sugar cubes.

The past few weeks we have had a BLAST joining my sister-in-law's kids for homeschooling.  We are both working out of this book for history, so it is fun to get the kids together to do projects.  Last week we read about Egyptian pyramids, and all about the intricate passageways and secret rooms the Pharaohs designed to prevent grave robbers from stealing from their tombs.  After our lesson I worked with the kids to build sugar cube pyramids.  This made me laugh and brought me back to the days of building sugar cube missions in 4th grade (which they now make kits for... blasphemous!).  I actually had to call three stores before I could get my hands on sugar cubes... apparently they are super vintage and I am the only one in the city who actually needs  boxes of them.  The kids had a great time.  Although I think a few of them were a little disappointed that they didn't actually get to EAT their glue covered sugar cubes in the end.  Don't worry, I was a good auntie and mommy and let them eat a cube before we were done.

First Week of School.

We are back in the swing of things with homeschooling and I am loving it!  We started a few of our subjects last week, but Monday kicked off with the official first day of school.    Swee'Pea has been re-enrolled in the charter school that we LOVE and is excited for a year of enrichment classes and fun activities.  He is technically enrolled as a Kindergartner again, although we choose to focus less on a grade level and more on "this is YOUR level" work around here.  Our workload has almost doubled with the addition of some fun new programs and subjects, but they are full of fun crafts and activities that he loves so it actually made the days more enjoyable rather than burdensome.  Hooray!

Here he is with his morning work.  I love this because he can do it on his own, and he loves this because he gets to use a wet erase pen.  Win-win.

Our set-up has grown quite a bit this year with the addition of an awesome rolling cart and a paper organizer and binders.  I still have nowhere to hang his art (coming soon!) and would love a large white board but I'm thankful for the small space that I have.  Our science curriculum just arrived and the huge box of experiments is just sitting in the middle of the living room.  So.... yeah.  No idea where that will end up but for the  most part I feel pretty organized.

The box on the left is my teacher's editions and extra readers and workbooks for the rest of the year.  On his desk is a crate of readers my mother-in-law's school was tossing out.  There are about 50 books from K-2nd grade reading level, and Swee'Pea loves going through these for "free read" time.

My Ikea cart which I am so in love with there are no words.  I love that I can pull it out as we need supplies.  I love that it allowed me to clear off most of Swee'Pea's desk so he has space to work.  I love that it is adorable and therefore obviously necessary for homeschooling.  The top section houses our pencils and pens and his daily workload which I organize each evening.  The middle row is our glues and tapes and office supplies and all his language flash cards.  The bottom row is our paint supplies.  I can't believe I waited so long to buy one of these!  

I nabbed this paper organizer from my class.  I bought it my first year of teaching and have since gone with a different set-up in my room which made this basically a large annoyance collecting dust on my counter.  It is perfect for our needs!  His colored paper, lined paper, and flash cards fit perfectly, and his daily work binders look great on top.  We still continue to love this little radio, where we listen to countless hours of The Jesus Storybook Bible, Story of the World: Ancients, and lots of Dodger radio.  

Another great Ikea find.  This fits into the small top cubby in the desk.  I have never felt so organized!

Obviously thrilled to be thrilled that I stopped taking pictures of our classroom and focused the camera on him.

Counting "cheese" for addition.

Another new favorite purchase.  These are tiny condiment cups I found 4 for $1 at Walmart.  I bought 3 packs.  We use them to mix paints, put small manipulates, play games, etc.  Love them!

Reading to dad while mom obnoxiously plays paparazzi.

Something else that has me tickled pink this year is that I have several friends and loved ones joining us on this crazy adventure that is homeschooling.  My sister-in-law is just one of those who has decided to homeschool her kids and I couldn't be more thrilled.  We decided we wanted to make the First Day of School super special since her kids were used to the traditional first day back excitement (Swee'Pea, on the other hand, was completely confused why people were getting up early and no one was available to play at the park with him!).  We made it a PJ Monday, complete with a trip to the doughnut store with the kids (and Starbucks for the mommies).  We had a fantastic morning letting the kids eat and chat while we discussed curriculum and scheduling and all that other nerdy homeschool stuff.  :)

After morning treats we split the kids up for some fun art lessons using our history curriculum.  It was really enjoyable for Swee'Pea and me to have someone to work with since we are usually doing these projects alone.  We are looking forward to many more group activities and are thrilled we have a buddy at home during the day now to play.  Hooray!

My first time NOT going to the First Day of School as a student or teacher in TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS.  Can I get a Praise the Lord?!?!

Best pals.

Our crazy crew.  Lucy Kate can't wait to join this bunch in a few years!

A few people have asked how homeschooling is going with the baby.  And honestly?  It is a dream.  She gets up between 6:30-7am to nurse so I can brew my coffee and get Swee'Pea's breakfast ready as soon as she is done and changed.  He gets up, we eat and watch one cartoon and a bit of The Today Show, and then we are off and running at 8:00!  A bonus is that cousin Henry has afternoon Kinder this year, so we have been able to call him to meet us at the park for "recess."  It is a much needed break for Swee'Pea, and a much needed breath of fresh air for mama and baby to just stroll around the park and enjoy the quiet.  Of course we have had bad mornings like any other family with a new baby, but overall I think it will work out just fine.

Of course, ask me again in a few weeks when I return to work... then things are really going to get crazy!

Year one recap.

We have now "officially" finished Swee'Pea's first year of homeschooling.  I say "officially" because we have completed ten months of work and have withdrawn him from the charter school he was enrolled in.  We are now in a limbo period of "hmmmm... what do we do now??"  We've decided to continue working on school work, but on a much more relaxed and easy-going pace.  In June we'll take two weeks off for vacation, and I fully intended on taking a real "summer" break once this little babe arrives in late July/early August.  

I am so happy he had the opportunity to be in the local charter school.  I have nothing but praises for it and our resource teacher!  Swee'Pea loved attending his enrichment classes on Wednesday morning, and I appreciated all the support and help I received from his resource teacher.  Through his charter school we were able to check out some of our curriculum, and also participated in a once a week gymnastics class.  Overall it was a wonderful experience for our first year of homeschooling!

I decided to pull Swee'Pea out of a formal school program for several reasons, but the main one was because he is so young to be a kindergartner.  His cousins and most of our friends with children our age have their children in TK this year, and will enroll in Kindergarten in the fall.  The charter school did not offer TK, so his resource teacher and I discussed early on that we would pull Swee'Pea out in the spring and reenroll him as a Kindergartner in the fall.  That way he would be on the same grade level as his friends and family (important to me for future schooling, church group, college entrance age, etc.) but he would not have a retention in his file.  Instead we are just a voluntary withdrawal, and we will reenroll in the fall.  Perfect!

I'm really glad we've decided to do two years of Kindergarten.  We were unable to get through all the curriculum I had picked out for Kindergarten.  My focus was on reading, math, and handwriting.  Unfortunately Social Studies, Science, and Bible did not get the attention they so deserve.  So now we have a whole extra year to work through them!  I'm also glad because with the arrival of this wee babe, we won't be doing much homeschooling this summer or in the early fall.  In the end it will all even out, and this year has been a great year of experimentation and trial and error.  It was the perfect year to test the homeschooling waters, and I'm excited for what is to come in our next year as a homeschooling family. 

We were unable to get through all our homeschooling curriculum for the year as I mentioned before, but that doesn't mean we didn't accomplish a lot!  Here is what we focused most of our attention on this year:

We worked our way through our charter school's "Math Minutes to Win Its" program.  Swee'Pea finished his last test and then got to put is name in a drawing for a prize.  He won a certificate for an In N Out hamburger.  Woohoo!

We finished all 160 lessons in our Horizons Kindergarten math workbooks.  I'm super happy I chose this program, and we happily purchased it for 1st grade math as well!  Our plan is to use this until the end of 3rd grade if it continues to go well.  

We finished the Kindergarten handwriting program our local school district uses decided to continue using it for 1st grade.  I never knew how serious schools were about handwriting style until I started researching different programs and talking to the primary team at my school.  I went with this program because I wanted Swee'Pea to be able to move easily into writing of our district if we do decide to enroll him in public school at some point.  I have no complaints or praises either way.  It is a fine program and has served us well this year.

 We completed three of the eight Explode the Code books in our phonics program.  We are actually about 2/3 of the way through the fourth book.  The plan is to conclude the fifth book by late summer/early Fallish and then finish books six through eight by the end of next Spring.  This is one of Swee'Pea's favorite parts of homeschooling and although the lessons are getting much much tougher, he really enjoys each and every one.  Something I really like about a lot of our homeschooling curriculum (like this one and the next one I'll describe) is that they are not given by grade level, but rather by ability.  So you don't have to finish a book at a certain time or in a certain year.  You work at your own pace, speed, and reading level.  I love this.  I love that there is no label.  I love that we can just learn together.  

Halfway through the year I was looking for some comprehension work for Swee'Pea and his resource teacher offered us some little readers and these comprehension workbooks.  Each book is about twenty pages long.  After you read it you answer two pages of questions about the plot and characters and draw a picture or two that describes a certain scene from the book.  Swee'Pea LOVED this.  It was such a huge hit that we flew through the first two sets of books and workbooks and are now (im)patiently waiting for fall when we can get our hands on the final four sets of stories and workbooks.  The comprehension workbooks are cheap but the sets of readers are not, so although I love this program I don't think I would have done it had we not been able to check it out from our local charter school.  It just isn't cost effective at this point with only one little homeschooler (and no room to store all this stuff while I'm waiting to hopefully homeschool this little babe in five years!).

We worked through the first two box sets of BOB books and are about 2/3 done with the third set.  We have one set left to go after this!  I think we will then start working through the "I Can Read!" books at the library, as well as check out some of the Easy Readers from the curriculum room at our charter school.

I totally stole borrowed this picture from the publisher's site because I forgot to take a picture of it.  We are now about 120 lessons through the 231 total lessons in this book.  In the beginning we were doing five lessons a week.  They have become increasingly more difficult and we are down to about three lessons a week with lots and lots of flashcard work done in between.  I would highly suggest this book to any homeschooling family, or any public schooling family who sees their child struggling with reading.  It's been a wonderful resource!

Our plan for next year is to continue with all the curriculum above at his current ability level, and increase our studies of Social Studies, Science, and Bible.  I'll also be adding in a bit of grammar and writing as well after the baby arrives and we have gotten used to our new life as a family of four.  My goal is to really enjoy this summer and fall with my (two!) babies, continue to work a few days a week on school work, and see what the next year looks like as it begins to unfold.  What a joy this year has been experiencing homeschooling with Swee'Pea!  And what a sweet way to spend the last few months with just him and me before our new little blessing arrives.  

Oh, yeah... we homeschool.

I haven't written much about homeschooling since my post on our Indian Day back in November.  It doesn't mean we haven't been doing it, it just means I've been more guarded in what I do/don't post about our daily lives and lessons in this little school of ours.  A few weeks ago we technically "finished" our first year of homeschooling and as much as I wanted to write about it, I have been processing a lot of things that made me want to keep it to myself as well.

I've learned a lot in this first year of homeschooling.  A lot about Swee'Pea.  A lot about myself.  A lot about life in general.  And my eyes have really been opened up more and more to how personal and precious the decision is on how you will educate your children.

Homeschooling is a hot button topic.  It is sensitive and personal.  I'd rank it right up there with natural childbirth, breast feeding, cloth diapering, sleeping training, and eating organic food.  There are people who will fight for it with every fiber of their being.  And there are people who will blast it with just as much passion and vengeance.

I feel like I've been very honest about the fact that homeschooling is not for everyone, but it most certainly is right for our family at this point in our lives.  I am open to talking about it to whomever wants to have a discussion about it, but I try not to flaunt it or push it on people who are very openly in opposition to it.  I'm an encourager to those who show interest or seek better understanding of the world of homeschooling, but at the same time I try (but know I can sometimes fail) to be considerate of those that just don't see it as a fit for their own lives.

I've never questioned our decision to homeschool.  It is something we discussed before we had a child. Heck, we discussed it even before we were married!  In the same token, I've never questioned my decision to be a public school teacher.  I can say without a doubt that public schools are needed in our society, and for eight years I have worked with some of the neediest and most desperate individuals of our county.  It is hard work.  And rarely am I praised by society or by parents.  In fact in the same discussion with someone just this past week I heard them in one statement blast homeschooling and the entire idea of it while one moment later blasting teachers and complaining that they aren't doing enough or working hard enough for their children.

I was offended and hurt both as a mother doing what I feel is best by my son, and as a public school teacher who has cried countless tears of exhaustion trying to do my best to raise these kids to a level that the government deems "acceptable."

In some peoples' eyes, I'm just apparently doing everything wrong.

The past several weeks have been hard.  I have had a heavy heart on so many occasions when the topic of both public school and homeschooling has been brought up.  I've allowed the joy I felt over teaching my son be robbed by insensitive comments and accusations.  I've allowed the joy I felt over watching my public school students have even the tiniest successes be robbed by ignorance and callousness. I've stumbled over my words, worried that I've come off sounding judgemental, and cried when I've felt hurt by other people's opinions of what we are doing in our home.

I've honestly questioned if I should ever write about homeschooling again.

But my heart aches at thinking I should be ashamed of the choice I'm making for my family.  Of the choice I feel like God has led Popeye and I to agree upon mutually.  The choice that has led to our son thriving.  Learning.  Growing.  Loving learning and loving school and loving the experiences he has had this year.

Because the truth is, being a homeschooling mom is one of the greatest joys of my life.  I truly truly love and enjoy it.  And my heart breaks at the thought that I would allow people to hurt my feelings enough that I would feel bullied into putting him into public school.  And in the same accord, my heart hurts at the thought that I've allowed people to make me feel ashamed about being a public school teacher.  To make me feel like something I consider to be my mission field is not good enough.  Not worthy enough.  Not important enough.  That I am not good enough.  Not worth enough.  Not important enough.

I think public school and homeschool both have important places in our society.  Teaching is not just a job... it is a passion.  I am passionate about helping little ones learn.  I am passionate about seeing them uplifted and encouraged.  I am passionate about seeing their chances at a better tomorrow improved because of something I have been able to share with or teach to them.  I am passionate about sharing Christ's love not only in my home, but in my classroom as well.

I am not always super eloquent with words.  But after reading this blog post several days ago I knew I had to get my feelings out on the table.  Not for other people.  But for myself.  So that when I'm feeling like my decisions as a parent are being questioned... when I have someone doubting that I have my son's best interests in mind... when I feel unappreciated by parents, by students, and by society as whole... I can look back.  I can remember.  I can remind myself that I am honoring what God has led me to do from the time I was a little girl dreaming of what I would someday become.

I am a loving mother.
Teaching her son.
Considering what is best for him.  For our family.  For this moment in time.
I am a loving teacher.
Teaching her tiny flock.
Considering what is best for them.  Loving them when they are often unloved.  Encouraging them when they need it most.  Ministering to them through my actions and my words and my presence in their lives.

My job is important.
Both as a mother and a teacher.
Your job is important.
Both as a mother and a teacher.

Because you see, we are all teachers to our children in some capacity.  Weather you are a homeschooler or an unschooler or a public schooler or a private schooler, we all teach our children.

We teach them with our actions.
We teach them with our words.
We teach them with our encouragement.
We teach them in our disciplining.
We teach them right from wrong.
We teach them to share and to be kind.
We teach them colors, shapes, words, and about the world around them.
Without even realizing it, we teach our children each and every day.

Because we are mothers.
And we all love our children.

And over the past few weeks, whenever I've felt unloved by a friend or worried that they are feeling unloved by me, these words my husband has so often said to me during our disagreements have continued to reverberate in my brain...

Just because I don't agree with you, doesn't mean I don't like you.

Motherhood is hard enough without the constant need to compare and belittle and judge.
Without constantly feeling like you need to feel bad or defend the choices you have made in your family's best interest.
And we need to stick together as we bring them up.
To love the Lord.
To serve Him well.
To be His light in this dark and sinful world. 
To love each other even when they may not agree or like the choices of another individual.
Because we all, deep down, want the same for them.
We all, deep down, have our own children's best interests in mind.

And although that may not look the same when it comes to birthing or feeding or schooling, it doesn't mean that any of us are making the wrong choice.  It just means that God's design for our family and our lives is different from the person next to us.  And as long as you are prayerfully allowing God to guide you in the path you are to take with your family at each moment in time, there is no reason you should ever doubt or question that you or anyone else is doing what is best for your or their children.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

indian day.

One of the best parts about homeschooling is getting to do it alongside dear friends and their children.  One of my sweetest friends is a homeschooling mom of five little ones.  She has been a trusted guide and patient mentor as I've pummeled her with question after question about the ins and outs of homeschooling.  This summer, amongst our chatter of curriculum and scheduling and theory and the like, we decided we would plan several outings for our kids to do together throughout the year.  It is always so much more fun to go on adventures with other people, and they are some of our favorite people to adventure with!

Yesterday was a highlight of our year so far for sure.  We planned a little morning of Thanksgiving fun and activities for the kids to enjoy.  And enjoy it they (and we!) did.

We started the morning reading "The First Thanksgiving" and talking a bit about the Pilgrims and Indians and why we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Then it was off to transform ourselves into Indians by making traditional Indian vests, hats, and arrows!

Once we were fully into our Indian gear, the boys headed outside to bob for apples and pop corn over the open fire.

Next we worked on our rock climbing skills and shared the things for which we gave thanks to God.  We hung our thankful leaves on our Thanksgiving tree.

Pretty soon the boys heard there was trouble lurking.  A buffalo herd was encroaching on their territory!  They took off with their arrows, ready for a hunt.  After putting on their best hunting faces, they were able to swarm the herd and took down two big buffalo.

 They roasted the buffalo meat and then settled down for some popped corn straight from the fire.

The morning was a success!  Our little Indians had a great time.  We can't way to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends again next year.

Homeschooling: Our First Semester

Half-way done.

Wow.

Our first year of homeschooling is flying by.
In a flurry of worksheets and art projects and reading in our pajamas.
Field trips and hands-on learning and lots of giggles and fun along the way.
And I love it.
I love it so, so much.
I am so happy I have this opportunity... this privilege... to teach my little one.
And I will say it again.
I will say it until I'm blue in the face.
I know this isn't for everyone.
But I'm certain God has called us to do it.
It's right for our family.
It's right for our season.
It's right for this little boy of mine.
And God has given me so much joy as I obediently follow His leading into home education.

*****

We have accomplished a lot these past few weeks.
Finishing our first K math workbook and moving quickly to the second.
Working on long vowel sounds and "bossy e's" and sight word after sight word.
Practicing our math facts and earning cookies for Math Minutes to Win Its.
Learning more about fall and lots about pumpkins.
Talking about fire safety and getting to cruise around town with a real fireman in style.
Watching the Presidential Debates and discussing our city, state, and country.
Looking ahead to what we get to learn in the coming days, weeks, and months.
Anticipating our next enrichment session when we get to learn all about farm animals and cooking.
Enjoying.
Simply enjoying.
And remembering what a gift this time together is.

school room dreams.

I'm going to get real with you people.
Homeschooling is messy.
My home is small.
Sometimes I feel like I'm suffocating.
And I'd like to give the impression that my home is clean and fresh and always smelling of freshly-baked apple pie.
But in reality, during homeschooling time (and often during non-homeschooling times), it is a war zone.
A total disaster.
Books and pencils and papers and crayons spilling from cracks and crevices at every corner of the room.







Please don't judge me.
It gives me hives just looking at it.

I know we are in this home for awhile.
I know that and I am okay with that.
But there are days when I'm overcome with the dreams of a bigger home.
A home with more than two bedrooms.
A home with room to stretch and breathe and paint while still being able to serve dinner on a clean table.
A home with a room made for us.
With a sweet little table.
A colorful wall map.
A desk for mama.
And shelves for books galore.

Vintage Schoolhouse Table

Vintage Stool

Baker's Storage Rack

French Library Shelving

Activity Table

It will happen someday.  I know it will.

With patience and saving and waiting for the right one.

But until that day comes I'll keep plugging away in this little space of mine.

Dreaming of the day when I can decorate a sweet little space.

A sweet little space to learn and dream and create.

A sweet little space of my very own.

A sweet little beautiful dream.