We are just beginning our homeschooling journey! We are using the Weaver's Interlock program for my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 5 Jun 2008 18:15:00 -0500 Thu, 5 Jun 2008 18:15:00 -0500 This is probably not "kosher" but I am listing my new blog here to redirect you. www.mathewsnews.blogspot.com Come check us out! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/543552/ Thu, 5 Jun 2008 18:15:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/543552/ What a terrible homeschool blogger I have been! Thankfully, I'm not as bad at actually homeschooling my children... We have been having so much fun with the Interlock and I am so thrilled with the retention in all three of my students.  I found a list I had made prior to beginning our pre school year- a list of goals of course.  There were only seven or eight goals on the list and we have reached or surpassed nearly all of them.  These weren't just academic goals... one was to hold his pencil correctly, another to use scissors safely.  Make his bed... that would be nice, but I haven't even attempted to teach him. I don't make my bed so why should he?  The greatest "goal" of all is that I see my son growing in the Lord. Little by little, I see his eyes opening and his heart becoming softer. He is nearly five and on Friday, at lunch, he offered to pray for the first time in his little life.  His two year old sister prays, but he has always been opposed to it.  I teared up, of course.  What mom doesn't at such a thing? So often I wonder if I'm really getting anywhere with these little ones. The fruit grows slowly, but every now and then the Lord gives me a little glimpse at what He is developing in my children... and me.  I went to my first homeschool convention a week ago.  Rick and Marilyn Boyer were the keynote speakers. I had read their book "Homeschooling With Confidence" long before I was pregnant with my first son. I always knew I was called to homeschool.  They were a tremendous encouragement, reminding me that it is not "what you use (curriculum) but how you use it" and that my real goal is to be a godly mom and win my kids hearts.  Their education is important, but how much more our relationship!  Check out the Boyers website at thelearningparent.com.  They have some neat stuff and I love reading about their 14 children- wow! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/499342/ Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/499342/ So blessed to have a husband like him! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/478812/ Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:03:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/478812/ My husband of (nearly) eight years, of course!  I think we would both admit that the past few years have been tougher than the first few (isn't it usually the reverse?) but the Lord has been so faithful!  Our "problems" aren't marriage problem-  life just gets busy and crazy with work, church, homeschool... those are the things that consume our lives right now.  I feel so blessed that he allows me to stay home with our children and supports me in schooling them although he cannot be here as often as he wants to be.  What he does lets me do what I do and vice versa.  I hope I am the wife that he can safely trust in... as I teach our children at home, take care of the house and finances, and develop my own relationship with the Lord. Happy Valentine's Day Josh!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/478805/ Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:37:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/478805/ I didn't even check to see when I last posted, but I know it has been a while!  Winter has been busy in Maine, though it seems to be dragging by so slowly.  The calendar may say that it lasts only three months, but true New Englanders know that it's actually half the year.  This winter has been a particularly cold and snowy one too.  One delight of the season has been my four-year-old son's love of the snow. Previously, he hated it and screamed if it touched his bare skin. Well, he still does that.  But I have finally figured out how to dress him for the outdoors in such a way as to avoid screaming.  He made snow angels the other day and is sledding down the backyard.  It's snowing again today so we'll have to create a new path tomorrow. As for homeschool, we finished up Unit 5 of the Interlock which was so fun.  The kids just loved learning about space!  Yesterday we began learning about fish. I have to admit, I was not too excited, but the kids were thrilled.  They love to go fishing with my husband on his boat.  I enjoy it too, though I do not go fishing.  I just try to keep the kids from falling overboard and from getting themselves stuck with hooks. We are blessed to live in "the town of 14 lakes"- we don't have far to go to find water.  I was reminded that my children have not yet been to the ocean and we only live about two hours from it.  Definate field trip for the future... the snow should be gone by August. I am already excited about starting Volume 1 in the fall and we are only about half way through this school year!  It's definately going to be a leap ahead for us, but I know we are up for it.  The more I use this curriculum, the more I love it and find my groove.  The retention in my son and my other little student has been amazing.  There are times I feel like the "outcast" of homeschooling because everyone else in my church uses the same, different curriculum from Weaver.  But I know I have been called to use this curriculum and, as a wiser, more seasoned Weaver once told me, black sheep have more fun! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/475119/ Tue, 5 Feb 2008 15:13:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/475119/ Does anyone else out there feel guilty when you don't follow the day's lesson plan exactly as written?  I am a first year homeschooling mom so I'm sure I'll get over it, but when I don't do exactly as prescribed, sometimes I wonder "Are my kids getting everything they need?".  Yesterday we began Week 13, discussing how the sun causes seasons and we focused on summer.  We did not do the Language Arts, the murals, the observation project, nothin'.  We talked a lot about summer and the things we enjoy about it and as we did, I remembered that I had purchased some Moon Sand the day after Thanksgiving.  What a perfect activity to enjoy since summer is long gone here and it was a sandcastle kit.  The kids loved it and played for over an hour (this is a major deal for my son!).  But as I looked over the outline for the day, it felt like we hadn't accomplished much.  I espcially get concerned that we will miss the developmental things.  My son isn't ready to write, his drawings are round scribbles and it is a fight to get him to participate in games many times.  So it is certainly easier for me to pass up these kind of activities when the Interlock prescribes them. The Lord continues to show me that this is my homeschool and I get to conduct it anyway I want and,so long as I am seeking Him, things are going to turn out just fine whether we do exactly what "they" say we "should" or not.  This is my lifeline- if I'm not seeking Him daily, our school is a mess.  I give in to the guilt.  I worry.  I'm not having fun.  And I've noticed that when I'm having fun, the kids are too. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/442605/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:32:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/442605/ I had a little taste of what it must be like to "Weave" with many children that are all at different levels.  Yesterday it snowed like crazy here in Maine (and it is still snowing) so public school was cancelled.  I have a five-year-old girl who joins us for school three days a week and her two sisters came too because of the snow.  I decided to plow through with school anyway and let them help me out.  I had five children, 10, 8, 5, 4, and 2 years of age.  We were beginning Unit 5 about day four of creation and focusing on the sun.  We gathered around the table and discussed why the sun is important, it's uses, and then looked at Usborn's First Guide to the Universe, particularly the recommended pages about astronauts.  We all got a kick out of learning that spacesuits have a built in "nappie".  When I told the kids it was a diaper, they couldn't stop laughing. I found that my usual students were more attentive, perhaps because the older girls had a lot to offer the discussion and it wasn't just me trying to lead and direct it.  The oldest said "I wish our school was like this", which, of course, made me feel good.   We made a little sun craft by tracing our handprints, painting a paper plate yellow, and gluing our prints to the back of it to look like its rays.  Even at 8 and 10 they enjoyed this craft and were able to help me with the younger ones. This day gave me encouragement as I think about multi-level teaching in the future using the Weaver and also realizing that school, in general, will get "easier" as my children mature.  I use the word "easier" very lightly however! Many blessing to all of you moms who are already in this stage of teaching many!  Isn't the Weaver wonderful?  I found it really brought all of us together in a special way and made our "snow day" productive. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/438405/ Tue, 4 Dec 2007 06:49:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/438405/ I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas.  Now that it is officially December, I cannot escape the advent calendar that counts how many days are left until THE BIG DAY.  I put so much hard work, sweat, and anxiety into this one day. Each year I vow to simplify, to do less, but to do more in the way of things that really matter and each year at the end of December 25th I feel like it was not quite right... there is something missing.  And I am a born-again Christian.  Jesus's birth is front and center here in our home on Christmas and every other day of the year. Or is it? Oh how easy it is to get bogged down with the shoulds, coulds, want-tos, need-tos, have-tos that this season has to offer.  But I am reminded that only one thing is needed, as Jesus told the busy hustling bustling Martha.  In the words of my favorite of all Christmas carols "Let every heart prepare Him room".  I have so little room left when I'm more concerned about buying the right gifts for people I know but not well enough to know what they want.  I have very little room left when I've been baking goodies all day and start getting tired and frustrated by mounting dishes in the sink (dishwasher is broken here!).  The room gets occupied by decking the halls and trying to keep the kids and the cat from un-decking all my hard work.  And yes, it even gets taken up by the oodles of things I'd love to do with my kids to make this season more special but that end up being too stressful for all of us. These are great things.  I do love this season when we do turn our hearts toward Jesus and how he came as a baby to this sin-stricken world.  I love to hear him being sung about in places you never would- shopping malls, radio stations of all kinds, and public school concerts.  I love choosing just the right gift to make my children and husband grin from ear-to-ear.  I love preparing for our annual, grown-ups only Christmas party. But my prayer is that this year, my heart would just prepare Him room.  Lord, take all the room You need.  Show me if I need to give up some of my "Christmas crazies" to do the one thing that I so desperately need... spend time with You! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/437394/ Sun, 2 Dec 2007 12:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/437394/ How exciting that we are this far into the Interlock!  I have to admit I crammed Week 11 into one day because we had covered so many of the topics already. Our beans have been growing for several weeks now and we know quite a lot about seeds and the benefits of plants to our lives.  Today we focused on recycling paper and the importance of planting new trees.  We took a field trip to our town's transfer station (you know, the dump!) and returned our recyclables.  The kids really enjoyed helping out with this and were fascinated by the compactor and giant bales of compacted paper and plastic.  To top it all off, we saw a garbage truck pull in and empty all its contents into the hopper.  This was quite a big deal to my three young students!  I just love how it's the little things that make such a BIG impression.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/436642/ Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:35:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/436642/ We are thoroughly enjoying Unit 4 of the Interlock because it is all about plant life.  And because it is all about plants, we are growing things like crazy!  Kidney beans in jars and pots, grass seed on sponges, flower bulbs in pots... and most importantly, we are growing little minds!  These visual science projects offer reminders of what we have learned in a very natural way.  Even I was fascinated when we finally discovered that our grass seeds were sprouting and the outer red shells of the kidney beans were falling off.  There truly is something wonderous about creation. Not all of our projects have come out of the Interlock. I recommend Usborne's Science Experiments 2 book to give additional ideas for easy projects.  And there are loads of ideas on the internet with a simple Google search. My youngest amazes me all the time.  She wanted to play with the dinosaur manipulatives on the kitchen floor and I noticed she was sorting them into groups by color, then by dino-type.  I asked her to place all of one color in one tile and she promptly did it.  Perhaps I just don't know what is "normal" for a two-year-old, but I thought this was pretty neat.  The Holidays are nearly upon us.  Sure to be busy, but hey, I'm just glad I got up a new post this soon!  And pictures too! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/429472/ Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:49:01 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/shootingarrows/429472/