Hello there lovely people!

First off, let me apologize! I have been so wrapped up in one aspect of my life that I have totally neglected certain other topics! My blog is a reflection of myself and when I started (this one), there were certain things that I talked about which I have since stopped talking about! And for that, my dear readers I am sorry!

So, with that being said, I would love to share with you all our home school curriculum and how we go about keeping our kids on pace and even ahead in some cases!
As you may know our second oldest has some learning set backs, you can read al about our struggle and journey in this post I titled The Brain Game. The truth is Thailand was expected to be behind until she reached early elementary years, but we never thought it would be this hard and take this long to catch up. Seeing your child struggle to keep up with kids their own age is really tough! And while they should learn to use that setback as an opportunity to push themselves even harder, it's hard to sit on the sideline and pray that they get it.

Ever since we started home schooling, I have notice a huge difference in her fight to learn. Thailand wants to read and write more, she applies herself more in math and actually enjoys the programs we use. While she is at different levels for each subject, the curriculum we have been using keeps her on pace and will get her to where she needs to be.

Baltimore has really developed as well. He has always been a little advanced, but he is now reading independently, adding and he even has mastered his 1st grade sight words already. I know that he is thriving and is definitely on pace to be ahead!

Italy loves to do her "work", she loves putting her books and binder in her backpack and heading to the library. Often, to avoid the home school slump at home, we head to our media room at our loft or we go to the library. They have great space, plenty of computers, it's out of the house and for me.. IT'S QUIET! lol I really love the peace and stillness at the library!

So, enough blabbing about my kids lol, here is what we use for our curriculum!





1. First we start over at what has truly been a blessing, Easy Peasy All In One Home School. This is a completely FREE curriculum ( can purchase some items) and it has lifted a huge weight off of my shoulders! We started our journey with Moby Max, which is great, I just needed a more formal schedule to help me keep on track and make sure that they are learning the correct things. Easy Peasy is fully designed out for all grades (k-hs). I am able to take it day by day, lesson by lesson and know that they are doing appropriate lessons. Plus, she has also included Bible studies which helps me talk about the Bible with my kiddos. It breaks it down in short versus where they can understand.



2. AdaptedMind- We recently just added this program to our curriculum for math and reading. While Easy Peasy has worksheets, games and videos, we wanted something a little more to add to it. This program is fairly cheap, I believe $10 a month and it gives you updates constantly about their progress. What they missed, how many they completed and what level they are on. There is also a "tutor" that breaks down the problems when they continue to answer it incorrectly. This program has definitely helped take a lot of the frustration out of our math and reading work.



3. ABCmouse- This is still one of our kids favorites. WE mostly use it for Italy now since this is her second year of Pre-K. She has learned so much from it! She can write her name, count past 20 and even knows how to make new colors when mixing them. Plus it is a fun program to use! I believe for us, it costs around $12 or $13 a month. We added a parent tracker option which took it up from $7.95. We took Thailand off of it because we felt it didn't really push her hard enough.



4.Times Tales- This program was actually gifted to me and my family for a review and this is my honest opinion.Now Thailand has always struggled with numbers and even something simple as addition has played tricks on her mind and forced her to shut down. Times Tales is perfect for her! The dvd has animated problems that allow her to understand what is going on while having orthographic processing. Much like Word World" when Thai sees the letters or numbers put together in a picture, she is able to retain it much better. Also we received the Zone Cleaning set as well. That has made cleaning so much easier for all the kiddos. While we don't use the basket system for their room, they are able to still follow each step to make sure their room is organized and clean. Now just to get them to do it everyday lol. I really enjoy using Times Tales and so does Thai.

Our Library

5. Extra Stuff- We do a lot of extra stuff throughout the week to add to our school time. (1)On Tuesdays, the two older girls head to a new group at the library called Graphic Novel Book Club. It is for ages 7-15 and they talk about GN they have read, check out new ones and spend the time creating their own comics and imitating drawing styles from GN authors. (2)Every third Friday, we head back to the library for home school group. The group focuses on STEAM projects using Legos and other items to create all types of stuff. (3)Kaleidoscope is our favorite because it is a free art session. They open their doors all day for 45 minute sessions where kids can use recycled materials, melted crayons, paint, stickers and everything in between to create their own masterpiece. We also attend random "home school days" at our local attractions as well, water parks, museums, science centers, movies and more.

All of these programs have been wonderful not only for the kids, but for me as well. I feel a lot more confident as a homeschooling mom and a lot of doubt has lifted. Sure I still have my days where I feel like what I am doing is not good enough and where I feel like I am failing them. But thanks to my amazing husband that reassures me I am doing great, my kids showing great growth and these amazing resources, I know they will keep thriving!

What do you use for your curriculum? Have you used any of these before? Let me know in the comments below!

Also, if you are interest in learning more about Times Tales and what all they offer, click HERE!