"What does a Space Ranger actually do?" I love Toy Story! I think I have almost all the lines memorized. Maybe I relatet to the movie so well since I use to want my toys to do those things. Now I have kids, and I guess I can be content with how they play and pretend.

My husband, Curtis, and I will make as many updates in here as possible. Sort of a way to keep a journal of our homeschool. We have only been homeschooling for one year and are now entering our second year. We have only 3 school age kids: Isaac is in 2nd grade, Jesse is in 1st grade and Hannah is in Pre-K. I also do Pre-K for our neigbor's little girl, Jazi. Then we have Simeon, who is 2 and Joshua who is 6 months old. Simeon joins in as long as his attention span permits it. Most of our school work is done by lunch time, as Jazi goes home at 11:30 and I spend another hour working with the boys on stuff that didn't get finished during the morning. Afternoons are reserved for naps for Hannah on down, library trips if Curtis is home, errands or other activities I can think up for the boys. One day a week we are getting with one other homeschooling family to do art and science.

I always feel a need to explain why we homeschool. In Western Nebraska, it is not a common thing to do, since a lot of social lives revolve around the public school scene. I did not even know that homeschooling existed until about 4 years ago, when my dear friend Shiloah told me about it. It kind of sat as an idle thought until I ventured out to do something with the boys through two summers, "bridge work" as they call it to see if I liked it. Having worked in public school as a tutor and as a teacher's aide to learning disabled kids, and having originally set out to get my teaching degree, I believed in public school, it was what we should do, and I had faith in the teachers. Then Isaac came on the scene.

Isaac is unlike any other kid I have met. His birthday is Dec. 8, 1998, so he is almost 8 years old. He's high energy, intuitive, sensitive and fun. He has his own way of doing things and he seems a bit rough around the edges. He is friendly and confident in some things I was never able to be so myself. In Pre-K he was in the principle's office 4 times, all for misbehavior. One day he threw all the toys out of the housekeeping center across the room. One day he beat up a little girl for making fun of him. Another day he gave the teacher "the finger" (still haven't found out where he learned that from). Towards the end of the year when all the teachers were testing students, Isaac went to the bathroom and got engrossed in the water. Not only was he playing in it, filling up his shoes with water and splashing around in it, he was also singing at the top of lungs, so loudly, he disturbed other classes. He was never really disruptive in class, but he couldn't sit still and was usually found wandering from table to table to see what other students were doing. Nosey, would be a good description of Isaac. When he got into Kindergarten, his inablity to sit down seemed to overtake the classroom. The teacher would give him instructions and literally before he got back to his desk, he had forgotten. He could not focus, could not listen, and again, wandered the room. He also became an escape artist. He often would leave to go to the bathroom, but would go visit the nurse, the teacher I use to work with, all the way down to the end of the school to "check on Jesse". At the end of the school year his teacher gently suggested homeschooling for him. I then began to look into it. We moved to Colorado over the summer and Isaac started 1st grade. I addressed my concerns with the teacher, but didn't get any feedback. Isaac would come home with tall tales of things that happened on the playground, during lunch and sometimes even during class. He had night terrors in the middle of the night. He was exhausted all the time. Then, the school lost him and Jesse 3 times in one week and at that point, I was so stressed out finally made the decision to take them out for homeschooling. Besides working on the normal acedemics, reading, writing, math, and so forth, what we noticed in Isaac was a huge change. He slept through the night and started communicating. I started not being so frustrated with him as I got to know tricks and things that helped him. I believe Isaac has Sensory Integration Disorder and dyslexia. ADHD and Autism have been suggested, but he fits the symptoms of the latter things better. I do the things with him I learned as a Teacher's aid, which really help, but also have improved things for all of us. I'm trying to change my thinking to accomodate Isaac.

Jesse was born Aug. 9, 2000 so he is just a little over 6 years old. Jesse is a thinker. He is working almost two grade levels above where he should be. Jesse will probably save Isaac's life one day. I don't say that to be mean, but Jesse will think things through before attempting to do something, whereas Isaac will run off with just part of an idea. Jesse is neat, systematic, and scheduled. He is confident and friendly, but a bit shier than Isaac. He's got a great sense of humor. Jesse is an "old soul", and nothing really seems to surprise him, but he is an enthusiastic learner. When I pulled him out of Kindergarten last year, he had no concept of reading. He sort of knew the alphabet. We started on "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" and now Jesse reads everything in site, even the lables on food boxes and cans. He says he wants to be a doctor one day.

Hannah just turned 4 on Sept. 22. She is our only daugter so far, but she keeps telling me she has a baby sister in my tummy (news to me!). She is extremely smart, oftentimes able to do things the boys haven't figured out. She refuses to be outdone by the boys so everything she does has to be bigger, grosser, or better than what the boys did. I'm sure she will grow up to be a very strong woman, very independent and very capable of taking care of herself. I love that Hannah can be so passionate about so many things. Everything is extreme to her: how she plays, how she cares about people, how she throws a tantrum. I find the hardest thing about homeschooling her is that she thinks she already knows everything.

Simeon is almost 2 and a half. He was born May 27, 2004. He doesn't talk much yet, although everyday we do learn he knows a new word or two. He pushes his way into my lap when we start reading everyday and will go through the sounds of the letters. He received a concussion in August and the doctor says that could set him back a year on his verbal and motor skills. So, we are just to keep working with him. I think he has the sensory integration disorder as well. Nothing constricting can be on him: clothes, shoes, a backpack carrier or stroller. He hates pants, so often he is running around with the legs hiked up over his knees. He  hates jackets, even if it is freezing outside. He hates water on his head. And certain foods he refuses to eat, and I think it is because of their texture. Simeon is full of energy, has a quiet inquisitivness about him, is very loving and friendly and is usually ready to flash a sunshiny smile at you at any time. His eyes are so big, and they express a lot of his thoughts. It reminds me of my dad, a lot.

Joshua was born Apr. 10, 2006. He is sweet and happy and chubby, just how he should be! He is a fast learner, and reminds me a lot of Jesse. He will be 6 months old this week, and he is sitting up, rocking on all fours and almost crawling. He is getting too big, too fast, and I wish they stayed this little for just a little bit longer.

One last thing is about Curtis and me. We have been married for 8 years. We are both ex-military (he is Army, and I am Air Force). We move around quite a bit, and so far our travels have taken us to Texas, Utah, back to Texas, Colorado and now Nebraska. He hails from Maine, and well, we are back where I started from, only I was on the Eastern side of Nebraska. Currently, we are both in school. He's trying to get a computer programming degree and I am getting one in Business Administration. We are LDS. Curtis grew up in the church and I am a convert. Curtis served his mission in New Zealand for two years. We have been blessed with many things, including trials, which have only helped to strengthen us. Our kids have been our greatest joy and I only hope that we can teach them all they need to know before being sent off into the world.