Deep breaths...

Had a moment of chest-clutching anxiety this morning when I remembered that I am responsible for their education! Holy shit. That's like, deep.

Then I relaxed and recalled the line from the IMAX* Hubble movie we watched with hundreds of other kids yesterday: "...Billions of galaxies, each with billions of stars within them..."

Suddenly, wondering whether or not my kids are exactly matched with other kids their age wasn't so pertinent. The grand scheme of life and the universe can have that affect on you...

On that note, we are going to the zoo today to enjoy the empty exhibits (public school is in full swing in Illinois) and mid-seventies weather. I can guarantee that all 3 kids will learn something new, see something interesting, get exercise in the fresh air, bond with family, learn the value of a dollar, and endless other life experiences. We'll bring some papers I put aside for a lovely day such as today and maybe even cover a couple of scout requirements. It's a good day to be a homeschool family...


*Randall 15 IMAX theater in Batavia, IL ROCKS. Highly recommend it to all homeschooling families to contact them and get on their educator list for discounts to their brilliant movies. Email me if you need help finding their contact.

Where we are beginning from... and our plans for the year.

I was starting to freak out a bit regarding the upcoming school yera. I mean, it was AUGUST and I didn't have ANYthing planned yet! So I sat my butt down yesterday and got the first week done for both boys. Yay! Corinne is SUPER easy (she's 4, for crying out loud) but I will have a plan book for her, too. I don't want her to feel left out so we'll have things like "reading time" and "math cubes" and such on a sheet for her to check off. She's just a happy little unschooler, anyway. She reads the digraph words I have on the fridge without any effort, picks up Dick and Jane and the Phonics books we have without any issues... It's quite fun to teach her, actually!

This year our curriculum and plans include:

Justin:

Story of the World I, II, III. We will be using #2 for the IEW group effort through our homeschooling group. We'll be focusing on the Middle Ages for arts and activities. Hopefully a Renaissance Faire or two will be fun field trips!

Life of Fred I, II. Good word problems for math. Some of it is below him, some of it is above. We'll just have to fit it into what works for him. But I'm liking the layout of the chapters so far.

Painless American History. I haven't actually purchased this one yet. It's on my list! We loved Painless Life Science and Painless Algebra (which we are also going to be continuing this year, at a verrrry slow pace!)

He picked out some Grade 6 workbooks from Barnes and Noble that have decent worksheets for the filler time...

Rereading Painless Life Science (just to get a better grip on it)

I want to have him start off by studying the Revolutionary War because there is a reenactment at Cantigny Park in Winfield 2 weeks into our school year. I know he loves those!

A better focus on classic works of literature (which he may have issues with... Ugh.)

I want him to accomplish several merit badges for Boy Scouts and so many of them have great ideas that will work well with a school curriculum!

For Evan:

Focus on SPELLING and handwriting. Big time. His reading is finally closer to that of kids in his age but his spelling leaves a lot to be desired.

Math U See. I have several levels for both him and Corinne to browse through and figure out where each one falls.

He will be fishing in Canada with Pat and grandpa for the second week of school so we will be starting off with the leftover curriculum from second grade as a refresher. I will send a workbook or two that can be done in the car and traded in for a treat if completed before he gets home. He'll be doing some reading and writing on Canada the week before he leaves (I have the spelling list with things like "grandpa, walleye, adventure, etc.") to help him understand that all of life is educational!

I need more ideas for Evan... This year is more difficult for me for him and I'm not sure why...

For Corinne:

Math U See. We have all of the levels up to Delta. She has to fit into one of them!

Piles and piles of letter and number work.

I've made some of the magnetic cards that we are sticking onto the fridge for word recognition. Right now we have digraphs. Soon we'll do rhyming words and then the sight words that just don't fit into any category. I then plan on making a pocket board thingy to make sentences and stories out of. Should be fun!

We will be doing a lot of the same stuff we did last year. Lots of hands-on math, learning to read, tons of art projects and just enjoying preschool education.

For all of us:

I HAVE to get the ants for the ant farm. Geesh.

Field trips to Springfield (with Grandma!), Science and Industry, Field Museum, Renaissance Faire, Zoos, Cantigny Park, several war reenactments, Naper Settlement, etc.

I see a year of better cooperation between kids and teacher. Without Patrick sleeping during the school day, the stress level of getting things done by noon won't be there and the pressure of keeping them quiet will be GONE. Thank you God for the new job!!

Poor little blog...

Poor little neglected homeschooling blog. I'm sorry. You just wanted a LITTLE bit of attention, didn't you? Well, I've been BUSY, damnit. Busy reorganizing the shelves and desks. Busy trying to find the Math U See programs for Evan and Corinne for less than an arm and a leg. Busy, busy, busy! And I don't need you giving me flack!

Sorry. That was uncalled for.

Here's what the schoolroom/office looks like after 2 days of cleaning:

And the black shelves are beautiful too. Everyone has their own shelves and curriculum all lined up and now no one is allowed to touch ANYTHING because I just want it to be organized and pretty for a few weeks, for crying out loud.

Oy.

I managed to buy the Life of Fred for Justin and the manipulatives for Math U See for Evan and Corinne but am having a hard time finding their booklets for a cheap price. So I am spending a ridiculous amount of time searching for books on the internet and by the time I actually find the stuff I want, I'll be sick of it. Maybe I should look for curriculum I DON'T want? That could have a better result...

A list of love...

Loving: America, the Story of Us on the History Channel. Really well done with interesting graphics. All of the family has been watching it on our dvr this week!

Loving: planning for the homeschool geography tour. Each kid/family is working on a different country and we will host an open house for the families and neighbors to come see that homeschoolers really DO do school! Our country is Iceland. It's pretty interesting, even if they DO eat rotten shark meat... We're making a volcano and flag and translating phrases and bringing in a sweet treat and whales and fish (toys!) to hang up around us and, and... Man. I'm goofy excited about it!

Loving: FreeRice.com Did you know that they now have other subjects on their site?!? Evan has been earning thousands of grains of rice while he practices his multiplication problems and grammar. Justin did some vocab work, too. He started at level 1 and grudgingly got several levels up. Evan is loving the idea that he is feeding someone with multiplication. "FINALLY! Finally there is a REASON for math, Mommy!"

Loving: getting to shop for next year's curriculum. I'm all freaky happy about it, too. My kids aren't quite as thrilled....

Loving: The Borders Summer Reading Double Dog Dare. Kids under 12 can read 10 books by August 26 and bring the form in for a free book (from their list). I think it's valid anywhere, but double check (ha!) the fine print.

T minus 6 weeks

I am absolutely giddy that school is over in 6 weeks! Like, crazy happy. Endless days with no waiting for friends to get home and play. Long, hot, exhausting but lazy days that stretch into breezy nights spent watching children dashing between the lightning bugs, hoping their parents won't notice the late hour...

Bring it on.

Food with Justin

Just a note to remind myself about the fun afternoon I had with Justin. He really loves to cook and prepare food (even though he won't eat it) and I absolutely LOVE the churrasco with green chimchurri sauce we made together for our Brazilian day with h.s. club! I wonder what we did incorrectly with the Brazilian cheese bread, though! The dough was very thin and didn't work well using their instructions, so I put the second half of the dough into mini muffin tins and they seemed to hold together better...

A bit of a ramble,..

When people say "the first year is the hardest! Don't judge homeschooling by the first year!" They mean it. It's TRUE. My kids and I have gone through so many changes this first year, that it's difficult to recognize my first posts on this blog. The challenges are different, the schedule is different, EVERYthing is different!

I think the biggest change this year happened for ME; within ME. My views on not only school and education but the government, the world, religion, my values... EVERYTHING. Everything has been affected by homeschooling. My opinions on what is "important" in life have become very vague. If my children never learn high math but are excellent in literature, what is the big deal? If my scientific child excels in his favorite subject but never reads "the classics", how will that affect his ability to have a happy, healthy life? Guess what? I was in "AP" (Advanced Placement) and Honors English throughout my high school career and I never once covered To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, or 1984! AND I SURVIVED.

One of the best differences though, is how I view what my children are learning. I don't give Evan or Corinne "tests". They just do work or projects and as they learn it, we move along to the next topic. I'll touch back on something again to see if it was retained and, if not, we just cover it again. No big deal. No pressure. They are both the smartest kids in their classes and it SHOWS in their confidence. Evan no longer compares himself to other second graders and thinks that he isn't very intelligent. It broke my heart to hear him say that, over and over, when he was in first grade! He IS smart! INCREDIBLY smart! He learns at his own pace and needs extra help on some topics, but his work is improving incredibly this year. I am extremely proud of his progress. And Corinne continues to amaze me with her eagerness to do schoolwork. Knowing that she would only technically be eligible for preschool this coming fall causes me to wonder at where she would be at, were we to send her off. She is definitely a self-learner and very creative. Some of the artwork and language skills that she manages to piece together, all on her own, absolutely astound me.

With Justin, his work is a bit more complex, so we do some unit work and actual tests. For example, during his Life Science studies, we will cover a chapter, doing the mini-quizzes at the end of each section. I will then make up a study guide for him, covering the key points throughout the unit. We work on that study guide until he and I are both satisfied that the material is stuck within his brain. And then he takes the test. If he gets 93% or higher, he gets $1.50 for his savings. (since we can't do awards for report cards, like lots of parents do). If he doesn't pass the test with an A (hasn't happened yet), he and I will cover the material again until it sticks. (I don't know if he'll still be eligible for the full $1.50 at that point, seeing as how it's never come to that!) Either way, I want him to work on something until he GETS it. Not until a teacher deems enough time has passed and he SHOULD have it. Yes, I know that this is not how "the real world" works. I know that in college or a career, he will have to move at everyone else's pace and retain information in that manner. But guess what? This isn't the "real world" and he doesn't have a career, yet. He is in 5th grade and is one of the lucky few kids that gets to receive all A's for his schoolwork, at his own pace! Sometimes, he breezes through units. Sometimes, life gets in the way and I delay a test for a little while. My point is that I KNOW that he knows the information we learned. I know that it isn't just rote memorization that will be lost once the test is over.

Hmmm. This was a bit of a tangent and I have 3 kids that are hungry... I suppose that I could go back and edit, but honestly, I am beat. The weather may have been rainy today, but we were still incredibly busy. I don't think we were home for more than an hour, yesterday!