I thought it would be fun to keep a blog specific to homeschooling my children. I'll blog about our school days and the fun things we learned. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:02:00 -0500 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:02:00 -0500 And Levi is 1/4 way through his math book already!  Yay!!  James will be by the end of next week... and they are both about 1/4 way through the other things as well. Right on schedule. Awww that feels good!!  We had our first homeschool co-op (Friday School) last Friday.  It went really well.  This year the kids are taking Lego Club, Cooking, Model Airplanes, Archery, Tamborine Dance (Beth ... not the boys! LOL), Nature Club and one other I can't remember at the moment.  The boys said their favorite class was Archery.  We go to an actual Archery Club and they give the kids lessons.  Each of them got to shoot the bow 6 times, so that was pretty exciting to them.  They'll get to shoot more often as time goes on.  The first class is a lot of instruction.  They're pretty excited to be like Robin Hood! *grin* Piano lessons also started this week.  Both of the older boys are taking it this year.  It's an expense I'm willing to do because I feel it's a really good basis for all things musical.  My hubby was very musical in highschool and would continue to be so if he could be. The children seem to love it as well and I'm amazed at how quickly Levi picked up the piano last year... we'll see how James does this year. He loved his first lesson, so that's a plus!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/592477/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/592477/      Homeschooling an artistic child is proving to be a challenge for me.  Where I'd like to just get on w/ the school work and get it done ASAP, he wants to color his doughnut pictures w/ sprinkles and all sorts of fun things.  Or he's asked to draw a picture of milk and turns it into milk in the grocery refridgerator. Of course there's someone getting it out of the fridge and then there's the man's grocery cart which is full of things like cereal, eggs, bread, etc.  So far I'm just being patient and allowing this creativity to sprout and I am pretty sure that's just how I'll do it... but part of me wants to say "OK! It just asked you to draw MILK not the whole grocery store!!!"  Makes me sound like a bad homeschooling Mom doesn't it?? But... I'm not acting on my annoyances and am allowing him to have this creative streak that God gave him.   That is, after all, one of the reasons I homeschool.      I finally called the superintendant of the local schools and he said they don't sent the paperwork after the first year??  I was told otherwise by other homeschoolers, but whatever.  He said all I have to do is send in a paper describing the curriculum we'll be using and when I will be writing in my quarterlies.  Sounds easy enough...  I already have it all on the computer, so I'll just print out what I have and sent it in.  It's pretty easy this year since I'm not piecing together the curriculum.        http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/586721/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/586721/      Another week has flown by.  I'm so excited as we're staying right on schedule & will be done 1/4 of the work by the end of September!! WOOHOO!! That is a great feeling, yk?!       This morning was the first morning that James really didn't want to do school.  He complained, but I sent him into the kitchen anyway and once we got started he did fine.  He even scored higher on his spelling test than Levi did on his, so he was proud of himself for that. LOL!  I try to remind them it's not a competition, but when you have 2 boys only 13 months apart it seems everything is a competition.       Still not sure what to do w/ Art.  My friend suggested we pick an artist/week. Study the artist, his/her style, country, etc.  I think that sounds like fun and am thinking of putting that into action.  If I can sit down and have an hour or so I can probably come up w/ a few months worth of art in one sitting.  I should probably just do it.  The kids keep asking "What are we doing for art"... but so far it's just painting techniques and making crafts.  I want it to be more than that though.       I'm pretty satisfied with the A Beka curriculum.  The colorful pages and the animals on them make it more fun for the kids too.  They seem to be learning what they need to learn.  James doesn't like it that they put "girly" stuff in them though and thinks they ought to make a boy curriculum and a girl curriculum.  They need to keep all dolls, brides, dresses, etc out of the boys curriculum. LOL!  He's at such a funny stage where "Girls have cooties".  Though he has decided to marry my friends daughter and says when he's off on his archeology adventures his wife will stay home with the kids.      I know I keep saying this... but I cannot believe how much James' reading is improving!  He doesn't realize that every bit of reading in his school work is really helping him...  he complains about it, but I keep pointing out how much better he's getting every day.  I found a set of 4 Little Bear books and 4 Frog & Toad books at Sams Club and he jumped right into the LIttle Bear books (anything w/ bears is exciting, you know! *grin*)  I love it when the reading just suddenly 'clicks' and it's less of a struggle.       Still no word on the paperwork, so I called this morning.  The superintendant was in a class, so I'm waiting for his call back.  I hope it's just an oversight.  The only issue may be my final report last school year.  I had no idea what to do so I wrote a report on Levi's schooling... but then my printer was out of ink & I needed to get it taken care of asap, so I hand wrote it. *sigh* I hope it's not an issue....  but we'll see.  It still shouldn't have affected my Intent to Homeschool letter for this year though.    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/584949/ Thu, 4 Sep 2008 08:35:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/584949/ We finished week 2 today.  The boys are doing well and we're definitely going to make our first quarter goals if they keep up as well as they've been doing. Yay!  Actually would love for them to be ahead of our first quarter goals if they can be, but I'm not pushing it. Art... I dunno what to do for art.  We do projects, but I don't feel like they are really learning much.  If anyone reads this and has suggestions, I'd love them.  It can't be too spendy tho. James' reading is taking off!!  He still needs lots of reminders, but I pointed out to him how much better he did in his school books today.  He said nonchalantly, "I know" LOL!   Neither of the boys like spelling tests...  I'm going to start adding math tests & speed drills to Levi's work soon.  I haven't heard back from the school district yet and I'm getting a little nervous.  I sent in my intent to homeschool letter over a month ago and should have received the paperwork I needed to fill out, but haven't yet.  I tried to call the man in charge, but there was no one in the office yesterday.  I didn't try today.  I need to know if they received it... I hate to be behind on paperwork and it's driving me crazy that I haven't received anything yet.   Tomorrow is our first field trip w/ Friday school.  Every year a county fair in VT does a Free Day for schools.  Homeschoolers can come too if they come in a group.  So we're all meeting at the fair tomorrow.  We don't have to stick together and can wander around as we please.  So I'm taking the kids.  I'm praying it won't be too hot. Walking around fairgrounds w/ 4 children when I'm 32 weeks pregnant doesn't sound like a ton of fun, but it will be much worse if it's hot.  Hopefully it won't be...  the kids will have fun either way tho.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/581698/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:53:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/581698/      So we just completely day 2 of school this week.  James only takes an hour to do it all and so far not a word of complaint from him! I'm amazed... tho I'm sure the complaining will come.  He picked out "Frog & Toad All Year" at the library yesterday so I thought we'd give it a whirl.  I looked at it this morning and thought "no way."  But in the first 3 pages he only needed help with "wonderful", "beautiful" and one other word I can't remember right now.  I was so surprised.  Then why does he fight it so much at times??  I'm thinking this will help build his self confidence in reading tho.  He was quite proud of himself for doing it today!      Now the complaining, dawdling and mind wandering is coming from Levi.  Maybe cause he has completed one year of school this is all "old hat" to him??  He keeps looking at James' work and then at what Sammy &/or Beth is doing... or staring out the window. LOL!  I kept having to say "School."  He finished w/in 1.5 hrs, but could have done it more quickly had he not be day dreaming so much.  I guess that's pretty typical for a 7 y/o tho.      Beth is doing a K workbook... she likes it of course.  It's so simple, but she likes feeling like she's doing something.  Coloring, cutting & glueing are all good. :)      Sammy is trouble with a capital "T".  Throwing playdough, cutting things that shouldn't be cut, etc, etc, etc.  He keeps busy doing good things, but then decides to try other things while he's at it. *sigh*  And then if anyone tells him no he does the typical 2 y/o SCREAM... which is extremely annoying.  I've started removing him from the room the minute he starts because it's SO distracting.  Hopefully he'll get the idea and stop soon.       http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/573522/ Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:34:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/573522/ I decided to clean out the school cupboard & project drawers today.  What a CHORE... it took at least 1.5 hours.  But it was a good thing to do... I was able to make a list of all the supplies we'll need for the school year.  It's easy stuff this year like crayons, markers, glue, tape, etc.  Nothing major and no notebooks needed... or paper (except colored paper which they seem to go through like water!)  I'm pretty excited about that...  Less $$ to have to put out at the beginning. :)  I'm going to splurge and get a few fun items for Samuel (the 2 y/o), like playdough w/ accessories. It's been about 5 mos since we've had non-dried out playdough in our home. lol  I need to figure out a few more things to get for him that will be fun & keep him busy for at least 10 minutes while we work.  I planned out a schedule too: For subjects we'll be doing: Mon ~ Math, Writing, Reading, History & Art Tues ~ Math, Writing, Reading & Science Wed ~ Math, Writing, Reading, Social Studie & Art Thurs ~ Math, Writing, Reading Fri ~ Free Day or Friday School (depending on which week it is) Ideally I'd like my day to follow this pattern: 7:15 ~ Bfast 8 ~ Start School 10 ~ Snack/Break 10:30 ~ Finish School 11:30 (or earlier if school is done) ~ Chore Time 12:30 ~ Lunch 1 ~ Nap/Quiet Time 3 ~ Finish Chores &/or School (if needed) 4 ~ Outside Play 6 ~ Dinner 7 ~ Reading Time/Jammy Time 8 ~ Bedtime Now that's my 'ideal', but I don't know if it'll run that way.... especially w/ the baby coming in Oct. & Samuel's unpredictability.  He's such a busy 2 y/o!!  I'm pretty excited now that we're getting closer and closer!!!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/570680/ Wed, 6 Aug 2008 09:05:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/570680/ Holy Cow! I just realized this morning that I wanted to start school on the 11th of August so we can take time off when the baby is born.  That's a week from today.  I'm so not ready.  I'm logged, etc... but there are supplies to buy & a few subjects yet to figure out ( like art & music)  I cannot believe I only have a week left of Summer vacation! I told the kids this morning and they got semi-excited.  I have to admit I'm so nervous about my 6 y/o!  I'm afraid it's going to be a year of battling him. *sigh*  And what's going to happen w/ my 2 y/o?! He's SO busy as it is. *sigh*  Guess we'll find out how it's going to go soon enough... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/569657/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 08:46:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/569657/ Ok, ok... so I'm counting down. *sigh*  I have to admit that I'm not really looking forward to school starting yet.  It seems the summer has just begun!  We've been talking about moving out of state.  My husband got a job in another state and it's about 1.5 hr commute one way! EEK!  So we're hoping to move as soon as we can.  The state that we're looking to move to is SO HOMESCHOOLER FRIENDLY!!  I can't tell you how excited I am about that.  In the state we're in, they don't allow homeschoolers to participate in school sports, classes or extracurricular activities.  You can barely use the playground!  But the state we're moving to allows homeschoolers into the schools even for classes you don't feel you can teach at home!!!  The kids will definitely be in sports & band... and other curricular activities that they may want to do.  I'm super excited about it.  Just praying that I can be patient and wait on the Lord's timing for our home to sell.  That's the hardest thing for me right now.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/561222/ Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:10:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/561222/ Of Summer Vacation that is... and then we embark on another school year.  I realized today that I still haven't sent in my 'letter of intent to homeschool'. Oops.  I need to do that ASAP as it was due 7/1.  Oh well... a friend of mine didn't send hers in until halfway through the school year last year, so I guess I'm not doing too bad. I'm a little nervous about next school year.  Sometimes the thought of schooling a second grader, first grader, kindergartener plus chasing a 2 y/o and having a newborn is overwhelming.  It sounds like SO much... especially when I know the first grader isn't going to enjoy it much.  He fights pretty much anything we ask him to do lately.  I'm hoping it's a phase he's going through and he'll get over it eventually. *sigh*  He'll still do it cause I make him, but it's the battle that's tiring.  Speaking of chasing a toddler...  hes' into my scrapbooking stuff, so I'm off to stop that... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/558735/ Wed, 9 Jul 2008 10:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/558735/      We finished school on May 15th!!  The kids were so excited to be done and I'm happy to report they completed all the work I wanted them to complete!  Yay!      Reading was still a struggle w/ James, though.  The timer worked, but there was still a battle almost daily, especially w/ sight words.  We were using Reading Made Easy, which worked well for Levi, but it was difficult at times.       I decided to go a completely different route this year and went with all A Beka.  I bought Grade kits 1 & 2.  I didn't buy K or the teacher kits. I started the boys on their readers already and expected a fight w/ James as usual, but he LOVES it!!  I'm so happy about that.  They started about 3 weeks ago.  Levi completed his first reader & James is almost done his first reader.  He's now reading things like: My name is Mike. I like the cats and dogs God made. I like the hens and ducks and geese He made. But I like the pigs the best.  My pet pig is fat and sleek. He likes to lie in the mud.  He will not get stuck in the mud.  He just has fun in it.  He likes to play and play. I like that he can do that w/ no fighting! YAY!!  We both now look forward to reading time rather than the battle.     We'll officially start school the second week of August or possibly the first week.  We'll have the third week off because of family, but I want to start early so we can take a break when the baby is born in Oct.    I've already logged the entire school year! Yay!  I feel very prepared and am excited to start. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/552577/ Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:37:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Close2MyHeart/552577/