This week was pretty relaxed . We skipped school on Thursday and went swimming in the pool instead

Chance-
Science: History of Science including :

Alchemy, chemical reactions, Dark Ages, supernovas, heliocentric system, Copernican system, the microscope, The Enlightenment, atomic theory

Scientists: Grosseteste, Freiberg, Copernicus ,  Kepler, Galileo , Sir Isaac Newton, Leeuwenhoek

Math: none, still waiting on curriculum

Writing: Personal Narratives , Active Voice

Reading: Lord of the Flies

Art/Language: Narration about what he sees in the painting  “ The Favourite of the King”


Aurora-

Math:  fractions, measurement , money

Science- None

Social Studies: What it means to have freedom and to live in a free nation

Culture- Reinforcing using cardinal directions, map symbols, bodies of water and landforms . Hand on activity with a compass

Writing- Descriptive writing using adjectives

Art/Language: Narration about what she sees in the painting  “ Picking Daises ” 

Enzo-  Got some new Baby Einstein toys,  Brainy Baby videos counting 1-20 and shapes.

Its never to early to start learning! : )

Our library books were overdue once again so a trip to the library had to be done. It was just beginning to rain so we all loaded up in the car for the 15 minute drive to the library. I got ¾ of the way there and realized that we left all the overdue books and videos at home. We arrive to find that everyone and their brother paid a visit to the library the same time we did. The place was full of screaming kids, stressed out moms, and lunatic drivers.  Not only did I forget the books, but Enzos bottle as well and yes, you guessed it , it was feeding time.  I head back outside to get him a diaper because right on cue he pooped his pants.  Just as I was done getting his diaper from the car I stepped back to have a little old woman ram her car right into my left side. THANK GOD  Enzo was in my right arm, he was not injured. I on the other hand am not feeling so hot. I must have been in a state of shock because I told the woman we were fine, not to worry yadda yadda yadda. She was really old and felt really bad already.

 I walked back into the library and I had so much adrenaline running through me I felt like I was going to hurl and felt dizzy, I told the kids we had to go, NOW.

Training a team member, sending an email and feeding the baby. That’s what a WAHM  looks like.  ( work at home mom)

For a little Math/ Home Ec activity I had Aurora bake a cake. She did everything and I just oversaw. She did great!  

She measured everything out and mixed herself

She iced it herself

And I almost ate the whole thing.. By myself! : )

Wow, little did I really know how much time and money was going to have to go into this. Im really thinking this is just what he needs. He takes this very seriously and Im hoping this will get him connecting with other kids and also Im hoping this helps him get on track at school. He has had a problem with remembering to bring home his homework so the deal is : No books- No Scouts- No kidding.

Alex , taking the uniform VERY SERIOUSLY LOL

So far this week we have covered :

Chance-
Science: History of Science including :

Imhotep, penicillin, poppy seeds, Morphine ,codeine, papyrus, concept of atoms, density, atomic motion experiment, spontaneous generation, Ptolemaic system, evolution and the big bang theory

Scientists:
Thales, Anaximander, Leucippus, Democritus, Aristotle, Archimedes, Ptolemy

Math: none, still waiting on curriculum

Writing: The writing process and editing

Reading: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Aurora-

Math:  Review of addition, carrying, fractions, measurement 

Science- Atoms

Social Studies: continents,  communities , rural/urban/village/big city/town

Culture- using an atlas, cardinal directions, map symbols and keys, time zones

Writing- Titles, staying on subject

Language: Review of complete sentences

Alex – 

He is in public school and this week was very bumpy. So far since school started he did not bring home his homework 3 times, he got in a fight , the principal called and now his teachers want a conference. On the plus side he’s making friends and can spell all his spelling words.

Enzo-  Has watched baby Einstein videos on Beethoven and Galileo

Chance has been a HUGE help and I am forever grateful for all he does.

Chance ( and Aurora) did an experiment on atomic motion with boiling water and food coloring.

So the other day I was getting everything ready for a trip to the store including my reusable tote bags (that I always seem to forget) when my 6 year old turns to me and says “ Well its about time you went green! “ She then nodded her head as if she disapproves of my way of life and rolled her eyes.

When did all this happen? It seems like just yesterday she was pooping her pants and flinging cheerios on the floor. Today she’s like this little adult with so much attitude! What have I done here? I have created a little mini me, sass and all.  

World watch out because there isn’t enough room for 2 of us!

Aurora ready to go shopping!

With the excitement of the baby and being so busy I did not do my lesson plans over the summer. Tisk Tisk, I know but that’s ok, the world keeps on spinning. Our first day went pretty well even though I was on a rampage tearing my kitchen apart looking for the kids spelling program and the fact that I had to teach about  the history of science including Thales, Anaximander, Anaxmines and some others.

So what are we doing this year?

Chance (14) 8^th grade

Science- Apologia ‘s Exploring Creation with General Science
Math - Chalkdust Company Algebra 1
Writing- Spectrum Writing 8
Language- Queen homeschool Language Lessons
Spelling- Phonics Solutions

These are just his core subjects, he is free to learn about or watch anything educational he chooses.

Aurora (6) 2^nd grade

Science- Apologia Exploring Creation with Anatomy
Language- Abeka Language 2
Math - Abeka Arithmetic 2
Social Studies- Abeka Our America
Culture- Moving Beyond the Page gifted program
Spelling -Phonics Solution
Writing- Spectrum Writing 2
Reading- Flashkids reading for the gifted student grade 2

These are just her core subjects, she also does many educational computer programs, checks out library books and watches educational videos in her free time.

Alex (10) 5^th grade

Alex has returned back to school this year for 5^th grade and he’s only been there a week and Im really hoping we did the right thing. He’s doing great , he tested above grade level on all his subjects except for math but Im the one having difficulty trying to juggle everything. I want to keep him involved in our homeschool projects and field trips but he comes home with tons of homework I don’t have much time to homeschool him as well. I really don’t get what he does in school and why he brings so much home and honestly, its just a bunch of busy work. It really reminds me of why I hate public school. Just for fun I had Aurora do his science and she got it all right. I hate hate hate our school system!

Enzo (3 months )

Yes, I am even schooling Enzo, its never to early to start. So far I have read to him, played classical music, and talked to him about shapes and colors. I also talk to him all day to help him build his vocabulary.

We were studying metamorphosis a while back so I sent off for some caterpillars. We really enjoyed watching them go through the cycles and then we set the butterflies free in our back yard. Aurora and I tried raising tadpoles as well but we weren’t so lucky. Now our backyard is a tadpole graveyard. Everyone of them died when we moved them to another container. Oh well just another teachable moment. Nothing lasts forever.

Lorenzo Calogero Calma  arrived 4 weeks  early. (We call him Enzo for short) He had a few struggles with his lungs and his liver but he’s AOK now. He’s growing very quickly and is an excellent baby. Now that he’s been here almost 3 months Im still having a hard time finding time to balance everything. Work, homeschool, mommy stuff ect is just a little too much to handle some days but so far I’ve gotten through every day ( almost) without crying and I still have most my hair LOL .

In labor....

2 Days Old


2 months

3 months

What a nice trip. Looking back I still cant believe I went that far in my pregnancy. I spent the entire trip in a wheelchair ( which was pretty fun actually) and we just zipped in and zipped out.  Got our stuff and got on our way. In the previous years I just never really felt like we fit in and this year was totally different. Maybe it was because Im getting closer to having a “ Duggar” sized family, or maybe because some people actually remembered us for previous years or maybe I was just too miserable to notice. I felt as if I could go into labor at any time and boy was it hot! Anyways, we came , we saw and we had fun .

We allllll had fun in the wheelchair. Marc and Chance couldn't resist popping a few wheelies. FAIL. LOL

Since Aurora is doing the human body this year I picked her up this really awesome felt cutout of the human body. She couldnt wait to get it home so we just got comfy on the floor and played with it. It was pretty cool.

Everything was going very smoothly until last night. I have had a lot ( actually a tremendous amount ) of back pain lately and last night I started contracting every 5 minutes apart. After 1 ½ hours Marc and I headed to the hospital. We went through the same drill as we did in the past with the other 3. I got 2 bags of fluid, cervix was checked and I was given a shot of terbutaline and they finally stopped after a few hours. 

I really felt like this pregnancy was going to be different but now I know that my chances of having a preterm baby are very high. I am determined to have this baby in June when he is supposed to come and not a day sooner. I can only hope last night will be our only trip to the hospital until then but I know in the back of my mind that probably won’t be the case.  Either way, I just want a healthy baby, no more preemies!

Here is the latest shots of both of us :

I just want to make a public statement that I have some of the most awesome kids in the world.  This pregnancy has been getting a little rough with all of my back trouble so Im very limited in what I can do around here and they have not given me a hard time at all. They have been getting along so well and helping out so much it just makes me so proud of them.

Chance has especially been a huge help.  He’s almost 14 and turning into such a wonderful little man. He does so much for me and without him I would be lost. He’s going to make someone a very happy woman one day.

Cat that is….

A few weeks ago Little Kitty somehow managed to break her foot so badly that it had to be amputated. She ended up losing her entire leg.  She’s getting around pretty good but her mental state leaves a lot to be desired. She’s a little wacky, I think her new name might be “ Psycho Kitty”.  

Never a dull moment at the Calma’s!

Aurora is officially a cheerleader and loves it! We signed her up through the church She has practice once a week and a game every Saturday. She is so cute in her uniform  and pom poms!  She has even made a few friends as well. As much as she really likes it she has asked to do basketball next year and Im sure before that comes around she will want to do 100 other things.  To view a video of her doing one of her favorite cheer click here : http://www.youtube.com/heathercalma

Today we finished school early and headed down to the strawberry patch. We had never been there before but they had a pretty cool website so we decided  to check it out. The kids had a good time however if we go back we will definitely go in the morning. It was too hot and too crowded for this preggo mama.  I actually ended up going back to the car with the AC blowing on me.  I let Chance finish with the kids and then we were on our way. All in all we had a good time and I tomorrow we will be dipping them in chocolate. MMMMMMM Yummy!

If your local their website is http://thegirlsstrawberryupick.com/

Another great find for us has been Spectrum Writing $9.95 Barnes and Nobel. Alex and Chance each have this workbook and will do one lesson a day. They have been at this for a few weeks and their writing has been wonderful! The lessons are short and very easy for them to understand, I don’t have to worry about teaching the lesson, I just explain it if they need help. So far they have covered writing basics,  expressive writing and descriptive writing. I wouldn’t say they love it, but they are doing very well with it.

A few weeks back Chance couldn’t write a sentence that made sense ( Im not exaggerating) and last week he wrote a fantastic piece of descriptive writing :

“Diving down under the glassy wet surface of the water is like no other experience. The beautiful colors of the fish and coral is overwhelming. The sound of nothing but bubbles and waves crashing onto the beach is so peaceful and relaxing. The vast blue ocean has places just waiting to be discovered”.

I swear he did this all on his own using the writing process taught in this book. Im so thrilled with it I bought the next grade level for next year.

I have been thinking so much lately about how proud I am of all 3 of the kids and how well they are doing academically. I was actually in tears a few weeks ago over Chances writing and spelling issues and even though he still has his problems he has really impressed me with his writing and reading comprehension.

A few weeks back we took a trip to Barnes and Noble and I picked up some workbooks ( yuck, I know!) but honestly Im so glad I did. I found some wonderful teaching aides and they were very inexpensive.

Reading for the Gifted Student.  Challenging Activities for the Advanced Learner.
I looked at it and it has real stories and then reading comprehension questions, charts, vocabulary, ect.  The stories are about real life things and they love it! I originally only got one for Chance ( I got him 5^th grade even though he’s in 7^th because it is advanced and he’s behind so it all evened out) and then I thought all 3 kids could benefit from it and they sure have!  Aurora (6) has learned about the Nazca lines of Peru, Morocco, Igloos , Greenland, Ect. Its not all geography based but those stick out in my mind. She is also doing cause and effect, fact or opinion, homophones, charts, weather, ect. I swear, I think she has learned more from this $8.95 workbook than any other. The boys have learned about Eleanor Roosevelt, NASA, Coast Guard dogs, Lance Armstrong ect. I highly recommend this to everyone!

Oh Yea, the fair is in town. I absolutely hate the fair. It’s a waste of money and the rides are dangerous. I had decided that we just weren’t going to go this year but Marc really wanted to go. We actually had a really good time.  We made the kids earn their own money. Alex and Aurora were given $10 to start out with. We put this in an envelope and taped it to the wall in the kitchen. Every time they misbehaved they lost a dollar. By the day of the fair, Aurora had $10 and not surprisingly, Alex had $7. They each took this money to buy whatever they wanted with the exception of ride tickets. We did some research and found that over 12,000people a year are injured on carnival rides and more than half of those are children! Can you believe that? After we showed the kids the statistics none of them wanted to go on a ride. Problem solved!

We spent most of our time at the fair at yesteryear Village.  It’s made up of a bunch of old buildings from the 1800 and early 1900’s. Each building has a volunteer and they talk to the kids and give them a little history lesson. Aurora once again was in pioneer heaven!

Alex and Aurora in an old postal office

Aurora in an old school house

In the old church

All 3 kids being thier usual self , Alex cracks me up in this picture

In science we are studying complete and incomplete metamorphosis and ways insects defend themselves. We took a little nature walk the other day and the kids got along great! I love it how the oldest will teach and it just trickles down.  Also, we were out doing yard work the other day and I had to keep getting on to Chance and Aurora to get back to work because they kept stopping to “investigate“ every insect they came across. It’s funny how they can take every opportunity and make it educational.

Here are a few pictures from our nature walk.

Chance and Alex has this new thing where they just have to make a goofy face in every picture. I have to take at least 3 now because of this. Im so glad things are digital! Believe it not, this was the best one of 3.

Alex and Aurora found eggs on a leaf

Here Chance is explaining something to Alex about some bug.

Black History Month came early this year. I decided that since Aurora was learning about Abraham Lincoln and with the inauguration, why not just do it this month? So we did. I decorated our classroom ( dining room) with posters of Abe Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. Its quite a sight! Chance will just roll his eyes when he brings his friends over and they take a look around.

Aurora is really enjoying her history lessons except the part about slavery. She looks as if she’s going to cry but always wants me to continue .  I also got the kids books from the library about how slavery originated and also about child slavery today. It really made them open their eyes and now they know why America is such a great country to love in. Aurora and Alex have become very patriotic and all 3 watched the Obama inauguration very intently. They really surprise me! I never paid any attention to that stuff when I was a kid.

Christmas was a little different this year with the news of the new baby and we really stressed to the kids how we really had to watch our money. I told the kids not to expect a huge Christmas and to please let me know what they really wanted and I would do my best.

My children are officially the weirdest kids I know.  This Christmas they asked for some very unusual things and were 100% serious about it .

Aurora- a large foam finger and stilts.

Alex- a dollhouse

Chance- Judges gavel, a banana costume , maracas .

Marc- Drywall stilts ( for the 5^th year in a row)

?????????????????????????????????????????????

That’s what they asked for and that’s what they got and they were the happiest kids that day. One day I might understand them.

The day we decorated the tree and Chance deceided to dress like a monkey should have been an indication that this year would be odd..

Or maybe the day I realized someone altered my nativity scene with a  G I Joe....

Aurora was very happy to open her foam finger and Alex got a Nintendo DS

Chance was happy to get his maracas, gavel and banana costume

Alex ( and Aurora) got thier dollhouse...

Marc got his stilts...

Aurora got hers ......

And best of all, my brother Zakk was there, CLEAN AND SOBER!!!  : ) I am so proud of him and how far he has come. I truely hope he has put all of that behind him and continues to do well!

Thanksgiving this year was very special, we got to go visit my family in TN. I have never had a Thanksgiving there before so this was a real treat. We left at 10pm and drove through the night. The drive was pretty uneventful with the exception of us thinking we lost our debit card and the ticket Marc got in South Carolina. The debit card was in Chances pocket because he paid the bill at the Waffle house ( and we all forgot) and Im still laughing about Marc’s speeding ticket.  Ha ha ha ha he he he ho ho ho…..

The kids had a great time playing with their cousin Russell but we actually missed seeing a lot of our other family due to a bad stomach virus.  Aurora had a real good time at Dollywood, she was in pioneer heaven! It was great, I was able to take a lot of the situations there and turn them into teaching moments. I really wished I had gotten pictures of her with the old school house, church, glass blower, ect but I left the battery to my camera in the charger back at the house.

Thanksgiving in Tennessee is something that I would love to do again and Im sure the kids agree!

Holy Cow. That’s going to be us in the next few months. Yes, if you haven’t already heard, the kids are getting a real life lesson in addition. Daddy + Mommy on vacation in Italy with wine and without children =  baby in 9 months.

We are due June 24^th but are pretty sure the baby will arrive early just like the others.  I’ll be honest and say that I have had mixed emotions about this which is probably why I didn’t blog about it. Only about a month or so ago have I been able to wrap my mind around this and I have accepted it.  You’ll be happy to know Im getting excited. The shock has worn off and reality is setting in. I’m having another baby.  

Wow, it still feels so weird saying that

I am hoping that I can get a few suggestions as to what to do with Chance, my 13 ½  year old  in the subject of writing. I knew when we took him out of school his grammar, spelling and ability to compile a sentence that makes sense was poor but now that he’s been home for 18 months he honestly doesn’t seem to be making any progress. Well, I take that back. I have observed that through copywork his capitalization and punctuation are somewhat better but everything else leaves much to be desired. I am picturing the day he returns to high school and the teachers call me in and tell me what a disservice I have done for him with homeschooling.

We have been practicing all year on his spelling and yet he still cannot seem to grasp basic spelling rules and that words are not always spelled phonetically. Just today, I asked him for the abbreviation Mr. and he honestly thought the answer was mrs.  ( notice no capitalization) His lack of knowing how to spell has brought me to tears leaving him even more frustrated. I am honestly at the end of the line and I don’t know what else I can do.  Does anyone have any suggestions other than a private tutor? Money just will not allow that right now and I know I only have another 18 months before he goes into high school.

Aurora has been asking over and over if she can go to school next year. Every time she asks I tell her the same thing, “ You are very advanced, you will not enjoy it”.  Even though I really did feel this was true I was very curious what level she really is performing at compared to the public school.

The other night I took Aurora and her friend out for the evening and over dinner I asked Alivia what she working on in 2^nd grade.( Aurora should be in Kindergarten keep in mind)

Alivia answered things such as “ Money, Time, Adjectives, Nouns, Place Value, Rounding and Capitalization. When asked about Science and History she said she had a science class “ once”.  Aurora looked at her and blurted out “ Holy Cow, Im just as smart as you! I have already learned all that stuff”!  I also realized that Aurora has been working on things that Alivia still hasn’t even been introduced to .
( fractions, multiplication, synonyms, homophones, possessive nouns, ect)

Now, I sat there asking myself is my kid really that bright or are public schools really that “dumbed down”? Is it a Florida thing? But then at the same time, Im just teaching her the homeschool curriculum I have purchased for her.  She has never once complained and said it was too hard, she just eats it up.

I am really seeing now why HS kids are so advanced.  When you have the time to devote one on one , children are capable of learning just about anything you present to them .

Alivia and Aurora in the church at Yesteryear Village

This year started off great and Im happy to say has been going very smoothly.  No news is good news right?  Now that all 3 kids are working on so many different things I’m finding less and less time to update our blog but starting today Im going to see that it gets updated every week. I have made me a weekly “to do “ list organized by the day so I keep up on everything . ( school, work, blog, housework, ect)  Im putting this out here so I can be held accountable!

Since I got so behind on updating the blog I thought I would just post what we have been doing this year subject by subject. I know how everyone loves seeing the pictures so here you go!

Aurora has worked on many different things this year, she began with botany and learned all about photosynthesis , chlorophyll , carnivorous plants, ect.  We used the book  I Wonder Why Trees have Leaves  and supplemented with books from the library; she also watched many you tube videos. Who knew plants could be so interesting?

In the Fall she also enjoyed learning about pumpkins and Insects. She then joined her brothers with their curriculum ( Flying Creatures of the 5^th day)

Chance began the year with Chemistry ( Real Science for Kids Chemistry Level 1) and was finished in November. He is now working along with Alex and Aurora with the Flying Creatures curriculum.

Oh how I love History!! The kids have really enjoyed it as well. This year we are using the Time Travelers Colonial Life curriculum from www.homeschoolinthewoods.com and we just love it!  We have been taking it really slow and have just been doing it here and there. Its funny, the kids almost act as if it’s a treat when I pull it out.

We have done many different projects but I only have pictures of a few. Here are some of the things we have done so far.

Different types of colonial homes ( built some models and a rope bed)
Different types of clothing ( created a doll with all the many layers of clothes)
The Colonial School ( We also took 2 field trips to real colonial school houses)
General Stores and Apothecary Shoppes
Colonial Pastimes ( We played a few of the games and made a punch tin)

Cats Cradle


Making a punch tin

Sewing a mattress for our rope bed

Smell and taste testing different spices

Using a quill and ink

Yes, we have changed groups again but now we found one that will be not only great for me, but great for my kids. The last group we were associated with was just a little lax and I feel may have not been the best for me being it was my first year.  Our new group is based on education, education and more education. 

Sometime in March I came across a group of women that I really enjoy! Some of these women are previous school teachers who currently homeschool their children and also offer classes throughout the year.  This year Alex took a History class while Chance took a Science class. They really had a great time and learned a lot.  Alex’s class was very hands on .He made all sorts of crafts and got to eat all kinds of neat things from history.

One mother took pictures all year and then made an actual yearbook for the kids! This book was beautiful and exactly what you would get in a public school. They had an end of the year pool party where they all signed their yearbooks.  Its situations like this that make me laugh when people tell me how much my kids are missing from public school. The only things they are missing are exactly the things that I want them to miss!

Chance's Diarama for his Science class


Alex at the yearbook signing party

Even Aurora got in on the action. She made her own book and started collecting signatures... lol

Ever just look back and say “Oops, I sure messed that up” ? Well, it’s not a nice feeling especially when your children are concerned. Looking back at last year I know my children did very well but I also know where I messed up. Luckily, we have the summer and another great year ahead of us.

Alex is still seriously behind in Math. I know the benefits with HS is that the child can work at their own pace but as each day goes on, I see that he’s not really getting anywhere.  Or is he?  

When he started the year he had serious issues with counting money, telling time,  subtracting with regrouping , ect. We worked on a lot of this and now he’s doing better but he’s still not where he needs to be.  Where I feel like I messed up is with the curriculum I chose.  I had him doing Time for Learning and I really thought it was a good idea and really, it was just a waste of time.  I feel like he has better knowledge of how to do these things but still isn’t strong. It amazes me, he can tell you what binomial nomenclature is but he cant tell you what 46-38 is…. So to help fix this, Alex and I are working on his math through the summer 4 days a week.  I really hope that we can start next year with him doing 4^th grade math.

My second oops of the year was with the children’s writing. Luckily Alex doesnt have any problems with that but still, I think I could have done a better job.  I constantly have to remind myself to focus on how much they DID learn and not what they didn’t.

My third and final oops of the year was poor planning.  We started out great and then after Christmas I found myself winging it quite a bit. I had my planner but instead of planning what were going to do, I wrote down what we did.  To make sure this doesnt happen again I have been working on all of our plans for the year , including what day we will not have school.  I think this will help eliminate those “ lets see what fun idea I can come up with today”  feelings.

Just another situation where “Mistakes are Just Opportunities to Learn”




Alex having fun with fractions : )

I cannot believe that we took all 3 kids and we lived to tell about it! The kids were really well behaved and considering it was Alex and Auroras first time they did great! I know it wasn’t exactly what they were expecting it to be but they were wonderful. Chance was a HUGE help with keeping them under control while Marc and I shopped the curriculum.

I will be honest and say that I didn’t enjoy this year as much as last year. I wasn’t very happy with the lectures. When I read the line up , nothing really jumped out at me. I was really hoping for more talk on the Charlotte Mason method, notebooking, ect .  Also , Todd Wilson didn’t have any lectures going on however he did have a booth but I much rather of heard him give a presentation.   

My feelings of not fitting in were just as great as they were last year, that is until I met the sweetest couple from north Fl.   They saw me order a double, made a comment about me being with the convention so I pulled up a chair. Finally! My kind of people!  Christians that enjoy drinks by the pool! We enjoyed several drinks together and talked  about many things. She told me that she actually does her entire year of lesson plans during the summer and it takes her a few weeks. I thought about that a lot and Im happy to report that I have almost completed mine!

Another great thing that happened this year is I was standing at a booth and I heard someone call my name. I turn around and I was very happy to see it was Michelle Martin. She was an FYP colleague of mine several years back and she actually called me out of the blue a few months ago. She was asking about homeschooling and I told as much as I could and I recommend she attend the convention. Sure enough she came! : ) 

Just recently I found out that another FYP colleague of mine homeschools  and always attends the convention and just like Michelle and I, feels out of place. Next year should be a whole new experience for all of us, watch out homeschooling mamas! The FYP girls will be in town! You can easily spot us. Were fun, we attend happy hour , our children might be pierced and sporting purple hair and really, were just like you! We all want the same for our children so if you find yourself starring or wondering what we’re doing there, just know that not all homeschooling families may look the same but we all have the same agenda and know that homeschooling is the way to go! : )

After the convention we took the kids to Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. We got a great deal, only $32 each  for both parks ! Its called the "Homeschool Days" discount. The theme parks usually have booths at the convention so just grab a flier and take it with you to get the deal.  This is the only way a trip to both parks for a family of 5 would have been affordable for us.

We are coming upon the end of the year and I cannot believe how fast it has gone.  I know there have been days when I wanted to pull my hair out but over the past several weeks I am so proud of the kids and myself.  They have learned so much that I know that this really has been the best decision ever.

Chance has finally learned how to spell!! Well at least I should say he has learned spelling rules and I can see the excitement on his face when he can figure out how to spell a word.  He has 25 spelling words a day and he is getting almost everyone correct ! We are using Sequential Spelling from www.spelling.org  What a great product!  I just purchased Volume 2 for next year.

Alex and Chance are both excelling with their marine biology, we just began the last chapter today.  They have thoroughly enjoyed the curriculum we are using ( apologia, swimming creatures on the 5^th day) and are actually let down that we are nearing the end.  They have both really amazed me at what they have retained, even Aurora has picked up quite a bit.  

I have been looking at curriculum for next year and I believe that I have decided on Real science 4 kids http://www.arn.org/realscience/realscience_morabout.html .  This will cover 12 weeks each of Chemistry, Biology and Physics.  They offer Pre Level 1, Level 1 and Level 2. The great thing is Aurora will be able to handle Pre level 1 and now all 3 kids will be on the same page so to speak.  

Alex has just begun multiplication, I know it’s a little late compared to the public school kids but he just wasn’t ready.  In fact, in the beginning of the year he could not tell time, count money and was still having problems with subtraction.  Alex has come very far this year compared to where he was.  I am very proud of him .

The huge Florida homeschool convention is just around the corner and I cannot wait!!!! If you are local and have never been you have got to check it  out! www.FPEA.com Looking back over the past several months I am so happy with our success.  I have learned where we need some extra attention ( history and geography) but all in all we have had a very successful year and I am very , very happy with my children.

A couple months ago Marc and I decided to let Aurora go to school next year just so she can experience it. Now that some time has passed I just cant see her going. I don’t want to sound like “ my child is so advanced” but  she really is! She has sat in with us almost everyday for class and she started picking up so much that I put her to work.  She is reading at a first grade level and doing 1^st and 2^nd grade math.  Chance has taught her money in his free time and Alex has worked with her with reading a clock. What is there for her to learn in Kindergarten?  She knows her phonics, she knows basic math, she can even classify animals. I think she would be bored out of her mind if she went. We have 2 little girls 2 houses down and she plays with them almost everyday so she is socially involved. I just really think that public school would be a hindrance.  My only fear is she will feel as if she has missed out on something. Do you agree? Yes or no? Please leave a comment , Id love to get some feedback on this.

I'm looking to get ahold of a jar of Vegemite for our World Day project on Australia  I have tried Ebay and the shipping costs are outrageous.

If anyone could send me in the right direction Id appreciate it! Thanks!

Any Questions?

LOL

Chance thought he would let his mouth run today and I deceided that my car really could use a washing.

 Aurora was bored today and while I was busy working on the computer I hear her dragging in a box from outside and then she was up in the cabinets. She sat down at the table and got to work. I never said anything I just kept watching her.  She was so proud of her  “ car” .

 Ok maybe she’s not Van Gogh, but she did act out  “ van –go” LOL . She even had a steering wheel and a spare tire in the back!

January!

So far so good!  This month is going very smoothly!  I had a lot of trouble with Alex last month so to fix that situation I have put some responsibility on his Dad and Step mom. He now does his grammar and math at his home on the computer.  Here is our new schedule:

Wake up-
Work with Aurora on her reading and Math
10 am – Go get Alex  ( Chance does his Math and Grammar while Im gone)
Get back home, Start Spelling, Science and History or Bible.
12 pm  Lunch

My homeschool day is done!!  YES!!!

Right now for writing they are working on an “ Old Testament Tribune” Project that I got from www.homeschoolinthewoods.com I love that stuff!  Its part of the “ Old Testament Activity Pack”. They have been working on that all year.. Actually we better kick it up a notch if we are ever going to finish it. .  

Our History seems to be going down the cracks too so I have replaced it ( for the time being ) with Current Events and Debate. I got a subscription to “ Current Events” weekly reader series and the kids have really liked that so far. Im currently searching for another History program to get us back on track. The last one was good they just got a little bored with how bible based it was. I will admit I am getting bored too. ( I hate to say that though.. )  They just aren’t really into it like they were in the beginning of the year . I was teaching a lesson about Troy and they were completely lost so I got the movie from Netflix.  They loved it! Its amazing how they can learn so much better when they can actually SEE the violence….

Now our Science has been a blast!  We are doing so well with it that we will have the book finished before the end of the school year! That actually makes me a little sad though… I just love our science!

We just finished up Crustaceans and for cool hands on activity I took the kids out for lobster! I gave them a real hands on project by identifying the anatomy. They also got to try lobster for the first time; Alex was the only one that liked it so he ended up eating 2! I swear that kid will eat anything!

December was a really great month! Alex was slightly out of hand but we have since remedied that situation – See update in January….

We were studying  fish so I thought it would be a good idea to start with dissections!  I got everything we needed from www.homesciencetools.com  Aurora really impressed me , she was so eager to jump right in and get to cutting and identifying things. I went online and I printed out some guides and worksheets which helped a lot. This is the one we used: http://staff.tuhsd.k12.az.us/gfoster/standard/perchdissection.htm

That went so well that we moved on to do a shark a week or so later. Well, Chance and I went on to do a shark. Alex  wasn’t listening to me during the fish dissection and ended up stabbing himself in the hand. For that we watched some online videos which really helped a lot.  http://www.amnh.org/learn/pd/sharks_rays/rfl_dissection/  We would watch the segment and then do it on our shark.

TIP- Wear gloves for this one! The shark oil is really strong and it is nearly impossible to get the smell off your fingers!

Also in December the kids had a really great time at the homeschoolers meeting.

Aurora sat on Santas lap for the first time on Christmas Eve..

And last but not least... Chance made a really cute video that cracks me up everytime I see it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uinZkma-j4Q

Be sure you have your volume turned up!

November-

Ok, in October I took just Chance and Aurora to Disney leaving Alex at home so I decided to take him in November so he wouldn’t be left out. He was such an angel! We had such a great time! He is such a different kid when he is just with you one on one. He was so good that I took him to Universal Studios as well!

Also in November I took Chance and Alex to "Wanna do City" http://www.wannadocity.com/  This place is a homeschoolers dream!   It’s an indoor theme park for kids ages 5-12 .where they can  get to act out different professions. I really thought that Chance would be to old for it and some he was, but over all he had a really great time. Alex's favorite part was dressing up like a firefighter and getting on the fire truck, riding through the town and putting out a " fire" . We bought passes so they can go back over and over. it was pricey but well worth it. Aurora didn’t go but I will take her back next time.

After that we went shopping at the Sawgrass Mills Mall. Sometimes I just cant believe what I can get my kids to do....

I know , I know, its pictures like this that give homeschoolers a bad name... LOL  " Unsocialized" ? Not my kids! LOL

At our bimonthly homeschoolers meeting I was finally able to get a few nice shots of 3 of them together.


And yes as you may have noticed in these pics, Chance cut all his hair off.  I cried... alot.

Wow, did I get behind!! Here is a little catch up to fill you all in.

October- We let Aurora stay in school and have her 5th birthday party and then we finally pulled her out. We really didn’t have a choice, we just couldn’t afford it any longer. Now that I had 3 kids home my blog became abandoned : (  Marc and I went to Aruba the day after we took Aurora out of school so my mom had the first experience of homeschooling my 3 kids before I did! ( Ha Ha )  Nothing very excited happened that I can really remember but I Aurora and I did make a doll together.

oh yes, I do remember..

On Halloween I took the kids to Disney World, while I was gone we were robbed! They got my video camera with my trip to Aruba still in it, my laptop with Chances math cd in it,  our PS2 and Marc's Mp3 player. We called the police and when they came I had him teach the kids a lesson fingerprinting. I had a pic somewhere but I can’t find it now...

Here we are at Disney unsuspecting of what is going on at home. As you can see we were pirates and the tea cups were fun LOL

For the past 2 weeks have done a unit study on all different kinds of mummies as well as ancient Egypt. Today we wrapped up the unit with 2 really great activities!  We visited the local museum and we were able to see a real mummy and real ancient Egyptian artifacts! When we came home the kids made Egyptian costumes, made an Egyptian music video and then mummified Aurora!

Here are just a few pics and here are some links to our videos on Youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNN00As3aD4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVOoEZePyVw&feature=related

I was planning on building a website to host all of our pictures but its not coming along so well....

Here is just some stuff in the mean time. Hope you all enjoy!

The kids at the museum with a real mummy!

She can now tell you if an animal is a bird, mammal, amphibian, Reptile, crustation, mollusk , Insect or arachnid.  She also knows which animals are viviparous  or ovoviparous. We also just started on Carnivores and herbivores. 

In school shes learning about the letter E and vowels. Whoo de doo ! LOL   ( I did  get a list of schools in our area for Pre K and unfortunately not one school is teaching at her level but on the bright side I registered for a free service we have for a discount on Pre K. Now we only have to pay $559 a month for her school/babysitting)

Once upon a time a UFO appeared in the sky. It zapped the Atlantic Ocean which made a huge wave and it crashed into New York City. It covered the whole city of Queens. A big volcano blew! It was terrible I say!

Suddenly, it stopped.  Then I heard a huge roar. I was so scared I looked down because I thought I had peed my pants! In the air I heard a huge boom! A plane had blown up! Yearrrrrrrrrrrummmm booom! Fire raged through the sky!

Everyone kept starring and then suddenly a dragon appeared before me . I was frightened and I ran as fast as lightning! I ran to a phone booth and called Chance. Chance said “ What? “ I said “ I need your Lamborghini” He said, “ All right, sit tight, I’ll be there in two shakes of a rabbit’s tail.  Chance got there and said Come on! I said “ Chance, I can explain”  “Just shut up and get in” Chance replies.  We left and never saw that dragon again!

I knew that an Egyptian unity study was going to be a bad idea. For one, I hate unit studies. We only ended up doing this on accident. ( See earlier blog) It seems ever since we have started this nothing can go right!

Yesterday was the first day we were to begin our unit and I woke up to a very warm house. It wasn’t until later I realized that my central AC was broken! I gathered the kids and we went to the library. We just decided that we would do class there since it was cooler.  We read about Egypt, we did some map work, we discussed in great length about how mummies were made, came home, had a writing assignment, watched an National Geographic special on mummies and the kids made old looking maps. I thought all was good except for the AC .

We were dying in the heat so I sent the kids outside where it was cooler . Chance fell off his skateboard and hurt his butt. Aurora was running and twisted her ankle. Marc was an hour late coming home because some crazed gunman had i95 shut down. We sit down to dinner an hour late in the dark ( the lights made it too hot). Marc asks Chance what he learned today and he couldn’t not remember e single thing I taught him that day!!! I was so let down!

Both kids are hobbling around and later that night chance and Marc were rough housing and it got extremely out of hand  which led to a huge argument and Chance really hurt. To top it off, every email I sent was returned because there was something wrong with my system. In the end it was a pretty crappy day.

A typical homeschool day begins when I wake up. I do my morning chores. My mother and I drop my sister off at school and we go get my brother. When I get home, I do my Math. After Im done with that, we do Science or History. I like Science because we study marine animals. I like History because it’s interesting and fun. After Science or History, we do a fun hands on activity outside.  Also, we do a writing lesson or go on an educational fieldtrip, watch a movie or go to the library. Then we have free time and after free time we take my brother home.  Once my brother is home, I read 2 chapters in my book and Im done with school for the day.  Usually I do my afternoon chores which takes me about 30 minutes. After my chores I ride my bike for a while. When Im done I go on the computer then I will set the table and eat dinner. After dinner I watch some tv , take a shower, brush my teeth, feed my fish, clean my room and go to bed.  =D