A Day in the Life

It's the final week of iHomeschool Network's NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop, and today we are discussing a typical school day!

So, we haven't officially started our 2013-2014 school year yet, but here is a look at the plan for that "perfect" homeschool day! Haha! Do those even exist?

Let's start off by pointing out that I am not a morning person AT ALL, so no getting up at 5am for me! Often times, I'm up very late the night before getting the next day's lessons together, so I aim to be up around 8am.

8am - Everyone is up! Dress and make ourselves presentable to the public IF we are going out that day. Brush of teeth and hair is required everyday. ;-)

9am - Breakfast for the kids. Usually coffee and reading the morning headlines via the computer for mommy.

10am - The official school day starts with Baby Boy in his play area...from here we just kind of do things in a similar order each day taking the time we need for each subject.

• Reading of a chapter in Psalms (if not done at breakfast)
• Math meeting as a group
• Big Girl starts working through her workboxes while I do math and phonics with Big Boy.
• Check in with Big Girl to see if she needs any help with her work.
• Continue with Big Boy's lessons showing him how to go through each of his workboxes.

12pm - Break for lunch. We usually take a full hour break giving the kids time to play outside if it's nice.

• Science class together
• Both kids continue through workboxes until all subjects are complete while I get in some one-on-one time with Baby Boy before putting him down for his afternoon nap.
• Finish up any art projects.

3pm - This is my goal for being finished with the school day! All the kids go to their rooms for quiet time/naps because at this point I am pretty much mentally exhausted and need the break myself. This also gets them a mental break before evening activities ranging from music and karate to church activities and family visits.

Dinner happens with a great deal of variety. My husband's work schedule is ever changing, so the time often depends on when he'll be arriving home. This is one area of scheduling that he feels I need to work on to provide the kids with better stability in our day, whereas I feel the sitting down together as a WHOLE family outweighs the importance of a time on a clock. It's just one of those areas where we differ and are working towards a solution.

As I said this is a good day and on paper. Putting it into practice rarely looks this good! If I'm particularly tired or the kids aren't all that cooperative, this often gets chucked out the window. My goal for this year is to be more consistent with sticking to the outline, so we'll see how that goes when we start things up NEXT WEEK!

Want to join in on the blog hop or just see what others are doing? Click the pic below!

Student (Non)Photo Hop

It's week 2 of iHomeschool Network's NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop ... student photo week! I'm going to rebel a little bit, as I try not to show the kids' faces here; however, you will still have the opportunity to read all about them, though!

Big Girl is 8 years old and starting 4th grade this year! She is a hard worker in school and around the house but plays just as hard. She loves all things artsy and has determined she'd either like to be a fashion designer and attend NYU or be a nanny in Hollywood. Either way, it looks like my baby is headed for the coast!

Big Boy is 5 years old and starting 1st grade. He is my dramatic one and has so much energy that we jokingly called him Stitch for the longest time! He looks up to his sister and wants to do everything she is doing at the moment. He changes every week what he wants to be when he grows up - a storm chaser, a cake decorator, his sister's fashion design assistant, a spy, etc. The only answer that seems to be consistent is that he wants to be like Daddy!

Baby Boy is my big bundle of energy at 2 years old! He is so hard to keep up, and when paired with his brother, you had better watch out! He is all boy and I think gets more bumps and bruises in a week than his siblings have combined in a year. He's already teaching his siblings that "little eyes are watching" as he repeats anything and everything they say! Above all, he has the biggest heart to help others. If he even hears my husband or I doing any kind of work, he drops everything he's doing and rushes in declaring "me help!"

Want to read more or even jump in on the fun? Check out iHomeschool Network's Student Photo Week by clicking on the photo below!

What about your cast of characters? Let's hear all about them!

Our School Room

It's week 2 of iHomeschool Network's NOT Back-to-School Blog Hop! This week is all about the spaces in our homes where education takes place.

I am very fortunate in that I have a large room that my wonderful husband has allowed me to take over as a classroom. Currently it is still in the process of getting all set up for this year, so I apologize in advance for the lack of pictures; however, I promise you that as soon as it is complete, I can overwhelm you with the visuals! *big grin*

Through my last several years of schooling my children, I have pulled ideas from everywhere for setting up a functional space. The most impactive of resources has by far been Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler. Seriously, if you haven't visited her blog, go there as soon as you are finished here!

My favorite aspects of our classroom...

Workboxes: With two full-time students each with a full course load, figuring out how to get it all done in a timely manner is difficult. These workbox stations have made it so simple, especially for Big Girl, who is an independent learner.

How They Work: I have little tags for each subject on each drawer and fill them with work at night for the next day. When we begin our school day, I go over any special instructions with the kids and then turn them loose. Since we will have many subjects together but with separate assignments, I can present the text/information before having them get the assignment out of the appropriate drawer. This also allows them to move on to reading assignments and other independent work without having to interrupt a sibling's lesson with mom to ask "what should I do now?"

Student Desks: I do have a traditional student desk for my kids to work at. I just find that giving them their own space to work helps cut down on the squabbling and distractions. I was able to pick these up very cheap at a going out of business auction for less than $20 each!

Teacher Desk: My wonderfully generous sorority sister GAVE me a huge executive's desk that came with the house she bought. She is a public school teacher who loves having a big workspace but already had two in her classroom. She knows that I like to spread out when I work, too, and thought this gorgeous approximately 6' x 4' piece would be perfect! She was so right!

In addition to being my desk, it is large enough that I've also made it mine and Big Girl's sewing station. There is just enough of a lip on the front that our legs tuck nicely under. Plus our space is big enough to have two sewing machines sit side-by-side with plenty of room to work on our extremely beginner projects!

Other Stuff:

As I said our room isn't quite done for this year. I still have things to put up on my walls and furniture to move around once we sell a rather large piece - a twin size bed. Yes, last year we had a bed in our classroom, and it was wonderful! I just found it to be too big for our space, so off it goes. I'm glad to be blessing a friend with it since she is expecting #3 and desperately wants to get #2 out of the crib and into a "big bed".

I can't tell you how disappointed I am that my room is not ready. We have been met with many challenges this summer, including my computer blowing up on me. (My husband has graciously lent me his on his days off to allow me to get back to blogging and do things that my phone doesn't quite handle.) I have lots of wall stuff to print and get put together, along with getting some desk organizers into place just help things run a bit more smoothly. Not to mention that if I'm being perfectly honest here, I still have projects from last school year that need to come down.

So before I hyperventilate all the things still to do, I better send you on your way. Check out what other homeschool spaces are out there by clicking on the pic below and don't forget to come back by for my updated school room tour!

Hope to see you all next week for Student Photo Week!

2013-2014 Curriculum

So, it's been a while since I last checked in. Last year about this time to be exact. I thought what a better way to kick off my blog (again) would be to join in on the iHomeschool Network blog hop!

Big Girl (4th grade) - Seriously! Where has the time gone?

• Math - Saxon Math 54
• Science - Apologia Zoology 2 with Notebooking Journal
• Handwriting - American Cursive Handwriting by Michael Sull
• Piano - Simply Music - Click along the left hand side to find a teacher in your area! This is not a curriculum you purchase and teach yourself, but it is a wonderful program none-the-less. Last year we struggled so much with getting Big Girl to practice, and this year, she is practicing without needing the reminder!
• P.E. - After 4 years of dance, she will be switching gears and starting karate at our local dojo. This makes her mama (a former dancer) a little bit sad, but I'm excited to see her learn new things!
• Everything Else - Tapestry of Grace Year 3 - Yes, literally every other subject comes from this one place. It intermixes Bible/church history, geography, history, literature, spelling, writing, and art beautifully! Our first two years with the program I was so impressed, I've never looked back! Plus, it is all housed on the computer, so no big binders to lug around!

Big Boy (1st grade) - This is a big year full of big changes for him because he gets to join his sister for many classes!

• Math - Saxon Math 1
• Science - Apologia Zoology 2 with Junior Notebooking Journal
• Phonics - Saxon Phonics 1
• Piano - Music for Little Mozarts - I was horrible about staying on top of this last year, so we'll probably start over with this book. Hopefully I can be more disciplined!
• P.E. - karate at the local dojo
• Everything Else - Tapestry of Grace Year 3 

Baby Boy (2 yo)

No official school here, but I've been pinning things like crazy this summer and plan to get together busy boxes and other "school" activities for him. I also bought a few books that I used with Big Girl just in case he surprises me and wants to do "big kid school" like his sister did at this age. I'll be honest, though, keeping him busy is my biggest concern going into school this year! 

So that's it! Our curriculum choices for 2013-2014. I'm beyond excited to get started on it this September (as soon as it all comes in *wink*)!

Want to see what others are doing? Either click the button at the top of the page or right below for more great ideas, and don't forget to come back next week for a tour of our school room!

Planning for 2012-2013

I'm starting to look forward to school. We have a few changes coming to our family during this school year, one in particular that will greatly effect our schooling.

I WILL BE TEACHING AT A LOCAL PRIVATE SCHOOL!

Yes, I will now be both a homeschooling parent and a classroom teacher. Our church school has been feeling very overwhelmed as of late with the sciences, and I just happen to love science! They called me a couple of years ago about teaching, and I just couldn't with where I was in life. Now, I feel like I can take it on in addition to all my usual responsibilities.

I'll be using the same curriculum with those students as I do with my own kids. We will be studying flying creatures in the Apologia Exploring Creation series.

Princess will sit in on my class, so that I'm not double teaching the information. However, since I will be teaching 1st grade, she will have different assignments from the class.

3rd Grade
Math - Saxon Math 3
Science - Flying Creature of the Fifth Day
Social Studies - Tapestry of Grace
Language Arts - Tapestry of Grace
Art - Tapestry of Grace
Bible - Tapestry of Grace
Piano - Alfred's Little Mozarts 4, Alfred's Premier Course 1
P.E. - YMCA Dance

Kindergarten
Phonics - Saxon Phonics K
Math - Saxon Math K
Piano - Alfred's Little Mozarts 1
P.E. - YMCA Dance

Baby
Haha! Not a clue as to how I'm going to entertain this one while I'm working with the older two. I do know I want to set up a little play area for him in the classroom, but beyond that....HELP! I think I'll be spending some extra time on Pinterest. *wink*

I'm starting to get excited for school and am itching to get my hands on my new books! I still have quite a bit of work to do as I wait for everything to come in, mainly get our classroom rearranged and back together!

Drive Through History

I have blogged before about how much I love my history curriculum, Tapestry of Grace. I wanted to talk today about another history product that I've grown to love and use on those weeks where I'm just exhausted or need some extra time with my two younger children.

Now as I've mentioned before, I did not grow up with a love of learning history. It was never a strong suit for me; however, Drive Thru History has brought a depth of knowledge that I've never before had in this humorous and entertaining fashion. Like ToG, it weaves Biblical history seamlessly with secular world history. It brings both history and the Bible alive!

I highly recommend Drive Thru History to all students, but especially those who find history uninteresting or struggle with understanding it.

Life without TV

It's not what you think. Really! We do have a TV, but a couple of weeks ago, someone hit the telephone pole down the street from us, caused a power surge, and blew out our new 40+" flatscreen TV, blu-ray player, and Wii! :-( I confess, it has been really hard for us to cope, and I didn't think I relied to the TV that much. *sigh*

So, anyway. We got our creative juices flowing and rediscovered some things from my own childhood along with revisiting some activities we had push aside in favor of television viewing and playing Wii.

1. Reading! With the summer reading program starting, it's typically for all of us to revisit our passion for reading. This year, my kids have realy dived in. Warrior has hit nearly 5 hours of reading in his first week, and Princess has already polished off 12 books (nearly all chapter books)!

2. Gardening! I honestly have the brownest thumb on the planet. I constantly joke that I can killed a fake plant. However, this year I decided to be daring and plant a little something (not to mention it was a great little project to wrap up our study of botany this year *wink* ). I planted pumpkins in my little space along the house and decided that I didn't really care if they grew or not. Either way it would be a learning experience. Well, they grew, and now the kids and I are excitedly watching them each day to see how much they've grown overnight. I can't wait until fall when hopefully we'll be picking our very own pumpkins!

3. Baking & decorating cakes! I did this all the time when Princess was little and really got into it when I was pregnant with Warrior; however since the arrival of Baby Boy, I've really let this hobby go. One the 1st of June, my sweet little boy turn one, and I mustered up the energy and courage to do a pull-apart cupcake cake! It's not my best, but it was my first buttercream transfer attempt.

4. Making tents! My sister and I did this quite often, and I was so excited to pass this little bit of fun down to my kids.

So, when you are without a TV or other usual entertainment, how do you fill your typical relaxation time?

Summer School

So, if you are a homeschooler, you know that learning never truly ends even when the calendar says "school's out". Learning does, however, tend to look much different than your Aug-May schedule.

Our summer this year is consisting of more learning activities than ever before!

Summer storytime is a carry-over from every summer I've experienced as a parent. Reading is so, so important to our family, and the summer gives my kids a break from the textbooks and dive solely in to enjoyment reading! Princess, who loves to read, anxiously awaits each summer when her sole responsibility is read as much as you want. Warrior, on the other hand, lives for the prizes that are handed out each week. LOL! Baby Boy will have his first storytime experience this year, and I'm hoping we have another book lover on our hands!

Princess will once again be attending VBS at our home church, although this year, it's a shortened week due to a jam packed church summer calendar. She's already talked about which friends she wants to bring, so they can learn about Jesus, too! Warrior has to wait one more summer for this one. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for the community VBS program that welcomes kids as young as 3 that the two older kids attended last year. I know Warrior had a blast that week!

Two new things that have hit the summer schedule are church camp and cooking classes for Princess. Church camp is overnight, and I confess that I'm a tad nervous. Fortunately, Grandma will be a cabin mom for Princess's cabin, so I know everything will be fine. Cooking classes will be interesting as she will truly have a new teacher without a family member anywhere near! Plus she'll be in class with kids up to 4 years old than she.

Finally, I'm planning wrap up the summer with the Olympics! The kids will be allowed to stay up and watch them with me along with putting together a lapbook on all things 2012 Olympic Games. Neither have really experienced the Olympic Games even on TV. Princess is excited about seeing the gymnasts and cheering on the U.S.A. while Warrior is excited about doing "big kid school".

This seems like such a hectic schedule when all typed out, but I'm greatly looking forward to it. I like keeping to a schedule to a point, but I always love the changing up of things that summer always brings!

So, what are your summer plans?

My New Love...

I cannot fully express how much I love my history program!

Before I try, though, let me tell you about my experience with learning history - BORING! When I determined to homeschool my kids, one thing I strived to do was to be as excited about teaching history, grammar, writing, literature, etc as I was about teaching math and science. I didn't want my kids dreading their classes but looking forward to them. I wanted them to hunger for learning, to "leave class" with their appetite wet but not quite satisfied.

Well, my history program does this and more! What am I using you ask?

The weaving of secular and Biblical history to give a truly well-round history is stupendous! I'm beginning to understand history and make connections in ways that I previously found to be confusing. There is no "here is your Bible lesson" and "here is your history lesson". It is all the same. As the student is learning about Moses, they are also mapping Egypt, learning about mummies, getting to know the Pharoahs, seeing who the Egyptian gods were, and understanding why the 10 plagues were so devastating to the Egyptian people. I was absolutely blown away!

For younger students, the use of arts & crafts not only gave them a break from the typical history lessons, but also allowed them to experience an aspect of that culture or time period. This year we've learning wall construction, scultped working oil lamps, painted Egyptian paddle dolls, created salt-dough maps, weaved paper, decorated crowns, etc. Warrior even started whining that preschool was boring after seeing everything Princess was getting to do. Guess who has been sitting in on 2nd grade history? I love it!

One of my husband's favorite aspects of Tapestry of Grace is the Pop Quiz. Basically, it's a CD with a short 15-minute weekly summary of what the child has been learning for dad to listen to, so he can feel involved in school. He doesn't have to ask "so, what did you do in school today?" because he already knows! There are also little quiz cards, which can be used for review with dad, if he wishes to be even more involved in the learning process.
Not only is the Bible/history aspect to this curriculum exciting but it also covers art, literature, geography, and writing. The only subjects you need to add are math and science, so it has also been a budget saver for our family. And speaking of budgets, you only have to buy 4 years worth of curriculum to last you from 1st-12th grade!

Want to try Tapestry of Grace for yourself? They offer a free 3 week mini-unit on their website. This isn't a flimsy sample, either. It is the full lesson plans, maps, activity pages, book lists, lapbook components, writing aids, evaluations, and even the Pop Quiz. If I have it as a user, you will have it in this sample!

I hope you find that after looking over the sample, you love it as much as I do!

Wrapping Up Our First 9 Weeks

Wow! What a ride!

Our first 9 weeks is coming to an end, and it has been such a learning experience for me. Adjusting to a new curriculum and homeschool two kids full-time while caring for a baby has taken more out of me than I ever expected, but it has also blessed me beyond what I expected.

Princess has been so absorbed in learning everything she can about creation and the Egyptian and Jewish cultures. In our study of these cultures, she's read Genesis through Dueteronomy in her children's Bible. Plus, I've been able to feed into her creative side with crafts and various projects (salt maps, paddle dolls, cereal box structures, pottery, etc.) without breaking the bank or pulling my hair out. In math, she's blown through 50+ lessons and still going strong. She's grasping concepts and a crazy rate and acing all of her tests. I'm so proud of her! Science is by far one of her favorite subjects. So far this year, we've studied what botany is, seeds and the process of germination, and flowers both "regular" and carvivorous. We've been able to fit in so many experiments this year to really solidify the concepts she's learned!

Warrior has been eating school up as well. So far, he's learned letters A-O with very basic writing practice on them and numbers 0-9 also with writing practice. I'm having to work on some speech issues with him - nothing major, just normal things for his age like saying L sounds as a W (i.e. yellow is pronounced "yewwoh"). Arts and crafts abound in preschool as with most, but I really struggle with getting him to color. He does not like it at all but is getting better at trying. Somedays it just doesn't happen.

Sign language is something both kids are learning, and as important as I think it is for my children to be bilingual, it often gets put to the back burner. So far this year only two chapters plus fingerspelling have been learning, which as been about 40 signs. I had hoped we'd be a little closer to 5 chapters completed but somedays I have to cut something out to "get it all done".

In the last week, I was notified to one big change in our homeschool set up. Our wonderful piano teacher Miss S will no longer be teaching. She just had her second baby and feels very overwhelmed adjusting to it all and still maintaining a teaching schedule. Fortunately, I know a bit of piano; the kids' grandma knows piano; and their uncle is a music teacher. This helps with my stress of losing such a wonderful element to our school!