It’s school-countdown time in our home…Tuesday is the big day and my girls can’t wait! Our last shipment of homeschool books arrived on Wednesday, and my little one could not understand why on earth we were waiting until next week to begin! I’m using these last few days to catch up on some projects and do some planning…

I have cut way back on my blog reading. It is a necessary change for this season of life. There are still a number of posts I am glad to share with you today…

Peach Upside Down Cake from The Rest of Me (a.k.a. Teri Lynne on Tumblr…if you haven’t visited her Tumblr blog yet, you should!)

Vintage Chocolate Cake {eggless} from So I Married a Mennonite

Lest you think I have resorted to only reading food posts (which is definitely not the case), here are some others…

My House Cleaning System from Overcoming Busy

Emotional Modesty from Gather Inspirit (guest post by Kristi Stephens) – This is truly a must read!!

Like a Glass of Cool Water to a Thirsty Heart from Everyday Becky

Now I’m off to finish a bunch of things before the long weekend! Hope you have a great one!!

My husband, Phil, drove past this pizza place in another town earlier this week…

That is quite a boastful statement, one that we knew was very likely not accurate, so Phil decided to check it out the next day. The building itself did not exactly raise his confidence in their claim…

But my brave husband didn’t let that deter him! He decided to try the  lunch special for just $3.99…plus $0.70 for an additional topping.

Isn’t it, um…cute? Yes, that is a normal sized fork, so you can see how big the pizza was. He said it was okay, but a far cry from the best pizza anywhere!

I’m excited to share my first official TOS Homeschool Crew review with you today…Peterson Directed Handwriting!

Handwriting has always been the biggest challenge in our homeschooling journey. We got off to a rocky start with my oldest, starting with cursive in K5. Our cursive endeavors ended in tears, and after a few weeks we switched to manuscript. That helped immensely, but handwriting continued to be a struggle, and I could not figure out how to fix it.

In July, I received Peterson Directed Handwriting’s We Write to Read Printing to review. At that point I was undecided about our handwriting curriculum for this year, so I was glad to have the opportunity to try something new. Honestly, I thought most handwriting curricula were probably pretty similar. I mean, how many ways can you teach handwriting? It was during the live online training session with Rand Nelson that I realized Peterson Directed Handwriting is completely different.

Most methods teach handwriting by tracing and memorizing an image. Peterson takes a unique approach. Rather than memorizing the image of each letter, Peterson develops muscle memory, using a four-step procedure:

Step One:  Illustrate and Describe – Strokes are given specific names, called “Action Words,” which the student can say in rhythm. In this step, the strokes and Action Words are demonstrated by the teacher.

Step Two:  Air Writing – In this step, the student writes the letter in the air while watching the teacher write the letter. Everyone says the Action Words in unison as each stroke is made.

Step Three:  Finger-Tracing – The student then moves to their worksheet, where they trace the letters with their finger while saying the Action Words.

Step Four:  Write and Say – At this point, the student picks up his/her pencil for the first time in the lesson and proceeds to write the letter while continuing to say the Action Words out loud while writing.

One of the most unique aspects of Peterson Directed Handwriting is that the student never traces the letters with their pencil. The reasoning behind this makes a lot of sense. When a child traces the image of a letter, they are memorizing the image, rather than the actual action of writing the letter.

Peterson Directed Handwriting offers great support and training. They offer online training classes, and Rand Nelson is also available to answer questions by email or phone. I did find their website rather difficult to navigate, so you may have to hunt for what you are looking for, but the material itself is excellent. Their website includes an overview of the method and a Resource Library that I found to be very helpful. If you are teaching a Left Handed writer, they have a great download for that as well in the Resource Library.

What did we think?

At first, my girls did not know what to think about this method. My six year old’s first response was, “It’s tricky,” because it was so different than what she used before. So if you have children who have learned their letters already, it may be a bit of a struggle at first. However, I truly believe it is worth it to stick to this curriculum.

Both of my girls loved saying the Action Words in rhythm together, and almost immediately I could see an improvement in their method of forming letters. Prior to using this curriculum, they both struggled with using the right strokes and directions in writing their letters. Using the Action Words definitely makes a difference! I am excited to continue using Peterson Directed Handwriting for school this year, and later on I will write a follow-up post to let you know how it goes after using it for a longer period of time.

What is available?

The PDF workbook I reviewed, Print Step 1 can be purchased for $19.95, and this allows you to print it as many times as you want for your own use. This is wonderful to use with multiple children. It’s also great if you need to go back to a particular letter or number for extra practice. You can print what you need, as you need it.

There are several different levels for both manuscript and cursive writing. You can preview all of their Ebooks by clicking here (this is a preview version that cannot be printed).

Peterson Directed Handwriting also provides many other handwriting resources, including a CD-ROM of Animated Letter Cards that look excellent. Visit their website to see more of what they have to offer!

For more reviews of this product, visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog!

I received free downloads of this curriculum (Print Steps 1-3) for review. The opinions expressed are my own, and I received no other compensation for this review.

Today, I’m guest posting at The Homeschool Village! I hope you’ll hop over there and visit as I share about our homeschool journey!

Last night we were talking about Tennessee, and a rather interesting conversation ensued:

E: That’s where M was born!

M: No I wasn’t.

E: Yes, you were!

M: Well, not exactly. I was born in Nashville.

Mommy: Nashville is a city in the state of Tennessee, so you are both right.

M: What are the lowercase places?

Mommy (rather perplexed): What?

M: The lowercase places in Tennessee. What are they?

Mommy: I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.

M: The lowercase places. Nashville is the capital. What places are lowercase?

Ahhh….homonyms….sometimes they’re just awfully difficult to explain!

It’s no secret that when it comes to planning, I need all the help I can get. By nature I’m an unscheduled, lets just see how the day goes kind of person in a lot of ways. The truth is, though, that doesn’t work so well now that I’m trying to balance homeschooling, running a business, and the regular responsibilities of being a wife and mother. I need help, and I know it.

What better way to organize my life than to use a planner that covers just about everything? The downloadable  2010 Old Schoolhouse Planner is exactly that! By including 610 pages featuring everything from calendar pages and school lesson plan sheets to Christmas card lists and party planners, the creators of this planner have truly gone the extra mile to help moms (and dads) get organized.

The forms in this planner are completely customizable! All you have to do is click on the space, type in your information, and print! Using this one resource, you can customize and print a planner for each member of your family, from preschool age to adult. As an added bonus, the printable calendars are for 2010-2013!!

As wonderful as the forms in this planner are, there’s much more included! Each month features two informational articles, seven recipes, must-know lists, and family fun ideas!

I have heard nothing but great things about the Old Schoolhouse Planner in years past. To be honest, I found myself thinking, “Come on, it’s just a planner. How great can a planner be?” When I received my planner, I was truly shocked. It is an amazing resource, and I’m not saying that lightly! I am so thankful I have this planner to use, and I truly believe it will help our school year go much more smoothly!

The downloadable 2010 Old Schoolhouse Planner is available now by download for $39 or on CD for $44! If you don’t have it, I really do encourage you to check it out today! Just click here and see all it has to offer!

Disclosure: I am a member of the 2010 TOS Homeschool Crew. I received a copy of the 2010 Old Schoolhouse Planner for the purpose of this post, and it will be entered in their ad campaign post contest. The views expressed in this post are genuine.

E was an incredibly selective baby when it came to food. Thankfully, she has become the child who loves to try new foods and likes a great variety of things to eat. Recently she  planned her lunch…each item in the photo above was chosen by her! I was impressed with her selections.

Let’s not talk about the eating establishment she chose for her recent date with her grandmama…McDonalds! (Shudder) I told you she liked a variety of foods. Rice cakes and McDonald’s, quite the range there, huh? Hopefully her good food choices will outweigh her bad ones!

Welcome to Blog Hop ’10, hosted by Robin at Pensieve!! I’m so glad you’re here!

I’m Erin…33 years old, married to my husband (and best friend) Phil for 10 years. We have two precious daughters, M and E, who are 6.5 and 4.5 years old.

Closing Time began in March 2009, and it has become a place for me to share my heart, reflections, and a funny story or two. I want my blog to be a place where you can come and be encouraged!

I’m a homeschooling mom…it’s something that I never dreamed of doing but it has turned out to be one of the best decisions ever for our family. This year I’m excited to be a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.

I’m also a WAHM, running my  own business, Insight Blog Design. It brings me great joy to develop designs that really are a reflection of a blogger’s personality and focus. I’m thankful that I’m able to do something I enjoy so much!

So that’s a little about me. I know you have a ton of blogs to visit today. You’re welcome to stay and look around as long as you like, and I hope you’ll visit again soon! If you’re curious about why my blog is called Closing Time, or if you want to read some of my favorite posts, click here.

If you’d like to connect, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook!

Last year Robin did an incredible job of hosting a Blog Hop for all those not going to BlogHer. This year she’s planning another one! So get your posts ready…it starts tomorrow. For more info, click the button above. I hope to see you there!!

Yesterday I had to run an errand for Phil. In my heart I wanted to help him, but that emotion was almost overwhelmed by utter dread.

The task?

Go to the post office and mail 65 padded envelopes.

SIXTY-FIVE unweighed, unstamped envelopes.

Thankfully, my mom came to watch the girls on her lunch break. So I was alone as I drove to the post office, accompanied only by two reuseable shopping bags and five plastic shopping bags, all filled will the envelopes ready to mail.

As I drove, I realized there were two possible scenarios:

1. The post office would be filled with people waiting in line. All eyes would turn towards me as I walked through the door carrying seven bags of envelopes. Those who came in after me would glare bitterly, muttering under their breath that some people should use UPS.

OR

2. The line would be short, and I would weave my way through the zigzag poles without bashing them with my bags. The postal worker would greet me with a smile and all would be well.

In other words:

1. I would get some incredible material for my next blog post.

OR

2. I would have to look elsewhere for good blogging material.

The verdict….option number 2!!

As I walked in to the post office, I was shocked to see that there was not a single soul in line. Not one. Now that is almost unheard of in my hometown. The postal worker was a bit shocked at the huge quantity of mail, but happy to hear that except for a few of the envelopes, they were all the same weight. Due to the lack of other customers, she even helped me put the stamps on!

It couldn’t have gone much better than that.

So instead of a crazy story about my nightmare post office experience, you get this post, in which I rejoice in God’s faithfulness. Some might say it was the timing or just good luck. I believe that my God cares about even these little things, and He knew I needed a smooth post office outing yesterday. Boy, did I need it.

But even if the line had been a mile long, He would have still been faithful. He would have been right there with me as I waited. Hey, he might even have put me in line with someone who needed to hear about His love.

The question is, would I have seen the opportunity, or would I have been too busy grumbling about the bags cutting off the circulation in my fingers?