Staycation Day # 3: The One Where I'm Brutally Honest

Our third day of staycation was a bit more laid back, although I did have to break my no housework rule. The wet towels and swimsuits from our day at the water park couldn't just sit there mildewing. I also had to enlist the kids in helping out a bit to get things picked up a little. And really, who goes away on vacation for a week and doesn't have to pick up around the condo or do a load of laundry? After that, it was back to staycation.

We opened our AHOP Restaurant--which bears a close resemblance to another restaurant with a similar name. We had pancakes and sausage for breakfast--some of the best pancakes I've ever eaten! I tried a new mix, an all-natural multi-grain pancake mix. There were nutty grains throughout the pancakes and the texture was wonderful! I will definitely be making these again.

After our late breakfast and clean-up we all got ready to go to the movie theater to see Karate Kid. Ben and Luci's karate instructor has been encouraging all of her students to see this movie and it didn't disappoint! It was very well done. In case you didn't know, the movie not only starred a member of actor Will Smith's family (his son Jaden Smith) but was also produced by two members of the Smith family: Will and his wife Jada were two of the producers of this movie.

We had a little time to relax after the movie, and then it was time for Ben and Luci to go to karate class. We kept this in our staycation because Luci is going to be testing for her first stripe on her belt this Friday and she doesn't need to miss any classes before then.

In keeping with the oriental theme of the day--a movie set in China followed by karate class--we had an oriental themed dinner. Our restaurant, The Oriental Palace, served grilled sesame chicken, fried rice, chinese broccoli, and egg rolls (I cheated a little, egg rolls were take-out).

After dinner we watched a couple of movies we'd rented from one of the Blockbuster kiosks, Bridge to Terabithia and Extraordinary Measures. Both were good movies, although I wasn't expecting the sad part in Bridge to Terabithia. 

I don't have a lot of pictures today. Movie theaters aren't particularly photography friendly. Karate class is so routine for us that I didn't think of taking my camera. 

Ok, now here's me being honest: 

What I've learned about staycations so far is that it is really difficult to eliminate the normal flow of a household . One of the flaws in this staycation is that my kids still fight over the same spot on the sofa, they still argue about who will brush their teeth first, and they still annoy each other with the same intensity. I still see homeschool planning/organizing I need to be doing, I still read the mail and stress over the finances, and wish I'd had my carpet cleaned. And I most definitely still have to clean up after and take care of our 4 1/2 week old puppies several times a day. It is just not possible to completely escape if you don't really escape. 

Don't get me wrong...we have been having fun. We've done fun things together this week, laughed a lot, and spent time together--which was the goal. I have enjoyed having my husband home with us instead of kissing him good bye every day as he goes to work. That alone makes it worthwhile. 

Staycation Day #2: The One Luci Declared as The Best Day Ever!

Our second day of staycation started early. This was the kids' first time to go to a water park so they were in for a lot of fun. Gavin and his friend Mark instantly hit the big slides (and they never did slow down) while the rest of us started with a slower paced trip around the lazy river. After taking in the park and all it had to offer Ben was ready to hit some slides as well. He was pretty excited to find out that he could pretty much ride every slide in the park, with one exception: The Blue Typhoon. And really, according to Brian, there wasn't much to miss except a snout full of water (which may or may not have been what rendered him unable to breath) and a terrifying descent through total darkness. Luci discovered there was much to be done at the The Water Fort. She dashed through water curtains, explored watery tunnels and braved twisting slides perfect for junior park goers all while watching for buckets of water to spontaneously tip over her head. I'd like one of these water forts in my own back yard, please.

Exhausted when we got home, the kids all fell onto the living room furniture, but not before grabbing up a pup to snuggle with.

The night's dinner is Mexican fare! Chicken tacos, your choice of soft or crunchy, or a chicken taco salad made the menu accompanied by refried beans and Mexican rice.

None of us required a lullaby to soothe us to sleep. Sleep came mercifully, easily and quickly.

Staycation Day #1: The One Where We Played a Ruthless Game of Monopoly

Our staycation officially started today! As promised, I'm going to share our staycation with you.

After church services this morning we came home and opened our first restaurant for business. The Lunch Shack--serving hot dogs and a variety of chips to choose from. Paper products, a division of labor, and cooperation from the whole family will make mealtimes easier.

After a bit of relaxing (or napping, as the case may be) we went for a swim. Our neighbors happen to be on vacation right now (the REAL kind, where you actually get in a car and leave town) and they are kind enough to allow us to use their pool as much as we like.

Our restaurant theme tonight was a steakhouse. The Staycation Steakhouse opened for business tonight serving grilled NY Strip steaks, mashed potatoes, and ceasar salads. While I did miss the appetizer breads that many steakhouses serve, and while I would have definitely appreciated a waitress and a dish washer, it was still a delicious steak and some of the best mashed 'taters I've had in quite some time.

We played a cutthroat game of Monopoly after dinner. Some slick real estate deals were made across the dining room table. Just a little Monopoly trivia:

• The single piece of property landed on the most in Monopoly is Illinois Ave
• The most lucrative property group is the orange pieces
• The most common roll in the game of Monopoly is 7

What I'm about to tell you is VERY important: I made the mistake of telling my family this bit of trivia one day a couple of years ago. That's when my winning streak ended.

We took a break from our hard-core real estate dealings to open the Ice Cream Emporium. Ben's chocolate mustache and goatee prompted Brian to give him the nick name "Rico Suave." I'm really not sure why. Googling Rico Suave doesn't yield a good looking young man with a goatee and mustache. It was funny anyway and he giggles whenever he hears it now.

We're Going on Staycation!

YAY! We are going on vacation!

I'm not packing.

We don't have any reservations.

There are no suitcases, no travel games, and no snack food for the road in the van.

That's because we are taking a staycation! A staycation is a relatively new term used to describe a vacation spent in one's own home town.

Of course, part of what makes a vacation special is the time away from it all; a break from the ordinary household chores, the day in and day out drudgery of work, and a change of scenery. That might seem a little hard to accomplish if your not even leaving your own city. But with a little planning and prep ahead of time, we are actually looking forward to our staycation!

Here's how we are preparing:

Food
Of course one of the great things about a vacation is eating out. Thankfully, I do enjoy cooking and don't mind doing it. To make dinner time a little more special I've planned each nights meals around a specific restaurant theme or cuisine. With a little thought, it was easy to imagine the kinds of meals we might enjoy eating out if were were to dine out for a week. Each night's theme has a restaurant name and the kids are working on making restaurant signs and menus for us! As for clean-up--well, there are no bus-boys or dishwashers to clean up after us so we'll all work together to make quick work of cleaning up after meals.

Start With a Clean House
Our staycation will officially begin on Sunday so we are using the time til then to get the house perfectly clean and the laundry finished (if there is such a thing). Of course, we can't go all week without picking up after ourselves or doing at least minimal housekeeping, but I don't plan to do anything other than what must be done. No dusting or mopping allowed! Someone will have to put mints on our pillows though! Guess that's me.

Remember the Details
It's easy to miss out on the small things that you do on vacation. I'm keeping a list of things that people normally do while on vacation. Things like making time for naps, mailing post cards and taking lots of pictures.

Plan for FUN Days
We've got several outings planned; nothing farther than an hour and a half drive away. Our metro area has a lot to choose from. We've selected a few things we all really want to do. Museums, a water park, and a movie are just a few of the things on our list.

I'll be posting daily next week to chronicle our staycation. I'll share our restaurant themes each day and the fun activities we've chosen to do. I'll also share the little details that we add in to make our staycation a real vacation.

Repost: Building Accountable Kids

Some things are worth repeating. This post originally appeared on my blog in August of last year. I am reposting it because I know that for many homeschoolers this time of year is spent planning ways to improve on the way things operate in your home--not just your homeschool, but management of your home and building good character in your kids. 

Over the course of this blog I have mentioned on a few occasions that we use a program called Accountable Kids and each time I mention it I am always asked what it is. The simple answer is that it is a great way to keep up with children's responsibilities in the home and to create a system of rewards for work completed. The complex answer is that it is so much more! It can be used to target problem behaviors, build self esteem, help children with working toward goals, and encourage saving.

In our home we believe that each member of the household has a responsibility to participate to the best of their ability in the daily running of this household. We have divided responsibilities into two groups. One of those is Family Service and the other is Compensated Chores.

Family Service includes things like picking up after yourself, keeping your own areas neat and tidy, personal care, feeding pets, and helping at mealtimes. We think that doing these things are the responsibility of anyone living in our home. Just like each of us has responsibilities in our home we also have privileges that we enjoy because we are a part of this family. For our children some of these privileges include a Wii, a computer, and a television. Each day the children start with three sets of Family Service Responsibilities: Morning, Day, and Evening. At the completion of each set they have the chance to earn a "Ticket" that is worth 30 minutes of video games, computer usage, or television.

Compensated Chores includes additional jobs that are assigned to the children according to their ability. They might include vacuuming, bathing the dog, dusting, or taking out trash. Each child has 5 of these chores, one for each day of the week. When this chore has been completed they earn a "Bonus Buck" which is saved and later exchanged for an actual dollar. They each have goals that they work toward, saving for an item that they have their eye on. This also eliminates the "will you buy me something" plea in Wal-Mart each week!

Now, the "accountable" part of both of these groups of responsibilities stems from the fact that I do not nag them, remind them (except for my youngest who is still learning), or give a bunch of chances to get it right. They know what is expected of them and have been taught to do their jobs correctly. Sloppy or incomplete jobs are not rewarded.

There are a couple other aspects of Accountable Kids that we utilize when we find it necessary. One of those is the "Privilege Pass". This card is used when we need to target a specific negative behavior. That behavior could be anything from getting out of bed at bedtime to interrupting adults when they are talking. We talk with the child about the behavior and then find a suitable "privilege" that we are going to attach to this behavior. Each day, if the child has successfully completed a full day NOT giving into that negative behavior, he can earn a Privilege pass. For example, my oldest son had a problem intruding on our conversations. Whether it was to input his own opinion about what we were discussing or ask questions, the fact was that he was constantly intruding in matters that were not his to discuss. So after battling with him for months on this we decided to use a Privilege Pass to target this behavior. We established that on any day that he was able to refrain from interrupting our conversations he would earn the privlilege to assign one of us (mom or dad) to complete one of his chores. He liked this idea immensely! The first few days were rough, but after a week or so he started having successful days--and my husband and I both had to unload the dishwasher a lot! We are no longer using the Privilege Pass for this behavior, but we are still seeing the results: He thinks before he speaks now!

The last aspect of Accountable Kids that we occasionally use is the "Best Behavior" card. If one of our children is having trouble behaving appropriately (and by this I mean being argumentative, fighting with siblings, being selfish, etc... ) we begin to look for the good behavior. When we "catch" them being good, working well with a sibling, sharing, and working out problems without fighting we reinforce that good behavior with a "Best Behavior" card. This card can be exchanged for a variety of things depending on how we set it up. In the past we've allowed it be exchanged for a family board game, a movie night, or some other family event.

Accountable Kids is an investment that we have found invaluable for our children! If you think a system like this would improve things in your own home I encourage you to check out AccountableKids.com.

(The Accountable Kids package includes a book that explains the program and the way the creators intended it to be used. However, we've used Accountable Kids in our home for about 2 years now and over that time we have customized it to fit our needs, so what you read here will be slightly, and maybe in some cases a lot, different than the book. Ultimately, isn't that what we all have to do, though? Mold and shape things to suit our own family's needs. Also, I just want to say that I am not being paid or compensated in any way by Accountable Kids for this post. I just wanted to share what works for us!)

Meet Memphis

This is Memphis. 

He's almost four weeks old. 

He has three brothers. 

In a few weeks they'll all be going to new homes.

But Memphis is staying here with us. 

Ya gotta admit, he's pretty cute, isnt' he?

How a Sleepover Helped Me Break Through Planner's Block

My daughter had her first sleepover here at our house last night. Our home is usually tipped in favor of testosterone, but last night it tipped in favor of estrogen as the two girls squealed with laughter (as only girls can do), played with dolls, and watched The Princess and the Frog. My oldest boy sought refuge in his iPod while Ben joined in the fray. He did draw the line at baby dolls, however! The best part of a sleepover for my kids is usually the sleeper-sofa. Why is it that kids love a sleeper sofa? I guess it has a little to do with being allowed to eat popcorn in bed while watching movies. (It might also have a little to do with the fact that their light weight bodies aren't heavy enough to feel just how uncomfortable it is!)

While the girls (and Ben) stayed up way past their normal bedtime (thereby displacing me from my normal night time perch in the den) I spent the evening breaking through my planner's block; a self labeled term used to describe the inability to force myself to sit down and make schedules and lesson plans. Armed with my binders, a selection of text-books that needed planning, my schedule sheets (Printed from TOS Schoolhouse Planner), and my favorite pen I set to work on my bed with re-runs of Roseanne playing in the background. I managed to get the first three weeks planned out for each of the kids. It's not great progress, but I at least built up some momentum.

Family Trees and Other Stuff

Family Trees
One of the activities on our list of fun things to do this summer was to make simple family trees. I've been intending to do this one for a number of days now, but things kept getting in the way. I'm glad we finally made time for it this morning. Ben and Luci really enjoyed this project and each worked hard to make their own family tree unique. I helped out by writing the names for them (we used only first names for this project). It was really neat for them to see how their family goes back many generations--how many people came before them. We still have a few gaps to fill in, names that we either couldn't remember or never knew. In some cases all we knew was the name their grand children called them by, like Other Mama or Papa. Anyhow, this was a fun project, one you might want to do with your own kids. Our families are such an important part of our lives! I think next time we are going to work on a bigger one. One that includes photos, where available, and siblings, cousins, etc...

(I certainly hope the formatting works on these four pictures!)

More Pup Pics
The puppies had their first supplemental meal today. A couple of them were apprehensive at first, but once they figured things out they made little piggies of themselves.

My New File Box

On one of my many trips to Office Depot last month I found a display of file cabinets at reduced prices in the front of the store. Knowing my husband would probably refer to it as "more yard sale junk," I passed on the deal two times before finally giving in on the third visit. I couldn't be happier with it! The organizing space at the top is perfect for my binders and clip boards while the small drawer is perfect for a few supplies like our date stamp & ink pad, post it tabs, and filing accessories. The file drawer is convenient, and much nicer than using a Sterilite Tote for filing our school papers.

Top Ten Tuesday: Read Alouds

Having used Sonlight Curriculum for the past four years, we've come across some fantastic read alouds. For today's Top Ten Tuesday I thought I'd share our favorites. When I sat down to jot the first titles that came to mind from each of the Sonlight Cores we've done, I ended up with a list of over thirty books. How do I narrow it down to just ten? I can't. Therefore, I'm going to break them into categories. Today, Top Ten American History Read Alouds:

1. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt--This wonderful book is set during the Civil War and tells the coming of age story of a young boy whose older brothers have gone off to fight in the war.
2. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor--This was perhaps one of the most emotional books we've read. In the deep south a black family struggles to maintain ownership of their land amidst the turmoil of racial injustice. A very powerful story!
3. Little Britches by Ralph Moody--Another coming of age story, this book, set on an early 1900s Colorado ranch, tells the true story of young Ralph Moody.
4. Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare--A friendship develops between a white boy and the son of an Indian Chief in this adventure story set in the Maine wilderness.
5. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare--Puritan New England is the setting for this book which tells the story of a girl who must come from her home in the Caribbean to live with relatives. Used to a bit of freedom and luxury, she must adjust to the strict ways of her Puritan relatives.
6. Walk the World's Rim by Betty Baker--This is a wonderful story of adventure involving the slave, Esteban, and a young Indian boy who are part of Cabeza de Vaca's 16th Century expedition through the Southwest. By the end of this book Gavin and I felt so intertwined with the characters and even now, almost four years later, we still will look at each other and say, "How goes it?" and the other will respond, "It goes well." Great book!
7. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham--This is probably the most inspiring story I've ever read. A true story, this book tells the true story of Nathaniel Bowditch. Beginning as a poor apprentice, he taught himself what he needed to know to eventually write a book on navigation that is still used by mariners today. This book was truly captivating!
8. Moccasin Trail by Elois Jarvis McGraw--This excellent book tells the story of a white boy who, after living with Indians for six years, struggles to fit in with his white family. McGraw creates such a vivid journey for readers as she tells this story.
9. The Journeyman Elizabeth Yates--A very touching story of a young boy who is hated by his father, but finds his way in the world as an apprentice to a traveling painter who teaches him to create beauty.
10. Imprisoned in the Golden City by Dave and Neta Jackson--While not an American history book, nor is it even set in America, I included this book in this list because it is part of Sonlight's Core 3. Its inclusion in Core 3 is because this fictional story is set around America's first missionary, Adoniram Judson. This exciting story tells of two Burmese girls who must live with the missionary and his wife during dangerous times.

Kids Say...

My girl can come up with some of the funniest things to say. Often, she isn't meaning to be funny, but instead is downright serious. She reduces those of us around her to side splitting laughter. Sometimes it is her surprisingly accurate grasp of the English language, other times it's her 5 year old perspective that makes her comments so funny. Today's examples:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We had Ranch Chicken and Rice for dinner tonight. Everyone at the table loved it, everyone except Luci. Gavin tried to entice her by rubbing his tummy and saying, "Yummy!"
She responded with, "Yucky!"
Gavin who is eagerly eating his dinner replied, "Your nuts, this is good!"
And Luci sighed and said, "Gavin, my taste buds aren't fully developed!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luci loves to watch her brothers play their Roblox game on the computer. The problem is that she is Ms. Chatty Cathy and often ends up annoying her brothers. Today, Ben had enough and insisted that she be quiet.
Of course, she continued.
"Luci! Be Quiet!" Ben insisted repeatedly.
Luci, exasperated with her brother for not listening to her, responded, "If I am quiet then I won't be able to communicate!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday Musings #1

Musing: A product of contemplation; a thought.

Beginning today, each Monday my blog will feature Monday Musings: a sometimes random compilation of my thoughts about our homeschool or our family. 

2010-2011 School Year

Our start day is almost here for our 2010-2011 school year. We are starting on July 5. Yes, I realize it is over a month before our local schools get started, but for my crew, a six-week break is plenty. Planning it this way gives us more freedom in our schedule, allowing us to take off when it suits our family. 

TOS Schoolhouse Planner

In my efforts to get organized and prepared for the new school year I purchased the ebook, TOS 2010 Schoolhouse Planner. This is my first time to purchase this very popular planner and I must say I am overwhelmed! The 614 page planner includes every form, checklist, and resource I can imagine. There are forms, not just for homeschool, but for home management as well. If you need a little help planning and organizing your home and homeschool I highly recommend this very comprehensive resource.

(I'm not being compensated for this, nor is this an official review for The Crew, just sharing my opinion!)

Puppies

Suzy's pups are just a little over 3 weeks old now. Such cuteness!! They are developing their cute personalities, practicing their barking and growling, and playing with each other. We are going to miss them when it's time for them to go to their new homes. Although, I won't miss cleaning up after them! 

Repost: Paint Tape City

I originally posted this in the summer of 2007. It was such a fun idea though, that I thought I'd share it again. This doesn't seem like that long ago, but seeing those baby faces on my kids puts it in perspective!


The heat of late summer contrives to keep us indoors as much as possible, so desperate times call for desperate measures. In order to give the kids, mainly Ben, something fun and different to do, I used blue paint tape to create a “city” on the floor in the foyer for them. It was quickly named “Radiator Springs” in honor of Ben’s favorite movie and toys, Cars. This has been good for literally HOURS of entertainment by all three kids...who knew?

More Musings

I finally got my Design Squad teacher's guide in the mail last week. I had begun to think that it would never show since it was sometime in early March that I actually requested it. I think the kids who participate in this are going to have loads of fun. There are three units: electricity, force, and sound. Each unit has two or three challenges and a section called "Making it Real" that helps kids understand how real engineers use the design process in their jobs. I'm excited to get our Design Squad group going this fall!

My girl started karate classes with Ben last night. She was so adorably cute in her ghi and had such a fun time. After class she declared, "I'm going to do karate for the REST of my life!" She followed along pretty well for a new student. I guess after watching Ben so many times she knew how to participate in class.

Gavin and I met with a new piano instructor yesterday. She is actually the pianist at our church. She plays beautifully and is very passionate about the piano. She interviewed Gavin and assessed what he already knew about music and the piano. She asked him why he wanted to take piano, and I must admit I held my breath waiting on his answer... You see, last year we talked about piano lessons. He said he wanted to take piano, but when it came time to start he backed out and said he only agreed because he felt pressured. So, yesterday when Mrs. Walker asked him why he wanted to take piano, I held my breath waiting to hear, "Because my mom and dad want me to." That wasn't his answer at all! He said he wanted to take lessons because he wanted to minor in music when he goes to college and piano will be a good foundation for that. My heart leaped at his answer! He starts in September. Now begins the search for either a full-size keyboard with weighted keys or a decent used piano. Anyone selling a piano?

I haven't mentioned Ben's struggles with ADHD and medication in quite some time. The reason for that was that we'd had smooth sailing for quite some time. We had struck a pretty good balance for Ben and while there were some "minor" issues, things were the best they'd been in a very long time. However, we had to start seeing a new psychiatrist in early May because our old doctor left the practice. This new psychiatrist wanted to tweak his meds (increasing Vyvanse to 40mg) a bit to deal with those "minor" issues but the result was to draw out side effects that had been dormant for quite some time--Tics. He started snorting and blinking again. Instead of backing down on the Vyvanse, however, the doctor took him off of Vyvanse altogether and just increased the Intuniv. The result is that now we have a very sleepy boy (taking two or three naps each day) who, when he is awake, is prone to some of the worst meltdowns we've seen in him. He can also be extremely unreasonable. I have spoken with the doctor on the phone about some of this, but his advice was to give him some time to adjust.We go back on Monday and hopefully the psychiatrist will see that this is not working. Those few "minor" issues we had at the beginning of May were nothing compared to what we are going through right now!

In case you haven't noticed, my blog has been growing this week! By leaps and bounds! This is because so many great bloggers from TOS Homeschool Crew are now following my posts. We've all been pretty busy getting to know each other and getting our blogs ready for the 2010-2011 Crew year to start. I'm really excited about all of this, but on the other hand it is overwhelming. One of the things I am struggling with right now, is finding the direction for my blog-- finding my "blog voice", if you will. When I started my blog in March of 2007 the purpose behind my blog was to share our homeschool experiences with our family. Because our family means so much to us and we want to continue sharing that with them, my blog will continue to serve that purpose in addition to the many other directions that my blog is taking me.  

Top Ten: Gotta Have It

Every homeschooler has their own idea of what's necessary in their school. There are things each of us finds absolutely indispensable and there are things we can do without. Here's my Top Ten!

The Internet With a world of information at our fingertips, the internet is definitely a must-have. Virtually every decision I make in our homeschool comes by way of the internet. I choose our curriculum based on reviews written by other homeschoolers and I comparison shop to make the most of our homeschool dollars. Neither of which would be easy to do without the aid of the internet. Homeschool message boards abound with information that's helpful in encouraging and building great homeschools. The blogging community is a vital part of our homeschool now as well. Blogs are a great source of ideas and refreshment.

Workboxes We started using workboxes this past school year. If your not familiar with workboxes, you can read about ours here. This system remains an indispensable part of the day for Ben, in particular. It keeps him focused and it helps him to be able to see his progress throughout the day.

Support Group A really strong support group is vital to any homeschooler. I can't imagine doing this without the support of great family and friends! I am very fortunate to have both my husband's and my own families behind us one-hundred percent. The encouragement, the advice and input, and assistance is invaluable to me.

Bookshelves We have, and enjoy, and abundance of books. Therefore we need lots of bookshelf space! I was fortunate enough to have my dad build and install a wall system in our homeschool area that includes shelving along with our desks and cabinet storage. We also have three additional bookshelves that serve as storage for our books that are not currently in rotation.
Printer I use our printer almost daily. There are a wealth of printable worksheets available online, in addition to lesson plans and teaching aids.
Binders I have one binder for each of my children in which I keep our instructor's guides, study guides, and planning sheets for any given week of our school year. I love the ease of having everything in one place so that I can just grab it and get to work.
A Library Card What homeschooler doesn't love the library? Do I really have to expound here?
My Sonlight Instructor's Guides Honestly, I should include our entire Sonlight Cores here, because they are integral to our homeschool experience. Technically, I could homeschool without them, but our homeschool would look a lot different. Sonlight Instructor's Guides make things easy for me and save me hours of work. And the Sonlight Cores make it possible for us to homeschool using a broad array of literature that it would otherwise take me hours each week to pull together from the library. In the past 4 years, Sonlight has become indispensable to me!

A Slow Cooker Yeh, I know it's not a school item. But it's how I survive the busiest days. A day of school followed by an an afternoon of music, dance, or karate, with a little housework squeezed in can leave precious little time for cooking a good healthy meal for my family. With a slow cooker that problem is solved!
A School-Year Calendar For a long time I tried creating my own calendars because I never could find one that ran an entire school year. I could find January thru December calendars all the time, but never could I find a planning calendar that covered the school year until last year. I found it at Office Depot, by Day-Runner. This calendar covers July-June. Perfection.

TOS Homeschool Crew BlogWalk

With so many new members to get to know on the new 2010-2011 TOS Homeschool Crew, someone on the crew came up with the great idea to get to know them ten at a time. Here is the first set of ten! Hopefully, you can find some wonderful new blogs to follow as well!

1. Reaping a Harvest
2. Pink & Orange Coffee
3. Live, Laugh, Learn!
4. Mrs. Mandy's Musings
5. The Fantastic Five
6. Refined Metals Academy
7. Just A Moment in Time
8. Providence Farm
9. My Journey
10. Petra School

My Son: Entrepreneur

What does a 12 year old boy do when he wants to earn some money during the summer? Why, he starts his own business, of course.

Gavin has been trying for quite some time to figure out a way to earn some extra money. He receives an allowance from us weekly, an allowance that is based on chores around the house. But, apparently that's not enough for a 12 year old boy who is a collector of coins and other 'old' things, a lover of history books, and a scientist-in-training. So, he set out to find a 'summer job' to help fill in the gap left by his meager allowance.

His first choice was mowing lawns. But because his dad (AND mom) think he's not quite ready for that, especially since he has never even mowed an entire lawn on his own, he had to scratch that idea. His second choice was washing vehicles. Again, because his height prohibits full access to all surfaces of a vehicle, he had to move on.

He then remembered a lucrative experience last summer. One of our neighbors went out of town for three days, leaving behind their two Boston Terriers. They asked Gavin to walk them a couple of times a day, feed them and water them, and to let them out to play in the back yard for a while each day. Easy Peasy! When they returned, they paid Gavin $20. For the amount of work he put in and the ease of the job, this was more than satisfactory for him!

Gavin made a list of the services he could offer to families who were planning to go on vacation this summer, leaving behind pets, plant life, etc.... that needed to be cared for. With a little help from me he came up with this flyer:

He's obtained a reference from the neighbor he worked for last summer and that will be located at the bottom of the flyer. He will begin distributing his flyers this week! I'll let you know what kind of response he gets!

Homeschool Village: Refreshment

What do you - homeschool mom - do to get refreshed for the next school year?
Finishing
The end of the school year is usually somewhat anti-climactic for us. Typically, we've long since finished up our mathbooks, handwriting worksheets, and language arts assignments. This leaves our last couple of weeks of school only partially full, with mostly our Sonlight Core readings left to finish up. With few exceptions, that was also the case this year. We started slowing down in April and put the parking brake on in May. This ending-of-the-school-year is followed by a week of organizing school work (which means, filing all of the papers I neglected to file the second half of the year) and preparing each of my children's work for storage. 


Evaluating
At some point during that week I talk to my kids about what they thought of their school year. I ask them questions like:

• What did you like best about 3rd grade?
• What would you change if you were teacher?
• What did you like least?

I use this evaluation to help me target the areas of our homeschool that we might need to change. My children's feedback is important to me and I would like to think it helps them to feel like they have some control over their education, even if it's just a little. I look forward to taking their ideas (excluding of course the ones like 'less school') and implementing them into our day. 


Renewing
Once I am completely finished with the school year I have a strong "out with the old, in with the new" outlook and cannot rest until I've moved our just completed Sonlight Cores to our reserve bookshelves and brought out the shiny new books. There's just something about the sight of all of these brand new (or new all over again) books that gives me a bright outlook toward our coming year. So many new characters to meet, long ago and far away places to visit, and many happy endings.


Me
After the new books are displayed, after I've poured over my teacher's manuals a bit, and after I've read the teaser on the backs of all the paperbacks....well, then I read. Not school books. ME books. Books I've been wanting to catch up on. I spend hours every evening after the kids are in bed just reading. I don't mean for you to think that I never read during our school year, because I do. But I don't have the time to sink into it like I do when we are on break. 


Prayer
Throughout all of this, however, is the constant prayer of a homeschool mom. I don't put this section at the end because it is least important, but because it is weaved throughout every step. What I'm doing with and for my children has to line up first and foremost with God's plan for our homeschool and for my children's lives. I seek His blessing on our homeschool endeavors, and I seek his guidance in every decision. The ultimate refreshment that I can receive comes through his grace and mercies that are new every day. 

Top Ten Reasons I'm Ready to Start School Again

It's June. The second week of June to be more precise. For most students school (whether it's homeschool or not) has either been finished for a few weeks or they are just about to finish up. Summer Break! Here at our house, we've been finished for about two and a half weeks. I'm ready to get back to school and here are my top ten reasons why:

1. I miss schooling year-round. The past couple of years, this one in particular, have had us leaning toward a more traditional school year with a traditional summer break. The boys like it. I don't.
2. I'm ready to dig into these new books! Our bookshelves are heavy with wonderful new books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Sawyer, and The Red Badge of Courage. They are also heavy with some great books that we will be revisiting for the second time: Carry On Mr. Bowditch, The Sign of the Beaver, The Witch of Blackbird Pod, and Walk the World's Rim.
3. Maybe it's a character flaw of mine, but I miss the routine. I function best when my days are somewhat predictable. That's not to say I can't be spontaneous. I just appreciate not having to come up with things to do every single day.
4. Ben needs the routine and the weeks without it will be difficult to overcome. I've tried keeping some sort of routine going, but with the neighborhood kids, outings, etc...it's difficult.
5. My table needs to be cleaned off. This might sound silly, but during the school year my dining table gets totally and completely cleared off and washed at least once a couple of times a day. After all, it has to go from being a school table to a dining table and back again the next day. During the summer things pile up.
6. The kids miss their homeschool play dates and other outings with our homeschool group.
7. I miss the grown-up conversation with other homeschool moms.
8. It's too hot to do anything out side so I feel like we may as well be inside schooling. I've always thought that the official school break should take place at a different time of year. Spring or fall would be perfect.
9. My girl is just so excited to start school and I share her enthusiasm!
10. Plain and simple: I miss it. I enjoy homeschooling my kids.

We're The Monkees--A Tap Dance

Again, these pictures were taken by Greg Campbell. Thank you, Greg!

The Lion Sleeps Tonight--A Recital Dance

A BIG thank you to Greg Campbell (uncle egg), who took photos for us! There's no way my little point and shoot would have gotten any pictures!