 Hi you guys my name is Brittany and welcome back to my youtube channel you guys in today's video I will be sharing with you my october homeschooling update So if any of you guys are new here to my channel again, my name is Brittany I'm a homeschooling mom to three girls who are in sixth grade kindergarten and preschool So you guys i'm just going to wrap up and share with you guys everything that has happened for us in the month of october Um, i'm so happy with where we're at in our homeschool But i definitely can say i have been slowing down I am trying to prevent myself from burning out and i definitely Uh find myself being in a more slower season This always happens to me every homeschooling year And this year it definitely didn't come by surprise because i always find myself like around like mid October november and december i'm just in a slower season I really feel like since we start off our homeschooling year in july I hit it hard like july august september and by like middle october i'm just like almost tapped out But i really can understand because i mean at this point you guys are watching this video We have completed 13 weeks of our homeschool So we really only have five weeks left for me to like satisfy our semester So it's not a surprise that i'm starting to feel less motivated I really feel like i'm just coming in our homeschool hitting the core We haven't been doing like all of our big morning baskets and you know all of the extra fluff We've really just been hitting it home sticking to the core in my homeschool I really been trying to just be slow and steady and not just fall off the horse Because at this point you guys like i'm ready just to go ahead and pack the horse put them in a stable and rest For the rest of the year, but i know i'm just not at that point to be able to do that We're so close, but i just need to continuously motivate myself and Take care of myself in order for me to reach this finish line when it comes to our first semester Of this homeschooling year. So you guys um we like i said before we've completed 13 weeks of our homeschool We're kind of like almost in our holiday schedule plans and in my next video I will share with you in details all of my holiday plans. Um that I have for The rest of the homeschooling year I'm definitely cutting out a lot of like our core curricula when it comes to our holiday plans because we will be reaching the halfway Points pretty soon in our homeschool, which is like so encouraging So I definitely will be able to scale back on a lot of our heavier core curricula when it comes to Uh november and december but for right now we're still just study like trucking along. So um you guys exciting news We went on our second field trip of the year. Our first field trip of the year was the telus museum We had so much fun. We did that in july and in october you guys we went to the iglana zoo with all of my family It was so much fun. I've went to the zoo so many times with my kiddos, but my younger two were really really young So this is my first time really being able to experience the zoo with them Uh and them really being able to like take part of Seeing the animals and experience and all of the exhibits and things like that in the alana zoo They recently opened up their new like african savanna They expanded the zoo and it's so pretty now. They have like this feeding station for the giraffes and um They have it's like really really wide open space and it's really really pretty You're really able to like see the animals all around you in like the african savanna the new portion that they um Just redid and the kids they enjoyed it so much even briel my oldest She still enjoyed the zoo and sometimes I do get worried because of my big age gap when it comes to my kiddos But she thoroughly enjoyed it. She had so much fun And it's always something new and interesting to see when we go to the zoo because We never see like the same animals each time we go So it was really really fun. The kids really really enjoyed it and it definitely broke up like our mondane Homeschooling days and i'm proud of myself for like still Doing some field trips even though this month. I definitely felt myself, you know slowing down a lot So overall, I definitely will say it was good. We since I was a lot slower I definitely will say we pulled out a lot more and we did more like art electives and reading which is always good And i'm going to share that with you guys so as far as brief We're going to go ahead and start with my sixth grader We're going to give i'm going to give you guys a brief curriculum update Just giving you guys like our highlights the things that we thoroughly have enjoyed for the month of october So first things first you guys we started a new riddle out, which was where the mountain meets the moon Um, this is such a cute journey. Uh that we're following mayling as she's trying to change her family's fortune She's meeting all of these different characters and she's going on this fun adventure One thing I will say is i'm so happy that I pulled out one of my literature guides We're using the brave writers Arrow guide when we are going along with where the mountain meets the moon This is a perfect book you guys to pull out like figurative language So we've been really going over like similes metaphors. Um Just a lot of different aspects of figurative language in this book Grace Lynn has a way of pulling in the readers with all of her like Metaphoric phrases and it's storytelling and this is such a good book we've been using um audible to listen to this one and uh, it's been so great So this right here is um Brielle school nest notebook. This actually was her one from last year We're just kind of continuously using the same one And for the brave writer what we had to do was in our first week I had her do the copy work passage for the brave writer And then what Brielle did was she actually took the actual literature where the mountain meets the moon And she had to find similes and metaphors from within side of the book from where we were at And then she wrote out her own simile and metaphor I really like how brave writer really gets the kiddos dissecting the book I loved like the big juicy questions at the end and I really just take the meat out of the uh Brave writers literature guides what I like from it. We don't do everything in here But like what I like to pull out again It's like all the big juicy questions the figurative language And um, those are the aspects. I really really enjoy about the brave writers. Um guides This is our third guide we've used because we did two literature guides I believe last year we did two of the brave writer literature guides. So it's really really been fun Using a literature guide when it comes to like our read-aloud and brielle's really enjoying it as well So as far as um brielle's curriculum highlight, she told me this month. She has been enjoying IEW so we added in IEW for this homeschooling year At first I thought it was going to be too much writing for her to do oak meadows The ancient civilizations the english plus IEW but for this particular child She's really really enjoying it We do um one lesson of IEW every other week because in oak meadow every other week She has some type of uh comparative essay descriptive essay opinion essay So when she doesn't have an essay in oak meadow, we pull out IEW So she can continuously practice that structured form of writing and she loves it She told me this definitely was something she was missing in our homeschool And i'm happy to really uh continue with the IEW series before we started IEW you guys Uh brielle she really clammed up with me when it came to like all of her like Structured form of writing especially in the fourth grade. So when I introduced IEW to her in the fifth grade I've really seen her confidence when it came to her structured writing She was able to take her creative voice that she uses a lot In her creative writing stories and apply it in her structured writing And I can definitely attest it was IEW that gave her the confidence as a writer in her more like research Informative writings and I definitely know she's going to need that for these upper levels when it comes to like her schooling So i'm definitely happy I started IEW structured style in her fifth grade year And we're kind of continuing on with the series so she can continuously Build her skills as a writer and these these levels Have definitely allowed and allowed me to see I guess her confidence being built Her writing being built and it really takes the pressure off of me you guys because writing is not my strong suit But this IEW structured style definitely holds my hand and I need that hand holding And I'm not ashamed to outsource something when I need to so IEW has been perfect with her oakmentals ancient Civilizations in English and I'm just happy it all like married well together and she's enjoying it as well So as far as our ancient civilizations you guys know I love recapping you guys on what we studied in our ancient civilizations So from our september update we were just starting ancient china So we finished ancient china We also studied ancient africa and right now we are on ancient greeks. So for ancient africa Brielle, she actually wrote a research paper on the great zimbabwe She really really enjoyed studying about ancient african kingdoms. We read a lot of picture books We read a lot of them on hoopla if you see my um, I think I did a day in a life in October you were kind of able to see like us doing that lesson with ancient africa And it was so much fun So here are some of the books that I pulled off from my shelf that we read in her fourth grade year when we did a continent study On africa. This one was bringing rain to coppy plane. We really enjoyed rereading this one We read, uh, we all went on a safari Massa and I these are just some of the picture books we pulled out from our shelf when we Went over ancient africa and we really really enjoyed that The oak meadows curriculum had a lot of like arts and crafts and hands-on things when it came to doing the ancient africa I really wanted us to see if we can make the um, they had a a recipe for us to make like beads and for us to Use acrylic paint. We didn't get to it. But what we did do was this simple African mass using these tulip paper holders and molding clay and brielle enjoyed this one One thing I do like is I love how each of the weeks they have some type of like arts and crafts we can do and Sometimes I do feel a little guilty that I can't get to all but I definitely know when we have more downtime We're definitely able to come back to these activities if we want to so We really enjoyed learning about um ancient africa and again, like I said right now We are uh, we just started talking about ancient greece So we pulled out our delir books of greek myths Brielle really has been enjoying reading about these greek myths when I went to school this was my favorite part about ancient history was learning about like all the greek gods and the goddesses and um brielle's really really enjoying it and I'm really enjoying reading these greek myths with her and For her to continuously learn about um these all these ancient civilizations She's really really enjoying it and I'm enjoying it too and I know each of my updates I keep on talking about the ancient civilizations, but this definitely has been our highlight This is brielle's history notebook and you guys it's getting fat and I can't wait to like share with you guys like all the things she's gotten up to When it's come to like her um ancient notebook Here's the ancient greece uh where we're just start ancient greecs where we're just starting off right now And I can't wait to you know give you guys more details of all the assignments She has done so far in her history notebook when I do give you like our mid-year update But overall history has definitely just been our highlight and I know I keep on talking about it Um history in english has been our highlight this home schooling year Now as far as science you guys goes we're still trucking along Um, and I'm not going to stress myself out about it at first I was stressing myself out about it because when it comes to like our english math And history we're like only three weeks away from being at the halfway point But we're not quite there yet with science But I think what I'm going to do is just continuously work on science and just know when it comes to january We're just going to hit science a lot harder And I still think we'll be able to reach the goals that I want us to reach in our home school So I'm just not going to stress out about it I'm going to focus on our wins and we're just going to keep moving and I will make a plan when it comes to january, but for right now This is kind of like her update now as far as october like I said before I feel like I have cut out a lot like the morning baskets and all like the extra enrichment things I really been taking it slow. So uh brielle really has enjoyed doing like a lot of art this um Month or whatever. So she did some fall art. So this is one of her fall Pastel arts that she did I think she followed a little tutorial to do this So she's been enjoying doing art and then she actually also has taken up a handicraft So we started beginner sewing with brielle and this was a sewing kit you guys I picked off of amazon It was on sale. It was like a flash shell. So it was 50 off. So it was only like six bucks and Brielle is learning how to sew. Um, I actually know how to sew really really well I know how to use a sewing machine my grandmother taught me how to sew when I was about 16 years old. So um I just can't believe she kind of like wanted to take up sewing. So this is her first little sewing project She made a little pillow and you know as she's learning different stitches. She will get better and better But um, she's really enjoying her new handicraft She's really been diligent in doing like her piano and spanishes month two as well So that's kind of like what brielle has been up to and I'm really really proud of this girl Um, I really like how she still finds pockets of time to do things that she enjoys doing Outside of her homeschool and I really hope that she's still able to use these pockets of time Especially um as she gets older and her academics do get a little bit more rigorous I still hope that we can find time for her to still do these passions and things she loves to do in our homeschool So that is brielle's update now as far as my kindergarten or leah We are at the halfway point of kindergarten math with confidence and I'm so proud of this girl Um, kindergarten math with confidence. It's just been fun. Um I don't know what else to say about it I definitely will give you guys more details in my mid-year curriculum update when it comes to kindergarten math with confidence But I definitely have been enjoying uh doing all the games I've been enjoying a lot of this like hands-on learning for my busy body. This has been perfect for her And um, I've just been having fun with it. That's all I really can say I'm happy to see like her progress her mental math. Um, she's doing so well So we're just going to continuously trek along with it. But I mean, we're already at the halfway point. So Um, right now if we continue the rate that we're going She might be finished with this in february And then I'll have to go ahead and get the next level for her But we'll see we're just going to continue to work in it and um when I need to buy the next level I just will and kind of just follow the kiddo's leads now when it comes to her, um, all about reading Leia is still making progress. We're going so slow and I need to just be okay with that. We're not, you know, we're making progress But it's slow progress and that's okay. Um, she's doing well She is gaining confidence. She loves all the different things we're using when it comes to the all about reading I really used the back of the all about reading and I pulled out some of those extra games and activities because um, the letter cards that we were using for the all about reading they were kind of like building up and she wasn't, um Retaining or mastering those little green cards the way they wanted her to in the curriculum So I slowed the lesson down and I pulled out some of the activities in the back of the book for her to Work on that fluency when it comes to like her green, uh, work cards And it's been working and I just need to know if we have to slow down lessons like I'm doing right now It's perfectly fine. We're still making progress and that's all that matters So her reading and her reading progress is all of her own I'm just assisting her in this process and she's going to read We're going to get there and I'm going to continuously show up for this girl And I'm just not going to stress about it So if you're finding that you're doing reading instruction with your kiddos and they're not moving as fast as you want They're going slow I mean this reading journey is definitely slow and steady. It's humbling and I definitely will say just continuously show up For the kiddos because when it clicks it's going to click and I definitely know We're going to rejoice when we get to the end of this finish line when it comes to like her reading instruction But for right now I'm just going to enjoy the journey and I'm just going to sit back and watch this baby progress and I'm just going to Feed her whatever I have and just leave it from there. That's all I got to say about that So as far as like fall art for my younger kiddos, we did some leaf stamping So this is one of the kiddos art that they really enjoyed we went on like a leaf hunt We read our book we're going on a leaf hunt and they had so much fun doing like all these arts and crafts Even Brea my oldest she like kicked in and she did some leaf stamping or whatever, you know, it's so crazy because sometimes I feel like She may feel like some of the arts and crafts I do with the kiddos may be young But she still enjoys sitting at the table with her younger siblings and that really makes my mama heart proud So we all did some leaf stamping and we had like a really fun fun friday The kiddos definitely have been enjoying like all their fall books. This is their by far their favorite one Which has been omaris omaris farm and of course apple farmer annie If you guys want to know some more of my favorite fall picture books I definitely already made a video on my channel. They haven't changed the kiddos want me to read the same books over and over again And you know, they're cute So I definitely get a kick out of it when it comes to like all their fun favorite fall picture books and things like that so You guys this is really my homeschooling update for october Um, we've just been slow and steady And I just been continuously showing up for these kiddos if I need to take a monday off I've been taking a monday off if I need to take a wednesday off. I've been taking a wednesday off I definitely been taking little pockets of breaks outside of like our schedule breaks really just to ensure myself Being able to still feed and give my kids what they need. I can't give a pour from an empty cup So if i'm not filling it I definitely have been taken off a couple of days or I took off a couple of days outside of our regular Breaks when it came to october But we still reached our goals and I definitely will say, you know, if you're feeling like burnout and tired right now It's not just you It's everybody right now at this point. So you guys in my next video I definitely will update you on my holiday homeschooling plans and how I plan to attack the rest of november and december in my homeschool so Stay tuned for my upcoming video when I give you guys and I share with you all of my holiday homeschool plans But you guys let me know in a comment section down below. How was your october? Did you make it? Are you Are you getting tired? Do you feel like i'm feeling right now? Just let me know but as always you guys I love chatting with you guys and I will see everybody in my next one Bye