Thursday, June 25, 2009
~The Schoolhouse Planner~
One of my goals this summer is to develop the best planner for our next school year! We are getting ready for a very busy 2009-2010 school year and one of my motto's is "fail to plan, plan to fail". I searched through the Donna Young sites and began creating my own planning pages in Microsoft. I knew that The Schoolhouse Planner existed but I underestimated the value of this fabulous resource. It is more than a resource it is the wisdom of many homeschool moms, plus a home organizer and educational encylopedia all rolled into one!
I was very excited to be given the privilege to review The Schoolhouse Planner for my first TOS Crew review. It is going to provide the firm foundation for a great plan!
Still doubting the need to spend the $$ on this great resource let me share with you my favorite parts of the planner.
The monthly calendars have large boxes that I will not be able to over-fill! Yeah, no more writing in the margin. But if I did need to write in the margin there is plenty of room to do that. Also pictured here are two recipes, each month there are two tried n' true recipes. Examples of the recipes include....Spinach Alfredo Lasagne, Chicken and Rice, Big Dave's Big Family Chili, and Stromboli. Then each month there are topics for study, with an expert in that area sharing wisdom for us. For instance in the month of September, Dr. Jay Wile writes about "Weather", followed by a handy guide to clouds with extensive description of them. These tools each month would be great starters for month long unit studies.
Charts and tables galore!
Homeschool Forms...there is a plethora of fabulous forms to use.
Some I have already printed off to include in the planner I will have bound include:
~Annual plans....these are set up to briefly write out your homeschool plan for the whole year. They could be for one child but I also intend to use them for a full year. For example, today I am writing out my plan for our hymn study for the year. I will print off the full year and schedule in each hymn will study week by week. Oops...I forgot to mention that each planning sheet has the capablity to type in it! Yes...so I can type the topic "Hymn" then type in each week which hymn we will study. Isn't that fabulous! A planner where you can type into the form anything and everything to make it personally yours!
~Curriculum Planning Sheet...Wouldn't it be great to have a sheet where side by side you could compare each curriculum that you are choosing between? That is exactly what is available within the planner.
Other forms which I will use this year include:
~High School Hours Tracking Log
~Weekly planning for two children(I plan everything for Jennifer using Homeschool Tracker than it transfers into her report card and transcript
~Books Read this Year
~Field Trip planning sheet and a Field Trip report sheet
the list is endless!
If that doesn't peak your curiosity, then let me list a few of the household planning forms.
- Address Book
- Website Login/Password
- Home Repair Projects Worksheet
- Christmas Card List
- Car Maintenance Schedule
- Party/Celebration Planning
- To-Do List/Appointment Schedule
- Emergency Medical Info Sheet
- Grocery List
- Seasonal Cleaning Checklist
Ok I am beginning to sound like a infomercial but before I conclude I want to mention one last really neat feature of this planner.
Have you ever opened a large PDF file and got tired of paging through to get to the exact page you wanted? Well not with the TOS Planner! From the table of contents you click on the line listing the page that you want and it takes you to that page. How cool is that!
Here is the link where you can buy your TOS planner:
(click the picture)
Cost for this fabulous planner is $39.00
Order between June 11, 2009 and July 12, 2009 and receive the 2008 Planner Excerpts FREE.
I will post pictures of my completed planner after I have it bound in late July.
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Friday, June 19, 2009
~Book Giveaway~~A Bride in the Bargain by Deanne Gist~~
This Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is reviewing
A Bride in the Bargain
by
Deanne Gist.
The Wedding Is All Planned...
Someone Just Needs to Tell the Bride
In 1860s Seattle, redwoods were plentiful but women scarce. Yet a man with a wife could secure 640 acres of timberland for free.
Joe Denton doesn't have a wife, though. His died before she could follow him to Seattle and now the local judge is threatening to take away his claim. In desperation, he buys himself a Mercer bride--one of the eastern widows and orphans brought to the Territory by entrepreneur Asa Mercer.
Anna Ivey's journey west with Mercer is an escape from the aftermath of the Civil War. She signed on to become a cook--not a bride. When she's handed over to Denton, her stubborn refusal to wed jeopardizes his land. With only a few months before he loses all he holds dear, can he convince this provoking, but beguiling, easterner to become his lawfully wedded wife?
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Bride In The Bargain, go HERE
I have one copy of this book to giveaway.
Leave a comment with your email address and I will pick a random winner on June 26th!
The lazy days of summer invite a lot of delightful reading!
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
~Wordless Wednesday~
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
~Mentoring New Home-educating Parents~
My husband and girls went on our church camp-out last weekend. He is such a great dad! Soon I'll post some pictures. On Sunday morning he became the center of a group discussion about home-educating. One of the sweetest mommy's caught the home-educating dream!
I feel ill-equipped to mentor this sweet mom! But I am excited that the Lord is calling her to keep her child at home. So I am prayerfully beginning the process. I thought I would share an email containing some answers to her questions. We are meeting next Monday evening at our home. If you would like to share any wisdom, for me to pass on to her, please feel free to leave a comment!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is my first email to her:
Hi Amy,
Here are the sites in the order that I'd start with:
then...
(this site has a lot to chew on so I would take my time on it).
I am excited for you and will be praying for you. Home-educating our children takes some work but the rewards are numerous!
This is my second email to her:
Good Morning Amy,
I love your excitement about homeschooling it is precious and contagious! You are going to do a fabuloug job of homeschooling Lily!
First I want to make a suggestion, be very careful with the book The Well Trained Mind. I read that book the first year we home-educated and it sent me into a tizzy! Susan Wise Bauer has very high standards that are almost undoable, in my humble opinion. Although it is a great guide, it isn't that helpful in the day to day of home-educating.
Instead I would suggest reading your Bible, praying and writing in a prayer journal what the Lord speaks to your heart. I know this sounds weird at first, but He is who keeps me grounded in the day-to-day of our home-education. When things get shaky I am able to be firmly established in the facts that He is the one that called us to home-educate our daughters. He then speaks the nuggets of Truth that He has given me during these times spent with His Word.
Next I'd think through your day-to-day routine of your home...when do the other children nap? I'd write out a simple routine that could incorporate 15 minute learning times for Lily. You will be amazed how six-eight, consistent, 15 minute learning times will reap a lot of knowledge. Plus by keeping it to 15 minutes will keep her from getting burnt out on learning and instead ignite her desire to become a life-long learner and Christ follower.
These methods are called the Charlotte Mason Method...this is one of my favorite website:
Sonya Shaffer is a homeschooling moms with lots of great wisdom and fabulous ideas to share.
To answer your questions more specifically:
Did you ever have doubt that you would not be able to teach you kids how to read???
Well...yes and no...I have a terrible sin condition called "pride" and with Elizabeth my stubborn pride wouldn't ever let me doubt I couldn't do it. Plus, Elizabeth is a bright child and she quickly picked up on it. Grace on the other hand I've had a few moments where I've been a little shaky in my ability to teach her. She doesn't like to sit with the books open and read for as long. She loves to play and does a great job doing this quietly. So I tend to be busy with the other girls while she gets to play. This year that is going to be different for her, because she is no longer 4 turning 5 in the middle of the school year. She is 5 turning 6 in the middle of the school year.
I will show you a couple of tools that I used/use for teaching reading. Sherry F. is the best resource for teaching reading though. But there are great curriculum out there to teach reading.
When people at my job ask me "how do you know what, when and how to teach your children?" I reassure them that there are entrepreneurs out there that will sell you the best curriculum to teach your children. The hard part is narrowing down the choices into what is best for you. A lot of prayer is involved and sometimes you will pick something that just doesn't work. Then the choice is ditch it and move on or keep with it until the end of the year. That will just depend on the individual situation of that curriculum.
I assure you as long as you have the desire from the Lord and drive to do it, home-educating Lily will not ruin her in anyway!
Did you feel worried at all that public schools would be able to do a better job than you could???
Jennifer was in the public school for grades k-4th, and I know from that experience that there is no way they can do a better job. The basic premise for public school is generalized group learning. The majority of classes that are taken to be a school teacher is in classroom management and teaching large groups. In your home you can give Lily the individualized education that best meets her learning style/needs and personality. You know your child better and will lovingly give her the best education.
Plus again I struggle with the sin of pride and that makes it totally not even a thought in my brain that they could do a better job. With time and experience those doubts will subside also.
Another question, what do moms do with other siblings while the older homeschool students are partaking in the activities that have been planned for the group for the day???
Do you mean the activities that the support group is participating in? That depends a lot on the activity. With the Little Keeper's you could bring the other children along to participate. If we go on a field trip, like to the Fire station then all the children could come with us too. I organizing Civic Center educational play tickets for the group this year and one of the plays is the Very Hungry Caterpillar. That would be fine to bring all of the children to as well. A lot of home-educating families have many children...so bringing a few extra children with you and Lily to the activities will be no problem. Some moms have the grandparents watch the other siblings while the older homeschool student is involved in the activity as well.
You are going to be the greatest homeschooling mom for Lily and Reed.
Keep the questions coming!
Hugs,
Linda
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Monday, June 15, 2009
~Strawberry Picking~
The girls and I went strawberry picking last week at a local pick your own patch. It was a lot of fun, we have been enjoying the fruits of our labor.
~~This is one of our favorite summer time fun things!
Blessings,
Linda
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
~Homeschooling in Iowa---on Iowa TV Channel~
Our local TV channel aired this piece on homeschooling last month. For the most part it is good, the parts that made me cringe were comments from the Iowa Director of Education.
Happy Viewing.
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Friday, May 29, 2009
~Great Summer Reading Programs~
I love the incentive of Summer Reading programs for my girls. They get rewarded for doing something that is already expected of them :) ....I've found some fun reading programs...
(click the title to go to the program website)
Splish's Summer Reading Program at Homeschool Blogger:
There are lots of fun things happening this year @ Splish's blog...check it out!
Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program:
Although I am in no way endorsing the theme of this program the incentive is good. For reading eight books your children can win a free book. Here are a few of the choices for free books:
GRADES 1 & 2
Abe Lincoln’s Hat by Martha Brenner
Biscuit Takes a Walk by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Camping Out by Mercer Mayer
Fancy Nancy: The Dazzling Book Report by Jane O’Connor
Little Bear’s Visit by Else Holmelund Minarik
GRADES 3 & 4
Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth
Henry Huggins Beverly Cleary
Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter
Moonwalk: The First Trip to the Moon by Judy Donnelly
Pick of the Litter by Bill Wallace
GRADES 5 & 6
The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles
Beacon Street Girls #1: Worst Enemy/Best Friends Annie Bryant
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
Sounder by William H. Armstrong
This year's program at Half-Price books is called "Feed Your Brain".
Your children will earn a $3 gift card for each week that they read fifteen minutes per day.
Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes. Book Adventure was created by and is maintained by Sylvan Learning.
Check out your local library:
All local libraries have summer reading programs for children. Our's will have prizes for every 5 hours they read, some prizes include gift cards, free books, and a t-shirt. The girls will also be able to register for special prize give-aways.
Soon I will post our summer reading lists!
~~Keeping those pages turning....
Linda
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