tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37553049589232701922024-02-19T06:32:07.453-06:00We're all in this dance of life togetherCrayons, glue, and finger paint, fighting temper tantrums, struggling to stay focused, no hitting, spitting, or biting...because I'm the mom! Striving to stay sane and keep God at the center of all we do...here's our journey through home learning. You're welcome to come along for the ride.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-53750756420326402352012-07-07T11:57:00.001-05:002012-07-07T11:57:22.159-05:00I know I don't blog enough. Shut. Up.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mixed feelings about today.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Beau did well; we started the new
Science book (whoot, whoot!), which was pretty exciting, and kept on
with everything else. We might finish the math book some time this
century. I kid, of course. It just feels like we have<i> so far
left to go</i> and the “official”
start of third grade is coming up so <i>soon</i>.
I had wanted to be done with this book. I chalk it up to my own
suckiness as a homeschooling parent. And we'll finish when we
finish. We do two worksheets a day at present, which is a good pace
for us. Beau seems challenged but not frustrated, so I'm going to
call it success. We'll finish this book when we finish it and (the
plan is) to plug through with math even when we're taking breaks from
other things so that we finish the next one in plenty of time for
<i>fourth </i>grade...and oh,
God, fourth grade is looming in the distance. Ew.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moving
on quickly.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Usually</i>
Explode the Code is super fun for everyone involved.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today...well, just
blah. There were distractions. Kids were fighting in the
background. We compromised and did about half of what we usually do.
Both Xander and Bella struggled and there were many buzzing bees to
be had.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
But I am totally
taking it. Daddy is home today...who can concentrate when Daddy is
home? Also, it's totally Saturday. And nice outside. And the pool
is beckoning.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
So we are taking
today and calling it a success. Education was had by all.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, let's go
swimming.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-38781720671920118102011-06-18T09:33:00.001-05:002011-06-18T09:34:25.169-05:00chill out, mom.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>i recently bought beau this AWESOME variety of books because the kid was <i>literally</i> begging for new books to read.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4CuaHRnuIqRCo4bGPifYZq3X8rI40ULMO94WYNrlMz0VWeTM9LpbCG_HJox5MzHllmyfoOAhK47VG7d-nHx8_iumJfhZh-1feHmGGHS7hrjVrQnxeUUslahXhD3ha9yNwovZ3GS72Z4/s1600/Photo472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4CuaHRnuIqRCo4bGPifYZq3X8rI40ULMO94WYNrlMz0VWeTM9LpbCG_HJox5MzHllmyfoOAhK47VG7d-nHx8_iumJfhZh-1feHmGGHS7hrjVrQnxeUUslahXhD3ha9yNwovZ3GS72Z4/s1600/Photo472.jpg" /></a></div><br />
so this morning, seeing as how we have completely finished school this week, i thought i might gently nudge him into checking them out. <br />
<br />
you guys. he. CRIED.<br />
<br />
not big waterworks, but there were definitely tears welling in his eyes.<br />
<br />
so i put them away.<br />
<br />
and now i'm trying to sit here and tell myself that i will NOT make him read any of these books, no matter how good i know they are, no matter how much i know he'll like them once he gets started, no matter how much i am itching for him to discover chapter books and all the wonder therein<br />
<br />
BECAUSE<br />
<br />
i don't want him to hate reading.<br />
<br />
it's like a mantra that i'm chanting over and over again inside my head. i'm not going to force books on my kids. i'm not going to force books on my kids.<br />
<br />
i will purchase books that i think will be interesting to them, place them strategically around the house, and hope for the best.<br />
<br />
all the while trying not to lose my mind.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-73918274130668150742011-06-17T14:44:00.000-05:002011-06-17T14:44:13.368-05:00it's raining.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RDgYLYLvUVT_reW8PAlZYCGhEHMp0vlYsAgJ3QaIfhMvjOjftqfo87OyXp2Pa-zn5L1U1oQeJzCaa_dDBCCmo6rTtnsbKM5lB94j5xEUZ7ETyr6Ucmd9nGjPrjRV3RyDwRHRHeXBqZ8/s1600/Photo470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RDgYLYLvUVT_reW8PAlZYCGhEHMp0vlYsAgJ3QaIfhMvjOjftqfo87OyXp2Pa-zn5L1U1oQeJzCaa_dDBCCmo6rTtnsbKM5lB94j5xEUZ7ETyr6Ucmd9nGjPrjRV3RyDwRHRHeXBqZ8/s1600/Photo470.jpg" /></a></div>this might not seem like such a big deal to you. if it doesn't then you obviously don't live in my particular piece of southern alabama where we haven't seen rain for about TWO MONTHS.<br />
<br />
okay, i'm exaggerating. but it's been dry. <br />
<br />
however. this past week alone, it's rained FIVE times. and it. is. <i>glorious</i>. i can't even begin to tell you the happiness. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-39511257928145268322011-06-16T16:14:00.000-05:002011-06-16T16:14:34.056-05:00that feeling, you can only say what it is in french.hallelujah, the end is in sight.<br />
<br />
we are almost through week two of the summer "semester." <br />
<br />
i wasn't sure we'd make it through the first day. <br />
<br />
because it hasn't been easy. we've had so much STUFF go down this week it's a miracle we got anything done at all. so. how have we done it, you ask? <br />
<br />
by avoiding worksheets like the plague, for one. condensing the HECK out of lessons, for another. doing lots of videos and even counting watching "despicable me" as part of our study on the seven wonders of the ancient world (you know, because they stole the pyramid at giza in the very beginning).<br />
<br />
i'm also having considerable deja vu because we did the seven wonders last year with beau. and now we're doing it again, but this time with xander. the really fun bit is when he remembers pieces of it here and there out of the blue.<br />
<br />
deja vu again with bella, since i did part of the kindergarten curriculum i'm using with beau when he was a kindergartener. didn't use this curriculum for xander, so at least it isn't the third time through, although i know we'll be going through the seven wonders AGAIN next year with bella, so i need to go ahead and prepare myself.<br />
<br />
at least i should know all of this stuff pretty well by the time i'm through, right?<br />
<br />
did i once say i wanted more kids?<br />
<br />
could i handle going through all of this a <i>fourth</i> time?<br />
<br />
(oh, and if anyone gets the reference in the title, i'll bake you a cake. i'm serious.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-91211753991972428762011-06-15T16:03:00.000-05:002011-06-15T16:03:35.020-05:00stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni.y'all. today has been a Day.<br />
<br />
that's right, capital D.<br />
<br />
but. we managed to do school...on the computer, at least. worksheets are on hold for a smidge. honestly, we could go the rest of the summer without doing another worksheet and that would be fine with me. we'd be taking a worksheet summer vacation. i honestly don't care. we are doing good to be doing "computer" school.<br />
<br />
with the kinds of days we've been having.<br />
<br />
we've had fevers and birthdays and a child who may or may not have strep throat. oh yeah. i said it. i'm SERIOUSLY hoping that's not the case. but if he isn't better by tomorrow, we're headed to the doctor (a place dreaded by all).<br />
<br />
but victories. we've had them.<br />
<br />
flash cards are still a win! xander recognized two, count 'em, TWO new letters today: Q and A. i'm super proud. and he's still kickin' rear and taking names with sight words. bella, too. it's like they can't be stopped. it's freaking me out a little.<br />
<br />
anyway. that's pretty much the extent of it. today we learned that thomas jefferson was a pretty radical guy. he invented macaroni AND brought vanilla ice cream to the united states. can i send him a christmas card? we also learned that no human has ever been attacked by a healthy wolf in north america. EVER, people. that seriously (no irony here) eases my mind. i feel safer walking by myself down the driveway (a practice i really should pick back up, since i have this new peace of mind).<br />
<br />
also, we registered for everest again for next year. funny how i don't legally have to register xander until next year, since he just turned six yesterday. <br />
<br />
anyway. summary. sight words = good. worksheets = bad. grade books = i have no idea what you're talking about. driveway = safe. everest = registered. sanity = questionable.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-18131843273211784672011-06-11T13:01:00.001-05:002011-06-11T13:01:22.552-05:00the first week of summer semester......is officially over.<br />
<br />
that is all.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-88319858657269125092011-06-10T17:21:00.000-05:002011-06-10T17:21:16.541-05:00ugh.you know how when things go wrong, they <i>really</i> go wrong?<br />
<br />
this week, doing school has been like pulling teeth.<br />
<br />
wait, that's not a good analogy, since xander lost his first tooth this week without much ado. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HUPGMYX2DdSSo1RUQKnm4uYdq1uY_TnehFYIaf0EzAWnIbp-Ri3AlmihnKhRObnXeWcZQGTorcj9x73sevkCsdyffdnPvvmRCQGtUHMS5qtGMmrCvcepy7D5InLPcQl-jg7L5BGVTNI/s1600/Photo466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HUPGMYX2DdSSo1RUQKnm4uYdq1uY_TnehFYIaf0EzAWnIbp-Ri3AlmihnKhRObnXeWcZQGTorcj9x73sevkCsdyffdnPvvmRCQGtUHMS5qtGMmrCvcepy7D5InLPcQl-jg7L5BGVTNI/s320/Photo466.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>doing school has been like...forcing a five-year-old -- who <i>really</i> doesn't want to do flash cards -- to do flash cards.<br />
<br />
it's friday. usually we are on day four or day five of our planned lessons. 2/3 of us are on day three and 1/3 is on day two (xander took a sick day earlier this week).<br />
<br />
it's just...been difficult this week. i knew i should have been wary when everything last week went so smoothly, despite having to take a day off because i was babysitting for my sister and there was no way we were going to get to do school that day. we still got everything done, with smiles on our faces and even *gasp!* time to spare.<br />
<br />
but THINGS have happened this week. we've been somewhere every single day this week. we've had company. we've had a library outing. we had a visit from the tooth fairy. <i>everything</i> that could have interfered with school, did. tempers have flared (mostly mine). worksheets have laid undone. parts of lessons have been scrapped just because a kid didn't feel like doing them that day, and by golly, at this point, i am all for sprinting for the end of this week like there's no tomorrow.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0hGRkI6njF2mo4hwNKYCm4L3AXDN65jIf1OxE8kQw1lFhC8dneLlxj2u3uaTeAIp48Q30-tLgEav_X4zq1t7WcY6Y5onFFJPii8Z0Y5DOiI1ZTi4Bw5oqHdnNxUafQJQbRFuxCcbYAI/s1600/white+wig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe0hGRkI6njF2mo4hwNKYCm4L3AXDN65jIf1OxE8kQw1lFhC8dneLlxj2u3uaTeAIp48Q30-tLgEav_X4zq1t7WcY6Y5onFFJPii8Z0Y5DOiI1ZTi4Bw5oqHdnNxUafQJQbRFuxCcbYAI/s1600/white+wig.jpg" /></a>i am NOT a big fan of early american history, and not because it isn't awesome and important and full of these great stories, but mostly because i'm not a big fan of history, and early american has always been my least favorite. no explanation. it just is. maybe it was the clothes they wore. i can't take you seriously when you're wearing a white wig, mr. president. (note: i'm kidding. kind of.) <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
and in science, we're learning about big cats. which is interesting and all, but i'm just bouncing in my seat until we get to planets. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1GufQDvRr1Xbp5WYSF6KukdtjLEWCy2NLOCSQUSNXT7FU7RvFEoXSj_0munfPuRsR88dtCEQ3tx25RxgKw1R99b16JzxEDS3G2Qyc08x6i4ZD3pFlqx72MswSxTQtJ_so75BOQW8fo4/s1600/solar+system.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1GufQDvRr1Xbp5WYSF6KukdtjLEWCy2NLOCSQUSNXT7FU7RvFEoXSj_0munfPuRsR88dtCEQ3tx25RxgKw1R99b16JzxEDS3G2Qyc08x6i4ZD3pFlqx72MswSxTQtJ_so75BOQW8fo4/s200/solar+system.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>i hate when we get bogged down in weeks when the subject matter isn't that exciting. when this starts to happen, we generally start to skim. and that's what i've been doing with john adams this week. skimming the surface. if beau cares about it enough, he'll ask for more, but for now, knowing john adams existed and that he did some pretty cool stuff for america is enough. it isn't important how many children he had and what their names were.<br />
<br />
in other news, sight words are WIN. i've been working with both bella and xander with a few flash cards, and thanks to their cute little brain-sponges, it's really sinking in. it's crazy. i never taught beau sight words. i never worked with him on phonics. so all of this is new to me. it's fun seeing bella remember that this card says, "away" and that one says, "and." and even though xander is fighting me tooth and nail, he can't help but remember them, too, because his brain is conspiring against him (and is totally on my side, MUAHAHAHAHAHA) and he's remembering them anyway.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>we are coming across a bit of a road block with letters. ugh, letters. the bane of my existence. xander should know his letters by now. if you want to be all boring and <i>technical</i>. as it stands, he knows about six of the capital letters. i don't know whether i should feel crappy as a parent or crappy as a teacher or just plain crappy. he's getting them, though. we're working on that. he HATES it, but we're doing it. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl12XkEfottx80qBrbBkAg9e89NktajLxecaF8I2Q5CMx5TayYj2FnsYpbJciDML4maC9Za8YbOsC_MHlXpWR3T9xapcP9y0vnr9AtAZvHZZpiF4ZpEAAbs-0FYKav8mfHfUOCE4fYO7k/s1600/abc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl12XkEfottx80qBrbBkAg9e89NktajLxecaF8I2Q5CMx5TayYj2FnsYpbJciDML4maC9Za8YbOsC_MHlXpWR3T9xapcP9y0vnr9AtAZvHZZpiF4ZpEAAbs-0FYKav8mfHfUOCE4fYO7k/s1600/abc.jpg" /></a>there is a part of me that really really hates making him do things he doesn't want to do. it's a pretty big part. because i started this thing with an unschooling mindset. but the question is, do i stop doing it because it upsets him, or do i keep plugging away because...just because? because i'm the mom and i should "make" him do school? the same way i hate doing a gradebook but i do it because it's the "right" thing to do and it makes my husband feel better? because i'm sure if i didn't at least attempt to teach xander his letters then hubby would be pretty upset.<br />
<br />
ahh. enough with the heavy. things are looking up. i hereby give us permission to skim the rest of the week's lessons and/or condense the final two/three days into one day tomorrow with no pressure or worries that we're missing something. if it isn't interesting, it isn't interesting. the end.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-20816265281364096912011-06-06T11:51:00.000-05:002011-06-06T11:51:58.588-05:00oh, no. she's blogging again.i promise not to blog every day for the duration of the summer. i don't really know what's gotten into me the past week that made me blog so much. i think i've just had a lot to get out, and by golly, i've got a designated place to sort through my thoughts with the assumption that people actually care what i'm saying. it's called a blog.<br />
<br />
moving on. today was the first day of doing school with all three kids. <br />
<br />
i should probably explain how we do things around here before i go into much more detail. we have two sections to our school day. the first is "computer school." the website-that-shall-not-be-named is responsible for this. it has tons of links to other websites, games, printables, online tests, videos, etc, all grouped together according to grade level and subject, which are then helpfully sorted into 36 lessons to be used over the course of the school year. i go through each week and choose what we'll do every day (and we never do everything they have for us, there's just so much they have listed). <br />
<br />
up till this point, i've only been doing beau's grade level, and the other kids generally hang around and listen/watch videos/help with answering questions/etc. sometimes i'll rephrase things so the littlest one can understand something better. <br />
<br />
"computer school" generally takes about half an hour to an hour, depending on what we're doing that day. sometimes we just read. sometimes we talk more than we read. sometimes there are games. sometimes there's a video. it varies.<br />
<br />
then there's worksheets. everyone has been doing their own worksheets for almost a year now. that's nothing new. nothing much has changed except for the volume of worksheets. worksheets usually take two to three hours, and i'm not even kidding. this is including five-minute breaks every fifteen minutes. <br />
<br />
the point of me saying all of that was to explain what i meant when i say xander and bella have their own history and science now. history and science fall under the category of "computer school." so all that really means for me is about 30-45 more minutes in front of the computer during school time, and about two more hours in front of it on my own during the week to lesson plan.<br />
<br />
more work for me, is what i'm saying. but more work in the <i>right</i> place - lesson planning - and not in the <i>wrong</i> place - making our "school day" super-de-duper long. <br />
<br />
so it went smoothly this morning. bella was upset we didn't do <i>more</i> school. she actually cried. <br />
<br />
God help me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-71432521607300907092011-06-04T16:14:00.000-05:002011-06-04T16:14:44.337-05:00again with the blogging!we are finished with this week's lessons!!! yay!! <br />
<br />
we started doing things a little differently this week, and it was a smidge of a rough transition for us, but we made it! <br />
<br />
too bad next week is going to bring new things as well. like bella and xander having their own unique curriculum that i teach them SEPARATELY along with what i've already got planned for beau.<br />
<br />
maybe i didn't think this homeschooling thing through properly.<br />
<br />
sometimes, though, i look around at the work my kids have been doing, at the grades which i dutifully plug into the gradebook (that i still hate), at the fun we (sometimes) have when doing school, and i think to myself. i'm actually doing this. i'm one of <i>those</i> people. <br />
<br />
i'm a homeschool mom.<br />
<br />
i already know this in my head, of course, but my head is usually about to explode or something and today i had one of those oh-my-goodness-the-kids-are-quietly-doing-worksheets-i-can-sneak-in-a-bit-of-mommy-reading-time moments and it sort of hit me. <br />
<br />
we homeschool.<br />
<br />
and we're pretty good at it, thank you.<br />
<br />
now. <i>please</i> send me good thoughts next week. i'm going to need it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-7729610294708575792011-06-02T11:12:00.000-05:002011-06-02T11:12:13.856-05:00this might be harder than i thought.so this morning i wake up with big ideas. <br />
<br />
i should always be wary when this happens.<br />
<br />
i never learn.<br />
<br />
i decided this morning that i was going to take a look at the first grade and kindergarten curriculum on the curriculum-website-that-shall-remain-nameless, just to see what we had waiting for us in the fall. this was a mistake.<br />
<br />
of course i decided it might be fun to go ahead and start a little early with everything, to give it sort of a trial-run during the summer. <br />
<br />
during the course of this, i added no less than FOUR subjects apiece for each of the children. FOUR. not only that, but each child has his or her own separate history and science curriculum, something i've never attempted before. <br />
<br />
it turns out that lesson planning for three individual children takes a lot more work and time than i'm used to spending. probably because i'm used to being done in 1/3 of the time. duh. but i'm exhausted and i haven't even finished the lesson plans yet. <br />
<br />
what will next week look like? why did i do this during the summer? why am i asking you all of these questions?<br />
<br />
odds are that i burn out halfway through next week and do some serious pruning of curriculum.<br />
<br />
also, i've all but decided to just buy the books sonlight recommends and continue using the curriculum-website-that-shall-not-be-named for history and language arts. something about it being what we're used to and actually pretty good and also free. but new books are always a plus. i'll just need to buy a new bookshelf.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-31469012191818457172011-05-30T17:26:00.000-05:002011-05-30T17:26:12.885-05:00yes, well.if i could send a message back in time to myself at the end of november, i'd say a lot of things. the most prevalent being WHY IN HECKFIRE ARE YOU TAKING THE ENTIRE MONTH OF DECEMBER OFF? THAT'S THE STUPIDEST THING I'VE EVER HEARD.<br />
<br />
because i just realized that if we had worked through the month instead of going ahead and taking a nice long break from schoolwork, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE SUMMER VACATION RIGHT NOW.<br />
<br />
ugh.<br />
<br />
there are no words for the amount of difficult it is to reign my seven-year-old into sitting at a table and doing simple worksheets. worksheets that a few short weeks ago, he happily sped through while i watched on, serenely sipping a cup of tea. okay, so maybe not <i>happily</i>, but with little to no complaint. i had no idea just how lucky i had it.<br />
<br />
i know i'm being a bit overdramatic. shut up. it isn't as bad as i'm making it out to be, i'm <i>sure</i>. but right now, i'm about to lose my mind. i've already lost my temper. multiple times.<br />
<br />
not sure if it's the beautiful day, or the allure of better cartoons on TV all celebrating the completion of the school year, or the fact that our pool is sitting <i>right there</i>, beautiful and crystal clear and inviting. maybe it's a combination of all three. but we have been at it for THREE HOURS NOW, y'all. worksheets generally take an hour per kid. this is just beau we're dealing with here.<br />
<br />
so you see my pain.<br />
<br />
not to mention having to witness everyone's beautiful and fun memorial day updates on facebook while we're stuck here with nowhere to go and nothing to do while everyone else celebrates. oh wait, we have something to do. it's called <i>school</i>. <br />
<br />
again, shut up. we celebrated memorial day yesterday with a family fun day in the pool and burgers and everything else you're supposed to celebrate with. it was awesome. i'm just jealous of everyone who's getting to do it again <i>today</i>.<br />
<br />
i did do something fun today that we'll get to enjoy in a couple of weeks. i ordered some books from amazon. rachel will be so proud. <br />
<br />
anyway. i'm letting beau have a little break now. he needs it, i need it. then, after we've both collected ourselves, we're gonna head back in there and slay the beast.<br />
<br />
and then we might go swimming. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-61039896987055992402011-01-20T18:25:00.000-06:002011-01-20T18:25:14.038-06:00stars!i totally should be cooking dinner right now.<br />
<br />
my kids are now totally obsessed with stars. no, not like the ones in the heavens. i'm talking about the kind that look like this<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3TfGZjHkraX1EZA77xxNbm8uyTlds2RAHHXMn_eZc6t1NU6ODUeIQuFo7l91fNEXr5U0vtAhTKyFNIwyhdNBS5Puhv5DxRvKYP3Kp5rXpce5mgB-hkInJTXfs5qHAIIC-twVEIhNDRQ/s1600/star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3TfGZjHkraX1EZA77xxNbm8uyTlds2RAHHXMn_eZc6t1NU6ODUeIQuFo7l91fNEXr5U0vtAhTKyFNIwyhdNBS5Puhv5DxRvKYP3Kp5rXpce5mgB-hkInJTXfs5qHAIIC-twVEIhNDRQ/s1600/star.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
and are drawn at the top of a worksheet, usually in marker or something, signifying a job well done. <br />
<br />
i'm not sure if i consider it a mistake or not, the first star i put on beau's worksheet yesterday afternoon. he was so excited i was sure i had stumbled upon something AMAZING - if he were willing to work harder, focus a bit more, and do his very best to get a star, then surely this had to be the BEST THING EVER.<br />
<br />
the kids sure thought so.<br />
<br />
so now i have xander demanding stars on his worksheets. okay, he deserved them today. he. was. a. SUPERSTAR with worksheets today. so i gave him stars on the ones he did the best on. good, right?<br />
<br />
not so, says my little brown boy. he was unhappy that he didn't get stars on EVERY INCH OF HIS WORK; so unhappy that he slumped off, pouting, to go play the xbox, tears in his pretty eyes. he almost guilted me into going back and plastering his worksheets with the things. almost.<br />
<br />
i decided he could do without bajillions of stars. <br />
<br />
but seriously. i think it might be gold, this star thing. either that, or i have just opened pandora's box.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-17424800074122627702010-12-18T15:55:00.000-06:002010-12-18T15:55:47.847-06:00blurb.so. i just did a really nerdy thing that will hopefully help me out A LOT over the next six months.<br />
<br />
i made a spreadsheet with the week numbers at the top, starting right now and continuing until the end of the first grade (which will end sometime at the end of june, if all goes well). in the first column, going down the left-hand side, i put the names of the subjects we go over, plus the ones i hope to add this semester.<br />
<br />
and then. i went through the long. and tedious. process of typing in the lessons we would cover over the course of that week. THROUGH TWENTY FIVE WEEKS. AND EIGHT SUBJECTS. <br />
<br />
it took a while.<br />
<br />
but now i can look at my pretty spreadsheet and know exactly what we'll be covering in week [insert number here] in <i>any given subject</i>. <br />
<br />
it's pretty cool.<br />
<br />
now all that i have to do is plan the day-to-day stuffs in each subject for each of those weeks....oh dear GOD now my head is spinning. <br />
<br />
and the best part? <br />
<br />
i get to do this every. year. for the next TWELVE. YEARS. always assuming i have no more children, of course.<br />
<br />
uhm.<br />
<br />
help?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-61611932646881784522010-12-15T18:31:00.000-06:002010-12-15T18:31:40.247-06:00gasp!yes, i'm blogging. weird, i know.<br />
<br />
christmas is coming! i'm UBER excited. i still believe in santa claus. most def. <br />
<br />
something exciting happened this evening that got me blogging. <br />
<br />
i got to start thinking about ordering new books for this semester! i'll probably be able to order the week after next...and here are the books i'm going to be purchasing:<br />
<br />
for beau:<br />
1 - <a href="http://mathusee.com/">math-u-see: alpha</a><br />
2 -<a href="http://theorytime.3dcartstores.com/PRIMER-LEVEL--Theory-Fundamentals_p_12.html"> theory time: primer level</a><br />
3 - <a href="http://store.discipleland.com/curriculum/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=5209">discipleland: level one</a><br />
4 - <a href="http://www.piano4kids.com/children-music-books.htm">note reading for very young piano students</a> (he MIGHT be a SMIDGE too old for this one, but we're going to give it a shot, and after all, i've got other children...)<br />
<br />
for xander:<br />
1 - <a href="http://shopping.hwtears.com/ShowView/product/Letters_and_Numbers_for_Me/readiness">HWT: letters and numbers for me</a><br />
2 - <a href="http://mathusee.com/">math-u-see: primer workbook</a><br />
<br />
for bella:<br />
1 - <a href="http://shopping.hwtears.com/ShowView/product/Get_Set_for_School/prek">HWT: get set for school</a><br />
<br />
i MAY start bella in the math-u-see primer book this semester, too, but i really don't know. i'm thinking i'm just going to buy her a kindergarten workbook when she finishes the preschool one and see how that goes for a while. as for xander, i'm going to get a supplemental kindergarten workbook for him to work through this spring. he'll be starting first grade this summer, more than likely.<br />
<br />
i also want to start beau with a spanish curriculum i found...and it won't hurt the others to be exposed to it.<br />
<br />
i'm starting to get excited again. for the past month and a half, we've all been kind of sick of school, and totally avoiding doing worksheets at all costs. or maybe it's just me. but i feel like this break has done us (read: me) tons of good and we'll be ready to start back after the new year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-8682459315821971732010-11-11T17:14:00.000-06:002010-11-11T17:14:25.540-06:00yes, we're still alive.well. it's been almost a MONTH. for that, i apologize. i just haven't had the time.<br />
<br />
lie. <br />
<br />
okay, so i've had the time. i've just been using my precious downtime to play stupid, mindless games on facebook. because that's what i NEEDED. shut up.<br />
<br />
updates! <br />
<br />
we are horribly behind. but that's okay. we were all kinds of crazy ahead to begin with.<br />
<br />
i noticed today that everyone does INSANELY better if i work with them individually on their worksheets. i don't know how i'm going to swing that, but i'm going to try to work with them one at a time on worksheets. i feel like that portion of our day would be so much less stressful if we just changed that one little thing.<br />
<br />
beau is doing great. he's ace-ing all of his subjects, and he really does enjoy his work, even though getting him to actually sit <i>down</i> and do worksheets is a bit like pulling teeth. and keeping his focus once he's there. that's one of the reasons i want to start working with him one on one, because he seems to be able to focus much better when i'm sitting next to him. he likes that individual time. in other news, his handwriting is improving, slowly but surely. we're working on spacing now between words, so his sentences look less like one big word and more like, well, sentences.<br />
<br />
xander is making so much progress all of a sudden i want to do a little dance of joy every time i let him up from the table after finishing his worksheets. his fine motor skills are improving like CRAZY, and he's recognizing numbers and doing so much better in his counting it's unreal. i want to shout it from the rooftops!! he zooms through his worksheets now. i'm so proud of that kid.<br />
<br />
bella. oh, bella. is there such a thing as the terrible fours? i think bella invented them. she. has become. a terror. hitting, biting, yelling, scratching, fighting, arguing, asking the same question ten billion times even though she keeps getting the same answer. suddenly, my helpful, friendly, polite little three year old has become...some sort of monster out of a horror film. you think i'm exaggerating. i'm not. today, she has bitten, punched, slapped, pushed, pulled, tackled, and tripped both her brothers - in the last ten minutes. but as much as she can dish out, she <i>cannot</i> take. she can be reduced to a sobbing pile of flailing limbs with a single WORD or LOOK from anyone. she will sit and "do school," but only for a few minutes at a time, and then she proceeds to try to distract everyone else as much as possible.<br />
<br />
long story short, it's been a crazy month since i last posted. <br />
<br />
and now if you'll excuse me, i have to go stop bella from killing her brothers. for the eleventh time this afternoon.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-63938694552068432412010-10-14T18:09:00.001-05:002010-10-14T18:11:14.759-05:00the truth about homeschooling.the most annoying comment i get when people find out that we homeschool is, of course, the socialization comment.<br />
<br />
but running a close second is this one:<br />
<br />
"you have a lot more patience than i do! ha ha ha ha ha!"<br />
<br />
don't get me wrong, ESPECIALLY if you have said this to me (or some other homeschooling mom or dad) at some point. i don't find <i>you</i> annoying.<br />
<br />
i find the assumption that i'm some sort of uber saint - whose kids never misbehave and are always perfect little angels sitting quietly at the dinner table, doing schoolwork - annoying.<br />
<br />
especially on a day like today.<br />
<br />
or a week like this week.<br />
<br />
every day this week, we have gotten started with school at four thirty or later IN THE AFTERNOON. this translates to mommy is pretty tired of kid nonsense already and kids are on some sort of crazy sugar high from afternoon snack (even if said snack contains no sugar).<br />
<br />
it usually ends up with one or more kids screaming, "momma! i'm done with my worksheet! i need a new one!" while i'm trying to help another with his math worksheet. or one daydreaming and singing when he should be practicing handwriting. or bella crying because she doesn't have enough worksheets (and honestly, that kid could probably do worksheets all day long if i let her. it's so weird).<br />
<br />
anyway, my point is, i have no superhuman patience. by golly, i wish i DID. that would rock.<br />
<br />
no, i end up fussing and losing my temper and getting frustrated and ending up the day by feeling like a total failure as a teacher/mom/whatever i am.<br />
<br />
when people say, "oh, you must be like some saint or something!" i always, <i>always</i> feel super guilty.<br />
<br />
i feel like, hey, when i started this thing, i was excited. and even when i just sit around lesson planning or thinking about what we're going to do next or just thinking about what it is i'm a <i>part of</i>, i get really excited because i get to watch my kids learn and develop a love for knowledge.<br />
<br />
it's <i>awesome</i>.<br />
<br />
so i feel really bad whenever i lose it. when i get frustrated because beau isn't paying attention to his math worksheet, i forget that he's six and also a BOY and he would love nothing better than to run around the yard with a light saber in his hand ALL DAY LONG. i could let him get up, run off some of that energy, and come back in a bit to finish that math worksheet. because we <i>can</i>.<br />
<br />
whenever i get annoyed with bella for begging for more worksheets, i could really just give her another worksheet to do instead of stressing about how the workbook she's in won't last until the end of the year if i give her more than two a day. i can buy another workbook. my schedule will survive. meanwhile, instead of holding her back from learning even more, she might even zoom ahead and surprise me by skipping a grade or something. who knows?<br />
<br />
when xander is all, "no momma! i'll do it by myself! i don't want you to help me!" and i get upset because he gets the answer wrong...i could just help him fix it and be happy that he doesn't want me to hold the marker for him like he did in the beginning.<br />
<br />
but i'm not perfect. and sometimes i need to take a breather and remember these things.<br />
<br />
the truth of the matter is i have regular-sized patience. <br />
<br />
but i do have something that maybe some people don't have.<br />
<br />
i have a super sized love for this homeschooling thing.<br />
<br />
and sometimes, just sometimes, i get it right.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-36303416212428839002010-10-13T07:48:00.001-05:002010-10-13T07:52:43.924-05:00lesson planning.<i>(note: i wrote this yesterday afternoon. it is getting posted this morning. shut up. i almost died last night. but that is another blog entirely.)</i><br />
<br />
*****************************************************<i> </i> <br />
<br />
so we finally got started on week eight today.<br />
<br />
at four thirty in the afternoon.<br />
<br />
but i digress.<br />
<br />
the point is, we made it through the first day. i'm not sure what exactly made today so flippin' hard, but yeah. it was. like trying to brush a baby dinosaur's teeth. while driving a hovercraft. in a snowstorm. while heavily sedated.<br />
<br />
okay, so maybe i'm exaggerating. a <i>smidge</i>.<br />
<br />
anyway, after we got the boring things like ACTUAL LEARNING out of the way, mommy got to sit down and lesson plan.<br />
<br />
this is all part of my new idea: finish lesson planning during the week so i won't have to do it on sunday afternoon, thus avoiding the upsetting of the hubby by my emotional absence. <br />
<br />
and while i was doing this, i realized two beautiful things.<br />
<br />
would you like to know what they are? of course you do.<br />
<br />
first. next week is week nine. which, because i went to public school and all, is sort of a magical number when related to school. it means the first quarter is over. it means that we have officially made it 1/4 of the way through the year.<br />
<br />
we made it!<br />
<br />
except for not yet.<br />
<br />
second. i realized. that i am. almost two weeks ahead in lesson planning.<br />
<br />
it made me all excited and giggly because usually i am all way behind and i have no idea what we're doing the next week until the night before. it's AWESOME to be able to kind of see things all connected and feel pretty secure that no matter what else we're doing next week, school will be a part of it.<br />
<br />
because the folders say so.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-12892044216012206042010-10-09T13:28:00.000-05:002010-10-09T13:28:39.371-05:00hello, my name is jessica.and i am addicted to curriculum. <br />
<br />
specifically, searching out new subjects to add to an ever-growing pile.<br />
<br />
subjects we already cover: (in the order they were added)<br />
<br />
1. history.<br />
2. science.<br />
3. handwriting.<br />
4. literature. (which <i>sounds</i> really awesome and advanced and such, but really it's just reading aloud every night from books that i select that i'd like for the kids to be exposed to. so at the same time, it both <i>is</i> and <i>is not</i> as awesome as it sounds.)<br />
5. math.<br />
6. geography.<br />
7. spelling.<br />
<br />
subjects i want to add:<br />
<br />
1. grammar. (starting next week)<br />
2. language arts. (also, starting next week. this one is from the lesson-website-that-shall-not-be-named.)<br />
3. spanish.<br />
4. music theory. <br />
5. piano lessons.<br />
6. Bible.<br />
7. art.<br />
8. creative writing.<br />
<br />
see? i have a problem. <br />
<br />
i <i>could</i> seek professional help, but as one of my best friends also has this exact. same. problem. (only i'm thinking hers is like three times as bad as mine), i'm assuming resistance is futile at this point.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-78020869765307338272010-10-08T09:51:00.000-05:002010-10-08T09:51:38.004-05:00okay, so. music.i've been looking at different music books online for a while now. it started as a desire of beau's to learn to play the piano. so i thought, hey, that's easy! just find a nice little primer piano book and we can get started!<br />
<br />
not so easy. there aren't a lot of piano books geared to kids under the age of eight. <br />
<br />
but. <a href="http://www.piano4kids.com/books/Note-Reading-for-Young-Children.htm"> i found one that i seriously love</a>. it uses animals for the notes; "e" for elephant, "c" for cat, "d" for dog, etc. example:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2D9dTlXfjPkpzPK779thd6247W3ANqzIE82PjsVIZ0FHuM1S5wNSHMgpPJkTYXXk71dwHTTWuX1UohJzfbjHl0JrZS_rJpcIrrzMkuQbc2g_moEYGv2Cf0oKcdtbgyf8iMhvfmJaEAeI/s400/music+book.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cute, right?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2D9dTlXfjPkpzPK779thd6247W3ANqzIE82PjsVIZ0FHuM1S5wNSHMgpPJkTYXXk71dwHTTWuX1UohJzfbjHl0JrZS_rJpcIrrzMkuQbc2g_moEYGv2Cf0oKcdtbgyf8iMhvfmJaEAeI/s1600/music+book.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
the only problem is that this book is primarily a piano book. i love that it teaches note names and positions on the keyboard, and the next book in the series teaches beginning timing. but that's really as far as it goes. i'm assuming that by that point, the child would be ready to move on to one of the piano books for eight-year-olds that you can find just about everywhere.<br />
<br />
so i kept looking. and i found <a href="http://www.theorytime.com/?src=store">theory time</a>. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4FXc0KV2R4bYHOevUGpD00q_7TbTdVF7qWjLe3vHQ_slpgtDKswBf_U_qusj3qlltabju1ir5k6IRldUgUOH4MGk-bEeh2uD9ITsaBRZg5ect2YEMcLrv_zne6YLbZ52lzEV_xfGpjQ/s1600/theory+time.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MUAHAHAHAHA</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4FXc0KV2R4bYHOevUGpD00q_7TbTdVF7qWjLe3vHQ_slpgtDKswBf_U_qusj3qlltabju1ir5k6IRldUgUOH4MGk-bEeh2uD9ITsaBRZg5ect2YEMcLrv_zne6YLbZ52lzEV_xfGpjQ/s1600/theory+time.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
i seriously love the look of these books. and they're dead cheap, too; like nine bucks for a workbook. they also go all the way from primer - grade 12. there are great worksheets included (which the other book does not have) that really cement the ideas and also look pretty fun. <br />
<br />
also, it isn't just piano. there are sections on music history, different instruments, etc.<br />
<br />
so my idea is to use them together<br />
<br />
and so. probably starting next semester, <strike>in addition to everything else,</strike> we will also be starting music theory. this makes me incredibly happeh.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-43742014437331816142010-10-07T17:01:00.000-05:002010-10-07T17:01:07.714-05:00in which i have the attention span of an ADD ferret.just a quick post before we head off to beau's LAST FOOTBALL PRACTICE OF THE SEASON THANK GOODNESS.<br />
<br />
so. first week back = success. i know the week isn't over yet - according to my records, there's still one more day before i get to officially say that week seven is done - but i'm declaring it. i hope i don't jinx anything.<br />
<br />
which brings me to something i hadn't bargained on. we are <i>technically</i> in week eight, since we took last week off. that's going to confuse the heck out of me. i'll just have to deal with it for now, since everything is labeled already and i don't want to have to go back and fix it now. we're just counting actual weeks of <i>schoolwork. </i>there. that makes it all nice and tidy in my mind.<br />
<br />
anyway, next week we are starting two new subjects. i know. shut up. but we're adding a little at a time so as not to completely get overwhelmed...or at least that's what i'm telling myself. the reality is that every couple of weeks i notice something that we aren't doing that i feel needs to be done, so i research a little and add a new subject. <br />
<br />
as i said before, shut up.<br />
<br />
ooh, before i forget it, i need to send out an apology to a friend of mine who sometimes reads this blog. darlin, i am so dreadfully sorry i never emailed you back. i had this extremely long and well-thought-out email written and i had been adding to it for a couple of days when i had the chance (i don't have tons of time for some reason), so i left it up in my browser. well. i came home from school one day and the POWER HAD GONE OUT. my beautiful, intelligent email to you? gone. poof. so i said, oh i'll remember what i said and write it all out again later and i totally. haven't. done that. yet. for that, i am sorry.<br />
<br />
and now i must apologize to the rest of you for making you read all of that. in my defense, it WAS homeschool-related, because we were having a lovely little chat about it. so nyeh.<br />
<br />
what was i talking about? ah, new subjects.<br />
<br />
grammar, for starters. i've put together something of my own from worksheets i found at different places online and a few scope and sequence .pdf's i scrounged up from different sources. basically, i know what needs to be learned in first grade grammar, and i'm about to get on that. for all you haters. *cough*rachel*cough*<br />
<br />
also, language arts. FINALLY. i broke down and printed everything out from the lesson on the website that i use (which i won't mention because then i'll get a totally impersonal comment from them and it's unnecessary so neener neener) and put it all in my shiny green notebook. i'm even going to *gasp* laminate a game and keep it for next. year. <br />
<br />
i know what you're thinking.<br />
<br />
who IS this lady?<br />
<br />
i totally am thinking the same thing. you aren't really that crazy. i'm just getting uber organized and we all know who to thank for that one. but i digress.<br />
<br />
the point is that i'm stupidly excited for monday. and it's like light years away. but i'll live.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-79049931743249961452010-10-04T08:54:00.000-05:002010-10-04T08:54:22.025-05:00so how is your vacation going, jessica?you know what the funniest thing about our vacation has been?<br />
<br />
the fact that none of the children have mentioned "school" since the very first day. <br />
<br />
i'm not entirely sure that's a good thing. hopefully they haven't forgotten their names or anything by the time we start back tomorrow. <br />
<br />
the weirdest part is that i'm ready and rearin' to start back. the week off has been GREAT - with no having to think about worksheets or lesson planning or any of that...HOWEVER...<br />
<br />
there has been no lesson planning. there have been no worksheets. <br />
<br />
mommy has been slightly bored.<br />
<br />
well, not <i>bored</i>, but it's just seemed like there's been nothing to do this week when i find myself sitting on the couch and casting around for something to do. (side note: i'm aware that sentence was redundant. see what being bored does to me? facebook has rotted my brain.)<br />
<br />
so yeah, this week was an EXCELLENT idea. we kicked back and went to a birthday party, the kids had a slumber party with their nana, and we went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch with the local homeschool group. (note: as soon as i get the pictures from that from my dear friend, rachel, i will post about that funn experience...in the meantime, you are welcome to go <a href="http://adventureswiththepridgens.blogspot.com/2010/10/wyatt-turns-three-and-trip-to-pumpkin.html">here</a> and see a few of the fifty kabillion pictures i took using her camera that day.)<br />
<br />
we're going to be taking two more weeks off before the new year. one will be the week before thanksgiving, and the second will be christmas week. that makes five weeks on, one week off. and that <i>totally</i> works for me. <br />
<br />
well, i'm off to enjoy our last day of vacation! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-14939584063506857882010-09-28T15:58:00.000-05:002010-09-28T15:58:44.719-05:00i'm declaring vacation. which is different than defeat.i should probably post. but there isn't really anything interesting to say other than i got new folders-which-allow-me-to-keep-my-mommy-teachery-things in them that go with the kids' weekly folders. mine are green. <3<br />
<br />
yesterday, school was like pulling teeth. for me. the hooligans were like, "SKOOL!" and i was like, "please don't talk so loud. mommy needs her caffeine."<br />
<br />
today, the thought of pushing worksheets at them almost literally gave me hives. i may be exaggerating slightly. i just know that i will lose my mind and/or temper if we continue this week. and homeschooling means i can declare a break whenever i feel like it. <br />
<br />
which is now. i feel like it now.<br />
<br />
beau totally just BEGGED me to do school today. and i was like, "yeah right, kid, go play lego star wars."<br />
<br />
'cause that's how i FEEL.<br />
<br />
we'll start back up on tuesday (or sooner, if this week slows down a bit and we get bored.) but i'm not pushing it until tuesday. the incas can wait. so can worksheets. <br />
<br />
this week i'm going to cuddle with them on the couch and veg out to willy wonka. there may be naps involved. <br />
<br />
and that. sounds. GREAT.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-24271781722367798942010-09-24T16:12:00.000-05:002010-09-24T16:12:22.967-05:00the post that isn't remotely funny.1. i pretty much stink as a friend because i can't ever find a babysitter for my hooligans so i can enjoy a grown-up lunch with any of them (my friends, not the kids), and most of my friends who are single don't really want to come hang out with us at the burger king play place and have our conversation interrupted every three seconds for me to yell at a kid for something.<br />
<br />
2. i know i came into this semester wanting to live up to the name sooperhomeskoolmom and be and do everything and do it WELL, darn it, but i am now seriously contemplating taking next semester OFF from college. maybe i'm just tired right now and it's the exhaustion talking. but right now, being less busy sounds EXCELLENT.<br />
<br />
3. something has gotten into the hooligans this week and they have been SUPREMELY naughty and grumpy every. day. or maybe they're picking up on the fact that my sleep has not been great this week and i'm not winning any mommy-of-the-year awards with my own attitude. <br />
<br />
i think it has to do with we all have stinkin' runny noses and runny noses give people headaches. headaches make people grumpy. grumpy people make anyone else who did NOT have a headache develop headaches of their own and then the cycle begins again.<br />
<br />
4. there are only FOUR MORE FOOTBALL PRACTICES LEFT. i hope. i'm holding on to that like a drowning woman to a life preserver because if i can hold on to my sanity for TWO MORE WEEKS we will be out of two nights a week of getting home at eight thirty and still having to do our entire bedtime routine so that no one really gets to bed until like ten o'clock. <br />
<br />
that COULD have something to do with my sleep-deprivation. hmm....<br />
<br />
oh? what's that? this is a home education blog and you'd like to know how my lovely little ones are coming along in school? <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZu68Fl8EavmH-krUNMDm8sXGA2voM7ZqCgLwfHDM1deD-M__4zAaILL08dqxWwjgxhl00FPzC-o9zgX1twSp0iL9canNKGHOORuxCuD08qpjVSHvFlmzIvCWsiBGoGc5KMdAWqueOvk/s1600/fifties.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZu68Fl8EavmH-krUNMDm8sXGA2voM7ZqCgLwfHDM1deD-M__4zAaILL08dqxWwjgxhl00FPzC-o9zgX1twSp0iL9canNKGHOORuxCuD08qpjVSHvFlmzIvCWsiBGoGc5KMdAWqueOvk/s200/fifties.jpg" width="167" /></a></div><br />
<br />
beau has zoomed through the first nine lessons in the math-u-see book. he finally hit one yesterday that he had a smidge of trouble with. so we'll do a couple more of the worksheets until he's got it down pat. <br />
<br />
why am i excited about that? because i am. i think it's because i know that NOW the real learning is happening. all of that other stuff, he already knew. now i can see those little cogs in his brain turning away and he's CHALLENGED.<br />
<br />
i really like to see him challenged. not struggling, mind you. just STIMULATED to the point where he's really learning.<br />
<br />
AND I GET TO WATCH THAT HAPPEN.<br />
<br />
i love that part.<br />
<br />
he's enjoying geography, and i've cut back a leetle bit on the worksheets...shut up. i should say, i've cut back on the amount of UNNECESSARY handwriting work that he has to do. if he's already doing spelling words that day, no copywork. cuts down on the amount of time we spend at the table and the amount of time he complains about doing worksheets. everybody's happy. <br />
<br />
and i know he's still getting enough practice <i>because his handwriting is SO much better than it was just a few weeks ago. </i>i also love that part.<br />
<i> </i><br />
xander? zooming through worksheets, tracing letters all by himself, fine tuning those fine motor skills like CRAZY. i can already tell that this is going to help next year (or next semester) when i start him in the HWT book. <br />
<br />
bella just likes coloring. she stays between the lines tons more than she used to. her stick figure people are starting to have eyes and noses and things like that. oh, and she's getting better at tracing, too, which is AWESOME. all of this means that her (and xander's, naturally) first grade year won't be as much of a shock into writing that beau's was. <br />
<br />
poor beau. he's our homeschooling guinea pig. if something isn't going to work out for us, he's the first one to find that out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-27010744361813759202010-09-21T17:04:00.002-05:002010-09-22T06:36:31.646-05:00being a first grader means...1. lots more writing than you are used to.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzgxNJk_bMFIFKkHUdNqQeqZe0cxBv9K7n6XS-ALI1L9gqNj_HuRoIMij6YttnTUVbT5yr4TruNvP9senZfpFgfuIzM4Fva1MAlqmtmCVSyqgx6kUZrGQSh64aJrAo-iJa-DTOOuP96I/s1600/lego.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzgxNJk_bMFIFKkHUdNqQeqZe0cxBv9K7n6XS-ALI1L9gqNj_HuRoIMij6YttnTUVbT5yr4TruNvP9senZfpFgfuIzM4Fva1MAlqmtmCVSyqgx6kUZrGQSh64aJrAo-iJa-DTOOuP96I/s320/lego.jpg" /></a></div>you're going to have to write for EVERYTHING. if you can still get away with dictating a few things and letting your mom write it for you, DO IT. because, i gotta tell you, writing is <i>hard</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>but you'll always have enough hand strength to play video games after lessons. every. time.<br />
<br />
2. lots more subjects than you had last year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasrLNJjruX8lFLJxnfZhom45e6JJ_gxBEE5rE6C6-mTAkTM46M5yQF1rZ2gGu0B8EhlUOw9b4XyOo5W4BuhB-XdM1sI05AItmSfGmsc2N6mFBCib6XYjYx6a1mSWRNI69b3byjoIMlAU/s1600/kindergarten.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>oh, you had science and history last year? did you also have copywork, spelling, geography, and math? did you maybe have a subject in kindergarten that was COMPLETELY TO DO WITH COLORS? OR SHAPES?<br />
<br />
psh. kindergarteners have <i>all</i> the luck.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhasrLNJjruX8lFLJxnfZhom45e6JJ_gxBEE5rE6C6-mTAkTM46M5yQF1rZ2gGu0B8EhlUOw9b4XyOo5W4BuhB-XdM1sI05AItmSfGmsc2N6mFBCib6XYjYx6a1mSWRNI69b3byjoIMlAU/s320/kindergarten.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="236" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kindergarteners can <i>suck it.</i> first grade stuff is WAY HARDER.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
3. not as much coloring.<br />
<br />
in kindergarten, <i>everything</i> has to do with coloring. are you learning about the number seven? you get to color seven birds. are you learning about the letter "m"? you get to color a moon and a moose and a mule and a mammoth. are you learning about the statue of zeus because you're studying the seven wonders? you get to color it. (okay, so sometimes first graders get to color statues of zeus, too. however...)<br />
<br />
in first grade, if you're learning how to add two numbers together, guess what? <i>you have to write them.</i> if you're learning about electricity in science, <i>you have to write about it when you do the worksheet.</i> if you're learning about globes in geography, <i>you have to write the stinkin' word "globe" like fifty times.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZYar5nFb0EcLC9VXORE2CEuQECTrYEFhXpEGlntTwNRaf44vRAlAQIuIwLq1N_MHYU8C1LI5iZqLNMfCFlNQ_Vo1PSozREQhc-N8ODrhiFOsF0JIw0K73dQVRwsv_I0qikOdXZ6GFTI/s1600/sad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLZYar5nFb0EcLC9VXORE2CEuQECTrYEFhXpEGlntTwNRaf44vRAlAQIuIwLq1N_MHYU8C1LI5iZqLNMfCFlNQ_Vo1PSozREQhc-N8ODrhiFOsF0JIw0K73dQVRwsv_I0qikOdXZ6GFTI/s320/sad.jpg" /></a></div>4. it takes you longer than your brother (who is in <i>kindergarten</i>, the lucky kid) to do seatwork.<br />
<br />
while he is over there scribbling to color in six red radishes, you are toiling over about fifteen different worksheets of first grade math. (note: may be a <i>slight</i> exaggeration.)<br />
<br />
while he is learning about the sound the letter "a" makes, you are <i>writing</i> the letter "a" <i>over and over again</i> as you do your spelling and/or copywork.<br />
<br />
while he gets to color in the squares he finds in the pictures, you are, guess what, <i>doing more writing for the love of pete</i> as you finish your geography worksheet.<br />
<br />
and while he gets to run off and watch spongebob when he finishes his measly three worksheets, you are only <i>halfway through with yours. </i><br />
<br />
punk.<br />
<br />
5. learning new stuff.<br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
<br />
not <i>everything</i> is bad about being a first grader. having more subjects means you get to learn about more interesting things, like how the aztecs grew their food and how chemical energy gets changed to kinetic energy.<br />
<br />
still. you have to <i>write</i> about all of it. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh9gqykVPHv6GyOoZEtAfvxEpSjKH8qRdlr_V4DzTdksJozEMgIygf_XkrHFGWKLavH7GlsG8ZAhj14Dae9B4UPvVDxjZxlk-l5V5xOCR6aEZIH2qslAJync8ugho75YyXhWeBGq_d00/s1600/first+grade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCh9gqykVPHv6GyOoZEtAfvxEpSjKH8qRdlr_V4DzTdksJozEMgIygf_XkrHFGWKLavH7GlsG8ZAhj14Dae9B4UPvVDxjZxlk-l5V5xOCR6aEZIH2qslAJync8ugho75YyXhWeBGq_d00/s200/first+grade.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><br />
and finally,<br />
<br />
6. being a first grader means getting to tell everyone you're in the first grade.<br />
<br />
because "i'm in the first grade," sounds <i>way</i> better than "i'm in kindergarten."<br />
<br />
'nuff said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3755304958923270192.post-24827698956801637302010-09-19T17:54:00.004-05:002010-09-20T07:40:13.613-05:00in which you will possibly question my sanity.so, guys. we are finished with week 5.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5I7ZUCtRvkGOayxT6f2-e0qOER-QtrshYyz-asnG3F9bdM_nR9hxrQ4y58b1KhkHNlypYa92ZAPQDarTHUaaURDwe4wUT3db-8C2gNWaDSRigZTCjCVnZRQ709nZaluQVOI82OrrHwns/s1600/dork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5I7ZUCtRvkGOayxT6f2-e0qOER-QtrshYyz-asnG3F9bdM_nR9hxrQ4y58b1KhkHNlypYa92ZAPQDarTHUaaURDwe4wUT3db-8C2gNWaDSRigZTCjCVnZRQ709nZaluQVOI82OrrHwns/s320/dork.jpg" /></a>this week, we started math-u-see primer. we are officially on lesson 6. originally, i had only intended on doing math maybe twice a week, like we do science and history, but beau kept zooming through the lessons, and i realized that math is slowly becoming his favorite part of seatwork.<br />
<br />
so now i'm faced with the realization that we're probably going to have to buy the alpha book for christmas. which is actually kind of exciting. <br />
<br />
and. starting tomorrow, we are starting two, count 'em, TWO new subjects.<br />
<br />
#1, spelling. because it's about dern time. and #2, geography, because darn you rachel and your random curriculum you don't want and are willing to sell "for cheap."<br />
<br />
both of which look seriously fun. (again, i know i'm a dork. shut up.) and yes, i am serious. the only problem is that now i have five extra worksheets a week and i have to figure out on what days to put them because i don't want beau exceedingly swamped with worksheets like two days a week with nothing in between.<br />
<br />
i also downloaded this seriously cool (to seriously unhinged people, naturally) lesson planner which calmed the hives i was starting to get over the scheduling worksheets thing. i'm hive-free now. figuratively speaking.<br />
<br />
and since i know you all want to know what it looks like, i'll include a link. <a href="http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/teachingtools/subjectlessonplanner.pdf">click here to see the source of my sooper crazy, diet coke-induced excited-ness.</a> also, <a href="http://superteacherworksheets.com/">superteacherworksheets.com</a> (the source) is pretty much an EXCELLENT resource for printables.<br />
<br />
speaking of moar and MOAR worksheets (which, by the way, would make an excellent name for a printables website), <a href="http://www.education.com/worksheets/first-grade/">this site</a> has lots of worksheets sorted by subject and grade level. just sayin.<br />
<br />
i can say, totally completely without irony, that i am SOOPER EXCITED about school tomorrow. we're starting a unit on the aztecs in history and on heat and electric energy in science. also, spelling.<br />
<br />
we are now OFFICIALLY covering all the subjects mentioned for first grade in <i>home learning year by year.</i> i. am. stoked.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBLDIPaYIUMkdiEMdEOXSZH_LxzOwx1-V_18TNG9iZsW3xP_hoAKAQzEwQC-6dExiVTRBSQOhZYp-Pn4HH9_eomFaLQy_OsBEGCbDKfoX1vQOEyoV8OF0DDlulaGbZHWz_JpoFZRmUJg/s1600/giddy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBLDIPaYIUMkdiEMdEOXSZH_LxzOwx1-V_18TNG9iZsW3xP_hoAKAQzEwQC-6dExiVTRBSQOhZYp-Pn4HH9_eomFaLQy_OsBEGCbDKfoX1vQOEyoV8OF0DDlulaGbZHWz_JpoFZRmUJg/s320/giddy.jpg" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5