Homeschool Memoirs- Mom Help

Homeschool Mothers do a lot in a day…. I’d say they do more than the working mom because they have to care for the kids, the house, the meals, and much more. They are constantly on the go and with the kids! Sometimes you just need a break. You need to sit down and have a break. While I’m not a mom - YET - I know there I are times I need to sit down for a breather.

THEME:
This week I’d like to invite you to share what YOUR “Mom” help is. Some drink coffee, soda, or chia-tea. Others check email or read their favourite blogs. Some talk a walk…. what do you do when you need to clear your head and take a breather?

My "mom help" has changed over the years. I used to read blogs. I still do, but it is just down to my favorites and thanks to Bloglines I only have to check that to see who has a new post. I also used to talk on the phone. Now I am on the phone very little.

My "mom help" has turned into pet projects. I will organize a room, take or edit some pictures, or work on smaller projects. My smaller project right now is a family cookbook. I have emailed all of my side of the family with this and have been working on organizing the recipes coming in. Once I get all the bugs worked out I plan on contacting Knights side to do the same thing.

I also do run the Scholastic book club for our Homeschool group. I would consider that another "Mom help".

For me, my "Mom help" needs to have me accomplishing something. I know that homeschooling, and taking care of my kids is the most important job that I could ever have, but I also struggle at times with each day looking like the last. To help with that, I have smaller projects that I can fulfil my need for organization, creativity, and accomplishment.

Homeschool Memoirs-Games

THEME
This week I want to invite you to share what different games you use for learning in your homeschool. Outside games, board games, or card games, and what purpose or subject you use them for.

I have used a variety of games throughout our schooling. Some more than others.

Ten Days in ____. This is a series of games (Ten Days in Africa, Ten Days in Asia, Ten Days in Europe, Ten Days in the USA) that helps with geography. The premise of the game is to create a 10 day trip through the land. It can be a challenge, but the greatest part is that you are studying the map the whole time figuring out how to get from one country or state to the next. Highly recommended!

Blokus. A strategy game for all ages. Fun, fast moving, and challenging. Another favorite in the home.

Zookeepers Nightmare. Another strategy game. Looks easy but is more difficult that you would imagine. Great fun thought and the pieces are 3D!

Bookworm Adventures. Helping Lex the bookworm fight bad guys by spelling words. The bigger the word, the more power to his punch. This even got Knight hooked! There is a lot of mythical creatures in this so if that bothers you, I would not recommend it.

Those are some of the games that we use in addition to our schooling.

Homeschool Memoirs- Field Trips

THEME:

This week I’d like to invite you to share your favourite field-trip that you’ve been able to go on since you’ve started homeschool. I’d encourage you to include photos, but you don’t have to.

I know we have been on a lot of field trips but I am going to talk about our most recent.

Living in Wisconsin we have a lot of dairy farms but we went on a "future farms tour" The first farm we went to was the NorSwiss Farms just about 15 minutes from our house. They are milking about 1400 cows right now but are moving up to 4000 cows!

Each cow has a computer chip strapped to their legs that monitors everything about them, especially their activity level so they know if the cow is getting sick or it is time to breed it again. They milk the cows on a raised surface right now which eliminates all the bending down for washing and milking so many cows. (If you look closely at the cow being milked you will see the ankle bracelet that holds the computer chip)

They are building a carousel to milk the cows on. On the carousel they will be able to milk 400 cows an hour with 78 cows able to be on it at the same time. The day we were there they were ready to install the carousel, but they were still waiting for it.

They also are a very "green" farm, recycling many different things. They turn the manure (30 lbs per cow per day!) into electricity, fertilizer, and even bedding for the cows! They use the heat that is generated by cooling the milk to heat water to clean out the milk pipes. They are also using sand bedding and have a sand sorter so they can reuse some or all of that.

At the second farm we were able to see robotic milkers in action. So cool!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Homeschool Memoirs- Timely Facts

Since I skipped last weeks homeschool memoirs (That assignment was hard!) I figured I needed to get back in the saddle and actually do the assignment this week. So here goes...

THEME
This is our 10th Homeschool Memoirs so this week it’s going to be about 10 timely facts about you! Write 10 interesting, crazy, weird, fun facts about you! Include facts about you as a woman, a wife, a mommy, a homeschooler, a homekeeper, a taxi-driver, a cook, etc . I only put 10 facts because I didn’t want to overwhelm you, but you’re welcome to do more!

1. I am almost 8 years younger than my husband. That makes me feel pretty young today.

2. We have hundreds of books. Our own library, plus our "school library" which has easily 400 books on it's own. Next school year my school list has a couple hundred books on it, and I have a wish list of probably 200 books on top of that. I love books. And I love to have them at my fingertips.

3. I would love to have a place in the country where I can grow and raise most of our own food. I would have apples, pears, berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), garden, chickens, beef cow, pig and probably some other stuff. That is one of my dreams.

4. I am not willing to go into great debt for my dream, therefore I will probably stay in town.

5. I made a pumpkin pie from a can for the first time on Sunday. We had a can of pumpkin so we thought we'd try it. We didn't' like it as well. We will stick to using the pumpkin we bake down.

6. We use the barter system, a lot. The items we trade for the most is corn, bread, and milk. But it is not limited to that at all. We will also trade for chips, soda, firewood, maple syrup, auto repairs, or whatever anyone is willing to trade with us that we can use.

7. I don't like driving. I will do it without hesitation, but I prefer not to be in a car. I guess I prefer the destination over the journey to get there.

8. My favorite subject is history. I love learning about the past, but I couldn't care less about exact dates. I want to learn from history, but I don't see the point in having to know if something happened in 1843 or 1844.

9. I am the spender of the family. Sort of. I tend to spend a little more in daily life, but when Knight wants to take a vacation, get a new car, or something that is more substantial I can't see the point. Our cars run. I don't need a different one. So what if it has 283,000 miles on it (it really does). We don't spend much on repairs, and it starts when I want to drive.

10. I am the one who talked Knight into getting a Wii. He didn't think we'd really use it. I pushed and won. I am the only one who doesn't play it. I will play if I absolutely have to because someone made me feel guilty. I don't remember the last time I played. But Knight LOVES it.

Homeschool Memoirs- Study Spot

THEME:
This week share your favourite spot to study with your kids. There are many places you can sit down to teach, learn, and work, but where do you prefer and why? You’re welcome to include a photo of your study spot! Looking forward to seeing everyone’s!

We live in an old house in northern Wisconsin. Most of our school year is during the cold season. What am I saying, most of our life is in the cold season! Our study spots reflect our house and the season. We do school in the living room except for the times someone is on the computers in the "classroom". Art history, Spanish, Typing, and research is on the computers. Other than that the most coveted study area is next to the pellet stove, or laying in front of the pellet stove. We covet heat in this house. I will normally sit on a couch and work with whoever needs help while the rest are working independently. I do have TV trays that the kids can use as a table if they desire, but most of the time they just use their laps. It's one of the best things about homeschooling. We can be comfortable while we work.

Homeschool Memoirs- Snacks

Theme:

There are so many different kinds of snack foods, store-bought and homemade, and I would like to invite you to share what snack foods your family usually snacks on throughout the week. You’re welcome to make season lists too. I know there are different meals we eat during the colder seasons than we do in the warmer ones, and I imagine there are also seasonal snack foods as well.

We are not big snackers in this house. Our kids are allowed one sweet snack a day, normally being a Little Debbie snack. Knight thinks that I shouldn't be able to completely ban them since that is how we pay our bills. I would not go and buy LD's but since we have the out dates, my kids are allowed one a day.

Beyond that, they can have any fruit in the house. We canned peaches, pears, and applesauce and froze strawberries and blueberries in addition to any fresh stuff we have that week.

We also will make strawberry julius, or pop some popcorn in the air popper at times. We also drink hot chocolate in the colder months that work well as a snack and takes the chill out of the bones.

Homeschool Memoirs- Summer Photo Essay

THEME
This week I want to invite you to take a moment and post a Summer Photo Essay memoir. Starting from around the official date of Summer to this past week - just give a basic summary of your summer as I know someone of you are photoholics!

We don't do a big summer vacation in our family. We spend our time close to home enjoying the great outdoors.

We will spend our time kayaking...

Or at the pool...

Or at the lake...

Or picking strawberries. We put up strawberries, blueberries, zucchini, corn, peaches, and pears this summer. Applesauce isn't done yet, so I can't include that.

This year we didn't get to go boating at my mom's. We ran out of time and were sorely disappointed. I guess that means next year we will have to go extra!

Homeschool Memoirs- Favorite Things

THEME:
Since I’ve been making you work really hard on the previous Memoir themes I decided to take a little break, and do something fun! This week I want to invite you to share a few of your favourite things. I know the list of favourite things could be never-ending, but I’ve made a list…

Magazines/Carnivals - About the only magazine I read is Readers Digest, the kids read Keys for Kids and Highlights

Freebie sites - any sites that offer freebies or often have giveaways-5 Minutes for Moms

Homeschool news/informative-?

Forums/book clubs -?

Networking, Blog “About” (sites that offer tech-support or tutorials for computer/internet) &

Quick Links -?

Mom site - a sites just for moms -5 Minutes for Moms

Inspirational/encouraging/motivational - Greg Laurie, Dave Ramsey

Youth/kid - sites geared towards youth/kids or owned by them-Fun Brain

Memes --Wordless Wednesday, Photo Hunt Saturday, Homeschool Memoirs

Organizing/crafts - sites that you look to for organizing tips or crafts -?

Homemaking/Homesteading ?

Bible-focused - sites mainly about God’s Word-?

Homeschool Method - sites that offer a lot of info on a certain method ?

Family blog - sites that give you a glimpse into another family’s life, run by a family -This is where I can't pick a favorite. My side bar has many blog, all of whom give insight into families

Businesses, particularly homebased-?

This was actually a really hard week for me. Obviously I don't spend a great deal of time on many different sites. Actually I spend less and less time on the computer, which is probably why my blog never gets updated. I check email, check bloglines, and check facebook (and play Scramble when time permits). I do this a couple times a day. Unless I have something I need to purchase or look up I don't stay on the Internet. The kids spend time looking up information for their lapbook research but they are not allowed to just surf in the Internet either. Hopefully next week will be easier!

Homeschool Memoirs- Something New

This is our assignment this week:

Planning your homeschool is a lot of fun, especially if you’re going to be trying something new. Just like finding a shiny new penny, you’re excited to use it. This week I hope you’ll share something new you’re using, why you’ve decided to use it, and if you have used it how you like it.

We are trying a quite a few new things but my favorite is Spelling Power! For years we tried the old way of give them a list to memorize, test them on Friday, watch them feel like a failure. It just didn't work for us. At all.

A friend suggested Spelling Power. It is not graded. You start with a test to put them at the level they need to start at. The book then does tell the parent what grade level this is, but that information is not for the child. They test for 5 minutes every day, only working on the words they get wrong each day. The student workbooks are set up so they write out the rule for the list they are working on, have a 10 step study guide to work on their words, plus a place to write sentences. Then you are supposed to do 5 minutes of skill building activities. 15 minutes. No tears, no feeling helpless or like a failure, and the kids see progress.

What more could you ask for?

Homeschool Memoirs-Routines

The assignment for this week reads:

I know some people are very routine oriented while others may be more “day-by-day”, and it all depends on your family and what works best for your life-style. This week please post hat your planned homeschool routine is.

I have a routine that I try to stick to, but as with anything it is more of a guide than a schedule. I came up with a daily schedule, and also a school schedule for each child. This helps me to be able to teach those subjects that require more teaching time to each child, and since we have a couple subjects done on the computer they needed to make sure our school day keeps going instead of waiting for others. Our Daily Schedule looks like this:


Schedule
7:00 am Wake up
7:30-8:00 Out of Bed/ Room Cleaned
8:00-8:30 Breakfast
8:30-9:00 Clean up/ Chores
9:00-2:00 School
2:00-5:00 Free Time
5:30-6:30 Dinner
6:30-8:00 Free Time
8:00-8:15 Straighten up house
8:15-8:30 Get ready for bed
8:30 Bed Time
9:30 Lights Out

Our school schedule looks like this:

School Schedule--J-Bell
9:00-9:30 Devotions
9:30-10:00 Math
10:00-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:00 Reading/ Tapestry
11:00-11:30 Spelling/ Grammar
11:30-12:00 Spanish
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:00 Writing/ Typing
1:00-1:30 Science/ Critical Thinking
1:30-2:00 Art


School Schedule--Desti
9:00-9:30 Devotions
9:30-10:00 Math
10:00-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:00 Reading/ Tapestry
11:00-11:30 Spanish
11:30-12:00 Spelling/ Grammar
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:00 Art
1:00-1:30 Science/ Critical Thinking
1:30-2:00 Writing/ Typing

School Schedule--Rara
9:00-9:30 Devotions
9:30-10:00 Spanish
10:00-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:00 Math
11:00-11:30 Reading/ Tapestry
11:30-12:00 Writing/ Typing
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:00 Spelling/ Grammar
1:00-1:30 Art
1:30-2:00 Science/ Critical Thinking

School Schedule--J-Bird
9:00-9:30 Devotions
9:30-10:00 Art
10:00-10:30 Recess
10:30-11:00 Math
11:00-11:30 Reading/ Tapestry
11:30-12:00 Science/Critical Thinking
12:00-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:00 Writing/ Typing
1:00-1:30 Spanish
1:30-2:00 Phonics Tutor

I have this printed up and we refer to it often. The subjects in bold are the ones done on the computer (Art being art history). That is roughly how we spend our day. The only other thing I really try to do is to turn off the phone once it is time for school to start. I keep my cell on in case someone really needs to get a hold of me, but most people know that I am available in the afternoons, not mornings.

Homeschool Memoirs--The Agenda

This week’s theme is about sharing your 2008-09 homeschool agendas and plans. You’ve been preparing your plans for sometime and you’re ready to go. Or you’re still in the planning-stage and need some inspiration or tips on what to use. Because many use different curriculum and methods there is always something new to be gleaned from other homeschoolers. It’s always fun and interesting to see what other’s are using and the WWWWH as Robin Sampson suggests. So this week I hope you will share what you’re doing this year for your homeschool agenda.
Share the different curriculum you’re using. You can also include what age/grade you’re using it for, how long you’ve been using it, and why you like it.

After some years of using the school at home method (Bob Jones, A Beka) I found that style of homeschooling was not working very well for our family anymore. We branched out and chose to do Tapestry of Grace as our main curriculum. It covers history, reading, geography, writing, church history, and art. I enjoy this because we can all explore the same historical times yet each of them having the curriculum tailored to fit their levels. It is somewhat teacher intensive in terms of planning but we are getting our niche down and I am enjoying seeing my kids excited to read some of the books it calls for. We are doing Rosetta Stone for Spanish (great for learning to speak it, not so great if you want to learn the grammar behind it), Easy Grammar (looks great but haven't started it yet), Math U See (love, love LOVE MUS!), Spelling Power (again LOVE this, so much better than list memorization spelling that did NOT work for my kids), as well as supplementing some with Creativity Express for more art instruction(cute and fun, plus they are learning art history), Draw Write Now for how to draw(kids have fun with this and their drawings have improved), Typing Instructor (haven't started yet) and some thinking skills books and games. For science we are going to go through the Moody Science videos along with some hands on books and science kits.

We have lots of games that we play that are educational but fun. Some of our favorites are the 10 Days games for geography, and Zookeepers Nightmare for thinking skills.

Because there are so many different subjects and some are on the computer I have come up with a schedule for each child so they have their time on the computer, time for me to teach them, and time for them to work independently, along with much needed recesses. We don't have this completely set it stone, after all we homeschool for a reason and want some flexibility but our goal is the schedule.

Homeschool Memoirs

I have decided to the new meme Homeschool Memoirs in hopes that it will help me blog more. When someone tells me what to blog about it really helps me get over the "I don't really have anything to say" mood.

This weeks Theme:

The first theme begins today, August 20th, 2008. This week, we want to hear about YOU. The author behind the words. The Momma behind all the homeschooling kiddos. Just write up something about you, your family, and your home. How long you’ve been homeschooling and why you decided to homeschool.

My name is De. I have been married for 14 years and we have 4 great kids (12,11,9,7). Both my husband and I became Christians almost 12 years ago and we have a great church that has become a great second family to us. I really enjoy photography, kayaking, and reading. I tend to drag my family with me when I want to hit the water or go take pictures but normally they are up for the adventure. We have our own business so we run our work and school week Tues-Sat.


We made the decision to homeschool when we had to start thinking of school for our oldest. We knew that we didn't feel she would be ready to be sent into the world to spend most of her waking time with people that may not share our convictions, values, and beliefs (not to mention we just didn't really like what was being taught). We felt that we could do the same or better job academically with them and we would better be aware of issues and problems as they arose so we could address them. Over the years we have had many days of school that turned in a whole different direction as issues, theories, or teaching opportunities have presented themselves. We have said we take it year by year but in reality we just "never say never" about sending them to public school. The plan right now is to school them through high school. We both really enjoy having them all at home and as we continue on this journey we find that we feel stronger each year that we have done the right thing.



That's it in a nutshell. I am so thankful that I have been able to be homeschooling the last 7 years (starting my 8th on Tuesday). I wouldn't want to change it for anything.