My kids are getting so grown up!

This was taken at Thanksgiving.  Next time I manage to get them all in one room, I'd like to get a picture of them standing together.

Sale on Homeschool Conference Tickets!!!

The Appalachian Home Educators Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee June 26-28th!! 
Register between May 22 and May 26 to save $10 off the regular price.  (sale price shown in graphic below)
Use coupon code FULLNEST to save an additional $5.

 

 

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Summer Reading Programs

Incentives aren't really necessary when it comes to reading in our house, BUT since they will be reading anyway I have no problem signing the forms so they can receive the rewards.

Barnes&Noble Read any 8 books and record them in the Reading Journal take the reading journal into your local store and choose a book from their list.

Tennessee Smokies Baseball Read 10 chapters or books per level, reach level 5 to attend the end of summer picnic event at the ball park!  If you don't live in East Tennessee, check your local minor league baseball team to see what they may be offering for kids this Summer.

Scholastic Read and log minutes all summer. Take weekly challenges and earn rewards. Help set a new reading world record!

BJU Press Ages 4-17, log 40 days of reading to be eligible for great prizes, including a Kindle Fire!

Pizza Hut Book it! Read 5 books to be eligible to win a prize!

Don't forget to check your local Library, ours always has a GREAT Summer program for all ages!

I'm sure there are more, these are the ones we've signed up for so far. 

School is OUT for Summer!!!

This was a very exciting school year.  We started the year with all three girls in K12 virtual school.  In October we decided to let Maggie give regular 8th grade a try at the local public school.  She hadn't been in regular school since 5th grade.  She did very well academically, she made some friends and she learned that being at home really is best for her learning style.  By the middle of November she was back at home doing traditional homeschool.  In early December, the younger girls also became traditional homeschoolers.  The State of Tennessee requires 180 days of instruction for homeschoolers and we finished up the first week in May.

We have started meeting other homeschooling families and getting involved in local activities.  The library is our second home. We also have participated in a Flat Stanley project for homeschoolers and a postcard exchange group for homeschoolers.  Learning Geography was never so much FUN!

 

Morgan remained in his virtual high school that is run by a neighboring county school district, for his sophomore year.  He took the ACT in April and scored very well.  He finished the Spring semester this week.  He scored a 96 on his English II EOC and 100% on his final English project. He also completed 2 years of German for his foreign language requirement.  He struggled with Algebra II, so we are planning some changes for him next Fall.

 

 

Over the Summer everyone will still be learning, but we won't call it school until mid August.  We plan to continue with traditional homeschooling, adding in co-op classes and registering with an umbrella school.

Have you ever been to a Homeschool Conference?

I have wanted to go to one for YEARS. In June, I will finally get the chance.  The Appalachian Home Educators Conference will be held in Pigeon Forge!!  June is a GREAT time to visit the beautiful Smokey Mountains.  In addition to the conference, there are tons of fun things to do in the area.


This is our first year doing traditional homeschooling and I can't wait to go to listen to all the amazing speakers, browse the used curriculum and talk with homeschooling experts about all the wonderful options available to us as a homeschool family.

AHED is having a Facebook party on Tuesday, February 11th from 7-8pm EST.  Several of the speakers appearing at the conference will be at the party and there will be prizes to win.

Funnix Reading & Math--FREE downloads

All of my kids have learned to read on their own terms.  I've had several early readers and a couple of late readers.  Melanie is 6 and reading has not fully "clicked" for her yet.  She is the baby and seems to think that reading will change that.  I've heard great things about Funnix Reading and they are offering a free download of both their reading and math programs until December 20th.

The program also provides a printable workbook to go along with the computer driven lessons.  I think this may be just the thing to help Melanie finish putting together the little pieces needed to fully grasp reading on her own.

Time 4 Learning Review!

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Over the last month, Maggie has been using Time 4 Learning as part of her school work. I have been impressed with the amount of options and flexibility.  As an 8th grader, she is rather complex.  Time 4 Learning gives the option of working at grade level, one level above or one level below.  In Math she had been struggling with Algebra 1, so we chose to go back to Pre-Algebra  and reinforce the math concepts she will need in order to be successful in Algebra.  Science, History and Language Arts each have options that allowed Maggie to choose WHAT she wanted to study each day. The program tracks what they have completed and starts back up where they left off in each subject. 

In the Parent Account, I am able to access reports that show how long she worked on each subject, what material she completed and the results of any quizzes/tests.  I can also print out reports on what she is doing. 

My younger girls also used the program, but not as extensively as Maggie.  Melanie is in 1st grade, she primarily used the phonics and math lessons for review/enrichment.  She was a bit disappointed that the "Recess" rewards games were links to websites that she already uses.  Marissa is in 2nd grade and a bit more serious about school, she did not like the humor in the lessons and quickly decided not to use it anymore.

Overall, I am very impressed with Time 4 Learning.  It is very affordable, it covers all the subjects my middle schooler needs and it is enjoyable for her, which makes it much easier to get her to DO her schoolwork.  We are on a tight budget so I can not see us paying to use it as a supplement for the younger kids, but it is nice to know it is out there in case we ever need a complete program for them.