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Melissa Droegemueller | Rolling Prairie Readers

About Melissa

I am an elementary school teacher–turned–homeschooling mom with over 13 years experience working with babies through 4th graders. I believe in making learning FUN for ALL kids.

Around here, we are passionate about learning through play, chasing adventures, and good books!

Our mission is to create a community of lifelong learners where parents inspire and empower their children to follow their passions and use their unique gifts to make the world a better place.

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Greatest Hits

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    Toy Rotation Categories (+ Our FAVORITE Toys!)
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    Iowa Travel: 7 Fun Things to Do with Kids
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    Patriotic Activities for Kids

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Melissa Droegemueller
SUMMER YES LIST FOR THE WIN! My kids are both ear SUMMER YES LIST FOR THE WIN! My kids are both early risers -- something they did not get from either of their parents. 😉 When I got up this morning, both of them had gotten dressed, eaten breakfast, done their chores, and were happily entertaining themselves with pre-approved activities. My oldest was diligently working on her novel, while my youngest was playing with her kinetic sand. She got everything out independently (remembering to use a tray!), made a variety of "desserts" for her pretend bakery -- and when she was done, she cleaned everything up without any help from me, including sweeping under the table! Yes, it took a lot of practice to get to this point -- but boy, is it worth it now. I don't especially care for messy play, but my child DOES, and she's shown me that she's responsible enough to choose her own activities from our "yes list" all summer long. ❤ You can see the kinetic sand set we have here: {affiliate link} https://amzn.to/3OsIIbt #learningathome #learnathome #homeschoollife #homeschoolersofinstagram #365homeschool #homeschoolblog #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolingmom #homeschooling #kidsactivities #homeschoolingideas #sensoryplayideas #sensorylearning #sensoryactivity #sensoryactivities #messyplay #tactileplay #handsonlearning #handsonactivities #finemotorskills #looseparts #kidsforreal #momsofinstagram #raisinghappykids #parentingwin #momentsinmotherhood #playmatters #letkidsplay #purposefilledplay #simpleplay
It is our first full week of summer vacation, and It is our first full week of summer vacation, and I am ecstatic! This school year seemed SO LONG, and I am very ready to do absolutely nothing for as long as I possibly can...which means I lasted until about 10 a.m. before I started making a summertime to-do list. Y'all. I know I can not be the only adult who grew up with a productivity = self-worth mindset. I have the hardest time sitting still without feeling guilty. Over the weekend, I was talking with my husband about my plans for the week, and I told him I wanted to start planning the first 6-8 weeks of our homeschool lessons so I'm "less stressed" in the fall. (The look he gave me. 😂) I will be stressed in the fall whether I plan out our lessons or not. NO MATTER WHAT. Melissa = stressed. It's embedded in my DNA. So, I might as well take some time to rest and relax this summer whenever I can turn my brain off for a while. Rest is not a reward. I don't have to prove anything to anyone...especially myself. #intentionalmotherhood #thisismotherhood #motherhoodjourney #parenting #momlife #slowdownmotherhood #joyfulmamas #kidsforreal #momsofinstagram #momsoninstagram #respectfulparenting #happyfamily #raisinghappykids #parentingwin #momentsinmotherhood #parentinggoals #raisingkids #sahmlife #growthmindset #emotionalintelligence #learningathome #learnathome #homeschoollife #homeschoolersofinstagram #365homeschool #homeschoolblog #homeschoolfamily #thisishomeschool #homeschoolingmom #homeschooling
Recently, as I began to choose our curriculum for Recently, as I began to choose our curriculum for next year, I realized we’ve never done an “official” early US history course together. We’ve spent a lot of time learning about the American Revolution, thanks to the Liberty’s Kids series. We’ve also discussed different time periods of American history on our travels around the United States. (Just last month, we went to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, located just a few miles away from Fort Sumter. On the same trip, we visited both the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln in Kentucky and his final resting place in Illinois. These real-world learning experiences are one of our family’s favorite ways to homeschool.) My kids also love to read, so they’ve gleaned a lot of historical facts from Jenny L. Cote’s fiction series, the American Girl books, and Dan Gutman’s Flashback Four books. Still, I knew it was time to work through a complete US history curriculum to fill in some of the gaps. For the past two school years, we have used literature-based history curriculum. We’ve covered modern US and world history (starting with the Civil War) and ancient history. This coming year, my 6th grader will be working her way through Sonlight’s History/Bible/Literature D: Intro to American History, Year 1 of 2. You can read why @sonlightcurriculum is the perfect fit for our rising 6th grader at this point in our homeschooling journey: https://rollingprairiereaders.com/elementary-american-history #learningathome #learnathome #homeschoollife #homeschoolersofinstagram #365homeschool #homeschoolblog #homeschoolfamily #thisishomeschool #homeschoollookslikethis #homeschoolingmom #homeschoolmoms #homeschooling #sonlightstories #whatwerereadingwednesday #raisingreaders #littlebookworms #readeveryday #readingisfun #readaloud #readaloudfamily #readtome #whatwearereading #kidsbooks #kidlit
Summer already?! Wasn't it *just* winter? (It was Summer already?! Wasn't it *just* winter? (It was. Apparently we got one week of spring here in Iowa -- and it might have been the exact same week we were on our national parks road trip.) Anyhoo, my kids are very excited about their upcoming break -- there will be lots of uninterrupted reading, writing, and LEGO-building while I lesson-plan for next school year. After many years, my kids have gotten quite good at entertaining themselves -- and I think our flexible family schedule has a lot to do with it. They know which activities happen like clockwork (meals! quiet time!) and how to fill all those other pockets of time with YES activities. (Those are the ones they have ongoing permission to do, so they don't have to ask every day.) They also know that they need to get their chores done before they hop on their screens, which is a great motivator -- and bonus, I don't have to nag! We will probably brainstorm a big list of family activity ideas, too. Lately we've been listening to audiobooks in the evenings and working on a puzzle together, but we also had an impromptu water fight in the yard the other night and it's reminded me I need to be a bit more spontaneous, too. If you need ideas, check out this summer planning resource: https://rollingprairiereaders.com/summer-schedule/
We're going to be focusing on American history thi We're going to be focusing on American history this coming school year, so we've been trying to go on more family adventures to different landmarks around the country. Last month, we visited Fort Moultrie in Charleston (that's Fort Sumter out in the water beyond the shoreline!), as well as the birthplace and burial site of Abraham Lincoln. Somehow, I think it's easier to absorb history when you can see and touch things that Americans did hundreds of years ago. My kids are so good at reading signs and asking questions of the park rangers and tour guides. These adventures are one of my favorite ways to learn! #learningathome #learnathome #homeschoollife #homeschoolersofinstagram #365homeschool #homeschoolblog #homeschoolfamily #thisishomeschool #homeschoollookslikethis #homeschoolingmom #homeschoolmoms #homeschooling #simplechildhood #enchantedchildhood #intentionalmotherhood #thisismotherhood #motherhoodjourney #parenting #momlife #slowdownmotherhood #joyfulmamas #kidsforreal #momsofinstagram #momsoninstagram #happyfamily #raisinghappykids #parentingwin #momentsinmotherhood #parentinggoals #raisingkids
My oldest is writing her first research paper for My oldest is writing her first research paper for a science class, and I've been really impressed with how the instructor is breaking down a huge project into...well, baby steps. On the first day, she brainstormed a list of topics and then narrowed it down to the top three. Then, she finalized her topic and made a list of questions about it. Next, she started gathering resources and searching for answers to three of her questions. She's taken notes and learned how to cite her sources. She's one week into the project, and she still hasn't written one word of her paper. (That's next week.) When I was a kid, I somehow picked up the (bad) habit of doing an entire project -- from start to finish -- in just one day. It's been a lifetime of undoing that bad habit, of learning not to wait until the last minute, get overwhelmed, and want to quit. Right now, I have a few major projects on my to-do list. I feel myself getting worked up about the enormity of what I need to accomplish -- which is why I'm posting on Instagram instead. 😉 Seriously, I just need to break the project down into tiny pieces and do a little bit at a time, every day until it's done. Hopefully, along the way, I can show my kids that baby steps are better than procrastinating until the last minute.
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