Back home from convention.

Nothing says you are home from homeschool convention like a pile of laundry! Now i have been home since Sunday, but now on Thursday I am finally taking notice to tackle the inevitable. Even after such an awesome weekend being refreshed and energized, I can easily come home and look at a pile like this and get into a pretty bad attitude.

I got the blessing of sitting in Diana Waring's first Session on Things I Wish I'd Known.  What a powerful way to start of the weekend at the convention off!

The greatest influence she spoke about was to fixate on what I am thankful for and how my complaining could very well become a very well controlling thing, just because I give it power from my lips and then my mind and ultimately my heart.

It hit home with me.  I have a huge stumbling block, I complain voice my concerns about it all the time.  My house.  My husband says I am not being content.  I respond that I am stating facts.  Well a thirty minute session with Diana and I for once, seen what my husband had been hearing from my mouth.  I am not content and I shamelessly and entitled-ly voice my resentment. Uh-oh.

Well the truth is, unknowingly I allowed my resentment to become the very thing I fixated on.  I allowed it to control my attitude and even control what I would do each day.  My house became my excuse for  everything.  

Diana explained instead to fix on the things to be thankful for and know when we do the Lord will open us to even more.

So today when I began to compile the dirty laundry (BY THE WAY THIS IS NOT ALL OF IT), I counted my blessings that I am thankful for.   Here they are:

1. I have laundry!
2. I have a wonderful washing machine that works as it should!
3. I have laundry detergent!
4. I have water and electricity to run it!
5. The machines are in my home, so I do not have to go anywhere!
6. I have a lot of little hands to help me make dirty laundry and collect it!
7. My laundry is on the back porch, I get to hear God's wonderful birds sing a song of joy!
8. My laundry is on the porch, I get a muffled sound of the chaos!

Lord, thank you for all these blessing and your unchanging promise to show them to me with a pile of laundry.  A pile of laundry that is not a one time gig, but a daily reminder of how you provide for me.

Tell me.  What is your hang up and how can you be thankful? after this weekend, I realized I am not alone in this struggle.  Sometimes during the worst of it, it is hard to know how to find thankfulness in the chaos.

~trish

FPEA convention - day one

How exciting!

We made it to Orlando for the kids first homeschool convention.  It was a crazy day just getting here, but we are happy to be here.  Now the work of getting ready, left me procrastinating up until last night.  About 8pm after the kids were in bed, I began the 2 week chore of laundry, so we would have clothes to wear.  I spent most the morning packing and sewing.

Now I hate to admit it, but I was sewing even after I packed.  I just needed a few things like a couple of bibs, swimming cover, and a nursing shawl.  I can't wait to tell you all about the things I have been sewing.  

Amongst the chaos of the morning, the monkey found the chocolate at the top of the fridge again.

Once the monkey and the sweet potato were delivered to their destinations, our journey began. Have to say, just having the three was a dream for the ride.  No fighting, arguing.  We stopped for lunch at a lovely spot that was NOT fast food. Found our hotel.  Grab some water and checked in at the convention.

We immediately hit the exhibit hall.  I really hadn't given much thought to taking the kids to the hall. Well I took them.  We had a blast, so much that we had no idea that it had been 3 hours and it was past our bed time.

Here are a few pictures from tonight.  I have so much to show you.  I have got to get my video working again.

At www.drdrewsblocks.com booth.

Enjoying the splendors at www.rockofisrael.org

Making new friends along the way.

The awesome part about having the kids in the exhibit hall, was that I could see what made them tick, when given the choice.  My kids were drawn to games and science and hands on. I have already managed to spend a bit on a few new additions.  dr. Drew's Toys got the kids happy enough that I could stop myself from the purchase.  More on that later.  Then they fell in love with a mountain of chess games and strategies.

My kids are so funny.  I told them that they would have a blast tomorrow at the children's program and they were in shock that they could have more fun at the program than the exhibit hall. So we are already knee deep in awesome.

We were beat, by the time we got to the hotel around 11pm.  I am sure glad my husband isn't here, he would have flipped a lid.  I am thankful for a little sushi and a salad.  You have got to love publix.

2013 - 2014 homeschool curricula

We haven't finished our year yet, but I am so excited about things for next year.  Of course, I just got the bill for my purchases and  for the FPEA Convention and it does make me know that our year is about done.  I do not plan to actually begin this curriculum until September.   But I am so excited about it!

3rd grader - Worm

She is a strong reader, self driven that can manage herself, if give the tools. She will be by far the easiest, as long as her confidence grows in math. Thankfully lifepac is working nicely in this. I choose to give her art, mostly for something fun. I still want her to enjoy and around here a free for all on go make something doesn't always work. We need a bit of direction.

LIFEPAC Core Grade 3 (Bible, Language Arts, Math, Science, and History)



Horizon Penmanship 3                                       Horizon Health 3                          A Beka art 3

2nd Grader - Rooster

He is something else. I sometimes worry about him, especially when I use my keeping up with these jones homeschool family comparison. He has little confidence in reading, would skip out on school completely. Can do math like nobody's business. Where is the analytical test, he would ace it. Thankfully met another homeschooled boy his age and quickly realized it is just a season and boys just do this.

Now I am using a reason for handwriting because I got it free and liked it. I have horizon handwriting 2, but it seems too advanced for him and it doesn't show the lines on how to write letters. We have a hard time with Rooster holding the pencil right and starting from the bottom. Thankfully we can reference with Logic of English.
I was going to do the same health as the worm , but after reviewing the scope, I realized he needs to do grade 2.

LIFEPAC Core Grade 2 (Bible, Language Arts, Math, Science, and History)

A Reason for Handwriting A              Horizon Health 2                 A Beka arts and crafts 2
  




Kindergarten - Sweet Potato

This little one is fascinating. Taught herself to ride a bike and is working on it for reading too. She is itching to do her school work everyday. I love the rod and staff abc books. I am using them with her as unassisted busy work. I hate to assign it, but otherwise she will constantly disrupt me, asking for work. I got the art and handwriting. Like the lifepac for her ma
Rod and Staff - ABCDEFG books

LIFEPAC MATH and LANGUAGE ARTS K


A REason for Handwriting - K                                A Beka Art - k
                                   
I'm


K3 - Monkey
Rod and Staff for 3                                    Horizon K3 set         ABeka lamb arts for 3 year olds



(Of course my little kernel will continue to enjoy being a baby)

Together we will be doing:
I most excited about the astronomy!  I think that is because I bought our first telescope.  (we just went camping and found the best place to look at stars.)  We will all do this together.  I plan to dig and enjoy in this study.
Exploring Creation: Astronomy                            Story of the World Vol. 1

The story of the world will be treated as read aloud time with activities.  I love the stories and the activities.  I am steering away from the notebooking and book work because, I don't want to miss the fun of history, not the work of it.

Horizon PE gr k-2


At homeschool coop, we will be doing a geography and cultures study with Christian missionaries as our focus.  This should be super exciting.

Enrichment
For our family, enrichment is a time to catch up, read, and play with cool educational games.  i am making a list to help them from getting bored or really keep me from handing out the same stuff everyday.  I am still making a list, but so far I have.
Computer based piano instruction
Puzzles
Games
Origami

When an all day time out is just necessary

When my sweet rooster just wants to start off in a daydream, dragging his feet at any idea to put paper to pencil, what is there to do?

I am going to bore it out of him. I love what Art Robinson said about letting a reluctant child sit in their seat for as long as it takes each day. It renews me, when my son just refuses. If it gets too bad, I send him to bed. I hope he goes to sleep, but mostly he forces himself to stay awake.

Reasoning? I tried telling him that his attitude is his only obstacle.

Punish it out of him.

Motivate him?

There will be a week here and there, that nothing is going right with him.  He just looses it.  Most of the time it is just exhaustion.  We might spend a few days of him going back and forth to bed and then we are done for a few weeks.  And then we start again.

It mostly goes he is stubbornly defiant and reluctant.  I send him to bed.

About 20 minutes goes by, he will ask to come out.  I let him out and he is told to do his work.  he will stare blankly at it.  I wait about 15 minutes and send him back.

about an hour will go by and he will ask again.  We will go through the same drama and he will be sent back.

Now this is when we begin the cycle of coming and going.  Usually after the third time, I make him stay until dad gets home.  sometimes I tell him 2 hours, I am always just in the hope that he will fall a sleep.

Once he gets about an hour of some afternoon ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzs.  He will usually come in sit down and do some work. Usually.

He is easy to pick out when he is tired.  The entire house will be screaming. He has those kind of magic powers.

This is what I can sometimes find him doing during his I will sit in bed days.

On days that it will be no use to sleep, I will typically bring his work to the room and I will work with him 20 minutes at a time through out the day.  Doing this, works out very well.

Alpha omega Lifepac - week 3

Week 3 is a better place to be at than week 1.

We finished week three with a smile. We are still tweaking our methods. Here are some of the things that are helping us streamline our day.

www.spellingcity.com

Have you heard of it? Ohh, I heard about it but I never spent anytime investigating it. Well, in a thought I realized I might as well pay for something that will prepare my kids for spelling, so I checked it out. it was free!!!!!!
So what I love
1. I put the spelling list in and I name them. So I have been naming them by book and section. List 205-1 is the fifth book for second grade section 1. The nice part is that lifepac gives a spelling list per section. This means as I am planning my schedule out, I know that after a self test it is time for a new list.
2. I can make my list and when Worm is done with it, I can unpublish it and save it until Rooster needs it. I like this, because I can keep just 2 list up to pick from or I could pick more.
3. The games are entertaining enough that my kids do not realize they are working the words over and over again to a point of mastery.
4. All time favorite. It will give them a spelling test. Haha, nothing like free me up from a responsibility. Hehe. I have worm take the test, typing the word on the computer and them writing it in her practice test page in the book. She has been able to ace each practice test, so I skip the actual test.

Now, I love the way lifepac systematically puts the spelling list together for 2nd grade, but 1st seems a bit random. Also, second grade has a page introducing the list and some practice, while in first grade, the spelling list is only in the teacher manual. I decided as we move through the book, we will change spelling list and use them on spellingcity, but I have no intention of testing first grade spelling, so I am not.




Mommy homeschool planner
I have always had a hard time with the homeschool planner.  Mostly, i felt that I was always filling it out and I was never using it.  So my work was going no where.  The hard part is figuring out what I should put in it. Mostly, because I had no idea what I needed.  I was so overwhelmed trying to figure out just what i should do, that I couldn't even get a grasp on what I needed.

• I need to keep dates on when I am starting and stopping our school year. 
• When we are actively working on workbooks.
• Our goals per child and as a family.
• keep grades
• track what we and they are going to cover and when.
• what I expect to cover each week and each day.
• track our reading 
• track our field trips

wow, I guess I now have a sense of what I need to track.  I am working out the kinks. Once I get it put together, I will share all my parts and where I found them to print.

Yearly schedule
So for the past 9 months we have had for a lack of order a very unscheduled schedule.  I would make some great list that we could never keep up with and constantly run with as it accumulated what we still needed to finish.  Now if that is not a recipe for burning out, I am not sure what is.

My initial thought for our new routine with our LifePac books was to do 6 weeks on and 1 week off, with about another 3 weeks off for holidays.  During those 6 week sessions I figured we would do 2 booklets each session with a total of  7 sessions.  Now of course i calculated my daughters entire 12 years of school and thought how awesome, 14 books a year, high school would be done in tenth grade.

Here we are at the end of our three weeks, and I think we could use a break.  We are a bit tired, we need to do some catch up.  As we intentionally did nothing today (week 4 of lifePac), I broke from our routine and let the kids run off the glazed donuts lunch. Don't judge, I ate most of them to limit their sugar intake.

So my head was whirling in guilt for taking the day off and realizing we were really going to take the whole week off. So my head got to calculating.  Each year, we could go 12 - 3 week sessions.

• This is the state required 36 weeks/180 days, compared to the 42 week/210 days I was originally planning.  
• We will still be working year round, because that at the moment feels right.  
• We could possibly accomplish 2 books into the next grade each year.
• At the end of each 3 week session, we should have a book done.  If not, this gives us a week to work on it.
• Gives us a week of down time, to focus on hands on learning and fun. (hmm, this week, not sure.)

image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brown_Leghorn_rooster_in_Australia.jpg

On a side note, I am so happy to announce!
Rooster's booklets are not as spoon-fed as they go on.  happy Dance.  making it through the booklets, I was not prepared that the booklets will fill the need for his daily reading.  His reading is improving with this camouflaged reading.

Cool tools
I hit the office supply store for a few things and grabbed 3 of these.  I am not sure how well they will work out, but I have a feeling they will be useful.

It fits all 5 Lifepac booklets plus the handwriting workbook.  So now lets see if it gets used.

Having a Place that Feels like Home

Today, I was really hit with a sense of thankfulness.  As, a child in the early eighties and late seventies, I was the only kid in class that had parents that were not married.  Now, by late elementary it was sadly soon becoming the norm.  As a child, I never understood why the kids were so upset and crushed as their parents divorced. I always chalked it up, that because my parents were always separated I did not know anything else. So I was the blessed broken home kid.

Well, 35 years and a fried egg sandwich later, God presents the epiphany of the gift I has given to protect me, I had a home.  More like I had a sense of home.  My sense of home was with my grandparents.

Grandpa and I

My situation was the fact that my mom and I lived with her parents and my dad had remarried and was progressing with his family.  For reasons I do not comprehend, but lean heavily towards the fact that I was seen more as an commodity of my mothers, I was not allowed to live under my father's headship in his home.  In my entire life as a child, it was my father's house that resembled a home, never my mother's house.

In the life of uncertainty, especially from a baby to a tween, I had a safe, dependable place and that was with my grandparents.  In a life with a single mom, it was my grandpa that got me ready for school and it was him who I came home to.  He made sure I did my homework.  It was also him, who threw me in the pool first thing in the morning when I had a crabby attitude.  Note to self, should get a pool.  It was my grandma and grandpa that I ate dinner with and learned to have manners at the table.  It was the two of them, that I crawled between when I couldn't sleep at night.  It is with them, that I keep all of my normal everyday life memories with.

Sadly, even though it was my mother who I had custody with, she is not in any part of my before tween years memories of life.  In fact, the very few memories I have with her, are most times hurtful and isolated pain. Well, anyway.

What I realized today was that my grandparents did an amazing job protecting me from the ugliness of broken homes.  The ugliness of parents try to upper hand each other.  I was protected.  I never once had a thought that I didn't have a home, especially while I was sorting out the emotions that I did not have a sense of home at either parent's house, I always had a refuge to run to, my grandma and grandpa.

Today, as a parent, I am thankful for the parenting model I received from them.  They gave me a great foundation to be a parent and to make a home.  They were not always perfect, but they were perfect for my needs at the time. I am so glad that they let the Lord lead them to be what I needed them to be.

Alpha omega lifepac - week 2

Hmm, all the reviews say it takes 45 minutes for the whole days worth of work. Then why is it 5 pm and we only have 1 book done for the 5 to do. I am only assigning 3 pages each day. It is the rooster. Getting him to calm down for the day is just an all day affair. With that said, I look forward to the days that we can sail through. Our core and get right onto enrichment.

Now That the week is over, I feel exhausted. At week 2, the biggest eye opener is: I am thankful to have a well laid out curriculum, because our self discipline, more like my kids is showing its self. My goal is to push through this and still stay moderately on schedule. I feel like this is just learning a new routine, plus I changed the house around, giving them a permanent workplace. So I am sure their little minds are still whirling.

As always it is the Rooster that is the anchor in our day. He gets me so focused on him, that my worm goes off on a bunny trail in her head and she too, is no longer getting anything accomplished. I am questioning anyone with energized 7yr olds, is your kid like this? Wy, yes, yes they are. I am trying to keep in mind that this is just a season, he will grow into an amazing young man.


We gave our homeschooling a "on the go" test, since it is so bragged about that it is transportable for errands. So with a doctors appointment for the baby on Wednesday and a dentist appointment for everyone with teeth on Thursday, we gave it a try. The second grade work, was easy enough to do. The first grader needed me at his side to do his work. So we are not at home, maintaining a watchful eye on my other children, while waiting for our appointment. Hmm, first grade work did not work out so good. By Thursday, I decided not to focus on it. So we hit the library.

Spoon feeding the Rooster is getting the best of me. Being the mom I am, and wanting to do everything from cover to cover, I must let go a bit. There is a large chunk of this book that is really a review or tying up loose ends for Rooster. As always, here I am trying to do every itty bitty activity with him, dragging our day on and on. I decided to keep the conversation to the page work and skip the activities. If he does poorly on a self test, then we can come back for the activities. This should shorten our day and keep us from burning out with each other.

I love the awesome journals, are they performing accurately, whelp, not at this age. I still like them for recording grades, but I need something in addition to them to keep up with and my eyes open to what the kids will be working on and if they are staying caught up. So I am looking for better mommy planning.

I hate that I feel that we are on a delicate schedule with very little wiggle room. I am still contemplating how we will handle our end of the portfolio. I was reminded that I can relax, but the mommy in me is still concerned. It is possible that I might only submit in our portfolio the work we complete in the lifepac series. Thankfully, we are working this school year to the end of August.