Our First Day of School

Our first day of school was actually last Monday. It was a rainy morning but we all awoke early ready to start the new school year. The entire family packed up for a trip to Whole Foods for a “Back to School Brunch”. Our family loves Whole Foods! Whatever towns we travel to we have to fine a Whole Foods or Trader Joes. The colors, the smells and just the energy of the place energize us. My hubby refers to it as Whole Wallet, because it is pricey but we were celebrating.

We arrive with notebook, shopping list and empty tummies. I forgot my camera so I had to go to local blogs for images. (You wouldn't believe how many local folks take pictures of our Whole Foods.)

TS informed the produce guy that today was the first day of his Homeschool, to which he replied have a great year.

We love their produce section and TS wanted to “eat the alphabet”. Therefore, we set out to find foods from A to Z.

Somehow, we ended up in the handmade chocolate bar. The lady there was supper nice and gave us a demonstration on how this beautiful fountain works.

She also explained how chocolates were made and what countries they came from for what kind of taste. Hubby was in heaven; he is the only chocolate lover in the house.

We spent about two hours roaming the store talking to the “Foodies” about where food came from, taste and listening to some great classical rock. We left under budget with full tummies, a lot of knowledge and great memories. So we loaded and setttled down for the long drive home.

Girl where have you been?

I have been virtually hiding out to pray about life. Specifically to strength my mind, body and soul after a long two weeks of attacks from family, friends, financial obligations and that little negative voice inside us all. My grandmother once told me “You know you are following the will of God when the enemy attacks everyday, all day long.” I know we are on the right path because I see the results in my child.

I will not give power to the negatives by repeating the comments and actions. I have a mission, an adventure to begin and enjoy.

However let me share just this piece of advice for those who are considering or are in the mist homeschooling, know your own heart and follow it. After one year of homeschooling we have figured out everyone will have an “ode to a school bus days”, especially this time of year when the “Back to School” hype is in full gear. It is a time of great anxiety for many homeschoolers, both parent and child. Again words from my grandmother, “If you prayed about it, then leave it alone. God get’s a little teed off if you clutter up HIS way.”

Let the adventure begin....

Wordless Wednesday

The Super Student’s first Lapbook

After the conference, I asked the TS what did he want to do that week. The expression on his face was comical because normally I have our week planned out and present it calendar form after Monday breakfast. (I know…I know anal but I am a recovering engineering manager.) He recovered quickly to list all of his favorite things:

“After breakfast let’s do Slip N Slide, then the park and lunch date. Ohhhh call SK( aka Sidekick who is TS’s brother from another mother) so we can go to Pump N Jump, then The Big Park, then Putt Putt Golf, then a playdate with all my forever friends (I will explain his hierarchy later.), the library music show, pick up my summer reading prize with my friends and then the have my friends over for Slip N Slide. Hey, Mommmie can I please learn about Pandas? I know Kung Fu Panda’s not real but I want know about real Pandas.”

Okay first I was tired just mapping out his week of activities, not to mention getting queasy at the thought of gas prices. Then I was a little embarrassed because he has been asking about Pandas since seeing KFP but I brushed it off as movie related commercialism.

Bad Mommie. We negotiated on some of the activities and hit the Slip N Slide. Okay why do adults stop playing these games? Can you say easy fun?

So while we ate lunch I did a little Google research and found a free Panda Lapbook at Homeschool Share. I had planned to introduce the concept of lapbooking and notebooking in the Fall, but here it was free and in his interest area. We watched the video on lapbooking and he was so excited to start. So, we headed to the library for what he was calling Pandamania.

We found the book they recommended along with four other Panda related titles and spent the week learning about Pandas. We had a blast! He said he like the lapbook because all his things was in one place and he could touch what he learned and share it.

Fun Fine Motor Skills

One of our summer projects was to work on TS’s fine motor skills. He does not like to color and has some difficulty cutting. This all can be traced back to an over critical and zealous Montessori teacher. Most of last year I incorporated clay, finger-paints, clothes pins and tweezers into our weekly schedule. This summer the goal was to focus on these skills daily. However, after attending the HOTM conference session entitled Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather be Making Forts All Day by Andrew Pudewa, those plans have been put on the shelf.

I learned that:

• Typical boys develop fine motor skills later than girls do. Most of the experienced homeschoolers in that session shared stories of young boys who were seven, eight and even nine before their fine motor skills matched that of girls their same age.If a boy is criticized about these skills, it takes years to build that confidence back.

• The only way to build that skill is to make it fun and not focus on the outcome but on the adventure of the process.

• As a homeschooler of a tactile learner, I need to embrace TS’s need for movement while learning. I have always fought this because I thought, “He needs to learn how to sit still, because all children sit still in school.” Yet again, I was reminded he is not “in school” and we have the freedom to educate him our way. Sure, he has limits but if he needs a break every 15 minutes to move, we break. If he needs to do math using a Twister mat, we use a Twister mat.

To that end, we have learned so much in the last ten days.

We found these great bumpy seat cushions at IKEA. He uses it at the dinner table and says it makes him feel "planted".

Then he learned how to snap his fingers. We are so excited because that is a fine motor skill and motor planning milestone for a six year old. He was so happy he snapped his way to his first blister on his thumb.

In honor of the Olympics and his love of everything Kung Fu Panda, we learned how to eat with chopsticks. YEAH! We got this little starter kit from a local Chinese restaurant and he has eaten almost all of his meals as well as snacks with chopsticks.

Nothing says "Yum-Oh" like cranraisins, pretzels and grapes.

Oh, we also made our first lapbook. Yippy! I will have to share that later I have to run and finish organizing our office for homeschooling fun.

Energized

The conference last weekend was powerful and life altering. There were too many “Ahh” moments to put in one post. I cannot thank the team from Heart of the Matter enough for their time, incredible talents and openness during this conference. The speakers were AWESOME. Here were experienced homeschooling parents who have followed their callings while educating their children. They spoke as both parents and professionals answering questions and even supplied their email for follow-up questions. The recurring theme was “You are not alone in this adventure. We are more than capable of educating our children. Homeschooling is a great adventure, relax and enjoy the adventure with your children. And remember to be Flexible.”

To that vain I have been reading suggested material, praying, planning and enjoying my child. I will post more later this week as when I complete my 2008 planning.

I leave you with this new fixture in my son’s room.

I am Loved.

I am wonderfully creative

I am safe

I learn and discover new things every day

I love to learn new things!

I am powerful

I have a place of stillness within me

I am whole and perfect just the way I am

“God within me is my power.” We are always loved and safe if we

only turn our awareness to the Almighty in prayer.

I am willing to forgive

God is always with us, surrounding us.

I am living a life of beauty, purpose and promise.

I am made in the image of the Most High

I Believe in Me

It's Conference Time and planning time

I am so excited it is time for the 2008 First Annual Heart of the Matter Online Homeschool Virtual Conference. I am excited because the topics look amazing and I get to actually discuss issues with fellow homeschooling moms.

Which I really need right now, because we are under attack. It is a long story but the short version is I am planning our school year and this year we decided to pray as we plan. Because last year we were so excited about homeschooling we signed up for just about everything and were constantly running around. Which left the house was in shambles, a lot of junk food consumed, no real homeschool budget and meeting some groups that did not add to our family value system. Therefore, this year we are seeking a simple God lead plan for our life and school. It is remarkably liberating.

Additionally our family did and does not support our decision to homeschool but have become more vocal this year. In the last week alone I have received, several phone calls and emails (apparently we were the topic of a group discussion) pleading for me not to homeschool. New homeschoolers this will happen but I have found that my energy is best spent on doing what I know I need to do, rather than spending time justifying others fears.

As homeschooler must remember that you are on a mission, a calling to take part of a wonderful journey. You set the tone, your attitude sets the stage for learning.

I will not fill my life or blog with negativity, because that's not how I want to live my life.

To borrow a phrase from Randy Pausch, a computer science professor whose "Last Lecture" has inspired millions. “You just have to decide if you’re going to be a Tigger or an Eeyore.”

Woohooo! I am off to a the conference.

Great "I Can Read" Series

While out for our Saturday morning coupon shopping spree we found this great series at Family Christian Stores. From the great folks that help to bring you that super green cucumber hero Larryboy, Zonder Kids brings us level readers. That's right...

"The I Can Read® series leads children to explore God’s Word. The timeless stories tell how God has a purpose for each of us."
We got "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands", which is TS's favorite song. He started to make a wish list of the other titles. It was great to sit back and share what the song and beautiful illustrations meant to us.

Trying on a new template

What do you think? Slimming? Fashionable? Does it say "hip"..."now"...."tech savy"?

Trying on some new looks over the next few days, getting geared up for fall.

Things That Make You Say...Hmmmmmmmm

So, after cleaning and playing with the things in the storage closet we found several empty Playdough containers. Because we are into recycling and I am a "Re-Purpose" junkie, I could not toss them.

However, it begs the questions “What does one do with the empty playdough containers?”

And The Winners Are.......

Good Afternoon

Here are the winners of the Slightly Used Sandbox Sanity Giveaway. The winners were selected using a random integer drawing from Random.org. I will contact the winners on their blog pages or if you do not have a blog contact me at guidemom@gmail.com with you address. The items will be mailed via media mail later this week.

Giveaway #1 -Leapfrog Writing Workbooks
Winner is Liz @ Little Hearts, Little Minds

Giveaway #2-Never Used Kumon Book of Rhyming Words & Phrases
Winner is Kamewh @ Blueberries & Peanut Butter

Giveaway #3-DK Math Wizard Game
Winner is Daniele @ Westgate Academy

Giveaway #4-Skyline Handwriting Paper 20 sheets
Donated to local Kindy Co-Op

Giveaway #5-Sesame Street Measuring Workbook Wipeoff
Winner is Christina @ Mustard Seeds

Giveaway #6-Used Explode The Code 1
Winner is Maya & Ava's Mom

Giveaway #6-Used Explode The Code 1

Most of the book is unused and there are 5 pages with ink writing. If you are interested in this giveaway item please leave a comment at this post.

Giveaway #5-Sesame Street Measuring Workbook Wipeoff

If you are interested in this giveaway item please leave a comment at this post.

Giveaway #4-Skyline Handwriting Paper 20 sheets

If you are interested in this giveaway please leave a comment at this post.

Giveaway #3-DK Math Wizard Game

If you are interested in this giveaway please leave a comment at this post.

Giveaway #2-Never Used Kumon Book of Rhyming Words & Phrases

Please leave a comment if you are interested in winning this giveaway item.

Giveaway #1 -Leapfrog Writing Workbooks

These books wipe clean for repeated use and feature the Leapfrog characters. The writing book was used but the other was never touched.

To be entered for this item please leave a comment at this post.

It Is Giveaway Time!!!!

Taking a blog page out of Jenny's blog @ Little Acorn Treehouse I am taking this week of camp to giveaway some slightly used homeschool items. Her generosity and creativity have inspired me to share the slightly used wealth. Thanks to Jenny for her great idea.

We have been so blessed on our journey with gifts and advice from our online family we thought it would be great to give just a little back. So, watch all this week for giveaway items.

Winners will be selected on July 19th using random integer drawing from Random.org. You can enter by leaving a comment on the post of the item (s) that you are interested in winning.

Mission Complete

What do you think?

So I started Saturday morning with prayer time, a quick drive for some tea with musical inspiration. I passed all the lovely yards sales and stayed focused on the goals at hand.

1. Clutter free and organized closet.

2. Spend no money organizing the closet. Re-purpose bins and boxes.

3. Bless someone else with the excess.

So I marked four large plastics bins that I already had as Trash, Sale, Donate and E-Share. Set out to work around 6am. Of course this would not be an uniterrupted job because Hubby and TS were going to be up soon and more than likely want to "Help". Which in our house means play with everything as it comes out of closet. But I prayed that my type "A" personality would just back off and enjoy their help.

I made excellant progress until about 8am, then my "helpers" demanded breakfast and to help.

Get this we had a Blast! True we didn't do it in record time but we did it as a family. I haven't had so much fun in a long time. We played with everything that came out of the closet. Get this TS actually drew with markers for an HOUR. (We will not go into how he doesn't like to draw or color.) He didn't want to stop drawing for lunch.

We found a things that we no longer need and more than enough for this school year. God is Good!

The end results were:
-Excellant family time for free on a hot day

-We were able to get rid of 9 bins

-Fill all four bins

-Predicted to make $50 from the sale bin

-Donate unused items to the Helping Hands Back to School Backpack Drive

-Have several items for an internet giveaway this week.

-I feel tons lighter and focused.

After that we just had to make an ice cream run to celebrate! Thanks for the prayers and encouragement.

Weekend Project- Clutter Control

FIAR (Five In A Row) program has inspired me to organized and simplify my homeschool area. After the first year, I have boxes of worksheets, workbooks, writing paper, coloring books and curriculum that just do not fit the current plan. It does not work so it is not something we could go back to later. Also having well meaning family members who are teachers have contributed to an overstocked craft closet. CLUTTER!

I cannot think clearly in clutter. I cannot plan well with clutter. I cannot find anything in this clutter. I have had decluttering on my to do list for about a month but always push it back because ...well because I cannot think with clutter.

I have a plan and I need your help.

Step 1: The first step to defeating any problem is to admit there is a problem. I have confessed to the blogosphere so it is public.

Step 2: Face the problem head on with clear eyes. (In my case show the world so it becomes something I have to do.)

Step 3: Make a plan. I have all Saturday morning mapped out to purge and organize this space. Check me during the weekend to keep me honest.

Step 4: Bless someone with your abundance. As I said we have been given so much to help on our homeschool journey and we would like to pass it on to others.

So folks that is my weekend plan. Look for a goody giveaway next week.

Peace

.

$1 Back to School Buys @ Target

Pipe Cleaners and Pom Poms

Laminated World Map

Pocket Scheduler

Rewards Stamps

World Landmark Workbook and Flashcards

(Good for Lapbooking/Notebooking)

World Map (soon to be laminated)

Happy Shopping!