Wrapping up the week in pictures

We ended week 5 today.  Thing 2 is beginning to read!  And Thing 1 and I are continuing to negotiate our new teacher/student relationship.  We'll get there.  I won't lie and say it's all roses.  At least a few times each day I wonder why I am doing this and whether I should just put the kids back in public school.  But also a few times each day, I marvel at the amazing things they are learning and all the insightful questions which springboard into meaningful discussions (which we now have time for!), and revel in the moments when we are at peace side-by-side and living in the flow.  6 in one, half a dozen in the other?  For now, I will take it!  Enjoy your weekend.

Fun with pattern blocks

Doing grammar

Helpful student cleaning the whiteboard :)

 

Weekly Update?

Is that what it's coming to?  I suppose the excitement of the daily blog has waned and for now, the weekly update will have to do!

We are joining a co-op on Tuesday mornings.  Thing 2 had a great time when we visited.  Thing 1 was her shy self and will take a few weeks to warm up.  All in all, it's a great thing for us.  We need the community and the time away from home and our classroom.  Although we love the classroom, being in one room every day is tiring.  The co-op will do us all good.

Thing 2 read his first book today.  He's decoding words in the -am and -at families.  Amen for the Bob books!

I am struggling to motivate Thing 1 to work as hard for me as she would for a teacher.  When it comes time to write paragraphs, she's always looking to do the least amount of work possible.  A short lecture (and yes, a threat to send her to school) brought her in line today.  Maybe she's just testing and we'll move through this.

Photos to come!

Picture Update

I've been a little lax with the photos the last few days.  Here's what we've been up to (today was a good day, by the way!):

Learning the flutophone

Crazy for dot-to-dots

Patterning

It's a beautiful thing!

Celebrating the letter 'S' at lunch (photo by Thing 1)

Opposite poles attract - magnetic cars

A favorite from today

Art - Thing 2's miniature room (in progress)

I'll get by...

...with a little help from a friend.  My new homeschooling friend called today, as though she were telepathic, and assured me that the week the public schools start back is always challenging for homeschoolers.  She suggested lying low and keeping school-friend contact to a minimum.  Apparently, even committed homeschooling moms and kids can get swept up in the excitement of going back to school.  It's certainly been the truth over here (at least for me).

We managed again to get all our basic academics (literacy and mathematics) done in the morning which left only French and Science for the afternoon.  It made for a relaxed afternoon and we lingered longer than usual with our French, and I made the executive decision to delay Science until tomorrow.  Thursday afternoons are for Music and Art, and a Science class (especially the magnet experiment I have planned for tomorrow) will be a welcome addition to the lineup.

Lest I leave the impression that our day was perfect, let me admit the following:  in order to motivate Thing 1 through her history lesson, I had to threaten to send her to public school.  That was a trump card I was hoping to hold in my pocket until somewhere around December.  Ah, well.  Whichever way you turn in life there are challenges.  I might as well embrace the ones I have at the moment instead of doing my usual "where can I run?" dance.

And it's not all challenges.  The kids are happy, so happy.  The relaxed pace that homeschooling affords us has given them the chance to relax and just be.  They seem to be fighting less and playing more and when they do get into a game or a project, there is time and space for depth.  That's priceless and worth all the struggles.

I'll leave you with a Zen quote that both eludes and inspires me at the same time:

Before enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water.  After enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water.

Ah, the power of the mind!  Now to harness it (and keep it harnessed).

I promise...

I'm not manic.  Yesterday, life really was good.  And I was (am) so glad to be homeschooling and I feel so right about this decision.  However, today, loneliness cast its relentless shadow on me and has yet to leave the premises.

It started early this morning while the kids were spying on people as they walked to school.  Tidbits of happy chatter began to flit in and out of the house through the open windows.  Soon, warm memories of school friends played across my mind.  It wasn't long before the shadow of loneliness crept stealthily into one tiny corner of my mind.  It was only a matter of time...

We got our academic work done early today, finishing with recitation, math, and literacy by 11:30.  The weather was too perfect to be indoors today, so I had planned an impromptu park day.  We spent our lunch hour at one of the newly remodeled playgrounds in town.  I had just read yesterday that kids are supposed to get 60 minutes of physical activity a day and they easily managed that and more in our hour and a half at the park.  I even met a mom to chat with.  Despite all this, it was painfully obvious to me that I was the only mom whose kids were older than preschool-age and my kids looked enormous and grossly out of place.  Loneliness stole further into the recesses of my mind and was soon firmly afoot.

Once back home, we wrapped up Thing 1's history lesson and then finished out our school day in style with music and art.  School-wise, the day couldn't have gone better.  But what to do about the dark, swelling  cloud looming overhead?

I'm not throwing in the towel.  I still feel that this is where Thing 2 belongs for his kindergarten year.  He needs more confidence, academically, and this year with me will do him good.  For her part, Thing 1 doesn't want to be in public school.  She needs this year to recover from public school, to learn in a (nearly) test-free  environment, to delve deeper into subjects she enjoys, to savor quality time at home.  

So the problem is mine.  I have to own it and I have to fix it.  This morning, I joined the Yahoo group for local homeschoolers.  I reached out to one mom already for a playdate.  And I plan to enroll the kids in a few more park district classes.  This will all work itself out, the shadow will lift and we will flourish.  For now, I need to accept this as part of the package and figure out how to carry on with grace and purpose (and joy, in spite of it).

Blessings to anyone who has taken the time to read this.  It's not the stuff of novels or movies, but it is my journey and it is real, today as much as yesterday.

You know you're a (happy) homeschooling mom when...

1)  you have 88 items checked out from the library and you still want (no, need) more.

2)  words like recitation, lapbook, seatwork, and notebooking become part of your everyday vocabulary.

3)  you spend your weekend sewing a magazine holder for the classroom, and you enjoy every minute of it.

4)  you are simultaneously hatching a monarch egg, growing 4 different kinds of tree seeds, and working on a model teepee.

5)  you find yourself wondering how kindergarten teachers keep a roomful of 5-year-olds from using potty language when you can't keep your one child from using it.

6)  you allow your kids to go to the window to spy on the public school kids walking to and from school (and your kids are smiling all the way because they get to stay home).

7)  you feel an enormous sense of peace and satisfaction at the end of the day, knowing you are following your heart.

TGIF, for real this time

Whew.  It was a good day, a good week, but I am ready for a break.  The kids were tired of school today.  We plowed through math first thing, did our running club (adding 2 more miles each to our log), and then took a long lunch to meet some new homeschool friends at the park.

Having done the long lunch and/or field trip thing a few times now, I have finally learned that it is very difficult to come back and settle into work afterwards.  After returning from the park, we managed our science and some French before calling it a day.  I can see why some homeschool families only do school Monday through Thursday.  I might have to revamp our schedule so that we have a lighter load on Fridays.  Either that or stop doing field trips and lunches with friends or maybe just limit the fun to Fridays, leaving home immediately after math and literacy.  (Pardon my thinking 'out loud' here, as it were.)

The new homeschool friends did give us a tip on a co-op of sorts in Elmhurst, called Classical Conversations.  It sounds like they emphasize memory work in the grammar stage (K-5) like "Well-Trained Mind" does, and it might help provide a backbone for our studies at home.  I'll look into it.  They only meet one morning a week and both kids could be enrolled.  I like the idea of being in community.  That is one thing I miss about public school.

In summing up our week:  it's good to work hard, but it's good to rest too.  I think the kids and I have earned our weekend.

P.S. Too funny not to blog about...

Thing 2 is wearing the loincloth again.  Both kids have made medicine pouches (per Walk the World's Rim) and have filled them with turquoise beads and dried herbs, exactly what the main character Chakoh was carrying in his medicine pouch.  If I didn't think it was illegal (or at best, inappropriate), I would post the pic of Thing 2 in his homemade loincloth.  It's priceless!  (Where's the rolling on the floor laughing smiley when you need it??)  You can get an idea here:

TGIF - almost!

Don't get me wrong, we have our share of enjoyment over here.  We also have our share of tedium and if math isn't it, I don't know what is.  All this to say, it's nice to be winding down our week.

I've been having a tough time fitting in a math lesson for Thing 2.  Partly because she complains about it, partly because I can't decide where to place her in this new curriculum, and partly because I don't quite feel qualified to teach it (never mind that it's only multiplication and division, it's still daunting to me).  So I have a new game plan.  The past couple days we've been starting our day with math.  Both kids sit at the big table with me and I teach their math in tag-team style until the math is DONE.  It's been working well so far and I think we'll stick with this new schedule.

Thing 1 finished reading her first novel for school, a short work of historical fiction called "Pedro's Journal."  It's a fictional account of a ship's boy aboard Columbus' Santa Maria on his maiden voyage to the Americas in 1492. I read along for parts of it, learning all the way.  Tomorrow, she'll have a test on Columbus and we'll continue to work on her other 2 novels: "Walk the World's Rim" and "Om-kas-toe" (from Sonlight's Core D+E American History curriculum).

Thing 2 did his first kindergarten journal entry today.  He won't let on how proud he is that he wrote the word 'car' all by himself by sounding out the letters.  Never mind that he skipped the 'a.'  He's using invented spelling (which is what they do in public school) and for him, it's a huge confidence builder.  Since school started, he's told me many times (in an exasperated tone) that he can't read or write.  This week, he learned to read 'I am' and wrote the word 'car.'  If that's not reading and writing, what is?  He'll get there.

Thing 2's read-aloud this week is "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World."  It's a beautifully-illustrated book with themes no one can argue with - world travel and apple pie.  Yesterday, we had a field trip to the Farmer's Market to get apples and today we had our taste-test.  The apple in the spotlight, the Red Wearthy, won first place.

Doing our taste-test reminded me that I need to keep things fun (at least sometimes).  I have a tendency to be no-nonsense, wanting the kids to push through their work even when they aren't happy about it.  While that's necessary sometimes (and certainly a good life skill), sometimes I also need to lighten up and let the kids be kids.  It's probably good therapy for me too.  Life is a ball, why not enjoy it?

I'll sign off with a couple more highlights from our last 2 days:

magnetic boats from our science lesson yesterday

mapping "How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World"

The Fruits of Labor

1) Thing 2 learned to tie shoes.  How many kindergartners in the age of velcro can do that?  He worked to perfect his skills every chance he got today.

2) Both kids learned to play lap harp today.  They serenaded me with a duet of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

3) Thing 1 is studying the preamble to the Constitution and wrote her own preamble to the Constitution of our Household.  (Perhaps it should be written for our school.)

4) Both kids came running when Daddy got home tonight so they could tell and/or show him everything they've learned.

5) Thing 2 learned about the Native American article of clothing called a loincloth by listening to Thing 1's read-aloud, Walk the World's Rim.  Yesterday, he and Thing 1 tried to fashion one out of a bandana.  Today, they asked me to help.  For the last hour, Thing 2 has been running around in nothing but a loincloth.  Talk about bringing history alive!

If the fruits of our labor are any indication, I'd say a good day was had by all.

Vowel Cookies

Some days, the best part of school is the after-school snack!

I should have known there'd come a day like today, when the kids acted like squirrels, I was exhausted, and the day just dragged and dragged and dragged.  Our high point is above - we made gingerbread vowel cookies.

I also began French today, but Thing 2 was checked out by that point.  Truthfully, so was I.  To top it off, we found Halloween (Thing 1's goldfish) dead at the end of the day.  Mama said there'd be days like this...

Tomorrow will have to be better.

Can't wait for Monday!

Check out my bag centers!  I'm having way too much fun.  Give me a laminator and some time alone and I am one happy mama.  I bought 2 books of pre-made centers at the Chalkboard store last night.  The centers below are all for math, and the other book is chock full of phonics games.  I've got those all laminated but not cut.  Maybe I should have been a kindergarten teacher.  Who knew??

Counting the Days...

Not the kind of counting that ensues when one cannot wait for something to be over.  Quite the contrary, this sort of counting is fun!  Today was day 14 of our school being in session, so we had to celebrate.  Thing 2 began working on a booklet called "My First 100 Days of School" and when we got to the number 14, I brought out the suprise - m 'n' ms.  Since 'm' was our letter this week, it seemed especially apt.  Thing 1 joined in on the fun, but since I am low-carbing to cure my reflux right now, I declined all but one.

(Oops, I just realized that although it's been 2 weeks of school, it's only been 10 days of school, not 14.  So what's a few extra m 'n' ms to Thing 1 and Thing 2??  A happy mistake!)

I have to admit, we had a rough start today.  Both kids woke up early (why oh why?) and although Thing 1 was in an especially good mood and ready to start the day early, Thing 2 clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed today.  We started our day around 8:40, with Thing 2 dragging his feet and losing a point early in the game.  Thing 1 had a spelling test and a math test and then we worked on math together, trying to figure out exactly where to begin with the level of Saxon we own.  Much of it is too easy for her, so I think we'll be skipping ahead and probably even moving up a level before the year is over.  Once I left Thing 1 to help Thing 2, he rallied and was able to push through his phonics work (games, and still he complained) and then, mercifully, it was recess time.

Before recess, I briefly introduced the concept of maps (for Thing 2) and we headed out on a little science walk to study trees, following our route to the park near our home.  Once outside, the fresh air brightened Thing 2's mood and all was well as we collected leaves, seeds, and looked at bark.  We had intended to sketch trees outside, but the lawn at the park was being mowed and so we came back home to sketch from memory.  We lasted quite a long time outside as both kids marveled at the cicadas in various states of their life cycle.  We saw everything from empty shells (Thing 2 collected a couple) to partially-hatched cicadas, and even a newly-hatched cicada with wings so fresh they were still shriveled and wet.  The kids have an amazing attention span for mother nature.  It's beautiful to watch.  They also spent a long time gathering seeds from a locust tree.  They intend to plant the seeds along with a few others they found.  We'll get to that project next week hopefully.

After our walk, we came home to eat lunch and get back to work.  Our afternoon found us eating m 'n' ms,  looking at our loot from the nature walk, sketching trees, and doing leaf rubbings.  It was a relaxed and fun afternoon, just as Friday should be.

We capped our day by looking at our Dolphin Lapbook (which we completed yesterday) and watching the rest of the dolphin video from earlier in the week.  Although we had a rocky start, we ended on a high note and I know the kids will be excited when Monday rolls around again.

For now, I am thankful it's Friday.  I'm tired and ready for a break, but all in all, it was a great week 2!

(I forgot to mention the prize box.  Under the current system, the kids get a ticket at the end of the week if they've earned their star sticker each day.  They can either save their tickets and turn them in for money at the end of the month or spend them for a prize from the prize box.  Both kids elected to spend 1 ticket this week (I didn't have the prize box up and running yet last week).  Each opted for a dolphin glitter tattoo from the zoo.  Cheap thrills indeed!)

What should have been 10...

Loot from Mother Nature!

Thing 2's leaf rubbing

Thing 1's dolphin tattoo

More Fun With Magnets and Other Lessons

Lesson 1:  Magnets are fun!

Lesson 2:  Mom needs a break somewhere around 2:30 and if she doesn't get it, she turns into a gremlin, or something like that.

Lesson 3:  Homeschooling is all about snuggling on the couch, laughing and learning together.

Lesson 4:  The journey is the destination.

Thing 1 plays with her magnetic, flying butterfly.  If you look closely, you can see the thread which attaches the butterfly to the table.  In Thing 1's right hand is a magnet.  The butterfly is flying! 

Zoo Tales

Perhaps scheduling a field trip but requiring that we do schoolwork first wasn't my best idea today.  We rushed through our work this morning.  The kids were clearly antsy.  But we got through the basics and headed to the zoo in time for the dolphin show.  Sadly, when we got there, the early show had been canceled.  I wasn't going to let the universe conspire against us, this being our second trip to the zoo in as many weeks of school, and so we opted to wait the 3 hours until the next show.  We saw stingrays, big cats, pinnipeds, goats, the children's zoo, and much, much more.  We ate lunch, the kids climbed their favorite tree, and then, finally, it was time for the dolphin show.  I wish I could say the 3 of us were all fresh and happy and excited but by that time of day (and in the 95+ degree heat), we were more wilted than fresh,  more crabby than excited.  The dolphin show was great, as usual, and though we ended our day tired and hot, I also got plenty of pictures for the yearbook and our mission can now be marked 'accomplished.'

Tomorrow, we have a full day of school.  I discovered that I need to supplement Thing 2's curriculum.  We are able to complete his work easily by lunch time and sometimes before that.  I need to keep him busy, so tonight I found myself scouring the shelves at our library for puzzles, books on the letter M (his letter for the week), and phonics workbooks to pull games and activities from.  I came home with some great things and then spent the evening making copies and creating games (i.e., the lily pad game for discerning consonants and vowels, and the Consonant Shopping Trip).  Tomorrow should be fun!

I find myself constantly evaluating whether I like homeschooling or not and whether the kids and I will last more than a year.  If I had to share my thoughts today, I would say that I am lovin' it!  I treasure the time I get to spend with my children, I enjoy learning alongside them, and I love how school helps to organize our day together.  I was always the sort of mom who confessed, somewhat sheepishly, that I didn't especially like to play with my children.  I suppose I doubted myself based on that and thought my distaste for play marked me as 'not likely to succeed at homeschooling.'  What I am finding instead is that maybe I simply didn't know what to do with the kids all day.  Doing school together gives us a plan for spending quality time together and it is truly wonderful (at least so far)...

Re-set Button

On Friday, my veteran homeschooling friend successfully helped my push the re-set button.  She gave me the courage (and the nudge) to dive in to our curriculum and gave me a few pointers to help smooth out the bumps we experienced the first week.  One of her best ideas was to nip complaining in the bud.  Since Thing 1 and 2 are successfully following a '3 strikes and you're out' policy (that is, you don't get your sticker for the day), I decided to add complaining to the list of strikes.  Thing 2 is my whiner, but I heard nary a complaint from him today.  Here's hoping it continues to work.  It will make our lives so much more pleasant.

If I had to characterize today, it would be pure joy.  The day flowed beautifully, the kids were in sync with me and with one another, and we got all our work done.  We cuddled on the couch to do read-alouds, did running club, and ate our favorite lunch - ramen noodles.  I wish all days could be like this, but I know that's not a fair expectation.  There will certainly be more days like today, but the waters will also turn rough at times and I have to expect that and learn to ride it out with grace (inspiration below).

For now, I'm sitting in the after-glow of a harmonious day of homeschooling.  I can't wait to take the kids to the pool and to put them to bed.  They are the lights of my life and I am so fortunate to have them.

P.S.  Zoo field trip again tomorrow - the camera is already packed.  ;)  Dolphin show - here we come!

Still Wallowing in the Muck

...of self-doubt that is.  We were off to a slow start today as the Things fought and fought and fought.  It all started with the crisis of the last nectarine at breakfast (which was given to Thing 2 who happened to wake up earlier than Thing 1) and spiraled rapidly down from there.  Luckily, the star chart at school kept the Things (mostly) on their best behavior.

My intention had been to start a dolphin lapbook today (a link forwarded to me by a veteran homeschooling friend).  We didn't quite get there, although I have all the materials printed and ready to go.  Instead, I did some math and spelling with Thing 1 while Thing 2 did some cutting.  Turns out Thing 2 has quite a penchant (and a talent) for cutting.  He even rivals Thing 1.


For her part, Thing 1 (4th grade) tested into 9th/10th grade spelling, and (humble as she is) she positively glowed over it.  I think I need to look into spelling bees for her, but a preliminary search didn't yield much.  I'll keep digging.


We also launched our running club today - woohoo!  We each logged 2 miles (4 laps around our block).  For each mile, we earn one of these little cuties which goes on a necklace.  At first I had thought we'd do 2 sessions a week, but I think we'll limit it to Fridays only, weather permitting, to keep the running flame alive.

After a brief reconnaissance mission to the library for dolphin materials, we ate lunch and then, at the request of Thing 2, launched into our science experiment for the day - magnets.  If the kids could name a highlight of the day, this might be it.  They must have played for 45 minutes with magnets, starting at our little school table, and then running all over the house to test things.  They also played a fishing game to which T.S. Geisel himself would have given the seal of approval.  (See pictures below.)

Tomorrow, my friend and homeschool guru  (same one who suggested the dolphin lapbook) is coming over to rescue me from my impending newbie meltdown.  I know I can do this;  it's just going to take hard work and dedication and a whole lot of faith.

Overall, my assessment of the day is that we thrived for parts of it and survived the rest of it (perhaps homeschooling is yet another metaphor for life).

Peace, light, & love to all.  May gratitude for the little things carry you (and me!) through the rest of it.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 fish for fish in a dish with magnets.
Dr. Seuss would be proud!  (Please disregard that the
dish is actually a cardboard box.) 

more fun with magnets