For more than ten years, I've always imagined I'd have a little girl someday named Lauren Elizabeth. I saw a big smile with dimples, big blue eyes and long blond hair that she'd let me brush every night while we giggled before bedtime. I imagined watching her dance and sing. I imagined that we'd laugh like crazy and even get along during those awkward and hormonal teenage years. (Yes, I realize that makes me incredibly naive!)
But God had a different plan (He often does!). You see, He blessed my amazing husband and I with three beautiful, amazing, "energetic" boys. ; ) Then, due to a genetic condition that caused cysts to accumulate on my ovaries, I had to have an early hysterectomy. (By the way, I apologize for ever thinking menopause seemed much ado about nothing....it's rough! : ) I sighed, packed up all our baby things and donated them. I shed a tear or two, but felt blessed that I'd been able to give birth to our three sons before having to have the surgery.
But you know, God kept putting family after family in our path who had adopted. And not just adopted, but had the most wonderful stories of love and blessing and success in their adoptions. It's essentially been like a happy parade of poster familes for joys of adoption! That's not to say that these wonderful families in our lives haven't had some, shall we say, overwhelmingly stressful hurdles and heartaches throughout their adoption processes--but they refused to let any of it dampen their joy and hope, and their lives are all the more fuller for it. In fact, Andy and I believe that we've been privy to both the ups and downs of the process in order that we might be educated and prepared for however our own story might unfold. (Plus, my adoptive mommy friends tell me adoption is great, no weight gain or stretch marks! : )
Andy and I had had the idle conversation once or twice about whether or not we'd ever adopt, but it never seemed to form into a concrete idea or plan. The past 6 months something changed, and we started talking about it more. Before, we'd never had quite the same level of conviction and enthusiasm at the same time. Then one day last month it became "Let's start filling out paperwork. Like, now." We have several adoptive friends eagerly cheering us on, saying "It's about time you got your little girl!" Well, we think so too! Our sons are thrilled about adopting a baby sister, which makes us wonder if they're planning any hijinks we should be concerned about... : )
But hey, adoption is expensive. I mean, our daughter's clothing budget alone is going to be enormous, let alone all the fabulous pink, frilly things we need to buy for her nursery. ; ) We're a military family of five on one salary. We're content. Why do anything to rock a steady boat? This is going to complicate things. Probably more that we realize.
But if you know us, you'd know that our married life has been sort of a whirlwind from the words "I now pronounce you husband and wife." We barely survived our honeymoon in Cancun due to the world's worst and ill timed stomach flu. (Oh, do I have stories about that inglorious week!) We graduated from college, had a baby, joined the Navy and moved three times before we'd been married 18 months. We've lived in 5 states, done 4 duty stations, survived 3 deployments, and owned 2 homes....but no partridge. Yet. ; )
We are going to adopt because we have love. And laughter. And joy. And faith. Because there are girls thrown away in countries where they're not valued or wanted. Because they have value to us. Because God, for some reason, has put the desire firmly in us to open our hearts and home to an orphan waiting for a family. Because I need another female in the house to commiserate with about the unique experience of living with boys. ; )
It makes my heart hurt more than I can describe to think of underprivileged children waiting for basic necessities, let alone a family. But I have a suspicion that our daughter will bless us in more ways than we could ever hope to bless her. Love does that sometimes.
She's going to have three big brothers to love and protect her. A strong, loving father that's an expert marksman with both pistol and rifle. ; ) And a mother that doesn't need the blond hair or blue eyes, but would be overjoyed to brush her hair every night while we giggle. And I hope she does love to sing and dance, but if she prefers to draw or throw the ball I'll still watch with amazement and pride. I do hope she likes pink...just a little! That will help me get through those tempestuous teenage years!
Our house is going to be more crowded, and there's going to be less disposable income and more mess.....but the way I see it, the crazier it gets, the more I get to rely on God and not myself.
We are going to do some fundraising for our daughter's adoption. If you can help, that's wonderful. We're ever so grateful! We'll have details later if you can help.
I don't have a picture of her, but I'm sure she's beautiful. We can't wait to see how all this unfolds, so stay tuned!
Love,
Kelly
mother, and adoptive mother-in-waiting
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The best laid plans....
It can be so depressing to get off to a good start and then take a left turn at Crazy Town only to crash in Sickville. ::sigh::
I was pretty happy with the way we got off the ground with our new curriculums and schedule, and no sooner were we getting comfortable behind the wheel than....
Well, I'm on a lot of sick meds and little sleep and I can't even pronounc the bacterial infection the good doctor diagnosed me with--but I know that we're squeaking out of this week with only math, spelling, reading and writing. And not even the full load of that!
A dear friend took the boys Monday, and another dear friends took them last night, and I'm wobbly on my feet today. I'm teetering between feeling OK one minute and then groaning on the couch the next. My voice sounds like a munchkin (which is funny because I'm only 4'11" and it sort of fits!) and I'm coughing and hacking like a 2 pack a day times 20 years smoker. Oh, and Andy is out of town......::sigh::
Yesterday the dogs burst out the front door while I was carrying out the trash, and despite calling them in my munchkin voice and getting down on my knees they continued to run circles around my yard and the neighbor's yard. All three boys are wandering around the yard seemingly oblivious to the canine spectacle--I start chasing the dogs once they ran into the neighbor's yard, squeaking furiously at them while they joyfully ignored me and planned a brilliant game of "Keep Away From the Crazy Mom."
I finally grabbed Logan's shoulder and "yelled" at him to help me get the dogs. He ran inside to get a dog treat, and came out in tears that I had grabbed him and "yelled" angrily. "I didn't know you needed help!" he protested. The first clue I needed help should have been me running around squawking like a chicken, but whatever.... : )
A neighbor across the street pulls up and sees that I'm one step away from the cuckoo's nest and kneels down, to which the dogs instantaneously run and flop down for her petting and attention. I pick up the little one and grab the bigger one's collar and squeak out "I'm sick, I don't know what happened....thank you so much!" I don't know if she spoke munchkin, but as I was walking back to the house the big one saw Logan had a treat and took off running, dragging me down into the soaking wet ground as I tried (unsuccessfully) to hold on. ::sigh::
My humiliation was complete.
I apologized to Logan, and told him I needed to work on my reponse when I'm tired, sick, or stressed....Of course he had to have the last word and said "I promise, I didn't know you needed help!"
::sigh::
I was pretty happy with the way we got off the ground with our new curriculums and schedule, and no sooner were we getting comfortable behind the wheel than....
Well, I'm on a lot of sick meds and little sleep and I can't even pronounc the bacterial infection the good doctor diagnosed me with--but I know that we're squeaking out of this week with only math, spelling, reading and writing. And not even the full load of that!
A dear friend took the boys Monday, and another dear friends took them last night, and I'm wobbly on my feet today. I'm teetering between feeling OK one minute and then groaning on the couch the next. My voice sounds like a munchkin (which is funny because I'm only 4'11" and it sort of fits!) and I'm coughing and hacking like a 2 pack a day times 20 years smoker. Oh, and Andy is out of town......::sigh::
Yesterday the dogs burst out the front door while I was carrying out the trash, and despite calling them in my munchkin voice and getting down on my knees they continued to run circles around my yard and the neighbor's yard. All three boys are wandering around the yard seemingly oblivious to the canine spectacle--I start chasing the dogs once they ran into the neighbor's yard, squeaking furiously at them while they joyfully ignored me and planned a brilliant game of "Keep Away From the Crazy Mom."
I finally grabbed Logan's shoulder and "yelled" at him to help me get the dogs. He ran inside to get a dog treat, and came out in tears that I had grabbed him and "yelled" angrily. "I didn't know you needed help!" he protested. The first clue I needed help should have been me running around squawking like a chicken, but whatever.... : )
A neighbor across the street pulls up and sees that I'm one step away from the cuckoo's nest and kneels down, to which the dogs instantaneously run and flop down for her petting and attention. I pick up the little one and grab the bigger one's collar and squeak out "I'm sick, I don't know what happened....thank you so much!" I don't know if she spoke munchkin, but as I was walking back to the house the big one saw Logan had a treat and took off running, dragging me down into the soaking wet ground as I tried (unsuccessfully) to hold on. ::sigh::
My humiliation was complete.
I apologized to Logan, and told him I needed to work on my reponse when I'm tired, sick, or stressed....Of course he had to have the last word and said "I promise, I didn't know you needed help!"
::sigh::
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Guilt--an important part of every homeschooling mother's diet! : )
We homeschooling mommies can and do make entire meals out of guilt--I know it's not just me, because I listen to you all talk! : )
We ask "Is my child studying enough subjects?" "Are we spending enough time on the subjects we are studying?" "Is my child involved in enough activities?" "My child is so smart! Uh oh...am I smart enough to teach him?" "My child is behind and challenged in what she's studying...am I smart enough to teach her?!" "Are we reading the "right" books?" "Are we doing enough art and music?" "I just taught math in my pajamas without even brushing my teeth--did my child learn anything?!?!" "Are we going on enough field trips?" "For pity's sake--IS MY CHILD SOCIALIZED?!?!" ; ) (More on socialized vs. socialization in a later post!)
Whether you're new to homeschooling or you've been around a while....from where I sit (starting fifth year of homeschooling), you're going to have to live with and tame the guilt monster. Don't feed it--but you're a mom, so the guilt is not going to go away completely. (Just like the worry!)
You have to repeat to yourself the reasons you are homeschooling, identify areas where you want to see improvement (not perfection!) and lay out concrete steps to move towards your and your child's goals. Amongst all the reasons you're homeschooling, one of the reasons is most likely to give your child your personal attention--so make that your number one goal! Have FUN watching them learn (those Aha! moments are worth more than all of Solomon's gold!) and let learning be part of the glue that bonds you together.
You may have an "off" month--you might have an "off" year! You might be looking at the ambitious list of all you wanted to accomplish and realize you didn't come close to achieving it all. If that's the case, maybe ask yourself these questions:
Was that time doing what we could do well spent?
Did I and my child have positive moments, opportunities and educational breakthroughs that wouldn't have happened if someone else were their teacher?
Do I see a way forward this year?
Do I have positive homeschooling role models I can fellowship and share this journey with? If I don't, can I plug into the community and find some?
How do I feel after I pray about homeschooling challenges?
Am I struggling because I'm measuring myself and my child unrealistically against others?
Are my husband and I working well together in this endeavor? If not, how can we get closer to the same page? How can we support each other and our family better on the way forward?
So tell the guilt monster to take a hike (maybe even stick your tongue out at it!), put one foot in front of the other and chart your family's course.
We ask "Is my child studying enough subjects?" "Are we spending enough time on the subjects we are studying?" "Is my child involved in enough activities?" "My child is so smart! Uh oh...am I smart enough to teach him?" "My child is behind and challenged in what she's studying...am I smart enough to teach her?!" "Are we reading the "right" books?" "Are we doing enough art and music?" "I just taught math in my pajamas without even brushing my teeth--did my child learn anything?!?!" "Are we going on enough field trips?" "For pity's sake--IS MY CHILD SOCIALIZED?!?!" ; ) (More on socialized vs. socialization in a later post!)
Whether you're new to homeschooling or you've been around a while....from where I sit (starting fifth year of homeschooling), you're going to have to live with and tame the guilt monster. Don't feed it--but you're a mom, so the guilt is not going to go away completely. (Just like the worry!)
You have to repeat to yourself the reasons you are homeschooling, identify areas where you want to see improvement (not perfection!) and lay out concrete steps to move towards your and your child's goals. Amongst all the reasons you're homeschooling, one of the reasons is most likely to give your child your personal attention--so make that your number one goal! Have FUN watching them learn (those Aha! moments are worth more than all of Solomon's gold!) and let learning be part of the glue that bonds you together.
You may have an "off" month--you might have an "off" year! You might be looking at the ambitious list of all you wanted to accomplish and realize you didn't come close to achieving it all. If that's the case, maybe ask yourself these questions:
Was that time doing what we could do well spent?
Did I and my child have positive moments, opportunities and educational breakthroughs that wouldn't have happened if someone else were their teacher?
Do I see a way forward this year?
Do I have positive homeschooling role models I can fellowship and share this journey with? If I don't, can I plug into the community and find some?
How do I feel after I pray about homeschooling challenges?
Am I struggling because I'm measuring myself and my child unrealistically against others?
Are my husband and I working well together in this endeavor? If not, how can we get closer to the same page? How can we support each other and our family better on the way forward?
So tell the guilt monster to take a hike (maybe even stick your tongue out at it!), put one foot in front of the other and chart your family's course.
Our Fall 2011 Schedule
Here is our Fall 2011 tentative schedule--I'm still working on building in a little more time for the Y and some music, but this is a start!
Yesterday went well....we were missing a necessary book from our Sonlight order that they are shipping us so we can begin the Science. We didn't get everything done, BUT I know we will have snow days and teacher work days/in-service coming to "catch up!"
I have this school schedule taped up by the pantry, and Logan is already checking the schedule to figure out what needs to happen next in the day....
I have to say, it feels GOOD to have a more structured schedule--I know that if I miss something I can just alter the next week's lesson plans to fold that in. I didn't really need a schedule until last year, and I felt like we didn't accomplish as much as we could have. This year will be a much better balance!
Young Christian Classical Homeschool Academy
Tentative Schedule
Fall 2011
Monday/Wednesday
8:30 am Bible reading/Devotions
9:00 am Logan and Aaron—Math
10:00 am Logan and Aaron—Spelling
11:00 am Logan and Aaron—Reading and Play
12:00 om LUNCH
1:00 pm Logan and Aaron—History and Geography (Sonlight)
2:00 pm Logan—Essentials and IEW / Aaron—First Language Lessons
3:00 pm Logan and Aaron—Science (Sonlight) Logan (Level C) Aaron (Level A)
4:00 pm Logan and Aaron—CC Memory Work
Tuesday
8:30 am Bible reading/Devotions
9:00 am Logan and Aaron—Math
10:00 am Logan and Aaron—Spelling
11:00 am Logan and Aaron—Reading and Play
12:00 pm LUNCH
1:00 pm Logan and Aaron—History and Geography (Sonlight)
2:00 pm Logan—Essentials and IEW / Aaron—First Language Lessons
3:00 pm Logan and Aaron—Science (Sonlight)
4:00 pm Logan—Latin (30 min) and French (30 min) / Aaron—Handwriting
Thursday
8:00 am Bible reading/Devotions
8:30 am – Patriarchs Bible Study @ River Oak
11:00 am Logan and Aaron do Math, Reading and Spelling
12:00 pm LUNCH
1:00 pm Logan and Aaron—History and Geography (Sonlight)
2:00 pm Logan—Essentials and IEW / Aaron—First Language Lessons
3:00 pm Logan and Aaron—Science (Sonlight)
4:00 pm Logan—Latin (30 min) and French (30 min) / Aaron—Handwriting
Friday
8:00 am Bible reading/Devotions
9:00 am- Classical Conversations
3:30 pm
Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...
Deuteronomy 4:9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Monday, September 12, 2011
First day of starting our new schedule....
and so far, so good!
We started out the morning with devotions-- I know this is going to help us set the proper tone for the day, and it allows the boys to come together as brothers for a few minutes under God's Word first thing (hopefully before anyone's toes get stepped on!) : )
We prayed, got dressed, brushed teeth, made beds, and came downstairs to start our Math-U-See. I'm a big believer in starting math first thing--it can be a tougher subject and I like us to be fresh in order to best tackle it!
Then we moved onto spelling. Logan is reviewing, and we are using Spelling Plus and Spelling Workout. I tested him on Spelling City, and then had him write the words he missed 5 times each. He was frustrated at his mistakes but did the work, and will re-take the test of missed words at the end of the day.
I have not been diligent in making Aaron do his spelling lists, as it's been such a struggle for him to put pencil to paper and focus to do the work. Now that he's reading so much more confidently and handwriting has improved, we're starting again with Spelling Workout Level A and having him focus more on doing the memorizing and writing of his spelling words.
I've been reading and playing with Jacob off and on when Logan and Aaron were working quietly and didn't need me. He's a noisy little guy, but he entertains himself VERY well when I need him to!
Right now, the boys are on a 30 minute break while I write and fix lunch. The second half of our day has a lot packed into it, but I think we've started off right. I'm such an optimist--nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong! ; )
We started out the morning with devotions-- I know this is going to help us set the proper tone for the day, and it allows the boys to come together as brothers for a few minutes under God's Word first thing (hopefully before anyone's toes get stepped on!) : )
We prayed, got dressed, brushed teeth, made beds, and came downstairs to start our Math-U-See. I'm a big believer in starting math first thing--it can be a tougher subject and I like us to be fresh in order to best tackle it!
Then we moved onto spelling. Logan is reviewing, and we are using Spelling Plus and Spelling Workout. I tested him on Spelling City, and then had him write the words he missed 5 times each. He was frustrated at his mistakes but did the work, and will re-take the test of missed words at the end of the day.
I have not been diligent in making Aaron do his spelling lists, as it's been such a struggle for him to put pencil to paper and focus to do the work. Now that he's reading so much more confidently and handwriting has improved, we're starting again with Spelling Workout Level A and having him focus more on doing the memorizing and writing of his spelling words.
I've been reading and playing with Jacob off and on when Logan and Aaron were working quietly and didn't need me. He's a noisy little guy, but he entertains himself VERY well when I need him to!
Right now, the boys are on a 30 minute break while I write and fix lunch. The second half of our day has a lot packed into it, but I think we've started off right. I'm such an optimist--nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong! ; )
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The (short) story of how this homeschooling train got rolling....
There are as many different ways to homeschool as there are homeschoolers.....and almost as many for why a family starts homeschooling.
For us, it was basically a matter of necessity and of faith. The school Logan was supposed to go to for Kindergarten was performing so poorly they were ranked a "1" out of "10" in all their scoring. They wore uniforms due to gang problems, and 85% of the students didn't speak English as a first language. Logan was doing so well with reading and math, and even playing chess, that I just couldn't bear to send him there. So we got in on the lottery for the local charter schools and didn't come close to getting in. We couldn't swing the tuition and fees for private school, soooooo....homeschooling it was!
And truth be told, I was truly concerned at the decline in the quality of curriculum in the public schools and the far-leftist bent so many educators had taken. There seemed to be many educators going to great lengths to dumb down curriculum, diminish (or extinguish) any acknowledgement of the Judeo-Christian worldview, and the general coarsening of the overall educational culture.
We were very blessed that both our families were supportive and respectful of our decisions--this isn't to say that it's the same choice they would have made (they might have thought we were a little odd, but the good kind odd that grows on you! : ), but they felt that we as parents had the right to make what we saw as the best decisions for our family. If they did roll their eyes behind out backs, we never knew about it!
So I said "Great! Soooo.....how do I homeschool?" I slowly realized that there is NO answer to that question. Oh good heavens--there are about a MILLION different methods and curriculums, and I had no idea where to even begin. Oh, and Jacob was due 6 weeks before the school year was to start......
One thing led to another, and we finally decided to enroll in the local public charter homeschool. A certified teacher would visit our home once a week and check on us to see how we were doing, record progress, supply curriculum and answer questions.
We were very blessed, as our teacher was so great. I turned in weekly lesson plans to her and we essentially sailed through the year. Logan's biggest gain that year was his handwriting--it improved dramatically with regular work. By the end of Kindergarten Logan was confidently reading chapter books and LOVED us reading to him. We had a very positive experience, and I attribute it largely to our teacher's sunny, easygoing personality. Not to mention the fact that Logan was a bright, easy-to-work-with Kindergartener.
We moved to Virginia the summer before his 1st grade year, and we bought our house in a nice little area. The school Logan was to attend was OK.....but I decided why stop a good thing? for the time being. I reasearched Virginia homeschooling laws and turned in our Notice of Intent to Homeschool (NOI).
Now, I was on my own. There wasn't a comparable home charter program that I could find here, so I decided to strike out on my own and be eclectic. We used workbooks, read a lot, did a lot of math and a lot of field trips. We did a standardized test to show proof of progress at the end of the year, and he scored 100% in every area. Yeah!
Then second grade came along.....now I had not only Logan but Aaron entering Kindergarten as well. Yikes! Seriously, how was I going to do this with two boys in "school," not to mention a baby on the hip?
Aaron is a completely different learner than Logan. For one thing, Aaron entered Kindergarten 7 months earlier than Logan did....and it showed. He was way "behind" Logan in phonics and fine motor skills. I broke into a cold sweat when several months in I saw Aaron was not making anywhere near the progress Logan had made in the same time frame. I got out Logan's old papers and saw how quickly Logan moved through material, and especially how quickly his handwriting had improved those first 4 months of Kindergarten. We were not required to show proof of progress for Aaron's Kindergarten year, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I read to him all the time, worked on his phonics and handwriting (when I could get him to sit still!), exposed him to numbers whenever possible, and prayed for the best possible outcome for my inexperienced attempts.
Thankfully, Logan tested almost perfectly on his 2nd grade end-of-year standardized tests. Nevertheless, I decided that after doing a lot of research and reading, we needed a more classical approach. I am a great lover of literature, and the classical approach relies heavily on reading the classics and mastering the fundamental concepts in the core subjects. I joined Classical Conversations as a tutor and enrolled Aaron for 1st grade and Logan for 3rd grade.
Classical Conversations is a co-op that meets once a week and drills memorizing facts about core subjects, as well as covering art, music, science experiments and public speaking. I was tasked to tutor Logan's grade level, and had an AMAZING class. Logan truly benefitted from our first year in CC. He read Tolkien, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Treasure Island, Moby Dick, Swiss Family Robinson, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and anything dealing with history or literature he could get his hands on.
Aaron....well, Aaron was Aaron---a boisterous, goofy, incorrigible wiggleworm inside his classroom and out. (Sort of like a caged spidermonkey!) He had a great time, but I think he almost exhausted his tutor's patience for the year by the third week! : ) Luckily she had a GREAT well of patience to dig down deep into, and I know he was exposed to a great deal that enriched his education.
By the end of his 1st grade year Aaron was finally reading fairly confidently at the chapter book level, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the improvement. His handwriting could still go way wonky if he was bored or tired or not in the mood to concentrate, but it was pretty (mostly) legible. His focus (what focus?) and self-control (lack thereof?) are completely unique to his personality, so I'm trying (failing?) to work on my patience in this area......
Aaron tested adequately, and Logan did well....but not as well as he had done on previous tests. That concerned me, but I reminded myself that tests don't tell the entire story. Nevertheless, I made a committment to re-structure our time and add to our curriculum this year.
So now, we are ready to tackle 4th grade, 2nd grade, and K4 (pre-K).....and are once again enrolled in Classical Conversations. This time, Jacob is joining in the fun and will go to a big boy class and learn just like his brothers. I'm tutoring Logan's class again, and this year it's all boys....something I'm very comfortable with! : )
How is this year going to play out? Only the Lord knows....but I am truly confident that at no point will it be dull!
For us, it was basically a matter of necessity and of faith. The school Logan was supposed to go to for Kindergarten was performing so poorly they were ranked a "1" out of "10" in all their scoring. They wore uniforms due to gang problems, and 85% of the students didn't speak English as a first language. Logan was doing so well with reading and math, and even playing chess, that I just couldn't bear to send him there. So we got in on the lottery for the local charter schools and didn't come close to getting in. We couldn't swing the tuition and fees for private school, soooooo....homeschooling it was!
And truth be told, I was truly concerned at the decline in the quality of curriculum in the public schools and the far-leftist bent so many educators had taken. There seemed to be many educators going to great lengths to dumb down curriculum, diminish (or extinguish) any acknowledgement of the Judeo-Christian worldview, and the general coarsening of the overall educational culture.
We were very blessed that both our families were supportive and respectful of our decisions--this isn't to say that it's the same choice they would have made (they might have thought we were a little odd, but the good kind odd that grows on you! : ), but they felt that we as parents had the right to make what we saw as the best decisions for our family. If they did roll their eyes behind out backs, we never knew about it!
So I said "Great! Soooo.....how do I homeschool?" I slowly realized that there is NO answer to that question. Oh good heavens--there are about a MILLION different methods and curriculums, and I had no idea where to even begin. Oh, and Jacob was due 6 weeks before the school year was to start......
One thing led to another, and we finally decided to enroll in the local public charter homeschool. A certified teacher would visit our home once a week and check on us to see how we were doing, record progress, supply curriculum and answer questions.
We were very blessed, as our teacher was so great. I turned in weekly lesson plans to her and we essentially sailed through the year. Logan's biggest gain that year was his handwriting--it improved dramatically with regular work. By the end of Kindergarten Logan was confidently reading chapter books and LOVED us reading to him. We had a very positive experience, and I attribute it largely to our teacher's sunny, easygoing personality. Not to mention the fact that Logan was a bright, easy-to-work-with Kindergartener.
We moved to Virginia the summer before his 1st grade year, and we bought our house in a nice little area. The school Logan was to attend was OK.....but I decided why stop a good thing? for the time being. I reasearched Virginia homeschooling laws and turned in our Notice of Intent to Homeschool (NOI).
Now, I was on my own. There wasn't a comparable home charter program that I could find here, so I decided to strike out on my own and be eclectic. We used workbooks, read a lot, did a lot of math and a lot of field trips. We did a standardized test to show proof of progress at the end of the year, and he scored 100% in every area. Yeah!
Then second grade came along.....now I had not only Logan but Aaron entering Kindergarten as well. Yikes! Seriously, how was I going to do this with two boys in "school," not to mention a baby on the hip?
Aaron is a completely different learner than Logan. For one thing, Aaron entered Kindergarten 7 months earlier than Logan did....and it showed. He was way "behind" Logan in phonics and fine motor skills. I broke into a cold sweat when several months in I saw Aaron was not making anywhere near the progress Logan had made in the same time frame. I got out Logan's old papers and saw how quickly Logan moved through material, and especially how quickly his handwriting had improved those first 4 months of Kindergarten. We were not required to show proof of progress for Aaron's Kindergarten year, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I read to him all the time, worked on his phonics and handwriting (when I could get him to sit still!), exposed him to numbers whenever possible, and prayed for the best possible outcome for my inexperienced attempts.
Thankfully, Logan tested almost perfectly on his 2nd grade end-of-year standardized tests. Nevertheless, I decided that after doing a lot of research and reading, we needed a more classical approach. I am a great lover of literature, and the classical approach relies heavily on reading the classics and mastering the fundamental concepts in the core subjects. I joined Classical Conversations as a tutor and enrolled Aaron for 1st grade and Logan for 3rd grade.
Classical Conversations is a co-op that meets once a week and drills memorizing facts about core subjects, as well as covering art, music, science experiments and public speaking. I was tasked to tutor Logan's grade level, and had an AMAZING class. Logan truly benefitted from our first year in CC. He read Tolkien, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Treasure Island, Moby Dick, Swiss Family Robinson, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and anything dealing with history or literature he could get his hands on.
Aaron....well, Aaron was Aaron---a boisterous, goofy, incorrigible wiggleworm inside his classroom and out. (Sort of like a caged spidermonkey!) He had a great time, but I think he almost exhausted his tutor's patience for the year by the third week! : ) Luckily she had a GREAT well of patience to dig down deep into, and I know he was exposed to a great deal that enriched his education.
By the end of his 1st grade year Aaron was finally reading fairly confidently at the chapter book level, and I breathed a sigh of relief at the improvement. His handwriting could still go way wonky if he was bored or tired or not in the mood to concentrate, but it was pretty (mostly) legible. His focus (what focus?) and self-control (lack thereof?) are completely unique to his personality, so I'm trying (failing?) to work on my patience in this area......
Aaron tested adequately, and Logan did well....but not as well as he had done on previous tests. That concerned me, but I reminded myself that tests don't tell the entire story. Nevertheless, I made a committment to re-structure our time and add to our curriculum this year.
So now, we are ready to tackle 4th grade, 2nd grade, and K4 (pre-K).....and are once again enrolled in Classical Conversations. This time, Jacob is joining in the fun and will go to a big boy class and learn just like his brothers. I'm tutoring Logan's class again, and this year it's all boys....something I'm very comfortable with! : )
How is this year going to play out? Only the Lord knows....but I am truly confident that at no point will it be dull!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Well, I've finally made my nice, neat daily schedule!
It's got all the subjects covered, by hour. It's symmetrical. It's ordered. It's typed prettily in Comic Sans MS font. It's titled with "Young Christian Classical Homeschool Academy" and footnoted with 3 lovely Bible verses to inspire me and set the tone for the year. I am SO proud of it.
And I've just come to the realization it's never going to work.
I haven't allotted any time for music or art, or for working out with a friend while the boys do water sports and PE at the YMCA. I haven't alloted enough time for History and Geography. Heaven forbid I need to run any errands whatsover, because that's going to blow this phenomenal schedule to bits. Nobody had better get sick, because then we're REALLY in trouble.
I've spent the last few years being very relaxed about our schedule...and the second I try to take it to a new level I'm overwhelmed.
So, new plan-- I'm going to pray and rest on this for a couple of days, and keep hitting the math and spelling and reading hard while we're waiting for the last few pieces of our curruiculum. I may have to be less ambitious in order to get more done. We're starting a little later this year than I had originally planned, but I have faith that we will soon develop the year's rhythym and settle in. This is a marathon, and I won't be doing anyone any good if I give myself a panic attack at the start line.
Schedules and rules are both made for breakin, right? : )
And I've just come to the realization it's never going to work.
I haven't allotted any time for music or art, or for working out with a friend while the boys do water sports and PE at the YMCA. I haven't alloted enough time for History and Geography. Heaven forbid I need to run any errands whatsover, because that's going to blow this phenomenal schedule to bits. Nobody had better get sick, because then we're REALLY in trouble.
I've spent the last few years being very relaxed about our schedule...and the second I try to take it to a new level I'm overwhelmed.
So, new plan-- I'm going to pray and rest on this for a couple of days, and keep hitting the math and spelling and reading hard while we're waiting for the last few pieces of our curruiculum. I may have to be less ambitious in order to get more done. We're starting a little later this year than I had originally planned, but I have faith that we will soon develop the year's rhythym and settle in. This is a marathon, and I won't be doing anyone any good if I give myself a panic attack at the start line.
Schedules and rules are both made for breakin, right? : )
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