smaller than lots of other kid backpacks out there, but it’s the perfect size for her outdoor adventures; there’s plenty of room for sketchbooks, her pencil bag, snacks, and water bottle.

Here’s to a great school year!

 

 

 

History & Lit for my Charlotte Mason 3rd Grader

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To homeschool or not to homeschool? That is the question on every covid-homeschooling parent’s mind. We left the school district last summer to homeschool for our daughter’s 2nd grade year. Our bright girl thrived and we’re happy to continue homeschooling for 3rd grade. Over the past year I read a bunch of books about education, homeschool approaches, and most of all about the Charlotte Mason education philosophy, which is strongly aligned with our education values.

Last year we studied Native American history and European explorers.

Here’s a peek at our books for 3rd grade history and literature. (I’ll make separate posts for subjects not included here.) I specifically look for books of high literary value and compelling ideas. I drew from Ambleside Online to craft my own Year 3. For history she’ll be studying ancient Greece and an overview of British history. I think this will set the stage for a deep dive into the American revolution during Year 4. For literature, we’re looking at some classics and stories of heroism—people with souls of fire, as Athene describes them.

Island Story – A history of Britain. We started with the chapter about native Britons, led by the Queen Boadicea, trying to fight off the Romans.

A Child’s History of the World by V.M. Hillyer – I looked at several world histories for children and this one seemed the best written for this era. We’re currently in the chapter where Athens and Sparta unite against an invading Persia.

Joan of Arc – “Can girls be knights?,” my girl asked me. I got this book as an answer and I’m thrilled because it spends a long time on her childhood.

Robin Hood – A classic which I’m hoping will add dimension to the idea of what makes a hero. I got this one at Barnes and Noble but there’s also a free unabridged audiobook of it on Audible.

The Heroes – This book features ancient Greek heroes like Perseus and Theseus.

King Arthur by Andrew Lang – I looked at several versions but this one by Lang stood out to me from the rest. The sword in the stone continues to charm young minds.

Tales from Shakespeare – These are retellings by Lamb. Wonderful in their own right, but also great ways to build background knowledge of the plays prior to hearing/reading the originals. We started with Midsummer Night’s Dream and after our first reading, Julia was very interested in Athenian laws about women and marriage.

Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada – A book to read at toward the end of the year. A girl who is not especially favored, nor expected to rule becomes queen and must lead her country against incredible odds. We have to move through enough British history to get here but Julia is already familiar with the story. When we read about Boadicea she said her speech (“Will you follow me, men?) reminded her of Elizabeth’s. So wonderful to witness those connections being made.

A Wonder Book & Tanglewood Tales by Hawthorne – We’ll be reading a few more retellings of Greek myths from this classic.

Parables From Nature – AMAZING; one of our favorites so far! The caterpillar does not believe she will become a butterfly—what a silly idea, Mr. Lark. The spruce fir learns the law of the wood is mutual accommodation. A seaweed tests the bounds of what is knowable. Each chapter is a beautiful parable about faith, life, etc.

Mount Helicon – A collection of the finest poetry according to this hundred-year-old English school book. I know, I know. But all the classics are here so I’m thankful to have it on hand.

High Tide: Poems about Joy by Mrs. Waldo Richards – She’s one my favorite editors and this little book is packed with loveliness.

The Singing World – Edited by Untermeyer, another favorite, with children in mind. Like Helicon, but more expansive in scope and has more American poets.

Through the Year With Birds and Poets – Great for nature study and for, well, always!

The Girl’s Book of Verse – Excellent poetry from the gaze of girlhood? We’re in.

Exodus; Luke

John and I both want our girls to know biblical literature and it’s wonderful to be able to study the books individually through these editions. These books are beautiful inside and out and light enough for a child to pick up and explore. I got Genesis and Matthew last year. I added Exodus and Luke this year.  We read these at morning time along with poetry, music, and art. The books are part of the “Illuminated Bible” collection.

 

 

Our homeschool, one year later

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Last summer I wrote about how we left the school district in the midst of the crisis to homeschool independently. So how did it go? Like the characters in one of our favorite books—“The Hobbit,” we embarked on an unexpected journey with many unknowns before us.  As in the story, we too found handsome rewards.

Julia learned a breadth and depth of subjects unlike anything I could have imagined. We read more books than in any other year. Beautiful books. Native American history. World explorers and early American history. Latin. Poems, so many poems. Geography. Stars and planets. Shakespeare tales and literature. Math. Artist and composer study. Nature study. Watercolor painting.

Homeschool felt like a respite from everything that made us sad this past year. It’s thrilling to think that we may all finally be on a path back to normalcy. And yet I wonder how I will feel in that new normal because I feel forever changed by the past year. Our experience with education is a big part of that.

Once I knew we wanted to homeschool I started reading books about education philosophies and curricula. I kept coming back to one and it’s how we homeschool. We use the Charlotte Mason teaching philosophy. She was a British teacher from the late 1800s who was far ahead of her time. Here are some guiding principles and important details:

Children deserve a high quality, varied, and beautiful education.

We study a wide array of subjects.

Each subject is taught through short lessons… each about 20 minutes including narration.

Some subjects are daily, others vary over the course of the week.

We use high quality books with great literary value, with compelling stories and ideas.

A child learns through narration (e.g. after each reading/lesson)

Other things we do regularly: copywork, recitation, and prepared dictation.

Our 8-year-old’s school day consists of about 2.5 hours of focused learning time.

Our afternoons include outside time, free play, quiet reading time, etc.

Our homeschool is enriching and beautiful. But even with a good plan and schedule, it can be challenging. Some days I feel like I’m doing great as a mom/teacher and other days end up being lessons (for me.) But there’s a beauty to those rhythms too. Because this is our life. Learning is a part of our family but so are love, kindness, togetherness, and wellbeing. Sometimes the best thing to do is set aside our books and spend the day outside. Sometimes that feeds the spirit and mind just as much. I am thankful for every joy and moment spent with these little ones I love so much.

If you’re interested in learning more about this philosophy of education, I highly recommend these excellent resources: A Delectable Education podcast, the book “Know and Tell” by Karen Glass, and Charlotte Mason’s own volumes, of course.

I also find it useful to learn about contemporary issues in education, e.g. “The Knowledge Gap” by Natalie Wexler. While it’s about present-day public education, it helped me understand the benefits of a content-rich curriculum and systemic phonics instruction.

 

 

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