A mother of three living in northern Ontario, Canada. We are using Saxon Math with our oldest who is 5 years, and just purchased the Before Five in a Row to start with our middle child who is almost 3 years. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 -0500 Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 -0500 Well, we have had a great summer...busy, but great. We actually ended our year well into July and just got started this past week since all 3 of my kids caught Chicken Pox! Whew....that was challenging, but we all survived...even ds who is now 13 months! My middle son who is now 3.5 years has really shown an interest in learning to write and learn to read. So I have really started doing exercises with him and Letter of the Week, etc. I think this year he will really get into doing 'worksheets'. He loves doing worksheets and asks to do one....and lately has really show his talents doing crafts, by building robots and all sorts of things around the house - his big sister is an excellent teacher too! So, we are off to a slow start --- thanks to the kid who gave them Chicken Pox! Go figure...a homeschooling family who NEVER sends their kids to anything...and the 2 days they were there that is where they caught it! but now its over and we already finished one Lapbook - - The Big Green Pocket Book - from Before Five IN  a Row. We will read it a few more times this week and then move on I think. Still have not got back into Saxon Math yet with my dd who is 6.5 years old....debated whether to keep this curriculum this year, but will finish it. It is so time consuming but I find it difficult to give it up because it is so good! I've given myself more than 1 day to cover a lesson and say if we get through 3 lessons in a week I will be pleased:) The other days we do less strenuous math exercises but still cover Math...just in other ways. Anyway...here's to a great year - - and a photo of our new room:) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/729883/ Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/729883/ This past week was our first week using the workbox system created by Susan Patrick. I downloaded the book last week-end and read it over the week-end and got all my workboxes. Boy was I ticked off when I got to Zellers and they only had 7 boxes left! Well...then I was even more ticked when I went to Hart and saw that I could get 3 boxes for the price of 1 box I paid at Zellers! Argghhhh! Oh well...so I get home and pull out my old wire shoe rack that was stashed in a closet somewhere and dust it off. I place it with the clear boxes on it and had it sit there for a while doing nothing. My kids were curious what it was for, but didn't really pay attention. It was in plain sight of where we eat and do school work every day. Then I put on the coloured number tags with velcro - and right away my 3 year old says - Mom what's the boxes for? And my 6 year old wonders the same thing....at this point I just say it's for school and keep getting my materials prepared. So finally, it was all ready and we used them this week. My 6 year old didn't really like the idea Monday morning - but maybe becasue we hadn't really done concrete/formal schooling in a bout two weeks. but I tell ya, by today - she was whizzing through those boxes like an old pro! For two days in a row there was no prying to get her to do the work and we were done in record time! She is so used to finishing at lunch - when she was done this morning she said what's for lunch?! And I said, well it's not lunch yet (it was only 10:30 am) and I was still in my housecoat, and she in her pj's. So we got dressed and had tonnes of time - we had friends over for a picnic and had a great day outdoors. It was lovely! I hope the momentum carries on next week. This will be the true test of this system for us, because 2 days off on the week-end really makes Monday's difficult around here. So we will see.....I will try and post some pics. To get this system or for more info click here. Thanks for reading! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/680252/ Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/680252/ Well, we had a great week! We did our first B4FIAR - Before Five In a Row with Goodnight Moon. I made the Lapbook from homeschool share website and we started the book and the activities in the lapbook. My son who will be 3yo in 9 days, loved it! Not only did he love the story, but he loved doing the lapbook activities. My daughter who is now 6 years old is a bit old for it, and I have to remind her to give her brother a chance to answer questions. Now that he is starting work, it is an adjustment for her because she has had mom all to herself for school work, and now she has to learn to share me so he can start learning. I am considering having her to some independent work while we do the B4 study. I am thinking of starting a notebook for him - alphabet one.  He loves the Handwriting Without Tears (HWOT) package we got a few weeks ago. Especially the playdo activites - he makes snails and other animals and I remind him to make a few letters too! My daughter is flying through Explode the Code Book 1 and I need to order the Book 2. I like to use these as a complement to Phonics work we do and Word Wall activities. It gives me all the worksheets, instead of me having to print them off for her. I will get her the Book 2 soon! One thing I love about homeschooling is taking pride in my children's work and successes (well even their failures too). There is no other achievement in my life that I am more proud of than the fact that I have taught my children to read, write, count, add, think critically, analyze, etc, etc, etc. And the bond that we all share bring so much joy to my heart. The affection and love they have for each other is something I longed for as a young child and I am so happy to have the privelege of being able to provide them this opportunity. So next week....continue Saxon Math1, ABC notebook,, continue reading aloud Magic Treehouse Series and create passports for each of them. They both LOVE listening to these books. I also integrate movement and other activites into our reading time of these stories. They often will act these out in their free play time as well. Here's to a great week!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/675737/ Fri, 3 Apr 2009 21:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/675737/  Just joining Peggy's group....not sure if I would call myself simple, but I try to make my life a simple as possible.  Here are my musings....   Outside my window...in Northern Ontario Canada it is a cold, crisp, dark evening I am thinking... I hope I get more sleep tonight than I did last night From the learning rooms... hoping for a good week as we continue our Madeline FIAR study – didn’t do any planning for the week though I am thankful for... my hardworking husband From the kitchen... had a great turkey and rice soup for dinner – YUM! I am wearing... my pj’s and pink fuzzy housecoat I am reading... light reading…veggie magazines and anything business related online I am hoping... to get more organized every day I am creating... more and more memories for my children every day. I am hearing... the fish tank run….I really need to add water to that tank! Around the house... laundry, put away baby clothes my son grew out of already, wash the floors and hubby needs to get our hardwood down soon! One of my favorite things... is singing A few plans for the rest of the week... tomorrow is our Mom and Baby Salsa class. I really want to make it to that and hope that my toddler doesn’t have a meltdown like last time. Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...this was three years ago! My daughter was just learning how to take pictures, she was only 3:)) And I find myself in the same spot today nursing my third child...my how time flies! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/664016/ Sun, 1 Mar 2009 20:40:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/664016/ This week has been okay. We started our FIAR Madeline study and it has been going really well. Although I am still trying to figure out a routine on how to use this curriculum. We are also making a lapbook while doing the study so I am adding my own booklets, etc. Both my kids seem to love it and we read it every day - I wasn't sure how that approach would work with the kids, but they love it! My son who is almost 3 brings his little steam boat and puts it on the page when we talked about steam boats and rivers - he hasn't forgotten. My daughter is fascinated learning about all sorts of things in the book, and now is looking at books in a new way - I am so happy! She decided to write her own book of Madeline and draw all her own pictures...so that is taking a while to compete but it is a goal she has set for herself. My daughter has completed her first level of piano and has started a new book. I am so proud of her! Most days she just goes to the piano and practices on her own because she loves it so much, and I prefer that than the whole sticker reward thing that her teacher wants her to do - - I may need to email the teacher about that. I want my daughter to learn the intrinsic rewards of something she enjoys and not always looking for external rewards. I realized this after a few weeks ago she had not practiced every day - maybe a few days, which in my mind is good - she is only 5!. Anyway, when her teacher came and asked to see her chart she said she couldn't find it - and I knew it was on the piano, so I had a hunch that maybe she did something with it. It turned out she did hide it because she hadn't practiced all 5 or 7 days inbetween her class, and she didn't want her teacher to see. Right then I decided no more sticker chart! And, she has practiced every day since I relieved the pressure of the whole sticker thing.She plays wonderfully in my eye:)) I can't wait to get my youngest in a toddler music program in the fall! Looking forward to continue our Madeline study and getting our Handwriting without Tears and our Before Five in A Row...should be in next week I hope!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/662959/ Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:57:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/662959/ Just trying a few things out with photobucket here...     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/660923/ Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:09:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/660923/ Well this week we finished our unit study on Owls. We actually finished on Thursday so we had a pretty light day of work on Friday. My 5yo was so thrilled when she saw what all our hard work amounted to by the end of the week. I dont think she quite understood how all the books would fit into her Lapbook. I am not posting her photo because we are still going to do a dissection of an Owl Pellet and she has to add her observations of that to her book. She is pretty excited about that. Here is a picture of my 2yo son with his Lapbook on Owls. He is very proud of it and absolutely loves the activites that I got from HomeschoolShare for his book (see above...I figured it out finally!). Actually I am not posting the picture because I am having photo issues - I need help learning how to upload files to my blog. Anyway...here are the beautiful flowers my hubby gave us for v-day. They are still kickin' even today and my total inability to keep any plant alive:)) For Friday Show & Tell go see Canada Girl!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/660884/ Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/660884/ Well this week was very exciting! We completed 2 lapbooks! Visit Canada Girl to join in on Show & Tell Fridays! The first one is my almost 3 yo son. We did a counting and colour apples lapbook. I got the idea from homeschoolshare.com website. I love that site! I laminated the apples and added the colours to each on so he learn counting and colours. He loves doing this on his own or with me. After we did this I discovered he can already count to 20 with a little help and this only goes to 3, but he enjoys it and I can save it for my littlest bugaboo.   Then the second we did was with my oldest Bugaboo who is almost 6 yo. We based this lap book on a book by Dr. Sears. I really like it because I can teach and encourage healthy eating by saying it's a Red Light food or Yellow Light food and she understands now. Now it's not just mom saying you can't eat that it's not good for you. I think she gets it...and she points it out to daddy now too! It also makes me more aware of what I am eating so I am a good role model for her. We had fun doing this. Both kids made a Rainbow plate of food one morning and they loved doing this. We took a picture of the meal they made with all the colours on their plate and took a picture of it. We put it in the book. I also took a few ideas from homeschoolshare.com and integrated it with things we learned from the book.     I didn't think these were too bad for our first Lap Book experiences! But I have lots of ideas and its hard to get them all together to fit into the book! Oh well...I guess you get better at it the more you do! One thing I couldn't figure out is do you put the book together and then do each activity with your child? Or do you do the teaching and activity and then put the book together when you are done everything? I would love some insight into some of you more experienced Lap Bookers! Thanks for reading! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/658561/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:04:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/658561/ Well, this show and tell week I guess I will tell you a bit about my Store - Bugaboo Baby & You. It is an online store specializing in cloth diapering, babywearing, Green Family Living products. You can visit my other Blog at http://bugaboobabyandyou.blogspot.com Or shop and view the store at http://www.bugaboobabyandyou.com Local shoppers also come to my home and purchase from here as well. I will try to find a photo - but I really need to figure out a way to organize my online photos. One item I want to share is terrific for early education upto the age of 6 years. These are made in fair trade from women in Bolivia and are finger puppet pouches. They are great for teaching all sorts of things from animal names, sounds, telling stories, re-telling stories, etc. etc. You can learn more about these on my website by clicking Three Bags Full. My ultimate goal is to design an Activity Ring to be used with the pouches - but have only started planning this and have not started writing it yet - hopefully this year though! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/655637/ Sat, 7 Feb 2009 13:35:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/655637/ Well, this week started off horrible - I learned my lesson though:)) I will never try to pack too many things into one time slot again! Whew - what I thought was manageable before baby #3 is now no longer manageable. At although it is not the baby that usually the problem, it is my almost 3 year old that now gets way too overtired when we try to pack the day with events - not even the day - it was just a few hours. But now he does not nap - and he should, but if falls asleep he is up way to late..and if he doesn't nap, we have to tread lightly from about 4:00 on until bedtime. Oh...and did I mention he still sleeps in our bed? Which is fine on the nights my hubby isn't home (he travels for work), but when he's home there is 4 of us in the bed! Well, maybe 5 since my hubby could maybe count as 2 small people! Good thing we have a king sized bed...but man, we can't have anymore kids cause they won't fit in the bed! (never mind have the space to make babies LOL).. Anyway....once we got over Monday, the week was quite good. We started lap booking! Hooray to whomever introduced me to this concept on this wonderful Blog! I saw it on someon's blog and found out more! I will do a show and tell on this once we finish it! My almost 3 year old son did his first worksheet this week! We did the Letter 'D' and he coloured in some pics and made the sound. Then all day we found words that made that sound. He also LOVES tanagrams, so he does those throughout the week too. I also completed all my ordering for new work - I desparately needed a phonics and reading program - I need a book that has it all in one place because my mornings are crazy busy to get school and breakfast going...and by nighttime I am too exhausted to start planning for the next day - and well week-ends I Blog!!! lol Anyway, one good week and I think we are back into the groove - I am very greatful to my wonderful supportive homeschooling sister who makes me feel like I am the best mom/teacher...and of course my husband too who always has a story to remind me of WHY we are homeschooling and that our children do not have to deal with some of the problems that the schooled children their ages are dealing with. Cheers! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/655634/ Sat, 7 Feb 2009 13:25:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/momof3greatkids/655634/