Science

This week, for my favorite things, I have a very long list.  I've decided rather than share them all individually, I'll tell you about some of my favorite science things and how we put them together to make up our science curriculum.  Our homeschool funding does not allow for 'faith-based' curriculum which means anything published by most christian curriculum publishers is not funded.  In order to receive our full funding for each student, we are required to have the majority of our core curriculum using approved curriculum.  Because of this criteria, I have chosen to develop unit studies for our science, history, and geography study.  Unit studies have proven extremely functional for us because I can develop each unit for all of the children instead of just having a third grade book for one, a second grade book for another and trying to juggle different themes and studies all going on at the same time.  Unit studies are a fun way to teach preschoolers along with elementary students across the curriculum.

I have searched and searched for science textbooks that are grade-level and reading-level appropriate and was very discouraged with the textbooks I found.  Most textbooks that were on reading-level were lacking in interest or in-depth material.  Most textbooks that were interesting and covered the material I wanted to teach were above reading-level.  I came across some science readers somewhat by accident and my little scientist, Joshua, loved them.  He's not a fan of the cutesie little stories found in the reading curriculum, but he loved the little science readers. 

The readers we have been using for science are Scholastic Science Vocabulary Readers and they primarily come in sets of six titles.  Scholastic sells them in sets of 36.  The sets include 6 each of 6 different titles all part of the same science topic.  You can find them individually, but having 6 of each book makes it fun for us to read and study as a group.  Each reader has four chapters, science vocabulary words in bold type with a glossary of definitions in the back, and a few review questions at the end.  The sets of 36 books also includes a teacher's guide with reproducible worksheets and activities.  These have been excellent for our science classroom.  We currently have the five boxed sets available from Scholastic and as many of the other readers that are not sold in a set.  These are available on Amazon, B&N, and ebay (just search for Scholstic Science Vocabulary Readers).

In addition to the readers, we have been working on science vocabulary with fun sets of pocket chart cards from Lakeshore Learning.  They sell ten different sets of pocket chart vocabulary sets.  Each set includes a subject header, 20 vocabulary word cards, and 20 definition strips with pictures.  These have been so helpful with our study of each science unit and are fun for review too.  The cards are full-color and are printed on heavy-duty paper and are pre-laminated.

Lakeshore Learning also sells wonderful science activity tubs by unit for grades 1-3 and 4-6.  I love these tubs because I am terrible at planning science activities and experiments.  The tubs include hands-on activities, writing prompts for non-fiction and creative writing exercises, charts, visuals, and a set of vocabulary cards too. 

Of course, I love my file-folder games for a fun and easy review activity.  These also come with reproducible activity pages and review games.  I love having reproducible worksheets on the kids' grade-level since Kindergarteners and First graders aren't tested on science material.  The worksheets and file-folder games helps to reinforce what we've studied and show how much they remember from the unit.

There are lots more fun things we've added to our science units over time, but these are the basic core materials we use for each unit.  All five of the children enjoy science time and doing all the activities together.

My Better Half

Last week, my sweetheart brought home an invitation addressed to Joey & his better half. It was cute, but really Joey is my better half, not the other way around. I could not do what God has called me to without my amazing husband. I watched Joey interact with his nephews and neices while we were engaged and we talked about our plans to have children, but we had no idea what God had in store for us. I was in my first year of teaching in the classroom in South Carolina and I loved it. I was planning for the next school year already when God changed our plans.

Joshua, our first child, arrived 10 months after our wedding. Yes, it was a shock to us, but it didn't take God by surprise. I always knew I wanted to stay home when we had children; I just didn't think it would happen so soon. I was convinced we were going to starve to death if I didn't work. Not only that, but Joey had promised my parents that we would move to Alaska to be near them when we had children. So, without warning, our plans to stay in South Carolina and teach for several years before we started a family changed. We sold as much as we could and gave away the rest. We flew to Alaska with a four month old baby and two suitcases. Joey had found a new job, but we were still waiting for our car and townhouse to sell so that we could build a home of our own in Alaska.

We stayed with my parents until we were able to build our own home. Our daughter was born before the house was finished. We moved into the house with a toddler and an infant and the house was just perfect. Within two years, God sent us another little boy and a big surprise in the form of identical girls . While waiting for our girls to arrive, I was placed on complete hospital bedrest for nearly a month. Joshua was only four years old, Joy was not quite three, and Hudson had just turned one. My parents were wonderful and took turns staying with the children while Joey was at work. Joey is really the hero of this story though. My amazing husband took over everything without hesitation. He woke up and started the laundry, set out breakfast for the little ones and their clothes for the day before he went to work. He worked a full day, then came home, finished the laundry, made dinner, did the dishes, gave baths, and put the kids to bed. He did all of this and more for more than a month. He brought the children to the hospital to visit and encourage me. He even directed music at church without a pianist (since the pianist was being lazy in the hospital during every service.)

What does this complete family history of the Seibers have to do with school and homeschooling? Simply this, I love my calling to be a wife, mother, and teacher and I couldn't do it without him. He is my better half. He works very long days and very long weeks. He does so, often times, with very little thanks. He lives without a lot of the little luxuries in life because I don't work outside the home. He tolerates my classroom taking over the house. He helps cut out my laminating :) I am blessed beyond measure and Joey is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I could not be a stay-at-home teacher without his support and self-sacrifice.

I Am Happy In The Service Of The King

Okay, I missed Friday this week.  I was considering several different things for my "favorite things" idea of the week.  There are so many fun things that we did this week. Great activities with the kids, some of our favorite books, a new resource we have been using or some inspiring organizational idea; they all went through my mind, but I could decide on one single thing.  Besides my indecision, I've been incredibly busy.  You know how it goes; school, laundry, dishes, floors, bathroom, the list goes on and on.  Plus, my sweet husband had to work on Saturday, and I've been helping plan a youth activity for our teens and prepare for my Sunday school class and children's church as well.  Some things have fallen a little behind and I've been madly trying to catch up on everything.  I was planning to go to a baby shower between services Sunday afternoon, but was needed for our teen activity instead.  Oh well, plans change and life goes on, right?

So, with a new week just beginning (and I'm still trying to catch my breath from the previous week and prepare for the week ahead) I was thinking on our way home tonight about how blessed I am to be serving my King each day.  There are days when I think of the Scripture that says, "be not weary in well doing," and I think to myself "how?"  There are days when there is just so much to be done that I can't help but be a little weary.  But even in the most stressful, complicated, and busy times, I am happy in the service of the King.  There is nothing I would rather do with my life than serve the Lord. 

I love my Sunday school class.  I teach the junior's class and they have the best questions about the lesson each week.  They have a different perspective than adults or the preschoolers.  They just see it differently.  I enjoy teaching them Biblical principles and watching them grow in the Lord.  I can watch their lives as they weigh their decisions and it blesses my heart to see them choose the right paths.

I have a blast with our children's church kids.  They are a fun group of kids.  One of my fantastic teens helps me each week and we have such a great time with those preschoolers.  I love their enthusiasm.    I look forward to children's church each Sunday.

The teen activity today was fun and the Lord blessed us with great weather.  I enjoy being with teens who love the Lord.  I love it when the people around us comment on what a great group of young people we have.  They are a testimony everywhere they go and I am thrilled to be with such a great group of young people. 

Today, my favorite thing is simply serving the Lord. 
God is Good - All the Time and There are No String Attached

Schedules & Flexibility

People are constantly telling me that flexibility is the best part of homeschooling. It makes me want to scream!!! It generally comes up when something crazy is going on like a household disaster, five sick children, etc . . . Yes, flexibility is one of the good things about homeschooling, but for a teacher with a plan and children who thrive on structure, being flexible isn't always easy.

With that being said, I prefer to be flexible on a weekly to monthly basis as opposed to a daily basis. Frequently changing daily schedules is confusing and frustrating for most children. I prefer to stick with the same daily schedule regardless of the chaos around us. However, some things can cause our weekly or monthly schedules to change. For instance, this week and next week my husband will be working on Saturday. Because Daddy will be gone on Saturday, I am reworking our schedule so that we will continue school Monday through Saturday this week and next. I know, I know, cruel and unusual punishment for children as young as mine. The kids love school, though, and probably won't even notice, and I will go into September having completed 35 lessons.

We do take school breaks occassionally, but I try to plan for them as much as possible and continue with school even if one or more of the children are sick.

Some of the things we plan specific breaks for:

1. Anytime Daddy has time off work!
2. Church Events - special meetings, programs, outreaches, etc . . .
3. Special Activities - field trips, classes, etc . . .
4. Thanksgiving and Christmas :)

What extra-curricullar actvities are most important for your family? How does your planning and scheduling work best? Leave a comment and let me know.

Making Good Progress

Well, we have started our third week of school and we are making excellent progress this year. One of my main goals for Joshua and Joy this school year is personal responsibility and independent work. Having a classroom with only five students makes it extremely easy for me to give one-on-one help to each child. This can be wonderful, but can also be extremely damaging. It is easy for us as parents, whether we homeschool or not, to help our children by doing something for them. That isn't really helpful. It is so important for us to look at the big picture when helping our children.

You see our purpose in parenting is not to raise perfect children (although that would be a nice bonus along the way). Our purpose is to raise godly, productive, independent adults. It is difficult to think of raising adults especially when our children are very young, but that is the goal, right? So what am I doing today that will help them become what God wants them to be? What am I teaching them and how can I best help them to become more like Christ, more independent, and more successful. (sorry, I didn't mean to start preaching)

Last week, I started developing their independent work habits by writing out six daily activities on magnetic word cards and placing them above their desks. When I work with the younger children, Josh and Joy are responsible for independently completing the six activites. I have to admit, I was very nervous about it the first day. Josh and Joy surprised me by enthusiastically tackling each activity. After they were finished with their work, I was finished with the younger children and we all enjoyed some recess time together. The best part was still to come though.

When Daddy arrived home that evening from a long day of work, I was thrilled to hear the first thing Josh and Joy wanted to tell Daddy about their day. They told him all about how they did their work "All By Myself" and they began to list the six things that they did. They had such a sense of accomplishment because they are learning to work independently and be responsible for their own work.

Their six required assignments vary from day to day, but always include the following four activities.

1. Handwriting practice pages.

2. Math facts sheet.

3. Language daily practice journal.

4. Math daily practice journal.

I vary the remaining two assignments per day which the kids seem to enjoy.

On a side note . . . . Today I won an awesome Carson-Dellosa pocket chart for only  $7.00 on ebay.  This chart is normally $40.00 from Carson-Dellosa.  I love how the Lord provides these little blessings along the way, don't you?

We will be starting our annual Dr. Seuss theme in September and we always have a book reading goal for the month.  This will be perfect to chart our progress reading toward our goal of 150 books in the month of September.  It also includes Farenheit and Celsius temperature measurements for our Science study of weather in January.  LOVE IT!!!

The Little Things Aren't The Little Things

We all tend to get our priorities mixed up from time to time.  We focus our energy on things that are temporal instead of eternal.  We focus on things instead of people.  We focus on the physical and not the spiritual.  As a homemaker, I tend to focus on getting the laundry finished, the dishes finished, the house spotless, and dinner ready.  As a teacher, I tend to focus on teaching the material and what I can do to help each child grasp the concepts and enjoy the learning experience.  As a parent, I tend to work on behavior and daily routines.   I do this even though I know that my purpose is to make our house a home, not make it spotless.  My purpose is to prepare my children for the calling God has for them, not simply make them well-behaved.

Then, the Lord has to remind me of what is truly important.  We call them the little things, but they aren't so little.  Today, the Lord reminded me of His plan for our lives and that regardless of our day-to-day successes and failures, He can make it work together for His purposes.  Even if I forget about what is truly important, God has a way of changing my focus back to more important things.

My oldest son, Joshua, suffers from occasional migraines.  Today was one of the worst he's had in a while.  His head starts to ache.  Then he becomes sensitive to sound and light.  After that, he gets sick to his stomach and can't keep anything down.  As a parent, it is heartbreaking to watch helplessly while he suffers.  Warm showers, rest, fluids, they all help, but there is no guaranteed solution that works every time.  If he can keep an aspirin down for a few minutes that sometimes works.  Today, we tried it all, but he still suffered for quite a while, curled up in pain in his favorite reading chair.   

Later, when he was feeling better and finally able to eat his lunch, he turned to me and told me something that changed my day.  He said, "Mom, when I was sitting in my red chair,  I prayed that God would help me feel better and He did.  I'm so glad God answers my prayers."  It was so precious that I just sat there and considered all the times God has answered my prayers and thought about how I still struggle to trust Him with the big stuff sometimes.  Even Josh understands that we can trust God with our needs.

Then, he told me something that really made me stop and think.  He looked at me with his precious smile and said, "You know what, Mom?  In Heaven there won't ever be any sickness or pain; won't that be wonderful!"  We've been talking about Heaven in our Bible time during school, but it wasn't until that moment that I realized just how important it is to focus on God's purpose for our home.  I saw in his face that he really understands and appreciates the goodness of God; how He answers our prayers each day and is preparing a place for us.  Josh understands about God's goodness and that's more important than his reading level or his multiplication tables. 

Sometimes what we think is so important in our lives is not really important and what we think are the little things aren't really the little things.  An evangelist I know said it this way - What a tragedy it would be to become a great success at something God cares nothing about.  I'm so thankful for my children.  I know God gave them to me to remind me about what is truly important. 

GAMES!!!

It is Friday and the sun is shining - God is Good!

It is time for me to share another one of my favorite things.  My favorite thing for today is  file folder games.  It is certainly one of the kids' favorites too.  They love file folder games.  If you are not familiar with these types of games, let me explain.  A file folder game is indeed an actual paper file folder with game pieces students use to solve the game.  They are excellent resources for classrooms, homeschoolers, and just for quiet time fun.  When I was in college and teaching in a classroom, I made my own by copying reproducibles, coloring each part of the game by hand, attaching them to the file folder with spray adhesive (yuck) and then laminating everything.  It was time consuming to say the least.  Now, Carson Dellosa (and a few other companies) print everything for you in spectacular full-color and you just purchase the set you want, laminate, and cut out the pieces. 

Thankfully, the Lord has provided for me the access to a laminator.  If you don't have access to a laminator (it is very expensive to pay for laminating service), you may want to invest in one of my other favorite things.  My mom recently found a Xyron maching on clearance at a craft store.  This fun machine has interchangeable cartridges for double-sided laminate, laminate/magnet, and stickers.  I've used it so much.  If you can find one for a good price and can purchase the cartridges with 50% off coupons or other great discounts, it is definitely a must-have.  Laminating paper manipulatives will help them last for years.  This is especially helpful if you have several children.

These ready to go file folder games cover lots of material in a fun interactive way.  We have Science file folder games to review and illustrate science concepts that we read about.  The Science set also comes with reproducible review pages that reinforce the concept.  The preschool games cover seasons, shapes, animal homes, numbers, letters, etc . . . The Kindergarten through 3rd grade sets cover Phonics, Language, Math, and Problem Solving. 

I love these resources because they are fun, easy to use, and the kids love them.  I use them to reinforce material that has already been taught.  They are excellent transition time quiet activity.  They are fun rainy/snowy day activities.  My kids ASK to do them. 

This is an example of the Kindergarten Math File Folder Games to Go.  Hudson enjoyed it a lot.  He had to count the number of fish in each circle, match the number to the correct group of fish, then match the number words to the correct number.  He did a great job.

You can find all these great file folder game sets on http://www.carsondellosa.com/

Why We Teach

Why Do I Teach?
Whether you homeschool, send your children to school, or your children are still too young for school, you are still a teacher. If you are a mother, you are a teacher.
What are you teaching and why?
As Mothers, we teach our children every moment of the day, by our example. You know it's true, because it has happened to you too. I'm not the only one. You've seen it. Your child is doing something entirely frustrating and you ask yourself, "Now, where did he learn that?" Probably one of those dreadful children at Sunday School no doubt. No, wait, I've seen that before . . . in myself. That's when you realize, that he learned it from you. Heartbreaking, isn't it? So we must decide for our selves what kind of example we are going to set each day.
We also teach by our reactions. I laugh at the young people who say, "My child will NEVER act that way." Once you've had children you realize that just about every one of them will do it at least once. Screaming in the store, throwing a fit, disobeying, fighting, the list goes on and on. The question is, what are you going to do about it? The way that we respond to our children's bad behavior will teach them what we think of that behavior. Yes, we dislike it when they misbehave, but sometimes children learn when it is okay to misbehave. If we give in after 2 or 3 times, children figure that out very quickly. If we stick to our rules and maintain discipline except when we're really tired, children tend to figure it out. Every time I hear a child throwing a fit in a store, I always feel bad for the children. Most people would probably feel bad for the parents. Think about it though. This child somehow learned that this was the best way to get attention and what they want from their parents. Yes, for those of you who are asking, I've had a child throw a fit and be loud in a store. It only happened once though :)
We teach our children by our example and we teach our children by our reactions, but what is the point of all this work? Why do we teach our children? Why is it so important? What is my motivation? What is the ultimate goal?
The ultimate goal of raising our children should be to lead them to Christ. Our testimony each day and our discipline should show our children their need for Christ. Our reactions to them should show God's love in us. I love how the Bible compares God to our Heavenly Father, but for some people this comparison is difficult to understand because their father was none of the things that God wants to be in their life. I want our home to be a reflection of what God desires for each of us to be.
If your children have accepted Christ as their Savior then your job is done, right? I don't think so. The Lord isn't finished with any of us. Our goal for our children is the same as God's goal for all His children. That is Christ-likeness. Our goal for our children is not that they'll be mild-mannered, well-behaved, obedient children. Our goal should be for them to be like Christ throughout their life.
Now, am I a perfect parent with delightful children 24 hours a day. Not really. I'm human and I have real-life normal children. We are a wild and crazy crew with tons of energy and plenty of volume. Still, we are working towards a greater goal. Raising children who love and honor God with their lives is our greatest desire and the ultimate goal for a Christian.



P.S.
Why did I start this long lecture on child-rearing today instead of a normal blog post about our day in school? Something that happened after school today. Because of all the rain outside, we decided to stay inside and watch one of our most educational children's program, "Tom and Jerry." Brittany started saying that Tom is mean and bad because of the way he treats Jerry. Bethany looked at her with the sweetest look on her face and she said, "I know Brittany, but Jesus loves Tom too." It's the little moments that make the work worthwhile and I can glimpse Christ in their lives.

Language Arts

Curriculum choices are available in abundance for all subjects; however, Language Arts curriculum is the foundation for learning and is, in my opinion, the most important curriculum choice a homeschooler will make.  Language Arts will be the curriculum used to teach early learners to read, write, spell, and properly use language.  Also, very important to consider when selecting a language arts program, this portion of a child's educational experience will determine much of a child's attitude toward education and his opinion of himself as a learner.  Let me explain.  the language arts curriculum used to teach a child to read will set a precedent for the rest of his educational experience.  Not to say that a poor experience in early education can not be changed, but that the original 'school' experience is either postive or negative based primarily on language arts.  (At least this has been my experience.)  Preschoolers and Kindergarteners, in general, enjoy and most excel at recess, crafts, art, counting, music, etc . . . It is their first experience with reading and to some extent writing that will shape their education for years to come.

If a child goes into 'school' (or homeschool) excited about learning and then struggles consistently in this one area, it is easy to become frustrated with school and with himself.  Reading is not as complicated as the scholars and educators would lead us to believe.  Learning to read should be fun and exciting.  A child who grasps the basics of word formation and phonics will enjoy learning to read and will thrive in their education as a result.  As parents and teachers, we tend to think that each student will grasp the concepts of reading quickly and easily and using the same basic curriculum.  This is not always the case.  Language Arts curriculum varies greatly and should be adapted for the students needs.  Yes, I use one basic core curriculum for Language Arts for all of my children; however, I also vary the curriculum to best suit the needs of each child.  That is not always possible in a traditional classroom with many students, but with homeschooling it wonderful to be able to adapt the curriculum to best suit each child.

We use ABeka's language arts program for all of our children.  I love their phonics program.  I have seen it in use in large classroom with 30+ students and have used it individually with my children and have had excellent results in both settings.  What really sold me on ABeka is what I heard from a secular educator.  We are part of a 'distance learning charter school' program in Alaska.  This is part of the reason we have such wonderful materials for our classroom.  We are technically enrolled in a charter school here in Alaska and are required to submit individual learning plans for each student as well as work samples and progress reports each semester.  This process allows the state of Alaska to maintain records for us and benefits us in that we have access to a multitude of resources at our local school office and we are given an allotment per student each year to spend on educational materials.  While working in the school office several years ago (laminating my multitude of visuals) I overheard one of the contact teachers tell a prospective homeschool parent that ABeka was an option (although not covered by state funding since it is 'faith based').  She told the parent that ABeka tends to be at least one grade and sometimes two grades ahead of its secular counterparts in reading level.  I knew this to be true from my classroom experience, but it was nice to hear it from a public school teacher as well.

We use ABeka's K4 program with our little ones, Advanced K5 for kindergarten, and phonics and language for the rest of the elementary grades.  I love ABeka's complete programs for K4 and K5 and the children have done extremely well with their reading level.  Because the state will not pay for ABeka materials, we have always purchased these materials ourselves and used different materials for other subjects such as math, history, science, etc . . .

Now to the changes we've made to the basic curriculum.  I love ABeka's language arts in that it is all-inclusive.  Their language arts program includes everything, i.e. phonics, reading, handwriting, creative writing, spelling, poetry, and grammar.  It is all cross-curriculum so that the reading program stays right on track with the phonics, the spelling and handwriting stays right on track with the reading, etc . . . However, my children did not like the readers ABeka uses, especially starting in first grade.  My oldest is somewhat serious and prefers non-fiction books.  The cute little stories in the ABeka readers were silly and boring to him.  He much preferred science books.  So, that is what we got him and he excelled in his reading immediately.  On the other hand, Joy is a little princess and prefers to read fiction books about butterflies, unicorns, glitter, and tiaras (ha, ha, ha).  We use the basic teaching methods and workbooks from ABeka's language arts program, but substitute readers geared to each individual child.  The best readers I've found are primarily from Scholastic.  We use a lot of Scholastic readers across the curriculum.  Science Vocabulary Readers are Josh's favorite and Scholastic has a host of different science subjects that are covered in this series.  For Joy I've found several different series of books, but my favorite for this year is a set of books called Read & Understand.  The books are fiction readers that include comprehension questions and a teacher's guide with reproducible comprehension activities for each book.  She loves them and I can see tremendous improvement in her oral reading skill.

Also, I found it frustrating to teach two different lists of spelling words each week to my two oldest students so we have modified ABeka's curriculum to teach one set of spelling words to both Josh and Joy at the same time.  We've done something similar with handwriting and creative writing to allow them to work together on these areas since they are so close in age and grade-level.  This allows me to do more classroom-style teaching in creative writing and language areas while allowing them to work together on literature, handwriting, creative writing, and language.

Yikes, how do these curriculum posts always end up being so long?  So sorry.

Organization

It is Friday and time for me to share one of my favorite things.

People are constantly telling me how organized I am and I turn around and look behind me trying to find who they could possibly be talking to.  I am not organized; they can't be talking to me.  Because of my lack of organization and general tendency towards chaos, I love anything that helps me organize everything for school.  I have lots of organizers.  My mom picked up a great scrapbook organizer cart at a garage sale and it is 8 1/2 x 11 which is perfect for storing flashcards (we have tons of them), readers, etc . . . My sweet Mom (in-law) got us these amazing bookshelves with canvas storage bins in them.  They are perfect for storing some of our fun building toys and art supplies.  Still, with the multitude of organizers and storage I've acquired for our classroom materials, my all-time favorite is the All-Purpose Teacher Organizer from Lakeshore Learning. 

It comes with a sturdy wire rack and five plastic bins with five plastic file folders per bin.  I had this on my wishlist for a while and God miraculously provided one for me for half-price on ebay.  It has been a life-saver for me.  I love it. 

It can be used lots of different ways, but what I like to do is to pull a week's worth of lessons for each student (that would be four different grade levels at this point).  I then decide what each student is able to do independently, what they can work together on, and what we can do as a whole class.  I add to the file box for each day the flashcards, worksheets, and reading material needed for each day.  I plan out my teaching time according to each day's bin.  It is a wonderful help in my planning each week.  I try to take a Friday evening or a Saturday to plan out my school week and gather the extra materials I'll use each day.  The system could easily be adapted with whatever you have on hand.  Just planning and preparing for each day before it arrives helps the school day to flow smoothly.  I have found that the better prepared I am, the better the entire day will be. 



E-Books as Curriculum

I said that I would post later about what curriculum we use and why we use it. 
I should probably start with the core materials and work up to some of the other curriculum items, but a friend asked about handwriting instruction today so I am going to start there.

I did my student teaching in a K-5 classroom at PCA (that's Pensacola Christian Academy) and they taught traditional cursive in their kindergarten classes.  The students did very well with cursive handwriting and I think it is a great idea for a homeschooler who is looking into the possibility of teaching cursive to their kindergarteners.  Since we use ABeka materials for our language (phonics, reading, writing, grammar) curriculum, I started Joshua in their cursive handwriting K-5 program.  I thought he was doing terrible so I switched to traditional manuscript,  He didn't do too much better in that.  The problem I was having was one I hadn't seen during my student teaching or in my limited time as a classroom teacher.  Josh was (and still is somewhat) ambidextrous so his handwriting was dreadful, but it was equally dreadful with his left hand.  I encourage myself in the fact that his handwriting being what it is, he will surely become a doctor one day.  I have since tried multiple types of handwriting instruction with Josh and have settled on the least expensive, most fun, and most convenient of all the choices.  I know, right?  How often is the least expensive option the one that works?
I purchased an e-book from Carson Dellosa and I can print single copies of the worksheets I want as needed throughout the year. 
http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/searchcatalog.aspx?k=productTypeGroup_facet%3a%22Books%22+topic_facet%3a%22Handwriting%22+ebookFlag%3a%22true%22&CM_VC=Books
The Key Education Resource books for pre-handwriting practice is a great book for preschoolers too.  They are fun books to use with all age groups.  Key Education Resources (sold by Carson Dellosa) also makes several fun sets of writing practice cards that can be used with dry-erase markers or wipe-off crayons. 
http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/SearchCatalog.aspx?k=Key+Education+Wipe-off+startEndGrade%3a%22startEndGrade%3aPK%22&CM_VC=10001
Of course, these books are only for preschool through grade 5 and need to be supplemented by creative writing as well.  Still, they've worked very well for us and I'm thrilled that I can use the same item for each student.  Instead of purchasing a new consumable workbook for each child, I simply print a new set of practice pages as each child needs them.  Overall, e-books are a tremendous value for our family.
Hopefully, I'll be updating the curriculum category to let you know about our core subjects and some of our fun supplementary items in the near future.  If you have a specific question or idea for the blog, please, leave me a comment.  Thanks.

One of Those Days . . .

I should have known it was going to be one of those days . . .
I should have known because Hudson woke up with a LOT of energy VERY early this morning.  I like to have a hot breakfast already prepared before the kids get up.  Hudson was up WELL before I even started breakfast.
I should have known because when I told Bethany and Brittany to finish their breakfast and get ready for school, Bethany looked at me with her great big eyes and said, "School?  Again?" 
I should have known because Joy was the last to get up and she had a sore throat and cough and congestion.
I should have known because I woke up with a migraine.
I should have known.
I made a rushed decision to change our format this morning and do some work with manipulatives to help with all the extra energy and give the kids something fun and educational to do before we started our regular schedule.  It did not work out well.  The kids loved it, of course, and the activity was good and the tangrams and attribute blocks were really fun.  It is just that I wasn't fully prepared and I was running around like a crazy person trying to get everything out for each student.  Crazy Mommy.  I know better than to start an activity without thinking it through or preparing my materials.  Still, I was amazed at how well Bethany and Brittany did with the activity.  Hudson, of course, was a natural and was sad when the activity was finished. 
Sometimes, with everything in life, things seem to fall apart. 
One of the toughest lessons to learn for me was that my children don't expect perfection from me.  Yes, I want to be a perfect Christian, wife, mother, teacher, pianist, etc . . . But God didn't make any of us perfect.  If I were perfect, I wouldn't need God.  I need to need Him.  I need to lean on Him because of my own weakness.  I need His strength.  II Corinthians 12:9 " . . . My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." 
Crazy mornings, that's just one of the reasons we start our school day with Bible.  After the rest of the craziness, we sang songs, quoted Scripture together, reviewed the books of the Bible, and reviewed the story of Adam and Eve in the garden and our need for a Savior.  It was a sweet time with my children. 
Yes, there were more bumps throughout the rest of our school day (chaos in the morning tends to permeate the rest of the day).  But Hudson did a great job with his first 'real' phonics lesson and kept asking to do more even though he finished everything I had planned for today.  Joy's reading and comprehension is impressing me each day and Josh's handwriting is so much better this year.  So, even in those cray days, God has a purpose and we have a great calling as keepers of our homes.
I hope this encourages you to keep leaning on the Lord each day whether a great day or One of Those Days . . .

First Day of School

We've been counting down to this day with a lot of anticipation and it has finally arrived.

Our first day of school was a lot of fun.  The first few weeks of school in any curriculum tends to be basic review so I decided to add some fun review games to make it more fun.  Obviously, the kids enjoyed it.  Hudson and the twins played a review game with our colors.  I would call a name and a color.  When your name is called, you get to find the color paintbrush and match it to the paint bucket.  The little ones thought this was great fun. 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is one of our favorite books.   We listened to the audiobook version and Hudson played a letter matching game that goes with the book.  The coconut trees have upper or lower case letters printed on them.  Hudson had a bag of coconuts with the coordinating upper or lower case letters on them to match to the trees.

We started our numbers study with a fun book about the number zero and a counting review.  We also reviewed how to read a calendar and started our weather graphing chart..

After beginning our science study of insects, Josh and Joy reviewed sentences with a fun capitalization pocket chart game.  We had fun reading a few of our new readers together and I am thrilled with Joy's improvement over the summer.  We are going to have three awesome readers this year.  Overall, the Lord blessed us with an amazing first day of school.