Getting Ready for School

Good morning! The girls and I have been cleaning and organizing our school room and I thought I would give you a tour. It isn't a big room and as you will see, we have squeezed something into every corner.


Over to the right is our piano. This is the same piano I grew up with and I still enjoy playing it. I just learned the theme song to one of my favorite movies, The Notebook.


In another corner is the file cabinet (it's very scary in there!) and our supply cupboard.


The drawers never stay organized, but they hold ribbon and misc. craft supplies.


This is Grace's art table and she says she is going to do her school work here, too.


This used to be Grace's desk, but she gave it to Emily a few months ago.


Bookshelves in another corner. I haven't figured out where to put our new school books yet. Hmm...


And finally, my paper craft/card making stand. I love that I can reach everything while sitting at the table.


I use various containers for storage. Most of them are actually napkin boxes! Can you guess what my ribbon organizer was originally used for?


Cassette tapes! I found it at the resale store awhile back for $1.00.


I keep all of my scrapbook paper, cardstock and stickers in large hanging folders.


Folders for each color.


We have also had fun getting our new school supplies together. I love all the pencils, crayons, post-its, etc. Our school books have been ordered and will arrive any day and our official starting date is September 2. For those of you that are interested, we use the Sonlight curriculum and Horizons Math.


All of the local schools around here are starting today, as well as many of my blogging friends. So, whether you are a homeschool, private, or public school family, I wish you a wonderful year with lots of fun and learning!

Homeschool Open House!

I originally wrote this post for Tiany's Homeschool Open House. Randi from I Have To Say invited me to join in for Back To Homeschool Week that she is hosting. If you are stopping by from her place, welcome!!


Welcome to Homeschool Open House 2007 hosted by Tiany at Less Of Me~More Of Him!


~Introduction~

I thought I would begin by telling you a little about our family. My husband Phillip is the oldest of 7 children and was homeschooled from 6th grade through high school. I'm the oldest of 6 children and was homeschooled from 2nd grade through 11th grade.

Our oldest, Grace, is 9 years old and is starting 4th grade. Emily is 8 and starting 3rd grade. Benjamin is 6 and starting 1st grade.

Here they are, ready to begin the open house!



~Our Schoolroom~

We have converted our formal dining room into our schoolroom. While doing our "tablework" I sit on the far left, Benjamin sits beside me, and Emily at the end of the table.


Grace sits at her desk which is right behind me.


For our history, science, and read-alouds, we all sit together in the livingroom.



~Curriculum~

We have used the Sonlight curriculum for the past 5 years and are very happy with it. Grace and Emily are only 16 months apart and are able to do a lot of the same work. We also use various other books-whatever looks good!

The #1 homeschool book that I recommend is Charlotte Mason Companion-Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola.


Two more of my favorite books are Educating a Whole Hearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson and Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. This book has wonderful book lists for picture books and read-alouds.


Helpful links:
Charlottemason.com
Karen Andreola Articles
Ambleside

~Schedules~

We usually homeschool year round, doing lighter work in the summer. We took most of the month of June off and will take several weeks off in October for a vacation so we will be hard at work during August and September.

As far as a daily schedule goes our goal is to start by 9:00am. (When this doesn't happen, we work later into the afternoon).

We start our day around the living room coffee table with the following...
-The Lord's Prayer
-Pray aloud time
-Bible reading
-Pledge of allegiance
-Sing "America, the Beautiful"
-Sing a hymn
-Memory verse memorization

Then we all go into the schoolroom for...
-Handwriting
-Language Arts activities
-Math

The rest of the morning is spent on...
-Reading lessons
-History
-Geography
-Science

We read our "read-alouds" after lunch.

~Organization Tips~

My favorite organizer for all our school papers is this Rotating Desk Organizer. We just call it the "Big Spinny Thing" though. :0) We have used it every day for the past 1 1/2 years.

Each of the four sides have compartments for papers and books. In the middle are hanging file folders and room for more books.


Each corner has a section for pencils, scissors, etc. It is easy to pick up and take into the livingroom for our reading time.


Our workbooks our kept in these plastic holders.


The girls and Benjamin each have their own clipboard where I keep blank worksheets.


Once finished, they go into the hanging files labeled with their name and T.B.F. (to be filed).


Once I get around to cleaning the files (sometimes they get really full!), the papers then go into 3 ring binders. Each binder is used for a year.

Helpful links:
Donna Young's free forms and planners
Chart Jungle free printables

Now I would like to share a few of my favorite things with you!

-Nature journals~

Here are a few of my favorite books on Nature Journaling:

-Wild Days - Creating Discovery Journals by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe
-Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Leslie and Charles Roth
-Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
-Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola



Various pages of our nature journals


A Cedar Waxwing


Bluejay and Cardinal feathers


Pressed leaves from our garden and leaf rubbings


Helpful links:
-More detailed information about our Nature Journals.

~Lapbooks~

What is a lapbook? It is a file folder, refolded with a "shutter-fold" and filled with mini books and flaps. It can be filled with information on any topic you choose.

I discovered lapbooks many years ago when the girls and Benjamin were too young to help. My goal for this coming year is to have them make their own books.

I made one for each of the girls and Benjamin. Here is Emily's book:


Inside are flaps and mini books for personal information such as full name, address and phone number. Seasons, days of the weeks, months of the year, poems, prayers, a hymn, Bible verses, the pledge of allegiance, names and calls of common birds, and names of common wildflowers.




A Lapbook on Manners


Inside is information on:
-Little things you can do to help the whole family
-Being a good friend
-Being a good sport
-Mealtime manners
-How to apologize


How to take tea


I have also made a lapbook on flowers and...


the life cycle of a butterfly.


Helpful links:
Cindy Rushton's Lapbooks
How to Begin Lapbooking
Pictures of Lapbooks

The wonderful hostess of Homeschool Open House 2007 is Tiany from Less Of Me~More of Him. Be sure to visit her to read about other homeschoolers and also for information if you want to join in the fun!

Thank you for hosting the Back to Homeschool week, Randi!

If you have any questions about what I've shared or you want to see more pictures, please let me know in the comments!