Back to School: September 2018

I can't resist the opportunity for a comparison, before and after, picture. We do homeschool year-round, just because that works well for our family, but I still say that the new school year officially starts the last week of August, and I take our school year pictures then.  I am praying that these kiddos have so much fun learning and growing this school year; I know that they will look so different in May!

Cobbler or Crumble?

Y'all this is serious: there is an epic debate about some old-fashioned treats that needs to be settled.  Stat! I was reading a magazine flipping through my magazine looking at the pictures as fast as I could, when I came across an article that asked readers to "Name that Dessert".  Apparently, we don't know the difference.  For shame! Time to take the challenge to see what desserts you actually like.  Are you up for it? It might require some taste-testing.

It's A Cobbler!

A cobbler is a baked dessert that has a biscuit topping that looks like cobblestones (makes sense!)

Try this cherry-chocolate cobbler recipe

It's A Crumble!

This is a combination of baked fruit with a streusel topping (often called a crisp).  The topping typically includes oats.

Try this plum-nectarine crumble with hazelnuts.

It's A Buckle!

There is also a streusel topping on this dessert, but it typically sinks into the dessert.  Whereas the crumble was more of a fruit, a buckle has a cake-like batter that the fruit will sit in.

Try this Blueberry-Peach Buckle

It's A Betty!

A Betty is a lot like a crumble, except there is a buttery layer of breadcrumbs above and beneath the fruit layer.

Try this Apple-Strawberry Betty

Well there you have it. The debate is over!

We all now know the difference and will be able to feast onward!

So educational, and oh so tasty ;-)

My Second Morning

I don’t think I have always been an introvert, & I don’t think I will be one forever; however, in this season of my life, while homeschooling my young children, I am an introvert. I don’t get a lot of time alone where I can refuel, & I really need it.

In fact, while the world is awake, I am being emptied. 

The only time that I have found to refuel is when the world is sleeping. So I stay up late. Like really late.  I would rather be sleep-deprived & sane, than rested & crazy. (sidebar- I attribute my ability to work on little sleep to doctoral grad school). I see bedtime as “second morning”.

I stay up late because

I want to zone-out,

to read a book,

to be creative & write a blog post,

to mindlessly scroll through Facebook,

to enjoy the silence,

to prep the next school day in peace,

I always have,

to refuel,

to connect with the part of me that isn’t just a teacher, mother, or wife,

but

“mostly, I stay up late because it is one way I stay sane in this very intense life of mothering young children. This quiet, uninterrupted time to myself fuels me in a way sleep can’t right now.”

Honestly Hawley {August 2018}

It only makes sense that with September just about over I finally recap August, right? Yeaaaaaaa that about sums up how August and September went. Fast!  I tried really hard to slow down in August, and for the most part I did.  I made fewer commitments, took fewer pictures, and tried to be as still as possible.  Time still passed though.

Here are the honest, unedited, unscripted
scenes of our August life :-)
2016: June ~ July ~ August ~ September ~ October ~ November ~ December
2017: January ~ February ~ March ~ April ~ June ~ July ~ August ~ September~ October ~ November ~ December

2018: January ~ February ~ March ~ April ~ May ~ June ~ July

Falling Leaves Printable {FREE}

It's back to school time and apples, pumpkins, & leaves are every where. Leaves are the perfect resource to use for learning science & math concepts. What is better than nature, right? I wanted to share one of the math activities that we're using with leaves to practice math concepts and handwriting this fall.  I'm sharing it with you as a FREE printable today!
I am a big fan of having one activity that can be used to teach multiple objectives. It’s a big perk, if that activity will grow with my child & I can use it at multiple stages of cognitive development. And if it is seasonally exciting, well then I. Am. Sold. This is one of those activities, and I have it for you today FREE!  Let me share with you all of the ways we use this in our home.
First get the FREE download, print, & laminate (or put into a page protector). We like to use plastic leaves, fabric leaves, and even real leaves from outside that we have identified color and tree from.
Roll. Use foam dice to roll a number in the top 2 boxes. If your child is not counting above 6 yet, you can use a single dice.
Add. Ask your child to count up the dots, or to add them together for a sum. If you’re past addition, try subtraction. Comparisons also work great here (write greater than or less than on the sheet, or “write the number of the dice with more dots”).
Write. Your child could write the sum as a digit or a word, both numbers presented on each dice, or trace the digit or word. We use dry erase markers since they erase well on the laminated material.
Count. Using manipulatives, get your child to count out the number that was presented on the dice.
Fun. Enjoy!!!!
If you think your little one would enjoy learning with this, get your copy here for free!

Summer Book Haul: Part 3

Earlier in the summer, I mentioned on Instagram that I wanted to do a book haul blog post.  I pulled out all of the books that I purchased in June & July to share with you, but that was when I started to get embarrassed.  When I stacked up all of the books, there were a lot more than I initially thought.....and it was ONLY mid-July....AND it was before I discovered Thrifty Books.  I still had the rest of the summer for books to get as I was prepping for the school year.  Oh goodness Darby!  Today, I’m just sharing the last part of our summer book haul, from August.  I noticed that I bought a lot of sets and series towards the end of the summer, which may have led to it looking like a bit more? Or maybe I am just trying to justify my book binge?  Also I would like to admit that I have officially put myself on an indefinite book spending freeze.  I think it's safe to say that we have enough to read right now, right?

Summer Book Haul Part 1 found here

Summer Book Haul Part 2 found here

As a rule, I never pay whole price for books; almost all of the books I buy are used.  So where do I shop for books? Amazon, Usborne Books, Costco, consignment shops, Thrifty Books, & resale book shops. So let's dive into part 3 of this big 'ole summer book haul:

I purchased the Dash into Reading series

(plus the additional activities, not pictured here)

I completed, for me, the Usborne Illustrated Series.  We love these books, so I knew that we would enjoy reading all of these.  The Norse Myths are Dutch's favorite right now.  We already had the top 3 on the right, so I added the rest in August.

Tales of King Arthur ~ Greek Myths ~ Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales ~ The Wizard of Oz ~ Norse Myths ~ Stories from Dickens ~ Adventure Stories ~ Fables from Around the World ~ Shakespeare ~ Huckleberry Finn ~ Fairy Tales ~ Grimm's Fairy Tales ~ Little Women ~ White Fang ~ The Odyssey ~ Anne of Green Gables Also not pictured, but we also own, Stories from Aesop.

The next series I fell for this summer was by Dianna Aston & Sylvia Long.  I purchased one just to see if I would like it, & then I knew I had to have all of them.  They are so beautifully written to teach science and character at the same time.  Honestly, you can't help but linger on the pages!

A Seed is Sleepy ~ A Beetle is Shy ~ A Butterfly is Patient ~ A Nest is Noisy ~ A Rock is Lively ~ An Egg is Quiet.

The Tales of Buttercup Grove was another series of short chapter books, that I heard a lot about, & then I saw a big sale on the publisher's website, so I just got them all.  All of these books are seasonal, teach character, & relate back to scripture.

Sunflower Summer ~ Autumn is for Apple Pie ~ Winter Snow Fun ~ A Windy Spring Day

I forgot to share this with you in the first book haul, but we got this set of readers at the beginning of the summer.  They are fantastic, and have a lot of activities at the end of each book to test comprehension and to assist in teaching phonetic awareness.

My First Reading Library

I also purchased these Usborne books.  They are absolutely beautiful in the illustrations, but also in their messages. I can foresee us spending a lot of time in the nature books this fall.

Boy ~ Woodland Book ~ Amazing Women ~ The Nutcracker ~ A Tree

These two are great stories for our afternoon tea time.  The illustrations are gorgeous!

The Complete Brambly Hedge ~ James Herriot's Treasury for Children

Almost anything by Gail Gibbons I love, and so do my kids!  I love that these stories are so educational.  Gibbons clearly does her research before all of her books and each book can easily be used to teach children so much about so many topics.  These are the ones we picked up this summer for lessons this fall.

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree ~ Monarch Butterfly ~ The Honey Makers ~ Frogs ~ Tell Me, Tree ~ Knights in Shining Armor

Paul Galdone is another one of my favorite authors.  I love the illustrations, and the way he tells a story my children think is so funny!

Henny Penny ~ Three Little Kittens ~ The Magic Porridge Pot

These are the chapter books that I picked up to read this year for read alouds:

Little Women ~ Catwings ~ The Mouse and the Motorcycle ~ Matilda ~ For the Children's Sake (this one is for me) ~ Ramona the Pest ~ The Green Ember ~ Where the Red Fern Grows ~ The Penderwicks ~ The Little Prince ~ Ramona the Brave ~ The Secret Garden ~ Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library ~ Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics ~ Mary Poppins ~ The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Also not pictured here because I forgot it, All of a Kind Family

These are the picture books that we have for the year.  I have a unit for each of these books already ready to go.  We will focus on each of these books for a week with an emphasis on character development & growth mindset.

Ada Twist, Scientist ~ Outdoor Book ~ The Fire Cat ~ Each Peach Pear Plum ~ Violet the Pilot ~ Growing Vegetable Soup ~ Miss Rumphius ~ Randy Riley's Really Big Hit ~ The Relatives Came ~ How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World ~ The Best Pet of All ~ The Word Collector ~ When I was Young in the Mountains ~ Extra Yarn ~ Mr. Ferris and His Wheel ~ The Napping House ~ Ocean Meets Sky ~ Chicken in Space ~ The Pink Umbrella ~ Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color ~ Hattie and Hudson ~ Last Stop on Market Street ~ Islandborn ~ This is How We Do It ~ The Blossom Shoppe ~ Home ~ Snowmen at Night ~ Big Red Barn ~ If I Built a House ~ The Seven Silly Eaters ~ A Chair for my Mother

These two books I purchased to read as devotions over breakfast:

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing ~ The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New

Okay, so that is what we added to our home library and read this summer (see part 1 and part 2 for the rest).  What books do you have that your kiddos are loving?  Please share your favorites with me! I might be on a spending freeze, but I'm not on a wishlist freeze ;-)