Blogging? Giving it another whirl!

I guess you can't really be considered a blogger if you don't post regularly.  So, I've definitely NOT been the blogger I'd hoped to be.  I am feeling the Lord guide me to a fast from facebook, and more time for family, homemaking, and homeschooling.  I'm worried it will be difficult, but I'm hoping it's life changing.  I don't want to be the mom who is constantly looking at her phone and ignoring the needs around her.  So, because of this, I am hoping to free up more time to devote to blogging.  It's been a dream of mine for quite some time.  Pray with  me, that the Lord will continue to direct my path, and that I would be a light for Him in my family, household, homeschool, and life.

Today is the last day this semester for our homeschool before taking a much needed Christmas break. To celebrate finishing what needed to get completed, we are going as a family to see Christmas lights tonight.  I'm very much looking forward to that!  I will try to post pictures later.

We are also doing some new things this Christmas season.  We are doing the Jesse Tree.  It is a daily devotion about the lineage of Jesus, and each day we add an ornament with a picture that has to do with the reading of the Scripture passage for the day.  I am enjoying it very much.  Then, we are also using the Christmas Angel.  She brings messages to the kids each day of some act of kindness or service that can be done for others.  I am hoping the spirit of giving will be instilled more and more as we practice serving, and that the Lord will be given the glory He deserves while remembering the true reason of the season....Jesus and His birth!

I am hoping, also, to update everyone on where we are in our homeschooling journey, what curriculum choices we are using this year, etc., but that will have to wait until another time....maybe after the celebration of Christmas.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Until next time,
Dena

Curriculum Picks for 2012-2013

I have to admit, I am a researcher and a curriculum junkie!  I love so much that it's very difficult to narrow my choices and decide!  However, I always do have to make a decision, so what are my picks for this year?

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...........................................................................................................................

I will start with my youngest.  She will be in Kindergarten.  I really wanted to start her off right by using more Charlotte Mason friendly materials right from the start (instead of waiting because of insecurities or not knowing how to implement the method - which is why I struggled to implement CM's ideas earlier with my older two).  So, for Phonics I chose Reading Made Easy and to add in some "fun" Happy Phonics to supplement.  I am hoping by using both she will get the instruction she needs, but also the application through fun games.  I chose A Reason for Handwriting level A for her printing practice.  For Bible, I am going to be using A Child's Book of Character Building (Books 1 & 2) and also Leading Little Ones to God.  For Math, I will be beginning Math-U-See Primer.  For Science, I am going to use Living Learning Books Science Level 1 (First Edition).  I used this with my older children when they were young, and it was so much fun, I had to do it again.  It covers animals, insects, plants, and the human body (Life Science).  I will also be doing a U.S. State Study and our State Study using Cantering the Country and Fifty States Under God and Missouri State History.  And a tad bit of Early American History as she follows along with her older sister's TruthQuest and Beautiful Feet Guides.  For fun, she will be listening in on Apologia's Who Am I? Worldview study and using the coloring book that goes along with the program.  And, though I am not completely decided, I may go with Artistic Pursuits for art.  She is loving to draw, color, paint and create and I think it would be a great fit in helping her develop those skills.  I also have chosen a few Rod & Staff workbooks (D, E, & F) for fun that she can practice more on cutting, pasting, matching and other fine motor  and logic skills.  We used some for pre-school this year and she really enjoyed them, so I just got a few more for her Kindergarten year.  Seems very FULL, but we will see how it all works out.  I doubt we will do all of the subjects every day, and I will try to make it LOADS of fun.  I want her to have a LOVE for school early on, and to look forward to each day with bright eyes.

A RECAP FOR KINDERGARTEN CHOICES:

Phonics:  Reading Made Easy and Happy Phonics

Handwriting:  A Reason for Handwriting A

Bible:  Apologia's "Who Am I?" (tagging along with older bro & sis) and Leading Little Ones to God

Character:  A Child's Book or Character Building (Books 1 & 2)

Math:  Math-U-See Primer

Science:  Living Learning Books Level 1 (Life Science First Edition)

History:  Cantering the Country with U.S. State Study (tagging along in Early Am. History w/ older sis)

Art:  Artistic Pursuits

Fine Motor & Logic:  Rod & Staff workbooks

For my 6th grader, I have made a tough decision to step away from Heart of Dakota for a year so that she will get more out of the next program in line.  I look forward to returning to it for 7th grade, though.  But, in the mean time, I have decided to use Apologia's Who Am I? Worldview study for Bible and Memory Verses and for character, Wisdom and the Miller's and Prudence and the Miller's.  For language arts I'm taking a complete CM dive!  LOL!  I am going to use Living Grammar Books for the main instruction.  One is called Grammar Land and another Eats Shoots and Ladders.  There is also a series by Ruth Heller I can check out from my library.  Then, to supplement and for a hands on component, I will be using Winston Grammar.  I've heard it is the Math-U-See of Grammar.  I am really looking forward to seeing how this compares to a much stricter method my son will be using.  For writing, I am going to give Write Shop a try.  I've struggled finding a good fit for Language Arts for seven years now, so I hope these plans will finally be a match!  I plan to stick with Dictation as well.  It is great for reinforcing spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar usage.  For reading, I'm sticking with Heart of Dakota's Drawn into the Heart of Reading.  We have enjoyed it this year and want to continue.  The book choices have been fabulous through Heart of Dakota and I don't have to worry about complaints!  For vocabulary I'm just going to throw in some Vocabulary Cartoons.  It looks like a fun way to do vocabulary.  I am hoping she can continue practicing her cursive using A Reason for Handwriting Level C, and also begin learning how to type.  We are sticking with Math-U-See for Math, and I am considering adding in Life of Fred Fractions for fun.  For Science, I've decided to go with Simply Charlotte Mason's 106 Days of Creation which also incorporates Considering God's Creation with Nature Study.  I think this will be a lot of fun!  She will also be doing a U.S. State Study using Fifty States Under God and Missouri State History.  I think the notebooks are really going to turn out nicely!  I am looking forward to going back to geography using the Trail Guide to U.S. Geography.  We've used the Trail Guides before and they are FANTASTIC and easy to implement.  I will also supplement the geography a bit with Cantering the Country.  Then, for History, I am combining Beautiful Feet Books Early American History Intermediate with the TruthQuest Age of Revolution 1's commentary and a few book choices.  It's taking some work to get it all organized, but I think it will work out very nicely!  I love TruthQuest and have used it in the past, and had a very hard time leaving it to go to Heart of Dakota last year, but TQ is time-consuming in the planning while HOD is completely open and go, so I felt that is where the Lord led me (as my time has been greatly restricted with opening a computer business with my husband this year).  This year, though, I am hoping to have the summer to plan and organize everything so that it will go smoothly in the fall.  I am also planning to get Artistic Pursuits for art.  This is an area she feels she struggles in and I'm hoping taking a course will build her confidence.  I am planning to use the Simply Charlotte Mason rotations for Poetry, Picture Study, and Music Appreciation.  WOW!  That seems like a lot!  And, it is, but I'm trying to prepare her for the upcoming guide in HOD that will be much more challenging, yet give her an enjoyable year.  I think this will all be a great fit and am looking forward to trying the new things as well as coming back to some favorites!

A RECAP FOR SIXTH GRADE CHOICES:

Bible:  Apologia's "Who Am I?"

Character:  Wisdom and the Miller's & Prudence and the Miller's

Reading:  Drawn Into the Heart of Reading

Vocabulary:  Vocabulary Cartoons

Handwriting:  A Reason for Handwriting C

Typing:  Typing Instructor Deluxe

Writing:  Write Shop

Grammar:  Living Grammar Books (Grammar Land, Eats Shoots and Leaves, and Ruth Heller Series) with Winston Grammar for the hands on element

Math:  Math-U-See Epsilon with Life of Fred Fractions

Science:  106 Days of Creation with Considering God's Creation and Nature Study

Geography:  Trail Guide to U.S. Geography supplementing Cantering the Country

History:  Beautiful Feet's Early American History Intermediate with TruthQuest's Age of Revolution 1

State Study:  Fifty States Under God and Missouri State Study

Poetry, Picture Study, Music Appreciation:  Simply Charlotte Mason's Rotation

Art:  Artistic Pursuits

For my son going into High School in the fall, I wanted to keep it challenging!  So, for him we are sticking with Heart of Dakota and moving up to the Revival to Revolution guide.  We will be using it mostly as written, but tweaking a few things.  History will be early American history and will be as written through the guide, as well as the Fifty States Under God study.  (Now you see where I got the idea for the girls!)  He will also be doing a study on the Signers.  I will be adding in several Government videos to go along with the history study in hopes of gaining a government credit.  I'm excited about watching all of them.  They look like they will be fantastic!  Math will be Math-U-See Algebra 1, no supplements needed.  He begged me to go back to the Trail Guides for Geography, so we are!  I'm sure he'll  be thrilled, as he did not like HOD's geography very well.  For language arts, we are sticking with Dictation through HOD and Rod & Staff English.  It is very rigorous but he likes it.  And, to make it more CM friendly, we do it almost completely orally.  For Literature, I chose to go with Progeny Press Guides.  I am hoping he will like this as well or better than Drawn into the Heart of Reading.  I am also going to give Vocabulary Cartoons a try for vocabulary.  I want to make sure he is typing correctly as he LOVES to "play" on the computer, so I will be having him practice typing correctly using Typing Instructor Deluxe.  For Writing, we are going to be using Write Shop, but going at a more rigorous rate than his younger sister.  I plan to complete the course in one year for him, while taking 2 or more years for his sister.  We are using HOD's recommended science as written.  It is Exploration Education's Intermediate Physical Science course with labs.  I think the computer based program with the hands on element will be greatly enjoyed!  He will also be doing Apologia's Who Am I? Worldview study and memory verses.  I think it will be great!  We loved the first book in the series and look forward to this next one!  For character, I've chosen A Young Man After God's Own Heart and Thoughts for Young Men.  I will be adding in Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish 1 for foreign language.  I am really hoping to find a good fit in a coop next year.  Especially for my son.  He needs some teenage buddies that also homeschool.  His schedule will be quite full, and definitely high school credit worthy.  I don't think I need to worry about rigor with Heart of Dakota!  It is such a great program!  And, since my kids have never studied American history, I think they will really enjoy the upcoming year!  I know I'm excited to learn it in a Charlotte Mason way, instead of the boring text book way that I learned.  I'm sure I will learn more than I ever did when I went to school.  Oh the joys of homeschooling!

A RECAP FOR NINTH GRADE CHOICES:

Bible:  Apologia's "Who Am I?"

Character:  A Young Man After God's Own Heart and Thoughts for Young Men

Reading/Literature:  Progeny Press Guides

Vocabulary:  Vocabulary Cartoons 1

Typing:  Typing Instructor Deluxe

Writing:  Write Shop

Grammar:  Rod & Staff English

Math:  Math-U-See Algebra 1

Science:  Exploration Education's Intermediate Physical Science

Geography:  Trail Guide to U.S. Geography

History, State Study, Poetry, Sketching, Inventor Study, Composer Study, Notebooking, Timeline, Signers Study, Primary Source Document Study and Dictation: Heart of Dakota Revival to Revolution

Government:  The American Heritage Series, The American Heritage Collection and The American Testimony DVD set

Foreign Language:  Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish 1

I hope to post soon about how I organize our homeschool.  So, keep watching for that post!

Just wanted to pop in and tell you all about a wonderful website with a ton of information on NOTEBOOKING.  We began using notebooking for our homeschool a few years ago when I decided I wanted to give our homeschool a more Charlotte Mason flavor.  This site not only gave me great information about HOW to notebook, but also FREE notebooking pages to print and use in our homeschool.  It was working wonderfully, and so I decided to join the Notebooking Pages Treasury and now I have access to ALL of the wonderful pages covering everything from history to science, Bible, nature, famous composers and artists, and even more.  I could go on and on!  The hardest part of using the site is the unbelievable amount of CHOICES.  It has been such a great help to me, I wanted to share it with you!  You can find the site here.  I hope you find the site as helpful as I did!

Ok, so I've been terrible about posting to this blog!  I apologize!  I wondered if I would be too busy to  keep it up, and it does seem as though I am.  However, I did want to post some wonderful things that we have been using for our homeschool this year.  This was our first year using Heart of Dakota curriculum.  We have REALLY enjoyed it!  My preschooler is using Little Hands to Heaven.  It is a sweet, sweet program that only takes a few minutes each day and she is learning all of the letter sounds, her numbers, and her colors (though she already knew most of the colors).  The Bible Stories from The New Bible In Pictures For Little Eyes has been fantastic!  We also use My ABC Bible Verses and Teach Them to Your Children for wonderful stories that teach character and a Bible verse that goes with the letter of the week.  To add in some handwriting, I chose to go ahead and use A Reason for Handwriting -K.  She has begged for school most days!  8-)  My next daughter is doing Preparing Hearts for His Glory.  It has been a FANTASTIC fit as well, and a wonderful overview of history from Creation to the present.  She did not do well with HOD's choices for English, so we went with Bob Jones instead.  I am not a fan of it, so next year we will be doing something different in the English area.  We also LOVE Math-U-See, so use it rather than HOD's choice for math.  My son is doing the Resurrection to Reformation Guide.  He does it as written except for switching out the math for Math-U-See.  It has been a challenging, but good year for him.  I love that HOD is challenging, but fits the Charlotte Mason homeschooling method well.  HOD's open & go guides have taken so much work out of my hands!  I used to be the ultimate planner.   I would research and plan out my own lesson plans for my eclectic approach to homeschooling.  I loved to do it!  However, now that I work almost full-time at my husband's computer repair shop (that we just opened in September....maybe that has something to do with why I don't post more often...lol) and am homeschooling three kiddos, it is just no longer possible, as my time is much more limited.  So, though I was very afraid to try something that was all written out (I'd tried My Father's World in the past, and did not like having EVERYTHING planned out for me), I felt the Lord had led me to HOD because of my time restraints.  It has been a HUGE blessing, and it is so well planned, that I appreciate it, rather than dread following the plans.  Truly, after seven years of homeschooling, I believe I've found the BEST curriculum ever!  It is easy on me, as all the planning is done (unless you choose different options for the "choices" subjects).  It is also meeting all of the needs of my children.  It intertwines Bible into every subject seamlessly, serves all the learning styles very well, and challenges my children to be more independent as the years progress.  I am looking forward to using it again in the upcoming years.  I will post in a different post about my plans for the 2012-2013 school year soon!

I am looking forward to a wonderful summer, have already begun planning for next school year, and will let you in on some of my favorite organizing tips for our homeschool in upcoming posts!

Dena

Finally....A Blogger!

I have wanted to blog for some time, but I am not computer savvy (like my husband), and couldn't figure out HOW to get a blog up and running!  Well, thanks to my hubby, I have now begun!  WOOHOO!  I'm really excited to get started 8-). 

I really don't know what all I will post about.  I'm sure it will include such topics as:  what the Lord is teaching me through homeschooling, being a mom and being a wife.  It will probably also include my struggles.  I want to be real, and somehow be an encouragement to those who may read.

I love to read and love to learn, so I may even write about a great book I'm reading and what I'm learning through it.  I've been quite the homeschool curriculum junkie, too, and have LOTS of opinions on all kinds of curriculum.  I think I've found some REALLY GREAT curriculum in the process, too.

I enjoy strolling through God's wonderful creation, so nature is something that I love to photograph and journal about.  He shows His beauty through all He's made, and often times it brings awe to me.  I can't help but to get out and enjoy it as often as possible.

Well, I have another full day tomorrow!  I will be homeschooling my three kiddos, working at my husband's newly opened Computer Shop, and we will have mid-week evening church services tomorrow night.  A busy day, as usual, so I probably should get some rest.

I hope to blog often, but my life is full and busy, so we will see what comes of this!