2014 Free {customizable} homeschool planner

*Updated planner available HERE. 

You may download a free copy from my facebook page, An 
Intentional Life. Simply click on the Free Homeschool Planner tab. If you already "like" An Intentional Life, you will be provided with the download link. If not, just click the "like" button to gain access! Once redirected, simply right click the file and select Download. 

*Note, you can preview the two PDF files, however if you try to preview the Word document, it will give an error message, you'll have to download it to gain access to the editable file.

I have switched to follow the calendar year verses the public school year simply because it is easier for record keeping and organizing the artwork and photos by using a single year rather than half of one year and half of another. But, if you still follow the public school year, no worries!

This new version was created with Microsoft Word and you may now download the original document and modify to suit your personal needs. As always, this is for personal use only, you may not resell or republish this doc.

My favorite feature is a visual daily schedule as well as visual daily schoolwork so my little guys can take responsibility for their stuff. It has worked wonders for us, and I hope it will help you as well!

Devotionals and priorities...parting thoughts...

The time has come for me to say goodbye to this blog. It has been a great source of personal journaling and connection with family and friends. I have also met several incredible ladies through blogging and am so grateful for all I have learned and continue to learn from them.

I've reached that point in my life, however, where something's gotta give. It's impossible for me to be the mother I want to be, homeschool my three energetic boys, care for a new baby girl, cook healthy meals three times a day, keep a clean house, serve in my church, date my husband, have a growing relationship with Christ, mow the yard, weed my garden, grocery shop, fold laundry, scrapbook, travel, AND try to document it all through this blog. This season of motherhood will pass much to quickly and I don't want to look back and read about it, I want to look back and remember it and know that I gave my children my very best.

Chores- training little helpers

For the last few years I have hired wonderful teenagers to help me clean house because I was too overwhelmed with my small children to keep on top of it all. Since we have been in Germany I have not found anyone who lives close enough to help me and have been forced to go it alone.

I found that keeping everything picked up took so much time and these little boys could make messes faster than I could clean up, I knew I had to either teach them to help or hire outside help. After reading several helpful blog postings like Operation Chore Training, The Unlikely Homeschool and Confessions of a Homeschooler, as well as some great advice from my facebook friends I finally got my little guys trained and my house has been clean every day for more than a month now! Really!

Our {current} homeschool schedule...a day in the life...

I am a big scheduler. I love to write out everything I need to do and manage it all in little blocks of time. But sticking to that schedule? Well...that's another story. As my family changes, the house, state or country we live in changes I have to adjust our schedule to accommodate and am constantly trying to figure out what will work best for us. I've finally figured out a routine that works for the current phase we are in. It may change six months from now, but as of today it is working fabulously!

Prague City

We enjoyed our trip into the beautiful city of Prague, the castle on the hill had the most amazing views...

Prague, Medieval Knight Show

We visited Prague over the fourth of July weekend and had a great time. It was definitely an adventure since we don't speak a word of Czech (other than hello= Ahoj). They are part of the EU but you must still use Czech crowns in most places and 20 crowns is equivalent to 1 dollar. While most people in the city speak English or German, few people in the suburbs or country do.

The boys are getting a bit tired of city visiting cities so we thought they'd enjoy a knight tournament. It was about an hour outside of Prague (click here for the website) and it was very well done. The show runs from 2-4pm and was well worth the drive.

Week in review (last week, that is...)

Here are a few moments from last week. This week we're in Prague. Happy Independence Day!

Guest Post: Homeschooling multiple children!

I'm so excited for this article by Courtney over at Ordinary, Happily Ever After. I have been following her blog for several years now and she doesn't know this, but I was first drawn in by a political article she wrote. I was truly impressed by how well written it was- intelligent, articulate, and right on point. She inspired me to be more involved in educating myself about issues rather than just hiding behind the "I'm just a mother" shield. She seems to be able to write exactly what I am thinking but cannot put to words.

Now that I have a new baby, the thought of teaching four children over the next 18 years is extremely overwhelming. She was the first person I went to to ask HOW can I homeschool more than one child when they are all at different levels??? As a veteran homeschooling mother of five, she has some great words of wisdom. Take it away Courtney!

First of all I want to say a big THANK YOU to Cari for asking me to write today! I've been a fan of hers for a while and now I feel like I'm playin' with the big dogs :)

As a homeschooling mom, one of the questions am often asked (after the obligatory "Oh, I could never do that" comment) is, "How do you teach so many different ages/grades at the same time?" In a five minute conversation it's difficult to convey what homeschooling even IS, let alone how I manage to juggle the educational needs of each of my five children and myself. More often than not I give them my rehearsed answer of how I do A, B, and C; and while I'm sure they can sort of understand what I'm saying, they don't really get it. I'm assuming though, that if you are reading this you are interested in more than the 10 second sound byte. So here it goes...

Bern, Switzerland LDS Temple Pictures

The protectors

The little princess at four months old, and her protectors. Just look at those chubby little legs!

Maison Cailler chocolate factory & Gruyère factory and castle tours

This day was definitely the highlight of our trip. I was excited to take the boys on a tour of the cheese and chocolate factory but did not anticipate how awesome it would really be. First of all, the way to reach these towns from Interlaken was through a seasonal mountain pass (very narrow and winding!) which had THE most amazing views.

This was taken with my iPhone, yes it really is THAT green here

Interlaken, Brienz wood carvers, Jungfraujoch and Paragliding

Switzerland has moved up on my list of most amazing places on earth. I had been to Zurich several years ago but it gave me no preparation for the beauty I would behold driving across the country. Unfortunately the drive from Zurich to Interlaken is a series of tunnels with just a few glimpses of the countryside, however those few glimpses are completely breathtaking. I wish I could have taken photos of the first tunnel we came out of, it was the kind of scenery movies are made of, incredible mountain cliffs and green valleys. I'm convinced that a person could drive every day for a month in Switzerland and see something totally magnificent each day.

Zurich, Switzerland a taste of local culture

We had so much fun in Zurich. There really aren't many tourist sites and that's what made it so fun. We took a few pictures of the churches and the beautiful river then wandered through the town to see what locals do. 

Neuschwanstein Castle and Iron Kids Switzerland

Part 2: Salzburg, Austria

I'm not sure which was more enjoyable, touring around Salzburg or the beautiful drive there. Here are some photos I took from the car on the drive over.

Garmish and Nördlingen {and photographs for sale}

My husband's parents came to visit us for several weeks and we hit the road on another trip to one of our favorite places- Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On our way we visited the medieval town of Nördlingen which sits near the impact point of a meteorite that hit the earth 15 million years ago. The boys climbed the treacherously old steps to the top of the cathedral for a bird's eye view of the town.

Organizing a homeschool schedule

Once you know what you want to study and you have a growing number of books filling up your table (or kindle/amazon queue) you have to figure out what to do with them. For me, it's easiest to digest all these books when I break them up by term. I divide the year into seasons then choose which books to study during each season. The fun literature books I usually save for our bedtime and leisure reading. The others I try to rotate once or twice a week. Before I had my fourth child I was pretty good about planning out what we would do each day, now I just keep a box full of the books we use next to me on the couch and I grab whatever I'm feeling in the mood for. I make sure we work from at least three books a day, anything after that is a bonus.

Here is a breakdown of our reading schedule for next year (for details on each book, see our 2013-2014 curriculum)

Did you know?

Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas Edison

Albert Einstein

Benjamin Franklin

Patrick Henry

Eli Whitney

Orville & Wilbur Wright

John Adams

Thomas Jefferson

George Wythe

Alexander Hamilton

George Washington

Abraham Lincoln

Theodore Roosevelt

Louisa May Alcott

Robert Frost

C.S. Lewis

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Leonardo da Vinci

Claude Monet

Isaac Newton

Johann Sebastian Bach

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Winston Churchill

What do these well-known people all have in common? Besides creative genius or exceptional leadership...  

Each received a large part, if not all, of their education at home. That's right folks, these people were homeschooled! Through reading, discovering and exploring. There are many, many more people who have left their mark in the world and were educated in their own home. (There is a great list of famous homeschoolers at http://www.famoushomeschoolers.net )

Whenever you feel challenged or discouraged, just take a peek at these names and realize the potential those little people in your home have if you only give them the tools to unleash it! Many of these incredibly intelligent people were poor public school students and felt like failures, yet thrived when allowed to pursue knowledge in their own way and time. 

Food in Germany

I just have to say that after living in Europe, I feel really sorry for Americans (and for the food I will have to go home to). European food is so much tastier and healthier.

Joshua's German School

Joshua heading off to his "private German school"...

Nature Study, the Charlotte Mason way

We don't take school off during the summer, but our primary focus is on literature and nature study. We do math as much as they want to, I don't put pressure on them to complete things. One of our favorite discoveries here is a nature park on the military base. It has a dozen or so of these signs with great information about local species of plants, animals, birds, etc. and has them in both German and English.

First sewing lessons

My in-laws are in town for the next few weeks. We are so excited to see them. We're headed for a two week trip to Garmisch, Austria and Switzerland. I have a few scheduled posts while I'm gone and I'll share some pictures of our trip on facebook from time to time.

The other day Ethan's button came off his shorts and provided us with the perfect opportunity to learn to sew on a button! It took a few tries for his needle to find the button hole, but he was so proud of himself when he finally got it.

Week in review: gardening and a virtual tour of China

It is so fun to see things growing in our garden! The boys had fun designing cute little signs for our vegetable garden. Our lettuce, spinach and kale are looking just beautiful and our peas, carrots, tomatoes and peppers are looking awesome too. 

The Hague Netherlands LDS Temple Pictures

When we were in Holland I had the opportunity to photograph the Den Haag-Tempel in Zoetermeer. It is such a beautiful area, cows and sheep were grazing all along the roadside and there were farm fields everywhere (not to mention tulips). The Netherlands is such a beautiful country.

As always, images are available to download free for personal use http://freeldstemplepictures.com. Commercial licenses are also available for purchase.

Nature Study- fun with ants

We have a little park a couple blocks behind our house that the boys love to play at. We went the other day and saw hundreds of huge ants crawling everywhere. We decided to do an experiment to see what ants really like to eat and if natural repellent really works.

It's what God gave you time for...

I love the saying "I was a perfect mother...until I had my first child". Looking from the outside in it seems like such a simple task, wipe a few noses, bake a few cookies, read a few stories. If only it were that simple. The world as a whole does not value motherhood on a full time basis. The world says sure it's nice to have one or two children, but why should women waste their skills staying home doing nothing?

Mother's don't just read stories, they plant seeds of character and imagination. Mother's don't just sing lullabies, they instill memories of love and a sense of belonging into the heart of a child. Mother's don't just pray, they build a foundation of faith so the child knows what path to follow. Mother's don't just teach, they inspire the love of learning and the desire to make a difference in the world. Mother's don't just have babies, they raise future leaders of nations.

Beautiful messes

I appreciated the recent article from Upside Down Homeschooling on Embracing the Imperfect. Lest any mom's think homeschooling is easy, it isn't. 90% of the time it is a struggle to stay on task, keep focused and stay positive. I love a clean house as much as anyone (perhaps even more than most) but one only has so many hours in the day and every minute spent cleaning is a minute spent away from my children. My one and only new years' resolution was to relax and not stress about the messes. I did terrible the first few months- walking into a room with stuff on the floor was like nails on a chalkboard. Then I had a baby. I had no choice, I could either scream, hire a housekeeper, or just not care. I do still care, but I am learning to not let it stress me out or feel like a failure because of it. This is what our school room/office looks like right now:

And this is what we have to show for it...

Belgium: Brussels, Waterloo and Bastogne

Our next stop was Brussels, Belgium. We went inside the engineering marvel The Atomium. This unusual structure contains the fastest elevator in Europe, traveling at a rate of 5 meters per second. The highest ball has large glass windows you can look out and see the city. Not quite as fabulous as the Sears Tower (I refuse to call it Willis) but still pretty cool.

The Netherlands: Keukenhof Gardens & Kinderdijk

The main reason for our trip of course was to see the beautiful tulips, and we were not disappointed! The Keukenhof Gardens have the most magnificent flower display on earth. They get over 800,000 visitors during the eight weeks they are open. My sister and I visited several years ago but I didn't have kids then so I didn't realize all the fun things they had for kids here. The boys said it was almost as fun as Disney World!

The Netherlands: Amsterdam

Part one of our trip to the Netherlands and Belgium! First stop- Amsterdam. It took us about 7 hours to get there since we had to stop several times to feed baby. The boys did great as always and Olivia is a model traveler, I think she only cried once and it was because she needed a diaper change. Here is the beautiful side of Amsterdam...

Olivia, three months

We're spending this week in Holland seeing the tulips. I'll share some lovely photos next week, for now you can enjoy these chubby little cheeks!

Choosing a literature based homeschool curriculum

"I'm new to homeschooling (or thinking about homeschooling), how do I choose a curriculum?"

This is THE most common question I get asked about homeschooling, and the most difficult to answer. There are dozens of ways to homeschool, and I am no expert by any means, but I'd like to share how I decide what to teach my children.

Art Appreciation

My boys don't need a whole lot of encouragement when it comes to art, however I also want them to gain an appreciation for fine art from a young age. I was never taught to value fine art and I think pretty sure I'm not alone in this.

Common Core: what it means for YOUR children

I had heard bits and pieces about Common Core but honestly wasn't too interested in it since we homeschool. Then I kept hearing it come up in news articles and on blogs and realized it's something we ALL need to be concerned about whether we homeschool, send our kids to public school, have grandchildren, niece and nephews, etc. it's something we all need to learn and voice our opinion about.

What is Common Core?

As with any issue, there are always two sides. This issue is no different. As far as the supporters (those making money off it) are concerned it's simply a national curriculum designed to make sure everyone gets the same level of education. Sounds great right?

Let's dig a little deeper.

Our 2013-2014 Homeschool Curriculum and Free Homeschool Planner

*Updated planners are available here!

_______________________________________________________________

Since I am trying to be better at following Charlotte Mason's ideas this year, we are using a lot more living books and very few "curriculum" type books. This may seem like a lot of books and in reality we will read way more books than I've listed here, however these are the primary books we will be using. 

This may seem like a lot, however we will be traveling all over Europe this next year. This fall we have a 3 week trip to Italy and Greece, a trip to the UK next spring and will possibly traveling to Scandinavia in the summer. Our primary focus will be to learn about the history and culture of the places we will be visiting and if we don't finish all our literature we will save them for next year. A few of these I'm going to get audio versions and listen to in the car while we travel. 

Up next, I'll share some ideas on how to choose a literature-based curriculum. I've also updated our Free Homeschool Planner for 2013-2014 to help you organize your ideas for this upcoming school year! I updated last year's version plus added a new design.

      

Free LDS Temple Pictures

If you haven't already seen my other website http://freeldstemplepictures.com, I offer free pictures of all the temples I have the opportunity to photograph.

And if you haven't visited in a while, please do, there have been a lot of additions lately. First, and most prominent, is the beautiful soundtrack provided by the talented songwriter Sara Baril. She is amazing, as are the singers on her upcoming album Thy Healing Hands. 

Some of my temple images will be featured in Sara's upcoming music video for her song "A Place to Heal". She would love to have a variety of temple images from around the world. If you or anyone you know has any professional quality photographs of temples in Canada, Asia or Central and South America, please email me a sample!

Gaining a Charlotte Mason perspective (and free printable quotes!)

I know blog posts are supposed to be short, sweet and to the point, but I have so much to say about two books I just read that I simply can't condense it any further than this. I hope you'll bear with me, and just for doing so I've created a few Charlotte Mason quotes you can print for free!

I’ve been contemplating for a while now the things I’d like to study with my boys this next school year.
This year has gone pretty well considering all the changes we have gone through from moving back to
Kentucky, having daddy come home, moving to Germany, living in a hotel for a month, finally getting a
house and settling in, sending my oldest to German school, etc… However I kept feeling like things were
not running as smoothly as I’d like. It was starting to become more of a chore than a joy and I knew I
needed to make some changes for this next year.

Paris Arc du Triomphe and Sacré Cœur

There are so many places in Paris to see incredible views. This is from the top of the Arc du Triomphe.

Paris Marathon, camping, and more

Where can a family of six stay in the city of Paris, make as much noise as they want and have fresh baguettes and croissants for breakfast?

Paris, Musée d'Orsay & Seine River Cruise

We spent the weekend in Paris for the marathon. We hadn't planned on going with my husband since we were just here a few months ago, but at the last minute we decided to join him. I'm so glad we did. I just can't get enough of this city!

Random cuteness and a favor...

If you are a blogger you've probably heard by now that Google Reader and Friend Connect are going away. If you're not a blogger what this means is that it's harder to follow up on your favorite blogs and know when they add new posts without manually going out to each blog site. PAIN.

SO...if you want to continue to follow my blog (you know you do!) There are three ways to do so:

1. Follow via Blog lovin' http://www.bloglovin.com/en/blog/4517235
2. Follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Intentional-Life/258523914220660?ref=hl
3. Follow me via email http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheOsbornes&loc=en_US

Pick one. Pick all three. Pick your nose. Or not...Just pick one and if you want me to follow you back post your link in the comments!

Now for the random cuteness promised. Here are some pictures of the littles for your enjoyment. Entrepreneurs in the making...

And of course I have to show off my little girl. Two months old!

Don't hate me, but I'm spending this weekend in Paris (yay for macaroons and chocolate croissants!) If you haven't already entered to win a copy of Monumental, enter now! Tell your friends and get more entries. Winner will be announced when I get back next week. Good luck!

P.S. if you've ever wondered what we Mormons are all about, check this website out on Saturday or Sunday at 10am and 2pm MST (12 and 4 EST) where the Prophet and Apostles will speak to the world!