First day tomorrow for 2014-2015

This is an example of what I'll be working on every Saturday. This is our weekly schedule. I know some people like to plan it all out in advance, but that just would never work for us. We like to go at our own pace, sometimes we have to continue a lesson into the next day or week. This is also why I use a pencil instead of a pen. I love having everything written down. I also prefer the physical tactile things, like a text book instead of a website, or a planner book instead of an electronic calendar. It also feels good to highlight things when we have accomplished it and to look back at the book and see it all done and think, "This is what we've learned!"

One thing I have to get use to, that will be new, is a more difficult level of math. This means more intense planning and involvement while following an instructors guide. I really wish mathematics came more easily to me, then I wouldn't need to spend so much time going over another person's notes that were put together because they are the genius with teaching math. I choose to look at it this way, "It is so nice of someone else to take the time to do that for people like me! I'm so lucky."

Another thing I have to get use to is planning science a week ahead BEFORE I go grocery shopping. Why haven't I done this before? I have a lot of excuses for this, but it doesn't matter. I will just tell you that I've learned that you need to prepare for science after we pulled it open to the lesson we were on and we didn't have all of the materials to perform the demonstration. If it was something unique that had to be purchased at a different store and really researched to be sure I got the right thing, we'd often go with out doing science for quite some time. For example the last science lesson we did was probably in May or April, because I didn't have KCl (Potassium Chloride or "salt substitute"). I wanted to be sure that this "salt substitute" was actually Potassium Chloride, so since this required time and effort and I was confused already, it wasn't something I jumped on. This time I am more determined to plan ahead. I've already gone through the whole book and ordered the weird items that are left and the rest I have to get at the store the week we will need it.

After we set up the homeschool room, W was very excited to get started and for about a week he would get up early and start doing school. We even were able to finish up some things that were left hanging for "last year". But that excitement wore off. Now that we are officially starting, he doesn't seem as excited.

I am planning on lots of prayer and hopefully the personality of my mom will get these kiddos riled up and excited, in a good way, about education. I'm more of the serious organized, check-list, person (I can have fun though too) and she is more fun and creative. I am very pleased she is with us and can be a part of my children's education. Everything I know I learned from her because she is such a great teacher!

New schoolroom library

Our school room is all ready to go! I can't believe we finally have bookshelves. No more books stacked up on the floor against the wall. I thought about getting actual school desks at one point, but I decided that it defeats a lot of the purpose of why we homeschool. I felt like one big table for all the kids would promote a "one room school" feel. I want my kids to learn from each other, the littler ones to glean off what the older ones are learning. I want to encourage bonding and having to learn to get along (share space and compromise). I want my kids to be best friends with each other. When they learn to get along and compromise, they become closer and trust each other. That is my explanation for using a table instead of desks. Plus, it looks so nice, doesn't it?

A reading corner

This is our piano spot. Someday we shall have one for our musically adventurous W.

Family reading and relaxing. On the wall above this couch we hung the alphabet.

I wanted to put my Christus like this hovering over the globe to represent the center of our homeschool being Jesus Christ, just as he is the center and reason for the world.

I recently saw pictures in a homeschool group on Facebook of other people's homeschool rooms/areas, and a lot of them had maps hanging up. I had a mental "duh" moment, because we never had maps hanging up, we always had maps tucked away in a drawer. I thought it was a great idea, so we saw these maps at Walt-Mart for super cheap and bought them. They aren't the absolute best maps, but they go great with the room and they do show the basic things. The other details that come on a map won't be needed until much later.

As I've been putting together this room over the last couple of weeks. Our second child, E, has been begging me to "teach". I think it's so cute. She loves to play school like The Little House on the Prairie.

I think I'm going to be very glad that I went with the idea for a room dedicated to our school. It already has such a great feeling. It feels spiritual to me, and there is an excitement in here. Our family is very blessed. We are blessed to be able to live in this country and this state, and blessed to have a strong provider (who we pray for every day, love you sweetie ;-)), and blessed to have Grandma live with us who is an incredible teacher, and blessed to have such great kids and most of all to have the knowledge of the gospel.

A new hope

No, this isn't about Star Wars.

I feel a new hope coming about in our homeschool adventure. It's interesting how the family move last year just put a big dent in my flow/rhythm/whateveryouwanttocallit. I still have some things really unorganized and just kind of thrown in places because of trying to unpack, that I never got around to really making sense of it all.

As we approach a new "year" in our homeschool, I have been thinking a lot about our family's future in homeschooling, and the way we have it set up. Right now, I just feel like having our school take place mostly in the kitchen becomes such a distraction. So, right now we have a "living room" that we use as a "library" at the front of the house. We sit there to do much of our reading and we keep all our books in there. It's also where we have Family Home Evening lessons and where we sit visitors down to talk. There is usually a pressure to have a "parlor" type room as an LDS person. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that our family is a homeschool family and we deserve to be different from the norm and have a homeschool room! So that's what we are doing. All of our homeschooling will take place in this room. I know it will take me probably a year to get it just right (that's just about how I am, it takes me a while to figure out what I really like for a space), but I am excited to actually have a room where it will all take place, and hang up maps and cute calendars and the alphabet and magnetic white boards. I am excited to have a table in there that the kids can just be messy on and spread out and work together. I have a lot of ideas.

Also, my mom is not working anymore and since she lives with us she is now an official instructor of Woodruff Hall. I basically have no choice in this. She is excited to be a part of our homeschool and I have to be honest, I am pretty lucky because she is a GREAT teacher. If I retained anything I learned in public school it was through working on projects at home with my mom. She's so good.

...

 

Today in church in my Relief Society class, we were talking about showing our love to our Father in Heaven by being obedient to His commandments. Some experiences of past people were shared where Joseph Smith and Brigham Young would tell someone to do something and that person would do it (even though it was hard or didn't make sense), and later something would happen to them that had they not listened to the prophet they could have been killed or their property damaged beyond repair. Then the question was posed, "What experiences have you had where you listened to the prophet or followed a commandment and the blessings came later?" A couple of people gave responses about tithing of course. But what I was thinking and feeling inside I really felt I just could not share. I know that the Lord has commanded me to teach my children and to make sure they are brought up and taught in a loving and true environment. I have always taken this seriously. When my husband pushed the idea of homeschool, I studied and read. And I also studied and read the words of the prophets. I prayed. I know that Heavenly Father wants me to homeschool my children and do all that I can to fight for parental rights and school choice in education. I just felt strongly from the beginning that my children should never attend a public school. I knew when my son was almost 3. People who were friends with me online and in real life probably thought I was crazy, and thought I had too much confidence. In reality, I was very worried. I had no idea how to do this. I thought I should be a certified teacher, I thought I would forget to teach something important. I was (and still am in many ways) very insecure. But I knew this was the Lord's will (I still do). Fast forward to now, I find myself increasingly worried for our public schooled children upon hearing about Common Core, and teachers who molest, and kids who get bullied, and kids who bully, and school shootings, etc. etc. etc. The more and more and more I hear ANYTHING about public schools I KNOW that my children are right where they belong. And I know that there are far too many resources for me to mess up teaching my kids or making sure they have friends and experiences. This has been such a blessing for our family so far in so many ways. If for any reason my kids had to go to any school outside of our home there would be a big hole in my heart and a heavy feeling of guilt as I disappoint my Father in Heaven.

 

This is THE new way of education I am sure and perhaps I will be the sort of person to give others hope and encouragement in their desires to protect their children. 





SUMMER!

It is pretty much summer now. Technically it isn't for a few days, but it's here and my kids have already got that bug up their butts to play play play. Unfortunately, for them, we are still in the swing of school. I think throughout the summer we will be doing school work. We will not be doing a full load, and we will take days off for summer activities. We have practically a full unit of science to finish up if we want to catch up to a nice even spot. Right now we are at the tail end of our history unit and our math unit. Science just got neglected for awhile so most of the summer we will be doing science, which is good because we are in chemistry and W loves it.

W started piano lessons with a girl who just graduated high school. He has been begging for lessons and I couldn't find anyone in the neighborhood. The one who did, and who is supposedly very good, was not taking any new students. So I kind of casually asked around and this young woman liked the idea of having a student. W is her first student, and she took on her 5 year old sister as well. She lives just down the street and is cheap so it works out perfectly for us. Now we have to save up for a piano. :) For now he practices on his little keyboard, which is okay for a beginner.

E is coming along quite well on reading. She seems a lot less frustrated with it and will even read me some small words when we are in public and see some signs. She has begun to love doing her preschool worksheets, and of course she loves more.starfall.com.

Pretty soon we will be incorporating our 20 month old L into the mix. Lot's of ABC's, 123's, shapes, and colors.

Getting a routine

We seem to be falling into a routine now, which I love! I know home schooling should be about going with the wind, and mostly it is that way for us, but lately it's been pretty routine and I am happy about that. I find we get a lot more accomplished and we are happier when we know what to expect. I use to let a lot of things go if it was too difficult, but I decided I needed to be more strict and patient as well. It's been successful. Every now and then I'll surprise Woodruff Hall students with an art project or a field trip if they've been good during the week.

W struggles with the parts of speech. We just finished the second year of grammar and while he did very well at memorizing lists of prepositions and linking verbs, he struggles with recognizing these words in stories. We've been stuck on the last "test" where he has to recognize the parts of speech in a story about "The Donkey and the Salt". I'm not sure if I need to do the whole second year grammar over again or not. It seems like it should come easier to him and I gave him a copy of the glossary of terms to look at over and over again, and it's still hard for him. For now we are just going over that story together as I encourage him to remember.

E is starting to have more interest in reading and loves Starfall.com. We play the games out of her phonics games now and then. I made a reading chart for her where she gets one sticker for every word she reads by herself. After 30 stickers she will get a prize. She has, so far, read the word "cat" by herself without help. She will turn 4 in April and I will push it harder then, but for now I am just following her lead.

Dad has been able to be home in evenings now and takes W to do his candy business when the public school gets out.

We all love reading time. I sit with the kids all around me and read the Little House series to them. These are great books only if you want your child to hear lessons about hard work, the reward of hard work, the consequences to naughty behavior, how to be polite, kind, generous and supportive to community. We also get to learn a lot about various things such as how they slaughtered pigs and used every single part of it for their livelihoods, like making candles. I love the waste-not of that generation. I just can't stand throwing out food, that's my least favorite.