Although summer doesn’t technically come to an end until September 23rd, it feels like it is just about over as friends return to school and homeschool programs start up again. It certainly doesn’t feel like summer is gone here in the Midwest with the heat waves we’ve been having, but the desire to have more consistent rhythms seem to be permeating our family. And so, here we are… reminiscing about what we learned during the hot, sunny days of summer.
Family Learning Time
Vacation Bible School was a huge highlight of the summer, as usual. This is a very important community outreach for our church and a fun time of spiritual growth and learning for our children. This year’s theme was games, with the focus being on following Jesus.
Make Your ways known to me, Lord;
Psalm 25:4
teach me Your paths.
We did a fair amount of nature observation over the past few months. We often use the Seek app to identify plants and animals (mostly insects) that we find in our yard, on walks around the neighborhood or during nature hikes. Some of our most interesting finds have been the Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp. We saw one dragging a cicada into it’s tunnel at the edge of our backyard patio, which led us to find out more about this interesting insect by reading information on our state’s conservation website. It was quite fascinating! Another interesting thing we learned is that the American Crab Spider, which we found on our back porch a few days ago, eats honeybees! Now that we have a renewed interest in bugs, we will be enjoying a short unit study using the Know & Glow Insects and Bugs Sticker Book.
Our main read aloud was The Mysterious Howling, which is the first book in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series. I read the entire series on my own earlier this year and really enjoyed them. I loved how the author weaved so many interesting facts about the English language and other topics into the stories. I will allow the girls to read the rest of the series on their own if they choose. We also read many picture books as we have been visiting the library fairly often.
We were introduced to Bluey by a friend and binge-watched all three seasons over the span of a month or so. There aren’t very many cartoons that I really enjoy, but I love the dynamics of the Heeler family and the silly games they all play much of the time. The Smoochy Kiss episode is my ultimate favorite with the episodes that include the “grannies” coming in close behind.
Individual Projects
There haven’t been many official individual projects as we spent much of our time outside when it was cool enough and enjoyed extra screen time when it was too hot to spend an extended amount of time outdoors. The oldest three children have enjoyed playing around with Canva and have learned many new skills in design and computer usage. I am always amazed at how quickly and easily kids pick up on technology with minimal instruction. Here are a few of their favorite creations:
Mother Culture
My own learning over the summer has centered around health and wellness. I’ve recently become intrigued with the “barefoot movement” and the science behind the benefits of minimal footwear. As well as the importance of adding more movement into everyday moments for better quality of life. Katy Bowman’s books (specifically Move Your DNA) and podcast, Nutritional Movement, have been quite illuminating and helpful in this area. I’ve also been attempting to better manage my blood sugar levels to alleviate migraines and insomnia. Reading Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe has extremely helpful and easy tips to implement. My daughter and I have seen a noticeable difference in how we feel when we follow the recommendations. It’s sticking with them on a consistent basis that is so difficult. We are making progress though!
While I really enjoy learning about living a healthier lifestyle, I often must pray that the Lord gives me wisdom to not take it too far or place my trust in food, supplements or exercise. It is not healthy to stress about wellness or be in constant fear of eating or doing the “wrong” things. We live in a fallen world, so we will never achieve perfect health; and, ultimately, God is the One who heals. However, I do believe that we should be good stewards of our bodies so that we can better serve our Savior and others for His glory.
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31
So, that’s what we’ve been learning lately! The past few months have been full of many new discoveries and some good reminders of important truths. It’s been a good summer!
What have you studied and/or learned over the past few months? I’d love for you to share in a comment below!
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