Long Time, No See!

So it's been a while since my last post.  Ok, maybe a "while" isn't exactly the best way to describe my absence.  But if you know me at all, you know that my blogging is sporatic at best.  I envy those who are able to blog every day or week like clockwork.  My schedule just doesn't allow me to be a routine blogger, as much as I'd like to be.  Maybe one day I'll get with the program and make myself find the time.  Until then.......

I've had a lot going on in the last 5 months!  I started babysitting a little boy, 2 years old.  He's been a funny little addition to our already wacky homeschool!  It was a challenge at first to figure out how to work our schedule, but I really think it's working out well.  I like having a little extra money at the end of the week.  I'm losing weight still, and I like to have clothes that fit!  : D

Also....we converted our shop into a school room!  The hubs and I spent many hours sweeping, building, scouring, scrubbing, rearranging, moving, unpacking, climbing ladders, and decorating.  But I think our work paid off!  It looks really, really good!  I'm proud of our work! 




This is my faux wall!  The hubs built the bookcases, and attached foam insulation boards to make walls/bulletin boards.



Another faux wall.  This is our Reading Center/Play area.  There is a tall bookshelf on the left wall that holds all their books.  We also have a sofa, perfect for naptime!  :D  Behind the walls/bulletin boards, is our fitness room.  We keep it separated from the young-uns.  You can also see my horrible garage door covering.  It looks like something straight out of the 80's, but I couldn't figure out a way to cover it so the little ones wouldn't scratch themselves on the metal bars. Any suggestions are appreciated!!



Another view.  From here, you can see the kids work area and my desk.  The little shelf in front of my desk holds plastic bins where I store their work after it's graded.  That's why it's looking a little full over there!  :D



A good view of my shelves and bulletin board.  I've got the shelves divided into centers.  There's math, science, and art, as well as cubby space for their books and supplies. 

The only downside to our school room being out there is that there is no water.  Translation....no bathroom!  We have to go inside everytime someone has to take a bathroom break.  That's been the only challenge, and it's actually starting to work itself out by way of simple scheduling maneuvers, so it's not that big of a deal. 

I like being outside of the house for the majority of our day.  No kids in my kitchen smearing strawberry jam all over my freshly mopped floors....no kids in their rooms changing clothes 25 times a day - adding to the size of  "Clothing Mountain" growing in my laundry room.  It's nice to walk into a clean house at the end of our school day.  And since I've been utilizing the crockpot even more, I also find it nice to come home to dinner waiting for us! 

As far as school is concerned, the kids have been more engaged because I'm back to a more scheduled day.  They have my undivided attention - I'm not constantly sidetracked with various chores that I try to sneak in while they're finishing up their spelling words, etc. (So they were the ones that ended up waiting on ME). 

I also started using a new computer program to help me start tracking our lessons, assignments, chores, grades, etc.  It's called Homeschool Tracker Plus.  I actually bought it last year, and gave up on trying to figure it out.  I was so upset because here I am looking at a 4 year college degree hanging on my wall and I couldn't for the life of me figure this program out!  The tutorial thing was of no use. I had just chalked it up to a wasted $50 and a lesson learned....until I found a friend in our homeschool group that was using it successfully and LOVING it. 

I asked her if she'd come over and help me with it and she did.   She said she also had trouble figuring it out, but she called and spoke with a customer service representative several times and they helped her figure it out and make it work for her.  She came over and showed me the ropes, and I have to say...this thing is AMAZING!!  I'm totally in love with this program!  It does everything!  I enter in their lesson plans, and then I am able to print out assignment lists for the kids.  Not only can I track their attendance, finished assignments, and grades, but I can also print out transcripts, report cards, a list of all the books they've read (taken from my lesson plans), and even daily supply lists!  I'm super excited about this program (can you tell?!)!!  And I'm not even a paid spokesperson!

Before I started this program, I was kind of floating through my day (focusing most of it on 5th grade lessons, and shamefully sacrificing some of Lindsay's Kindergarten lessons when we were running short of time).  Now, I'm able to print out the 5th grade assignments, the order in which they are to be completed, and spend the rest of my time actually teaching those lessons!  I've found that I now have so much more time to spend with Lindsay's Kindergarten lessons, and I am much less stressed!

Yesterday, she and I spent some time with our math manipulatives (I call them Linky Dinkies for some reason, but I'm sure there's a more appropriate name for them).  

She loves these things and usually spends her extra time just playing with them as long colorful chains.  But I love them for teaching addition and subtraction.  If you have a young-un and you're teaching math....you should really consider adding something like this to your arsenal of sneaky learning "toys".  They are super cheap, super versatile and lots of fun for Lindsay (again, not getting paid for these rave reviews....weird, I know).   

So that's about it....I'm starting to look more like myself instead of the decapitated poultry I was starting to resemble, and that's a good thing!!  :D  Hope everyone has a great weekend!!  :D 

Back to School Time!!

Ok, so we've technically been "Back to School" since August 2nd.  I'm such a blogging slacker!!  I really do have good intentions - I really do.  I have these visions of including lesson plans followed by pictures of happy children doing cool and exciting projects.  But unfortunately for me (or should I say "fortunately for you?"), I just can't seem to find the time that I had last year!  I know this sounds really stupid, but did you know that it takes a LOT more time out of your day to homeschool 3 children than it does 1 child??  Ha! 

So to fill you in on the happenings of our first month of school.........

Addison had a GREAT first day!  She was really excited to find that she no longer has to raise her hand to ask a question.  She was even more excited to find that Mom will go back over a math problem as many times as needed until she catches on - before we move ahead.  She loves the NO HOMEWORK rule!!  (The only time they have homework is if - for whatever reason - the work doesn't get done during the day.)  But she especially loves all the math games we play - she and Trey actually tied in this multiplication review game that tested speed and knowledge.  :)  For the purpose of our Game Time, we change our names.  Addie is known as "Bob," and Trey is "Eugene."  It helps get them in Game Show Mode!  LOL!  :) 

We took a few days of our second week of school to visit the great folks of Washington, AR, as they had Craft Days at the Old Washington Fire Station/Community Center/Library.  (LOL - gotta love small towns!)  I've got to tell you - I've always loved small towns.  I grew up in a small town, and I miss it like crazy.  But the people in this tiny little town are just tooooo amazing!!  They didn't know us - we just showed up.  We weren't in their homeschool group, nor had we ever attended a function like this in their town.  But they welcomed us with open arms, treated my children as if they were their own, and taught them things like drawing and sewing.  My kids had the absolute BEST time ever while we were there, and developed what I hope to be lasting friendships with GREAT kids!  

Addie and Lindsay each sewed a stocking, and on our way home we stopped by Hancocks and bought fabric that they used to make baby doll blankets and pillows. 

Trey wasn't really into the sewing class, so I brought along my camera for him to play around with.  He took pictures of various buildings and other sights all over town, and I think they turned out pretty great!!  I might have a little photographer on my hands!!  Here are some of my favorites!

As far as lessons are concerned, we've been doing an in-depth study of Native Americans, which was not originally supposed to take as long as it is.  But once we got started, I became acutely aware that I was moving too fast to fully explain the complexities of the subject - of their heritage.  So I slowed down, and now we are learning about our Native American heritage with more excitement and interest than before.  :)  We even did our own petroglyphs during our discussion of the Anasazi.  We have moved through the Maya, Inca, and Aztecs, through the Hopewell Mound Builders, and are now starting a focus on the Iroquois. 

(Our Petroglyphs)

As previously stated, I've got a new schedule that I'm using, and it seems to be working really well.  I'm doing group lessons (Science, Bible, and History) in the morning, snacktime while I read aloud to them, and then I do 5th grade lessons until  lunch while Lindsay works on workboxes.  After an hour lunchbreak, I start Lindsay's Kindergarten "lessons" - phonics, math, reading aloud, etc.  Her "fun stuff" is reserved for the workboxes in the morning time.  We're usually done by 2:30 or 3pm.  One of her favorite math activities is the using the Logic Blocks - she sorts by thickness, color, shape, and size.  These were given to us by a family friend, and WE LOVE THEM!! 

So I guess now you're all caught up - and it is my sincere intention to keep you that way.  We have lots of plans for our school year, and can't wait for it all!!  :)

PS....YAY FOR FALL WEATHER!!!  WE'RE LOVING IT!!!  :) 

Trey's Lesson Plans - April 12 - 16

Wow - it's already Wednesday!  What a wonderful week it's turning out to be!  Last week, Trey and I finished up our unit on Electricity.  We made a very cool game called the Steady Hand Game using a Series Circuit, a block of wood, and some welding wire.  It's similar to the game "Operation," but without all the bells and whistles.  It was fun, though!  I'll write another post explaining the procedures with pictures a little later on - so stay tuned!  :) 

ALSO!!!!  My little man was BAPTIZED this past Sunday!!!  I was so proud of him!!!  :)  Woo hoo!!!  What a wonderful little soldier he will be in God's Army!! 

Here are our plans for this week:

For Trey

Math -

• Metric Capacity (Gallon Man!!)

Science -

• Begin unit on Sound and Light
• Experiment:  What makes sound change?  Tie a string around the neck of a 2 L bottle (tie in with Capacity!!!), Fill the bottle about 1/3 full, and screw on cap.  Use the string to hang so the bottle hangs freely.  Pluck the string and watch to see if the water vibrates.  Experiment with plucking the string gently/hard, how far the bottle hangs down, how much water you fill it with, etc. 
• Discuss Sound Energy (Tie in with music - use Guitar)

Reading -

• Koya's Cousin Del 
• Skill Lesson : Visualizing
• Also read selections from Little House on the Prairie with eyes closed - How does it look to you?  How do you feel? 

Social Studies -

• The Southwest - Grand Canyon, Saguaro Nat'l Park, Arizona, Beaumont, Texas.

Spelling -

• Plural Possessives

Grammar, Usage, Mechanics (GUM)

• Comparing with Adjectives - use adjectives to compare two people, places, things. 
• 2 or more syllables = use "more/most"  (Most Beautiful)
• 1 syllable = just ad -er  (Smaller)

Writing Skills

• Library Skills
• Card Catalog
• Call #'s
• Dewey Decimal System
• FIELD TRIP:  Library Scavenger Hunt!!!!  Use learned Library Skills to find books on list! 

Bible

• Why Am I Here?
• To Love and Obey God. (Abraham's Sacrifice)
• To Praise God. (Paul and Silas, David)
• To Worship God. (Israelites Worshipped Golden Calf, Moses)
• To Serve God. (Daniel, Making Choices, Priorities)

Homeschool Toolbox - Recycling Project!!

Ever go to Sonic and order enough drinks to constitute using one of their drink carriers? We actually do - way too often in fact. These things are pretty sturdy, so I thought I'd try to re-use this in a way that could benefit our homeschooling endeavours - but you could just as easily adapt it for a child's room, the living room remotes, in an art closet, etc. The uses really are limitless. Since we're doing our homeschool lessons at the kitchen table for now, I thought a Homeschool Toolbox would be handy for us.

You'll need a Sonic 4-drink carrier (I'm sure other places have similar ones, too - I've even thought about doing the 2-drink carriers for each child to have their own caddy), labels, stickers, and 4 containers that fit in the openings. I used some small decorative square flower pots that I had around the house. But I've found that those plastic SOLO cups also fit perfectly, and it's a great way to recycle those cups left over from the holidays, etc. :) OR - you could wash out the actual cups that came with the carrier if you're in Super-Recycler Mode.

I printed labels to place under each compartment of the caddy...just to make it easier for the kiddos to find what they need. I also placed a label at the handle - I found that return address labels fit perfectly here!

I also went through some old scrapbooking stickers and found these foam "tool" stickers! I think it turned out cute, and it took less than 5 minutes to put together. :)

Amelia Earhart Lessons/Activities

Today is Amelia Earhart Day!  I am absolutely facinated with all things Amelia!  She was a truly courageous soul, and not just in an aviation sense.  She was, and still is, a wonderful inspiration for young girls (and grown women!!!) in this great nation! 

I found a couple of great sites that have lessons, activities, biographies, photos, etc.  Feel free to share your favorite Amelia sites if you have em!  :) 

Garden of Praise - a wonderful resource for all things Amelia!  Vocabulary/Definitions, Biography, Photos, Reading Lists, Online Games,

Scholastic - The Flight of Amelia Earhart:  lessons/activities for grades 4-8.

Teacher Vision - FREE printable

Time Warp Trio - FREE PDF!!  Activities, Lesson Plans, Quiz, etc.

Patriapress - Free downloads!  Webquest, plus Teachers Guide to reading, "Amelia Earhart, Young Air Pioneer," complete with lesson suggestions, and connections to other subjects like Art, Math, Science.

Happy New Year Activities

This has been a lazy couple of weeks for me. I had wonderful intentions of taking down the Christmas Tree, organizing my closet, and cleaning out my pantry. But then I thought, why get ahead of myself?? I probably need to leave some of those resolutions to be completed in the New Year, right?? Exactly! :)

So in an effort to avoid becoming a total couch potato, I prepared some homeschool lessons on the New Year for the kids. Addison is still out of school this week, and Trey and Lindsay and I were technically out too. But I hate leaving a learning opportunity hanging out in the wind, so I took advantage of lapbook kit I found on CurrClick.

We are learning about different New Years customs all over the world, how ancient customs, traditions, and rituals are similar and different from those of today, and we're making some resolutions for ourselves in the New Year.


Today we started working on a time capsule! I can't wait until it's complete! We will include the following items and bury it in the backyard.

list of our favorite things / foods

newspaper

pictures of us throughout 2009

list of purchase prices for items like stamps, gas, milk, etc.

a poem that Addison wrote this Christmas

a letter to our future selves

list of goals/accomplishments from 2009

pictures of how our house looks today

We will draw a map and put it in our family scrapbook so that we'll remember where we buried our time capsule, and we will open it again in 2020. It's an understatement to say that we're excited about this project! The kids can't wait to break out the shovel and start digging! Let's just hope the dogs leave it buried and don't scatter our poor time capsule all over the yard!

Trey and Addison with our almost-completed Time Capsule

(Lindsay snoozed through the whole thing!)