This week is “Garden School”. We’re learning about plants, flowers and seeds. I absolutely love talking about plants because there is so much plant and growing imagery in the Bible!

It also works well because we just finished planting our own garden in the backyard! I want my kids to be attached to the earth in this way–to have them see seedtime and harvest. To experience the big miracle of a small seed producing fruit! It’s such a great picture of the seeds of God’s Word planted in their hearts and the harvest it will produce.

We’ve done a few fun plant activities…

Flower Matching: I made the flower on the left with craft foam. Asa copied it on the right.

Parts of a Flower: We talked about the roots, stem, leaves, flower and seeds.

We read some even more fabulous seed and plant books…

The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado is kind of a long story. So, your littles may not sit still for the whole thing. But it’s a great story about a little acorn who can’t imagine that he could ever be a big oak like his mother. She tells him to “be the oak God made for you to be”. It’s a great story about growing, the gifts God has given us and trusting in His plan.

I love love love Karma Wilson (author of the Bear series). I didn’t know until recently she had some faith-based picture books, too. Mortimer’s First Garden is a fun story of a little mouse who plants a garden and learns about the miracle of growth from the Creator! I LOVE THIS BOOK!

So, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny and The Tale of Peter Rabbit might be a bit of a stretch–but they do take place in a garden. And they are classic literature your kids should hear. The story is really about the folly of disobeying your parents. Plus, they get disciplined at the end! When was the last time you read a book where a kid actually got disciplined?!

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle is also not a Bible-based book. But after reading it I wondered if maybe it was a Christian book because it is almost Matthew 13 exactly! A tiny seed sees his other seed friends fall on different kinds of soils and eventually die or not grow. The tiny seed finally falls onto good soil and grows larger than the trees! Talk about a crop of 100 times!

After reading this book, I read Matthew 13 and we talked about how God’s Word is  seed in our hearts. We need to plant it on good soil, remembering it, reciting it and meditating on it. Then it will grow in our lives! We thought of a few verses like “Put on kindness as if it were your clothes” and “A gentle answer turns anger away”. I encouraged them to see those verses as seeds we want to see grow in their actions. It was a good conversation and I hope they understood!

You don’t have to homeschool to do these activities. Gardening is a great way to teach God’s Word and how to grow in Him. Grab some of these books, plant a seed and do some garden activities with your kids this Spring!

What’s your favorite flower or garden book?

Check out my Spring Has Sprung Pinterest Board for more garden-y fun!

Don’t forget, the Simplify Your Family Life eBook Sale ends TOMORROW at 8am ET. If you haven’t downloaded your ebook bundle, do it now!

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This week has been “Ocean School”! Each week, Lydia’s teacher picks a fun theme that will be a part of her every day lessons–in games, worksheets and crafts. I like to take this same theme and use it for Asa. It makes Asa feel like he’s doing Lydia’s school, extends the lessons for Lydia and it also gives me great ideas that I don’t have to come up with on my own!

I’ve mentioned before how I take one book and read it every day to the kids. I searched and searched for a book about the Ocean (or dolphins, or sharks or fish) that also pointed to God the Creator. I never found one. Do you know of any?

Because this week we have had so much fun investigating God’s creation. It’s been one of our best weeks of homeschool yet and I’m incredibly bummed I don’t have a fabulous GOD MADE THE OCEAN type book to go with it!

Here are some of the books we’ve read and loved this week…

And some of the fun activities we did…

Asa spooned beads into a little fishy ice cube mold. They were supposed to be Rainbow Fish. I did the red and black one to mimic Swimmy .

We played Sink or Float? and guessed which toy would sink or float. The kids also loved looking at the shells (which I found in the craft section at Hobby Lobby. Pretty sure some of them were dyed bright colors!)

We also did some fish coloring and cutting. Asa is wearing our Flounder hat!

Our most exciting activity was going to the Georgia Aquarium! It’s the largest of it’s kind and we spent an entire day (10am-4pm!) just exploring. We’ve been to the Aquarium several times but this was the best time ever because we spent lots of time just looking and watching. We got to know the names of the fish, asked questions to the volunteers and basically just admired God’s handiwork!

Throughout this whole week as we’ve been in awe of God’s creation, I’ve tried to turn our awe to Him. I want my kids to have a healthy respect and love for God’s creatures (and to take care of them!) but I want even more for my children to respect and love God as our Creator.

Last night, my husband put the kids to bed (it’s only fair after I did 10-4 at the aquarium, right?!) and just before Lydia went to her room, she leaned over the upstairs railing and said, “Mommy, I love Beluga Whales! They are my favorite animal in the whole world!” I love that she is so enamored with them. She wanted the stuffed beluga whale, the book, the shirt and more. So, I said, “Lydia, when you go to bed make sure you and Daddy thank Jesus for making Beluga Whales, ok?” I think studying creation is one of the best ways to turn our hearts toward the Creator!

“Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?” Isaiah 40:12 NLT

{Seriously, if you know any good Ocean books from a Creation standpoint, please leave a link in the comments!)

See more fun Preschool activity ideas at Homeschool Creations!

Well, hello! I’m back from my blogging break! Honestly, standing here today, I’m equal parts happy to be back and equal parts sad my month is over so quickly. It was nice to have that bloggy-space in my brain empty!

We’re beginning our 4th week of school and I think (hope? pray!) we are hitting a stride. I am feeling a little more confident in what we are doing. Plus our playroom turned semi-schoolroom is finally put together and clean! It’s amazing how much having a desk and being able to find your pencil when you need it is a big stress-reliever!

So far this partial-homeschool has been eye-opening. I can see new things about my daughter, about myself, about schooling and about what I want for our family. Here are my

TOP TEN THINGS I’VE LEARNED FROM OUR FIRST MONTH OF SCHOOL

1. Uniforms Are Cute

The two days a week Lydia does go to school, she has to wear a uniform. And I think she is the cutest thing ever.

2. Homeschooling Does Not Make You Holy

When I start reading homeschool blogs and I see all the amazing things these moms are teaching their kids, I get jealous. I so want to be the mom that leads my kids through creative and fun education. I want to intertwine God’s Word with Science, Math and Reading.

And I start feeling like homeschooling is the only way one can really really really live out our blog’s namesake verse,

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV)

How else can I talk about them all the time if they aren’t with me? And although this is one reason I’ve chosen to do this type of schooling, homeschooling does not make for automatic God-following, Jesus-loving kids.

I have spent entire days this past month focused on worksheets and handwriting and I haven’t remotely mentioned God or talked about Him when we sat down and got up. In fact, I was just trying to make it through the day without yelling at my kids!

No matter how often your kids are with you or in what capacity, you have to spend your time reminding them of God’s laws and love. This can be in the carpool line, at dinner-time or while you’re conjugating verbs in your schoolroom at home.

3. Just Being With Your Kids Is Not Enough

This kinda goes along with #2. I have to actively remind myself and purposefully put forth an effort to impress God’s words on my kids’ hearts. If that means talking about God the Creator during Science, or showing patience while making dinner or disciplining when they disobey, I have to make sure I’m doing it in such a way to point to God.

I know that seems so obvious. But because I’ve added a new hat and a new role to my parent-child relationship, I have just seen how much more purposeful I need to be with them in every area of life.

4. My Kindergartener Does Not Know How To Use an Eraser

Seriously. This has been a mini-lesson every day for a month. Who knew this is what I’d be teaching her?

5. 2 and 5 Year Olds are Different

While Lydia is doing work, I’ve set up tot trays for Asa. Watching the two of them “do school” in their separate ways has been eye-opening. It’s a great reminder in how different they are: learning styles, encouragement needed, love language, etc.

6. One on One Parenting

With Lydia gone to school, I am able to have a few hours of Mommy & Asa time. It has been really precious. I love hearing him talk uninterrupted and do things all by himself. It’s been good for him and me.

7. Sibling Love

But then right after a fun day of Mommy and Asa time? Asa can hardly wait to get back to his “Eeeya”! They love each other so much and both of them talk about how they miss the other one when Lydia is at school.

Can I just say this is one of the top 3 reasons I wanted to homeschool? I want my kids to be best friends!

8. School Supplies Are Fun

I’ve always loved back-to-school because of the new school supplies! And my favorite new school supply this year? This Mala Paper Holder from Ikea with giant paper roll ($13 for both!):

We seriously use this every day–for making lists, drawing pictures and more. It’s the best thing EVER!

9. I Can’t Do This Alone

One of the main reasons I like this partial-homeschool we’re involved in is that I have a group of moms and two teachers who are on the same page as me. I can email Lydia’s teacher at anytime to clarify something or ask a question.

I’ve also been able to save an assignment for when Daddy comes home. It’s helpful for when everyone is tired. And my husband likes to be involved with Lydia’s school.

And of course, I’ve gained a lot of insight from the online homeschooling community. There are so many fabulous mamas out there doing so much good stuff in their homeschools. I have to take a step back and remember I’m a newbie and can’t jump into all that at once.

{Speaking of online homeschool communities, did you see our newest partner, The Homeschool Village there in the sidebar? They are an online community written by 20+ different homeschool moms with lots of encouragement, reviews and ideas. Please check them out!}

10. School Makes Me Organized

Who knew? I have to keep all Lydia’s assignments organized which has in turn, made me organize Asa’s day. Which is making me actually keep up with my To Do list! I’ve got file folders, a notebook and even spreadsheets! What has happened to me?!

:: :: ::

School has definitely been an adventure. And I’m excited about this new season of our life. In case you were wondering (or worried) Impress Your Kids will not turn into a homeschooling blog. I may share stuff about our homeschool day with you once in awhile because it just is our life.

I want Impress Your Kids to be the place for parents who don’t get to spend hours a day with their kids, who don’t have a craft closet, who don’t know what kind of resources are out there, for those of us who want to do more but just wish someone would do the hard stuff for them. I’m not claiming to be any kind of awesome parent that knows how to do everything just right…that’s why I’m here. I need the accountability to spend purposeful time with my kids. And I want to share the things I’ve done so you can stick it in your own little file and use it when you need to. I hope you feel that I am trudging along next to you looking for the same encouragement and inspiration. I just want to raise my kids for Jesus and hopefully encourage you along the way!

So, how have you been this last month? Are your kids in school?

linked to Top Ten {Tuesday} at ohAmanda