Giveaway winners!

Congrats to Melanie and Stacy, winners of the ACT book giveaway, and thanks for your kind comments!  I've emailed you with details for claiming your books.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Record Keeping: School Log

  When we started homeschooling, I used pre-made lesson plan books, but over the years my system has evolved to simplify the record-keeping process for me.  Homeschooling is more challenging in some ways with my kids' grade levels spaced widely apart, but easier in that my oldest has become more independent.  Since my oldest is transitioning to high school work, I have made some changes in the way I keep track of everything, and I keep a main notebook for my youngest two while my oldest has a planner of his own.

   Here is how my notebook is set up...

   I use an Avery durable binder with a storage pocket attached inside the front cover.  I keep CDs, phonics games, and flash cards inside this pocket so everything is in one place = easy to find.

   I have a CD of my boys' "school" portraits attached to the first page of the binder in a self-adhesive CD storage sleeve.  When everything  is filed for the year, I know where to find it.  I have monthly calendar pages next, where I note all our activities and special events like music lessons, field trips, sports practices, birthdays, appointments, etc.  There is also room on the side of each monthly page to write down notes or journal things I want to remember about our month.

  

  
   My lesson plan section includes five tabbed dividers for each student, one for each subject.  Behind those are copies of  schedule pages or tables of contents  from their school books.  I just check each thing off as it is completed, but dates could be added in here as well.  I also insert completed activity sheets in the appropriate sections.

   Next, I have a section for our book list pages.  I write down all of our read-alouds here and the date each one was completed.  Each of my boys keeps a separate notebook with a booklist for books read independently.  I make copies of these at the end of the school year and include them in my file with the rest of my planner pages.

   After the book list section, I have a section for storing essays and other papers the boys complete.  I save pretty much every essay or story, etc.  Next, I have sections for field trips and activities such as music recitals.  I use page protectors to save items in these sections--programs from recitals, brochures, etc.

   I have found that having everything in one place and keeping it really simple works best for me.  I can flip to a section to find out what page or lesson we are on, and checking things off as they are completed not only shows us how far we have to go but also how far we've been.  At the end of the year, I sort everything out and file what I want to keep for safekeeping.

   I'd love to hear about your record-keeping system!

Wonder-full Wednesday

Giveaway and Review: ACT and College Preparation Course

Win this book!

   ACT and College Preparation Course for the Christian Student by Dr. James Stobaugh contains 50 lessons covering English, math, reading, science, vocabulary, and essay writing.  Dr. Stobaugh's approach is to start preparations for the test in eleventh grade and follow the course over a period of either 50 weeks, completing one lesson a week, or 50 days, completing one lesson per day.  Along with the book, a downloadable essay workbook is also available which covers the mechanics and style of writing an ACT essay.  The appendix includes sections for vocabulary helps, book list, reading journal, devotional journal, and Greek and Latin morphemes.  (The book list covers literature that would be useful to read beginning in ninth grade for preparation for both the SAT and ACT, as well as college itself.)  Other highlights are the devotional format of the book and the useful test-taking insights and stress-reduction strategies.

   One really great thing about this book is that it is packed full of information, but in a manageable format.  The body of knowledge required for college preparation seems overwhelming, but Dr. Stobaugh has
organized this book so that students can tackle the "elephant" one bite at a time.

   James P. Stobaugh's ACT and College Preparation Course for the Christian Student is one of several resources available from Master Books for high school students and their families.  They also have books like  SAT and College Preparation Course for the Christian Student, Already Compromised, Fish Out of Water, and Coming Soon – History Curriculum for 10th – 12th grade by Dr. James Stobaugh.

   For a chance to win ACT and College Preparation Course for the Christian Student , "Like" Master Books on facebook, and come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me you did.  One winner will receive a hard copy of this book, and one winner will receive a digital copy.

   Comments close on February 14.
Comments are now closed--thanks for stopping by!

{The publisher has provided me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.}

DIY: Bridal Shower



The scrabble letters spell out "FEATHER YOUR NEST."

   My beautiful niece is getting married in June, and I threw her a bridal shower last week.  She's in school out-of-state, so we have to fit all the wedding details in when she comes home on break.  I had fun decorating with a bird's nest theme, and she got tons of gifts to help set up her first home.  We kept the food simple, but it must have been good, because most of it was gone when it was all over. 



I printed off some bird prints onto card stock, trimmed them
 a little, and put them inside some thrifted clear vases.

Pepperoni Pinwheels and
Spinach Gruyere Puff Pastries were a big hit.

Happy Groundhog Day

   It's a rainy day here, so we won't see our shadows today, but apparently Punxutawney Phil saw his and predicted six more weeks of winter.  At any rate, Groundhog Day is a goofy holiday, but who doesn't need an excuse to be a little goofy for a day?  Two of our favorite Groundhog Day books are:

   Gregory's Shadow is a  classic book written by the author of Corduroy (my middle son's favorite book of all time.)  Just before their appearance on Groundhog Day, Gregory and his shadow become separated.  How will they find each other?  Here's a short lesson plan with activities related to this book, including making shadow puppets and doing a science experiment with shadows.

   Gail Gibbons' Groundhog Day explains the origins of the holiday and includes facts about groundhogs and hibernation.  Gail Gibbons' books are favorites with us.  Lots of learning packed into a picture book!