Apr. 5, 2008 - Meet My New Neighbor

Posted in Gracefilled Education

Mar. 24, 2008 - Forbidden to Read Fiction!!!!

Posted in Gracefilled Education

Mar. 14, 2008 - Update on my non-comforming 5 yod

Posted in Gracefilled Education

Mar. 13, 2008 - The Madness of Public Schooling & Nonconformity

Posted in Gracefilled Education

Aug. 13, 2007 - My Homeschool Open House 2007-2008

Posted in Gracefilled Education

Tiany over at Less of Me ~More of Him is hosting the homeschool Open House. Check it out, read some of the entries, and then go ahead and add your own. 

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          Truth be told, when I was a teacher I absolutely despised open house.  I couldn’t stand meeting with all the parents.  Especially those parents who had children who were less than desirable but never really did anything really worth mentioning to parents.   Homeschool open house is different though.  I am the teacher AND the parent.  Although my children are always desirable, I love them and I LOVE to tell what we are doing with our year.  This should be a very fun post. 

          For those of you who might be new to my blog, my name is Karen, but some of you I am known as Mrs. Underdog.  I am married to my best friend and college sweetheart, Underdog.  I did not give him that name.  That is my dh’s blog and we try to play off each other.   (Underdog is a great writer and very funny.  And NO, I am not just biased on this part.  Hehehehe!!!!)  We have been married for 11 years.  We dated almost 3 years through college and were engaged for another 6 months after that.  (If you ask me the exact dates and times I can tell you.  J ) 

          Underdog and I have 5 great pups.  Our oldest child and daughter is JB and she is 8yod.   Bud is our oldest ds and he is 6 ½ yod.   Schmoo is the youngest dd and will turn into a whole hand (5yod) in October.  Pee-Pooh (also known as Linebacker-Starter-Kit or LSK- also see here) is every bit of 2 and every bit of boy plus some.  And Little Man (little?  He’s 20lbs already) is almost 7 months and beginning to show the personality of a temperamental baby with a temper and a mind of his own.  (Can you say sin nature?  HA!!!)  Our other children are Harley and Micahbear but they don’t count for school (other then being part of out life skills training – the children not the dogs.) 

          Underdog and I have chosen to homeschool our children in the classical style of education through Tapestry of Grace.  The name of school is Grace Academy although the name really has nothing to do with our curriculum.  This curriculum has been a gift from the Lord with regards to the way that Underdog and I interact as teacher/principal and husband/wife.  We started TOG right after Little Man was born and we bombed.  Ok, I bombed.  I was beginning to show signs of Post Partum Depression returning so we put everything away.  Our thought was that we would put it away until everyone was much older.  And it started me on an adventure to find my own philosophy of education.  I began praying a lot for direction from the Lord regarding HOW to teach our children.  I thought Charlotte Mason was going to be the key.  But I getting the answer “Wait!!”  Then one evening I mentioned to Underdog that I just felt this sudden sense from the Lord that I needed to go back to TOG.  He announced almost on the spot that he needed to get MORE involved in school and he hadn’t been doing enough.  We went on to discuss what I needed to make school work and to successfully finish a year of school (um, stop having babies for a while might be helpful.  Hehehehe!!!!!!!  I love my babies but I am sure tired right now!!!) 

          So here we are.  We began our new school year last Monday, August 6.  It went very well but the rest of the week needed work.  One thing that Underdog has committed to allowing me to do is to leave the house to plan for school.  We got this idea from Marcia Somerville, author and creator of Tapestry of Grace.  We decided that Saturday morning would be my time to go plan.  The first week I went to Starbucks at about 8:30am.  This past weekend I went at 6am when they opened.  Oh wow!!!!!  What a difference that made.  I was able to read and study my Bible and then plan out school for the coming week.  I only plan for the coming week so I don’t get overwhelmed and we can slow down if needed.   I spend part of Friday night looking through workbooks and writing them in my planning book (which is simply a teachers planning book with columns. 

          We are trying something new this year.  First of all, I am putting more effort into doing some kind of “preschool” with my Littles.  (The two oldest are our Bigs, the two youngest are the Littles, and Schmoo is affectionately called my Big Little.)  I am available to answer questions for the bigs.  Little Man takes a nap during this as well and when he’s awake he plays nicely by himself.  It’s a rough MOTH schedule that runs more like a routine. 

Our second NEW thing is that I made an assignment notebook that has 18 tabs.  There are 18 weeks in our semester and these coincide with the 18 weeks of TOG.  I guess I should mention that TOG is broken into Years and Units.  Each Unit is 9 weeks long (four units in a Year.)  But this curriculum was designed for older children so we spread the 9 weeks into 18 weeks so we don’t get overloaded.  We call our history work the dessert of our school day.  Anyway, I have made specific assignments sheets where I can write in the details on the assignments for each day.  There is a box for each subject that they must do alone.  There are boxes on the side to check off for completion and then mommy checking work. 

Our afternoons are dedicated to Littles resting or napping.  The Bigs do their specific TOG work.  That either includes reading for history, a hands-on project, lapbook work, plus extra reading from a novel or biography and reading for science.  Right now we are reading Where the Red Fern Grows.  We also use Jeannie Fulbright elementary curriculum for Astronomy.  I developed my own lapbook to go with this but we’re no where near finished (even though we started last fall.) 

I have developed a semi-MOTH schedule.  I have found that if I am too rigid with the schedule (and being a former middle school teacher with a bell schedule to guide my way, I can be VERY rigid) then our days are just horrible and spend most of my time upset.  So I stepped head long into this year with a schedule knowing full well that it wouldn’t work perfectly.  My attitude has made such a different.  There is room to give where needed.  For instance, this moring I did “preschool” with the Littles and then we did our clothing inventory for the year. 

One unique aspect that I have found about our school is my obsession with color coding everything.   I color code all my children to the best of my ability.  Everyone has a color.  And it I find specific supplies in all those colors, I will buy them.  The colors running from oldest to youngest are Red, Blue, Yellow (or purple if writing something down on my big family calendar), Green, and Orange.  I don’t just do this in school.  I have cups, plates, bowls, towels, hangers, pencils, school supply boxes, workbook holders, etc, etc, etc.  I even put colored stickers on sandwich baggies to tell the different between their sandwiches (allergic kids.)  This so helpful with a larger family and when they are younger.  It’s starting to fall apart as my two oldest get older.  But it has literally cut down on fighting.  They know the system and they work together to keep it going.  They are beginning to prefer bigger cups.  But it works and will work with school supplies.  I know who has left pencils out.  I know who didn’t put away workbooks.  I even put stickers on our math workbooks because the Bigs are working in the same math right now.  It just takes the guess work out of everything for me. 

Another and final idea that might be helpful to some is centered on a new philosophy (at least for me.)  I think I have always had this idea but it wasn’t until this past summer that I finally put it into words.  “Everyday begins the night before.”  If I don’t start preparing for my day the evening before, the whole day seems one step behind.  I don’t do things like pick my clothes out.   I just will make sure that all my loads of laundry are washed, dried, or ready to be dried the night before.  When I wake in the morning I start my last load in the drier.  We fold laundry in the morning before school so it’s done and out of the way.  I start breakfast the night before by soaking oatmeal in a small crockpot.  I also do this with dinner where needed.  Then I turn the crockpot on in the morning to heat up the oatmeal a bit.  I no longer drink coffee so I don’t make coffee in the evening anymore.  This is my attempt to start gaining some control over my food addictions.  Now I am either drinking hot lemon water with Stevia or an herbal tea.  And I get as much ready the night before as I can.   

I am so hopeful about this year.  I have been praying that I would stick with my curriculum and school year even when I hit the bored or overwhelmed stages.  We all run into them no matter what we use for curriculum.  That is how the season of our lives go.  But God is faithful during those times.  I am learning so much about His grace on my life these days (hence the name of my Blog.)  I wish I could share all I am learning but I seem to simply be treasuring these things within my heart right now.  I have sat down many times to share in writing but the words simply will not come.  But I see them manifesting in my daily life now.  I am so blessed by Father and His great mercy on me.  This has become my life verse.  I think it really says it all.

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And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so

that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you

may abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8

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          I hope you have enjoyed your stay here at Living By Daily Grace.  I do look forward to reading all the rest of the Open House entries, although, it may take me 3 years to read them all.  (And hey, add me to your friends and I’ll do the same.) 

Aug. 8, 2007 - The 2nd day flop!!!

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          I have learned a valuable lesson about homeschooling that will remain with me forever.  It's taken me 4 new school years and several "new" starts to figure it out.  The 2nd and/or 3rd day is always a flop.  Why is that?  What is it about the science of homeschooling that makes everything go wrong on the 2nd or 3rd day of school?

          Tuesdays (yesterday) is our day off.  It's a weird day to take off considering it's early in the week but it's out of necessity.  So we start back up on Wednesday.  Did I mention that Wednesday has forever been "Bread Day" around the house?  And did you know that just the very act of starting up the grain mill will cause mass hysteria?  Well, it does.  I have no idea what really happened.  All I know if that I got ready to start at 8am this morning and it all went wrong.  It usually takes me only 30-40 min from the start of grinding grain to putting it in the bread pans to rise.  That didn't happened.  I discovered that my honey has crystalized.  Aaaaa!!!!!  Pee Pooh in on a mission to turn my hair gray.  As I mentioned earlier, he wants to potty train.  So he was in and out of diapers all morning and I was following desperately hoping he didn't just go like I figured he would.  I have a love hate relationship with Pull Ups.  I NEED pull up right now.  But they are worthless for potty training. 

          When all was said and done, I looked up at 9:30am and we still hadn't started school OR our chores for the day.  I quickly ushered the Bigs up stairs and told them to get out their assignment notebooks and get busy.  Yeah right!!!!!  They had to work for an hour and then we'd have a piece of hot bread.  They did some work but they were very distracted and played alot.  No doubt because I wasn't up there.  I ended up having to turn on a video for Pee Pooh and Si-Bay (yes, I did just say that I put my SIX MONTH OLD in front of a video to keep him entertained until I could nurse him to sleep for nap.)  Schmoo was in bed throwing a hissy fit because I made her put her PJs on and get in bed when she complained of a tummy ache.  Now don't dog me.  This little girl has been telling me for weeks WHEN SHE HAS WORK TO DO that she's sick.  I finally decided that if she's really sick the rest in bed will do her good.  If she's not sick, she'll get tired of being in bed and stop complaining.   

          I got lunch on the table late and then decided that I was going to try and salvage my afternoon routine/schedule.  Pee Pooh and Si-Bay went down for a nap, Schmoo had to take a nap as well (she's still fighting some kind of infection), and the Bigs and I started afternoon school.   We have a rule in our home that if you don't finish school in the morning we will take free time to get it done.  The Bigs did alot of playing this morning.  I was in and out fighting fires all morning and we expect during those times for them to continue working.  Well they didn't.  So decided to drag afternoon school out as long as possible so they would have no extra time to finish morning school.  I sort of wanted them to feel what it was going to be like when they goof off and don't finish their independent work.  It worked like a charm.  They still weren't finished when Underdog came home so he got involved.  I felt better when he arrived. 

          It's been such a long day.   I talked with Underdog this morning about the state of our health.  I am ready to surrender and return to all the habits that I used to have before Pee Pooh was ever born.   My little Schmoo seems to be sick so much.  She has so much trouble fighting off just the common cold.  She's thin. . .almost too thin.  She's seen the dr for check ups and all is well.  I think part of it that she's just riddled with Candida and her immunity is shot.  So I told Underdog that I would like to be able to start working with more natural means, like I used to, to start boosting our immunity and killing off the Candida.  I was a little afraid.  It's going to mean extra money.  But when I started thinking about that, we spent so much money this past winter from being sick.  And we just paid all those bills off.  It was painful.  I used that as my argument.  Will it be more painful to put a little extra toward the supplements and treatment needed to boost our immunity and return us to better health OR is it more painful paying the doctor bills.  He agreed with me. 

          I am sort of on a mission.  I don't expect perfect health.  But if we were this sick over the summer months, what will fall and winter be like?  Can I lock everybody up for a while?  I wish I could.  We are currently meeting for church in a public school.  Talk about tons of germs.  I disinfect every child before, after, and during our stay at church every week.  I have to admit that I am very nervous about this coming winter.  I pray for wisdom. . .I am going to need for such a large family.

            One last thought.  I mentioned above that I am looking for supplements to boost immunity.  I need to clarify.  I don't like supplements much at all.  If I thought we could do it this year, I think I would focus more on our food.  Good food can boost anyone's immunity.  NO, not the "good" rich food of the Standard American Diet.  I am talking about the foods that God made.  God did not put vitamins and minerals in pill form though.  We do need the supplements because the ground in country is so depleated of valuable viatmins and minerals.  Even some of the organic produce isn't that great.  I can only imagine what the gut of most Americans look like.  If it's anything like I feel then we're in a sad state.  A good whole foods diet is absolutely the best we can do for ourselves and family.  If you'ver eaten a whole foods diet and the SAD diet is your main stay, then it would be vitally important for you do a raw vegan diet for a while and clean out.  I think that is where I am going to head for my whole family. 

          You can't buy health in a bottle.  I've naively tried.  What we can do it try to get back to food as God originally intended it to be eaten.  He designed out bodies.  He knows what is best.  The Food and Drug Administration cannot replace God in telling us what is best.  They are often sharing beds with some of the major food industries in our country like the dairy, beef, and other industries.  No, dairy is NOT good for you.  At least not the kind that is massed produced.  God did not make that milk.  A machine did.  And when it did, it's strip clean of all the good stuff we need.  Beef is the same way.  Those poor cows are so full of hormones and antibiotics that they weren't really cows to begin with.   Eggs and chicken are good for you but not if those poor creatures have been stuffed into the compounds with no room to move and never seeing the light of day.  Did you know that often the egg laying hens have their beaks torn off so they peck at each other in such tight quarters?  You need fresh range fed chicken and eggs.  And yes, after you've eaten it for a while you will know the difference. 

          I don't have much room to preach on the diet front.  I know how to eat and have done it.  But right now I am just making poor choices.  I will admit that.  But I am also beginning to say NO to those choices.  I am headed back in the right direction. 

          And living a healthy lifestyle takes lots of work.  I am finally realizing that.  But so is homeschooling.  For some reason I think I was hoping for a walk in the park with both.  Life isn't like that though.  We're going to have days that are flops.  And we're going to have seasons where we are sick alot.  It takes alot of God's grace to get through those times.  And it's in those times when I need the message of the gospel the most.  I have to preach the gospel to myself alot on those days.  I did alot today.  And as I sign off, I am headed to pray for help.  Keeping a family of 7 healthy, especially with several of them full of Candida and compromised immune systems, can be expensive and overwhelming.  My brain wants to shut down.  My heart is alive with hope though.  I trust in Father to show me the way. 

PS.  I have been blogging alot but that is going to be slowing down after tonight.  I need to put alot of time and effort into working on a home study coarse I invested in for family health.  It's basically learning how to use herbs and such for my family.  I am really excited to finally have the time. . .if I would only stop blogging so much. 

Aug. 7, 2007 - Library Elf

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          Do your library fines add up to more than your month grocery bills?  Do you check out so many library books for school that when return books you inevitably find that you are missing several that are due THAT DAY (and you can't renew them so the fine just increases?)  Do you find that you won't allow your children to check out library books on their cards because you end up having to empty their college savings to pay for their library fines?  Do you and your dh have disagreements over who is responsible for returning overdue books that they check out and find that you must enter marital counseling in order to resolve the conflict?  Do you lose sleep or receive speeding tickets just because you have an overdue book that is haunting you (read here for example)?    If you answered YES to any of the following questions, then there is an answer to your prayers (or at least a solution to the insanity that you may be feeling over this touchy subject.) 

Library Elf

             I love Library Elf.  If you are fortunate enough to have your local library set up with this website you can easily cut down on library fines.  You have the ability to sign up free and then enter the number of any library card in your home.  You can determine when and how you want your reminders that books are due.  I was even able to set my system up to tell me when my hold books are ready.  And it is efficient enough that it usually beats the local library system (of course, with our local system that isn't saying much.  HA!!)  Check it out.  You won't be disappointed. 

*******DISCLAIMER!!!!  Make sure that you have the card number of EVERYBODY in your household that will be checking out books.  Otherwise the system will fail.  And then you will be blamed for overdue books that you didn't even know where overdue.  (see here for further understanding of this concept.)  It's also important you realize that when those warnings for library books come due, you must act or pay the consequences.  There is no laziness with Library Elf and there is no little man that will pop out and return your books for you or make fines disappear.  You are still responsible!!! 

Aug. 6, 2007 - First Day of 2007-2008 school year

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          I was running around this weekend so nervous about our first day.   When I was a teacher I loved the first day of school.  In fact, I think I have loved the first day of school my whole life.  I would usually spend the last month before school started getting all my supplies ready, practice my handwriting so my name was perfect, and overall just get more and more excited as the day got closer.  As a teacher, I would start going up to the school almost as soon as the doors were opened.  Part of me loved the emptiness and quietness of the hallway.  But I also loved the ability to get ahead of some things.  Of course, part of that time I was coaching so I needed to be ahead in some ways.  Now that I am a homeschool mom it's really no different.  And this is much more challenging.  I am teaching two official grades now and have two preschoolers vying for "school time" with mommy.  A school full of 8th graders is much easier than this.  Homeschooling is hard but the rewards are so worth it. 

          I got up this morning with the notion that anything that could wrong would go wrong.  I had no expectation of staying on target with my schedule (which is sort of a MOTH schedule) and I had no expectations that our chores would get finished on time.  It's a good thing because it made the reality a lot easier to except.  LOL!!!!  No our chores didn't get done and our schedule was off, but we did well nonetheless.  Drew cooperated fairly well.  I found out that he had the colored goldfish last night while at our care group child care.  BIG MISTAKE!!!  Joshua has always had issues with any of the artificial dyes that are in processed foods.  Apparently Drew has a harder time with them.  He was throwing tantrums left and right.  He wasn't his usual self today.  I dealt with the tantrums and moved on.  He responded well to the discipline. 

          The Bigs seemed to respond well to some added training in the department of independant learning.  While they were never really alone and I was always there to answer questions, they still had the responsibility to complete some of the work on their own.  We had a teaching session before they started and then they went to work.  I spent that extra time still training Josiah to take a good nap and then working with the preschoolers on various activities.  I had plans to sit down and plan out my days with them.  I may eventually do that.  But right now I think I am just going to wing it.  It was fun seeing what they wanted to do.  Honestly, I think they enjoyed just having mommy's attention without Jen and Josh.  It kind of reminded me of a days before I started official homeschooling my oldest.  I think I really missed those days. 

          Afternoon school with Tapestry of Grace hit a snag.  Mom discovered that when she tries to read aloud she gets very, very, very sleepy.  So we read for a while and took a break so mom could take a very quick but delightful cat nap.  The Bigs worked on decorating the front of the TOG writing notebook.  Then I got up and did the rest of their reading. 

          I did a mommy time with Ally after the boys got up from their naps and we had a snack.   I think the most exciting part of my day was that "I" actually got to have some free time.  I worked so hard this weekend to get organized and get chores going this morning that we had free time this afternoon.  I wasn't play catch up somewhere else.  I think I could really get used to this waking early to accomplish more. 

          The only kink in our day was that Drew decided it's time to want to potty train.  Hey, who's going to argue with having one more out of diapers?   I did figure out that he's only in that stage of wanting to potty after he's wet.  He hasn't put 2 and 2 together yet.  It will come in time.  But at least he knows when he's gone potty.  He's also getting better about telling me he's poopy.  I have a strict philosophy about purposesly potty training my children, especially when they are not showing any sign of readiness.  I think it's a waste of my time.  But I will jump when the signs are clear.  I told Drew today that when he goes potty in his little potty he will get a jelly bean.  (Which I need to pick up at WholeFoods.)  I don't know how long that will take.  I suspect that the first time he gets a jelly bean that will be enough motivation.  He's all about sweet (since he doesn't get it very much.  HA!!!)  We'll see what he's going to do. 

          Speaking of development, God continues to give me children that do everything much earlier than their older siblings.  I thought Drew was fast in his development.  It seems that Josiah is maybe about a week or two away from crawling.  He was in the room today when I played CandyLand with Ally for mommy time.  It took him no time at all to have the game board in his mouth.  We all think he sat up by himself the other night but nobody saw it.  All the Jenny and I know if that he was on his tummy and then suddenly he was sitting up.  Now he's starting to more from sitting to getting on his knees. . .or almost.    Drew crawled at 7 months and walked at 9 months.  I am in no hurry but it looks like I may not get a choice. 

          Tomorrow is actually our day off.  Sounds funny to start school one day and then take the next day off.  Well, my cleaning lady comes tomorrow and I don't want to be in her way.  My mom and I are going to paint an old sewing cabinet that my dad and grandfather built her back before I was born (boy is that thing old.)  My mom has been trying to give it to me for years.  I didn't want it though.  I didn't think I could use it (but I also wasn't sewing as often.  I found out that my dad made it though.  I didn't know that!!  My dad makes beautiful furniture.  My dh said I could have it if I got rid of other furniture.  So I am swapping some of the dresser around and moving the extras dressers out.  My mom is taking them.  

Aug. 2, 2007 - Our New School Year

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          We start our new school year on Monday, August 6.  I am rather excited and apprehensive about it.  I am excited because the start of a new school year has always signaled the beginning of my favorite part of the year.  Although it's still blazing hot here in Texas, fall is in the air.  All the stores have their school supplies on sale.  I LOVE school supplies.  Fall and winter clothes are beginning to show up on the racks of our favorite stores.  And my favorite. . .the sun is changing position in the sky and the days are growing shorter again.  We still have a ways to go before the official start of fall. . .but it's on the way. 

          I am apprehensive about this year for one main reason. . .fear of failure.  It's hard to admit but I don't think I have finished one school year since we started with the same curriculum OR the same schedule.  I have either had a baby on the way that threw a curve ball into the whole thing.  Or I have just simply gotten bored with our curriculum and "sensed" a change was needed.  That isn't going to happen this year though.  Why?  Because Underdog won't let me.   He decided several weeks ago that we were going back to Tapestry of Grace and that's that.  I have been hoping and praying that he would step up and take more of a leadership role in our family and school.  We'll he did.  And I supposed this is where trusting God's design for marriage comes in.  

          So I am in the process of making plans for the first few weeks of school with Tapestry of Grace.  It will sort of be a review in the first 5-6 weeks.  This was the area that we were able to cover after Josiah was born.  I think I got to the 4 week fog (I think that is what they call it) and just got overwhelmed with all I had to do in school PLUS 5 children under 8.  I think having Underdog behind me this time will make a huge difference.    We will be covering Year 1, Unit 1 this year.  Because my children are only still in lower grammar we will be stretching each week out over a two week period.  That will allow them to adjust to the amount of work that will be required and it will allow me to get the hang of this curriculum.  I don't know that I will spend back up to regular pace until Jen (and possibly Josh) are in the dialectic stage. 

          I am using TOG as the dessert portion of our curriculum (except for their writing component.)  I feel it's important that we still focus on the three Rs in our daily lessons.  I have worked out my morning where they will be doing a small portion of their day in lessons with me alone and then they will work independently to finish the work.  That will allow my little ones time to play alone for a little while and then we have part of the morning to do all the preschool stuff that I was able to do with my older two when they were a little younger.  Reading aloud will be our main priority.  They need that so much.  I am very much surprised but Drew LOVES to read.  At least once or twice a day he will come up to me and say "Ead to me."  It's usually when I am nursing.  Perhaps that is his way of connecting with me while I am with his brother. 

         Allison has been asking to learn to read so we will be working onScaredy Cat Phonics.  She very excited about it but I think it's mostly her opportunity to be with momma.  Poor thing has classic middle child syndrome.  I also think her love language is quality time so she's got kind of a double whammie against her.  It's definately challenged me to be on my knees praying for wisdom in how to fill her tank.   She's also become insistant about learning to write so I using a new curriculum to teach her to write her letters.  She will finish "A Reason for Handwriting - K" and then we're moving on to Peterson Directed Handwriting.     I have been looking at this curriculum for a while now.  I finally got the guts up to try it with her.  It's traditional letters, however, when they get to the 2nd grade level they start using a lettering that is close to d'nealian as a precursor to cursive.  I bought this level for Joshua because he keeps begging me to start cursive.  I am just not ready for him to do that yet.  I really like that included with each curriculum level is a letter guide that helps them keep their paper slanted and also has the letters infront of them.  They can even keep it there for other assignments.  Joshua will really benefit from this. 

          I will be startin Easy Grammar with both Jen and Joshua this year.  Jen will be starting the 3rd grade level book.  Those things are expensive.  I always thought the idea of using a transparency sheet was kind of silly until it finally hit me that I will have FIVE using this in the future.  That's almost $400 for all five of my children to eventually pass through Easy Grammar in the 3rd grade.  If we do that for 5-6 years with each children we'll eventually spend over $2000 for grammar.  I invested in some transparencies this week.  LOL!!!!!  Joshua will be doing a workbook for the 2nd-3rd grade review type book.  He's a little young for grammar but the kid is blowing away every other assignment or workbook that I give him.  Underdog thinks he needs the challenge.  That was why I mentioned above we may speed up to regular pace with Jen AND possibly Joshua gets to the dialectic stage.  He's a smart and gifted kid that is going to speed through a vast majority of his studies.  Even when he hits a snag, he just needs to slow down, but once he gets the idea he's off and running again.  I suspect that we will eventually find something that will stall him for a while.  But he's going to have other areas that are challenging to him and keep him running at a fast pace. 

          We will continue using Math U See.  We are probably a little bit behind in this area.  I was following the advice of the Bluedorn's to hold back on math until they at least 10 years old.  I suspect that there is some truth to their advice.  Unfortunately, I never grew very comfortable with doing that.  Perhaps it's still me stuck in the classroom model of school.  But I don't think I am going to be judged for going ahead and starting back up with math.  I love the Bluedorn's and have learned alot from them.  But I think God has something different for our family and I finally came to realize that.  Thus, we are a little behind in math but Jenny is going to get caught up and Joshua is right on track for his age. 

          I started reading a book this week called "Homeschooling At the Speed of Life" by Marilyn Rockett.  So far it is exactly what I needed to hear.  And in the just the few chapters I have come to realize that I have been trying to fit into somebody else's homeschool model.  For instance, there are so many people that live off a homemaking notebook of some sort.  I have tried and tried but I just can't do that.  I don't have an extensive address book so I am wearing myself trying to make one that I like.  I use a giant desk calendar to schedule everything for my entire family.  I carry a smaller one in my purse to make appointments and such.  I make lists on steno pads just like my mom did.  And when it comes to making plans for school, I prefer to use the tradition teachers notebooks like I used when I was a teacher.  I just adapt it to fit our subjects of children.  NO more notebook.  That is just a small example.  I am obviously not finished with the book but it's inspired me alot.  I am going to attempt to write a review of it later. 

          That is alot of what we have planned for year.  My goal for the year is simply to finish TOG Year 1, Units 1 & 2 by the time the homeschool convention comes around in May.  I think I can do that. . .I hope. 

(I am signing off now to go read Underdog's blog.  He's been behind me typing his blog up and giggling the whole time.  I am nervous.  ha!!!)

PS.  Underdog threw me under the bus in his blog.  How rude!!!!!!! 

Jul. 2, 2007 - The Spirit is moving in our midst. . . .

Posted in Gracefilled Education

I mentioned a few days that I have felt the Lord telling me to wait for our homeschool plans.  I had a few ideas where He might be taking us but there was still that sense that I must wait on Him and not do anything.  Well, it seems that maybe there was a reason for that waiting.  And my idea of where I thought things were going was completely off.  School for our family will be changing but this may actually be a very familiar change. 

The Spirit is moving. . .and it's exactly what I have been praying for. 

Jun. 26, 2007 - Waiting!!!

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          I hate waiting!!  In fact, impatience is my middle name.  As I grow more mature, I am getting better at the waiting game.  For instance, Christmas used to drive me crazy.  I couldn't stand waiting to see what my dh was getting me.  He loved my inablity to wait so he would torture me with clues all month.  Then one year I just decided I didn't care anymore.  LOL!!!  I think I ruined Christmas for my dh that year. 

          Recently, I have found a place in my life where the Lord is causing me to wait on Him for answers.  This journey of homeschooling has been a roller coaster in many ways.  For one thing, we've added two babies since we began homeschooling.  That doesn't make for a lot of consistency.  Then there has been my problem with sticking with a curriculum.  I have constantly changed and wasted a lot of money doing so.  When I finally burnt out in May I decided that I had had it with buying curriculum and not finishing it. 

          My breakdown in May has caused me to take many baby step in the direction of change.  My life is simply run on a whim.  That really makes a person tired.  And I have discovered that a large family cannot survive on a whim.  There needs to be structure for everybody. 

          I have been working on the physical structure in our house for about a week and a half.  We did hire a cleaning lady to clean out house for a while so I can work on other areas.  Now it's time for me to take my extra time and go deeper.  It feels so good to be decluttering my home.  I wish I had taken pictures of it before I started.  The two rooms I have completed so far look awesome.  The playroom has me stumped so I am simply waiting for the solution to come to me.  I don't like the way it's organized and set up. 

          The hardest part of my waiting right now is waiting on the Lord to guide my homeschool.  I have just been praying about it.  What do I do?  Do i buy another curriculum that suits the Lord?  Do i go back to one I already have?  Do I do nothing at all?  LOL!!!  The resounding answer to these question is to keep reading Charlotte Mason and those who know her ways well.  Oh how I do love the concept of a lifestyle of learning.  But how does a former teacher do that?  That is what I am waiting for.  Sometimes He gives me little answers.  Like the other day I was remembering that the Lord has called me to focus soully on the Three Rs in our academics for the summer (I was beginning to panic that I wasn't doing enough.)  But I am terrible when it comes to planning our read alouds.  I wasn't a reader as a child so I really don't know the good books.  As I was falling asleep praying about it a few nights ago, the Lord gently reminded me that He put the Ambleside Online in my way to help me with our read alouds.  Yea!!!  That answered that question. 

          But I am still waiting for other answers.  And I am very nervous.  I am beginning to believe that the Lord wants me completely sold out to the ideas behind Charlotte Mason's teachings.  It's so different than what I know.  And that fear of man comes out in me when I think of my mom and MIL and what they will say about our school.  But everytime I start to panic and think we can't do this, a peace comes over me.  I am reminded to trust the Lord to do just as I asked Him to do. . .lead me in the right direction. 

          As I have prayed about our school and my own philosoophy of education, I have come to love and enjoy the writing that Cindy Rushton does on homeschooling the easy way.   She's so bubbly and I love it.  But she really does make homeschooling look easy.  And her children are proof of that fact.  She's been able to take something that I discovered as a teacher. . .notebooking. . .and teach me how to make it work for my own children.  And they are so excited about it.  But I keep having to remind myself that they can learn in this manner.  I don't necessarily need a guide to get where they need to go.  Especially with history.  I was a history teacher.  It used to be a great love for me.  I can easily take my children where we need to go.  And we can have a really good time hunting down really good resources OR simply create our own. 

          So I am waiting on the Lord as I take steps closer to a Charlotte Mason education.  These are hard steps because I am going into territory I don't know.  I guess that's why I am simply taking my time and waiting for very specific answers from the Lord.  He's making me wait for those answers.  But this journey is growing me in faith and trust of our Lord.  And I am excited. 

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40: 28-31

Jun. 25, 2007 - Preschool in Our Home - revisited

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          I wrote this blog last summer, I think.  I forget the date.  But someone posted some questions below about preschool with their children.  It sparked in me the idea of reposting this.  It's just my opinion and how preschool has worked for our family.  Things are very different now.  I consider that once 3 yod to be in K4 now.  That appeaser her need to be part of things.  We no longer do school together as much.  The other two have moved on.  She and I work together to do some math, phonics, and handwriting.  But I don't push her.  We also so a lot more hands on stuff along with her workbooks. 

        The one thing I regret most about my years with my older kids is that I didn't establish routines in their day and stick with them.  My three youngest are completely out of sorts right now because we haven't gone back into a routine.  What routine?  So right now I am the process of decluttering my home, simplifying life, and getting us back into a routine that will get my baby good naps, my toddler time along in the afternoon, and give my 4 1/2 yod time to simply play and be herself.  And all the while my older two have a schedule to guide their day of living and learning. 

Please enjoy this post from a year ago.  God Bless.

***********************************************

          Preschool has always baffled me.  I am a stay at home mom (and now homeschool) because I want to keep my children OUT of a preschool/day care setting.  But I would see all over the homeschool community either people are completely against tradition preschool at home OR there are complete curriculum on the other end of the spectrum.  As a younger mom I didn't know what to do. 

          I can now finally admit that I wasted alot of money in this area.  I really didn't want to do preschool with my children.  And the nature of our family left me no room or time for it.  I bought different curriculum and activities so we would have something to do.  But I found they were bored, I was bored, or chaos reigned. . .it just wasn't going to happen in our home during that season.  We would sing and read and learned our ABC and counting, but formal preschool never happened.  (Oh and let's not forget my unfortunate survive tool - VIDEOs.)  And when my oldest started school I discovered that she wasn't any worse off.  Boy, did I worry about her being behind.  Especially since I had friends that were very disciplined about doing "school" with their children who were my dd's age.  There were no gaps at all though.  It was this experienced that helped me form my views of preschool in our home. 

          My view in a nutsheel. . .enjoy your children.  Don't fret about them doing "school", even preschool.  Read, Read, Read.  Learn to love the library.  Don't feel pressure to do preschool crafts but do feel freedom to do them occassionally or everyday if you like.  I often wander if preschool children 100 years ago were subjected to the hubbub of preschool arts and crafts that we feels is necessary to do with them.  My 3 yod is helping me paint a decorative shelf for her room right now.  All of my children are and we are all having a blast.  No preschool craft here.  They doing adult crafts.  (Don't be afraid to think outside the classroom.)   

          Now, imagine my frustration when my now 5 1/2 wanted to do school when he was 3 1/2.  He wanted to write mostly but he was determined to do school like his sister. 

          DS:  "Mommy, I want to do preschool while Jenny does her school."  

          Mom:  "Um, but son, we don't DO preschool in our home." 

          DS:  "But mommy, I want to do what she's doing !!!!!!!!!  (said with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.) 

          What in the world should I do?  At the time I was too inexperienced as a new homeschooler to realize that I could do things with him here and he'd consider it school.  I spent some money and bought a preschool curriculum I never used.  <>  Praise God I have a very forgiving dh and who realizes I am learning as I go. 

          I hit the same situation with my now 3 1/2 yod.  So found an online curriculum called Letter of the Week.  I wish I had found this for my two oldest.  Talk about saving money and losing the pressure.   This would have worked wonderfully with my ds a few years ago.  It's just up his alley because it has coloring and some very easy crafts that don't require alot of my time.  And there is tons of reading.  But God has gifted me with a child that is very hard to understand and very hard to please.  She doesn't color.  Nope, she just demands to be included in everything you are doing with the older ones.  There is NO preschool in her mind.  Just school.  Now, in her defensive, I think that this is her survival method.  She's about to be the extreme middle child of 5 so she must fight for mom's attention.  But when this little girl wants to do something, she's very subtle in breaking you down.  And often it works.  Have you ever heard of Chinese torture methods called the drippy water faucet.  Enter Allison, the drippy water faucet.  She constantly asking.  She just won't let it go.  And she was bored with Letter of the Week.  She wanted to READ!!!!!!  (Why does it have to get harder as we go?) 

          How do you teach a 3 yod to read when they aren't ready? 

You include them in everything you do with the others!!!!!  (This is our preschool.)

          In a matter of a week, I completely changed my school schedule and what we were doing for school.  Phonics is done in a group setting to start out.  We all reviews our Phonics songs and ABCS (and coincidently, my 18 month will probably read at 3 as well because he's right in the middle of us soaking it all up.  My plan to phase me out is nearly complete.)  Then we go through a couple of flash cards to really focus on letter sounds.  This is review for my oldest two and new for my 3 yod.  They are teaching her to read as they go.  They are involved in the process.  And Ally is learning to read.  :)  Then she sits in my lap while her brother works through his Alphaphonics book.  She doesn't really do anything.  But she's also soaking up the letter sounds and learning her letters. 

          Now we also do some preschool stuff.  I am using Picture Book Preschool with a weekly theme of books that I read with my two youngest.  I use this time to connect with the littles and also to train my youngest to sit in my lap to read.  He's getting so good at it.  :)  We also sing the ABCs.  I don't think I have ever had more fun since I have taken the pressure off myself to make my home like a daycare where we do bible, crafts, preschool snacks that match the theme, etc, etc, etc.  For a busy mom with children so close in age, it's just simply madness. 

          Before I end I want to say that I have no issue with the way others do preschool.  Many times I have seen older, wiser mother's suggestion nothing for preschool. . .just read and play.  For a new mom eager to homeschool their children, this isn't a satisfying answer.  I can now join the bandwagon and say it's not necessary to do preschool.  Reading to them really does the trick.  But I do believe that mom's need the freedom without condemnation (and I have seen alot of condemnation on the internet and message boards toward mothers that do some sort of formal preschool with their children.)  Every mother has to learn what is going to work best for them and best for their family.  So if you are a mom contemplating doing a preschool curriculum or activities with your oldest or even with your younger ones, go for it.  If it works then praise God you had a blast with your children.  If it doesn't work, chuck it and learn from the mistake.  Go back to praying for wisdom and seeking His direction for you.  Be free though.  Don't fret if you believe you are being lead to take a relaxed approach and just read with your children.  I speak from experience, they do learn it eventually.  All children are different.  All moms are different. 

God Bless!!!!

Jun. 12, 2007 - Our "new" school

Posted in Gracefilled Education

          We're in the 2nd week of our a new six weeks.  I have started my plan to scale back and it's working well.  I made a special notebook where I journal about our day after it's over instead of trying to plan for them.  My plans never work.  I am to the point where I want to celebrate what does happen.  On the back of this journal I have a schedule and list of jobs that my three oldest are to do in order to get school started right when their brothers go down for their nap (we only get 2 1/2 hours to get this done.) 

Afternoon School Preparations

Joshua

1. All brown workbook holders; place on small white table neatly
2. pencil can on kitchen table
3. sharpen pencils (bring pencil sharpener downstairs and put on high chair)

 Jenny

1. Clear table;  Clean off table with Thieves
2. Fill dishwasher with lunch dishes; clean up lunch
3. Gather all reading material; place neatly on coffee table
4. Bring down mommy’s grey box & Scaredy Cat GREEN

Ally

1. Bring Scaredy Cat – PURPLE downstairs. 
2. Ask mommy what else to bring down for school.
3. bring crayons and marker downstairs; place neatly on small white table
4. books to read during quiet time; place neatly on the stool beside doll house

Mom

1. Change Josiah and Drew
2. Read to Drew and lie down for nap
3. Nurse Josiah and put down for Nap; read to Ally

          I made this plan on Wednesday of last week when our first two days were spent running up and down the stairs to quietly gather school supplies.  It's worked brilliantly.  Now, here is what our afternoon schedule looks like. 

Jun. 2, 2007 - How To Grow a Reader in our Children

Posted in Gracefilled Education

            When I was a little girl I hated reading.  My mother had studied education in college so she knew the value of reading.  Even now, she’s a veteran teacher and her specialty is reading.  She teaches summer school and is assigned children who need help in reading.  So the fact that I didn’t read really bothered her.  I am sure that I did read.  I just don’t remember doing it much by myself. 

            I have one very vivid memory of summer reading one year.  I lived about a block from my elementary school.  At that time they kept the school libraries open so student could participate in a summer reading program.  I don’t remember if there was a prize or not.  But I remember walking up to the school one afternoon to get my books to read.  I don’t remember anything but that.  I have glimpse of certain times where I came home with library books.

 Once I got into middle school and high school I was deathly allergic to reading.  I would rather take a failing grade (or at least fake my way through the tests) than to read a book.  I hated it.  It wasn’t until I got in college that I began to like reading a little bit.  That came after I pulled an all nighter reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  I really loved the book.  Suddenly my favorite period of history came alive in ways I never knew.  I had heard of this book that began the path to Secession.  But I didn’t know anything about it until I read it myself.   

            Enter Underdog.  I had never met anyone in my life that loved reading so much.  He would read for pleasure.  I didn’t understand it.  He had to read for classes but he would also read for pleasure when he got the time.  There isn’t a quite time in his life where there isn’t a book or magazine in his hand.  Even when he watches football he has something that he’s usually reading during part of it.  When we got married that continued.  And I soon discovered that if I was going to have anything to do, I had to read myself. 

            I have been thinking about that lately.  Why did I hate reading so much?  If my mom wanted me to read and knew the value, why didn’t I read?  I believe that God has given me that answer as I have prayed for direction with our homeschool.  God has shown just how important my example is to my children.  What I do and love, they will as well.  If I love TV, so will they.  If I eat too much food, so will they.  All of these are negative examples.  But the same true for positive examples, especially reading.  If I read, they will to.  If I value books, they will too. 

            That is initially what happened to me.  I cannot recall a time in my life where I actually witnessed my mother read a book.  Now, that isn’t to say that she doesn’t read.  She’s a reading teacher.  But I witnessed my mom watching TV more than I witnessed her enjoying a good book.  Because I never observed her reading, I never read. 

            Do you want your children to grow up to be reader?  The most important thing you can do for them is to read a book yourself.  I am not saying that we spend hours on end reading books alone while they run amuck.  And we all know the importance of reading good quality living books to our children for school.  But do you plan at least a small portion of your day to read silently to yourself?  You can read anything.  Right now I am working through several books on Charlotte Mason, Beatrix Potter, and a novel called Hind’s Feet on High Places.  I usually have about 30 minutes to an hour to capture throughout the day where I read any of these things. 

            I have a few thoughts on reading material that I need to share here.  It’s very important that we consider the type of reading with which we fill out minds and hearts.  Have you ever heard the computer phrase “Garbage in; Garbage out”?  This is very true when it come to our hearts and minds.  If you are reading a lot of women’s magazines and ladies romance books, you life will reflect that.  I know from past experience that these can create discontentment in my heart and cause me to long for a life that God never intended for me to have.  I believe the same would be true even for Christian romance novels and some Christian magazines.  If want to fill out hearts with stories that will inspire us toward the goals that God has for us.  If you are a Christian woman, these goals would include being a keeper at home and loving your husband and children (Titus 2:4-5).  It goes against the purpose of our reading time to be reading literature and magazine that will push us toward a life outside of God’s will.  And the absolute most important book we should read on a daily bases in God’s Word.