First Week of Homeschooling

It was our first week of homeschooling.  I wasn't planning to start until Sept 1st but my kids wanted to start right away after we got organized.  We started last Sunday and we just finished a full weeks worth of schooling today!  Things I have learned :)

I was thinking oh I can have all the kids do the same subject at the same time, umm nope lol.  Since every child is different, each child had their own pace and material.  My kids followed the class subject order I had written out for them but some kids finished before others.  I would bounce between each child, have a child work on independent work while I helped another child learn. 

We don't start a set time for school.  Even though my kids wake me up around 5ish wanting to get school started.  It's been a super early morning week lol.   School can be around 5-7hrs depending how far or behind my kids are.  If we just stick to Abeka curriculum we would be done within 4hrs but we add a lot of learning fun within the day. 

What a blessing my typed week's worth of lesson plan check list has been.  Kids love it.  They get to check off what they have done and see what else they have left.  It helps them keep motivated and get things done.  Most of the time my kids do extra lessons a day.  I have the kids choose if they want to work ahead or not.

Now after a week of using Abeka curriculum which I think is amazing by the way.  I'm leaning towards doing homeschooling method called unschooling or Charlotte Mason.  Teaching  the kids what they want to learn.  Learning by experience and more hands on.  Not worksheets and dry textbooks non-stop.  For example how I added creative topic time which is Dolphin Tale at the moment.    I more likely keep some of the subjects in a curriculum based form like spelling and math.  That's something I can change next school year.

It's been amazing to have the flexibility with schooling.  With husband's work he gets around 1 day off a week and it's changes every week.  So the kids can have that day off from school to spending time as a family. I never seen my kids so motivated to learn.  My kids are not morning people so waking up excited to start school around 5ish in the morning says something. It's been hard work but also a blessing.  Of course I miss out on having time to myself during the day but I never been so close to my kids as I have experienced this week.  Looking forward to see what our family has in store for the future.  

Minecraft Homeschool

I came across a website on Minecraft Homeschool!  I'm sure i'm don't have the only kids out there that loves Minecraft!!!  My kids are crazy for it.  So when I came across this, it made my day.  Minecraft Homeschool  offer homeschool classes.  Watch this video about this schooling:

They offer 5-6 week classes.  The next sessions start in Sept!  I signed my kids up for the intro class first.  Which is Biomes of the World. They will be presented with 15 to 20 minutes of study per week, 10 question quiz, and then applying the information they learned in the game. I will post a review on our experience after the class starts :)

Journey through 5 biomes of the World on this fast paced, game focused adventure!

Week 1 – Who Turned up the Heat? – Deserts of the world.

Week 2 – BIG BUGS! – Bugs of the jungle.

Week 3 – Freeze, Frozen, Frigid – The coldest place on Earth.

Week 4 – Who Has a Lawnmower? – Savannas of Africa.

Week 5 - UP the Alps – The Swiss Alps.

Week 6 – The Big Farewell – No Curriculum

Morning Journal Time with Lego Storystarter Core Set

I purchased the Lego Storystarter Core Set for my kids' homeschool class, .  Every morning they write a story in their journal.  After they write their story they get to use legos to build and display what they wrote about.  Also, share with the rest of the class.  So glad I found this Lego Storystarter Core Set, kids love it!  Another fun way to add legos into your homeschool learning. 

Lego Creator: The Race to Build it Board Game

Our family is a huge Lego Fan.  I use Lego's for learning activities.  All my kids including us parents enjoy anything to do with Lego's :)  

At a yard sale I found Lego Creator: The Race to Build it Board Game!  What a find!  Kids request playing it every night now. It's for ages 7 and up. But my son is 6 and has no issues playing it.  The whole family loves it.  Highly recommend!  A great way for the kids to have fun and learn :)

Eco Collapsible Meal Kit Review

At Bed Bath and Beyond my family found the Eco Collapsible Meal Kit. FYI, keep an eye out for Bed Bath & Beyond coupons to save even more! After coupon we spent about $7.50 per meal kit. We were looking for something for my husband's lunch box, also something to take field trips or outings with my kids. Without wasting money eating out. Easy to store and save space in the kitchen.  We love it!  Kids enjoy having their own color meal kit.  Highly recommend :)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Old vs New (spoiler)

As a family we went to see the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.  I was super excited.  Growing up with the original movie series when I was a kid, I was looking forward to the new version.
In the latest version, the turtles are no longer fighting crime, they're battling a standard supervillain. Also, April O'Neil character was Blah, yeah she is pretty of course but I felt she had no personality compared to the original. The new version I wish you got to know the turtles a little more.  

The new version was fun to watch but I would rate it 5 out of 10 stars.  The comedy parts was the best part of the movie. The new version was not even close to how great the original was. 

Scotch Thermal Laminator

For homeschool the Scotch Thermal Laminator has been amazing!  It's not super huge or heavy.  It's a must for homeschooling!

School Material Organized!!!

After Days working on my kids school material, i'm finally done!  All organized and ready to go.  School starts on Sept 1st!

I spent days going through their school curriculum.  With 3 kids I was getting overwhelmed.  I need an easier way to organized my kids books/materials.  So I decided to put each subject into a binder.  I took the pages out of their books/workbooks and holed punched everything. I labeled binders with subject names and child's name.  Their binders organized in colored crates.  Kids picked their binders and crates which they loved.

I typed each subject week's worth of lessons and put inside each binder.  So my kids can check off what they already did and if they want they can do the next lesson ahead of time. In the binders their is a section for the week's work, the rest of the material, and plain work paper. Not only makes it easier on my kids but for me too!  

A lot of the Lesson Questions will be on Quiz and Tests, so I wanted a easy way for my kids to be able to study.  Instead of my kids writing the answers to their lesson questions on ruled paper, they will be written on index cards.  Questions are written on cards when week's lessons are typed, my kids will help write the questions.  Later my kids will write the answers to the questions on the back.  Each lesson has a different colored index.  Right corner is labeled the Lesson and number.  For example first question is Lesson 1, so I put L1. 

Abeka gave us a lot of Charts and huge flash cards.  I laminated all of them and put them into binders so they are easier to find for the lessons. 

I printed a Colored Behavior Chart to put on my wall.  A way to keep my kids focused through out the school day. 

I typed and laminated subject check list.  They will use a dry eraser maker to check each subject when it's complete. 

I use these magazine wall organizers to hold their non-text book material.  Earlier subjects are on the bottom so they start from bottom and end to top. 

Homeschool Fall Field Trip List

I wanted to have my kids pick certain topics they wanted to learn.  The topics they will be learning will be called Creative Learning Time.  We will add it to our daily homeschool Curriculum. With Creative Learning Topics, at the end of the topic series we will reward our kids to a field trip.

For example first one on our list is Dolphin Tales where my kids will learn about Dolphin and the story about Winter the Dolphin.  At the end of this series I will take my kids on a field trip to see Dolphin Tale 2.  

Here are a few others on our list before Winter:

Whales: After we learn about Whales I will take them on a field trip to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science to see their new Whale exhibit.  This exhibit opens in October. 

Wolves: Faith's request was learning about wolves.  After we do our creative learning section on wolves, I will take them on a field trip to Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. 

Nature: I wanted to take my kids to visit Rocky Mountain National Park in the fall as a field trip.  So we will do a section on nature and then take a day trip to the park.

Box Trolls: My kids wanted to read the book based on the movie Box Trolls that is coming out.  As a class we will read together Here Be Monsters!!: The Ratbridge Chronicles. After we read the book take a field trip to see Box Trolls.

Zoo: In the fall there is a few free days at the Denver Zoo.  Each child will pick an animal that is at the zoo to do research and learn about.  They will make a presentation to the rest of the kids about that animal.  Then we will take a field trip to the zoo to see animals on free zoo day.

Pioneer Living:  We will read a book about pioneer days.  Do research on the life style.  At the end of Sept there is a Pioneer Living Day at the Bee Farm in Fort Collins. 

So our Fall will be a fun busy time!  We will see how fast the kids will go through their creative time topics.  The harder/faster they work the more creative topics and field trips we will do. Topics can last for a week or a few weeks. I will be making workbooks per topic with learning info, worksheets, crafts, equipment, etc. I think my kids are going love this part of the school day, learning what they want to learn about. 

Homeschool Materials are Here!

Just received our Abeka Homeschool Materials yesterday!  Kids are excited!  Going through the material to find the best way to schedule our day and get organized!