Homeschool Days

Sense of accomplishment...

2004-11-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

First a little background...
I worked Monday night and Tuesday night. Usually, I try to do school before I lie down to sleep during the day, then I climb in the bed about 11:30 a.m. then have to wake up by 3:00 because Haleigh gets off the school bus by 3:10. I really don't get much sleep!
Tuesday morning, when I got in from work, I woke Hannah up so that we could get started. Most days we don't get started until about 9 a.m., but I've been wanting to change that to about 8 a.m. so that she is waking up with Haleigh and Holleigh when they get up to get ready for school at 6:30 a.m.
That way, everyone is dressed and fed and ready for the day. I've been allowing Hannah to sleep, but I kind of want them to share the morning together before they go their separate ways.
Well, anyway, I woke Hannah up...She wasn't too happy about that! Fussed, talked back, you know the routine...grumpy...grumpy! I was so tired, that I laid down for a minute while she was supposed to be brushing her teeth. A minute turned into me waking up at 2:00 p.m.! Tony had taken Haleigh to the bus and Holleigh to preschool and had already left for the day-don't remember him leaving! When I got up at 2, Hannah had been cleaning the house...Yes..CLEANING! That child had made herself a list and cleaned their playroom(it was terrible), the dining room(first room you walk into when you come to my house---first place we usually drop everything!), and was about to start on the kitchen!(They had left the kitchen a wreck from supper the night before while I was at work...Couldn't see the counters!) This is by no means a norm for her! It's usually like pulling teeth to get her to clean! And the baby had made a LIST! She titled it, "Hannah's Cleaning List" and had about 6 things numbered to do. At the bottom, she had written," when done, I can have FUNTIME!" I was so proud, but more proud today! Here's what happened today...

This morning, when I finally got home from work, I felt very sick...migraine headache, an eye hurting from my contact scratching(turns out I actually have the pink eye!) so I laid down and didn't wake Hannah, and I let Tony get the other 2 girls ready. Then I woke up about 8:30 a.m. She had already woke up and fixed her breakfast and was watching the weather channel. I asked her to get her Lifepacs so that we could get started. My head was still killing me to the point I was nauseated, so I laid back on the couch and was dozing in and out while she did her Math. It was really only repetition work...of stuff we had done yesterday, so I really didn't have anything to go over with her. She'd ask me a question...nothing about school..just chit chatting ...and would die laughing b/c in the morning when I am so exhausted, I tend to trail off to sleep in mid sentence and usually end up saying something CRAZY! My girls just think that is hilarious! Anyway, I dozed back off to sleep and woke up about 11:00. When I got off the couch, she was at the dining table, had finished her Math, her History, her Language Arts, and was about to start on her Science when I walked in there! I couldn't believe it! Normally, I have to sit with her the entire time on all her subjects or she wouldn't get them done! I was in AWE! I usually assign 3-4 pages in each Lifepac a day and verbally tell, as well as circle the pages she must do. I don't have a lesson plan to go by/or I don't pre-plan ahead of time due to my schedule. We usually just do what will work for that day. She just decided what pages needed to be done and did them! About 3 pages each subject! Isn't that wonderful?
I can tell so many amazing changes that have taken place with her since we have started homeschooling. It's like she is actually maturing a little bit...her self esteem is improving. It was so low at one time. We are actually becoming closer. I'd always read that would happen, but to actually experience it is absolutely amazing!

Yippee! Good day!

2004-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Today was a good school day. Hannah and I plopped on the couch and I mostly just read aloud her lessons to her then asked the questions while she orally answered them.
In Science, we are learning about elephants(and mammals). I didn't realize that elephants could move quietly possible without even breaking a twig! They are so huge! It just didn't seem possible! They can weigh over 10,000 pounds and their trunks are usually about 6 feet long. My husband is 6 feet tall! Hannah got a kick out of that one! Tomorrow, we learn about whales.

She worked quietly and quickly on a page of math. It was mostly just the completion of the busy work...er...um...review of material that we had covered last week. Most people seem to hate the busy work in homeschooling, but Hannah doesn't seem to mind it too much as long as I am close by. I believe it also keeps the concepts fresh in her mind.
She also did her Language Arts on her own while I napped(I am having to work tonight-I had to get a nap in!) and she completed the questions on her own! I was so proud of her! Usually, we are knocking heads over her doing her questions on her own. She just took the initiative to do it alone. ***Proud homeschool mama moment***

We watched something on the Discovery channel about how "mapping" the world has changed. So that was kind of History and Science rolled into one. I just happened to find it while taking a break and called for her to watch it with me. While eating lunch, we had the t.v. on again. I seldom turn the television on during the day so this was a treat for Hannah! During lunch, a animated show came on, but I can't remember the name of it. It was on HBO. It was a cartoon set to poetry and the poem was from, "A Child's Garden of Verses." So then after we watched it, we grabbed the same poetry book from our shelves and looked the poem up and read it again. It kind of just sparked her interest...So poetry was done and out of the way!

We were done in about 3 hours today and she seemed to absorb a good bit. I guess I'll find out tomorrow while reviewing what we've learned!

Field trip cancelled...

2004-09-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to go to Pensacola, Florida with the homeschool group for a field trip on Friday, September 24. I had planned on taking the girls on today for a "fun" day. Tony was fishing(why, of course)so it would have been just me and the girls. Well, the hurricane kind of scratched those plans for us. I do hate it for all of those people that were affected by the hurricane. My cancelled trip is so minor...I shouldn't complain! Instead of going to Florida, I took the girls to "Libby Lu's" to get all dolled up and then we headed to Gulport to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Museum. The Magic School Bus exhibit was there and the girls had fun with that--learned a lot about weather. We ate supper at the Olive Garden restaurant. There was an hour wait so we learned patience and practiced table manners. Ugh! My girls were ready to eat and hated to have to wait...I hated it, too! After that, we drove to about 3 hotels before we found a vacancy. We stayed at the Ramada Limited. It had a pool-that's all the girls were worried about! Anyway, we went on to bed and then woke up early to go swimming(physical education) After swimming, the girls bathed and dressed so we could go shopping at the outlet mall. I found lots of bargains so they learned how to buy a lot with a little bit of money! Then we drove home, blah-blah-blah
As you can tell, I love to find the hidden learning experiences in our everyday life. It makes me feel better if we don't do "school" everyday, Monday through Friday, like the public school.
Here is a picture from the Lynn Meadows Discovery Museum...We played "dress-up" in vintage clothes.

Learning about Hurricanes~

2004-09-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

We are all safe and sound away from the grips of Hurricane Ivan. I'm so thankful that it did not turn our way. The only thing we had was strong winds and maybe a sprinkle of rain. My heart goes out to those who have lost their homes and to those who have lost their loved ones. It truly must be devastating.
Hannah asked me what a hurricane was. ****Light bulb on**** "Let's look it up!" So we did. She thought it was so cool(of course not for the people living through the horrors of it). An online friend sent an email containing a picture of Hurricane Ivan taken from space. It is amazing how something so devastating can be so awesome at the same time.
We didn't do any other school on Wednesday due to preparing for the hurricane. Holleigh didn't have preschool and Haleigh's school was going until 1:00 p.m., but I didn't send her. They had a good time playing. I did tell them that they would all be doing school on Thursday(preschool and public schools were closed). Since I was up most of Wednesday night, I really didn't pull out school stuff until about 3:30 p.m., but they all worked hard and then wanted some more work to do. Funny how that works! I was ready to stop and they wanted to do more! I'll have to try that "game" again.
After supper was finished, we all watched the movie, "What a Girl Wants," starring Amanda from "The Amanda Show." It's such a cute movie with a message about being yourself and not changing because someone else wants you to change. I figured that was a good way to end an evening so then it was bathtime and off to bed...not without the whining.
I'm working at the hospital today so I prepared Hannah some assignments to do while she is at her grandmother's home. I hope she does them. We've had a problem with her not doing her work when she is not with me. Her grandma is completely against homeschooling so I can't depend on her to encourage Hannah to do her work. I've tried to explain to Hannah the importance of keeping her studies up so that she can continue to learn. If she doesn't do the work, her daddy will say we have to send her back to school. So far, nothing seems to make her understand. We've tried speaking to her heart and we've tried punishment(grounding her from things she enjoys). There has to be something that will work!
Today she was to write a journal entry and do a Math Lifepac self test, but I tell her it's just review so that she won't stress over it then practice on her multiplication facts. Also, she was to look up the state flowers of all the states and answer questions in her Science Lifepac. It wasn't a lot of work so I hope she will complete it. I told her if she did her work today then we could do something fun tomorrow, but if she didn't do the work, we would have to do it tomorrow(Saturday). Personally, I don't want to be stuck at the house on Saturday doing school work!

Posting monthly?

2004-09-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

So maybe I'll just post once a month...Who knows! Homeschooling my 9 year-old has kept me busy, along with working 36 hours a week, taking my 7 year-old to public school, and my 4 year-old to preschool who has time to post? LOL
It's definitely been a new adventure and of stressing challenge. Support seems to be wearing thin and my dear husband is beginning to wonder if maybe I haven't lost my mind...I'm wondering the same. I knew it would be hard, but this hard? I'm really trying to keep my spirits up~trying is the keyword here. I really want to bring all my children home. On good days, I can see all of the benefits.
Hannah is working through her Lifepacs fairly well. It's not that she doesn't understand the material, it's that she wants me to give her all the answers without her having to think about it! I also have to sit with her the whole time or she will not complete it or I hear whining/stomping/headbanging/crying the whole time. This, of course, is not everyday. On good days, her face lights up when she learns something new and she loves to do extra work. It's so hard to keep on a schedule with the way I work, but I know that would be the best thing. She functions best on a schedule. I wish I was a little more organized to do it all.
We have done a notebook about Christopher Columbus, completed research on the computer about fruits and their origins. She really liked those activities.

The Darkside of Homeschool?

2004-08-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

I was reading another blog and came across this link about the darkside of homeschooling. Is it possible?

This site needs to be viewed with an open mind!

Time for School

2004-08-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

School is upon us~

Friday is, "Meet the Teacher" day at the local public school, then school will start Monday. I really hope Haleigh gets the teacher Hannah had in the 2nd grade. I still wish she could be homeschooled, too. Holleigh will be going to preschool five days a week this year--until 11:30 each morning. That should be an experience! Hannah will be starting a more scheduled day than we did this summer. With all the summer trips and activities that occurred, it was difficult to stay on task and do anything structured.

Hannah did some studies on the Betta Fish (since she got one for her birthday) and worked in her Math and Language Arts Lifepacs from Alpha Omega. She has read the classics of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge and one of the Little House on the Prairie books. She is currently reading, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I've done one piano lesson with her. That may be a little more involved than I can handle. There is a teen homeschooler that teaches piano on the days we have the homeschool fellowship Bible study. I think she charges $15-$20 a month. Holleigh has been working on her reading lessons and is doing well. She has also been practicing her letters, numbers, and doing some simple adding. Haleigh has been reading Hans Brinker memorizing the poem, "Monday's Child," and learning to write in cursive. They all love to do art. Haleigh is a little budding artist, I think. I feel like they've learned quite a bit this summer. Of course, Vacation Bible School, G.A.'s Missions lock-in, and a trip to Baton Rouge were all learning experiences also!

They've been swimming at Tony's mom's everyday about 2-3 days a week and our neighbor's house down the road every now and then. So that's been some physical education. It's been rather busy!
Anyway, just a summary of our summer! Praying for a great homeschool year!

Getting back in the swing of things!

2004-08-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

So we "tested the waters" of homeschooling...we almost drowned! We are going to homeschool this year anyway. A friend of mine who has homeschooled for about six years warned me about doing a trial period in the summer. She was right! We started in June and did really well for the month of June, but when July came, we kind of flopped. Oh well, so we already have one month out of the way. I just love this flexibility! Does this mean we may not do well with homeschooling? I surely hope not. Tony seems to notice the girls' excitement with learning. What do I get Hannah to do during the day for the few hours I need to sleep to catch up on my sleep from working the night shift? I don't want her watching t.v. that long and don't allow her to be outside while I am sleeping. How will I prevent boredom while Haleigh and her friends are at school? Holleigh's preschool moves to 5 days a week instead of three like last year. It will be from 8:00 until 11:30 a.m. When she is home they will be able to do things together, but Haleigh will be in public school until 3:00 p.m. everyday(she is hating that thought!). I really wish I could keep them all at home, but Tony is persistent on only Hannah right now. I guess he's worried I might not be able to do it, but my heart says that I can. Maybe he will have a change of heart.
At first, the idea of homeschooling came from the struggles we have had in school. Now, my heart tells me it will be this wonderful growing experience for my girls...for my family and that it will bring us closer together as a family. I pray that God will turn Tony's heart toward homeschooling or that He will open my eyes as to whether this is what He really wants me to do. I need to place it ALL in God's hands and have a little faith without worry, but why is that so hard sometimes?
We will be getting back to schooling next week. I'm lifting my prayers up!

Summer Break

2004-06-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Was I crazy to think I could do a trial of homeschooling during the summer? Maybe so, but, I have decided to homeschool regardless and Tony is in agreement so we'll have a relaxed approach this summer, then have a regular schedule during the school year. I love the flexibility of this! We have only done Math and Language Arts so far, but we will add History and Science later. I am going to start doing Hannah's Bible with all the girls as a part of a family bible study, so that will be completed also. Now (this summer)is the time that we can take "baby steps". We have been so busy for the summer and have not really done much as far as "official school". We just finished a week of Vacation Bible School and a mom from our homeschooling group said that she would always counted VBS as a week of school so maybe that is what we will do, since part of our curriculum has a Bible subject.
Yesterday, I went to the bible study that the group has every other week. While we really didn't do what was planned (listening to a Funschooling tape, the other moms were so generous is offering ideas for me as a new homeschooling mom! They were all so wonderful and I felt so "at home" with all of them. I am not always comfortable around people. Sometimes I feel so inferior to others although I really don't know why! It was such a wonderful afternoon of a much needed fellowship with other moms. The girls played with the other kids...hmmmm....there were 20 kids there, in the house, because it was raining. There were 5 moms(one mom has 10 kids and I was in AWE!) The group lasted from 1:00 to about 5:00 that afternoon. The girls slept on the way home--they had such a blast!
I am going to start back with school this week--time to get back to it!

First narration today...

2004-06-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

We had kind of a relaxed day today. I don't know why I get uptight about missing some days...I mean, goodness it is summer and I've got all school year. I don't have to be done at the end of the summer or even the end of December! Why is it so hard for me to absorb that fact!
Hannah worked in her Math for 20 minutes this afternoon and tomorrow we have about two more pages before we do the Self Test.
The girls all dressed up in their recital costumes and played and danced. They were too cute! I wish I had a digital camera to share photos online! After that we had to clean up the house...slowly, but surely the house is coming clean again :oops:
Hannah read a book Full House Michelle/ The Not-So-Great Outdoors (see the link down below) and did a spoken narration it. I think the girl memorized every word in the book LOL! She just read it today, but that was a LONG narration! I was pretty amazed at how much she had retained from one reading. We will do more of those and then some I will ask her to write her narrations. Haleigh read a book out loud and Holleigh "read" her book, which was mostly just looking at the pictures and telling us what she thought the book was saying.
Walmart had some DVD's for $1.00 and I found, "The Little Princess" with Shirley Temple in it. They are all watching it now, that is if they are still awake! I let them stay up late tonight...maybe they will sleep late in the morning. Here is the book that Hannah read...

A Little Physical Education Thrown In...

2004-06-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Along with some character-building exercises. Curious yet? We had softball tournaments today so from my homeschooling point of view--that's P.E. for the week. As far as the character building goes, well, our team has not won a game all season! Those girls played their hearts out like they were winning every time. There were a few parents that were a little harsh on their kids, but come on....6-9 year old girls aren't going out for the Olympics yet! There were several that went up to bat in tears and that really tore at my heart. Maybe next softball season the girls and I can do a little science experiment involving some duct tape...and a few parents' mouths and eyes? LOL Just kidding...I wouldn't tape their eyes! Anyway...
after the game they went swimming at a friends' home and they finally learned how to swim! They were swimming in the deep--I was such a proud mommy! Then we went out to eat at a restaurant where we worked on our etiquette. Once they were home, Hannah did three more pages in her Math and Holleigh and I worked on reading again. Haleigh didn't want to do any work so I didn't make her. It's Saturday and the only reason Hannah and Holleigh did some work was because Hannah didn't do any on Thursday or Friday so we were catching up. Holleigh requested her reading lesson!
Now the girls are in their room watching "The Sound Of Music" video. That's one of their favorites!
Recap: Softball, Swimming, Character-building, Music with History, Reading, and Math...I'd say we had a full day! OH! I forgot one of the most controversial points in homeschooling--We had Socialization!

Here is a CD I bought recently for the girls. It is pretty much preschool songs, but the girls love it! It has songs for learning the days of the weeks, opposites, telling fact from fiction and colors. There are also ideas for doing the motions or activities for each song also!

No school today either :(

2004-06-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Tony didn't bring Hannah and Haleigh home until 4:45 p.m. so Hannah and I did not get to do any school work. I know homeschooling is supposed to be flexible and Mississippi does not require a certain number of days, but I don't want her to get behind...especially when I am trying to show Tony what a good decision homeschooling would be for Hannah and eventually Haleigh. I think I am trying to put so much pressure on myself to succeed in doing this...I am determined to do this! Funny how I get obsessive over things that I want to do...the same thing happened when I was breastfeeding my girls! I did that and I was successful, although I had a rough start. Tony didn't agree with that, but then saw the benefits for the babies-and for him since he did not have to get up in the middle of the night! It's not that he is against homeschooling, he was in the beginning, but now he believes that it will do Hannah some good. I just want it to go smoothly so that he doesn't change his mind.
I've been looking at some other curriculums again. I really like the Singapore Math, but we will not do that until maybe next year or whenever Hannah completes the Alpha Omega Lifepacs. We have not begun Science yet and have only done about 3-4 pages of History from Alpha Omega. I just think there are some other options that would be more fun and interesting for us. I wanted structured which is why I bought the complete AO curriculum set. It is just all in the same format and I need to break it up before Hannah gets too bored with it. I already am! I looked at the Story of the World at the bookstore the other night. It had some neat projects that I think would be fun! I just don't know of anyone who has used that. It seems like I remember someone on a support group I am on, but I can't remember which one! I am on about 5 groups! I'll have to ask around the groups to see.
Maybe we will try to do some school tomorrow to catch up.
Holleigh and I did three lessons in her reading today. She is picking it up really fast! We have don the M, S, and A sounds. She likes the "say it fast" game part of it!

~~Free day for Hannah's Birthday~~

2004-06-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

We are not doing school today because it is a special day!Today is Hannah's 9th birthday! I can't believe she is 9 years old! I am getting old. So we will take a break today. Although...Holleigh and I will work on her reading lesson since it only takes about ten minutes and if Haleigh wants to do some of her workbook, why stamp out learning? Holleigh did get on the computer doing a preschool learning site while Haleigh "assisted" which of course turns into more of an argument. LOL We will pick back up tomorrow.

I just realize I didn't post for 6/9/04! That's what I get for having too many blogs! :)
ON Wednesday, June 9, 2004
The girls worked in their workbooks again. Hannah did a self test in Math and then did some pages in Language Arts. She missed 3 things on her Math about measurements, but we really haven't gone over those since starting the Lifepacs and it was just counting on her to remember those from previous lessons. She learned that back in the fall. I will have to pick something up so we can do some things that will reinforce measuring. She missed the feet in a yard, inches in a foot...stuff like that. Maybe I can find something at Walmart.
Holleigh did really well with her reading lesson. She is on the M sound(mmmmm) and the S sound(sssss). Tomorrow we add the A sound (aaaaa). I may try to so 2 lessons a day, one in the morning and one in the evening.
Haleigh just did her own thing, but then again, we are only really homeschooling Hannah come fall. Haleigh will have to still go to public school :( That was the only way hubby would agree to the trial of homeschooling was that I did just Hannah right now. It is just breaking little Haleigh's heart! Holleigh will still go to preschool, kindergarten, 1st and maybe 2nd grade before I bring her home. I just want them to have a foundation of skills.

What We Did Today~

2004-06-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here I am posting again.

Hannah is doing Math, Language Arts with Handwriting and Spelling.
It seems that she has forgotten her measurements, like inches in a yard or feet in a yard. We will definintely have to review some more on that. I'll have to find a good website to review with. She also needs to practice her multiplication facts (4 X's seem to be giving her a hard time.) I will look for a cassette tape to help with that. She also worked with telling time/clocks, but didn't really want to put effort into finding the answer. Once she did finally did it, the answers were correct. I suppose she was being a drama queen.

Haleigh just worked in her Learn Every Day Grammar Skills workbook that we got from Walmart. I think it is a little below her so we just pick and choose the ones she finds interesting. The book says 6-8 years old so most of it is Kindergarten stuff. She just finished the 1st grade. She really likes to draw and then use my stapler to make "books" with the drawings. So from now on, I will see if she can write words to go with the drawings! She is a really good artist! There is another homeschooling mom that is teaching art classes this summer. I may try to see if we can get into those. I think she and Hannah would love it!

Holleigh wanted to do "school" also, so we opened up the Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons. She seemed to pick it up pretty well! Today was just our first day so maybe I am just a little excited. We will see how tomorrow goes. Then we used her Alphabet and Numbers workbook from Walmart and practiced writing the sounds like the book suggested. That was it for her--she wanted to get down when she was finished and play!

I'll have to pray for patience for tomorrow. I work tonight until 6 am tomorrow morning and will have them all day, so I won't sleep any. We have plans to go to the movies. I'll probably fall asleep in the dark theatre. :)

Easy Days

2004-06-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

So far, we have had some easy days. Hannah has been excited to homeschool! She actually wanted to do Math on Saturday! We are using the Alpha Omega LifePacs and so far it is working well. I have really become interested in Unit Studies or an eclectic style of learning. Also, I love the Charlotte Mason method. I can see already where the LifePacs will become mundane to Hannah...they already are getting boring to me! So I might try to incorporate a little of Charlotte Mason into our studies. I really like the idea of Narration and the way she taught Poetry. I remember doing Copywork in my 1st grade class. I still don't see how that works, but it seems to work well. Haleigh so wants to homeschool and I so want to bring her into our learning. She keeps saying, "Mama, will you homeschool me when I get home from school?", now, doesn't that just break your heart? I really have to make this work so Tony will allow me to bring Haleigh home from the public school. I really don't want her in that atmosphere, especially with all the stink about the marriage amendment. I don't want somebody teaching my children that homosexuality is an option they are free to choose! That is not how God intended for people to be. He has a purpose and I don't believe that homosexuality will fulfill it! The world is quickly emerging into Sodom and Gomorrah. I want to shield my children from it as long as possible while instilling in them God's way, not the world's.
Another note on homeschooling the girls...I did purchase some workbooks from Walmart so that Haleigh and Holleigh could "school" right along with Hannah this summer. That is all they have wanted to do this week! What gives? When they were in school, it was like pulling teeth to get them to do their homework.