Woodwater Farmhouse

After the holiday break we are getting back into our 2018 Homeschool groove.  One holiday coming up on our calendar is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.  An easy way to teach it and less work on me, is to use a Unit Study!  This one from Silverdale Press is perfect!   Here are the features: 1. Designed for the whole family to use together 2. The activities are modified for different grade-levels 3. Flexible to use. Families can do one lesson per day leading up to the MLK holiday or complete at any time of the year! Earn Credit ​Social Studies: .06 credits (10 hours) Learn history of civil rights movement; civil rights laws; roles of Martin Luther King and Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson; geography and timeline Language Arts: .03 credits (5 hours) Read and analyze presidential rhetoric and Supreme Court opinion; answer questions for reading comprehension Fine Art: .02 credits (3 hours) Analyze Norman Rockwell painting; learn free...

Today I am coming to you from our homeschool room.  I wanted to chat a minute about a wonderful new currciulum we started using from BJU Press . Our school year starts October 1st and we school all year round.  For New York State, I have to have my IHIP (In Home Instructin Plan) in to the school district by July 1st.  It's tough sometimes to know exactly what curriculum I will be using for the next school year since we have not finished the current one at that time. This year I was just not coming up with much in way of what I was looking for. I had Science on hold for now.  UNTIL.....   I was blessed in October to attend a homeschooling, blogging conference called 2:1.  One of the sponsors of this conference is BJU Press . In our swag bags there was a book and workbook from them that just so happened to be Science 4!  It was a gift from God - we had found our Science Curriculum!   From the time I had gotten home f...

I am so happy that ChalkPastel.com is offering their Christmas Video Series on sale this week!  It's only $ 34 for the entire video series!   Celebrate the Christmas season with art!  Taught by a Master Artist bringing the joy of art to all grade levels and all ages!  (click on the computer to bring you to the purchase page) This video art series can be done in your home, with friends, family members or just some quiet time alone!   We love using these video art lessons in our homeschool, but you certainly don't need to be a homeschooler to participate!   What is included in this wonderful seasonal series? Step by step instructions Techniques for both the new artist and more advanced Independent learning Glossary of art techniques Option to join the You ARE an Artist Facebook group for sharing and question asking Here are the topics included in these lessons: Christmas Star Away in a Manager Winter Fun ...

Each year, with the exception last year, for the last 6 years, I have taken the kids on a three day adventure to Mystic, CT.  With a 3 hour drive it's easy to do in a day and not stay over, but we try to fit a lot in in 48 hours.   This year was extra special!  We invited 2 other homeschooling moms and their children to join us!  Three moms,8 kids and lots of fun.  Some advice before we begin our journey: Go on the off season so you can see more and do more without crowds. Stay in a hotel that offers FREE breakfast - saves you some money and gets an early start on adventure. If you want do to the Mystic Seaport and Aquarium then purchase the Sea Pass , saves you 15%.  Bring your bathing suit for some swim time (if your hotel has a pool) We stayed at our usual place, Hampton Inn , Groton CT (only 5 minutes from the Mystic exit and 50 bucks cheaper per night than the Mystic location)  We love Hampton Inns.  With the fre...

As the summer months wrap up this month, we are doing our best to soak up the last few weeks of summer. We still have a camping trip left...a few playdates scheduled and some "down time" before we start back "full time" to home school.   We do school in the summer at least 1 thing every day, but not nearly the work load as we do Oct - July.  Hope your summer was filled with precious memories! Huzzah to your new school year!  On another note - after taking 6 months off of social media - I am back on Instagram!  I would love for you to come on over and follow me 8)   You can find me at   @mel0293 Until next time - be blessed!

Back in August when so many homeschoolers were starting their new school year, we were still in summer mode and summer school schedule.  We finally started our new year on Monday!  Happy to be back and HAPPY to have a new feel and schedule to our days... Changes in our home school: I AM A HUGE CONTROL FREAK AND I KNOW IT! sigh..that felt good Trying to keep with some sort of schedule and structure because our children work well that way....but also allowing them to have some control over their school work - I have what I think is a happy medium to our year... We start our mornings with a "family meeting" and prayer time.  Then go over what's happening in the week remaining.  Question and answer time.   Then the kids split up.  I started using a "folder" system this year.  One for Math, Letter of the Week  (cursive for Molly and Zachary) , Geography and a misc folder. For Math  -...

Today I am excited to share with you a new tool for your homeschool students, as well as one for yourself. My Student Logbook was created out of necessity!  Corina has a great story to share with you as how this all came about.  You are invited to click over and read all about it.   HER STORY. When I was contacted by Corina about her student logbook I was intrigued.  We had not really tracked anything much in our homeschool (except attendance) and I saw this as an opportunity to get more organized on both the student and teacher level. I was impressed with the quality of the book and loved the cover design she picked out for us.  It does come in MANY different themes that you can pick from.  The set up was easy to follow using their video provided on their website but there are also written instructions inside the logbook. Zachary was excited to get started.   We used it for a week and I found that Zachary had ...

Can I just say, I love Pinterest!  I find so many awesome resources, craft ideas, home ideas, printables and inspiration on Pinterest.  I came across this one this morning from My Joy Filled Life .   Do you have any of these?  The Homeschool Mom's Bible intrigues  me!  SOURCE I wish I made more time to read for person enjoyment.  One of my 2014 Goals is to finally FINISH a book. I am great the start, but fall short to ever finish.  I just find that I am so tired and want to spend some time with the hubby at night, that reading takes a back seat again.   I have to MAKE the time.  Other homeschooling moms do it, why can't I?    Stay tuned to see if I can ever finish a book..... This post may contain affiliate or sponsor links. You can see our full disclosure policy at the bottom of this blog page.

Started our Memorial Day Teachings today!   Week long learning about  those we honor! Unit study from: Schoolexpress.com Rainy day...BUT that makes for a fun playdate! Had some friends over today for a Pizza Party playdate!   Everyone made their own!   Chef hat tutorial coming soon! Be Blessed Everyone!  

Started our Memorial Day Teachings today!   Week long learning about  those we honor! Unit study from: Schoolexpress.com Rainy day...BUT that makes for a fun playdate! Had some friends over today for a Pizza Party playdate!   Everyone made their own!   Chef hat tutorial coming soon! Be Blessed Everyone!