I am so excited!!! We have textbooks!! I sat down on Saturday and figured out everything I have and everything I need. It looks like I have about $200 left to spend. We have spent about $130 so far...that's for TWO children and that's NOT settling for anything I didn't actually want! Mind you, I did spend two hours and 5 erasers on a text book that had been partly used, but since I only had to erase 50 pages and there are 264 in the book, I'm pretty happy about that. Especially since I picked it up at our local used bookstore for $3.00 instead of the $15.65 list price!
Also, since I blogged last, I have been very busy, but not very chatty here. (I do have three kids ya know!) I have gathered my textbooks and planned for what to buy. I have chosen my curriculum as well as a supplemental curriculum that we will be adding to our regularly scheduled program. I have redesigned our homeschool room and changed which room we will be using. I have chosen our umbrella school. I have kept my own business (www.facebook.com/OneDivaThreeDolls) going well. I have taken my girls to Florida for a week and my big accomplishment...I HAVE POTTY TRAINED MY TWO YEAR OLD!!! WAHOO!!! I have changed diapers for nearly nine years, so the idea of NOT having to do that anymore is just phenomenal!!! :) It's the little things for us moms!
One of the things I have decided not to do this year is CO-OP. For those of you who are new to homeschooling, a CO-OP is a cooperative parenting group of homeschool parents that get together and team teach different subjects. There is usually a fee involved in being a member and then a fee for each class. You can teach a class or simply allow your children to take other classes. This is a great additional enrichment program if your children want to do a newspaper or music class or something along those lines. I have nothing against the CO-OP deal, I just want to get in our own groove this year first. I want us to be comfortable in our own homeschool skin before we branch out. Besides, with my in-laws, I don't need to pay to be in a CO-OP. They are more than willing to pitch in and help out anywhere I need (my dad-in-law is a retired teacher). So I have decided the CO-OP can wait at least one year.
Also, we have decided to use the curriculum from A Beka out of Pensacola, FL. Their curriculum is heavy on old fashioned values, old school grammar and mathmatics and filled with scripture from our favorite version, so it will fit seamlessly into our everyday lives. However, my gifted rising fourth grader decided to check out our science book. She flipped through the text book, dropped it on the table and said, "That will take me about six weeks. What else ya got?" After I corrected her grammar (ever the teacher) I told her that I would look into other options. That is when we discovered Apologia. This was my recent "OH WOW!" moment in homeschooling. To find an amazing and well written curriculum that teaches science from a creation standpoint and does it in a way that excites and interests a variety of ages, well, THAT was something worth checking out! I just won my first ebay auction for our textbook ($22.01 after shipping for a book that retails for $39.00 before shipping) and will be purchasing their Notebooking Journals from the website. The thing I love about this is the Notebooking Journal. Not only does this text teach creation science, but the Journal has two publications. One is the regular Notebooking Journal and the other is the Junior Notebooking Journal. The Junior one is designed for K-3rd grade and the regular for 4th-6th grade. I love it because I have a first grader and a fourth grader and we can do the same science curriculum together while it is on THEIR level and it fits seamlessly into our day (I'm really big on the "seamless" concept!).
Another thing I am learning is to cook more in my crockpot! I know it sounds weird to link that thought to homeschooling, but I am collecting these recipes to allow me to spend more time playing with my girls after we are done with school and less time working in the kitchen. Feel free to comment with any links you know of with great recipes! :)
So, that is where we are...for now. The rest of this week we are focused on Vacation Bible School (RAH! RAH! RAH!) and then there will be more trips to the used bookstore before I order any new books! I don't know about y'all, but I am ALL about a deal! Bring on the erasers!!!
