Treasures of May

Re-Thinking Mother's Day at True Woman

From Raising Arrows:

• Training Minds Away from Twaddle
• Homeschooling with a Purpose - A Purposeful You
• Weekends in the Word - Rewarding
  

Raising Girls who Long to be Keepers at Home at Raising Olives

Five Reasons You Should Read to Your Kids at The Happy Housewife

If You Had Known Me Then... at Storing Up Treasures - I could have written this post!

How to Love Your Kids (When You Don't Really Like Them) at Steady Mom

From holy experience:

• For the Mother of Teenagers who Aches but a Bit (OK, I'm not yet a mom to a teen but this post made me sob, seriously! I'm not ashamed to admit it!)
• 3 Guideposts That Can Radically Change Parenting (Free Printables for Mother's Day)
• For the Mother Who Fears Failure
• Dear Husband {Love for the Middle Years}
• How Do We Really Treat Jesus?
• Why Would Anyone be Crazy Enough to Homeschool?

From Passionate Homemaking:

• Why Mothers Need to Pick Their Priorities
• Q & A's for Mission-Minded Families: Motherhood
• Embracing the Pain and Letting Go of Fear in Childbirth
• Little Souls Entrusted to Our Care
• Favorite Reads on Motherhood
  

minimalist influence: homeschooling at thatmom

Oh, if I Could Only Do it All Over Again! Homeschooling, That Is... at Mommy, Esquire

Five Manners Your Preschooler Should Master at Heart of the Matter

"I'm Never Inviting You to MY House!" at Hooked on Houses

Parenting 001 at The Gospel Coalition

Snappy Answers for Stupid Questions About Your Big Family at National Catholic Register

If you Nurse Your Baby... at peaceful parenting

Advice for Young (& Old) Wives at life as a mom

25 Manners Every Child Should Know by Age 9 at Shine

On Motherhood and Profanity at Ladies Against Feminism - excellent words from Elisabeth Elliot!

3-Year Old and 4-Year Old Boys at Preschoolers and Peace

The Contempt Shown to Parents of Large Families at World Net Daily

"Tell Her Mama!" at Raising Homemakers

The New Mommy's Guide to Managing the House at Pursuing Titus 2

Those "Socially Challenged" Homeschoolers! at PJs All Day

Throwing the Baby Out Instead of the Foreskin at A Christian Worldview of Fiction

A Welcoming Haven for Your Man at Parenting Miracles

10 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Curriculum at Acorns and Oaks

WFMW - Homeschool Organization

In my "Glimpse into Our Week" post, there were a few pictures of one of our organizational systems that caught the attention of my friend, Heather! (Hi, Heather! *waving*) She asked, so I thought I'd share a little more about it.

My two oldest boys (ages 10 and almost 9) have several subjects that they now do independently - these are Math, English, Reading, and Bible Study. (OK, just for full disclosure - Isaac no longer does the formal reading curriculum, but has Handwriting which he does independently. Ezra struggles a bit with handwriting so he does a different program, which requires my involvement. Anywhoo...)

Since they started independent work, they've had their own totes to keep their work in:

I used to keep all my Teacher's Manuals lumped together in a crate (those plastic milk carton crates are my best friends!). When it came time to check their work, I'd have to dig through their totes to find their workbooks, and then dig through my crate to find the corresponding Teacher's Manual. It wasn't a very efficient process, and often just lead to me leaving everything out on the table all the time. Which is efficient, until you want to use the table for something else... say... eating, perhaps? So, I brainstormed for a better idea.

Then, while walking through the office supply section of a store one day, I had one of those "lightbulb" moments! This is what I came up with that is now our current system - much neater and more efficient than the old one!

Each boy still has their tote to store their books and notebooks in. When they've completed their work, they put the completed work into their magazine holder. They each got to pick which color they wanted, and then I got a second one of the same color and use the second one to hold the corresponding Teacher's Manuals.

So when I need to check Ezra's work, I pull out his magazine holder, pull out my matching magazine holder, go through each workbook, meet with him to go over it, and then he puts his workbooks away in his tote again, leaving his magazine holder empty until the next day. And I put away my Teacher's Manuals. Tada! Nice and clean and organized! And if I haven't gotten a chance to go over any work, or have to stop part way, I can tell because those books are still in the magazine holder. Kind of like the "in" and "out" boxes they used to have in offices. (Do they still? I figure it's all electronic now!)

Oh, and I'm sure you've noticed that extra magazine holder - the (not so) inconspicuous black one? That one holds Teacher's Manuals for subjects that they need my one-on-one attention for (such as Spelling, Writing, and Ezra's handwriting). They can't do them by themselves, but they're also not subjects we do as a group, so I keep those Manuals separate, as well. (Also, those blue boxes in the middle are used for Spelling). Clear as mud? Hopefully this all makes sense! ;-)

So... there you have it! That's what works for us in keeping some of our homeschool things reasonably organized and flowing smoothly. Check out what other Works for Me Wednesday posts at We Are That Family!

A Glimpse into Our Week

Here's a peek into a typical run-of-the-mill week at our house!

We do schoolwork

(before)

(after)

We build things

We make discoveries

We grow things

We pretend we are puppies and do silly dances

We eat together

It gets hot

(We turn on the AC!)

We do chores

We share smiles

And at the end of it all... we sit back and relax!

Close-Ups

I have been having such trouble with Blogger lately! While I try to wait patiently for the bugs to be worked out, I thought I'd share some pictures of the crew from yesterday! Can you tell they're all related? ;-)

Have a blessed weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Flying High!

TOS Crew Top 10 Round-Up

My final review for the 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Crew was posted last week! What a fun and busy year it's been! I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the Crew and share my thoughts on such a variety of interesting products.

In order to clean up the blog some, I've made a page just for the reviews I've done over the past year - just click on the 2010-2011 TOS Crew sidebar picture to go to it! I've organized them all by category, so hopefully it will be easy to find what you may be looking for.

To finish up the year, I wanted to recap my top 10 favorite products... and like any good countdown, I'll work my way down to my favorite!

#10 - Maestro Classics
The kids and I really enjoy stories on CD. Set to music, they're even better! We love our Peter and the Wolf CD, and hope to get more of their "Stories in Music" in the future!

#9 - Download N' Go - Expedition Australia
While this one was my "trial review" before I was officially signed on board the Crew, I really enjoyed this product, so I included it on the countdown! I am not a good "Unit Study" homeschooler, but using this e-book made it easy to become one. It was timed perfectly for when we were studying Australia on our own, and it enriched our studies immensely!

#8 -Illustrated Bible Dictionary
We have pulled this resource our countless times to look up useful bits of info - I've been pleased by the ability it gives us to look up the sometimes random questions kids can ask about the Bible!

#7 -Positive Action for Christ
A high quality Bible Study curriculum - I appreciate how easy it is for my oldest to use independently, but it isn't just busywork - he's learning and retaining what he's studying!

#6 - Nutrition 101 - Choose Life!
My review really says it all - an excellent family resource, not just for hoemschoolers, but anyone interested in nutrition - young and old alike!

#5 - Wits and Wagers Family
A fun family game we still love to get out and play together! Some of the questions are so funny!

#4 -Math Facts Now!
My review sums up pretty well why I like this product so much. The interesting thing is, my children have come to enjoy it, too! Awesome!

Now, for the top 3 of the year....

Math Rider
We bought this after our review trial was over - the kids couldn't stop talking about how much they loved it, and my sweet husband said "If it works, and they love it this much, why don't we just get it?" 'Nuff said!

ALEKS
I love this online math program! I really appreciate that it is designed for the student to use independently, but also adjusts to the student's strengths and weaknesses, to ensure that the student is really mastering the problems, not just assigning preset worksheets. The super user-friendly parent's page is great! We actually ended up purchasing a year's subscription for the boys to use alongside their regular math curriculum.


and, my Number One favorite product of the year.....

Writing Tales!
As I mentioned enthusiastically throughout my review, Writing Tales has been the perfect fit for our family, helping my oldest to overcome "writing phobia" and start to feel more comfortable in creative expression. The ease of use and the effectiveness of Writing Tales makes it my #1 favorite review product of the year!

And the Winner is....

I wanted to thank all of you who joined in my Seeds of Character giveaway! I appreciate all of your kind comments and suggestions, and most of all... that you're here! I love "getting to know" those of you who read my blog more as you come out of lurkdom!

So, on to the main point of this post, as I know everyone is waiting with bated breath...

The winner is....

(wait for it!)

Christine, from Our Homeschool Reviews!!

Congratulations!!!

Christine, please email me through my profile with your address and I'll send your CD out ASAP!

Thank you again to all who participated!!

(Oh, and in case you're really sad that you didn't win, I have a secret! OK, it's not really a secret, but in case you didn't know... you can listen to all of the Seeds Family Worship albums online! For free! So enjoy and be blessed!)

TOS Crew Review - Wordy Qwerty

Wordy Qwerty is the follow-up program to Talking Finger's Read, Write and Type, which I reviewed earlier this year! While "Read, Write, and Type" focused on teaching a student basic reading, spelling, and typing, Wordy Qwerty takes the instruction up another level and teaches not only the mechanics of proper spelling, but the "whys" of proper spelling - the 20 basic spelling rules of the English Language.

Wordy Qwerty combines games and music to help a child learn and remember spelling rules, so it is easy for the child to use and apply them in real life work! While designed mainly for 2nd and 3rd graders to use, I believe any student struggling with a basic spelling foundation could benefit from it. For this review, my 4th grader (10 years old) and my 3rd grader (8.5 years old) used the product. It was neither too easy nor too hard for either of them, and they both enjoyed using it.

The program has 20 lessons, each outlining one or more spelling rules. Within each lesson, there are 6 games - each lesson follows the same pattern. At the completion of each lesson, a part of a "music machine" is constructed - but it isn't until all 20 lessons are completed that the student gets to see the complete machine in action! Here are some screen shots of some of the games:

As an added help, each rule is also put to music in a short song. The program sings this song, and the child also has the opportunity to sing along, too!

The musical aspect of Wordy Qwerty is extremely beneficial, in my opinion. I overheard my 4-year old singing "C says /s/ if it comes before E, I or Y...." and that is a perfect example of how songs help the rules "get stuck" in someone's head - even if they're not paying that much attention! They can easily be recalled for "real-life" spelling.

I also found that only being allowed to see pieces of the music machine was enough reward for each level, but also helped to encourage my children to do ALL of the levels, so they could see the final outcome. When one of my children finally got to it, everyone stopped what they were doing to go see what it was like - and even I thought it was pretty cool!

As a parent, I could check on each of my children's progress in my parental account. While not overly detailed, the report displays and graphs the score for each lesson. If I noticed one was a particular struggle, I would just have that child redo that lesson.

I found Wordy Qwerty to be a nice, easy way to slip in some reinforcement of spelling rules. I don't know that the kids realized they were "learning" - they just enjoyed having game time on the computer!

The price is $35 for a CD-ROM of Wordy Qwerty, or a family can purchase a 5-year online subscription for one or more student, starting at $25. You can also try a free lesson before buying, to see for yourself what you think! That page also lets you fill out a form for a coupon code for 20% off!

And, as always, be sure to see what other Crew Members thought of Wordy Qwerty by checking out the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog!

Disclaimer: I was given this product specifically for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation in regards to this review.

WFMW - 3 Tips for a More Efficient Homeschool Day

It has been 3 months since Rachel's birth, and I am slowly getting back into the swing of homeschooling. We did "homeschool lite" for the first few months after her birth - only doing a few subjects a day (or week!), but now we are back into our full-time schedule, and after a few false starts, it is going wonderfully! There are lots of things I can think of that can affect how smoothly a homeschool family's day runs, but I wanted to highlight the top 3 that I recently implemented that seem to have the biggest effect in our house:

1. Everyone must get up at the same time! For us, that time is 7:30 am. I get up earlier than the kids, but all kids must be up and getting their day started no later than 7:30. That way, we can all eat breakfast together and get started on schoolwork without being held up by stragglers. This has proven to be the only way to get our day started on the right foot. If everyone just gets up whenever, I feel like I'm making breakfast for 2 hours and school is haphazard to say the least! So everyone getting up on time, at the same time, has dramatically made our day more efficient. (This rule does NOT apply to Rachel - I let her sleep as late as she needs to!)
   


2. I must stay off the computer. Must. Other distractions are eliminated as much as possible as well (phone calls, etc).


3. We cannot leave the house! Yes, I know one of the many benefits to homeschooling is the flexibility - being able to do school when and wherever we please. However, for a while, I was running errands several days a week - and trust me, hauling 6 children to a store for 3 items is not a "quick" jaunt! Just the time it takes to get everyone ready, organized, out the door, into the car, and so on is mind-boggling - what could have easily been a 15 minute trip solo turns into an hour or more! It was really eating up our day. So now, I run shopping errands on Sunday afternoons or in the evenings, and we do field trips, nature walks, library trips and doctor's appointments on Fridays, which is a very light schoolwork day for us. For me, in order to really keep things running smoothly at home... I have to be at home!

Of course, in these rules, there has to be flexibility - taking a phone call when it's an urgent matter, leaving the house to bring a meal to a new mother, letting a sick little one sleep in longer... but I've learned that I can call myself "flexible" and really use it as an excuse for laziness and chaos! So overall, having these three guidelines in place are really necessary for us. They have made our homeschooling day soooooo much easier and efficient!!

I'd love to hear your thoughts! What things do you find most affect how efficiently your day runs? Please leave a comment and share! Also, check out other WFMW posts at We Are That Family!