Why Morning Circle Time Is Our Touchstone During Homeschool Chaos

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 You are reading Why Morning Circle Time Is Our Touchstone During Homeschool Chaos, posted by Heather Mac, originally posted at Joyful Socks Mom blog.

*This post may contain affiliate links.  Please see our full statement of disclosure here.  Thank you for your support. 

The alarm goes off. I wrestle myself from bed and give my hubby a quick kiss for his final send off. I joyfully do my morning coffee, tea, bible reading, creative journal and quiet prayer time. 

This is good.

This is very good.

I am totally, almost feeling like a positively-charged-homeschooling "Beth Moore"-type superhero.

Then ...

•My youngest forgot a 4-H responsibility that needs done for meeting tonight, quickly sucking 45 minutes from life.

•The teen girl acts like she has never seen an algebraic equation in her life, although you personally witnessed her finish flawlessly just the day before. 

•Yesterday's laundry remains lying unfolded on the couch, a momentary taunting of my general lack of perfection. 

•The boy fidgets, and drags his feet all.afternoon.in.every.stinking.subject.

•My bible study group shows up, and since I have forgotten, they have witnessed all the above in full-on-mommy-self-destruct mode. 

Are you feeling me? Do you grasp the disappointment, despair and failed expectations?

Well, if you are a homeschool parent and you're still breathing ... Then I'm going to venture out and assume that you are in touch with these emotions. How can I possibly ward off these type of homeschooling disaster days???

You can't.

Sorry. Life happens. 

And because you home educate, life explodes right in the midst of your well-intention-ed plans.

Do not despair.

There is a touchstone to be had. 

There is still a consistent source for wrapping your children's heart-strings around family learning.  In fact, mommy's heart-string's need re-fastening every now and again too.

Morning Circle Time.

Now, let me speak clearly.

Morning Circle Time is NOT your homeschool salvation. It will not keep your day from unraveling, like I described above.  Life will still explode.  

Morning Circle Time is more of a touchstone, a pause in our day, before it truly starts.

That morning dose of clarity.

Positive outlook.

Possibility. 

Things may, or may not unravel from that point on. Homeschooling is not a perfect process ... Not in my house, at least.  The time spent in Morning Circle Time is not an insurance policy.  Morning Circle Time is more like priming the pump!

Why do I set aside Morning Circle Time after all these years?

•Spending energy on projecting all the positive possibilities our day can hold is a worthwhile task.

•Setting the thermostat at a "temperature" that promotes spiritual & heart connections, is far better use of our time then heading straight for the to-do list. 

•Consistent daily, gentle reminders of the bar of excellence we have set for our family vision are necessary to stay the course.  Our Morning Circle Time assures that we are like-minded in this endeavor.

Now that you know that just may be Morning Circle Time is a worthwhile endeavor ...

What exactly is Morning Circle Time? 

Exactly what the title denotes. A short morning gathering of our family, in order to participate in a few activities that will help us grow and start our day vision-minded, focused and positive. 

What does our Morning Circle Time look like?

•Daily, 25-30 minutes gathering, scheduled before any official academics. Our morning raising of our family's standard!

•We light a candle. A special candle, used ONLY for Circle Time. We open with a seasonal verse or song that we have chosen together. We then complete our scripture memory box.

•Now we do some activities. They are a little different each day, but here is a "basic schedule" we go by.  Each day has a different focus, or theme:

Monday - Nature, Hymns

Tuesday - Poetry, Handicrafts/Sketching + Kid Mentoring Minute

Wednesday - Creative Journal, Nature

Thursday - Geography, Gratitude Journals + Kid Mentoring Minute 

Friday - Games, Art, Folk Songs

•Finally we close with scripture.

Simple. Focused. Gentle learning.

The possibilities for creative and fun family-centered learning are almost limitless.  The activities that we do are well-versed and engaging, so this short little time adds much variety to our home education.  Let's not forget the simple joy of starting out our day with that sweet tone of gentle learning.

The kids enjoy the consistency.  I enjoy my ever-so-slight touchstone of sanity. Don't worry ... I won't let it go to my head.

I will bring you some more great activities and ideas for Morning Circle Time coming up soon.

Those smiles in the morning are worth every last little amount of effort.

What activity in your morning schedule helps your homeschool stay on target???

Joyfully Learning with You, 

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, & Instagram and our IG SHOP

Heather's Highly Recommended Helps: 

• North Star Geography - This is the way we globe trot!  Creating a real love for geography in each of my children.
• Homeschool Mom Winter Summer - No other homeschooling event is quite like this refreshing, encouraging, vision-restoring weekend for homeschool moms!  See you at Summit!

All Creation Sings of His Glory {Poem}: Nature Walk Wednesday

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** This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for your support. You can read my full disclosure policy here.**

A tiny trickle becomes the rushing mighty river,

Bubbling, flowing, following the path You have cut.

You control the rising waters, how far they will be allowed to go,

for dryness also is in Your hands, if it pleases you the waters to shut.

The river exists to serve Your will, to praise Your name.

All creation sings.

You are in each life, each heartbeat, every falling petal.

Beyond Your mighty reach, nothing extends. The small flower bends, sways, grows all according to just a thought from You. Not a moment of time, passes from your notice, time even on You depends.

The flower exists to serve Your will, to praise Your name.

All creation sings.

The creature so small, the creature that is great, all together hope alone in You.

Grace and mercy for each day, trickles from Your throne. The color of green for one small living thing, Was selected by You and painted tenderly with Your hand alone.

The creature exists to serve Your will, to praise Your name.

All creation sings.

The child wakes, and let his eyes be upon You.

Let his spirit rise up in prayer for every need.

The child reflects, and learns, grows in turn,

Yet let his every moment praise You in thought, and word, and deed.

The child exists to serve Your will, to praise Your name.

All creation sings.

Don't forget nature study this summer! You can still take advantage of this exclusive offer from NaturExplorers today - You can purchase the title Flying Creatures of the Night Sky normally for $8.95

USE DISCOUNT CODE: JoyfulSocksMom

Receive this title for only $6.00

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

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Flying Creatures of the Night Sky {Review + Giveaway} Nature WalkWednesday

** I received a complimentary copy of the Flying Creatures of the Night Sky in order to review the product, and all opinions of this product are my own.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.  * This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for your support.**

Spring has officially sprung here in Texas, and now it is gone.  Temperatures are beginning to rise, ever so slightly.  The days are longer, and the late sunset and summer hours have allowed us to venture to undiscovered places where the night creatures lurk.

We are moving on in our NaturExplorers series from Incredible Creeks (if you missed my review you may read it here), to Flying Creatures of the Night Sky.  This nature study series especially appealed to my older children.  Let me tell you why . . . 

"We are enjoying incorporating these studies into our Nature Walk time.  It has provided inspiration and a break from the daily grind, especially and most surprisingly for my 9th graders.  It has helped me realize how bogged down they have gotten with academics and is helping us realize our joy in learning together again." 

~ Heather Mac (from an email to NaturExplorers author, Cindy West)

Ouch!  That is difficult for me to say, but essential for me to recognize.  No matter how old my children get, I still need to harbor and nurture their love for learning.  They still need me to bless our home education by continually providing them with a gentle learning environment.  Over and over, I come back to the words of Roxanne Parks from Homeschool Moms Winter Summit 2014 . . . 

"What if God intended homeschooling to sanctify you and your children, not to train them academically?"

~ Roxanne Parks, Winter Summit 2014

Why do I mention this in a review post for NaturExplorers?  

Well it's like this, with the daily grind of homeschooling, anyone can get bogged down.  Simple, rich and economical products like NatureExplorers help home educators stay the course and keep their focus.  Even this seemingly creative home educator can run dry every now and again.  Using products from homeschool moms who have trodden the path before you is one of the greatest resources that you have, outside of prayer. 

So, join us in our re-discovery of joy in learning as we explore Flying Creatures of the Night Sky.

Activities Highlights:  

• Camping in the backyard to hear all the wonderful night creature sounds (and enjoy some smore's, of course)
• Night Time nature walks.  I am a total chicken in the dark, but my children are surprisingly brave about this!
• Building a Bat Box (kids are still working on this one with their dad)
• Tons & Tons of excellent notebooking projects and ideas.

What we all loved:

• This study was a wonderful summer extension for our Nature Study.  We began some of this study and activities in early Spring, got super busy, and restarted this summer.  What a wonderful enrichment it has been.  So many of the animals we wanted to study are out in full-force during the summer months.  Flying Creatures of the Night Sky is a great study for early summer.
• The uniqueness of discovering in God's Creation in the darkness.  During nature study we have historically "stuck to the trail" like good scouts.  As day-dwellers, the night can bring fear of the unknown.  We enjoyed drawing closer when strange sounds were detected, and discovering the source was usually a creature that God purposed for the night.
• The highlight of this study for the kids was discovering a ton of bats in the field behind our house.  They were amazed.  I was less enthusiastic.  Until I considered that this might help drastically reduce the mosquito population around our home. Score!
• I discovered this time around the wonderful Pinboards by Cindy West that helped us find even more simple and resourceful ways to extend our study of Flying Creatures of the Night Sky.  You can take a peek here on Pinterest.
• Once again, the price is right for this lovely 67 page, electronic book (PDF version), at only $8.95 each.  With such rich resources and lessons I feel this e-book is a thrifty option for any home educator.

What I did not love:

• Again, as with last time, my gripes are not truly gripes exactly.  These e-books are so rich and full of amazing ideas and exciting experiments, it feels a little overwhelming and difficult to choose.  The kids, however; really enjoyed having so much to choose from, so it may just be my anal-retention and inability to make decisions.

The joyful conclusion:

God's creation is so rich and full of beauty and mystery waiting to be discovered. The harried hoomeschool schedule can bog anyone down, and make it harder to rally the troops for Nature Study. NaturExplores e-books help to keep the creativity and motivation rolling, making outdoor time more attainable.

You can purchase the title Flying Creatures of the Night Sky normally for $8.95

USE DISCOUNT CODE: JoyfulSocksMom

Receive this title for only $6.00

GIVEAWAY! 

. . . and last but not least, Shining Dawn Books is giving away a complimentary copy of the ebook Bundle: Early Summer this week on my blog, to ONE fortunate reader.  This ebook Bundle includes the titles: Flying Creatures of the Night Sky, Frogs and Toads, and Peaceful Ponds.

Want a chance to win?  Complete your entry in the Rafflecopter below with a few simple steps and chances for extra entries.

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Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

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Welcome to the Gnomeshire: Organic Herb Gardening Gets Creative

It may be that we have read far too much of literature of the likes Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the Yellow Fairy Book  . . .

It may be that we enjoy creating and expressing ourselves through storytelling . . . 

It may be that mommy was just in the mood for a new healthy outdoor-type hobby . . . 

Whatever the actual reason the end result of our family-team efforts has certainly spruced up my front yard.  Welcome to the Gnome Shire!

My maternal grandfather loves to paint birdhouses.  He paints, paints and paints.  Then to top it off, he blesses others by giving them away to everyone who visits.  He has always been a generous and kind person.  Well, the result of his generosity is that we have ended up with more birdhouses than we have birds in our yard.  The solution became to pick-up some gardening tools and transform our front yard organic herb garden into a fully functioning Gnome village.  I wanted to take a few summertime quite moments to show you around our little garden.

We added a few succulent plants to give the miniatures some sprucing up and a more believable look.  Above you will see the home of the Widow Smith.  She enjoys shells, it reminders her of her childhood living as a young gnome by the seashore.

This little commune is the home to the Orphans of the Gnomeshire.  It's a happy, sun-shiny sort of spot.

I typically do not like anything planted in my herb garden that cannot be consumed for culinary or medicinal purposes.  I mean really, I spend money to water, time to plant, weed and tender care to all of my plants . . . I had better be able to at least eat you when it's all over!  Yes, I am that cheap.  However, you will see in the photo above some Foxglove peeking around the corner.  This was my sweet husband's contribution to the garden, so I will try not to complain.  Oh wait, I think I technically did already.

Nestled in a place of honor is the home of our noble Mayor of Gnomeshire.  He needs some lovely little plants for his front yard pots.  Any suggestions?  Edible of course!

Nestled between the town of Gnomeshire and the Bog Swamp, you will find the lovely cottage of Farmer Brown.  That is Chamomile, Garlic Chives and Tarragon that he has growing just to the right of his house.  

Peeking just over the Bog Swamp's hill, you will spot the Hermit's Cave . . . but he is a total grump, so we will just let him be and move along.

The bravest gnome, the Gameskeeper, lives just past the edge of the Peppermint Forest, home of the helpful Blue Tensies, and just before entering the Dark Forest, home to the great ancient dragons.  Lots of Peppermint and Oregano on this side of the forest.

There is the big tour of our Gnomeshire.  I hope that you feel inspired to get your hands dirty, spend an hour outdoors with the kids, or at least join as a family to create a fun story.

Lots more to come from the Gnomeshire this summer.  I will be sharing more about all the organic herbs we use in the garden, and lead to discussing how I use them in the house . . . aside from the obvious eating them.

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

NaturExplorer Books: Incredible Creeks {Review + Giveaway} Nature Walk Wednesday

** I received a complimentary copy of the Incredible Creeks Unit Study in order to review the product, and all opinions of this product are my own.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.  * This post may contain affiliate links.  Thank you for your support.**

The hopeful meditations of a coming spring have been heavy upon me these last waning weeks of extended winter.  The buds on the trees are giving me a peace, knowing that the season will soon change with the emergent joys of spring.  Joys that are best partaken of by preparing soil for the garden, airing out that spring wardrobe,  giving my house the once over spring cleaning (eventually), and emerging from our winter cave onto the sunny nature walk trails we have so missed.

We have been enjoying some early spring weather while on vacation in a more southern portion of Texas than we are accustomed to.  While enjoying a spring-ish break we had an opportunity to review some wonderful e-books and unit studies, from Shining Dawn Books, that have helped us welcome the new discoveries of an oncoming Spring.  The Incredible Creeks e-book is a wonderful starting point in Nature Study for children of all ages, and we are enjoying the chance to hit the trails again.

The ecosystem found in the amazing little steams of a commonplace creek can captivate both student and teacher.  The unit study Incredible Creeks has culminated this stream of creativity into a easy-to-follow and well organized study of such a simple looking realm of creation.  This Shining Dawn Book contains more resources and lessons than I could possibly list, particularly since the authors have designed this little e-book to be used by virtually any type of educator, be it Charlotte Mason, classical, eclectic, homeschool or public school.  The only limits to what you can do with this study will be time!

What we all loved:

• I enjoyed the background information given to me, the educator, and the many tips for observation ideas, and discussion topics suggested in the "Getting Started" section of the book.  This section helped prepare me and spark my inspiration as an educator, helping me to share more confidently with my students while experiencing our Nature Walk on the creek together.
• This book includes lovely images and Notebooking pages ready for immediate field work on your Incredible Creeks Nature Walks.  The Notebooking pages are easy to print from the appendix.
• The greatest portion of the book is "Getting Outside with Incredible Creeks" which includes your outdoor field study ideas, online resources, in-depth lessons and observation activities: from skipping rocks, to nature sketching, to analyzing water specimens, to fishing, this book truly gave us so much to enjoy.  For my family, this means that what began as a one week study has now been extended on to the next three or four weeks. 
• As a Charlotte Mason educator, "Branching Out with Incredible Creeks" was a wonderful resource!  This section contained many hands-on activities, ideas for composition and research, amazing selections for living literature, poetry study, art & picture study, composer study and biblical references and hymn study . . . all about creeks!
• The family-centered approach to learning continued with the inclusion of ideas for helping younger children to participate, as well as older children.  I was most thankful to have great suggestions for bringing excitement into the study for my teenage students.
• The price is right for this lovely 67 page, electronic book (PDF version), at only $8.95 each.  With such rich resources and lessons I feel this e-book is a thrifty option for any home educator.

What I did not love:

• I am not certain this is even a complaint, but this e-book was so full of such wonderful ideas, I had a hard time choosing!  However; having so much to choose from helped me to broaden our horizons, as well as to choose a few "interest-lead" items for my individual students.  We will be continuing this study, along with the other NaturExplorer Studies that we have planned for the remainder of March.
• My big pet-peeve with most e-book curricula is the amount of ink that it requires from the ink-sucking vampire that is my HP Printer.  However; again the authors of Incredible Creeks made it easy for me to locate most of the items that needed printing (mostly notebooking pages located in the appendix) making them simple to print without wasting much ink.  THANK YOU!

The joyful conclusion:

The Incredible Creeks e-book is a wonderful addition to any Nature Study library.  The freedom to create an amazing study for your family is made much easier and convenient using this book.  You will enjoy the moments found discovering together while using this e-book as your guide!

Shining Dawn Books is offering a discount exclusively to my readers and subscribers beginning today through March 18th, 2013!

**You can purchase the title Incredible Creeks for $6.00 using discount code JoyfulSocksMom at check-out. **

GIVEAWAY! 

. . . and last but not least, Shining Dawn Books is giving away a complimentary copy of the Incredible Creeks e-book this week on my blog, to three fortunate readers . . . psst, you need to come back next week for another great Shining Dawn Book and Giveaway.

Want a chance to win?  Leave a comment on the blog telling us what is your favorite subject to study in nature . . . then complete your entry in the Rafflecopter below.

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Many blessings to you all as you begin to thaw from winter and embrace the spring!

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

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Nature Study Menagerie: Why I Have To Make It Happen

Nature Study may not be the focus of our everyday study, but it is an important element that supports our love of learning.  When the world of our "home education" speeds hurriedly along, Nature Study reminds us to learn by observation and to revel in a perfect creation given by the most patient Teacher.

• We are blessed to have a beautiful nature trail in our local community that is dedicated not just to conservation, but education.  The Master Naturalists are amazing with the kids, and always eager to share their wealth of knowledge.  

• Even if you don't have such a blessing as a local nature center, I would encourage you to open wide the doors & make a place for yourself outdoors in God's wide creation.  Giving your children a moment to learn directly from their own Creator by observing His handiwork will be a continual blessing to them, and to you.

Master Naturalist and his daughter help teach the fine art of monarch tagging to the Bug.

The great Monarch hunter!

• We also utilize our Nature Study time as an opportunity to hone some of our "Charlotte Mason" handicraft skills, art, scripture memory, and poetry study.  When you are observing and exploring creation, your soul feeds upon all of the evidence of God in nature.  This feeding is an excellent spring board for feasting on actions that help in our meditating on God & His Word.

The Bug creates some butterfly inspired art.

The Scout and friend begin some butterfly stained glass artwork.

• Changing your environment can change your attitude toward anything that you may be learning, or struggling to learn.  Time outside helps to churn the stagnancy of the daily grind.  As a mommy and educator, I need this, most likely more that my children do.

The view of my favorite spot at the Nature Center from inside . . . what a difference in perspective!

Here are some of my favorite spots for Nature Study inspiration:

• Outdoor Hour Challenge (Not ALL Free, but worth the minimal amount for Studies) I love all of the resources from Barb at Handbook of Nature Study.
• FREE eBook copy of The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock: This is our family's FAVORITE Nature Study resource.
• Join in with Amy at Fisher Academy, she has tons of Nature Study & Charlotte Mason related posts.
• Maureen at Spell Out Loud is a continual wealth of Nature Study inspiration, especially for little ones.
• Here are some PRINTABLE FREEBIES from my home - enjoy!

Nature Study Notebooking Coverpages 
& MY FRIEND THE WIND: 10 Wind Unit Lessons + FREE Wind Notebooking Pages

Joyfully Learning with You,

The Joyful Socks Mom 

Be sure to keep up with Joyful Socks on Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

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