Planner Newbie - The Happy Planner from MAMBI 2016-2017

After finishing graduate school, my husband and I changing jobs a couple of times, living in four different houses in less than two years, and moving to a new state...we may finally be settling down. We are all very grateful for the changes, but even more grateful for some stability. Somewhere in all those changes my brain has become rather glitchy - if I don't write it down then I won't remember it. Recently I realized that even though I was recording things, I was doing so in four or five different places so it wasn't uncommon for me to lose the grocery list or miss a reminder about an appointment or forget where I put that note. So I went searching for a planner, a real, tangible, write-it-down with a pencil, planner - and I found out that things have changed drastically since I last used one, about a decade ago. There are so many options and so many PRETTY options!

I won't say how much time and energy went into the hunt for the "perfect" planner, but in the end - I didn't get it right. I wanted one planner to do EVERYTHING I needed and really - that wasn't necessary nor feasible. I first bought a personal size Color Crush from Webster's Pages hoping that I could use it for both money management (envelope budget system) and household planning, but the reality for me was that the weekly pages just weren't big enough for household planning. They'll hold a few appointments or a shopping list but not full checklist of chores and tasks and appointments and reminders that I need in order to stay on top of things. So I decided to split the job of household management between the Color Crush and this little beauty that I came across at Michael's - the Happy Planner in Fresh Floral from MAMBI.

 

Isn't she pretty? There are 10 style options of the Classic Planner 

if all the flowers aren't your style and specific Student and Teacher editions. 

And look how cute - there are even hearts on the discs! 

 So why did I chose the Happy Planner over, say, Erin Condren or Plum Papers?

• Local availability - The line is carried at both Hobby Lobby and Michael's - which means I totally used coupons to make the purchase. (Because I'm frugal and I want to stretch my pennies.)
• Easily customized - Both with extension packs and Internet printables. Almost every brand has extensions and printables available online but I don't want to have to rely on printing things (my printer isn't very reliable) nor wait for things to ship (because I'm impatient like that). Also, the disc bound system makes extras easy to add/move/remove.
• Undated Calendar Extension pack - The available 6 month undated extension pack meant I could start using it right away and keep using it until 2017, for the same price as a 12 month planner bought online that didn't start until July.  And the pack came with sticker pages to help date those suckers so I didn't have to go hunting for stamps or buying more pieces to make them work.
• Fitness, Household, and Recipe options - When time and budget allow I think these extension will be fun and useful.
• Layout - It isn't drastically different than the competition but the weekly spreads were set up in a way so that I can plan household in the side bar, homeschool in the mornings, and everything else in the afternoon/evening blocks.
• Design - The aesthetics appealed to me. If I'm looking at this thing everyday then it's about both form and function. I'm honestly not going to use it as much if it's clunky and ugly.

So what's it look like inside? Check it out.

The beginning...so sweet and a bit "girlie", but it made me smile. 

 

My favorite part - the weekly spreads.

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

I just made a whole chicken in the slow cooker for the first time and it was the best chicken I have ever made, ever.  So moist and so easy.  I normally brine a chicken for 24 hours before roasting it in the oven and it still isn't as moist as it was when made in the slow cooker.  If you like a crispy skin on your chicken though, you won't get it in the slow cooker.  My family usually just removes the skin so it wasn't a big deal to us.

Forgive the bad picture. I wasn't planning to blog it until it came out so yummy!

First, before you doing anything with the chicken or spices, grab some foil and roll 4 balls of foil to put under the chicken.  She shows you how over at No. 2 Pencil and trust me, she's right.  I chose not to follow her recipe because she used a pre-mixed spice blend.  I have found that the spice blends at the store are often not friendly to the Elimination Diet restrictions and I prefer to balance spices myself.

Spice Blend - Mix together in a small bowl.

2 t. salt
1 t. paprika
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion flakes
2 t. black pepper
1 t. red chili flakes

Chicken
1 whole chicken, 3.5-4.5 lbs.
3-4 T. EVOO or butter
1 medium yellow onion
3 cloves of garlic

After mixing the spices, grab your chicken.  Don't rinse it.  If your chicken came with the neck, I recommend placing it on the bottom of the cooker next to the foil balls for later use in making stock. Place chicken in slow cooker atop foil balls.

Rub the chicken with oil or butter. (I use EVOO.) Then rub the chicken with spices both on top and under the skin for extra flavor.  Chop the yellow onion into 4-5 wedges.  Roughly chop the garlic cloves.  Place onion wedges and chopped garlic into the bird's cavity.

Cook the chicken on low for 4-5 hours.  (Time and temperature will vary by cooker type.)  Use a meat thermometer to check if chicken is done.

What I Learned Week 1

Reflection.  It's a good thing, necessary for growth, both personal and professional.  It's an indispensable tool for teachers of all types.  It comes naturally to me but I don't always remember to write it down, which isn't helpful.  This past week was our first week of homeschool for the 2015-2016 school year and I have learned (or was reminded) of SO many lessons from my children.

What Did I Learn?

• Spreadsheets are Helpful but Simple is Best - I had a huge spreadsheet for Week 1.  I mean HUGE, about three times what is shown below.  I had it divided up by day and subject, including page numbers and references.  It was super organized.  Did I use it?  Some, but I kept simplifying it to a little daily checklist.  
• Calendar Time is almost useless as long as it remains in their room (with all their toys nearby). Do the routine and picture books but notebooking is pointless.
• Quiet Boxes - It's pointless to plan what goes in them ahead of time.  
• Reading - Picture book reading works best as part of Calendar Time; Read Aloud time works best during afternoon snack time.
• Phonics - It either clicks for my girl or it doesn't.  If it doesn't then there's no use dwelling on it.  It will frustrate us both.  Keep practicing reading skills and eventually it will just click.
• Handwriting - My girl needs practice, practice, practice until all those old bad habits from public school are gone. My boy isn't ready - color and trace, color and trace.
• Fridays are for review.  No one feels like sitting and concentrating on something new by that point in the week.
• Feedback from the kids - Craft projects. More music time. Don't leave Science until last.

What Did We Do?

Week 1

Subject	Activity
Field Trips	Beach; Six Flags; Library
Routine	Bible Verse, 100 Days, Letter, Number, Pledge, Weather
Reading	Hot air : the (mostly) true story of the first hot-air balloon ride Marjorie Priceman. How do hot air balloons work? Buffy Silverman. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper The Cheese by Margie Palatini
Activities	A Year of Playing Skillfully
Sensory Box	Sand & Seashells
Literacy	Phonics - CH/SH; Phonics Review; Phonics Review; Writing - All About Me; Sight Words - First Grade
Math	Singapore Math - Go Fish, War card games
Science	Hot Air Experiment; Intro 5 Senses & Can You Hear It?; Intro Scientific Process for Journal Sound Garden Investigation; Waves of Sound
Bible	Bible Sketchbook - God made Heavens & Earth, Eve and the Serpent, Rules - Fruit of the Tree
Music & Art	Combined with Science and Writing
Spanish	Combined with Calendar time

Play-based Scope and Sequence - THP Giveaway

So many people expressed interest in a Scope and Sequence for A Year of Playing Skillfully (AYPS) that I thought I would give it a shot! Below I provided an example of how I organized the first month, September, which you can receive as a free trial from their website, isn't that fun? [September Free Trial]

And in publishing it I decided there could be no better time for a book giveaway.  Now I realize that most of you who are navigating to this post already own The Homegrown Preschooler - and know how awesome it is - so this is your time to share it with your friends! 

By "Scope and Sequence" I mean a simple outline set up by week that gives a suggestion of what activities to complete together.  I did my best to group activities by a logical theme and order.  If you have purchased the entire curriculum and would like assistance putting together a sequence that works for your family, please feel free to contact me.  I am happy to help.

Click the link or the picture for your own PDF that outlines the first month of AYPS.

A Year of Playing Skillfully

 The Homegrown Preschooler Giveaway

 

Now for the added bonus - don't have your own copy of The Homegrown Preschooler yet? Leave a comment below telling me why you love Play-Based Learning or a suggestion of how to improve the Scope and Sequence.  I will draw a winner and ship out the book to you in time for the new school year.

As mentioned previously - I typically post our week's lessons here as a reference point for myself and my husband, like this: Week at a Glance.  You are welcome to follow along.  And I am slowly but surely getting back to crafting, sewing, and knitting so a few of those posts will hopefully come along too. Enjoy!

Scope & Sequence (In Progress)

For this year we are preparing for First Grade (6 y/o girl - G) and Preschool (almost 4 y/o boy - J). We are now officially required by Texas to include Reading, Writing, Spelling, Math, and Civics lessons into our schoolwork, not that we weren't including this previously, but now we have to be able to prove it.

G is reading right at a Kindergarten level and loves the Hooked on Phonics program.  She is a Math whiz and Singapore Math works well for her.  She enjoys seat work that "feels like school".

J disagrees.  He's very active but has just recently taken an interest in his sister's seat work.  He plays well on his own, which is good because sister likes to have absolute silence when working on seat work, but unfortunately brother's independent play time does not always coordinate with her desire for silence.  Handwriting has also been a challenge so we took some time off and will be returning to letter formation this year.

In an effort to address both their needs and integrate programs I am working on a Scope and Sequence for our activities and lessons.  It also helps should I ever have to present our curriculum to the state. Brother wants to do anything that sister does, but sometimes that interferes with both of their learning.  I plan to use a Quiet Box to keep him learning in a separate space from his sister when she needs to focus.

We are using:

• A Year of Playing Skillfully (The Homegrown Preschooler)
• Hooked on Phonics
• Hooked on Spelling
• Singapore Math
• Handwriting Without Tears
• My Bible Story Sketch book

I supplement from a number of sources, such as Sid the Science Kid coordinated Science lessons and Doodles Ave Lonestar State coloring books for Civics lessons.

I split the organization into three pages:

• First Grade (items only G completes; J joins for Shared Reading)
• Preschool (items only J completes, G joins for Literacy at her choice)
• Combined

These are a work-in-progress that I will update with additional activities and links over the next week or two.  We intend to start after Labor Day with our new school year.

A few things to note - since we live in Texas certain activities are earlier/later than may be usual in other parts of the nation.  For example, we have to pick apples early, but our foliage won't change until very late.

Very shortly I will also post a weekly outline similar to what we used last semester: Week at a Glance