My Little Robins

Loving and Learning in the Nest

Prioritizing Habits For Smooth and Easy Days

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I remember the day I posted a cute photo of my daughter in a fashion group online.

She was barely six and had dressed herself in a dress that I wore with a semi-toothless grin in the 80's. Her emerging fashion sense told her to pair the dress with a denim vest and sparkly shoes….that were on the wrong foot. You would not believe how quickly people noticed the misplaced shoes. Some people didn't even say something positive about the heirloom dress, and went straight to criticize the shoes. 

Related: The Stages of Charlotte Mason Habit Training

But you know what? I don't care. 

I don't care about shoes on the wrong feet because it doesn't really matter. It would be filed under what Charlotte Mason called “arbitrary.” If my young child gets dressed on their own, I am not willing to say, “But you didn't do it right!” Wrong-footed shoes aren't really wrong- this isn't a moral issue. 

My daughter is 8 now and doesn't wear her shoes on the wrong feet anymore, but I still have one child who is just learning to put shoes on for himself, and sometimes they don't even match, let alone get on the right feet. I will not send my 18-year-old out into the world with wrong-footed shoes; someday checking left and right will become a habit. 

Habits For The Early Years: A Mother's Journal

Habit training help for the early years

Slow and Steady Habit Training

We desperately want those smooth and easy days that Charlotte Mason spoke of, but habit training is a long process.  If we work on them one-by-one, we won’t just knock out the habit of cleanliness, (for example); we’ll take months or years to work on each little component of that habit.

Related: Keeping a Habit Training Journal 


Because of the turtle-rate of habit training, we begin with the habits that will have the most impact in our days. What will help us get out of the house more smoothly, have fewer battles, and have more peace in our home? For me, these habits are: 

  • Cleaning up after themselves
  • Being kind
  • Obeying

It seems like we've been focusing on these things for a very long time, and that's okay! I try not to get overwhelmed with how far away the finish line looks. We're making progress as the fruits of kindness show up in surprising areas, or a child cleans up right away. This summer, we'll maintain the habits we've already established, like cleaning up the breakfast table after eating, and looking for opportunities to help, so that when our routines return to normal in the fall, we aren't starting from scratch. Those wrong-footed shoes are low-priority. 

If you want to prioritize habits with your young children, Habits for the Early Years may be a good fit! It's part journal and part guide to help you through the habits that are most important during the early years! 

Books We Read in April and May

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This post has been sitting in my drafts for over a month, so now it's a combination of books that we read in April AND May. Because....life!

We actually have read a lot of picture books in the last two months, but I didn't include many of them in this round up because they are part of a sponsored post I'm doing with Beautiful Feet books. I also had a personal read that I didn't include here because I didn't think it was a good fit for you 🙂 

I've used affiliate links to share these books with you. You can learn more about affiliate links in my policies. 

Personal Reads

Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsay  

I never paid attention to politics, but last March, with the world shut down, I had more time to start trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Some of the questions I had echo those that are mentioned in the synopsis of this book. 

This book discusses theories that at their core, are made up of conflicting ideas and haven't been proven by research. For example, at the base of one of these theories is the idea that there is no such thing as human nature. All you would have to do to prove that wrong is look at patterns in history, nature, and people. Some of these theories echo the Gospel message- so couldn't that in itself be proof of human nature? The oddest part to me is that for years post-modern thought has said, "There's not such thing as truth!" and now some of these theories shout loudly- "But I am TRUTH!" 

To silence, to undermine, to say that the whole system is broken and needs to be torn down, is going to end democracy. The authors claim that liberalism, which our system of government is built upon, is at risk because of the above issues. This book appeals to people all across the political spectrum, even though one of the authors is a liberal feminist-humanist. 

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I absolutely loved A Gentleman in Moscow, which I read last year, so I was excited to read Towles's first novel, Rules of Civility. As first novels go, I was prepared to be a little less wowed, and that was the case. 

This book takes place in New York City in the 1930's. Two young women meet a charming, wealthy man who takes them on adventures in the city. Although Katey, the main character, has her eye on this man, her best friend snags him away through a series of events. Katey and Eve get swept up into high society life, only to find out the fragility and fake it was. 

This book felt like a beach read, and some elements felt forced, like the main character's last name (Kontent) and George Washington's Rules of Civility being used as a manipulative tool for the wealthy. 

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

I listened to the audiobook version of The Dutch House, narrated by Tom Hanks. It's brilliant to have a famous author narrate a story- he brought so much life to it!

Danny Conroy grew up in a big, daunting mansion that came to be known as the Dutch House. His mother left when he was young, and he was raised mostly by a team of housekeepers/nannies, and his older sister Maeve. Their life at the Dutch House is interrupted by their father's new wife, Andrea, who moves in and takes over. When Maeve and Danny are forced to leave, they can't let go of their past or the house. 

I enjoyed listening to this book, but I felt like there were some parts that I wish had been tied up better, like Andrea's obsession with the house. 

Marley and Me: Life and Love With The World's Worst Dog

This book has been sitting on the bookshelf since I met my husband 12 years ago. He got it right along with a new puppy that he invited into his home just before we met. I had always meant to read it, and 12 years later, I finally did. 

The story is cute, but I think that if anyone with writing skills wrote a book about life with a dog, it would have similar anecdotes. Marley was particular good at escapism, destroying things, and stealing things. Part of it was a little frustrating because I had a few "Everyone knows THAT!" moments. I also didn't enjoy reading about the dog's bodily functions. Gross. Dogs do that, you don't need to go into detail about it! 

This was a light read when I needed it, so I'm happy about that, but I don't feel the need to pursue any more of John Grogan's work. 

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

This book is heart-breaking and stunning, and so beautifully written that despite the hard topics, I didn't want to stop reading. The author, Bryan Stevenson, began a non-profit law firm in Alabama to help defend an underserved population. His stories of helping people who committed minor crimes with major penalties, were wrongly accused of crimes based off of racist handling of cases, and were otherwise forgotten by society were gut-wrenching. 

Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K White

I read White's first book, Managing Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, a few years ago, and enjoyed it. This book, while still good, had a lot of repeat points from the first book.  It also was pretty repetitive, as it went through how to use her decluttering process in each room. I have used some of the ideas from the book recently, so that is a win! 

Scattered to Focused by Zac Grisham

This was probably the most helpful book I've read in a long time. It's about helping children develop Executive Functioning skills, written by a counselor who had to tackle his own executive functioning issues growing up as an ADHD child. Although it mainly focuses on ADHD, any differently-wired child could benefit from this book. 

Bird by Bird by Ann Lamott

This is my first reread this year- probably my first in many years. It feels so wasteful to read through a book again that I've already read before since my time is so limited! But I read this book in college when I was becoming an elementary school teacher and it felt incredibly irrelevant. I wanted to spend time on it again now that I have a logical reason to learn about writing. 

I didn't love it, or really even enjoy it. It seemed like the author was more intent on making herself out to be a a brilliant but kind of crazy writer than she was interested in teaching others how to write. She also seemed intent on proving that she wasn't one of "those" Christians which was kind of annoying. 

It was more about the writing process than writing itself, and it could have had about 100 less pages, which is why I gave myself permission to skip the end! 


Children's Books

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page 

This book was on the Reshelving Alexandria "Books to read to boys under 6" list, and it was a huge hit over here. There are tails, eyes, noses, from different animals, presented in a way that keeps you guessing which animal it is. My boys loved this! Then it describes what the feature is used for. It's a great non-fiction book in a lyrical style. 

Rags: Hero Dog of WWI: A True Story by Margot Theis Raven and Petra Brown 

We loved this book about a dog who was rescued on the streets during World War I, then became a companion to a soldier. It's a somewhat sad story, but beautifully told and illustrated. 

Tumtum and Nutmeg- Pirates Treasure by Emily Bearn

This was the third and final Tumtum and Nutmeg story that I read to my son recently. This was very fun and especially engaging for a little boy! I think I'm getting a little burned out on these characters though, and will be happy to have a break from them! 

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John 

Confession: I repeatedly get this book mixed up with Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan. I was researching World War II books for my daughter, and ended up with this one, which is NOT a WWII book. Haha! However, neither of us were disappointed by that fact- we both loved this story set in the Swiss alps. It reminded me of a book a read a couple of months ago: Heather and Snow by George MacDonald. The author over-spiritualized some points and had some theological that didn't make sense, but it's one that we'll hang onto and read again. 

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

We are taking our time getting through the Little House series. This book has been very pleasant, although there isn't much going on. It's so interesting to think of them settling into the new town of DeSmet, South Dakota. 

Blackout by John Rocco 

This book is written in a comic book style, and has little text. But the pictures are engaging and the message is important. It's set in a big city, where everyone is too busy, including a little boy's family. They don't want to play a game with him because they're on the phone, computer, or other device. But when the power goes out, they find the importance of being together and getting outside. 

Animal Camouflage by Sam Hutchinson and Sarah Dennis 

This is a gorgeous seek-and-find style book that my boys really enjoyed. The pictures are monochromatic so looking for different animals is a challenge! 

A Voyage In The Clouds by Matthew Olson and Sophie Blackall

My five-year-old boy really enjoyed this book about two frenemies who each wanted to be the first to make an international flight in a hot air balloon. When plans don't work out as they ought, they have to get creative to solve the problem. There's a little bit of potty humor here that normally wouldn't appeal to me, but it made sense (mostly because it actually happened!)  and my child thought it was hilarious. 

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling

A few years ago I snagged this book on Amazon for less than $10, but I really had no clue when I would use it. (I piece together my own curriculum!) This year, I saw it on Reshelving Alexandria's list of books to read to boys 6 and under. This seemed like the perfect read for my boys, 3 and 5, and I knew their older sister would love it, too. 

It definitely was a book that we all enjoyed! I've heard that if you take Holling's books too slowly, you can lose momentum. So we kept a pretty good pace of a chapter or two a day (the chapters are 1 page long). My children were captivated by Paddle's journey, and were interested to learn the geography of the Great Lakes. I think I would normally give this book 4 stars, because it does seem to drag in some places, but we had such a wonderful experience with it that I have to give it 5! 

1000 Tracings by Lita Judge

When we looked for World War II books to go with our Homeschool Garden morning time plans, there weren't a whole lot of picture books at our library. The librarian helped us find this one, and it was delightful. It's based on a true story of a family that tried to help war victims in Europe 

Learning Geography Through Good Books

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It's so important to me that my children learn about other countries and cultures. For my daughter's kindergarten year, I pieced together a curriculum to learn about China. We read a few good books and looked up places on maps- but what she learned wasn't in depth and she was soon asking questions that received the answer, "We learned about that, don't you remember?" 

I received free product and compensation for this sponsored post. All ideas are my own. You can see my policies for more information. 

Now that my son is entering his informal kindergarten year, I want geography to have less stress on my end, but better results. We're going to achieve that lofty goal through Around the World with Picture Books Part 1 from Beautiful Feet Books. 

Unboxing Around The World With Picture Books 

In the past, I've bought different books from this company, but this is our first experience using a Beautiful Feet Books curriculum. Around the World With Picture Books is made for children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. The entire set comes with a beautiful guide, 15 books, and a notebook. 

I made a little unboxing video below! 

Around the World With Pictures Books Part 1 teaches about Asia, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. 

My son quickly dug into the books on the coffee table. He isn't a reader yet, so usually avoids looking at books on his own "because I can't read, Mom!" But he looked through at least 5 of them until I put them away so it didn't spoil the curriculum fun! 

Related: How to Choose Living Books

Using Good Books to Teach Geography

I'm planning to use Around the World With Picture Books in the fall, but I wanted to try out some of it to share it with you. Like I mentioned above, the guide is just beautiful! It looks like a magazine that could gain permanent residence on our coffee table. There were some tips in the guide to read before we jumped into the curriculum. 

The first country covered in the guide is China. The lessons involved good books about China, and most are included in the complete set. We read some of the books in one sitting and some were broken up over multiple lessons. This approach tells me that they understand young children and their attention spans! 

One of the first books we looked at was Anno's China. This book is actually wordless, but there is so much to see. We looked at a few pages at a time, and then discussed certain aspects of the culture as it was portrayed in the book. This is what caused me to fall in love with this curriculum: as well as reading the book, we were directed to a video that gave background information about an ancient painting that the book's illustrations were based off of. I wouldn't have known to do this on my own and was so grateful for the direction!

The MAPS book that comes with Around the World With Pictures Books is just stunning! These aren't your typical maps: each one shows a region and things that are important to it, like symbols, animals, and natural resources. 

The lessons continue in the fashion of reading a book and then digging a little deeper with a library book suggestion, link to explore, or activity to do. I appreciated that the activities weren't too much- I tend to shy away from heavily involved extras. These are meaningful and not complicated. 

Sign up for Beautiful Feet Book's Guide, 5 Ways to Know If A Book Is Worth Sharing With Your Kids through the button below. 

Sign Up Here

Keeping a Geography Notebook

As we read through the good books in the curriculum, we're also keeping a geography notebook. The guide prompts us to color a picture (there are pictures and resources in the back to photocopy) or make another type of entry in the beautiful journal that came with the set. When we're done, we'll have something to look back on and remember what we learned. 

Around the World With Picture Books Part 1 will fill our minds with inspiration and knowledge, fill the notebook with what we've learned, and fill out shelves with good books. 

Enter to win a $100 credit to Beautiful Feet Books!

Building Math Skills With Family Time Math

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A few years ago, I had an idea to make a math warm-up for our homeschool similar to the one I used in a Charlotte Mason school. But since I have multiple children, this math warm-up would need to serve multiple age groups. 

This idea remained in the back of my mind for about a year, and then as a draft in my graphic design software for another year. Planning math for multiple children is a daunting task! But once I worked up the courage, I put my experiences of teaching 1-5th grade to use. 

Six months of hard work later, I can now officially introduce Family Time Math!

Related: Math: It's Not About the Curriculum (Thinking Love Podcast)  

Family Time Math

Family Time Math is a 36-week curriculum for three levels: Early Years, Elementary, and Upper Elementary. Each week, there are questions for each level that help build mental math skills and develop concepts. By asking questions when all of your children are together, my hope is that math conversations will flow naturally, helping to build a math-centered culture in your home. 

This is a four-day a week curriculum, but for those of you who school five days a week without the interruption of co-op or other activities, there is a 5th day option for practicing math facts. 

Every four weeks, there is a family math activity, designed to offer a math experience that the whole family can bond over. These activities are seasonal, math games, or real-life math. 

Related: One-to-One Correspondence Activity 

Math Skills

I wanted to present math skills in a way that they would develop gradually. If a child already knows the skill, he or she can have extra practice with it. But gradually increasing the difficulty of the skill will help develop it more completely. Here are just some of the skills present in Family Time Math. 

Counting- There are two types of counting: the ability to say the numbers in order, and the ability to give a value to multiple items. The Early Years math level focuses on both types of counting for numbers 1 through 36. Many children can count verbally before they can identify the value of multiple objects, so even children who “know their numbers” might benefit from these activities. Towards the middle of the Early Years math section, skip counting is introduced.

Skip counting- Skip counting is an important elementary math skill that deepens number sense and ultimately prepares children for multiplication. Skip counting starts with simple skills like counting by 2’s and 3’s, and progresses into more difficult skip counting, like 4’s, 5’s, and starting on an unlikely number.

Developing number sense- Number sense is understanding what value each number has. Ideas like “more” and “less” fall under number sense. It continues to grow through an understanding of place value. 

Vocabulary development- Children will develop vocabulary to help them describe concepts related to numbers, distance, weight, and size.  Being able to talk about math concepts and use the vocabulary they’ve learned will be important as well.

Addition and subtraction facts- Children in the elementary level will start adding and subtracting using concrete tools, then move on to calculating mentally. They will also create fact families, which are a set of four addition/subtraction problems using the same three numbers. (Example: 2 + 5=7; 5 + 2=7; 7 - 2=5; 7 -5=2).

Copybook- Keeping a math copybook is a beneficial habit for math learning. Children will begin keeping a math copybook, adding in math definitions and sample problems, during this level of Family Time Math. If your child hasn’t developed writing skills yet, you can begin the copybook by writing the definitions for them.

Patterns- Children will interpret and create patterns throughout all levels of this curriculum. 

Story problems- Being able to solve story problems is the basis for most real-world math! In this program, story problems start out as simple, one-step questions and develop in complexity. 

Geometry- Children begin by learning about simple shapes in the early years, and continue to learn about the attributes of 2 and 3-dimensional shapes. 

Money- The value of money is introduced once children have solidified the skill of skip counting. 

Measurement- Measurement, using both standard measurement units and familiar measurement units (hand widths, paces…) children are encouraged to understand distance as well as weight.

Fractions- Fractions can be a difficult undertaking for many children, so this curriculum begins introducing the concept of equal groups at an early age so that it can serve as the future foundation of fractions understanding. Older children will learn about fractions and experiment with different fraction operations. 

Multiplication and division facts- The concepts of multiplication and division are introduced in this level, as well as offering facts practice.

Related: Charlotte Mason Math from Home Education

Learn More About Family Time Math

If you're interested in learning more about Family Time Math, take a look at it in My Little Robins' shop. You can also find a sample of it through the sign-up link below. 

Want more math ideas? Download My Little Robins' free Family Time Math Cards.

Math Conversation Cards for Family Time

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My heart has been led to create homeschool resources that bring the family together, and I think you're going to LOVE what I have to share with you today!  

I made a set of 18 math cards that will help bring math discussion to the dinner table (or the breakfast table, or your road trip...) 

The thing is, when kids are sitting down individually doing their own personal math assignments, there is no family component to it. They aren't having conversations or bonding with others over math. I hope these cards, and my new Family Time Math resource, will help change that! 

Related: Math Number Activity 

Family Time Math Cards

Related: Early Years Math By-The Way

Print out these cards two-sided on cardstock, and pull a card depending on your child's age and math ability. There are three levels: 

Early Years Math: This focuses mostly on vocabulary and number sense, and is intended for those little eager learners ages 3-5. 

Elementary Math: These questions focus mostly on mental math, focusing on adding, subtracting and skip counting. 

Upper Elementary Math: Intended for older children ages 8-11, this level of math cards features working with equal groups through multiplication and division, understanding place value, and determining a shape's characteristics. 

There are six questions for each level. All of the cards have questions that can be used multiple times, not just once.

You can find these cards in My Little Robins' shop. 

Family Time Math Cards shown with a math board from ThreeWoodShop (available on Etsy). 

Related: Math from Home Education

Family Time Math

Family Time Math is a 36-week curriculum made for children ages 3-11. This would be a perfect addition to your morning time, starting off with a little math warm-up before moving on to a complete curriculum. 

Like the Family Time Math cards, this curriculum is broken up into three levels: Early Years, Elementary, and Upper Elementary. There are age-appropriate questions for each level, focusing mostly on mental math. The Early Years level includes a packet for little ones to work on since they might not be ready for mental math, but probably want to be included in family activities! Older children also have copybook entries to make in order to help develop concepts. Each month, there is a family math activity feature real-life math and math games. 

I know that talking about math is one of the most important part of math education, but it's hard to do that when homeschooled students work on curricula separately. I pray that these resources solve that problem in your home and help you have conversations surrounding math topics. 

You can get a preview of Family Time Math through the sign up form below. 

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