A Slice of Smith Life: Homeschool Mother's Journal

Homeschool Mother's Journal: Summer Edition #2

I'm linking this post to The Homeschool Chick's most recent Homeschool Mother's Journal post.

In my life this week…

We started back this week to our homeschool schedule using these curriculum choices. I like to start a few weeks before public/private schools to get into a routine without having to juggle extra activities like soccer practices/Boy Scouts. I also don't like to start our first week of school during my birthday week which is toward the end of August.

In our homeschool this week…

I have started teaching alot of our morning subjects, but will be gradually phasing in Writing, Science, History, and Latin. I like to ease into our school day since it's too long and overwhelming to introduce all our subjects during the first day of school. This is definitely a benefit to homeschooling to be able to make our own schedule to avoid burnout.

My favorite thing this week was…

getting our new pets from our friends who are moving to a smaller place and they can't bring their Australian Bearded Dragon Lizard and 5 chickens with them! See pictures below of "Leo George Pio" the lizard and our 5 chickens that we shall name in the near future!

Questions/thoughts I have…

I hope I will be a good mama to Leo and 5 chickens since having pets (especially these unique creatures) is so out of my comfort zone! I also wonder if anyone else has such a unique combination of pets like us?????

I’m grateful for…

my husband who said "Sure!" when I asked him if we should take in a lizard and chickens and I'm grateful for our children who love our new family members :)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share… I have lots of photos to share this week:

My cupcakes making their "Tee-rific" T-shirts like the beginning of last school year.

"We've had a "Tee-rific" Summer!

My daughter is holding up her "I'm a 6th Grader" sign. I just printed them and then laminated them so I can reuse them with my other children.

My son is holding up his "I'm a 4th Grader" sign.

My daughter is a proud 2nd Grader!

Our youngest likes to join in on the studies too as a Preschooler!

I found the Free printable grade signs HERE after reading Adventure's in Home Education blog post HERE. They are Free so go to the links to print them out!

We made and ate our cross cake that we do at the beginning of each school year.

And here's Leo.......

And here's our 5 chickens that we just got tonight! We are now the proud owners of 5 one-year old hens. We have two Buff Orpingtons and three smaller ones are Golden Duckwing Phoenix Bantams. I took this quick shot of the chickens tonight. This is where they sleep in their coop. More pics to come later I'm sure :)

Join August's No Ordinary Blog Hop (NOBH) by clicking on button below!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Summer Edition

I'm linking this post to The Homeschool Chick's most recent Homeschool Mother's Journal post.

In my life this week…

My family and I are trying to stay cool in the hot weather. My neighbor said the heat index today was likely to reach 120 degrees! Dear God, thank you for our cool home and I pray for all those that don't get a break from this heat.

In our homeschool this week…

I am still in the process of planning out for this coming school year. I hope to start early August. I plan to do a post soon on ALL that I am planning to do with my children. I'm thinking there are not enough hours in the day to do all the curriculum I bought, but like Anna-Marie at Life's Adventures, I'm thinking positively too! :)

My favorite thing this week was…

the cookout we hosted tonight for our co-ed softball team. We had a great time with all the players, their spouses, and kids and it was great fun to fellowship with everyone off the field!

Questions/thoughts I have…

If you homeschool, do you get overwhelmed just before another school year begins? I've been homeschooling now since 2005 and each year sometimes feels like the first year of homeschooling because of new family dynamics and curriculum.

I’m cooking…

anything that is on sale and/or have a coupon for at Harris Teeter :)

I’m grateful for…

my hard working husband, children, and a cool home to get relief from this heat wave.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

In the picture below are most of the members of our co-ed softball team. Our team is made up of 30/40 something year olds, with one 20 something year old. Everyone on our team has children, except for the 20 something year old who is engaged and we have 7 married couples on the team including my husband and me. So it is always a good time to hang out with the adults and play a fun softball game. Last night was the tournament championship game and we won! Can you find me? We all look so lovely with our dirty, sweaty selves in this photo. We had a fun and great season! I'm sorry to see the season end :(

In the picture below, my husband said make a silly face (it's a tradition to make at least one silly shot in our family), so I listened and stuck out my tongue, I think my husband is yelling and then no one else on the team listened! :)