Tuesday, June 30, 2015
School Supplies!
Who doesn't love new supplies? The girls had so much fun decorating their supplies today! We decided, instead of writing our names on everything, that we would decorate our stuff with washi tape! Each girl got to pick out two rolls of tape and personalize their supplies. They turned out pretty cute! And no fighting over pencils and crayons!
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
The World Awaits!
We have a theme for our first year of homeschooling!
We're going to begin after the holiday in July with map skills and easing into our routine. Then it's a trip around the world! Each three week unit (with a week off in between) will center on a part of the world and will incorporate Language, History, Social Studies, Geography, Reading, Math, Science, Art, Field Trips, and Life Skills.
Here are our units.
Unit 1 : Oklahoma
Unit 2 : United States (by region) ((perfect timing! we'll be in northern California!))
Unit 3 : Canada and Mexico (or North America)
Unit 4 : Central and South America
Unit 5 : Africa
Unit 6 : Europe
Unit 7 : Middle East
Unit 8 : Asia
Unit 9 : Australia
Unit 10 : The Arctic and Antarctic
Unit 11 : Space
This gets us through May of 2016 when we'll take a month off to enjoy Summer!
Our method is a little mix of unschooling and unit study. I will not be purchasing a curriculum this year. Fortunately, in Oklahoma, there aren't many rules for homeschoolers. So we're free to learn as we wish!
How do you homeschool? Do you use curriculum? Online school? Make it up as you go?
(credit : I created this image in Picmonkey but it's inspired by
We're going to begin after the holiday in July with map skills and easing into our routine. Then it's a trip around the world! Each three week unit (with a week off in between) will center on a part of the world and will incorporate Language, History, Social Studies, Geography, Reading, Math, Science, Art, Field Trips, and Life Skills.
Here are our units.
Unit 1 : Oklahoma
Unit 2 : United States (by region) ((perfect timing! we'll be in northern California!))
Unit 3 : Canada and Mexico (or North America)
Unit 4 : Central and South America
Unit 5 : Africa
Unit 6 : Europe
Unit 7 : Middle East
Unit 8 : Asia
Unit 9 : Australia
Unit 10 : The Arctic and Antarctic
Unit 11 : Space
This gets us through May of 2016 when we'll take a month off to enjoy Summer!
Our method is a little mix of unschooling and unit study. I will not be purchasing a curriculum this year. Fortunately, in Oklahoma, there aren't many rules for homeschoolers. So we're free to learn as we wish!
How do you homeschool? Do you use curriculum? Online school? Make it up as you go?
I spent our snow day yesterday organizing my Homeschool Pinterest boards. It's a rough life. If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest you can find me at https://www.pinterest.com/kimmccoy/.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Go Fund Me : A Fundraiser
I have a love/hate relationship with fundraisers.
I HATE that our public school system sends one home every couple of months. I hate that they HAVE to. I hate that it's crap no one wants. I volunteered a long time ago to just hand the teacher $50 to use for whatever she needed. Fundraisers suck!
I, however, LOVE fundraisers that raise money for people and organizations that truly need it. I do cupcake fundraisers for people in my community. I donate to a local organization that helps cancer patients. Susan G Komen, St Jude, etc. Fundraisers rock!
All that to say...I started a Go Fund Me for our homeschooling needs. Go check it out.
gofund.me/l6w7g0
I HATE that our public school system sends one home every couple of months. I hate that they HAVE to. I hate that it's crap no one wants. I volunteered a long time ago to just hand the teacher $50 to use for whatever she needed. Fundraisers suck!
I, however, LOVE fundraisers that raise money for people and organizations that truly need it. I do cupcake fundraisers for people in my community. I donate to a local organization that helps cancer patients. Susan G Komen, St Jude, etc. Fundraisers rock!
All that to say...I started a Go Fund Me for our homeschooling needs. Go check it out.
gofund.me/l6w7g0
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
99 Reasons and Yours Won't Be One of Them
I feel like I should elaborate our reasoning for homeschooling. If nothing else it may be helpful for someone else.
1. Early Wake-Up Time. We have to wake up at 6:30 am to catch the bus. We ride the bus so we aren't tardy. I don't even have to wake up by 6:30 am to go to work. The girls are exhausted. D#2 still sometimes requires a nap. I know I do.
2. Sick Days. We seem to catch every cold that goes around. Maybe we can cut down on that a little. Germ-X anyone? Oh, and don't get me started on head lice.
3. Homework. Oh, the homework. We've been pretty lucky this year with homework. Our current teachers only send home work that wasn't completed in class. Reading is their only true homework. The problem is that D#1 doesn't get her work done in class. She says she doesn't have enough time.
4. Packing Lunches. I hate packing lunches at 7:00 am. Enough said.
5. No crowds at our favorite places. Ever try to go to Target on a Saturday with three kids? The park? The Zoo? Disney World?
6. Drama. Bullies. Peer Pressure. There's always that one kid on the bus. That one girl that loves drama. This kind of "socialization" is not what I want for my girls.
7. School Clothes and the Dress Code. No short shorts or tank tops when it's 105* with a heat index of 115* in Oklahoma in August? No snarky tee shirts because it might offend someone? Also, no school clothes shopping in August. Good-bye!
8. More time with family. Grandma and Grandpa live close but for how long? The only time I spend with my girls is telling them to clean up, do homework, and get ready for school. We hardly have time for fun.
9. More opportunities for teaching home living. Gardening, pet care, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, menu planning, bill paying, etc, etc, etc. Real life stuff, y'all.
10. No more sending money to school. Fundraisers, yearbooks, class tee shirts, field trips, parties, school photos. So long!
11. No more Fluff. No more vision screenings that my kids don't need. No more head lice screenings. No more sing-a-longs. No more Jump Rope Man.
12. No more tests. The only test I plan on giving is a learning style assessment. Maybe spelling tests but only because the girls requested them already. Goodbye, various tests that tell me nothing or what I already know!
13. Movies. The girls come home a LOT saying they watched a movie at school. A movie in PE because the gym was being decorated for a program. A movie in the library because the Book Fair was going on. A movie in class because teacher was testing.
14. Field Trips. We went on a field trip this year to one of our favorite places. It was a lot of standing in line and waiting since we had to wait on 200 other kids to see exhibits and use the bathroom. We hardly saw anything. Now, we can take ALL DAY to thoroughly explore every nook and cranny.
15. Lockdowns, Weather, Etc. I want my kids with me if there is an active shooter or tornado bearing down on our city. Also, we make our own snow days.
16. Policies, Policies, and even more Policies. I know they are there for a reason but when I can't pick up missed work for my kid that has the flu or bring cupcakes for my kid's birthday or check my kid out early without being penalized, or talk to my kid's teacher whenever I want...the list is long.
17. More time to eat and play. The lunch hour at school has been reduced to about 40 minutes including recess and standing in line for your food. Scarf your food down, girls. We need enough time to run to the playground equipment so we can turn around and come back in.
18. That parking lot though.
1. Early Wake-Up Time. We have to wake up at 6:30 am to catch the bus. We ride the bus so we aren't tardy. I don't even have to wake up by 6:30 am to go to work. The girls are exhausted. D#2 still sometimes requires a nap. I know I do.
2. Sick Days. We seem to catch every cold that goes around. Maybe we can cut down on that a little. Germ-X anyone? Oh, and don't get me started on head lice.
3. Homework. Oh, the homework. We've been pretty lucky this year with homework. Our current teachers only send home work that wasn't completed in class. Reading is their only true homework. The problem is that D#1 doesn't get her work done in class. She says she doesn't have enough time.
4. Packing Lunches. I hate packing lunches at 7:00 am. Enough said.
5. No crowds at our favorite places. Ever try to go to Target on a Saturday with three kids? The park? The Zoo? Disney World?
6. Drama. Bullies. Peer Pressure. There's always that one kid on the bus. That one girl that loves drama. This kind of "socialization" is not what I want for my girls.
7. School Clothes and the Dress Code. No short shorts or tank tops when it's 105* with a heat index of 115* in Oklahoma in August? No snarky tee shirts because it might offend someone? Also, no school clothes shopping in August. Good-bye!
8. More time with family. Grandma and Grandpa live close but for how long? The only time I spend with my girls is telling them to clean up, do homework, and get ready for school. We hardly have time for fun.
9. More opportunities for teaching home living. Gardening, pet care, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, menu planning, bill paying, etc, etc, etc. Real life stuff, y'all.
10. No more sending money to school. Fundraisers, yearbooks, class tee shirts, field trips, parties, school photos. So long!
11. No more Fluff. No more vision screenings that my kids don't need. No more head lice screenings. No more sing-a-longs. No more Jump Rope Man.
12. No more tests. The only test I plan on giving is a learning style assessment. Maybe spelling tests but only because the girls requested them already. Goodbye, various tests that tell me nothing or what I already know!
13. Movies. The girls come home a LOT saying they watched a movie at school. A movie in PE because the gym was being decorated for a program. A movie in the library because the Book Fair was going on. A movie in class because teacher was testing.
14. Field Trips. We went on a field trip this year to one of our favorite places. It was a lot of standing in line and waiting since we had to wait on 200 other kids to see exhibits and use the bathroom. We hardly saw anything. Now, we can take ALL DAY to thoroughly explore every nook and cranny.
15. Lockdowns, Weather, Etc. I want my kids with me if there is an active shooter or tornado bearing down on our city. Also, we make our own snow days.
16. Policies, Policies, and even more Policies. I know they are there for a reason but when I can't pick up missed work for my kid that has the flu or bring cupcakes for my kid's birthday or check my kid out early without being penalized, or talk to my kid's teacher whenever I want...the list is long.
17. More time to eat and play. The lunch hour at school has been reduced to about 40 minutes including recess and standing in line for your food. Scarf your food down, girls. We need enough time to run to the playground equipment so we can turn around and come back in.
18. That parking lot though.
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