Current Schedule

How is your schedule working right now? I will share this week's 6th grade schedule. Our days have been going very well, thanks to lightening the load a bit. The current schedule seems to have just the right amount of work, at least for the moment. Dropping Greek really helped free up the day. I'm trying not to feel guilty about dropping it, but dd was just not ready for it at this point. We will likely try again in the summer or fall. It is always tricky to find a balance between having academic rigor and a joyful home, as they can conflict at times. Mainly I pray about it, and discuss it with dh. So far, we have always been unified on what subjects to keep and which to discontinue, so I believe that it is God's provision! There are only so many hours in the day, and we must decide what is REALLY important each term. Speaking of what is important, I can't resist showing a current family photo page which has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this post. : )

Pic of my Mom, Grandma, husband and daughter taken on Thanksgiving

About Total Language Plus (TLP): Miss M also told me that she loves the book, Where the Red Fern Grows, which is the book the TLP is going though. There are samples from the guide's different sections (for some reason, there is no sample of the comprehension questions which are included for each chapter): Enrichment and Writing | Grammar | Spelling | Vocabulary

Miss M is enjoying the TLP approach to English, and it is honestly a breath of fresh air. Traditional grammar instruction is important, and yet it can get tedious. TLP is a totally different approach to Language Arts and we give it two thumbs up, with the caution that it must be supplemented with traditional grammar instruction.

When we are done with the TLP guide in 4 weeks, we will go back and do a couple of CLE English Light Units to solidify diagramming skills, punctuation, parts of speech, etc. Total Language Plus is wonderful for vocabulary, spelling, literary analysis, dictation, and creative writing. However, it does not teach parts of speech, conventions, or HOW to write. See another review HERE. Therefore, alternating a TLP guide with a traditional approach such as CLE, Rod and Staff, or BJU should ensure a well-rounded Language Arts program. Our third term TLP guide will be Words by Heart, and will correlate with our study of the modern civil rights movement.

Coming Up: I just put the finishing touches on our WW I unit study, using the WW I Thematic Unit from TCR. We will begin that after Christmas! I finished reading the literature book that the unit uses, After the Dancing Days, and it was an enjoyable book that I hope will stimulate girl-interest in WW I. This TCR unit looks like a very fine study. It balances fiction and non-fiction, as well as music, art, history, science, and literature analysis. Since many of the pages are reproducibles, the unit is low on teacher-prep. After finding so many web links and films to go with it, I can hardly wait to get started on it in January!

Our Final Week

This week we are finishing up our first term. Along with that, we finished this term's history spine, Joy Hakim's Reconstructing America. Our final topic has been African American issues and leaders, and I had dd choose one topic or leader to do a scrapbook page on. She chose "Booker T Washington," and I thought I'd share the page. It has a quote, a couple facts, and a mini-bio. As Providence would have it, this topic fit perfectly with discussing how big of a deal it is that we have elected our first AA president!

Next week, we begin a new term studying the Progressive era with Joy Hakim's book of the same title. I am switching and ditching a few things, and I'll post on that later. : )

Last night I opened my scrapbook album, and found to my horror that it has been months since I have taken the time to create a scrapbook page! It is so easy to get busy, busy, busy and feel like there is no time for hobbies. One suggestion I heard at our homeschool co-op was to actually schedule hobby time in 20 or 30 minute increments through the week. The problem I run into is that I don't have hours and hours to scrapbook, so I'd like to try that idea. The hardest part will be STOPPING when my time is up!

Last week-end we explored a local state park and hiked for a couple of hours. Now this was not hiking on an even, paved path, but the kind of hiking where you climb over rocks, and don't want to look down! It was a gorgeous hike, and I took some photos (of course!). Take time and enjoy autumn's sights and smells, and scrap it all! As a side note, cross country hiking burns 1000 calories in 2 hours, so if you needed more motivation, there you go! : )

Created with Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer software and Shabby Princess "Harvest Spice" digital kit.

Catching Up

My online friend Rhonda over at Imagine reminded me through her blog today that I (GASP!) have not taken much time over the summer to scrapbook. Looking at my summer photos, I like this one of my dd on the lake. I used free items from Digital Scrapbook Search Engine and Scrapbook Designer to create this page in about 5 minutes!

I'd love to carve out a half an hour per day to scrapbook. Hmmm. I am going to have to think about this. Keeping up is really the key. Step by step, little by little, rather than waiting until I have a memory card of 200 photos (and no, this is not a theoretical number!) waiting to be scrapped.

How about you? Are you finding a little time each day for something fun? When was the last time you pulled out your crochet basket or your scrapbook supplies? It is a GOOD thing to schedule a little time for hobbies each day, even if it is only a half hour. I can't believe it, but I completed my page and this post in about 15 minutes total. I may not have hours and hours of free time per day, but I think thirty minutes per day is something I'm going to try.

Getting Scrappy

I am trying to get around to finishing up those Holiday pages. I am geting there. Sometimes I actually prefer pics and and pages from Everyday Life to Holiday pages. The Holiday pages are just so done...LOL! It's the same reason I prefer candid pics to the set up ones with cheesy smiles.

Here is a Thanksgiving page featuring my beautiful Mom, my lovely niece and handsome nephew. (The gal who needs her bangs cut is me! LOL!) I have found I prefer making simple pages that get done to really fancy ones that take too long and start looking cluttered. There was more embellishment on this page originally, but I took it off in favor of a cleaner look. Before I printed this page, I shrunk and moved the leaf all the way over to the left, so it was at the corner of the photo. Not sure why I didn't save it that way, but....

What are you scrapping right now?

Created with Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Designer software. Papers and embellishments by Raspberry Road Designs.

Sunday Freebies

Art Print Freebie

I just found out that Ambleside Online has a new Yahoo Group with high quality PDF files of their scheduled picture studies. I just printed out "Primavera," pictured above, on inexpensive Dollar Store photo paper, and it looks great! Join the Yahoo Group to access the file.

Scrapbook Freebie

I found this beautiful digital scrapbook freebie HERE (scroll down to nearly bottom of page) that is only good until next Friday. I used it to scrap my photos from our Civil War Days photos from Friday. The purple paper looks pretty with the sepia photo!

Paper, elements and ribbon frame by {ksharonkdesigns} Stamp from unknown source. Font is "Linenstroke" by Creating Keepsakes.

Here is what an original photo looks like. I just colorized it with sepia and added a diffused glow to a couple of the larger pics. It's my one and only Photoshop Elements photo trick. LOL! I hope to learn more soon! If you know of any easier photo tutorials for beginners, please share.

Hope your week-end found you getting refreshed spending time with God, family and a bit of your personal hobby! Have a great week!

A Perfect Day

Here are a couple of simple scrapbook pages I have finished recently! If you're new to my blog, I made the switch to digital scrapbooking a year or so ago, and LOVE it! See more posts about it at right sidebar if you're interested. : )


This picture was taken while Miss M was exploring the different kinds of rocks in a lake we visited while on our "Up North" vacation. I just love how beautiful she looks in this photo and wanted to scrap it all by itself! I used the lovely, free Express Yourself kit from Shabby Princess and kept the page simple because I wanted the focus on the photo.




I've got one more layout for you. I just did this two page L/O of a day at a logging camp reenactment. Miss M is horse crazy and so we took tons of horse photos! Papers are from the free, vibrant Sun Porch kit from Shabby Princess. I love the distressed look of the background paper!




There you go -- a few simple pages from my album! They were fun and easy to make. For all of my layouts, I use Creating Keepsake Scrapbook Designer software.


Have a wonderful, creative week! And remember, "KEEP IT SIMPLE!"

Scrap Recycle

Here are some recent pages from my scrapbook. I have a secret, though. I have been pretty lazy and given to recycling old layouts with new paper and new photos because it is such a time saver. This is one of the beautiful things about digital scrapbooking! I got this page from our recent vacation done in just a few minutes!

OLD LAYOUT:

A few clicks and I have a NEW LAYOUT:

The funny thing is that it seems so obvious that they are the same layout when you see them side by side and it's pointed out. However, I GUARANTEE that when you have these pages in an album, nobody ever notices. Just adding new paper makes the pages look so unique, it can be our secret. : )

For more posts on digital scrapbooking, see others posts listed under that title at right sidebar.

Camp Grandma

Just returned from our yearly all girls family camp out! This is a newer tradition for our family, begun 4 years ago. We stay in a cabin (air conditioned!) near a state park and play all week. Our version of 'camp' is pretty cushy and comfy, but we love it that way!

Here's a page of us on top of the bluffs, riding horses, and swimming in the pool.

I can't wait until next year!

Best Friend

Shhhhh! There is another 'woman' in my husband's life -- our American Bulldog, Sally. They are quite a pair! Sally is the most mellow, sweet dog ever. Here they are - sharing a quiet moment at the park. If you are not a 'dog person,' it's probably because you've never owned a bulldog. *grin*

CK Scrapbook Designer Software for $9.98!

Sw-ing

Last night, I did this digital layout of my daughter playing with some homeschool friends. Although I love traditional, paper-and-glue scrapbooking, I am not always able to find time these days!!! Because of my shortage of time, I am loving my Creative Keepsakes software. I like it so much that I just ordered the newer CK scrapbooking software from Overstock.com. Digital pages are so quick and easy - I am hooked. Also, 'paper' and embellishments can be used over and over, so it's very affordable.

I love these pics of my daughter and just had to post them!

A Kiss

Now this is the type of behavior that made me want to toss my cookies when I was a teenager. At what point did it become "cute?" Oh well. Mom and Dad are still crazy about each other after all these years!

Above page added 4-6-07

Scrap Mania

I'm getting ready for the upcoming homeschool conference by putting together some digital scrap templates. What does one have to do with the other? Conferences and scrapbooking? Well, I'll be out of town without kids, have access to a Starbuck's right in my hotel, I'll have my photos and laptop with me, AND an evening free. Now that adds up to S-C-R-A-P-B-O-O-K! Woo hoo! This page took me a while, but i like how it's coming together.