First day of school!

School has begun!!! We got up this morning, ate our breakfast, did our morning chores, and went upstairs for school....just an hour late. We did end up getting everything done and in the correct order, just not exactly at the times I was hoping for.

I was very excited that my 4 yr old was into it all. I was actually expecting rebellion. He has never been a kid that liked to sit and color or anything like that. He is a rough and tumble, sword fighting, gun shooting kind of guy. I have really seen him mature in the last few months and had high hopes. He did soooo great with his workboxes!!!! The short activities were perfect for him. He loved them, felt accomplished, and did more than he normally would because the activity changed so often.

On the other hand, I had a baby for the first time in my home schooling career. Noah has been so great lately about sitting and playing happily with toys. He will play for quite a while before wanting a change, even longer if he is close by me. Not so today. Of course, when I want to begin school, he decides to be cranky ALL morning and demand to nurse CONSTANTLY. Oh well! It was hard on me, and I was exhausted trying to keep the energy level up while dealing with the baby, but the morning still went well.

Here are some pictures!

2010 School Room Pics!

YEA!!! We finally have an organized school room! Just in the nick of time!

Below are the boxes I am using for now, but I did find a 10 drawer cart for 1/2 off (!!!!!!) that will be here soon! Then, I will decide which works  better for us.

Workboxes!!!

I just had a breakthrough!!! I know it isn't much, but I tend to be an all or nothing thinker. Let me explain. I had really liked the concept of workboxes, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work with my older children. They share so much, that I couldn't figure out a good way to separate it out into their own boxes. So, I decided that the system just might not work for me and my family. There was also the issue of $$$. How was I going to afford the workboxes I wanted? Then, where were they going to go?

As I thought through my four year old's preschool, I was once again on the workbox mindset. It hit me then....get ready....THEY DON'T ALL HAVE TO HAVE WORKBOXES!!!! I know, my brilliance is amazing you right now! I don't know why it took me so long to realize this! I was just thinking they all have workboxes or no one has workboxes. DUH!! (Don't think badly of me, I was educated by the public school system.) Then, a couple of nights ago, I was in Target and saw the perfect thing! They had these Sterilite Large Clip Boxes (14 in L X 11 in W X 3 1/4 in H). They are the perfect size, durable, easy to open and close, and only $3.99. So, I got some to play with!

So, the plan right now, is that my girls (10 and 8) won't have the workboxes for now. My six year old will use the star boxes (explain in a sec.), and my four year old will totally use the workboxes. Below I have pictures of them. I will add numbers to the front of some to show the order I want my preschooler to do them in. I will do this with velcro dots. Then, some will have stars on them. I got the idea from 1+1+1=1. The numbered boxes will be activities along the lines of the theme or skill we are covering. They will have a definite beginning and end. The star boxes are to be done when the other boxes have been completed. They are open ended toys. I will put things like wooden blocks, zoobs, legos, etc. (This will also give me a great way to rotate out our toys to keep them exciting!)

We are almost there!!! School begins Monday, and we are all soooo excited!!!

I have ink!!!!! (and a laminator!!!)

I am like a little kid on Christmas morning!!! I went to both Target and Walmart tonight for various things that I still needed in order to start school. Printer ink was a HUGE one! Sooo, it is 2am and I am still so excited I am blogging! (Tomorrow may be another story.)

I have five 3" binders ready to go, looking beautiful with their Raising Rock Star cover pages. Four are for the Bible curriculum and one is for my Raising Rock Stars Preschooler. I have printed out a lot of what I will need next week, but not all. I have decided that it is just getting too late. Plus, my computer decided to get bogged down and I was running out of patience.

Tomorrow, I will try out my new laminator, put up labels around our home (ex. chair, refrigerator, etc.), continue setting up the binders (adding page protectors and the inserts), and making our preschool board. I am so excited to see it all come together!!!! I can't wait to begin!!!

Make sure to visit 1+1+1=1's blog by either clicking one of the links above or clicking one of the buttons to the right of this post.

Here are some shots of our new binders!

Announcement: School will Not begin tomorrow

Well, I had originally wanted to start school tomorrow, but I am not ready. The older kids could begin, but I am not ready for my preschooler. I also still have books in different places all over the house. Sooooo, we will attempt to begin next week. The older kids have actually been doing their math on their own this whole week. I told them we were beginning next week, but they were excited to start! It is great to see such enthusiasm!

We have had a great week getting back into a routine and doing chores, although we lost it on the weekend. That is actually our tradition. I don't know why we can't just do our routine on Sat. and Sun.! We are now, once again, behind to start off our Monday. Oh well, we will get it, chore time will just be a little longer.

I will be purchasing printer ink. (Where is the cheapest place to do this?) I will be planning and printing off the preschool activities, and I will be trying to find a way to organize it all. I really wanted to do the workbox system, but I haven't been able to purchase what I wanted yet. (It is a 10 drawer organization cart for $45 each and we need four right now. Ouch!)

On a side note, I am excited to have just purchased a twin over full bunk bed on ebay for just $66!!! What a deal! We have been wanting this for the boys room. YEA!!!

Beyond Words Designs has done it again!!!

I am blessed to be friends with an incredibly talented and creative woman, Stephanie, who touches lives in so many ways. She is the creator of Beyond Words Designs. Her precious daughter, Amelia, was the inspiration for her first designs. They lost Amelia just before she was born. Through this pain, Stephanie birthed her business to keep these sweet children's names alive within their homes and families. She has now branched out to paint many other things.

We just received two paintings that will go in my daughters' room above their beds. We are about to get them new bedding and make their room like they have been wanting FOREVER! I am so excited about how the painting turned out! They are exactly what the girls wanted!!!!

Please take a moment and visit www.beyondwordsdesigns.blogspot.com and look through Stephanie's gallery. If you don't see the paintings for Allison and Ashlynn up yet, go to her other site www.carriedthroughgrief.blogspot.com. I also have her buttons to the right of this page. Enjoy!!!

What a precious daughter we have!

My 10 year old, Allison, just gave me this poem she wrote for us:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
When I think of you,
You are the perfect bloom.
You tuck me into bed,
And you help me whenever I am sad.
But most of all,
I love you because you are my mom and dad!