Last Week of Home School Break

I've spent the last few weeks getting ready for the new school year, which starts on Monday.  Wow, Monday already!!  Where does the time go?!?!  I know that I'm more excited about it than Scrappy is - obviously.  The last 2 years - k-1 - I've been flying by the seat of my pants, not really having a lesson plan, no set curriculum.  We just read whatever struck Scrappy's fancy for Science, did a few workbooks, fought over doing some copy work to improve him handwriting, and didn't have any real schedule per say.

Well, 2nd grade is going to be a wake up call for him.  Especially when it comes to his "I don't wanna do it/I want a break/I'm still hungry/I did enough homework" attitude.  I checked to see what the Minnesota state regulations are for school.  There is not a set number of hours that he must complete, but they do have a few classes that are required, but they're pretty basic.

Today's summary is just about how I have everything set up for the school year.  Later on I'll post how I set up my curriculum if anyone is interested.  If anyone is reading this.  

I finally got the office mostly cleaned up since that's where the school supplies are stored.  We do some of the school work in there, but since I have Chubbermonkey to watch too, most of our work is actually done in the living room so that Chubbers has room/stuff to play with.  But this is what we find in the office:

 All of walls in the office are plaster, so my hubby had to drill into the wall to hang theses rails so we have something to hang our posters, etc on.  Currently, the only thing hanging here is our weekly class schedule.  This isn't necessarily the order of our classes, I just kept the order consistent so it was easier to see at a glance.  I still need to update that every other Thursday is also Girl Scout night for Beau, which is a factor into planning our lessons.

This bookshelf is in the corner of my office.  The top shelf is my miscellaneous books and supplies.  The second shelf is filler paper, new and used notebooks, folders, and miscellaneous school books, mostly too young for Scrappy but that I'm holding on to for Chubbers.  The third shelf is the books and supplies for this school year, including a small tote with stickers and another with pencils, erasers, and other school supplies in it.  The bottom is just overflow.

This file box is how my weekly lessons are arranged.  There is a green folder for each week and a colored file folder for each class.  If for some reason a class gets pushed back for something comes up, the file can get moved to the next folder.  The Bible Study, Music, Math, and Art folders are kept in the front of the box because they are not used every week and are only inserted when they are needed.

Having 2 children with Cystic Fibrosis and only having one steady income, I don't have an unlimited amount of money to spend on curriculum.  Plus I didn't want to go with a boxed curriculum that decides everything for us.  I was able to put together a pretty good and interesting set of plans for this year.  My biggest struggle was how to lay it out.  

Fortunately I have been following several homeschool blogs, and one helped point me to a book that, after reading through it a couple times, answered almost all my questions.  I would HIGHLY recommend reading Blueprint Homeschooling especially if you're lost on your planning!!  It gave me so many great ideas and set me on the right track.  I adapted a few things to what works for me, and voila!!  Ready to go!!  Here is what my planning looks like...

Scrappy's "English" book information - what book(s) we're doing and what pages on what days, along with what days we have field trips written in.

This is how our Science plans are written out.  I use the same method for History/Social Studies/Geography (which are all combined this year because of how the study units are being done.  More on that later.)  Each numeral is for a week.  The purple is what text/DVD is being used and the pages, red is experiments, green is worksheets.  All of this information is gathered and put into the file folder for the week with the heading on the label such as for week I) Cells.

After I have my daily plans laid out for my classes, I pull everything together in a composition notebook for my class schedule.  I use one page per day.  I list the date at the top and the classes down the sides.  All the pages that we will read are listed, worksheets and experiments and activities are listed.  At a glance we can see everything that we will do for the whole day.

Here are a couple pictures of one of my folders.  The blue index cards stapled to the top of the folder is the list of all the library books that I will need for the week for that class.  In this case, this is a History/Social Studies/Geography folder.  One card is for books I need from our local library, one is for books I need to get via inter-library loan. (Note: Check with your library if you need to do this. Our library advised that it takes approximately a week to get inter-library loan books.)  The yellow index cards on the left side of the folder is for materials I will need for the week for various projects.  This could be for recipes, craft projects, or experiments.

Since I'm not completely sure on all the field trips that we will be having this year yet, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself on the scheduling.  We are running on the 6 weeks on 1 week off schedule, so I have the first 6 weeks definitely scheduled in my composition book.  I have daily plans made up for all my classes so that they are ready to go when I am.

Spring Break for One

Homeschool

This week is spring break for Beau.  Unfortunately Scraps isn't getting the week off from school because he hasn't been consistent enough with doing his schooling to get large blocks off.  I've been trying several different approaches to get him to do his work.  Some things seem to work for a while, but then fizzle out.  The one I've been making the most progress with is Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool, but I think some of the reading is too advanced for him right now, and he is ahead in the math.  We tried getting into some of the history in it, and he has NO interest at all in it.  I'm going to be meeting with another homeschool mom who has been doing it longer than I have to get a few pointers and to be sure I'm covering what needs to be covered.  If I'm doing any extra, that's great!  I'm we're coming up short, well, then I'll need to adjust.  Now that Chubbermonkey is getting older (OMG he's a year old already!!!) I can finally try to set a schedule to follow a little better!!  I'm going to try to work on a spring schedule this week while Beau is home.

The Battle With CF

Scrappy is going to be going into the hospital next month for his tune-up.  Dr P is trying to get it done before we go on vacation.  Yup - we get an all expenses paid vacation this year!!!  Scrappy is getting his wish from the Make A Wish Foundation!  We will be going on a 5 day/4 night Disney Cruise in the Bahamas!!!  He is so excited - but so are the rest of us.  Especially since they are covering EVERYTHING, including flight, passports, and spending money.  We really need this vacation.  

Now just to make it through the 2 weeks in the hospital.  It's going to be a little more difficult this time because Mayo has become an accredited CF center, so any CF patients admitted must be kept in isolation during their stay.  I guess it'll be a good chance to work on homework....

My Real Life

Some chaos is going on here.  My grandma has not been well. Both of my great grandmothers have not been well.  I've been trying to do what I can to help, but there's only so much I can do.  It's very frustrating.

A little over a week ago, we had to have our oldest kitty, Abby, put down. She'd been vomiting a lot and lost a LOT of weight.  The vet initially thought she had an ulcer and thought it was something we could work through.  After she wasn't getting better, we discovered she had tumors in her abdomen and around her heart.  She was the best kitty a child could ask for - she had the best temperament even for babies.  I miss her a lot.

My health has been frustrating too.  I hit my highest weight ever 2 weeks ago.  My thyroid had been on the fritz for a while, so my meds had been adjusted several times.  Then stress piled on top of it.  I was doing great with working out until my grandma's surgery, but got sidetracked with helping her (I know, another excuse) so I slacked off a little.  But I'm trying to get back on track.  I've officially lost 4 pounds in the last 2 weeks.  So far I'm down another 2 this week (unofficially).  As of March 12, I gave up pop.  Coke specifically.  I used to drink a ton of it.  But my doc changed my migraine medication to topamax, which makes Coke taste like crap as a side effect.

Since I've been struggling with my weight, I'm teaming up with a friend with getting back on track.  She has also recently joined TOPS.  As of today, she and I are starting on the C25K program (again) with the intention of running the Tiger Trot next year, along with (hopefully) a few other 5ks.  Wish us luck!!

Summer Declutter Day 4

I know - you're wondering what happened to Day 3.  The honest truth?  I was just so dang tired after all my running that I fell asleep in the recliner - when I had ever intention of getting some work done.  I guess I really needed the sleep.

First, I have a picture of some progress

This is my desk after all the previously posted clutter was cleaned off of it.  You really don't  want to see how awful it looked before!!  But I am happy that I AM making some progress on my office!!

Here is the Day 2 pile

Left: recycle Right: shred Bottom: Keep

And the pile from today.

Left: recycle Top: shred  Right: garbage

What you don't see here is the "keep" pile, since I had started going through some of the files in my filing cabinet too.  I'm making room so I can file my paperwork soon!  For now, though, I'm going to let my wrist heal :(

30 Day Challenge - UPDATE

I have part of Day 11's post written, but am unable to write much at this time.  I'm right handed and have trouble with the one-finger-typing, but at baseball tonight I was hit in the right wrist bone with a fast pitch while playing umpire.  I will get caught up on my challenge posts when I can type better!!  I may end up going to urgent care to get it looked at if the pain continues :(

30 Day Challenge - Day 10 - Consignment

For Day 10 I chose Consignment.

I hate throwing things away, especially if those things could benefit someone.  It's even better if I can get rid of things and make some money from it!  But I don't particularly like having garage sales.  Since I don't have many BIG items to get rid of - mostly clothes, small household items, and toys - it usually isn't worth all the work.  So now what?

Consignment is a great solution!  Someone else sells the items for you, and you still get paid.  Often you get more than what you would have gotten at the yard sale, even after paying the 50% commission.  If your stuff doesn't sell, you still don't have to deal with it because they will donate it for you!  

It's very seldom, though, that I actually cash my consignment check.  I called today and found I have about $6 on account.  Sure, I could go get the money, but I choose not to.  Instead, when one of the kids is in need of an article of clothing, we will first check there to see if we can find what we need, and pay for it using the credits we have.  Especially for Scrappy - often I can find "like new" clothing for him because boys his age either 1) wear their clothes so ragged there is no salvaging them, or 2) outgrow them before they hardly have a chance to wear them.  Often I find something one or the other of the older kids needs on the $1 rack or with a half price tag.  I just LOVE those finds!

As I am going through the Summer Declutter Challenge one of my areas to declutter is my and my daughter's closet and dresser.  I have an appointment for June 24 to take clothes to the consignment store.  She's taking just summer stuff, so I'll have to put any winter stuff aside for a later appointment.  I might look to see if she has any capris or shorts for me up there!

30 Day Challenge - Day 9 - Organization

For Day 9, I chose Organization

A topic I truly struggle with in spite of always reading up on it and trying different strategies.  I know that the first step I need to get through is decluttering.  And I know that if I'm organized and know where everything is, I'm less likely to run to the store to buy something I already have at home.

I've also noticed when I'm disorganized, it contributes to my anxiety.  And if you've ever had an anxiety attack, you know how awful it can be.

How else can being organized save money?  When I know where paperwork is, I don't have to reprint it.  When I am able to pay bills on time, I avoid late fees.  The same applies to library books and movies - returning them on time keeps them free.  At one point, Scrappy had misplaced enough of his books that by the time I found and returned them all, he had accrued $35 in late fees!!  This was also during the time I was in and out of the hospital before and when Chubbers was born.  But if they had all been in a centralized - and cleaned area, I could have had my hubby return them.  On time.

I need to take control of my home again.  I need to be able to find things.  I need to be able to enjoy the new addition on our house without worry about tripping over things.  I need to get some order in this house.  And in order to do that, I need to work on getting things organized.  And purged.  So that's what I've been working on now with the decluttering.  Once I pare down what is here, I will be able to find permanent homes for the things that need to be here.

Summer Declutter Challenge - Day 2

I made it through the first day of the challenge!  And I even got rid of more than 20 items! I left them out to get this picture of them:

This isn't even half of the stack I started going through!  I'm hoping to make it through more of the stack today (which, for the time being, has been banished to a box that I've left out in the middle of everything so that I can work on a little whenever I have a chance.)

I have 3 piles here - the upper left is my shred pile (which will then be recycled), the bottom left is recycling, and the right hand pile is my "need to file" pile.

I'm continuing going through a huge stack of paperwork that has been piled on my desk.  I can actually see part of the top of my desk!!!  I will try to get a picture of today's progress posted at some point tonight.