100th Post and One Year Blog Anniversary

Wow!  It has been a year since I started my little blog here at homeschoolblogger!  Since this is a special day, I thought I would give you a sneak peek into the next two or three months of our homeschooling.  As I said in an earlier post, we are hoping to homeschool for free for awhile using what we already own.  This does not mean it is going to get boring around here.  I found a lot of stuff that we were not using.  So with the new year fast approaching, here is a look at the new stuff and new ways we will be doing some things.

We will be concentrating more on some fine motor activities.  I realized that my 4 year old is not very good at buttons and zippers and that all the little ones could use more control in their fine motor tasks.  In addition, my ds (5) has very weak muscles in his thumbs due to cerebral palsy.  For a child who wants to draw and write as much as he does, this is frustrating for him.  I went searching through my OT shelves and found these treasures below that had never been used.  We will have lots of fun with these new items.

I also collected all of the books in the house that are FIAR books.  Here is enough to cover the next 2 to 3 months.  Yippie!

I also saw this math set on a Montessori site and really liked it, but it was so expensive.  I made my own using stuff around the house and I think it came out great.  My dear son is already begging to "play with it".  I think it will go well with our Miquon math lessons.

I also found these in my homeschool stuff.  They are safety story cards that help children look at pictures of dangerous situations and figure out what they should do to remain safe.  My dd (7) really needs to think through things like this, because her "If Then" skills do not come naturally.  I am sure it will be useful for all the little ones.  I also like the nice guided questions on the back.

There are a few new things for the big teen, as well.  Our two new literature books are below.  I think he will really enjoy them.  We are working our way through a list of books that really had an impact on my dh or myself.

Also, here are the last two things I have for us to dissect.  I still want to get a fetal pig to dissect with him but this will hold us for the next month or so.  He is almost done with his biology book so this will be a reward at the end.  OK, I hear some of you saying dissecting those things is the reward?  LOL -- he really likes this stuff.  I do need to get my hands on more prepared slides for our microscope, but these can also wait a month or so.

Here are the artists that we still have to complete in our Meet the Masters Program. 

Since we have many doctor and OT/Sensory appointments this coming month, I decided to revamp how we do school on the road.  In my best estimate, in the month of January, I will have some combination of children in waiting rooms for about 24 hours, barring illness.  In the past, I have lugged our school books to doctor office waiting rooms, but I always think the quality that we get in a waiting room is poorer than at home.  Also, curious people always want to ask questions about homeschooling, and then my lessons go down the drain.  So I am going to make our time in waiting rooms more fun and less teacher directed.  The portable DVD player which we got for Christmas will serve well for watching educational DVDs.  I found some great math and art history DVDs at Blockbusters Online for the big teen.  I have a long lineup of good educational videos for the little ones through Blockbuster Online, as well.  The other items will help the girls with phonics.

Well, that is my sneak peek into what we will be doing for the next few months.   I think I found enough stuff in my home to homeschool for free for several months.  That is very exciting to me.  So what are your plans for the New Year?  Are you making any changes?

Blessings,

Dawn