Keeping It Simple

This week was notebook organization week. We went back and "dotted the i's and crossed the t's" on what we have so far. Each of my boys had things to glue on or fill out that they had left incomplete from the past months.  A lot of this post is a repeat- just all in one post this time. ;)  We are making "history pockets" to hold all of our completed pages and projects.   James' pocket for the earliest settlers.   Mark's from the Northern, Middle, and Southern colonies.  James' booklet on the French and Indian War.  This is Mark's Revolutionary War dominoes page- as we study each event leading up the war, it is written under a domino. The booklet standing up is his French and Indian War book.  Some things that go in a pocket are as simple as a worksheet like this one mounted on a sheet of colored paper. The pockets were created to hold any useful/valuable information about ...

If you start the day by sleeping in you might just be off to a bad start to the day. If you have boys (assuming that you have ALL boys left at home after raising four comparably cooperative girls), you might also be fighting their natural inclination to do anything but what you ask them to do- fix their flags for flag football, organize their hot wheels, assembling a Confederate uniform to fight the Civil War... ANYTHING but what you want them to do. By 2 o'clock you might be thinking of running down the road naked (why naked?- I had a friend who always said that was what she was going to do on bad days... she never did that I know of). Rather than embarrassing yourself in such a way, you could go for a really long walk... A little over two hours later, I was home- refreshed relaxed and in a much better state of mind!!! I realize that, in many parts of the country right now, an outdoor adventure is not possible. But,...

In my life this week… We are trying to find our routine. No matter how many years I do this (homeschool), getting back in the groove after a holiday is always a challenge. In our homeschool this week… We are back at Barton Reading and Spelling System. We finished our first level (level 3) a while ago, but it took a while to order the next level. While I find this method amazingly effective, it is not cheap! Helpful homeschool tips or advice to share… This post, 10 Ways to Simplify Homeschooling , at Happy Healthy Homeschool is just what I needed to read as I started the new year. While all 10 "ways" are helpful, this one stands out to me- 6. Minimize distractions in the home. Watch for excessiveness in entertainments, snacking, outings, phone conversations and the like. These sorts of things can easily get out of hand and compete with the effectiveness of a homeschool and sap the family of time and energy. Worth reading! Places we’re going… Walking. Do you ...

During this cold weather (even sunny CA has seen some freezing days- we aren't prepared for that!) and flu season, I always enjoy a few quality movies that I can watch with the family. We watched this one a few days ago- I was even more impressed after watching the special features. The producer (I believe) said that this movie has three themes- 1. the power of faith 2. the strength of family 3. the value of dedication and hard work How can you not love a story like that! For slightly older children (I think teens would be most interested), I love this movie. I admit my boys did not love it, but they conceded that they did not hate watching it. ;)- Happy Viewing!