Planning Bible

Today I am thinking and praying about how to handle Bible for school this year. I want to implement personal devotions for each of my reading children. At this site I found some very nifty forms that will be a help to me as I make devotional workbooks for them. I think I am going to start them in the New Testament and have them read and study 1 chapter a day. And then also have them fill in Character or Event forms as needed. I am still sifting out the details in my mind. I also want them to get into the habit of daily prayer, so I am thinking of using the daily prayer form.

I don't really like using a curriculum for Bible, because of the dryness that seems to come of that and the biases that are sometimes found in them. So, we will work on actually studying the Word daily personally and share with each other what we have learned. I think by doing this it can be a wonderful time of growing in Christ together.

Notebook frustrations

Each year I buy a new notebook for my school age children, and each year I am frustrated. I get them organized nicely and then we start school. The very first day of using it the pages start to tear out and it begins to look sloppy. I have had a hard time understanding this phenomenon because I use notebooks quite a bit when I was a public school child and the pages seemed to stay in pretty well. But for us it has been an anual disaster.

This year I bought at Target some nice 3 pronged glossy pocket folders. These were very inexpensive as they only cost .70 for a package of 10. In these I am putting pages to make my own workbooks. I had started the process for Spelling Power books for my oldest boys, when my printer/scanner/copier breathed it's last. So, after I get another one (Lord willing this weekend) I will continue making them. I will make books for Math with notebook paper (.19 a package, don't you LOVE this time of year for school supplies!) in them, English with notebook paper in them, Bible with various forms in them, Penmanship with copywork in it, Science and History with notebook paper. These little folders hold the pages in really well. And anything else that isn't on my mind. This way they are not pulling the pages out and making a sloppy mess.

So, this year I am feeling pretty hopeful that we will have a nice and orderly school year. The key word is HOPE, because you know the greatest plans.....

Brook Did "School" Too!

Today was nice, the girls and I did lessons early again and it was so nice.

Chloe (5) is really doing well in the Rod & Staff grade 1 math. Chloe is about 2/3 of the way through MCP Plaid Phonics K, she likes it and it has really reinforced the letter sounds for her. I will start teaching her to blend the sounds when we are closer to the end of the book. Chloe is almost finished with her penmanship book, so I need to buy the next in the series.

Mara (4 in a few days) is really enjoying the ABC series from Rod & Staff and she is progressing nicely. She did make a mistake by not following instructions today resulting in black tulips, but after a chat we will follow directions better. I don't know what she was thinking coloring a tulip black?! I will start teaching her the letter sounds soon. I will be starting her in the Handwriting Without Tears first book once she completes the first couple books in the series. My children really enjoy that penmanship program.

Brook (2 next month) decided she wanted to do "school" today with us, so I made her a "school book" with lined notebook paper and a 3-prong folder. She loved it! She scribbled in her book and brought it over for me to "correct". She was so happy. Then she brought it over to me and had me draw pictures for her that she would decorate in her special way. It was a really fun and special time.

The boys did their lessons cheerfully today, except for Noah (7) who seems to be in a dawdle mood. Elijah (10) and Moses (9) really are liking the Lifepacs for math and language arts, but they like them because they are so easy. When we switch to Rod & Staff there will be battles, and I am not looking forward to them. But, I need them to actually learn during their school time and not just breeze through stuff that isn't really taught but is just busy work. I am sure that Lifepacs work for some really well, and the concept is great. But I think my boys need a little more explanation and practice than what they offer. Moses is really enjoying his greek course Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek, he is really leaning from it. Elijah is dragging with his Latin's Not So Tough. I don't think it is the program, he just doesn't have a lot of drive. We are working on that.

I made books with blank paper for the girls and Noah and they had a blast drawing pictures in them. I believe that drawing practice stimulates their minds, strengthens their penmanship, and encourages their creativity. And it's fun too!

I spent some time today looking at the Sonlight website. Several of the Momys use it and enjoy it. I think it is a great program and will be looking at it more. I was really thinking though that the book lists would be great for finding good books to accompany the subjects covered in the texts I have chosen to use this year. I couldn't find the lists online anywhere, so I assume that you need to actually use the program to have the lists. Bummer for now.

Other than that we have just puttered around and done chores. The boys have played some video games, and the girls have pulled some weeds. I have been offering .05 per weed pulled and they figured that 20 weeds is $1. Now they can't wait to go pull weeds, I just hope I can afford it!

Another Day

Today the children did their lessons really well. The boys were cooperative and the girls were eager as usual. I felt draggy though, and had a hard time getting motivated.

I made a few of the books for English and Math for the older boys. I have made our order with Rod & Staff for History and English. I can hardly wait until we recieve it. I just love getting new school books in the mail!

Right now we are using Alpha & Omega Lifepacs for the two older boys in Math and Language Arts. I don't like the Language Arts, I just don't feel it really does a good job teaching, and is slow. The math is okay, but is slow also. That is fine, when we finish those in the next couple months, we will start with the Rod & Staff books. I am still undecided about whether to use Saxon math with the D.I.V.E. cd's or to go back to Rod & Staff. I switched to Lifepacs for the boys because they were complaining about all the writing required. But now I am not so sure that was the right decision. I think I should have been firmer in requiring them to do it. Life is not all about what is easy, knowing how to do unpleasant things and work hard is very important. So, I am still praying and deciding on that one.

Getting it done early, and not

Today the girls and I ate breakfast without the boys and then we did school together early. The boys are STILL sleeping. They stayed up late last night with daddy, and need the rest. I don't mind occassionally, but this is becoming a habit, and I am going to need to put a stop to it. Now, to some of you 9:00 a.m. might not seem that late, but it is in our house. Dad goes to work at 5:30 and my children have always woken up around 6:30 or 7:00 at the latest. I think that it is better to get up early eat, do some chores and get school going (which doesn't always happen in our house). I asked Chloe how she felt knowing that her lessons were done, and she said that she is happy and feels good.

It is good to know that the have-to's are done so you can get to the would-like-to's. I so want my sons to experience this, but they are usually so drag their heels about their lessons that they never get to experience it. But, I won't give up! This school year will be our year of getting on a schedule, and accomplishing lots. I just know it!

Making Decisions

Last year I used Student of the Word curriculum. I enjoyed it, but it involves a lot from me and my children are young and the amount of writing and depth of it was just too much for us right now. I had planned on using it again this year, but as the time grew near to get going again, I got more and more stressed. I just couldn't do it, I mean SOW is great if your children are older and can be more independent. But my oldest are a bit behind and they couldn't be. So, because I had planned on using it this year I purchased accordingly when I did my buying in February (you know, tax refund time). But I just knew that we couldn't use it again. So, now I am just kicking myself, because I need to buy something else. I keep going back and forth between make do with the hodge podge of collected books I have or go to a traditional textbook curriculum. I have always NOT wanted to use a traditional approach, but with many children and many responsibilities along with health issues, it is starting to look really good. Let's see a hodge podge approach will save us money, but it will cause me more work, I will have to prepare and teach everything. With a textbook approach I can give them the books and make myself available for questions, but once they are reading they can fly.

So now the problem comes on how to finance my new curriculum needs. I am not willing to sell any of my stuff, because the SOW can be used for high school later on. And most everything I bought to go with it is reference material that will be useful to hang on to . So, we will tighten our belts and eat humbly for a short time.

And wouldn't you know, my printer/copier/scanner died yesterday! So that needs to be replaced for school to. Let's cinch up that belt another notch.

I think I have decided on Rod & Staff. The books are good quality and affordable and they are reusable. They are maybe not as aggressive as say, Abeka, but they teach well. And if you need to you can go faster through the books. So, we will give them a try and see how it goes. We can always change next year.

Introduction

I am starting this blog to journal our homeschooling journey. I have 6 children 5 of which I school currently. Some of them are behind and we are working on that right now. When I first started schooling I had the mentality better late than early, but we are still waiting and it is getting hard for the older boys to feel so behind. My younger children are right where they should be, but I am paying for my mistakes with the first two children. But, God is merciful and He will see us through this.

So, in this blog I will be brutally honest about what I am going through. I want the honest feelings and concerns of a homeschool mama to come through.