I am the worst blogger in the history of ever.

I'm not even going to address my lack of posts, because, let's be honest, none of us are surprised.

I'll jump right in.  It's been over a year.  What has happened in the past year, you ask?  Hmmm.....

School....and more school.  We joined a homeschool co-op, which is AWESOME.  The trusty old Explorer finally bit the dust, and we had to buy a new (to us) car.  (a Ford 500, which Mr. Fantastic has actually grown quite fond of.) The kids are now 12, 8 and 8.  (I'm in tears while typing those ages...how DID that happen??)  I've found that I am still super un-organized, quite neurotic, a lot obsessive compulsive, but overall very content in my life.  We went on our first family vacation to Disney World, and loved it. I've grown distant with some friends, and much closer with others.  I've made some fantastic new friends that get the super nerdy side of me, and don't judge me for it, because they're just like me.  There have been some tough changes in my world, but I've learned and grown from them, and I like to think they've made me a stronger person.  I still love my family and friends fiercely...probably even more so than a year ago.  There have been tears of sadness and tears of joy.  My heart aches for those I've lost in the past couple of years, but I press on because that's what we do....all the experiences of life, good and bad, are what shape who we are.  I wouldn't go back and change them, because it would change who I am today.  I can learn from the mistakes, and do better next time.  I still desperately love Mr. Fantastic, and the sweet little humans that we have together.  I thank God for the amazing life that I have, and ask Him to give me the strength to always try to do better tomorrow.

That's all for now, but hopefully I will be back tomorrow to share some of our adventures with you...

New Year, New Look...

Obviously, the title of this post refers to a new year of learning.  I promise, I don't think the year begins in September.  September brings a lot of new beginnings around our house, though, and I thought the nice, fresh background was a good change from the stuffy, dark look from before.  So, to new beginnings!

We just started up our school year, and things are going great!  Although, we've been formally "schooling" for a whopping 7 days, so that may not be a huge accomplishment to most people.  Getting through ONE day around here is an accomplishment, however, so I'm happy, happy, happy.  That's not to say we don't enjoy our days, they're just FULL!

We're loving the new way we do things in our schooling.  Classical education fits all of the kids really well, and it's definitely my preferred approach.  At least, my preferred of the different approaches I've tried so far in our 6 years of homeschooling.

Wow....6 years (beginning our 7th!)??? How did that happen?  It seems like Motormouth was just starting Kindergarten, and the Tweebs were crawling around the house causing mayhem everywhere they went. (Okay, so SOME things haven't changed!)

In the spirit of looking back, here are some pictures of our first year of homeschooling, and our pictures from the beginning of this year.  We started homeschooling when Motormouth was in K and the Tweebs were one.  This year Motormouth is in 6th grade, and the Tweebs are in 2nd!  They've changed so much!

September 2007

September 2013

I really am looking forward to a great year ahead.  We've got a lot of fun and learning in store for us this year!  The kids (especially Thing 2) are all about finding new creatures to show me, so expect pictures of assorted frogs, snakes and other critters!  

My first homeschool convention....

I'm back, finally.  I know I keep saying I'm going to get better about posting, but I think we all realize by now that consistency is not my forte.  I will finish up the second part of my post about what curriculum I'm using next year, but first....

I went to my very first homeschool convention a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't go to all the seminars, I just went to the curriculum fair part.  I have never seen so much homeschool curriculum in one place in my entire life!  It was slightly overwhelming at first, but I'm so glad I went!  It was definitely worth the cost to get in.  After leaving, I had totally made up my mind about all the curriculum I'm using next year, and purchased some of it!  Yay!  It was so helpful.

In my previous post, I was undecided on arithmetic.  I have finally made the decision (and purchased) arithmetic for all three kiddos.  Motormouth is starting Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra 2.0.  I had been concerned, because I had heard quite a few people say that it was a little behind grade level.  I got over that though, because I decided to get past the title on the book I ordered, and just order what level he tested at.  You would think, after being at this for 6 years, that I would have gotten over the public school mindset of "grade level".  I think I'm finally there!  When looking at the table of contents for the level 7, there were no concepts introduced that he wasn't familiar with until 3/4 of the way through the book.  I spoke with a Sonlight curriculum advisor (If you haven't ever utilized one of their curriculum advisers, I highly recommend it.  They are incredibly helpful, and super nice.  I have nothing but great things to say about Sonlight's customer service.), and she told me that the first part of TT Pre-Algebra 2.0 is a review of TT level 7.  Motormouth has already started using it, and is LOVING it.  He no longer gripes every time I mention math. Saxon was great, and very thorough, but I'm just not all that good at teaching math, and TT basically teaches it for you.  I had thought about making him wait to use it until the beginning of the next school year, but then decided it seemed crazy to make him finish out the year of Saxon if he wasn't getting what he needed to out of it.  I figure if he finishes up early next year, we'll just spend the rest of the year reviewing the concepts to make sure he has a firm grasp of it before moving on!

The Tweebs are using Life of Fred.  We're beginning with the first book, Apples, right now.  After I returned home from the curriculum fair, I took a better look through the book.  (I purchased it, and the 2nd book, Butterflies, at the fair.)  It seemed to cover some concepts we have already discussed, so I decided to start it now, and then supplement it with our Abeka worksheets.  The LOF books are only $16, so I figure I'll just buy them as I need them.  I may switch them to TT in 3rd grade (which is the first grade level offered by TT), but for now I don't really want them using a computer curriculum.  I can teach math at this level just fine, and I don't think they are really mature enough to work that independently yet.

For History, we are sticking with Mystery of History, because we LOVE it.  Next year we will start Volume II: The Early Church and the Middle Ages.  I love reading about the middle ages, and the kids do as well, so we're all excited to start that.

Lastly is Science.  We love Apologia.  We will continue in the Young Explorers series, with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.  This time I bought notebooking journals for all three kids.  The Tweebs have really wanted one, and I think the Junior Notebooking Journal will be perfect for them next year.

I think that covers everything!  I'm so happy to have it all decided on and purchased this early.  It's one less thing to worry about now.

This is all I have time for tonight, because I have to do some lesson planning.  (the one downside of no longer using "curriculum in a box"...ugh.)

Be back soon!

Decisions, decisions...

Good grief, this year has flown by so far.  I can't believe it's April 2nd already.  Our school year is nearly over (although we will be going a little longer this year due to our long, hard winter), and it's time to start thinking about next year's plan.  As you know from previous posts, we're changing up our way of doing things in our home school.  Because of all the unexpected things that happened over the winter, we didn't transition as smoothly as I had hoped.  That's why I would like to have a really good plan in place for when we begin after the summer.

We will continue with our plan for classical learning.  I really feel like that just "fits" our family.  We are all incredibly interested in history, literature and science.  We also feel like what we had been doing before made us feel crazy and rushed, and that we never actually were able to deeply dive into our interests.  I want us to really embrace the goal of classical learning....the "multum non multa", not quantity, but quality.  To pursue the Good, the True and the Beautiful.  How do I plan to implement this?  Let's be honest here, as much as I would like to say I truly implemented these things this year, it just didn't happen like planned.  We learned, but it didn't flow like I want it to.  I want my kids to find what truly interests and inspires them to life long learning.  I want, I want, I want.  Hmmm.....so, now to make it happen!

First of all, here is a list of what I have already decided on:
     Writing:
          Motormouth-Institute for Excellence in Writing, Student Writing Intensive, Level B.  I have never used IEW, but have heard nothing but good things about it.  Motormouth's toughest subject, by far, is writing.  Not handwriting, but creative writing.  This mom is NOT a writing teacher, so he's really struggled.  After lots of research, and having him check out some YouTube videos on IEW, we decided to check it out.  I'm very hopeful that it helps him really get the knack of writing well.  I opted to go with the SWI only, and not the more expensive Teaching Writing With Structure and Style.  TWSS is a 10 hour DVD seminar for parents, to teach them how to teach writing.  It's pretty pricey though, and SWI comes with a DVD that gives an overview of the program, so I'm hoping we can get by with just that.  We shall see.  Since he's really not loving the Classical Writing curriculum we have at the moment, I'm thinking about just diving right into SWI when it shows up this week.  This should take care of writing, grammar, spelling and handwriting.  I will supplement spelling and vocabulary to go along with our history, literature and science selections.

          Tweebs-I'm opting to piece together my own writing curriculum for the Tweebs.  I have purchased the Parent Teacher Guide for the Original McGuffey Readers, along with the Original McGuffey's Pictorial Eclectic Primer, the Original McGuffey's Eclectic Primer and the Original McGuffey's Eclectic First Reader.  I plan on doing most of their reading, copy work and spelling lessons out of these texts, along with some added reading in Aesop and other beginning literature that will go along with our history and science studies.

     Literature:
          Ahh...my FAVORITE subject!  I do not have anything set in stone yet, but I plan on having the kids focus on many of the classics, and am going to choose which ones based on the period of history we are studying and their reading/comprehension level.  Motormouth read The Hobbit this year, and I am considering having him read The Lord of the Rings next year.  I am going to re-read it over the next month and then decide.  He's a pretty advanced reader, but it's a pretty complicated read, and I want to look it over again to see if I think he can really get something out of it.  I want his literature selections to challenge him, but not so much that he isn't understanding or enjoying them.  If I do end up having him read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, that will take up a good chunk of the year for his Literature work. As for the Tweebs, I'm going to, as I stated above, have them work in the McGuffey's readers, but that will be more for the "mechanics" of reading.  For their Literature studies, I plan on them reading the Aesop fables, along with other selections I have not yet determined.  We shall see....the library is a wonderful resource that I plan on fully utilizing next school year!

     Arithmetic:  A.K.A...the bane of my existence.  I am NOT a math person.  At all.  So, my choices for the kids have to take into account their learning style, along with the fact that I am not a good math teacher.  I can handle the Tweebs, but the older Motormouth gets, the more nervous I get.  I don't yet have any math curriculum picked out for the Tweebs or Motormouth.  I am considering Teaching Textbooks for Motormouth.  I have heard quite a lot of good things about it.  One downside that I have heard is that it is not quite "grade level".  That can be easily taken care of though, by using the placement tests. I'm still back and forth on what to do for the Tweebs.  We'll see....

I just realized how incredibly long and rambling this post is...that probably has something to do with the fact that I am taking cough medicine and it is currently 1:30am.  So, that said, I am going to go for now, and hopefully finish up the second half of this post tomorrow.  I hope I didn't bore you to tears.  Once I get all this junk out of the way, I will post some funny, crazy things my kids have said/done.

Until next time...


   

A fresh start...

It's been a rough couple of months.  In my last post, I shared that we had lost my uncle and my husband's grandfather, and that my aunt had a stroke.  My aunt passed away a week after suffering the stroke.  I've been doing good just to get through the days, which is why it has taken me this long to post again.  I'm trying to get things back to "normal" around here though, because we have been out of our routine for so long.  So I'm also going to try to get back to blogging on a more regular basis.  We'll see how that goes.

The losses in my family, coupled with the start of a new year, really make me put into perspective what's important, and what I need to do to make this year one I can look back on without regret.  I've seen all too closely lately how fleeting life is, and that I should make every day count.  So, without further adieu, here is a list of things I'm going to try to do better about this year.  (Note: these aren't new year's resolutions, because I know that I will fail at times, but I am going to TRY my hardest.)

     1.  Pray EVERY DAY, more than one time a day.
     2.  Read and study my Bible every day.
     3.  Never miss an opportunity to tell my loved ones how much they mean to me.
     4.  Share God's word with others more often. 
     5.  Be bold about my faith in God.
     6.  Be a better Christian example for my kids.
     7.  Yell less.  Try to get my point across to my kids without resorting to a harsh voice.
     8.  Have a meek and quiet spirit in all things, especially my job as a mother to my kids and a wife.
     9.  Be more patient as a mother and teacher. 
    10. Praise God at all times.  When He blesses me, AND when times seem so dark.
    11. Read the Bible through in a year. 
    12. Excersise more....eat better.
    13. Glorify God in everything I say and do.
    14. Be a better friend.
    15. Reach out to those who need support.

The list could go on and on, but these things are some pretty major ones.  I pray that I do better in all these areas.

Since the loss of my uncle on November 6th, we have had quite a lot of break time in our school schedule.  We are behind enough now that we will probably be schooling a good part of June, which isn't usual for us.  That's one of the many benefits of homeschooling though...we can go with the flow when need be.  We needed time to grieve and be with our family.  However, now that the holidays are over, and the new year has begun, we must get back to work.  We start up again tomorrow.  I know that I am going to hear lots of groaning and crying, because we're out of the habit of school every day, but I really do think that after a few days, everyone will be back to normal.  We are definitely in need of structure again.  As much as the kids like to be off of school, I think even they will be glad for things to be trucking along again.

So, this wasn't an especially funny or witty post, but it kind of wraps up 2012, and lays out a plan for 2013.  So, here's to 2013.....may it be the best year yet. 

I'm going to end my post with an old Irish blessing....I hope your 2013 is a blessed year.

 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.



I didn't fall off the face of the earth, really!

This is going to be a super short post, but I just didn't want everyone thinking I had, once again, not followed through with keeping up with the blog.

In the past few weeks we have lost two members of our family.  My uncle, who was very dear to me, and my husband's grandfather.  The day after we lost his grandfather, my aunt suffered a catastrophic stroke.  It has been a really tough month around here.  I honestly don't know when I am going to get back to the blog, because right now I'm barely managing to get daily stuff that has to be done taken care of.  But I have not forgotten it, and when I can pull myself together, I plan to be back!

Thanks!  Take care and have a wonderful holiday. 

Our day, in a nutshell...

     UPDATED:  SEE END OF POST FOR AN UPDATE ON HISTORY CURRICULUM.

     Okay, this is actually what an ideal day looks like.  Ideal days very seldom happen around here, but this is what we shoot for.  We all have to have a goal, even if we fail miserably most times.  I would list precise starting times for each subject, but honestly, the idea of us actually starting and finishing when we plan is pretty laughable.  So I will just list them in the order we try to do them.

     After we get up, we have breakfast and do our Bible reading together.  The curriculum we use for Bible class on Sunday and Wednesday has daily Bible readings, so we follow that.  

     Next, we will usually move on to math.  The Tweebs use Abeka Arithmetic 1.  We like it okay, but it has a lot of repetition and busy work.  I'm thinking next year I will either move them to Saxon or Singapore.  Motormouth is using Saxon 6/5.  We aim for one lesson per day.  Motormouth will spend more time on math than the Tweebs.  Their attention span just isn't as long.

     Then I will move on to phonics and reading with the Tweebs, and two days a week, spelling.  I also use Abeka for those subjects.  Once again, next year we will be changing that.  While I am working with them, I have Motormouth do his Literature reading.  He has been working through the Mabinogion.  Once he finished that I will be changing it up a little, because we're going a little different route with history than originally planned.  

     Speaking of history, that's next.  A couple of days a week we work on history, and the other days science.  History and science are both subjects that all three kids work on together, just at different levels.  I had started working through A Child's History of the World with the Tweebs, and Famous Men of the Middle Ages with Motormouth, at the suggestion of The Latin-Centered Curriculum.  I like both books, but I'm going to use them at a different time.  After reading through The Well-Trained Mind, I decided on a little different approach.  If we work through a four year rotation of history, starting with the Ancients and ending with modern times, that means that this year, with the Tweebs in 1st grade, they will be starting the Ancients. Motormouth is in 5th grade, meaning it's time for him to study the Ancients again....just more in depth.  See why I like this plan?  I can teach the same era of history to all the kids, instead of trying to teach the Ancients to the Tweebs, and the Middle Ages to Motormouth.  Much easier to keep straight in my head.  Starting tomorrow, we will begin working through The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times.  There is also map work included in SOTW, so that will take care of geography.  Also, Motormouth is participating in the National Geographic Bee, so he has a two hour prep class once a week for that.  

     On the alternate days that we don't have history, we will be doing science.  We've been working through Apologia's Exploring Creation Through Human Anatomy and Physiology.  We all love it, and it works great because Motormouth uses the Apologia notebooking journal, and I have the Tweebs doing narration and drawings of what they've learned in binders I put together for them.  Human anatomy is a great study to go along with the Ancients.  We are really pleased with Apologia, and will continue to use it next year.  

     Once all of that is completed, the Tweebs day is pretty much done.  I have been using Ambleside Online for art study, and I will some days have them color a copy of a painting while I finish working with Motormouth.  The last picture they worked on was Starry Night by Van Gogh.  They loved it, and it gave them some culture.  

     Now that the Tweebs have finished their day, I have time to complete the rest of Motormouth's subjects with him.  Composition, grammar and Latin require a little more participation by me than the other subjects.  

     For composition, grammar, spelling and language, we use Classical Writing.  We've started with the second half of Aesop.  Technically at his age we could have begun with Homer, but since this is all a little different than we're used to, I decided not to feel rushed.  I purchased the student workbook B that goes along with Aesop.  It makes my life easier to already have things planned out.  This is a subject we do every day.  

     We use Prima Latina for Latin.  Technically this is for a little younger student, but since this is our first experience with Latin, I decided to start from the beginning, regardless of the grade level.  We'll just work through it quickly and then move on to Latina Christiana 1.  Since we are trying to follow a Latin centered, classical style of schooling, Latin is also taught daily.  The Tweebs are still trying to get a solid grasp on phonics, so they will not be starting Latin until 3rd grade.  

      I also throw some memory work in there during the day sometime, to go along with Latin, Bible, history and science.  Every other week we have Art at a friend's house, and the other weeks we have PE with the same friends at our house.  Also, we have a nature class at my cousin's house every other Tuesday.

     Whew!  It makes me tired just typing all of this.  I am blessed to be able to teach my children at home though, so it's all worth it.

      Like I said in the beginning of my post, this is what we TRY to accomplish on a daily basis.  That doesn't mean it always works out that way.  That's the beauty of homeschooling....flexibility.

     Well, that's all for now...have a great day!

UPDATE ON HISTORY:  After really looking at Story of the World, Volume 1, I have decided to return it.  I didn't at all like how Bible events were written....too much poetic license.  Also, there were some minor discrepancies in some other parts that I just didn't want to mess with correcting.  I have enough going on in my day to have to be correcting tons of stuff in the curriculum I buy!  So, after MUCH research (my head hurts), I have decided to order Mystery of History, Volume 1.  We'll see how it goes.  After all the change we've done lately, we've got to get started with something, so I think we'll use it even if we hate it!  (Just kidding.)