I miss hanging out here on homeschoolblogger.  I have gotten myself so busy lately that I have not been able to find time to write.  I am going to make a strong effort to visit more often.

March has proved to be a busy month.  Usually it is the month that takes the longes to pass by since it is like the gateway to spring where I live.  But, this year a lot seemed to fill it up.  The first week started off with an unexpected trip to San Diego California.  I have  an uncle who lives out there.  He had a heart attack, and my mom asked me to make the trip with her.  So, two days later we were on a flight headed across the country.  It was my mom's first time on an airplane.  She did great, though.  My uncle was in the hospital for almost two weeks, but he is home now and doing better.  He needs to make a conscious effort to take better care of himself!  We got to be out there with him for about a week.

The next thing I new, it was time to get ready for Randy's birthday, Easter, then spring break.  I hate when time slips away from me, but at the same time I am glad to be through March. 

I have also been trying to make an effort to get back in shape and lose some extra weight.  I have been writing on another blog about it, and in the process have discovered how much I like writing.  Since then I have started a few more blogs which have been taking up a lot of my extra time. 

I am sorry this entry is a lot of ramble.  I just figured that it would be nice to share a little explanation before I move along.

     As soon as I think I have figured out just what kind of learning we will do in our house, I start second guessing myself.  Occasionaly, I go from thoughts of doing school in a box such as Calvert, to putting together my own curriculum.  I am starting to figure out that there is no particular way to learn in which is best.  I am still fighting the style of learning that fits the public school mode;  after all, I did spend a whole thirteen years of my life there!  It is not easy to change habits over night, including habits of thought.

     I have been spending time reading The Charlotte Mason Companion, by Karen Andreola.  At first I did not think it would appeal to me.  I guess my first impression was that school would be very quiet with little else going on.  I don't know why I thought this.  Maybe it is the fact that Charlotte's style of learning focuses on using books and doing a lot of reading.  As I got further into Andreola's book last night, however,  I found that I could not put it down!  I never thought of using living books in addition to a text book, for instance, and doing other projects or field trips to tie in to whatever the topic of learning happens to be.  Often I feel lost when it comes to planning and preparing for school, so the idea of using a text as a guideline was very appealing.  I myself very much enjoy reading, therefore I would love if my boys would learn the habit.

     So far, I like using the Veritas Phonics Museum, (with the exception of the D'Nelian style of printing, though my son doesn't seem to mind), and Saxon math.  In the fall I would like to add to our list.  I am thinking about using the Charlotte Mason style and putting our focus into reading about history and science (following the trivium?)  

     Hmm... I guess I just answered my own question.  What I still need to figure out, though, are what books will be part of the History and Science lessons.  I would love to get some feed back on this.  I know the first year of the first cycle of the trivium is all about ancient history.  I think that would be perfect being that my son is very interested in mummies and pyramids (thanks to a Reading Rainbow show he recently watched...lol!) 

     We recieved our shipment from Veritas Press very rapidly.  I really didn't expect it to arrive for quite awhile, being that we are in the holiday season and all.  I was very excited once it arrived!

     I am very anxious to get started with the Phonics Museum.  There are a ton of hands on activites involved.  I think it will help to make it more fun.  Both of my children seem to enjoy the hands on approach to learning.  I guess it has a lot to do with their ages.  There are phonics flash cards that do have pictures on them.  The picutures are great works of art.  I found it a refreshing change from the usual plain pictures that are more commonly used.  I pulled them out the other day to show my almost three-year old.  I found it interesting how he would spend more time looking at each card.  What a clever approach to teaching beginning letter sounds!  I was also surprised to find that he already knows the letters in the alphabet by appearance!  I have not spent any time teaching him, but I guess he just picked it up by listening to me teach his older brother.  It is amazing how like sponges they really are!

     I also think the Saxon math program looks good.  I decided to start with the kindergarten level, mainly because I don't want to skip too far ahead.  Randy is not suppose to officially start kindergarten until fall of 2008.  Starting now gives me a good head start to get my bearings.  (I have had some bouts of anxiety recently due to feelings of "Can I really do this???")

     I absolutely love the "Beethovan lives upstairs!"  I think it is a wonderful approach to introducing the history of the composers and their music.  I was surprised, again, that my children seemed to already be familiar with some of the music .  We do not have a habit of listening to classical music, but they have been introduced to it through such things as "The Little Einstiens," and our "Charlie Brown's Christmas" cd, among other things.

     We also have the Veritas Art Primer Collection.  It is a small collection of books that introduce the names of a few great artists through interesting stories.  I like it, but for some reason I was thinking there would be more in the way of activities.  So, I am left with putting together some kind of art program.  I am thinking of using each book, one per week.  Spending time that week to learn about the artist and doing a few art acitvities that coincide with that particular artist's style. 

     Lastly, we have the "Children's Illustrated Bible."  I like it a lot.  The stories are kept somewhat simple, though the language is a bit above that of my almost five-year old, Randy.  We started with it already, and I think we will make it a point to continue.  I think that due to the fact that it appears to be on the higher level, we will be able to use it again through the next years to come.  Afterall, it never hurts to repeat stories such as those.

     As of right now, we are getting busier by the day with our holiday activities.  I love the special moments the holidays bring, but the chaos I could do without!  But, I know that Christmas will be over all too soon, then we will have to deal with the holiday let down that inevitably comes.  Hopefully, the start of our school year will keep us busy enough that we won't think too much about it!

     Finally, 2008!  Why is it that the beginning of every new year feels so exciting and fresh?  I guess it is looking back at the past year;  taking stock of what we accomplished or not, and mapping out the new year to fix our lives in some way or another.  For some it is financial, fitness, or getting their homes in order.  I have to say that all three of those things fit the bill in my life, but I also want to make 2008 a great academic year in my home.

     My children are still very young, so the word academic might be a bit strong.  But, it is the getting started on a journey that has been our hard part.  I think that it is in part because homeschooling is very new to me.  I have spent that past few months mulling over curriculum ideas and teaching approaches.  I read many books on homeschooling.  I can finally say that I actually feel very excited about 2008 academically! 

     I wasn't going to start on our studies until Monday, mainly because it would be the first full week with no interuptions of time off.  But, I felt compelled to get our start yesterday, and I am glad I did.  I got a real glimpse of what our year will be like with our curriculum choices, and it looks like it will prove to be fun!

     I say fun, because the Phonics Museum is fun.  We got started on it yestereday, and Randy seemed to have a great time participating.  There is a student workbook.  It provides opportunity to learn how to write.  There is also a lot of hands on learning.  We read the first story, which is titled The Alphabet Quest.  It is about a boy, William, who's parents take him on a trip to an art musuem.  At first the boy is very disappointed because he feels like he will have no fun.  On the way, though, he meets Percival who is nothing more than an empty set of armour.  He can speak, though only to William.  Percival makes the trip to the art museum fun by turning it into a game.  Each of them try to find as many things as they can in the artwork that starts with the letters of the alphabet.  (I might add that Randy is now begging me to go to the art museum...LOL)

     Our first letter of focus is "A."  After reading the story, Randy, Carson and I built our own musuem (provided by Veritas) and then went around the house in search of items that start with the short "a" sound.  We then put the items on display in our museum.  The boys have been instructed to be on the look out for more things that start with that same sound so they can add them to the musuem collection as well. 

     My boys are in the part of life where they love playing with their imaginations.  I am forever finding them acting out things such as pirates, or simply playing house.  So, the style of learning that the Phonics Museum offers is perfect for us right now.

     Our other focus this year is Saxon math.  It appears to be very simple right now.  We will start everyday with looking at our calender and adding the days date.  Right now the focus is introducing some of the manipulatives that we will be using through this course.  Yesterday's manipulative introduction was of the geo shapes.  I got them out and let the boys play with them so they would get familiar.  I was amazed at how long they opted to sit there and play.  What I also found fascinating was how they sparked the imagination of Randy.  He immediately took the shapes and started making all sorts of things.  He saw things in those geo shapes that I didn't think was possible.  So, is it safe to say that our Saxon math lesson provided and art lesson yesterday as well??? 

     I can tell that we are going to have a ton of fun in 2008.  I was afraid that my boys wouldn't want to sit still long enough to "do" school.  I can see that "doing" school does not have to be boring and monotonous.  In fact, I think by keeping it fun and interesting, they will probably retain more of what they learn.

     First off, I am sorry for being gone for awhile.  Thank you Jennifer for checking in on me... lol!  I have been busy, to say the least!  What can I say?  It is holiday time.  I am sure many of you know what I am talking about. 

     Not only have I been busy with getting ready for the holidays, but I have been busy with food allergy stuff as well as school.  (Feel free to visit our new allergy site!)  I finally placed our order for supplies and curriculum, and I hope to get an official start in January!

     Our list of studies include...

-Saxon Math K

-The Phonics Museum Kit (from VeritasPress)

-The Children's Illustrated Bible (from VeritasPress)

-Fine Art Primer Collection, along with Beethovan Lives Upstairs (for fine arts, from VeritasPress)

     I depated on whether to use Calvert or build our own.  I finally decided that building our own would be more beneficial as I can better accomodate which ever level Randy happens to be on.  As for our Pre-K Calvert that we started out with this past fall, it was way to easy!!!  I could not keep Randy's interest for very long because it just was not challenging for him.  It will not go to waste completely, though, as Carson is starting to benefit from it.

     I guess homeschooling is all just trial and error.  I was telling myself that it is okay to have these setbacks.  In public school Randy would be forced to stick with whatever the curriculum happened to be.  It might be a bit of a pain for me, but at least I have the ability to fix the problem.  (I am very big on finding the silver linings .)

     Okay, I think my hardest part is getting started and coming up with a plan.  I keep finding myself frozen, not actually getting started because I feel lost!  I am sure I am not the first person to feel this way.  If anyone has any advice as to how I can relax and "just do it," please let me know.  I am one of those people who procrastinate in the beginning of any project or big undertaking.  I wonder what that says about me?

     The boys are off with grandparents for the day.  After they left and I ran my errands (with free hands....YAY!), I sat down at the computer to search for information online to help me learn how to put together a good plan for our school.  I came across www.donnayoung.org, which I am sure everyone else probably already knows about.  Can I just say WOW!  What a fabulous site!  I am still in shock of everything that is offered, and for free!!!!  Yes, it is free!!!! 

     I printed off a ton of things, and as soon as I am done with this blog entry I am going to start working on my binder.  I just couldn't pass up this opportunity to share my newfound information!

     I am going to go for now and try to take advantage of the rest of my quiet time to get some work accomplished.  I will share how it goes.  I am going to try to do an entry each day of the week (yeah, right!) because I think doing so will help to keep my thoughts organized.