Tot School - The Week we Set up

We are starting preschool on Monday.  Kinda crazy, but we are, so this week I've tried to focus on getting out "room" (aka the dining room) ready, making sure that everything I need is ready for week 1, writing lesson plans for weeks 6-9 (weeks 1-5 are done) and getting everything ready for week 2 - I'd like to always have the week we are starting and the following week completely done in baskets on the shelf.  Than, the next 8-10 lessons written.  There is often stuff (books, games, learning items) that I need to order so I'm budgeting a certain amount each month and will always try to order a month ahead of time so I'm ready to go!  I'm excited to start this but also know that it is a commitment - it means I have to set aside things I want to get done and purposefully focus on teaching each day.  I'm a little ADD sometimes so . . .I have to really focus on one thing LOL

First things first - our schedule.  I've mentioned before that I'm not a morning person but I am going to really work on this new schedule so that I can get things done that I need quiet time for first thing in the morning.

5:30 (ouch!) - Get up, walk on the treadmill for at least 20 minutes
6:00 - Shower and get ready for the day
6:30 - My quiet time and breakfast
7:00-8:00 - Munchkin arrives in this time frame, he usually plays for a bit and is ready for a nap
8:00-10:00 - This is time that I have to get laundry going, do my weekly chores, and work on my to do list.  My kids wake up sometime during this time frame and eat breakfast.  This will be their playtime too.
10:00-11:00 - Bible and ABC/123 time.  This is something that both Josh and Nate will participate in each morning; The Munchkin also gets up between 10 and 10:30 so he'll be eating his snack with us too.
11:00-12:00 - Playtime for the kids/chore time for me. 
12:00-1:00 - Lunch time/clean up and our Circle Time
1:00 - Nate goes down for a nap/quiet time for Josh (he usually watches cartoons)
1:45 - Munchkin goes down for a nap between now and 2:00
2:00-3:00 - This will be focused time with Josh working on Math and Reading skills.  Most things will only be 20 minutes long but sometimes we may have other activities to do. 
3:00-4:00 - Kids wake up, snack time, play time
4:00-7:30 - This is our busy time - the munchkin is picked up, I get dinner ready, we eat, clean up, play as a family, clean up toys, kids take baths and than bedtime.
7:30-8:00 -Time with my husband (he goes to bed by 8:00)
8:00-10:00 - Time for me to work on lessons, blogging, scrapbooking, or just relax watching TV.  I'm going to really work at going to bed by 10:00 since I'll be getting up at 5:30. *A disclaimer - I also get up in the middle of the night with my husband because of his work schedule which is why that 5:30 time is so hard!

It is actually a pretty straight forward schedule.  Because we are a family that tends to sleep late - I've pushed things to lunch time/afternoon that others may get done all in the morning.  One of the great things about homeschooling is making a schedule to fit you :-) 

Here are some pretty pictures of what our room looks like and a few things I made this week for school!

This is our center wall.  It includes our monthly calendar, our Magnetic season/weather calendar, a palm tree to go along with Chica Chica Boom Boom and a bulletin board (still missing !)  My husband will hang it for me this weekend and we'll use that to post our weekly verse, song, letter, number, color, ect. 

This is our current shelf.  The top still houses my Creative Memory albums but the bottom three shelves are for school.  The bottom shelf houses our sensory bin, a bin with games for future weeks, and it will also include a bin for each of the boys.  The second shelf houses bins with supplies and than the third shelf up holds my baskets with two weeks of plans and our arts and crafts bucket. 

This is one of the projects I worked on - quilted letters :-)  I made an "A" for each boy and will be making the entire alphabet over the course of the next few months. 

Finally, this is my new "baby" - it is the perfect printer!!!  I love it so much because it has just made getting stuff ready each week so much easier!!!  It is a dream :-)

Starting next week, I'm planning to move this post to Sundays.  By doing that, I can include activities from the entire week instead of just a few days. 

On a separate note - I have become an Amazon Associate which just means I can link items to their site and, if you click on those items anywhere on my blog and purchase that item, I will be compensated.  Thanks for clickin'!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving . . . that I can take hot showers again :-)  No, we didn't lose hot water but, in the heat of the summer, I take cool . .ending with cold . .showers every day.  It is too hot outside to be hot!  Now, though, with the really cool mornings, that hot shower is fantastic!

I'm loving . . .my new printer and I haven't even used it!!  It just came today and I'm in the middle of set-up but it LOOKS awesome and I can't wait to print that first page!  Top thing on my to do list is to get it all set up tomorrow :-)

I'm loving . . . my new snack.  A half a bag of Jiffy Popcorn, thrown in a bag of snackwells Chocolate drizzled Carmel corn, shake alot.  Than it is the great combination of salty sweet!!

I'm loving . . .that we got to see Thomas the Train this past Saturday with my parents.  The storm was not so fun but the main point was to see and ride the train!

I'm loving . . .that I'm continuing with my scrapbooking.  I am now working on August 2010 and plan to be done with those pages by Thursday which means I'll be less than a year behind!  If I can keep this up, I'll be done with 2010 by the end of September (if not sooner) and will be current with 2011 by the end of November.  WHOO WHOO!!

I'm loving . . my little family! 

What are you loving today?



Too Cute Not to Toot!

It is back to school time so this idea for a chore "chart" from Thirty Sixth Avenue is just perfect for older kids.  It makes them more self-sufficient yet you can still be in control :-)

Here is a great gift idea or an idea for your own counter - it is a perpetual calendar using your own photos.  The idea comes from Pressed Down Shaken Together.  This would be a great use of all of those photos you get from your photographer instead of just sticking them in a scrapbook :-)

This is a smaller idea for books shelves (that I keep putting off) for my boys rooms.  I might need to plan a trip to Ikea . . .check out this simple idea from My Life and Kids.

This Name Puzzle from Sunscholars is such a great idea.   I am going to add this to my preschool ideas for later this year starting with the boys first names :-)

Sassy Sites shares another great idea for a chore chart.  This one is specifically for the family on Saturday - but what a great idea.  (She has a vinyl shop so you can order right from her!)

I hope you enjoy these cute ideas :-)  There are so many more ideas out there but for today, these caught my eye!

Good Morning Girls Group

It was about this time last year that I mentioned finding a site called "Good Morning Girls".  It is a devotional accountability "site".  It was originally started by a group of friends who just e-mailed each other each day to say what they had learned in their quiet time.  Well, it grew.  It grew so much that they started this site and saw the need for women to find accountability partners.  The original goal was to find finds, co-workers, others from church to be in your group but, a great need was seen . There are many women out there who don't have those resources or maybe they don't feel comfortable enough to ask other people to join in with them.  So, through this site, you can connect with women all over the world to be in your group.  Last year, I posted on the comment page what I was looking for and it didn't take long to have a group.  We started out, if I remember correctly, with 13 people in our group.  After some shifting around as some people found that this wasn't for them for various reasons, we dropped to just 5 members and have held strong.  We took the summer off as two of our "groupies" had babies at the end of May but are looking forward to starting back up in a few weeks.  There are many ways you can "run" your group - we chose to set up a private blog.  We then each took a day and on that day, it is our responsibility to write the original post of the day about what we learned in our quiet time.  Than, everyone else just adds a comment to that post stating what they learned. 

So, are you looking for an accountability group?  If you are, check out the Good Morning Girls - I know you'll find a great group to join!  This particular link will take you to information on this falls book study.  The study that they will post on the site is the book of 1 John.  You do not have to follow this study - you can do your own thing - they just offer this up for those that are looking for something.  Last winter, we did the book of James and it was really great.  I love the S.O.A.P method that is talked about - it really works for me. 

I just wanted to take time to share this before it gets to late for you to join up!  And, if you are really interested in joining up and would like to be in my group - just let me know.  I think we may lose one person in our current group (but we could take more!) - I would just need to check with the others in my group first :-) 

Weekly Menu - The Week of August 20

Hello!  I did not have a chance to post a recipe on Friday as I normally do because I was out scrapbooking!!!  We did have a couple of HUGE success recipes last week though so I'll be posting those soon.  This week, I've decided to throw in a "Leftover Or" meal and I hope to make it something weekly.  I've found that we are ending up with more leftovers because I can't just cook for two anymore!  My boys eat (sometimes) so I find I cook enough for 4 - meaning I usually cook enough for 6 - leaving us left overs.  I've deemed Thursday as my leftover night but I have a back up meal that is easy to keep on hand. 

So this week we are eating:

Saturday: Out - we went to see Thomas the Train with my parents and than went out to dinner afterwards

Sunday: Brats on the grill, baked beans, and chips

Monday: Citrus and Soy Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Sweet Potato Fries, Asparagus and rolls

Tuesday: Grilled Island Chicken, Cauliflower Popcorn, Stuffed Zucchini

Wednesday: Homemade Mac and Cheese and Hot dogs

Thursday: Leftover night OR Beef Tips and Noodles with Garlic Bread

Friday: Chicken Scaloppini, Green Beans and Rice

Baked Goods: Buttermilk Lime Shortbread Bars and Double Chocolate M and M Cookies (I'll be honest - I baked the cookies today . .. but ended up turning them into bars because they were so "loose" - I have tasted one yet but I'm thinking this might end up being a "fail" . . .)

Now that it is cool enough to grill (Yes, it was so unbearably hot and humid in July, it wasn't even nice to grill!) I've thrown in several grilling recipes.  We are "charcoal" people so our grilling window only goes to the end of September (if the kettle is cold, so is the charcoal LOL).  I'd like to be able to grill out 2-3 times a week and get back to my original goal at the beginning of the summer . .. Hamburgers once a week!!!

Enjoy :-)

Show Us Your Life - Back to School Traditions

 Today at Kellys Korner is her weekly post called "Show us your Life".  Today's topic is Back to School Tradtions.  Now, I've been trying to remember what I did growing up with my family and, to be honest, I don't think we did anything HA!  We did always go to the mall in August at some point and do school shopping.  My mom had a list of specific things that we needed (I have three older brothers so shopping for 4 kids meant the lists had to be small!) and we were usually "allowed" to pick at one thing that we really wanted that wasn't on the list.  One year I picked out a Monagramed pink sweater (when they were cool of course . . . wait, where they ever cool?) and another year I picked out a sweater cardigan that had the alphabet on it.  What?  I was cool like that.  HA!  When we went to the mall, the boys went with my dad and I went with my mom.  We would all meet back up and . .. I think we just went home or maybe we ate out, I don't remember that part.  Anyway, when we got home, we all got to try on clothes so the other parents/siblings could see what we got.  It was fun :-)  Beyond that, I think we just dreaded that first day!!! 

Since we didn't do much, I've been trying to keep my eyes open for other people do and I haven't seen a whole lot either!  One friend does the "Annual night before the first day of school banana splits" tradition, which is kinda self-explanitory.  I've also seen how some people plan a special dinner with a back to school centerpiece, placemats and more.  I think one of the biggest things is pictures - the morning of the first day in every grade pictures.  Even friends I know that homeschool, stand their kids outside the front door with their backpacks (homeschool kids need them too - they have books!) and take their picture. 

I did happen to see a post just this morning on establishing back-to-school routines from The Idea Room.  I realize it isn't a tradition but as some of you are getting ready for school to begin (or if it already has!) I thought you might find this helpful. 

Check on the link at the top of the post for more back to school tradition ideas (the post isn't up at the time I'm posting this but it will be up sometime today!)  - I know I'll be reading them because I LOVE tradtions and establishing things in our home that will build great memories for my kids.

Enjoy :-)

Homeschooling - the Why.

Because we haven't started our offical home school schedule, and won't until the week of August 29th, I thought I'd tell you why I'm choosing to do this instead of taking advantage of preschool/school elsewhere.  I'm not setting out to start a debate or anything else, just explaining why we made the decision.

I taught elementary school for 8 years.  While teaching, I couldn't understand why anyone would homeschool.  All you have to do is put your child in school, let them enjoy a wonderful experience, and than come home to you all happy.  Of course, all kids should go to Private school so they get Bible teaching and the love of their teachers that they wouldn't get anywhere else.  After we moved to our current location, there weren't any jobs in private schools (plus I was very burned out on teaching after a not so great year, the year before) so I decided to sub in the public schools.  Talk about an eye opener.  After have a 2nd grader go ballistic on me and call me all kinds of names, I realized that public school is not how I remembered it! 

Choosing where to send your child to school is a very personal decision.  For us, we looked at a few key things 1) Location 2) Price 3) Desire.  

Location:  We don't live in a great school district.  I've heard the stories, seen it first hand, and know where our district "rates" and I don't want my children in it.  There are some fantastic school districts out there where, if I could afford to live in those areas, I would send my children to school (maybe HA!). Both my husband and I agreed that in our current location, public school is not an option.

Price:  We than looked at private/Christian school.  When I taught in one, I couldn't fully understand the sacrifice parents make to send their children to school.  When we started looking, I realized how much it truly costs.  Right now, we don't have the ability to send our kids to a Christian school and, added to that, the nearest one we would send them to is 25 minutes away. 

Desire:  Ultimately it comes down to desire.  Since my oldest was born over 2 1/2 years ago, I had a desire to teach him at home.  When the second one came along a year later, that desire grew.  For me, I stay home with my kids to be with them - I love seeing them grow and learn new things.  Homeschooling them gives me the opportunity to teach them daily new things, new ideas and new truths.  It also allows me to play with my kids and build stronger relationships.  So, we start on this journey with preschool.  Right now, our thinking is that I will homeschool them until they hit 4th or 5th grade, at which time we will put them into a Christian school but that is not set in stone.  I've learned already that there are great resources out there such as Homeschool co-ops that have "school" one day a week and give the kids opportunities that they wouldn't have just being at home 5 days a week.  (Field trips, music class, gym class and more)

Why preschool?  Because it is my testing grounds.  I want to make sure this fits for all of us before we hit K-5.  Honestly, Josh would not go to preschool this fall if I was sending him - he isn't 3 yet so I would wait a year.  He is very interested in things though so I decided to go ahead and start him, keep it simple, and peak with things he is interested in now.

This isn't for the faint of heart (ha!)  - it is actually work.  Since I'm using ideas I found on-line through various blogs, it is a lot of work writing lesson plans, gathering supplies, and printing of worksheets.  But, it will all be worth it to watch my boys learn and grow! Plus, for me, staying home is a huge sacrifice - it means my husband works the equivalent of two jobs and is away from us alot - so the thought of sending one of my kids away breaks my heart.  I'm staying home to be with them, not away from them :-)

So, that's my story :-)  Nothing big, just they why's behind our decision :-)