2009 TOS Planner

There is one thing that I have often said to the homeschoolers in our area,  and that is, "Nothing beats homeschoolers helping homeschoolers!"And that is the truth.  If you are anything like me you have purchased, or been given "teacher planners", while they can be tweaked to work for what we need. We really do not need the 30 desk seating charts. And forms with 30 slots for children. When there was nothing better available, these would meet the need.

Enter in The Old Schoolhouse 2009 Planner. The people at TOS had put out an awesome planner last year, and let me tell you they have out down themselves this year!.  What is really awesome, the listened to all the feedback that was given to them last year and have created 40 more forms to help you in your home and your homeschool. Last year's planner was 247 pages and I thought that was big, however, this year's planner comes wieghing in at a whopping 374 pages!!!

So what exactly is the TOS 2009 Planner. It really is everything that you need to run your home and your homeschool at your fingertips. Best of all, it is a download. There is no waiting for the postman, you can get started right away!

Let's get down to the brass tacks of it all. Last year, what I did, is I only printed out the forms that I thought I needed. And to be perfectly honest, there were probably many more I could have used that I forgot about.

So this year, right after I downloaded the planner, I printed out the entire planner.  Now, I know what your thinking, that is alot of ink and alot of paper. Yes, it is, however, I printed in black and white, and my printer prints double sided. Anyhow, this works much better for me, I can already tell you. I am a hands on kind of girl, so I want to "see" and "hold" what is available. I can tell you that I will be using many more pages than I did last year.

When I need to duplicate the page, I can just pull it out of the the three ring binder and make the copy.

For some of you, the thought if printing out the entire planner might be overwhelming. So I do have an idea on how to take care of that as well, so you will not forget what you have available. Print out the table of contents, along with what ever forms you think you will use. That way when you are looking for a specific kind of form, you can look it up in the table of contents, prior to searching on the computer, or flash drive or disc you have saved the planner onto. The other thing I would do, is print out all of the resource lists, and articles. For instance, there is a reference sheet on the Branches of Federal, State and Local Governments, and one on the presidents, and the periodic table of elements, just to name a few. If you have those all printed out and in the back of your planner, you can reference those in an intant, without having to search for them. And if you are anything like me you need all the time saving tips you can get!

You will also want to print out the 24 recipes included, which all come from homeschool mom's!  There are even handwriting alphabet sheets in the back, so if you have a child who needs work, you will have those at your fingertips as well!

In addition to all the wonderful homeschool forms that are available in the planner, they have froms to help you better manage you home. They have forms such as Emergency Medical Information, Homekeeping Weekly Schedule, Menu planning, food inventory log, prayer journal, daily bible reading, garden plans, car maintenance and an address book plus many many more!

So with all of that, what are my favorites... I will have to tell you there is so much to like, but my two main favorites are the "year" calendars from 2009-2012! That comes in handy when making long term plans! And they have homeschool forms with 5 children on it! WooHoo! That's how many I have! I never can find forms with 5! They also have forms for 2, 3 and 4 children as well!  I love having the information on the resource lists handy. You could say that you could access that info somewhere else, that is true, however, it is much easier to have all in one place.. and with someone else doing the leg work!

And they also have some great forms for homeschool groups in there. And those are gong to come in handy for me as well!

One thing I was just mentioning when talking about homeschooling on a budget.. one way to save money, is not purchasing "boxed" curriculum where they lay out all the plans for you, and in turn do the planning  yourself. However, the one thing you do, is sacrifice time. However, with the TOS 2009 Planner, you could have both. You can save money and have awesome planning tools at your fingertips, that will make the job much less daunting!

Please visit the TOS STORE and check out the planner. Right now the cost is $39.00. Also, if you order by July 12th you will recieve the 2008 planner excerpts for free! That is a deal!

Happy Planning!!!!

Do you have a homeschool room???

 

Do you have a Homeschool Room?

We recently had a discussion amongst homeschoolers, and the question was posed, do you have a homeschool room? Which has lead to several of us sharing photos of our respective rooms. So I thought I would put this together as well.

Here are 2 shots of our "school room"

This view is from the entry of that room. This room is actually a second master bedroom. Actually the larger master. It has a slider that goes to the backyard.

Here is from the opposite side of the room. You can see the doorway in which I was standing in the last shot. You can also see there is another doorway, which is a walk in closet, which is great for hiding "stuff".

Now as you see we have a wonderful space that we have created for us to learn in. However, that is not where we do our learning. O cannot really tell you why. Some days we use the room when i want to use the chalk board. However, on most days we schoool in the front of the house. Sometimes on the couch, at the dining room table, or gathered around my desk, so I thoght I would share a few shots of where we actually learn.....

Here is our dining room/ music room.....

This next shot is of our dining room table. I have to tell you, one of the best things I have done was put this wall map on our dining room table and cover it with vinyl. In the past I found our wall maps ended up becoming "art" and were not interactive at all. But now, whenever we sit down we can utilize it. Not that we do every time, but often times!

We spend alot of time on the couch and chairs. We will do our read alouds there, our devotions and sometimes bible study in general. You will also find the kids sprawled aorund the coffee table working on "seat work" or playing a game. Notice there is a basket of books between the recliner and the couch. I keep books there at their level of reading I ahve some strugglers, so having books at easy access, where they don't have to hunt is key!

One more shot... both of these are taken from the dining room, this one I have tilted a bit, in order to show the door that leads to the "school room" and my desk.....

Now the next two shots are of my desk. We spend lots of time there. When I have a student that needs extra help, while the others are working independently, we will do that at my desk. Which is why we purchased an "L' shaped desk. Also, if there are videos I want to share with them that are on line, we do it there as well.

This next one you can see shelving behind my desk, I use this for books and DVD's and other resources that we use alot. That way they do not get "lost" on all those bookshelves in the "school room".

So how do you use your space? Do you have a school room or do you school all over? Or both? Leave a comment and tell me all about it! I love to hear other homeschoolers make it work for their family!

Happy Homeschooling!

What Is the Goal of Your Homeschool?

You may be saying to yourself, didn't you discuss this, just the other day. And I did. Though, that post really discussed the foundation of your homeschool. However, on this post, I want to look at, what is it that you want to accomplish with your homeschool. This has come up several times with me over the last several days.

One was in a sermon I heard at church, and the others came up during conversations with homeschool moms.

So let's start with, when looking at the end of your hoemschool journey, what would success look like? The answer to that question will be different for every family, and perhaps even for the people within that family.

However, I have been thinking about that quite a bit lately. It could be due to the fact that I have 3 high schoolers now. The end is much closer than I have imagined.

For me, when I think of success,  here are my goals. I would like my children, to love the Lord, live for the Lord and to love their family. And to be perfectly honest. That is what it would take for me to feel we have been successful.

Ok, so I am spending time doing academics. And I want them to able to attend whatever college they want to attend in order for them to fufill what ever it is the Lord has for them to do in this life. But, when push comes to shove, the most important things to me, is living and living for the Lord and loving their family.

Let me tell you what really set this in stone for me. You may have recently heard about Jessica Hulcy from KONOS curriculum. SHe was in a horrific car accident. She is recovering now, and her family her husband Wade and their for boys, ( men) have been giving updates via The Caring Bridge website.

As a KONOS user, I have read about and heard about Jesica and Wade's boys. And now, in real life, not a punch line, not a story to illustrate a point, they are updating the thousands of homeschool families, who are following and praying for the recovery and healing of their mother.

The words they have written, about their mother, about the faith they have in their Lord, I cannot tell you what it has done for my heart. Jessica and Wade have done an amazing job in raising those men.

And I thought, that is what it is all about. I really do not care what line of work my children fall into. I want them to be faithful to their Lord, and love their family. That would be success.

Everyday I pray that I am the mother I need to be, to raise godly children, into godly adults, who will then in turn, raise godly children. 

Miserly Moms by Jonni Mc Coy

  Miserly Moms, Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy,     

by Jonni Mccoy

Miserly Moms, has been a book I have heard about over the years, but had never actually read. I was thrilled to have the chance to read it! And let me tell you, I loved it!

It does not matter whether you live in a small town, or a big city. Or if you have stayed home for years, or have recently lost a job and now are at home and trying to cope with less income.

Not matter the circumstance, this book will help you! It is chock' full of ideas and methods to help you save money. And the best part, is that it is all time tested by Jonni McCoy herself. These are all the steps that she implemented in own family, to live better on less!

 

Please visit, here to buy the book!           

Consider Why You Homeschool

      As our school year comes to a close, you are bound to feel either ecstatic, that the year is over, or you may be wondering where on earth all that time has gone and realizing you have yet to reach your goals for the year.

     Over the last several weeks I have had  several conversations with many different Mom’s and Dad’s. And what keeps coming back to me, is that we need to remember why it is that we homeschool.

     Have you ever had a time where you sat down and put pencil to paper and wrote down why  you homeschool? If you have not done this, you may want to spend some time in prayer as a couple  and figure out what the foundation of your homeschool is. You might ask yourself, why is this important? Can’t we just buy the books and teach the kids? Why yes you can. However when the tough times come, when you are having a difficult time conveying something to your children or you are questioning why in the world you decided to take on this endeavor  in the first place. It is helpful to have a foundation that your school has been built on.

  And that foundation should be Jesus Christ. If we as Christians build our foundation on anything other than Christ, it is likened to building our house on the sand.  Things like finances, academic goals, job changes, health, emotions, are all subject to change. However, A foundation built on the rock of Jesus Christ,  is constant, the same, unchangeable, steady.

  If Jesus Christ is our foundation, then the reasons why we homeschool will ultimately reflect that. Our long term goals for home education, our children and our family will  reflect Christ in every way.

  When those finances change, what are we going to do? While methods may need to change in order to fit our budget, we need to make sure that our new method, or choice will reflect Christ, and not compromise what we have set out to do.

  Even if you are not going through a big change in your family, going through the process of reflecting on your purpose of homeschooling will help you make every decision you make in your homeschool.  

  We go through this process throughout every year.  It helps us to decide what curriculum to use and  what extracurricular classes and activities we are going to participate in for the year, or semester. Will this class, or this activity, or will this book help us to reach our goal, or does it fit in with our homeschool mission.

    For our family, I can tell you that it has really helped us to stay on track through the different seasons of our life as we remember, why it is that we homeschool.

    In closing, I want to go back to the beginning of the article, where I mentioned, that perhaps there might be some who are feeling deflated at the thought of the year ending. Solely because you feel you have not measured up to what you had set out to do.

   Let me assure you that you are not alone in feeling that way. At some point in our homeschool careers, all of us feel that way. We homeschool mom’s have a way of expecting quite a lot of ourselves. Far more than we expect of anyone else. We all know that saying, “ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence” I recently read, “The grass is greener where you water it, so start watering!”  Try not to look at others successes, in 2 Cor 10:12 it says, “ ..but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise”.  We are not supposed to look at others and measure or success or failure. We are to look to the Lord. Remember, each of us, mom’s and children alike are on our own personal walk with our Lord and our journey will not look the same.  Start and end each day with prayer and time in your bible. Take time to evaluate or reevaluate how each person in your family is spending their time. Make changes accordingly. Changes that will support the foundation of your school and your family. And take time to enjoy your family. The Lord will guide you through this journey called homeschooling. Why not enjoy that journey???           

Even in the Valley...God is Good!

Isn't  it hard to sometimes remember, that even in the valley, that God is good. And He is!! My oldest son, who is 16 years old, has dealt with epilepsy since he was 4 months old. He has been through a lot in his life. Many many struggles. And some successses as well. He loves the Lord. I really couldn't ask for more. But I do. I ask everyday, that he will never have to deal with seizures again. I ask that these horrible things just simply disappear!   And as I ask I balance two things.. on one hand I know that my son has dealt with this since he was a baby and the "odds" of these ending are very slim. On the other hand, God is powerful, and God can do anything. All things are possible with God. So if it were to fit in to God's plan, my sons' seizures very well could be taken away!

My son has just had one year of  seizure freedom! Oh the excitement that was felt through our home when this milestone was hit! We even had a mini celebration.  Cake and all!

You know it is a funny thing that happens when you are dealing with something like this. Seizures sometimes hit no rhyme of reason... you cannot always predict when they will happen. So again there is the tight rope routine you prefrom as you walk between an ever watchful eye of your child, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And on the other side of that tight rope is the comfortable place that by human nature you fall into. You start to let your guard down a little bit. Giving a little bit more freedom to that 16 year old who is craving independence who wants to be on his own so very badly.

Then 4 days later... it happened... he seized... badly..... 6 seizures in 45 minutes...... wow, the waves emotions that were racing through is all.  I was with all 5 of my children at church. My husband had just returned home from work. Church had not started yet and we were all milling around while my youngest was in kiddie choir.

When I first heard that he was seizing, I felt as though all the blood had left my body. And then I felt as though i could not get to him fast enough. I attempted to sprint, my body did not respond, I think I was run/walking and a very fast pace... but not as face as I wanted to move, I was so disappointed in my body! 

When I got to him he had not gone into a convulsion yet. He was "between" seizures and the first was what is termed as a complex partial. I gave home one of his meds and escorted him to the car. Really it was a bit like dragging him. He would walk, but he was rather unresponsive.

As I waited for the children to reassemble at the car, which felt like an eternity, but really was proably just 3 or 4 minutes, he began to seize again. This time, it was a convulsion, and it was a bad one.  We had to now move toward our most invasive med, which I will not describe. THough it invloves help from my children. I am so thankful my 14 year old was right beside me and helping me.

As we he settles down and we get in the car to go home... I am praying. Praying praying praying. As we pull out of the church parking lot, he begins to seize again. And I start to think, do we go to the ER, or go home.... typically the med I just gave him, kicks in and at the ER all he does is sleep....  My son holds his head, another one of the kdis is calling my husband on the cell phone..

It stops again...... THe way his seizures usually go, is that he convulses for a period of time and when it stops, it stops,. So it was different that there was a second one. My thought still was that was probably it.

As we continue driving, I talk to my children, that while when their brother realizes he has seizued, he will be so disappointed that he broke his record. However, we need to be thankful for the year that the Lord gave us of seizure freedom. Even if he seized every day, we need to e thankful for the reprieve he was given for this last year. And as i am finishing that sentence, he began to seize again. Oh man, this one was bad, it was frightening to watch him go through that one. My daughter through her tear streamed face, I hear her say, guys we need to pray.

As I try to miniter to him, I decided that if he seizing when I get to the freeway, we will go to the hospital. If he stops we will go home. He stopped. sigh... Thank you God!

We  headed home and there was one more small one before we reached the house. A convulsion, but small. Then once we returned home, he seized as we carried him into the house, one last time.

We prayed over my son, the 6 of us looked at him prayed for him and prayed that he would not have any lasting effects from this seizure.

God has been good to us, and good to my son.  As I look through my son's life, I can see God's hand of protection, throughout all of the hard times and the good times.  

What we have talked about for years in our house, is that we do not know God's plan for this. We do not know His plan for each of our lives. The people we may be able to reach, to the glory of God, beacuase of this trial that we have gone through as a family. It has effected each of us. Differently, yet we have all been effected.

While I want these horrible seizure to go away, forever, I also know that my God is soveriegn. I trust Him and will foloow HIm where ever this road leads. I am so thankful that I am not alone when I go through this. I am thankful that when my children are worried or frightened, they not only can come to me, but they can also go to the Lord, and He can much better than I, quiet those fears and worries, and lead them to triumph.

Please listen to the song at the bootom of this page...

Even in the Valley God is good!!

And so you know, my son is doing very well now. And I am praising the Lord for His goodness!

Ouch! My Tummy Hurts!!!

A little more than 12 years ago I was diagnosed iwth IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  At the time I was suffering and not feeling well. Though, it passed and I went on with life as usual. About 6 years later I had another bout. Though, I did not make the connection to the IBS. And last spring it started again, this time though it did not pass. And by July, I felt as if I was going to die. I was just sick so much. And, then I remembered, oh, I wonder if it is the IBS. So I started searching.. and I found an awesome website, www.helpforibs.com . On this helpful website, they have a list of trigger foods to avoid, and supplements you should take. And I started right away, and the symptoms virtually went away.

 Now as time went on, while symptoms were gone I was not feeling all that well. So I was looking at what suplements to add.

I am taking the acacia fiber and peppermint tabs from www.helpforibs.com

And then I added back some supplements that I had stopped when my stomach hurt so bad... These products are from www.beeyoutiful.com .

I began taking, Supermom, Pure Chorella, Cod Liver Oil, and Bee Strong.

At that time I was also taking acidopholis and calcium and magnesium. And I was feeling really, pretty good.

However, I have recently added tummy tune up from Beeyoutiful. (See banner ad below for a click through.) And I must tell you that I am feeling even better. I did not realize I could feel better. However, my stomach is feeling quiet And that is a good thing!

Now, I have to say, I am not a doctor, I cannot diagnose you, nor can I prescribe any treatment plans. This is just one mom sharing with other moms what has helped in my life!!

If you are interested in high quality supplements, I highly reccomend both website, www.helpforibs.com and beeyoutiful .

If you do go to the Beeyoutiful website, would you mind using the click through below? That is my affiliate link.

Thanks, and I pray that you all have quiet tummys!!!