Hands On!

I love a classroom with plenty of variety; don't you?  I enjoy adding review games, fun projects, silly songs, group activities, anything to our day to make it a little more fun and keep us all on our toes.  Of course, school can't all be fun and games.  I do have to have a couple of papers to submit for our work samples and I do need to be able to grade a few things to submit for our progress reports.  I know, I know, but anytime I can add some variety to our school day is a fun day for all of us.  I have really enjoyed using our measurement centers from Lakeshore Learning with the kids this year.  These centers include lots of fun hands-on activities for measuring length, weight, and volume.  The activites are for preschool through 2nd grade, but I added some extra information to each lesson to make it applicable for Joy and Josh (3rd & 4th grade) too.

When we studied (a.k.a. played with) the length measurement center, Josh and Joy would make estimations about each activity using standard and metric measurement.  The would also make predictions and then compare the final results with their prediction to see how they did.  It was a great way to make an activity geared toward the little ones apply for all of us.

Today, we measured volume (played in the water during class).  Josh and Joy predicted outcomes based on measurements and estimations.  Since we are measuring the volume of different measuring cups it was also a good chance to review fractions.  We talked about how containers of different shapes can vary in their volume.  Things that look very different can sometimes have similar capacity.  It is also a great chance to review these important math vocabulary terms with the older kids.  I love having multiple grades all together and enjoying our hands on learning!

What is With this Kid?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever thought to themselves, "what is with this kid?"  Especially about my kids!  Teaching my kids each day gives me tremendous opportunity to really get to know them.  To understand their individual abilities, quirks, gifts, and talents.  This school year has taught me a lot about my kids, especially Hudson.  Hudson is incredibly smart, maybe too smart.  He reads everything he sees.  Which sometimes makes me crazy.  In church, he likes to read everything, very loudly!  When we have missionary presentations in the service, he always reads everything on the video or powerpoint presentation out loud.  If you know Hudson, his out loud is very loud!  He reads Joy's work, he tries to read Josh's work.  I'm floundering trying to find him reading material on his level that is also challenging.  He makes our class day exciting for sure.

He's progressing faster than the curriculum in most areas, so it is challenging trying to be sure that his work is on-level for him and that we aren't missing anything along the way.  He's in love with LEGO science and he is great at it.  While I was terribly sick, I told him I would get up and do one design with him and then we would put it away.  It was all I could do to stay up long enough to complete that one project.  Later that day, when I had rested a while, I went to the classroom to discover he had put together the rest of the LEGO machines on his own without instructions, he simply built it to look like the picture on the box.  I wish I could do that!  A college degree does not necessarily mean a person is capable of constructing basic machinery out of plastic building blocks.  I know I can barely manage to complete a project even with the instructions.

To make this child of mine even more interesting, I discovered this year that he is left-handed.  He is ambidextrous when he does most things, but as soon as we started writing or coloring this year, he would pick up a pencil with his right hand and immediately put it in his left and start to work.  I was really stunned at first.  I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before, but he really is ambidextrous with just about everything else.  Sometimes using his left, sometimes his right.  He is definitely a lefty when it comes to school work though.  Love my Little Lefty!  I also love how God shows us new things about the children entrusted to us each day.  I love those gentle moments when I can see Christ in their lives and how blessed I am that God shared them with me and put them in our home.  There is something so special about children, students, family, friends, they all seem to teach us about Christ each in a different way. 

'For of such is the kingdom of God'

Art Projects

I love art.  I enjoy art history.  I like drawing and painting.  I enjoy paper crafts, sewing, etc . . . Still, when it comes to planning art projects for the kids, it is way down on my priority list.  Besides, the boys aren't really thrilled about it most of the time.  Just trying to get them to color when their papers require it is like pulling teeth (or worse).  Josh hated coloring so much in Kindergarten that I had to find alternate work papers for him to do when the curriculum called for coloring.  He just hated to color.  Then, we have the girls in our house.  Girly girls, that's what they are.  The only thing better than coloring for them is when you get to add glitter, glue, sparkles, or sequins to your project (or anything really, sparkles make everything better.)  3 girls who want to color everything, 2 boys who don't want to color anything, and 1 teacher who doesn't do art projects.  This is not a good equation for art class.  I needed help.

I set aside a portion of our classroom allotment this year and purchased quite a few craft kits.  This way, all the planning is done for me.  Everything is prepared and ready to go - no planning and no preparation.  That's the best kind.

We've done a few of these so far and I must say that they've inspired me to do more.  The response from the kids has been phenomenal - even the boys!  We did a project painting suncatchers.  I thought it would be something the boys really would not like at all and I was preparing myself to do battle with them.  To my amazement, they loved it.  Josh did such an amazing job with it.  He went so far as to paint tiny pin-size dots into the stripes on his suncatcher.  I guess I'll be doing more fun art projects this year and incorporating art history and art appreciation as well.



Not the Best Start Ever . . .

I knew this year was going to be a challenge.  I was up for the challenge.  Bethany and Brittany both starting K5?  I was prepared.  Josh making some major additions to his daily work requirements?  I was prepared for that too.  Making classroom activities engaging for five year olds and a ten year old together?  I could handle it.  After all, I've been teaching for years.  This is our fifth year homeschooling and I was ready.  I had it all under control.  I had a plan.  I had a schedule.  I was organized, ready, and even excited about starting this school year.

We were going to start early this year.  Even earlier than we did last year.  So we did.  I got the classroom ready.  I laid out our first semester in the plan book and we were set to go.  We had a fabulous start of school.  Awesome pictures for my scrapbooks on the first day.  Lots of fun projects including literature, science, writing, and art.  It was going to be a great year.  Then, by Wednesday, I had 3 kids with a stomach virus.  By Friday, we were all sick in bed.  No problem, minor setback.  I could handle it.  We took a week off to disinfect the house from top to bottom and rest up.  Then something else came up and we didn't get back to our regular school schedule for two more weeks.  It was okay though, we were still ahead of schedule and moving along well.  Then, it was bronchitis.  Then, pneumonia.  Then, another stomach virus.  The list could go on and on.  It seemed every time we started back to a regular school schedule, something happened. 

Now, here it is, the end of November and I feel hopelessly behind.  We are finishing up our seventh week of regular classwork, so we are really not completely behind, but it sure feels like it.  So, what has this school year taught me?  Well, quite a lot actually.

I have learned that the teacher should never stop learning either.  No matter how long I teach, there is always something new for me to learn.

I am learning to lean on the Lord even more.

I have learned that the world goes on even when I'm too weak to take care of those things that "just won't get done around here if I'm not constantly busy".

I have learned that sick or well, happy or sad, scheduled or chaotic, our home is a blessed place to be and I am thankful for that.

I have learned that my children are compassionate and caring.  When I've been sick, they have helped each other and showed kindness to me.

I have learned (again) that learning happens outside the classroom too.

I have learned that God wants us to 'be still' sometimes (even when we don't want to).

It isn't how you start, it's how you finish that matters.  Staying faithful when things are difficult is what is important.

I also learned that God can take my failures and chaos and turn them into something good if I will just give up my 'control' over it.  So that is my prayer this year.  Lord, take my life, my home, my goals, my children.  Make them what You would have them to be.  Mold my plans to Yours and let Your love shine through me.

So this is our theme song this year:

Are we down-hearted?

No, No, No

Are we down-hearted?

No, No, No

Troubles may come

And troubles may go

I'll trust in Jesus

Come wheel or woe

Are we down-hearted?

Are we down-hearted?

No! No! No!

Great Deals for Homeschoolers or Families Who Love Books!

Wow!  It has been a really long time since I've posted anything new here.  I really need to get back into the routine that a regular school week provides.  We are not quite to the starting point for our school year yet.   We've been blessed to have a lot of family time this summer with Daddy having a lot of days off to spend with us.  As a family, we've decided that those days spent together are more profitable than extra days in the classroom.  So, the new plan is to officially start school on September 10th. 
In the meantime,  this teacher has a lot of preparations to make for the school year to be a success for all of us.  I wanted to share with everyone a few fabulous nationwide programs that are open to homeschoolers.  I would also suggest these programs for any family.  If your child's classroom isn't involved, suggest it to their teacher.  These are tremendous programs and they are cheap or free (that's my favorite kind)!
Pizza Hut BookIt program is a great reading program.  You set the reading goal for your students each month.  Pizza Hut provides coupons for free personal pan pizzas for each student each month of the school year.  The program offers online trackers to keep track of pages read or minutes read.  I prefer to print out a list and mark off our reading goals on paper or a chart, but the online tracker is fun too.  Just click on the link and fill out the form to get your BookIt coupons. 

Homeschool BookIt Enrollment Form:
http://www.formstack.com/forms/bookitprogram-201213_homeschool_enrollment_form

Another great value for any family is the Scholastic Book Club program.  Homeschoolers can sign up for the program if they register as a teacher and just select Home school from the choices at the end of the registration.  Scholastic Book Clubs offer great books at amazing prices.  In addition, they offer free shipping on orders $20 and over, you earn points for all purchases, and they offer tremendous promotions throughout the year.  The current promotion is $15 to spend if you spend $20 and 10 coupons for free books (up to $4.99 each) with your first order.  To spend your free $15, add $20 worth of items to your cart, then select your rewards at the top of the page to spend your extra $15. 
The only problem I've had with the Scholastic Book Club is being overwhelmed with the selection.  There are books for every age group and reading level.  There are audio books, e-books, chapter books, picture books.  This year, I purchased multiples of several classic chapter books for my oldest two to read aloud with me.  Charlotte's Web was only $1 and the Sarah Plain and Tall trilogy was only $7.99.  I am also purchasing multiple copies of the Little House on the Prairie series and the Chronicles of Narnia. 
You can also request fliers for your child's age group.  Kids love to look through the pages and choose their own books.

Scholastic Book Club Registration:

https://clubs2.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/LogonForm


I'm thrilled about starting back to school this year.  I am excited about sharing the blessings (and chaos) of our year through this blog.  If you would like to share your homeschool experiences, ask a question, or make a suggestion, please leave me a comment or write a note.  I'd love to hear about your homeschool or classroom experiences too!

Confessions of An Addict

Admitting you have a problem is the first step, right?

I've never admitted this to anyone before, but I have a secret addiction.  I love books.  Ahhh . . . Felt good to finally say that.  I love books!  I love picture books, chapter books, fiction, non-fiction, reference, romance, mystery, comedy, tragedy.  I love it all.  I don't really collect anything (except dust-bunnies), but I have so many books that I've filled our two coat closets in the entry-way, two bookshelves in the living room, the storage cabinet in the laundry room, a couple of my kitchen cabinets, and a few storage shelves in the garage as well.  And I'm still out looking for more.  I love adding new authors, titles, and genres to our school library each year as the children grow and learn and develop new interests.  I love going to the bookstore, finding new deals on ebay, and adding to our collection via Amazon too.  I have a serious problem.  I know.  I love it.

Yesterday, the Lord sent me an extra special blessing (in the form of books).  I only had the twins with me so we went to a used/new bookstore in Anchorage.  They sell Saxon books, so I picked up our math curriculum for next year.  They had lots of wonderful books to add to our curriculum, so I was having a blast selecting books.  When I went to the counter to checkout, I gave my name and number to put my school items on hold until the curriculum fair next week.  This way, I'm able to purchase the items I need through our charter school without paying out-of-pocket for them.  I had an ABeka book to buy as well which is not covered by our charter school.  When I was trying to pay for that book, the cashier told me that I had an $80.00 credit in my name.  I was very confused.  I had never shopped there before.  Apparantly, the orders I had placed at the curriculum fair the last 3 years had earned credit that I didn't know about.  I was so excited.  I bought the ABeka book I needed and chose a brand new boxed set of Beverly Clearly chapter books for Josh and Joy.  $80.00 worth of books for free!  That had to be directly from my Heavenly Father! 

I Wasn't Prepared . . .

Josh was prepared for our first year of testing (Standards Based Assessments).  We had practiced with fun review games.  We had studied with online interactive games.  We had worked on the practice tests.  We had talked about what it would be like.  Josh got out his clothes the night before.  He packed his bag with a snack, a drink, and plenty of no. 2 pencils.  He set his alarm clock and went to bed early.  We got up in plenty of time.  Papa arrived early to stay with the younger children.  Josh and I had a great time getting breakfast on the way.  It was what happened when we got to the testing location that I wasn't prepared for.  I had emotionally prepared myself for Josh to be hesisitant about going into this strange place with hundreds of other kids and teachers he had never met.  I was ready for him to hold my hand tightly and his eyes to fill up with tears while he asked me if I could please stay with him.  Unfortunately, it was much, much worse than that.  In fact, well, it is almost too awful to tell.. .

As we sat in the van finishing our breakfast, Josh watched as all the kids poured toward the front entrance.  Then, he tells me that he's not hungry anymore and can't finish his food.  As I wrap up his leftovers and tuck them away, he tells me, "Okay, see ya later, Mom!"  WAIT!  I am not ready for this.  I had prepared myself for a difficult goodby when I had to leave him there in his classroom.  Instead, he was fine just leaving me in the van.  It was more than I could take.  I choked back my tears and told him, "No, I think I should go in too."  We walked in, I signed him in and left my contact information, and it happened again.  He took off towards his class with a quick, "Bye Mom!"  I took off to catch up with him while he explained to me that he knew where he was going and I could go ahead and leave.  Somehow, seeing him talk to his teacher, sit down at a table, and start talking to people at his table made it feel even more final.  He didn't need me.  At least, not right at this moment.  He was prepared, I was not.

Yes, I left in tears; wouldn't you?  Still, it was a great day for both of us.  I grew up a little and so did he.  I see him differently now than I did then.  Yes, he's my baby.  He always will be, but the truth is that I gave him to the Lord a long time ago and these little baby steps are God's gentle way of teaching me to trust him with my children even when they aren't in my immediate care.  I'm thankful that they are never outside of God's care.  As they grow they need to become more independent from me.  My prayer is that they will become more dependent on God with each step of their life and that I will lean on God's strength when I'm unprepared for the steps they each will take . . . steps that take them away from me even just a little.