Blessings!

Cassie

Saturday we had Isaiah’s birthday party. We played games and had a LOT of fun. Then that evening we had friends over for burgers on the firepit. We all hung out and had a ton of fun. You would think that would be enough excitement for the week, but Sunday I was browsing craig’s list and I stumbled upon the perfect desk!! We had already been discussing switching around the school/dining room and living room, so this gave me a reason to get it done soon.

The lady with the desk called me back Monday morning and said they could bring it to us that evening. We called friends and they came over to help us move the heavy furniture. By the time the desk got here, all the other furniture was pretty much moved into it’s new room. Hubs got it together in about an hour!

To make a long story short, it is now 11pm on Tuesday and I am finally finished! Everything is in it’s proper place and it looks oh so good in here! I can’t wait to do school tomorrow in our new diggs! Of course I have pictures…

Here is the view from the playroom side of the room (Joey’s area). The kids are playing Life…

Here is a slightly different angle…

Here is the view from the sliding glass door that leads to the patio. I am really looking forward to having the morning sun shining through!

Here is a good shot of my new desk!! It’s HUGE and has lots of places for organized storage. I LOVE IT!! (Can you tell?)

Here is a shot of the bookcases (newly organized).

There wasn’t room in the new living area for the papasan chair. I thought it would make a nice reading nook! This is on Joey’s side of the room, hence the toys.

Here is a wider shot of the playroom side. I am trying to figure out where else I can put that rocking chair…

So there you go! What do you think? I think I will sit on my behind for a few hours now and recover! Phew!

Blessings,

Cassie

I have seen from a lot of mommas say that the time it takes to plan and fill the boxes can be overwhelming. I felt the same way the first few weeks we used them, and I am pretty sure most workbox mommas would agree that’s the norm! But as you determine to stick with it (because your kids are enjoying school and getting tings finished in record time) you will find that you develop your own system of filling the boxes and getting ready for your school day.

A few weeks after implementing the workbox system into our day, I decided to change up our curriculum. You can read more about that whole process here. Now that we are using Tapestry of Grace, and several other classical resources, planning kinda took a quantum leap for me. Instead of just planning out lessons by numbers and pages, now I found I had to dig a little deeper and think a little harder about what each day of our week would look like. So, I developed my own little system, using my own version of TOG’s daily assignment grid. Yes, I made yet another custom planning form… but we can talk about my paperwork and forms obsession another time. Any how, I made a custom form for each boy, as they are doing different levels of work (Drew is doing UG, and Isaiah is doing LG) and different types of subjects. I would love to share with you, but I can’t get them to upload correctly to scribd.

Anyhow, I plan two weeks out at a time. There is a good reason for this other than the fact that I am killing two birds with one stone. Since we are doing TOG at half pace, what the curriculum lists for one week of work, we actually do in two! It’s much easier to just split it up and plan the two weeks at the same time than it would be to plan each week separately. Anyhow, that’s my first step, filling out those assignment grids.

The second step is to make a to-do list as I am going through my lesson planning. I list all the copies I need to make, resources I need to find/get, craft and projects preparations, and anything else I want done ahead of time. After I am all done with my planning, I go through my to-do list and complete each task, placing any of the weeks necessary paperwork in my TOG binder in the correct week’s pocket.

Now comes the third step, which to many seems like a daunting task, but if you plan ahead and prepare, it will be a breeze! Now it is the night or morning before school and you have to get those workboxes filled and ready to go! This is what I do…

First, I do only one child’s boxes at a time. I take all the boxes and spread them out on the table in numerical order. I get out my TOG planning binder and open it up to my assignment grids, which are freshly printed and in the front of the binder. Then I get my stack of papers for the week, and I go through my page and place each subjects work into it’s box. I also have in a nearby rolling cart for easy access: glue, scissors, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, etc. That way I can just grab whatever I need for each box as I am filling them. Then I put the filled workboxes back onto the cart and start over with the other child’s boxes! It takes me about 10 minutes per child to do this UNLESS I have forgotten to make a copy or I have to find extra goodies to fill empty boxes. That usually doesn’t slow me down too much though.

So you see, it’s all about your method! It’s all about planning ahead! Want proof? Go ahead and do this with your curriculum, tweak what you need to, and see if it makes a difference in your day-to-day prep time. YES, it takes a little more planning and attention to detail ahead of time. YES, things don’t always go along with “the plan”. BUT it is worth the extra effort! Your daily prep time will decrease and so will your stress level! GOOD LUCK!

PS – If you tried this, or do something different that helps you, please share in a comment!

Blessings,

Cassie

Kinda puts it all in glorious perspective, doesn’t it?

Blessings,

Cassie

Blessings!

Cassie

Yes!! We are doing TOG again. We tried it a couple of years ago, when redesigned was still pretty new. Soon after starting it, I got pregnant and lazy. And after they raised the year-plan prices, I decided there was no way we were going to be able to continue using it in the future. At that time, I was buying all of my books.

Fast forward 2 years to now. We have been doing the textbook thing for a while now. We changed back out of necessity. We weren’t getting much done doing unit studies because I was taking care of a baby and that didn’t leave me a lot of time to put studies together and organize materials. So I figured a pre-planned, step by step boxed curriculum was our best bet. That way I had a scope and sequence and wouldn’t have to worry about any “gaps” I might overlook.

We have been bored stiff. There are subjects I don’t want to even teach because the books are so boring. So I started looking at some different unit study, multi-age curriculums on the net. I checked out My Father’s World, Time Travelers History studies (Homeschool in the Woods), KONOS, and a few others before I decided to check out the TOG site. When I did I made an amazing discovery!

TOG has gone digital!! Which in itself is great, but what makes it even better is that the individual units are $15 LESS than the pre-printed plans!! Ok, I thought, maybe this will make it more affordable. I decided to download the Year 1 Three-week sample to get a better look at it. I found all but 3 of the recommended books at my local library…WOW! I began to seriously think about using this curriculum again. IF I could use the library for the great majority of our materials, that made TOG affordable for us! I got out my old booklists that I had printed from using TOG before and looked up the entire contents at my library. For the second unit of year one, I found every book (or it’s recommended alternative) except one! That was it, I was hooked on the idea of giving this awesome classical, Christian, multi-level, multi-subject, chronological curriculum another go. So I talked to the hubs. He was skeptical. “What ,makes you think you will have better luck using this time?”, he asked me. OK, fair enough question. I went through my list of Pro’s and Con’s. He said, “Sounds good, but how much is this going to cost me?” I informed him of the fact that the plans were now cheaper thanks to the DE versions becoming available and that I could get all the books except a few at our local library. I told him I would sell as much of our other curriculum (that DE would replace) as I could to make sure to make the change-over as painless as possible. He said, “OK, but this is it. Once you change to it, you are stuck with it. I am tired of you changing your mind. You had better find a way to make it work.” I also told him that I was planning on doing the plans half-pace, doing only two units per year, at least until we get through the first year plan.

Now I just had to figure out what to do about the subjects TOG doesn’t cover:

• Grammar
• Spelling
• Math
• Phonics and Reading
• Science
• Handwriting

So I decided we would stick with BJU for Math, Phonics & Reading (for Isaiah) and 1st grade spelling (Isaiah). We will also continue using our Handwriting without Tears workbooks (they are working out wonderfully). The BJU English wasn’t going to cut it because TOG already includes a writing/composition component. I didn’t see the point of paying $80 per child, per year for a program that was only half grammar and skipping all of the included writing lessons. So for Isaiah, we are doing a mild introduction to grammar, copywork, narration, and dictation (following a classical model) using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind. I already had this book on hand, but had decided not to use it once we went back to textbooks. For Drew, I purchased Easy Grammar 3. I am copying the student work pages in order to use it later with Isaiah, and eventually with Joey! I was thrilled to find it on CBD for only $24.95. For Spelling, I decided to go ahead and use the BJU Spelling 1 for Isaiah I had, since it is tied in with his Phonics and Reading programs. For Drew, I have been thinking of changing his Spelling lately, as the All About Spelling has only 20 lessons per level, and the levels are about $30 to purchase. Which would add up to at least $90 a school year. So through many recommendations, I purchased a used copy of the 3rd Edition of Spelling Power for only $10. I also purchased the additional Quick Start DVD to go with it from CBD. It was also under $10. We are both loving it so far, btw, and Drew is doing great with it!

Science was another issue altogether. SO I decided to follow the 4 year cycle recommendations from the Well-Trained Mind. And since they are in different grades, I decided to allow them to choose a topic to study and we would just continue afterwards with that area of science and move through the cycle as we wish. They chose to study Electricity. This worked out great for us financially, because I already have a project kit for an Electricity study I picked up at Target on clearance a while back. All I had to do was get some kind of guide to help me make sure to study the correct areas, so I bought a lapbook from Hands of a Child. We are renting books and materials from the library to learn more.

So now, I have sold quite a bit of curriculum through online classifieds and have made enough money to purchase:

• TOG Year 1 Unit 1 DE
• Year 1 Unit 1 Lapbook DE
• Spelling Power
• Easy Grammar 3
• Walk with Y’shua Through the Jewish Year (a book my library did not have)
• A lapbooking kit for our Unit Study on Electricity

Well, this has turned into quite a looong post, hasn’t it? I think I will delve more into our new plans in my next post. In the meantime, we are having a ball doing our first week of TOG. I will post pictures soon of all the projects we are doing together.

Blessings,

Cassie

Yes, I AM aware it has been several weeks since I last posted. I have been very busy tweaking curriculum choices, chasing my toddler, trying to get the house in shape (a never-ending battle) and feeling generally worn-down. The past month has been a very hard transition for the entire family. Hubs is now working full time AND attending night classes through the week. He is home for maybe an hour in between work and school then he comes home and eats then goes straight to bed. Joey, as a result of not having daddy home through the week, has been very clingy to momma. It’s been hard on both of us and I have the aching back to prove it!

We have not done a full school load in a few weeks either. We took last week off so that I could attend the HOTM online conference. There were a LOT of great speakers/topics and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to glean wisdom from them and ask them my burning questions! It was awesome! I learned a lot and had a great time getting to know some other homeschooling moms. This week, we tried to get back into the swing of things, but with me restructuring our curriculum choices (more on that in a post soon to come) we don’t have much to do until the new materials arrive. I expect everything will be here by Monday, but you never know seeing as I tried to purchase many items used and it is up to the individual sellers as to when these items were dropped into the mail. SO we have sporadically been doing Math, Phonics, and Reading this week, with a sprinkling of some penmanship. We have not had a structured enough day to use our workboxes, so they are awaiting us in a stack on the bookcase!

So obviously I have been keeping busy with all our big changes, and i am really excited to share it all with you in the next few days! Until then, know we are all marching on and trying to get through the “Daddiless” days with God’s grace and forgiveness.

Would you please keep me in your prayers this week, as I have been struggling with fatigue (not sure why) and a very clingy little one. I need to stay focused on what’s truly important so that I can focus what energy I have on those things! I am praying for God’s grace and wisdom to help me the best wife and momma I can be for my family, who needs me to lead while Daddy is working so very hard to take care of us all!

Blessings,

Cassie

I have been working on putting together some fun items for our workboxes and I will be sharing what I come up with here as I can.

This PDF file contains 2 pages of animal matching cards. For best results, print out on card stock and laminate then cut out.

Blessings,

Cassie

The boys went across the courtyard to where there is a line of trees separating our complex and another one a few days ago to climb trees with a few of the neighbor children. Apparently, this area was infested with either poison ivy or oak (I don’t know what the difference is between the 2)! Naturally, both boys got it. Isaiah especially is covered. it started as a few small spots on one arm, now that whole arm is covered, his neck, his face, and a bit on the other arm, too. Drew’s just showed up this morning and is just on his neck and a few spots around his hairline and wrists.

We are using a special soap to draw out the oils. I think it is called Tecnu. To be honest, i don’t know if it is doing much good for Isaiah. I treat him with it twice daily and it still seems to be spreading. I think maybe that’s because he had it for a day or two before we started using it, not realizing it was poison oak/ivy. I treated Drew this morning as soon as I noticed it, so I am hoping it doesn’t spread as badly for him.

Since it is hard for them to sit still on a normal day, I figured I was just asking for it by trying to get them to sit through lessons today, so we took a day off. I will update you of any progress this weekend and I will be back to do another post tomorrow! Please keep the boys in your prayers as Isaiah may end up in the ER if the rash on his face gets much worse.

Blessings,

Cassie