Hiya!

Chillin' to King of the Bongo... thought I'd catch things up.

We've been gone a lot this summer... up to Washington to visit my side of the family... over to CA to visit the old hometown of Bakerspatch.  Managed to see a few more loved ones along the way.  I guess the more you visit, the more people you get to see. =)  Total of two two-week trips with kids, a week of convention, and 6 days by myself to visit my latest sweet niece, Susan's second child and first girlie.

School got finished(in spite of vacation)... and got started just this week.  Best year yet!  I love the feeling of getting things a little more under control.   Life is so much easier when organized, and that is advice that other people keep trying to tell me!  When it comes to school, I do manage to organize somehow.(I mean I organize better than my own usual. No comparing.)  Not quite sure why, but it does let me know this might be something I'm decent at. ;) Forgive the ending preposition.

Chickens: No originals left of the first seven.  Bye, girls!  Two girls left from the second round, Red and White.  (Rhodie and Delaware)  Two chicks survived our first summer batch of seven; two barred rocks, one named floppy because she has a very huge and floppy comb.  But she isn't a rooster!  She lays!  Our latest mixed batch of 10 chicks has five survivors; two australorps and 3 buff orpingtons.  We just moved the last babies, so all girls are in the same enclosure together.  Another 4 weeks and we'll get eggs from the "babies".  So nine chickens once again, 5 varieties.  No easter eggers this time, with the green eggs.  I would get rid of the white delaware, she's a total meanie, but I couldn't catch her this summer for the chicken swap meets.  Oh well!

So I'll be posting Picasa pictures eventually, and I've got a few cute things from the kids to post.  I'm around!

School is a Learning Process!

As we very slowly, very painfully and very LATEly wrap up the school year, I have a few things on my mind for planning the coming school year.

#1:

Start before the last week of October.

Last year, I was making my new school room, and as I had to travel out of state to get to Ikea, it just held up the process... and we started abysmally late!  And then took our share of vacation, too.  Yes, we can count our extra curricular activities as this or that subject, but we still have the actual school materials to finish.  And finish them we shall!

#2:

Take one week off each month.

Yay! Such a great idea in my head.  I'll let you know if it goes all wrong.  But the math is so friendly! 52 weeks in a year, 36 weeks of school, 16 weeks of no school.

That's 12 weeks for the months and 4 more to beef up the summer fun.

The truth is that we don't have to take 36 weeks, either.  This year, almost all the schoolwork will be done by week 33.  Most subjects are not "five days a week" type things.  More like 3 or 4.  Especially with subjects that are 3 x per week, we can throw in an extra lesson every other week and really whittle down the time spent, without harm to learning.  I refuse to do multiple lessons per day for the core subjects, though, just defeats the purpose.

#3:

Change the History/Science Schedule.

We do History MWF, Science TTh.  Instead, I want to do whole weeks with each.  A week with one, a week with the other.  Maybe a few more weeks with History than Science, since the workload is heavier.  But both subjects have a lot of FUN activities that go along with them.  And if I take a week, we can do the reading, questions and narrative thread at the beginning (least fav. part) and then spend the rest of the 2 or three days reinforcing with the games, experiments, activities, etc. and finish with the chapter test. =)  Sounds great to me!  I'm tired of trying to rush through the chapters, let the kids read the activities and then not have time to do them.

#4:

Time management.

I always need to work on this one.  The particulars aren't set in stone yet, but I've been thinking about what time we get going in the morning (way too late), streamlining chores, and juggling my 2nd and 3rd graders (soon to be 3rd and 4th!) with their subjects.  They have both independent work and instructional time with me.  I have two great tools that have worked well this year; a dry erase board with their daily work to be crossed off (which is then deposited in my correcting bin) and allotting 2 hours to Lucas, then 2 hours to Julia and Aidan for instructional time, while they complete independent work in the other time frame.  Group work of Science and History are done after that.  So I've got part of the battle won, just needs a little more fine tuning.

SchoolRoom ~ the after pictures

My friends, I posted the before pictures of my school room so that I would be inspired (shamed) into finishing it.

At last, I have almost everything done in this room.  And I love it!  So here are some after pictures to show:

To the left, the worktable, piano and loveseat facing the computer desk.

To the right, the treadmill with our best work over it.

One master closet painted and turned into...

a Library

And puppy dog tails hold up the backpacks for their long trek to school.

Today was our second quarter awards ceremony.

Goals were met, prizes awarded and achievements acknowledged.

Homskule Update

The 2012-2013 School Year! And we have changed out our calendars and will be welcoming February tomorrow.  So how are things for us, especially since I was considering public school for some kids this year?

The major drawback of this year: we started after public school started.  =(  This always makes me feel more pressure on a daily basis.  I love to start towards the end of summer, take lots of breaks and THEN end school after public school ends.  At this point, with no days off, our 36th(last) week of school will fall on the first week of July.  This is also the week conventions will start and means that we will be winding up school during preps, a bad time to be busy.  But no matter how I re-add the weeks, they always come out the same.

We are at Week 14 out of 36 total weeks.

I can comfort myself in this way:  most of the subjects we are studying are scheduled to wind up by about week 33 for the express purpose of building flexibility into the year.  So if I am careful not to skip a day here and there (don't get sick, kids!), then we can be done early.  The other comfort is this: I don't mind doing year-round school.  At this age, summer break is over-rated and long breaks aren't good for retention anyway.

Lucas is doing 3rd grade and I have no concerns.  He's doing Math, Writing, Spelling, Language Arts, Spanish, Piano Lessons and composer study, History(middle ages), Science(earth and space), Reading and a smattering of Art.  I had planned to start Latin this year, and hope to get the curriculum by the end of the semester (Week 18).  I see everything by weeks and in capitals.  Forgive me.  I guess I do have one concern... I have a teenager on my hands and respectful behavior is hard to come by.  He's also really bossy, don't know how that happened! ;)  So I'm workin' on that one.

Julia and Aidan are doing 2nd grade together, and this continues to work well.  They have the same subjects as Lucas, with the addition of a Phonics program.  I am pleased with their progress in both Math and Writing, two potentially difficult subjects.  As they continue to memorize their addition and subtraction facts and take daily timed tests, I keep watching for fatigue.  I try to keep very positive.  Every time they complete less than their goal, I remind them of what a big improvement they will see after a little bit of practice.  So far, this has always held true and they are currently motivated.  Their independent reading has taken off lately, both are reading their way through the Magic Treehouse series, the first 28 books.  Aidan is on book 9 while Julia is a book or two ahead.  On mornings when I sleep in, the kids used to be loud and noisy, playing and having fun.  Now, the house is quiet and I get up to find them reading books in bed!  I love it!

Last fall, the kids did Soccer for 8 weeks.  It was time for a little team sports exposure and they all enjoyed themselves.  They also made a bunch of new friends locally and I met some fun families, including homeschool families.  But sports take up a lot of time, so our plan is to let them try it out and then they will have to beg and plead to keep doing it long term... which hasn't happened yet.  I think once a year we'll pick something active, and maybe this year we can try rock climbing.

From the end of January to the end of May, there is a once a week science program for homeschoolers at Explora, the local children's museum.  It is truly an amazing marvel, even an adult cannot hope to try everything out in one visit.  It can be just has hard to pull an adult away as a child.  =)  This is our third year to participate and we just had our first class this week.  Everyone is very excited, and even though we haven't seen any of the same people, I notice the kids have a much easier time rushing in and finding a seat and making new friends even on the first day.  They have about five teachers that rotate, so the kids get both genders and a wide age range of instructors.  The classes are a little expensive, but the materials and props are well worth it!

And me?  I'm happy with the organization (wow!) and how this year is lining out.  The daily schedule works really well,  and I even feel like I have time in a day to focus on my own projects, from laundry to chickens to crocheting.... whatever!  The older they are, the easier it gets.

So far.

A Reminder of Time Passing

I caught this little moment right after we got back from the library.

It lets me know that we are now past the "learning to read" stage of life.

It is a bittersweet moment, because the discovery of reading is so magical, as a child makes sense of the groups of letters, then the groups of words.  

But I have something else to rejoice in:

All my babies love to read!

And maybe rest time will be more peaceful this school year.

=D

Note: I was on the phone when I took this video and you can hear my sister asking "Did you get my message?"  

House Project: Final Phase Begins

Hi y'all.....

Been awhile, eh?  I've been sitting around on my tushy trying to find motivation for further de-cluttering.  I love the results, but I'm on the hardest part, now.  Decluttering MY things!

So here's some pictures of the before, and hopefully I'll be so woefully embarrassed and shamed that I'll hurry up so I can post the redeeming pictures.  I love run-on sentences!

So tomorrow I'll take some pictures of my room (HP:room 2) that are in daylight.  Shane's finally moved his Office in there... =)  (We just need his name on the door!  Gotta go search that out on the net!)  So the room in all it's squishy coziness can be fully revealed.  My husband and I are now officially in a room with no closet and no bathroom. =D  Exciting times!

Enough about that room.

Here is room 3, Old Master, New Schoolroom, in all it's terrifying glory.  No, I won't let you see into the bathroom.  It could ruin friendships.

This is the sight awaiting you, as you peep into the bedroom door.  

I actually cheated and put all the books back in the bookcase before taking this picture.

Behind the loveseat (yes, the nasty greenish gold one!) are piles and piles of... stuff.

School stuff.  To be organized... which for now means sorted and re-stacked as I haven't yet been to IKEA.....

The above picture was taken from the below doorway.

The below picture was taken from the left of the above keyboard.

The doorway to the left is Shane's old office, the new school library!  I think it's such an exciting idea, can't wait to tweak it.

It WILL have a fake, vinyl window in it for the kids.

And it WILL be cute.

Amen.

Below:

Said office, just itching to be turned into a library.

Currently, this is still Shane's closet, because I have no room in mine.

And you can't see it.  

I don't have to share everything, for goodness sake!

Someday, I will make room for the hubby in my closet and he will move in with me. =)

This is an icing project, it has to wait til last.  But I want to do it TODAY!!!! 

So we are planning to pop over to IKEA this weekend.  But plans, as ALWAYS are up in the air.

Oh yeah, and today one bobcat and one huge tractor tore up my yard and some guys put down forms for a bigger concrete driveway and the forms for footings for our back patio!  whoop!  =)  Yippie Skippie! I've got pictures of that to share, too.  

Another day!

Inspiration for Homeschooling

Last week, I began using the internet for more serious inspiration for organizing.

I have issues with this...  deep-seated, prideful, stifling issues.

I don't spend too much time looking at the coolness of life out in blogland because it makes all my insecurities rise to the frothy surface of my mind.  And if it's "hip" and "in" and "everybody's doing it", then I want to make sure that I don't accidentally do it, too.

Like I said.  Pride issues, mostly. 

Back in high school, I was the worst, and let me just clarify WORST dresser there.  It was truly shameful, but there it is.  At some point, the fad of wearing knee socks came "in".  I had already been wearing them, but you can bet I stopped the moment I saw girls in the preppy crowd wearing them.  

But the time has come to set aside foolish pride and....  wait, I think the time to set aside pride came and went many years ago.  But I guess I had to wait until that fad passed...???  

Point being, I found some great ideas for getting organized as I perused the web and I wanted to share. You have got to see this wizardry.  One gal did a review of the most amazing homeschool room I have EVER seen.  At least, it speaks to me.  So go check it out and then I'll tell you what I loved about it.

******INTERMISSION******

Incredible, eh?  I love the huge gobs of storage that don't look sloppy or slapped together, stuff hanging out.  I love how the bins are shelves and can be pulled totally out and set on a table or work space, then loaded back up and put away.  I love the wood, I love the clean lines, I love that it's a bunch of IKEA stuff, too!

I love the wall storage up high, I love the expedit bookshelf that has books plus box storage in it.  I love how so much STUFF is organized in a way that doesn't tire the eye or the mind.  (I know about tired mind!)

So my latest plan is to:

*finagle an IKEA trip out of my husband (check!)

*catalog EVERY item in my house related to kids or school, record it's dimensions and decide what size/quantity of container I need for it

*choose which styles of trofast shelving I want and everything else I want from IKEA

I must still:

*clean the old master brm for transformation into school room

*rip out carpet (but save and store it)

*put in flooring, probably cork, hence the reason for saving carpet

*paint (ugggg!)

*convert Shane's old walk-in closet office into a kids LIBRARY!  Isn't that great?  I'm filled with too many ideas already.

How in the WORLD am I going to start school this century???  

Another School Year Over...

The bulk of school work is finally over and the end is in sight!

We want to have a little End of School party this weekend because we need an occasion for mocha ice cream cake.  So it's all settled.  Ice Cream Cake for End of Year!

We just finished Week 34, and of course the school year goes for 36 weeks.  But the subjects are winding up, Math and Language Arts and Science are over and Spelling, Phonics and Writing end soon.  History may take another few weeks, but everyone cheers at that.  History is a well-loved subject!  Some subjects, like art and spanish can just stop whenever and continue on when we pick back up.

Every year I split up the curriculum into 36 weeks, but with some leverage built in for sick days and such.  Most subjects I use build in flexibility anyway, like Saxon Math which is built on a 4day/week schedule.  It works well, and my planner starts every page with "Week X" so I always know exactly where we are in the year.  I can't help it, I do have a map at the front with every week listed and every subject lined out to the lesson or page number. =)  It's just so FUN, who can stop themselves???

The burning question: Will We Homeschool Again This Year?

The answer is: Yes!

And I'm not letting myself apologize, either.  The kids are doing well, and as long as I keep my eyes open and honest, I'll know when something needs changing.  So now I can get to the excited part about planning it all.

This year, our subjects will be:
Math ~ 4 days a week
Spelling ~ every day
Phonics ~ every day (til the book ends)
Writing ~ four days a week
Language Arts ~ 3 days per week
Reading (IR and RA) ~ every day
Spanish ~ every day
Music ~ every day
Art and Appreciation ~ 2 lessons per week, kids repeat the lesson on their own on following days
Science ~ 2 days per week
History ~ 3 days per week
Latin ~ just starting this one!  A must for the Classical Education.
(would like to incorporate ballroom dancing and pottery, but we'll see.)

I have a brag moment, and since it's my blog, I'll go ahead and just give in. =)

Lucas(8) is going into third grade, right on schedule for his age.  He's doing well, and I have no worries about him academically or socially so far.  He prefers homeschool, having never tried other options.

Julia(6) is supposed to be going into first grade, but since her birthday put her past the cutoff, I really wanted to put her in first grade last fall.  I did so, and she's done wonderfully, and really took to the challenge and has finished first grade with pomp.  She's also willing to homeschool again this year.

Aidan(5) made noises of academic readiness, and although I believe in playtime, childhood and not pressuring children, at his request he joined Julia for first grade.  This week, with pride he finished first grade and did really well.  Every ten lessons in math is an assessment of skills, and both kids hardly ever missed anything on them.  I can't believe how well they know their math facts, concepts and vocab!  They love language arts, and are fluent in poetry recitation, parts of speech, sentence types, addresses and all that cool stuff.  And their writing?  I'm just amazed!  I had a chat with Aidan about starting second grade.  I let him know that he doesn't need to do second grade and that if he finds the work frustrating, he can stop.  I asked him if he wanted to do first grade again.  No way, Mom!  He's enjoying his spot, and frankly, I like having two kids in the same math.  That subject takes the longest, because I teach each concept every day.  That takes time, the fact review and timed tests, plus the lesson all take their toll.  If I had to teach three levels?  Whew!  I might give up!

And this summer, we'll be changing up our rooms again, and trying out the master bedroom as the school/music/family room.  I'll keep you posted!

Homeschool and Public School Update

Hello there, everyone! =)  It's been a happy day.  I am finally starting to feel thankful for all the upheaval about how to educate our children.  I am noticing so many things, monitoring myself in new ways and observing our family dynamic in a more critical and yet more removed manner.  So much good is coming from all of this!

I am glad to have evaluated my relationship with Lucas, lately.  All the kids, really, but for now just Lucas. He recently had a difficult experience that he told me about afterward.  I need to be a little cryptic, but I realized how lucky I was that he could tell me about being embarrassed, not knowing what to do, feeling pressure, just a lot of things that are hard.  So we talked and worked out a few things, I felt a confirmation that for now, we need to be together.  Today, like the last week, we shared jokes, looks and smiles and discipline was smooth. No sass or complaining from him, no yelling or frustration on my part.

Julia continues to give me clues (not only by saying she wants to go to school) that she could use some time out and away.  Maybe only one year, maybe the whole time.  But she needs to try something new, I think.  She wants to make girlfriends.  And after her first sleepover with her dearest gal pal, she would like to live with, go to school with and go to church with Marina.  =) While she won't be able to do two of those things, she can do one.  And she might need to learn a little more about how every choice has a price, like that she won't get to play with her friends all day in school, she will have homework and she'll be away from her family, too.  We've discussed all of this and I have explained what would be expected of her in a classroom setting and she's willing.  Mostly, I just am feeling like it is the right choice.
Fears: I have always worried that I might not be as connected to her as I would like, even prenatally, and does that mean she's "easiest" to part with?  Horrible thought!  I don't think it's a reason, but I still fear. Something I need sorted by God because it's scary to me.


I'm on the fence with Aidan, he'll do great anywhere I put him, I think.  He's slacked off of first grade, right at the middle of the year.  He's getting tired and complaining, so I'm just giving him a little work and encouraging him to do lots of playing.  He cheerfully loves doing his smaller amount and I tell him that it's important for kids to play(not on the computer).  Yesterday, after playing, he found his half-done math assignment, and finished his plus two's for fun.  Fun!!!  =)

We just had our first day of a new student in our class, and it was so wonderful!  It adds such a wonderful dimension, and like Shane says, keeps me more organized and prepared. ;)  I love the chance to do something I've always thought about and wanted to try.  We'll take some time to find the new stride, but that process is fun, too!

I'm feeling more positive, can you tell??  =)

Educating Children

Okay, I'm tired of the tone of my previous post!  However, it garnered some incredible advice, which is just what I wanted and needed.  Thank-you! Really, I am SO thankful.  I feel calmed. =)

I'm usually very confident about my views, and homeschooling is one area I don't usually feel in doubt about.  But I have become a little bit aware how easy it is to nurture our own opinions and ignore facts that oppose them, and I would like to avoid doing that.  Hence, the doubts and worries.

Over the last little while, I've continued to think and wrestle and also follow some of that good advice. I started with Shane's motives. It occurred to me he just might want an excuse to move. =)

1. he wanted me to consider my relationship with Lucas before it was a huge issue.
2. if we need to move, he wants to know right away so we can plan for that.

I also asked him if he felt like he wasn't getting enough attention from me since I was homeschooling and he asked me what kind of person I thought he was.  =)  We're pretty tight, Shane and I, and spend a lot of time together.  So I don't have to worry that's an issue.  Motives, check.  (perhaps I overreacted to his comments? wouldn't be the first time!)

I evaluated my stress level.  Homeschooling is stress, yes.  I probably wouldn't be homeschooling properly if it didn't stress me out a little.  However, homeschooling is my passion.  I love it.  I love planning, I love filling out my planner(two different things!), reading ahead in subjects, buying the manipulative's for each subject and I love working with the kids.  I love organizing my day, setting up the learning centers and getting the classical music all ready.  I love winding the kids up with a taste of what they'll learn in history or science that day, watching Aidan write, spell and read like a pro, watching Lucas get all wrapped up in the Time Traveling Trio books and watching Julia beam with pride at a job well done.  She's methodical and gets the job done right.  I love it when I announce a subject and they all scream with delight.  It's less fun when they make a complaining noise for phonics, but they are doing that less often.  I love filing their work in their portfolios and seeing the progress they have made.  Also, I'm not usually an unhappy or crabby person, another indicator of stress.

A try at pros and cons.  They are so different for us all!  I think it's revealing, but I'm not sure what it reveals yet for me in the long term.

Public School:

pros:

1. they will have fun

2. they will make friends and socialize

3. I will have more time to myself

cons:

1. curriculum won't be as comprehensive or thorough

2. it takes up a lot more of the day

3. not as flexible a schedule

4. will pick up words, attitudes, greater consciousness of fitting in
5. good teacher not guaranteed 

Homeschool:

pros:

1. outstanding quality materials

2. more time for non-core subjects

3. flexible schedule
4. control over long-term education
5. less time wasted

cons:

1. harder to meet/make friends

2. little time to myself

3. housework suffers

4. harder to get time apart

I can't decide where to put clashing with kids.  Is it better to be together and work things through?  Is it better to have most of the day apart? Jury is out.

Working on the spiritual side of things, too.  And I have never been considering public school for this school year, so we'll be sticking with hs til summer for sure.  And I am posting all of this on purpose so that you can comment.  So don't be shy and get your opinion out there! =)

Homeschool vs. Public School

Nice, attention-grabbing title, eh?  But if you are looking for answers, I don't have any.  I have conflicts! I thought it might be nice to air a few (just a few!) of the things flying around in my brain, lately.  Please comment on any trends or perspectives, I'm hoping for some clarity!

I typically don't have much conflict about homeschooling.  I think it's great, I like doing it, I like the curriculum I am working on, the kids are progressing from average upwards.  All's well, you might say.

Enter a particularly high-hormone couple of days and a chat with the hubby.  Now, I need him in many ways, and one of those ways is to keep me balanced and clear-headed.  However, he didn't have the best timing when he brought up his issues.  First, he suggested we decide what we want for our kids in future and make the best decisions how to get there.  I just sort of stared at him, because I remember starting to have that conversation in high school with my BFF, Becca, about what qualities we wanted in our children and how we would achieve this as parents.  I didn't know Shane back then.  But I (shock and awe!) kept my sassy, hormone-raging mouth shut.  The second issue he brought up was how Lucas and I are clashing and he is concerned about our relationship and if it could be wrecked by being around each other too much.  (More on that later, perhaps)

He brought up several things, then told me I could decide to do whatever I wanted, but we needed to move if they were going to public school, and kissed me goodnight.

So now I've been in the hairy process of trying to weigh things out.  This is frustrating, because who can be a balanced scale?  We all have our biases, and I can't figure out how to be sure mine aren't interfering.

My first thought was to send the kids to public school for a year to "see" what is "best" for each "kid".  Oh wait, I really do mean kid.  What that year would really test is if they do BETTER there than they do at home.  But this is again fraught with frustration.  What they need each year changes!  Their personalities will shift with time and age and how can I possibly anticipate what they need in four years?  two? nine?  I begin to feel that the only right way to do it, is to have two lives each, look at the outcomes and THEN decide.

Another part of the problem:  Sometimes I get caught up in being "fair".  I know, it's shameful.  What I mean is that other families spend their time deciding what is best for their family as a whole.  They send their kids to public school.  I come along and decide what to do for my family, but I'm trying to make sure my decision shows others that I'm comfortable with their choice.  I want people to know that my homeschooling choice isn't meant to condemn their different choice(Because often HSers are "do or die").  So instead of making a choice for my family, I make a choice for my family plus my imaginary cloud of onlookers.

I wonder about other people making these decisions.  I wonder, do we all have a "first" in our minds about which is better?  Some people would only do one or the other, others are willing to say both could work, but of that second group, we collect up our  personal experience, training, bias, bits of info, feelings and come out with a favorite.  Is that how?  Maybe my love for teaching, my homeschool background, my control freak issues, too-easy college teacher training and some other random ingredients make homeschooling my most comfortable first choice.  Is it okay for us all to go to our favorite choice, unless something compels us to change?  If public school was my go-to comfort zone, would I be willing to homeschool for a year to see what was best for each kid?  Would I need to be?

Do I want to send them to public school just to see how they do?  No.  Not a bit.  But should I?

Should I?  And that is what I can't figure out.

An Art Lesson

Fridays are the easiest school day of our week.  It was designed that way on purpose!  We love to have Fridays for extra reading time, science experiments, history projects and most especially: Art!

I chose a simple curriculum for art this year called ARTistic Pursuits.  It's a basic introduction to the visual arts, and is expressly for kids.  Each lesson is based on something an artist does, then what artists see, and where to find art.  Today's lesson was about how artists LOOK.  After we looked at a famous painting that gave attention to detail, we tried to remember everything we could see from the living room window.  Then we went to the window to see what we had missed.  That was illuminating!

Then for the most fun of all, we went outside, and tried to draw something in nature while paying particular attention to some detail.  Julia drew a beautiful castle complete with tooth fairy before I realized that my directions needed to be more specific.  Lucas threw a boo-hoo tantrum(because he can't draw exact replicas), until I became inexorable and would not let him off the hook.  Once we were clear on the lesson and over the tears, we had a LOT of fun!

Here, Aidan draws a juniper tree, or two close together.  His detail was the leaves of the juniper.  His special touch was a very elaborate play house that "Mom is going to build here soon".   Oh.  I believe that is a chimney I see.

Julia drew a tiny Alberta dwarf pine that has barely survived in the chicken yard this summer.  Her detail was also the needles, but I have to say, I like the detailed root system she's got going on underground.  

This is what Lucas was trying to draw: an ant hill with some sticks beside it.  He left out the truck.  But the boo-hoo part was that the ant hill first was drawn too small, then too tall.  And these ebony pencils brook no eraser!  Interestingly, he had tried to draw a grasshopper first, but he informed me tearfully that it had hopped away.  Shocking!

 I'd say ya did good, Son!  He included darker spots and depressions in the hill for his details, and I was pleased with his efforts!  We just need to do this more so that he can learn to master frustration in order to enjoy life.

Time and School Happeneth to Us All

You would think that a mother who is at home with her kids almost ALL of the time would not feel worried about spending enough time with her kids.

NOT SO!

You would think that actually schooling your children would count as time spent together.

NOT SO!

You would think that when you work on a school subject or activity with someone, that eye contact would be a no-brainer.

NOT SO!

No, this WonderMom realizes as she kisses little boy neck and cheek goodnight, that she's neglected someone. And too often, it's more than one kid that has been ignored.

The truth around here is that Lucas gets the most attention. By his nature, he demands large amounts of time and is CONSTANTLY in your face about it. He talks constantly, asks questions, persists for answers, implores you to LOOK (thus getting the eye-contact) and in general lives his life in constant connection to people(usually Mom). He's naughty for attention and helps out with chores for attention. For example, today he shoveled the snow off the sidewalk. This was quite the feat, since he had to bash the shovel on the ground to knock the load of snow off EVERY SINGLE TIME. A mom can't ignore things like that.

But Julia and Aidan are less demanding. Julia is just quieter. She needs someone to notice her, and anticipate her needs. She doesn't ask for attention, she just gets mean. (Which makes me look ahead and realize I need to do some training or she'll be in poor form for a spouse or companion.) Aidan is not very needy and can spend hours on little projects, games or activities with the most he needs being a snack. When he does need some snuggle time, he comes and gets it. But because he plays so well by himself or with his siblings, I only interact with him for the few structured school activities or when it's time for him to do a chore. We have a scheduled storytime each day, and that is good. But it's still not ALL that is needed for interaction.

And this brings me to another, similar issue. How in the WORLD do I homeschool three little kids and give them each the time they need? Julia does go to her school three mornings a week, and I'm glad she does so she can get some learning time. But I school her the other two mornings and even when she is gone, I have trouble juggling Lucas and Aidan. The kids are too little to be sent off to do work by themselves. Lucas has some copywork he can complete on his own, as well as some spelling activities. But most other stuff we do together, combining the explanation and instruction with the actual activity itself. And he will learn to do more things on his own, but that isn't a reasonable expectation for a first grader to homeschool himself. Aidan is really taking off, and is passing Julia up in the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, by Wise/Bauer, of the Well-Trained Mind fame. But it would be ridiculous to expect him to practice words with short vowel sounds on his own. Clearly not an option.

So I have to figure out what things each kid can do on their own and keep a tight eye on a three-point rotation schedule!! And I haven't had success with that, yet. Not even with a two-point rotation! I'm wondering how a timer might help me out. It might keep me on task, so I don't abandon someone too long. And it might help keep them on task, too, knowing that when the timer rings, they can do something less structured, like playing, coloring, etc. I'm sure it's worth a shot.

Because right now, I find that I'm teaching a full day to Lucas, then a pre-school day to Aidan and two days a week it's a Kindergarten day for Julia! And the overlap is VERY minimal!

Well, I feel better just articulating the issues. I'm excited to homeschool and I enjoy teaching them. I just want to do an exceptional job. They deserve it and I shouldn't waste their time at home if I can't do their education justice.

Poetry

We've been having a little poetry around here. And I decided that I need to video the kids before they lose their little kid way of talking! When I took this poor quality video on my camera, I foolishly forgot that the video would come out sideways when I held the camera that way. But my darling spouse spent a bit of time on it, and managed to turn my videos around! Nevermind the three hours it took to upload them, and now you can share in the fun!

Part of our Language Arts curriculum (that I luuuuuuuv!) includes learning and reciting poetry. Properly. Fold the hands, don't lean, look out at your audience, speak slowly and clearly and state the name and author of said poem. Lucas does great, and Julia does great for only doing this twice a week with us. She's gone three mornings and the boys get more opportunities for repetition. Lucky for her, she's a guru for remembering words to things. She may have heard the words wrong... ("time to kangaroo downs, fort" and "call 9-1-1, the-e-e-e-en call yourself") but she's our most talented girl for word memory. Lucas gets the prize for most words used in a day. =) Aidan does pretty good, but he's still so "baby" that it's the cutest thing ever to hear these grown up words come out of his mouth. And he has a ways to go on posture. (For example, no climbing the bookcase as you recite!) So here's his first attempt on his poetry recitation; Work, anonymous:

Then Julia tries her hand, minus a little skip as she tries to recite the poem she just heard Aidan say. The problem with her poem is that the title is not the same as the first line, but extremely similar. Here's "Hearts are Like Doors, Anonymous":

And Lucas rattles off one of his favorites. "The Caterpillar, by Christina G. Rossetti" I love several things about this: the gap tooth, the cute way he moves his lips, the pause as he remembers to fold his hands in front, the inability to smile at the end of the poem, even though Mom is grinning like a Cheshire cat! All so endearing to a Mommy!

We are managing to have a little fun with school and I just wanted to pass that on. ;)

A Little of Everything

Well, it's a Thursday night and the weekend is in sight! I feel a little beat and ready to just relax a bit. I like that about our Friday's: no plans! Everyone is home, and it's our one normal school day when Julia can be home for school in the morning.

Today was our morning at Wildlife West, and this time I left Aidan at the Montessori School with Julia. No issues there, he would like to live there if he could! Miss Beth seemed to adore him from the day we met her, and had many positive things to say about him today. =) And the fact that he wasn't potty trained yet didn't deter her at all, and happily Aidan did not reward her with wetting his pants, either.

We had some excitement at WLW today, however. Myself and a senior feeder were just going in to Spirit's cage (a young, female bobcat) and it has two gates for extra security(they all do). I met the feeder in the "air lock" and passed her the food. She went into the cage to clean it, and I went back out. We both left our gates ajar... Spirit came stealthily padding out and down the path, straight at Lucas! He yelled for me, but Christie, an even more senior feeder told him to be perfectly still. He did as he was told, and I went to him and locked him in a different bobcat cage (but no worries, this bobcat was secure in a different enclosure) and Lucas was out of harm's way. I grabbed the food, lured Spirit closer to her cage and when she saw her own open gate, she ran back inside. WHEW!!! Lucas explained to all how he was so scared he was shivering! Luckily, Spirit was hand-raised from infancy and is still very young, so she probably isn't too much of a danger. But we don't like to find out!

I thought I'd post some picture of Lucas and Aidan's room, and the space decals I've used in there. I also have a shot of Lucas's private desk space, he loves to "save" everything!

And here is Lucas's little school corner. He likes the idea of having a place to invent and experiment with his scientific endeavors.

Earlier this week, I saw this sherpa blanket thingy at Costco and could not withhold it from myself. It is so cosy and everyone thinks it belongs to them. I have to remind everyone that it's MINE and I'm nice enough to share. Mom rarely gets blankets of her own! And this is my first, although I admit it does look good on Aidan.

Julia got some new PJ's too, some cute, ruffly stuff that mommy could have made, but with all the things I need to do, I just decided to take on thing off my list for now.

Things hanging over my head:

Nesting boxes to build

Several school organization projects for teaching stuff, reading, school room and the activity closet.

Water collection from the chicken house roof (already bought the materials so I can't scratch it from the list)

Painting ~ I still have Julia's room, hallways and my room. THEN I can do things like bathrooms and laundry rooms =D woohoo!

I have baby blankets to finish before the babies graduate from college

Patchwork denim comforters for the boys bunkbeds

aaaaaaand I WANT to sew for Julia! Hanna Andersson is my new inspiration! Lots of A-line and trim, I like the simple, elegant look.

Chicken update: as noted above, they need nesting boxes because they will begin laying any day, now. They are big and lovely girls, they don't look so scrawny anymore. They have some attitude, but will do anything for fresh corn, heh heh. I have a cardboard box in the coop for them until I can design a nesting box that will be attached to the inside of the coop permanently. Garden: I have green tomatoes on the vine. Oh, and lots of basil. And that's all!

So, how do you fit it all in? Caffeine? No sleep? Super organized? "Just that type"? I dunno how I can make it all work, but I'll let you know how it goes!

~ttfn

And I Wonder What My Kids Are Thinking...

Really this should be called "Confessions of an Idiot". For real. So often I roll my eyes, sigh deeply and ask in the most exasperated tones, "WHAT are they thinking?" So I guess today I had a little reminder about what they are thinking. Nothing at all. There IS no thinking when we do some things.

For example:

Is this something you do when thinking about it?

Do you see the great globs of mud in her hair? In her armpit? Everywhere? Know where this mud is going to go when she gets in the shower? Do we really need mud in the septic tank?

So my little story is this:

Our dear friends lent us some books by P.G.Wodehouse, a very find author and read by people of equal merits. Except for me, of course. So I gave myself my little treat of a handful of chocolate chips and began to immerse myself in British humor. Coming to the end of a chapter, I decided to see if I could write with the tip of the chocolate chip. So I wrote a lovely brown "A" at the bottom of the page. And then I thought, "I bet I can lick that right off!" and proceeded to mash brown chocolate smudges on the "A". And then it hit me: this book belongs to someone else!! Really, WHAT was I thinking? I'm not in the habit of writing in books, even books of my own. Certainly I'm not in the habit of writing with FOOD in books, or licking it back off. And just to reassure you, I have ordered a new but exactly the same copy of this book, so that our dear friends can enjoy an un-licked-by-Melita version of P.G.Wodehouse.

I have no words of excuse.

On another vein, we have some evidence of successful school mornings. =) This makes me feel a little less dumb and perhaps even you will feel less shocked and more forgiving. Instead of feeling like calling the authorities that yet another idiot is homeschooling their children.

And another activity that took place today: Desert Fishing.

Lucas really gets into his casting, complete with the weight getting caught in shrubs, very similar to fishing in water! =) Now if only he could catch something...

We will be camping this weekend, hopefully with not too many stories of my incompetence to relate. Instead, I hope to dazzle you with our camping prowess! In the meanwhile, have a great weekend!

Swingin' with School

Tonight I feel encouraged. This week has been a very good week for homeschooling! I have the right materials, I have the right approach and I even have the right timing! I have all of these things by accident and lucky chance, but you can bet I'm not letting them get away!

Our school week begins to pile up quickly. Julia is at her Montessori class three mornings a week. We spend Monday's at Explora where the kids can do Science of all kinds all day. We pack a lunch and play on the playground at noon. Then back inside for more hands-on stuff! I never have to say "don't touch!" or "get down!" or "don't break that!". It's very refreshing. It is also a very worthwhile day spent for their education.

On Thursday's we are trying out a new thing; volunteering at Wildlife West, a last line of defense between animals who cannot be released into the wild and death. Today I brought the boys, and it was very amazing and creepy the way the two cougars watched Aidan. They couldn't take their eyes off of him! And they'd follow him around as much as they could with a fence between us. We are learning (and it will take awhile!) how to feed the animals. We go with two other senior feeders and learn the ropes. It takes a year of consistent following to become a feeder yourself. The non-contact animals go into an "air-lock" while the feeders clean their cages and put out the proper diet. We got to go into the bear cage and look for scat. Yay! =) Also, javelinas, bobcats, and cougars. Some of the contact animals are racoons and wolves. Yes, WOLVES!!

But the thing that is giving me the most joy is that when we are just at home doing the "regular thing", we are having fun! We will add more but for now we are working on language arts, writing, reading, math and sign language. Each one is a small segment packed with pith, interest and work. Once, Lucas began to express weariness with writing, but only had two more words to finish! As I pointed this out, he quickly got back to work and finished up. I love to see the effectiveness of small, packed lessons. While I collect the materials and prepare for the next lesson, they get a small break to play or snack or whatever. Then back to something fun. The math is very cool, very hands on, very reasoning and concept oriented. All my kids like it when it's math time; therefore I do as well.

Chores have suffered, I must admit. But I spent four or five weeks getting a good chore system going and I don't mind if it slacks off for a while as we get a good school rhythm down. I am keeping the kitchen clean, this is a miracle and causes my husband to caress me more often. Kitchens are my weakness, as my family and friends know all too well. I hate doing dishes! But I love a clean kitchen, so what can I do?

All in all, I'm happy about school, I'm happy about feeling more competent, more motivated and more successful! It is hard to justify homeschooling when you aren't sure what in the world you are doing!

The curriculum I'm using right now is:

Math: Making Math Meaningful, by David Quine

Reading: my own "expertise" with Guided Reading + Phonics

Lang.A and Writing: Susan Wise Bauer of The Well Trained Mind fame

Sign Language: American Sign Language DeMYSTiFieD, by Kristin Mulrooney, Ph.D.

Science is Explora, of course, and for Geography, I'm just starting with map and globe basics for now. We'll delve into history a little more fully in a few months.

Julia has been dazzling us with her Montessori prowess with the binomial cube and now the trinomial cube which her teacher says she's close to mastery with! Today she copied a complete sentence of her own narration, which was more than I expected of her. I was so proud! She told me tonight that she wants to go to school forever at Miss Beths. =) I was happy to hear that! All in all, things are coming together in a way that leaves my doubts behind and that is a very nice place to be at.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

First Day of School

And the homeschooling mother sends her daughter off to school!

I've always wanted my kids to have some exposure to the Montessori method of learning, and in our very own "backyard" we have a private school with a properly trained Montessori teacher! So I conferred with the hubby and it was decided: Julia can go three mornings a week for her Kindergarten year. I'll school her the other two days and afternoons with the boys, but she'll get that great start I'm hoping for. Aidan can go next year.

Brothers want to be in on it, too! So far no jealousy, which is good.

And here she is, outside Ms. Beth's school before we dropped her off. She didn't cry or complain!

So today is day two of her new Kindergarten and both days she comes home telling me she did "nothing" and that it wasn't very fun and probably she won't go back. Then, later in the day I hear about stories of children around the world and the foods they eat; I hear about letters she drew; I hear about painting; I hear about dress-up; I hear about the calendar; and most of all I hear plans for what she's going to do tomorrow. =) Seems pretty typical to me!

Honestly, I'm a little worried that she's going to refuse to go at some point. Then I'm not sure what I'll do, since we are obviously homeschooling and she's got the option to stay home. But hopefully three mornings is enough to get invested and not so much time that she feels like she's away from Mom too much.

Still stressing about curriculum at this point. I need a good math curriculum! Badly! I want just the right mix of it all, and plenty of manipulatives, critical thinking and skill building. But I have no idea what any of these things are out there. Sigh... I did "ask Mom" and I've got some leads there, so maybe I won't be high and dry for long. I also want to learn sign language this year, but we're also going to start Spanish and I worry about being too ambitious.

I've got several lovely sets of books I ordered... I'll have to post pictures of those. Plus, I've got a couple sets of computer resources for school covering all subjects, including learning 16 languages, if we want!!! =) (Which, of course, we WANT to do right this minute!)

Another quandary about Julia and Aidan as well... I was assuming that Julia was in Kindergarten this year, only to discover that in NM public schools, children who are not five by September wait til the next year. So she'd be in Kindergarten next year. And I was also assuming that Aidan would be in Kindergarten next year, however, he will have been 4 years old for 5 months when he'd start Kindergarten next year, which is kinda pushing it for being so young! So I guess my kids aren't as stair-stepped as I thought. So what do I do? The reason I'm wondering is because Aidan is already sounding out 3 letter words. Julia still can't tell me the name and sound for all the letters in the alphabet. Aidan can say, sound and sign them.

Here's my "sort of" solution: I'll provide teaching and opportunity for learning, especially where they show interest or seem to be lacking. But since they are young enough, I can take it easy if any frustration even starts to rear it's ugly head. I also think that PLAY is critical in the development of children and want to make sure that they are all getting opportunity for unstructured, creative play. Is that balanced enough? Should I just let Aidan go for now? Or should I take advantage of his seeming interest and ability?

So many questions, so much at stake! =)