School's Out!

The books have been read.  The homework has been done.  The test have been taken.  Our first year of homeschool is officially over!  And guess what?   We survived!  

I am reminded of that old song I remember hearing back when I was a kid....

School's out! School's out!
Teacher let the fools out!
No more pencils,
No more books,
No more teacher's dirty looks!

No more long, weekly spelling and vocabulary list to study!!!

Hahahaha do you remember that!!!  However, I do not consider my kids fools at all.  I am impressed with what they learned here at home.  It was sooooo hard.  But I could not be more proud!  They worked very hard!!!

No more really hard World History tests!

Maybe their song might go more like this...

School's out! School's out!
Time to throw the homework out!
No more pencils,
No more books,
No more mother's dirty looks!

Ahahahahahaha  that is probably more like it!

I have nightmares about these!  Let's not discuss them anymore...ever!

We worked together pretty well for the most part.  Being at home 24/7 is definitely something to adjust to.  I have to be honest, homeschooling is not for the faint of heart.  This was tough stuff.  There was crying.  There were angry words.  There were unhappy hearts.  There was even a mama who many times wondered, "What in the world was I thinking? Off to regular school with the two of you!" Yup, that was me. I think I have more gray hairs to prove it to!

No more studying, and more studying, and more studying!

But then....

 One afternoon, around 2pm when all the other kids are at school, Kierstyn yelled from her bedroom window while I was outside, "Hi, MOM!"  That one single moment reminded me why I love homeschooling.  I get to be a part of their lives everyday!  

The many good things out weighed the tough stuff....for the most part.  
(So, the moral of this story...if you are trying to talk someone into homeschooling...don't send them my way.  I will be very honest.  ahahahahahaha I may talk them out of it.)

But guess what?....We are going to do it again next year!

No more of this Blahhhhhhh!

For the last day, we celebrated with our yearly tradition....Ice Cream!

We are so proud of these kids!

And guess who gets to be a part of the fun next year!!!  Yup, or new Kindergartener! Lord, HELP US!

And now some rest for the weary mama!  Nope not really...now I got to entertain these children for the summer.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Lord, help us all....

GET JOY!

From the Heart of a 10 Year Old!

My daughter was not prompted by me to write this letter.  She was just told by her teacher to write a formal letter to the President. 
Here is what came from her 10 year old heart...

If only those who called themselves Christ followers would stand firm in their belief system; yet treat those who differ with respect and compassion. May we truly honor Christ with our words, our actions, and deep devotion to Him.  May we be slow to anger!  May we guard our tongues!  May we let our light so shine before men.  May we learn from our children...to love as Jesus loves.  May we lift up our President in prayer and ask God to lead him and draw him to Himself.  God alone sees the big picture.  He is not surprised by our choices or our words.  He alone is in control!  Let us not forget that!  Let us completely learn how to trust that truth!  

May we remember that we do have a beautiful country and that we are truly blessed.  May we not forget to lift her up in prayer.  Today, we have the freedom to do that...so do not take that for granted!  Remember, God can always do more than we can even fathom...it takes us falling to our knees to see it happen!

God bless our country and help us be mindful that You are still in control!

Help me be a light that shines like the stars!

GET JOY!

On a side note...Isn't my daughter's handwriting just lovely?!  She has been working on it so hard this year.  Loving homeschooling!

1, 2, Buckle My Shoe!

Don't you just love the old red desk?!

Did I mention that I am also homeschooling a preschooler?  I may have gone mad!!! LOL Just kidding.  Actually, something very exciting has been happening with my little four year old.  Before we started the school season, I could not get that boy to color or write.  He would not even try.  He would say, "NO, You do it!"

Surprisingly, I have been able to get him to do both.  It has been fun to see him really grow in his writing and coloring abilities.  I could not be more proud of shorty.  It has been rewarding to be personally involved with his learning process.  

He is too cute!  Everyday, he asks, more like begs to do school.  How fun is that?!  I am so glad that he is enjoying his learning.   

Do you see his "H" he did all by himself?

We have a very simple schedule that starts when we want to start, when I have a break in my time, or he has bugged me enough to get started.   hahahaha  Here is our schedule.... 

• Do "The Day"
• Work pages
• Table Time
• Book Time 

During "The Day"  we talk about what day it is.  We talk about the weather and seasons.  Shorty has an "About Me" page that has his name, birthday, age, and favorite color on it along with a picture of him.  We also go through the alphabet, count to 100 or 150.  Colors and shapes are also a part of our routine.  

He likes doing it so much that he goes through them all on his own now.  In fact, yesterday he was doing "The Day" for our dog.  I made all of "The Day" posters on card stock.  I will probably add some more in the future.  I used scotch tape strips on some so I could move the arrow or star each day easily without tearing the paper.  

I purchased a preschool work book from Walmart.  We are working through that right now.  It seems to be perfect for him.  We work on a letter and number each day.  We also do mazes, groupings, find objects, and a few other pages.  I figure we will be through it by December and I will go pick up another one.  

Table time consists of puzzles, blocks, projects, play dough, legos, or anything "special" (as he calls it) to do.  Yesterday, we did puzzles.  I pick what he does or we would be doing play dough every day...Messy!   I love my wood puzzles.  I have a bin of them and they are fun to pull out every once and awhile.  Yeah, there are toys that I keep put away for special times.  If I didn't do this all the pieces would be missing.  Hey, I know my kids and "how well" they take care of their things on their own.  Hahahaha      

We do not do preschool everyday.  Our lives have been a little nutty lately.  We probably get four days in and it seems to being working out perfectly.  I would like to tweak some things like praying before we start.  I keep forgetting that.  I also want to incorporate some singing time.  I have not been good about book time.  I want to challenge myself to read to him each time we do school.  I would also like to work on doing some more fun projects with him...Pinterest here I come.  We are definitely a work in progress.  

I am finding that homeschooling a preschooler is a joy!

GET JOY!

My Home Has A Different Look!

The look of homeschooling!!!  It is neat seeing how things have changed around here.  Little things and big things can be found around my house that say, "We are homeschoolers!"  Whoo HOO!

Homework galore and science projects taking over my kitchen.

Mounted grass and and art work are engulfing my refrigerator.

There has been an invasion of captured live bugs and frozen bugs...eeek!

Children in trees doing their class work.

Schedules, big words, paperwork, quizzes, tests, the smell of school supplies and books have permeated my home....and I like it!

Who would have thought?!

GET JOY!

Tweaking Homeschool!

We have five people and a dog living in our house.   I am homeschooling three children ages 4,9,12 and daddy is working from home.  Living in a thousand square feet means that homeschooling will need some tweaking the first couple weeks...for sure!   And boy did we have to re-examine how we were doing some things.  Very quickly I discovered that the girls cannot have any distractions and neither can my hubby.  So were do you put everybody?  And let's not forget the wild four year old who is use to having the house to himself most of the time.   

We had to put our thinking caps on and come up with something.  Because everybody in the living room and kitchen was not working at all!!!!   

My oldest has ended up at the desk in my room.  I think she likes it there very much, so long as I do not leave my clothes on her desk.  LOL  She has everything nice, neat and organized.  I like that A LOT!



My middle child is now doing her school work in the girl's room.  My parents had a school desk sitting in their basement from when I was a kid.  Yup, my mom does not get rid of anything.  The desk works perfectly in their room.  Her books fit nicely in her desk and she has all her favorite things on top.   A very girly desk for a very girly girl! 


We also had to get a homework agenda for them.  We keep track of all the homework that needs to be done in this little book.  We all laugh at the idea of homework, because is not all the work done "homework" when you are homeschooling?  But we do have class work and homework....funny!  The girls are use to agendas from public school and so this is our version of that. 

Lastly, I have discovered that I have A LOT of work to do each week.  I have come to the conclusion that it is better to regularly check their work and grade papers daily/weekly then to let it pile up.  It will help me track their progress better and not get overwhelmed with backup paperwork.  A little work done now keeps me from a lot of work later.     

What an interesting journey homeschooling is.  So far...so good.  We have had only a few crying spells, thank goodness.  We are discovering homeschooling is much harder than what they were doing at public school.  I mean harder in that there is more work for them and I think that has a lot to do with the curriculum that we use, Abeka.    But, it is good for them and it will challenge them.  They are definitely not bored.  

I am learning to be very flexible with homeschooling.  In the end it will help us all be happier and smarter.  LOL

GET JOY!

We Are Homeschoolin Now!

It is official we started homeschooling today!  Wow, it seems like yesterday we were trying to decide to go through with it, and here we are...one day done! 

I have been given a lot of tips from all my friends who are homeschooling moms.  

One tip that really helped was to go with what best fits your family.  

Here are some other tips...

Don't go to a homeschooling convention your first year, you will be overwhelmed.

Pick one curriculum for the first year.  Once you are comfortable with your schedule you can mix it up next year.  
Lastly....

Be flexible!  

I also learned that these tips will not necessarily work for everyone.  They did help this chick not freak out! So, they were great tips for me.  

We decided to go with Abeka Homeschool Academy.  The girls watch DVD's of each class.  It is pretty easy for all of us.  We love it.  Here is how we are organized for right now.  Each side of the cabinet belongs to a girl.  My little guy has a few preschool things tucked in there as well.  

My 7th grader watching her favorite subject, Math!

Ahhhh my 4th grader doing school in pjs, can it get much better than that?!

We are following a schedule.  No, times on this chart though.  When they get up they begin their list of things to do.  

Even shorty has a fun schedule.  I am glad we have a plan or the almost four year old will go and bug his sisters while they work.  

Hey, look I am even teaching them piano.  I feel like super mom today! 

I think our biggest challenge was doing homeschool in 1,000 square feet of living.  Things get really tight with two students, dad working at home, a three year old, a dog, and a mom trying to find a quiet place. HA  I will have to keep you posted on how we don't drive each other crazy.  LOL

I loved having my kids home today!

GET JOY!

Just In Case You Did Not Know We Were Crazy!

Just in case you did not know how crazy we really are...here is some proof!

We just started a new job.
We have not received a paycheck yet.
We are trying to sell our house.
We are trying to move to a new town, where we only know one family.
We have a new church.
We have a new direction.
Well,  a new everything!

And then on top of all that, we are going to start HOMESCHOOLING.....say what, WHAT!

Homeschooling my kids is a phrase I never thought I would write or say!  Homeschooling is a a scary word to me.  Not because I think it is a bad thing; but because of my inabilities.   Hey, just being honest here.  Over the last few months our family has prayed, heard from God, and decided that homeschooling is the direction our family needs to go in for right now. 

I felt God tugging on my heart months ago in regards to my children and their schooling.  I began talking to God about it.  I told Him that He would have to really start working on my hubby's heart about it; because John was anti-homeschooling our kids....anti, anti really anti-homeschooling.  I think you get my drift.  I decided to let God do His thing until I felt Him release me to talk to John about it.

When we got to talking about it, seriously, I could not believe how open John was.  But that is just how God is when it is His will.  He works it all out and I am always surprised.  We decided that we wanted the girls to be involved with the decision as well.  The girls are so cool with it.

So, I am scared, nervous, overwhelmed, excited, stressed, lost, insane, curious and so many more emotions about homeschooling.  I know that God has it in His control.  I am just going to take it a step at a time.  Ahhhhhhhhhh we are going to be HOMESCHOOLERS AHHHHHHHHH!  Okay, I had to let that out.  We will be fine....just fine....yes fine.

But now you can also follow our homeschooling adventure here!

September 2012, ready or not here we come!
Crazy.....just CRAZY!

GET JOY!

Just for fun....


Upcoming Post.....

1.  Our First Day!
2.  Tweaking Homeschool
3.  Our Home Has A Different Look
4. Homeschooling a preschooler
5. From the Heart of a 10 Year Old
6. School is Out!