are you a Homeschool Tracker groupie too?

It only took me three years to find it. 

Homeschool Tracker

Holy Moly do I love this thing!  And we only have the Basic (read: freebie) Edition.  The things I find so great about Homeschool Tracker are:

The download was super easy. 

The attendance tracking is right down my easy peasy alley.  With a simple click I can mark my student(s…next year) present.  Two clicks marks them sick.  And holidays are just a couple clicks more.  SO cinchy.  Plus, the data is reflected right on the home page.  Toby is currently at 159 days attended.  Which means only 21 left to go!  Whoop Whoop!  Of course…we’ll be Math-ing, Read-ing, and Grammar-ing through the summer.  But for organizational purposes…I just love having this program with it’s click-y easy ways. 

  I haven’t figured out how to add assignments yet…but I will.  And when I do I’m sure I’ll love that tool too!

I adore the Teacher’s Journal section.  Which is where I currently log his assignments.  Lest you get the wrong idea and think I’m super organized and on the ball.  And go all “how does she do it with a Special Needs kid too?” on me.  I’m lucky to stay a week ahead of schedule.  And in true confession form…there have been times when I had NO idea what was on his education agenda when I woke up that morning to educate him!  (Now, see this is where I would be forced to remind you that I do have a Special Needs kiddo who happens to be in the throes of potty training for who knows how much longer which is totally eating chunks of hours outta my day!)  Thank God most curriculums come with lesson plans already somewhat together.  Also, Homeschool Tracker (this is totally sounding like an infomercial!) is helping me stay on top of things.  My goal is to sit down every Sunday evening and look over the upcoming week’s work.  So I go into the week ahead having a direction.  I type in each day’s assignments.  And then head over to the Reports section where it’s available to print.  I had the great idea to print the report and add it to his “poster center” like so:

 

This allows him a visual (we’re all of us Kinesthetic in this house) for the week ahead.  And because he’s a check-the-box kinda kid…I know he’ll glean joy from marking things out as they’re completed. 

Really…I can’t say enough about how much I love Homeschool Tracker.  But the kids are in bed for the night.  The house is quiet.  And Wurthering Heights (on my summer reading list) is beckoning from the book shelf.  Unless something entertaining is on TV tonight.  Cause I could handle a good old fashioned couch potato fest before next week comes crashing in.  Bringing its chaos with it! 

…danielle  

randomnings

I served nachos and salsa for lunch.  Bristel, feeling adventurous, tasted the salsa and declared…

Yummy!

but…

it almost spiced me! 

**********

Trevy running outta Miss. May May’s car.  Arms extended.  Holding a construction paper card.  And hollering…

Day!  Day! 

Trevy Speak:  Happy Mother’s Day!

*********

Bristel:  When I’m a teenager and you teach me how to drive perfectly and I know how to drive perfectly do you know what I’m going to drive to?

:: pause for breath ::

I’m going to drive to CVS and buy a pack of gum!

**********

Trevy’s (melt your mommy why don’t you!) Mother’s Day Craft

*********

Toby while shoveling leftover seasoned burger into his mouth:

Wow.  This makes me feel like I’m half way to Heaven! 

**********

Bristel after being declined a sip of my iced coffee…

Mommy, is iced coffee like chocolate milk for grown ups?

*********

This Melt Your Mommy Moment brought to you by…

Toby…

the sweetest big brother Trevy could ask for!

danielle

exploration audubon

 

 

Groupon offered a family membership to our State’s Audubon recently.

 

$25 bucks for a year…

 

I snapped it right up!

It so happens that the main Audubon Center is in Bristol.  Which so happens to neighbor our pediatrician’s office location.  And since it’s our well-visit time of year…it worked out perfectly for a field trip! 

 

Clearly, they were no in the mood for pictures though. 

I had no idea what to expect. I was thinking it would just be nature trails.  But it was oh so much more!  A little mini nature museum greeted us right through the doors.  All of the exhibits reflect plants, animals, and birds (Tobin is a huge fan of birds) that naturally thrive in our cold, coastal habitat.  I was impressed and the kiddos were thrilled to find little clip boards with prepared scavenger hunts to help get our learning juices flowing.  What is it with kids and loving clipboards?!  And I’m always a fan when someone else does the work for me!     

 

 

I loooooved the life sized Right Whale model.  It was just so cool to feel so close to something so huge and powerful.  And the back side is designed to see the innards!  Bri was totally grossed out by whale heart & lungs.  Tobes and I thought it was awesome. 

The nature trails were AH-mazing too! 

There’s just something about board walks that make walking so much more fun.  Especially board walks that end at the bay!  Which btw…did you catch the jelly fish 5 pictures up?  Toby was like a little photo journalist snapping pics of birds and nests like crazy.  He had his heart set on finding an Oriole (his dad is a Virginia boy which can only mean one thing: they’re Baltimore Orioles fans!  Hence the desire to spot a real, live Oriole birdie).  Maybe next time…

 

We did see gobs of Red Winged Ravens.  Which are pretty cool too.  And Toby spotted that large nest way up high in a tree.  Also cool. 

Best of all were the little Passports we found at the front desk.  10 different Audubon sites in Rhode Island have a symbol hidden on a trail.  Our passports tell us where to find each symbol.  And every Audubon has it’s own page where we can “stamp” our passports with a rubbing of that symbol.  If we hike 6 trails by the end of September we get a great little prize pack!   

I totally give this one two thumbs up!  Well, except the part about finding ticks after.  Ick!  Did you know ticks can drop down from the trees?!  My dad educated me while he did picked two outta Toby’s hair for me.

 

We’re all excited to add another stamp to our passports.  We’ll just make sure to swim in bug spray first next time! 

 

I’m participating in Science Sunday.  For more fun Science-y reads click the image below…

 

danielle

to write an essay–part I

 

It started as research for an essay he needs to write.  Have I mentioned how much my 4th Grade Sports Star hates writing?  Seriously.  Grinding and nashing of teeth.   

 

So I was side x side with him.  Coaching.  Homeschooling. 

 

No surprise, he choose baseball as his topic of choice.  Specifically who holds the record for the most steals.

 

Our Google search led us here.  To the Baseball Almanac.  Warning girls…don’t show your boys!  Cause trust me…they’ll be sucked right in.  From there we somehow discovered George Van Haltren.  Who, even I agree, has a pretty cool baseball history.  One of only two players in history left out of the Baseball Hall of Fame who have scored over 1600 runs during their career.  Tobes was smitten immediately upon learning George was a March born Lefty too.  Better yet…he’d played for the O’s.  Before I knew it we were immersed in stats and scores. 

 

   

 

 

So many numbers make my head swim!

 

But not him.  Nope.  He could sit there all day reading RBIs and ETAs and ERAs and blah blah blahs!  He was so excited he just had to call his dad ASAP.  I listened as the two of them spoke in numbers and letters (like some code of men) for several minutes.  Toby’s little face positively beaming.  It was a sweet moment.  I always try to fully appreciate those “melt mommy” moments.  To savor them.  I don’t always follow through…but I try.  And was successful that time. 

 

It occurred to me that words probably make his little head spin just like those rows upon rows of states and acronyms make mine.

 

Sitting down to compile lists of numbers would be like pulling teeth to me.  So I guess I can give him a little space if trading in numbers for words (to form at least 3 3 sentence paragraphs so we can call it an essay) isn’t really the highlight of his education. 

 

At least he’s learned that researching can be fun. 

 

:: smile ::

 

danielle

workboxing our style

 

Summer’s a comin’!  And boy o’ boy are we feelin’ it! 

 

I’m SO ready for a break!   

 

 

In his two computer based (Monarch) subjects he’ll be…

 

Reviewing Africa for History/Geography…

 

and

 

Writing an outline for his final essay in Language Arts.  If I had to choose a most difficult subject…it would surely be all things Language Arts.  Specifically anything involving writing more than one (grammatically spot on) sentence in a row.  My goal at the beginning of this school year was for him to successfully and independently be able to write a 2 page essay.  I’m a believer in transparency…sooooo…I’ll admit that we’re lucky to get three paragraphs.  With full on mom coaching.  And much grinding and nashing of teeth. 

 

Sigh.   

 

 

In Science (ACE) he’s working on his LAST PACE!  Whoop!  Whoop! 

 

I’ve really enjoyed ACE.  It’s deliciously independent.  Colorful.  Gospel rich.  But next year I’d like for Science to be one of our combined subjects.  Meaning all of us can learn together.  The first half of the year we’re planning on Exploring Anatomy in tandem with My Body.  I’m super excited about this one because I’m Kinesthetic and the hands on of creating a life sized me is just too cool!  I’m also intending to Explore Astronomy for the second half of the year.   

 

 

We’re on lesson 46 in our Saxon 5/4.  He passed his last test with a 90%.  And the mistakes were careless rather than non-comprehending.  Soooo…I’m comfy moving forward. 

 

We’ll be Sax-ing (along with Language Arts-ing) through the summer. 

 

 

I’ve mentioned before that Monarch’s Language Arts just hasn’t been rich enough for us.  I think if you have a natural propensity towards writing and grammar…it might work.  But if you’re a struggler.  Not so much. 

 

So in our additional Language Skills workbook we’ll be digging into how to write a narrative.  Fun times at Little Rhody Academy today!  If grinding and nashing of teeth are fun in your book.

 

:: smile ::   

 

 

He’s doing so wonderful with his piano lessons that it makes me wish I’d started them earlier! 

 

And in fact, plays a mean Rain Rain Go Away. 

 

:: wink ::

 

 

Reading is Henry and the Paper Route.  For no other reason than the next Narnia book is on hold for us…and I already own the other!

 

Penmanship (Horizon’s 4th Grade) will go with us this afternoon to help fill the hour in the waiting room while Trevy has his weekly outpatient Speech Therapy.

 

And we’re saving the best for last…

 

 

 

 

danielle

dunkin iced = my favorite kinda charity

I got the what-for this morning for forgetting that today is…




Oops…

Guess I’ll need to buy two to make up for it!  

danielle

50 state scavenger hunt update

 

Who knew State treasure hunting could be so fun?!  We’ve only been at this for a few weeks and already’ve collected 45 out of 50 States. 

 

 

Leaving a difference of 5 remaining.  I make the kiddos keep the numbers.  We’re on the hunt for…

 

Alabama

 

Maine

 

Both Dakotas

 

and

 

Idaho

 

Our booklet also includes room for the 5 US territories.  Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands and Northern Marinia Islands.  We haven’t found any of these yet.  Bringing our total needed to 10.

 

There are also 3 additional special quarter slots.  District of Columbia, the Washington and Commemorative Quarters.  We’re 2:3 outta these.

 

When you add and subtract all the variables above that means our total left to find is 11.  Which Binti figured out the easy way for me this morning by counting the remaining empty slots.    

 

It’s been fun adding a little living math to our errand running.  What kiddo doesn’t love a scavenger hunt!  I just never expected to be trolling my change for our missing quarters too! 

 

Also…in case you hadn’t heard the US Mint offers wonderful lesson plans designed around the collectible quarters!  I’m thinking to add this to our summer sneaky school.  You know, where I try to promote educational fun right under their noses…

 

danielle

budding art-ee-st

 

I love that she’s suddenly into coloring. 

 

Makes me sappy & nostalgic.  I loved coloring books when I was her age. 

 

 

I also love that her much pleaded for and prized (and only!) birthday present -

 

Kanani Akina

 

was joining in the fun! 

 

 

And when she asked if she could create her very own art studio…

 

 

Well…

 

that just totally melted me!

 

 

danielle

my five fave finds of the week (2nd edition)

Downloadable Chore/Discipline Chart

by Confessions of a Homeschooler

I’m always a fan when someone else does the work for me!  Also…it’s nice to see another mom dealing with the same character training issues as me!

Tour Guide Mike

LOVE it!  Because…well…I LOVE Disney.  And I’m totally forcing The Hubs to take us next year!

Copy Gator

He’s cute AND smart!  While it might sound conspiracy theorist, there are crazy people out there who’d love to steal your life.  It’s one of the dangers of sharing your life wide open via a blog.  I’ve often worried that someone would capitalize on Trevy’s cute face and sad story for financial gain.  Stop rolling your eyes…it happens!  So when I stumbled across Copy Gator, I was all over it!  And I feel more protected.   

 

5 Steps to Organize Your Homeschool Room

by Next Generation Homeschooler

Because I’m always looking for fresh ways to improve our flow!

Montessori for Everyone

I’d consider myself Montessori-ish.  Although I don’t have the training…I deeply believe in the theory of hands-on learning.  Montessori for Everyone offers gobs of resources and even some free downloads!  Great for moms who need some extra guidance and are into hands on learning methods! 

And a bonus…just for you!  Also, I couldn’t wait until my next 5 faves to share… 

 5 kids and a dog

My newest favorite homeschool blog! 

my mother’s day gift (a picture marathon)

 

 

 

We’re looking for the perfect picnic table to grace our new patio.

 

But in the meantime…

 

 

A couple loungers.  Hand carved from African wood.  Reminders that once upon a time we lived there…

 

danielle

30 minute life skills dash

The kids have chores.  I’m sure it would work much better if I actually consistently enforced them!

:: grin ::

I’m trying a new technique though.  The 30 minute dash. 

See, Jonathan has a 30ish minute commute.  So when he calls to say he’s on his way home -  that’s our Q. 

And the race is on! 

I start handing out assignments like crazy!  Although I think I’m going to modify this more by printing up little cards for them to draw from a bowl.  Make it even more fun!  And less mommy pressure.   

Anyway…

Um.  Trevy’s supposed to be wiping the music toys not playing with them!

Lucky he’s cute!

It’s a big deal for me that my kids learn how to contribute.  That being in a family means being part of a team.  And a team works together!  Even Trevy.  Cause I’m mean like that.



Also…

I need the HELP!

And we can’t afford a maid…

:: wink ::

danielle

science and a side of scrambled eggs

 

 

Sappy hit me right in the heart this morning. 

 

The days are ticking by so quickly.  School is coming to an end.  Captain Slugger is finishing up this Science PACE.   Only one more left to go for this year.  Yikes! 

 

This is our only year just me n’ him.  The years before we had Littles under foot.  Next year his sister will be home with us.  This is our only year just mommy and son.   

 

 

Now that the end is in sight I’m thinking I haven’t appreciated it enough. 

 

Mommy guilt always finds me an easy target.

 

So I decided to make him breakfast this morning while he worked on his Science at the kitchen island.  One of the many things I love about homeschooling.  Mobility.   

 

 

Science is one of his fave subjects.  And the philosophy of ACE is independent, student driven learning.  So we don’t usually work on this together.  This is one of his do alone subjects.  Which allows me precious workout or blog post time.   

 

 

He ate it up.  The eggs and the mommy help!  Although all I really did was listen to him read aloud and praise his work.  He’s such a lover, that one.  He can’t get enough time with his family.  A major reason why I love homeschooling.  

 

 

Like any kid, he’ll try and cut corners.  Even on the topics he enjoys.  Sometimes the workbook questions are easy to guess.  And that’s exactly what he would do.  Skipping the reading altogether.  So I started having him underline the answers in the reading.  Hold him accountable n’ stuff.  Just the other day the idea popped in my head to let him use a highlighter instead.  Make it a little more fun.  And prep him for college.  When his grades’ll live n’ die by the ability to highlight!

 

 

Haha.  Love the tongue hanging out!  That’s his concentration face. 

 

One of the likes I have with ACE is the Gospel focus.  Today’s PACE ended with a very clear Gospel message.  And it prompted a really sweet conversation.  Which had little to do with Science.  But a lot to do with how his heart is being Shaped.  I love being a part of  that.  Beautiful.

 

And I’m going to try and make the most of these last few days we have – just the two of us – together…

 

danielle