Un Moving Day

After lots of house hunting and really being disappointed by what was on the market (and the rental rates) we decided to negotiate with our current landowners. So we are staying put for another year.

I grew up as an airforce brat. We moved a lot. The longest I've ever lived in one home is 6 years (and that was as an adult). When the itch to move comes on it's hard to scratch. The only cure is to rearrange the house.

My living/dining room is an awkward L-shape. I decided to cut it off and make it rectangular. I turned the end part of the L into office space.

We homeschool and I try not to make my house feel like a classroom. This is hard, sometimes impossible, but we do what we can.

I also cleaned off the back deck and rearranged the furniture.

It feels really nice comfortable again. I don't have the moving itch. All is well.

The Desktop Apprentice

This is my new favorite homeschool helper. I got it from Staples using my teacher coupons.

I use each side for a different subject. One side has all of my teacher guides for the different levels of math.

Then I have Grammar, Science, and History.

The inside has various supplies and things I usually need in the day (like lotion, chapstick, and ponytail bands).

Reorganizing

I mentioned in a previous post that I'm reorganizing our home. I'm currently working on all our homeschool stuff. Several months ago we bought these Ikea shelves.



Last week I finally found bins that fit...and they were on clearance at that!

So now I've gone through each shelf and pulled off everything we don't need. I put stuff we don't use often in the bins. The top row is all teacher books, references, and photo albums. I've given one shelf to each child in the second row. (Though I'm considering switching the middle two rows).

On the very top are the kids craft projects they've made in scouts.



The kids used to have a cubby each in the dining room table. But it was just annoying and constantly messy.



Now I store a few supplies and the math teacher books I almost never use anymore.



I'm still working on it. We are in our 10th year of homeschooling and we've accumulated so much STUFF!

Friday's Homeschool Feature - Grading

I am a working homeschool mom again. I recently took on a part-time job. This means less down time and I have to keep myself ahead of the kids. I don't have the luxury of playing catch-up.

One of the ways I stay on top of our work load, is grading all their school work the night before. For me this takes a lot of self discipline. The last thing I want to think about at the end of my day is school work. Usually, I grade over my morning coffee during my quiet time.

However, having it done the night before gives me time in the morning to plan or do other things. Sometimes I have to take Leon to work, or someone needs me to sew on a scout patch, or I might have to make several phone calls. My morning time is when I need to be more flexible. If I've left all my grading for the morning, then I might not have time to get to it all.

So I need to grade during a more concrete time of day for me. Just before bed is perfect.

Here I have all the school work laid out for the boys. They simply work through their stack and put it on their bookshelves as they go. Then at night, the Grading Fairy comes along and collects notebooks and workbooks and checks over their progress. Magically their school work is all laid out for them the next morning.


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