Wednesday 29 January 2014

70+ Resources for Valentines Day 2014

It's coming up to Valentine's Day soon.  I've just spent a little time online searching for some more resources to add to my list from last year.

Love is a verb and as such needs action.  I use Valentine's day to remember to tell those I love that I do. A couple of years ago (okay it's more than a couple more like a decade ...) I read the book The 5 Love Languages. This is one of those must read books on my list.  If you have not heard about love languages or how they impact you on a daily basis then please please buy the book and have a read.  I'm pleased to say they have a dedicated website now with loads of Tips and ideas as well as insights.

Here is a video to help clarify the love languages



Worksheets & Printables
All Our Days
From the Word
History


On YouTubePlease preview the YouTube clips before you show them to your family. Some are for older students and some are for primary students.

On WWW
Pinterest Boards
Do you have any favourite Valentine's resources that I could add to the list ?

Blessings
Chareen
Linking to
Valentine's Day RoundUp

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Art and Music Appreciation Resource Lists {Virtual Curriculum Fair}

Welcome to week four of the 2014 Virtual Curriculum Fair.  Today's topic is Seeking Beauty: the Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World---includes any of the arts, handicrafts, but really ANYTHING at all that adds beauty to your homeschool. I'm sharing on Art and Music Appriciation, both what we do and some of the curriculum that is available in the homeschool market to help you in these areas in your homeschool.

Definition of FINE ART

  1. art (as painting, sculpture, or music) concerned primarily with the creation of beautiful objects —usually used in plural b : objects of fine art 
  2. an activity requiring a fine skill
Fine Arts is a relatively new area in our homeschool and one I hope to pursue with Sir N on a more regular basis.  Each year we plan to attend a few Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presentations as well as any appropriate school's ballet.  This year I am hoping we can go to see The Nutcracker. I am still researching resources so this is an every growing list.


Our Year Ahead 

Fine Arts
  • Music Appreciation: SQUILT Vol 1 Baroque Era (Super Quiet UnInterrupted Listening Time) This is a digital product written by Mary from Homegrown Learners and covers ten pieces of music along with notebooking pages, musical term definition and musical history.
  • I will be using The World's Greatest Composers by Confessions of a Homeschooler.
  • The Classical Kids Collection Vol 1 & 2. These are produced by The Children's Group and cover the lives of eight famous composers.They are available for purchase on iTunes too.
  • Classical Composers Monthly as a supplement to whichever composer we are studying.
  • We will continue with The World's Greatest Artists Vol 1 in which we will cover eight artists.  We have already studied Monet and will continue and learn about the other seven artists in the unit.
  • We did Shipwrecked earlier in the year and really enjoyed it so we will work our way through Bible Stories by See the Light

Resources



Blogs


On the WWW

Pinterest


Blessings
Chareen


Take some time this week to visit some of the other 2014 Virtual Curriculum Fair participants.

Some of these links will not be live until tomorrow due to time zone differences as these bloggers are from across the globe.



Susan has invited you all to share what you are using and add your link to the linky

Saturday 25 January 2014

Blogs For the Home {getting organized, Cooking, etc}



clean, cleaning,mom52 Week Organized Home Challenge Homemakers Challenge

HSMJ it been a week of Homeschool Essentials

In my life this week…
It's been an extremely busy week here at Every Bed of Roses.  I've been sharing about my 5 top Homeschool Essentials and started homeschooling. Why is it so hard to get the routine going after a long holiday ??


In our home school this week…
  • We watched The Lorax and discovered that there was a drawing tutorial for three of the characters under the extra's section. It was super easy and we had fun drawing.
  • We have explored the values of friendship in the lives of David and Johnathan and the results of disobedience in the life of King Saul in bible study.
  • Started reading Jim Elliot again.  We didn't complete this last year. These are my favourite lives of missionaries stories.
  • We started Elements of Music Volume One.

TL - This week we have enjoyed playing Naughts and Crosses together
TR - Did a colouring in project together from Art with a Purpose
BL - Learned about choosing friends with a good character
BR - Built something for the Lego Quest Challenge

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
  • This week was the quiet before the storm. Next week all the activities start back up 
  • We had afternoon tea with a friend
  • Been to the dentist.  
  • Today I'm hosting a second hand book sale at my home.  I've been finding some treasures ... 
  • Paul and I are going to see BABBA  really looking forward to this
My favourite thing this week was…
Questions/thoughts I have…
  • Have you ever drank through a stainless steel straw ?  What do you think of the concept ?  Should we look at buying some with all the smoothie drinking happening here ?
Things I’m working on…
In Bloggy world I’m reading…
I’m cooking…
On Pinterest I found...
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Today's quote is in honour of Ruth Beechick who has inspired and encouaged me on my homeschool journey.  I found out the other day that she passed away recently.
"Sometimes a teaching parent feels guilty when home school
seems informal and related to regular family activities. If this
happens to you, remember that such informal teaching is a
powerful kind of teaching. You and your child need not sit down and play Classroom in order to accomplish good teaching and learning
."

-Ruth Beechick
Quote from: Language and thinking for Young Children

Blessings

Chareen

Homegrown Learners

Photo collages made with: Photoscape a FREE photo editor

Technology! {LEGO Quest II}

Sir N did his first Lego Challenge last year and enjoyed it so much I've decided to add it into our homeschool year this year. The Canadian Homeschooler is continuing the LEGO QUEST challenge series and this months theme is Technology.

Here is Sir N's creation



How to share in the fun
  1. You can share your child's creations on your blog,Lego Quest II | thecanadianhomeschooler.com 
  2. On Instagram or Twitter using the hastag #LEGOQuestII 
  3. Post it to the Canadian Homeschooler Facebook page.
  4. Email your child's creation to thecanadianhomeschooler@gmail.com with LEGO QUEST in the subject line by the 20th of the month, 
  5. Be sure to add in the following information along with the photograph:
    Your child’s first name
    Your child’s age
    What Province/State or Country you are from
    What you have made  
  6. This challenge ends on January 28th. 

So dig out the Lego and have some fun together
Blessings
Chareen

Friday 24 January 2014

Mother Culture - Time Out {Homeschooling Essentials}

Welcome to day five of this weeks 5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials posts brought to you by the Homeschool Review Crew.  We have 89 homeschool Mom's like you sharing their top homeschool essential lists with you.  Today I would like to share about the most important ingredient in successfully home educating long term: time out for Mom.  In some homeschooling circles it is called Mother Culture which is a term brought back into our modern vocabulary thanks to Karen Andreola and her book A Charlotte Mason Companion.

This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  Why ? Because over the years I have experienced burn out, exhaustion, feelings of being overwhelmed and discouraged and each and every time the source was the same.  A lack of Mother Culture.  Karen Andreola paints this picture and I agree with her wholeheartedly.   "Is it a wonder she feels overspent? She wears herself out. In her efforts to be dietitian, laundress, nurse, hostess, teacher, taxi driver, wife, mother, and mistress, she forgets that she needs a little time for herself. And it is then that she stops growing spiritually and mentally, Physically she feels ragged and drags through the day until without being able to mark the hour it befan, she lives with depression. Her mind is in a drifting fog when she wants it to think clearly and efficiently. With the distractions of her multi-faceted duties she is unable to follow a train of thought. She considers herself hopelessly behind in everything. Her feet are in the quagmire. It takes an incredible amount of effort to keep up appearances, to wear a winsome countenance. The last straw is the guilt she feels that she is "lukewarm" in the Lord. If I hadn't experienced these symptoms myself I wouldn't be writing this chapter. Therefore I can validate the need for Mother Culture." - Karen Andreola.

Homeschool Burnout is a very real companion of many mothers and the sad thing is that many keep it a secret because they feel as though they are failing. Home schooling is no small undertaking and in order to keep at it for the long haul you need to take care of yourself. Without you there is no home or home school. You are the most important ingredient on this journey and you are the one that is responsible to keep yourself properly cared for or it won't be long and you will be burned out. I have come to realize that many mothers feel guilty taking a few minutes a day to recharge. For these mothers I point to scriptures and how Jesus often withdrew to lonely places (Luke 5:16) If HE needed time on His own then how much more do we ? 

Self care or Me Time out of balance can be a bad thing too. It can become a self serving, self worship time which is not edifying to you or your family. Today I read a great article that helps to put Me Time in perspective over at Raising Arrows called: Caring for Yourself {The Me Time Myth Revisited.} Please know that I am not advocating a self centered form of self where we actively seek time to be away from our family at all costs.  What I am talking about is finding time to grow and become all that you can be in order to care for your family well.


Think seasonally. One interest per season, coupled with thirty minutes of reading a day, may be all that is needed to keep up the Mother Culture and regain any lost enthusiasm for living - Karen Andreola



Read more
Each of these posts is full of links to other posts on Mother Culture.
What do you do to indulge in Mother Culture ?

Blessings
Chareen

Charlotte Mason advised the teacher to replenish her soul with a continual supply of ideas. ...stimulates your educational thought in many directions and keeps you from drifting into mere routine... Do not think this is a selfish thing to do, because the advantage does not end with yourself."
 
5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials
Don't forget to check out and see what my fellow Homeschool Review Crew mates are sharing this week. Here are some to get you started. Some of these links will not be live until tomorrow due to time zone differences as these bloggers are from across the globe.  Here are some from the crew to get you started

Thursday 23 January 2014

The Lorax {Virtual Fridge}

This Week
We took some time to watch The Lorax this week and it's become a tradition to watch the extra's whenever we watch a dvd. I'm so glad we did on this one.  We discovered that there are three tutorials on cartoon drawing (The Lorax, The Humming Fish and The Bar-ba-lots) .  Here is what we did



Featured This Week


Almost Super Mom shares a tutorial on Scrap Paper Hearts just in time for Valentines Day.

Kathy shares a Tissue Paper flower tutorial along with ideas on what to do with your flowers once they are made.
Your Turn

I invite you to take some photo's of your children's artistic pursuits put them in a post and link up with me I would love to come over and see the wonderful art your children have enjoyed doing.
Virtual Fridge Link Up

Blessings
Chareen


The Virtual Fridge a weekly art meme where we can hang our children's art on a virtual fridge. This meme was started by Jennifer over at A Glimpse of our Life who kindly invited three other bloggers to co-host this weekly meme.

Your hosts are




The linky is on USA EST time and will be open soon.



Support Network {Homeschooling Essentials}

Welcome to day four of this weeks 5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials posts brought to you by the Homeschool Review Crew.  We have 89 homeschool Mom's like you sharing their top homeschool essential lists with you.

Today I would like to share about my second most essential homeschool item: your Support Network.

Home school support groups are not about education they are about mentoring relationships. This sort of group is not a  home school Co-op. This is about you the mom to access a supportive environment and for your children to know that there are other children out there being home educated. Renee Gotcher from Next Generation Homeschool  explains it this way: "When you think about it, homeschool support group is a bit of an oxymoron: We choose to homeschool so that we can independently make decisions about our children’s education, and yet we inherently desire the support of others to inform, encourage and assist us."

Mentoring A mentor facilitates personal and professional growth in an individual by sharing the knowledge and insights that have been learned through the years. - USC Mentor Program


Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else. We all have a need for insight that is outside of our normal life and educational experience. The power of mentoring is that it creates a one-of-a-kind opportunity for collaboration, goal achievement and problem-solving. “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” John C. Crosby (Mentor program)

Remember a mentor does not need to be someone older in chronological age just someone older on the journey with more experience and most importantly someone who is still willing to learn and grow and accept you and your family for who you are.

A word of Caution While home school support groups offer a huge amount of encouragement and support on your home education journey they can also become a noose around your neck.  For years and years I was a part of two particular support groups and loved learning and growing with these families. I still miss them. What I did not do however was evaluate some of the choices that slowly seeped into the group.  It was not until years later when I moved away and was confronted with asking myself why I was doing some things (dress code, curriculum choices, etc) that I realized that I had taken on an unwritten 'law' from the group that was not healthy for my family.  Now I am part of several groups but I do so with caution and I constantly re-evaluate what I'm doing with who my family is. So when you are part of a network be sure to take a regular time of de-cluttering your mind and spirit and be sure that you remain true to who you are or you might find that who you are becomes lost in trying to fit in.  If you need to work at fitting in you are definitely a part of the wrong group. 

Benefits

Two Sisters by Renoir
There are many benefits in a joining a support group and I encourage you to find a group of like minded mothers. A good support network will be a place you can take a break, enjoy a relaxing cup of tea to recharge, ask questions and have access to real life help.
  • Seasoned Homeschoolers to receive encouragement from.
  • Encouragement
  • Social opportunity for Mom with like minded people
  • Help
  • Advice
  • Supportive environment
  • Care
  • Networking (knowing who to go to when you need assistance)
  • Contacts
  • Assistance
  • Solutions
  • Access to Information
  • Guidance
  • A place to connect with like minded Mom's
On Line Support
I appreciate that in today's culture we have limited time to invest in meeting together face to face and for many of us the only support we have access to is on the www. Here is a list of place to seek support on line.
On the WWW

Blessings
Chareen

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials Don't forget to check out and see what my fellow Homeschool Review Crew mates are sharing this week. Here are some to get you started. Some of these links will not be live until tomorrow due to time zone differences as these bloggers are from across the globe. Here are some from the crew to get you started


Note: This article is part of a reprint from my post in May 2013

Wednesday 22 January 2014

Homeschool 4 FREE Resource Lists {Homeschool Essentials}

Welcome to day three of this weeks 5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials posts brought to you by the Homeschool Review Crew.  We have 89 homeschool Mom's like you sharing their top homeschool essential lists with you.

Today I would like to share about my third essential homeschool item: the Homeschool for FREE resource list.


This list is Updated and Expanded

**ALL graphics below are links and will take you to the resources shared. **


Charlotte Mason Method

Teaching Blog Addict
If you've got the time then this is a one-stop shop for you to browse. With over 6000 blog hop links to browse.


Print-a-Palooza
This blog hop was hosted last year and has some wonderful resources for you to choose from.


Homeschool Share
This site has many topics, unit studies, printables and ideas.
How to Homeschool for FREE!

Home Learning Family

Has the most amazing list of FREE resources 100+ links divided into the following topics
  • Arts
  • Music
  • Current Events
  • Writing/Grammar
  • Reading
  • Foreign Language
  • Math
  • Technology
  • Science
    General Science
    Biology
    Earth Science
    Physics Environmental Science 
    Astronomy
    Weather
    Inventions/Inventors
  • Social Science
    Geography / Cultures
    World History
    Us History
    Economics
    Government
  • Typing
  • Unit Studies
  • Testing
  • Multi - Subject Resources
  • Home Education Info and Resources
Happy Homeschool
This is a new one for me.  I am stunned at the number of links on this site.  It is amazing
Only Passionate Curiosity

This blog has a comprehensive list of FREE links which are updated often

  • Fine Arts
  • Foreign Language
  • Health
  • History
  • Kindergarten
  • Language Arts
  • Mathematics
  • Multiple Subjects (curriculum)
  • Preschool
  • Science
  • Social Science
  • Supplemental Resources


Homeschool Mosaics
The list on the Homeschooling for Free post is long and well set out into the following categories
  • Whole Curriculum
  • Whole Curriculum Guides/Schedules
  • Preschool Curriculum and Resources
  • Phonics and Beginning Reading
  • Math
  • Literature/Reading Guides and Units
  • Free Books
  • Audiobooks / Stories
  • Spelling /Vocabulary
  • Grammar
  • Writing
  • Penmanship
  • Copy Work
  • Memory Work / Flash Cards
  • History and Government
  • Timelines and Figures
  • Geography
  • Current Events
  • Science
  • Nature Study
  • Computer Science
  • Art
  • Music
  • Typing
  • Foreign Language
  • Home Economics
  • Educational Video's
  • Virtual Field Trips and Webcams
  • High School and College
  • Unit Studies / Notebooking / Lapbooking
  • Planning / Forms / Papers / Worksheets
  • Freebie Sites
  • Blogs with Freebies and Helps

Homeschool Resource List
This is an ever growing list of links. Please be aware it uses Google Ad Choices.
Cheap Homeschooling over at Squidoo.com
  1. Homeschooling by Grade
    1st Grade
    2nd Grade
    3rd Grade
    4th Grade
    5th Grade
    6th Grade
    Jr. High
    High School
  2. Lapbook, Notebooking, Scrapbooking And Project Resources
  3. Language Arts Resources
  4. Math Resources
  5. History Resources
  6. History Lapbooks
  7. Geography Resources
  8. Science/ Nature Resources
  9. Science/ Nature Lapbooks
  10. Animal Resources
  11. Animal Lapbooks
  12. Art Resources
  13. Literature Resources
  14. Lapbooks- General
  15. Lapooks- Seasonal
  16. Lapbooks- Holiday
  17. Getting Your Homeschool Organized
Some blogs sharing Freebies
These ladies regularly share some great finds on line.

The Notebooking Fairy -- printables and how-tos with a pinch of pixie dust

This is an amazing resource for any and all home schoolers as long as it does not paralyze you into doing nothing. Pop on over and explore Every Bed of Roses currently has over 200 boards arranged in alphabetical order. Here are some of the categories to whet your appetite.

Every Bed of Roses
Homeschoolers on Pinterest
Homeschool for FREE boards on Pinterest


The internet is full of information and can sometimes be a frustrating resources but I would encourage you to hang in there until you find a homeschooler you can connect with and whose resources you enjoy. Here are a few I've used in the past.


What is on your must have on your homeschool for FREE list ? If you have a list or use a homeschool FREE resource not listed here please leave a link in the comments to be added.

Blessings
Chareen

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials Don't forget to check out and see what my fellow Homeschool Review Crew mates are sharing this week. Here are some to get you started. Some of these links will not be live until tomorrow due to time zone differences as these bloggers are from across the globe. Here are some from the crew to get you started

Note: This article is part of a reprint from my post in April 2013 and has been  
updated and expanded.

Linking with
Hip Homeschool Moms Hearts for Home Blog Hop Hip Homeschool Moms