The Homeschool Mother’s Journal

In my life this week…

I’m happy to say that I started walking again!   I really need a little cardio workout, so hopefully this will do the trick.   I’m thinking of pulling out the WiiFit and Wii Active too, but….baby steps, you know??   On a positive note, my new walking buddy and I made it thru the whole week, 2.5 – 3 miles per day, Monday through Friday.   The walking and the conversation was great!   

This was a busy blogging week for me, six posts in all!  A little too much for me for one week….time to get back to Wordless Wednesday!

The deal on the house we were so looking forward to, fell through this week….it did not appraise for the purchase price!  So for right now, we’re just staying put.  Who knows, maybe the seller will get tired of waiting and come down even further.  For now, we’re happy and thankful for what we do have.

In our homeschool this week…

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday’s are usually somewhat routine.  But this week, we started reviewing Who Is God? (Apologia) and we finished reviewing Curiosity Files: Cicada-Killing Wasps (TOS).   (If you’re curious about those products, you’ll have to wait!  But not too long!  The review for Curiosity Files is due February 11 and Who Is God? is due March 15.)   Also, #1Son and I are beta testing Write Shop Jr, Book E.  Because I love Write Shop, I was really excited to be able to work with this product in particular. 

On Thursday, #1Girl took her first real exam in Japanese, which she was quite excited about since she has been working so hard on this.  If asked her favorite subject, this would trump all others.  She scored 96%!  We are very proud of her discipline and hard work on a difficult language.  (It was also nice to find out, that the tutor’s students at the high school averaged 76%!)  Friday was Apologia Biology Co-Op at our house; this week we completed all the experiments in Module 11 on Invertebrates and dissected a worm!  After Biology Co-Op, we have about 30 minutes to ourself, then race off to music lessons.  My #1Girl takes flute lessons, then #1Girl and #1Boy have Rock Band together (Guitar & Drum Lessons).   They’re working on “Brown Eyed Girl” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and are really starting to sound quite good.   Next week, I may have to record them, so you can hear it too!   We always end our school week with Friday Pizza Night!   A welcome relief from cooking after a busy day!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

•  This week we have a just-for-fun field trip to a local arcade, complete with putt-putt golf and laser tag!  (Can’t leave out the socialization, right?! ;)) 
• The Dad’s birthday is Friday, so I’m sure a special birthday trip is in order….probably a trip to the boat for a few days.  
•  Helping a friend with a decorating project this week….dinosaurs and archaelogy!  How fun is that? 
• Nature Preserve

My favorite thing this week was…

• Quiet time at the library while #1 Girl is with her Japanese tutor
• Friday’s can be crazy, but Biology & Music is a great way to wrap things up
• Walking!    
• A noisy, sweet sound filled the morning air as thousands of birds flew out of the south heading due north to greet the spring!
• Photo Op at Nature Preserve

What’s working/not working for us…

Here’s what’s working:

• Apologia for Science (Biology & Zoology 3) 
• Teaching Textbooks for Math (Algebra I & Math 6)

Here’s what’s not:

• Trying to squeeze in Art…which I love!  #1 Girl draws daily and uses Photoshop, but needs to diversify a little!  So much to do so little time!

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have…

No questions, just this thought:  I never thought I’d be homeschooling our children.  Yet for the past five years, it has been one of the greatest blessings of our life!  Watching them grow and develop their innate abilities is a treasure!

A photo to share…

See Nature’s Photo Op for slide show…it was a great day to catch the action…

Homeschool Swap!

This month, I had the opportunity to participate in HSBA Post’s Homeschool Swap for the first time.  It was wonderful to receive a special box in the mail, instead of junk mail and bills! (Or maybe I should say, “in addition to junk mail and bills!”)  My swap buddy did such a great job choosing the perfect things…right down to the color of the beads and the flavor of Starburst (Tropical, my favorite)! 

 

So a huge THANK YOU, to my swap buddy, Nancy over at Be Not Afraid!   

If you’d like to participate in the next Homeschool Swap, check out The Homeschool Post for more information.

 

Back to School

There are days….

There are days when you couldn’t be more sure that you’re doing the right thing; when you know, because you’re homeschooling, your children are getting what they need to become the people God created them to be. There are days when you get the pleasure of watching the bond grow between your children, days when you get to witness the “light bulb” moments when they take the initiative in their own learning and life course, and days when you see them melt under the power of a good book. 

But sadly there are those days, when you have to be strong against the rushing tide, a tide that will happily tell you that what you’re doing is crazy.  It’s funny to me that what most non-homeschoolers voice concern about is the “lack of socialization”, as if your children will learn good social skills from the kids at school.  One would reason then, if their theory is correct, that people who lived for all the many centuries before government-run schools existed  must have been totally void of social skills.   And people like George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Beatrix Potter, Ansel Adams, Andrew Wyeth, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Patton to name a few, not having the benefit of being properly socialized, would not amount to much and have nothing to contribute to the world.

Remember on those days, that the opinions of those who are inexperienced in what you’re doing, that know little about it, and have no first hand experience, are only “opinions”.   (After all, you may have an opinion about how to do brain surgery, but having never performed it, the doctor is unlikely to take your recommendation seriously.)  Ask your critics these questions:

1. Can a child benefit, in any way, from one-on-one instruction?
2. Does quality time spent with loving parents impact a child favorably?
3. Who is likely to be a better influence on a child, a loving parent or a classroom of kids their own age?
4. Are there no outlets for social interaction other than in a traditional classroom setting?

School is supposed to be about education, not socializing, right?  Funny how our critics don’t usually bring up the academics.    

There are days, when you need to reflect on all those good things that you know to be true.  There are days, when you need to silence the critics still bubbling around in your mind.  Today is the day!

“Point your kids in the right direction – when they’re old they won’t be lost.”

Proverbs 22:6,  The Message