Ocd Therapy | Daze of Adventure

list planit ePlanner & giveaway

April 26, 2011 By jenn p. 44 Comments

I am thrilled to show you one of my new organizational faves for homeschoolers.

Most of you know I am a list gal, & I’m also a HUGE fan of List Plan It.
….who now offers a

My favorite part is the fact that it is a PDF in which I can type and save!

I am using many of the offered forms in our family binder –

Student Planner (multi & individual)
Supply Inventory – my running school-shopping list
Monthly Units – used to plan monthly unit studies
Books to Read
Field Trip Ideas
Field Trip Log (I am able to document details of the fieldtrip, for personal records and for our homeschool co-op)
Curricula & Resource Worksheet

A few of the many other pages included in this Home Education ePlanner include:

Portfolio Contents
Schedule
Assignment Sheet
Grade & Attendance Record
Circle Time Planner

I have also been known to complete the Assignment Sheets for the week and email them to each of the kids. (…’cause, they are little list makers and planners too)

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Are you familiar with List PlanIt??

As a member of their site, you will have access to hundreds of printable, ready-made lists – as well as the NEW ones that are added frequently! Four membership levels are available. They have something for everyone!

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Now, for the best part……

List PlanIt is giving away 5 Education ePlanners to 5 of you!

How fun is that??!

To enter, just leave a comment below telling me you want to win. That’s it!

{please limit your entries to one per day}

Entries will be received until midnight Friday, April 29.

I (with the assistance of Random.org) will choose and announce 5 winners on Saturday.

Be sure to check out List PlanIt on Facebook and Twitter!

Happy planning!

***********And the winners are…. {are you on the edge of your seat??}

ANGELA W
K BALMAN
BECKY
TRACIE
KAREN
Email me by 8am EST Monday, May 2 to claim your prize or another winner will be drawn. Congrats! Thanks to each of you who entered! ***********

Filed Under: giveaway/review, good cents, homeschooling, ocd therapy

Taming the Tornado – Homeschool Conventions

March 22, 2011 By jenn p. 8 Comments

I attended my first homeschool convention six years ago.

Overwhelmed was an understatement.

Fast forward 6 years, and many conventions/conferences later, I have a system. A method to the madness of mingling with 1000s of moms who are in search of the oh-just-right curriculum, and who want to attend every workshop imaginable – only to leave the weekend standing tall, full of encouragement and having soaked in all of the *professional* training possible.

Just the thought of it can be exhausting.

Here are a few suggestions to make the experience as pleasant and productive as possible:

Plan. Are you going alone? Or will you make it a mini-vacay for your fam?? Either way, book your hotel in advance. Homeschool conventions are becoming more and more populated, as homeschooling becomes more and more popular, therefore hotels fill up fast. Most hotels adjacent to the convention (or nearby) will offer discounted rate for a block of rooms. Reserve yours early to take advantage of the savings.
Get familiar with the vendors. Take your time weeks prior to the event and review the list of vendors who will be attending. {this is one of the many things I wish someone had told me years ago} You will be able to cross off vendors you know to bypass, just by knowing who they are. (i.e. A high school science program, when your oldest is
As you familiarize yourself with the vendor booths, make a list of the ones where you are considering purchasing or where you want to go inquire. Jot your question(s) to the side for an easy reminder.
Review the available sessions/workshops. In lieu of over-scheduling and wearing yourself thin, choose no more than 3 sessions to attend each day. If you are attending with your spouse or friend, split up and take notes for one another. Choose a session of an author you favor or a situation you are freshly facing (i.e. Homeschooling the Highschooler). In limiting yourself, you will not be greatly overwhelmed with information, allowing yourself time to process what you have learned. Larger conventions typically offer MP3s of each session for a minimal fee after the event. These will serve as an encouragement for you any time of the year!
Map your plan. Review the floor plan of the vendor hall and the break-out sessions. This will help you to plan your path throughout the day and in between sessions to make the most of your time.
As excited as you may be to take in all of the goodness you can, pace yourself. Schedule downtime. Thrown a bottle of water and a few snacks in your bag to have handy {and to avoid paying $3 for a bag of chips}
Don’t expect to come home with all of the answers. Sure, most of your questions may be answered during the glorious weekend, but you may come home asking new things. With new ideas. And that’s OK. Use the convention as an opportunity to open your eyes and be refreshed. Think out of the box.
Purchase. Or don’t purchase. Do not feel pressured to buy everything (or anything) at the convention. A standard discount offered at a convention by vendors is usually free shipping. Which, yes, can add up. But if you end up having buyer’s remorse, the restocking fee can be even heftier.

taming the tornado

Do you attend homeschool convention each year? What tips would you share??

daze of adventure

Filed Under: family daze, good cents, homeschooling, ocd therapy, taming the tornado

Taming the Tornado: Taming our hearts

March 8, 2011 By jenn p. 6 Comments

Current status of our home: this tornado is far from tamed.

I am grateful that Bryan had the house cleaned on Saturday for me to come home on Sunday, but unfortunately, a twister has again blown through.

Piles are everywhere, and growing.

Laundry is again running out the door, and there is an unlimited number of science experiments growing in our refrigerator.

How does all of this happen so quickly??

We have been too busy. We have been over-scheduled. The o-so-organized schedules and color-coded calendars have the four of us going

in different directions. All at the same time.

Leaving very little or no time for the basics.

Family dinners have been replaced by drive-thrus or take-outs.

Instead of family game nights, we are rushing through the shower/teeth-brushing routine to get in bed, because we have somewhere to be early the next morning.

And we have had a tendency to skip reading the Bible in the mornings, to get to ya’ know…the important stuff….like Math. Or fieldtrips. #wrong

Can you relate??

This busyness has led to exhaustion. And the exhaustion has resulted in poor attitudes in our home, resulting in anger and laziness.

And the last time I checked, those are not character traits we are wanting to instill in our kids. Or imitate as parents.

I have to remind myself on a daily basis that this doesn’t make me a horrible mother – this is a reminder that I am human. And I am NOT self-sufficient.

In all of the busyness, it has been so hard to have JOY and to be an encouraging mom, because I feel like I am constantly preparing us for the next activity. Not enjoying the moment we are in.

I am a mom who has an encouraging heart, yet these days an exhausted spirit.

Beginning April 6^th, I will be working through the book The Power of a Positive Mom, by Carol Ladd. Every Wednesday for eight weeks, by God’s grace, I will post on the HSV how this book is speaking to me, and how I am using the seven principles it offers to be inspired to be the best mom I can be.

Join me in HSV Blog Frog Community

each week as we discuss and encourage one another through this study!

Thankful His mercies are new every morning….

Filed Under: encouragement, family daze, giveaway/review, homeschooling, ocd therapy, taming the tornado

Taming the Tornado – Family binder

February 22, 2011 By jenn p. 9 Comments

A sneak peek into my method of maintaining the madness of our household –

Just beware! It may not make sense to all, but it works for me.

I have to have everything in one place. Accessible and usable.

This binder has been tweaked more times than anything in our house – but I can honestly say….I have finally found a groove! {until something changes}

I have eight dividers in my binder:

1. Calendar – Here is the plan of all planners for our family. I used to have multiple calendars for the different areas of our life, but it is too complicated. This calendar contains IN PENCIL {symbolizing I am trying to remain, uh-em, flexible} planned family outings, fieldtrips, sports events, travel plans, business meetings, co-op dates, etc. If any of us are going and doing it, it’s here.

As much as I love having everything available electronically (Google calendar) I still have to have my paper and pencil. Old habits die hard, people.

2. N*E*L – (Never-ending-list-of-2-be-dones] – This speaks for itself. If it needs to be completed, repaired, typed, mailed, returned, bought, scheduled, etc……it is listed here.

3. Writings – It’s labeled this, in lieu of BLOG, because I don’t just write on blogs. In my mind, this made it all-encompassing. This is where I keep track of writing deadlines. Whether it be my drafted-plan for this blog, or others – or for other publications where I am writing – it is all penciled in here. {notice PENCIL again. Things tend to change around here, y’all. I’m trying to be more prepared} Behind this tab, I also have my list of reviews that are in-work, so they are easily scheduled to post.

4. Skool – My sketching area for our homeschool. Current interests of the kids {for me to research and plan possible unit studies}, book lists, workbox planning grid, curriculum or sites to research, and our running-wish-list –> everything from watercolors to history books. It’s all listed here.

5. CCH – This tab houses everything-homeschool-co-op, including our current scope, current directory of members, and tentative plans for the following year. Here I keep track of the classes offered, resources used, teaching schedules, and supplies needed for each week. I also have a section behind this tab for FIELDTRIPS – where all my *plannings* are for those upcoming.

6. Menu – {this used to be a five week rotating menu that is currently under review and revising} (AKA this section is currently pretty empty) We have been in desperate need for a new menu in our home for a while. I am working on compiling a new, standard 5 week rotating menu, while getting great recipes from E-Mealz. [hope to be posting about our new menu very soon]

7. Cleaning – You would think this is a joke. But it’s for real in there. And I must tell you: I have had a daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annually plan for about 7 years. And I have tweaked it each time we have moved to *fit* our new home. Unfortunately, we don’t seem to follow it as much as we have tweaked it. But it is there. I do look to see what month we need to change filters, etc. So, at least it’s getting some use. {I’m thinking if I write a post on this beloved cleaning schedule, it may cause me to, uh-em, feel accountable to use it} <— THERE’S A THOUGHT!

8. Budget – The four letter word in our house these days. {Although it’s not really of four letters – you know what I mean!} Our PLAN for each month can be found here – so I can quickly glance at what is to be paid each week. Most of our bills are paid online, so a statement is never received in the mail. Although email reminders do come through, this is backup to ensure nothing is overlooked.

Yes, at the end of the day – this is where our calculations are jotted, receipts to be entered in Quick Books are filed in a pocket, and more chocolate is needed. {sigh}

Do you have a family binder or a go-to station to maintain the madness of your home??

Better yet, is there even madness in your home? Or is it just us?