Forgetful Momma

Secular Homeschooling in Canada

learning

A Life of Homeschoolers Who Don’t Stay Home

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We’re about a month into our school year and I have notice one thing, we don’t stay home. Each and every day we are leaving our house at some point. Just because you homeschool does not mean you are stuck at home. We love getting out of the house, especially with the weather cooling down and public school back in session.

A Life of Homeschoolers Who Don't Stay Home

A Life of Homeschoolers Who Don't Stay Home

A Life of Homeschoolers Who Don’t Stay Home

*This post contains affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

We have started this year by getting into a little bit of a morning routine. I have always had my own routine but this year I’m trying to extend it to my kids. Our morning routine consists of course of getting up and getting ready for school.

[bctt tweet=”Homeschooling doesn’t mean that we are stuck at home! We’re always going. #homeschooler #ihsnet” username=”forgetfulmomma”]

Read Aloud

We do school four days a week. The BookShark curriculum we use is a four day schedule as well which was really fitting as we have done four days in the past and found it works best for us.

We start each morning with reading curled up on the sofa together. We are currently reading Charlotte’s Web, one chapter a day. My almost 4 year old isn’t too interested in it, but he does sit for awhile and listen.

We can read at the library, or at the park, or a playground. Plus, we have been loving audio books as we drive.

Science and History

We are rotating back and forth on science and history because that is just works best for us. One day a week for history – we might increase it later in the year; two days a week for science because we love hands on science and  science experiments.


Math and Language Arts

Math is probably one of my girls favorite subjects, they love it! So math and language arts are daily. Some days my kids are creating stories on their own, and I don’t interrupt them – their learning and having fun doing it.

Other days we do formal lessons.

Is there any place better than a grocery shore for working on math skills?

Getting Out

Each Monday we head to our local library for story time, while my girls are getting a bit old for it, they aren’t the only (older) homeschoolers that attend and we love getting stacks of books.

Once a week we head of the city to get groceries but also to get out meet some new homeschoolers, or to go the science center or a museum. Heck, we’re just happy to go to a library.

You can get a better idea of what a typical day looks like in this post.

Just because we homeschool doesn’t mean that we have to stay home. My kids are social beings. They love to get out. How about your family?

 

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Homeschool Planet – Online Homeschool Planner

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BTS-Blog-Hop-Sept-2018 What a Typical Homeschool Day Looks Like

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

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Over the weekend a friend stopped by with a bag full of frozen cherries, her freezer wasn’t working, so she wanted us to take them and make whatever with them. First up, cherry vanilla muffins. I’m not usually a cherry fan, but with so many in the freezer I figured I’d see what I could make and these cherry muffins were good!

cherry vanilla muffins recipe

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

We are big fans of muffins, like our blueberry muffins, so these were a safe bet, plus my kids love fruits and berries of all kinds, I haven’t given them one yet that they don’t like.

Our cherries weren’t pitied, but they were frozen. Being frozen made pitting them easy, but it was very cold on the fingertips. And those fingertips were red. I did not thaw our cherries out but instead made these cherry muffins with frozen cherries.

These are super easy to make, I did so without using a mixer (it was dirty).

What you need:

  • 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • ¾ cup finely chopped cherries

How to make this Cherry Muffin recipe

Mix together all the ingredients with the exception of the cherries.

Mix it well.

I know 2 tablespoons of vanilla seems like a lot, but it’s the perfect amount.

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

Fold your frozen cherry pieces into the batter. The less mixing the lighter your muffins will be. They also won’t be completely red.

There is only 4 tbsp of butter/margarine in these muffins, if you choose to use muffin liners, you are still going to want to use a non-stick spray.

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

My kids thought I was making blood muffins… yes, blood. I don’t remember the last time we had cherries so I guess it’s understandable.

They would be perfect for Halloween though if they look like blood muffins.

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

I hope you enjoy these cherry vanilla muffins as much as our family did.

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

Cherry Vanilla Muffins

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Delicious cherry muffins from frozen cherries.

Ingredients

  • 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • ¾ cup finely chopped cherries

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400. Line and grease your muffin tin, or just really grease it!
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry and wet ingredients, minus the cherries. Mix well.
  3. Using a spatula stir in the cherries until just combined. The less you mix, the more delicate the muffins will be.
  4. Evenly scoop the muffin batter into the prepared pans, filling ¾ of the way up.
  5. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until cooked through. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then remove carefully from the pan.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
© Ashley Mullen
Category: Breakfast

My must have muffin items:

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Healthy Banana Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

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Blueberry Vanilla Muffin

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Unit Study in Our Homeschool

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This is a first for us, we are doing a unit study. What is a unit study? I had this question, and dismissed the idea of doing on because I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. There are many different methods to educating our children, and this is just one more.

Unit Study in Our Homeschool

Unit Studies in Our Homeschool

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

What is a unit study?

But here is it is: a unit study is a collection of learning activities tied to a theme. They are popular with many homeschooling families because they provide a hands-on approach to learning that incorporates subjects such as math, science, language arts, and the social sciences.

Choosing A Unit Study

Why are we doing a unit study now? Because we have a fish tank. Yup, there ya go. We got a fish tank in November/December and have been learning a lot since – mainly me as I struggle to keep fish alive.

We are now getting into wanting plants as well, creating a small ecosystem. To me, it seemed like the simplest why to teach our kids about it, was through trial and error, and a unit study to keep me on track.

In a unit study you start out by deciding on your topic, ours being Aquarium ecosystem. You are also going to pick your subtopics. Our subtopics are Water, Fish Life, Plant Life, etc.

With that, you decide which subjects you can include such as spelling, science, etc, and what you will learn through those subjects. For example, we’ll be learning which plants are best for our small tank, as well as what we need to create a “cleaning” system in our tank – which plants would be part of.

Unit Studies in Our Homeschool

Free Unit Study Planner

If you’d like a copy of our unit study planner, head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store for your free copy of the unit study planner. OR you can sign up for my newsletter where you also get it and other products for free.

Sign up to join my Resource Library mailing list and you’ll be among the first to know about new items in the FREE resource library, new posts, and more!

Finding Free Unit Studies

If you have never done a unit study before it can seem very overwhelming. There can be a lot involved for you to plan. There can be a lot of paper work, or no paper work if that is how you chose to do your unit study.

Techie Homeschool Mom has great online unit studies for sale, but she also has some free unit studies for you to try out. This way you can if it is something you and your kids enjoy.

Free Online Unit Study

Recommended Products for Unit Studies

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You may also be interested in some more free homeschool printables this week:

Unit Studies in Our Homeschool

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

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There are a ton of free homeschooling websites out there. You just need some time to look and to know what it is you are looking for in terms of education style.

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

*This post may contain affiliate links, see my disclosure policy for more information.*

Let’s face it, there is so much curriculum out there that we feel like our head could explode, and we’d go bankrupt in a minute. But homeschooling doesn’t have to do that, and free homeschooling rocks!

*I want to add an update to this: EasyPeasy is included in this because at the time I was picking and choosing content from it to use. For only secular content, check out this post on solely secular websites.*

Free Resources for Homeschooling

There is no “fee” when choosing to put your child in public school, yes, you do pay taxes which then go towards education but you don’t have an up front cost to educate your child.

When we chose to homeschool I did so with the expectation that I would have a very limited budget. My budget is only what the school board will reimburse us for each year, per child, and I usually stay lower than that, because the money is coming out of my pocket.

Forgetful Momma – I am working to turn this site into a great resource for you all. There are a lot of free resources here. You can check out our homeschool page to find some fun science experiments for example to do at home with your kids.

Get access to free printables when you sign up for once a week email updates, I’ll only appear in your inbox once a week.

I do have a shop add to this site that you can check out. But there is still all the other free resources and activities available including our DIY Summer Camp activities.

PBS Kids Learning Media

I don’t use this one a lot, but its great for pre-planned lessons – you can create your own or use one that is already there. It covers all subjects which I love.

Easy Peasy All in One 

Looking for the easiest, free homeschooling option? This is it. She has laid out each day, the reading materials, lessons, everything. Or you can pick and choose what you want to use from it. (There is a religious bit to this one, but you can skip over it, there is no religion in the math section for insistence.)

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

Khan Academy

“With math exercises stretching from basic arithmetic through advanced calculus and a focus on personalized learning, Khan Academy is a valuable resource for homeschooling families. If you’re a parent who’d like to use Khan Academy in homeschool, we recommend following these steps.” – My seven year old loves this website! It is for math and science. My favorite part is that I can see which skills she has mastered, or needs to work on.

Book Adventure 

This is a new one for us, but we’re loving it!

Donut Writing & Art – Persuasive Writing

$3.00
Shop now

National Geographic Kids 

For one thing, my kids love this magazine, my grandmother bought them the subscription and its great. So we knew the website would be great too. There are games and videos, but my kids favorite part would be learning about animals. They earn badges as they do things on their site as well (once signed up).

Scholastic 

More lesson plans just waiting for you! Who knew there could be so much for us to use for teaching our kids.

7 Free Homeschooling Websites

How to Smile

This is another new to us one. They have a number of different topics to choose from for example the human body. You can then dive into all things human body, right down to blood typing. They tell you everything you need to know for planning to do specific activities from type to cost.

Resources for your Homeschool

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Make Grocery Shopping Fun with Your Kids

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We all have to grocery shop, it’s just a miserable part of being a grown up, and when you’re homeschooling its rather likely that you’ll be taking your kids with you. Do you dread it like I used to? Try to make grocery shopping fun, I know it sounds like a huge joke, but it can work. I hated dragging my kids store to store, listening to the whining, the fighting between the kids, the unheard whimpers from me as my head was pounding. I’m glad that’s behind us, or at least almost behind us.

Make Grocery Shopping Fun with Your Kids

Make Grocery Shopping Fun with Your Kids

Make Grocery Shopping Fun with Your Kids

*This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.*

Wondering how I turned our weekly shopping trips around? I made them as fun as I could while still getting everything we needed, in one day, preferably in one morning.

Make them your helper.

Let them help by reading the shopping list, or if they are younger, let them hold it.

Letting them pick the things you need off the shelf. My kids LOVE putting the groceries on the checkout.

Go on a scavenger hunt.

Make finding the items on your shopping list a game! There is nothing kids like better than a game, and to help mom or dad with something that seems so grown up. Plus, it gives you an extra set (or more) of eyes looking for items you need.

BINGO

Buy a game of grocery store Bingo. This is a great way to keep them entertained and looking around the store instead of fighting with sibling. This is fun way to teach/introduce food groups to your kids too.

Check out Kelli of Nest of Posies’ Grocery Store Bingo where you can get a free printable to play with your kids.

How do you handle grocery shopping with your kids?

At the end of your grocery shopping trip, you’re often frazzled and frustrated, and just want to escape it all… or is that just me?  Either way, try adding just a little fun into it and see where it gets you. If like me you’re already carrying a big ol’ purse, its not going to hurt to throw in something to make you shopping a little more bearable.

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Homeschooling at the Grocery Store

Homeschooling at the Grocery Store