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Literature-Based Elementary American History Curriculum

Literature-Based Elementary American History Curriculum

by Melissa Droegemueller | May 25, 2022 | Homeschooling (Elementary School)

Are you looking for an elementary American history curriculum? Check out Sonlight’s newly-updated literature-based US history homeschool curriculum for ages 9-12. Do you know how the Declaration of Independence begins? When I was in college, this was a trivia question...
Homeschool Keyboarding Curriculum | A Typesy Review

Homeschool Keyboarding Curriculum | A Typesy Review

by Melissa Droegemueller | Apr 4, 2022 | Homeschooling (Elementary School), Homeschooling (Tweens and Teens)

Do your kids know how to type? Touch typing is a skill that all children need, and the Typesy homeschool keyboarding curriculum is the perfect way to learn to type!   I received access to the Typesy Homeschool Family package and was compensated for my time...
Planning a New Homeschool Year

Planning a New Homeschool Year

by Melissa Droegemueller | Aug 10, 2021 | Homeschooling (Elementary School)

Planning a new homeschool year doesn’t have to be hard or complicated!   After a decade of homeschooling, this is my simple 4-step process to get ready for the first day of school. Get all of our learning at home resources — FREE in the Resource...
Favorite Homeschool Supplies for Elementary School

Favorite Homeschool Supplies for Elementary School

by Melissa Droegemueller | Jul 18, 2021 | Homeschooling (Elementary School)

It seems like Back to School season starts earlier and earlier every year, but I love school supplies! This year, I decided to grab the items I knew we needed while prices are low, before things get picked over. This is our last year with a child in elementary school,...
Homeschool Routines are Better than Schedules

Homeschool Routines are Better than Schedules

by Melissa Droegemueller | Mar 25, 2021 | Homeschooling (Elementary School), Homeschooling (Tweens and Teens)

If you are new to homeschooling or considering it for the future, you probably have seen beautiful, color-coded schedules on Pinterest or Instagram. Today, I want to share my thoughts about WHY ‘down to the minute’ schedules don’t work for EVERY homeschooling family....
Time to Change Your Homeschool Math Program? {Teaching Textbooks 4.0 Review}

Time to Change Your Homeschool Math Program? {Teaching Textbooks 4.0 Review}

by Melissa Droegemueller | Jan 20, 2021 | Homeschooling (Elementary School)

Are you curious about homeschool math options? Here are my thoughts on the NEW Teaching Texbooks 4.0! It’s one of the most common questions asked in homeschooling circles: How do I know when it’s time to change curriculum or programs? After years as a classroom...
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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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Melissa Droegemueller
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.
Early math AND fine motor skills? Yes, please! Ga Early math AND fine motor skills? Yes, please! Gather red and blue UNO cards (0-9) and practice putting them in order, matching, making groups of 10, and counting out the same number of pom poms (one-to-one correspondence). You can also make simple two-player games -- ideas are included in the video here: https://youtu.be/dm-LnhAcYk0 #homeschoolpreschool #preschoolathome #earlylearning101 #littlelearners #totschool #toddlerfun #toddlerlearning #preschoolplay #preschoolfun #earlyyearsideas #preschoollearning #preschoollife #preKathome #playbasedpreschool #toddleractivities #preschoolactivities #preKactivities #kidsactivities #homeschoolingideas #learningthroughplay #playbasedlearning #playtolearn #playislearning #openendedplay #playingislearning #playmatters #learnandplay #wherelearningmeetsplay #learningisfun #letkidsplay
At the beginning of 2022, I shared my word of the At the beginning of 2022, I shared my word of the year with all of you: RESET. Big change is scary (and often hard for me to commit to), but a bunch of tiny changes add up. As we transition from the end of the school year to summer, it's time for a reset around our home. I have books and papers scattered around the house, and the random piles are starting to make me anxious. Instead of diving into the project impulsively -- and undoubtedly making a bigger mess -- I've decided to do a 31-day reset. Each day, I'll tidy one spot in the house: bookshelves, desks, doom boxes, and random piles in every room of the house. Want to join me? #learningathome #learnathome #homeschoollife #homeschoolersofinstagram #365homeschool #homeschoolblog #homeschoolfamily #thisishomeschool #homeschoollookslikethis #homeschoolingmom #homeschoolmoms #homeschooling #intentionalmotherhood #thisismotherhood #motherhoodjourney #parenting #momlife #parentingwin #momentsinmotherhood #parentinggoals #raisingkids #sahmlife #workathomemoms #wahmlife #mompreneurlife
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