Bugs in Your Salad?

Mercie, my 8 year old, has been using writing prompts to write in a journal each day. She is getting very creative, and some of journal entries are really good. This morning, her journal entry was so creative and made me laugh out loud, so I thought I would share it with you all! Leave her a comment if you want to, and I will read them to her.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU SAW BUGS IN YOUR SALAD?

"I would yell like there's no tomorrow, and never eat salad again. And I would throw it in the garbage, and if my mom wouldn't let me throw the bowl away, too, I would just not eat out of that bowl again in my life even when I am old and a 96 year old Granny."

Notice the cute picture she drew of her throwing the bowl of salad and yelling , "AAAAA!"

I'm just thrilled with how much her creative writing has really taken off since using journal prompts.

Spiritual Circle Journal {TOS Review}

My 11 year old son, Eli, has been using the Spiritual Circle Journal for Kids & Teens the past several weeks as part of his quiet time. This special journal for kids and teens is produced by the Spiritual Circle Journal, and is intended to give kids more direction on how to have a fulfilling quiet time.

This journal is 94 pages. Sixty-five of these pages are journaling pages. There is one for each week of the year, plus a few extras. There are 16 summary pages in the back of the journal. These pages can be used to record lessons learned or important Bible verses.

THE JOURNAL PAGES

Each of the blank journal pages look the same. There are 9 different graphics to guide your child as he uses this journal. I'll briefly describe each of the 9 graphics.

JOURNAL ENTRY {JE}: What are you thinking about today? Anything making you excited, stressed, happy, or sad?

CONFESSION {C}: Anything you should say sorry for?

PRAYER {P}: Need help or guidance with something? Anything bothering you?

LYRIC/VERSE {L/V}: Has a line of a song or Bible verse caught your attention?

GOD MOVING {GM}: Have you noticed God doing something in your life? "Coincidences" or "it just so happened" moments? Dots connecting? Things you didn't make happen? Glimpses of God's amazingness?

THANK YOU/ADORATION {TY/A}: What can you praise or thank God for?

MESSAGE {M}: What is the most important thing you learned from your devotional, Bible reading, Sunday school class, or sermon/mass? Any words, verses, phrases or themes repeated lately?

LESSON LEARNED LIGHT BULB MOMENT {LL/LBM}: Have you learned a life lesson lately or had a "light-bulb" moment? if you could do something over, what would you do differently or the same?

ACTIONS {A}: Anything God wants you to do for others? Something He wants to work on within you?

THE SUMMARY PAGES:

There are 16 of these pages that look exactly the same. The purpose of these page is to summarize what has been important throughout your child's journal. There are four ways to use them, which I'll describe briefly below:

LESSONS LEARNED: Writing down the most important and biggest things God has taught you by going back through your journal and remembering.

FAVORITE VERSES: Writing down the verses that have meant a lot to you. Use them to memorize or for fast recall.

GOD STORIES: Writing down what God has been doing in your life, connecting the dots and details of how He is working in your life.

CHARACTER PAGES: Studying Bible characters, one per page, you can see their strengths and weaknesses.

WHAT DO WE THINK?

I am very impressed with the quality of this journal. The pages are thick and glossy, which make them easy to write on and hard to tear out of the journal. The spiral binding is a nice, black wire that won't unbind. The cover is colorful with a plastic protective page.

Eli uses this journal about once a week during his quiet time. He especially enjoys the "Light Bulb" graphic, where he can record lessons he has learned and "light bulb" moments from God. It takes him 15-20 minutes to complete a journal page. He likes how it combines a normal journal with a Biblical focus {his words}.

The first three pages of the journal are a parent/teacher/leader guide. It explains how to use this journal, the importance of your children keeping a prayer journal, the recommended ages, and the importance of living an examined life. These pages were helpful to me, as a mom, and I have decided to start my own prayer journal!

Check out the Spiritual Circle Journal for Kids and Teens on Facebook and Instagram.They even have Spiritual Circle Journals for adults!

 

Linton, ND, I'll Miss You

Our time in North Dakota is coming to an end! My husband's job is nearly over. We should be heading home to Louisiana in a week! We have really enjoyed North Dakota. The town we were staying in was awesome. We were attending a little Baptist church, and it blessed us in so many ways! The Sunday School class was on spiritual warfare and wearing the full armor of God, which is exactly what I was needing to learn. We met a super nice couple - the town vet and his wife - who invited us over for dinner and horse-riding several times, as well as taking us to eat pizza after church and just befriending us. This is the first time we have met people that felt like family to us. We will greatly miss this town.

Our kids even got an article and picture in the town newspaper! There was a huge storm with tornados that swept through the trailer park a few weeks ago. There were tons of trees down, and even more branches and limbs all over the park. The kids and I, plus another mom and her two kids, helped picked up limbs and branches for days. We piled them up into different piles for the park managers to haul off. Little did we know, the park manager contacted the newspaper! They even treated us to pizza for helping out. I told my kids that we don't do things to be recognized or rewarded, but it sure is nice. They were super excited.

Mikaela sprained her wrist a few weeks ago doing squat thrusts. We thought it was broken, and so did the doctor and nurse! Luckily, it was just a bad sprain. She wore a splint for a few days, and she is completely healed now.

We tried to take plenty of pictures in this beautiful part of the country. Mikaela has officially outgrown me! She is 5 foot 3, while I'm still 5 foot 2. According to her X-rays, she isn't through growing yet. She is a beautiful young lady with a beautiful heart.

We will truly miss Linton, North Dakota.

But I am ready to get home!

A Return to Family Learning?

I posted only yesterday about our new schedules and routines that I am planning to implement when we get back to Louisiana {in two weeks or so!}. However, last night I was talking with the kids about what is working this year, what isn't working, and what they would change if they could.

There was an almost unanimous vote to go back to family-style learning.

I love family learning. I really do. I know it works, yet I was struggling with believing it was working. I worry too much, wondering if my older two kids are "getting enough meat" so to speak. I worry if my younger ones are being left behind and left out. I felt stretched, trying to reach two middle schoolers and two early elementary kids, while keeping a preschooler out of trouble.

However. I feel even more stretched now, with everyone doing their own thing! I feel disconnected from what my older ones are learning. I struggle with fitting it all in every day. I have no energy to grade the papers and quizzes, which I have to do now because I honestly don't know what they are learning each day. They have been reading their own lessons and completing their own assignments {which isn't a bad thing, necessarily}.

I miss learning alongside with them. I miss us all discussing things, reading together, doing family projects versus individual projects. I miss knowing what they are learning, not having to give tests and quizzes because I can gauge on a daily basis what is being retained and what is not.

As we prepare to go home, we are taking a small break from homeschool. We will take off the next two weeks. I am going to sleep in, rest, watch movies with the kids, play outside, go shopping, and just relax. The kids need a small break, as well, and homeschooling makes this possible.

I have a feeling we will be returning to BiblioPlan, picking up where we left off. Doing unit studies is a possibility for science. I'm still thinking and praying.

Why do we always try to fix what isn't broken?

New Schedules and Routines

We are a good 7 weeks in our school year, although Mercie and Silas have completed 10 weeks of school so far! However, teaching five different grade levels is not going so well for me. I am already feeling burned out and ready for a change! 

I made a vow that I wouldn't change curriculum this year, and I'm not planning on that right now. What I am doing is trying to figure out a new routine and schedule. Why? I am having a hard time fitting in everything! It seems like someone always needs me when I'm helping someone else. I don't feel like checking and grading work and quizzes. I've been skipping Story of the World with Mercie and Silas because I'm worn out. Titus hasn't had a consistent preschool week yet. 

I'm sure this is perfectly normal for moms of many children. I have had a hard time adjusting to teaching an 8th grader, 6th grader, 3rd grader, 1st grader, and preschooler. My 1st grader isn't reading yet, which is a small source of stress for me. My preschooler is very needy and wants to do school all the time! Seriously, when I'm trying to work with my 3rd grader, he is begging me to do his school. Add of all this to living in a 40 foot travel trailer, and you probably feel my pain.

For some reason, I have always wanted school to be done from 8:30-12:00 each day. I like to run my errands right before lunch, have lunch, and spend the day outside. I have to start thinking outside my little box! This worked fine when my kids were smaller, and I had less of them to teach, but it's time for an adjustment to our schedule and my way of thinking!

I still plan to start school around 8:30 in the morning. Here is a rough draft of the schedule I'm planning to print out and follow:

6:00 am - I get up, take my bath, and read my Bible.

7:00 am - Mikaela up and in the shower.

7:30 am - Kids up and eating breakfast, making their beds, getting dressed and brushing their teeth.

8:30 am - Bible time - we are using Foundations 2: Christ our Messiah. We also pray, work on memory verses, and sing a few songs.

9:00 am - Story of the World with Mercie and Silas, while Eli and Mikaela work on independent work.

9:30 am - Math with Silas, while Mercie works on her writing journal and reading her book.

9:45 am - Math with Mercie, while Silas works on Reading Eggs on the computer.

10:00 am -  Language Arts with Mercie, while Silas continues with Reading Eggs.

10:15 am - Phonics with Silas, while Mercie reads her book and finishes up any worksheets.

10:30 am - Check on Mikaela and Eli's work, see if they need help, and check their progress. Snack break for kids.

10:45 am - Preschool with Titus while Mercie and Silas play quietly.

11:30 am - Science with Mercie and Silas.

12:00 pm - Lunch break. Kids can eat, play, rest, go outside, or whatever. I can run errands if necessary.

2:00 pm - Mikaela and Eli finish up anything they didn't finish during the day, as well as completing art or reading their books. I will finish checking their work and any quizzes or tests they may have had that day.

The rest of the day will be playing outside, cooking, cleaning, and anything else we feel like doing! Having a guideline will hopefully help me to stay on track, as well as have everyone and every subject included. I didn't make a detailed schedule for Mikaela and Eli, because they have a daily checklist of what to do. They do most of their work independently so I don't have to stay on top of them. As long as they get everything done, it doesn't matter when they complete each subject.

How do you make sure everything gets done in your school day? Seriously, leave me your advice in the comments!!!

Can Do Cubes {TOS Review}

I reviewed Jolly Phonics and Grammar on Monday, and I mentioned the Can Do Cubes that we use alongside the phonics curriculum. Today, I am reviewing the Can Do Cubes from jollyliteracy.com.

What are Can Do Cubes?

The Can Do Cubes are small wooden blocks laser-engraved with the letters and phonetic sounds taught in Jolly Phonics. There are two trays in this set. Stage One contains the Simple Alphabetic Code, 27 cubes containing 44 different sounds of speech that make up the English language. Stage Two contains the Complex Alphabetic Code. These cubes show the variations for the 44 sounds. Also included are uniquely linked cubes for split vowel digraphs. There are also capital letter cubes to be used with lower case and upper case recognition and punctuation cubes.      

What Did We Receive?

We received the Can Do Cube Set, a CD including teaching ideas and worksheets, a DVD with interactive "sounding out" of letter sounds and combinations, Phonics and Word Charts, a Handbook for Stage One and Stage Two, and access to online worksheets and templates.

How Did We Use Can Do Cubes?

We used the Can Do Cubes along with Jolly Phonics for Silas's phonics lessons. We used these cubes in various ways:

• To review letter sounds - I  would have Silas roll the cubes and make the sound of the letter{s} he landed on. 
• To learn letter sounds - When Silas would learn a new sound, I would introduce it with the cubes.
• To spell words - I would say a word, and Silas would choose the correct cubes, put them in order, and read the word.
• To read words - I made words with the sounds he has learned, and he would read the words.
• To play games - We played several games with the cubes, including rolling several of them at once and trying to make a word with the letters we landed on.

I'm sure there are many more ways to use Can Do Cubes!  The Handbooks included with the Can Do Cubes is very helpful and contains many ideas. Handbook One begins with pre-reading activities, moves on to learning letter names, and finishes with learning the alphabetic code. Handbook Two covers vowel phonemes, split digraphs, consonant phonemes, double consonants, capital letters and punctuation. There are reading and spelling activities, as well as game and activity suggestions.

We used these cubes alongside Jolly Phonics, but I feel like they would work with any phonics curriculum! My older children like playing with the cubes as well, spelling words and making phrases. You could use these cubes for a child who has trouble spelling or reading. Having the digraphs on the cubes is very helpful! Teaching a child that "oa" says "oh" is much easier when both letters are on one cube. It reminds them that there is only one sound for the two letters. Therefore, when reading the word "boat", you will use three cubes - "b" "oa" "t".

Check out jollyliteracy.com and just2ducks LLC on Facebook, and Pinterest. There are many more companion products, like flashcards, puppets, and beginning readers, that work with Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar.

Jolly Phonics & Grammar {TOS Review}

Finally, a phonics program that works!

In a nutshell, this is how I feel about Jolly Phonics. It is truly everything I've wanted and searched for in a phonics curriculum. When I was chosen to review Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar by jollyliteracy.com, I was super excited. When I received the materials, I was even more excited! Here are the things I love about Jolly Phonics.

IT'S SIMPLE. That may sound like a lazy requirement for a phonics program, but I am seriously worn out from complicated teacher's manuals and trying to gather tons of materials for the hands-on activities that accompany them. Jolly Phonics has a very simple process, and you don't need anything other than the Teacher's Manual, Student Workbook, and pencils.

IT'S QUICK. Another requirement for my short-attention spanned son is short lessons. He can sit and work on phonics for about ten minutes before he gets frustrated and wiggly. It takes about ten minutes to complete each lesson a day, with about five minutes of review.

IT WORKS. Silas has learned and retained more using Jolly Phonics than he has any other phonics program. He actually enjoys completing the lessons each day, and he is able to sound out and read many three and four letters words already.

What did we receive?

We received the Jolly Phonics Teacher's Book in print letters, Jolly Phonics Student Books 1, 2, and 3, the Jolly Grammar Teacher's Book 1 in print letters, Jolly Grammar Student Book 1, and Jolly Songs in print letters.

The Teacher's Book is so easy to use! At the beginning of the Teacher's Book, there are pages that talk about learning the letter sounds and formations, reading and blending, identifying sounds in words, and learning tricky words. These pages were helpful to me, as teaching reading isn't my forte! The next section is the Daily Guidance - the lesson plans for each lesson. The sections in each lesson are story, action, formation, blending, sounding, and further ideas. There is a small picture of the student page, which I really like.

Silas is not yet reading, so we started at the very beginning of the program, with Student Book 1. We haven't yet finished Book 1, so this review reflects that. After Student Book 1, the student will know all 42 basic sounds and will be reading!

How do we use Jolly Phonics?

Silas and I use Jolly Phonics every day. We complete four lessons per week, with one day reserved for reviewing the letters, sounds, and words learned that week. Here is how we do each lesson:

First, we review all the sounds we have learned so far. I usually let him roll the Can Do Cubes {a supplement to the program, review coming in a few days} and make the sound of the letter.

Next, I introduce the new sound we are going to learn by showing him the cube and making the correct sound.

We then open the Student Workbook to the correct page. He practices writing the sound for the day and saying the sound each time he writes it. The next row of letters are review, and he writes them and gives me the sound they make. He also colors the little pictures at the top of the page.

I read the story in the Teacher's Manual that incorporates the sound in many different words. I ask him if he remembers any words from the story that start with the correct sound. Sometimes he can, and sometimes he can't, but I don't make it a big deal.

I then point to the list of words in the box in the Student Workbook. Silas sounds them out and reads them as well as he can. Next, he crosses out the picture that doesn't have the correct sound in it. He does really well with this part.

He has a spiral notebook that we use for the dictation portion of the lesson. I write the numbers 1-4 on the page, and give him a word. He has to segment the word, spell the word, and write the word. He does well on some words, and he struggles with some words. I really like this part of the lesson.

Lastly, I make words from the Word Bank in the Teacher's Manual with the Can-Do Cubes for Silas to read. When he reads a word correctly, he gets a sticker to put on his notebook. He loves this part, and I usually make 5-10 words for him to read.

Whew, when writing everything we do it seems like a long lesson! In actuality, it takes us about fifteen minutes to do all of this.

Will we continue with Jolly Phonics?

Yes! I am going to finish the entire Jolly Phonics and Grammar program. The simplicity and effectiveness of this program is just what I have been looking for.  I highly recommend it for any child just learning his letters and sounds.

Check out jollyliteracy.com and just2ducks LLC on Facebook and Pinterest.