Oh I am so very sorry for the loss of your mama. The daily grace company has a wonderful book called gospel hope in grief and loss which may be very helpful.
Abby, I never comment bc I’m that UA-cam watcher that just rarely does that. I have been a viewer of your channel for years and I just want to thank you for all that you do. God has blessed my homeschool and mom life because of your channel. I hope that this encourages you. You are the sister I wish I had. God bless and thanks for just being you! A sister in Christ with more wisdom than most!
I am so sorry about your mom 😔 💔 I am sending loving thoughts to all of you. Thank you for your videos 🙏🏼 would love to hear some of your kids chapter book lists for Summer
Thank you so much for sharing! This video was very inspiring! I love your ideas ❤ one of our favorite read alouds was A Place to Hang the Moon. I think it would work for a variety of ages!
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom! Praying for your family. I would love a booklist video if you have time. I have a 5th grade boy and 3rd grade boy and i struggle to find books for our required reading
We are taking a long summer break from our full load too. I’m due in august and we’ve got the garden to tend to along with some house projects, so felt like it was a good year to just take a longer summer break!
-My deepest condolences. -favorites documentary “the riot and the dance” -could you do a video about video games? -also, I don’t have a middle schooler yet, but your video about entering this stage with Bella really encouraged me. Could you do one about this stage with your boys? -I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing those plan and prep videos!
Ahh Abby, your free-style summer is more planned and organized than what my school year looks like! 😅 as always you inspire me and give me great ideas to glean!❤
My heart goes out to you in dealing with the loss of your Mom, I cannot imagine dealing with that loss. Homeschooling is about fitting school in with our lives. I will keep you in my prayers.
Sorry for your loss Abby! I lost my mother to cancer a few years ago. And my father in September. We have 5 kids (13 to 4 months old) so very similar to you . Be gentle with yourself. You are doing so much! 💕🙏
Gréât vidéo!! Sorry about your mom. I’ve been seeing that you host collabs. How can I participate in those? Is there a group page that explains what the topics will be for the months?
I am sorry for the loss of your mom. I hope that as you walk through this season of grief that your days will be restful and renewing. The clipboard/reward idea is great. Thanks for the encouragement!
I’m so sorry for your loss. I will keep you and your family in my prayers! Y’all have had such a big year and I bet a longer break will benefit everyone. Some of our favorite read alouds are The Vanderbeekers series, The Trumpet of the Swan, Homer Price, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM. Can’t wait to see more of your summer plans!
Thank you for taking the time to do this and I’m so sorry for your loss. Praying for you and your fam. I picked up lots of ideas here, especially the documentary part. How do you do all these!!!??? How do you observe and prep for each child’s needs and still manage this youtube channel for us. You are awesome!!! Please share your time management, too! 🥰🥰🥰
So sorry to hear about the loss of your mom! I hope the long break is just what your family needs. A documentary series we love are Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm, Secrets of the Castle, and Wartime Farm. A group of historians run a farm for a year using the technology of that era. It's very fun!
So sorry for your loss ❤️ Praying for a restful summer for you and your family. Our favorite audio book to listen to together is Adventures with Waffles- it is so funny! Audio book is better than reading aloud. Also, E.B. White books are a great read aloud for wide age groups. Happy reading 😀
You're an amazing mama, Abby! I'm so sorry to hear about your mom :( I hope this summer brings you all the connection and happy memories together. Our kids have been loving Penguin Town and the Disney's Animal Kingdom documentaries. It's really cool to see what the day in the life is like for the zookeepers. Love your summer plans - I'm inspired to go plan ours out a little more now!
So sorry for your loss Abby. Thank you for continuing to share your life and ideas here with us. This video was so timely as we are also taking a longer summer break this year to recover from a very hard season. This video left me feeling refreshed and inspired and confirmed that this is the right choice for our family. Ready to enjoy my kiddos and take the time I need to prep and "dream" for the following year ❤
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my mom to cancer, as well. You handled the topic of losing your precious mom with grace. Grief is hard and it needs its time and space. God will so tenderly bring you all through this as only He can. Again, I'm sorry you're walking this road
Abby I’m so sorry about the loss of your mom! I always look forward to your videos and know that this will influence your motherhood and homeschool in ways that benefit us, too. I am praying for you all and praying for peace.
Oh I’m so sorry for your loss! Grief can be tiring and I wholeheartedly know the rest that is needed after a loss. I’m praying for rest and for your cup to be filled on your long break! ❤️ you have so many great ideas for the summer, I’m totally using the clipboard idea! Thanks!!
I’m sad to hear about your sweet mom, praying Jesus will be close to you all as He promises to be with the broken hearted. I homeschool a 3rd and 1st grader (for next year) in Tampa,FL and I was wondering if you could elaborate on how you prepared for middle school, how you started strong and finished strong? It would be very helpful! Thank you for all your work on this channel. It has been very inspiring and helpful to me as a homeschool mom! 😊
First, I am so terribly sorry for your loss! I lost my mother suddenly almost 2 years ago and I understand the shock and grief you're walking through. Thank you for sharing your summer plans! I gain so much inspiration from you and I love your heart for the Lord, your family and homeschooling! ❤
Oh my, I am sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. It's so scary that happened and she passed so quickly. Many prayers for you and for the upcoming summer.
Great ideas. We are reading some of the Little House on the Prairie books. The kids have an apron pattern, they will learn to bake bread, and make homemade butter. To go with the books
Our favorite read alouds this past homeschool year were written by Barbara O'Connor. We especially loved "Wish" and "How to Steal a Dog." Her books stirred empathy and compassion to people in difficult life circumstances (foster care, homelessness), but there was nothing dark or depressing about the stories.
I'm so sorry for your incredible loss! I can't imagine your family's pain. You are doing so much, even in this laid back Summer model. Please give yourself grace to not always follow such a strict schedule. Its okay! You are amazing! We are also in Florida, but on the other coast. I hope we have a very quiet hurricane season, especially after Ian wrecked us. I totally do the same with the Summer thunderstorms though. We watch documentaries or UA-cam video series to go along with our History, but last Summer (even with our kids getting older) we realized they didn't remember most of the classic Disney animated films (Jungle Book, Little Mermaid, Robin Hood, etc) and so every Saturday afternoon we had "Disney movie afternoon" and i tried to add themed snacks with the movie. My kids last Summer were 11-16 so they are older, but they loved it! Who would have thought? We might add this in again as we still have some movies on our list we didnt get to. Have an amazing Summer!
(((Hugs))),sooo sorry about your mom. We lost our mom at age 52 very quickly and shocked us..taking the time to get back to your normal is a great thing.
Here’s my question asides from the kids morning contributions when are you fitting in laundry / cleaning? Is that something you do during the kids independent hour or do you rest during that time as well?
I usually do some housework in the mornings before we start school and then in the afternoon between when we finish school and before my husband is home, so I expect that to remain the same this summer. Morning and then late afternoon before kids activities.
My kids are similar ages to yours and we’re starting high school in the fall too! Sara Mackenzie’s “teaching high school from rest” RAR class was so helpful! We did hospice care together for my mom in her home, 600 miles away from our house this winter and are intentionally choosing to not finish our school books this year. The learning that happened in those years of cancer care and those long days at the end counts so much! It was the hardest thing we’ve ever done, and we’re honoring it with space and rest! Have so much grace for yourself and them! 🤗
I'm so sorry about the loss of your mom! We lost my MIL two years ago and it was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions for all us, and it took us quite a while to feel like the fog in our head began to lift. Give yourself and your children lots of grace this coming year! I bounced between wanting to gain control by preparing and prepping and then needing to give us lots of flexibility when we ended up not feeling like doing the work, or it being an off day. Academically it felt like a disappointing year - but the memories of processing, worshiping and grieving as a family meant so much more. So many beautiful bittersweet memories! Praying for you and your family!
Prayers for your family…..I know it’s been hard for you and the kids,I’m sure…I went through losing my handicapped nephew a year ago and 6 mo later my 65 year old brother,both unexpected….it’s been hard…so enjoy your summer,no explanations needed…..
I am so sorry for your loss, that is such a difficult thing to navigate. Sending prayers your way. ❤ You have got our family hooked on Redefining School, and my kids are so excited for the summer lessons and next year. I also have one going into 9th and I feel like I am totally in over my head 😅 We are still using RS for our main LA next year, are you as well? Definitely let us know how the high school planning goes! As for fun read alouds, our favorites hands down have been the Mysterious Benedict Society and The Secret Keepers. Have a wonderful and restful summer 😊
I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s so hard. 💗We’re in our 20th year of homeschooling and we’re taking our first summer ”off” in years too. We couldn’t get our history or science done this school year so we’ll continue with that along with math fact practice and reading, of course, but it still feels like a break!
This gave me such encouragement for homeschooling during such a difficult time. I just lost my mother as well on March 30th. It has for sure been a whirlwind of emotions and navigating this new way of life daily. I have two small children...8 a 6 and trying to make this time as much as a smooth transition as possible. Those are not the right words but I want to help them see God's kindness during this time and He has sure been so kind. He has used nature to comfort us everyday. I pray your summer is special for your family and a time to be cherished as never before and God's comfort fills the souls of all who are experiencing the loss of your mother. In Jesus name. Amen.
Wow, you have a lot going on! We just had a baby and my pregnancy was rough towards the end and I just set everything down. My kids came through and surprised me though. They learned so so much. Things we would have never learned in homeschool and I'm so thankful for the time they got to just be free. I've noticed we have become 'lifeschoolers' because I've just seen the value in experiencing life. My kids learn even when I'm not sitting down with them. We are getting back slowly into a morning time and focusing on reading because we still have a newborn. All that to say, don't feel like you are making excuses. If you feel burnt out, then that's your life signaling it's time for a break. And grief takes time and it should take time to keep you mentally healthy. As the bible says, there is a time for everything. And just know you aren't alone ❤
That sounds like such a challenging year. I lost my grandma in a similar way to your mom and it’s really hard to catch up to reality. You more than deserve the rest & I’ll be praying for God to fill your cup to overflowing.
Hey Abby, are you guys going to FPEA next week? It would be fun to do a Rooted in Rest meet up if there was interest. I know you have a baby too which complicates things. I’d love to meet others. I’m from Orlando area.
Oh I am so very sorry for the loss of your mama. The daily grace company has a wonderful book called gospel hope in grief and loss which may be very helpful.
I would actually love to send you a copy
Abby, I never comment bc I’m that UA-cam watcher that just rarely does that. I have been a viewer of your channel for years and I just want to thank you for all that you do. God has blessed my homeschool and mom life because of your channel. I hope that this encourages you. You are the sister I wish I had. God bless and thanks for just being you! A sister in Christ with more wisdom than most!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Sorry for the loss of your Mom. Prayers for u and ur family.
I'm so sorry for your loss!! That's heart breaking.
I am so sorry about your mom 😔 💔 I am sending loving thoughts to all of you.
Thank you for your videos 🙏🏼 would love to hear some of your kids chapter book lists for Summer
You are always such an inspiration to me! ❤
Lots of love and grace to you 💜💜💜
I’m so sorry for your loss. ❤
I’m so sorry for your loss 😢💔
Thank you so much for sharing! This video was very inspiring! I love your ideas ❤ one of our favorite read alouds was A Place to Hang the Moon. I think it would work for a variety of ages!
These videos help me so much! Thanks for filming and sharing this. ❤❤ love you friend!
Can you share the books you have them read?
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom! Praying for your family. I would love a booklist video if you have time. I have a 5th grade boy and 3rd grade boy and i struggle to find books for our required reading
We are taking a long summer break from our full load too. I’m due in august and we’ve got the garden to tend to along with some house projects, so felt like it was a good year to just take a longer summer break!
-My deepest condolences.
-favorites documentary “the riot and the dance”
-could you do a video about video games?
-also, I don’t have a middle schooler yet, but your video about entering this stage with Bella really encouraged me. Could you do one about this stage with your boys?
-I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing those plan and prep videos!
Yes please the middle school video focus w the boys would be amazing Abby!
Ahh Abby, your free-style summer is more planned and organized than what my school year looks like! 😅 as always you inspire me and give me great ideas to glean!❤
Same! This is more structured than our homeschool school year.
My heart goes out to you in dealing with the loss of your Mom, I cannot imagine dealing with that loss. Homeschooling is about fitting school in with our lives. I will keep you in my prayers.
Would love to see your worksheets and clipboards ideas.
Praying for you and your family ❤
So sorry for your loss! I understand the grief. I lost my mother when I was 25 she was only ,47 years old. It was a stroke.
My kids have loved watching Most Dangerous Ways to School on UA-cam. For us those count as documentaries.
I am so sorry for your loss. Praying for you and your family. ❤
So sorry to hear about your Mom. May God Bless You and Your Family!
So sorry to hear about your mom 💜
Praying for you and your family ❤🙏 I'm so sorry for the grief you all are walking through right now❤
Sorry for your loss Abby! I lost my mother to cancer a few years ago. And my father in September. We have 5 kids (13 to 4 months old) so very similar to you . Be gentle with yourself. You are doing so much! 💕🙏
Gréât vidéo!! Sorry about your mom. I’ve been seeing that you host collabs. How can I participate in those? Is there a group page that explains what the topics will be for the months?
Praying for your family. I’m so glad you will get a break
I’m so sorry to hear about your mom ❤Our condolences and prayers that this summer will be a much needed break and bonding season
I am sorry for the loss of your mom. I hope that as you walk through this season of grief that your days will be restful and renewing.
The clipboard/reward idea is great. Thanks for the encouragement!
SO sorry for your loss...prayers for you and your family!! Also, prayers for a joyful and restful Summer ❤
Sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. I hope taking some extra time this summer to grieve and process will help you.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I will keep you and your family in my prayers! Y’all have had such a big year and I bet a longer break will benefit everyone.
Some of our favorite read alouds are The Vanderbeekers series, The Trumpet of the Swan, Homer Price, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM.
Can’t wait to see more of your summer plans!
Thank you for taking the time to do this and I’m so sorry for your loss. Praying for you and your fam.
I picked up lots of ideas here, especially the documentary part. How do you do all these!!!??? How do you observe and prep for each child’s needs and still manage this youtube channel for us. You are awesome!!! Please share your time management, too! 🥰🥰🥰
So sorry to hear about the loss of your mom! I hope the long break is just what your family needs.
A documentary series we love are Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, Tudor Monastery Farm, Secrets of the Castle, and Wartime Farm. A group of historians run a farm for a year using the technology of that era. It's very fun!
my husband lost his mom couple years ago and we were not prepared
Sorry to hear about your mom 😢
I love watching your videos. You are very calming to listen to. And give lots of ideas on homeschooling 😊
So sorry for your loss ❤️ Praying for a restful summer for you and your family.
Our favorite audio book to listen to together is Adventures with Waffles- it is so funny! Audio book is better than reading aloud.
Also, E.B. White books are a great read aloud for wide age groups. Happy reading 😀
You're an amazing mama, Abby! I'm so sorry to hear about your mom :( I hope this summer brings you all the connection and happy memories together. Our kids have been loving Penguin Town and the Disney's Animal Kingdom documentaries. It's really cool to see what the day in the life is like for the zookeepers. Love your summer plans - I'm inspired to go plan ours out a little more now!
So sorry for your loss Abby. Thank you for continuing to share your life and ideas here with us. This video was so timely as we are also taking a longer summer break this year to recover from a very hard season. This video left me feeling refreshed and inspired and confirmed that this is the right choice for our family. Ready to enjoy my kiddos and take the time I need to prep and "dream" for the following year ❤
I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my mom to cancer, as well. You handled the topic of losing your precious mom with grace. Grief is hard and it needs its time and space. God will so tenderly bring you all through this as only He can. Again, I'm sorry you're walking this road
Abby I’m so sorry about the loss of your mom! I always look forward to your videos and know that this will influence your motherhood and homeschool in ways that benefit us, too. I am praying for you all and praying for peace.
Thank you! Yes, beauty for ashes. I trust He will do this, too!!!
Oh I’m so sorry for your loss! Grief can be tiring and I wholeheartedly know the rest that is needed after a loss. I’m praying for rest and for your cup to be filled on your long break! ❤️ you have so many great ideas for the summer, I’m totally using the clipboard idea! Thanks!!
I’m sad to hear about your sweet mom, praying Jesus will be close to you all as He promises to be with the broken hearted.
I homeschool a 3rd and 1st grader (for next year) in Tampa,FL and I was wondering if you could elaborate on how you prepared for middle school, how you started strong and finished strong? It would be very helpful!
Thank you for all your work on this channel. It has been very inspiring and helpful to me as a homeschool mom! 😊
Yes, I also would love to hear her reflective thoughts on middle school in general & starting & finishing strong!
First, I am so terribly sorry for your loss! I lost my mother suddenly almost 2 years ago and I understand the shock and grief you're walking through.
Thank you for sharing your summer plans! I gain so much inspiration from you and I love your heart for the Lord, your family and homeschooling! ❤
How do I order books from you?
If you find time, could you share your book lists? If not no biggie. Thank you for your encouraging videos ❤
Oh my, I am sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. It's so scary that happened and she passed so quickly. Many prayers for you and for the upcoming summer.
Thank you for the prayers! What are you looking forward to most this summer with your 9th grader?
Great ideas. We are reading some of the Little House on the Prairie books. The kids have an apron pattern, they will learn to bake bread, and make homemade butter. To go with the books
Our favorite read alouds this past homeschool year were written by Barbara O'Connor. We especially loved "Wish" and "How to Steal a Dog." Her books stirred empathy and compassion to people in difficult life circumstances (foster care, homelessness), but there was nothing dark or depressing about the stories.
For favorite read alouds we love...Wingfeather Saga!
I'm so sorry for your incredible loss! I can't imagine your family's pain. You are doing so much, even in this laid back Summer model. Please give yourself grace to not always follow such a strict schedule. Its okay! You are amazing!
We are also in Florida, but on the other coast. I hope we have a very quiet hurricane season, especially after Ian wrecked us. I totally do the same with the Summer thunderstorms though.
We watch documentaries or UA-cam video series to go along with our History, but last Summer (even with our kids getting older) we realized they didn't remember most of the classic Disney animated films (Jungle Book, Little Mermaid, Robin Hood, etc) and so every Saturday afternoon we had "Disney movie afternoon" and i tried to add themed snacks with the movie. My kids last Summer were 11-16 so they are older, but they loved it! Who would have thought? We might add this in again as we still have some movies on our list we didnt get to. Have an amazing Summer!
Sorry for your loss.❤ Basher Five-Two was a really fun read aloud we just finished. It's about an f-16 pilot shot down and his miraculous rescue
(((Hugs))),sooo sorry about your mom. We lost our mom at age 52 very quickly and shocked us..taking the time to get back to your normal is a great thing.
Here’s my question asides from the kids morning contributions when are you fitting in laundry / cleaning? Is that something you do during the kids independent hour or do you rest during that time as well?
I usually do some housework in the mornings before we start school and then in the afternoon between when we finish school and before my husband is home, so I expect that to remain the same this summer. Morning and then late afternoon before kids activities.
My kids are similar ages to yours and we’re starting high school in the fall too! Sara Mackenzie’s “teaching high school from rest” RAR class was so helpful! We did hospice care together for my mom in her home, 600 miles away from our house this winter and are intentionally choosing to not finish our school books this year. The learning that happened in those years of cancer care and those long days at the end counts so much! It was the hardest thing we’ve ever done, and we’re honoring it with space and rest! Have so much grace for yourself and them! 🤗
I'm so sorry about the loss of your mom! We lost my MIL two years ago and it was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions for all us, and it took us quite a while to feel like the fog in our head began to lift. Give yourself and your children lots of grace this coming year! I bounced between wanting to gain control by preparing and prepping and then needing to give us lots of flexibility when we ended up not feeling like doing the work, or it being an off day. Academically it felt like a disappointing year - but the memories of processing, worshiping and grieving as a family meant so much more. So many beautiful bittersweet memories! Praying for you and your family!
Prayers for your family…..I know it’s been hard for you and the kids,I’m sure…I went through losing my handicapped nephew a year ago and 6 mo later my 65 year old brother,both unexpected….it’s been hard…so enjoy your summer,no explanations needed…..
Oh, I’m so sorry for your losses, as well 💔
Thank you for the prayers!
I am so sorry for your loss, that is such a difficult thing to navigate. Sending prayers your way. ❤
You have got our family hooked on Redefining School, and my kids are so excited for the summer lessons and next year. I also have one going into 9th and I feel like I am totally in over my head 😅 We are still using RS for our main LA next year, are you as well? Definitely let us know how the high school planning goes! As for fun read alouds, our favorites hands down have been the Mysterious Benedict Society and The Secret Keepers. Have a wonderful and restful summer 😊
I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s so hard. 💗We’re in our 20th year of homeschooling and we’re taking our first summer ”off” in years too. We couldn’t get our history or science done this school year so we’ll continue with that along with math fact practice and reading, of course, but it still feels like a break!
This gave me such encouragement for homeschooling during such a difficult time. I just lost my mother as well on March 30th. It has for sure been a whirlwind of emotions and navigating this new way of life daily. I have two small children...8 a 6 and trying to make this time as much as a smooth transition as possible. Those are not the right words but I want to help them see God's kindness during this time and He has sure been so kind. He has used nature to comfort us everyday. I pray your summer is special for your family and a time to be cherished as never before and God's comfort fills the souls of all who are experiencing the loss of your mother. In Jesus name. Amen.
Wow, you have a lot going on! We just had a baby and my pregnancy was rough towards the end and I just set everything down. My kids came through and surprised me though. They learned so so much. Things we would have never learned in homeschool and I'm so thankful for the time they got to just be free. I've noticed we have become 'lifeschoolers' because I've just seen the value in experiencing life. My kids learn even when I'm not sitting down with them. We are getting back slowly into a morning time and focusing on reading because we still have a newborn. All that to say, don't feel like you are making excuses. If you feel burnt out, then that's your life signaling it's time for a break. And grief takes time and it should take time to keep you mentally healthy. As the bible says, there is a time for everything. And just know you aren't alone ❤
That sounds like such a challenging year. I lost my grandma in a similar way to your mom and it’s really hard to catch up to reality. You more than deserve the rest & I’ll be praying for God to fill your cup to overflowing.
Hey Abby, are you guys going to FPEA next week? It would be fun to do a Rooted in Rest meet up if there was interest. I know you have a baby too which complicates things. I’d love to meet others. I’m from Orlando area.