A New Way of Thinking

When my oldest was 5, we started to homeschool.  We would do one lesson of reading, one of handwriting, and one of math.  It was supposed to take about 30-45 minutes a day.  Supposed to.  In reality, it tended to take us much, much longer.  As it turned out, my daughter and I didn't understand each other.  We had way different ways of thinking, and it made it very difficult to teach her.  Her brain is wired like my husband's, although we both have a strong perfectionist streak.

It wasn't too long into schooling before I started noticing odd behaviors.  She had a very hard time focusing.  Her mind seemed to be going a million miles a minute.  She couldn't block things out.  If the TV was on, she would hear it, every last word.  Same with any conversation going on around her.  Yet at other times she could block out everything as she sat staring at something for long periods of time.  When she was in large groups of kids, she would always be the one being too goofy, slow to catch commands, and easily distracted.  Even as an 8 or 9 year old, I would repeatedly have to get after her for dancing and singing down the grocery isles, climbing into the clothes racks, and lying on the ground spread eagle at the check out stand.

I was certain she had ADD, just like her dad.

At somewhere around her 10th birthday though, things have started to change.  She will have not only math, reading, and writing for school, but also grammar, spelling, music, and logic.  More often then not, she will now finish all of this in much less then 2 hours.  In groups she's  calmed down, becoming more attentive and aware.  At the store she can now be civilized, though she still needs an occasional reminder.  Basically, she's become a normal, well behaved kid.

So now I find myself wondering if she was really ADD in the first place.  It's possible.  Some people do outgrow it.  Others have a predisposition toward it but never fully develop it.  Others simply learn to cope well enough that you wouldn't even know it was there.  Do I wish I had never thought she had ADD in the first place?  No.  Learning to understand it has helped me to understand my daughter and others who are not hardwired the way I am.  I just need to learn to let go of the assumption that she actually does have it, because she seems to not be ADD anymore.

The thing is, now my son, who is turning 6 soon, is starting homeschool.  In a lot of ways he is very similar to his oldest sister, and I find myself trying to explain his actions as I had done with her.  I'm wondering though if it is better or not to just let things be.  Do I find a label that seems to fit him so that I can understand him better, or do I simply try to understand him without the use of any structural framework?  It's a tough question, and one that I will likely be asking myself for some time yet.

Hidden Benefits of Homeschooling

Most people who have looked at homeschooling are aware of the well known benefits that it brings. You get to make your own schedule, go at your child's pace, lots of one-on-one teaching, protect your kids from bad friends and other influences, go on vacations when you want, sleep in, etc. Thing is, after homeschooling for almost 5 years now, I've come to realize that there are a lot more hidden benefits. Here's a list to show what I mean:

* I have gotten to know my kids VERY well, in ways that I never would have if I didn't teach them. For example, I know how their brains work, how they learn best, how long their attention span really is, how much they really know, and the difference that lack/type of food and sleep can make.

* I get to learn things too. When my kids study different animals, Egyptians, storms, castles, planets, or mythology, I learn about them too. When they learn new math concepts, sometimes I discover things as well. When my daughter starts passing me on piano, I start learning to try and stay ahead. When they learn Latin, I learn Latin. If they read a book, I often read it too. And it's fun to learn along with my kids. It's turned into a family thing.

* My kids can still entertain themselves for hours on end. They don't need outside entertainment, TV, video games, computers, or whatever else. They find things for themselves to do without relying on me to figure it out for them. They still play pretend, create stories and art, build things, play with their siblings and friends, exercise, make their own food, and simply have fun without being plugged in or given a schedule. They could go all day like this if I let them.

* No homework. This is my favorite. Once we are done with school for the day, we are done. Finished. Nothing more. Go play (once you finish your chores that is). And it doesn't matter if school only took 2 hours that day. You're done!

* I decide what is important to learn (as long as I include what the law says I have to). If I think it is important to learn cursive so that my kids will be able to read it, then I can make sure we cover it. If I don't think my kids need "social studies", I can skip it. Sex ed, scripture study, evolution, the slide rule, you name it. I'm in charge. I decide. Not some outside entity with different priorities and beliefs.

* My kids aren't inundated and swayed with public opinion. If my boy likes pink, then he's welcome to like it. Just because it's the latest fad, doesn't mean my girls are interested. They are the ones who decide what they are interested in. Want more salad? Go ahead! You hate Harry Potter? Go right ahead. It's nice to not have to follow what the social norm says. this also makes them more open to new ideas because they are not concerned with what other will think. Definite bonus.

* My kids will play with anyone. They don't care what their age is, what gender they are, what clothes they wear, what TV programs or video games they play, or how popular (or not) they are. If someone is fun to play with, that's good enough. Baby or senior citizen, poor or rich, smart or slow, pretty or not, whatever. They will be your friend if you'll be their friend too.

* I have constant, on-hand, mother's help. They help clean, cook, take care of each other, teach each other, entertain each other, and so on. When my baby comes, they will help with diapers and feedings. A couple more years and I'll have constantly available babysitters. It's nice to have help, and they are there to give it.

* You are allowed to sleep in, and your kids can stay up late on a school night with no issues. There is no morning rush or stressed pick up time. It's very relaxed. You can have your daily structure as rigid or as flexible as you want it, and it can change as often as needed. Vacation time, doctor's appointments, zoo visits, grocery store, swimming at the rec center, library, they can all be done when the crowds are low. And if a baby comes or you get really sick, you can put things off for a while without having to do "make-up work".

* My kids don't get sick that much. What they do catch is usually mild, most often just a cold. Stomach flu and strep are practically unheard of around here, and even then, they can still do school because it's at home. No waiting for antibiotics to kick in or finding that they are perfectly healthy 2 hours after school starts. No missed classes or fake illnesses around here.

*My car has put on very low milage. I'm not driving to school twice a day, sometimes more. I am not driving all over for this activity and that. I can go for a week and have hardly stepped foot in my car. Sure saves on car maintenance and gas. That doesn't mean we don't go anywhere. We've just taken out the daily trips.

*It can save you lots of money. You only spend as much as you want to on school books and supplies. Your kids don't need nice clothes. There are no school fees. Sack lunches don't exist. Field trips are completely optional and tailored to your income. How much or little you spend is all up to you.

There are certainly more things that I haven't thought of yet. I'm sure I'll discover more as time goes on. In the mean time, I'm enjoying all of the advantages I've got.

A Whole New World

While doing research on different cloth diapers and their care, I have come across a whole new world of things that I never knew existed. Here's a short list to show what I mean:

Tea Tree Oil: It is an essential oil often used in home made baby wipes solutions. It is antiviral, antibacterial, and anti fungal, and used for treating things like nail fungus, ringworm, athletes foot, dandruff, acne, and many types of infestations including head lice, mites, and mosquitoes.

Wool Dryer Balls: Add these balls to your dryer to get faster drying, fluffier laundry. It also helps eliminate static, though not completely. They effectively do the job of dryer sheets, except they are reusable for years and don't leave any chemical residue on your clothes.

Cloth Feminine Pads: Um, pretty self explanatory. They're like cloth diapers, except for the purpose of, and shaped like, feminine hygiene products.

Eco-friendly Detergents and Cleaners: Maybe I'm just blind, but I never knew these were out there, and in such an abundance! They are made from all-natural materials such as grape seed and fruit extract, coconut and corn, and other essential oils, and according to reviews, they work just as well as synthetic cleaners.

Diaper Sprayers: I did know about these beforehand, but I still find it part of a different world. These attach to the water supply on your toilet and are used just like the sprayer in your kitchen sink. Except, of course, it sprays into your toilet. I can think of lots of things other then diapers this could be useful for, but they're all kinda gross. I'd rather not list them.

Diaper Cloths: I already knew about cotton and wool. Cotton is very absorbent, and wool is water repellent. What I didn't know was that there are cloths made from hemp and bamboo. Turns out they are thinner and even more absorbent and highly prized by the cloth diapering community then the old standbys. There is also a fabric caller PUL (polyurethane lining) that is waterproof but soft, typically used for the outside shell on diapers, and microfleece and suedcloth used to wick away the moisture.

Reusable Bags: These include sandwich bags, diaper pail liners, dirty diaper (wet) bags, and mini wet/dry bags. Makes sense for cloth diaper users. They can also be used for other things like swim gear, makeup, feminine products, wet wipes, sunscreen, lotion, towels, etc. Just launder with your diapers or other laundry.

It's quite possible that you already knew of these things and I was just obliviouse. Oh well. In either case, now we both know.

Diaper Days are Coming!

My ultrasound a couple weeks ago helped me realize I have a baby coming. Soon. Not too soon, but soon enough. And that realization jumpstarted a week + of figuring something out.

A couple years ago, while at the park with one of my friends, her little boy had his diaper changed. Exciting, I know, but it started a long conversation. You see, he was wearing a cloth diaper. And it was cute, not one of those hideous old-fassioned pre-folds with pins and plastic pants. I was interested. I've always been a bit of an environmentalist, but I also find frugality, aesthetics, and convenience important. My friend informed me that by using cloth diapers, I could actually obtain all four. Really?

Environmentally, cloth diapers are wonderful. They do not pile up in landfills, adding non-decomposing and toxic waste to the system. Instead, they get reused over and over, recycling for years, and putting the waste where it belongs (down the toilet).

Economically, it is also a winner. Over the period from birth to potty training, a typical child will go through over $2000 in disposable diapers. Seriously. Cloth diapering is much cheaper in the long run. It has it's up front costs (top diapering systems will run you close to $400), but then they are used over, and over, and over again. Those diapers are meant to last the entire 2-3 years and then some, often being passed down to younger siblings. That's even more savings!

As far as looks go, you can get some really cute cloth diapers now days. Just take a look at all the various kinds, from BumGenius, to FuzziBunz, to G Diapers, Flips, Best Bottoms. . . the list goes on and on. They aren't huge and majorly bulky like the old style cloth diapers, and some are even as trim as the current disposables.

As for convenience, there is slightly more work. You will have to do additional laundry 2-3 times a week, but is that really such a big deal? You're already going to be doing laundry for your little one and all of your other family members. Also, there are no more late night runs to the store in icy snow because you "ran out". As for putting the diaper on the baby, there isn't much more to it then disposables. For pocket diapers, you simply stuff a liner in the pocket, then snap or velcro it on. For all-in-2 (hybrid) diapers, you lay the liner in the shell, then snap or velcro it on baby. No more folding or pinning with these diapering systems. Easy. For clean up, pull the liner and cover apart, spray off pooh into the toilet with a toilet sprayer, and toss in the diaper pail to be washed later. Still pretty convenient.

So, with all of these facts and a baby looming in the horizon, I needed to decide if I was actually going try cloth diapering or not.

Lucky for me, my friend needed someone to watch her boys for almost a week, and her youngest is still in diapers. While watching them, I got to try out BumGenius, a pocket diaper, to see how I liked it. Well, I did. It was really no big deal to rinse the diapers, stuff a pocket, or put on her son. The laundering was easier then I thought (why I thought it would be any more difficult then normal laundry, I don't know). That tiny bit of extra work was way overshadowed by the economic difference, and the environmental and aesthetic ends were definitely an added boost.

In short, it looks like I'll be using cloth diapers this time around.

Reading to Music

I've started working with Blake on reading. We're currently on lesson 10 in Teach Your Child to read in 100 Easy Lessons where he is learning to sound out simple words like "sam" and "cat". He's excited and doing well. Oh please let it continue like this!

So, when and where do I fit in this 1 on 1 with Blake? First thing in the school day, of course. Sierra is busy practicing her guitar in the living room, Bailey is practicing her piano in the family room, and Blake and I are snuggled up on my bed "reading". Jingle Bells, Greensleeves, and "aaammm" "am" going on all at once. It's music to my ears.

Snow Day=Jammie Day

It's cold outside today. And it's snowing. One of those days that you just feel like staying in your pajamas, curling up with a blanket, drinking hot chocolate, and reading a book.

Ah, but we have to do school today. Sigh.

Wait! We have school at home! We can do whatever we want, right?! Hee hee.

Let it be declared that today is a Jammie Day!

Hooray, hooray for Jammie Day!

It is currently 11am, and we are all snuggled up with our fuzzy blankets in the living room, clothed in pajamas, fuzzy socks, and bathrobes, doing our math. We just had grilled ham, cheese and apple sandwiches, and we're waiting for our hot apple cider to cool enough to drink. Warm baths are planned after school is over for those who want them, and then we'll watch the rest of Avatar's season 2. Chores, well, they just need to be done before bed.

What a wonderful way to spend a snowy school day!

During Tough Times, School Time is Tough

When I was still pregnant with twins and completely exhausted, it was hard to get homeschooling done. I would often stay in bed or lie on the couch and have the girls come to me if they had questions. We also sometimes cut down school to only math, Sierra's guitar, and Bailey's reading, but even that was hard to do some days. I'm so grateful my husband was around to help.

Because he works from home, and business is slow, he was able to homeschool the girls on the days when I was just to exhausted. Especially when I started working part time in the evenings. He would also clean up, make the kids clean, make dinner, and let me rest all day. True, his standards are lower then mine, but it was by far more then I was capable of doing at the time. And I really appreciated it. Especially the fact that, because of him, we are still on schedule to finish our school year before the baby is born.

Well, now that work is over and my energy is coming back, we're easing back into our normalish routine. The house is getting cleaner, our meals are getting better, the girls have music, math, writing, spelling, grammar, handwriting, etc., and Blake does his workbook pages. We haven't added back the afternoon routine yet, but I figure we can do that after Christmas break.

So I guess, when times are tough, do what you must, and eventually things will get better.

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3 , Grade!

I've been very occupied this last month grading k-12 standardized tests for the New England States. It's a part time, seasonal job I've picked up working 5 hour evenings Monday through Friday at a computer "lab" with hundreds of other people. During the spring, I graded New Mexico and Massachusetts tests for a few months. It's a lot of work, boring and tedious at times, but also a lot of fun.

This year, I got to grade 5th, 7th, and 8th grade reading comprehension where I learned a bit about Slinkies, Stonehenge, Anne of Green Gables, bees, Jane Austen, a number of folk tales, and other such things. It was very interesting to see the thought processes behind the kids answers, decipher different spellings and handwriting, and enjoy the quirks when we saw them. Some kids were very literal, while others were extremely conversational. A number of them wrote about personal opinions and experiences to make their points or relate to the story prompt. Some even made up their own stories and ignored the question/prompt all together. Occasionally, we even got a picture to look at.

I also got to grade 4th and 5th grade math. Apparently, you can tell a child's comprehension of math much better with an open, written answer then multiple choice. Often, you could see the thought process the child went through to get their answer, which was very interesting when a large number of kids got the same wrong answer to a question. We did fractions, estimation, number orders, graphs, place value, addition/multiplication sentences, dollar signs and decimal points, and so forth. I loved comparing where Sierra was to these kids, as she is currently doing 4th grade math.

So yah, that's what I've been up to of late. Glad it's over until next spring.

Phenomina

I got to experience what is apparently a common phenomena first hand this last week or so.

I am currently 10 1/2 weeks pregnant, and last Thursday (at 10 weeks) I got to see my baby happily dancing away with a very strong heartbeat by ultrasound. Why the ultrasound? Maybe I should start from the beginning.

This pregnancy has been different from all of my others. My symptoms were stronger. I actually had morning sickness, cramping, and food cravings. What's more, I was very easily tired, often to the point of exhaustion where I'd spend a day or more in bed to recuperate. I thought it was probably due to me getting older, but at 7 1/2 weeks, something made me think differently. My uterus decided that it should be the size of a 10 week pregnancy. Twins?

By 9 weeks, it was the size it should be at 14-16 weeks and contained two separate, firm little lumps, one high and the other low. What's more, at 9 1/2 weeks, I started feeling fetal movement. Yes, that's early. Way early!!! I normally feel it at 12 weeks, which is still very early, but this . . . it seems impossibly early. Even so, I was definitely feeling it, loud and clear. I was having twins! I was sure of it.

Then the cramping started. Hard. No blood, but it felt just like labor. And it took hours to go away. I would have been very concerned if I couldn't feel the babies moving. As it was, it was past hours at the doctor's office on a Friday evening, and I knew from past experience, if I was miscarrying, there wasn't much that would or even could be done about it. There was no hemorrhaging, no blood at all, so there was no emergency. Rest and water. Eventually it went away. And since I still felt very pregnant, and the babies were moving, I let it go.

Come Tuesday morning, there was spotting. Very light and brown. Most likely from the cramping on Friday. I finally called the doctor, but again, I felt quite pregnant, so I wasn't too concerned. I'd come in if there was any more bleeding or cramping. I had a doctor' appointment in a week after all.

Wednesday, I started cramping again, not as bad, but bad enough. Now I was worried. Really worried. Was I going to loose the twins? My husband gave me a blessing, assuring me of a healthy pregnancy. That helped, but my anxiety wouldn't fully go away.

Thursday morning, I called the doctor and got an ultrasound appointment set up for early afternoon. Then it hit me. I was loosing/had lost one of the twins. My pregnancy symptoms were still there, but they wen't as strong. I had energy! I checked my uterus, and it was smaller then before. The lump on top had become hard. The bottom lump was busy buzzing away at my cervix. I had lost the top twin. Now to confirm it.

It was a relief to see my baby on the screen, kicking and dancing away. But there was no second baby. What there was, however, was a solid mass of . . . something. . . at the top of my uterus. Right where the other "twin" had been. I had experience what is called "vanishing twin syndrome". I had lost a twin.

Someone said it's like having a funeral and a birthday at the same time. It's so true. I'm very grateful for the dancing baby in my belly, but it hurts that the other was lost. A lot. A whole lot. I've wanted twins my entire life, and I'd been getting so excited anticipating it. All of it. Both the fun and the hard stuff. And then it was gone. I may never have the chance again. It's heartbreaking really. And then I feel my little one kicking, and I have to remember I haven't lost everything. I have a healthy baby on it's way, so why am I crying? I should be happy right? I am, and I will be eventually. Just give me time. But for now, I'm grieving.

Paring Down a Bit

With all of the stuff that we had planned to do this year, I soon discovered that it was a bit much. While being overly ambitious to begin with, I also found that my basement is taking up a lot of my extra energy. Reality hit, and I had to find ways of cutting back for my own sanity. So, here's what we've done:

*We now have history once a week, instead of twice, with science on occasion.

*The girls no longer have logic.

*Sierra's piano is no longer mandatory (though she likes doing it, sometimes that and guitar in one morning is just too much).

*Latin has been re-set to the beginning so that the girls are reviewing what they've learned last year instead of doing things new.

*We're skipping Blake's interactive preschool work for now, though he still gets to do his workbook.

*I've given up biking for the time being and mostly do walking with occasional swimming for exercise.

So far, it has made a huge difference. Hopefully, when I've got the basement done, we can add stuff back in, like Blake's preschool work, history twice a week, and regular science. We'll have to wait and see.

A Successful 1st Day. . .I Think

The girls got to go to their fist full day of Options Thursday. They were so excited.

Sierra set her alarm clock, and the girls got up early, before me around 7am, so that they wouldn't be late. They ate their breakfasts, got dressed, made their lunches, and got their backpacks ready all before I was out of the shower. We had plenty of time to spare, except Blake wasn't dressed, nor did he have his lunch put together. And we had to find his shoes.

Well, with all of the girls preparation, and my helping Blake, we got there right on time with only a minute to spare before announcements started. Apparently we'll be doing the Pledge of Allegiance first thing from now on. That's new. Other then that, everything proceeded as normal. Sierra knew where her classes were and in what order to go, including when to switch her backpack for her guitar, etc. Bailey took off with her teacher, and all lights were go.

I took Blake grocery shopping and did some other errands. Then I crashed. Hard. My husband came in to our bedroom at 3pm asking when the kids were supposed to be picked up. I was so out of it that I didn't have any clue what he was talking about, and by the time that I finally understood, he was out the door on his way to picking them up. (He was taking pity on me because I'd been under the weather for a couple of days due to a bad cold.)

When I finally wandered out of bed later that afternoon, Sierra told me that her Art teacher said she wasn't on the attendance roll. I'll need to get that fixed. Otherwise, according to my girls, everything was great. They had a lot of fun. We're off to another good school year.

Stubby Pencils have their Place

In Blake's preschool book , they have been having him draw circles, lines, squares, triangles, and so forth around different objects. I noticed that he was clenching his pencil in his little fist while doing these things, which gives very little dexterity and makes handwriting very difficult. Knowing that, I wanted to fix this habit as soon as possible, but how?

I vaguely remembered reading in The Well Trained Mind that there is a relatively easy way of correcting this, so I decided to try it out.

I bought a couple of those chubby preschool pencils and cut them into six 2 to 2 1/2 inch pieces with a serrated kitchen knife. Then I sharpened one end of each piece, giving Blake six little stubby pencils to write with. And you know what, it worked!

Blake could no longer hold them in his little fist and still write with them, so he had to use his little fingertips instead. He is still trying to use all of his fingers to grip the pencil, but that will fade in time as he gains more control. At least he is no longer using his fist.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that he loves having these tiny pencils.

It's a win win situation!

Change of Pace

It crept up on me over a long period of time. It actually took me a while to notice. Things were not going how I wanted. I was loosing control of the situation, and it was stressing me out.

School was taking forever!

Why? Well, the biggest culprit was that the girls, Bailey specifically, would take forever to do their chores in the morning before school, sometimes a couple hours for something I could do in about 15 minutes. It would set the whole day off to the wrong start. They would be hungry (because it was almost lunch time) before they started doing their school work, making that take longer along with a lot of whining. Blake would be bored. I would end up chained to the kitchen, which also made me edgy. And so it went.

Then, one day while complaining about this to my spouse, he suggested that I do the cleaning last. I resisted at first. I've always done cleaning before school after all, but then I started seriously thinking about it. I decided it wouldn't hurt to at least try it out.

My husband was a genius! It has made a huge difference. We still start around 9, but I've added a short 15 minute workout (calisthenics or yoga) at the beginning of school. The kids like that. It helps get their wiggles out and helps them focus. Then Sierra is off to piano while I work with Bailey on reading and Blake heads out to play. When I'm done with reading, I fix a snack for the kids, which they eat, and then I busy myself cleaning the kitchen while they are doing their school work. I even make lunch. Then the kids are free to play until 2 when we have our afternoon school work. When that's done, they are sent off to do their chores, and they can't play until they are done.

It has made vast improvements to out family life. I, who am a control freak, can keep the schedule I want. I can also make a lot better use of the time that I am stuck in the kitchen. Both of these help keep my stress levels and annoyance way down. The kids get to do their school work when they are still energized and in a good mood. Blake isn't left alone for as long. Another surprising thing for me was that the house is nice in the morning because it was cleaned after all of the days activities are over.

As an added bonus, if Bailey wants to take two hours to clean, it doesn't bother me one bit. It's only her time that is being waisted now. Not mine. Not Sierra's. Not Blakes. What a relief. I think I'm going to like this.

Chatting with Dad

A couple weeks ago, my oldest became interested in e-mail. Oh, she has had an account for sometime now. I made it about a year ago when I had the idea that she could write e-mails to her Grandparents and stuff. That was a no go. She was still way too intimidated by the computer. However, after taking a computer class at Options this year along with learning typing, things have started to change. She is loosing her inhibitions, and what's more, now she has a friend who also has an e-mail account. Tada! Sierra now does e-mail.

Well, a few days ago, her friend set up a "google chats" date. I didn't mind. It was for after school and all, but Sierra had no idea how to do one. So, of course, I helped her out right before the "date".

"Huh? What?" Sierra whined. Anything new. . . .sigh. . . Really!

To my amusement, my husband chimed in from the next room saying that he would help out. After all, he was in the middle of google chatting one of his friends. So, Sierra went over to Daddy's laptop and watched as he showed her what he was doing. Then I pulled up a chat box with him from Sierra's account and had here come back over. She got it this time.

What fun! She was chatting with her dad!

They kept at it for almost an hour. He sent her song and video clips from shows that she likes, telling her from the next room how to view them, and they bantered back and forth. It was a slow moving conversation, but they both had a lot of fun.

Oh, and her friend that set up the date? Well, she forgot. Oops. Oh well. Next time Sierra will be ready.

Realization

I have come to the unavoidable conclusion that my house would be, and remain, a lot cleaner if my kids went to school every day.

School for Me!

My kids aren't the only ones doing school this year. When they started learning Latin, I said "Me too!". When Sierra brought home a typing program, I said "Me too!" again. Oh, and I've also started teaching myself the clarinet (I played the oboe for 6 years, but I don't have an oboe. I have my husband's old clarinet instead, so I figured, why not make use of it?)

So now, while my kids are doing their school work, I happily busy myself for 10-15 minutes learning to type correctly. I never actually learned before, and while I can easily type 20+ words per minute, I'm not very efficient and have to continually look at my hands.

After typing, I go off to my room and practice the clarinet while the girls continue their school work. (They come and find me if they need me, but this way I don't distract them.) Since I have prior band experience, I'm flying through the lessons. It's somewhat nostalgic to see those old songs that I used to have problems with in junior high. I can easily whip through them now on a new instrument because all I'm really learning are the different fingerings and ambusher (mouth positioning). I don't have to learn all of the mechanics over again. Makes me want to try other instruments once I have the clarinet down. (I'm seriously looking at relearning the piano-I only played it for 2 years-and eventually want to learn at least the trumpet and flute).

Later, typically toward the end of morning school or while the girls are having down time, I get back on the computer and do Rosetta Stone Latin. So far, so good. It's interesting how many English words are Latin based, making it easier on me in the long run. Feline, canine, elephant, aquatics, ambulatory, etc are all very similar to the Latin root.

It's kinda' fun learning along with my kids. Now, hopefully, I keep it up.

1st Day Success

The girls got to go to their first day of Options (a once a week public school for home schoolers) yesterday.

Sierra set her alarm clock to go off at 7 am just to make sure they wouldn't be late, and when the girls got up, they quickly ate breakfast, got dressed, helped put their lunches together, double checked to make sure they had everything (Bailey's water bottle was missing so she borrowed mine), and declared themselves ready to go ten minutes early. Needless to say, the girls were excited.

As for the last ten minutes before leaving, I took out Sierra's class schedule, drew a map on the bottom half with room numbers, etc., and went over her room changes a few times before we packed up into the car (we had also gone over the rooms in order during orientation a couple weeks ago, so I hoped it would be enough).

This year, instead of driving all the way up to Loveland (a 20 minute drive), we only had to travel about a mile (3 minutes) to get to school. Nice!

We showed up at about 8:10. School assembly starts at 8:15, so everything was going well. We sat on the bleachers in the gym, taking pictures and saying "Hi" to friends until we had announcements. Then the girls were off to their classes. Bailey lined up with her kindergarden class and teacher to go up stairs, and I took Blake and Sierra up stairs to Sierra's first classroom (math). I once again reminded her to follow the map and schedule that she had and to ask an adult if she needed any help.

Honestly, I found it amusing/interesting that I was making such a fuss about Sierra when it was Bailey's first time ever going to school. Really, it's because Bailey is so easygoing, and Sierra, who still has anxiety attacks and freaks out about things on occasion, had such a terrible first day last year. It's not hard to understand, but I had to wonder what Bailey's Kindergarden teacher thought as she watched me simply smile and wave goodbye at Bailey while acting like an overly protective, anxious mother toward my 3rd grader.

After dropping Sierra off, Blake and I headed back down the stairs to drop supplies off and pick up the Latin curriculum that we had checked out for the year. Then we were off.

Mondays are typically cleaning and grocery days, and yesterday was no exception. Blake happily played by himself putting together and pulling apart his new Toy Story puzzle while I cleaned the house. I guess I'm odd, but I had forgotten how much I liked cleaning by myself. I'm such a "fairness fairy" that I can't stand cleaning up while others sit around and do nothing, but it's so annoying having to ride herd on my kids to keep cleaning until they're done. Anyway, after cleaning, showering, going to the library, and three stores, I ended up with only about an hour to chill before heading out to pick up the girls.

I got there a few minutes early and was able to talk to some friends before the kids got out. Bailey had a huge grin on her face and promptly showed me the picture she had made during art, told me that she had three teachers (Kindergarden, Art and PE), and pranced around as we waited for Sierra who had to come all the way from the other side of the building to meet us.

To my relief, when Sierra found us she was smiling, though she looked a little uncertain. She found all of her classes and had fun, but she was still a bit tense. I think she'll be more relaxed next week now that she knows exactly what to expect.

And when we got home, we all chilled.

All in all, a very good day.

Back to Normal-FINALY!

We started school this week.

It's really nice to have a semblance of routine to our days again. I didn't realize before how much I appreciated that. Really.

These last few weeks have been listless blahs. Cleaning, shopping, cooking-they all went haphazard. Oh, there were fun days too, like when we went to the fair, but most of it was spent sitting around being very unproductive. Reading binges, anime binges, playing at the pool. . .it all gets boring after a while.

Don't get me wrong. Vacation is very nice. I've just realized that there can be too much of it too.

I'm thinking next summer we'll only take one month off. Two, while nice, was way to long.

Let's Get Organized

Our summer vacation time is swiftly coming to a close, and we're starting to get exited.

Yesterday morning, the kids and I went to the store and got all of our school supplies; binders, crayons, pencil boxes, pencils, paper, etc. They were so excited by it all that we were soon pulling packaging apart, putting school boxes together, coloring binder labels, and having a grand old time. I even went so far as to put together their math and language arts binders, an activity which involved pulling apart a number of 100+ page workbooks, hole punching them, and organizing them with deviders. I even made and printed out and hole punched a bunch of experiment pages for science. It took me a good few hours. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner!

I still have to get History ready, which involves pulling apart another workbook, scanning the pages, making a disk, printing them out, and hole punching them all. We also need to finalize our daily and year-long schedules, but there's still time.

We start school the second week in August.

We're almost there.

Vacation is nice, but we're getting ready for life to be normal again.

Butting Heads

Sometimes life is rough. Sometimes you bring it on yourself. And sometimes, your mother is just plain more stubborn then you are.

This morning, while pulling out Bailey's math page, I discovered, to my chagrin, that she has been putting her incomplete papers away claiming to be done. I'll admit right now that part of it was my fault. I hadn't stood over her shoulder making sure that she did all her work, and I had not double checked her work for some time either. But she was still in BIG trouble. She had cheated. She had lied. And she hadn't done what she was told. BIG BIG trouble!

I found almost 12 pages of math work that she had not completed. Most only had a few blank problems here or there. Some had a lot. One of them, she hadn't done anything but draw pictures.

So, I decided that she had to do all of them. Plus todays math page. And nothing else until she was done. Harsh. But I was pissed.

It's now almost bed time. She's been sitting at the table all day, mostly griping that it's not fair. Honestly, if she had actually focused instead of played around, she could have been done in a little over an hour. But no. She was being stubborn and wouldn't do the work. Three simple problems of "what number comes before" took her an hour and a half. Then, when she thought I wasn't looking, she slipped some of her undone papers in with her finished ones and claimed that she was "almost done". The girl was not happy when I looked through her stack and found them, placing them back in her "not done" pile. She also got in trouble for lying again. No video games for a week.

Oh, did I mention that she didn't get to come with us to the store today? She also didn't get to watch a movie with Sierra and Blake, and she didn't get to have story time with daddy either.

As it stands, she still has two pages left, each with a lot of problems to finish. She'll be sitting at the table tomorrow until she finishes them plus her new page for tomorrow as well.

It's been a real pain. I feel bad for her, but I can't just let this one slide. I hope she learns from it. If she doesn't, she'll have an even harder time in the future.