Keeping It Simple

We have done various incarnations of lapbooking/notebooking. The most basic has been to complete notebook pages, slip them in to page protectors and store them in a binder. We have used standard file folders for lapbooks, and we have done more comprehensive lapbooks (with elements of notebooking and lapbooking mixed) using this classification folder. Our new favorite notebooks are by Bare Books. They are Spiral Bare Books and are offered in various sizes. It took me a while to gear up to use these, but I really like the versatility. They can be used like a standard notebook- just the work right on the page or glue the notebook page on. Or, they can be done with more of a lapbook twist- the mini books and various lapbook elements are glued right on the page. Our notebooks/lapbooks: Page Protectors in Notebook Standard File Folder Classification Folder Spiral Bare Book (lapbook/notebook style)

You can find the this challenge and more at Delightful Learning blog. The original challenges were submitted each week. Since then the links have changed so I have removed them from this post. Visit  here to see more about these fun challenges .  As the boys were discussing their favorite school subjects the other day, Paul said that "my favorite subjects are science and the challenge ". So... loser homeschool mom (me ;)), who keeps putting off our challenges, decides to get the nicely organized bucket of challenge materials out and set up a challenge for the boys. * If you never heard a subject called "The Challenge", you can visit Michelle over at Delightful Learning to get the information. * The Challenge: to use these materials to build a Leaning Tower The materials for this challenge: scissors (to be used as a tool), 20 toothpicks, 20 mailing labels and 6 straws . * Procedure: Build a tower and lean it against the wall- it must touch both the ta...

My sister asked me if there was anything on my blog about the new spelling curriculum that we have been using. I had to tell her that I had not posted or linked anything yet. So (for you Jen ;)) I will, hesitantly, mention it. I am not ready to say that All About Spelling is the best thing that we have ever used or give it an unabashed thumbs up. We are still in the first few "steps" of level one, so it too soon to know how it will pan out in a long run. But... if I am reading the situation correctly, I think it is going to be a permanent add to our homeschool day. So, what I know so far: *It is not too expensive. It cost about $60 for level 1 (starter kit + level 1 material). I can use this with all three of my boys. It is not consumable, so it can be used with the whole family. I did purchase separate student packets, but found them unnecessary. *The plans are written to hold the teacher's hand through the whole lesson. Step by step instructions are given that ...

If you are a homeschool mom, you probably love books. If you are really nerdy homeschool mom (and I am), you probably also love books about books. I have added a Books About Books list to my Amazon list page on the left (changed to button at the top of the page) - if you have any good recommendations that I don't have listed already, please share!!

This is our very low tech version of Jeopardy!- I would love to get a big pocket chart to make it fancier, but the boys don't seem to care. :) We have done this twice now- once for Discovering America and once for our Solar System. The boys love it!! The numbers on the board indicate minutes awarded to a given question (the boys play for Webkins or Lego Universe minutes on the computer). I used this flashcard maker to create the cards that go with the game (not needed, but makes the game feel official)- I made 5 questions for each category (5 categories). Even though there is a large age span between the boys (11, 9, 6), they all participate- James (6) knows that he can get an "easier" card by going for a lower number, but occasionally he pulls off a high point card. For the most part, he earns just a few minutes less than his brothers. We don't play to beat each other to the answer- each player chooses his category and the number of minutes he wants to play for- I...

I have not had time to post anything (busy week!), but I had been working on updating some links on this blog. On the left side, I have linked our amazon book lists, some lapbooks that we have completed and a few reading lists. (now on pages- left) On the left side is a link to Donna Young's Printables (we use these often!). If you have not been to the Donna Young site recently, it worth taking a look. Take your time and explore- every time I click a new link, it is like finding hidden treasure! I also added a link to another great language arts resource to my resources page - Grammarbook.com. I love the videos! There are more than 60 short Videos on Usage . Last, I have a few notebooking and lapbooking resource links!! Lots of fun stuff! :)

I have to say that I love this book. If the author of this book can get up and be at school by 6:30 a.m. ready to teach children that he is not even related to, how much more inspired should I, the mom of my students, be? He really is more like a homeschool parent- he shares movies with his students, takes them on trips, reads to them, spends his spare time with them, ... the list goes on. His method of teaching is all encompassing. I found Rafe Esquith (author of above mentioned book) to be inspiring!! * Before posting this, I read through the reviews on Amazon.com. People have many opinions of this book- they range from being critical of the the author and his methods to finding the book "exceptional". Regardless, I think any teacher or homeschool parent could glean a lot from reading it! :)