Little Passports - Off to Brazil with World Explorer

Little Passports is fantastic!!!!

Wow! Our very first country was Brazil! This is terribly exciting as the girls father is from Brazil and Sonia felt right at "home". The World Explorer edition is for children ages 6-10. Sonia is only 5 but I thought it was best for us to get this one because she is very interested in the "big girl" material. Great decision for us, she was incredibly involved in all of the lessons and she truly loves this program. We completed this last week and she has asked every day if a new country has come yet.

We also ordered the Early Explorers for ages 3-5 for Daniella and we are waiting to receive it. There was a mix up on the shipping but, I will tell you, I contacted customer support and they were gracious, kind and prompt in rectifying our issue. This company has shown excellence in product and service!

Last month, we received our suitcase and the intro package. Sonia grabbed her suitcase and was ready to go! First things first, lets decorate our suitcase with the new Brazil stamp.

 

 

Before we travel out of the country we need our passport. Each time we enter a new country, we get a stamp for our passport. Sonia loved this and here is she placing her country stamp in her "passport".

 

Our tour guides are Sam and Sofia and they write us a letter from each country and bring us back a little something from there. From Brazil they brought us an Amethyst and a picture of our new monkey friend Danila.

 

I took this opportunity to expand on our knowledge of mining amethyst and popped on a youtube video that showed how they get it from Brazil. She loved it!

 

 

On the boarding pass each month, we get a special code that we enter in the website and get to do some computer work. There was a game, trivia and more pictures of places in Brazil with tidbits of information on each. Though the content was a little age advanced for Sonia, I still went through and asked her the trivia and we had a fun time guessing. This sparked some interesting conversation. Her dad and her watch futbol whenever it's on so the soccer game was right up her alley!

We took out the amazing map that was provided in the intro box and Sonia pinned Brazil! She was so excited to share this adventure with her sister, Dad, Vovo and Vovo!

She went to bed knowing that we were going to be baking Brigadeiros the next morning, a tasty Brazilian treat. She brought them with her to her Dads and they were quite impressed!

 

The next morning, she couldn't wait to show her sister "her" amethyst from Brazil and "her" monkey. She even let her touch it...once...just once!

Let's begin our baking adventure. Enjoy our pics!

 

 

 

 

This was a very special box for her as this is part of who Sonia is. She was excited to speak Portuguese to her father and have him teach her the proper pronunciation of Brigadeiro. Mommy ruined it ha!

 

This program is really shaping a love of geography for our homeschool, Our School of Grace. We anxiously await for next month's adventure to China!

 

 

"Like" us on the Chicken Nugget Mom Facebook page to see what we are up to each day.

 

And for the Moms and Dads, I have begun a Christian based blog, Perfectly Imperfect Life Warriors, and I will be kicking off some great Bible studies to inspire and empower us as we walk with Christ together. Next on the agenda is Proverbs 31:2016 - 31 verses in 31 days! Check it out!

 

 



** Little Passports allows me to follow two of my biggest passions. Educating my children and writing! I am honored to work with Little Passports. I do receive the curriculum in exchange for my blog posts but every word in here is honest and a true example of this curriculum in a multi age home practice.

Martin Luther King Jr. Spreads Kindness

 

Yesterday, we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. I took the opportunity to, age appropriately, educate Sonia on this historical figure and what he did for us. As a family that is surrounded by multiple races she was confused as to why anyone would be treated differently. I teach my children that we all have the same heart and God made all of us the same, so though we make look different, we all have the same feelings and deserve the same treatment.

I read her the story that was provided in Mother Goose Time's January box and she held up the happy and sad face. Having something to do while I read keeps her engaged and really helps her follow along because she is listening for her clues.

We talked about peace and what that means to us and I showed her a peace sign and how to draw one and write the word "peace". For the rest of the day, she pointed out peace signs (we have a lot) and was so excited that she finally knew what this meant.

After that, we did some art and I showed her a picture of the Earth and children of all races holding hands around it. She took her time and duplicated it.

After all of that sitting, it was time to start moving so we jumped into Mother Goose Time's Peaceful Poses activity. First, we tried out all of the poses and then we spun the wheel to let the wheel choose what pose we go into next. It was fun - I even got into it and Sonia took some pics!

How did you celebrate Martin Luther King Jr?

"Like" us on the Chicken Nugget Mom Facebook page to see what we are up to each day.

 

And for the Moms and Dads, I have begun a Christian based blog, Perfectly Imperfect Life Warriors, and I will be kicking off some great Bible studies to inspire and empower us as we walk with Christ together. Next on the agenda is Proverbs 31:2016 - 31 verses in 31 days! Check it out!

 



** Mother Goose Time allows me to follow two of my biggest passions. Educating my children and writing! I am honored to work with Mother Goose Time. I do receive the curriculum in exchange for my blog posts but every word in here is honest and a true example of this curriculum in a multi age home practice.

A is for Angel

The fights began, the incessant visits to the snack cabinet, the whining...in other words, the struggle was real and the girls were giving me every cue on Earth that they needed some guidance and company from me. So, down went the laundry I was folding and out came Mother Goose Time's Experience God curriculum.

What a perfect way to transition from toddler vs Kindergarten battle then shouting and jumping!

In the midst of one argument about whether or not Daniella (3 years old) told Sonia (5 years ago) that she could have her Twilight Sparkle "forever", I started jumping in the middle of the room. They stopped. Looked at me. Laughed. Put the Twilight Sparkle down and began jumping. I screamed, "SHOW ME HOW HIGH YOU CAN JUMP ALL THE WAY INTO THE KITCHEN!"

When we were all jumped out and Twilight Sparkle was a distant memory, we sat down and I explained to them that angels made a beautiful choir and sang "Glory to God in the Highest". I told them that on the night Jesus was born, the angels praised Him with their songs from Heaven. Jesus wants us to get up and sing praise to Him every day. After this, we stood up again, and sang Glory to God in the Highest while making our bodies into "H's" and drawing big letter "G's" in the air.  I will tell you that when I returned to folding my laundry while the girls were in the bath that night, I heard them both singing this song. Thank you Jesus!

Craft time! We made an A is for Angel door hanger. Sonia colored, practiced writing, glued everything on herself and hung it proudly on her door. When she was done, I led them in a short prayer thanking God for sending His special angels to teach us how to sing praises to His son.

 

I read Sonia the story cards that came in the curriculum and asked Sonia to imagine how the shepherds felt when they were: tending their sheep, listening to the angels, glorifying and praising God and seeing Jesus for the first time. To all, she answered "happy". When I asked her to make a facial expression that would communicate their imagined feelings, this is what she gave me.

 

 

 



 

After this session, I decided we needed some more team work and hands on guided activities so I made the decision to take down all of our Christmas decorations. I asked the girls what they would like to listen to while we complete this task and they both answered "God Music". So, on came Hillsong and we worshipped together for a little bit before we started. I asked them how we get to know Jesus and Daniella shouted, "we pray and hold our hands up when we sing". Sonia said, "we praise the Lord".

 

 

Now, this was an epic proud Christian momma for me! All because of MGT's wonderful curriculum and the foundation they are receiving at their church!

 

 

"Like" us on the Chicken Nugget Mom Facebook page to see what we are up to each day.

 

And for the Moms and Dads, I have begun a Christian based blog, Perfectly Imperfect Life Warriors, and I will be kicking off some great Bible studies to inspire and empower us as we walk with Christ together. Next on the agenda is Proverbs 31:2016 - 31 verses in 31 days! Check it out!

 

 



** Mother Goose Time allows me to follow two of my biggest passions. Educating my children and writing! I am honored to work with Mother Goose Time. I do receive the curriculum in exchange for my blog posts but every word in here is honest and a true example of this curriculum in a multi age home practice.



Praise the Lord

We are playing catch up with our December and January curriculum as we took a few weeks off to enjoy each other and our holidays. I am also implementing a new stress free way to homeschool and coordinate our schedules. It is quite simple and I'm not sure how or why I never did this before. Essentially, we are unschooling with a curriculum to support us. What does this mean? That sounds like a contradiction. Yes, it does and it very well might be but I don't know how else to explain it. Instead of trying to stick with a schooling schedule, I gauge each day on what is going on at the moment and follow the cues.

There is no more 10am sharp reading, 1030am Bible Study etc. We go based on our own inner clocks and what feels right. This has changed our household dynamic exponentially! By implementing this schedule free lifestyle, I have discovered Sonia's love of art and have been able to create a curriculum based on this style of learning and am thrilled at the rate to which she is learning and grasping concepts all while having the time of her life and fostering her passion. That, my friends, is the core of homeschooling.

We worked on our December curriculum which is all about praising and worshiping Jesus.

 

I read them the story with the story cards provided by Mother Goose Time and I explained that "this story is about a baby named Jesus. When He was born, many people praised Him with their voices and came to worship Him. Praise means that we use our words and actions to give thanks and celebrate that God is great." That's the amazing thing about MGT, they even lay out the script I can use to explain hard concepts to the kids in an easy way for them to understand it. I had Sonia point out all of the words she knew as well.

 

 

 

We discussed different ways to praise and I decided that it would be a great time to stop and do some music. So, on goes Chris Tomlin and we raised our voices and hands and sang together. I saw the girls following along with me as I raised my hand to the Lord while I was singing.

 

 

 

Though we are not a Sunday service family because we are a divorced family and the girls are with their father on Sundays while I work, we do go to about 3 church activities a week at Smithtown Gospel Tabernacle. One of the activities is just for Sonia (G.Y.M) and is a drop off so Daniella and I spend some one on one time together and then sneak into the teen worship. It is amazing to hear and see the teens in my community praising the Lord. As we were worshipping, I looked down at Daniella and saw her praising the Lord just as we had learned earlier in the day. Does this not melt your heart? Watching this 3 year old raise her hand to the Lord made me weak in the knees. May the Holy Spirit always reside in her heart the way God intended.

 

Ok, back to school and Sonia's favorite part - art! She has always been into crafts, I just had no idea how good she is!

 

I began to explain that, "according to the Bible, angels are very big and shine the amazing glory of God. They bring us good news and they also protect us." We discussed Luke 1:30 and Luke 2:10 and spoke about how angels delivered the news of Jesus. I also expanded this lesson for my Kindergartener and implemented some writing practice. After she completed her art, she asked if we could hang the picture above her bed so that she would not be afraid of the dark.

 

 

 

 

"Like" us on the Chicken Nugget Mom Facebook page to see what we are up to each day.

 

And for the Moms and Dads, I have begun a Christian based blog, Perfectly Imperfect Life Warriors, and I will be kicking off some great Bible studies to inspire and empower us as we walk with Christ together. Next on the agenda is Proverbs 31:2016 - 31 verses in 31 days! Check it out!

 

 



** Mother Goose Time allows me to follow two of my biggest passions. Educating my children and writing! I am honored to work with Mother Goose Time. I do receive the curriculum in exchange for my blog posts but every word in here is honest and a true example of this curriculum in a multi age home practice.







String Instruments

It has been a few days since we completed this activity and the girls are still happily stringing along with the two crafts we made to learn more about instruments. This lesson focused on string instruments and incorporated fine motor skills, gross motor skills and learning to listen for the different instruments during each song. I will tell you that even when we are driving now, Sonia asks me what instruments are playing. It really is a joy to see how Mother Goose Time really sticks with the children. That is called learning. It may look like "just an art project" but it is so much more!

Here we are making our violins and guitars....

 

"Like" us on the Chicken Nugget Mom Facebook page to see what we are up to each day.

 

And for the Moms and Dads, I have begun a Christian based blog, Perfectly Imperfect Life Warriors, and I will be kicking off some great Bible studies to inspire and empower us as we walk with Christ together. Next on the agenda is Proverbs 31:2016 - 31 verses in 31 days! Check it out!

 

 



** Mother Goose Time allows me to follow two of my biggest passions. Educating my children and writing! I am honored to work with Mother Goose Time. I do receive the curriculum in exchange for my blog posts but every word in here is honest and a true example of this curriculum in a multi age home practice.