The Well Planned Day Planner Review

Our Curriculum 2015-2016.

I'll admit it.  I'm a curriculum junkie.  I don't personally know a homeschooling momma who isn't.

There's just something about finding the right fit for your kids and home, right?

I'm really excited for this year.  I feel like we've been doing this long enough that we have our groove going on.  It's a good feeling.  I have a couple of new things we're trying out and some of our courses are online but I'm still sticking with most of the basics that I love.

Here's what we're doing as a group:

Mystery of History - New for us and I personally can't wait.  It correlates what's going on in history with events in the Bible.

Exploring Creation Zoology 1 - I love that I found the Jr. Notebooks for this class.

My Brother's Keeper and Because I Said So are the first unit studies I'm using for Bible.  This site has some other's that I'm looking at for the holidays but I'm waiting for them to go on sale again.

We're also doing a fun thing this year that isn't a planned curriculum.  We're watching a few seasons of The Amazing Race on Netflix.  I'm combining this with a world atlas, a map and some online searches for a fun study on world cultures, geography and a little more history. 

Josh's curriculum for 5th grade:

Teaching Textbooks
Explode the Code online
Sequential Spelling
Language Lessons
Rosetta Stone Spanish
This year, I want him to work on reading comprehension and writing.  He'll be keeping a reading journal that I downloaded from Teachers Pay Teachers and using it with his required reading books and one of his picks each month. 
The other thing I'm excited about is this:  Q&A a Day for Kids.  It's a question a day journal that will hopefully help with getting thoughts on paper.

John, 4th grade and Josiah, 3rd grade are pretty similar:

Horizons Math
Explode the Code online
Language Lessons
Sequential Spelling
TTRS for typing, reading and spelling
Rosetta Stone Spanish
Story Cubes - for creative writing

We're also keeping up our review time with our FlashMaster - which was an awesome purchase and worth every penny for us.

All in all, I think it's going to be a pretty good year.

Thanksgiving Movies for Homeschooling.

We love movies at our house.  Not only are they entertaining, they can be very educational.

Here's a list of the movies I plan on using this month for Thanksgiving learning.

The Mouse on the Mayflower on YouTube.

The Mayflower Voyagers on YouTube. (One of my favorites)

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving free with Amazon Prime.

The Walton's: A Thanksgiving Story on YouTube.

Thanksgiving Shared: Native Americans free with Amazon Prime.

And my other favorite:

William Bradford - available for purchase on Amazon.  We actually lucked into finding this VHS at a yard sale a few years back. 

Most of these are free with Amazon Prime or on YouTube. 

Do you use movies in your homeschool? 

Homeschool Q&A meeting.

I just left the homeschool Q&A that the other homeschool hop bloggers & I had and let me just say wow!  I loved it.  I love sharing what did and didn't work for me. 

But on the way home, that exact thought kept occurring to me.  It's what worked....for me.  For my kids. 

And yes, I currently use the "big box" from Sonlight and we like it.  But I don't know that I'll spend that kind of money again.  We'll see how the year goes.

I just wanted to stress that just because "everyone" uses Sonlight, doesn't mean it's the right choice for you.  Truth be told, I wouldn't use it for Kindergarten.  I think it's too much - cost and volume of work.

Kindergarten is supposed to be fun!  It's your child's first real introduction to learning.  What worked for our family at that age was to just go with their natural love of learning.  For us, it was all about nature.  And dinosaurs.  We take walks, collecting plants or leaves or bugs or rocks, then head home and search field guides to find out about what we have. We hang bird feeders and learn about the birds that visit them. 

Of course, there is real school work to be done in Kindergarten as well.  For those subjects that do require more of a book approach, here's what I recommend:

The Reading Lesson

Get Ready, Set, Go for the Code

 Language Lessons for Little Ones

Horizons Math K



 



I would use the above books and supplement with unit studies on what my child is interested in, as well as utilizing the library for tons of great books to read.   Pinterest is a great place to get ideas for fun projects and unit studies. 

 

I also like to use the What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know books.  I checked it out from the library, read it and made some notes.  It was helpful for me to think about basic things like knowing your address and phone number.   

 

If I were buying a "box", I would use Timerdoodle again.  I just love that site!  They now offer three price levels for their boxes.  The basic covers what you need and the others just add on extra fun things. 

 

You don't have to spend a fortune to start homeschooling. 

 

You don't have to be overwhelmed.

 

It's actually a fun age to teach. 

 

Take a deep breath, make your plan and enjoy it.

 

Homeschool Blog Hop: Guest Post for Classical Conversations.

Hi, my name is Stephanie Adams, and I am a curriculum junkie. I am a seasoned homeschooler with 3 children. Over the years I have spent countless hours devoted to curriculum research.

 

I spend many nights scouring the Internet looking for great material to enrich our home school journey. I have read numerous books on the many different types of educational philosophies. My latest research has been focused around the Classical Education philosophy. What is it? What makes it different? Is it better than everything else?   

During my research I came across an author by the name of Dorothy Sayers and her book titled “The Lost Tools of Learning.” Mrs. Sayers explains that in her opinion the problem with today’s Education system is that students lack the basic tools and foundation on which learning itself is built. They are graduating from high school and have not taken the time to master the basics before pressing ahead. This is causing them to enter adulthood without the ability to teach themselves new concepts. The reasons they are failing to learn, Classicalist believe, is because they have not mastered the grammar of learning itself. Most curriculums take more of a crash course approach to multiple subjects, rather than taking the time to develop a true understanding of the essential cornerstones of the core subjects.  

This concept makes sense to me, but how does one go about implementing a Classical Education? According to my reading; first, we must recognize we live in a Universe not an Omni-verse. All subjects are intertwined and subordinate to one another, and they should be taught as such.  In order to do this we need to go back to the approach of the one room schoolhouses and proceed with a more unified purpose in our lessons. This means starting with Grammar. Not Grammar in the sense of a subject, but Grammar in the sense of basic foundational tools. Children need to be taught the basic facts of the major subjects in a fun and approachable way that complements all learning styles.  

This is where Classical Conversations comes in. CC is a community made up of Christ centered parents. These parents come together with a like minded approach to provide a high quality, educational foundation, based on the Classical style of learning. The foundational facts presented in this program are taught continuously throughout the entire grammar school period (k-6.) This purpose is to ingrain the basic facts of the major subjects into your child’s mind until they become second nature, much like the ABC’s. This provides the foundational blocks upon which all concepts will be built. First the child completes the early Grammar program, next they proceed with the Essentials, followed by the Challenge program. These programs are specifically designed to guide the student into a further understanding of all concepts, continuing on through to graduation. 

To further my research I traveled to Pittsburgh to visit our nearest CC community. I wanted to see if they were able to truly put this philosophy in motion. Immediately I was blown away. I witnessed young children discussing Greeks and Trojans, even Constantine. I listened to their oral presentations of their poetry and their work was so eloquent it would rival most high school students. They were doing Science experiments, and then later on discussing the differences between the Baroque and the Romantic period of Classical music. These children were so intelligent. Every parent I spoke with claimed that hands down it was CC’s influence that was responsible for their educational success. They claimed it was also because of the approach of the specially trained tutors. The tutors teach the children while parents, who sit in on the lessons, are taught how to reinforce the material at home. Another great thing about the CC way is the classes are molded to fit all learning styles. The children learn through music, singing and games. They are so busy having a good time, that they don’t realize how much information is being presented to them, or how much they are actually retaining.    

This program is exactly what our area needs. It offers structure, accountability, community, and a companion in our home school journey.  It is not a replacement of the parent but rather a tool from which every parent can build on. CC can be used either as a spring board upon which you base your homeschooling foundation, or it can be used as a supplement to your current curriculum and style. CC also offers workbooks and curriculum that you can purchase to enhance your educational development. However, if you have a current curriculum you love, the only book you need to purchase is the Foundations Guide. This guide will lay out the 24 total weeks of material that your student will be taught throughout the year. This gives you ample time to plan ahead and work it into your school lessons at home.  

We are currently in the process of opening a local Classical Conversations community. I am working with CC to hire staff and get everyone trained in the CC way. Our goal is to provide the highest quality education we can for our group, and I hope that your family will be a part of his wonderful experience.

Here is the web address for our local page: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalConversationsHarrisonCountyWv?ref=hl

On our page you will find helpful videos that further explain what CC is all about. You may also leave me a message with any questions or comments you may have. If you are interested in joining our CC group for our fall classes, please leave me an IM with all of your important contact information.

Homeschool Blog Hop: How do I feel about socialization?

How do I feel about socialization?

(Insert deep dramatic sigh here.)

Socialization.  The word that makes this homeschool moms roll her eyes and count to ten when it's mentioned.

"Don't you worry that your kids won't be socialized?"

"How will your kids learn how to act around other kids?"

"You can't protect them from the world forever, they need to learn about the real world.'

Oh.  My. Goodness.

Just stop!

We don't live in a bubble or a commune.  We live our community.  We do speak to others.  Surprisingly enough, we can even converse about things other than the Bible.  Shocking, I know. 

Yes, my kids are involved in church where they interact with other kids.  Don't assume that doesn't count because it's just church kids.  My kids have learned about all kinds of things from church kids, including zombies that will eat your brains.  They go to MMA class twice a week now - in the past they've done community soccer or basketball - and they actually spend time with other kids there as well.  Just this week at the park, they were playing with (gasp) strangers - and had no trouble joining the group and playing.  And don't forget co-op.  It may not be eight hours a day, five days a week with kids only in their age group, but surprisingly enough they have made friends there that they even like to play with outside of co-op. 

Here's the thing.  If your main reason for homeschooling is to control who your children interact with, you'll probably want to hang it up right now.  That's just not possible.  No matter where your child is educated, correcting misinformation and behavior is always going to be part of your job.  Deal with it.

Now, about the "real world" comments - yes, I do want to protect them from the "real world".  What parent doesn't?  There is nothing wrong with childen being innocent while they are children!  My 5, 6 & 8 year old shouldn't know about s*x, or pot, or even "bad words".  No kids that age should.  Whether you homeschool, send your kids to public school or choose private school, your job is to protect their innocence. 

Let them be kids.

So basically, don't ask me about socialization. 

We got it covered!



 Hop on over to my bloggy friends and see if I'm the only one who goes off the deep end about the socialization question!

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.  Not pictured is Jessica @Redeeming the Home. 

Homeschool Blog Hop: My biggest frustration.

This is an easy one.

What's my biggest frustration?

Me.

Yep.  Me.

Maybe I should say my vision of my "ideal".  You know, my ideal school day, my ideal home, my idea ministry. 

In my mind, things are so perfect.  So well planned and executed.  But you see, that's only in my mind.  Then there's reality. 

In reality sometimes we play the xbox for three hours and then fight about doing school instead of coming downstairs like the VonTrapp children in matching curtain outfits ready to learn.

Ideal.  I - deal.  Idol. 

My ideal can be my idol.  And that is my biggest frustration. 

I can blame it on the boys behavior or on being busy, but it all boils down to things not going according to my ideal plan.  Like I really know what's going on. 

When will I learn that it's not my plan to start with? 

I didn't plan on not working full time.
I didn't plan on having more than two children.
I didn't plan on homeschooling.

Needless to say, God knows better than I do.  You'd think I'd have learned this by now. 

Check out my friends to see their biggest frustration:

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.  Not pictured is Jessica @Redeeming the Home.

Homeschool Blog Hop: What didn't work for me.

What didn't work for me?  Hmmm...  Well, lots of things.

Working two days a week regularly and homeschooling didn't work for me.  It was too much.  I now know my limits, even if I don't always listen to them.  I am not super mom, super nurse, super wife or super anything.  I'm just me.  Doing my best.

Pushing on with curriculum that had the boys (and myself) in tears daily didn't work for me.  At some point I had to choose to ditch that expensive program because it didn't suit our family or the boys learning styles. 

Trying to put the boys into a cookie cutter mold of what a homeschooled child "should be" - you know uber smart, able to name all the presidents by age 3 - didn't work for me.  All kids are different.  The boys are ahead in some subjects and behind in others.  That's kind of the beauty of homeschooling.  We can customize our learning experiences to each child.

Comparing my life to someone elses.  I'm going to be honest here.  This one is still a trap for me.  I don't have a lot of free time.  My husband can't watch the kids often because he works alot.  And frankly, when he is home, I don't want to leave.  I want to be with him too.  But sometimes I can get cranky because so and so gets to do this or that and I don't.  Just. Stop. It.

Being a from scratch kind of girl.  Yes, while I garden, can and raise animals, I still buy my bread from a store more than I make it.  And while I'd like to be that person that grinds their own wheat and bakes from scratch someday, the reality is that time is also valuable.  If I had to chose making bread or playing with the kids - well, that's an easy one, right?

Pushing the kids to do more, be involved more, because it looks good for the portfolio didn't work for me.  And yes, I did do this.  Running to the soccer field four times a week last year and basketball in the Winter and swimming in the Summer.....they were all great things, but the boys were tired, I was tired - it was just too much.  If it's something they're interested in, then that's great.  But I feel sometimes we just run and run for the kids and never get to spend time as a family.  

In case you didn't realize it already, not having dedicated family time didn't work for me.  And it still doesn't.  We need time to build those relationships between mom and dad, parent and child and as siblings with each other.  Time.  It needs to be a priority.  We actually block out family time on our calender every Monday evening.  If we've spent time together in the past week, we may go ahead and skip this, but it's at least on the calendar so we make it a priority.


These are just a few of the things that haven't worked for me. 


Don't forget to check out the other bloggers to see what didn't work for them:

 

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.  Not pictured is Jessica @Redeeming the Home.

 

Homeschooling Style and Curriculum Choices

Welcome back to the homeschool blog hop!

 

Today's topic is all about your homeschooling style.  I fall under the eclectic category.  All that means is that I basically pick and choose based on each child's learning style, although I probably lean more toward Charlotte Mason's hands on, outdoor learning style.

My first year of homeschooling I used My Father's World for preK.  It's a really nice program with lots of great literature, but it just wasn't for me at the time.  I had Josh at age 4, John was 2 1/2 and Josiah had just turned 1.  In theory it would have been great to curl up on the couch, read books and color pages or make crafts with glitter.  I was stressed out and overwhelmed on a daily basis with it, so after Christmas I just put it away.  We worked on our letters and numbers with Raising Rock Stars Preschool printables.  We also had a Bible verse and easy activities to do with each letter.  I loved it and so did Josh and John.  It's what all the kids have used for preK. 

The following year, I purchased a kindergarten package from Timberdoodle.  This we really enjoyed as well and I purchased the package for 1st grade the following year.  I liked the actual curriculum, but I really liked the extras in the box - puzzles, wrap ups, games - all kinds of fun hands on learning tools that the boys thought were just toys.  I love sneaky learning. 

This year, I actually didn't buy anything except our Horizons Math, All About Spelling and Explode the Code because, well, I'm a curriculum junkie and I had a ton of things on my shelf that I decided to use, not just collect.  I had several great downloads from Confessions of a Homeschooler, including Road Trip USA, Great Artists, and a literature pack that we've really enjoyed. 

A couple of things happened this year to make my "perfect" plans not so great.  First, I took another job doing chart reviews from home.  It was a great opportunity to make some money and not have to worry about a sitter or leaving the house, but I was overwhelmed.  When you don't have much breathing room in your schedule to start and you add another twelve hours to your week, it becomes overwhelming quickly. 
The other thing was that John really struggles with reading and writing.  Really struggles.  I've tried all kinds of programs and printables over the last two years (as well as a truck load of patience).  This kid is smart - he can take apart and put together just about anything and he's so bright in anything to do with math.  He just couldn't get his letters. 

Once again, instead of fighting the curriculum, I chose to let it go.  Someday we can come back to it, but in January I ordered Sonlight for all of the boys.  Luckily they're close enough in age that they can learn most of their lessons together.  I didn't have time to lesson plan well (or at all sometimes) and Sonlight does that for me.  I just pull my books on Sunday evening for the week and we're ready for Monday.  For right now, this works for me. 

As far as John's reading, I ordered an older program on the advice of fellow homechooler and blogger Tracey, called Read, Write, Sing and Spell.  Older as in VHS and cassettes older.  But it's working.  The author has a way of explaining how to make the letters that is clicking for John.  It seems to not frustrate him as much as the other programs. 

I think my homeschooling choices will always evolve as I also mature as a homeschooler.  This is only my fourth year and I'm so grateful to have older more seasoned homeschoolers for support. 

It's not an easy life, but it's fun.


Don't forget to hop on over and see what my other homeschooling moms have to say:

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.  Not pictured is Jessica @Redeeming the Home.

 

Why did I choose to homeschool?

I really never thought about homeschooling.  The plan was for Josh to go to public school until John was of school age then send them to Trinity - a private school in Morgantown. 

Ronnie casually mentioned homeschooling a couple of times and we would talk about it, nothing serious, just casual conversation.  We had taught Jr. Hi. Sunday School and our class had a good mix of public, private and homeschooled kids (including our very own blog hopper Audrey).  I liked the homeschooled kids, I liked their families - but I planned on going back to work full time once the kids were school age.

After Josiah's birth, I started working one day a week for home health and just as needed for my cath lab job.  I never realized how much I missed being the one to get to experience all the firsts - first words, first tooth, first steps.   I'm not beating myself up about that, there was no way when Josh & John were babies that I could have stayed home.  We had too much debt at that time and I had to work to help Ronnie get it paid off.  When Josiah came along, we were debt free except for our mortgages.  Being home, I realized that there were more important things than having the newest IPhone or whatever shiny trinket it was that had caught my eye.  Being home, that was what really mattered to me.

The how of my homeschooling journey was actually a God thing.  Homeschooling in my mind was along the lines of being a missionary in Africa - an awesome and worthwhile thing to do, but not necessarily for me.  Ronnie mentioned homeschooling again when Josh was ready for preK, but I still wasn't sure.  I told Ronnie I would pray about, which is sometimes my way of just avoiding the subject.  This time, I really did pray about it. 

I ended up choosing to homeschool Josh for preK.  The boys at the time were currently in daycare two days a week and he was already able to write most of his letters so I figured how hard could it be?  I loved it!  I loved everything about it.  I love the time spent together - not just parent and child, but seeing siblings become best friends.  I love seeing them grasp concepts as I'm teaching them - seeing the information click.  Honestly, it's one of the best feeling in the world.  I love that instead of being in school all day, they can finish their school work and go outside and play like kids are supposed to.  I love that it fits our family.  We don't have to worry about our seniority at work for our vacations, we can take a trip during the public school year without making ourselves crazy lining up everyone's schedule.  Homeschooling fits our family.

Am I saying that I would never send my kids to public school?  No.  No one knows what the future holds.  But I also can see us homeschooling through high school. 

What I do know that at this point in time is that we're still loving it and they're still learning.

And for now, that's all I need to know.





Don't forget to hop on over and see what my other homeschooling mommas have to say:

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.

 

Homeschool Blog Hop: How do I organize my day?

Today's question is "How do I organize my day?".

Answer: Not very well.

OK, I actually have great plans on paper, but they don't always transfer to real life as well as I'd like them to.

I try to stick to the schedule that I shared with you on Tuesday. It helps to keep life a little more sane. The day I shared with you was a typical Monday for me.  My afternoon time focus rotates depending on the day.

Here's how I organize my week, more so than my day:

Mondays are my office day.
I use this day to work on the business, file, pay all the bills, work on any projects for
our Women's ministry or my Relay for Life team, go over the lesson plan - that kind of thing.

Tuesday's are errand day.
Why? Because I work on Tuesdays at home health. I'm already on my way to town,
no better time to stop at the bank and anywhere else that I need to go.

Wednesday's are laundry day (in theory)
This is the day that I earmark to actually put away laundry. Unfortunately, I'm
usually behind from working on Tuesday so I try to pull off a "big" day of school.
Laundry usually ends up in baskets in the right rooms with a promise to put it away
later.

Thursday is baking day.
Or cooking day. Basically just kitchen day. I use this day to make some goodies,
like brownies, bake something in the bread machine, anything I can pull off in the
afternoon to make that makes my life easier for the coming week.

Friday is co-op day.
I don't get anything done other than co-op and school. In the evening, we try to have
family time. It doesn't have to be fancy. If the weather's nice, we play outside. If
not, we play the Xbox or watch a movie or visit with friends.  This is also usually the evening Ronnie and I use for an in home date night after the kids are asleep.  We'll watch a movie or really just do anything together.  Last week, we sat on the couch and read Mother Earth News, trying to figure out the best way to build our chicken coop. (Don't be jealous of our glamorous life!)

Saturday is project day.
It's just what it sounds like. I use this day to do any projects that need done. In the Summer this involves tackeling the weeds in the garden.  Sometimes we hang out with friends or take my mom to the grocery store. Just like every other family, we usually have something to do.

Sunday is my planning day.
After church, we try not to do a lot. Ronnie usually takes a nap if he doesn't have to
work, the boys play and I use the quiet time to make up my menu, plan my blogs for
the week, update my calender and make a to do list for the week.

This is what works best for me.  And yes, there are days when I throw the plan out the window and we go to the park or to a friend's house.  (Although not many or life turns into chaos).  Working outside the home, even part time, running a business and homeschooling is a challenge, but it can be done.  It just takes commitment to your plan.  For me, it's worth it.


Don't forget to check out my fellow bloggers to see their tips for organizing their days.

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.

 

A day in my life.

Today I'm giving you a peek into my world. 

I'm a homeschooling mom, small business owner, part time RN, blogger and hippie in progress.   My days are a little on the busy side, despite trying to keep things simple.

 

This is a little slice of my days:

5:30     Up and at 'em.  I make Ronnie's breakfast and pack his lunch.

5:45     Wake Ronnie, start the coffee pot and have breakfast with him.

6:00      Ronnie's out the door and I work on my Bible study (Beth Moore right now)

6:20ish  Done with Bible study, I grab a cup of coffee and log on.  I check Facebook,
              read some blogs, write a little, and check my email.  This is my time of the
              day before the chaos starts.

7ish       Around 7, the boys start coming downstairs.  They usually make themselves
             a glass of chocolate milk then just kind of lounge around while they wake up.
             I finish up whatever I'm doing online and start a load of laundry.  I also start
              thinking about dinner - if I need to throw it in the crock pot or thaw anything.

7:30      Close to 7:30, everyone is up and moving around.  I make breakfast (usually
              a rotation of eggs & toast, oatmeal or cocoa wheat). 

8:00      Just before 8, we eat breakfast.  While the boys are eating, I start our school
             day.  We're currently using Sonlight for school, which is really heavy on
             reading and read  alouds.  I've found that the best way to do this is to read to
             them while they're eating.  We start the day with Bible during breakfast. 

8:30      We start our chores.  John is in charge of feeding the chickens and chicks and
              putting our breakfast dishes in the sink.  Josh unloads the dishwasher and
             Josiah feeds the dog and gathers up any dirty clothes or dishes through out the
             house.  I switch over the laundry and start another load.  If it's warm, I head
             outside to hang it on the line - and the boys jump on the trampoline until I'm
             done.

9:00      School "officially" starts.  We work together on whatever is scheduled for the
             day that the whole group does.  Then we divide up.  I send Josh to the
             computer to do his math, while John and I work on Read, Write, Sing and
             Spell.  Josiah is preK, so he gets some kind of structured play - usually legos.
             John and I finish reading and math, then he and Josh switch.  John works on
             ABCmouse.com.  I also let Josiah on ABCmouse.com on the other laptop.
             He can also watch a Leapfrog video on Netflix at this time if he wants.
            Josh and I work on spelling, reading and review math - anything that needs
             one on one time. 

             When Josh and John are done with their individual learning, they can play -
             as long as it's not the Wii or Xbox.  The only exception to this is either their
             UFC trainer or Just Dance - sometimes I'll let them play that while I work
             with Josiah.  It keeps them moving.

             While the older two play, it's Josiah's turn for school.  I'm just using a PreK
              book I picked up from Sam's last August.  He's involved in everything the
              older two are doing as well and is like a little sponge. 

Noon:    By the time all this is done, it's time for lunch.  Lunch is usually leftovers or
              something quick like nuggets and fruit or PB&J and fruit.  While they're
              eating, I read aloud to them again for whatever needs finished up for the
              lesson plan today.

12:30     After lunch, I let the boys play while I work on my Motivated Mom's list.
              I also usually hop on the computer and do a quick check on Facebook,
              email and my blog. 

1pm       The boys and I take a time out to watch Tom and Jerry.  (We judge the
               successfulness of our school day by whether or not we finish in time to
               watch Tom and Jerry).   If school isn't done, we miss this and finish
              school.  I fold laundry during this time.

2pm       The boys and I do a quick run through our chores again - run the sweeper
               sweep the floor, wipe the table off and clear off our books. 

2:15     The boys can play and I work on things for our business - work on the books,
              file, pay bills, ect.  I also let them play video games now if they want to.
             I use this time to finish any projects that I'm working on.  Right now it
              usually means cleaning the chicks cage.  That thing is a disaster daily. 

4pm      Ronnie is home and we try to sit down and talk about out day before dinner.
              Sometimes it's a great talk.  Sometimes it's just "I survived.  How 'bout you?"
              Then I start dinner and he works on crowd control.

5pm      We eat dinner.  Not to sound like the Cleavers, but I usually have the boys tell
              what they did in school that day.  It helps fight off the bad attitudes during
              school time when they know they have to give an account to Dad at dinner.

5:30       Around this time we finish dinner and clear the dishes. 

From here, it depends on the day.  On Tuesday and Thursday's we head to MMA, Wednesday - it's church night.  Monday's and Friday's are my favorite because we try to not go anywhere.  We just hang out, then the boys have bath time starting at 7 and bed at 8.  If they go to bed without a fuss, they get a story before bed. 

Once they're in bed and after the trips downstairs for a drink (or bathroom, or another drink), it's usually about 9.  Ronnie and I snuggle on the couch and watch TV.  Sometimes I knit or work on my menu or check back online, but if we haven't had much alone time, I put everything else to the side and spend time with him.  Then it's finally time to shower and hit the hay.  I try to be in bed by 10pm, most nights it's a little closer to 11pm. 

That's a look at my day.  I kinda hate writing it down, because I don't want to discourage anyone.  We just have a busy life with work and the business.  And yes, there are days when I would just like to watch GMA and play Skylanders with the boys, but that's not what we do.  At this stage in our life,  I have to make a conscious effort to make family time a priority for all of us.  It's just the season we're in right now, and that's ok.

This is what works for our family and I can't imagine life any other way.

Don't forget to check out my fellow bloggers as they share with how their days go!

Clockwise, from top left:

Lorrie @ Life and Lessons Learned, Selena at Campbell Clan, Kathleen @ Positive Adoption, Audrey @ Everything Beautiful, Charli @ WV Urban Hippies, Tracey @ Building My House, and Maria @ The Joyfully Frugal Home.

 

Our Kindergarten Cirriculum.

Let me preface this by saying that Josiah is just going to turn five in October.  I had absolutely no intention of starting Kindergarten with him until next year. 

Just one problem, he loves to sit and watch the other boys "do school".

Last year when I started working on Raising Rock Stars Preschool with him, he breezed through the whole program.  He already knew his shapes, ABC's and numbers.  He easily learned how to spell and write his name.  He must have been like a little sponge the past three years, just sitting there coloring, but all the while soaking up what his brothers were learning. 

I'm planning on giving Kindergarten a go with him this year.  And just like John last year, if he's not ready we'll just sit it to the side for a while. 



Here's the plan:


The Reading Lesson

Get Ready, Set, Go for the Code

 Language Lessons for Little Ones

Mathematical Reasoning K

Exploring Zoology 1

Cooking 101 for Kids

Road Trip USA


And

Stickfiguring through the Bible



Unlike the other boys, I'm not using Horizons for his math.  Not yet, anyway.  Horizons is an advanced math program and I had purchased this book last year for John, but it was too easy for him.  I'm going to start Josiah out with it and probably switch to Horizons mid year. 

I'm also not having him do the Great Artist's study.  I have no doubt he'll listen to the stories and do the projects, but this is already a lot of work for Kindergarten.  I don't want him overwhelmed with his first year.  If he wants to do it with us, fine.  If not, that's fine also. 

One last thing.  While this is the "plan" for Kindergarten, I'm not introducing all of it at the same time.  For us, it works better when we build up to a full day of school.  Otherwise, it's too overwhelming at his age.  I'll start by introducing Get Ready for the Code and Math for our one on one time for a couple of weeks instead of bombarding him with everything at once.  It's an approach I've used with the other boys and it's worked well for us. 

I'm so excited for school to start!

Our First Grade Cirruculum

This is a great example of the positives of homeschooling. 

Techinally, John is in first grade this year.  Last fall when we began Kindergarten, it was very clear that I was in for a challenge.  He zipped right through Science and Math.  He loved listening to our History stories.  He had a great time with this friends on Friday's at co-op. 

Reading and writing were a whole other ballgame.

It was daily fight that ended with him in tears and me just about there too.  I didn't know what to do, so I called Rhonda, who does our portfolio review and is just a wonderful resource for homeschoolers.  Her advice shocked me.  She told me to just stop.  Umm....what?!   This is school.  You can't just stop school.  Can you?

Well, that's exactly what I did.  We quit doing Reading and Writing.  He just wasn't developmentally ready for these subjects yet.  Turns out, Rhonda was absolutely right.  John, on his own accord, started wanting to learn how to read.   This Spring, he actually came to me and asked if I would teach him to read. 

So, while he's starting First grade, his English is more Kindergarten and a half.  I'm not worried about it.  He's advancing by leaps and bounds with reading and he's actually coming along with his writing as well. 

Having said all that, here's John's First grade curriculum:

Horizons Math 1:

Language Lessons for Little Ones

The Reading Lesson

Explode the Code

Super Star Speech

Exploring Creation Zoology 1:  Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

Road Trip USA

Cooking 101 for Kids

Greatest Artist Unit Study

and finally,

Stickfiguring thru the Bible 

I can already tell you that his favorite class will be Cooking 101.  That boy loves making things in the kitchen.  And knives. 

I'm pretty sure it will be a hit.

Linking up with Our Good Life!

Our second grade cirriculum.

How do I have a second grader already?

I feel like I'm still getting my feet wet with the whole homeschooling thing, but I guess this will be my fourth year homeschooling. 

While I was planning what we would do, I asked Josh is there was anything he'd like to learn this year.  His answer:  beat box.  Hmm... how bout this?







OK.  Serioulsy,  here's what we're doing:

Horizons Math 2

Language Lessons for the Very Young 2

Explode the Code

Exploring Creation Zoology 1:  Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

Road Trip USA

Cooking 101 for Kids

Greatest Artist Unit Study

and finally,

Stickfiguring thru the Bible 

I'm really excited about what we're doing this year.  All three of the boys tend to learn best with a hands on approach and most of what we're doing together is hands on.

The only other thing I'm thinking about adding is not really curriculum, but an MMA class on Tuesday & Thursdays.  It's technically called an anti-bullying class, but it teaches physical conditioning, self-defense and discipline.  Plus, the boys have been asking like crazy to take karate, but this class will take all three of them and it's not on Wednesday (church night).  I'm planning on calling and letting them take a "try me" class to see what they think and if I think it's worth the drive twice a week.

I know, once again it seems like a lot , but not everything is done daily. 

So, what are you using this year?

Linking up with Our Good Life!