In the Distance - Great Homeschool Devotional

This is a devotional from the Alpha Omega Publications Daily Focus. It spoke to me so much (especially the part about the 3 year old in diapers :) It doesn't always feel like it, but our kids grow up so fast and the time we get with them is so short. We need to appreciate and enjoy every moment we have with them, even the chaotic ones. I just had to share this. I hope it speaks to you as well. Enjoy!

Daily Focus - In the Distance

CSN $80 Gift Card Giveaway

Here's another great giveaway on Two of a Kind, Working On a Full House. Just read the post and enter to win an $80 gift card to CSN Stores. Hurry, this contest ends on August 30th!

Great Flip Video Giveaway!

Just wanted to let everyone know about this great giveaway on the blog Two of a Kind, Working On a Full House. Just read the post and enter to win the new Flip SlideHD Video Camera. Hurry...contest ends September 13th! If I don't win one, I know what I'm asking for this Christmas.
 

Favorite Homeschooling Websites: Language Arts

I am posting a series to share my favorite homeschooling resource websites. As they are completed, they can be found in the drop down list (Favorite Websites) at the top of my blog. Please let me know if any links have stopped working or if you have any suggestions for the list.

Favorite Language Arts Websites

Spelling:

All About Spelling: What we use!

Home Grown Hearts: Sight Words List 1, List 2

ArmoredPenguin.com: Word Search Generator

Spelling City

Writing:

The Complete Writer: What we use!

WritingFix

First-School: Handwriting Worksheets and Printable Activities for PreK & K

DLTK KidZone: Custom Tracer Pages

Write Source: Writing Topics per grade level

Reading:

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons: What we use!

Trivium Pursuit: What Makes a Book Good (Great book list)

Classical Christian Education Support Loop: 1000 Good Books List (Primary Reading Levels 1-3)

HomeschoolChristian.com: Young Reader Book List

Confessions of a Homeschooler: Animated Books Online

Mountain City Elementary, TN: Reading Units

Starfall.com

Book Adventure

Phonics:

Explode the Code: What we use!

Confessions of a Homeschooler: Paint Chip Phonics

Progressive Phonics: Free Reading Program

Grammar:

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind: What we use! This is the newer edition to be released in September.

DLTK KidZone: Language Arts for K

Queen Homeschool Supplies: Language Lessons

First Day of School 2010-11

School officially started on August 9th for us, which was later than I had originally planned. We've just had so many visitors and trips planned over the summer that I couldn't get us ready any sooner. I'm so glad that I did all my prep for the new school year (researching and buying new curriculum, printing and laminating tons of PreK activities, lesson planning, etc.) before we moved across country and had a new baby. Here are my little brilliant brainiacs! Forgive the bad photography. I really need a better camera. And by the way, they're not really that tall, just standing on a chair.

Joshua - 5 (almost 6) - 1st Grade

Ella - 4 - PreK

Brooke - 2 (almost 3) - Tot School

And let's not forget our sweet new baby girl, Rachel - 3 months

Thanks for stopping by!

Our Schoolroom 2010-11

We moved across country this summer, so I had to get unpacked, get organized, and get my new schoolroom all set up. Our new house has an eating area off the kitchen and a separate dining room, so that became our new schoolroom. I changed our workboxes to the plastic drawer storage stands from Target to save space. You can read about how we use workboxes here. Enjoy the pictures!

The far left wall has shelves with learning toys and games. Our new workboxes are under the whiteboard. In the middle of our work table is a green bucket with different compartments for pencils, crayons, glue sticks, and scissors.

My 2-year-old, Brooke, was doing puzzles while I took this picture. The left wall is our new morning calendar wall, which I'll write another post about soon.

Our tall bookshelves on the back wall hold our curriculum, reading books, puzzles, and supplies for science, math, art, etc. On the right wall is my desk. Underneath and on the side of it are big plastic bins of other supplies, activities, and files.

Here is Joshua's new workbox stand. I stacked a 3-drawer stand on top of the 7-drawer stand so he could have more drawers. When he completes a box, he takes off the number and puts it into the box. The bin on top is his "done box" where he puts all his completed work.

This is Ella's workbox stand. Brooke has a stand too because I thought she might want to start doing Tot School for fun.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Favorite Homeschooling Websites: Math

This is the second in my series of posts to share my favorite homeschooling resource websites. As they are completed, they can be found in the drop down list (Favorite Websites) at the top of my blog. Please let me know if any links have stopped working or if you have any suggestions for the list.

Favorite Math Websites:

Math Worksheet Wizard: Make 1000s of free math worksheets!

PreKinders: Wonderful ideas and resources for teaching PreK.

The Math Worksheet Site: Math worksheet generator

Arcademic Skill Builders: Math and Language Arts online games

Mathwire.com: Math activities/games

KidZone: Math games and printable worksheets

Math-U-See: Our favorite Math curriculum

Math Is Fun

The following blogs have great Math Calendar ideas:

Homeschool Creations

1+1+1=1

Homeschool Highway

Mama Jenn