It's Apple Time

It's that time of year when apples are ev-er-y where!  We did not get to do a unit on apples last year, so I had a year to dream up ways to make this unit fun & engaging in our home.  I shared this apple printable (free) with y'all back in August, but still had so much more left.  This unit did not disappoint......well except that I would do almost anything to have orchards in Texas to take our kids to for apple picking!  One day.....one day :-)  In case you plan on talking about apples with your kiddos, here are some ideas!
Here are some of the books that we focused on for this fun apple unit.  And while we've already moved onto the next unit, I have to admit that we are still reading these because they are just so good!

Apples ~ It all Starts with a Seed ~ From Seed to Plant ~  A Seed is Sleepy ~ A Picture of God 3 in 1 ~ Apples and Pumpkins ~ Autumn is for Apple Pie ~ Secrets of the Vegetable Garden ~ How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World ~ The Giving Tree ~ These Colors are Bananas ~ The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree ~ Johnny Appleseed ~ Apples for Everyone

This unit allowed for objectives for so many content areas.  We spelled works with apples, counted, played apple bingo, talked about historical figures with apples, geography with apples, sorted colors, practiced fine motor skills, practiced handwriting, measuring, addition, patterns, made our own fun apple stand, some fun arts and crafts projects, learned the science and sequence on the life of an apple, practiced sight words, & of course baked an apple pie (which was actually my first ever apple pie!)
This truly was such a fun unit that we enjoyed so much that we lingered around the topic for a couple weeks after.  It was too much fun not to!

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!