Our Homeschool/Family Planner

Well after doing research for several months, asking opinions on Facebook and Twitter and checking out demos, I've decided that making my own planner was the best route to go. It was probably the cheaper route too considering it only cost me about $10 to make (binder, paper, ink). Many of the planners I researched were wonderful but they either had too many things we didn't need or were missing things we needed.

So without further a due here are some pictures of our planner. FYI you can click on a picture to make it larger!

The front of our binder with our school logo
(I will be writing a post about what our logo means in the next couple of weeks).

Monthly calendars to be used for keeping track of important dates, appointments etc.

Tabs.

Meals - The sheets on the left are our grocery shopping lists. The pages on the right are our meal planning sheets.

Chores - My weekly chore sheets.

The kids chore, behavior and schoolwork tracker.
They will have a point system and can earn a quarter for every 21 points.

 Homeschool Schedule - Our master schedule.

Workbox weekly planners.

Homeschool Resources - Curriculum planner a list of what we have on one sheet. And on the next page I have the same list but will use that for keeping track of  items I come across that I like and would possibly consider for upcoming years.

Field Trips - This is an idea page with info about the locations.

Planned field trips.

State Info Section - Attendance records.

GA state requirements.

Typical course study/curriculum standards information for Kindergarten and PreK.

Scrapbooking - This is a place I will write down milestones, accomplishments, trips, etc so I don't forget to add them in our scrapbook.

Important Info - This is a list of babysitter information, medical issues/history, safety, etc.

There are a couple of more items I want to add like our budget/bill list and blogging form (so I can keep track of what I am participating in, deadlines, and posts I want to do).

If you would like any of these pages let me know by sending an email to me - kbalman@gmail.com. Most of the pages I can share with you or give you the location I got them from. With the exception of a few sheets which I received  through planner giveaways. These are the List Plan It items and The Homeshool Planner (by Heather Bixler Items). Both offer FREE or very inexpensive items, and you can pick and choose what items you want for your planner.

I am sure I will be adding more as we go along or changing some of the forms, but this is what I have so far and I hope it works out for us!

P is for Planner

July 3 in 30 - Week 3 Progress

Well week three was pretty good here is how I measured up! Continued working on my past goals.

1. Read 2 books. - Still continuing to read "Homeschooling By The Numbers". Still haven't figured out what parenting book to begin reading. If you know of any free ebooks please let me know.
2. Work on my temper - Doing a little better. 
3. Get a cleaning scheduled established - Still doing well. Keeping things tidy and keeping up with things like laundry, dishes and vacuuming. Hubby and kids have also been chipping in!

So what do you think can you make any recommendations?

O is for Organizing

O is the letter this week for the ABC's of homeschooling meme. O is for Organizing!

The month of July has been spent organizing and getting ready for homeschool. I have been gathering supplies, books, workbooks, unit studies/lapbooks and internet resources. I have also been trying to figure out what planner to use and after much thought I finally decided I am going to use a few free planning pages I found online and also create some of my own.  The kids will be utilizing a workbox system (or in our case a filing cabinet system due to limited space) to organize their daily lessons and it is almost set up and ready to go.  

For the next two weeks I am going to focus on our getting our homeschool/family planner finished. I am also attending the South East Homeschool expo which will be on the 28th here in GA which will be a great kickoff to our school year. 

Well here are some pictures of the organizing I did (I still have more to do and more pictures will be coming soon).

Our bookcase with supplies, books, puzzles, etc. Still need to make labels.

Our workbox filing cabinet and chore chart. Still need to fill in chore chart.

Kids computer, bulletin board and kids craft bin. You can also see the corner of our GA map.

Our USA map.

A look inside our workbox filing system.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I will continue to keep you posted on the start of our first homeschooling year.

Butterfly Festival Field Trip

Gwyn and I had a girls day out last Saturday and went to the Chattahoochee Nature Centers Annual Butterfly Festival. It was a fabulous field trip and we tons of fun and learned some stuff too.

The nature center is located in Roswell, GA and is a great place to have a homeschool field trip. There are nature trails, butterfly gardens, aviaries, canoe trips, the nature exchange, discovery center, geocaching, orienteering and more. The admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children (3 and under are free). They are open Mon-Sat 10-5 and Sun noon-5. They offer activities daily so be sure to check their calendar of events on their website http://chattnaturecenter.org/index.html.

The Butterfly Festival was an amazing experience. Gwyn was able to get a front row seat for the release. They released several kinds of Butterflys including Monarchs, Swallowtails, Painted Ladies and Gulf  Fritillaries. When we arrived it was raining and very dreary but soon the sun came out and it ended up being a gorgeous day. We hiked the trails, visited the Butterfly garden, checked out the aviary, made a fairy house, tried some unsuccessful geocaching, ate some corn dogs, and made some crafts.

Here are some photos:

Entrance

Butterfly release

L is for Lantana Plant my ABSee Meme entry this week

Making a fairy house

Up close and personal with a Butterfly

These were some of the biggest Bumblebees I've ever seen

Gwyn wanted to be a Tiger Butterfly

One tired little girl

July 3 in 30 Challenge - Week 2 Progress

Well week one was not very productive here is how I measured up! Continued working on my past goals.

1. Read 2 books. - Started reading an ebook called "Homeschooling By The Numbers". Still haven't figured out what parenting book to begin reading. If you know of any free ebooks please let me know.
2. Work on my temper - Still having issues here.....ugh why is it so hard

3. Get a cleaning scheduled established - Still doing well here. Keeping things tidy and keeping up with things like laundry, dishes and vacuuming.

So what do you think can you make any recommendations?

N is for no longer working and nervous

N is the letter this week for the ABC's of homeschooling meme. N is for no longer working and nervous!

Well in 13 days I will officially become a stay at home/homeschooling mom. I am so excited but nervous at the same time about all of the changes that will be occurring.

I am nervous about my transition to a stay at home mom and living on one income. I have always worked and we have always had two incomes and even with two incomes money has sometimes been tight. I know in my heart that I belong at home with my children homeschooling them. But I am so nervous about how we will get by financially and pray every day our new lifestyle will work out.

Currently my children are watched by my mother while I’m at work so we don’t pay for childcare. I will however be saving about $150 a month by not commuting everyday to work. We don’t have any debt which is wonderful and we rent an apartment. I am a frugal, coupon clipping, bargain shopping woman and we don’t eat out very often. And we drive two paid for cars. Even though my car broke down this month and we somehow have to figure out a way to get another one very soon. My husband has a company truck he drives so being down to one vehicle is not the end of the world. But he is currently looking for another job with better pay so we will definitely need another car at some point. Unfortunately we don’t have much in savings. The money we do have is our emergency fund and moving money (when the time comes to relocate to Savannah, GA). But that will most likely have to go towards a new car now.

I don’t know how other families do it on one income. I’ve asked around on blogs, facebook and forums and I haven’t received very direct responses (I guess people don’t like to talk about finances). We will not have a lot of extra spending money once the necessities rent, utilities, insurance, gas and food are handled. So how are we to take care of other items like clothes (we have no problem with thrift store shopping), car repairs, field trips and/or extracurricular activities, etc. 

I do plan to bring some money in by working at home. I thought of babysitting, doing odd jobs like website maintenance for my current employer, blogging (not sure how that is going to work out so far my sponsor links aren’t getting many hits), selling on my Etsy shop or Ebay, and frequenting various online earning sites like Ebates, My Points, Inbox Dollars etc. I also have my Real Estate and Appraisal license and hope to get into that more actively since I will have more time and they can both be done from home. And my nervousness kicks in again. How will I have time to teach the children, clean the house, make dinner, spend time with my husband, have some me time and do work from home?

And then there is the nervousness about homeschooling! Will I be able to teach the children everything they need to know? Will I be able to keep homeschooling them until they are able to graduate? Will they enjoy being homeschooled?

This is definitely going to be quite the transition and an interesting first year of homeschooling. Thankfully I have a supportive group of local friends and virtual friends!

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

Review and Giveaway for Melissa and Doug Sunny Patch Beach Toys

And the winner is # 18 AURIE! Aurie said... I follow you with GFC July 11, 2011 8:07 PM

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 18 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

 
We were so thrilled to be able to review these amazing sand toys from Melissa and Doug. My kids love the sand, water and dirt so these were the perfect item for us to review. Our beach trip was cancelled due to car troubles so we took the kids to Harris Beach on Lake Carter so they could try out their toys.

We received the following items to review and the winner of the giveaway will receive all of these as well.



Seaside Sidekicks Sand Molding Set



Clicker Crab Pail and Shovel



Seaside Sidekick Sand Baking Set



Seaside Sidekicks Sand Cupcake Kit

A Mothers Review:

These toys are fabulous. Even mommy and daddy had fun playing with them, lol. They are made from sturdy durable plastic unlike many other sand toys, so they will not break easily if stepped on or dropped. They are bright and colorful so be careful other kids are drawn to them and may try to claim them for their own. They are easy to store, the cupcake set comes with a mesh bag, the molding set nests inside their turtle shell, the baking set tools fit inside the bucket with the sifter attached to the top which can then be placed into the crab pail. Once they are all packed up they fit nicely into a reusable shopping bag. All of the molds are easy to use and leave behind detailed sand images. The turtle sifter is a great tool seashell, gem or rock panning and catching minnows. And who says these toys just need to be used with sand? They are also great for water fun at the pool. Dirt or mud which my kids always seem to enjoy playing in at the playground. And indoor rainy day activities like, tracing the molds onto paper, using playdough with the mold and cupcake sets or using the baking set to mix ingredients to create a yummy dessert (just make sure you thoroughly clean out any sand or dirt).

Daddy playing with the turtle mold.

I may not be able to bake real cupcakes but I can bake sand cupcakes, lol.

 A 5 1/2 yr old's review: The toys are cool. I liked the sifter to find little rocks in the lake to put in my blue holey bag (aka mesh storage bag). Making cupcakes was fun. And the turtle mold was cool.  I also liked the buckets to make sand castles.

Sifting for rocks and pebbles for her rock collection.

 A 4 yr old’s review:I liked the bucket to put wet sand and water in it. Making cupcakes was fun.

Mixing water and sand for his cupcakes.

Now for the giveaway!

PLEASE make sure you leave an email address or have your email address listed on your Google profile so I can contact you. I will also post the winner on my blog by 8:00 pm on July 27th so feel free to check back to see if you won!

Mandatory Entry: Visit Melissa and Doug’s Facebook Page comment on their wall telling them what sand toy you like best  and that I sent you. Then leave a comment below telling me you did so!

Optional Extra Entries: (leave 1 comment per entry)  

1. Follow Kathy’s Cluttered Mind with Google Friend Connect (on left side of my blog)  
2. Like my Facebook Page Kathy’s Cluttered Mind 
3. Follow me on Twitter @kbalman 
4. Subscribe to my blog email updates (on left side of my blog enter email and click subscribe must confirm your subscription) 
5. Join the Melissa and Doug Toy and Birthday Club 
6. Follow @MelissaandDoug on twitter 
7. Tweet this giveaway - Win a sand play prize pack from @kbalman & @MelissaandDoug http://t.co/SIGkE6q #summer #toys #giveaway (up to 1 x/day)

This giveaway ends on July 27th, 2011 at 8:00 am EST (which is also the last day at my job which I will be leaving to become a stay at home/homeschooling mom). Random.org will be used to determine a winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. Open to US residents only. Good luck!

 Disclosure- Melissa and Doug is providing the giveaway prizes and I received the same prizes for hosting this giveaway. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own!

July 3 in 30 Challenge - Week 1 Progress

Well week one was not very productive here is how I measured up! Continued working on my past goals.

1. Read 2 books. -Well I think I found a free ebook about homeschooling to read. Need to figure out a parenting book though. I need to take a trip to the library or bookstore. If you know of any free ebooks please let me know.
2. Work on my temper - Still having issues here.....

3. Get a cleaning scheduled established - Well I did well with the cleaning. I spent all day Saturday last week cleaning and organizing. Everyday I have tried to do a load of laundry and fold it, do the dishes and vacuum the floor. Now all I need to do is put the laundry away, lol. Hopefully I can continue cleaning up a little everyday.

So what do you think can you make any recommendations?

M is for Maps

M is the letter this week for the ABC's of homeschooling meme. M is for Maps!

We love maps in this house! My favorite subject when I was in school was geography and well I think the kids are following my passion. When I was in high school I was a People to People Student Ambassador and had an opportunity to visit Australia/New Zealand and England/Ireland/Whales. My kids love looking at my pictures, videos and souvenirs from my trips. Their favorite souvenir is my Didgeridoo, which they love to play.


We can learn so much from maps. They not only teach us about geography but also climates, cultures, history animals and more. So we have started a collection of maps and map unit studies for our homeschool classroom.Gwyn already knows some of her states and countries (proud mama here).

Here are some of the maps we have so far and how we plan to use them:

Our Wallie USA Map - The States come off and can be matched up.
Rowyn matched these so they are little crooked, lol.

Our GA Map with the State Parks and Historic Sites marked. Once we laminate it
we are going to put pushpins on the places we have visited.

Our Globe.

Some map resources I've found:
1) Wallies Peel and Stick Wall Play Mural, US State Map - $21.99
2) Currclick Audio States and Capitals - $12.99
3) Currclick 50 States of USA Unit Study - $1.99
4) Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett - Expedition Series 7 Unit Studies - $50.00
5) How the States Got Their Shapes (See all Social History Books) - There is also a show on the History Channel check it out Tuesdays at 10 pm.
6) KidsGeo.com - FREE

Just today I read this great post on a blog I frequent called "The Homespun Life." She uses Google Earth to teach her children about their local downtown area, read more here. What a great idea!

Rowyn matching the States up!

Share how you use maps in your homeschool!