How Do I Homeschool, You Ask?

Time for question #2 from Back To Homeschool Week at Randi's Blog.

Tuesday, August 7---How do you homeschool?
Scheduling, classical education, unschooling, getting the kids to help with chores, how to be "mom" and "teacher" at the same time, special needs, teaching an advanced child, how to teach the tough subjects, teaching high school, teaching with babies and preschoolers in the house, budgeting for homeschool supplies, notebooking, etc., etc., etc...

I hardly know how to answer this question as it changes year to year. I have some homeschooling styles that I try to incorporate like the Charlotte Mason philosophy. I love to use nature Study, copy work, narration, short lessons, and most of all GREAT literature.

I am big on whole literature. I love the idea of kids being inspired by what they read, and learning on their own. However these ideals only work well with one of my children. E would learn everything there was to learn (except math) with just a library card and pen and paper. She’s just that kind of student. B is a bit hyper focused on soccer. Everything else, I must make him learn. Fortunately he is a good reader and he enjoys it so I can assign him a lot of reading.

G & A are dyslexic so educating them is a bit of a trick. It is just harder. I love a literature based education, but getting the literature in them is tricky when there is such a gap between what they can read and what they can understand. I read to them a lot, but I only have so much time. Books on tape are our friends in this house!

I feel the tyranny of the urgent when it comes to homeschool. I would love to just sit and read great literature to my kids and discuss great spiritual truths from the Bible all day long. But sadly there is math, and science…

Back to the question…How do I homeschool.

This school year will be a bit different. A will be going to the Dyslexia Remediation Program at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children this year. It is a two year program. I will be driving her one day a week and then twice a week every third week. (It is a carpool of 3 and there are 4 days) I have done it before with G in 04 - 05 and 05-06.

I have to take B to his Algebra tutor twice a week and I will be teaching at the Homeschool Co Op once a week. I have never been this busy. I have wracked my brain to try to figure out how to not be so busy this year but I can’t do it. I committed to the Co Op before I knew I’d be taking A downtown to Scottish Rite.

It is important to me for my kids to have some time with other kids and with other teachers within reason. They all will be taking a writing class among other classes. In order to pay for these classes I must teach.

B’s tutor is a non negotiable because I am incapable of teaching algebra.

I know God will work it out but I am a bit nervous about how I am going to get it all done. B will be driving in Nov so that will take getting him to tutoring out of the equation for me.

I’ve been doing this long enough that I know I will fall short of my ideal, but I am trying to lean on God and teach my kids in the way that is best for them, not me.

If it were up to me we’d have a very Charlotte Mason\Sally Clarkson style homeschool, but God choose to give me two dyslexic kids who needed some specific help, which takes me out of the house more than I want to be.

I also have fibromyalgia and sometimes I just have to stop. I hate it when that happens and then the kids really have to do more on their own. The flair up’s have been less frequent lately, but I still have to monitor my activity level closely to not overdo it. I am a bit nervous about next years schedule.

As for the nitty gritty…

We don’t have a daily schedule, but each child has their own daily assignment sheet. The things we do together (History\literature, and our state study) we’ll do at around the same time daily, usually around 10:30 am. The kids usually get up and get started with their independent stuff at 8:30. I try to have them do LA and Math then at the table. I am usually eating my breakfast and drinking my coffee and hovering around the table to help whoever needs it. Then around 10:30 we move into the living room for our together stuff. In the afternoons when I am gone the kids will have to be working on their state study stuff or independent history reading. On Friday’s we do our regular stuff and our co op homework. This is the one day I won’t have to leave the house at least until B is driving.

I don’t like to be this busy but I’ve been told that right before your first gets his drivers license, you feel like you’re about to go mad with driving! This is totally true. All the stuff I drive too is good and necessary, but I’m ready for that boy to get himself where he needs to go!

Another thing I try to keep in mind at all times is that our homeschool is bigger than just the academics. It is about life. My kids get side jobs here and there, they get opportunities to ride along with an electrician (their uncle) or a plumber (friend of the family) or work at an auto shop (another friend of the family) and I try to make it possible for them to take those opportunities, even if we have to put off the academics for another day.

The academics are just one thing in a large list of things D and I feel our kids need to know in order to be ready for the world. Life is bigger than algebra and history. If my kids are brilliant academically but have black souls what good will their brilliance do them? Conversely, if they are in love with and following the Lord but cannot read and write, they will be of limited use for God.

I want to keep it in perspective, Algebra and Language Arts are not more important than relationship building and learning to love the Lord and get along with siblings. I am trying to make it all a bit more seamless. In order to be a tool the Lord can use, I want them to be well rounded academically, spiritually, socially, and relationally. I think the way to get there is by keeping their education in all things, in perspective.

That is the ideal, reality is…well, reality.

Why do you do what you do, you ask?

As part of Back To Homeschool Week over at Randi's Blog, I'll be answering one question a day, all week, about homeschooling. Go on over to her blog and check out all the other's who'll be doing it too.

I am going to enjoy reading all the responses!

Monday, August 6---What led to your decision to homeschool?
Why do you do what you do? What brought you to homeschooling? What factors played a part in your decision?

I’m going to try to make this short and sweet (yeah right!). I started homeschooling because we couldn’t afford private school for more than one kid at a time and the public school system where I live stinks (I know I graduated from it). So really that is it. I’d love to say that I had some noble and grand reason to begin on this crazy journey, but the reason really boils down to finances.

Sometimes I thank God that we were not wealthy back then (although, wealth would be okay now God, because I’m so much more mature and sensible, hint…hint…hint.) because I would have stuck all my kids in a Christian Private school and missed out on this incredible journey called homeschool.

I think I am STILL homeschooling because I have seen the benefits of it. I have seen that it can really be a superior method of education, simply because it can be tailored to each specific child. I don’t care how prestigious a private school is, not many can claim that. And when you have two dyslexic kids who need a lot of “tailoring” it is worth every hassle.

I am convinced my dyslexic kids would not be who they are today if they had been in a school setting. They would have been crushed. But at home we could get them the help they needed and go at the pace they needed to go. They have not decided they are dumb, quite the contrary, they have discovered just how talented they are in many areas because they have had the time and freedom to develop their areas of interest and talent, while working to better their week areas.

I am not arrogant enough to say that without a doubt we will always homeschool, all the way through, but I do pray that God gives me the strength to get through each new school year. I am so close to graduating my first, I can hardly believe it. This job is just too darn hard and consuming to stop now. I want to finish well. I love the benefits I am seeing to homeschooling highschooloers. I never thought we’d make it all the way through high school. It was incredibly hard for ME to finish high school (I thought Algebra and Biology were going to kill me!) but I have seen God provide in miraculous ways, like an Algebra tutor (God Bless that woman) and homeschool Co op’s.

So there you have it. It is not grand or noble, but It’s the truth.

Hopefully the reasons I continue to homeschool will be more inspiring than the reason we started in the first place.

To enhance or not to enhance, that seems to be the question.

I have begun to notice what I consider to be an alarming trend.

I was at a meeting about G’s dyslexia on Friday. (The place where he had his dyslexia classes tests every year for their records and I get to keep a copy) The tester was a nice looking lady somewhere in her 30’s I’d guess, but I was having a hard time paying attention to the very important things she was telling me about,

HEPA requirements…

Confidentiality…

Test results will be back in…

I could not focus on her words because her unusually large breasts were distracting me! They were a very unlikely size for a woman as slender as she was. She had small shoulders, her hands and wrists were small too. Could it be just a super-bra? Not likely. Maybe she was nursing? Probably not as her stomach showed no sighs of recently being stretched three times it's size. She simply was not the type of person that would get her breasts done, in my mind. She was dressed conservatively, she was not wearing a lot of make up, and she did not seem to be putting out the come-hither vibe at all, except for the unusually large breasts.

Then I started thinking…I’ve noticed a lot of women lately that looked like that; large breasts, perfectly clear and taut skin that curved in all the right places. I thought maybe God had started making more women with the American Ideal of the perfect body since I was created. But really, they were everywhere. Normal women you’d see at the coffee shop or at church, and yet, somehow they seamed…enhanced.

This new trend has me a bit worried. Am I going to be the only 70ish year old woman with wrinkles, and parts pudging out in places they shouldn’t, and parts pointing down where they should be pointing out? Will I be the only one in the knitting club with grey hair?

We haven’t gone so far in our society as to not appreciate a face like this, that exudes wisdom and grace. But here’s the thing, getting to that is a process. It involves years of sort-of grey hair, and a few laugh lines (that by the way, are not funny) and crows feet.

Each of these children that I bore have left an indelible mark (or ten) on this body. Nursing them each for around year has also left an equally indelible mark on my once perky breasts. And while I don’t buy off on the old adage that says I have earned each one of the grey hairs that my teens are giving me, I am not willing to spend all my time and my husbands money trying to avoid them.

So people, I beseech, entreat, implore and beg you; stand strong! It is going to be very hard for the few of us who have decided to age naturally, to avoid Dr Nip-Tuck when everyone around us is doing it.

By all means, spend the extra money on the specialty creams and hair products that promise a long wrinkle free life and lustrous locks of gold (or whatever your pre-grey hair color is). But I beg you, embrace your age. Live it. Claim it. Be it.

Because people, I can’t be the only one who actually looks 50 when I’m 50.

What in the World are we Going To Do This Year? Part 4 – The Highschooler

B is going to be in 10th grade this year. I am not sure how that happened. One minute he was a little guy just learning his letters, not he’s a big guy learning things I don’t even remember learning.

The way we homeschool him has evolved quite a bit. In fact, I am almost hesitant to say I homeschool him because so much of his schooling is done outside the house. I am really only responsible for his History at this point.

He is old enough to start at the JR. College near us taking Duel Credit classes, meaning if he can test into the class, he can earn college and high school credit.
We decided to wait until next semester to sign him up, maybe even next year. He really needs to concentrate on finishing up his Algebra 1 & 2 and his writing class this year before we feel like he is ready to take college level classes.

Anyway, here is what he is taking this year.

At Co op

Language Arts – He is taking an intensive, college prep writing class this year. It focuses on Essays, Sat writing, paper writing etc. There is not much creative writing in this class. Creative writing is a separate class he will probably take next year. There is some grammar and editing associated with this class as well.

Biology – He will be taking the Apologia Biology class at the co op. I love the teacher; she is a nurse and really knows her stuff.

Speech – This is a great class, it is not speech and debate, but public speaking. She will teach in the areas of how to conduct a job interview, how to give your testimony, how to speak in church or Sunday school. She’s going to make it applicable to what these kids need to learn, (sometimes homeschoolers get a bad name in the public speaking department)

Algebra 1 & 2 – This is not at the co op, but by a tutor. This tutor teaches the Pre algebra at the co op. She is my hero, because she is teaching my son algebra! He is a bit behind because they are going at his pace. I am happy and sad about this. I know I want him to GET IT not just get through the book, but I hate that my kids are behind. The plan is that they will get the last part of algebra 1 done quickly and move on to algebra 2. They are starting next week and will probably work through the summer next year so he’ll be done by 11th grade and can start geometry.

At Home –

History – He will be doing Sonlight’s Core 100 (American History In Depth) He does all the reading himself. He reads the Readers, Read Alouds and History Readers; He is a good reader and can handle this amount. I also count this as a literature credit.

Spanish – He is doing the same Rosetta Stone as the other kids, however he has to do it daily, and pass all the levels. HE did Spanish 1 last year, he will be doing Spanish 2 this year.

PE – He plays soccer daily with some of the other missionaries in the base. He gets up in the morning at 6 am to play. I have no worries that this kid does not get enough exercise!

That is really it. It does not seem like a lot but he will be quite busy. I hate that he is not taking art this year. He has been taking art for years and is really good but he just does not have the time this year.

This will get him 7 credits.

This is really my last year teaching him. After this year he will be taking most of his academic classes at the local Community College.

What in the World are We Going to do This Year? Part 3

Just in case some of you were starting to feel inferior, or you beginning to think, ‘wow this homeschooling family has it all together, and their kids are brilliant’ this post is for you.

G is going into 7th grade in the fall and I am a little freaked out about that. The years I have to squeeze all the information into him that he needs to know are dwindling, but the information is not.

G is dyslexic and has been through the Scottish Rite Remediation program that A is currently going to. And while it helped him immensely, he is still not the best reader, he does not like to read, and spelling…well, let’s just not go there. His handwriting is also awful, and he is a year behind in math. So academically thing are not going so well for G. However, if you need to build a deck, rewire a lamp, unhook a trailer, or do just about anything mechanical, he’s your guy. He is also great with people, and is a great helper. He is also a good teacher as he is patient and will spend the time to show you how to do it. (this is the only reason I know how to work the DVR) And he has a great attitude, he has a lot he could complain about, but he is not a complainer.

I don’t know what God has planned for G. I wish I did so I could better prepare him. No matter what he does he’s going to have to be able to read and write better than he does now.

So we plug along and do our best, but I worry that our best may not be good enough. Just the thought of that boy taking algebra gives me the cold shivers.

So enough qualifications, here is what my 7th grade boy is doing this year.

Language Arts – I will be using the new and improved Sonlight LA 3 with E & G. He will also be taking a writing class at Co op. He will continue to do his journal writing daily, using the Love to Learn journal I mentioned in A’s post. I am quite scared of this writing class, it is going to be A LOT of work for both of us, but it needs to be done.

Spelling – I have tried every spelling program on the market with little luck with G. His dyslexia remediation teacher basically said, keep working on it but don’t make a big issue of it, and give him a spell checker.

Math – Bob Jones 6th Grade and Calculadder

History – Sonlight Core 3 along with A & E. He will read the readers, he will not like it but they are only 3rd grade readers and I’m going to make him READ them. I will probably make him listen to some books on tape that B will be reading with his American history study, just so he can get some higher level thinking.

Geography – Simply stated. I posted a while ago about this. I am very excited about this study. I think it will be a lot of fun. You can go check out that post if you like. (links are in A’s post)

Electives –

Typing – He has been doing a typing program for a couple of years now. He has got to get better at his typing if he ever hopes to use a spell checker correctly!

Spanish – We have access to the full program of Rosetta Stone through the library. I don’t make him do it too much as we’re still working on the English language.

Classes at the Homeschooling Co op –

PE – G lives for the PE class. He loves it.

Writing - This is the first year he will be taking the writing class. Yikes, this will be so much work for me.

Science – G will be helping out in the younger kids science taught by my SIL. She is going to give me some advanced notice of what she will be teaching so I can have G do a little research on the topics before class

PE Helper – G will also be helping out the PE teacher with the K – 3rd boys class. He is really good at helping. He really shines there.

So there you have it. Not much in the way of academics, but we’re plugging along. If you start to think I’m a bad homeschooler go look at E’s schedule! She’s my academic one. If I didn’t have her, I might have given up on this homeschool thing years ago! A girl needs a little bit of success now and then!

Book Review

I’m going to take a break in the middle of my What in the World Are We Going to do This Year? series and do a little book review.

I just finished Moon Over Tokyo. I loved it. I have really loved all of Siri Mitchell books. She is a fabulous writer. I love how her books are not sappy, or I guess there not formula “Christian” books. Her characters are Christians, but they are real people too, with flaws. I guess I like her books because her characters don’t have it all figured out. And as an author she makes you think about why you think the way you do. Sometimes we Christians have hang ups and she has made me think about a few of mine. Are they really what Christ would want me to think, or just something I have grown up believing in the Christian circles? There is sometimes a difference.

A friend gave me Kissing Adrian last year and I loved it so much I went on a Siri Mitchell kick and read all her books. I think The Cubicle Next Door is my favorite so far, but I have really enjoyed all her stuff.

So there you have it. Go get a Siri Mitchell book; you’ll be glad you did!

What in the World Are We Going To Do This Year? Part 2

*****I did not add links this time because most of the link's are in Part 1. If you want to know more about any of the things I use, leave me a comment and I'll point you in the right direction*****

Today I’ll tell you what I am doing with E my very studious 5th grader. She is so easy to teach. It is a good thing God did not give me only her or I’d be an arrogant homeschooler. I think I could just give her a library card and she’d learn everything she needs to know (except math).

She asked me to get her bird, flower, and insect books specific to Colorado for our trip. She spent much of the vacation telling us what every flower and butterfly was named.

Her aunt gave her a hummingbird feeder and a book on hummingbirds for her birthday and she brought it to CO and had a great time identifying the Hummingbirds that came to the feeder. I’m telling you this child is so easy to teach.


So here is what she will be doing next year.

Language Arts – I will be using the new and improved Sonlight LA 3 with E & G. She will also be taking a writing class at Co op. She will continue to do her journal writing daily, using the Love to Learn journal I mentioned in A’s post.

Spelling – I don’t worry too much about spelling with E. She is a natural speller (See! I’d be totally arrogant if she were my only child.) She wants to do Spelling Power so she can get better. We do it as I have time.

Math – Bob Jones 5th Grade and Calculadder

History – Sonlight Core 3 along with A & G. She will read the readers aloud to A. The readers will be a bit easy for her but I will be adding more reading to her schedule with the Geography study.

Geography – Simply stated. I posted a while ago about this. I am very excited about this study. I think it will be a lot of fun. You can go check out that post if you like. E will be doing a lot of independent reading on the various states.

Electives –

Typing – She has just started a typing program on the computer. Spell Write Type.

Spanish – We have access to the full program of Rosetta Stone through the library. It will get too tough for her pretty quickly, but for now she is having fun with it.

Classes at the Homeschooling Co op –

American Girl – This is a hands-on classed based on the books. They do two dolls a year.There is also a play at the end of each semester.

Writing - This is the first year she will be taking the writing class.

Science – She will be taking a hands-on science class at co op.

Art – E is quite a talented little artist. She has been taking art classes with the same teacher at co op for 3 years. Next year will be her 4th year to take art. It is one of her favorite classes

Sometimes community stinks.

*****Read at your own risk, I’m feeling whiney*****

This summer has not been an easy one. I don’t like to be a whiner and I try not to complain. One of the things you have to learn quickly when you have a chronic issue like Fibromyalgia is that you can’t let it define you. I refuse to let it be the filter by which I sift all my decisions. However, it won’t let me forget I have it.

This summer, a friend in my Sunday school class had a hysterectomy, and I brought her a meal, My SIL has had an 8 week bout with Phenomena and I have tried to help out where I could (with her 8 year old twin boys and with meals) but I did not really feel like I could do too much, and then I feel guilt. Sigh.

I also had my other SIL’s 8 & 10 year old girls here for 4 days while their parents were away at a wedding.

Another friend just had a baby. I have worked on baby showers and brought meals, etc. These are things I want to do, things that I need to do.

My best friend has been sick for 2 weeks (while we were out of town, I did not find out till I got back) and found out today she has West Nile Virus! I want to help her and her family, that is what friends do!

Also today I got a call from the Helps Ministry at church asking me if I could serve this month. I tried to explain that I have been serving my friends and family, I just haven’t been doing it under a “program” and that I have a condition where I don’t know how I’m going to be from day to day, blah, blah, blah. I hate saying it as much as I’m sure people hate hearing it.

I also got a call today from the Children’s Pastor at our church asking of D was going to be at the meeting tonight for the AWANA directors. Last year D was the director for the 5th and 6th grade boys and I was the secretary. It was our 2nd year in this position and I’m not even sure how many years we’ve served total in the AWANA program.

We decided to take a hiatus this year. I know we told people including the Children’s Pastor but I guess they did not remember. I had to call D at work and tell him he needs to call the Children’s Pastor again.

Okay, I know this is starting to sound like a big whine, so I’ll get to the point.

I am tired of being needed.

There are days that I am in a lot of pain and it is all I can do to take care of my family. I am not receiving help from the church or friends and I am okay with that. But I do get frustrated when I am barely keeping my head above water and I keep getting calls about others needs.

I think I also am suffering from Vacation Hangover. I want to go back to a place that is cool and beautiful and no one knows me or my family. If no one knows us no one can need us.

Trust me, I know that last statement is not biblical or right, but that is how I am feeling at the moment. Community is sucking the life out of me.

*****Whine concluded, tomorrow’s post will be upbeat and homeschool related, thank you for your patience*****

In The World Are We Going To Do This Year? Part 1

Over at The Well Drained Mind, we are having a little Homeschooling fun. Go check it out!

The idea is that everyone is going to write a post on their own blog on a certain daily topic Randi has come up with regarding Homeschooling. This will start next Monday the 6th and go for a week.

To get the juices flowing, I thought I’d start this week by posting what I am planning on using for each of my kids this next school year.

Today we’ll start with my 3rd grader.

A is the baby of the family. She is 8 years old and in 3rd grade. A is dyslexic and will be going to a dyslexia remediation program at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. This program is 4 days a week, 2 hours a day, for 2 school years.

I have done this program before with G and it is intensive. With this in mind I have made my decisions about her school year. So here goes…

Language Arts – All of her LA will be done at Scottish Rite (SR). She will read aloud to me at home and do her homework from SR daily. She will continue to do her journal writing daily. (I love the Love to Learn Daily Journal)

Math – Bob Jones 3rd Grade and Calculadder

History – Sonlight Core 3 along with G & E. I’m not sure how much of the reading she will do, I may have her sister read the readers aloud to her as she is not quite on the level of 3rd grade readers and while E is a very good reader, she needs the reading aloud practice.

Geography – Simply stated. I posted a while ago about this. I am very excited about this study. I think it will be a lot of fun. You can go check out that post if you like.

Science – Various unit studies. We watch a lot of documentaries, and she loves to get various science related picture books at the Library.

Electives –

Typing – She has just started a typing program on the computer. Spell Write Type is the name.

Spanish – We have access to the full program of Rosetta Stone through the library. It will get too tough for her pretty quickly, but for now she is having fun with it.

Classes at the Homeschooling Co op –

American Girl – This is a hands-on classed based on the books. They do two dolls a year. There is also a play at the end of each semester.

Book Club – I teach this class. It is based on the Five in a Row model which I love (I used FIAR at home when my kids were younger and loved it!). Obviously we don’t do it for five days, but we have a lot of fun with the picture books.

A good Time Was Had By All!

Thank you for the birthday wishes. It was a nice day.

My kids outdid them selves this year. I did not get any orange fingernail polish!

B & G got me a bed tray. I used to have this pretty white, wicker one but A decided to use it as a chair and broke it. I have missed my little tray so I was glad to get another.

E got me some Starbucks because she knows how much I like coffee.

A got me a magnet. It is from a working gold mine we stopped at in CO. She knows I like to get a small magnet from every place we visit on a camping trip. I put them all on the vent a hood in the camper.

D got me a bike. It has been years since I’ve had a bike, and I decided I wanted one. It is a Schwinn. I really like it. It has that old fashioned look to it.

I rode it yesterday and learned two things. One, I have not used those bike riding muscles in a LONG time, and two, I won’t be spending much time outside on that bike for at least another six weeks.

It is just too darn hot to be outside here. It must be 150 degrees with 134% humidity, and y’all know I don’t exaggerate!

So, while I love my new bike, I’ll put it away until us Texans are a bit further away from the sun.

By the way, stay tuned. I have some homeschooling posts coming up. I have to stay close to my roots after all.