Archives for August 2013

Look Whooooo’s Flying…

Into A New School Year!

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First Day Photos
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Our youngest one keeps telling me, “Mama, your baby growed up.”  Yes, little guy, I think you are all growing up way too fast!  This year we have a new middle school student (entering 6th grade), a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, a kindergartener, and a preschooler…

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‘Flying’ themed activities – injecting some fun into our first week

At the start of each school year, I enjoy coming up with a theme that coordinates with some aspect of what our family will be learning throughout the new year.   It helps to build excitement in the kids (and, honestly, this mama, too).  =)   This year, as you might have guessed from the above photos, our theme was all things that fly!

 

A Special First Day Surprise Themed Breakfast…
Yes, this homeschool mom served her kids cupcakes for breakfast on the first day of school!  And, as you can tell from their sweet faces, it was a hit! 
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Dragonflies (This craft idea is from First Palette.)
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Marshmallow Shooters (This quick, simple, and fun idea was shared at Come Together Kids.)DSC_5333 (2) DSC_5342 (2)

A challenging bird puzzle for the older kids to work on gradually…bird puzzle

A footprint robin for the younger kids…
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And, finally, we put up a bird feeder in order to learn how to become bird watchers (AKA ‘The Bird Detectives’)…
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Yes, we really are ‘flying’ into a new school year here!

 

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This post is part of the 5th annual “Not” Back-To-School Blog Hop over at the iHomeschool Network.  This is Student Photos Week!

Homeschooling ~ Apartment Style

In the spring of this year, our family of seven made a move and traded a 4,000+ sq foot home for a (temporary) 900+ sq foot furnished apartment.  Much to my surprise and delight, the children have adjusted quite quickly and fairly well to a much smaller space!

 Apartment School - old space Apartment school  
partial view of previous space   vs.    main apartment area

 

So, what does homeschooling look like within our new ‘limited’ space?

Materials:

Items less frequently used are organized in storage tubs in our closet…
(um…out of sight)

Items needed for our daily school routine are on a bookcase in the living room…(There wasn’t a bookcase here when we arrived, but it was the first thing I knew we had to have in order to stay organized!)

Apartment school books (2)

Workboxes (which are still working well for us!) stored in a corner near the kitchen table…Apartment School 13Apartment School 14

  

       

Children and Workspaces:

Kitchen Table…
Just as in our larger home, the kitchen table is multi purpose – suitable for any type of seatwork, crafts, science experiments, etc.

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Living room couch and chair…
Couches to curl up on and read together are great whatever the size of your living space!  The kids love to sit and do other work here, too.

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Bedrooms…
Our larger home offered various locations to spread out and get away from distractions of others talking and younger siblings playing.  In an apartment, those respite spots are few and far between.  So, the kids have discovered that their bedroom can sometimes serve as a slightly quieter place for reading, work that needs more concentration, or for Bible memory.  Our slightly larger master bedroom is even turned into an area for the older kids to listen and discuss their history lesson and enjoy read alouds as their younger siblings watch something or play in the main living room.  It’s not an ideal set up, but it works!

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Some play bins for the little guy…
Having his Little People, Magna Tiles, building blocks, a few puzzles, some play food, playdough, and his loving big siblings have been essential for our youngest one during our transition to apartment living and school.

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Kitchen…
Our galley kitchen is a tight squeeze for all of our many helpers.  However, we are able to do some science experiments in here and by rotating who gets to help, we are creating new opportunities for budding dishwashers and meal helpers to have side by side time with mom.
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Outside…
After being what our kids call ‘cramped’ and ‘stuffy’ in the apartment, letting them bike, run, and play can make a world of difference between subjects!  Even just allowing -or encouraging- them to sit on the porch while completing a subject can help them get some fresh air and breathing room.

Apartment School Challenges:

Among all of the activity within close quarters, trying to figure out how to help a child who tends to get more easily distracted than the others to focus has been a new challenge.

The noise level can be deafening at times. (Oh…our poor neighbors.)

I’ve realized that there  are several items that are packed away in storage that we should have left out to assist with school…and I’m learning to be flexible and to adjust what we can do right now without them.

 

Apartment School Blessings:

The simplicity of knowing where everyone and everything is with one quick glance is nice! =)

I’ve learned that there are lots of items packed away in storage that we now know we no longer need.  We’re learning what our necessary basics are and can look forward to being free to purge some more once those items arrive!

 

What I want to remember during this time of ‘Homeschooling ~ Apartment Style’:

Don’t let the space of your home (or lack thereof) be a deterrent to your call to homeschool.  It isn’t about the ‘stuff’ (good as it may be) as much as it is about building solid, healthy, Christ-centered relationships and interactions.  We’re not as likely to forget that goal while living in a smaller space!

God’s hand is in our homeschooling adventure – regardless of where we live.  I am once again reminded that I and our family are in the palm of His loving hand and we can do this in His strength!

Amidst all the quirks and adjustments to living and schooling in a much smaller space, God is the One who has granted me contentment during this season and I thank Him.

 

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This post is part of the 5th annual “Not” Back-To-School Blog Hop over at the iHomeschool Network.  Come see where other homeschoolers ‘do school’!

Our 2013-2014 Curriculum

My husband posted on Facebook the other day that I was ‘sniffing the school books’.  LOL!  I didn’t comment, but, yes, it was true!  Our new (and used) school books have been arriving gradually over the last few weeks.   I’ve been finalizing curriculum choices, pouring over the books we’ve received, creating corresponding materials as needed, and hammering out tentative yearly schedules. 

More importantly, I’ve been  praying about our upcoming school year as our children enter 6th, 4th, 2nd, Kindergarten, and preschool.  In all honesty, I am nervous as we start this school year. We recently moved to another state with different homeschool regulations.  Most of our belongings are still in storage (including some school items I was hoping to use this year).  Our family is living in an apartment, and we are anticipating one more move later this fall to a neighboring state.  I am trying to release my fears and expectations to the One who is completely in control.  Please pray that He would calm my anxious heart. It is only through His strength that I can love my family and nurture them in the areas God wants them to develop this year.

So, amidst the frenzy of organizing and preparing, I hold my plans a little more loosely this year, predicting that God will once again be growing me in the area of flexibility.  With prayer, eyes to my Savior, and perhaps some dark chocolate in hand, we venture into another year of learning…

 

Subjects our oldest three can do together!

History / Geography

For history this year, we plan to use Mystery of History: Creation to Resurrection!  We have the CD audio and the challenge cards.  I decided to forgo the notebooking sheets, but I did schedule additional historical read alouds and readers to correspond with the spine as well as portions of Evan Moor’s History Pockets (Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome).

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History Read AloudsHistory Read Alouds (above) and Readers (below)History Readings 

We are also looking forward to delving into learning about current events through on grade level reading and discussion of God’s World News.


 

Science

Our new home state is filled with trees and has more birds and insects than I ever remember seeing in our former state.  So, what a perfect time to use Apologia’s Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (with the coordinating notebook)!  We will also be beginning bird watchers with our field guides in hand!  Additionally, we plan to incorporate some fun reading with The Burgess Bird Book and use our Companion Notebook to draw and write about the birds.

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Bible and Devotions

  • Our choice for devotionals this year are related to our history text/time periods – Jashub’s Journal and The Ten Commandments.
  • For apologetics, we plan to use Apologia’s Who Is God?

 

Additional Read Alouds
  
YWAM missionary stories of our choice (We LOVE these!)

 

 

Grade Specific Reading / Language Arts /Math

our 6th grader…

  • Literature-  Memoria Press (Anne of Green Gables, Treasure Island, The Bronze Bow, The Hobbit)
  • Reading – related history reading and free choice reading
  • Joyful Heart Spelling Skills  and heading into the study of prefixes, suffixes, and Greek/Latin roots
  • Writing and Grammar:  BJU English and Writing 6
  • Scripture Memorization – Ephesians
  • Horizons Math (completing 5 and part 1 of 6th)
  • Xtra Math
  • AWANA – 4th year T&T and being a Leader in Training with the preschool Gopher Buddies class
  • Violin

 

our 4th grader…

  • Literature-  Memoria Press (Heidi; The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; Lassie Come Home)
  • Reading – related history reading, Abeka readers, free choice reading
  • Joyful Heart Spelling Skills  and then Rod and Staff (5th grade)
  • Writing and Grammar:  BJU English and Writing 4
  • Scripture Memorization and Cursive Handwriting – Exodus 20:1-17 (10 Commandments)
  • Horizons Math 4
  • Xtra Math
  • AWANA – 2nd year T&T
  • Violin

 

our 2nd grader…

  • Reading-  ABeka readers(3rd/4th), related history reading, as well as free choice reading on his own
  • Phonics – Explode the Code (completing books 7-8)
  • Joyful Heart Spelling Skills 
  • Writing and Grammar:  BJU English and Writing 2
  • Horizons Math 2 (continuation from last year) and moving into 3
  • Xtra Math
  • Scripture Memorization and Manuscript Handwriting – Exodus 20:1-17 (10 Commandments)
  • Handwriting – beginning cursive second semester
  • AWANA – 3rd year Sparks

 

our Kindergartener…

  • Reading – ABeka readers (k/1), MFW Bible Reader + notebook
  • Phonics – Explode the Code 1/2, MFW Phonics WB
  • Scripture Based Handwriting, Sight Words, and Copywork (to correspond with her Exodus memory work)
  • Horizons Math K/1
  • Science – The World God Made, Our Father’s World, Cut and Paste Science (grades 1-3), Science Learning Journal
  • Social Studies – theme/unit studies
  • Scripture Memorization (Exodus 20:1-17)
  • AWANA – 1st year Sparks
  • Questions With Answers Vol 1: God and Creation from Songs for Saplings (to listen to at ‘rest’ time)
  • Pianimals piano practice (with her big sister overseeing her ;-) )

our 3 year old preschooler…

  • Preschool 2 mornings a week
  • Gopher Buddies Bible Club
  • lots of play!

 

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Would you like to see our previous year’s curriculum choices?
2012-2013 (5th, 3rd, 1st, PreK, 2 year old)
2011-2012 (4th, 2nd, K, 3’s preschool, toddler)
2010-2011 (3rd, 1st, PreK, 2 year old, 4 mo old baby)
2009-2010 (2nd, K, 3’s preschool, toddler, baby arrived end of year)
2008-2009 (1st, PreK, 2 year old, 6 mo old baby)
2007-2008 (K, 3’s preschool, toddler, baby arrived mid year)
2006-2007 (PreK, 2 year old, 7 mo old baby) – Joyful Heart Character
2005-2006 (3’s preschool, toddler, baby arrived mid year) – Joyful Heart Bible and Rhyme
2004-2005 (2 year old, 6 mo old baby) – Joyful Heart Learning

 

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Need a boost of confidence to get started?  Come get a glimpse of my journey…
Homeschooling ~ Embarking on a Journey

 

This post is part of the 5th annual “Not” Back-To-School Blog Hop over at the iHomeschool Network.  This week, homeschoolers near and far are sharing their curriculum choices for this coming school year!

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