Charlotte Mason - 31 Days of Charlotte Mason (link)

While searching for ideas to incorporate Charlotte Mason's method into our upcoming homeschool semester, I came across this excellent resource.
I think this is the best introduction to Charlotte Mason!

31 Days of Charlotte Mason

 

Happy homeschooling!

Freebie Friday

  This week, I am excited to share a website that has been my #1 go-to site for homeschool & household planning printables for over 15 years.

 

 Donna Young.org

Click Image to Visit Her Site

Since 1998, Donna Young has provided the homeschool community with free planners, calendars, worksheets, chore makers, household checklists, curriculum subject forms, & soooo much more. 

 

  Over the years, I have probably used almost
every chart, checklist, & planner she offers.

 

 



Alpha Phonics - teaching reading skills

Now that I have settled my mind & heart upon using Weaver Interlock to teach my granddaughter God's word, early science, social studies, narration, art, & preschool math skills I'm ready to talk - PHONICS.

Back when I was a new homeschooler (sssshhh 1999!), I was led by a seasoned homeschool mom to Alpha Phonics by Samuel Blumenfeld.  At the time, I was fortunate to be able to borrow a copy from my library to try out before buying.  After one week of using it with my son, I had to go out & purchase my own copy!

If you know how to read you can teach reading using Alpha-Phonics. The layout is open & go - 128 self-explanatory, scripted lessons.  Simple & straightforward & totally jargon free!  I could just open the book, go to the current lesson, & read it to him.  I remember lessons only took about 15 minutes per day.  My son was about 4 when we began & was practically reading from lesson 10!
  
What I like best about this program is that there aren't any distractions on the page just large print calligraphy which I think is preferable for young decoders.
It also uses the word families approach in which a single vowel is presented and reading skills are developed by studying all the possible word families of that vowel before moving to the next vowel. 

Needless to say, my granddaughter will cut her reading teeth on Alpha Phonics.  I'm so excited to be blessed to teach another generation to read using this elegant program. More on phonics in another post!

I would love to hear from others who have used Alpha Phonics or comment below & share what phonics program works for your child.

Cut down her 1st Christmas tree!

 

 

My beautiful grandbaby cut down her very first Christmas tree this weekend. 
Poppy "helped" saw it down for her. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't you just love that fresh, wintery scent of Christmas tree wafting through the house??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now what, Poppy??

Budget Control - 52 Week Savings Challenge

We are determined to as Dave Ramsey would put it...get "gazelle focused" on our finances this year.  We want to be sure we are always saving something!  My husband came across this online & I'd thought I would share it with you. 

What a great way to at least start saving SOMETHING in your emergency fund.

 

Who is up for this challenge??

Comment below & let me know if you are ... let's do it together!

 

 52 Week Savings Challenge

Week 1 is December 30, 2013 - January 5, 2014

 

 

Thursday Storytime - Thankfulness

We are blessed to have an excellent, large library within a 5 minute drive from our home.  Each Thursday, the knowledgeable & friendly children's librarian offers a preschool storytime complete with stories, songs, finger-plays, & a craft.

My granddaughter & I attended our very first storytime together the Thursday prior to Thanksgiving and the theme was "thankfulness".  I was a bit apprehensive as we have been working with her on learning to obey & follow commands immediately & I wasn't sure if she would handle sitting still for a whole hour.

She did fantastic & we had a fun time!  The librarian read aloud 4 different storybooks, we sang 3 songs which included finger-plays, & each child had an opportunity to tell the room what they were most thankful for. 
What a beautiful way to spend an afternoon!

Our favorite book was A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting

 



 

Afterward, my granddaughter cut and pasted her very own turkey craft!

Charlotte Mason - Picture Study

Charlotte Mason emphasized picture study.

Picture study is easy to incorporate into
your homeschool schedule & the rewards are great. 

Here's how to do it:

• Simply choose an artist that interests you
• read a brief biography about the artist
• select 3-6 works of art created by the artist you selected
• each week, allow your child to quietly "take in" one picture; noticing each detail
• turn the picture over & hide it
• ask your child to see the picture in her mind's eye
• now ask her to describe the picture to you in as much detail as she can recall (narrate)
• lastly, have a short discussion regarding how the picture made your child feel, think, etc...

Just a reminder: this is the time of year
to buy clearance 2013 art calendars. 

 

This is a fantastic way to get cheap, quality art prints so that you can start a Charlotte Mason style weekly picture study in your homeschool.

Share how you incorporate picture study into your homeschool - COMMENT BELOW

 

 

Weaver Curriculum - Interlock

   In case you didn't know, my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter has recently come to live with our family.  To my joyous surprise, her arrival awakened the homeschool "mom" in me!  As she is preschool level & I consider myself to be a Charlotte Mason style homeschooler, I know that I don't want to use a curriculum that is too structured. Over the past month, I've been familiarizing myself with the latest and greatest homeschool curricula that has appeared on the market in the 4 years since homeschool ended in our home.  My youngest will graduate from public school next year after entering in 9th & my oldest graduated homeschool in 2010.  Now, I'm starting again with a preschooler!  Whew!
  
   After hours of researching, I have decided that I will be using the tried and true Weaver Curriculum.  When mine were younger they loved Weaver and to this day it was the only curriculum that they used in which they still can recall what was learned.  Weaver is a unit study program based upon the Bible.  Beginning at the beginning in Genesis chapter 1 with the preschool/Kindergarten program, Interlock and continuing chronologically through the Bible with Weaver Volumes 1-5.  My family completed all but Volume 5 in the 8 years that we "weaved" our way through homeschool.

   Weaver Interlock was created for 3-6 year olds and covers Genesis chapters 1-10.  The curriculum includes a Bible story, Language arts, Social Studies, Preschool & Kindergarten arithmetic, Music, and Physical education, finger-plays, and songs.  Interlock is designed to be used 3 days per week which I really like as it allows time for the concepts to stick and for outdoor activities.  I don't want my granddaughter to have just a “Christian Education” I feel the Lord is leading me to provide her a “Biblical Education”, and there is a huge difference. 
The Weaver bases itself on the Hebrew form of education, where you train the heart.  And that is why it has always worked so well for us.

More on our journey through Weaver Interlock starting the week of January 6th 2013, after which I intend to post updates & photos of what's happening in our homeschool each week.

Free Printables Friday

Looking for a comprehensive homeschool do-it-yourself planner?
One with plenty of calendar, tracking forms, and weekly planners to select from?
Look no further than Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus!

Here is the link to her Totally FREE customizable homeschool planner:

FREE PLANNER

Happy planning!

Budget Control (Food Costs part 2)

I'd like to share a great conversation I just had with my son.
First, I returned from the grocery store today with another $109.00 spent. My second trip this week.
The first trip cost us $52.00.  You may be thinking..."what's the problem with that?"
Problem:  I should have scanned
what food we already had in the pantry!

Egg noodles were on sale 4 for $5, so I bought 5 bags.  Spaghetti sauce was $1 a jar, so I bought 4 of those. Now we have 9 jars of spaghetti sauce and 11 bags of egg noodles crammed in my cabinets.

That's not all!  I also bought various jars of curry sauces that were on clearance.  How many jars of those now?  7 jars!  Let's not forget to mention the copious numbers of canned items: soups, vegetables, fruitcup, & on, & on....

This is that lack of planning on my part that I discussed in my previous post.  My son pointed to the cabinets & freezer overflowing with food and said that we need to stick to a "set list of food we KNOW we like & will eat up right away so that our stock turns over quickly & so that food doesn't end up in the trashcan".  Uh ...YES!  Out of the mouths of babes!
Lesson learned today - SHOP MY PANTRY FIRST!