Large Family Logistics....We've got 'em!!

For Christmas last year my parents bought me a book called Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman.
 http://largefamilylogistics.blogspot.com/
Christmas night after my kiddos were asleep and my hubby was at work I started reading through it.  This book is AMAZING!  It is chock full of ideas on how to homeschool more productively, keep a cleaner home, celebrate life to the fullest and take advantage of everyday opportunities to train children to value family.    

Gradually (read VERY SLOWLY!), I have started implementing her strategies.  This week we started having a bible time in the morning before we started regular school.  I was very doubtful that this would work and I was fairly nervous that we would lose our momentum in the morning.  However, it has improved our school day significantly.  After breakfast we all sit at the table and I read a Psalm out loud to everyone.  Then, the two oldest kiddos listen to me dictate a verse and they write it in their notebooks.  When they have written the verse down I check for spelling and grammatical errors.  Then they write the verse again with their neatest handwriting.  After the verse is written correctly and neatly it's time to write all the misspelled words five times.  The kiddos are also using the dictionary to look up any words they don't know from the chapter we read.  When we're done we've worked on handwriting, spelling, copywork, grammar and bible! Awesome!  Plus, I have noticed that our day flows more productively after spending this time dwelling in God's Word. The kids have loved this addition to our schedule!