No School!

Isaiah loathes writing...really hates.  He said to me this week, "Mom, I'm going to do my writing first to get it over even though it makes my stomach hurt."  I was so proud of him for being responsible and sticking it through.

Poor T-man is battling some crazy allergies this week :(  I feel his pain, but he is plugging through with his school work.  :(

We are taking a "No School" day to play with friends that we haven't seen all summer!  We are all excited!!!!  This week went well.  T and I are battling crazy allergies, so we both are feeling a bit foggy.  Sam started back to school yesterday and so now it is just the kiddos and I for the day. 

I am seriously blown away with how much I am enjoying our days together learning.  I can't imagine it any other way!  The kids bounce between LOVING homeschooling and missing public school.  I wish I could explain it better, they don't want to give up homeschooling but they miss the traditional school in many ways.  The boys start flag football tomorrow evening so I hope that will help as they get out and are part of a 'team'.  I will admit that I have that annoying voice in my head, "Make sure your kids are socialized."  My kids are so naturally social.  They don't hide in a corner when kids come to the playground that they don't know.  They are go getters, make friends and get a game started that everyone on the playground can be playing.  I don't want that trait to be squashed!  Yesterday watching them play with everyone at the playground was so awesome! 

This morning we did our usual morning routine, alphabet work, scripture memorization, poem reading, map work, and flashcards but we are taking the rest of the day off!  I'm going to start doing a calendar corner routine too, more for Hannah but the boys will benefit also.  I am going to do weather, patterning, and probably some counting (skip).  I'll add this into our morning routine.  With Sam in his school routine, we should be able to fall into ours quickly. 

We have been finishing up with our core work by lunch time and saving the history (T/Th) and science (M/W/F) for the afternoons.  This week I started reading a chapter book to the kids during quiet time before I send them off with their own age appropriate reading material.  We started Mr. Popper's Penguins.  My thought behind this is to expose the kids to a longer sentence structure and more in depth story lines, hopefully to improve their writing.  This has been a challenge for the kids to just sit back and close their eyes and imagine what they are hearing instead of looking at pictures.  If I were to do this parenting thing over, I'd start reading chapter books when they were much younger!

I am so thankful that Sam is so encouraging and actively involved in this journey!  (I know I know, he SHOULD be...but I was prepared for him to leave it all up to me.)  He has been teaching the science part of our curriculum (YAY AiG God's Design for Life series!!) and has been helping me with our history (Story of the World).  We aren't loving SOTW, not hating but not loving it.  And he is a HUGE creation buff and his knowledge of it blows me away, so I have enjoyed us sitting down together going over the next chapter and discussing it!  Last night he ran to the grocery store since we are all out of the basic staples, and he came home with wonderful lunch ideas for us!  Just the idea that he knew we'd all be here for lunch together and bought us all things we'd enjoy rocks my world!  I am so blessed, so so so blessed. 

Next week is another 4 day week, we are taking Monday off.  Next Friday starts Isaiah's weekly phonics tests so I've been doing some prep with him on that to help alleviate some of the anxiety.  Today he rocked his reading flashcards, I was so proud of him.  He has worked so incredibly hard in his reading and has still struggled.  I have always been a slow reader and was always behind multiple grade levels so I have many flashbacks of struggling while helping him.  He rocked his flashcards today!!!!!!!!  I think the one on one is really working for him, plus I KNOW what he is being taught so I am able to review with him all day.  It is working out so well.  Our whole day is centered around what they are learning during our mornings, much more than when they were in public school.  Since I know what they are being taught (me = teacher), I can capitalize on the teachable moments all throughout the day!

One week down!

Sam said "You aren't going to do this everyday, right?"

Ah, no.  Isaiah kindly reminded me this week that I hadn't cleaned the toilet yet.  I won't be writing nightly about our experience for the day homeschooling.  Right now I have a basket of clean clothes that are screaming my name to be folded...I won't even think about putting them away for awhile. :)

I greatly underestimated the time commitment.  When people would say, "Oh sometimes the housework has to slide."  I would think to myself, "Seriously?  I wasted so much time when the kids were in school I don't think it could be worse."  Oh it is so different than I had imagined AND I have Sam home with me this week to help.  Plus next week will start our history program plus Isaiah's reading curriculum. 

Today went well, even with spilled cereal in the living room during Isaiah's lessons.  :)  Note to self: cereal with milk in the living room is a big no-no.  We took the kiddos to the skate park and the playground.  What are we going to do when the weather gets cold and they are cooped up inside all day?!?!?

Homeschooling Day #4

I am SO thankful that Sam wants to teach the science part of our day!  The boys really do enjoy it so much! And I get to sit back and watch...it is awesome! 

Sorting different characteristics of plants and animals.

Hannah involved in the learning too!

I knew today was going to be more intense, but in T's words "We've had a rough day". Trying to figure out our how to keep everyone else happily entertained while I am schooling with one child has proven difficult!  Hannah just loves to sit on my lap, and there are times when I am with Isaiah when she can't.  This does not make her happy.  Thankfully the kids are so great going with the flow and they don't need perfect peace in the house to learn!  Isaiah's concentration amazes me!

Today also began the more intensive part of Isaiah reading program with the start of blending.  I was very nervous that I was going to mess up the blends in teaching him, thus teaching him wrong.  But we were doing wonderfully by the end of the day.  It is so difficult to see him struggle because I understand all to well as a struggling reader myself.  I so desire to see him succeed, preferably easily!  He does need extra help with reading, but thankfully we have the time to put in the extra work.  With the one on one instruction time I am able to correct and most importantly ENCOURAGE what he does well.

I am praying that we will settle into a routine soon...

Homeschooling Day #3

Lampson Falls

We found a ton of blackberries!  They were so yummy!

There was so much neat stuff to see!

We got up this morning to the pounding of our roof being torn off and replaced, plus Sam had a dentist appointment...which was perfect to get our schoolwork started so we could enjoy lunch at Lampson Falls before the rain came.  Sam and I are so enjoying watching our children learn and being an active part in their education.  Yes yes, I am worried that when this honeymoon phase ends I'll be frustrated and wanting to give up...but that is why I'm recording this stuff so when I want to quite I won't.  The best part?  We don't have to take God out of learning!  He is in EVERY part of our day!

Isaiah was eager to get started first, he always picks math before phonics (just like Daddy!) He is doing so well with understanding math concepts.  I love watching his drive to do his best.  He is mastering letter sounds, and tomorrow we will begin blends.  I believe his least favorite activity right now is writing.  He cringes when I ask him to get his Writing With Phonics book out and I notice that he rushes that work.  Next week starts the reading part of our day which will add another hour or so to his schooling.

As I asked Turner to get his school books from his bin on the shelf, he got his usual giggly smile and said, "Mom, I am going to do my best work today."  And he didn't disappoint!  He seems to always choose phonics first (I say always like I've been doing this longer than 3 days, ha!!)  He did fantastic at hearing the middle sound 'short i' in words!  Math was same/different and number concepts 1-5.

Once we were done with our school work, I packed up our lunch and we headed to the falls.  It was just awesome!  Hannah did great, our stroller lover, walked the whole way!  Isaiah surprised us by walking right up to the edge of the falls (you walk along the side of it to get to the bottom) without any fear!  Hannah and Turner stayed back.  It was breath taking and we just sat back for a moment and marveled at God's creation.  We found a rock that was surrounded by water at the base of the falls and had a great lunch.  After lunch we trekked down the path a bit more which was filled with blackberries (obviously not so traveled!) and pricker bushes. 

Homeschooling Day #2

Breakfast started like this from my T-man:
"Mom, I don't like school.  I don't want to do it today."

I knew this day was coming.  I just didn't think it would before the start of our second day.  I'll admit I felt a tad deflated dreading the fight that was coming just around the corner.  My oldest on the other hand could not wait to dig in.

Today's workload was a bit heavier than yesterday.  I told the boys that after school and lunch we would take a walk to the skate park where they could perfect their moves on their scooters.  It was perfect for my T-man to focus on that throughout his work.  Right now my struggle is with keeping my 3 year old happily entertained while I work one on one with the boys.  She is usually right there with me while I do everything, so this is going to be an adjustment for her more than any of us, I think.

We were done by 11:30, even with our science which my husband taught!  (We are dreading him going to back to work in a few weeks when school opens.)  It was wonderful and the questions that the kids asked were awesome!  As we were sitting down for lunch, my oldest son shared with him how much he is enjoying homeschooling and requested to not go back to public school!  I pray that this is his reaction in a few weeks as the reviewing turns to new material and as our workload continues to increase.  I have so enjoyed watching him work so hard on his letter sounds the last two days!  I also talked with T-man over lunch about what I could do to make schooling more enjoyable to him and he suggested that we take the pages out of his book.  Apparently he doesn't like working IN a workbook?  Easy enough!  I don't mind doing that!

T-man using counters to count.

Hannah girl working on coloring and stickers!

I LOVE this! School books on the table, my binder full of lesson plans, kids working happily!  Awesome!!

Isaiah working on his math!

We ended our school day with a 2 hour physical education 'class' walking to the skate park and then to the playground.  We had to drag the kids away. 

Homeschooling Day #1

Well it is in the books!  YAY!  It was rather enjoyable for this teacher, I believe my pupils enjoyed being done by 11 and having the rest of the day to PLAY with each other!  I can't believe how much I can get done one-on-one with the boys!  I was 'trained' to teach a classroom of 20 kids, so this one on one thing is wonderful! 

Using a flashlight to work on letter recognition for T-man and letter sounds for Isaiah with our alphabet on the wall.

Isaiah working in his math book.

T worked on the letter I today! He did so well coloring in the lines!

We are using A Beka for Language Arts and Math, Answers in Gensis for Science "God's Design for Life", and Story of the World for our History program.  Yesterday was just LA and Math...today is lesson 1 for science and next week we will start our history program. 

Our plan is to start by 9am daily, but the the kiddos just woke up so it looks like we will be starting a bit later today...and that is OK!  I am looking forward to getting into the full swing of our schedule next week! 

Crazy

This morning was rough. It was tough dropping Isaiah off at school. He has been 6 days since he has had severe stomach pain and I have so enjoyed having him back to himself. He has had moments of pain, but nothing like he experienced for 2 weeks. Praise God that the medicine he has been taking has been helping. I love having him back to normal, and dropping him off at school has been killing me. I want to spend all day with him! It makes me long for June. For summer break. To long for September when we begin our homeschooling journey.

Yes, the world thinks I'm crazy. Yes, the world thinks my kids will lack socialization. Yes, I really do long for spending days with my children. Yes, I know it is going to be really hard when they are fighting and I just want to hide under the covers of my bed. I want to hide under my covers right now, but I'm missing the sound of my children in my home.

Going crazy is a chance I'm willing to take to not miss my kids anymore.

I've been going down this road of becoming a woman of God. Basically everything that the world tells me NOT to be. Counter-cultural. To, *gasp*, be submissive to my husband. To put my family's concern over my own. But what about me time? What about my alone time? Really? Alone time? In studying Proverbs 31, I'm not seeing her priority in her 'me time'. I know that women have a difficult time living up to the Proverbs 31 Woman. And yes, we can't achieve all that she does alone. We need Christ. We need to lean on Christ. We can't do it alone.

As I write this, I have 2 of my 3 kiddos on my lap. And you know what? I love it. My heart misses Isaiah. These years go by so quickly. I want to soak up every moment.

Yes, I am crazy. Yes, I am crazy in love with Jesus.

This is a favorite in our house. It's not about this world. It's about our God, it's about eternity.