Monday, January 18, 2016

A Word For My Home Educating Year



I'm a planner by nature. I don't do well flying by the seat of my pants. I'm also a list writer, mountains and mountains of lists.

----- > Shopping lists
----- > Book lists
----- > Lesson plan idea lists
----- > Curriculum lists
----- > Resource lists
----- > Gift idea lists
----- > Travel plan lists
----- > Household lists

I can even make a list out of my lists. You name it, there's a list for that!

So whilst planning and the lists absolutely help, they can also suck the JOY out of my day, if I allow myself to get too wrapped up in them.

And there is my word of focus for our home educating year ahead ------> JOY

Now don't misunderstand, I don't expect every lesson, every activity or even every day to be all roses and buttercups but I do need to be actively aware of finding the joy in our days. I can easily slip into the ticking box mode syndrome, becoming more focused on my lists than on the moment at hand.

So in finding JOY I need to be more aware about where my mind runeths throughout the day. To be more at peace and joyful in the activity at hand.

To live in the moment.

To be more mindful.

To see and feel the JOY that surrounds me every where, every day, if only I allow myself to see it.


Do you choose a word as your focus for the year rather than writing lists of resolutions? I'd love to hear what yours is and why you chose it.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie

Come on over and join me at

Friday, January 15, 2016

Top Posts of 2015




I really enjoyed reading some of the top posts of 2015 that have been floating around the homeschool blogging world this past week or so.

I figured it would be fun to take a look back over my year here on the blog and see what you all were most interested.

I'm sharing my top 10 posts of 2015 and further below I will share the top 5 sponsored posts I shared in 2015.

Top Ten Posts From 

Our Worldwide Classroom In 2015


By far the most read post on the blog this year was the Big List Of ANZAC Day Ideas.


You all were obviously on the hunt for ANZAC Day helpers as the 2nd top post was my round up of picture books.


Every year the Letter To Santa paper is popular and this year was no exception.


This was a small series of two posts and something that had been on my heart for some time. Given the private messages and emails I received I'd say it has been on many of your hearts. If you missed it you can check out part 1 and part 2.

Number 5 on the list is my most recent post about our First Australians. This includes a free printable download also.


Everyone in the house thoroughly enjoyed working through the Knights lapbook. This was very well put together and easy to facilitate.


This was a labour of love and I am so happy that so many of you are enjoying it. Reflection, planning and setting attainable goals will hopefully help us all have a more radiant home educating year. The download link for this won't be up for much longer so if you'd like to take a look at it be sure to do so soon.

Right back at the beginning of the year we did a small stint on the brain and what actually goes on in there during the learning process.

Our Art Supply Caddy is still very much in use. It does need an empty and a clean out to start the new school year with. Having it here in the top ten has reminded me of that so I think I might get one of the kids to do that today sometime. The only small downside to this caddy is that because of the larger size I am yet to find a home for it when it isn't in use. It doesn't just slide into a bookshelf easily.


Wrapping up our top ten posts for 2015 and the always delightful Madeline. We took a closer look during our time spent on France and I still have a few posts that I am yet to finish off and get up on the blog.

Top Five Sponsored Posts From 

Our Worldwide Classroom In 2015


My detailed post showing you behind the scenes of SKWIRK and their Australian History areas of the website was our top sponsored post this year.



The very cool Clever diy craft boxes made it to the list and I can so see why. These really impressed me, with both the quality of the content and how it is all put together.



This was another fabulous product that we had the privilege of reviewing and sharing with you. If you haven't sorted something for your Geography studies for the year I highly recommend you take a look at The Adventurous Mailbox.


The range from RIC Publications made it to the list. They have such an extensive product line covering all subjects.

And finally in fifth position is the post sharing a Half Price SKWIRK subscription. Keep an eye out over there as they may offer something similar again at the start of the school year.

So that was fun. Did you miss anything throughout the year? Be sure to follow us with your favourite social media hang out so you don't miss a thing during 2016. Links can be found below.

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie
Come on over and join me at

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Schoolhouse Teachers Review




Over the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of using the comprehensive Schoolhouse Teachers.com website with my children for the purpose of reviewing what's on offer within the site. We have been provided with a Yearly Membership. This is my first review as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew.

First Impressions

If you are looking for a one stop shop for your home school then Schoolhouse Teachers surely has to come to very close to that. This site offers Yearly Memberships where you can access all manner of subject materials covering all grade levels. The site offers online classes, printable units, worksheets, lessons and video components. It even offers homeschool parent support and homeschool planners!

My first impressions of the site were that of WOW! How did I not know that this existed up until now. I knew very early on in my exploration of the site that I would find plenty of variety for all 3 of my children.

Exploring The Site

The first tab I chose to explore was none other than the Courses area. This is broken into courses by subject and courses by year level so no matter how you prefer to search for things it is all laid out in an easy to use fashion.

Once you find yourself inside a grade level area, which are broken into kindergarten, elementary, middle school and high school. You can then filter down into each subject area. There are several options in the subject areas also.

Just to give you a quick glimpse the image below shows the Language Arts courses on offer in the Elementary area of the site. 


How We Have Used The Site

I have on  my list of must find items for the kids - Quick Daily Practice Work - and there you have it right within the Schoolhouse Teachers site. There are literally hundreds of options across the subject areas and this is one section of the site that we have been using this past few weeks.

Each morning as part of our Morning Basket routine the kids have one daily math sheet and one daily language arts sheet to complete. We do these for extra practice, to build speed and automaticity. All I need to do is work my way through the lists and print the next sheet available in the grade area required. No searching the internet or having to come up with my own they are all provided for me.


A little peek at just a few of the Daily Math sheets we've worked on.




I love how much Language Arts we've covered, journal prompts, grammar and fun puzzler activities.

Looking Ahead


My eldest and I have sat down together on a few occasions now to look over the course offerings in the High School Homeschool Courses area. He is already looking at undertaking the Drawing With Realism course and the Entrepreneurship For Teens course. I love that we have access to this for him to be able to choose his own electives.

For my younger two we really enjoy working through Literature Units with great books and so we were pleasantly surprised to see an extensive list of literature units available to us.

Parent Resources

Whilst Schoolhouse Teachers contains an extensive offering of curriculum products it also offers parent members an array of items, such as various educational components, encouraging articles, back issues of the fabulous Old Schoolhouse Magazine, monthly bonus e-books, record keeping options, meal planning and homemaking assistance.

Although the most exciting part of the Parent Resources Area would have to be the full access to all six digital Schoolhouse Planners. This alone is a value of $125 and they are great planners too.

Details & Pricing

Visit the Schoolhouse Teachers website for more details.

You can choose between a monthly subscription of $12.95 or $139 for the full year, for your entire family.

There is extensive information about the site on the Welcome area which you can find here.


I hope you have found this review helpful. If you would like to see further reviews of Schoolhouse Teachers by members from the Crew, please click on the this link.

Discount Code

Schoolhouse Teachers is currently offering 50% off an annual subscription.

Please use the code - CREWFOLLOWER

Discount Code is valid to 31/01/2016

SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Crew Disclaimer

Happy Homeschooling,
Kylie  

Come on over and join me at

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