We aren’t doing much at all for homeschool this summer because truthfully I got too burned out and needed a longer break (We’re trying 6 weeks on, 1 week off next year to hopefully prevent some of that burnout). But my kids also do so much better when they’re on a consistent routine, so we’re still having Morning Time together most mornings! We read from the Bible, pray, work on their First Catechism, and read a few books aloud.

We’re also working on memorizing the books of the Bible. My oldest daughter knows most of them, but we’re starting to work with the preschooler on the books and making sure we know which order they go in. I was surprised that I couldn’t find any flash cards, so I created my own and thought I would share them with all of you! You can download those here. Here’s a little peek into how we’re using them!

My oldest daughter is almost seven and reads very well, so I shuffle the cards, hand them to her, and allow her to lay them out on the floor in order. Once she has a solid grasp on those, we’ll start adding in the different sections and learning which books belong in which section (The Pentateuch, Major Prophets, Gospels, etc.). There’s no pressure here. We try to keep this light and fun so we don’t discourage her growth!

For my preschooler who hasn’t learned how to read, she and I start together at the beginning. I ask her what the first book of the Bible is, and then hand her the correct card after she says the name, and then she gets to go place it at the “starting position”. I let her continue naming the books in order, then place each card one at a time, seeing how far she can go, and if she can make a longer trail than the day before. Again, we keep it light and try to make it fun to encourage learning!

The set includes Old Testament and New Testament Cards, all 66 books of the Bible, plus the different sections. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! If you use them, tag me on Instagram @onestitchblog and use the hashtag #onestitchlearning so I can see!

(For personal use only. Not for distribution or for resale.)

After quite a bit of research, and lots of indecision on my part, we went with Heart of Dakota’s “Little Hearts for His Glory” curriculum for this 2017-2018 school year. We’ve enjoyed most of the curriculum, but there were some things that were a little challenging, I guess you could say. I thought I’d do a quick list of Pro’s and Con’s from a first-time homeschooler perspective.

Pros

• The lesson planning is done for you. There is a 2-page spread for each day, which outlines exactly what you’re supposed to cover in each subject for that day. It’s clear and concise, but still thorough enough for a newbie homeschooler.
• The activities for the day all tie in together very well. The history lesson for the day, the Bible verse, and the Science/Art activity all reinforce the main subject of the history lesson.
• The multi-sensory approach really encourages true learning of the topic, rather than strictly memorization. My daughter was able to remember the topics we covered much better when we didn’t just read from the history book and skip the “extras” for the day. Whether it be a song, acting activity, art project, or other activity, she learned so much better when we did those, as well.
• It allows for you to easily incorporate your own Reading/Phonics, Math, and Handwriting curriculums. This was very important to me. Because of previous work in pediatric OT, I knew without a doubt I wanted to use Math-U-See and Handwriting Without Tears curricula. With Heart of Dakota, I wasn’t required to purchase a full curriculum that included math, and then purchase the additional Math-U-See curriculum. I was able to purchase just the basics and choose my own.
• It incorporates classic literature into the material. (I love the old classics, so this is important to me!)
• It requires a good deal of reading comprehension skill. My daughter is very Type-A, check-the-box, memorize-it-and-then-forget-it personality. Both the history and “Storytime” section require her to listen and answer reading comprehension questions. It’s been both challenging for her, but also an area of growth that is important.
• Price. Let’s face it – homeschooling can get quite expensive, and the price of Heart of Dakota for the quality of the material is a definite bonus.

Cons

• The science curriculum left a little to be desired. To be fair, you do have the option to choose your own science curriculum, but for ease, I decided to try the book they recommend. While the activities that corresponded with the science lessons were a great learning opportunity, I felt like the actual material was a bit lacking. We’ll be using something different next year.
• It only includes 34 weeks of material. If you’re in a state like mine that requires a full 180 days of school, this leaves you with 2 extra weeks. Of course you can supplement your own material in that time, but that’s an additional expense. Since most states require 180 days, I do wish they’d add on an extra 10 days to the curriculum, but it’s not a deal-breaker for me.
• It requires a lot of hands-on time. There’s not much down time during the material where the parent doesn’t have to be sitting right beside the student working, or working themselves. The history material is in short story format to make it more engaging and appealing to the kids, but that also means that parents have to read a lot. In addition to those stories, there is a “Storytime” section to work on reading comprehension and listening skills.

Having completed “Little Hearts for His Glory”, next year she would move to “Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory.” The history section of this curriculum focuses on US History, and was a major factor in my decision to stick with Heart of Dakota for our curriculum next year. While I want her to learn World History in great detail, I think it’s important to start with US History first (and I admittedly loved US History in school and just get giddy thinking about studying it for a whole year.)

We also plan to supplement HOD with the “Playful Pioneers” curriculum from The Peaceful Preschool. Since we’ll be moving to a farm (that’s the plan, anyway), we’re hoping to tie that into our everyday activities.

For Language Arts, we’ll be using Sonlight’s curriculum. It includes both spelling, language arts, and phonics in one curriculum.

We’ll continue with Math-U-See next year, using the Alpha book. Their video lessons and manipulatives have been very helpful with challenging math concepts this year.

The Grade 1 Handwriting Without Tears is another must-have for next year. I plan to also buy the keyboarding program and iPad app for a well-rounded approach. (I didn’t start keyboarding until middle school, I still sometimes can’t believe that it’s taught in 1st grade now!)

Possibly the curriculum that I’m most excited about it Apologia’s Science curriculum! I’ve heard great things about it, and am looking forward to digging a little deeper than HOD did for Science last year. We’re going to start with the Astronomy Textbook and Junior Workbook, and may move on to Botany if we have time before the end of the year.

Whew, that’s a long one! All in all, we had a great {learning} experience this year, and given my picky tendencies, I’m sure we’ll tweak some more curricula next year to find the best fit for us. That’s one of my favorite things about homeschooling, by far. I am able to choose curricula that work well for her learning style, but also challenge her to think in different ways. Have you used any of these programs? What were your experiences? I love hearing other people’s perspectives’!

Let me preface this post by saying, I am 100% not a beauty blogger and have no desire to be. This is a space for me to share what our family is up to and what I’m sewing, BUT I had so many different people ask me to share what I thought about Beauty Counter after I posted my box on IG, and this was the most efficient way to do that. I am definitely not a beauty or makeup expert, but I have tried so many natural and organic skin care products over the last few years, that I feel like I can at least give an opinion on Beauty Counter vs. other natural makeup lines. So this Beauty Counter review will be coming from the perspective of trying so many different products in my personal search for the perfect natural skincare.

Now, first. I don’t think there actually is a perfect natural skincare brand. What works for me may not work for others, because we all have different skin types, diets, lifestyles, etc. I purchased (full price – this post is not sponsored and I’m getting nothing by sharing) the Tint Skin Foundation in Ivory, Voluminizing Mascara, Rejuventating Eye Cream, and Instant Eye Makeup Remover. I received the Balancing Charcoal Mask, along with samples of the Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion and Plumping Jasmine Facial Oil as part of their Clean Swap program. (If you purchased one of 6 items that typically have the worst ingredients, you got to choose a swap.)

{I won’t be reviewing the eye cream or the mask because I haven’t used the eye cream long enough to give a valid review, and I haven’t gotten around to using the mask yet.}

I’ll start with the eye makeup remover. It has a super strong floral scent, which took me by surprise when I first opened it, so if strong scents bother you, keep that in mind. From the scent I honestly expected it to burn my eyes when I used it, but much to my surprise, it didn’t burn at all. And it did a bang-up job of removing my mascara and eye liner by basically just pressing a cotton ball with a little of the product on it onto my eyelid. When I first used it, I thought it would leave my eyelids oily, but that’s not the case. Definitely something I’ll continue to purchase.

Next for the Tint Skin Foundation. I use a dime-sized amount for a lighter coverage and a nickel-sized amount for more of a medium coverage. It is thicker than the foundation I was using in the past, but the coverage is better, and the color looks completely natural. With this Mineral Fusion Liquid Foundation I was using previously, I had a very hard time matching my skin color, despite all the different tones and shades. As far as wear, I’d say Beauty Counter lasts about as long as my other natural foundations have. It’s usually not a full day of wear for me, but close enough.

The Voluminizing Mascara took a while for me to get used to. I was using a drugstore mascara, completely the opposite of natural, and it worked great for me. It takes 2-3 coats of the Beauty Counter Mascara to get the same results as I got with one coat of my drugstore mascara, but for something that isn’t pumped full of chemicals, I’m totally ok with that. And if I’m in a hurry and only have time for one coat, it thickens my lashes enough at the bottom that I’m pleased with the results.

In the photo below I’m wearing both the foundation and mascara (it was a quick one coat day today). I do wear a translucent powder over the foundation because I prefer a much more matte look to my foundation, but the foundation gives a beautiful dewy look without it, if that’s your thing! I didn’t photoshop anything in this photo – just added a little contrast to the original image.

The two samples that I got – the Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion and the Plumping Facial Oil are definitely things I’ll be purchasing full size in the future. I struggle with combination skin, and a lot of times my forehead becomes very flakey by the end of the day, especially in the winter. I’ve been using a few drops of the Facial Oil, followed by the lotion, and haven’t noticed this at all since using it! The facial oil has the same strong floral scent as the makeup remover, but I get used to it quickly. It’s just shockingly strong at first

So far I’m really impressed with Beauty Counter, and am definitely going to try more of their products next month – specifically the concealer, lipstick and the eye shadows. Also, I love that I can go on the website and order whenever I want. I like the freedom in that. You have the choice to either go through a rep’s site or purchase on the standalone site. I went through a rep, and you can find her site here. What’s your favorite Beauty Counter product? I’d love to hear it!

When a new pattern is in testing, I tend to make a ton of versions for my girls, and only one or two for myself. But this time, I decided “No way, treat yo’ self!” And so I did. What really excited me was the keyhole back, so that was the first one I made. I love that it is perfect for showing off the trendy bralettes – like this Mama Bridgette from Made for Mermaids. Plus, it is super cozy in this hacci sweater knit from Pretty Posh Prints!

I know I’m not the only one who browses Pinterest for sewing (or maybe just style) ideas, and when I saw this sweater knit in Joann Fabrics, I knew it would be perfect for this hacked version of the Mama Stella V-neck. It. Is. Love. I could wear this every day.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, was this absolutely amazing off the shoulder version in a sweater knit from the lovely Darcey at Sincerely Rylee Fabrics. I stumbled on Darcey’s shop a few years ago, and she was really my catalyst into the whole PDF pattern FB world. I had a few PDF patterns already, but hadn’t joined the club online yet She’s been one of my favorites ever since. I again paired this with another Mama Bridgette Bralette from Made for Mermaids.

I paired each of these tops with another new pattern coming soon to M4M as part of the Lounge and Lace Collection – you won’t want to miss these versatile lounge pants! The best part about this entire collection is feeling put together enough that I don’t feel like I’m wearing pajamas all day long, but comfy enough that I actually do feel like I’m wearing pajamas all day long. If that makes any sense at all. Moms – I know you get it!

These patterns are all on sale individually and in bundles through Monday 2/12/18 at midnight CST! Mama Stella and Stella are on sale for $7.50 each, Dolly Stella for $5. Or you can grab the Mama and girls’ bundle for $13, and the Mama/girls’/dolly bundle for $17.50! I’ll be back tomorrow to share the girls and dolly versions I made. I didn’t want to overwhelm you with too much photo spam in one blog post

*This post contains some affiliate links. I receive a small compensation for items purchased through my links, which immediately goes back into my fabric and PDF pattern fund. Thank you for helping feed my addiction