Friday, June 21, 2013

Large Family Homeschool Lesson Planning

Lesson planning for a larger than average size family can be a bit tricky.  I mean, I could make up a separate planning page for each child, but that is a bit much for me.  I like to be able to at one glance see what will need done for the week.  I have found a serious lacking of planners for 3+ students (free and fee).  So, today I learned how to insert a table on a word doc. and made my own.  We do some subjects together and some not.  I even have a place to jot down ideas to keep the little ones busy.  Hopefully come August this will do the trick for us.  I only plan out a week or 2 at a time because I have learned that is I plan more than that ahead, when life happens (and it will), the whole thing needs reworked.  




Wednesday, May 22, 2013

No more paper towels in the house

Awhile ago now we stopped using paper towels in the house.  I still use them in the van for when we're out and about, but for inside we have switched to cloth.  I looked at all the options online.  There are tutorials out there for sewing your own "unpaper towels", and for making your own special towel holders.  Some even use snaps that connect together and wind around a wooden paper towel holder.  Those are all nice, pretty options, but (especially the snapping ones) seemed a lot of work and could easily turn into quite the project that could be procrastinated upon.  I am fairly good at procrastination :)  I needed inexpensive and practical.  Don't we all?  Well I was at Menard's and came upon a plastic grocery bag dispenser thing that was perfect and only about $6 too!  I have it hung on the side of my refrigerator with those sticky mounting tab things.  As for the towels, I collected quite a few nice ones at the local thrift stores for about  $.40 to $.60 each.  I just stuff them in the top, pull one out when needed and toss them in the hamper when used.  I have a big enough collection that we usually have a few ready to go when needed.  It is a pretty simple, easily workable solution for our family.  Now if a toddler or preschooler gets into the "paper towels" there isn't a roll needing rewound and/or tossed.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

What is being eclectic?


ec·lec·tic  

Adjective
Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
Noun
A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.
I would think then that being eclectic would lend itself rather well to a learning lifestyle.  Eclectic is more than a homeschooling method, it is a lifestyle of gathering new ideas, information and experiences from a diverse range of sources.  It is more than how we learn, it is how we live.