A few pictures from our Home Schooling Adventures

Since the addition of my 16 year old daughter to our homeschool, things have been busier than ever!  Here's a few pictures of what we've been up to, though!

Math in the driveway.  The superhero cape helps.  :-)

Writing time.
"Draw Write Now" for B, name tracing for the little.

Wetland Ecology Field Trip

Clay model of a "Magic Tree House" character

Math dice game with mom

Fine Motor Skills practice with
a golf tee game and cereal balls

Our daily practice of sitting still & quietly.
We're up to about 5 minutes!

Noah's Ark rainbow craft

Garden of Eden painting

...and the Garden in abstract  ;-)

Blessings from my home to yours!

Three Week Menu Plan

I decided to go ahead and plan for 3 weeks this time.  I used to plan for a month at a time and liked it because it gave me an idea of what ingredients I needed so I could look for sales in advance, as well as taking away the need to plan every.single.week.  My family likes the plans because they like to know what's coming up for dinner each night.

My New Cleaning Schedule

My boys helping with laundry

Since we are now homeschooling, I had to find a better way to incorporate cleaning into my day.  I found that it works best when I focus on on area a day and spread out my cleaning over the course of the week.  I'm also a big proponent of the "1 load a Day" mentaillity when it comes to laundry.  I do a load of clothes Mon, Wed, & Fri, and then either towels or sheets on Tues & Thurs.  Sometimes Monday requires 2 loads of clothes to get caught up from the weekend. I also have chores assigned to my 3 children (16, 6, & 3) and we have a Chore Time each day when they get these completed.  Finally, each weekend I tackle one big cleaning task that needs to be done on a monthly basis, such as shampooing carpets or cleaning trim.

I love looking at others' cleaning schedules, so here's mine if you're interested!

(Click the picture to view larger)

Blessings from my home to yours!
~K

I'm linking up here:

A Novel Approach to Novel Studies

Since my son is already a proficient reader, I've decided to focus on novel studies during our reading time this year (we also have a language time where we work on grammar & specific reading comprehension skills, as well as a separate writing time).  He really liked a Magic Treehouse book we read at Thanksgiving, so I decided to stick with this series for our novel studies.  For the first 2 we read, he was simply answering questions online for each corresponding chapter he read...simple enough, yet B-O-R-I-N-G.  I decided we needed to spice up our novel study activities and remembered an activity a former colleague used in her classroom....it was a BINGO type board filled with various activities.  The students chose which activities they wanted to complete, the only rule being was that they had to get a BINGO (5 in a row) when they finished.  I took this idea and adapted it, since I didn't feel like he necessarily needed to do 5 items in a row, but wanted to keep the idea of choice for him.


I ended up creating 12 activities that could be used with any Magic Treehouse book, or any book, reallty, if the names are removed.  

Click here for a downloadable copy of my activities

Click here for a downloadable copy of the character map I use

I then cut out each topic and taped it to a 3x5 index card.  I taped the index cards into the inside of a manila folder, 6 activities on each side, so that the cards could be flipped up. 

 After each chapter my son chooses an activity to complete and does so underneath the corresponding index card (unless the card prompts him to complete it somewhere else).  

For the activities that call for him to create something (like the Lego model), we take a picture and then tape it to the backside of the card so that he'll be able to look back at what he did long after the model is deconstructed.

B's Magic Treehouse model made from Trios

So far, we're both really enjoying this novel approach to Novel studies!  I hope that it blesses your family as well!

Blessings from my home to yours!

~K

I'm linking up here:

Wow....It's Been a LONG Time!

So, I've fallen off of the bloggy bandwagon in grand fashion!  :-)  But, I do think I've had (semi) good reason, as there's been many changes in our home over the last several months!  We realized very quickly after the new school year started that things just were not going well for our 6 year old in public school this year.  He's a very bright kid, and an even busier one!  Apparently, those two things don't mesh very well at the school he was in and was resulting in numerous behavior problems for him, to which he always replied with something like, "But mom!  I finished ALL my work and got a smiley face on it.  So why can't I talk and play when I finish???"

I began praying about how to proceed and finally approached my husband with the idea of trying out K12, an online public school option here in our state.  Much to my surprise, he was supportive.   I took his blessing & ran with it, doing all sorts of research, phone calls, etc. But the more research I did, the more restrictive I found the program to be. Kids are expected to work for 6-7 hrs a day, lots of repetition, lots of computer time, very little tailored curriculum....basically public school, but at home.

So again, I prayed and then went to my husband with the thought of "doing it myself". He was supportive and said he trusted my decisions in regards to the kids' schooling, and that as long as they were learning & progressing as they should, I could handle it as I chose. I pulled out lots of my old school stuff and put together a few days worth of work. The week after Thanksgiving we kept him home for a trial run. By Wednesday he was begging to do "school at home" every day & cried when we mentioned going back to school for a few days. I googled & found a homeschool association and quickly joined so we wouldn't be sited for truancy and they handled everything in regards to withdrawing him and getting him "legal" within about 36 hours. They were fabulous.

Things were definitely a little haphazard and bumpy in the beginning as we muddled through our days, waited on curriculum to arrive in the mail, and figured out what worked & didn't work for us, but we've finally settled into a groove.  We're using a modified version of the Sue Patrick's Workbox system, very much like the one used at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  If you've never checked out her blog, do so.  Now.  It's fantabulous.

Oh, and I also quit my preschool position as of January.  It was just impossible to homeschool my son properly being away from home two mornings a week.  As much as I loved getting out of the house a little bit and enjoyed the extra income I was earning for my family, my husband & I believe that my place is at home for now.  There are only a few precious years to spend while the littles are little, and I want to be the main presence in their lives, teaching and guiding them each day.  It's been a blessing to be able to focus on my family and my home so much and I love every minute of it (or at least most minutes of it! lol)

I'll try to get back here soon and post more details of our homeschooling days for anyone that's interested!


Blessings from my home to yours!
~K

Four Week Menu Plan

Things have gotten a bit busy around here with school starting for my 2 oldest, the little guy & I starting pre-school 2 mornings a week, scouts, my MOMs group at church, etc.  I've decided that menu planning and extensive grocery shopping each and every week just consumes too much of my time these days, so I've decided to give planning for 4 weeks at a time a try.  I'll do a big grocery shop once a month.  I'll still stop 1 day a week on the way home from work (pre-school) to hit the loss-leaders for stock up purposes, plus the weekly necessities like fresh produce, milk, & eggs.


Dinners on Mondays are quick, kid-friendly meals since my middle son has scouts and my husband works that night.  Wednesday nights are also quick, kid-friendly ones, as my husband and I go to Couples Trivia night with our church & our daughter babysits the little guys.


Breakfasts (the same each week):
Monday-Muffins & Yogurt
Tuesday-Breakfast sandwiches (usually sausage or bacon with egg & cheese)
Wednesday-oatmeal & fruit (pre-school day)
Thursday-Breakfast sandwiches
Friday-oatmeal & fruit (preschool day)
Saturday-eggs, grits, sausage or bacon, and toast or biscuits
Sunday-Breakfast Biscuits (using leftover meat from Saturday)


Lunches: sandwiches or left-overs.  


Dinners:
Sept 12-pancakes & sausage
13-Mexican cheese steaks, cheese quesadillas (kids), chips & salsa
14-Pizza balls, apple slices (Couples Trivia Night) 
15-Italian Chicken roll-ups, pasta & sauce
16-Hamburgers, home fries, corn on the cob
17-Chicken bacon club sandwiches, salad
18-Roast, rice & gravy, green beans


19-Chicken Noodle Soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
20-Tacos, black bean salad
21-Hot dogs, mac-n-cheese (Trivia night)
22-Asian glazed drumsticks, fried rice
23-Deep dish pizza (homemade), salad
24-homemade chicken tenders, home fries
25-Chicken-n-dumplins


26-Frozen Pizza, fruit
27-Spaghetti & meatballs, salad, garlic bread
28-Corn dogs, tater tots, apple sauce (Trivia night)
29-Sausage & Rice casserole, biscuits, corn
30-Grilled pork chops, Rice-a-Roni, sauteed green beans
Oct 1-Grilled Chicken Caesar salads
2-Honey Glazed Pork Loin, mashed potatoes, peas, rolls 



3-French toast, bacon
4-Sloppy Joes, french fries
5-Chicken nuggets, mac-n-cheese, fruit (Trivia night)
6-Cheesy Bacon Ranch chicken quesadillas, chips & salsa
7-Hamburgers & home fries
8-Mighty Meat Nachos

I'm linking up to Menu Planning Mayhem 

Oh, to have Mary's faith.....

Today I stumbled upon Luke 1:26-55 in my bible reading and was so struck by Mary's faith.  Here she was, a young girl, a virgin about to be married, when she was faced with the seemingly absurd.  An angel came to her and told her that she was to conceive and give birth to a son...the Son of all sons.  Let that absorb in your mind for a moment.  Can you imagine the thoughts going through her head?  Can you imagine how you would feel if faced with the same? Absurdity, nervousness, fear, confusion, questioning my own mental stability are just a few I imagine I would feel.  But not Mary.  Her words struck me to my core and made me realize just how frail my own faith in the Lord is in comparison to hers.  She simply said,

"I am the Lord's servant.  

May everything you have said about me come true"

Wow.  To have Mary's faith and trust in the Lord.  All too often, when I feel myself being lead by the Lord to do big things (or even small things, sometimes, if I'm completely honest), I find myself questioning, giving excuses, trying to reason with God, even arguing at times.  Today I find myself humbled by Mary's unwavering faith and complete trust in God's plan for her life, even when faced by the seemingly impossible.  I am being gently nudged by the Spirit this morning, whom I hear whispering to me, "You can do it too.  You can have big faith too, if only you would trust in God's promises and follow where He leads."  I am comforted and encouraged by the promise found in Luke 1:37

"For nothing is impossible with God" 

NOTHING is impossible with God, no, not a thing when you answer Him with a "Yes, Lord, I am your servant.  Lead me where You will and call me to do what You would have me do.  I am listening and I will be obedient".  I find such comfort in this today, and hope that you are encouraged as well.

Blessings from my home to yours!

~K

I'm linking up to:

Time-Warp Wife's Titus Tuesdays