Hey Mommies!!

I'm going out on a limb and guessing that most people that read my blog are either mommies or at least mostly women (sorry men, if any of you are reading, lol). So mommies I want you to take a moment and ponder the following picture.

I know I haven't blogged in AGES but really I have been uber busy. That is no excuse though. So I thought I'd pop in and share a big about what I am doing. My days pretty much go like this…

Kids

Kids

Kids

Beachbody

Beachbody

Kids

Kids

Workout

Shaekology

Kids

Kids

Beachbody

Bed

Then hit repeat the very next day. Between spending time with my kiddos and doing our homeschooling thing and spending time on my home based business I have been a busy beaver (beaver because I'm Canadian yo). 

But you know what? I couldn't be happier. Notice something in there? I'm not working. But I do run a home based business. And I get to spend TONS of time with my kids. That is one of the beauties of being a work at home homeschooling mama. 

So maybe you're asking yourself what is that Beachbody thing? Well, that my friends IS my home based business. After losing an epic 101 lbs I joined a fabulous organization which connects people trying to get fit and healthy with amazing products like at home workout programs and Shakeology. Not only do you get the products but you also get FREE COACHING!! That is my job pretty much in a nutshell. I help people get healthy. And I'm good at it. 

Of course with any business like this there is also the team building aspect. Now I've done some of this home based network business stuff before but I never did very well. I never believed in the business. But oh baby do I believe in Beachbody. I already am building a team. There is amazing training. I love the team calls. I am learning SO MUCH! 

So yeah, that is kind of it. Homeschool continues to go well and challenges us in just the right ways. My husband has been off work the last few months due to our ridonkulous weather (Polar Vortex anyone??). 

Just one more added note: I think you should join my team :) Seriously. I'm not joking. This is the real deal. My team is called the Rock Your Life Movement and I am on a mission with all the other coaches to End the Trend of obesity. And not only that but I want to give you the amazing opportunity that I have. The opportunity to be home with your kids and build a business. Who wants to miss out on their kids' lives? Certainly not me. Who would love to fire their boss? Who wants a "job" that is fulfilling and fun? Beachbody coaching is all that and more. Join on the journey to health and wealth with me. 

 

Our Curriculum Reveal

Well, it's HERE! Pretty much everything we need. I am so thankful and grateful that we were able to get all the books that I really wanted. I am going to be going through all the teacher's guides in the coming weeks and formulating our plans.

We have also chosen the following theme for our school this year...

STEWARDS OF THE LAND

I am hoping that this is evident by the curricula that I have chosen and through our emphasis on geography, history, the earth, and science. I want my children to have an appreciation for who we are, what transpired to get to this point, and what we must do in the future to protect the earth and it's history.

Here is everything all together...

Language Arts

We will be continuing on with the Explode the Code series and the Handwriting Without Tears series which I have previously posted about. There are two components that I have not yet ordered but will be doing so in the coming weeks. They are the Grammar, Spelling, and Writing programs from JacKris Publishing and a classical language program called English from the Roots Up. We don't need either right to start to I wasn't as concerned to order them right away. 

Mathematics

For mathematics our eldest will be starting the Math U See Alpha. Math was always a difficult subject for me so I am determined to give my children the best grasp of mathematics as I can. I am not going to rush through it and try to hit certain levels at certain times. That is not my concern. Rushing the concepts and the idea of "being behind" are not part of my homeschool. We reach milestones at our own pace. Come January though our middle one will be starting the Primer version to coincide with him turning five. 

Bible Study

Our Bible Study is the Great Adventure Kids which I have also previously blogged about receiving. 

History

I chose The Story of the World. Out of all the history programs I looked at this one best fit what I was looking for. This year we are starting with the Ancient Times. In years coming up we will be able to also follow the Middle Ages and Modern Ages. It is done storybook style. I chose to order the main paperback as well as the test book, the activity book and the audio cds. They also refer to the two Usborne encyclopedias on the top so I ordered those as well. 

Geography

For Geography we are going to follow A Child's Geography of the World Volume 1. This particular volume focuses on the physical geography of the earth. It is all about Exploring His Earth. In future years we will work through volume 2 (The Holy Land) and volume 3 (The Classical World). 

Canadian Studies

Our Canadian studies curriculum is quite possibly my favourite out of everything I ordered. Okay, not possibly, it IS! Being a Canadian I am big on knowing about our country. I did order the text Canada, My Country last year but it just wasn't the same without all the supplemental books, so this year we bit the bullet and ordered the all inclusive package (which also means each boy gets their own activity text). The resources included in this package are truly magnificent. I am thrilled with the collections of books on the provinces and the regional animals. There is the atlas, map, and card game. The picture book and story of the flag and Terry Fox are awesome. The best part?? The books to read with the kids, we can cuddle up and learn all about our country by reading stories that ring true to those who live in the different areas of our beautiful Canada. Ah, I love it!

Science

I am quite excited about our science this year. We are going with Intro to Science from Elemental Science. I posted previously about a great customer experience with them. This curriculum relies a lot on experimentation as well as the importance of nature study. I ordered the Instructor guide as well as two student books. I also opted to order the suggested supplemental resources and I am very happy that I did. They are all books I am pleased to have as part of our "library". 

Environmental Awareness

Here is our environmental awareness. In my previous post I also spoke  about ordering this set of materials. We opted for a family membership. I truly feel that all families, homeschooling or not, should go through the action guide. We are at pivotal points with our environmental history colliding with the future of the earth, all children (and adults) need to learn the importance of caring for our planet. 

In addition to the curriculum I ordered we have these as supplemental resources:

and for literature sake we have a lot of this...

We have quite a collection. Chapter books, early readers (some Dick and Jane even), picture books, books from different series, books from different characters (hello Pigeon and Scaredy Squirrel). You can also see we have some Star Wars, Bible stories, and a collection of Christmas books. And I SWEAR this shelf was organized two days before. 

I am also looking at some extra activities for outside the home. I am thinking about getting the boys into dance (like Jazz/Tap style). I am leery of them going into any martial arts (they'll just use it on each other). We are hoping to get a family membership soon for a fantastic local health/gym facility so we can keep up our level of physical activity through the winter. We also already have a family membership to our local museum so on days when it gets really bad outside we will take solitude in the Planetarium, Science Centre, and travel through time in the museum's Main Gallery. 

Additionally I have to hide in shame while I say that I am a libraryphobe. My kids are loud and librarians intimidate me. However I am pledging to take the kids to library this year, get them their own cards. Instead of fearing that that will turn the whole place topsy turvy I am going with the attitude that they will learn an important skill...being quiet ;) . I'll call the library before hand and set up a time where the librarian can give us a bit of an orientation so we know where to go, where to look, and what programs they offer that will suit us. PLUS I am hoping to meet some other homeschooling families there, I'll keep my eyes peeled for mum's with multiple school aged kids there in the middle of the day. 

What's Mummy Learning This Year?

Last year I posted a bit about what I was going to do along with the kids. Sadly I didn't get as much done personally as I had hoped so I will keep trudging away with my own spiritual studies and advancing of my own knowledge.

I do have one educational trick up my sleeve though. It all depends on financing but if things work out I will be applying to do a distance education nutritionist certification program. I am very EXCITED and PUMPED about taking that direction in my own education. It isn't set in stone yet as tuition is pricy but if things keep going as they have I am confident I will be starting my own studies before the new year. Can't. Wait. 

This about wraps it up. If I could add anything else it would be some education on the body and health but I think they are getting a lot of that already just through living. They know what is healthy, they know what is not. We'll get there.

Oh, and school supplies. Yep, I have to make a school supplies list. So far fat pencils and crayons are big on the list and the boys both LOVE those those pens with the five different colours. And paper, reams and reams and reams....

Oh, and a lesson planner. Must find a lesson planner. It never ends does it? 

If you made it this far KUDOS. I'm a wordy gal. I know it is just August 1st but I am so happy to have so much of this already taken care of. If you are searching for homeschool curriculum or sending your youngins off to school in a few short weeks I wish you all a wonderful and blessed start to a new "school year".

Orders Are Arriving

Yippee!! We've had a few orders arrive for our curriculum the last few days. It's all so shiny and new and I really love what I have chosen so far.

At this point we have had one set of supplemental science books arrive (plus a few board books for the little missy), our Math U See order, our labels (Mabel you rock!), as well as our environmental awareness information.

I would like to take a moment to mention what I am speaking about when I mention environmental awareness. When I was a child/tween I guess, it was the early days of recycling and push for environmental awareness (or it seemed that way to my child mind). At that time there was a small organization called Kids For Saving Earth (KSE for short). It was started by a young boy who went to the hands of God at an early age, but his time on earth was spent well as he lived his passion for taking care of the earth. His young message resonated with me as it was coming from a child to a child. To this day I have always remember the little KSE book I had as a kid and because I loved it so much (I seriously went through two at least from flipping through them so much). So I wanted to see if they were still around. THEY WERE!! And they have kits for different groups, families, and schools. I bought for us the family membership which cost $15 and included a whole selection of materials (activity books, cds, sheet music for their song, and certificates/pledges). There are several types of memberships (the individual is even FREE). Check out the KSE site for more information and to order a membership package of your own!  

Everything else is shipped or otherwise soon to be in our hands. Elemental Science, a few other science books, plus our world history and geography (both texts and supplemental books). I have had some great experiences already from both Elemental Science and Christian Book.

Based on my experience with Elemental Science I would suggest if you are in Canada to place an order by phone to get a proper shipping rate. The shipping on the web site was pricy but the books for well priced so I bit the bullet anyways. I was highly impressed when a representative emailed me saying they'd like to SAVE ME MONEY on the shipping, and they arranged a lower shipping cost, as well as THREW IN A STUDENT BOOK FOR FREE!! Within minutes I had a $30 refund to my paypal! I would say that gets an A+++ in the customer service department.

I was even able to order our Canadian Studies curriculum from Northwoods Press yesterday. This is really the piece de resistance of our curriculum choices. The books selections included in the bundle are amazing and very much in line with books I would want in our library to begin with. Seeing as it's shipping from inside Canada (I think Ontario) then it shouldn't be too long of a wait.

I do have another cart waiting for checkout from Christian Book but it is more so books for me, a few things for my own spiritual development so I'll be waiting on that for a while before I can finish it.

I am guessing (hoping, praying, fingers and toes crossed) that a lot of our material arrives next week. Fun mail week COMING UP!!. The latest I should have the most of everything is early August (perhaps the 2nd, but it's not like I'm obsessing on tracking or anything). I can't wait to take pictures of it all to share with you. I am really happy that we chose the direction we did. While I hemmed and hawed over and over again purchasing the Sonlight curriculum I feel that what I have chosen will give us the depth and variance of knowledge that I am looking for.

If you are a homeschooler like I am have you ordered or chosen yet? Please share some of your selections! If you AREN'T a homeschooler do you order books online for yourself? Are you an amazon addict like me?