Year 8, Weeks 15 -17: Christmas Cheer!

      I don't know about you, but after Thanksgiving things seem to speed up and slow down at the same time! Our homeschool days feel long and even though it's the same work, nothing new or added, it drags on. But then the countdown to Christmas Day gets shorter and I realize that I still have presents to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, fudge and hot cocoa to prepare and I have to figure out what kind of December cake to bake before the New Year arrives! I don't think I've mentioned it but my goal for 2020 was to bake a different cake every month. I chose to do it because Little Toughie was three when we started to eat Paleo and I stopped baking. She missed out on a lot of goodies. While we still eat Paleo-ish, I figured a cake once a month is fine. Plus, we share the larger ones with neighbors, thus giving a treat to our friends while not taking in too much sugar.

     Are you done Christmas shopping yet or are you a last minute shopper? Are you one who likes the adrenaline rush of finding that perfect present right as the clock counts down to 11:59 pm? Well, that's not me. I'm now somewhere in between. I used to be really good at getting my shopping done by the end of August, no later than the end of September. Yeah, I can't do that anymore. For one, I've never been a fan of shopping. The introvert in me doesn't like crowds and if I do shop it's always for something specific, so I don't spend a lot of time "window shopping". Secondly, the stores I would normally shop at have closed! Borders, Toys R Us...what else? I can't even remember, but I've resigned myself to online shopping and gift cards. All of our family live elsewhere anyway, so online shopping just makes even more sense.

     As for our homeschooling I have to admit, we're bored. The kids and I are bored. As their teacher, I am bored. We've spent the past four years reading plenty of books based on the time period in History which we were studying, all the way from Ancient History to Modern. What we're reading now is indeed review. We're condensing those four years into two, studying World History over this year and next in preparation for high school. But the books that Sonlight recommends as their spine, or main history text, is underwhelming. It's supposed to be geared toward 12-14 year olds but compared to what we've used the past three years, this is feels like it's best for 9-11 year olds.

     Perhaps it's for the best that it's that way, for now. Little Toughie is taking that writing class via Circe (she actually said she's going to miss it now that they're on a break) and it's a lot of work. So, maybe it's okay that it's humdrum reading. Maybe. Or maybe this mom is just ready for some time off from homeschooling!

     We're approaching our Christmas break and as I finish writing this there are cookies in the oven, cookies on trays ready to be put in and cookies on cooling racks. Later, they'll be drenched in chocolate and topped with crushed candy canes. My little helpers (my kids and hubby) are ready and willing. Anything for my holiday cookies! We'll be off for three weeks total, with two of those weeks focused on things we missed in November because of NaNoWriMo. Mostly the science experiments! Then we take one week completely off. This is where I start planning the next school year since curriculum starts to go on sale late January and I want to take advantage of it.

     I'll attempt to catch up on some reading as well. I've tried to start a tradition where I wrap a new book for everyone to start reading on Christmas Eve. It's the one present they get to open. I did it twice and then forgot. If you need a reading list to either start the tradition or just to snuggle up and read while sipping some hot cocoa, This Reading Mama has two great lists:

Image by This Reading Mama

Image by This Reading Mama

     I can tell you what traditions have stuck...the ones that have to do with food! Do you have a meal that you only have on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Or how about New Year's Eve and New Year's Day? It started out with just cinnamon rolls Christmas morning and something with black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Then somehow, with the help of the kids, we now have several different standard meals on those days. If I even try to make those meals mid-year I get a resounding, "NO!"

     With that said, I leave you with a very Merry Christmas and a picture of the cookies before they were packaged and passed out for a door-to-door cookie exchange. I also leave you with this, the reason for the season:

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Year 8, Week: Happy Thanksgiving!

   

   

     This week we're on our Thanksgiving break and given the last two weeks (13 and 14), it's arrived at just the right time. Our homeschooling is going well. We've found our rhythm, albeit mostly a monotonous one since we're staying close to home. However, we did have a few exciting things happen in the past couple of weeks.

     Week 14 started with Little Toughie's online recital. This was a livestream and it was great to see how all the students were doing, even in the midst of this pandemic. She sang a version of "Fly Me to the Moon". It was pretty spectacular!

     Week 14 also ended with my winning NaNoWriMo nine days early. It wasn't my intention, but my daily goal has always been to write between 1800 and 2000 words. I  purposely buffered it keeping my birthday and Thanksgiving in mind. Toward the end of week 13 I surpassed the halfway mark of NaNoWriMo with a total of 27,177 words. The next day I hit 30,000. The words just kept adding up. When I reached 35,000 it seemed to move at warp speed and in no time I was 44,000 words. I decided to finish, spending most of Friday night and Saturday afternoon finishing my novel.

     In the end, I had written 50,312 words. While I've never ran a full marathon (I've ran a half) it was like crossing the finish line. There were tears of joy and I think I may have been holding my breath during the last 20 minute writing session because when I saw the work count hit 50,017 I had to stop and take deep breaths. My story wasn't quite done yet at that point so I had to get back to it and finish. I'll write more about my experience later on but I can say that I can't wait to do it again next year!

     A380 started our break week with lunch with our church's youth group directors. When it was confirmed that they'd be going it was all he could talk about. We're so very blessed to have young adults in our church to rise up and faithfully walk with Christ, proclaim His truth and lead the next generation. We need more of them!

     I'm finishing this blog after our traditional post-Thanksgiving walk and watching Captain Marvel. We're big Marvel fans! We'll be having a Zoom dinner with my family soon so I wish you all well. Cheers to you and yours on this Thanksgiving.

Year 8, Weeks 11 and 12: Better Late Than Never?

     I'm writing this a few days after the election as we continue to wait on confirmation of who our next President will be. Better late than never, maybe?  I know a lot of people are anxious about the results.  My family and I have been in prayer about all of  this.  Ultimately, my trust and hope is in the Lord and I know no matter who is elected, God is sovereign and knows better than we do. JESUS IS KING!

     The past couple of weeks have been more of the same with the exception of helping Little Toughie for her recital and me reaching 10,000 words for NaNoWriMo. I pray before each writing session as I seek to glorify him in all of it, whether or not it gets published (But I hope it does!)

     I write this also as a reminder that life is precious.  I lost another friend, a sister-in-Christ, this week.  It came as a shock to everyone; it happened in her sleep.  She had a gentle and kind spirit, one that was obvious even if you had just met her.  Our church lost a great woman of God. She has a daughter the same age as Little Toughie and my heart breaks for her.

     Know this: in the end, nobody is going to remember who you voted for. They're going to remember how you served others. And when I say serve I don't mean a version where someone thinks they're doing another a "service" by sharing an article or video that backs what they're trying prove because the other person is seen as "wrong". Let's be honest, even the media uses tactics of sharing what they find in their echo chamber.  Also it's not a service to bash or shame someone who doesn't see things your way.  That's not serving.  That's bullying.  In the end you will be remembered for how you served and loved others, no matter the differences.

     I saw this a few days before the election and thought I'd share it here.  I'm sorry I don't know the original source, but I found it on Instagram:

 

     Speaking of serving, Veteran's Day is coming up. I received this email from a local homeschool book shop that contained this image:

 

          Nothing is free. Even with this election, your right to vote didn't come for free.  Know your country's history, understand the world's history. Everything came at a price. Please remember that.

Year 8, Week 10: Writing

     This past week was filled with a lot of prep work on my part.  A lot of making double batches of meals to have and freeze.  A lot of running errands and gathering supplies.  A lot of dropping off and picking up books.  A lot of research and writing.  You might be wondering why I'm researching and writing and what the extra meals and supplies are all about, but I'll get to that in a bit.

     Let me share what my kids are doing for writing this school year first.  A380 is using Writing & Rhetoric, a program that I have come to love after trying a couple of different ones over the years.  This is one that the kids also enjoy so that's a bonus.  I work with A380 on his writing but for Little Toughie I wanted to change it up.  I wanted to challenge her this year so I signed her up for an online class through Circe (By the way, they have classes for adults too.  I took a Socratic class in the spring.)  I felt it would be good for her to have a different teacher; to get a different perspective and a different teaching style.  They both get to read great stories and then write their own.  I've kept copies of all their work and it's interesting to see how their writing has progressed.  One of these days, with their permission, perhaps I'll share some of it!

     As for all the running amok around remember that project I've been waiting to announce?  Here it is:  I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo (My husband calls it nanu-nanu!)  Basically, I'm going to draft a new novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days.  As you can tell, I'm a big fan of books.  I love to read but I also have a passion for writing; a passion I haven't really nurtured except for blogging.

     Every now and then a story will come to mind, but I'd let it go, believing that there's no way I could write that story.  However, at the beginning of this year I had a story that kept coming to mind so I started to write it.  When Covid hit my focus shifted to other things and so the writing stopped.  Early in October I remembered NaNoWriMo and decided to sign up.  I've read that it can be pretty time consuming considering that you only have 30 days to reach the goal.  I've spent the past few weeks prepping as much as I can, down to a rough outline, some aspects of my characters and researching settings.  Even now, as I write this I'm participating in an online writing forum filled with challenges and Q&A.

     It's not too late to join!  You can be a panster, a writer who writes by the seat of their pants and doesn't plot or plan when writing their novels.  I'm a planster...someone who plans a bit of it and will write it as it comes.  If you join, let me know.  We can be writing buddies!

     I have to go.  I have a 5 minute writing sprint to attend to and I'm already one minute behind.  Have a great week!  Oh, and A380 says, "Have a happy halloween!"

Year 8, Week 9: Chores

     I'm late getting this posted because our computer has been acting up with changing the display size by itself and it's hard to type while it switches from a font of 12 to a font of 72!  I still don't know the cause of it but it seems to have settled down, thank goodness.  Regardless, this is going to be a short one.  Remember that project I mentioned in my last post, the one that I'll be announcing soon?  Well, it's taking every free moment I have and so I'm going to make this post short and then read; something I haven't been able to do much in the past couple of weeks.  Let's get to it!

     Do your kids do chores?  Growing up, as far back as I can remember, we cleaned the house every Friday night.  Mom would blast music and we'd dance around and sing while cleaning.  I remember being in charge of dusting, but it wasn't like I just had a feather duster and could twirl my way quickly through this chore.  I had to remove everything, use dust spray and wipe/polish it all down.  Of course, it started out with mom doing most of it and teaching us how to do it.  Eventually, we were in charge of all of it.  Eventually, it became habit.

     Which is why my kids have chores.  They're listed for the kids on our schedule.  It's a different chore for each child on a particular day which is why you don't see it in that post.  One day one of them is doing all their laundry, from start to finish.  The next day the other kid does the same thing.  The rest of the week there's dusting, vacuuming and cleaning their bathroom.  And yes, they do it every week.  Sometimes, with the exception of laundry, the rest of the chores might be done on a different day (usually Friday) depending on how busy their week is.

     Cleaning their room is a daily thing but that's more focused on something I picked up somewhere (can't remember) called E.H.A.P. (Everything Has A Place).  I use it as a verb, telling the kids to "E.H.A.P." their rooms before screen time.  Whether tidying their rooms or cleaning the house music is always playing, though not aloud since they're listening to it via bluetooth headphones (I can hear myself saying, "Back in my day...Ha!)  The cool thing is they're playing some of the music I listened to years ago!

     As a parent of children with special needs it's good to get these habits in place as early as possible but any child can benefit from doing chores.  If you're not sure what chores your kids can and should do Intoxicated On Life has a great pdf you can download which also includes a chore chart.  This quick reference chart from The Happy Housewife is helpful too:

The Happy Housewife

     Either way, find what works best for you and your family.  One thing I do want to add is that I don't give the kids an allowance for the chores they're supposed to do; the things we as adults still have to do because I still do them and I don't see anyone paying me!  Kids need to learn to do things for the sake of doing them not because they're going to get something for it.  However, I do give them extra screen time for an exceptional cleaning job or we'll go out for ice cream if we tackle a huge project like cleaning out the garage or sorting through their closets.

     I get to make my announcement next week.  Until then enjoy your weekend and have a great week!

Year 8, Week 8: Back to Work

     In a previous post I mentioned that Little Toughie had an audition.  She had call backs last weekend and she got a part!  Obviously, this year is going to be different with live performances and right now rehearsals are primarily virtual.  They have a contingent plan in place if come January audience gatherings are still prohibited.  Not ideal for any performer who feeds off the audience's reactions (we miss seeing live musicals!) but it is what it is.  Regardless, Little Toughie is excited and...busy.

     We're back to our normal schedule and I'm trying help the kids hone their time management skills.  Little Toughie's assignments are getting longer and I've raised my standards for A380, so the work is taking longer for both to finish.  However, some of it is also the fact that they "see squirrels" and they get distracted.  Or sometimes, in Little Toughie's case, her sense of time is off.  Half an hour feels like five minutes to her and well, that five minute break just lengthened her school day.  A380, on the other hand, is such a clock watcher that if on the calendar I have them doing math from 10:30-11:00 a.m. he'll stop at 11 even though there is still work to be done.  Our homeschool calendar is for reference; to give them an idea of what they should be doing at certain times.  The good thing with Little Toughie is that once she gets back on track, she's focused and she knows what needs to get done.  The good thing with A380 is that he'll tell me that he needs a break and wants to work on something else before circling back to whatever it is he needs to finish.  I know I'm just being anxious and importunate in wanting them to be organized; it is a skill that will bode well for them in all things.  I have to remind myself that they'll get there but ultimately it will be what works for them, their needs and personalities.

     The rest of our week was fairly quiet.  A380 got to watch an online Science Magic Show.  He was excited to share what he saw, especially because M&Ms were included!  Little Toughie got her script and I'm pretty sure she already has all her lines memorized.  I was on the phone and computer a lot this week.  I'm working on a new project (I'll share in a few weeks.)  I had to watch a couple of webinars to prep.  There were a couple of Zoom meetings that I had to attend (one of which I missed and had to listen to the playback!)  I made an appointment for my flu shot, which took a lot longer than expected because I couldn't remember the last time I had one.  I had to stay in the clinic for 15 minutes, after already waiting for 20 minutes just to get the shot, because they wanted to make sure I didn't have an immediate reaction.  Thankfully, I didn't.

     Not much else.  Enjoy your weekend and...squirrel!

Year 8: Fall Break and Pumpkins

     "We were on a break!"  If you pictured Ross from Friends as you read that then you and I are buddies!  I'm a big fan of Friends, as you can tell.  Yes, this was our break week.  I'm sure some are thinking, "A break already?"  Well, since we homeschool I am in charge of their schedule and roughly every six weeks we take a one week break.  It's been seven weeks so it's time!  Now, that doesn't mean that we aren't doing any teaching/learning.  It just means I lighten the load a bit, take some time to review the past six weeks, make adjustments as needed and maybe throw in a few fun things.  I spent some focused time on vocabulary with A380 and Little Toughie chose to work on an art project:

     I also took some time to clean out my email box, listen to a couple of podcasts/sermons I've been missing, run a few errands that included a couple of trips to the library (dropping off a stack and picking up another) and trying to decide on the layout of my next Plum Paper planner.  I also did the necessary prep work for the upcoming weeks' lessons.  Since I had more time I also decided to extend a few of my at-home workouts a bit to master the footwork.  If you can't make it to the gym (or don't want to because of Covid) and want to work out at home leave me a comment and I can help you out!  I'm currently doing a boxing program and having so much fun with it.     

Since we're on this break I thought I'd pass along some fun Fall things to do with your kids.  This is especially good for little ones!  First up is The Masterpiece Studio.  I love that they have different themed bundles for you to chose from and that it ties creativity in with learning.  Click on the picture for their latest bundle!

     If there are littles ones in the home that can't read yet, Printables Fairy has a Fall Scavenger Hunt sheet that you can bring with you on your next outdoor adventure.

     If you're looking for something to bake that's easy for everyone, check out these Pumpkin Muffins from Modern Mom Life.  I made these years ago when I found it on a site called Cooking With My Kid (no longer available), but I made a point to print out the recipe and saw that Modern Mom Life had the exact same one with the exception of leaving out 1/4 cup of milk that the CWMK recipe called for and making regular muffins instead of minis.  When I made the original recipe they were very light and fluffy, not too sweet and perfect for little hands.  Oh, how I miss the widdle, teeny tiny hands!

     If you want something gluten-free Nom Nom Paleo has a great option here using almond flour.  She's one of the few Paleo websites that I use regularly.

     Prefer something on the cooler side?  I make a smoothie with 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, 1 cup of vanilla or regular almond milk, half a teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 cup to 1 cup of ice.  If you have a favorite vanilla protein powder you can add that too!  Throw it all in a blender and voila!  Quick pumpkin smoothie.  I also like to freeze the leftover pumpkin in ice cube trays (I pop them into bags after they've frozen) and keep them handy for future use.

     That's all I have.  Time to go bake some Paleo Pumpkin bread.  Have a blessed week!

Year 8, Week 7: History, Flu Shots and a Mom Jar

     If I thought last week was a blur, this week was a blink!  Between an orthodontist appointment, flu shots, audition prep and recordings (back to that in a bit), lessons and discussions going longer than expected and making phone calls for even more appointments...it seems Friday arrived sooner than I wanted it to.  Typically, I start writing on Tuesdays, a bit of brainstorming but I'm writing this on Friday night struggling to get the words out because my brain is trying to hit the pause button on everything.

Friday!

      The flu shots are what threw my schedule off.  I wanted to time the flu shots and audition just right.  I usually don't get flu shots for the kids.  I'm not an anti-vaxxer but I also don't just automatically let my kids get every vaccine available to them.  I used to work at a hospital with a doctor and team who were doing clinical trials on a vaccine for Hep-C.  I am...informed.  Where ever you stand on vaccines is your business.  You do you, Boo.  I'm more in the "let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food" camp while utilizing vaccines that are tried and true, which is why we lean Paleo a majority of the time and I make sure I know EXACTLY what shots my kids are getting.  During cold/flu season I have them on a regimen of elderberry, probiotics, vitamin c and bone broth.  I did it for them two weeks before and even during our summer trip.  I much prefer to pay the farmer instead of the pharmacy!

     Anyway, because of this current crazy Covid season I figured the kids could use the extra help, so I called the doctor to schedule an appointment.  I decided to bring them after recording Little Toughie's audition. The couple of times they've gotten the flu shot they would run a mild fever and feel lethargic afterwards.  Not a great condition to be in when trying to sing and have stage presence via a phone recording!  Mind you, all week I had been working with my daughter to find the right place to record this audition.  We had to figure out a spot that would provide the best lighting AND wouldn't pick up any other noise (i.e. dog barking, phone ringing, airplanes overhead.)  We tried outside at different times and while the lighting was great, the noise not so much.  At this point, when I made the call to the doctor, we still hadn't found the prime indoor location for this audition.  At first the medical staff said next week was fine and we were set for Tuesday but I immediately received a call back asking if I could bring them in that afternoon.  I could sense a little urgency in her voice....perhaps they were already booked to capacity on Tuesday?  Perhaps she had a feeling they may run out of the vaccine by then?  Either way, I went ahead and scheduled it for that day and then had to scramble to get the audition done.  I was hoping to have them get their shots AFTER the audition just in case they had a reaction.  In the end everything, thank God, went well.  We found the top spot, only had to do two takes (I spent more time setting up my phone and tripod), saved it everywhere so that I could upload it when we got back from the doctor and then got their shots.  It's all history now.

     Speaking of history (did you like that segue?) if I had to name my top three subjects in our homeschool (Bible aside...because that's a lifetime thing) it would be read-aloud, writing and history.  It's reading other people's writings!  You know what I mean.  Plus, when reading history you can see the failings of civilizations, of countries, of leaders, of governments...of men.  Often, after reading our history lesson, I ask the kids what they would have done differently.  I ask them what was the root of that historic decision and most of the time it's greed...greed for power, greed for money, greed for fame.  But even deeper than that is the root of self...at our core we are all sinners, wanting to serve ourselves.  Don't believe me?  Picture a two year old, maybe even three, who took a bite out of one of the cupcakes on the table.  Mom asks the child, whose mouth is smothered with frosting, whether or not they ate a cupcake.  We've seen the videos...that kid says no even though it's evident they did.  Now, did that parent hold their child and stare lovingly into his/her eyes and say, "I can't wait to teach you how to lie!  It's going to be marvelous...your first lie.  Just you wait."  NO!  That child innately knew how to lie.

     Okay, apparently, I'm in a mood.  Like I said, Friday got here quick and for someone whose brain keeps trying to hit pause, apparently there's another part of it trying to say EVERYTHING.  I'll have to come back to that 👆 some other time.

     Back to history...even in the midst of those failings you see conquerors, heroes; the humility in serving, the power of giving, the peace of a kind word, and at the root of all that is LOVE.  It's rare to see that now.  If love were our driving force right now things would look and feel different, no matter the political party or who is president or whether not we should be wearing a mask.  If....IF love... unconditional, pure love were our driving force we wouldn't be where we are right now.  But we live in a society where everyone has to one-up the other, get the last word in, prove that they are right by attacking others, and of course greed.  The same kind of greed the kids and I have studied in history still present today.  We're so full of self that there is no room for obedience to God, there is no room to learn how Jesus conquered death out of His great love for US...sinners.  Every.  Single.  One.  (Romans 3:23) 

     How would our history look if right now, right at this moment, instead of being bull-headed we all chose to be a blessing?

Year 8, Week 6: Avast ye, it's Math!

     This week was a bit busier than usual.  We had a lot going on, some of it was preparation for a few things that aren't normally on our schedule.  Luckily, I've padded our schedule to accommodate for such times. This week a lot of my time was spent helping my son with reading comprehension.  With his syndrome it's hard for him to see the answer when it's not obvious.  Last year when I used Wordly Wise with him a lot of the answers in the readings were direct but this year not so much.  I know this is because when he was in the special day class of his public school most all of the reading and comprehension lessons were laid out so that the answers could be easily found.  This was part of the reason we decided to homeschool him; he wasn't prepared for the junior high work requiring him to make inferences when necessary, even with all the support they were providing.  I find myself spending more time with him, getting him to re-read a lot of the short paragraphs and teaching him how to draw conclusions.  He's making progress slowly but surely, but that's one of the benefits of homeschooling.  I can take my time and make sure there's a real understanding and not just "check, that's done" and move on.  That was just a part of my busy week.  I can't even remember all the details, it was such speedy blur!

     Last week I wrote about my favorite subject.  This week, well...let me be honest, it's my least favorite, sort of.  Really, I'm just lazy when it comes to math.  I love words.  I love art and creativity.  I love history.  The only math I like is when I'm measuring ingredients for a cake I'm baking.  I like math when working with our budget.  I'm good at it, it's just low on my list!  This is where The Principal comes in.  He is the Math Whiz.  I call him my "Walking Calculator".  I don't even need to pull out my phone!

     We've used Singapore Math with Little Toughie from the very beginning.  It's my understanding that the Common Core Math you see these days was supposed to be a version of Singapore Math (but gone wrong).  I can tell you that my daughter, having used Singapore, can do most of the math in her head, much like her dad.  So, when I'm baking and I need a fraction multiplied or divided and The Principal isn't around, guess who I'm asking?  Little Toughie!

Little Toughie doing math on my lap!

     It's a little different with my son.  When I first started homeschooling him I wasn't sure what math to use.  I signed him up for CTC Math, an online program which he and I actually enjoyed.  However, at the time, he'd get distracted being on the computer and I couldn't tell how he was doing (it was a fairly new program that has since been updated and is much user friendly now.)  I eventually settled on Teaching Textbooks (which originally was a computer CD program, but I think they're moving to an online platform too.)  It came with the textbook and workbook, so at first he would listen to/watch the lesson in the program and then I'd have him do the work directly in the workbook to limit his time on the computer.  At some point, he was able to get the computer distraction under control (sort of) and that's when I let him do all his work using the the CDs.  This year I wanted to focus more on math for life skills so I purchased a Life of Fred Financial Choices book.  He's also finishing up his last Pre-Algebra Teaching Textbooks program, which I decided he could take as long as he needed to complete.  Progress!

     There are A LOT of math products out there.  I know a few parents whose kids couldn't work with Singapore Math or Teaching Textbooks.  If you're new to homeschooling, try to figure out how best your child learns first. Do they lean more toward auditory learning?  Are they more visual or hands-on?  That could help you narrow it down to math curricula such as Math-U-See or Life of Fred.  It will take some trial and error to figure out what is best, but it's better than having your child get frustrated (or you!)  I sometimes turn to Cathy Duffy for reviews to help narrow my decision.

     On that note, have a great day and don't forget to talk like a pirate!

Year 8, Week 5: Read Aloud and a Couple of Favorites

     I just realized in my last post I forgot to share how our week went so I'll start this post with that before I dive into what's probably my FAVORITE homeschool subject:  Read Aloud!  But first, our week.  This one was pretty busy for all of us.  With Labor Day behind us, our complete schedule is back in full swing.  I'm doing an online Bible study with my dear, dear friend HP (If you're reading this, I love and miss you!)  The Principal, who's working from home most days, had plenty of meetings to keep him occupied.  Our church's life groups started and my husband and I lead one of them in the evening (They usually meet in person but for now it's via Zoom.)  Little Toughie is prepping for an audition and A380 is fine tuning his comparison essays for me.  The dog, well...she's begging for a treat every 15 minutes.

     Let's get to my absolute favorite subject in our schedule and one we've done from the very beginning:  Read Aloud.  I read A LOT of books on my own but if I were to add the books I read aloud, my list of completed titles would be even longer!  During our homeschool day I read aloud our Bible and history (I enjoy those readings too.)  On the weeknights that we don't have group meetings I'm reading aloud to The Principal and the kids. I give myself a break on the weekends lest I lose my voice, which has happened.  I've read YWAM Christian Hero books, I've read historical fiction books, I've read biographies, I've read fiction and the classics.  This is cherished quality time for me; family time that we won't always have.  We get to hear stories of courage and love, of loss and strength.  Stories that make us laugh and think, stories that get us talking and sharing; stories that sometimes bring tears to our eyes and stories that move us so deeply that we can only sit with it in silence.  Oh, yeah...that's happened.

     There are other benefits too!  From a post shared by Read Aloud Revival (Also known as RAR who I discovered a few years ago):

What are the benefits of reading aloud to kids who can read already?

The center for Teaching at the University of Iowa lists both evidence-based and anecdotal benefits of reading aloud. Let’s focus today on five of those benefits.

Reading aloud…

Develops Bigger Picture Perspective and Empathy

Improves Academic Performance, Vocabulary, and Information Processing Skills

Models Fluency and Expression

Builds Community

Slows Down and Enriches Time

     As a bookworm it was natural for me to read aloud to the kids but to be able to continue to do so even though they can read on their own, has been a blessing.  Right now, I'm reading The Trojan War.  I finished reading The Golden Goblet last week.  My favorite book is Unbroken and in the spring I got to read YWAM's version of it.  Roughly every 4-6 weeks I'm reaching for a new book to read to them.  I delight in hearing them ask me to continue reading or when I get a, "Whaaaaaa?" when I finish up on a cliff hanger moment.

     Of all the books I've read aloud, to this day, my favorite is:

It's such a fun story and once you start reading it aloud you might find yourself really getting into it and giving each character a certain voice, which is another fun aspect of reading aloud.  I would love to read this aloud to someone again!  Any volunteers?

     I encourage you to read the post from Read Aloud Revival or if you prefer listen to the podcast also on that link.  How I choose our books vary.  Sometimes our books tie into what we're reading in history.  Other times the books are related to a certain geographical area we're focusing on.  Still others are Christian Hero books that focus on a certain character trait and the power of Jesus in the lives of those that serve Him.  In the case of The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, it just sounded fun!  Currently, our book selections are from Sonlight.  If you're looking for a book RAR has a page with recommendations to help you get started.  There are a lot of lists out there so of course use discernment when selecting a book, but RAR is a good place to start.  So, pick one and get reading...aloud!

Year 8, Week 4: Bible

     Another week in the books!  Literally.  Sonlight is a literature based curriculum so we have A LOT of books.  I don't mind, though.  I love reading!  Sonlight is what we're using for our Bible, History, Science and Geography.  Today, I'm going to focus on our Bible studies.  We always start our day with our Bible readings/study and prayer.  It's an important part of our day; it's THE most important part of our day and I make a point to remind my kids to start their day with God.

My well-worn Bible

     In the past we've used Long Story Short:  10 Short Devotionals to Draw Your Family to God and Old Story New: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God.  While both books are family devotionals I decided to use them as our studies because the kids were still young when we started them and they had a lot of great questions to draw them out.  It opened plenty of great conversations as well.  It took us a little over 4 years for us to finish both books; we started Long Story Short in 2016 and made a point to only use it during the school year (we did something else during the summer breaks).  We completed Old Story New toward the end of 2019.  In January 2020 I purchased a devotional suited for each child and decided that our Bible studies would be based on our personal readings from the devotionals; sharing what we read and how it applied to our lives. 

     Now, with the new school year under way, we're using what Sonlight suggests which begins with reading Mark along with a smaller "field guide to the Bible" of sorts.  I say suggests because while it's in the schedule I don't necessarily have to follow it.  Frankly, I may change it up.  Both devotionals above were so thorough in drawing the kids out and helping them make connections that currently they seem a little...bored.  We've done an inductive study of Matthew and our church did the same through the book of Luke over the course the past year and a half.  So, I can see where reading Mark with very little discussion can seem monotonous.

     Recently, I happened upon a short video that touched on the failings of some youth ministries and it convinced me to take this opportunity of homeschooling to also instruct them on how to study their Bible.  Perhaps an exegetical study of Acts?  Or a shorter book since this is their first time doing it?

     I don't want to overwhelm them but I do want them to do more than just read the Bible.  Of course I want them to live it out as well, but they can't do that unless they know it well.  I want them to be equipped. to fully put on the armor of God.  And...I think I just answered my own questions.  I think a study of Ephesians 6:10-18 is what I'm looking for!  It's amazing how God works.  I'm sitting here typing this and when I typed the word equipped, God brought me to that scripture.

     I'll take some time over this holiday weekend to see how I can approach this, but as I sit here finishing up, I'm getting excited at the prospect of digging into the whys and hows of Ephesians 6:10-18.  Woohoo!

     Have a safe holiday weekend!

Year 8, Week 3: Scheduling, Part Two

     I hope my last post on scheduling was clear.  I feel like I was rambling, but then again....I did warn you!  In this post I'm sharing what our day typically looks like.  If you're a parent whose child(ren) is doing distance learning due to the SAH orders, some of this may not apply to you but it might give you a better sense of what homeschooling entails or prepare you for the long haul.

     We start our day between 8:30 and 9.  The kids know their morning chores/routine need to be done by 8:30, thus they're up around 7:30.  Their morning routine includes making their bed, having breakfast, doing the morning dishes, feeding and walking our dog.  Then we start our day:

Bible and prayer	8:30 - 9:00
History	9:00 - 9:45
Break (to walk the dog)	9:45 - 10:00
Grammar/Spelling	10:00 - 10:30
Math	10:30 - 11:00 (This is usually when I get to work out, after I go over their lesson for the day and while they do their assignment.)
Writing	11:00 - 12:30 (This is only once a week because Little Toughie has an online course.  A380 is doing something different  We're usually done before 12 or a bit after.)
Lunch	12:00 - 1:00
Science	1:00 - 1:30
Assigned Reading	Must be done before any screen time
Free Reading	Should be done before dinner

  

     I have specific times, but that's really just a guide.  This is basically Block Scheduling but I have specific times just to make sure we aren't dawdling; it's very easy for us to get caught up in discussions (we do it often) and lose track of time.  Bible, History and Writing are well-known for drawing us into long conversations after I read to them.  It may look like our day is complete by 2 or so but, like most kids, they have activities outside the home roughly three days out of five, sometimes more depending on the time of the year.  If for some reason we don't finish we can go back to it and I know where we left off.

     "Homework" would be anything that they didn't get completed during our day or anything that I asked them to correct.  They also have a chore of the day that I have on our schedule, but much like their Assigned and Free Reading, there's no time.  It just has to be done before any screen time AND before dinner.

     Our Fridays have a lighter schedule to give them time to work on projects or experiments or to catch up on anything that didn't get completed during the week.  At this point, week three, there isn't much to do but I know as the year progresses the work load will increase.  Friday is also the day where I use Looping in our schedule.  We alternate between a geography game, Art, Music Appreciation, writing poetry and mapping skills.  If I find an educational game then I might add that to the schedule or if they want to spend some time doing something of their own choosing (delight directed learning) we can add that in as well.  Something my daughter wants to add this year is FCS (Family and Consumer Science)----Can I just tell you how much cooler that sounds than the "Home Ec. of my days?!)  She's in the midst of preparing for an audition, so I don't know if we'll be able to do that, but that's the benefit of looping.

   For all of this I use Homeschool Planet.  I'm not getting paid or anything like that to share this.  I'm really just sharing what I use and what I like about it.  First, it's very user friendly.  I've been using it for the past four years.  I had a free trial and was immediately able to use it without even watching the tutorials.  I can easily mark off what's been completed.  I can change an assignment, drag and drop a particular part of our day, print reports and more.  I can view the schedule of just one kid or both.  I can give each child their own log in.  One of the things I do every year is print out and keep our school year attendance (as required by our state) and then a copy of our weekly schedule (just one week and I usually pick one later in the year once I know we've found our groove).  Since I can also add Resources, I print out that list too, so that I know what books we've read and used.  Later I'll also be able to print out high school transcripts for college purposes!

Courtesy of Homeschool Planet

     Next week, I'll share our week along with a bit of each subject we're studying this year.  This week was pretty quiet; we've added a couple of things into our schedule so it's starting to get busy.  I forgot to order their grammar books so what I thought was the last of the homeschool books deliveries was incorrect!  That will be the last of them when they get here.  That's all for now.  Have a great weekend!

       

Year 8, Week 2: Scheduling, Part One

     Let me start first with acknowledging that I know how lucky I am to be homeschooling.  I know in this current season many parents are being forced to navigate working at home while trying make sure their kids are set up for distance/virtual learning; trying to get through meetings while making sure the kids are in their own virtual classrooms paying attention; trying to get their work done while ensuring the kids are completing their assignments as well.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  I applaud you.  I hope this two-part post helps in some way!

     Now, homeschooling for us is not public school at home.  My son was in public school up through 6th grade and I've been homeschooling since 2012 so I think it's safe to say that I have a bit of experience with both.  I don't have 30+ students to teach and keep focused.  My students don't have to line up to make their way to the cafeteria and then wait in line to get their lunch with the rest of the school.  I don't have to log into a portal or make sure everyone is logged in before I can start teaching.  My kids don't need time to get from one class to another, stopping at lockers on the way and the only constant distraction we have is our dog barking at the delivery trucks and neighbors walking by.  So, my school and schedule is different.  It's likely even different from other experienced homeschoolers.  We're usually done with a full day of school in about five hours, sometimes less, very rarely more than five and a half.  I use a schedule to keep track of our day and so that my kids know what needs to be done.  Plus, they need to learn time management skills.  Does that mean we stick to it perfectly every day?  Nope!  Sometimes, especially when we're deep into a discussion, we'll get off track.  Sometimes, when Math is confusing, we have to put it off until The Principal gets home in the evening to make it clear.  Sometimes, if I'm sick....well I can't call a sub so I do what I can and we adjust as necessary.

     Whether you're homeschooling or having to do distance/virtual learning, first find what type of planner works best for you AND your kids.  Find one that is easy to use and will be used.  If it's too complicated or time consuming for your family, it won't work.  For me, I have a regular paper planner for my personal needs but I use a web-based one for our homeschool.  Last year, after purchasing paper planners for my kids, I learned that they much prefer to use the one online!  So, take a bit of time to find one your family will actually use and will help keep everyone on track.  It may take a bit of experimenting.  Here are some options:

• Spiral Notebooks  (Very simple, inexpensive and can be used by student and/or parent.)
• Paper Planners (Available for students and teachers.)
• Family Wall Calendar (I like this one because it can be used in different ways)
• Online Planner (I use this one for our homeschool and I'll share why in part two.)

     If you don't need something to track daily assignments then the wall calendar or something similar will be best just to help guide your child so that they know where they should be (virtually) or what they should be working on at certain times during the day.  It might help to also put YOUR work schedule on there as well so that the kids know when you're in a meeting or can't be disturbed or when you might be available to ask a quick question.

     If you have little ones who don't understand the concept of time or can't read yet I would suggest purchasing a timer (this is a fun one) and setting it for them, explaining to them that they can stop whatever they're supposed to be doing when the timer stops.  You can use it along with their own task list too, even if they can't read yet.  When my kids were little I printed pictures of what they were supposed to do every day, laminated them and put velcro on the back of them.  I created a laminated daily sheet for the tasks pictures to stick to with the categories "TO DO" and "DONE".  It was similar to this one here.  I ended up making my own because I wanted it personalized and I had very specific tasks for each child.  Some of them were timed, like "Reading for 30 minutes" or "Geography Game for 30 minutes".  I think I titled mine "A380's Daily Tasks."  Upon my search for this post I found one titled "I Have Jobs Too" which I think is a clever way to remind kids that mom and dad have work to do as well; everyone has a job to do!

     In my next post I'll share our actual schedule to give you an idea of how our day flows and how I work my schedule around theirs!  I'll also share why I prefer the web-based planner over the others.

     As for our week...we're slowly ramping up.  The last of the books I ordered have arrived.  Next week we're full steam ahead.  Have a great weekend!

Year 8, Day 1: ???

     

     The reboot of this blog may be a bit unorganized until I find the layout and style that will work best for me.  I don't even have a great title for these Year 8 posts as evident by the lackluster title of this one!  For now, I'll just share how our week went.

     Every school year I spend some time praying about what scripture should lead our year.  This year the words joy and willingness came to mind.  After doing some research and reading, I found Romans 15:13:

     We surprised the kids with donuts from a well-known local shop along with breakfast from Chick-Fil-A.  Not the healthiest meal or my kind of start to any day (I don't like donuts so I didn't have any), but it's not like they eat like that all the time.

     

     Our first week was pretty easy, of course.  I always make sure to ease into our schedule, so our focus this week was Bible, history, science, geography and math along with their reading requirements.  Next week, writing is added and then the week after that spelling is added.  It seems like a lot, even looking at the calendar, but it doesn't take all day and they're not overwhelmed.

     Midweek, I switched things around a bit and did our poetry reading in the morning while they were having breakfast.  I've been trying to implement a morning time routine for the past three years but I haven't been able to find something that sticks.  I read to them in the evening, when The Principal is home.  Little Toughie likes her free reading time later in the day while A380 isn't a fan at all.  We would do art, but then they would stay on that FOREVER.  Music and/or art appreciation is a possibility.  We always start our school day with our Bible reading/study and prayer but I've been trying to add something else.  I don't know.  It's been three years.  Perhaps I should just let it go.

     Besides, I'm now trying to figure out if I want to stick to a particular format for these posts.  I want to share every week, but I don't know if I want to stick to "What We Read" and "What We Tried" every week, which doesn't necessarily limit me to our homeschooling.  Or perhaps something similar to our dinner time sharing:  Pow (the low of our day), Wow (the highlight of our day) and Yowzah (how we saw God at work during our day).  I came up with Yowzah because it reminds me of Yahweh!  We learned this dinner conversation starter a couple of years or so ago while having dinner with one of our lead pastors and her family.  Everyone shares their day; the high, low and how they saw God at work.  We LOVED the idea and started implementing it.  Maybe I'll use a format similar to that.

    That's pretty much it.  Nothing else.  Just ramping up bit by bit!

Curriculum for Year 8, 2020-2021

I decided to do this as a post so that I could keep better track.

Bible/History/Science/Geography

Sonlight

Grammar

IEW Fix It Grammar

Spelling

Spelling Power

Vocabulary

A380:  Wordly Wise 3000 Level 6

Writing

A380:  Writing Rhetoric Book 5

Little Toughie:  Circe Online using Lost Tools of Writing Level 1

Math

A380:  Life of Fred/Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra

Little Toughie:  Singapore Math

We're Back and It's Box Day! (Sort of)

Hey there!  Thank you for taking a few minutes to read my nonsense. Well, not nonsense...perhaps musings on homeschooling or the ramblings of a mom who's had a long week and needs an outlet other than exercise to release said ramblings.  Regardless, I'm going to try to get back to writing weekly.  Over the years I haven't been able to keep up with it because our school days started to fill with more than I could handle and I had to choose between keeping this updated or honestly, losing my Bible study time.  And I know there's no way I could homeschool without spending quality time with the Father.  So, there you have it.

Now, in this current season things have slowed a bit.  Plus there's a couple of other reasons.  One, my Little Toughie is starting what would be considered middle school and I would like to get back on track with documenting what we're doing.  The tracking will also help us plan out her high school years 😬.  Plus, for A380, this is a transition year where I get to focus more on the skills necessary for his success and I'll get to document that.  The second part, and only some of my immediate family know this, is that I'm writing a book.  I already have the ending of it outlined and partially written, but to hone my writing skills I have to write!

Moving along...It took some time for us to plan what middle school would look like for our tween.  We had completed all four history cycles (and then some) as per The Well Trained Mind and I knew come high school our focus would move to studying current ideologies/events or 20th Century History or Church History or perhaps the History of Science but I didn't know how to fill the gap until then.  Thankfully, we decided to go back to Sonlight, which is what I used my first year homeschooling Little Toughie in Kindergarten.  Basically, we'll be doing all four cycles again but condensed into two years and it's heavily literature based.  As a bibliophile I love that there's a lot of reading.  But then again, there's A LOT of reading.  See:

For Box Day I'd typically lay out EVERYTHING and take a picture of it like in this post, but with The Principal working from home and the dog zooming around, it just wasn't feasible.  These are just some of the books. 😲  These are the ones I was able to get through and add as resources to my digital planner so that I could set up their schedule, mostly the history books.  We still have our Bible study books, additional science materials and various other books for spelling, writing and vocabulary.  I'm running out of shelves y'all.  I think we need to build an additional room!

We start on Monday, August 10 and I hope to post every Friday (or Saturday).  We'll see how it goes.