Thirty-One Gifts

6 years ago I joined Thirty-One for the mere pleasure of purchase power at a discount, but now looking back I realize that this is an easy money maker. I am a teacher/homeschool mom. Believing that my children come first is why I am at home with them. Perhaps by the time my youngest is school age, I will pursue teaching once again, but for now I have found a way to spend time with my family and yet still bring in some money.

I love handbags and accessories, and monogramming just makes it more personal. Like the Virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 I am seeking daily to be the best wife and mother I can be. Knowing that I can work from home and still be with my family is so important to me. I am excited to share these products with you and introduce you to a new opportunity to meet others and be a blessing.  

I find that Thirty-one is more than a bag. It is an opportunity to grow myself as a person emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I have met some wonderful ladies through this company. We pray for each other, encourage one another, and are simply there to help when it is needed.

It has not been an easy road as a consultant. I have be demoted and re-promoted 3 times. This year I am trying to promote to director. I just recently invited 2 ladies to join my team and they are flourishing already. I started working more at keeping up with my Facebook group on a daily basis promoting specials and reaching out to my customers. Today I posted my first LIVE video. It's all about pushing yourself to be your best person. I am so excited about the Better Together Event in Huntsville tomorrow. Cindy Monroe will be there, and I am hoping to have a chance to personally meet her and thank her for her inspiration to women everywhere.

Take a moment to look through my website www.mythirtyone.com/beccacook and browse the virtual catalog. If you find something you like contact me for more information. I would love to share more of my “Thirty-One” story with you.

This may be the opportunity you have been looking for.

Happy Shopping!

A Beka Books

We are on lesson #152 today! Feeling pretty successful at the moment. I am very pleased with our decision to use A Beka as our home-school curriculum. The video streaming has been effective and convenient. I like that I do not have to store dvds  - it's not like I have the space for two sets. The boys and I have thoroughly enjoyed the video teachers. Here are some of my thoughts:

• we ordered books through the book display here in Huntsville to receive a 10% discount - early enrollment and first time discounts also applied.
• the books arrived very quickly
• I had originally signed up to start the streaming from August 1st and they give you a year to complete the videos, but I found that I want to start planning before August 1st. SO this year we will sign up for July instead.
• the 4th grade video manual was still being compiled due to new video recording from the previous year (so no nasally sounding teacher!) They did send me a couple pages of digital lesson plans to help me get started.
• the video manual is a great tool - only available through 6th grade. It actually has everything laid out in lesson plan form.
• we started out watching all the videos, but after about 2 months we decided the video was unnecessary for spelling, reading, handwriting, and some language (skipping may depend on how well your child already understands what need to be done).
• kindergarten teacher is EXCELLENT!
• A Beka will allow you to tour their Christian School facility and meet and greet the video teachers - THIS is an AWESOME opportunity. My kids loved getting to meet their teachers. It made school real!

We are getting ready to order next years books. We are sticking with A Beka streaming for at least one more year, We are THAT satisfied! It's not for everyone, and it may not be fore us every year, but as of now it works for us!

Home-school Room Reveal

After several trips to IKEA Atlanta (no regrets there), I am happy with the final result of our school room. It has been a sanctuary for business as well as education - we find ourselves (the entire family of five) gathered in this room due to its coziness. My boys seem to study well, and my husband and I are able to get much needed work done on the computer in a little bit of peace and quiet.  Here is the before:

Our baby turned 3 in October, so we figured it would work out just fine to put all the boys in one room (did I mention I have 3 boys?!?!)

We decided on a nice cool neutral grey color. You can see where we patched the walls!

 

These MICKE desks from IKEA have worked out perfectly for organizing all the boys books and art supplies. It is so nice to have a place for every thing. Even Little Bear has his own corner.

We will be adding a small desk for our soon to be 4 year old this next school year. I am planning to do K4 with him. We will see how that goes. For all you home-school moms out there - Best of Luck and Lots of Prayers! The first year is an adventure!

Curriculum?

I recently purchased my home school curriculum for the 2016-2017 school year. I went back and forth with different ideas of what I could do and what I should do vs. what I want to do and what I am capable of. It all came down to ME. Having only ever taught school the traditional way, I felt it only made sense to enter into this new phase of life with the least complicated and stress free method. After all, I do still have a 2 year old running around here. So we are going the A Beka Video Streaming Route. I was actually very impressed with the videos. I can monitor my two children while tending to my toddler. My oldest will be in fourth grade and my second will begin kindergarten. Having spent 15 years teaching high school, I am more than happy to let someone else teach the basics of elementary education. I have always been pleased with the instruction that A Beka provides in Grammar and elementary math. When we begin middle school subjects, I may, however, take a different approach to some studies.

One night my husband and I looked up videos from the A Beka website. We sampled a few classes that would involve our children. Although it is not live, the kindergarten teacher does an excellent job involving the students at home in the classroom activities. The fourth grade teacher is very nasally in her speech, which at some point will definitely drive me crazy. I will invest in head phones! Overall, I look forward to a relaxing "teaching" year. I will keep you posted as I "un-box" my curriculum books and share my home school supply purchases! We are planning a trip to IKEA to start furnishing our home school room!!! SO EXCITED!

Magnificent March!

So if your day depends on your outlook, then I am starting out with a positive perspective on today. I have stayed home from work with a migraine and a sick child. BUT, the sun is shining and as I type this post I have another child pulling my arm begging for a snack. Mommy's job is never done. (pause to get snack)

Having planned to go to work today, lunches were already packed, so my day will be smother with that out of the way. I have been working on lesson plans and turning in grades for the 3rd quarter - 3rd quarter? Yes, it really is that close to the end of the year. And for the first time in my life I am considering the world of HOMESCHOOLING! I can't believe I just typed the "H" word.

My head has been spinning since sitting down with my husband and finally deciding that this is the path we are going to adventure. I use the word adventure because it is the way I see it. It will be an experience, and that is how I want to look at it. It may be good, it may be bad, either way it will be an experience from which our whole family will learn.

I have been researching online and picking the brains of other homeschooling families that I have met and have known. I respect all families for doing what they feel best for the education of their children, but I really have to ask myself- What is right for my family? I learned that there are so many different methods of schooling, and coming from my background of teaching, I am confused as to where to start. I have only ever known Traditional education - learning the facts. But there are other options out there. Some sound interesting and possible while others sound completely ridiculous to the everyday classroom structured teacher.

This is the quest I will begin in the coming months. A whole new world , a different way of life, and a lot of time at home with my children (YIKES). I will try to keep  tabs on my progress. Right now we are looking for curriculum. Any thoughts? I covet your opinions, and I understand that they are your opinions! (wink)

New Year: New Goals

I have decided to try to get back into the blogging world. I have seen so many good things out there and thought I should be sharing too! So New Year Resolution #1 Blog once a week about positive things!
I have been teaching 5 high school classes at my church's private day school for the past year and a half. I have learned so much about BEING A MOM through it all. I dread the morning routine to get out of the house on time, but it gives my life structure. Chaos is the opposite of structure, and believe you me I have experienced CHAOS. With all the negatives in life I must find the positives to keep me going. For the last 5 months I have packed healthy lunches for all three of my boys. Not one lunchable was bought.... ok only one for a field trip but that was necessary. LOL And then Last week for the first week back to school the boys begged for a lunchable. I gave in. BUT I don't have to . They like MY lunchables better. Sometimes it's the convenience that wins. Nevertheless I am a better mom for trying. 5 months...that's awesome if I do say so myself. I even bought those ziploc containers ( with separated compartments) and silicon muffin/cupcake liners. They help tremendously and the boys haven't thrown one away yet!!
So to the mom who is trying to do better by you kids whether it be switching to healthier lunch options over lunchables, I say " If I can do it, you can too!"  It takes a little planning but I feel better already about giving my kids a better lunch at school.

Day # 16 Long Exposure (Revisited)

I played with my camera and did some research. This is my son waving a flashlight in a dark room. The red light is his head lamp. We couldn't just choose one because we thought they were so cool!