Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Life Learning
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Lately, i seem to be focusing so much on the lessons of life with my children instead of book learning. We use the drive-through at the bank together and my son puts the stuff in the chute, pushes the button, gets it out of the chute, and gives me my receipt. My oldest daughter can now mail stuff all by herself at the post office. She can get a few items from the grocery store by herself as well. The older kids can order for themselves at restaurants, use the self-checkout at the grocery store, and babysit their sister in the backyard. The youngest child has a deeply-rooted competitive streak when it comes to her brother, and for some reason they seem to rub each other the wrong way! I am often referee, disciplinarian, and counselor - on top of teaching manners, the Golden Rule, and appropriate conduct. The eldest child is about to embark on the journey of double-digits (she turns 10 in 4 days), and she is getting a bit too worldly for my taste: i-phones, i-pods, cell-phones, lengthy spells in front of the mirror. So, we have been finding time to learn about life in our homeschool - things the public schools wouldn't teach our kids, anyway, but things our kids should grow up knowing. And really, what are they more likely to need in life: historical knowledge or the ability to get along well with others? I figure if we focus on our problem areas now, we can get to the academics eventually.... I hope! |
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Playing Games, Not Learning!
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This week, my brand-spankin' new first-grader discovered a JumpStart game he hadn't played. We installed it and off he went! He was reading, following directions, putting sounds together to make words, and solving problems. AND HE THOUGHT HE WAS PLAYING A COMPUTER GAME!!! It was awesome. My barely-fourth-grade daughter, aka The Drama Queen, dislikes all schoolwork that isn't science. Because of this, we struggle with writing and reading. Little does she know that when her mother grudgingly allows her to chat online with her friend that she is practicing her spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and typing skills! SHE JUST THINKS SHE'S "TEXTING!" It's too cool. I just love it when i can sneak learning and schoolwork past those rascals! Got any other great ideas? |
Friday, July 31, 2009
Let the School Year Begin!
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Because of the Chicken Pox, a planned family vacation in August, and being elected to join TOS Homeschool Crew in reviewing exciting homeschool materials, we have begun our 2009-2010 School Year journey! We have started our Bible lessons, our Character study, picked up where we left off in Math and reading, and are embracing a beautiful new year of learning and growing! So far, we are having a blast! (yes, the kids would rather be playing with friends, but with the Chicken Pox, that isn't much of an option!) Anyway, i just wanted to update here that we are starting up, and we look forward to the school year with all of you other homeschoolers out there in homeschoolblogger world! Blessings, Angie |
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
TOS Homeschool Crew!
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I have been struggling with doubts about my choice of curriculum, and God recently provided a way to calm my spirit: i am now a member of the 2009-2010 TOS Homeschool Crew! I will get products from vendors that i must agree to use and review on my blog. In doing so, i will be able to "put my hands on" a variety of what is out there for homeschooling. That is truly a wish granted! Praise God! He hears me, and He cares about the desires of my heart! Ask and it shall be given, for sure!! So, if you are interested in seeing what there is out there as well, or you just like hearing about what other homeschooling families are doing, stop by my other blog during the school year. I'll have LOTS to share, from the sounds of things. See ya around the 'net! Angie's MInivan Moments Blog Be Blessed. Angie |
Monday, June 15, 2009
Books, Books, Galore!
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Oh, we received a wonderful package today: books! Books, galore! There were books for Mommy, books for baby, books for the big kids; books for learning, books for inspiration, books for fun! Oh, marvelous books! There were also CDs! CDs for Christmas, CDs for Bible, CDs for worship! Oh, marvelous music! I love ordering from the internet when things are a really good deal, then receiving a package that makes every person get excited! And today, it was excitement for books!! Oh, wonderful, marvelous books!! Gotta go! It's story time!! |
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Poor, Pitiful Homeschoolers
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Oh, my poor children! Held captive in their homes by their teacher! Forced to - {gasp} - learn stuff during summer break! They are quick to tell strangers who ask about their summer that "we don't get a summer break; we still have school" in the most pitiful voice they can muster. i keep waiting for DCS to show up at my door.... Yes, i am a wretched taskmaster, striving to overburden my unfortunate offspring as many days of the year as possible. The 180 required days of school is just not enough to satisfy this blood-thirsty educator! We call an outing to a local state park a field trip and we talk about the rocks and trees and bugs there. We go to the pool to learn to swim and call it physical education. We can't take a trip out of the state without looking at a map to determine how far away it is from our house. And the grocery store is filled with child labor as they scan and bag and pay by themselves! Now, i have taken away their summer vacation!! Oh, how awful for them! How horrible of me to invite their dearest friends over to play games and talk about the Bible and bumblebees! How boring!! How terrible i am to plan lessons that involve baking cookies and painting pottery while we learn about honey and the Beatitudes! How rotten!! How devastating it must be to learn they will be forced to go on field trips to see local beekeepers! How disturbing!! Honestly, i do not know how they tolerate me..... |
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Get Over It!
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After years of feeling incapable of homeschooling (and ignoring God's call), i bit the bullet and began the journey of home education. Now, wrapping up my second year of homeschooling, i am finding the same unreachable bar repeatedly taunting me, making me feel inadequate. So, this week, i have decided to "get over it!" i plan to get over my exhaustingly high expectations that each of my children would be advanced in academics. i will get over the idea that the structured school day of many should be implemented around here. i have to get over the concept that a child not performing on his/her academic level cannot be given A's. Mostly, i will get over the worldly view of a child's education and will embrace more fully the Bible's design: when i rise up and when i lie down, i will educate; when we go about our way, we will learn; in everything i do, i want to do it all for the glory of God - not for bragging rights. Can you relate? May the Lord bless us and keep us as we strive to do His bidding, as we struggle to hear His voice, and as we are called to educate His children. May God Bless you, Angie |
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Rain Collecting? Or Evaporation Lesson?
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Yes, we forgot (big surprise) to take in the rain collecting cup until this morning after breakfast. It had almost no water in it. Since we knew it rained yesterday, we decided it must have evaporated! Then we brainstormed about whether those rain gauges are narrow for a reason - to reduce/decrease evaporation, perhaps?!?! Ah, well, at least we talked about the weather and some science concept. We can call that school, even when the experiments do not turn out the way we want. And hey, that happens to real scientists, too, right? Be blessed; Jesus loves you. |
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Rain, Rain, Go Away...
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So, although we are fed up with the rain, we are really looking forward to some more sunshine, we did get enough of a break to go strawberry picking yesterday. That was a blast, and 6 pounds later, we have to figure out how to keep them from spoiling before we can consume them all! Today, we embraced the idea of rain and put out a cup to collect the water. We will measure how much rain we get each day for the next few days and maybe we'll chart it... if the spirit moves us. :-) Homeschooling is winding down a bit as we approach the end of the year. We are concentrating on basics to make sure we are ready to move on to bigger and better things. And we are shifting a bit to embrace more of God's calling for us as His children. Thank You, Lord, for the rain! {I sure hope we get to play outside some this weekend!} Have a blessed day |
Thursday, April 30, 2009
WeE-Books Rock!
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Okay, so I am now seriously addicted to WeE-Books by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine! I have now read 3 of them, and I am in awe of how much wisdom and information is packed into each $1.95 e-book! I have learned about homeschooling my rebel son, ditching the idea of having "me time," and how to compare and contrast famous people like Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin for my kids. There is so much information out there that I crave - and yet, on a limited one-income household, homeschooling 3 children must take on a "budget, budget, budget" approach! Not to mention, dragging 3 children off to the library, bookstores, Goodwill, and curriculum fairs in addition to all our regular out-of-the-house errands is exhausting! The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has made it all possible with their affordable, downloadable e-books, and I am SOLD on using their website as a regular resource... just me, a cup of coffee, and a few minutes in The Old Schoolhouse Store and I am good to go! Dash in sometime... it's worth a minute or two to check them out... of course, you may just find yourself spending more than a minute there! Be Blessed, Angie |
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A Rebel? My Child?
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Okay, so after months of hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing, brain-wracking, and intense doubts, I have stumbled upon the answer to my problems with my son: he is a rebel and I have been uninformed. I read a WeE-Book by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's website and darned if the light bulb didn't blink on above my cartoon head!! Deborah Wuehler says it all so perfectly in Homeschooling the Rebel; I have been battling with my son because he is a rebel - and I am not meeting his needs. Yes, I realize that I am meeting his basic needs; he gets enough to eat, he goes to bed at an appropriate time for him, he gets plenty of time to play outside and with others, etcetera. However, we have been slacking in our Bible learning, and he is suffering... and when a six-year-old suffers, he does not do so quietly or alone! I have much to work on, but God is patient and merciful, and there will be praise from our home over the success of God's plan for our Rebel. If you are homeschooling a rebel, or you know someone who is, please check out the WeE-Book, Homeschooling the Rebel, by Deborah Wuehler at www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com. It is full of precious wisdom for the tired-of-the-fight educator! In Christ, Angie |
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Life in Our Home "School"
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Life around this place is probably much like a general sampling of homes across the country; we all have our own unique way of doing things, and what works for one home may not work in any other. The same is true for homeschooling: what works for us may not work for any other homeschooling family. Around here, we use primarily Unit Studies. We have a kindergartener and a third-grader, with a toddler thrown in for giggles, and the best thing for my scattered wits was to use a single topic for all the kids, delving deeper for the older ones. We are using a Bible-based curriculum called The Weaver, and we are still using Volume 1. So far, we are happy. We supplement occasionally, but it seems like all homeschoolers do this. For math, we are thrilled to use Math-U-See. Our kindergartener is doing first grade math, and our oldest was behind in math when we pulled her out of second grade at the public school, but after only 6 months, she is all caught up, thanks to Math-U-See!! We use Hooked on Phonics for reading for the youngest, and we are looking for a way to stimulate reading again in our oldest. The school system really messed her up between kindergarten and the first part of second grade! We are still recovering from it all!! Anyway, life is going on without me upstairs, and it is a rainy, do-some-indoors-chores kind of day, so I am signing off to spend some time getting things accomplished... well, that may be overstating things a bit! See you around! |
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Why abc5d?
Why did I chose to name my homeschooling blog "abc5d," you may ask.... No, it isn't some crazy alphabet that we teach around here.... well, not really. I am Angie, my husband is Ben, the eldest is Calysta, the middle child is Ben V (we call him "Quin" as short for Quentin, which means "five" in Latin), and the youngest is Dania. Did you catch all that?  So, now that you know our family, let me tell you a bit about us. We live in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee. We started our oldest in public school, but after sending her to school as an advanced student and having her "dumbed down" by the second grade, I realized that we were setting her up for a lifetime of school and self-esteem problems. We pulled her out of public school after the first 9 weeks of second grade, and we have never regretted it! The following year, our son, the middle child, began kindergarten in the home. We also have a very busy 2-year-old who makes life entertaining, to say the least! I am hoping to get some advice, "meet" fellow homeschoolers, learn from each other, and just get my thoughts out there for all our ups and downs in this busy home school. After all, without community, we would each feel like we are going it alone, and that is absolutely no fun!! Come back and see us again some time! Maybe we'll stop by your place real soon... |