If you find yourself homeschooling instead of your children being at school as usual, you may be be feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
Here’s a daily rhythm that you might find helpful in keeping this time as peaceful and stress free as possible:
* Rise & Shine! * Dress & hygiene Have everyone up at the same time each day. Get them washed and dressed, ready for breakfast.
* Breakfast & clean up Everyone sit at the table for breakfast, you can chat about your day ahead, and bigger children can help wee ones if needed. Everyone clear their own place, and give each child a specific clean up chore (washing the dishes, sweeping up crumbs, putting away the toast rack, etc.)
* Family Quiet Time Gather together to have quiet time, in whatever way that works for your own family. You may wish to pray, read your Bible, make a telephone call to a poorly, or elderly neighbour. Whatever works best for you.
* Chores Everyone can help here, even little tots can help sort out laundry; you’ll just need adjust your standards a little! Play some joyful music & set a timer.
* Reading time Take a bathroom break, then settle everyone down with drinks and snacks as you read aloud to them. Read fairy tales, stories of heroes, books of your children’s choosing, poems & rhymes, tales from history. Read whatever you have.
* Narrate Simply ask your child to tell back their favourite part of the story (or the most interesting part, scariest part, etc.) Older children can write this instead of telling.
* Maths games Play hopscotch, throw beanbags as you recite timetables, set up a wee ‘shop’ using tins and packets from the kitchen. There’s lots of practice there with addition and subtraction, and maths facts.
* Lunch & clean up
* Nap or rest time Everyone can lie on their beds and read / look at books quietly, or take a nap.
* Time out of doors Play in the garden, watch the birds at the feeders, take a walk around your neighbourhood. BE SURE TO KEEP YOURSELF AND OTHERS SAFE If you are indoors, then there are many videos with movement songs on YouTube.
* Creativity Lego, drawing, colouring, painting, knitting, sewing, playing with blocks, puzzles etc.
Exploring Nature With Children is an open and go curriculum. To make it even easier, I have created a free calendar for you to download. There’s a direct link in my profile.
If you’re following along with the community over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! Think of it as your virtual home school co op!
To enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum, this week’s hashtag will be:#ENWCwinterskyweek
This is the last day of the Phonology Wheel Guide sale. It is currently at the sale price of $6
Keeping a phenology wheel is a smashing way for you and your family to connect both with nature and each other. A way for all the family to gather together to spend time nature journaling; it doesn’t take up much time at all, and is perfect for families who have children of different ages and stages. Everyone can work together, but at their own level.
A lovely project to kick start your nature study for the new year; once your wheel is set up, it takes just a few minutes each month to maintain. You can find out more, and download the sample here.
Here’s to achieving our nature study goals in 2021!
Book : : The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden
Happy New Year! I hope that this January Nature Note finds you & your loved ones well.
If you are new here, and to Exploring Nature with Children, I’m thrilled that you’re joining us! January is a smashing time to begin to study nature. If you subscribe to the blog posts on the website, You’ll receive the monthly Nature Note, which will give you an overview of the month ahead, and also the weekly Exploring Nature with Children theme posts, which I hope will be helpful to you in your studies.
If you’re over on Instagram, do pop over and say hello! The Instagram page is very much about community; think of it as your virtual home school co op! Our community uses the #exploringnaturewithchildren hashtag, & also specific weekly hashtags { see above } to enable you to connect with other families working through the ENWC curriculum.
There’s a free ENWC calendar for the year to download here.
As always, please work the weeks to suit your own circumstances best; these are just my own suggestions!
Seasonal notes:
January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.
The planner runs from August 2020 ~ August 2021, and contains 106 printable planning pages for you to choose from (The PDF is 116 pages in total.) so there’s plenty of pages still to use to enable you to custom build your own planner for the rest of the home school year.
Written for the Charlotte Mason inspired home educator, the planner will help you to create your own personal road map for the year, and to be faithful in carrying out those plans on a daily basis. Make planning your year a simple and straightforward task, with minimal additional planning time through the year.
And Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Today’s activity
Today is often a busy day for parents; food to prepare, last minute wrapping, excited little people to keep busy. If at all possible, find time for a brisk walk in your favourite nature spot, to rid the wiggles from little bodies and rejuvenate older bodies!
This evening, just before bedtime, take your children outside to enjoy the wonder of the night-time sky. Remember the Magi who followed the most famous star of all to Bethlehem.
“Was there a real Christmas star, and if so, what was it? There have been many theories. Guy Otterwele has a nice discussion of the possibilities in his book The Astronomical Companion. Jesus was probably born sometime between 7 and 4 B.C. During this period a splendid candidate for the Star of Bethlehem was the conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in February of 6 B.C. An equally dramatic grouping of the three planets occurs only once every 800 years. the prospect of the planets blazing and dancing together on the western horizon might have seemed an omen of a great event.”
Do try to find a few moments to write a memory from today, in your Family Advent Journal. It will be a treasure for years to come.
Thank you for joining me for my nature-themed advent calendar. If you would like some more ideas to carry you through Christmastide, Exploring Nature With Children has a whole chapter devoted to The Twelve Days Of Christmas.
May I take the opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a peaceful new year x
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
Today’s activity
Give your child a surprise tonight: after they are bathed and in their pyjamas, instead of reading a story, bundle them up in their snowsuit or warm coat, and mittens and bonnet, then take them for a drive around your neighbourhood to see all the festive lights and dressed-up homes. Photographs for your Family Advent Journal of your child’s happy face is an essential.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Today’s Activity
Light some candles, gather up the eiderdowns, make hot chocolate, and crack open the Christmas sweets whilst you cuddle up together with your child this afternoon, and enjoy a Christmas movie together.
