Our Preschool Favorites Plus Election Study Resources for Multiple Ages

Today I share with you, in the grand tradition of a hodgepodge, several resources. Some for preschool, some that span the multiple ages. I’ll start with the little ones. Rod and Staff Preschool Activity Books are full of fond memories for this Mama! This wonderful set is one of the resources we started homeschooling my eldest with about a dozen years ago.

Preschool Favorites

This set of books are “beginning activity books for your young child…made to provide introduction and practice in motor skills such and hand-eye coordination and visual comparison of objects…primary exposure to number concepts.” Please read the remainder of my review at The Curriculum Choice on Friday.

Plus I’ve compiled our favorite preschool resources in our Preschool to First Grade Curriculum Choices. All those wonderful things our four-year-old and six-year-old children are enjoying. Five in a Row, Saxon math, Alphaphonics and more.

This week we had a little hodgepodge of everything. 1. Lil’ Buddy practicing riding a bike! | 2. Middle Girl getting to play on Uncle Ken’s new ‘toy’ | 3. A mocha Starbucks on a rainy Monday | 4. Teaching Textbooks | 5. The sibling mopping duo! | 6. Cheddar-garlic biscuits recipe from Vicki Bentley’s Everyday Cooking | 7. More meds for yet another sinus infection in the family – #4 out of our 7 – then we also had two strep + this week! Time to rest this weekend | 8. A few more things after lunch – geography, etiquette, Sketch Tuesday | 9. Littlest Girl reading Junie B. Jones during afternoon quiet time | 10. Eldest Girl’s Teaching Textbooks time

Nature Study

Plus, fall means wonderful nature study right outside your window or door. 1. A fairy house built by the girls | 2. leaves piling up on the backyard slide | 3. leaves changing! | 4. cool spider web on the front lawn – all sparkly from the dew | 5. Beautiful red maple leaf | 6. craft for my four-year-old choir

Election Study Resources for Multiple Ages

Also this week, I purchased Amanda Bennett’s Elections unit study. I downloaded it and reserved a big bunch of books at the library. Just as we did with our Olympics study in August, we are going to focus on elections in October, leading up to election day. We will continue our Tapestry of Grace studies here and there. Especially the readings and the long-term projects and writings on the establishment of the 13 colonies. But the beauty of homeschooling is that you can shift the focus of your studies to scoop up all you can on current events.

So, we will all study the Elections unit study together – preschoolers to high schoolers. We’ll pull out those journals from the Olympics (because there is still plenty of room and paper) and add elections to them. I’ve reserved books for all the ages, as suggested in the study – from picture books for the littlest ones to further study on the candidate selection and electoral process for the older ones. So much for us to learn about our government!

• In addition, our older three, including my high schooler, will be supplementing with Presidential Penmanship. Annie Kate’s review sold me on it.
• Maureen at Spell OutLoud has a wonderful Big List of Government & Election Resources! Don’t miss it.
• Curriculum Choice’s Government and Elections Pinterest board.
• Plus, who can resist Mr. Smith Goes to Washington? It’s an all-time favorite of mine!

And speaking of current events…

Savvy Blogging Summit

I am at Savvy Blogging Summit this weekend right here in my neck of the woods – Atlanta. Huge continuing education opportunity. Totally out of my comfort zone, getting to meet such wonderful people I’ve known only online. One of the founders of Savvy, Erin Chase, is my big $5 Dinners boss – I’ve met her just once before in real life – and I’ll get to meet fellow recipe contributor Alea Milham (did you know she is a homeschooler too?) Plus many other homeschool bloggers! I’ll be posting the action on instagram when I can.

Fall Pumpkin Fun

In case you missed it, I’ve got a really fun duct tape pumpkin my Aunt Patti made and a few more favorites for you in Pumpkin Craft, Art and Recipes.

Many thanks to our Friday hostesses!

• Homeschool Mother’s Journal at iHomeschool Network
• Collage Friday hostess Mary at Home Grown Learners
• iPhone Photo Dump at Passport Academy
• Jamerrill at Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling
• Weekly Wrap-Up hostess Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers
• No Fear Homeschool High School at The Daisy Head

Thanks for visiting! I invite you to subscribe to Hodgepodge (it’s free!) Don’t miss a homeschool post.

Will you be studying elections and government in your homeschool over the next month or more?