I’ve had people ask me how I manage to teach six children with so many different needs and levels of learning taking place. I honestly have been thinking on this for the last couple of days as I’ve worked on putting this on virtual paper.
I do not have a schedule laid out minute by minute. I have tried that, but I’m going to be honest in saying it just doesn’t work. And that stressed this Type-A person out, so I threw it out … literally … one day. Continue reading
Finally!
I posted a new freebie. I’m not calling it monthly anymore as I don’t seem to be able to get them posted monthly.
It is live though! Just click the freebie tab at the top of this page or the photo above to link to my store for your FREE download of this sampling of CVC task cards! Hope you enjoy!
We like to play games. We like to win games. And in playing games, we learn how to lose games humbly and to celebrate our opponents’ wins.
Below are a few of the games we play the most which require critical thinking skills (and some math as well!): Continue reading
It started out as a rescue endeavor.
Seems that our cat Ninja really likes to play with the GIGANTIC moths that make their home here on our little piece of paradise.
This particular Luna Moth had lost part of its wing. We didn’t know it was a Luna Moth, but we wanted to find out. And so we got out our Golden Books Insect guide.
Wow, starting back to school has certainly limited my blogging time! I guess that is as it should be!
I wanted to share a few photos of artistic pursuits in our homeschool the first couple of weeks. Tomorrow will mark the end of week 2!
First, our back door was really on my nerves. Just being honest. With eight family members, it doesn’t take long for shoes to pile up. Just one pair each totals 16 shoes and our oldest is now wearing a size 10. So … one sunny afternoon (sun these days is rare which is a whole different post), I *encouraged* our older three boys to construct a shoe rack. They actually did a great job after a bit of back and forth as they began. Here is the finished product (and please ignore the broken flowerpot that needs to go away except I keep thinking I can somehow repurpose it–broken clay pot picture frame?). OK, back to the finished product.
Now my oldest is going to build another one he says for the other back door. I do love it!
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For this next set of photos, I have to give a shout out to an amazing product I found at Teachers Pay Teachers, specifically the Art Task Cards Complete Set, which can be found in Renee’s store.
I stocked up on these at the TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale last May, and I’m already convinced it was money well spent. Continue reading
I almost put it into the give-away pile as we rarely played it. Just wasn’t a favorite.
But wooden blocks? I just couldn’t let them go. Enter Pinterest. And voila!
Sight Word Jen*ga! They love it! I love it!
A great way to brush up on those sight words, some of which are memorized and a few that are still a bit of a struggle. When they find the block they want to try and pull, they must say the word first.
If they are struggling, the other player can try to help them out. We keep it fun and encouraging this way. If neither can figure it out, Mom helps out, but no matter what, they pull the block and hopefully the tower doesn’t fall!
This way though, it doesn’t feel so much like work! If you have an old Jen*ga that sets in your closet/cabinet/shelf, I recommend repurposing it and giving it a new lease on life!
B-L-E-S-S-E-D.
Seriously. Blessed.
We knew the lakes were nearby, but we had not found time to drive over to them … 7-minute drive I might add … until this evening just before sunset. Continue reading
It just worked out last week that I was home with our four children adopted from China. The Prez and our other two children were on a Boy*Scout trip out West. I hope to have photos from that soon.
For this post, I am sharing photos from last Thursday when I hiked to the top our hill with our four Chinese children.
Well, let me rephrase … four of us hiked and one of us was alternately carried by myself and Larry, our 13-year-old son.
The hike was worth it for the view and the company and sweet discoveries!
My goal this year in classroom/library set-up is “Setting them UP for success!” from the moment our students enter the room!
I hope I have achieved that through some of the ways I have set up our classroom, which I call the library because our family uses it for much more than “school.” I am sharing some ways I have set our classroom up for success below!
1. Each of our students has a shelf for their books. At the end of the day, they know where they are supposed to go and have hopefully placed them there. For those books that are shared by some, their is another shelf and they are replacing books as they finish. While some books are for individual students, others are shared by multiple students. It is good to practice sharing, even as older students! Continue reading