Jun. 23, 2009 - TEACH magazine :)
I just got my copy of TEACH magazine (TEACHmagazine.com), woohoo! I am in the midst of some not so happy things right now. This issue has spoken to my heart. Mrs. Lorrie Flem wrote an article called "Ordinary Obedience Following Flubber". Don't let the title fool you, it is not a silly article. It spoke directly to me as I'm currently struggling with dealing with certain emotions I'm having in a Godly way. This issue has really blessed me. I wrote more, but lost it. Since it is not so easy to type on my cell (no computer again) I'm not re-typing it, lol. I suggest that you get a sample issue, I know it will bless you too. :)
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Jul. 11, 2007 - Last book order is on it's way!
I had placed my last school book order several weeks ago. This is the last order we need before we can start the new school year. Woohoo, it has finally shipped. We should have it in the next week or two and then we can get going. The children are going stir crazy. The girls in particular are eager to get started.
I have recently made some good changes to my home. I bought a chrome shelf for the laundry room. Now I can fold the clothes and sort them directly in the laundry room. The children can take their sorted clothes and put them away easily now. No more piles of clean laundry all over the house! Now to work on the piles of dirty clothes, lol. If I would just limit myself the other things I'm doing I would have loads of time to get my laundry washed. And hmmmm, maybe a timer around my neck to remind me that my laundry is ready to be switched out. I think I will hunt for one of those.
Another thing that I have done, is to buy a 9-cubby cube shelf from Target. Each child now has their own cubby for school supplies and books. Very much more organized than the previous method we had been using of them shoving their books into the bookshelf any which way.
And finally I am creating a chore system. I have tried many of them over the years and have not really found one I like yet. I created some fun little chore booklets for each of the children:
But after making them decided that we needed a master wall chart because my children are super good at losing their chore cards/books etc. And then when it's chore time, they say they can't do it because they lost their thing. Having learned that I don't enjoy dealing with that situation, I am creating a wall chart. I'm using a magnetic white board that I have added lines to with detail tape from the office supply store. Next I bought magnetic business cards and I'm printing pictures to stick onto the sticky part of the magnetic business cards so that the chores can be pictures for my littles. They can check off completed chores with a dry erase marker. I am so hopeful that this is the system that will work for us.
Well, it's time to get off this computer and get some chores done. You all have a wonderful day today!
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Aug. 29, 2006 - Cutting costs a tiny bit more
I own the program Startwrite. I have really enjoyed using it, it has made our penmanship progress nicely this year. But as Christmas approaches and I try to cut costs where I can to free up funds for gift giving I decided to relook at this aspect of our homeschool day. I have been going through a printer cartridge a month and the paper to go along with it. That works out to about $30 a month, calculating the months until Christmas, that equals about $90-$120 just for ink and paper. Now all of that was not penmanship, some was regular printing needs, and some has been math drill sheets and additional educational printing for school. So, I have decided to tackle penmanship and math drill sheets first to try to cut that in half which could free up $45-$60 for holiday spending.
For penmanship I bought dry erase lapboards that are penmanship lined on one side. I bought these at Walmart, they are very sturdy wooden boards and they are made by Expo. I bought two and each came with a marker. This was my first step. Next, I printed on 3x5" cards, using the Startwrite program, each letter of the alphabet. On one side I printed manuscript, and the other side cursive. I used my handy dandy comb binding machine and bound the cards together, I made two sets of these. Now they have a guide for how to write each letter and they can practice forming them on the dry erase boards. Then I made some cards with each letter of the alphabet in cursive, but joined together, so they would learn how to join their cursive letters. And on the flip side of those cards I put 3-4 words per card of some bible verses. Those will also teach them to join the letters into words. And maybe they will even memorize those verses.
For math drill sheets, I'm still working on them. I have a couple ideas rolling around in my head. I can use Calculadder, I have both Masterpak's. I can use the reuseable sheet overlay they provide with them to cut costs. Go to the copy shop and have bulk copies made. Or copy the sheets I need on cardstock, cover them with contact paper, and cut holes out for the answers. I could write the answers on the back so they could write the answers in the holes onto a sheet of paper and then flip them over, line up the wholes and check their answers themselves. I haven't decided what I will do yet, I'm still thinking about it.
The real trick will be not spending the money I free up on other things, lol!
How are you freeing up money for holiday spending?
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Aug. 27, 2006 - Duct tape is a wonderful thing!
This weekend I went to Costco. It was fun and crowded as Costco almost always is. I spent more than I should have, but then Costco does that to me a lot of times so I am kind of used to it. I bought 10 gallons of milk there. We usually drink at least 12 gallons every two weeks, but I had some left in the freezer, so I only bought 10. This will be enough. As I was making out my shopping list this time I realized that I needed or should I say wanted some file boxes for the children's individual school books. But I quickly added up how much it would cost, $20-30. Nope, out of the question this paycheck, because I knew I needed a new skillet for cooking. Our family has more than outgrown our small 8" saute pan. Hmmm, what could I do to get both? This is where creativity becomes nessessary if you have a large family and moderate income.
Hmmm, let me think. Ah-ha! Costco milk is sold 2 gallons packaged in a cardboard box. There are my file boxes! But wait, plain cardboard isn't real strong, and with milk printed on the sides, it's kind of ugly. What to do, what to do. This is where duct tape comes in. I bought a roll of white duct tape and covered the outside of the boxes. Pretty white file boxes for only the price of a roll of duct tape! The roll only covered half the boxes so I rummaged around the house until I found our household roll or plain old silver duct tape. Not as pretty, but it's actually cheaper than the white roll, it has more on it. So, I finished up my file boxes in silver. The girls boxes are white and the boys boxes are more manly silver, lol!
Duct tape and ingenuity to the rescue!
Duct tape has lots of used though. My son used it to fix one of his noodles that he uses in the pool. One of our metal chairs in the school room is coming apart, so we put it back together with duct tape. It's good stuff, lol!
I am the first to admit that duct tape is not classy. And in a perfect world, I would buy the file boxes, toss the noodle and get a new one, and replace the chair in the school room. But this world is never going to be perfect, and maybe it's not so wise to just toss things that have a bit of life left in them anyway.
Do I feel poor because I had to pick between a pan or file boxes for school? Not at all, I got to have an adventure figuring out how to meet both needs. And adventures are always fun.
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Mar. 22, 2006 - Look What I Made!
I made Century books for my our homeschool. I took ideas from 3 different places to make ours.
This is the cover, pretty plain, but lots of space for each child to personalize.
Each 100 years is a two page spread like this:
From AD to present there is an extra 3/4 page between each 100 year spread, like this:
We will be using these timeline figures for our books:
I have also made a wall timeline, and here it is:
The timeline is in our hallway, it is the only place we have room.
Here are the links to where I found my information to make my books:
Home School in the Woods - This is where I bought the figures and I am following the colors she suggests.
Donna Young's Website - This is where I found the idea to add extra 3/4 pages.
Simply Charlotte Mason - This is where I downloaded my template, I then used permanent colored markers, to color code the lines.
I printed all of the pages on cardstock, so that they would be really durable. I then bound them with a comb binding. I have a binding machine, so it just took time and no real money to do this. I don't think it is very much to have it bound at a copy shop though.
The timeline in the hallway I made with white wallboard (like what you would use in a bathroom), and for the lines I used colored electrical tape. This way our timeline can be moved if we need to.
I look forward to filling these books up with the children!
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Mar. 18, 2006 - Help I'm Married to a Homeschooling Mom!
I just read Help I'm Married to a Homeschooling Mom! and it was so funny and encourageing.
The comics in this book are worth it alone, my favorites being the one where the mom is hiding in the closet and the father asks if she had a tough day, the caption the the bottom reads, "dumb question". The other one I really liked was the one where the mom has school books she just bought and is all excited telling the dad and he is only thinking dollar signs, the caption reads, "a dad and his money are soon parted".
This book takes a lighthearted look at some of the struggles that homeschooling moms go through and the way we feel. It is very real and is written to husbands. I liked that it showed my husband that the feelings I sometimes experience in homeschooling are normal. I felt validated, and it shares real ways that husbands can support their homeschooling wives.
If you have an extra $10 (plus shipping) get this book. It is really funny and deals with real things in a light way that won't scare off even the most timid husband. And it really blessed my heart to see that I am not alone. I know you will enjoy it too.
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Jul. 28, 2005 - Brook Did "School" Too!
Chloe (5) is really doing well in the Rod & Staff grade 1 math. Chloe is about 2/3 of the way through MCP Plaid Phonics K, she likes it and it has really reinforced the letter sounds for her. I will start teaching her to blend the sounds when we are closer to the end of the book. Chloe is almost finished with her penmanship book, so I need to buy the next in the series.
Mara (4 in a few days) is really enjoying the ABC series from Rod & Staff and she is progressing nicely. She did make a mistake by not following instructions today resulting in black tulips, but after a chat we will follow directions better. I don't know what she was thinking coloring a tulip black?! I will start teaching her the letter sounds soon. I will be starting her in the Handwriting Without Tears first book once she completes the first couple books in the series. My children really enjoy that penmanship program.
Brook (2 next month) decided she wanted to do "school" today with us, so I made her a "school book" with lined notebook paper and a 3-prong folder. She loved it! She scribbled in her book and brought it over for me to "correct". She was so happy. Then she brought it over to me and had me draw pictures for her that she would decorate in her special way. It was a really fun and special time.
The boys did their lessons cheerfully today, except for Noah (7) who seems to be in a dawdle mood. Elijah (10) and Moses (9) really are liking the Lifepacs for math and language arts, but they like them because they are so easy. When we switch to Rod & Staff there will be battles, and I am not looking forward to them. But, I need them to actually learn during their school time and not just breeze through stuff that isn't really taught but is just busy work. I am sure that Lifepacs work for some really well, and the concept is great. But I think my boys need a little more explanation and practice than what they offer. Moses is really enjoying his greek course Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek, he is really leaning from it. Elijah is dragging with his Latin's Not So Tough. I don't think it is the program, he just doesn't have a lot of drive. We are working on that.
I made books with blank paper for the girls and Noah and they had a blast drawing pictures in them. I believe that drawing practice stimulates their minds, strengthens their penmanship, and encourages their creativity. And it's fun too!
I spent some time today looking at the Sonlight website. Several of the Momys use it and enjoy it. I think it is a great program and will be looking at it more. I was really thinking though that the book lists would be great for finding good books to accompany the subjects covered in the texts I have chosen to use this year. I couldn't find the lists online anywhere, so I assume that you need to actually use the program to have the lists. Bummer for now.
Other than that we have just puttered around and done chores. The boys have played some video games, and the girls have pulled some weeds. I have been offering .05 per weed pulled and they figured that 20 weeds is $1. Now they can't wait to go pull weeds, I just hope I can afford it!
