WHY? Our Journey Into Homeschooling - Homeschool Blogger

A.J. Branches Out

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 11:48:00 -0600

Well, A.J. had his first haircut this morning...well, not his first, but his first that I didn't do. It looks really cute, and he did really well, just a bit of shoulder scrunching. He's definitely a bit wary about those scissors!

I took him to Taco Bell to eat and play as a reward. Sorry, no pictures. I'm all behind anyway, but I'm hoping to take advantage of his nice trim hair by taking a family picture on Saturday for holiday cards. We'll see if it works out :)

Lily turned 1 year old yesterday. Boy, that made me feel so old! The last year has just flown by. I made her a homemade carrot cake and we opened presents in the afternoon. It was bittersweet thinking back to her birth, but the joys of the past year have definitely been many. It's funny how they don't seem related, even though they're all part of our lives.

Well, onward we go!

Cider Pressing, Pumpkins, and Juggling, Oh My!

Sat, 6 Oct 2007 19:24:00 -0500

Another field trip today. This time to Waterpenny Farm, where we were shareholders this year. Every week from May to October, we get a weekly share of fresh, organic, locally grown vegetables. This has definitely broadened my vegetable horizons, especially when it comes to different kinds of greens and squashes.

Anyhow, today, they held their annual Fall Festival, so I took the kids over while Alan stayed home to work. They were just starting to press some cider when we got there, and A.J. jumped right in. Throughout the evening, he helped with all parts of the cider making, including grinding the apples, throwing the apples in the grinder, and pressing the cider.

They also had a small sandbox, where both of the kids played for a little while. It was Lily's first time in there, and I was surprised how much she liked it and how much she DIDN'T eat the sand (just a little ;)). She didn't want to get out, that's for sure.

They had a scavenger hunt, looking for things around the farm, including plants and grasshoppers, and we had a tour of the farm behind the tractor. I thought Lily would think that was cool, being out of the carseat and all, but she was just upset that I wouldn't let her crawl and/or walk all over the trailer while it was moving. She and A.J. did get to meet and play with a couple other babies though--7-month-old Hannah (we already knew her) and 13-month-old Abigail (a new friend).

There was also a juggler, brother of one of the farm owners. The families and kids, mine included, all really liked that, from balls, to knives, to fire. :) A.J. got to volunteer a couple of times and has already been doing "juggling tricks" at home tonight.

Finally, the kids got to pick a small pumpkin, and we went ahead and purchased a big batch of winter squash. Lily also got her first cherry tomatoes when I wasn't watching closely enough! She seemed to enjoy them :)

Alas, a good time was had by all!

Crazy Day: Friday, October 5, 2007

Sat, 6 Oct 2007 08:11:00 -0500

It began at 4 a.m. for me and about 4:40 a.m. for the kids. We had to drive about 70 miles to take our cat Bronte in to a special referral center for possible surgery for suspected cancer.

The kids were good in the car, although I think Lily was a little freaked out by driving in the dark without me in the back with her. Having A.J. there helped, as always.

We arrived at the vet at 7 a.m., as scheduled, talked to the doc and left Bronte in their hands until Saturday. We stopped by a local Bob Evans for breakfast before heading back to our hometown. Eating out is always an adventure with such a little one. Lily fell asleep in the car again on the way home, which was a blessing to me in the sense that we could make it home in one trip without stopping.

A.J. and I played a little virtual "Pet Vet" game in the car--no surprise there, given what was on his mind, and throughout the day, we talked a lot about cancer (what it is, how it works, and why it's so bad), what was going on with Bronte, what her chances were, and how we could treat it. We also talked about why the treatments can be good and bad. Now, maybe this sounds like a lot of detail, but A.J. asks a lot of questions, and I always take his hints when he abruptly changes the subject that we've talked enough about it for now.

We found out later in the day that she definitely has cancer, gastric lymphoma. She didn't have surgery, but she did have her tumor aspirated, and then she started chemotherapy last night. A.J. is upset, like his parents are, that we might lose her. She's the one who sleeps in his bed almost every night. They fight over who gets the pillows.

***

We also had some field trips planned with our homeschool co-op yesterday, fortunately very close to home. I decided to go ahead with them because A.J. was so looking forward to them, and I figured a little normalcy in the day would be good for him.

It started with a trip to the Garden Maze, where we got to run around and try to find our way through 8 foot (?) high hedges. We've done this twice before when A.J. was a bit younger, and it was still fun, although it was unseasonably warm (high 80s).

Later, we went to the small zoo here, where we saw a show about snakes and wandered around some. A.J.'s favorite parts were the petting zoo, where A.J. got to feed and brush the animals, and the sign showing how admission and donations help (for example, $500 will feed the alligators for a year and $10 will feed the tiger for a day). A.J. has vowed to save up all or most of his allowance for two years if he has to so that he can make that donation to feed the gators for a year! He's even started up a savings "bag" already. What a goal!

Lily liked the animals too. This is the first time I've seen her noticing them. My favorite was this adorable serval kitten, Kenya. OMG. I just wanted to cuddle with it (silly of me, I know), but it acted just like a domestic kitten, running around and playing, chasing leaves and insects.

***

By the end of the day, I was exhausted physically and emotionally, but it definitely wasn't all bad. I'm definitely trying to teach A.J. one day at a time right now with all that's going on. It's all we can do.

An Awesome Field Trip

Wed, 3 Oct 2007 22:15:00 -0500

Last week, we took a field trip with Funschool down to Boxerwood Gardens in Lexington. This place, promising on its web site, turned out to be amazing!

Daddy took the day off work to help me with baby-soothing-in-the-car duties (or driving while I did the baby soothing), and the four of us made the two-hour trek to meet up with the other Funschoolers. We spent most of the time in the Garden's Play Trail, which was an awesome area built just for the younger set out of natural and not-so-natural items in perfect combination. A tunnel made of willow branches, a hill with great plastic pipe tunnels underneath, a stream running through it with plastic fish, frogs, and lizards to find, an outdoor kitchen, and a bone yard were just a few of the things that were there. It was almost like all your kids' and your own kiddie fantasies come true! Oh, and don't forget the hammocks! They had A.J. and me wishing for our very own!

Wanna built your own fort? Well here are a bunch of perfect-sized bamboo sticks to get you started (as A.J. did). Lily had a blast in the hill-tunnels. She spent about a half an hour crawling back and forth in them, shrieking and listening to her own voice echo back at her. Mom, Dad, and A.J. added to the excitement by doing "peek-a-boos" now and then at one end of the tunnel or by crawling in with her. Later, she played in the mud kitchen a bit and was quite a mess by the time we left. There was a sink built at toddler height right outside, with running water and everything!

Before we left for the long journey home, the kids and I (with Lily strapped to by back in the mei tei) took a hike around some of the grounds. We saw wetlands, big trees, tons of plants, and at least two boggy ponds. We walked up stone staircases and across wooden plank bridges. We also had the company of the Garden's resident boxer, who followed us or led us around as he so chose.

What a great place! I hope we have the opportunity to visit again someday!

We're Still Alive, Really

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:35:00 -0500

I'm sitting here in my dining room listening to the sound of the air conditioner and the baby monitor humming, and it's become obvious why I don't get enough sleep. When the house gets all quiet like this, it's the first time in the day that I really relax and can just breathe. I guess I like to savor it as much as I can.

Anyway, so what have we been doing? Unschooling, Funschooling, and all sorts of other stuff in between.

A.J. has been more and more social and has really been enjoying our outings, including the recent La Leche League picnic, where he ran around with the other Leaders' children and grandchildren. He's also had a good time at our three Funschool meetings so far this year, two at our meeting house and one field trip (he's already asked to go back to Big Meadows). We have another field trip to a place called Boxerwood Gardens this week. A.J. also enjoys his quiet time and computer time just as much, if not more, though. I think, like me, he needs that time to decompress--that, and cuddle time before bed (as long as the dogs don't try to jump in!).

We've also had our own activities, like doing some science experiments (on recycling and measuring) with our Young Scientist Club kits. A.J. also made up his own science experiment just the other day. I came in the dining room to find his some of his toy cars and Hess trucks lined up on the table. Later, he told me he had measured the kitchen floor with his ruler (9.24 feet, he said) and was counting how many seconds it took each car to get across. He then figured out how many feet per second the car was traveling and converted that number to feet per hour (by multiplying by 3600, of course) to find which cars were the fastest and which were the slowest. He continued the experiment today with some new cars, finding one that went about 2 miles per hour. ;)

Lily is growing, too, and developing in new ways. She took her first steps last week, and said a definite "Daddy" this morning (although I think she's said it plenty before, just not so pointedly toward him). When she wants me, she doesn't say "Mommy," she just bangs on the gate (if she's in the bedroom with Daddy) and says "mamamamamamama." :) She's definitely smaller than A.J. was (he weighed over 19 pounds at 6 months, and she's just that now at 10 1/2 months). It takes some getting used to, but I checked the breastfed baby charts that the World Health Organization publishes, and she's right in the middle for height and weight, so no worries, especially since her behavior and development are right on track.

I'd love to post some pictures, but this site has a limit on size, and I don't have time to compress each picture before posting it here, so you'll just have to imagine! :)

Until later...

Little Peapod

Sun, 2 Sep 2007 21:24:00 -0500

Just thought I'd post a little bit on how Lily is doing. She'll be 10 months old in just a few days. She's full of verve and attitude. I always wondered if that quiet baby was going to surprise us by being "spirited," and I'm beginning to think I was right. She might need to be renamed Persistence! Distraction doesn't work very well on her when she has her mind set on something, and she can get pretty temperamental if she doesn't get what she's after. (But most of the time she's pretty sweet and lovey!)
She's definitely into her mommy time, nursing, cruising along, trying to get into the trash, tear covers off of books, get Daddy's alarm clock, "pat" the dogs and cats and pull their tails and ears. They all put up with her nicely or leave, although I almost always remove the animal to another location if she is getting too rough. We don't want to push them too far!

A.J. is helping to teach Lily some sign language. So far, she's done "milk" and "more." She's doing another one, but I haven't figured out yet what she means with it. A.J. thinks sign language is a lot of fun and has been learning it by reading books and even watching a video we got from the library.

Lily can also stand on her own for a few seconds, and I'm wondering if she'll be walking long before she hits 12 months. We'll see. I would have thought she'd crawl earlier from the way she tried and tried, but it'll come when she's ready.

New Year, New Adventures

Sun, 2 Sep 2007 21:10:00 -0500

Well, it's a new non-school year *haha* I sent our notice of intent to homeschool for A.J. to the school superintendent again.

This year, we'll have to provide proof of progress in one of several forms, so that's the first thing that will be different.

The second thing is that I've decided to enroll in an area homeschool co-op that meets weekly. It is a bit of a trek (about an hour's drive), but I think it will be worth it to have some consistency in faces we see and also to get exposed to what other people are doing. This month's schedule includes a water-fun day, a gadget day, two field trips, and a possible picnic.

The best thing about this co-op is that it's pretty laid back. If A.J. doesn't feel like participating in the class or activity going on that week, he can sit at a table and play a game or just go outside to the playground.

A.J. does his best with adults or one-on-one with other kids, but I'm hoping that with this opportunity to be around other kids, he'll find someone he can connect with. I've tried to be more local but with little successs. We'll see how it goes.

A Swimmer is Born and Evaluations

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 13:58:00 -0500

Well, on June 19, A.J. finished two weeks of swimming lessons and became an American Red Cross Level 2 Swimmer. This basically means that he's comfortable in the water and can move around and switch directions with support of some kind, in his case a swimming belt and sometimes the wall.

The class was a bit difficult for him as he gets overwhelmed with all the kids around, especially with lots of splashing and stuff. But, with some help from mom and some extra attention from his instructor, April, he got it done and is very proud of himself. He's even talking about becoming a Level 6 swimmer (the highest level) and a lifeguard some day!

He's had about a week off from swimming and other things this week because I was gone to the La Leche League Conference with Lily and also because he's come down with a cold (that Lily brought home!). While we were gone, Dad didn't do any homeschooling, but they played Big Kahuna Reef together and stuff, and Dad did take him to the pool twice, once to get his certificate for passing the test and once just to play.

***

I just sent in my Notice of Intent to Homeschool for this coming school year for A.J. and remembered that this is the first year that we will have to provide "proof of progress" to the school district at the end of this, his "first grade" year. We're thinking evaluation might be the best route to go with A.J., so I'm looking into it.

Trying something new

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:35:00 -0500

I wrote up a schedule yesterday for homeschooling, and we're going to try it out this week. (I make no promises.) It goes something like this, in half-hour chunks:

Monday and Tuesday morning: Math
Monday and Tuesday afternoon: Writing/Journaling
Wednesday and Thursday morning: Art/Music...

Anyhow, I am trying this not because I don't believe in unschooling. I do think that A.J. is learning about all kinds of stuff that he finds interesting and that will serve him in life. He's way beyond his age level academically, so I'm not really worried about that. I'm trying it because I sort of want some time for us to get together every day and do something fun. That sounds easy, but with the baby around, it's become a bit harder.

It's going to be a real challenge because, honestly, I'm feeling overwhelmed just keeping the work done, the people and animals clean and fed, and the house in livable condition (and that's with considerable help from DH). Sometimes, I wish I had someone to help me clean the house or something, but I don't think we can afford it right now.

Anyhow, we're going to give it a shot and see how it goes.

Homeschooling never stops, not even for summer! However, tomorrow's looking like a great day to get out the plastic pool!

WORLD�S PALEONTOLOGISTS IN SHOCK AS FOSSIL GOES TO THE DOGS

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:05:00 -0500

Amateur paleontologist and kid, A.J.R. shocked the world today when he presented one huge sauropod thigh bone to his dogs Bucky and Satchel.

After discovering a bone of the dinosaur Brachiosaurus in his backyard, A.J. spent a whole hour washing the bone to make sure it was free of germs. It then took him five hours to drag the monstrosity into the house. Bucky and Satchel were ecstatic upon seeing their new toy. A.J. predicts the bone will last them ten years.

Now, if only they can figure out how to get their teeth around it.

(As told to Mom by A.J.R. about what he would do...)