Posted in Homeschooling

Well I am planning our new year which start January the 8th. Here is what I have so far.

Prima Latina on Mon, Tues, and Friday

Story of the World and Mystery of History Mon, Tues and Friday

And thats it! I have dont the lesson plans for these. I will be working on getting our Science together this week. Im thinking I will follow the Well Trained Mind suggestion for 1st year Science. I will also have some art and music for fun thrown in on alternate days.

My girls are moving right along in their studies. Karly just finished First Language Lessons so I will be getting her Rod and Staff English 3 to work on in January. She will also be transitioning to cursive in the next few weeks.

Kelsie is doing great in all of her 1st grade subjects.

Well thats all the time I have now.

WHY does HSB keep double spacing everything? Hmm..have to check that out!

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We started a "formal" program with Adrian (3.5) and Tamara (newly 5) I am using the prep program for ages 2-4 at the Letter of the Week website. Its a great program. We are learning about cows, the letter A, the square and the number 1 this week. They loved it. I want to get through this by the beginning of January, move onto the Letter of the week program for ages 2-5 and be ready to start Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading by the end of Febuary. Once we get through that we will do Saxon Phonics K and from there we just focus on reading a lot combined with First Language Lessons and Spelling Workout A. I hope to be through Saxon Phonics K by this time next year. Im keeping these two children together as much as possible. Adrian picks things up a little quicker and Tamara likes to take her time learning new things. I think personally they meet right in the middle.

My older girls Kelsie (6.5) and Karly (9.5) are moving right along in their 1st and 3rd grade books, respectively.
Kelsie works on:

A Reason For Handwritting A

First Language Lessons for the first grade year

Spelling Workout A

Saxon Math 1

and

Go For the Code book C (starting in January)

She is also reading Dr. Suess books right now. Starting in January I will pull books off of the Ambleside Online reading list for her to read through.

Karly works on:

A Reason For Handwriting Transition book

First Language Lessons (she is finishing up the 2nd grade year)

Spelling Workout C

Saxon Math 3

and

Explode the Code book 4

She is reading through the Little House on The Prairie the Caroline years book series.

Im getting geared up for our new school year which officially starts in January so I will post what we I am planning in a few days. Still lining everything up.

We are taking two weeks off at Christmas and we have cut back our schedule to two days a week for the rest of the month.

Posted in Homeschooling

Anybody using this? Im looking into it for some parts of our schooling. Any suggestions, tips or advice?

Posted in Homeschooling

So my nine year old has some serious problems focusing on the task at hand. The other day it took her one hour to correct two math worksheets. At one point she handed it back to me twice with the same answer for one of the problems. Now maybe Im a big meanie but if it is something we have been doing for months such as borrowing in subtraction I dont help her. If its something we just learned I will guide her down the right road, but I tell her Im not doing the work for her, which is what she really wants. She then proceeded to take another hour on her spelling which should take between 15-30m. MAinly because she gets distracted and does not focus.

Here is my husbands suggestion. He wants me to let her pick out a piece of candy before she starts the lesson. If she finishes in the allotted time she gets the candy, if not she does not.

My thought is using her breaks as incentives. Give her computer time, karaoke time, drawing time, part of a video, or something else she enjoys doing during her breaks. If she does not complete the assignment on time then she has to finish it during break time. She loves her breaks so Im really thinking that she might miss one or two before she takes the hint.

Any other ideas?

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School has been going well lately. Check out my other blog to see all the healthy changes we are making. Healthy changes means more energy for mom. YAY! We are actually almost on the right day for schooling. Im used to being up to a week behind. We did  miss a day last week, because I was sick but we are back and going strong. I just dont understand how my younger daughter is all caught  up but my oldest daughter stays a day behind. Something to research for the next few weeks I guess. We will not take as much time off in November as I wanted, because we are not where I wanted us to be. However I just discovered if we stay the course my oldest daughter is going to finish her Saxon 3 ahead of schedule next year. She starts Saxon 3 in two weeks. She needs to be at least half way through it by May when we have testing. She is doing great and should be ahead of target by May. My 1st grader will finish Saxon Phonics K this week and will start Spelling Workout A and First Language Lessons the week after that.

Im so very impressed with their reading abilities. They have both taken off. We have them read some from an assigned book every night before Bible time and they are doing great.

I will start my 3 and 5 year old on Saxon Math K and Ordinary Parents Guide to Reading in January. We are also doing letter of the week and reading a lot. I am working on keeping these two together for as long as possible. He is excelling in simple math excercises and letter recognition already so I think it will be safe to at least start them together.

The baby is being read to often. We are also starting Baby Signs with him. We are not expecting much but its fun and the older kids enjoy learning signs and showing them to him. I like to sing counting songs to him, like the duckies and the Indians. He likes those and will laugh while you sing them. Right now we are doing "more", "eat", "drink", and occasionally "sleep". He watches us so intently I know his little brain is just a working to proccess the information. He has learned what "no" means. Its so funny to see him think about something when you tell him "no". He sits there hand in mid air looking at you, his hand, and the object he so wants to touch. Then he either decides to touch earning a rebuke or not to touch earning a big smile and lots of praise. I also like to see him test his theory by touching something and being rebuked a few times. Then he smiles at you and wanders on to the next job. He is just amazing to me.

Well hubby and I are off to snuggle on the couch with Braveheart. Neither one of us has seen it and he really wanted to so here we go.

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Wow! I really am planning on keeping this blog up. As for pictures, my camara is acting up. I am trying REALLY! Also homeschoolblogger is not sending me emails about comments so I did not know I had any from the last post. Im sorry for not responding. Hubby was given a centimeter ruler with his company logo on it, so Im not worried about that anymore.

I love Saxon math. I love the memorization and the review. For my troops its the best.

I joined a homeschool group. They have monthly outings and fieldtrips. Today was park day and we missed it because it was rainy and Im coming down with a cold. I thought sitting in the rain would not be conducive to my health. LOL. I did have a million errands to run though so we spent a lot of time in the car. GRRRRRR I hate days like that. Next week we are going to a sink hole. Its out of town but not too far away. Should be interesting.

I was looking at the Sonlight curriculum today. It made my eyes glaze over, but also brought out some I wishes! I think I will stick to my mix match curriculum even though it takes time to plan and implement.

I do need a better schedule, but the Lord is working on me in that area.

Ok the kids are ready for bed so I better go. I promise to try to update weekly. :)

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Well my school room is almost all set up. Still need to organize the cabinet and bookshelf and hang up the maps. We are still schooling in the dining room because I have to wait until October to get a new table. For now Im just going to go with a big table. I will have pics posted on my other blog by Friday, I hope.

This week we hit a math lesson in Saxon 2 that requires a Centimeter ruler. I have milimeter and inches, but I dont have a centimeter ruler. Im a little perplexed by this as I looked at Walmart and Target and neither had a centimeter ruler. We have skipped the lesson, but now we are on a lesson that requires the ruler to find the perimeter. This is kind of an important lesson so I cant skip it. *Sigh*

Kelsie started her Saxon 1 math book last week. I appreciate the review that Saxon offers and the repititvness of it, but Im afraid that I will go insane teaching it over and over and over and over and over and maybe a few more times. Im truly hoping to keep Tamara and Adrian on the same track. They are about a year and a half apart in age but Im thinking that if I tone down just a bit I can work this and have them in the same books for the most part. He picks up things pretty quick..when he wants to. He can count to 30 with help, recognize a few letters, and sort things by shape and color. Tamara can do all of that as well, but she needs a little more help than he does. She is a bit more mature though so that could be a factor.

Karly started Spelling Workout C last week. She likes it, though she is not really happy that I am making her copy down the spelling rules this time around. I have decided not to go with a formal phonics program with her so we are using these rules along with a lot of reading to get her ahead. She is reading wonderfully now. Im so impressed. Though I still  have to make her read. She is quiet content to grab a picture book and just look at the pictures. We are working our way up from there.

Well thats all the homeschooling news that is fit to print. We went to the museum last week with a new homeschool group. I forgot my camara so I dont have any pics from there.

Oh well, next time.

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I have really missed doing school this week. But I am so excited that we will be starting again next week with a whole new look about us. I do have a question for the pros. I am looking at these tables here as individual school tables for the two older children. Any thoughts? I also have the option of getting another big table. A large rectangular one that we can all sit at. If I get the individual tables I will get a smaller table to do group work and arts and crafts. So any suggestions? Right now I have the 6 year old and the 9 year old. I am doing preschool with the 3 year old and the almost 5 year old. Oh they are getting a small table for thier use.

Also Im back at my other blog full time. For those who have asked its keepersathome.blogspot.com I am going to post pics of my new school room there next week. I will let you know when I do.

I am keeping this blog and updating at least weekly. With homeschool thoughts, questions and happenings. :)

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Dr. Phil is looking for homeschoolers. I'd be so nervous. What if I looked like an idiot?  Although hubby said he is secretly going to fill out the application. Does he realize he would be sitting up there with me?

I should edit this to add. I dont want to do this. I think some one with a strong view and logical thinking should be the one to do this. I get waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to passionate and defensive about what I believe in to get up there. I would make a fool of us all. I believe my hubby was joking when he said he would sign me up for this. I was just wondering what you all thought. LOL

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Today my kids are having real world school lessons. Civics and interior design. We went to the polls this morning for primaries. I showed them how to take a ballot and fill it out correctly and put it in the machine. On the way there and home we talked about how to choose a canidate. I explained to the girls that daddy and I research canidates and then daddy decides how we will vote. I explained it was important to elect people with our values and beliefs.

Then we came home and commenced rearranging furniture. I have my dining room mostly set up now and the couch is in the new TV room. I need to move the TV in there and the coffee table which will now be used as our game/puzzle table.

Then I get to start on the school/playroom. Mainly for now moving in bookcases and my storage cabinet and organizing all the school supplies. Fun Fun. But Im looking forward to the end result. I will move the toys in gradually. I just found something at Target that I really want. Just waiting on hubby to approve it.

We are culling toys which stinks because we have a birthday party for my soon to be five year old planned for Saturday. MORE TOYS. Oh well I dont have another party until January for Jonathan's first birthday. Of course in between is uh-oh CHRISTMAS. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

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I sat down and really mapped out a schedule to get us through the rest of this year. Just thought I would share it here since I rarely talk about homeschool stuff here.

Karly age 9 2nd/3rd grade

Finish up Saxon 2 math in Sept.

Begin Saxon 3 math in Sept.

Finish up First Language Lessons in Sept.

Start Rod and Staff English 3 in Oct.

Finish up Spelling Workout B in August

Start Spelling Workout C in Sept.

Continue A Reason For Handwriting Transition book

Lots and lots of free reading, assigned reading, and read alouds.

Kelsie age 6 K/1st grade

Finish up Saxon K math in August

Start Saxon 1 math in Sept.

Finish up Saxon K phonics in Sept.

Start Spelling Workout A in Sept.

Start First Language Lessons in Sept.

Continue with A Reason For Handwriting Book A

Lots and lots of free reading, assigned reading, and read alouds.

Tamara age 4(almost 5) preschool

Sorting and Counting objects

Number flashcards

Letter of the Week

Ordinary Parents Guide to teaching your child reading

cut/paste/color crafts

Alphabet books

Counting books

Lots and Lots of read alouds

Adrian age 3 preschool

Sorting and counting objects

color flashcards (I think he knows his colors but is hiding it. You would have to know this kid to understand that thought.)

Buttons/zippers/tying practice

Alphabet books

Counting books

cut/paste/color crafts

Lots and lots of read alouds.

We will go all the way to November with four days a week and then in November and December we drop down to two days a week with two weeks off at Christmas and one off at Thanksgiving. In January I will be adding:

History: Story of the World 1 and Mystery of History 1

Science: Either Christian Kids Explore Biology or a mix up of animals, the human body and plants as outlined in The Well Trained Mind

Latin:Prima Latina

Music and art.

Posted in Homeschooling

Well we are getting over a bout of stomach flu here and have not done school all week. We are already behind in math and struggling to catch up to where I would like for us to be at this time. So in doing the schedule for next year I decided that once a month I would schedule a star week. This will be a week where nothing is planned. If we are behind we will use it for catch up. If we are all caught up we will do fun learning activities that week. This will also be useful as we are a very spotaneous family and we never know when we might take a few days to go somewhere. One thing I love about homeschooling is that if we go places during the week its not nearly as crowded. What are some things you have tried that help you stay on track yet remain flexible?

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Im getting ready to move my school room into the main area of my house. Im so excited because it will give us a lot of room to expand our learning area. I will have  a crafts table, a reading area, a science area, and a school area. Yes, its a big room. But I wanted to touch base on how we have made school work in a little space the past few months  We have been working at our long folding table that doubles as our dining room table. I had to really work to make this doable. With five children 9 and under sitting down for meals is a fiasco in and of itself. I had to make sure our dining area was not cluttered with school stuff. I went and bought three large milk crate type boxes at Walmart. The two older children have thier own box to store thier books and work in and then my stuff and the preschool stuff goes in the third. They stack nicely up wherever I put them. I also have a particle board pantry type cabinet that I store our arts and crafts stuff in, our extra school supplies, and future school books. I got it pretty cheap at Target.

 There are times when its time to eat and we are rushing around throwing things into boxes, but they are few and far between. I really like this system and it works for me.

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Ok first let me say I did not send out the previous post in hopes that you guys would talk me into staying... LOL Thank you for all the kind words. Im still trying this weekly thing. We are out all next week so I wont be posting.

We are finishing up a fun filled week of VBS this week with family night tonight. This is the first time I have ever taken the lead on anything like this so its been a learning experience. We have had one known profession of faith, so thats exciting. Tons of compliments and the kids have enjoyed it. Needless to say Im signing on for next year if they will have me! LOL.

We are about a week behind on homeschooling, but my kids are serious troopers not complaining when I bombard them with a day of math or whatever to play a little catch up. Before you shoot me down this does not happen often and we do a mini math marathon that I try to make fun with candy and games and rewards. The kids actually look forward to it sometimes. We want to start our new school year in January and since I did not get started unil May we had to really work to be where we need to be. Im looking forward to slowing down some in January to a more traditional schedule.

My kindergartner will finish her Saxon K math book in September and hubby and I decided to go ahead and start her in the first grade book. They both finish thier Zaner Bloser handwriting books at the end of this month and I have to decide whether to stick with ZB or switch to a more homeschool friendly handwritting book. I also need to make sure we are reading. It seems that keeps falling to the back burner and I dont know why. Im not happy about it though. Plus we are having library issues that are about to drive me insane. Other than that we seem on track. My oldest will finish Spelling Workout B at the end of August and we will be moving to book C. The WTM book suggests making it as far through the books as you can in the elementary years so we are trying to do two books a year.

Well there is the update for this week. Be safe and blessed

Posted in Homeschooling

Well I am happy to report that our first week of homeschooling went great. We got all of our work completed and took Friday off as planned. Actually we ended up taking Tuesday off as well due to some unexpected errands that had to be run, but we caught up on Wed with no problem. I took some pics of the girls working diligently, but alas still missing my download cord, so you will just have to wait. Im also still waiting for my mom to get the adoption pictures to me so I can post them.

The girls seem to like homeschooling. Today they were working slowly and I saw heavy eyelids so I perked them up with a promise of outdoor play when they finished what they were working on. We played outside for about 30m and then came in and cooled off and soon got back to work. They were not as sleepy and did much better.

We started the week out strong last week getting our chores done and homeschooling, but the baby has been waking up more at night and it makes me later getting up. So usually I get out of bed and make breakfast and have our family Bible time and then go into school. I do laundry, dishes and general straightening up while the girls are working on an assignment. Of course our detail cleaning is not getting done, but I figure we will pick it up soon. Baby steps. Im learning. :)

I will say this. Im so much more relaxed. I know where my kids are. I dont have to rush to pick them up at school or drop them off. I dont have workers in and out of my house on a daily basis. Im not worried about the adoption. People have told me Im crazy for trying to run a household of kids and homeschool, but of course I think people are crazy for trying to work full time, raise a family, get everyone back and forth to school and attend all those school functions.

In short Im loving this whole homeschool mommy bit.

Of course I have not figure out how to balance my computer time....I will though. :)

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Our adoption wont be finalized probably until the end of January on our three girls. We still feel led to pull them out of Public School as soon as possible. We are however not going to be able to homeschool until probably the end of Feb, because our state required 30 days notice of intent to homeschool. I dont think I can give this notice until the girls are ours (but I am still researching that!).

I read on another message board that one lady starts her school year in January and goes until the end of October and then takes November and December off as her "summer break". Im thinking this would work really well for our family and thought I could go from the first of March until the end or even a few weeks into November in the grade level my girls are in now and then start new grade levels in January. I think by starting them off in the the grade levels they are in now, we will be reviewing as we settle into a homeschool routine, and I will be able to see where they need extra help. I know that they are behind in some things at school so I thought this would give us a chance to review some basic concepts and then move forward.

We are going to follow the Well Trained Mind layout. I will not introduce a history or science program until next year. We will read biographies and stories about events in history and even do some science reading and research but nothing "formal" until January of 2007. They both need lots of help in grammer, reading, and writing and those are the things we will focus on this year. Along with the Saxon math program. I also have planned into our schedule lots of fun activities (which we will try to do at least one of a day) so that they can see how great homeschooling can be.

Tell me what you all think? Is this a good idea? My girls are in Kindergarten (five years old, almost 6) and 2nd grade (8 years old). Any suggestions. Please comment!