This is too long to read :)

We have had a very successful day homeschooling.  It's been a long time since we had a day of what I think homeschooling "should" look like.  One thing I've learned in the last few weeks is that chores in the morning, afternoon and evening are a very important part of school.  I have been including the kids in these chores and find that when I really make sure this happens, our day goes much more smoothly.

When I was first beginning homeschool (okay, like last month), I wondered what multi-age learning might look like.  Today we spent half an hour on math.  All three of us read a counting book (Maryn helped read it, and it even mentioned single file, so we got to learn what that means), Cookie's Week (a book that covers the days of the week), we sang the days of the week song, checked out our schedule to see when snack time and lunch time were, looked at the clock, played with a toy clock, and then Maryn and I read her Life of Fred book (our math curriculum).  It was so easy, so natural, and so unplanned.  The kids loved it, too.

Maryn is enjoying listening to A Midsummer Night's Dream at night as I read to her.  Sometimes we have no idea what is going on, but it sure does sound pretty.  We do stop often to summarize, but we are both really enjoying it.

Maryn is making her way steadily through her cursive writing book. She mostly does it by herself now and just loves it.  Josiah is working on recognizing and making his name, letters and counting.  Owen is totally into doing school and is catching on to letters, letter sounds, and counting like a champ (mostly from TV shows...).

Maryn is doing well with her computer program, Reading Eggs.  She knows 120 sight words and is reading at what they say is an age level of 6.  The big kids are doing great memorizing Scripture for Cubbies and Sparks, always receive good reports from their Sunday and Wednesday teachers, and Owen is just a very fun toddler that, though he gets into trouble at home, steals everyone's hearts.  :)

Maryn has taken two art classes now and enjoys that immensely.  She is usually in the class with older kids and hardly anyone she knows (she recognizes a few kids, but none are quite friends yet).  I'm so proud of her for being brave, as I just drop her off there for two hours to take an art lesson.

You may have seen pictures of our Valentine's Day Party, St. Patrick's Day Potluck, etc.  That is the home school group at our church.  It's been a real treat to get to know some of those families, who all go to our church too, most live in our area, and have a chance to talk to moms who really seem to have a lot in common with me.  It's also really fun to have my little kids around kids their age and kids of all ages.  This is one of my favorite things about home schooling.  Many say kids should not be homeschooled because they will not get enough socialization.  It's actually quite the opposite.  Our kids are learning how to interact with children younger and older than them.  I was surprised at the St. Patrick's Day party how we all were in a big gymnasium, with lots of things going on, lots of running around, and the teenagers were so good at looking out for the little ones.  And the little ones were good at looking out for the big kids :)

John and I visited a co-op that is less than 10 minutes from our house.  Our kids and I would all go there one day a week for classes.  I would probably be in the nursery, Owen would be in a nursery type room, Josiah would be able to do more preschool type stuff in other rooms, and Maryn would go to several different classes for lessons based on Five in a Row books, Apologia Science (astronomy and botany, which she would LOVE), and possibly some basic Latin, art instruction, physical education, etc.  Reading instruction and math would both still happen at home.  It would be on Mondays, which are long days for John at work.  This might help us not miss him so much and start our week off strong.

John likes his job at Home Depot a lot.  He's a lot less stressed, makes more money, and I feel like he is in a much friendlier, rewarding environment. But his hours are long and ridiculous, and his commute is usually 45 minutes long. It has been really tough to keep up on homeschooling, housework, cooking, errands, etc., without feeling totally overwhelmed, stressed, isolated, depressed, and lonely.  Hopefully as the weather begins to change and I make more connections with our homeschooling group, and as we begin our co-op next fall, we can get some relief from feeling so overworked.

Baby Olivia's birth is scheduled just 30 days from today.  We are nowhere near ready.  There are so many things we still need, but are waiting for John's bonus from work......which as you can imagine, is driving me insane.  I love to plan and prepare.  I see such amazing sales at Zulily come and go.  Maryn's downstairs room is nowhere near ready, we have nowhere for the baby to sleep, and a dozen jobs around the house lay unfinished....which also drives me crazy.  John isn't here to help, and I've become rather limited by my condition :)  Also, Owen is quite a handful.  It's pretty difficult to accomplish anything with him around.  Maryn is a tremendous help, but she and Josiah fight so much, I can't leave them alone for long.

I have a very idealistic vision of sitting outside nursing or holding Olivia, while the cloth diapers dry on the line, watching the three older kids play and play and play all day.  We'll snack on tomatoes from the garden and play in the sprinklers and picnic on the table outside for lunch.  I'll just throw salami or something at them.  :)

Maryn and Josiah have been painting while I type this and Owen is napping.  It's time for me to clean up these paints and prepare for the Tasmanian Devil to re-enter.  I think I'll get a snack ready, too.  :)

Oh....and I have to prepare for Cubbies.  I'm still teaching Cubbies, because I am obviously insane.

And laundry.

And I have to iron a badge on Josiah's Cubbies vest.

And I have to make yogurt.  And dinner.

I think it'll be movie time.  We bought Frozen yesterday :)
'

Kansas and the Wild West!

We had such a fun cowboy day!  We tried to venture out to the library as early as we could, which means of course that we left at about 10:45.  :)  We picked up all of our cowboy and western books that we had on reserve and picked out a few more western books (they are every where and so easy to find!) from the shelves.  After feasting on some cow shaped macaroni and cheese (Horizon has new organic mac and cheese and it was 50 cents/box this week at Kroger!), I put Owen down for a nap, started Maryn on some finger knitting (very cool, fun and addictive), and Josiah and I started making the bread for bierocks.  He is my little chef now.  I think it has to do with age three.  Three year olds seem to be immensely more helpful than the overconfident five year olds.

So we had fun today making bierocks.  Josiah loved kneading the dough, and Maryn, Josiah and Owen loved helping to fill and fold them up.  We packed them up in bandannas for our big cattle drive to the railroad.  When we got to the "railroad" and opened up our "lunches," Josiah pulled a carrot out of each pocket.  I shouted, "JOSIAH!"  And Maryn came to his defense, "Mom, he was out on the range all day.  He needed to have some food!"  It was pretty cute.  :)

Samson was a horse or a Texas Longhorn all day.  I had a hard time explaining outlaws and some other things about the West, so after dinner we watched "The Shakiest Gun in the West" starring Don Knotts.  I don't think I can recommend it for homeschooling families.......but it was okay, and covered some of the things "Westerns" have, but in a more family friendly manner...sorta.  :)

We read about Dodge City, KS.  We had to kind of talk about saloons, alcohol, and gambling...which was weird, because I wasn't sure how to describe these things to a little kid.  Ha!  Maybe I'll teach her some gambling tomorrow...it'd tie right into our Seminole lessons from last week :)
(Our Florida Meal #2 was Indian Fry Bread Tacos)

Here's a list of books we read:

Home on the Range (and we listened to some Roy Rogers)
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books
Cowboys and the Wild West, Staton
Chuck's Band
Every Cowgirl Loves a Rodeo
Kids Learn America!  Bringing Geography to Life...

Here's our bierocks recipe:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/bierocks

We're also having some chili this week, of course. ;-)

Homeschooling Update :) :)

Maryn

Homeschooling/Kindergarten:  Maryn turned five at the end of September and we really started our homeschooling adventure around that time, although we have been unofficially "homeschooling" of course, since she was born.

Homeschooling is quite the experience.  It's a lot harder than I expected but also more rewarding than I expected, and though it is very hard (and kindergarten is EASY...I know it's going to just get harder), our choice to homeschool is confirmed all the time.  There are many things Maryn does or experiences each day and I think to myself, "I am so glad we're home schooling her."  There are also times at church when I see her interact with her peers when I think the same thing.  She does just fine socially, but she has unique talents and interests, and I think a school setting with squash these.  For example, two of her favorite things are building things and being outside (gardening, building, climbing, digging, collecting, playing) and in schools these days, there is very little opportunity for those things.

Reading/Spelling/Writing:  We have been practicing the first 55 phonograms and we are doing Spalding/Writing Road to Reading/Spell to Write and Read for our Spelling and phonograms.  She loves spelling and is pulling all the elements of reading together.  If you're into scores, she knows 86 sight words and is reading at a 6 year old level, according to Reading Eggs, a computer program we bought for her.

We are enjoying the Narnia series right now.

Math:  We are doing Life of Fred and other hands on math activities, plus memorizing addition facts.  Maryn loves Math, loves flash cards, and asks to do time tests every day.  She just did her second time test the other day and did 38 problems in 3 minutes!  Not bad!  Probably better than I could do when I was eight.  :)

Some hands on Math and other things we've been doing:  Calendar, measuring things around the house, estimation, tens and ones/cuisinaire rods, counting by tens and fives, finding patterns in the hundred chart, weighing things on a balance, telling time, etc.  Many of these things just happen naturally in play or while the kids help me around the house.  Or when John built Josiah's bed.

Science:  We learned about the human body, and Maryn wasn't crazy about that. Josiah is far more interested in our inner bodies than Maryn, who thinks it's gross. :)  We did an experiment when it was really cold outside to see what would freeze the fastest.  I think we may read some books on the water cycle or states of matter soon.

History:  We are reading the book 10 Girls Who Changed the World and will be reading about Martin Luther King Jr. this week in honor of his birthday.  We also get a lot of history in when we do our Social Studies/Geography stuff below...  We have been working through our book "The Pioneer Sampler" all year as well and of course watch the occasional Little House on the Prairie.

Social Studies/Geography:  We just started learning about the 50 States and the last few days have just been doing our states puzzle, states BINGO, state songs, USA songs, etc.  Today or tomorrow we will begin learning more about Florida and this week we'll be eating some Florida foods.  My goal in this is not to have Maryn memorize Florida facts and such, but to get an idea of how areas of our country are so different and why that may be so.  Florida has unique animals such as manatees and alligators, who like a certain habitat and certain kinds of water. Florida has unique native peoples, the Seminole Tribe--when many other Native Americans were pushed or forced west, why weren't the Seminoles?  These are the types of questions we'll research and hopefully answer.

Bible:  We are reading through the Bible this year as a family.  At least we're going to try!  It's pretty fast, but we're trying to at least hit on most of the main Bible stories in Genesis right now and are covering more stories and topics than ever before, including lots of the sin that book.  Maryn is learning a lot more about sex, polygamy, circumcision and reproduction from the Bible than I ever thought I'd teach a five year old!  But the kids are all really enjoying the Bible, and this morning while John and I read our Bibles, the kids all had to grab their own Bibles (Owen too) and read at the table with us.  Very, very sweet.

She's also memorizing tons of verses for Awana/Sparks.  And we try to do a hymn each month, learning the words, learning some of the background, etc.  And we try to pray for a specific thing each day of the week (we pray for Missionaries on Mondays, Family on Fridays, etc.)

I'd like to be continuing doing our catechism with them but I keep losing the little book.  Argh!

That's my schpeel about homeschooling for now.  I had lots of updates for Owen and Josiah too but will have to get back to the blog later.  :)

Our kids, good and bad, big and small, I love them all :)

Owen

I was just thinking about how different is each child of ours as I took Owen upstairs after he nearly spilled chia seeds all over the kitchen.  I was actually putting the Chia seeds back and found that he had hidden carrots in each of our kitchen cabinets.  He really must be the "baddest" toddler I've ever had, maybe because he has more room to roam, I have less time to keep an eye on him, and he has two older siblings to teach him bad things.  He also bit Josiah today, which is not unusual, but this time he really broke through the skin and peeled off a part of Josiah's skin....on Josiah's back, the poor thing.

Now that you think I'm crazy for pinpointing one of my children as the "worst," I will just go on to say he's also the "cutest."  He bats his eyelashes at me and gives me a bashful little glance when he is trying to manipulate me.  He also understands a lot that is going on.  He isn't talking a whole bunch.  He does jabber a lot and repeats a lot of words, but his big strength is he understands.  For example, I really struggle with getting to Josiah to just follow my directions.  It's really an obedience issue for Josiah (and he's pretty tired in the evenings).  I told Josiah to pleeeeeeease find his other shoe.  Josiah wandered around aimlessly not quite knowing what to do, and Owen went and found Josiah's other shoe straight away, without any trouble.

Another unique thing about Owen is his love for books.  He loves to read books with people!  My other kids have not been crazy about books like him.  He also can't fall asleep with us at all; he's always wanted to be in his own bed and is pretty particular about his bedtime routine already.  He loves TV, too!  He's my first kid who will really sit as a toddler and watch it.  It's kinda nice.  :)

Josiah

Josiah does require a lot of patience as well, in a different way than Owen.  So many times a day I think, are you HEARING me!!!????  And I know he is as his hearing has been tested recently by our ENT....it's like he wasn't hearing well for so long, we required little of him, and now he is hearing and functioning at a higher level and he sometimes thinks he can play dumb.  He's also just not doing things very independently.  He's happy to just let Mommy dress him while his body lies completely limp.  I always thought I would train my kids to do things for themselves, but with Josiah I feel we just got off to a rough start with him.

We are also still struggling with sleep with Josiah.  Ugh, it's no fun!

Considering he just started talking and hearing normally in February, he is doing splendidly.  He is really a typical three year old boy with exceptional athletic ability (I think!).  We've been learning about the human body (so far cells, blood, bones and skin).  Maryn is totally grossed out by it all and can't remember a single thing I teach her about it.  Josiah is completely into it!  I caught him looking at all the anatomy books today.  John and I keep saying he is probably going to grow up to do something that helps people/rescues people.  Even though he does kind of like to beat up people now, he seems the type to be able to stay calm in stressful situations and remain focused.  Again, just like his daddy.  Always so much like his daddy.

Maryn

We've been doing school this week pretty hardcore.  Yeah!  We're learning about the pilgrims and the human body, Claude Monet and George Frideric Handel, Lewis Carroll, memorizing addition facts and reading lots of books.  Yeah, we're kind of all over the place right now.  Maryn loves history, math and science.  She can't get enough info in her head about pilgrims, wants to do more and more math flash cards all the time, is still addicted to puzzles, and loves anything to do with engineering, nature, etc.  But she does not enjoy learning about anything "gross," meaning blood, bones, and the insides of bodies.  lol.  It's probably safe to say she will not be a doctor ;-)    We see her doing something in the area of art, architecture, design, using math to make things beautiful or make things make sense.  Which is weird to me, but whatever.  She is reading well but doesn't enjoy learning "how to read," she just wants to memorize the words and read.  She's not interested in the phonograms, but if a reading game is in the form of a puzzle or something like that, she is into it.  And she loves word finds and crossword puzzles.  :)

I haven't been taking many pictures with our nice camera because our SD card is full, but you can check out facebook for pics on our school days lately.

Fire Engine #4

 Owen loves to sit on these stairs and read.  He is my first toddler who has LOVED to read.

 Here we are at the fire station "Fire Engine #4!"  It was such a nice field trip.  Josiah was super excited.  When the four fire fighters came out, Josiah said, "I'm Josiah.  This is Maryn.  I have a basement.  I like your boots!"  The firefighter said, "I like  your Batman shirt!"

 Here's a small group of kids learning about the oxygen tanks, which way about 70 lbs.  Here they were also learning about the oxygen mask and a special alarm on the tank alerting the team if one of their team members is lying still for more than 30 seconds, so they can save him.

 Josiah tried on the oxygen mask!  I'm so glad he wasn't scared of it.

 This is a firefighter/EMT, the sergeant, another firefighter/EMT, and the fire chief/EMT.

 Our little group!  We had lots of babies and toddlers there with us, too :)

Kindergarten and Preschool! Week One

I planned to start school with Maryn a little more hard core than ever before on Monday.  But the kids were playing so well outside, I just let them play all morning (and we were at the ER with Josiah until midnight the night before).  A similar thing happened on Tuesday, and we skipped Motor Skills.  Then Wednesday came and eh...we did phonograms and of course read our Bible, practiced our Awana verses, did some little writing practice (because Maryn has a strange love for writing on lines), and did some Fruit Loop Math.  :)  Maryn came to me with all of her capital ABCs written on paper, and told me to circle the ones she needed to practice.  So she practiced S and B.  That day Maryn also read two books to me that were upper Kindergarten/Early First Grade levels for the first time, and she did very well.

Today was Thursday and I was at a doctor's appointment ALL morning and came home absolutely exhausted.  So we just sat on the couch and read Maryn's math book (Life of Fred:  Apples) and did the short activities at the end.  Then we read a large chapter in her book "A Pioneer Sampler" which all the kids enjoyed.

Maryn and I have been reading Milly Molly Mandy before bed, which she loves.  Maryn and Daddy make up stories for their bed time ritual.  For Josiah and Owen, I read a book with them of their choice and so does John.  In the mornings, we always do some sort of Bible reading.  Usually it's just right out of the Bible, but sometimes we need to practice our verses for Awana and read those books and sometimes we read from a children's Bible.  Right now we are reading from Chronicles, about King Solomon.  We just finished up 1 and 2 Samuel.  I love the Old Testament.  We enjoyed reading about Samuel, Saul, and King David.  I can't wait to read about Elijah.

I think this may be kind of how our whole school year goes.  I'd like to work a little more on phonograms (more than once a week), do more guided reading (more than once a week), and just keep the television off more often.  So much learning takes place naturally when the TV is off.

I'm regretting signing the kids up for Motor Skills and wish I had used the money to do gymnastics or ballet.  Josiah will not participate at Motor Skills, so I drive 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back (traffic is bad those times of day) and get home right at supper time.  It really makes for a miserable day.  I was looking forward to the time with several of our former neighbors, but by the time we get there, I'm exhausted and frustrated, and spend most of the time just trying to keep up with Josiah and Owen.  Sigh.

And of course I committed to teaching Cubbies this year, making our Wednesday nights almost absolutely tragic, as the kids finally fall asleep around 10...and still wake up at 6...meaning Josiah must take a nap the next day....meaning he is then up till ten the next night....

It seems like things at church are just not going very well (long story, but fyi, it doesn't have to do with the leadership, it's just a lot of little things) and now John works so far away.  I wonder why we moved to this area of town now, why I committed to Cubbies and Motor Skills, why I don't like Beth Moore Bible studies anymore, why am I complaining on my blog about everything, and why do I not like the busy life...compared to most people, our lives are not that busy.  Why am I reminded every day that I am not cut out to be a mother of three (almost four) small children?  I know for a fact that they are no more annoying than most children their ages, so why do I get so upset and annoyed by them?  I have been keeping the house too clean.  Seriously, I know I should not be cleaning as much as I have been.  But I just feel helpless in every other area.  At least I think I can succeed in keeping our house nice, so that when John IS home (when all the rest of us are sleeping), maybe he'll feel comfortable and like I did something for him.  Which is totally silly, and defeating.  None of the encouraging mommy blogs are encouraging to me, that all the other moms say "This was so encouraging!"

I know I need to focus on the gospel.  I need to get off Facebook and focus on the here and now.  And go to sleep (now).

I have ONE more week of first trimester to go, and after that hopefully I'll be a little more....cheery.  :)

Happy NOT Back to School Day

I was just introduced to homeschool group from our church.  I had no idea there was one, and I am seriously elated to have discovered them!  They actually discovered me.  I feel special.

They had a NOT Back to School Fun Day at a nearby splash park and playground.

 Yes, it is a very large group and we know some of the kids a little bit and some of the moms a little bit.  I hope we get to know them all a lot more.

Here's my kids' NOT back to school picture:

Owen is missing from both pictures.  In #1, he was tired and clinging to me.  In #2 he was taking a nap.  He's getting some molars in!  Poor baby.

We had a blast at the Splash Park.  And I'm really excited about all the upcoming opportunities and events this fall may bring!  We have a class at the seminary for both big kids called "Motor Skills," which I guess is just like a gym class.  And Moms don't have to stay so I plan to walk the track or something with a few friends and former neighbors (Elise, Bekah, Stacy, Sarah) and their babies, and Owen.

We are also teaching a Cubbies class (Josiah's Cubbies class) on Wednesday nights.  And the kids will be tagging along with me to Women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings.  So that's a busy two days and then hopefully Mondays and Fridays will be relaxing days where we stay home.  Thursdays will be grocery and errands day.  Yippee :)

Strawberry Patches

Owen missed me while I was at VBS Monday night.  The boys stayed home with daddy because it runs rather late (9:00!!) and I volunteered for only two nights.  Thank goodness :)

  

 This is how I found my boys when I got home.  Owen had cried for an hour and half straight.

 I nursed right away, and Owen was then happy as a clam and went right back to Daddy and laid on him again.  I think their bonding time was needed and special.  :)

In other news.  For the last two days the kids have been wanting to do school.  I don't know what they think school is, really, but it basically means they want to follow our "summer schedule."  It's pretty basic and this was about the third time we've done the summer schedule all summer.  Maryn does SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER on a structured routine.  And they get a lot of choice in the matter.  For example, 9:30 is Arts and Crafts time and Maryn decided we should make something having to do with strawberries since that was their favorite thing from the farm last week.  We went strawberry picking at Huber's.  So I just googled for some strawberry activities, and we made these cute strawberries out of paper plates.

 Here's our own strawberry patch!  We mixed strawberry scented soap into the paint to make them smell like strawberries.  The scent wore off, unfortunately.  I read that strawberry Jell-O works better.

It's very good to experiment with a school schedule right now, as I get used to doing things around Owen's naps and such.  Man oh man, I don't know HOW I will do this school thing 5 days or whatever a week.  It's ex.haust.ing!  But really we have had much better behavior.  It's a challenge--I kind of have to let the house get messy and hope I'll get to clean it at quiet time.  Which I normally do. ;-)

A few more things for our homeschool list!

I'm so glad I have this blog to keep track of our homeschool list!  We don't have Microsoft Word on our new computer yet, so this blog has been so handy.  I'm going to have to start posting our grocery list here, too.  Haha :)

These Mind Benders workbooks from The Critical Thinking Company
here.  This is a cool company we saw at the homeschool conference.  These workbooks are pretty nice, and expensive, but Maryn also loves the little puzzles and activities you find in many coloring books that can be found at the dollar store.  She loves look and finds, word finds, and any kinds of puzzles, mazes, etc.

Life of Fred Math books (Apples, Butterflies, Cats, Dogs, Edgewood are the first few titles)
My friend Kendra uses these for Math and they seem really intriguing.  I think Maryn would like the first few in Kindergarten and first grade.

Facebook, and reasons for homeschooling :)

I feel like I have misrepresented myself and homeschooling on facebook.  I'm really sorry for doing this, as there are a few families out there who would be great homeschooling candidates but say things like, "I can't do crafts like you," and other such nonsense.  :)  Homeschooling is not about doing crafts, and there are plenty of homeschooling families out there who never do crafts.  Homeschooling looks different for every family, and every family has different reasons for choosing to homeschool.

One reason homeschooling will work well for us is because it offers a flexible schedule.  John is very busy at work on holidays/school vacations and sometimes works all weekend.  Often, his days off are Tuesday and Wednesday.  With homeschooling, our kids will get to see John a lot more often.  Many families in ministry and other jobs with odd schedules choose homeschooling partly because of schedules.

Some moms choose really in-depth, intense curriculums that mimic traditional schools.  These families might use the same textbooks many schools do (McGraw-Hill, Harcourt Brace, etc.).  One reason I am choosing not to follow that route is because I know from being a teacher, I rarely used my curriculums and enjoyed going off on tangents as my students' interests led.  For some homeschool parents, this is actually scary for them and they at least like to have a framework or guide, even in kindergarten.

When I did follow the school curriculums closely, the kids and I both enjoyed it.  They learned from it, too.  So, following a curriculum is not worse or better, it's just a choice I have in homeschooling.  There are some great homeschool curriculums out there, too.

Another reason we're choosing to homeschool is because Maryn really likes crafts and art.  She loves to explore and ask questions.  I think the best learning takes place when we are curious and search out answers.  I think Maryn learns best through exploring, drawing, and creating.  She will sit still and learn more if her hands are moving, her eyes are looking, her brain is working, all at the same time.  I notice how she can study all the details of an animal if she is drawing the animal.  She won't notice the details of an animal by just looking at it.  I feel homeschooling is best for her because 1.)  I know these things about my daughter.  2.)  I love her more than any teacher ever could and want her to thrive more than any teacher ever could.  3.)  We can follow her interests and curiosities instead of following a curriculum or what the rest of the class is doing.

Another reason we're choosing to homeschool is because, so far, what I know about Josiah and probably Owen, is that they need to be outside as much as possible.  Maryn needs this too, but Josiah really has to be outside a lot.  Josiah learns best when learning involves lots of action.  Basically, just being free to make these decisions for my kids is a great reason to homeschool.

What about socialization?

What I have observed with Maryn so far is that, with children her age, she is a leader.  With children a little older than her, she will take direction and work in a team.  With children younger than her, she will gently guide and direct them patiently (except Josiah, whom she hits and yells at :)).  I'd like my kids to have these experiences with their friends and with each other.  In school, this just doesn't happen often enough.  When I worked in groups in school, I usually ended up being the "leader" and didn't learn how to work in a team very well.  What I learned from group work was that if I wanted to get anything done, I had to do it myself or micromanage every aspect of the project.  These control issues have not been great in the workplace, in ministry, and especially in marriage!  :)  I hope I can train my kids to be leaders, but I also want them to be able to work in a team.  I think homeschooling does this better than is possible in schools.

My children receive more than enough socialization, and it's often with kids of many ages.  If they were in school, we probably wouldn't have time to be in such large multi-age groups.

Also, we have recently done some reading on people such as Abraham Lincoln and Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote in her book Little House in the Big Woods, that she had not left the Big Woods or seen another person besides her Pa, Ma, and sisters, in an entire year.  And you know, she turned out all right.  Abraham Lincoln was an excellent speaker, story teller, and was actually known to be very humorous, and he did most of his learning by simply reading and experiencing a lot of quiet time.

I'm not thinking about living in a one room log cabin, but my point is, I believe the emphasis on socialization in small children is over-emphasized.

Family Bonding

I know many homeschooling families now, and they are quite different than the rest of the world.  Years ago, homeschoolers seemed to be kind of nerdy and weird.  But I see the teenage boys who have been homeschooled, and they are close to their mothers--meaning, they are so respectful towards them (most of the time).  One boy in our church I see on Sundays often has his arm around the back of his mom's seat during the sermon.  The girls seem so well bonded towards both parents as well, and they just generally have more time with their fathers (and usually LOTS more time with mom).

Homeschooled siblings seem to get along better and respect each other more.  There's not as much of a peer influence from school, and the kids rely on siblings for companionship.  Which if you think about it, makes a lot more sense.  How many friends do you still hang out with from elementary, middle, or high school?  Siblings usually become your lifelong friends, even long after your parents are gone.

Sports and Music

I know many people get really concerned about this part of homeschooling.  Not only are there options now to join school organized sports, but I see homeschooling as providing a way to do more activities if we wish.  For example, I can decide to have Maryn take more intensive ballet classes.  Or our kids can run 5Ks or half marathons all over the country (maybe even with Dad!).  We'll have time and freedom to do those things, which are more likely to carry over into adulthood.

Important Note to Family and Close Friends:

I am going to be putting most of our homeschooling projects and such on this blog to share with those who really know us and care what we're working on.  I feel that putting up our cute crafts and whatnot on facebook has been a discouragement to many people.  While that may be "their own problem," I don't want to misrepresent our family and make people think "we are so perfect."  I wouldn't ever put on facebook every time I freak out on my kids or put things in my status things like, "I let my kids watch 6 hours of television today," because if I did that every time I was guilty of those things, someone would call CPS or my mom would come down here and stage an intervention.  :)

If you're still reading this long, rambling blog, thank you for hearing me out.  I'm sure I'll come up with more reasons why we homeschool, but these are some of the reasons I think most of our close family and friends would agree with.  Thank you all for your love and support.  Keep up with us on this blog for more school updates and cute crafts :)

Home Schooling Plan and List of Goodies :)

I know a lot of family members are getting nervous about kindergarten.  About us keeping Maryn home for kindergarten.  "Are they really going to do it?!"  I hear you saying under your breath.  YES.  I feel 150% positive about homeschooling.  My reasons are maaaaaaaaaaaaany.  I can hardly come up with any reason to send her away to school.  Hmm...nope.  Not one.  I just imagine her going into a school bus and the whole  idea of school comes to a halt.  No way!

In Kentucky, the district recommends our kiddos be 5 by August 1st to enter kindergarten, so Maryn doesn't necessarily have to start this year, and we don't have to register as official homeschoolers until she is in first grade.  But with her being such an overachiever and me being such an overachiever, we have collected a wish list of things we are looking at as we begin our homeschooling journey.

Language Arts

Here are a few of the books I'm looking at for teaching reading, spelling, and phonics.  I haven't really made a decision yet which one I'm going to use.  The main thing we need right now is just phonogram cards or tiles.  There's also a book called The Writing Road to Reading (Spalding), which I used as a teacher, which would be great as well.



History/Social Studies
Little House on the Prairie things (we have the books, but there are many activity books, cookbooks, etc. out there)
American Girl books and activities (We currently have Samantha, Kirsten and Addy books 1-3)  Samantha is Maryn's favorite American Girl--anything that might go with her books would be great.  We'd love any of the other American Girl books too.
United States Puzzle with individual pieces for the states, in their shape, like this:

Books about our state (Kentucky), and other states that are special to us (Ohio, Florida, Kansas, Tennessee, Minnesota, etc.), or states in general.  Coloring books about states or that contain maps.  We love these Alphabet books about the individual states:


Science
We are going to be doing a lot of nature study.  We'll be hanging out outside, taking nature walks, collecting things, etc.  We could use a little explorer kit (magnifying glasses!!), a book to help us identify bugs and mushrooms (we have trees and birds nature guides), non-fiction books about plants, animals, the human body, physics, space, etc.

We will hopefully find time to take a few trips to the zoo and the Louisville Science Center, as well as all the beautiful parks in the area.  And the Smoky Mountains of course!

Hand Crafts
A little kids' size set of tools, wood and nails.
A little loom for making hot pads.
There are also a lot of cute little craft kits, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-First-Sewing-Kit/dp/B000F3V2MW/ref=sr_1_23?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1367976844&sr=1-23&keywords=craft+kits Josiah is pretty good at crafts too, and there are many simple kits out there for his age group. He is good with stickers, glue, cutting, and even simple painting.

Math
We have a lot of math manipulatives already.  But maybe something like this geoboard would be fun.
Also, we have great pattern blocks, but these picture cards would help the kids make some cool pictures.

And these:

I want these blocks so bad.  :)



Spanish
La Clase Divertida

Art
Creating a Masterpiece Level One, with Sharon Hofer
We met this lady at the Homeschool Convention, and were convinced we need this :)  Ha!
There's an extensive supply list of the best, high quality art supplies, which are listed on the website.  But we of course can always use art supplies such as paper, drawing paper, card stock, watercolor paper, pastel paper, charcoal, pastels, thin and thick markers, crayons, coloring books, construction paper, glue, tape, staples, paper fasteners, stickers, acrylics, tempera paint, watercolor paints, paint brushes, etc.

More Ocean Crafts and School Plans

 Maryn got to paint her OWN hand for this one.  She covered it thoroughly.  Very thoroughly, clear past her wrist in fact.

And Josiah participated in this one too!  I think it was his first hand print painting.  He knew just what to do, and was so cooperative.  I don't know why I expected any less.  Look how adorable his tiny little hand prints are!

We read A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle, one of my favorites.  We tried to make the bubble wrap painting to go along with it, but we failed in that endeavor.  Big time.

We closed out our ocean theme with Rainbow Fish, reading a non-fiction book about tropical fish, and making a rainbow fish picture.  It was a lot of fun, and I think I achieved my main goal in just helping Maryn understand which animals live in oceans and which live in freshwater rivers, lakes, and streams.

I gotta get her to watch Finding Nemo.  Isn't that movie surprisingly educational?  It's just the best.

I got some books from the library about rivers and ponds, but I think we're kind of past her level of interest.  We'll probably stop with ocean, and move on to Spring-y things, clouds, weather, etc.  She's been very interested in weather seeing as it changes so drastically day to day lately.  She sings Five Green and Speckled Frogs most adorably, however, and I'll try to get that on video for you soon.

My Daughter

While raising kids, I think a lot of parents find that there are always a good few days in a row and then a bad few days in a row.  This seems especially true with our dear daughter.  The last few days have been good.

 It's really almost brought me to tears (like everything these days), to feel like I'm falling in love with her all over again.

 The last few days we've also had excellent weather.  Which means allergies for poor Josiah.  He's been extremely naughty, which even further motivates Maryn to be "the good kid."  The worse he behaves, the better she behaves.  The worse he eats, the better she eats.  And she's always quick to call our attention to her, "Look Mommy, I'm being good.  Aren't I?"  "Look Mommy, I ate all my lunch."

We've been kind of hard core into our school stuff since we started learning about the ocean.  It makes it a lot easier that Aunt Cathy sent us a whole packet of stuff to do!  Today we learned about the beach.  Here's a sand castle Maryn "built" with sandpaper.

 I'll show you our beach sensory tub in the next post because Josiah was the one who played with that the most.  Monday we learned about sharks.

 Yesterday, we learned about dolphins and whales.  We mostly just read books about them and watched a dolphin documentary for kids.

Last week, we made some sand pictures of ocean animals.  This is our sea horse, made with wax paper, glue and colored sand (also courtesy of Aunt Cathy).  Maryn LOVED this one of course, but it required a lot of adult help.

We started learning about the ocean because on our way to and from Tennessee, Maryn had so many questions about lakes, rivers and creeks.  Grandpa's house is right next to a creek and not far, across the road from the camp is a river.  John and I found ourselves trying to explain the differences between those bodies of water, how to tell the difference, and what animals live there.  Have you ever known a five year old afraid to swim in the pool because there might be sharks?  I don't want that to be my kid...lol.

Next we'll be learning about lakes and ponds, creeks and rivers.  And maybe we'll get to visit a few local ones soon.  I hope we can take a trip to Bass Pro Shop soon.  It may sound silly, but they have an excellent aquarium full of fish (like a lake) and a creek with fish and turtles, surrounded by a variety of stuffed (taxidermy) animals that live in this area.  And it's free!  Plus we can visit our zoo with our annual pass too.  But John's schedule this month is going to be really, really hard.  We may have to put most of our bigger field trips on hold till April.  :-(

Maryn, Mommy is proud of you.  I love you more each day.  Even though you woke me up at 4 am screaming about a bee being on your foot...??

because I know you want to read more about my awesome kids!

I love these articles about sensory avoiders, sensory seekers, and sensory activities.

Sensory Seekers and Sensory Avoiders  (this is such a fun read, because I think most kids fall to one side or the other.  Maryn bounces back and forth but she is more of an avoider than Josiah, who is more of a seeker.  And we definitely have some Cubbies who are seekers!)

99 Sensory Activities for Any Kid  I think some of these ideas could help me a lot on those days that we are just having a hard time.  Maryn hits really moody spots or gets too hyped or too low, and I think these ideas could help so much if I just remembered them.

I could easily become like the famous child psychologist Jean Piaget, who used his own kids as his experiments. lol.  I just love studying their differences, observing how they play and their little quirks.  Maryn for example, started doing this cute thing when she cracks herself up.  She just lays her head down on her arm, like the funny is overwhelming her, and sighs and sighs and giggles, and covers her eyes.  So adorable.

And before we left TN yesterday, Josiah was begging us to put him in his car seat because he knew we were getting ready to go byebyes.  He freaks out whenever he knows someone is going anywhere, grabs his shoes and demands we take him too.  So John put him in the car seat even though we weren't ready to go, and asked, "Do you want to leave Maryn here?"  To which Josiah responded with the saddest little face, and shook his head no emphatically.

Josiah is really understanding us more and more, and we are understanding him more and more as well.  I love it!  I love his age.  And even his little temper tantrums are still cute.  Tantrums from the second child are cute.  Trust me little man, you got nothin.'  Your sister will outdo you in the tantrum dept. every time, so give it up, as I just stand here and laugh at you.

Maryn spent the week with adults in TN and she is acting very, very grown up today.  She told her grandma that she and I played Cootie "Without the dice because it was just too much work."

I love my kids so much and their little differences and similarities.  Maryn is my rainbow and Josiah is my sunshine, that's what I always say.  It really makes me wonder what baby Owen will be like.  I predict he's going to act like a crazy kid who was raised by wolves OR be totally, absolutely mellow.  But I think I'll pray he's somewhere in between!

Maryn and School Update

This post really is for my own reference, so sorry if it's so boring.  You won't hurt my feelings if you skip it.  ;-)

It's the way I think, and probably the way I always will.  Because I have always loved school (at least the idea of school), my mind works in semesters, holidays, common school themes and I will probably always have a list in my mind of developmental milestones because I had to take developmental psychology twice.  Not because I failed the first time, but my credits didn't transfer from the community college to Muskingum.  And you know what?  I was happy to take developmental psychology again.  That's what a nerd I am.

So when January rolled around, I started thinking about things to do with Maryn and Josiah.  Josiah, obviously, just plays while we do "school" stuff, and he reads with us, and plays our little games, is always the life of the dance party we usually have each school day, and loves any kind of hand rhymes or song.  

Maryn has been a lot tougher, because I have this notion that eventually I'll need to get a curriculum--either a comprehensive one like SonLight or a few different ones for individual subjects.  Since nearly all my friends home school, we talk about those curriculums a lot and I get to see them often.  But I just haven't seen anything I think will work for Maryn yet, at least not for reading.

I'm not sure why I worry about such things.  I never really used a reading curriculum as a teacher.  I much prefer doing my own thing, and I should be more confident in my abilities.  Early Childhood and Reading Specialist degrees aside, I am Maryn's mommy and therefore, I can do this.  Plus, it's Maryn.  I'm pretty sure she won't be illiterate.

Maryn keeps tricking me into thinking she's ready to read.  She asks what everything says, tries to sound out words, asks how things are spelled, and now even asks what "oo" says, or "sh," etc.  But when I try to sit with her and help her read a book, she's not interested.  

But this girl wants to know phonics.  She wants to know how words work.  I know, she's three, it's weird.  But I pulled this game out my Aunt Cathy sent us, and I was very surprised that Maryn could read every -op word, with just a little help.

I guess it makes sense why she would be a phonics girl right now and not a reading a book kind of girl because words like "you" and "the" certainly don't make sense to her.  She knows letter sounds, so she wants to be able to sound things out.  She's not ready to understand "the" or even "and."  So I guess we're stuck playing word games for a while, and reading lots and lots of books.

I've decided to forget about reading curriculums, and just use Spalding Phonics to teach her to read and spell.  That's a program I learned while teaching that requires no materials aside from notebook paper, some flashcards that cost about $11 and maybe a book to help me remember what I'm doing, especially after first grade.  It's a program that goes right up through 6th grade.  Can't beat that!

I'm pretty confident in teaching kids to read just by using trade books, as opposed to special phonics books.  Think "Sig the pig did a jig on the rig."  And there's plenty of fun little worksheets, songs, rhymes, poems, games, etc. online or to make that will provide extra practice.

The problem with a lot of Pre-K and Kindergarten reading curriculums is that they focus so much on the letters and letter sounds, which Maryn already knows.  Yes, she could still use practice, but it would be a waste of time to spend a whole week on the letter Aa, for example.  And I'm not convinced that sort of idea even works very well.  Some of the best phonics programs (and I am very picky, you can imagine) are $200-$300.  Ack!  

If we got a comprehensive program like Sonlight, I think the math and everything would be right on for her, whatever age she is.  But the reading (the phonics) would probably be way off.  I much prefer doing our own thing, and doing what is right for Maryn and catering it for what she needs.  Isn't that supposed to be the joy of home schooling?

So far, I love home schooling.  I can already see the benefits so clearly.  John and I are already learning so much along with her.  I'm even making John do the "Drawing with Children" stuff with us, and just as I suspected, he can draw splendidly.  It gets my creative juices flowing and is helping all of us think outside the box and look for learning opportunities and teachable moments all the time.  So fun.  ;-)

Polar Bears and Wise Men :)

There's so many cool ideas for snow paint.  Here's one we tried today, and it dries so puffy.  It's so cool!  Only Maryn didn't understand that you need to leave globs of the stuff so that it stays puffy.  So I did the puffy snowman and she did all the scribbling.  :)  Oh well.

 Look at our cute wise men!  I don't think the handprints look like camels, but oh well.  We tried.

 And here's our snow bear.  Maryn cut out all the shapes and the sign he's holding is some of the basic facts we've learned about polar bears.  They are pretty interesting animals.

I love learning along with my daughter.  It's so much fun!