A Day in the Life...

of Unicorn, Ladybug and Monkey!

We don't have a set schedule but here is our routine. We get started with our family items once everyone is awake (generally around 7...those that wake early play quietly in their rooms, quietly start on their individual work OR they end up doing chores if they are not quiet)!


Morning PowerPoint (calendar, weather, skip counting, etc.)
Breakfast
PE (it is HOT here most of the year so PE is done as early as possible)
Chores
Religion
Workboxes
Lunch
Finish Workboxes (if necessary)
Quiet Time
Play Time
Baths
Dinner
TV Time
Bed Time (Monkey@6:15, Ladybug@6:45, Unicorn@7:30...Yes their times are early but they wake up between 6-7 every morning no matter what time they go to bed)!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ July 29, 2011 (Summer Edition)

In my life this week…I took it easy. Other than house hunting I pretty much stayed home and tried to get ready to kick our homeschooling into gear next week!

In our homeschool this week…I have been putting the finishing touches on things so we are ready to pick up the pace next week. We have been in summer mode and next week will start adding a subject a week until we are at full capacity (hopefully by the end of August). We also took our "back to school" photos (click the About Us tab at the top of the page to read more):



Like the signs? Click here to get them FREE!  Thanks to Telisa from Sugar Tots Designs for creating  the printables and to I Heart Nap Time for hosting them!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…just to church this week (except for hubby...he has to go back to work on Thursday)!

My favorite thing this week was…being home all week (and looking at my calendar for next week and seeing that it is still empty)!

What’s working/not working for us…is having the TV in the same room as our "school" and having no other place for either thing! :(

Questions/thoughts I have…where has the year gone?!?

Things I’m working on…2 reviews for the TOS crew (see my sidebar for more information).

I’m praying for…our housing path to be revealed to us!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Our School Room ~ 2011

Our current school room is in our living room. While I like having it central, I do not like having the TV in here! Our goal when we move again (hopefully by Christmas) is that we will be able to have the school room and the TV room separate.

We use an old dining room table and each child has an activity mat to help protect the table and to delineate each space. The table is set up next to my computer. This gives me a "U-shaped" desk area. Under the table is a file cart where I organize all our curriculum for the year and my planner is on the table. Hubby has a desk and a computer to the right of our school room.

Here is a collage of the kiddos hard at work in our school "room":

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st grade, 6th grade and our family workboxes.

This week I am featuring Family Workboxes:


1) We will start by doing our Morning PowerPoint (calendar, weather, etc.)
2) Then we will do our chores
3) Next up is Breakfast
4) Lastly, we  will do Religion (LDS Workbooks ~ Lesson 10 ~ Abraham and Lot) 


After each Religion Lesson I have them draw, color or paint what they learned (each lesson takes about 2 days). Here they are painting Lesson 9 ~ Jehovah makes Covenants with Abraham (they are painting the Angel saving Abraham's life).



*Remember, I only have one guideline, that you put a Workbox Wednesday button in your post or that you link back here! Thank you, I really do enjoy seeing what you all have in your workboxes!*

Now it is your turn...Grab a Button and

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ July 22, 2011 (Summer Edition)

In my life this week…I have been recovering from Girl's Camp (see last week's THMJ)! With fibromyalgia this process takes awhile!

In our homeschool this week…we have been slowly getting back on track. We did religion 4 out of 5 days, Unicorn "schooled" 3 days and Ladybug even did 1 day. I am hoping to add more in each week so we will be back to our routine by Aug. 1 and have all our subjects and kiddos at a full load by Aug. 22! Wish me luck!

I am inspired by…obedience. 

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…tomorrow we will go to Grandma's house as she and Aunt J will be getting into town after traveling all week. Grandma went to PA last weekend to help Aunt J move here! I am so excited (and so are the kids)! 

My favorite thing this week was…getting to talk on the phone with an old friend. Grandma and Aunt J stopped in Memphis for a day a spent the day with an old friend of the family. She is one of those people who you may lose touch with for an extended period of time but you know will always be there when you need her and you pick up where you left off!

Things I’m working on…being patient while I wait for the TOS Review Crew to get underway! I am so EXCITED for the products we will be reviewing this year!

I’m grateful for…the school district hubby works at making a mistake with his paycheck and paying him today (he wasn't supposed to get paid until 8/5). Now we can pay all our bills on time!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…Doctrine and Covenants 82:10

I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

OK...really bad hostess here! I'm late to my own link-up! I am so sorry...I totally forgot today was Tuesday! I will come back tomorrow and update my workbox post but I want to get the link-up going tonight! Grab a button, link-up and come back in the next day or so to see what we are up to! Again, I'm so sorry for getting this up late! Have a great week!


Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st grade, 6th grade and our family workboxes.

This week I am featuring Unicorn's 6th Grade Workboxes (11 years old):



First she joins us for our Family Workboxes: Calendar PowerPoint (I just created this and if it works I will write a post on it) and Religion LDS Workbook Chapter 8 ~ Noah

Next she is on to Math at Mathletics.com

Then she worked on a Reader's Theater for Little Women

Last, but not least, she read a chapter in Little Women and Anne of Green Gables

Now it is your turn...Grab a Button and

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ July 17, 2011 (Summer Edition)

In my life this week…I had many awesome experiences. I spent the week at our Church Girl's Camp. I was one of the leaders for our ward. It  was so much fun. I got to know the girls better as well as do some things I had never done before and even face a fear! I shot a BB Gun and an arrow for the first time in my life! 2 out of 5 of my arrows hit the target and I made 3 out of 5 of my shots with the gun! I faced my fear of heights and went on the zip line as well!

In our homeschool this week…nothing because the teacher was absent! ;D

I am inspired by…the men and women who put together the Girl's Camp. It was a lot of hard work and preparation (especially since they had a location change only 5 weeks before camp due to fires in AZ). I am also inspired by the camp theme: Return to Virtue. As I look at young people today I am appalled at the lack of virtue, faith, modesty, respect, etc. that they have. I am also amazed by those young people who stand up against their peers and remain pure, modest and respectful when everyone else is not. It was inspiring to be around 130+ girls who are trying to be examples of virtue to the world!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…after being gone for a week we will take it easy this week and not go to far. Daddy will take the kids to the summer movie and to the library but that is about it!

My favorite thing this week was…coming home to my kids after being away from them for 5 days!

I’m grateful for…flush toilets, daily hot showers, my computer, my hubby's cooking and my kids.

I’m praying for…my mom and my sister to have a safe drive from Pennsylvania to Arizona this week!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…Proverbs 31:10-11 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil."

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

As I am currently at Girl's Camp I do not have anything for workboxes for this week. I will be back next week with our 6th grade workboxes.

*Remember, my only guideline is that you grab a button or link back to this post. Thank you!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ July 9, 2011 (Summer Edition)

In my life this week…I have been taking it easy and preparing to go to Girl's Camp.

In our homeschool this week…we "did school" 3 days this week. We have been taking it slow as we get ready to start back "for real" in August!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…I am going to Girl's Camp this week. Girl's Camp is where girls ages 12-17 from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go camping for a few days. They have a lot of fun and learn a lot. It has been quite a few years since I have been to Girl's Camp (I was 16) and it should be fun!

My favorite thing this week was…house hunting. We are looking to move back to "the Valley" as it is called here. Specifically, Gilbert, Chandler or Mesa, AZ.

I’m grateful for…family.

I’m praying for…guidance (and patience).

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…a time-lapse glimpse of how we do storms in AZ! ;)

The Phoenix Haboob of July 5th, 2011 from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st grade, 6th grade and our family workboxes.

This week I am featuring Ladybug's K/1 Workboxes:

First, she will do her Calendar and Journal.
Next, is Chores and Religion (Enoch) as a Family.
Then, Mathletics.
And, WriteShop A.
Finally, You Can Read.

*I don't have a lot of guidelines for the link-up. All I ask is that you post the Workbox Wednesday button or mention Workbox Wednesday and link back here. This will help others who are looking for workbox ideas. Thank you!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ July 2, 2011 (Summer Edition)

In my life this week…I had a scare! Ladybug (age 5) was playing with Papa (grandpa) and they were having a great time. I was in another room and all of a sudden I hear Papa yelling Ladybug's name. Papa is my step-dad and I had NEVER heard him yell like that. I go running into the other room to see Papa cradling Ladybug and her holding her mouth and crying. I don't know exactly what happened (and neither do they) but she was up on his shoulders and best we can determine is that she lost her balance at the same time he lost his grip and she fell. He tried to catch her but was only able to break her fall. I am so glad he was able to at least break her fall as she landed on her head/face. She had a fat lip, a bump on her forehead and a sore neck. We watched her for signs of a concussion and dehydration. Dehydration, you ask? Yes, we live in the Phoenix area and it was 110+ this week. After she hurt her lip she didn't drink much (it hurt) so we had to worry about dehydration. Luckily, the next morning she felt much better and started drinking her water again and was just fine. No signs of a concussion either!

In our homeschool this week…we didn't do much except read our new books we got as rewards from the Library Summer Reading Program. Also, Unicorn decided that she wanted to learn some Anatomy for science. So now I need to find resources that use proper scientific terms but are written for middle schoolers. She choose this topic after the scare with Ladybug. Unicorn want to learn more about concussions and other things that relate to the human body.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…we've been seeing a lot of Grandma and Papa this week!

My favorite thing this week was…was taking the kids to the library to turn in our June reading logs and pick out our prizes (books) for meeting our reading goals. We also picked up our reading logs for July!

What’s working/not working for us…is living so far from Grandma and Papa (and soon, my sister and her hubby)! 

Questions/thoughts I have…does anyone know of any anatomy type resources that might work for Unicorn. She is 11, reads at a HS level and comprehends at a 8-9 grade level. She wants to know about the body (parts as well as types of injuries, etc.). Thanks!!

Things I’m working on…finding a way to move closer to my family!

I’m reading…Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Geography of Bliss (the Library reward book).

I’m grateful for…NO concussion or dehydration! :D

I’m praying for…our path to become clear and the patience to wait for the answer to come.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…"Thank goodness I never went to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality." ~Beatrix Potter

Lowe's Build & Grow Field Trip ~ Waving Flag

  Last week we took Unicorn and Ladybug to the Lowe's Build & Grow Workshop. They each built a "Waving Flag" and had a TON of fun! They loved being able to use a hammer!

Ladybug

Unicorn