My Homemade Seasonal Planner: Time for another GIVEAWAY!

Hello once again my friends, and Happy Thursday! 😊

As you might guess from my post title, I have some exciting news to share today! In celebration of the new school year upon us, and in honor of my "INSPIRE" talk tomorrow with Mary Ellen Barrett and Homeschool Connections (@ 2:45 p.m. EST - sign up here!), I am ... drumroll please ... 😉

GIVING AWAY ANOTHER HOMEMADE SEASONAL PLANNER!

Now, I've done this before so many of you already know the drill ...

Please leave your name and a comment below if you are interested in winning a copy of my (homemade) 2018-2019 academic "seasonal planner." (And to learn more about the planner interior, please check out "My Homemade Planner" archive.)

On FRIDAY, AUGUST 24th I will randomly choose a name and announce a winner!

While I have you though, here's a peek at a weekly spread in my planner. (The weekly spreads are really the heart of this planner!) I'd like to give you all a better idea how I use these pages to plan out our seasonal homeschooling ...

⭐️ 1.  OF NOTE: Here is where I list any events or activities "of note" for the week. For example, this might include birthdays, holidays, feast days, important appointments and social obligations.

⭐️ 2. THEME: I list our "seasonal homeschooling theme" in this space. (A list of all 52 can be found here.) This particular week shown here will be, "crows and corn."

⭐️ 3. MEAL PLANNING: That's pretty self-explanatory, I think! I use the bottom "notes" section for foods that tie in with the theme and season. (Example, fresh corn on the cob, corn bread, etc.)

⭐️ 4. HOME & GARDEN: Here is where I write down any extra housekeeping tasks and/or any home/garden projects we have going on. (Not our normal weekly housekeeping routine, but other things I'm/we're working on.) Currently we are tending and preserving our garden, organizing our son's supplies for college and cleaning the learning room, top to bottom!

⭐️ 5. QUOTE: Each weekly spread features a poem or quote that connects us with the season and in some cases, our weekly theme.

⭐️ 6. CRAFTS & COMFORTS: Here is where I list the ideas that support our weekly seasonal theme. For this particular week (September 3rd-9th) our theme will be "crows and corn." I will be listing things like "visit a cornfield," "corn from the farm stand," "listen for and observe local crows," "read "Raccoons and Ripe Corn." As it is also Labor Day on the 3rd, as well as our back-to-school week, I will list other "niceties" here like "make picalilli with Mum," "serve alphabet soup and gingerbread letter cookies," "make back to school gifts for the boys." (Important note: I do not ever fit all these things into one week! It's just fun to brainstorm possibilities, include what we can and save some things for next year!)

⭐️ 7. TO DO THIS WEEK: It is what it says it is! A place to list things I need to get done that are timely to this particular week.

⭐️ 8. WEEKLY RHYTHM: I use this space as an agenda - a place to write down our schedule (activities, appointments, etc.) - as well as for writing out "rhythm" activities. (For example, Monday is nature study day, Tuesday is for crafting, Wednesday for storytelling, etc.)

⭐️ 9. NOTES: I've been using this space for "free-form" lesson planning and record keeping - BUT - I just purchased an Erin Condren Teacher's Planner (!!!) because I think I might need something a little more detail-oriented for this coming year. I am not entirely sure yet how I will revamp this part of my planning page - I might use it for journaling and memory-keeping - but more to come on all of that!

Also, if you also notice, the colors I chose for the design of this spread are unique to September. Each month in my planner has its own color scheme and to my best ability is done with shades that reflect that particular time of the natural year. September's color scheme seen here, to my mind, evokes the changing landscape of late summer: the golden fields, the ripening rose hips and apples, the crisp blue skies and fading green leaves. ❤

(Now see, this is why I was so compelled to make my own planner! I have very specific needs when it comes to "seasonal planning!")

So there's a fairly thorough tour of a weekly spread in my homemade seasonal planner. I will be sharing more posts about my planner - the set up, the system, and how I will be sharing my 2019 planning pages with you all sometime later this fall. 

Next month (after we've settled into the new school year) I will also share a "how to" video, walking you all through the steps for assembling your own planner (it's honestly not as hard as it looks!), should you want to make one for yourself.

(All my planner pages are available in my "Printables" archive. Dividers, covers, backing and binding is done separately and I will talk about all of that, too!)

Well my friends, I thank you for stopping by and I hope to hear from you if you have an interest in my homemade planner! I wish you luck if you enter the contest and I hope to hear from some of you tomorrow at the INSPIRE webinar! Mary Ellen will be taking questions as we chat so let me know what's on your mind!

Have a wonderful evening and see you here again very soon ... ❤

Seasonal Homeschooling: Favorite Resources

Hello again my friends! Why yes ... this would indeed be the 2nd post from me to you in one day! Crazy, I know - but I have lots of things I want to share in regards to my talk for the Inspire Virtual Conference this Friday - sign up is FREE and open to all! So I'm trying to get as many posts up before my afternoon chat, "Seasonal Homeschooling: Cultivating a Gentle, Grateful Year." :)

(Oh, and for those who asked, I will be able to share a link post-webinar for those who can't join us on Friday ... so, yay!)

For this evening's post though, I'd like to share some of my favorite "go-to" resources when it comes to our seasonal homeschooling. I've had most of these books for many years - many are nature-based, some are Waldorf-inspired and several are geared toward Catholic tradition. ALL have been wonderful as I brainstorm ideas for exploring our themes for the year!

All Year Round • Festivals, Family and Food • Making the Children's Year • Naturally Fun Parties for Kids • Findus, Food & Fun: Seasonal Crafts and Nature Activities • A Child's Seasonal Treasury • Usborne Book of the Seasons • Mrs. Sharp's Traditions • When the Moon is Full: A Lunar Year • Be Blest • Festivals with Children • Storytelling with Children 

The Butt'ry Shelf Almanac • China Bayle's Book of Days • Mary's Flowers: Gardens, Legends & Meditations • Catholic Traditions in the Garden • Holidays & Holy Nights • A Book of Feasts and Seasons • A Continual Feast • Catholic Traditions in the Home and Classroom • Earth Psalms: Reflections on How God Speaks through Nature • All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings • Earthways: Simple Environmental Activities for Young Children • The Catholic Parent Book of Feasts • The Big Book of Catholic Customs and Traditions

I have lots of other resources for seasonal planning, but these are the ones I tend to reach for most often. I'd love to hear about yours, too!

(Note - in full disclosure, as explained on my right-hand sidebar - I am a member of the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. If you click though to Amazon from a link on this blog and make a purchase, I will receive a commission from Amazon. Thanks in advance if you click through my links!)

 

❤

 

Have a wonderful Thursday, my friends! More "seasonal planning" posts to come in the next day or so! And please let me know if you have any specific questions you'd like me to address in my talk!

Seasonal Homeschooling: A Few Printable PDFs!

Hello my friends and Happy Wednesday!

I'm popping in again, just two days before the FREE "Inspire" Virtual Homeschooling Conference (mentioned in Monday's post), to share a few PDF's with you all that will assist with my talk on Seasonal Homeschooling: Cultivating a Gentle, Grateful Year. :)

First, here is a simple SEASONSKEEPING WORKBOOK (click on the link - it's a printable PDF!). In this packet you could brainstorm ideas for embracing the seasons of the year:

There are two pages devoted to each season - one for listing monthly events and one for brainstorming ideas. (In my view, every two months make up a season - so I see the year as divided into six seasons rather than four.)

On the Events page you could list holidays, feast days, full moons, birthdays, anniversaries, sporting events (like the Superbowl or World Series), natural phenomena (such as meteor showers or lunar eclipses) ... really, anything goes! As for the Brainstorming page - well, it could look like a narrative ("Dear Deep Winter, here is what I love about you ...") or it could be filled with words that pop into your mind when you imagine that time of year. For example in the case of Deep Winter, those might be:

snow days • warm mittens • hot cocoa • handmade valentines • birds at the feeders • ETC.

You could ask your family to participate in this activity! The seasons are meaningful to each of us in individual ways. If you're stumped for ideas and looking for inspiration, you might consult your own nature journal or personal diary if you have a habit of jotting down lots of seasonal details (as I do!) or you could thumb through favorite resources or you could even google it! (Pinterest is full of inspiration for the seasons of the year!)

Next, here is the SEASONAL THEMES planning outline I use in my homemade planner:

You're welcome to use my outline for guidance, but I also have a BLANK version for you to use since you'll probably want to come up with your own themes and ideas. Seasonal themes really resonate when inspired by one's local habitat as well as fond family traditions.example, in a deep and snowy New England winter, exploring themes like "hearthside delights," "glass gardens" and stormy weather all make sense and bring joy - but February might look and feel very different where you live! And of course, each family enjoys its own seasonal pastimes. Maybe you all like to ski in the winter? Well, "hearthside delights" would work great! But what if you'd prefer to escape to the tropics? Well, how about a week devoted to exploring "winter citrus?"

Now, I personally like to break down the year into 52 weekly themes because this just works well with my kids and our homeschooling style. But that might seem like a bit much for some folks, so instead you could simplify things and choose 12 monthly themes for the year. Say, "the autumn orchard" in September," "planting time" in May, or "hibernation" in November.

Also on my outline you can see that I list pertinent monthly events below the themes (in green text) and I use little keys to signify in which week the full moon falls as well as when liturgical events tie into our seasonal theme. For example -

✝️ I connect St. Martin's Day (aka Martinmas) with the darkening days of late fall, and the need to light our own inner lights. (This also ties in with Daylight Savings Time ending on 11/4.)

✝️ I tie in the "sticks and stones" of the early December garden with St. Barbara's Day (and the traditional gathering of branches for Christmas bloom).

✝️ The week of the Annunciation is devoted to "sleepy seeds," and we not only plant our own spring hopes in a potting tray, but we make a sweet seed cake to serve on that feast day.

✝️ For St. George's Day we learn about "dragons of the wood" - aka spring salamanders! (Which were once thought to actually BE tiny dragons!)

The liturgical year has such a beautiful rhythm - a time for all things and a reassuring repetition - and I am often overjoyed to find how neatly it dovetails with the familiar framework of the natural year! Both calendars bring me much peace and by following them with my family, we are continually reminding ourselves of the many blessings to behold in any given year. The very gift of another 365 days on this earth is perhaps the best blessing of all - something to remember as the year turns and we take delight in another first snowfall, first crocus, first branch of fiery foliage, or first bat fluttering across a summer night sky ... :)

Ok, moving on now - here is a SEASONAL PLANNING SPREADSHEET, a new form I made up for myself this year:

I'm sharing this two-page planning spread even though I realize it's quite personalized, re homeschooling subjects and all. For each theme I have a box in which to plan:

• Events of Note
• Nature Study
• Outings/Field Trips
• Creative Play
• Reading ...
• Verse to learn
• Language Arts
• Science/Math
• Social Studies
• Crafting
• Home/Family (bringing everyone into it!)
• Art/Music
• Notes

This list represents the elements of our weekly rhythm - one day is for nature study, one day is for crafting, etc. This is the framework of our kindergarten at home - but at present we are still working out a few scheduling details for our new homeschooling year. I may be adjusting our weekly rhythm as September rolls around ...

Well my friends, I am running out of time, so in tomorrow's post I will share a few more things in preparation for Friday's talk. Please let me know if there are any points you'd like me to clarify or expand upon! I'm off for now, but as always, I thank you for joining me and will look forward to seeing you here again very soon ...

Blessings! 

Printable Planning Sheets! Plus, WEBINAR news!

Hello my friends and Happy Monday! I am so excited to share a couple of super fun things with you all today!

First of all, I have some more seasonal planning sheets for you! These are for the remaining months of 2018, and I do hope you enjoy them! (Please let me know if you have any problems opening these PDFs, or if - heaven forbid - there are mistakes!)

September 2018 Planning Sheets

October 2018 Planning Sheets

November 2018 Planning Sheets

December 2018 Planning Sheets

(Please stay tuned for info on 2019 Planners this fall.)

And now for more details on the webinar I mentioned earlier this month, and that exciting event is coming up THIS FRIDAY, AUGUST 17th!

Here's a link with all the info and a sign-up form:

Homeschool Connections: Inspire Virtual Conference 

"This FREE online conference will provide you focus to ramp up your planning efforts while invigorating your outlook for the upcoming school year."

(Did I mention this webinar is FREE?!?)

My dear friend Mary Ellen Barrett will be interviewing five different folks on various homeschooling topics, and honestly I am more than a little overwhelmed by the amazing company I am in: Jennifer Mackintosh, Dave Palmer, Tony Agnesi, and Bonnie Landry! I feel truly honored and humbled to have been asked to join this panel of gifted and accomplished speakers!

Now, when you sign up for INSPIRE, you can choose which talks you wish to "attend" - they begin with Jennifer's at 10 a.m. and end with mine at 2:45 p.m. (eastern time). My talk is titled, "Seasonal Homeschooling: Cultivating a Gentle, Grateful Year," and not surprisingly, I'm still working out my notes! I do hope to have some helpful thoughts to share, a few favorite resources to show you ... and well, you just KNOW I will have a big cup of tea in my hand! :-)

Ok, so that's all for today, but I will have another post (maybe two!) to share this week as we get closer to Friday. I have some PDFs in mind to create and there MAY be a GIVEAWAY in the works!! So please stay tuned, and I will see you here again very soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

p.s. Top photo: Sunday office hours - it was a "big mug" kind of day!