16 Weeks Complete!

So we're speedin' chuggin' trudging right along with our school work around here and I just realized that we have carved quite a little chunk out of our total school year! 180 days doesn't seem that bad until you start counting them out ....or missing them for this or that illness or event. But I really wanted to see what it would be like to take the entire month of December off, so we started in July (too hot for the kids to enjoy playing anyway & we aren't beach peeps) and have managed to get 75 days finished so far.  How do our days go around here?

As usual, I haven't managed to keep up with photojournaling my brood but I'll share what I've got.  In our earlier school days we were able to study the creatures in our backyard as well as my new flowers (I swapped out my veggie garden knowing that the baby would keep from it). It was a fun place to read outloud, bird watch or practice some ball skills as well.

But most days now Jefferson is the first to get up around 7 o'clock (I am still slacking off in the a.m. and 'blaming' it on the Baby even though she sleeps well through the night for us) and get started. He walks the dog and then starts his Bible reading and study - this year we've gone with the Sonlight plan. It works but isn't the most motivating for him.  I haven't yet figured out if that's just a curriculum issue or more of a heart issue. Or possibly the fact that he does it on his own and I'm not in discussion with him about what he's learning as I used to be.  :-/  Hmmmm....might need to rethink that & get us all back into a family sit down study/read instead.

(Daddy leads home church some Sundays)

But I digress....as usual...

Baby & breakfast keeps us from starting much else until 9a.m. but at least Jefferson can still get a little independent reading or vocabulary or grammar done while Reagan can get her phonics finished before then.  Granted, that's all on a 'good' day where no one is cranky, sleeping in, or ignoring my pleading to "put that dog down and get started so we don't have to be all day at this!"

If (and this is a BIG 'if') I can manage to get the little boys somewhat quietly occupied and the Baby sitting on the floor (she loves to cry after me to see if I'll just sit with her instead of heading to the table to teach), then we work on math and spelling.  It's the only combo that I can manage to multitask - calling out a word & sentence for Reagan while I help with geometry for Jefferson (his lessons are done independently with this program).  This is his 5th grade year and he's finally come to the place in math where he meets frustration weekly and I'm struggling to teach him to perservere and read through twice when things aren't 5-second simple (as they almost always were in arithmetic).  This is where he frequently speaks out of turn at me in his impatience with himself and me. In return he receives my montra "This is not about finishing your checklist. This is about learning so please slow down & try again!"  I think I should tatoo it on my forehead so don't become hoarse - lol!

Reagan's response to spelling has been quite positive considering this is the first year that I am teaching it formally to her. At first she would get upset if she missed a word, but we have gotten into a pattern that works for her. I 'say-spell-say' the word after using it in a sentence and then she traces it with her finger in order to study.  We do this for however many days we need to until I see that she's ready to write the words at which point she will do them on paper. If we've studied them, she almost always get the paper 'test' correct and then she feels great about herself! It's always such a blessing when we find something that works for her, even if it takes more times for me to integrate into our day.

(Reagan working on her Early Explorer's lapbook)

(Archimedes science experiment with Adam)

(Jefferson beating me at Scra*bble - a.k.a spelling practice)

Usually by 10:30 in the morning I am just starting to feel like we are getting somewhere (IF I've gotten the meal planning done the evening before, otherwise that totally clutters the morning. Ugh.) when someone somewhere ends up screamingyellingstompingthrowingdying about some ridiculous thing. My first thought is usually "Please, please settle down so I don't have to kill anyone!" and then they push my thoughts on to "Alright - find me the duct tape & the padded room so I can just get these lessons done!"

Ahhh, the joys of toddlers!  Don't fret - I don't have a padded room or duct tape - lol!

Math is next for me to work with Reagan while Jefferson works on more independent work, such as his dvd spelling lesson, a composition revision, spanish, latin or piano. I always hope that her math lesson will be short & sweet so that I can get Jefferson's Institute for Excellence in Writing lesson finished before lunch. It's rare that she gets hung up on something - the Right Start Math program just seems to lay things out in small, manageable pieces allowing for plenty of practice. Our biggest problem with this subject for her is that the doggone noise level in the house has usually reached ear-splitting decibels by then which is VERY difficult for her auditory processing ability. I used to be able to toss those other little people outside but more often they are getting exiled to the basement play area for this lesson. There just is no sitting & playing quietly at the table with those two!  :-/

At some point in the late morning I try to slap a lunch meal together. It's always boring and always light and almost always late. *sigh* I've gotta start planning better so I've got leftovers ready cuz once that Baby is down at 11:30 I don't want to be bothered with food -I just want to get some more lessons finshed while I still have the energy! On MWF, this hour is when I try to stuff in some phonics and/or math and/or penmanship and/or reading for Adam (who has usually been begging me all morning to 'do kindergarden').  I LOVE his enthusiasm and have finally learned (what is this - my 6th year?) to go with the flow & just photocopy something for him to do to feel included in whatever topic the 5th & 3rd grader may be working on. For example, he hasn't a clue when the ancient Greeks lived but had a ton of fun coloring in their buildings, warships, and all of their gods/godesses and slapping them into his own handmade lapbook (along with Spiderman and Woody of course) for him to enjoy 'reading' later. His creativity makes me happy (and it keeps him from bugging the other noisy boy in our house - lol!)! It's so nice to see his personality through his tablework!

(Working on his science project)

Well, if you've read this far I assume you're tired already.  Well, so am I by this point in a typical day!! My energy has been slow to return after the lastest baby and my poor diet doesn't help me to get through the days well. Lincoln STILL is waking us 1 to 3 times many nights each week.  That combined with my body's reaction to sugar & junk (my go-to stress food!!!) does not bode well for the character development of my children. I carry much guilt in this area because if there's one thing I can do to help my kids and to love them, it's to keep my own self healthy & rested so that I can be joyful and patient with them. A day at a time, I guess. I am learning to choose sleep and Plan*et Fitness over chocolate - but only slowly - lol!

Anyhoooo... I don't even know the real point of this post since I'm just kind of meandering around my own thoughts here. Day in the life kinda thing I guess....

After lunch, I feed the Baby Boo (this is the name that has stuck around here as well as Boo Bear - so silly but very sticky) and try not fall asleep in the chair as I do. My montra at this point in the day is usually, "Someone get on that piano NOW!  Jefferson, get outta that computer chair!  Boys stop killing each other!" all from upstairs to down. BabyBoo won't eat well if I sit downstairs with her and so the house goes to chaos while I let myeslf rest & try to enjoy my little bit of time with the cozy warm smiling baby. Thankfully, my older two kiddos also substitute as my coffee baristas and bring me my afternoon 'kick-in-the-rear' (cuz 2:30 always seems to drag on my eyelids)!

(Jefferson w/ his piano teacher - Ms. Laura)

3:00 is when I drag myself back into focus and we work on a couple more lessons. Most days we have history books for me to read aloud to them as well as either a science lesson, art lesson, or intro. to music lesson. We're using Apologia Zoology - Flying Creatures this year and have only just finished the section on birds (thus the ornithology science display for Reagan at the science fair). We are finding it pretty cool to learn to be amateur birders! We've visited Middle Creek Wildlife Preserve and I'll post later on our field trip to John James Audubon's Mill Grove house.

I've been pushing pretty hard to stay focused this year because I want a long Christmas break. The baby sure does change the dynamic - really defines what it means to 'juggle'!  But for as much as I make sarcastic comments about trying to sell this or that child on e*bay, I know that the grass is not greener anywhere else.  I love this job. I LOVE my kiddos. I love teaching them and cooking for them and being here with them everyday ....even if it IS a noisy and messy and sometimes frustrating task! 

Equating to the Equine Heart

In an attempt to teach Reagan how to better communicate and to grow her in confidence, we started her on horse lessons this summer. I don't think we could have chosen any better activity for her! Our goal was not that she actually learn to ride the horse well, but that she develop skills that one wouldn't normally see as having anything to do with horse riding, namely understanding the body language of another creature, learning to express her frustrations in a mature manner, building the confidence to direct something "greater" than herself, and learning that perfection is not the goal, rather it's the connection to another 'person' that matters.  She loves animals and so, is much less likely to revert to her typical 'raging' behaviors while around them. They soften her heart so that even when they don't behave she doesn't play the 'blame' game as much with them.

Most of the summer she rode with her teacher leading the horse and so there was no fear for her to deal with at first. She thoroughly enjoyed 2 weeks of summer days camps and learned about breeds, behavior, body parts, cleaning & care, tacking and riding. She began learning to read the body language of the animal both on and off of it (I'm hoping this will make her more observant of other human's body language). She got to know the different personalities of various horses and her confidence grew. She even got to ride in her first local horse show (still on lead) and was encouraged by the ribbons that she brought home.

Recently, her teacher has decided to push her a bit further by teaching her to ride off-lead, as well as learning to trot while working on her form. At this point her teacher gave her a more fidgety horse than the one she usually rode. It continually pulled it's head to the ground or around to look at various things which leaned the saddle this way and that, getting Reagan much more freaked out than she'd been in any other lesson. At one point the horse decided to neigh very abruptly and loudly and Reagan gave out a long scream in response. I almost died laughing (to myself of course) because I knew it was something she would laugh about later and something that she would be able to get over (she's much more forgiving of those horses than her human family & friends). Her teacher calmly told her that she was ok, the horse was only 'singing' and that she needed to learn to let the horse know who's boss. Later, as Reagan walked her horse back to the stable I saw her give it a good shove when it decided to stop to chew grass. I was so proud that she took that control back from the horse even though it had cost her a tearful lesson!

I find it strange how controlling a fidgety horse is actually a difficult thing to manage for my "strong-willed" child!  Even in her school work, I often see her express that she thinks herself incapable of doing things right.  But then I've realized that her strong-will doesn't actually equate to the confidence she'll need as she grows & steps out in the world.

But the horses?  That's *her* thing. There is no older brother to outshine her or little brothers to distract her or mama who doesn't always approach her correctly. It's just her and an animal with it's own mind but loving heart and a very patient teacher. She feels so good that she can care for it, talk to it, make it feel good, make it follow her instruction, and enjoy it all!

I love to watch her ride and plan to continue these lessons as long as we can!

 (With Mikimoto, her favorite Arabian)

(With her handler and her show ribbons)

3rd Grade at Plymouth MA

Although I haven't had time to finish this post until now (5 months later!), it is important for Jefferson to have a record of it so I post it late anyway....

Every year at D. C. Academy, Mrs. Third Grade Teacher takes her 3rd grade class on a four-day trip to Plymouth, MA to culminate their studies on the history of the pilgrims. This year I got to go with Jefferson and it was so well worth it! This trip was truly, truly wonderful and so much more vauable than any field trip I've ever taken. [Jefferson still raves about it!]

Having been taught the history of the pilgrims in public school, I got a much watered down and biased version of their purpose and their ordeal.  This trip was a delightful learning experience for me and a majorly memorable trip for Jefferson.  He was so excited that he could hardly stand it! And since God is the Author of all history (whether you believe it or not), it was a huge blessing to walk and learn from Mrs. Third Grade Teacher, who's studied these most important founding people from the best sources - themselves and their writings! Her passion is to work to see that the truth of our nation's beginnings is not lost in the mire of political correctness or modern rewriting based on popular opinion.  Sorry folks, but God cannot be taken out of this story, for His hand is clearly shown in His providence towards these Spirit-led people in a time of heavy religious oppression and difficult economic times (for such a group)!

We took a million photos and got very little sleep (I cannot help but be up at the crack of dawn and by 10pm was sooooo very exhausted) and walked a lot to get as much covered as we could.  Jefferson loved staying in a hotel, swimming (if that's what you can call a Polar Bear Plunge - lol!) in the ocean for his 1st time, staying up late, being with his friends, and trying to get himself gored by a steer.  He will likely never forget the meaning of the word 'economy' since his student group got stuck with was assigned that topic for their trip presentation.  He even found out that he loves the freedom of journaling.  He will NEVER forget this trip!

Looking forward to getting to MA & loving the busride

Journaling in his notebook

The Mayflower II - amazing working ship with period actors onboard

No slackers here - we learned at every stop!

Our country's oldest mill - beautiful & quite interesting!

He survived the 'Polar Bear Plunge' in the bay at the hotel!

The Forefather's Monument - I cried (really!) when the class recited the Mayflower Compact!

Portraying Samuel Fuller at Plimoth Plantation - he was great!

Main Street up to the fort at Plimoth Plantation (replica of original)

Journaling in "William Bradford's" backyard - beautiful!

The inside of a pilgrim's house - very small!

My little pilgrim boy!

And let's not forget the best part of the trip - the pillow fight at the Plantation sleepover (I think the girls won)!

Another excellent actor at the Plantation and another teary moment for me as the children sang the 100th Psalm for him!

The steer that tried to gore J's arm! (And me who must be subconscious of the 4-week pregnant belly -lol!)

With Mrs. Third Grade Teacher - the awesome organizer of the trip!

Overall, we were exhausted by the end of this trip. It was non-stop and late night for us but so much to see and so.much.fun!  I was proud of  my oldest boy and his motivation to journal and learn and get to know his history better. I am so glad that Jefferson will never forget his 3rd grade teacher or this special trip to Plymouth!

Jefferson & Magnetism

Jefferson is currently studying science in his second trimester at away school....and loving every minute of it!  Not that I'm surprised by that - he has always loved science.  And this year is full of new stuff (as opposed to my nature walks and sketches - "Another drawing? Awww, Mooooom!") with a new (and well respected)teacher.

His longterm science assignment this trimester was to choose a scientific principle, find sources from which to study it, write a paragraph about it, and find a way to demonstrate it. 

He choose magnetism and a demonstration of a home made compass.  I will admit that I was a bit nervous about this assignment since I am clueless not well informed about magnetism and didn't know quite where to start helping him (not mention the rest of the 'chaos' around here with their fat little legs and loud little voices).  Nevermind that this was in the Sonlight plan for his 3rd grade year at home - if I haven't taught it, I haven't learned re-learned it. So I diverted to my oh.so.smart mechanical engineer educated (but working software engineer) hubbs (there has to be some kind of info about magnetism in those degrees and experience, right?)!

Nice thing about homeschooling is that one can always find a book (or two or three) with information about magnetism and compasses around!  Who needs the internet when one is a bookaholic??  ;-) 

Hubbs helped him learn how to copy the reference information from the books and summarize the information about magnetism given in each book so that all Jefferson would have to do for his sloppy copy is to pull his summaries together into a paragraph.  There ensued much arguing at this point as Jefferson has trouble listening (to us, mind you, not to Mrs. Third Grade Teacher!) and seems to know everything already (is this just age 8 or is it MY kid?  LOL!).

Once he had read from his sources and discussed the principle with dh, he chunked out a sloppy copy which dh didn't have time to help him refine.  So I sat to help him fix spelling and chop any extra stuff.  He was so durned excited the whole time I worked with him that I thought someone might get throttled - lol!

Here's the end result for "Magnetism" by Jefferson:

"I would like to know more about magnetism.  The main people who discovered magnetism are Nicolas Tesla and Michael Faraday.  Some vocabulary words that you might need to know are: magnetic field, which means the field surrounding an object, magnetic domains, which are atoms that all have the same magnetic direction, and magnetism, which is how materials respond when exposed to a magnetic field.  That ends our vocabulary words.  Now on to the background information.  There are many uses for magnetism including electric motors, bicycle lights, and compasses.  The compass involves magnetizing a piece of metal.  This makes the metal align with the earth's magnetic field.  Since we know that the earth's magnetic field goes North to South, this then helps us with navigation because the magnetized piece of metal will tell us which way is North.

Magnetism is when all the magnetic domains in a material are aligned.  To align all the magnetic domains rub a magnet on a piece of metal in one direction.  Use metal because magnetism will not work with insulators, like cork.  The magnet will align itself with the earth's magnetic field just like a compass."

For his demonstration of a home made compass, he was required to explain a bit about magnetism and the compass without his report.  Holy smokes, did this makes him nervous!  He thought that he'd have to write something else out in order to memorize it.  But I reminded him that he had clearly explained it to me (who had not done the research with him) and that he already KNEW the information from his research (which was the point - not that he realized that he actually learned in this process - lol!).  And after a bit of practice, he was ready to take on the third grade class!

DH went to watch his presentation (leaving jealous momma at home) and take photos.  Jefferson did very well and hardly stumbled - even when Mrs. Third Grade Teacher asked him questions and got up to check his home made compass with a real one (I hadn't thought of that!).  He later told me that it helped that he had something in his hands to talk about (isn't that the truth for most of us?).  His overall grade was excellent - better than even he expected.  We're so proud of our boy!  I continue to be amazed at how he reaches and exceeds the bar that is set for him.  His motivation may be that of pleasing his teacher (insert envious momma sigh here) as well as his excitement for learning (every momma's goal) but it's so exciting to see how fast he's learning! I hope that he remembers this project because we certainly will....

 

A Day in the Life of Our "Away Schooler"

I've been itchin' since we started Jefferson in 'away' school ("Mooom!  No one calls it that - why do you do that?") to go in for a day and torture the teacher with my presence and beady-eyed stare observe.  It's been a while since I've been 'in' school myself and although I have a good feel from Jefferson for how things go at 3rd grade in Dayspring Christian Academy, I just wanted to see how things flowed.

I was quite pleased (but not surprised) at how well Mrs.3rd Grade Teacher interacts with her students and keeps them in control.  There was not one wild or rambunctious child and only a couple whom were even slightly distracted (and these she dealt with quickly, firmly, and discreetly - wow!).  Her instructions were always clear and well-followed with room available for any questions.  These kids obviously respect her but aren't afraid of her - great balance, I'd say! 

But my favorite thing about this class is not the academics or even the wonderful behavior of the students, but the obvious faith of Mrs. 3rd Grade Teacher.  She has prayed with me at parents meetings and she prays with her students each day, as well as pulling out her guitar and playing praise music with Mrs. Teacher's Aide (also the school music teacher).  This warms my heart and puts any doubt (yes, the enemy still tries to get under my skin about Jefferson even being at away school) at ease.  She stays in constant communication with the parents, works hard to stay prepared for each day, and obviously cares for her students!  Isn't that what a parent wants for their child in school?

*happysigh*

So, no more blabbering.  On to today's poorly taken summary notes agenda in 3rd grade...

1. As day starts, students finish uncompleted items, leftover work, or corrections quietly at their desks.
2. Students pledge allegiance to God's Word, the Christian flag, and then the U.S.
3. Mrs. 3rd Grade Teacher prays
4. Praise music and then devotions
5. Math -> verbally walk through word problem sheet (teacher & class together) with plenty of room for questions; timed practice sheets; lesson of the day; more time on word problem sheet with teacher help (Saxon 3 is the math program)
6. Spelling ->buddy system spelling practice (today no lesson or new words)
7. Recess & snack (poor Mrs. 3rd Grade Teacher barely had time for her own snack as she prepped for reading)
8. Reading -> lots of options today (literature discussion circle w/ Mrs. 3rd Grade Teacher; group meets & discusses questions w/ Mrs. Teacher's Aide; student voice records a reading passage to improve their fluency; work on comprehension worksheet; work on AR book); students worked quietly and Mrs. 3rd Grade Teacher's multitasking talent came through as she met their needs
9. English -> using Shurley Grammar 3 students work verbally w/ Mrs. 3rd Grade Teacher to diagram sentences together allowing for any questions & plenty of class participation; students worked on their 'persuasive' paragraphs & had time to discuss their progress with the teacher
10. LUNCH!  (I have to admit that I really felt the need to stretch by this point.  The kids accomplished a lot in the time just before lunch but it still seemed like a long time to me!  Must be the 'homeschool' in me - lol!)

What a great lesson for me today in Jefferson's 3rd grade class!  I felt like I learned a ton about teaching just by watching a talented teacher do her work.  It was as exciting as it is for me at home just because I love to see kids learn!  And someday Jefferson will hopefully find it interesting to look back at a day in the life of his 3rd grade year!

Working up that nervous 'pre' school frenzy!

Hey there! Here I am! I know you forgot but it's me - that strange country bumpkin with the presidentially named kids. Crazy how the calendar moves before I realize that although I've been blogging in my own head, I've not actually typed any of it up for you to see since last month! LOL! I guess I was hoping that you all had telepathy....

Just have so much on my mind these days! There certainly isn't time for blogging with the 'end' of last school year's work (well, kinda since we 'schooled' all year this year) and the lovely weather and summer activities. I've been to see family in Phoenix, family in Maryland (and I got to meet Mary's beautiful new boy - nanny, nanny to you all - he was adorable!), North Carolina, and, just yesterday, Washington D.C. - trips which have kept me up to my eyeballs in planning and laundry and catch up (on the return). We've had swimming lessons and karate and play dates galore. I've been "painting my thumb green" with a new (albeit TINY) garden, perennials, and flower baskets. And I've been making some headway on the seasonal clothing change (takes me f.o.r.e.v.e.r in this house!) and closet cleanup.

(Jefferson eatin' more sweet peas than he's picking for me!)


(Jefferson earned his yellow belt in Wado Ryu Karate)

But what really keeps me away, is the planning I need to get done for this coming (in 2 1/2 weeks?? Yikes!) school year where Reagan will need more time consuming teaching, Jefferson is headed into a new curriculum (we've chosen Sonlight - yay!) and Adam heads to pre school (Lincoln, at 2, will be doing his best to cause all sorts of mess and distraction - his specialty right now!).

I ordered Core 3 (Intro. to Amer. History), Science 2 (so he and Reagan could share), and Language Arts 3 from Sonlight this year. "Box day" was last week and I've only got the Instructor's Guide put together, with no progress on labeling and shelving the books, or entering the assignments into my Homeschool Tracker Plus (which I love too much to give up even though it requires much input time). The kids LOVED the books and spent a few days pouring over them before I had to tape the box back up (to keep Jefferson from reading too many) Sheesh, what a problem to have - lol!
So in order to tackle the Sonlight/HST+ combination & entry, I joined both forums and have been ignoring this dear blog. Dh has offered to take 'The Four' out of the house on Sat so I can get some good data entry/ planning time in. I am hoping that I can keep my head on straight because I am finding that I have trouble focusing these days. Deadlines always help though!

The other issue I'm trying to tackle at the same time is the planning of Reagan's 1st grade year. I am nervous about what we will be able to accomplish since she is still only in basic readers and is having trouble with eye tracking. I still need to plan out her phonics lessons to incorporate the multi-sensory techniques that are oh, so important and effective with her, as well as figure out how to incorporate some of SOTW1 with the Mystery of History I plan to use instead (more another time on why). It is critical that I get her plan completely mapped out since I have discovered this year that her lessons easily get shoved to the back burner in lieu of Jefferson's work.

At this point, I am thankful that I have a roll top desk since it looks like my head feels - completely disheveled! But...I am hoping (and praying of course!) that prioritizing and using lists will help me plod through little by little and get it all done. I've done it before and hundreds of ladies before me have done it too, right?

Ohhhh, the fun "pre" school frenzy...er, planning I mean. I am glad for the excitement about the new year and new goals that comes with it though! Hopefully, it won't keep me away from here for too long....