caterpillars into butterflies

Our school this year

2011-10-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

My son who is 8, was really struggling in math. He was stuck in the Alpha math-u-see book. So what did I do? I bought a $50 toys r us gift card and told him if he was diligent and worked with me in his math in two weeks, he could have it as a reward. I had a Beta math-u-see book from one other child and we began working through 5 lessons a day. He did review, worked the lessons and did additional problems. I only taught lessons that had significance to them. My main goal was to get him into Teaching Textbooks 3, into a level he was supposed to be. Amazingly, it worked! I was amazed at how fast he caught on and how well he worked. We went shopping last weekend so he could spend his money and he got a skateboard with all the safety gear. He went a little over but I wasn't about to let him go without the safety gear. He started TT 3 today. It will be a load off my shoulders because this is something he can do on his own. I will have to keep a close eye on him till he gets in the swing of things but he is there and I know he will be successful. Not only that, he has a new sense of pride knowing he is where he is supposed to be.
Since I won't be spending so much time on him with that, I can be more creative in other areas such as reading, history, writing, science and art. Not to mention I can work with my kindergarten dd. I can use this weekend to plan some fun lapbooks. I am getting super excited about this year coming up, there is so much growth potential.

Menu plan for savvy shopping

2011-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on my menu plan for Oct. 15-29. I scanned the advertisers for any special deals on meats. Not much, will keep an eye out for next weeks advertisements.
Oct. 15-sausage balls.
Oct. 16- baked spaghetti
Oct. 17-chili
Oct. 18- daughters birthday so probably pizza and ice cream w/cupcakes
Oct. 19- from leftover chili, chili mac
Oct. 20- cheeseburger pie (crockpot chicken early)
Oct. 21- chicken enchiladas
Oct. 22- crockpot cube steak
Oct. 23-creamed beef
Oct. 24- spaghetti
Oct. 25-sweet potato casserole
Oct. 26-red beans and rice
Oct 27-beef and rice casserole (with leftovers)
Oct. 28- chicken tetrazzini (recipe makes two) freeze one
Oct. 29-shepherds pie
Most of my lunches consist of leftovers, which works really great on a budget. I love going shopping every two weeks.
I will also begin a lookout for homemade cleaning items.

Shopping savvy pt. 2

2011-10-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Thrift shopping =
7 pairs of jeans for older boys
5 pairs of jeans for little girl
2 tops for little boy
1 hoodie for middle boy
4 tops for oldest boy
2 pairs of pants for mom
4 shirts for mom
I spent a little more at Platos closet than I wanted to on a button up shirt and t than I wanted but ds wanted it so I figured ok. It roughly avg $6 per piece, not a great deal but @$415 for retail, I'll take it. With the exception of a few rough spots I discovered afterwards, most of the items look new. Note to self, examine clothing a little more carefully before buying. Lol!

Next venture will be homemade laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and liquid soap for hand washing. I will have to check to see what my local walmart carries and I will post my recipe.

I should title my blog saving money one step at a time. I'm making drastic changes to save money. One recent change is dropping cable and my landline. I am now depending on local tv and Netflix for entertainment. We shopped life insurance and cut cost by half. Those alone saves us $152/month.

Smart and savvy shopping

2011-10-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

Shopping stinks. Let's face it. I don't have to tell anyone that prices on everything is higher. And I've come to the conclusion that I cannot spend money the way I've been used to doing for years. Everything is going up, yes, except for our income. The only change I see fitting is to change the way we do things. Groceries, clothing, and getting back to basics are things I can change. I was talking to a friend who tells me she spends $200 every two weeks for groceries. I about fell over! I spend more than that in a week and have one less person in our family! So I asked how? By eating very basic. Some things I wish I was taught growing up. I'm more a convenience kind of girl. Quick and easy is my game. I can't do that and be cheap.
This week, I planned for two weeks. I went to Save-a-Lot and spent $85, had to stop at kroger and spent $60. Wow! What a difference! I will use leftovers. I will take no complaints. Sunday evening, after a day of thrift shopping, more on that in a moment, I fixed chili. I'm so excited that I fixed the batch to feed my family, 6 of us this time, for under $6 for the whole meal! I had leftovers for Monday so I mixed in elbow pasta, a little processed cheese and a little sour cream. Two cans of corn and voila, dinner! Did I say I was a convenience kind of gal?
How's that for convenience? So for tomorrow I have planned chicken quesadillas for lunch and chicken and homemade noodles for dinner. (Sunday, I cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot, deboned it and put the meat in the fridge for this day.)! I think Wednesday, I will put a pot of soup beans on and bake a batch of cornbread. Thursday, I know there will be leftovers, I will make white chili! Friday. My fill in meal is chicken tetrazzini that I made last week and had two complete meals. I think this may work.

been awhile I know.

2010-10-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is just much harder than it looks for some. I'm talking about keeping a blog rolling. I get so much out of other blogs, it's just been a true blessing for me. But,it leaves little time to do on my own.

I always want to make sure I have everything spelled right or my grammar is correct. I read a comment on anothers blog how she shouldn't be homeschooling if she was having so much trouble with writing. Sounds cruel, I know. I was embarrassed to be part of this group that this particular blogger asked for opinions on her blog. I've been really trying to hold my tongue and praying God stand guard at my mouth. I always wonder if someone is judging me and my motives by a misspelled word or if grammar isn't so-so. I guess that is why I got away from writing. But, like everything else. God knows my heart and I do make mistakes. I'm off of my soapbox and onto helpful hints at what makes my life easier.

Now that we are into the new year again, here is what we are doing.
Workboxes...definitely a plus and a keeper for us. Works for all my children and for me. I would love to see Sue Patricks seminar, it is in Ohio but not too close to me. So I will have to think about it.
Coop classes are Monday's.
Workboxes are Tue., Wed., and Thur.
History and Science day is Fri. AM/History, PM/Science
Hopefully this schedule will work out for us.

Found a great geography unit from Confessions called Expedition Earth. It looks like a very fun unit, with lots of great crafts. I originally planned to do Sonlight and I think I will try to do both.

Praising God!

2010-02-18T07:24:00.000-08:00

God is good! I have had so many answered prayers in my life recently. All I can do is praise Him. Every area of my life has been touched by His greatness. I shouldn't be surprised but I am in awe of His power. Everything, from finances to child rearing to my marriage. Our God is an awesome God!
What have I been doing differently? Giving Him my time, Praying, praising, finding the fruits of the spirit in all situations, talking with my husband about how God is speaking to me.
I don't know if I'm doing it "correctly", but He seems to be with me no matter what and I seem to be growing in Christ. That is what matters.

2010-01-15T13:51:00.001-08:00

oh my goodness! Jillian just kicked my butt! I wanted to see what all the hype about Jillians 30 day shred it program was all about. I haven't exercised in about a week, but I thought I was in better shape than that, but oooh Lordy was I unprepared for that. I have another blog that I dedicated to my weight loss journey so I should be posting it there. But, I have to say Thumbs up for Jillian. It is a no nonsense, kick butt workout and I bet I see changes very soon.

2010-01-01T18:38:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year 2010!!!

I'm getting prepared to start up our New Year with a bang! Thanks to other bloggers who have planted the idea of felt food into my head, (hmm hmm Confessionsofahomeschooler!!!), I've been busy working on getting my ABC foods prepared for my preschooler. I'll post a pic when I get a chance. But so far I've done an apple, an apple slice, a banana, carrot and a donut. That was just today. Tomorrow, I'm planning my eggs over easy, fish, grapes, and I can't decide on a ho-ho or hamburger for "Hh". DD has no clue what a ho-ho is so I may go with a hamburger.
I've also been preparing our school room to be a little more functional. I've made a preschool corner complete with calendar, abc chart and a weather chart from Oriental Trading Company.
I can't wait to implement all the great ideas I got from 1+1+1=1 and all the other great blogs I follow. It's great to have all these fresh ideas

Schedules

2009-12-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

Schedules are fun and our days are perfect when we stick to them. Ah, the days when I tried to schedule every waking minute and wondered what was wrong with me if I couldn't. I was so discouraged and disheartened and aggravated that my school wasn't going to the way everybody else's was. So needless to say, schedules didn't work.

Now, they are just a written outline of how I would like the day to go. A general overview of where I am. I work off of an Excel worksheet that has the boys' scedule for their workboxes in it. If for some reason, they get off track, maybe something needs a little more work than all I have to do is pencil it in and make adjustments accordingly. That is what I love about workboxes. If the "schedule" gets out of whack, it is o.k. We can go with the flow. I don't have to keep checking where I or the boys are supposed to be and when.

The only thing that is not working out very well is my preschoolers work schedule. It seems like I can't get to her till after lunch. My 6 yr old is so easily distracted unless I threaten with no Wii time or Nintendo Ds, he has a hard time getting his work completed in a timely manner and although I would love to blame some type of disability for his reluctance. I don't think it has anything to do with it. He just gets distracted. I get so aggravated, I have to walk away and do something else for a minute and hopefully he will come around. He does it with everything, not just schoolwork. He is very fidgety and active. I had only planned to spend 1 hour with him doing spelling/reading/science, but it is taking far longer.

So, my toddler is running amuk, trying to keep herself busy and I'm trying to keep her busy. I got her a DVD/CD player for Christmas and her little house is downstairs where we are, so I'm hoping those two things will help keep her occupied for a bit till I get the others finished with their group activities. It would be really cool if I can find those little yoga cds for little ones. I think she would love that. Atleast until I can get her schedule to work. In the meantime, I am reading her lots of books after lunch. I have such a great schedule picked out that I already blogged about. It will work if I can just get the time. I hate putting her off because she is showing such great potential and I know if I can work with her some, she will grow rapidly.

Back to schedules, schedules are a way to set yourself up for failure. If they don't work or you get off track, you panic, and then you beat yourself up because you don't follow it. So why set yourself up? A general guideline is more functional then a packed schedule that allows no room to breath. I don't know about you but my world is not perfect. What a wonderful day in heaven that would be! Things happen, life is life so enjoy it while you can and don't sweat the small stuff.

Things I love

2009-12-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

All about Spelling
Math U See
Abeka Language
My Fathers World
Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Sue Patricks workboxsystem
HWOT
Mr. Kistlers art program
Writing Strands
Bible
and of course my favorite blogs which helps me tremendously with my toddler!
See my side bar!
I love planning things and I love being organized!
Sue Patricks workbox system
When days go smoothly! Doesn't happen often, especially with the easily distracted 6 year old.
My schedule:
Bible
Spelling with the older kids
Go over workboxes
Spelling, Reading, Science with Nicholas
Tot time
Lunch
Finish Tot time
History and Science Group time
Exercise time
Done with the day (with school anyway)!

2009-12-09T14:11:00.001-08:00

Oh, I'm going to be busy this weekend getting all the stuff together to do the candy cane night like this lovely woman did here. How creative is that??? I wish I had half of the abilities to do all this....so awesome. I'm excited but it will be busy to plan all this out and get the books from the library! Oh my gosh, the kids will be tickled pink and then to plan the "minivan express". Wow, what a great Christmas we will have! I need to get busy. Busy...busy.....busy! If I could only do it tonight but I'm afraid my electric is going to go out because we have high wind advisories tonight.

What is in our workboxes

2009-12-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

Our science, language, and cursive writing. I decided to have them do lapbook pieces on classical music as we are studying The Nutcracker. Here they are listing the classical periods on a timeline (accordian style lapbook piece). We decided today we would add it to our My Fathers World Timeline to compare the different events happening in the U.S. This isn't all we are doing but just to give some idea of the work we put into our workboxes. I also put in Mr. Kistlers computer art program, math (multiplication from Kumon),and my oldest is doing Writing Strands.

This is a picture of what we did in Preschool today. Made it a nice day, just looking at books and enjoying an apple snack.

On a personal note, I decided to work in a low carbohydrate diet to boost some weight loss. I have gained a significant amount in the past few months, which I knew it was coming. It was just deciding when to get my groove on and do something about it. I'm an emotional eater and I have bad habits of using convenience food instead of healthy alternatives. Since August 2007, I have lost 86 lbs. I did that in the first year but I fell off and on the bandwagon in the past year or so. Doing the yo-yo thing with 5 lbs, never has it been this bad. I was going to wait till after the holidays, but I can't afford to go out and get more pants to fit, so its onto exercise and low carbing to quick start my motor.

I would love to learn more about making my own bread and grinding my own wheat and what not but I barely have enough time to fit my schedule in as it is. So, I don't know if that is a possibility or not.

I also got the boys and Chloe in on the action today too! It was funnny to watch but atleast we are moving more.

My schedule finally coming together

2009-12-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is our experiment with our Exploring God's Creation with Astronomy. We are on the Mars chapter. The boys are really enjoying this study and the lapbook/notebook style of learning. It makes it so nice to read the chapter to them one day as a science/history group time and then place the lapbook pieces in their workboxes to be completed.

Sadly my little guy is missing out so I decided to start Sonlights Science Curriculum with him this week. It is an easy curriculum that requires a minimal amount to time to complete but will allow him to do "experiments" like his older brothers. He will also have his own science journal to illustrate and record his findings.

Finally, I'm going to start my preschooler in my new schedule for her. She is just the one I put off when trying to get other things done. Then, I feel extremely guilty for doing that to her. But, I think I've got the other ones into the groove. Nicholas is starting to show some potential to getting his work done, might just be the time of season, but he seems to be working a little more diligently. Most of her work will be with books since it is just an introduction to the alphabet. Then I plan to do it all over again except using animals instead of food. We'll see how it goes.

It is so hard to stretch myself between all the kids, but I'm hoping that the workbox system will allow me to work with each of them. It has been really great so far. I'm finding it much easier to divide my time between each of them and with the great suggestions and recommedations from other bloggers, I'm finding a wealth of information. They are truly a God send.

2009-12-02T04:56:00.000-08:00

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 Email Facebook Twitter Print

December 2, 2009

Life without Limbs

Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV).

Friend To Friend
The camera framed the young man's handsome face as he flashed a beautiful smile to the audience and spoke with a beguiling accent. "My name is Nick Vujicic," he began, "and I'm from Australia. This morning, I want to share my testimony as to how God has given me grace, strength and comfort through my disability and how you can have victory, peace, and joy in your life- even if circumstances are still present in your life that don't make sense or cause your world to turn upside down."

The camera pulled back to reveal a young man with no arms and no legs, sitting before a massive mesmerized audience. Several video clips followed as we watched this young limbless man shaving, getting a glass of water, walking up stairs, and diving head first in a crystal clear swimming pool.

Born with no limbs, Nick has one of the most powerful of all human attributes: a voice. He has made over 1,600 speaking appearances in 12 nations. "No matter who you are, no matter what you're going through, God knows it," he said. "He is with you. He is going to pull you through."

On this particular day, I watched as Nick spoke to Dr. Robert Schuller during a worship service at the Crystal Cathedral in California.

"I'm twenty-four-years-old," Nick began. "And there's actually no medical reason why this happened. My mom was a nurse and she knew exactly what to do and what not to do in her first pregnancy. I'm their first born son. It was such a great tragedy and we had many questions. They had many questions as parents. I had many questions as a child. But there were no answers.

"The world cannot tell us why I was born this way. But I now see the glory of God in it and I give God all glory and thanks and praise because I am wonderfully and fearfully made. He has a plan and a hope and a future for everybody.

"They (Nick's parents) went through many stages of denial and depression. They straight away took me home and raised me like any other child. But God's peace guided their hearts...

"It was just such a shock. There's no trace of birth defects in either families. I have a brother and a sister born after me and they have no birth defects. But it's just amazing to see the miracle of God's grace as they raised me up. As they trusted in God. Such a stressful and anxious time in their lives."

On his left side, Nick has a tiny foot with two toes at the end of a stub. He calls it a "chicken drum stick" because that's what it actually looks like. With that tiny foot and two toes, Nick can type 43 words per minutes on a keyboard. He has a double degree in accounting and financial planning, can walk, swim, and bring a crowd to their knees with his amazing words of God's grace.

"My purpose in life is to go out in the world and say, 'If I can trust in God with my circumstances, then you can trust in God with your circumstances," Nick explained." We know that God's grace is sufficient and if He doesn't answer your prayers just know that He is with you and that's the message - 'fear not, for I am with you.'

"You know what? A lot of people say, 'Nick, I can never imagine what you've gone through' or 'you're the most inspirational story,' or something like that. I take that to heart. I praise God for the inspiration that I am to the world. But that's not to say that there's not someone else out there who is going through pain. See we all are denying ourselves and taking up our cross. We all know how it feels to be lonely or broken and the thing is this...I could look at you and say, 'maybe the things you have gone through are worse than what I've gone through. But you say, 'no, I could never imagine myself without arms or legs.' See, we can't and we should not compare sufferings.

"I'm just an empty vessel. That's all I am. It's not about me. It's not about my achievements. It's not about what I can do or what I cannot do. It's about what I have become by the power of Jesus Christ. That's the message."

Nick wasn't always so positive. When he was eight-years-old, he wanted to kill himself by flipping himself off the kitchen table to break his neck. His father was a pastor and he grew up going to church and Sunday school. He learned the verses in Psalm 139 that said he was fearfully and wonderfully made. He read Jeremiah 29:11 about how God had a future and a hope for his life. What kind of future will I have, he thought.

He thought he would never get married, hold his wife's hand, dance on his wedding day, or be able to put his arms around his children when they cried. "These things were important to me," he said. "No one could tell me that everything was going to be OK. And even if they did, I couldn't believe them."

Not yet in his teens, Nick prayed that God would give him arms and legs. "It said in the Bible, 'Ask and you shall receive,' Nick explained. "I had faith, and I was actually very angry at God. I didn't understand it. And I thought maybe I wasn't good enough. Maybe that's the reason why He's not answering my prayer. I mean, arms and legs are nothing for God the Creator of the Universe. And so, I prayed for my circumstance to change, but it didn't happen."

"There are two things we want to hear in life as human beings. First of all, that we're loved. Second of all, everything is going to be OK. And the greatest thing that God has given me is His love. To know that He does love me. And when there are things that happen in my life that I don't understand, when there are things that happen in your life and you don't understand the purpose, the question is this: Is God worthy of your thanks? Is God still worthy of your praise? ...This life is temporary, but you know what, I love the fact that that is the greatest joy of all, having Jesus Christ in my life and living godly purposes He has for me. And I can be thankful."

Here's what I want you to hear...I'm standing in my chair with a megaphone...hear this. Nick went on to say, "We stereotype people in this world. And so...if the world thinks you're not good enough, it's a lie, you know. Get a second opinion."

Get a second opinion. Get God's opinion. He thinks Nick is amazing. He thinks you are amazing. Nick, with no arms and legs, felt that he wasn't good enough for God to answer his prayers for physical wholeness. He felt worthless. But oh, God had a greater plan. He is using Nick to bring spiritual wholeness to millions around the world. That is amazing. Nick is good enough. Nick is incredibly valuable to God.

Let's Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, there is much about this life that I don't understand. But this I do know. Your ways are loving ways. Your ways are kind. So when I can't understand, when I can't trace Your hand, I will choose to trust Your heart. Help me not to see the difficulties of my life as stumbling blocks, but as stepping stones. And today, Lord, I thank You for Nick.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Now It's Your Turn
Nick tells us not to compare difficulties and pain, but at the same time, his life does help us get our difficulties in perspective. How did you feel when you read about his attitude about his physical limitations?

I'm still just reflecting on Nick's story. Maybe you need to just reflect on it as well. I'm not going to ask you a lot of questions today. But I would like to hear your thoughts. You can send your thoughts to www.facebook.com/sharonjaynes or to www.sharonjaynes.com/blog.

Here's a bonus. You can actually see Nick and hear him on the following link. Click and be encouraged and challenged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5D_9gklCiY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LtCrlXdd2E

More From The Girlfriends
Nick's story is included in Sharon's book, I'm Not Good Enough...and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves. To order, visit www.sharonjaynes.com.

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December is coming!

2009-11-30T13:07:00.001-08:00

Ready or not, it is coming. I'm planning on making each and every day as memorable as I possibly can. So, that will leave little time for me to blog, but I will try to blog everyday to keep everyone up to date on what we are doing. I'm not real sure what I want to start out December with. I'll have to ponder on it. I've got so many great ideas from Jessicasprague.com for my Holiday album, but I'm just not sure which one to start with.

I'm having a hard time getting into Christmas this year. I don't know if it is weather, it's been really nice here. Or if it is because my baby turned 18 today and I'm feeling old and therefore, I'm depressed. We don't have our tree up yet, and we used to be the day after Thanksgiving, no if, ands or buts. We are starting to put our Christmas lights out and I did get our Christmas pictures taken. Check this out:

and the boys:

Thats my daughter and me in my "about me" file.

I take my own photos because it is cheaper and I get the pictures I want. We used to have so much fun taking pictures but these last few years, it's like pulling teeth. The first year I did it, they were so good. The kids were so willing and fun. Now, not so. Makes me wonder what happened?

Anyhoo, I'm excited to get started with the memory making and I hope I'm not the only one having fun with it. Day 1 tomorrow.

How do I do it?

2009-11-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

I think I'm always the one asking this question! But, I got asked this question and I was going to write it in the yahoo group but it was so long I thought it best to fit it here. I also got asked about my chore charts so that explanation is on down.

The reason we do this, blogging, is because we were once in your shoes, feeling the frustration and the feeling of being overwhelmed, and it IS very frustrating when one or all maybe not so much refuses to do their work, but continually loses focus on what they are doing. I have read countless articles on visual problems or processing problems, when I really think my 6 year old just knows what buttons to push and does that quite well. Honestly, I do think they have processing issues at this early age and we as adults, don't truly understand it because it comes easy for us. I read the book "Bringing up Boys" by James Dobson, it helps to put boys into perspective but also helps with children in general. Just think of a child learning something for the first time and trying to fly little airplanes with their pencils. Lol! I had one of my boys to the opthamologist for vision therapy so that is a concern too.

My little Nicholas is 6. He has to spend about an hour with me in the morning to do his spelling, reading, phonics. As we go, I started cutting his assignments in half which is doable for both of us. He handles it much better and loves getting the praise instead of the, "will you focus" from me. When he does his math, I have to bring him back to it several times and if I leave the room, well, I just can't leave the room unless it is for a potty break or something. He only does All about Spelling, reading, math, science (me reading a let's read and find out book on astronomy), we just started Abeka Language 1, and HWT writing. I used Core 1 Sonlight for the older two boys and I still have it. It worked well for them because they were all I had at the time. Personally, Sonlight is a lot of work for the parent, with very little activity. My kids love hands on.

That is what I love about the workboxes. Roughly, my schedule is we start at 9am-do Bible and Spelling, I go over workboxes and turn them loose.
10am-I start with Nicholas.
11am-plan to start with Chloe who is 3
12pm-lunch
1pm-back to workboxes-Group: My Fathers World History (4 days) and Exploring Creation with Astronomy Science (3 days). For science, I read the chapter to them and they do lapbook pieces for notebook. Usually a chapter every two weeks.
2-2:30pm get the rest of Chloes work done-(if you call it that!lol) consists of art and snack.
Once that is done and there are no questions about schoolwork, I go through the boxes and supply the next day.

I don't have the boys sit there all day and just do work, they get up with the computer, any centers I have planned, they bounce the ball and do skip counting. We have library day on Monday at 10:30, storytime for Chloe and she will also be doing her grocery shopping before library.(That ought to be interesting! I'll let you know how it goes!). I also have them to have a Fun Friday activity, Thank God for Michaels $1 bins! Fridays are usually easy days. Easy days are good days because there is not a lot of writing. I'm very thankful for Honey Browns website, lots of great writing activities there. They don't consider writing to penpals writing! Ha, I'm not telling!

Now for my chore charts. I went to works and created my charts there. I'm sure there is a way to do this that is not as complicated as I made it to be but because I'm computer illiterat, I just lack skills. I clicked on Formats and went down to columns and created a two column document. I placed a textbox on the far right side and eyeballed it for size. Beside it I listed the daily routine. I just continued that till the end of the page and then started on pm daily routine on the other side. I put my daily routine charts on the inside of the basement door to be seen but unseen. I laminated each one and attached a dry erase marker with an eraser. It's working pretty well.

For the actual chore chart, I landscaped it and divided it up in three columns for the three boys. I marked it am and pm for twice a day chores. I chose tedious little jobs for them to do in the morning, sweep DR floor, sweep Kit floor, sweep computer room floor, straighten closet, water plants, feed and water dog, things like that. Meanwhile, I do the dishes and what not. Evening chores are a little more involved, run sweeper, sweep steps, dust ET center, help clean classroom, things like that. I laminated the whole thing and laminated the chores and placed velcro on the chart and on the back of the chores. I actually cut the velcro in half to save a little bit. I also placed a bathroom routine in my bathroom to brush teeth, brush hair, and put deodarant on. I think I may place one on the door to wash hands and flush. Seems to be an issue around here, again they lose focus really quick!

I hope I'm explaining myself well enough, if not, comment me and I'll see if I can explain it better for ya!

Thanksgiving is next week!

2009-11-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week! I often stop and wonder how the days, weeks, months and years go past so quickly. I guess it is because we are busier. We've got our lives, our childrens lives and if you homeschool, well, there is more of our life. We plan meals 3 times a day and probably a snack in between. We have laundry, housework, bathing little ones, bathing yourself, grocery shopping, extra curricular activities, and planning the school day for each of our little ones. During the spring and summer months, we have a pool and garden and flowers. Whew! Just makes me tired writing it all. And some of you actually take care of your blogs, some two or more, and find time to download activities. Let's not forget church activities. I'm trying to get my first blog together and I don't feel I'm even close to being ready for anyone else to see it. I think I feel a little embarrased because it is not as nice or full as some others. I just have very little time to spend on it. And wondering if I have something to share with others or if someone might find what I'm doing helpful. If it wasn't for some of you, I would be lost. Your ideas and organization has made a huge difference in our lives. I want to be just like you when I grow up! Lol!

I was watching Joyce Meyer the other morning and she said, "How many of you are too busy?" "Well," she said, "you make your schedule." Why do we make our schedule too busy? I feel like I have to. To make everyone happy. To get what needs to be done, done.

I was just trying to get some scrapbooking classes from Jessica Sprague in to my daily routine and I was supposed to start on the 16th and here I am, just today, working on day 1. hee hee. Well, it has been trying and I'm multi-tasking school and the project. I'm having a hard time enjoying it. So on to my project.

New ideas for preschoolers

2009-11-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

I've come up with a different plan for my little one. I have decided to focus on a letter a day for 4 days a week. The theme will be food. We will go to the grocery once a week to buy supplies for our preschool. This will be strictly a run for my preschooler only. I will plan my regular grocery store run another day. She will take her little grocery cart and choose her own groceries based on our grocery list.These are just ideas I have thought of to discuss the topic at hand. As I go or think of something else that may be better I will post an update.
Day 1-Aa Apples
*color-red
*math-divide apple in half and quarters
*science-apples come from trees, apple life cycle
*Art-craft Make painted apple with a large letter A and small a to hang on the wall for reference and review.
*snack-apple pie
Day 2-Bb Bananas, broccoli or bagels
*color-yellow and green
*math-1 stalk but many florets to broccoli
*science-banana tree, where and how are they grown, what kind of temperatures are needed. How is broccoli grown? What food comes from seed?
*Art-craft, painting Bb-mix salt or sand with paint to create texture
*snack enjoy Banana pudding or make frozen banana and chocolate treats
Day 3:Cc Carrots cauliflower and coconut
*color-white, orange
*math-how many carrots? More or less
*science-Where do carrots come from and how do they grow?
*Art-Stamp art on Large C and small c
*snack-enjoy raw carrots and cauliflower
Day 4:Dd Dips, Dressing, Donuts
*Colors-black and brown
*math-2 halves make a whole, use donut
*science-Healthy foods
*Art-Donut Art-dress up a donut to make it look tempting, or make drums and paint them.
*Enjoy a sweet snack of a donut.

I can already see my toddler would enjoy this type of integrated curriculum. Especially the grocery shopping and she gets to pick her groceries with a little guidance from mom.
I also plan to get the ingredients for the snacks at my regular grocery outing and premeasure them so my toddler can mix. I plan to look for books that may be appropriate for the letter of the day.
It should take us about 7 weeks to complete the food theme and then we will focus on another theme starting over in the alphabet.

I will post later the ideas for next week. If I think of anything else, I will post later.

2009-11-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

Here I am trying to figure out how to blog. So I'm trying a link
here is a blog I follow. Ohhh yay! I did it. I'm so excited!This is cool! now to figure out the picture thing. Alright, if you want help with how to add hyperlink in your blog go here This person had the best explanation I could find. It took a few minutes for me, yeah me, techy illiterate, to figure it out.

2009-11-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Our edible earths! We are studying Earth in Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy and I got this idea from Ginger snap shots. It was so simple to do this, but I have to admit I was a little

worried about how this was going to turn out. It worked out really well though. Of course, they enjoyed snacking on them later.

So, in my quest for more organizing, I developed some more chore charts and a daily routine chart. Of course, I didn't come up with this idea on my own, oh no no. This idea came from another blog I have been following, the name escapes me at the moment. I'll have to search for it. But somebody came up with this system but she didn't have a download. I'm so spoiled to find wonderful downloads! Lol! Anyhoo, I had to work this one out myself. Ugh! But it looks like it turned out pretty good. The first picture is a chart for each of the boys. It has their morning routine on the left and the evening routine on the right. I listed come down by 8:00, eat breakfast, clean up, change clothes, put away bedclothes, make bed, brush teeth, brush hair, put deodorant on, do assigned chore, and be ready for school by 9:00am. The left side is just pick up living room and dining room, evening chore, get ready for bed, brush teeth, put deodarant on, pick out bedtime story, in bed by 9:00pm. I have to admit, I didn't think this chart would work. This morning, though, they were ready by 8:45. wow! The second pic is just the daily routine charts hanging on the inside of the basement door. I stuck them up there with those wall hangers that are supposed to come off the wall easily with no damage. I sure hope they do. Then I hung a dry erase marker on the middle chart so all could reach without removing the marker. I was going to print out X's and place velcro on the back but I didn't want to waste all my velcro. The third chart is the daily chore charts in which I listed the little jobs that are not so time consuming but need to be done on a daily basis. The first row is am chores, and the second is the pm chores, the ones on the bottom are just being stored there so I don't lose them.

I'm going to get the hang of this blogging thing yet. I just don't know what I'm doing.

What a difference a Day Makes!

2009-11-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

yesterday, I was ready to quit, I can't do this. What happened? Well for starters, boys had a major I don't want to do this today attitude. Mom is fighting a cold and not feeling well. Oldest is crying and groaning over everything. Youngest is taking an hour to do simple math. Oldest is tearing at his arm with his fingernails because he doesn't want to write a simple paragraph in cursive. Oh my gosh, you think I ask for the world on a silver platter????
On top of that DD, almost 18 mind you, stops to get milk on the way home from her class. She notices it is on sale 10 for $10. She gets it and wonders why she is being charged $1.79 so she asks the clerk, clerk says, "I don't know" and she leaves. So I have to stop what I'm doing and run to Kroger to find out why. She simply did not put our alternate id in when she checked out so it wasn't showing a Kroger Plus member. Those stupid cards! It was a matter of $8 overcharged.

Today: The boys are angels! They are doing their work, quietly...neatly, and no groaning or moaning. DD did several loads of laundry. I must be in another world. oh wait, maybe I need to wake-up, I must be dreaming. But I'm not! Hee hee! Life is good. God is great! What a difference a day makes!

I can't wait to implement my organization! I am following Gingersnaps and she has the most creative ideas! The workboxes are working out great but I need to get to the place where I am planning weekly instead of daily. I intend to get some things this weekend to help with organization.

She also introduced me to Mr. Kistlers online drawing. And come to find out homeschoolbuyersco-op.org is having a members sale for $39.95 for three years!(Reg. price is $99.95) totally cool. I had the boys to do the egg ninjas and they had an awesome time creating these little eggy fighters. Even my little guy wanted in on the action! If you don't know about homeschoolbuyersco-op.org, go and check it out. They get group discounts and pass the savings on to its members, membership is free so check them out!

Always organizing, trying to find the right fit!

2009-11-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

So here is what we do for preschool: Note she dressed herself this morning*

First, we read a Bible story out of our First Bible Book then we sing ABC song: She is a quick learner so we should have this down by next week.

Then my plan is to work on a letter each week, this week is A: She works with matching, numbers, puzzles and coloring or painting. Our preschool last about 45 minutes and then we read, read and read some more. She has been a real trooper this week and she has done really well.

All these wonderful projects are courtesy of Confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com. She is a wonderful artist with lots of electronic talent. Thankful for her, I am able to download all these wonderful activities to do with my preschooler.

2009-10-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

So, I decided it would be best to be more organized. I have to explain that I am a schedule freak and a listaholic! I have lists of lists. I have to write everything down. I have spent countless dollars on schedules, organizing tools and what not. It's crazy! But...I'm getting on the ball now. Since I'm doing our workboxes, I've been working on getting the rest of my life organized from housework to menu's right down to my free time, which I'm not real sure where that is going to fall but..baby steps. And I need this.

We have been doing well with our workboxes so I've come up with a master schedule. This way I can schedule housecleaning certain rooms on certain days and my house gets cleaned. Not perfectly, mind you. I have 5 kids! There is no such thing as a perfectly cleaned picked up house, at least not around here. Those of you that can do that, kuddos to you! I have certain laundry days so my pile is kept to a minimum. This is working for me.

I also decided to start making breakfast for my kiddos to keep them away from the sugary cereals. When one box lasts two days for one kid, something has got to change. Cold cereal on cold days isn't very appetizing anyway. Then God spoke to me and said, "What about your husband?" O.k. my day now starts at 5am by getting up and fixing breakfast for my DH, who works out in the elements, rain, snow, sun and wind and an enormous amount of hours to provide for our family. It actually has been rather nice getting up so early. Mind you, in our 18 years of marriage, I have never woke up with him much less fix him breakfast. He has never complained nor asked me to and as a matter of fact, tried to talk me out of it. I have the most wonderful husband in the world. God has certainly blessed me and I'm thankful every day!

Fall is here!

2009-10-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, well, obviously I'm not as together as some bloggers. I'm new at this and therefore, slow at blogging, slow at everything.

I've been spending my time following others bloggers, like http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/ to find ways to make schooling fun for my preschooler. She has such wonderful ideas and gives links to others who have wonderful ideas! I'm so thankful for the talents of these wonderful people. In the search of others, I also get great ideas for the rest of my kids as well. This was a great project, http://isabelroberts.blogspot.com/2009/10/leaf-week-in-kindergarten.html. It is a leaf project and study! Too cool!

I'm excited because I found a new way to organize our school. I discovered Sue Patricks workbox system, http://www.workboxsystem.com/. I love this system! You have the ability to design it to suit your homeschooling needs. You can do as much or as little as you want. The idea is you assign boxes 1-12 to be completed by your student. They work through the boxes at their own pace and when finished deposit them in a tote. They see the work being completed plus have unexpected surprises waiting for them. I have been doing this for about a month now and it has taken this long to tweak it to suit my needs. I can see where the improvement is needed and taylor it to each child.

So, in the boxes I put work to be done. But, I'm mixing in a little fun here and there. I went to Michaels and picked up some inexpensive puzzles and craft items to mix in and I'm also printing out several file folder games to play. There are so many talented people out there to share such great artistic ability and a lot of them allow their downloads for free. There are several groups and bloggers that share as well.

I cut down on our lapbooks a little to keep my sanity. I was so excited about them, I was turning every subject into a lapbook. For now, we are doing a Halloween lapbook, http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks/halloween.htm, a science lapbook/notebook to go along with our Exploring Creation with Astronomy, all of which can be found here, http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/745.

I have to figure out how to work this so I can just type the word here and it automaticaly links to the correct place. I'm an ongoing work in progress.

spring

2009-04-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

A new beginning. A new outlook. A fresh attitude.

About 5 weeks ago, we started a new school year. We are not used to being organized or diligent but I have adapted a new curriculum and schedule that is working for us. Finally. I have done so many things and have spent so much money trying to find the "good fit", to no avail. I guess what works for some doesn't work for others. I have tried the strict schedule type of things and the loose unschooling things and it just has lead to mass confusion and frustration. So I am now implementing My Fathers World http://mfwbooks.com with a twist on the science and history with lapbooks. http://www.lapbooklessons.com/ We are running our school on a schedule that goes something like this:
7am wake up-take care of self and head down for breakfast
7:30 breakfast and morning chore-have a handy dandy chore list that earns them points and at the end of the week and they get a little surprise. Very simple to use and easy to implement and the stuff gets done!http://rainbowresource.com/product/Chore+Challenge/039091/1241103237-357149
8am- start Bible work-all together. We do a short devotion and have prayer requests and prayer time.
8:15- 8:30 I start going over daily work to completed with my two older boys, 8 and 10. This includes math, spelling, English lessons, and writing. Things they can do on their own with minimal teaching time. Once they acknowledge what is to completed. I write it down in their schedule book so they can check off each assignment.
8:30 I start to work with my youngest boy (6). We work on math concepts, phonics, writing and character. While he is doing work on his own some type of practice. I will steal a few minutes to work with my youngest baby girl who is 2. I found a wonderful website totally devoted to toddlers and is just darling to work with and so very helpful http://totallytots.blogspot.com/.
10:00 break for snack and this has been a pivotal point in our daily routine. I don't know what it is about breaking for a snack but the kids love it.
10:30 history lessons with lapbooking. Since we are studying early settlers, Evan Moor's ebooks provide a great way to study and lapbook the lesson as well. http://www.evan-moor.com/About/Ebooks.aspx.
11:30-12 personal reading from the book basket. A collection of books suggested for history lessons.
11:30-12:00 I prepare for lunch.
1:00- science lessons with lapbooking. Now I have strayed off of the MFW schedule. Astronomy (Exploring Creation with Astronomy) is fascinating and I have found so many wonderful sites providing a pluthra of information. There is even a blog about that supports the book and each chapter http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile/745. It has great printables to use in a lapbook.
2:00pm free time/art/or whatever we decide is fitting for the day. If they want to work on projects or reading.

The past few weeks we have taken a little more time on lapbooking and/or recovering from illnesses. But, the great thing is, it doesn't matter. This is just a rough schedule of how things are supposed to be but since we want to take a little time here or there, it is not a catastrophe to be thrown off. I just know that next week we will be getting over this stomach virus that has affected the entire family and we will be o.k. I have no pressures, I am completely at ease and I feel confident about our school and my kids.