Review: The Well Planned Day Homeschool Planner

Do you need to organize your homeschool? Perhaps you are like me and keep the majority of your lessons plans in your head. This method is manageable when you only have one child to homeschool but with two or more, lessons can get a little hectic if they are not written out and planned beforehand. I learned this the hard way, trust me.

Last year I stumbled upon The Well Planned Day Homeschool Planner published by Home Educating Family Magazine and immediately knew this was the planner for me. I really needed a planner that could accommodate multiple students on the same page and included the main subjects with areas to amend subject planning as needed. The Well Planned Day Homeschool Planner has everything I need and more. I loved this planner so much last year that I knew without a doubt that I would use the same planner this year eventhough I am now teaching three of my children. This planner can accommodate lesson plans for up to 4 students on one page in a very clean and organized format.

Not only does this homeschool planner accommodate a larger number of students than most other planners on the market it is packed full of wonderful articles and useful suggestions for Mom. The beautifully decorated pages along with the articles draw me to the planner even when I am not actively planning. I have read and re-read each article numerous times for encouragement and advice; each time gleaning something new from the pages.

If you are searching for the "perfect" homeschool curriculum planner I encourage you to consider The Well Planned Day homeschool planner.

You can preview The Well Planned Homeschool Planner here

Pricing and ordering information:
The Well Planned Day Homeschool Teacher Planner $24.95
Many other planers available such as student and on-the-go planners


Details:

• Spiral Bound with Three Hole Drilled to Fit into Binders
• Over 230 Full Color Pages
• Full Year Planner: July 2011 - June 2012
• Home Management with weekly cleaning schedule, monthly projects, greeting card registry, and monthly budgeting.
• NEW in 2011, Holiday Organization Section: Greeting card registry, activities and event schedules, gift giving, around town shopping, and internet shopping.
• Organize and plan for up to 4 children in one convenient book.
• Four Student Class Plans: Schedule each student's class assignments.
• Four Student Time Schedules: Track each day by the hour.
• Weekly Schedule: Organize your week with class assignments, weekly priorities, prayer requests, dinner menu, and notes.
• Month at a Glance: Plan field trips, enrichment activities and books to read
• Semester Attendance & Progress Reports
• Perforated Report Cards
• Menu Planning: Plan weekly meals and conveniently shop with perforated shopping lists.
• Family Worship: Read through the Bible in a year.
• Insightful homeschool articles and tips to inspire you throughout the year.
• and much more....

Inventors & Invention lesson plan resources

A few weeks ago my first grader approached me regarding learning about inventions and inventors. I had other lessons planned for the day but I decided this was a worthwhile deviation from our plans and together we sat down to see what cyberspace could teach us about the great inventors and their inventions. The resources I found online coupled with books from the library made for a great unit study that are still working on. I've had many other homeschool Moms ask me for the information I uncovered so I decided to just put it all together is a semi-coherent blog post.


Teacher Vision; this site has great printables and lesson plans for inventors and inventions. Please keep in mind though, it is a paid membership site but they do allow for 5 FREE views/downloads before requiring you to pay to access more resources. 5 free printables is better than nothing!!

Pro Teacher; this site is a compilation of lesson plan ideas submitted by public school teachers. Although many of the lesson plans call for large group activities I found that many can be adapted for the smaller homeschool environment. If nothing else, the lesson plans can give you ideas and jumping off points for activities in your own home.

Crayola Inventions; invention lesson plans and creative art activities. Most lesson plans give a spine of ideas, you can elaborate on them as you feel led.

Renaissance Connection; invention timeline complete with science, language arts, and much more.

Scholastic; a variety of invention and inventor lesson plans from Scholastic. Some plans include additional recommended resources.

About.com inventions; lots of lesson plans on building inventions, you may have to scroll past some advertisements.

Lesson Plans Page; I have linked a great invention research worksheet but there are more wonderful resources on this site for your pursing.

Invention ideas from CLN; a long list of invention and inventor websites. I have not verified that all the links on this page work. The ones I have checked out and used are packed full of great information.

Discovery Inventions and Inventors; great invention and inventors lesson plans from Discovery! At the bottom of the page lesson plans and ideas are further broken down by age group.

Library of Congress Science and Invention lesson plans; a wealth of amazing lesson plans, resources, and information on every possible invention or inventor that your budding scientist could ever want to know about.

The Homeschool Mom; a compiled list of invention and inventor websites. Again, I have not verified that all the links she shares are current and valid but the list is extensive and can be very helpful.

Smithsonian; in addition to great information about inventors and their inventions this site also has 4 games that your kids can play and learn about science/engineering at the same time. My 6 year old asks to play on this site all the time. He loves the game where he has to get a ball from a starting point to a certain ending point by using physics and engineering.

To complete our unit study I gathered a variety of information on all the major inventors and their inventions. My children and I put together an invention timeline which provided a springboard of curiosity and discovery. I also checked out a variety of books on inventors from our local library. I chose some that were simple picture books for my younger children and also found a nice sized stack of books for my 4th grade. My 1st grader also asked for a notebook so he could draw/sketch his inventions as they came to his creative mind. He is now on notebook #2 having filled up his first notebook in just a couple of weeks. I have encouraged him to label and elaborate on many of his inventions. Additionally, legos have become a great learning tool for this unit. When my son finishes sketching his invention he typically turns to his huge stash of legos to make a model of this creation. To encourage his vocabulary and group speaking abilities I often ask him to explain to our family what he has made, why it is important, and what improvements he thinks he can still make to his invention.

Bottom line of this unit study is to have fun! The possibilities for learning are endless.

My perspective on homeschooling while pregnant

Pregnant with twins; 25 weeks

Every pregnancy is different just like every homeschool family is different. Similarly, no two combinations of pregnancy and homeschooling will ever be the same, even within the same family. My family and I started homeschooling 2 years ago and being that my youngest is nearly 4, this school year is the first I have ever attempted while pregnant. For laughs and perhaps a little bit of insight, I thought I should put fingers to keyboard and pen my thoughts and feelings on this homeschool year as I attempt it with my ever expanding belly.

I should begin by telling those of you that do not regularly keep up with this blog that we are expecting not one, but two daughters in just over 2 months from now. I am 25 weeks pregnant with identical twin girls so my pregnancy thus far has not been a typical pregnancy for me. Despite the struggles and the challenges however, my kids and I have done our best to get school accomplished to the best of our abilities on any given day.

After moving to a new house in late September I was already in the beginning stages of all-day sickness. I was approximately 7 weeks pregnant when we completed our move and faced the daunting task of unpacking, organizing, sorting, and purging. Soon after moving however my constant nausea ramped up to a whole new level that I have never experienced with my previous two pregnancies. I was essentially bed ridden for days on end and relied heavily on my oldest son to feed and hydrate myself and my children. He would bring me breakfast and water/gatorade as I requested. He would also make breakfast and lunch more days than not for himself and his younger two siblings. He was an incredible blessing for those couple of months when I was unable to even sit-up or walk around much less make a meal for my family.

Despite the severe nausea I tried my best to still get some school done more days than not during the week. For my oldest who is in 4th grade this year getting school accomplished was much easier than for my first grader and preschooler who rely more heavily on me to guide and teach them.

For my 4th grader, 1st grader, and preschooler I relied heavily on the following tools and personal attitudes to get us through the toughest part of this pregnancy:

1. a student spiral-bound organizer. At our local homeschool convention this past summer, before I even knew I would be homeschooling this year pregnant I purchased the student planner from Christian Light Education (CLE) for my oldest. CLE's planner is simple yet very effective, especially for upper elementary students who are just learning to be organized and take responsibility for completing their assignments with a little less guidance from Mom.
1. I would write weekly assignments for my son with as much detail as I could muster considering my nausea. He always knew he could ask me a question at anytime to clarify the assignment or get help on a problem.
2. relax and be flexible. When I began to feel down or that I was failing my kids by not being able to actively teach them like last year I had to remind myself that this is a season in our life. Not engaging in the most elaborate lesson plans or unit studies this year is OK, this is where God wants my family and I to be right now and despite everything going on around us my kids are still learning. Even if not one book got cracked on a particular day, I can guarantee that each of my 3 kids still learned a few important life skill lessons.
3. taking a few months off to get through severe pregnancy nausea will not make or break my children's homeschool education. The beauty of homeschooling is that we can get school work and learning  done at anytime. We are not constrained by the public school clock. Despite doing relatively light book work the first few months of this school year my 4th grader completed his math curriculum for this year today. Yep, you read that right. Once my nausea subsided and I came back to the world of the mobile and able I was able to ramp up his assignments and get him back on track, so much so that he is now actually ahead of the game this year. Homeschooling on the weekends, later in the day, and doubling up on assignments are all great ways to get back on track from a season in your life where you find yourself falling behind on schoolwork a bit.
4. don't stress! Honestly, I know this is easier said than done. Personally, I am only a couple of months past those months where I was stressing over failing my children because I was laid up with this pregnancy, unable to fully devote myself to them and their education. It all worked out beautifully though! I should have never stressed over what I wasn't providing for my older children but instead should have focused on what I was able to provide for them; namely a loving Mother deeply devoted to them, a warm house, and the ability to teach them compassion and caring for one another even if I was relegated to the couch 90% of our day.

Homeschooling while pregnant has two distinct perspectives. There is the perspective of the children which I have covered above. However, as I have progressed along this homeschooling while pregnant journey I have also learned that my personal perspective is equally important in this process. Not only do I have to think of my children that are growing and talking in front of my eyes and ears but I also need to think about the two precious girls quickly growing in my belly. Namely, I need to also take care of myself for their sake in addition to caring for the needs of my other children. This was a tough lesson to learn at first. As my belly continued to grow I found myself needing more and more rest. Throughout much of this pregnancy I have found myself  "winging it" through our school day. I do not have the energy to plan, print, and implement beautiful lesson plans and the materials required to execute these lessons. But that is ok!! My kids are still learning despite all the pretty bells and whistles that we did last year. To some extent this year has been better than last year because we have been more relaxed and I have allowed my children to self-direct a bigger portion of their learning. We have learned about things like inventors, beetles, birds, and much more that I know I would not have planned otherwise if I was "directing" our learning for the year. What a blessing this adventure has been! 

Paperback Swap Saves Homeschoolers Money and Time

Have you discovered Paperback Swap? If you are a homeschooler or Mom who loves books then you are seriously missing out on a HUGE time and money saving website.

I have to admit, it took me a few months to really catch on to the glory that is Paperback Swap (PBS). I initially set up my account and then did not really do anything with it. However, as I began clearing off my book shelves to declutter and make room for new book and homeschool curriculum I reconsidered using Paperback Swap. I am so glad I gave it another thought!

What is so wonderful about PBS? Simply put, you get rid of books you no longer need or want and exchange them for other books you do want posted by fellow PBS members. The only cost to you is the initial cost of mailing a book that has been requested from you, which if you send via media mail postage costs range from $1-$4 depending on size and weight. Once a requesting member receives your book in the mail you will get a credit on your account. You can choose to purchase postage through PBS and receive immediate credit or mail the book yourself at your post office and wait for the book to reach its destination to receive credit. When you request a book you use the credits you have accumulated on your account and pay nothing additional. Each book is 1 credit while audio books are 2 credits.

I have gotten rid of a large amount of unwanted books so far and in exchange am receiving books that my children and I do need (or enjoy). For instance, a few weeks ago I was browsing at our local large chain bookstore. I found a book on parenting twins that I wanted to buy. First though I checked PBS via my smart phone and discovered that I could request the book for free from a fellow PBS member using a credit on my account. Cha-ching, I saved the cost of a new book which in this case was $20 not including tax.

As a homeschool Mom I have also found a wealth of educational resources to use with my children. Not only am I receiving classics, biographies, and other treasured reading books for my children to enjoy I am also finding lesson planning books and curriculum resources that I would otherwise have to pay for. PBS keeps a running tally of how much money I have saved, but I honestly think it is on the low side of reality. If I were to buy the books I am receiving in the mail from other sources such as new at the bookstore or used off of Amazon I would have spent much more money than what is listed on my account as savings. Truth be told though, this is a non-issue for me. I am receiving high quality reading books and homeschool resources for pennies on the dollar and clearing clutter off of my bookshelves all at the same time. What homeschool Mom could ask for more?

If you have not signed up with Paperback Swap and plan to do so, please consider using my username momoftwinpinkpeas or click on the link below:

Gifted homeschooling: A lesson in flexibility

Homeschooling a gifted child is not a topic I write much about. It isn't that I don't have experience with gifted homeschooling, I just don't feel like I have enough experience and worthwhile advice to regularly and accurately write on this subject. My only gifted child so far is my oldest biological child, he is 6. (I also have a 9 year old but he is technically my step-son, a term we do not use in our house). So I suppose, I have chosen to stay quiet about my gifted homeschooling journey rather than blog about the ups and downs. There are many times when I want to pen a blog about gifted education but chicken out or write about another topic. Nevertheless, my desire to journal homeschooling a gifted (or advanced) child still simmers just below the surface between my fingers and computer keyboard.

Today, I have decided to take the plunge and write about a gifted homeschooling topic that I have been immersed in since day one with my son. No, I don't mean day 1 two years ago when we started homeschooling, I mean day 1 of being his mother. After 6 years, I feel pretty well versed and experienced with the concept of flexibility as it relates to educating my son. Why flexibility? Well, simply because flexibility is something that my son thrives off of when presented in the context of education. Of course he needs schedules and expectations just like any other 6 year old. But flexibility is paramount for him when it comes to learning.

The type of flexibility I am referring to is the kind I encounter when a lightbulb goes off in his head and he NEEDS to (not just wants to) learn about a specific topic. At first I would resist his need to deviate from what I had "scheduled" and almost insist that we accomplish what I had planned rather than  explore the tangent that he had set upon in his own mind. I quickly found though that this only caused frustration and resentment in my eager little learner. I was killing his love for learning because I wasn't being flexible and sensitive to his needs. Eventually I realized that his learning tangent needs were real, a true and honest search for information that his gifted mind needed for satiation. I used to feel inconvenienced and rather annoyed when he would come to me with random questions about specific topics that never seemed to end. Most certainly I was in the middle of something that I deemed important and necessary only to be interrupted by his stream of unending questions and curiosity. Oh how wrong I was to take that attitude with my young son.

Once I turned the corner and my eyes were opened to the tremendous gift he had been given and in turn could give me, I began to welcome his random topics of learning curiosity with open arms. His need for learning in turn set my own mind on unexpected paths of learning and enrichment. How could I possibly deny both of us those opportunities to learn and grow? And what could be better than learning something new side-by-side with my gifted young son? Nothing, simply nothing. With this new attitude came a lesson in flexibility. In order to fully embrace his love for learning, I had to learn to give up any preconceived lesson plans I may have created for the day and "run" with whatever topic he wanted to learn about. A form of un-schooling if you will.  When I began showing my son that I was prepared to embrace whatever learning topics he was curious about his learning grew exponentially. Now he felt in control of what he was learning rather than simply learning about something because "Mom said so".

Over the years I have taken this flexible teaching attitude to other aspects of our homeschool environment. At one time I was in control of what subject we would start our day with and continued to make all the decisions during our homeschool day. And I wondered why I was met with frustration and lack luster attitude. We battled and butted heads to get every assignment completed. However, as I began to fully embrace the attitude of flexible learning I applied it to the "regular" and "mandatory" subjects completed in our homeschool day. Instead of telling my son which subjects he is going to complete and when, I now begin each day telling him what we need to complete but not how we are going to get there or in what order we are going to complete the assignments. My son gets to choose which subjects we do when. The result? I am now met with an eagerness and willingness to complete his schoolwork. He now feels in control of his education, something that many gifted children, especially those very young, need and require to feel appreciated and valued.

I shutter to think what would have happened to my son's love for learning if I hadn't learned a very important lesson of my own first; be flexible. When you are flexible with homeschool learning, the gifts that will come to you in the way of education and precious experiences with your children will most surely astound you.

Gifted children are a challenge, there is no denying that. But if you learn to go with their flow of learning, not only will you set no boundaries on their education but you will also foster a lifetime love of learning and education in their precious hearts and minds.

Pen pals help encourage writing

Finding and maintaining communication with a pen pal can open up a wonderful world of writing for your children. Pen pals are not just for homeschooled children. In fact, both of my sons regularly write to a public schooled pen pal. Pen pal letters accomplish and encourage a whole host of beneficial things in your child; whether they are homeschooled or attend public school.

Benefits of having a pen pal include:

• give practical application to lessons in letter writing including letter formating, sentence structure, and envelope addressing.
• promotes friendship between two people that may not otherwise have a chance to get to know each other.
• encourages children to think of others rather than just themselves. Pen pal writers can not exclusively write about themselves. They must ask questions of their pen pal and show interest in what their pen pal has written in a previous letter.
• encourages writing in a reluctant or new writer. Older children will enjoy the reduced pressure of writing that comes with pen pal letters while young elementary children will learn that writing can be fun.
• writing pen pal letters will force children to practice good penmanship. Messy letters are not good pen pal letters.
• requires reading, this is particularly beneficial for young readers. Your child will need to read their pen pal's letter when it arrives in the mail and before they can respond to and write a letter of their own.

The benefits of pen pals for your children are nearly limitless. I could not possibly list all of the advantages here.

Ways to find a pen pal for your children include:

• contact friends outside of your immediate area that have children similar in ages to your own. Ask if they would like to be pen pals.
• If you are a homeschooler, join an online homeschool community such as The Homeschool Lounge. Large online homeschool communities such as THL have pen pal groups where you can find other families that are in search of pen pals.

Lastly, if you have younger children that are not yet at the writing stage who would also like to join in on the "pen pal fun" they also have options. Picture drawing is a fun way for very young children to enjoy the fun of having a pen pal.

New Monic Vocabulary Cartoons Review

Are you looking for a fun way to teach your third to sixth grader vocabulary words? Or perhaps you are in search of a new way for your upper elementary child to retain the vocabulary words they learn? If you are in either of these situations, I would suggest you look into New Monic Vocabulary Cartoons, Elementary Edition.

About the book:

New Monic Vocabulary Cartoons, Elementary Edition uses mnemonics to help students retain the vocabulary words they learn. Mnemonics are devices such as poems, rhymes, or formula that help aid memory retention. New Monic couples a cartoon with an easy to remember sentence to help with vocabulary word retention and recall. This book contains 210 challenging vocabulary words that third through sixth graders should know. After every 10 words there is a quiz to test retention. The quizzes are in matching and fill in the blank format.

You can view a complete word list for this book as well as page samples on the New Monic website.


How we used this book:


As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I was given the opportunity to review this book with my oldest son who is a fourth grader. To say that vocabulary is his strong subject is quite an understatement. We struggle on a daily basis with many common vocabulary words. Hence, I was very excited to find out that we were being given an opportunity to review this book.

Each school morning during our group study time I would introduce a new word, show the cartoon, and read through the definition, sentence and accompanying mnemonic sentence. All of my kids thoroughly enjoyed these exercises. Later in the day I reviewed the word with my oldest and had him read the page on his own. As a writing and retention exercise I often times asked him to write 1-2 new sentences on his own using the word.  When we had completed 10 words my oldest would take the corresponding quiz. I am happy to say that he always did very well on the quizzes, which is more than I could have hoped for.

Using mnemonics proved to be a fun yet effective way for my son to remember the vocabulary words presented in this book. As a result, I have begun introducing and creating mnemonics for other words he struggles with. Again, he is showing improvement with words that he previously struggled with.

Pricing information:


New Monic's Vocabulary Cartoons, Elementary Edition is available for $12.95. Large quantity order discounts are available.

Want to read what other TOS Crew members are saying about this book? Hop on over to the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to read more.

Blank Park Zoo field trip

This week my kids and I got to experience our first field trip since moving to Iowa. Granted, we went to the zoo because my cousin and her boys were in the area, but it was an educational field trip nonetheless. 

The Blank Park Zoo located in Des Moines, IA is the only accredited zoo in the state of Iowa. The zoo first opened in 1966 and since then has under gone numerous renovations. The land that the zoo sits on was originally Fort Des Moines and donated by the federal government for recreational purposes. The community of Des Moines truly rallied behind the idea of building a zoo in their town. Countless fundraising activities happened to make this zoo a reality. 

Upon arriving at the zoo I was pleasantly surprised to see the parking lot nearly empty. I was excited at the prospect of nearly having the zoo to ourselves. After we paid, gathered ourselves, and plotted our course on the map we were off. Initially we were going to head straight out of the doors to the main part of the zoo but my 5 year old spotted something he wanted to take a closer look at. What he had found was an amazingly real-to-life decorated passage of walkways and caves. Around each corner was something new to learn about, whether it be about an animal, habitat, or an ecosystem. This path took us past red pandas, fruit bats, cockroaches, salt water aquariums, an indoor water fall, and much more. I know we were all in awe of everything there was to look at and explore. In particular I will not quickly forget the amazement of being up close and personal with fruit bats as they feasted and flew around. They are simply amazing creatures!! Also, in the aquarium portion of this pathway is a nursery. The day we visited there were baby jelly fish and baby clown fish on display. The sheer impact of these babies was realized when I saw their grown counterparts in other tanks. Let me just say, that I am shocked at how much a tiny jelly fish can grow. Nearly invisible in their nursery tank, the adult versions were enormous. 

From the discovery center area we decided to venture to the Australian Outback. Let me begin by saying, I never expected the kind of exhibit that we encountered. In the Blank Park zoo outback you can get up close and personal with the animals on display. While they ask that you stay on the path through this exhibit, the animals are free to roam wherever they want; even on the path where you are walking. My kids and I got to stand and observe a wallaby within about 2 feet. Amazing! It was quite an experience to be able to mingle with free roaming wild animals that originate from another continent.

After I reluctantly left the Australian Outback we set off to explore the rest of the park. We got to see a tiger, lions, Japanese macaques, gibbons, giraffes, and many more animals. I must admit though, if you are looking for a large zoo to explore this is not the best option for that adventure. When you are with young children who look at an animal for a minute or so and are off to the next exhibit, this zoo will take you no more than 2 hours to fully experience. However, if you are looking for a quiet zoo experience without the crowds this is hands down a place you should consider. All in all, my cousin and I and all of our kids had a fun and educational day at the Blank Park Zoo.

Through the end of this year the Des Moines visitor's bureau is offering a coupon book for area businesses. Download the coupons (via pdf) to receive a coupon for $1 off a child's admission price to the zoo. It might be only $1, but every little bit helps!!

Koi Pond at feeding time.

My youngest 2 petting an adorable goat.

Visit Live The Adventure for more Field Trip Friday experiences!

                                           

Review: Time 4 Learning Preschool

Looking for a fun and educational online preschool curriculum? Is your 3-4 year old ready to "do school" like their older siblings? Want something more than just dollar store workbooks for your eager to learn preschooler? Consider Time 4 Learning Preschool for your smart preschooler.

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was given the opportunity to review Time 4 Learning Preschool with my 3 year old daughter. As part of her preschool learning I have exposed her to online preschool educational games. She loves learning online and playing what she calls "her school games". She was thrilled when we started Time 4 Learning Preschool. Not only was this a new online experience for her but she was also learning new things that she had not been previously exposed to. Each time we sat down together to do her "school work" a few minute session quickly blossomed into 20 minutes or more of fun and educational learning.

The Time 4 Learning Preschool curriculum includes two levels, pre-K 1 and pre-K 2. Both options are easily accessible from the preschool learning page. The preschool page is nicely and colorfully arranged to make navigating the learning centers very easy. Both the pre-K 1 and pre-K 2 main pages start with cute main topic icons. Once you select a topic of interest, for example insects you are taken to the insect subset page. Within this subset page your child will have 5-6 educational activities to complete the insect unit. When each activity is completed a red check mark appears on the icon letting you know that activity has been completed. Once the entire unit, i.e. insects is complete there will be a red check mark on the main preschool home page. I found the red check mark system to be very easy to manage. At a quick glance I could see the progress my daughter was making with this program. I should also note that just because you have completed an activity or unit does not prevent you from repeating those activities. Your child can repeat the games and activities until their little heart is content.

Main Preschool Unit Page

Preschool unit subset page

Within the review period for this program (8 weeks) my daughter was able to complete about 90% of the pre-K 1 units. Please keep in mind we did not get online everyday to play on this site. Some days time did not allow for computer learning or she was in the mood to do her workbooks instead of working on the computer. When we were utilizing the Time 4 Learning Preschool site her favorite activities in each unit were the story books, movies, and matching games. The matching games in particular noticeably helped her to begin associating capital letters with their matching lowercase letters. During our time on this site we got to learn about the human body, weather, farm animals, the alphabet, and a whole host of other wonderful unit topics. Because my daughter's fine motor skills are not developed enough to accurately move a computer mouse I did the clicking for her while she told me the answers to the activities. This adaptation worked out very well for us. She was still actively involved in her learning and was not hung up by the frustration of not moving the mouse accurately. Older children will not experience this problem and should be able to navigate the Time 4 Learning site on their own without hesitation.

The Time 4 Learning site is not just for preschoolers. This site is a wonderful homeschool, after school, or summer enrichment curriculum for preschoolers through eight graders. Do you have a child who is on different grade levels in different subjects? Time 4 Learning will customize their curriculum based on information you provide during the online registration. You can also easily register and manage more than one student in your family. During the registration you can assign each child their own log-in and password information. This convenient option makes managing their progress incredibly easy in the reports section of your parental screen.

The Time 4 Learning curriculum includes language arts and math. Science can be added on for first through sixth grade and social studies can be added for second through seventh grades. The monthly pricing includes one or all of the subjects. There is not a discount if you want to use only one subject. Not sure if you want to take the plunge and pay for this program? Time 4 Learning has a 100% money back satisfaction guarantee within the first 14 days of your membership. Based on my experience, within 14 days of regular use you will know whether your child is benefiting from the program and if it is a good fit for your family.

Pricing: $19.95/month for the first child*
             $14.95/month for each additional child*

Time 4 Learning provided me with a free trial membership in exchange for my honest review.


*prices in effect at the time of this review. Prices may vary after this posting.

I can not homeschool without my Mac

The title says it all! Well, I suppose I could homeschool without my Mac if I had to but I would need to seek some serious counseling if that ever happened.

I rely on my computer and the internet for so many things in our daily homeschool routine. From researching lessons, printing worksheets, and learning about a wide variety of topics; our computer is invaluable. Our homeschooling style is mainly unit study based. I really try to incorporate as many subjects as possible when we are learning about a broad topic. My Mac helps me find resources, information, music, and pictures on our study subject. Having a computer easily accessible also gives us the flexibility to learn about something on a whim when our interest is piqued.

For example, earlier this week while reviewing Sing-A-Lingo my kids and I found ourselves off on a Spanish language YouTube tangent. What first started out as watching a YouTube video on the Sing-A-Lingo website quickly morphed into an impromptu Spanish language lesson using music videos. My kids gain so much enjoyment end enrichment from watching educational YouTube videos. In total, I think we watched 10 or more short Spanish language singing videos during our spur-of-the-moment lesson. We sang, laughed, and learned all on a whim sitting in front of our Mac.

My computer also helps me to keep the cost of homeschooling down. Networking with other homeschool friends through the internet and also when searching on my own, I am able to come across a plethora of free or low cost educational resources that I would not otherwise have access to if it were not for my handy little Mac. Curriculum can get expensive as veteran homeschoolers will tell you. However, with a computer and the internet virtually free homeschooling is possible. The amount of free homeschool resources, worksheets, and complete curriculum sources on the internet these days is boggling. Sometimes I consider writing my own worksheet or resources then I stumble across something similar or even better than what I would have created on the internet for free. No need to reinvent the wheel, use someone else's free resources!

Lastly, having a computer in our homeschool adds another fun but educational resource in my bag of tricks when teaching my kids. Online educational games augment what my boys are learning with pencil and paper. The computer however, adds an element of excitement and fun to their learning. Whether it is a math multiplication math quiz, online educational game, or basic word processing, everything seems to be more enjoyable for my kids when it is done on the computer. Even my 3 year old is getting in on the educational value derived from the computer. She loves typic random letters in Word. I've have been able to turn this love of typing into a mini lesson to help her learn the alphabet. The possibilities for learning on the computer are endless.

Not homeschool related, but a bonus to having a Mac is the lack of viruses and corrupt files. About 5 years ago we switched to Mac from the ever popular PC. I was hesitant at first, but now I will never go back. The first Macs we bought 5 years ago are running strong and virus free, just like the first ay we took them out of the box. Not many PC users can say that about their computers.

You can read other great TOS Blog Cruise posts this week about using technology in your homeschool;

Christian reasons to homeschool

With many public schools around the country starting school this week the talk within the homeschool community has been mostly about why we all choose to homeschool. I have already talked about some of my reasons for homeschooling and over the past year those reasons have grown and intensified. Having said that though, the start of the school year has me thinking about why Christians should homeschool. Controversial yes, but nonetheless important.

For he issued his laws to Jacob;
  he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
  to teach them to their children,

so the next generation might know them-

even the children not yet born-

and they in turn will teach their own children.

Psalm 78:5-6

Public school children are gone from home anywhere from 6 to 9 hours or more 5 days a week; every week for 9.5 months save scant vacation time. On average publicly schooled children spend over 16,000 hours during their lifetime in a classroom. This figure does not include preschool or kindergarten hours. Tack on another 2-3,000 hours to the already staggering 16,000 hour average for these younger years of school. What are they learning in those precious hours spent away from home? Most will argue that math, reading, writing, and history are included in the standard public school curriculum. But what about the arts, physical education, foreign language, music, and music appreciation? Budget cuts have slashed these subjects long ago. In all the time that children spend within the confining walls of a public school institution they are lucky if they get a solid education in 4 core subjects. Yep, all that time and they are only scratching the surface of 4 whole subjects. 

Along with being crammed into an over crowded classroom, children are learning a whole host of other "lovely" things from their peers. Curse words, bloody knuckles game, stealing, cheating, lying, name calling, disrespect, and low self-esteem are just a few of the things that come to mind when I think of all the influences kids come home from school with today. How do I know this? I was once a public school Mom too. I have walked both sides of the education street. I was also a public schooled child. 

When the public schooled child gets home from school their school day does not end. As if 7 hours at school was not enough, they now have to do untold hours of homework because the public school teacher can not get all that she needs accomplished within those 6-9 hours of each school day. Tack on 2-3 hours of homework to an already long day of school and that poor child has been in "school" mode for 10 hours or more. Then after homework it is dinner, chores, and bedtime. As I see it, two things are missing from the public school child's average school day; play time and time with their family. Based on the average day, the biggest influence in a public school child's life is the school. Their classmates, peers, and teachers have more influence in their lives than their own parents. Heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Now some of you might be thinking, "well I send my child to a private school so none of this applies to me." Think again. Yes, your child might be getting a slightly better education than their public school counterparts but is it all it should be? Your child is still gone from home for an incredible amount of time. Time that you could be spending with your children teaching and training them to live according to the Word of God and be productive educated members of society. They are also more influenced by school than by their own family.

In my experience as a public school parent, I spent more time un-doing what my children's friends had taught them at school than I did actually teaching them to grow and mature as young Christians. When we first enrolled our oldest in public school my husband and I were weak in our faith. We were new born-again Christians and had not yet considered what God wanted for us in the way for educating our children. As we began to grow in His word and teachings we quickly discovered the error in our ways. No wonder our life was chaos, we were not following His teachings.

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, 

a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. 

He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; 

rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Deut 8:3

If you believe in the Bible as the true and perfect word of our Heavenly Father and your children are not educated at home then they are not living by the word of the Lord. Public and privately schooled children live by the word of society. Sure they might go to church, they memorize bible verses, and act sweet at home. What they see, hear, learn, and talk about at school is beyond your control. I can guarantee that they are not living by and hearing the word of the Lord at school. Based on recent news they might even be learning about world history from an anti-American and anti-Christian point of view.

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud 

and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. 

Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all 

we need for our enjoyment.

1 Tim 6:17

So why should Christians homeschool their children? 

Children are blessings from God and should be trained in His word. I will teach you about God's power. I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty. (Job 27:11) Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the Lord. (Psalm 34:11) Your precious children were given to you by God. They are yours to teach. God did not intend for them to be shuttled out the door of your home every morning to be "taught". 

Your children are your commission, your responsibility, and yours to teach. God have you the tools to teach your children all that they need to know in life. Time with your children is precious, every minute they spend at public school is time flushed down the toilet. You can never get that time back. It is gone forever. Just as God gave Bezalel and Oholiab the ability to teach others their skills (Exo. 35:34) so too has God given you the ability to teach your own children. You have the skills to teach your children how to read, write, comprehend math, learn history, the arts, and languages. And even if you struggle in one subject area or another, there is a wealth of resources available for your use from others who are more "skilled" in their craft.

Removing your children from public (or private) schools removes the influence of others from their impressionable lives. Our children are sponges. They soak up all that is around them. Every morsel of moisture is wicked into their minds and stored for all time. They soak up every word, attitude, and statement of fact that they hear. What are your children hearing in their public schools? I can guarantee it is not what God wants them to hear and learn. 

And you must love your God with all your heart, 

all your soul, and all your strength.

 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly 

to these commands that I am giving you today. 

Repeat them again and again to your children. 

Talk about them when you are at home and

 when you are on the road, 

when you are going to bed and

 when you are getting up. 

Deut. 6:4-7

Lastly, so much of the time spent in public school is wasted. Time flushed down the toilet spent inefficiently. Time your child can never regain. Time that was given to them by God and was not used in the manner God intended it to be spent. It is a little known fact outside of the homeschool community, but most homeschool children start their day shortly after breakfast and are finished before lunchtime. Homeschooled elementary age children typically spend 2-4 hours doing school work compared to the 6-9 hours public and private school children spend at school. What do homeschool children do with the rest of their day? Anything and everything. The sky is the limit. Many choose to pursue a hobby, delve into an instrument, volunteer in their community, or simply have fun and be a kid. Children need free time to be imaginative. They need the freedom to play and explore. Children become restless and disruptive when they are forced to sit for hours on end. Homeschooling allows kids to be kids. Homeschool families can be found in their community. Field trip opportunities abound across the country. Homeschool students and their families are afforded the opportunity to enjoy their educational field trip events because they are not limited by the public school clock.

If you are a public or private school Christian parent and God has laid the idea of homeschooling on your heart, I pray that you will listen to your Heavenly Father and consider His will for your family. He knows what is best for you and your children. He will provide everything you need to make homeschool happen in your family. I will discuss the financial cost of homeschooling in another article, but suffice to say it should not be a limiting factor in your decision to follow God's will for you and your children.

Still doubting that homeschool is God's will for your family? Seek out the truth for yourself in His word. The truth will make itself known.


And please, oh please, don't ever use "socialization" as an excuse for public education. And please, even if you do not choose to follow God's will for your family and homeschool, do not ever ask a homeschooler about "socializing their kids". I will leave this discussion for another article, but I can guarantee to you that my homeschooled kids are better socialized with a wider variety of people than your public and private schooled kids. My kids live, grow, and learn in society. Public school children socialize with a very small group of children their own age which by definition is not a wide array of socialization.

Research Supporting Homeschooling

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association is no stranger to the homeschool community. On the other hand solid research on homeschool statistics and outcomes is incredibly hard to come by. So when I found out that the HSLDA had commissioned a study on homeschool education including family dynamics and overall education achievements I was excited to read the results. You can read the Homeschool Progress Report 2009: Academic Achievement and Demographics here. The study was performed in the Spring of 2008 by Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute.


Thank you Dr. Ray and the HSLDA for commissioning and publishing a thorough study that shows exactly what us homeschool parents already know; homeschooling is the best hands down for a child's education.

First Year Went Way Too Quickly!

I remember it so clearly; this time last year I was eagerly and anxiously awaiting the start of our first year of homeschooling. I thought I had it all figured out. I had chosen a "boxed" curriculum, I had all the school supplies, and we had a cute place to work. All I was waiting for was August to roll around and we'd begin our first year. SO much has changed from July 2009 to July 2010, I will spare you all the details. Suffice to say, our first year of homeschooling was a HUGE blessing and an even BIGGER challenge some days.

Through it all though, I feel like our first year flew by with lightning speed. The boys and I learned about everything from Creation to the Greeks, the human body to a greater detail than I remember learning in elementary school, math facts spilled from their lips, and we gleaned a lot of enjoyment from our morning devotional time together as a family. I just simple can not believe that our first year has been finished for over 2 months and we are on the cusp of starting a new year. No longer am I a "first year homeschooler", but rather I am a "second year homeschool Mom who doesn't know much more than last year but I know how to stumble through the bad days and rejoice on the great days".

I am incredibly excited for our 2nd year to begin sometime in August. No, I haven't set a date for our "official" first day. Much to our style, we will just start when it feels right. I know the boys will start showing signs when they are ready to get back to the books in earnest. As it stands now, my oldest is reviewing stuff from last year that he struggled with and my 5 year old is knee deep in his 1st grade materials. My boys have 2 very different learning styles and personalities which keeps our days interesting to say the least. I have one son who burns out very quickly but always has to be challenged so I have to manage his work load very carefully to maximize the time we spend together learning. My other son will do anything I put in front of him without one word of complaint. But I digress, I am excited about the new curriculum we are adding and the old favorites we are returning to.

In the coming weeks be on the look out for curriculum reviews, TOS Crew reviews, book reviews, and the typical musings from this homeschool Mom.

Homeschooling while living out of boxes

Due to an extended vacation and moving, homeschool for my kids pretty much did not exist for the month of April and May. Now that my curriculum has arrived, we are working back into our study routine. And I say working back into the routine because today was pretty much a flop. No fault of my kids mind you, mostly my fault and the fact that we are living out of boxes.

I had every intention of getting some great lessons accomplished today. God had other plans for us though and I am learning to graciously go with the flow. Wherever the flow might take me throughout the day. Today for example, the flow took my kids and I to Staples. Why Staples you ask? Well, frankly because we had only one sharpened pencil for 2 kids and no pencil sharpener for the pencil my youngest son broke while I was in the shower. So in a haste and feeling of frustration I packed up the kids and headed out in the rain for some much needed school supplies.

I half contemplated heading to our storage unit to find all the supplies packed away in the abyss of boxes and household items but considering the rain and the sheer weight of some of those boxes I thought better of that decision.

Schooling while living out of boxes is proving to be a huge challenge. I don't have anywhere to efficiently store our school books and supplies. I seem to have it all in one big pile and just transfer that pile from one place to another as we use it. I miss my workboxes. I miss our school table. I miss my book shelves. I miss my organizational system.

There I said it. . .but despite all that I miss from my old house 2000 miles to the west I am blessed, thankful, and excited to experience whatever house we get to live in here in the midwest. Our future farm house will be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Living out of boxes is only temporary, our home here in the midwest is forever. The learning opportunities, challenges, and memories that my family and I will get to create together on our future farm sustain me through days like today. A broken pencil, school supplies buried in a storage unit, and a 20 minute drive to town to get a pencil sharpener are miniscule prices to pay for the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Fine Motor Activities for Young Children

Are you wondering about how to maintain your young child's fine motor skills during the summer? Are you concerned about your child's fine motor skills and want to work with them over the summer to get them "caught up"?


The following ideas are things I do with my youngest or plan to do with her this summer .

1. Write letters in a bowl of flour (or sugar, salt, etc)
2. Do dot-to-dot pictures
3. Cut shapes, pictures out of a magazine in a specific shape or outline of the object.
4. Roll playdoh into little balls using both the palm of her hands and then only the tips of her fingers
5. Transfer cotton balls from one bowl (or ice cube tray) to another using tweezers or kid chopsticks
6. Handwriting sheets found online or at discount stores (dollar stores, etc). Be careful to look through the font style though, some sheets use the wrong script of letters like "a". Kids don't learn a's like this.
7. Sidewalk chalk writing
8. Write on whiteboards
9. Finger painting

Self-care lessons also increase fine motor skills in preschool and young elementary school children. 

1. Tying shoe laces
2. Buttoning shirts
3. Snapping pants
4. Zipping jackets
5. Washing dishes (plastic is best at this age) :)
6. Vacuuming
7. Sweeping
8. Using hand tools (screwdriver, hammer, wrench)
9. Locking/unlocking doors
10. Cooking (stirring, rolling out dough, using measuring cups, cutting with a blunt knife)
11. Bathing
12. Dressing
13. Opening jars and bottles

No matter what you do to help your child improve their fine motor activities this summer, remember one thing! KEEP IT FUN! This isn't calculus and they will have plenty of fine motor skills by the time they leave for college so do not stress about it now. Enjoy your kids and have fun. They will never know they are learning.