Reading Through the Summer

One of my goals here at the LSG House is to have keep a steady learning environment. So that means that even when we are on a break of sorts from school, I still have my kids read. 

Just about every weekday my kids are required to read.  Usually they have quiet time in the after noon for about an hour and a half -during which time they are to read and then they can play quietly in their rooms or nap.  The girls are to read at least a chapter.  Alpha Boy is required to chill in his room and look at books for about 20-30 minutes.  Little Bits usually gets a story read to him either by me or one of the girls before his afternoon nap, afterwards he will usually look at a few books before drifting off to sleep.

We do a good amount of reading together during the day.  We read historical fictions, character sketches and about missionaries together,  So for their QT reading I allow them to choose what they would like to read for fun.  Current or recent books for the girls include Ginger Pye, Little Women, and American Girl Doll Books.  Alpha Boy loves I Spy Books and Little Bits {and everyone else} really likes Bernstein Bear Books. 

Up until this summer, we have taken the summers off, like mid May to mid August off.  This summer will be a little different.  Because of the new curriculum that we are using this coming year I have decided to take a few weeks and then keep plugging along.  {more on this later}

Even though we are going to continue with school we are going to join in the our county library's summer reading program as well as the one from Barnes and Nobles.  They are reading anyway but I think these programs will be a nice little incentive to keep on keepin' on. 

I am also considering starting an American Girl Doll book club this summer - this is still being worked out in my brain but I did think this would be a fun way to hang with friends, meet new friends and make reading fun!

Some ideas to make summer reading fun would be:

• Read through all the books from the Five in a Row Series for fun.
• Pick one American Girl Doll and read the whole series about her aloud.  Don't forget incorporate some the crafts and recipes for her time period.
• Just because it's summer does not mean kids can't make a lapbook, some of my children really enjoy making these.  Homeschool Share has oodles of lapbooks, for freeeee!
• Pick a few ideas from my Bringing Books to Life Series and do them with a book you've read.
• Start a summer reading club!

What summer reading plans do you have??

Menu Plan 6/11/12

Here's what's cookin' at the LSG House this week....

Breakfasts

Giant Breakfast Cookies - double and freeze.  No, you don't need your eyes checked.  We ARE having cookies for breakfast : )

Cereal

Waffles

PB Toast w/ Fruit

Pancakes - double and freeze

Oven Eggs & Toast

Baked Oatmeal


Lunches
Corn Dog Muffins - double and freeze

Mac & Cheese

Tuna Melt Crackers - a spoonful of tuna (mixed with a little mayo, salt and pepper) on crackers sprinkled with shredded cheddar.  I just heat them up in the toast oven.  Yumm yum!

Cheese Quesadillas

Turkey & Cheese Rolls

PB & J's

Dino Nuggets & Fries

Dinners

Baked Cavatini & Green Beans - double and freeze

Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken w/ Parsley Potatoes and Broccoli

Homemade Pizza

Chicken w/ Cream Cheese and Bacon over Rice w/ Green Beans

Beef Stroganoff and Mixed Veggies

Grilled Chicken Salad

Meatball Subs

Snacks -
Apple Bread - double and freeze

Bird Nests - double and freeze


Note:  All meals are served with fruits and /or veggies.

Anyone trying anything new this week?

Victory in Jesus

Somehow I managed to skip over this favorite of mine.  I can't believe that I have never posted this song! Ever since the Lord saved me, I have loved Victory in Jesus! 

Jesus had victory over sin and death and through His blood, we have victory in Him! 

Big Curriculum Changes are Coming! {Trail Guide to Learning}

I am so excited!  We are going to be starting a new curriculum next year, mid July to be exact.

We are going to be using Trail Guide to Learning - Paths of Exploration {POE} by Debbie Strayer and Linda Fowler.  For times like this, I really wish there was a cute little abbreviation for a homeschool mom doing cartwheels in her front yard!

I knew that we were going to be studying American History this year and I had assumed that we would just continue with our regularly scheduled program {curriculum} but then I started peeking around to see what else was out there. 

Here was my criteria for potential new curriculum:

• Biblically sound - check!
• It had to be something everyone could do together {I am not about to embark on 3 different history books thank you very much} - check!
• Bible, History, Science  should flow together - check!
• I wanted to read REAL BOOKS - check, check and check!
• We do oral narration but I felt like I we needed a little more, like discussion questions - check!
• Charlotte Mason friendly - check!
• Notebooking and lapbooking - check!
• TM needs to be laid out in homeschool mom terms that my brain  could understand AND follow through with - double checkity check!!
• Interesting books and hands on activities - check!
• I would like to keep Fridays free or light - check!

When the UPS man delivered the box I tried to act like it was no big deal and sneek into the house.  ALONE.  But as you can see I ended up having help.  My little dude loved that everything was wrapped.  He helped unwrap everything while asking me if these were for his birthday {smile}.

Things that exceeded my expectations:

• Character Traits are something I am always trying to incorporate into our day but sometimes fail to do so.  I love that this is integrated into the Bible Portion of POE {Light for the Trail which is sold separately}
• We love Nature Studies but rarely fit in Nature Walks and never get around to using our Handbook of Nature Study book.  Would you believe that a main component of POE's Science is the Handbook of Nature Study!!!
• I really like that the TM is broken into 6 week unit increments.  I also like that week 6 is for review and catch up. 
• Language Arts in included in this curriculum.  From what I understand so far, it is taught through literature Ruth Beechick style. 
• Not only are there hands on activities there are GAMES!!  My kids are going to love playing Columbus Bingo and Charades!

 As you can see, this looks like a great curriculum!  I will update my thoughts on POE once we get started and as we move along. 

Anyone else starting something completely new this year?

Disclaimer: I received Trail Guide for Learning - Paths to Exploration, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

Fun & Frugal Summer Activites for Kids

If your little peeps are anything like mine, they can tend to get a little boooored when most of the school books have been put down. This year I am being proactive, in other words I a gotta plan!

I am scoping out some fun summer activities {hopefully the kind that lasts for more than 10 minutes} for them to do. 

Here are my requirements:
1) frugal
2) simple
3) fun!

Here's 10 great ideas that I found.....

I am soooo doing this one! Just the other day my kids went through 4 bottles of bubbles in about 5 minutes flat. These recipes look super easy, easy enough for the kids to even mix up on their own.

Sidewalk paint sounds like a winner! My kids ALWAYS want to paint - what better way to fill that desire than outside on the patio or sidewalk!!

My kids love to play with pool noodles, and I don't even mean in the pool. They have used them for jousting when we studied knight and they can frequently be seen playing with them on our trampoline. I think this would be a huge hit!

These little babies look like they would kids the kids off the couch! Sponge Bombs would be great to add into backyard water play. Simple, cheap and fun, fun, fun!

I am not normally a fan of my husband's soda habit but this week... drink up honey! These are soda bottle bowling pins are awesome and I am definitely making them! The kids have already seen them and approve : )

A great way to get out and about would be a Nature Scavenger Hunt! I plan to take the kids to a local park to do this.

I think that a Backyard Twister Game would win me a Best Mom of the Year Award for sure!

 

For the Angry Bird fans.... Angry Bird Water Balloon Game. This looks so fun that I believe I will be playing this one too!

 

My boys will LOVE this! All you do is grab some masking tape and your imagination and get to it! I am saving this one for a rainy day.

I found several backyard water play ideas on Family Fun Magazine's website.

Check out my New 101 Fun & Frugal Summer Activities for Kids Series!