#100Happydays2018: Day 80

#100HappyDays: Day 80
The last of the new-to-us schoolbooks have arrived in the mail! We’ve already completed a full week of school, but we were waiting on this shipment before starting our MFW curriculum.

#100DaysOfSummer
#NewBooks
#HappyMail
#MFWBooks
#Usborne
#100HappyDays2018

— feeling happy at The Man Crew House.

Homeschooling 2016-2017

Yes, we're *those* people. The crazy ones that homeschool. On purpose. Because we want to. ;)
If you are interested in what we are using this year, you are in the right place. Here is an overview of what we are doing for the 2016-2017 school year.

David~ DONE for right now

• David is finished with his schooling at this time. He worked his way through High School using Blessed is the Man Curriculum, Progeny Press Literature Guides, Cordura Driving School and his library card.
• He is waiting for me to write him an English curriculum that focuses on composition so that he can get his diploma.

Patrick~ 12th Grade

• Patrick will be using Easy Peasy All in One High School for his last year of formal schooling, found here. We decided the go with it again, since he liked it so much and it offered him freedom from sitting with me all day. He is working their 12th grade recommendations and reading devotional materials provided by the youth pastor. He will need to do the composition class I write for David as well. We are going to work through an American Government online class together. He is also working at the church in the children's department a few times a week, and at the gym 2-3 days a week with David. He recently got his license and is spending many hours working on his 95 Honda Civic. (I can count that as shop class, right?)

Derek~ 5th Grade

• Derek is using My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures. You can find it here. It covers Bible, Art, History, Science, Geography and Music. Since it does not cover Language Arts and Math skills specifically, I am using the MFW suggested materials to cover Language Arts. They can be found here. We've added Reading Eggs after a free month long trial brought surprising results. For math, he is using Life of Fred.  He is taking online piano lessons at Hoffman Academy. We also have an educational video a few times a week. We've purchased all the episodes of Liberty Kids, all the Magic School Bus episodes, and have many  from Drive Thru History and Learn Our History DVDs. We enjoy the Video (and Quiz) of the Week from the BrainPop app on my Kindle. I also have a few DVDs from Izzit. That way, we can redeem some of the hours we spend in the car that day, and he can have a some extra education disguised as fun. We also enjoy a board/card/dice game each day to have some fun, work on sportsmanship, strategy, situational awareness and to take a break from book work. Current favorites include Ticket to Ride, King of Tokyo, Exploding Kittens, 7 Wonders, and One Night Ultimate Werewolf. We work hard 4 days a week and then have a light day to catch up on anything we missed, some life skills and perhaps even be social for a while.

ALL OF US

• We're all enjoying field trips, park days and other fun activities this school year. We head to the park once in a while on a Friday after a week of hitting the books to relax and enjoy some food and fellowship with other homeschoolers. On the other Fridays, we rotate between field trips, life lesson days and catch up days.
• We re-assumed a normal school schedule this year with A in 1st at the local Christian school, and G's online homeschooling schedule not being as flexible as we'd hoped. Hooray for US having the flexibility to adapt to their needed routines. (Please keep in mind that NORMAL is just a setting on your dryer and we don't do normal very well at the Man Crew House. LOL)
• We are working hard to not be controlled by the school calendar, the curriculum or other people's expectations of us. It's nice to put down the weight of other people's expectations of us and just do what works for us. It's been a much different school year. When Mama K isn't worrying about what other people think of her (*ahem*), it's been very freeing. 

I wish I'd thought to do this every year when I updated for the coming school year, but better late than never, right? 

Homeschooling Overview for 2012-2013 School Year

Hi friends! Just a little update now that school is in full swing this year. While we continue to home school, we remember it's a journey, not a destination so we revise our plans a bit each year depending on work circumstances, the boys' ability to work alone or in pairs, where we need to work harder, whether a particular curriculum is meeting our needs, etc. Plus, we pray like crazy over it and ask the Lord to fill the gaps, as there are sure to be some along the way.
So let's cover a few things that are the same as last year, then we will mention a few new things for this school year.
SAME~
*Same curriculum for all. D is using Blessed is the Man, an independent unit study approach that allows him much freedom in choosing his own assignments, but that keeps him focused on the Lord and his education. P is working through what will be his last year in MFW and is using the Creation to the Greeks set. DT is enjoying MFW as well and even though he's officially in second grade, we're re-doing last years 1st grade to reinforce some concepts that he's still struggling with in phonics.
*Same scheduling time blocks as last year. D and P work independently in the mornings while I work one on one with DT. Then in the afternoon, DT rests/plays quietly and I work with D and P.
*We have the same goals as well. We want our boys to have a firm foundation not only in the basics of education but to be well grounded in the Bible, character traits and loving their neighbors.
A few things that are NOT the SAME~
*We are not following the same pattern of working like crazy forever and a day, and then taking a super long break during the holidays. While we've enjoyed this routine and it was most definitely a must while I was working nights at Kohl's, I don't work at night anymore and the break was too long and allowed us to get too far off track in our studies and out of the good study habits we'd been working on so long. So this year, we are following a 6 weeks on/1 week off routine that allows us plenty of wiggle room when we need it, keeps us from getting burnt out on school before having a break, and doesn't let our good habits slip during the breaks.
*We've also returned to a 5 day school week, whether Dan is working 4 day weeks or not. The boys are old enough now to focus on school even when Dan is home :) And it gives us a little wiggle room for when we want to join our friends at the park for a picnic and some free time. DT's curriculum calls for one day of exploring nature, so he takes along his microscope and digs for bugs, leaves and such while he's playing.
*My parents will be joining us for the winter months. From early December until late April/early May, so we are really looking forward to that. My mom is already chomping at the bit to dig in and do school with the boys and has spent hours scouring books and Internet sites looking for fun learning activities. It will be such a treat for us to have them with us!
*D and P have added Apologia Science to their studies and are enjoying the experiments already. They are also working on their cooperative skills since I am asking them to work through everything together.
*DT has added tutoring to his repertoire of activities and enjoys his few hours with Aunt Jodi's office each week.
*We enjoyed our first ever home school Co-Op this fall and while P balked at the change in routine (he's such a homebody at times) I think P and DT enjoyed it. D opted out for the fall session. I have already signed up for the spring session and am looking forward to it very much.
*Last but decidedly NOT least in the new category is an actual HOME SCHOOL section in the monthly budget. Since we are nearly done buying curriculum forever (hurray for re-using curriculum) we can afford to spend a little bit each month on a new lapbook, a field trip, some new books, new manipulatives or a day of fun that's home school related instead of using a large chunk of the tax refund to buy new curriculum for all the boys. I'm pretty excited about this! This month's addition was D and P's Apologia curriculum. Next month's purchases will probably be some crafting supplies to make holiday gifts. :)
I think that sums up our school year pretty well. Things are rolling along smoothly most days and we are getting much done. Good stuff!
     Blessings, ~K~

Homeschooling Update *Copied from Homeschooled Hooligans*

Back to School, Back to Posting, Back to
Something....or at least I Hope!
Hi everyone. It's been a long break, a long winter, and a long travelling season for gymnastics. Add in a last minute move (so that my parents can live with us) and it's no wonder I've lost my mind, my computer's flash drive, and my lesson planner. HA! At any rate, all is not lost. David (the gymnast) has been kicking some heiny at the competitions. Patrick is finding his groove again after the move (this normally takes MUCH longer then 2 weeks) and I think I found my lesson planner today. I do, however, make no promises about ever finding my sanity again ; ) As for school, we managed to get several weeks worth of school done between the middle of January and mid-March. Then we did 2 weeks of "inde" schooling while I packed like crazy and then got a week of almost spring break the week of the move while David's best friend spent the week with us while he was on spring break. In case you are wondering, inde school is what I call all lessons/activities that do not need adult help. So, things like CD Rom math lessons with the lectures pre-recorded, online videos about the Constitution, quiet reading time each day, educational videos, lots of games and lots of outdoor play. Also things like "how many boxes fit in the truck?" - "Where did Mama put her purse?" - "If I fill this box to the top, can I still
pick it up?" These all count as life skills, quite useful in the 'real' world after school. ; )We are now back to school, David is REALLY loving his math studies this year and is doing quite well in his pre-algebra class and has even already asked if he finishes it early, would I order him another. Why YES, yes I will! Patrick still struggles with 'wanting' to do school, but is putting forth
a good effort most days. I do still need to find his math disc, and then get back to curriculum studies. We've been doing some random worksheets I've found in the move, so all is not lost : ) Derek is getting back to his studies as well, although he's got Grma snowed into believing that if he says he doesn't want to do school, he doesn't have to do anything. Oops. I haven't brought his curriculum back out yet either, just so he and Patrick can stay together in their lessons, but I have enough K-1st grade workbooks, manipulatives, games and such to fill at least one whole 5 shelf bookshelf, so he is moving right along. I'm almost worried that he will be ahead once we get back to actual My Father's World studies. But a nice little repeat never hurt anyone anyway, right? Overall, all is well again in the MeYeR Man Crew Homeschool. I love, love, love homeschooling, even on the tough days. And hopefully, those are over for this year. Travelling is nearly over for the year, the move is over, and we are settled. Life is good.

HELLO 2011

Is anyone still homeschooling these days? Is everyone too busy to post here? I know the last 6 months of my life have been completely insane...so I'm cutting everyone a break...LOL! I'd like to see a post for each author once a month if possible and you ladies feel free to hold ME to that as well, OK?
As for the Homeschooling MeYeRs, we are trying something COMPLETELY new this year. Last school year ('09-'10) took much longer than planned. As in we didn't finish that school year until November of '10. YIKES...however, since we have switched to the year round schooling to accommodate our ever changing schedule that tries to accommodate Dan's work schedule, it's all good. So, we've been on break since the week of Thanksgiving and are restarting today after a move, the holidays and some good family time together. The new things that we are doing are as follows...

• I am buying NO BOXED CURRICULA this year (this should THRILL you, Kim *winks* )
• I am using up the FREE resources that I've downloaded or been given, or things that I have previously purchased and haven't used yet.
• I am going to write/create/find more of my own teaching plans...anatomy class, anyone?
• I am going to work on having MORE hands on activities...science experiments, music class, more structured PE time, going and SEEING things, not just reading or hearing about things (for all the boys, but especially for Pat)
• We are going to take more "educational" family field trips, serve the community together and get involved in something besides our own life.
• I am not teaching English this year....no grammar, no book reports and no diagramming sentences. We will be reading, reading, and reading....mostly from the classics and we are going to let the GOOD English seep into their brains without horrible worksheets and boring book reports. We will be using narration and dictation as our guides for retention and understanding. Oh and enjoying a free spelling program I found online since D and P both struggle with spelling sometimes.
• We are starting movie/book month themes. We will read books and watch movies from particular categories each month. So excited about this one! For instance, this month is comedy. We will be watching, listening to and reading some of the greats; Bill Cosby, Mark Lowry, Red Skelton, Abbott and Costello and more. I've got some super audio broadcasts downloading and waiting for them. Add some good belly laugh movies and before you can say, "I love homeschooling!" we are having fun AND learning a bit of history AND sharpening our comedy skills.
• I found a great deal ($4) on some math books/DVDs at the local used book store this fall and am excited to get started on using it since the boys have been just trudging through math this past year. So this year, they get to watch a 10-15 minutes lesson on math, do just a few practice problems and badda-bing, DONE with math for the day : ) It's a thing of beauty
• Derek will be working on his alphabet lap books, working his way through the 100's of preschool/kindergarten resources that I have, playing math games, using flashcards, memory and other learning games and sitting in on the big boys' lessons when the mood strikes. He will do nature study alongside of them as well.
• We will be joining Jodi and James several times a week to work through the 2nd year of My Father's World with them and I'll have the boys do the supplemental (6th -8th grade) work at home. They LOVED doing MFW last year and are looking forward to it again.

I think that's about it for now. So excited about this new school year! I know I always say that this school year is the best one, but this past one really had some super high HIGHS and a few lows. It was a good year, but it just stretched on for too long. So this 'year' we are trying to cram everything in by mid July. Then we can have a short break and begin again in late August. Phew, I can't even start thinking about next school year yet...LOL! Hope all is well in your homeschooling universe. Be well, learn and love much!

Blessings from my homeschool to yours,

Kristy and the Man Crew