Sue Patrick’s Workbox System

Okay, (Big Daddy is reading this doing his cheerleader stance making in fun of me!) . . . I have to admit, when I first read discussions on Yahoo! Groups about Sue Patrick's Workbox System I was totally NOT for it & had no desire to implement this latest fad in the homeschool world into MY homeschool.  Nope, NOT ME!  Mom’s were fantasizing about scheduling their kids entire day in workboxes!  Toothbrush & all!  I just didn’t see the independence in this kind of “pampering.”  My opinion was, “you wake up, you eat, you brush your teeth, you begin your day.  You don’t need a box for those things!  Do I seriously need to lay your entire wardrobe out for you every day?  I can go on & on, but to say the least, I did not see the benefits & thought of more dependence than any independence – AT ALL!

Then I began homeschooling MUSTANGS . . . & had a baby who quickly is turning into a toddler that climbs tables.  This type A, over planner, scheduling nutt, momma NEEDED HELP.  I was desperate.  I just couldn’t be in 4 places at one time.  It seemed that the minute Momma’s Boy & I would sit down to work together (after getting the Mustangs & baby occupied) I was being interrupted with a “what’s next?!” 

Then a few weeks ago I stumbled upon Confessions of a Homeschooler.  One of my readers, Melinda?, suggested I visit her blog & I got sidetracked, then I was redirected there AGAIN a couple days later.  By chance you think, or by grace?  Anyway, I saw her set up & how she was using them & decided to JUST buy the book.  LOL  -- I LOVED IT!  Here is Sue’s description of her book:

“This book will teach you how to organize and structure your homeschool in a way that optimizes time, space, effort, planning and independence. With this system, you and your children will move through your homeschool day more efficiently and with greater understanding than ever before. The way you teach will be fun for your children and more rewarding for you. You will be able to spend more time having fun with your children and less time on the “business” side of homeschooling. Once you have this system in place, you will truly wonder how you ever homeschooled without it.”

These are some excerpts from Sue’s book that really stuck out to me:

• You will find yourself missing almost no school days with this system and needing far fewer “teacher workdays.”
• Homeschooling is hard work and it’s a serious job. Homeschooling is not what we do when we don’t have anything else to do. It’s not what we do when we’re not doing laundry and cooking and cleaning
• I am not interested in helping homeschoolers figure out how they can do their laundry, cooking and cleaning while homeschooling their children. I am very interested in getting homeschoolers to focus on homeschooling—period. Isn’t that what you want your children to do?

Sue offers very helpful suggestions as well.  Here are some of my fav’s:

• An “I need help” card.
• It’s a good idea to have a list of what group time will entail to help keep them interested.
• It is very beneficial for children to have a routine
  in which your expectations are clear and also includes
  plenty of visual reminders.
• A “wait” center. This may be either a special area with special educational toys that are not normally played with, or it may simply be a separate table with a puzzle, K’nex or special project. It shouldn’t be so involved that they won’t want to leave it once you are free to work with them. But it should be involved enough that
  they won’t feel slighted when you are busy with another child.

After reading Sue’s book, I became one of the “people” she describes in her book, “People have understood the system and its potential benefits immediately and were motivated to begin tomorrow.”

Here is a sneak peek at our workboxes (I’ll explain soon!)

Sunny & Hot

  Last week marked the last of our dessert study.  It was awkward studying the dessert with snow in our yard :)  I had hoped to take the boys to a snake farm in South Texas, but the weather didn’t cooperate.  We had fun reading all about them though. 

Here is Momma’s boy’s dessert diorama.  He did this ALL on his own!

Sunny & Hot!

Handwriting HELP!

Sometimes during handwriting practice my mustangs have a little trouble remembering where to start & when to stop writing their letters. We love the HWOT song, “where do we start our letter? At the top! At the top!” But sometime when we get the workbooks out they begin to just see lines! So what do you do when you aren’t working in a handwriting book? When they aren’t clear on where the top is? There is a special handwriting paper that I’ve used with a blue top line (the sky) & a green bottom line (the ground/grass) which gave me the idea to do the same in their books. If my mustangs are writing all over the place or aren’t sure where the top is I just get out a blue & green marker & quickly mark the top & bottom lines. They think it is so fun & it has solved our problem of where to start & top writing. This works great in our Explode the Code books. Now if they can just figure out the middle line :)

What in tar-nations . . .

HAVE I DONE TO MY BLOG?

Even though it snowed the first day of Spring in these here parts, the weather tab on my iPhone shows 80 degree days comin’ our way. 

Spring Fever has it! 

As if transitioning our homeschool to the workbox system wasn’t enough . . .

I decided to go ahead & make a mess of my cyber life as well.

If you know me in real life or have read my blog very long – you know I never have just one project going on at a time. 

Please ignore this pigsty & hold your horses b/c I’ll have this here blog whipped into shape in a jiffy! 

I HOPE!!

Ready to Read?

How do you know if your child is ready to begin reading? 

I have gathered a reading readiness checklist so to speak.

1. Knows parts of a book, their function, & treats books with care.
2. Knows where to begin reading (left to right, top to bottom)
3. Knows ABC’s
4. Recognizes & names all upper/lowercase letters
5. Matches upper & lowercase letters
6. Knows letter sounds (consonants, short & long vowels)
7. Finds letters in other places
8. Understands letters make words
9. Listens for sounds in words
10. Recognizes some words by sight
11. Connects concepts & words with familiar signs/household items, pictures, etc.
12. Listens to/retells stories (Comprehension!!!)
13. Writes own name
14. Knows that words join together to make a sentence
15. Makes predictions about stories

While at the reading workshop I attended a couple weeks ago, Cheryl made a great point that really stuck in my head:

If you think your child is ready to read, but cannot behave in the grocery store – focus on the behavior before the reading!

Curriculum Show & Tell

Animal Center

Our boys LOVE LOVE LOVE Schleich products.  We have the knights & castles, almost the entire collection of animals, & a growing dinosaur collection.  Their all time FAV is their barn & farm yard animals.  It all started with just a stash of cows.  Then Tucker’s love for horses expanded our stash into an entire collection.  Our collection quickly became an entire dramatic play center of its own. 

After buying the barn for Christmas I realized we needed a table & better storage solution for ALL the animals.  I found this set-up at Target.  *My first choice would have been a Pottery Barn table, but it was out of the budget.  So, Target’s cheaper table (& I mean that in more ways than one) was my second choice.  Yes Big Daddy, I admit – it is cheap!  However, the drawers are a perfect storage solution.  I put all the farm animals in one & all our “world” animals in the other. 

I can not tell you enough how happy I am with the quality of this barn though.  It is fantastic!  It’s survived my outlaws since Christmas & that says a lot for an every day toy! Did I mention 90% of this barn is made from real wood?  There are so many cool aspects to this barn . . . let me tell you!

The setup & break down of this barn is super easy.  The top pieces are easily removable for making the barn more accessible from all angles. 

There is also a removable wood piece, which slides across the top part of the barn.

Here are a couple more pictures of this very durable barn:   

My boys will sit here & play for HOURS.  Our animal center is their absolute favorite!  They are always on the hunt for new animals to add to their farm.  Most of our animals have came from Target & Tractor supply.  Most specialty toy stores will have them & you can always order them online.  The majority of our animals are the Schleich brand.  We have purchased other toy animals from the Dollar Store & Walmart; however, the Schleich animals have passed the test of time, not to mention they are beautiful:

 

Next week I will share the other part of our “Animal Center.”

Tiny Tot Signing

Less frustration?  Better communication?  Increased confidence?  Stronger bond? 

These all things that I desperately needed with Trevor.  He is the younger of my Mustangs & suffers from “little brother/Irish twin” syndrome.  He is truly a sweet boy, but my second biggest challenge (next to his sister) in my mommyhood.  Our relationship is very rewarding, but is work to say the least. 

With knowing all of this & adding one more boy to the mix, I realized I could easily encounter the same problems with my Lil’ Buckaroo.  So, while I was at the used book store this week I picked up Baby Sign Language, A Practical Guide to Signing with your Baby.  It is not the least bit overwhelming & is just what I was looking for.  It gives detailed pictures of each sign & is categorized by: 

• An introduction – brief explanation & benefits of signing & getting started & signing tips
• First signs
• Signs at home
• Signs for out & about
• Playtime signs

This book recommends choosing four to five signs to begin with (using in context).  Here are our first five signs I will begin teaching my Lil’ Buckaroo:

1. Eat – put your fingers & thumb together as though you’re holding a piece of food, then tap them against your mouth several times.
2. Hi/Hello – Hold your right hand level with your face with the palm facing forward & make a small waving motion from left to right.
3. Mommy – Using the first three fingers of your right hand, tap twice on the open palm of the left hand.
4. Daddy – Form a C shape with your right hand & bounce it two or three times against the extended index finger of your left hand.
5. Brother/Bubba “Tyler” – Make both hands into fists and then rub them up & down against each other.

Next we will introduce:

• Wet
• Careful
• Stop
• Sleep
• Yes, No
• Down
• Sit
• I love you
• Play
• Book
• Comforter/blankie
• Which

I am eager to blog about baby signing, as this is my first experience with signing & I think it will be a great way to document our accomplishments throughout this new journey.  I am hopeful that this brings less frustration for my baby, as well as myself!  Wish us luck!

Preparing to Read

I truly believe my 9 year old is a reluctant reader partly because he began this process when he was at a stage that he was not yet developmentally ready for reading.  Thankfully, as we started this premature venture, we were also still doing several of the activities that prepare for reading.  Even though my son is reluctant in his journey to independent reading, I  am so thankful we did not skip this part of his development.  ((Huge sigh of relief))

Here are some suggestions for preparing:

• LOVE, NURTURE, CUDDLE your child!
• Songs & Rhyming
• Lot’s of physical, un-orchestrated free PLAY
• Manipulatives:  blocks, puzzles, legos, wedgits, tangerams, etc.
• Read TO THEM
• Early practical life activities:
  • Washing hands
  • Toilet training
  • Brushing teeth
  • Blowing nose
  • Setting the table
  • Dressing self
  • Easy Chores
  • Buttoning, snapping, velcro, screwing, squeezing, pouring, spooning, transferring, stacking, building
  • Stickers
• Matching, Sorting
• Differences
• Follows directions
• Rhyming
• Sequencing
• Limit television & all electronic gaming

*If your child is a natural early reader – still go back & have them work on pre-reading skills.  Pre-reading skills are a major part of your child’s development, even if they are natural readers.  Please do not skip these skills. 

Now that I am at this crossroad again with our mustangs I will be doing things a little differently.  In addition pre-reading activities, I am currently using Winter Promise’s Basic Phonics program (& loving it).  I have also recently added  Now I’m Reading! Pre-Readers by Nora Gaydos.  This series is wonderful & offers great suggestions for developing necessary pre-reading skills.  (*I will add a complete review of this to my blog soon)  We’ve occasionally used our magnetic letters & board (similar to the one in this link) to build small 2-3 letter words.  Slowly I will add 3 letter word cards to our daily routine.  Our WP program just began introducing sight words.  I haven’t put a huge emphasis on sight words, but have began to make the boys aware of them.

I absolutely agree with the “Better late than early” philosophy & the importance of building a solid pre-reading foundation.  However, with that said, I fully intend to move onto WP Just Starting To Reading program this fall & will continue building pre-reading skills with my mustangs.  I have taken every opportunity available & spent hours researching & studying about reading . . . when to start, when to stop, what to use, how to use it, etc.  For me, the “Better late than early” theory doesn’t mean to just ignore it completely until 7 or 8.  It has allowed me to relax, stop making comparisons, to let go of deadlines, & enjoy this journey with my children. 

I have discovered great reading activities (I will be sharing soon!).  I have picked up a few how-to’s.  I’ve realized when to start is when my child (individually) is ready – NOT when everyone else's kids are learning.  And I have learned when reading is emotional work it is time to stop.  Most of all I have gained a true understanding for the importance of preparing my children for reading.  After all, the garden doesn’t do well if the soil isn’t prepared properly first.  - You can try every different kind of fertilizer there is, but if you didn’t take the time to plow the field & PREPARE it won’t matter.

Sunny Days

After Texas saw it’s worst winter EvEr, or at least in a L-O-N-G time, I decided to take a GOOD Weather Day off school instead of a bad weather day . . .

 

The boys LOVED it & so did I (as you continue to see these photos appear on my blog).  We all needed a little sUnShInE!!!

Lil’ Buckaroo’s Tiny Tot Time

I am almost sad to admit it, but because yesterday my sweet baby buckaroo climbed on top of the activity table & stood up – it is VERY obvious that he is quickly becoming a toddler & not a baby anymore. ((sigh))

If there is one thing I have learned in homeschooling my outlaws it is that I need structure & something ready to go to keep them busy while I’m working with a sibling. My Lil’ Buckaroo is at that point – he needs to be kept busy, rather than keeping me busy :)

So without further ado, here is my first post on Tiny Tot Time . . .

I have been looking desperately for the perfect touch & feel books & word books. I was delighted to find these at my most recent excursion to Barnes & Noble (BTW, B&N gives 20% off to homeschoolers):

They are a set of 16 touch & feel picture cards. I absolutely love these!! They come in a very sturdy box with a magnetic flip-lid that stands perfectly…

The picture cards themselves very sturdy with large, bight, colorful, life-like picture on them & the name of the picture printed out in bold letters. Each card has a touch & feel spot on the picture & the texture varies from card to card.

The back of the cards offer more information & activity prompts. At the bottom of the cards is a language section, which tells how to say the word in four other languages (Spanish, French, German, & Chinese). These cards are wonderful & have truly held my Lil’ Buckaroo’s attention as well as given us special mommy – baby tot time together.

For the time being we are using these cards in the simplest fashion imaginable; however, as my tot develops we will begin using them in all ways intended. I foresee these cards leading to many future activities. They will be fantastic for sorting, classifying, & even learning colors (they are outlined in a bright color & could be used for sorting colors). I only purchased the Farm set & First Words set, but will definitely add more to our collection. Here is a list of other titles in this series:

• Animals
• Colors & Shapes
• Things That Co
• Numbers & Counting

*On a side note – clothes are NOT a requirement for Tiny Tot Time :)

My Sidebar Confessions

Yesterday, I realized my sidebar needed a little updating, but before I get a little too crazy I decided to make a few confessions. . .

*Before I begin, incase you didn’t notice, I added a “FUTURE POSTS” list to my left sidebar.  I also added a couple new links to the left – go check ‘em out! 

Soon I will be cleaning up the curriculum list a lil’ bit.  But first I must make a few confessions before they just disappear into cyberspace. 

As you visit blogs, begin to follow a couple or let’s say “more than a couple” – in my case, & you see all these wonderful projects, lists of great curriculum … you know the “Super Homeschool” – Do you ever wonder “HOW DOES THAT REALLY WORK”, “HOW LONG DID THAT LAST”, “DO THEY REALLY DO ALL THAT” ????

We are no SUPER HOMESCHOOL.  Here are the true confessions:

Mustangs:

Little Hearts for His Glory:  Although, I used this VERY successfully with my first 2 guinea pigs outlaws, it was NOT the match for my Mustangs.  Our Winter Promise studies took much of the time away from this area & was a more enjoyed time for my mustangs.  So, at about week 3 – WE QUIT!

MUS Primer:  They play with the blocks more than anything.  I didn’t introduce the workbook & lessons to the boys until January.  We have completed a few lessons & will be working through it during the summer.

WP PK/K Basic Phonics:  We have stuck to our guns on this one & they are loving it!

Math Play 80 Ways to Count & Learn:  I wish I would have found this book last year, b/c they outgrew it nearly immediately.

Story Time Read Alouds:  I am really really trying to bring story time with the mustangs back, but it has been difficult.  This is a hit & miss activity, but they truly enjoy the books that I have used during this time when we do it.

HWOT:  WP Language includes handwriting pages & we are using them instead; however, we will be using this workbook during one of our fall enrichment classes.

WP Animals & Their Worlds:  I am working on a complete review for this, but we have faithfully stuck to our animal studies & I cannot express enough how much we have enjoyed this part of our homeschool day.  We are half way through!

 

Momma’s Boy:

TOG YR 2, Units 3 & 4:  We completed unit 3, but I decided to stop.  I love this curriculum, but had other more important areas in our homeschool to focus on. 

WP Animals & Thier Worlds:  He is totally loving this!  He loves his extended supplement work for older learners. 

Drawn Into The Heart of Reading:  I love this curriculum, as I used it for a couple years with my daughter, but my son just isn’t ready yet.  Hopefully next year we can use it.

Reading List: Our reading list was overwhelming for Momma’s Boy, so we have mixed things up quite a bit.  I will be posting regularly on all that I am learning about reading.

Explode the Code:  We have temporarily put these books aside as well.

First Language Lessons:  Last year, we slowed these studies down to twice a week, so we got a little behind.  We are almost done with level 2.  We enjoy this time of our day, as it is a quick study.  Momma’s boy has learned so much in using this curriculum.  I look forward to beginning level 3 soon!

Spell Well:  We have completed book B & are currently working through book Bb.

HWOT:  Almost done with beautiful cursive handwriting to show for it!

Mind Benders:  Occasionally

Math U See:  Momma’s Boy loves math!  I have not allowed him to work as quickly through this book as previous books – I’m saving the time for free time & focusing mostly on reading & reading skills building.  He is halfway done with his Delta workbook!

Whew!  Now I can hit delete!!  Although, there are things that didn’t work, things we may seem “behind” in, there is much we ARE doing & enjoying, & are truly successful.  If there is one thing I have learned in my years of homeschooling it is that it’s okay to stop what isn’t working, try something new in the middle of the year, or sale curriculum that I loved.  As curriculum buying season quickly approaches, I caution you in overwhelming yourself with what everyone else appears to be doing because as you can see, sometimes we aren’t really doing it all.  :)

BROTHERS

     There is just something about brothers . . . One minute they want to KILL each other,     

The next minute they are defending one another.   

Laughing, playing, having the times of their lives TOGETHER. 

   Brotherhood . . .

When I am out with all the boys, people often make comments like, “Oh, you poor thing.”  or “4 boys huh?  Still trying for the girl?”  -- You should see their face when I say, “Oh, there are 2 girls at home.”  LOL

The other day while I was shopping with the boys a man passed me & said, “4 boys!  Wow!  You are certainly are blessed.”  I looked up at him & he had the most sincere smile on his face.  I replied, “I certainly am!”

I’m Gonna Miss This . . .

It is that time of the year again . . . BASEBALL season! 

It has me driving all over town, across town, staying in town until late . . . But it seems like only yesterday that this season of life began.

My first born was only 3 when he started carrying a ball & bat around.

  

Now he is 9 & I find myself with a trunk full of balls, bats, gloves, catcher’s gear . . . baseball stuff.  Tyler enters his 6th season of baseball, Tucker his 2nd, & Trevor in the stands cheering them on – dying to play himself.  Practices are 3 days a week, 30 minutes away, & I am running around like a crazy lady, but I know someday (all too soon) I’m Gonna Miss This . . .

SEX – Premarital Sex

Recently the youth ministers at our church asked me to give my testimony, as a teenage mom, to the youth group. 

To many of these kids, they see me & just see some lady at church with a bunch of kids whose life seems “okay.”  Little did they know that decisions I made when I was their age have followed me into my adult years & made life “not-so okay” at times.

What do we has parents & churches teach the youth about sex outside of marriage?  If you asked a teenage why they shouldn’t have sex what would they say?  Some answers I heard this week were: 

STD’s/AIDS, pregnancy, the Bible says not too. 

Now, what does the world say about all these warnings?  What are teens telling themselves to convince them that their parents & churches are wrong? 

Practice safe sex = Birth control & condoms, “It won’t happen to me”, “I’m ready/mature enough”, sex = freedom, “We are going to get married eventually anyway”, times have changed . . .

I was the average teenager . . . I went to a private school until I was a sophomore in high school. I was 8th grade class president, I made good grades, I was athletic, on Student Council, & a member of Speech & Debate.  I attended church regularly & even helped my mom teach the kindergarten class.  I was booked constantly as the neighborhood babysitter.  I was truly a good girl.  I had a great relationship with my parents.  They were very supportive of me & were open about what the Bible says about premarital sex.  Never did they ever imagine their daughter would graduate from highschool 4 months pregnant.  I knew better, but I also thought it would NEVER happen to me.  I even gave speeches in high school on teen pregnancy. 

Then I met a boy.  I fell “in love” & began to trade my upbringings & everything I knew about why NOT to have premarital sex for all the excuses the highschool halls are full of.  I began to sneak around, lie to my parents, & have sex with my boyfriend every chance I got.  Spring break my senior year, I discovered I was pregnant.  It happened to me!

I didn’t go to our youth group with the same old teen pregnancy scare tactics like they are accustom to.  You know, the ones -- “don’t have sex, you could get pregnant, he might dump you the next day, everyone will be talking about it, you’ll have a baby to take care of, you can’t afford it, your parents will be disappointed & mad.”  I heard all of those too & they are all true.  I did get pregnant, he did eventually leave us, everyone was talking about me, I did have a baby to take care of, it was hard, I was broke, my parents were heart broken.  Everyone told me how a baby would ruin MY life – No one ever told me the effect MY choice would have on others – my family, my little sister & brother, my friends, even my relationship with other adults now.  But most of all I never ever imagined the pain it would cause for my baby – my son. 

No one told me my choice to have sex before I was married would cost me more than I ever knew & would take me further than I ever wanted to go, & hurt more people than I ever imagined.  Nothing prepared me for the battles that would arise during my motherhood journey.  No one ever told me I’d have to stand in court & fight this person that “loved me” for custody of my baby.  I never dreamed I’d have to send him off every-other weekend.  Not always know where he’d be or who he’d be with.  I wasn’t told that I’d miss every-other Thanksgiving & Christmas, & part of his birthdays.  I was not warned about the tear filled eyes on my 9 year old’s face as he begged me to not make him go or the look of disappointment when his dad stood him up on Father’s Day.  I never knew.  I never knew that I wasn’t just picking someone “I loved” to have sex with, but I was picking the father of my child.  Did you know that 40% of children go to bed each night without having a biological father home to tuck them in? 

Honestly, in his defense – I don’t think my son’s dad knew either.  Despite my personal opinion of him, I don’t think he ever intended to hurt our son the way he has.  I don’t think he knew the impact his decision would have either.  We were kids wanting to be adults.  We made a choice to go against everything that we knew was right.

As I prepared for my speech I came across my journal I kept in high school.  Here are 3 inserts:

4/3/99  “Sex has been a big issue with us.  BLANK & I have messed around & came very close to having sex, but we haven’t.”

4/8/99  “We had sex!  At first we were just fooling around, but one thing led to another & I really wanted to … I’ve heard all the lectures & warnings, but it didn’t matter.  I just wanted to be with him.”

A few weeks later  “Our relationship is not fun anymore – it is stressful!”

I looked back with the youth group at these three entries . . .

1. We were having “issues” – I encouraged these kids to decide NOW!!  Not then!  Don’t wait until you are “in the moment.”  Make the choice before & don’t put yourself in a situation to even “come close”.
2. We were “just fooling around” – We were playing with FIRE!  Read Proverbs 6:27 to see what the Bible warns about playing with fire.  ("Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?” )  Then look at the Song of Solomon 8:6, “love is as strong as death … it burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame.”   If you don’t decide now, if you put yourselves in that position, if you play with fire – YOU WILL GET BURNED!
3. Sex changes things.  We thought by having sex, we were taking our relationship to a more mature, closer relationship.  It did not make our relationship better – it only added emotions we were prepared for & brought stress into our lives.  Sex is not designed to make teenage relationships better – it is designed to make marriages better.  Outside of marriage it leads to shame, lies, & deception.  Look at Genesis 2:24  “For this reason a man will leave his father & mother & be united to his wife & they will become one.”  The Bible is very clear on God’s design for sex. 

I also shed some light from my experience on the worldly excuse we mentioned earlier: 

• I was on birth control & I still became pregnant.  This is just the worlds way of deceiving us (what would the worlds opinion be if birth control & condoms didn’t exist today?).  Many people say times have changed, this part of the Bible doesn’t apply to today’s times.  GOD DOES NOT CHANGE.  HE IS THE SAME TODAY AS HE WAS YESTERDAY & HE WILL BE THE SAME TOMORROW.  GOD’S STANDARDS DO NOT CHANGE!  Ephesians 5:6 says, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.”
• It won’t happen to me!  It didn’t happen to me – the first time.  In fact, I didn’t become pregnant until almost a year after I started having sex with my boyfriend.  Nearly 35% of all young women become pregnant at least once before the age of 20. 
• AIDS/STD’s  - Becoming pregnant was not the worst thing that could have happened to me.  50% of people with HIV are between 15-24 years old.

As I closed I warned the youth group about their knowledge on premarital sex.  I warned them that God would hold them accountable for what they have been taught & cautioned them on the consequences that could follow from disobedience.  Proverb 5:21, “For man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths.” 

Some of the kids in our group may have already had sex, some of the couples listening may already be in a sexually active relationship.  I addressed them as well . . . It’s not too late!  That is only an excuse.  I could have continued to lie to myself & said the same thing.  But then I wouldn’t be the person I am today.  I wouldn’t have the family I have.  I could have ended up with several babies daddies.  I didn’t though.  I learned my lesson.  God is a merciful, loving, forgiving, full of grace GOD!  There may be consequences, I can almost promise you there always will be, but it is NEVER too late. 

Sex is meant for marriage.  It is a lifelong commitment.  Having sex outside of marriage will change the course of your life.  Sex outside of marriage has a pricetag.  Some of us have to pay more than others, sometimes others have to pay for us, but it will always cost more than we ever intended on paying.  

Making Reading Fun

I have been seeking & soaking in as much information on reading skills as I possibly can from several different sources.  The 3rd grade teacher at our local public school attends my church & our daughters are in the same class, so we have become great acquaintances.  I hesitated in approaching her about my current reading dilemma for fear of judgment & “public school philosophy”; however, I recently learned that she is not only a 3rd grade teacher, but a reading specialist as well.  This was confirmation, but made me even more nervous.  I got over my ego trip though & asked her for advice.  I am sooooo glad I did!  The conversation did not at all lead to any false judgments on our homeschool – in fact she was very encouraging.  She first reminded me that she has 16 students & all 16 are on different reading levels, so when I think “3rd grade reading” I need to keep in mind this could vary greatly.  She not only eased my concerns, but also gave me some fantastic suggestions that I was eager to implement immediately. 

• MAKE IT FUN = play games, mix up the routine
  • read different books on different subjects, levels, & styles (chapter books, easy readers, magazines, comics, short stories, etc.)
  • read in different places
• Use audio books
  • read a book, then listen to it on audio & follow along

               *iTunes has a great selection of short stories for $1

• Use phonics phones
• Use magnetic letters
• Practice sight words & common phrases
• STOP READING THE SAME BOOK & LET GO OF THE WORKSHEETS

               *I needed to hear this & this is truly where my heart is

• Create a balance between guided reading & independent silent reading times
• Set reasonable goals

With her recommendations I created a “Book Basket” with various reading materials for Tyler to choose from.   Here is a list of the books I included for him to choose from this week:

• (2) Now I’m Reading books
• Grammar Tales The Bug Book on Adjectives
• DK Reader on Snakes
• Amelia Bedelia
• Hank The Cowdog *on audio to follow along
• Encyclopedia Brown
• The Boxcar Children Early Reader
• One Small Square Pond
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• If You Take A Mouse To School
• Highlights Magazine
• (2) Boys’ Life Magazines
• Zoobooks Magazine’

I included a home reading log in his book basket so I can keep track of what he is reading & to help me determine when I will need to update his basket:

I also made the following weekly routine:

Monday – Phonics, sight words, & phrases

Tuesday – Book Basket/silent reading

Wednesday – Pathway readers/workbook

Thursday – Book Basket/read independently into phonics phone, recorder, or to brothers

Friday – Free Reading

Please leave any other suggestion you have for making reading more fun for a reluctant 3rd grader in my comments.

It’s A Brother Thing . . .

These 2 . . . They are WILD mustangs!

They are 20 months apart.

They are total opposite:

Dark hair & green eyes, blond hair & blue eyes.

Dark skinned, light skinned.

Quiet & mischievous, loud & demanding.

Leader, Follower.

Lover, Fighter.

Big BROther, Little BROther!

Brotherly Love.

“I’m smiling because you’re my brother

& I’m laughing cuz there’s nothing you can do about it!”

HAPPY 50 MOM!!

  

We LOVE you!!

Wish we were spending the day with you! 

I hope you have a wonderful Birthday!

PK/K Board

Remember my Preschool Poster?  If you haven’t seen it – you should really check it out.  Well, we out grew it this year & I never made a new one – not until she inspired me with this.  So here is my version of her version:

 

 

From the top left:  Our letter area.  This is where I post our WP phonics cards.  Under you will see a strip of Velcro.  This is where we will post pictures of words that begin with our letter of the week & as my mustangs progress we may change it to a 3 letter word beginning or ending with that letter.  For now, I will be using Homeschool Creations Consonant Cards.  Next is our Rhyme Time section.  I will using the Pink Series Rhyming Cards from Montessori For Everyone.  At the bottom is a sequencing section.  We are using these 4-step sequencing cards.  Hopefully we will progress to 6-step after we complete these.

  

The middle section is our Calendar, Date, Weather, & Time section.  Each morning we get out their calendar folders & go over the days of the week (we about have this mastered & will soon be moving on to months of the year), then we say the month & date.   We count to the current date & then they find the date on their own calendars.  We also talk about up coming dates, holidays, or activities.  I’m waiting on Big Daddy to cut a piece of dry-erase for me to add under the “Today is” section so we can write the date.  *I’m not holding off on this post until then.  :)  Next the boys move on to their weather charts in their folder & we briefly talk about what the weather is like & what kind of clothing we should wear.  I just made this little weather dial with cardstock & stickers – nothing fancy.  I’ve just begun talking to the boys about time.  the clock on our board came from the dollar store & is perfect for teaching digital time telling as well.  Right now we are learning more about the clock than time. 

 

 

   The right side of this board is our math side.  I covered the top section with felt – making it perfect for our felt gumball.  (This is my favorite part!!)  We use this is several ways:  Counting, number recognition, adding, & subtracting.

 

Next is a strip of Velcro for patterns:

At the bottom is a piggy bank.  I printed out a free pig clip-art, added some text to it, & a few rows of Velcro to add money to it.  The boys can recognize all the coins for the most part, but we are still reviewing that for a little longer, then we will start learning the value.

I LOVED Jennifer’s idea for using the back to store everything.  98% of everything on this board (front & back) is Velcro.  - Genius idea!!  I also added our discipline chart to this.  I am still going to add a plan/flow sheet with a list of activities & centers & I am going to add our “sheriff” of the day to the back.  The boys are starting sight words, but I wasn’t able to fit them on the board to display, plus it is a growing list, so I just added a pocket to store the flashcards in & we will review them daily when we go over our letters. 

This was the perfect upgrade from our poster we used last year.  I am so thankful Jennifer shared her idea on her blog.  I had fun putting ours together & the boys are loving using it each day. 

Truman

 

     Truman turned 10 months old yesterday . . . 

Time has flown by!  My sweet Lil’ Buckaroo is quite the cowboy!  His personality has really begun to show itself.  He is very curious, but not getting into everything just yet.  He is a climber though.  He loves standing on things.  He has the best time ever in his Johnny Jumper.  He will run circles in that thing.    Our new baby goats are his best friends – but he has some major fights with them over their bottles.  He loves being a brother.  Right now he just sits & watches them play together – joining in on the fun every now & then.  But he gets so excited over the least bit of attention they show him.  I see glimpses of all his brothers in him, but I will confess that he is beginning to look more & more like Tucker, but he is quite bossy like Trevor :) 

Mornings are my favorite times with him.  He STILL sleeps with me every night & always wakes up with the most wonderful little smile & immediately begins to giggle.  I cherish our morning time together.  I pray for him & soak up all the lovin’s I can.  I love this 10 month old sooooo much!