Holiday Road

I can’t even call this a monthly wrap up. I’m so bad at giving regular reports.

Spelling.....the icky poo dread-fest on my part. I think it is because 1) I am required to stay with the varmit kiddo the entire time, instead of teaching and being able to float to the next kid, or to the kitchen for a secret snack, and 2) my dry erase magnetic board is sitting on the floor.  I haven't found a place I want to hang it, forcing my old creaking bones (and let's be honest, fat butt) to sit on the floor for two 20 minute spelling sessions. Frankly, it's hard to get up. Small just isn't getting it, either.  He still struggles with the whole double the f,l,s (off, sell, dress) and the ck (snack) from Level 1 even though we're several steps into Level 2. I think I'm pushing too fast. Boo.

In Math Medium just finished 15 (!!) while Large is on 13 and Small is on 11. I am trying to not push him on this like I am spelling and think I may need to reverse.

Grammar for Small and Medium is going at a decent daily pace. They’re pretty much on schedule with finishing their books in May. Notice the proper use of they’re and their. I’m so in the right (not write) field.  Large is also cruising through his Writing & Grammar, while hugely despising knowing the difference between transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, direct objects, objects of preposition and so forth. I am aware that this isn’t something he’s going to need in “real life” BUT if he wants to go to college, he’ll be able to whiz through the grammar part of the ACT or SAT like a fat CAT. Oh yeah, I went there.

Large is also doing typing (he complains), and science (he complains). Picking up a trend?

I'm trying to do two days of geography and two days of history, but when we're busy, it's a pretty day, or we have any miniscule excuse at all, these get pushed to another day, also known as we're barely doing each once a week. Barely. Ok, haven't done either in weeks. There. Happy? We would have studied North Carolina this week, but had to make an emergency run to the vet. That’s a whole other blog.

Reading: Large is reading Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of Greek Myths, that somewhat goes with our history, when we do it. Sigh.  Medium only wants to read Beast Quest series or Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. I’m making him read a kids version of the Odyssey since he constantly said he hated Harry Potter. Blasphemer. I compromised to wait a year on HP, if he will start reading more classics. We shall see. Small was getting headaches every day so a visit to the eye doctor landed him in stinkin’ expensive totally cute reading glasses. He’s reading Frog and Toad, and loves to read. I heart him, so much.  I love the word reading. Reading. Please read to me more my precious reader. Books, books, and more books.

For Bible we’re taking a break from Bible Study Guide for All Ages curriculum as we talk about Bible Virtues and Christmas. This week we talked about generosity, as every recent shopping trip has been more about, “why can’t I buy this for myself”, or “I want this for Christmas” instead of thinking of others.  It’s making me more than cranky at the stores and Christmas Spirit? Fuggetaboutit. Scrooge, Grinch, you-all-are-the-most-ungrateful-children Spirit is more like it. I must succeed in making them not rotten. I must. This is a can’t fail. If they’re adults that hate to read (shudder), can’t spell (please no), or stink at math (like their mudder) but are generous, kind, considerate, hard-working men?  I’ll take it. Will I be happy? Probably not. BUT, if they are highly intelligent, super book-smart, lazy hand-out expecting twits? I HAVE FAILED. Hands-down, worst homeschooler ever.  If they’re financially successful, but stingy jerk-wads that think they’re better than everyone around them? I HAVE FAILED. More than just worst homeschooler, worst parenting ever.  Therefore, with prayer and Bible study, I’m going to change their little gimme gimme hearts.

Girlie is enjoying her junior year, as much as one can enjoy a junior year filled with geometry and chemistry and public school-filled drama, has been applying for jobs, and is in a cheer tumbling advanced class where she is kicking booty. She tends to suffer the same I-want-itis as the boys when it comes to shopping. Gah. Blasted kids.

It’s December 1^st and we haven’t put up a single Christmas decoration. I have finally taken down the fall stuff though. Totally counts. We have watched Home Alone twice on the road, and I say quotes from Elf and Christmas Vacation alllll the time.  

"That there's an RV Clark."

"I'm in a store and I'm singing! I'm in a store and I'm SIIIINGIIIIING!"

"I like Smiling, Smilings my favorite."

Maybe this weekend we’ll get our Holiday on. Maybe.  What about you, tens   thousands of readers? Have you decked your halls already?

Believe it or Not

Having had kids in public school, I understand both sides of the public school v. homeschool debate. The boys were blessed with teachers, for the most part, that cared about their students, classroom atmosphere, learning new techniques, and wanting the best for the student and parent. They were not a reason for homeschooling. Those teachers were the reason deciding to homeschool was difficult. Knowing that Large loved most of his teachers so much and enjoyed their attention for six years, that Medium only got to spend time with a few, and that Small only had a semester with one of the best still makes me sad. Those teachers warm my heart when I think of them. They are doing their part to educate the future generations, using the tools that they have been taught themselves, and within the constantly changing rules and guidelines they have to follow.


It is those rules, guidelines, and other governmental crapola that is, in my mind, working against teachers. Making test scores the ultimate goal, attaching pay raises to test scores...it isn't right, and it doesn't work. Where else in society are people regulated to rooms based on their age and not their intelligence level? What profession has employees sitting in offices doing work based not on their ability, but their age. What business gives the hired hands standardized fill-in-the-dot tests and punishes their boss if scores are low, even if profits (actual learning) and employee contentment (student happiness) are high?


I love reading Deb's blog, Not Inadequate.  She's a funny, quirky, homeschool mom who is currently living out of various Vacation Rentals By Owner, while travelling the US, giving her kids a real education by reading about geoducks (snicker snicker) because they saw one in the Pacific Northwest, or "researching" bison by watching them walk down the road near Yellowstone. One of her blogs included a video that I absosmurfly loved because it clearly and entertainingly shows why the current education system doesn't work. I unabashedly copied her, including it in this blog for my three many readers to enjoy.




Sir Stephen, I love your accent and ability to draw more than a stick person.


I'm not saying I will never put my kids back into public school, because I don't know what the future holds for my family. We decided to try a semester of homeschooling, and are all so hooked as of now we have most of our books to start the next "year" at any time. :-)

It's a Cruel, Cruel Summer

I’m clearly not adept at giving regular reports on our progress. BUT, learning is happening. I PROMISE!  And so, I give you a really long summary of the past several weeks…ok months.

Large and Medium are on Lesson 29 out of 30 in their Math U See books, and unfortunately for them, I already have most of their next sets ready and waiting. Snicker Snicker.  Thanks to eBay (again) I found the teacher guides and DVDs for Large and Small, but will be picking up student packs containing their workbooks and test booklets, and Medium’s complete set next week. Small is excited to be starting the same program as brothers, which means getting to watch a DVD with Mom. Watching math videos does not excite this English major, but the fact that he is good at math already and has a positive attitude about it, makes me think maybe he will major in something in college that will allow him to buy me a vacation home somewhere tropical. This should become one of my goals in homeschooling. I’m almost sure of it.

Small’s reading is so precious to me. He learned to read at school from our beloved Mrs. J., so I can’t take credit for teaching him, but I do love listening to him as he learns new concepts like the sound ‘ight’ makes or ‘ing’. He just finished Bob Books Set 4 Complex Words and will start Set 5 Long Vowels this week. These will be a breeze since he already covered long vowels in his Spelling book. Harvard here we come.

Medium is no lover of reading, even though it is clearly EASY for him. He finally found a book series at the library that he loves: Beast Quest. Really, son?  After willingly buying two for him to read on the Kindle PLUS the one from the library, I’m making him move on.  He started Mr. Popper’s Penguins yesterday and I found an 89 page unit study online. Score! He sets the timer and reads for 30 minutes on my Kindle or his Ipod. He’s such a techie kid that if I can find a way to make it feel less school-like and more video-game-ish, the whining-complaining factor drops significantly.

Large finished reading Holes and thanks to my neighbor/jr. high English teacher/friend, I had a reading comprehension packet to go with it. Yay for supportive friends! He absolutely loved the book and movie, and convinced his brothers to dig holes with him in the backyard to “build character.” The coming-in-the-house-covered-in mud every. single. day. made it much less funny. The character-building had to stop. I informed Large that being grounded from all things with screens built more character than playing in the mud, and he determined they were finished with that part of their training. Well played big brother.  He’s now reading Tuck Everlasting with much less enthusiasm and an irritating amount of grimacing/sighing.

We’re racing through Large and Medium’s grammar books, trying to finish an entire year’s worth of material in one semester. That means usually two to three lessons per day, but because they have learned a lot of the concepts already, it only takes about 30 minutes to complete. I’m also skipping most of the writing assignments, focusing mainly on the grammar parts such as adjectives and adverbs for Medium, and predicate nominatives and direct objects for Large. I know, I KNOW. Writing is very important, but the plan for now is to just get through the books, and hit the writing assignments this summer.

That’s right. We’re not taking the summer off.

The boys are not on board with this plan and believe it to be the highest form of cruelty. They are used to having almost three months to let whatever information and education they’ve attained be rotted away by hours of SpongeBob, Playstation, and Ipod apps. I don’t have a concrete plan yet, but think we will take a few weeks off at the end of May, or early June, then start back by doing school a few days a week. I need me some sunny pool and lake time too, so hopefully with two days of math and grammar, with a little history and science thrown in, and daily reading, I’ll feel like we’re having the best of both worlds. The boys will probably feel like they’re being served a huge injustice. Maybe I can convince the Hubster that a new backyard pool is a necessity to homeschooling.  And that we can afford it. And that we will not make him spend every free minute of his time cleaning and maintaining it.

 Yes, this also should become one of my goals. Along with a trip to Disney World and a visit to the Olympics and Stonehenge. Goals are important. I should make a list.

Random Recap

In an attempt to keep everyone somewhat up to date with our homeschool adventure, I will, with unpredictable regularity, give a recap wrap-up type thingy.

The arrival of Large & Medium’s math program and grammar curriculum last week helped me to get a better grasp on what they need to do each day. Rather than try to completely build their curriculum based solely on the Oceans Unit Study we’re doing, I decided to use Rod & Staff for their grammar. It is very old-school, but I kinda like that for some reason. Homeschooling for us so far is very much a “try it and see” approach. I’m eclectic in my fashion (or huge lack of), my hair (it’s normal to wear it styled differently every day, right?), the non-decoration of my home, so why should our school be any different?  I found the complete set consisting of teacher manual, student textbook, student workbook, and test  booklet for Medium, and the student text book for Large, all on the blessed Ebay. So far, what we've tried, I've liked, and I know they're learning, which is the whole point. For their math program, I went with Math U See, bought brand spankin’ new off the website, since the levels I needed were never on Ebay. Boo. It wasn’t cheap, but for each kid I got a teacher manual, student text/work book, and the best part for the math-challenged such as myself, an instructional DVD.

We have yet to establish a consistent daily routine but we’re only two weeks in, so I’m OK with that. The only thing that is very regular is I start the day reading a chapter from Proverbs from The Message translation, turn on the Keurig, and down my first cup of Donut Shop coffee with two sugars & some milk while the boys do their morning chores.  After that things aren't quite established. We try to do Bible as our first subject of the day, but since they aren’t always up and ready at the same time, sometimes I start whoever IS ready on a subject while the straggler finishes breakfast.

I usually settle Large and Medium into Math & Grammar as their second subject of the day. The one working on math gets the TV on, DVD at the right chapter, books ready in the living room while I start the other on that day’s grammar lesson at the front room table. Small has no established routine whatsoever , so I might start him on a simple addition page, a computer math game, a spelling lesson, toys in his room….whatever I decide or he starts playing with first.   The math kid and I watch the DVD together, practice a page on scratch paper, and then he works on a sheet to try the lesson on his own while I start my second cup of coffee and go back to check on grammar boy.  Unfortunately, this time which requires focus and concentration from both grammar boy and math kid, is usually peppered with constant interruptions from Small, who isn’t old enough to work independently for a long enough amount of time. He is accustomed to the routine of school, and to suddenly have so much free time again, like back in the good ol’ days of preschool, has just rocked his little world.

 Brothers are home, but can’t play? Mom is teacher, so he can’t ask out-of-the-blue questions when she’s sitting in the living room floor with brother?  Man! Not Cool! I must whine and roll around in the floor to pay her back!

After yelling  asking for the umpteenth time for him not to interrupt, I make sure both grammar boy and math kid have finished, then they swap subjects and places.  Sometime during the rest of the day they read from their novels while Morgan reads to me from his Bob books, I teach that day’s ocean lesson, go over the Spanish word of the day, and they play outside or on the trampoline in the shop if the weather is too cold or wet.  We have lunch, they do afternoon chores and “to earn” chores, and I sit on the couch eating a late lunch trying to make my eye stop twitching relax a little. Around now it will be time to pick up Girlie from public school, start dinner, and dreamily await my hubster’s return to the nest.

So. Are they ACTUALLY learning? What have we accomplished since we started two weeks ago, and with all of our books a week and a half ago? Well….

Large read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, completed 11 math lessons, 7 grammar lessons, wrote two short essays over ocean topics, took several ocean quizzes, and has started a Star Wars class for his brothers. (yeah, he enjoys this waaaaaay more than they do).

Medium is working his way through Moby Dick, has completed 10 math lessons, polished his lowercase cursive and learned the uppercase, breezed through  15 grammar lessons, two short ocean writings, two ocean quizzes, and has been given the requirement by his brothers that he wear pants during school time. His preference to skivvies-only apparently disrupts their thought processes.

Small has completed 7 spelling lessons, is reading the Bob books (little readers),  completed a review of letter writing upper and lower case, 11 math pages,  3 mazes, two color by number ocean coloring pages, and eaten countless boogers. We’re still working on losing THAT particular habit.

All three have learned 8 Spanish words, about life in a tidal pool, the different depths & zones oceans have (sunlit zone, twilight zone, abyssal etc), can name and label the 5 major oceans, the causes and effects of tsunamis, different ocean landscapes, watched Planet Earth & YouTube videos of sea birds diving deep to catch fish, and watched Planet Earth’s Coral Reef video.

See? See? They’re learning, right? 

Downing hot chocolate from the Keurig several times a day, taking longer and longer playtimes outside, riding bikes to Grandma’s for a cookie or Nana’s for a better lunch than whatever I’m offering have become their new normal.

And I’m thinking that is pretty Sweet!

Not Back To School

We're homeschooling.

Whew!

After having kids in public schools for 6 1/2 years my husband and I made the biggest decision of our son's little lives....to pull them at semester, and for me to start homeschooling them in January.

HOLY MONKEY!

Yes, this decision was made after hours and hours of prayer. At times I wondered if God was thinking, "You again? Didn't you JUST ask for wisdom, for a clear answer on which path to take? Come on woman!"  I devoured anything I could on the internet. I read pros and cons of  homeschooling, both of which encouraged me to do it. Some articles on why people shouldn't homeschool actually reinforced my want to remove the kids from public schools. I quietly began talking to friends, old and new, that had embarked on this journey, and discovered what a wealth of information and encouragment they were. 

Halloween night, Husband and I were discussing yet another "issue" one of our sons was having to deal with at school. One of the recurring requests in my constant prayers was that IF homeschool was the best thing for our family, make Husband and I in complete agreement...let it be Husband's desire with no pushing from me, and that's exactly what happened. A simple statement came that Halloween night: "I think you should homeschool."  I replied, "I do too."

Decision Made. Path Clear. Joy and Contenment Abound. Harps Sound.

Ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.

We also decided against telling the  boys until closer  the end of the semester so they wouldn't a) stop doing school work  b) alienate their friends with their homeschool bragging and c) to give us time to mentally and physically prepare ourselves and our schedules. 

Big boys literally cried tears of joy when they were told, separately, at times of sadness and begging "don't make me go to school tomorrow".
Little brother was still on the fence. Kindergarten is fun, his friends are fun, his teacher is great... only reason to stay home is to be with Mom... which finally won out.

Today, when area kids were all heading back to school after Christmas break, we decided to celebrate our new found freedom with a Not Back To School Day. We went to Rogers, AR where I did the exciting task of exchanging some boots, before moving on to some of their favorite stores, Academy and Target, with lunch at Chick-fil-a. The weather was great, boys got along (most of the time), and I got a really really cute pair of boots. Score!