This page starts from the 'beginning' and works it's way down to current dates.
September 1999 - We started our home-educating journey. I decided to try my hand at preschooling my oldest. We didn't begin because of any religious or Christian reasons. We started home-educating because my husband was working for the railroad at the time and had very litle time off to spend with us as a family. To make a horrible and long story short, he quit the railroad and went back to his previous job. Now this job, while not any better physically or financially, did keep him home and off the rails. However, he worked 7:00 to 7:00 a.m. or p.m. depending on the time of the year. It took him 40 min. to get to work and 40 min. to get home. He left when we were sleeping and sometimes got home after the boys were in bed. It was because of this job that we CONTINUED home-educating our children.
I've tried Charlotte Mason's philosophy; Five-In-A-Row; Teaching the Trivium; Classical education theories; unit study home-schooling; the Robinson curriculum; free Library/internet resource home-schooling; unschooling and plan old textbooks. I think we've tried it all!
We've had so much fun in our elementary education journey. The first thing I prayed when we started was, "Lord, if you want us to do this, you're gonna have to make it as easy as if you were sitting in my kitchen teaching math for me." One should watch what they pray for! We've been blessed with so much free curriculum, field trips, supplies and opportunities. I have enough math and science curriculum to take us through a freshmen college course. I have plenty of English and Art curriculum to see us through high school. I've purchased a few new math curriculum items here and there, but now that we are into our high school years, I don't need to purchase anything new!
After all that we were blessed with; after all the many many ways that the Lord has provided; I can clearly see that He wants us to home-educate our children and to continue all the way through high school. I have no doubt in my mind. Some days are absolutely crazy, but then there are all the others where so much learning has taken place, that I don't know where to record all the hours and possibilities.
We've gone through many home-educating friends. Some moved, some went to the public system, some we just lost touch with as our lives moved in different directions. The hardest part is when those few great friends move out of our everyday regular visiting distance. Thank goodness for the internet! We've even lost touch with some simply because I had to go back to work part-time and just didn't have the time or the coordinating schedule to accomodate various trips or events.
I've decided to journal our final years of home-education - filling in the blanks of our journey as I can. I want to savor every last moment I have as a homeschooling mom. I'm not exactly sure what I will do with myself when we are all done. Even now, my load is significantly lighter. Actually, once you teach them to read, the hard work is done. Well... that and Algebra!! :)
My whole world since 1999 has revolved around homeschooling my children. Every ounce and fiber of my being, my entire soul has been poured into this journey. At times I've forgotten who I was before I had children. Not that it matters anyway. It matters who I've become along the way and who I am at the end. It's a bit frightening however, to try to answer those two questions: Who am I now? Who will I be when I'm done? I've only the two children. Some women can go on and on hs'ing their clutch. I've friends that have children the same age as mine, plus three or four more all the way down to infants yet. While I'm almost done, they will still be going 17 more years from now.
I trust that since the Lord brought me into this journey so easily, that He will see me through to the end. Also, I trust that He will bring me to something worthwhile that will occupy my time at that point in our journey as a family.
But for now, I will happily keep where I am in our journey and savor every last moment. Here begins the rest of our journey.....
2010/2011 - First Semester.
First Semester went pretty well. My youngest is a Freshman in high school. 9th Grade. Wow. We still have some issues with the boys actually NOT wanting to do their least favorite subject, but who doesn't deal with that?! We also dealt with the boys not stopping their reading, in order to do the next subject. I was, very often, met with, "Mom, I'm almost done." or "Mom, can I just read a little bit longer?" sigh... what's a hs'ing mom to do? My oldest enjoyed books on Julius Ceseare and is attempting Jules Verne. My youngest is finishing The Illiad and The Odyssey. He also enjoyed Greek Mythology and is moving onto Egyptian Mythology. He liked Return to Alastair; Rick Riordan books and, of course, his own books!
Woodworking saw my youngest making some cute little Folk Art chairs, while both boys worked on building the back deck with my husband.
My oldest is finishing up Driver's Ed!! Good grief. hahaha, actually, he's really a very good driver. We just had a 'new' driver in town - a 16 yr. old boy involved in a horrendous accident. There was a 14 yr. old girl in the car with him and she died upon impact. There wasn't anything he did wrong - they hit a patch of black ice. It's a terrible thing. My children didn't know them, but being the same age as the children involved, it definately moved them further towards caution.
This Christmas season, the boys were extremely busy with Church Worship practices as well as drama practices for Scrooge. They did a great job. My oldest was the Narrator, complete with an English accent and my youngest was The Ghost of Christmas Future. I was in charge of desserts, as it was Dessert Theatere and hubby was Stage Manager. Fun by all!
We juggled chores and workshop time with Grampa. Grampa can get to be a bit controlling at times. He wants them to come over and stay for when and for as long as he wants. Yet, on the other hand, we are asked if they'd like to go to the local high school and "Don't you think you should send them?" What isn't realized is that if they boys were going to the local high school - they wouldn't spend hardly any time with the Grandparents. The Grandparents wouldn't get all of the extra help that the boys have to offer. Oh well, it isn't anything to worry about as I think deep down, the Grandparents know this to be true. Right now we are almost done with our Winter Break. Next week is 'full steam ahead' as we crack the whip and crack open our books. I don't think they are going to be too happy with me next week! muwahahahaaa!
January 2011 - I went to a Hs'ing Mom's Encouragement Meeting the other night. Usually they have one every month. I used to go all the time, but eventually, I felt that I wasn't connecting to the attending moms. The moms I had been connecting with either sent their children on to the public system, moved away or completed their hs'ing journey. I wasn't as close to the moms that were left. Also, right about this time, our church had meetings on the same evening. Then, my health took a turn and I wasn't up to going - no energy. Finally, I had to get a job to help pay for medical bills, etc. My only night off is on the same night of the week and I get lazy on that night. However, there are two new hs'ing moms that are my friends and they needed to go, so I went for them. Going was alright, although I still find that I'm not really 'fed' by going. Sometimes we have to say "No." to the good things, in order to say, "Yes." the best thing(s). I'm not sure if I will continue or not.
The boys and I went thru the first semester grades and hours. We were able to get everything organized and tidied up on the computer. I re-iterated my rules for high school and helped them to re-organize their binders and bookshelves in the school cupboard.
It wasn't so bad. I felt it went well. I am a bit concerned that they aren't moving through their algebra studies more quickly, but I also understand that algebra is a major pain for some students. They are looking forward to geometry - so am I.
We counted how many weeks we have left vs. how many lessons need to be completed in order to receive the 'credit', so they know how much needs to be completed every week if they want to have a nice summer break. Other than the algebra, everything should be fine.
After going to the Mom's Encouragement meeting, I have to say, I once again felt inadequate. One of the moms there is preparing her children for the 4-year college life. I'm sure being a pastoral family, they will also be able to receive scholarship money and grant money. That's a good thing for pastoral families, however, we can't offer that to our children. The best we can offer our children, should they desire to do the 4-year college journey, is free room & board as well as insurance on the vehicles. I have to remind myself that as of now, my sons aren't 4 year college bound. Right now, they seem to have plans outside of that lifestyle. So, right now, I have to encourage the dreams that they have, expose them to the dreams of others and then help them to hold strong onto their hearts' desires by giving them as many life experiences as we can afford. If they should strongly desire a 4 year college diploma, they will find the way and we will assist them as much as we can, in every way that we can.
August 2011 - Our 2010/2011 year is officially over. My Freshmen ended the year with a 4.0 ~ My Sophomore ended the year with a 3.86 ~~ What a wonderful feeling!
Our biggest struggles were algebra and biology. They were troopers though. I am very proud of their accomplishments.
Books we read were: Around the World in 80 Days; 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea; Journey to the Center of the Earth; Legacy of the Stone Harp; Anna Karenina; Septumus Heap series; Grace (Bob Lenz); Tom Sawyer; Huckleberry Finn and many others. Of course, we can't remember them all now!
Some field trippy things were Lambeau Field, Door Co. and the EAA Airventure Museum. Looking back on the calendar, I realize today, that we haven't done any field trips since January. It was then that I stepped-up a bit more and started taking care of my Gramma.
My Freshman's favorite thing was hiking trips to Door Co. My Sophomore's favorite thing was going to a Packer Game! My favorite part was when they told me what they wanted to do after high school. I have one that wants to be a private pilot and the other has many ideas - all valid, interesting and great!
Sometimes I don't feel very confident in our journey this year -- with regards to algebra and taking time to care for my Gramma. However, that is life -- all parts of life are important and I want the to see and experience it all.
I guess I shouldn't feel too inadequate. Cheers to a good year!
2011/2012 School Year - We are off to a wonderful and relaxed start! We started on the 12th of September, 2011.
Classes you are taking this year include:
English ***
AP Literature ***
Film Study ***
Geometry *
Algebra **
American History *
World History **
Biology *
Health ***
Computer (Blogging) ***
Typing ***
Geography **
Food Services - Baking ***
Music/Worship **
Sound Board Technician for Worship *
Bible Study ***
Book writing **
*Rick specifically
**Ben specifically
***Both of you
If there is a Christmas Program at church this year, we will include Drama*** for a 1/2 credit, during the months of October thru December.
In addition to your studies, you will have your shoveling* and mowing** (paid) jobs to do. These extra jobs count towards your P.E. credits. Also, more P.E.*** time as we go hiking throughout the autumn months and swimming in the winter months. There is also wood working* that will be done for a 1/2 credit, during the winter months.
It seems like a full load, but it's spread out thru the entire year. The Homeschool Tracker program that I utilize to keep track of classes, assignments, time, grades, attendance and reports is wonderful! We found it in 2006 - the year I got sick. It's a great help. I highly recommend it.
My goals for you this year - besides your studies, to help you learn dead-lines and to stay organized. One of you will need help staying focused. One of you will need help in not being so hard on yourself. Both of you need to remember Philippians 2:14 - do all things without grumbling or complaining!~ LOL
I'm looking forward to this year, while being sad at the same time. Another year started is another year towards being finished and I just don't know what I'm going to do with myself once we are all done with our homeschooling journey.
Sept. 30, 2011 -
Literature
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Ben liked it and got it read in good time. Rick hated it and needed the help of the Barron's Book Notes. The B's B.N.s was a great help to all of us and brought about a greater sense of understanding. I also liked it because it had tests and term paper ideas in the back. We also found the movie, although it could only be found on VHS thru the library system.
Next up is Gulliver's Travels
Film Study
Some Like it Hot
Kings of Comedy
silent films
Cinderfella
The Disorderly Orderly
The Bellboy
South Pacific - hysterical to listen to you watch it.
Room For One More
Carol Burnette
At War With the Army
Going My Way
**** Oct. 16, 2011 ****
I was asked my opinion on unschooling. Here is my response to a new hs'ing mom just beginning her journey.
Second, have you read anything by Ruth Beechick or Raymond and Dorothy Moore? The Moore's have a book (several actually) entitled Homeschool burnout or how to avoid homeschool burnout. You should read them first. The Moore's tell us to relax.
August 2011 - Our 2010/2011 year is officially over. My Freshmen ended the year with a 4.0 ~ My Sophomore ended the year with a 3.86 ~~ What a wonderful feeling!
Our biggest struggles were algebra and biology. They were troopers though. I am very proud of their accomplishments.
Books we read were: Around the World in 80 Days; 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea; Journey to the Center of the Earth; Legacy of the Stone Harp; Anna Karenina; Septumus Heap series; Grace (Bob Lenz); Tom Sawyer; Huckleberry Finn and many others. Of course, we can't remember them all now!
Some field trippy things were Lambeau Field, Door Co. and the EAA Airventure Museum. Looking back on the calendar, I realize today, that we haven't done any field trips since January. It was then that I stepped-up a bit more and started taking care of my Gramma.
My Freshman's favorite thing was hiking trips to Door Co. My Sophomore's favorite thing was going to a Packer Game! My favorite part was when they told me what they wanted to do after high school. I have one that wants to be a private pilot and the other has many ideas - all valid, interesting and great!
Sometimes I don't feel very confident in our journey this year -- with regards to algebra and taking time to care for my Gramma. However, that is life -- all parts of life are important and I want the to see and experience it all.
A great person said:
I've never let my school interfere with my education. ~ Mark Twain
I guess I shouldn't feel too inadequate. Cheers to a good year!
2011/2012 School Year - We are off to a wonderful and relaxed start! We started on the 12th of September, 2011.
Classes you are taking this year include:
English ***
AP Literature ***
Film Study ***
Geometry *
Algebra **
American History *
World History **
Biology *
Health ***
Computer (Blogging) ***
Typing ***
Geography **
Food Services - Baking ***
Music/Worship **
Sound Board Technician for Worship *
Bible Study ***
Book writing **
*Rick specifically
**Ben specifically
***Both of you
If there is a Christmas Program at church this year, we will include Drama*** for a 1/2 credit, during the months of October thru December.
In addition to your studies, you will have your shoveling* and mowing** (paid) jobs to do. These extra jobs count towards your P.E. credits. Also, more P.E.*** time as we go hiking throughout the autumn months and swimming in the winter months. There is also wood working* that will be done for a 1/2 credit, during the winter months.
It seems like a full load, but it's spread out thru the entire year. The Homeschool Tracker program that I utilize to keep track of classes, assignments, time, grades, attendance and reports is wonderful! We found it in 2006 - the year I got sick. It's a great help. I highly recommend it.
My goals for you this year - besides your studies, to help you learn dead-lines and to stay organized. One of you will need help staying focused. One of you will need help in not being so hard on yourself. Both of you need to remember Philippians 2:14 - do all things without grumbling or complaining!~ LOL
I'm looking forward to this year, while being sad at the same time. Another year started is another year towards being finished and I just don't know what I'm going to do with myself once we are all done with our homeschooling journey.
Sept. 30, 2011 -
Literature
Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Ben liked it and got it read in good time. Rick hated it and needed the help of the Barron's Book Notes. The B's B.N.s was a great help to all of us and brought about a greater sense of understanding. I also liked it because it had tests and term paper ideas in the back. We also found the movie, although it could only be found on VHS thru the library system.
Next up is Gulliver's Travels
Film Study
Some Like it Hot
Kings of Comedy
silent films
Cinderfella
The Disorderly Orderly
The Bellboy
South Pacific - hysterical to listen to you watch it.
Room For One More
Carol Burnette
At War With the Army
Going My Way
**** Oct. 16, 2011 ****
I was asked my opinion on unschooling. Here is my response to a new hs'ing mom just beginning her journey.
~Cafe,
I can now be called a veteran homeschooling mom. I'm almost done - sadly.
First off, I like unschooling too. Especially for those elementary grades. However, I think it should be called Delight-Directed Learning.
Second, have you read anything by Ruth Beechick or Raymond and Dorothy Moore? The Moore's have a book (several actually) entitled Homeschool burnout or how to avoid homeschool burnout. You should read them first. The Moore's tell us to relax.
Ruth Beechick is wonderful on keeping things simple, relaxed and short. A blog that is fun and nice to look at sums it up. You can go visit the blog at this link:
Finally, you mentioned that your son is 6 years old. I recommend that you wait on the book studies. Many boys don't want to read until they are 9ish. Many boys are too wiggly to sit for longer than 15 min. and RETAIN anything worthwhile.
A couple of hours schooling at age 6 is too long for a boy.
You can find learning GAMES. Games with counting in them. Back two spaces/forward 6 spaces. Rolling dice just for fun is FUN!!
My boys are now in high school. I'm almost done with my hs'ing journey. I have to tell you - (blushingly) they are so smart! My guys are 15 and 17 - so they are in 10th and 11th grades. However, they are doing college freshman history - college freshman English. I've NEVER had them use a formal textbook for English. This is their first time EVER formally learning English - diagramming, nouns, pronouns, etc. The other grades were too easy. They just learned so much along the way!!
For History we are reading America's Secret History; Lies My Teacher Told Me; A People's History of the United States. We do have a textbook, but they find it boring with not ENOUGH information. If you want to do history RIGHT NOW, I suggest reading out loud to him. Read the My America stories with boy characters.
My America Freedom's Wings; Corey's Underground Railroad Diary Book 1; Flying Free is book 2; I think there might even be a book 3. Westward to Home:
Joshua's Oregon Trail Diary is another good one.
We also liked the Hank the Cowdog books.
Ralph Moody also wrote a series starting with Little Britches; book 2 is Father and I Were Ranchers. There are several to this series.
Farmer Boy is by Laura Ingalls Wilder - this was a favorite of our guys also.
Another fun one is When We Were Six by A. A. Milne --- since your son is six!
These are all great books for elementary history. Five In A Row is a 'curriculum' that you can purchase. There are book titles and then activities for each subject - it's amazing!! I utilized it with my guys when they were young. Everything from food, geog., history and science.
I do the Charlotte Mason method of "narration" whereby the student narrates BACK to the teacher what they have read. We've done that since they were 6 years old. I'd read them stories and they'd narrate back to me. I knew they were listening AND retaining. I called it Sandbox Reading when they were small. They could play in the sandbox, but they could not talk. They had to listen because I'd randomly ask them questions to make sure they were paying attention and retaining the information. Some days, even though they are in high school, we will read aloud - like Crime and Punishment. We read that aloud alongside the Barron's study guide. It was great fun and they learned so much with the study guide.
I believe that your son will think the core subjects - Hist., Geog., Science, etc. ARE interesting once he gets there. He will like them if YOU show interest and excitement. There are also songs to sing with things to memorize. The presidents, the states and capitals, the alphabet, some math tables, even the periodic table of elements!! LOL
To make science 6 year old "friendly" I don't recommend a text book. Go to your library and find some books in the Juvenile Non-fiction section on doing science experiments. Janice Van Cleeve is great for those kinds of books. She used to be a teacher. Children love her science experiment books - so do parents because most of the experiments involve things we have in the kitchen or pantry. You have to allow your son to make a mess in the kitchen. If you have a carpeted kitchen either pull it up (kidding) or let him do the experiments in the bathtub! Easily contained and easily cleaned.
Geography is so easy when they are young. Go to Madison look at the capitol building and everytime you read a story -- look up the location on a map! Easy stuff when they are that young.
So many colleges (Stanford, Yale, State University colleges, technical colleges) WANT homeschool students as part of their student body. Why? Because hs'd students are better students. They know HOW to learn - they know HOW to research to find the answers. hs'd students are more well-rounded and usually more polite. They can converse with multiple age groups. Colleges will usually take your transcript and be happy with that. When the time comes for your son to take his SAT (please remember he is 6), he will do fine. Your public library has at minimum 4 shelves full of practice tests for the SAT, PSAT, ACT, GED, HSED, etc. Don't worry about that. Colleges want our hs'd students and they will work with you. Even your local high school will probably take your transcript and just go with it because they know your kid is so much better at life anyway!!
Above all, just focus on being 6 years old. So many people asked me, "What about High School?" My pat answer was, "Can I please just teach them to read first?!!" Now they can read - they make their own games, my son that didn't want anything to do with reading is an author. My son that hates biology, loves the rest of science and has plans to be a pilot. He will attend flight school during his senior year and plans to be an instructor his first year out of high school. I worried so much about gaps, holes and forgetfulness. However, boys are boys and they need to do math under the coffee table or on top of the refrigerator or standing. Mine did math on the dining room windows with a dry erase marker!! Best thing I ever thought of!! They'd try to beat me in answering their times tables drills.
I didn't really give them a choice about not wanting to do school. I'd say, okay it's time to get your day going. However, he is 6 so your days need to be short, sweet and fun!!!! Fun more fun and even more fun!! For you and I guess your son also! LOL Make sure he has a good breakfast first. Then clean up the area where you will read, shake dice, or map. When you are cleaning up, either tell him to help or let him play and run off some energy. Then, get some school time in. You should be well done with your school day by lunch time. After lunch either have some phys. ed. time or fun science experiment time. If you need some 'down time' or quiet time after lunch, tell him so! That was our time for quietly reading in our rooms or napping. I never made them nap, but they did have to be quiet and learn to entertain themselves for about 30-60 min. We have to learn how to be alone and entertain ourselves - in a safe environment. They could go potty, get more books,etc., but they could not play together. It was quiet, alone time. it was great and we STILL do that daily. They crave the solitude and the chance to just 'be'.
As they grew older, I'd give them clear deadline of when a math assignment was due, etc. I strongly enforce consquences -- like an F for a grade or a 0%. In the outside world, deadlines are a part of life. A jury won't wait for the attorney's secretary to finish up. There are deadlines to meet in the publishing industry as well. Even food has expiration dates!! LOL So, they can't be lazy. If, now that they are teens, they don't wake up early enough to get everything done, then they are up later into the night. If the school work isn't done, then they didn't get to watch something that was coming on TV. If their chores weren't done before bed, they lost their priviledge for video games, etc. At any age, "I don't want to." is a very real feeling, but teaching responsibility is a parental duty. Everyone has feelings and I'm all for acknowledging those feelings, however there are consequences for "I don't want to."
Unschooling should maybe be called Delight-Directed Learning. If he likes trains, GREAT!!! He IS engrossed HARD CORE already! Utilize that! Make it all into a unit study of your own! There are a gazillion types of trains out there! What do they all run on for fuel. Thomas lives in another country --- map it out. Thomas's friends are all different colors - what are they? Draw them!! Art work! There are also lots of THomas CD-ROMS with math and eye-hand coordination activities; listening activities; coloring activities. Let him do that for school! They teach with CD-ROMS in the public system, why can't you at home?! Go for it! If that is what he likes right now, then utilitze that! Your library will also have many train books in the adult non-fiction; juvenile non-fiction and in the over-sized book sections. Utilize your library and count the time spent there for school time. You will get familiar with the librarians there - they will have story time during the day hours (and you may be able to step out for 20-30 min. and have some quick quiet me time.). You can then use the library books for that special afternoon quiet time! You can print off train pics on-line and have your son color those for afternoon quiet time (art class). There are tons of books out there that he can 'read' on trains right now. Then as an end to the school year -- take a train somewhere or take the train ride at the zoo! I'm in Wisconsin and there are 2 or 3 steam trains in the state that people can take rides on in the summer. Field trip to a train show/expo! Count it all as school!
I am going to miss everything about homeschooling, I can't believe I'm almost done. How ever you "do school" and no matter how many times you change your format and books, just take it easy on you and your son. Be flexible and love this time. It zips by so quickly.
Blessings to you as you begin your journey. Enjoy the ride. He is very precious at 6 years old.
Tyra
**** Comment**** 10/18/11
Wow, Tyra, thanks so much for all the useful information.
I have requested 3 books from the library by the 2 authors you mentioned.
Each day I am learning more and more to relax. I know the biggest thing is that I want to PROVE that I did something for hubby. He is still on the fence with homeschooling so if I show that we're more relaxed and not doing as much as the school, he gets kinda worried. I can talk until I'm blue in the face and he doesn't quite get it.
On the otherhand, he doesn't ask much about it anymore since we've been doing it for more than a month now.
I'm ready to give up science. He watches so many shows on TV that are science related already (The Magic School Bus, The Cat and the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Mythbusters, Storm Chasers, Zooboomafoo, Wild Kratts, Bill Nye, and on and on). He learns better through TV than anything else.
And you're right about the train thing. He found at the library a box with 12 Thomas Phonics books. They are similar to Bob Books except totally related to Thomas and Friends. He devoured them.
I planned on, once he got a little older (and my 2 year old got older and not such a handful - I do the bare minimum now because of him lol) that we are going to learn all the trains in order from when they were made. So basically the history of trains. I might even print each train out on nice paper and somehow make a border in his room of them. Who knows...you're right though. If I bring trains into he's great!
I use My Father's World curriculum and each week the kids have a Bible verse to write. Just a simple one sentence verse...that's it. My son has a fit over it every time. He spends more time complaining about it than writing it out. So now instead of writing the verse (we read it daily and I even have a puzzle that I make each week for him using the words from the verse - so he gets the verse part of it) I am having him rewrite a Thomas book (one of the easy readers). So every DAY he writes a page from the book...before he complained about writing a verse once a week.
I just love how helpful fellow homeschoolers are. My inbox is bombarded by emails by so many thoughtful homeschoolers. I love it! I'm going to look at some board games online and see what math ones are out there.
We are finally onto addition so I'm going to play war with him, but instead of drawing one card...he would draw 2 and add them together. Whichever is higher wins those cards. I'll have to find something else too.
I want him to still do bookwork, but that doesn't have to be every day or the main thing.
I'm also learning to USE the curriculum and not FOLLOW it. (that's one thing that link you gave me said to me that I really like)
-C~
**** My response ****
10/20/11
C~
I am SO JEALOUS that they now have Thomas phonics books!! I may buy them just because I miss Thomas so much!! We used the BOB books on our boys too.
When I read about Zaboomafoo and the Kratt brothers we all said, "OH YEAH!!!! We remember those!" Your reply brought back many happy memories for the whole household!! Thank you so much!
When you wrote:
I planned on, once he got a little older (and my 2 year old got older and not such a handful - I do the bare minimum now because of him lol) that we are going to learn all the trains in order from when they were made. So basically the history of trains. I might even print each train out on nice paper and somehow make a border in his room of them.
I think that is a WONDERFUL idea!! My husband and sons all agreed. We also liked the card game (War) idea! My 15 year old said, "we haven't played that in a long time, we should just for fun!"
I have no tips on how to "win over" your hubby, but keep at it and soon he will see just how polite and SMART his children are. I would make some (whispering) comparisons to my hubby when we'd see other children misbehaving or not comprehending. Not to embarass the other child, but just to point out that our children learned differently. For instance, when my guys were about 5 years younger, we came across a family where the children (of the same age) did not help with clearing away the supper dishes, they were sassy and they did not know some simple things around the kitchen. Like spices - they didn't know what seasonings were. They also had no clue on how to take care of their laundry. Now, I'm alright with doing the laundry for my guys, but I want them to know HOW do take care of it in case I am ever ill and cannot get it all done. Which, happened to us!!! My boys had to help with everything for almost a year while I was laid up on the couch - that was also our very best year hs'ing --- according to my children. My point though it to quietly point out what your children know to your husband. They don't learn all of the 'good stuff' in public school. Make sure he hears that - even if you are blue in the face.
Please feel to write again if you'd like, I love pen-pals!
Hugs n' blessings to you and your family,
Tyra
**** COMMENT ****
10/18/11
Hi Tyra,
I loved reading your post this morning. It is so encouraging to know that you have succeeded in teaching your two boys the love of learning. I also have two boys ages 7 and 8. In fact, it is 8 am in California and they are outside playing with the 4 chickens they have learned to raise. Your words allowed me to realize that I don't have to stress about academics. Already, they have shown such more improvement in their learning styles by just listening to Mystery of History and Apologia:Flying Creatures of the 5th Day. I am homeschooling them for the 3rd year, everyday is different yet wonderful all at the same time.
Thanks again for your words of wisdom. I hope that you share some more on this group. I pray that your sons will continue to represent the Lord well. Their success is a wonderful encouragement to other homeschooling families. Congratulations Tyra for a job well done!
His Best,
M~
**** MY REPLY ****
10/19/11
M~, I'm so glad you enjoyed my post and that it was encouraging to you. Your boys are 7 & 8 - you are just starting out! I'm so happy for you. Part of my family is from California - I would have love hs'ing out there! So many outdoorsy things to do with your boys. If I had the choice I think I'd live in northern Cali. Or Pacifica. Somewhere near lots of hiking but within a day's drive to Hwy 1.
However, Wisconsin is pretty wonderful too. We just stop when the mosquitos get really hungry! LOL
My oldest son really enjoyed Myst. of Hist.
We have the whole high school Apologia set. I also like the Astronomy book.
Another fun set for boys: Christian Liberty Nature Readers Books 1-5 All about animals and bugs!! The typeset is a bit larger for those developing eyes. No color pics, but there are pen & ink type drawings. If the God-thing bothers you, I don't recal there being a big issue of scriptures, but the phrase, "God made..." is used frequently. I think, however, that the scientific information contained in the 5 volumes is greater. My guys just loved 'em!! Even took them into the bathroom with them!! LOL
Your response made me cry! I've printed it off for my keepsakes and I plan on posting it onto my blog on my homeschooling page. It means lots to me!
Thank you are Maria, please feel to write anytime - we hs'ing Mommas gotta stick together!
Hugs n' Blessings,
Tyra
**** COMMENT ****
10/18/11
I just wanted to say "What a wonderful answer - I want to be in your homeschool!" - sounds like you've enjoyed your boys! Thank you for the wonderful perspective that you've added here - it was much needed.
**** Comment**** 10/18/11
Wow, Tyra, thanks so much for all the useful information.
I have requested 3 books from the library by the 2 authors you mentioned.
Each day I am learning more and more to relax. I know the biggest thing is that I want to PROVE that I did something for hubby. He is still on the fence with homeschooling so if I show that we're more relaxed and not doing as much as the school, he gets kinda worried. I can talk until I'm blue in the face and he doesn't quite get it.
On the otherhand, he doesn't ask much about it anymore since we've been doing it for more than a month now.
I'm ready to give up science. He watches so many shows on TV that are science related already (The Magic School Bus, The Cat and the Hat Knows A Lot About That, Mythbusters, Storm Chasers, Zooboomafoo, Wild Kratts, Bill Nye, and on and on). He learns better through TV than anything else.
And you're right about the train thing. He found at the library a box with 12 Thomas Phonics books. They are similar to Bob Books except totally related to Thomas and Friends. He devoured them.
I planned on, once he got a little older (and my 2 year old got older and not such a handful - I do the bare minimum now because of him lol) that we are going to learn all the trains in order from when they were made. So basically the history of trains. I might even print each train out on nice paper and somehow make a border in his room of them. Who knows...you're right though. If I bring trains into he's great!
I use My Father's World curriculum and each week the kids have a Bible verse to write. Just a simple one sentence verse...that's it. My son has a fit over it every time. He spends more time complaining about it than writing it out. So now instead of writing the verse (we read it daily and I even have a puzzle that I make each week for him using the words from the verse - so he gets the verse part of it) I am having him rewrite a Thomas book (one of the easy readers). So every DAY he writes a page from the book...before he complained about writing a verse once a week.
I just love how helpful fellow homeschoolers are. My inbox is bombarded by emails by so many thoughtful homeschoolers. I love it! I'm going to look at some board games online and see what math ones are out there.
We are finally onto addition so I'm going to play war with him, but instead of drawing one card...he would draw 2 and add them together. Whichever is higher wins those cards. I'll have to find something else too.
I want him to still do bookwork, but that doesn't have to be every day or the main thing.
I'm also learning to USE the curriculum and not FOLLOW it. (that's one thing that link you gave me said to me that I really like)
-C~
**** My response ****
10/20/11
C~
I am SO JEALOUS that they now have Thomas phonics books!! I may buy them just because I miss Thomas so much!! We used the BOB books on our boys too.
When I read about Zaboomafoo and the Kratt brothers we all said, "OH YEAH!!!! We remember those!" Your reply brought back many happy memories for the whole household!! Thank you so much!
When you wrote:
I planned on, once he got a little older (and my 2 year old got older and not such a handful - I do the bare minimum now because of him lol) that we are going to learn all the trains in order from when they were made. So basically the history of trains. I might even print each train out on nice paper and somehow make a border in his room of them.
I think that is a WONDERFUL idea!! My husband and sons all agreed. We also liked the card game (War) idea! My 15 year old said, "we haven't played that in a long time, we should just for fun!"
I have no tips on how to "win over" your hubby, but keep at it and soon he will see just how polite and SMART his children are. I would make some (whispering) comparisons to my hubby when we'd see other children misbehaving or not comprehending. Not to embarass the other child, but just to point out that our children learned differently. For instance, when my guys were about 5 years younger, we came across a family where the children (of the same age) did not help with clearing away the supper dishes, they were sassy and they did not know some simple things around the kitchen. Like spices - they didn't know what seasonings were. They also had no clue on how to take care of their laundry. Now, I'm alright with doing the laundry for my guys, but I want them to know HOW do take care of it in case I am ever ill and cannot get it all done. Which, happened to us!!! My boys had to help with everything for almost a year while I was laid up on the couch - that was also our very best year hs'ing --- according to my children. My point though it to quietly point out what your children know to your husband. They don't learn all of the 'good stuff' in public school. Make sure he hears that - even if you are blue in the face.
Please feel to write again if you'd like, I love pen-pals!
Hugs n' blessings to you and your family,
Tyra
**** COMMENT ****
10/18/11
Hi Tyra,
I loved reading your post this morning. It is so encouraging to know that you have succeeded in teaching your two boys the love of learning. I also have two boys ages 7 and 8. In fact, it is 8 am in California and they are outside playing with the 4 chickens they have learned to raise. Your words allowed me to realize that I don't have to stress about academics. Already, they have shown such more improvement in their learning styles by just listening to Mystery of History and Apologia:Flying Creatures of the 5th Day. I am homeschooling them for the 3rd year, everyday is different yet wonderful all at the same time.
Thanks again for your words of wisdom. I hope that you share some more on this group. I pray that your sons will continue to represent the Lord well. Their success is a wonderful encouragement to other homeschooling families. Congratulations Tyra for a job well done!
His Best,
M~
**** MY REPLY ****
10/19/11
M~, I'm so glad you enjoyed my post and that it was encouraging to you. Your boys are 7 & 8 - you are just starting out! I'm so happy for you. Part of my family is from California - I would have love hs'ing out there! So many outdoorsy things to do with your boys. If I had the choice I think I'd live in northern Cali. Or Pacifica. Somewhere near lots of hiking but within a day's drive to Hwy 1.
However, Wisconsin is pretty wonderful too. We just stop when the mosquitos get really hungry! LOL
My oldest son really enjoyed Myst. of Hist.
We have the whole high school Apologia set. I also like the Astronomy book.
Another fun set for boys: Christian Liberty Nature Readers Books 1-5 All about animals and bugs!! The typeset is a bit larger for those developing eyes. No color pics, but there are pen & ink type drawings. If the God-thing bothers you, I don't recal there being a big issue of scriptures, but the phrase, "God made..." is used frequently. I think, however, that the scientific information contained in the 5 volumes is greater. My guys just loved 'em!! Even took them into the bathroom with them!! LOL
Your response made me cry! I've printed it off for my keepsakes and I plan on posting it onto my blog on my homeschooling page. It means lots to me!
Thank you are Maria, please feel to write anytime - we hs'ing Mommas gotta stick together!
Hugs n' Blessings,
Tyra
**** COMMENT ****
10/18/11
I just wanted to say "What a wonderful answer - I want to be in your homeschool!" - sounds like you've enjoyed your boys! Thank you for the wonderful perspective that you've added here - it was much needed.
