Grapevine Studies- Joseph

Hey people! I just wanted to let you know that I just featured a review of what I think of Grapevine Studies newest addition- Joseph, a Timeline Study- over on BOLD Turquoise! If you haven't heard of Grapevine Studies you should really go read about what we thought! You'll be glad you did!

Week 1 Tot School- I just never expected...

For months I have considered in bewilderment what to do with my very mischievous 2 year old while we embarked on our first "official" year of homeschooling. There is not a day that goes by that I don't find him into something. Whether it is pouring an entire new gallon bottle of laundry detergent (bought desperately in the first place because I had just run out of my homemade stuff) all over my tiny laundry room floor (even under the machines), emptying a bottle of shampoo into my bedroom carpet (took "shampooing the carpets" to a whole new level for me), taking apart a brand new toy, or covering his face in super glue (this one actually happened when I wasn't at home, so I can't take all the credit there), our dear Lion Cub just never takes a break from finding new (or old) things to get into.

Many days, it utterly exhausts me.

So, as you can imagine, the prospect of having him not be either into something or a constant distraction while I worked on school with Rhythm felt daunting. Whatever would I do with him?!

Well, our first day of school rolled around this week and I had a loose plan of what I would try with him- some montesorri-inspired Tot School activities from 1+1+1=1. Right after calendar time, which we included him in, and Bible, which he pretended to draw along with, I broke out some button and a painting tray from Michaels for him to sort colors into.

And he sat there.

And he did it.

For 10 whole minutes he sat happily sort colors, mostly correctly (also to my surprise). It was bizarre.

So, as he began to lose interest I quickly switched the buttons out for some colored craft puff balls, a different tray and a pair of kid chopsticks from PF Changs. Jackpot! He LOVED this! Another good 10-15 minutes of giggly fun as he transferred balls into the tray. To be honest, we all had a good laugh a few times because the balls just kept popping out of his grasp. A little distracting, but hey- he wasn't destroying anything so I could encourage Rhythm to ignore him.

After that, also to my amazement, he went in the living room and sat down in the recliner with Rhythm's Mobigo and played for the rest of school time. Now please realize how extraordinary this is- he doesn't even actually know how to use it. He has picked it up and messed with it many times before but never for more than five minutes! Craziness!

Day two we broke out my new iPad (actually, let me rephrase that- I don't think I ever want to use the words "broke" and "iPad" in the same sentence!) and he played some games and watched the free Toy Story interactive book with headphones on so as not to distract Rhythm with the sound. That kept him busy for a good bit of time, but once that was over he headed over to play with the duplos. Once again, these are not a typical toy for him. He has never really just sat down and started building with them. But, low and behold, he sat and built, and built and built- FOR OVER AN HOUR!!!

Excuse me while I pass out- I feel a bit like I have entered an alternate universe!

I just really cannot express to you the relief that has spilled over me in this area over the last few days! SO many people asked me whatever would I do with him in order to let Rhythm actually have a shot at learning this year, and although I could tell them what I planned and hoped, I was really thinking the same thing. But somehow, someway, God worked a miracle this week. I don't know if it is the sense of structure or maybe even the more active sense of my participation with them (even if my attention is mostly focused on Rhythm, I am there with them and not busied by housework or whatever else is going on in life, which I think he picks up on)- whatever it is, it's a miracle and I praise the Lord that He has made it so!

I know we will have rough days, but just knowing that he can stay busy in a nondestructive way and we can get through school without him being a total and complete distraction is an incredible encouragement!

How did your week go with your smallest learners?

First Week of Kindergarten 2011- Hello Reality!

Wow- what a first week. If I'm being completely honest, it didn't go at all as I had planned or expected. In some ways I knew that there would be some adjustments that would have to be made, I just had no idea they would be so drastic. I'll tell you right now that the first part of this post is a bit of a rant, but it gets better at the end, and its filled with honest homeschooling mama confessions, so stick with me!

For starters, the school room that I have been so vigorously planning and working on is still not finished. A sprained ankle sidelined The Carpenter (my hubby) for a day last week which took a huge chunk out of his available time to work on the desk he is building for us. I think once he gets it finished I will fairly quickly be able to organize everything and finally get the room to the unchaotic state that I have been planning on, it just hasn't happen yet. And let me tell you, I will be really glad when we are done trying to accomplish school on a tiny card table!

So after the schoolroom hurdles came scheduling snafoos. I ended up having to run errands for our business first thing in the morning on our first day of school, which put a serious kink in my day- REALLY not the way I wanted to get our school year started! So two hours behind we finally managed to get sat down and start things rolling. And this is where some of the good stuff comes in- Rhythm was so excited and he put forth so much effort, more than I have ever seen him put forth before. I can honestly say that he was making his absolute best effort and I was just so surprised, proud and delighted!

Despite our late start, our school time on Monday ended up turning into such a sweet time with both my children, fully focusing on them. Lion Cub shocked us all by really getting into his Tot School activities and keeping happily and unmischieviously occupied the ENTIRE time (which I will go into more in my Tot School post for the week) and Rhythm and I were able to really work together to get through his core subjects. We were even able to go set up his play tent in the yard and read together while Lion Cub took his nap in the afternoon- what a priceless memory to mark the beginning of our school year with. That alone truly made the day feel redeemed!

However, (back to one of those unexpected hurdles I hadn't planned for and really probably should of) I quickly found out that once we made it through Calendar time, Bible, Math and Reading, Rhythm really started to check out and he has every day since. He has never had to sit and concentrate for this long and it was obviously becoming too much for this active little boy. One morning he was so distracted right from the get go that I made him go out in the yard and run laps until he was good and worn out and ready to sit and concentrate. It wasn't his best day but those laps definitely helped!

So, as a result of this realization, each day I have done it a little differently, but basically I have started planning in a break right after we finish those 3 core subjects- recess, essentially. One day we went for a walk. Another day the boys wrestled and played with trucks while I got dinner in the crockpot. So far it seems that that break ends up falling about the time that they are getting hungry for lunch, so I have moved our lunchtime up to about 11:30ish. It seems to work best if I go ahead and just let him have his independent play time until after I get Lion Cub down for his nap and then we can resume again, just the two of us, to work on all the fun stuff I have planned. Ya know, the stuff I spent countless hours mapping out for the entire year!

It has become dramatically apparent that I have definitely expected too much and my plans are far loftier than he is capable of handling at this point. But ya know, I am also more okay with it than I would expect from myself, especially considering all that work! I think that I feel more grateful than anything that we are homeschooling so that I can pick up on his cues and really create an environment and timing that he can work best in. As I discussed it with The Carpenter this evening he expressed the same thankfulness that our incredibly active little boy isn't being forced to sit at a desk for an entire morning and end up totally checking out (and likely getting in trouble) wasting away these precious learning years.

Now, I won't lie and say that it hasn't been a bit discouraging as well. I have such fun stuff planned! But as I saw with the plaster homemade globe we attempted to make this week that ended up turning into a 100% mommy project in about 2 minutes, what I think is fun may not be as fun for him, so I really have to taylor what I'm planning to him and respond to how he is doing with the projects I present to him. however, I do have to say that he did enjoy the painting of it (he just really didn't like having the plaster on his hands!).

In all honesty there have been times this week that I have considered completely postponing our geography, science and history plans (which are a combined unit study) until next year when he may be more up for it, but I still haven't come to any real conclusions on this. For right now I think we will forge ahead but just not be afraid to cut out the things that he isn't ready for. There is so much wonderful literature included in what we are studying and beautiful opportunities to learn about God's creation and everyone's need to learn about Him, that I hope to still be able to make a lot of it work. The key will just be to not burn either of us out and try to come at it in a more relaxed way. And really, like I said, I'm pretty amazed that I haven't had a nervous breakdown because things are so not how I prepared for- it absolutely cannot be me. I truly feel that God has given me an extra measure of grace, patience and flexibility this week because if it had all been me, well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty and we would all most likely already hate homeschooling by now!

So thank you Jesus for answering prayers, giving guidance and most of all giving me a little boy who is eager to learn combined with affording us the priceless opportunity to still let him very much be a five year old boy!

Our School Room... in the works!

For any of you who missed it, I posted our plans for the school room over on BOLD Turquoise.  So head on over there if you want to see what's in store design-wise!  As soon as it is all finished you can be expecting a full-blow tour right here on The World According to Them!  Should be no later than the end of next week!  Eeek!

Curriculum Choices for 2011-2012- K & Tot School!

 

 **UPDATE** I originally posted this about a month ago, but wanted to update to say that I have officially finished Rhythm's lesson plans for the year!  Wahoo!  I am now working on wrapping everything up for Lion Cub and co-op, along with working on our school room- which I am very excited about and can't wait to share with you all!  My posting has been sparse in recent months but I fully plan to dive back in and being documenting our year as soon as we start, the week of August 22, so subscribe and stick around!  I'd love to get to know you!***

I can't believe that Rhythm is actually heading into Kindergarten this fall!  How can this be possible?!  Needless to say, we are both very excited!  In fact, I have been considering curriculum for almost two years to figure out what we would be using this next year and began the official buying of books and working on ideas in February!  I have been slowly writing our lesson plans now for the last two months, but have been feeling the urgency lately to get things wrapped up since we plan on starting school August 22!  I am currently up to Christmas and plan to finish the rest when we get back from our little holiday.

Before I really get into the details, though, I feel the need to not really apologize, but I guess explain that my little plan for this year really doesn't seem to look like a lot of the other Kindergarten plans I have recently come across in blogland.  I come at things from a Charlotte Mason, Unit Study, slightly eclectic style because I believe in it and think it will work best for my children.  It is definitely a method that takes more planning, preparation and organization on my part, but I really believe that both of my boys are going to learn well from this approach and we are all going to enjoy the process more than we otherwise would.

Much of my inspiration for this style of learning has come from this wonderful lady- Susan Evans at Hands-on Learning!

I stumbled upon Susan at last year's local Homeschool Conference and was instantly enthralled with her energetic, immersive style!  You could just tell that her kids LOVE to learn!  She takes the hands-on, unit study style to a whole new level!  I was thrilled to be able to attend both of her workshops at this year's conference and learned so many awesome ideas for incorporating journals into all sort of study and art projects with history lessons.  You have just got to go check out her site!  Her blog also has some wonderful articles and her You Tube Channel beyond rocks!  I really hope to incorporate more and more of her approach over the next couple of years, and honestly wish we were friends and I could just go sit with her family while they do school for like a week to see how they do it all!  Although, her videos do offer an awesome glimpse.

Anyway! Alright, now that I have given that little disclaimer, here we go...

Rhythm- Kindergarten

Bible-
We will be using Grapevine Studies, Beginner Level as our main curriculum to really get in the word and learn the actual accounts.


With that said, Bible will be our main, over-riding daily focus and I am going to do my best to incorporate it into as many aspects throughout our day as I can.  We will start our morning by reading/reciting our memory verses (using the system from Simply Charlotte Mason) during breakfast and going over Bob Jones' Bible Truths for Christian Growth K5.  The boys will be having their own quiet times in the afternoon where they will listen to The Word of Promise Audio Bible or praise music while looking through picture Bibles and spending their own little time with Jesus.  During dinner we will read a short chapter from Leading Little Ones to God and go over our memory verses again.  Then before bed The Carpenter will read the boys a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Math-
Horizons K- In all honesty I think Rhythm is going to fly through this curriculum fairly fast because he has a natural pension for math, but I plan to just meet him at his level and we will move on to 1st grade math as soon as he is ready.

Reading-
This is a harder one because Rhythm has a harder time focusing in this subject.  Our plan right now is to start over with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, use You Can Read for sight words, use Abeka's Blend Ladders for some drills and hopefully incorporate some word play ideas from 1+1+1=1 as well.  If All About Reading comes out with their level 1 curriculum this summer I may also consider using it if it seems like a good fit.

Spanish-
We will be listening to Spanish podcasts during lunch every day and using some spanish learning apps on my phone (and hopefully my iPad if I get one by fall), then we'll see where it goes from there.  I am also considering getting a subscription to Speekee, if money allows and it is also kind of dependent on that iPad thing since my computer is too slow to play video very well.

Piano-
I will be teaching Rhythm some very basic piano using Bastien's Young Beginner series. We were going to use these last year but he just wasn't ready.  I think he finally has enough of an attention span to start again though.

All the rest-
Ok- this is where I get all carazay! The rest of our subjects (yup- geography, history, science, art, writing composition, handwriting and whatever else you can think of) will be covered unit-study-style using a combination of Galloping the Globe and Expedition Earth.  We will be incorporating a lot of hands-on projects, copywork, lapbooks, narration and living books to accomplish this.  This is where I think the bulk of my blogging will come into play to document how we are taking this little journey into unit-study land.  This is also the part we are both most excited for and I hope to be able to tie Lion Cub into our studies as much as possible as well!

Co-op-
We will being attending a co-op this fall where Rhythm will be taking three classes- Music, Learning with Playdough and Lego Build.  He is beyond thrilled and we love that we get the best of both worlds- he get's the "school" experience with teachers, friends, backpacks, lunch boxes and all the rest, while also being homeschooled.  We are thrilled to have found this independent & Christian option so close to us.

In addition I will also be teaching two classes at the co-op, which I am totally pumped about!  I will be teaching Improv for junior highers, since I have extensive experience with both acting and junior highers, and A Becoming an Explorer class for 2-4th graders!  And yes, I will be posting all the fun details about this class right here on the blog so that hopefully some of you can utilize them in your homeschool or co-op as well!

Hip-Hop & Breakdancing-
Rhythm will be continuing his hip-hop and breakdancing classes at a local breaking studio which he totally loves!  He is really coming along and being introduced to more power moves this summer!  It is absolutely hilarious and, even better, Lion Cub is really catching on!

Lion Cub- Tot School (2 Years Old)

As I mentioned above, I really am going to try to include Lion Cub into most of what I am doing with Rhythm, but at his own level.  I do want to do a few things just for him though because I really think he will thrive on things geared just for him and absorb them quickly.  We tried out some of Carisa's Tot School printables last week and he ate them up, so we will likely be doing one letter a week.  As far as printables go I will also probably be mixing in some Tot books and packs, just to keep things fresh for him.

In addition, I plan on having a selection of tot trays for him each week and a monthly themed sensory bin.  I made a very basic one for him recently and he has adored playing with it.  My only hang up is finding a way for my house to not get covered in beans or rice or whatever happens to be in the tub while he and Rhythm play!!  These are the themes I have planned out for the year:

September: Asia/geography
October: Fall
November: Thanksgiving
December: Christmas
January: Winter
February: Valentine’s
March: St Patrick’s Day
April: Spring
May: Spring cont... Butterflies & bugs


So that's the break down!  It's all still a little subject to change as I nail things down (more so for Lion Cub than Rhythm), and I still have a TON of work to do to get ready, but we are really excited and looking forward to a great year!

What are you doing for school next year?  I'd love for you to leave a comment and a link!

My First Printables!! Nature Study and The Weekend Report!

I am so excited to share with you all my very first printables!!!  I have been wanting to offer something to my readers for quite some time but never really knew what I had to offer.  Well, now that we are getting into the swing of things I am starting to get more and more ideas and so I hope that this is just the beginning!  So, here they are!

The first is a printable I call The Weekend Report.  Now I cannot claim this as my own original idea.  We actually started doing this last year while we were working on our Itty Bitty Bookworm curriculum and I liked the idea so much I wanted to tie it into this year as well.  The printable, however, is my little creation. I typically have Rhythm dictate to me what he remembers doing over the weekend and then let him draw a picture of one of those things above.  It is a great way to warm into narration plus helps him have a gentle introduction to school on Monday mornings.

The Weekend Report Form

The second printable I would like to share is our Nature Study form.  This is another one of those things that obviously requires mama participation since Rhythm isn't writing yet, but the questions help guide him into making his own discoveries while we are outside.  I try to point out little things about nature as I notice them and I have naturally seen his interest and observation grow.

As we are getting started I help him a bit with his observations if he can't think of specifics.  For instance, this last week he chose a rock to draw.  So, I asked him things like, "What color is the rock?  Is it smooth or rough?  Is it heavy?  Where did you find it?  What do you like about it?"  As he gets used to this process I suspect he will begin verbalizing more of his own observations and as that happens my guidance will become more general, such as, "Tell me everything you can think of about this rock."

I find it is best to ask the questions on the back of the form after we have come back inside so he is not distracted by whatever it is outside that he wants to be playing with.  Asking these questions afterwards also allows him to think about the things he observed while he was playing and not just limit him to the things he was looking at during our actual nature study time.

Nature Study Form

**A little side note, there is a blank third page in this printable that I couldn't get deleted without deleting half the document.  One of those bazaro, "Why are you doing this to me you dumb computer!?" moments.  Please forgive me and dismiss it!**

Fall version of The Ultimate Homeschool Expo! Great Price!

This past spring I really wanted to attend the Ultimate Homeschool Expo but just didn't have the money.  Well, this Thursday the team behind that great online conference are kicking off a Back-to-School-Blast and it is only $1.99 for the full deal, including access to the Members Only site, MP3 downloads of all the seminars, $50 worth of freebies and an entry to win an iPad!  Hello!  Great deal!

They also have a free version where you can attend all the live workshops if you just sign-up for the newsletter!  Oh, and did I mention that one of my very favorite speakers in the whole darn world is going to be speaking- the one and only Mrs. Lorrie Flem!?  (check out her awesome ministry, TEACH, right here!) I will so be there!

A Day in Our Life!

Just to let you know up front- this post is long and it covers not only our school day but our entire routine for a normal day.  If you want to know just about our school day, feel free to scroll down to just that part!  Thanks for stopping by!

Developing a routine that we can stick with and that is actually reasonable for my family has been one of my biggest missions for this year!  As I have mentioned before, we are kind of in that in between stage of transitioning from having small kids being able to just do whatever whenever, to having a homeschooler who needs some structure and routine.  What a task!  It has been, and in many ways still is, a huge adjustment for all of us but I can already see the efforts paying off.

I put a lot of time, thought and effort into planning out this routine.  I tried to take into account what all I wanted to accomplish in a day and a week (certain tasks happen only on certain days, such as particular chores and errands) and then fuse that with what was actually feasible for our family.  The end result became three color-coded "routines" that detailed our days- one for "At Home Days," one for "Errand Days," and one for "Activity Days," just so I could make sure that I had all our bases covered!

Today I am going to share with you our base, "At Home Day" routine, which is what our day is supposed to look like!  Later this week (hopefully) I will post about what a day actually looks like, but hopefully it will be something close to this!

Morning

• Between 6:00-6:30 I get up, get my tea and have time with the Lord, followed by some blogging and Google Reader time.
• By 7:40 I try to have breakfast going, which, if I have followed my pre-prep schedule, should usually only involve throwing something in the oven.
• At 8:00 I wake up Rhythm, if he isn't up already, and get him upstairs for breakfast (which should be done by now, or very close to).
• During breakfast we read a story from our Jesus Storybook Bible and do some of the questions from our Young Children's Catechism
• As soon as breakfast is over it is chore time for all of us!  Rhythm has a chore pack (which I will be posting on soon) that has things such as putting his dishes in the sink, emptying silverware from the dishwasher, emptying bathroom garbages, making his bed, brushing his teeth and getting dressed.  I empty the dishwasher, do the breakfast dishes, put out some laundry and also do the following things, based on the day:

• I then put on Baby Einstein (which actually has taught Rhythm some signs) and take a quick shower (if I haven't already the night before) and get dressed.

School Time

• We aim to start school between 9:00-9:30 (usually closer to 9:30).  We use a workbox system to keep things organized, and generally our school day goes something like this:

• Calendar Time & Morning Board (which I will also be posting on in detail soon)
• Introduction to our Raising Rock Stars work for the day using the RRSP Board
• Snack while mama reads aloud (books usually focus around our unit theme)
• Our Raising Rock Stars work for the day (during which we usually have our RRSP music for the week playing quietly in the background)
• An extra activity or two (Piano, Nature Study, various preschool printables, file folder games, etc...)
• And eventually, somewhere in there, we will be adding a project to go along with our unit study
• Also, while Rhythm is doing some of his more independent work I start to prep for the following day and begin refilling our bags for our workbox, all the while trying to keep Lion Cub busy as well!

Afternoon

• Around 12:00 we try to start preparing for lunch (which, once again, is hopefully very minimal if I have done my prep-ahead work the day before).  During lunch we read "Leading Little Ones to God"
• Directly after lunch we have free play time and maybe try to get a little bit of time outside (which is currently difficult because our backyard is a weed pit in desperate need of landscaping).
• By 1:00ish I try to get Lion Cub down for a nap.  I usually have Rhythm nap also every few days so that he doesn't get over-tired (his tiredness tends to accumulate).  If it isn't a nap day for Rhythm, we typically try to get in a little bit more reading time together or play a game after Lion Cub is down.  After that Rhythm will typically either play quietly or watch Phineas and Ferb- his end-all, absolute FAVORITE TV show (that the whole family secretly loves!).  He also usually has another snack around now (3:00ish). 
• During that time I try to get in some blogging time, catch up on my Google Reader some more and work on my Prep Work for the next day:

• Between 3:45-4:00 I try to start working on meal prep.  This includes not only dinner but the following day's breakfast and lunch as well.  You can read more about this on The Mama Kenz Studio.

Evening

• We aim to eat dinner right around 5:00.  Directly following dinner (or while Rhythm is still eating- he's even slower than ME!) we do family devotions, typically reading from the One Year Bible for Kids.
• After dinner the boys typically play with dad while I clean up the kitchen and try to get some laundry put away.  We occasionally try to sneak in a family game, which I am hoping to make more consistent.
• Throughout the evening I try to do the following:

• At 7:30 I bathe the boys if it is a bath night or at 7:45 we start having the boys clean up their toys and and begin winding down.  
• At 8:00 we head downstairs where I, generally, get Rhythm ready for bed and put him down and then take Judah in and nurse him to sleep.  My aim is to be back upstairs by 8:45 but no later than 9:00.
• The rest of the evening is usually spent watching a favorite show and sometimes even reading together with Jer.  We also both usually end up on our computers at some point during this time.
• This is where it gets really difficult for me.  My plan is to be heading downstairs to get ready for bed between 10:00-10:30.  The idea is that I could be downstairs, ready by 10:30 with a half an hour to read and have lights out by 11:00.  This has yet to happen, but I keep telling myself that if I continue to get up early and not nap with the boys, one of these days I am just going to be so flat out exhausted that I will have no choice but to go to bed early!  Ok, hopefully it won't come to that- it is just a really hard adjustment for this night owl!

So there is our day, all boiled down.  I am still tweaking and reconfiguring things, but for the most part it seems to be working and giving us more of a predictable rhythm which is helping me to accomplish more and feel more on top of my game.

I have linked this post up to The Heart of the Matter Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop.  Head over there to see more Days in the Life of more homeschool families across the nation!

Preschool Corner- First Week of School!

 

Wow- what a week!  Much more difficult than I expected but I suppose it is a work in progress.  We had our first "official" school day on Monday and for all intents and purposes we did accomplish pretty much everything I intended to and we did stick with our routine.  HOWEVER, I would still pretty much classify it as nightmare!  We tried to do all of our work at the kids table in our school room and Lion Cub screamed the ENTIRE time.  It was horrible.  Rhythm was trying to concentrate but it was near impossible for either of us and he kept asking when we would be done because he just wasn't used to it yet.  I walked away from that morning actually seriously doubting (for the first time) if this was actually going to work.  

Tuesday, though, I got up a little earlier, got a little bit more prepared, had my morning tea and my time with the Lord and vowed to not give up.  Awwww... what a better way to start the day!  I also changed a few things about how we did school!  After our Calendar time (which I will be posting on in more detail soon) we grab our workbox and Raising Rockstars Preschool learning board and move out to the dining room table.  This way I can strap Lion Cub into his seat and have Rhythm in his chair on the other side (key#1- keep them separated!).  I was then able to keep Lion Cub busy with snacks and Tot School activities (key#2- plan things for the 14 month old to do!  More on this soon!), thus allowing Rhythm (and myself) to be less distracted.  Thank Jesus for how smooth this morning went-it completely restored my hope and confidence!

Each day has been different and I won't say that it has been a picnic since Tuesday, but we are starting to get into a rhythm.  Both boys seem to be getting used to how our days are beginning to flow now and they kind of know what to expect.  Every day I have learned a little bit more about how I should arrange our school schedule and our daily routine to better fit our needs, so every day it gets a little bit better.  There is still some tweaking to do, but I already feel more confident and can see that after a few weeks our new routine will feel like old hat for all of us.  Be sure to stop back by on Monday for more details of how I have set up our routine!

But now, on to the actual school work!!  We started using Carisa's AMAZING Raising Rockstars Preschool curriculum this week and we LOVE it!!  It composes the core of what we are working on and it is a terrific fit for us.  Rhythm really enjoys all of the activities and I am amazed at how quickly he is picking up new (or in some cases remembering old) skills.  I can really see his sense of pride and satisfaction when he finishes his work also, which I think will be key to his success and love of learning.

Here is what we did this week:

First day in the classroom...

Rhythm working on his Weekend Report (this printable coming soon!).  He was really trying but....

it was difficult!

Day 2- our new set-up... 

much better!

Saying his verse with hand motions that we added.  By Thursday (we only do a 4-day week) he had his verse down pat! (me- beaming with pride!)

Cutting out his vocab cards.  It took him a while but he didn't complain once!  

He really enjoyed putting them all in their spots!  

Just delighted with himself!

Of course, this is the picture he wanted me to take!  Don't you love his little eyes peeking through?!

Here is a pic from his perspective!  Obviously, this wasn't Day 1!!!

Working hard on writing his "L"s!

This boy isn't huge on coloring but he LOVES to paint (although markers are used more than crayons)!  He keeps telling me that he is an artist!

Other things we did this week that weren't pictured were:

• Clothes Pin Number Match from Confessions of a Homeschooler
• Bastien Piano for Young Beginners
• Nature Study (printable coming soon for this one too!)
• Lots of reading about Farms!  We are gearing up for our field trip to the fair so this week we were learning all about farm machines.  I am going light on this unit though, so we are just doing the reading portion and no other activities.  We are breaking in slow!
• Finishing up Winnie the Pooh!  I am still so surprised by how much Rhythm enjoys this book and look forward to wrapping it up and beginning Charlotte's Web next week.

We also LOVED the music we downloaded to go with our Raising Rockstars Curriculum!  I downloaded 5 of the suggested songs that Carisa posted with the Letter L week on her site from iTunes and we not only listed to them to sing along to during the lesson, but we also played them quietly in the background while Rhythm did his other work and also various times throughout the day.  We especially loved the song from the Seeds Family Worship CD and enjoyed the songs from Praise Baby as well.  It was so nice to have God's word sung through our home all day, especially since we would get the songs stuck in our heads.  The music also seemed to have a calming effect on both boys, helping things be a little less hectic, and promoted concentration.

Alright, I know this post was a little wordy, but it was honest and I hope some of you can relate!  Like I mentioned above, keep your eyes open for some upcoming printables I am going to debut and a post about our routine and school schedule on Monday!  Be sure you don't miss out on the giveaway I am having for The Hands on Bible too!!

Oh, and if you haven't checked out my main blog lately (The Mama Kenz Studio), I have lots of cool stuff going on over there with my new sponsor, Marmee's Bread Market, and I am going to have a big announcement about an upcoming raffle for a Bosch Universal Plus mixer AND a giveaway with multiple winners starting Monday!  So, be sure to drop by and check it out!

OH!!  AND!!  

(I know, you're thinking, "More?  Seriously?!")  But this is my 100th post on this blog!!  Happy dance!  Sorry- I couldn't help myself!

To see other fun preschool posts take a look see over at Homeschool Creations for the latest Preschool Corner Link-up!

Hands on Bible Review & Giveaway!!

What a great Bible- for not only kids but the whole family!  Just to start off, I think this Bible does a really good job of personalizing the experience of reading God's word for kids and truly encourages them to get involved with it.

Each book features a great intro page that tells important facts, shows a timeline of the book's events and gives a synopsis that is written in a fun and engaging way- just to name a few.   There are also great bios of the heroes of the Bible; fun facts that make the Biblical text relate-able; and, of course, hands-on activities sprinkled throughout that literally give kids the chance to experience the meaning of God's word and grasp it in a more tangible way.

Possibly one of my favorite aspects of this Bible are "The Jesus Connection" segments that explain how everything in the Bible relates back to Jesus.  What a valuable and useful tool!  In that way it reminds me a lot of the Jesus Storybook Bible, which we love!

The last thing I absolutely love about this Bible, and simply couldn't close my post without mentioning, is the website that accompanies it!  You can check it out at MyHandsOnBible.com.  This site is packed with great resources for learning about the Bible and even a wonderful, downloadable family study book.

I have been truly impressed with this Bible and am quite sure that we will be using it in our home devotions and homeschool for many years to come.  It is a fantastic first Bible for Rhythm and will probably even purchase one for Lion Cub when he gets old enough!

Do you think this might be a Bible you would like for your children?  If so, you can purchase one right here.

Or, if you want to try your hand at a little contest to win one first, here is how you can enter:

Mandatory Entry- Visit MyHandsOnBible.com and then come back here and tell me what feature you would find the most helpful or interesting!

Extra Entries (one separate comment per entry):

• Follow or subscribe to The Mama Kenz Studio (my main blog- right sidebar)
• Become a Fan of The Mama Kenz Studio on Facebook
• Follow or Subscribe to The World According to Them
• Add The Mama Kenz Studio button to your blog (Left sidebar- leave address where I can find it!)
• Add The World According to Them button to your blog (leave address where I can find it!)
• Write a blog post about this giveaway, linking back to this post (leave address where I can find it!)
• Write a blog post about any other giveaway I am hosting during the same period of time (giveaways on The Mama Kenz Studio are included.  Leave address where I can find it!)
• Tweet about this giveaway!  (this can be done once daily) Feel free to copy and paste the following message:

@Chic_Mama is hosting a giveaway for The Hands on Bible- head on over to enter! http://tinyurl.com/28adz7c

Thanks for Entering!  Best of Luck!

This contest will run from August 18- September 1, 2010 at 8:00PM PST.  Please make sure that you enter your e-mail address so that I have a way of contacting you if you win.  Winner will be drawn via random.org.  Please go here to see additional rules and terms.

This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for honest review.  All opinions are completely mine- I would tell you if I didn't like it!

First Day of School!

Today is the day!  Our first day "back" to school!  Rhythm went to bed last night with his special nice outfit all laid out and mounting anticipation in his brain from all the hype I have been placing on this first day of PK4!

So here he is- the back-to-homeschool boy himself!  The thing he is the very most excited about is his piano lessons, so this seemed like an appropriate picture.

And of course, his little bother brother who is just along for the ride!  I know, horrible picture, right?  But in all honesty, this is what he spent most of the time doing!

Go snag this freebie!!

Hey everybody!! I just wanted to share with you all that this week on Simple Schooling Classroom they are offering their last weekly freebie of the summer and it is an interactive unit study all about Fall!!  This is one of the units we will be working on this year and I just wanted you all to know about it so you can snag it before it's gone!

Just head over to the site and look for the "Grab the Weekly Freebie" section to download this unit for FREE!

Our New School Room!

So in reality this room is our School Room/Toy Room & Mama's Office/Studio.  Maybe I should just call it multipurpose!  Whatever we call it, it has been evolving for some time now and this last week or so I have been putting in the final push to get it done.  There are still some things I would like to add to the walls and a few things I would like to tweak and possibly move around, but those things are going to have to come later.  So here is my little tour (mind you it's small, and very full!)...

This is our main learning area.  We have our calendar and calendar board, our Raising Rockstar's Board, one of our pocket charts with schedule/workbox cards & calendar elements, supply drawers, kid table, bin with all of the main components of our curriculum for this year, and Rhythm's Workbox. We will most likely start our day out right here with our calendar time and introductions to our RRSP lessons for the day and then move Rhythm's workbox out to the dining room table as I think it will be easier to keep Lion Cub occupied if we are all sitting out there together.

This little corner is all mine!  I have my "desk" (yes, it is a sad little card table but someday it will be something fabulous!), my handy clipboards that I am still in the process of jazzing up (they hold my routines, immediate forms or bills that need my attention and other random information), my trusty computer (ok- it's not in the picture right now but it's usually there!) and that is really all.

On that same wall I have a bookshelf that houses all of my sheet music along with the books that we will be using with our units.  Above that I also have more of our workbox cards since I plan to use the top of this shelf as a sort of filling-station.

This crazy side of the room houses our massive (but wonderful!) food dehydrator (hoping to get a better stand for this soon, rather than the box- eek!), our changing table turned diaper and toy storage, and of course the toy bins that I think just about every family in America has, but hey, they work (and they were free- thanks Grandma!)!  My plan is to flip their car rug up over the toy bins during school time to help minimize the distractions.

Then, turning to the last wall, you will find our piano (which we are so excited to really start using this fall) as well as a cozy little reading corner tucked away in an otherwise unusable space. 

The boys love any sort of fort or tiny place they can sneak into, so this corner just screamed of opportunity to play on that love theirs!  I often times walk in to find a blanket suspended from the piano to the toys to just complete the fort-like feeling!

So that's it!  Humble and small (thus why it was so difficult to capture more complete shots) but I am so thankful that we have a space at all to be able to set up our school stuff in!

To see take a little peak into the school rooms of other homeschoolers just head on over to The Heart of the Matter for the Not Back to School Blog Hop!