I can’t tell you how glad I am to be in April. This upcoming month will likely have many more outdoor days, in sha Allah. We are ready for it!
As for March, we definitely felt the uptick in activities! Some weeks it felt like we were just in and out of the house every day.
In our homeschool last month
At the end of March we started a new routine of doing lessons in the morning rather than during my toddler’s nap time. The first few days were a bit rough, but Salihah and Amatullah learned that they can play together while we are doing lessons, and for the last week or so they’ve mostly been out of our hair, or playing nicely at the table. Alhamdulilah, it seems we may be finding a rhythm.
Nature study and garden highlights
We started seedlings! I’m quite the brown thumb gardener still, so I’ve had to adjust some aspects to our seedling setup and reseed some of plants because they weren’t thriving, but little by little I’m learning, alhamdulilah. The kids are really enjoying watching the sprouts come up and seeing progress each day.
So far we have a small variety of medicinal and culinary herbs. We also attended a seed swap with a homeschooling group and got some vegetable seeds, plus I ordered strawberry plants and blueberry bushes.
I may have bitten off more than I can chew.
We shall see how this pans out. For many of the plants, I’ve tried to focus on self-seeding and perennial plants so there’s less work for me to do next year, in sha Allah.
I’m looking into hay bale gardening so I don’t have to prep spots for the annual plants yet, or we may just use containers. A bit more homework for me on that front.
We’ve also been out for more nature walks than in months past. The most greenery we saw was moss so far, but I’m excited to bring the kids to the same trail again so they can see how it changes as spring gets into full bloom.
We thought we may have found frog eggs in a lake on our nature walk, but upon closer inspection, I think they might be fish eggs. It’s been quite the learning experience to try to pin down exactly what they were!
Places we went
Last month was pretty eventful in this regard. We went to the history center, which was nostalgic for me because Kira (my oldest) used to love going there when we first started homeschooling. I was worried the kids would be bored with it, but we actually stayed quite a while! In sha Allah I hope to go again in the future.
We also went to see the play Velveteen Rabbit at a theatre we haven’t been to before, and with a group we are pretty new to meeting. It was fun, and nice to mix with some new circles in the wider homeschooling community.
What’s working for us
The morning lessons are definitely an improvement! Previously I was trying to get my own homework and blogging done in the morning while the kids would have free play, but my toddler is a busy bee, so it wasn’t very effective. It’s still not a perfect system to get things done with my two other littles running around in the afternoon, but it’s definitely a LOT easier to try to achieve anything.
On my blog, in case you missed it
I don’t get out to the nature centers as much as I would like, so I shared how we have setup our backyard with nature study opportunities (beyond just the bird feeders, though that’s a great start).
Also, keeping with the Charlotte Mason focus, sister Dr. Gemma Elizabeth of Our Muslim Homeschool contributed a great post about some of the basics of the Charlotte Mason method for Muslims. Additionally, I shared my top 15 Charlotte Mason quotes from Home Education, Charlotte Mason’s first volume in her education series.
Last, but definitely not least, I shared what books and resources we are using to learn prophet stories. Check it out. Alhamdulilah, we have found some real gems!
Coming up this month, in sha Allah
In sha Allah we have another play to go to in April with a homeschool group. This time, Hubby will be joining us, which is always fun. Another group trip is going to the zoo, in sha Allah and seeing the farm babies. Here’s hoping the weather holds up!
As for our homeschool, keep on keepin’ on is the plan. We tend to take off most of May, then Ramadan starts, so I’m trying to at least make sure we are getting math and Qur’an done each day so we don’t get too rusty, and so in sha Allah we can start the new level of math in October, if not earlier.
What’s new in your homeschool?
Want to read how other homeschool mothers are doing this spring, or want to share your own update? Join the linkup with iHN!
That looks like the Minnesota History Center…one of our favorite places to visit! Sounds like you’ve had a busy and interesting month exploring. I especially liked your discovery on your nature walk.
It is! I was surprised how hands on things were. I thought I remembered it being more of a traditional museum, but I was thankful my memory was incorrect.
Here’s to more new discoveries this spring!