Life at Oak Grove

Some of you might be wondering what I am talking about. So before I explore the numerous possibilities with this innovative social media board, I will tell you what Pinterest is. Simply enough, Pinterest is a vision board sharing website (and app) where users can create and manage theme-based boards. Essentially, think of it as a corkboard where you pin you notes and photos but visualize it as going global. Being on Pinterest permits you to discover other people around the world who has the same taste as you.

Now how can Pinterest be interesting for a homeschooler. This website has gigantic possibilities for someone like you and I. By doing searches on a specific subject you can discover numerous sites and other homeschoolers who have already pinned/studied/explored the said subject in the past. You simply re-pin it on your own board for future references. It is as easy as saying your ABCs but way more addictive – ask anyone who are on it already!

Thanks to Pinterest I can now transfer all the homeschool sites I had included in my favorites and that I always forget about in a specific board and have them under my eyes if needed be. Having the link and an image together is very helpful for a visual person like me.

Once you are on Pinterest (whether by requesting it or getting an invitation from someone…) I would suggest that you think about how you want to be organized. I saying this because at this point in time, I am rethinking and reorganizing my own boards because I found that they were too – how should I say this – vague. For example, I had a board called recipes and one called homeschool (I have since decided to name my boards in French for personal reasons). But everything linked to recipes or homeschool would go there. Now when I wanted to find the recipe for Starbucks Pumpkin Scones or an activity in mathematics, I had trouble finding it in the board. So I decided to split my boards so now I have my bread recipes in a separate board and all my links for mathematics in a different one.

Every now and then, I spend a little bit of time on Pinterest to discover new ideas for homeschool, new French links, new recipes, new social media awareness, new activities for the kids depending of the period of the year and more.

And now when I make a new recipe my husband would ask where I got it and I usually say – Pinterest. It permits me to explore new tastes with my family as well as have some blogging ideas.

You can find everything for anatomy, science lessons, English, French, art, astronomy, Bible lessons, mathematics, geography, history, and more. I recently found a link on how to make worms out of Jello and straws, how to make your own superballs, found templates for super heroes logos (which I suspect will be a BIG hit in our household) as well as learn to optimize a garden (which I hope to have one day!).

There are numerous homeschoolers/teachers on Pinterest and you will definitively find something interesting for your taste/homeschool/kitchen/… I would strongly suggest that you explore the possibilities with Pinterest and let it provide you numerous ideas to explore with your children.

Oh! And if you decide to join Pinterest, feel free to follow me - https://pinterest.com/canadianladybug/ !

Today I decided to do something I saw on Pinterest.   Mummy dogs.

But I didn’t have the Pillsbury package instead I had a box Tenderflake puff pastry in the freezer that I decided to use for our lunch.

Take the puff pastry out of the box and cut the square in sections.

Slowly wrap the hotdog (we had chicken ones) as though you are making a mummy!

The older boys helped me making them.

Align the mummy dog on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cook 350 for about 25 minutes or so.

While the mummy dogs were cooking, I decided to make some spider web dip with ketchup and mustard.

Then Alexandre put the eyes on the mummies with mustard.

And voilà mummy dogs waiting to be eaten by my four kids…

A close up of one of the mummy dogs…    Don’t you think he looks scared to death?  Mmmmuuuaaaaahaahahahahaah!

The kids had a wonderful lunch.  I think they liked the idea…  This could also be a wonderful lunch ideas when studying Egypt and the pyramids….  

Next time, I am planning to use the Pillsbury package.   The dough won’t be as flaky as this one.  Still it was YummY for our tummies!

Last Sunday after church, we went to the market and got 2 1/2 bushels of field tomatoes.  (One bushel for 10$ – we got screwed with the 1/2 bushel at the market downtown…. but that’s another story!)

We wanted to make tomato juice and diced tomatoes for the upcoming winter time.  We decided to do these first and in a few days do some salsa.   The cheapest price we had found for a bushel of Roma tomato was 15$.  So we were planning to get some after a much needed break…

The tomatoes were big and tasty.   The kids embarked in an afternoon of cutting tomatoes.

Dominic already had experience with Alexandre from last year.

Jasmine was too small to use a sharp knife so her job was to give the tomatoes to her big brothers.

Here you can see Jasmine bringing tomatoes and Rob explaining to Jérémy how to be careful with the knife and cut the tomatoes.

The three kids were sitting at the breakfast table to cut the tomatoes.

Jérémy was a pro in no time and spend the afternoon cutting tomatoes.

At about 5pm my husband send me to an errand to get much needed lids as we had to throw older ones.   I drove to the local Wal-Mart and grabbed some much needed things like milk for example.   While turning the corner I saw that there was a bushel 1/9 for 9.99$.   WHAT?   Could it be?   I called hubby which couldn’t believe it either.   He told me to get two bushels… guess we won’t take a break to make the salsa.   I grabbed some corn, onions (even drove to Sobey’s for more onions) and drove back home.   The cashier at Wal-Mart thought I had lots of tomatoes – no kidding…

Well on Monday we started doing our salsa.   After a few with corn, we decided to include peaches/nectarines or pineapple that we had already.    That’s gives us a more fruity salsa which we tend to prefer.  By the end of the day, we had gone through about a bushel and a half.   But we had no more mason jars and no more onions…   Since it is Labour Day nothing is open… We have to wait until tomorrow…  

On Tuesday, we bought what we needed to finish our salsa and here’s the result of our days of canning this year!

We stopped counting after 139 jars…..  I think we added another 24 or so.  

Anyone want to come and feast on salsa and chips?

My husband brought the kids fishing last week and Saturday morning.

And he also thought my son how to filet a fish on Saturday.

So Alexandre received his first homeschool lesson of the 2011-2012 year.  Well, make that his 2nd lesson as he did a babysitting course last week…  *grin*

He was giggling the knife on the board and his first lesson was not to do that….  *grin*

They had caught many fishes during the morning. Alexandre received one of the smallest one for his first lesson.

Dad is explaining to him how to place the fish.

Trying it out…

Dad is explaining how to place the knife in an angle to cut under the fin.

Doing it.

Cutting the top of the fish after having done the both sides…

More cutting.

Poor fishy…   This will make small filets.    Apparently the fish was dead after being hooked so they couldn’t throw it back in the lake.

Doing filets.

Other side.

Removing the skin.

Removing the leftover bones.

Other filet being done.

And voilà.   My husband now has an helper when he will filet the fishes they catch…

So yesterday, my husband and I talked about possibly going for a walk when the younger ones are in bed and our oldest would stay up later.

During supper time, my oldest Alexandre, who is ten, asked my husband in the kitchen “So are you and mom will go for a W A L K?”  (He did spell the word by the way to make sure his younger brother Jérémy, age 5, who was in the dining room wouldn’t understand.

To which you hear Jérémy say You mean walk?”

My husband just started laughing and Alexandre said “Ok….”

I guess spelling words is out of question for this bright child of mine.

I might have a gifted one here… what do you think?

My adventure with the TOS Homeschool Crew is officially completed.

It has been a marvelous journey but my attention is called somewhere else.   I will continue to review books/products on Canadianladybug Reviews! and will pursue my certificate in Social Media as well.   Homeschooling is a priority in our family and already I look forward for next year where I will have a preschooler, a grade one, a grade 2 and a grade 5.    I intend to plan a schedule that will be adequate for us over the summer.

I have also marked in BOLD PURPLE the products that I particularly loved and consider like gems for homeschoolers.

2008-20109 Crew Year
The Schoolhouse Planner
HelpMe2Teach
Homeschool Library Builder
Time4Learning
MediaAngels – The Missing Link: Found book
Let’s Make a Webpage ebook
Rhyme to Read
Little Man in the Map
Spears Art Studio Grades K-8
Trigger Memory Systems – Times Tales and Clean N’ Flip
Salem Ridge Press
Puppetools
Math Mammoth
Peterson Handwriting
KinderBach
Crayola Art Studio
All About Homophones
Heads Up
WriteShop Story Builders
One Year Adventure Novel
Schleich
Rocket Phonics
Bible Story Songs
Math Tutor DVD
Cadron Creek – Further Up and Further In (Narnia)
One 2 Believe – Noah’s Ark
SpellQuizzer
Homeschooling ABCs – Knowledge Quest
WriteShop Primary
Tapestry of Grace
Homeschool in the Woods – New Testament Lapbook
Memoria Press – Prima Latina and Latina Christiana I

2009-2010 Crew Year (jumped on board in March 2010)
Homeschool in the Woods – Olde World Style Maps (World and US)
Math Galaxy
All About Reading – What Am I?
Travels of Wiglinton and Wenks
Terrestria Chronicles - Books 6 & 7
Time4Learning – PreK program
TV Teacher – Alphabet Beats lower case letters
Lesson Planet
Ideal Curriculum
Cerebellum Corporation

2010-2011 Crew Year
TOS Planner
Schleich
LanSchool
Talking Fingers – Read, Write & Type!
Soli Deo Gloria – Young Hearts Longing for God (Psalms)
Collectorz Book Collector
KBTeachers.com
Wits & Wagers Family
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids
Ten Marks
City Creek Press – Times Alive!
Curiosity Files – The Blue-Footed Booby
Kid Scoop
Zeezok Publishing Z-guide to the movies
Kinderbach
Science Weekly
Yesterday’s Classics
Monki See Vol One DVD and book
Go Trybe K-5
Talking Finger - Wordy Qwerty
Eagle Wings Considering God’s Creation

 

It is funny how you feel when you finish something.   I have mixed feelings about this.   Part of me feel relieved while the other part is sort of sad at the same time.   The crew was demanding at times in our life.  As a member of the crew you need to use the products as part of your homeschool.  So sometimes you had to put aside some of the other things so concentrate on a specific product.    It was fantastic to discover homeschooling products that could make our homeschooling adventure more fun.    There were also the deadlines to meet.  Not too bad if you are organized but when systems like Blogger goes down it can cause some stress,   Fortunately, Meeting the deadlines were not a problem for me.  

The kids enjoyed the experience as well.  My oldest is more aware of what reviewing is.  Maybe one day he will start his own blog and review products.  Who knows…  

I am grateful for having being part of the TOS Homeschool Crew over the past three years.   When I least expected God has provided with curriculum that were simply a blessing.   When I started this adventure I was embarking on our 2nd year of homeschooling.  I was brand new at the whole thing and didn’t know what to expect.    I have discovered products and something to do for fun – reviewing products.    Without my participation in the crew I don’t think I would be doing this.  

I have no clue where my journey is bringing me. I will continue reviewing books and products for sure but this time I will be the one contacting the companies. I already have some wonderful relationships with some. We are blessed with wonderful books and products on a regular basis. But to be honest, I think I will have more time to dedicate to this blog – Life at Oak grove. Looking forward what the weeks, months and years to come has in store for me and my family!

Last year, I got introduced to the Voice of the Martyrs Bold Believers Activity Books while attending a meeting at RVHEA on geography.   I thought the idea was interesting but found the activity books a bit expensive.   However, I discovered that they offer the PDF format for FREE on their website.

Click on the image below to access the download version of the Bold Believers Activity Books from Voice of the Martyrs.

Have fun exploring the countries where persecution exists.

A while back – make that a couple of years ago… – I stumble on this page http://everything2.com/title/Flags+of+the+world+on+your+Rubik%2527s+Cube and found a fun geographic activity to do with your kids using a Rubik’s Cube.   Yes that very same toy that was popular back in the 80s…   I had one back then.   We have one now…  and no it is not the same one I used to play with back in the days.    Anyhow, I thought it would be cool to share the information I found on everything2.com because as homeschoolers we always are on the look out to spice up our lessons right?

So go ahead, check out the link above and have fun with your kids…

This week question for the blog cruise is:

“How to homeschool while pregnant or with a new baby?”

This is a very good question.

And even though I am not expecting or have a baby anymore, I can write about it because three years ago I experienced it.

WoW!  Time flies…

My baby days are over until my own kids have children of their own.   But when we entered in our homeschool journey I was expecting our fourth child.

What made it easy for me is that fortunately I had only one child to homeschool back then – my oldest son who was entering grade 1.

How did I planned it – knowing that I would have a c-section in December and a brand new baby for the new year?   I decided to give a big boom like we say and advanced as much as I could before the month of December.

I must admit that we started earlier that year – right in the beginning of August and that throughout of that school year, I concentrated on the basic skills of writing, reading and mathematics.   This gave me the confidence to pursue homeschooling and not having too much on my shoulder as my family was adjusting in the arrival of our only daughter.    I must also be honest with you in admitting that I had also planned to do Mystery of History but somehow it was too much for a new homeschooler so I decided to drop it with plans to pick it up eventually in the years to come.   I am just starting to re-consider it…

While homeschooling Alexandre and letting the other ones play and get use to the new schedule as well, I was able to take my time and savour the joy of homeschooling without too much stress.  Have only the basics to concentrate on what a definite plus for me.    I didn’t have to worry much about history, geography and science.   We did a bit of these subjects but having our family life getting use to the homeschool and welcoming a new baby in our midst was enough changes for that year.

Baby Jasmine joined us in December – just in time for Christmas.   It was nice to take a break and enjoy our new daughter.   Alexandre had advanced quite a bit in his school so he was able to enjoy life with 6 people in the family.    Looking back, I realize that I was blessed back then to have a child who is gifted with an extraordinary memory and who has facility to learn.    I realize now that he is an easy child to learn.   Not all my kids are like that and I realize that I need to be flexible to adapt my style of teaching to their style of learning.  

That first year, taking one day at a time was the smartest thing I did.   Concentrating on the basics was another smart move.    Welcoming a new little one in a family can bring changes and disruptions in the regular schedules.   Take the time to adjust your pace and take it slower.    In the end, it will be beneficial for you, your family and your homeschool.

 

As homeschoolers we know the important of introducing our children to technology. To do so, most of us at least have computers at home. On them you can find games, educational software and productivity software. But homeschooling can also be done while using a Nintendo DS, the Wii, the iPod or iPhone. Allow me to present to you some of the ones I’ve discovered so far.

Nintendo DS

Nintendo has been on the market for many years but not until a couple of years ago have I realized the possibilities to use it as a homeschool tool. Yes we do have games to go on it but we also have some educational titles. Have you ever looked into Brain Age I and II as well as Flash Focus? These games are quite interesting in training your brain and eyes. Since the apparition of these games, you can now find a multitude of “brain” type games on the market from various companies. Also, I would like to present you some of the other interesting games I have discovered over the past year that might be of interest to you.

My Spanish Coach helps you to learn Spanish while having fun. You will learn Spanish vocabulary, grammar and sentence structures while you go through a series of games. There are over 1,000 interactive lessons and you can learn 10,000 words and 700 phrases. You can also test your pronunciation by recording your voice using the built-in microphone.

Learn Geography is all about the world. I recently discovered this game for the Nintendo DS and decided to get it. You can learn more about the continents and the cultures around the world. It is a perfect tool to learn worldwide geography for grades 2 to 8.

Math Play will put your math skills to the test as you go through a variety of difficulty levels. It covers addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This little game is perfect to revise what your child has learned during a math lesson!

Spelling Challenges is based on a spelling game show. You will need to compete in 11 different games and as your spelling improves you will advance to different levels. There is over 100 difficulty levels and more than 25,000 words to spell. This game is perfect for parents and kids.

Zoo Tycoon 2 is simply fantastic! What else can I say about this very popular game? The child builds his own zoo with animals, habitats, and many features. He will learn to manage a zoo by making money, hiring people, building restaurants, stores and much more. My oldest son really enjoys this game.

CrossworDS is a great way to expand your vocabulary! Not only will you find crosswords in this game but you will also find word searches and anagrams. You will also find more than 1,000 crossword puzzles. It is a great way to spend time while waiting at the dentist or doctor’s office.

Civilization Revolution will allow you to travel through history from the dawn of man to the space age and beyond. You will be among the greatest leaders of history and battle to win territory, conduct diplomacy, discover new technologies and build an empire. This particular game is a bit similar to Zoo Tycoon 2 but is geared for 10 and up.

BrainQuest 3&4 and 5&6 are fun games to test the knowledge of the appropriate grades. Each game contains about 6,000 questions on subjects like Math, Science, History, Geography and English. These particular games can be used as tests in your homeschool in an innovative way.

Smart Boy’s Gameroom is a fun little game that will help your boy age 3+ to build thinking skills. In this game, you will find a coloring section, a find the differences, become a train conductor, match the sounds, play piano, do puzzles, play a counting game, practice drawing, find matching pairs, play instruments, and more. Also available on the market is a Smart Girl’s Gameroom which probably contains similar games but with a “girly” theme.

Wii

Wii Fit doesn’t need any presentation I think. Many of you have probably heard of it. Well Wii Fit Plus is the 2^nd version of the popular weight loss/control game that goes on the Wii. Use the Wii balance and play fun games that will tone you at the same time. Wii Fit Plus has new exercises to do, new training games, new features that will allow you to track your progress more easily as well as a customize workout area. My boys don’t have to lose weight but they love the balance games and the competition between them. It is quite entertaining to see them go through the games in the multiplayer feature. Why not consider this as the PhysEd part of the day?

Wii Music will introduce your kids to 60 different musical instruments and show them how they work. They can also become very creative and make their own music with a band.

Endless Ocean is a favourite in our household. In this game, you will discover the beauty of the ocean , the creatures that lives there and you will learn about scuba diving at the same time. This fun game gets you searching for sunken treasures and you have various tasks to perform on the boat as well. The graphics are simply stunning and you can’t help but think about the Creator behind it all.

OffShore Tycoon is a game of a fishing company that has been passed down through 10 generations. You will have to gather fish from the ocean, process them and sell them to hungry customers. While you grow you will have the opportunity to make decision on when to change the boat, to keep up the demand, plan the next step and so on. This is a wonderful introduction on how to manage a business.

Winter Sports The Ultimate Challenge will introduce your child to winter sports and how to perform them. Similarly, the Summer Sports The Ultimate Challenge will introduce the child to summer sports. Both games are similar in their settings as there is a competition between the countries – a little bit like the Olympics.

Kabooki is a family game created by the creators of the Cranium board game. Come and join Creative Cat, Data Head, Word Worm, and Star Performer in a variety of activities. The best team wins the game. Included in this game are 3D glasses that you will need from time to time.

iPod and iPhone

Okay this is something I am still exploring but let me tell you that I am quite excited about what is available for the iPod Touch and iPhone. From geography to astronomy while going through math problems or spelling or grammar lessons, there are many applications that are interesting for kids of various ages. You can also find fun books for your toddlers. One company which I discovered through my contacts is Moving Picture Books that also have a couple of books about the Bible. 

On our iPhone/iPod, we have a variety of educational apps. I’ve created a folder for various topics like math, science, writing, and so on. In the Mathematics department, I strongly recommend iLive Math which has a variety of apps to choose from base don subjects like ocean, animals from Africa, animals from Asia and much more. KidsMathFun is quite interesting as well because their apps are grade specific.

For writing, the RhymeNow app is simply fantastic. I’ve installed this app on my son’s iPod and since then he plays with it in the afternoon trying to create fun rhymes. There are also apps on spelling as well as dictionaries and verb tenses. Recently, the company behind iLive Math – iHome Educator – has just released a new app titled iLive Grammar Winter which will supplement your Language Arts and Science at the same time.

Science is another subject that can be covered with apps. From anatomy to chemistry, you can find anything even physics games and quizzes on various science subjects. My favourite app in the science department is the iBird Explorer Pro which allows me to identify the birds we encounter while camping. Being an avid ornithologist, I decided to invest more on this specific app.

Believe it or not, geography is also covered with apps. Want to be challenged? You can find quizzes on the subject. Maps can be found both historically and up-to-date. One interesting app I have discovered this past week is GeoWalk which allows your child to discover the world in a very interesting way.  I could go on and on for every subject that could be covered in an homeschool environment even Latin.

For French I’ve found a couple of interesting apps for my toddler. SmarKids French teaches the alphabet, numbers, colors, fruits, animals, vegetables, and many more objects that can be found in a house. French being our primary language I was quite pleased to discover this little app. Also for toddlers, there are a multitude of books to download including Dr. Seuss books.

The popular magazine Disney Family Fun also has an app you can download. In it you will find crafts to make with you kids. It also has many activities that can be done for various ages.

For fun, I highly recommend the Geocaching app but beware that it will work only on the iPhone 3Gs since it needs the GPD feature to work. We recently started using my husband’s iPhone to discover the joy of geocaching. The kids love it. I enjoy searching through nature and finding the little treasures left by others.

As you can see, homeschooling can use a variety of educational software and electronic games to deepen the knowledge of kids. In this 21^st century, it is essential to use all the tools available to enhance the homeschool experience. My kids are using workbooks and books every day and they also get to play with other fun games. The key is not to overdo it. It is essential to limit the time spent on the PC and on electronic games.

Having said that have fun with the kids. Challenge them on the Wii or Nintendo DS. Play with them on the iPhone/iPod. Embrace the electronic age and discover a wealth or possibilities.

In a future post I would like to explore the possibilities of the iPad.

This week question for the blog cruise is:

“How do you avoid burn-out?”

Thought subject I find.

But it needs to be talked about because contrary to what probably most people think, homeschooling is not always easy. We have times when we doubt our decision while other times we feel overwhelmed with either the responsibility or the fact that you have three kids with different levels to teach.

Yes there are days where I feel totally and entirely inadequate.

The worse for me is always in February.   So what do I do…?

It simple and easy at the same time.   Take you days one at a time and reduce the quantity of work to be done.  Then you won’t see a HUUUUUUGE mountain in front of you but a little hill instead.

Okay the analogy is probably not the best but I think you get the idea.   When I know that the “blues” are hitting home, I just put the books aside and I would read to the kids or give them a free play.   We don’t do many snow days during the school part of the year, so taking a day off when mom is overwhelmed is good.   It reduce the possibility of having my tone of voice going up a notch….  Seriously though, when you feel you have too much on your shoulders, check your schedule and see if there is anything that could be removed.   Too many activities outside the house would be a good place to start.   In our family, I stick with swimming lessons and AWANA for now.   Time will tell if we will add something else eventually but I seriously doubt it.

Burn-out is important to recognize.   And it is also important to talk about it.   I hope that your spouse is supportive and is willing to listen to you if things are not going the way you would have hoped.    When I feel that I am burned-out, I need some time alone.   That’s when I let the kids watch a movie or play games.   Or I would cook something chocolaty and we would eat some together.  Another idea would be to take a bubble bath which is always a treat for me.  

I did had black days – like I call them.  Days that I wanted to throw everything and just send the kids to school.   As much as it would be easier to do, I know deep down that I would not honour God by doing so.  Why?  Simply because I know that God has called me to homeschool my kids right now.  Will it be like that forever?  I don’t know.  Maybe.  Our hopes is to homeschool in high school as well but we leave it in God’s hands for now.  After all, we still have a few years before coming to the high school years.

I find the important thing is to take one day at a time.  It is not working today?  Don’t worry.  There is always tomorrow.   Take a break.  Go walk outside.   Pray and ask God to guide you and your children.    Read the Bible.  You will be surprised how much peace will come over you during that time.   And don’t forget a bit of chocolate is always helpful!  

Wondering what boiling water will do at –30C temperature?

Check out this video of instant freezing of boiling water at –30 Celsius.    It works as we did it this morning…

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/dailybrew/video-boiling-water-turning-snow-goes-viral-20110120-181619-194.html

 

Science project of the day – CHECKED.   Now let’s tackle the rest…

As some of you know already, I review books and products, including homeschool products.

I recently received a fun little thing that contains activities on various subjects.

This morning, I decided to print the activities on frost.  In the middle of these, there was a little experiment.

Take a metal container.

Crush some ice and fill it at about half way.

Include 4 tbsp of salt (we took the salt for canning).

Mix well and wait for a while. 

In the meantime, do another activity like reading to your kids or do some math work…

Once you are done whatever other activity you have decided to do come back to your metal container.

Watch for what happened.

The salt has brought the temperature down on the outside of the can.  

Can you see the frost around ours? 

You can do various sizes to see the difference.

Have fun experimenting with your kids…

This week question for the blog cruise is:

“How do you juggle working either in the home or outside the home and homeschooling?”

Does anyone homeschooling without working?   Honestly, a mom at home always has work to do even if you don’t have a home business or work outside the house.    There is clothes to wash, lunch and supper to prepare, a house to clean…  I think you see where I am going.

BUT for me, there is more because yes we do have a home business.  My husband is the one who goes to the clients and build their system that they need.   We also have two employees which also have contracts.   Nevertheless, I have work to do for it at times.   Mostly accounting but sometimes it requires me being available for translation or assurance quality ie testing.    These days, it is mostly the accounting part of things.  I prepare the paperwork and the spreadsheets for the accountant.  These are brought at the end of our year end which is July of each year.   As a business we also have a few months after the year end to submit the paperwork which is nice between you and me.   This year though I would love to be able to bring the paperwork in August – if possible…  which reminds me I need to start working on them.

I also consider my reviewing experience as a job – part time mind you but it is a job anyway.    I usually write my reviews in the afternoons when possible.    I was very busy before Christmas with a bunch of reviews of toys I had to do.   I had started requesting toys back in November.   This year I will take some advance in contacting the companies.    Part of the job of a reviewer is to request the product.  So whenever I have a minute or two, I approach companies by emailing them and offering my services in reviewing their products.    Am I paid for this?  Not directly but I get to keep the product which is very nice.

I also have a part-time job as an editor to review French teaching documents to make sure that there isn’t typos or errors in the text or solution document.    This is done sporadically.    I will be paid for the job and I have the possibility of being paid in documents if I wish.

How do I juggle working and homeschooling?  By giving priority to the homeschool and doing the work in the afternoon.   Sometimes, I might have to skip a day of school but generally speaking I am always trying to homeschool first.   Eventually, the work will get done (especially for the business)…

It is a priority in our family.   Plain and simple.  

This week question for the blog cruise is:
“Do you follow a traditional school day/time/schedule/year?”
While homeschooling you can have a pretty flexible schedule.   If you observe different homeschoolers you will quickly realized that no two houses will have a same schedule.

Homeschooling permits you do adjust regularly while facing life’s events.  But at the same time, I find that routine is also necessary for children.

Consequently, I try to start school at about 830ish in the morning.  Some days we can start earlier than that and other days we start at 9ish but most of the days we start on time.

My eldest son knows that his days should start with reading the Bible and doing his devotion (just like me).    As the kids grow and learn to read, we want to instil the habit of reading the Bible on a regular basis. 
When all the kids are up, their job is to empty the dishwasher.   We are a family all living in the same house and everyone has to pitch in on the daily chores which are part of life.

Our “school” time in the morning goes up until noon.    During that time, I try to cover the basics like maths, English, and French.   In the afternoon, I would do other things with my eldest while the other kids take a nap.  

The only day where this routine is changed would be the Wednesday where the two younger kids nap in the morning and the two older boys and I would do some science in the morning.  Right now, we are studying the Human Anatomy together.  In the afternoon we have swimming lessons.

On Thursdays, the kids go to AWANA in the evening.  This also mean that they go to bed later that night.   Consequently, the Friday morning is more relax but we still do school.

We don’t follow the tradition school schedule.   For example, even though Christmas has come, we still did the basis some days during the Christmas Holidays.  Why?  Simply because we have found in the past that the month of February is the hardest for us.   So now we slow down in February and take it easy.   We do school but not as much as the other months.   

During the summer, we explore various things and still learn but not with the books per say.    Routine is not established during the summer per say.   We often take the opportunity to go explore the surroundings of our trailer site, fishing and travel a bit.   In our travelling, we always make sure that we visit various museums, zoos or aquariums if possible.

In the end, our learning is year long.   Anything that could be converted as a teaching lesson is taken advantage of.   Normally, we start our “school” in August and are able to finish in May.   We had a year we were even able to finish at the end of April.

While homeschooling we have the opportunity to have flexibility in our days/months/years.    We won’t have two years the same for that matter.    The beauty of homeschooling is that we can adjust the pace depending of what is happening in the family.

This week question for the blog cruise is:
“How do you homeschool during illness or family stress or crisis?”
Ah!   That is a great question.   
Since we started homeschooling about 4 years ago, we never really had anything major happening in our life.    Well that’s not technically true.   We have events but no major illnesses, family crisis or major stress either.
Don’t take me wrong, we have encountered things that disturbed our life.    But with patience, organisation and planning, we went through them.
In 2007, I was expecting our fourth child.   I knew it would be another caesarean which also meant that I needed to plan in advance before the birth so we can relax a bit when I was in limited in our activities.  Jasmine was born on December 19th about three weeks before her due date because this was my fourth caesarean.     The boys were really helpful especially my oldest back then.  He learned how to do the washing and helped me a lot with this task as well as with the vacuuming.    We pursued homeschooling slowly doing basic lessons.   But it was also during the Christmas season and we were blessed to have help from my mom who came to visit for a while.
Another time, I was schedule for surgery on my right foot in 2008.  Yes a year after the birth of our little girl.    Was I crazy to get operated when I had a non-walking little one at home.   More than likely yes but honestly I couldn’t bear the pain on the foot anymore…   I had a bunion that was hurting a lot.    The left foot had been operated when I was in high school.   This one had not bug me until about two-three years ago.   It took two years to have an appointment with the specialist and then another year to have the surgery.   So here you go.   There was no turning back.   I had surgery and was limited in walking.    Ah!   Nuts I tell you.    But I planned in advance and did a big BOOM of homeschool before the surgery.  We also did a bit during the Christmas time to advance more.   I was in a cast for a long time.  
Stress/depression has also been part of my life.   When I feel overwhelmed and can’t seem to function, I take it easy.    It happens more during the winter season.     And since I discovered that vitamin D helps people who have the blues during winter, it happens less.    I am fortunate then when it happened, it didn’t last many days.   It usually happens for a day.   A day I take to relax, pray and seek God while the kids have it easy with coloring, movies and popcorn.  
How do you homeschool during illness or family stress or crisis?   My suggestion is that you take it easy, cover the basics (reading, writing and arithmetic) and think that in a way your kids are learning to deal with it.  It’s life.  It needs to be dealt with.   They can learn in a different way going through these events like how to help, how to trust God, how to deal with doctors/nurses and so on.    Learning happens on a daily basis whether you plan it or not.