The Joys of Homeschooling

Reading and Phonics, Phonics and Reading

2012-01-20T14:26:00.000-06:00

*LONG post with LOTS of pictures*

I have been spending a good chunk of our school time with my 6-year old for reading. I don't know what it is about math and reading, but they both can cause me to shake in my boots. On my list of what's important, they are at the top of the list. Reading would be number one. How many times have I read about each child learning differently, learning at their own pace, and all of sudden ahead of their "grade level"? Yes, over and over again have I heard these words, and I my husband reminds me of this often!

Many of the things that I'll talk about, and show you below, are things that we've been doing since we started school in August. However, everything that we use is more focused and incorporated each day.

We begin our phonics/reading with sight word review. There are few ways that we spend this time. I decided on Wednesday to begin this time reviewing new sight words that we are learning for the current week, and a quick review of the words that Starfire already knows.

Each week she has three sight word mini-books to complete. I pin those onto our school board, and take them down each day to review. I use the book below for mini-books. The book is divided into levels, 1-4.

After we review, then it's time to play a game. She loves games! We play POP every day. It doesn't grow old. Let me knock on wood. We empty all of the cards onto the school table, I remove the cards that she hasn't learned, and we include the POP cards as bonus points. Each card has a sight word. We play three rounds, 2-minutes each, and we write her scores on our new-to-us easel. Each round she tries to beat her score. I encourage, we celebrate, she's reviewing, it's fun. Her highest score is 55, minus 5 bonus points.

Other sight word activities, use old magazines, and have a sight word hunt. Have child cut out words that they are learning. I would limit it to two words at a time. Write a sight word on a piece of paper (space the letters), cut the word into squares, and have the child unscramble the words and glue them to a piece of paper. You may want to write that sight word multiple times, put the squares in a ziploc bag, and then proceed with them putting the letters together to make the sight word.

I also downloaded, printed, and laminated word-build-write. Not a favorite for Starfire, but we've used it.

We move on to vowels review. I make this a game too. I have misplaced her mini-office, boo, so we use the easel. I'll write two rows of vowels, with a short or long sound, and she says the sound as quickly as possible. We also have a file folder game or to that can be added.

We also review blends most days.

Next up, it's word family games/review. There all kinds of games for word family review. We use our homemade windows game, file folder games, I've drawn ice cream cones with a certain amount of scoops on top. Each cone represents a family, and she has to add words to the scoop that belong to that family.

Flip charts to practice word families.

from confessionsofahomeschooler.com

from Jo-Ann fabric store! I think it was $2.

I also purchased the scholastic book below. Instead of making small mini-books, she glued each page onto a larger page that's hole punched, and kept inside of a larger 3-ring notebook. There aren't enough stories to use this every day, so we may only do one a week, or every other week to spread them out.

Hot dots are here to stay. You can purchase or make hot dots for just about any subject!

For phonics, I ordered Abeka Letters and Sounds 1st grade to use this year, but we slowed down. I wanted to make sure that we weren't rushing through phonics rules, and that she was able to apply those rules. We also finished up Abeka K Phonics during the first half of our school year.

During phonics time, we first review sounds that we have learned. We use these cards for review, and we'll use our mini-office again as soon as we find it. We only go through roughly 10, give or take. I also review sounds that have been introduced via our phonics worksheets. Once again, I've been using our easel.

If we are learning a new sound, I teach that sound, and then she completes her worksheet.

these cards can be downloaded for free, click on the free printables tab in the sidebar to the right.

Reading includes more phonics, oral reading, comprehension questions, and a worksheet activity. We use Bob Jones Reading 1. I love Bob Jones for reading!! The curriculum includes the teacher's manual, and books A-F. There are activities that we complete before reading the story, such as going over new words. We read one-two new stories each week.

So that's what we are doing for our Phonics/Reading time. I hope that this will help someone who needs other methods to teach reading to their little engine that could. I'm simply using what I have, can make, ideas from others, and what appeals to my 6-year old's learning style.

If you have any questions, leave me a comment below. I will try to come back and add some links to a few things mentioned in the post.

Catching Up...{Jan 3-Now}

2012-01-15T17:51:00.000-06:00

In our homeschool...
Where do I begin? I guess just jumping in where we are is sufficient. We are off to a good start to the second half of our school year. A two week break for Christmas was just what we all needed! I feel rejuvenated! Not that every day has been cheery, cheery, but overall we've been rolling along since we started back on January 3rd.

There have been a few curriculum changes for us. Raven (4th) and ProGamer(8th) are both using Saxon Math. I really felt that we were all set with math, but... Well, Raven wasn't being challenged enough with Math-U-See, and ProGamer needed more help with Pre-Algebra. The Saxon Algebra 1/2 was the solution for us because of the Saxon Teacher Lessons and Tests CD. Can you say life saver?! As his pre-algebra lessons became increasingly difficult, we needed more than a solutions manual. The Saxon CD provides step-by-step solutions for every lesson and test. Math is one area that presents a fear factor for me as we approach high school in, ahem, roughly SIX months!! However, I feel much more confident knowing that Saxon is a solid curriculum, and the CD's are a huge plus. I didn't think that we'd switch back to Saxon, but here we are.

We've also had some schedule changes, but nothing drastic. I'm spending roughly an hour a day with heavy phonics and reading time with Starfire, so I've adjusted the flow of our day. Another friend has needed some extra help in this area as well with one of her kiddos, so I'm planning to share exactly what we do. There was also a timely article for me in HSLDA this month with helpful tips for struggling readers. If anyone is interested, check out their website, or leave me a comment below, and I'll send you some links.

Other School happenings...
Raven (4th grade) began IEW Student A last week, and wrote her first paper about pill bugs. I wasn't sure if she'd enjoy some of the writing sources, but to my surprise she has. She wants to skip everything and get to creative writing. So far we covered Units I/II, and this week I'll see if she's able to write an outline, use the dress up, and write her paragraph independently. Rave's also studying hard to participate in the Spelling Bee, which is a few weeks away. I was able to use SpellQuizzer to import lists for her to practice daily.

We finished up week 14 of MFW 1850-Modern Times last week. This is a wanted poster for Ned Kelly, the most famous bushranger in Australia, that both girls made during our study. Starfire usually joins us for activities.

ProGamer is working hard as well. He had a tremendous increase in his workload this year, but I'm thankful that he's done well. His geography class has been excellent, and occasionally he chimes in when working in MFW. This week we were all studying about South Africa.

Dumpster diving...
Well not exactly in the dumpster, but we scored this free easel on the side of the road with the word free written on the white board side. As always, I drove past it, thought about it, and then went back to pick it up:) We loaded it into the car, got it up, used a magic eraser to clean off the crayon, and voila it was new again. I've used it every day!

Well, that's it. I hope to be posting regularly again. The kids and I enjoy looking back at our digital file/scrapbook of the joys of homeschooling, so I've got to make sure that I keep it going.

Hope you're off to a great start to the New Year as well! See you later this week with a post about what we do in our reading and phonics time.

Wordless Wednesday {PJ Day}

2012-01-04T13:51:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like PJ Day!!

Last Post of 2011

2011-12-31T08:42:00.000-06:00

Raven noticed me changing the blog header this morning and chimed in that she was wondering when I was going to change it. She went on to let me know that she had not read the blog recently because there was nothing new. GASP:) Well then...LOL! The proof is in the pudding, and I haven't posted in a while. Three weeks to be exact! What can I say. I enjoyed our Christmas break, and a few other things have been going on to keep me very busy.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited about the New Year!! 2012!! This year, I have said over and over again that the time has gone by extremely fast. It just has. I have attempted writing out a big ol' list of resolutions before, but this year in continuing with my simplicity theme I am only focusing on spiritual, personal/family, and physical health goals. Step by step, little by little, each day. That's it.

We will be back to school on Tuesday, and I will work on our lesson plans today and Monday. The fire of excitement was lit last night as I took a look at our MFW weeks to come, and a sweet friend came by with a brand new art curriculum by Barry Stebbing, I Can Do All Things, for the girls. I hope to incorporate this into our Fridays.

Well, have a wonderful day, and I will see you, back here for the New Year!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Sweet Potato Pie

2011-12-07T05:00:00.003-06:00

Sweet Potato Pie is always on our menu for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I never use a recipe, but just happened to write down ingredients this time around. I'm usually calling up my Auntie to confirm the ingredients that I need, and then I add a little bit of this and little bit of that. Now, I have a recipe to pass on to my girls, and maybe this will inspire me to jot down a few others that we love to have during this most wonderful time of the year.

Ingredients (Makes 2 Pies)

6 medium-sized sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 egg (30 minutes at room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla flavoring
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 pie crusts (follow directions for preparing)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Peel potatoes, rinse, and drain. Place potatoes in a medium sized pot, cover with water, and boil until potatoes are tender. Drain.
Use a mixer to beat potatoes until almost smooth. At this point, I check for any strings from the potatoes and remove them.
Next add butter, sugar, evaporated milk, and egg. Blend until smooth. Then add vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Do a taste test. If it's just right, go ahead and fill your pie crust.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the middle of the pie is set (test with a fork), and your crust is golden.

Let me know if you try it! What are your menu must haves for Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Linking the post up to the Sweets for Christmas Linky Party hosted by Edie at LifeInGrace.

It's a Wrap

2011-12-02T23:26:00.000-06:00

In my life this week...
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope that you did too! I didn't get to bask in days of turkey leftovers because we visited family. So this weekend we are setting our table with turkey and all of the deliciousness of a Thanksgiving meal. I just might have made my best sweet potato pie tonight, and will share the recipe next week. Yummy!

My hobby of photography is taking a slow turn toward a small business. So far, I have had five photo sessions with gracious friends who have allowed me to capture their families. I can add photography to the list of the things that I never thought that I would do. It's right up there with homeschooling;)

In our homeschool this week...
I have made sure to take my own advice of staying sane through the holidays, and will continue at this pace until we break for Christmas. I'm looking forward to our two-week break in a couple of weeks to prepare for the second half of our year, and to rest some, of course.

Raven and Starfire had a music performance this week singing Broadway songs, and Raven sang the solo for "Part of That World" from The Little Mermaid. I'm so proud of both of my girls!

We began activities to celebrate Advent, and to intentionally focus on Christ as we enjoy the most wonderful time of the year.

If you're looking for Advent resources, check out Mommyhood Adventures, Mama Jenn created some printables to go along with Truth in the Tinsel, and we put together this countdown to Christmas chain. This week we read the daily scripture for the Christmas chain during our morning Bible time, set up our nativity scene, and had another bible reading in the evenings with dad. We began on December 1, and will prayerfully continue throughout the month.

Thoughts I have...
It's been a busy fall, and I'm looking forward to a much slower pace.

Homeschooling Through the Holidays

2011-11-21T03:10:00.000-06:00

This is a post that I'm sure I will need to print, attach to the refrigerator with whatever will make it stick, and keep it in my view from now until January. Around this time of year, burn out can hit you like a ton of bricks. With all of the baking, gift buying, gift making, present hiding, turkey cookin', party going, family and friend visiting, Christmas tree hunting (fetching it from the basement counts too:), light hanging, picture taking, and school of course, we can find ourselves depleted and burned out. Not fun. Burn out will have you longing for the month of May:) Ask me how I know?

As I thought about our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I also began to ponder ways in which we can enjoy this time of the year, without me going insane with juggling that big list up there. Here are some ideas that I came up. Some of them are already in practice:)

Get back to the basics during this time. For us that means our focus is on the three R's-Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. We may only tackle one or two weeks of MFW during December. This tip may not work if you have older kiddos. ProGamer, my eighth grader, is still in all subjects mode minus one.

Change up your schedule if you need to. Flexibility is key to avoid facing burn out during this time of year.

Take some time off. Have a three day week with Thursday and Friday off. If you can't take a day off, consider schooling for half a day.

Remember, it's okay to say that word--No:) It's easy for the three O's to show up at your door.

Enjoy some baking, and other things on your list with your kiddos. There's always an opportunity for learning. Measuring ingredients, reading recipes, writing out the shopping list, and there's the science behind all of those tasty pies and cookies that we're baking.

Make this time fun for everyone. Pull out games to play, or even center what you're learning around themes of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Put on some music. Sing. Dance. We've had on Christmas tunes since before October. GASP! I know it seems early, but that's how we roll.

If these tips work for you let me know, and if they work for me I will definitely let you know;).

Do you have any how to stay sane while homeschooling through the holidays tips? I would love to hear them. Leave a comment below.

The Last Three Weeks in Picture

2011-11-19T12:40:00.002-06:00

I've been trying to catch my breath around here. This is usually the time of the year where my blog posts are sporadic as I'm preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can't believe Thanksgiving is a mere five days away! Are you gearing up for Turkey Day?

Here are some picture highlights of what we've been up to lately.

Last year, we received postcards from other bloggers around the country, and we're using them as we continue to add states to our 50 states notebook.

We made Japanese Noh Masks using papier-mache during Week 11 of MFW.

ProGamer is playing basketball, so he's getting in some extra practice with hubby and me.

Capturing the fall leaves before they are all gone...{sigh}

Cleaning the gutters is a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it:)

I'll be back on Monday sharing tips to keep your sanity while homeschooling during the holidays.

Sweet Shot Tuesday

2011-11-08T16:42:00.001-06:00

I've only had my camera for four months, and officially took it off the manual setting a month ago. A few of my friends have been gracious enough to allow me to photograph there families, and I've enjoyed every minute. This was my first ~~official~~ practice photo shoot. Thank you to the "W" family for making it a great experience.

This pic is not as sharp. Long story...computer issues...this is a copy that wasn't resized and sharpened for sharing.

Linking this post to Sweet Shot Tuesday. Thanks for taking a look. Encouraging comments are appreciated.

Catchin' Up

2011-11-07T18:40:00.000-06:00

In my life this week...
Our fall break ended too soon. We had a short three day week last week, and we're back into the swing of things. It was nice to have a break, but after the 31 Days Series I could have taken two weeks off. Now, I am scurrying around in preparation for Thanksgiving! Am I the only one who can't believe that it's nearly Thanksgiving and seven weeks away from Christmas? Seven! It seems as though I just had thoughts of the summer going by too quickly. Today, I planned out the grocery shopping list for our menu, so I'm feeling much better about cooking up a storm for our family.

In our homeschool this week...
I need to complete first quarter evaluations.  This year, I decided to do a simple write up for each of my kiddos in most of their subject areas.  It's a way to keep me organized and focused on overall end of year goals for each of them.

My favorite thing...
Taking photos of a few friends has been a favorite thing. I'll share some pics tomorrow with Darcy's Sweet Shot Tuesday.

Thoughts I have...
I'm already thinking about curriculum next year! I know. GASP! Next year, my oldest will be in high school, and I know we are going to need some plans in place. It was a delight to see that Kris is writing a 10 Day Series about high school homeschooling.

Questions I have...
Any suggestions out there for a high school Spanish curriculum?

In the kitchen...
Last week I tried a tasty new recipe for healthy chicken tenders from SugarFreeMom. At this time of the year, I need all of the healthy recipes that I can get to balance out the holiday eating that began with the candy on October 31st.

I'll be back on Friday with our weekly highlights.
Linking this post to the Homeschool Mother's Journal.

31 Days::It's Been Fun {Day 31}

2011-10-31T08:51:00.001-05:00

Thank you for stopping by each day during this series as I shared my stories, and what I've learned, so far, on this journey. Some days, I wasn't sure if I would make it to Day 31, but then I would get your timely comments of encouragement. Not to mention, my sweet hubby read along, and insisted for a daily post to read as he ate his lunch at work. Of course that didn't happen:)

I'm definitely a work in progress, who doesn't have all the answers, and many days I fall short. However, my heart is to share, to encourage, and inspire others who are on this journey or might be one day. We have been given a wonderful privilege, precious little ones, and a calling that calls us to long for superpowers.

But, we have what we need. It's no surprise to God that we are homeschooling mamas, and in that alone we can find comfort and peace even on the most insane days that we have.

Thanks to the Nester for opening up the 31 Day Series to other little bloggers such as myself. And, thank YOU for spending a part of your day to read along, and for your comments.

I'm off to enjoy two more days of our fall break, conquer Mt. Washmore, and make sure that we're not eating oatmeal and toast tonight for dinner.

It's Been Fun!!

WINNER| Superpower Giveaway

2011-10-31T08:23:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to commenter #1, Hisglorygirl!

31 Days::A Season {Day 30}

2011-10-30T12:17:00.000-05:00

The Seasons Of Life

Through the different seasons

In life that we go through

God still walks there with us

Through good and bad times too

We don't need to stop

And ponder why we're here

We just need to trust in God

That He won't leave us there

It is but for a season

That we are in this place

We need not sit and question it
Just receive His loving grace

Don't look around at others

They can't give you what you need

Just turn your eyes heavenward

And put your trust in thee

Hard times that you're facing

The Lord will see you through

To bring you to a better place

That He has planned for you

We may only call on Him

When going through bad times

But when things are going well

He's seldom on our minds

For even in the good times

We still need to look to Him

So we don't become complacent

And let our love grow dim

So trust Him in the times ahead

Even when you do not know

That He is there beside you

For He does love you so.

31 Days::Random T's and T's {Days 28-29}

2011-10-29T20:06:00.000-05:00

Just a few random tips and tidbits that I'd planned to write about during this series, but had a change of plans. However, I would still like to share them with you.

Mondays can be a little tough for us some times. I'm sure it's because we've been out of a routine for a couple of days, and we tend to stay up later on the weekend than we do during the week. I try my best to make our Mondays light as in not starting new lessons on Monday in every subject. We also tend to start our day later, which makes for a longer day, but it's worth it to beat the Monday blues.
Have a PJ day on that one day of the week that you know you're not leaving the house.
Be flexible. Plan for days off to catch up on housework, a mental break, or a teacher's workday. You'll be glad that you did. If you've scheduled a break, and feel that you don't need one, just add that day back in and use it when you need it.

Don't forget to enter the Superpower GIVEAWAY.

31 Days:: Superpower GIVEAWAY-Closed {Day 27}

2011-10-27T09:52:00.002-05:00

So, how do we get it all done? We must have Superpowers, right!:)

Some days I would gladly welcome a Superpower that zaps laundry (washed and folded,please), and spits out three meals a day (no oatmeal and toast today, thank you).

When I saw these products over at The Homeschool Chick's Store ,before I began this 31 Days Series, I knew that this would be a perfect GIVEAWAY.

One of you will have a choice to win one of these three Superpower products. If you're the winner, you choose which product you would like to have.

I homeschool. What's your Superpower? T-shirt


What's your Superpower? Canvas bag.

What's your Superpower? Coffee Mug.

How to enter?

What Superpower would you choose if you had a choice in the matter? Leave a comment below.

Optional Entries:

If you haven't already, subscribe to Joys of Homeschool, leave a comment to let me know you did.

Grab a 31 Days Series Button or link to this post, share on your blog or facebook about this GIVEAWAY, leave a comment to let me know you did.

This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 years or older to enter to win. If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave your email address with your comment, so that I'm able to contact you.

Entries close at midnight on {Day 30} Sunday, October 30th. The winner will be chosen via random.org, and announced on Monday, October 31st. {Day 31}

Find the 31 Days Series Here.

31 Days::Reload {Day 26}

2011-10-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

After we've prayed, even cried at times, and told God all about our homeschooling troubles, it also helps to have a friend that we can talk to.

Someone who won't judge us for wanting to quit, but is willing to share that they've had many moments of wanting to quit.

Someone who will pray and cry with you.

Someone who will hold your hand, if you need it.

Someone who will encourage you to hang in there.

Someone who will let you know that they have brown patches too.

Someone who will tell you to stop crying and get yourself together.

Someone who will share that sometimes her family also has oatmeal and toast for dinner.

We all need someone that is willing to listen to us pour out our hearts, share our concerns, offer advice if they're able, or lead us in the direction to someone who can.

I can't say that this road is an easy one to travel because it's not. We have to find ways to unload in order to reload, to continue on this path each day, through the brown patches, from the beginning of one school year to the next.

Having someone who's in the trenches with us, someone who's traveled this road before, or someone who has been through the part of the road that we are on is a sure way to be able to continue in this journey.

Do you have a friend?

31 Days::Relax {Day 25}

2011-10-25T14:39:00.002-05:00

I had planned to write on this topic two weeks ago. According to my notes it was supposed to happen on Day 10. The notes about this topic are written in a notebook, on sticky notes, and even on the back of a piece of mail for crying out loud. It's been weighing on my mind as we wrap up this series. Because it won't go away, I guess I'll dive right in.

One of the easiest ways not to relax on this path is comparing your family to other homeschooling families, comparing yourself to other homeschooling moms, and comparing your children to other homeschooled children. It can be extremely exhausting, and will always leave you with an impression of not enough. Ask me how I know?

I remember it like it was yesterday. While preparing to attend my first homeschooling convention, I became absorbed with wanting to "fit in" with the other homeschooling moms. "Looking" the part had me all in a tizzy. To make matters even worse, so I thought, my hair was about an inch long, and I knew for sure that I wouldn't "fit in".

I was concerned that I wouldn't look like the other homeschooling moms. Although, I would like to say that the next year I felt differently, I didn't. I still wanted to "fit in", so I decided to straighten my tresses.

Finally, this year, I set aside the feelings of wanting to "fit in", and went as myself with my big, fluffy, curly hair. In being myself, or letting my hair be itself, I was approached by several homeschooling moms who wanted my beautician's name(I'm my own beautician), and there were also moms who had adopted children of color and needed help with their daughter's hair. While I wanted to look a certain way, I lost an appreciation of the way that God made me.

Maybe you never experienced a hair complex like I did, go ahead and laugh, I can now laugh at myself, but there are other areas that can lead to comparisons.

Comparisons such as...

...the only way that I know our kids will have a good education is that we follow the classical method like {blank}. You know {blank's} son went to college on a full scholarship because that's the method they chose.

OR

...{blank's} husband spends his weekend teaching three subjects to their kids. I think we need to do that as well.

OR

...{blank} is the number one recommended curriculum to teach reading. Look at {blank}, her son is only 4, and reads chapter books. I think we need to look into that next year because {blank} is turning three and we need to stay ahead.

OR

...Have you seen {blank} lately? She's able to homeschool her kids all day, she's involved with various activities at church, she's the team mom for soccer, she prepares healthy meals for her family, and she always looks fabulous. I must be doing something wrong. Most days, I don't even get to shower.

Exhausting.

It's great that we can encourage one another, share wisdom, and offer advice. But always take that wisdom and advice and make it your own. Eat the fish, and spit out the bones. Don't think that if you're like A, then your result will=A.

Be the family that God has called you to be. Be the mom that He has equipped you to be. Train the children that God has given you. With all that you have, use your God-given abilities within your home and school. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. Every homeschool is different. No two look the same.

Don't compare yourself to others because you'll find that you will never measure up, and you shouldn't. That's their life, and you have yours. Above all, we are not expected to be each others measuring stick. You have enough, you have what you need.

Relax, take a deep breath, and just be you.
Ever struggle with this?

31 Days::Refresh {Day 24}

2011-10-24T16:10:00.001-05:00

Recently a friend asked me a simple question. She asked what did I enjoy doing. You know, hobbies or interests that one might have. My response was a long um...let me think.

After some hesitation, I thought of a few things that I enjoyed, but that question left me thinking well after our conversation was over.

Most days I find myself consumed with lesson plans, grading papers, keeping everyone on track, containing Mt. Washmore, shuffling to and from a class, defrosting dinner, getting it on the table, and making sure everyone is tucked in at night. At the end of the day, my bed is calling my name warning that I must get in now so that I can do that list of things all over again the next day.

While thinking of things that I enjoyed, most of what rolled around in my brain consisted of homeschooling. I really had to squint my eyes and tighten my lips just to rattle off a couple of things. Don't ask me what random things I said? I vaguely remember. I'm sure I mentioned sewing and perusing the isles of the thrift store. I enjoy doing both of those things, a lot, but I had to search for more. What did I really enjoy doing? What are my interests outside of homeschooling, and my daily to-do list?

Over the past few months, I have developed a love for photography. If you don't believe me, just ask my family. They see the camera, and I hear sighs.

I don't get out to snap pictures as often as I'd like, but I absolutely enjoy the creativity and capturing moments of life.

Sure, there are many things that I do and can do, but now I have an answer to that question.

One way to stay refreshed in this journey, is to set aside time for our interests and hobbies. Otherwise, we are all work and no play which can lead to {blank}. I'll let you fill in the blank.

I know that we have an important responsibility, but we need that time to be creative outside of creating a new phonics game. At least I do.

My son, the wise one, has said to many times that I needed a hobby-a real one-that didn't involve doing things around the house. Now, he's begging me to put.the.camera.away:) I reply by telling him-I can't, this is my hobby:)

So, what do I enjoy doing? Sewing, thrifting, painting walls in my house, moving furniture around, decorating, and photography. Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to learn how to crochet-fingers crossed.

It's your turn. What do you do to stay refreshed? What do you enjoy doing? Leave a comment below.

31 Days::Relax, Refresh, Reload {Day 23}

2011-10-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

This week I'm going to share tips and tidbits of ways in which we can stay strengthened as we are on this journey.

We are in the home stretch of 31 Days of Homeschooling Tips and Tidbits. Thanks for sharing a part of your day to read along, and share your tips and encouraging comments to myself and others.

31 Days::I Will Survive {Day22}

2011-10-22T18:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks for reading along, and sharing as I covered a few topics within our great juggling act over the past two weeks. Hope you enjoy the video!

Find the 31 Days Series Here.

31 Days::Linky Party {Day 21}

2011-10-21T05:00:00.004-05:00

It's a Linky Party Today!! Link up a blog post (old or new) to share recipes and housekeeping tips. Even if you don't have a blog, and would like to join in, leave your recipes and tips in the comment box-I want to hear from you too!:)

This week I introduced you to my friend from '98, and I showed you how she came through for me once again this week. If you have a friend like mine, I think she might be able to do the same for you:)

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings (Oh, Yeah)

Ingredients

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts seasoned with a pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
small onion diced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
4 flaky refrigerator biscuits (choose your brand)

Directions

Place the chicken, butter, cream of chicken, chicken broth, parsley, and onions in the crock pot and cook on high for four to six hours. As the chicken cooks, and becomes tender, pull apart with a fork.

Cut the biscuits into pieces, nice sized chunks, stir them into the Crock Pot, and cook for another hour. (The next time, I will cook my biscuits separately according to the package directions, and add the creamy chicken mixture on top)

Add more chicken broth if you want to make it a little creamer.

Enjoy! It was delicious!!

*I snagged this recipe from Thrifty Decor Chick.

How to link up your post.

If you're a blogger, make sure that you link back here, so that others can join the Party too!

Come on over and share, a party is no fun alone:)

Find the 31 Days Series here.

31 Days::Who Wants A Clean House? {Day 20}

2011-10-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Raise your hand if you want a clean house. Raise your hand if you want it to stay clean all of the time. Raise your hand if it's always clean, all of the time. Any hands still up? My hands are definitely down.

When I first began homeschooling, I was introduced to FlyLady. I learned how to rid myself of CHAOS (Can't Have Anybody Over Syndrome), keep a shiny sink, and the importance of dressing to my shoes in the morning.

I also discovered the magic of 15 minutes and a timer. Whenever it's a family affair to tackle cleaning the house, we work in 15 minute increments per room. Motivating!

Tidbit: On Fridays when school is done, and it's not my big grocery shop weekend, the kids and I complete a quick house cleaning session-15 minutes per room.

I still use many of FlyLady's methods. It's a great feeling to wake up to a clean kitchen, and I can't imagine not having shoes on my feet throughout the day. Is it just me?:)

This is another system that I've used in the past, with a little of FlyLady mixed in, to get the house cleaning conquered. Each day, was assigned a different set of tasks to be completed. I did enjoy cleaning this way because I didn't do one single thing, namely laundry, every day. The book is a small photo album, and I inserted index cards for each day.

If you like this idea, but not the album, I've also used laminated sheets with a vis-a-vis wet erase marker. You can check off items when they're completed.

So far this year, I've put my book away. I know, not me, the planner and lover of lists. I've thought about using it again, but I haven't yet.

My ckecklist this year for cleaning has been living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and two loads of laundry a day. I don't want Mount Washmore to become unmanageable. For me, this way has been simple, stress free, I don't have CHAOS, and I leave all of the heavy stuff for the weekend. By heavy stuff, I mean the mopping, dusting, and helping my girls with their bedroom.

It also helps tremendously that the kids have chores each day that they complete, and my two oldest are able to do their own laundry-I still do the whites:)

Prettyfying my laundry room also makes laundry more enjoyable. I added a bookshelf and shelves from IKEA, and cut up a shower curtain to make some drapes.

Those are my tips and tidbits for housecleaning.

I know that I still have my moments, but I'm reminded when I do.

Linky Party. Here. Tomorrow. Come on over and share recipes, cleaning and chore systems.

31 Days::Dinner T's and T's {Day 19}

2011-10-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

It's 5 o'clock, and what's for dinner? That's the last question that I want to ask myself when the dinner bell chimes. How do you prepare for dinner after spending your day teaching, doing laundry, chasing cheerios, cleaning up the spilled milk, clipping coupons, driving to and from classes, and tackling dust bunnies? In that order, of course:) Here are a few tips and tidbits to get dinner on the table even after a day like the one I described.

Start with a plan.

Use a pen, a keyboard, or a typewriter, but start with a plan. For dinner, that plan is a menu.

I have a recipe binder, it's a hot mess right now, where I keep monthly menu charts, and it's filled with recipes that we love.

This binder is a starting point for me to figure out what we'll eat for a week, two weeks, or a month. I was in the habit of planning for a month, but when life happened I went back to my weekly menu. Some weeks I make our menu plan according to what's on sale at the grocery store, and those purchases are even better when I have coupons.

Having a plan, is especially helpful when hectic days arise. They will. They do!

Tip: Simple Menu Plan

Monday-Chicken recipe; make enough for leftovers because tomorrow we're busy
Tuesday-Leftovers
Wednesday-Pasta Night (Spaghetti, Alfredo, Lasagna,...)
Thursday-Breakfast for Dinner
Friday-Fast Food in the Kitchen(Pizza (homemade or frozen, sloppy joes, burgers, hotdogs)

October 2010

I know that once-a-month cooking seems daunting, but the reward is having a freezer full of food already prepared.

To prepare for a once-a-month cook you'll need to write out all your recipes to prepare your shopping list.

If you don't have the time to prepare that amount of food at once here are some tips:

Double a recipe that you are having for dinner. Freeze the other for another day.
If you purchase 5lbs of ground beef (any quantity you choose), go ahead and cook it, divide it into portions that you would need for a meal (tacos, spaghetti, lasagna)store it freezer containers, and just grab it from the freezer when you need it.
If you purchase a large quantity of chicken, go ahead and season it according to the recipe that you need it for, divide it into portions, store in a freezer container, defrost in the fridge the day before you need it.

I promise, I don't use butter in a meatloaf:)

These are small tips that add up to huge time savers. Recently, I purchased 5lbs of ground beef and prepared chili, two meat loafs that I stored in the freezer, and cooked a portion to be used later in the month for spaghetti. This week I used the last meat loaf for dinner. It was a busy Monday, after a busy weekend, and I was so thankful that I had it in the freezer.

Tidbit: A constant on our menu every week is Breakfast-for-Dinner. (Pancakes, Grits, Eggs, Bacon)

Tip: Insert your recipe in a page protector, hole punch, and hang on a cabinet with a suction clip. This keeps me from looking up and down when preparing a meal using a recipe. I found this to be especially helpful when I did once-a-month cooking. Recipes were hanging from every door:)

You have to meet one of my dearest friends in the kitchen. We go waaayyy back:) We met in '98, and we've been friends through thick and thin. Do you have a friend like this?

She makes everything ALL RIGHT! This is what she made last night. Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings. YUMMY:)

This is another one of my sweet kitchen friends. She hasn't been in my life as long as my other friend, but she is great too. I can send all of my questions to her whenever someone wants to know what's for dinner. No matter how many times that questioned is asked in a given day, she is always there with a response:)

This is how we became friends.

Those are my tips and tidbits for getting dinner on the table.

If all fails, there's always oatmeal and toast!

How do you get dinner on the table? Leave a comment below.

Don't forget-Linky Party on Friday. Get your recipes ready!!

Find the 31 Days Series here.

The Weekly Homeschool Planner {Winner}

2011-10-18T08:39:00.000-05:00

And the winner of The Weekly Homeschool Planner is:

Congratulations, Kara!

31 Days::Lunch Express {Day 18}

2011-10-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

I have a sweet friend that homeschooled and actually "cooked" a hot lunch everyday. I know, I had the same look on my face too:) My idea for lunch is a sandwich, coupled with fruit or carrot sticks on the side.

Well, one day this sweet friend had us over for lunch, provided a hot "cooked" lunch, and my kiddos were hooked. Thanks, friend. Believe me, there's not a hot lunch around everyday, and sandwiches are still on the menu.

By having a menu, it helps with grocery shopping, and it takes the guessing out of what's for lunch. And yes, we have be known to have oatmeal and toast for lunch:)

Here's a snap of the full chart for serving, and our lunch and breakfast menu.

Tomorrow, I'll share tips and tidbits for beating the 5pm shuffle-Dinner.

Have any tips for serving up lunch? Leave a comment below.

On Friday, we'll have a Linky Party to share recipes, and tips for juggling chores and cleaning.

31 Days::What's Cookin'-Breakfast {Day 17}

2011-10-17T16:27:00.005-05:00

When it comes to the juggling act, I need a plan for almost everything. Although, I have plans, I
still allow myself room for flexibility. I did not always have this flexibility. If we had a plan, I figured that we should follow it with no ifs, ands, or buts.

Yeah, that never goes well, and can lead to stress for everybody. A great deal of stress. So, take it from me, and remember flexibility.

By nature, I'm a planner, organizer, list-checker, no-clutter wanting somebody. That's just me. I tend to have plans rolling around in my head often. I can't even tell you how many times I've rearranged my living room furniture, but that's another post;)

In planning for this year, I had an idea to promote serving one another in our home-particularly in the kitchen. Not only is the goal serving one another, but an opportunity to develop valuable life skills that each of my kiddos need. I didn't learn how to set a table with the basics until I was well in my 20's. Sure, I wasn't deprived by not knowing this skill, but it's something I want my children to learn while their young. My six-year old has a couple years of table setting under her belt.

Our plan is simple and flexible. Simple enough so that everyone can prepare something from the breakfast menu, and flexible enough if mom forgot to buy something at the store, or if the kiddos have eaten all of the bananas to make the banana bread. Everyone knows what's expected of them on each day. I've tried to take the guessing out of what's for breakfast, and the repeated mutterings of 'oatmeal, again'.

Tip: When I have time, or schedule the time, I'll make banana bread, muffins, biscuits, and/or breakfast biscuit cups to freeze. Also, if we're having pancakes for dinner or breakfast, I'll prepare the entire box of mix, stack the pancakes by 3's and put four groups into a ziploc freezer bag, and freeze.

So, that's what's cookin', or in the refrigerator, for our breakfast for champions.

What's your breakfast routine? Leave a comment below.

The Planner Giveaway is still open for entries! Go, enter!

Find the 31 Days Series Here.

31 Days::The Juggling Act Part Two {Day 16}

2011-10-16T17:53:00.000-05:00

This week we get to talk about juggling things around the house-the cooking and the cleaning.I will share with you tips and tidbits of how I attempt to get things done, and not serve my family oatmeal and toast everyday.

We'll have a Linky Par-tay on Friday to share recipes, chore systems, and cleaning tips. This should be fun!! If you don't have a blog, you can still party with us by sharing in the comments section.

WOW, it's Day 16! We're at the half-way mark of this series. Thank you for reading along, your encouraging comments, and sharing your experiences.

The Weekly Planner GIVEAWAY is still open, so go, leave a comment to enter.

Find the 31 Days Series here.

31 Days::Brown Patches {Day 15}

2011-10-15T06:50:00.002-05:00

I've wanted to explain the title of this blog for a long time, and I think this week's topic-The Juggling Act Part I-is the perfect opportunity. So what does The Joys of Homeschooling mean? How did you come up with that title? Do you have joy flowing like a river while you homeschool your children each day?

I started this blog back in 2008 with the purpose of blogging about our year with Tapestry of Grace, which was our new curriculum at the time. If you've heard of Tapestry of Grace (TOG), you'll know that it's one of the best programs, in my opinion, with history as its core-using the Classical Christian method in units of study, and a biblical worldview.

Also during this time, I was leading a small group of homeschoolers, and on our agenda each month I had section that I called...The Joys of Homeschooling. We would discuss various topics during this time that centered around everyday homeschooling issues that we all have-the brown patches. How do you get everything done? What do you do when character problems arise? How do you keep a preschooler busy? How do you organize your day?

And, the blog began with the title The Joys of Homeschooling.

Believe me, I do not have joy flowing like a river while I homeschool my children each day. By joy, I mean what most would equate to joy. A wide smile, showing all of my teeth at once, and a glowing light illuminating around me.

Knowing that God has given me what I need for this season in my life gives me joy. The joy that I need to get through the brown patches. The joy that I need that reminds me of what's most important as we have been given three precious gifts to disciple.

I love sharing about our weekly highlights, the science experiments, the field trips, and all of the fun things that we do. But, we have them. The brown patches. We all have them at some point or another.

The Joys of Homeschooling is what I call them around here. Although we have brown patches, and some patches have grown better than others, if we continue on our journey, on the path that has been set before us, those brown patches will become green.

Do you have brown patches? Leave a comment below.

Find the entire 31 Days Series here.

Honey for a Child's Heart {WINNER}

2011-10-14T07:40:00.001-05:00

I wish that I could give you all a copy of this book!! Check it out at the library, and then get you a copy to highlight, rabbit-ear pages, and stick post-it notes everywhere:)

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Regina!

31 Days::Tidbit {Day 14}

2011-10-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

In juggling my great big o' list, there are many days when I come up way short with the things on my to-do list. On those days, I'm thankful for a husband who doesn't mind if we have oatmeal and toast for dinner, who doesn't care if the house is not spotless, and it's perfectly okay that I don't greet him with pearls and heels when he's home at the end of his day(not that I ever wear those, but you get the point).

He definitely keeps me grounded, and reminds of the things that are most important. It has been a comfort to me over and over again, when I've wanted to give up, that the one who said absolutely not in the beginning has always encouraged me to keep going.

How do you keep going? Leave a comment below.

Find the 31 Days Series here.

31 Days::Schooling Year Round {Day 13}

2011-10-13T11:13:00.000-05:00

In my neck of the woods, we are required to complete 180 days of school each year. How the 180 days are scheduled are left up to us to decide. During our first few years of homeschooling, I followed our old school district's traditional schedule. It was simple, and I wanted to keep things simple.

However, when the months of January, especially February, rolled around we were all experiencing burn out. I don't think there is a cure all to burn out, but switching from a traditional to a year-round schedule has allowed more breaks in our schedule and the possibility to fend off burn out-to some extent.

January and February are still hard months for us. I would attribute it to the warm, relaxing Christmas season ending, snowy, dreary days, and those books don't smell as new as they did at the beginning of the year.

Many homeschoolers choose a year-round schedule, and that schedule can look differently for each family. Our year-round calendar begins in the hot, sizzling month of July. We're still able to do all of the fun things that summer brings, and hit the books as well.

We take the last week of August off through Labor Day.

In October, we look forward to a fall break. That break this year will happen towards the end of the month when I know that I'll need a break after this series.

November's break is centered around Turkey Day, and the time off varies if we visit family or not.

We take one or two weeks off in December. Last year, it was a great feeling to have already completed 100 days of school. We're not going to be at that point this year because we started in August.

Then comes the snow, cabin fever, and more snow.

In the months of February and April we take a week off. Our year wraps up at the end of May.

Sprinkled throughout our year are days off for birthdays, days off when we need a break, or days off when mom can't get a substitute.

Do you have a year-round, traditional, or make it up as you go school calendar? Leave a comment below.

Find the 31 Days Series here.

Today is the last day to enter this GIVEAWAY.

31 Days::Planner GIVEAWAY {Day 12}-CLOSED

2011-10-12T06:38:00.001-05:00

In my excitement about this GIVEAWAY, I forgot that it was supposed to be Friday's post. But, that's okay, and I'm still excited to be able to have another giveaway. Yesterday, I talked about planners, and today's giveaway is a Weekly Homeschool Planner! Yay!!

Jolanthe, from Homeschool Creations, is the generous sponsor of today's giveaway. The Weekly Homeschool Planner will help you organize your day and record your daily learning-year after year. Additional forms help you keep track of testing results, evaluations, and special events. The planner is in a PDF form, and can be personalized to fit your family's needs.(taken from Jolanthe's Weekly Planner site)

Here's how to enter to win:

Click here and Like The Weekly Homeschool Planner on Facebook. Leave a comment to let me know that you did. (Required)
If you're not on Facebook, no problem, leave a comment below:)

Not required to enter, but feel free to share this giveaway with others. They'll just need to come here to enter.

If you purchase The Weekly Homeschool Planner between October 11-17, and your name is drawn as the winner of this giveaway, Jolanthe will give you a refund!

Entries close Monday, Oct.17th. The winner will be announced next Tuesday, October 18th. If you don't have a blog, please leave your email address when you enter, so that I'm able to contact you.

Find the 31 Days Series here.

31 Days::Planners {Day 11}

2011-10-11T08:19:00.000-05:00

24 hours in a day, and they seem to slip away as soon as I lace up my shoes to begin my day. I some times joke with my auntie by asking her if she has any leftover minutes that I can borrow to wrap up my day.

Having some sort of planner helps me tremendously in organizing our year, weekly lesson plans, and daily activities. Not to mention planning all of the other things that need to get done. It also helps when the three O's want to sneak up.

Here are a few planner ideas:

I've been somewhat using my calendar on my cell phone. It's useful when we're at the doctor's office scheduling the next visit, or whenever I don't have my huge planner tagging along and need to schedule an appointment/meeting.

I prefer a month-at-a-glance type planner. It helps me to see the bigger picture, and not just what's going on in a single day. I can easily say, sure I can do such-and-such a thing today, but never realizing that the next couple of days I have commitments that may take me away from home and/or school.

Day planners have also been in the mix of planners that I've used. I would simply transfer the big picture from a month-at-a-glance planner into a day planner. Having a day planner can allow add-ins such as from 3:00-4:00 on Wednesday, clip coupons(something that I really need to do).

We also have this calendar that we keep up in the school area for marking when library books due, school vacation days (it's nice to see when we have time off), birthdays, classes, etc. All of the important stuff:)

If you don't have some sort of planner, Donnayoung.org is a great website to check out for free planners tailored to the needs of homeschooling moms.

And, tomorrow there will be another GIVEAWAY, and it's planner related:)

What type of planner do you prefer? Leave a comment below.

31 Days::The O's of Homeschooling {Day 10}

2011-10-10T07:11:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not talking about the Oprah or Overstock of homeschooling. I'm talking about the big O's. You know those O's. They usually follow each other around.

OVERcommitted

OVERscheduled

So OVER It

Over-committed: one must learn to say no. It can be really hard at first, but after a few tries, and looking into the eyes of the ones that you promise to educate each day, it will become easier. Ask me how I know?

Overs-scheduled: one would not become over-scheduled if one is not over-committed. Sure, play dates, classes, coops, piano, soccer, swim, basketball, karate, and many other extras are great. But, if you're beginning to squeeze school out, or you're screamin' at the kiddos to get out of the door so we're not late-again, you might be a tad over-scheduled. Ask me how I know?

So Over It: one would not become So Over It with homeschooling, if one is not over-committed or over-scheduled. Always remember why you began homeschooling, and this should lead you back to the basics with a few activities sprinkled in here and there. Ask me how I know?

Have those three O's ever followed you around? How did you get rid of them? Leave a comment below.

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY. Entries close on Thursday at midnight:) The winner will be announced Friday morning.

31 Days::Not Alone {Day 9}

2011-10-09T15:42:00.001-05:00

You are not alone when it comes to the lists of things that we juggle as homeschooling moms. Here are just a few job titles on my resume:

Teacher

Nutritionist

Meal Planner

Fashion Consultant

Hair Dresser

Professional Cleaner

Recreation Director

Taxi Driver

Interior Decorator

Disciplinarian

Counselor

Anything similar to your resume? I'm not sure about you, but I can add many more things to the list that I attempt to juggle each day.

As homeschooling moms, we often find ourselves juggling more than one thing at a time. We are some of the best multi-taskers EVA!:) We can teach three children, prepare a meal, encourage a friend, kiss a boo boo, rangle a missing toddler, put a baby down for a nap, all in the space of an hour.

There are days, just as a juggler, when we are able to keep it all going at the same time. However, there are days when it all begins to unravel and falls down. Do we give up? Do we seek ways to get it all going again? Which thing do we pick up first to start again? Where do we find the strength that we need to do this all over again the next day?

This week I will share tips and tidbits of ways in which I attempt to juggle the responsibilities of all of my job titles along with being a homeschooling mom.

Tomorrow we'll talk about the three O's. I'm sure you've heard of them!

Find the 31 Days Series here.

31 Days:: Day in the Life {Day 8}

2011-10-08T06:00:00.004-05:00

This is a re-post, but definitely fitting for the 31 Days topic for this week: A New Direction.

All days are not the same.

Some days there are tears, or lots of laughing.

Some days everyone is diligent, and others when everyone has to be separated.

Some days I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry, and others only up to my ankles.

Some days I go to bed at 8pm, and there are others when I regret staying up too late forgetting that I'm not 18 anymore.

All days are not the same.

One question that I'm often asked is how do you do it. My short answer is doing my best to stay organized. The long answer...keep reading.

Rise and shine. This school year my rise and shine time is 6 o'clock a.m. YAWN! It's only a big yawn if I get into bed after 10pm. In the past, I've wanted to get exercise time finished in the morning, but this year I made a switch. Instead, I get dressed to my shoes (Flylady), have my Bible and prayer time, and start a load of laundry. If I get up late, there are days when I do, I will just get dressed and/or listen to a sermon from sermonaudio.com, pray, or put on some gospel music. There is a noticeable difference in my day, at least the first part of it, when I don't spend some time in my Bible and prayer in the mornings. Everyone is different, but that's how it goes for me.

By the time 7am rolls around, it's time to roll the kids out of bed for their morning chores and breakfast. After they're done, it's time for their own Bible and prayer time. If I know that we've had a late night, and we're not starting school until 9am or later, we will just pray together. Yes, there are days when we don't pray, and head on to our school work, or out the door if we have an early appointment. Gotta keep it real because we are not perfect.

School begins at 8am with Bible (My Father's World-MFW), scripture memorization box, and prayer. I'm praying that I don't hit a bump in the road with the Fall back time and then Spring ahead. We are all much more productive in the mornings, and that starting at 9am went to 9:30 and sometimes 10!

After Bible time is over, ProGamer (8th grade) and Raven (4th grade) begin their independent work in Language Arts subjects: English, vocabulary, spelling and cursive. Starfire(1st grade) we work on handwriting, phonics, and she grabs a snack.

While she's grabbing a snack from her snack bag, I check in on ProGamer and Raven to see if they need help with anything. If not, I review work that they've completed and call them over if they have any errors to review.

Around 9:00, it's time for Math. Because we use Math-U-See, a new concept is introduced each week and reviewed for as long as the student needs in order to master that concept. This has helped tremendously with our math time because we are not learning a brand new concept each day. It also helps because most weeks, I'm only teaching a new concept to one child at a time and just reviewing or checking work on the other days. ProGamer uses the entire block for his lesson for the day, and Raven and Starfire continue the math hour with math related games that we have.

MFW is up next. Monday begins the week in MFW. On Monday, I review what we'll be learning for the week, and individual reading assignments. We begin our time working on things that are learned/discussed together, and then complete independent assignments.

While the older two are completing assignments for MFW, I have reading time with Starfire(1st grade).
*ProGamer is not with us for MFW anymore. He's taking a World Geography and Culture class.

Before we break for lunch, Latin is done, and I complete reading with Raven (4th grade)

Lunch. Everybody eats.

Afternoon
ProGamer(8th grade) will continue his studies in science, writing, and complete assigned work from his public speaking class. For these subjects, I review with him for tests if applicable, or review his work before returning to his class the following week. He also meets with me one day a week for Logic which we both enjoy.

Science with Raven(4th Grade)-Three days a week.

Art and music are scheduled with MFW and can be completed through our MFW morning block. However, if we need to we can complete any projects in the afternoon-especially the cooking projects.

The afternoon time is also spent completing any morning work, and then heading outside for P.E. if the weather is nice.

Our school day ends around 1ish most days for my younger two, and my 8th grader well...we've had a varied range of when he's finished for the day.

When we have activities/classes outside of our home, the day could be longer, shorter, or overall modified:)

Later Afternoon
Down time for everyone. I may throw in another load of laundry, blog, check email, make appointments, return a phone call, exercise, take a nap...

We start our EVENING chores at 4pm. I should put away the laundry, and clean whatever is on my list for the day. My priorities for cleaning during the week, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two loads of laundry a day. Simple and less stress. All of the other: mopping, dusting, cleaning light fixtures, wiping down cabinets and such, can wait until the weekend.

Dinner is at 6pm followed by cleanup, family worship, showers, a book or TV, and bed time. Lights out for the girls at 8pm, the son at 9pm, the mama at 10pm, and the daddy at 11pm.

And then, we do it all over again tomorrow. Did I mention that all days are not the same?

Find the 31 Days Series here!

Enter to win in this week's GIVEAWAY!

31 Days::Giveaway-Closed {Day 7}

2011-10-07T05:00:00.006-05:00

On Day 2, I mentioned a book that I'm currently reading, and can't seem to put down. That book is Honey For A Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt, and it's the GIVEAWAY for today.

Here's how to enter for a chance to win this wonderful book:

Subscribe to Joys of Homeschool (right sidebar, and click subscribe), leave a comment to let me know that you did.
Blog about this giveaway, leave a comment below to let me know that you did
Leave a comment below as many times as you would like.
Each comment counts as one entry.

*You don't need a blog to win, but I will need your email address in the comments box*

I will select a winner via Random.org on Friday, October 14th.

Find the 31 Day Series here!

Thank you so much for sharing your stories, what works for you, and for reading along as I share tips and tidbits of our homeschooling journey. More to come next week!

31 Days::A Place for Everything {Day 6}

2011-10-06T05:00:00.012-05:00

Save yourself some time and ~~money~~ time. I hang my keys in the same place 99% of the time, but ask me if I have a pen on my desk. 99% of the time I don't. I have to get up, look around on the other desk, on the school table, behind my ear, in my pocket, on the floor, under the desk, or go in the craft closet and get a new one.

Imagine doing this, every day, all day, for everything, especially when it's time for school. Now, SCREAM. Use your inside voice:)

It's hard to get things done when you don't have the proper tools. I work hard in this area, but I always seem to come up a little short of a pair of scissors, a pen, or a glue stick.

Here are some of the the ways in which I've tried to make sure that everything has a place so that I can find it better. Sorry, I can't help with a pen solution:)

My Desk:
Attendance records, weekly lesson plan folders, DVDs for subjects that have them-all right here every day. I can find them.

Paper Station
Completed work tray for each kiddo, and a date stamp for them to use before putting their work in the tray. I'm glad they can help me remember to change it! When it's time for me to check their work for the day, and/or grade papers all of my teacher's manuals are in one place. Huge time saver. Not only do I know where they are to check work, I can find them when it's time to teach a subject. Also, on the paper station desk is our My Father's World book basket. I can't forget to mention that this year I am filing their completed graded work, the set of files on the left, for an end of the year portfolio. My goal is to file the papers each quarter, and not let them pile up until the end of the year.

Each of my kiddos has their own bucket for holding pencils, markers, scissors, and glue sticks. Yes, they still misplace pencils JUST like me and those pens. *Sigh*

Everyone has their own shelf for school books. When it's time to learn they can find them:)

Behind that door in that picture up there is what I call the craft closet. This is where I keep our weekly file folders for the year, file folder games, manipulatives, crafty supplies, and extra pens. The 3-drawer storage bins below each hold math and reading extras, handwriting supplies, glue sticks, more crafty supplies, and pens:)

I also have another bookshelf, not pictured, for all of our My Father's World books and science materials.

Those are my tips to make sure that we can find things when we need them.
Have some tips you'd like to share? I'm all ears for keeping up with a pen:) Leave a comment below.

31 Days::Lesson Plans {Day 5}

2011-10-05T05:00:00.055-05:00

My definition of Lesson Plans: (noun or verb) details of what we will accomplish in a week.

First Grade
I use quarter planning sheets from DonnaYoung's site, that I talked about yesterday, for math and phonics.

I take those out and input the info into the week's lesson plan form.(scroll down until you see Plan List - A Rower Planner)
At the top of this sheet, I also include any games to take out for the week to reinforce concepts. On the side there is additional space for me to write down any supplies that are needed.

Last week, I put together a math box, and phonics box that includes other activities/games for her to use if I'm working with Raven or ProGamer.

Fourth Grade
Thanks to the planning sheets included with MFW, I only have to plan for spelling, reading, English, math, and Latin. Last week, I put together a box of games to reinforce concepts that we've learned, or are currently learning.

Eighth Grade
ProGamer takes four classes in a coop like setting, so that leaves me with planning for Latin, grammar and composition, math, vocabulary, and logic. I also plug in his assignments for his coop classes.

Both my fourth and eighth grader have assignment notebooks. There are pockets inside labeled:
Assignment sheet, and Monday-Friday folders.

I include their assignment sheet, and any maps or activity sheets for the week. In the past, before we used workboxes(not using them this year for 4th and 8th grader), I inserted all of their worksheets from the workbooks that would be used this week. Because, they are older, I only list the page number on the assignment sheet, and they gather the workbook needed from their assigned shelf.

Finding the time for preparing:
Last year, I planned mostly on Fridays, and any other time that I could add in. This year, I have an hour on Tuesdays, and I finish up on Thursdays. It also helps to have the weekly folder system. I can always grab the next week's folder and begin adding assignments. That has really helped.

What are your lesson planning tips? Leave a comment below.

31 Days::Planning for the Year {Day 4}

2011-10-04T05:00:00.001-05:00

I don't necessarily have to plan for every single subject for the year, but I do still plan to make sure that we are going in the right direction. So what's the deal with all of this planning, and how do you do it? Well, here is the way that I plan for our year:

A calendar is the first tool that I use in planning out our year. I've been a fan of DonnaYoung since the beginning of our homeschooling days. We have Homeschool Tracker, but the computer that it's installed on was giving us grief, so pen and paper was the answer. I use the Blue and 12 month calendar. The one that's labeled "school calendar" is used to mark our start and end date, I highlight our planned days off, and I keep track of the end date for each quarter. Because I'm not using HS Tracker this year, the other calendar will be used to mark attendance simply with the letter "p".

Our school attendance record, and grade recording forms are left on my desk. I made our grade recording forms for this year. Each child has a form for each subject. The forms include grids for four quarters. Simple. If I want a nice-looking record at the end of the year, I'll just plug the info into HS Tracker.

Curriculum is decided upon and bought at the end of each school year. Typically, I purchase our books in April and/or May. We're year rounders, which for us means we start school in July, end in May, and take breaks throughout the year. I usually take our curriculum out to begin the planning adventure in June. I think I should insert here to let your curriculum be your guide, and believe me when I say that there is no such thing as the "Curriculum Police".

Instead of aiming to complete an entire workbook, begin with setting goals for your children. That light bulb moment didn't happen for me until after a couple of years of doing this. Some of our goals do include complete Math U See Delta, but that doesn't mean every.single.page.in.the.workbook. Sure, I don't want hard earned money going down the drain, but from experience I've learned that finishing a book it's not my measuring stick.

Okay, so now I have my curriculum purchased, and goals are in place. Next up is figuring out how to get everything set up for the year. When I used Tapestry of Grace, all of the planning was let up to me. I set up file folders labeled TOG 1-36. Each week's file folder included a lesson plan sheet, maps, supply lists for projects, and anything else that was needed for that week. Well, that proved to be a great system, and I still use it. Because we're using My Father's World (MFW), the lesson plans are done for me. Yes, that can cause me to jump up and down. I've simply printed two copies of the lesson plan sheet for each week, and placed them into that week's folder.

Lesson plans for two or three weeks in advance is a perfect fit for me. There were years that I did lesson plans for the entire year in advance, but I found myself undoing things if we got behind. Not fun.

For Starfire, my 1st grader, I did complete Quarter Planning sheets for the year for math and phonics.

I'm using a selection of books for these two subjects, and I needed to plan to make sure that I will cover everything that we need to. I found last year, that quarterly plans for her, helped with weekly lesson plans. By knowing ahead of time what concepts are covered in a quarter, I'm able to make sure that I have the correct enrichment activities in her workboxes each day to reinforce what we're working on.

Now that I have planning for the year finished, it's time to plug everything in for the week. Tomorrow.

How do you plan for the year? Have any tips that you'd like to share? Leave a comment below.

31 Days::Amazing Academics {Day 3}

2011-10-03T05:00:00.006-05:00

I enjoy talking about what curriculum others are using. I want to be in the loop with what's new, what's changed, and what the best programs are. I don't know where the Lord will lead my children, but I want them to be prepared for whatever that may be.

When we first began homeschooling, I knew that we would have bible reading each day, but that wasn't my primary focus. Yes, I did just say that. And, that's the truth. I felt pressured, applied by myself, to make sure that my son would produce even better grades and work than he did when he went to public school. At the end of the first year, I had him tested and was blown away by the results. Those results would become my validation. Besides, I could just shoot off those results to anyone that had questions about our decision to homeschool.

Then I heard someone say..."You're academics are why we hired you, your character is why we fired you!"

After hearing that, I knew that our focus would change. Of course the reading, writing, and arithmetic would still be a priority, but it wasn't only about the academics.

I remember my husband and I attended a homeschool support group meeting in which everyone shared their favorite curriculum. Sweet! There were some great things shared, but what stuck out the most was a mom sharing what they used for Bible time. Others began to share as well. Timely. Answered prayer. Thank you God.

Recently, I made some simple changes to our schedule. Not changes exactly, but flexibility. Sure, I want to start school at 8am sharp, but it's more important to make sure that I'm training my children about the importance for them to have their own Bible and prayer time in the morning -before we start school. Reading God's Word, and spending time in prayer far exceeds our amazing academics. I know that they can read and pray at anytime throughout the day, but I began to notice that as the day would go on and the evening hours approached, that important time was being squeezed out.

So, what do we use/do for Bible time? I think I should mention that we don't do every.single.thing.every.single.day:) Some days we may only pray.

Pray
Recite the Apostles' Creed
Scripture Memory Box
This year we are using My Father's World, which includes weekly scripture memory verses, as well as weekly readings from the Bible and A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God by Patricia St. John.
Memorize catechism questions
I might read from these
We also have great discussions!

Here are a few other resources that we've used:
Training Hearts Teaching Minds by Starr Meade
Building Christian Character from Teacher Created Resources
Bible Stories to Read, Rod and Staff
Devotions for the Children's Hour by Kenneth Taylor

Want to share what you're using? Leave a comment below.

If you're just joining in for 31 Days, here's {Day 1} and {Day 2}

31 Days::Choices {Day2}

2011-10-02T05:00:00.006-05:00

Thankfully, I wasn't aware of ALL of the choices to consider as we headed in this new direction. I had not heard of Charlotte Mason, the Classical Christian method, the traditional method, the eclectic method, the unit study method, the unschooling method, and I'm sure there are a few methods that I missed. Did I mention that we had to choose a curriculum too? HAHA!

I'd heard of Abeka, and I'm not sure how I stumbled upon Bob Jones Press, but that is what we used our first year. Everything that I needed was in the box. It was a perfect fit for us, at that time.

The next year, I still hadn't hear about ALL of the choices available, and we only stepped out of the box, our curriculum box, for a few changes. It was a perfect fit for us, at that time.

How do you decide what schooling method to follow, what curriculum is best, or should we sit in desks or cozy up on the sofa?

You simply choose what is a perfect fit for YOUR family.

Here are some of my personal favorite go-to-resources that I have referred to when making decisions about curriculum.

The Educated Child by William Bennett

The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer

100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt (I just recently picked this up, and can't put it down)

My last favorite go-to resource:

Remember to choose the perfect fit for YOUR family.

What are some of your favorite resources?

Welcome to 31 Days::A New Direction {Day 1}

2011-10-01T05:20:00.004-05:00

I was on the sidelines of a conversation that I did not want to take part in. On my way to a women's breakfast with some of those people that homeschooled their children. I listened as they spoke about what they were doing, how they enjoyed homeschooling, shouting out websites with information, and so on.

As they continued chattering away, I distinctly remember saying out loud in my mind that they were crazy. I could never imagine doing that. I had plans. We had plans. Being a stay at home mom was great and all, but once Starfire turned five I was back on my way to college to complete my teacher certification, and begin my career as a, cough, teacher.

We were experiencing some growing pains in our public school with ProGamer, who was our oldest at the time and our only child that went to a public school. Two years of pain, and days filled with tears would bring us to our knees. Changes needed to be made.

Even as I listened to that conversation, that seemed to never end with those people, it never occurred to me that soon we would be heading in a new direction. As my husband and I began to discuss what our options were, homeschooling rolled off my tongue as one of those options. I couldn't believe that I said it either! At the time we had many changes going on in our lives. We were still adjusting to a new environment, we had a seven year old, a three year old, and oh yeah, I was pregnant with our third.

We had no clue what homeschooling was, how it would fit into our lives, and let's not forget we had plans to consider. My husband's answer was absolutely not. However, I couldn't let go of the positive things that were said about homeschooling from those people in the car on that Saturday, and I had remembered some of the websites that they mentioned. I began to research to find out more. The more I read, the louder the call to homeschooling became. As I read and learned, I shared each day with my husband. We still had questions, and we didn't have any walking, breathing models around us to talk to, but the call was soon being heard by him as well.

One morning as he was preparing to leave for work, he awakened me to say that we were going to homeschool. The call was the loudest and clearest that I had ever heard it before. We were definitely heading in a new direction. The year was 2004!

What's your story? When did you begin this journey? Leave your comment below.

Click here for the 31 Days Series.

31 Days::Countdown

2011-09-29T07:43:00.000-05:00

It's almost October, and that means 31 Days of Tips and Tidbits here at Joys of Homeschool will begin. I hope that you'll have time to stop by, or subscribe. Just scroll down in the right sidebar area and click on the subscribe button, and add us to your reader of choice.

Here's what to expect in October:

Week One:

A New Direction

Week Two:

Juggling Act Part I

Week Three:

Juggling Act Part II

Week Four:

Relax, Refresh, Reload

I'll still blog about learning going around here, and there will be a give-away or two.

MFW 1850-Modern Times Week 5 Highlights

2011-09-28T05:00:00.002-05:00

This week's overall topic was State Capitals. I'm so glad that we have a breather for two weeks. Having this time will help us get nice and settled into our schedule.

Bible
This week's memory verse was 1 Peter 2:24; He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. We officially began copywork for the memory verse this week using printables that I made very last minute. This was also the first week that we used In God We Trust by Timothy Crater and Ranelda Hunsicker. We read about Daniel Webster.

History Focus
More firsts for this week-We began, or should I say, added to our 50 States' Notebook. This week we added Minnesota. Because we learned the states and their locations at the beginning of the year, she knew exactly where to find it on the map, and what the bordering states were.

James Buchanan was added to our President Notebook.

Science
Messy and fun is how I would describe our science experiment this week. When I asked Raven what she enjoyed at the end our day, she responded- science! She absolutely loves science this year! That's one of the reasons why I make sure that we make-up any science days that we might miss. This week's focus was Dissolving and Chemical Changes. Here's the experiment that we completed:

We had to go outside and use the hose to clean up:) Cornstarch was all over the floor, and my mop decided to break as soon as I started mopping. Oh, The Joys of Homeschooling!:)

Literature
We are still reading Courage to Run by Wendy Lawton, and notebooking the chapters. My 8th grader, just began the study guide for The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare.

Latin
MFW recommends a foreign language. We are using Latin for Children, and I'm glad that we are! ProGamer wasn't a fan off the chants when we began, but he now recognizes how beneficial they are in retaining what he's learning. I'd purchased the Clash Cards for a fun way to review words that they learn, and they played it this week for the...first time:)

On Fridays, our days are lighter, and I usually pull out "learning" games. This week I crowded everything around the school table. Raven enjoyed playing another favorite of ours, Logic Links. There are different levels of playing cards, and the age range for playing is through adult. On each card, there are clues that the player must follow to correctly place the chips on the card.

Those are some of our highlights for the week. Not a perfect week, but a great week of learning! Linking the post to the Weekly Wrap-Up @ WUHS, and MFW Weekly Highlights.

31 Days of Homeschooling Tips and Tidbits in October begins on Saturday!

Word Families

2011-09-27T05:00:00.002-05:00

Here's something quick, and simple to put together if you need extra learning aids for phonics. I made these, let's call them word family window cards, for my 1st grader.

What you need:

Cardstock
Marker/Pen
Xacto Knife/Scissors/Small Rotary Cutter(what I used)

With the materials listed above, begin to cut and label your window cards. Follow below.

That's it. Quick, simple, and a great learning aid. To save paper, I made our cards reversible.

MFW 1850-Modern Times Scripture Printables

2011-09-26T06:29:00.001-05:00

Here's another free printable for you. We just started copying the scripture memory verses last week for MFW 1850-Modern using the printable for week five. I left enough room to have a dictation day on Wedensdays, but this week we didn't. However, the plan is to have dictations going forward since we have these sheets to use. Hope that you can use them too!

What you need to do:

Download the file
Print
Make an extra copy of page 14 to use for the longer scriptures-you'll see what I mean:)

31 Days in October

2011-09-23T19:58:00.000-05:00

Join me in October for 31 Days of Homeschooling Tips and Tidbits. This is certainly going to be a challenge for me, but I'm excited to join in. When the Nester had other bloggers to join in with her last year for a 31 Days Series, I began to write down ideas to hopefully one day write a series myself. This year, there will be many more bloggers joining in and writing about what they are passionate about, so I anticipate 31 Days of encouragement and inspiration.

Although I've used the word "series", my 31 Days will be more along the lines of tips and tidbits. Here's what you can expect:

Week One:

A New Direction

Week Two:

Juggling Act Part I

Week Three:

Juggling Act Part II

Week Four:

Relax, Refresh, Reload

I have TWO posts written already, so only 29 more to go:) There will be more info to link up with other bloggers on October 1st, so stay tuned. Darcy, at my 3Boybarians, has a linky set up for 31 Dayers to start joining in now, so you can head over to see what others will be writing about. Side note: If you're into photography, or like me, learning how to take better photos, Darcy wrote a wonderful 31 Days to a Better Photo series last year!

Well, I hope that you will join me in October, and I'll still post about our weekly highlights.

MFW 1850-Modern Times Week 4

2011-09-22T11:04:00.003-05:00

Bible Focus

This week we learned about the life of David Livingston and Hudson Taylor who were both missionaries. Our scripture this week was 1 John 3:16.
*I've been working on scripture printables for MFW 1850-Modern, and will post those as soon as I'm finished.

History Focus

Although we covered the life of David Livingston, and read about the Taiping Rebellion in China, our favorite and activity heavy focus this week was on Italy.

She added the Italian flag country sticker to her book.

We made Pizza Margherita which was named in honor of Queen Margherita when she visited 'Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba'. Each ingredient represents a color of the Italian flag-basil, tomato, and mozarella. Did you know that the first pizzeria was opened in 1830 in Naples, Italy?

Everyone enjoyed a part of the pie making and eating:)

President's Notebook

Franklin Pierce, the 14th President, was added this week.

Literature
We are reading Courage to Run by Wendy Lawton. I decided to put together a lapbook which ~~may~~ did become a notebook to go along as we read. We did a history lesson on slavery in the United States, and I included pockets from the Civil War History Pockets that we didn't use last year. She will create a notebook page for each of the chapters with an illustration, and there are some vocabulary words that will be included for each chapter. I wish that I would have thought about doing this earlier, but some times my best ideas arise when we are working on something.

Raven came up with the idea to type her notebook pages, and I agreed. She did a great job with her summary, and illustration.

This is the pocket that I used for the additional pages above.

Science
That will be in a separate post. We are behind, but I hope to catch up soon. When I originally wrote this post we were behind, but we are catching up. Week four's science was completed today!
This week we learned about the three stages of matter, and water. Here are our experiments. No experiment sheet completed this week, but if you would like to see and/or download what we use click here:)

First up, floating flowers.

We decorated our flowers and insects.

It's a Beetle!

Second experiment

That's definitely a boat. Just nod your head, and say yes along with me:) It worked!

Music
We began listening to The Stories of Foster and Sousa in Words and Music.

First Grade highlights that I took pictures of...
I'm thinking about a separate post for first grade next week.

Phonics

8th Grade. ProGamer is busy this year. I think we worked the kinks out this week with scheduling his work so that neither of us are stressed. He added World Geography and Culture to his course load, and dropped MFW 1850-Modern Times. This course, along with Physical Science, public speaking, and writing, are taken in a co-op type setting each week, but the work is completed at home during the week. Any mamas out there who can give me some advice about adding highschool coursework completed in 8th grade to a transcript, please leave me a comment or email me. I need some help.

Those are our highlights for week four, September 12-16. Linking up with WUHS, and MFW Weekly Highlights. You can visit both of these links to see what other homeschoolers have been working on.

Free Printable: Science Experiment Sheet

2011-09-20T12:26:00.001-05:00

Here is the science experiment sheet that I mentioned last week. Being able to illustrate pictures of the procedures for our science experiments has been helpful for my 4th grader. We're averaging 2-3 experiments each week, and going forward we will only complete one lab sheet per week. I also want to make sure that she has time before the experiment to complete the materials used part of the sheet.

You only need to download, print, and enjoy science!

Dear Summer, You will be missed!

2011-09-19T05:19:00.000-05:00

It all began here, with our Summer Fun Lis t. Although we didn't check every box on our list, we had a great summer. The Nester reminded me that the summers that we have with our children are not long and should be cherished because time goes by all so fast. I know that I've heard that over and over again every since my first child was born. As I see my children growing up before my eyes, that is a reality to me.

So, goodbye summer. We'll see you next year.

Now we will enjoy the crisp air, cool nights, comfort foods, and everything that speaks fall.

MFW 1850-Modern Times: More Week 3 Science

2011-09-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

Catching up on science around here. Our final experiment for Week 3 was a DNA experiment. We also learned about solids, liquids, and gases this week, but our experiment wasn't successful. I think it was because we need a smooth ruler, and ours had a few holes up the sides. I wanted to try this one again, but I wasn't able to find a smooth ruler. The excitement is way up for my 4th grader, and I want to keep it that way! Here are pics of our successful experiment which we titled "Discovering DNA".

We are using the Usborne Internet-linked 100 Science Experiments for most of our experiments. This was included in our MFW Deluxe package.

Chopped onion coated in dish detergent.

Preparing to add denaturated alcohol.

Look closely and you will see white strands floating at the surface. See it! That's the onion's DNA.

Here's Raven's experiment sheet. I will make this science sheet available as a free printable next week.

To see what other homeschooler's are up to, head over to MFW Highlights and the Weekly Wrap @WUHS.

MFW 1850-Modern Times: Week 3

2011-09-12T20:03:00.000-05:00

Here are some of our highlights for week three (August 29-Sept 2).

This week's history topics included Victoria's England, the Sepoy Mutiny and the Crimean War. People that we learned about this week were: Queen Victoria, President Millard Fillmore, and Florence Nightingale.

Timeline figures were added to our timeline notebooks.

We began our president notebooking pages this week. The president cards were purchased at Target in the dollar bin section last year. I will continue to photocopy the picture of the president that we're studying each week to be added to our notebooking pages. We also laminated the page for more durability.

We made a small replica of the Crystal Palace that was used to host the Great Expedition event in 1851.

In science this week, we continued our study about molecules.

In first grade this week...

Reading. Lots of reading.

Linking this post to MFW Weekly Highlights.

Story Cubes

2011-09-07T08:08:00.000-05:00

Another game that I purchased for this year are Story Cubes. A fun game in the tiniest box. I thought that this would be a twist to story telling, creative thinking, and family time.

What are Story Cubes?
Inside the box are nine cubes with a picture on all sides.

How do you play?
Well, there are a few variations included inside the box. Because there are five of us we couldn't divvy up the cubes evenly, so on each turn one person had only one cube while everyone else had two. I usually took one because I was the one holding the camera:)

The first player rolls their cubes, and uses the pictures on those cubes to begin the story. Everyone had an opportunity to be the story starter. After the story begins, the next player rolls their cubes, uses the pictures that are on the cubes, and continues the story. The game continues until the last person has their turn and ends the story.

Imaginations ran wild that night, and for some reason we were always unlocking something, there were explosions, and the stories sometimes ended having no relation to where we started. FUN!

I purchased the game at Amazon.com. The opinions in this post are my own, and I did not receive any compensation or products for this review.

MFW 1850-Modern Times-Week 2 States

2011-09-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

Because this was another week of reviewing the 50 States for us, our highlights are all about science! This week's topics were Elements and Molecules.

What we used:

Dish detergent
Pepper
Food Coloring
Paper Clip
Toothpick
Clear bowls

This week, Raven, opted to draw pictures to illustrate the procedure, so I will work on making her an experiment sheet with boxes to illustrate the steps. I also gained a tip yesterday to complete the materials list on the experiment sheet before completing the experiment. This equals time saver, and less writing on experiment day.

On Fridays, I try to make our days fun with games. On this Friday, or last Friday:), we played Go To the Dump from our RightStart Math Games book. This was more beneficial for Starfire, my 1st grader, and everyone else just played along for fun. The game is played like Go Fish. On your turn, you ask the player to your left if they have a card that would match your card to become a sum of 10. If they don't have the card, they will tell you to Go to the Dump. Starfire uses the abacus to enter the card number that she has, and then counts to see how many more she would need to make a sum of 10. She has been able to memorize some of the sums of 10 facts!

We also had fun playing Monopoly. That's always a fav!

Linking this post to The Weekly Wrap-Up@WUHS, and MFW Weekly Highlights.

Math Meeting Book

2011-08-31T06:00:00.002-05:00

I decided not to continue to use our calendar board. It looked pretty on our wall, but as the school year went on, I found myself at our school table using our mini-office to review daily calendar board items. Many moons ago when we used Saxon Math, we had a math meeting time or math meeting book time. Each day we reviewed math concepts, and we completed our book before we started our lesson. I'm glad that I had not forgotten about it being a great math tool, and a part of math that had been successful. With our math meeting notebook, I was able to incorporate the meeting book, calendar, and mini-office all into one notebook. So, what's inside our notebook:

Month Calendar that my 1st grader completed on the first day of school. Going forward, I'll have her begin the new calendar a few days before the next month begins, and have her complete the days of the week too. I found a blank journal calendar here(scroll down to the blank top calendar without words) I completed the blocks for the days of the weeks, and she filled in the numbers using another calendar as a reference. After she completed it, I had her to write the name of the month, and draw a picture describing August.

Last week, I decided that I will have her complete a pattern for each month. This month's pattern is an AB pattern. This was a skill that we worked on last year, and I thought it might be helpful to continue. September might be an AABB pattern, and each day she will color in the date on the calendar according to the pattern of the month. It will also help in identifying the date. Initially, I was using a dot to indicate that today is August, 25th.

The calendar goes side by side with the main page that we complete each day. I don't have a name for this page:) Before completing this page, we sing the days of the week and months of the year songs. Sometimes, I'll ask how many days are in a week, and how many months are in a year to get her in the habit of not relying on the song. She loves to sing.

On this page:

The Day of the Week

Today's Date

How many days until

Pattern Box (counting, skip counting, shapes, etc.)

Coin Cup (used to count coins from a cup and she enters the amount)

Number of the day (I include a button bag in her notebook each day along with a number card. She then moves the buttons across the line on the bag to complete three addition number sentences)

This page is laminated, and we use an Expo Vis-a-Vis Wet Erase marker. You can see our mini office on the side of the above photo. We use it to spell the day of the week and month of the year to complete this page. I've been writing both for her.

What Time is It?

Initially, I was going to use a mini-clock that we have, and include a section for time on the main page. However, we had this clock in the back of our RightStart Math Games book, so I printed it on cardstock, and attached the clock hands with a brad. I made the What Time is It? page using MS Word, printed it, and then glued the clock to the page and laminated the entire sheet. Each day, I set the clock to the hour, and she enters the time. Telling time to the hour, a quarter past, and half past are goals for this year, and she'll get lots of review.

How many days have we been in school?

I found this page over at Mama Jenn's. Great for reviewing counting skills, skip counting, and writing numbers.

Tally Marks

Counting by 5's is another math goal this year, and this has been a great way to learn. She enters a tally mark for each day that we've been in school. I'll ask her questions such as how many more tally marks do we need to complete this box, or let's count the marks that we have counting by 5's. I also found this page at Mama Jenn's.

Hundreds, Tens, Ones

Place value is another math skill that we'll be working on this year. Although, a lesson has not been formally taught on place value, she is gaining skills in this area. Each day she places a sticker on a ones card according to the number of the days that we have been in school, and places the coordinating number under the sticker card. So the day in the photo, reflects two days of school. When she completes the ones card with 10 stickers, those stickers become 1-ten, and 0-ones. I also found this page Mama Jenn's.

Weather Graph

Another goal this year is learning to read a graph. Each day, she colors a bar to show what the weather is for the day. I ask her questions such as how many sunny days have we had, what weather have we had the most, or how many more sunny days have we had than rainy days. I found the weather graph here.

Skip Counting

These are the last pages in our notebook. Skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's. This is another math goal that we have for the year, and it's been great review each day. The skip counting pages were all found at Homeschool Creations.

That's our Math Meeting Notebook, and we complete it each day before we begin our math lesson. If you have any questions, leave me a comment below and I'll get back to you:)

Don't Panic...

2011-08-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

...like I did last week. After you've worked hard planning for your year, put in hours of thought, talked your husband's ear off, and prayed for wisdom, patience, and guidance, your expectations for a great school year of learning are set high. When attitudes arise, a good night's rest has not been had, or it's just one of those days, you can have a feeling of panic.

That's exactly what happened to me last week. It was time to work on reading with Starfire, my 1st grader, and I was excited about that day's lesson. For I had spent the remaining part of school the day before cutting out paper eggs and finding a hen that would be great for our lesson. It was time for our lesson, and the lesson ended.undone.

We've started school in July for the past three years, with only a short five-six week summer break. That short break doesn't allow for much to be lost that is learned after a school year has ended. This year I knew that I might be faced with multiplications facts forgotten, or having to make up some ground in reading.

In that moment of working on our reading lesson, I automatically knew what it had to be. She had forgotten EVERYTHING, and I needed something DIFFERENT to teach her. What did I do? I reached on my bookshelf, and grabbed some of my go to resources. (The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer and The Educated Child by William Bennett) I scoured through reading lists, and other resources that I could get at the library. I ordered them all.

Well, not only was our reading lesson not complete, Starfire went to her room to take a nap. After a short rest, she came back downstairs, stood by my desk, and began to READ the words that were written on those eggs that I'd prepared for our lesson. It was a miracle-right?! No, she told me that she was tired and needed some rest. We didn't finish our lesson that day, but we completed it on the next. She went on to read the story, use the eggs and the hen, and couldn't wait to share the story with her dad.

Sometimes, okay-many, I find myself feeling inadequate, or missing something, or not having the right curriculum, or this or that when our day might have some bumps. Overlooking the simple things, such as sleep, needing a snack, or taking a break and resorting to panic.

So, run outside and play, finish the lesson tomorrow, turn on some music and dance, but don't panic. Call your husband, YOU take a nap, call a friend, but don't panic.

Cry, pray, or read this post again, but don't-PANIC.

For me lesson learned, and if not, I'll put a sticky note on this post to review when necessary.

Oh, The Joys of Homeschooling!

MFW 1850-Modern Times: Week 1

2011-08-25T19:02:00.002-05:00

Our first week back went well! I will be posting our weeks in the arrears, which will hopefully be easier for me. So here are some highlights of what we did last week-our first week.

My Father's World (MFW) 1850-Modern Times
This week we memorized/reviewed the Northern and Southern States. I'm ready to get to week three where all of the REAL fun begins, but I'm thankful for this gradual move into full weeks ahead. When January rolls around, I will be reminiscing about these sweet, easy starter weeks:)

Bible
No memory verse to add this week, so we reviewed catechism questions from our memory box. We did begin reading from A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God.

Science
This year we, my 4th grader, will study chemistry and physics as planned with MFW. This week Raven learned about atoms, and completed her first experiment about chain reactions using milk and vinegar.

The end result: The chains contained in the milk, casein, curled into a different shape when added to vinegar. We were able to use the solid lumps that were formed to use for a butterfly and Christmas tree mold. I now understand why you can add vinegar to milk if you don't have buttermilk on hand. Cooking is chemistry?!

Other Highlights from our week

Latin
I mentioned in our first day post that Latin began somewhat crunchy-LOL! It became better as the week progressed, and they both did well on their Latin quizzes on Friday. My 1st grader has also been chiming in with the chants. I knew that would happen.

In first grade, Handwriting Without Tears has been a good match for my little lefty. She begins with handwriting each day, and I try to reinforce the concepts of letter strokes that have been introduced as she continues writing in her other subjects.

I ditched our calendar board this year, and opted for a math meeting notebook. I will be posting more about this next week.

Those are our highlights from our first week.

I'm linking this post to MFW Weekly Highlights, and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers Weekly Wrap Up.

A Day in the Life...

2011-08-23T12:11:00.001-05:00

One question that I'm often asked is how do you do it. My short answer is doing my best to stay organized. The long answer...keep reading.

MFW is up next. Monday begins the week in MFW. On Monday, I review what we'll be learning for the week, and individual reading assignments. We begin our time working on things that are learned/discussed together, and then complete independent assignments.

While the older two are completing assignments for MFW, I have reading time with Starfire(1st grade).

Before we break for lunch, Latin is done, and I complete reading with Raven (4th grade)

Lunch. Everybody eats.

Afternoon
ProGamer(8th grade) will continue his studies in science, writing, and complete assigned work from his public speaking class. For these subjects, I review with him for tests if applicable, or review his work before returning to his class the following week. He also meets with me one day a week for Logic which we both enjoy.

Science with Raven(4th Grade)-Three days a week.

Our school day ends around 1ish most days for my younger two, and my 8th grader well... (edited 9/23/2011)
When we have activities/classes outside of our home, the day could be longer, shorter, or overall modified:)

Later Afternoon
Down time for everyone. I may throw in another load of laundry, blog, check email, make appointments, return a phone call, exercise, take a nap...

We start our EVENING chores at 4pm. I should put away the laundry, and clean whatever is on my list for the day. My priorities for cleaning during the week, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two loads of laundry a day. Simple and less stress. All of the other: mopping, dusting, cleaning light fixtures, wiping down cabinets and such, can wait until the weekend.

Dinner is at 6pm followed by cleanup, family devotions, showers, a book or TV, and bed time. Lights out for the girls at 8pm, the son at 9pm, the mama at 10pm, and the daddy at 11pm.

And then, we do it all over again tomorrow.

This post is linked to the NBTS Blog Hop at Heart of the Matter.

Free Printable: 50 States Capital and Cities Hot Dot Cards

2011-08-17T09:43:00.000-05:00

Here's another free printable for you. We'll use these again this year with MFW. These cards are great to use at any time, and best of all they are self-correcting because of the hot dots.

A few suggestions:

Print on heavy card stock
Laminate
Cut them out
Purchase a package of hot dots and pen
Attach a "hot" dot to the correct answer, and a "cold" dot to the incorrect answers.

Our First Day

2011-08-15T13:47:00.000-05:00

It was our first day back to school after a long break. I think I was the most excited-nervous:) You would have thought that this was my first day ever homeschooling. We've been fostering our now 10 month old baby girl since March, and I wasn't quite sure how everything would flow especially with her being mobile.

We started our day at 8 with Bible time, scripture memorization, and prayer. Dad also called just before we began to speak to everyone, and to give a few encouraging words to start our day. That made everyone smile:)

After our time together, the day's schedule was reviewed, assignments were given, books located, and kiddos took off (some slower than others) to begin their assignments.

What we'll work on this week:

ProGamer 8th Grade: Pre-Algebra, My Father's World, reading the Bronze Bow, grammar, Vocabulary from Classical Roots, and Latin.

Raven 4th Grade: Math U See Delta, My Father's World, reading A Little Princess, Abeka Language A, spelling, Bob Jones Reading 3B, and Latin.

Starfire 1st Grade: Math, reading, writing, and phonics.

Favorites today were grammar and spelling. Somewhat crunchy today-Latin. They both felt the chants on the DVD were corny, but after chanting their chapter one list five times-they couldn't believe how much they'd already retained. So yeah, corny-a little, but helpful-YES!

My favorite today was playing Skip Counting Memory from our Math Card Games book by RightStart Math. It was a favorite because my 1st grader and 4th grader could play together while both working on skills appropriate to their grade level. Multiplication was reviewed for 4th grader, and my 1st grader got some practice in skip counting by 2's.

I'm glad to say that our day ended with smiles, a happy baby, and a calmed down Mama!

Our School Room-Simplified

2011-08-08T19:10:00.001-05:00

Only a few changes to our school room this year.

Mom's Desk. Where I do all of my lesson plans, blogging, and checking/grading papers:) Everything that I need in a day to keep me organized stays put here. Our school records, dvds and cds that we're using, my lesson planning book, dry erase markers, date stamp-EVERYTHING. The cute happy face is for Handwriting Without Tears.

Our school table may only get used for crafts and projects this year as everyone has their own space. ProGamer tends to work in his room, Raven wanted to work in our craft/storage room this year, and Starfire has the school desk. I'm sure we'll all be around the table for Bible time, and when I need to work one-on-one with them.

Bookshelves top and below pics are better organized this year. Main bookshelf(the tall one) houses many of our reference books, and each kiddo has their own shelf for this year's school books. I wanted to bring out as many games as I thought we would use this year into clear view. You know, so that I can SEE them and USE them ALL. I've posted about two of our new games here.

In my "craft closet" is where I keep our file folder games, weekly assignment files (hope to post more about this), math manipulatives, craft stuff, pencils, paper, crayons, markers, and the rest of our school supplies.

Finally, one scripture that I want to remember this year is hanging beside my desk:

To see our school room from previous years click here. To visit other Homeschool School Rooms, head over to Heart of the Matter for the "Not" Back to School Blog Hop.

Mission of the Month: August

2011-08-03T16:22:00.001-05:00

Well, July's hefty goals were ALMOST accomplished. No complaining here though as I got a chunk of school stuff done. Here's a recap, and what I got done.

Administrative Goals:

~~Prepare curriculum attachment for my letter of intent~~
~~Mail letter of intent by next Friday~~
~~Finish portfolio binders (almost done)~~

Planning Goals:

~~Complete goals for the school year for each of my kiddos~~
Input subject info into Homeschool Tracker
Record spelling lists into Spell Quizzer for my 4th Grader
~~Prepare quarter planning sheets for 1st Grader~~
Prepare math and reading games

Schoolroom:

Organization all over:)

Not exactly enough to completely chill out next week before our August 15th start date, but enough to keep anxiety at bay. Our main computer was having a few issues, so I went ahead and decided to do record keeping on paper this year. If I want to have a nice, shiny end of year report for everyone, I can just input grades or whatever else into Homeschool Tracker and press print.:)

School room organization is ~~still in progress~~ a mess. While reading through our HWOT 1st grade manual, there were some tips in there that I'd not thought about. One was in reference to having proper seating for your little one, with feet on the ground. Anyway, I'm glad that I didn't donate an old school desk that I used for my son years ago. We brought it back in the house, cleaned it up, found a space for it, and it's all ready for Starfire. She loves it.

A few games are left to put together, but I'm almost there.

As we roll into August, my main mission for this month is to get our school year off to a good start. That's it.

Non-school related things that I would like to get accomplished this month:

Paint the kitchen.
Insert photos of my family into the picture frames that have been hanging on the wall in our tv room since May.
Learn a little photography in my spare time, and take one decent photo in manual mode.

*Linking this post to Mama Jenn's Mission of the Month.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Let the Countdown Begin

2011-07-29T21:27:00.000-05:00

The countdown has officially begun. Actually it has been in progress for a while, but it's time to kick it into high gear. Seriously, is July ending in a few days?!?! Where did the time go? It seems that we just finished school, and the summer break is already a wrap. Bye-bye, see you next year-LOL! This week I have been working hard trying to tie up many loose ends. Mainly photocopying, laminating, reorganizing the school room, making sure that everything has a home, deciding on workboxes or no workboxes, paper or computer for planning. I want my last week off to just relax and do nothing get-ready for school related, so that means I need to finish EVERYTHING this week. We'll see.

My Mama's Mission of the Month list has some items still left to do, but the major goals of mailing our letter of intent and writing up goals for each of my kiddos is complete:) Yay! Wiping the sweat off of my brow. Our main PC has been giving me some grief lately, so I may stick to paper for recording attendance, grades, etc. Although, I should probably look into putting HS Tracker on our little Mac that I use. Ummm... I would need to do the same for SpellQuizzer. I know I need to make a decision soon-times ticking.

So here's the school part of my week for our weekly wrap-up.

Blew the dust off the laminator, and put it to work.

Put together a few reading file folder games for Starfire, the first grader.

We're using games from RightStart, so I printed and laminated some game cards.

Trying to find a home for everything I want to use this year, and keep them in sight. I have lost precious minutes trying to find things-hope that these storage drawers will help this year. No labels yet, but there's a drawer for handwriting stuff, arts/crafts, hands-on history stuff, math manipulatives, reading stuff, and miscellaneous(that needs to be sorted and specific to something).

We stopped into Borders this week-so sad that they are closing. I picked up a few Melissa and Doug items that were on sale-an abacus that we'll use with RightStart Math, a pattern block set(we have lots of pattern blocks, but my girls have lost all of the hexagons using them as cheese for pretend hamburgers), and I purchased an oversized USA puzzle that we'll use with MFW.

I've been hanging out at the tennis courts three days a week for tennis camp. A few more weeks to go.

Hope you had a good week!

*Linking this post to, WUHS-Weekly Wrap-Up.

Special Phonics Sounds-Free Printables

2011-07-27T06:53:00.003-05:00

Here's another set of free printable phonics flashcards for you. We'll be using these for phonics this year too. These cards can be used with any phonics programs.

A few suggestions:

Print on heavy card stock
Laminate
Use as a chart OR
Cut them out
Hole punch in one of the corners, and insert onto a D-ring.

*Terms of Use: A link back to my blog would be great.

Consonant Blends-Free Printable

2011-07-26T06:15:00.001-05:00

My first free printable is now available for download. You can use these flashcards with any phonics curriculum as you are learning consonant blends and digraphs.

A few suggestions:

Print on heavy card stock
Laminate
Hole punch in one of the corners, and insert onto a D-ring.

You will need to:

Add a picture of your child for the "me" card
Color the crayons green on the "gr"card

*Terms of Use: A link back to my blog would be great.

Curriculum 2011-2012

2011-07-22T10:06:00.000-05:00

The years are flying by fast. This will be our 7th year of homeschooling, and I can't believe it. We will be starting our school year in a few more weeks, and I'm getting more excited as the time gets closer. Although I am a planner at heart, I knew that this year I needed to keep things simple. Most summer breaks, I've spent the majority of my time planning, planning, planning. Not this summer, and it feels quite refreshing.

The biggest change in our curriculum this year, is switching to My Father's World for history. I wanted to continue with a program with a classical approach, could be used with multiple ages, that was literature rich, had a biblical worldview, and that required moderate to light planning for mom. Check, check, check, and an even bigger check for lesson plans included.

On this homeschooling journey, one of the things that I've learned is to be flexible, not every homeschool is the same, and to find what works for our family. Now, to what we're using...

History, Geography, Literature, Bible, Art and Music: My Father's World 1850 to Modern Times. Our literature selections will include Courage to Run by Wendy Lawton, Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt, Sergeant York and the Great War by Skeyhill/Wheeler, Tales of Persia by William Miller, selections by Janet and Geoff Benge will include Hudson Taylor, Corrie ten Boom, and Brother Andrew. We'll also reading stories from Trial and Triumph. For Bible, A Young Person's Guide to Knowing God by Patricia St. John was included with the deluxe package. Our scripture memorization box will be used for verses and catechism questions.

8th Grade (ProGamer)

Math: Math-U-See Pre-Algebra. Side note: I was on the MUS website recently and saw that they've added on-line courses to their product list.
English: Abeka Grade 8 Grammar and Composition II. He will also complete two Progeny Press Study Guides-Amos Fortune Freeman by Elizabeth Yates, and The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare. I hope that we can squeeze in reading Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury and/or Animal Farm by George Orwell.
Latin: Latin for Children A. Refresher course in preparation for foreign language studies in high school.
Vocabulary: Vocabulary from Classical Roots A and B. Purchased these last year, but we didn't use them.
Logic: The Thinking Toolbox. Logic was a huge hit last year, and we're looking forward to this followup to The Fallacy Detective.

ProGamer will take a few classes outside of our home this year. He did very well in his Apologia General Science class last year earning an A, and will continue with Apologia's Exploring Creation with Physical Science. Writing will also be an outside class continuing to use IEW. Lastly, he will take a Public Speaking class.

4th Grade (Raven)

Math: Math-U-See Delta. As supplements, we will also use Kumon's Word Problems Grade 3, Shoe Box Math Games by Scholastic, and Right Start Math Card Games.
English: Abeka Language A Grade 4. We used First Language Lessons from 1st-3rd grade, and Raven's a language arts girl and could handle a little less one-on-one, oral lessons with mom. Not wanting to let go of the poetry memorization, she'll memorize the poems that are included with FLL 4.
Spelling: Spelling Workout D
Handwriting: 4th Grade Cursive Success Handwriting Without Tears. Cursive writing is fading away, but she wants to continue.
Science: Included with MFW. We will study chemistry and physics with hands-on experiments.
Writing: IEW Level A. IEW has been one of the best investments that we've made.
Latin: Latin for Children A.
Reading: Finish up Bob Jones Reading 3B.
Raven will also take two classes outside of our home. This year she'll have a semester of a music class learning the basics of vocal techniques, focusing on Children's Broadway songs, and a small performance will be held at the end of the semester. She will also continue piano with an instructor.

1st Grade (Starfire)
Phonics: Abeka 1st Grade
Reading: Bob Jones Reading Grade 1
Handwriting: 1st Grade Printing Handwriting Without Tears. Looking forward to using this program. Praying that it works wonders for my little lefty:) I've already had a few light bulb moments while reading through the teacher's manual.
Math: The Complete Book of Math, complete Abeka Math K, and Right Start Math Card Games.

Linking this post to: Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Special Curriculum Edition.

New Games: Pop and Spot It!

2011-07-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

While trying to avoid the workbook and worksheet monster, we will be playing more "fun" learning games around here. My youngest is definitely my tactile/kinesthetic learner, so most of the games that I purchased were with her in mind while making sure there was a wide player age range.

As the Amazon boxes have been rolling in, we've been trying out a few.

First up is POP! This is a game for learning sight words. After reading the reviews on Amazon, I knew that we would have to come up with our own variation, or it would be a dust collector. Didn't want that to happen! I included a photo of their instructions. Because it's our school, we played POP similar to a Minute to Win It game.

Here's how:

Two players work together as a team and have exactly one minute, taking turns, to reach into the popcorn box, select a popcorn (or sight word), read the word correctly, and collect 20 words in one minute. If a player pulls out a POP card, all of the cards that you've collected have to go back inside the box, and play continues to reach the goal of 20 cards before the minute is over.

Both the girls enjoyed it! The first variation I won't mention because...dust collector comes to mind:)

The next game we tried out was Spot It! Visual discrimination and speed is key to this game as you are trying to match only two symbols on two different cards. There are four different variations to play Spot It! The age range is 6 through adult. My son, the ProGamer, left us in the dust. Great fun!

*Disclosure: These are my opinions, and I was not paid or rewarded in any way for these reviews:)

Here's a quick clip of Minute to Win It. Lots of ideas to add in fun games for school!!

More games to come...

i < 3thrifting: School Supplies

2011-07-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

I haven't been thrifting as much as I would like to lately, but whenever I stop into one of my favorites I walk every.single.isle. The trip is hardly ever enjoyed by the kids if they're so fortunate enough to have to take a quick stop in with me. I've gotten great deals on all kinds of things. Clothes, lamps, furniture, picture frames, rugs, and even school supplies. Yes, school supplies!

Here's what I scored on my latest trip:

Basket $3.99-We'll use this for our MFW's reading book basket-excitement:)
Dry Erase Markers-99 cents-Always need these.
Clipboard-99 cents-Great for on the sofa one-on-one time:)
Two-2-inch ring binders-99 cents each-Every subject needs a notebook?!
One-3-inch ring binder-$1.99-End of year portfolios...

When you're making your school supply list, check out thrift stores for bargains. I've also found great deals on supplies and games at yard sales.

Are you gearing up for school?

Mission of the Month

2011-07-08T07:27:00.002-05:00

I'm joining Mama Jenn this month, and hopefully going forward, in her Mama's Mission of the Month. With school quickly approaching, my goals for this month are especially centered around all things planning.

Administrative Goals:

Prepare curriculum attachment for my letter of intent
Mail letter of intent by next Friday
Finish portfolio binders (almost done)

Planning Goals:

Complete goals for the school year for each of my kiddos
Input subject info into Homeschool Tracker
Record spelling lists into Spell Quizzer for my 4th Grader
Prepare quarter planning sheets for 1st Grader
Prepare math and reading games

Schoolroom:

Organization all over:)

I have quite a bit to accomplish, and it's already July 8th:) After some thought out loud with myself and my sweet hubby, the decision was made to push our back to school start date to August 15th. That's somewhat later than I'd originally planned, but it will be best to wait until the kids are done with tennis camp and things are a little slower around here:)

What are your goals for the month?

Three in a Week

2011-06-27T16:12:00.001-05:00

I'm so glad that we planned, put into writing, and posted for us all to see (my family that is) our Summer Fun List. We're having a fun summer! Last week, we had a great time strawberry pickin', spending some time at the aquarium, and a last minute stop at a beach.

YUM! The best strawberries ever! I think we ate 1/3 of them on the way home-HA!

The ray touch pool was one of the highlights of the day.


Go faster, the waves are coming:)

This post is linked to the Weekly Wrap-Up @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Need some summer ideas? Check out the links below:

Tatertots and Jello, Summer Bucket List

More than Mullberries, Summer To-Do List

A Soft Place to Land, Summer List

Day at the Zoo

2011-06-18T05:03:00.000-05:00

So far so good! We have exactly two check marks on our Summer Fun List. A trip a couple of weeks ago to the movies to see Kung Fu Panda 2 (great movie), and on Thursday we had a day, or part of the day, at the zoo. The last time that we went to the zoo, my youngest was in a stroller. She was somewhat overwhelmed by everything to see, and not to mention the three or more school buses of children enjoying one more field trip to wrap up their school year. However, at the end of the day a good time was had by all:)

This post is linked to the Weekly Wrap Up @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Hope you're enjoying your summer break! If not, get ready because summer is officially here on Tuesday!

PBS Video: In My Africa

2011-06-14T11:52:00.000-05:00

We watched this video today as we entered Kenya. Credit to my daughter for finding this:)

Click on the photo to preview. *Photo from pbskids.org.

ECC: Leaving Europe

2011-06-09T08:24:00.002-05:00

It took us a while, but we made it through Europe. While in Europe, we stopped in Norway, France, and Germany. Here are a few of our projects:

Eiffel Tower that she made with dad. I purchased this model on Amazon thanks Erica!

While in Germany, she created a pressed flower collage, and we made German potato pancakes with applesauce on the side.

When you need a little extra flavor just add ketchup:)

Off to Africa to study Kenya!

Summer Fun List

2011-06-07T05:59:00.006-05:00

I saw a great idea over the summer last year in blogland, and thankfully I stored it in the part of my brain marked "future ideas". The summer seems to fly by so fast at times that I often wonder where did the time go and what did I do with it. When I saw this idea, it represented a visual of things to do, and actually checking off those things. It's nothing fancy, or you can make it fancy if you want. I pulled out our oversized handwriting paper tablet thing, that's obviously not its official name, and wrote down some fun things to do over the summer as my kids blurted them out to me. They came up with way too many fun things that require funds, but I hope that we will end up with a mixture of freebies and DIY fun.

We'll also have two summer birthdays to celebrate, tennis camp, and family cook-outs to add to the mix.

What are your summer fun plans?

School's Out for Summer

2011-06-06T06:00:00.002-05:00

We officially finished our school year on May 12. Yay! I can't believe another school year has come and gone. I now have a rising 1st grader, 4th grader, and 8th grader. Typically, I have an idea of what we'll do to fill our days before we hit the books again in July. We, including me, still need some type of structure, plus learning, and of course fun while we enjoy our down time from the normal school year. For the structure and learning part of the equation, we have what I've termed as "learning time" three days a week. It's only for a couple of hours, and learning time makes it sound much better.

So, what do we do. Well, my 1st grader is continuing to work on reading, phonics, and math. I have more than enough leftover workbook sheets, file folder games, and other hands-on acitivities. She worked hard this school year learning how to read, so I'm making sure that she is reading while we are on our break.

Phonics Hot Dots

Shamrock Phonics file folder game

Math and ECC are the focus for my 4th grader. She didn't complete every single worksheet in her Math-U-See workbook, so she is completing sheets from Lesson 30 and down. Because we started ECC in the later part of our school year, we are deligently working towards finishing up before school starts again.

ECC Geography Game. We are studying the continent of Europe and identifying 21 countries. Guess who's winning:)

She beat me!

My 8th grader is working through a computer programming book titled Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners. He has an interest in computer engineering, and we thought this would be somewhat of a start.

And for the fun part of our summer...check out tomorrow's post:) That's right two in a row!

Surviving Your Homeschool Convention

2011-04-19T07:40:00.002-05:00

I've been planning to attend our state's homeschool convention every since it ended last year! This is our 6th year of homeschooling, and I think I've missed going three times. The first time I wasn't able to attend because something came up with the babysitter at the very last minute. I must admit the second and third ones that I missed were filled with reasoning that sounded like: " I'm okay", "don't need to go EVERY YEAR", "heard that already", and a host of other can't believe I said that comments.

Well, it's that time again, and I'm excited. The first year, I was super overwhelmed. What sessions to choose, which vendors to see, what to buy, and what not to buy. I left encouraged, but exhausted-mentally.

So, you've registered to attend and now what. Well here's my top ten list on How To Survive Your Homeschool Convention:

1.     Plan Ahead. Register early:)

2.     Consider if your children will attend, and if not make arrangements in advance.

3.     Choose Your Curriculum Before You Go!

4.     Think about areas in your homeschooling journey that need improvement or tweaking and plan to attend those sessions. This year, I'm thinking ahead to the high school years as we will be turning that corner soon.

5.     Day of leave early in the morning, beat the crowds.

6.     Take a look at the vendor map and map out which vendors you would like to see. The vendor hall can become overwhelming if you don't have a plan. I have the t-shirt to prove it:)

7.     If you can't make it to a session, buy the recording. There may be schedule conflicts of sessions that you want to hear.

8.     Have a budget, and stick to it. Very Important! Last year, I bought many items before attending, so that I wouldn't be tempted to overspend.

9.     Don't buy things just because you think you might use them. I think we all have a shelf of those items.

10.   Relax, enjoy, and leave being inspired and encouraged.

WOW

2011-04-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

...I know it's been a LONG time, but as most of us homeschooling momma's I've had many things going on all at the same time. Sure, I've written at least 20 posts in mind, thought about blogging, but my 24 hours would expire each day before I got a chance to actually sit and write and think.

What's been going on around here...For starters, we are fostering a beautiful 6 month old baby girl! We've had her for two weeks, and there have been a few adjustments:) No total sleep deprivation, but schedule changes. She fits right in around here, and there are plenty of hands to go around for hugs and snuggles. Not sure how long we will have her, but it's been a joy taking care of her. Long story short of how this journey began...We became a pre-adoptive family last year, and a few months ago we decided to foster children that needed a home.

On the school front-We are counting down our last 5 weeks of school! (Insert happy dance here). Overall, we have had a great school year. I'll have to do a collage of sorts from the end of Feb through now:) Right now, I'm working on finalizing our curriculum choices, and brainstorming ideas for next year which will begin in July for us.

I haven't completed any grand sewing projects, but I hope to blow the dust off of my machine soon.

Well, that's it. I just wanted to check in, and hopefully I will begin to post more as soon as my new normal settles in.

Get Your Craft on Thursday: Toss Bags

2011-02-10T08:13:00.000-06:00

I'm always looking for ideas to enrich our learning, and add some fun. Not sure where I got this idea, but I filed it in the area of my brain labeled "homeschool"-HA! One of my goals for kindergarten this year is counting and recognizing numbers to 100. My 5-year old is a kinesthetic learner, and enjoys manipulatives and games. The toss bag idea was a perfect fit. Not only can they be used for identifying numbers, but I thought of a few other ways in which to use them with my 3rd grader too!

Play catch-toss the number to her, and she tells me the number
Put the numbers in order
Hide and seek-hide the numbers, and she tells me the numbers that she found
Practice skip counting by 2's, 5's, 10's
Grouping number families together
Simple addition and subtraction
Multiplication

How to make them:

Cut some fabric into squares
Stitch along the sides leaving a 1 inch opening to turn your bags
Fill them with beans or rice
Stitch the opening closed
Use fabric glue for the numbers
Let dry over night

Now, I just need to finish them...:)

Get Your Craft On Thursdays: Miss Claire Skirt

2011-02-03T09:25:00.000-06:00

It took me awhile, and with the help of my hubby I was able to finally put together the Miss Claire Skirt. I was somewhat stumped over how to attach the skirts. After taking it apart from my first uh-oh, reading out loud, standing on my head, and quite a few sighs he was my last resort:) If you've never visited The Handmade Dress, stop over and check out the patterns. As a beginner, I love Samantha's patterns. The instructions are clear, there are pictures for the visual learner, and if you have a question you can ask.

If you're wondering, the fabric was purchased at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

One happy girl wearing her Miss Claire skirt!

I'm linking this post to Get Your Craft on Thursdays with Lori.

ECC: Week 3

2011-02-02T14:09:00.000-06:00

This week in Exploring Countries and Cultures(ECC) we've been on a stop in North America visiting the United States of America.

We started out by adding as many states as she already knew to our map, and each day we had in at least three more. Do you remembering learning about a chef named "Mimal"? His name stands for Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana! If you look closely you can see his chef hat, head, torso, pants, and his boot of course:) My daughter got a kick out of this, and she'll always remember these states.

Each day we have a timed 5 minute game where she fills in as many states as she can. She's up to 26!

I wasn't sure if she'd like creating the geography cards, but she does. On the front of the card is the definition and a picture describing the term. On the back she writes the definition. This week she completed cards for forest, isthmus, and ocean ridge.

We finished up this week by completing a craft from Global Art. She designed and put together an American Quilt.

Homemade Granola Bars

2011-02-01T07:00:00.001-06:00

This has become one of my favorite recipes for my kids' snack bags. They're super easy to make, I can make a couple of batches in less than an hour, and store them in the freezer! That's a win-win for me:) The recipe is not my own creation, I found the recipe over at Recipe's For You.

Ingredients:

1 cup melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups oatmeal (quick or old-fashioned)
1 cup rice krispie cereal
1/2 whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

Directions: Mix butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla. Mix remaining ingredients together well. You can also add in nuts, peanut butter chips, raisins, chocolate chips, etc. Sometimes I add prepackaged trail mix minus the candies. Pour the mixture of butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla into the bowl of dry ingredients. Blend well. Spread into a greased 9X13 baking dish. Bake for 30 min. Let cool and score into bars. Wrap them individually, and store in the freezer. The kids don't like them crunchy, straight out of the freezer, so they'll put them in their snack bags for at least an hour to soften up.

I'm linking the post up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.