NOT Back to School: A Peek into Our Homeschool ~ Day 5: Our Homeschool Space

Welcome back to this year's NOT Back to School Blog Hop. This year I have been giving you A Peek into Our Homeschool. It's hard to believe that today is the last day.

Day 5: Our Homeschool Space

Welcome back to our home.

We would like to once again welcome you inside.

Today I would like to show you where we homeschool. How I've organized our space. In fact, I decided it would be fun to look back several years to see how our space has evolved. Would you like to take a journey through memory lane with me?

I wish we could go back even further, but we are going back five years.

2014

Back then Harold was just starting to join us more officially. I believe this was the year I had him down as being in Tot School. It was also the year we were using workboxes, still using the little table for the younger two to work at, had the old taller easel, and had the coffee table against the wall by the steps.

2015

I was shocked to learn we got these cubbies four years ago. I did not realize we have had them so long. At this point the coffee table went back into the living room. These really helped us to keep organized much better, though still not anywhere near perfectly.

We also had our small maps on the wall now, plus our new "calendar time" materials on the wall. And the small table was now used for the old computer as we had gotten a new computer in the living room.

The letter of the week poster was used for our My Father's World kindergarten unit which Hannah was working through, while Harold did preschool letter of the week activities.

It was also the year we got our new easel.

2016

Not a lot of changes in the room arrangement in 2016.

And I definitely wasn't keeping the cubbies or bookshelf as neat. If I remember right, we were still trying to finish up our material from the last school year on the "first day of school," so all of our new year materials weren't out until October.

2017

Again, not a lot of change in the room arrangement.

2018

Last year we did some more rearranging.

I finally got rid of the letter of the week poster and moved the calendar to above the cubbies as we weren't doing calendar time exactly the same anymore. And hubby had found these neat, colorful bins to help organize our supplies. Plus we got a "new" table and desk from the auction. We love that desk for the computer, and those drawers are helpful for storing things.

 

2019

Those pictures above, for 2018, are what I plan to have our room look like in two weeks. I have a bit of work ahead of me. Cleaning and organizing. However, there really aren't going to be any changes in our school area. Technically, I notice I usually share the dining room. However, we school in the living room as well, using that computer, plus it is where I will read to the children. Additionally, the kitchen counts as a learning area, as the children help with cooking and cleaning. So, home ec. Plus the older girls do schoolwork up in their room. I hope to have everything ready for first day of school pictures the first week of September. We just finished our last week of summer session, so things have been a bit crazy and I didn't get the cleaning/organizing done that I wanted to.

The scary thing is, it has definitely been worse, and I don't have near as much to worry about this year as I have in the past.

I plan on, hopefully getting a cursive alphabet banner to go with the print banner. I will also finally be getting rid of the kindergarten picture cards. All the children know their letter sounds and know how to read. I do want the banners up so they can work on proper letter formation, plus the younger two use them for help with alphabetizing.

Yeah, and this map is being replaced. I'm not exactly sure what happened this year.

So, that is where we homeschool. At one point I thought I would use the "play room" as a school room, but I have since learned that homeschool is not the same as public school where learning is relegated to one area. We utilize the whole house plus. 

Thank you so much for stopping by to learn a bit more about our family and homeschool. I hope this peek into our homeschool gave you some ideas and/or encouragement.

Here are some of the participants.
CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew - 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop 
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses - ABC of Homeschooling
Dawn @ Schoolin' Swag - Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day
Erin @ For Him and My Family - Large Family Homeschooling
Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens - Learning Life Skills
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling - Homeschooling the High School Years
Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom - Homeschooling With Autism
Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range - 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling
Abby @ Making Room 4 One More - Time Management for Homeschool Moms
Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool - 5 Days of Homeschool Questions
Amy @ the WRITE Balance - Year-Round Schooling
Annette @ A Net in Time - Homeschooling.
Betty @ Lets Get Real - Homeschooling High School
Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess - Eclectic Homeschooling Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase - Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build - 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling
Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny - Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom
Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe - Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU
Kristen Heider @ A Mom's Quest to Teach -Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year
Patti Pierce - Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy - My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane - 5 Days of Nature Study
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning - Homeschooling my final 4 
Christine @ Life's Special Necessities - Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child
Sally M - Tell the Next Generation - Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners
Kim @ Good Sweet Love - Last Year of Elementary


Don't forget to check out the other posts linked up below!

NOT Back to School: A Peek into Our Homeschool ~ Day 4: Who's the Dad?

Welcome back to this year's NOT Back to School Blog Hop. This year I have been giving you A Peek into Our Homeschool. 

Day 4: Who's the Dad

Welcome back to our home.

On Monday, I introduced you to the children.

Yes, you can find them like this a lot.

The last time you saw my hubby, he was sleeping. Since then he has gone to work a couple of times, gotten a bit more sleep (maybe), eaten some food, and spent a bit of time with us, etc. And right now, he is, you guessed it, back at work. Lovely night shifts. Sigh.

Anyhow, I usually have him write one of my blog posts for the hop. I am not exactly sure how, but it has become a tradition. So, this year, he's answering the question, "Who's the Dad?"

Time to let my husband take over my blog. Proceed at your own risk.

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You've been warned!

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If you are still reading, I'm assuming you are prepared to accept the consequences.

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Hi.  I'm the Dad.  I do a lot of things for our homeschool.  Some of which are helpful.

I am the buyer of the traditional breakfast.  Every year.  Like clockwork.  I get the opportunity to take all 4 of the children out for breakfast on the first day of school.  I've been doing this for what seems like forever, but in reality it's only been 5 minutes.

I am the buyer of curriculum.  Big, bulky, heavy boxes of curriculum which I then get to carry into the house and up 16 steps (yes, I counted them) so that I can be told "Wait, I want a picture of that. Can you bring it down into the dining room for me?"

I am the principal.  This means that when one or more of the children misbehaves, I get to take them aside, reach into my pocket, pull out a wet noodle, and beat them with it.  

I am the killer of spiders and bees and wasps, because, well. . .girls.

I am the driver for field trips, doctors appointments, church, and many other fun things.  My poor wife has "fall asleep before I get out of the driveway if I'm behind the wheel" syndrome, so it's probably better that I drive.  However, she is the watcher outer for deer, bear, and anything else that might hit the van if I hit it at high speeds, such as children.  She also tells me the instant I have just driven past a police officer ..

I am the teller of dad jokes, because I like to hear my girls groan in appreciation of my sense of humor. 

I am the encourager of dreams for the children.  Whether it's to "be a builder", "Be a person who invents things", "run a home for the homeless", "have our own bakery", etc.  No dream seems unreachable when your parents are encouraging you.

I am the encourager of dreams for my wife.    She always wanted to be a teacher.  Now she gets that opportunity.  She always wanted to homeschool her children, and now, with these 4 hoodlums, she can.  She's always wanted someone to listen to her.  And that is me.

Look, when we started this homeschool journey, I was petrified.  I was worried about socialization, and that homeschool when I was a teenager was deemed as less acceptable then a G E D and I didn't want to handicap our children's chances of getting into college if they chose too.  But most importantly, I was afraid something would come up unexpectedly, and homeschooling wouldn't work.  I didn't want to see my wife go through that.

Now, as I remember my wife's expression when she saw our daughter using sign language to make her needs known before she could talk, or as our son beg for more time in his math workbook.  I know that it was worth it. I encourage everyone to take this journey if at all possible.

By the way did you know I also have a thing for my kids' teacher?  She's kinda hot.

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Thank you so much for stopping by to learn a bit more about our family and homeschool. Tomorrow I plan to share a look at homeschool space.

Here are some of the participants. CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew - 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop 
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses - ABC of Homeschooling
Dawn @ Schoolin' Swag - Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day
Erin @ For Him and My Family - Large Family Homeschooling
Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens - Learning Life Skills
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling - Homeschooling the High School Years
Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom - Homeschooling With Autism
Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range - 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling
Abby @ Making Room 4 One More - Time Management for Homeschool Moms
Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool - 5 Days of Homeschool Questions
Amy @ the WRITE Balance - Year-Round Schooling
Annette @ A Net in Time - Homeschooling.
Betty @ Lets Get Real - Homeschooling High School
Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess - Eclectic Homeschooling Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase - Roadschooling with a Teenager

Yvonne @ The Life We Build - 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling
Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny - Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom
Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe - Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU
Kristen Heider @ A Mom's Quest to Teach -Theme: A Quest for a Great Homeschool Year
Patti Pierce - Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy - My Favorite Homeschooling Things

Wendy @ Life on Chickadee Lane - 5 Days of Nature Study
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning - Homeschooling my final 4 
Christine @ Life's Special Necessities - Yes! You Can Homeschool Your Special Needs Child
Sally M - Tell the Next Generation - Tips for Homeschooling Struggling Learners

Don't forget to check out the other posts linked up below!

NOT Back to School: A Peek into Our Homeschool ~ Day 3: Our Schedule

Welcome to this year's NOT Back to School Blog Hop. This year I am giving you A Peek into Our Homeschool. 

Day 3: Our Schedule

Welcome back to our home.

So glad we didn't scare you off, please, come back in.

Thank you so much for helping us unbox our curriculum yesterday!

If you weren't here to see all the materials we will be using, I invite you to check out yesterday's post: A Peek into Our Homeschool ~ Day 2: Our Curriculum.

So, you may be wondering how we are going to fit it all in.

Technically, so am I. I think I have it figured out though, and thankfully, as homeschoolers, we have learned we can be flexible.

Here is a tentative schedule:

We will be following the same sort of schedule I started last year, though I have tweaked it a bit. Tabitha has become more independent and does the majority of her reading alone in her room. We'll see how that works this year.

There are days when we go to the Y in the morning, and days when we go in the afternoon. So, this of course changes up our day. Sometimes the older girls will stay home and get school work (and maybe extra chores) done, other times they come with us.

Here's a bit of an explanation to our schedule. 

Of course, I need some "me" time, so I try to wake up early: 5:30 or 6 at the latest. I haven't been doing very good at this recently, so I am hoping to get back on track once the school year starts up in two and a half weeks. My alone time will be when I can have my own personal devotions and work on my blog. 

Then the children are woken up. The wake up times are different each day. Monday's we don't have to go anywhere in the morning, so they can wake up a bit later, 8:00. On Tuesday and Thursday they need to wake up at 7:00 because we have to leave at 8:00 to get to the Y. On Wednesday and Friday, they don't have to wake up until 7:30 because we don't have to leave until 8:30. On Wednesday's, once co-op starts, we will need to be out of the house. However, until then we will use the time as make-up time, hands-on work time, etc. Every day at wake up, they are given two fifteen minute timers. By the time the first one goes off I need to be seeing movement upstairs. By the time the second timer goes off, they need to be making their way down the stairs for breakfast. While upstairs they are supposed to get dressed, make their beds, and take care of their laundry (which means putting the clothes that are in their pile away). They have to check off the chart I made.

After breakfast they need to brush their teeth and do their morning chores. The chores on the yellow cards on the left of the chart are the chores they are to do. These alternate weekly. Technically, the "Wipe Bathroom Sink" has been changed to "Empty Dish Drainer."

If we have to zing to the Y, they will do the chores when we get home.

On Monday we will start our school time as soon as chores are finished. We will start with Bible time and move into our 3 routines. These routines include computer time (which means math, reading, Latin, grammar, and MemVerse for Bible memorization for the older girls), Mommy Time (where I will work with the younger two on writing, spelling, drill time, and possibly some kitchen work), Exercise (where the younger two get on the WiiFitU), and Spelling (I'm probably going to print out spelling work from SchoolhouseTeachers.com, still not completely sure).

This is a tentative copy of the routine. This has changed up quite a bit from last year, especially because Tabitha isn't joining in with this routine. We used to only have two routines, which last 30 minutes each. This year, I am trying three. The children alternate between them. 

Monday is the only day when routine time is before lunch. Every other day we go to the Y in the morning, so it will be after lunch.

While I make lunch the children watch their show. After we eat lunch they clear the table, wipe it, and do their dishes. On Monday they will have a bit of free time after chores are done, seeing as they have already done some school work. The rest of the week we will go straight into Bible Time and those Routines I mentioned above.

Then, later in the afternoon (and into the evening on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) we will follow the My Father's World schedule from the Teacher Manual for our history reading, science reading, any notebook work, art, music, and reading of our "Book Basket" selections. 

While I make supper one child gets to play their WiiU game. Supper is around 5:00. On Monday and Wednesday we will head to the Y for Zumba after dinner. On the other days we will get chores done and they can have some free time before we have to work on the readings and schoolwork that haven't been done yet. Then there are showers and read aloud time. 

So, I'm sorry if that was a bit confusing. I think I have it figured out. It's the only way I could make it work so I could get to the classes I want to get to at the Y. 

Of course, who knows what we will have to switch up or add in due to being on the Homeschool Review Crew, or if the classes change at the Y.

Thank you so much for stopping by to learn a bit more about our family and homeschool. Tomorrow I plan to share a look at how our schedule works. You may be wondering how we fit all these things into our day. Believe me, sometimes I wonder that myself.

Here are some of the participants. CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew - 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop 
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses - ABC of Homeschooling
Dawn @ Schoolin' Swag - Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day
Erin @ For Him and My Family - Large Family Homeschooling
Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens - Learning Life Skills
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling - Homeschooling the High School Years
Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom - Homeschooling With Autism
Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range - 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling
Abby @ Making Room 4 One More - Time Management for Homeschool Moms
Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool - 5 Days of Homeschool Questions
Amy @ the WRITE Balance - Year-Round Schooling
Annette @ A Net in Time - Homeschooling.
Betty @ Lets Get Real - Homeschooling High School
Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess - Eclectic Homeschooling Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase - Roadschooling with a Teenager
Yvonne @ The Life We Build - 5 Days of Relaxed Homeschooling
Destiny @ Some Call It Destiny - Encouragement for the Homeschooling Mom
Cassie D @ Deputie Tribe - Homeschooling 6 Taking Care of YOU


Don't forget to check out the other posts linked up below!

NOT Back to School: A Peek into Our Homeschool ~ Day 2: Our Curriculum

Welcome to this year's NOT Back to School Blog Hop. This year I am giving you A Peek into Our Homeschool. 

Day 2: Our Curriculum

Welcome to our home.

We'd love to have you pop on in.

We are so glad you are here to help us unbox our curriculum.

This is our core curriculum that we will be using.

They used to get more excited. Of course, they also used to allow me to take their pictures. Now, it is quite a struggle.

I told the children to choose a couple of the things they are most excited about. Harold is excited to have his own book about animals. He'll also be joining Amelia and Hannah with the main study of animals and plants. I'm not sure if Tabitha is excited about these literature guides, but they are something she gets to work on by herself. Hannah was excited about the science and the new Bible study on James. Not surprisingly, Amelia is excited that we will be learning about American history. 

Yes, I let them take a "silly" picture. Amelia wasn't really into that part.

So, what is our curriculum?

We will be using My Father's World Exploration to 1850.

We have books that focus on American history.

Plus books to help us look at the rest of the world during this time period.

As usual we have some great read alouds to enhance our learning. I have actually never heard of any of these books, so I am really looking forward to reading them.

I'm also looking forward to adding in these books that we received from Library and Educational Services (which I posted my review for last week). I think they will also enhance our study of American History.

At the end of the year we will be working on a state report. Which will be great for getting that state requirement in for PA homeschool law.

We will also use the materials from Crafty Classroom that we reviewed several weeks ago.

Harold (and maybe Hannah) will be using these books that were from our Adventures in US History year.

I also found the following resources for the younger two.

For Bible we will learn hymns and the stories behind them, study the book of James in depth, and read about stories of Christians from the past. And, of course, the older girls will be participating in Bible Quizzing again.

For science we will be learning about animals. . . 

. . . and plants.

Tabitha is in 7th grade this year, so she will have her own science curriculum.

As I mentioned above, Tabitha will also be doing her own literature study guides.

Also in the Language Arts category, Tabitha and Amelia will continue using Grammar Planet, plus we are now reviewing Easy Grammar Plus, so that may continue through the year. I'm not quite sure what they are going to do for spelling yet. I've got a couple of weeks to figure it out.

Hannah will continue through Simply Classical Writing which we reviewed several weeks ago.

Harold also has his level of Simply Classical Writing to use.

Plus we are going to work through Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 2.

For math we will still be using CTCMath as our main math curriculum. However, Harold is also using Matific Galaxy. For right now Harold and Hannah are also using Reading Eggspress and Mathseeds, but our trial will be over around the time our 2019-2020 school year officially starts.

For art we will try to use God & the History of Art II, which is scheduled in the teacher manual.

For part of the year we will also have access to HiGASFY which we are currently reviewing. This is an art history program. I think the children would also like to use ArtAchieve again, which is available through SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

For music appreciation we will learn about Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Chopin.

Plus we will continue the piano lessons from Simply Music.

For Physical Education the children will have gym once a week at co-op (once it starts up in October). Additionally, Tabitha, Amelia, and Hannah come to the Y with me.

Of course, who knows what we will have to switch up or add in due to being on the Homeschool Review Crew.

Thank you so much for stopping by to learn a bit more about our family and homeschool. Tomorrow I plan to share a look at how our schedule works. You may be wondering how we fit all these things into our day. Believe me, sometimes I wonder that myself.

Here are some of the participants. CREW @ Homeschool Review Crew - 2019 Annual Not Back to School Homeschool Blog Hop 
Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses - ABC of Homeschooling
Dawn @ Schoolin' Swag - Adding Fun to Your Homeschool Day
Erin @ For Him and My Family - Large Family Homeschooling
Lori @ At Home Where Life Happens - Learning Life Skills
Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling - Homeschooling the High School Years
Monique D. @ Early Learning Mom - Homeschooling With Autism
Yvie @ Homeschool On the Range - 5 Days of Upper Grades Homeschooling
Abby @ Making Room 4 One More - Time Management for Homeschool Moms
Amanda @ Hopkins Homeschool - 5 Days of Homeschool Questions
Amy @ the WRITE Balance - Year-Round Schooling
Annette @ A Net in Time - Homeschooling.
Betty @ Lets Get Real - Homeschooling High School
Cassandra @ My Blessed Mess - Eclectic Homeschooling
Don't forget to check out the other posts linked up below!