A Peek Into Our School Day

As we come to the end of the Virtual Curriculum Fair, I thought it would be fun to share what a school day looks like for us.  I love looking into other homeschoolers days so I hope you will enjoy ours!


Pictures were taken through out the week with a few older ones of the games.

8:30 - School begins with prayer and MFW Bible time. 

Here is our weekly bible verse - printable available at Mama Jenn.

8:45 - We go over our Classcial Conversations memory work usually by playing different games.

9:15 - We also go over whatever country/continent we are studying in geography and play MFW Geography game sometimes.

9:30 - History on Monday and Friday, Science on Wednesday and Thursday.

10:00 - We move on to independent work.  I work with Sarah first on Math, reading, grammar, and writing.  The boys have their checklists and follow those until I finish with Sarah.  I will then give her some independent work to do and work with them on anything they need help on.  My ultimate goal is for the kids do complete their work independently.


12:15 or so - lunch prep, eating, and clean up

1:15 or so- read aloud time - currently we are still reading Johnny Tremain.  We are s-l-o-w readers!


2:00 - finish any school work left undone including piano practice and wii fit!

Our day is typically done by 2:00 and then we do our afternoon chores.  Of course, you know that is a great day, right?  Not all days go so smoothly but we keep pressing on!

3 in 30: January, Week 4

January 2012 - Week 4 Update

My 3 goals for January...

1. Homemaker - make goals for the year and divide them up for each month to work on - try to incorporate a specific plan of attack for each one.  done
2. Personal - drink water - at least 1 pitcher a day. To help with this goal, I am making a pitcher of lemon water every morning and trying to finish it by mid afternoon. did great with this one again
3.  Spiritual - pray daily for my spouse using 31 Days To Pray For Your Spouse - done! Still loving the ease of adding this to my day

I think I'm ready for new goals.  I did well with these.  February - here I come!

TOS Review: We Choose Virtues

One of the items we received for this review were the Virtue Clue Cards.  Each card has a virtue on it for the child to work on.  The come in a cute little pouch that makes them easy to take on the road as well.  The virtues that the child will be working on and included on each of the cards are...

• Attentive
• Content
• Diligent
• Forgiving
• Gentle
• Helpful
• Honest
• Kind
• Obedient
• Patient
• Perseverant
• Self-Controlled

There are so many different ways that you could incorporate these cards into your homeschool.  We all worked on one virtue a week as a family. The cards are in full color and feature The Virtue Kids, their names, the Virtue catchphrase and antonyms, and on the back a "You can do it" challenge including what you can do and what you should not do! 


I placed our weekly card on the refrigerator along with our daily chore charts and prayer reminder sheets so that I knew we would see it each day and be reminded of what needed to be done.

We also received the teacher's handbook.  This book is also in full color and outlines the simple steps and inspiring tools that are needed to teach the this character education system in your classroom. There are special notations for teaching this system in home schools and home daycares throughout. 

Another product available to enhance and keep these virtues alive is the Coloring Book.  This book is only offered in PDF download and includes the 12 kids of VirtueVille.  As I introduced the virtue for the week, the children colored the kid that went with that virtue and loved every minute of it!  My children love to color - guess they got that from their mom!  The coloring book can be downloaded for free with any kit purchase.

 

The last item that we received for review was the character assessment.  This is a valuable tool for me to evaluate how well I thought each of my children did on the virtue for the week and also the virtues of the past weeks.  It allowed us a time to talk about areas that they were doing great in along with those that they could work on more. 

    

There are lots of different kits available at the website, one including the homeschool kit for $99 or you can purchase the items individually as well.  These products are recommended for elementary age students, ages 3-11, but I found that you can never outgrow learning virtues! I have a 13 year old who enjoyed these cards just as much as his younger siblings but they do have a set of books designed especially for youth too.  There are also specific products available for churches and classrooms.

Check out the clearance section going on now for even more deals!  The virtue clue cards I spoke about first are available for a limited time for only $5.95!

Don't forget to check out what my fellow crewmates thought of We Choose Virtues.

**Disclaimer: I received free product in exchange for my review. The opinions here are my honest and true evaluation!

HMJ - 01/21/12

In my life week…

I struggled this week with getting up on time and I did not exercise once :( but I still accomplished my 3 in 30 goals.  I will not give up but press on!

In our homeschool this week…

We had another productive week and we are moving right along in our studies.  I am, as usual, already researching for next year and trying to figure out how much money I will need to budget.

My favorite thing this week was…


Having the flexibility of a homeschool schedule so that we could be there for a friend who lost his grandmother.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

I posted my first article at The Homeschool Classroom this week!  It describes our simple and effective laundry system.

3 in 30 - January, Week 3

January 2012 - Week 3 Update

My 3 goals for January...

1. Homemaker - make goals for the year and divide them up for each month to work on - try to incorporate a specific plan of attack for each one.  done
2. Personal - drink water - at least 1 pitcher a day. To help with this goal, I am making a pitcher of lemon water every morning and trying to finish it by mid afternoon. did great with this one again
3.  Spiritual - pray daily for my spouse using 31 Days To Pray For Your Spouse - done! Still loving the ease of adding this to my day

hmmm...I thought my week was really off because I overslept several days and didn't get in a single bit of exercise but all 3 of my monthly goals are going great!  So, this has been a great encouragement to myself today.  It is funny how hard I can be on myself sometimes!!  Baby steps...baby steps.

I love Swagbucks!!

Just this week I was able to redeem $15 in Amazon gift cards by just using the Swagbucks search toolbar!  I'm already half way to another $5 too!  For every 450 swagpoints you earn, you can redeem for a $5 Amazon gift card.


Today is Mega Swag Bucks day so start searching and get your swag on!


Special exciting news for next week...


"Get your pom-poms ready, folks, because starting on Monday Swagbucks is holding Spirit Week!  Every day next week they will be celebrating a different holiday.  Each day will be filled with fun, activities, and surprises.  They'll be announcing every holiday the evening before in our Swagbucks blog.  Make sure you keep track of each day's Swag Codes, as you will need them at the end of the week in order to earn a big, juicy reward. It's the most fun you can have getting your reward points for free stuff!"


Best of all - it is free!!  Join now!

Climbing Mt. Laundry

We have a laundry room but often I was scared to go in it.  The piles of laundry grew so enormous that I was afraid I would never escape out of that room again!  Well, I have finally found a simple laundry system that works for us!  


To read how it works,  join me over at The Homeschool Classroom where I am now a monthly contributor!  Funny, how the first post I chose was on laundry and not homeschool but then again, we all know that the two run together!

Our History

This week's topic:  Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science. This theme can include history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, etc., etc., etc.

I'm sharing our history choice. It has changed just this year.  I am a huge fan of The Mystery of History but this year I decided that I wanted to give My Father's World a try.  The verdict is...WE LOVE IT. 

We are using Exploring Countries & Cultures. Things we love...

• I love that it is a complete curriculum
• I love that we can all use it together - 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade
• I love that it is available through high school.
• I love that it is all planned out for me - every day- every week.  I never thought I'd enjoy a boxed curriculum again but this one works for me.  I can tweak what I need to and pick and choose.  I do not do everything.
• I love the fact that a shopping list is there in my planning book - just waiting for me every week and  at the beginning of a new country.
• I love the fact that the books used have a Biblical Worldview.
• I love that the kids love it too.
• I love that it is hands on and combines both Classical and Charlotte Mason methods of learning because we love both! 

Here are some pictures when we first received our goodies!

Be sure to stop by and see what other homeschools are using!

• Science and Worldview by Beth @ Ozark Ramblings
• Nature Study as Science by Christine @ Crunchy Country Catholic
• Virtual Curriculum Fair Week 3- Social Studies and more Science by Leah Courtney @ The Courtney Six Homeschool Family 
• Curriculum Fair–Exploring Our World by Angie @ Petra School
• Paths of Exploration by Jen @ Forever, For Always
• Learning Geography at Our House by Jessica @ Modest Mama
• Mapping Out Our Social Studies by Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds The Fascinating World Around Us by Cindy Horton @ Fenced in Family
• More Heart of Dakota Praises by Nicole @ Schooling in the Sun 
• Playful US Geography for First Grade by Pam @ Everyday Snapshots 
• Heart of Dakota-The Fine Details-Part 3 History by Lynn @ Ladybug Chronicles
• Exploring Our World Through History & Science by Brenda Emmett @ Garden of Learning
• Two History Must-haves by Letha @ justpitchingmytent
• Learning About The World Around Us by Laura O from AK
• Social Studies and Science - What do we do? by Joelle @ Homechooling for His Glory

HMJ - 01/14/12

In my life week…



I entered the realm of a world unknown.  That would be the world of exercise.  :)  I am just kidding, I have actually exercised before but it has been a while as you will see from the dreaded before pictures below.

I am exercising 3x a week using the 30 day shred to start.  Honestly, I was sweating!

I rocked my goals again this week too!

In our homeschool this week…

Our planned full schedule had a few interruptions but we still accomplished most of what I had planned. We had to double up a few days to stay on track. Here are a few action shots.  We skipped the school room this week too and ended up mostly in the living room.

My favorite thing this week was…


Cleaning out the junk drawer!  I know that doesn't sound exciting but it has been a thorn in my side for a long time now!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

To brighten my week, Jill @ Enchanted Homeschooling Mom gave me this sweet award.  If you are looking for some unique homeschool printables, you definitely need to visit her blog!

3 in 30 - January, Week 2

January 2012 - Week 2 Update

My 3 goals for January...

1. Homemaker - make goals for the year and divide them up for each month to work on - try to incorporate a specific plan of attack for each one.  I really finished this week one but I'm actually marking things off the list like "clean out the junk drawer".  :)
2. Personal - drink water - at least 1 pitcher a day. To help with this goal, I am making a pitcher of lemon water every morning and trying to finish it by mid afternoon. I am impressing myself with this one!  I didn't realize that I was so addicted to soda!
3.  Spiritual - pray daily for my spouse using 31 Days To Pray For Your Spouse - done! Still loving the ease of adding this to my day.  We have also started making a nightly commitment of praying together as a couple.  Love our time together!