At Home On Basket Flat

It is Blogger Friend School's first assignment for the year, and I am trying it out. You can click on the links to Blogger Friend School to see what their assignments are about. Here is my assignment.

How Did I Get Into Homeschooling

Well, I guess the first exposure to homeschooling that I had was a single mom who pulled her kids from the private school they were attending to be homeschooled. The kids were also in the daycare I taught in after school, and they were teased a lot. I didn't think much of it at the time, other than a passing thought on whether that would help those kids or whether it would hinder them.

Then, I guess I heard of homeschooling here and there talking with friends. I heard so and so was homeschooling, but again didn't think much of it. I was a young single gal, why would I think about it much. Then I had some exposure to a friend's sister-in-law who homeschooled. This wasn't good exposure. This mom kept her kids out of school, but didn't really school them, and they were WAY behind on reading and math.

After I married my husband (Jon) and began having kids, I thought about schooling. Then I started having good (typical) exposures to homeschoolers. Jon's cousin homeschooled her girls and did (and does) a fantastic job at it. Her kids are smart, well-adjusted, and happy.

When my oldest girls were babies, we lived just down the street from a high school, and I can tell you I didn't think much of the fruit of public school coming from that (which was displayed before me before and after school). I was sure I would homeschool or private school. Also, several families across the street from us (by that high school), homeschooled and had happy, smart, well-adjusted kids. There was also a homeschooling program through the school district I had heard about. I had even met some adults who were homeschooled as kids, who had healthy sibling relationships as an adult. I knew homeschooling was a viable option.

I hadn't really decided based on all of that, however. I had always loved teaching kids (any kids, not just my own), and had always loved learning independently, so I had a strong tug to homeschooling. Yet, it seemed like a lot of work, and "how did you really know your kids would be socialized properly?"

When my oldest daughter was four, I put her in preschool at a local private school. I was testing it out, knowing that I was debating between homeschooling and private schooling. And, it turned out to be an excellent school. It would have been a good choice I think. But, still, while the fruit shown in the teenage years was better at the private school, it still bothered myself, and maybe more importantly it bothered my husband, that the teens didn't seem that innocent, that they didn't seem that happy to be around their parents. At this point, I met a friend (Keren) at the local MOPS (mothers of preschoolers co-op) who had begun to homeschool and she was sold on it. She was involved in a Co-op called First Class, and she told me about it. I visited with her and saw how she organized her homeschool efforts, and I decided to go for it.

The next fall, when my daughter was in Kindergarten we went to the Co-op. We got the chance to meet lots of other homeschoolers and homeschooling families and talk to them about what they do in their homeschooling. Also about this time we began playing soccer. On the soccer team there were two other families that homeschooled. A year and a half later, for the last half of Natalie's first grade, First Class started a co-op up in our neck of the woods. I especially enjoyed this, as for once I felt connected with others in my community who homeschooled.

Now, I'm sold. I believe I will homeschool through High School. I love that my kids can learn to learn by themselves, and to love learning. Sometimes it's hectic, especially challenging are times like being pregnant and having an infant. But, I can see the fruit of close sibling relationships in my kids already. I love it.

Here are some reality pictures of homeschooling. I try and have things more together, but with a 10 month old, a 5 year old, and a 7 year old, it can all fall apart way too quickly. But, they are learning and they are loved. This is what matters.
 

 

Well, I know that politics has little to do with homeschooling. But, I just have to speak. I cannot contain myself any longer.

I don't know if you have been watching the Republican convention at all, but there were some great speeches last night. We don't have television, but we watched it over the internet.

When I heard Obama's acceptance speech over the internet the other week, my stomach just dropped. It was a well-written, but misleading speech. My fear is that the majority of Americans wouldn't pick apart his promises, from the reality of what would happen if Obama's plans were implemented. This is not to mention the potential impact on homeschooling and right to life issues for unborn (and already born) babies.

Well, I have been getting my e-mail from Yahoo. I have long been irritated at the one way spin Yahoo puts on their main news stories. But, I figured, I can filter what they try and tell me. This morning they did a piece where supposedly picked apart Republican speeches. First off, the manner in which they did so was totally misleading. Secondly, Yahoo (who gets most of their news from Associated Press) NEVER criticized Obama's speech.

Well, I am going to migrate my e-mail over from yahoo to msn - not that msn is a completely unbiased source of information, but I just cannot support yahoo anymore.

First Day Of Kindergarden & 2nd Grade

I've always wanted to make Biscotti, so I took a crack at it today. Here is the final product and the process:

Rachel - 5 yrs

1. Have Rachel read at least one phonics book daily (Bob books, etc.).
   
2. Have her write her ABC’s and #’s (with you). Say or sing them with her when she is done.
   
3. Go over what the letters say:
   
4. Have her do one Spelling Workout A worksheet
   
5. Have her do one Abeka K5 Number Skills worksheet
   
6. Have her do one Abeka K5 Letters & Sounds worksheet
   
7. Have her do one Abeka K5 ABC-123 worksheet
   
8. Have her listen to sister read or listen to you read. Have her participate in her sister’s activities such as science or history as long as she is interested.
   

Natalie - 7 yrs

Daily

1. Saxon Math 2 (2-3 worksheets, one lesson)
2. Abeka Letters & Sounds 2
3. Abeka Cursive or Queens Cursive Worksheets
4. Copywork - have her write something out in cursive with punctuation and capitalization.
5. Science - God’s Design (Plants, Animals, or Human Body lesson) or Nature Study (look at something, read about it, and write about it - proper paragraphs) or a science experiment (have her write about it when done)
   
6. History - Victor Journey Through The Bible & Corresponding History from Kingfisher History Encyclopedia or other history source such as It Couldn’t Just Happen and History Box Set
   • Color map corresponding to what we are studying
   • Place drawing, date, and short description on timeline
7. One page out of English For The Thoughtful Child
8. Bible Reading (read aloud part of my Bible reading to her)
   
9. Practice Violin

1 Day A Week

1. Study a composer/artist & write about him/her & their art/music
2. Nature walk with an assignment
3. Practice a specific art project from Artistic Pursuits or Any Child Can Draw
4. Math Timed Test
5. Poetry
6. Creative Writing

Well, that's my plan anyhow. I'm attempting to do a combination of Classical Homeschooling and Charlotte Mason and these are my ideas. I know Charlotte Mason isn't textbook/worksheet oriented, but for math and phonics I want my children to have a good foundation.

I like Abeka for phonics. Their phonics work has been fun for my girls and they are very thorough. I don't like the rest of Abeka's materials as well, as they are so textbookish and they don't fit into the four year cycle for Classical Homeschooling. If you wanted a completely pre-done package, Abeka would be a great source.

I like Saxon for math. It is very, very thorough. It can be a bit repetitive. I looked into Math U See as my step-daughter is a very hands on type and I wanted to help her with her math. But, I really like math, and in my opinion Math U See can be a bit confusing to the child and isn't as thorough as Saxon. However, if you had a strictly tactile learner, you might really need a program like that. Even my step-daughter, who is mostly tactile, was confused by Math U See, and really felt she was making progress when she's done some Saxon (of course I'm comfortable tutoring her). I also like that Saxon takes you all the way through.

The God's Design For Life books are great. They fit right in with the four year cycle of Classical Homeschooling, yet they aren't too textbookish, they have lots of hands on activities, and they are a great starting point for more research.

I just figured it out

I just figured out why I never had a baby that put sooooo... many things in her mouth before.

My first baby, Natalie, took a binky. In fact, she loved it so much, she frequently tried to put two binkies (pacifiers) in her mouth at the same time. We took it away from her at about 14 months. It wasn't hard. We just put them away.

My second baby, Rachel, sucked her second and third fingers. She sucked her fingers until she was about three and a half years old. Before that point we tried everything to try to get her to not suck her fingers - a sock and duct tape on her shirt, scolding, bitter apple on her hand - all to no avail. We got her to stop finally with the help of an appliance you put over their fingers for about three weeks. It's called a Thumb-Guard.

This baby doesn't suck anything - so her hands are free for exploring all the time.