How APRIL HOMESCHOOL went and our MAY HOMESCHOOL Plans!

Our April homeschool month went really well. The kids were able to make progress on their goals and I felt I was able to spend time with them without feeling overwhelmed by it. We were also able to have a lot of fun together. 

We found a couple of new programs in April that I really like. The first was a typing program for Ashtyn. We've been using Mickey's Typing Adventure, which she had fun with, but she was to a point where she wanted to get faster at typing and the program was lagging on my computer in a way that was making it really difficult for her. We looked at and tried a few different online programs before settling on Education.com. They have some typing games that Ashtyn was having fun with and that I also felt would help her improve. 

The other program we found this last month is called Reading Eggs. It is a monthly subscription, but we've just replaced Netflix with it. You can use it on the computer or your phone, you can add four kids to it, and it has math and reading lessons on a lot of different levels. The kids are having a ton of fun with it and I can tell they are learning a lot. I got it specifically for Parker, because I felt she would benefit from games around phonics and she has really excelled with it. It's nice for familiarizing Rylee with her letters and numbers as well. Ashtyn does math stuff on it, because she's already advanced enough with reading that the program isn't as interesting to her, but she loves the math games and is learning a lot. 

We had two read alouds in April. Our audiobook was Where the Red Fern Grows (we're getting close to the end and will probably finish it by the end of the month). The girls are really loving it. The main book I read to the girls this month was the first Trixie Belden book, one of my childhood favorites. Ashtyn especially liked it, though Rylee was less interested. We finished it and started the second one, but I don't think we'll finish it until May. 

The kids have also done a lot of drawing, origami, Easter activities, and science experiments and activities (we also really love Science Mystery and SciShow Kids). With the weather warming up, they've also spent a lot of time playing outside, which is so nice. I know the major benefits of outside free play, so I love when they get to! 

With the activities I like to plan, last month I really simplified and I loved it. I am going to do something similar this month. 

The main holiday in May is Mother's Day and I have a few printables I'm going to do with the girls. We like to share some things like this with all the grandma's that they have. 

There are a couple other "fun" holidays in May that I want to celebrate with the girls. One of those is Harry Potter Day (on Tuesday May 3). I have some coloring pages to do with the girls and I thought we could also find some sticks to make wands out of. There's also May the Fourth, and we'll probably watch a Star Wars movie together and make these Baby Yoda bookmarks. 

Another holiday is Drawing Day, on May 16. The kids love drawing and will love to celebrate by spending the morning drawing different things. Another fun one is May 24, Scavenger Hunt Day. The kids love scavenger hunts and I love how I can customize them. 

Some go to activities that are easy: 

Playdoh 

Drawing 

Board Games 

Science kit experiments 

I am very excited for the warm weather and love the rhythm we have found with homeschool right now. It's a slower rhythm (with Oliver's struggles to nap) but it works great for us right now!