Organization Idea For Your Medicine Cabinet

*note: This was originally posted 10/24/06.  I am reposting it as an entry for Works-For-Me Wednesday. 

This is so off topic it's not even funny... but hey - we homeschoolers need all the help we can get when it comes to getting organized, right?  I don't remember where I heard this idea or if I came up with it on my own, but with the onset of the cold and flu season I felt compelled to share it with you. 

It's bad enough being sick, having sick kids, or heaven forbid - both at the same time!  I used to have the hardest time keeping medications organized and orderly enough to be able to find what I needed WHEN I needed it.  And, if hubby was the unfortunate one who had to go scavenging through the cabinet during the night for some Tylenol or a thermometer, well, let's just say that I may as well have gotten up and done it myself.  But, when you're holding a feverish baby who only wants to nurse and hold onto Mommy's elbow, there may be no other choice than to call for help from Daddy. 

What I ended up doing was cleaning out a cabinet in the kitchen to be used only for medical supplies.  Some people prefer a bathroom cabinet, but it worked better for us to have it in the kitchen.  I got 4 small plastic bins from the dollar store and labeled them as 1.adult medications, 2.children's medications, 3.misc. meds and tummy meds and 4.first aid.  Since there are some prescription meds that dh and I take regularly, I got 2 smaller bins (long, skinny ones) to hold those, as well as daily vitamins. 

As you can see in the picture, the bottom shelf holds the basket with "adult meds" and the two small bins on either side are for our personal daily prescriptions and vitamins.  Dh's is on the left, mine is on the right.  It occured to me the other day that maybe I should put these on the top shelf, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

The 2nd shelf has the bin with "children's meds" in it.  I try to keep a supply of Children's Acetamenophen (sp?) and Ibuprofen, since we all know that children are most likely to come down with some fever causing illness in the wee hours of the night.  Also, off to the side is a place for their vitamins and a small bowl that holds medicine droppers and dispensing cups.

The top shelf holds 2 bins side-by-side - the "first aid" bin, and the "misc" bin.  These probably need to go on the bottom shelf, since I am having to get to the band aids pretty often these days!  The "misc" bin holds things that we need occasionally, but not all the time, such as ACE bandages, an inhaler mask, vapor rub, mineral oil, diaper rash cream... that kind of stuff.  That way I'm not having to rummage through all that bulky stuff every time I need a bandage or a Tylenol or something. 

Here is the photo:

Anyway.... I hope this helps someone, somehow!

Just thought I'd share!

10:33 PM - Oct. 1, 2008 - comments {3} - post comment

Pencil Holder Craft

I have been so excited about finally having my VERY OWN DESK(!) for my VERY OWN STUFF(!) and yes, my VERY OWN MESS!  And since I am an organizing wannabe expert, I immediately began putting my desk in order.  I had the neat little paper-holding trays, which I labeled with one child's name per tray... to hopefully clear up the confusion of which paper belongs to which kid.  'Cause even homeschooled kids forget to write their names on their papers!  And it's sad, but true, that I have a little bit of a hard time telling the difference in my little genius' handwriting sometimes - even though they are 5, 9, and 11. 

-

Moving on...  I managed to resist the tempation to run out and purchase a bunch of officey type stuff for my VERY OWN DESK(!) since, well, we don't have a money tree growing in our backyard.  But, I really needed something to put stuff like pencils and pens and dry-erase markers in so that neither I nor my children would be spending inane amounts of time each day searching for a writing utensil.  So, being the amazingly crafty momma that I am, I came up with a plan.  I would make my own pencil miscellaneous-writing-utensil-holder, and it would be more lovely than anything one could purchase at Office Max.  And very likely, it would be much cheaper, too! 

-

So I went sifting through my cabinets and drawers (kitchen drawers, not under-drawers - smartypants) for something that could be used as a pencil miscellaneous-writing-utensil-holder.  I found the perfect thing - an old frosting container, like the ones that cake frosting comes in, be it Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker.... you get the picture.  Then I started going through my abundant supply of arts and crafts materials, and I found some excellent supplies to use.  I had stacks of those foam sheets in a rainbow of colors, leftover from one of the kids' birthday parties a few years ago.  I had foam letters (self-stick ones!  Woohoo!); all sizes, shapes, and colors of buttons; seashells; ribbon; tiny little pom-poms; rick-rack; and all kind of other stuff.  I couldn't believe the stuff I pulled from that box! 

-

Of course, when my kids saw all the loot - there was no holding them back.  So they, too, got to make their own pencil  miscellaneous-writing-utensil-holders!  For theirs, I picked out a few of the plastic cups from the cupboard that were getting a little worn out and let them decorate them.  We covered the containers with a sheet of foam, secured with hot glue.  Sis actually cut strips from several different colors and glued them on hers like a rainbow.  (Such a creative child!  Just like her mother!)  Then the children did their best to make sure that absolutely no crafting supplies were left by gluing anything they could get their hands on onto their cup.  I finally said, "STOP!" because it was just getting to be silly.  If I'd let them continue that way, there would be no room left for all their miscellaneous writing utensils!  

-

When they were through, I sifted through the leftovers and found a few things suitable to adorn the retired frosting container that was soon to be prominently displayed on MY VERY OWN DESK!  Ahem.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is the finished product:

-

-

In case anyone ever wonders who this belongs to - it's written right across the front - "MOM"!  Even though it houses Disney Princess pencils... it still belongs to MOI. 

-

(I think I've had too much sugar today.)

2:12 PM - Sep. 8, 2008 - comments {3} - post comment

Star Pupils

Here's Sis being a "bulldog" with her math paper.  Grandpa, who takes a very active role in the kids' schooling, always asks her if she's being a bulldog or a kitty cat when it comes to her schoolwork.  He encourages her to be a "bulldog", or in other words, to bunker down and get it done without whining and complaining that it's "too hard".  Why is it that she listens to Grandpa better than she listens to her mother? 

Here is another little guy who has learned a lot from Grandpa.  Grandpa taught LilBub how to read when he was 4 and has continued to be a huge encouragement to him with his reading.  Basically, Grandpa barters with LilBub - 1/2 hour of reading time gets 1/2 hour of PS2 time.  Works like a charm!  I mean, the kid can read can't he?  Something must have clicked! 

This is the one who is both my easiest, because of his age, and my most difficult... also because of his age.  He is 11-going-on-20, and likes to "challenge" his mother, so to speak.  He basically knows everything and doesn't understand why I am making him do school every day.  LOL!!! 

3:10 PM - Sep. 5, 2008 - comments {3} - post comment

What We're Doing Today... 8/20/08

It's a gloomy, chilly, rainy day today.  I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning!  But, being the prudent homeschooling mama that I am (haha!) I rolled out after hitting the snooze button only once.  I really dread the winter months when it's so dark in the mornings.  That really makes it hard to get out of the warm bed! 

-

So what are we up to today?  BigBub has been partly working and partly goofing off.  *frustration*  He likes to take his time and get everything organized the way he wants it, and he often spends too much time organizing and not enough time actually working.  Then by the time he gets around to doing the work, he's either run out of time, or he's "tired".  (And the rainy day only magnifies that "tired" feeling!  I'm feeling it, too!)   It's hard to know where that fine line is between expecting him to be responsible for his own work and getting it done on his own OR standing over him like a drill sergeant.  He's 11. 

-

Sis is working on her worksheets, and complaining of being "bored".  LOL.  The 3rd day into it, and she's bored! 

-

LilBub is being very good today.  I printed off a fun activity for him to do this morning.  It's an alphabet snake from KizClub.com.  It requires a lot of cutting, so I helped him with that.  But he pretty much did the rest of it by himself.  Now he's excited about having a couple of snakes hanging around.  He can't wait for daddy to get home because he is convinced that the snakes will scare him!  After all that work, I let him chill out with a LeapFrog video. 

-

Now we're getting ready to eat lunch.  I'm thinking it's a mac and cheese kind of day!  After lunch - who knows.  I may declare an official "Nap Time" as part of our daily schedule.  LOL.  What kind of day are you having today?

10:50 AM - Aug. 20, 2008 - comments {2} - post comment

Back-To-School Day, 2008!

School has officially started at our house, as of today.  It's a little later than I would have liked, but at least  we've got the ball rolling.  We are taking a little bit of a different approach to schooling this year.  I'm not sure what you would call it... "cheap", "frugal", "cost-efficient".... whatever you wanna call it, we're just trying to do as much as we can while spending as little as we can.  With $20 comprehensive curriculum workbooks from Barnes and Noble for each child, we've managed to get a pretty good start on the basics with a very small investment.  (Plus, educators get a nice discount at B&N.)  We'll be adding more as we go along, but for now, the workbooks are a good way to ease back into schooling. 

I've tried to make "Back-To-School Day"  fun for my kids these past few years by making it somewhat of a holiday.  It's kind've like Christmas, only instead of toys, they get to open school supplies!  And would you believe that they LOVE it?  This year I bought them each a big binder with folders for each subject.  I gave the older two kids their own mini-dry erase boards to keep in their binders and use as "scratch paper".  My youngest started Kindergarten this year, so he got his own binder, too!  Instead of a mini-dry erase  board, though, he got a notebook sized dry erase board with lines for writing.  They all got some fun dry erase markers, too. 

I did NOT buy new markers and glue and rulers and scissors, etc., etc., etc....  We still have a bajillion crayons left from when the older two were in traditional school for a few years, along with a dozen or so rulers and pairs of scissors!  Glue sticks and craft paper are something we keep in stock all the time, too... but this is a great time of year to stock up on those things, while they are marked down! 

_

One downside to the day has been this crazy headache that I've been fighting.  I don't know what has triggered it, but I've had it since Saturday.  It's driving me crazy!  So, I'm sorry... my creativity level goes waaaay down when my head is hurting like this.  Hopefully it will subside before I blog again!  :)

3:40 PM - Aug. 18, 2008 - comments {0} - post comment

Helpful Tool - the Homeschoolbar

It's the very last day of July, and I'm finally getting some planning done for our school year that will start very, very soon.  Ironically, I have a houseful of kids today.  I'm "hiding" in my bedroom with the laptop while the natives are running wild through the rest of the house.  I'd put them all outside, but it's raining.  Then again, a little rain never hurt anyone...

While I'm doing my planning, I thought I'd share a neat little tool with you all that has been really helpful to me.  It's called the Homeschoolbar.  The Homeschoolbar is a toolbar that you can download and install on your computer.  When you open a browser window, your homeschoolbar will appear at the top of your window.  In it, you will have access to all kinds of homeschool goodies, such as a homeschool specific search bar, links to homeschool websites and blogs, news feeds about homeschooling, links to sites for homeschooled kids, and tons more.  I have been able to find a lot of what I need for my homeschool planning through this cool tool. 

To learn more and to download your own homeschoolbar, go to www.homeschoolbar.com. 

11:47 AM - Jul. 31, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

Mid-July...already?

It's strange to see that we are now halfway through the month of July.  I guess I've been too busy to notice the days slipping by in front of me.  And though it is not without reason, it still makes me feel frustrated at the lack of accomplishments this summer.  I had every intention of getting the kids started back on some schoolwork after the 4th of July weekend.  But that did not happen, and it still has not happened.  Maybe this coming Monday we can get something going.  I am also hoping to set aside time for planning and getting things in order for the coming school year.  I know of a few things I'd like to focus on, but I need to gather resources and set some tentative schedules. 

One thing that I know we are going to do this coming school year is learn Spanish.  We made a wonderful acquaintance recently when our family was involved with the local community theater's summer production of Fiddler on the Roof.  This young man played the role of "Perchick" in the play, a student who agreed to be a teacher for the daughters of the main character, "Tevye".  Ironically, as we got to know "Perchick", we found out that he is going to major in Spanish this coming year, and is already quite knowledgeable with the Spanish language, so we asked him to consider tutoring our children.  And he agreed.  :) 

One really cool twist in the whole thing was when we discovered that he only lives up the street from our house.  So "Perchick" has become a regular guest in our home, and has pretty much been adopted by our family.  Sis has already learned the Spanish alphabet and numbers.  Her brothers are going to have to play catch-up! 

Meanwhile, our new Spanish teacher has started a blog here on HomeschoolBlogger.  Go by and pay him a visit at -  www.homeschoolblogger.com/spanishteach/. 

8:28 PM - Jul. 19, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

June 2008 - At A Glance

Here are some of the highlights from the month of June 2008...

LilBub-Vader and his cousin who comes to play every Thursday. LilBub also turned FIVE this month.  Can you guess what kind of party he had?  Yep - Star Wars!

 Father's Day - taking breakfast in bed to Daddy.

Fun at Gma and Gpa's Farm... not really, they just have a hayfield in their backyard.

Community Theater production of "Fiddler on the Roof", in which nine members of our family were involved, including dh and our three kids, dh's brother, SIL, & their two kids, and dh's mom.

10:31 PM - Jul. 4, 2008 - comments {5} - post comment

Wordless Wednesday - Elephant Rock

(From our recent trip to Elephant Rock State Park in Missouri.)

For more Wordless Wednesday Fun:

Click Here!

3:34 PM - Jun. 11, 2008 - comments {6} - post comment

The Finish Line is in sight!

We are almost done with school for the year.  Whew!  The kids are down to the last few lessons in their Switched-on-Schoolhouse stuff.  And as for our unit studies, I've pretty much given up on keeping their attention any further this semester.  Their brains are tired.  Their bodies are restless.  And they are overcome with the desire to be free, to let loose and run and play, to dig in the dirt and splash in the wading pool, and follow the many rabbit trails that have come alive with the blossoming season.  So who am I to hold them back? 

7:17 AM - May. 20, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

Teacher Appreciation Week

Have you discovered the Learning A-Z website, yet?  If not, this week would be an excellent time to check them out.  Each day this week, May 5th-9th, and Monday, May 12th, Learning A-Z is offering an Open House in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week.  Learning A-Z has six different websites, and each day this week (and next Monday) you can visit these sites and get a sneak peek at the materials for FREE.  Here is a schedule of the events:

• Monday, May 5th- Reading A-Z.com - (Thousands of printable books, lessons, worksheets, and activities.)
• Tuesday, May 6th-raz-kids.com - (Hundreds of online leveled readers and quizzes.)
• Wednesday, May 7th-Writing A-Z.com-(Complete downloadable, leveled writing program.)
• Thursday, May 8th - Vocabulary A-Z.com-(Customized vocabulary lessons.)
• Friday, May 9th-Reading-Tutors.com-(Tutor resources for specific reading skills.)
• Monday, May 12th-Science A-Z.com-(Downloadable elementary science curriculum.)

Sorry for the late notice today, but you have until midnight tonight to check out Reading A-Z.com!  I've been there today and boy, oh boy, am I impressed.  They have a LOT of GREAT stuff!!! 

So go on... go see for yourself! 

9:47 PM - May. 5, 2008 - comments {2} - post comment

Homeschool Hi-Lights

Homeschool Hi-Lights Meme

-

Last week we began a unit on geology.   I had really expected the children to complain about it being "boring", but to my surprise, they were actually excited about it.  The hi-light of the week was our rock-hunting excursion.  We didn't go far, and it certainly didn't take very long, but a good time was had by all.  We brought home a bucket full of rocks to be cleaned and examined.  A hidden lesson in the whole thing was my 4 year old lining up the rocks on the table and counting them several times.  What good practice!

-

-

(Ellen at Fun Learning had the great idea to start a weekly meme for homeschoolers to share the hi-lights of their weeks.  Everyone is invited, so come join in the fun!  For more information, CLICK HERE.)

10:07 PM - Apr. 20, 2008 - comments {5} - post comment

Purdy Burdy

Look at this gorgeous bird the kids and I found in the back yard today. 

-

It's called a "Killdeer".

-

 -

We didn't even notice it at first.  We were out collecting rocks to study for our geology unit, when my 11 year old son stopped right in his tracks.  He had gotten a little too close for this mama bird's comfort, and she proceeded to let him know about it.  I could hear her, but it took me awhile to actually see her because she was so well camoflauged with her surroundings.  Upon closer inspection, I saw that she was sitting on 4 brown, speckled eggs - right there in the rocks. 

-

I snapped this photo so I could come home and look it up online.  It was really pretty fascinating to read about this very clever bird.

10:14 PM - Apr. 17, 2008 - comments {5} - post comment

Home Education Week - Day 6, "In Their Own Words"

1:50 PM - Apr. 4, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

Home Education Week - Day 4 - "Recipe For Success"

Today for Home Education Week, we're supposed to share a recipe, either figuratively, as in a recipe for success, or an actual recipe for something to cook.  Since I am still trying to figure out this recipe for success in homeschooling, I think I'd better stick to what I do know.  Food. 

-

In our family, each child has different favorites when it comes to food.  None of my children are really what I would call picky eaters, which is a blessing, I know!  BigBub's favorite meal of all time is a casserole that I make called "Poppyseed Chicken".  I think it's pretty common, but I'll share the recipe anyways in case someone hasn't heard of it and wants to try it.  And forgive me for not knowing exact measurements because I just make this one from memory, not by looking at a recipe card. 

-

Poppyseed Chicken

Ingredients:

2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

2 - cans cream of chicken soup

1 bar of cream cheese

1 "tube" of Ritz crackers

1/2 c. melted butter

1 tbsp. poppyseeds (optional; more or less according to taste)

Directions:

place cooked, shredded chicken in bottom of 9x13(ish) size casserole dish.

combine soup and cream cheese in sauce pan on medium heat until combined,

pour over chicken.

crush Ritz crackers and pour over top of soup mixture

pour melted butter over crackers, sprinkle with poppyseeds.

Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes. 

-

And although that one is considered BigBub's favorite at our house, I've never known anyone that didn't like it!  We usually serve it up with mashed potatoes, corn, and hot biscuits. 

-

Sis doesn't really have a tried-and-true-absolute-favorite meal.  She likes a lot of different things and will generally eat whatever is placed on the table each night.  But she does tend to get particularly excited when I make something that has broccoli in it.  Yes, it is strange.  She is a strange child. 

-

One thing I make frequently for a quick, healthy meal is stir-fry.  I always keep a bag of Bird's Eye Oriental Stir-Fry frozen vegetables w/sauce in the freezer.  I usually add some diced up chicken breasts and white rice to make a full meal.  Sis really loves this dish, and always asks for extra broccoli.  Click here to visit the Bird's Eye company website and get a copy of the recipe.  They give two options, to either microwave or saute the veggies.  As I said, we always prepare it as a stir-fry, so we make ours in a skillet.  I wish I had a wok. 

-

As for LilBub, he's a kid who doesn't like to take a lot of time to sit down and eat a proper meal.  He likes to eat on the go, or have an "eat-walk" as he calls it.  That means he wants to get a bite, then walk in the other room to do something else, then come back for another bite, etc...  Not that I always allow this, but sometimes I do when we're not having a formal, family meal together.  And LilBub's favorite food?  Green beans.  Yes, he's another strange child.  But hey, if the kid wants green beans, who am I to argue?  He loves 'em! 

-

And I try to keep snacks handy because, let's face it, schoolwork makes kids (and moms!) hungry!  Some of our favorites are:

• Mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese)
• grapes
• apples
• clementine oranges (I like these because the kids can peel them!)
• popcorn
• crackers w/cheese or peanut butter
• raisins
• sherbet pops
• and the not-so-healthy (but yummy!) - Chee-tos.

-

So that's some of our favorites.  I'm anxious to read what other homeschool mamas are saying over at Dana's (@ Principled Discovery).  I'm hoping to get some new ideas to try out on my family!

1:58 PM - Apr. 2, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

Home Education Week - Day 3 - "April Fools"

Dana (@ Principled Discovery) said,

"We have likely all felt the fool in one way or another. Share your greatest challenge. Or one of those terrible, horrible no good, very bad days where the only thing there is to do seems to involve moving to Australia."

It's not unusual for me to feel foolish.  I make mistakes, frequently.  Some are worse than others, of course.  However, there is one mistake that continues to sneak up and smack me in the face all too often.  It's a little something called "lack of preparation", if you wanna be fancy.  Or, you might just call it, "Mama ain't ready yet!" 

-

It's my greatest challenge: pulling everything together and making it happen!  I have great ideas and lofty goals.  I have great ambitions and wonderful intentions.  What I lack is the get-up-and-go to put it in gear.  I don't think it is that I'm lazy.  (At least I hope not!)  I really think that I get distracted and busy doing other things, and I just forget, or I don't "get around" to doing what I need to do.

-

The result?  Monday morning rolls around, and I'm still scrambling to pull things together for school.  Which means, the kids are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, which makes it even harder for me to get things pulled together...  And so I usually end up getting frustrated.  And crabby.  And I raise my voice.  And before long we are all irritable and snapping at each other.  And nothing worth doing gets done.

-

So why haven't I learned? 

10:20 PM - Apr. 1, 2008 - comments {1} - post comment

Home Education Week - Day 2 - "Profiling Home Educators"

Dana says, "Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is 'normal' for you?" 

So, would you like to come and meet the fam? 

-

Here are the two troublemakers who started the whole thing:

This photo was taken as we were leaving our wedding reception... almost 14 years ago!  We were young (I was 19, dh was 21) and had our whole lives ahead of us.  If anyone would have told me at that point that in 12 years I'd be a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom to three children - I would have LAUGHED OUT LOUD!  And yet... here we are. 

-

Two years later, in 1996, this little guy came along:

And what a journey we found ourselves on then!  Many sleepless nights later, he's grown into quite a wonderful young man.  I don't call him by name online, so here he is known as "BigBub", because he is the big brother in our bunch.  BigBub has a variety of interests, ranging anywhere from building with Legos and playing video games to sounding out classical pieces on the piano and reading cook books.  At the age of 11, he is already quite independent and trustworthy.  When it comes to schoolwork, I usually just have to tell him what to do and he tackles it.  He's really good at math and language, but I think his passions lie more in science and history.  He has a lot of dreams that he hopes to accomplish "someday".  He thinks he'd like to be a marine biologist, a chef, an architect, the owner of a large luxury hotel chain, a gastroenterologist, and/or the owner of a large "Sea World" like theme park.  Who knows which one he'll pick, or if he'll end up doing something completely different!  Whatever he does, I know he'll be great.  I love that he can dream big!

-

Two years after BigBub joined us, along came this little bundle of sweetness:-

She has all kinds of nicknames, but here I just call her "Sis", or sometimes "Sistah".  Sis is definitely a girly-girl, into all things pink and frilly, especially if it has butterflies on it.  However, she's also very good at basketball and other athletic-oriented things like swimming, gymnastics, and ballet.  She doesn't like to admit it, but she is very smart.  Sometimes we have to remind her to be bold like a bulldog when it comes to getting her schoolwork done, instead of helpless like a little kitty cat.  She likes it when we put it like that, and will usually turn and "growl" at us to show us that she's a bulldog.  Sis loves to read, and is currently enthralled with the American Girl series.  She got her first American Girl doll a few months ago and she still carries her everywhere she goes.  As for what to be when she grows up, she doesn't have anything definite in mind yet.  The only thing that she mentions regularly is that she wants to be a mommy.  I think that's a wonderful goal to have! 

-

Then, last but not least, is LilBub.

LilBub might be the "baby" of the family, but he certainly plays a big role.  He keeps us on our toes, and also keeps us laughing with his unique way of phrasing things sometimes.  He'll be starting Kindergarten this fall, and he's already reading quite a few words on his own.  He loves to do dot-to-dot's and mazes, and he loves to draw, but he's not so crazy about coloring.  I am consistently amazed at LilBub's ability to pick up on things that his older brother and sister are learning in their lessons.  For example, he can recite part of the speech given by Patrick Henry to the House of Burgesses, just from overhearing his brother and sister memorizing it.  I think it's pretty cute!  He also is completely enthralled with video games and anything ending in the word "-ball".  I guess you could say that he is all boy!  I am looking forward to starting Kindergarten with him because he will be the first one that I've homeschooled from the very beginning.  I know that he's going to go far and do well!  I'm so thrilled to be the one to get to see it all firsthand.

-

So... that's us!  And here's us now...

-

-

Thanks for visiting!

10:09 PM - Mar. 31, 2008 - comments {3} - post comment

Home Education Week - Day 1 - "Looking Back"

It's the beginning of a very special week here in the blog-world!  Dana at Principled Discovery is hosting a special weeklong event to commemorate the first annual Home Education Week in her home state of Nebraska (<-Click to read the official proclamation from the Governor.)  The state of Florida is celebrating homeschooling this week, too.  I wonder how long it will be before the other 48 will follow suit? 

-

This is going to be a fun week!  I'm looking forward to reading lots of ideas and thoughts and stories of other families' homeschooling adventures.  And, I'm excited to get to share some things from my family's experiences.  I hope you'll join in the fun!  For more information, go visit Principled Discovery. 

-

Today's theme is "Looking Back". 

"Share your personal history…before you were a home educator.

What was life like? Think about things you miss

and things you and your family have gained."

-

Before homeschooling my kids, they attended a small, Christian school; the same one in which I had spent my K-12 years.  My firstborn had trouble from day one in Kindergarten.  He has never been "slow" when it comes to learning.  On the contrary, he has always been extremely bright and a fast learner.  But, at that point, he had a lot of energy.  That, combined with him being a "hands-on" learner, made things difficult for him in a traditional classroom setting.  It made it hard for his teacher, too! 

-

Every day I would go in to pick him up at the door of the classroom, and his teacher would meet me there to tell me all the things that he had done wrong that day.  It usually involved things like fidgeting too much, not keeping his hands to himself, not staying in line on the way to and from the cafeteria or the bathroom, etc.  Maybe it was pregnancy hormones, because at the time I was expecting #3, but I had a hard time listening to that day after day! 

-

Every Monday was folder day.  My son would be given his folder to take home, full of the previous week's papers, plus any notes or announcements that parents needed to know about.  I always found it humorous that on my son's papers would usually be written some comment about needing to be neater, especially the ones that involved coloring.  My son was not a colorer.  He had no interest in taking crayons and filling in a picture that someone else had drawn.  He could take a blank piece of paper and draw something magnificent.  But coloring a picture?  He hated it.  So his coloring pages always came back saying, "Needs to work on coloring!"  LOL. 

-

And then there were the field trips and all the various class activities.  Parents were encouraged and even somewhat expected to take a very active role in these things.  But with a preschooler and an infant in tow, I couldn't always make it to everything.  This gave me a huge guilt complex as a mom.  Especially when my child would tell me later, "...but all the other moms were there."  *sigh*  I hated missing out on those things!  It broke my heart, knowing that my child was going on a field trip and he would be one of the few who didn't have a parent there to accompany him.  And I worried, too, that he would be left out or overlooked.  He wasn't... but I still worried!

-

I could continue with tales about each year until we finally made the decision to homeschool, but they are all about the same.  My son was in 3rd grade, my daughter in 1st, when we decided that we had all enough.  At the end of that school year, we made it known that we would be homeschooling after that.  My children were elated.  I was scared, relieved, and excited all in one!  My dh, well, he was just glad to be free from the tuition costs! 

-

So let's see, is there anything that I miss about my pre-homeschooling life?  Hmmm.... getting up early every day?  Dragging the baby out of bed before he was ready so we could get the older kids to school?  Waking the baby from his afternoon nap to go pick up the older kids from school?  Spending a fortune on new school supplies and a million odds and ends throughout the year whether they need them or not?  Purchasing a new "back-to-school" wardrobe in the fall just because?  Forcing my children to read books that they weren't the least bit interested in within a ridiculous time frame so they could do well on the "AR" tests?  Dealing with the parenting-politics that are ever present, especially in a private school?  Etc., etc., etc....  Need I go on?  Do I miss that stuff?  NO!

-

What have we gained?  Well, we have gained a closeness within our family that wasn't there before.  We have time now, to just relax and be a family and not let the rest of the world determine when and for how long we can see each other.  My children may fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but they are also each other's best friends. (BTW, they tried to play with each other on the playground when they were in school.  They got in trouble, because 1st graders and 3rd graders weren't allowed to play together.  They could only play with kids from their class.)  And, they have been free to spend time with their cousins (who are also homeschooled) and their grandparents, which is absolutely priceless.  They have also made friends within our co-op who have been such a blessing. 

-

As a mom, I have gained so much confidence!  I love homeschooling my children and I'm proud to be a homeschooling mom.  I feel that I'm truly doing what God has called me to do now.  And really, that is all that I need to know.  Just like the name of this blog says, I am homeschooling my children -

-

for heaven's sake. 

3:30 PM - Mar. 30, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

Preschool vs. PS2

I had a very interesting discussion with my almost 5 year old earlier this week.  He is my youngest of three children, and the first one of my children that I will be homeschooling beginning in Kindergarten, which is a little scary for me!  This is our second year to be homeschooling, so he's gotten used to the idea of his bubby and sissy doing their schoolwork every day.  However, when it comes to his schooling, we have been pretty laid back to this point.  We read a lot of books and go over charts that I have hanging on the wall with letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and the days of the week.  And, up until recently, we just did "preschool" sporadically throughout the day, weaving it in around our other activities. 

-

Well, since LilBub has discovered that he likes to play video games, things have changed a little bit.  He wakes up in the mornings ready to play video games.  Every spare moment that we are home, he wants to play video games.  At night when it's time to go to bed, he's sad because he has to leave the video games behind.  And please understand the difference in the child's wanting to play video games, and the amount of time that his parents actually allow him to play them.  There's a big difference!  If we let him play them as much as he would like, we'd never see the child. 

-

The problem lately, though, is that he'll ask to play his game, and I'll have to tell him, "Not until after school."  He does not like that answer.  He has decided, in fact, that he does not like school.  Because it keeps him away from his video games.  The child is FOUR. 

- 

The conversation continues, but I'll have to share it with you next time.  I have to go and unplug the PS2 right now and put the little gamer to bed!  *sigh*

8:13 PM - Mar. 21, 2008 - comments {4} - post comment

To routine? Or not to routine? That is the question.

Works-For-Me-Wednesday this week is a Backwards Edition, in which participants can ask for tips on any given subject instead of sharing tips of their own.  There are so many things that I need help with in my life, it's hard to pick JUST ONE thing to ask about!  But, since this is my homeschooling blog, I thought I'd shoot in that general direction. 

-

One thing that I really love about homeschooling is the freedom and flexibility that we have with our daily routines.  If we have a late night and need to sleep in - no big deal.  If we're snowed in and can't leave the house for a few days - that doesn't interfere with school, although it does tend to make mom a little crazy!  If everyone gets sick, including mom, and we do no school at all for a whole week - it's okay.  We have to do make up work, but not like they would have to do at a "real school".  I love having that freedom. 

-

However, I am the type of person who, if you give me an inch, I might unintentionally take a mile, so to speak.  It may be that I get on a kick of staying up too late at night, and thus the bad habit of sleeping in too late follows.  Every once in awhile, fine.  But not every day.  Or, maybe we're studying something really cool with KONOS, and we get so caught up in it that we neglect our language and math for a week.  Whoops! 

-

Of course, the most obvious solution is to have a daily routine.  Believe me, we've TRIED.  For a long time I kept a chore chart on the refrigerator with categories for morning, afternoon, and evening activities.  This included both chores AND schoolwork.  We had a fancy little point system where each activity counted for "x" amount of points, and the kids were "paid" for the points they accumulated.  It was great.  For awhile.  Then we fizzled out, and the chore chart.... is now landfill. 

-

Then, I tried giving each child a printed off checklist each day for the things I expected them to get done.  They could do it in whatever order they chose, but it had to be finished before bed and the sheet turned in for a "grade".  Again, a grand idea... but it fizzled after a few months, too.  I'd hand them their daily checklist, and they'd reply with an, "Awwwwww....Mooooommmm...." and the whiny eyes... it gets to ya after awhile, I don't care who you are. 

-

Jessica Hulcy, the co-author of the curriculum we use and the leader of the online Konos Co-Op, recommends a simple routine of doing the 3 R's in the morning, and Konos activities in the afternoon.  But it's just not working for us the way it should.  We have appointments in the morning at least twice a week, and we're gone all day every Monday...

-

Boy, I am really starting to sound like a whine-bag, too!  Now I know where my kids get it!  Ha! 

-

So tell me, am I just being lazy?  HOW do I find a routine that works for us?  Or should we ditch the routine and just wing it?  What WORKS FOR YOU?

12:48 PM - Mar. 5, 2008 - comments {6} - post comment