Enjoying the Chaos

When my older two were little they went to public school. So I am on completely new ground with my youngest. We are doing really well and he loves to listen to stories, learn about science and history, he is cracking on with math but apparently 'writing' is schoolwork. So when I had the opportunity to review a product from Hewitt Homeschooling I was really excited. We follow a Charlotte Mason schedule and my heart is definitely tied to literature. I was intrigued with the first grade Lightning Literature and Composition for Grade 1 and was very excited when I received the  student workbook ($49.95) and teachers guide ($29.95). Little J was very excited too as he LOVES me to read to him. The program uses well known children's books (36 in total) and Aesop's Fables for children. I actually already had every book that we have needed so far (including Aesop's Fables) and so this has been very easy to implement. However most of the titles would be easily found ...

I teach English at work, and home school so you would think that grammar would not be something that scares me, but it does. I was excited to be able to read a book published by Analytical Grammar called The Eternal Argument ($24.95) . This book was written by Robin Finley a 34 year veteran teacher of English, and trust me it is very interesting and well worth the read. My plan was to read this aloud to my family chapter by chapter, but it didn't quite work out as planned. I actually read most of it myself because to tie everyone down to my schedule wasn't happening. However I did discuss this with anyone who would listen to me A LOT in fact I re-read multiple parts to my niece who was visiting from England, my husband, and my older two kids. I have taken this book everywhere with me this summer and it doesn't look too good anymore. It has been rained on, covered in sand, and dropped in a puddle of water. But believe me I kept on reading. I took it to the la...

My husband and I were talking today about some of our favorite hymns. We both mentioned a hymn we used to sing at school that is actually a poem by William Blake. Jerusalem by William Blake And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen?   And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic Mills?   Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire!   I will not cease ...

Have you ever used  Bob Books read on to hear what I think and enter a giveaway for your own set of your choice!   I have only been homeschooling for 3 (nearly 4) years and I am still feel like a newbie. Jam and Boo both went to an amazing little public school. They attended 3 year old preschool two mornings a week and 4 year old preschool 3 mornings a week before going to Kindergarten. They could write their names, say their ABC and count pretty well. All this with just a little help from me. They both asked to homeschool the year Jam was in 4th grade and so that summer we decided to give it a try, and we have never looked back. Both kids love it and are doing really well. In fact they are both now above their public school grade level. Now lets talk about Little J. This is scares me a little. His brain is a HUGE sponge in fact my niece who is visiting from England told me that she normally takes random facts from a five year old with a pinch of salt. Except for the ra...

1. I love doing these random five posts. It makes me happy. 2. We spent the whole day at the lake today. It was quite windy and so we didn't notice that it was 99 degrees. We are all a little toasty. 3. Little J is going to his first 'friend' birthday party tomorrow - he is SO excited. 4. Jam caught a fish today. 5. I realized my kids spend most of their summer in some kind of water, and have done since they were born. We LOVE it! Pop over to the The Pebble Pond to check out more random five. ©2011-2014 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com

Piano is a very big deal in our house. In fact my husband has been known to say that piano is a mandatory subject in our home-school. I was given the opportunity to try HomeSchoolPiano . I was offered a lifetime subscription for up to five students for HomeSchoolPiano The Complete Set of Books . There are four books available; 1. Core Piano for the absolute beginner. (Broken down into 33 lessons) 2. Book 1 beginners. (6 Units - 7 lessons in each unit) 3. Book 2 beginner to intermediate. (6 Units - 7 lessons in each unit) 4. Book 3 intermediate. (6 Units - 7 lessons in each unit) Homeschool Piano has two payment options. 1. Success Package (One payment of $299) Unlimited life-time access to HomeSchoolPiano along with all bonuses (downloads, jam tracks, sheet music) for up to 5 students. 2. Payment Plan (Payments of $99.97 per month for three months): Unlimited life-time access to HomeSchoolPiano along with all bonuses (downloads, jam tracks, sheet music) for...

 1. We didn't plant a garden this year. We planted 2 tomato plants and 2 peppers. Non of them are doing very well. The colder than usual weather is not helping. 2. We get to spend tomorrow at an all day swim meet. It's our summer championships. So I have been making homemade pizza all afternoon to take instead of sandwiches...sandwiches are not my favorite. 3. I took the kids to go to a Ronald McDonald Magic show. It was really fun. 'Ronald' did a awesome show. All of the kids went up to participate. Little J enjoyed it the most. 4. We went rock-climbing this week. Normally when we go Little J just puts one foot on the wall and says he's done. Monday he went half way up the wall. We will have to take him again soon. - He loved it! 5. We have this really cool bike attachment for Little J. It clips to my husbands bike. Last Saturday when I took the older two to their swim-meet Dad took Little J cycling. They 24 miles and Little J had a blast, cooled off after ...

Little J's favorite book...for the day.

Random Five Friday 1. Little J is on the verge of reading, I mean really reading. But for some reason we hit a attitude brick wall. He hasn't wanted to read for the last couple of weeks. So today I came up with a new incentive plan. Basically he reads a book and earns 15 minutes of screen time. The change in his attitude today was instant. He read 6 Bob books in a matter of a few minutes. It was funny because the more he read the more he enjoyed it. He was laughing at the little stories as he read. It was fun to hear. (I am in the process of doing a review for Bob Books which will include a giveaway) 2. We made a trip to the city this week to take my niece shopping at the closest mall. It was fun but I am so glad that I don't live in a city. We did get to go to Chick-fil-A which is a real treat as we don't have one near our home. I mentioned as I ordered that I had never tried their lemonade. Anyway after they brought our food, they also brought me a glass of lem...

Boo loves to write and so I was intrigued when I was offered to try a new writing program. WriteShop is an award winning writing program designed for K- High-School. We were offered WriteShop Junior Level E which is designed for 4th or 5th graders (or even reluctant 6th and 7th grade writers). Boo was just finishing up her 5th grade year and so we thought we would give it a try even though she is nearer the end of the recommended age range. What we got: Book E Teacher's Guide: Spiral-bound Print Version $45.95 (digital download available for $35.50) Activity Pack : Print version is $45.95 (digital download available for $35.50) Optional Time-Saver Pack: Print version is $14.95 (digital download available for $6.50) Optional   Junior Writer's Notebook 1:  Available only in digital PDF format - $3.50 Table of Contents: Fables Humor Adventure Science Fiction Mystery Poetry/Shape Poems Personal Narrative Descriptive Narrative Book Report/Responding...

Happy Fourth of July 1. This is our first 4th as citizens! 2. Jam participated in a cardboard boat race today. Jam and his friend came third! They managed to do both races without sinking. 3. My kids scored at the firework tent...we may be up till midnight with the amount we have to light. 4. We make smores with cookies with chocolate on one side, then we just roast the marshmallows. Saves messing with Hershey's plus its cheaper. 5. Little J loves sparklers. Do you like his cool shark swim float! This post looks a little goofy because I did it on my phone watching my kids light fireworks! Check out more Friday randomness over at the  Pebble Pond .

  (This post contains affiliate links) Over the last few years I have been working from home. Because I work with people from Europe, and all over the world I start quite early in the morning. I have started work from 3am to 6am (lately it's been 5am - 6am). I can't ever seem to get my schedule or my brain to go to sleep early enough to ensure a good solid 8 hours sleep. I don't believe in using sleep medicine that can be addictive but I have sometimes used natural sleep aids. Especially if something is stressing or upsetting me. I hate it when I lie in bed and can't sleep. In fact I have been known to have to wear earplugs because I just can't sleep if it's noisy. I hate hotels rooms because the air-conditioners drive me crazy. There are some things that I have to avoid. I can't drink caffeinated soda after noon, and if I take a pain killer that includes caffeine then I can kiss sleep goodbye. I was recently received 4 bottles of reBloom via ...

We love history and music here so when I was given the chance to preview the 3 book set  Experience History Through Music I thought it would be perfect for our little summer break. I had not heard of  Diana Waring and I have really enjoyed getting to know her better through out the launch of this series. These books are actually a restoration product. You can read all about on Diana Waring's blog  here . I thought you would rather read it in her own words than mine. We drive 2 hours round trip to piano lessons and this music has kept us singing and laughing the whole way. We can actually listen to all 3 CDs during the drive, but this rarely happens because now and again we have to listen a song over and over. In fact yesterday my 19 year old niece was with us as she is visiting from England and she kept the books so she could sing to all the songs as they played. She even had her favorites that we had to repeat. Her favorite line from all the songs "whoops, appl...

I forgot until 10am that it was the first day, and then my evening got busy helping make a cardboard boat (pictures to come Friday). So here's the rest of our day... As you can tell Jam got hold of the camera at the end...and he was pretty obsessed with the USA game. I've linked up with Journey to Josie so go check out some more 'First Days' ©2011-2014 Chickensbunniesandhomeschool. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author Chickensbunniesandhomeschool.blogspot.com