Homeschool Literature Project

My daughter, Karli, wrote and illustrated this book.  We hope you enjoy.

Chicago Virtual Charter School

This year for homeschool we have done something a little bit different.  J was getting older and heading into fourth grade and the twins were now going into second and our youngest is finally in first grade.  So, God lead us to Chicago Virtual Charter School.  It is perfect for what I needed.  I did like lesson planning, I like to be able to see how much we have accomplished and how much more we need to do, I like to know where I should be for the year and also needed someone with more expertise to guide me with my kids writing skills (which I stink at!).  So, we signed up.  J was the first one to be accepted and slowly the other three were enrolled.  By the beginning of November we finally had all of them in the school and we are now caught up to where we should be and are excited to head back into it after Christmas Break. 

The curriculum is from K12.  It is a great curriculum and it is even offered as a private school and you can purchase it for your own homeschool.  Check it out!  Post a comment if you have any questions regarding the program.  Especially if you are looking into it.  I would love to help out! 

The kids have some great teachers they are assigned to and I am technically their Learning Coach.  They provide the computer needed to access the school and provide all the curriculum.  The teachers are amazing and help out in any way needed.  It has been helpful and taken a lot of stress off of me and has met the needs of me to keep homeschooling.  They kids get to attend award ceremonies and work towards a goal of completing their studies.  I am excited about this opportunity.  The kids were really hesitant, but enjoy it (most days). 

The PERFECT way to organize your homeschool!

So, if you have read my last couple of posts every year I try and find the best way to organize my school. 

Have you ever had a situation where people tell you over and over and over again about the way you should do things...but to.no.avail because you DON'T LISTEN?

Yeah, well this is that. 

This is the perfect site for all of your homeschooling needs:  donnayoung.org.  I have had friends telling me for years about it and have gone there, looked and left.  Not this time.  I have chosen to use the quarterly planner for my subjects to keep track.  I kind of started doing it the hand written form before, but was able to find a fill in form on her website and quickly did three subjects for 9 weeks for next year.  I can't wait.  I found THIS YEARS' organizational plan.  Each year I seem to change with how life is changing.  What new thing are you doing this year?

Our School Room

So, this year we actually have a school room. 

I know a lot of families who do their school work on the kitchen counter.  We tried. 

Could. not. focus. 

We tried it in the living room and dining room.

 Too much distraction. 

Not for the kids, for me.  All I could focus on was all the other things that needed to be done.   

Then we moved upstairs to the middle room between the two bedrooms.  It got to messy because that is where the toys are too.  We were stepping over things to get to our desks (which we got because I thought that would help us focus). 

Unable to concentrate. 

And the temptation to play with the toys was too much. 

There is so much to teach to four kids in various grades I needed a place to focus.  So, out went one of the bedrooms and we turned it into a class room.  Here are some pictures of our room:

 Here are the desks against the wall (so they won't get distracted (*smile*).  The green school desk use to be my husbands when he was little, so it is special to have in our house.  The one to the left we found on http://www.craigslist.org/ and the other two a great friend of mine gave to us. 

 Here is our craft area and a relaxing couch to sit on to read.  You can't see it in the picture, but on the table we have a classroom pet (we are pet sitting).  His name is Hamilton. 

 Above is my school des and to the left is a place to store things and my copier sits.  We have art and so some of the projects are displayed behind my desk. 

Here is a special computer station which the kids are doing a Spanish program on.  The closet is perfect because it is separate and less distracting.  I also can print out anything we need on the copier. 

So here is our school room.  The best part is I can close the door when we are doing school AND when we are not doing school.  It is used for just that.  School.  And nothing else. 

I would love to hear where you do school and how it works for you?