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The Best of + My Homeschool Crib

August 19, 2011 By 7 Comments

From August to May, most mornings you will find me here. You might notice the mismatched chairs and the fact that I only have 2 of them, but teach 3 kids. Yes. That is how we roll. More chairs would be great. Student #3 is typically on her bed or on the floor doing her work.  And, I find I am more comfortable in my sweet leatherish desk chair. If I get the chance to sit down, that is.

I will never part with this table. Yes, I let them write on it. A lot. They love it.

I am most proud of this wall. I pretended to be the Nester and hammered away. Oh, and yes, my husband was out of the country at the time. My plan is to fill the entire wall with artwork. (If you squint you can see the smallest of lights covering a strange outlet that is smack in the middle of the wall.  Nice.)

This is the absolute cleanest this desk will be. So of course I’m documenting it.  See the cute file folders crammed with stuff I have no idea what to do with? If you don’t know what to do, put it in a cute folder. And Nancy Drew, you have to have some mystery in your life, right?

So there it is,  a peak of my always in process school room. I was pleased this week with how it transformed from last year.  A printer stand, curtains, art stuff containment unit, photos, 10 Billy book cases, a globe collection and something inspiring over my desk would be great.  But, this is great, too.  We are blessed, and I am thankful!

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And now some of  my Best Of as it pertains to new Homeschool stuff I’ve found:

I may have cried a little when I saw this.  Movies with FREE CURRICULUM! Reminds me of film strip day at school.

This is the genius stuff Jolanthe of Homeschool Creations puts out there for all of us who can’t dream it up!  This is a great way for spelling to be fun (like Scrabble for little ones!) And it is also FREE!


I found this idea on Pinterst which is an amazing resource for finding creative ideas.  This one is called Retelling the Story.  I love it for my Kindergartener, but I have a feeling her older sisters will join in, too!  This is not a homeschool site, but written by a kindergarten teacher.  Lover her ideas for hands on learning!

And finally, to bring a smile to your face this Friday, 20 Great Reasons You Homeschool via Five J’s, a great homeschooling website I subscribe to.

*****

{Special Mention: Not new to me, but if you are looking for a great online community, check out the Homeschool Village. I love what they are building!}

*****

Back to School Week 2011:

God did Not Call me to a Quiet House

What Kind of Planner are You?

Our Curriculum

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Filed Under: Homeschool, Teacher's Desk, The Best Of
7 Comments

Back to School :: Our Curriculum

August 18, 2011 By 9 Comments

Gather with a group of homeschool moms, and in about 10 seconds flat you will be talking about curriculum. And usually, the curriculum conversation is about math.  Am I right?   I know this because typically,  I am the one asking the questions.  I like to know what others moms are teaching and how they landed on those choices.

This year, I am teaching 6th and 3rd grades and kindergarten.  Just typing that makes me nervous.  When I had one, in kindergarten, we had so much time just to color and create.  Now, it really feels a bit like drinking form a fire hydrant of knowledge.  Here is what we will be using:

For my “sweet baby Kindergarten girl”:

Reading Made Easy

Right Start Math (level B)

A Reason For Handwriting (level K)

5 In a Row (using books 1 & 2)

My “it must be fun” 3rd Grader:

Learning Language Arts Through Literature (yellow book)

Right Start Math (Level D – using lots of games!)

The New American Cursive (level 2 ***great for lefties because the binder is at the top!)

For the “She is smarter than me” 6th grader:

Learning Language Arts Through Literature (tan book)

The Great Editing Adventure

Saxon Math 7/6

My whole class:

Who Am I? (Bible curriculum from Apologia, book 2)

Foundations :: A Biblical worldview approach to history, science, art, drama, music and church history (their Friday classes)

Various arts and crafts

Ballet

Piano

1st read aloud :: A Lion to Guard Us, Clyde Robert Bulla

{I have added a few hyper links so you can find these books.  A few are from Amazon.  In effort to keep with full disclosure, please know that I am an affiliate with Amazon.  If you click through and buy the product, I will receive a small compensation.}

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That about covers it.  I may add a few things here and there, but this is our starting point for the 2011/2012 school year!  So, what curriculum are you most excited about?  Do you have any questions on the stuff I’m using? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

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Tomorrow, I’ll share favorite homeschool and creative links plus a peak at my homeschool room.

Did you miss any of the back to school week fun?

Tuesday :: God Did Not Call Me to a Quiet House

Wednesday :: What Kind of Planner are You?

*****Winner of the Homeschool Planner is Emily from Whisper of Wonder!

Filed Under: Homeschool, Teacher's Desk
9 Comments

Back To School :: What Kind of Planner are You? {Giveaway}

August 17, 2011 By

Today is the day.  We are back to school. My girls will devour the donuts, I will drink an extra cup of coffee and we will dream of what the year holds for us.  I don’t write about it much, but homeschooling is a huge part of our lives. I think finally, as I start my 7th year of teaching my girls {wow!} I am settling into my own brand of homeschooling.

So, what is my homeschool brand?

  • I love the big picture.
  • Vision planning their year is my favorite part.
  • I don’t really have a super structured daily plan.
  • I write down what we DID instead of what I think we will DO.
  • We partner with an umbrella school.  They keep my records and me sane.
  • My girls go 1 day each week and take classes through this umbrella school.
  • I thoroughly enjoy my 1 day off from teaching.  {I am looking forward to lots of Starbuck this year with my 2 year old!}
  • I am pretty much a unit study based girl.
  • My girls have basically done the same curriculum, because I know it and can tailor it to their needs. {Does that make me lazy?}
  • We love to read, and my passion is that they will be life long readers! {So far, so good!}
  • Yes, I’m in this for the long haul.
  • I thrive on encouragement from those who have stayed the course and finished.{like her and her}
  • I try not to sweat the little things.

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Now how about a fun giveaway? My friend, Jolanthe, from Homeschool Creations is brilliant.  She has an amazing blog devoted to all the amazing things she does with her kids in their homeschool.  I drool every time I read one of her posts.    She has created a homeschool planner for every type of homeschool mom!  {Including, me!}

I have been using it in my planning this past week and I love that it is a pdf that you can edit! Can I get an amen???  Ok, this is huge for me!  Here is what I did.  I saved it as a pdf to keep the original.  Then I saved it a second time as a “save as” and put “2011/2012 school year” as the title.  So next year, I can do the same thing but, change the name!  Brilliant! {Also, Jolanthe’s idea.}

Here is the nitty gritty:

What’s inside this editable pdf planner:

* 138 planning pages ~ 8 1/2″ x 11″ sized
* 12 blank month-at-a-glance pages
* 40 weeks of weekly planning and journal sheets: each page can be customized to the
subjects that your family studies and can be saved to your computer!
* Preschool planning sheets
* Field trip/Event plan sheets
* Yearly curriculum planning sheets
* Yearly planning and evaluation sheets
* Yearly attendance tracking sheets
* Field trip/Event plan sheets
* Daily to-do lists
* Main dish menu planner
* Customizable chore charts
* Important contacts info
* Additional note space
* Standardized testing and yearly assessment result tracking
* Homeschooling requirement planning

I’m still playing around with mine, but I am excited to use it this year. The neat thing is that today and tomorrow only, Jolanthe has slashed the price for you from $20 to $12. And one lucky person, who leaves a comment here, will win one for free.

Tell me, what type of planner are you?  Do you know your homeschool brand yet? Leave a comment, and be sure to get your copy of the planner for only $12. As usual, if you share this on Facebook and Twitter, you can leave an extra comment. Tell your friends about the sale, too! Since I know you have to get your planning on, I’ll announce the winner tomorrow! I’ll be sharing about our curriculum for the year!

{To buy your own planner. Click here.}

Filed Under: Giveaway, Homeschool, Teacher's Desk


Back to School Week :: God Did Not Call me to a Quiet House

August 16, 2011 By 21 Comments

God did not call me to a quiet house…

Linda Werner, Circle Christian Schools

I long for quiet.

I wake up crazy early, every day so I can have a quiet time with the Lord.

I stay up too late after they go to bed, simply listening to the air conditioning run, and the quiet.

Our days are filled with words. Noise. Giggles. Outbursts. Life.

Meals seem to be the loudest most word filled time of all.

Sometimes, my ears hurt and my head spins because of the noise.

As a mother of 4 girls, I find that even when one of them is quiet, another picks up the slack.

I am still learning, after almost 12 years of being their mommy, to live in the hubbub and be, okay.

The funny thing is that I’m a talker, too, and it is quite possible that they get it from me.

So, last week when I heard this quote at a meeting, I smiled.

She had to be thinking of me and my husband, who wears noise canceling earphones at times to work and drive.

I know, what you are going to say. “Someday, it will be quiet, and you will miss it.”

And I think, no, it won’t. Because what I’m building, what I’m praying for, is a legacy, a home, a place where they keep coming back to.  They, all grown up, still talking and living life, with their noisy kids and dogs and life will be in my house. Forever.

Oh, you might find me hiding at times in my bedroom.  But, the sound will be music to my ears.

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Back To School Week 2011:

Planning, What Works for me

Our Curriculum

Links and My Homeschool Room

Looking Forward,
Filed Under: Homeschool, Parenting, Teacher's Desk
21 Comments

Random, I know.

May 26, 2011 By 7 Comments

You are free to get up and happy dance with me!

  • I am 100% committed do cleaning out and overhauling our school room before the end of May.  On second thought, it may take till June.  But, I’m 97.8% committed to working in there until it’s finished.
  • This weekend I am heading to our state home school conference to absorb as much wisdom as I can. This is a challenge because I am road weary from the past 180 days I just logged for the 2010/2011 school year. Still, I will visit the exhibit hall and wonder what I should buy, I will attend seminars that sound good and try not to doze off because I’m sitting in one place for more than 10 seconds.  {relate?} I’m staying with some awesome women and I plan on eating all their snacks.  {Note: Always room with people who bring good snacks!}
  • My sweet friend Krystal won the eBook giveaway “Parenting from the Overflow”. She teaches piano to my girls most every Thursday.   She won fair and square, I promise.  Be sure to buy a copy of this awesome resource.  It is only $5 and your money will bless Mercy House Kenya.  Teri Lynne now has added a website – which is equally as awesome as she is.  You can visit it by clicking,  here.
  • I  just finished reading a book, that has completely undone me. But, I can’t tell you about it yet.  I’ve been sworn to secrecy.  Be assured though, you will hear more about it later.  And, you will love it.  Or you will be undone like me, deal with your crazy, and then love it.
  • Grace Notes is still going strong, and this summer we will work our way through the book of Galatians. It is not a long book, but is packed with so much Grace that I know you will love it!  More on this later!

*****

So, what randomness is swimming around in your head?  Let’s chat!

Filed Under: Connect, Giveaway, Parenting, Teacher's Desk
7 Comments

Multitude Monday

April 11, 2011 By 11 Comments

“Sometimes…I have made the building process more costly than God ever intended it to be. Like other homeschooling mothers who live under the fear of not doing enough, I expected more of myself than God did. Consequently, I set unrealistic goals and higher standards for my children than God required. It shouldn’t be surprising then that I burned out trying to pay the cost God never required. I burned out, not because God was asking more of me than I could do, but because I was asking more of me than I could do. As a wiser woman now, I know that God’s goal for me is that I build a good house, not the best one. After all, if I become spiritually exhausted because I try to build more than God expects of me, then I soon won’t be building at all.”

Sally Clarkson, Seasons of a Mother’s Heart, p. 89

Counting 1,000 Gifts…

#740 For the wisdom of Sally for writing this quote, and the thought of Jolanthe to share it here.

#740  Art on the sidewalk.

#741  Movies that move my mommy heart.

#742  Hearing sisters laugh together.

#743  Stopping to play at the park.

#744  The freedom to encourage my little one to go “up” the slide.

#745  Learning their love language.

#746  Coffee with another mom who encourages me.

#747  My 11 year old hiding God’s Word in her heart and advancing to State Bible Drill!

#748  My husband playing Clue with my girls on a Saturday night. Knowing this type of investment is priceless.

#749  A good house is really good enough.


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Filed Under: Multitude Monday, Parenting, Teacher's Desk, Thankful
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