Our Homeschool Year in Review 2017-2018

We are finishing up our 2017-2018 homeschool year this week!

Cue the confetti! 👏🎉🎆 

Big Brother has completed 4th grade!

Little Brother is an official Pre-Kindergartener!
And Baby Sister is...you know...still a baby! 😊

Even though we technically homeschool year-round (and love it!), we are always excited about the accomplishment of finishing another official academic year and the excitement of what the new one might have in store!

Big Brother plans to take the entire month of May off from more formal work and start back in early June with a lighter summer workload.

This school year has definitely had its share of unique struggles, but it has also been a year of growth. Our family has grown (by 2 adorable little feet), but also the boys have grown. They are both maturing and changing, and Big Brother has especially shown his growing ability to handle more independence and to take more responsibility.

So let's take a look back over this homeschool year:

Math

We switched from one amazing math curriculum we loved (Rod & Staff) to another great mastery based curriculum this year: A.C.E. 

I loved A.C.E math from 8th grade through high school myself growing up (it was the only math curriculum that made sense to me!), and my brother had used mostly A.C.E. math growing up, too. So I already knew it was a solid, mastery program.

But I was a little worried (why do we homeschool moms always do that?!) that parts of it seemed to be more on the level of what we had covered already in R&S in 3rd grade.

BUT...when he took the SAT10 (a standardized achievement test) last week...his math scores were through.the.roof. He scored MUCH higher than ever before in math.

So I think I will stop worrying now and just go with it!

In addition to his formal math curriculum, Big Brother has also enjoyed learning some living math concepts just by playing games (like learning to compute with negative numbers from keeping his score in Dutch Blitz...which he is the champion of at our house), cooking, and earning and managing his own money.

I am very proud of how far Big Brother has come in math this year!

Language Arts

Big Brother worked through Level 4 of the Barton Reading and Spelling System (an Orton-Gillingham approach) for spelling. He worked on this with my mom twice a week. I am blown away by all the spelling rules he has learned in this program.

For English, Literature, and Creative Writing: it was A.C.E. to the rescue this year. Surprisingly for a boy who has never been much for writing, Big Brother has absolutely LOVED A.C.E.'s 4th level Literature/Creative Writing course! He has read several wonderful books (he really enjoyed Charlotte's Web), and he has really grown by leaps and bounds in his writing skills, too. 

History

It is definitely a good thing Big Brother loves history more than any other subject...because he has completed not 1...not 2...but 3 different history courses this year (not to mention all the reading and learning he has done on his own about various historical people and time periods!).

He completed all of 4th level A.C.E. Social Studies. He learned so much about various countries of the world and missionaries. 

He also completed the ABeka 4th Grade United States History course with my mom and loved every minute of it.

My mom also helped him create a huge Kentucky History & Geography notebook (here is the state history resource she used), and I have been very impressed with how much he has learned. He can tell so many fascinating facts and stories about our state and local history. 

Science

We used A.C.E. for Science, too this year. And it was fine. He enjoyed simply reading his PACEs (workbooks), and honestly, I was much too sick and sore from pregnancy complications and busy with all the extra doctor visits to come up with many exciting science experiments this year. (But I am pretty excited about next year's Science because each of the 12 PACEs has a very neat project or experiment for him to work on throughout the PACE.)

Bible

Big Brother started working through the 5th level A.C.E. Bible Reading PACEs this year, and we plan to continue slowly working through them over the next couple years. It really gets him digging into the Word, and it challenges him to think quite a bit.

One of the big things I love about A.C.E. as a curriculum is how Scripture memory and character training is actually built into every subject throughout the entire program. 

So just from completing his Math, English, Literature/Creative Writing, Social Studies, and Science PACEs alone, this school year Big Brother has memorized 60 different Bible verses and studied nearly as many different Godly character traits!

We have also established the habit of morning worship time before school and Bible story reading and quizzing as a family at bedtime. This has been such a blessing to us all, and we do this even on non-school days.

Extracurriculars

A.C.E. Jr. Student Convention

Big Brother participated in this event back in September for the first time, and he loved it! He competed in several categories (Social Studies Research, Sculpture, Photography, Chess, Checkers, Male Solo, and Male Piano Solo) with more than 100 other Christian schooled and homeschooled students ages 9-12. 

He brought home 1st Place in Color Still Life Photography (winning picture below in a frame).

2nd Place in Social Studies Research (Remember the Alamo)

5th Place in Male Solo (he sang "Seek Ye First")

5th Place in Male Piano Solo (he memorized and played an arrangement of America the Beautiful.)

4-H

Big Brother is now an official Jr. 4-H member. He graduated from the Cloverbud program, and is now eligible to participate in more clubs and advance in competition. He is the secretary of our local homeschool club this year. He is working on a country ham project that will be going to the state fair this summer, and he has been busy competing in Speech and Demonstration contests. His 4-H speech this year was titled "My Favorite American Hero" and was about Davy Crockett. His 4-H demonstration is titled "The Diaper Bag Bandit," and he teaches how to pack a baby's diaper bag from the perspective of a seasoned Big Brother!

Art

4-H workshops have been great for getting in some neat crafts and art. Big Brother and Little Brother both got to build birdhouses this year, and Big Brother decorated recycled glass bottles and gave them to family as Christmas gifts.

Big Brother has taken a big interest in drawing this year (he is even saying he might want to become an architect when he grows up), so we are trying to feed that interest as much as we can. I have purchased him some nice sketch pads, colored pencils, drawing pencils, etc. and encouraged him to draw as much as he likes.

He took a drawing class at a local community center for a few weeks after Christmas, and he has really enjoyed working through Barry Stebbing's Beginning Drawing DVD set. The class at the community center was fine, but I really feel like he has learned so much more from the DVDs.

Music

We are a music-loving family. We are all big Southern Gospel music fans, and we love listening to CDs of our favorite artists. I have tried to incorporate more singing into our school days, and there are few things more of a blessing than to hear the boys singing songs we have learned together.

Big Brother has continued taking piano lessons with a private teacher this year, and his playing is at the point where it actually sounds like real music! He played "We Three Kings" in his Christmas recital and has another recital coming up where he will play "Hail to the Chief." He aims to practice 10-12 minutes per day, and sometimes more just for fun.

Little Brother also loves music, and one of his most favorite things in the whole world to do is to sit down with his guitar and either my brother or my father in law to pick and grin!

Speaking of Little Brother

Little Brother is soon to turn 4, and we just started doing The Gentle + Classical Preschool (mixed with some other resources!) a little over a month ago. I plan to do a whole post soon all about what I am doing with him. 

He has developed a love for trains, likes coloring and painting, learned the entire alphabet and basic letter sounds (mostly from watching LeapFrog Letter Factory!), can take care of his own bathroom needs (huge blessing!), can load and unload the washing machine, counts (pretty well) to 20,  has a big imagination, and can tell me about some of his favorite Bible characters. 

For most of this year, though, Little Brother has done his own thing. His biggest lessons have been life lessons like watching his baby sister on the ultrasound screen and learning to be a gentle big brother. His new place as middle child of the family is a tough one, and I can see he is going to need a lot more grace.

While all that looks like a lot...

There is so much we didn't do this school year. We read fewer books aloud than usual. We did not take as many field trips as a family. I didn't do as much actual parent-led teaching with Big Brother (he basically set his work goals each day in his PACEs and worked on them). We didn't do many science experiments or Pinterest-worthy hands-on projects. 

So much of what my children have learned this year wasn't part of the curriculum and wasn't on any formal lesson plans.

Big Brother has especially learned:

• How to set his own school goals and work hard to meet them.
• How to get a simple breakfast for himself and Little Brother when Mommy has needed to rest or take care of Baby Sister.
• How to rock a baby to sleep
• How to feed a baby a bottle of pumped milk and burp her.
• How to pack a diaper bag with baby essentials.
• How to wash dishes.
• How to complete a variety of other household chores.
• How to be understanding when plans have had to be changed due to Mom or baby's needs.

All in all, I have to say we have had a blessed school year.

As always, God has taken what I had to offer my children as a homeschool mom  this year (which has felt like so little at times) and multiplied it for their good and His glory.

And now, by God's grace, I say bring on 5th Grade and K4! I will share more about our curriculum choices for next year soon.

Plus Coming Soon for Summer 2018...

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Check out A.C.E. curriculum here!

Free 1 Corinthians 13 KJV Bible Memory Activity Packet

This Bible memory printable packet is now FREE for my blog subscribers ONLY!

I am so excited to offer you this printable activity packet as a free PDF download when you sign up for my email list. 

(Already a subscriber? Check your inbox! Your free download should be there waiting for you!)

What is included:

• A detailed plan for memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 (KJV) as a family over the course of one month
• Suggested daily activities to make Scripture memory work fun and meaningful for all ages and learning styles
• A printable poster featuring the whole passage
• Coloring pages for each verse
• Copy work pages for each verse (or these pages could also be used for journaling, personalizing, etc.)
• A printable Scripture Memory Award certificate

Over 30 pages!

The activities in this packet are perfect for your homeschool morning basket time or daily Bible memory routine. 

Our family is working on memorizing this beautiful Scripture passage right now, and I challenge your family to memorize it along with us!

Claiming your free activity packet is easy:

1. Click here and fill in your name and your best e-mail address.
2. Confirm your email address.
3. Watch your email inbox for the free download link!

God bless you as you and your family hide His Word in your hearts!

Shield of Faith Homeschool Lesson Planner

Download the Shield of Faith Homeschool Lesson Planner Here!

This unique lesson planner was specially designed by a veteran homeschool mom (my mom, in fact!) because she wanted to simplify both lesson planning and record keeping so that everything was in one convenient place.

On one sheet, you can:

• Plan out all your lessons in every subject for the week.
• Record your daily attendance.
• Keep track of daily grades, test scores, etc.
• Make notes like special outings or appointment reminders or lists of materials you need for the week.

This lesson planner is not dated, so you can download it once, print as many copies as you personally need, and use it for the remainder of your homeschooling life! 

Find the easy to use planner here!

I do ask that you not share your printed lesson planner sheets with others. If you use it and love it, though, please do feel free to send your friends to this page to download their own copy. (I appreciate your honesty in this so much!)

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Homeschooling Through the Summer: How We Do It & Why

We are getting so close to finishing up this academic homeschool year! Big Brother and I sat down together a couple weeks ago and planned out what he needed to complete before we close out his 4th grade year. He set the date he wants to be his last day of school, and we worked out assignments that need to be completed each day in order for him to reach his goal.

But even though we will be closing out our 2017-2018 school year soon, since we are year-round homeschoolers, we won't be taking a long summer break from learning.

Yes, we homeschool through the summer.

When I was growing up, my mother kept my brother and I on a year-round schedule. We usually ended our school year sometime in April, took maybe a few weeks off (which we normally spent doing lots of reading and independent, interest-led learning)  and pretty soon we would move on to the next grade level almost as soon as our new curriculum would arrive in the mail. My dad always took a week off from work in August, and around the time everyone else was dragging themselves back to school, we were going on an extended field trip vacation!

Even though I tried to implement a traditional school year schedule complete with a summer break when I first started homeschooling my own children, I very soon realized how wise my mom had really been!

What are the benefits of continuing to homeschool through the summer?

• No "summer slide." Students who take an extended summer break from learning often lose a big chunk of the knowledge they gained the previous year. Thus why so much time normally gets spent reviewing in the fall. I saw this was a real problem for Big Brother the first couple years of homeschooling, and it is one of the big reasons we eventually switched to a year-round schedule.
• We don't have to go through drastic routine changes when it is time to start back to school. My children are much happier when our daily routine stays pretty well the same. Transitioning from one school year to the next is smooth since they stay in the habit of shorter breaks and daily learning activities.
• It gives us the freedom to take (shorter) breaks from formal schooling more frequently throughout the year when we want/need them. 
• Less stress! Our state requires us to school a certain number of days per year, and giving ourselves the entire calendar year to get those days completed means we don't have to push ourselves as hard.
• There are so many fun learning opportunities during the summer; it would be a shame to waste this time!

So how do we homeschool through the summer months?

Once our year is complete in late April or early May, we normally take a break of 2-4 weeks before we officially dive into the next academic year. I spend this time closing out our progress reports, boxing up old materials, and preparing for the next school year's activities.

We also spend this break time doing less structured learning activities:

• Reading for pleasure
• Playing board and card games
• Watching videos (historical, science, based on a book, or maybe just for fun)
• Field trips
• Working on extracurricular projects
• Building with LEGOs
• Swimming, hiking, fishing, playing outside
• Choosing an interesting topic (cowboys, ancient Egypt, the history of LEGOs, etc.) and learning as much about it as possible
• Chores and life skills
• Arts and crafts

We still continue with daily prayer and Scripture memory work as those things are just part of our lives in our home.

School officially starts back around the first week of June.

Even though we school year-round, I like to mark the first day of each new year in some special way. So we will either kick off the year with a special field trip, family game time, favorite meal, or all of the above!

Through June and July, we tend to only aim to do formal schooling 3 days a week.

The factory where my husband works shuts down for a week every July, so we always try to take advantage of this week to take some fun, educational field trips as a family. Last year we visited the Ark Encounter during shut down week!

We also try to take advantage of the nice weather to get in as much P.E. time as possible at the pool at my parents' house or the playground at the park. Since we don't get as much P.E. through the colder months, we do try to make it a priority during the spring and summer.

During the summer, I like to plan special fun activities for the afternoon to help motivate us to get our formal assignments done early! Whether it is a trip to the pool, the park, the local inflatables place, or the library, it helps keep the summer fun and yet productive.

Looking for some other ways to keep your children learning through the summer in a fun, relaxed, less-structured way? Here are some ideas for you:

• Take a nature hike
• Keep a journal
• Enter projects in your county or state fair
• Visit local historical landmarks
• Go birdwatching
• Try a new hobby like sewing or a musical instrument
• Check out some of the more than 350 engaging classes available for homeschoolers of all ages at SchoolhouseTeachers.com.
• Volunteer or do a service project
• Do a special Bible study or choose a passage of Scripture to memorize as a family for the summer (We'll be continuing to work on 1 Corinthians 13 this year. Make sure you sign up to get your FREE 30+ page 1 Corinthians 13 printable activity packet!)
• Participate in your library's summer reading program
• Find a good VBS to attend
• Attend a Bible camp or church camp
• Learn some new games
• Start a business for the summer

We always feel great on the first day of school for public schools in our county knowing we already have several weeks of school under our belt! And we are always really glad to be able to take extra time off to enjoy the holidays since we put forth the effort to put some school days in over the summer. 

While some people might question whether a child can be happy homeschooling through the summer, I have never heard any complaints at all about it from Big Brother.

Our family actually looks forward to summer just as much as any other family, and maybe more. Because, hey, we homeschoolers have a good thing going...365 days a year!

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Our Homeschool Field Trip to the Ark Encounter

Since I have spent the majority of this school year pregnant and uncomfortable, we have not taken very many field trips. But the one we were able to take was great!

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We live in central Kentucky, so we are thrilled to have both the Ark Encounter
and the Creation Museum within a 2-3 hour drive. While we have made numerous visits to the Creation Museum over the years, we were not been able to visit the Ark Encounter until this past summer.

Ever since I heard that Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis were going to be building a life size replica of Noah's ark in our state several years ago, I knew I definitely wanted to go! So even though I was still on meds for severe pregnancy-induced nausea at the time, when Hubby's factory's July shutdown week rolled around for 2017, we planned a trip to the Ark.

On the morning of our trip, I wasn't feeling great, but I was determined to go anyway. We did end up having to make one pitstop along the way due to the nausea, but thankfully it eased as the day went on.

When we arrived at the Ark Encounter, we parked in the enormous parking lot (among many other minivans which doubtlessly belonged to other homeschooling families), purchased our tickets, and boarded a shuttle bus to take us to the Ark itself.

It is BIG!

The first thing that struck me when I saw the ark for the first time out the window of the shuttle bus was its awesome size. If you have never been, you really have to see it in person to understand what I am talking about. Pictures alone simply cannot do it justice!

In front of the ark is a lovely pool and topiaries. There are benches and special areas for taking the best group pictures with the ark in the background.

There were also restrooms, concession stands, a few small shops, a two-story all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, a rope challenge course, a music stage, and a petting zoo on the grounds.

Because we visited in the middle of the summer, the crowd was huge. I would love to go back perhaps on a weekday during the public school year when it might not be quite as crowded. (One of my favorite perks as a homeschooling family!)

The line to enter the ark was super long. Guests actually enter the ark from the underside rather than through the ark's one big door. There were lovely flower gardens and screens playing videos showing how the ark was built, so those helped to pass the time as we waited to go aboard. As we neared the entrance, there were lightening and thunder effects, which I thought was pretty neat.

It also made me pause and think.

Noah had preached righteousness to the multitudes of wicked people of his day and warned that the Flood was coming, but he alone found grace in God's eyes. Though literally hundreds of people were now excitedly waiting with us to board this replica of Noah's ark today, the original ark had only 8 passengers. Everyone else on Earth perished in the flood. Such a solemn feeling.

Inside the ark was even more crowded!

And from inside, we could definitely see that the original ark really had been plenty big enough to shelter Noah's family and the necessary animals through the Flood.

Visiting the Ark Encounter requires a LOT of walking!

We spent a couple of hours walking the Ark's decks and viewing many of the exhibits, but we honestly just barely scratched the surface. There was just SO much to see and the crowd was so big that we did not get to see everything there was to see on board during our visit. I wished we could have taken at least two whole days!

Once outside again, we walked over to the restaurant for a delicious meal. Our boys are super picky eaters, but we were able to find something on the buffet everyone liked. And we dined on the top floor where we had a great view of the Ark out the window!

After a meal, we made our way to the little zoo. This is the part of our trip Little Brother still cannot stop talking about. There were interesting animals from all over the world and camel and donkey rides. Big Brother rode a camel while Little Brother rode a donkey.

It was a pretty hot July day, so after spending an hour or so in the zoo, we stopped by one of the concession stands for some fresh-squeezed lemonade.

By this time, we were all exhausted. Although we knew there was much more to see, we went ahead and called it a day!

We really want to go back soon and take our time.



I am thankful for the ministry of Answers in Genesis, the Creation Museum, and the Ark Encounter. I appreciate their commitment to teaching the authority of Scripture. My own faith has personally been strengthened over the years through this ministry.

Looking for help teaching Creation Science in your homeschool? You can purchase excellent resources from the Answers in Genesis Bookstore

If you ever have the opportunity, I encourage you to visit the Ark Encounter.

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10 Things I Have Learned in 10 Years of Motherhood

The firstborn of my three children is turning 10 years old this month.

Ten.

A whole decade.

Two hands.

Double digits.

It seems like such a big deal! He is so excited to be hitting this milestone in his life, and I have been doing a lot of reflecting on these 10 years that my name has been "Mommy."

I always wanted to be a mother. As a girl, I practiced my mothering skills on my dolls, my stuffed animals, and my poor little brother. I knew as a mom someday it would be my job to teach my children. I always knew I would homeschool, and I knew it was my job to impart important life lessons to my little ones and to point them to Jesus.

But what I really didn't expect was just how much I would learn along the way on this crazy, beautiful journey called motherhood.



1. Motherhood reveals our imperfections.

Motherhood is real and raw, and has brought to light things in my heart and life that I had never realized were there. God doesn't give us children to raise because we are fully prepared and ready for the job. He gives us children, in part, to continue the process of sanctification and of molding us into the women wants us to be.

2. When I am weak, He is strong.

When I find myself weak, tired, sick or struggling to find wisdom to handle a situation, I can give it to the Lord. Where I am weak, He is strong. Even as an imperfect mother, if I yield my feeble efforts to Him, He never fails to do what I cannot on my own.

3. Children need my presence over presents.

More than anything else, more than all the stuff money could buy, my children want to be with me and to have my full attention. I am convinced one of the greatest gifts we can give our children as mothers is the gift of our time.

4. Babies bounce.

Something my doctor told me back when I was a first time mom expecting Big Brother was that "Babies bounce."

What she was trying to assure me was that children are extremely resilient. God has thankfully made them that way! The truth of the matter is, children are just not that easy to mess up. If you love them (not hard to do) and meet their basic needs for food and shelter (really not hard to do either), they will most likely be just fine.

5. Love multiplies.

When Big Brother was my only child, we had such a close bond I really thought it would be impossible for me to love any other child. But it has been so amazing to experience that loving bond with two more children. What they say is true: love doesn't divide; it multiplies!

6. Laundry, dishes, and LEGOs also multiply.

On a lighter note, I have also learned since becoming a mother that laundry, dishes, LEGO blocks, dust bunnies, and other clutter have the astounding ability to multiply overnight.

7. Less is more.

In our tiny home, the children's toys and books could easily take over our entire living space. I am learning that they really are happier when we keep only the best things and let the rest go. They have more room to play with the things they enjoy when the clutter is out of the way. And with each new baby we have realized more how very little newborns actually need: a car seat, diapers, wipes, a place to sleep, some clothes, and me for food. We are all happier when we have less and truly appreciate it.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8

8. It really is more blessed to give than to receive.

I have learned as a mother that God has wired me to be happier and more fulfilled when I am giving of myself. And Christmas is so much more fun now that I have children! Carefully choosing gifts for them and then watching their joy on Christmas morning is SO much more exciting to me than receiving gifts myself!

9. God's grace in new every day.

God gives me the grace and strength I need when I need it. Each day brings brand new challenges, and so does each stage of motherhood. I have looked back over many long nights of nursing little ones and wondered how in the world I survived on so little sleep. I have been anxious about everything from potty training to teaching reading, but I have found that every time I came to a situation where I needed God's help, He sent it right on time.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23


10. Time flies, and life is short.

Time really does seem to move faster now that I am a mother. Ten years has come and gone at a dizzying speed. That tells me I have got to make careful use of the time I have left. My children only get one childhood, and I want their memories to be sweet. I want to be able to look back on child rearing from my empty nest with fondness and not regret. Life is too short to spend it fretting over the all the housework that will always be there or stressing out over every little thing that comes along. I want to spend my time wisely focused on simply teaching, loving, and enjoying these sweet blessings God has been so good to give me.

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