Spring is here!

Curriculum is rolling in. Every day the mail truck brings by another book I've tracked down to go along with our studies for this year.  As much as I love the holiday season and preparing for the birth of Christ, I love April even more.  At this point we are usually already celebrating the Easter season or just a few days away from doing so.

While I wait for our materials to begin our new homeschool cycle (we homeschool year round), we're wrapping up some projects and putting away some curriculum into the "did not finish" pile.  This does not mean school stops all together. By this time of year, we're usually pretty focused on math skills, writing projects and being outside.

While we're waiting for our new materials to arrive, we'll be working on a few different things together as a family. Our 14 y.o. has a busy schedule, but he still enjoys our couch subjects so I imagine he'll be with us for a good portion of it still. 

Note: This post contains non-affiliate links.  I just want to spread the love.

I've been a fan of Pam Barnhill for a long time. I love her Morning Time plans, although in our household Morning Time actually happens after lunch.  I've had her Easter Morning Time plans for a while, but this is the first year I've decided to roll it out. Previously our other commitments and projects have always gotten in the way. Easter Morning Time plans are a weekly spread of memory work, poetry, hymn selections, art appreciation and read alouds that will take you through the Easter Season.  I love that she has included both picture book and chapter book selections that will appeal to all of my children.  From a planning standpoint its a no-brainer. I print and bind up the plans, but I also print an extra copy of the weekly layout and punch it into my Big Happy Planner with the rest of our assignments and lesson plans.

My Big Happy Planner, Saint of the Day and Morning Time Plans

Way back in 2014, My  now 14 y.o. and I went on Road Trip USA by Confessions of a Homeschooler Erica Arndt.  I'm so excited to be returning to this with my 9 and 11 y.o. this spring. To shake things up, I changed up some of the spine books we'll be using to keep me from getting too bored. Where we are studying American History for the next two years, I chose an Atlas that had a little bit more historical information in it.  Road Trip USA includes a lot of recipes and some project ideas that we didn't make the first time around, so it will be fun to include those.  I'll share more as we dig into the program.  I expect it will take us 2 years to go through, which will line up nicely with the curriculum we've chosen.

Road Trip USA Teacher binder with two travel notebooks and some of the reading we'll be doing. 

Nature Study.  I'm so glad to get back into nature study again! We use Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock as our spine and go from there.  We just love this book and it has been a workhorse for us over the years.  We appreciate the paperback copy because its a bit lighter and can be stuffed in a backpack. There is a version of this book in the public domain as well, but having the book in hand is invaluable to us. I've been following Barb McCoy for years and enjoy her blog posts and her Outdoor Hour Challenges.  Although I do more freestyling on my own now with the nature study, she is always a great starting point for our family.  Teaching and planning out activities does not come intuitively so I appreciate being able to implement what others have created to share.

Lily-pads photo that was taken during impromptu nature study at a local aquarium. 

We will also be working through math and some writing activities that I will share more in another post.  I'd love to hear what others do during their breaks or transition times.