If We Don’t Pay Attention to the Past…

…we are bound to repeat the mistakes!

Ah…history. Lovely history.

What?!  You don’t feel that history is wonderful? Well, you’re not alone! History for me personally was always a boring subject in school. Memorize names and dates, take tests on said memorized information and then move on. And promptly forget it. That’s how it was done.

But I don’t feel that way now. I love history. I love it some much I tried to major in it in college {turns out I only got to minor in it but most of my studies were history centered}. I was fortunate to find an instructor that made history more interesting {mostly by his own personality, I might add} and the rest is, well, history. *wink*

Now I get to choose what we use for history, and that means I can find what is interesting. This week’s theme for the TOS Blog Cruise is “What is your favorite history resource?”

We use all mostly living books for our history study. The reason is they are just more interesting and we can recall the person and event better with these. We still don’t always get the date

There is a plethora of free resources online that are history oriented but there are also some great for cost products that I think are great investments. Here are just a few of my favorites –I cannot be expected to choose just one!{free and cost}:

• Of course my favorite resource of my favorites is most likely Ambleside Online because that’s where I go to first to find what books would be good to use for living books history.
• Heritage History- this site offers books that can be read for free online or you can purchase ebooks (quite inexpensively). These are all books that were written prior to 1923. They also have full history curriculum- book lists, maps, summary; it’s all included!
• Truth Quest History- although I’ve just recently been exposed to this curriculum, I’m liking it for it’s Biblical view of history. It also has given me more books to include in our studies- many of them ‘living’ books.
• Book lists- there are a few here that I’ve found that I go back to when looking for good living books.
• Paula’s Archive has living books listed by different time periods as well as some video supplements.
• Penny Gardner is always a great resource for living books.
• Bringing Up Learners has a resources list that I’ve used to find some good history books. They also offer a free curriculum utilizing the books on the list.
• Websites:
• History Matters- this is a very good resource for US History. It includes many personal accounts and primary documents throughout US history.
• Primary Access- another site for primary documents. I’ve not used this very often {seem to forget it’s there!}.

And some closing thoughts (that I would like to think I would have had eventually *wink*):

"By dismissing the past or by giving it only cursory textbook treatment, modern education produces students whom T.S. Eliot called "provincials of time." These students regard the past with ignorant condescension, assuming that all its scant benefits, through some mysterious process of progressive evolution, have been retained, while its evils have for the most part been shed away. They are infected with the fever of progress, supposing that the mere passage of time acts like a great threshing machine, discarding the chaff and preserving the wheat. Whatever kernels of truth this world ever possessed are somewhere in the loaf now being proffered by science. Nor, in this condition, can the young stomach the medicine of the past, with its stern warnings and meticulous instructions for human improvement printed on the label. In a school predicated only upon science, the student can be nothing more than what he is. That, to be sure, can be developed- and human development results from yielding to certain inner patterns of truth (to which only the psychiatrist is privy), not from imposing the crushing obligations of a historical dogma or of an Ideal Type. The student is not asked to bear any responsibility for a past from which he is intellectually and existentially cut off."
David Hicks
Norms and Nobility (cited at Higher Up and Further In)

"The object of children's literary studies is not to give them precise information as to who wrote what in the reign of whom? -- but to give them a sense of the spaciousness of the days, not only of great Elizabeth, but of all those times of which poets, historians and the makers of tales, have left us living pictures. In such ways the children secure, not the sort of information which is of little cultural value, but wide spaces wherein imagination may take those holiday excursions deprived of which life is dreary; judgment, too, will turn over these folios of the mind and arrive at fairly just decisions about a given strike, the question of Poland, Indian Unrest. Every man is called upon to be a statesman seeing that every man and woman, too, has a share in the government of the country; but statesmanship requires imaginative conceptions, formed upon pretty wide reading 'and some familiarity with historical precedents. " --Charlotte Mason (cited at Charlotte Mason Helps)

Have a look at others favorite History resources by traveling along with the TOS Blog Cruise 4/3/12.

What are some of YOUR favorites?

He’s My #1 ...but often comes in second

The theme this trip (3/20) on the Blog Cruise is: How do you make time for your spouse?

Does that title sound weird? It does to me because the number one person in my life is my dh. He is the one person I turn to first when all goes wrong- or right! He is the first I want to share my time with and all that entails. But even though he is my #1…he often comes in second.

I think that many will understand what I mean by that. He has to work and sometimes I have to work. We go about the day time apart, sometimes 6 days a week. And we have two kids that I homeschool (he supports me morally *wink*). So how do I make time for my husband?

With homeschooling, my days are spent like this:

• Get up at 6:30-ish, kiss hubby good bye.
• Make coffee –that is a must.
• Check emails, facebook, work on posts for this blog
• Wake kids up
• Get the kids going on school
• Work and/or work on things I’ve committed myself to –such as book or product reviews, contributing educational materials for homeschoolers, looking for new/different/recent things pertaining to homeschooling
• Do more with the kids –school and/or outdoor stuff, shopping, etc.

So that is how my day generally goes (with more details and variations than I can even think of at the moment). But this isn’t about that. When my hubby comes home around 6:30- 7:00 pm, I am there to greet him at the door with a hug and a kiss. He is the only one I can see right then.

It doesn’t matter how my day has been; I give a smile –willingly and without hesitation. Even if I am feeling poorly, he gets a hug, smile and a kiss. It helps me show him that he is my #1 –even if it feels to both of us that he has to come in second sometimes.

Another way I make time for him is to make sure that the evenings are spent either as a family or just the two of us. I have all day with my children –only a few hours are spent with just my husband. I try very hard to get all of my computer activities done before he gets home and limit it on the weekends.

And finally a way that I make ‘time’ for him is to make a meal that he enjoys. It makes me focus on him and if I tell him beforehand (which I don’t always do –some surprises are good) he knows I am thinking of him; it makes him feel special.

He likes to spend time in the garage tinkering and working on his ‘toys’ (cars, bikes, etc) and sometimes gets lost in it. I make the effort to go to him, just to be there. Because I have all day at home, I can do the things I want to do almost whenever but I understand that he has a limited hours in the week when he can do the things he enjoys. Spending time with him wherever he is, is a way I make time for him.

How do you make time for your spouse?

Science- Need a Rescue!

The theme, or question, this go-around for the TOS Blog Cruise is: “What’s your favorite Science resource?”

I don’t have one. I’m a wee bit of a sciencephobic. But that doesn’t mean I don’t look at things often and wonder if that is the one that could change it all or check out another and wish I could/would buy it (sometimes I can but that fear of science keeps me from actually doing it).

First and foremost, I would recommend Khan Academy- for upper middle school and high school. It is free and Sal explains things so well- you may not understand it but you feel like you do (A bit like those Holiday Inn commercials: “Is there a doctor here?!” “I can help.” “Are you a doctor?” “No- but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.” *smile*- yea a bit like that)

At Khan Academy you can find videos for

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Physics
• Astronomy
• and one or two others that I’ve never used/viewed.

And recently, I stumbled across Ellen McHenry’s Basement Workshop for some science books as well as some activities. I purchased the Cells book to use with my daughter for the remainder of the year- funny and informative- much better than what we’d been using.

Finally, I want to use more living books in all of our subjects (and more than just one book each) so really like the site Macbeth’s Opinions for their lists of living books. Click here for high school science. You can also find elementary science lists.

"Books dealing with science...should be of a literary character, and we should probably be more scientific as a people if we scrapped all the text books which swell publishers' lists and nearly all the chalk expended so freely on our chalkboards." (Charlotte Mason in Philosophy of Ed., pg. 218)-quoted at the aforementioned site

So there you have some of the science ‘resources’ that I have been perusing lately. I cannot say that I have a favorite and this post could very well look very different if I write it again in a few months  

I encourage you to check out the other science resources found and used by other TOS Crew-ers (eh, spelling, schmelling) along the TOS Blog Cruise (on 3/13/12).

Testing…or Portfolio? This Year It’s Testing.

***This post was originally done in January when I began stressing over assessments. I’ve edited it some (here’s the original) to reflect what we really did and to link up with the TOS Blog Cruise: Do you administer standardized testing in your homeschool? Why or why not?***

Moving from Wyoming’s lax laws on homeschooling {notify school district of intent to homeschool and give a basic idea of materials going to use …and you’re done!- you receive your ‘exemption’ letter about a month after the public school starts} to Ohio’s more detail demanding laws {notify school district of intent to homeschool, give an outline of materials to use and their purpose, submit testing results or satisfactory assessment by certified individual- and then you can wait and hope to receive your letter in the mail [I’ve yet to receive mine- submitted in October 2011]}, I had to decide which to pursue-

Portfolio or Testing?

I had no worries that both Lee and Fox would do just fine with standardized testing. It isn’t new to them and they generally score well. Besides, and this isn’t necessarily a good thing, in Ohio in order for them to be ‘okay’ they only have to score within the 25th percentile. *yes, my jaw dropped when I first discovered that*

It doesn’t require too much effort to have them do standardized testing. Of course I figured that I would have to find an individual to proctor their tests…or find an acceptable test that allows me to administer it. I prefer the second route- the first would most likely cost more {am assuming at that one}. In the end I ordered from Seton Testing Service- the CAT (which stands for California Achievement Test)- a level 17 (7th grade) and a level 19 (9th and 10th grade, as I understand it).  As for the portfolio route, I would have to find someone qualified to assess their portfolio and it would also cost. Either way, it’ll cost. I knew that from the start {before we moved to Ohio, I did my research}.

Previous to writing my post in January, I had folders in folders in folders {…in folders??} that held digital copies of practically all the kids’ work. Then my computer contracted a virus {fortunately not a deadly one}. I was able to locate all my files on my computer {and made back-ups!}, but started to feel that I didn’t have the time or motivation any longer to put together portfolios.

Why would I choose portfolios over testing? I still believe a portfolio will show more of what has been learned than the testing will. The tests are also not specific to the curriculum that we use. It is most often multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc. With the exception usually of writing tests- those generally require a written sample. {And the test we used did not require that} Not really adequate {imho} to gauge knowledge or experience gained from school and life. It only shows that information has been learned well enough to fill in some bubbles {or blanks}.

I’m not saying that testing is wrong. Just not the way that I would prefer to assess my children’s learning. It is very easy to do. It is actually the quickest and most painless route for us. But at the same time, all that it would show would be a number, a percentile, how the kids compare to other kids. It wouldn’t showcase their work, their dedication (lol or lack of!), nor would it preserve their work.

There have been two bloggers that have me convinced I *can* put together a portfolio for my kids for assessments: Heidi at Heidi’s Head and Tristan from Our Busy Homeschool.

We did do the testing route. This year. I think that next year we may try the portfolio route. But testing sure was easy…and I’ve still kept all a lot of the work that kids have done for school.

How A ‘Good’ Day Goes Here …Day #94

I wrote a post back in October 2011 of a day at our house. I thought it’d be fun to post another day here at our house…now that it is 2 months later. It might be more typical than the first post But maybe not {both days have a trip to the ortho- that only happens every 4-6 weeks}.

My dh wakes up every morning {practically} at 6:00 am and wakes me at 6:30 with a goodbye kiss. That is how the day starts. Wonderfully for me.

I woke up at 7:56 am {although there was a moment around 6:30-7:00 am that I know I was physically awake- I’m sure of it} and after going to the little girls’ room, promptly went down two flights of stairs to feed my alarm clock cat. While down in the basement I checked on the cat bed that was in the dryer from the night before. Not dry- turn it on again. Our cat is …weird. She pees in her bed and then gives us dirty looks when she cannot sleep in it. Maybe all cats are weird?

After that coffee was a necessity. I woke with a horrible headache- one where my stomach is flipping back and forth from. Bleh. Coffee, caffeine, usually helps. {I still have a headache and some stomach nausea} Grind the beans. Filter the water. Wait. Fill coffee maker with water, fill basket with grounds. Press brew. Wait. This morning, perhaps because of the headache, I forgot about breakfast. Usually it is eggs, toast, juice and coffee for me.

About 8:26 am I knocked on each of the kids’ doors and say, “Good morning”. Or something like that. It may have really been “Get up”… I’m not a morning person and my people skills aren’t in use {don’t seem to even be available or exist} first thing. Something to work on perhaps. And I had a horrid headache.

Lee was the first of the two out of her room this morning. That is not normal. She usually is stubborn and has to be told a few times to get up. Fox came strolling out of his room about 8:40 am and immediately headed towards the food cupboard. Were his eyes even open?? He can probably find his way around the kitchen without sight Lee had already ventured to the cupboard and was eyeing her choices. Cold cereal or …hot cereal. She picked cold. No surprise.

Sometimes I make things like eggs {remember I forgot my breakfast}, pancakes, coffee cake, or the extra special scones. But not this morning. They usually like cold cereal if I haven’t made something. This morning they both had that- Fox chose rice crispies and yogurt {odd combo??}, while Lee went for the traditional honey nut o’s with milk {only to discover there was barely any milk thawed}. This caused a bit of a heated discussion –mostly on the part of Lee- but I reminded them that if they pay attention to how much milk they have consumed {they are the only ones that use it}, they would know they need to get a jug out of the freezer for thawing. Fox and I got the laser stare a few times from Lee..but we ignored it…she got over it. I told her to look on the bright side- her cereal wouldn’t get soggy!

At 9:00 am Fox asked what time it was. Then I remembered that Lee had an orthodontist appointment at 10. Lee decided to take a bath {our downstairs shower doesn’t work correctly} and got done about 9:20-ish am. While Lee was taking a bath, Fox started to work on his school. First he did his Bible reading. Today was Luke 21. I forgot to ask for his narration. Headaches make me more scatter brained than usual.

Lee had started her school work as well by then (about 9:30 am). She does things in pretty much the same order each day- and that isn’t always how it is written on her schedule. She almost always starts with Bible reading. Today it was Acts 23. Fox does it as it is written even if it isn’t convenient for others; he feels the need to have the same routine. I try to accommodate that but sometimes he has to be more flexible. Today was one of those days.

They both said their verses before we went to the ortho appointment. Lee recited Colossians 3:1-12 {which seems to be going backward since she memorized through 14 the last time we had school- eh, well, time has a way of taking what we remember} and Fox recited Proverbs 15:16-20 {the same as weeks ago}. They read it, write it and then recite it. We will move forward next week.

At 9:45 am we drove the few miles to the orthodontist office. It isn’t very far, thankfully. When Lee was finally taken back {after waiting for about 20 minutes and us all playing Angry Birds on my Kindle Fire}, it took less than 30 minutes for her to be done. She chose light blue bands this time. That might be the most fun part of braces; choosing the color each visit.

We made it home about 11:00-ish am, give or take a few minutes. Fox immediately wanted to watch an episode of Naruto {gag, ick, don’t like the show} but the rule at our house is any screen time must be earned. In order to earn time, specific chores must be done, and completely. The amount of time it takes to do the chore is the amount of time that they are allowed for screen time. They actually hate the rule. But it is a rule and that is that. So we had a bit of a time when we first got home with Fox getting over what is always the same. There are times when they will earn time and I will reward them with extra time but they must earn in the first place. Anyhow, moving on.

Shortly after getting home Fox worked on Jensen’s Grammar, lesson 8. I worked with him on it- it’s usually a fairly independent subject. About 11:39 am I started on dishes. We’d run out of dish soap two nights ago and I kept forgetting to get more. Yes, we had dishes filling the sink and the countertop. The hazards of having a lot of counter space? Or a laid back housekeeper? LOL maybe both! About 12:00 pm I made cheese quesadillas for lunch.

Fox had finished School of the Woods, chapter 6, Murche’s Science Reader, lesson 38, and First Form Latin, Lesson 24, worksheet 3 by lunch time. Lee had done chapter 7.1 & 7.2 outline reading, pages 115-119 and worked on vocabulary for Biology. She also did First Form Latin, lesson 24, worksheet 3, Greek review {she listened to the pronunciation cd}, History of English Literature for Boys and Girls, chapter 47, read in Utopia and Mark commentary. After lunch Fox and Lee worked on Ohio Study using this site. Lee worked on Excellence in Literature, comparing and contrasting two short stories {The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allen Poe and The Diamond Necklace by Guy De Maupassant}. I tried to help her with her confidence in writing. She is a great writer; she lacks confidence. She had already finished lesson 101 in Life of Fred Beginning Algebra and worked on Current Events. Fox read from Animal Farm (chapter 1) and finished CK12 Math- 7th grade, lesson 1.1 & 1.2.

School was all done about 3:00 pm. Fox did a load of laundry in order to earn some screen time {to watch the episode we’d talked about earlier} and Lee swept all floors in the house. Both earned screen time and it was quiet for about 30 minutes Lee then vacuumed for more time and Fox suggested that they walk to the library. It might sound strange but physical activity earns them screen time as well. Walking to the library takes 25 minutes =25 minutes of screen time. It is a really nice day today so they decided to walk. Lee is saving her time for some serious screen time. They left about 3:35 pm.

I still need to finish my last bit of dishes and start dinner. I start dinner around 5:30-5:45 pm because we usually eat about 6:30 pm, depending on what I cook. Tonight I plan on making something with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, rice and veggies. Sometimes I mix it all together, like a soup; other times a main dish with sides. I think I will make biscuits tonight instead of the rice. Yum.

Dinner is usually done about 6:45-7:00 pm. The kids tend to go to Lee’s room and read or play together. I check emails, update my blog and/or website. Depending on when my dh gets home, we might watch some Top Gear in the living room {lol time well spent!} or by 8:15 pm, hubby and I will watch something upstairs.

I go upstairs and get ready for bed no later than 9:00 pm. The kids have ‘lights out’ by 9:30 pm. And everyone is asleep by 10:00 pm. It is very funny that our start and end of the day is quite predictable- it’s the in between that changes.

This post was composed for the TOS Blog Cruise. See how others spend their days! The Cruise post will be live January 17, 2012.

Recipes for the Holidays

I found a few recipes that I would love to try this holiday season! They are not all food recipes either

The first that myself and the kids think looks absolutely scrumptious is French Toast Casserole. We love French Toast! We saw this in the latest Family Fun magazine. It calls for putting nuts in the dish but we aren’t a nutty family {well, we are all nuts but don’t like them in our food }

Ingredients:

• Firm white bread {I see no reason why wheat ‘firm’ bread can’t be used}, 12, 1-inch slices cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar {we would use dark brown}
• 1 tsp cinnamon or to taste {I will use all spice and cloves as well}
• 8 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• Maple syrup, for topping {we will most likely use honey but I bet fruit syrup would be yummy!}

Directions:

• Grease a 9x13 inch pan with butter. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and spices {for us, cinnamon, all spice, and cloves}. Arrange half of bread in the bottom of baking pan, then sprinkle with sugar mix evenly on top. Add another layer of bread and sugar.
• In a large bowl, whisk eggs then add milk and vanilla until blended well. Pour over bread evenly, starting from the outside moving inwards. Press bread down to coat the bread cubes with spoon or spatula. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. It suggests leaving it over night.
• Heat oven to 350*F and bake casserole for 20 minutes, covered. Uncover and bake until golden brown- about 30 more minutes. Serve warm with your choice of topping.

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The next one is actually good for any time of the year but I may make this for a  gift this year. Shhh! Don’t tell This was actually found at a few places online but specifically this post is what got me really thinking I could do it {originally I found the link here}.

I will modify the Homemade Bubble Bath recipe found at Heavenly Homemakers to look like this:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shampoo {will use Suave kids shampoo or body wash in complimentary scent or unscented}
• 1 TBS glycerin
• 1/2 tsp table salt {I’ve seen it replaced with sugar…I’m undecided}
• Drops of citrus essential oil [EO] {haven’t decided if I will use orange or lemon- bergamot is a good choice also}

Directions:

• In a glass bowl, mix all ingredients but the essential oils until sugar/salt has dissolved.  Add drops of EO until desired scent is achieved.  Use a funnel to pour it into a dark bottle. I wouldn’t suggest using a plastic bottle because it will absorb the EO {and I don’t like plastic} but if that’s all you’ve got, then go for it!

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And the last ‘recipe’ I will share is of stuffing in a pumpkin. I found this at The Sojourner Reviews blog and it just looks so neat. I’ve got to try it!

The ‘recipe’ all depends on the stuffing you choose, really.

Ingredients:

• Stuffing {we will use Stove Top brand}
• Small-to-medium sized pumpkin

Directions:

• Cut a nice circular ‘lid’ from the pumpkin. Scoop out the seeds and strings from the pumpkin. Prepare the stuffing as directed on package {or how ever you usually make it}. Replace ‘lid’ on pumpkin. Place in oven with other side dishes –like green bean casserole or candied yams {you know, the marshmallow and yams dish}.

The pumpkin is the super cute dish for serving the stuffing out of!

Those are a few recipes for our holidays. Do you have any to share? Feel free to share!

I *HEART* My Kids–Why I Homeschool

There are many scriptures that could be used as the basis for homeschooling my kids (which are conveniently outlined in Educating the WholeHearted Child pages 23-28). Here are only a few:

• Deuteronomy 5:16, 6:4-9 {which is our homeschool verse}
• Psalm 78:1-8
• Psalm 127:3-5
• 2 Timothy 3:16-17
• Hebrews 4:12-13
• Colossians 2:6-7
• 2 Timothy 2:2
• …and so many more.

Those honestly are not the reasons that I first wanted to homeschool. Actually when I thought about having kids, it didn’t dawn on me that I could homeschool. It was normal for kids to get up at crazy hours in the morning to be able to stand and wait for a big yellow bus. *I* did and so did all my siblings and my friends.

When I met my then future husband, I found out shortly after meeting him that he’d been homeschooled his entire k-12 years {and he turned out quite swell!}. That  was when I decided I wanted to homeschool. Fast forward to many years of our kids being in public school {homeschooling wasn’t ‘in the cards’ then}, my husband and I decided to bring the kids home.

My main reason that I homeschool- then and now- is because I love my kids and I want to spend as much time with them as I can. It just blows me away to think of the hours I missed with them because they were at school- and doing who knows what (quite often nothing). I’m not a ‘control freak’; my kids have freedoms to do things. But I didn’t like the attitudes that they were subjected to and were internalizing as their own.

Bottom line: I love my kids and that is why I homeschool. The other things such as the scriptures direct me to, my kids are less stressed, I don’t have to buy school clothes, there isn’t bullying going on {uh, usually lol}, etc., are just added bonuses or incentives. I think that when my kids leave the home to be on their own, I hope they will be better connected with us because of the time we spent together as a homeschooling family.

See why other homeschoolers do what they do, if you’d like, at the TOS Blog Cruise.

It’s All Part of the Plan…TOS Blog Cruise

I’ve shared on my blog before what we do for planning but I get to share again as part of the TOS Blog Cruise.

The first year we homeschooled, we used Alpha Omega Publications LIFEPACS (AOP). The schedule for those was in each teacher’s manual. Pretty much it was set up the same as a traditional school. Also we did the same things every day. The planning that year was super simple.

The second year we switched to Ambleside Online (AO) and wow, that required much more planning on my part. I failed miserably at first (over planning, under planning, forget the planning!) but as we went on, I got the hang of it a little better.

This is our third year and thus far we have planned it well Towards the end of the second year I was given a chance to ‘test’ the TOS Homeschool Planner(not quite review but I checked to make sure all links worked, fields could be filled in, things worked as they were supposed to). That was the start of my planning..plan. The planner put out by The Old Schoolhouse is excellent, superb, amazing! The only problem was that I didn’t always have ink to print off the sheets when I needed. I chose to purchase a printed planner from The Well Planned Day.

You can see my ‘review’ of The Well Planned Day planner here. I’d not actually used it when I wrote that post. Here is another one that details more how I thought the planning would go from then on out.

I actually have a few subjects planned for the entire year. I don’t exactly recommend that but I have some things that I insist get done…if all else falls by the wayside, I really want these to be done. We also have a block schedule (I think that is what it’s called). We don’t do the same things every day (well, some are done every day, such as Bible reading, memory verses, math and writing).

Because we use AO the ‘lesson plans’ are somewhat done for us on the website. Of course we are free to modify it to fit our family and needs. At the end of each week, I write up the next week’s lesson plans based on what I want to have accomplished and what was accomplished. So if we are behind in one subject (as opposed to what I had planned- with all good intentions, you know lol), then I can adjust the plans.

It used to stress me out (the end of the first year and into the second) when we were not on schedule. Finally I realized that I have to make exceptions at times. A topic may be particularly difficult for one of the kids and require more time. I have to allow for that. Or (as it has happened this year) we have to make an unplanned trip or take time off of school; I have to be flexible.

Here’s a snapshot of the planners we use and somewhat what they look like each week (taken from this post):

So what do you do for lesson planning? Is it contained in the curriculum you use or do you have to get creative?

This post contains an affiliate link for the TOS Store. Any purchase you make through that link may result in my receiving monetary compensation from the TOS Store. You are not charged any extra for this monetary compensation to me. It may benefit you as well by you finding something very useful for your homeschooling I thank you in advance for any purchase you make through the link(s). If you prefer to shop through a non affiliate link (sniffle) then you can follow this link instead.

Homeschool Blog Cruise is UP

Come on over and have a look at what budgeting looks like for homeschooling (or what it doesn’t look like )

Stocking the Homeschool Supplies- there has to be a better way…

 

The topic for this TOS Blog Cruise is “Budgeting” -for homeschool that is. Here is the real question: “Do you set a specific budget for your homeschool supplies and books?” Uh, since I’m not so good at budgeting at all I wondered how I was going to answer that.

Finally I decided honesty is always best No, I do not budget.

I make a list (or rather I go by these lists and thin them out to suit us) and then scour Amazon, paperbackswap, and used book sales. Because I do not have a specific amount that I’ve decided I will spend on homeschool needs, I spend what I have that can be spent.

I know it’s quite lame. But so far it has worked for us. I did read on another TOS Crew Member blog about making a homeschool proposal (which I equate to a list of the specific items that are wanted/needed to be purchased as well as the costs) and I really like that idea. With my kids’ getting farther in school (those high school subjects seem to be more expensive) the cost is getting to be more than just what can be ‘done by the seat of my pants’. (that means without budgeting lol)

It’s something to think about. I really haven’t thought about it terribly much. The money is always there when it’s needed. And there are tons of products that I would love to purchase that there is no way we could. But perhaps a budget would help with that.

Then again, maybe it is needed so that we don’t try to take on too much- buy too much.

So how do you deal with the costs of homeschooling- with a budget or by the seat of your pants? (I do hope there are a few other ‘seat of the pants’ers out there will make me feel better)