She Runs By Faith

Summer has somehow slipped away and here we are, on the verge of returning back to school. Back-to-school brings about various reactions from parents. Relief, excitement and/or maybe some sadness? As a homeschooling mom, I feel like we're transitioning from the laid-back summer schedule back into "game on" mode. Our family thrives on routine but outdoor time was priority this summer. Summer t-ball, swimming lessons, fairs and park time was really refreshing. It had been a looooong winter! Now it's time to focus on school prep. Last year, I used My Father's World's Kindergarten curriculum along with Singapore's Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics books for my oldest son, which was perfect for our first year of homeschooling. Now with E in 1st grade and W in preschool, we will be following  A Gentle Feast , a Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum that easily accommodates teaching multiple students. As I gathered books and resources over the summer, I h

Recently the coolest hands-on STEM learning project arrived on our doorstep... Meet Artie 3000 The Coding Robot: Artie 3000, a coding robot by Educational Insight, makes coding a creative and fun process for kids. He comes with four washable markers and follows code to create designs! Along with the markers, a quick start guide and pre-coded design activity cards are included. Artie 3000 does require 4 AA batteries that are not included in his box. (Thankfully we have a plethora of those at home!) Our children are 6 years old, 4 years old and 1.5 years old, which is a little younger than the 7+ recommendation for this coding robot but we have still had a great time with him. The quick start guide is very easy to follow and set up is quick. Artie 3000 actually has a built-in WiFi server and connecting him to our Macbook Pro was a breeze. I expected the process to be much more complicated! Our first test run with Artie was his easiest pre-coded design: a square. We