My Dilemma For This Year/ What Am I Going To Do?

Yay! The Blog Cruise is starting up again!

The first topic of the year is... What are your homeschool related plans for the year?

This is tough because I thought I had it all figured out. I even wrote up two posts on everything we were going to use this year. One for my son, and one for my daughter.

I will still use some of those products, but maybe not all of them. 

Here is the problem. I am going to vent a little bit now...

Two years ago my husband told me that we were gonna move, to go ahead and get the house ready. 

So, I did, and I packed up a bunch of stuff including my books. 

So for the last two years we haven't had access to everything we need, and it is really frustrating. I am not trying to bash my husband here, and I understand there are things that have kept up from moving, but I feel like we have been in limbo for 2 years. I just want to get out of this situation.

Now, we don't have to move. It is just that we want to move to land. 

I want to get my books out of storage so that we can dig into the things we really want to. I want things to get back to normal. 

I feel stressed out a lot because of this. Are we going to move, are we not? When will it be? Will it be at all?

Arggg, I just don't know how to live in this limbo. I am seriously thinking about getting my books out of storage so that at least if we don't move soon, I will have my books and all of our school stuff. 

Another thing that is driving me crazy is that my kids need some training. My daughter is 14 and I honestly don't know what the best way to do that is.

My son is 6, and I know how to handle that a little better. But the month of October will be training month around here.

I don't know exactly what I am going to do, but something has to change. 

So this year, while we will obviously be doing school, I am going to focus a LOT on character training. 

I also really want to incorporate more read alouds. My kids and I really enjoy read alouds, but we just don't do it often enough. 

So, my big plans for this school year are to focus on character training and adding more read alouds.

What are your plans for this year?

My Experience on the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Being on the TOS Homeschool Crew has definitely been an experience. An awesome experience!

Serving on the Crew has been just as fun as I thought it would be, but also harder than I thought it would be.

It is definitely a lot of responsibility, but even more of a blessing.

I have been blessed with some really great friendships this year, as well as some really great curriculum.

I want to thank everyone on the Crew for all of their hard work, and for the amazing products I have received.

Some of the greatest blessings I have received curriculum wise are:

1. IEW's Student Writing Intensive
2. Nutrition 101: Choose Life!
3. Kinderbach
4. Artistic Pursuits
5. I See Sam Readers

There are many more, but these are my top 5. If you haven't read my reviews of these products, I urge you to do so. They are truly wonderful products. 

God really had a hand in the products that came our way. There were very few products that didn't work for us, or that I wanted, but didn't get. 

Curriculum wise, the Crew has been a huge blessing for us this year. I hardly had to buy any extra curriculum this year.

I am so grateful for everything I received this year.

I also want to extend a warm welcome to all of the new Crew members for the upcoming year. WELCOME!

I hope you all will enjoy the Crew just as much as I do!

History...Hated it in School...Love it in Homeschool

What is my favorite thing to teach my children? Hmm, that is a toughie. I honestly enjoy teaching my children so many things.

You know, in school I really didn't like any subjects. The only class I liked was typing. HA

Now that I am teaching my own kids, I find that I actually like a lot of things that I previously didn't like.

History is now one of my favorite subjects. I love teaching it to my kids, and learning about it myself.

I think the difference is in the way I teach it, as opposed to the way I was taught in public school. We have so much fun reading history books, and doing fun history projects.

I really like learning about how we became the nation we are today.

We usually teach history in unit study form, and I teach both of my kids at the same time. There is a big age difference, but the younger one just doesn't do as much as my older one does.

I also have books for both ages on the same subject. 

Recently we have been studying about Betsy Ross, and the revolutionary time period. OH, it has been a blast.

I think history is my favorite subject to teach, but, I am just starting to teach my son to read, and that is so much fun too!

It is awesome to be able to see your children learn to read, and to know that you taught them, not someone else.

It is such a joy to me to see my kids learning new things. It is a mother's joy to see her kids learning, and loving to learn.

I thank God for the ability to homeschool my children, and for the joy it is to teach them.

Children Learn by Example

How do we teach our children to have a moral work ethic in today's society?
I think just like everything else, it starts at home.

My husband works in the construction business, and I can't tell you how many times he has been asked something like, " you must go to church, don't you?", or "are you one of those Christians?", or something to that effect.

Just the other day, someone asked him what church he went to, and they had never even discussed church or religion. They just knew from the way he was that he must be a Christian.

He has great morals, and it shows in his work too. He is honest, and doesn't cheat, cuss, or do anything else that is typically found in his business. Not that everyone who works in construction does these things, but he is one of the few who really stands out as different.

I think that he is a great role model for my son.

I also think that things such as a cashier giving you too much change back, and you returning it, are great examples of ways to teach your children to have a good work ethic. It teaches honesty.

A few months ago my son found a $20 bill on the Walmart floor, and really wanted to keep it. But we explained to him the reasons why it would be dishonest to keep it, and he returned it, and was praised by the cashier.

Once, I walked out of Walmart and realized that I forgot to pay for my bottle of water. I was so tired, and didn't want to go back in, but I knew it was the right thing to do, and a great opportunity to teach my children about honesty.

We were at Mardel one day, and my son found a dollar. We took it to the cashier, and she said the little boy who lost had just asked for it, but that they had already left.

It was so sad, but it was a lesson for my children. Even though a dollar isn't much, it meant something to that little boy who lost it. He had tried to find it, and if it had been turned in a little sooner, he would have gotten it back.

My kids felt sorry for that little boy, and they remember how it must have felt for him to have lost his dollar, and not have been able to find it.

So now they always want to turn things in so that hopefully whoever lost it will be able to get it back.

These type of things happen to us a lot, and I think it is those moments that teach our children about morals, and ethics.

You can tell them something all day long, but if they don't see it, and experience it for themselves, they won't really understand what it means.

So, if you want to teach your children how to have a good work ethic, or how to have good Biblical morals, you need to show them. You need to be their example. They need to see it in action.

Be sure to check out how my fellow Crew Mates teach their children to have a good work ethic. 

How my family is involved in our homeschool...Or not...

 

This weeks Blog Cruise is "How are your spouse, grandparents, or other family members involved in your homeschooling" 

Well, this is a little tough. I would say that for the most part, they aren't. 

My husband is my biggest supporter. It was actually his idea to homeschool. 

When I was pregnant with my first baby, we were discussing how we did not want to send our precious baby to school. 

He mentioned that we could homeschool, and I didn't even think you could do such as thing! lol

I knew no one who had homeschooled, except for children who were kicked out of school.

I started studying up on homeschooling, and from then on we knew that we would homeschool. 

We told my husband's parents, and I think they thought we were a little crazy. lol

They didn't say much against it, but I think they probably thought we would change our minds. 

I think they have really come to like the idea now. 

They have a few concerns, but overall, they are supportive of our decision to homeschool. 

They usually don't say much about it. Sometimes they ask the kids what they are learning in school, but they don't get too involved. 

At least they didn't until recently. 

Yeah, they decided that my just turned 6 year old should be reading, and they started pushing him. 

They would ask him if he wanted to read them a book, or they would bring over flashcards. 

They started asking if he had everything he needed to learn to read. They would have bought him anything he needed, which was nice, but they have never offered to buy anything for my daughter, and we really could have used the help sometimes. 

But God has always provided.

My father-in-law even told my son that he would give him a dollar for every book he read. 

And no, he didn't ask first. 

I decided not to let it bother me, and allow my son to receive a dollar per book. 

He has only read 8 of the I See Sam readers, which we love by the way. 

But we are still in the process of learning our sounds, so that is why we have only gotten through book 8.

I had to get them to understand where we were coming from, and that we were moving at his pace, not anyone else's.

My son started feeling bad because he couldn't read yet. He never felt like this before. He even overheard his uncle saying that "even 2 year olds can read". 

He didn't want anyone to see his work, because he was embarrassed that he was just learning his letters and sounds. 

He started crying, and it was just awful. 

I talked to my in-laws about it, and to their credit, they realized what they were doing, and that they didn't want to hurt his feelings, or make him feel bad, and they haven't really said anything since. 

Although my mother-in-law did tell me that " Even if he never learned to read, they would still love him". 

Come on, we are talking about a 6 year old, not a 16 year old. I don't think there is any reason to worry that he may never read.

Anyhow, things are better with that situation. 

As for the rest of my family, no one really says anything one way or the other. I don't think they like it much, but at least they choose not to say anything negative. 

My grandmother has said negative comments, but not too many, thank goodness. 

We ran into her at Walmart one day, and she asked if the kids were still homeschooled, and I said yes, and she replied, " Oh, well that's too bad." I just ignored it. 

I really think that people just don't understand what we are doing, or why.

I do wish my family were more involved in our children's homeschool sometimes, but then I think that it could be too much, and I wouldn't like that either. 

Choosing their curricula, and teaching them falls mostly to me, but I am OK with that because I can do it my way! LOL

If you have a family that is very supportive of your homeschooling, then be very happy about it, but if not, you may want to look at it in a different light.

If they were more involved, you may not like it. 

Overall, I think I have it pretty easy. 

I don't have anyone too involved, or anyone saying negative things all of the time. 

I am very blessed, and so happy to be able to homeschool these wonderful children that God has blessed me with.

It's January! Time for School!

While most people are starting their school year in August, we start ours in January.

Why? Well, I am sure that you know that we homeschool our children, and for us it just make sense.

If you are a homeschooler and follow the typical school year schedule, I will tell you all the reasons we use a different schedule, and who knows, you may find that this way works better for you  too!

I like to start our new school year with the new year!

I used to follow the public school schedule, but when May would roll around, there just seemed to be no good reason to just stop school for 3 months.  We had nothing better to do!!! lol

I found that I really needed more time off around the holidays. We get so busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I thought, why can't we just take off November and December instead?

I mean, summer is so hot, the kids don't want to be outside that much, and really, I mean, what are you doing that you need the summer off of school anyways?

Now, there may actually be a good reason for some of you, but for us, and most people I know, it just doesn't make any sense.

We also school year round.

Now, I know I just said we take off November and December, and we do, to a degree.

We try to do some schooling during these months so they don't get totally out of practice, but we do it on a much smaller scale, and don't worry if we miss any days during this time.

You know, it really doesn't make a lot of sense, at least for our family, to take a 3 month break.

Most of the beginning of every school year is spent catching back up on what the children learned the year before.

There are studies that show that children lose about 3 months of what they learned every year.

It just doesn't seem like this schedule of taking off 3 months in the middle of the year works very well in a  family setting.

I think we all need to remember that we do not have to follow exactly what the public school does.

They have to follow their schedules for a reason, and so much of it is busy work during the year, and then relearning the same thing again at the beginning of the next school year.

Keep in mind what works best for your family, and do that.

Don't worry about what everyone else is doing. Yo are not everyone else, and you need to do what is best for your family. Even if it is different.

So, we school year round, with more time off during November and December. It works for us.

What works for your family?

It would be too tiring to go to school...and the other reasons my kids think we homeschool

  

This weeks blog criuse is a great one. it is kids answer week. 

So, I am going to ask my kids the given questions and let them respond in their own words. 

Here goes:

1. Why does your family homeschool?

Daughter(13): Because the influences at school, the school environment, we can learn more at home than we could at school, the schools teach evolution and stuff that's not right, and they do not teach Christian morals, and the Bible tells parents to teach their children.

Son(6): Because they don't want us to go away for a really long time, because they love us, because they don't want to have to drive us there and back and there and back, and it is really tiring.

2. What is your favorite part of homeschooling?

Daughter (13): you don't have to wake up early in the morning, and you can do school in you pj's, you get to use whatever curriculum you want and you are not rushed.

Son(6): You can learn what you want to, I get to be with mamma, and you teach me, and i don't have to get dressed.  

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Daughter(13): A mom, an author, and a vet to my own animals on my farm and maybe a small town vet where I can still be home with my kids. A horse a dog breeder.

Son(6): Like dad and working

OK, so you can see the differences in a 13 year old and a 6 year old, can't you?

My son's answers are so funny! 

This was a good question. I can't wait to read everyone elses.