Gift Ideas for Tots and Preschoolers...

Hi Friends,

Our sweet Abby just celebrated her 2nd birthday and she LOVES the toys she received so much that I just had to recommend them. We've been really into classic wooden toys lately (love Melissa and Doug!) as well as old fashioned educational toys. Fortunately, we have a wonderful parent-teacher resource center in the area where we can borrow toys and educational products. Whenever I borrow something she loves, I just add it to her Amazon wishlist and send it out to family members for birthdays and around Christmas time.

She loves these toys and she is able to play with them independently (yes!) while I work with Rachel on something more academic or while I'm simply reading her a story.

~Catherine

Hubbard's Cupboard Joyful Hearts Character Curriculum {Review}

Hi Everyone,

I posted this over at my other blog, but thought it fit well here too. :)

As I wait for Rachel to grow into her Kindergarten year, we've been using Hubbard's Cupboard Joyful Heart Character Curriculum for 4-6 year olds in the interim.

There are so many things that I love about this program:
1. The theme of each week is centered around a biblical character trait, a corresponding Bible story, and a memory verse. So far the character traits have been so timely and exactly what we needed to focus on.

2. It incorporates everything that you would expect for a strong preschool program - Bible, literacy, math, music, art, handwriting, social studies, calendar time, hands-on activities, games, etc.

3. The literacy portion is quite solid. It includes suggestions for character and theme related books, sight word memorization and activities, letter and sound review, weekly word family focus, printable easy readers, CVC words, rhyming, syllables, blending, etc.

4. The lessons plans are done for me. I simply print them each week and check off the boxes as we complete each item. I LOVE checking off boxes!

5. They include a scope and sequence for nerds like me. This also ensures me that the curriculum was planned and well thought out.

6. It's free! Everything you need can be printed out. Easy peasy!

I really want to encourage you to click over and take a peek. There is so much to this curriculum! This has been the perfect bridge between finishing our preschool Little Hands to Heaven program and waiting for Little Hearts for His Glory for Kindergarten.

If you do check it out, let me know what you think!

~Catherine :)

Our Workbox System

Catherine's post reminded me that I had promised a post on our workbox system. For a full description you should really read Sue Patrick's book and her website. Unless you buy the book, you will not be able to get the printables she describes. She is the one who came up with the idea in the first place, and I do not want to plagiarize her work. She does do workshops at homeschool conferences as well. There are also plenty of blog posts about variations of the workbox system, which Catherine reference many of on her post.

Everyone has their own little variations on Sue Patrick's idea, our school is no exception. We live in a very small ranch house that is already crammed full of too much stuff and not enough empty space. Therefore, I was not about to have 3 carts with 12 shoebox size container on them - Where would I even put them??? After googling "workbox system blog," I gleaned a lot from others. Then, I came up with my own.

Instead of a shoebox size container, I use See & Store Book Pouches from Lakeshore Learning. It has a built in pocket in which I can put the "box" number, work with mom card, etc. On the outside of the packet I put a piece of Velcro for the number which will be taken off after complication, and put on her schedule strip.

Really, I mainly put my children's My Father's World curriculum in them, so I not adding many hands on additions outside of MFW's books- thus a book pouch works much better than a shoebox because I am mostly just putting books in them. If something is too big, which is rare, I either put in on the child's schedule strip or put a note in the pouch. Then I put all of the pouches into a crate, each child having their own crate. The crate can also hold their pencil box, counting jar, etc. I keep all their crates on my server in the dining room, which is where we do school. The crates are great because they can be carried to the living room (where I teach the boys) or outside during nice weather. It is completely portable.

The problem I had before the workbox system was that curriculum was piled in the dining room at the end of the day. By using the crates, I can prep whenever I want and easily store the crates on my server in the dining room. Eventually, I may buy pretty file boxes from IKEA or the Container Store to camouflage them, but I love the crates for practicality.

Here is a picture and description of each child's crate:

Ms. G (3rd grade)

Currently I use about 10 workboxes because we do some items during circle time. Occasionally I have put 2 things in one workbox, just so I did not have to rearrange all the workboxes. She also uses a schedule strip with blocks of additional work such as Irish dance practice, math game on computer, piano practice, reading, etc. Since her crate is so full, I keep her timer, strip and pencil box with other school items I use everyday, which is stored in a large wooden tabletop teacher organizer(clearance item, pretty $$ new). Also, this allows one of G's pouches is filled with what MFW calls the book basket, where she explores selected titles that correlate with our themes in Social Studies and Science only during school time for 15 minutes. This way I do not have a basket of books needing to be stored, it works great as a workbox.

Mr. Z (Kindergarten)

His crate contains his counting jar and tens box, as well as his pencil box and Trunkie, the stuffed elephant - who joined us this week when we were learning about elephants. Besides his pouches, I also store his co-op folder, a workbook for his brother, alphabet puzzle and other regularly used items.

His pouches are not numbered yet, but I am going to start him on a strip soon because he requested one like his sisters. His pouches can number from 4 to 8 roughly, depending on what he needs to do for MFW that day. There are lots of great ideas on how to fill a Kindergartner's boxes, but we do not use many of them for Mr. Z. I feel like for him it would be just busy work that he would not enjoy, I would burn him out and he would hate learning. You have to adjust things for each child's personality. He is very good at playing, and so I do not need to fill his time to keep him out of trouble while schooling Ms. G. Now, my oldest would have loved 12 workboxes to do when she was in Kindergarten.

Mr. JP (3 year old Preschooler)

Since JP really only uses Sponge curriculum at the moment (meaning he only learns whatever he happens to sponge off his siblings lessons), his crate contains educational toys to keep him busy and to make him feel that he too is important and belongs. Here is a list: Lauri Toddler kit, Lauri Preschool kit, Mellisa and Doug 4 in 1 wooden puzzle box, Teddy the Teaching Bear, magnetic letters and numbers, and Lauri pegs. Usually he only plays with his crate at school time, so it is fresh and fun. JP also loves to join in Z's schooling and to scribble on workbook pages with a pencil, so he can be just like his brother.

I must say that we no longer have much whining about doing school work because they know how much is expected from them and the boxes help them feel the progress they are making. School runs much more efficiently and smoothly because everything is right there at our finger tips. There is no running around looking for a book, that was done the afternoon before when I filled the boxes! I can plan independent workboxes for Ms. G while I know I will be schooling her brother. It really fosters independence. It definitely goes down as a tool that has greatly helped our homeschool. I honestly cannot think of anything negative about the way we use them.

Workboxes and Homeschooling

Hi All,

I've changed my plan many times, so don't hold me to this plan either... :) But I think I'm going to start Kindergarten with Rachel in the fall. Of course, our third baby is due 2 weeks before I was planning to get started, so I'm reserving the right to stop, take a break, slow down, or whatever I need to do until we find our groove. Rachel will only be 4.5 years old by then, which gives us some great flexibility. If we were sending her to school, she wouldn't begin until September of 2011.

Organizing our day with workboxes...
I've been reading other homeschooling blogs to get tips and ideas and that's been getting me really excited about starting! In particular, I'm really interested in how other Moms organize their curriculum and supplies. Workboxes are one system that has caught my eye.

I haven't read Sue Patrick's Workbox System book, but this is what I've gleaned from other bloggers. Workboxes are a way to organize your homeschool curriculum in a way that fosters independence and a well structured day. Sounds good to me!

Many people use a cart with 3 or 4 shelves that hold a total of 12 containers. The containers are numbered 1-12 and each container corresponds to one subject area. For example, if Box #1 is designated for Math, the box would contain the worksheet, manipulatives, and pencil that the child needs for Math that day. The child begins working through the boxes starting with Box #1 and ending with Box #12. As the child completes each box, they take a velcro number off of a schedule/number strip and velcro it to the box. It's a great way to see the sequence for the day, how much work is left, and what has already been completed.

It's also a great way to ensure that I will be prepared for each day. I can simply fill up the boxes the night before and know I won't have to hunt for all the little craft supplies I currently have to hunt for. It's a big time stealer!

What else can go in the boxes?
Just about anything it seems! I've even seen Moms put a snack in one of the boxes or a fun game or activity. The curriculum we will be using, Little Hearts for His Glory, only has 9 subject areas per day, so I plan to be creative with my extra 3 boxes. I've also thought about using the extra boxes to plan activities for Abby who will be 2.5 by then. I will definitely need things to keep her busy while I work with Rachel!

Inspiration...
Here are some photos from other Mommy bloggers to show you what they do and how flexible the system can be. Some Moms don't use a cart and boxes because of space constraints. Instead, I've seen workfolders and workbinders too.

Cassie from Spell Out Loud uses IKEA shelves and Itso bins.

Ruby Slippers School uses space saving file folders.

Fenced in Family uses work pockets for another variation.

Last but not least, I just love how Jolanthe from Homeschool Creations modified the system to work for her family.

Here is a picture of the schedule strip she created. How cute is that?

She uses workfolders because she has 4 children and didn't have room for 48 boxes.

These are the activity and subject cards she created for things they do during that school day that don't have worksheets. Jolanthe is a graphic designer extraordinaire and she loves to share! You can download them from her here!

I'd love to give workboxes a try. Now I have to figure out how to convince Matt to let me put workboxes in our dining room school room. His initial reaction was, "You're going to put what where?"

Have you tried workboxes or a variation of the system? Please share your experience with us!

Homeschool Make-Over

What once work for homeschooling is no longer working, it is time to make some changes. You also want to add more efficient ways to getting school done. Here are some of our make-over changes:

• Circle time in the morning - Calendar, prayer, Bible reading( may be additional to curriculum), Pledge of Allegiance ~I will post more later.
  
• Little Ones go first for 15 minutes, then finish the rest later when the older one is working independent. This way I get the Kindergartner at his best. I do not know why I did not do this before.
  
• The one above will require me to change around the order subjects are done.
  
• Timed schedule using a timer to keep us on track - I have a cute apple timer for Ms. G to use. This helps us to keep focused on what we are suppose to be doing.
  
• What read alouds we do not get to during the day, will be done after dinner. The kids love piling up on the couch while I read to them in the evening.
• With my workbox system, each kid has a crate. I have no boxes for JP, but I do have his crate full of preschool manipulatives. When I school Mr. Z, I take both the boys' crates out to the living room carpet. This way JP happily plays with his crate and leaves Kindergarten with little interruption. I will have to do a post about what is in my crates and about using the workbox system.
  

Remember that change does not happen over night. It takes planning and time to get everything thought out and set up.

What to Do With Little Ones

Just to add to Peace and Preschooler's post that I blogged about yesterday, here are some of my own helpful hints:

• We did not school during afternoon naps. My kids all stop napping at 2, and my last baby only cat-napped his first year. Also, I need the afternoon for a refreshment time or I become mean mommy/ice wife. Some children learn better in the morning, and some in the afternoon. That is the beauty of home schooling.
• At one time I had home schooling in the playroom, but now I have home school for the 3rd grader in the dining room, leaving the playroom (downstairs) free for my noisy boys. I also do kindergarten in the playroom, while the 3rd grader is independently working upstairs. My children actually suggested their school spots, by trying their reasonable request I made an improvement to our school day. Everyone's home and children are different, so each mom needs to prayerfully ask God for a creative solution for her own family. Do not forget to ask your husband, God often uses them to solve our problems.
  
• When I had an infant, I had a circuit, which went something like this - bouncy seat, baby gym, blanket with toys, different baby gym. This would buy me about 30 minutes, maybe more, I just remember it was long enough to do math and phonics, subjects that required my full attention and two hands. After the circuit, I could easy nurse or hold the baby ( I love to hold my babies a lot!), while helping the older one with their other school work such as handwriting or making a graph like the picture of Ms. G above. There are so many more activities you can add to the circuit, like entertainer, highchair, playpen and swing.
• Giving the Kindergartner or the Preschooler computer time provides a peaceful time to teach one on one with an older child. As a bonus, the toddler usually likes to watch them play on the computer. Just set the timer, I have accidentally given twice as much computer time as I wanted to.
  
• Toys are not just kept in our big playroom downstairs, we have play spaces spread through out the house. While most of the toys are either in the playroom or their bedroom, sometimes I take a stored toy out to the living room. Some educational toys are kept in the dining room (which also functions as our school room). The living room has some Magna Doodles stashed next to the TV, and the kitchen has a drawer of kitchen toys. I must confess, we do have an insane amount of toys, but I do try to create a toy library. Someday I will make pictures for them, like a catalog. Well, maybe I get to do if for my grandkids!
  
• Less is more as toys are concerned. Children tend to entertain themselves better when there is empty space. Keeping your home that way is a constant challenge, but it is well worth the effort. Children like a change of scenery, they enjoy playing in different spots during the day. If you have those spaces ready, they choose to change themselves when they start to get board. You may have to teach this skill to some children. When they act up out of boredom, assist them in recognizing that feeling and ask them questions to let them choose for themselves what to do next. Some people find it helpful use a schedule for toys and activities.
• A Kindergartner can play outside by themselves if you have a fence with a secure lock. I can easily watch my son from the dining room and kitchen windows, while teaching my daughter.
• There is a dear mom at my home school co-op who has 8 kids and a husband who is a Marine. Once I asked her how she dealt with the little ones, she told me she has special toys for school time kept on a rotating basis. This hint I had heard many times, so I asked how successful was it? How long did it work? She said about 15 minutes. So, keep helpful hints in perspective, do not expect wonders, and remember you are not alone in your struggles!
• When the older child complains that they want to play like the younger ones, I remind them that they did those things when they were little. Now they are older they have both more privileges and responsibilities. They need to learn now life is hard work. Do not feel bad for them, but you may want to pray for a joyful spirit for them!
  
• Remember that this is just a season, older children can be a great help. You will have older children sooner then you can imagine. Just look below how fast my baby grew, my then toddler is now the kindergartner, and my kindergartner is now a 3rd grader!Children are hard work, but they are a BLESSING! What a better way to spend your time, than raising a new generation of strong Believers in Christ Jesus our Lord.