My children, the sea captains

We're studying Christopher Columbus this week in history.  And air in science. 

So put these two together and what do you have?   

                     

The Nina and the Santa Maria sailing from Spain to the New World.  Or you know, aluminum foil boats being blown from one side of the sink to the other.  We work with what we've got, people.

                    

                      

What happened to the Pinta, you ask?  Well the Pinta was a casualty of economic times.  Translation?  Aluminum foil does not grow on trees and mama is cheap frugal.

School Days, School Days

We officially started school today. Yay! We've had a great summer, but I was kind of ready to get back in the swing of things. The kids weren't terribly excited about giving up most of their play time, but they were looking forward to getting into their new books and workbooks.


I even made a schedule. But you know, one of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility. So of course, first thing this morning my schedule was trashed. The kids slept until almost 8:30! They NEVER do that. They're usually up by 7, no matter when they go to bed.


It was pretty funny. And my friends put it in perspective for me. I had plenty of time to get myself up, have my quiet time, get ready to go to the gym, eat breakfast, and check email-----all before they got out of bed! And I had rested children for the first day of school! Is God good or what?

These are the faces I got when I pointed the camera and said "First day of school! What do you think?"

Second grade!!

Writing her spelling words

We're working on basic pre-school stuff with Hayes. I made a little About Me booklet for him. He had to trace his name and draw pictures of himself and the family. I also wrote down his favorite color, favorite toys, and favorite foods.

After making Rice Krispie treats today, his new favorite food is "smarshsmellows". He says it like that every time and it cracks me up!

Tracing letters in his very expensive Target curriculum workbook.

Reading with mom. (See, I even got dressed today! Gym clothes totally count.)

I just realized I have more pictures of Hayes from today than Becca. Sorry Becca!

This is going to be a great year. Different, but great. I'm so blessed!

And yes, we do get out of the house

Going into this homeschooling thing, I knew about the common misconceptions people have. The S word---socialization. Always the first thing people ask about. (Do you KNOW my kids? Yeah, that's not a problem.) I'm just going to brainstorm here and see what all I can remember about what people have assumed about us or asked us about.

1. "You homeschool? Oh girl, I so do not have the patience for that!"---So apparently you have not been to my house during the day. Patience is one of the fruit of the Spirit that I have to ask the Lord to bring to the top EVERY day. Because an abundance of patience? I ain't got it. What I do have is a desire to be obedient. To this call to homeschooling that God has given to me. Plain and simple.


2. "Do your kids get to be around other kids?"---Between church 3 times a week and sports and neighborhood kids and kids at Chick-fil-A and kids at the park and kids at the library and kids at the gym and kids.... yes, they are around kids plenty. More importantly, they are around people of all ages every day. They are able to interact with adults as we go to the grocery store, to Target, to the bank, to get the oil changed, to get a haircut. They ARE learning social skills, but not from a classroom full of kids their own age. And who wants to learn social skills from a bunch of 7 yr olds anyway?


3. "I couldn't be around my kids all day long. I'd go crazy!"---While I may be well on my way to the crazy train myself, I really like being around my kids. Yes, I have my moments when I want to lock myself in the bathroom, BY MYSELF PLEASE! And yes, going grocery shopping alone is SO much easier. But really. I have been blessed beyond words by being entrusted to raise these children and NOBODY loves them like I do (except their dad!). I can't imagine sending them to be under someone else's supervision for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I'd miss too much. I'd miss THEM too much. And I know those 2 sentences are all about me. But bottom line, the Lord has given them to me/us for a time to raise and for me that includes education.

So apparently the brainstorm only got me to number 3. More like a shower than a storm I guess. Maybe I'll open it up to you! Do you have any questions about homeschooling? Homeschoolers, do you have anything to add? Help me out here, friends!

(And how about this for some blatant discrimination against homeschoolers. And I LIKE Subway! )

Our Homeschool Journey

When I decided to homeschool, Becca was starting 4 yr old preschool at our church. And it was not something I EVER thought I'd do. Not really in my realm of thinking. I knew some people who homeschooled. They were actually some of my favorite people. And I thought, "well good for you, but I'll never do that." Famous last words, right?

But the subject just kept coming up. The year before, when I was pregnant with Hayes, I was in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship). The majority of my small group were homeschool moms. And I didn't really like BSF (don't judge me, BSFers. It just wasn't for me) But I stuck it out, all the while wondering "why am I here?" Now I know the Lord was just preparing me.

After much prayer and seeking advice, I talked to my husband about it. I knew he didn't have a negative attitude about homeschooling at all. But I also knew we had never even considered it so this might be a shock. And not surprisingly he was his typical rational self. "Let's look into it and talk about it some more." When he found out all the praying I'd been doing and confirmation I'd already gotten, he said, "well, if the Lord is telling you to do this, we'll do it."

The next step was telling our parents. Honestly, I wasn't that worried about telling mine. I knew they knew some homeschoolers and had a positive view of it. I also knew that even if they didn't think it was a great idea, they would support us totally. I found a book called You're Going to do What?! by Laurajean Downs. It's a book by a grandmother of homeschoolers to grandparents of homeschoolers, explaining the ins and outs. I took that to my parents when I talked to them about it. They asked lots of questions and were very interested and in the end said they would help us and support us in any way they could. They were also very relieved to not have their grandchild in the public school system where we live. (us too!)

I left it up to Daniel to tell his parents. Let me preface this by saying that EVERYBODY besides us in his family, including both sisters-in-law, work or have worked in the public education system. (with the exception of 1 brother) That's big right there. He had to go to his hometown for work one week and stayed at his parents'. Perfect opportunity to talk to them! And while they were not terribly excited about it at first, they have been very supportive. To the extent of helping Becca with school when we were out of town on a few occasions. We are so blessed!

And now here we are, finishing up our 2nd year of homeschooling and loving it more and more every day. AND I just went to our state homeschool conference and bought some cool stuff for next year! I'm excited! Becca just THINKS we're finished until August. haha!

Next post will be some misconceptions I've noticed about homeschooling. Things people have said to me or assumed about us. I'm sure they are things that most of my fellow homeschoolers have experienced as well. Stay tuned!!