Origami

We are studying Japan for our Monthly country. We have already colored the Flag and read a few books on the country. Next up was trying are hands at Origami. I found this wonderful site Origami fun. There is lots of math involved in origami that I did not think of. Cutting our construction paper into 6"x6" squares, folding in half, and into triangles and squares, plus much more. Here are a bunch of pictures of our fun time.  

Ipad helps out

6x6 squares

 Talking Dog

 Ladybug

 Sail boats

 Pelican(For my bird girl)

 A hat for my silly guy

 A crown 

Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Saving money while home schooling

homeschooling can get expensive. You have to buy your own curriculum's, school supplies, extra curricular classes, and field trips. Here are a few ways I have learned how to save a buck or 2. 

1. Buy used curriculum's- I found this Math-U-See teacher and student curriculum for $8. Yes it had been used but only up to lesson 7 of 35. June bug knows most of lessons 1-5 so all I had to do was erase 2 levels of lessons. My big pink eraser helped out a bunch. I have found lots of books, manipulative, and curriculum's at random garage sales. I check Craigslist regularly and am a part of a few used curriculum Facebook groups. Another great way to get free or cheap material is to have a swap with a couple of Home school friends. 

 2. The Library- I love books!! The library is full of them...for FREE!! They also offer free classes and story times. Our local library has books on CD, chess club, and many interesting programs. Libraries also can offer book bundles. Ask the Librarian to put together 10 or so books on a subject for your aged children. It helps to give them a weeks notice.

3. School Supplies- Stock up now!!! Back to school sales are the best time to save. Crayons that are normally $1.50-$2.00 are $0.25 each. You can get glue, paper, markers, and pencils for your whole year for a fraction of the price. You can also print up a teacher's card and receive discount from many big stores. I like Michael's 15% off your purchase for teachers and Barnes and Nobles discounts. 

4. Field trips- If you want to go to the museum it's going to cost you. But if you get 10 or more friends together you can save money and get a tour. Also check out free home school days, free weekend family days, and teacher discounts. 

5. Extra Curricular- Look at you city's resources. A lot of towns have sports and art classes cheaper than separate businesses. Our towns swim lessons are 1/2 the price of the Y's swim.

Any other great ways to save money while homeschooling?

Our schedule Daily, Weekly, and yearly

After scouring the web for schedules and plans, asking friends, and planning vacations, I finally figured out our homeschool schedule. I also am flexible to change so I don't feel tied down. But I love being organized and prepared. 

Daily 
We start out each day with morning chores and breakfast. Depending on the day we start after breakfast. June bug gets 10-20 minutes to play. Then I give warnings (10 minutes and 5 minutes) to get to the table. We work on different subjects each day. I give her a break and snack after she has completed 2 subjects. I don't have a set subject schedule. I let her pick which order to complete them in. But unit study is always last. They are the most fun. We normally start at 9am and finish at 11am. 

Weekly
Each Sunday I plan our week in my teacher's lesson plan book. 

Monday- Math, Handwriting without tears, science, reading, country and unit study

Tuesday-Explode the code, ipad, reading. Field trip day(basically go somewhere with friends) 

Wednesday-Math, Handwriting without tears, Computer typing, reading, country and unit study

Thursday-Explode the code, ipad, reading. Field trip day

Friday-Time or Money(alternating weeks), Handwriting without tears, Geography, country and unit study

Saturday and Sunday off

Yearly
I have our year broken up into 5-6 week terms & 2-3 week terms with 2 weeks off in between for vacations, planning upcoming units, and holidays. Each term has it's own unit study. We are also doing monthly country studies. We started July 1st 2013 and plan to end May 23rd 2014. 

Term 1 Poetry

Term 2 US geography, road trip planning, & Maps 

Term 3 Little house on the prairie study 

Term 4 Plays & Performances (Short term)

Term 5 St. Augustine & Florida history

Term 6 Ocean Travel & Cruises (Short term) 

Term 7 Famous Artist & Art Show

4th of July Crafts

 We did a few Forth of July crafts before heading to our hometown parade.

 Jetty boy used our Dot-A-Dots to make his flag I printed out for him. He also made a flag puzzle out of Popsicle sticks. 

June bug learned why there are 13 stripes and 50 stars. She counted the stars and stripes then colored her flag. 

 We broke out our science kit and tried a new experiment. Fireworks in a jar. It was supposed to make fireworks but it just made a blob of water with oil and food coloring. But they still had fun. It's a good lesson for science. Not all experiments turn out the way you expect. 

Tip: Use trays for messy science or art projects

 Here is our bulletin board. I bought it off of craigslist.com for $10!!! I love a good deal. 

Doll hair science salon

Brown Bear Preschool Activities

This week for Jetty boy(3) we focused on the book Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see? By Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carl. The first day he colored a print out to match the book. The second day I lamented a wonderful sheet I found on Teacherpayteachers.com. I used my laminator I got for Christmas, then I cut them out. Jetty boy helped me glue the pictures onto craft sticks. The two big kids put on a puppet show using the sticks. I didn't get any pictures of the show but it was great! I plan to do a few more activities over the weekend to finish up the book study. 

 Here is the link

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Bear-Vocabulary-Chart-316501

First Day of School

Today was our first day of First grade! Yes it's July but that is how we homeschool. June bug did great. We had a bit of struggles but i'm sure they will be worked out soon.

Our homeschool area is our dining room. It's working great! I love dollar store posters. I scored a huge bulletin board off craigslist for $10. 

Mondays are Math, handwriting, reading, science, and poetry(unit study)

Jetty boy is working on Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see by Eric Carl. A bit like five in a row.  I printed out some worksheets for him to color in according to the book. He did great. But as soon as he was done we ran into trouble. Keeping him quiet and busy is going to be hard. He got sent to his room a couple of times to quiet down. The baby slept in the sling! 

Brain Pop video on the ipad about Poems and hibernation. 

When June bug finishes a subject she gets to mark it off on our chart. This way she knows how much is left to complete. 

Dr. Seuss is a great poet :) Katie had a bit of reluctance reading but did her 5 pages in the end. We use our ipad stand and a clothes hanger to prop up the book. 

We started at 8:30 and ended around 10:30. Great start to the year.