HomeSchool Week: Our Schedule

One of the biggest perks of homeschooling has got to be the ability to make your own schedule. From the time you wake up and do school to the days you take vacation, it is all up to you.

This year we went with a traditional school year vs. year round scheduling. We added in a few vacation weeks and played around with holiday breaks. Any vacations we decide to take that are not on our calendar, we will simply bring school along with us and make it a little more fun while still educating.

Our school year will look something like this:

First Day of School was September 3rd.

In School: Sept 3rd - October 11th

Mini Vacation: October 14th- Oct 18th (yep, baby girl gets a week off for her birthday. Spoiled)

In School: October 21st-November 22th

Thanksgiving Break: November 25th - November 30th

In School: December 1st - December 15th

Christmas Break: December 16th-January 3rd

In School: January 6th- February 28th

Mini Break: March 1st-March 6th

In School: March 10th-April 20th

Easter Break: April 21st- May 3rd

In School: May 5th-June 10th

Our weekly Schedule changes a little bit from time to time Most weeks we do school at home on Monday Wednesday and Friday with classes at Integrity on Tuesdays and Art Co-Op on Thursday. On occasions where we have field trips or holidays during the week, we will do that days work on Thursdays.

Our at home school days start anywhere from 8:30am - 10:30am depending on wake up time and fussy babies. Curriculum has been broken up based on the number of days in our school year and how units or topics in the books flow together. Most days go something like this:

• Begin with prayer and a devotion.
• 1-2 letters in Handwriting without tears. 
• Start with workbook then play with manipulatives and finish by writing on whiteboard or chalk
• Units are broken up into 5-15 sections. We do anywhere from 2-4 sections a day with the activities that go along with them.
• Start with text book plans and hands on work, finish with activity book
• Play with pattern blocks or base 10s for 10-20 minutes
• 3-5 pages from Explode the Code books
• Read from books we have brought home from the library
• 1 page of geography and any mapping activities that go with it.
• A portion of homework for History and Science

Depending on holidays and fun things happening around us we will also throw in little crafts, cooking or other fun stuff.

It is enough work to keep us busy but not enough that it is not doable in a day. We have fun together and Rhiannon is not only being educated but she is being trained up in the Word and learning to love to learn...tongue twister. 

HomeSchool Week: What She is Learning

Ahhh...curriculum.

Choosing what your child will learn and how they will learn it is such a challenge.

Research. A lot.

Sit down and do practice lessons with your kids. Figure out their learning style. And your teaching style for that matter.

Look at the teachers guides. Not just the books. Do you need them? Are the workbooks self explanatory? Do the teaching guides give you enough guidance? Enough structure? Too much structure? Can you incorporate your own lessons and activities? Do you want to?

It can all be so overwhelming. We have so many resources and options these days. Maybe too much.

Last year, we used SonLight for Preschool. We loved it but Rhiannon is still very easily distracted and had a hard time focusing on ALL the reading. Once she is reading on her own and can sit for longer we will likely go back to SonLight with some added manipulitives, as she is a very hands on learner.

This year, I wasn't sold on any one curriculum. We loved the math is some but the English was lacking. Some had the perfect amounts of reading but we didn't like the choices of books. Then their were perfect curriculums but they were too pricey and we still needed to add in manipulatives.

I was feeling defeated when hubby stepped in and suggested I put together our own curriculum with pieces from different ones. He's a genius I tell you, why isn't he educating our kids? Sheesh.

So here is what we went with:


Bible: 

• Leading Little Ones to God: A Child's Book of Bible Teachings

English:

• Reading/Phonics- 
• Explode the Code 3 book series
• Get Ready for the Code, Get Set for the Code and Go for the Code
• Bi-monthly library trips for reading books
• Spelling and Penmanship-
• Handwriting without Tears 
• Book, Wood letter pieces and molding clay

Math:

• Singapore Math
• Textbooks and Activity books
• Pattern Block Set
• Magnetic Base Ten Set

Social Studies:

• History
• Rhiannon is enrolled in a History class at a Satellite school
• Geography
• Beginning Geography Activity book
• Maps and Globe

Science:

• Rhiannon is enrolled in a Science class at a Satellite School

Physical Education:

• Ballet
• Fun activities at home

Art:  

• We are part of a co-op who will alternate homes and art projects

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy Mateys!!!

Did ye know that Thursday, September 19th is International Talk like a Pirate Day?

Those buccaneers over at Pretend City are planning a fun adventarrrggghh.

Bring ye'selves and yer scurvy scallywags for a good time of pretendin'

If yer kids come dressed in pirate garb ya can catch a savings.

So meet us there and don't forget to say Argh and Ahoy if ye see us.

Home School Week

We have been back so school for a couple weeks now and have really got into the swing of things. We finally have it locked in stone enough that I feel comfortable saying that this IS what we do.

Every year, (last year and this one), it has seemed like the first week is a little like a trial run. We figure out a time that works best, what routine flows the best and how we will do things. The first week shows us what works best and that is what we do...of course leaving room for fluctuations in life.

With everything figured out and having Rhiannon start her Satellite extension classes tomorrow, I thought this week would be a great time to make it Homeschool Week on the blog.

Over the past year we have had a lot of questions about our schedule, what curriculum we do, how we keep home separated from school and all that good stuff. I'm always surprised at how many moms are interested in homeschooling. I am more than happy to show you what we do. What works for us.

Remember while reading though, what works for my home and my child may not work for you and yours. Every child and family dynamic is different. That is the beauty of homeschooling. We get to custom tailor our child's education based on their learning style, belief system and home life. Don't mimic someone else. It took a lot of research to find out how to educate our daughter the way I feel fits best. So come read, get some tips and then plan for YOU and YOUR CHILD.

This Weeks Schedule:

• Monday (today)- Introduction
• Tuesday- What she is Learning
• Wednesday- A Look at Our Schedule
• Thursday- Peek into the Classroom
• Friday- Back to School Pictures

**Just as every program and curriculum is not designed for every student. Home schooling is not for every family. Home school because you love it and are called to it, not because of pressure from those around you. Let's stop the mommy wars. If you home school, high five, you are giving your kids the best education you can! If you send your kids to Public School, good for you, you are giving your kids the best education you can!**

A Newborns Life

Seriously, has more than a month already gone by since we brought our sweet baby boy home? Time is a funny thing. How is it that it can feel like we have had Corbin forever but like he just arrived at the same time?

A few days after our little guy graced us with his presence, my good friend Alaina from Simply Sweet Moments Photography came and did some our newborn pictures. We went with more of a lifestyle shoot than the typical studio newborn photos.

I am absolutely in love with these pictures. Using our own furniture, Corbin in his crib, they really give a sense of who his family is. What his reality looks like. Alaina did a beautiful job.

Cannot wait to watch this little guy grow. I do wish it would slow down a bit though.

Party Time

Talon is a big bad three year old now. How does this stuff happen? When do they grow up? Lame-Sauce!

For Tal's third birthday, he wanted a Monster Party. Boy is obsessed with Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. Specifically Mike and Sully. Randall not so much. Dude's a creep. 

Since we have a brand new baby in the house, we went simple with all store bought decor. You can read more about that here. With so little effort going into decor, we were able to focus on some fun food.

When trying to think of what to make, I was drawing a blank. Until I remembered that in Monster's Inc. Mike takes his girly friend to Harryhausen's Sushi and it is all the rave. Bam! Theme of our food. But wait! How many kids are gonna eat sushi and my hubby may just laugh in my face when I tell him I want to supply our party of 50+ with an expensive cuisine. Fushi (Fake Sushi) it was.

As for fun, we went simply again. Games with 30 kids are too hard. Make all those kids the ages of 1-8 haha, yeah no. So coloring sheets and a pinata was all they got. That and the two rooms full of toys in our house. They were happy. I was happy.

For dessert, cake pops, cake and candy. Did I mention the kids were happy?

My brother and nephew modeling the cupcake frosting...

Once again, we were super blessed by everyone who came and the amazing gifts. Talon is set on Monster toys. He is thrilled. 

We will finish this off with a picture of the kids who came. You know, in case you doubted me when I said 30 children. Mind you, there were a few who were two shy to be on camera. Oh and the 8 who were busy nursing when the photo was shot. 

Not so Handmade

I like to create. It's no secret that a lot of crafting goes on in our home. It's also no secret that when it comes to parties, this mama goes handmade. From decor, to favors and food, almost everything is made by me. We do this for a few reasons. Handmade is WAY cheaper (if it's made by your hands and not an etsy shop), we like a personalized look and I love crafting, duh... yeah, I am 12 years and say duh, don't judge.

Anyhow, Talon's party was this weekend. It was NOT handmade. Not even a little bit. I was teased about that statement because the food was homemade fun-ness and so were the cake pops. To me, not the same.

It was hard on me. It saddened me that I was not able to give my little guy what I usually do. I know this doesn't make sense to a lot of people. In fact, a few people were rather rude about the fact that I feel the need to go above and beyond for parties. I mean lately there are blogs after blogs talking about how moms just need to stop. Stop with all the extravagance. For some of us, that extravagance is just who we are. It's a way we show our love.

We all have different love languages. we show and recieve love differently. This doesn't only apply to marriages but all of our relationships. If someone shows love to their children by throwing crazy parties, doing elf on the shelf and a million other things, don't be so quick to put them down. <---- Not a diss to those bloggers, just defending my own heart here.

Wow, this post was not meant to go this direction at all. I guess I needed to vent a little more than I realized. All I wanted to say, is that for some moms, it breaks our hearts to not be able to go beyond on parties. It is part of who we are. And that is where I stood.

Friday, as we set up decorations, my 3 year old asked me over and over "mama, you made this?". He knows mommy usually does. It killed me to tell him "No honey, Wal-Mart did".

As Friday came to an end and the food prep began, his excitement rose watching his mommy make Mike Wasowski cake pops.

He was thrilled once again to see the Fushi (fake Sushi) bar come to life. At his young age, he understands that these things are an act of love from his mommy. Maybe that is how he feels loved too.

In the end, I knew that it was okay that I didn't spend the month after having a new baby making 35 scream canisters out of pringles cans. It was not the end of the world that I waited too long to buy pool noodles and couldn't make the garland I had planned. The Mike Wasowski lanterns did not hang from the ceiling and there was not a scrap of fabric anywhere to be found but I did what I could and he saw it.

Being a mom is hard. Finding balance is such a challenge. Not judging ourselves and feeling inadequate can weigh so heavy on our shoulders. We can't let it. Sometimes we need to just stop and allow ourselves to breathe. We need to rest knowing that the best we can do is enough. We are still good moms.

Whatever it is that you are questioning yourself for today, know that it is okay. You are still a good mom. It's okay not to be the best at this or that. It is okay to fall short of your own norm. It is okay to not have the big party...but because you decided not to, not because someone else told you that you shouldn't.

All this being said, I still feel a little bit bad about it all. If you need to find me, I'll be the one eating store bought cake in the corner. I kid. About the corner. I am so gonna eat the leftover cake!

I'll be posting the party later this week. When our sugar highs are gone.