Tot School~Week Ten

A lot has happened since we last participated formally in Tot School but we have been chugging along just the same.  We are pretty much settled in our new-to-us home and have started schooling again.  RJ has been spending a lot of time outside and going places with me and his dad, that I don't have pictures of.

However, in the classroom he has wanted to spend most of his time writing lately...and so he has.

This was the first day that he showed any real interest in crayons.  I sat them out, he climbed up in the chair and took to trying to write.

He's got some real scribbles on the paper...can you see them?

He's also been playing with his cars quite frequently and that's a new development as well.

This time he decided to use a new medium and give the colored pencils a try.  Here he's a bit distracted by a truck outside, so he stands up to get a better view.  Afterwards it's back to writing with his pencil.

See that paper in front of him, he didn't write that.  He's just about to autograph his sister's work though.  He took her mechanical pencil and added a little love note while she was a way from her station.

He's just been fascinated with writing!

Well that's about it for us this week.  Hopefully I'll have more pictures for next week.

Oh, I did want to say that we have also been attending our local library for the past few weeks for toddler time.  They read stories and we all sing songs related to a theme for the week.  It's been great and RJ loves having the opportunity to see other miniature people like himself.

Want to read other learning adventures of amazing toddler's? Head on over to 1+1+1=1 for this weeks Tot School...there's tons of ideas for you and your toddler.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.







The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 5



In my life this week...

This week has been crazy!  We've been trying to settle into our "new-to-us" house, getting pictures and curtains hung, washing woodworks, and organizing and re-organizing.  In the midst of all that Sunshyne gets sick and needed to take off from schooling.  Charlie Brown started back working at his job, and Rj... well, was just being RJ.

My mother is feeling better but is having some issues with medical staff at the long-term care facility, which has been stressful and draining for me.  That along with a Girl Scout meeting and ceremony, Doctor appointments, and still trying to get RJ to his Toddler time, has been extremely taxing.  I can safely say I'm glad this week is OVER!

In our homeschool this week...

The focus this week has been on RJ since he was the only one showing up for class.  He chose to work on a lot of puzzles this week and has been fascinated with the outdoors.  I've enjoyed spending time taking him places and hanging out with my miniature person:)

I think he's getting that chairs are to be sat in and not climbed.  I caught him several times this week sitting at the table with a pencil or crayon in hand.  Now if I could just get him to scribble on paper we'd be into something.  On second thought I do sort of like the beauty of art on the classroom table...how festive!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

I took RJ along with me on a trip to Lakeshore Learning Center...I love that place.  He seemed to love it too!  He didn't want to stay in the basket.  He toddled through the isle ways checking out different activities and giving some the stamp of approval from his expert opinion.  He observed people as they came and went, from the safety of his death-grip to my leg.  He even climbed up a stack of classroom dividers to look out the window at some men working construction nearby.  He was completely fascinated!
He sometimes gave a bashful smile at ladies as they spoke to him with friendly smiles.
We picked out a new chunky puzzle to add to our work station and went out for a special treat.

I enjoy moments like these because they are real-life learning situations.  Guiding him as he interacts with his community is priceless. 

My favorite thing this week was...

Definitely spending one-on-one time with RJ.  Taking him on little field trips in the community and watching his expressions as he observed something new or interesting.

What's working/not working for us...

All the stress is not working for us right now.  I have too many balls in the air and I'm looking forward to putting some of that down and regaining a state of equilibrium.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

My friend invited us to a informational session with Classical Conversations.  I didn't make it to the meeting but I'm interested in learning more about the group.  I guess I'm hoping the curriculum is not to rigid because I like to be creative and I'm spontaneous with my homeschooling as well.  I love my flexibility and don't want to give that up with a structured program.  Any thoughts would be helpful on the topic.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

~Blessings~

Claudea B.

Thursday Blog/Twitter Hops



Hop on over to Just Married With Coupons to join in on this Twitter Hop to make new friends with some super cool mama's!



Also, I'll be blog hopping with Family Friendly Frugality today, so stop by if you can break free from you St. Patty's Day festivities:)

~Blessings~

Claudea B.

Early Wordless Wednesday: Junior GS

~Blessings~
Claudea B.





Times Tales St. Patty's Day Special

Times Tales St. Patty's Day Special!!!

Here's a deal that came in my inbox that I just had to share from Times Tales, wish I'd gotten this deal when I bought my copy last month...aaargh!  Oh well, I hope this deal can be a blessing to you though:)

Take advantage of th St. Patrick's Day special, good the week of March 13-19 only. Not only will you save 20% on your purchase of Times Tales (DVD or print versions) but you will also receive a free Memory Trigger. Just use the code IRISH20 to receive your discount and free Memory Trigger. Do not put a Memory Trigger in your cart, they know to include one when you use the code. Save a total of $11.94!

Great Program, my kiddos love it and it works!!!

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 4



 

In my life this week...

We finally finished moving and unpacking most of our stuff.  This shell of a house now honestly resembles home, and for that I am thankful.  We were able to get back to the basic subjects this week and I plan to be in full swing starting Monday with all of the kiddos.

In our homeschool this week...

Sunshyne is doing so well with her Teaching Textbooks curriculum, I'm sooooo happy and thankful for this curriculum.  I'm trying to get in the graduation mode for Charlie Brown and finalize some of his financial aid information to send to UTI.  Also, I took RJ to the Toddler Time program at our local library for the first time this week and I think I'll implement this as a part of his curriculum.  It was fun to get a chance to spend some alone time with him at the library.  I think he was amazed to see that there are other small people like him...a big herd of them!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Today we will be going to the Carver Community Cultural Center to see Japanese Storyteller Kuniko Yamamoto as a part of the Youth Matinee Series.  It sounds fun and enlightening.  Also, I attended a Bronze Award training yesterday for the Girls Scouts.  The Bronze Award is the highest award that a Junior GS can earn.  My mission was to find out how to divise and execute the HUGE community project that the girls will have to tackle to apply for the award.  It seems like it will be challenging but extremely rewarding for the girls.  Last but not least, it's football season for Papa Bear and we are planning to attend most of his games this year.  They've already won two games...Go SA Knights!

My favorite thing this week was...

Singing songs with RJ at Toddler Time and watching his reaction to the other kiddos.  One of my favorite songs went like this:

Itsy Bitsy Monkey (tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)

The itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the coconut tree.

Down came the coconut and bopped him on the knee.

Along came his mama, who kissed away the pain.

The itsy bitsy monkey climbed up the tree again.

What's working/not working for us...

Okay, I found a website called Spelling City which sounded like the answer to my prayers.  It's suppose to administer spelling tests for you and generates worksheets and games for the kiddos using word lists that you create yourself.  I'm struggling with the site a little, I guess just because it's a new thing for me but I'm hoping it will work out to be everything it says it is because it would truly be a blessing.  If anyone else is using this program, please, please share your opinion about it.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming homeschool conventions that I would like to attend.  I'm pretty sure that I'm going to attend our local convention but I'd also like to expand my scope and attend a national level convention.  We shall see:)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

I was playing around over at Picnik and got this great 1960's look of a photo of RJ and Papa Bear before Papa Bear's first football game of the season.  (I did the 1960 effect and the cross processing to achieve this look) Love it!

To read more Mother's Journals please stop by The Homeschool Chick .  I love her site and reading what other homeschooling mama's are doing with their kiddos on this meme.

~Blessings~

Claudea B.



Six Flags Read To Succeed Program Deadline!!!

If you are a homeschooler like me, you take advantage of every "free" incentive that you can find to encourage reading (or just anything free).  If it's a super fun outing such as an excursion to Six Flags, then I'm all over it!  We've been moving and having all kinds of obstacles in our way to keep us out of school the past two weeks. So you can imagine my overwhelming joy when I went over to the Discovery Education site to see if we'd missed our deadline for submitting our reading log and found that the deadline had been EXTENDED!  That's right, the initial deadline was for March 4, 2011 but has been extended til today, March 9, 2011 4pm EST.

So Please, please, please...if you haven't logged in your homeschoolers reading hours yet, hurry on over to the Six Flags Read To Succeed site and log them in.

The log in process is so easy that it feels like cheating.  My kiddos keep a reading log but don't write down the hours that they spend reading.  So we decided to estimate as closely as we could.  When I pulled up our account and began logging in the hours in a frantic panic, there was a drop down box that lets you choose from selections like "book, comic book, newspaper, magazine, and other."  I click on my selection and then the next drop down box has time increments of 15 minutes, so you can choose from 15,30,45, and 60 minutes.  That's It! Frantic mama turns cool as a cucumber and got the job done.

It took me all of two minutes to log my kiddos reading hours and they have free tickets to Six Flags Fiesta Texas coming in the mail in mid-May.

Folks, it really doesn't get any better than this.  The best part is, I get a free ticket too!  It's on to Six Flags for us.  Hurry and get your tickets, we just might see you there;)

~Blessings~

Claudea B.