2 Weeks Under My Belt

I've now got 2 weeks of homeschooling under my belt.  And what do I think?  How's it going?  It's ok!  It's not GREAT.  But it's not HORRIBLE either.  The boys are learning, which is the main point, I guess, right?

I feel like I've been on an emotional rollercoaster the last few weeks.  Taking your child(ren)'s education into your own hands is a pretty big deal.  And you want to get it just right.  But then you start to realize that your child(ren)'s education was ALWAYS in your hands; you may have just allowed strangers that will never meet or care about your kid individually to make decisions without your consent in regards to their education.  So homeschooling isn't that big of a change.

Or is it?  I've been exhausted each day (and have found ways to take a cat nap in the afternoon).  We're packing in all of our schooling in the morning and finishing most days before lunch.  And since 90% of their curriculum is teacher-led at this point, that makes for an intense time period for the teacher.  And what about the kids?  I'm alternating which kiddo I work with while the other one goes off and plays (usually with Legos).  So they're getting breaks.  Mamma, on the other hand:  not so much. 

There is some tweaking I need to do to make things a little better.  Like the intensity of the morning, for instance.  I need to make myself take a break or two (even if it's 5 or 10 minutes) so that I'm not exhausted and spent by lunchtime.  I also need to figure out what I want the boys to do in their spare time (while I'm working with their sibling).  Jack can't read fluently yet, so it'll be a challenge to find things for him to do while I'm working with Cade.  Cade, on other hand, is an excellent reader; I need to be more diligent in directing him toward reading 1 of 20 library books we have one hand, doing some typing games on the computer, etc.

But they're kids after all, so free play is OK too.  I'm just thinking that maybe free play should be a reward for finishing all of their work. 

One thing that we've been doing each morning before we start our work is a devotional time.  I read a chapter out of the Bible and then read a devotion that goes along with the passage.  And sometimes we discuss it.  And we always incorporate what we've read into our prayer.  This has been a blessing and has started off our days on the right foot.  I love that we're doing this!

Curriculum

In case you're curious, here are our current curriculum choices for the year.  (I say current because homeschoolers are known to change their curriculum mid-year because it's not working for the teacher or the student.)


Math -- Saxon

Spelling -- Spelling Workout by Modern Curriculum Press

Grammar -- First Language Lessons by Peace Hill Press

Writing -- Writing with Ease by Peace Hill Press

Handwriting -- Zaner-Bloser

History & Science -- We are using Classical Conversations as our spine (main resource) and supplementing with various texts, encyclopedias and library books

First Day of Homeschooling

I know you've been waiting, with bated breath I assume, to see how our first day of homeschooling went, right?  Wait no longer, my faithful 3 readers!  Here now, for your reading pleasure, is a summary of our day.

I had grandiose ideas of having some cool first-day-of-school kinds of activities to make the day special.  You know, things like a special breakfast.  Some crafts.  An "about me" sheet to fill out.  Things of that sort.

Since I didn't want to start out cooking some big breakfast that then I'd have to clean up later, I decided to try my hand at making some monkey bread as a special treat.  I figured the combination of biscuits, cinnamon, and sugar... surely the kids would love this!  And surely it would be a snap to make!  Only I completely misjudged the time it took to make it (and then bake it, and then let it cool). 

And as I was about to serve the kids the monkey bread, Jack mentioned that his foot hurt; he's mentioned this several times in the past several days.  So I took a look at the bottom of his foot and sure enough... a splinter.  I accidentally let the word "splinter" leave my lips and Jack went into hysterics.  He was inconsolable at the thought of having the splinter dug out of his foot (Jack has strong anxiety when it comes to any hint of bodily injury or pain).

So now we're an hour behind in our day, my 6-year old is in hysterics, and I'm thinking that this isn't how I wanted our first day to go.  Cade ends up tucking Jack into bed with a plethora of blankets, books, and pillows.  Jack calms down, and I start math with Cade. 

The rest of our time went OK.  it was a fairly light day because most of what we were doing was introductory lessons in our curriculum.  There are a couple of tweaks to be made and some things to add, but for the most part, a successful day.

Here are some back-to-school pics I took of the kids:

Claire (4)

Cade (8)

And Jack (6).  Unfortunately, Jack was in a sour mood and didn't feel like taking pictures.  This was the best I could get.  He was in the process of folding his arms at me to let me know he wasn't happy.

And then all 3 kids together.  Jack was still miffed about something and Claire wasn't sure where to look.  :)

It's really hard to get all 3 kids to look the same direction at the same time. But I was thrilled that Claire was offering the hook-em horns sign without being coached.

So all in all, a good day.  I think we'll try this again tomorrow.  :)

August

And now it's (near) the end of August.  Where does the time go, I ask you?  Apparently I've been a little too busy to update the blog.  Sorry 'bout that. 

Not much is going on with us as a family.  Well, I take that back.  There are some things going on...

• Scott is about to start his long-awaited education at Dallas Theological Seminary.  He is so stinking excited about it. The term "giddy like a school girl" comes to mind.
• I will start homeschooling the boys (for real now... not just in math) next week.  I'm sitting up in the school room right now, looking at all of the glorious books we'll be cracking open next week.  Should be fun!  Or at least good for some Frantlings fodder.
• Mom's addition to the house is coming along nicely.  It's bricked, sheetrocked and textured, and the trim has gone in.  Not sure exactly what the next steps are.  But hopefully in a month or two it will finally be finished and she can move back into her expanded space!
• I've been taking photos of houses that my friend JT is listing for sale; this has been a fun little side job, as my friend JT is a hoot and it's really decent money for an hour or two of my time.  
• It's been stinkin' hot here.  As in 107 for the high.  *sigh*   I'm really looking forward to the winter.  Really.  Really looking forward to it.  Did I mention that it's been REALLY hot here?

That about does it.  Claire and Jack have been playing nicely together the entire time I wrote this blog entry... the odds that it will continue into the near future are not good.  So I better wrap things up while everyone still has their appendages.

July

And now it's the end of July.  One month has gone by without any updates.  What have we been up to?  Plenty!

• Claire and the boys each had summer day-camps that they went to and thoroughly enjoyed.  Mommy enjoyed them being at day camp!  :)

• We also had VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church.  The kids had a blast, and I got to help with photographing the event.  We were exhausted by the end of the week.  But it was great!

•  We hosted a poker party

• We went to two weddings

• Scott flew out to California to have a guy's weekend with one of his best friends from high school (he had a great time!)

• The boys and I have been doing math each day.  1, they asked to do it because they really like math.  2, it is allowing us to get our feet wet with homeschooling without having to jump into all subjects at once

Can't believe it's already the end of July.  Less than a month and school really starts up!  

Birfdays

The kiddos were gone all last week at their grandparents (Scott's parents) in Missouri.  What a wonderful break that was!  But man!  It sure was quiet around here...

The kids came home yesterday (Sunday).  While they were gone, both Jack and Claire celebrated birthdays.  Jack turned 6 (!!!) and Claire (my baby), turned 4.  Their parties will be this weekend at McDonald's and Chuck E. Cheese, respectively (yikes).

Eager Beavers

We've already started.  Homeschooling that is.  We've already started, and it's summer break! 

"Isn't that child abuse?", you ask.  Why no.  No it isn't.  Not when your kids are begging to start homeschooling.  And no, we haven't drugged our children.

The boys had been begging me to start homeschooling since school let out.  So I obliged them, of course!  We have only begun math.  And for the most part, it's VERY easy and mostly review so far.  In addition to satisfying the kids' desire to learn, I also wanted to get my feet in the water and test things out with just one subject.  As the weeks go by, we'll probably add in a subject or two and see how the adjustment goes. 

I'm learning that a lot of Texas homeschoolers (none that I know personally, however) do school in the summer because it is SO STINKIN' HOT outside.  There's not much else to do (my kids aren't strong swimmers and don't love the pool), so why not get some school done and take a break in the fall and spring when it's so nice outside? 

It's so not what we're used to (public schools don't do it that way), that it's taking my brain a long time to get that it's OK to do things differently than what we're used to.  After all, homeschooling isn't necessarily supposed to be public school at home.  With homeschooling, and especially in the great state of Texas, you have the flexibility to do things the way you want to do them (and what best fits for your family), not the way a government tells you to do it.