iquilt
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Posts posted by iquilt
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We are in Virginia Beach also :) Since before kids....
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I didn't know about many of the great classics until I read The Well-Educated Mind. I'm still working my way through, but my education seems to have missed a lot that I would have really loved :) Always time to learn more, right?
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So far just dance for dd6 and dd4, plus choir at our church. We tried basketball this winter but all were very happy when it was over :) We tend to go to the park and do a lot of crafting at our house.
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Welcome to our world!! We started our journey 2 years ago with WTM and are thoroughly enjoying homeschool. Not everyday is rosy, but we've done more than I ever thought possible with homeschool and we've only just begun. :) I would recommend starting with SOTW Vol. 1, even if all you do is enjoy the whole story as a year-long read aloud (or get the CD's, they are wonderful!). It's a great place to start with the classical mindframe, and if she loves Abeka that's a great place to start with everything else. You may find it's wonderful and continue with it for years or decide to change. HTH
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That's a raise from when I started at home 7 years ago..... what shall I do with the extra??? LOL
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I write things I need to remember in my calendar, but usually just because I like crossing things off when they are done :) Sad, but true. I do love a good list - I have a list for groceries, I have a list of "to do" that day, I have a list of school projects that are on-going, etc. But my house is not spotless and once the kids are in bed I stop working for the night :)
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We are ending on May 20th this year, taking a nice break through June and then starting a light schedule in July. August will be our school beginning (because here we like to stay in the ac by then) so we can take 2 weeks off in October and a month at Christmas/New Years. Not sure how the 2nd half of our year will go, but that's what I have so far.
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1. Re-reading Pride and Prejudice
2. Reviewing The Good Earth for my book group tomorrow
3. We just started reading The Wind in the Willows together
4. Just finished reading The Wizard of Oz together
5. Also at the ready for me to read is The Namesake
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Do you store for seasons? We have 1 big box in the attic with our "off-season" clothes for all 3 dc. Each dd has her own 5 drawer dresser, but each is set up differently according to age. DD6 can reach them all so has undies in the top along with socks and tights, next drawer is shirts, next is skorts/shorts, next is pants and a few long sleeve shirts and the bottom drawer is pj's. DD4 has her undies in the bottom drawer along with her pj's so that she can reach them herself, but otherwise the same. They share a huge closet, each has a basket for her shoes and plenty of room for dresses, sweaters, jackets, etc. Each dc can only have 2 coats at a time in our hall closet as it is much smaller than our bedroom closets. DS3 is much easier, those boys just don't have as many choices. He has a 3 drawer dresser that holds shirts in top, shorts/pants in middle and pj's in the bottom. His closet is mostly used for his toys as he only has a few things actually hanging in there. We rotate seasons 2x/year, and also purge sizes at that time so that we're not storing clothes that don't fit anyone. HTH
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I have a monthly book group that I've been in for over 6 years which is set in stone and permanently on dh's calendar :) Sometimes when family visits we go out on a date, but that's not too often. That's about it :)
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It must be a family thing, DH just did this to me tonight by sneaking up behind me while I was reading a bedtime story. DH and ds both thought it was funny.
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"But looking at the age of your kids, I think you have some time."
Oh, I know I have time, and I am so thankful that I have that time! But many of my acquaintances are "moving on" and I know they must wonder what's wrong with me LOL:lol: Why on earth would I want to stay home with my kids and teach them when I can just send them to the school down the road and quilt all day?! Or summer camps, so far my kids are only signed up for swimming lessons and I know we'll do VBS, but so many of their friends are scheduled from the time they get out of school up until school returns. They send me information, I know they mean well, but it makes me think ..... I never would have thought I would be a homeschooler :)
I also love the idea of mentoring, I can point to the person who encouraged me to try homeschool and thank her everytime I see her for her insights and suggestions.
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DH agrees, that is funny!
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Sounds like we have a new trend.....I could enjoy homeschooling grandkids :)
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My 6yo and 4yo each have a leapster and love them! They are in a place where the 3yo can't get to them as all he wants to do is throw them. They usually bring them in the van for longer trips and are great on airplanes, but also they can be great for "quiet" time in their rooms. Most of the games seem to be for 3-6 years, not very many for my 6yo to grow with, but soon she can hand hers to the youngest and we'll get her something else (gameboy?). Anyway, they love them :) HTH
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I have been looking at my mom and mil, both have to squeeze in their grandma time around jobs and I'm not sure I want to do that either :) I think that's an excellent point. Plus homeschool has already spoiled me for the classroom, I think it would be a major adjustment.
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We ordered at the end of March and had everything in 2 weeks. I'm still amazed at how happy I am with our choices for next year, everything decided but Latin - I had thought we'd start in 3rd grade but she is such a strong reader now that she may benefit from trying next year. Maybe we'll add it mid-year :)
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What you'll do after homeschool? Not that I plan on that happening for awhile, but I never thought we'd be homeschooling at all. See, I am a teacher with my Bachelor's degree but am not entirely sure that is where I want to go when everyone is older. DH thinks I'll own a quiltshop and get to teach quilt classes. Any other ideas?:001_huh:
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This year has been a lot easier than last year :) Last year they were 5, 3 and 2 and not napping regularly anymore, fortunately I didn't have to cover too much with my oldest that the others weren't interested in. We read a ton of books around here and part of the reason for that is that is when I can get all 3 to sit down together; I will read for an hour anything they bring me as long as I get to sit :) This year I've added formal instruction for the 4yo while doing 1st grade with the 6yo; it's taken a lot of creativity. I try to spend time in the morning first with my youngest, get him set up with some trains or cars in his room and then sneak off to do math (our toughest subject) with 6yo while he plays alone. Also this year they have really learned how to play well in different groups, so I can have the older 2 take turns playing with the youngest while I work one-on-one with the other dc. We have special bookshelves for school for each child, even if the youngest has a sticker book with some crayons, that is his "school" that he can do at the table while we work. I'm not organized enough to have special toys that they only get at school. Now that the weather is nicer I can send those not working into our fenced-in backyard and watch them play from the schoolroom door. HTH
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This year our oldest is just finishing "first" grade, she started reading as a K but now is at the 4th grade reading level using OPG, Explode the Code, and tons of reading.
Horizons 1 math
SOTW 1 and books from the library
science - books from the library
art - Doodles All Year, plenty of craft projects related to anything of interest
spelling - we use OPG starting with the long vowel rules, we copy the rules and pick words to study for the week, review all week and test on Friday
That's about it. Last year for K she did:
Horizons K math
OPG phonics
BOB books
lots of books from the library on all sorts of science and bible topics
HTH
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School in our district is not required until age 7, but K'er starts if they are 5 by Sept. 30th. I have a November girl who could (and will) easily do K'er level work next year, but if we did public school would have to wait a whole year to start. She does have to be the oldest at all of her classes at church as they follow those same guidelines, but that's not nearly as critical. Someone will always be the oldest (or the youngest). I am one of those controversial kids myself, I started K in MT when the date was Sept. 20th and my bday is the 18th. The next year they changed the date to Sept. 10th and wanted to hold me back in K another year simply because they changed the date, not because I couldn't hack it in 1st grade. By the way, my mother fought for me and I did just fine :)
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This summer we plan to take June off and start a "light" schedule of math and reading in July when it gets really hot around here. We will not spend more than 1/2 hour per day on school work but we will be reading a ton plus doing some special projects this summer. My oldest wants to sew a skirt this summer and my next dd loves to scrapbook so I plan to set her loose with some pictures and my materials and let her scrapbook as much as she wants :). We will be starting back up with a full schedule in August.
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My rising 2nd grader is using OPG in combination with Explode the Code - she does OPG more as our spelling program and she loves Code. My rising K'er is starting with Phonics Pathways, she likes the bookworm, and she's using Get Ready for the Code.
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Our favorite this year has been The Wizard of Oz. I think we have to do The Wind in the Willows next, it's been ages since I read it!
Working on Budget -- what's reasonable for food exp. for 4
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
I second the crockpot - we use ours several times a week so that we can come home from a busy day and have dinner ready - plus with a dh who is rarely home to eat with us the food can stay warm for him later. Planning has helped us considerably on our grocery budget. When we were surprised with #3 and we found ourselves with additional expenses that were not planned we examined how our money was being spent in all areas. I found that by knowing what's for all 3 meals every week I can plan better around sales, buying in bulk, etc. and doing extra prep work on the weekends when I have slightly more time that I can spend in the kitchen. I almost always make dinners in double batches and freeze the extra one for another night (works well with casseroles and soups) and we also keep a menu plan for several weeks in advance. Now my goal is to buy food once every 2 weeks instead of several times a week like I was before and I have more variety in what I'm making now. Also we have breakfast for dinner at least once a week, cheaper and easy, and we always eat our leftovers either for lunch or another dinner. The only thing that I cannot change is what dh spends to eat lunch everyday, he's just not into packing lunches very often and is on the go so much, but overall that's a small percentage of what we spend every month. Our goal for a family of 5 is $500 or under per month, that includes toiletries but does not include many organic foods. We also focus on buying fresh produce in season at the local farmer's market on our way to dance class once a week. Longer than I thought it would be, but I HTH.