The other morning, I was visiting with another mom at a playgroup I was at. When I told her we were homeschooling, her first question was, "Do you have time for that?" The question caught me off-guard initially. I thought about it later and pondered why the question set me on edge a bit. I think it is the implication behind the question that homeschooling is something you "fit into" the day some how. Homeschooling isn't something you squeeze in between working out at the gym and going to work. Homeschooling is a way of life that permeates everthing you do. Yes, we have a set time we "do school," (i.e. the academics of homeschooling) but education permeates everything we do. Don't get me wrong--I am not one of those mothers who turns every trip to the grocery store into an all-out field trip (although we have actually done that a time or two!), but I do get the chance to have teachable moments with my children multiple times a day. I might catch a moment to teach Isaac about how to be a good friend when I see him treating his friend poorly, or I might correct his grammar when he is telling me somthing (yes, I admit, I do this 1,894 times per day and it will probably drive him to therapy someday). Or, like this morning, I might take a conversation about how old Grayson is to teach Isaac about how many weeks are in a month, how many weeks in a year, and so on, and have him add up weeks to tell me how many months old he is. I can use the current cold and flu season to teach Graham about why it's important to wash his hands, and the way our bodies work. I (try) to teach my children about the kind of love expressed in God's Word every day, through our interactions with each other. I am not perfect on this point, but this is where I can (try) to demonstrate the concept of forgiveness. I have thousands of teachable moments in any given day and we cover all sorts of topics. If I carved out "time" for these moments to magically happen, they probably wouldn't. I have to have three elements in place to make this happen every day--(1) a mom whose there, (2) a child whose there and (3) a willing heart to learn on the part of myself and my children. Once these three things are in place, the education can happen!
Shaping a little life entrusted to you by God is not something you make time for...it's the work of a lifetime, and I know it's what I was born to do.

Back in the saddle again....

Whew!
There's only a few inches of space between the last post and this one, but those few inches represent a WHOLE lotta change going on in our family!
First and foremost is this guy

He is personally responsible for leaving our homeschool in complete upheaval! But boy, is he worth it!
We are finally getting back to the new "normal" around here. Which means school is back in session, with a few changes.
One of the big changes recently is Isaac becoming a lot more independent in his work. He was always pretty good about getting to his school work in the morning, but he's even better at it now! I just don't have the time to sit with him for every subject, so he gets up in the morning, has breakfast with us, and then heads to the basement to get started. I go through whatever he needs help with as he needs the help. Then, we finish our school day with US Geography and Five in a Row together.
Little monkey needs a little more of mama's time. And, being four, I don't feel intensely guilty if I can't do school with him every single day. This week has been great, and we have been on the letter "M." Guess what the theme of "M" week was? M&Ms!! Graham loved doing his math and sorting games with a giant bag of M&Ms, which he proceeded to eat after each day's lesson. Isn't he the cutest?



Oh, and take a look at our dog Griff eyeballing that candy waiting for the slightest misstep on Graham's part. He knows whose chair to sit by-that's for sure!
Having a newborn has been a good reminder for me about WHY I am homeschooling. It would be tempting for me to go into panic-mode thinking about the hours we have lost while I have been recuperating. But that's when I remember the beauty of homeschooling (flexibility!!!) and the reason why I'm doing it (to have a good relationship with my children, and to be able to teach them the things I value, as well as encouraging their personal walk with God).

Advent!

Last year was the first year that I really tried to be intentional with my kids about how we celebrate Christmas in our family. We did advent activities for every day of the month leading up until Christmas. It was such a wonderful experience, and I felt like we really tried to grasp the meaning of Christmas for the first time. This year, we are definitely going to do it again. Here is a look at our advent tree this year

Aren't those tags adorable? They are a free download from this blog (click here).
Here is our advent calendar (each activity is written on the back of that day's tag--we are not doing Sundays, as I consider going to church our advent activity for that day!):
December 1: Listen to Christmas music during school
December 2: Craft day with the REACH group
December 3: Meet Santa!
December 5: Color Christmas pictures
December 6: Put money in a Salvation Army bucket
December 7: Make paper snowflakes
December 8: Go to the gas station and get a hot chocolate
December 9: Take Graham shopping for Isaac's present
December 10: Take Isaac shopping for Graham's present
December 12: Daddy takes Isaac and Graham shopping for mom's present
December 13: Mommy takes Isaac and Graham shopping for dad's present
December 14: TBA
December 15: Make Sugar cookies from scratch
December 16: Go to a movie as a family
December 17: Christmas at Aunty Mel's and Uncle Doug's
December 19: Make Jesus a birthday cake
December 20: Candle-lit bubble bath with Christmas music
December 21: Gingerbread houses!
December 22: Family game night
December 23: Go for a drive and look at the Christmas lights
December 24: Christmas Eve
December 25: Merry Christmas!

We will also be doing the advent activities from Impress your Kids (click here)

Each day, we will be doing a scripture meditation, adding a chain with the key word for that day's meditation onto a paper chain for the tree, and doing a corresponding ornament craft for the tree. I am hoping it's not too much to take on being almost full-term pregnant, but I have pretty much everything prepared and ready to go every day. In the month of December, we will be taking it pretty easy academically, with most of the emphasis on these Christmas activities.
By the way, don't you love the title of the website above? It does not reference impressing your kids as in "wow-ing" them with all the great things you do, but rather, impressing God's Word and Truth onto their hearts. After all, isn't that the most important thing anyway?

Nano Wrimo

Isaac participated in the Nano Wrimo "Young Writers Program" (Click here to find out more about this program), which encourages students to write a novel in the month of November. We initially found out about this program through another homeschooling friend (thanks Brandi) For very young students, you can modify the number of words to be more attainable. Today, Isaac finished his novel. Because it was a creative writing assignment, I let things like proper punctuation and spelling go by the wayside. He honestly had lots of fun writing his novel. Isaac's novel was called "The Agent" and was a story about two heroes named Zach and Cody (Hmmmm, I think he stole those names from the Disney Channel perhaps?) that are secret agents. Zach and Cody travel the world performing martial arts defense moves on the bad guys as they search for the coveted Golden Watch.
Anyway, he got this nice web-badge, which will be hanging out proudly on my blog, as well as a certificate and T-shirt that will be coming in the mail soon. We will definitely participate next year!

This and That

We are wrapping up our Thanksgiving Five in a Row book this week. This book is called "Cranberry Thanksgiving" by Wende and Harry Devlin.

Today, we did our last lesson by discussing the chemical reaction that allows food to rise when we are baking. The boys took baking soda and combined it with vinegar. They loved watching the foamy bubbles rise to the top of the bowl.


Have I mentioned how much I love Five in a Row? Hopefully the kids enjoy it as much as I do.
On another note, I have noticed some real progress in Graham's fine motor skills, especially with coloring and holding a pencil. His attention span also seems to be improving (yay!), as he is able to sit and color for fairly long-ish periods of time. Here is an example of his coloring at the beginning of the year (this is from the front of the ABC book we are working on).

And today--he even traced the letter "J" accurately without prompting (this is a huge deal!) Good job Graham!

The value of the dreaded Christmas Toy Catalog

Every year, the arrival of the numerous toy catalogs to our home is a big event. Many parents dread the ensuing materialism that accompanys the catalog. There is inevitably endless whining and begging for the toys that look so appealing to little eyes.
However, I have realized how many ways we have (accidently) used these catalogs for educational purposes over the past two weeks:
*Isaac has added up the totals of the toys he wants, and has had great practice for triple digit (yikes!) addition.
*As he adds up the items, Isaac can see how much the things he wants costs, and we can compare that to the Christmas budget we actually have.
*Graham has used fine motor skills to circle the items he wants.
*Isaac has used penmanship skills to write out his very extensive list (writing is usually something he hates to do).
*The boys have learned to take turns with the catalogs, and have practiced sharing skills.

Five in a Row: The Rag Coat

We are really enjoying our Five in a Row curriculum. This week, we started reading "The Rag Coat" which is a sweet story about a little girl whose father works in the coal mines and cannot afford a coat for his daughter to go to school in. The "Quilting Mothers" get together and sew little Minna a coat out of the scraps of fabric they have. Each scrap of fabric contains a story. When the kids at school see Minna's "Rag Coat" they initially make fun of her, until they realize their stories are a part of Minna's coat.
Today Graham and Isaac each made a paper quilt from scraps of scrapbooking paper that I had on hand. Isaac chose his colors and patterns carefully, and named his quilt "Grayson's Quilt." Graham chose a blue color palette (his favorite color). We talked about how the colors you choose for any piece of artwork you are doing influence the overall feeling of the artwork (warm colors=warm feelings, cool colors= cool feelings, etc.)

A time to re-evaluate

I feel like what we have been doing lately is NOT working. It's not working for me, and it's not working for the kids. There have been too many days with tears recently, and too much arguing and fighting. I have felt like this is too hard for me lately.
Knowing that this is NOT how God would probably want me to spend my days homeschooling my children, I have decided I need to take a close look at what is not working (and come up with some solutions) and also to look at what is working.
What is not working
Problem #1: Isaac is reading well and both him and I are bored to tears with the phonics portion (which is a HUGE portion) of the curriculum I purchased for this year.
Possible solutions: Drop the phonics portion of the curriculum, with periodic testing to make sure he is still grasping phonics-related concepts. Focus more on language arts (workbook), spelling (workbook and tests), and reading. I may find a supplemental reading curriculum to implement. I would really like to take his reading to the next level, and help him develop a love for reading. I may need to do a little research, and ask fellow homeschooling friends for some suggestions.
Problem #2: The boys are still fighting like crazy, even though I have tried to implement a behavior modification system.
Possible solutions: Implement a new system that is easier for the boys to attain rewards. With the last behavior modification program, they were never reinforced because it was too difficult for them, and they eventually just gave up. The new system will focus more on immediate punishment for fighting, along with easier to attain rewards for not fighting.
Problem #3: I need to be spending more time focusing on letter identification with Graham.
The problem with the Letter of the Week curriculum I am using now is that it requires me to print, laminate and cut out activities every week for each letter. This takes me anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half each week, and I find that I avoid doing it. Also, the activities for each letter are all repetitive (the same activities, different letter). I think we are both bored by it. I need to either spend one day preparing the entire curriculum so we are ready to go each week, or I need to scrap this curriculum and find a new one. Graham needs lots of help on letter identification right now.
Problem #4: I feel like there are too many "holes" in our schooling right now...we are not focusing at all on art, music, science, history, etc. Too much time is spent on things we have already mastered, not enough time on the things that we haven't or would like to.
Possible solutions: Implement one craft activity per week for Graham. Find a science or foreign language curriculum for Isaac. Post an ad on REACH classifieds to see if I can get Isaac affordable drum or guitar lessons.
Problem #5: Not a consistent Bible/prayer time daily.
Possible solutions: This is apathy on my part. We need to begin each day in prayer, regardless of how crazy it is.
Problem #6: The school room is always a mess at the beginning of the school day.
Possible Solutions: Dave needs to work with the boys to clean up the area each night before bed while I am editing. We need to be able to wake up, have breakfast and begin our school day instead of spending a half an hour cleaning up toys from the day before.
Problem #7: Isaac's penmanship is still horrible.
Possible Solutions: Take some of the time we were wasting on phonics and apply it to developing and improving Isaac's cursive and printing skills.
Problem #8: There are portions of our Geography curriculum that are pointless and a waste of time.
Possible Solutions: Because overall, I feel like Isaac is learning about each state, do not scrap the entire curriculum. Just get rid of what is not helpful and is a waste of our time.

Things we are doing well
*Isaac is reading exceptionally well, and is at least a grade ahead of the curve in reading. He is also an excellent speller.
*Graham is still enjoying what little school time I do with him every day.
*Isaac is in a regular routine of doing chores around the house, and is doing them without complaint.
*Graham is also better about helping to pick up his toys.
*Isaac is improving in mathematics significantly.
*I am still really enjoying the "Five in a Row" curriculum, and like that both boys enjoy it. It is one of the portions of our school day that is (usually) calm.

ugh.
This hasn't been a good school day, nor a good school week.
I feel like I am not doing enough with my kids.
I feel like we just survive, and get through the school work for the day so we can be done and do other things.
I feel like I have zero creativity right now, and zero ambition to do anything other than just what has to be done.
My kids are fighting, and it's driving me crazy.
The behavior plan I started a few weeks ago...well, not working so well.
I am overwhelmed and tired a huge portion of the time.
I need some strength to get through the days from someone other than myself.
I know who my help needs to come from...and I cry out to Him...
This is not easy, no one ever said it would be.
I guess I just didn't know how tough some days really would be.
I do virtually everything myself...I don't rely on anyone to educate and raise my children, take care of my home, run my business. For just once, I want someone else to take over for me...even for just a little while. Like a relay race, I want to hand off the baton and catch my breath.
Then, I will be able to run again.

Beginning of the school year update

Well, we have been in school for going on three weeks, and we are getting back into the swing of things. When I am not "in session," I forget how much I enjoy doing school with my kids. It is honestly a part of the day I look forward to. Some days are difficult, and I almost want to pull my hair out, but in general, I love home-schooling my children.
Isaac has been busy with phonics and math. His math was really lagging the first week, but now at the end of the second week, I can already see he is making progress. His reading, as always, is phenomenal! I am always amazed at his ability to grasp reading and phonics-related concepts. He has also been bugging me about learning a foreign language lately, so I am looking into that and trying to figure out which one we should tackle.
We have been busy with US Geography as well, and it has taken me a couple of weeks to feel like I have a good grasp of how the curriculum flows.
I am doing Five in a Row with both kids, and I LOVE IT. I cannot say enough about this curriculum. It is brilliantly and simply put together. Here again, I am still figuring out the flow of the curriculum and how we want to utilize it. I have been buzzing through it, using one story per week, but I think I want to slow down a bit and do a story every couple of weeks instead...there is just too much great information.
The first week of school, we did "The Story About Ping." The kids had read this story before, so it was a little bit of a review. We talked about the geographical components of the story (where it took place, information about the Yangtze River, a look at the people who live around the Yangtze and what their life might be like, etc.). We tied in science with this story and talked about buoyancy one day and did an experiment to test what things would float and what wouldn't (Graham loved this!). I heard Graham a few days later talking to himself about whether something would float or not!
I LOVED the art lessons related to the story. We talked about using colored pencil to create depth and how to draw water.
The second week we read "Lentil." Here is Graham constructing a city out of blocks somewhat similar to the town of Alto, Ohio in the book


Graham has been busy with "Letter of the week." So far we have covered two letters and are onto the third. One activity he really enjoyed is number graphing with manipulatives.

I am also going to "try" to hit story hour at the library for Graham this year. They do a fun craft to go along with the story, and Graham always has lots of fun. We met "Biscuit" the dog of the "Bicuit" books, and here he is with his puppy ears.