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Picture Books about Hawaii

July 18, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

My three-year-old has really gotten into reading lately. Which is a wonderful thing!

She loves looking at pictures and tracing her fingers under the words. Of course, she’s making up her own story or reciting some from memory, but that’s okay. She’s pre-reading and I’m thrilled!

We’ve been studying about the beach a lot lately, so I thought we’d take a look at a gorgeous book we received from my brother: Pulelehua and Mamaki. Since the story takes place on Hawai’i, I thought I’d round up some other beautiful picture books about Hawaii that are fun for kids to explore!

Picture Books about Hawaii

Pulelehua and Mamaki is the story of a Mamaki tree that serves as the home to a Kamehameha butterfly named Pulelehua. A butterfly mother laid her egg on one of the tree’s leaves and that caterpillar grew up to become Pulelehua.

Later, when Pulelehua lays an egg, she chooses the same Mamaki tree to watch over her baby. And when her egg hatches, grows into a caterpillar, and transforms into a full-grown Kamehameha butterfly, Mamaki the tree promises to watch over it too.

It’s a truly lovely story filled with native Hawaiian terms and absolutely beautiful illustrations.

As part of the Read Around the World Summer Series, I’m sharing my book summary below!

Be sure to check out the wonderful multicultural kids’ books that have been reviewed this summer!

While I’m sharing my appreciation for Pulelehua and Mamaki, I thought I’d mention a few other picture books about Hawaii that are gorgeous for children to read!

Want to spend more time learning about the beach with kids? Try these learning ideas!

Get more ideas for making reading fun with my Reading for Kids board on Pinterest!

Minimalist Homeschooling: Stick to the Basics

July 17, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Homeschoolers, let’s have a little chat, shall we?

One of the huge draws to homeschooling is that we have the freedom to teach lessons and subjects the way that we see fit. But, to quote Uncle Ben from Spiderman, “with great freedom comes great responsibility”. Okay, I’ve totally just told you my age. 🙂

We have a LOT of options and a LOT of flexibility, but we also have the sole responsibility of educating our kids. And sometimes the endless options and choices can shift our focus from providing a good education to providing the bestest, most complete education ever – which is probably impossible.

It’s easy to start with a few school subjects at first. Then you add more and more. Next thing you know, your lesson plan has 15 or 20 slots to accommodate extra subjects such as Latin, crafting, foreign language, engineering, and technology. That may work for some, but it has become overwhelming for me.

So – this year, I’m sticking with the basics only when it comes to teaching school subjects. Here’s how.

Minimalist Homeschooling: Focus on the Basics

Look at your state requirements. What subjects are you required to teach? Start with those! In our state, we are required to teach math, ELA, science, social studies, and reading. When I started to really look at those subjects, I realized that covering them each day is plenty enough for us.
Add in other subjects and interests, but sparingly. Say you want your child to study Latin. That’s fine. But do they really need to learn it every single day? Do you even have time to teach it every day? If not, do it once a week and let that be enough. Or: If you finish your required subjects for the year by summer, use the summer for those elective subjects.
Leave room for your kids’ interests! Homeschooling isn’t homeschooling if the kids don’t have a little say in the planning, right? Leave a slot or two open for them to explore something they want to learn about. Your day will go much, much better that way.

Want to simplify your lesson planning? Take a look at how we’re doing that this year!

Get more ideas for organizing your homeschool on my Homeschool Organization Tips Pinterest board!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 8: Teaching Several Kids at Once!

Minimalist Homeschooling: Simple Homeschool Lesson Planning

July 16, 2016 by Selena Robinson 3 Comments

We’ve been talking about minimalist homeschooling for the past few days and, so far, we’ve covered making changes in the way we store books, use paper, make crafts, and manage digital resources.

Today, though, we’re on to the granddaddy of them all: LESSON PLANNING.

Lesson planning is both my favorite and my most-hated part of homeschooling. I love the idea of doing it and I generally love doing it…for the first few weeks of the school year. Then I start to do it a little less and less. By week eight or so, I’m hiding the lesson planning book somewhere in the room so I don’t have to look at it…lol.

So I know it’s time to make a change in the way I plan our homeschool. And that’s why I’m giving simple homeschool lesson planning a shot this year!

How to Simplify Homeschool Lesson Planning

As I’ve mentioned many, many times before, I’m living with ADD. Which means that I tend to hoard and overcommit myself frequently. Nowhere does this tendency show up more in homeschooling for me than in how I plan our lessons.

I tend to overschedule our days, include too many activities, and then do almost none of them. So that’s pretty obviously not the ideal way to homeschool.

This year, I’m keeping it simple with the following format:

Our basic school subjects
One craft per week
One video per week
A field trip every month

As for choosing our craft each week, I’m going to use up the craft resources I already have (see: Cutting Down on Craft Supplies) and once those are gone, I’m sticking with resources from the library from here on.

When it comes to choosing a video, I’m going to use the videos I already have listed in some of our homeschool unit studies. I think there are enough there to keep us going for some time. 🙂

I’m also going to make use of a digital planning program, such as Evernote. I just don’t have the time to write things down by hand anymore. If I can’t see it on my phone during the day, it’s probably not going to get done. (I still love the paper planners! In fact, I use one for my overall day, but I’ve got to let them go for homeschooling. Sad, but true.)

How will we tackle our basic school subjects this year? We’ll be talking about that tomorrow!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 7: Stick to the Basics!

Get more ideas for planning your homeschooling year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

Minimalist Homeschooling: Cutting Down on Craft Supplies

July 15, 2016 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Crafting. I both love it and hate it. I love the feeling of making things with my kids. I don’t love the work of cleaning the mess up afterwards.

Despite this ambiguity, I have managed to amass a collection of craft supplies far larger than what will ever be used during my homeschooling journey. So, like my book collection, my digital homeschool resource collection, and my paper cache, my craft supply space has got to have a minimalist makeover.

Are you drowning in pom-poms, watercolors, clothespins, markers, and other craft supplies? Here are a few tips to cut them down!

How to Cut Down on Craft Supplies

Step 1: Designate a fixed space for craft supply storage. If you think that you really want to continue making crafts with your kids, set up a small space for storing supplies. Don’t let yourself buy or keep any more supplies that can reasonably fit in that space.

Step 2: Do a sort-through. Bring out all the crafting supplies you currently have and spread them on the floor. Let your kids look through them and come up with ideas for crafts and projects they want to make with them. If there are any supplies they don’t plan to use, set them to aside to donate.

Step 3: Make, make, make! Set a deadline for your kids to make their projects, but don’t be strict about it. Ask them when they’d like to make their crafts and then offer a gentle reminder. If they don’t follow through, just set those supplies out to be donated as well. Your kids will probably never miss them. 🙂

Need some ideas as to what kinds of crafts to make with your supplies? Check out this list of beach crafts for kids!

Get even more crafting ideas on my Simple Crafts for Kids Pinterest board!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by Monday for Day 6: Simplified Lesson Planning!

Minimalist Homeschooling: Digital Decluttering

July 14, 2016 by Selena Robinson 10 Comments

Do you think of yourself as a hoarder? Have you ever watched Hoarders and thought “That’s not me. I would never keep all that stuff.”

I have. In fact, one of the reasons I’m slowly embracing minimalism in my homeschool is because I prefer to keep a smaller house with fewer possessions to take care of. When I talk about having too many books or feeling overloaded with paper, I’m really speaking about the amount that feels like a lot to me. To others, though, it never seems like much.

But I recently came to a rather surprising conclusion: I am a digital curriculum hoarder. Over the years, I have downloaded so many homeschooling printables and curriculum helps that I will never use them all. There’s just no way.

And now, I don’t even look at them because I get overwhelmed by it all. Guess what? It’s time to do some digital decluttering.

How to Declutter Digital Resources

Step 1: Organize the digital homeschool resources you have.

Open up the folder in which you keep all of your homeschooling downloads. And slowly start organizing them into smaller folders. Whether you choose to do it by grade level, subject, or type, just get them all organized so that you can see where they are.

Also, if the files have funny download names that include symbols or letters, rename the files to the actual name of the product. That way, you’ll know what they are without having to open each file.

Step 2: Look at your grade objectives and decide which resources you will use for each child.

Use a notepad or an open file on your computer to jot down which resources you intend to use for which child during this school year. If you don’t think you’ll need a specific resource this year but you might use it the next year, store it in a separate folder.

If you think you won’t need it for several years, delete it. By the time you need it, you’ll probably have found something more up-to-date.

Step 3: Do a purge at the end of the school year.

When you’re wrapping up your school year, take a look back at the resources you used. Did you love them? Keep them for the next child! Did you never get around to using them at all? You can probably delete those. If there were any that you were on the fence about, toss those as well. And make sure that every resource you get going forward is one that you really want to use.

Need help organizing your digital homeschool resources? See a simple way to do it with File Explorer!

Get more ideas for organizing your homeschool on my Homeschool Organization Tips Pinterest Board!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 5: Cutting Down on Craft Supplies!

Minimalist Homeschooling: Dealing with Paper Overload

July 13, 2016 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

If you’re at home right now, go into your homeschooling space and take a gander around. If your room is anything like mine, you probably have more items made up of one material than all others: paper.

I had no idea how much paper I had accumulated over the past seven years of homeschooling until I started trying to simply our homeschool. And, oh boy, is there paper everywhere.

Worksheets, construction paper, writing paper, contact paper, butcher paper, drawing paper, graphing paper, planning paper – just paper as far as the eye can see.

This will probably seem unreal, but it’s absolutely true. I actually have planning pages that I printed FIVE YEARS AGO and have yet to use. I have no idea how much money I’ve spent in printer ink over the years, but I can guarantee it’s been a lot.

In this entry in the Minimalist Homeschooling series, we’re talking about how to deal with paper overload and free yourself of the paper trail!

Minimalist Homeschooling: Dealing with Paper Overload

First – I just want to clarify: I am not talking about getting rid of paper entirely. In our state, we have to keep certain records each school year and there are a few activities the kids completed that I’m saving for sentimental reasons. But a lot of this paper is just taking up space in my life.

So we probably (read: definitely) have too much paper on our hands. What do we do about it? We get real.

In yesterday’s post, I shared the tip that has been helping me declutter the most. Ask yourself: “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t, get rid of it.

With papers, we might tweak that approach to ask: “Do I really want to use this?” If you don’t really want to use it, put it in the “Get Rid of This” pile.

Personally, my pile consists mostly of extra drawing paper, old worksheets I printed but never used, old lesson planning pages that no longer fit our homeschooling approach, teachers’ guides I really thought I needed but will never, ever have the time to implement, and so on.

And guess what? If you’re feeling guilty about tossing all this paper, just take it to your local recycling center. They’ll be happy to take it off your hands!

Going forward, I’ll be printing worksheets, planners, and other pages on a strict need-to-use basis. If I don’t need it that week, I’m not printing it. Period.

Need some non-paper related homeschool planning ideas? Check out Homeschool Planning board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 4: Digital Decluttering!

Minimalist Homeschooling: How to Declutter Books

July 12, 2016 by Selena Robinson 9 Comments

I never thought I’d ever utter this next sentence, but: I have too many books.

There. I said it.

That was tough.

If there was an organization for Book Collectors Anonymous, I’d be at my meeting every week.

I’ve always loved to read and, when my husband and I decided to homeschool our children, I was off and running to the bookstore. Books about homeschooling, books with homeschooling activities, classics I’d read as a child that I now wanted my kids to read, new children’s books that were written by promising authors, out-of-print books featuring wonderful hobbies I still wanted my kids to learn…you get the idea.

But after seven years of homeschooling, I realized that I just have way too many books. As part of my experience with minimalist homeschooling, I’m..gasp…getting rid of some of my books. If you’re ready to learn how to declutter books, here’s a look at how I’m doing it.

Minimalist Homeschooling: How to Declutter Books

I’m going to borrow from the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up to explain how I decide it’s time for a book to leave my home. In that book (and, yes, I realize the irony of quoting a book about getting rid of books), the author says to touch each item in your home and ask yourself: “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn’t, out it goes.

For me, I look at a book and think “Do I really want to use this book for our homeschool or do I feel like I should use this book for our homeschool?” If it’s there just because I think I should use it, it heads out the door.

Pictured: A look into my storage closet (almost)

Some homeschooling books are super, duper famous. And they are wonderful resources for many families. But, over time, I’ve realized that some of them are just not a good fit for us, especially since we’re homeschooling kids with ADHD. So there’s no point in keeping a homeschool library that won’t help with our specific educational goals.

“If a homeschooling book is in my closet just because I think I should use it, it heads out the door.”

Now, this is not to say that I won’t keep buying books. But buying them because I only think I need them or, worse, keeping them long after they’ve served their purpose, ends now.

So, what have I been doing instead of hoarding more and more books? Why, visiting my local library, of course! And there are so many great and trusted tips for homeschooling available online now, that I don’t really need as many homeschooling and education books as I did years ago.

Do you have a way to declutter books? How do you decide what to keep and what to get rid of? Share your tips!

Don’t miss these great homeschool organization posts!

Need more ideas to get your homeschool organized? Follow my Homeschool Organization Tips board on Pinterest!

This post is part of the How to Homeschool as a Minimalist series! See all of our minimalist homeschooling tips by clicking the image below!

What is Minimalist Homeschooling?

July 11, 2016 by Selena Robinson 7 Comments

Confession time: I’ve struggled off and on with homeschool hoarding for YEARS.

I didn’t get a lot of support when I was a homeschooled student and I swore that my children would have all the books, resources, and materials they’d ever need. As a result, our bookshelves and closets are stacked to the gills with homeschooling supplies.

Here’s the problem: I will never in my life ever use all of those things. In fact, I’ve had things put away for years that I have found after my children are too old to use them. For example: I have a book full of toddler activities that I haven’t opened in nearly nine years (since Tigger was a toddler). Guess what? I no longer have any toddlers.

As my kids get older and my confidence in homeschooling grows, I’m finding that I don’t need nearly as much things as I thought to give them a quality education. So I’m stepping into the world of minimalist homeschooling.

What is minimalist homeschooling? And can a confirmed homeschool hoarder really embrace minimalism?

What is Minimalist Homeschooling?

Here’s where it gets a little dicey: what minimalist homeschooling actually is looks different in each family. For me, minimalism refers to a lifestyle that challenges people to make the most of what they have without buying more things. In short, it’s simplifying your life by getting rid of unnecessary possessions.

This lifestyle is well supported by the Bible. 1 Timothy 6:7, 8 encourages us to be content with “sustenance and covering”. Well, when it comes to homeschooling, I’ve got plenty to be content with. Too much, in fact.

So, it’s time to get rid of my unnecessary homeschooling things, no matter how much they may mean to me personally or how much money they may have cost me.

Can a Homeschooling Hoarder Become a Minimalist?

Since I’m a hoarder (when it comes to homeschool stuff), I know that embracing minimalist homeschooling is going to be tough. The challenge for me is letting go of my fear that I won’t have something my kids need when they need it. Which brings me to the most important reason why I’m venturing into this lifestyle.

I do not want to homeschool out of fear.

I’ve never been one to homeschool out of fear of the public school system. Nor do I homeschool out of fear that my children will do “something wrong” if they’re out of my sight. But I have been hoarding homeschooling materials out of fear that I won’t be a good enough teacher. And that fear has been draining the joy out of the homeschooling experience.

My hope is that homeschooling with the bare necessities will help me see that I am teacher enough for my kids, even without a closet full of supplies.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of my journey with you all in the next few days! Do any of you homeschool with a minimalist perspective? I’d love to hear how it’s going for you!

Need to homeschool on a budget? Grab my ebook How to Afford Homeschooling for just 99 cents!

Get more ideas for planning your upcoming homeschool year on my Homeschool Planning Pinterest board!

This post is part of the 10 Days of Minimalist Homeschooling series! Stop by tomorrow for Day 2: Books, Books, Books!

25 Beach Crafts for Kids

July 10, 2016 by Selena Robinson 2 Comments

Have you made it to the beach yet this year? We’re planning a quick trip to a local one in August, so I thought I’d look for some fun and adorable beach crafts for kids that we can make together before we leave!

What I love about studying the beach with kids is that the topic is so broad! You can learn about the sun, the ocean, ocean animals, beach sand, animals that live on the beach, seashells, ice cream, and so much more! So there are crafts for all these things below!

Read on to find some fun beach crafts you can try too!

25 Beach Crafts for Kids

1. Beach Diorama for Kids from Look! We’re Learning!

2. Puffy Paint Ocean Collage from ArtsyMomma

3. Seashell Keepsake Craft from Moms and Crafters

4. Beach-Themed Sand and Shell Art from Happiness is Homemade

5. Sand Footprint Craft from Paging Fun Mums

6. Newspaper Shark Craft from I Heart Crafty Things

7. Paper Plate Sun Craft from Buggy and Buddy

8. Starfish Ocean Button Craft from A Little Pinch of Perfect

9. Shell Sunflower Craft from Rhythms of Play

10. Sand Handprint Keepsakes from The Imagination Tree

11. DIY Beach Sand from Look! We’re Learning!

12. Cupcake Liner Sun Craft from I Heart Crafty Things

13. 3-Ingredient Ocean in a Bottle from Happy Hooligans

14. Paper Plate Seashell Craft from Artsy Crafty Mom

15. Sand in a Bottle Craft from Gift of Curiosity

16. Coffee Filter Beach Ball Craft from Look! We’re Learning!

17. Popsicle Stick Mosaic Sun Craft from Kids Activities Blog

18. Cupcake Liner Lighthouse Craft from Sugar Aunts

19. DIY Seashell Mobile from Nurture Store

20. Egg Carton Ocean Craft from The Imagination Tree

21. Bubbling Shell Painting from Mess for Less

22. DIY Moon Sand from Look! We’re Learning!

23. Paper Plate Beach Ball Craft from Glued to My Crafts

24. Sun Craft Scissor Skills Activity from A Little Pinch of Perfect

25. Beach Keepsake Craft from Fireflies and Mudpies

Need more summer learning ideas? Try these with your kids!

Plus, get even more ideas on my Summer Activities for Kids Pinterest Board!

And don’t miss my All About Beaches Printable Pack – perfect for keeping kids learning over the summer!

This post is part of the Summer Activities for Kids Blog Hop! Check out more summer fun for kids below!

Flower Suncatcher Nature Craft – Messy Little Monster

Make a Bee Bath – Kitchen Counter Chronicles

Water Play Car Wash – Play and Learn Everyday

Tic Tac Toe Races – Royal Baloo

Finding Dory Wind Sock Craft – The Gingerbread House

Simple Early Solar System Unit for Kids

July 8, 2016 by Selena Robinson 6 Comments

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. Like pretty much every kid in the 80s.

We’re from Florida originally and I really, really, really wanted to go to space camp.

But, alas, it never happened. I did ride one of those anti-gravity swings at Church Street Station in Orlando, though. Not quite the same somehow.

Outer space is still a fun early learning theme for kids, so I thought I’d put together a few resources for learning the solar system.

There are videos, books, and activities below that make learning about the solar system even more fun!

You can use some or all of these solar system unit resources to introduce your students to our neighbor planets.

If you like this unit, take a look at our Spanish and English Solar System Learning Cards too!

Learn about outer space with this fun solar system unit for early grades!

Learning the Solar System for Kids

Watch the following YouTube video and discuss the following questions with your class:

(Note: The last two minutes of this video includes a hypothesis that states the solar system will cease to exist in 500 million years, which might frighten some students. Giving you a heads-up in case you want to skip it. None of the questions below are about that part of the video.)

How old do scientists think the solar system is? Answer: 4.5 billion years old
How often does the solar system circle the galactic center? Answer: Once every 250 million years
Name the four terrestrial planets in our solar system: Answer: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Name the four gas giants in our solar system: Answer: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Why does Mercury experience large temperature fluctuations? Answer: Because a Mercury year is shorter than a Mercury day.
How hot does temperature get on Venus? Answer: Up to 497 degrees Celsius
Why is Earth able to sustain life? Answer: Because temperatures are moderate enough to retain a water supply.
Name the largest mountain on Mars: Answer: Olympus Mons (It’s also the largest mountain on any planet in the solar system.)
What two gases comprise most of Jupiter? Answer: Hydrogen and Helium
How many moons does Saturn have? Answer: 62
What makes Uranus unique? Answer: Its axis of rotation is tilted sideways.
How long is a Neptune year? Answer: 164 Earth years
How much of the solar system’s mass is made up by the sun? Answer: 99.86%
Where is Pluto located? Answer: In the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the solar system

Solar System Outer Space Binoculars Craft

Make a simple solar system craft with this outer space binoculars activity!

Little learners can use them to “stargaze” on their own!

Supplies: (Affiliate links are listed below. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.)

Wrap the tissue paper around each toilet paper roll. Use scissors to cut off the excess.

Stick glue circles onto the side of one of the toilet rolls. Press the other roll onto it to stick them together.

Let students decorate the tubes with the outer space stickers.

Cut the elastic cord and thread it inside both of the paper rolls.

Tie the ends of the cord around the rubber necklace to make a lanyard.

All done!

Solar System Flashcards for Kids

Teach your students about each member of the solar system, including the sun, moon, and stars, with these printable solar system flashcards!

Solar System Flashcards for Early Learners

These cards feature colorful illustrations and vocabulary words for early learners to memorize the planets in our solar system.

A full blackline version is included too.

How to Use Solar System Flashcards with Kids

Best of all – you can get these solar system printables for free!

Click the image or the link below to have these solar system flashcards sent directly to your inbox! You’ll also get our weekly newsletter – coming this Sunday!

Click here to get your printable resource

>>> Solar System Flashcards <<<

25 Books about the Solar System:

There are so many great picture books about the solar system for kids to read. Many of them have beautiful illustrations and, sometimes, even pictures from space.

I’ve put together a list of 25 selections that are excellent for early grades.

Take a look at the collection below!

25 Awesome Books about the Solar System

Solar System Crafts and Activities for Kids:

Try some of these hands-on ways to learn about the solar system for kids!

Solar System Edible Playdough – Look! We’re Learning!
10 Fun Children’s Books about Space – Crafty Mama in ME
Children’s Astronaut Books – The Jenny Evolution
Solar System Coloring Pages – Look! We’re Learning!
Melted Bead Planet Mobile – Schooling a Monkey
Stargazing Apps for Kids – iGameMom
Coffee Filter Solar Eclipse Craft – Look! We’re Learning!
Space sensory salt tray activities – The Usual Mayhem
How to Spot Meteors When Camping – FrogMom

I hope you love using this simple solar system unit with your students! If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know in the comments!