The One-Armed Paper Hanger Lives!

The only things I needed to buy for school this year…and it came to less than $30! 🙂

Oh yes…I’m still here. 🙂  Things have been a whirlwind here lately, so I’m having to juggle some priorities.

As you may know, in the space of a few weeks, we candidated at a church, which called my husband as their pastor, we packed, cleaned, and moved all our stuff (with the gracious help of friends).  We then had VBS at our church (the Lord blessed with a wonderful turn out for both the children’s morning program and the teen’s evening activities).  I was corralling kids from 9 until noon, unpacking like a crazy woman all afternoon, and then back to the church for the teens from 6:30-9:30.  Very busy days!

Now, we have only a few boxes remaining in the house, and things are feeling more like home.  This past week, I put my nose to the grindstone and got (at least) the first month of lesson plans done for school…which we’ve bumped to the first week in September, all things considered.  Wow, so grateful for amazing internet tools!  I began combing through resources several months ago to set up lessons for all three kids (1st, 7th and 10th grades).  The Lord helped me to find wonderful things (every bit of it free) as well as a superabundance of things I did not need, but simply could not allow to disappear back into the abyss of  I’ll-never-find-it-again-unless-I-bookmark-it-but-how-many-things-does-a-person-really-need-in-their-favorites. So I started “Schoolin’ Swag.”

If you are on Facebook, and have an interest in homeschooling, come join the group!  We have 300+ members now, with new friends being added every day.  Each day there are new freebies, tips and deals from all over the web.  I figured it was one way to help others who were in the same boat as I was…feeling overwhelmed, combing through scads of URL’s (some dead, some great, some not so much).

I’ll just share two tools here that I have really enjoyed.  The first is from GoalForIt.  This site offers free chore charts, with lots of templates and options.  There are very cute ones, and some that are more streamlined for tweens and teens.  Here is a screen shot of our Katie’s, for example:

The kids get to choose what buttons they want for checking off their responsibilities, and they can earn “moolah” if you wish (which translates into minutes for computer time in our house).

Another tool I am grateful for is Home School, Inc.  At this free site, I have set up all my lesson plans for all three students, and the various options allow me to print attendance records, report cards, etc.  I can keep track of each student’s progress daily, and it gives them one easy place (for older students) to independently move through their day, checking off their work as they go.  I just entered instructions for each course, and URL’s for where they need to go to find their work for the day.  It required a few hours of my time, but it will help things to go much more smoothly when school has begun.  Here is a screen shot of my main page for all of our courses:

Here is a “School Today” page for our 10th grader:

This view shows here how many courses she has each day. If she clicks on “View Week,” it gives her the week’s assignments at a glance. She also has the option of clicking the down arrow on any given day to see that day’s work. The small boxes next to each date indicate if that day’s work has been complete.

So this gives you a pretty good idea about where I’ve been.  Looking forward to a great year. Once the dust settles, I’ll share more postings with you here.  TTFN! 🙂

Simplify

“Simplify” has been a byword for me recently.  I’ve had to consolidate, prioritize, dovetail…in order to keep all the “plates spinning” in my life. Part of this process has been bringing posts from my two other blogs into the world of “Strength for Today.”  What that means for my readers is that you’ll find more info on the topics of health, fitness and dieting as well as homeschooling and education now in this one spot.  It is much easier for me to manage this way, and more efficient as well.  So, enjoy all the new stuff just added to the archives!  If you were reading at the “Smee Minus Fifty” blog, or “The Old Chalkdust Trail”…these will soon be eliminated as their content is merged into its new home here.

Enjoy! 🙂

The Old Chalkdust Trail–Writing Challenges

I don’t really feel motivated at this point in my life to begin another blog, but with starting up the “Schoolin’ Swag“* Facebook page, the creative educational juices have been flowing.  So, for now, I’ll post a few things in the category, “The Old Chalkdust Trail”. 🙂

Today, I want to share something that I have begun trying with our son, Michael.  Michael has some reading disability issues, and some ways that it translates into his writing (with backwards b, p, d, q, 2, 5, 6,9).  He has hated writing.  It requires an incredible amount of focus for him.

About a year ago, I noticed that Michael liked reading a whole lot better when it was “compartmentalized”…like in a comic book format.  I checked out all kinds of comic books from the library (he really loved Missile Mouse, so we bought him a couple for Christmas).  Then, just recently, I began wondering if the same thing might help his writing.

Michael is very creative in his story-making skills.  Here is an excerpt from a how-to essay he put together a couple months ago, entitled, “How to Make a Galactic Grilled Cheese”:

It’s lunch time, space cadet. You are hungry.  You can’t even boil water!  How will you make lunch?  Oh no!  I am here to save the day!  I am Grilled Cheese Man!

Your first mission is to retrieve cyber bread and space butter.  Your second mission is to find a flying frying pan.  Of course, your prime target is moon cheese.

Here are the steps to deploy your galactic grilled cheese sandwich:

First, energize your flying frying pan.  Setting number 6.

Second, get the cyber bread and space butter out.  Install space butter on one side of one piece of cyber bread.  Then put the cyber bread on the flying frying pan, space butter side facing south.

Third, put two pieces of moon cheese on the cyber bread that is on the flying frying pan.

Fourth, take another piece of cyber bread, put space butter on one side, and put it on top of the moon cheese that is melting in the flying frying pan.  Confirm that space butter side is facing north.

Fifth, take space dispatula and rotate entire sandwich continuously until it turns solar golden on both north and south surfaces.

Last, remove galactic sandwich with dispatula, place on food saucer and wait for de-heatification.  Then dispose through your food portal.

Clever thinking isn’t the problem…it is the execution (and believe me, he feels it in the truest sense of that word) of writing it down.  I have found that he does better when he skips the handwritten draft and sits down at the keyboard.  It sort of bypasses the vortex machine in his brain and, because he knows the keyboard by rote, it flows a whole lot more smoothly this way for him.  However, I don’t want him to bail totally on the actual pencil-in-hand process.  So…

This semester I asked Michael if he’d like to try making his own comic strip.  He jumped at it, and I was overjoyed!  He began with very simple ones.  Here is a cute sample:

I make him do them in pencil, so we can edit and learn grammar/spelling.  This has been a great project.  Perhaps, if you are encountering some similar challenges, it may be something you’d like to try as well!  We are gradually getting longer installments of this project.  He is saving them all in a notebook.  He excitedly tells his siblings about his creations…so I think we’re on the right track!  I thank the Lord for opening my eyes to this opportunity to help my son succeed. Grace.

*If you are on Facebook, join the “Schoolin’ Swag” page…lots of freebies and resources and helpful chat!  Over 100 links so far! It’s an open group, just click on the linked words. 🙂

Schoolin' Swag–Win a Copy of "If" by Amy Carmichael

I haven’t blogged much about homeschooling because for the past two years we’ve been doing a virtual academy.  This next school year, however, due to an overdose of standardized testing, our son’s special needs, and some other factors, we’ve decided to hit the “old chalk dust trail” once more.

So, in my quest for good, solid, cheap (or even better…FREE) curriculum, I began to accumulate quite a list of goodies.  I just couldn’t keep it to myself, so I started a group on Facebook called “Schoolin’ Swag”.  If you are on Facebook and are interested, just search the name and request to be added.  It is an open group.  We’ve been having a lot of fun, and already have in excess of 80 great links for helps, printables, curriculum and more!

Something else going on in the group is a contest to name our homeschool.  Currently, it is “Heeney Homeschool” (I know… *yawn*).  Join the group, offer some suggestions for our school (if we name it, we’ll get attached to it, right? 😉 ), and you may win a copy of “If” by Amy Carmichael.

Come join us!

Free Ebook: 20 Homeschool Grads Tip Their Hats to Homeschool Parents

Ever feel overwhelmed with all the responsibilities of  homeschooling? You might be asking, “Will my kids turn out okay?” What if you could hear from homeschool graduates who have been there? In this e-book, 20 graduates share how thankful they are for the opportunity they had to be homeschooled, and they want to pass on their gratitude to you. Each chapter is full of motivational stories that will encourage you to continue with the journey of home education. This inspiring e-book is a must for every homeschooling parent!

Join the Homeschool Freebies list by going here.

Homeschool Freebies–Keep Your Kids Busy With Good, Clean Summer Fun!

Some great freebies this week from Homeschoolfreebieoftheday! On Monday and Tuesday we have:

The American Boy’s Handy Book: PART ONE (PDF ebook)

Part One of this wonderful, classic collection of projects from yesteryear for adventurous boys (and girls) to make and do all year long. Just a few are: building kites, unique ways to fish, building an aquarium, knots, water telescopes, boat building, wooden toys, hunting, even taxidermy! Fully illustrated.

This seems along the same lines as one of my son’s favorites from the library, “The Dangerous Book for Boys.”  Looking forward to checking this out, with summer approaching quickly!

And on Wednesday and Thursday…

The American GIRL’S Handy Book: PART ONE (PDF ebook)

In this great companion book to the Boys book, subtitled How to Amuse Yourself & Others”, we again have a huge collection of a bit more genteel projects, activities and fun stuff for girls (and boys) to make and enjoy. Includes: finding & preserving wildflowers, corn husk & flower dollmaking, and much more! Fully illustrated, A true classic glimpse of childhood in days gone by.

Thursday’s installment includes

nature art projects, parties for all seasons, games, plaster casting, home gymnastics, needlework, candymaking, holiday amusements, and lots more fun stuff from yesteryear.

Not quite “The Daring Book for Girls,” (which my 13 yo has enjoyed) but still sounds like fun!

Click here to join the list (free of course) so you can receive notifications of great stuff like this via email.  There’s more, but I’m not gonna tell ya what it is…go take a peek for yourself!

Homeschool Freebie: BANNED Chemistry Book Now Available!

My son will be hyperventilating when (and if) I tell him about this!  Here’s the summary of this free PDF download, from Homeschool Freebie of the Day.com:

The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments (PDF ebook)

Here’s a classic Chemistry experiments book from the 1960s that was actually BANNED and removed from libraries across the country for being too “dangerous” for young experimenters. Much beloved and enjoyed by young baby boomer experimenters,
apparently some of the activities in this Golden Book volume were aimed just a bit above the heads of its intended audience as it included some advanced experiments considered hazardous by teachers and librarians. Even though most of the 200+ activities and experiments in this Golden Book are quite safe and highly entertaining & educational, a few will need parental supervision should you decide to pursue them.

Highly recommended… with parental supervision, of course!
Glean and enjoy!

Sign up to get on their weekly list here.

Homeschool Freebies: Homeschool Radio Shows

This site is great even if you are not homeschooling, but want some neat stuff to listen to while you are traveling, or whenever!  This week’s program is “Listen My Children”…a dramatization of Paul Revere’s ride.  With all the Tea Party talk these days, and our yearly tax deadline approaching, this is a great time to teach about this event–this Sunday, April 18th, is the 235th anniversary of this historical event.

At this link you’ll find a listening guide for this program, as well as a link to Longfellow’s poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride.”  All free!  By clicking here you can sign up to be on the email list for weekly free “radio shows” and get a download for “Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates” when you sign up!

Homeschool Freebies: Free Worksheet Motherlode

If you have searched for online resources for your homeschooling, only to find dead links, too many ads, and not enough substance, this resource is for you.   This is the description from the folks at HomeschoolFreebieoftheDay.com:

We surveyed over 1100 homeschoolers and asked:  What are your all-time favorite worksheet sites? Which ones do you use most? And which ones have the most value for other homeschooling families. We compiled all their answers, weeded out the duplicates, categorized each site by subject and age, then checked out each and every site to be sure
1) it was really there
2) it really had  a good selection of quality worksheets,
3) IT was NOT a stupid, time wasting ad site,
4) and their worksheets were freefor the taking.

We ended up with an amazing directory of over 300 quality resource sites chock full of worksheets and activity sheets yours for the taking. You won’t believe how many treasures you’ll uncover with this new directory…it is the motherlode.

To get the directory, click here to join their email list (also free).  The link for this download will be sent to you within 72 hours.  Hurry!  It will only be offered free for a couple of weeks.  There’s no other way to legally obtain this great resource.  They’ll also send you a list of upcoming freebies each Monday.  Pretty slick!

Homeschool Freebies: Companion Study for "The Book of Virtues"

Here’s the scoop:

Patty Thompson, who runs the Shiver Academy Blog, has just completed a wonderful, HUGE project — a Unit Study Companion for the Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett, especially for homeschoolers. Each unit covers 10 of the stories/poems/essays that are included in the Book of Virtues. Each story has worksheets, notebook pages, vocabulary, character study sheets, copywork, 1-2 projects (plus a long-term project) and a Lapbook with an optional unit wrap up activity. And to top it off a full lesson plan for older kids, and a separate one for primary aged children.

The full Study is a whopping 992 pages long (!) and the download is quite large (18.93 MB) – but Patty also has links to individual units available if you just want to download them one at a time. Each unit is roughly 100 pages, but it is not required to DO all those pages. For instance, if you do the worksheets you probably shouldn’t worry about the notebook pages. If your children are young, you probably should skip the projects. If they are really young, just do the wrap up after reading the stories. In short, tweak the materials to fit your family’s needs.

Go here to join the homeschool freebie email list and have the opportunity to download your free copy of this study resource.