The Long Awaited Friday Post:

Where to start? It has been so busy here lately, we have been to church for the last 4-5 weeks consistently, that is a miracle for us you know. We will be there this week but I think since The Husband has to work next saturday night we will skip that sunday, allowing us to get a day to sleep in, which right now is so much needed. The Princess received her bible last sunday,

This was the 2nd graders doing a pretend baptism, it was so cute…..
Of course the week was filled with chaos, kids in, mom in and out, dad working. I’ve stepped up the kids schooling a bit, and so far they are handling it ok, if not great. The last two weeks the kids have gotten a ride to the church on thursday nights so that they could play basketball. The little ones hang out with the youth director or out in the hall. Until i get there after school and pick them up. They have been having so much fun, there I will have to find a way to get them there after Matt leaves to his new job. They are still playing city basketball, and I’m so sorry that i made The Ark play this year. The boys and the parents are horrible and I hate it. They do not have good sportsmanship and I’m so disappointed in them.

I took this because I love straw hats, it is actually a doll hat.

I was walking through campus last week and stopped to take pictures.

this picture hangs in my bedroom and it is my favorite!!!! My daughter Renee bought it for me, because she knows that I long to visit England, Scotland and Ireland, plus the women is wearing a dress and pink, what could be better? If she had dark hair she could pass for me when I was a bit younger.

this pictures hangs in my living room, the kids Godmother  bought it for me the year we moved into the house. It is very much me….

Today the boys learned about Pompeii and of course we had to make a volcano: only one slight problem, it is winter in Ohio and we have no dirt for the mountain, so we improvised like the true homeschoolers we are and used snow. which I might add looked very pretty compared to the red lava….

the Ark took this picture so it is a bit shaky….it was fun. Then the boys had to write for me, The Ark got the Pacific Ring of Fire and Ace got Pompeii, while The Princess got to watch Bill Nye’s volcanoes and then drew me a volcano off of Mark Kistler’s site.

The boys are still struggling through latin, they are great at vocab, not so great at grammar but since this is still elementary latin grammar, I’m not overly concerned yet, although I think I will print off the flashcards for them and start quizzing them and making them quiz each other.

The Ark and The Princess and The Peanut all did great in Math this week, The Ark will take his test for the lesson tomorrow, The Princess already took hers. Ace did not do as well this week and will be doing work on sunday…..little does he know it yet.

I had a pretty good week at UA, I have lots of studying to do for two exams and two homeworks over the next two weeks, but that is college life. What continually amazes me is how the Lord is still leading me into making decisions about what I am supposed to do. Thursday after class I met with my Psy. Test & Measures Prof., he requires you to meet with him so he can give suggestions about your future. * I really like him* , so we tossed around ideas of what i still need to work on in order to get into grad school, whether or not I will just do my master’s or go for my Ph.D, that is still up in the air but, I have finally decided to go for clinical psychology and specialize in cognitive/behavioral psychology, since that is a good field for working with women in correctional facilities and he agreed. So now, I just need to see if I can get an internship and some research experience before I graduate while getting A’s and studying for the GRE.  It was amazing because on my drive into UA that morning, I remember singing along with Matthew West newest album and one of the songs talks about wanting to be in the center of God’s will for our lives, and I remember thinking about it and then look what happens. I feel as if I’m gaining ground and am almost confident that I can do this.

Which means that this post is at an end since I really need to finish reading chapter 4 of Psy. Tests!!!

PS, I lost 3.2 # in the last two weeks probably because i carry a 20# backpack for two days a week around UA and eat very little on those days. Now to get my caffeine fix aka : coca-cola under control and I will have it made.

We all lived through the week * maybe*

Ok, it is friday, I’ve gotten a bit of sleep and am not quite as grouchy as I was before. The boys did finally decide to crack down on their schoolwork and finished most of what was planned for the week. They will still have to do history, math, latin and reading tomorrow but that is better than where we were on Wednesday. The Princess needs to practice her reading and do some math as well.

The Ark made it to confirmation class, and seemed to like it. They are doing a little bit better in latin with the added practice so I’m hopeful that they will eventually get somewhere. At least there isn’t any more complaining about learning it.

I fixed some of my sideboard on this blog and am happier with it. I needed something new and cheerful but less cluttered.

I registered for spring semester and got into most of the classes I wanted to, maybe not the order I wanted but am taking classes that were on my  ”need to take” list. So I will only be gone for two days!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! I’m so excited about that. It will be so nice to not have to drive so much for a brief time and be home more to get the kids working to where I want them to be as well.

I have a 96% in Social Psy, an A in both criminology and career issues in Psy for the moment. The only struggling class I have is Quantitative Methods and I have a B+ but I’m hoping to raise it to at least an -A by the end of the semester. Which means I had better get to studying…..this was just a very brief update.

Homeschool Evaluations are Done…..

The kids did well, The Artist did lots of talking as did the Peanut who wasn’t being evaluated. The teacher is great, we have seen the same one every year since The Ark was 6, he is now 12. She made some really great suggestions that we will incorporate:

• Challenge The Ark, he is a bit lazy and will do only what he has to.
• Stop pointing out that Ace is behind in math, it is not positive and probably stresses him out.
• Keep reading to all of the kids, as they will really benefit from it.
• Just keep working at it, homeschooling is difficult, and a process.
• Encourage the Artist to read to herself  daily
• Have the boys read for at least 20-30 minutes daily…..now to find a way to enforce that better.
• Have them write out goals for both long and short term, as they achieve one, cross it off and add a new one. We will start with 25 this fall, to be added to, working our way to 100.
  
• Stop worrying about where we are in the scheme of things and just work…..

A couple of things I mentioned was that I had a light bulb moment when I realized that my sons couldn’t write good paragraphs because they didn’t know how to write good sentences. So we will work on writing good sentences this fall and then good paragraphs next spring.

I have also come to realize that year round school is very difficult for us during the 6-7 weeks the boys are one swim team and in swim lessons. We get home after 11, hungry and tired, then their friends want to play and so do my sons. So our new schedule will be to go with short breaks until Swim Team starts , take off that time and then start back earlier than mid august, Swim Team is officially over Aug. 09 but we are still needing a break so, our new school year will begin on August 16. Giving the kids a break of 19 days to get themselves together for another school year.

As I type this the Artists is trying to read Harold and the Purple Crayon. There is nothing better than seeing the teacher and listening to her suggestions to motivate my kids. So for the next few days I will be cleaning, organizing and tweaking our homeschool schedule as well as tweaking our planning.

Houston….we have a plan! I think.

Well, I finally made a decision on our grammar. I showed Noah Easy Grammar Plus and Growing With Grammar. He decided he would rather go back to GWG for 7th grade. We had used it for him in 3rd. grade. So he will use that and I decided since I had it for 3rd grade that Ace could use it as well. I ordered it last night. Yes, I know that Ace will be in 4th grade but since we haven’t done any with him for awhile either it won’t hurt him to do a year behind. Camryn will probably do 1 year of First Lang. Lessons this fall in 2nd grade. I don’t see the point of doing grammar until they are reading decent and her reading is slow to come. I hope to help her improve this summer when I have a bit more time.

On the math front we are staying with MUS this year, the kids are doing well with it especially Ace and that really helps us. The only problem i have with Ace and the Princess is because the pages are black and white they doodle all over them sometimes. But at least they get them done in a timely fashion. With having the video do the teaching part of it, my life is a bit less complicated, I only have to reinforce the concepts on occasion.

History~ That is a joke, my kids thrive on the stuff. We are staying with MOH going to vol. 2 whenever we finish 1. We got behind because of so much illness. I have on order some great history novels for us though. The boys reading will be something of the time frame we study. I like using real books for their reading. I just have to find a way for them to document their reading that they like that I like.

Science~ The Ark will be doing Apologia’s General Science. I bought him the mp3 cd so he can read along with it and I’m hoping that will help him with his dyslexia. Ace and the Princess are going to do Zoo 2~ Swimming Creatures. I wonder if the Ark will be jealous or join in with them? I wish their was a cd of the readings for this book.

Which brings us to Art and Music. We are using Music Ace Gold this year. Here is the review from Rainbow Resource Center:

Maestro Max and his Singing Notes teach you all the piano fundamentals. The small conductor with a tuxedo, bow tie, white hair and gloves, and European accent guides you through each lesson. The first lesson explains the staff. In each lesson the staff and piano keys are pictured, and Max points out the corresponding notes, which light up green when played. On the staff, the Singing Notes open their mouths and sing their notes. Students progress through 24 lessons on sharps, flats, pitch, duration, and several other topics, with Max offering encouragement every step of the way. Corresponding to each lesson is a game for extra fun and practice. A progress chart tracks each individual’s progress through the lessons and games. You can use the lessons and games in any order that you wish. This program would help children that need the extra instruction or extra practice, but do not have access to a piano. They could also coordinate the software with a music book in situations where no teacher is available.

Music Ace 2 picks up where Music Ace 1 leaves off, introducing such concepts as standard notation, rhythm, melody, key signatures, harmony, and intervals. More than 2000 musical examples and a variety of new instruments are incorporated.

Both Music Ace 1 and Music Ace 2 include the Music Doodle Pad, where students compose their own music. It pictures the staff and piano keys. Choose a note (whole, half, quarter, or eighth) and place it on the staff where they want it. Bring out as many notes as you want, then the computer plays the song. The piano keys displayed at the bottom are helpful; students can test a tune on the keyboard before positioning the notes. Misplaced notes can easily be deleted or repositioned. Besides the piano, students can listen to their composition as a flute, marimba, or jazz guitar.

If you want the whole shebang, Music Ace Gold packages Music Ace 1 and Music Ace 2 together.

Art~ the ongoing issue in our house as to how to fit it in. But since we  will eventually get to the Middle Ages next year I think we will just study art in that time frame. We haven’t finished Artistic Pursuits, so I think we are going to work on that and when we finish it move on to the second book for the boys and then The Princess, even though she takes art lessons, she needs to do art, it is like air to her. I would love to get to the 3rd K-2 book, it is about sculpture and painting. But not until 3rd grade I’m guessing.

Because we are adding in grammar this coming year, we are taking out vocab. but adding back in spelling. I like the suggestion the teacher gave us last year with not trying to do it all in one year but focus on parts of lang. arts. So that is what we will do. Let’s see~grammar, spelling, creative writing and reading. Still a bit heavier than I would like but, it will have to do.

After our books come I will have to make a book list of read alouds and readers, using both the new and the old books. Ok, this is all to overwhelming for me at the moment.

Grammar Suggestions?

Ok, I need grammar suggestions for the Ark next year, 7th grade, we have not done a great deal with grammar in the last couple of years because we have focused on his dyslexia so much. But since he will be a short two years away from high school, I would like for him to have grammar down pat by 9th grade.

So give me your favorites and pros and cons of the systems you have used.

Where we are on our goals

The Princess had her first art lesson this past Tuesday, she has 5 more weeks of them. She used chalk pastels and drew a chickadee and a bluejay. She is very happy to be back at art lessons.

I’ve been able to make a schedule and it is helping keep us on track for the most part. I really need more time in my day though.

I’m happy with the Ark and how responsible he is becoming, even Ace is putting forward more effort but not quite where I want him yet.

The boys history binder is looking nice, we are finally getting the hang of MOH. It is a lot of work with the readings, memory cards, mapwork and special projects. We still haven’t had time to start the time line yet though. Soon I hope.

I’m trying to get them to do more notebooking, that is like pulling teeth still but I will persevere!!! I’m stubborn like that.

I’m looking ahead to next year and getting rough ideas of what I want to cover with them. Will write about that later, when the plans are finalized. Soon, I hope since I want to get their books ordered during my spring break in 6 weeks.

Ok, that is all I have to say at the moment, I still have to read a chapter of Tirzah to them. That is our current read aloud.

Homeschool Goals for 2010

I need accountability so here are my goals for our homeschooling.

1. Get Motivated!!!! The most important thing for me right now. ( I’m getting there still not quite as motivated as I would like yet though.)
   
2. Revise our homeschool schedule ( This is working much better as well. The boys know what they have to do and can do some of it on their own now.)
   
3. Stick to our new schedule
4. Get the boys to do more journaling ( I picked up composition notebooks for $1.00 a piece to do that. 3 for each boy~ lang. art, math and science will each have their own books now. They already have a history binder since that is a hefty subject for us.)
5. Check on art lessons for the Princess (ok, I emailed the teacher, so we will see what happens there) (Heard back from the teacher and the Princess starts her new lessons Jan. 26 for 6 weeks. I’m so excited for her.)
   
6. I want to buy a membership to either the science center or the Western Reserve Historical Society. we will see.
   
7. Think about soccer for the kids and put aside money for swim lessons, swim team and pool pass.
8. We really need to add in more music and art but where?

Ok, that is enough goals here for the moment, now to work on the other goals for my life. Oh yes, I forgot I need to make out weekly plans so that I have a guideline to follow, I think that without it in writing we struggle more with getting things done. (I have been able to do this and it is making a huge difference in our lives)

Two weeks until school starts.

We will be starting our new school year on August 17th. I’m going ot be spending the next two weeks planning and scheduling. I have The Ark’s reference book done but need to do the others, yet. Still trying to decide if I will make their student planners or if I will just go the easy route and buy them. Will be back with the finalized plans in a few days.

Planning

In spite of the fact that I’m supposed to be taking time off form doing schoolwork with the kids, I’ve been working bit by bit on planning for next year. My head keeps hearing ” fail to plan, plan to fail”. I truly want this year to be a wonderful year for us, even with all the chaos that is our lives right now.

So I’ve started gathering my forms for planning our year. my favorite resource is of course,  Donna Young . From her cd and at times website, I’ve printed off a school calendar, attendance forms, a course of study, a quarter planner and subject pages. Oh yes, I forgot, I printed off monthly calenders for the kids, we write short notes on them for an idea of what we did daily.

I also started printing off things for their history course, I did decide to only do half of MOH this year, thereby easing my workload, guilt and letting us really delve into the ancients. There is so much fun stuff to learn for that time period.

So once I get this moving I will post some photos of it for you to see.

The boys meeting with the Teacher.

So today we met with our favorite teacher to go over our school year with the boys. We have always used her and love her so much, she can’t quit until my kids are grown!!!! I’m not sure I’ve told her that yet though

As always she was impressed with how much we did this year. In spite of all the personal chaos going on in our lives for the last 10 months. My personal opinion of our year is both positive and negative. We truly did do a great deal of work, the boys were exposed to a great deal and a few things did stay with them. On the negative side of things, we were very stressed out, didn’t really enjoy our days, forgot much of what we covered and we didn’t have as much to show for everything we did do. After awhile the boys didn’t want to write or color or document anything of what we read for school. We took field trips but didn’t document them at all.

The teacher~ Diane, suggested we go back to writing one or two words on our daily calendar, we talked about how I’m concerned about the boys decoding abilities and she suggested using sequential spelling so we will be switching to this and see if that helps us. A plus is that both boys can do it at the same time. Another suggestion she had was only focusing on a few things this year until we get to some sort of mastery. Giving us a much needed reprieve from trying to do it all and then suffering from major guilt because we didn’t get it all accomplished. So I have some major thinking to do. We are taking off for the month of July to regroup. I’m hoping to take a trip to visit friends in Va and NC in early Aug. providing we have the funds, giving us a much needed break from the stress here. She also suggested covering something only once a month! I’m thinking that poetry might be that once a month thing.  We are supposed to go back to the Ancients in history using MOH this fall but I’m seriously thinking of covering it over a two year period and really taking the time to delve deeper into it. Plus we have so many great fiction books that go with this time period that it would be a shame not to be able to read them.

She told me in front of the boys that the only thing she really requires on a daily basis is reading!!! Yea!!! Diane!!! So with that in mind, the boys won’t be allowed to not read daily and I can use her as my reason. I know evil mom, but we do what we must. Another suggestion was to go back to requiring the boys to write a bit more. She wants the Ark to write at least 1 paragraph with a topic sentence 3 supporting sentences and a closing sentence. At whatever frequency I decide, while Ace is to start learning that process this upcoming year.

So, my tentative plan is focusing on reading, writing, spelling, math on a daily basis, with a much reduced history and science. One thing I’m not sure I’m ready to let go is the boys Latin studies, I really want them to learn it, so that might be on our daily list. Another item I want is daily drawing, I think the boys like to draw and I want to encourage them in it. My only problem is that they don’t want to have any instruction, just draw. I would like to see their drawing improve.ONe thing I did this year was i had a self evaluation and had the boys look at it, the Ark filled his out and it was interesting to see what he felt he did. I think we will do one at the end of each semester to help evaluate us and hopefully keep us on track. Another thing Diane suggested was to make sure I write down our goals so I don’t forget them and freak out mid year. Which I definitely plan to do.

She loved our lapbooks but suggested that we only do a few minibooks and that the boys be able to pick out the minibooks that they want to do, so that they each are invested in what they are learning and giving them each a different look to their work but still learning about the same subject.

So that is the end of the year evaluation. We have some educational videos that we borrowed, I want the boys to watch and then notebook what they feel is important. So in August when we start again I will have a 6th grader, 3rd grader, 1st. grader and a preschooler.  I need to make up certificates for them.

Check back for the schedule….