Glimpses into the life of our big and ever-growing family and my occasional ramblings on various subjects. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:00 -0600 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:00 -0600 All the evening chores, both inside and out, are finished and we're settled in all cozy with the fireplaces blazing. I'm thankful that my son-in-laws are off work tonight and tomorrow night because the roads are terrible and the winter storm warning is still in effect. Here's what we did today (we're on winter/Christmas break): *before 9am. routine (not pleasant doing the animal chores in the cold & snow) *dh & son-in-laws - barn chores *kitchen & dining room swept and mopped *music practice *client call *quick math review for almost 10 yr. old *everyone out to play in the snow *lunch *more outside play with dh while Littles napped *I spent a lot of time online searching for homeschool resources I had saved to favorites before hard drive crashed and checked out some new finds- making a few little curriculm changes when we begin our new school year in January. *board games (love playing them in front of the fire in this kind of weather...so cozy!) *quicky inside tidy up and animal chores We'll be having dinner in about an hour and I've got a bit of free time to hang out on the message boards :) After dinner we're going to put on a Christmas video or two and relax.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/442978/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:50:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/442978/ Thought it would be fun to try this :)  Here's the link to the original blog post about it: http://tnmomwith3kids.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/contest-getting-to-know-you/ Yes, I'm link/html impaired and hope you'll copy/paste this lol. My Answers: How many children do you have / homeschool? 5 of my almost (pg) 16 cuties.  Currently being homeschooled are Allison & Angela (almost 4), Alex (7.5), Devon (10 end of month) and Nicole (12.5). 16 yr. old ds graduated on his b-day and now attends comm. college classes p/t. How long have you been homeschooling? Closing in on the end of 20th year. Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school? All of my dc have only been homeschooled, this has worked wonderfully for all of us :) Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation? Absolutely! 4 have already graduated. Do you belong to a co-op? No, never felt a need for them. Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule? We school all year and take off whenever we feel the need.  Have done this almost since the beginning. Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials? I used textbooks in the early years, didn't like them and now we do Sonlight along with the computer. Are field trips included in your school plans, or are they just family time? For the most part I don't feel a need to label anything a "field trip", we just do nice family outings to places of interest. Do you and your kids do crafty stuff together for school time? Yes, my children really enjoy this and it's a regular part of most days. Would you consider everyday household life stuff ‘home ec’? Yes and I believe it is an important/valuable part of school. Do you have any advice for new homeschoolers? Relax! Ease into it and don't be in a hurry to push your dc ahead.  Don't compare yourself to other homeschoolers, everyone has their own style that evolves over time and everyone's children are unique. Do you have advice for homeschoolers with little ones under foot? Do the most difficult work during naps, include them in your schooling, have special activities that they can do along side you during school times, have an older child occupy a younger one while you work with someone. Train your older dc to be able to work w/the noise Littles make....few of us get totally quiet workplaces as adults. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/441926/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:29:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/441926/ Mon. B: Sausage and cheese muffins and bacon L: Peanut butter Plus Fajitas, veggie tray w/dips D: Crock pot tender beef and bean stew, cornbread, tossed salad and choc. layer cake Tues. B: H’made granola bars, yogurt and fruit L: Tortilla sandwiches D: Pizza night! Ice cream sandwiches using large h’made choc. chip cookies Wed. B: French toast and bacon L: Sandwich loaf and selection of fruit D: Baked lime chicken, rice, peas, salad, rolls and apple turnovers Thurs. B: Oatmeal w/shredded apples, raisins and cinnamon and toast L: Hot roast beef sandwiches D: Grilled steaks and burgers (inside on Foreman grills), salad, corn on the cob (using frozen kind) and Fri. B: Fried egg and sausage sandwiches (english muffins) L: Pizza potatoes, veggie tray w/dips D: Turkey club sandwiches, steak fries, coleslaw and fruited jello w/whip cream Sat. B: H’made bagels w/cream cheese and fruit L: Leftover buffet D: Spagetti Carbonara, Cobb salad, parmesan breadsticks, feta cheese salad and fruit cocktail Sun. B: H’made doughnuts and fruit L: Cold cut sandwiches and chips D: Crockpot roast w/mushrooms and carrots, garlic dill new potatoes, salad, h’made Challah bread and blackberry roll I re-registered here today as it seems my old account expired from lack of use.  For awhile I'll be putting up the same entries here as I do on my other Xanga blog.  I love the atmosphere here and hope that loading times has greatly improved so I can move my blog from Xanga in a couple months back to here. Tam http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/441910/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:24:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/TamInAz/441910/