Infertility

We adore these first readers from The Good and the

We adore these first readers from The Good and the Beautiful!!!
As a mama to emerging readers, I've quickly learned that not all beginner readers are quality. A lot of "level 1" readers I have come across in the past year contain so many advanced phonetic words and irregular words that I'm left shaking my head at how they can be considered Level 1. How discouraging for a new reader trying to practice their decoding skills to constantly be interrupted by words they can't decode. Not exactly the boost of confidence you want from a beginner reader. (I particularly dislike the "I Can Read" series and the easy readers that have been made for Disney and other characters.)

We also have read the classic Bob Books. While they are much truer to phonics instruction, as I'm sure you're aware, they're not the most esthetically appealing books. I am also not a fan of having 50 small books to potentially all end up needing reshelved every night.

That brings me to these readers from TGTG (BTW this is my completely unsponsored adoration). First of all these books are gorgeous! The illustrations are so beautiful and the little stories are delightful. And of course we love the nature focus. I also love that there are 20 stories in each book. So it's one normal sized book is read of 20 miniature books to keep up with. And best of all, it follows the sequence of phonics lessons my girls are getting in their language arts curriculum. They don't introduce words before you've learned how to decode them, they emphasize words with particular sounds to practice, and they do it all without making the story as dull as "Sam sat. Mat Sat."

We have also found some stories we love from the "Step into Reading" series, which I have saved in my Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

#raisingwildflowers #readaloudfamily
#bookswelove #kidsbookswelove
#bookwormfamily #bookwormkids #easyreaders #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolkindergarten #homeschoolfirstgrade #tgtb #thegoodandthebeautiful #homeschoolbooks #raisingreaders #homeschoolmama

Happy Monday ya'll! I hope everyone has a great we

Just for fun... When your baby talks like Chewbacc

Just for fun... When your baby talks like Chewbacca 🤪 Anyone else's baby talk like this?
PS I feel like I should point out that I've never seen Star Wars lol but this still comes to mind every time she babbles.
#funnyreels #funnyvideos #funnykids #babytalk #starwars #chewbacca

And just like that, one whole year of Remi Rose! T

And just like that, one whole year of Remi Rose! To think this time last year, we didn't even know your name. Now you're our beloved Rem Rem, Rem, Remrose, Rosie, Rosie Girl, and more. You have been the most delightful addition to our family, and we just adore you! This month has been all about growing teeth and you've gone from 2 to 8. Interestingly all the teeth on your left side are fully popped through, while the ones on the right are just peaking. You finally started clapping on your own two Sundays ago at church. Before that you just grabbed mommy's hands and made me do the clapping for you 🤣 (#4thkid). You're talking sounds a bit like Chewbacca right now lol, but you have also learned a pterodactyl shriek for expressing yourself. You got an activity table for your birthday and last night we were able to get you in a standing position at it for about 4 seconds unaided. You are getting up on your knees though and starting to put one leg with foot on the ground and knee up, so maybe soon you'll start pulling up to standing on your own. No rush because you're an expert crawler, alligator death roller (during diaper changes), and have a bunch of chauffeurs in this house to carry you around. At 12 months you weigh 20 lbs 4 oz and are 28 1/2 inches tall.
#raisingwildflowers #remirose #1stbirthday #12monthsold #oneyearold #1yearold #12months12pictures #4thbaby #fourthbaby #babysister

What does our homeschool prep / rhythm look like?

What does our homeschool prep / rhythm look like? Well, last year we figured out that we work best in a Weekly Rhythm. We operate well with knowing what is to be accomplished weekly tracking towards annual goals, but with flexibility on how to get it done during the week.

So over the summer, I laid out week by week for each subject what I wanted us to accomplish working towards our first grade goals (finishing units, courses, etc.). I love to see how it lays out over the year and make sure things line up with our breaks in a way that make sense. I especially love seeing how the topics for science, history, and Bible line up, so I can tie things together and make connections across subjects.

Now every Sunday, I pull out my planner and check what the goal is for the upcoming week. I'll use my notes to print off all of our Math, Language Arts, and Handwriting for the upcoming week from PDFs on my computer. Then taking into account our schedule for the week, I'll divvy up the work into manageable chunks (usually 3 or 4 day chunks) and bundle with a paper clip. Then I arrange the bundles in order in the right pocket of a folder for each girl.

Whenever we're ready for bookwork on a particular day, the girls will pull out the bundle for the day, and we work through it. The girls like being able to easily see the amount of work they need to get through in that sitting separate from everything else. When they're done, they file it away in the left pocket of the folder and at the end of the week, I hole punch it and add it to their portfolio binder. They love seeing the work they have done accumulate over the course of the year!

Science and history have their own books, and we just do a chapter a week on those fitting in whenever it makes sense (usually one particular day for science and one for history. I always check ahead on the topics I have earmarked for upcoming weeks, so I can check out books from the library, print maps, or pre plan activities.
And Bible I usually plan to cover 4-6 chapter a week and have those written out in advance as well and we just read a little bit each day towards our weekly goal.

What does your homeschool prep / rhythm look like?

Happy Labor Day! We had a wonderful long weekend c

Happy Labor Day! We had a wonderful long weekend camping with family and inviting friends out to celebrate Remi Rose being One Happy Camper (officially 1 later this week). #raisingwildflowers #remirose #1stbirthday #onehappycamper #labordayweekend #labordaycamping #happycampers

2023-2024 Homeschool Year 🍎 Here's what we are

2023-2024 Homeschool Year 🍎
Here's what we are doing for B&B's 1st Grade Year:

Language Arts - The Good and the Beautiful K & 1 (printed from their free pdfs). We do not do the booster cards, but we do have and LOVE their "My 1st/2nd/3rd Nature Reader" companion books.

Phonics - Explode the Code 3, 3 1/2, 4 & 4 1/2. We love the extra phonics reinforcement. (Explode the Code A-C and 1, 1 1/2, 2 & 2 1/2 was predominantly our Kindergarten year).

Math - The Good and the Beautiful 1 & 2 (printed from their free pdfs).

Bible - CSB Explorer Bible. We are loving this Bible and will be sharing more about it soon! Last year we focused on Genesis and Exodus. This year we are starting with Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel.

History - Story of the World Volume 2 - The Middle Ages. (We did Volume 1 Ancient History our Kindergarten year). We read the main text, pick out companion picture books from the library, map coloring, and sprinkle in a couple of the activities suggested in the activity book when we feel inspired.

We are also building a "life-size" history timeline based on our Bible and History lessons that I will share more about soon.

Science - Masterbooks Adventure in Creation.

Extracurriculars:
- Thursday Co-op has a bunch of fun classes about engineering and fairy tales as well as Spanish.
- Friday Co-op with a Charlotte Mason approach to music, art, and handicrafts.
- Piano lessons and ballet for Brooklyn and violin lessons for Blakely.
- American Heritage Girls

And as always tons of read alouds with mama!

I always love hearing about what others are doing, so please share your homeschool year plans below!! 👇

#homeschool #homeschoolcurriculum #curriculumpicks #homeschool1stgrade #homeschoolfirstgrade #firstgradecurriculum #homeschoolmama #raisingwildflowers #twinmama #homeschooling #homeschoolinspiration #homeschoolingtwins #tgtb #thegoodandthebeautiful #thegoodandthebeautifulcurriculum #storyoftheworld #masterbooks #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolroom

A hawk attacked our rooster...and he survived! Par

A hawk attacked our rooster...and he survived! Part 2 of 2 #backyardchickens #homesteadlife #homesteading #chickenkeeping #chickensofig #silkieschickens #frizzlechicken #silkierooster #chickenmom #crazychickenlady #hawkattack

A hawk attacked our rooster! Part 1 of 2 #backyard

A hawk attacked our rooster! Part 1 of 2 #backyardchickens #homesteadlife #homesteading #chickenkeeping #chickensofig #silkieschickens #frizzlechicken #silkierooster #chickenmom #crazychickenlady #hawkattack #easttennesseehomesteader

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Samantha Raising Wildflowers

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Infertility · July 31, 2021

Modern Fertility At-Home Hormone Kit Review

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Infertility · April 11, 2020

Our Infertility Journey

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We adore these first readers from The Good and the

We adore these first readers from The Good and the Beautiful!!!
As a mama to emerging readers, I've quickly learned that not all beginner readers are quality. A lot of "level 1" readers I have come across in the past year contain so many advanced phonetic words and irregular words that I'm left shaking my head at how they can be considered Level 1. How discouraging for a new reader trying to practice their decoding skills to constantly be interrupted by words they can't decode. Not exactly the boost of confidence you want from a beginner reader. (I particularly dislike the "I Can Read" series and the easy readers that have been made for Disney and other characters.)

We also have read the classic Bob Books. While they are much truer to phonics instruction, as I'm sure you're aware, they're not the most esthetically appealing books. I am also not a fan of having 50 small books to potentially all end up needing reshelved every night.

That brings me to these readers from TGTG (BTW this is my completely unsponsored adoration). First of all these books are gorgeous! The illustrations are so beautiful and the little stories are delightful. And of course we love the nature focus. I also love that there are 20 stories in each book. So it's one normal sized book is read of 20 miniature books to keep up with. And best of all, it follows the sequence of phonics lessons my girls are getting in their language arts curriculum. They don't introduce words before you've learned how to decode them, they emphasize words with particular sounds to practice, and they do it all without making the story as dull as "Sam sat. Mat Sat."

We have also found some stories we love from the "Step into Reading" series, which I have saved in my Kindergarten and 1st Grade.

#raisingwildflowers #readaloudfamily
#bookswelove #kidsbookswelove
#bookwormfamily #bookwormkids #easyreaders #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolkindergarten #homeschoolfirstgrade #tgtb #thegoodandthebeautiful #homeschoolbooks #raisingreaders #homeschoolmama

Happy Monday ya'll! I hope everyone has a great we

Just for fun... When your baby talks like Chewbacc

Just for fun... When your baby talks like Chewbacca 🤪 Anyone else's baby talk like this?
PS I feel like I should point out that I've never seen Star Wars lol but this still comes to mind every time she babbles.
#funnyreels #funnyvideos #funnykids #babytalk #starwars #chewbacca

And just like that, one whole year of Remi Rose! T

And just like that, one whole year of Remi Rose! To think this time last year, we didn't even know your name. Now you're our beloved Rem Rem, Rem, Remrose, Rosie, Rosie Girl, and more. You have been the most delightful addition to our family, and we just adore you! This month has been all about growing teeth and you've gone from 2 to 8. Interestingly all the teeth on your left side are fully popped through, while the ones on the right are just peaking. You finally started clapping on your own two Sundays ago at church. Before that you just grabbed mommy's hands and made me do the clapping for you 🤣 (#4thkid). You're talking sounds a bit like Chewbacca right now lol, but you have also learned a pterodactyl shriek for expressing yourself. You got an activity table for your birthday and last night we were able to get you in a standing position at it for about 4 seconds unaided. You are getting up on your knees though and starting to put one leg with foot on the ground and knee up, so maybe soon you'll start pulling up to standing on your own. No rush because you're an expert crawler, alligator death roller (during diaper changes), and have a bunch of chauffeurs in this house to carry you around. At 12 months you weigh 20 lbs 4 oz and are 28 1/2 inches tall.
#raisingwildflowers #remirose #1stbirthday #12monthsold #oneyearold #1yearold #12months12pictures #4thbaby #fourthbaby #babysister

What does our homeschool prep / rhythm look like?

What does our homeschool prep / rhythm look like? Well, last year we figured out that we work best in a Weekly Rhythm. We operate well with knowing what is to be accomplished weekly tracking towards annual goals, but with flexibility on how to get it done during the week.

So over the summer, I laid out week by week for each subject what I wanted us to accomplish working towards our first grade goals (finishing units, courses, etc.). I love to see how it lays out over the year and make sure things line up with our breaks in a way that make sense. I especially love seeing how the topics for science, history, and Bible line up, so I can tie things together and make connections across subjects.

Now every Sunday, I pull out my planner and check what the goal is for the upcoming week. I'll use my notes to print off all of our Math, Language Arts, and Handwriting for the upcoming week from PDFs on my computer. Then taking into account our schedule for the week, I'll divvy up the work into manageable chunks (usually 3 or 4 day chunks) and bundle with a paper clip. Then I arrange the bundles in order in the right pocket of a folder for each girl.

Whenever we're ready for bookwork on a particular day, the girls will pull out the bundle for the day, and we work through it. The girls like being able to easily see the amount of work they need to get through in that sitting separate from everything else. When they're done, they file it away in the left pocket of the folder and at the end of the week, I hole punch it and add it to their portfolio binder. They love seeing the work they have done accumulate over the course of the year!

Science and history have their own books, and we just do a chapter a week on those fitting in whenever it makes sense (usually one particular day for science and one for history. I always check ahead on the topics I have earmarked for upcoming weeks, so I can check out books from the library, print maps, or pre plan activities.
And Bible I usually plan to cover 4-6 chapter a week and have those written out in advance as well and we just read a little bit each day towards our weekly goal.

What does your homeschool prep / rhythm look like?

Happy Labor Day! We had a wonderful long weekend c

Happy Labor Day! We had a wonderful long weekend camping with family and inviting friends out to celebrate Remi Rose being One Happy Camper (officially 1 later this week). #raisingwildflowers #remirose #1stbirthday #onehappycamper #labordayweekend #labordaycamping #happycampers

2023-2024 Homeschool Year 🍎 Here's what we are

2023-2024 Homeschool Year 🍎
Here's what we are doing for B&B's 1st Grade Year:

Language Arts - The Good and the Beautiful K & 1 (printed from their free pdfs). We do not do the booster cards, but we do have and LOVE their "My 1st/2nd/3rd Nature Reader" companion books.

Phonics - Explode the Code 3, 3 1/2, 4 & 4 1/2. We love the extra phonics reinforcement. (Explode the Code A-C and 1, 1 1/2, 2 & 2 1/2 was predominantly our Kindergarten year).

Math - The Good and the Beautiful 1 & 2 (printed from their free pdfs).

Bible - CSB Explorer Bible. We are loving this Bible and will be sharing more about it soon! Last year we focused on Genesis and Exodus. This year we are starting with Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel.

History - Story of the World Volume 2 - The Middle Ages. (We did Volume 1 Ancient History our Kindergarten year). We read the main text, pick out companion picture books from the library, map coloring, and sprinkle in a couple of the activities suggested in the activity book when we feel inspired.

We are also building a "life-size" history timeline based on our Bible and History lessons that I will share more about soon.

Science - Masterbooks Adventure in Creation.

Extracurriculars:
- Thursday Co-op has a bunch of fun classes about engineering and fairy tales as well as Spanish.
- Friday Co-op with a Charlotte Mason approach to music, art, and handicrafts.
- Piano lessons and ballet for Brooklyn and violin lessons for Blakely.
- American Heritage Girls

And as always tons of read alouds with mama!

I always love hearing about what others are doing, so please share your homeschool year plans below!! 👇

#homeschool #homeschoolcurriculum #curriculumpicks #homeschool1stgrade #homeschoolfirstgrade #firstgradecurriculum #homeschoolmama #raisingwildflowers #twinmama #homeschooling #homeschoolinspiration #homeschoolingtwins #tgtb #thegoodandthebeautiful #thegoodandthebeautifulcurriculum #storyoftheworld #masterbooks #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolroom

A hawk attacked our rooster...and he survived! Par

A hawk attacked our rooster...and he survived! Part 2 of 2 #backyardchickens #homesteadlife #homesteading #chickenkeeping #chickensofig #silkieschickens #frizzlechicken #silkierooster #chickenmom #crazychickenlady #hawkattack

A hawk attacked our rooster! Part 1 of 2 #backyard

A hawk attacked our rooster! Part 1 of 2 #backyardchickens #homesteadlife #homesteading #chickenkeeping #chickensofig #silkieschickens #frizzlechicken #silkierooster #chickenmom #crazychickenlady #hawkattack #easttennesseehomesteader

Hello, Samantha here! Remember when static images

Hello, Samantha here! Remember when static images and follow Friday posts were a thing? Back when these two beautiful girls on my right were the size of onions in my belly? Back when I actually posted consistently?

Well life is crazy over here in such a good way and like many of you I'm finding it harder to keep up.

So here's a little status update on the Hicks Six (sorry @braddadtogirls
that you weren't in the Mommy & Me photo session but you're still a very loved and important part of our crew 🤪).

B&B are closing in on 7 and started 1st grade this fall! We're still homeschooling and loving the flexibility that it gives our family. Brooklyn is continuing ballet and loves it! Be on the lookout for a Nutcracker production late fall. She also plays piano and Blakely plays violin. Blakely is our little theater / story girl, and we continue to enjoy seeing her creativity and imagination blossom in free play. She's currently "producing" a play called Mary's Coin with her sisters and friends.

Heidi is 4, but her age difference doesn't stop her from being the honorary triplet that everyone in public assumes. She does ballet with Brooklyn and violin with Blakely. She hangs with us during school and tags along for all of her big sister's shenanigans. She is the sweetest girl and very good at keeping track of stuff and helping mommy keep her head on straight ("Mommy you forgot to do x like you said." 😛)

Remi turns 1 in a little over a week! 🤯 She is the very adored (and spoiled) baby of the family. We're excited to celebrate her birthday on our annual labor day camping trip as she is "One Happy Camper."

Outside of our day jobs, Brad and I have been and continue to be pouring a lot into our new property. Our thought is work super hard now and in a few years enjoy the fruits of our labor (we hope). We got the Airbnb up and running and Brad is PMing that. It's been going really well. He is also about to start a van build for a family from NOLA, so that's exciting!

Yard work is constant. There's a long list of house projects but tackling that will be slow going; one small step at a time. Next step moving all 4 girls to the slumber party bedroom.

Happy Friday! 😘

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