Time4learning

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been asked to review their online education program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. Write your own curriculum review or learn how to use their curriculum for homeschool, after school study or summer learning.

I'll be trying the Time4learning online educational program for 30 days and will write my review at the end of that period. I am excited to see what it is like : )

Heading into the weekend...

...and loving the absence of TV. This week we have read more, talked more, slept more, hung out more, played more and spent way more time outside. The kids have not asked if we can get TV back or even mentioned TV. Now if only we had somewhere to store the honking flat screen in our living room then we would be left with just the one in the family room downstairs for family movies and Wii/XBox which don't get used much.

Tonight we had homemade pizza again. It seems none of us are missing the take out pizza we got every Friday until a month ago. I also made vegan chocolate chip cookies today and they were a hit too. I spend much more time in the kitchen since I changed to a vegan diet and I love that time. I used to loathe cooking because it was the same boring stuff but now I am experimenting with new recipes and a lot more colourful meals and it has changed my view on dinner time totally. Now if only I could figure out how to get my kids to complain less about what I make and just eat it. I don't even need a thank you or complimentary comment - just chewing and swallowing without whining. Yeah like that's gonna happen!

Happy Weekend

Do I miss it?

It's only day 3 but I seriously don't miss TV at all. I have read more and got more things done without my nightly viewing. It's awesome!!

Today was another great day. The kids are adapting and did not ask to watch anything at all. I did have lots of chores to do this morning so T2 did play on the computer a fair bit but the games were problem solvers so I know she was learning from them and following steps to move to each level.

Once again we were able to play outside -something T2 found less fun than TV but this week is eager to spend as much time as she can - usually it ends up with me begging her to come inside because I am too cold. IF she were out back she could be alone but I prefer to be out front with her.

It has now been a month since I made the move to a vegan diet. I won't call myself vegan yet because I am still wearing some leather shoes that I already have and I'm still finishing up non vegan toiletries and so on but the eating part has been just fine. I have barely craved cheese and chocolate which were the things I found hardest to bid farewell to. I have been cooking way more to find new recipes and I certainly have found some great ones. Also I've been making our laundry soap and that is awesome. I feel good every time I scoop some out and my laundry is really clean and doesn't feel like there's any residue on it.

I'm turning 40 this year and so far I feel great about about the changes I am making as I say goodbye to my thirties.

Day 2

G was home one again today. I ran a few errands ALONE and when I got back he and T2 were building a mini greenhouse from a kit that we have had for ages but never bothered to make. I know that another time in the past she would most likely have been watching TV. T2 was so excited to show me what she had made and to tell me that she had done most of the work herself.

T2 wanted to paint her house next so we headed to the craft room where she painted it while I made a pillow for her. She had a favourite sweater with a poodle on the front and last time she wore it we declared it officially too small. She really didn't want to part with it so I cut out the poodle and sewed it on some fabric that matches her curtains and used the back of the sweater for the back of the pillow. IT turned out great. I had been meaning to make this for about a month but didn't seem to find the time. It was nice to spend extra time with my girl with an old Wham CD playing in the background so I could relive my youth!!

More outside time later on and T1 was back to racing his RC car around the court while his sister rode her bike. THis mild winter is crazy - love it but am nervous of it at the same time!

T2 had craft class and T1 spent some time on his computer. When it was time to shut the laptop down he grabbed a history book and read until after I had turned my light off to go to sleep. I didn't even care that it was after midnight - if he's reading then I'm not going to stop him!

Few changes in our house

2012 seems to be a year for change in my little world. First came the vegan diet, then came a feeling that Unschooling may be what we need and then the sudden desire to become TV free.

I eased into unschooling with the kids last week. talked to them about the changes and how they would need to reawaken the part of their brains that guides them to make choices and plan their time and to explore more freely. It went well - we went to a couple of museums, talked, read books and played games and didn't open a single work book or check my planner for what we would study next. It felt both terrifying and liberating at the same time.

Last weekend after discussing my idea with G we told the kids we would be cutting cable and that from now on our TV would be used for family movies and that would be all. I expected, huffs and puffs, droopy shoulders and whining but instead they asked why. I explained that I felt the TV was taking up too much time and we had other things we could be doing instead. That didn't seem to satisfy them so I told them that we could add the money saved to our family fund in addition to the $100 each month we are already saving having switched to take out pizza on Friday to home made pizza to be used for fun outings such as to Great Wolf Lodge or even a vacation. That worked

Today went well. T2 asked about the "tv thing" a couple of times and said she was bored a few times but no major drama. T1 doesn't watch much TV at all but I said he needed to limit his computer time as well - he took that fairly well.

On Mondays T2 has gymnastics in the morning and T1 brings a book to pass the time. THis was a great day to quit the Tv as we are gone all morning anyway. After lunch G (who had the day off) watched the kids play outside. T2 on her bike and playing in a snow pile and T1 'running in' his new remote control car. Eventually a couple of neighbour kids came out when they got home from school.

The house is so peaceful without the background noise of TV - bliss!