My mostly random blog about my homeschooling and life adventures with Mr. Incredible and our 3 little Incredibles: 8 year old "Violet", 4 year old "Dash", and 20 month old "Jack Jack". http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:46:00 -0600 Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:46:00 -0600 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away an INCREDIBLE HP TouchSmart 600 computer for Christmas!  Check it out here! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/746619/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:46:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/746619/ When Violet learned to read, it was just kind of the "by osmosis" method.  I played a lot of games with her and as we read books, I would help her sound things out.  This year, Dash is in kindergarten and I have been looking for something to use to teach him how to read.  I wanted something that would be fun, but also be structured enough for me to be able to have a plan of what to do with him each day.  (Unfortunately, the 'by osmosis" method just doesn't work as well when it comes to the second kid, because mom is busy and forgets to "osmose!" LOL!) I received Rocket Phonics as part of the Homeschool Crew, and I LOVE IT!  It is very simple and straightforward for me to use with Dash, and it is full of games and fun things to do with him to teach him to read.  It makes me wish we had used something like this with Violet, because even though I did games and such with her, this is much more systematic and well planned out. Dash is a very, VERY acive little boy, and I cannot imagine sitting with him and going through a phonics program that does not involve games or active learning.  Rocket Phonics is GREAT for this!  The set comes with spiral bound books full of colorful, fun illustrations and games.  The books take a child systematically through learning sounds and combining them into words.  They use a unique letter or combo of letters for each sound, so it is easy for a child to tell whether the sound is "e" as in egg or "e" as is eagle.  Once children start reading stories, they put the sound symbols underneath the words to tell the child what sound it makes.  They gave a great hint to call the symbols a secret code, and so my son LOVES to be a secret agent and use the secret code!   The set also includes beautiful, high quality cards with the sounds on them to use in games, some bingo markers, and also included are two treasure hunts (WITH the treasure!), as well as a ton of free bonuses through email that you can use for even more games and activities. I cannot say enough about how much we love this program!  Rocket Phonics retails for $160.  For more information, go to www.rocketphonics.com.  Thank you to Rocket Phonics and the TOS Crew for this great review opportunity! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/712534/ Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:20:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/712534/ “What do you do with the younger kids while the older ones do school?”  Wow, I have been asked that question SO many times!  But the sad thing is, I am often wondering the same thing myself: what DO I do with them?  “Preschoolers: Creating a Rich Environment and a Fun Place for Learning”, a new e-Book from The Old Schoolhouse, is a great resource to help all of us who need help with answering this question.  The e-Book is a fast read, but is packed with great ideas for making the most of the time with your preschool-age children.  There are ideas for everything from “tot school” for the little ones to chores and fun field trips.  I loved reading through this book.  I got wonderful ideas and inspiration for doing activities from music to lapbooks, as well as creating a rich learning environment for preschoolers.  The book was also packed with wisdom and good advice from moms who have “been there, done that” on working with preschoolers in your homeschool.  If you are a mom with one child who just can’t wait to begin homeschooling, the chapter on homeschooling your only child who is still a preschooler is wonderful!  If you are a mom like me who struggles to figure out how to teach all your multi-age children, there is a chapter for that, too! I felt that this book was a great, comprehensive resource for homeschooling moms with preschoolers.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I know I will use it again and again as a reference in my own family homeschool!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/705724/ Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:05:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/705724/ Here are some pics of the A Family I took last week!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/703591/ Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:38:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/703591/ I look forward to summer as a time to relax, and a chance to plan our homeschool year when I am unhurried and de-stressed.  If you are like me, you’ll LOVE The Schoolhouse Planner!  I have been using the planner all year, and have looked forward to the 2009-2010 planner ever since it was announced a few months ago.  And my expectations were not disappointed… this year’s planner includes 374 pages, over 100 more than last year’s!  It is packed full of great forms to help you organize your homeschool, homekeeping, family life and anything else you would ever need to plan.  It also contains a wealth of great resources for your home and homeschool: recipes, timelines, teaching helps, and even a  unit study for each month!  Every month, the Schoolhouse store will offer a module that goes along with the unit theme for the month, and this year the modules will incorporate lapbooking!  Right now, the Schoolhouse store is offering the planner and a full subscription to all the modules for 2009-2010, a value of $134.40, for just $99.99… a great deal!  (And you know I love a great deal!)  Get it here! My favorite feature of the planner is that it is fully customizable and personalized to fit your unique needs.  There are forms for everything, every style of homeschooling, and even just different versions of the same form.  (For example, there are 3 menu planning forms: one weekly, one for a whole month of meals, and one with weekly plan and grocery shopping list all on one page.)  This feature combined with the e-book format means that you can print out only the forms you choose for a completely individualized planner! Technically speaking, the planner is simple to use and well designed.  The download was very easy.  I like to plan in front of my computer, where I can refer to my calendar and emails easily, so I love that I can have my planner open in a another window alongside what I am doing.  I find it neater and easier to type my plan for the week than to write by hand, so I love that you can type right into the forms in this planner!  This brings me to my one suggestion for improvement, which is the same as my request from last year:  I would like to see a feature that allows for saving each form individually if you so choose once your purchase the planner.  For example, I typed in yearly goals for one child and wanted to save it before I continued on to goals for my next child.  However, my only choice was to print the form and then complete it again for the next child, losing the info I had typed for the first child.  I worked around this by saving one planner for each child, but as the planner is so large, it takes up a lot of space, and it would have been easier to just save the goals form three times (one for each child).  It seems to me like it would not be difficult to create a page where each form was a separate .pdf file that could be individually downloaded. One other thing I love about this planner is that the pages are well designed.  When I printed out my planner, it looked very nice and coordinated.  I realize that this is just an asthetic thing, but I find I am more motivated to use a planner that is pretty than one that is not! Overall, I applaud The Old Schoolhouse Store for creating such a well thought out, comprehensive planner.  It will meet the needs of a great variety of homeschooling families, from unschoolers all the way to those who keep track of daily grades.  Available from the Schoolhouse Store for $39, this planner is crammed with value-added features which will simplify, organize and enrich your homeschool!  You can buy it or see a free preview here. Happy Planning! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/695448/ Tue, 2 Jun 2009 10:42:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/695448/ 2009 is the year I am going to finally open a photgraphy studio!  I have been putting together a portfolio which will appear on my website once it is up and running.  Until then, I figured this slide show of a very few images could hang out over here as a sample of my photography! Here it is... enjoy!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/694994/ Mon, 1 Jun 2009 23:54:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/694994/   Have you heard yet about the TOS 2 Day “Take 10” subscription promotion?  This great deal on The Old Schoolhous Magazine is available on May 25th and 26th only. For just 48 hours, a one-year print subscription is only $15!  Plus, as a bonus,new subscribers get 5 FREE WeE-books of their choice! It’s the TOS  Take/Get 5 subscription sale. Only good until midnight on May 26.  Click Here to subscribe! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/692569/ Mon, 25 May 2009 21:19:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/692569/ “What’s this? A competitive skateboarder falls down a rocky path? An awkward gymnast breaks a record? A disrespectful hockey player learns a lesson at the neighborhood ice rink? What kid wouldn’t love to write a story filled with such spirit or drama? WriteShop® StoryBuilders card decks help to jumpstart a creative writing project by providing students with the basic elements of a story—character, character trait, setting, and plot—laying a foundation for a joyful writing experience with some clever surprises thrown in along the way. StoryBuilders may be used by students of all ages, from kindergarten through high school. Using the StoryBuilder Cards, they’ll develop their tales by picking one card from each category. Does the hero save the day? Will the notorious bad guy learn a lesson? And what twists and turns appear in the character’s path? A dropped ball? A bully? An embarrassing mistake? Break up your routine or add punch and variety to writing lessons by offering StoryBuilders occasionally. Use them in addition to or instead of a daily writing activity. At first, to help your student write concisely, limit her to a specific number of sentences or paragraphs. As she improves (or if she thrives on writing creative fiction), allow her to compose longer, more thoroughly developed stories. And with hundreds of possible story combinations, no two will be alike!” This is the description of StoryBuilders from WriteShop, its creator.  We received samples of two of the StoryBuilders ebooks, and I thought they were great!  The book includes card that you can print out and cut apart.  A lot of ideas are given in the ebook for fun and creative ways to use the cards in games to get your student writing.  The idea sort of reminds me of MadLibs in reverse… you take four cards and then put them together as you write your story.  We have done a lot of free writing at my house, and often my daughter will struggle to find an idea.  I think the StoryBuilders are a great way to solve that struggle.  Also, if you get one of the topics that really interests your child, it can make it so much more fun for children to write! WriteShop currently publishes four different StoryBuilders, all E-books. They all make a great supplement to youw writing curriculum, and can be used over and over. You can see them at our store. World of Animals StoryBuilders – Retail $7.95 World of People StoryBuilders – Retail $7.95 World of Sports StoryBuilders – Retail $7.95 Christmas Mini-Builder – Retail $3.95 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/653760/ Mon, 2 Feb 2009 20:13:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/653760/ Dash also had a birthday recently- on December 30, he turned 6!  He is such a fun, happy little boy who is growing into a big boy in so many ways!  He is learning to read, write, and do chores around the house.  Dash is my cuddler.  Even though he is always on the go and very very active, he will stop everything to snuggle me.  I treasure that so much, because I know it will only last a short time.  I do hope, though, that he will always have a hug for his mama at least! For his birthday, we went on a special trip to Chicago to see Aunt Mandi and Uncle Justin, and we got to go to the Lego store for a birthday shopping spree!  It was so much fun!  There were huge creations made out of Legos, and a big lego table, too!  He loved looking at everything, and chose several really cool Lego sets to bring home.  Once we were home, he invited his friends to come for a Lego Birthday party..... we played games with Legos, and the cake was a big green Lego! Dash, I love you!  You make my life so very very special, and you bring a smile to my heart! Happy Birthday!!!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/652904/ Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:44:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/652904/      My sweet first baby turned 10 this month- DOUBLE DIGITS, as she likes to announce!  Wow, has the time flown!  I am amazed at the wonderful young lady Violet is becoming.  She has such a beautiful heart that loves Jesus and loves others.  She has a servant's heart in our home, cheerfully serving her brothers, her daddy, and me.  She is a loyal, true friend.  She is always ready with a, "yes, Mommy," to help me or obey.  She is a creative girl who loves to decorate her room with crafty creations and make things!  She loves to try new things and learn.  She is such a smart girl, too!  She loves to read and write stories, and loves to sing, act, dance, and do art projects.   And let's not forget her deep love of horses!  She loves Miracle so much, and it is beautiful to see them together riding around the arena or through the field!  Mostly, beyond her interests and the things she does, I just love her for who she is. I am SO blessed to have her for a daughter.  And I wish her the Happiest Birthday EVER!!      Here is what we did for her birthday this year... a weekend trip to American Girl place and to visit Aunt Mandi and Uncle Justin, plus an American Girl mystery party with her friends! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/652767/ Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MrsIncredible/652767/