Baby It's Cold Outside!

We had our first snow of the year! The kids were so excited! I told them that they had to finish school before they could go out and play. I have never seen them get their school work done so fast! It was a good thing too, since the snow only lasted a couple of hours. I am so completely unprepared for winter.

So with the sudden change of weather, came the realization that we are 2 MONTHS from Christmas. Since we make many of our Christmas gifts, it's time to kick it into high gear! This year we have 7 nieces to buy/make something for. (Yes, all nieces. My son is not very happy about it either.) I'm not sure what we are going to do this year. My kiddos also want something that Mommy and Daddy made for them. My son requested a blanket. We also have two quilts to finish from last year. We have one newborn and two toddlers to do something for. That will be a lot of fun. We also have one teen. She's so easy to get along with, but teens are HARD. Especially making things. I think we may have to buy something there.

Speaking of buying things, I just opened up my own Etsy shop! There's not a lot in there right now, but I'm hoping to make infant hats, doll hats, and doll and girl matching hats! They would make great gifts.

What about you? Have you started Christmas planning? Do you make or buy gifts? 

Choices and Changes: Curriculum 2013-2014

Ok, so I know that it is a little late to be posting curriculum choices, but well... I kinda threw out ALL (well, most) of our curriculum choices about 2 weeks into our "official" school year. Yeah, it wasn't working. So here is what we are currently using. Plus what I just ordered to try out. Yeah, still changing things.

{This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive monetary compensation from Amazon.com}

All Together
Bible/Hymns - Bible
History/Geography - Road Trip USA (Confessions of a Homeschooler)
Science - Apologia Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day (Young Explorer Series)  by Jeannie Fulbright 
    We are using both the Notebook and the Jr. Notebook for this. 

Art - See the Light 

Little Man (3rd-ish grade)
English - Rod and Staff English 3
Reading - All about Reading Level 1
Spelling - All about Spelling Level 1
Math - RightStart Level C

Pony Girl (1st-ish Grade)
English - Rod and Staff English 2

Reading - All about Reading Level 1
Spelling - All about Spelling Level 1
Math - RightStart Level B

Peanut (Preschool)
Raising Rock Stars Preschool
All about Reading Pre-1
Theme Packs from 1+1+1=1.net
Rod and Staff ABC books - She hasn't really seemed all that interested in these. So, we may or may not do them, depending on her mood.

Other preschool-y activities - Counting, colors, blocks, sensory, fine motor, ect.


So far....
We love the RightStart Math! I have no idea why I took so long to ditch the old curriculum. It wasn't working! Little Man and Pony Girl are doing math IN THEIR HEADS not on their hands.

Peanut is loving having "school" to do. I finally broke down and bought her the Raising Rock Stars curriculum. (Most of it is FREE, but for $10 you get a bunch of extras!) She thinks that she is too big for coloring (At least "school" coloring), so the ABC books are shelved for now. Lots of cutting and gluing going on over here right now. I'm working on getting some other stuff organized for her to do "school" with . Look for some upcoming posts on organizing the massive amounts of stuff that goes with homeschooling, especially preschoolers!

We are looking forward to trying All About Reading and Spelling. The success of the RightStart Math led me to consider more hands-on options for these subjects as well. Reading and spelling have been a real struggle for Little Man. Hopefully this will help.

Well that's all for now! I'll try to keep this post updated, just in case I throw it all out and start again, again!

My Family

We're a Christian homeschooling family of 5. We live in a rural area. (As in the closest Wal-Mart is an hour away.) We live on a small farm in a small house. We have chickens, a cow, dogs, cats, and rabbits. In addition, you may find an additional kiddo or two running around (or in someone's arms). We foster children and occasionally baby-sit. Yup, we stay busy.

ME! 
I'm a Speech-Language Pathologist by profession. I do work part-time at a local-ish (Remember Wal-Mart's an hour away.) school district. I mostly fill in when an SLP is going to be out for awhile or when districts need some extra help. I also scrapbook and crochet when I do get a free moment.

 (Nope, no picture! I always have the camera. LOL)


Big Man, husband

Big Man is my wonderful hubby of 10 years! He is a youth minister at our church. He is entirely too patient with me. He also homeschools our children if I'm working. He can cook and clean too. Yeah, he's amazing.

Little Man, 8 yrs old

Little Man's favorite activity is tagging after Big Man. He also loves Legos. He enjoys farming, helping with the animals, his dog especially, and riding his bike. What doesn't he like? Reading and writing. At all.


(No this is not near our home. He was in Arizona on a mission trip with Big Man.)



Pony Girl, 6 yrs old


Pony Girl loves to move and dance. And sing. Loudly. And yes, she likes horses. Unlike her brother, she loves to read. She takes after her mama.







Peanut, 4 yrs old

Peanut loves to play and color. She loves to pull out the art supplies and make something. If you stick around very long, you're bound to have some type of a project handed to you.