2016-2017 End of the year review

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The school year has come to a close, and it happened right on time! We are finishing up construction on the parsonage, things were being shoved into corners for the painters, and we are working on our upcoming furlough schedule!  If you missed the curriculum post about what we had planned on using this year, here is the link.

K-5
Mr. Hotwheels was quite the challenge when it came to being motivated to do his work but we made it through! He really loved his BJU math and was excited about learning to read. We worked through about 25 lessons of the Burnz' Pronouncing Print reader and it really helped him to build confidence in reading one-vowel words without relying on picture clues. That in conjunction with the A Beka K-5 phonics program has helped him progress smoothly into two-vowels words and some special sounds. He can now pick up a level one reader and read most of it on his own. He also loved the Handwriting Without Tears Kindergarten book.

2nd
Mr. Bookworm has blown through everything that I place in front of him. On of the last books I downloaded for him was Mr Popper's Penguins. He read it in three hours, and then reread it again a few days later! So throughout the year we have read from several public domain readers and used lists like the one from Ambleside Online.  With math we had to take a step back because the BJU advanced quickly into two-digit arithmetic and we needed to work on memorizing our math facts well before learning new concepts. We used MEP Year 1, a free downloadable program that focuses on building basic addition and subtraction skills along with logic, and now he is confidently advancing with Christian Light Education's math program.

With both boys we switched back and forth between a grade level workbook, Explode the Code phonics, and the ABeka program. I realized that teaching two children with two more on the horizon that I just do not have the time to teach every course individually, and I needed something that would fit our needs as we head into the new school and our first furlough from the mission field at the same time. Stay tuned to see what we have planned for next year!

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 10 Curriculum 2016-2017

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Whew! If I took the time to discuss how many plans, options, choices, decisions, etc. went into planning this school year it would take forever, and you would probably stop reading after page 20!

Anyway, my motto this year is "Keep it simple sweetheart!" and my goal is to keep to the curriculum plan that I have mapped out despite whatever whining may occur because a certain someone has a dislike for writing neatly in his notebook.  That said, I have spent time evaluating my children's likes/dislikes, needs/wants, and my own expectations before making a final decision.  Here we are at the end of the first week and we are enjoying our choices, but already I see the need to pare back some of my over zealousness to keep our choices simple yet satisfying!

Kindergarten!
For my kindergartner I am using the Abeka language arts program loosely.  I say loosely because somewhere in the middle of last year the letter sounds clicked for him and he started reading. So in reality, according to his abilities we can skip the first 60 lessons and start with long vowels.  However, though he can read he wasn't really confident in his abilities with cvc words so we are doing a mixture of things to keep the ball rolling.  They include but aren't limited too...

• The Step-by-Step Primer with Burnz' Pronouncing Print by Eliza Boardman Burnz. (I'm sure you've never heard of it since it was printed in the late 1800's. It is basically a pure phonics reader.  Each lesson introduces a new letter and adds words using the new sound and previously learned sounds. There are also a few sight words thrown in...less than 10 in the first 30 lessons. We are taking it slow and building his confidence!)
• Bob Books readers and other phonetic readers from our library.
• Phonetic readers found online at openlibrary.org. (another post coming soon!)
• Letters and Sounds K and Writing with Phonics K from Abeka book. We are working through them as the lessons appear until we reach the two-vowel rule, and then we will continue the phonics lessons from the teacher's guide as needed.
• Readiness Skills K from Abeka book. It includes activities such as coloring, cutting and logic skills.

For math we are using the Math K5 program from BJU Press.  I have the teacher's edition that comes with a cd of printables and the student manipulatives pack.  We love the hands-on activities and the manipulatives pack makes it easier for me since I don't have to spend time searching for hands-on things to use for each lesson.  My wiggly kinesthetic learners really enjoy the program and the themes that go with each year.

We also have a Social Studies book and a Science reader from Abeka to round things out for K5.

Second grade
This is where I exercised the most brain power!  Mr. Bookworm loves to read, loves science, loves computer-based learning, hates writing and avoids it all costs, is super advanced in some areas and needs a little extra help in others!  And I? I only have so much time and energy to give.  We tried a few different language arts approaches this week just to test the waters and find that delicate balance of oral learning, visual learning, physical learning, and of course, old-fashioned pen and pencil learning.

For math, we are continuing on with BJU's 2nd grade curriculum. We had to pause to work on addition during first grade but we are back in full swing and he is eager to improve his math skills. Praise the Lord!

• The curriculum comes with a workbook and a review book. So each day he does the workbook page with me during the lesson and the review page covers the previous day's work on the front and a cumulative review on the back.  Like I said, we are sharpening our skills.
• He also likes to use the review games on Easy Peasy's website.

For language arts...

• Spelling 2 from Abeka. (He choose the simplicity of the format with only short exercises for each lesson. Aside from that he will daily trace the words in a page protector and do some form of hands-on or computer practice like Spelling City.)
• We also already had the phonics and language seatwork books from Abeka so we will incorporate those as needed into his independent work time.
• Easy Peasy All-in-one homeschool for reading. (He loves learning online and Easy Peasy has an advanced reading level that challenges him!)
• Handwriting without Tears - Printing Power (This is the second grade book. He already learned the formation of the letters in first grade, so now we are working on doing it right the first time or doing it again. "Slow and steady wins the race!")

For science and history...

• These are subjects that he loves, and since he soaks up information like a sponge he actually asked to do extra work in these subjects on Easy Peasy in addition to the science and history readers from Abeka. (By the way...he read the entire science book in one sitting before we even started school!)

Group subjects...

• Morning time - we pray, sing Bible songs, patriotic songs, memorize Bible passages, poems, finger plays and quotations. Then we have our Bible lesson. This year we are using the Bible Study Guide for all ages and really enjoy it!
• Exploration time - we often branch off and do extended unit studies, usually science related. (Don't gasp in shock. We keep it simple, meaning cut and paste in a notebook, read a book, do research via a YouTube video and we're done!)  Right now they are into spiders. Yech!

So that's the plan and I'm sticking to it!  Except for one exception...Daddy volunteered to teach Bible so that shortens up our morning time and lightens my load!  What are your plans for this year? I'd love to hear them!

Be blessed,

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 9 Organizing with limited energy

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What a fitting post for the end of the week!  Here it is Thursday and I am ready to plop down on the bed and take it easy! This first week of school has been especially exciting for my five year old. Mr. Hotwheels is a workbook fanatic and loves receiving a fresh page to tackle. When I ask him to find the words with the short i sound he says things like, "Aha! You didn't get away from me!" as he circles the answer. I love it!

Mr. Bookworm is also enjoying his work with a minimal amount of complaining. Of course, in every life some rain must fall, but our motto this year is, "Do it right the first time...or do it again!" So when his desire to get it over and done with overcomes his desire to work neatly he must suffer the consequences.  I think we will be seeing a lot of progress in neatness from him in the next few weeks! However, when it comes to his computer-based work I hear no complaints and the time just flies by for him as he soaks up the information like a sponge. I know he is learning a lot because any time I quiz him he squeezes that sponge dry by retelling me every detail of what he has read or seen.

So, on to organization.  I have been trying the bullet journal method off and on for about 6 months and like the freedom of not having a set format for my weekly calendar. If you are unfamiliar with the method you can find out more about the original method here or check out some You Tube videos.  It is simply emptying your brain into a notebook. I make a weekly spread to track any church-related appointments, doctor visits, menu ideas, etc. Then if I need to make a list of worksheets to print for home school or need to jot down a quick outline for my children's church lesson I can easily turn the next page and start writing. A simple index and page numbering system helps you find your information again when you need it.

You can basically put into one notebook what used to fill up three or four.  Skip the giant binder with 20 divisions for the perfect home that you may or may not look at ever again after you finish printing it all and putting it together and grab a spiral bound notebook and organize your life the easy way.

My bullet journal is a smaller A5 size that I can fit into my bag and take with me. For home school I use a larger A4 size notebook. The main reason for having two notebooks is that I didn't want to accidentally leave or lose my home school plans at church or anywhere else. My home school bullet journal planner sits with my teacher's manuals most of the time and the smaller one goes pretty much everywhere I go.


I spent EONS searching for the perfect home school planner and never found it. I didn't want to download 180 pages and then say "eh?" and throw it in the trash. I needed a simple layout where I could plan out our week at a glance and not over plan. (I may have been guitly of that in the past!)

So the bullet journal style is what works best for me and though I was wringing my hands at the start of this week because I didn't have pages and pages of notes written out the week has gone smoothly. I also made 6 week outlines for the main subjects to have an idea of where we were going...but alas, some of those changed before we even started.  My goal this year is not to be swayed by what everyone else is doing, but to stick to what I know works best for my family!





Keep your eye on the prize and press toward the mark!

Be blessed,

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 8 Diet is key

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"So...can you eat that? What things are you not allowed to eat? What is your diet like?"  Believe it or not these are the kinds of questions that I receive most about having diabetes.  I always answer with a smug smile...

The diabetic diet is the same diet that everyone should have!

Of course, there are things that we should avoid and things that we should eat more of, but a healthy, balanced diet is key to good health.  I am not a medical doctor, nor am I giving medical advice today. Everyone's body is different and has different needs.  For example, I've learned that if I completely cut out all sources of carbohydrates in my diet I tend to experience extremely low blood sugar which brings about different health issues!  I also will have high blood sugar if I have a heavy carb-laden breakfast even if I take my medication.  So BALANCE is key.

Omelets anyone?

I have had diabetes for 12 years and in order to make it through the day while keeping my sugar levels balanced and not falling off the brink of insanity I have learned to adjust my diet.

When we lived in the United States it was more difficult to control with all of the ready-made, pre-packaged convenience foods available. Not to mention a McDonalds on every corner!  Here in Peru I must make nearly everything from scratch so we automatically have a healthier diet.

For homeschooling I have found that I need to have a good plan for my own breakfast or I fall into the vicious cycle of cereal overdose!  My children will eat anything and everything so it is my responsibility to provide them with healthy choices.

We try to have a snack sometime during the morning as well because if my sugar goes low then I become cranky and it takes awhile for my body to feel stabilized again.  We keep the cookie purchases to a minimum because it becomes an easy way to cave in to cravings.  If I have to load up four children and take a ten minute walk just to buy a bag of Oreos (each bag here has 4 cookies in it)...believe me I will think twice before attempting it.  But if in the snack drawer we have a six pack of baggies I will not think twice before eating two and eyeballing a third one!

The best way to eat for diabetes is about five times a day.  That doesn't mean a bag of chips here and a bag of cookies over there. It means a balanced breakfast, lunch, dinner and two low carb snacks.  We tend to have our bigger meal for lunch and something light for dinner. This also helps keep  my sugars in check.

The menu planning idea that has worked best for me is to not assign meals to certain days...at first.  First I will make a list of lunch/dinner options for the week and base our grocery list off of that.  Then I know what things are available and I can pick and choose throughout the week or make something totally different based off of what's available.  I need a base plan so that I don't end up eating peanut butter on a spoon and sprinkling it with chocolate chips.

However, since my husband is a pastor we often receive various and sundry food items as gifts from our church members and I have learned to do marvelous things with a sack of potatoes.

Keep it simple.  Keep it real.  Keep it healthy!

Be blessed,

Casandra
Read this series from the beginning: part 1

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 7 Working around your health

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Want to go back to the beginning? Here's part one!

Good days for diabetics are normal days for the rest of the world!

A "good" day means that I feel like a super hero. I am ready to tackle any task...even that dreaded pile of dishes!

But a "bad" day can mean just feeling extra tired and sluggish (read that as "feeling like you have the knock-you-off-your-feet version of the flu"). It can include mood swings, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, etc. Even being sick can throw you for a loop because everything affects your blood sugar.

What it boils down to is...

I'm tired and they are not!

I don't want to do school but they need to.

I don't want to cook, clean, wash, or whatever, but Hey! We have to eat at some point!

The Eager Beaver

So what do I do?

Think of your energy level as a gas tank. I can tell as soon as I wake up if my tank is full, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, or empty. This internal regulator of mine is helpful because it helps me decide which task to conquer now and which ones to leave for later.

When dealing with school on a bad day, unless I am completely bedridden, we will tackle the main subjects and leave the extras for another day. My boys know on those days that we need to "get her done, Son!" and not mess around because Mommy needs to rest.

Also, Daddy has been known to supervise a math page or two and he can be more exacting than Mommy!

My advice is don't be discouraged when you have a day where your energy level is not at 100%. You can't avoid those days but you can plan ahead for them!

Be blessed, 

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 6 Afternoon rest time

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Read the series from the beginning :Part 1

I'm tired...and when I say I'm tired what I really mean is I'M TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Today was our official back to school day and we had a great time learning together. And then...just as I was dreaming of flopping onto my bed and celebrating Daddy revved up the car and we headed out on an expedition to pick up hymnals for our church, my diabetes medication from the pharmacy, and groceries.  We are just rolling back in at 8 p.m.!  Oh, well, so much for my nap! 

Some days just fly by with so many things to accomplish and if I go, go, go all day at some point my body will literally crash and burn! For diabetics adequate rest is important.  Nap time are probably two of my favorite words! Unfortunately my 2 year old doesn't really nap anymore and the 1 year old has started skipping his morning nap which equals toddler caos until around 4 p.m.  This would be fine except my body is screaming to rest around 2 p.m.  Do the math.

So we have instituted Afternoon rest time.

The ideal would be...(cue dream scene music)

...every one sitting or lying down in their own room placidly pushing cars around or coloring.

The REALITY is...

...every one lives in the same room and when they are all in there together there is anything but quiet going on!  

The solution - What we do.

    After lunch time the babies go down for a nap.  Which usually ends up being around 2 p.m.  The 2 year old Princess who insists that she doesn't need to sleep will  normally cave in after a few minutes in her crib.  If not she has learned to play quietly with her play dishes or look at a book.  The baby is in his playpen with his treasured bottle of milk and he will also snuggle down for his nap.

   The older boys have to go downstairs.  Their idea of playing quietly usually involves elaborate train wrecks, transformer battles, and crazy inventions with clay and string.  NOT EVEN CLOSE to Mommy's definition of quiet.  So they must play downstairs on a carpet that we have set up for toy usage.  We have a closet with their toys stored in it and them may remove items by permission only.  We call it the Toybrary! 

If they violate the rules by yelling, fighting, coming upstairs repeatedly, or interrupting Mommy a hundred times to ask a million unnecessary questions, then they may receive a mandatory nap time as well.  If they have had too much "togetherness" during the day then they may be assigned different areas like one of you goes outside.

And Mom? Normally Daddy is home to corral the troops if necessary and I am in my room blissfully doing WHATEVER I WANT which may include taking my own much needed nap or having a little me time or working on whatever I couldn't concentrate on with eight extra arms hanging off of me!

So take that time to rest, rejuvenate, and renew your energy for the rest of the day. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Be blessed!

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 5 Family learning ideas

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Catch up on previous posts:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

My children are like night and day so their natural inclination is to fight like cats and dogs. Obviously it is not our goal as parents to promote bad behavior! Our goal is to mold their character to the image of Christ, not to the image of self. They won't always live under our roof, and they won't always like the other people who live around them, so what better way to learn to "live peaceably with all men" than learning to work together at home.

We actually own three or four desks or tables where our boys can work independently without having to share their space with a sibling, but having two toddlers often makes that impossible.  Someone is always looking to steal your crayons!

With my diabetes I have limited energy during the day so we need to maximize our learning time and keep the interruptions down to a minimum.  We do that by combing some subjects and working together as a family.

So far we have only worked together on Science Unit studies.  Even though we live in the mountains of Peru the boys were obsessed with studying the ocean. We bought a few notebooks, looked up some ocean facts, read some books together, cut and glued, ooh-ed and aah-ed and basically made a huge mess at the dining room table. But to see those huge grins on their faces, and hear them eagerly sharing all of the new things they learned with their father was priceless.

What kind of things do we learn working together?

• How to wait patiently for instruction on how to do their assignment.
• How to share and take turns using school supplies.
• How to listen when someone else is speaking instead of talking over them.
• How to praise others instead of criticize.
• How to be kind and loving when others are not.

The list goes on and on. Character building, social skills, teamwork...it's not always pretty, but we're working on it!  The Princess is also there, adding her "two cents", asking the boys to please pass the crayons, and doing her own "school". 

This year we plan to incorporate group learning for Bible, Memory Work, Singing, Music, Art, Geography, Science, and P.E.  Basically we will only divide for Language Arts and Math!  Imagine how much time this mama saves by teaching our family as...well, as a family!

What tips do you have for working together with your kids?

Be blessed!

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 4 Keep it simple Sweetheart!

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If  you are just joining in don't forget to read the other posts in this series:
Part 1 - Daily routines
Part 2 - Teacher guilt
Part 3 - Learning styles


K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple Sweetheart!
I have slightly modified this acronym in order to express what I have learned over this last year of homeschooling with diabetes. In 2015, aside from having diabetes I also gave birth to our 4th child. While recovering from the birth we took a month off from school and tried several different activities, schedules, methods, etc., to see what would work best for us.

My Bookworm was in first grade and Hotwheels was in preschool.  After spending hours and hours and HOURS devising elaborate lesson plans we found that what we enjoyed best was sitting around reading living books and putting together notebooks based on what we were learning.

Learning about spiders

Sometimes the temptation is strong to buy every new fad that comes along, but really a ton of curriculum is not necessary. This year we are taking our own advice and are reducing the large pile of books down to a few simple items.  Three notebooks (language, history, and science) and two folders (daily work and morning time).  Our schedule will also be simplified this year.  No more hourly divisions or 15 minute increments of stressful time keeping. Only short lessons, family learning, and a focus on the things that matter most.

Here is our simplified schedule:

I will explain more about what we will do in each section of our schedule in another post, but the basic breakdown is -
Morning Time - Singing, Memory Work, Bible, Prayer, Drill
Time with Mom - subjects that need instruction from me will be taught during this time
Independent time - while I work with one child the other will do some seatwork and computer activities
Exploration Time - when we will tackle Art, Music, Science unit, Geography maps skills, and P.E.

This is a very, very, very SIMPLE SCHEDULE, but one that we needed desperately.  Keeping fatigue at bay and babies out of trouble while preparing lunch and keeping the house from burning down around me made this kind of schedule a life-saver!

On Monday we are starting 2nd grade and K5 with this newly tweaked schedule.  I still need to finish organizing some math manipulatives but here are some great resources on scheduling:

• Sarah Mackenzie writes about simplifying your schedule here and your curriculum here.
• Pam Barnhill also has lots of excellent planning resources on her blog.

However, don't be like me and waste a lot of your time reading about planning and very little of it in actual planning!  Procrastination is not a positive character trait! 

Plan well. 

Keep It Simple Sweetheart!

Be blessed!

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 3 Learning styles

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Part 1 - routines

Part 2 - teacher guilt
Ahh...diabetes. The daily struggle is real.  I thank God for my wonderful, caring, helpful husband. Without his understanding love we could not do what we do!

We have a seven year old son, a five year old son. a two year old daughter, and a one year old son.  Who wouldn't be tired at the end of every day?  The oldest two are what I like to call fire balls!  My seven year old Bookworm and my five year old Hotwheels can create a whirlwind of chaos in a heartbeat! And whatever they do the Princess must copy.

Spideys vs. the princess

Even though my Bookworm loves books he pretty much hates workbooks. And Mr. Hotwheels who spends his life revving up will sit down with a workbook and delare, "I'm going to do this whole book today!"  What a difference!

In the last post I talked about teacher guilt. The teacher in me wanted Bookworm to do every...single...lesson in his workbook.  And thus the battle began!  He has a super memory.  He can read his entire grade level reader (100+ pages) in one sitting and then accurately answer questions about every story.  But ask him to repeat the same math problem because he made a mistake and he has a total meltdown. Enter LEARNING STYLES!

Not every child learns the same way. My Bookworm will only sit still to...well...read a book!  And boy does he soak up information like a sponge. But often when he is learning something rote in nature (spelling, math facts) he needs it to be hands on!

By combining his activeness and his learning style I was able to teach him in a way that he loved. Isn't that part of the beauty of homeschooling?

My energy is limited so I cannot waste time fighting with my child just because I like learning a different way than he does.

Practicing spelling

One simple example was spelling time. Of course he could read the words inside, outside, and upside down, but he saw no need to sit there and repeat the letters over and over.  So we took it to the carpet!  He used letter tiles and trains to spell his words and then chuffed them over to the train depot.  There were no melt downs and no complaints. It was a beautiful day!

My tip for today? Discover your child's learning style! It may be very different from your own, but if your goal is for him to reach his potential, teach him the way he learns best.

By the way...we didn't ditch the curriculum just because he complained.  I evaluated his learning style and adjusted the way I was teaching to best meet his needs.

Be blessed!

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 2 teacher guilt

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Part 1 - Daily Routines

Teacher Guilt...Mommy Guilt...Guilt, guilt. 

No matter what you call it, when you teach your own children guilt will sometimes rear its ugly head.  

Personally, my guilt arose from not being able to do everything that I wanted to do (or planned to do with my children.)

As I mentioned before, I have diabetes. Before I had children I taught in a Christian school on the mission field. I continued teaching off and on until my third child was born.

With my eldest son, I taught K5 and first grade while he was in the K4 class next door.  We live in the Spanish speaking country of Peru so he was in an all Spanish-speaking class.  He is one smart cookie so he already knew all of the preschool concepts that were being taught but he knew very little Spanish so he was constantly frustrated.  His personality is also a little like Pacman after eating a power pellet so you can imagine what that was like in a classroom setting! 

Being overly zealous I tried to homeschool him in English when we came home in the afternoons. MAJOR FAIL! After having a stressful day at school the last thing he wanted to do was more work!

A school recital with my son on the left.

I felt horrible that I couldn't teach him the way I wanted to and that he wasn't really enjoying learning.  Enter TEACHER GUILT!

At other times, it has come as a result of not completing a curriculum or not living up to the wondrous blog posts of the homeschooling community.

I left teaching after the birth of my third child because physically I couldn't handle the stress and strain on my body that teaching all day (and grading all night) brings.  Then I turned right around and tried to teach that same way in my home.  EPIC FAIL! 

Why? Duh? My body cannot handle the physical stress and strain and when the going gets tough this diabetic body stops going.  And it used to make me feel so guilty, until...

One day I realized that God did not call me to be "super teacher". He called me to educate my children so that they can read His Word, and know Him and love Him. I had to teach them the best that I could within my own physical abilities.  The light bulb lit up inside and the dark cloud of guilt vanished.

So what is my tip? Get your eyes off of other people's homeschool goals and make your own, WITHIN YOUR MEANS, and teach your children to the best of your ability and be satisfied with that.

One of my favorite guilt busters is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Another is Philippians 3:14, "I press toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Be blessed!

Casandra

10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes - part 1 Daily routines

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Life with diabetes can be a daily struggle.  Every day I am either kind-of tired, tired, really tired, or flat out exhausted.  Over my 12 years with diabetes I have learned that there are things that I can do and things that I can not do. Follow along as I share some time saving tips for homeschooling with diabetes.

First up are DAILY ROUTINES!
Having diabetes requires daily maintenance.  I have had diabetes for 12 years and during that time I have had four children!  Keeping track of them and keeping track of my medication can be a daunting challenge. Sometimes diabetes can affect your short term memory and having four kids definitely does. Without a consistent routine I often forget what medicine I took or when I took it! Obviously this is not helpful.

What does this have to do with homeschool you ask? Routines are also important to make your day run smoothly. For a long time I was forgetting to take my medication or check my blood sugar in the mornings because I was constantly reprimanding my older children about things we do every day.  Things you do every day should become routine!  When I realized this I knew I needed to come up with a way to help them get their tasks done without forgetting my own.  Enter the Chart.

For my two older sons I made a list of things that they needed to do each day. Then I had them choose their own clip art and made "everlasting stickers" for them by attaching the circles to cardboard and laminating them. Then I attached velcro to the chart and to the stickers. Every school day before we begin we work our charts. Even my two year old can name the different activities on her chart and we do them together.  

This is a great help to me because it is one less thing that I have to micro-manage and I am able to save my energy for more important things like making breakfast! 

I will detail how I made the charts in a future post. Stay tuned for my next post in the series "10 Days of Homeschooling with Diabetes".

Be blessed,

Casandra

Books for Boys

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My boys have always loved books.  I remember my oldest son listening intently to every word as we opened a new book from the library.  After one reading he would eagerly reach for the book and wriggle down from my lap to find a quiet spot to reread the book for himself.  After two or three readings he would be able to quote the book practically word for word.  Now that he is almost four he is no longer content to just sit and look at the pictures.  He wants to know what the words say and realizes that he can't read them yet!  Of course, he isn't so motivated that he's asking to learn how to read.  He knows the alphabet and the sounds of the letters, but there's just something about hearing his favorite story read aloud that appeals to him (especially when we add in different voices and sound effects!).

As we travel the states I have searched many a thrift store's book rack for early readers and read-aloud choices that would appeal to my rambunctious crew.  Having two boys has really thrown me for a loop though.  I'm pretty sure that my fire truck lovin', train totin', race car drivin' turbo tots would not care to hear Nancy Drew, or some of the other series I loved reading as a youngster.  So I've been on the lookout for books that would appeal to boys.

One such series that we have just discovered is the Nate the Great series.  Nate is a boy version of that famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, who with his trusty dog as his sidekick solves mysteries around his neighborhood for his friends.  These chapter books for early readers have short sentences and enough action to hold my three year old's interest.  He loves them so much that we have to read the entire book in one sitting.  The one we just finished was 56 pages long so prepare your throat before you begin!

You can visit the Random House website to see the entire list of Nate the Great books, read about the author, or download some additional super sleuthing activities for older kids!  There are even a few books about his cousin, Olivia, who sometimes helps him solve a mystery.  Here are a few of the selections we've enjoyed so far. (Click on the title to read the book summary).

Happy reading!
-Casandra

Cookie Mania - Gingerbread Men!

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One Christmas tradition we have is making cookies together and this year is no exception.  As a general rule we must make a batch of sugar cookies (Mommy's favorite) and decorate them.  But this year the boys were obsessed with gingerbread men and wanted to make some.  The fact that I've never made gingerbread cookies combined with the fact that we are still unpacking all of our belongings at my in-laws house, I opted for the Big Bag of Betty Crocker cookie mix!

Rolling out cookies with a two year old and a three year old requires much patience!  The boys enjoyed the process thoroughly.

Steven wasn't too interested at the beginning.  He really enjoyed playing with the mini cookie cutters and the measuring spoons.  Later on when I gave him a small section of dough to roll out he decided that sampling the dough was more fun than using the cookie cutters!  (Of course, I was horrified because of the raw egg, but he survived the taste test!)

Joshua, on the other hand, was a Master Chef!  He had been practicing making cookies on the free Little People Learning Market App that we got recently and felt like he knew all of the steps involved!  He wanted to do everything, from mixing the dough, to rolling it out, to cutting out the cookies.  He concentrated so hard on using the rolling pin correctly that as he lifted it high into the air flour sprinkled down into his hair but didn't phase him one bit.  He was really impressed when he cut one out and it stayed in the cutter.

We eventually graduated from the small cutters to the "Daddy" sized gingerbread man.  After punching out three cookies that overlapped I told Joshua that he had made triplets.  His inventive mind also added, "Yeah, their holding hands because they're friends!"  Then he wouldn't allow me to separate them on their way to the oven.

By the time our cookie session was over, Steven was definitely ready for his nap...and covered in flour!

The final verdict?  Steven prefers cookie dough, and Joshua had about five cookies over the course of the afternoon.  I'm pretty sure he approved!

10 days of Homeschool in a Minivan

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Part 2 - Organization for a certified pack rat!

            My organizational mantra has become, “Everything is not worth keeping.”  This is just one phrase that runs through my mind whenever I am faced with organizing our belongings.  There are also other phrases like, “I may need this someday,” “I could definitely make a craft from these”, “Maybe I should save this for…”  These are not necessarily bad thoughts, but they tend to lead to unnecessary hoarding!  I find that if I don’t keep my curriculum and supplies organized I tend to accumulate more than I need just because I don’t know what I have.  After staying in one apartment for five months I gathered all of the bits and pieces together and decided to get organized.

            In one file box I have a set of hanging file folders labeled from A to Z so that I can quickly find the necessary materials needed for each week from the “Letter of the Week” curriculum.  I also have a set of weekly file folders labeled from 1 to 40 for the pages from our A Beka Book 3 year old Nursery curriculum.  Carrying the books around became burdensome as I had them stored in one place and was continually pulling them out of storage to tear out pages.  After one such moment of frustration I tore out the remaining pages and collated them (like any good teacher does…before school begins) and organized them into their respective folders.  Now when I need the materials they are ready at a moment’s notice.  The other file box that I have is used to store some extra workbooks and smaller Tupperware containers of manipulatives.

            The file boxes are great for keeping our curriculum organized, but since they are perfectly boxed shaped; my husband loves to use them for filling in gaps when packing the car.  This produces a dilemma on long trips because we don’t always unpack everything during our stops and I definitely do not want to repack the car just to get to one worksheet!  My solution thus far has been 3-ringed binders with page protectors and folders.   I plan out how much work we need, then load up the binders and slip them into our “school only” backpack.  The backpack contains binders for the boys, a supply box with the basics, a pencil bag with dry erase markers and an eraser, and several small dollar store workbooks to keep little hands busy during non-school times, like during church services when no nursery is provided.

            Two smaller containers (about half the size of the file boxes) contain my teacher supplies.  One is filled with flashcards and manipulatives like magnets, and laminated visuals.  The other container is filled with arts and craft supplies for our various projects.  These four containers have helped me stay organized as we travel.  They have also helped me control my desire to accumulate little things along the way, because if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit!  Therefore "Everything is not worth keeping!  And what you do keep must meet your needs."

Next up...Part 3 - What to Do with Two Under Four 

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10 days of Homeschool in a Minivan...

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Part 1 - Decluttering for Life on the Road

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Over the years, the teacher in me has learned that hoarding is dangerous!  What begins as, “Let me keep this because, I might need it someday…” quickly spirals downward into a storage shed full of unorganized junk!  There is no sense in keeping things if you cannot find them when you need them.  Now, as a stay-at-home mom I must constantly remind myself that I do not need twenty-five sets of anything, that everything does not need to be laminated, and that storage space is limited and precious.  In other words, I am constantly purging our hoard of homeschool resources (while simultaneously dreaming about what my school room would look like if it were the size of a double wide trailer!)

              Since we are traveling on deputation right now our storage space for school supplies is severely limited.  My husband does a great job of pulling me away from the teacher and office supply aisles on a regular basis before I lose all self-control and come home with more things than we need!  When everything must fit into the minivan for a long trip every corner becomes a piece of prime real estate, thus making my dreams of hauling around a 3 foot dry erase board a little impractical.  So after much thought (and window shopping in the office supply store) I developed a storage plan that works for us.

Storage necessities

            Right now we are still in the preschool stage of homeschooling so many of my resources come in the form of printable worksheets found on the internet.  For instance, with my oldest son I have been using various “Letter of the Week” curriculum found online here and here to provide him with hands-on activities.  I also use the A Beka Book preschool curriculum.  In order to keep everything organized I use plastic file boxes, 3-ring binders, page protectors, and my laptop.  I also have a “school only” backpack with smaller items stored inside.

Stay tuned for...

Part 2 - Organization for a natural born packrat!