January Plans

I'm working on my January Plans.  I better hurry up.

My youngest is learning about Winter and the changes of the seasons.  The other boys join in on books and activities.  Our little girl is sitting in on everything although she is often nursing or hanging out in the Ergo.   Here are some plans and thoughts about thing other might be interested in...


Plans, Activites, books...
I've gotten a ton of books from the library (I'll try to get some of them up here or on Goodreads.  You can see our Goodreads list in the sidebar.  I haven't been good about updating it though. 
Window stars here, here, and here.  I bought the kite or transparency paper from Nova Naturals.  
pinecone bird feeders.

Fingerknitting would be good to start now. 
Making candles would be fun.

We went on a hike today. I think I'm going to take them to the beach as well. It's been really sunny here. It's been so nice, I'm not as bothered by the cold this year.

I've gotten some good ideas from Dawn.

I got this book on ILL and it has a lot of fun activities.

I think we are going to celebrate Australia Day since it's coming up in our History studies.

I got the mini-trampoline out of the storage closet.

Start watching for the first birds and blossoms.
Force bulbs or branches.
Grow seeds in glass jars or an old aquarium.  We have a year round Terrarium.  Right now P is growing a bunch of stuff in it.  He has an apple tree and avocado tree started.  The apple tree is from the seed of an apple he ate.  




 
Butterfly Kit (I still need to order Butterflies).
String popcorn for trees. You can put out the ones you did for Christmas, too (if you do that).

It allows our days to unfold naturally instead of forcing them open.

I was inspired by a post on GCM today. A poster mentioned how she has tried to plan and schedule. But, it doesn't seem to work. But, what they are doing is working.  


I think a lot of us struggle with this kind of thing. We see those around us or we see some awesome blog. Those mother's just seem so amazing. Everything is so creative, so beautiful OR they have the smartest children in the world. I've found our life has changed and we tend to be more of the tidal learners that Melissa speaks of.


My life has changed since I started to consider homeschooling. It isn't like anyone else's journey. It's our journey. In our journey, we have tried public school, then homeschooling, then public school, a public school homeschool program, and now we use a VA that allows us to pick our own curriculum. All through this journey we have lived different lives. We have been in the military, we have lived in the country, in California, in Washington State, My husband and I have been self-employed and College and University students and last year I was so sick I could barely get out of bed. So, your maybe your life hasn't been as erratic as ours. Perhaps you are a super planner with those super achiever children and your thinking well if you were just more stable or... But, we aren't. This is us, take it or leave it. This is our journey.


I did start out this year being a little more planny than usual. I did it because we are accountable to the VA this year. Also, our oldest is trying to work harder this year. He has new goals. He is getting older and a little more focused. And, we added another family member. So, here we are . We know what we want. The question is how do we get there? Do we look at every blog and planner out there? Do we try to replicate other people's lives? I had to come up with something that would fit our family.


Enters the chart


I had this to say about the chart we have been using lately, I needed something to keep me on track as they have gotten older. We have a chart with each day of the week on it. Then I put the subject down the sides. That way they can read their own chart. If they need my help, they just ask. It's been the best way, especially with my oldest. They have the control they need. Plus, they get up at different times and learn better at different times.  


It allows our days to unfold naturally instead of forcing them open.


I wrote up the chart when our computer was dead. I had been doing a nice weekly check-off list. If you read this blog, you will have seen it in previous weekly posts. It was a nice sheet. It did make my days easier. I recommend it for anyone who has two to three children and needs something flexible, but likes to know exactly what they are doing that week. I found that it really kept us on track. We didn't get everything done each week. But, it's the best we had ever done. I found I needed more flexibility now that our baby is needing more attention. I didn't want to have to pick out the library materials each child would use. I didn't want to have to check and see what lesson they were on, especially if someone had a hard lesson in one subject and missed the other one.  


The chart gives the kids the opportunity for control. The get out their schedule when they start. They pick what they want to do. They get me if they need help.

New to us computer

We were gifted a new to us MAC recently.  We are so thankful.  We are currently on a our break for the Winter season.  It is a much needed break, too.  This year has been fantastic so far.  There is so much work to be done with four children.  The boys are all doing well in their school work this year.  The baby is healthy, fun, and totally in love with her big brothers.  We did choose to use a VA this year.  We get to choose our own materials (non-religious of course) and they have all been good picks.

I'm working on plans for the rest of the year.  Plus, we need to order art supplies (general stuff we are running out of and blockprinting supplies) and put in a Rainbow Resource order (science, US History, logic, Spanish).  We will be adding in the YMCA, as well.