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Sep. 14, 2006
Unsteading
I've been over to the sister site, homesteadblogger.com, just long enough to learn the modern day meaning of the word. The ladies over there all seem to lead a fairly rural, agrarian lifestyle referred to as 'homesteading'. They sew, they can, they have vegetable gardens and when possible, a few livestock. When I was a kid growing up in small town America, we just called that life.
We sewed because we needed to wear clothes. We grew vegetables because we needed to eat. Several of my friends raised chickens and one of our neighbors had a goat and later a pig. Of course by neighbors, I mean people who lived in the same square mile. Houses were built on 10 acre parcels. Water came from a well.
I left the public school at the end of my 1st grade year, never to return. I spent the remainder of elementary school in a one room school where the teacher wrote the assignments on the board for each grade each day and what we didn't get done in class, we took home for homework.
We didn't have a soccer league, I never joined the Girl Scouts but somehow, I didn't feel deprived. Life was good.
I don't live in small town America anymore. Sewing now is a hobby for those with money to burn. The dirt in my back yard won't even grow zucchini. I have a bread machine but it hasn't been out of the cupboard in more than 5 years. Livestock around here amounts to one cat we don't even like. I am not a 'homesteader'.
 (Happy kids)
My children attend a one room school not unlike the one in which I grew up. The major difference is they can start class in their pajamas. (I wore polyester pant suits to school because though girls were permitted to wear pants, they couldn't have flies. Thankfully, it was the 70s and leisure suits were all the rage.)
 (Soccer Cupcakes)
Our lives are different in some ways and not so different in others. Our neighbors are a lot closer but we borrow far fewer eggs. Of course, the nearest grocery store isn't 10 miles away either. We eat out now more than we should. Of course the nearest 'frosty' is called McDonalds and it is just up the street. We swim but not in the creek. We ride bikes but not in the dirt. We stop at stop lights instead of stop signs. Instead of growing apples and pears, we have ornamental fruit trees in our yard that bear inedible fruit made to look at (this makes no sense to me).
 (Chase waited for two long years to be old enough to join a soccer team and he was as pleased as punch to suit up for his first game on Saturday.)
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My Blog
A few years ago, when our oldest was 4 and her two brothers were both in diapers, my in-laws were a few days into a visit from their home 3000 miles away when my father-in-law noticed that the rug under the dining room table was in serious need of vacuuming. He is not prone to domestic duties (his wife is a great housekeeper) but seeing the need, he decided to try his hand with the Hoover. As soon as 'Grandpa' declared his intention to get out the vacuum, four little feet ran for the toy box to get vacuums of their own. We had one toy vacuum and we improvised a second from a 'popper' push toy. The baby, who was not yet walking, was right in the thick of things on all fours, never one to be left out. Grandpa, trying to maneuver the self-propelled 'Wind-tunnel' around the 10 foot rug while avoiding the table legs and dodging his three little helpers, remarked in exasperation, "I just wanted to clean the rug, I wasn't looking to start a three ring circus." Welcome to my life!
About Me
My name is Tiffany. I am a 39 year old mother of 4. My husband, John, and I planned to homeschool even before we married 17 years ago but it would be several years before our oldest would be ready to start on this journey. We had our children in alphabetical order, quite by accident at first, but once we got started, we figured we had to keep it going. They are Alyssa 10, Brendan 8, Chase 6, and Emily 3. Our 4th baby, D, miscarried at 13 weeks. We have no intention of making it to Z.
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Curriculum/Activities
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K4
Sing, Spell, Read & Write K
Saxon Math K
AWANA Cubbies
Ballet
Tap
K5
Sing, Spell, Read & Write 1
Horizons Math K
AWANA Sparks
Gymnastics
Soccer
1st Grade
ACE/SOT -All Subjects
AWANA Sparks
AWANA Grand Prix
Piano
Soccer
2nd Grade
Pathway Readers 2
Bob Jones Math 3
ACE English/Word Building
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy
AWANA Sparks
AWANA Grand Prix
Sparks-A-Rama
Brownie Scouts
Piano
Soccer
Softball
3rd Grade
Pathway Readers 3
Saxon Math 54
Abeka Language 3
Spelling Power
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy/Botany
AWANA T&T
Brownie Scouts
Piano
Soccer
Softball
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K4
100 Easy Lessons Reading
Saxon Math K
AWANA Cubbies
Floor Gymnastics
T-ball
K5
Sing, Spell, Read & Write K
Alpha Omega Math K
AWANA Sparks
AWANA Grand Prix
Soccer
T-ball
1st Grade
Sing, Spell, Read & Write 1
Pathway Readers 1
Bob Jones Math 1
ACE English/Word Building
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy
AWANA Sparks
AWANA Grand Prix
Sparks-A-Rama
Soccer
Baseball - Silver Medal Team
2nd Grade
Pathway Readers 2
Bob Jones Math 2
Abeka Language 2
Spelling Power
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy/Botany
AWANA Sparks
Soccer
Baseball
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K4
100 Easy Lessons Reading
Sing, Spell, Read & Write K
Saxon Math K
Beautiful Feet History
Apologia Astronomy/Botany
AWANA Cubbies
Soccer
T-ball
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No music at the moment
Enjoy the silence.
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Sep. 14, 2006 - LMAO