A look inside our preschool

I love homeschooling.  A few years ago, when I first began homeschooling my oldest, I was really afraid of messing up my kids.  What if I couldn't teach them to read?  What if they didn't learn to love school the way I did?  What if I missed something? 

Those fears were definitely valid, but I AM SO GLAD they didn't keep me from starting the homeschooling journey in the first place.  Because, like I said before... I LOVE it.  Sure, there are days when I feel like I can't fit everything in, days when the kids just don't want to cooperate, and days when I'm so exhausted I just can't see straight.  But then there are days like today when we get to do apple stamp painting and experiments to make eggs float in water... I love seeing my boys get excited about stuff like that!  I love teaching them God's Word and seeing it come alive to them.

Anyway... enough with the gushy stuff and on to the whole point of this post: Our preschool syllabus!  I've had several friends and family ask about what I'm doing for school this year.  My answer is usually, "We're doing "My Father's World", and I love it!"  I can't say enough good things about this curriculum, but since that isn't the point of this post, then I'll just direct you to their website for more info: www.mfwbooks.com.  EXCELLENT curriculum. 



My Father's World is what I've used for Kindergarten, 1st grade and now for 2nd grade, but I do my own thing for preschool.  There's so much free stuff on the internet that I decided to compile things and put together my own curriculum for preschool.  This year for Zeke, I took what I did with Gabe and added to it.  So here it is, in a nutshell, with some free downloadable docs for you to use if you'd like!

Our preschool syllabus (Download available at the end of this post)
- This syllabus is based on the "letter of the week" style and includes learning letters, Bible verses, numbers, shapes, colors and a few other things.

We use the book "My ABC Bible Verses" by Susan Hunt.  It includes an excellent story with each letter/Bible verse that explains the verse to young kids.  To go along with this, I created some verse cards so we can display the verse he's learned/learning.  These cards also make it easier to review the verses.  (Download for the ABC Bible verse cards is available at the end of this post.)

I guess I should mention that I changed one of the verses that we use.  For the letter "C", I decided to use Eph. 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." instead of the slightly longer version they include in the book from Colossians.

I printed off a bunch of different free worksheets from the internet (for letters, shapes, numbers, etc.) and organized them into binders.  I suppose I could have printed stuff off a week at a time, but I wanted to be prepared and do it all at before the school year began.  Here's a picture of Zeke's alphabet binder with a few of the different pages pulled out for you to see:

Please ignore the crayon marks on the table.  : )  I decided to put a few of the pages inside sheet protectors so he can use a dry erase marker to trace over them again and again.  Here's some of my favorite websites for printing free preschool worksheets...

• http://www.first-school.ws/theme/alphabet.htm
• http://www.kidslearningstation.com/
• http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/2009/05/preschool-alphabet-worksheets/
• http://www.earlylearningactivities.com/PDF/alphadoadot.pdf

Here's a few more websites with fun craft and activity ideas for each letter.

• http://totallytots.homestead.com/NowIKnowMyABCs.html
• http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/index.html

Here are two different blogs that have WONDERFUL ideas and free printables for the "letter of the week" preschool curriculum.  Be sure to check these blogs out!

• http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week  She offers free printables along with the entire set of downloads for purchase.
• http://www.cornerstoneconfessions.com/search/label/homeschool  She is currently teaching her daughter preschool, so each week she posts their plans for the week.  GREAT stuff.

My kids love the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, so I decided to put a coconut tree on our school wall.  Each week when we introduce the new letter, we make it "climb up the tree" and there it stays as a visual reminder of the letter.

My original plan was to go to the dollar store and get the punch out letters that teachers use on bulletin boards.  However, I didn't get to the dollar store until the Saturday before school started, so of course they were all sold out.  Plan B: Make my own letters, then cut them out!  I don't have a laminator, so I decided to print them out on photo paper.  This way I can reuse them with the next kiddo.  I am focusing on capital letters this year, so I used capitals instead of lowercase like are in the book.  (In case you'd like to make your own letters, I am also including that document at the end of this post for you to download.)

My sweet boy was SO excited to start doing school like his big brother!

Here's your free downloads!  Hope you are able to use them, and please feel free to pass them along to someone else if you think they can use them.  If you have any questions about any of this or about homeschooling in general, feel free to ask! 

Preschool Syllabus

Preschool ABC Verse Cards

Letters for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree

To show that you believe

O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E
Since we have young children, this is such a relevant topic in our house right now.  Both of our boys are defiant, headstrong and stubborn.  Extremely so.  (and we fear that our daughter is probably the same way!... but what did we really expect since we are both defiant, headstrong and stubborn. Extremely so.) Being consistent in teaching them obedience is really important, especially at this stage.  One of the things we are working with our kids on is that obedience is only true obedience when we obey...

ALL the way
RIGHT away
and with a HAPPY HEART

Usually when they do what we ask, they are still not doing it by the above qualifications.  They obey begrudgingly, or they dawdle or they don't finish the job.  Obeying this way is not true obedience.

Hmm... starting to sound convicting?  It is to me.  I started thinking about this today...

Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."

Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, be subject to your own husbands..."

1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world nor the things of this world..."

These are some of the commands that God expects me to obey.  Easy?  Definitely not.  And then today I started thinking... am I really obeying God with the same qualifications that I require of my children?

ALL the way
RIGHT away
and with a HAPPY HEART

Definitely convicting...

Quick and easy breakfast ideas!

Now that we've started school again (I currently homeschool my oldest), the mornings always seem to be rushed.  I try to get up, get myself ready, get the kids ready and get them breakfast by a reasonable time so we can get started on schoolwork.  Some days the mornings can be a little stressful, yet I still desire to give my kids a hearty breakfast in the middle of the rush.  Does this sound familiar?  Are mornings like this at your house?

I recently came across some quick and easy breakfast ideas on moneysavingmom.com.  (By the way, if you like to follow blogs... this is definitely one you should check out.  It's my fave!)  Here are two genius ideas for quick, easy and filling breakfasts (and kid friendly!)

Freezer Oatmeal: Bear with me... this sounds gross, and it doesn't look appetizing either, but it's great!  Make up a big batch of oatmeal (I love old fashioned, following the recipe on the side of the oats container, plus adding cinnamon).  Place it on "clumps" on a cookie sheet (about a serving size per "clump") and freeze for 30 minutes to an hour. (Otherwise known as "flash freezing".)  Once the oatmeal is fairly frozen, remove from the cookie sheet and put in a freezer bag.  When you're ready to eat, just microwave and add milk (and whatever else you want... think raisins, craisins, nuts, fruit, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc.) 

Fruited Pancake Muffins: This is such a great idea!  Make up pancake batter however you like (from scratch or a mix).  Fill greased muffin cups halfway, then put some cut up fruit on top.  Top with a little more pancake batter.  (Optional: Put cinnamon, sugar or a cinnamon/sugar mixture on top)  Bake at 350 for 15-25 minutes.  We had these for breakfast this morning and they were a big hit!  (Don't forget that you can freeze extra muffins and pull them out for another easy breakfast some other time!) 



Need other quick and easy breakfast ideas?  Try freezing extra pancakes, waffles, or French toast then reheating them in the toaster!

My Pinterest Addiction

I must confess that I am addicted... to Pinterest.  If you are a fellow Pinterest user I'm sure you know what I mean... you can easily lose track of time looking through pins and getting fabulous ideas.  Never heard of Pinterest?  Well, you're kind of missing out.  But let me warn you... it's addictive!

If you're interested in checking out my current pins, check out http://pinterest.com/grace37/
(If you aren't a current Pinterest user, you may have to sign up for an account first.)

Corndog Muffins

My kids now think I'm cool.  This wasn't my goal in life, but I sure don't mind it.  =)  Why am I so cool?  Because I made them corndog muffins.  I took something they love (corndogs) and made a muffin out of it.  Yep, they love them!

If you'd like to try this, here's how:

Mix up some cornbread batter (from scratch or a mix... I've tried both.)  Put it into sprayed muffin tins.
Cut up hotdogs into thirds (if you have the bun length variety, you'll want to cut them into fourths).
Place a hot dog piece on top of the cornbread batter and lightly press down.
Bake according to your cornbread recipe.  (Probably at about 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.)

Enjoy!  Pretty easy, and they're much cheaper and healthier than actual corndogs.

(I got the idea and recipe from here.)

Hint: These freeze pretty well, which makes for quick and easy lunches!  Just heat them in the microwave for a few seconds and they're as good as fresh from the oven!

I Scream, You Scream

We all scream for ice cream!  We are having fun making homemade ice cream this summer!  The ice cream machine that I got for free at a yard sale a few years ago finally died on us, so we replaced it with a smaller model that allows us to use the ice from our freezer instead of store bought ice.  Yay!  After trying several different recipes, we have found a favorite.  The best thing about it?  It's not only the yummiest and healthiest recipe we've tried, but it's also the easiest!

Want to know it?  Well, of course!  I wouldn't dream of keeping such a wonderful thing to myself!  :)

Easy Homemade Ice Cream
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (you can use fat free!)
4 cups of half and half (once again... fat free! 4 cups is the equivalent of a large carton of half and half)
2 Tbs of vanilla

Mix ingredients together (yes, that's it... just those three ingredients!) and add in whatever mixins you like.  Pour into your chilled ice cream maker container and freeze it in your machine.  (That's it folks!  No cooking over the stove or keeping it in the fridge for hours before you can freeze it!)

Our favorite thing to mix in?  Butterfingers!  We've also tried and liked peaches and cinnamon (tastes like peach cobbler!), Oreos, and cocoa powder and chopped chocolate chips. The next things I want to try are strawberries and cream cheese and root beer extract!  Want to join us?

Double Coupon Tuesdays at UV Walmarts!

A few months ago I started really getting into couponing.  I have always kept an eye out for restaurant and entertainment coupons in order to stretch our budget for being able to get out and do fun stuff, but I'd never really paid much attention to grocery coupons before.  Man, I was really missing out!  I'm saving money and having tons of fun at the same time!  There's nothing quite like walking out of the store with items that you actually got for FREE because of coupons.  Yep... now if only I had more storage to be able to put everything I'm stocking up on.  =)

I have learned to be careful because couponing can take up tons of time.  You might save money with coupons, but time is money.  Finding a good balance and not going overboard is important.  (Anyone seen TLC's "Extreme Couponing"?  Yeah, I'm not into spending 30 hours a week clipping coupons and clearing the shelves in the store.)

Many of the websites I look at mentioned being able to double your coupons at certain stores, and I was sad that we didn't have stores that really did that around here.  Well, that has changed now!  On Tuesdays, our local Utah Valley Walmarts are now doubling coupons (up to $1.00!).  Up until today, I hadn't actually tried to venture out and try it for myself yet.  But, with some extra time last night to search out deals and clip my coupons, and with my sister visiting today (so I had some help with the kiddos), I decided that today would be the day.

How did it go?  The shelves were still fairly well stocked, the kids behaved better than expected, and we got some great deals!  Some of the items I got for free are: Sensodyne toothpaste (trial size, but still... free!), Curad bandaids, M &M's, 3 Musketeers candy bars, etc., along with many other things that I got for less than one dollar!  Success!

One of these days I plan on blogging about some of my couponing tips that you might find helpful if you'd like to get more into couponing or if you're an average, non-extreme couponer like me.  =)