Learning about colors?! Participate in a simple, yet fun "Color Hunt" at your local garden centre! | Find more over at The Prudent Homeschooler

Little Gardeners Learn About Color as they Search for Plants/Flowers at their Local Garden Center

If you have little gardeners who adore all things colour and full of life, head to your local garden centre for a simple, yet fun colour hunt!   Gather Your Supplies:   Clipboard with Colour Words Listed Pencil Camera/Camera Phone (that you are willing to allow your child to manage on their own)     If your child is able and willing, have him or her print a list of the colours that they would like to search for. We love the book "Pantone Colors" for its fresh take on colour, and used it to spell each of the colours that we hoped to find!   With clipboard, pencil,...

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Enjoy a Little Nonsense!

There has been plenty of nonsense going on around here lately!  Silly talk.  American Ninja Warrior chaos.  Babbling.  Running up the slide.  Climbing the railings.  Our three little adventure seekers have been exploring anything and everything that they can, and a great majority of it seems like NONSENSE to me!  And yet they exude joy and excitement throughout it all.   Take their advice.  Enjoy a little nonsense and wake up your brain cells!     COMING UP THIS WEEK ON THE PRUDENT HOMESCHOOLER   I am excited to share all about our fantastic 'colour hunt' at our local garden centre.  Armed with his clipboard and my...

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Five key elements that transform painting with preschoolers and kindergarteners from disaster to creative victory! By implementing these ideas, painting with little ones will be a breeze!

From Painting Disaster to Creative Victory!

Painting is by far one of our most favourite art activities.   I love the freedom that it provides our children. I love to watch their eyes as they select a colour from the palette. I love to watch their little hands move the brush across the paper. I love the grace and fluidity of the colours mixing before them. I love the creative expression that pours out from their hearts and minds. I love listening to their conversation as they work side by side. I love the beautiful mess!       In our home we do not have a homeschool room. You will not find a designated studio in which...

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How to organize children's books. We set up the best home library display! Are you considering how to set up your home library to better engage your little ones? Consider these 6 great ideas to help you create a home library display that will entice your young readers to both read and tidy up after themselves, while also maintaining a cohesive look in your home décor.

Six Solutions to Organize and Display Children’s Books

Are you considering how to set up your home library to better engage your little ones? Do you have books that you simply love, or frequent your public library often and simply haven’t found a storage solution to suit your home and style? Consider the following suggestions to create a home library display that will entice your young readers to both read and tidy up after themselves, while also maintaining a cohesive look in your home décor.     1.  Consider the Age of Your Children   In my experience, children under the age of 18 months will gravitate toward board books with attractive imagery...

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How do you express your creativity? Go ahead, and be contagious!!

How Do You Express Your Creativity?

How do you express your creativity?   Do you paint or sketch?   Perhaps you dance, sing, or play an instrument.   Do you like to dress creatively, or change your hairstyle or colour often?   Maybe you enjoy decorating your home, office, or classroom. Or constructing furniture to fill that space.   Journaling and photography are also fantastic ways to express oneself.   If you have a creative soul like my Oma, you might enjoy quilting, knitting, crocheting, sewing, gardening, and baking!   Creativity with Team V   I myself have always tinkered in various creative ways. Sewing. Quilting. Painting. Drawing. Dancing. Singing. Playing piano. The list goes on.   The important thing is that I have...

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I love being a mommy! So why is it so hard sometimes? An encouraging article about the struggle in finding the time to develop intimate relationships with each child in a larger-than-normal family. | The Prudent Homeschooler

My Biggest Struggle as a ‘Mama to Many’

Friends.   The struggle is real.   In just three months time we will have four ‘babies.’ Our oldest won’t even be 5 ½ yet. Some days I look at our youngest and realize that he himself is still a baby.   I’ve had some funny looks and even funnier comments. (Yes, we HAVE figured out what causes this! And clearly we’ve become quite good at it.) I welcome the comments actually. Everyone celebrates with us in his or her own way, and I find most of it quite entertaining.   Truthfully, I am THRILLED! Four babies. Four blessings. Four beauties to love on and be loved by....

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Growing a Garden with little gardeners. Embracing the Reggio Emilia Approach to learning by engaging our children's interests - dirt! Check out how we grew these gorgeous plants for our kitchen garden.

Growing a Garden with Little Gardeners

  Our children love dirt.   Honestly, they REALLY love dirt!   They love to sit in it, feel it, dig for worms in it, dump it, and shovel it.   On our less-than-an-acre plot of land, our children are farmers and they are proud of it.   So as I journey deeper into homeschooling our little ones, and explore with a Reggio Emilia approach to learning, I am discovering how to cater to their interests. And in this case, they are interested in dirt.   Related: Reggio Emilia, Child-Led Learning, and Unschooling   Growing a Vegetable Garden!   This year we added five more raised beds to our front yard garden. We now have eight...

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The Delight of My Heart

Over the past year, my husband and I have grown in our relationship in ways that can only come with sincere awareness and dedication. From the very beginning of our relationship we have known that the Lord has called us to be husband and wife and to journey this life together. Various trials throughout our marriage have solidified our calling to work together for the Kingdom of God, and we have learned much in terms of loving and serving one another as Christ has called us to, as well as embracing what it means to sacrifice our own selfish desires...

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Kindergarten 'Un-Curriculum' - Learning to follow the interests of our children to help them grow in their learning naturally and organically.

Kindergarten ‘Un-Curriculum’ (and what we are doing instead)

  Our children, aged five, three, and one, spend the majority of their days in self-directed play. Often I play together with them, attempting to engage in what their imaginations are creating before me. Other times I work in the next room, listening to their inspired stories, monitoring arguments, and mostly delighting in their amazing ability to create entire worlds and “movies” out of cars, blocks, animals, and loose parts.     At the start of our homeschooling journey I spent countless hours pouring over curriculum options and considering what might be the “best choice” for our Kindergarten journey.   Kindergarten.   I pondered that word over and...

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Decide to be PRESENT in Parenting to experience more of those beautiful "I love you Mommy" moments!

Suddenly “Mommy, I Love You” Means So Much More

  I remember an intentional mindset shift in my parenting several months ago. For so long I had been caught in a trap of doing and getting done. This influenced greatly my attitude toward our children and the attention I gave them.   Looking back, I recognize that I seldom read with them. I seldom played alongside them. I seldom looked intently into their eyes as they spoke to me. I seemed to ignore so many of those moments where my babies reached out to me for love. I unintentionally withheld the love that they so greatly craved – quality time. I of course had things...

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