Our Trip to Italy

This post is a bit off-course from my typical posts, but I always think it’s fun to read about new places and get tips/ideas for places to go and experience. So, I hope you don’t mind the detour :)

First of all, this trip was made possible by airline points (if you want some tips about how to pay for your flights with airline points, just ask—I have some tricks up my sleeve!) and the affordability of staying in Italy. Plus, since we booked everything late last summer, a lot of the prices were lower than we are seeing now—often, booking far in advance can help the budget.

Our first stop was Rome. Everyone told us that it was a must-see—and we agree! It wasn’t my favorite city that we explored (just a little big and busy for me), but it was still beautiful and fun to see so many incredible historical sights.

Where we stayed: An Airbnb in Rome. We liked this location because it wasn’t in the super touristy area and was quite a bit quieter at night. And it was also close to public transportation (which we used to get around).

What we loved: The food! And, of course, seeing the historical sights. We also took a walking tour through an Airbnb experience. The walking tour was FOR SURE my favorite part of our short time in Rome. Our guide was so wonderful and we met other people from all over the world :) Plus, we got espresso and gelato—no need to say more ;)

What we didn’t love: The crowds. Everywhere we went it was just full of people, lines, and more people ;) In the Vatican, I felt like we were being shoved through like cattle—I hardly had time to look because it was so crowded. I’m not sure if it’s always like this, or we just hit a bad time, but it was definitely a downside for me (as I don’t love crowded places).

After two days in Rome, we got on a high speed train and went to Florence. From there, we took a bus down to a small village just out of Florence in the countryside. This was a much needed break from the crowds and sight-seeing.

Where we stayed: Our airbnb was absolutely wonderful! Plus, our host teaches a pasta making class, so we got a discount on the class—it was so fun! Our place was so peaceful, eclectic, restful, and cozy.

What we loved: We loved taking a little walk down to the village, grabbing some coffee, and purchasing a few things from the tiny grocer for lunch/dinner. Plus, it wasn’t super touristy, so it felt a little more like we were seeing people in everyday life in Italy. Even though it was a little drizzly, the weather just made it easier to slow down and enjoy the time together.

What we didn’t love: Honestly, these two days were so wonderful that I can’t think of anything we didn’t like.

After two nights there, we grabbed a bus and went into Florence. We had scheduled most of our time for Florence because we heard that it was a wonderful city to explore and more walkable than Rome. All of this was true!

Where we stayed: We stayed at the cutest Airbnb that was in a great location. It wasn’t super fancy, but it had everything (and more!) that we needed. Plus, it was super affordable!

What we loved: We loved wandering the streets, finding some yummy espresso and croissants, and finding art everywhere. We saw David, visited the Uffizi, climbed the Duomo, saw the city from the Piazza de Michelangelo at sunset, and enjoyed a lot of delicious food. My favorite was just walking the streets and taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of a busy city. The people were so friendly and helpful :) It is truly a beautiful city with cool things around every corner.

What we didn’t love: Again, Florence was very busy and full of tourists (we found out later that it was a national holiday—so this may have impacted the amount of people). We also didn’t love that we had pay more for tickets for places because they were being bought up and sold for more money. In hindsight, we wished we would have booked tickets earlier because those added costs weren’t accounted for in our original budget.

This trip was an early anniversary trip for us (almost 15 years!), so we enjoyed the time away from our day-to-day responsibilities and loved the ability to just connect and hang out together. We also wanted to do an international trip without the kids to see how we manage it together because we want to start traveling more with our kids. It was a bit of test drive for more international travel ;)

So, we often asked: what would we do differently if we were traveling with our kids? Here’s our short-list:

• Eat out less. We mainly ate out because the food we chose was pretty affordable. But with kids, it would have added up quite a bit. We would choose to do a few treats or cheaper meals (like the sliced pizza) and then cook the rest ourselves.

• Pick a few museums to visit and skip the rest. With kids, I’d probably choose the Colosseum in Rome and the Academia in Florence (it’s affordable and smaller). We would probably skip the rest. In fact, even though so much of the art was fun to see, I think we could have skipped one or two ourselves.

• Choose our walks/destination carefully. We walked a lot (an average of 8-10+ miles a day) and often just did a lot of wandering around. With the kids, it would have been a lot more tiring to keep this up for over a week. I would definitely add in a little more down time to our itinerary.

In the end, we absolutely loved our trip to Italy and definitely want to return and explore other areas someday. And it also reminded us of our desire to keep budgeting and prioritizing traveling as a family—we love experiencing new places and seeing a tiny glimpse of life in a different place. For me, it’s just a joy too see the wonderful world God has given us to explore—and getting to meet people who live in it! I so desire to experience this with my children as well :)

Chewie likes to come with us on our adventures without the kids. The boys love seeing chewie’s travels ;)

Have you traveled anywhere recently? What place should I add to my list?

A Curriculum Recap: What we Used, Tried, Liked, and Ditched

We have just a few more weeks of school before we hit the “go” button on summer. Boy, are we feeling ready for the change of pace—but I’m also trying to hold onto the last bits of this year and finish well.

It’s also the time of the year when I begin to look into options into next year—with the helpful perspective of a year to look back on.

Here’s a bit of what we used this year (in a very small nutshell!).

Math:

My fourth grader transitioned from the Good and Beautiful math to Teaching Textbooks this year. I like the flexibility and increased motivation to do his math. I also love that he does it independently. However, I don’t love that it seems to be a lot of multiple choice questions (since it’s on the computer) and the teaching sessions are easy to skip (aka: my son often skips through them and then struggles through the lesson). I think we plan to use it next year, but I do want to add a little more variety and mastery to topics like multiplications, fractions, and division.

My 1st grader used the Good and Beautiful math. He absolutely loves it—and so do I! We work through the lesson together and then he typically hops off to do his review pages on his own. At this level (level 1), I find that it provides just enough and circles around to learned topics. We’ll keep using this with him.

Both my boys like to play Prodigy math as a little reward once or twice a week for finishing up their math lessons.

Language:

I’ll admit that we don’t use a formal language curriculum with my oldest. My oldest tends to be a bit resistant to writing (but loves loves loves to read!), so I’m hesitant to force him to write a lot just to check it off my list. This is an area that I am always trying to find interesting ways to engage him with writing (like writing letters, narration, etc). I know that he can write; he just doesn’t love the act of writing. But language learning is more than writing sentences—it’s reading, comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary—and those are all abundant with the amount of reading he does. But I do love the Word Ladder books for some daily practice (a fun way to add in a little spelling and vocabulary building). Ps. If you have a reluctant writer, I’d love any tips on encouraging them to naturally (and eagerly!) pick up that pencil ;) We are, however, really liking this program for typing practice a few times a week. It’s not fancy, but it does the trick (and adds in some spelling practice too!)

My 1st grader is learning to read. In the last few months, his reading has began to click more into place. Always such an exciting time! We have the Good and the Beautiful language book (we are still on level K), but I only do this once or twice a week with him. We usually stick to him reading to me (these books are his favorite!), using sight word flashcards, doing a page or two from his Explode the Code book, and sprinkling in a little copywork too. Slow + gentle is my philosophy here :)

When we learned about ANTARCTICA, The boys dressed up like arctic explorers like shackleton

Geography/History:

In past years, we’ve focused a lot of history. So, this year, I wanted to change things up. We have slowly gone through the Around the World Part 1 from Beautiful Feet Books and LOVED IT! I have grabbed 95% of the books from the library (instead of purchasing them directly) and found this curriculum to be very affordable, simple, and flexible. I loved that we could all do this together (including my 4-year-old!) and learn about so many places through living books! We also loved watching videos about the country, animals, and people we learned about too. They used a blank notebook to paste in pictures they colored and write a few things about each country/place.

Music:

We have been using SQUILT music for years now and still love it. I love the monthly focus (it frees me up to not have to plan anything!) and makes it very fresh and new every month. Miss Mary offers a listening calendar, but also a membership that includes at least two monthly music classes. We all enjoy these—me included! I have learned so many interesting things over the years and love to learn right alongside my kids!

Bible:

I’d love to say that we have this figured out. But, we don’t! I have bounced between reading from the Bible directly, using Scripture devotional cards, and/or a Bible storybook. I’m not sure why this is a hard area for me to pick something and run—but it is. Perhaps because I see so many directions to take! The kids also do AWANA, so we review our verses weekly. We used to do more scripture memory together, but have backed off from that since beginning AWANA. However, this is something that I really want to intentionally bring back :) Here’s the thing: teaching the Bible to our kids is so important, but I also know that discipleship is more than reading a passage and moving on. It’s really the day-to-day teaching and training that comes all day long.

Science:

We just added in science in January, and we are using the Good and the Beautiful’s unit on Energy. I’m not super sciency, so I’ll admit that some of it goes over my head (ha!), but I do like the open and go structure and that you can adjust the learning. We do the lessons together, but I would say it was definitely more at my 4th grader’s level than my 1st grader (he’s seven). All and all, it’s been good to pull out once a week to do a lesson.

Extra-stuff:

My boys also do Taekwondo a few times a week, meet up with a group for holiday parties and field trips, homeschool gym (when it’s offered), Fika (it’s like poetry tea time), lots of reading books together, and a homeschool book club. Plus, there is a lot of play and free time built into our days—so the boys spend a lot of time playing LEGO, listening to audiobooks on their Yoto (I’ll share more about that on another post!), playing chess, baking, hanging outside, reading books, and self-driven learning (like trying to figure out the Rubik's cube or making stop motion videos). They also help me out a little with shop stuff—so they are usually the first ones to try out an activity, recipe, or idea (and give their input!)

Of course, there’s the day-in-day-out living together and caring for each other and our home (aka: life skills!). Even though we don’t spend a lot of time in the formal books, I truly see the fruit of learning :)

To recap, here were my favorite resources out of all we used:

• The Around the World curriculum from Beautiful Feet books: Super easy to use + full of lots of rich content! We’ll be using some of their curriculum next year as well.

• SQUILT music: I just love Miss Mary! And I also love that I don’t have to scramble around for a curriculum—she really does a tremendous job of putting together fun and interesting lessons!

• Word Ladders: Simple and fun! Even my reluctant writer doesn’t complain about these ;)

• The Good and the Beautiful Math Level One. It really is so easy to do, and my son has hardly ever resisted his lessons. In fact, he often has asked to do more.

• Little Bear readers: Classic and sweet! My 7-year-old son usually reaches for these when it’s time to read to me.

• A-Z books for copywork: We didn’t use them a lot, but they were an easy add-in to freshen things up when needed.

And here’s a list of what we didn’t love (and ditched because they didn’t fit well):

• The Good and the Beautiful handwriting books: They looked promising, but I didn’t feel like they explained how to write the letters clearly (and the boys didn’t enjoy them). I plan to grab these instead—for my two big boys. One of my kids really struggles with handwriting, so I’m hoping some consistent practice pays off.

• Seasons Afield nature curriculum from Beautiful Feet books: It is a really thought-out and lovely curriculum, bit it just didn’t jive with my kids. So, rather than force it, we pivoted :)

All in all, I feel like this was a good year. Of course, looking back, I see areas where I could use a little more structure and intentionality. I’m not done growing yet as a teacher/mother, so I try my best to remember that I am learning too. So thankful that I can learn how to better adjust to each of my children as they grow too. It’s always a work in progress!

If you homeschool, what did you love using this year? What didn’t you love? What’s next?

ps. some of these links included are affiliate links—but I only share what I’ve personally used and my honest opinions :)

35 Ideas for Connecting with your Kids

For some reason, kids grow up.

I’m telling you. It’s such a strange thing, this parenting gig. One moment, you are rocking little babies to sleep, wiping up a thousand spills and messes, lifting, scooping, reading books over and over, kissing boo boos, and being touched at seemingly every moment.

And then they get a little bigger. And you are still wiping messes, but suddenly they are making themselves toast and omelets. They may like you to read to them, but they are snuggled up on a cozy chair enjoying a book by themselves more often. You feel that grip around your heart as you see them grow up before your eyes—wanting to see them grow, yet not, at the same time.

As my three boys just keep growing, I’m noticing that as they grow more independent, my need to be more intentional grows with them. Instead of them always inserting themselves next to me, I’m finding that I have to insert myself next to them. As we are usually at home together, I can easily spend a lot of time around my kids, but not a lot of time really with them.

Of course, as a mom, I want to stay well-connected with my kids. But, as an introvert, I tend to gravitate towards quiet and alone—so it does take effort and intentionality to really connect with my kids (beyond the day-to-day life with them). To be honest, it’s not always easy for me.

So, I decided that it would fun to come up with a big list of ways to connect + hang out with my kids (because sometimes in the moment I just need a reference instead of trying to come up with ideas!). Some of these are my ideas, and some were shared with me!

It helps me to remember that connecting with them means being present with them. I’m not super distracted. I’m not working. I’m not scrolling or half-listening. I’m present.

Eyeballs on theirs. Listening intently. Paying attention to whatever their current interest is. Joining them in their favorite activity. This speaks love to them. Sometimes when tempers are flaring, or frustrations mounting, or moodiness is taking over—a few moments of genuine interest and connection can go a long way :)

So, onto the list:

1. Read together. Grab a few favorite books and ask them to cozy in next to you!

2. Make or bake food together. For younger kids, give them a simple task to do (like stir or dump) and encourage them. For older kids, give them a recipe and be their assistant.

3. Start a parent/kid book club. My oldest and I have a book club together (we both love to read!). We switch picking out books and picking a place to enjoy a treat while we discuss the book.

4. Go out to a favorite coffee shop and sip on fancy drinks. Nothing beats a warm drink and having some one-on-one time!

5. Join them in their room for some time to play, engage, or chat. Bring in a little treat to make it extra special!

6. Have a movie night. Choose a movie together, bring out the popcorn, and discuss your favorite parts after the movie.

7. Take a walk or hike together. Often kids engage better side-by-side rather than facing you, and a walk can also help our bodies feel better too.

8. Write them a note. Connection doesn’t always have to be face-to-face. Sometimes a little note or letter reminds them of your care for them.

9. Join them at school for lunch. I still remember my parents joining me for lunch + I loved it!

10. Go to the library. Join them as they look for books and chat about your favorites when you were their age (or your current reads!)

11. Have a crafting session. If your kiddos enjoy crafting, pull out the crafts and sit down with them to create. See what you can come up with together!

12. Build together. My boys love playing with LEGO, and although I’m not a very gifted builder, they get a kick out of watching me try. It’s fun for me too! They especially love that they can teach me new building tricks!

13. Paint. Grab some paints, choose a subject, and paint. See what you each come up with!

14. Blanket and pillow pile up. Sometimes, you just need to pile on the blankets, snuggle up, and chat for a few!

15. Play a game together. I have a few favorites I like to take out when we don’t have loads of time, but we perhaps need a reset and some time together :)

16. Work on a project together. Maybe it’s sewing, woodworking, putting together furniture, or a house project—teaching and involving them is so important. Plus, they love to feel like a big helper!

17. Wrestle. I should make the disclaimer that I have three sons, so maybe wrestling is more normal. But, they always think it’s hilarious when I join in for a good wrestle. I’m never sure what I am doing, but they think it’s great.

18. Find a fun way to tell them you love them. Write it on the mirror. Write it on their dinner napkin. Or send a little note in their lunchbox or coat pocket.

19. Bring them breakfast in bed. Have a late sleeper? Surprise them with a little breakfast in bed and enjoy talking with them while you enjoy breakfast together.

20. Hug them. Sometimes kids just need a good squeeze (and sometimes we do too!)

21. Interview them. Come up with ten questions for them, and then they can interview you too.

22. Table time. This is especially useful for little ones. Grab some play dough or crayons and just enjoy playing and creating together.

23. Play sports together. If your child enjoys a particular sport, head outside and play it with them (even if your skills aren’t the best!).

24. Have a dance party. Nothing beats a dance party to help lift the mood and get some time to hang out together (don’t be afraid to get super silly!)

25. Do a task together. Often I’ll grab one of my kids to help me with something like laundry, getting firewood, a cleaning up a space. It might not be their top choice, but working together can help us accomplish something together.

26. Bedtime bust-out. Just before they nod off to sleep, pull them out of bed for top secret parent and child chat time with a warm drink and/or treat. Ps. This is better for older kids—not toddlers ;)

27. Silly drawing contest. Sit back to back. Each person has a piece of paper and then choose a subject (like flowers, sky, fruit, etc). Set the timer for five minutes and draw a super silly picture. After the timer goes off, share your pictures (and probably giggle!)

28. Go out for a treat or a meal. My kids always love when they get to go out somewhere special with just mom or dad.

29. Do a puzzle together. I’m not a huge puzzle person, but it is an easy activity to pull out, work together on, and gives lot of opportunity for chatting + connecting.

30. Go to a concert or museum. Not only does this give you time together, but it can also expose your kids to new music, entertainment, art, and/or culture.

31. Learn something new together. As homeschoolers, we spend a lot of time learning together. But choosing something that’s new to everyone (like a new skill, subject, etc) is a fun way to connect.

32. Explore together. Find a place you’ve never been (maybe a new nature trail or part of town) and just enjoy walking around together and exploring.

33. Exercise together. Often, when I’m exercising, I'll have a kiddo join me. It not only helps them get out some energy, but it can be fun to motivate one another!

34. Read God’s Word together. Maybe you each read solo, just next to one another and then discuss what you read. Or maybe you read outloud and discuss the passage. This is something I’m looking forward to doing more often with my kids.

35. Pray together. Prayer is something that can deeply connect two people—as well as drawing you closer to God. If they come to you with a struggle, taking time to pray with them reminds them that both you and God care for them.

Ultimately, I want them to know that it is joy to be with them! Just as my Heavenly Father delights in me, I want to delight in and enjoy my kids. And I want them to know how much they are loved and cherished! Moments of connecting (big or small) build a foundation of trust, love, and open communication with my kids.

How about you? What would you add to this list?

Ps. Here are some resources from the shop that might be helpful to use as you connect with your kids:

• Creation Play Collection (perfect for table time with toddlers or young preschoolers)

• Game pack #1 and #2 for playing games together

• Grab one of the Lamp + Light Bible reading guides to do alongside your kiddo(s)

Favorite Christian Biographies for Kids and Adults

First of all, let me dust off this blog a bit.

It’s a bit dusty after being neglected for a while (ahem, almost a year—oops!).

This past year or so, I feel like I’ve picked up more biographies than I have ever before. Maybe it’s my season or maybe it’s just purely fascination with peeping into someone else’s life, but I’ve been really loving reading stories about others—especially believers. The Lord has truly used them to convict me, encourage me, and deepen my faith.

My oldest son is also big fan and has picked up some biographies of missionaries and men/women of faith (he is especially fond of the YWAM series) and has definitely read more biographies than me ;) My prayer is that he too is encouraged by them and God uses them to speak into His life :)

I’ve been enjoying these biographies so much that I created a magazine just about John Newton and Grace (God’s hand in his life is amazing!!) and wrote some other mini-units too! There is one about Corrie ten Boom and Phillis Wheatley. I do hope to do some more in the future too! If there is one you’d like to see, just send me a message :)

Here’s my list of recent favorites biographies:

God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew

This book was hard to put down! It moves quickly and reads more like a novel than a biography. Plus, it’s just a reminder of how the Word of God is truly active and a precious treasure for us! I loved hearing how Brother Andrew unwaveringly trusted God instead of trying to do things his own way.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

I read this one as a teenager, but it definitely impacted me more when I reread it as an adult. Truly, she was a woman who lived a life surrendered to the Lord—even in the darkest and worst of circumstances. If you haven’t read this one yet, it’s worth putting on your reading list! I really love this version too (since the pictures are helpful for the story!)

I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter with God by Bilquis Sheikh

This book was definitely not a book written with a western perspective (which I appreciated!). It challenged me and reminded me that God doesn’t only work within the ways I think He does ;) Her testimony showed me that God can move someone’s hearts in unique ways—especially in cultures that are much different than my own.

Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II by Darlene Deibler Rose

This book. Goodness, I loved it. Her story convicted me about how much I can complain about daily “troubles” when she truly had a heart of gratefulness towards the Lord in even the worst of circumstances. This one also was a book that I had trouble putting down! Plus, she has a good sense of humor ;)

George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Janet and Geoff Benge

This is a book that we read together, and it’s one of my favorites of this series. George Muller was truly a man of prayer and daily (and hourly!) trusted in God’s provision. I wasn’t sure that I’d like this one—but we couldn’t get enough of it!

John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken

Truth be told, I did not read this word-for-word (it was pretty long), but it was such a fascinating read. John Newton’s story of living a life completely for himself and vocally against God to being saved by God’s grace is such a reminder that anyone can come to know the Lord, and God can use everything for His glory.

Ps. If you want to learn about John Newton with your kids, I think the Grace Magazine is a great start! Get $3 off with the code BLOG3.

Finally, here are a few picture book /kid biographies that we’ve enjoyed too:

Betty Greene: The Girl who Longed to Fly by Laura Caputo-Wickham

Corrie ten Book: The Courageous Woman and the Secret Room by Laura Caputo-Wickham

Brave Heroes and Bold Defenders: 50 True Stories of Daring Men of God and Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God by Shirley Redmond

Finding Narnia: The Story of C.S.Lewis and His Brother by Caroline McAlister

This is definitely not an exhaustive list or all our favorites, but if you’ve wanted to start reading a few more biographies this may be a place to start!

I’d love to know your top biographies too!

The Light of the World: A Free Christmas Mini-Lesson

Every year, we pack our kids in the car, grab some hot cocoa for the road, and drive around town and see the Christmas lights. There’s always something so magical and exciting about seeing the darkness lit up with twinkling lights, cool Christmas displays, and, of course, a number of inflatable Santa Clauses along the way.

As we drive, it always reminds me of how Jesus is the light of the world. He came to shine bright in a dark world and bring us out of the darkness of sin into His glorious light. What a gift! Especially as we have just finished reading through John, focusing on Jesus as the Light of the world seems especially fitting this year. So, I thought it would be fun to create a super simple resource to use as you reflect on Jesus during this season.

I know that there are thousands Christmas resources to use with your kids—and I don’t want to add to the overwhelm or give you one.more.thing to do. But, if you are looking for a simple afternoon (or two) Bible-focused learning activity, this might be something to download and print.

Inside the lesson, you’ll find instructions for making fire starters, a few copy work and letter pages, a cutting activity, and instructions for a fun game. I would say it’s geared for ages 3 + (since it has activities for little and big ones too).

I hope that you enjoy this little gift + (more importantly) enjoy spending time with your little ones teaching them and reflecting on the gift of Jesus during this season.

Have a lovely (and merry!) day!

-Nicole