Apples Are For More Than Just the Letter "A"

I interact with homeschooling families on a regular basis.  Lots of parents are often upset because their child is struggling with a certain curriculum. They want help as to how to make things work.  Many families with children with special needs are looking for resources to help them educate their children successfully. Families sometimes just don't know exactly how to resolve their issues.  If that is you, I want to challenge you to look at everyday life in the real world as a learning opportunity.

If your child is struggling with a specific curriculum, or if they are very young, and are struggling, I want to encourage you to just stop.  Stop what you are doing at the moment, and take a break.  Start looking at life around you for ways you can make learning fun.  Look at your day to day routine, and pick out some ways you can educate your child and have some joy and fun in your day.  You can always go back to the curriculum later.  I believe that children are learners by nature, and it doesn't have to be forced but will happen automatically, especially if applies to their everyday, walking around life.

With that in mind, I have created a little lesson for you based on some ideas I came up with simply by cutting up an apple for a snack for my children one day. Listed below are concepts that your child can learn just by studying an apple.

Apple begins with the letter "A." (Language Arts)

Apples are nutritious and contains lots of different vitamins and minerals. (Science or Health)

An apple can be cut into 1/2.  (Math)

An apple can be cut into fourths. (Math)

You can count the seeds. (Math)

You can cut the apple horizontally and find the star shape inside. (Math)

After you cut the apple horizontally, you can dip it in paint and use it as a homemade stamp.(Art)



Other activities you can do while learning with apples include:

-Learn the ASL sign for Apple.

-Draw or paint an apple.

-Learn to spell the word "apple."

-Plant apple seeds and watch them grow.

-Compare the different kinds of apples.

- Keep a running total of how many seeds you find in each apple you slice.  Create a graph.

-Look at pictures of books of apples.

There are so many things that you can do with just that one little element, and it can be so simple. I hope I have inspired you to think about your environment. My goal is to encourage you as you endeavor to educate your children that learning doesn't have to be hard for them or you.  Just look around and I am sure you will start to find many more ideas in your daily routine.

Many blessings to you,
Beth



A Time To Throw Away

"This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it."-Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

I have spent all day cleaning my house.  Seriously.  (Well, except for when I stopped to make homemade jello as a science/math activity for homeschool.) 

We just moved, so everything is still out of sorts.  The house we are living in now, is about 300 sq. ft., I think, less than the house we were living in, and we don't have a garage, just a little storage closet outside for outdoor type stuff.

So, this journey with minimalism continues. I continue to think this is important, getting rid of the unimportant to make room for what is really important.  It is changing my life and filtering across other areas like my walk with God, our homeschool journey, and even my health. 

I heard another scripture yesterday that has motivated me on this journey some more.  It is found in Ecclesiastes.  I will share two scriptures, just to put it in context.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens...

a time to keep and a time to throw away..."

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6b (NIV)

Now is definitely my time to throw away.  I am feeling a lot of momentum at the moment.  We lived for two months without most of our stuff.  And it was freeing.  And more comfortable.  So, now is the time to let go of some more.

I think a vision is starting to form of what I want the final picture to look like, and it is very much at the heart of what minimalism is all about.  I want only the important stuff.  A place to sleep, my Bible, educational items for the kids, the important dishes to cook with...these things are very simplistic in nature.

I look forward to what is to come and where this journey takes us.