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{January Gratitudes}

On January 31, 2018June 24, 2019 By JessicaIn Gratitude Journal

Gratitudes January 2018 | The Open Home — For nose scrunching sweetness and the bravery of toddlers.

Gratitudes January 2018 | The Open Home — For frolicking foam and a beach close to home.

Gratitudes January 2018 | The Open Home — For Mama’s little helper and a snail mailer in the making.

Gratitudes January 2018 | The Open Home — For sunshine on a grey day and the first signs of Spring.

Gratitudes January 2018 | The Open Home — For faith that can move mountains.

These are the inserts from our gratitude journal during January, reminding us that God is good and we are blessed.

What have you been thankful for lately?

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Welcome

Hello, I’m Jessica. A minimalist homeschooling mother of two living on the British island of Guernsey. I’m also a nature lover, letter writer and journal keeper that wants to to live life with an open heart. Welcome to my blog.

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Looks like my birthday present has been claimed by someone else! Keep finding her like this every evening after putting my youngest to bed. “It’s just soooo comfy, Mummy!” It really is. Makes bedtime stories all the more snuggly. . . #thegirardgirls #raisinggirls #bedtime #winddown #snuggles #theraline #birthdaypresent

Current chalkboard sporting our current hymn. Not sure which we’ll do next. 🤔 . . #homeed #homeeduk #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducationguernsey #girardhomeschool #homeschool #homeschooling #charlottemasonuk #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #hymnstudy #itiswellwithmysoul #chalkboardart #chalkboard #chalklettering #lettering #thepastorage

Happy Valentines Day! We celebrated early as a family with a few sweet treats yesterday, because love is for life, not just for Valentines Day. 😉 . . #valentinesday #valentines #celebratelife #celebratetheseasons #sweettreats #familylove #jammiedodgers #lindor #lindorchocolate #haribohearts #fruitella

I spotted this book at the little gift shop in Gloucester Cathedral Back in October and thought it may make a nice addition to our morning devotions. We were on the start of our road trip at this point so I didn’t feel I could buy it and log it all the way up to the English Lake District and back so instead I suggested my mum gift one to the girls for Christmas. . . We now use it daily in our morning book baskets. There are sections of prayers for all sorts of things such as family, grief, animals, seasons, forgiveness, the world, etc. We’re mostly using the prayers for the very young at the moment as there are a couple in there that help my girls to get their wiggles out and then be ready to sit quietly to pray. We’ve also found appropriate prayers elsewhere in the book though on those days when we need a little help to forgive or stop being grumpy - me included! . . I personally think it’s a good resource and find it helpful to read a prayer before launching into my own. It kind of calms the soul and directs the mind in preparation, if you know what I mean! Plus it’s a book we’ll be able to use for years and years to come. Just as appropriate for use with tweens and teens as it is for the very young. If you’re a praying, Christian family then this may be one book you want to check out. I’ll share a couple of sneak peeks inside in my stories today. . Tell me, what books and resources do you use for devotions with young kids? . . . #homeed #homeeduk #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducationguernsey #girardhomeschool #homeschool #homeschooling #charlottemasonuk #charlottemasonhomeschool #charlottemasoneducation #childrensbooks #childrensprayers #1000prayersforchildren #devotions

We gifted my youngest a copy of Peter Pan & Wendy for Christmas. She saw the Disney movie a couple of years back and has been enchanted by the magical Neverland ever since. . I first picked this copy up at our local library to skim read it before buying as I’d heard mixed reviews on the actual book in some home ed circles, mostly due to racism. . Yes, the book uses stereotypes and terms for Native Americans that we know not to use today and yes, at one point John refers to his sister Wendy as being “just a girl.” But rather than scrap a well written piece of classic children’s literature purely based on this I decided I’d use it as a teaching opportunity to explain that this book was written a long time ago and the racial terms, stereotypical images and sexist remarks are sadly a product of their time. I made it clear that these terms were rude, inaccurate and insensitive and should not be used today. The girls completely got this and it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of the story. . The rest of the book is pure literary gold and the girls absolutely loved it, reading it twice in January alone, once with me and once with Granny. . . This beautiful edition that I originally found at the @gylibrary is illustrated by Shirley Hughes the author and illustrator of the Alfie picture books and the award winning, Dogger. I’m a big fan of her work so wanted to buy the same edition. Unfortunately this hardback edition is no longer in print, only a paperback version so I searched online until I found a used copy in very good condition to gift to my girl. I’m so pleased I did, she loves it and it’s officially now one of her favourite books. . What classic children’s books do you love? . . #homeed #homeeduk #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducationguernsey #girardhomeschool #homeschool #homeschooling #charlottemasonuk #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #livingbooks #childrensbooks #peterpanandwendy #shirleyhughes

Birthday mail that went to New Zealand a little while ago 🇳🇿 with another piece due to go down under created this evening. . . #snailmail #happymail #birthdaymail #showandmail #outgoingmail #sendmoremail #letterwriting #penpals #keeplettersalive #mailart #postallove #guernseystamps

My youngest started her @girlguiding journey last month when she joined her big sister at Rainbows. They both love it and as a home educator I’m loving the new badge system that was introduced at their unit at the end of 2018. My eldest only has two more badges to work on at home; the recycling and construction badges and my youngest at only one month in is already working on her book lover badge, story teller badge, healthy mind badge and agility badge!! . . So many of the badges tie in nicely with our existing school work too and others inspire some fun crafts and learning activities. Here my youngest is showing off some of her favourite read alouds from last school year that she will soon review (by dictation as she isn’t yet writing) all as part of her work towards the book lover badge. Interestingly she picked out the same 3 books her sister did when doing her book lover badge last year. 😊 . . Tell me, are your kids working towards any badges or awards? We also plan to start the #rspbwildchallenge soon, followed by the #johnmuiraward once the girls are old enough. . #homeed #homeeduk #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducationguernsey #girardhomeschool #homeschool #homeschooling #charlottemasonuk #charlottemasonhomeschool #charlottemasoneducation #girlguiding #girlguidinguk #girlguidingguernsey #girlguidingrainbows #rainbowsgirlguidinguk #thegirardgirls

Hey! 👋🏽 Time for another #fridayintroductions this time a homeschool edition. . • So I’ve been home educating for over 2 years now, starting with my eldest daughter in autumn 2017 when she was just 4 years old - the official school starting age here in Guernsey. . • I follow the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education. I love it’s view of education as a life, its inclusion of art and nature and it’s gentle approach to learning in the early years. • Like many CM home educators I have chosen to delay academics (reading, writing, maths) and other formal lessons until 6 years old. We do learn phonics and numbers in a playful way before this but it’s all at their lead. . • We don’t follow a box set of curriculum and the only curriculum we are currently using is Oxford International Primary Maths for my 6 year old. • I value calm and order in our homeschool so I try to keep our schedule pretty clear to allow for unrushed lessons and lots of free play at home. My girls do attend a couple of groups together though, a Nature Explorers home ed co-op group, a Rainbows @girlguiding unit and swimming lessons. • Although I believe in offering a wide variety of subjects I don’t strive to make my kids well rounded. I want to encourage their natural talents and interests and accept that there are gaps in any education. In ours it’ll likely be around music and foreign language. I just don’t have those skills to easily pass on nor the money to pay for lots of private lessons for multiple kids. • Some of my favourite and longest followed homeschool accounts are: @moshers_schoolhouse @oureverydayjoys @intentionalhomeschooling @mylittlerobins . • Oh and this photo was taken last autumn for a newspaper article about home educating in Guernsey which was written by my friend @freshbreadandfaith Lovely to put some positive home ed stuff out into the media. . Got any home ed questions for me? Leave them in the comments below. 👇🏽 . #homeed #homeeduk #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducationguernsey #girardhomeschool #homeschool #charlottemasonuk #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #thegirardgirls

Today’s morning book basket for you. . . All our mornings baskets include 3 sections: Devotions, art enrichment and main lesson. . For today’s Devotions we used: . • The Jesus Storybook Bible. This is our second time reading it through and I’m a fan of its poetic style. • Gratitude Journal. Today we were thankful for friends, chocolate brownies and hair! . • 1000 Prayers for Children. Gifted to us for Christmas and now part of our daily devotions. I’ll share about this book in more detail in an upcoming post. . For today’s art enrichment subjects we used: • I am the seed that grew the tree. Another daily staple in our morning basket now, with a nature poem for everyday of the year. . • A poem from A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, our current poet for the term. . • A clip of an orchestra playing Mozart’s concerto for flute and harp for today’s composer study. . • For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart by Elizabeth Rusch. . . And then today’s main lesson of history included: • A couple of readings from a See Through History Book all about the Celts. Mainly focusing on daily life and the building of round houses. • A couple of videos from @bbcbitesize about life in Celtic Britain. • Some Celtic craft discussion using Hands on History. We plan to make some paper round houses, some clay torcs (necklaces), as well as a Celtic sword, shield and harp from cardboard for some fun Celtic dress up - I’ll be sure to share a pic! . . Looks like we’re going to be busy! . . What have you read with your little ones today? . . #homeed #homeeduk #homeeducation #homeeducationuk #homeeducationguernsey #homeschool #homeschooling #charlottemasonuk #charlottemasoneducation #charlottemasonhomeschool #morningbasket #bookbasket #circletime

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