i hear school bells ringing

good mornin'! {or mid afternoon if you have spent the whole morning on the computer and phone and you eyes are bulging out of your head}  i.e.=me

 i may look like this.

          

 or this

 possibly this

nope.  this is it!  

hahaha.  it's really not that bad.  i think.

do computers ever make you crazy?

possibly turn you into someone you never knew existed?

actually, i'm pretty excited!

i just finalized all of the kids school curriculum for the year!

whew.

huge. weight. lifted.

earlier this spring, i went to an amazing home school conference with some dear friends and we set up our shaklee booth.

little did i know that we would be set up right across from some amazing folks from minnesota.
God sure knows what He's doing.

they own their own home school resource store and what i learned from her is invaluable.

i was able to ask her questions about curriculums for the different learning styles of my kiddos, and actually see and look through all the resources that are out there{that they really like and recommend}. 

if you have questions on different curriculums, learning styles, resources, and more, give Nancy a call.

she is amazing.

their website

with her help, i actually narrowed down my choices quite quickly.

the best way{in my opinion} to find successful home school resources is to find someone who has been successful and duplicate them. 

Nancy's family has dedicated their life to serving others and their ministry is to pass along what they have learned about home schooling{and what works} and bless others with their knowledge.

this means less. stress. for. me.

just say no.

atleast i don't have to triple my shaklee today.

thank you, Nancy!

anyway, i thought i would show you what we ended up with. 

i am so excited!

spelling

an awesome program that offers a DVD to use on the computer that actually reads your child the word lists and allows them to correct their own mistakes.

it's brillant and the kiddos like to break things up by using the computer.

i like to break things up by not having to read 3 separate spelling lists! 

double score.

english

this was highly recommended by Nancy and since i totally trust her, i cannot wait to dig in! 

the girls will be working together this year on english.

math

we love math u see!

it has transformed how my daughter understands math.

it comes with a DVD to watch for each lesson and simple to follow worksheets.

it's one of my favorites because it has made math fun and understandable.

history

i am really excited to use this and have my kids work together!  

i also ordered some awesome resources to go with this{world map book, world recipe book, world art book, world atlas} so that the older kids can dig deeper if they want/need to, and really learn about world history.

something i definitely never learned{or cared to}. 

sad.

i love learning with them now.

science

apologia science!

a creation based science program that allows for group study and also has awesome lesson plans for the kids to follow themselves.

this sounds like so much fun!

we chose the botany to start with, but they have LOTS of options.

zoology, astronomy, etc...

{i'll let you know how it's going later} 

:)

literature and creative writing

                 

elly's is on the left and maddie's is on the right.

i have to say that they don't LOVE writing, but it is so very necessary.

can't wait to try these!

i also ordered other books and resources to use with each individual subject.  little tidbits that Nancy recommended to me.  i love her.

can you tell?

last but not least, the reading program i teach and that our younger students use is from accelerated christian education.

we love their reading program and have used it successfully for several years.  :)

well!  there you have it!  

our year in a nutshell.

if you think of me, say a prayer because i'm sure i'll need it.

this years classroom will have...

elly in 7th grade

maddie in 5th grade

jack in 2nd grade

henry in kindergarten

if you are wondering if you could home school, let me encourage you!

if i can do it, you can do it.

better yet...

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Phillipians 4:13

yup. i'll be claiming this one for sure.

much love,

xo