Busy Days...

Well, if you've read my blog for any time at all, you'll have realized that keeping up with posting is not my strong suit.  Lately we've been so busy trying to keep up with our new school year, chores, a busy home business, and a multitude of other things that I simply haven't taken the time.  However, here's a run down and pictures to update you on what we've been up to.

First, we've been enjoying the beautiful warm weather to do some fun family stuff.  Daddy's favorite past time is fishing, and seeing as the rest of us just don't find it near as exciting, we rarely all go together.  However, we've found a spot where we can all have fun...Camp Columbus!  We joined earlier in the summer and have enjoyed swimming, fishing, having picnics, and studying nature together.  Here's how we spent Father's Day this year.

We've also fostered 7 kittens over the summer for a local animal rescue center that we volunteer at.  It was a great experience and my kids loved watching the kittens grow up.  We finally got them all back to the shelter and the kids got their bathroom back.  Is there anything sweeter than adorable fuzzy kittens?

The kids were all froglets in a local theater production of Honk, the musical version of The Ugly Duckling.  It was lots of fun and they all did great.  Then we used our Read to Succeed tickets and spent a fun filled day at Six Flags theme park.  Adam was brave and rode his first coaster.  He and I rode Mindbender together.  The look on his face was priceless!  He was so scared, but he did it and says he'll go again next year.  We've also been enjoying the hummingbirds that visit our feeder throughout the day.  They are so fun to watch!  I had to be patient, but I got some good close up shots of one of the girls.

 There was also the kids birthday party to get through.  We had postponed Haley's from June, and the boys missed there's in July, so in early August we finally got to it.  No idea why I thought having all three kid's friends here at the same time was a good idea.  We had a house full of kids!  They had fun though, and that's what counts.  I was lazy this year and just made cupcakes rather than themed cakes.

  We've also been busy doing some home improvements.  We finally got a new roof this week.  I'm so thrilled!!  Sad that I get so excited as something as basic and necessary as a roof, but I really do.  If you'd seen what it looked like before, you might understand.  Here's our new improved roof.  Isn't it pretty?  So that's pretty much the highlights of our summer to date.  What have you been up to?

Back to School

Where has the summer gone?  It seems like just yesterday we were finishing up last year.  Now we're gearing up for the new school year.  I have several friends that have already started back!  The stores are filled with pencils, crayons, glue sticks and more, and back to school sales are in full swing.

I have big plans for this year.  I really felt like last year was a bad school year for us.  We were involved in a co-op for the first time, and although my kids learned lots and we enjoyed the other families, I feel like we had one of the worst years school wise that we've ever had.  Obviously, having somebody else dictate what and when we're doing doesn't work for me.  I'm the type that needs everything to be cohesive, and when things aren't, I get messed up.  It could have also been the fact that I was involved in WAY too many things.  I was so busy and stressed throughout the year that I let some of my favorite activities go.  We didn't get together with friends like we normally do, or do any of the super fun things we've done in year's past.

So, in planning for next year, I'm staying home and getting back to the things that make homeschooling fun for all of us.  I'm reorganizing the school room, breaking out the work boxes again, and planning ahead for a great year.  I'll be posting shortly on our curriculum choices so stay tuned!

Getting Healthy...

Several years ago I lost quite a bit of weight. About 45 pounds to be exact. Unfortunately, I eventually went back to my old habit of eating whatever appeals, and not exercising enough to compensate. I started back on my healthy lifestyle choices last August, and lost 8 pounds. Then, late the night before we went on vacation to Florida, while carrying bags to the car, I fell down the stairs. After spending hours in the emergency room, I found that I had sprained my left ankle, and tore the ligament in my right. No broken bones though. Its been a VERY long recovery, and my ankle still bothers me daily. But, I'm finally getting back in the healthy groove.

So, here's my goal, and here's how I plan to accomplish it. I want to lose at least 50 pounds by my 43rd birthday in October. I've done the math and at a rate of 2 pounds per week, I could actually lose more like 60 in that time, but I'm allowing for the fact that I might not always lose those weekly 2 pounds. Besides, I'm realistic and don't honestly expect to ever reach my perfect body weight. I would be happy, no, make that ecstatic, to lose 50. So far, I've given up all carbonated sodas, made a point to drink mostly water, cut my portions, added lots of fresh fruit and veggies to my diet, walk on the treadmill at least 5 days a week, bike ride with my son, Adam, who is absolutely the best at begging me to ride our 3 mile neighborhood loop, and act like an idiot trying to follow along with my Zumba for Wii game. My kids get a big kick out of that last one, let me tell you!

So, I've told my family, my friends, and all of you out there in cyber world. I'm going to do it! I don't want to be fat anymore! Do me a favor and pray for my continued motivation and success.

More Curriculum Choices

Yesterday I talked about math and why we are sticking with Saxon. Today I will touch on another favorite piece of curriculum that I have stuck with for the long haul... Story of the World. We started using this Haley's very first year as a homeschooler. No idea what prompted me to make my initial purchase, but its one I've never regretted. It might have been the glowing review in my ginormous Rainbow Resource catalog that never fails to enthrall me with all its awesome, homeschool goodies. Regardless, we are just about to finish the 2nd book in this series, and already have third sitting on my shelf ready to go for next year. Susan Wise Bauer truly brings history alive. She takes what I perceived as a dry, boring subject and makes it exciting and captivating. My kids will sit and listen to chapter after chapter without a complaint. It really does read like a story...hence the name.

Another huge part of the this curriculum that I love is the activity guide. Each chapter features maps, coloring pages, activities, narration activities, discussion questions and so much more. You can do as much or as little as you like. They also offer a test booklet which we used some the first year, but don't use any longer. Let me just say that I was amazed at how much my little 1st or 2nd grader retained and learned just from me reading a chapter out of a book. She's even retained that knowledge years later. She recently impressed the heck out of me during an episode of Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader. She was able to recall many facts and names from our ancient history text.

So, if you're looking for a wonderful resource for history, something effective, yet easy to use, look no further than Story of the World.

Curriculum Choices

Its that time of year again...the time when I start thinking and planning for next year. In doing so, I thought I would share some of my favorite, no brainer, curriculum choices. Before I do so, let me just say that I am one of those people who loves trying different things. I'm always trying new products, ideas, and ways of teaching. There are only a handful of curriculum choices that I have stuck with and love from day one. This is not to say that I haven't tried to find something different, it just means that I have yet to find something that I like better. Because some of my ideas on certain curriculum choices could be quite extensive, I'll do this by touching on one product or subject per day. I'll start with my (and Haley's) least favorite subject...math.

Saxon Math - This is one area that I can say that I have explored extensively. You name it, we've tried it, seen it, heard about it, or currently own it. Here's just a few of the math programs we've tried: Horizons Math, Math U See, Teaching Textbooks, and Math Mammoth. No matter how good the program seems, or how much my kids liked or disliked it, we've always come back to Saxon. Why, you ask? Bottom line...it works! It might not have all the bells and whistles of some of the other, fancier programs, but it has proven effective and solid in my household. I recently added the DIVE CD for Saxon 5/4 to our math lessons, and so far we're loving it. I looked at both the teacher CD's that Saxon offers and the DIVE CD's, and chose to go with DIVE. I really like the fact that he explains it in his own way. He uses different examples from those found in the text. The Saxon CD's are just going over exactly what's in the text itself. I can do that. The DIVE CD's are using the same method's but different problems. This way we can read over the lesson in the book, listen to the DIVE CD lesson, and then work through the problems. Its just an additional tool that works great for auditory or visual learners. It has greatly reduced the complaining about math in my home!

In summary, Saxon is a well rounded, solid, proven, spiral method of teaching math. I feel it prepares them well for standardized testing, which some of the others don't in my opinion. I've heard people complain about the extensiveness of the lessons. In the K through 3 program, we simply skipped portions of it. I never did the daily meetings, the second worksheet, and skipped anything my kids were already proficient in doing. This really cut down the time it takes to complete the lessons. Keep in mind, nobody is policing you...you really don't have to do everything in the lessons. Some people try to do everything and burn out quickly. The teacher text is a guideline...not something you have to complete and do from cover to cover. So, even though we've looked and tried so many math programs, we're sticking with Saxon. Next year we'll be doing Saxon 6/5 and most likely using the DIVE CD's again.

Time 4 Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

All About Spelling/All About Reading Giveaway!

Having personally used All About Spelling, I can attest to the fact that this product works.  By now, you'd just about have to live under a rock to have not heard something about it.  Its simple, effective, and guaranteed to teach the teacher something new as well!  Better yet, you can enter to win a $50 gift certificate to use towards the purchase of either product.  So head over to All About Learning Press and enter to win.  This contest ends at 12:01 am EST on Tuesday, March 12, 2012.  The winner will be announced later that day.