Everyone Needs A Florida Vacation

A week ago our daughter, age 17, flew for the first time alone,  To Florida.  To spend a week with a friend she had only met in person once before.  Because, yes, we are crazy like that!

She had the time of her life!

Everyone should do the beach in the rain, right?

A little background.  She met this dear girl on a homeschool online forum YEARS ago.  They have communicated every since and realized they are two peas in a pod.  They have chatted, written letters, Skyped and sent gifts.  They have talked and laughed and talked some more.  (Don't you just love to hear laughter between girlfriends!?) They have built a beautiful friendship over the years.

It is such a good reminder to me that distance cannot separate the love of friends.  Because of our frequent moving, we have left behind a piece of our hearts in many states,  Even though we are apart, those sweet friends still mean the world to us.  I am thankful for each one that God has put in our path.  We may not see them often, but they are such an important part of our lives and our stories!

Watch out Disney- I am betting these two are going to have amazing stories as well!

Blessings,

34 Weeks of Clean! Week 28- The School Room

Welcome back to 34 Weeks of Clean!  This week is for all you homeschoolers out there.  If you are not a homeschooler, I invite you to stick around anyway- you can always just laugh at the mania. Trust me, there is plenty of it!

For background in case you are new here- we have been homeschooling our four kiddos for the past 17 years.  I began teaching my oldest when she turned four, giving myself some breathing room in case it did not go well.  I decided if it was a failure of a year, I could still put her right into public kindergarten and not bat an eye.  Well, the year was not one of our best but we decided to stick it out and have not looked back once.  Well, we did question our sanity a time or two, and I have threatened to send them to the worst public school I could find, but that was mainly in our first few years.  I have since asked for forgiveness. ;)

So, what does this all have to do with cleaning and organizing?

Have you SEEN the curriculum that is involved with homeschooling?  No to mention the supplies!

Yes, that is a tote for every year, one for foreign languages and art and then a rolling cart full of manipulatives, flash cards, and games.

Then there is this mess-

Before

Yes, those are two more cabinets stuffed with "extras," review products we have used, reference books, and various supplies.  All of our science supplies are stacked at the top.

Now, keep in mind, I school four kids, have done so for 17 years, and own a lot of curriculum.  Ok, probably too much!  Also, keep in mind that I am not currently operating out of a dedicated homeschool room- just a dining room table and one small cabinet I keep close by with our current books on it.  Since I do not have tons of extra space to display all the wonderful books, I finally gave in, divided them into grades, and gave them each a tote.  This was done over a period of time, hence the non-matching crates. Each crate was then labeled and put in the basement.

But I knew there was still work to be done.  As always, at the end of the year things begin to collect in stacks and don't make it to their intended spots.  New curriculum also comes in and I need to weed out old things that are not being used.  I am schooling my last child in 3rd grade this year so I am trying to pare down each year he finishes and only keep what I know my girls would really want to use.  I also am blessed to get new things occasionally and am able to move out some older things that way.  I will be doing three weeks of school posts in August, one of which will include used curriculum for sale!  Be on the look out!

We are currently operating on a summer school schedule, but it is just a matter of time before we get back to full time schooling.  In preparation, here we go!

This week's assignment is to clean up and clear out the school room!

That is going to look differently for many of us but here are some things to think about-

• If you have a dedicated school room, now is a good time to do a deep clean.  Pull as much as you can out and CLEAN!

               Windows, blinds and curtains

               Furniture

               Ceiling Fans

               Rugs

               Vacuum

• Now's your chance to try out a fresh furniture arrangement and maybe some new decorations!  Have your kids write their goals for the school year on poster paper and hang it up for a visual reminder. Print out Kemi's cute artwork and add it to your door or wall!

• Regardless of where you school- go through the books!  If you are going to use it, put it back on the shelf.  If not, sell it, donate it, or trash it.  Do not hang on to things you do not need!

• Go through all of the random papers!  If you like to keep children's work, I would encourage you to limit to it one file per child.  If there are things you just can't move out, take a picture of it first and then toss it.  I promise you, you are more sentimental than most of your kids and they will not miss it.  A few prized things from each grade are enough!

• Keep extra school supplies in one place.  This will help you know what you already have when the back-to-school sales start soon.  Yes, it is great to pick up supplies at rock bottom prices, but no, no one needs 100 spiral notebooks.  

After

You can do this.  Trust me, when the start of your school year rolls around you will be glad that this task is already done!

Kemi from Homemaking Organized is back this week with several great FREE printables for you! One is a cute sign for your school room and a few to help you with your school planning!  Be sure to leave her a thank you! ;)

How'd you do with your clothes storage last week?  Come on - show us how you did!  We would love to celebrate your progress.  Don't forget, for every link or picture left on our Family, Faith and Fridays Facebook page, your name gets put into the drawing for our 34 Weeks of Clean Prize Basket!

An InLinkz Link-up

See you back next week for a new assignment and next month on the 3rd, 17th, and 31st for our back to school series!

Week 27- Clothes Storage

Week 29- The Office (Paperwork and Bills)


Linking up with friends-

Blessings,

Cursive Logic - Schoolhouse Crew Review

Do you print or write in cursive?  Do you remember learning one before the other?  Do you teach your children one style over the other?

When my oldest was little, cursive was still the thing to teach.  As a matter of fact, some people out there were even encouraging teaching it before print.  Then all of a sudden there were more than a handful of different styles of cursive to teach.  Now, it seems it has become a lost art form.  And somewhere in the middle of all that confusion and change, my oldest, at age 21, was unhappy with her cursive writing.

When CursiveLogic showed up as a possibility to review, it was my 21 year old (believe it or not!) who said "I would like to try that!" And the day the CursiveLogic Workbook arrived in the mail she began the quest to improve her handwriting.  After all, her 8 year old brother told everyone his writing was better than hers!

This 94 page, top spiral-bound workbook includes all you need to know to learn cursive in a quick and logical manner. Created by Linda Shrewsbury, a student can learn the 26 lower case letters in 4 lessons.  You can deccide how quickly of slow you wok through each lesson, depending on the age of your student.

By learning four distinct patterns that Linda calls ovals, loops, swings, and mounds, learning cursive can be easy for students of all ages.  It was developed to help a young man learn to sign his name, a skill that everyone should know regardless of how they choose to print in the future.  By making the process as simple as possible and using color codes and verbal chants that tell you what you are doing as you do it, Linda has taken the tedious work out and left only the necessary steps!

Did it work?  We think so!  See what you think-

With such a simple and efficient way to break down cursive writing, we highly recommend CursiveLogic!

CursiveLogic is intended for students from 7 years old to adult.  Free downloadable practice pages can be found on the CursiveLogig website.  You can choose from Psalms, The Declaration of Independance, or The Gettysburg Address.

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Teen Prasso Bible Study- Schoolhouse Crew Review

Prasso.  A Greek word that means to continually, repeatedly, or habitually practice.

There are many things in this world we need to practice for sure, but studying the Word of God is definitely high on our family's list.

Prasso Ministries recently blessed us with Teen Prasso Teacher's Manual and the accompanying Teen Prasso Homework Manual to learn to do just that.  Made with a teen student in mind, this Bible Study allows for teens to "unplug from the culture and engage truth in a format that relates to them."

The Teacher's Manual contains 13 lessons that help you teach and facilitate a group through this study.  Each lesson begins with an outline for quick reference that includes a key verse and message goal.  Each part of the lesson is then summarized, directing you when to open in prayer, read each specific part, open up discussion, and close in prayer.  The remaining pages of the lesson contain sections of a story to read that continue through the course of the program to hold interest, as well as sections labeled "The Message" that teach the lesson.  The message section is full of biblical accounts and scripture, as well as questions for the teacher to use to help facilitate discussion.  Also included in the Teacher Manual are teaching tips for many of the lessons.  The study is clearly set up for group teaching, but can be easily adapted for individual use as well.

The Homework Manual (Student Journal) is for the student so if you are using this study in a group setting, you will want one copy for each child.  It includes 12 chapters.

Lesson 1: God Your Heavenly Father

Lesson 2: God’s Love

Lesson 3: Why Doesn’t 1+2 Add Up in My Life?

Lesson 4: It’s All-Out War

Lesson 5: The Enemy’s Lies . . . And Where They Lead

Lesson 6: Pressure!

Lesson 7: Anger

Lesson 8: Forgiveness

Lesson 9: Two Brothers – Pride and Selfishness

Lesson 10: Refocus

Lesson 11: Prasso, Putting It All Into Practice

Lesson 12: The Journey

Each chapter begins with a brief introduction and is then broken down into 5 daily lessons that include verses to look up and questions to answer.  Day 6 is a Rethink Day, in which the student is asked to review what they learned, and then the lesson ends with questions for group discussions. Each day's assignment generally takes about 15-30 minutes, depending on the speed of your child.

How We Used this program and what we think-

I decided that the summer was a perfect time for my 13 year old son and I to do some bonding.  With his dad away for a while, it is sometimes a struggle to feel like we are connecting.  Let's face it, a 13 year boy needs a dad around, and sometimes I feel like a poor substitute.  I approached him about us doing this bible study together and he reluctantly agreed.  Hey, I will take what I can get!

We fell into a routine pretty easily, and I am happy to say we are still going strong.  At the beginning of each week, usually on a Sunday evening, we read through the lesson together, taking turns reading and discussing.  Though the study is more set up with a group lesson in mind, I have not had any problems tailoring it to fit our needs with just a few word changes, like "you all" to "you." We did take turns reading, as the lesson can take 30 minutes to an hour depending on your reading speed and how much you discuss.  After reading the lesson from the Teachers Manual, Salem would then be responsible for doing a lesson from his student workbook each day of the week.  When we met again the following week I would allow him to talk about the material and ask any questions on what he had been learning.  I did allow him to choose what he wanted to share, as I felt like he would be more likely to feel free to write what he wanted if his mom wasn't reading every word he wrote.

Many lessons included looking up a decent amount of scripture, and while that was not his favorite part he was able to see how having those scriptures in his head made for ammunition against bad choices and proved helpful in making good choices.    

The other thing I really liked about this study is that is does require daily attention of the student. While we are teaching our children at a young age to spend daily quiet time with the Lord, I love having this tool to encourage actual time engaged in and studying the Word of God in a slightly more formal way.  After all, practice helps form a habit,  I believe that Bible studies can be very helpful in our faith journey, and learning at a young age how to actively study the word of God is a worthwhile skill to learn.  Not only does it teach kids how to look at scripture in a new way and apply it to their lives, it teaches daily discipline.

In using an engaging story about two teen brothers on a week-long adventure in the mountains, Prasso Ministries has created a worthwhile Bible Study that will engage and challenge your teens on topics such as faith, Satan, revenge, and forgiveness.  They are topics worth studying and this is a study worth using!  The study also stresses the importance of the Bible being the word of God and that finding the right path and staying on it is the key to leading a Christian life.

Given that it has also carved out some pretty special mom and son bonding time for us, I hate to see it end!

Are You Logical?

One of the blessings I had this year in homeschooling has been to work with our co-op's middle schoolers and high schoolers as their coordinator.  Luckily for me that is just a fancy word for helping decide on classes and finding teachers for those classes.  Pretty simple, actually.  I shared with you a few months ago about our etiquette class I taught, but I thought I would share our latest class with you as well- Games and Logic.

The class was my brain child, but honestly I wasn't sure what it would really look like at first.  I had a few middle school boys that needed a class, no prospects for a teacher, and no ideas.  Not sure where this idea even came from, but boy am I glad I let it grow.

I have to tell you I had such fun with this class.  Go figure.  I am not even a big games gal, and logic? No way!

But these boys rocked my world.  And entertained me.

And I am so proud of them!

There are many ways this could be run but here is what we landed on.

Each week we began with a quick warm up activity to get our brains working.  One that we really enjoyed was this simple castle puzzle.  The boys had no picture to go by, they just knew all the pieces went together to form a castle with no gaps in the pieces.  I allowed them to work together as well as individually and we even timed them to see if they could beat their times.  Another game I found at Target was IQ Fit.  It has several different levels of play and we, meaning them, took turns solving the puzzles.  We also played the old game Jenga to see how high we could get it, trying a random play and then one only pulling out middle pieces and one only pulling out outside pieces.

After that we concentrated on a main game or project.  One day we did logic games like the card game Set. Other days we worked on brain teasers and riddles.  One day we challenged each other with board games.

Rush Hour

I think the boys would say that their favorite day was a Lego challenge.  What guy doesn't like Legos, right?  That day each boy had to build a small original creation and then create the directions to build that design.  After taking it apart, another boy had to see if they could build the identical creation following the instructions.  Of course, that led to lots of building afterwards, but they did have fun!

With each activity we did, we took time to talk about how they went about solving or strategizing and comparing each of their styles.  It was fun to talk about learning styles and have them see how someone else might take on the same project differently.

And me?  Well, I just got them started and then sat back and watched.  Sometime I think we parents forget how amazingly cool our kids are.  And how fun it is to see their minds work!  I loved getting to know these boys and just watching them interact.  They formed friendships, learned some new skills, and hopefully learned a little bit about themselves as well.

I would call that a successful class!  How about you?

Linking up with friends!

Blessings,