Homeschooling for Dummies

Hello All!

We are still waiting on tutoring information regarding Ricky’s new schooling situation. So in the mean time, I’ve whipped into full speed homeschool mode!

It’s not as challenging as I originally thought it would be 🙂 He has been super receptive of the teaching and active in participation with the worksheets! I’m super proud!

While I have no shortage of teaching materials, I have been running around like crazy the last couple of days trying to make the “extra stuff” more exciting for him. I have been on Pinterest a lot (hehe…) and I have been working on lots of little DIY’s to help make school even more fun!

We have a BEHAVIOR COLOR CHART

After looking through probably hundreds of different behavior chart ideas, I finally threw this together on my own. (side note: paper plates are amazing in the homeschool world!) Each kid (I had to include the little ones so they didn’t feel left out) has their own color pin, and they move it to the next color when they have an issue. Each color is accompanied by some words to encourage them to do their best.

I also created a WEATHER CHART

This is something fun and interactive that counts as science. It leads into more in depth discussions about the weather… and he likes to move the clip 🙂

One of my favorites is the REWARD CARD

I have these set up for 10 punches. 1 punch is earned when he does really well in a subject. For example, yesterday he did awesome writing his name and identifying his uppercase and lowercase letters, so he earned a punch for Writing and Reading! A completed punch card can be redeemed for a surprise from the treasure box. The treasure box consists of stickers, lollipops, small toys, and small snacks. The cards are made from 3×5 blank index cards ($0.50 at Walmart).

Another favorite is the DIY DRY ERASE BOARD

Last year I had my daughter practice her numbers and letters on regular paper, and by the end of any given week I had TONS of papers that ended up in the trash. I have to credit Pinterest for this one (Here’s the link). Simply put page protectors (which were less than $1 at Walmart) over the paper, and the kids can easily draw with a dry erase marker and erase it with a napkin. I LOVE THIS! It works so great and the kids have fun with it.

Lastly, we have “THE FOLDER”

I let Ricky color his own folder, and this is where I store his dry erase boards, counting sheets, shape sorter, etc. It’s a good way to keep things together and he loves it because he created it! You can find the file folders for a few bucks at Walmart.

If anyone has any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them!
Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook (Surviving Seven)
If you are interested, you can follow a few of my homeschool boards on Pinterest (Ricky Homeschool, Kindergarten Resources, and Pre-K Fun Stuff)

~~Heather~~
~Proverbs 22:6~

A New Adventure

It’s been a long journey…

I haven’t said much (but to a select few) regarding issues we were having with my son’s school. He is a 7 year old, 3rd grade, special education student. He just started his current school in September after our move to Virginia. From the beginning, we have had nothing but issues. Issues with the teachers, with classmates, with the principle…. It’s been never ending! We actually feared for his safety every time we sent him off to school in the mornings.

But thankfully, after months of fighting my way into the Superintendent’s office, he is being removed from the school!

Unfortunately, there were no other schools that offered the services and education he needs, so I thought homeschooling him was the only option. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for homeschooling! And I completely intend to homeschool him next year! However, I was not fully prepared to find him the extra services he needs right now.

PRAISE THE LORD! The Director of Special Education told me that he can have his therapies a few times a week at his current school (but this time I can be present), and we can have a certified special education teacher come to our home a few hours a day and do an “Assisted Homeschool”. This will be awesome for both of us! He will be under my supervision, still get the therapies he needs, I can learn how to approach special education, and it will transition him into full time homeschooling!

There is only about a month left in this school year, so your prayers through this learning experience would be much appreciated!

If you haven’t already, join my Facebook group (Surviving Seven) and you will see more updates on our new adventure.

~~Heather~~
~Romans 8:28~

All About Me

Welcome to my new blog!

This is all so new to me, I thought I would take a minute to introduce myself!

(Me with my hubby, Rick)

My name is Heather! 🙂 I have a full time job as a stay-at-home-mommy. I have 5 wonderful little kiddos, 3 girls and 2 boys, from ages 20 months to 9 years! I have been happily married to my prince charming for almost 3 years, together for almost 6 years! We have a dog too, named Baby. She’s a Jack Russell/Beagle mix.

We recently (in September) relocated our family from Florida to Virginia for my husband’s job. It has been an insane journey so far, and I’m sure it will only get crazier from here! And in case you are wondering, yes, the weather was quite an adjustment!

Although my kids are currently in a public school, I do have some experience with homeschooling from previous years. I am also currently preparing to homeschool 3 of my 5 kiddos (Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 3rd grade special education) next year! That should be a fun, yet challenging adventure! I can’t wait to keep you all posted on that progress.

My hobbies include photography (and yes, my kids get annoyed with me taking photos of them 24/7), crafting (I like to scrapbook, paint, and crochet), and shopping (oh yeah, it’s a hobby!). I don’t have time for this stuff every day… or most days for that matter… but I do love it!

Make sure you check out the link to my Facebook group page (Surviving Seven). I will be keeping that updated daily with posts about large family meal prep, homeschool ideas, DIY’s that you can’t live without (and that actually work!), money saving tips, and large family life in general. I hope to see you there!

~~Heather~~
~Isaiah 41:10~