A New Springtime

Creative Minds

 I am not really a tv person, I like to be creative so I try to encourage that in my children as well.  Open ended activities are good for the brain and personal development. Birthdays are great oppurtunities to purchase these kinds of items but I also like to go to tag sales or second hand stores any time of year to see what treasures there may be.

 Summer is the perfect time for unstructured learning, certain games and books can stimulate kids and allow them to have memorable fun times! Here are some things we have been gathering and using.












 Creative activities nuture the brain but also the soul, the kids feel good about themselves when they do productive tasks. They also help and teach each other without even knowing it. It is so great for them to be little teachers and mentors. I so enjoy watching them during the day and get so excited when they bring me something they have created. I hope you are gearing up for a unstructured summer filled with many chances to learn new things!

Our Homeschool Research Fair

This month we have veered from our normal everyday curriculum, to take some time out for the kids to do a self-directed research project. They had to make display boards about what they learned, write a report, and do a presentation to Dad, the judge.
Hannah won 1st place due to her outstanding display and her knowledge of her subject.
She read her report to "the judge" and he asked her several questions on her topic.
Little Abigail, the youngest of the group, presented her project on whales. Her display was well done and she was surprisingly prepared for most of the questions she was asked.
Abbey gave her best effort and came in at third place!
Max picked an awesom topic, jellyfish. He found out many new things and taught us all alot about these fascinating creatures. He put in a good effort on his poster but his strength was in his oral presentation. He articulated well and was knowledgable and presented his information with ease. max took 2nd place but was close to a tie at 1st if his poster would have been a bit more complete.
Overall, the kids did a great job. They spent about two weeks to complete their research and put together their projects. They used a variety of resources from home, the library and the internet. It was a great opportunity to put their educational skills to use in studying something they enjoyed.

Keeping Track

  There is so much to do within our day, may household chores and many questions to be answered. I try to keep a certain order each day so things do not get out of hand. I like a neat and tidy house, of course it's not perfect but it is clean and tidy. Everything has its place.

 

 My monthly calendar is one of my most important resources. It sits on the windowsill in front of my desk where I can easily access it throughout the day. I keep track of doctors appointments, early intervention therapy, sports events and important reminders. Each child is assigned a different color highlighter, making it easier to distinguish which person has what event.

 I use a daily chart for keeping track of the kids lessons plans. They each have lesson plans fron Catholic Heritage Curricula but on this single piece of paper, I can keep track of what each child has done for that day. They have to report to me what they have done in each subject. This helps both them and myself visualize what has been done and what else needs to be completed.
 Taking pictures of the kids doing there work is also a good way to show what work they do throughout the year. As they get older though, they can tend to become a bit camera shy. Here is one of my silly geese, trying to hide her face.
Sometimes if I am lucky, I can get a shot without anybody knowing. Here  is one of my 7th grader working diligently on his school work.
 Of course, I can always get great pics of the younger ones, they are not a bit intimidated by being captured on film.
They are just too cute and irresistable and they know it, why wouldn't they want to be photographed!
I just can't get enough of this lil' guy and he keeps us smiling and laughing throughout the day!
 Keeping track of daily appointments and school can be a challenge but having a good calander and a good daily lesson plan chart helps to keep us organized and allows us to get through each week a bit easier.  Having a records of our life through pictures is also a great way to look back and see some of the many happy moments and accomplishments in our lives.

Time to Slow Down and Be a Bit Creative

 This time of year is always so inspiring,  the holidays are right around the corner and I feel like being creative and crafty. Since Thanksgiving is only two days away, we usually take a different approach to school. We put the everyday subjects on hold and do some random learning.

 I had picked up this boxed set of videos a couple of weeks ago at Goodwill for $3 and I thought it would be a nice way to spend the day. Two of the girls are learning about early American and state history right know so it will be a good addition to their studies. The movies were better than I expected, the scenery and wildlife were beautiful and the narration was done well, also.
Even Lil' malcolm was  enjoying the feature presentation.
While the kids were watching, I was sitting there with them hemming a couple of pairs of pants I had gotten at the GW the same time I found the tapes.

•  I get so excited when I get to sew especially when I have all of this gorgeous thread, a present I got for my birthday from my mother. I used to only have a few colors or would just use natural for everything but it's alot of fun to be able to coordinate a project with the right color. It comes out much better in the end.
  This is another little crafty project the girls and I have been working on, the inspiration comes from That Artist Woman, blog. I love Advent and Advent Calendars so when I saw this one, I decided to give it a try. There are 24 stars that go around Mary and a baby Jesus to put in her arms on Christmas day.
  These will be gifts for my God-children to help them focus on the Holy season. It is a qiuick project that can be made with what you may already have at home.
• regular print or watercolor paper
• watercolor paints
• the template from " That Artist Woman" ( we changed the face, leaving it plain)
• purple and royal blue cardstock
• a glue stick
• a white out pen ( for the numbers) you could use white paint
• ribbon
• star stickers ( I wanted mine bigger to cover the #'s so I added cardstock)  they can glue the stars  to the calendar each day or just use the stickers

I hope everyone is enjoying some creative fun and learning before Thanksgiving.

 

Being Educated in His Image and Likeness

This year our core curriculum is from Catholic Heritage Curricula, I wanted the majority of our books to reflect the beautiful moral teachings of our faith. I wanted  pictures of Catholic Culture so that the kids can make their own personal connection with their religion.

 I am in full swing lesson plan mode. Even though I was able to purchase lesson plans, I still need to familiarize myself with what each one calls for. This allows me to add to or change anything if need be.

The kids always start the morning with their core subjects, individual work that can be done basically on their own. If they have any questions, they come to me for help.  I made copies of the first week of each lesson plan to keep close at hand, this way I can keep track  of the work that is being done without having to ask them for their copies. I will continue this practice week by week until the end of the year.

Here are pics of each child's curriculum starting from youngest to oldest.

Pre-K:

She will also be read one Bible story per day and she has many preschool learning puzzles and games.

Grade 4:

Living books and some more historical fiction will be added as we come to each coinciding time period.

Grade 5:

I hope I have enough to keep up with my fifth graderwho loves school! She has been going over her curricula with me and has manyof her own ideas. I love self-directed learners. 

Grade 7:

My son who is going into seventh grade is comfortable with a very simple routine curriculum without to many added extras. 

9th Grade:

This is my second time teaching a high schooler and these years seem to fly by. I like top keep it very basic using  college prep courses. Even if I think the child may not attend higher education, I still want to them to be able to get the credits needed just in case. If the core is kept simplified and  there is a structured  daily routine a student who may not be college bound can still do the work to be prepared in the long run if the opportunity for college arises. 

My high schooler has difficult  with reading but I am confident that with some extra help he will be able to complete his requirements for this year. I will allow for vocational skills( carpentery, etc.) to be done as electives so he will be getting the best of both worlds. 

My son, who is attending his second year in college,  was also a slow reader, I remember he was the last to finish his driver's ed test but got the highest score in the class. I truly believe with prayer and perseverance all of the children will be directed by God to the vocation he wants them to have.

The best thing I ever did for my kid's  vocation was a prayer through the intercession of St. Joseph. It gives all of our vocational concerns to God. The most important thing is a strong foundation and a personal loving relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because once the children have grown up and are out in the world there will be many other people they come in contact with, especially in the colleges, who have not been given any spiritual teachings This will be a challenge of faith for our kids to be a witness to others about God's love. This is why I have been praying the Divine Mercy for myself and the whole world.

 A beautiful curriculum based on the moral and sound teachings of the Catholic Church and building up a child in the image of God is the sum and total of what education  is really about. Bringing peace and love into the world until Jesus comes in all of His Glory! I would like my children  be a part of this. Praise the Lord for we are a people being made well disposed for the Coming of the Lord!

Praise the Lord,Our New Homeschool Classroom

  I have been homeschooling now for seventeen years. My nineteen year old son is beginning his second year of college @ Our Lady of the Elms for Sports Management. He has left the nest and that left us with an empty room. It was a bittersweet moment but I am sure Our Lady of Guadalupe is going to continue to take care of him. She is the patroness of our homeschool.

 This is how the room looked before, army green was the color chosen by its last occupant. He  was always into army guys, etc.

 I had other ideas,  a bright color that would remind us of outside. I had almost a whole gallon of paint left over from the mudroom project so I decided to use that. My mother and I prepared, primed and painted the room together. It is awesome to have somebody to work with. The conversations we had kept us going. It was a lot of fun planning this together.

After many Pinterest browsing sessions of other homeschool classrooms and a totally stimulating and fruitful trip to Ikea this is the finished project. I wanted the room to be an open airy space utilizing it the best way possible. We needed to get 5 desks in it and a place for lil' toddler girl. This room is 12' x9'.

This is what we came up with for lil' tot. It is in front of the closet but we will not need to access it very often. Most of the books the kids will have already at their own desks.

The desks purposely face the wall because what I have found is that the older the kids get the more they tend to want their own space. Doing school over the years at the dining room table had
sufficed but it always got a bit cluttered and crowded when 5 kids with different grade levels had their things spread out.

This spring DH got me this great printer and I have definitely used it ten times over. The bottom two cube bins hold all masters and workbooks that need to be copied. The metal racks and the desks are from Wal Mart and surprisingly very sturdy.

I used two of them one on each side of my desk. Having easy access to the things I need for the day is essential to keeping the day running smooth and less chance of any chaos. The paper tray on the top shelf to the left will hold my copy of the week's lesson plans. The kids will have their own copy at their desks.This way I can keep track and check off what is being done. Bottom magazine holders are for homeschool catalogs, answer keys, colored cardstock and one for ideas I come across for future learning or organizing. Middle shelf holds a series of books on the countries and a few science anatomy books.

On my desk top are two baskets,this one holds: phone books and daily devotionals.

The second basket, holds my spiral bound/ seven pocket folder notebook. In it I have all current event type papers: sports schedules,  current doctor info., machine instructions, bills due, and master & copies of our daily fill in school work sheet.

Most important item on my desk though is my reminder of Mother Theresa, it helps me to remember to love. It is easy to get caught up into everyday business and forget the whole reason I have been called to homeschool in the first place, to pass on the love of God.

This shelf holds some of the hands on activities for this school year. Of course on top sits the globe,  a tool we use every day and our best friend, the pencil sharpener. Next, is another globe but it's a 3D puzzle that the kids will work on. A metal punching kit I picked up in a pile of free stuff and SMATH game for multiplication amd division practice. The bottom shelf is for lil' toddler girl, easy to reach and just for her.

We have two bulletin boards and DH is working on fixing my free stuff dry erase board.

I can never have enough bulletin boards. I need to be able to put up visual reminders of things I love and my daily activities. This is the kids soccer practice schedule for August.

Last, is this cafe rodand curtain hooks with clips, an idea I saw at Ikea, it will be for displaying some of the papers the kiddos have done.

I am so happy the work is finally done on this room. I am thankful to my mother for all of her support and help she gave me to complete this project for our family homeschool. I am greatful to DH who showed me how to put in anchors and  use levels and drill bits. I am thankful to all mighty God for blessing us with a new work space. I ffel like I am writin a speech for an academy award, but that is exactly how I feel. I feel priveleged to get to be a part of a wonderful Catholic family who has come through many trails and years of challenges. For me this classroom is an award that I am so happy to have and hope to be able to use it for the Greater Glory of My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Homeschool Portfolios Using Scrapbook Kits

I am making headway on the homeschool portfolios for 2011/2012.

 

 

I found these great scrapbook kits at Big Lots.

 

These are the labels that  I am using to divide the subjects. I will give work samples from the beginning and end of the year in each.

I also give a brief description of what each child did in that subject and stick it under the page divider.

Today, I will be working on the second portfolio, then I will have two more to go.

It is always good to keep these for future references and the kids like to look through their previous work they have done throughout the year. I am always amazed at how much work they do!

Float Your Boat

Yesterday, we read this book:

To my surprise it went along with our WW II studies because it was about a man from Japan. It was recommended in our, "Caldecott Winners" workbook by Evan Moore. 

The book suggested an activity of a watercolor picture of a place the children had lived or visited in their past.

I was impressed by the fact that each child picked a different location that was special to them.

Among their paintings were: the beach, our old home, a campground, and the mountains of Vermont.

They really seemed to enjoy reminiscing on their special trips and the spoke about the memories they had of each destination.

Another activity the book suggested was to make an origami boat. After we folded our paper creations we decided to give them a try in the bathtub.

To our surprise they began to float and glide on the water awakening  our imagination as if we were sailing and relaxing on a beautiful sunny day!

Since we were already experimenting with origami and I had practiced making the paper crane from Sadako last week, I thought I would try to teach it to the kids. Although I couldn't remember all of the steps and had to consult a tutorial on youtube, we were able to complete our birds.

Here are our flying beauties. I always like when our school day is filled with awe and creativity:  reading a good story,  remembering good times, doing an activity or two, and making our imaginations come to life by Flying Cranes and Floating boats makes  an afternoon complete! 

Monthly May Recap

School:                                                            

DH got me this new copy machine for school, it has made my job so much easier. At a moments notice  I can just press print and presto I have the papers I need.

WW II studies continued with, "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry, this was a 3 CD set from our local library. It was a wonderful way to spend a couple of afternoons. I also found...

this movie at GW, it was a good way to wrap up our studies. I am so ready to be done with the study of the wars and I know why I have avoided them in the past. My older boys did a lot of reading on their own about the subject. They were into learning about the tanks and the weapons. I am glad we used: "V is for Victory", "Sadako, and the Thousand Paper Cranes", and "Number the Stars". These books gave us sense of what it was like to be living at that time and gave us a relationship with the characters who experienced these events, it wasn't just a bunch of facts in the latter two books mentioned. I am satisfied with the results of this unit.

Family Events:

May 13th B-Day!

May 13th, My flowers from Mother's Day!

May 18th another B-day! Pink Lemonade Cake and Frosting!!

Family Fun:

Brother to Brother!

Brother and Sister!

Mom's Sewing Projects:

Shorts for Baby

Library Bag for Big Sister

It's been busy so far and one more birthday to go on May 24!

What am I seeking?

 So much has been going on mentally, physically and spiritually. Even though I am not by nature a routine-oriented  type of person, lately I have been thanking God for that part of my life. I think it is my saving grace in the midst of a somewhat hectic time. Managing a nursing, teething baby, homeschooling four different kids, entertaining an almost 4 yr. old, and helping a 23 yr.old son who is back at home can be challenging to say the least.

 Everyday, Mon. through Fri. we do our hygiene, homeschool and housework duties. I feel like I have to bark out way to many orders lately o I am going to go back to written chore lists. Some of the things that should be  done by the kids automatically, I am having to remind them. This can be very frustrating and taxing but as usually it is an opportunity to readjust once again.

 We have been persevering  each day with our homeschool studies. Right now the boys are studying WW II. We are using a this thematic unit and have read this book below.

We also read, "Sadako and The One Thousand Paper Cranes", it was a very sad story and touching story and we were all moved by it. Today, I found a tutorial for an orgami paper craneand made one. Tomorrow,I will have the kids try it.

 Tuesday,was butterfly day, when the kids took a nature walk they witnessed several different kinds of butterflies so they wanted to do a bit of research on them. Hannah got out her field guide, Abbey got out her poster and I printed of a trivia sheet, a wordsearch and a butterfly to label.

We got some watercolors last week so we put them to good use.

These are some the kids did and after they went to bed that night, I had a bit of creative fun.

Spring brings so many opportunities and ideas for art work. Eliana, who is three, has been using, " Eating the Alphabet" by Louis Elhert  to paint bright, colorful pictures of fruits and veggies.

While DH focuses on planting the garden, some of the kids have been learning about where certain plants grow, above or below the ground.

This was the worksheet with the different fruits and vegetables on it. They had to color and cut them out and place them in the right catagories.

Having children who are various different ages leads to a variety of interest. My ten year old daughter has read 39 of these "Rainbow Magic Fairy Books". There must be hundreds of these books I think she may try to read them all.

Having a family with eight kids, there is never a dull moment to say the least. There are always many things going on. Painting, reading, studying, cooking, cleaning, laughing, crying, hugging, fighting, yelling, loving and the list goes on and on.  It can get very challenging at times to keep the peace and the choas at bay. It can be scary but also rewarding. Working through each day, praying to God for the strength to make it to tomorrow and to see the beauty in it all is what I am seeking.