10. March 2010 by Shannon.

Things have changed so much since I posted last, even being that it was in January and we’re only in March.  I’ve had a little bit of a homeschool mom nervous breakdown over … I’m not sure, just life in general I guess.  Anyhow, we had to change things up when the Bigs got back from England (in mid-February) so we did the Amanda Bennett unit on the Vancouver 2010 Olympics as a whole “little schoolhouse” group… Bigs and Littles (obviously working on different levels)… and it brought back some very good memories of unit studies of the past.  So, I decided that maybe I needed (for this season) to focus on the Unit Study approach. 

Now, I like Amanda Bennett’s studies, but I absolutely LOVE Brandenburg Studies… they are absolutely excellent… very rich and research oriented.  Totally adaptable to upper grades (just expect a little more, that’s all.. the research is so open-ended in layout).  I love that they come with a schedule that you can print for your older student which not only serves as a “keep on task list” for them, but an outline of what they’re learning about for Mom (or a curious Dad?).  So, with that in mind, here is a little update on what we’re up to in this thing called homeschooling.

The Bigs:

Math: Ev is doing Math-U-See Algebra 1 (yes, he’s behind in math, but it was because the program he was using wasn’t making the math “stick” in his brain the way it should have, so we switched to MUS mid-year), and Kenzi is doing MUS Pre-Algebra.

Science: right now we’re just starting a Brandenburg Studies on Cell Biology

History:  another Brandenburg Study on Robin Hood and the Crusades

Writing and grammar come into those units, as I assess the work that they do.

The Littles:

Math: Greyson is doing AOP’s Horizons math grade 1, and Chaeli is doing Kindergarten

Grammar: First Language Lessons (both together)

Penmanship: A Reason for Handwriting (G is on book A, Ch on book K)

Writing: Writing With Ease level 1 for both Littles)

Phonics: Explode the Code (G on book 2, Ch on book C)

Spelling (and phonics practice): All About Spelling level 1

Social Studies: Story of the World book 1 (Ancient Times) plus the activity guide for maps/colouring pages

It sounds like the Littles are doing much more than the Bigs, but the Bigs’ work takes much longer, and the Littles lessons are often really short and go rather quickly. 

So far things are working… next year I’ll be changing things for the Bigs… I’m considering switching to Switched on Schoolhouse by Alpha Omega for them both.  Not completely decided, but it’s looking good to me, it grades almost everything (except essay questions, but then gives me guidelines with which to grade).  It sounds too good to be true, but I do have a Very Good Friend who uses it with her two daughters and she loves it (and they don’t even mind school anymore!).  SO… we’ll have to see where this goes.

So that’s where we’re at… what are YOU up to?

Blessings!

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11. October 2008 by Shannon.

I posted this review on my www.momlovesbooks.com blog… but it’s worth sharing here as well. 

Having been at this ‘Homeschooling Thing’ for 10 years now… I know the fears, doubts and frustrations with starting out… or restarting homeschooling. I’ve had the “homeschooled since birth” experience as well as the “yank ‘em out of school fast” experience, as well as one “he’ll finish up the year and that’s the end of that” experience. And every single time it comes with that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling of

NOW WHAT?!

Well, a friend of mine, Terri Johnson, came up with a wonderful answer! She’s created an ABC’s of Homeschooling E-Course (oh, and btw, I’m not the ‘brightest bulb in the house’ as it took me to lesson F to realise that she was indeed going through the Alphabet - even the fact that there were 26 weeks to the course didn’t tip me off… *oh brother*).

Ahem! Back to what Terri did…

Imagine walking hand-in-hand with a Veteran Homeschooling Mom who is there helping you week-by-week to plan what you will be doing…

Imagine being introduced to all her Homeschool Veteran friends who want to bless you with gifts of curriculum and encouragement…

Imagine learning alongside your children, in a pleasant, RELAXED way…

Imagine knowing that what you will be learning and doing can be re-used and re-done a thousand times without wearing out either the learning or the fun…

Imagine developing your OWN Educational Philosophy (a lofty goal for some… but completely attainable!)…

Imagine having the time and know-how to create your own “Unit Study” geared to your children’s gifts and passions, or know that you can fully meet all Provincial or State requirements…

Or best of all - Imagine having the ANSWER when your neighbour asks “What about SOCIALIZATION?!”…

Would it be worth it to you to have this kind of help? Would you be willing to give up a cup of coffee at a Fancy Coffee Shop a week for it?

Well, Terri’s Homeschooling ABCs E-course costs as little as that… less than 2.50$ a week ( only $10 a month for 6 months)!!! And you’ll get lots of free goodies from Terri and her friends (your new friends!), not to mention the incredible opportunity to “sit at their feet” and soak up all their years of experience and wisdom!!

This course is worth every single penny, in my humble opinion… and I’ve seen lots of “ABC lists” for Homeschooling (or any other topic you might wish to research) and this is not just a list… each course comes in an email with a link to the Homeschooling ABCs Site with links for downloadable PDFs (which can be read/printed from the free Acrobat Reader ) and any links to your new Homeschool friends’ gifts to you (gifts totally hundreds of dollars, I might add.. nice friends, eh? *grin*). You’ll receive one course each week for (you guessed it… even if I didn’t! LOL!) 26 weeks… a whole Alphabet of weeks! :o)

One of the things I really REALLY liked about this course is that it was MUCH less intimidating than reading the ‘Guides to Homeschooling’ that are available in the market, and not full of all the “perfect homeschool - lookitus” mentality that can downright discourage a new homeschooler (heck, even a veteran like myself can be left wondering if I have what it takes in reaction to bragging like that!). This is not a collection of how all these wonderful things that happened when our kids got into “Ivy League schools on full scholarships the same year they won the Nobel Peace Prize just for being Homeschoolers” kind of encouragement - instead, it’s a PRACTICAL, HANDS-ON, WALK-YOU-THROUGH-IT-IN-BITE-SIZED-CHUNKS kind of encouragement. I like that kind! :o)

Terri (in case you don’t already know) is the talent behind Knowledge Quest Maps - she’s been homeschooling for at least 11 years - so she knows of what she speaks! I’ve had the priviledge of listening to web-seminars offered by her in the past, and her passion and vision is an inspiration.

So, If you are just starting out, or starting over - maybe what you are doing isn’t working and you’re ready to toss in the towel… WAIT! Don’t give up… think of Maria’s advice in The Sound of Music… “Let’s Start at the Very Begining, A Very Good Place to Start”… Well, Homeschooling ABCs E-Course will certainly get you off to a Very Good Place - and you might just hang that towel back on the hook (or better yet - why not wrap it around your head like a Pirate and chase the kids around the living room, fall laughing on the couch, pull our a copy of Peter Pan and snuggle down for a Good Read?).

Whatever you decide… don’t give up - just go back and learn your Homeschooling ABCs!

Posted in Great Ideas, Curriculum Choices, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | No Comments »

9. October 2008 by Shannon.

 Once again, you are all standing around scratchin’ yer noggins saying, “Huh?”  heehee….

A friend was wondering what to use that was more “Charlotte Mason Friendly” than a big science textbook (like Apologia).  I just wanted to share my reply to her concern here in case it blesses someone (else… I know my friend, Lori Lynn was blessed by it *smile*):

What we do for Science (using Aologia) is read Dr. Wile’s chapters together… very CM.  I read it to them, cuddled up on the couch, then we do the experiments together and have fun (I record my own lab sheet too!) and then we talk about the results before we move on to reading what Dr. Wile has written about “what was supposed to happen”.  We use a lapbook system for the “study questions” so they can quiz themselves effectively, then we do the test… it’s been very interactive.  I cannot imagine asking my kids to do that HUGE text alone… You can find some interactive hands-on materials for Apologia at Currclick  and you can get the lab kits at Sonlight (which can make a difference between facing the experiments confidently or not)… you can find them in the core 7 science they are called NSK and I’m not sure the other one, the other one is the one gears specifically for “General Science”)

I believe that almost anything can be done in a somewhat CM-y way… reading the lessons together and getting excited about it and discussing it with Dad ‘round the dinner table (narrations anyone?) cements the learning.  Don’t give up quite yet…

BUT…another resource (with the exception of the first course, which I recommend ONLY if you omit the last lesson) are the connect the thoughts science courses… they are thorough, however NOT faith based (and in my humble opinion it is impossible to separate the two and get a “good” science education… since a good researcher would go to the source of the thing they are studying, right?  Well, since God made everything, it seems logical to go to Him about His creation.  Ya know?).  However, from a completely “separate from God” point of view.. these are excellent.  They can also be done as a “read together” then “discuss the questions or do the projects together” kind of way, although it’d be a bit more challenging.  You can find them at also at Currclick.

High school science is tough… not tough to understand with the right “teacher”, but a tough “responsibility”… you don’t want to leave your kids short changed, yet it’s hard to make a not-text book type choice and be sure you’ve covered all the basics. 

I was also thinking, maybe ask around and see if anyone else in your homeschool community is doing the Apologia and see if maybe you guys could organize “group experiments” or something, your son might be more interested if he knows he’s not alone and has something to look forward to (getting together with some science buddies)?  I have the benefit of both my Bigs doing this science together with me, so it makes it a “mini-group” and we’ve had some fun “arguments” over what we think should happen or should HAVE happened (um, the balloon apparently wasn’t *supposed* to explode all over the kitchen – who knew?) and to discuss the lesson together.  

I hope you can find something that works for you…

Blessings!

Posted in LapBooks, Great Ideas, Curriculum Choices, General Homeschool | Print | 2 Comments »

29. September 2008 by Shannon.

Bonnie commented on my blog post about Connect the Thoughts from a Christian Worldview:

I am trying to find out some things about Steven David Horwich and Google brought me to this post. I found his curriculum on CurrClick. I am trying to determine if the curriculum is built upon the Scientology theme. Are you a Christian? What do you know of the religious theme of Connect the Thoughts? I tried to access the Yahoo group you mention in this entry but it was not available.

I wanted to address in a new post my answers to these concerns (btw, I am doing this not as an “expert” on anything, but as my humbly offered opinion):

Connect the Thoughts is NOT religion based.  Not Faith-Based at all.  I am a Born-Again Christian and with the exception of the first course in Science, and the first course in History (and that one only a very little, and used it as a sounding board for my own faith based discussion) have read EVERY Upper School history course and found nothing offensive in it. 

I am helping with the editing of the courses (slow work with 4 kids underfoot er… underkeyboard?) and we are addressing aspects which could be construed as anti-God.  Steven Horwich has made every effort to be as neutral as humanly possibly in his POV as far as religion goes, and the courses offer NO Scientology references/theology/ideals or anything else.  He has done an exceptional job at producing something of incredible importance. 

Steven believes that in order to improve the world, people need to be educated.  He offers his courses at a often ridiculously low price to keep them affordable for the average person… shortly all written materials will come with the course (meaning, there will be no other books to buy as resource materials… I’ll be updating when this is finalized sometime in the next few weeks).

When I first posted this I’d only recently “discovered” CTT myself, but now I have worked with Steven quite closely and constantly amazed at what a compassionate and thoughtful person he is, having no intent to offend anyone.  He holds in very high regard those with ANY beliefs at all, as he says it is sad how so many now have no strong beliefs at all… or at least nothing that brings good to the world.

To put it in perspective… I am doing Apologia Science, and using CTT for history, Creative Writing (absolutely the best writing course out there!), Current Events, Art and my kids read all the time.  The reason I am not using CTT for science is because I like to do science as a family, and Apologia affords me a more conversational tone for science that I like, while keeping with my belief system.  CTT’s science is Very Good… but it must be understood that there is a clear separation of God/Creation and Science from his POV… but the courses themselves are very informative.  I think if I Christian were to skip the last lesson in the first course and move on to the next book, they’d do just fine with CTT Science courses… the last lesson has a fair bit of what can be interpreted as opinion (in my humble opinion), but the materials in the rest of the course and the following courses are exceptional.

I hope this has helped! :o)

You can find all the CTT courses at Currclick and OOPS - I goofed on the Yahoo group… here is it:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ConnecttheThoughts

Blessings!!

PS - for those who haven’t seen them… I wanted to share a picture of my “gang” doing school that I think I’m going to have blown up and framed to remind them what they *should* look like… LOL!

Around the table from back to front:

Chaeli (Pre-K), Kenzi (Gr7), Greyson (K) and Everett (Gr9)

Posted in Curriculum Choices, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | 4 Comments »

13. August 2008 by Shannon.

(heehee, I can hear everyone saying “Huh?”)

Livemocha is a language learning website.  We all know how desireable it is in today’s markets to be comfortable in more that one language… well, Livemocha provides support for six popular languages (English, Spanish, French, Hindi, German and Mandarin Chinese) and offers impressive and comprehensive lesson plans for each, including a full range of practical reading, listening, writing and speaking exercises.

The best part is that Livemocha makes it easy for you to learn on your own (and at your own pace) and connects you with a huge network of other students and native speakers to help you master your new language.

Now, understand, I am a BIG fan of Rosetta Stone language learning software… BUT I do realise that the cost can be very limiting for homeschoolers who are often making ends meet with only one income… so, here comes Livemocha… for FREE!  I can’t say it’s EXACTLY the same thing, but where the they meet is in immersion and where Livemocha excells is in the practical conversation with others working towards the same goal… sometimes company makes the journey more pleasant.

SO, if you have been panicking over your teen’s “foreign language credit” - panic no more!  Hop on over to Livemocha and set them up and let the learning begin!  There - that’s one less thing on your planning To Do list!  You’re welcome! *grin*

Blessings!

Posted in Curriculum Choices, Great Finds | Print | 5 Comments »

7. August 2008 by Shannon.

We all know there are a gazillion planners out there, from buying a standard bound one at the local copy shop or Walmart to customized HOMESCHOOL planners available from many different sources (each with their own particular angle).  As school is FAST approaching (for those of us who follow the typical school year) I thought it might be a good time to do some planning (not a bad idea, eh? *grin*) and so I spent some time looking through the many planners I have here on my computer and at my fingertips… yes, I have several.  I’m kind of a Planner Junkie.. always looking for the “perfect” organizing tool.  Just like I believe that the real reason I’m disorganized is because I don’t have the right planner yet.. LOL!  Okay, that’s  my excuse, and I’m stickin’ to it! *wink*

Please note that although I have to list the planners in SOME KIND of order… as we are trapped in a linear world, I am not putting them in any particular order… just as I locate them on my hard-drive and refresh my memory (and take notes of my own of which sheets to use from which planners - yes, you read that right, I MIX-AND-MATCH! *gasp!*).   

1. One of my FAVOURITE planner for this upcoming year is more than just a planner, really, it’s a whole HOW to plan planner.  Not only does it include all the forms necessary to plan out your school year by the month, week and even day, it also includes an innovative way of planning your curriculum and how to figure out (legally) what resources you need to have to homeschool in confidence that you are meeting all state/provincial requirements.  It walks you through VERY THOROUGHLY a whole planning project, including taking a break because you deserve it!  I like a planner that remembers that planning is had work! *grin*  SO, my FIRST PLACE goes to the Simply Charlotte Mason’s “Planning your Charlotte Mason Education in 5 Easy Steps” planner (can I recommend the “printed book and DVD” option as it cost me a LOT to have this book printed and bound at the local copy shop, and you really do need to have a printed copy of it to be effective - just my .02).  It is just so much more than just a collection of fill-in-the-blanks homeschool forms, it encourages and inspires… and dispite the name, it works very well for whatever “methodology” of school you use, including unschooling and strict school-at-home styles… just make it work for you. 

2. The Ultimate Homeschooling Mom’s Planner has some exceptionally refreshing forms such as a completely new (and imho, more in line with what we SHOULD be concerned about in our children’s education) twist on a “Yearly Evaluation” of our children, including such areas as “organization” (hahaha!) and “individual expression” and “character maturity”.  Yes, they include all the “standards” like yearly, monthly, and even Family Fitness (there’s a thought!) as well.  The pages are delightfully decorated, but for those on a budget all that colour might be restrictive (*hint* set your printer settings to “print images in greyscale” or something along those lines… that will keep your colour ink for more important printing projects).  You can find the Ultimate Planner at www.homeschool-curriculum-for-life.com .

3. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has come out with a planner that certainly has you covered, not only in an extensive forms section (covering everything from educational objectives to end of year evaluations and report cards) but it is also FILLED with facinating articles, important (US) lists and official documents (no more hunting around to find a copy of the Louisiana Purchase - I can hear the sighs of relief from across the border! *grin*).  Some of the neater forms are things like craft logs (including place to paste a photo - no more cluttered fridge or boxes of dusty kindergarten crafts filling up your storage space!), curriculum purchases organizer (not the kind where you list what you have, but rather list what you need and the cost involved - very handy!, and even (and this is the coolest!) a begining/end of year form… where you list such things like your child’s height/weight and get a copy of their signature… what a great way to remind you and your child how much they’ve GROWN this past year!  Of course there’s room for a picture from both the start and finish of the school year.  One really nice feature of this planner is that it includes the very convenient “Type-It-In” option.  You can type (AND SAVE) your information into the file, so  you can print off very professional looking forms later on, and earn organizational brownie points with The Powers That Be.  All in all a very thorough planner.  You can get the Schoolhouse Planner at www.theoldschoolhousestore.com .

4.  Cindy Rushton’s “Brain in a Binder” planner is the most spiritual homeschool planner out there.  She has all the standard forms for planning your school year, but she includes MANY forms you don’t really find anywhere else, such as pages from her Discipleship Notebook, Bible Study Logs, and Discipleship Goals planning sheets.  Everything is in Cindy’s signature country style, clean and simple, with just a touch of southern charm.  The Discipleship Notebook pages are probably worthwhile getting, even if you are using a different Homeschool Planner.  I can’t believe how they have helped me in my study of God’s word, and Ev, my 14 year old son really loves them as he seeks to be a “man after God’s own heart”.  You can pick up the Brain-in-a-Binder OR just the Discipleship Notebook from www.cindyrushton.com .

5.  The Master Planner from Westvon Publishing is a VERY complete planner.  I like that all the pages on the CD come as separate files, so in my computer I put my settings to “view thumbnail” and can QUICKLY find the form I was looking for… a little thing, but a nice thing.  They’ve also labeled their forms very well, so even if you can’t “see” it, you can still “read” it and aren’t obliged to flip through pages and pages of a file to find the One Form that will change your life.  LOL!  They include all the basics, of course, but also many little tools to encourage your student to set goals and meet them.. like their acheivement certificates and Reading Goals sheets.  They include many notebooking pages in their planner as well, for things like weather recording, timelines and venn diagram sheets.  One of our favourite sheets is the Babysitter Information sheet, which my daughter brings to all new babysitting jobs and fills out with the parents and files in a binder of her own… and this upcoming year I plan to extensively use the “Monthly (something)” charts.  They have a Monthly Bird, Animal, Fish, Planet, Dinosaur, Biography, etc… all set up nice and simply to print off and embark on a little learning adventure with your child.  This is a really exceptional product… some of my most used forms come from this planner.  Find Westvon’s Master Planner and also their FABULOUS History Scribe series of notebooking pages at CurrClick .

6.  My dear friend, Heidi Jo, has some really useful household planners, which most of the time (when planning such things as menus and to do lists) are the first thing I print off.  She also has a Lesson Planner which although is not as fancy as some, is very simple to navigate and probably the most effective one to have printed up at a local copyshop and bound.  Although Heidi Jo says she uses one for all her children, I think for myself (being as OCD as I am) I would want one for each child.  It is clean, clear and very Charlotte Mason in it’s layout… so maybe that will be my choice for my weekly planning for the Littles which I want to start on a personalized CM Education this upcoming year.  Heidi Jo lives in the BREATHTAKING Bahamas (lucky duck!) and you can find her planning forms at CurrClick .

7. Knowledge Box Central also has a Charlotte Mason Planner (are you getting the impression I might be a closet Charlotte Mason Fan? LOL!) called The Image Bearer (the name implying our children are bearers of the image of Christ).   This Planner also has the desireable Type-It-In feature, making it another one of my favourites for presenting a professional image to the World.  One of the nicest things that I find different from this planner and most of the others is the inclusion of a “Term Planner” (the other one that has it is the Simply Charlotte Mason planner at the top of this list)… another neat thing is the Field Trip AND Evaluation guide, a handy way to not only record where and when you went, but what everyone thought of the trip and whether it was worth repeating (and unfortunately some are not).  As with the bigger KBC documents (like the Ages and Stages Timeline Notebook, the best out there) there is a easy reference bookmark list on the side, which acts similarly to the way the Master Planner does in letting you find the page you are looking for easily.  You can also find The Image Bearer at CurrClick (one of my favourite one stop shopping spots for all things homeschool, can you tell?! *grin*).

and last but in no way least (at least for today because I think this is one of the longest blog posts in history! LOL!):

8. The Homeschool Tracker is a software planner… meaning you enter in the lesson plans and the software does the sorting for you.  You can create and print whatever “reports” you want (reports are anything you’ve entered, really).  The nice thing about this is that when you enter in the “grades” your child gets, the software keeps track (hence the name Tracker?) and you can print out VERY professional looking report cards at the end of the year, as well as book used lists, assignment lists, field trip logs, etc.  VERY versatile, but has a bit of a learning curve to get the hang of it.  *hint* use “copy assignment” freely, you can always delete it later if you’ve put too much! LOL!  Find it at www.homeschooltracker.com .

So, I guess instead of babbling about planners, maybe I should start actually PLANNING, eh?

Blessings!

Posted in Curriculum Choices, General Homeschool | Print | 2 Comments »

5. May 2008 by Shannon.

 CurrClick has a real treat for those who visit their site this week.  Of course, every week they offer a free ebook (curriculum or sometimes even a story), but this weeks ebook is really something special!  They are offering one of Knowledge Box Central’s Interview Series Lapbooks called “Grandfather’s Wisdom“.  What a treat!  This lapbook is designed to help your child glean the wisdom of his/her grandfather and to compile it in a neat way that will certainly become a keepsake to treasure!  Summer is coming, lots of “family time” to work on it.  Why not make it a summer project?  The ebook is regularly priced at 24.99$ but you can get it FREE this week only at CurrClick!  Don’t miss out!!!

OH!  And something really neat has happened here in our homeschool (well, for Mom anyhow *grin*) - Steven David Horwich, author of the Connect the Thoughts course recently sent an email out to several hundreds of people who had signed up for his newsletter - and a little known Yahoo Group exploded!!  My friend Stephanie and I, who are both using CTT in our homeschool, had started up a Yahoo Group looking to find others using CTT in their homeschools.  Well, it was slow going as neither of us is a marketting guru (apparently).  But with Steven’s email came a big surprise!  He had listed our group on HIS site (http://www.connectthethoughts.net) and our “population” grew… often by the minute!  It was a crazy chase to get everyone approved, but I am DELIGHTED to say that everyone started sharing and encouraging from the get-go, and Steph and I have found ourselves exactly what we wanted - Community!  Yippee and BIG THANKS go out to all those who joined and of course to Steven and his Webmaster,  Ray!  If you’re using CTT or would like to know more, I encourage you to check out the official site and you are also welcome to join our little (but growing!) Yahoo Group too at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/connectthethoughts .

What a whirlwind week -  the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is over (phew!  What a ride!!!) … BUT NOT REALLY!  I’m seriously going to talk to Cindy about renaming this amazing event to the Ultimate Forever Parenting Online Convention… or something equally appropriate!  I was talking to a friend of mine about it, who doesn’t homeschool and I was trying to explain how this isn’t just for homeschoolers, and it isn’t over!  Not only have all the sessions been recorded and will be available on the Members Site, but they aren’t just audios for homeschoolers.  These are really audios for great parents (LIKE YOU!).  There is everything on there from bringing up Godly children to Planning for your future to spiritually uplifting talks like God is Sufficient.  And all the “homeschool” related talks are equally appropriate for those who are involved in their children’s education in the public system, or could I even say, for public school teachers to learn how to intill the love of learning in their students?!  So don’t feel like you have missed the “ticket”… you haven’t!  And if you buy it now, you’ll get the “convention” price of only 40$ (soon it’ll be repriced at 99$ - so don’t delay!!).  Go grab your ticket here:

Now - one last thing (I saved it as your “dessert”)… KENZI was in a THEATRE production this week!!  Okay, it was a homeschooler play, but I am SO proud of my BIG girl!!!  She’s so shy, and overcame many obstacles to play the part of one of the narrators (which meant she was on the stage the entire 45 minutes while the play was being performed).  She was dressed as an “ancient greek” because the play was an adaptation of several of Aesop’s Fables (written by Gerald Murphy - which I got a kick out of because that is also my uncle’s name… LOL).   The whole cast did amazing and I was so proud of them!  It was directed by Melanie Doerr and was performed at the Hudson Village Theatre.  Well done everyone!  (psst… that’s Kenzi on the left with her little narrator friend who, in my opinion, was the funniest member of the cast hands down!  “Don’t ask ME - ask AESOP!”  HAHAHA!)

Have an ABUNDANTLY blessed day!

Posted in LapBooks, Curriculum Choices, Kenzi, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | 2 Comments »

17. April 2008 by Shannon.

YES!  Spring has finally SPRUNG (even here in Quebec!)!!!! The kids “escaped” yesterday and brought me home probably the only three flowers in my lawn brave enough to peek their heads through the snow… I love Spring!  Here’s a picture of the one Kenzi brought me… unfortunately the Littles’ flowers didn’t “make it”… *wink*  Pretty, huh?  (btw, it was VERY tiny… that’s the grain of the wood of my desk under it.. I got a reeaaaaaallly close up shot - I love my camera!)

One of my FAVOURITE (and sometimes least favourite as I will explain later) parts of Spring is SPRING PLANNING!  That’s when all next year’s stuff gets planned out (okay, loosely) and books are planned to be purchased.  It is when I seek out inspiration and encouragement more than ever, because… (which brings me to my LEAST favourite part)  I really hate the End Of Year drudgery. 

We always are just dragging along - trying to get all our “things” finished, when really what we want to be doing is going OUTSIDE - as you’ve seen above ^^.  

SO… in the spirit of motivating MYSELF to get into the Spring PLANNING and less into the END OF YEAR (and to help past the avoidance issue of going out to play instead) mentality… I would like to share with you a resource from the “sneak peek” on the membership site of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo for this year.  After the postive response I got from the last set I shared with you, I got Cindy’s permission to share another little “freebie” with you - she really can relate - she’s in the process of preparing for her second homeschool graduation with her sweet daughter, Elisabeth (her son graduated a couple years back, and in fact is graduating again THIS WEEK from his Basic Training for the MILITARY!  Way To Go Matthew!!!).  She’s been there, she’s got it all figured out (okay, not all the answers, but, Boy, is she good!) 

So, without further blah blah from me, here’s HER description of this FREE gift!  This is an ebook AND an audio set to help you  get all “orgamanized”  - and remember, there are LOTS more free gifts when you sign up for your own ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo - in fact, a whole “Mommy Grab Bag”!!!!

Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year Super Set!

Let’s Get Ready for the New School Year Mommy Planner…
Ebook by Cindy Rushton

Need some help gearing up for the new school year? Wish you had a friend to take you by the hand and help you plan your year? You will LOVE this! It includes a quick Mommy Planner with a potpourri of planning sheets from all of Cindy’s products to help you get started on the right track with your homeschool planning. It is full of goodies!

Download Part One
http://www.cindyrushton.com/pdfs/GearingUp1.pdf

Download Part Two
http://www.cindyrushton.com/pdfs/GearingUp2.pdf
PLUS! Companion Audio!
Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year–Audio

Download by Mp3
http://www.cindysdesktop.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/GetReadyNewSchoolYear.mp3

Isn’t that cool?

And, just think…this is only ONE of the awesome gifts included on the Membership Site… There are hundreds more!!!

Take my word for it, you will WANT a ticket to this event and access to all of the wonderful resources. Grab your ticket here:

Posted in Curriculum Choices, Kenzi, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | No Comments »

3. April 2008 by Shannon.

Well, sometimes God just makes me laugh.  He knows our struggles so well, and is already sending “help” before we’ve even asked for it.  I was so stressed out last week - ready even to call it quits… when along came Help.  I stumbled upon a really unique curriculum that was just too revolutionary. I was hesitant to start something new, but seeing as we were finished up Egypt, and really ready to go on to something new and as McKenzie had declared an all out strike at my plans… I figured a change of pace couldn’t hurt.

Oh my goodness…. what a change this week!  Okay, things aren’t PERFECT, but they are a dang sight better than what we were doing!  I came across a curriculum called “Connect the Thoughts” (CtT).  It is completely unique to anything I’ve ever seen before… it gives the student ownership of their own education, in a directed, yet respectful of their individuality way… instead of writing what they need to “regurgitate” or “narrate” or even using “copywork” (which although helped my daughter tremendously in the area of penmanship and her pencil “allergy”…. it certainly wasn’t getting her to think and ponder the things she was studying.  CtT does just that… instead of being concerned about the mechanics of writing, it encourages the student to really THINK and PONDER and CONSIDER whta they believe, know and need. 

In one week, no - in a few days, I’ve seen such changes in McKenzie.  Deeper thoughts, more responsibility, more ownership of her education…

One of the things I’m finding incredible is watching my daughter “own” her education.  Today she said the most insightful thing I’ve heard out of her in months…. all related to one of the assignments in her CtT book.  She said to me “Mom, this brick wall I drew means that when you rush through your studies, and you just keep going even when you don’t understand something, you are leaving out a brick in your wall… and if you leave out enough bricks, your wall is going to fall down!”  And she went on to explain that that was exactly how she felt in public school, like some of her bricks were missing and she felt unstable (in her learning, like she was faking knowing something because everyone else seemed to know it - I reminded her that maybe some of those other people were faking it too… so no one would know unless everyone spoke up). 

One of the saddest aspects of my education was not learning how to tell time on an analog clock… I missed that week in grade 2, I guess, anyhow, by the time I figured out everyone else could do it I was too embarrassed to admit I couldn’t… it took a friend to teach me when I was in my early 20’s…

Guess what I make sure my kids learn early?  LOL!

One other thing we’ve implemented this week, which has helped as well, has been a “goals” sheet.  On Friday evenings, Mom, Dad and Kenzi sit down with a sheet of paper with all her subjects listed on the left side.  Beside each subject, she determines (with our guidance) what her weekly goals will be.  During the week, she is responsible for her time.  I will remind her that it is still school hours and that she should make best use of that time, but I will not tell her WHAT she needs to be working on.  She is responsible for her own education - I’m just here to encourage and facilitate.  At the end of the week (Friday evening again) she needs to take a little time to review her past week and write on the bottom of the form her self-evaluation - how she felt she did on meeting her goals, including things such as attitude towards her work.  Then we go over the work she did that week and Tony and I write our own evaluation notes below her notes.  Then she puts that in her notebook, at the begining of that weeks work, and takes a new sheet for the upcoming week.. and she writes her goals for the upcoming week again. 

Now, that being said, this is Week One of this new system, but it’s run so smoothly I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner!  I’ve been saying for years that her education is her responsiblity… yet I guess I was too thick-headed to trust her enough with the logistics of her education.  It is so much more meaningful to her to be in control of how much or how little she gets done.

Please understand that last sentence though…. she still has minimum requirements… for example, she must do one math lesson a day.  SO, in her goals, she can write 5 math lessons OR she can CHOOSE to move along faster, and write 10 math lessons and plan her time to do two math lessons a day (if she were so inclined…. which didn’t happen this week, and I don”t expect to happen any time soon - but there you have it, the option is there, and she’s only really accountable to herself, with us as mentors and encouragers). 

I don’t think this would work with a student too young, but I think somewhere around 10 - with guidance - would be a beneficial homeschool addition.  After all, if we’re the only ones with any say, then as soon as we stop saying, they’ll stop doing.  I want a lifelong learner, and I think ownership and a little CtT might just be the ticket!

I’m so pleased today!  :o)

Blessings!

Posted in Curriculum Choices, Kenzi, Great Finds, General Homeschool | Print | 1 Comment »