Tomorrow is Halloween. Feelings about this particular "holiday" run pretty deep, especially on the side against it. Many will bring up the origins, posting blogs and videos and such. That's fine if they want to take the time and effort to do so but for me, my choice of whether or not to participate is made based on what I see happening here and now. So what is it that I see happening now? I'm glad you asked, I will gladly tell you.....

First, I see this day as an excuse for teenagers to be destructive and show blatant disrespect for the property of others. Things such as Toilet papering, Egging, and even some forking others yards! And I'm sure there are other "traditions" that I know nothing of that are equally as disrespectful! Sure, its all fun and games - FOR THEM - but the day after the person that actually owns the property has a big clean up job to do. Sorry but if its not fun for BOTH parties, I don't see it as "innocent fun" or "kids being kids".

Second, I see female costumes getting skimpier and more "slut" like then ever before. Shorter, tighter, and showing as much skin as possible seems to be all the rage! Being a prostitute for real is not only immoral but its downright dangerous! I don't let my girls dress like little "prosti-tots" on any other day of the year and I most certainly wouldn't want them dressing up as such for this so called "holiday". Some would point out that the costumes I am referring to are made for adults.....well, I don't think adults should be dressing like that either! In my home it is the rule that if I wouldn't want my kids doing it, listening to it, or watching it...the "I" don't do it, listen to it, or watch it.  There is WAY too much "do as I say and not as I do" going on in the area of parenting these days.

Third, I see costumes getting scarier and bloodier. I believe that by making evil things a game, we are teaching our kids that scary isn't "actually" scary, its just a game. Nothing to worry about at all. Then they go to church and hear about Hell, and it has little to no effect on them because there is no such thing as "scary" anymore. I believe these kinds of costumes desensitize people against the REAL torture and other things that are very present and very REAL in Hell! I wonder how many people "could" have been saved had they realized what Hell would REALLY be like, but instead they were taught that scary things are just a game and nothing to worry about at all!?!?!

And lastly, I see witches, wizards, devils, ghosts, scorcerers, seances, tarot cards, oija boards, magic, death, and the like being glorified! ALL of which we are told by GOD are evil, detestable, and we are to STAY AWAY FROM.

With all this in mind, we have opted not to participate. Some may think my kids  are missing out, but I wonder, what exactly are they missing out on???.......Getting candy?? Nope that can't be it, they get candy at Christmas, Easter, and many other times throughout the year for no reason at all. The dressing up??? Nope, that can't be it either because they are allowed to play dress up any time they want., many times my girls will tell me one of them is being snow white and the other cinderella, or one is being the "mommy" and the other the "daddy". and so on. Maybe its the begging door to door for candy....NOPE again, they beg for candy from us ALL year long!! LOL

So if you take away the dressing up, the candy, and the begging for candy, what's left??? Well, it seems to be all that Evil stuff that we are warned not to mess with........Oh and in case your wondering, my kids have never gone trick or treating and they have never once complained about it or said they thought they were missing out... =)

Last night TLC aired the birth of the first "Grand-duggar" as they named it. Jim Bob and  Michelle Duggar became first time grandparents. For days it was "tune in Tuesday at nine" and "join in the celebration" and all that jazz. I'm thinking, hey cool! I don't really watch the show (keep forgetting when its on) but this is something I'd like to see. Over the years I've become fascinated with births and so I was intrigued! I wanted to be a part of this momentous occasion. So I planned to be there, nine o'clock last night, in front of the TV watching little Mackynzie being born. Well, quite frankly it didn't go as I thought it would.....

First of all, it was a 90 minute thing.....ok, longer then I thought but no biggie. So I am sitting there and we see the Duggars go shopping, we see a Doctors appointment, we see the makings of a baby shower.....but one hour into this and STILL NO BIRTH! Here I am, my husband beside me in bed, I've got a headache that was just pounding......I'm wanting to go to sleep but I don't want to miss the birth!

Then a disclaimer comes up "Viewer discretion is advised, scenes of live birth..." I'm thinking, ok finally here comes the labor pains........WRONG! For the next 20 minutes its the baby shower! We're down to the last ten minutes of the show and then FINALLY, its contractions, phone calls, and looks of pain OH MY!

I watched the child being born, and then thought to myself....that's it??? they put up a viewer discretion for that!?!?! Watching a baby being born is an awesome thing, and I don't want to sound like its not...but I've seen more blood and more "graphic" material on A Baby Story and that show doesn't have a warning at the beginning. They showed the "mom to be" in pain, "dad to be" telling her to push....a few more pushing scenes as Grandma Duggar and Aunt Jill arrive, then the next thing you know, "dad" is holding the wet newborn in his hands........I don't think a disclaimer was necessary, they didn't show anything that I wouldn't let my kids - ANY OF THEM (ages 3, 6, and 9) see!

I waited for 80 minutes to see a 10 minute segment that I "thought" was going to be a bigger part of the show. I was glad to see it but I wish they would have focused a little more on the birth and a bit less on the baby shower preparations and the shower itself.

Congratulations to the Duggar Family on their new addition....=) Thank you for sharing that with the world! and by the way.....your daughters first name is the same as my daughters middle name (spelled differently of course!)

It's amazing how easy it is to go on Facebook and talk up a storm, and yet for my blog here - I have a hard time finding things to say or I just keep putting it off....LOL. Well I do admit, it is easier in one respect - there is a lot more interaction......not many people comment on here...LOL =)

So these past few weeks have been hard. Sicknesses all around! The week before last I forced myself to get school done everyday, but then last week I backed off and was content with whatever could get done. This week, will probably be the same. Once I am healthy again, I will figure out where we are on everything and we'll get back on a regular schedule.

I've been attending the Ladies Bible Study at church. I've really been enjoying it. Today was my day to bring snack, but  I'm doubting I'll even make it. Yesterday I called a friend from the group and asked to switch with her so that's covered tonight whether I make it or not. We are learning about the book of Colossians. Its been interesting and makes me think. They are talking about doing a study of Revelations during the next session of study, but I don't know if I want to be there for that or not.....honestly, Revelations scares me! All that end times stuff - CCRREEEPPPYYYY!!!!! We'll see, maybe I'll change my mind and go for it anyway.....

The girls have been doing good in school. Myriam got 100 on her first spelling test.  A couple of days last week I had Sarah fill in for me in school because I had little to no voice! She loved it. I had her help Myriam with her things, and then I wrote down all the stuff Sarah could do by  herself of her own stuff. That did leave a few subjects out for a couple of days but she isn't as behind as she'd be if we didn't do any school at all...=)

Feels kinda crazy to say we're "behind".....behind what?? the public school??? Hardly! The only thing we are "behind" on is what I have written down in my planner......but that's life right, things don't always go as "planned"....I'd almost have to worry if they did!! LOL

All of the kids are in Tumbling classes. CJ is doing pretty well, but I'm thinking he'll be repeating the preschool class again anyway......he, as well as many of his classmates, aren't catching on very well.....ok maybe I should say its just taking time...after all, you can't expect perfection from a three year old =)  Myriam is doing well in her class.....her only problem is she needs to calm down, she is always so excited to be there that she doesn't always pay attention when the instructor is teaching. Sarah is doing absolutely AMAZING!! The first time she ever tried to do a one handed cartwheel, she did it perfectly as though she'd done them a million times before! The teacher (as well as mommy) sees a lot of talent from her in this area. Sarah definitely has some natural talent/gift in the area of Tumbling!

Well, lunchtime is over and the dryer just told me its done, so I better go......have a nice day all! =)

This was posted by Demi Lavato on Myspace....

"National Bullying Prevention Week
Hey guys,

It’s National Bullying Prevention Awareness Week and I am urging everyone to get involved. I’ve talked about it before but for those who don’t know, I was a victim of bullying and was taken out of school to be home schooled.

Just because bullying happens every day doesn’t mean we have to accept it. Did you know that more than 160,000 kids stay home from school to avoid bullying? That’s just not right. No one should intimidate or scare you like that. Even if you’re not a victim, you can help others by speaking up. I decided to try and help other kids that are being bullied and recently teamed up with Pacer’s National Center for Bullying Prevention. Anyone can check out PACER’s TeensAgainstBullying.org and PACER.org and find ways to stop bullying.

http://www.pacerteensagainstbullying.org/

If we speak up, we can make a difference. I did it and so can you!

Demi "

Anyone want to claim that Demi Lavato is socially awkward, or can't get along in the real world????? ..........Nope didn't think so.......I don't think people realize just how many people in fact HAVE been home schooled at some point in there lives.

Ok, off my soap box for the day.....=)

I remember many years ago I looked forward each week to watching this new show called America's Funniest Home Videos. Each week was a treat of wacky and crazy things people did or silly pranks people played on friends and family  members. It was a nice break from life to sit back and just laugh away. I remember Bob Saget sitting on that couch, on a stage made to "look" like a living room giving the impression he was watching those videos right along with us. As the years went by, eventually I fell away from my habit of watching each week and soon I wasn't watching at all.

Years later, I am flipping through the channels and I happen to come across an episode of AFV. By now they've shortened the name to those three letters (still meaning the same thing) and a new host as well, Tom Bergeron. Even the set had changed, that cute little living room that Bob sat in was no longer, now it was more like a game show (at least that's my impression). I decided to watch some. And as I watched, what they presented as "funny" I was anything but amused.

In the early years, there was a wide variety of videos, but now it seemed to center around one main theme - people getting hurt! Sure there was a video here or there thrown in about a kid doing something cute or a cat being scared senseless but I couldn't believe the amount of videos that had to do with someone doing something - either intentional or not- and ending up on the ground hurting. Of course, was anyone concerned, appalled, or even the slightest bit uncomfortable....NO! They sat there dutifully laughing away. I'm sure they justified it away by saying to themselves, well there ok.......after all, they sent the video in. It's not that bad, nobody  "really" got hurt.

Is this what  "America" calls funny!?!?! Are we really desensitized enough that we can watch someone get hurt and think nothing of it, or just out right laugh?!?!? I'm sorry but I'm NOT sorry, this is absolutely unacceptable! How can someone on one day say how horrible it is that nobody helps anybody any more but then the next watch a show like this and laugh when someone does a face plant on concrete!

We don't allow that show in our home. As far as we are concerned, we don't want our children to see us laugh at the pain of others. I won't allow my kids to see me getting enjoyment out of others discomfort. The Bible calls us to "laugh with those that laugh" and "cry with those that are crying" we are to "share each others burden"........laughing at someone doing something stupid and getting hurt in the process is NOT sharing anyones burden and its not crying with those that are crying. It's little more then saying "I don't give a care about you, all your good for is to put on a show for me, and if you get hurt, hey all the better that's hilarious."

I hope to teach my kids to have enough respect for others that they won't get pleasure out of their pain. There is no such thing as "just a tv show".....EVERYTHING you watch, listen to, or play does affect you in one way or another. And sadly, its not always for the good.

So, I'm starting out my week with two sick girls. One has had  a cough for several weeks and its just now getting worse and starting to "sound" sick. The other is showing what could be the early signs of chicken pox. Can't say for sure...so far it just "looks" like some kind of cold/flu but I did look up information on the pox and her symptoms are on there ( a friend at church had them, that's why we're suspecting). We will know for sure in the next day or two, cuz if she does have the pox then that's when the spots should start showing up.

Although one is sick enough to need to stay away from people, and the other seems to be getting close to it, we are still doing school. We're just taking it slow and steady today. Basically, I am doing more of the hands on part of things and they are doing more of the "lay there and listen" parts of things. Its actually past our lunchtime right now and both of them are only about half way through their assignments for the day. I want to get school done but I don't want to push them. So they are trading off...while I work with one, the other lays down and when I'm ready, they switch. Its working out pretty well....especially since I'm not beating myself up over not getting any house work done yet....that will come when it comes I REFUSE to worry about it today!

I read some crazy things that had been posted on here.....crazy as in the articles they were referencing! There was a teacher that was let go because she told a students parents about the beating the kid went through - the school calls it a breech of something I can't remember....basically the school tried to cover it up and they got caught - so, the person doing the RIGHT thing was fired. How supremely DUMB! Do I really need to say anymore about why I refuse to bow down at the alter of the Public school system!?!?! If they won't protect the kid (rather then protect their own interests!) then why on earth should I trust them to educate my child!!! O.K. nuff said....

I better get off here and finish up the day. I'm wondering what on earth the rest of the week has in store for me....So far its rainy days and sick kids, which will probably mean canceled plans that we ALL were looking so forward to =(

Q: What makes you think you can do the same job as someone who went to college and is trained to teach?

A: I don' t think I can do the same job, and I am not doing the same job. Teaching in and of itself, is sharing knowledge with someone that does not have that same knowledge. Mothers teach their kids to walk and to talk, how to use the bathroom and dress themselves. Teaching is so much more then books!

Q: How can you be qualified to teach when there are so many others that go to college and get a degree to do this?

A: I am qualified to teach in any subject that I myself have already been through. I can teach fourth grade math because I myself was once in fourth grade and did that math. I can teach first grade phonics because I was in first grade at one time.

Teachers in a public school (or other school outside of the home) setting will be teaching hundreds of students in the lifetime of their career. Many different kids from many different kinds of situations and different kinds of backgrounds and different levels of knowledge within any given subject. THAT is why the college level training is needed. It is necessary to have that kind of training when you need to be ready for any and ALL kinds of kids in all kinds of situations.

My classroom size is directly related to the number of kids I choose to raise. I will not be raising hundreds of kids! At this point, I have ONE preschooler, ONE first grader, and ONE fourth grader. I KNOW what their home life is like, I KNOW their individual strengths and weaknesses, I KNOW what school training they have had.....and the list goes on. I do not need special training in dealing with my own kids when I have been with them every day since their birth.

If I had the desire to teach more then just my own kids then I too would be in a college classroom getting a degree.

Q: Do your kids get to do school in their pajamas?

A: Honestly, this has to be the most rediculous assumption a person can make! On days when your kids don't "go" to school do you let them just run around in there pajamas all day!?!?!? NO, certainly not! My kids are expected to get dressed and comb their hair every day. Once in a great while they may be allowed a "pajama day" for fun but it is certainly  NOT an every day thing. They need to learn to take care of themselves just like anyone else.

Q: How can you teach a subject that you are weak in?

A: I can answer this with four words: TEACHERS MANUAL, and ANSWER KEYS. Curriculum outlines in teacher manuals give tips and hints for ideas of how to teach, some will even take you through step by step. Just as our public school counterparts we have manuals and answer keys to help us.

Not to mention all the other options out there such as co-ops, tutors, DVD programs, Satellite classrooms....there is no shortage of help for the teacher that needs a little help in teaching!

Q: Your going to put them in regular school when they get to high school, right?

A: In a word, No. I too, went through high school and I have the diploma to prove it! I can teach any subject that I myself have been through and passed. And as for subjects that are more advanced then me or that I did not take....refer to the second paragraph of the above answer. There are many options, there is no need to send them to "regular school" as you put it...not unless we decide that change is necessary.

Q: Its awfully arrogant of you to think you can do the same job as someone who went to college and was trained in this field.

A: I would have to agree! If  I were to walk into a public school classroom and expect them to let me teach that class of 30 kids without a college degree, then that would be very arrogant. However, that is NOT what I am doing. I am not doing the same thing they are. I do not get paid to do this, I am not teaching 30 plus students, I am not teaching kids other then my own. I do not think I can do "the same job" as my public school counter part. I am teaching my own kids.....the very  kids I have been "teaching" since the day they were born. I taught them how to walk, talk, dress themselves, brush their teeth, hold my hand in parking lots, etc....and now I am teaching them lessons from textbooks.

The main purpose of my blog here, is to let people know how my girls are doing in school and to talk about school related things....however, right now I need to let out some feelings and due to the nature of the feelings and who they are about I feel I can't post this on Facebook as I would other non-school related things. I won't get into the who of things or how this came about, but I want to talk about what I am feeling right now....

The best way to describe it is, I feel like I am standing at an intersection. I have a choice to make....do I go left, right, or straight ahead?  If I go straight ahead then that would mean a high probability of conflict which would probably mean more hurt feelings....but in the end if things got resolved then  a smaller but nagging issue would be taken care of. If I choose left or right, the road might start off smoother (no conflict) but there is no guarantee that it wouldn't actually make things worse! Honestly, in this situation, there are NO guarantees that what I do or don't do wouldn't make things worse. =(

In the Bible there are verses that talk about how you need to be willing to give up everything for God. Material possessions, relationships (both friends and family), things that you think you need to be comfortable, etc. The situation I am being faced with has happened a few times before, and I'm not sure if it keeps happening because it wasn't handled well in the past, if there is some lesson I am supposed to learn that I haven't, or if I'm supposed to walk away in the name of Jesus and just focus on Him and let this potentially harmful thing go.....

Its one of those time when I wish God would just come down and tell me face to face what he expects of me. I do have His word, in fact I've got three Bibles.....but I wouldn't even know where to start to look for an answer. I suppose I could try to find the passages I have already talked about and see if I think it fits. That might be a good starting point.

I have talked with my husband. He has given me his advice and what he thinks I should do. It really helps to have him there because he is very good at taking the emotion out of a situation and looking at it for what it really is. I don't have that ability, for me EVERYTHING is emotional, therefore EVERYTHING affects me extremely deeply. And feeling things so deeply means I can get confused very easily because I don't see the situation for what it is.

If anyone does read this, will you please pray for me? Please pray I will make the right decision, because this is one time when I REALLY REALLY don't want to mess things up! Even though I feel like I already have...=(

I don't know if this is more of an opinion or a rant because of how deeply I feel this opinion but I've complained enough about it in my head, I think I need a way to let it out.....LOL.

It boils down to this, I think its totally absurd that Kindergartners are going all day now. To some this is a relatively small issue and they have no problem with it.......but when I first heard of this craziness the first thought that came to my head was "these kids will be so tired they won't be able to do anything else!" and guess what.......my little prediction is coming TRUE! I've got parents telling me that their kids won't be able to do anything outside of school because they are so exhausted.

All these so called "experts" that think they know everything because they went to college sure are messing everything up. Who on earth thought it would be a GOOD idea to make five and six years get up at 6 in the morning and SIT all day in a classroom just to get home near dinner time is .....well, I'll just say it - STUPID!

When I first raised questions about this I was told, "well they have them reading by the end of the year now". That might have held water with me but I had JUST finished with Myriam in Kindergarten and her days were less than three hours, she finished in less than six months, AND SHE WAS READING BY THE END OF HER YEAR! Sorry guys, your argument doesn't hold water.....you can't blame teaching reading for why they thought they should extend the school day.

I see a lot of parents handing out lots of pity for there kids but I don't understand why more aren't just plain mad! After all, for years Kindergarten was a half day thing. The very same parents that are feeling so badly for there little ones probably went half day......I remember I was in PM kindergarten! And this country, as well as these other peoples educations, did not suffer one bit!

I wish more parents would stand up and say something! Isn't that what PTA and other parental organizations within  the school system are for....to stand up for your kid! When parents have to restrict outside activities because school is just too dang long and their kids are so stinking tired at the end of it....I think its time to stand up and say something! Of course, me being a homeschooler I'd say pull them out and do it yourself at home.....but let's face it, some can't homeschool and others just don't want to. But stand up for pete's sake.....WHY ARE YOU LETTING THIS INSTITUTION WEAR OUT YOUR KID!!!!!  YOU are the parent! YOU know your kid better than anyone! It won't take long and you'll plainly see the toll this is taking on our poor kindergartners.........at what line do you all finally stand up and say THAT'S ENOUGH!

My daughters are in extra curricular things because our schedule allows for it, and they are plenty awake and full of energy to do so.......I feel a lot of pity for some of their friends that won't have the same opportunity because when they get home at the end of the day all they have time for is homework, dinner, and bed. (and people are worried that MY kids won't have any social interaction!)

I meant to update daily, but things have gotten busy, and well, you know the routine! =)

School is still going along well. Myriam is doing an awesome job with all her subjects. Although in reading she tends to resist some. I'm not sure why, maybe she just isn't that much into "words" yet....LOL. Sarah is showing good progress, but I'm starting to see some weak areas. I hope to remedy that by having a "deviating week" this week. I call it that because I'm deviating from my regularly scheduled class assignments, and I will be doing some heavy reviewing and helping her to learn better studying habits. I just wonder how she is going to take to it......she doesn't know it but she is in for A LOT of writing and A LOT of rereading!

The stickers are going well, she already has plans to "save up" her money for something she saw at the store that she really liked. We took her out a few days ago, to spend her birthday money, and she really took her time in deciding what she wanted.....she was really torn between two items...she finally decided to buy one now, and save up her "sticker" money for the other (sadly, I don't think she'll earn enough sticker money for it but if she does a good job and actually saves up all that money, I'll be glad to pitch in the rest to help her get it)

I think that's all, here on the homeschool front, now I've got some kids to get to bed...night night!

For many years after finally getting out of what I considered my own personal hell on earth (public school) I carried around many resentments related to what had gone on. Being made to feel like dirt on a daily basis, or completely ignored like it wasn't even worth someones breath to bother talking to me like a human being, left a rather sour taste in my mouth. I remember a conversation I had when a friend toward the end of my 8th grade year.....I told her I was going to ask my mother to homeschool me - I hated it there SO BAD that I'd rather spend all day AT HOME then be forced to come back there for eight hours a day! It was also in that time that I decided I wanted to homeschool my own kids. Sure, there is no guarantee they'd go through what I did, but I wasn't willing to take that chance. It wasn't worth my kids possibly ending up as emotionally damaged as me, at least, it wasn't to me.

The thought occurred to me, many months ago.....I actually should be thankful for what I went through! I should be THANKING the public school! WOW, that was quite the switch from my resentful ways!!

It dawned on me.....had it not been for what I went through I would not have been so determined to homeschool, I would have been like everybody else sending my kids off on that big yellow bus. I would be missing out on all the fun, joy, and milestones......I don't know why my life would be like with out homeschooling but I'm glad I don't have to find out.....soooo after many years and tears....

Thank you public school system.....your crappiness has helped motivate me to do something that I absolutely LOVE and all it took was many years of heartache and pain within your walls of brick and mortar =)

I gave birth to my first little baby girl...=)  And I remember it as it if it were just last week or five hours ago. I am amazed at how  far she's come......from this tiny little five pound baby into a 55 pound walking, talking, female that is nearly my size (well at last measurement she still had 10 inches to go...lol)

Even though nine isn't necessarily considered one of the "big" ages like 16 or 18, I wanted to make her day special......after all, my little girl is on the brink of actually becoming a woman! She's got her own style, her own opinions, she voices her likes and dislikes freely.....she is her own person (and boy do I know it when I tell her to do something she doesn't "want" to do.....LOL). In addition to bouncy balls and new dolls, it's talks about boys and monthly cycles. Its not just care bears and blues clues, its Hannah Montana and the desire for make up. I can't just go out and buy what "I" think are cute dresses......I have learned that I have to take her with me now to buy clothes so SHE can tell me what she likes (cuz,  if I buy something she doesn't like, she just doesn't wear it and its wasted money).

So today is full of fun for her.....or that's the plan anyway! I have invited some friends over, she knows about that part but doesn't know which friends....and we bought a brand new veggie tale to watch, she has no idea about that! We decorated the living room last night and I'm going to have some of her favorite snacks for her and her friends today.

As I go over and over my plans for the day in my head, it makes me glad.....not just about being able to do something nice for my daughter but because I feel that in the future, Homeschooling will help me to be able to do this again. The way we handle social situations is probably different from many others, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of my homeschooling friends do the same.

Because they are home during the day for learning, there isn't the drop off and go - like public school. My kids don't spend 6-8 hours daily around hundreds of other kids that we've  never even met and most likely aside from hearing a name here or there never will. In other activities, its still not drop off and go- we stay for the whole thing! Tumbling is for an hour....I take them and I stay with them......T-ball was two hours.....We took them and we stayed with them. Of course, we are not on the field or on the mats doing what they are doing but we are on the sidelines, watching and observing as our kids are being taught. We were able to SEE who our kids were hanging out with, we were able to MEET their fellow "classmates", we knew NAMES both first and last, we were able to MEET THE PARENTS of these kids, which in turn made more friends for us as parents (more specifically me, the mother...lol....not many men went to tumbling practice...lol)

Because of all of this, I knew who my daughter was close to. I could get contact information to get ahold of parents. And I was able to invite a list of friends to come over today .........and let the guest list be a secret from my daughter so she can be surprised when they show up. I like the security of knowing who my kids are friends with and being able to know what kind of homes they come from. I don't have to worry (at least not so far...) about other kids teaching mine how to swear or smoke, or tell a dirty joke and I have to explain what the words mean- words that KIDS shouldn't even know but they do!

I love my kids and I love our life...can ya tell =) But now, its off to get ready for a birthday get together......we are taking today off from school and its going to be all about Sarah today!!

A lot of people are starting school this week, and next week. By the end of September all the public schools and most all the homeschoolers that I know will be back at it cracking the books yet again. Now that we've been at it for going on four weeks now, I thought I'd take some time to reflect on WHY I love to do this thing called Home Schooling!! Maybe someday in the future I'll attack the "why" of it....but for now, I just want to share the many joys I get out of it....

Here they are,  in no particular order......

1.) My kids can get a full night sleep. If for some reason they are up later then usual, they can sleep it off in the morning....I do my best to keep to a schedule, but let's face it - Life happens!! and usually with that comes late nights and messed up plans. If my kids need it, they can sleep an extra hour or two and go to "school" rested.

2.) Healthy lunches. With me being the "lunch lady" I get to decide what they eat. That is also true of public schoolers whose moms pack their lunch but can they pack Long Grain Wild Rice, baked potato, green beans and corn in those little brown bags??? Nope, that would go bad by lunch, or at the very least be cold and VERY unappealing to eat.....but we can have that stuff for lunch because when we break for eating, not only does the food get made then, but it also gets eaten then, fresh off the stove!

3.) No lying about homework. I'm not saying that all kids lie about homework, but me being the teacher, there isn't even the chance! I KNOW what we did, and I KNOW what they are supposed to do (that is, if I even assign any evening work)

4.) I am learning right along with them.  I have never even heard of  Goliath Beetle...that is until last week when Sarah learned about it. I had no idea that "ovapositor" is a REAL science term...I had heard it in a movie but I thought they made it up....then last week I learned that its a part of a bug that they use to lay eggs! And did you know that "K comes before I and E, C before the other three A, O, and U"....That's a rhyme they use in phonics to help with word recognition and spelling. I've always been a good speller, but now it makes even more sense to me why some words are spelled the way they are....there is actually a RULE for it!!

5.) Too cold - just stay inside! One thing I HATED back in school was having to walk half a mile in the snow to wait up to 20 minutes for the bus to pick us up (no lie it was half a mile!) Not only were my toes frozen by the time we got on the bus, the bus itself was still freezing cold as well because we were one of the first stops and it hadn't warmed up yet. If I don't want my kids out in the snow, they don't have to go. Who says waiting for a school bus in zero degree weather HAS to be a part of the school experience!?!? Not me! We'll deal with the cold temps on an as needed basis i.e church, appointments, playing....

6.) I don' t have to call anyone. When my kids get sick, I don't have to call the school to let them know they'll be out for the day to make sure they don't get an unexcused absence. If one of them is sick, well they are sick....depending on severity, we might do school anyway.....LOL...Being sick, doesn' t have to mean missing school.....there is that level between, sick enough to stay away from others but not so sick your on deaths door that you "could" sit up on the couch and learn a few things anyway...or at least an educational show or video...=)

7.) So many different kinds of curricula! There are hundreds of different homeschool material providers that use so many different ways of teaching things.....if something doesn' t work for one of my kids, we can do some research and just try another one. My kids aren't stuck with ONE curriculum because thats what their particular school happens to use. And believe me - It DOES matter what kind of curriculum is used.....I moved around a lot and I can tell you there would be schools that were way ahead of where i was and others that were way behind...I was LUCKY to get as good of grades as I did! and believe me, it wasn't easy!

8.) So many teaching options. People who know little to nothing about homeschooling always "assume" there is only one way to teach......of course, coming from a ps background thats what they show....but thats not the case...their are co-ops, satellite schools, DVD series, and of course the well known parent teaching style. Homeschooling doesn't "have" to be mom sitting down with the child, your kids CAN be taught by another teacher - through the wonders of TV and Satellite technology!! And Co-ops, well, they are like the little public schools of homeschooling......you can teach most of the subjects and have your kid attend a small class with other homeschoolers for other subjects. For high school subjects I am considering looking into either DVD series teaching or a satellite school.....then all I need to do is keep track of grades and make sure work gets done! (and yes the teachers on these DVD and satellites ARE certified!)

9.) School can happen anywhere. Just yesterday we were out in our woods and I discovered we have several different kinds of mushrooms on our land! I showed the kids each one I found (being careful to tell them NOT to touch!) and now we are going to get a book about mushrooms and try to identify them. That's the sad part about PS...ALL the learning is to be done in ONE building....honestly, that's boring. I was bored A LOT in school. For us, school happens in the woods, in the house, at the grocery store, at Tumbling class, at church, or even riding in the car. My kids can now identify the Optical Eye on the street light down by the construction near our house.  And they try to name the "big trucks" we drive by when we go by someplace that supplies large earth moving trucks!

10.) My preschooler can say fourth grade level words, Myriam flew through her Kindergarten year in less than six months, Sarah can help me play teacher when Myriam needs help........just a few more of the benefits of having all of them home together.....CJ may not understand what the words mean, but he can pronounce them correctly! Myriam is nearly halfway done with her First grade Math because she started it several months before we even started this year of school. My kids are smart because not only do they get a good education from me, but they also learn from each other! Have you ever noticed how you can try to teach something to a child and sometimes its like beating your head against the wall because they just don't seem to "get it" yet when one of their friends says or does something - even just ONE time- they pick it up right away......that's because kids learn from kids! And having my kids together learning, helps them to learn from me AND from their siblings! And with me right there, I can make sure that my kids are teaching each other the RIGHT kinds of things....=)

I probably could list more reasons, but I better cut it off here....I have laundry to hang out and some Fourth grade work to finish with Sarah....=) Gotta love Homeschooling.!!!

Remember those.....getting the day off school not because of a holiday or other usual thing but for what they call a "Teacher in Service" day. I'm guessing that has something to do with reorganzing classrooms, checking over lesson plans, and other "teacher" stuff.....of course I've never worked in the Public School system so I wouldn't know.....LOL

But today I took I what I call my in service day....as in, this "teacher" is "in service" to her "house". It was a day off school so I could focus on the house. One big project that finally got done was the girls room. There were alot of piles in corners and on top of dressers. We went through IT ALL and got rid of garbage. It looks SO MUCH better now!! I also needed to clean my school room and reorganize my "stuff"...it was getting all thrown together each time we'd do school and then it would take time the next day to find something at the bottom of the pile...(kinda sounds like their bedroom doesn't it...lol). But all is well now and the school room looks much better.

I'm not done yet but I am taking a bit of a break for now. Here's the list of what I did get done so far....

~ clean the living room
~clean the school room
~clean the girls room
~vacuum all three rooms
~clean hallway
~clean dining room
~sweep dining room
~half of the dishes (so far)

I'm pretty happy with my progress today....although I do think it could have done better. After this weekend, its back to our regular schedule and hopefully, the house won't get "too" awfully bad again.....LOL of course that might be shot if we do a science experiment or an art project.....LOL!!!

Well, we finished up the work we didn't do yesterday and that was the extent of our day today. Pretty much I am altering my schedule (yet again!). Tomorrow will be a "teacher in service day" as in this "teacher" is "in service" to "her house"....LOL.

Instead of taking off next monday through wednesday, we will have school on Monday and Tuesday, take Wednesday off for Sarah's birthday, and then have "Saturday" school to make up for Wednesday.....that way, the next week we can be back on the schedule in my planner and go from there.

I have spoken to the "principal" (my husband) about this and he approves.....after all, if you could see the state of my house right now you'd see that I NEED this "in service" day.....LOL. Now sure how it piled up like this but I better do something soon or it will eat us all alive.....LOL.

There is one thing we might do tomorrow though......I may have Sarah work on making some notes on index cards, to help her remember facts from History, Science, and Health......she seems to be slipping in that area and I'm trying to figure out how to help her remember things.....her last History test wasn't horrible but it wasn't really good either....=)

This will be one of my shorter entries....I wouldn't even be on here at all but I'm trying to post at least once a day so here we go....

Basically, all started out well this morning. We took a trip to a friends house to get copies made and I let the girls spend some time playing with their friends. Shortly after we got home, I made lunch. And then it was back to the books. I let Myriam watch some TV while I took care of getting Sarah's tests and quizzes for the day out of the way.....then....it happened.....as soon as I tried schooling the both of them....

It was like a total plane crash...we aren't even done with our stuff for the day but it got to the point where if I didn't stop trying to teach, I would have been either pulling my own hair out or losing my temper and yelling at them. I am so wound up and stressed now its not even funny. There has to be a word for being so stressed out that its more then just "stressed".....

So we'll finish our work from today when we do school tomorrow.....and the rest of the week, we'll see what happens.....

For some reason, that totally escapes me at this time, I slept in this morning. Which pretty much made everything else late as well. We ended up with what the PS would call a " 2 hour delay" except, in my version, we do ALL of school and just get done two hours later then usual...=)

Sarah is now on the "sticker" system. I'm trying to find a way to motivate her to want to pay attention more to what she is doing. I thought doing things a second time with me would help, but after yesterday, I see that it didn't make any difference, aside from dragging the school day on until bedtime!

Basically, I made a chart of the four subjects and many many squares for which the star stickers will go. Then I put at the top...a Gold Sticker, and the explanation that 90- 100% gets Gold, a Silver Sticker, and the explanation that 80- 89% gets Silver, and a Red Sticker.....anything less than 80% gets a red sticker....and there are also money amounts attached to the stickers, each Gold gets 10 cents, each Silver 5 cents, and each Red takes a way 10 cents. So far she really likes it, and at least for today, she is trying harder because she wants the Gold!! =)

Today was made a bit longer because of a History assignment but I think tomorrow things will go back to normal and her days won't be so long. Myriams day, though, was just the same as it has been and she was done by lunch time.

I let Myriam decide how much Math to do today and she decided on two lessons instead of three. She was so happy when she looked at her assignment sheet and saw "Math- Lesson 43- ????" she knew those question marks meant she got to decide when we stopped.

It was a pretty good day today. I'm hoping for an even better one tomorrow....and I am so looking forward to another fresh day with my kids =)

Technically, even though its near dinner time, our school day isn't over yet. The last few days that we did school I had some concerns that Sarah wasn't really "reading" her assignments when she was doing independent work. It seemed to me, she was speeding through it so she could say she was done. So, for this week (and maybe more, I'm really not sure at this point) I have adjusted her schedule, she will continue to do the readings on her own, but later in the day she will read them again WITH me! She doesn't like it so well, because instead of me reading a section then her reading a section, I am having her read all of it to me. She doesn't realize it, but, how is she going to learn those big words like - metamorphosis- if she doesn't actually SAY them!?! Hearing me say it is one thing but it will help her to remember it if she reads it.....and more then once!

All we have left for today is her Math and Spelling...we'll be doing that after dinner. Myriam, however, is done for the day. She was done by lunchtime, as usual, even though we did three math lessons today. I finally let her decide how many we'd do, instead of insisting on only one a day. She was MORE then happy to do several pages today....=)

Both of the girls are doing really well in the reading department. Some of the words Sarah was reading today...wow!...I thought for sure I'd have to tell her what they were, but nope, she figured them out all by herself!! =)

Math is also going along swimmingly so far. Sarah's book is still in the "review" phase so its material she has already been exposed to. And Myriam....well, I'll put it this way....I'm starting to think in the next month or so, I may be able to have her do her math page by herself after the initial lesson. She is doing THAT well already!

I have learned a couple of things....yeah, in the world of Homeschooling the kids aren't the only ones learning.....LOL....

I have learned that if I plan out the entire year in my lesson planner before the school year starts, it helps things go a lot more smoothly. I don't feel the pressure of "I have to find the time to plan next weeks lessons" or "Oh no I am so behind how will we catch up!"...I don't have any of that negativity because everything has already been taken care of....=)

I have also learned that in the process of becoming a better teacher, I've also become a better person. I can tell you right now, if my kids were in PS...my day would consist of me getting them up and ready to go and as soon as they boarded that school bus, I'd be running back to bed...I can't do that with me being the teacher, I have to get up and stay up......and getting up earlier has helped me become better about keeping up on the house, its improved my mood, its improved how I feel over all.....

I didn't realize until I started getting up earlier and staying up, that sleeping in and being "lazy" were wreaking havoc on my mood, my health, and my over all well being. Now that I have to get up earlier and I have to stay up to teach....On those days, I am much happier, and much more stable then on days that I don't. You know....last week we only had a two day school week...we had a birthday in the family and a camping trip over the weekend. In that time that I wasn't doing school I was just sitting around not doing much and you know, I was in such a BAD mood! I just wasn't getting the same fulfillment and pleasure out of my days as I was on our "school" days......

As much as I'd love to sit here and continue to gush on about things, i really do have to get going so I can get a few dishes done...or I won't be able to make dinner tonight....LOL

Since yesterday was my husbands birthday, I decided to take the day off from school and spend it trying to clean the house really well. I wanted to surprise him with a clean house because usually this house is not very nice to look at (hazards of having kids...lol). So this school day will be made up at a later date in the next two weeks......I had already adjusted the scheduled for a surprise (well more like surprise TO ME) trip the girls were going to take with their grandparents today.  So rescheduling one more day wasn't an issue, I'll be back to where I want to be by the second week in September and all will be well again =)

So, the girls and I spent the morning cleaning, then in the early afternoon I had to take Sarah into town so she could go with Daddy to get new lenses in her glasses. After that I had just a little bit of time before I had to run off to Muskegon with the other two kids. I made arrangements for my MIL to take me to the Christian/Homeschool Store out by the mall so I could pick up the birthday present I was planning on getting. After that store we popped over to the mall for a minute to check out Bed Bath and Beyond.....I had gotten a discount on the first present I bought for my husband so I wanted to see if I could find him something else I knew he had been wanting. Sure enough, after some searching, I found it!

I didn't get home till dinner time......I didn't have anything special planned, but now I wish I would have..my DH had a bad day and it would have been a nice pick me up if I had planned something......(I kinda hoped the clean house and brownies that my daughter made would have had that effect but it did not) We spent the evening kinda bumming around, he tried out his gifts and thats about it.

I still have three assignments I need to grade.....I "would" have had time this morning but without talking to me at all, my inlaws decided to take the girls camping with them. They leave today and will be gone all weekend.......before anyone thinks I'm actually getting time off - we (my husband, son, and I) are to meet up with them tomorrow and spend the rest of the weekend with them. I've never actually been camping before AND I've never spent THIS MUCH time with them before.....its gonna be interesting thats for sure! Good thing I don't have a bad relationship with them......or I'd be finding a way outta this...LOL

I meant to get on here yesterday....but time just slipped away and then I ended up being gone all afternoon and got home just in time to crawl into bed...=)

Yesterday we got started at the same time as usual. We did our stretches.....I think I may be able to get back into the splits again soon with the help of these morning stretches! I haven't been able to do the splits since before Myriam was born =)

Some how both of the girls were done by lunchtime. At first, I was surprised and happy....but then, it just started nagging on me. Every other day Sarah has taken until after 2:00 to get her things done and then all of the sudden, on a day where she took more initiative to do things herself she gets done THAT much faster!?!?! I only question it because  Sarah has been known to skip words when reading. I know in her subjects like History and Science they are talking about new concepts and bringing up new, and more technical, words and yet instead of asking me what it says she will skip over whatever the word and keep going.....then later wonders why she doesn't get it. I was so focused on helping Myriam yesterday that I think I goofed by letting Sarah do too much reading without me.....she IS a good reader, I've been told many times by others that have had her in Sunday School classes and so forth, how much better she reads then most of her peers, but until she learns to ask me what the new terms are, I need to be there and have her read TO me....

So her getting done early was not the victory it could have been, not until I am more sure she is reading ALL the words and not just the ones she's seen before..

I have an assignment or two to grade from yesterday and one from Monday I need to take a look at, then I can post those grades up here.  Yesterday turned out a bit differently then anticipated and I ended up not being home all afternoon.....so there went my grading papers time...LOL.....lucky for me, so far, there isn't too much to grade....YET! =)