Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ November 18, 2011

In my life this week…I have been learning how to adjust to a new schedule and how to cook again!


In our homeschool this week…we have been taking it easy as we head into the holidays. We are focusing on Religion, Math, Reading and any reviews we have coming up.


Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…if it is not working stop doing it and try something else! If it is working...leave it alone.


Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…on Sunday we will be heading to my mom's for the afternoon and then on Thursday my mom and step-dad, grandmother, sister and brother-in-law will all be at our house for Thanksgiving.


My favorite thing this week was…realizing that I still know how to cook after 6 years of my wonderful hubby cooking!


What’s working/not working for us…so far our new schedule is working for us. It will need to be refined after the holidays but until then it will work.


I’m cooking…real meals again. This week was chicken fajitas, spaghetti, beef & noodle dish, and swiss chicken.


I’m grateful for…sleep and the fact that I am actually getting some now that hubby is home at a normal hour. I can't sleep when he is not here so until this past week I wasn't going to bed until 11pm or later and my kids DON'T sleep in! EVER!


I’m praying for…my sister's house to sell and for the offer we have in on a house to be accepted.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…Ladybug lost her first tooth! She was SO excited!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ November 4, 2011

In my life this week…it has been one CRAZY BUSY week! In fact, it has been so crazy busy that I totally forgot to write my Homeschool Mother's Journal post last week. Last Thursday night my phone rang at 9:45 PM. Now, I don't know about you but, normally phone calls at that hour are NOT GOOD! Imagine my surprise when it was hubby's former principal (the one who hired him where he is "currently" working) calling to offer him a job and only giving us 3 days to think/pray about it! Hubby went in on Monday to accept the position. That night (fairly late as it was also Halloween) we filled out the application for the position (schools are required to have applications on file) and submit other necessary information. Tuesday, hubby turned in his resignation letter at his current district. Wednesday, he drove to the new school to submit his official transcripts and got a phone call and email formally offering him the job. Thursday he drove to the new district to sign a new contract and fill out other paperwork. Hubby's last day at his current school is Nov. 10...his first day at his new school is Nov. 14!

In our homeschool these past 2 weeks…has also been busy!
     ~Unicorn started a new math program and is participating in NaNoWriMo.
     ~Ladybug is really starting to get this reading thing and is also participating in NaNoWriMo.
     ~Monkey is watching lots of educational videos and having lots of books read to him!

I am inspired by…how the Lord blesses us! We were expecting hubby would get a job offer to work with his former principal for the 2012-2013 school year...boy were we surprised when an offer came for this year!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…last week we had dinner with some friends, helped some other friends move some of their stuff and attended our local Chick-fil-A's 1 year Anniversary and their annual Fall Festival.

My favorite thing this week was…the job offer.

Things I’m working on…lots of blog posts and my NaNoWriMo novel!

I’m grateful for…the Gratitude Challenge being held at Garden of Learning!

I’m praying for…my sister's house to sell and for the offer we have in on a house (the house is less than a mile from hubby's NEW job) to be accepted!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…I just thank God for all of the blessings. ~James Brown

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ October 21, 2011

In my life this week…we put an offer in on two houses. We are the backup offer on one of them.

In our homeschool this week…we have been plugging right along! We are 81 days into our school year.

Monkey rowed {BFIAR} Ask Mr. Bear.

Ladybug read her first few stories BY HERSELF!

Unicorn is gearing up for NaNoWriMo. Her goal last year was 5,000 words and she surpassed that goal with 6,000+ words. I think we will set a goal for 7,500 words this year!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…tonight am joining a 150+ crafty ladies in the Phoenix area for The Glitter Academy! Should be fun!

My favorite thing this week was…Ladybug reading!

What’s working/not working for us…reviewing for the TOS Crew (see my tab above)! We are being blessed with so many wonderful products!

Things I’m working on…scrapbooking...again...finally! I am so hooked on digital scrapbooking! See the photos below to see what else we are doing with the MyMemories Software!

I’m reading…a few books that I need to pre-read for Unicorn for a product we are reviewing.

I’m grateful for…family.

I’m praying for…one of the offers on the houses to be accepted!

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

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ October 14, 2011

In my life this week…I cleaned house (and the garage), visited with a friend who was visiting from Texas, went house hunting (we walked through 10 houses), wrote product review, did laundry (my nemesis) and played games with my kids!

In our homeschool this week…we took the week off! Daddy is off for fall break (he teaches High School Math) so we took the week off of school and tried to catch up on all the other stuff that needed to get done.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…hubby and I are going to the Mesa Temple and to Texas Roadhouse for dinner tomorrow. We will be celebrating our 7th Anniversary! The kids are going to hang out with grandma!

My favorite thing this week was…catching up with an old friend!

Things I’m working on…a couple giveaways (2 next week)! ;)

I’m praying for…one of our offers to be accepted so we will finally know where we are moving at the end of the year.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…our edible map of Egypt.

Educational and Yummy!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ October 7, 2011

In my life this week…kids = crazy but I did win some cool stuff so, that offsets the bad stuff! I won MyMemories software from Rachel at Of Love and Beauty and Math House Games from Heidi's Ramblings, Reflections & Reviews and a scrapbook kit from Albums to Remember!

In our homeschool this week…we worked on products/curriculums that I will be reviewing. We will do the same thing next we as it is supposed to be our fall break!

As a family we are working on being Content. We also learned about Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti, King Tut and Ramses II (the Great).

Unicorn is getting ready for The American Math Challenge, writing an Approach Paper, learning more Latin and Cleaning her room!

Ladybug is helping me review Ooka Island and First Start Reading.

Monkey enjoyed My Blue Boat {BFIAR} this week.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…I am going to try to meet up with a couple friends that I don't get to see very often and hubby and I are going to go to the Arizona Temple and out to dinner for our 7th anniversary that is on the 15th!

My favorite thing this week was…well, it wasn't all the fighting and screaming the kids did so, I will have to go with my winning streak! ;)

Things I’m working on…using MyMemories to redesign my blog(s)!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share… some scrapbook pages I made this week!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ September 30, 2011

In my life this week…I did laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. YUCK!

In our homeschool this week…we decided to take things a little easier. I was looking at my calendar for October and we getting overwhelmed. I have a TON of reviews coming up and our house was beginning to look like a tornado hit it...except for the laundry room which was taken over by just about every article of clothing we own (talk about Mt. Washmore)! 

As a family we did Religion and History, worked on cleaning the house and used our products that are up for review.

Unicorn continued to use Life of Fred and ALEKS QuickTables for Math. Reading and Writing were replaced with a Literature review product as was Latin. In addition, she used 2 other products that are fun and educational.

Ladybug and Monkey had a bit of a break. They joined us for Religion, History and cleaning. Next week will be pretty much the same except I have a couple products to review with these two!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…know your limits (and those of your children)!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…this weekend we are staying home and watching General Conference. If you are not LDS (Mormon), General Conference is a time when the Prophet and the Apostles teach the people in a Worldwide Conference. Conference can be watched live in Salt Lake City, Utah, via satellite at many of our church buildings, via cable or satellite in your home (BYU channel and in some areas a local station will pick it up as well) or streamed on the internet at lds.org. For more information go to lds.org or mormon.org or click the "I believe" button on my sidebar.

My favorite thing this week was…listening to Ladybug recount her first birthday party experience. She is 5 and was invited to a friend's pj and spa birthday party. She still hasn't stopped talking about it! 

What’s working/not working for us…reviewing for the TOS crew (and a few private reviews too)! I am a curriculum junkie and reviewing products is helping curb my "oh! This curriculum would be perfect" problem! :) My kids are enjoying it too, they never know what will show up in their workboxes!

Questions/thoughts I have…is it REALLY October already?!?!? Where has this year gone?!?

Things I’m working on…reviews, reviews, a giveaway, reviews, and more reviews! :D

I’m reading…I made a goal this year to read the entire Bible and I just finished it this past week! This is the first time I have ever read it ALL the way through. 

I’m cooking…e-Mealz!

I’m grateful for…for homeschooling. I'm grateful we can take breaks and switch things up as necessary.

I’m praying for…clarity.

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


“He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.” –Aristotle

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ September 23, 2011

In my life this week…I had a birthday. 

In our homeschool this week…we plugged right along. We have completed 69 days of school so far.


Monkey is LOVING {BFIAR}. We read Caps for Sale this week. He also focused on the letter "J", the number "5" and Jaguar and Jellyfish.


Ladybug is progressing nicely with reading (when she wants to). She completed another level of Reading Eggs (she is about half-way through the program). She is also getting pretty good at addition.


Unicorn will be helping me review a Literature course starting next week. She working on memorizing multiplication facts!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…this week my mom and step-dad got home from their summer trip (they have been gone since mid-June). My mom stopped by on my birthday to say hi and see the kids.

What’s working/not working for us…is reviewing for the TOS crew. I was nervous at first because I was unsure how my kids would do with using a wide variety of products/curriculum throughout the year. They are doing great with it! 

Things I’m working on…lots and lots of reviews!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…looking for some free curriculum? or maybe you have some new or gently used items on your shelves? If you answered "yes" to either of these questions you should click the button below! (PS I am giving away some Preschool workbooks...#7 in the link-up)!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ September 16, 2011

In my life this week…I have been writing reviews! I am loving all the products and the experience I am getting writing reviews but after writing 5 reviews in 16 days, I am looking forward to my little break. I will still be using 6 products that will need to be reviewed but I have 20 days before I have to write my next review!  

In our homeschool this week…we jumped right back in after our little break last week! We started studying Monet for Art and in History we learned about Abraham, Jacob & Esau and Joseph. We also continued reading in the Friend magazine.

Monkey "rowed" Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? {BFIAR} and had a great time searching for objects in the pictures of the book. He also LOVED acting out the story! In addition to his row, Monkey, focused on the letter "I", measuring, Iguanas, Inchworms and classifying Insects.

Ladybug learned how to use a number-line to add, got 100% on her spelling test (I think she needs more challenging words), practiced her addition facts, learned 4 new sight words {in, big, said, come}, completed 2 more lessons in reading and wrote a story about a train.

Unicorn finally got all her addition facts memorized (now on to multiplication), has been using patterns and charts to help solve problems, practiced writing Ads and is progressing nicely in Latin.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…don't take on more than you can handle! It is ok to say "no"!

My favorite thing this week was…getting an email from We Choose Virtues agreeing to send me some products to review and to sponsor a GIVEAWAY (in October)! This is exciting because it will be my first sponsored giveaway!

Things I’m working on…setting up a couple more reviews with giveaways and starting a Weekly Meme with one of my bloggy buddies!

I’m reading…the Bible. I made a goal to read the ENTIRE Bible this year and I am so close! :)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…mummified stuffed animals, Ladybug writing, Monkey matching colors, Unicorn doing Sudoku!

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ September 8, 2011

In my life this week…I have been a bit melancholy. I get this way every year about this time, as I am sure many of you do. This year has been a little more difficult though, partially because it is the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and partially because this year I am doing a unit on 9/11 with my 11 year old daughter. {Click here to read about where I was that day}

In our homeschool this week…we are taking it easy. We just finished 5 weeks and decided a little break is in order. We still did Religion, History, Art, {BFIAR} and the 9/11 Unit.

Religion was reading out of the Friend magzine.

History was week 4 of The Mystery of History (Stonehenge, Early Egyptians and The Minoans).

Art was finishing a unit on Da Vinci from Worlds Greatest Artists Vol. 1.

{BFIAR} was The ABC Bunny.

The 9/11 Unit was from Hands of a Child.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…just because something is difficult to talk about doesn't mean we get a pass on teaching it. In fact, I think, the harder it is to talk about something, the more important it is to teach our children!

I am inspired by…the everyday heros. Sunday is a day to remember. Remember those who were killed as well as those who sacrificed to save others and those who did not have to pay the ultimate price but were still there when they were needed.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Saturday we will be going to Lowe's for their Build and Grow workshop.

Questions/thoughts I have…what topics do you find difficult to talk to your children about and what do you do about it? Do you avoid the topic, gloss over it, find someone else to teach it, or jump right in and hope you don't scar them for life? ;)

Things I’m working on…cleaning our house and de-cluttering for our upcoming move.

I’m grateful for…Heart of the Matter and Learn our History for holding a Facebook party a few weeks ago. I won this video about 9/11 (see preview below). It has been a great help in teaching my children about 9/11.

I’m praying for…an answer to where we will be living when our lease is up in December!

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

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ September 2, 2011

In my life this week…my hubby turned 44 (shhh...don't tell him I told you)!

In our homeschool this week…we finally got The Mystery of History (I finally won it on ebay)! We started right away and LOVE it!

As a family we started reading the September Friend for Religion, did 4 lessons in MOH and started studying Da Vinci for Art.

Unicorn has mastered 75% of her addition facts using ALEKS, completed 13 chapters in Life of Fred - Apples, used the draw a picture and guess and check methods to solve word problems, worked on prepositional phrases and review other grammar skills, completed Lesson 1 of Visual Latin (one of our upcoming reviews). 

Ladybug worked on sums to 6, finding the missing addend and her addition facts, got 100% on her spelling tests, completed 3 lessons in Reading and took a break from writing.

Monkey focused on the letter H, the heart shape, horses, hummingbirds and hermit crabs. He also "rowed" Yellow Ball for {BFIAR}.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…Sam's Noggin and her organization of MOH! Our copy of MOH was a little tattered when we got it. What a blessing...I was able to take the book apart, bind the two semesters and hole-punch the resources without having to pay to have any of it done!

Things I’m working on…next week we will "take a break". By this I really mean we will have a light schedule (Religion, History, Math, {BFIAR} and Art). During this time, I will clean out our binders of all the work we have done over the past 5 weeks and bind the stuff that we are keeping.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…my little guy painting a scene from Yellow Ball.

Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ August 26, 2011

In my life this week…

This has been a week of ups and downs. Ups: We got our schooling finished, we ate FREE breakfast at Chick-fil-A (twice) and Downs: I spent 2 days in pain (I live in pain everyday but this was on top of the normal everyday pain) so much pain that I wanted to curl up and cry!

In our homeschool this week…

As a family we finished our If the World Were a Village unit and our Picasso unit. 

Monkey focused on the letter "G", the colors green and gray and Geese, Goats and Great White Sharks. He also rowed I Am an Artist for BFIAR.

Ladybug worked on finding the missing number in math, practiced her math facts and spelling words (got 100%) on BigIQKids, wrote about friends and completed 3 more lessons at ReadingEggs.com. She also rowed with her brother.

Unicorn worked on her addition and multiplication facts, learned 2 more problem-solving strategies, reviewed adjectives and adverbs, did 6 lessons in Latin and wrote in her scripture journal.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

If it isn't working...try something else!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This month our local Chick-fil-A is having a special promotion. They are giving away free breakfasts! One entree per person per day! So...this week we went out to breakfast (twice) and will probably go again on Saturday. I had never tried their breakfasts before and was pleasantly surprised! Very Yummy! We even bumped into some friends while we were there. The kids loved having the play area to themselves too!

My favorite thing this week was…

Free breakfast! ;)

What’s working/not working for us…

Free breakfast! :0)

Questions/thoughts I have…

Thinking I better stop now since the only thing I can think about is free breakfast! ;)

Things I’m working on…

Lesson plans for next week (yes, they include 3 days of free breakfast)!

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

Some fun education cartoons: http://www.danscartoons.com/education_cartoons.htm