• Feb. 1, 2009
Last week
Last week went great. Brittany and I are spending alot of time together now that we were not able to spend with eachother before, and it is really making a difference in her attitude. Friday's we spend doing fun activities instead of sticking so much to the books.
This Friday we worked most of the day on Decoupage Frames. Brittany made a zebra print to match her bedroom, and I made a school frame. It was alot of fun to do together. It was the first time either of us worked on this type of craft, so it was a learning experience for both of us! Brittany got upset at first that hers wasnt "perfect" but we had a talk about how no ART is EVER "perfect" and that is what makes it art!
Here is a picture of how they turned out, we have ordered pictures to put in the frames, but they havnt gotten to us yet.
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• Jan. 26, 2009
BIG SURPRISES!!
We had a really good day today. We are excited to have gotten some of the books we ordered from Amazon! Now we can add writing and more math to our lesson plans! Not to sound too much like a commercial or anything, but we have found some used textbooks for Math, Writing, Science, and Testing, that are in GREAT shape, for around $3.00 a book!!
Today we worked on:
Math:
More catch up work on division. I still find it hard to believe that Brittany's school thought it was ok to keep letting her pass math with an A, when she cannot do a long division problem without using a calculator (which was REQUIRED in class). Thats just my opinion I guess. Anyway.......
English:
Read more of Anne Frank, learning (FOR THE FIRST TIME) how to do a book report (again, JUST MY OPINION, but shouldnt an eighth grader know how to do this?) so she can do one on this book.
Science:
Read about Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics, did worksheets on both. She also TOOK NOTES, ON HER OWN, without being asked too. BIG improvement! YAY!
Spelling:
Review for spelling test tomorrow.
Brittany is surprising me more and more every day. Today for instance, she blew up in the middle of doing a math lesson. She started telling me how "gay" and "unimportant" it was for her to have to actually know how to do the long division. The she proceeded to tell me " Now I know why I never learned it, its useless" HER words. I thought, here we go, I made the wrong choice and she hates homeschooling. Of course that was not the case.
I sat with Brittany and did a few problems with her ( I was going to do every one of them with her) and then she looked at me and said "Ok, I think I got it now". And that was it, she finished the worksheet, we discussed why she got so mad, she laughed and said " I just need to learn to be patient".
I was in SHOCK! I dont know if that is teenage hormones at work, or deschooling, but whatever it is, it is a nice change to see in her, usually she would have stayed mad and just given up.
All in all I am VERY happy with today! I am in shock, awe, and just udder amazement at how this is all turning out, I honestly dont even know how to put it into words correctly!
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• Jan. 25, 2009
Brittany's First Cake
Brittany's First Cake! She was so proud!
I think we need to have more practice with decorating LOL!
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• Jan. 23, 2009
End of our first week!
WE DID IT!!!
We made it through our first week. Brittany did extremely well, although she has requested that I challenge her a little more LOL. I took it easy on her this week, just trying to get a feel of her pace, however I took it maybe a little TOO easy. Next week I stepped things up just a bit. It will take me awhile to get it right I'm sure. Did anyone else go through the same thing at the beginning?
Today Brittany is sick with a cold, so we just did some baking. She is 14 years old and does not know how to cook or bake, I think it is time she learned. I started her easy, we baked a cake from a box. I made her do it on her own, with me just helping her along the way. The cake turned out great, and now we are just waiting for it to cool. Eventually I would like to teach her how to bake from scratch. ( I guess I could use some practice here as well!) Any fun (easy) recipes would be appreciated!!
I just want to say Thank you to everyone who has welcomed us with open arms and given support through our first week! We need all the help we can get! I will post pics tonight of Brittany's finished cake! I think next time we will try a double layer cake (from the box).
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• Jan. 21, 2009
Day Three
Today went great. We are LOVING the feedom of schooling at home!!! Brittany is understanding so much more already just by having things explained to her in a way that SHE understands instead of how a teacher THINKS she should understand. I worked with her on long division (writing it out instead of doing it on a calculator) and she understood it right away. We are going to practice more with it for the rest of this week and next week, and longer if need be.
Brittany is also finding out that she can actually ENJOY learning things she did not enjoy so much at school. She loved The Diary of Anne Frank video, and has even asked us to purchase a copy for her! Now that was a SURPRISE!!! She is also really interested in learning about the Dust Bowl!
Things are going great! My only regret is that we did not do this alot sooner!
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• Jan. 20, 2009
Day 2 of first week
Day two is over, it was another great day. I actually had time today to make my kids a decent breakfast (something we normally only do in the summer) and a nice dinner! I always knew that it took alot of time to take Brittany to school and pick her up (getting the twins ready, and out to the van) but I never realized HOW much time!! Of course I have a little more to do at night, such as going over her work, and planning planning and more planning, but it is well worth it!
Here is what we accomplished today:
Brittany worked more on Kansas History (we will be alternating between Kansas and World History). She started reading a book about the Dust Bowl which I am reading along with her. We also did a review on the video she watched.
Spelling: Worked on our first list of grade appropriate spelling words. She looked up and wrote the definitions as well as wrote sentences for each word.
English: Read more of Anne Frank, she will be reading this for awhile.
Family Values: Brittany spent time with me and her brothers as well. She is also going to be doing an hour of chores a day which she started yesterday.
Things I got accomplished today:
Read parts of the Home School Manual that I have checked out of the library and ordered a copy for myself. I also looked into HSLDA, and filled out an application, I am still a little unsure if I will sign up or not, but I am leaning towards it. Started next weeks schedule for Brittany, and ordered a Math and a Writing book from Amazon. Made worksheets for Brittany to work on.
A busy but good day :)
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• Jan. 19, 2009
My Family
Here is my Brittany, she loves animals, especially kittens!
These are my twins and their Daddy!
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• Jan. 19, 2009
Our First Day
Our first day homeschooling was AMAZING!!! Despite having to go to the school to pick up Brittany's things, and to drop off her school books, we were still able to stick to our schedule. We even had extra time to visit the library for some educational videos!
I was astounded at how natural it felt to teach Brittany myself even though she has spend most of her school years in public schools. The idea of homeschooling Brittany didnt emerge until the twins were born and I decided that I had come to my wits end with public schools, and that I would teach the twins at home. At first Brittany thought I was crazy, and that homeschooling was for "weird people", but over time she came to terms with the decision, and slowly but surely I would hear her voice her wish to school at home as well. I told Brittany it was a decision that she would have to think seriously about, and make herself. When she came to me and told me she wanted to school at home I couldnt have been more happy!
So our first day is over, and I couldnt be more sure that we have made the right decision. I am sure some tough days are ahead, however, there were tough days with Brittany in public schools also. Here is what we got accomplished today:
I tested Brittany in Math to see in what areas she needed some review. I found out that she does not know how to do even simple division without a calculator! I guess we will be working on division.
Brittany watched The Diary of Anne Frank, and read parts of Chapter one of the book for English.
For Science Brittany chose to check out a video on earthquakes and a book as well.
And last but not least, Brittany watched a video about the Dust Bowl for Kansas History. (I did as well. I did not grow up in Kansas and knew very little about this) We checked out another video for this subject and a book as well.
All in all, we got ALOT accomplished for our first day, and I am proud to be able to officially say that we are homeschoolers! 
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• Jan. 18, 2009
Busy Day
Tomorrow being our first day of schooling at home, I will be quite busy today. Some of the things I have to get done today are:
Laundry: I am quite behind on laundry because this week I had 3 kids (and a Daddy that acts like a kid when sick) that had the stomach flu. At least if I don't get my usual amount of Sunday laundry done, my Brittany can wear P.J's to school!!!!
Kitchen: In all the fuss over getting ready to homeschool my kitchen was at the bottom of my list.
One bathroom: The main bathroom needs a REALLY good cleaning!
Dining Room: I have to take down some of our decorative items to make room for school supplies.
This Blog: I need to figure out how to use this blog, I see lots of you with really neat things on your blog page, and I cannot even figure out how to add friends!
I can at least say that I have Brittanys lesson plan for the week done. We will see how tomorrow goes, Im sure we will have to tweak things a few times before we get it right!
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• Jan. 17, 2009
First Day on Monday January 19th
Monday January 19th, 2009 will mark our official first day of homeschooling!!!
I will be homeschooling my daughter, Brittany, who is 14 years old. We have come to the decision that homeschooling fits our family much better than public schools do. This is a decision we thought long and hard about for over a year, and we are all very happy to FINALLY get started. We are also VERY NERVOUS. I have fears (as I am sure most new homeschooling Moms or Dads do) that I will not do a good enough job. I am hoping that as our first week plays out, that my nerves calm down.
I have not yet decided on which "type" of homeschooling we will be doing, we are going to experiment and go with whatever works. I am, in no form a BRILLIANT person, and I hope that I am able to learn new things right along with my daughter.
I will also be homeschooling my twin boys (who are now 2 years old) when the time comes.
ANY advice (or good luck wishes) are welcome!
