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 Reading Skills Pack available for only $10, a discount of $5 for only the next 7 hours (ending at 10pm EST), today only October 29th.

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Fall at Freshly Chewed

Autumn is upon us and it's time to snuggle under our favorite quilt, hold a cup of warm cocoa and smell your favorite fall scented candle...oh and read a good book! The ladies here at Freshly Chewed have comprised a fun fall list of children's books we like to read this time of year with our little ones. We've also shared our top ten favorite autumn comforts and traditions.

Our Favorite Books 

1. The Bear Snores On by Jane Chapman

2. The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

3. The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt and Tony DiTerlizzi

4. If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Anne McGovern

5. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

6.Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgins

7. The Hallowiener by Dave Pilkey

8. Franklin's Neighborhood by Paulette Burgeois

9. Move Over Rover by Karen Beaumont

10. Leaves by David Ezra Stein

Can you smell the smells of autumn? Can you feel the crisp autumn air? Can you see the bluest blue sky go on for miles?  Can you dig that candy corn out of your teeth once more? Oh, how we love to experience autumn. Count it a blessing from God for every year you get to spend soaking in the sites, smells and tastes of autumn and have fun doing all those things you do this time each year. Here's our top 10 favorite traditions or "to do's".

Fall is a very cozy time and everyone has their comforts. Here's our top ten list for the experiences that mean autumn comfort to us. Enjoy.

Our Fall Comforts

1. brewing  our "kitchen scent"- Kristi's kitchen scent brew consists of two cinnamon sticks, one teaspoon of whole cloves, peel of an orange, peel of an apple, I tablespoon lemon juice and enough water to cover the mixture as it simmers on the stove or in a small crock pot.
2. listening to  thanksgiving music that came with the book written by Barbara Rainer titled, "Thanksgiving: A time to Remember".
3. a warm cup of chamomile tea
4. pumpkin pie!
5. pecan pie!
6. a quilt and a good book on a rainy Fall day
7. a soft sweater
8. a fireside evening
9. snuggling in the hammock under a fleece blanket with Hubby
10. the smell of a camp fire

We're glad to share our fall favorites with you and...
We hope we've helped you get in the mood for fall!  We hope you and your family enjoy the blessings of this autumn season!


The Ladies at Freshly Chewed
 

It's here! A New Resource

New Bundle Deal from Tools for School Teacher Resources

Moving a Family

We've had some really big changes around here lately.  We moved to a new town! We are just far enough away from our old town to be completely removed from all the old familiar places and faces.  We miss all those familiarities and especially all of our everyday relationships with friends. 

Teaching Kids About Communities and How They Are the Same and Different

However, we aren't in a completely uncharted land.  We have family immediately around us now.  My husband and I met, dated and got engaged here.  We were married not too far from here.  And we actually lived and worked here for a few months before we had children.  We've never lived here long enough to cut our own path in the community.  We are finding a new church, new friends and a new homeschool community.  As I was gathering up my “to call” list that comes with moving, I realized it was a great opportunity to show my kids all the similarities in communities.  

We had to find a new Classical Conversations group, a new pediatrician, a new grocery store, new parks and a new hair stylist just to name a few. While driving around our new town with the kids, I've pointed out that there are still churches, firefighters, police officers and hospitals.  There are a lot of unknowns when you move, but there are also so many things that are the same.  The easiest thing to find after we moved was a homeschool group.  My favorite thing about Classical Conversations lately is that there is a likely a group nearby anywhere you might move in the country.  We slipped right into the local group the day after we moved and it was something familiar and comfortable for my kids.  They felt like they belonged almost immediately because everything is the same, except the people.  We also were able to put Nate right into a soccer team here, and he loves it.  Mae has started ballet at a new studio and we have also found a great piano teacher not too far from our new house.
  
So, we aren't wasting any time “plugging in” at our new location.  That's huge when you make a move.  You do need some time to adjust, but don't wait too long to bring some normal back into the family life.  It's important to get back to business as usual.  Obviously there's a little bit of sadness that comes with moving, because you miss the comforts of “home”.  But I've noticed that the kids played together so much better right after the move.  It's like their bond grew stronger because they knew that everything else was changing, but our family was staying the same.  The other day we happened to be reading the story of the hidden treasure from Matthew 13, and it gave me a chance to remind the kids that the most important part of life never changes.  I told them that no matter what we do or where we go, our treasure stays the same.  Our treasure is our home in heaven with the Lord.  That is something that can never change, and we can never move away from God's love or the love of our family.  God is constant, never-changing and always loving.



So, on the practical side of the move.  I felt like a huge “sticks and sand” hypocrite when I noticed how many boxes it was taking to pack up our school supplies (mostly books).  I definitely use more than a stick and some sand when I teach my kids, but I like to think that if I had to teach them on a deserted island with only sand and a stick that I could probably do it.  Maybe I should try that for a week...

 Practical Adjustments: Charting out the Grocery Store Meal Planning

Also practically speaking, one of the things that had to give during the whole moving process was my meal planning and preparation.  I became really unorganized with our meals. I took about a two week sabbatical from any kind of formal cooking.  My husband even had to mention to me that maybe I should plan more meals at home since he noticed we were eating out a lot more.  When I actually was making meals at home, I was  reverting back to convenience foods that I had banned from our diets long ago.  Things like toaster strudels, capri-suns and bagel bites.  We also live really, really close to the best Chinese place in town making it really tempting to order take-out.  Ugh, my stomach is churning just thinking about all the junk we were eating.  Anyway, I used a really useful printable to help me departmentalize my grocery list.  Since we shop at a different (and larger) grocery store now, it was becoming challenging not to back-track through for forgotten items.  The shopping trips were taking way too long and I needed some organization.  My usual plan is to stay on the outer aisles of the grocery store, but the Kroger we shop at now is a “Super Kroger”.  So everything is laid out a lot different making even that simple route challenging.  I also started making a written meal plan for three meals a day for seven days a week.  As a stay at home mom, I'm in charge of every meal, every beverage and every snack.  We go through a lot of groceries, and two out of three of my kids are gong through major growth spurts right now.  So, there has to be a plan and a loaded grocery list when I venture to the grocery store.  Next week, I'm going to attempt to start making and baking snacks and breads again.

We've been in our new place for about three weeks now.  Just last night I was sitting with Jacob while he had *ahem* cereal for dinner.  We were sitting quietly for a few minutes then he looked up at me and stated, “This my house.”  I said, “Yeah, buddy.  This is your house now.”  I guess he thought we were on vacation at first.  I do seem to recall him asking about the beach when we first moved into the new house.  Poor little guy.  It makes me a little sad knowing he won't remember the home we brought him to when he was first born.  But my other kids won't remember that either, we brought each baby home to a different house.  Hopefully all the kids will know the house we build, as their childhood home for the rest of their lives.  That is comforting to me.  Packing up and moving one more time isn't quite as comforting.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

 

Links and Ideas for Helping Families and Children Adjust to a Move

 

Preparing Your Child for A Move 

My New Town: Create a picture book of your new home and the places you explore in the first weeks in your new town. This helps gets kids excited about the new adventure their life is taking and will help them feel like an active part of the move instead of a passive victim. 

Community Map: Create a community map using construction paper, real photos or illustrations of places in the new community to help kids get orientated about their surroundings. This will create comfort. 

Top Books to for Kids Who Are Moving
 

These are the Same: Talk to your children about the ways their new home and community is the same as the previous one and some ways it is better. Point out material items in the home that are still with them. Encourage them daily by reminding them you love them and that God is the same everywhere too. 

Community Helpers: If you have younger children, help them understand the helpers he or she will see and visit in the community to which you move. Doing a community helpers activity packet is a fun way to get them excited about their new home. 
 
Grocery Store Planner  for Mom : My Paper Brain featured earlier on Freshly Chewed 




What are some ways you have helped your family with the adjustment of moving?


       

Apple Art and Upcoming Sales

I'm really enjoying doing some fall activities with my little one and so I'm so excited to share our recent art work with you. It turned out really great. My little girl is 3 and so it was not too challenging for her to do this. If you have a few apples lying around these days, give it a whirl! We used a smaller canvas and a couple of apples cut a couple different ways. I also used craft paint which is more durable than her washable paint. She stamped with help and had lots of fun. Now we have an autumn momentum to keep  and display from year to year! We also used a piece of cardstock and made one for her cousin too, because once get the paint out, it's out for a while!

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and don't forget about our upcoming sale where every item...EVERY item will be 20% off! 

Affordable Ways to Homeschool

As an educator and former classroom teacher, I've been vigorously researching homeschool curriculum for our children since we decided to homeschool. I was sad to learn a homeschool curriculum, that I really think is

fabulous- from a picky educator's standpoint- is targeted to homeschool families making at least an income of $60,000.  That is not us. So what does that mean for us?

 According to an article about our U.S. economic tiers, "The lower-middle class, which is primarily comprised of lower-level, white-collar workers...typically have college educations, but lack the graduate degrees needed to advance to higher levels of employment. Income for these workers generally falls between $32,500 and $60,000."

 Now, we know that more and more families are desiring to homeschool their children for various reasons. (There are four homeschool families- including us-on our little street alone.)  Everyone's family is different and has a different financial situation.
The majority of families I know who homeschool do fit inside this bracket, but not above- and not even on the higher end of the bracket. Their situation is similar to mine in that one parent is working a career while the other is working part time from home or either not working at all in order to put the training of their children first. Does that mean we are to slight our children's education?

So, is homeschooling affordable for the rest of us who fall inside this bracket or below it? Let's take a look. Freshly Chewed has worked diligently to provide links and lists of first rate educational resources that can help you make homeschool affordable. (And yes, I've even dragged my high school teacher hubby in on this one to share his resources.)

A Starting Point

I have a master's degree in reading curriculum & instruction and taught for several years as an elementary school teacher. Still, piecing together homeschool materials is not easy. One way to see what your children need to know is to look at state standards (though these are not necessarily what you would want to use to teach from, they are guidelines to let you know the types of concepts your little ones will be cognitively ready for at each stage). 

If you cannot afford a curriculum- like us- you need to start at the standards to make sure your kids are not getting gaps in learning which can be detrimental.  (I always feel nervous for parents when I hear them say they bought a curriculum and then switched to another! From an educator's view, this is playing with fire! It's more and more difficult to see the gaps when you switch around.) Using standards as a guide can help you when you do have to switch around or when you cannot buy a curriculum. Just google your state and the word "standards". 

First Thing First

Before you look any further. Go to symbaloo.com and set up a FREE webmix for your educational resources. Just click on an icon square to add a resource as you go. Paste the link in the the top window that will pop-up and then click in the next window for the name to automatically show up. It's simple and you can store all of your FREE or affordable educational resources in one webmix (Or make one for each child).  

 

Homeschool Made Affordable

So for those of us who are piecing, let's look at this list and see if we're utilizing these free resources!  (PS- Some of these I used in a classroom as a teacher and that's why I know about them. I cannot wait to share these meaty resources with you.)

 

For Prek-Primaries

Starfall Website (learning phonics, letter identification, blends (onsets and rhymes), phonemic awareness, and manuscript)
*Most of starfall is free and the manuscript books are only $1! Starfall Teacher's Lounge (free downloadable printables) If you want to get added resources, it is only $35 for a home membership.

Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) offers GREAT free printable Reading Components Student Center Activities. I printed these on cardstock and used them in third grade (even the phonemic awareness first grade activities for lower readers). These are first rate fabulous and extremely effective.
-K and 1st Grades 
-2nd and 3rd

Oxford Owl- Exceptional FREE online help for kids 3-11 in math and reading skills

ABC Mouse.com- My three year old is using this and likes it. I like it because it has a scope and sequence. I can print off hands on learning materials for each lesson. It's leveled according to her needs and she can move from her own pace. It's highly intriguing for a gifted learner because of that feature. It's full preschool curriculum up through kinder and for only $59 a year (around $7 a month if you pay monthly).  *I would not use this ONLY for a child as they need the majority of their time away from the computer. An hour a couple times a week is ALL a young child should ever have on a computer. 

Scholastic.com/teachers - Resources galore on any subject and grade level (used this in my classroom) I love Scholastic for all kinds of topics. We are using the MyBigWorld Magazine with Clifford for preschool right now and has Science and SS topics, printables and access to online videos and resources. This is too cute and excellent for preschool. They do have magazines for older kids too. They are only $4 for an annual subscription. Hello!

CK-12 -Free online Textbooks, videos, practice and more in all subjects. This is an amazing site and I love that these things are free- They SHOULD be, don't you think so?

Mr. Nussbaum has resources for prek-6th grade in a variety of subject areas. This is a really neat website and will grab your child's attention.

Berenstain Bears Phonics Fun Books - $6.99 through Barnes and Noble (other brands similar to this are available) 

Xtramath- free program online that helps kids master their math facts  

Reading Rockets - This website, you cannot live without. It is pertinent to carefully watch and listen to your child as he/she learns to read. For reading help, coaching and guidance visit Reading Rockets. Identifying struggling readers early is so essential to their success. Oh, my goodness, I cannot urge you enough to carefully watch your child from the first signs of reading through third grade. Third grade is usually when reading difficulty is caught (though it should have been sooner). There are more children with learning disabilities in reading than there should be because they are not caught early. This site helps you teach your child reading with the knowledge and understanding you need.

K12 Reader- Reading help for you, the teacher and more.

TeacherspayTeachers.org- Educators by the thousands world wide create and sell resources in their expertise level. You can find scads of resources here for free or for less than $5 each! I have a storefront through them as well for Prek-3rd resources.

For Upper Elementary-High

 
Symbaloo Webmix for Education (links in icon form to educational resources- The links an example of a webmix. You can search within symabloo.com for educational mixes that fit your needs.

Discovery Education- Used this in the classroom as it does have resources for 3-5 as well. This is the link for high school.

ReadWriteThink.org- LOVE this website and used it frequently in the classroom

Getting Smart- Tons of resources on this site

 Mr. Donn.org- Mr. Donn's social studies site with free lesson plans and tons of resources (used this for some resources on Greece and democratic roots when I taught 3rd grade)

Kahn Academy offers resources in video format with online practice after which the site determines if more practice is needed. A coaching page monitors your child's progress. This page goes through calculus and beyond! Not only is math offered there, but other subjects as well.


CK-12 -Free online Textbooks, videos, practice and more in all subjects

*Find a Homeschool Classifieds site for your area too. Moms often sell brand new and gently used items.

Homeschool Donation Card

One way to help offset any unavoidable expenses is to mail out or give out a postcard to friends and family asking for donations. Caution! Only send this to people you know support your family and understand how important this is for you. I have altered our family's card for your use- as you can see below. 

You can find this template for you to use FREE on our blog dropbox. Just click on the picture. You'll need to print the downloaded pdf file which will print 2 cards per page; you'll also want to print on a heavy weight card stock paper. 

Or if you'd rather make your very on personalized postcard: 
An easy and FREE way to make a nice design for this is to use canva.com where there are free design elements and stock images. Then print on cardstock, address and mail! If you want to spend a couple bucks on some cute clipart, please check out mygrafico.com or my very favorite graphic artist on TeachersPayTeachers, Krista Wallden, often has freebies for download!

Homeschool Curriculum Reviews

If you're still looking for a comprehensive list of available homeschool curricula, you can find it here where you can read reviews from families who've used the curriculum being spoken about. Very helpful, but prepare to be sucked in for hours and you will need a tissue for your bleeding eyeballs! :) 

Overall, I hope that we've been able to give professional guidance in some ways to make your homeschool journey affordable. It would be a sad day to give up on what your family deems is right for you and your children because you cannot afford a solid education through a curriculum. We're thanking God for the plethora of free or low cost educational resources out there. Yes, there are more which are not included on this list, but I hope this gives you a great start! 

Fall Activities

If you are looking for some fun Fall themed activities for school or homeschool, here are some favorites:

 

Another New Resource by Tools for School

 

graphics extras by Krista Wallden (C) Creative Clips

Labor Day Sale