When was the last time you read a book simply for pleasure?  For entertainment?  I used to read for pleasure all the time, but now that I am a busy mama, I tend to stick to the books that are designed to build me up, to equip me for this difficult job.  I have precious little reading time, so when I do get it, I want it to be something that is going to inspire and encourage me to become a better wife, mom, and Christian woman.  I am sure many of you find yourself in the same boat.  My daughter mentioned this to me a few months ago and expressed that she was sad for me that I never read stories.  She is an avid reader and she knows that a good story can be just as inspiring and motivational as those "how-to" type books that I read.  Well, she convinced me to pick up a good classic novel and start reading simply for the fun of it.  I chose Little Women since I hadn't read it in years!  Sadly though, it has only been getting picked at one chapter every once in awhile.  I spoke to a friend on the phone today and she was telling me how she had been having the same thoughts and had went to the library and got herself a good Christian novel to read.  She was able to inspire and remind me that I need to spend more time reading that Little Women book and many more.  I am going to TRY to read at least one chapter every night.  Still not a lot, but I am still spending a lot of time reading those other books that I am partial to.  Gotta keep the encouragement coming. 

What books are you reading?  Do you spend time reading for pleasure?  What one book would you take off the shelf and read first?  Share your thoughts...

My 13 yo DD has recently become interested in photography.  We think she has quite an eye for it.  Some of her pics are so good that we mounted them in decorative frames and gave them away to family as Christmas gifts.  Here is a sampling, and the link to her deviantart page.  Let me know what you think.

love for books


faerie on mushroom


bridge


blue pink sunset


alone


Her deviantart page:
biggestloseralive
Leave her a comment there, she will love it!

I've seen a lot of people saying they wanted to change or fine tune their school schedule this year, so I though maybe now would be a good time to share ours.  It took me years of trial and error, and I think I finally found something that works for us (for now at least!).  I hope you can use some of the ideas, but remember that just because something works for us, doesn't mean it will work for your family.  Have fun with the trial and error of your own and find what is just right for your homeschool!

School Schedule

 

“If you seek her as silver and search for her as hidden treasure, then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”  Proverbs 2:4-6

 

9:30-10:00 Bible Study

10:00-10:30 Group Reading

10:30-11:30 Assigned Notebooking

11:30-12:00 Independent Notebooking

 

Independent Work may be completed before 9:30 or on your own time.  All independent work will be checked daily and all unfinished work will be assigned as homework for the weekend. 

 

Independent Work consists of Math (one lesson or three pages), Journal Writing (15 mins), Language Skills (Mon-Grammar/Phonics, Wed-Spelling, Thu-Vocabulary), and Copywork.

 

Assigned Notebooking will be assorted assignments from Galloping the Globe and other current areas of study.  Anything not completed for the day will be assigned as homework for the weekend.

 

Independent Notebooking will be free time to pursue personal areas of interest.  You can look for resources on any topic, or spend some time decorating your notebooks, adding Bible verses, artwork, quotes, poetry, etc. 

 

Fine Arts and Foreign Language Friday!

Poetry, Music, Art, Spanish and Crafts

 

For the little ones, I do not give them the option of when to do their independent work.  This is the schedule for their independent work:

 

8:00-8:15 Journal Writing

 

8:15-8:30 Language Skills (Phonics/Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling)

 

8:30-8:45 Math

 

8:45-9:00 Copywork

 

Then they get a break until 9:00.

 

I have loved this schedule as it has allowed to do everything that I feel is important and still be done by lunch.  Then they have the afternoon to do some quiet, productive activities of their own choosing.

I decided to get myself a little New Years present--a bookshelf!!  We already have a lot of bookshelves all over our house, but for some reason it never seems like we have enough!  We received a bunch of art supplies for Christmas and I didn't have any place to put them.  Before, we had one bookshelf in the kitchen with all of our art supplies and notebooking items that we use daily.  So, I split them and now have one for art supplies and one for all our notebooks and the books, magazines and such that we use to gather information for our notebooks.  Here is the result:


art supplies



notebooking supplies

I can't wait until we start school back up again! 

Happy New Year!   I love this time of the year.  Rather than "resolutions", I like to make goals for the year and then smaller goals for each month to help achieve my yearly goal.  I make one for each area of my life, but since this blog is devoted to homeschooling, I will just share my homeschool goals.

My goal for our school for 2009 is that our home would be filled with a love of learning. 

I decided the first step in achieving this goal is for me to set the example.  I do have a love of learning, but as you all know, between the dishes, and the laundry, and the million other things on my plate each day, it is hard to find the time.  But since I know this is very important, I am committing to make it happen. 

In our schedule, we have time for the kids to do independent notebooking, where they can spend some time building notebooks on whatever topics they choose.  I am going to spend that time building my own notebooks and dive into some topics that interest me!  I'm actually really excited about it, and since the kids work better when I am sitting right there with them, it will help them also.

Some practical things to help me in my goal:
~Use my morning routine to make sure the basics of the house are done so I can sit down in peace
~talk at dinner every night about what we each are learning
~start a running list of topics of interest to read about and research
~use my spelling and vocabulary books
~get one library book a week on a topic of interest
~start my own world notebook, timeline notebook, and nature notebook

So, what about you?  What goals do you have for your school for this year and how do you plan to achieve them?

~Dawn