Blueberries, Bees & Boys

We have been so busy that last couple weeks. My mom and cousin came for a 2 week visit. So we got to do some exploring in the Stuttgart area. We found some really fun places. So I will be sharing them the next couple weeks.  Me and my mom.  We started by exploring our downtown Stuttgart area. We went down there on the October 3rd. That is a German holiday "unity day". This day is a national holiday celebrating the reunification of East and West Germany after the cold war.  Landesmuseum Wüttemberg    We were just walking around and the happened across the Landesmuseum Wüttemberg. We were able to get into the museum for free. It had some interesting information about the history of the area around Stuttgart. There is a collection of artifacts, some from before the Roman times. It has labels in both English and German. It was fun start to the visit. Click here for the museum website. Neues Schloss Stuttgart   ...

I love using my bullet journal. Every weekend I take time to create a new weekly layout, and plan out what we are doing for our homeschool. I have started to use monthly color, this month I use my Tombow brush pen #992. I love adding in some flowers or leave sketches and maybe some Washi tape. I start by creating a monthly cover page and a line a day page. I started doing the line a day at the beginning of the summer. I just write down something about that day, keep it simple. I don't have time to sit and journal about my whole day.  Every week I create a new layout: I always have a space for my meal list, and a to do list (usually things I need to do sometime during the week when I have spare time). Sometimes I have more time and feel like adding more details. Then there are busy weekends where I just add the minimum. 

I love to shop at thrift stores. For the past 3 years I  have bought all the boys and mine clothes at the thrift stores. I have found almost all our furniture at garage sales or thrift stores. It is one of the ways I believe in helping the environment. Recycling trash is a good thing to do. But recycling clothes, household items, and furniture also have a huge impact on the environment. When I buy something second hand, I am not causing any more resources to be used to make it. I also save so much money. Shirts at target at at least $10. For that same $10 I can get a couple of shirts at a thrift store. I also am a picky shopper. I am looking for something I like, but I am also looking at the brand name. If it is one I recognize as Target, Walmart, Old Navy or Forever 21 I usually pass. I know that it has probably been worn out, and will not last me long. They also tend to stretch out faster, because the quality is so low. I  look for Gap, Banana Republic, J. Crew, or A...

Choosing the right curriculum is so hard for me. When we first started, I went to our local homeschool book store and just looked at all the Math curriculum. I choose to use the Bob Jones University Press, Math. At that time, it was the best fit for me. It gave me directions on how to explain everything, down to exactly how to phrase the prompting questions. I needed something like that, I had really no idea how to teach. I needed help relaying the information in a way that would made since. I also remember using it in the 1st grade way back in the 90's. It was simple for me to finish out JD's 1st grade year. Since he had started the year in public school, there was a lot of review for him. I also started JJ with the BJUP kindergarten math. He saw JD doing school and wanted to also. When we moved here to Germany, and decided to continue homeschooling, I just continued using math from BJUP. It was expensive, I could sometimes find it used on Amazon or at our base t...

During the summer we spend our morning doing school work, them head over to our village playground (spielplatz is the German word for playground). One of the things we love best about living in Germany is they build the best playgrounds. They have them everywhere. Park for our Village. I love the way the build the playgrounds. I feel like they are made for kids to take risks, learn coordination, and have fun. The playground pictured above has 2 platforms on it (just the tent on the right side). I have seen kids climb up the outside of it, if they fall it would hurt. But no one is telling them to get down, you will hurt yourself. They let the kids learn what is their limits. Thankfully my boys don't want to climb up the outside, they stay in the safer areas. I always say, they design the playgrounds to break an arm. I also love that kids go to the park without parents. The helicopter parent is very rare in Germany. I see kids there without their parents. My boys have learned...

I have wanted to start a blog for about a year. I thought it would be something fun to do, a way to share and encourage. The one thing holding my back was a Title. Then this past spring it just came to me Blueberries, Bees & Boys. Every word represents something important to me. Blueberries ...This is me taking dreams and making them real. We are trying our hand at a blueberry plant. My boys love blueberries, and they are very expensive here in Germany grocery stores. So we got ourselves a blueberry bush this past spring. It has been so fun   to watch it grow, to be able to see how the berries are formed, and of course eat them. It is a dream come true. So to me this bush represents taking a dream and making it real. Not just talking about doing something, but actually doing it. Showing my kids how to realize a dream, and see it through. Our Blueberries Growing. Time For A Snack My Husband And JJ Helping Me Plant Our New Blueberry Plant. JD Took The Picture. ...

I love to read. I have since I was a little girl. I love classics, mysteries and historical fiction. My most favorite author is Jane Austin. Every year i reread one of her books. This month I am reading, The Count of Monte Cristo   by Alexander Dumas, The Life Giving Home  by Sally & Sarah Clarkson, and Know and Tell  by Karen Glass. I am trying to read more nonfiction. My Reading Stack I love when the boys see me reading and it motivates them to read. JJ saw me reading "The Count of Monte Cristo", and then found a copy of the "Great Illustrated Classics" version at the thrift store. He loved being able to read the same book as me, and is excited to read the original when he gets older. JJ is reading the same story only "Great Illustrated Classics" version. My kids do wine and complain about reading, but then I see them snuggled up on the couch reading without being told to. It makes my heart so happy. I am trying to set the example. ...