Go Sid, Go Sea, Go Me!

I love to learn by watching television. You'll never hear me say, we don't watch the tube. Sea has learned so much over the past few years by watching some of our favorite shows.

All shows are reviewed prior to the girls watching the episode. Sea will even let me know if she views an aspect of the show as inappropriate and/or unacceptable.

I love being able to trust my daughter and learn from her as well. The rule in our house is that all shows must be age appropriate (including adults). Garbage in, garbage out. We love PBS and Sprout. Sid the Science Kid is one of our all time favorite shows.

Sea pleaded to conduct the "rotting pumpkin" experiment in October 2010. At the time, I was caring for her new baby sister and anything past a rotting diaper was off my to-do list! I'm now ready to experiment and since it is March we chose grapefruits instead of pumpkins.

She is ultra excited to finally conduct this experiment!

I surprised her with a book about rotting things.

The Love of Learning = The Love of Homeschool!

1st Year Birthday Bash ~ Homemade

Happy Birthday to Shell!

Yippee for 1st birthday parties! Shell's party gave me the license to dig into kids play. I emailed my local mom's group and asked for empty tp rolls, visited our local craft store, and then searched the internet for crafting videos. Here's what my little Minnie Mouse presented to her party guests.

The expense of a birthday party in 2011 is outrageous! We booked our church's hall for $100.00. We rented a bounce house *best bounce house you've ever seen - clean, cute, and brand new* for $117.00, and then the cost of plastic table covers at $2.99 a piece times 25 = way too much! Let's not discuss the plasticware and cost of yummies in the tummy.

That said, I spent an entire week dreaming up *with eyes wide open until 4 am* homemade ideas for Shell's party. I destroyed my budget on the hall's rental, so with everything else involved I needed to get busy with the double sided tape!

I'm proud to announce we were able to keep almost everything from the party. Only a few table coverings hit the dust, so that means Sea gets a black and pink themed 6th birthday party this year. My darling hubby needs to lock me up and my purse until her birth month. *lol*

Now that my dreamy state of birthday planning has come and gone, I'm back to late nights at the computer trying to figure out the world of lapbooking versus notebooking. Just when I felt confident in this homeschooling venture, I'm slapped with the reality of possibly attending the yearly homeschool conference. YIKES! Someone help me escape back to the party planning days.

Photo Credits: S & E

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date!

Summer is right around the corner. I'm starting to feel the first year's stressors creeping up on me. I need to find an evaluator. I need to complete the portfolio. We need to complete all of the assignments. We need, we need, we need...we need to relax! *lol*

I recall promising myself, I would never be one of "those" moms who is struggling to catch up at the last minute. I remember all of the Facebook status updates informing everyone they were up all night preparing for the evaluation and getting the portfolios in order.

Ha! The joke is on me. I'm already having panic attacks. I like to claim I'm structured and in order. Heck my college nickname was "Structured S". I'm not sure I can live up to the name now. Maybe, just maybe this feeling is normal. How would I know it's my first year.

If you are feeling the stressors of being a first-time-homeschooling-momma join the club! Memberships are ripe and ready to be accepted. Let's sip coffee, tea, or water while we figure out the end of our first year. Cheers!

My Ultimate Cat's in the Cradle Moment

Wow! The good Lord sent a huge message in the form of nap time today. Sea asked if we could go outside to climb trees, play ball, and have a tea party when Shell went down for her second nap. I had so many items to check off my to-do list. However, for some reason today the chores did not feel important - even though the list was longer than ever.  

We played soccer. I need to workout! I was exhausted.

We documented the weekly progress of her pea seedlings.

We fluffed the blanket and chose a spot for our tea party. We were both lying down in the sun, eating kettle corn, and sipping on water. Daddy walked through the back yard gate and Sea let out a huge welcome!

The learning moment presented itself. The next door neighbor arrived home from school and came out to say hello to Sea. As the little girl walked closer to our gate, I could see our precious family moment vanish in the blink of an eye. I realized at that very moment, there would never be a chore more important than taking time with my daughter. I realized not only is time slipping through my fingers like sand in an hour glass, but her friends are beginning to be "cooler" than her parents.

I cannot count how many times, I've nodded to acknowledge Sea while sitting at the computer. I was too busy to turn around and really listen. Yes, sure I heard what she said to me. But there is a BIG difference between hearing and truly being present and listening. I have validated this lack of attention before today, but I had things to do, emails to send, photos to upload. I needed mommy time. 

However, today was a very different day. I realized my little girl is becoming a Little Miss way before I'm ready to accept the reality of the situation. And I need to put down the to-do list, stop cleaning the base boards, and just PLAY!

I'm off to Play and Enjoy the Little Things in Life.

My Homeschool Reference Guides

In my opinion, I'm one lucky mom/teacher. Sea is currently reading at a late first to early second grade level and is working in a first grade math textbook. She is officially in Kindergarten. Everything thus far has been breezy easy.

I'm taking this time to read the words of several wise women who have gone before me. I must admit, my favorite at the moment is from a public school teacher's perspective. I highly recommend reading Carol Avery's book shown in the photo below (top right). It has opened my eyes to several pros and cons of the public school system.

I hope you enjoy taking a peek at my current homeschool reference guides. I must make this posting brief, so I can read a few more pages of Carol's book before it's school time once again.

If you would like information on any of the books shown here, let me know!

Passing on the Love of Learning from Generation to Generation!

Little Keepers at Home - Open Registration Day!

We had an amazing time at church today. With God's grace and the love of my hubby, we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, preparing for today's Little Keepers' Introduction. Can we say, utterly exhausted? *lol* I hope you enjoy the photos, and are inspired to create a group at your home church!

Little Keepers at Home table @ Church

Watch Me Grow with God

The children *boys and girls* were able to choose

either Basil or Pea seeds to plant in their cups to take home.

I found these books at the local dollar store! They are padded and cute as a button, too!

The Jesus loves You book markers were purchased from a small family owned school store

in our area. The Little Keepers handbook was purchased online.

http://www.keepersofthefaith.com/

Organic, of course!

We use the Little Keepers at Home program, at home. However, I was recently blessed

to bring the program to our young girls on campus. This is why Sea is the only little princess

posted in the example photos. I hope to create a strong Little Keepers' ministry at our church.

Shell waiting patiently for us to complete our fellowship

The End & The Beginning!

No Way! I've gotta choose a Curriculum?

Yikes! Yep, that was my first thought when I realized I needed to decide on a curriculum for Sea. It was frightening! I was frozen and unable to make a decision. There were too many options.

You know, there is a term for more than three (3) choices. It's called, A Paradox of Choice. This simply means, less is more. When someone is presented with more than three options it becomes a task to decide which one to choose.

As you will soon notice (by looking at this posting) I was overwhelmed with choices. Honestly, I have not even cracked open a few of the workbooks. Thankfully, Shell will be able to benefit from my stockpiling addiction (only with curriculum) within the upcoming years.

Surprisingly, homeschool doesn't have to be difficult. It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to include the best of everything. It just needs to work for your little one(s). Here's a peek of our past and present workbooks.

Thankfully, after 5 years of sitting in learning stores for hours on end, I have come to understand which textbooks best fit Sea's learning style; along with my teaching style.

Just FYI: We like to skip ahead and then revisit different stages at different times (this may or may not work for your child). It's all about making sure your individual child feels challenged and comfortable. Please let me know if you are interested in the ISBN or the Author of any workbooks shown in this blog.

Please note: many of the workbooks include additonal subjects. Several of the workbooks include a section for each subject. And we keep the dictionaries on the school table at all times.

                                                   

Kindergarten

First Grade

Second Grade

Third Grade

History

Science

Arts and Crafts

Christian-based Workbooks