Our School Area

Once again I am participating in the blog hop over at ihomeschoolnetwork.com

This week is all about school rooms.  We do not have a school room.  I wish I did but that is not an option for now.  We live in a small apartment but our kitchen and living room is one big room. We do most of our school at the kitchen table and some on the floor and couch.

This is our school wall.  It is right by our front door.  We have our calendar, weather, We Choose Virtues, Flag, Bible verse, and daily schedule.  I didn't take a picture of it but we also have things all down the short hallway we have to the bedrooms.  We have a world map, art work and various posters.

To keep us organized I have the kids use a modified workbox system.  We are lacking in space so each of them has a box like this, that I got a Walmart.

Here is Tiger Boy's box.  The blue folders he has to work with me and the white folders he can do by himself.

This is Sugar Plum's box.  She knows what she needs me for and so I didn't worry about color coding hers.

This is our toy/school closet. It is right next to the table in the living room.

This is the top part of the closet. It has games, craft supplies, playdough, manipulatives, and a remote control truck. :)

The middle section has more games, puzzles, preschool games and file folder games.

The bottom is books, cars, rubbermaid containers of Legos, dishes, puzzles, GI Joes, and animals. In the middle crate holds our library books.

 I also have curriculum on the top shelves of the bookcase in my daughter's bedroom.  She doesn't like this but there is nowhere else for it to go.

Also, in her room is a filing cabinet with extra stuff in it that we may need.

2013-2014 Curriculum Choices

We started school on Monday of this week and so I thought I'd post our curriculum choices for this year.

Sugar Plum is in 3rd grade, Tiger Boy is in Kindergarten, and Copper Top is almost 2 and into everything. We are using My Father's World: Exploring Countries and Cultures as our core this year.

Sugar Plum's Curriculum

Bible: Devotional, Daily Bible reading through the New Testament, and MFW Bible.

Reading: We are reading books from the Library and doing book reports.  We are also using Abeka Read and Think Skill Sheets 3.

Grammar: Easy Grammar 3

Spelling:  All About Spelling We are starting in Level 1 this year to help with some gaps in her spelling. I am really excited about using this with her.

Handwriting: Cursive Connections as recommended by MFW.

Math: Teaching Textbooks  She is starting in Level 4 where she tested into.

Geography: Studying Countries and Cultures around the world from MFW.

Science: Studying Ecosystems of the countries we study from MFW.

Music: Wee Sing Music from MFW.

Art: Global Art from MFW.

Tiger Boy's Curriculum


Bible: Devotional and MFW Bible.

Phonics: Abeka Letters & Sounds K5

Handwriting: I made my own booklet from old worksheets I had.

Math: Abeka Numbers K5

Geography: Studying Countries and Cultures around the world from MFW.

Science: Studying Ecosystems of the countries we study from MFW.

Music: Wee Sing Music from MFW.

Art: Global Art from MFW.

Copper Top's Curriculum

Anything and everything he wants to play with and discover.  We are reading books, playing with manipulatives, puzzles, blocks, balls, ect.  His favorite thing right now is Do-a-dot markers.


Hop on over to the ihomeschool network to see what other people have chosen for this year.

Getting Ready

I'm busy getting ready for another school year.  We will begin our school year on August 5.  Sugar Plum will be in 3rd grade and Tiger Boy will be in Kindergarten. I am using a hodgepodge of curriculum for this coming year. I am tying to get everything organized and all together to start.

Making Changes

A few weeks ago I wrote about my need to tweak things in our curriculum.  Well, I have been doing just that.  I have been researching math curriculums and have made a change for next year.  We will be switching from Horizons to Math U See.  I think it will be a much better fit for Sugar Plum. She does well at math but does not enjoy the paper work.  I think the switch will be good for her.

I also bought Spelling Power which I am very excited to begin using.  I need to learn more about it but I plan on starting it in a week or two.

I still plan on using Abeka for phonics for Tiger Boy when he starts K in the fall.  I think it provides an excellent foundation for reading and decoding words even if it can be a bit dry at times.  I also plan on starting with Math U See for him too.

I think I could look at curriculum all day and somedays I get overwhelmed by all that is out there but I want to make good decisions for my kids.  I think the hardest part for me is admitting that something didn't work and making the change.  But, if I want my kids to be the best learners that they can I know it is something I have to be willing to do.

Veggie Tales: The Litte House That Stood

Once again it is time for a Veggie Tales Review and GIVEAWAY!!

My kids were so excited when we got the newest Veggie Tales DVD in the mail. 

Here is the synopsis of the DVD:

The Wise Pig Built His House Upon the Rock!

When the Three Little Pigs roll into town looking to build some new houses, they meet one builder with a plan and two without a clue!  Larry builds with hay, Mr. Lunt builds with bricks, but only Bob builds his houses on a firm foundation - following the wise plans from the "Master Builder's Handbook!"   Will they choose the right builder that will keep their houses - and their lives - on solid ground?  Find out in this pig's tale that shows kids that when we follow God's blueprints, we can make the right choices!  PLUS:  Ever wonder what happened before Humpty cracked?  Find out in this very Veggie retelling of the classic Humpty Dumpty story in "The Good Egg of Gooseville".

Click here to watch the trailer.

The story was so cute and fun.  We all enjoyed it.  The Silly Song "Happy Tooth Day is funny.  I love how the Veggies are teaching my kids principles from God's word in a fun way.

Sugar Plum (age 7): It was funny. My favorite part was when a lady was walking in a bit of rain and every one ran past her screaming.  It taught you to build things strong like being strong in the Lord.  Build your house on the Rock. The second story was about being caring and helpful.

Tiger Boy (age 5): I think it was funny. I like the boy piggy with a goatee. I learned that building is a really big job. 

Copper Top (18 months): bum, bum, dada, there's dada, no. (I had to add his review too)

I highly recommend this and other Veggie Tales videos to you and your family. I know you will enjoy them as much as I do.   

When you pre-order The Little House that Stood DVD at store.veggietales.com, you get to choose a free DVD! Plus, we are offering free shipping when you use the code HOUSE.

When you purchase The Little House that Stood DVD at your local Walmart you will receive  a FREE 24-piece The Little House that Stood puzzle! 

GIVEAWAY!

Veggie Tales is giving away a copy of this great new DVD to one of my readers.  All you need to do is comment saying which Veggie Tales movie is your favorite.  

The giveaway will end on Saturday, February 23, at 8 pm.  I will pick a winner using random.org so be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.

Tweaking

Homeschooling is a journey.  It is confusing, rewarding, tough, challenging, nerve racking, and fun.  It has been an interesting journey for me so far as a mom/teacher.  I was super excited when Sugar Plum began kindergarten 2 years ago.  We had fun units planned, we did lots of crafts, and we even went on field trips to learn things.

Fast forward to December of 2010 and a positive pregnancy test shook things up a bit.  The rest of that year went smoothly but with a few less fun creative things than the first half had as I was battling morning sickness and fatigue. Then came the fall of 2011, Sugar Plum was ready to start first grade and so we began when Copper Top was 3 weeks old.  I was wiped out most of the time.  I was just trying to survive most days.  We didn't have much fun that year. I had a good solid curriculum in place and we got through it each day.  Learning happened but it was not always fun.

As we began this new school year for 2012 and 2nd grade I was hopeful.  We had switched a major part of our curriculum to My Father's World and I was hoping for great things.  We are all loving MFW it has been a God send on easy planning and the simplicity of doing things each day.  We figured out how to do school each day with a toddler, and 2 preschoolers in the way (I baby sit my nephew). Once again learning was happening but some of the fun was missing.

Recently, I have been taking a look at our journey and how things are going.  I don't want Sugar Plum to think school time is boring.  I want her to enjoy it.  I have started tweaking things to make it more fun again.  I am not a one full of creativity.  I like to have a set curriculum to follow so I know where we are headed.  I recently set aside our language arts curriculum and switched to something new.  I am hoping it will help with the major complaining that was happening. I have also tried to start adding in more math games to make math more fun again too.

This journey for me is interesting.  I have to learn to adapt and change how I teach and what I do so that my kids are learning the most that they can.  I think that is the hard part for me. I want things to keep working the way they are because change is hard.  I am learning that tweaking things is a good thing.  So, here's to tweaking. :)

Saddened but Rejoicing

This is not really about homeschooling but it is about something that affects our lives.  On Thursday evening our family lost someone very special.

Our nephew Nick went to be with the Lord. He had endured a long hard fought second battle with cancer in his short 20 years.  It tried to take everything from him but Nick's faith stood firm in the Lord.  We will miss him.  We are saddened for our loss but rejoicing that Nick is with his Savior forever.

Nick holding Copper Top when he was born.

Nick snuggling with Sugar Plum and Tiger Boy.

We watched Nick grow into an incredible young man with purpose and integrity. It saddens me to know that my children will grow up without knowing him.  He was a great cousin to the kids.  He was a friend to my husband and me.  We will miss him but know that we will see him again.