Jan. 12, 2007
A New Year
Posted in Homeschooling
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As I am entering this new year with only four weeks left of pregnancy, I'm having a hard time not doubting myself and my ability to homeschool my kids. This is the time of year that I begin to panic and think, "can I do it?" and "Should I put them in a regular school?" I'm not going to give in to that fear this year and do what I've done in the past -sticking them in a private or public school and regretting it a week later. I'm accessing my walk with God, my homeschool techniques, my need for more organization to stay on track , and a multitude of other things. Of course, New Year's Resolutions have stemmed from these musings and the fear that I won't accomplish all (or any) of them, but, unlike other years, my husband is behind me in homeschooling the kids and isn't wanting to put them back into school. It's making a big difference and I appreciate it so much. He has even managed to not say anything the last week about the state of the house (kitchen hasn't been totally free of dirty dishes in about a week (I miss having a dishwasher); our bedroom is in a mild state of disarray; floors are sometimes swept and mopped - mostly not; the house is screaming out to be organized; but, on the positive side, most of the toys have been picked up by the time he comes home; I am on top of the laundry; and the kids have kept their rooms pretty decent - yeah!) My energy level isn't what it could be and I'm still waiting for that nesting instinct to kick in. I think it happened - once - for about ten minutes while I was sleeping... such is life. |
Oct. 13, 2006
Math and Lang. Arts
Posted in Homeschooling
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Did I mention that I just ordered Math
and Language Arts curriculum? Sad, I know. But up until now I haven't
had the money for it. I'm so
looking forward to receiving that package in the mail. I have done some
math and L.A. with my girls and son, but it's been sporadic because I
didn't have any math curriculum specifically focused for my 3rd grader,
so we were reviewing 2nd grade concepts. I had 1st grade math
curriculum, but it was a little redundant and she had done part of the
book last year and I just felt disjointed. Language Arts was even worse. We've been reading literature and also short stories. We've gone over vocabulary words and talked about the selection, but I still felt like I needed to focus more on grammar, spelling, etc. I just don't want to miss the basics with any of them. I've been reading Kendra's blog entries about creating a Family Vision Statement and I need to do that, with my husband's input, of course. Sometimes I feel so short-sighted, and I need to rectify that. Homeschooling isn't just about this day or this month, but the end result. Without that in mind, the day and month stuff won't equal what I desire to see a decade from now. |
Oct. 9, 2006
Homeschooling and Midwives
Posted in Homeschooling
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It is taking me forever
to get stuff unpacked. Boring for you and me both, but at least it is
getting done. I haven't begun homeschooling them again. I had
unrealistic expectations, I think. We moved in on Sept. 27, and I
honestly thought we would be homeschooling again by Oct. 2. As of
today, we still haven't started. Last year I got sucked into the the
lie of "I'm moving; I'm overwhelmed; It would be easier to just put
them in school." I refuse to do that this time. I can do it and we will
do our required 875 hours. Just not today. Last Tuesday I was feeling depressed and isolated after our move. I hadn't met any fellow homeschoolers yet, we weren't able to go to church on Sunday, our Internet was working yet, and I was starved for adult conversation. I found contact names for two ladies in the area who lead homeschool groups, so on Wednesday I called both of them and ended up chatting with each of them for over half an hour. It was so nice to talk to them. The first group met the next day on Thursday at a church that's in the same town my husband works in, so we went. It was a small group, but the ladies were very welcoming and friendly. Unfortunately, it was all girls except for my five-year-old son, but we still really enjoyed it. The other group meets on Fridays, so we will be attending a field trip with them this next Friday. Hopefully the weather is nice. I'm not sure which group will be the best fit for us. The one that meets on Thursday is at least 15 minutes closer than the other group. On Sunday, we went to church in Madison at the Calvary Chapel. Even though it is very small and meets at the Radisson, we really like the teaching and the people. My husband, who used to be the one packing the kids into the car five minutes after the service got out, chatted with a lot of people. Afterwards, he kept commenting on how much he likes that church. I actually had to wait for him yesterday to finish talking with someone so we could leave. That was such a blessing for me! Totally different subject: On Saturday, my landlady called to give me the name of a midwife who does home deliveries in this area of Wisconsin. I had also been given the same lady's name earlier in the week by a midwife that I had contacted that doesn't deliver in my town. Anyway, I called the midwife, Chris, on Saturday evening and she is accepting new clients for February and is very reasonably priced. She will also come to me for appointments. Last time I did a homebirth, I had to go to the midwife's home for all of my appointments until the last two or so. Another fun thing is Chris delivers babies for the Amish women in this community. Isn't that cool? Before I had my second daughter at home in California over six years ago, I borrowed a non-fiction book from Heather written by a lady who is a midwife in the Pennsylvania area (I think) and delivers babies for the Amish. It was a fascinating read and I find it interesting that this midwife also works with the Amish. I don't ever plan on becoming Amish, but their simplicity of life does intrigue me. Hopefully, I can catch up with all of the normal cleaning stuff today and get somemore boxes unpacked today. Anyone want to come over and chat with me while I work? LOL. |
Sep. 16, 2006
TRUTHS about Homeschooling
Posted in Homeschooling
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Yesterday I was having a difficult
time. I was struggling with feelings of inadequacy when it came to
homeschooling and parenting. I'm sure I'm not the only one who
struggles with these, but it just seemed like every blog I hit someone
was listing all the things they had accomplished, and I was dealing
with just having enough energy to get out of bed, and not feel
overwhelmed with the day. The Lord encouraged me by, even in my half-awake state, giving me reasons why I can homeschool and do anything else that overwhelms me. I felt blessed that He would do this for me. Here is the list of truths that I felt like He gave me (some paraphrased by me - I'm sure the Lord said it much better, but I didn't write it down right away):
Just my thoughts for today! Hope your day is blessed. Feel free to comment with more truths that I might have missed. |
Sep. 7, 2006
Frustration
Posted in Homeschooling
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I sometimes want to walk away from my
children while I'm homeschooling them. Today I about gave up because of
the difficulty of trying to homeschool three of my four children and
the frustration that was ensuing. Usually this starts in the middle of
math, but today it was right away. I started with a Bible verse and
quickly headed into our Unit Study, which was about DNA. I was
constantly interupted by, "Excuse Me," my two year old asking for
something to eat, one of my kids falling of a stool, etc. Typically, math brings my oldest to tears, but she loves art, language arts, literature, and anything hands-on (cooking, science projects, etc.). It frustrates me when she almost instantly starts to cry. I did manage to keep myelf calm as I explained a math concept to her and I was patient. With her, I sometimes resort to manipulatives to help her grasp a new concept. I did that and finally the tears abated, and she smiled. I asked her if the manipulatives helped and she said, "Yes! I didn't understand it until you did that." I just have to remember that her learning style is hands-on. I have no idea how she managed Math-U-See last year in the charter school. I guess the DVD gave her the help she needed because she seemed to do fine - either that or it is just our personalities clashing because we're so much alike. What a challenge! I know that I need to go back to the basic training - especially with my two youngest, but they all need a refresher course. Does it count as part of the 180 days of school if all you are doing is training them in obedience? LOL. I guess even if we have to backtrack and just focus on this for a few weeks, they will learn more later on. Any suggestions? |
Sep. 6, 2006
Why We Keep Them Home...
Posted in Homeschooling
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Sep. 5, 2006
Discovering Cells
Posted in Homeschooling
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We're using Christian Cottage's Volume 1, In the Beginning, this year for Science and History, but it also covers other subjects. Right now we are in the first Unit, "Roots and Relations." Yesterday we studied cells. Up to this point, honestly, I couldn't remember anything about cells from when I was in school so I had to start at the beginning and give myself a crash course on this topic. Christian Cottage had info in the Unit covering cells, but I really wanted to familiarize myself with cells and what exactly they do, so I checked out a number of books from the children's section of the library. I was amazed at how interesting it was, since Science always made me want to go to sleep when I was in school. Two different Psalms were read by me, Psalm 8 and the Psalm about being knit together in our mother's womb. I then read, Cells Are Us; a book I found in the library. Very interesting with lots of cartoon-like pictures to help explain the concept. I also checked out DNA Is Here to Stay, by the same author for our next lesson. I became very ambitious and decided that, not only was I going to make the cell model that the Unit Study gives instructions for (includes Jello and various food items), but decided to make cookies from a book I found called, Watch Me Grow. These are also a model of a cell (just the basic parts). Of course, I failed to look at the the recipe where it says that the cookie dough needs to be refrigerated for several hours (and I was going to be going 40 min. away to go grocery shopping right after lunch). Also, the Jello in its liquid state was dumped all over the floor by my oldest and all over a library book by my son. My fantastic ideas of how to make this subject interesting for my children quickly started going downhill. We finally got the cell model into the refrigerator. I refrained from chewing out my children, lunch was served and we eventually left for La Crosse. At this moment in time, we still haven't made the cookies (with the gumdrop nucleus, Good and Plenty mitochondria, and string licorice cell membrane). I think will make those after lunch. Hopefully, some of this stuff actually sticks in their brains and all of my hands-on projects will have been worth it. |
Aug. 19, 2006
20 Great Reasons to Homeschool
Posted in Homeschooling
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May. 24, 2006
Another Great Field Trip
Posted in Homeschooling
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Aahhhh! Finally a moment to relax and
blog. Our life has been a bit crazy the last few days. Whenever we have
had a chance, we've taken the kids to some place (like Historic Forestville) to see history, as opposed to just reading about it. Last Friday I took my second oldest to a pioneer museum (Arches Museum) that is only about five minutes away from my home. My oldest had a fever so she stayed home with the two younger ones and my hubby. I had seen the museum many times, but it had a sign that said "Closed for Season" on it. I happened to ask a employee at a nearby Kwik Trip (gas station/convenience store) if she knew anything about it and when it would be open. Amazingly (at least to me) she volunteered there and she was able to tell me who to call, when a 3rd grade class would be going through, and the possibility of tagging along (good). I was thrilled. On Friday I didn't know what to expect. It looked fairly small from the front. But, actually, it also had a small, pioneer school; a log cabin; a log barn; a covered bridge; and a wishing well that had all been moved there from other nearby locations. We broke up into small groups and were given 30 minutes each in the school; the museum; the log barn; and the log cabin. Volunteers were somewhat dressed up in 1800's garb and were able to tell us a lot about that time period. The museum itself was amazing. A man named Mr. Rahn collected things for years about pioneer living. He was an amazing craftsman and crafted many miniature models of pioneer life - barns, log cabins, plows, etc. I was only able to see just a small part of the displays because of time. I would love to have my husband come with me next time. I'm sure he would be fascinated with all the models also. I don't think any of them were from kits; from what our guide told us, it sounded like he created them all. Amazing! At the log cabin, a lady was making pancakes on a real, wood-burning stove and serving them to the us with home churned butter and brown sugar. (Very yummy!) The log cabin was so small, but quaint. It was furnished with many authentic pieces and actually had people living in it up until 1956 I think they said. They also showed the children how to hang up laundry with old fashioned clothespins. My daughter thought this was neat, and kept saying, "Just like we did, Mom," referring to when my dryer was out of commission for three days or so. The day before we went to this museum we had made clothespin dolls out of some of the old-fashioned clothespins we had bought for the laundry. My daughter told the volunteers about it, and I talked to them a little, and they thought it was wonderful that I was homeschooling and doing a Unit on the 1800's. They told me if I wanted to come volunteer, they would love to have me. I think I'd like to do that sometime. While we were doing the session in the schoolhouse, an announcement was made that in July and August they would be holding Pioneer School - a three day session each time. The funniest part was that I found out that my next door neighbor/landlady would be the one teaching it. My girls would really like to go and I was told that they can wear prairie-style dresses and bonnets if they want to, but it's usually warm in the schoolhouse. Wouldn't that be fun? As a kid my favorite show was Little House on the Prairie and I would have loved to have that kind of opportunity. Each child is $20 - kind of spendy. But I'm tempted, that's for sure! |
May. 16, 2006
Carnival of Homeschooling
Posted in Homeschooling
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Check out Melissa's blog and this week's Carnival of Homschooling.
I had the privilege of being part of it this time. Check out all the
wonderful blogs that were included. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
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May. 15, 2006
Mother's Day
Posted in Homeschooling
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Denise is having a contest so I thought I would post this: This was a special Mother's Day for me. My husband has never been big on doing things for Valentine's, Mother's Day, and sometimes even my birthday. After almost 12 years of marriage, I've accepted it. I don't necessarily like it, but it's just a part of life. Well, God has been definitely working in his heart and this Mother's Day I could definitely see the difference. In previous years, I try to make a big deal out of Father's Day - homemade cards, T-shirt with kids' handprints, etc. This year he helped the kids make cards for me. Granted, since it's my supplies and it's not organized, he needed me to get all the stuff out, but I was happy to do it. I put all the stuff on the table and left my husband, kids, and our neighbor's son to go to it. Yesterday morning they "surprised" me with their homemade offerings. My 4 year old DS attempted to write I love you on his. It had an "I", an "O", and a "C". He was very proud of his card and I was too. My husband's was decorated with castle's and "Happily Ever After" fairytale stickers (he told me he'd deny it if anyone ask, though!) and other embellishments. I loved it, because it came from his heart and it was fairly creative. The rest of our day include church (where the moms were given chocolate - yeah!); chinese food (my pick); and a trip over to Rochester to hang out at Barnes and Noble and the mall. My hubby bought me a Mocha Frappachino and cardmaking magazine that I had been wanting. It was definitely a good Mother's Day. I didn't have to cook (we bought frozen pizzas at Kwik Trip for dinner) and I got to spend the day with my favorite people. |
May. 13, 2006
Historic Forestville and Mystery Cave
Posted in Homeschooling
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Historic Forestville: I've been doing a Unit Study with my two oldest girls on the 1800's in Minnesota and Wisconsin. When I heard about Historic Forestville in Minnesota, I knew that I wanted to take them there to experience it. Forestville is located on a State Park and has just a few buildings left standing from when the area was a town back in the 1800's. In the mid-1800's it was a fairly decent size farming town, but when the trains started moving West, it missed Forestville and the town dwindled down to just over 50 people by 1899. All of the people that were left ended up working for Thomas Meighen, the son of one of the founder's of the town. Starting at the end of May, the Minnesota Historical Society have several people who dress up in the clothes of that era and portray the town as it was 1899. On May 8 and 9 they had Homeschool Days and we decided it sounded like an interesting, educational, and fun thing to do with our four kiddos. We actually left earlier than we needed to, not knowing for sure how long it would take us to get there. We ended up on the wrong County Road, but still arrived 30 minutes early. This is so unlike me. I'm trying to get better about this, but promptness has never been something I excelled at. I'm sure it helped that my husband was the person driving. When we arrived at the parking lot in Forestville, we were greeted by a man in late 19th century clothing who told us where to start our journey into the past. All of the homeschooling families/groups were directed to a large barn where one of the guides shared about Forestville. At one point he asked if anyone knew why so many people in Forestville had moved away. I was proud of my oldest (7 years old) when she said, "Because the train didn't come!" We had gone over the information the day before, and I had them narrate back to me what they had learned (and reminded them too). They divided us up into groups and I was pleased to find that the other family in our group was from the same area of Minnesota that we are from. The mom and I chatted quite a bit as we experienced the town. The first stop that we made was to the livery where a man showed us all the different equipment that was kept in that building. He stayed in character most of the time, but occasionally would slip out of it when we asked questions. The actors encouraged the children and adults to be interactive, which my husband and I loved. My second and third oldest loved participating, but my oldest had to be prodded a bit. I think she was a bit embarrassed. Our next stop was to the general store, which was the original store that Thomas Meighen owned. It looked authentic inside and the lady "waiting on us" in the store stayed in character the whole time. She was very entertaining and informative about how the store was run and general information about people during that time period. Next we visited the home of Thomas Meighen where his "wife" and their "housekeeper" entertained us. We only saw his office, the entryway, and the parlor, but learned quite a bit about Thomas and his family. My favorite place was the kitchen, which was our fourth stop. There was a real, working, wood stove there (which looked like a miniature one I had as a child) and the "cook" was actually using it to bake cookies. My three oldest got to help take the cookies from the baking pan and slide them on to a plate. She also offered to let them wash the cow's tongue she was preparing for supper, but they declined (with rather green looks, and one muffled, "Nasty!") Our last stop was the kitchen garden where they had veggies and herbs starting to sprout. Onions and rhubarb were already growing so our guide let my girls pick some to take to the "cook". They have been begging to pick the rhubarb that is in our yard (planted by a former renter), so that just added fuel to the fire. Our guide also let them grind corn for the chickens and then feed them. They loved that. My son (aged 4) decided to hurl the corn and had a hard time not interupting the poor man, but really liked the experience. I had told them that they could ask questions and interact, so my boy took me at my word and plagued the actors the entire time with his, "Excuse me..." Thankfully, he was polite. Unfortunately, he rarely asked a question that had to do with what the man or woman was talking about. Sighhhh. Mystery Cave: This whole experience lasted about an hour and a half. We could have probably gone home then and would have been satisfied, but, "Noooooo," I had signed us up for the Mystery Cave tour also. Mystery Cave is about 5 to 10 minutes away. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how much my children dislike caves (we've only been in one once before). There were lights along the way, but I spent most of the time with my 6 year old's hand clutched in mine and the sounds of her slight whimpering (which she bravely tried to stifle) in my ears. My son wasn't much better, but a little. After 30 minutes he seemed to get over his fear until the tour guide intentionally plunged us into complete blackness for what seemed like an eternity. Can I just say that I found it very hard to comfort my little ones. To their credit, none of them screamed or cried. And, yes, I did feel guilty (way back five minutes into the cave and for the remainder of our journey). I kept asking them, "Who made the cave?" To which my son would shout out, "God did!" My daughter's voice quavered as she said, "Jesus?" The guide pointed out cute little bats, and rocks shaped like an ice cream cone, a mouse, and other things (which I reminded them wasn't an accident - God knew that we would be there looking at them!). That seemed to pick up their spirits. Our guide had said it would take approximately an hour to go through the cave. It was more like two! During this time my husband and I took turns with our two year old daughter either carrying her or holding her hand. That's a long walking trip for a little one. She fell asleep, at one point, in my husband's arms. Overall, it was really interesting. I just wished we had brought a stroller and it was a bit shorter. Our guide liked to embellish his stories and tell about all the times people slipped down the stairs in the cave and bashed their heads; getting lost in the cave; getting stuck in the cave; and the floods that have happened outside of the cave. The day we were there, there was a chance of the river above the cave flooding again. If he hadn't been quite so graphic and in depth, the trip wouldn't have lasted quite as long. He was wonderful to listen to as an adult, but hard for the younger ones. Later that night, my son prayed about Mystery Cave. He's at that age that when he prays, he isn't necessarily thanking God or petitioning Him - just telling. I love it. Even though God was with us, I think it's really neat that my son tells God about his day. So he gave the Lord a breakdown of Forestville and Mystery Cave and the lights going off and the deep pool that was really cold and the rocks that look like ice cream and a mouse and the bats and the.... You get the idea. After everyone else was asleep, my six year old came in to the living room and told us she was having a hard time going to sleep because she kept thinking about the cave. The Lord put it on my heart to talk to her about how King David had to stay in a cave before he was king, because Saul was chasing him. But that God was with him, even in that dark place. Then we read Psalms 91 (which I told her many of the psalms were written by David). I pointed out verse 1, "shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty" and reminded her that for her to be in my shadow, she has to be right next to me. I said, "If you are in God's shadow, where is He?" With a smile she said, "Right next to me!" We also discussed vs. 5, "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night..." (which I interpreted to be bad dreams for her) and how they wouldn't harm her. Then my husband and I prayed for her and sent her back to bed. Within minutes her gently snoring was all I heard from her room. Epilogue: Two days later we finally picked some rhubarb to make a rhubarb pie. I prepared the dough and rhubarb that night, but didn't make it until the next morning. Yummm! The girls took one bite and decided they didn't like it, but my son and I each had two slices. To solidify the trip, I had the girls draw pictures of what they liked best about Forestville in their scrapbooks, add embellishments (fabric cut out and pasted to the dresses); and write or dictate something they had learned. We also read three chapters in Kirsten's Surprise (American Girl book). For science that day, we looked up rhubarb on the internet to find out what part of the plant is poisonous (the leaves) and why. Then they drew pictures of that in their scrapbooks and colored them. It was really fun for all of us. Yep, I like Unit Studies and interactive learning, but now they want to learn how to can. By the way, the Minnesota Historical Society has a list of events that is worth checking out if you live in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, or if just plan to be passing through. |
May. 8, 2006
Unit Studies
Posted in Homeschooling
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I was reading an entry on LizzieBee's
blog regarding her homeschooling style. Over the years she has tried
many different approaches, but finally decided to glean (my word) from
several approaches.. I'm like LizzieBee. I see a lot of benefits from
Classical, Mason, Unit Studies, etc. and I can't decide on one. I think, "Oh how perfect that that sounds," but then the age group isn't right for my children. Then I'll find something else that sounds great, but the Unit Study doesn't sound like it'll be as appealing as I originally thought. Then I found a website on the Charlotte Mason approach and then another on Classical. How do I pick when there are so many options? Obviously with a lot of prayer! I can see why there are so many different denominations out there. Various people emphasize different things. The teaching isn't necessarily wrong, it's just parts of the Bible have jumped out differently to people. I know my husband and I can read the same passage of Scripture and then say what stood out for us and, typically, we got something different for each of us. We didn't interpret it wrong, we are just needing encouraging or admonishing in areas that aren't the same. So back to homeschooling. I think I'm just going to take what works for us out of each. I think that's why Heart of Wisdom appeals to me. She has taken a lot of things I really like about homeschooling and put them all together. The challenge is it's geared for older kids, so I think I'm going to wait until my oldest is in 4th or 5th grade. Robin Sampson, from Heart of Wisdom, has given some hints on writing your own Unit Studies and that is what I've done for finishing up this school year (at least for History, Science, Lang. Arts, and Geography). I wrote a Unit Studies about the 1800's in Minnesota and Wisconsin. I'm using the American Girl Kirsten books, Little House on the Prairie books, the Internet, a field trip to a historical town in Forestville, MN (tomorrow), hanging clothes on the line with old fashion clothes pins (because of broken dryer); the original outhouse in the back of my house; the millions of dandelions in my front yard (pioneers ate them - I found recipes), National Geographics, and whatever else I find (as well as crafts and cooking) to get it done. If I could, I would write all of them for my kids, but I know I don't have that kind of time at the moment, nor the discipline, so I'll be content (I hope) and just use other people's curriculum and add to it whenever I need to. |
May. 3, 2006
Another Year Round Schedule and a Contest
Posted in Homeschooling
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I recently received a comment on my last blog from a fellow blogger, socalval, so I decided to go over to her blogspot to see what she had to say. She had two great entries - May 2 and April 29 that I really enjoyed reading. The first one is was about how very few public or private schools get through all of their curriculum in a year; and the second was a year round schedule based on six weeks on and two weeks off. I loved her idea because I tend to be a "sprinter", not a "long distance runner" so the traditional nine months of school with three months off has me a little frightened, but, honestly, even three months on and one month off seems a little daunting. Sad, I know. I am definitely thinking about adopting her schedule. Check it out, you might like a change too! By the way, Spunky is giving away a Benz Microscope and Apologia Biology Set this week. Click Here to get the details. |
Apr. 29, 2006
P.E. Day and last day of Work
Posted in Homeschooling
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Yesterday was my last day of work. My
husband rewarded me by going to Culver's (Frozen Custard) and getting
concrete shakes. He ordered me a Chocolate Banana Shake (my favorite)
without my having to ask for it. He knows me well. The oldest two and I went to our first P.E. day with our local homeschooling group. It was two hours long and it was also the last one at that location for the school year (wouldn't you know it!). They seemed to enjoy it, but I really was excited to see several ladies from our church there. I know that several families in my church homeschool, but I had only met two of them so far. The three that were there yesterday, were three I didn't have a clue homeschooled. It's so nice to know that there are others in our church who are in the same, chosen, "boat". One lady I talked with I had met for the first time on Wednesday at church when she dropped off her daughter to the class I was helping in. God is good! Hopefully, I will be able to connect with them and my children will be able to bond with their kids too. |
Apr. 27, 2006
Heart of Wisdom Unit Studies
Posted in Homeschooling
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I'm trying to decide what curriculum to
use next year. Any suggestions? I prefer Unit Studies (because of the
multi-level benefit) and I'm checking out various things on the
internet. I looked at Christian Cottage and I'm also checking out Heart
of Wisdom. Has anyone used this? Do you know if you use the Ancient
History Units at the same time as the Creation (Science) Unit Studies
or if they are for another time? I love the fact that you can download
her Unit Studies as E-books for $15 and they have links to tons of
stuff on the internet (don't know by experience, just what I read about
it). There are so many options out there! Any info would be greatly apreciated. |
Apr. 24, 2006
Christian Cottage Unit Studies
Posted in Homeschooling
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I'm considering using the Unit Studies called Christian Cottage
in the fall with my three oldest children and was wondering if anyone
has used it before and what they thought about it. There are four
volumes, the first one is called In the Beginning God,
and it 's like any typical Unit Study. It covers Science, History,
Bible, some Art and Music and a few other things. It sounds good
and the price is only $45 on CD. They're made so that you can use
it with any age and repeat it every four years (getting more in depth
each time you go through a volume). I love the sound of it, but I'd
like some feedback. I looked it up on the HomeSchool Reviews website, but there wasn't a lot of feedback on it, just one positive one. So if you have heard anything about it or used it, let me know. I'd love to have your input. Thanks, Marla |
Apr. 20, 2006
Eagles, Dinosaurs, Etc.
Posted in Homeschooling
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I'm still amazed at how difficult if
can be, for me, to accomplish what we need to do (homeschool stuff) in
a day. It doesn't help that I started homeschooling again at the
beginning of April. So I guess right now we're doing relaxed
homeschooling. It's driving me crazy. I have these high expectations of
myself and sometimes were just lucky to get Bible, Math, and Language
Arts done. Tuesday was my husband's day off. Because he typically has weekdays off, I like to try to do school in the car or do a field trip that day if he is wanting to go and do something outside the house as a family. This time we drove to Wabasha, MN where the National Eagle Center is located (I think that is what it's called). We were able to see two Bald Eagles there. One is named Columbia and the other one is Harriet. Even though I knew that Eagles are big birds, I was surprised at how big they are when you see them up close. We were standing less than a yard away from both of them in a small area. The gentleman that was there was very helpful and was willing to answer my children's questions, even if they weren't about Eagles directly. There were coloring pages and crayons for the kids, eggs and skulls of eagles made out of resin, X-rays of the eagles, and books and other eagle things to purchase. There were more things to look at, but I was kind of busy with Critter, who wasn't feeling the best. It's not a big "store", but we enjoyed it. The other thing we did that day was visit the Lark Toy Store in Kellogg, MN (near Wabasha). It's right on Hwy. 61. The toy store has a wooden carousel with carved wooden animals, an ice cream shop, antique collectible toys on display (and to buy, I think), miniature golf (didn't do this), a train for small kids (not open yet, I think), and a ton of toys. Lots of cool, hard to find, stuff. They also have lots of books (classics included) and an area with Nature and Science items. We always enjoy going there. Weekdays are very quiet, which is when we go, but, according to the employees, it is crazy on weekends. Yesterday, I read the kids a book about a Bald Eagle from the library. We picked out about five library books about Eagles or Birds of Prey. Then I read them a fact book for kids about Eagles and had them dictate to me what they had learned about Eagles. We wrote it on the computer (took turns) and then I printed it out for them. At bedtime I read a book called The Lighthouse Family: The Eagle to them. It was a short chapter book about a dog, a cat, and three mice children who live in a lighthouse. In this book they found an eagle. The pictures were darling, by the way. This morning before breakfast, they drew pictures on the pages that I printed out for them. The other science projects I am planning on doing are dinosaurs and a health experiment. Right now at our Target they have a bunch of dinosaur things in the ONE SPOT ($1) area. Stickers, puzzles, stretchy dinosaurs, coloring books, etc. I have a book that I'm borrowing from a friend that tells about dinosaurs from a Creation point of view. I'm enjoying it. Also, I know Answers in Genesis is a great resource. For the health experiment, we're going to buy seeds and plant them. We'll feed water and nutrients to one of them and sugar water to the other one. I'm curious to see what happens. I want to figure out a way to show the kids the difference between eating healthy foods and bad carbs and fats. Lately, I haven't been as careful with what we're eating so I think I'm also going to do a week of eating really healthy foods (no desserts) and use myself as the experiment. I'll weigh myself at the beginning and the end of the week to see the difference. (Of course they'll be eating as healthy as I am). The following week we will increase our activity level (Mommy included) by taking nature walks and see what that does. Then will log/graph it/whatever. Any comments, helpful hints, etc. would be greatly appreciated. I know healthy ways of eating, but I've got out of the habit because of time or whatever, but I'm not sure it takes that much longer to fix healthier foods. It's just getting back in the habit of it. |
Apr. 4, 2006
Yeah! They are home!
Posted in Homeschooling
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Today was the first day my girls were
home from public school. To celebrate, we all slept in until 7 a.m. I
took all the paperwork and the documents and dropped them off
yesterday. I still can't believe it was that easy for us to find all
the documents we needed. Unlike some, my organization skills are
somewhat lacking. Okay, if organization was one of the necessities in
life - like food, water, shelter, and sleep - they would have found my
dead carcass lying on the side of the road years ago somewhere in
between California and Wisconsin. I love it when it's done, but I don't
thrive on it, so to find my kids' immunization cards was an Act of God
in itself. An amazing answer to prayer came this Sunday. I was trying to figure out what to do about my second grader's curriculum. We didn't have a whole lot of money (okay any) to invest at this point to finish off the school year and I was trying to figure out what to do. On Sunday morning I was sharing with a new friend of mine at church who also homeschools her two oldest children that I was going to start homeschooling again. She asked me how old my girls were and said that she had Second Grade curriculum from Sonlight that she wasn't currently using and told me I could use it if I needed it, because her second oldest wouldn't need it until next year. What a blessing! I had looked into Sonlight at one point and really liked their approach, but I didn't have the finances for it. She's letting me use everything, including the sylabus with the lesson plans. Yesterday I went to the school to officially remove them. Taped to both of the front doors leading into the school was an announcement about a Day of Silence on April 7. It will be held at the University in our city and it is basically a time to remember all of the lesbians, gays, transgender, etc. and plan for new approaches. It bothered me so much that public schools have no qualms about posting that kind of information in full view at a school. I don't know if they would have talked about it in my girls' classrooms that day, but I am glad to have my children home. |
Apr. 1, 2006
When You Rise Up
Posted in Homeschooling
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It's almost official. I'm going to start
homeschooling my girls again this next week and, frankly, it's about
time! I have to turn in the paperwork, as well as the various
documents required (immunization cards, national testing reports, a
copy of my college diploma, etc. - I'm not kidding! Wisconsin was so
easy, in comparison.) When my husband and I put them in a public
charter school at the end of November, we tried to convince ourselves
it was for the best because of various changes and upheavals. Since
then, I have been feeling lost and purposeless. I still had two children at home, but I was so sure that Homeschooling was what I needed to be doing, that to put them into other people's hands for eight hours a day about killed me. They would climb on the bus at 6:50 a.m. and wouldn't get home until 2:50 p.m. And they are only five and seven! They would come home exhausted, cranky, have bad attitudes, and talk of inappropriate things. I felt like my parenting roll had been stolen from me and we were the ones to willingly give it away because it seemed easier or better. They have been on Spring Break this past week and my husband has been home for five days. What a blessing! I feel like our girls are in detox right now. They have become more affectionate, sweeter, more obedient, and less quarrelsome. They all still have their moments, but I don't have that hopeless feeling that I did before. The feeling that we had lost their hearts. We talked about sending them back for a week, just to let them have the opportunity to say goodbye, finish up some projects, etc., but I think I'm not going to even have them do that. That's like cleaning up a druggy and then giving them another fix, just so they can ease out of it gently. Doesn't make sense. I have to pick up some things from the school on Monday, so I'll take them with me and let them say goodbye then, but I that's it. I've been reading "When You Rise Up," by R.C. Sproul, Jr. (It's a great book. I highly recommend it.) and he helped confirm that we needed to bring them home now; not wait until after the school year was out. So that's my update. Please pray as we start this transition. |