First Day of School 2015-2016

The kids headed back to school this past week. Once a week they attend a homeschool enrichment program through our local school district. They get to learn about history and science there and do fun things like projects, experiments, and field trips. They also get to have some social time without mom around and make new friends and have all sorts of fun. My kids completely love going and couldn't wait to go back this week. The following day we started our homeschool at home and they weren't quite as excited about that since its not all fun and games like their enrichment program. It was a great day though. We had zero tears and just a tiny bit of attitude!! My 7 year old was even excited to do her school work the following day. The kids were great at taking short breaks to play with little brother when he was missing attention from them since they were busy with school work. (they don't mind the breaks). A typical morning/afternoon on a school day for us might go something like this.

7:30 - Wake up/eat breakfast
8:00-9:00 Morning chores: get dressed, make bed, brush teeth, feed pets and do one chore for mom.
9:00-10:00 School Work (they get to choose what they do when they do it, as long as all of their work is done each day I don't care what order they do it in.)
10-10:30 Breaks/Play time with little brother while mom hops in the shower.
10:30-11:30 More school work time
11:30-12:30 Lunch time/Break - more little brother play time. And a quick house pick up.
12:30-1:30 This time is for doing any school work that was not completed earlier or school work that needs more attention from mom while little brother takes a nap.
1:30-3:30 Rest time (TV or video game time if they have earned it earlier in the day by doing other chores).
By about 4 we are working on picking up the house again (I know, a lot of house picking up but with 4 kids it needs to be done) Then I typically start working on dinner and the big kids help entertain little brother till daddy gets home. Since daddy goes to work VERY early in the morning he is usually home by 4:30.

So that is a typical day for us. We don't follow a super rigid schedule but I like to keep it as scheduled as possible with some wiggle room for extra things if needed.

Why do they have to grow up???

My big (handsome) middle school-er!

This girl is becoming such a sweet young lady!

This girl is my spitfire- she is just the sweetest little thing though!

Oh this little mister! He just had to sit in the same place as the big kids to get his picture taken!

Big brother helping him play a game during their special time together.

School Room 2015

This summer we re-finished our bookshelves in our school room and I love how it turned out! Everything looks so clean and tidy too! I purged a ton from our house this summer and it has made the house so much more manageable to keep clean.

This year I bought a new, fun clock! The kids picked it out. I also painted our bulletin board white and changed out the paper color and bought a new calendar. I'm excited to add more things to it in the coming weeks!

This is our book area: I am going to be getting a bigger coat rack that I have had my eye on at Hobby Lobby very soon. And will be looking for one bookself to fit this space and make it a little nicer looking.

This is little brother's play corner. He loves to cook us some food and play with his cars.

My new painted bookshelf (thanks to my dad, AKA Papa!) I bought a label maker and have had fun making labels so the kids know where to put things when they are done using them. Obviously that won't always happen that they actually put things away- but a mom can dream can't she?? I got that printer from a local buy/sell FB site for $5!! I also store some of our manipulatives on this shelf as well as art supplies, books and our curriculum. On the top shelf is my laminator (love that thing!)

Here is our IKEA desk and chairs. Only two kiddos work here at a time, we also have workboxes for the girls to keep their things in. Big brother has a desk upstairs in his room for his things. We try to keep the computers on this desk now and not move them around since last year we had an incident and had to spend a bundle repairing a laptop this summer. 

So there it is, our school room. It will hopefully stay clean and tidy like this all year long. (Who am I kidding??? I doubt it will last until Labor day) Hope you enjoyed the tour!!

School Pictures 2012-2013

We finally took our beginning of the school year photos today. I wanted to wait till everyone looked nice so we decided to take them before church this morning. Thankfully everyone was cooperative.

First we have my big third grader Colby. He is already showing that he is growing up because the last couple weeks have been much easier than last year as far as needing me to be right with him at all times. Last year he lacked confidence to think he could get answers right without me right there with him to help in a moments notice. But so far this year he is flying through his work, doing great and only needing the occasional clarification on how to do something...which is awesome!!  This year is a big deal for me, because third grade is when I start remembering lots of childhood memories. So I know he will too! I hope he is as fond of third grade as I was.

Next we have our first grader, Miss Hallie! She has matured so much this summer and is already showing me how much she is ready for harder school work.

And lastly we have my little one Miss Sadie, who is not so little any more. She will be starting her Pre-K year to get all ready for Kindergarten next year. This will be our last year at Grammy's preschool. So sad.

They have all gotten so big this summer, and are pretty adorable if I do say so myself!! We are going to have a great school year and I can't wait to see how much they grow and learn this year!


We are participating in the "Not" Back to School Blog Hop! If you are visiting from there leave a comment so I know you stopped by!!

Come tour our homeschool room...2012 - 2013

WELCOME TO OUR SCHOOL!!!!!

Last year I gave you a tour of our homeschool room here and we have changed it a bit since then. We decided we wanted a different sized table and some fun chairs for the kids that were more comfortable to sit in. Thankfully we now have an Ikea close by so we were able to find what we were looking for without spending a bundle. I love how narrow and long this desk is. The kids are far enough away from each other not to bother each other- and it fits well in our space.

We are utilizing our drawers for organizing their subjects as well as have binders set up where they can find their daily work and have spots to put it in when it's completed so I can correct it for them. Here are their workspaces: 

Hallie's workspace

Colby's Workspace

Here is Colby's work binder...he really likes this feature of school this year. He is my organized OCD kiddo..so this makes him happy.

We are also using work completion cards so they can feel like they are working towards an end. After they finish each subject they get to hang that card on the bulletin board. Once they finish all their work for the day they get to put a sticker on the chart. And once they have five stickers for doing their work without complaining they can earn weekend wii time. So far it's going very well and the kids are so happy to be back in school!

Their work completion cards are on the bottom of the bulletin board to be hung up after they finish each subject.

Here are a few other pictures of our room:

My printer/copier- I use this a lot!

A closer view of the bulletin board- I finally got a new calendar!!

Our Encyclopedias, books and my laminator!

A fun picture of the 10 commandments hanging in our room!

Im not sure if I will leave this in here- but right now it is nice to have somewhere to sit and read to the kids without leaving the school room to get distracted. (this rocking chair is for my if I ever have another baby- baby)

Here is my book library! It looks SOOO much better you guys!! LOL! I got rid of a ton of books its not even funny! And I still have a ton! We also store most of our games on this shelf. I bought the white wire baskets at Ikea as well and have them in categories of history books, science books and holiday books.

So there you have it- that is our school room this year!! Hopefully next year we will have an even better space since we are planning on moving next summer! 

If you are visiting from the Not Back to School Blog Hop then Welcome!! Please leave a comment so I know you were here! 

Our 2012-2013 Homeschool Curriculum

This year we are trying some new curriculum for Colby now that he is in 3rd grade- we decided to try Switched on School House which is computer based for History, Science and Bible. I think he is really going to like it and especially love having the freedom to do some work on the computer.

For math he will start the Math U See Gamma book- which will be learning multiplication. He has already grasped the basic concept over the summer of how multiplication works, so I know this is going to be super fun to see how well he does!

Reading and English he will use Rod and Staff again. We LOVE these books. My kids so enjoy reading Bible Stories and that's what these are. Bible stories that teach them about reading and english concepts.









We are still working in the Sequential Spelling book- I love this book and it has really helped Colby gain more confidence in his spelling. Hallie (Hal-e) will start it this year- so I am looking forward to see how well she does too!

Colby will also be learning to write in cursive this year. I know it is not taught anymore in the regular school system- but he will be learning because I feel it is still important to know.

Both kids will do the Art Pac book for Art and various other projects throughout the year.

Hallie will do Rod and Staff for history and Health/Science. I have the 2nd grade books, but they are so basic it will be great for where she is at right now.

She will also do Rod and Staff for Reading and English. She is finishing up the first grade set and will move on to second grade in a month or two.

She is also using Math U See for math- she is half way through the Alpha book and will move on to the Beta book when she is ready.

Not sure yet what Bible curriculum I will use for Hallie- it might just be reading lots of Bible Stories.

I have several read aloud's planned this year as well- I just haven't organized the schedule yet.

Hallie will continue to practice the piano about everyday. I hope she really learns to love it.

For PE/social the kids will be going once a week to a 1 hr homeschool swimming class. I am really excited for them to do this and so are they!!

They will also be attending Wednesday eve Bible classes at church every week, Sunday school, and once a month field trips with friends for some more social interaction. I don't see lack of social interaction as a problem by the way- my kids are very social and get along with any children no matter if they are in their age groups or not.

So there you go, that is where everyone is at this year. I really feel like we are going to have a great year this year and the kids are going to do great!

What kind of things are you using this year??