Birthday Celebration at Lake Ouachita State Park - a campsite review

Campground: Lake Oauchita State Park

Location: Mountain Pine, AR

Site: 43
Hookups: 50 amp electric / water / sewer
Cost: $44/night
Cell Coverage: Little to none with AT&T
Overall Rating by Adults: A-
Overall Rating by Kids: A-

Our weekend trip to Lake Oauchita State Park had a rocky start. Storms rolled through just as we were leaving Little Rock and our windshield wiper broke. Sam was able to come up with a temporary solution, but it delayed our arrival. While we prefer to arrive before dark, we pulled up just in time to catch a glimpse of the sunset and discovered someone was already occupying our reserved site. This was definitely a first for us! We knocked on their door, but no one answered. The Visitor's Center was just a short walk away, but was already closed. The only other thing I could think to do was to call the after hours emergency line, but we did not have any cell service. After walking around I was able to find a spot with just enough service to get a call out. A ranger was able to meet us and in the meantime the occupants of the site arrived. They claimed they too had the site booked, although they did not have a reservation confirmation and we did. Moral of the story: When booking be sure you receive a confirmation and if not call the campground to verify that you are booked. I have had times when I thought I booked a site before, only to find out later that something did not go through. Thankfully, I have always caught these things ahead of time, but I can sympathize with the occupants that thought they had a site. The ranger was able to work things out and get them a different site, but by the time we were all set up it was well after bedtime.

Site 43 was well worth the wait. It is a full hookup, lakeside site with one of the best views of the lake. The sites in general are pretty close together (some of the closest we have seen at a state park). I'm sure they wanted to pack as many lakefront sites in as possible. However, site 43 is on the end and our door opened up to the swim beach and volleyball court. Not only did this make our site seem much larger than it actually was, but the kids could launch their kayaks, play with their RC Motorboats, or play volleyball all while I watched from the comfort of my own rocking chair. The only thing that could have made it better were if there were a place on the site to hang hammocks. 

The swim beach adjacent to us wasn't much of a swim beach since the water level of the lake was so low. It was an extra large sand pit with some seaweed filled, shallow water coming up to it. Perhaps it has potential when the lake is higher, but I definitely do not see how you could do any swimming in the area this time of year. However, the children did love playing in the sand and playing volleyball on the beach court. We did discover another swim beach at the other end of the campground that looked much better and actually had some children swimming and playing in the swim area. 

The marina is located just on the other side of the swim beach, making it easily accessible from our site. Most of our kids have their own kayaks, but we rented a tandem kayak and canoe so that all ten of us could go out exploring together. The cost of rental was very reasonable ($40 for the day, $25 for a half day). At 44,000 acres, one could spend an entire weekend exploring the lake on kayak and never even come close to seeing it all. We spent four hours paddling and covered barely a dot on the map! The wind was pretty strong, which did slow us down quite a bit. Thankfully, as you turn into some of the coves you are protected from the wind. The water is crystal clear, so it appears as if you are looking down into an aquarium. 

The kids enjoyed pulling ashore and exploring several areas. We came across a campfire someone had left burning along the shoreline, and remembering Smokey the Bear and all the fire safety lessons we have taught them, they went to work to put the fire out. They didn't have a bucket, but our problem solving son suggested taking apart the kayak paddles and filling them up with water to dump. While slow going, it worked great and they were proud of their good deed. 

Some of our kids enjoyed climbing on different rock formations, some enjoyed skipping rocks, and some just enjoyed rock hunting. Quartz crystals can be found in abundance along the shorelines and trails, along with some other rocks and gemstones. Regardless of their interests, there was plenty to see and do and explore along the shore.

Since it was our son's birthday weekend, he requested to celebrate with cotton candy. After paddling all morning, it was the perfect time to take a break and enjoy a yummy treat. We love our cotton candy machine, but I'm not a fan of sticky, candy floss blowing around inside our house so it is reserved as a treat for camping (or at least outside). 

After paddling 4 miles on Saturday, we decided we should hike 4 miles on Sunday (total mileage from the campsite ended up being 5 miles). When looking at the map, I thought Caddo Bend trail would be an easy, leisurely walk around the peninsula. Well, the trail was not at all like I was expecting! There is way more elevation change than I would have ever imagined. Up and down, up and down you go through boulder gardens! It's not a difficult hike by any means, but was not easy either. It is, however, an absolutely beautiful hike with stunning views of the lake. We saw a small, brown snake and some birds. One of the gentleman we passed said he saw a baby fawn and mama deer, but we did not. 

I didn't pack any snacks (again, thinking it was going to be a quick, easy, flat hike), but God provided ripe muscadine grapes we foraged along the trail. 

We took some of the side trails down to the lake shore and decided that the next time we do this hike we will bring bathing suits and fishing poles and swim and fish our way around the trail. 

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend and a fun way to celebrate our son's birthday. There were plenty of recreational opportunities and places to explore. The ratings from the kids varied from B- to A. My husband and I also wavered back and forth between a B and an A and settled on A-. Our teenagers definitely did not appreciate not having cell phone service, and it would not be a good location for my husband to work remotely from. The visitor's center does have WiFi you can sometimes connect to from the campsite. Some kids were also disappointed in the swim beach, and I really missed being able to relax in my hammock. However, it is one of the best campgrounds for kayaking. The lake is quieter than some, and there are so many coves to explore. You can't fish from the the campsite, but there are plenty of great fishing spots we were able to reach in the canoe. With water activities, hiking, volleyball, and rock hunting, there was plenty to keep our kids busy and there are still some things we would like to come back and do more of. It's definitely a park I would recommend visiting at least once.

For more of our Travel Adventures, visit the Travel page and follow us on Instagram @pocketful_of_treasures. And be sure to pick up a souvenir from Amazon or a fishing keychain from our Etsy shop to commemorate your trip.

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Petit Jean State Park Campground Review

Campground: Petit Jean State Park

Location: Morrilton, AR

Site: 17
Hookups: 50amp / water / sewer
Cost: $44/night
Cell Coverage: good with AT&T
Overall Rating by Adults: A+
Overall Rating by Kids: A

This State Park has been one of my favorites for many years. It offers so many amenities and recreational opportunities, and has only improved over the years. The park is well maintained and manicured. It is one of the larger state parks, but its paved walking/bike trail connects the campground to the visitor center, lodge, pool, and hiking trails so you never feel cut off from the rest of the state park. We do not pull a tow vehicle, but everything in the State Park was accessible to us. While the park is large, the campground has a small feel to it without much traffic. The kids were able to ride their scooters and roller blade without much worry of vehicles riding through. 

We loved site 17. It is a level pull thru site right on the lake with full hookups. It had a nice, level tent pad for the boys to set up their tent, and lots of trees for hammocks or a Ninja Slackline Obstacle Course. The kids had an absolute blast on their kayaks here. The lake does state "no swimming allowed", however, and we were not able to find out why. While they kids did not intentionally swim in the lake, this was the first place they tried out using their kayaks as paddle boards and there was quite a lot of falling into the lake. You can rent kayaks, but it is done through a private self-pay station and the cost was significantly more than we have seen at other state parks. You can, however, rent canoes and paddle boats from the small marina behind the visitors center for a reasonable price.

Fishing right here in the campground is decent (although we did get some lures stuck), but the best place for fishing is just a short walk away (you can cut through the path by the camping yurts) behind the visitors center. And while you are down that way, you absolutely should check out the brand new visitor's center. 

Hiking is one of our favorite recreational activities at Petit Jean. There are many options to choose from, but because we had recently had rain we chose Cedar Falls as our first hike. From campground to the falls and back, it is a 6-7 mile hike. If you are not up for such a long hike and have a vehicle, you can start at the lodge and it is about 2 miles round trip. We have hiked this trail many, many times and it never disappoints. It is the busiest trail in the park, so be prepared to share the trail and falls with others. 

If you are looking for a quieter hike, check out Seven Hollows Trail. It is a bit longer, but features a natural bridge and grotto falls. If you do not yet have Tim Ernst's Arkansas Waterfalls Guidebook, I highly recommend it.

This trip, however, we chose to bring the kids to Turtle Rocks. From the campground, it is about a 3 mile hike round trip, and definitely a big hit with the little ones. They run up and down the turtle rocks pretending they're on America's Ninja Warrior and have a grand ole time. It is a great spot to have a picnic lunch! You can walk just a bit further down to Rock House Cave and check out the ancient pictographs.

I'd say that the only negative to the State Park is that there is no swimming in the lake. There is a pool, but it costs an extra $5-$6 per person. Still, there is plenty to do here and overall it is one of our favorites! And if you are looking for a luxury weekend of camping, you could even skip cooking and eat your meals at the Lodge Restaurant. I highly recommend Petit Jean bacon and their burgers are the best! And of course, don't forget to collect your Petit Jean souvenir to commemorate your trip or one of these handpainted Arkansas magnets.

For more of out Travel Adventures, visit the Travel Page and follow us on Instagram @pocketful_of_treasures.

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Woolly Hollow State Park Campground Review

Campground: Woolly Hollow State Park 

Location: Greenbrier, AR

Site: 7
Hookups: 50 amp / water / sewer
Cell Coverage: Very Limited to No Service with AT&T
Overall Rating by Adults: B+
Overall Rating by Kids: B+

This State Park is well maintained and manicured. The sites are level with a nice tent pad and had full hookups. The bathhouses were in pristine condition. The roads are in excellent condition and because the camping area is a loop, it is the perfect campground for riding bikes, scooters, or roller blading. As one of the smaller state park campgrounds, there is not a lot of traffic, giving it a quiet, homey feel. There were not a ton of great hammock spots, but we managed to find enough trees to get four of our hammocks hung. 

If you get a lakefront site (which Site 7 is) the lake kisses the campsite. This was so convenient for kayaking! Several of our kids bought kayaks with their hard earned money earlier in the summer, and it has been such a wonderful invested providing hours and hours of fun! They could launch and return whenever they wished, and because the lake is pretty small we were able to have eyes and ears on them for the most part right from the campsite.

The lakeside site would have been good for fishing too, however our fishing lines kept getting caught on weeds, sticks, and other underwater obstacles. Our neighbor had similar difficulties fishing, and was delighted when our kids were able to rescue one of his favorite lures using their kayaks. In fact, the kids found quite a few fishing lines, bobbers, and lures. There is a nice fishing pier down by the visitors center, which is just a short walk away. We didn't catch any fish, but there were tadpoles and frogs in abundance.

By the visitors center there is also a rather large swim beach. The lake isn't exactly the cleanest lake in Arkansas as it is somewhat small and stagnant, but the kids did enjoy cooling off in the water. There is also a small marina where you can rent paddle boats and more.

Huckleberry Trail is an easy 3.5 mile loop that circles the lake and campground. We did not see much wildlife, but we are a pretty loud family. We did see one small box turtle and one itty bitty ring neck snake. 

While we did not do it, there is also a nice looking mountain bike trail that leaves out of the back side of the campground.

As a fun afternoon activity, we hung a tarp over a clothesline (high enough that no one could see over it) and played "Water Balloon Battleship". To play, we divided the family into two teams. Each team was given 60 water balloons. Each person chooses their battle station and has to keep both feet planted at all times. You then take turns throwing water balloons over the tarp, trying to hit members of the other team. When you are hit, you are out. You cannot move your feet, but you can duck and dodge trying to miss the incoming water balloons. 

The park rangers also had an "I Ate a Bug Club" program. We did this many years ago, but since several of our boys have not done the program, we attended again. They all proudly received their "I Ate A Bug" certificate. I was happier eating my s'more, lol!

Overall, it was a fun-filled weekend. Parents and kids rated the campground as a B+. The campground offered plenty of adventures and amenities, while still being tranquil. No cell service is difficult since my husband works remotely and is on call all the time (and my teenagers were not a fan of an entire weekend without internet, but I can't say that I was unhappy about that!). If the lake were a little bit cleaner and clearer, it would be perfect! Be sure to check out my Amazon Affiliate link and grab your souvenir on Amazon, or one of these handpainted Arkansas magnets.

For more of our Travel Adventures, visit the Travel Page and follow us on Instagram @pocketful_of_treasures.

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Dam Site Park Campground Review

Campground: Dam Site Park - a COE Campground 

Location: Heber Springs, AR on Greers Ferry Lake

Site: I24

Hookups: 30amp Electric

Cell Coverage: Full service 5G with AT&T

Cost: $22/night

Overall Rating by Adults: C/B-

Overall Rating by Kids: A-

We stayed at Dam Site Park on Greers Ferry Lake over Labor Day weekend. I have said it before, and apparently need to remind myself, that I do NOT recommend staying on a lake over holiday weekends. Quiet time hours were not enforced. Loud music, partying, and the occasional screaming fight continued well on past midnight. Now, if you are looking for a party spot, then this may be the place for you. However, if you are looking for a family friendly environment or a quiet retreat in the woods, then this definitely isn't the place; at least not in the summer, and definitely not on a holiday weekend. The park did slightly redeem itself by Monday morning as it started emptying out.

Site I-24 was very spacious. The driveway was 120ft long leaving plenty of space for our RV (and you could fit a vehicle and boat behind that). The driveway isn't very level, so be prepared to spend some time finding just the right ruts in the driveway to be able to get it close enough to use your levelers. We never got perfectly level, but it wasn't terrible either. The tent pad was spacious and could easily fit two tents. This oversized site has numerous trees for hammocks (we hung 5 and there were still lots of trees to choose from). There is a concrete picnic table and campfire pit. Our site was only a short walk down to the swim beam, and we had a trail through the backside of the campsite down to the lake. While not as convenient as some campgrounds to launch the kayaks from, we were able to carry the kayaks down the trail each morning and back up in the evenings. 

The downside is that most of the sites are pretty primitive, and the campground as a whole is lacking amenities. We only had 30amp electrical hookups. While we can easily camp without sewer for three days, going three days without water is tough. I-loop only has a vault toilet, and honestly the scent of sewage was so strong as we neared it that we couldn't even bring ourselves to check them out. For showers you need to walk either to the bathhouses by the beach or N loop. The showers are not that clean, water pressure also is lacking, and you have to hold down the button for the water to stay on. M and N loops are the only loops with water hookups, but you cannot easily access the lake from those campsites and the sites are significantly smaller. After walking the whole campground we decided that we do have one of the best sites in the entire campground. The campsite next to ours (I-25) appears to be the best of the best. It looks a little more level, has lots of privacy as it is down the hill slightly, and is closer to the water. 

The lake is very busy. The kids loved the fact that there were so many waves to play in, but you can't safely venture too far from shore in kayaks. Fishing is not great from the shoreline (too many rocks to catch the lures on). The lake is very clean and clear. The swim beach, while not very large, has very nice sand. Between the sand and the waves you can almost pretend that you are on a beach vacation. 

(These kids kayaks are our absolute favorite! They pack easily in the RV and provide hours of fun and entertainment. After watching our four year old hijack his sister's and easily take off paddling, we ordered another one for our next trip!)

If you are looking for some exercise, you can hike or run the trails at Josh Park Memorial Trail. The loops were perfect for a family cross country training practice. We even caught sight of some deer. There is also a small fitness station.

We initially rated the campsite a "C" due to difficulty in leveling, lack of water hookups, inability to watch kids on lake from campsite, party atmosphere, and rules not enforced, however come Monday morning when the park was quieter, we boosted our rating to a "B-". The kids rated the campsite an "A-" stating that the lake is one of their favorites due to it being clean and the fun waves. 

For more of our Travel Adventures visit the Travel page and follow us on Instagram @pocketful_of_treasures. And be sure to pick up one of these handpainted Arkansas magnets to commemorate your trip.

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Candy Land: Preschool Gymnastics Lesson Plans & Homeschool P.E. Inspiration

 

It has been a while since I have taught gymnastics in an actual gymnasium, but as a homeschool mom I am always looking for ways to incorporate some Physical Education and Fun into our homeschool day! So today's P.E. Inspiration comes from a Candy Land unit I had put together. I'll include the original lesson plans for those of you looking for lesson plans for you gym, as well as notes and ways that you can include some fitness in your homeschool day.

Warm Ups and Stretch: 10 minutes

Keep the balloons up – don’t let them touch the ground

Sit in pike and pretend to bake a cake… As you stretch forward you can pretend to mix the batter, put it in the oven, and decorate it with topping. You could even use different colored dots as "sprinkles" they will put on their cake. Have them identify the colors.

Play King Kandy says (similar to Simon says) and practice donkey kicks, jumping jacks, levers, lunges, walking on tippy toes (releve), and SLP

 All of these warm ups are great brain breaks in the homeschool day. A quick game of keep up the balloon or King Kandy can help get the wiggles out and tune in those listening ears.

Vault Circuit: 10 minutes

Run, Run, as fast as you can (Gingerbread House)

Jump off springboard, land two feet SLP (Safe Landing Position - knees slightly bent, arms straight in front)

Climb on ladder to trapezoid, jump off to SLP (Peppermint Pass)

1 foot, 2 feet (hopscotch) on mat - this one from Amazon is super cute

 A trampoline is one of my favorite fitness tools for the home! There are major benefits of rebounding for growing healthy minds and bodies. Hopscotch is known for propelling gross motor skills, improving bilateral coordination, and developing a good sense of body rhythm. 

Bar Circuit: 10 minutes

Single Bar: Swing and kick suspended balloons (Peppermint Forest)

P-Bars: Crawl through Candy Castle

Rings: Swing over Molasses Swamp

Low Bar: Hang with toes on in straddle position

High Bar: Hang and walk hands across bar (Lollipop Woods)

 We have a geometric dome climber in our backyard, which is perfect for open ended play, grip strength, coordination, and more! Most of the bar exercises can be done on this climber. Hang some balloons from the dome climber or cover it with a parachute hours of fun (and exercise!). We also have a Ninja Slack line with rings and bars, which is another good alternative for home (or anywhere) use!

Beam and Floor Circuit: 10 minutes

Walk on high beam over Cupcake Commons. Pick up one of the balls from the cupcakes

While walking on low beam, roll ball along Gumdrop Mountain

Cross Gumball Pass (sensory discs)

Roll down Ice Cream Slopes (forward, backward, log roll… mix it up each week)

Cartwheel over panel mat (strong arms on mat, jump to the other side)

 Downed trees and curbs make for lots of fun for balance work! I still remember trying to walk the whole way home from the bus stop on the curb without falling off. Painter's tape is your best friend when it comes to balance work inside. Place a line on the ground (or sensory discs if you have some) and some lines on the wall. Challenge your kids to roll a ball along the line without stepping off the line on the ground. BONUS, you can tape flashcards with math facts or sight/spelling words along the way. 

Wishing you all a wonderful year! I hope this post inspired you to be creative and have fun with movement with the kids in your life, whether its students at a gym or a little ones in your home. I'd love to connect with you all on Instagram @ pocketful_of_treasures. For more inspiration check out the Construction Themed Preschool Gymnastics and Movement Lesson Plans and Safari Week Preschool Gymnastics and Movement Lesson Plans. 

This post does contain affiliate links. Thank you for clicking on them and any ads on this site as they do help support me as a stay at home mom. I love creating content and encouraging other moms. 

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Keeping Little Ones Safe and Happy During the Homeschool Day

In my last post I shared about Homeschooling Multiple Ages. For me, the hard part is not juggling multiple grades at once, but juggling the toddlers and babies! Little ones are fast, busy, and at times can be very loud (although sometimes it is when they are quiet that you have more need to worry)! Unsupervised, they can quickly destroy a room or find themselves in danger. I'll never forget the day I was snuggled on our bed reading aloud to the kiddos. We were fully engaged in the story and I did not notice the toddler sneak away. Our daughter asked for a break to go to the bathroom and came back yelling that a river was flowing through the house. Our toddler had barricaded himself in the bathroom (by pulling out the cabinet drawer we could not open the bathroom door), stopped up the sink, and had the water turned full blast. He was giggling and having the time of his life splish-splashing in all the water. Thankfully, he wasn't harmed, but man what a mess that caused! Since then, we have started assigning "littles" duty. Anytime we are reading or doing school all together, I assign one of the older children to make sure they are keeping an eye out for escapees. 

I'm a pretty frugal person, but I am so thankful I splurged on this playpen. The price is worth my piece of mind and her safety. At 8 months old, our baby is crawling and exploring everything. She's no longer happy contained in a bouncy seat or even the pop-a-tot. She wants to be (and needs to be for development) constantly moving. Because we have a wide range of ages, the floor is not always a safe place. Probably more likely than not, there is a small lego hidden under one of the couches, or some other choking hazard in a little crevice. By having a space of her own, I know she is safe. And because she is right there in the middle of everyone, she is also usually happy. 

The toddler is a little more difficult. He plays very well on his own, but can be LOUD. He also often gets jealous for attention, which can cause him to act out even more. Here are my top tips.

1. Spend time with toddlers FIRST. We have a morning routine where after breakfast, everyone is to tidy up their areas and then watch World Watch. During that time, it can be tempting for me to catch a few minutes to myself to drink my coffee or catch up on whatever housework or school prep needs done. If I do though, I know I'm setting myself up for a miserable homeschool day. I have to use that time to connect with our toddler. Giving him those few minutes in the day fills his cup and sets him up for a day of independent play. Some mornings we can just snuggle. If he has a lot of energy I may take him outside to ride his bike for a few minutes. I may read him a book. Whatever it is, I make it known to him that he has mommy's full attention for the next 10-15 minutes or so, but then I need to go help his brothers and sisters with school.

2. Let them "school" too. It is usually my toddlers that WANT to do school, even though they are not necessarily ready to. If we are reading a book, I hand our toddler a stack of books to look at. If my big kids are doing workbooks at the table, I either hand our toddler a coloring book and crayons or a dry erase board. I love dry erase workbooks and activity mats because they can be used over and over again. 

3. Have lots of SNACKS! A full mouth is a quiet mouth, lol. 

4. Keep Legos, blocks, or other open ended play toys on hand. Before we start, I set a bin of toys in the breakfast nook. It is adjacent to the living room where we do school, so I can still keep an eye on him, but he is just enough out of the way that he's not a huge distraction. If I have a bit more time or know that school may take a little longer than normal, I may set up a car "track" using painters tape or make a fort. 

5. Be patient. Ultimately, it is going to take some child training and a whole lot of patience. Some days go smoother than others. Stay the course and keep fighting the good fight. 

Wishing you all a wonderful homeschool year! I'd love to connect with you on Instagram @pocketful_of_treasures.

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Homeschooling Multiple Ages

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Summer has flown by! It is hard to believe that we are already heading back to school, but unlike some I actually love this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I do love the summertime activities, but I crave the structure the homeschool year brings.  I also enjoy the challenge and excitement of planning the upcoming school year. This year we will have two high schoolers, a middle schooler, three elementary students, a preschooler, and a baby! Yes, I may be a little crazy, but I sure love all the ages and stages and spending the days learning and exploring with our crew. 

So how does one plan for homeschooling multiple children? I always start by writing out goals for each individual child, and I like to include my children in the initial discussion. What do they want to learn? What do they want to improve on this year? What did they like about last year's curriculum? What did they struggle with? The older they are the more involvement they have in choosing their curriculum. 

MORNING TIME:

We all start our school day together with Morning Time. While it is not an actual class or subject, Morning Time is what I consider to be the most important part of our homeschool day. After breakfast and morning chores, we all gather to watch World Watch News, a 10 minute program that delivers news and other information from a Biblical worldview. We then move onto a few minutes of family worship. We pray together, read the proverbs of the day, sing a song, and work on memorizing scripture. Our goal for this year is to memorize the book of 1 John. Afterwards, we read a chapter or so from our Read Aloud book, usually a Classic. We then work on a family goal together. Last year, we worked on financial literacy and took Dave Ramsey's Foundation in Personal Finance. This year we are going to work on learning Spanish together. While Morning Time only takes about 45 minutes total, I love it because no matter how the rest of our day goes, I feel like we accomplished the most important tasks.

HISTORY:

History is one subject we continue to do together with all the ages (aside from our Sophomore). Here is what that looks like.

Step 1: Choose a good textbook to use as the backbone. For History, I like using Masterbooks America's Story or World's Story. Typically, a textbook geared towards grades 4-6 is simple enough for the younger students to understand, but still contains enough material for you to build on for your older students. This year we are doing America's Story 2. (See High School Exception below)

Step 2: Choose historical fiction novels and picture books to supplement. I often read these books aloud, but during busy seasons have utilized audiobooks as well.

Step 3: Add daily writing prompts at an age appropriate level. For my younger kids, this may mean more drawing than writing. As they advance through the grades, I expect their responses to get more in depth. Writing prompts are great for helping a student truly digest the material they have read and apply it to their own lives. 

Step 4: Add hands on activities at an age appropriate level. This may be anything from lego reenactments to debates to board games to field trips and more! Children learn and retain so much more when they are having fun! Check out my homeschooling tab for ideas and inspiration.

SCIENCE:

Science is also done together in a similar manner. In the past we have used Exploring Creation by Apologia as the backbone for our curriculum. Last year, we reveled in Paleontology by Masterbooks. This year we are trying out Homestead Science. We are only one week in and loving it! You know you have found a winner when the kids are asking to learn more. But, we may need to buy some more land after this course! Each child will keep their own Science Journal to record their own observations and discoveries in an age appropriate manner. Here is an example I blogged on several years ago, but this method of Journaling continues to work well for us: Journaling - A Homeschool Study on Trees.

MATH:

Several years ago we switched to Math Lessons for a Living Education by Masterbooks and the more I use this curriculum the more I appreciate it. Lessons are short; however, the spiral approach is gentle but effective. After hearing from many other homeschool podcasters about CTC Math, we gave it a try last year, but ultimately the mastery approach (of introduce a topic, learn it, and move on) did not work well for our children and I felt like they were not retaining the information.

LANGUAGE ARTS:

This is where our family is all over the place! Some of our children learned to read very early (as young as 3.5 years old), and some of our other children have dyslexia and are very challenged by reading, spelling, and writing. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out which curriculum works best for each child. Here are some of the books we are using this year:

Abeka Student Readers

Treasure Hunt Reading

Wordly Wise

Language Lessons for a Living Education 

Daily Grams

If you need help teaching your child to read, check out my post Teaching Your Child to Read for some more ideas.

EXTRACURRICULARS:

We fill out the rest of our homeschool day with music lessons, Trail Life, entrepreneur opportunities, service projects, sports, and more! Our son used some of his money from mowing (thank you We Are Raising Men) to purchase a Hack Pack Subscription. This is by far our favorite STEM resource and will help him take his coding to the next level. 

HIGH SCHOOL EXCEPTIONS: 

Our Sophomore is taking most of her classes through a hybrid homeschool academy again this year. She will go to the academy once a week. There she will receive most of her instruction and assignments to do at home throughout the week. While her teachers at the academy do most of the assignments and grading, I stay highly involved and have had to make some changes to the curriculum, testing, and grading to meet NCAA standards for eligibility. If you have a high schooler that hopes to play sports in college, PLEASE look into these NCAA eligibility requirements. Some classes (like Biology lab) she will take through the academy for enrichment only, meaning I chose which textbook she will use, will be responsible for her weekly assignments, and will administer and grade all quizzes and tests. I will also be providing the format that I want her to write up her lab reports, but she will do the actual labs at the academy. However, for the most part she is doing her own thing apart from the rest of the children.

Our freshman will be joining us for most of the day, however, for history she will also use Exploring America by Notgrass. What attracted me to this particular curriculum is not only its biblical worldview (which is consistent with the Masterbooks text we will be using), but it is also available on audiobook and has suggested activities, quizzes, and tests for the high school level. She is also doing BJU Spanish 1 online and Apologia Biology.

Whatever you choose to do this year, I wish you and your family a wonderful, fulfilling homeschool year. I'd love to connect with you on Instagram @Pocketful_of_Treasures.

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