Beginning Our Homeschool Year 2015-2016

Good afternoon!  It's been a wonderful day here so far; we have finished school, household chores are done and I've had lunch with a very dear friend.  After I publish this article I'm going to go searching for a wreath in the garage, feed livestock and cook supper (tater tot casserole) before awana.

I promised a post on homeschooling so here ya go.  This is my 13th year of official homeschooling.  My oldest started kindergarten 13 years ago and graduated high school this past May.  Over the years I've become very relaxed and I have the bonus of knowing at this point what works for me, allowing me to tailor curriculum to the needs of my children. This year, Bear is in 2nd grade and Abby is in kindergarten.

As our base, we are using My Father's World Kindergarten and Adventures. I say base because we are following these very loosely and taking 2 years to do Adventures.  Really we are barely using kindergarten because I'm using up workbooks that I have here rather than buying more student sheets.  I am using the guide to pull out topics and I'm using the book list.  I love My Father's World book lists.  Abby is also rolled into the topics covered in Adventures.  We are taking those topics very slowly, adding in more reading and activities to some of the units.  We are on Christopher Columbus this week and probably next.  That should have us covering pilgrims right around Thanksgiving.

We will start using Singapore math whenever I have the funds to purchase it.  Currently we are using some worksheets I printed from Mama's Learning Corner, practicing money, time and "real life" math.  Abby is getting practice in writing numbers, counting, shapes, patterns, etc from the workbooks I had hanging around.  I'm trying to use up what I've got since this is my last kindergartener.

I love a Reason for Handwriting but as I mentioned, funds are tight, so I printed some amazing handwriting sheets for both kids from  Confessions of a Homeschooler.  If Bear finishes the ones that I have printed for him we will switch to copy work.

We use Alphaphonics to teach reading and All About Spelling for spelling.  I use letter tiles from a bananagrams game.  Bear is also reading through the reader from My Father's World 1st.

Method:
I keep a list on my table of what each kid needs to do each day.  Whichever kid is dressed with teeth brushed at 9:00 a.m. gets to start first.  Then we alternate through the list.  So today Abby did money first, then Bear choose phonics, then Abby did phonics, then Bear did money and so on.  While the one is working with me, the other has "free time".  During that time they can play with legos, color, look at books, etc.  No electronics and must leave me alone.

Here, Abby has spelled her friend's name with letter tiles (with help).  She really is just practicing alphabetical order with these right now. And yes, our cat sits on the table.  It is what it is.

During one of her "down" times Abby practices "sewing" with lacing cards.

My record keeping journal (more on that below)

Bear works on legos during his "down" time today.

"together' time

Another picture of my journal

After we get through our independent work we usually have lunch.  Then we do our "together" subjects: read aloud, Bible, science and history.  This takes place on my bed or the living room couch.

Record Keeping:
I've used lots of planners.  Lots of them.  Some were ok, some I hated, some I loved.  I just do better with a notebook.  This allows me to jot down what we have done and go on.  I do keep notes in my homemaking planner about things that I want to cover and My Father's World has wonderful lesson plans.  This makes it easy for me to keep track of what we have actually done.

We started late this year because of the move.  I usually take off from Thanksgiving to after the New year but I think we will plug along as best we can to make up some time.  I am hoping to get Bear finished with Alphaphonics this year and through AAS Level 1.  When Abby becomes proficient in her letter sounds I will move her to MFW1.  That might be this spring, it might not.  I'm hoping to get math books sometime after the new year.

We are learning though!  Lots of things.

That's what I love best about homeschooling :)

Shinn Homeschool 2014-2015

Let the 2014-2015 homeschool year begin!

I'm sure you all remember my "thought process" a few weeks ago in deciding on a curriculum.  I scrapped that plan.  I just didn't have the money.  But that's ok!!!!!  Thankfully I have a lot of books here so for about $60 we will have everything we need to get a great 1st grade and Prek4 education.

Bear will be using:
Singapore math 1A and 1B (ordering)
A Reason for Handwriting 1 (ordering)
All About Spelling Level 1 (have)
Explode the Code books 1-3 (ordering)
Alphaphonics (have)

Abby will be using:
Amish workbooks (have)
Coloring, letter, number pages from the internet (just the cost of printer ink)

Together we will be studying:
Creation/Old Testament, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome (have)
the days of the creation week in relation to natural science topics (have)

Our read alouds for the year include: (have)
Mr. Popper Penguins (started)
Little House on the Prairie series
Winnie the Pooh
Charlotte's Web
Magic Tree House series

I plan to include mapwork that goes along with history and science topics and we will learn the oceans and continents this year.

We are currently working on life skills such as traffic signs, address and phone number memory, and usage of a telephone.  We are studying the Bible together and our character trait of the month is contentment.  This will also include Awana lessons and memory work when the time comes.

I also expect to spend at least one day a week doing nature study.

Abby will be continuing exercises in letter recognition, counting (she does to 15 really well) and some at-home speech therapy.  I will evaluate where she is in January and MIGHT order the Before the Code books for her.  MAYBE.  She is 4.  I will not push her.  We will also work through some of the activities in a Before Five in a Row book I found upstairs (getting books from the library if necessary).  She has made great strides in motor skills over the last few months so I am pleased with that.  If we can get a handle on her speech issues then she will be doing well.  She IS doing well, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

So that is where we are.

I've alotted about an hour in the morning for "seatwork", a short period for Bear to read aloud to me and then 30 minutes in the afternoon and again before bed for me to read to them.  Our first day was a success.  I look forward to many more happy days.

Preparing for the 2014/2015 Homeschool Year

Welcome!

I'm a homeschooling mom.  As a homeschooling mom, summer brings thoughts of a new school year, new books, new lessons......and I'm in charge of it all.  LOL  It can be overwhelming.  When I was homeschooling Lee and Greg, every June I would empty all my homeschooling "stuff" out of my homeschooling "closet" and decide what our focus for the year would be, what we would be using that we already had and what would need to be purchased.  I would organize the closet again according to those decisions and purchase what was needed.  We frequently started the year up in July.  Hopefully that will be the case this year as well.

The problem with this plan is that as the years went on all the "homeschooling stuff" aka BOOKS didn't fit in the homeschooling "closet". So I used bookshelves, then rubbermaid totes to contain our "learning materials"  aka BOOKS.  When we moved to town I was in heaven because there were built-in bookshelves in 2 of the downstairs rooms.  All of our "stuff" (aka BOOKS) had a home and I organized according to category (history, children's, science, art, etc).  It was wonderful.

Here, there are no built-in bookshelves.  Anywhere.  There isn't really room to put bookshelves except in a hallway upstairs outside of  Lee's bedroom.  Currently, that is where the boxes, and boxes, and boxes of school "stuff" aka BOOKS reside....also there are some in the upstairs linen closet, upstairs landing and one shelf of Abby's bookshelves and 2 shelves (and some creative stacking) of a downstairs bookcase I snuck into a dining room corner and on 2 shelves of the dining room hutch and a small stack of current stuff on the air conditioner.....there are also children's books in Abby's room, Bear's room and on the living room coffee table.  (((sigh)))  Did I mention that I have a stack (ok, 3 stacks) of books on the floor beside my bed?  And antique books in the china cabinet?  And cookbooks in the kitchen?  If there is a 12 step program for book hoarders, I don't want to know about it.  I. Just. Don't.

I went to a homeschooling convention in Cincinnati Ohio with a friend in April.  If you've never been to a homeschool convention, the seminars are wonderful but the reason everyone goes is for the vendor hall.  Think, shopping mall for book lovers.  Yep.  So I go and on the first pass through the vendor hall the first day I picked up all the free magazines and catalogs.  I went with very little shopping money and managed to come home with my free stuff and a very nice planner.  Hooray!

I also hashed out multiple ideas for how our upcoming school year would go.  I think I ended up with 3 different plans before the weekend was over.  I've since made up 2 more plans and then reverted back to one of the ones I made in Cincinnati.

Here is an overview of the plans:
Plan 1:  My Father's World.....1st grade stuff for Bear (would just need to buy worksheets from MFW, handwriting and Singapore 1) and then some cheap workbooky things for Abby.  Relatively in-expensive. (I haven't figured up exact cost of that yet, probably around $150.) Would require me to dig for the necessary books in the boxes upstairs.

Plan 2:  Sonlight.....I'm looking at P4/5 for both, adding in LA 1, Singapore 1 and handwriting for Bear.  Using as is with Abby.  Approximately $600.  Like I have that kind of money laying around (maybe I'll look under the chickens).

Plan 3: A compilation of various things including language arts from Queens homeschool, Singapore 1, unit studies/lapbooks for history and science, handwriting and workbooky stuff for Abby.  Cost around $100 but I would have to do all the legwork.

Plan 4: I briefly looked at Heart of Dakota.  I don't really think it is in the running.

I've been back to Sonlight twice.  I love Sonlight.  I used it some with Lee and Greg (core 3 and 4 - now labeled C and D spread over 3 years).  I think if we started with P4/5 that I would be able to keep the kids together, spreading each core over 1.5 years or so supplementing with free lapbooks to really dig in to the material.  The cost would be substantial over the next 3 years or so but then I would be using something that I already have.  I just don't have $600 and honestly, I don't have the bookcase space that Sonlight requires.

I like My Father's World.  I've used MFW Grade 1 and Adventures (2nd).  It is similar to Sonlight.  I like the Language arts.  The cost would be very small this year and next year.  I could roll Abby in with Bear whenever I want.  I already have MFW K (that is what Bear used over 2 years, when he was almost 5 and 6 - he has a late birthday).  I would need to dig for the books but the teacher's manual is right here next to me.  I don't know why I don't like it as much.  There is no logical reason as the programs are very, very similar.  We can supplement units with free lapbooks or could even buy lapbook kits because honestly I would have very little output of money.

I'm not very good at putting my own stuff together.  It never ends well.  I know that is a weakness I have so even though it might save a little money and it would be fun, I know that I just won't get it done.  And then there we are.  lol

Ok.  So, now that I've hashed that all out (wasn't it fun???) I think that we are looking at My Father's World first grade for Bear.  I will get Singapore math 1 and handwriting (either a Reason for Handwriting or Handwriting without Tears.....comments???).  I already have All About Spelling Level 1 and we will finish working through our Alphaphonics book.  Abby will continue doing the preschool workbooks that I already have her working through and I will get tot packs to supplement as she gets bored.  Maybe mid-year I will evaluate her and possibly begin MFW K with her....we will see how it is going.

I've written out plans to get us started in July working on some life skills.  We will start the actual curriculum in August.  Probably around the time the boys start public school.  We will see how the harvesting/preserving of the garden is going.

MFW K Week 6

Good morning!

We are having another wonderful week of school here.  This week's theme is O for Octopus.  Many of our theme activities have revolved around an octopus, the ocean or God's variety in creation.  Have you ever thought about that?  God created the octopus!  Who would have come up with that?  I love it :)

Bear did mapwork yesterday!  Honestly, I pulled the map out of our weekly sheets and about had a heart attack!  I wasn't ready to try to teach mapping skills to a 5 year old.  We discussed oceans and land and then talked about where things were on the map (our home, China, hippos - the important stuff). 

Abby has been working on numbers and colors.  She can say her alphabet reliably, knows most of her colors and can count to 20 most of the time.  This week she hasn't done a lot because she hasn't shown a lot of interested and she's THREE so I don't force the issue.  She sits with us for Bible time, songs and takes part in any activities.  I've started matching upper and lower case letters with her (A, B and C with name recognition but it is very gently).  Here she was getting into her box with laurie puzzles and pegs. 

Abby is always involved in our read aloud times and honestly, I read to her more than Bear.  She has loved the books about Johnny Appleseed this week and was telling her dad all about everything she learned.  She also told him all about eyes (a book left over from 2 weeks ago).  She just soaks everything up like a sponge.

Last night was AWANA.  Abby got to go for the first time.  She is a Cubbie and Bear is a Sparkie.  Abby's little friend was there and she was soooo happy.  She was very disturbed that I was there to pick her up.  So we will add AWANA lesson work to our school time. 

Tomorrow I am packing a picnic lunch and we are heading out to Sam Parr for some fun and nature study.  I took pictures last week but didn't get them up here.  I'll try to do better.

Are Homeschoolers Part of the "Community"

This post is written partly as a response to a member of my community who implied that by choosing to homeschool rather than send our children to the "community schools" we were a lesser part of our community. 

Also, as part of full disclosure, for new readers, I feel the need to include the fact that my 2 older children do go to our "community" public school.  I am still homeschooling the younger two. 

Let's get started.

The above comment was written by someone in response to a discussion by 2 homeschoolers.  These friends of mine were commenting about the impact common core was going to have on homeschooling and the lack of critical thinking skills in public schools. 

I honestly feel that I learned more critical thinking skills in my first year homeschooling (preschool) than I ever did in 12 years of public school.  In our "community" school.

Here's the deal....a BIG deal....and public school proponents need to remember this.....if public schools were PERFECT parents wouldn't be pulling their students out in record numbers.  Trust me, homeschooling is not everyone's perfect job.  We make significant emotional, family and financial sacrifices to homeschool our children.  Some families struggle to make it on one income, some families homeschool on nights and weekends so both parents can remain employed.  Another thing that public school proponents need to remember is that homeschoolers are paying both ways.  We pay TAXES (against our will) to fund these wonderful public schools.  We then pay for homeschooling materials and outside classes for our children.  THEN we are turned away from public schools (that we pay TAXES to) when we desire to take part in their activities (in my case sports).  You see, my older 2 children are in public school now because they wanted to take part in sports.  In the great state of Illinois, you must be a FULL TIME student of a school in order to participate in their sporting activities.  So in order to participate in these activities (that my tax dollars are paying for) my children must attend their school.

Honestly, this has to be the biggest racket going.  If you don't see the absurdity in that then you need to stop reading because you aren't going to be able to keep up.  My children couldn't take part in activities that I pay for because I choose to take charge of their education.  Interesting, huh?

Now, the above facebook poster claims that I and my family are lesser parts of the community because I choose to take a large role in my children's education.  So are the elderly or single people in our "community" lesser parts because they don't have children attending these fantastic schools??  I'm just trying to figure this out.  I would have to assume that the way to be an integral part in my community is to volunteer and whole heartedly support our community schools.  Does volunteering as part of our local soccer program count?  That's not part of the school system.  {Our wonderful school system refuses to support a soccer program}  Does volunteering through our church not count as being an integral part of my community?  4-H participation?  Community classes?  Attending community events?  Shopping at community stores?  I thought those things made a person part of a community.  Not attending a community school.

I have listened for years about how wonderful the teachers/staff are at our community schools.  I would agree at least 90% of the time.  However, all teachers are not wonderful.  Some of these teachers have multiple complaints lodged against them, however they are still there.  Multiple complaints from multiple parents.  Everyone know who those teachers are.  And yet they are still there.  How is that for the best of the students?  How is that best for the community?  How is common core and dumbed down standards BEST for the students.  I have 2 students in that school.  How is this looking out for them?????

I attended these wonderful community schools as a child.  In THIS community.  In kindergarten I was forced to spend 30 minutes scrubbing crayon off the back of my chair.  Crayon that I didn't put on that chair but the teacher was convinced I did.  And I cried the whole time.  And the teacher ridiculed me in front of the whole class the whole time.  I was also demeaned because I needed to go to the bathroom that year.  I didn't use the restroom at school the whole rest of that year.  I was terrified of that teacher. 

In 3rd grade we had to take standardized tests.  My teacher convinced us that if we didn't do fantastic on those tests that we would be held back in 3rd grade.  I picked up some irritating habits that year (hair twirly, nail biting).....why would you put all that pressure on an 8 year old???

The next few years were ok.  Some better than others.  In 6th grade our math teacher decided that she was going to put us in groups, do our homework and tests together and then average our grades.  At the time I was an A student in math and although I didn't mind helping others, I did mind getting their grades.  My mother and some other parents managed to get that stopped quickly.  How about one of my high school math teachers that refused to actually teach the subject?  I was a good student but we still had to call another teacher several nights a week for help. 

I was not a student that caused trouble.  I never rocked the boat.  I didn't really want to be there at all.  Quiet.  Responsible.  Hardworking.  I can't imagine what the experience of those that didn't keep their heads down and their mouths shut was like.  I can't imagine how a teacher would treat my 5 year old that has ideas about everything and can't sit still for 30 seconds.  How would they manage him?    They wouldn't.  He would spend considerable time in the principles office, or off in a corner or in special classes.  He wouldn't get the education he deserves.  I'm not perfect but I have my children's absolute best interests at heart.  And before you jump my case, I'm sure there are teachers that have the student's best interests at heart but how are they going to manage with 30 students?  And what about the bad ones?  Because I know they are there.

I've had several teachers comment that my older children are well spoken, thinkers, willing to speak up for what they believe.  In case you didn't notice, they learned that from me.  At home. 

Now we struggle with poorly explained math assignments....busy work.....questionable reading material.....not exactly what I hoped for in my sons' education.  They eat lunch in an overcrowded lunch room (my 8th grader gets 5 minutes to eat his lunch).  The junior high has no library or dedicated "study lab" (he can't go to the school early, sit at a table or desk and work on homework or projects).  Trades classes were cut at the high school level and sports may take a hit next.  At that point there will be no valid reason for my children to be there.

Maybe these public school groupies need to focus more on why homeschoolers are homeschooling and less on attacking us for choosing the best for our children.  It seems they have a say in the process (at least they think they do).....us community serfs don't seem to.....that's why I homeschool. 

Our 1st 4 Weeks with My Father's World K

Good evening!

I'm working on prioritizing some "momma" time and this blog is going to be one of those things (1. bible study, 2. exercise, 3. blogging, 4. reading, 5. knitting). 

I am severely delinquent in keeping up with our school stuff.  We started school the first Monday of Aug.  I don't remember the date (you are going to have to bear with me on this). 

I guess I should back up.  We started MFW K last year, January I think.  We worked through a few units, the creation unit and then I think units 1-5.  It was going ok, but I was having to push Bear a little and I didn't really want to do that so we just backed off.  It's ok to back off something if your child isn't ready!

Now, technically Bear is in kindergarten this year.  His late birthday would have only had him in preschool last year.  Even if he should have been in kindergarten last year I still wouldn't have pushed.  We might have worked on developing skills and review but I would not have pushed.  Pushing kids to do things they aren't ready for can really hamper learning later.  Trust me on this one.  There are a lot of FUN things that can be learned while skills develop and children grow in maturity. 

Back to planning:  I started where we left off and then scheduled 4 units, then a review week, 4 units, then a review week.  That way, if Bear was still struggling we could back off and go at a slower pace.  Scheduling this way also allows me to take time off without guilt.

Amazingly, Bear is just zipping through his work now.  We are finishing 4 days of work in 3 so moving at a quick pace through our worksheets.  I don't want to push to hard so I throw in review sheets when needed to keep him busy (and it reinforces the "I can do it" attitude).  I get the review sheets from little workbooks you can buy at Dollar Tree, Dollar General or Walmart.  I recommend Dollar Tree.  You can pick up the neatest things there!

We are 5 weeks in and finished with the first 4 units I had scheduled.  We are also working on Alphaphonics.  I wasn't sure if we would start it yet because I didn't want to push, but he was ready and is doing great.  He loves that he can read now!  CVC words right now but we are getting ready to do consonant blends :)

A lot of people ask about phonics programs.  I use alphaphonics.  It is cheap.  One reusable book.  I've had our copy for 11 years now.  It is falling apart, but useable.  If more review is needed I use Victory Drill Book. It is also reusable.  I don't use it as intended and am not using it with Bear at this point.  That can be another post.  I also love the phonics attributes of All About Spelling and would probably love their reading program.  I'm using what I've got :)  I used All About Spelling with the older boys and was amazed how much it helped their reading skills.  We will start that in 1st grade.  Back to Alphaphonics......on day 1 we read lesson 1.  We did it for a few days till I felt he was comfortable (I honestly think he had it memorized).  The next day after that we did lesson 1 and lesson 2.  The next day we did lesson 1, 2 and 3.  The next day we did lesson 2, 3 and 4.  We kept doing those 3 until I felt that he was comfortable with lesson 2, then we dropped it and added in the 1st half of lesson 5.  At this point we are doing lesson 4 and all of lesson 5.  I think on Monday we will add in lesson 6 and see how he does (consonant blending).  We continue on this way, at the students pace, until the book is done.  Sometimes we spend a lot of time on 3 lessons, or I drop one but don't pick a new one up.  You will know what is best.  Don't push.

We read a lot.  I tried ordering the reading suggestions from the library online, but either my computer doesn't like their system or their system doesn't like me....I couldn't get it to work.  Now I take my list to the library every week and they order for me.  It is hand written.  2 lines for each book (title/author) with a line in between each book.  About 20-25 books a week.  The librarian looked at me like I had grown 3 heads but doesn't even batt an eye now, cause we are bringing them back as fast as she can get them ordered (I also check out 1-2 books for myself per week and allow each kid 5 books and 1 movie apiece, each week).  What the librarian doesn't understand is that we read each of those 40 some books each week and sometimes more than once.....and we also have an extensive library here at home.  We read ALOT.

We are going to spend several days this fall at our local state park.  I think it will help all of us to smooth the transition to school, especially to see the leaves change color.  It is beautiful there!  We took a picnic lunch Friday and enjoyed some time at the lake and playground.  Good memories!

Abby is working on colors (she's about got them), shapes (almost got them also), number recognition and letter recognition.  We also do the songs, rhymes and Bible stuff together.  She picks up a lot of things from read alouds and her speech is improving....slower than I would like but it is improving. 

I'm really pleased with how this year is going :)  I'm in a good place with homeschool.  I've done it long enough now not to be pushy and stressed.....it really is a short period that we get to be with these kids....it goes fast.  Enjoy it!

2013-2014 School Year

It is that time of the year again!!!!  School Time!!!

Here is my rundown this year:
Leland, (will be on 8-9) 16, junior at NCHS
Gregory, 13, 8th grade at JCJH
Norman (Bear), 5, kindergarten at home
Abby, 3, prek at home

So, this year, I'm starting over.  Back where I was 11 years ago.  The spacing is a little different because Bear has a late birthday.  Where Lee and Greg had 2 grades between them, Bear and Abby will only have 1.  I'm not yet sure how that will work out in the long run.  THIS year, we are using MFW K.  We started last year but life happened so we didn't get much done.  I've spread what we do have left over the year, adding time off to studying things like Pilgrims and Indians at Thanksgiving and Presidents in January. 

The "learning" focus will be on Bear this year.  In addition to the core we will be adding Alphaphonics for reading.  Sometime this year I will also get Singapore math level K or 1 (haven't decided yet). 

Abby will be learning right along with us.  In addition I will be adding units that will focus more on her skill levels from places like 1+1+1=1 to give her repetitive skills practice.  Bear will also get to work on some of this stuff depending on his interest and whether it would actually be useful for him to do. 

Our read alouds will be plentiful and we will be exploring the nature that is around us.  I'm hoping to add a trip to Lincoln Log Cabin soon so that they can get some hands on history in. 

It's here....we start tomorrow :)  Check back and see how we are doing!

First Few Days of School

Many of my online blog friends have been doing "first day of school" posts. I don't think that I usually do one but there isn't any reason not to so here we go.

Lee had his first day on Friday. At least I didn't cry this year. And yes, I do realize that he is 13. I think I am making big strides in the "letting go" department. Anyway, he had a good first day and the last 2 days have went well also. He is very glad to have a study hall this year. He is on a new bus route in the afternoon. He gets home at the same time, but is with different people. So some of his friends that he rode home with last year have dropped by. I always wanted to be the house where all the kids hung out, but let me tell you, teenage boys EAT....a LOT. LOL I will definately need to go grocery shopping and I need to just plan on baking several times a week in anticipation of a visit. It is great getting to know his friends though.

Greg and Bear had a very short "here is the plan" class on Friday and then a short day on Monday - dad supervised while I was in town. So today was actually the first "real" day of school for them. I think it went well. I gave Bear my undivided attention right off the bat. He was THRILLED. We are using a free curriculum I found on the internet. It is going really well. With our letter of the week we are using the Abeka memory verse cards that my friend Shanna gave to me. So this week for the letter A we are memorizing "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23". We drew pictures, sang songs, read about the days of creation and several books that I had gotten from the library. I think it went really well.

While I was working with Bear, Greg was working on independent stuff. Mainly drawing. I am encouraging his artistic abilities this year. I think it is going well so far. Everything else went about the same and I was done with schooling by lunch time, just like last year. I was afraid with the addition of another scholar and a baby that I would still be working after lunch, but other than a few minutes of grading I was done by 10:30. Greg finished up shortly after lunch and was done with chores and everything by 1:00 ish so that isn't bad. He hasn't started working on his character building projects yet, but I don't anticipate that taking to much more time.

Abby is her normal sweet self :) I have nicknamed her smiles. She is such a sweetie. Loving her so much and yes, she is very different from the boys. So very thankful to have her every day :)

Our family is very blessed in that my husband will be going to day shift in 2 weeks. He has only worked less than 1 year of day shift in the 15 years we have been together. It has been at least 11 years since he worked day shift. I am so excited! I am sure that I will have to rework our schooling a little as I am used to him being home and awake at least during lunch time, but Greg and I agreed that if Dad wasn't home, we could eat lunch whenever we wanted! LOL

Thinking about sharing some struggles, but will save that for another post. Have a great week!

Almost Time for School

This year, those words send dread to my heart.

Usually I love the beginning of school. New books, schedules and things to learn (yes, I am a nerd!). This year, school means that Lee gets on that big yellow bus at the end of the driveway. I don't like that......not one little bit.

I am attempting - for myself and the sake of the rest of the family - to control my emotions and steer my attitude in a direction that will lead to JOY. So, here is a list of things I am thankful for this year..........

1. I still have Greg and Bear at home
2. Lee will know his bus driver in the morning and many of the kids at school already
3. We have orientation tomorrow night so we can meet all the teachers
4. Lee and I can't argue anymore about how much work I assign
5. Greg is very excited about school this year - he gets to pick science topics :)

For school this year - Greg is in 4th grade. We will be using Sonlight Core 4 as our spine for history/reading/read-aloud/Bible. We are jumping off the Intermediate Language Lessons wagon (although I still love it!) and giving Writing Tales a try for language arts/grammar. All About Spelling (Greg is on book 3) and Italic Handwriting round out Language arts. Greg will be finishing up Saxon 3 and moving into Saxon 4/5 sometime around Thanksgiving. For science we will begin studying penguins using Hands of a Child's lapbook as the jumping off place.

I bought a cute little science experiment book for ages 3-12 about creation. I am hoping to occassionally have some stuff from there to use with Bear. I am also setting up tot-boxes (like tot trays except with no tray). You can see how that works HERE. So far, I haven't set up much in that area and I really need to get to work on that....my heart just hasn't been in it this year.

So, I think that we are ready for school :) Lee is ready and I am ready for the waiting to be over with....lets just get it started and move on . Prayers for the 1st day (Friday 21st) are appreciated! Have a great day!

I found a new website

It is pretty rare that I run across a "new" website that sells curriculum and interests me, but I found this one and thought that I would share. They also have an affiliate program if that interests you.


Great Deals on School & Homeschool Curriculum

It looks like they have a lot of teacher resources that might not be applicable for homeschoolers, but I found several interesting preschool products. I think that it is always a good idea to keep your eyes open for new things to use while teaching and thought that I would pass this place along!

Hip Hip Horray!!!!!

My Sonlight order is here...........
My Sonlight order is here..........

There is something about getting a huge box of fantastic books that makes my heart go flitter-flutter. I can't wait to start pre-reading them :)

Thanks Sonlight for the speedy service (would you believe I ordered on FRIDAY?????)!!!!!!!!

Why I am Choosing Sonlight - Again

This is an article about why I am choosing to use Sonlight again this year rather than another curriculum. There are pros and cons of each that I looked at, but Sonlight really is the best fit for our family.

The other curriculums that I was looking at:
My Father's World Books
Living Books Curriculum

My homeschooling method is mostly Charlotte Mason with a little Classical and Relaxed thrown in. I roll with the punches and take things as they come. We follow rabbit trails (as seen by the 18 months it has taken us to get through Sonlight Core 3).

A Sonlight Catalog came to my house just after we decided to begin homeschooling. I was fascinated! I studied the poor thing until it fell apart and then waiting for the new one to come out. I didn't order though. I felt that Sonlight was too expensive for our family. My husband would have a fit if I spent that much money! I was sure that I could just as easily put together something similar using my own (not-so-frazzled-yet) brain and the library. I tried that for several years. Then I pieced together a year using Veritas Press as a base. Veritas Press is VERY classical and moved at a pace that was too advanced for us. The teacher's manual wasn't very user friendly. As a student I probably would have done well with VP but my boys were beginning to hate history, so we let that go. I ended up spending a ton of money that year on a lot of stuff that we either didn't use or hated.

The next year we used My Father's World (the 1st grade set and the 2nd/3rd grade American History). We really enjoyed the 1st grade set but there wasn't enough scheduled reading for Greg (who was learning to read). We did the American History together. The resources that they include in their curriculum were great (and many are similar to what Sonlight offers). The problem that I had with them is that there aren't scheduled reading assignments for the students to do themselves. MFW uses a "book basket". I have no doubt that this works for some families but it didn't work for us. I needed to know what they should be reading to reinforce history and science topics. By the end of the year I was weary of being "tied" to the library (we don't live in town and the library often meant a special trip - 30 mins. one way - for us).

I don't really remember what we did the next year. I was trying to put stuff together myself. I have doubts that they learned anything in history.

One day during that year the Sonlight catalog showed up again. By now, I realized that I had been spending more each year than Sonlight cost. So I jumped. My husband didn't fall over. We have had a wonderful year. Everything for history, Bible reading schedules, read-alouds and readers are laid out. The instructor's manual is wonderfully detailed and easy to use! There are reading discussion guides if you choose to use them (sometimes we do, sometimes we don't). We also used Sonlight science 3 that year, but I found the experiments tedious. We like to follow rabbit trails with science so we are going to do that this year, but if you need science laid out for you and love experiments, then you will love Sonlight science. I do like the reading assignments and discussion questions for Sonlight, but we decided to do something else. Everything that we need to read is HERE AT THE HOUSE when we need it. Trips to the library became fun again. Reading assignments weren't dictated by library due dates. School became fun again! The best thing about Sonlight was that my oldest, a self-proclaimed reading hater, loves to read the Sonlight books. He may not read anything else, but he doesn't complain about his reading assignments and frequently discusses what he is reading with me. He is finally reading at grade level. My mother's heart is so happy!

I looked at Living Books Curriculum this year. It is a pure Charlotte Mason approach. read-alouds and readers are included. The price is comparable. LBC uses the language arts books that we already use. The problem is that LBC teaches American History concurrent with Ancient History. My boys have enough trouble keeping up the way it is so I think that it would be best if we just stick with one historical time period at a time.

So we will be using Sonlight Core 4 this year. I wish, wish, wish that I had taken the plunge to do Sonlight when we first started. I imagine that I appreciate Sonlight more because of the other things we have tried though. Sonlight has a 18 week Love-To-Learn guarantee. You can try them and get a refund if you don't like them! I am pretty sure you will like them though once you give them a try. You can check them out HERE. The new catalog comes out in April..........oh, the agony of waiting!!!!

Odd Hours

It was noticed by one of my commenters that my dh works "odd hours" - 2nd shift. She said her husband did too and was relieved to find another homeschooler whose dh didn't work 9-5 hours. Let me tell you, it is great to meet you too!

My dh currently works 2nd shift as a correctional officer. He leaves here at 1:30 p.m. and gets home around midnight. Some days he works a double shift and doesn't get home until 8 a.m. We are so thankful for 2nd shift though, because 3rd shift is almost impossible!

It took me a while to figure out how to make homeschooling "work" around my dh's schedule. Here is what we have so far :)
We school main subjects in the morning. Math and language arts are the "main subjects" in my homeschool. I say that because if you can read and do math you can learn anything else. We school from around 8:30 till around 10-10:30. Sometimes the boys finish up independent reading after that, but I am usually done by 10:30. That also happens to correspond with when my dh gets up (unless he works a double shift - more on that below). The boys do their chores while I cook lunch (the big meal of our day because that is when dad is home) and then they are free to visit with dad and play. We eat lunch together as a family almost every day. When dh leaves for work at 1:30 we do the rest of school: read aloud, science, history, geography, art, music, etc. NOT all on the same days or even same weeks! That is the allotted time for such subjects. This time is also when Bear takes his nap so that works out well. Dh has gotten into the habit of putting him down for his nap while I clean up from lunch and that has been such a blessing for me! School is almost always done by 3. We eat a light supper. I call it "fend for yourself" LOL Our evenings are filled with things like reading, playing, drawing and TV/computer time. We are all in bed when dh gets home from work. He "decompresses" alone when he gets home and comes to bed around 2 a.m.

When dh worked 3rd shift it was very difficult to get schooling done. My husband has a very hard time going to sleep in the daylight. We never really could be quiet enough so that he could go to sleep. Most of the time we ended up leaving the house for a few hours and came back after he was asleep. At that time the boys were younger and we did all of our schooling in the afternoon after dh was asleep. That way he was able to spend mornings with the boys.

Frequently, dh works double shifts. He will get home at 8 a.m. and will have to leave again at 1:30 p.m. Those are days that we have to be very, very quiet. The boys don't spend much time with dad and we eat without him. He will eat after he gets to work. Otherwise our schedule stays the same.

Another hurdle that we have crossed is the fact that my dh has Thursday and Friday off each week. On those days we school in the mornings only. At this time we do not school on Saturday or Sunday. We attend church on Sunday. Saturdays are for cleaning and other projects that I need to do. Sometimes we will completely take off on a Thursday or Friday but we try to make that the exception to the rule.

Homeschooling is possible when the father works 2nd shift. It is important to remember when planning your school schedule that your children need to spend time with their dad, especially if you have boys! Don't force school for the whole time when dad is home. Try to allow time for daddy pursuits! We pray that one day dad will have "normal hours". It will be several years. For now, we have learned to function around his schedule in a manner that works for all of us. Be creative!

The Perfect Homeschooler

Will the perfect homeschooler please stand up?

Now, please go somewhere else. I am not worthy to be in the room with you!

Ok, now, for the rest of us, lets lay down the myth of the perfect homeschooler.

1. Most homeschoolers don't get EVERYTHING done, every day. It might be studies, meals, cleaning or ministry that slides but something probably goes every day. That's ok. Just keep doing the next right thing!

2. Most homeschoolers think that someone (or everyone!) is doing it better than they are. Guilt runs rampant among homeschooling mothers.

3. Most homeschooling mothers have had a bad day......most have had that bad day sometime this week.

4. Having a bad day doesn't mean that you are a failure or a bad mother. It doesn't mean that you should send the children out to meet the bus. It means that you need to pick up where you are at and start over.

Ways to combat super-homeschool mom myths:
1. Spend time with God every day. He is the super-homeschooler!
2. Remember that nobody is perfect. You aren't perfect, your children aren't perfect and your homeschooling friends aren't perfect.
3. Do the next RIGHT thing. This is my motto for the year. Remember that the next RIGHT thing might be to take a shower, read a book or take a walk. Mothers need a break too!

I am the mom of 3 rambunctious boys. Many people tell me my life must be very exciting. It is! Yesterday I baked cookies while the boys drove the Little Tikes Jeep through my kitchen. My kitchen is only 3-3.5 ft. from counter to counter. I had to stand very still and hope that the older ones were steering! At any given point in time, there are dirty rocks, dirty ATV helmets, dirty socks and shoes on my kitchen table. Yes, we eat and have school at this table! I count it a GREAT day when I can see the table, bar and living room floor before I go to bed. Many days I wonder why I even bother, but, I just do the next RIGHT thing!

God has great things planned for me and my boys (and my husband too!). I am blessed to spend every minute with them. Your children are a blessing too! God has great plans for them and you! We don't need to be the perfect homeschoolers. We just need to roll with the punches and keep doing the next right thing!

***I got "The Next Right Thing" from the new First Place 4 Health book by Carol Lewis, available as part of the First Place 4 Health member kit....available at CBD.

Avoiding Homeschool Burnout

I am suffering from homeschool burnout.

This tends to happen every year around this time, so I thought that I would share some ways that I am able to overcome and finish the year with a florish - maybe my suggestions will help you finish your year with a BANG!

1. Take a Break - Our homeschool will be taking a break from Dec. 24- Jan. 3. Feel free though to take a break any time of the year. It is better to take a few days off than to drive yourself - and the kids - bonkers!

2. Mix things up a little - A little change in your routine can do wonders for everyone. Typically we do history/science/geography/read-aloud in the afternoons. For the month of January we will be doing these topics during the morning and math/spelling/english in the afternoon. Life wouldn't work this way all the time, but a change for a bit is good for everyone.

3. Throw in a unit study - We tend to study history chronologically (loosely anyway) and science topically. During January we are going to ditch our history, science, geography and english programs and do a unit study. This year we are going to use Further Up and Further In to study through The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. (Review to come soon)

4. Try to get outside - As homeschool mothers I think we have a tendency to chain ourselves to our homes. There are always things to do; lessons to prepare, clothes to wash, floors to sweep, things to dust. It is important for us to get OUT. Go to the park or nature area. Visit the library or YMCA. Sit in the yard. Throw snowballs at your kids (if you get snow!). Find something to do outside the 4 walls of your home. I guarantee that your outlook will be improved when you return......and all your chores will be patiently waiting for you!

I hope that these ideas inspire you to continue on. Keep running the race! Your children will grow up too fast.....make every moment count.

Homemaking

As a homemaker, I come to my job with many goals and a few dreams. It has taken me many years to realize that I am NOT, and will never be, Martha Stewart. I don't like to clean that much and we believe in comfy as a decore. The fact that my house is very rarely spotless, doesn't make me any less a homemaker. I am a homemaker, just by nature of the fact that I "work at home". I spend my days cleaning spills, doing dishes, changing diapers, making beds and folding laundry. Between my daily doings and the chores the older boys have assigned, we usually manage to maintain a liveable, happy home environment.

As ladies, I think that we spend way too much time comparing ourselves to others. I did it too!!! We look at the other moms we know and think about how we don't measure up. Or we secretly "gloat" because for once we had it together while someone else struggled. This isn't what God wants for us! Once I realized that, a tremendous burden was lifted from me.

God wants me to do my very best in my home, for my family, every day. My best may be better or worse than yours. That's ok. God only asks for our very best!

Today is a cold, gloomy winter day. Our whole household has been struggling with sickness. I am tired - but not sick - yet anyway. I rolled out of bed at 6:30 and started the diapers that were soaking. Unloaded the dishwasher and started coffee before Bear woke up at 7. We enjoyed oatmeal for breakfast and woke the older boys at 8. Right on time! I moved the diapers to the dryer, started another load of laundry and we began our homeschool with reading Galatians 5. The boys usually eat breakfast while I read and then brush their teeth and get dressed. Then I read-aloud a chapter from Johnny Tremain. Greg went off to listen to his Spanish CD while Lee and I worked through a lesson in All About Spelling (review to come soon!). Then Greg and I did his lesson while Lee listened to his French CD. Bear sat in his highchair drawing with - I mean eating - a red crayon. As a mother, you can't always win! The older boys finished up with copywork, language lessons, and math while I held Bear and he drew with a pencil on paper.

My boys have daily chores. I will be honest and say that if they don't do their chores, this house is a WRECK. I am sure that says something about my homemaking abilities, but I DON'T CARE. See how easy that is???? After school work is finished, the boys did their chores while I started lunch. I may be a terrible housekeeper, but I am a fantastic cook (if I do say so myself - and I DO!). Today, we had home-made chicken and noodles (Amish noodles - I am not that dedicated), mashed potatoes (home-grown), candied sweet potatoes and fried okra (also home-grown). It was all very yummy! The older boys watch TV or play video games and entertain Bear while I finish up lunch. The 4 of us ate together and played "find that state" on the US map placemats. At 11:30 Bear and I woke up Daddy. He has been working very long hours and is also sick so he slept late.

During the morning hours, I have been grading papers and rotating laundry. Usually lunch is prepared in bits-and-pieces. That is how I manage to get things done around here. After Dad was up, the big bed was stripped and those sheets went in the wash. The rest of the laundry (washed-dried-sitting in baskets in the living room) was folded and put away. I finally got a shower. I cleaned the kitchen up while Dad played with Bear. After Daddy went to work, we read our history and science lessons while Bear ate cheese-balls in the living room. Sadie had her fair share as well.

Bear is down for his nap now. The older boys are playing in their room. They still have independent reading to do this evening. I looked through some books that I ordered, cleaned off my desk, packed some jars in the closet, made my bed back up and worked on some book-reviews.

My house isn't spotless. Toys and blankets are on the floor. There is clutter - I am working on it. I really need to give Sadie a bath.

The most important thing is that we are happy, reasonably healthy and that we are striving to do our very best. I hope and pray that what I have said here encourages you to keep striving toward your best. That is all that God wants from you! Put away the unreasonable expectations that others and YOU place on yourself. Love God, love your family and don't make your home an idol in your life.

Have a wonderful day!

The Terrestria Chronicles

I am hoping to be 1 of 15 winners forThe Quest for Thunder Mountain on the HSB Company Porch! You don't want to miss out on this great new give-away from the author of The Terrestria Chronicles!

Follow the link to HSB Company Porch and be sure to enter if you want to win :)

Blessings,
Carie

Homeschool Library Builder

As part of the TOS Crew I have been asked to do a review of Homeschool Library Builder.

Homeschool Library Builder is a website that is operated by 2 homeschooling mothers. It offers new and used books at discounted prices. Many of the titles used by literature based units (Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, etc) can be found on their shelves. I was able to easily navigate the website. The book descriptions were adequate and most of the books offered reading level suggestions. I always find that helpful when selecting a book. The condition of the book is noted in the description so that there are no surprises when your package arrives.

Homeschool Library Builder also produces a monthly email newsletter which offers a seasonal selection of books. They also help to promote other small businesses! I thought that was great! They are also available for fundraising and have a "helping hand" program to raise money for different charitable causes. Your purchases will earn you "book points" through their Frequent Buyer program that can be used on future purchases.

This company truly seeks to help homeschoolers build their libraries. I found it very easy to place an order and right now they are offering FREE shipping (through 11-6). If you are looking for a place to buy great books at great prices then Homeschool Library Builder is your place!

***Edited to Add*** I received my shipment from HLB FAST! I couldn't believe that it was here already. The books were in the condition stated on the website and I am very pleased with my order and their service. This will definately be a company that I order from again.

Kindergarten Curriculum

As promised, here are my curriculum suggestions for Kindergarten :)

First of all, I want to encourage all new homeschooling moms to take a deep breath. And another. Now, your children will not be deprived in any way if you snuggle on the couch everyday and read fantastic books together. That is all you have to do. I know that is VERY hard to swallow. I know. I was the frantic-first-time-homeschool mom. Ask my oldest son. I was a drill sargeant. We did flashcards for 5 mins., reading practice for 10 minutes, math worksheet, then counting practice and then more flashcards.....on and on. You get the idea? He hated school. With my 2nd son, I was already homeschooling the older one and just didn't have the time to spend 2 hours drilling flashcards (and by then I knew it wouldn't work anyway!). So Greg got 2 worksheets every day; one phonics and one math. We would spend 5 minutes with Alphaphonics and then he would be included in Lee's history, science and literature....ALL of which were basic read alouds and coloring pages. He loves school. So, take it from me......reading is all you really need to do.

However, if you feel compelled to DO something, take a look at my preschool suggestions. Most of them still apply here. We use Alphaphonics to teach reading so if your child is interested, then I would suggest that. I also used Modern Curriculum Press's Kindergarten math book with the older boys, one page a day. I don't know if I will get that technical the next time, but it was a good value and worked as a "gentle" beginning for math. We use Math-U-See for math after that, so we will probably look into the primer for kindergaten.

Other suggestions:
Five in a Row (we didn't use this, but I really like the looks of it)
Sonlight K
My Father's World K

***As a thought, all of the above are basically focused around reading GREAT children's books aloud to your children. You can save a BUNCH of money by just getting great books from the library and reading them, over and over, to your children. Read the books, discuss the books, live the books. Throw in some children's history and science books if it makes you happy. Sit on the couch or lay on the floor (or better yet, a blanket in the yard) and read together. Don't forget to let everyone (even the big ones!) look at the pictures. I would also suggest that you read "bigger" books to your children. When Lee was 5, we read the whole Little House on the Prairie series during bedtime. Take a look at Madeline, House on Pooh Corner and Charlotte's Web as well.

Don't forget Bible. If you are still using a Bible storybook, you should continue with that but throw in at least one day a week of reading passage from the Bible. We use KJV and my children haven't ever had any problem understanding it. I firmly believe that children become accustomed to what they are exposed to. I would also encourage you to sing hymns with your children. We own several children's praise music CDs that are fantastic and really get God's word into their little hearts. If you aren't memorizing scripture together as a family yet, now is the time to start. HERE are some verses to start with if you are stumped.

Simply Charlotte Mason is a wonderful site dedicated to helping parents educate their children via Charlotte Mason's method. To read more you can go HERE. Cindy Rusthon also has some fantastic articles about learning through "living books" HERE.

Spend this year as you did last year. Learn the habits of reading and living together day by day. Share your life with your children and explore the world together. Enjoy your children! This year will be gone so fast that you will wonder where it went.

THIS WEEK ONLY

This week only you can purchase Cindy Rushton's Organized Mom Super Set for half price! This is a fabulous resource and an incredible value, at $49.95. Click HERE for the special price. It is not at this price on the website....you must use this link.

Included in this set are:
Homeschooling the Easy Way Vol. 1
Let's Get Organized
Make Your Own Brain in a Binder
The Ultimate Mommy Menu Planner
Getting Back to God's Design for the Godly Home
Homeschooling the Easy Way Vol. 2
Christ-Centered Christmas
PLUS:
6 of Cindy's audio workshops
AND
2 of Matthew's audio workshops
AND
Organization 911: Help for the Messy Mom Seminar Set
AND
Let's Get Organized for the New School Year Seminar Set (Cindy's newest seminar)

This set is normally $99. You are getting this for HALF price! If you are looking for a little help in the organization department, then this set is what you are looking forward. Remember to use THIS link.....the website does not reflect this special "friends only" price.

Please share how this set has encouraged you!
Enjoy!