Autumnal Equinox: Celebrating Autumn

Well, it's finally here! Autumn! In all of it's splendor! 

I simply love this time of the year and all that it has to offer!

The colors of the leaves, the smell in the air, the foods and drinks associated with the season. Warm, spicy aromas filling the house from baking, soups, or fall-scented candles!

I love cuddling under a warm blanket and reading a good book/books! Wearing warm sweatshirts and hoodies. Taking nature walks with the kiddos. Journaling what we see. Leaf collections, or rubbings. Apple tasting is fun! An autumn unit study is fun and can be as extensive as you want it to be. You can focus on so many various things, be it weather, trees, apples, pumpkins, animals, birds, migration, hibernation, football, pilgrims and Indians, leaves, autumn around the world, nocturnal animals, etc. There are a plethora of books to choose from covering all of the above topics and just simply "fun" autumn books that aren't really focusing on anything in particular, that we've read again and again. 

 I love going to fall festivals. There's the annual Pumpkin Festival we go to each year in our state. We also enjoy going to the Bob Evans Fall Festival each year. 

Carving pumpkins is a family favorite too! Making apple butter and hot mulled cider! YUM! I'm not really a fan of football, so that's not something you'll see on the television in our house too often. I do love Halloween, and so do my kids. So many parents are against this holiday, as they associate it with evilness. I know that all holidays can go either way. You can make it whatever you want. It can be innocent. We have lots of fun trick or treating and going through our candy when we get home! The best part is designing our costumes! Decorating the house is a must. My house is totally "autumned out" right now! I have orange lights strung in every room. Leaf garland, hay bales, scarecrows, pumpkins, crows, candles, vases filled with colorful leaves, owls, etc. 

We have a lot of fun visiting our local state forest/park and walking on their various trails and taking pictures! 

We usually pack a picnic lunch and sit under a big tree on a bench and enjoy the sights and sounds all around us while we eat. Then the kids pile up the leaves and jump in them until it's finally time to pack up the van and go home. 

The girls always pick out a pumpkin of their own and carve it close to Halloween. I like sitting them around the house beside pots of mums on the porch until then. 

We have so much fun learning together during ALL seasons, but it seems we tend to enjoy autumn and winter (Christmas) best. 

If you wish to have a list of the fall books/poems/resources I've read/used in our home, comment below and I will send you a list, or a link of my listmania list on Amazon of "Favorite Fall Books". 

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!

Learning with Index Cards

Recently I decided to use index cards in our homeschool for short lessons, as recommended in Charlotte Mason's books about educating children~ homeschooling or otherwise. I bought several packages of index cards, in various colors, labels, filing compartments, and mini boxes for individual use.
 This is no new idea or anything. In fact, I've read other testimonials from parents, in homeschool articles, on how well this worked for them.
 Keeping with the idea of short lessons and doing mostly reading for each subject (using "living" whole books: not textbooks), I have devised a plan to use these index cards with my girls for penmanship, vocab words, written narrations, copywork, geography, nature/science, math lessons, artist study, foreign language, etc. 
 For example, let's say I'm doing a lesson on Van Gogh. I might have them copy his name in their neatest handwriting and write down the name of the painting we are studying, along with a bio of him (depending on age of child). I have also purchased unlined/blank index cards of a larger size for artwork. Perhaps I may have them sketch a drawing of the work we're studying, say Sunflowers, and place in our box. That, along with the book I'm reading on him, and the painting we're studying would conclude the lesson.
 I feel like the index cards aren't so intimidating as a huge piece of notebook paper lying before them on the table, and they can feel accomplished once they are done with their work.
 I like the idea of short lessons on each subject. They seem to stay more focused and retain more from the lesson we are studying this way.
 Another example of this technique is: Let's say I am reading a book aloud to the children and we come to a word in the text that they've not heard before. After I've finished the passage I'm reading, I would go back and after having made note of the words in question, have them copy the word on their index card, labeled vocab words, or color coded, and the definition, and perhaps use it in a sentence the next day on another card of the same color.
 With younger children, this really shouldn't be required. Simply discussing the words together, or by using the surrounding words in the sentence, ask them if they think they can figure out the meaning of the word.
 This can work well when learning about individual states, using a different colored card for each state, with the state's facts. In foreign language, writing down the new word we learn, or phrase of the day. They can also make their own "flash cards" for math lessons. The ideas are endless. 
 We shall see how this goes. I love the flexibility of homeschooling. If this doesn't work, then we can always try something new!