Earlier this year when we were talking about a theme for his upcoming birthday, we decided on chipmunks, but my son still wanted to have cars in the theme too.

Before I share the details of his party, here’s little context for why we chose chipmunks…

Two summers ago we took a family vacation to Estes Park and visited Rocky Mountain National Park. While there, we met a friendly chipmunk on one of the trails and my youngest son was later inspired to pick out a stuffed animal chipmunk from a gift shop. He named it Chippie and has been attached to it ever since. It’s like a real pet to him and he often carries him around in his shirt.

So, chipmunks are valuable in his little boy eyes!

As I started planning his birthday party, I realized there weren’t many party supplies for chipmunks, let alone a combined cars and chipmunks theme. While chipmunks are a part of the squirrel family and I did find some squirrel decor, chipmunks alone aren’t a common birthday party theme. The only thing that really came up in my online search was Alvin and the Chipmunks, but I wasn’t wanting to do anything cartoon related. My plan involved something more real life with chipmunks and cars.

Since related birthday supplies were scarce, I had to do some creative thinking to pull off his party. And since this is a theme with limited ideas on the Internet, I thought I’d share the details of how I made it work.

Since I’ve already planned several cars and truck birthdays for him, I decided to emphasize the chipmunk theme and add touches of car-related items. While there are plenty of woodland birthday party supplies, I wanted the decor to specifically reflect chipmunks, and that proved challenging to find. I ended up piecing together various things I found to create what turned out to be a really fun birthday party.

Birthday Banner and Balloons

Since I couldn’t find a chipmunk banner and didn’t want want to invent one due to time constraints, I decided to re-purpose his first birthday banner which was a woodlands theme. The letters were perfect because chipmunks are forest animals, but I covered up the original forest animals with chipmunk clipart I found on Etsy. Thankfully, there was at least some adorable birthday chipmunk clipart. You can find it HERE if interested.

I also found some acorn and chipmunk balloons on Amazon, although technically they were advertised as squirrels.

Food

Food is the heart of any birthday party and I always try to incorporate the theme into the food. I found some autumn food tent labels HERE and came up with names to fit the chipmunk theme. I also used our Waytoplay road and attached some chipmunks/squirrels to cars as a centerpiece.

Chipmunk Sliders: For the main dish, my son requested cheeseburger sliders, which by the way, were a big hit! We sometimes do family movie nights and one time when I was wanting to make something beside pizza, I came across a recipe for cheeseburger sliders. Since all three of my guys are cheeseburger fans, I figured they would be well received.

There are several recipes for cheeseburger sliders, but this classic one is great. I do make a few adjustments.

If I’m just making it for my family of four, I use a standard package of Hawaiian Rolls and I only use about 1 and 1/2 pounds of ground beef seasoned with Worcestershire, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once I assemble it, I do one half with only ketchup and cheese (for my youngest), and the other half with added mustard and dill pickles. I brush it with garlic butter, but leave off the sesame seeds.

For the party, I bought party-sized packages of Hawaiian Rolls and used a whole package of ground beef from Costco, which made 48 sliders.

Forest Fries: What goes better with cheeseburgers than fries? I baked a variety of fries and served them on a tray with a variety of sauces. I haven’t made a fry board before, but it was the perfect compliment to the sliders. I never got around baking the waffle fries and onion rings I also planned to use, but maybe next time.

Forest Berries: One of my son’s favorite fruits is strawberries.

Sweet Acorns: I used mini Nilla Wafers, Hershey’s Kisses, and chocolate chips to make these sweet treats. I melted some chocolate chips and used that as glue to attach the kisses to the wafers. Then I stuck them in the freezer for a few minutes. Next I attached a chocolate chip to each acorn using more melted chocolate as the glue. I stuck them in the freezer for a few more minutes so everything remained intact. Not my original idea and if you do a search you’ll find various recipes.

Apple Cider Punch: With in it being the season of autumn, I made an apple cider punch with a combination of apple cider, ginger ale, frozen orange juice concentrate, and apple and orange slices.

Other Food: I also served a veggie tray, Chex Mix, and a cheese and salami tray (my son loves salami!).

Make-Your-Own-Chipmunk Mix

While planning, I came across an idea for setting up a trail mix display where guests could make their own trail mix. To match the theme, I called ours Chipmunk Mix and filled paper lunch bags with various sweet and salty goodies. I set out some sealable plastic bags so guests could easily take their mix home with them if they wanted.

goodies for the mix:

• mini oreos
• M&Ms
• mini marshmallows
• pretzels
• popcorn
• honey roasted peanuts
• gummy bears
• goldfish

This was a welcome addition and something I’ll probably incorporate again at a future party.

The Cake

From the beginning, I thought a chipmunk riding in a car would be a creative way to weave together the theme. So for the cake topper, I found a Lego chipmunk mini-figure and my oldest son built a car.

I thought about doing the base of the cake in different ways, but decided a tree stump was the most fitting.

My boys always request chocolate cake, so I’ve been making those for them since their second birthdays. For this cake, I made a three layer chocolate cake frosted with chocolate buttercream. As I was making the cake, my son came by and said that he looooved it so that was a sweet surprise.

Once everything was frosted, I added a few forest finishing touches including some chipmunks/squirrels figures we already had.

Party Favors

I made some chipmunk and acorn sugar cookies for guests to take home, and I also set out a basket of little cars for the kids. Just a little thanks for coming.

My son enjoyed his 7th birthday party and it was meaningful to incorporate his love of chipmunks, plus I didn’t mind the challenge of creating more of an original party since the pre-made decorations were lacking.

It’s still hard to believe that my littlest boy is already seven and growing up more each day. I hope these memories are the ones he’ll cherish for years to come!

Rejoicing in Hope,

Hannah

The post Chipmunks and Cars Themed Birthday Party appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

It wasn’t long before she asked the dreaded question.

“Is your son excited for Halloween?! What’s he going to be?”

No longer relaxed, I replied, “Oh, we don’t celebrate Halloween.”

Baffled, she responded, “What?! You don’t celebrate Halloween? Why”

My firstborn son was around five or six at the time and our family had recently stopped celebrating Halloween. I had yet to formulate an eloquent response to the question I preferred to avoid, but I realized in that moment that I couldn’t escape the awkwardness.

I started regretting my decision to come to that hair salon and wished I could sneak out. But I mustered up a response that sounded a little something like:

“I just don’t like all the scary stuff. And I’m a Christian.”

While I was ready to move onto to talking about something else, she kept asking questions.

“What kind of church do you go to? Do you at least celebrate Christmas or Easter?”

“Oh yeah, we celebrate Christmas and Easter. I love Christmas,” I replied in a happier tone.

A smile returned to her face, but a hint of confusion remained. She couldn’t quite figure me out and I wasn’t interested in a long Halloween conversation. It was hard for me to talk about because I was still processing the change.

Some of her last words in my memory are:

“Well, I still can’t believe you don’t celebrate Halloween.”

Why Our Family Stopped Celebrating Halloween

Halloween was never my favorite holiday, but I grew up trick-or-treating and dressing up in non-scary costumes.

One of my last memories of trick-or-treating was when a woman dressed as a witch answered the door. The inside of her home was dark with a glow of purple and green, and on a table sat a black bowl of candy or something else. In a creepy, witchy voice she invited us to come inside and pick out candy. I don’t remember who I was with, but thankfully we had enough discernment to say no.

Dressing up and going door-to-door to get candy may appear to be innocent fun, but we are in a spiritual battle and the enemy is crafty. The Bible tells us:

Motherhood caused me to take a deeper look at Halloween because I was responsible for my very own child. At first, my husband and I handled it much of the same way as we experienced it. Cute costumes, nothing scary, and nothing wrong with a little extra candy. We attended a few church Halloween alternatives that involved their own versions of candy and trick-or-treating, and I even took our son trick-or-treating in the neighborhood one year…

But none of it felt right.

I felt the spiritual heaviness of the holiday.

And I began learning its history which I previously knew nothing about.

Eventually, I was convicted about our participation in a holiday that clearly glorifies death and darkness—even if that’s not what our family was celebrating. So, my husband and I discussed it and prayed for wisdom, coming to the decision to stop celebrating Halloween about eight years ago.

It wasn’t difficult to surrender a holiday that made me uneasy, but it felt lonely to go against the grain of culture and uncomfortable dealing with awkward conversations like the one at the hair salon. In all transparency, I was also concerned that people would perceive me as a self-righteous, legalistic Christian.

Yes, I’ve struggled with people pleasing.

What I began to realize was that the main reason I held onto Halloween for a good portion of my life was because I was ignorant about its true meaning—and I wanted to fit in.

Why did I feel obligated as a Christian to participate in a holiday the celebrates the very thing Jesus went to the cross to defeat? Why would I fellowship with darkness when Jesus rescued me from it to give me eternal life? Why didn’t I realize sooner that the uneasy feeling inside me was there for a reason?

Pagan Worship in the Bible

There are different perspectives about the origins of Halloween, and I have spent years trying to come to my own conclusions.

Does it have pagan roots? Is it connected to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain? Does it have “Christian” roots because of the Catholic Church’s attempt to make it less pagan? Or is it just a modern-day commercialized holiday?

First, regardless of origins, I believe an argument can be made with the Bible alone as to why Halloween doesn’t have a place in my life as a Christian. Furthermore, the Bible is history, and it shows that unholy and demonic practices have existed since the Fall in Genesis chapter 3. Sin opened a doorway for death and decay to pollute the world. From the beginning, the enemy has used deception to lead people astray and fulfill his agenda to kill, steal, and destroy.

In the Old Testament, the Canaanites worshipped false gods such as Baal, Ashtoreth, and Molech. They sometimes made sacrifices to appease their gods, and as grotesque as it sounds, people even burned their children alive as an offering to the god, Molech. When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God clearly instructed them not to mix with the pagan worship of the Canaanites, but sadly they got swept up in the trap of idolatry.  

In the New Testament, forms of witchcraft also existed. For example, the practice of magic was common in Ephesus and due to the Apostle Paul’s ministry, many of the Ephesian sorcerers renounced their magic practices and converted to Christianity. They even had a public burning of their occult books which were valued at a total of 50,000 pieces of silver. See Acts 19.

With the history of the Bible, it is not far-fetched for me to believe that ancient pagan practices ultimately influenced Halloween as we know it today. While I’m aware that some deny the ancient origins and it’s not where I want to stay parked for too long, I think it’s worth examining.

Fishing through the origins is a bit sketchy because sources vary in their explanations, but I’ve done my best to be as accurate as I can, given I’m a busy mom who doesn’t have time to endlessly research.

The Origins of Halloween

Halloween’s roots reach back about 2,000 years to a pagan Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced “saw-wen” or “sow-win”), which was observed in Britain and Ireland on November 1. Samhain was their New Year which marked the close of the harvest season and beginning of winter. The Celts believed that on the eve of the New Year (October 31), the veil between the worlds of the living and dead was thinnest, and the dead could come back and visit the living. Some sources mention that these spirits could cause damage to crops and play tricks on the living. To appease these evil spirits, food and animal sacrifices were lit in bonfires as offerings and people disguised themselves in masks and costumes.

According to an article from Answers in Genesis, “Although no original written accounts of this festival exist today from the ancient Celts, there is some reference to it in Roman records from when the Romans conquered Celtic lands around AD 43.” Under Roman rule, Samhain was blended with the Roman festivals of Pomona and Feralia, both which were festivals of the dead celebrated at the end of October.

In the 7^th century, Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day) on May 13 to honor the saints, and in the 8^th century Pope Gregory III moved it to November 1, possibly to coincide with Samhain. While this was perhaps an attempt to Christianize a pagan festival, they kept some of its traditions by having bonfires and dressing up as angels, devils, and saints. The night before (October 31) became All Hallows’ Eve, which is where we get the name Halloween. And eventually, November 2 became All Souls’ Day, a day to remember and pray for dead loved ones.

During this three-day period referred to as Allhallowtide, it is also believed that poor people went door to door and collected baked goods called “soul cakes” from the wealthy in exchange for promising to pray for their dead relatives.  In essence, this was a time with an emphasis on remembering and praying for the dead. And rather than the focus being on roaming spirits like with Samhain, the focus was on remembering saints and martyrs.

On a side note…As a Protestant Christian who isn’t Catholic and doesn’t believe in purgatory, praying to saints, or praying for the dead—I don’t consider Halloween to have roots in my Christian faith. While there is nothing wrong with remembering those who have done good things, Allhallowtide is a man-made tradition of the Catholic Church.

Back to the history…

Over the centuries, these traditions continued to evolve until eventually they came to America. When the puritans came over to America from England in the 1600s, they wanted nothing to do with Halloween because of its ties to the occult. In the 1800s there was a potato famine in Europe and a wave of Irish Catholic immigrants came to the United States, bringing with them the Halloween customs of Europe. It wasn’t until the 1900s when Halloween really started to take off in the United States, eventually becoming the modern-day commercialized version that it is today.

Modern-Day Halloween

While the origins offer some perspective, it’s important to look at how it’s being celebrated in this modern-day moment. Before summer is officially over, spooky decorations furnish isles at the store. Front yards are decorated with skeletons, tombstones, monsters, ghosts, and gore—all things meant to evoke fear and glorify death.

Jesus went to the cross to defeat death and give us eternal life, and in Christ we are new creations called to live set apart and be different from the world.

I love what James 1:27 offers us:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

We are to care for the poor and needy and at the same time we are to live holy lives. They go together, not one without the other. Our witness to the broken world is greater when we live in a way that unashamedly glorifies God. More is done for the Kingdom of God when we live set apart from the ways of our decaying world.

Halloween is a demonic holiday about death. It doesn’t matter how many ways it’s repackaged; its core is evil.

The Dangers of Halloween

Let me be abundantly clear that I’m not afraid of Halloween nor do I think Satan has more power than God, but rather I have no desire to take part in a holiday that brings glory to Satan. The enemy tried to keep me from discovering the true love of the Father and has thrown arrows my way, attempting to rob me of life and freedom in Christ. BUT praise God that Jesus rescued me out the darkness and ushered me into the light, and I now walk as a child of light.

When you have been rescued from much, you have much to tell of His amazing grace and redeeming love. And that just doesn’t fit with the death and darkness of a holiday like Halloween that has nothing to do with Jesus.

Halloween is now repulsive to me. My Savior had victory over death and the grave, giving me the promise of a beautiful future in His presence forevermore—and that’s what I celebrate!

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

-Colossians 3:1-3

With all that said…

I have listened to many testimonies of (now) Christians who have come out of witchcraft and the occult—and there is a common thread among their voices of saying not to celebrate Halloween. They have seen firsthand the significance of this holiday, the disturbing rituals done on this day, and the dangers that it presents.

For most of my life, I thought that dressing up in “innocent” costumes and getting a little extra candy was fine. So long as I removed the notably evil things, it was harmless.

And let me just say, if that’s where you’re at…I understand and don’t judge you.

But for me, as the Lord started to open my eyes around eight years ago, I no longer could look at it in the same way.

When we participate in Halloween we come into agreement with the holiday, even if our kids are simply dressed as a harmless butterfly. The enemy is looking for ways into our lives and he will take every inch we will give. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12:14 that “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” He wants to mess up our lives and our kids’ lives, and we need to be awake to his schemes and resist him.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” -James 4:7

Satan doesn’t want us to know the truth because his agenda is to destroy our lives. He’s in direct opposition to the things of God, and he targets the Body of Believers because we’re the ones who are supposed to be resisting the devil and standing for the things of God.

We need to understand that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, but we’re in a spiritual battle that requires putting on the full amor of God.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

– Ephesians 6:12

Conclusions I Have Come To

• We are free in Christ to live set apart and be different from the world and its practices. Taking a stand against Halloween and choosing not to participate in it isn’t being legalistic. In fact, even though the Bible doesn’t directly talk about Halloween, it is full of verses in both the Old Testament and New Testament that are clear about God’s views on sorcery, the occult, witchcraft, divination, necromancy, and any forms of pagan worship and idolatry.

• Celebrating Halloween isn’t a salvation issue, but it’s good to seek the Lord in prayer and ask Him what He wants our response to be to this holiday. As my husband and I did this, He made it clear to us that this wasn’t a holiday for our family, and over the years we’ve become even more unified in that decision. I have a deep conviction about this holiday, but realize that not everyone does. There are people whom I love dearly who celebrate this holiday and we still have a peaceful relationship.

• Our kids aren’t missing out if they don’t trick-or-treat. My oldest experienced Halloween for a few years, but Halloween has never been a part of my youngest’s life. Neither of my boys ask to trick-or-treat and we have ongoing conversations with them about why we don’t celebrate Halloween. Kids playing dress up on a normal day isn’t an issue from my perspective, but it’s not something we do on Halloween for reasons I’ve already stated. My boys have also had their share of candy, they just don’t trick-or-treat.

• There are ways to evangelize without using the traditions of Halloween. I can’t tell you what this means for you or your family, but it’s something to pray about and listen to the Lord’s leading. And it’s not limited to one day of the year just because strangers come knocking on doors. Sharing Jesus should be a way of life for the believer. We personally don’t hand out candy and while I wrestled with this in the beginning, I’ve learned that it’s okay to sit out on some things and that doesn’t make me a cold Christian.

• It’s okay to treat Halloween as another day. While I don’t feel the need for an alternative, I think there are still ways to make it a meaningful day and to be intentional about worshipping God that day. Some things we’ve done are: watched a movie and enjoyed special snacks, spent time in prayer and reading the Bible, packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, learned about the Protestant Reformation, enjoyed a pizza and game night with family, and last year we prayed for every single hostage in Israel by name in relation to the October 7^th massacre.

• This is a spiritual battle and prayer is powerful. Pray fervently. Pray for those in the occult to be set free. Pray for eyes to be opened. Pray for Christ’s Church to be attentive and awake. Pray for opportunities to share Jesus. Pray for the courage to do what is right.

• As Christians, we may come to some different conclusions about how to respond to this holiday, but we can still choose to engage with each other in a manner of humility and grace.

Closing Thoughts

When we first stopped celebrating Halloween, I knew it was the right thing to do, but to be honest all I wanted to do was hide under a pillow and not talk about it. I needed time process. To dig into Scripture more. To pray. To cry. To surrender my ways. To heal from past hurts. To understand that my conviction was for a reason. And to see that eventually, God could bring beauty from it.

If you don’t share my conviction that’s okay. But if you do and maybe you feel isolated because it’s the different way, I want to encourage you that it gets better.

For the first time in the month of October, I have truly experienced a peace that passes my understanding. It’s better than any physical gift I could ever receive. It’s the peace that comes from Jesus.

Yes, I still feel the heaviness of Halloween around me, but now when I pass a home in our neighborhood riddled with grotesque images, my heart is soft to pray for those people that they too could know the peace and freedom found in Christ.

From that uncomfortable hair salon conversation to now, God has given me confidence to simply say that I don’t celebrate Halloween. It’s not the popular way, but it’s the way the Lord in His perfect love has led me and my family.

I only wish I would’ve told that hair stylist more about Jesus.

About the One who ushered me out the darkness and into His marvelous light.

About the One who died an undeserved death to rescue us from eternal death.

I think the way we push back the darkness,  

Is to tell people about the One who conquered it.

Rejoicing in Hope,

Hannah

*I prayed a lot over my decision to share this. It’s written from a place of love and not condemnation. I know that some people won’t agree with me and that’s okay. I also couldn’t possibly go into every detail without this becoming a book, so while there’s a lot more I could say, as a busy mom this is most I could do. I know what’s it’s like to feel lonely and isolated and different on this day—and I hope that by sharing where God has led our family over time, that you can find some encouragement and know that you’re not alone.

* A note about sources: I used a variety of sources to compile my findings about the origins of Halloween, but it’s not a cut and dry matter because information varies from source to source. Some of the sites I referenced are History.com, Wikipedia, Answers In Genesis, Encyclopedia Britannica, The Library of Congress, and several others.

The post Why Our Family No Longer Celebrates Halloween appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

10 years ago, our little family said yes to the unfamiliar path of homeschooling. After sending our firstborn son to preschool for a year, I felt a nudge from the Lord to try teaching him at home. Even though he was only away from me a few mornings a week while being right up the road, the year he went to preschool made me realize how much I wanted to be involved in his learning. As a former teacher with an Early Childhood Education degree, I felt comfortable teaching my then preschooler. However, even with the boost of confidence my teaching background gave me, I wrestled with many of the common fears moms feel when considering homeschooling.

Despite some reluctancy, my husband and I talked about it and prayed about it and decided to try it. Since we started homeschooling before my son legally had to be enrolled in school, it took some of the pressure off and gave me a solid two years to “figure things out” before needing to report.

I remember browsing the internet to find any resource that would provide direction as to how to homeschool. It felt like one of those Where’s Waldo search and find books where it takes a lot of searching to find Waldo amongst a sea of dozens of items on a page. I was searching, not for Waldo, but for helpful homeschool advice amongst a sea of varying opinions.

Upon deciding to homeschool, wouldn’t it be nice if someone showed up at your door with a How to Homeschool manual containing everything you need to get started with homeschooling? Well, no such manual exists, but what I hope to share are a few pointers that would have benefited me in the beginning. I’m not an expert and when it comes to the legal aspects of homeschooling it’s important you do your own research, so please simply take this as a handful of friendly suggestions from one homeschool mom to another.

Know The Law for Your State

This is one area that seems to rattle nerves, including mine, so that’s why I’m starting here. But before I do, here’s my perspective as a Christian homeschool mom:

My boss is ultimately God. I’m serving Him and care most about what He thinks and desires of me. Over the past decade, He has always provided for our family and taken care of us as we’ve homeschooled and I know He will keep leading the way.

With that said, I’ll briefly dive into this topic.

Requirements will vary depending on where you live so it’s important to know what’s required in your state. HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) is a helpful starting place for finding out the homeschool law in your state. They have a Homeschool Laws By State tool that provides basic information about things like testing requirements, teacher requirements, and options for homeschooling. So if you’re curious about your state’s homeschool law, I recommend starting there. You won’t find every detail, but it will provide a non-overwhelming overview.

Depending on the law where you live, you may need to do some further digging to find out things like specific subjects you’re required to teach. Often, a state’s Department of Education will have a section about homeschooling and will provide a list of required subjects. Just a side note, my personal experience is that I’ve found the most help from organizations that support homeschooling, which is one reason why our family chooses to report to an independent school.

For our family, meeting requirements looks like submitting attendance records yearly, testing every other year starting in 3rd grade, and keeping records of my kids work. It’s really not as daunting as it can appear.

Write Out Your Why for Homeschooling

It’s important to know why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place.

You may or may not have an elaborate why when you’re starting out, and it may expand as you go, but either way it’s something worth taking the time to consider.

Are you homeschooling because you want to spend more quality time with your kids? You want to nurture healthy family relationships? You want your kids to be taught from a biblical worldview? You want to protect your kids from negative influences? Your kids had a bad experience with the pubic school system? You want the freedom to choose what’s best your kids?

Our why can help us to keep going on those especially exhausting days, it can be a focal point when deciding on schedules and curriculum, and it can be a steady reminder that there is a purpose for all we’re doing. It can be as simple or elaborate as you like, and you don’t have to share it with anyone if you don’t want, although it can come in handy when people ask the infamous question, “So why do you homeschool?”

Research and Choose Curriculum

With a plethora of curriculum at our fingertips these days, it can quickly become overwhelming sorting through so many options. So where does one even begin?

Since curriculum is simply a tool to help your family accomplish your learning goals, it’s good to first know your learning goals. What subjects will you teach? What style of homeschooling do you lean towards (and if you don’t know that’s okay)? Do you want an all-in-one box curriculum or do you want to piece together curriculum? Do you want to do some subjects family-style or are you mainly looking for curriculum to meet the needs of each kid?

These are all questions I’ve pondered in my planning process.

Also, one simple thing I do before choosing curriculum is to first type out a list of subjects I want to cover with each of my boys. Then I go searching for what to use to fulfill each of those subjects. That way I stay on track and don’t waste my time looking at curriculum related to subjects we’re not even covering.

All our situations and needs are different, but…

A few questions to consider when looking for curriculum:

• Is the curriculum open-and-go or does it require a lot of prep work?
• Does the curriculum align with your family’s values?
• Who wrote the curriculum?
• Do you want curriculum that encourages independence in your students (depending on their ages) or are you able to manage something that is more parent-intensive?
• Does the curriculum fit your style of homeschooling, if you have one?
• What do reviews say about the curriculum? While opinions will always vary, I have read and watched many curriculum reviews from other homeschool moms that have been helpful.

While finding the right curriculum involves some trial and error, curriculum should be something that serves you rather than controls you. The longer we’ve homeschooled, the more comfortable I’ve become modifying curriculum to best meet our family’s needs.

Also, I’ve enjoyed piecing together some of my own activities to do with my kids, especially for things like unit studies. You don’t always need a specific curriculum for everything!

Find a Rhythm That Suits Your Family

One of the many perks of homeschooling is getting to choose a way of life for our families, which includes schedules. We have the gift of creating a rhythm that suits our unique circumstances.

Maybe you’re a planner and thrive off structure like me. Or maybe you’re more relaxed with schedules and don’t need as much structure. Either way, rhythms help set the tone and kids tend to feel more secure with routines. Of course, the unexpected things come up and some days our schedule will get plowed over by unforeseen challenges…so it’s good to stay flexible too.

When we first started homeschooling, I focused more on specific increments of time such as: 9:00-9:30 we’ll do morning time, 9:30-10:00 we’ll do math, etc. Coming from a classroom teacher background where I had to do that to a homeschooling environment with more flexibility, was an adjustment. Plus, since I like structure, so it just made sense to me in the beginning to have the cookie-cutter schedule.

I still type out a schedule with time increments when planning for a new school year, however, that is mainly for me to see how I’m going to fit everything into each day. When we’re actually homeschooling, I don’t pay attention to the time as much as I used to. It’s become much more about a manageable rhythm.

Morning Basket

Math

Handwriting

Spelling

Etc…

Having the flexibility to spend more or less time on a subjects means we may spend 30 minutes on morning basket one day and 45 minutes the next. We may finish our school day at 2pm one day and 4pm the next day. So while time increments may vary day to day, the order in which we do things is what offers that predictability.

If you’re looking for a free daily schedule sheet to help you get started, I’ve been using this one from Confessions of a Homeschooler practically from the beginning. I fill out one of these for each of my sons while I’m planning in the summer for an upcoming school year. Then I print them on cardstock, laminate them, and hang them in our school room so we can reference them throughout the year. And like I said, we don’t stay right on track with the time increments, but they’re just a general guide.

Attend a Homeschool Conference

If you’re new to homeschooling or even just thinking about homeschooling, homeschool conferences can be a great place to get your questions answered. You’ll be encouraged by experienced speakers, enjoy fellowship with other homeschoolers, and likely get to peruse shopping exhibits to look at curriculum in person.

My husband and I attend a local homeschool conference once a year and it always refreshes me with encouragement and inspiration to keep pressing on. There’s something special about being in a building filled with hundreds of other homeschoolers on a similar path. I highly recommend checking out a homeschool conference in your area or elsewhere to enrich your homeschooling experience.

Final Thoughts

I remember having so many questions in the beginning and wondering if I was capable of homeschooling. God has faithfully provided for our family every step of the way and I’m truly thankful for that gentle nudge I felt all those years ago.

While this isn’t an exhaustive how-to list, I pray it offers some insight and hope.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to try and answer them or point you in the right direction!

Rejoicing in Hope,

Hannah

The post How to Get Started With Homeschooling appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

I was inspired by two separate ideas I came across and decided to fuse them together to create a Road to Easter Countdown using a set of Holy Week cards I made on Canva. Make sure to read to the end of this post to download these cards for FREE!

The idea is to fill eight bags with items related to Holy Week, open one bag per day, and then add the prop from the bag to the wooden road. If you have a young child, they also might enjoy using a wooden figure to “move Jesus” down the road each day to show you’re getting closer and closer to Easter.

There are certain days of Holy Week like Palm Sunday and Good Friday that are widely known, but other days that are rarely discussed. It’s not a cookie-cutter week with only one event happening per day, but I decided to highlight the more commonly talked about events for the less known days. The point is that I want my children to understand the events leading up to Resurrection Sunday because those details matter.

Supplies:

• Holy Week Countdown Cards (see below!)
• 8 paper lunch bags
• small clothespins
• Items to fill bags (see below)
• piece of wood
• wooden figure for Jesus

Holy Week Events

1. Sunday – Palm Sunday (palm branch)
2. Monday – Cleansing the temple (sponge)
3. Tuesday – Teaching (scroll)
4. Wednesday – Anointing (perfume jar)
5. Thursday – Maundy Thursday/Last Supper (cup & cracker)
6. Friday – Good Friday/Crucifixion (cross)
7. Saturday – Burial (stone)
8. Sunday – Resurrection (white cloth or white flower)

dirrections

1. Print out the Holy Week Countdown Cards and cut them out. There is a set of 8 days of the week cards (for the outside of the bags) and a set of 8 corresponding event cards (for the inside of the bags). p.s. If you have a corner rounder, that will come in handy.
2. Gather your Holy Week items. For each day, place the item and corresponding event card in the paper bag. Fold the bag and attach the corresponding day of the week card with a small clothespin. You will have 8 bags in total, one for each day of Holy Week.
3. Pick a spot to display your bags and wooden board (the road).
4. Open one bag per day starting on Palm Sunday. After opening the bag, discuss the card and item inside and then place the item on the road.
5. If desired, have your child “move Jesus” down the road each day using a wooden figure.
6. Repeat until you get to Resurrection Sunday!

My goal with the countdown cards was to highlight each day of Holy Week in a simple format. If you want more depth you can read the corresponding verses with your family. Since we are already going through a set of Resurrection Cards with longer Bible passages over twelve days, we will just be reading the short summary on each card. I wanted to do this activity with my boys for the hands-on, visual aspect, whereas our other cards are more in-depth reading.

Feel free to use whatever props make sense to you and what you already have on hand. All the items pictured are things we already had or I made with simple materials.

Click below to download your cards and enjoy this activity with your family!

I’m looking forward to starting this activity with my boys in a few days to keep our focus on Jesus this Easter. Let me know how it goes if your family also uses the countdown cards!

The post The Road to Easter With Holy Week Countdown Cards appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

For reference, my son started out the school year five years old and is now six years old. His lessons are fairly quick in comparison to his older, middle-school brother, but we’ve found a rhythm that works for everyone. This is the last year of not needing to report for him and I’m trying to soak in these little years that pass by way too quickly.

Our Kindergarten Choices

• Reading – All About Reading Level 1
• Bible – Apologia’s The Word in Motion Old Testament
• Math – Math With Confidence Level K
• Handwriting – A Reason For Handwriting Level K
• Science – Gentle & Classical Nature Volume 1
• Morning Time Resources – Morning Menu & Kindergarten Journal by Arrows & Applesauce, Character Education Cards by September & Co.

Reading

All About Reading worked well for my oldest son and so far it’s been working well for my youngest son, too. The multisensory approach of this program makes it a fun and engaging way to teach reading. It incorporates games, fluency sheets, flashcards, other activities, and reading stories.

The colorful, playful, and hands-on rich activities have made this a perfect fit for my kindergartener. Since it’s not grade-level based there’s an ease that we can go at his own pace and not feel rushed. I occasionally pause from the lessons for a day or two to dive deeper into some additional practice before moving on.

My son is currently about one-third of the way through Level 1, so we will definitely be continuing on with this level as he moves into first grade. I also bought the optional file folder games that pair with a puppet named Ziggy the zebra. My son loves animals and he often asks for Ziggy to be a part of our reading time in general.

This curriculum comes with several materials, is a bit pricey (but well worth the cost), and can be parent intensive. For these reasons, it may not be the fit for every family, but I have found it to be an effective way to teach my kids to read. It is also accommodating for both struggling readers and strong readers.

I’ve seen steady progress in my son this year by using All About Reading, and it’s a program I can comfortably recommend!

Bible

Last school year I bought Apologia’s The Word in Motion Old Testament because it’s a K-8 curriculum that I had planned to use with both my boys. However, I ended up holding off on using it until this year because we already had enough Bible resources. I mentioned this curriculum in our 7th Grade Homeschool Choices, but I will mention that it’s not what I would choose for just a Kindergartener. Aspects of the program like the hand motions work well for young children, but some of the reading material is a bit meaty for younger children.

As the name implies, this curriculum uses hand motions paired with words to teach kids the order of Old Testament events. This is definitely the highlight of the program, but kids may find this to be a bit childish by the time they hit middle school (talking from experience). There is a combination of short video instruction, reading material, and also note-booking (but I’ve opted not to have my kids complete the work in the journal). There is also a New Testament version with the same format as this one.

Overall, it’s been a helpful resource and I’m glad we’ve gone through it together. We’ve learned all forty motions in the first half of the program and it’s been a great tool for me as well. I think I will forever have in my head, “Creation, Fall, Flood, Nations, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Passover…Wait, Christ.”

A program like this isn’t necessary to teach the Bible to kids, but it can help deepen understanding.

Math

Math With Confidence wasn’t available when my oldest son was starting out, but we did use the “Facts That Stick” series by Kate Snow. She eventually wrote Math With Confidence as well, which is a program that’s still being released through grade 6. We’re currently working through the Kindergarten level and it’s been obvious that Kate Snow has a solid math background. Between holding a degree from Harvard to having been both a classroom teacher and homeschool mom, she has done a beautiful job with this curriculum.

This is one of the more parent-friendly math curriculums I have seen, and it really does equip the parent with the confidence to teach math as well as instill math confidence in kids. It comes with both an Instructor’s Guide and a Student Workbook. At the Kindergarten level the lessons are very short and hands-on, so we only spend about 10-15 minutes a day on math. I do find a majority of the material to be fairly easy for my son, but I’d rather him have a solid foundation because I know it will get harder.

So far, I have nothing but positive things to say about this curriculum and we plan to keep using it for first grade.

Handwriting

A Reason for Handwriting is a very straightforward, Christian-based handwriting curriculum. At the Kindergarten level children practice tracing letters and writing letters independently. I also appreciate that at higher levels they practice writing Bible verses.

This one took my son a little time to warm-up to, but he has his little routine now and is doing great with practicing his letters. Each page has a tracing/practice side and then a coloring page on the back to correspond with the letter. Many of the pictures are of animals which has been a hit for my animal-loving son.

I’ve found that having him complete a sheet two days a week has been the right amount for now. We also practice writing in other ways, such as using chalkboards and dry-erase boards.

Science

We love unit studies in our homeschool and they’re how I’ve often approached science with my boys. Not always, but often. After doing My Father’s World with my youngest for the preschool years, I learned that he shares my love for unit studies. So when it came to pondering science for him this year, I knew I wanted to go with a unit study style curriculum.

I looked through several and ultimately chose to go with The Gentle + Classical Press. More specifically, my son is using Gentle + Classical Nature Volume 1: Inland Waterways & Forests. This volume covers several animals from freshwater birds to butterflies, as well as some plants. This curriculum combines Classical, Unit Studies, and Charlotte Mason methods.

It comes with a teacher’s guide, student notebook, nature collection notebook, and some printables like flashcards. While there is a suggested schedule, it leaves a lot of room to modify it for your family’s needs. We usually spend about two to three weeks on a unit.

Pros of G+C Nature:

• beautiful pictures
• incorporates foreign language with a choice of Spanish or French flashcards
• includes a memory statement for each unit
• offers flexibility to adapt as needed
• not overwhelming

A Few Cons:

• doesn’t specifically make the connection between God and nature in the student material
• lacks adequate information to complement each unit
• the full print version is pricey (is available in digital but would be costly to print everything)

For the cost of the curriculum, I was surprised that there wasn’t more information to actually teach the concepts in the units. The attainments do have facts pages, but they’re not really the core of the curriculum. I also prefer something that intertwines biblical content into science concepts, but I’ve been bringing that into our discussions as I see best. Since the author of this curriculum is a Christian and some of her other curriculum does incorporate biblical content, I expected that to come out more in this curriculum as well.

Even so, my son always looks forward to what animal(s) we will be learning about and nothing feels overwhelming, and those are some of the main reasons I chose this for him this year.

Morning Time Resources

We also use some resources during our morning time such as a Morning Menu and Kindergarten Journal by Arrows & Applesauce. We own many of her homeschool resources, so it’s safe to say I’m a fan of her materials! The Morning Menu covers your typical calendar material and I also sometimes add in other pages to keep it engaging for my son. The Kindergarten Journal offers some additional practice with concepts my son is already learning.

We are also working through the Character Education Cards by September & Co. These are simple yet good reminders of Godly characteristics to nurture in children.

I also want to mention the series, Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey by Lithos Kids. We read through all three books during morning time and my son absolutely cherished each book. It’s a kid-friendly version of the traditional Pilgrim’s Progress. Definitely a good one to add to morning time if you haven’t already!

Other

Aside from core subjects, my son spends a lot of time playing, exploring outdoors, engaging in sensory bins, creating art projects, and joining in with what his older brother is learning too. It’s been a fun year of seeing him flourish.

Feel Free to use the comments section if you have any questions about our curriculum picks!

Rejoicing in Hope,

The post Our Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum Choices appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

It was December 2000, and I was finishing my first semester of college. My eighteenth birthday was near and Christmas was just a few weeks away, but I had finals to take before I could return home for the holidays.

For years I had wrestled with an eating disorder, but was determined to overcome it in my own strength without having to announce my struggle. During the weeks leading up to the end of the semester, surrounding circumstances brought up the discussion of eating disorders, making it increasingly challenging to hide my eating disorder. As my roommates and I discussed our concerns over a friend who appeared to be battling an eating disorder, no one knew that I was struggling too. Keeping my secret buried inside eventually made me so uncomfortable that I couldn’t sleep the night before my first final of the semester.

As I tossed and turned in my dorm room bed unable to rest, the Lord drew me to Him. While I had grown up in church and believed in God as long as I could remember, wounds distorted my view of Him and I didn’t have an assurance of salvation. Though I had told my Christian roommates I was a Christian, I was confused if I was really saved or not.

Teenage me thought I had to earn God’s love and acceptance. Teenage me thought God was watching from Heaven, disappointed at every mistake I made. Teenage me thought being thin correlated to being lovable.

Years of striving and trying to be perfect, left a deep ache within.

Unsettled feelings nagged at me in my dorm room that sleepless December night, but the Lord was doing something far greater than teenage me understood. He was purposefully using the tension I felt to usher me into His healing hands. He was graciously inviting me to surrender my brokenness to Him.

My deep pain collided with the deep love of Jesus, and while I don’t remember if I verbally said anything, in my heart I surrendered to the Lord and placed my trust in Him.

The Lord guided me in the path forward with a clarity I hadn’t experienced before. I knew I needed to bring my struggle with an eating disorder into the light, and that I needed to take some time off school to process my story, and that I would transfer to a Christian school once I was ready to return to school.

And the details unfolded precisely that way.

I finished up the semester knowing I wouldn’t return to Greeley, Colorado after Christmas break, but my short time there served its purpose. Once I was home later that December, I made a public profession of my faith. Even though I wasn’t baptized through immersion until several years later in 2015, December of 2000 was the beginning of living my life surrendered to the Lord and discovering that He is my Good Father full of compassion and grace.

After countless years of striving for perfection, I accepted that I wasn’t perfect and that I needed a Savior to cleanse me of my sins and mend the broken pieces. Contrary to what I once thought, I began to understand that I couldn’t save myself by doing good works, but rather that salvation comes by placing my trust in the Perfect One who bled and died for me at Calvary. He graciously did the work that only He could do.

What a freeing discovery to know that my good works didn’t save me, but rather that they were a response to being a child of God saved by grace.

The months that followed December of 2000 were full of healing as God provided supportive family, counselors, a loving church, friendships at a Christian college, and so much more evidence of his grace upon grace. There were some bumps in the journey of working through my eating disorder, but layer by layer, I began to embrace my identity in Christ as a beloved daughter of the King.

Twenty-three years later, and it’s December again. The lights are twinkling, the house is cozy, my boys can’t wait for the much anticipated day to finally come, and the wonder of Jesus humbly coming to be the Savior of the world is the best part of all.

He came to be Light in the darkness.

He came to give us hope of a future with Him.

He came to heal our deepest wounds.

He came to set us eternally free.

He came to my rescue all those years ago, changing my life for eternity.

Rejoicing in Hope,

Hannah

The post The December That Changed My Life appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

While December is my favorite month, it always flies by at lightening speed, and it’s become increasingly important to me that our family keeps a Christ-centered focus through the holidays. Christmas School has become a great way to do just that.

I want my boys to discover the beauty of Jesus being born to be our Savior, while having fun enjoying this special time of year.

Though this isn’t an exhaustive list of what we’ve done over the past several years, I wanted to highlight some things that have been especially meaningful.

Christmas Books

I could write a whole post on just Christmas books, but I’ll just briefly mention it today. Books are really what bring any unit study to life in our homeschool, and it’s no exception for Christmas School.

Every year, I add a book or two to our Christmas collection, so we own a pretty thick stack of books by now. The library is also a helpful resource, but Christmas books (especially the ones on all those lists you’ll find online) fly off the shelves quickly and be can hard to get ahold of in December. So this is one time of year that I don’t rely on the library as much.

We have a few fun and light-hearted books like the Gingerbread Man, but I’m also intentional about choosing books that keep the focus on Jesus.

Rather than reading our normal chapter book read aloud during Morning Basket, I use December to read through our Christmas books.

I also ordered a new Advent devotional book this year I’m excited to read with my boys called, All Creation Waits, but we’re still waiting on its arrival. We love learning about animals and things in nature, and how it all points to our Marvelous Creator, so this sounded like a good one to try.

Jesse Tree

I didn’t learn about the Jesse Tree until I became a mom, but since learning about what it is, it’s become a long-standing tradition for our family. The name comes from Isaiah 11:1:

Jesse was King David’s father and Jesus ended up coming from their line. So the Jesse Tree is a way to trace the people, prophecies, and events leading up to Jesus’ birth. It’s used in a similar way as an Advent calendar to count down the days leading up to Christmas Day.

Starting on December 1, each day we read a passage of Scripture and then my boys switch off hanging the corresponding ornament on our Jesse Tree—and who gets to hang the ornament is always a big deal in our home!

The Jesse Tree has been a meaningful way to trace the intricate details of God’s perfect plan and to remember Jesus is the reason for Christmas Day.

There are pre-made kits you can buy at various places online, or there are places that sell materials you can print off and put together at home. I opted to print them out and use wood slices for our ornaments. You can find the set in these pictures HERE.

Names of Jesus Countdown Cards

There are lots of ways to countdown the days to Christmas, while also keeping the focus on Christ. We have some Names of Jesus flashcards we’re using this year. On one side of the cards are numbers and each day we flip over a card to reveal a Name of Jesus. We’ve used some different sets of cards over the years, and it’s not something we’ve done every year, but it’s a quick and easy activity to add to a morning routine.

We also have a set of Scripture cards with a corresponding Advent countdown sticker chart that we’re reading together as a family at dinner when my husband is home. They’re verses that point to Jesus and His coming, and are short and manageable to keep up with. With so much going on this time of year, I’ve found it helps to choose activities that are actually sustainable.

Christmas Baking & Poetry Teatime

We’ve being doing a cooking or baking lesson once a month, and December is the perfect month to bake treats with kids. This week we made a German coffee cake for our weekly poetry teatime, and ended up doing a little bit of a Christmas-themed teatime. While I’m saving our more official Christmas Poetry Teatime for next week, we got a head start this week.

I’m planning to make a special Christmas-themed snack mix with the boys next week for our teatime, and of course, we’ll be making lots of Christmas cookies this month.

I also found a FREE collection of Christmas Poems from Homeschool Compass that we’re reading through this month. This is a generous collection of poems that come with colorful pictures, and it’s a perfect addition to our December poetry teatimes.

Christmas Sensory Activities

If you know me, you know I’m a big fan of sensory activities in our homeschool because I’ve seen the benefits for my boys. Next week, I’ll be setting up a hot cocoa sensory bin for my youngest, an activity we’ve done in the past. It would also be a good sensory bin for winter in general.

And because I love play dough, I’ll also be making some Christmas play dough for next week. This is something both my boys can enjoy and I personally think there is no age limit on play dough. In fact, I’ll probably sit down and join them!

Christmas Music and Hymn Study

We do music appreciation in our homeschool and have used SQUILT in the past as a resource. This month we’re using SQUILT’S December Listening Calendar which is “Unexpected Christmas Music.” There’s a music piece for each day accompanied by a video. Our favorite so far has been Vivaldi’s “Winter” because of some of its fast tempo. As someone who played the violin as a little girl, I appreciate the skill this piece takes to execute.

We are also going through some of the traditional hymns like “Joy to the World” and SQUILT also has some Christmas Carols volumes that cover hymns like this.

Christmas Crafts

I don’t have pictures to share for this section, but we do Christmas related art activities and handicrafts in December. This week we made some paper bag snowflakes and dried oranges for decorations, and salt dough ornaments are on the schedule for next week.

There are endless craft options to enjoy this time of year, and Christmas School wouldn’t be complete for us without a few projects.

A Note on Christmas Guides

There are some wonderful Christmas Guides available, often written by other homeschool moms. While we’ve done some in the past and they can be great if you don’t want to piece everything together, I’ve found that I stray away from following them exactly because I have other activities I also want to fit in. Since I’ve had several years to figure out what works for us and doesn’t, I didn’t feel I needed to buy a new guide this year. Instead, I created a spreadsheet plan for our Christmas School with all the activities I wanted to cover with my boys. And I also brought in a few activities from previous guides we’ve used. It’s been the right fit for this year.

December will come and go, but I hope that by centering our attention of Jesus’ birth this month, my children will grow in wonder of all He has done and how much He truly loves them.

Also, when I chose this year’s chalkboard sketch, I chose to letter “Joy to the World” because while darkness invades our world, Jesus is the Light that pierces through, giving us every reason to shout for joy.

Even though we’re already a week into this month, it’s still not too late to add some of these traditions to your homeschool and family time. And if you have a favorite tradition not mentioned here, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

May you and yours be filled with joy and hope this Christmas season as we celebrate a Baby born to give us eternal life.

Rejoicing in Hope,

Hannah

The post Our Christmas School Traditions appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

For a little clarification, Bruder is a toy company that sells a variety of sturdy vehicles. My son has gathered a collection of them over the past few years and he is very attached to them—so much so that he lovingly tucks them in with a blanket for bedtime at 8pm every night. So it really did seem like the perfect party theme for him!

Usually one of the first things I do in my planning is search Pinterest for ideas. I couldn’t find any Bruder specific parties, but there were several ideas for construction truck parties. You can actually read about the construction party I did several years ago for my oldest here. It was so fun! But since I’ve done a construction trucks theme for both my boys already, I wanted this party to be a little different.

I’ve always thought it would be fun to do a winter trucks party (because Christmas is my favorite), but neither of my sons have winter birthdays. Since we’ve already gotten our first snow here in Colorado, I decided it was close enough and that some winter touches would make his party unique. Blue is also his favorite color, which pairs well with a winter theme. And with trucks in mind, I thought a snowplow would be the perfect focal point.

For all the details about my son’s Bruder Trucks Winter Themed 6th Birthday Party, keep scrolling!

Snowplow Truck Banner

I made homemade banners for the first couple of parties I planned, but then realized it saves a lot of time to use pre-made banners. While I love creating things, party planning is time consuming and this is one area I’ve learned to lighten my load.

However, since there aren’t many winter trucks printables or party decor, I couldn’t really find what I wanted. There are piles of construction truck printables, but there’s definitely a need for some other truck printables.

I ended up finding a cute snowplow invite on Etsy that came with the rights to edit using an online program. With a few changes, I was able to turn the invite into both a banner and food tents.

Snowplow Food Tents

We had a lunchtime party with some food to match the theme:

• Build-a-Sandwich: fixings for making sandwiches
• Truck veggie tray
• Boulders: grapes and strawberries
• Woodchips: potato chips
• Nuts and Bolts: ranch snack mix and Christmas sweets mix
• Spare Tires: mini chocolate donuts
• Fueling Station: water and lemonade

Trucks Display

I found some truck cutouts from Amazon and saw an idea in the reviews to use brown paper as dirt for displaying them. The brown paper really makes the trucks stand out, and I made some hills of dirt and displayed the trucks overtop.

Homemade Truck Photo Prop

I’ve never made a photo prop for a birthday party, but when I saw a truck photo prop idea on Pinterest I knew I wanted to try it! I used a large box and drew an outline of the truck using the visual I found here. I used both scissors and a utility knife to cut out what needed cutting. Then I penciled everything out and painted everything in. Once it was dry, I outlined a few things with a black sharpie, and then hot glued on the wheel. I also added a license plate using a free template I found online. All in all, it took a few hours to complete the truck.

It was worth the time and made pictures extra special.

Snowplow Cake

The cake is always the centerpiece of birthday parties for me. Like I mentioned earlier, I thought a snowplow was a good way to incorporate a winter theme.

For the cake, I made my favorite chocolate cake recipe and baked it in an 11×14 rectangle pan. I used parchment paper on the bottom and greased the pan well so that it would turn out easily. I frosted it with a white buttercream frosting so that it would be similar to snow, and sprinkled crushed Oreos around the sides for dirt. For the final touches, I added a snowplow truck (blue of course) and different sized marshmallows to represent snow. My son loves marshmallows, making them the perfect match for his cake. I also had some mini evergreen trees leftover from his first birthday, so I dipped a few in powdered sugar and added them to the cake.

Other Details

I picked up some snow confetti from Hobby Lobby and scattered it around the tables. For balloons, I went with a variety of blue and white. I also set up some hot cocoa and marshmallows at our coffee bar for warm drinks.

We did a big hot cocoa bar at his last birthday party which was a hit, but I didn’t re-create it this time around. It would work well for a winter party though.

As always, it was a fun party to put together. I’ve learned to have things set-up as much as possible the night before a party so that I’m not as frantic trying to do everything on party day. Regardless though, I’ve also learned parties like this take a lot of work and something usually goes slightly different than planned.

The most important thing is that my little guy enjoyed his special day and is a very joyful six-year-old. And we had a great Bruder Trucks birthday party day!

Hannah

The post Bruder Trucks Winter Themed Birthday Party appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

Esther was a Jew and orphan who was raised by her cousin Mordecai, and by God’s providence, she became the queen of Persia and played an essential role in saving her people. Haman, one of King Xereus’s chief advisors, plotted to wipe out the Jewish people, but his plot backfired when Mordecai got word of his plans and Esther dared to do what could have ended her life.

God powerfully used Esther in that moment of time, and while we may not be in the same position of power and royalty, He has intentionally placed us where He wants us “for such a time as this.”

Will we partner with God and live out His purpose for our lives?

Will we believe we have something valuable to offer for the good of His Kingdom?

Will we respond obediently in faith when He lays something on our heart?

Many of the world events in recent years, like what’s happening in the Middle East, have been wake-up calls for me that have tugged on my heart and drawn me to my knees in prayer asking, “Lord, what can I do?”

Here’s a few places He’s drawn me:

Be a student of the Bible.

If we want to know God and His will for our lives, we need to know His Word. That’s why I prioritize reading and studying the Bible verse-by-verse, usually in the morning over warm coffee when my boys are still asleep or just getting up. Yes, I have days where I get off track and motherhood demands more hands than I have, but the time I spend in Bible study is fruitful beyond words. It’s also helped me better teach my kids the Bible, and motherhood is a large of part of the work He’s called me to in this season.

Be constant in prayer.

We are daily in a battle and our prayers make a difference. This is something we can do day and night, no matter where we are. I think that if we could see the spiritual realm and just how much of an impact our prayers make, perhaps we would pray even more.

When I heard the news of what’s happening in Israel earlier this month, like many of you, my heart was broken and still is. I wanted to share one way I’ve been praying in case it might inspire you.

FIRM is a Christian organization working directly in Israel and they started a campaign called, Pray By Name For Israel. It’s a way to pray for the hostages taken by Hamas, and is inspired by Isaiah 49:16 which says, “…I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands…” The idea is to pick a name, write it on the palm of your hand, and pray for that person daily. It’s a meaningful way we can intercede for those who are walking through suffering. Please consider clicking HERE to read more and find a list of names you can pray for as you feel led.

Be intentional with your time.

Our days here on earth are numbered by God, and recent years have pushed me to be more intentional with my time. One reason I don’t write here as regularly these days is because my hands are full raising my boys and homeschooling them. Motherhood requires me to manage my time wisely, and I want to make the most of the time I have with my growing sons.

God has also given me a passion for other things like writing and calligraphy, which I try to make space for as I can.

Whatever season we’re season in, we can pray from wisdom about how to be intentional with our time, knowing God has a purpose for each minute.

As moms, wives, and women of God we have opportunities every day to live faithfully for Him. Will you join me in praying and seeking God for wisdom as we choose to live faithfully in such a time as this?

Hannah

The post Living Faithfully in Such a Time as This appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.

This year, we’ve stuck with some familiar curriculum and also changed it up with some new-to-us curriculum. While it’s too early to fully review anything, I’ll share an overview of what we’re using for 7th grade. And if you have a younger child and are interested in what we’re using this year for my kindergartener, stayed tuned for a later post.

When I choose curriculum, I always keep in mind my desire for my children to be educated from a biblical worldview. There is endless noise and confusion in our world, and I don’t take granted the privilege to homeschool according to our Christian values.

A Note About Technology

I wanted to briefly mention the use of technology in our homeschool since we’ve made a few changes this year. Aside from short math video lessons last year and some occasional educational videos, we didn’t do much with screens in our homeschool. When we needed a computer we used mine, but with my son getting older and his coursework getting harder, I knew it was time to pivot.

Since my son is utilizing a little more video instruction for some subjects this year, we decided to get a school computer. And while this isn’t a post on Internet safety, I know the topic of screens can cause angst for many moms, so I just want to quickly share how we’re handling this transition.

We purchased a ChromeBook and a parental control router called Gryphon. It’s possible to do some basic parental controls on a ChromeBook, but it’s not sufficient for Internet safety. For that we have a Gryphon Router which came recommend by Protect Young Eyes. It has built-in parental controls that can be managed by my husband and I through an app on our phones. While it’s been a learning curve and we’re still ironing out some wrinkles, it’s helping us keep our son safe on an at-home computer.

With that said, here’s what we’re using this year!

7th Grade Curriculum Picks

• Math: Principles of Mathematics Book 1 by Master Books
• Writing: IEW Structure and Style Year 1 Level B
• Grammar: IEW Fix It! Grammar: Level 3 Robin Hood
• Literature: Assorted books, Not Consumed Middle School Reading Journal
• Spelling: All About Spelling Level 3
• Cursive: A Reason For Handwriting Level F
• Bible: The Word in Motion Old Testament by Apologia
• Science: Exploring Creation with General Science by Apologia
• History: American Faith: 27 Sketches From Winthrop to Wilkerson by Generations
• Civics: U.S. & Colorado Civics (K-12 Civics + History)
• Electives: Typing, CodeMonkey (Coding), Eureka Crates (Engineering), Cooking Lessons

Math

The past few years we’ve mainly used Master Books for math. My son finished the Math Lessons For a Living Education series in 6th grade and Principles in Mathematics is Master Books’ next level, designed for middle school math.

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you know that I love Master Books as a company because they share our Christian values. I find their math to be on the gentler side, so in the long-term I don’t think it’s the best fit for my son who is engineering-minded. However, middle schoolers are going through lots of emotional and physical changes, and I read a wise piece of advice in a homeschool handbook about how it’s important to not overwhelm them at this age. Of course, all kids are different, but my mama instinct told me to stick with a manageable-paced math curriculum this year.

I decided on Master Books’ Principles in Mathematics Book 1. It comes with a teacher’s guide and student workbook, so it’s a bit different in format if you’re used the MLFALE series for elementary grades. The teacher’s guide contains the schedule, worksheets, quizzes, tests, and answer key. The student workbook is the textbook with all the instruction for each lesson, designed for the student to read through and then complete the assigned pages. The textbook reading is also something that the parent could work through with their student together.

In addition, there’s an optional corresponding video course on Master Books Academy that’s we’re using. It has a video for each lesson and it basically covers the textbook material in the student workbook. My son watches the video first, then completes the worksheet and refers to the textbook as needed, and I step in to help him as needed.

The course can be taught in one year or at an accelerated pace in combination with Book 2. Depending on how this year goes, my tentative plan is to have him complete Book 1 this year and then switch to BJU for a full year of Pre-Algebra in 8th grade. I almost chose BJU for this year (we used it for 5th grade), but I wanted to wait one more year before moving to something more rigorous.

Writing

For a few years we were using WriteShop, which is a wonderful program, but decided to switch to IEW Structure and Style Year 1 Level B for writing this year. I’ve heard good things about this program, and I like that it has a longevity that can carry your student through high school. It also comes with video instruction taught by Andrew Pudewa who is a great teacher; he is very engaging and humorous. One of the unique things about the videos is that Mr. Pudewa is teaching the lessons in an actual classroom with kids, so your student gets to sit in on the lessons with them.

Depending on what package you choose, it comes with a teacher’s manual, student notebook, and access to video streaming. Being the organized person that I am, I appreciate how this program is laid out and walks you through exactly what to do.

It’s a 24-week program that we’re using four days a week. My son watches the videos for the week the first two days, and then completes the remaining work the next two days or however long it takes to finish the week’s work. I try to watch some of the videos with him so I can better help him and also because I like to learn. So far, it’s been a manageable combination of him doing some independent work and some work with my help.

Grammar

My son completed Master Books’ Language Lessons For a Living Education series in 6th grade (with one component being grammar), so it was time to move onto something else. IEW Fix It! Grammar: Level 3 Robin Hood has been the perfect transition for him and he’s building upon skills he’s already learned. The lessons are short, and just like the writing it’s very well laid out with clear directions.

It pairs together nicely with the writing program and I purchased everything together as one package. There is a student workbook and teacher’s manual, and it’s manageable for your student to do independently with help as needed. It also incorporates vocabulary and my son keeps a running list of vocabulary words with definitions on the computer.

Literature

We start each morning with Morning Basket, which includes a chapter book read aloud, and my boys love this time. I’m a believer that there should be space for kids to be read to simply for the pleasure of being read to–even in middle school. Some books we read simply for the joy of it, and other times we do follow-up work.

Since my oldest son in an avid reader with solid comprehension skills, my goals for him are to keep on loving reading and to keep exercising his skills. We’ll be reading several chapter books this year, some together and others he will read independently. He will use the Not Consumed Middle School Reading Journal to reflect upon some of the books he reads so that he keeps sharpening his skills. Also, by his age there’s a lot of reading comprehension woven into subjects like history and science, so he’s getting plenty of practice in those subjects as well.

Spelling

As I mentioned earlier, my son completed the final level of Language Lessons for a Living Education in 6th grade. This series includes spelling, however, I didn’t find it to be sufficient because it had very little teaching instruction for spelling. I tried to adapt it to bring in more spelling practice so that we didn’t have to add an additional spelling program. While this worked okay, it still left gaps in his learning.

Knowing that I wanted to focus more on spelling and filling in those gaps this year, I researched a few spelling programs and decided to return to where we started when he was younger: All About Spelling.

The levels aren’t based on their grade, but rather designed to move your student through the program at their own pace so that they have a solid foundation. There are 7 levels in all and each one builds upon the next. We’re currently working through Level 3 at a fast pace since it’s been easy for him, and once finished we’ll move onto level 4.

Cursive

I delayed cursive instruction for awhile since my son didn’t have much interest, and while it’s likely that he will be typing more than anything in the future, I still believe there’s value in teaching kids both manuscript and cursive.

We’ve been using the cursive portion of A Reason For Handwriting the past few years to help my son learn cursive. He’s doing the last level this year, A Reason for Handwriting Level F, to keep strengthening his cursive skills. I like that it’s affordable and incorporates writing Bible verses.

Bible

Since we choose curriculum that supports a Christian worldview, biblical instruction is woven throughout our days. We’ve also used a variety of resources over the years to help my kids learn the Bible.

But before I share what we’re using this year, I want pause and say this.

The past few years, I’ve been studying the Bible verse-by-verse in my personal time, and I can’t emphasize enough how life-changing this has been for me. The more His Word is hidden in my heart, the better I can share it with my children. With that said, it’s enough to open up the Bible and read it with your kids and have discussions. In a world full of abundant resources, which I use and can be helpful, it’s important to also remember that God’s Word is sufficient.

So now to what we’re using…

Last school year I came across a newer resource from Apologia and had intended to use it with both my boys, but with a lot Bible already woven into other curriculum, we really didn’t need an additional resource.

I pulled it back out for this year and we’re doing volume 1, The Word in Motion Old Testament. Volume 2 covers the New Testament. It’s recommend for grades K-8 and comes with a textbook, notebooking journal, and streaming video lessons. It can easily be adapted to make it work best for your family and I do it together with my boys during Morning Basket.

We watch the video (only a few minutes) and learn the new motions on Mondays, and then work through the textbook material the rest of the week. We aren’t using the notebooking journal that much, but there are some flashcards and resources in there that we will use.

One of my favorite parts is the hand motions paired with words to help with memorizing the order of the Bible. Even though my boys sometimes think it’s silly, it’s an effective tool and is helping me too.

We also work on memorizing Bible verses, and my son is currently working through some of the SCM Scripture Memory Verse Cards.

Science

After using Master Books for science the past few years, we’re trying Apologia again this year. I chose Exploring Creation With General Science which is geared at 7th-8th grade, and like with Master Books, I can be confident with Apologia that my science-loving son is learning from a biblical worldview.

The course is broken into 14 modules covering a variety of science concepts, so it circles back around to things my son learned earlier and covers new concepts as well. The basic set comes with a textbook, tests, and notebooking journal—and this is all you need. I chose the package that also comes with the streaming videos, but got it when they were running a sale.

It’s a very solid course, but it’s taking time to figure out how to best use the materials in a time manageable way. The videos cover what’s in the textbook, but not word-for-word, so my son refers to the textbook as needed when completing the notebooking pages. Even though the Notebooking Journal is bulky, I like that it’s in color and has a variety of assignments, including lab reports. In the front, it has a schedule for the student to follow and check-off as they complete each module. And while the workload can be heavy some days, I’m modifying as needed.

History & Civics

For History this year we’re using American Faith: 27 Sketches From Winthrop To Wilkerson by Generations. It teaches American history through the biographies of 27 men and women of faith, and comes with a textbook and student workbook. We are reading this together and at the end of the chapter my son works through the workbook pages. There are also tests and unit projects.

I’ve really enjoyed re-learning history alongside my son over the years.

To fulfill the requirement for civics, we will also be reading a book called US & Colorado Civics . While we haven’t started it yet, I plan to add it to our morning basket as a read aloud once a week. It’s set-up unit study style (one of my favorite homeschooling methods), so it has activities and additional book suggestions to pair along with each unit. I plan to begin it this year and keep using it until we make it through the book.

Electives & Other

• Typing – My son used Typing Instructor for awhile, but it was a little too game based and not as instructive as I had hoped. I’ll be looking for something different to have him use this year now that we’re getting more settled in routines.
• Coding – Being the STEM kid that my son is, I thought he would enjoy a coding class. We’re going to be trying CodeMonkey this year and using the levels for middle school.
• Engineering/Eureka Crates – My son has been using the KiwiCo crates since he was about five. There are various levels and he switched to the Eureka Crates about a year ago. We don’t get them on a monthly basis, but he will be doing a few this year so he can explore his love of building things.
• Cooking: I will be doing cooking lessons with both my boys once a month, just for fun and also to help them learn some basic kitchen skills. I love being in the kitchen, but am not as good about bringing them in, so this will keep me more intentional about giving them some opportunities.

We also cover some rotating subjects during our morning basket such as art appreciation, music appreciation, and poetry. Since this is something I do together with both my boys, I’ll be sharing our choices for that in a separate post at a later time.

Closing Thoughts

This year feels like a transition in many ways as my oldest son is growing up and becoming more independent in some subjects, but still needs me a lot too. I will also be introducing him to his own student planner at some point, but we already have a full plate with getting used to some new curriculum.

I’m thankful for another year and that we’ve made it this far by God’s grace.

Hannah

The post Our 7th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices appeared first on Hannah Bollinger.