Our Curriculum and Schedule: 2010 - 2011 (UPDATED)

I've had a few homeschooling friends write recently about what curriculum and programs they're going to be using in the upcoming year for their children so I thought I would share ours as well. This is not an endorsement or ad for these products, they're just what we've chosen to use. My son is going to be a kindergartner in the fall. I've made up a big binder to keep track of our activities and progress. I realize we don't technically *have* to school him yet but he's so excited about doing "school stuff" that I want to encourage that enthusiasm. AND if he were going to public school this year, he'd be doing it all and a lot more from what I've seen.
Originally, I thought I'd take one subject a day to get him used to the idea of homeschooling but he's really excited and pretty much knows what we're going to be doing. Plus, doing it that way wouldn't really give us enough to do during the day. And I plan on using our first week of school as an orientation week - introducing him to the subjects and letting him see what all we'll be doing.
So we're doing several subjects a day, plus Bible and music. Fridays are Art Days where we are going to work on projects (like a craft celebrating a holiday or a birthday card for a family member) or read about different types of art. And of course, our homeschool co-op will be meeting twice a month. As far as our curriculum and schedules goes, this is what I have planned:


- Reading and Language Arts: Lesson Pathways (Most of the books it lists on the reading guide we have or I can get from our local library. There's also tons of links to videos, games and worksheets to help the kids understand the books.)
- History: Lesson Pathways' History Guided Journeys
- Letters and Phonics: Lesson Pathways FreeReading and Starfall (He still needs some help with letters and their sounds - Starfall is ideal for that.)

- Math: Lesson Pathways and AAA Math
- Science: Lesson Pathways (This looks very hands-on, with lots of experiments and projects so I know he'll like that for sure!)
- Bible: Not sure what we're going to use for this yet. Probably just reading Bible stories and trying to learn verses.

- Music: Progressive Piano for Young Beginners
- Etc: Tell Me About Today Wall Hanging (I have as yet to buy the last two things but I think they'll be very helpful.)

We're also going to use Kidzone, Making Learning Fun and DLTK for games, craft ideas, worksheets and coloring pages. I've also picked up a few workbooks and things here and there. We also have flash cards, games and crafts that Zeke's gotten from family members.

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The Journey Of Motherhood

Today's post is a little Q & A about the journey of motherhood from The Blessings of Modern Domestication. My friend over at Surviving Little People also joined in on these questions and I thought they looked pretty interesting. Feel free to join in too!






1. What is one thing you wish someone had told you about being a mom?
That this is just a stage! All those tantrums, fits, battles with potty training...they will pass on into something else before you know it!

2. What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve experienced as a mother?
Hmm, where to start. Having a zillion people walk through after I'd given birth to my son and was getting stiches? My son telling people he eats poop? My daughter pulling my shirt down in church? My son yelling "EXCUSE ME, I FARTED!" in the ER waiting room. All of the above! But the good things is - since becoming a mother I no longer seem to get embarrassed as easily!

3. What's been your lowest point?
The baby blues. I think everybody gets them to some extent. My husband got a good amount of time off work after I had my daughter but when my son was born he didn't get much time off at all. He was working a lot of hours and neither of us were sleeping much at all. It was a frustrating time. But luckily my little man started sleeping through the night relatively soon and things were back to normal.

4. What's been the most rewarding?
Bringing my daughter home from the hospital and having my son take to her like she was already his best buddy. People had told me awful things about going from being a mom of one to a mom of two but so far things have been pretty smooth sailing. I know they will inevitably fight and bicker but it's been a real inspiration to me to see them get along so well.

5. Describe a mommy moment that transformed you so much so, you will never forget it nor are you the same since?
My son had to have surgery when he was just a little over one year old. I was a nervous wreck the whole time he was in surgery and when he was brought out to me afterwards, tears sprung to my eyes. He looked so tiny and frail. It was one of those moments when you know there's nothing you can do but pray. Now whenever other moms talking about their kids being sick or having surgery, I feel like I can emphathize better.

6. Are you more relaxed or paranoid since becoming a mother?
I like to think I'm a good mix of relaxed and paranoid...but I imagine my hubby would say I'm still a little more paranoid. ;)

7. Did you plan on becoming a mother or were you taken by surprise?
I didn't plan it but it wasn't completely a surprise either.

8. Were [or are] you close with your mom?
I am very close with my mom - and I think I've become even closer to her since I've become a mother. I value her input on mothering and she has helped me through a lot of things.

9. What family tradition do you want to pass down?
Staying in touch with one another. Even though I don't live close to some of my family, I am still able to keep in daily/weekly contact with them through Facebook, email and/or phone calls. Just because you move away or go on to a different phase of life doesn't mean you have to lose touch.

10. If you could start over, what would you do differently?
I honestly can't think of anything...other than perhaps catch up more on my sleep during pregnancy! :)

Wishes For My Little Girl Photo Contest & The Changing Room

To continue giving back to women everywhere and to celebrate the season of mothers, Cristina Carlino has published her first interactive journal, "The Changing Room: A Mother's Journal of Gratitude to Her Little Girl." This interactive journal by Cristina Carlino and YOU captures all those astonishing parenting moments before they fade into the swirl of everyday life. Throughout the book, Cristina shares her personal story and asks questions that inspire you to remember those first precious years of motherhood. This journal is a special place for your memories, drawings and letters. One day it will become a priceless keepsake for your daughter. (For more on The Changing Room, click onto this video link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=107098785997769)

Cristina's friend, actress Mariska Hargitay is in love with the book, and she and Cristina have joined forces for her Joyful Heart Foundation, benefiting survivors of rape, incest and abuse. The neat thing is 100% of the net proceeds for The Changing Room will go to Joyful Heart.

Cristina is hosting a WISHES FOR MY LITTLE GIRL PHOTO CONTEST on her Facebook fan page (www.facebook.com/cristinacarlino). Five winners will receive a free copy of The Changing Room.

To enter Cristina's Wish and Photo Contest, Wishes for My Little Girl, click onto Cristina's Facebook Fan Page, and post your favorite photo of the little girl in your life -- it can be your daughter, a niece, a neighbor, the daughter of a friend. All our little girls need our wishes. Tell us of a big wish you have for this little wondrous person.Winners will be determined by the number of "Likes" they receive from other Cristina Carlino Fans, so invite your friends to Cristina's fan page and vote! Hurry! Contest ends on Monday May 10th.

Disclosure: By posting about this contest, I am entering to win a copy of this book.

$5 Dinner Mom Cookbook

Are you looking for recipes to stretch your food dollar? How about a cookbook with 200 recipes, none costing more than $5 to make? “The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook” by Erin Chase, a MyBlogSpark member and creator of 5DollarDinners.com, prepared her first $5 dinner in August 2008.

She turned it into a three-fold mission:
• To make dinner for her family every night for $5 or less!
• To prepare healthy meals using natural and wholesome ingredients!
• To encourage and inspire others to do the same!

In addition to 200 economical recipes each with a Frugal Fact, she offers suggestions for making the most of grocery shopping and couponing. Her tips on meal planning include sample menus and ideas for using leftovers. Her recipes feed a family of four and list the approximate cost of the ingredients. Here’s a recipe Erin suggests to get you started. “The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook” is available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Overstock and Walmart.

Disclosure: I am a member of Pssst... and occasionally get information and free products from General Mills. I received this information in an email. Clicking on the picture will take you to Amazon where you can purchase the book - I am an Amazon Affiliate.

What I've Learned from Blogging

I found two blog posts on the website SeededBuzz today about the topic "What Has Blogging Taught You?" The first post is from Better in Bulk and the second one is from Sugar Filled Emotions. Please check them out! They're both great posts and they got me thinking about what I've learned in my blogging experiences:

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- I really am a writer. I've always wanted to be one but thought that when I ended my college life sans degree and started the journey of mothering that that idea could be put to rest - how untrue that was! I started blogging in 2004 on and off and it's become a blog with my own domain and more followers than I ever thought I could have. Better than that, people have told me they actually like what I've written, I've been able to write a few articles for actual money AND I've made some awesome friends. :)

- Consult other people before you blog about them and think about what you're writing. Would this hurt someone's feelings if they read it? I'm not saying to sugar coat your posts but if you're writing about someone in a negative way I think you should either make it anonymous or ask their permission. Also, consider what you're writing. Is it really how you feel? Or are you upset, frustrated or mad? Sometimes it's good to write in those moods, other times it's not.

- If you feel like you don't know anyone that likes "fill in whatever you like here" - you're wrong! I'm willing to bet a good amount that there's someone online that likes the same things as you! I've found several of my really good friends through common interests and/or social networking websites.

- Good blogging is not about your numbers or how many followers you have on Twitter. Well, for some people it is. It's not for me. It's about helping and encouraging others by sharing my life, viewpoints, experiences and stories. It's also about improving my writing skills and connecting with other people I find interesting. It's also just an outlet for me to write about whatever the heck I want. ;)

If you're a blogger or writer, tell me what you've learned about it in the comments!

Lesson Pathways - Why Homeschooling?

I recently became a writer for a blog called Lesson Pathways and my first blog post is up over there! It's all about why we are choosing to homeschool. I'd love to hear your thoughts! You can read it HERE.

(Also, Lesson Pathways offers a 100% free program that can be used as a curriculum or as a educational supplement. I signed up and it is awesome! No more searching the internet for activities or lessons for my kids to try - they're all on there by subject and grade level. Pretty awesome stuff!)

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Completely Unrelated Things

 icon from iconsbycurtana

Well this post today is a mish-mash of lots of things - which is kind of how my brain is feeling today! Our bedroom project is *mostly* finished. There's a few things left to do but we are sleeping in there again and most of our stuff is back in there. It looks great! I have pictures to post but I'll probably post them tomorrow. I just love the color we picked out. We originally were going for a "sand" color but the one we ended up getting is a cooler grayish-blue. It's very calming and soothing.

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I'm a part of the UPrinting Blog Sponsorship Program and my picture is featured on their Ning network homepage, which you can see HERE in the right hand sidebar on down the page. I was very excited!

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Generation Cedar linked to a great post about health care reform:

Businesses will be dropping people like flies from business-covered "insurance"; there will be no reason for anyone as an employer to be providing this "benefit" into an environment where insurance prices will double - and probably double twice - in the next four years. If you think not, look at what was done to credit-card holders in front of the provisions of the CARD act going into effect.

This, by the way, will bankrupt the insurance companies in the end. Nobody will buy until they have HIV, Cancer or some other serious illness - then they will buy, and the companies will have to pay - with no lifetime caps or exclusions for pre-existing conditions...If you have any belief whatsoever in the efficient market hypothesis this is exactly what people will do as the effective dates for these provisions approach, as it will save them ten thousand dollars a year or more - each. The insurance companies will instantaneously lose the "pool" of healthy people who buy against risk - rather, they will have a pool of all sick people who buy against known costs.

Go HERE to read the full article.

Pssst! MyGetTogether - General Mills Network

I got this email yesterday and thought this might be something you all would be interested in too! I already signed up!

As a member of MyBlogSpark we know that you enjoy sharing the information we provide to you with your readers on your blog.

We also want to let you know about another great network - General Mills´ Pssst... network - and all the exciting opportunities it offers. During the week of March 22nd, Pssst... is launching MyGetTogether, a fun way to try products and sometimes new recipes in the company of good friends, giving you a real inside look at the products, providing coupons, unique giveaways or other offers. Be sure to sign up now so that you can apply to host a get together!

In addition, as a member of the network you will get a chance to try new products, provide insight and feedback to the brands, take part in cool surveys and get exclusive, behind the scenes content. From time to time you will receive samples and coupons to give out to friends and family members you think would enjoy them.

Interested in seeing what it´s all about? Visit http://pssst.generalmills.com. Just click the Join Now tab to become a member and get in the loop on new products. And, please feel free to tell others about it too.

BlogFrog Community

My blog now has a community where you can go to talk about anything and everything! Blog posts are one thing but what if you want to continue the discussions? Well, you can just jump on over and feel free to join in on any of the conversations!

EDIT: The widget isn't showing up right so here's a link instead.

 

Laundry Room Makeover Contest

I got an email from MomSelect yesterday about this really cool contest and wanted to share it with you all:

If there is one chore that Moms are familiar with, it's laundry. For many of us, it's a daily occurrence that gives new meaning to the phrase "spin cycle!" That's why it's not surprising that laundry rooms are among the most frequented areas of the house for Mom....unfortunately, they tend to also be some of the most uninspired rooms in the home when it comes to design. Luckily, Wisk Laundry Detergent understands and wants to help!

If your laundry room is plain and boring or a downright dungeon, you just might be in desperate need of a laundry room makeover. Wisk Laundry Detergent is teaming up with TV's Designing Spaces to pimp-out one laundry room in dire need of a face-lift as part of the "Wisk Pimp My Laundry Room" video contest.

Just enter a short video anytime between March 1 and March 29 at LaundryHE.com explaining why you deserve a laundry room makeover and Wisk could be on your doorstep with their partners-in-design, Whirlpool's DreamLaundry Solutions team led by Bill Thomas and Emily Johnston, owner of the interior design firm EJ Interiors and founder of Materials Girls Blog. Together, they'll take your laundry room from drab to fab in no time thanks to a laundry room makeover complete with a new Whirlpool High Efficiency (HE) washer/dryer set and a year's worth of Wisk HE Laundry Detergent. Even better, you'll get to star in your very own episode of Designing Spaces!

The top Finalists will be featured on LaundryHE.com from April 12 - 19 and the Grand Prize Winner will be chosen by popular ballot - so be sure to get your friends and family online and voting! Even better, a vote is an automatic entry to a sweepstakes for a year's supply of Wisk HE Laundry Detergent! Check out the website for full rules and to enter!

Disclosure: I am posting about this contest for one, to let you know about it and for two, to enter to win a bottle of detergent and/or a year's worth of detergent from Wisk.

Blog Awards!

I have received two different awards in the past two weeks. It just brightens my day so much to see them (I've added them to my sidebar under Awards) and I hope I can make somebody else's day by passing it on to them! Thank you ladies! :)

First off, I received the Sunshine Award from 'Manda Blogs About.

The rules for accepting this award are:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post,
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers and link the nominees within your post.
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Link to the person from whom you received this award.

The people I feel deserve the Sunshine Award I have read for a little while or a long while - and they always have a good deal, an interesting article or something else useful to share with others.

1. Liv's WAHM Blog
2. Mommy's Money Cents
3. Come, Have a Peace
4. The Organizing Mama - Real Life Solutions for Real Busy Women
5. Housewife Hacks
6. Work at Home Mom Revolution
7. Natural Moms Talk Radio
8. Jennifer James
9. The Suburban Jungle
10. Stockpiling Moms
11. The Homeschool Desk
12. Penny Sophisticate

I received the Happy 101 Award from The Practical Mom Guide.

To accept the "Happy 101 Award" I need to:
1. Acknowledge the person who gave it to me.
2. List ten items that make me happy.
3. Award it to ten other bloggers.

Alright, ten things that make me happy are as follows:
1. My kiddos
2. My handsome hubby
3. The rest of my family (Most of them anyway, lol)
4. Writing
5. Music
6. Sci-fi stuff
7. Autumn (Hint, hint winter...get lost!)
8. Books
9. The piano
10. Food!

And the ten bloggers listed below are some I've followed for awhile and a few others that I've just discovered - but either way they bring a bit of happiness into my weekly blog reading! :)

1. The Liliac Grove
2. Witkowski Family Happenings
3. It's a Beautiful Life
4. Theta Mom
5. Art's Chili Pepper
6. Going Peanuts: A Young Mom's Tale
7. Under the Golden Apple Tree
8. Three Pumpkins Little
9. ACU's, Stiletto Shoes and Pretty Pink Tutus
10. Our Three Peas

"Spread the Love" Campaign

As I mentioned in my last post, this week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. I received an email today about MyPunchbowl partnering with The Children's Heart Foundation to sponsor the "Spread the Love" campaign. MyPunchbowl is going to make a donation to The Children's Heart Foundation for every recipient who is sent one of their ecards during the month of February. What a simple way to help a really great cause! I'm heading there now to send out Valentine's cards! Go check it out!

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Affordable Valentine's Day Ideas

Valentine's Day is just a week away - can you believe it? It seems like this year *just* started! This year I've been trying to find some affordable crafts and gifts for the kids and I to make for Valentine's Day and of course there always tons of good ideas on the internet! :) I thought I would share with you some of the things we've found:

- The Practical Mom Guide wrote a post a little while back called 20 Ways to Say I Love You Without Spending a Penny that I thought was really good!

- I love DLTK's websites - they are run by a mom & her family and have TONS of fun things for kids to do on them. They have a special section just for Valentine's related things.

- I recently found this blog called 365 Ways To Say I Love You that has a different thing to do each day to show your significant other that you love them - very cool!

- AllFreeCrafts.com has one of the ultimate Valentine's craft pages - SO much stuff on it! See it here. (I especially liked the Inexpensive Ideas for Couples With Kids...hehehe.)

- I've always thought coupon books were an affordable and neat idea for the holidays - just make sure that the person actually redeems them! See Activities for Kids, Links 2 Love and All Free Printables for several different kinds of pre-printed coupon books, individual coupons or coupon ideas.

Just dropping in for a bit!

Sorry for the lack of posts already in this new year! I have a pinched nerve in my shoulder/back/arm that's been giving me a lot of trouble. I've been trying to rest it and am thankfully almost recovered. I have a lot of posts that are sitting around half finished that I'll get to finishing this weekend and posting next week! :) For now, I'll just leave you with some posts/stories I've enjoyed recently.

Heidi Klum Launching Two Maternity Lines @ People.com (I love her!)

The Lowdown on Finding & Keeping a Good Babysitter @ The Practical Mom Guide (Some very good ideas!)

Breast Cancer Awareness: More Helpful than Bra Color @ Generation Cedar (As a side note, when I got that bra thing forwarded to me on Facebook, it didn't mention anything about breast cancer awareness!)

Free Custom Blog Makeover @ I'd Rather Be Changing Diapers (Sounds awesome!)

Posts I've Enjoyed Recently

I'm starting a new feature on the blog to highlight some of my favorite bloggers and the random blog posts I find that are chock full of good information, an insightful look at something or just pretty darn funny. Here's some I've enjoyed recently:

Organize Your Life After the Holidays @ Generation Cedar

Uses for Old Christmas Cards @ The Practical Mom Guide

Cardiology & Birth Analogy @ Citizens for Midwifery

Fancy Macaroni @ The Pioneer Woman

Pinch Those Pennies: 50 Tips to Be Frugal @ Quirky Momma

14 Post Christmas Family Fun Ideas @ 24/7 Moms

Fun Christmas Activities

With the holidays coming up, sometimes you just need something to keep the kids busy while you are wrapping presents, cooking or whatever other preparations you're working on - or perhaps you're just looking for a holiday-themed craft to do with your kids. I thought some of my readers with kids (or even just the adults! hehe) might enjoy trying out some of these fun things we've found online:

- Virtual Gingerbread House: Decorate your own gingerbread house with all different types of candy.
- The North Pole: So many different things to do on here - coloring pages, decorate a Christmas tree or snowman, watch a disco-dancing Santa and tons more. We also love that on this site you can send a letter to Santa and he'll send you one back! So cool!
- A Kid's Heart: Tons of different Christmas activities and games.
- DLTK's Crafts for Kids Christmas Activities: Coloring pages, crafts, printables, recipes and tons more.
- The Kidz Page Free Christmas Games: Online puzzle and maze games
- Enchanted Learning Christmas Crafts for Kids: TONS of crafts, most using simple household things.
- Activity Village Christmas for Kids: Lots of printables, coloring pages and crafts.