JoviOval Time: What it looks like... kinda.

Remember those idyllic moments I mentioned happening 'bout every 23 days around here? You know, the 'glowing hour' surrounding what we call 'JoviOval' time...?

Well, the other 22 days go something like this.


I don't know about you, but this picture  mentioned in this context makes me LAUGH!


Sometime before 10am, I call to my kids, giving a 10-20 minute warning. They've already been doing school on their own since 8:30 or so, hopefully. During those minutes, I take a shower or make my coffee or eat breakfast, gather my stuff and finally sit in My Spot in the circle-ish, perhaps more ovate, sitting area of the schoolroom.

Usually, at least some of the kids are sitting there waiting when I come in. Other times, they run over immediately. Occasionally, they have to be called another time. Almost always there's a scuffle over who sits where... we are all still in training. :)

From there, for the next hour and a half or so, we're able to get a lot of things in that might otherwise slip through the cracks. Wait, that DID slip through the cracks. Many years ago, we started out with just memory work and our read-alouds, but with travel and moving there were lots of cracks! Plus, things have morphed as we've added students and subjects over the years to come by what we now have an official name for and everything!

During JoviOval time we SING and dance... uh, just kidding. We mostly stick to singing, though we could dance. ;) We read the Bible and poetry. The kids tell their memory work and practice recitations. In between stuff, usually everyone scuffles over seating arrangements. Again. Sometimes they tackle [ahem..] bother each other. Yes, in fact, they do.

Just keepin' it real. ;)


In fact, here's a real life of one our moments...
me reading aloud, people milling about,  someone grabs the camera... yeah. It's like that. :)

We also do Helpful Together Things which smooths having lots of students at different levels. I read aloud from a science, geography, literature or history book for EVERYBODY. We do French and Spanish together. And a bunch of other stuff. You'll see. In my next post, I'll put up the list of what we're doing this term.

After we finish the official 'all together' stuff, some students skedaddle and we move on to the subjects that need at least my partial attention. That'd be mostly math, but can include Latin and/or grammar, among other things.

We've had to change lots of stuff to make 'JoviOval' time work. Matter of fact, I make changes every term. Some things I hope to do seem to get put off for an entire term even though they're on the list. Sometimes, it's all a flop because of moodiness or unpreparedness. Which is why habits contribute so much to atmosphere. It definitely doesn't just happen. No magic here. I have to make it happen, and all of us have to keep working to ensure that it continues. :)

Please don't forget that nothing really worthwhile will just up and happen overnight. One doesn't accomplish one's goals without some trial and error. It wasn't 'til last year that I really started to feel really quite happy with our 'together time'.

Key point: Take one thing at a time.

Also in my next post, in the Spirit of Newness (yes, I am in fact stretching the New Year theme out THIS LONG), along with our schedule, I'll share what's new in JoviOval time for this term/year, what's being tossed and why.

If you want to be really inspired, or need help with ideas for beginning a Morning/Circle Time, definitely have a browse over at Cindy's. She's got 30 days of MT! If you're interested in an all-out-AO-ambler's outlook and of her sundry daily experiences gathering her chicks into an egg-shaped formation and of some multi-age combinations, you'll want to read my next couple of posts, too. AND there's the linky, too! Only my friend Brandy has shared so far. She has a habit of posting about her Circle Time each term, so you could see her older posts as well.

Have you blogged about your Morning Time/Circle Time? Do you wanna? Help us out!
Please post and share your experiences in the linky below!

:)

Scheduling :: Finding Your Family Rhythm

It is my hope that through identifying regular life rhythms and learning to move and dance to them with our families, we will improve the quality of atmosphere in our homes. Finding our family's rhythm and beginning to order our days can also help us (and our kids) to form good habits, help us to look at life calmly knowing what comes next (or where to pick up when we get off track), and help us to make the most of our family's precious time.


It's very likely that your family already has a rhythm, it may be fast or slow (it may seem kind of chaotic at first glimpse!) Take a moment to consider, you may realize you already do many things the same way every single day. Your rhythm is influenced by the individuals that make up your family and what you think is important... and we know what we think is important by what we make time for.

Charlotte Mason taught that a big part of education is atmosphere. Our family rhythms influence much of what she would call 'atmosphere': the things we think are important, the way we move from one thing to the next and the way we treat one another in the midst. She also labeled education a discipline... this has to do with forming habits. The habit of orderliness (with our time, especially), is something we are looking to strengthen when we identify, concentrate on, or begin new family rhythms. It is calming to certain personalities to know what comes next. Finding and keeping a rhythm will especially help those kinds of people.

Keep in mind, when making lists or schedules, you don't want to create another guilt-inducer that will scream back at you when it simply doesn't work, something changes, or when for some reason or other you are unable to carry it out. Our goal for finding family rhythms is to come up with a visual reminder based on what we are already doing or things we'd like to add, which should serve as a tool to help us improve the atmosphere of our homes. After taking care of basic needs, we can calmly accomplish the things we've determined are really the most important.

If at any time you notice that following a list or schedule is stressing your family out more than it's helping (after the initial working-out-the-wrinkles stage), you need to remind yourself that all of these are only tools. They are meant to serve us, we should never find ourselves slaves to a schedule (or anything else for that matter). We aren't marionettes, we must find the freedom to move in a way that reflects our individuality!

Why, if we we get ourselves too tied down to a certain way, or try to dance to someone else's tune, that'll take the joy right out of dance! :)
Here's a little printable guide that hopefully will help you to identify, develop and dance to Your Family Rhythm. (Please let me know if you have any trouble downloading).

Daily Rhythms :: Fisher Academy

It's that time of year again... for homeschool planning!

It's like this every year. New books, new notebooks, new kids... well, almost. At least they act like new kids with a gleam in their eyes when they know it's getting close to a new school year.

It's fun to change things up. It's fun to start afresh. At least, we think so! :)

But in order for the new school year to actually be, and more importantly, keep being fun for me (and not a steamroller called stress that smashes over me forwards and back daily for the next thirty-six weeks), I must have a plan. I'm not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort (even if strangely enough, I am married to the personified version of the aforesaid term, who pulls most everything off gorgeously in his own way).

Planning.

It's one of my favorite things to do. And here I'm going to chat about how I went about it this year. Because if there's anything more fun than planning, it's thinking all about how you just planned and how you'll most likely plan again someday. ;)

a preview of our books... book organization post coming soon :)

This year, I'm heading into a new-to-me year with AmblesideOnline. We've used AO through all the years (even if I dabbled before that eccentrically, oh I mean eclectically). Thankfully, even after all these eight years, I can still say that I love AO! AmblesideOnline, as written by the ever faithful Advisory, has been the framework from which I have worked, learning to have confidence in myself and in following my heart by gradually applying more and more of Charlotte Mason's enduring principles in our homeschool.

Enough gush, right?
Okay.

this is the big bedroom/school room/living room of our house... 

yep, all five kids share a room, but I'm pretty sure they still don't feel too cramped. :)

So, a new year. We'll be delving into years 3 and 8, as outlined by AO. I've taught year 3 before (five years ago!), but to two different students.  Year 8's all new. 

Where to begin?
I still hold on tightly to my Homeschool Planning Day tradition as outlined here and here, but I'm going to talk about a couple more things that I did this year, that were helpful to me and hopefully will be helpful to someone else as well.

Before I got started, I read my own posts here. Super helpful. Yep. I actually write this blog for my own use! Since I'm looking back, I might as well point out that I like this particular planning post a lot. It makes me smile. Can I just say, I love my life!?

Second, I make a list of all the things I want to think about for this term. Things to add, things to improve, or things that need thinking about. I keep adding to this master list throughout the whole process. Matter of fact, I'm two weeks into the schoolyear and I'm still adding/editing! Sometimes I start out with a paper list, but I usually have to convert to the computer for ease of the copy/paste feature.

My list looks something like this (but w/ cooler fonts and lots more in between):

2 print...
2 kindle...
2 buy...
bible & devo...
math...
french...
and on and on and on for pages...

Under each subject's heading, I quickly list what I know I need to do, and then I think of more things I need to do, even the smallest details...  I put them all there, crossing off as I finish them.

Sometimes I start at the AO booklist page for the year I'm planning.
So for example, if I haven't done so before now, I download all the ebooks for the year in question (y3 & y8). I will have already ordered and received all the books for this year, sometime back around the end of the previous year (or on our latest furlough, or before our most recent guests came down bearing suitcases, whichever comes first).

Or I may start with one of the subjects, whichever strikes my fancy. Let's take nature study for instance. I go to the AO page for Nature Study, skim it for links and to pick up whatever I may have missed. I open tons of tabs and I make more notes. I go down my list of to-do's for that subject and add some to come back to, if necessary, when I get home.

Next, I pick whatever sounds most interesting. If that were Shakespeare, I'd open and keep up the AO Shakespeare page, which shows the rotation of which play/term and might have other helpful links. On my list, under Shakespeare it says: Cymbeline. Look up bbc videos on amazon streaming or use librivox audio, print scripts. While I'm looking these up, I'm reading online reviews on Cymbeline and figuring out whether or not we'll go ahead with the videos and deciding if my plan of reading the parts aloud with all the kids is appropriate. I think about Shakespeare. I download Shakespeare's Complete Works. I download Act I from librivox.org. And then I'm done. for now.

So I go on to Plutarch or Nature Study or Music or whatever else, until I get everything thought about and downloaded. Or until my time runs out. :)

The newest helpful thing that I've done this year is basically a major expansion of the list I've been talking about. Every time I opened an AO page with info on term selections, I went ahead and copy/pasted that info into my master list. Under Shakespeare I now see this:

Shakespeare
use audio from librivox.org  *downloaded
*Cymbeline
**King Lear
***Measure for Measure

Poetry looks currently looks like this:

Poetry
y3
*William Blake *downloaded
**Sara Teasdale and Hilda Conkling *downloaded
***Henry Wadsworth Longfellow *downloaded
y8
*12 Shakespeare sonnets *downloaded
Fierce Wars & Faithful Loves *purchased from amazon - priority mail...  (why do I always want to type fierce loves and faithful wars?!)
**John Donne *downloaded
***John Milton *downloaded

Under music I have the following with their lyrics all copy/pasted in (I've printed a couple copies of those pages to hand out as songbooks!):

Music
read wiki for bkgd info on folksongs & hymns
singing (harmonies and rounds)...
hymns...
folksongs for 2012-13...
folksongs for y8...
composer...

Now I know what I have yet to do to be ready this term, I know what's coming up next term, AND I can use this same document as a starting place for my next Homeschool Planning Dayt! I love planning ahead! ;)

There you have it. Aren't lists fun?!

This year with all my planning, I worked for one whole day, my official Homeschool Planning Day, at a local restaurant with free wifi. I then spent most of another whole day at home (organizing books, printing and loading up the kindle, etc) and then several hours the next couple of days until Sunday that week, tying up loose ends. Monday I felt pretty ready. And we were. Everything went great!

i love our school table.

We're two weeks into the year now, and though I'm still having to pull a couple little things together, it's been SO. much. fun. Even though the planning was grueling, and I was pretty tired, I'm ever so glad I did it all in advance. Having everything set and ready to go helps me to be able to relax and really spread the banquet each day instead of scrambling every morning (or all day long) to keep up. :)

So. I hope this helps! I know it has already been huge for me AND will come in real handy next Homeschool Planning Day! :)

Homeschool Day Book - A Review.

Here's a relatively inexpensive, no frills, SUPER easy-to-use program to keep track of your homeschool progress. I love to plan, but I have not found a way that I love to keep records. I do something a little different every year. I'm hoping that by high school, I'll have figured something out. The Homeschool Day Book, may just be a step in the right direction!!

Here's my honest review:
So right off I had several problems. There isn't a mac download option! My main computer is a mac, so I can foresee a follow through issue here for me as the program isn't available for the computer I use the most. But if you have a PC (at least as a backup like we do), you'll be okay.

The second minor problem I encountered was on my netbook. The default screen size or resolution is too small or something to that effect. I went ahead without making any changes and it's workable. Of course, if you have a normal size computer screen, you won't have this issue either. One of my criticisms will have to do with this.

The general idea of the program is that you enter your students, your subjects and you make an entry each day filling in the various fields for a record of who did what when. It's pretty much for keeping a homeschool-specific digital diary. It'd be best if you could see it to know what I mean. Don't worry, there's a free trial version. :)


This is where you enter your subjects :)

++ When you first get started, there's a little start up wizard where you add your students and subjects. Once you get past the wizard, it seems you can add as many students/subjects as you'd like; I have 48 so far :) I even entered individual books rather than subjects as it would be more helpful for me to check off the individual readings. In the detail box (what we did today), I can enter the specific pages covered if so desired. When adding more subjects, it would be nice if it were set up as a default action to be able to press enter after each subject so as to not have to use the mouse to press the button.


This is the main page...  :)


When I'm looking at the main home page, the buttons are nearly off the page (I think this has to do with the screen size issue referenced above). But I can still get at them, even if barely. Everything else looks good, but for practicality, I'd like it if the scrolling section with the check boxes for subjects was bigger. I have a lot of individual subjects, so it'd be nice if that were bigger or at least adjustable. I might even like it if there was a sort/toggle option (a-z or z-a), or an option so that I could alphabetize the list in a vertical column rather than horizontal? Though I'd probably get used to it as it is.

++ I like that I can include all or some of my children on any given event, and each entry is fully customizable!!
++ I can make entries for past dates, or for the future. I can foresee the potential of this program being used not only as as you go (you plug in what you did on any given day), , or after the fact, but you could potentially plot out what you'd like to do for the week or term, and use it as you go along as a reference guide.

++ There is an option to print off reports which you can print off per child, per subject, per date range and you can save it as a .pdf or in excel formats! Awesome.

One feature I'd like to see is the ability to copy/paste days, or at least events, that are exactly the same.

I do like this program overall and see that it could be very helpful! I love the simplicity of it and that it has some basic features that will really be helpful: a fill-in-what-we-did-today format, with customizable printable reports. I just wish it had a mac version! Matter of fact, this same exact thing but as an app for iTouch or iPad would be absolutely amazing. I'm sure it won't be long before someone comes up with something similar, maybe the Homeschool Day Book will be the first! :)

to do... to day

I'm more than half way through my homeschool planning day.
It's 4pm and here's what I have left to do... we shall see ;)

TO DO:

Picture study files drop off
Buy medicine
Lunch
Haircut - (jac)

P/U pictures, buy: diet coke, boxed milk

transfer...
4 print
4 mp3 players
4 kindle

details...
Handicraft
Music
Drawing lessons
Work projects

if there's time leftover...
Organize folders
Blog post

Our Combined Year 1/2 with Ambleside Online!

The early Pioneer father looked out into the unexplored valley below him, as (today in this blog post) you and I will be gazing over the brink of a historic year for our homeschool (as you may come to notice, we're also learning about similes today ;). As a mother hen scurries around gathering her chicks like a mad woman... oh. wait, those things might not be dissimilar enough to be a true simile... ;) and no, most days are NOT in the mad woman category, anyway.  (only about every other... ;) just kidding OF COURSE)




This is the year that we have officially added Siah (7yo) into the AO rotation, and he will be doing not only y1, but y1 & y2!! Oh yeah! {high five} Well... not really both years. He'll be doing a combination of the two years in order to be able to slide up to y3 next spring with Bria. I'm very excited about that for lots of reasons. We shall see to those in this post.

Reasons for Combining:

• When I contemplate having all 4 children (someday 5) in separate AO years with our travel schedule/lifestyle, I begin to shake like a whole forest of leaves... under heavy storm!
• Because I combined the two older boys from the beginning, it's as normal as bread for breakfast in our house to share years.
• Siah was a much earlier reader than his brothers were and will be able to read many of his books independently this year (thus justifying for me, helping him along in y3 at 7.5yo). - I do not normally recommend this. I like to have a nice young 7yo at in y1! But, I think it's going to work for us. I plan to modify when necessary.
• Siah has become a very good narrator under the unofficial tutorship of his older siblings.
• Bria had her y2 abruptly interrupted by a long furlough, so she's perfectly set up to do a combined year with Siah (she'll read some books from the second half of y2, that I've decided he won't have to read, while he's listening to the books she's already heard).
• I can keep them together on the booklist, but at their own levels in math, copywork, dictation, etc.

Here's a sneak peek, click the link to see the whole thing.

Here's the proposed schedule, we're currently in week 4. :)

Our Year 7 with Ambleside Online!

I never thought this day would come. Didn't I? Javen and Cullen are growing up. I cannot believe it. Or can I? This summer was one of marked change in them, and still more upon returning to Peru. I'm so impressed with them lately. It has been so fun to begin to share more 'grown up talk' with them over the last several months. I love it. But still, it makes me feel so old.



Ah, yes. Year 7.

This is the year that the transition becomes most noticeable, from elementary-ish school level to the higher studies. It is clearly reflected in their weekly checklist. They've got a lot of interesting things to do this year. They're excited, I'm excited; we are ALL excited.

Because I tend to think more clearly in ink or type, the plan of our first term follows. :)

This year we'll be continuing to concentrate on:
The habit of attention. Strengthening the will.

"The student may be compelled by a necessity which he recognises, or stimulated by compitition: the latter is a poor broken reed, and the former he will rightly try to escape, unless he has somehow come to regard his study as a duty--the "something which has to be done, whether it pleases anybody or nobody":--otherwise he will detest and resist atoms and molecules as strenuously as accidence and syntax, or any other subject that can be laid before him."

R. L. Leighton, Head Master, The Grammar School, Bristol

AOy7, Term 1

Gospel of John.  Commentary by VanRyn, or in the absence thereof, Tasker's.

Book of Centuries will accompany and mapwork is to follow the history readings: Birth of Britain, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, King Alfred, The Brendan Voyage. We'll use an ancient map of Brittania, a map showing Britain as part of the Roman Empire, and a modern map for Brendan Voyage and for Map Drill (specifically UK).

We will be using Ourselves as our own family book club reading. We will meet weekly to discuss (preferably over tea :).  I'd like to do a map of Mansoul as we go along... we'll see.

Plutarch's Lives, Poplicola - read aloud (use Anne's AO study guide). I'll probably mostly look at the study guide myself and only address things if/when they come up. With discussion questions, I hope to help them to observe in order to outline a character sketch at the end of the term. **They REALLY love Plutarch!**

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy
Current Events: Student News Daily and World Magazine's Top story. Weekly, make an entry in written narration notebook, "This Week in History."

Literature for the first term includes: Watership Down, The Once and Future King, English Literature for Boys and Girls, Age of Chivalry, Ivanhoe

All readings will continue to be narrated as in all years of a CM education. This first term of y7, I will require weekly:  

• 1 or 2 - written narrations from their choice of readings (gently edited);  
• 1 - science lab book entry;  
• 1 - 'This Day in History' narration/blog post (self-edited). 

In addition to these, there will be one supervised copywork, several commonplace notebook entries, and one or two studied dictations. This pretty much means they will be writing every day, maybe more than once! This is a huge jump from last year.

Poetry: Daily reading from Lord, Alfred Tennyson and/or The Timeline of English Verse.
Grammar of Poetry: one lesson/week
Grammar: one lesson/week using Our Mother Tongue.

Recitation: We'll have one (15min) lesson every couple of weeks to practice, go over pronunciation, presentation as outlined here. They'll go over their selection daily. They may choose from Last Words of Chaucer, Lady Clare, Sir Galahad, Henry V's prayer before Agincourt, or part of Locksley Hall.  If they have something good that they'd much rather do, by all means I'll allow it! :)

Shakespeare: We'll first finish reading aloud Romeo & Juliet (by the boys' request) and continue with Henry V.  I am encouraging them to come up with creative narrations of this reading, such as dramatized narration, comic strip, etc.

Math – Continue MEP y6 math – 1 lesson/day. In Tarapoto, finish Life of Fred Decimals - 30min/day,  continue with Live of Fred Pre-Algebra.
Apologia's Physical Science – (use science lab book for narrations – spread a lesson over 2 weeks). Read this article on the necessity of keeping a science lab book.

Nature Study - This year we'll be once again shooting for almost daily entries (minimum 2/week). This will depend greatly upon how often we make time to get outside... it being seriously more difficult here in Trujillo on the fourth floor! Entries may include any of the following: sketch an object w/ watercolors, monthly tree observations, maintaining bird & plant lists, recording phases of the moon, etc.  Read: Lay of the Land.  Read: an article outlining Nature Journals.

Folksongs:  follow AO rotation + specific to year 7,  Bold Robin Hood and the Pedlar, The Three Ravens, The Outlandish Knight. Watch youtube videos here and here.  Here's a post illustrating why folksongs are so valuable.
Hymns: He Leadeth Me, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind & He Hideth My Soul
(see AO hymn page for lyrics, links and midi files)

Composer Study: Mozart. All of his music can be found free online here. I have the Opal Wheeler book, which I plan to use as well as simply listening to the music whenever we think to.
Artist Study: Fragonard. We'll use this book, read this biography and look at these prints.
The Story of Painting.
Music: Guitar and Singing practice, 15min/day (would love to pay for lessons?)

Latin: Getting Started with Latin. 2-3 lessons/week.

"It follows that we must look elsewhere to find grounds for preferring one study to another, or, indeed, for requiring the young to study anything beyond those elements which have become necessaries of life for civilized mankind. The only safe ground is educational value: the worth of study as the means of suppling and strengthening the intellect, over and above that moral value which belongs to all forms of work."

R. L. Leighton, Head Master, The Grammar School, Bristol

At home, we speak English and Spanish. The kids are learning Spanish without even trying. As for lessons, we do read to them in Spanish, and they narrate back. We sing in Spanish at home and at church. Our friends speak Spanish... etc. But apart from that, we are not pushing formal lessons at this time.

French:  The Easy French
(Unfortunately, this will only happen sporadically; ideally, in Trujillo, as we have native-speaking French friends here. There is even a French Club! But, seeing as this first term, we will be concentrating on regaining our routine after furlough and before traveling again, we have to postpone the more intense study of French for another term at least.) In the meantime, I'm looking forward to looking over Anne's posts on their French studies.

"The language chosen should differ widely from the mother-tongue of the student, because sharp contrasts, as of black ink on white paper, more readily fix the attention and stick in the memory. It should also be at least equal to the mother-tongue as an instrument of thought, and it should be capable of stimulating the mind of the learner by introducing him to new ideas and unfamiliar ways of looking at the world around him. Finally, as it is not to be an end in itself, but a means of awakening the intellect to a consciousness of the delicate differences and shades of meaning conveyed by slight variations of expression, it should be a language which will not be required to be employed with the glibness of every-day intercourse." 

Health: We will begin with Fearfully & Wonderfully Made when we arrive back in Tarapoto (the book is there!)

Another couple of things new and exciting to this year (y7) are the Commonplace Notebook and the Book of Centuries. Read this article for the merits of starting your own Commonplace Notebook, and here for your BoC.

Work: continue with chore list.
Physical Education: Run with Mom & Dad, 3x/week. Soccer in the park with neighborhood kids, 2x/week.
Handiwork: Sand and paint tables.

Free Reads: 30min/day as a suggestion. Please plan accordingly to finish by end of year.

Notebooks:
Nature Journal
Copywork Notebook (technically, this is being phased out, soon to be replaced by Commonplace)
Written Narration Notebook - all written narrations, including 'This Week in History'
Commonplace Notebook - to take down memorable quotes, living ideas as stated by other authors.
Book of Centuries
Science lab book - pretty informal at this point.
Math Practice Book
Personal Journal (personal/spiritual, private)

Helpful Links:
This plan is based almost exclusively from the AO Year 7 recommendations: See here.
Would you like to see this plan for yourself? Download here.
I've created a handy-dandy checklist to hang on the fridge for AOy7, term 1. Download here.
Can I just say that I love how Naomi approaches scheduling?! Read about her schedule here.

Planning around life.

Well, I'm just pulling my plans together for Term 2 (we started the year early and have to continue on - see note below :), and I've come to realize that the sample weekly list I posted a few days ago was REALLY complicated looking!  hahah!

I guess I'd just gotten used to looking at it since I'd been using it for over a year... but today as  I started subbing this term's information into the boxes... whoa!  I could hardly look at it!  With the cute fonts here and there, it was much too busy.  So, I've renovated and made something a LOT more plain... as well as legible. ;)  I thought I'd put it up here in .doc format and that way if there's anyone doing a AOy6 or AOy2, maybe you could even tweak it to work for you?  Well, regardless, I'm putting it here for my own use... I'll always know where I can find it when I need it!  :)  Also, the list shows how I keep track of multiple students using different years.

Here's what the new format looks like...



Click here to download a copy.

Notes about how I organize:
*I am easily overwhelmed with information overload!  To help with this, I categorize the readings by subject and assign each subject a day (for example, Tues=History, Wed=Literature, etc.).  I do this in order to have a daily checklist.

*I've worked out a daily schedule that we follow loosely, this has been essential for maintaining order around here.  Just to get my head around it, several years ago, I used Managers of Their Homes for working through that.  Our schedule undergoes almost constant tweaking.  Regardless of how I plan, our days are rarely regular.  And we're okay with that ;)

*A daily checklist helps me to easily see the things that need to get done.  When something doesn't get done on the assigned day we move it neatly into 'catch-up' day and don't worry about it a bit until then!

*I re-vamp our weekly list often (as you may have noticed) at the beginning of every term.  I sub in all the readings for that term into the list with page numbers and print off copies for my own use as well as for my older boys.

Keeping it real:

This term includes a good amount of disruptions to normal living as there are two more river trips planned before the end of the year, we'll have guests for several weeks and then will be packing up (putting everything in storage) and moving (across the country to Trujillo).  Then crawling on top of each other adjusting to life in a tiny apartment (for a couple of months... yay!) as well as traveling to and around the US (we may be in Term 3 by then...)  ALL while trying to finish the school year.  heheh.  Life has a way of getting kind of complicated sometimes. (My husband wrote a cool article about our life in missions here.)  At the moment I feel kind of overwhelmed about how it will all work out, but I'm sure it will all work out...


The cool thing is, as homeschoolers we are able to roll with the punches!  We can be flexible!  We can work with what we're given.  Isn't that one of the best perks of teaching our own kids at home?    

I will be finishing my Teaching Reading series this coming week (I've been SO enjoying my study of it). I hope you all will continue to comment and add anything I forget!  Also, make sure to link up in the comments if you've blogged any CM reading lessons so that we can all find them and learn from you!

how to go weekly...

How to make a weekly list using the Ambleside Online curriculum...

...notice I use my AO list to note groceries, and new guitar chords I'm learning too ;)

I need lists.  I need to see what needs to be done, as well as be encouraged seeing what's been finished!  Lists are wonderful!  However, if the list is too long, or too boring, or poorly organized it does me NO good.  I make lots of lists, but the one I use absolutely MOST often is my AO weekly list!  :)


Get a hold of the Term Schedules:

First of all, we are spoiled rotten because of the files AmblesidOnline is coming out with VERY SOON (*edited 4/9/2013) for EVERY AO year in both .pdf and .doc format! You will be able to find all these schedules at AmblesideOnline.org or on the forum. I print a copy of the entire year for my Homeschool Planning Day every year and use it extensively in my planning throughout the year.

The same information is available on the AO site for every year.  You'll see the pages for the booklists and the schedules for each year.  But, that long list is SO overwhelming for me... having to find my place each week, and oh me oh my...  I'm so thankful for the Term Schedules!

Here's an idea of what you'll be looking for in minuscule version :)

Term 1

Term 2

Term 3

Basically, what we have here is all the AO subjects/readings for year 2 plotted out by week (horizontally), and books/subjects (vertically).  In a lot of cases it even has the readings broken up.  Sometimes not, it depends on the book because there are different versions available, so you can easily just count the pages in your book and evenly divide it up over the term.

I used to just have a print out of this glued to my forehead handy at all times and crossed everything off as we read/narrated.  It has blank fields for you to add in assignments for math, language arts, foreign language, handiwork, etc.  This was a really easy way to go in year one and two even.  But increase the number of children = the result is more complicated...

SO.  I personally need to limit what I see.  Too much information leaves me feeling quite swamped and overwhelmed.  Which leads me in the direction (finally) this post is supposed to be going; the need for a weekly list.

Converting to a weekly list:

The idea is to basically just transfer all the information from one week at a time from the Term Schedule (or from the AO Schedules online), to fit our daily routine.  I fill out this weekly list each term so that I have 12 weeks done ahead of time.  This is my main task each Homeschool Planning Day.  Transferring the information to a weekly list, counting off pages, filling in the assignments for the other subjects, etc.

If you need help figuring out, or putting order to your daily routine, I highly recommend Managers of Their Homes (MOTH), which was vital early when I was first beginning juggling of days. :)

My weekly list incorporates time frames that normally (hah!) work for us... but we are SUPER flexible.  It's there as a guide, nothing more.  Mainly, I work from the following schedule as a list of what I have to accomplish that day.  Here's an example (sorry it's not super clear).



You'll notice the little checkboxes!  These help me keep track of what everyone's doing and done.  :) I'm such a listy girl :)  Basically, a LOT of the information on this list is just transcribed from Judy's Term Schedules pictured above. I put in every assignment and every reading, the exact page numbers so that not only they know what to read, but I know what they're reading (so that I can stay ahead in the readings, if desired, and so that I can know what they are to narrate).

Every 4 weeks I print off the two older boys and myself a booklet of 4 weeks worth (4 pages) of their weekly assignments.  I print it off using booklet format on my computer and it ends up looking something like this:

Imagine that middle gray as a fold ;)

Of course, I had to go and make a fun version for my seven year old girl to check off her assignments as well, here's a peek at hers (she doesn't have all the page numbers on her assignments because for the most part, we're still doing most of her readings together out loud... they are detailed out on the weekly list pictured above):



Now, I could go on FOREVER about my routine, schedule, weekly list... but I'll stop and see if there are any questions.  If there are, I'll be happy to elaborate  ;)  If not, I'll be satisfied knowing that this post covered everything you wanted to know about how to make a weekly list for multiple children doing Ambleside Online!!   heheh.  ;)

I did make a blank weekly list that someone may be interested in using as a guide in making your own weekly list... it's here:

(right click the image and select Save As... to save the full-size pdf file to your computer)
and here's a zip file of the pdf and doc version :)

Tips for a successful school day

After about 5 years of teaching my children, I have finally figured out ahead of time what will help me to have a good day!  I've experienced huge motivation to get my act together after too many days when everything that could have HAS gone wrong, everyone's upset and I feel that I'm failing miserably in this daunting task called homeschooling.  In the last 4 years I've been somewhat consistent at implementing these changes and I can attest to their awesome improvements!

very hilarious, OLD photo!  awwww...

So, here's a list of things, that if I can manage to accomplish all these things, I am pretty much guaranteed a successful day of learning in our house.

1. Wake up on time 

For me sadly, this is no small thing. I am the queen of sleeping in. For years I've not thought it possible for me to consistently wake up early. I do think my body needs more sleep than some to stay healthy, and for this to happen realistically, I have to get to bed at a regular hour the night before. Truthfully, this has taken a few years to realize how really important this is and how it affects my attitude and even my outlook on life.

2. Read the Word of God

Taking time to focus my day, my attitude, my priorities. Vital. I do this before I even get out of bed.

3. Turn things over to Him

I recognize that I will mess everything up if left all to myself (constant reliance on the Spirit throughout the day, I need LOTS of reminders). This is VERY important.  - Included here, is the fact that I must be willing to turn things back over to Him if they start getting crazy...  :)

4. Get dressed and shod...

... and not just sweatpants and t-shirts, when I'm really dressed I feel better and if someone comes to the door, or I have to run out quick, I'm ready. In our line of work and in this country, people show up at ANY time and it used to be such a frustration for me... but NOT anymore, 'cause I'm ready for 'em ;) Now if I only could manage to have a meal ready at all times... heheh.
Being nicely dressed whether or not I have plans to leave the house, I've found, has helped my Beloved to relate to me in a manner I really like as well. I dress everyday with him in mind.

5. Establish the kids in their own morning routine.

I'm actually in the middle of implementing this right now. My kids wake up before the crack of dawn, NO MATTER WHAT time they went to bed. They would wake up and play (boys play loud) and then play until lunch time if left to themselves. I would regularly get frustrated when I called them down to breakfast that they weren't dressed and their room was a mess. Now, I've created a checklist of things for them to do before 8am - breakfast. I now just need to get them a clock for their room to make sure it's all done on time, and without reminders!

6. Have plan in place for breakfast, the night before.

This could be as simple as just knowing what we're going to eat, or it could mean actually preparing it ahead and having the table all set.

7. Do not turn on the computer before starting school

I know myself. I have a hard time just checking mail! In my mail there are ads that I just have to read, my AmblesideOnline or Spell to Write & Read and MathUsee yahoo groups to browse, and then there are notes to respond to and links to freebies and all the rest, and before I know it, I'm late starting... again.

8. Keep the little kids nearby at all times.

This is vital to a peaceful day. If the kids are nearby, I can sense when trouble is afoot. When I get busy or distracted and they are left to themselves, I discover little messes around the house made by sneaky, hungry kiddos. Not to mention, I get frustrated at the frequent sometimes fierce combats that ensue upstairs that cause me to have to run up to play policewoman before someone is killed. If they are with me, this doesn't happen. We like being together :)

9. Having a plan 

Sounds obvious, but... Knowing what I'm supposed to be teaching and what the kids are supposed to be learning and doing each day, let alone at certain checkpoints throughout the day, is absolutely essential. I need several planning days a year (speaking of which I haven't had one for...TOO long - no wonder I'm a mess ;), in order to keep on top of all of the kiddos learning requirements. I actually benefit from having a daily schedule that keeps all of life a little more trackable.

10. Keep 'em busy!

My Beloved and I have had a tumultuous last year with moving back here to Peru, hosting various guests - some with moderate stays, and just the extreme busy-ness of ministry and cross-cultural dealings. We don't have TV, and limit movies to once a week or so. The kids don't play outside in the neighborhood because it is unsafe... all this has meant many days where school consists simply of the basics and the kids are left with lots of free time. While free time cultivates creativity perhaps, my kids creativity doesn't seem to need any cultivation, it's in full bloom! What they need more of is direction. So, making sure their assignments are clear, giving them work to do around the house, and even providing directed play or project ideas has been very helpful. This includes keeping the little ones busy while we do school with the older ones. Having toddler and preschool activities on hand at all times has helped immensely.

So there you have it :) That's what we do...

What do you do? 

a repost from the archives...

AOy5 Term 3 Planning Day

Yesterday and today I've been cramming to get this upcoming term planned.  We are about a week and a half later getting back from the coast than we had planned and we are scheduled to begin Ambleside Online's y5 Term 3... TOMORROW!!  Yikes. :S 

Yesterday was my official Homeschool Planning Day

(it was supposed to be last week... but I mentioned that already didn't I?)

Not only that but I have exactly 12 weeks in which to finish the 12 week term.  Margin for error = 0.

Can I just say that my adreniline was actually pumping as I was finishing up preparations last night?!  Oh but I came to realize that was nothing to get excited about, because as I was going over my calendar figuring and such - I realized that in addition to the 3rd term of AOy5, I have to start AOy1 with my 7yo tomorrow too!  I just 'bout fainted dead away.

So, today I've been scrambling.  I was planning to unofficially start AOy1 back in January, but was distracted by upwards of a thousand other things.  We've been working steadily on all the important stuff with my 7yo.  You know, like living and learning, so much so that I didn't even realize we hadn't unofficially started her official education yet.  SO... now it's come down to the wire... like dental floss gage wire.  Yikes.

Here was my to-do list for yesterday:

• Divide Shakespeare readings
• Divide Physics Lab readings
• Print AO's Plutarch reading, divide into 12 readings
• Print Age of Fable p.79-88 (I don't follow the suggested readings), divide readings over 12 weeks
• Print Artist/Composer study pages  {out of color ink...shoot!}
• Print An Island Story (ch.110-114)
• Decide copywork selections
• Find and download Folksong/Hymn selections  {hubby needed the computer...urgh}
• Decide handicraft focus - buy material
• Decide & print memory work selections
• Buy any y6 books that are lacking 
• Format checklists  
• Schedule YEAR ONE readings, for goodness sakes!

I'm still working today...

It's an effort to figure it all out, but I know I'm not the only one who does this :)

Homeschool Planning - part two

3 ways to plan for order in YOUR homeschool:
a 3-part series :) 
{part two}

photo by typofi

For our family, and for me as their teacher planning ahead makes all the difference in how smoothly our school days go.  When we all know what is happening and what is about to happen, everything goes MUCH better.

In the last post I wrote about how having a regular HPD (Homeschool Planning Day) throughout the year seriously eases the amount of brain strain on mom.  The yearly planning days are like getting your plates up and spinning.  The weekly preview planning is what you do to keep those plates spinning!

For me, the whole weekly planning is really just a preview.  To have a preview, I have to have a plan already worked out to view!  So, this is very dependent on having my schedule and all the assignments already worked out during my regular HPDs.  Many however, don't have really detailed plans, that's okay too!  A weekly plan ahead time can still avail much! It will just involve more time each week to plan out assignments and gather materials.  (See notes below)

After you've had your homeschool planning day:
In order to have a really productive WPD, you'll need to have the following:

1. A plan of some sort of what you're kids will be learning the coming week.  (AO has all the readings for each year broken up into weekly reading assignments - HERE is the schedule for Year 5.  This is what I base my plans on.)  I print off a weekly sheet that has all the kids' assignments for the week plotted out. See a sample of this here.

Once you have a plan broken up into weekly segments, WPD is a breeze: only 15-30 minutes a week.

1. Look over the subjects that need some extra help, or supplies to be used...  For me this includes:

• MEP math (make sure I have all the pages printed and manipulatives gathered)... in this case when one of my kids is struggling, it really helps to look over the lesson ahead and figure out how I'm going to explain something.
  
• Astronomy (check to make sure I have all the project materials within easy reach)
• Backyard Scientist (gather this week's experiment stuff)
• Book of Centuries (make sure all the timeline figures are printed off and ready)

2. Gather up the materials (or make a list to be bought the next day).
3. Pray about the coming week (this is an excellent moment to put this on your schedule)  Pray for character issues, academic struggle areas and for your own attitude.

If you haven't had an opportunity to have a homeschool planning day, but you still want to have a weekly plan, here are a few suggestions that might help you:

1. Make a list of all the subjects you'd like to have your kids cover in a week.  Include everything you can think of, starting with the main subjects.
   
2. Determine how much time each thing should take & then break each subject into daily bite-size chunks keeping in mind the age of your kids.  
3. OR determine first how much time each day you will spend on a subject and THEN plot out how much you expect you can cover...
4. Print off a checklist so your kids can check off their daily assignments.

Now, as is normal, we have days when things do NOT go according to plan or schedule no matter how much we'd like them to.  That's OKAY!  There are actually weeks that we are off schedule sometimes.  If we get all down or stressed about it, we'll never get back to an orderly state.  The schedule is there to serve us.  Not for us to serve the schedule.  For helter-skelter days (or weeks), I've put together a daily list of things that I want to accomplish each day.  See the sample HERE.  That way, I can see which things I most want to accomplish in the time available quite apart from the disrupted schedule.

So, did any of this strike a chord with you?  How do you plan?  Did you learn anything helpful?  Do you have any tips I ought to add in here?  Please leave a comment!


Posts in this series:

1. Yearly Homeschool Planning Day(s) - part one
2. Weekly Planning - part two... You are here :)
3. Yearly Book Ordering - last post

(photo of spinning plates courtesy of thecolor.com, online coloring sheet site)

Homeschool Planning - Part one

3 ways to plan for order in YOUR homeschool:
a 3-part series :) 

original photo by typofi

1. Yearly Homeschool Planning Day(s) - part one... You are here :)

2. Weekly Planning - next post

3. Yearly Book Ordering - last post

Peace and order are some of my key words for 2010! In that mindset let's talk about planning for peace and order in the homeschool. Making time to schedule the above occasions to plan, has made planning not only a breeze but a real JOY instead of a constant sense of worry or guilt.  Surely you know what I mean by worry and guilt?  The worry that I'm not doing enough and the guilt of knowing that I haven't done things as well as I could have?

Taking at least one day a year to really plan has totally revolutionized my feeling about homeschool (If I can, I'll gladly use 3 days! 1 HPD per term*).  It helps SO much to get the majority of things worked out ahead of time so that I don't have a huge list of unfinished and undefined tasks hanging over my head.  Separate time a couple of weeks before the new school year will begin (or whenever it happens to be best for you) to complete the following steps or obviously adjust them to fit your personal needs.

Step One:  Brainstorm a list of all the homeschooling areas that need attention.

1. Subjects I'd like to introduce into our homeschool that we've never done before
   
2. Areas that I want to improve
   
3. Curriculum that has got to go and will need a replacement.
4. Behavior issues
5. Plan for Preschoolers
6. Scheduling issues
7. Etc, etc.
   

Step Two: The hard part.

Figure out how to make a homeschool planning day a reality.  Things do not run well without you, but you can let things slide for a day or two while you get things oiled and primed for the year.  When can you get away and who can help?  A weekend when dad's home?  A babysitter?  Grandma?  Plan for a WHOLE day out.  Either that, or 2-3 mornings in a row... You'll need it!  Whether it's the coffee or the actual planning time... :)

Step Three: Gather your materials.
For instance one HPD, I needed to hash out my home schedule, so I needed my brainstorm sheets and my laptop.  This last HPD, I actually needed to plot out the weekly readings from the books on the booklist and for a couple substitutions I'd made, so I took the actual books with me (it was a big and heavy bag!).  I also needed to work out this term's composer study so I took a couple CDs to browse through... but, you get the point.

Step Four: Go
Decide ahead of time to be ultra-efficient.  Don't get distracted!  Do the things on your list in order of priority.  Don't call home, and if you have to sneak back for something, do NOT get caught! (I recommend eating out even though it costs more... it is more efficient use of time and in future years you can budget this meal into the yearly homeschool budget.)  Don't go home unless absolutely necessary!

photo by lusi

Some planning forms: These help me immensely, and are just to give you an idea of perhaps where you'd like to begin

Teacher Planning (pdf) - This is basically an outline of planning steps I take for each school year.
Daily List (pdf) - This list outlines what subjects are covered each day.  This is vital for those days that we are totally running helter-skelter and can't get back to the schedule.  This helps me reorientate in order to get everything done.
Week 15 (pdf) - This is last week's schedule/list of individual assignments for each day.  Each boy now gets a copy of this as they are becoming more responsible for their own studies.  This is my big task on my homeschool planning days to get this detailed schedule worked out.  One day a term of planning and it's pretty much ALL done for 3 months.  This is my homeschool brain... I've finally gotten it down to a fine science**.

*Ambleside Online is a FREE online curriculum guide, based on Charlotte Mason's methods and philosophy as outlined in her Original Homeschooling Series.  Learning is based on a balanced view of education, using hands-on life experience and observation, living books when a real-life experience can't be provided and including such enriching subjects as nature study, artist & composer studies, foreign language (learned to actually be spoken). Download an informational brochure here.

The AO schoolyear is separated into 3 terms, Term 1: Sept-Nov, Term 2: Jan-March, Term 3 April-June.  However, this information is to be taken as a loose guide as many have differing starting dates or as in our case, school year round.  However, the Artist & Composer, Nature, Folksong, and Hymn studies are all scheduled according to the terms, for those of us who enjoy the camaraderie of learning along with other AOers and sharing resources.  Also, handy-dandy schedules are available that split up the booklist readings into terms of 12 weeks, for a grand total of 36 weeks/school year.  This is what I refer to as 'Term' in my blog, materials, etc.

**If a post on how to schedule would be helpful, please let me know.  I'm assuming anyone who reads this blog (anyone?) already would have some idea of scheduling.  But, I didn't know anything before I knew it... so you never know ;)

Some helpful links:

Basic Intro to AO

An AO Start-up Guide

Charlotte Mason's List of Attainments for a child of 6 and of 12 years old

Posts in this series:

1. Yearly Homeschool Planning Day(s) - part one... You are here :)
2. Weekly Planning - next post
3. Yearly Book Ordering - last post

Home Management: Scheduling

Scheduling is one thing I didn't know I needed to know anything about when I first became a home manager, aka wife & mother. I just did what needed to be done, when it needed to be done and for the most part I had plenty of time for everything and even had time for my hobbies. I didn't have to really follow a plan, I had enough brain power to keep track of everything mentally. hah!

Matter of fact, we made it through 'winging it' for at least the first five years even though our lifestyle was amazing with many moves and lots of international travel. However, after having settled overseas, speaking a different language (really drains brain power), with 3 children, the older two in need of some schooling, outside-the-home ministry commitments, a household to run (complete with an housekeeper - but don't get your hopes up, it was actually MORE work to have hired help in my home), it became obvious that a little formal planning/organization would be helpful if not absolutely necessary.

Fast forward several years, and find me today, add in 2 more children and lots more international moves and...

I would seriously lose my mind without my schedule!

My schedule is my mind on paper. It keeps us all happy. I know what I 'should' be doing, the kids know what to expect next, and it gives me something to show Micah and anyone else who wonders what we do all day!

So, without further ado, see our schedule here.

Some of my notes on scheduling: taken from pdf link above

A schedule is so helpful as a guide. Yet, I cannot let myself become a slave to my schedule. You see, many times something happens that throws us off, and we need to be flexible enough to
realize that God sometimes ordains interruptions! We use our schedule so that when the
inevitable happens, we can get back on track quickly and easily. Sometimes we pick up where we left off, other times as the situation allows, we skip the stuff that can be skipped and just take from up wherever we are at the time, after we’ve cleaned up the toothpaste from all over the hallway and can focus again on the things at hand :)

Because I’m the main one to keep everyone on task, I’ve listed my name first, then kids in
order from oldest to youngest, and lastly Micah... he’s only on here so that I can have a general
idea of what he’s doing. He’s agreed to all of the above, and his work hours are obviously left
blank. :)

Sometimes {okay, many times}, having multiple children it is hard to keep track mentally
what everyone should be doing at any given moment & the kids are quite expert at scattering... all throughout the day, but, especially during schooltime! On the timetable, ‘table time’ is highlighted to call attention to the times that we all should be gathered together. This is mainly for me, so that with one quick glance at my watch and then the timetable, I can easily see what is coming up :)

Some days we head out at lunchtime to eat a ‘menu’. On these days the schedule will change, @ 12:30pm we’ll leave the house, to return around 2:00pm. We’ll just take our memory
box with us.

On the subject of personal exercise, I don't have it scheduled. If I were really trying to lose weight, or in need of some extra self-discipline in that area, I'd probably schedule it in on the main schedule. However, my reality is that some mornings I do try to get out for some exercise and I have an alternate schedule for those days. Otherwise, I’ll use my afternoon free time when it isn’t TOO hot outside.

Though I have all the kids chores/duties and school subjects listed here for quick reference,
we use other charts/schedules to keep track of those. {I’m ever-so-slightly-list-crazy} Technically, we should be able to get by with just this list.

** Momma’s free time is (barring all exceptions & interruptions which are all too common):

Tues, Thurs, Fri from 2 - 5:30
Mon, Wed from 4 - 5:30

** Bria and Josiah’s school is new this year and is loosely as follows:

9-9:45 (@table) Bible, color, trace/copy letters
10 (@table) Math games
11-11:15 AO Read-alouds (no required narration for Siah) & SWR phonograms
11:15 (@table) Phonograms, Rule cards, 3-5 fingerspell practice drills
Read-alouds at bedtime

The Homeschool Conference: Help or Hindrance?

Surely, the homeschool conference is among the most overwhelming experiences you will face as a new homeschooler. As an experienced homeschooler, they are simply over-stimulating; from choosing the most engaging speakers, or those talks most applicable to your homeschool, to becoming disoriented with too much information and getting lost in the Vendor Hall. Be that as it may, I have learned what it takes to enjoy them!

Pros and Cons:
One of the greatest benefits of homeschool conferences are networking with your local homeschool families, making friends and contacts for support. There are always inspirational talks on pretty much every category, and if there's not a speaker, there's a vendor or experienced homeschool families on hand to talk to. Sometimes you can get material at a discount, but at the very least you can buy it there and won't have to pay shipping.
However, I can't really imagine any environment, that I've experienced apart from Disneyland and the like, that is more overwhelming and over-stimulating. There's a lot you can learn, but there's an awful lot you'd be better off not even knowing about! There's simply too much. The only way to do it is to set your expectations ahead of time, maybe even go with a friend who can help you stay on task, but most importantly, have your plan ready.

Yikes, look at all those people!
The lady who took this said it wasn't even half!!

My Experience:
My first 2 homeschool conferences, I probably looked like a deer in the headlights the ENTIRE time. I felt like a deer in the headlights. I was stunned. I'm sure I walked around in a daze. I know that I bumped into people! It was astounding! I never knew there were so many homeschoolers... and it seemed they'd all written their own books and every other one was selling their own curriculum! It all looked so GOOD! My kids were too little (preschool) to realistically get excited about too much, but it was all so new and fascinating. I was wide open, I didn't have any notion of what I was going to do, and I had no books or anything to do it with either... so, I did the logical thing, I went to the conference!

In retrospect:
In my ignorance I did things backwards. I should have figured out what I wanted, and then gone to the conference to fill in the cracks... well, those were the days before everyone and her sister were blogging about homeschool, writing curriculum reviews online and the availability of buying used curriculum online and at amazon wasn't nearly as prolific as it is now. But nowadays, there is no excuse. One must research online. However, one cannot do it all. Before doing anything, sit down and really figure out your kids. Look at yourself, how do you learn, how do you teach? THEN go to work online figuring out what will work for your family. There are websites designed for this very thing. Start there LONG before going to a conference. However, once you know what you want, conferences can be a very enjoyable experience. If you can put your 'blinders' on, tune out most of the noise and stay focused on what your family's necessities are... you'll do fine!

Since those early days, I know our family's style, I've investigated some online, I have my list of books and resources I'd like to look through for a given subject made out ahead of time. I always study the list of speakers in the weeks before the conference to determine between those which will really be a help to me and those that are good but really just added 'noise'. If I can, I like to go to a conference every year. Obviously, living in Peru has prohibited that in the last years, but never fear, there are now online homeschooling conferences! Will we ever escape?

This subject merits a whole page of its own. I'm sure someone has done it somewhere... don't you just love google? ;)

Each of the following are the conferences I've attended over the years:

Heart of the Matter Online
The link to this year's conference: 2009 Parenting and Home Education Conference
 
(I really enjoyed being able to be in my own home and listen to the speakers at my leisure!  You also don't miss any of the speakers... you can listen to ALL the workshops!  The other cool thing is they give you the mp3s for FREE, so that you can listen again later!
This option does not help with the local networking aspect or with cutting down on shipping costs for curriculum, however. )  I posted about my experience HERE.  The price is now a lovely $12.95! 


The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators
This year's conference: June 5th and 6th at First Federated Church
Des Moines, Iowa


Washington Association of Teaching Christian Homes
They are going to have KEN HAM this year!!! I so, so, SO want to go!
Conference & Family Retreat
August 7-8, 2009


Oregon Christian Home Education Network
June 12 & 13, 2009 Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon

Forms for an organizational freak... like me

Forms, forms and more forms. I am a listy girl!

A super amazing organization site is: donnayoung.org She has every form under the sun available. It is simply amazing. Most everything is free, but she does sell a cd of the website with even WAY more stuff on it. Cool stuff.

Some of the pages on her site:

Home Homeschooling Homeschool Planner Household Calendars Art English Handwriting History Math Science Planner Guide Planning Help Lists Administrative Lesson Plan Forms
High School Extra Sets Weekly Term & Subject By Columns Journal Unit Excel Weekly

Site CD

Have a great evening,
Amy