Valentine Creations

Each year, our local homeschool organization has a Valentine Bowling Party where the kids all get together for bowling, lunch and a valentine exchange. Prizes are awarded to the most creative valentine boxes. My daughter was delighted when her box won 3rd place in the girls' division. Here's a pic.

Dalmation valentine box

My son also worked hard on his box, but was good natured about not winning. There were so many good creations, it would have been a tough choice for the judges this year. Here's his box.

Monster valentine box

What's for Lunch, Mom?

Yes, it's been too long since I posted. Sorry, but "stuff" gets in the way! I stumbled across a terrific website called Laptop Lunches. It has 365 days of menu ideas for kids' lunches; perfect for us homeschooling moms! Who doesn't run out of ideas for lunch? You can even view menus and recipes by season. Check it out.

Nature's Classroom

It's nice to take a break now and then and get outdoors for some one-on-one with nature. This fall, we drove to a nearby state park for some "outdoor" education. We had time to...

do some fishing,

climb a tree,

see wildlife in their natural habitat,

see wildlife outside their natural habitat...

appreciate nature's beauty all around us,

observe seasonal changes, and

remember Him who created it all.

Glass-Blowing

We had a field trip opportunity to visit a traveling glass-blowing show by Corning at a local museum. It was very interesting. The kids were captivated, as I was. Looks a lot easier than it actually is!

New School Year

We started our new school year off with a new and improved school room. It is amazing what fresh paint, new shelving, a roomy desk and a wall-mounted TV have done to transform our basement space from crowded to spacious. We love it. Here's a peek.

Homeschool PE

Since I started my home school journey, one of my biggest dilemmas has been to provide a sound fitness program.  Oh, I had good intentions. I bought a homeschool fitness book, which still sits on the shelf, crisp and unused. I told myself that the kids would get plenty of exercise riding their bikes or taking a swim class.  I attempted a few “get outside and get some exercise” decrees but that didn’t fool any of us, either. I knew I had to come up with something better, but what? Working out has never been a strength of mine, and planning a PE program was no less a challenge.  On top of that, we live in Wisconsin, where the frozen winters often inspire me to drink hot chocolate and curl up in front of the fire, but don’t do much for my apathy enthusiasm for exercise.

Enter Fitness 4 Homeschool, my hero! An entire physical education curriculum created by  professionals (a PhD in Kinesiology,  a certified Trainer, and a certified Nutritionist).  Designed especially for homeschoolers ages K-8, this program does it all:

·         Little preparation (they email the PDF lesson plans to you each month!)

·         Easy to do

·         Requires only basic equipment ( i.e., balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, bean bags)

·         Provides “how to” video links for ALL the activities and exercises.

·         Geared for all ages and abilities

Fitness 4 Homeschool is for the whole family---not just the kids. The lessons (260 of them) are loaded with great games and activities that will have everyone moving and having fun together. Because it is geared for ages K-8 (most adults will work up a sweat, too), the whole family can enjoy moving and interacting.  Each lesson provides a warm up, activities/games,  and a cool down routine at the end.  These are not merely boring calisthenics, like I had when I was in school. They include fun and creative things, like the crab walk, the ankle alphabet exercise, jump the river, and the plank, to name just a few.  AND, it can be done indoors or out---so you’re covered no matter what the weather! Each lesson takes anywhere from a half-hour to an hour to complete---fits into our school day perfectly.

You also get cool, downloadable tools like an assessment test,  a tracking calendar, and more.  You get all this for a one-time cost of $99, less than what it costs to sign up two kids for YMCA swim lessons for one semester.  Remember, this is for the entire family and you can use it year after year. They will even send you a one week  FREE trial, to see if it’s right for your family. Now how nice is that? The curriculum is reusable, but the company does plan to offer a more advanced course for those who may want to add a higher level later on. I am so thankful  I came across this company. I definitely encourage you to check it out.

Gearing Up for a New School Year

It's almost August---our local Target and Walmart have had back-to-school supplies out on their shelves for a month, reminding us that summer is fleeting. We are in the process of getting ready for another school year, too. Our Sonlight curriculum arrived, we finished painting the school room, hubby has drawn up plans for a wall of bookshelves and a custom computer desk, we are shopping for laptops and a wall-mounted flatscreen TV (so glad to get rid of the current space-hogging tv and aquarium!), I have scheduled 9 or 10 field trips with our local homeschool support group, and I have finished writing in language arts into our years' lesson plans. The kids are very excited about getting laptops this year---we are switching to a new math program called Teaching Textbooks which includes CDs and books used concurrently. Will post pics of remodeled school room once we've finished! Am so looking forward to the bookshelves which we so badly need...