Time to get in shape!

 We have cousins visiting from out of state for a few weeks and let me just say...they are an active family! My borther-in-law is a college women's soccer coach and the rest of the family is just as active as him. Well, they have inspired us. I took the boys in for their annual physical the other day and discovered that my older son is over the "obese" threshold for his age. That's no surprise to me, I'm not blind; but it did make me sad. That's one area I've been lacking in is PE, and it shows on my kids. So we started a "Family Fitness Challenge". For the next 2 weeks we are keeping track of how much time we spend being physicaly active everyday. Our goal is 1 hour a day. Everyone who hits that goal geta a prize, and the person with the most time gets an additional prize. We have really been lax on nutrition and exercise and I'm hoping this will create the habit of being active and taking care of our bodies. I"ll let you know how it goes.

Josiah has been studying Ancient Greece lately and he really likes it. I'm starting California history with Caleb. We are looking at curriculum for next year. Looks like we will be using Switched On Schoolhouse for both of them. It's a computer-based full curriculum. Caleb is currently using the math program and he likes it. We just need to get a small laptop so there are 2 computers in the house, and so they can take it with them when we need to be somewhere. Anybody out there use that curriculum? I'd like to hear from someone who is currently using it and how well it works. Thanks! Have a blessed day!

It's a job!

So, I had this "light bulb" moment yesterday. Homeschooling is like working from home. I think I need to learn how to manage my time better. The curriculum (or lack of) we are using requires a lot of my time for planning. I'm finding myself spending a lot of my "spare time" working on schoolwork. I guess I need to schedule blocks of time to do it, and walk away when that time is up. It's just hard for me because I see it sitting there and know it needs to get done.
On another note, We had a great day yesterday getting our work done. The boys sat down and got right to it. It didn't drag on for hours because they were just sitting and staring into space. We finished our Olympic study on Monday and put the lapbooks together. The boys were quite proud of all the work they had done. I like how when it's all in one place like that, they can look at it and say "I did all this and here's what I learned". It was a good feeling for them.
My sister-in-law and her family are coming into town today to visit from Indiana. They will be staying with us for about 3 weeks. They have 4 kids that she also homeschools. Our plan is to get our schooling done with all of the kids every morning. I'll let you know how it goes!

School and sickness

Thank God for homeschooling this week! Caleb has had some stomach issues for the past week. And for the most part, he has been able to get some school done while laying on the couch. I'm so glad that we can do that and I don't have to call him in absent everyday and justify why we chose to keep him home, or try to get a doctor's note because it was longer than 3 days. But, I realize that's just me. That's part of the reason we decided to homeschool. The fact that we, as parents, are the ones ultimately responsible for our kids, and can make the decisions we feel are best for them. I could send them off to school and let someone else deal with them but, at the end of the day, we are still resomsible for their education. And Caleb just wan't getting what he needed in school. I realize that not everyone is called to do this with their kids and that for most, the public school system works great. We just felt like it was time for us to take the control back and do it the way we saw needed to be done. Maybe some of that stems from the fact that we feel like we always have someone else telling us what we can or can't do with Julianna. And for the most part, we can't change that right now. I don't know...: ) Just rambling a little. It's kind of hard to put that strong urge and desire God gives you down in writing!

A lot of the time, it's just getting through the day and our lessons, but somedays, like today, God reminds me why we started this journey in the first place and it burns in my heart. Thank God for days like this, it renews my zeal and passion for homeschooling when I feel I'm on the edge...

The Little Things

You ever have those days? You know, where you start questioning why you are homeschooling? You are tired and a little cranky, your kids whine and complain about everything you give them to do, your house looks like a tornado hit it because you haven't had time to give it any attention...it goes on and on. My whole week was like that last week. I was feeling frustrated and wondering if I would ever catch up. Then, we were out walking the dog (did I mention that we also have a huge, hyper puppy added to the mix?) we were passing the neighborhood school and there were kids out on the playground. My younger son said "wow, isn't school out yet?" I said "no, they go ALL day" Then he replied, "I love being homeschooled". Now
I realize the reason he said that was because we had finished school about an hour prior to that but, it did a lot to lift my spirits and blew a "fresh wind" into my sails. It's the little things...

Frustration!

So, we have been using our new system for about 2 weeks. For the most part, it works for us. It definately makes my day easier because I'm not scrambling for supplies the minute before the boys do an assignment, it's all ready to go.
My frustration today comes from the fact that my kids seem to drag their feet on everything I give them to do. How do you teach them self- discipline? I set a timer for them to finish their asignement in a certain amount of time. I walk out of the room and they stop working. AUGHHH!! Yes - there are consequences for not finishing on time but, sometimesthey just don't seem to care. Like today, I planned on getting my housework done because my husband talked me out of it on Saturday : ). It is now 1:20pm and I have only cleaned one bathroom. I still need to do the other bathroom, sweep and mop the whole house, dust...the list goes on. If you know me, you know that I am pretty lax on housework, not anal about it at all. But, really, how long can you let it be dirty??? There is only so much I can take! Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and am thankful I have the opportunity to be home with them. But days like today make it difficult. Anyone out there have any auggestions on how to train them to have self-discipline?

New scheduling system

So this week we started a new schedule/organization system. It's a variation of  a workbox system. Those of you who are familiar with maybe special needs classes might have seen something like it before. This is how we do it:
I make my lesson plans for the week, and then I break it down by task. Every assignment or task that the boys have is put into a ziploc bag, along with any materials they may need to complete it. Each bag has a number on it. Each of the boys have their own box where I put all of the bags for the day. Then I make them their own schedule.  They can look at it in the morning and know exactly how many things they need to get done that day. How long their schoolday will last is, for the most part, up to them. Some of the tasks are timed, so they each have their own timer. Each task has a "tag" on their schedule. Once that task is complete, they remove the tag and put it, along with the completed work, into my "in box".
Caleb was pretty excited about it because he has his own box! He is a hands-on learner a lot of the time, and loves it when we do something new! Josiah doesn't display much emotion over anything, but he seems to like it. I set up a week's worth of bags and schedule at a time. That way, everything we need is together and ready to go. So far, it has made the school day easier because the boys don't have to wait for me to gather supplies or get the next assignment ready. They can just move from one to the next.

As with any new thing, it seems to be going really well. I'll let you know in a few weeks if it still works. Haha!

bags of assignments

daily schedules

boxes

Here Goes Nothin...

So, here I am, NOT a writer, by any stretch of the imagination but, I decided I'd share my adventures with everyone.
We are fairly new to homeschooling this year. We had a "trial run" a few years back with just my middle child but, weren't really "homeschooling" - not like we are now. I have one in 6th grade and the other is in 4th this year. We started thinking about schooling at home about this time last year when it came out that my fourth grader was having trouble in the classroom. I love how the teachers always say, "it's fine, he's doing good", and then it comes out halfway(or more) through the year that he's really not doing good and now they don't know what to do with him. He's NOT a bad kid, just needs one on one attention to help him focus. So hubby and I talked it over and prayed and decided if this is what we were going to do, we were jumping all the way in - head first! My oldest was "iffy" about it at first but, warmed up to the idea. Now they both love to tell people they are homeschooled.
 Our style is what you might call eclectic, as is our curriculum. We are taking a little bit from here and there and putting it all together. So far, we are loving it! I'm in the process of ordering a few things curriculum-wise, especially for my 6th grader. That kid is so smart. The main curriculum we've been using is a unit study. However, he knows most of the subject matter it covers so, I've had to stretch to find things for him to do with it. My method isn't perfect but, they are learning. That's the great thing about me being the teacher/administrator, I can change things around if it's not working. I don't have to wait for a meeting to "come up with a plan", and then wait another month or two for that plan to be implemented. If you have a chuild who has needed help in the public school system, you know what I'm talking about!


So here we are, learning as we go! It's 8:45am, and my boys are still sleeping...and I love it!!!