"The First Day of Homeschool" - book! :)

I have written a "back-to-school" book!  :)

Well, actually it would be more accurate to say a "back to HOMEschool" book.

Yes, I know there are plenty of popular "back to school" books out there, BUT they deal with a large classroom, getting on the bus, a new teacher who doesn't share your last name, etc.  Great for kids heading into that environment but not so great for homeschool.

For a while, I'd search and search Amazon and libraries for a fun "first day of homeschool" book when that time of year would roll around again.

Now cut to a scene of me with my daughter on our first day, showing her a classroom environment "back to school" book.  Yep, there just wasn't much of a "back to homeschool" book selection out there.

Yikes - it still pains me to this day - sitting there reading to my daughter about the wonderful parts of a first day at school and then closing the book and having to explain how our day was NOT quite like that (still a great day but just not like that).  I know, I know - guilty homeschool mom syndrome - I just  need to let the memory go...

Back to the book - I decided it was time to take action - time to write a book so I could FINALLY have something to read to my kids on their first day of homeschool.  I enlisted my sister-in-law to be the illustrator and she came through with a wonderful mix of cloth and watercolor - even sewing designs into the paper!  Yeah - very cool!  :)

We combined forces and self-published this book (I must say I gained a new respect for editors, publishers, etc. when I had to take on those roles) just in time for our first day of homeschool this year!

It was a pretty neat feeling to read the dedication to my daughter and son - letting them know that I had written it because of them and FOR them.

Then the test.  Would they like it?

YES!  :) 

I am happy to report that the book was a success, AND they enjoyed finding the tiny Homeschool Elf I had hidden in the illustrations as well!  :)

The story begins, "'Twas the night before homeschool" and follows the exciting first day of homeschool for a young child and her family.  They spend time together, complete schoolwork, and even participate in a treasure hunt of sorts for their school supplies when Homeschool Elf hides the items.

By the way - the physical book contains a paper pattern at the end for families to copy and cut out, so they can begin their own Homeschool Elf tradition if they are interested in doing so.  :)

I wanted the book to appeal to children of various ages (something that would please a WHOLE family) because that is often the homeschool set-up!  I included something to capture the attention of young children (hiding Homeschool Elf in the pictures for them to find) AND some questions that would keep the older ones involved as well - sparking some excited responses or discussion.  

In short, I wanted a "hey-let's-ALL-cuddle-together-on-the-couch-and-enjoy-this-book" experience.  I hope my sister-in-law and I have achieved that!  :)

I would love to share this book with other homeschooling families out there but am limited by time and resources (what can I say - I am a homeschooling mom).  So my homeschooling friends - will YOU help me?  It could be as simple as pinning this post, commenting on Facebook, mentioning it to a friend (or many friends), asking for it at your local library, and/or tweeting about it.  Every little bit helps to get the word out there!

If you have a blog and would like to review the book and host a book giveaway - please contact me, and I may send you a couple of copies after I have had a chance to review your blog and decide if it would be a good fit.  Please understand that I may not be able to offer copies to everyone who contacts me (remember the part above about limited time and resources - wink), but know that I really appreciate the interest each of you shows in wanting to share it with others.

The Kindle version is in the works and I hope to have it up very soon!  PLEASE NOTE that even though the Kindle version will have the elf pattern as well, I don't know how it could be copied or if there is a way to print from Kindle.  

I plan to post pictures of the new school room and our FIRST day of homeschool fun around the beginning of next week!  So I hope to "see" you back here then!  :)

Book information:  The book is a thin paperback - 8.5 x 8.5 size

Books may be purchased by clicking the links below or visiting Amazon!  :) 

Lesson Theme: Back to Homeschool and Curriculum List!

WOW!   What a couple of weeks:  back to school excitement and a new blog look that I am L-O-V-I-N-G!  

Jamie from Blood Orange Designs is wonderful and amazing to work with!  Did I mention she is patient - oooohhh so patient - she was great about explaining things that I am sure are super basic in the blogging world but completely overwhelming to NON-tech-savvy me.  :)  She has a great site (check it out), fun blog, and is incredibly talented!  If you are ever in need of some blog design help - Jamie is the person to talk to!  You'll be soooo happy you did!  :)

A few quick things to point out - I now have my very own grab button!  Isn't it pretty?  :)

There's also a menu, new "About" page, AND some great ways to "follow along" (RSS, e-mail, etc.)!  

Can you tell I am excited about my new blog look and features?  ;)  Okay, okay onward I press...

Here are a few of the fun things we did for our first two weeks of "Back to Homeschool"!

Isn't this little family of owls cute?  Inspired by the cardboard tube owls I found hopping around Pinterest, it just seemed to fit with our owl-lish back to school theme so we made some of our own.  

If you missed the post about celebrating our first day back with a special breakfast, some owl surprises, and a visit from the homeschool elf - catch up by reading about it here!  :)

One thing I did this year was to create an activity pack for our "Back to Homeschool" theme.  I wanted something more centered on homeschooling which would also be a fun review of some skills we practiced last year (counting by tens, patterns, etc.), AS WELL AS something to stretch Miss A a bit (building a story using the story spinners, puzzles, defining goals for the year, etc.).

You can see a more detailed description of what is included in the pack here in my TPT store.  For those interested, I have decided to put the pack on SALE for $1.50 the entire month of August!  :)

Wanting to encourage Miss A to begin the year thinking about what it means to be an excellent student, I came up with this activity.  She painted an empty egg carton yellow, and I added some wheels and windows to make a bus.  

We brainstormed what characteristics we thought make someone an "egg"cellent student and wrote them on little slips of paper.  We placed one each inside six eggs left from the spring.  Each egg was then decorated in order to look like a student and placed inside the "bus". :)  

If you make this craft, consider keeping it in a special place in your home where it will be handy to take down and review as needed throughout the year. 

We enjoyed playing this memory game from the Stay At Home Educator blog as well - I would place different school supplies on a tray.  Miss A would look at them, close her eyes, and then I would remove one object.  After she opened her eyes, she would have to try to figure out which item I had removed!  :)

More pictures of some of the activities we worked on from the "Back to Homeschool" activity pack.

Don't you remember when you were younger how much fun it was to "play" school?  Thus, I added some school items to a "Back to School" pretend/play bin for Miss A to use - her excitement was so cute as she lined up her dolls for "school".  

Some of the items inside were flash cards, a blackboard and chalk, ABC book, nursery rhyme book, notebook, an old reader, etc.  Here are some other suggestions for items to include if you make your own tub (and have room inside):  a pointer, dice, an educational game, whiteboard and washable dry erase marker, a small container of school supplies, back to school books from the library, an attendance chart, a pretend planner book, etc.

We also cracked open our NEW books!  Here's our current curriculum list for this year:

Bible:  The Big Book of Questions and Answers  (I also hope to add the The Big Picture Bible Time Line)

Reading/Phonics:  Veritas Press Phonics Museum  AND First Favorites (Veritas Press)

Grammar:  Shurley English

Math:  Saxon 2

Geography:  Legends & Leagues (Veritas Press) AND Beginning Geography (Evan Moor)

Character/Good Citizenship:  Daily Character Education Activities (K-1) by Carson-Dellosa Publishing

AND of course we have handwriting practice, thematic activities, and opportunities for physical ed. (starting up in September)!  

Whew!  Lots of stuff but what fun to be back into schooling once more!  :)

Hope you are having an amazing start to YOUR school year!!!  :)  If you have a back to school post, school organization/planning tip, or homeschool room you would like to share with us, I am currently hosting a linky party here (open the entire month of August) and would love to have you link up to share with the rest of us!  :)

Linking up:

www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com

www.gingersnapcrafts.com

www.printabelle.com

www.themommymess.com

www.polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com

www.milkandcuddles.com

www.momontimeout.com

www.enchantedhomeschoolingmom.blogspot.com

www.handsonaswegrow.com

www.houseofhepworths.com

www.happyhourprojects.com

www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com

www.whipperberry.com

www.homeschoolcreations.com

www.tatertotsandjello.com

Back to Homeschool Activity Pack!

Are you ready for BACK TO SCHOOL?   

We started our new homeschooling year last week and have already been having fun with some of the activities in the Back to Homeschool pack I made for Miss A.  :)  

Lots of fun, descriptions of what is included, and previews in my TPT store here.  PLUS, the entire pack will be on SALE this month for only $1.50!!!  Grab one in time for your first week!

Happy shopping and have a SUPER first day of school!

First Days of School: Hoooo - ray for School!

We had a T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C start to our new school year, and I had so many things to show that I decided to break them into at least two posts.  This one will be mainly about the fun first two or three days so sit back with your mug of coffee/tea and enjoy!  :)  

The kids woke up the first day of our homeschool to a decorated dining room - this year I went with an owl theme.  I could not find any colorful small owl cut outs that I liked, but I did find a border with a bunch of cute owls on it so I bought that instead and cut the owls out.  I then glued them to a "tree" I had cut from some brown paper, glued the entire thing to a skewer and stuck it in the middle of a stack of pancakes.  (Note the sign and the stack of sausages in the background as well).

For the backdrop, I used a vinyl tablecloth and blue napkins which I wrote on with a Sharpie.  And see - more of those little owls sitting on the "o's".  :)  

I made owl placemats to go along with the smaller owls and to add a punch of color to the table.

I found some super cute owl toppers and bought each kiddo a pencil and a grip to match.  

Following breakfast it was time to take a look at the new school supplies - but... UH OH!  They were snitched by the homeschool elf!!!  

However, one thing the homeschool elf likes even more than new school supplies is a good hunt.  Soooo, he risked losing the supplies in order to send the wee ones (actually more like the wee one since our tot wasn't that interested) looking for them via clues he had left around the house.  

The homeschool elf was no match for Miss A, and she found the missing supplies (and the elf sitting with them).  Hooo-ray!  ;)

I always think it adds to the excitement and fun on the first day when the supplies are wrapped up so the kids have something to open.  This time I used paper bags, yarn, white paper (spots on it were made with marker) and more of the owl border (because there were so many in the package) for packaging things up.  

Then it was time to dress in new first day of school clothes (yes, even though we homeschool, I still like to buy something new for the kids that first day) and take our first day pictures...

I love this picture.  So much for trying to get a good shot of his shoes.  ;)

Aren't these cards absolutely adorable?!  Those owls are actually little bookmarks!  I inserted one in a book so you could see how cute they are with the little eyes sticking up.  AND they are a FREE printable!  Get yours here!

These cards were supposed to be on the breakfast table the first day, but I forgot about them in all of the excitement of the morning and realized it later on so they received these days later.  But better late than never, right?  :)  

In addition to starting some of our main subjects, we started some of our activities from the "Back to Homeschool/School" activity pack I made for Miss A (I do have this available in my TPT store here on SALE this month for $1.50!).

She must have had apples on her mind because she drew herself eating apples in her first day portrait.  And I loved her goals for mid year - she wants to be able to read a book and eat an apple at the same time.  I got such a kick out of that.  That prompted a kind of a mini lesson in what I meant by goals.  But definitely a keeper to pull out in later years for a good chuckle.  

We finished off the first few days of school with some yummy cupcakes for our dessert night.  The toppers are more of those owls I cut out from the border and glued to toothpicks.  :) 

So how did you (or do you plan to) celebrate your first exciting day of school?  I have a linky party going on in this post right now through the end of August for people to link up their back to school posts, ideas, homeschool rooms, school organization tips, etc. in hopes of gathering a good collection for other mommies and teachers to use for a resource or inspiration.  I'd love to have you join us if you have something fun to share which would be a good fit for the collection!  :)

Linking up:  

www.cornerstoneconfessions.com

www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com

www.gingersnapcrafts.com

www.milkandcuddles.com

www.enchantedhomeschoolingmom.blogspot.com

www.momontimeout.com

www.handsonaswegrow.com

www.houseofhepworths.com

www.bearrabbitbear.com

www.happyhourprojects.com

www.whipperberry.com

www.homeschoolcreations.net

http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2012/08/weekly-wrap-up-12/

www.tatertotsandjello.com

www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com

www.cheeriosandlattes.com

www.themommymess.com

http://makingtheworldcuter.com/2012/08/making-the-world-cuter-3/ 

www.delicateconstruction.com

Reading Spot and Homeschool Havens - Link Up! :)

Amid the sea of boxes and boxes and boxes and - well, you get the picture ;) - we DO have a little spot that can be used for a reading corner this coming school year!  (The fireplace can be turned on without the heater option during the hotter months.)

As we wait for our new home to be completed (very excited!), we are unfortunately going to be spending the first few months of school still in transition mode so no super cute, organized homeschool room here.  :(  Sad, I know.

So for now I will just have to live vicariously through the homeschool rooms of others.  Surely you won't mind.  ;)

Seriously though, don't we all love to peek in at other people's homeschool rooms or spaces via blogs and Pinterest?  It is so much fun to see all the creativity, organization, determination, hard work, and joy that have gone into making a special room or a space just for learning.  Be it an entire room, a snug little corner of your house, or an idea you use to help make your homeschool day run a little bit more smoothly - won't you please, PLEASE share it with us?  :)

Don't be shy and link up!  :)  This party will remain open until August 31st so you have plenty of time to share your ideas and pictures.   I do ask that you please keep the links limited to homeschool havens/school classrooms, organization tips, and first day fun posts.  :)  Thanks!

Not a lot of rules for this party, just be considerate of others and please link back here when you are done so others can join in the fun!  :)  And if you see a post by someone that you think would be a great fit with this collection, please send them this way!  :)

Linking up:
www.diyhshp.blogspot.com
www.delicateconstruction.com
www.skiptomylou.org
www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com
www.gingersnapcrafts.com
www.momontimeout.com
www.enchantedhomeschoolingmom.blogspot.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
www.handsonaswegrow.com
www.bearrabbitbear.com
www.happyhourprojects.com
www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
www.whipperberry.com
www.homeschoolcreations.net

Student ID Cards - Have You Made or Ordered Yours?

So in the process of getting ready for this coming school year, I designed a cute student identification card for Miss A and a cute teacher identification card for me.  :)  I know there are some places online where you can have one made, but I thought it might be neat to make our own.  And I must admit I really like how they turned out.  :)

I did not purchase the required license for the graphics in order to allow me to give these ID cards away for free (scroll down for FREE card without graphics).  So I decided to add them to a Back to Homeschool Activity Pack I made for my daughter's first couple of weeks of homeschool.   Here's a sneak preview and YES, I just put that in my TPT store this morning so it is now available here!

But for those who were hoping for something FREE, I also removed the graphic and made a simple version of the ID card that I could offer without a license!  Here's the link.

IMPORTANT:  Both the free version and the paid version have editable layers that can be changed if you have Photoshop (Elements 7 or higher, I believe) or another program that will allow you to edit PDF layers.  For those who don't have that option, I have also included blank copies of the free and paid versions so you can just print the cards and fill in the information by hand.  Then you would just cut and paste your student/child's picture to the card.  Finally, laminate your card to help it hold up throughout the year.  :)

P.S.  It would be a good idea to check first whether your state has specific requirements for ID's before you make your own.


I hope to have a LINKY PARTY this coming Monday called HOMESCHOOL HAVENS where you can link up photos or posts about your own special homeschooling spot (don't we all love to peek into those fun areas and see what other homeschooling moms are doing)!  I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to have you link up so please check back Monday!  :)

Linking up to:
www.gingersnapcrafts.com
www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com
www.jaqsstudio.com
www.733blog.com
www.momontimeout.com
www.enchantedhomeschoolingmom.blogspot.com
www.houseofhepworths.com
www.bearrabbitbear.com
www.kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com
www.whipperberry.com
www.livinglifeintentionally.blogspot.com

BACK TO SCHOOL First Day Part 2

Part 1 of my last post stated how we began our first day of Kindergarten homeschooling - a fun breakfast and treasure hunt. The rest of the day was spent schooling, a first day photo shoot with mommy of course, meeting daddy for lunch, and to close the day on an especially sweet note - we ate some little treats we had made: apple-surprise-inside cupcakes! Yes, there is actually a surprise inside each cupcake - read on...

These are the basic apple cupcakes you see floating around on the web celebrating many a commence of school - but with a fun twist. We scoop out part of the inside of the cupcake and insert either "apple seeds" which are really chocolate chips, or a gummy worm (thus the worm inside the apple idea). Then we close them back up and enjoy seeing what we get when we bite into one at the end of the first day of school. :) BTW - I did not have pretzels on hand for the stems so out of necessity, I found some candy canes in the cupboard, broke them into pieces, and we dipped those in chocolate and used them as stems instead. I like how they turned out - different and very tasty. :) The leaf is actually part of a gummy fruit slice - also very yummy. :)

A view of the inside of a couple of the cupcakes before we filled them back up and put the tops back on.  :)  I must admit that I found myself secretly hoping my apple surprise cupcake would yield the "seeds" when I bit into it.  :)

Linking up to these great parties:

www.makingtheworldcuter.blogspot.com

www.sumossweetstuff.blogpspot.com

www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com

www.runwithglitter.blogspot.com

www.bluecricketdesign.net

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