Christmas TIps + A Chance at FREE Books!

Today I Have a few tips for you as you start, or maybe finish up shopping for the kids on your list this year!

1. Set a budget. As with any spending it's important to have a spending limit or you'll spend way beyond what you initially intended to spend. Be sure your hubby is on the same page with you too!

2. Look for deals. I've been hearing some things about "black Friday" deals not really being deals lately. Be sure that if you are going for a deal that it really is a deal! Checkout the original price of the item before buying.

3.  Keep four gifts as the key. Something to wear, something they need, something they want and something to READ! Most kids have plenty of WANTS! I know mine do. But it's also a good idea to get them things they can use as well. Something to READ will last longer than a pile of toys they'll be bored with in a few weeks. The books will be there to inspire their imagination for months to come!

I have the something to read covered for you!  Usborne Books has been running specials all weekend. Today for Cyber Monday they have added a lot of new items to the sales! Tonight join me to party in our PJ"s on Facebook at 9pm EST. I will share info about the books on sale, games with prizes and one guest will win the hostess rewards! Anyone has the opportunity to win free books and other prizes so be sure to click here to RSVP and join us for the fun! If you can't make it to the party you can still checkout the deals here.

Today is the Day!

Today is the day that I've been excited for over the past few months. We started our regular school work a few years ago. The kids are enjoying it so far but they've been excited for today too.

So, what's today?

Today is our very first day ever of Classical Conversations! We visited last winter and as we went home the kids were all begging to go back again!

Why the switch?
I LOVED our curriculum that we were using before but I felt that my oldest needed something to help her remember things we were learning and also something to get her moving with writing. When a friend mentioned that she was part of Classical Conversations and how much she loved it I was very intrigued.

After our visit and much prayer over where God was leading us for this school year we took the plunge!

What is CC (classical conversations)?
Classical conversations is more than a homeschool co-op. It's a curriculum that covers all the major subject areas. Children in elementary school go to a class where the new memory work is introduced as well as an art project and science experiment. After having lunch together children in fourth through sixth grade attend an English and writing intensive class which uses IEW. It's also a great community of moms coming together to teach our children and encourage each other along the way.

I hope that helps a bit to shed a little light on what this program is and why we chose this path. I'm nervous to be tutoring a class of four year olds but also super excited to get started. Back packs are packed with folders and snacks, my white board has all of our memory work on it, lunches are half way packed and all of the things I need for today are in a bag. All that's left to do is finish lunches and get the kiddos moving! They've been asking for weeks when we would be starting and couldn't wait for today to come.

Have a great day!

Summer Days 2015

Have you had a great summer? I sure hope so! It seemed to just FLY right by! Here's a few things we did this summer.

Cook outs with friends!



4th of July fun including checking out a helicopter!


4H Projects like Chelsea's sewing project which came out beautiful! (Thanks to my mother in law  for guiding her!)



LOTS OF GREEN BEANS! 34 quarts to be exact!



Celebrated my baby girls' 2nd birthday! (How can she be 2?)

Where she slept for 2 hours of her party :)
9
We had camp fires with the kiddos and friends




Yummy S'mores!



Lots of tree climbing! I Love these great trees in our yard!

AND a family reunion where the kids got to play with LOTS of new cousins and Wayne and I enjoyed some corn hole competition.

So much fun to be had and also some work with the garden and canning all 34 quarts of green beans. I was ready to get back to our regular school routine and will be sharing about that soon!

The Geography Drawing Series: Initial Thoughts

Hi! I have the pleasure of trying a brand new product from Brookdale House! It's the geography drawing series which has a USA and Europe edition. I will be continuing to use the USA edition with my kids in the coming weeks.

How this program works

Each week there's one state to study. The activities are broken down into four days worth of practice.

Day 1: Study the New State.
Complete the State Fact Table.
Locate and label each new state onto the dashed, black and white map.
Draw all states studied thus far.

Day 2: Locate and label each new state onto the dashed, black and white map.
Draw all states studied thus far.

Day 3: Locate and label each new state onto the dashed, black and white map.
Draw all states studied thus far.

Day 4: List, from memory, the states studied thus far.
Using the blank text box, draw, also from memory, all of the states you
have learned.

What I think So Far

I love that it's scheduled for you and broken down in a way that is quick and easy to follow. You're not just given a packet of worksheets to figure out how to use. The schedule slowly introduces kids to each state, lets them practice drawing it alone and then moves on to placing it on the map.
ve that it's already

The states are introduced in a way that makes sense. They aren't just sporadically introduced. They start in the north east with Maine and work across the map toward the west.

Drawing Around the World can be used with a wide age range. Younger kids can learn how to trace the states and all the information while older kids can have more of a challenge with timed drills.

I really like that you're not just teaching geography with this program. While that's the focus, it's also teaching information about each state such as the capital, big industries, state bird and other interesting facts.

Be on the lookout in July for how my kids liked using this program! 

Teacher Appreciation Week!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

Ever since fifth grade I wanted to teach! My  teacher that year was the best! She was funny, used lots of hands on activities to teach and I could tell she just loved teaching! I never thought at that time that I'd be a homeschool teacher for my own children! I'm so glad that God has led me on this path. I know many who read this blog are homeschool moms. So in honor of teacher appreciation week I want to acknowledge YOU! 

Here are three reasons why I am thankful for educators:

1. You know your kids best and are able to tailor their education to their needs.

2. You put their education above your own wants.

3. You persevere through the rough days and cherish the wonderful ones! 

Education has such an impact on ourselves and our little ones. Educents is here to help you pay it forward. In honor of Teacher Appreciation week, Educents & Peekapak have teamed up to provide your favorite educators with a gift basket worth over $40, which includes a FREE $10 Educents Gift Card & 3 months of Peekapak lesson plans (3 digital storybooks, 12 in-class lessons & 12 at-home activities) that teach Character Education and Language Arts.

So, whether it's your mom, your classroom teacher, your neighbors, or another special human being who taught you important lessons, thank them by giving them a FREE gift basket, on Educents!

Fill out the form here to send this freebie to an educator you know.

I have another great way to celebrate teachers this week! Join me Thursday night May 7th at 9pm on Facebook for a chance to learn about raising kids that love reading, great Usborne books to help you in your homeschool or classroom and PRIZES! All sales from this event will earn free books for a local children's home! You can check it out here. I hope to see you there! 

Who is a special educator that you want to recognize this week?

Monday Matters: Week 2

Welcome to another week! I hope you've had a wonderful weekend! As before feel free to linkup your encouraging posts to help us off to a great start to our week.

I want to share with you something I learned yesterday in our parenting class at church. We are going through "Shepherding a Child's Heart" and watching the videos. Today Tedd said something that really got me thinking. He mentioned that we tend to get caught up in the situations happening with our  children instead of the real issue at hand, their heart. 

My encouragement to you as you start your week is this. When situations arise this week as they always do, don't worry about what is happening so much. Instead work on why your kids are fighting or disobeying. Are they being selfish, prideful, seeking revenge? Take them to God's word to help them see why it's wrong to act in those ways. 

Of course you still have to deal with the conflict that happened but take the time to lead them toward Jesus instead of debating about the conflict they are having. 

One Sentence Storybooks Review

This winter I was quite excited when Tyndale offered to send me a set of the "One Sentence Storybooks" in exchange for my review of this lovely little book set.When you open the box you'll find ten Bible story books. 

In the back of each book there is a page with pictures and the corresponding words to help your kids learn to read the sentence. On the opposite page you'll find a Bible verse to memorize and information to go over with your child. This takes the one sentence a bit deeper than just the basic Bible "story." 

What I thought: As you can see, my five year old really enjoyed these! Each page of the book builds on the sentence which helps with sight word recognition. They are quick and easy for kids to read which is nice. I really liked that they had the additional information and passages to read with her. You could use this as a quick read through or make it into a themed lesson with the verses to memorize and other activities to go along with it.