#91 reason to homeschool

because "beautiful day" can be just as valid a day to skip as "snow day".

homeschooling- feeling the strain

this is just to air my feelings and thoughts and frustrations so bear with me.

something is up with homeschooling this year.  this is the first year where i feel completely pulled in so many directions.
for example...in a matter of one minute you can hear the following multi-age classroom litany spew from my mouth-
"the Jesus sign means you put the two numbers together."
" 'ough' makes the "off" sound."
"congruent shapes have angles and sides that are equal."
"that is a lowercase 'Q'."
"max, it's your turn to get the baby.  he's crawling up the stairs again."
"that is a scale, not a ratio- the units have to be the same, so please convert the feet to inches."

i feel flustered.  a normal person would...right?
and i'm wondering, what changed?  is it the tiny house?  is it schooling more people this year than i schooled last year?  is it the age of the baby?  is it my expectations?  is it living up to chris' expectations? 
my heart leans towards unschooling- especially since i read "the little way of homeschooling".  and chris' feels we would be doing a disservice to the children if we went that route.  so we have found a happy(?) medium. 

so monday i made an excel spreadsheet(yeah for the phlegmatic girl!) and tried to stick by it.  i assigned one on one time with each kid in the subjects they need help with.  other kids were assigned "littles care", "reading", or "writing".  someone was assigned to listen to george read and assist him when he came to a tricky word.
it was a disaster.  i wasn't ready to give up on it.  i doctored the schedule.  the kids need more time for math.  someone else with more patience needs to read with george(does anyone have patience at this point???)  it seemed to work but there were still some holes.  and the house!!! oh the house!!!
i have blinders on all day as we sit at the table.  and when all the work is done and i heave a sigh of relief as i push away from the table---my eyes scan the house and my sigh turns into cough as my throat tenses.  really?  did you really feel the need to pull ALL the books in the boxcar children series off the shelf.  once you foraged for quesadillas did you really have to leave the remnants to the fruit flies?  did you really have to dump the unmatched sock basket all over the stairs just to decide on socks that don't even match? 

so tomorrow we will tinker with the schedule again.  and try try again.  because, as chris said to comfort me monday night "if it were easy, everyone would do it."

khan academy

saul or sol khan is a genius. and he taught me all about the kreb's cycle last night at about 11:30. he has ALL kinds of lessons up on youtube.
i think he hi-jacked scott hahn's voice.
the only thing that makes me a bit nervous is that bill gates likes him.
this morning mr. kahn taught the kids about multiplying and dividing negative numbers. let's just say he's going to be my ace up my sleeve this next year.

PE for next week: slide and drop

before watching the videos pause the i-pod player.
hector, from the electric company, will be teaching the kids how to "slide and drop"

here is the original video. i just LOVE their funky hippie costumes- especially the lady in the long gold coat and tights!

#97

homeschool your kids, so they won't starve. this might not apply to most people out there. it will apply to those whose kids pack their own lunches though. when my kids were in public school, they were in charge of choosing lunch and packing it. if they didn't judge their time wisely they had an account at school and would get cafeteria lunch on a tray. the money for the account came from them so the motivation to pack a homemade lunch was real.
so, we were riding in the car and samantha says- "i am
glad we homeschool! we don't have to starve!"
"what do you mean?"
"well, whenever we'd forget our lunch we would have to buy, and that food was too disgusting to eat, so I wouldn't."
henry would though.
my ex neighbor(no hard feelings, she just moved- that's all) once said something that I thought was interesting.
she mentioned that her kids grow fast in the summer. she chalked it up to being able to eat when they were hungry and sleep when they were tired. i'd go even further and add- play outside when they wanted to play outside- that vitamin d is good stuff.
so the scheduled meals and snacks and the early mornings combined with being inside most of the day- that doesn't sound healthy to me- matter of fact, it sounds totally opposite to the way humanity lived up until 100 years ago.

homeschool myths

it's beginning to be apparent that the neighbors are filling their kids heads with popular homeschool myths. i guess they had to put out the fire somehow. i'm sure when we started homeschooling the neighbor kids went to their parents and said "those kids down the street aren't going to school anymore- can we do that?"
"no dear, they will likely sprout two heads and eat their dog within a year."
so the proliferation of lies continues.
today samantha ran into a girl in the yard next door. she, being the bully that she is, said, "you guys only have two friends."
we laughed about it at dinner. we joked that the next time we run into her we should pretend that we have forgotten our native tongue. just start beeping, clicking, and whistling.
"me forgot for to how to talk english. no smart at home- need school."
being away from constant contact with peers has freed the kids from her bullying(indeed she bullied them plenty when they were public schooled). it's nice to be so free from the clutches of peer pressure and bullying that we laughed until we were crying. i think when she encounters bully-girl again i hope it'll be something more to laugh about at dinner.

homeschool so far

we are ending our third week of school. i'm just marveling about how it's gone. it's gone SO much easier than i had hoped. the kids are really enjoying it and so am i!
henry is the only one giving problems. i really have to hold his hand at certain times of the day. the first week he bucked at how much math he'd have to do. i just wrote it out as he did it orally- no fuss, no muss. just took it lightly and easily, showing him that it's not really that big of a deal. the second week he was sick. this third week he's done better. i've told him to just set a ten or fifteen minute timer and just do math for that time. when the timer goes off, then just stop. now, i thought this advice i got from a friend would surely mean that he would just fiddle for 15 minutes and then close his book. but, NO! he busts his bum to get it ALL done. in between subjects if i don't watch him, he'll go off and find a book and hide and read.
the other kids- max and samantha- they really pound it out. they want to get through with it quickly.
"what's next?" they'll say.
i have a spreadsheet i write up sometime the week before telling them what to do. there is a section where they can check off each task.
henry's subjects are history, backyard naturalism, poetry, vocabulary, math, latin&greek, music, religion, and geography.
samantha has the same but no science.
max has the same as samantha but no greek&latin or history.
i'm following suggestions from laura berquist's book designing your own classical curriculum

a month and a half - musings

so, we've been homeschooling for a little less than a month and a half. i want to share some of the changes i've been witnessing front row.
1) imagination and creativity growth- they started out sleeping in every day. then after about a week early mornings found them building legos furiously. this week's mornings find them hunting the woods for saplings to make bows out of. possibly because we are reading redwall by brian jaques.
2) sibling tightness- the older school aged siblings are now so much closer to the younger kids. the compassion shown is more frequent. there is more patience for franky when she's having a crying bout because of teething.
3) manners and respect- i've been trying to get the kids to stop interrupting when i'm talking to an adult, but it hasn't worked- until now. samantha just this last sunday demonstrated the techniques that i've been trying to teach them these last few years.
plus they are looking to me more as someone who knows something. they come to me for advice and suggestions more now.
4) innocence and the attitude that comes with it- the kids took on a type of "know-it-all" attitude when they got into school. if presented with something new, they'd look at it askew for a bit, only to be won over after a few minutes of exposure. now they are less and less skeptical of new experiences and more innocent adventures.

one change i'm really happy for is not having to say "goodbye" to the kids everyday. that has been my favorite aspecct so far.

charlotte mason

i'm liking all the stuff that i read about charlotte mason. she sounds like a wonderful woman. i think the most shocking fact that i have learned about her life is that she mothered ZERO children.
i just finished reading real learning in the heart of home by elizabeth foss. she is a catholic charlotte masonite. ;o)

our desktop background

because today is the first day of the divine mercy novena, we have this as our desktop background...

and also, a color-and-pray page we made for our littl'uns.

trip to the fabric store = easter dresses

the top left material is mary jane's dress and frock. the middle material is for bloomers- like little house on the prairie not cheerleader. the fabric on the bottom left is for frances' frock. the fabric on the bottom right is for samantha's dress and frock. i hope it turns out well. i'll post pics when i have them done.

just a little comedy

chris is funny at times. but last night was so unintentionally funny that i was about to pull a muscle trying not to laugh.
just listening to him on the phone with his mom, defending our choice to homeschool. she didn't need alot of convincing- but just hearing him on my side of the fence- and doing a great job of it- it's just a little amusing.

promotion and first lessons

this saturday the kids got promoted. chris marched us all into barnes and noble and bought workbooks for the kids to get us through these early days of researching curriculum. max is now in second grade. samantha in third. henry in fourth. of course in the fall, they'll be in the same grade. the workbooks for their grade just seemed too below them.
they were so eager to get started in them today. i had originally planned for today to be the first day of our spring break. they begged and begged to do some work. chris and i put a limit on one page a day from both their language arts book and their math book. they complained when i told them that they should put their books away after they were done. "can't we do more?" "can i just flip to the back of the book for harder math?"
so i gathered them around for the first REAL homeschool lesson for the day.
"kids, the school has you do all kinds of busy work. it's overkill. it's just to keep you in your seat, occupied so they can handle the behavior issues of one kid or the misunderstandings of another. you don't LEARN with the extra work. so we are doing two pages of work a day. we are at home. if i need to keep you busy i don't need to give you workbook pages- you can wash the dishes, sweep the floor, clean your room, etc. there is PLENTY to keep you busy here."
we're off to the library. i think it's going to be our most valuable homeschool resource, besides the plentious hiking trails around here.

still whirling

i still have to pinch myself. i can't believe it's real. i also am kind of scared to talk to chris. like i'll wake him from some other state of sleep that allows him to change his mind about things he once felt so strongly against.
today i went to school and ate lunch with the kids. i also told each of their teachers. it felt like i was betraying them. but only for a bit. i'm really doing it for the kids best interest. my phone stayed home to charge. when i returned i got an email from chris about how i don't answer my phone. i then found out that my phone would not be resustitated- it still doesn't work for some reason or other. maybe it has maryjanitis. chris wanted to tell me how the conversation with the assistant principal went. she was calling to schedule a meeting between us, the guidance counselor, and herself. he informed her of our intentions and she informed him that they are still going to meet without us and possibly call a social worker. that freaks me out. i don't care for social workers being all up in my grill. i really did not want to go into homeschooling with all this drama, but what choice do i have? i feel like that guy who was praying for God to save him as he sat on his roof in a flood. instead of waiting for the perfect savior to come along, i'm jumping on the first dingy that floats by. it may be my only chance.

the unveiling

when i told the kids that we were, in fact, going to homeschool they were so jazzed.
max's immediate response, "who's going to get the most huskys at lunch time?" huskys being a reward for not yelling or throwing your food.
i wasn't sure what to tell the kids. i don't want them to get alot of flack from teachers but i don't want them to not be able to say goodbye. so i told them that monday was the startdate and that they should keep a lid on it. that way they can say goodbye to some close mates.

last night i couldn't get to sleep. i kept thinking about all the things i won't miss about school.
i won't miss...
-a 6am alarm.
-having the kids make lunch before eating breakfast.
-the kids
-having to be home at 3 for bus pickup.
-getting phone calls from the school.
-stories about what happened on the bus.
-george being bored.


i want to also say that i won't be posting much. just some real meaty stuff- heavy news you know? i just really want to spend time with the kids and not so much the computer. i probably will be on the computer some though...mostly just researching what curriculum to use. i think immediatly we will go with georgia virtual acadamy- just to finish the year. two reasons. it's free and it runs right along with the georgia school system. plus, it'll give me extra time to figure out what to do next year.

and just like that

last night i went to bed thinking homeschooling lay a good 2 to 3 years ahead of us on the horizon. this morning- a different story.
chris called me at 10. he said that the school had called him. "why him?" i thought. they ALWAYS call me.
"mrs. a, max just fell into a puddle, could you bring a change of clothes?"
"mrs. a, henry has a fever."
"mrs. a, samantha forgot her lunch."
but no. they called him. so i waited patiently to hear the reason for their deviating from routine.
he told me that they wanted to meet. they were concerned over max's piling unexcused absences. he wanted me to email the teacher and excuse the last three absences that happened in the past two school weeks.
i could tell he was mad. the man hates to be pinned. he starts to get bigger. flexing and grunting and tearing his shirt off. this is all figurative. instead of tearing his shirt off he threatens to pull the kids out. to homeschool them.
he doesn't tell the school this. he tells me.
so i emailed max's teacher and make an excuse for his absences. he was ill. it's true. the clinic nurse asked me on tuesday, as she held a thermometer in her hand, not to bring him in on wednesday because they have a 24 hour fever free rule. and there's been a stomach thing going around so sometimes it's best to keep him home if things look like they're headed downhill even before breakfast.
after i sent the email i got an email from chris. it was just a link. georgia home educators association. "how to get started" was the name of the page. i was still not sure he was serious. i reply, "ummm, don't tease me." i read over the material loosely.
he called when he got out of work- the gist of the conversation?- he's serious. he actually was worried that we weren't including the kids on the decision. what do i say to that but a big fat LOL. the kids have been praying and fasting for at least a year in favor of homeschooling. they are super excited. he suggested that maybe we take them out after spring break.
i asked the kids one at a time as i cooked dinner. each and every one of them were SO excited. i asked them what they thought about starting after spring break. i think max's answer was the most telling. i reminded him that the day after the end of spring break is his birthday.
he got excited, "oh, yeah! and also, it's when we start CRCT testing."
hmmm. that got me thinking. all of this ruckus that the school is raising. is it all just scare tactics to make sure beyond a reasonable doubt that my kids will be dutifully filling in those bubbles? i'm well aware that my kids will be on the above average side of the bar- bringing scores up in each of their classrooms. it makes the tiny devil on my left shoulder chuckle a bit. those poor rubes at the school. what will they think when their scare tactics don't work.
so we just talked. it seems during his run at the gym he got even more peeved. he wants to bring them out after fridays bell rings. so we officially start homeschooling monday morning.
all those years i've been praying i thought to myself, "wow, it will be truly a miracle when chris changes his mind about homeschool."
i witnessed a miracle today. it just makes me believe that my daily prayers are so much bigger than i once thought they were.

international bible study

fr. kevin called on skype yesterday. i was cooking dinner so it was close to one in the morning for him- but hey, that's fr. kevin. since i had to be off checking on the meat browning on the stove, samantha sat down to talk. she showed him her new testament she got for her baptism. she's been toting it to school to read during breaks. ---on a side note she told me that a few days ago she asked God to guide her to a bible passage and she just flipped it open right to Jesus' 40 days in the desert and his temptation by the devil---
anyhow, fr. kevin taught her how to look up verses. then he started calling out his favorites. she had help with the first few. then she wanted no more help and did the rest on her own. i had to snap a picture of this techno enhanced bible study.

thankful for confession

i met outside church with two of my sisters. we caught up about things while the kids played in the field and climbed the trees. father jack came over to us and chatted for a bit before regina made an odd request.
"father, would you hear confession over webcam?"
shakes his head.
"wouldn't you hear it over the phone, especially if that person has no priest to hear his confession?"
shakes his head again. then it occurs to him that she is asking for our brother.
he is learning first hand how hard it is to be without a priest. he, however, doesn't get the total picture because he can celebrate mass. he just can't listen to himself confess and then absolve himself.
father jack went on to say that he's finding out what it's like to be catholic in camaroon, where priests come around about once every 4 weeks.
"and then everyone in the village is out to see him and go to mass- do you think you'll be able to go to confession often with that priest? not likely."
but he did comfort us with the fact that since father kevin has the intense desire to get his confession heard, God will hear that and pour the necessary graces into his soul until a time comes when father kevin can get his soul in the box.

and so- be thankful. we have a priest shortage in america- but it's not THAT bad. be thankful and...get to confession!

LENT

so for lent i decided to be like the kids and give up something i really hate. like homework or chores. i decided it was time to say goodbye to the rest of my hair. i mean, so many hairs have left me without looking back. not so much as a phone call. so today i said "enough!". on ash wednesday it seems like what should have been my christian response to such a problem would pan out like this- me keep my rapidly thinning hair. me offer a prayer for lost orphans everytime i find one on my pillow, in the shower drain, in franky's diaper, or in my food- ugh! but what would happen is this - i'd be praying ceaselessly as paul calls us to do. and while i think paul means well, i don't think he meant that kind of prayer. at least not for my vocation as a mother to six. so here it is.

BEFORE













AFTER

why i'm open to as many as...

God wants me to have.

a post in response to this one

i'm open to whatever. i'm not just talking about how many kids. i'm talking WHATEVER. i mean, rewind my life ten years. who'd have thought i'd be living this life? i would have chosen to elope. backpack in europe with chris as a honeymoon for a year. move to manhatten where i'd be a starving artist wife to a man with a gift for investing on wall street. we'd have quiet weekends in the park. i'd talk with friends about art, critiqueing the exhibit that was showing at the local gallery. kids would come eventually. each compartmentalized into two years apart until we had a fair sized family. we'd move to the countryside somewhere in virginia and try our hand at homesteading.

but instead, we chose to let God lead. he's got the plan. he sees the whole picture while we are left to look at shadows on a cave's wall. and where did he lead us? he led us to a place where just staring into your child's eyes is the shortest route to heaven. he led us to watching the kids play outside in the dusky evening of mid february. he led us to moving beds around to make room, adding plates to the table, stretching our hearts beyond limits that we set for ourselves.
yes, marriages can be strained by children. but only if your heart refuses to make room. children seem to add a catalyst to life. they can either bring out the flaws more, or make your spouse more attractive.
when i see chris pick up mary jane when she's upset and soothe her while gently rocking in the chair, i fall in love all over again.
when i see chris bent over a block of wood as the boys eagerly watch a pinewood derby car emerge from the dust, he is more attractive than he was when we were dating.
when i see him play "everyone vs. me" to end the soccer practice and he leads a pack of yelling six year old boys around the field, he's even more attractive than the day i first laid eyes on him.
when we are married and without children we are like the sand that is in the clam. but when we have kids, we are polished slowly overtime to become pearls.
samantha is always the first to remind me- when she hears me praying for patience, "mommy, God will not give you patience, but chances to practice it."
and i didn't even go into the benefits that come to the children when we are open to God's plan. i reap everyday the benefits i received when my parents said "yes". i have lifelong friends that will see me through ANYTHING. i could call them in the middle of the night and ask for help and know that they will not turn me down. and as my parents age, they have a host of caretakers willing to carry that cross and willing to give each other that break.
to so many, the choice to have or not have kids is similar to the choice to buy or don't buy a boat or condo. but children are so much more than that- and if one fails to see that, one fails to see God at work.