September is here!!!


A lot of reflection went on this summer.  I have two going to middle school, and one staying home.  My youngest is very excited about this coming year!!


To start with, I created a group called, 'Disney Friends' on facebook.  Through this group, that meets once a month, (for homeschool/school kids) kids can meet other children that enjoy going to Disney.  When they find friends, they can go together!  My 7yo calls it, 'Disney School', LOL.   We will be getting our week Disney pass this/next month.  (Monday to Friday)


We also attend a coop in Orlando, where she takes Latin, American History, Writing, Magic Tree House Literature Study (science/history), My Body (science), and I believe another class;)  The coop is only 3 days a week, 2 classes a day.  She has a lot of fun!!  She's already made a friend or two, and can bring a sack lunch. 




To top that all off, we moved!!  A lot of changes going on this year.  Can't wait to post on them:)

Weclome to Classical Unschooling

We are in the process of getting started.  Please come back in the next couple weeks and I will have something up.  As for now, look at my favorite site!

www.veritaspress.com

Read your childhood favorites here, get creative, and have fun :)  Also check out all my favorite links, many of them free!!

Getting Creative with Lunches

Peanut butter and Yogurt Dip, Tomatoes, carrots and celery

Peaches, carrots, celery with Peanut butter and Vanilla Yogurt

Blueberry Yogurt, Hard boiled egg, and cooked carrots with butter/brown sugar sauce

Here's what we found in our engine:

Ginger

Here he is with sisters

Neli

Reeses

sadly, no one has responded to the craigslist listing...and we can't keep all 3.  So, at least 2, will be taken to the SPCA unless this occurs...

:(

Good-bye kitties..hope you find a home...

September 9, 2011

Oh, so much has changed!

I found a few great links that the kids are really enjoying! Those, along with a few worksheets a day seems to really sum it up:)

Study Ladder

http://www.studyladder.com/login/login

This is a great site and if you enter your umbrella school (or if you choose to be connected with the school district, just put in your local school) and it lets you on unlimited during school hours.  As the teacher, which is what I put myself in as, you can assign tasks for your student to do, or just have them go on and play for fun. Fun, in any subject!

The other one I want to share is

Carrot Sticks.

This site, you can play by yourself, or against other kids.  This makes it even more fun!!

http://www.carrotsticks.com/florida1

Something kids really enjoy!

So that is what is going on currently.  FLVS is completely out.  Back to old school and, to tell you the truth, liking it!:)

Happy Homeschooling!

September 2, 2011

Wouldn't you know, only a week or so into the semester, and we're already at a loss again.

I saw the 'Florida Virtual' reviews, it sounded real good.  But all it is  is an online textbook. You simply read the lesson, and take the quiz.  No teacher teaches a thing.  There is nothing.  Just a textbook, and a quiz.  Sure, you can retake the quiz, but that doesn't work for my 10yo.  The teacher is only available for questions, the don't teach anything unless you ask.

What!?

No wonder they don't get paid as much...

We're hanging on for math, though. I just have to teach the concepts, or find a site that will.  She really likes her teacher, too.  Although, phone-to-phone is NOT the way to teach her. I am going to have to find a tutor...

So we're on Weaver for Language Arts.  We read together some poems by Shel Silverstein the other day, and their job is to write a poem this week. 

We're going through a lot of freebies for worksheets.  Fun, fun!;) 

anyways, things keep changing.  We had to drop Spanish, too.  What language can be learned with no teacher to teach it?  You can't just 'read' the lesson, with no video or anything....

What to do...
Happy Homeschooling!

August 25,2011

School will be starting tomorrw.  Rachel got a chance to speak with her teachers by phone, she was excited to meet them!  Should be  a fun day!:)

More Photos to Post!

Gracie made this.

Miss Eliza Jane, sleeping soundly.

Isn't she cute!

Legoland in progress

Colette and friend made images of eachother.

August 21,2011

Kids had a fun day at a sleepover yesterday and I finally  got caught up with Gracie for school!  I still have to write down what Rachel will be doing on her Time4learning (it's all under one name, so they have to 'hand-key' the lessons..a tedious job, but worth the discount!;)

Anyways, Gracie was so excited, that she already started her work:)  I think the '$$ for A's and B's' motivational tool worked!  lol..  Colette started her K level (she does it with mommy..same site) work, and she has Pre-K games she does on her own, loves it! :) Couldn't be happier.

Will post pictures soon!!
FLVS hasn't contacted me yet..grrr...should had read that fine-print..they won't be LOOKING for a teacher till my start-date!  Well, for next semester, NOW I know;)

Happy Homeschooling!

Great Recipe, Very Quick and Easy!

I touched up one of my recipes the other day, and it came out great!

Meaty Cheesy
2 pounds ground beef, browned

Put in casserole dish

Put in some shredded cheese.  Enough to taste. (a lot is good)
2 Jars of spaghetti sauce
Half of green pepper, diced
Half of onion, diced
Mix together

Put in oven at/around 300 degrees.
When warm, top with cheese.
Let it stay in till melted.
Yummy!

Fun Finds...

They had a sale on watermelon the other week. I bought a bunch!! I think they went down, at one point, to $1.50 each!  I cubed and threw them in freezer bags (pretty much, nearly, filling up my freezer;))..anyways, I found one thing. If you let them melt, slightly, throw them in the blender with a little fruit, they make great substitutes for ice in slushees!  We usually throw in bananas and strawberries, but also like the occasional blueberry.

Just a thought for those looking for the cheaper treat..
God bless!
Stacey:)

August 19, 2011

Oh, what a year. A year full of discoveries and finding out what is going to work for us.  This year, we are leaning away from the unschooling route. Yes, I do believe that is the best route, but with my work schedule, and time issue, I don't think it can be done right when I am sleeping and the kids are left to their own devices.  They did learn, do not get me wrong, Rachel going into grade 6 this year (skipping a grade) will speak truth to that one.  It's hitting her, too, when she sees her friends (same age) going into grade 5!  We had to do a little 'catching up', but I think she will be fine. I found FLVS.


FLVS (Florida Virtual School) is a free, public, school for public, homeschool and private students. All teachers are certified, and you simply go through them at home. Since my kids are legally private schooled, they can take a full load and NOT register with the program (i can enroll them in ANY grade i want ;)-and they can't tell me no, lol..)


Gracie will be taking grade 6 Spanish. (private schooled kids can only start at grade 6).  Anyways, I am going to try and get Gracie ready, possibly, next year.  What change have we made? Pretty much, early admittance to FLVS= Early graduation.  Rachel is excited.  It will be a challenge to her, since she is really not used to traditional schooling.
http://www.flvs.com/


Also, Gracie will be going back to Time4learning http://www.time4learning.com/ to get her ready, along with doing a combination of Abeka grade 2/3 workbook I made up.  Abeka runs a grade or 2 ahead, so it will be really like doing a grade 4/5 workbook.  This should get her ready, and then they will both be in this.
Both are excited!:)


For those interested, Rachel will be taking-
FLVS Math
FLVS Language Arts
Time 4 learning Grammar(I don't think that course has much grammar...that is something she missed...)
FLVS Science (middle school science looked really boring to me, but she wanted to do it!;)
FLVS Critical Thinking (semester long class)-i told her if she did good in this, she could take guitar next
                            semester!)
FLVS Spanish (a virtual tour through Spain! it looked so exciting, even my 8yo wanted in)
Rosetta French (FLVS only has French for high school)
FLVS World Culture/Geography
Time4learning American History (another area she didn't cover much on her own
Spelling City/Vocabulary City (FLVS doesn't seem to cover much of this..well, to my liking;)
http://www.spellingcity.com/


Gracie will be doing-
Time4learning-
Math
Language Arts
Science (mainly for reading experience)
History (same)
Abeka Math (supplement)
Abeka Language Arts (supplement)
Spelling City/Vocabulary City


Even 4 yo is getting involved! She wanted to do preschool 'so bad' so I am putting her on Time4learning.
Fun, Fun!!


Will post daily on how everyone is doing.

Updating...

Day 1

Day 1

On this day we read together

Genesis 11:1-9 from the Bible.

We also read

Why did they build the tower?

Fear? Disobedience?  A little of both?

More than likely a little of both.

"So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.'

But they chose to stay.

Psalm 143:10

was our copywork

Discussed obedience

Look up 'obedience' in the dictionary, also in the thesaurus.

Another good resource is the Noah Webster 1828 dictionary, available online.  It is interesting to see how the dictionary has changed through time.

http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,obey

You will also find many more verses on this 'definition' for copywork.

I like 'First Language Lessons', but McGuffey is also good to use.  These are available online for free (McGuffey), I will post the link next week, or write me if needed.

For math, I wrote Book Samaritan and got a 2010 application disc for free, (you can use any grade, just need the application disc) and I am buying the SOS grades (any year) off ebay for $6.  If you have the 2010 installation, it will run with any year.

We also use a math book from the late 1800's. It seems to work the same as 'Rays Arithmetic', at least I read a few samples.  It has really helped my kids learn 'oral math', and understanding word problems.

http://www.archive.org/stream/anelementaryari10wentgoog#page/n14/mode/1up

A site worth looking at!!

For spelling, use McGuffey Spelling.  We use grade 2 and 4.

They don't have links, but if you run the words, 'gutenberg project' through google, you will find all the old books online.

Excellent!!

Hope this helps.

Happy Homeschooling!

January 7,2011

Wow, what a year!!

Many changes have been made this year.  We actually 'seem' somewhat organized!!

First of all, we're waking up at 8am.  Well, I'm waking them up at 8am;) they drag out of bed after about 30 minutes of being pushed around.

I am also making breakfast,

usually.

So this is a shocker!!

We have decided to do 'cooking day/unit study day' on Wednesday, so the followers that joined for the curriculum, I will add a day once a week.

I found this awesome site created by Kaplan. (the tutoring company)  It can be either a supplemental or a curriculum. 

http://www.theheadoftheclass.com/SplashPage/SplashPage.aspx

It's called, 'Head of the Class' and has everything from Spanish, Art and Math.  A little more traditional then animated but it works and the kids really enjoy it.  Best part, Rachel decided to move to grade 5, as most of her friends are older.  Is that a problem? No, i simply have her take the grade 5 assessment (which actually won't be out till later this month) and it will fill in the gaps with what she doesn't know.

I enrolled Gracie in grade 3.  The had those weird birthdays so i started them late, but I think they've caught up.

Next post-

Day 1

December 10, 2010

I have begun to get real interested in products that are made in this country.  Not so much 'health food' products.  But brand names like

'Skippy'

'Peter Pan Peanutbutter'

and such...

Anyways, does anyone know what typical, grocery store brands are 100% American?

Also...

For those waiting for my curriculum postings..

The goal is to get it started by January. 

Happy Homeschooling!!

December 5, 2010

I was sitting down at work the other day with a jug of apple juice when I noticed something written on the bottle in barely visible writing

'apple concentrate from China/Argentina'

What!!??

On the label it read, 'Made in the Usa'.  Apparently that was only the bottle!

I went to other juices, including Mott's, all generics, and noticed the same pattern.  They were sneaky, including it on the bottle, smaller than size 10 print, Mott's didn't even have it in black.  You had to hold the bottle to the light to even see it was there!

Anyways, I'm just sending this as an FYI.  If China can not even produce toys that aren't poisoned, can you imagine what they are doing to our food?  Not to mention their public relations issue!

Welches products use their own fruit.
I am still not sure if that means their fruit is 'grown' in China, however??  But if they are, I can only assume it means they oversee it a little.

Apple juice was difficult, but I finally found

Musselman's.

It read clearly on their label that all apples are American grown.  Their juice is not the cheapest, as opposed to those shipped from other countries, but it does make me feel better I am supporting our business' that haven't sold out on us or our health!

Anyways, an FYI to those that didn't know.  I had no idea till I got bored and started looking at the bottle.  The print size couldn't even had been 8!

Look for writing like this

That above is about the right size.

December 1, 2010

We're trying a different approach, and I think it's working!

We've been slacking on this reading, so we read an entire chapter of

Little House in the Big Woods together,

worked on our 1800 book math/First Language Lessons

Today we read the 'Christmas' chapter

I don't really 'bother' to do much with the First Language Lessons. I simply ask the kids, 'remember what a common/proper noun is? Give me an example.  Do the same for the rest that is covered.  It can be monotonous. 

We also did copy work for

'Twinkle Twinkle'.

Before, copywork was a hassle.  I would just give up on it, as it was just too much of a negative impact on our day.

:) Then I discovered bribery, LOL...

For each line they copy, they get 5 pieces of (their choice)

mini m&m's, reses pieces (3peices), gummies/sour patch are only 2.

They can stop wherever they want, and that has eliminated the whining!:)

I have also come tot he conclusion that since Abeka is a grade or two ahead, why are they doing a full page?

I let my 9yo know that half a page would be just fine, and this wouldn't put her behind at all.  It may take her two years to finish the book, but that wouldn't put her behin, it would just put her at grade level!

We also made the Molasses Snow Candy!!

Snow Candy

"Laura and Mary each had a pan, and Pa and Ma showed them how to pour the dark syrup in little streams onto the snow."


- Little House in the Big Woods




You will need:


1 cup molasses


I cup brown sugar


Fresh, clean snow (or crushed ice)
(we didn't have a blender that could crush ice, so we used icy-semi frozen water on a saucer, and it worked fine!)






Measuring cup


Large pot


Wooden spoon


Candy thermometer, or cup filled with cold water


Shallow pan, such as a cake pan


Clean towel


Boil the molasses and sugar together in the large pot until the mixture reaches the "hard crack" stage on a candy thermometer, or until a spoonful dropped into cold water forms a hard ball and cracks. Remove the syrup from the heat.


BE VERY CAREFUL. THE SYRUP IS EXTREMELY HOT AT THIS STAGE.


Scoop fresh, clean snow (or crushed ice) into the shallow pan. Dip up a spoonful of syrup and dribble it onto the snow in "circles, and curlicues, and squiggledy things" as Laura and Mary did. It will harden and become candy. Lift the candy off the snow and onto a clean towel to dry.

November 18, 2010

 Tried out a very easy bread recipe today and it worked great!!  Wanted to share-

Easy Bake White Bread     

1C very warm water        1 1/2 t salt
1 envelope dry yeast        2 T oil
1 t sugar                             3 C flour


Pour water in bowl, add yeast, sprinkle over water.  Stir until dissolved.  Add sugar, salt and 2 T oil.  Stir.  Add 1 1/2 C flour.  Beat well, stir in rest of flour, put on lightly floured board.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.  Form into a ball.  Place in a greased bowl, brush top with oil.  Cover and let rise 45 minutes.  Punch down and shape into loaf.  Cover, let rise 1 hour.  
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake 40 minutes.
Delicious!             

November 18, 2010

I am using McGuffey Spelling 2 and 4, and am surprised how fast the words move.

I have decided to start noting these spelling words.

Gracie's spelling words

(She decided she also wanted to learn a few states)

California

Oregon

Florida

favorite

spelling

date

jade

late

fade

mate

rate

came

dame

same

cage

page

sage

ace

wake

the ones that don't end with an 'e' are also her choosing;)-she wanted to learn them!

Rachel, Grade 4

(she has a few reading words.  Her words started out very easy, but are gradually getting more difficult.

envious

borrow

inquired

endure

squall

fatal

pagan

baby

lady

lazy

navy

racy

Satan

usually

legal

regal

real

penal

taper

dial

trial

final

vial

local

cubit

duel

human

unit

fury

jury

puny

pupil

duly

They will have their pretest on Monday and I will note how they do:)  I let them have a pretest on Monday (which will erase their words), another Wednesday, (which will erase even more) and those  that are missed go to next week:)

We've all been sick, so no school this week. 

Getting better!!

Happy Homeschooling!!