Good Morning Schedule!

I know the point of a schedule is to put consistency in kids lives. I full heartedly believe in having a routine. We have tried a few different ones but haven't quite found the one that fits with our life. It's hard when each kid has a different productive time but we are working it out.

My daughter is the get things done when she wakes up kind of girl. She's generally pretty helpful but in the morning she rocks out the homework. She's focused and she's 3. Today she completed 8 pages when she was only assigned 6. Super productive!

My oldest is a work on something all day til it gets done type. He so interested in the world around him. When he gets focused watch out because he could finish an entire workbook in one sitting but he's easily distracted on most days.

My youngest loves to learn. He wants to help his brother and sister but being two has it's disadvantages. He's been working on the alphabet song, singing, building, colors, and shapes. We have a good time and he loves to help.

It's so much fun to discover each child's work habits and try to cultivate the skills necessary for every day life. They are growing and learning so much every single day.

April 2012 Already

So we've had an adventure this year! Home education has been pretty amazing. I wish I had kept up to date on everything we've done. Right now as I type this the older two are sitting in the dining room painting cups! Yup painting plain old disposable cups. Why you ask? Honestly just because it's fun. Maybe later we'll tie some strings in the bottom of the cups and let them talk like they are telephones.

We've been working through workbooks, doing worksheets, doing unit studies, drawing, telling stories, reading, learning letters, counting, doing math and learning to respect each other. That's just the tip of the iceberg. It's been a pretty lonely year though. However with much excitement we are super excited to have our good friends joining us in this journey next year. Four possibly five of Connor's best friends are starting homeschooling next year! Talk about exciting. And we are making one of our final moves! Hello Michigan! We are heading to lower Michigan as soon as we possibly can. We are trying to live within miles of our friends who are starting the home school journey!

Well I have to go rescue the living room from the fabulous duo and make sure the little guy is getting cleaned up. I swear I'll get better at posting here. Live life to the best you can!

M

Day One-- Kindergarten

Homeschooling officially began for us today for the year.

Connor is a kindergartener but I use that tern loosely. We are ten pages from completing his kindergarten workbook. He's brilliant. Today he did over 10 pages in the workbook on his own. We've also done wrestling for physical education and now he's playing with our kinect practicing coordination.

It has come to my attention that I have three extremely gifted children. All of which have officially started schooling today. Chloe is doing prekindergarten. Mostly we are sticking with flash cards and coloring pages. She helps take care of the garden and we talk all day about varying aspects of many many subjects.

Caedmon is attempting to master walking. He wrestles with the boys and is working on words. He's just learning how to color but it's taking time.

I'm so blessed to work with my three amazing children. Blessed and exceedingly excited to continue this journey.

Public Education... the joke

Connor wanted to try public school. I reluctantly agreed. This is what I learned in my two day experience. This will never happen again.

We are socialist and Vegans. Our veganism is based on helping equalize and take care of the world by using minimal resources. Because a Vegan diet uses 300 gallons of water compared to the 4000 gallons a meat eater diet requires we are using a lot less of this precious resource. 

We also do not support animal cruelty, neglect or the blatant abuse of the meat corporations. How often is meat recalled because it has killed someone or made people extremely ill? It's a travesty that happens on a regular basis. 

It's not about Connor having a bad day. He honestly didn't have a terrible day. However, a school couldn't fulfill something as simple as making sure he eats his own lunch. I pack a super healthy and extremely filling large lunch. We even have a note from our doctor that he is a Vegan that means no animal products or by products. What if he had an allergy to it? 

Connor came home and told me someone spit on him and someone hit him in the stomach. Those are both completely inappropriate behaviors but worst of all he came home with a large swollen bruised bump on his forehead. When I went to pick him up no one said a word about it. That is beyond inappropriate. Especially come to find out he fell in the gym. If they can't keep a close enough watch on my children or have enough concern to relate such an injury to a parent.... I have no words to express my feelings towards such people.

Not to mention all they have done is color pictures and traced their names. Connor has been able to do both of these flawlessly since he was 3. I understand they have to moderate their education system to make sure the weakest learners are not left out but Connor is brilliant. He knows about refraction, alliteration, he writes and creates magnificent stories, he knows all about volcanoes, how things are made, where things come from. He is always asking difficult questions. I don't want to stunt his growth by including him with kids who can't color in the lines. 

One of the final things adding to all of this was the attitude of parents waiting outside to pick up their children. It wasn't eager anticipation. The conversations I overheard were all about how thankful they were to not have to "deal with their children." They hated when they were home and they couldn't wait for them to start school. This isn't paraphrased these are actual words I heard coming out of parents mouths. I couldn't believe the animosity towards their own children. I do not want to be a part of a community who doesn't love their children. Or can't stand being around them. It's disgusting. 

There are several other reasons along with the ones listed above but that's it in a nutshell. If you have any questions feel free to message me privately. 

The day is still young.

Yet another of the many amazing aspects of homeschooling. Your children get more done in less time.

Today Connor did a couple of workbooks pages on numbers. He's mastered his counting. He can count and count and count. Not sure how high he can count but he usually stops around three or four hundred because he gets bored. We printed out maps at this great website (Map making link is to the right). He colored a map of the United States. The water he colored blue, Canada and Mexico were colored brown, our own state was dark green, his grandma's state was oranged, and the rest of the USA was light green. He also colored a map of Illinois. Making it the same color as Illinois on his USA map so he could find it when he wants to look at it. Connor also played on the computer for about an hour this morning. Working on his technological navigation skills, playing a game based on matching, and a few others. Funbrain is a great resource for educational games on the web.

Chloe worked on coloring in her Dora coloring book. She has been learning the names of the crayon colors as she colors with them. So far we've mastered purple, pink, and green. She loves doing "homework" when Connor is working on his.

We still have our science lesson to read, a few books to read, and we will spend sometime talking about the weather (since that is what we are learning in our science lesson). We also will spend some time practicing our soccer and just having a great time being a family.

Top Ten Benefits of Homeschooling

This is not my own. It's from The Everything Homeschooling Book by Sherri Linsenbech. But I find it helpful to remember why it's so beneficial to do home education.

1. Homeschooled children receive a well-rounded education that's suited to each child's particular learning style.

2. Families draw closer together when their days are filled with home education and learning activities.

3. One-on-one attention provides instant feedback and quick assessments of teh child's strengths and weaknesses.

4. Homeschooling encourages creativity and hands-on learning that makes education fun and memorable.

5. Less stress and fewer sicknesses result in healthy, happy children.

6. Children have freedom and flexibility in pursuing topics and areas of interest that truly matter to them.

7. Homeschooling leads to proper social skills, high maturity levels, and the ability to interact with people of all ages.

8. Homeschooled children are self-motivated, self-reliant, self-confident, and eager to keep learning.

9. Many colleges and universities actively seek out and welcome homeschooled students.

10. Children develop true enjoyment of learning that lasts a lifetime.

A change of direction

I am changing the direction of this blog. It will now be an online documentation of my children as they learn and grow through homeschooling. I shall record what it is we are learning, where we are journeying towards, our struggles, resources, and any other pertinent information.

This blog is for two reasons. One to document my kids journey's so years down the road they can look back and see this. And the second reason is to protect us from anyone who may wish to claim my children aren't being properly educated.

If you or someone you know is a homeschooler I appreciate any advice and comments you may have. Thank you for sharing this experience with me.