In my last article, I wrote about creating a Household Notebook.  In my research on that one, I stumbled upon several great sites for free printables for a Homeschooling Notebook:

The Homeschooling Planner from TheHomeschoolMom.com

scroll down the page for some printables for your school schedule, unit study schedule, and even unschoolers' records

Homeschool Planner from Donna Young

Wow!  I just discovered this site and I am so excited to have found it!  Forms galore!

Homeschool Teacher Forms from Heritage Highland Forms

includes attendance record, report card, lending record, yearly goals, and more

Homeschool Forms Galore! from Heritage Highland Forms

I am so excited to have found this site today, while researching for this blog.  This site has over 800 forms for art, Bible, music, nature journaling, and even forms on specific unit studies. This site would also be very useful to those who do notebooking or lapbooking.    Definitely work a look! 

A Homeschool Notebook is my next project!  Anything to help me keep on track, is a good thing!

by Lori Seaborg

I am beyond excited that Anne-Marie Hawthorne, of the Handmade Paper Arts blog, is going to offer FREE online classes on paper arts and bookmaking for the family to do together.  The classes begin September 1st, so sign up now!

Recently, I have been introduced to bookmaking.  I love the idea of not only journaling my thoughts for future generations, but creating the book to hold those thoughts!  I've been bit hard by the bookmaking bug, so I want to learn more!  And I want my children to learn, too. 

In Anne's class, you and your children will learn techniques such as marbling, stamping, collage, engraving, etc. and you will learn bookmaking techniques, such as:

• Pop-Ups
• Accordian Books
• Star Ornament Books
• Piano Hinge, and much more!

You will get the instructions from Anne on the 1st and 15th of each month, then hold the class whenever it is convenient for you.  You are given two weeks to complete each assignment. 

I encourage all of you to sign up for Anne's free class.  It is such a blessing that she is willing to give freely of her expertise to us homeschoolers!

Click here to learn more about the Handmade Paper Arts classes. 

by Lori Seaborg

The other day, I posted half of our school day schedule in detail.  Click here to view that post, then come back to read this last bit.  I stopped the first one just before noon.  So, at noon....

At 12pm-ish:  Lunch

Always something quick and easy, like PBJs or Quesadillas or last night's meat (beef/chicken) put in a taco shell with cheese and lettuce. 

After lunch:

The kids clear and wipe the table then they pick up anything off their assigned floors.

I clean up, flip laundry loads, and put away school stuff.

Quiet Time: my favorite time of day!

We've had Quiet Time since our first child was a baby, 10 years ago.  It is the key  to my sanity as a mother of four.  The 2yo naps, the 5yo naps if he seems to need it, or he can read or play quietly (with Legos; Lincoln Logs, etc.) in his room alone.  I usually write to you during Quiet Time or I might work on a craft project (bookmaking these days) or read a book.  If dh is home, he is more than happy to nap with the baby.    The rules:  1.  Everyone must be quiet; 2.  No chores allowed (that rule was made for me); 3.  No electronics allowed.  

Our 10yo and 8yo, since they are already trained to be quiet during this time (or else mama will make them take a nap!), are allowed to be in their own room or in the schoolroom, doing one of these choices:

• write (a letter, copywork, etc.)
• nap
• read (sometimes they must read, from an assigned reader)
• draw or color
• work on their notebook topics (currently: 3-D Drawing and Dolphins)
• finish their homework (any unfinished papers from the morning)

After Quiet Time (about an hour):

The children are free to play now, but must be quiet until the baby wakes up.  They are usually so absorbed with their Quiet Time activities that they continue them.

I write for another hour, or until soon after the baby wakes up.  If you are a mom with a business, Quiet Time will give you two hours to yourself.  It will take a bit of training for you to get the kids to respect Quiet Time, but your persistence will pay off. 

Around 3pm:

I still don't want the electronics turned on yet, so I have this time set aside for fun "school," such as:

• science experiments
• nature walks
• art
• family business (currently: selling eggs to the grandparents!)
• tea time
• crafting skills (soldering, beadwork, knitting, woodworking, etc.)
• landscaping and gardening

Around 4:30pm:

I focus on making dinner while the kids clean up from the above projects.  They also check that their floors are picked up. 

5 - 5:30pm:

Dinner

After Dinner:

Evening chores:  The kids clear and wipe the table and sweep.  I clean the kitchen and get the little ones ready for bed, even though they won't go to bed for a while.  This is bath time also.  Then the kids are free, and can finally play their Xbox, computer games, and Nintendo.

7pm-8pm:  Family Time:

The family gets together to:

• read from a read-aloud (currently: Little House in the Big Woods)
• snack
• play board or card games
• watch a movie (usually just Friday night)

Then, it's bed time or quiet play until bed time. 

Soon, I will post a shortened version of our schedule for you.  I've gone into detail so that you'll have all the information you could possibly want! 

The moral of the story is:  Create a schedule that will suit you. 

by Lori Seaborg

I've tried to-the-minute schedules, to-the-hour schedules, Now-we-shall-do-Arithmetic schedules, and unschedules (as in, no schedule at all and the children roam freely).  Our new schedule is working like a dream so far, because it is so tailor made. 

I think the key to schedule-making is to create one that suits your personal fancy and to let go of how you think it "should" be.  My fancy is to be flexible to a fault.  But I recognize that I need structure to my days because I don't think the X-Box makes a very good teacher, and I don't like the kids wearing their p.j.s at noon and eating Froot Loops for dinner just because I didn't plan the evening meal. 

I looove reading other's schedules.  So here is my newest schedule, which is serving to keep us focused without stifling our freedom:   

Schooldays at Seasons Academy (Seaborg & Sons...get it?& daughters, too)

Starting by 7am: 

Up and walking with Toby, the dog, up the hill to see the farmer's cows and the sunrise (oops, it already came up!).  And to pray while walking.  Back at the ranch (that would be the house), visit my birds to tell Princess, the rooster, to crow and the hens to lay lots of eggs today.  Go back inside to do a little Bible reading and journaling in my Scriptural Journal with a bit of breakfast.  Let the kids wake up slowly and watch t.v. or play on the computer until 8 (we have no "early birds" in this family, so waking up slowly helps). Write out 3 chores for the older kids to do.

At 8am: 

Lay out a simple breakfast for the kids (remind self that schooldays are not the days for three-course breakfasts, even if in the mood for it).   Go through the house in a circle, starting with the Master Bedroom, picking up laundry, making beds, and straightening.  Start a load of laundry.  End in the kitchen to clean up after breakfast.

Meanwhile, the t.v. is off at 8am, and the three older children (10, 8, 5) pick up assigned floors (2 each), empty the dishwasher, fold laundry, and do 3 extra chores each (not the 5yo).

Make sure the kids are dressed with teeth brushed.  Change and dress the baby (2).

At 9am: 

10yo and 8yo start school by doing papers that I placed in a folder on their desks the night before (copywork, Math papers, Language -- all A Beka, we live in the same area as Pensacola Christian College after all, except the copywork which is usually Scripture or American phrases, like the Pledge). 

I continue doing chores (more laundry, extra cleaning, baking, dinner prep) within earshot of their schoolwork. 

I teach the 5yo a little K5 stuff, or let him watch educational t.v. with his 2yo sister.

At 10am:

Bible class with Mama.  We all pull out our Spiritual Journals, which is a cheap composition book in which we created a "Table of Contents" on the first few pages.  Each day we (10, 8, and me) write the Scripture verse of the day (today:  "Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." - Colossians 3:20).   We briefly discuss the verse, then the children are to write what they think about the verse, or draw a picture illustrating something about the verse.  Our 5yo and 2yo draw on a blank sheet of paper. 

After this, in the Table of Contents, we write the date, Scripture reference, and page number of our notes. 

I read a section from Hero Tales while the kids draw or color a Biblical-themed picture (Today we read about Martin Luther.  I love this book, by the way!  Highly recommended for elementary-aged kids.  Our favorite lesson so far was Dr. Livingstone, who was so brave against the lions and witnessed to many in Africa).

We again say the Scripture verse of the day, since it will need to be memorized and said to Daddy (for the 5yo, I shorten it to "Children obey your parents").

At 10:30am-12:00pm:

Mondays:  Practical Skills (sewing, whittling, soap-making, self-sustainment, animal care, homesteading, candlemaking, etc.)  This is my favorite class to teach.  Sometimes Daddy gets the boys while I get the girls.  I think it is essential to teach our children how to take care of their families independent of the grocery stores.  You never know if a time will come when they will need to know this stuff.  If they are missionaries in a primitive place, they will certainly need to know it! 

Tuesdays:  Art and Music (as in, play fine art music such as Beethoven while doing art)  Art is currently drawing 3-D objects by shading. 

Wednesdays:  Practical Skills

Thursdays:  Library Day to Research for our Notebook topic (learned from Cindy Rushton).  The children choose a notebook subject to study for the week (10yo:  3-D Drawing; 8yo:  Dolphins; 5yo was ill today).  We go to the local library, where they ask the librarian to help them locate books. They do independent research and independent check-out of the books. Our library has games, headsets, and computers for the children to use once they are done with their research. 

Meanwhile, I further my learning by also researching (today: bookbinding, beading, and 20-minute gardening).

This day and time is also open for Field Trips. 

Fridays:  Work on Notebook topic by drawing pictures of the topic, writing about it, copywork on it, etc.  We then place the research in page protectors in a "notebook" (3-ring binder).  Lapbooks could also be made on the topic.  This work is done independently of me, except with occasional help. 

Meanwhile, I work on my own notebook (currently:  making recipe mixes) or my own research from the library.

Saturdays:  We don't do the rest of schoolwork, above, on Saturdays, but we do spend a bit of time in focus on Nature Study (as in, getting outside and getting dirty -- or, drawing a bug or drawing a leaf through the window because it's 93 degrees with 90% humidity).  The kids have to fill their time with something, even on Saturdays, so it may as well be with learning!  (Even if they are loving it and not realizing they are learning).

**** It is 12 noon on this schedule, but in reality as I write, it is 5:30pm.  My family will turn into Grouchy Bears if I don't feed them soon, so I'll finish this post tonight or tomorrow.  I'm being more detailed than I first planned, but I hope that will help give you ideas of how you can create your schedule to suit your personality.*****

by Lori Seaborg

I just read a great blog post that I found on the portal page, written by Amanda  Bennett.   In her blog, she wrote:

"    Put the ideas, scripture, or passages that you would like for them to learn right where they can see it. For years, I’ve been printing off these items and posting them on the doors of the kitchen cupboard, over the kitchen telephone, and in other conspicuous places that the children face several times a day. Exposure is key  --  curiosity takes care of the rest!"

 It should have occured to me to post these things for my children....

When I was 10-years-old, our family moved to Papua New Guinea to be missionaries.  Our first house in the jungle was a temporary house, with dirt floors (until the natives wove some bamboo for it) and open windows (the natives would stare in the window screens at us all day long, as if we were in a museum).  We didn't have running water or electricity.  In the mornings, someone would build a fire to heat up water for the day.  We used an outhouse as our bathroom.

On the interior of the outhouse door, my mother stapled different snippets of Scriptures and poems that she had torn out of magazines like Our Daily Bread.   As I would sit on the plywood toilet seat, I'd read those papers she had posted.  Reading the words helped keep my mind off the snakes and spiders that I imagined lived in the outhouse.  

Eventually,  it was time for us four kids to go off to missionary boarding school, far away from our parents and their bush house.   They didn't have a phone or a two-way radio, so while at school, we didn't have communication with them.  It was hard for me to adjust, after having spent my first ten years with my adoring parents. 

There were many teary nights at school, when I missed my parents.   We had many fun times at the boarding school, but the tears still came at unexpected moments.  Sometimes the dorm parents, too overloaded with 20 kids to raise, were uncaring.   When I became sick and wanted my mama to be there, the tears would come.   Over the years, there were sad times when I wanted to just be with my family. 

But every time I cried, God would bring comfort to me, in the words of a poem that I had accidentally memorized in that jungle outhouse:

"Regardless of the circumstance,

Regardless of the fears.

Regardless of the pain we bear,

Regardless of the tears. 

Our God is always in control

Performing as He would

And He has promised in His Word

To work things for our good.

But as a loving Father should

He sometimes lets us cry,

To cleanse the hurt out of our hearts,

To wash it from our eyes.

Yet gently gathers He the tears

Within His hands to stay

Until He turns them into pearls

And gives them back some day. "

Those words were balm to my hurting ten-year-old soul.

How many times have you had a Scripture pop into your head just when you needed it most?  Or a poem, or a famous saying?  Only what you have memorized can come to mind!  We need to give our children the gift that these memorized words bring.  When they are in a tough time, it will be comforting to them to have those words.

Now, excuse me while I write down a few Scripture verses to place around the house.  Maybe by the toilet is not such a bad spot. 

by Lori Seaborg

Heard in our House: 

"Well, if nothing else, our kids will know art!" ~ me, to dh, as the kids and I are caught during "school hours" doing yet another art project. 

This time, we were making Pop Up Cards, with these easy instructions.

Brenden (10) made an army guy and a Calvin (as in Calvin & Hobbes)

Brittany (7) made a frog

Stone (5) made something indescribable, and it makes weird noises when he opens and closes it  (I think those noises came from his mouth, but don't let him know I'm onto him)

Tim (dh) and I were co-artists in making a fish (Tim said it started out as a flounder, then morphed into a rainbow trout. I say it's just a cute fish with big eyes and big lips).  We put cardstock as a cover for our pop-up fish, and gave it to our cute little Bella (2).  When you open that card, the fish mysteriously sings opera in Mama's voice.  Curious!

If your kids are bored today, try these pop-ups!  All you need are 2 pieces of paper, scissors (or rip it!), and some crayons.

by Lori Seaborg

On Empty Nest Mom, Cindy Downes asked:  "What do I do with my toddler and babies while I am teaching the older ones?"   Here was my reply:

I go by the assumption that it is true that 95% of what we teach will be remembered, so my 9-year-old and my 7-year-old teach our 5-year-old (not yet a Kindergartner) and 2-year-old. While I am working with one of the older ones, the other older one will pull out a K4 book and teach the little guy. The baby is at a copycat age and loves books, so she will sit by them while they do "school."

When they are not teaching the younger ones, my older children will do some schoolwork independently. This frees me up to do housework with my toddler following after. Our K4 child is well old enough to know how to respect the work of others, so I expect him to be quiet and read or write or else he needs to go play in his room while they work.

- Lori Seaborg

With my Parenting Perfection (::cough::), I have no need of the Supernanny's help, but I do occasionally watch the show just in case she comes up with something that I do not do.  Last night, I finally noticed that very thing I was searching for:

Supernanny always creates a schedule for the family.

For several years, I've been a fan of routines, as in "morning routine," "lunch routine," and "evening routine" (originally learned from Flylady).  My children have thrived under these routines.  For example, 9yo Brenden has a morning routine of:

* Get dressed
* Make bed
* Eat breakfast
* Put away breakfast dishes
* Brush teeth
* Pick up 2 floors (hallway and boys' room)
* Be ready for school (homeschool) by 8:30am

We are pros (Perfect Pros, that is) at doing our routines, but... there is no schedule to it, except that we need to be starting school by 8:30am.  Which means that Brenden here will often stay up until 10pm at night,then want to sleep in past 8, which does not give him enough time for doing his morning routine.

And so he has a grumpy mama on his case.

A routine is an awesome help for a mother, but I've come to realize that a schedule is also a necessity.  Being a creative person, I abhor schedules, preferring to pick the daisies when I feel like picking them, and not because it is 3:42 p.m., Daisy Picking Time.  Because of that love of freedom, we've had carefree days, but the days just sort of "go by," without much getting accomplished.

After Supernanny's suggestion, I sat down and made a schedule.  One that allows flexibility (to pick the daisies) but keeps us on track so that each day is productive.  Here is 9yo Brenden's schedule, for example:

8am      Morning Routine (if up before now, you can watch t.v., but it is off at 8!)
8:30      Bible time
9           Schoolwork
10:15    Break/Snack
12         Lunch
12:30    Lunch Routine (pick up 2 floors, sweep the kitchen)
1          Quiet Time:  Finish schoolwork or read
2          Play quietly or with friends outside
3          Play loudly or with friends outside (baby is up from her nap =D)
5          Bath/Shower
5:30     Dinner
6          Evening Routine
6:30     Family Time
7:30     Computer Time
8:30   Reading in bed

I'll let you know how it goes, but for now, the kids are so excited to have a schedule.  They keep looking at it and saying, as Brittany (7yo) just did a minute ago, "Mama, It's 2:53.  Only 7 minutes until 3:00, our Play Time!" 

I haven't made a great schedule for myself yet.  It's a little harder for me to stay on schedule than it is for them, you know, without a mother to tell me I must.  It's just not my fault that I get easily sidetracked by the mailman, the baby's diaper changes, the rotting bananas, this blog....

I've had a love-hate relationship with homeschooling over the years.  We've tried all types of schooling, except boarding school (which sometimes is way more appealing than it should be!).  We've sent our children to public school, private school, homeschool, and blended school (a combination of public and homeschool).  With all that trying, you're probably guessing that our eldest is older than he is.  He's only in 4th grade!

Only recently have I begun to like homeschooling. There were one or two things (several, really, but I'm not admitting to much) that I had to learn before I could view homeschooling as fun. 

Here are a dozen of them:

1.  Homeschool does not have to be in session from 7:45am - 2:45pm five days a week.

2.  Reading a comic book is still reading.

3.  Writing is more fun - and much more tolerable to a 4th grade boy - if he can write about his favorite subjects instead of Lincoln or photosynthesis.  It is still called writing even if it is about Bionicles.

4.  Going to the beach can still count as school; we will call it a "Field Trip."

5.  Learning practical skills is just as important as learning academics.

6.  Doing housework counts as school.

7.  Feeding the chickens counts as school.

8.  Drawing pictures, even of aliens, counts as school.  We'll call it "Art Class".

9.  Cooking and housework count as school.

10.  Math can be taught outside of a textbook by using it in chores or cooking, or as in, "Let's feed 8 chickens with 2 cups of feed.  How much feed will each chicken get?"  (Oh, but we have 17 chickens....that gets harder)

11.  We can have school on Saturday, if we want, and not on Tuesday.

12.  A bad day is still a school day, because something is learned every day even on bad days. 

What have you learned that has made homeschooling more fun for you?

Lori Seaborg

p.s......I look forward to blogging with you! I've had a Keeping the Home blog for several months now, but jumped at the chance today to have a Keeping the Home...school blog. 

As is in my profile, I'm not the mama who is ahead of you in homeschooling knowledge.  I'm just the gal right beside you, trying to motivate the 4th grade daydreamer, keeping up with the 1st grade scholar, occupying the 4-year-old, and balancing the baby on my hip.  Of course, I do all of that at the same time, just as you are doing! 

Let's walk beside each other, learning from each other.

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