New Language Arts curriculum

We tried out the new language arts curriculum from Common Press. We are using the red book, which is 2nd grade level but its about where my youngest is. Today is the first day we used it and it went wonderfully. He really enjoyed the lesson and I think he really is getting it. Its wonderful! I am hopeful about this program! Yeah~!

Blessed Dragons Store

We have always had a reward system in our house for a while where they earn things like sleep overs, ice cream, DVD's, sodas, etc. ( They don't get candy and soda on a regular basis so this kind of stuff is a treat)(Our boys are 8 & 12). They get rewarded for completing their lessons daily, without giving us grief, completing chores, behavior, going to bed on time with out hassle, etc. This has worked well. For the most part.
We decided to take your store idea and add to it. (age appropriateness and such) We created our own family store complete with Store bucks. We use real change for the change part but the "store bucks" for the rest. My husband thought it would be cute to teach them about paychecks too. So, we created little paychecks with stubs. They get paid 1 Store buck per day for completing their chores. And an additional store buck for getting all stars for their lessons, chores, behavior, etc, per day. At the end of the week they get a pay check. (oldest gets taxed, just a little) They have to take it to the "bank" to get it cashed. They sign the back and get store bucks. Then visit the store where there are various items like sodas, cd's, dvd's, ps 2 games, toys, small candies, suckers, ice cream, sleep over coupons, Stay up late coupons, etc. They choose what they want to have to figure out the change. Then they "Check out". If they have any store bucks or change left it gets deposited in the "bank". They can make purchases every evening if they have money.If they don't then they have to wait for "pay day". They can earn extra store bucks for yard work, and books they've read.
My husband also wants to start letting them take out loans. No more than their previous check amount (with interest). He's hoping this will teach them about responsibily, contracts, giving your word on something and how important it is, and stuff like that.
All of this is of course on their level.
We tried it out this afternoon. The kids thought it was soooo cool! They absolutely loved it. I haven't seen them that excited in a while. lOl. It was awesome!

I designed and printed out store bucks on green construction paper.

Then we laminated them. (I love my laminating machine!

Heres what they look like.

I wish it was that easy sometimes. LOL

Here's the checks. I tried to make them similar to checks but still fun for the boys.

Here's John at the bank cashing his "check".

John still cashing his check.

Eric is checking out the store. Trying yo decide on what to purchase. LOL

John is "checking out" with his purchases. Dad was banker, and teller this time.

We all had a blast!

The "Store"

There was a suggestion made today on one of my e-groups. Some parents do a store in their home and every evening their kids get like 15 cents and get to choose candy and such from the “store”. They are teaching their kids about money, budgeting and more. I talked this over with my husband this evening and we might take that idea and expand on it. Our oldest is 12 so we we’re thinking of giving him a “pay check” for doing his chores and such and take out a tiny but for taxes, ss & medicade. To start teaching him what it will be like to have a job in a few years. We also thought we could create some fake money or get some off Amazon, and they can use the money at the “store” to purchase items such as candy, sodas, ice cream, books, ds games, movies, cd’s and more. We are still working out the details but it might be a cute idea and a great learning tool!

Our Homeschooling Philosophy

We are a very eclectic family. Lots of different beliefs, likes, dislikes, etc. We believe that kids are always learning. It never stops. And they can learn from anything. They can learn from a book, watching TV, playing outside, playing a video game, playing a board game, cooking, grocery shopping, just being around an adult, the list is endless! So, while we have a lose schedule daily for our lessons, school/learning never stops. We don’t “Homeschool” from 8am-3pm Monday-Friday. We learn 24/7. I plan their lessons with the help of my wonderful husband and the influence of our boys. That’s right. I ask our boys what they want to learn, pay attention to what they are interested in, and include them in discussions about planning lessons. If something doesn’t seem like its working, I talk to them about it, ask their opinion and we make a change, if possible. I do follow The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. It is my guide line. I believe that kids need “guidance” when they are young. While I don’t think they are mature enough to make all their decisions on their own, I value their opinion and try to treat them with respect. You must give respect to get it. If I let our boys choose everything they did during the day I don’t think they’d learn “enough” to get them through life. (But, that’s just our boys and my 2 cents) This is a tried and failed experiment in our home. I consider myself an eclectic homeschooler and part unschooler. I have been reading an unschooling book and despite what some people think I do have a lot of the same beliefs as an unschooler, but at the same time I think there are certain things kids need to know. And certain guidance that kids need. At least this is true in our home.
So, there you have it. That is basically our homeschooling philosophy in a nut shell. Take or leave it.

Online Learning

The kids love playing Roblox, and I always throw in any kind of educational games I can find on line.

Nintendo DS learning

I don’t believe all learning needs to be done in front of a book. Kids learn from anything and everything. So, we make great use of their Nintendo DS game systems. We have Spanish for everyone, My word coach, Learn Geography, Learn Chess, Burger Island , Cake Mania and Build a lot for some of their learning. They can learn something from each of these games. We're hopeing to get some more DS games soon. Such as Professor Layton games & Science Papa.