Review: The Old Schoolhouse Planner

It's that time of year folks...it's time to plan! Some of us are major planners. Others of us- not so much. I have to be honest and say I LOVE a good planning form. So, when I read that the TOS Planner has over 300 forms, I knew I had to see it for myself!

Calendar Forms- month at a glance, year at a glance (for up to the year 2012), yearly goal sheets, weekly planning sheets, schedule planning sheets for various numbers of children.

There are many quick reference sheets included like lists of the 13 Colonies, conversion charts, US Presidents, Famous Composers- just a variety of sheets with facts you can reference at a glance.

Many homeschool forms for keeping rock solid records and for use in your school- like journal pages, lab sheets, book report forms, handwriting practice sheets, nature journal sheets

Household Forms include babysitter forms, chore charts, food inventory chart, menu planning forms, daily schedule forms, homekeeping schedules

There are so many places to see what The TOS Planner has in it with specifics just what's included. I'd rather spend some time sharing my favorite things about this planner. Here we go:

• You can type right into the fields on the electronic forms. How nice is that? You can type your plans and calendars and print them out.
• The Preschool Section- includes ideas for a Preschooler Busy Box, Preschool Planning Pages, a skills checklist
• Month at a Glance calendar pages- LOVE month at a glance calendars with giant squares for writing/typing things in
• Monthly calendars are aligned with recipes and ideas for school each month
• Annual Planning Sheet- so you can plan out the school calendar in with one easy form
• Great set of weekly planning forms set for several numbers of children
• Daily Schedule forms
• Unit Study Record Forms- might come in handy as I save information in summary form to report the four times a year I need to do so in NY State.
• Co-op Planning Forms- I think I'll use them to lay out my American Girl class for next semester.

You won't be disappointed in what you find in the 2009 TOS Homeschool Planner- particularly if you are a paper/pencil person who loves a good form! The cost is $39.00 and if you order before July 13, 2009, you will get the 2008 planner modules for free.

Art Center Progress

I asked Dan to build R9 an art center for her room since J4 was moving in with his brothers this spring. It is taking him much longer than I had envisioned, but without a man cave to work in...what's a guy to do? Work at the machine shop in the basement of his building on campus to build the cubes, wait for good weather once the shop work is done to do the sanding outside (twice), and take up space in our playroom to paint. Wait. Paint some more.

The desk is made from hand made wood boxes that have shelves in them forming the cube space. On top is a white laminate surface- the same one in my secret lair. There are four stacked here, but the others are extras for another time. Another vision.

Another use for the milk carton blocks!

R9 wanted this color on her walls, but it was vetoed by Dan...I'm totally into this color so I'd have gone for it. Aren't they coming along nicely? Just one more coat to go.

This is the space where the art center is going. It will fill the whole space. That's where J4's little bed used to be. And yes, her bed is up against the other wall in her room- it's tiny.

The chair is a gift from Grandma and Grandpa from Lakeshore Learning. We have these in our school room and I love them. They are sturdy since they're built for schools and the bottoms are big and round and very friendly on carpeting. This is the 17.5 inch teacher chair so she has room to grow. Who doesn't love a purple chair? Really.

In addition to the desk, we are putting up art strips painted the same as the cubes. They will have clips screwed to them so that she can hang art work. The boys will get a small length of art strip too for next to their beds. That way they can enjoy hanging their favorite projects in their space as well.

I'm excited to help her organize her art supplies and magazines in her art center cubes. We have baskets ready to help with the job. I think we'll find a spot for the Pack o' Fun Magazines too. She loves to scour those and do projects. I can't wait to have all her supplies in one area- scrapbooking, stamping, Sculpey, you name it. She also received her own oil pastels, watercolor pencils, and other things for her birthday.

We have a few other things in mind for her little room makeover- new curtains which will match the flowers stamped on her wall and I picked up a wall-y candy stripe sticker boarder to go under the flowers. She also has a new analog clock on her wall that will need a permanent place. When we have it all in place, I'll be sure to post again with the results.

Milk Carton Blocks

How could I forget the milk carton blocks??? In my block play post I completely left them out so when they got pulled out the other day for bowling I knew I had to come back and share this idea with you all. These are basically home made preschool "brick blocks" you know the ones...from Romper Room fame?

How do you make them?

• You'll need two cardboard milk cartons per block.
• Cut the tops of each carton.
• Insert one carton inside the other making sure the bottom seams are perpendicular to each other. This makes for a stronger block!
• Push in from both ends so the top end of one carton is flush with the bottom of the other one.
• You can cover them with contact paper, but then you might as well buy a set because that ups the cost of the blocks considerably. I left mine as is.
  

We actually gave this set to E10 when he turned 2 years old! I asked my MOPS friends to save their milk and orange juice cartons for me and and collected as many as I could. It was helpful that a local dairy store was having a sale on half gallons of milk at the time and people were buying lots of it when normally they would get a gallon container. I was able to have a set of 24 blocks or so.

These have all sorts of uses from building forts to sailing vessels to providing obstacles for courses to making pins for bowling when the 4yo desperately wants to go bowling.

We store them on a lower shelf on the toy shelf in the post below. Honestly that is the only drawback. They take up space.

We love these blocks. I hope you can make a set today!

Perimeter Shelves

In my post about centers I mentioned that we have shelves going around the perimeter of our playroom. I promised some pictures so here goes. You can take a look as long as you refrain from making fun of our gorgeous paneling. We are dragging this house- kicking and screaming- out of the 1970s. One. Room. At. A. Time. This room...not so high on the priority list. But it makes a great place to put stuff on the walls!

We just moved some of our games to this shelf. They are organized by category- preschool, word games, math, and geography/social studies.

This wall holds the centers- unlabeled boxes were put up backwards. Hmmm...makes me think I should have labeled both sides.

Here's the other back corner of the room. It all started when we put up the shelves from the floor up. Dan had some extra so he put up the extra length over top of the butcher roll. Then one day we decided we could just extend it all the way around. As you can see our dress up on the hooks is out. of. control. I've also been working on rotating toys and finding new places for things. It's a constant process when you have 6 people in 1400 sq ft.

You might have noticed some project items here and there...plain wood right above these words and some boards against the magnet board. Those are the pieces to the much talked about art center for R9. I think I'll share some in progress shots of that shortly.

Sew Simple Magazine

While doing a little fabric shopping the other day, I came upon a magazine I hadn't seen before. Sew Simple. I had been on the look out for a sewing magazine that was appropriate for young seamstresses and I think this is it! It has some cute projects in it and most are not too complicated.

The front page project is the French Market Tote which you can get directions for at their website.

They have a way cute denim apron made from recycled jeans in this issue as well. I see the new one is due out on the newstand soon. I'm anxious to get my hands on it. I think it's a great source for R9.

Fun Filled Weekly Workboxes

Kendra at the Pumpkin Patch has started a weekly meme called Fun Filled Weekly Workboxes and I think I'll join her as often as I can. This is a chance to share with our readers all the fun things we'll be putting in the workboxes for the week.

Sue Patrick must be amazed at how her original idea has taken off in the homeschooling community. I know I am!

So, what will be going on this week at our house? Well we've had three weeks off from school and I think we will school for the next three weeks- half days and see how things go. Then maybe take another three weeks off. I can add these days to our school year and take a nice winter break when we feel like we need some time off. With that in mind, I will be filling the workboxes with some items this week to get us thinking and our brain waves moving.

Here's some of what's on tap?

• Jeans to Skirt project
• guitar time
• tracing the alphabet so we can add to our coconut tree
• Felicity book club time
• silent reading
• An exercise or two from Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye
• Zooreka
• Family Math activities
  

R9 will be working on turning a favorite pair of her jeans into a skirt. We picked out some purple gingham fabric for the triangle patch and a yellow floral pattern for the extra ruffle.

This is a book we got R9 for Christmas. It has some really cute projects in it. I hope she can finish this one in time for the 4-H Fair coming up next month. We can do it, right?

What do We Do with our School Computers?

A question about what older kids do on your computer was posted at the Five in a Row Forums the other day and well I thought I'd share with my readers how we use the school computers at our house. We have an older computer that runs the older games, but it doesn't run some of the even older games I desperately want to run! Dan says he might be able to work that out, but no success yet. We have some fun DK geography games that we can't play yet.

Games:

• Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
• Oregon Trail
• Liberty Kids
• Arthur (K and 2nd grade)
  
• LEGO Fever
• Adventure Africa
• Jumpstart Toddler
• Reader Rabbit Toddler- both of these toddler games are great at teaching mouse skills. All of our kids learned on these.
• 
  

My kids also do programming using the drag and drop method using: (the last two are upgrades we have not tried yet, but E10 will be moving up to Alice this summer)

• Scratch- free and a great tool to teach programming skills. My kids have made games. See a screen shot of one of E10's games here.
• Alice- teaches programming
• Phrogram- this one is downloadable for a fee

We also use God's World News and other news outlets and sites for kids. My husband and I read the Washington Post and CNN each morning and we will forward things we want the kids to read to our school computer email. the kids have their own email that we don't give out but they use on occasion.

Here are a few:

• Daily critical thinking puzzles
• US Mint website
• Time for Kids
• LEGO
• Hokie Sports
• ESPN
• wiki and google are popular research tools and our filter works like a charm. I am in the room or nearby when I send them to look something up

We have them type in their stories and use Open Office for graphing and other school work as well. Here's an example from a popcorn experiment. Here's another from an experiment the kids made up one today.

I also just started the touch typing program from the BBC called Dance Mat Typing. There is a great debate at our house over the value of learning touch typing. Since I'm in the daily teacher's seat, the kids will learn proper technique. Dan never learned it and I admit that he is fast, but I think the kids will have an easier time learning the keyboard if they just start with home keys. We'll see how it goes. Dan predicts E10 will not learn it. I contend it is one of the best things my mom insisted on when I was young. I hope to get them ample time on this program this summer.

We also use the computer for teleconferencing with their grandparents. My oldest plays chess with his grandfather while "seeing" him at the same time.

I think that's about it. Oh and as for computer time...they have computer days on M, Tu, Th. The other days are playstation days. However, they can choose to do computer instead of playstation on a PS2 day. That is generally free time only. What I assign them doesn't count toward their free screen time.

How do you use your computer in your homeschool?

Block Play

I was listing our block play materials for someone recently and I thought this would make a great blog post. Homeschooling blog fodder comes in many forms!

Blocks are an open ended toy that never grow old. Every time you play it's different. I can't tell you how many times I've seen giant fort formations all over my house! LEGO guys like to hide out in these forts. Elaborate play times ensue...even with our oldest kids.

Take a look at our block collection:

• basic maple set
• architectural set
• wood cubes
• colored blocks (hand painted when you order in the USA)
• wedgits
• pioneer logs
  
• Kapla Blocks

We used these at our science center a few years ago and J4 fell in love. We have our own set now. These narrow blocks are pretty versatile.

Check here for lots of block play stuff like store fronts and all kinds of things.

We also have the traffic signs and they are super for the car mat and block play. Even my 10 yr old will still do blocks because you should see the amazing forts one can make from nice blocks!

A recent acquisition for preschool and math time, these wood cubes can always double as a building toy.

One of our favorites these architectural blocks (see link above) are from Constructive Playthings.

Last year R4 got these for his birthday and they are a great addition to any collection. These were hand painted in the USA when my mother-in-law ordered them. Crazy but true...you could smell the new paint. The links for these are all in the list above.

You can never go wrong with Wedgits. Never. Target sells small sets now, but in the category of blocks/building toys the more the better! Yes Dan. It's true even if you don't think so!

Is There a Doctor in the House?

With all the kids' birthdays we've had recently, it's not hard to imagine that we had to have some well checks to go along with them. We spent nearly 2 hours at the pediatrician's office on Wednesday afternoon and the event inspired a lot of pretend play. I've been doctored quite a lot since then and J4 has been really on those "pinches" (shots). He had more than his fair share the other day seeing as how he got his boosters. On the upside, he's done until he's 10.

The doctor box.

The scrubs- courtesy of Grandma.

The lab coat- also Grandma. She made name tags for the three oldest kids. The title says "Doctor of People". The stethoscope is from Discount School Supply and is pretty authentic. Note: I-7 really has the "blog picture" stance down - whatever it takes to keep the face out of the picture! Such cooperation for the cause.

E10 is being a good big brother and a good patient. We have lots of arm orthopedic supplies because E10 broke his arm a few years ago. Great for the box.

Inside our Fisher Price doctor kit- this is a few years old so I'm sure the current version is different.

I picked up this little gem at a Scholastic Warehouse sale as I was starting to homeschool four years ago. It has some great paperwork to go with learning centers.

These are in our doctors box- how cool are these?

And follow up appt cards.

I bet you're wondering where we keep this stuff! Well it so happens that we have a wire shelf that goes around the perimeter of our playroom up near the ceiling. We have boxes there with labels on them.

The centers hold the dress up and the props for each category. This makes it easy to store dress up and it makes for great pretend play! We also have bags of themed dress up on a set of hooks in our playroom.

What other centers are currently made up?

• restaurant
• hairdresser
• grocery store
• house (this one is more spread out but we have lots of food and kitchen things)

I'd like to get a library center going...in all my spare time! There's also ideas for zoo, post office, hospital, pet store, shoe store, airport, engineering and construction and commercial fishing. Never thought to have a commercial fishing center. There's also paperwork for a Native American fish camp. Wow.

Summer Reading Splash!

As I've been settling into to my new role as a TOS Homeschool Crew Member, I've been reflecting on what the kids will be doing this summer.

There's no shortage of reading programs out there for kids. The major bookstore chains all have one and so does the library. We are getting started on those...who can pass up free books?

But here's another one you can participate in with your kids. The Old Schoolhouse sponsors one called Splash and you can visit Splish's blog to find out how to particpate. There are prizes at the end so join in the summer reading fun! It started a few weeks ago so don't hesitate to get going!

I'm a Member of the Crew!

I thought it might be about time that I announce that I was chosen to be one of the new The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Members for 2009-2010.

I am very excited about this opportunity to review homeschooling products. I'm just getting started and learning the ropes, but as time goes on you will notice some reviews coming your way as soon as products start coming my way!

My first "stretching experience" will be to finally learn and use Mr. Linky. Wish me luck!

Whenever I review something for the TOS Crew I will try and end my post with the graphic below. I am ready to set sail!

CurrClick Live Classes

I'm sure most of you have been over to CurrClick from time to time. They sell downloadable curriculum from various publishers- everything from lapbooks to unit studies to Evan Moor ebooks. I really enjoy their weekly freebies which come in handy some weeks.

This year they've started to offer something new called the Live Class. A few months ago they had Water, Water Everywhere as their weekly free offering and I so wish I had paid attention. Not knowing what a Live Class really meant I passed it up and I regret that decision!

After reading up on them and noticing a few others at FIAR trying them out, I signed up for three so far. Right now they are offering some classes for as little as a dollar and many are about $5. I don't know how long the good times will last, but if you are looking for a summer adventure I would definitely consider a Live Class. The nice part is that the class is independent and you don't need to be real time with the instructor. So, you can sit at the computer and work on the class when your time permits.

Right now R9 is part of the Felicity Book Club. She is studying the book Happy Birthday, Felicity! She gets to work on a notebook weekly, participate in the forums (under my name because I wasn't clever enough to make one up!), and watch the class videos. Each week there is a project and some notebooking to do in addition to the reading of course.

E10 really, really wanted to take a math class, but most of them were tutorial helps rather than a challenge. There are a few Algebra classes they he's not quite ready for yet and when I found the Geometry class I knew it was for him. He can hardly wait to get started. It's a geometry review for 5th to 8th grades and think there will be some things to challenge him. He'll get to work out assigned problems for the day and email the solutions to the professor. He'll be able to see the problems worked out video if he needs help. This is going to be a very cool addition to the math journal! I'm looking forward to see how this goes.

It is a tradition in our homeschool to begin each new year with our favorite FIAR title- Night of the Moonjellies. We have such fond memories of our first row of this book just after E10 had broken his arm one summer and our pool visits were cut short. I had just received my trusty FIAR volume 1 manual and I was eager to begin. After 3 years we love it as much as ever but it is harder to discover new things in there. But it is so worthwhile to visit them again each year. This year we will do the live class on Nim's Island as part of our tradition. The kids adored the book and loved the movie. We are excited to join in this class and some really fun ocean work!

Starting in September is Strange Science: Planet Earth and I'm eager to sign up for this one. We have not done much indepth earth science and I think the kids will enjoy it. Some of the coolest earth science stuff is going to be covered. Each class typically needs a minimum enrollment so get on over there and sign up for classes!

Our Nature Boy

On J4's birthday we took a field trip to a local park. J4 had been asking to throw rocks into the water (ever since the day he took some rocks in the water bottle). So, we went to the lake to skip rocks. Of course. R9 and I-7 finally got the hang of it after I gave them some tips on technique. I loooovvvee to skip stones. I may have broken a personal record. I'm hoping to visit the local parks at least once a week this season.

This little bird kept on chirping close to us. I tracked him down for a photo op. What kind is he? He reminds of a sandpiper the way he runs on the ground, but I don't think so...

I stocked up J4's art box with double sided Crayola markers and these color sticks by Crayola that are a lot like the one that comes at the end of the Prismacolor box and he loves that thing.

A new play dough set- it has sand textured play dough in it which we both believe is nasty. I particularly like making the sea anemone.

A new tool set- pretty cool. He can correctly identify a phillips and flat head screwdriver, alan wrenches, ball drives, and he can use them. He loves it. I found it at Target in their "upscale" toy aisle. You know the one I'm talking about.

Today's party was a nature party. J4 requested a "funny tree" cake just like last year. His cake had a pine tree on it- I made another ice cream cake which turned out so nicely! These are the treat bags- a few small cans of play dough and a little nature journal and a tootsie pop.

J4 loves trees. He correctly identified a cottonwood at the park the other day. This is another of his gifts.

For Dan...and His Nameless Fellow Dad Pals

Did I mention I was going to the LEAH (Loving Education at Home) Convention in Rochester last weekend?

We did. I say we because all six of us got in the van and drove to Rochester. I got out on the street and walked several blocks to the convention hall. Dan and the kids rode on to the National Museum of Play to spend the day there. Somehow, the convention speakers didn't really strike a chord with Dan.

However, The Museum of Play has an exhibit right now called Videotopia. What's inside? Why just about ALL of the classic 1980s video arcade games!

Dan walked inside along with some other dads- obviously close to the same age. As he walked around he'd say, "Look it's Centipede!" and the guy playing would be like, "I know can you believe it?!" Dads everywhere were in a nirvana state as they played the likes of Missile Command and Star Wars. Defender and Pac Man.

Dan took great joy in introducing our kids to the games of the past. They each got a set of tokens to use in the arcade and ended up scoring more from friends who weren't using theirs. When I arrived after walking over late in the afternoon I played a few terrible games of Frogger. I didn't have an Atari 2600 as a kid. It's ok Mom and Dad...it completely stunted by video gaming skill for life. But that's cool. I can live vicariously through my husband and children.

The exhibit is up until November and Dan keeps raising the number of times we'll be going back between now and then. I heard once more at first. The other day I heard him tell someone twice more. One thing is for sure. We were both immediately transported back to middle school. Wow.

Dan standing in front of the gate to heaven on earth- do you see the light shining upon him?