our dozen beautiful feet

I always like to think of summer as our 'off-time", but this summer it's been my work-in-over-drive-time.  I've been busy making Year 1 Tapestry flash cards, researching Memory work and making Memory work binders, cataloging and organizing our library, reading The Liberal Arts Tradition, which, trust me, was work. :)  But, I believe all the work will pay off when we start school this coming Monday! I hope I have made it easy on myself to plan and be prepared to make the most of each week! Here are a couple of little tips for getting ready for school that I do each year! 1.  Did you know the UPS store will bind your books for you?  All those paperback, gum-bound workbooks and teacher's manual that never seem to make it through a semester, let along a full year, can be cut and spiral bound!  I take all the kids notebooks and any teacher's manuals I have, because they do it for around $3 a book!  This includes a nice clear plastic cover front and back to ...

I have tried all kinds of different things when it comes to weekly planning.  Each year, I make my own planning sheets, tailored to what we're doing that year.  I have tried programs like Olly, Google calendar, using my iCalendar, and more. I usually settle on a homemade planning sheet I print each week and hand write the assignments on.  But it was getting tedious for me this past year, AND, there was little record at the end of the year of what we'd actually done.  Keeping grades has not been a real priority for me yet, but in the coming years, it will be.  So that's been in the back of mind as well. Sometime in the fall, I read about Lessontrek. I've always avoided those monthly subscription kind of planners where everything is online, but they were offering a four month free trial, so I figured, why not? I can get a good feel for it in four months, and for nothing! I've gotta tell you, I love this planner.  It makes it so easy to create classes and...

I always look forward to this post, because I love planning!  I have been encouraged this year in finding that there are others out there too who really get into the planning and curriculum research, making lists and spreadsheets. I really love this part of homeschooling, and it's fun to share all the fruits of my labor and what eventually emerges as my plan for the coming year. I'm not changing too much this time around.  Next year will be my sixth year schooling at home, and each year I think I'm hitting my stride and refining my visions and getting closer to making no changes. : )  I imagine I'll always be re-evaluating and finding what works for each child as they learn and grow, so even my broad strokes plan will probably never be in concrete until it's done! I'm excited to share my plan for next year with you, and in the next two posts, I'll share how I plan for each day/week, and then, about my long-range planning. So without further adieu, her...

Goodness.  This year just really got away from me! I always have the best intentions to keep my blog active and going. And every year, I start strong, finish invisibly! But, I hopefully will always get around to my curriculum reviews and choices for the coming year, because I know it is helpful for me, and hopefully, for some of you as well! So, from my blog post last summer, these were my choices for this past school year: In Language: -McGuffey Readers - Beginning Reasoning and Reading - New American Cursive - All About Spelling Levels 4 and 5 - Classical Writing Aesop A/B In Logic: - Math-U-See Gamma and Delta - Song School Latin 2 (this is arguable both language and logic) -Yamaha Piano lessons In Content: -Daily Bible readings with Westminster Catechism songs and Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Mead - Tapestry of Grace Year 4 Upper Grammar! - Harmony Fine Arts Year 4: Modern Times - Apologia Chemistry and Physics *NONE of these affiliate links...

I read this today in my devotional time from "A Godward Life", by John Piper. It's just too good not to share. I will come back to this again and again when I'm discouraged in homeschooling. "A Compelling Reason for Rigorous Training of the Mind Thoughts on the Significance of Reading I was reading and meditating on the Book of Hebrews recently, when it hit me forcefully that a basic and compelling reason for education - the rigorous training of the mind - is so that a person can read the Bible with understanding. This sounds too obvious to be useful or compelling, but that is because we take the preciousness of reading for granted.  We fail to appreciate the kind of thinking that a complex Bible passage requires. The Book of Hebrews, for example, is an intellectually challenging argument based on Old Testament texts.  The points that the author makes hang on biblical observations that come only from rigorous reading, not light skimming.  Understandin...

This week, we came to understand how World War II was brought to a close.  We all were sobered to read about the destruction and devastation across Europe, and the effects of the world's first atom bomb in Japan.  After weeks of studying war, we're glad for it to be over. The big news this week is that Levi has officially started kindergarten!  I didn't think he was ready in the fall, but he does NOT want to wait until September, so he's digging in now!  He's blowing through his Math -U-See Primer with a smile on his face. This is what greets me every Sunday as i plan for school for the week.   Song School Latin.  We all LOVE to watch the videos.   Levi and Meryn practicing their letters. Luke and Kiryn learning about and practicing pointillism.   Earlier in January, I also hosted my first Tapestry Tea!  I finished my advisor training and am now officially a Tapestry Advisor!  I feel really privileged to ...

Yes.  They happened.  The fall really got away from me!  Also, I find it hard to document the weeks when we don't have a fun craft or activity.  And since I'm just really bad at the activity side of things, there are many weeks that I don't have any pictures. We finished the first unit and had a wonderful Unit Celebration, our first one ever!  My parents and grandparents came, and the kids did a great job displaying their work. Sad to say I did not get any pictures! We were too busy hosting! :) When Christmas came, the kids were so excited to have our own lights on a house.  We've never been able to do that before, so ti was a big deal to them.  Paul began by putting them up in a tree, and promptly fell out.  He broke both of his wrists! It has been a whirlwind the past six weeks.  Thankfully, he is recovering really well. He is able to do almost everything except lift more than five pounds.  He obviously had to quit at UPS and has ...