What we enjoyed in a challenging month
As I begin writing this (Saturday 31st January) I can hear the rain outside. It’s hard to believe we could have anymore rain after the month we’ve had here over in the UK!
Just this week, two of the three roads that lead in and out of our village were flooded. That, along with a nasty virus that hit our home this month and the multiple changes in plans left me feeling pretty deflated.
January can be a tough month for many of us and as many of you will know the wet weather didn’t help this year.
Thankfully we’re at the point in the year when we have the lighter evenings to look forward to and all of the anticipation and new life that Spring brings.
Looking forward
Yesterday in my stories on Instagram, I said that if you could relate to struggling in January, I hoped you could take some time to reflect on what has gone well, what you and your children have enjoyed, and what you are looking forward to in the coming weeks.
We all need things to look forward to!
So I thought I’d share with you what we’ve enjoyed and if you are willing to share, please do comment below with your highlights from January.
Morning poetry
Following the Christmas break, we’ve slowly got back into the rhythm of reading the Bible most days over breakfast as well as poetry.
Usually I would choose a poet for the term for us to focus on, but this term I decided that instead we’d read from a selection from a few of our favourite poetry books, alongside a page from the seasonal Ladybird book What to Look For in Winter by Elizabeth Jenner most days:
- I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree (A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year)
- Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright! (An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year)
- Flower Fairies of the Winter by Cicely Mary Barker
- And a new one for us called The B on Your Thumb which covers spelling rules, sounds and silent letters in 60 poems.
Mr Popper’s Penguins
We have really enjoyed our read aloud for Language Arts: Mr Popper’s Penguins by Florence and Richard Atwater.
I’d originally bought it on my Kindle a few years ago and tried reading it to the girls, but back then they really weren’t interested. Then, I recently found a paperback copy in a charity shop for £1.50 and I thought that wasn’t too heavy an investment to give it another go!
I’m really glad I did, because this time the girls enjoyed it (that’s given me hope for a few other failed read alouds). It’s quite lighthearted, funny – who can imagine having a penguin as a pet?! – and a much easier read than the Chronicles of Narnia, our previous read aloud, so a refreshing break!
Exploring Europe
For geography this year we are doing a trip around Europe where each week we ‘visit’ a different country. We find it on the map, make notes about the capital city, population, the languages spoken and more on our fact-file sheet. Then we learn a bit about the culture, the cuisine and various other aspects depending on the country.
If you haven’t seen already, I am releasing the resources I’ve created for each country on Ko-fi for people to download for free, or a donation if you are able to support my work.
This past week we’ve been in Finland and it’s been fascinating! I think the Finnish have it right in so many ways with their love of coffee, pastries, ice swimming (followed by a trip to the sauna to warm up), and their attitude too! Finland is said to be the happiest country in the world and a few of the main reasons for that I believe is their close connection to nature and Sisu: a cultural trait that means resilience and perseverance.
Spring
It is with that in mind that I am looking ahead to Spring. With a growing desire for outdoor adventures and the opportunity to take our learning outdoors more often. I look forward to seeing the flowers and buds emerging, the leaves growing on the trees and listening to birdsong in the garden.
I do hope as you read this you are keeping well – I’d love to know what have been your highlights in January!
Posts coming soon:
- Our most used home-ed books
- Mr Popper’s Penguins – what we did for our book study
Lucy x x
