Category Archives: Homeschooling

31 Days of Pinterest: Letter Combinations Chart

This post is Day 6 of a 31 Day Journey through my Pinterest Boards. Click here to see more!

We home school our children and one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of this is teaching them how to read. I pace the lessons to suit the child learning at the time. I want them to love reading, and do not want them to be frustrated with learning to read. Sam and Matt each learned at their own pace. Alex is moving along just fine. Hannah is who in kindergarten will probably be done with all the books this year!

Anyway, Alex is getting ready to move to book 4 in the Explode the Code series and I wanted to give him some references out of the previous book just in case he needed them. I saw this on Pinterest and made the idea my own (after adding it to my School Board).

At first I was going to just copy that one and then realized I should do the letter combinations as they appear in our books. So I did a chart that was specific to Explode the Code Book 3.

I’m going to make one for Hannah too as she works through Books 1 and 2. This is our homeschool bookshelf which is a disaster right now. Each year I set it up a little differently.

And there’s the chart hanging up. It’s behind where Alex sits at the table so he’ll be able to glance at it if he needs a reminder.

Do you see how straight my lines are?? I didn’t know they made these cool poster boards with really faint lines that you can only see in just the right light! Have you used them?

And there you have it! Six days worth of Pinterest projects done! I do have tomorrows done, but nothing after that. I need to get busy! Like I said before, they are simple items, but things I have been wanting to do, and without spending a lot of money. So tomorrow…finger puppets.

First Day of School of our 10th Year

I promise it wasn’t this week!! It was September 5th. Even though we homeschool I still have a “first day” of school each year. It’s the day we start new curriculum and it usually comes after some sort of break. This year we took the whole month of August off. Next year I’m aiming for most of the summer!

Samantha is in the 7th grade and 12 years old.

Matthew is 9 years old and in the 4th grade.

Alex is 6 years old and in the 1st grade.

Hannah is 4 years old and is in Preschool.

Hannah likes to pose – had to include it!

Leah is 2 years old and only sits at the table when she chooses. Except for Bible first thing. Then she has to sit there. She complains about it though!

All of them getting ready for our first lesson of our new year -our 10th year of homeschooling!

On a side note, we have always sat wherever at the table. This year I have 2 little girls that were causing some issues, so now everyone has assigned seats for school and for meals – the ones you see them sitting in are not their current spots! I had to put Hannah closer to me.

Twentynine (29) Palms Homeschool Group

It’s hard to believe we’re starting our 10th year of homeschooling!! I’ll be schooling grades 7, 4, 1, and PreK this year as well as managing the busy 2 year-old.

We are part of Growing Palms Homeschool Group here in 29 Palms. I found the group before we even moved here and went to a park day the first week we lived here! I have made such wonderful friends through the group and really enjoy all the activities we’ve done.

We meet each week on Friday at a local park. The kids play, the moms chat. It’s been a great time for both the kids and I. It’s allowed me time to get to know other moms. We talk about anything and everything. The children play and make friends and it also gets them outside for a few hours!

Once a month or so (but hopefully twice a month this upcoming year) we go on field trips as a group. This past year some of the places we went were to Riley’s Farm, the post office, fire station, McCallum Theatre, Air Museum, and more.

A member of our group sponsored a Science Fair and we have a Geography Fair upcoming. Each month we do a Mom’s Night Out to one of our local restaurants.

What I love about our group is that everyone brings their ideas to the table! We all use different curriculum, we come from different backgrounds, but when it comes to planning things for our children, different people step in and make things happen. I’m so thankful to be a part of Growing Palms and the kids and I are looking forward to this new school year!

If you’re a homeschooler in 29 Palms and you’d like to join our group click here: Growing Palms

WFMW: Bible Question for You

This year, for a formal Bible study program, the children and I have just been reading through some books for kids. The kinds with short stories, a bible verse, a lesson built in. It’s been good. But I’d really like to do something more.

We have done Bible Study Guide for All Ages before. My boys hate it. Sam liked it fine. I did buy some devotionals one year where we were all doing the same verses each day, but with books that were designed for each person’s age level. That worked out fine for a while and I am considering those again.

I’m curious as to what you use if you do use a formal Bible study program for your children. Let me know! Thanks!!

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday. Check out what other people are asking this week!

Hands On Homeschooling

I talked recently about the literature program Samantha is doing this year. History of the Horse has been a great study for her.

Sam first rode a horse in 2005, when she was 6 years old and that started her love of the animal. A few years later we stayed with some friends in Massachusetts for a few days. They had 2 horses and Samantha helped take care of them. The love grew.

When I heard about a 4-day horse camp opportunity nearby I knew she’d jump on it!

Roy and I discussed it and decided it was a wonderful hands-on opportunity for her. This was a WORK camp. There was a lot of fun in there too. And some riding also. But in between the kids worked on the ranch.

White Rock Horse Rescue is a wonderful ranch! It’s beautiful out there.

There are currently 30 horses on the ranch. Isabel, the owner, works with them to help them become adoptable.

Some of the horses are retired. Some were given up because their previous owner just couldn’t care for them any longer. And some need tender, loving care.