Mother4Jesus

We are back into the swing of homeschooling. The new year came and we are studying our multiplication facts.  We have been homeschooling for over 20 years. My younger two did a Classical curriculum from the start. We have used Classical Conversations and Claritas Press Academy.  With Classical conversations, we started out with them. We did their skip counting and had it all memorized from kindergarten. CC then changed from going to 12, to going all the way to the 15’s!  We ended up going back to Claritas BUT , stayed with CC’s skip counting because they had been so ingrained in us.  CC has the students memorize all the skip counting and then when they go into Essentials, they memorize them as full equations, 4x1=4, etc.  I love that. I purchased the songs from KingThings , another CC Family. I love the songs and soon realized that my younger child, was learning them. I wanted a visual to go along with the song.  I am no long...

It's almost October and I didn't want to forget about the weekly planner for my homeschool moms!!  My children love the different planner pages monthly. It's just something I like to do to make the seasons more fun. I created 3 different ones this week. One is specifically for my ACE moms!! The other two are generic. One is blank and other has the days of the week, and you can fill in the subjects.  Click here to download I don't actually print out new ones each week. You can do that but these are colorful and take up quite a bit of printer ink. If you're like me, you like to save ink where you can.  I print these out and laminate them.  I use a sharpie to write in the daily work, and alcohol cleans this right off.  Sometimes I'll print out two different prints and laminate back to back. This also helps to make the most of your laminate supplies. If you'd like the matching notebook covers or planner dividers, Click on this ...

Expectations.  What do you think when you hear that word?  Dictionary.com   has a few different meanings for that word.  The underlying meaning is, "To expect something.".  This one word has been the killer of many relationships. Uncommunicated expectations are the silent killer of friendships, relationships, marriages, work environments, and many more. Too many to list. I'm sure many of you could add to that list.  Some expectations are reasonable and cause growth. Proper expectations help us to grow, and our children to mature. Even our relationship with the Lord has expectations. Some expectations are also needed for our education, to work, and marriage.  What makes for healthy expectations??  That is the million-dollar question.  For me, expressing, explaining, and thoroughly laying out one's expectations is essential.  I'm not always good at this, and it's something that I continue to work on.  ...

I had to threaten David with losing video games to get this photo. #TruthBomb See this picture above? I love this photo. This photo can give you the illusion that my children are well behaved and love each other..... ALL THE TIME.  Nope. Not even close. David loves to ruin my photos. Right before I took this photo I said to him, "If you ruin this picture with your jokes, you will lose all video games for a week!!"  I didn't say it as nicely as typing it out makes me look. Just being honest. We've all been there?? right?? or is it just me? It's just me. My kids are the worst!  ********************************************************* There is nothing worse than looking at your child's behavior and thinking, "My child is the worst one here."  The fact is, we've all thought that at times. As an older mom, I've been through it. I have two adult children and also two younger children.  What wisdom has that gained me??  N...

With Summer quickly approaching, many of us are looking forward to the break from the school year.  We are year-round homeschoolers, which means that we only take off the month of July.  This year, because of Sarah's gym schedule, we may be changing that.  Looks like she'll be going from 9am - 12 am 4 days a week. So getting school work done in the morning may be a bit harder.  I love the freedom of homeschooling and add to that year-round homeschooling and we've got PLENTY of extra time to play with. This shouldn't be too big an issue because Sarah is great at managing her time. That's one thing that homeschooling is great for teaching, *Time Management*.  One of the biggest issues we've had is keeping track of everyone's schedules. I know that many keep their appointments on their phones. Some keep a planner, etc.  I keep all my appointments on my phone, which is great. The problem is that my husband doesn't. My children don...

I couldn't help but sing that title. 😊 This is a video that I made. It goes over what ACE is,  (In the simplest form), How we use it, and how we use it with our Classical curriculum.  Ace can be used with any Other curriculum.  You can use all or part of it. It's a great core curriculum.  Here you have some ideas on how to add to it.  All About ACE **Quick Note** I use reusable goal cards. I laminate them and write on them with Sharpie, then wipe off with alcohol. Many can be found here on my blog  or onthe Facebook Group page for free in the files section,  ACE Homeschool Moms Lounge.  I'll be making more goal cards in different themes in the future. I'll post them here on my blog. Please click the link and subscribe to my blog. My documents are always free and I don't require that you subscribe but it makes it easier for you to get a notification for each new blog post. 

April went by so quickly!! It's been a whirlwind of activities, gym practice,  State competitions and now, this weekend, we're off to Regionals!! Region 8!  Sarah & Laura A/K/A Edna & Bertha Sarah is so excited and we're very excited for her and all her hard work!!  Here is the free calendar for May.. It's not dated. You can reuse year after year. I also included a free weekly calendar.  Click Here Please do not share this file with anyone!! Have them come here to download. As always, my documents are free!! Enjoy.  For those who like to create their own documents, I created this using Janelle's graphics and pages from Chantahlia Design . All of her scrapbooking pages are free!!!  In His Love,  Laura

I can't believe it's March!!! The time goes quickly!  In Feb. I posted a blog with March's Calendar .  Now I've got April's Calendar and Weekly Calendar!! I don't date them so that you can use them year after year!  We're heading down to SC... Myrtle Beach!! Sarah is very excited. We're traveling with our friends, the Spencers! There are a few times in life where God brings people to you and they quickly become family!! This is them!! I love creating fun, colorful printables, and these cute photos. These girls have worked hard!! Sarah's competing USAG Silver and Khloe is competing USAG Gold!! Gold is a tough level. The competition is fierce and the judges are much tougher on the gymnasts. Khloe worked hard and I'm sure she'll do great! These two really do enjoy each other. What I love is when I hear them encouraging each other, or confessing when they're struggling with something. They push one another to be better, not just in...

What a great and busy weekend we had!! I can't believe that my 4th child, my baby, my gentle giant turned 8 years old!! It seems like just yesterday I held him in my arms trying to decide a name for him. It took my husband and me a few hours to name him.  We had purchased tickets to see the Kratt brothers months back. We knew Sarah had a gymnastics meet that weekend but never thought it would be on the same day as the tickets!! Turns out it was!! She had her meet, the Brittany Coppedge Invitational in Raleigh at 1pm. The show started at 4:30.  We made it!! David had no idea that we had gotten him tickets. We had also gotten him a new video game for his Ninetendo Switch!! He found out at the meet about seeing the Kratt Brothers.  He is such a sweet young man. I was so happy to surprise him with this.  Sarah had a great time with her event. She didn't do as well on the floor as she had in the past. I saw her face when her team mate KILLED it o...

It's been dreary and rainy here in NC. Time to share something colorful!!!  I think this is my favorite attendance sheet and Goal Card ever!!! Mermaid!! it's so pretty!!!  My daughter is too old for this, but I thought someone else might enjoy it!!!  It's bold , it's bright... I love it!!  You can download this for free!!! No need to Join my blog, or even follow me. I would appreciate if you did follow me. You can also follow me on Instagram. #Mother4Jesus Print out the matching goal card and laminate them together for the year!!!  I print these out on cardstock. Laminate and fill in the dates with a sharpie. At the end of the year, make a copy and file away. Clean off with alcohol and reuse for the following year.  Your student will have a great time marking off her school days and her daily work.  Don't forget to celebrate your 100th Day!!! **Please do NOT share this file with anyone. Send them here to downloa...

I have two adult children that I homeschooled through high school.  Can we talk curriculum reviews??  In the 20+ years that i've been homeschooling, i've tried many, many curriculums. Different types, different styles, different prices, etc.  When I started homeschooling, I had many STRONG opinions. Which is really funny, considering I had very little experience.  That is the reason for this post.  With 20+ years of experience what i've learned is what i'm going to share.  Ready?  I don't know that much. Yup.. The older I get, the less I know.  Also,  There is NO bad curriculum.  I'm going to say that again.  THERE IS NO BAD CURRICULUM!!!  I've used, A lpha Omega lifepacs, switched on schoolhouse, Sonlight, My Father's World, Bob Jones, Abeka, Logic of English, Teaching Text Books, Math-u-see, Kahn Academy, Easy Peasy Online, Singapore Math, Apologia Science, Hooked on Phonics, Teach your chil...

I love Galatians 5:22-23.  The kids and I have been memorizing this with a cute song.  I enjoy creating wall art. I like to create these posters. I send them to my local walmart and have them printed. This is a 12x18. I can get an inexpensive frame and BOOM!!! Wall art.  Since you all can download this for free....you save money!!!  How can I create these and give them away for free?? Easy.. I have so many creative ideas, i'll NEVER be able to use them all. I love to share them. I make money from the advertisers on my blog. Please don't share this file directly with friends and family. Please have them come to my blog to down load this. I don't require an email. I don't require that you follow my blog. It's appreicated if you do. You can also follow me on Instagram. #Mother4Jesus. Please share this blog link or pin this blog.  Enjoy & Happy decorating,  Laura Click here to download. 

I love planners... All kinds of planners. For me carrying around a planner didn't work. I don't know why? I find that I put my appointments in my ICalendar. I have an iphone, Ipad and a Mac desktop, so they all sync up. Do you know what doesn't sync up?? The rest of my family. For some reason, my husband, who is an Applications Specialist, doesn't look at the Calendar. So our daily conversations start out with, "What are your plans for today?"  😏 I was trying to find a way to have our weekly and monthly plans out in the open for EVERYONE!!!. A one-Stop place for ALL Plans, appointments and agendas to be written down. A visual masterpiece for all to see!! An organizational dream !!!! Ok, so that's a bit dramatic. 😂 I wanted a calendar that I could leave out. I didn't want it on the fridge. I don't like a cluttered fridge.  I wanted something I could put in a frame or laminate.  I came up with these.  A two -page Calendar that ca...

This time of the year, we're finishing up this years work with the thought of next year in the back of our minds.  For some, like myself, we already know what we're doing. I will be organizing and rearranging our school room to better fit what we really use. Nothing like having tons of books around that we never used. It makes me feel inferior that we never got to all those great literature books. I know that It's ok, but still, having them around bothers me. I'll be putting them away, so that my guilt goes with it. (Just keeping it real) One way that I reorganize is new notebook covers for the kids. My son loves to have covers that reflect his personality. Same for my daughter. These are some standard covers that I use in binders. I've used standard binders but I find that heavy duty binders are the way to go. Yes, you can save a few dollars, but usually those binders have to be replaced. Either the rings tend to open, or the pocket inside rips, or the cover...

February is the shortest month of the year but can feel like the longest for homeschoolers!! Spring fever sets in!! Looking forward to the fresh smell of the spring flowers!! I created this cute attendance and matching goal card set.  Print them out and laminate them together or slip them in a dry erase pocket to reuse.  Please do not share these files directly with friends. Send them here to my blog to download.  Many Blessings,  Laura Click Here to download Click Here to download