April Homeschool Mother’s Journal 2017

In my life last month…

We celebrated my middle child joining the realm of teenagers. I'm not a party throwing pro, so we don't have parties every year. This year was special. Thankfully we came to an agreement on a party theme, and it all came together beautifully. Check out her "Planty Party".


She really wanted to go see Beauty and the Beast for her birthday, so we decided to go as a family on the anniversary of my sister's accident. As I was sharing this idea with a friend, she thoughtfully shared that this was the perfect movie for us to see on such an occasion. Belle is such a beautiful example of someone who finds joy in the bleakest of circumstances. We all loved the movie (despite the hype of controversial themes). Afterwards, we joined some friends at SoCal Taco and enjoyed fellowship and great food.

In our homeschool this month…

The focus of this month has been Memory Master! In Classical Conversations, our younger kids memorize basic facts from seven different subjects. At the end of the year if they can say all of their memory work, they are acknowledged as a Memory Master. It's an excellent accomplishment and a great confidence booster. I have one student who is a sponge, and he's doing so well with his pursuit.

That being said, I've also got one student who wants to do Memory Master at home. She can say all of the memory work, but she sometimes needs a couple of hints to get her started. As her teacher, I can tell that she really does know the material, but the testing process really stresses her out. We've opted to just work on the accomplishment at home and she's content with that.

My favorite thing this month…

A good friend invited me on a ladies retreat this month, and it was exactly what I needed. I spent a lot of time reading, working on my blog, and laughing with friends. I didn't know all of the ladies here with me, but it was great to make new friends. I hope to bring more friends back with me another day!


If you get a chance to get away, take it. As a mom, homeschooling or not, it's so easy to take care of everyone else and run yourself ragged. A step back for a little refreshment is a great way to rest and recharge.

Can I Have Two Favorite Things?

I am addicted to printing. I'm also a visual person, so I love printing in color. This has been very dangerous in the past with previous printers that guzzled ink. In order to save money, I downsized my printing at home capabilities, which meant that whenever I needed something printed in color, I had to go to an office supply store to get it done.

So frustrating! I finally caved and purchased a new printer, but this time it came with an ink subscription. For $4.99 a month, I can print 100 full color copies with as much saturated color as I want. That is like $0.05 per copy. It is awesome.

When my ink cartridge runs low, they automatically ship me a replacement cartridge so I never run out. I only pay for the copies, not the cartridges. There are higher and lower subscription plans, but I am hooked. You can sign up to try it out for a month for free and see how you like it. I'm sure you'll see why it's one of my favorite things!

What We're Reading…

I love my "Time to Read" clock. Every time I see it, it reminds me how important reading is to my soul. We've been doing read alouds in the morning and evening. Here's what we've read:

In the Morning:

In the Evening:

My daughter had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic she was taking and we had to stay home from Classical Conversations. My goal with our home sick day was to prove to her that we could have fun without watching movies the whole time. We read The Little Lamb together and worked on her faces of history paper. It was a really precious time!

I've been reading like a crazy person myself. It may be because I can't put the Wingfeather Saga down. I'm reading ahead of our read aloud time, and it's not because I'm a good mother previewing our books! I'm too curious to wait for them. Here's what else I've been reading this month:

On my blog in case you missed it...

If you're looking for a fun spring unit study, check out these Garden Inspired books and activities.

I've also been sharing some Classical Conversations inspired ideas:

Click below to get a peek behind the scenes of other homeschool moms:

3 Comments

  1. Dianna A on April 7, 2017 at 10:55 am

    My favorite book is “A Horse and His Boy” out of the CS Lewis Narnia series. We also have it as an audio book to listen to on trips. We listen to that one over and over. My youngest and your middle share the same birthday month. Sounds like you’ve had a good March.

  2. Michelle on April 8, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    The garden party is lovely! And so many great books! <3 I just had someone approach me about CC – so I've been taking a closer look at it. Can you tell me – could you start a 12 yo in Foundations (with a 6 and 10 year old)?

    What a beautiful tribute to you sister. (So sorry for your loss).

    • Betsy on April 10, 2017 at 5:58 pm

      You could totally start a 12 year old in Foundations, but they could also start in Challenge A. The great thing about the classes is that they’re a mix of ages. My current Challenge A class has students ages 12-14. There are benefits either way!

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