​I've had to get creative about planting a garden this year. In the past, we'd simply load up the car, head to Walmart, and buy some plants to put in the garden. This year, taking a trip to Walmart with my kids is impossible due to Connecticut's coronavirus restrictions. 
 
Instead, I dug out old seeds I had in the garage and did my best to start a garden from seed with what we had. Many of my seeds "expired" years ago.. we're talking 2015, so I don't even know when they were purchased. 
 
I went with the tried and true method of paper towel sprouting to see just what would actually grow. If you haven't done it before, all you do is take a paper towel, wet it so that it's damp, place the seeds in it, put it in a ziplock bag, place the bag in a dark area, and check back in a week to see if any seeds have sprouted. 
 
I was amazed at how many of the expired seeds sprouted! The ones that didn't were the zuchini and tomatoes... luckily it's early in the season so I'll try some more!

As of now, I'm out of dirt and will have to get digging for some more to transplant my seedlings in that have outgrown their first containers. 
 
This has been a unique experience for sure, but I'm thankful for the experience. If you consider the cost of buying older plants, versus a pack of seeds that you can use for years, it definitely makes sense to buy or save seeds. This has helped pull me closer to nature, and I hope my kids have learned a bit too! At least I know they like the dirt!

When I get to Walmart... one day... I'm excited to try out some creative strawberry planting ideas for small spaces! Any tips?

Hey Friends!

There's a new something special on this page... can you spot it??

Here's a hint: it's in the top right corner....

a lovely award from RankedBlogs.com !

I'm so excited to be ranked among the top homeschool blogs! They rank their pages based on  votes, Page Authority, Domain Authority, number of linking domains, and Twitter followers.  It's an honor to be included on their list, and certainly makes the endless hours feel valued :)

If you have a moment, I'd love for you to vote for my page! There's no log in or sign up, just simply scroll through the names and hit the "thumbs up" button! 

If you're looking for more homeschool content, I'd recommend checking out the list of top bloggers. Many of the ladies I consider friends and have benefited from their awesome content!

Here's the link: https://www.rankedblogs.com/homeschool

Have a great week! 
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​Reading Unlocked Simplified Reading Program helps emerging readers learn to read with 10-15 minute online lessons. By teaching phonics and then gradually expanding concepts, students will grow their reading ability lesson by lesson. While students are learning to read, they’ll also practice their writing ability, auditory recognition, abstract words, and read clever poems at the close of each lesson with a parent or teacher.

One thing that drew me to wanting to try out Reading Unlocked is that it reminded me of language learning software I had used in the past. The program intuitively incorporates matching letters with pictures for beginning readers. It also asks students to write words on paper, as well as in the air so that students receive more than just computer learning practice. The program offers a structured lesson rather than a game, like many programs out there today, and that was something I felt would be valuable to my daughter’s learning. 

My five-year-old used Reading Unlocked 3-4 days per week. We started by checking out the first lesson of level one, which started with the letter “c” and by the end, my daughter was reading the word “cat.” She was already familiar with those basic words, so we decided to try level two. Lesson one of level two started with a capital “T” and guided her to match capital letters with its lowercase counterpart. The level two lessons built up to “st” digraphs words like “step” and “list”. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my 5-year-old was doing well on level two. Once children understand the basic sounds and blending, they might be ready for blending consonant sounds in level two! 

Reading Unlocked did an exemplary job by providing amply auditory practice. Lessons would include activities that would give the child tasks like “turn sit into pit,” which would teach listening comprehension as well as helping build phonics awareness. The one downside, I felt was when you log in to the program, it takes you immediately to the lesson. When the lesson is complete, you’re logged off. This was a bit cumbersome if you wanted to do more than one lesson, or felt the need to repeat a lesson.  Individual lessons can be selected in the "settings" section, if you feel your student needs to practice a concept again, but a map or ticker to track progress might be fun for kids to see! Overall, we enjoyed using Reading Unlocked and feel like it’s a great choice for parents looking for online reading lessons! If you’re looking for structured online reading lessons, this is a great program to check out!

More members of the Homeschool Review Crew checked out Reading Unlocked with their students! Check out there thoughts below:

     There is no doubt that we are living in crazy times. If you had told me in January what we'd be facing now, I would have thought you were absurd. Life is turned on it's head- even for homeschoolers who are at least accustom to at-home learning. 

     I've found myself researching the best face masks to sew in order to make protective masks per the CDC's new guideline. There are five prominent mask patterns out there on the web, but the one that many hospitals are requesting people sew is the Oslon Mask, which houses a pocket to place filtration material. Filter material can be taken out of household air filters for extra protection, and double sided skin tape can be applied for safety. 

     I spent part of Sunday evening making masks for my family and parents, though I don't have the filtration material or double sided tape. At the very least, the three layers of fabric will aid in protection during simple grocery store visits. The masks took roughly 20 minutes to make- and reminded me of how much I miss sewing!

 
     Since I started the masks, they've added children's sizes, so I plan to use those as well!
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     Check out the Oslon Mask Pattern and tutorial from of Sew Can She!

A few weeks ago, we introduced some basic cloud vocabulary through Montessori Cloud Cards, and then went on a Cloud Scavenger Hunt. We decided to round out our cloud study with some fun crafts and baking. 

For this craft, you'll need some paper of choice. We used brown paper, but blue, black or grey might be more authentic!
 
You'll also need glue, cotton balls, and some white and black paint.

I bet you can guess the directions already!

To start, we used a cotton ball to paint wispy cirrus clouds.
Then, my kids dove into gluing cotton balls into clouds-like forms for cumulus clouds. I tried to emphasize that cumulus clouds usually have a flat bottom, but art is of course subjective! haha
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Finally, we made some cumulonimbus clouds by mixing in some black paint and glue and getting a little cloud crazy. ​

To finish the cloud unit study, I recommend something yummy- cloud cake!
Check out this recipe, and let me know what you think!

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/vanilla-cloud-cake

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