Thankful Thursday! 2/16/2012

It's time for another round of Thankful Thursday! There truly is something to always be thankful for even if it's only the fact that you are still breathing! This leads me to my list.

I am thankful for the breath in my lungs. If you think about all the things that have to work together just to take one breath it really is mindblowing. God has designed us so magnificently that sometimes it's hard to wrap my mind around it!

I am thankful for the funny things my boys say. They crack me up. Daily!

I am thankful for vegetables. Seriously. I haven't met a vegetable I haven't liked yet!



Last summer dh let me throw a pie in his face for VBS!

 I am thankful that my hubby is a good sport and likes to have fun with me. He makes me laugh! Last summer for VBS he let me throw a pie in his face! I love that man! (for many other reasons too!)

I am thankful for fresh air blowing in my face. Honestly, it's one of my favorite things! It makes me feel like God is saying, "Here. This is just because I love you!" That's how much I love the breeze in my face.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Me and The Rev

Valentine's Day. A day full of love. Shouldn't every day be that way? I think so! Everyday we should be telling our loved ones how much we love them! I started the day off by writing on the mirror in our bathroom for The Rev and I wrote a message for the boys on their bathroom mirror. B responded by saying, "How are you going to get that off? I can't see my reflection!" I'm super tired today but I am furiously thinking about some creative things to do today for The Rev especially and my boys. I didn't have time to get to the store for a gift so a homemade Valentine's Day it is!!

I actually got engaged on Valentine's Day 12 years ago. I'll never forget it because my son was sick throwing up. He was feeling terrible and The Rev kept insisting we still go up to his parents (2hrs away). I was a little irritated at the time. I could not figure out why he was so desperately wanting to go out still! I found out later that day. We went out to eat at Damon's (the only time we've eaten there!) when he asked. I said yes, of course! (I knew the first second I saw him that God had him picked out for me and I told The Rev on our second date and almost scared him away!) So I hope you all have an amazing Valentine's Day!

Homeschool: Organized chaos!

So, most of the time I get asked how I can homeschool my youngest four. They wonder how it's possible to keep everything going and working and smooth. Well, I am somewhat organized. Yep, somewhat. Not fully by any means. I have a method that works for our family. It is not one of those super neat and tidy rooms with lots of nicely stacked and color coded bins. Nope. Ours is organized chaos.

First up, everyone gets their own desk or table. N's desk I scored on half off day at our thrift store and got it for $15. It has three drawers he keeps various stuff in. B has an old library table that I got at a thrift store with a gift card I received for Christmas. M and T use a small child's picnic table my dad built.

Then I have various storage for books and supplies. B actually keeps all of his books in a shelf built into his table. For N, someone gave me a small, wooden cupboard they no longer needed. It fits nicely in between his desk and B's. For MyMy and T I use some old shelves we had laying around. One simply needed a coat of paint. All their stuff is placed in these things in no particular order but it all available and easy for each of us to reach from their particular area.

B's and N's work areas

I also have all of them in the same room. This way we can all do work and I am readily available to help and/or teach anyone at any given time.

Another thing I do is on the weekends I print out a list of work they need to do each day of the week. I simply used a template in Word on my computer and filled in each class, and what they needed to do for that class. They highlight it when they are finished. When all things are highlighted they're done for the day! Some days it takes two hours and some days it takes five!

What are some things you do to keep organized and your "homeschool" running more smoothly?



I've linked up at the following:

Goals for the week! 2/13/12

It's that time for my goals for the week! How'd I do last week? Let's take a look!

LAST WEEK'S GOALS

Exercise at least 30 min a day  DONE! I actually got in at least 45min!

Read at least half of Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll  DONE!

Plan more of my garden by figuring out what I want to plant and where! I did get a few things figured out but not as much as I wanted to partially done!

Work 15min in the basement back room Again, nope! This is really last on my list and I didn't get to it!

Finish watching Homestead Blessings The art of Herbs (I'm halfway through!) DONE!

Start watching Homestead blessingsThe art of Sewing  DONE!

Start reading Made to Crave by Lisa TerKeurst  OOPS! Forgot about this one!

Play a game with my boys at least twice. Maybe a nerf gun fight? I think that would be fun! They're favorite thing is football! Well, we didn't play any "official" games but we did hang out together and get to spend some time outside. I call that done!

Peeled snacks review DONE!  My review is HERE.

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK! (2/13-2/20)
Get The Rev's V-day gift in order

Exercise at least 30min a day

Plan my garden some more

Finish reading Real Marriage

Start Reading Made to Crave

Finish watching Homestead Blessings: The Art of Sewing

Start watching Homestead Blessings: The Art of Breadmaking

Start organizing my cooking binder

I think that should do it on top of my "regular stuff"! I am also watching my 3yr old nephew over night from Tuesday to Wednesday. I hope you all have a great week!

Peeled snacks: review!

Peeled snacks!

So, I was recently given the chance to sample Peeled organic snacks for free through SheSpeaks.  I was excited to try them because I am all about eating healthier. First, I had trouble finding them in the store. Then the package was tiny for the price. I also was given a $10 gift certificate for their online store.  I was super excited to get something for "free". Well, little did I know that their prices are more outrageous online! There was one thing online cheaper than $10 and it was the Farmer's Market trio. It had dried raisins, cherries, and apples. I like all of those so I ordered it only to find shipping was $7! I thought that was extremely high. Thankfully I had some paypal to cover it and awaited my Peeled snacks. They arrived pretty quickly and were packed fine. I thought they were very good, but I like that kind of stuff. The apples were a little chewy. (My mom said it was like chewing rubber!) She didn't like the taste either. Overall, I liked them. I thought they were good tasting and I like that they are organic but they are WAY to expensive. So I'll probably forgo buying them for my other snacks because of it!

I love that it's real food!

Thankful Thursday!

Psalm 136:25
"Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His faithful love endures forever. "

It's been some time since I've done a Thankful Thursday so I thought I'd do one this week. I've much to be thankful for!

B last winter

1. A mild winter (so far!) I suffer from S.A.D and am incredibly thankful for such a mild winter! Last year was our first winter and I was a bit shocked at all the snow we had!  And this week has brought some warmer temps and I've enjoyed going outside!

2. I am thankful that God graces me every morning. Somedays I feel like....Blah. I know I've screwed up and the day is just terrible. I am thankful that God washes His grace over me and beckons me to come and sit with Him under His forgiving song.

3. I am thankful for God's voice. He spoke to me clearly about homeschooling, moving to this church, leaving the pregnancy center and much more. My quiet time with God is something I cherish.

Josephine Cochran

4. I am thankful for Josephine Cochran. Just who is Josephing Cochran? Why she's a woman who hated to wash dishes by hand! In 1886 she invented the first working dishwasher! Praise God for a woman after my own heart!

5. I am thankful for my mother in law. Yep, I am. She is an amazing and strong woman. (any woman who makes it through burying their husband is strong in  my eyes!) Not only is she like a second mother to me, she is a good friend!

Me, my mother in law, and my sister in law. A good looking bunch of ladies!

Homeschooling resources!

Over the past few months I've come across quite a few resources for homeschooling parents. Maybe you've heard of them and maybe you haven't. I thought I'd share some of them. If you have any additional please list them in the comments and I'll check them out and add them as well!

FREE RESOURCES

KB kids and Professor Garfield - for grades K-6, math, LA, science, and social studies

IXL - preK-8th grade, has many, many differenct skills for each grade including algebra. It's an all math site

EZSchool - K-12th grade, has many activites for each grade including all core subjects (math, LA, social studies, science, as well as world languages)

ABCya - K-5, math, typing, LA

FunBrain - elementary, mostly math, some reading

APlusMath - 1-5 math

Sheppard Software - PreK-5, great math skills up to algebra, geography, science, LA, nutrition

PBS kids - PreK-1 different math and LA learning games

Kent trust web - K-3 LA, reading

Funschool- K-5, LA, math, science, language, sports, geography and history, art and music

Roy the Zebra-K-2 Reading, LA

Sesame Street-PreK-2 Different learning games

A Maths Dictionary-K-12, You look through the ABC to find what you want. Like F for fractions and it gives you interactive definitions

Spelling City-1-12 You put in the spelling words and there are many games and ways to learn them. There is also a premium membership if you wish to pay for more features but it's not necessary

Multiplication.com-2-5, lots of multiplication games

Here is a large list of Math websites

Starfall.com-preK-2 Lots of reading, letter sounds, alphabet, word blending, etc. It also has a premium membership for only $35 a year. I am planning on subscribing. :)

Khan Academy-4-12, This site has tons of amazing videos to help with math (even calculus!) It also has many videos on arts and humanities, biology, civics, geometry, arithmetic, health, history and test help. Very good site!

Mathway.com-4-12, A site that helps you solve basic arithmetic to trigonometry and calculus!

The Factor Tree- When The Factor Tree first came out it cost money. I had a free trial and I did like it but wasn't sure if it was worth the money it was asking. Well, it seems it is now free! It's definitely worth that price! Factor Tree adjusts to your child's learning. You can even make up a schedule when you want them to practice and track their work online. I really like this site and am going to use it again now that it's free!

Progressive Phonics-preK-1 reading, LA, phonics

ABC teach- PreK-middle school, Reading, holidays, interactives, core subjects. A great site with lots of features. You can also join for arond $40 a year and get more options as well as make custom worksheets.

First School-PreK activities, crafts, ABC, theme units and the likes

Letter of the Week-a whole preschool, PreK program lasting 26weeks that you can do at your own pace to fit your own needs

Learning Page-free teachers resources including lesson plans, books, worksheets and more!

Easy Fun School-Tons of resources for all ages including history, home ec, LA, math and much more!

Homeschooling Adventures- Lots of links and information for homeschooling preK-12th!

The Math Worksheet Site-make your own math worksheets

Handwriting for Kids-handwriting worksheets

Kidport-K-8 has many online games for core subjects

HippoCampus-8-12 Has multimedia presentations for math (including calculus, geometry, etc) and natural science and social studies

NeoK12-videos, lessons and games for k-12 on just about any subject you can think of! Looks like a great site!

Mr. Nussbaum-1-5 Has TONS of stuff to do on all core subjects

Now are some paid ones that may or may not be worth your time!

Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr. Brain Pop is 3-5 and Brain Pop Jr. is K-3. I love these sites. They do always have a free movie of the week. And they both cover many things. Reading, math, history, science, art and music, health, safety and so much more. The price is for one full year and varies depending on if you do one user in your house, multi users and if you get one or both. Brain Pop Jr. is $85 for the year for one user. They also have it in Spanish and for ESL.

Landry Academy I'd say this is for Jr High and up. It has "Christ Centered online classes and summer camp" They have online classes for just about anything including Math, History, English, Geography, Art, Bible, Computer, Foreign Languages, Science, etc.  (I've not had any personal experience with this but it looks cool!)

Compass Learning (link takes you to samples) I'm not sure how expensive this site actually is because we get it free through a cyber school. It is an amazing tool. it is for K-12 and has math, LA, science, reading and more. It has about every thing you can think of when it comes to lessons. Can track online.

DreamBox (link takes you right to homeschool section) This is an online math help that changes according to your students need. If your student is advanced it moves to the next level. If they need additional help, it adjusts to offer more help. There is a 14 day free trial. One child is $12.95 a month or $59.95 for 6 months. Up to 4 children is $19.95 a month or $99.95 for 6 months. Grades K-5

 Allows you to track them online.

Raz-Kids-PreK-6 This has tons of leveled readers to chose from. A little pricey at $65 to $90 for a year.

I know this is A LOT! There is so much out there and hopefully you found something useful in all of this! If you have found any that you think are amazing let me know and I'll add them to the list!