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Hi Ladies

I have made plans to get Bigger and Beyond for next school year. We are starting to refine our budget. I was wanting to know what supplies would be needed. We will not have alot of craft supplies left from this past year (paper, paint and stuff like that).

I was also wondering what copy books people use for first and fourth grade. Where do people get them? I would like to have one book each for copywork, History and Science. Does this sound appropriate? Do people try to combine all subjects into one book or am I right to think that three separate books are better? Or maybe people use binders instead and use blank paper?

Are there any things that I should buy in bulk like playdough or paper?

I am really just looking for some basic info so that I can keep my eyes open for sales and start stocking up now. I am afraid I have not kept a certain system up for keeping things long term. I have had a mish mash of systems over the years so I am calling on all the Olives out there.

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.

Trina

....to mention. we will be renovating our kitchen for part of this school year. If there is alot of kitchen activities on Beyond and Bigger I will need to make other plans for those weeks. We have a hose and abackyard though.

Any thoughts?

Hi Treewin,

First of all, congratulations on your kitchen remodel. We did ours two years ago and it was a HUGE undertaking, but I'm so glad we did. If you have a hose you'll be fine. I often fill my white tub up with water and use our living room coffee table to do the experiments because the boys can see better.


As far as what and where do I get my art supply stash!

MILLER PADS AND PAPER http://www.millerpadsandpaper.com/

They have everything at AMAZING prices! We just had them at our support group and I went overboard and it was still under 100.00



As far as notebooks go, I know many of my friends who simply use a 3-Ring with page protectors. I really LOVE the notebooks that MPP sells.









This one is the, "My Picture Story Book Grade 4 & Up". I also bought the same one but for 3rd grade.

HTH,
Mary

Thanks Mary!

This looks like a wonderful sight. I will be bookmarking this one. Do you find one book per subject is enough for a year or do you need more? I think it had 60 pages so if you use two pages per week you are probably almost fine.

I am getting tired of lots of school papers sitting around our house and now with two schooling I want to streamline the paper clutter. How do you keep it under control with four kids?

I have been looking at my storage of previous years and thinking I need to purge a little. I'd like to keep alot of it but find that each year it becomes more difficult space wise.

You seem very organized, how do you do it with so much going on?

Sorry for all the questions.
Trina

er um I use hobby lobby for art stuff but I have only one child home atm so we have pelnty of supplies.
And I bought regular .33¢ notebooks from big lots during school supply season. One poetry, one math (for extra work) One dictation, One language arts. All of these except poetry will get tossed at end of year.

And we have our binders now for the science and geography and I have started one for Art

I am a bad mommy when it comes to the paper trail. I simply don't keep it. I take pics and post them on my blog or put them in my photo album. We do yearly testing so that is my 'proof' for the state that I did actally teach my kids more than just stay at home and play all day. We also move often (military) and it's a pain to keep it all. I was sending it to the grandparents but they are getting overflowed with my three plus on hubby's side the other grandkids. Pics and testing is how I keep my paper mess minimal. Next year I will have binders for some subjects so my tossing habit may change.
As for art supplies we don't add that to the budget. My home wil always have an overflowing stash of art supplies. We like art around here. Though it too does get tossed out after taking pictures of it. With some paper art, I am going to make calendars for Christmas this year. One for each grandparent and one for hubby as a deployment countdown.

For Bigger this year, we used the 33cent notebooks Tansy described for copywork, dictation, and grammar. We bought copy paper for the notebooking, and we put it in clear plastic sleeves in 2 big 3 ring binders, with tabs. One binder has copywork and science in it. The other has history maps and notebooking activities.

For my LHFHG son, we set out all of his papers every 2 weeks or so and let him choose his favorites to put in a binder with plastic sleeves. I like having it in all in a binder or 2 if possible. Also, it is very nice when in-laws ask in a scared voice, "What are your children DOING in school?!?" It's great to pull out the binder and say, "This."

Also, we LOVE Miller Pad and Paper too. We get a lot of their white 9 x 12 pads and a few color pads this size too. We like their heavy paper for painting too, and their spiral bound sketchbooks. You cannot beat the price or the quality. HTH

In Christ,
Julie

Treewin wrote:Thanks Mary!

Do you find one book per subject is enough for a year or do you need more? I think it had 60 pages so if you use two pages per week you are probably almost fine.

You seem very organized, how do you do it with so much going on?

Hi Trina,

Yes, I think one book per subject would be perfect.

As far as organized? This is something I am beginning to feel more comfortable with. I am not "naturally" an organized person. The Lord has given me some incredibly gifted friends who have given me great tips over the years.
I think it does help that I am a relaxed homeschooler. Mary Hood's, "The Joyful Homeschooler" is my all time FAVORITE book!

She helped me set my philosophy early on. I can still remember crying when I read the book as it so meshed with my spirit.

What Relaxed looks like in our home....,

That means we do math and LA 4-5 days per week and we do HOD every chance we get, but if something comes up like taking my Grandmother to doctor's appointments or a field trip......, if my house is behind and I need to catch up or I am preparing for a big event, I just take the day off HOD and do only the 3R's.

I don't plan out my days off at the beginning of the school year. The only time I "plan" off is from Thanksgiving to New years. If I look ahead and see I need to take a day off, we just do it. (Though I really try to be responsible, I don't just take the day off to watch tv )

For instance, I know that we will end up taking next week off. I am speaking on Tuesday evening, the next morning two of my boys are having their year end testing and the day after that my oldest is having his, Friday is co-op.

This is how I stay organized. If I were trying to do school, maintain my home and fit the scheduled events of next week into our schedule I would be a mad woman

I hope this made sense?

For copywork and dictation, I use an ordinary composition notebook. I use another for grammar. For History and Science, I use a spiral-bound sketchbook for each subject. We use index cards for spelling and vocabulary, though I think I will switch to a notebook for those next year, and we also use index cards for Bible memory verses. For art, I bought a ream of 9x12 drawing paper, a large pack of construction paper and a small pack of cardstock. We have colored pencils and crayons, too.