Chronicles of the daily life of our homeschool family which includes my 4th grade son, second grade daughter, and 2 year old son. My goal is to have something to record and then look back on to see that I actually have accomplished something, even when I feel like the forward progress in slow! Maybe I can encourage others as I encourage myself. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:41:00 -0500 Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:41:00 -0500 So I've been homeschooling "real" school for almost 5 years now.  And like many of you, I'm sure, I've tried a *lot* of different curriculums/methods for most all the different subjects I've taught.  And for the most part I've given up on them after a little while- or I've been tempted to try something new when I run across it.  So I am so very happy to say that there's at least one curriculum that I've used each year and keep coming back to.  And I am still thrilled with it-  it's  my math curriculum- Math-U-See.  I just love it!  And my kids have never once complained about math- so I asssume they love it, too.  It's such a relief to walk that huge curriculum vendor floor at the FPEA convention and know there's at least a few booths I can totally skip- there just can't be anything out there better for my family then Math-U-See!  Now I'm not trying to critize any other math curriculums- I'm sure there are many, many fantastic ones out there- that's not my point in this blog.  I'm just saying- it's really, really great to find "the one".  Kind of like my husband- I'm sure there's other great guys out there- but none of them are just right for me like *my* husband is- so I don't even entertain the thought of looking for another (I'm sure my husband will be so relieved to read this,lol).  Of course, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with your man- no doubt he's just right for you, too! Now if I could just be as faithful to what I choose for history, language arts, science, and everything else besides my math!  Have you found your "one and only" curriculum?  I'd love to hear what it is! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/19603/ Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:41:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/19603/ Today I have to drive to pick up my group's Ozark (coop warehouse) order.  Does anybody else order from Ozark?  I'd love to know what other people order- the catalog is somewhat overwhelming!  I usually order frozen meats and macaroni and cheese.  This month, however, the most exciting thing I'm ordering is children's probiotics.  Why?  Because we've had the stomach flu here 4 times since April- and that is 4 times too many!  Hopefully this will build up the kid's guts so they'll be a little more resistant. Other things I've ordered in the past:  bulk cheese- which is usually a really good deal.  Frozen organic vegetables (bulk)- I love having a well-stocked freezer- unless of course there's going to be a hurricane.  Oh yes- and canned tomatoes and tomato sauce.  And sometimes I find incredible deals on apple sauce (which is great to have when I'm too lazy to wash and cut up fresh apples!  But basically I buy staples- it's great having a bunch of stuff stocked up and ready to be cooked! Things I just can't justify:  cookies and candy- I mean, the reason I'm buying from Ozark is so I can feed my family better, more nutritious foods.  I'm sure organic, natural store-bought cookies and candies taste great- but somehow they're not super high on my priority list- especially for the cost.  So we have to be content with freshly baked, homemade cookies with freshly gound whole wheat pastry flour and succanat for sweetner.  My poor deprived family. So what are your favorite things to order?  And what items have been a let down?  I'm off to meet the truck! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18795/ Wed, 24 Aug 2005 09:52:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18795/ Do other homeschoolers ever feel this way?  You think- well, today is a crazy day, but tomorrow will be normal.  And then it happens all over again the next day.  Sigh.  So this week was supposed to be a week of normal days except for Wednesday, because I have to go pick up my group's Ozark order, and Thursday, because my daughter has a friend coming over, well and Friday- because it's a universal homeschool truth that Fridays are never normal!  But Monday and Tuesday- they were supposed to be my normal days.  Well, Monday I was still recovering from the over 100 sand flea bites I'd gotten at Sanibel and was feeling the effects of the antihistamines I'd taken for it.  So we got a pretty decent day of school in, but not my unobtainable "normal" day. But today, yes today I had high hopes.  I only had to go to my parent's part-time home here in Florida and find out if their air conditioning was working (they're not in Florida right now and their most recent electric bill for this home was only $20 for last month which made us all suspicious).  They are coming into town this weekend and there's no chance of them staying there without air.  And of course- it wasn't working.  And so of course I had to call the air service guy out for them and be ready to meet him when he came.  And- of course- he came when my little one was napping- which also happens to be good homeschool time for the bigger kids.  So I pulled him out of bed, packed everyone up and headed to my parents place to meet the service guy.  And guess what!  It's *really*, *really* hot in Florida without air conditioning.  Oh. My.  How did people live here before air conditioning?  Unbelievable.  I feel very blessed and will now never take for granted that icy cool air that flows down from the vents in my house when the temperature outside is in the 90s with 90% humidity!  Anyhow, an hour later he was finished and we could return home.  But who wants to get back to the normal routine when your sweaty and tired and hot? So once again, my normal day became abnormal- which just plain seems to be the norm for me!!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18627/ Tue, 23 Aug 2005 18:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18627/ This weekend our family took a short drive south to Sanibel Island which is supposed to be the world's best place for shelling.  We were not disappointed and came home with lots of shells to add to our collection. Although my only goal for the weekend was relaxation and family time (something we desperately needed), as a homeschool family, it couldn't help but end up being educational as well.  One of our favorite places was The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum.  The museum itself was interesting with lots of, obviously, shell exhibits.  But the best part was the 30 minute video presented on mollusks.  The video was filmed by a part-time Sanibel resident for her grandchildren and took over 6 years to make.  It was very well-done and had the most amazing shots of, well, mollusks (living).  Who knew mollusks could be so interesing!  Check out some clips here.  It was really exciting to connect all those shells with real live animals.  It certainly made shelling all the more exciting. Another educational highlight of the trip was visiting the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Preserve.  It is a 4 mile drive through the most amazing preserve and you can pull over to get a closer look anytime.  The kids had a blast spotting Mangrove Tree Crabs at one of the many spots where we pulled over.  We even got to see live Mollusks for ourselves.  And there were birds galore.  It was well worth driving through! And so Sanibel was well worth visiting- I recommend it highly.  We are blessed to live in Florida where there are so many natural wonders just waiting to be observed!  It was however, very hot, so it might be best to go late fall or even winter, though winter hotel rates are much more costly.  Also, be aware of the "no-see-ums" or sand flys.  My daughter and I came home sporting over 100 bites each (yes, I said 100)!  Not very fun!  My recommendation- bring deet- really.  I mean it. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18285/ Mon, 22 Aug 2005 19:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18285/ Well, I've attempted it before, but I think I can really do it this time- I'm going to start a blog.  The problem in the past has been that I can never quite leave what I've written up- I'm such a perfectionist and what I've written is never quite good enough.  Does anyone else have that problem.  But I'm going to stop over-analyzing my entries and just start writing- and posting my entries. So I am hoping to post frequently about what we're doing here at our homeschool- I'm not sure if it will be interesting to anyone else, but I'd like to have a record of our accomplishments so that I can look back and say, "wow, we really did accomplish something today" or "this month", or "this year." So, I hope someone will occasionally stop by and say "hello", if not, hopefully I'll get something out of this, at the least. O.K.  Phew.  My first entry.  Now I'm actually going to add it, even if  it's not witty or sparkling with personality! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18270/ Mon, 22 Aug 2005 19:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jfraire/18270/