"I am, I can, I ought, I will." - Homeschool Blogger

My Personal Home Education Assault

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:43:00 -0500

All through this past weekend DH was on board with the fact that DS would be home educated again because of finances and the school practically lets the kids teach themselves.

twos-day came and I called the school to inform them and ask if since it is private and since he only came to summer session am I required to give an official withdrawal letter and the director there said that was not needed since we didn't officially enroll and they are not tied to the state's record reporting.

As soon as I got off the phone DH lays into me about how DS really did like going there and if he gets a better paying job he would pay for him to go. Then I went to my part time seasonal job at the Lawn care place and came home for 30 minutes and then went to Messianic Dance Team practice and then to my sister's since she asked me if I could come help with the twins and stayed there until 11 pm then came home to a grouch of a DH so I could sleep.

Yesterday I got up, walked an hour on the treadmill, took a shower and got ready for work. DS went with me since DH also had to work and while there I made DS do several pages in a grade level all-subjects- in- one workbook because we won't officially start AmbleSide back up until 9/21 for the new year and all.

DS also memorized 3 Bible verses for Awanas (T&T) and I took him to homeschool gymnastics at 3pm.
Then we came home, made dinner and then it was out to Awanas for him, Bible Study for me.

While I was out I saw DH's mom and she seemed friendly enough. Then I came home and DH way-lays into me that his mom called him and found out DS was not at the christian school and she really gave him a what for talk on how DS needed to be there and asking for my mom's phone number so they could pay for the school. And DH was telling me he read online that children should be reading when they are b/w the ages of 3-5 ((what tell that to Miss Mason and Miss Beechick and countless others)) and of course most people's big beef is the "interaction with other kids" aspect. Uh Hello the 4 kids he was at school with over the summer were the pastor and directors grandkids all brothers and sisters. DS could just hang with a family of siblings for the day or we could have some siblings for him if HE would bless and DH was in agreement....which he is only when I decide I'm ok with not having anymore but when I really want more then he tells me I'm a lousy mom and that's why I'm not blessed with more children.

So I tell DH that I ran into his mom and she didn't mention any of this to me and maybe she did call my mom and my mom informed her of the conversation I had with my mom where I told her that all summer it seemed like people were gloating about DS going to a school and basically saying I was a horrible failure of a homeschooling mom. They didn't say that but the giddiness over DS attending school says it just not with the exact words. Maybe my mom told her I felt people should apologize because the acceptance of me over the summer when before when I was trying to be a good housewife, stay-at-mom, home educator, etc it was like I was less than a person in their eyes, like I was "wasting" my life.

Why can't these people read on the benefits of home education, and no it's not so one's kids can be "better" than anyone else. Why can't they remember that just like all kids learn to walk, talk, use the potty, and ride a bicycle at different ages, that reading just clicks at not the same exact time either.

DS can read, he is still a "decoder" just not a "barely has to look at the word" to read fluently as all us adults are, let's remember back to when we were also "sounding out the words" and give the kid a break! Relax, know it will come in time.

May YHWH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHWH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHWH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.

This Years Big Decision

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 10:36:00 -0500

Well the christian school starts next twos-day and it's looking more and more like DS will NOT be attending simply due to finances at this point but for me the mom whose heart is in home education the lack of finances is a blessing in disguise and HIS Way of guiding me through this decision process.

Plus DH is in agreement with me so far that we can't afford it and when he found out with A.C.E. the student practically teaches himself, DH was like so why are we supposed to pay them?!!

We put our 30 day notice in with the landlord on the 1st, where we go from here it's in HIS Hands!

My sister gave birth to 2 girls last week. One weighed 9 pounds and 2 ounces and she is the one in the NICU not breathing properly. At blogspot there is more info on the girls.

Last week at this same hospital 2 other sets of twins were born and I know one set had a baby also in NICU and on the 1st a local Rabbi's son's wife had twin boys and one of them was rushed to local children's hospital for complications. SO many twins and other babies need HIS Healing. Prayers appreciated.

I'll keep you posted on my sisters babies, the Rabbi's grandsons, and DS's schooling/living arrangments as we know more.

May YHWH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHWH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHWH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.

Needing Confirmation

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:07:00 -0500

on 4/25/09 my son was bit by a german shepherd and his leg was torn open. That took a while to completely heal and close up after stitches.

I know many a mom who has said their son didn't take off in reading til 8.5-9 years or later....maybe it's a boy thing.

My mom -- who only had daughters both of whom wanted to and did learn to read and write in cursive at 4 years old -- babysat DS one day while I went to my 2 hours per day seasonal job at the lawn care place. When I came home she told me he needed a tutor or a school because he kept asking her to read the directions on a video game he was trying to play since all he could do was sit with his leg up. (and being still for a 7 year old boy is tough in itself!)

So i tried to contact a tutor in our area that tutors homeschoolers and only charges $20 an hour...she was all booked up...so we contacted sylvan and they of course start with a test....now we were just about done with "2nd" grade but all their tests said he was mid-late first grade level.

this past year DS has been more whiny/complainy about doing his learning and likes to play as if he has forgotten things and so we needed to review a lot.

Plus we adhere to Charlotte Mason's method which says kids his age should spend no more than 20 minutes max on a subject but the shorter lesson periods should be at the students best level of work.

This to DH looked as if we didn't school all day as he thinks homeschoolers should do so they can be better/smarter than other kids...to him that's the whole point of homeschooling....(yes you can roll your eyes, i just did after typing it out!)

Sylvan turned out to be way too much money so we contacted a christian school that has a summer session at only $50 a week. They use A.C.E. curricula and so it doesn't matter that as of today he is 8 years old, should be starting 3rd grade but only 3/4 the way thru first grade level word building and math ---they started him all over but said they can tell he knew most of it the way he breezes through with 95-100% test scores after each pace. This school does not emphasize grade level so no embarrassment factor for DS and they work independently -- no teacher lectures....

I have told my mom and DH we could use the same curricula at home and it would be sooooo much cheaper...as it stands and I know compared to other christian schools this is not too much...but it will be $348 a month plus enrollment and curricula fee...not to mention lunches and uniforms....and I noticed over the summer with him in the 12 week summer session that we spent a lot more on groceries than ever before simply with everyone needing a lunch (DH and I at work and DS at school)

I did the math and with DH getting laid off from the railroad and I only working a seasonal part time job and both of us applying and interviewing all summer for full time work but with 400 applicants per job someone is always more "qualified"....I told DH I just don't think we'll be able to afford rent and insurance and groceries and fuel and the tuition...yikes!

But DH says DS is happy at his school so we should sacrifice to make it happen and of course my mom already bought his uniforms....

it was/still is aggravating that everyone in the family is so happy to see DS in a school

as if homeschooling isn't good enough

Back in Oct of 06 I decided to quit my part time job at a chiropractor's office because I knew DS was getting older and him being my only I didn't want to fritter away the years in a job while struggling to arrange child care since we homeschooled. That very day I told my boss my intentions DH rear ended someone ---so that was a repair bill and higher car insurance premium and then the next month he had to have $600 worth of dental work because of a piece of candy.... and DH worked at walmart making maybe $12/hr at this time and that places health insurance bites

I thought oh my maybe I shouldn't quit but kept at the plan and in Feb of 07 DH got hired on with Union Pacific Railroad....we had double the income as before....

then dec of 08 he got cut to 8 days per month and then 7-29-09 got perm laid off...no more 8 days of pay and medical insurance.

I just wonder what HE is trying to tell me.....if HE wants DS home educated then HE has to provide DH with as good as or better paying job as the railroad was and I'd like HIM to confirm this decision out of DH's and my moms lips. That DS should be homeschooled again...and maybe apologize for the way they've made me feel all summer would be nice as well.

ETA 8.20.09: Last night at church I also decided that having DS say he wants to be home educated again would also be lovely confirmation.

And I wanted to include what got me thinking about all this in the first place:

at this website there was a lesson I was reading/listening to and here's a small part that really stuck:

But let’s also recognize the important God-principle laid down in the life of Moses for we 21st century Believers: it is that sometimes God will show us directly and plainly His specific will on some matter in our lives…..but far more often and usual, after teaching us His ways, laws, and commands, He will allow us to exercise our own judgment. And if we have hearkened to Him we will choose wisely and correctly…..we will make our judgments in accordance with the Father’s will and therefore His will shall be carried out…… “on earth as it is in Heaven”.

May YHVH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHVH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHVH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.

Just an update

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:48:00 -0500

One of the ladies whom my mom had been caring for did pass last week due to her battle with cancer.

Her DH went on ahead years before and they never had children.

I sure hope G-D has something nice in store for all those ladies who desired children but whose bodies betrayed them.

3 things

Fri, 29 May 2009 13:26:00 -0500

1 -- 13-14 years in the making

2 -- almost 7 years of agony

3 -- recent new direction

Weeks 1 through 4 of Term 1 Year 2 Now Completed

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 11:12:00 -0600

Key:
*copywork is a sentence from a chapter in An/Our Island Story
*Pilgrims Progress was listened to for the author's apology and then continued with the one syllable version because the goal is to have DS take over reading from that.
*the "grammar" workbook is optional I let him choose or not choose to do a page

Wk: #1	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Bible	Gen 1	Gen 2:1-10; 15-25	Gen 3:1-24	Gen 4:1-16
Pearables
Contenders (handicraft)
Hebrew				-- Torah Study and HavDalah 2/7--
Artist/Art	Botticelli's Fortitude
Timeline/Map	Florida	Georgia		Britain
hymn
folksong			Go Get the Ax
nature study
composer				Bach's Magnificat in D
history	AIS ch 1			AIS ch2
bio/tales
geog			TT ch1
nat'l hist		AB ch1		AB ch2
science
health
copywork	X			X
Math	10 problems	10 problems	10 problems	word problems
grammar
reading
literature		Pilprog intro	2 verona
free read
poetry	WDLM	WDLM	WDLM	WDLM
OLB time	Night Bird	Night Bird	Night Bird	Night Bird
PE	basketball practice	games/races at Awanas		basketball at park then 2/7 b-ball game played against some amazon tall boys

		Ambleside Year 2 - Week [ ]
Wk: #2	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Bible
Bible Reading	Gen 4:25-26; Gen 5:1-8	Gen 6:5-22	Gen 7:1-16	Gen 7:17-24; Gen 8:1-5	Gen 8:6-22
Memory Awanas	John 1:1-4	c	c	c	c
History, Tales and Geography
AIS	c	ch 3	ch 4	~	~
	~	~	~	~	~
	~	~	~	~	~
OLB	c	c	c	c	c
Tree in the Trail	~	~	~	ch 2	ch 3
TimeLine	c Spend 10 minutes this week
Mapping	c Spend 10 minutes looking up placenames this week
Language Arts and Literature
Pilgrim's Progress	~	~	480 words	~	~
Understood Betsy	ch 1	c	c	c	c
Grammar	p17	p18	p19	p20	p21
Spelling	c	c	c	c	c
Phonics		book3 p52	p53	p54	p55
Free Reading	c	c	c	c	c
Copywork	yes	yes	yes	c	c
Narration - all days	c	c	c	c	c
Poetry	c	yes	yes	yes	yes
Math
Math	p1	p2	p3	p4	p5
Science/Natural History
R&S	~	~	~	~	~
Burgess Book	~	ch3	~	ch4	~
HBNS/CLP #2	~	~	~	~	~
Nature Journal	~	~	~	~	~
Foreign Language
Hebrew	c	c	c	c	TS & HD on 2/14
Art & Music
Shakespeare	~	~	~	~	~
Artist Study	~	cFortitude	~	~	~
Handicrafts	~	~	c	~	~
Composer Study	~	~	~	cMag in D	~
Folk and Hymns	~	~	~	~	c
PE	2/8 -- waterpark day	b-ball practice	games/races at awanas	c	2/14 - b-ball game Wildcats win!

		Ambleside Year 2 - Week [ ]
Wk: #3	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Bible
Bible Reading	Gen 9:1-17	Gen 9:18-29	Gen 11:1-9	Gen 12:1-9	Gen 12:10-20
Memory Awanas	c	c	c	c	c
History, Tales and Geography
AIS	ch 5	ch 6	~	~	~
	~	~	~	~	~
	~	~	~	~	~
OLB	c	c	Ojibwa	Ojibwa	Ojibwa
Tree in the Trail	~	~	~	c	ch 4
TimeLine	c Spend 10 minutes this week
Mapping	c Spend 10 minutes looking up placenames this week -- Great Lakes & Hadrian Wall & Vermont
Language Arts and Literature
Pilgrim's Progress	~	~	c	~	405 Words
Understood Betsy	ch 2	spread	out	5	days
Grammar	c	c	c	p22	p23
Spelling	c	c	c	c	c
Phonics	book3 p56	p57	p58	c	p59
Free Reading	George and the Dragon	c	c	c	c
Copywork	yes	yes	yes	c	c
Narration - all days	c	c	c	c	c
Poetry	yes	yes	yes	c	yes
Math
Math Mammoth	p8	p9	p10	p11	p12
Science/Natural History
R&S	~	~	~	~	~
Burgess Book	~	c	ch5	ch6	~
HBNS/CLP #2	~	~	~	~	~
Nature Journal	~	~	~	~	~
Foreign Language
Hebrew	c	c	c	c	c
Art & Music
Shakespeare	~	~	~	~

Thinking Aloud

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:58:00 -0600

I decided to take a detour in our regularly scheduled homeschool plans. I was all set to do AmbleSide for the long haul. Then I saw Beyond by HOD and it looked so tantalizing I just had to go for it. Since it is geared more for 1st grade level work I also justified that decision knowing DS needed a bit more time to mature in math and reading. We're still plugging along in those areas and yet something is not right.

HOD used singapore math and I'm finding I loathe it. It's throwing concepts to quicly at DS that he's still about at the level he was before we started singapore level 1A....

We're almost done with Beyond and I'm debating a few things.

Rod and Staff seems so lovely in the LA department with the english and spelling just being started at 2nd grade level so maybe we could easily ease right in and not feel behind.

MUS Beta may be a math curricula to consider.

And yet the independence of CLE also is alluring.

And do I want to contine with AmbleSide's selection of books or do I want to go for WinterPromise or Sonlight or Beautiful Feet, etc...

I've got the diagnostic tests from CLE but I know DS has not seen most of the concepts in neither the LA nor Math level 100 tests.

I've also printed off the Alpha test from MUS to see if my guess of placing DS in Beta would fit perfectly.

With MUS I know it will be many days of the same type of problem and I am not sure if DS will like this or get angry at the repitition. Also will working the problems with blocks keep him from memorizing the math facts?

Yet CLE Math is spiral and we may have to start in level 100 in order to catch up ...

I'm not a huge fan of drilling with flashcards ....

oh decisions decisions

Then we come to reading and DS is still ok with cvc words but now adding cvce words and learning vowels don't always say the short sound is causing hesitation/confusion so I'm not sure if just R&S spelling will work out the kinks or if we should also add a phonics workbook and not sure how to figure out where is he grade level reading wise to know which grade of readers to place him in. I did find this page and this page

I know R&S is Bible Story readers and yet CLE's readers look like good character builing stories that I know DS would also benefit from.

again decisions decisions

May YHVH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHVH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHVH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.

Beyond by HOD update

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 14:47:00 -0600

Since the Fall Feasts ended, my son and I have been doubling up on weeks in Beyond so we can move on a little faster and get back to AmbleSide. ((that's if we still have internet connection, I find AmbleSide may be daunting with artist/composer and other etexts to do w/o access from home...my other considerations are Rod & Staff, Christian Light, or WP, SL, or BF to stay literature based ... and/or BJU or Abeka DVD's if I have to get a job))

Today we were reading the history section for Unit 26 Day 3 and I found it fascinating and such a G-D thing that it would mention President Washington going to St. Paul Chapel on Broadway because earlier this morning as I was walking my mile on the treadmill, I was listening to Pastor Mark out in Colorado and I only heard the first 6 minutes of the message ((which I'll continue thursday when I walk another mile as wednesdays are weight training days)) and he too said something about that event.

If you'd like to hear the message, right click and save as HERE

Anywho just wanted to share

May YHVH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHVH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHVH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.

Ian -- or an update to a prayer request on the right side

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:12:00 -0500

Baby Ian is 7 months old, weighing 10 pounds and 2 ounces, and just one tiny hole in his heart still to close and some artery or vein the doctors would like to see bigger ... so Baruch HaShem and continued prayer coverage for this little guy that I got to hold yesterday.

Here he is with his momma:

Here's my baby holding her baby:

and here's me holding Ian:

And Sukkot Greetings as we take 7 "school" days off and just do Bible reading pertaining to Sukkot, fun read-a-louds and fun Sukkot/Autumn activities.

May YHVH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHVH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHVH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.

Units 10-13 completed

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 10:59:00 -0500

Here's some highlights --- I'm not too camera happy or anything LOL

Francis Billington

Oiled Paper Window

Flood our hearts with peace

Field Trip 9.29.08 Santa Fe for trade, California for gold, and Oregon for free land/missions

My son's flora photo 9.29.08 or just before Rosh HaShannah service

Games like at the first thanksgiving ((most likely taken from the idea of Sukkot in Leviticus 23 or Feasts of tabernacles/booths)) 10.3.08

May YHVH bless thee, and keep thee: May YHVH make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: May YHVH lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee Shalom.