Lost in Cyberspace - Homeschool Blogger

october already?

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0500

can it really be october 1st today? september flew by way too fast. my baby just turned two yesterday. it's incredible to think he's been a part of our family for two years now! wow.

it would be hard to fathom that it is autumn-time already, if it weren't for the way the weather has gotten much cooler and the leaves have been changing colors/falling already. autumn has definitely arrived.

i suppose it might be in part because my birthday is in october, but i've always enjoyed this time of year. (except for the weather getting colder.) i grew up in central wisconsin and each autumn i feel a little homesick for the many colors of autumn that we had there. here in northern minnesota we mostly get yellows and browns with just a few spatterings of orange or red on low bushes which are still pretty, but i always loved the vibrant orange and red leaves of the maple trees. and the hills. somehow seeing all those colors at once on the side of a big hill makes me want to smile. i guess we'll have to make a trip "back home" in autumn sometime (probably won't happen this year though) so i can see those beautiful colorful trees again and show my sons where i grew up. it's been a long time since we've been back for a visit.

it's a brand new school year

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:50:00 -0500

We're on our fourth week already of our 2008-2009 school year. I've been meaning to update my blog for a while now, but haven't had the time.

Anyways, here's what we're using this year for curriculum(s).

Sonlight Core 3 = History & Geography, Reading, Listening Comprehension

Sonlight Language Arts 3

Singapore Math Primary 2B (finishing up what we didn't last year then on to 3A and 3B)

Sequential Spelling (recommended for use with Core 3)

Artistic Pursuits Book 1

Story of the Orchestra (music appreciation)

Homeschool Physical Fitness (purchased last year, finally using)

Apologia Elementary Science Zoology 1 (LOVE IT!)

Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America)--also purchased through Sonlight...we love this program so far!

D'Nealian Handwriting Grade 3

Things seem to be going very well so far. I think it helps that I made a point to schedule ALL our subjects ahead this year instead of trying to just mark them down as we do it. This way, I've got a plan and I just have to mark it when it's done. I find that I forget to do certain subjects if it's not pre-scheduled for me. That's just how I work, I guess. So far, this seems to be working much better. I'm glad to have put the extra work into it earlier so that it's less work now.

We decided to purchase Rosetta Stone so ds could start learning a foreign language. I've heard so much that it's good to get kids started young because they learn it faster and remember it better. So we invested in Rosetta Stone v. 3 Homeschool edition for Spanish (Latin America). We got the three level deal they've got going. Blew our school budget and then some, but I think it's worth it. Ds just LOVES it! I like it too. I took two years of high school Spanish but remember very little from it. This really seems to do a good job of teaching the language. Even DH plans to make time to learn with us if he can.

My Maui Review

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:19:00 -0500

(I realize I already posted a little bit here about our trip to Maui, but I wrote this review on Viewpoints and since it's more of a review than just a quick "here's what we did", I've decided to post it here too.)

My husband and I spent March 1-9, 2008 on Maui as a special get-away to celebrate our 10th anniversary. This was our first trip to Hawaii and it was wonderful! We did a lot of the typical tourist stuff, but tried to find some time to just relax and enjoy ourselves as well.

My husband found our lodging which was a rental unit called Tradewinds Suite near Haiku. It was so nice and private. I would go back in a heartbeat and stay there again! They also have another rental unit that's a bit larger and is recommended for families.

We picked a wonderful time of year to go too. Not only was it really cold back home (a good time to get away!), but we were there during the whale season. Whale watching was incredible...lots of mama's and their calves.

The Pacific Whale Foundation offers both snorkeling and whale-watching tours soo we did both! I especially liked that money from our tour costs will go toward research and education and stuff like that. We went snorkeling for the first time ever and I really enjoyed seeing the tropical fish in their natural habitat.

One of the first things we did to "get in the Hawaiian mood" was attend a luau. And not just any old luau. We went to the Feast at Lele. It's pricier than the others, but well worth the extra cost. I've heard that other luaus are buffet style which may mean standing in line for your food. At Lele, you get a 5 course meal brought right to your table, course by course. We were seated in the second row from the stage so we had a really great view of the dancers/performers and the ocean as well. The performers did a good job of telling about the different Polynesian peoples that have come to Hawaii and how their cultures have blended with the Hawaiian to be one. And the dance demonstrations were a lot of fun to watch.

Another highlight of our trip was sunrise at the summit of Haleakala. It was crazy getting up at 3am and driving up the mountain in the dark. It was also quite cold at the summit (still not as cold as it was back home though but it was 42 degrees F with a wind chill of around 27 degrees--brrrr!) It was a neat experience despite the cold.

The drive to Hana was fun and beautiful. We toured the lava tube near Hana which was interesting. Would have liked to do a more extensive tour, but didn't have time (nor did we plan ahead for it). At the state park we saw the 400 foot tall Waimoku Falls after taking the nearly 2 mile self-guided hike up to it (4 miles round-trip). We were there during what appeared to be a dry season, so we weren't sure whether the falls would be as spectacular as it usually is (some others along the highway were more or less dry). No need to worry, though. It was still quite a sight! And the hike to it was really neat too. We especially enjoyed the bamboo forests. Definitely not something we get to see everyday.

Finally, I will mention the beaches. Quite honestly, we didn't spend a lot of time on them. Dh got sunburn so bad our second day on the island (our snorkel tour) that he was trying to stay out of the sun as much as possible. (It was really bad...blisters...yuck!) But we did take a little time to walk along a few of the more lovely beaches...just enough to get some nice photos. And our final day while waiting to catch our flight back to the mainland, we spent a good hour and a half or two on Makena beach, a.k.a. "Big Beach". So, even though it wasn't as much beach time as I would have liked, I can still say I sunned myself on a beach on Maui!

All in all, I loved my time on Maui and wished we could have had another week or so to enjoy the beaches more, but we've got a lot of really neat memories and a hope to go back again someday.

The Expenses: airline tickets, rental car/gas, lodging, food/meals, entertainment/tours, and of course gifts/souvenirs. Total: A lot! LOL!

The Experiences: The Feast at Lele (luau), Snorkeling Molokini Crater, Whale-watching, Haleakala at sunrise, The Road to Hana, driving around the island and seeing the sights, working on a tan in early March (and not in a tanning booth!), sunny beaches, mango smoothies and mango icecream/sorbet. Total: Priceless!

new contest

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:09:00 -0500

Hey all! If you don't already know, there's a great new contest on the Front Porch! The prize this time is a set of My-Word-Magnets from Kidtronic. They look like a great learning tool for younger students! Have fun entering and good luck!

Maui Vacation

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:53:00 -0500

Well, we're back from our trip to Maui. It was a really nice getaway for dh and me. There's lots to do over there and the island is sooooooo beautiful! Will have to post some pics when I get them on my 'puter. We enjoyed snorkeling for the first time, whale watching (incredible!), the summit of Haleakala (a dormant volcano) at sunrise, driving all over the place to see as much of the beautiful scenery as we could take in. It was incredible being able to walk on beautiful sandy beaches with the waves crashing in and 80+ degree weather in early March. (At home it was 20+ BELOW zero while we were away.) Thankfully, the weather here at home has warmed up a bit and has even been above freezing! YAY! Dh said we were going to bring the warm weather home with us. I hope he's right! LOL!

And my baby is walking now! He was just taking a few steps before we left. Now he's a lot more sure of himself and is walking everywhere instead of crawling. I noticed even his hair is longer! LOL! They sure change fast when they're little. Our eldest son, on the other hand, hasn't changed much at all. Except that I think he's glad to have us back home and to be back home himself. He hasn't been talking back near so much--yet.

It's good to be home! (But I do hope we can go back to Maui again someday!) The only drawback to Maui is how expensive stuff is--especially food and gas. I think it was well worth it though!

Has it really been a month since I've posted?

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:23:00 -0600

I can't believe it's been so long!

So what's happening around here?

For school: We're about a week and a half behind, but I plan on getting us caught up this next week.

For Family: Friday the 29th, DH and I are leaving town. The boys are going to stay with my parents while we're ce;ebrating our 10th wedding anniversary a little early in HAWAII! Maui to be exact. I'm so excited! Once week from today I'll be on my way to Luau-land. LOL! We've never been to Hawaii before, so can hardly wait. Am sending some of my eldest son's school work with him to Grandma's. She can help him while we're away. And the baby will enjoy playing with Grandpa and having the run of their house. (They have a little more open space over there for him to move.)

Speaking of the baby...I'm a little afraid that I'll miss some of his development while we're away. He'll be 17 months old. He's just starting to walk (crawling's so much faster, don'tcha know!) , so he may be walking on his own more when we get back. He doesn't talk much yet, either. He sign's "more", "please', "eat", "drink", and a bunch of other signs he's learned by watching the Baby Signing Time dvds. He babbles lots and every now and then he sounds like he's saying a real word, but since he doesn't repeat it, I have to assume it's not on purpose. So, there's a chance he'll be saying more than just "Daddy" when we get home too.

I'm going to enjoy the time away--even if I miss my boys a little while we're gone. I'm especially looking forward to getting outside and being in the sun. It's kinda hard to do so when it's below zero more days than not like it has been here lately. Today's actually really nice...in the mid-30s. Balmy, as my hubby would say. The sun's out too. I should have gone outside this afternoon, but I didn't. We'll be busy walking beaches and lying around and maybe do some swimming and hiking while we're on Maui, so it should be a nice combination of activity and relaxation. We both really need it.

What week are we on anyway?

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:25:00 -0600

We've been back to doing our school work for a couple weeks now. Due to getting behind over the holidays we've been doing a bit of "catch up" work. Thankfully, it hasn't been taking a lot of extra work...just the time to do a bit of extra reading each day. I'm not doing "catch up" work for math, science or handwritng. Those we'll just keep doing at the normal pace. So, I just took a look at my school planning calendar and I noticed that next week is the end of our 2nd quarter (and 1st semester). I'm going to have to see where we're at and evaluate how ds is doing. Even though I'm not required to send in report cards to anyone, I decided to start giving them to ds this year so he knows how he's doing in school and it also is a good starting point for dh and I to discuss how homeschooling is going.

Happy New Year!

Wed, 2 Jan 2008 18:35:00 -0600

Happy 2008!

It's been a while since I've had time to sit and write. Christmas is such a wonderful time, but a busy one too! We didn't get much school work done in December. So much else going on, I just got lazy about school, I guess. But we are back at it now. And only a few weeks behind. It won't take too long to get caught up.

A case of Buyer Beware: My dh bought me a mandolin for Christmas. I've been wanting one for quite some time. He tried to get a good deal. He searched around online and decided to purchase one he saw on ebay. I love ebay. However, after this experience, I do not recommend it for musical instruments. I'm not sure buying an instrument online is wise at all unless you are familiar with the company you are purchasing from and they have excellent warranties/guarantees and a great return policy if there's a problem with what you get. Anyways, we've had nothing but trouble with this mandolin. First, I just thought the problem was that the strings were bad so we had to get replacements. We live in the middle of nowhere (at least as far as shopping is concerned) so had to wait a few days till we could take a shopping trip. Got some decent new strings, dh changed a couple that were giving me trouble and I got excited thinking I would be able to get started learning this new instrument. Then as I was beginning to learn, I quickly discovered yet another problem. Two or three of the frets are too high under the E and A strings and are causing my strings to play incorrect notes. It's really aggravating. It's no longer returnable (they only offer a 7 day after arrival guarantee and you pay to ship it back which wouldn't have done us any good as dh didn't open the box until a couple weeks after it arrived--remember, it was my Christmas gift and he wanted to keep it packaged nice for me). After quite a bit more research dh learned that this particular seller is becoming notorious for selling cheaply made instruments by making them sound like he's selling you great quality for such a great deal. The brand of this mandolin is Santini. Doesn't that sound nice? Reality is, you can't find it anywhere but through this ebay seller. These instruments are very likely made in a factory in China with little to no musical quality control. The instruments aren't set up properly before being sent to the consumer, thus, you are extremely likely to receive an unplayable instrument as I have. I will have to find out if it's worth it to have someone replace the frets. If that will cost what we think it will, dh has already told me we will get a new mandolin for me at a music store that's only about an hour from here, so is relatively local. And if this mandolin is not fixable due to cost, will find itself mounted as wall art. (Hey, at least it does look pretty nice!) Moral of my story: It's not wise buying "sight unseen"!

VBS 2008

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:10:00 -0600

Well, I'm coordinating my church's VBS this year. Last year I worked on it as co-director, but I've discovered through that experience that I much prefer the behind-the-scenes planning and organizing and let someone else take care of the discipline issues, etc. Hopefully someone will step up as VBS Director and I can just be coordinator. Anyways, I'm trying to decide which curriculum to use. We've used Standard Publishing's VBS curriculum for the past 2 years, but quite honestly, I'm not thrilled by this year's theme. So I guess I get to do some research and see what my options are. Then to get some input/opinions from those who have already agreed to teach or help out next year. Oh and I'd better get it on the church calendar...in fact, I'm going to email my pastor now so I don't forget!

Anyone else in charge of coordinating your church's VBS? I'd love to know what you're doing this year. Also, any good ideas for recruiting helpers? We have a relatively small church...about 130 would be average attendance, but it seems that it's mostly the 50 or so members that do most of the church work (and therefore don't like adding one more thing to their already busy and overworked lives). It's really really really hard to get people to volunteer for ANYTHING at this church. Last year (my first year helping with VBS in a while and my first year helping with the program's organization) it worked out and we ended up with 40 workers and 69 students during the week. The year before they had only about 15 workers and about 45-50 students. So I can see God is working to advance this ministry. I guess I need to trust God that He will work in the hearts of His people to see the importance of the ministry and where they can fill a need and allow His Spirit to convince them that they need to help out! How's that for giving yourself a pep-talk?!?!?!

Monday, Monday

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:27:00 -0500

Today I'm feeling a bit discouraged, depressed and ummm...down. Oh yeah and really overwhelmed.

It's the feeling that I've got too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it all. What I'm dealing with is my house and housework. I feel like my house has gotten out of control (again) as we tend towards being "messies". We've been trying to not let the papers stack up in piles as much, but it still seems that we get too busy for a week or two and just can't keep up and those paper piles return. After a couple more weeks of living with mounds of paper in various places throughout the house, it's finally starting to drive me up a wall again. For those people who by nature tend to be tidy, all I can say is they are blessed with a gift. For the rest of us who LOVE to have our homes tidy, but can't seem to either get it that way or keep it consistently neat, it would sure be nice to have a magic wand or a cleaning "fairie"!

I've read the Messies Manual and tried following FlyLady's suggestions. I just haven't quite found a system that works well for my family. OH well. Maybe someday we'll figure out a better way.