Week 5: It's Not Just the Kids Who Learn Things!

Do you know what a comma spice is? I do, now. I have a Master's Degree. I wrote more research papers during high school, undergrad, and grad school than I can count; but I honestly had no idea what a comma splice was. I remember Dr. J, one of my graduate professors, writing it on many of my papers. I really had no idea what it meant. I did not ask either. Why? I went to a good high school. I studied grammar. I was supposed to know what it was! So, I attempted to fix them by rewriting the whole sentence. Little did I know how easy the fix was if I had just asked!

Last week the lessons in our Rod and Staff English book were about different kinds of sentences and sentence errors - compound sentences, compound subjects/predicates, fragments, run-on, and the dreaded comma spice!

In case you answered "no" to my first question, a comma splice is the joining of two sentences into a compound sentence with only a comma. You need a conjunction to go with that comma. Simple right? Here is an example:

          Comma Spice: Aidan made cookies, Lilly decorated them.
          Correct: Aidan made cookies, and Lilly decorated them.

That is only one of many things I learned last week. I learned some history, some astronomy, and some geography too. Not everything I learn is academic in nature. I learn to be more flexible everyday. I learn how to meet the needs of my kids. I learn better how to meet my needs for rest and recharging while still caring for my children.

I learned that Matthew can be entertained by acing cards!

Homeschool is not School at Home.

Lilly has struggled with reading and writing. She writes letters backwards. She reverses letters as she reads. She tires quickly when we work on reading. Last week she asked for one of Aidan's cursive worksheets. She has been very artistic since she first learned to hold a crayon, so I gave her a cursive work sheet.  I taught her to sign her name as well as a few of her favorite words. She loves to write in cursive! I would not have tried to teach a 6 year old cursive because that is not what I did in school.

I am learning more and more how to step out of the mindset that things must be done the way they are done in schools. Just when I think I have overcome that mindset - my kids prove that it is still deeply ingrained in my thought processes.

I am Easily Distracted

I plan. Our entire school year is planned in an online planner. I plan crock pot or quick meals for our busy days. We have chore charts. We still always seem to be struggling and fighting to get it all done.

I put my phone and the computer away last week. I don't usually answer phone calls during school, but I will answer a text or check Facebook. Last week I did not. I checked first thing in the morning, and I checked after dinner. There were a few other times I checked Facebook when I was stuck in the car, etc. We were so efficient! We had free time. I was not distracted.

We also kept the TV off for most of the day, and I took the kids out of the house so there would be less computer time.

Everyone Needs Rewards, Even Mom...Especially Mom

I take away computer time. I take away toys. I take away TV time. I send them outside. I send them to their rooms. These are my methods for getting school done. Last Monday was a breeze. It was the best and easiest day of homeschooling we have ever had! We were done with EVERYTHING by 11:30. We had not rushed through anything. We started a little early, and the kids worked hard.

I made a spontaneous decision that we should have a picnic and play at the park. Then we went to the library, the kids favorite place to go. Tuesday and Wednesday went just as smoothly. It was a great week. The rewards they earned by being efficient made an impression.

The time outside, sitting in the sun and watching my children play helped me recharge. We were all happy. I hope to give them more rewards that are not things, but time. Time with me and time doing the things they enjoy. That is the best motivator.

Lilly at Marshmallow Madness

Week 3 - Staying Flexible!

Last week was week three of 4th and 1st grade. It did not go at all according to plan!

Monday was great, Tuesday was great. Wednesday and Thursday, Lilly slept until 1 and I had some studio work to do. We did history, timeline, geography, and science on their assigned days, but Lilly did not do any of the planned reading or math. I downloaded a flash card app on my phone. She did spend a little while each day doing math drills. She did all of the 1s, 2s, and 3s.

Friday, Lilly had a sleepover. She slept in again and we got a little work done, but she was too excited about her party!

Saturday we picked Lilly up at 9:30, ran a couple of errands, came home for lunch, took Aidan to auditions, picked Aidan up, went to the library, and had leftovers for dinner. We made it to bed a little earlier than normal because we were exhausted!

Today, Sunday, we actually made it to morning church service! Then we had to stop at the library to get something Lilly left, we had lunch, Lilly and Daddy went fishing, then Lilly went to her second birthday party of the weekend! We had to stop at the grocery store for a few things, we had dinner and now we are heading to bed!

It has been a busy crazy week! I have had to adapt our school schedule and push some lessons back. I am so happy I found a planner that will just tell me what to do tomorrow. If we did not get to it last week, it will show up on next week's schedule.

Next week, we will do it all! Maybe. If we don't, it will be okay. It has taken 4 years for me to really get used to that idea. I still struggle sometimes, but I know we will finish what we need to by the end of the school year and if not - we will just finish it next year! Flexibility is great; it takes some getting used to but it yields some amazing results!

She may not have finished all of her school work for the week;

but she did some great artwork!

Our First Week of 4th Grade and 1st Grade! (Aug 18-22, 2014)

So, I am a little late with this post. We had our first week of school last week. It has been a whirlwind of a weekend though! My sister was in town and I had to get paperwork in order for the first day of classes at the studio, hire a new teacher, make sure everyone knew their schedules, and prepare for a staff meeting! It's been crazy!

Anyway, back to our first week of school. We finished everything I had planned! Need I say more? That really is quite an accomplishment! (Really, we even did a little extra work. I know, I know - now I am bragging! I'll stop!) We took first day of school pictures. I thought we would get a cute picture on the dome in the back yard. You can see how that turned out.

Our attempt at a fun first day of school picture...they were a mess!

First day of 1st grade.

Monday started out great! I woke my sleepy head, Lilly, up by blasting the Veggie Tales song "Billy Joe McGuffery" through the whole house. I love this song! All of the kids loved it and we had a dance party as we played it a few times. After breakfast we did math, science, history, a president report, Latin, Greek, English grammar, literature, and art. I was so proud of my hard working kiddos!

He would not let me take his picture! He kept making faces!

Tuesday we started the day with a playdate at the splash pad. The kids had fun, and I had a nice visit with friends I had not seen in a few months. It was great! I did totally fail at taking pictures though. We were all too busy having fun. Aidan finished all of his work when we got home. Lilly and I did short school, she is no good for school work in the afternoon. We ended the day with our first FLL meeting. Aidan cannot wait to start programming a robot!

Wednesday and Thursday were just normal school days. They were smooth sailing.

Friday, I attempted something new. We packed up school and went to the library. We waited for Lilly to wake up and so we got there late. Everyone brought their preschoolers after morning preK was over. It was not the quiet, relaxed environment I was looking forward to. Plus, I failed to be sure that my box of school goodies would fit in the stroller - it didn't. This made everything more difficult. I had to lug the heavy box in and trust Aidan to push the stroller with the Matthew.

The kids enjoyed the change of scenery. Matthew played with the trains and puzzles. Aidan and Lilly found a pile of books and movies. I found a few good books as well.

I had promised a trip to the YMCA to swim. It was a good thing I called first - the pool is closed for a couple of weeks! I had one very disappointed fish named Lilly.

Not everything went as planned, but schoolwork happened with little to no fighting. I know that not every week will be so smooth, but I am thankful for such a great start to the year! Now on to week two!

Box Day!

What is box day? Box day is the day that the BIG box full of the year's curriculum arrives at my door. Yesterday was that day! One of the greatest joys in a homeschool mom's year is box day. Maybe it seems silly, maybe it makes us sound a little geeky but it causes joy for so many reasons! I love seeing posts on Facebook with pictures of the boxes of new curriculum. It makes me excited for my friends and impatient for my own packages.

The first thing you notice when you open that box of books in the smell. Nothing beats that new book smell. (Kind of like new car smell, but better.) The new book smell evokes memories of books read and loved - pleasant and relaxing memories. Memories of great joy. There is nothing like starting a new book.

Next you hold the books and flip through them. Looking at all of the new curricula makes you excited for the year ahead. You see all the wonderful things you will teach and learn alongside your children. The beautiful pictures, the amazing stories, the opportunities all excite you.

Box day is the beginning of the new year. The books arrive and I immediately get started planning for the year. I had about half of our curriculum entered into my planner. I got started on our new books as soon as they arrived and I finished it off today. We are ready to start school - we have our books, our supplies, and a plan! Now we just have to wait for the end of theatre camp!

Plans for the Year

I love to see what everyone has planned for the new school year! It is so much fun to look at how many different curricula combinations are out there, but it is also nice to see that some families are doing similar things to us. Even though I know that I have made good choices for our family and for each child's needs, it is validating to see that someone else feels the same way. That said, for those who want to know, this is what we will be doing starting on August 4!

Aidan: 4th Grade

Rod and Staff English 4
Spelling Plus (4th and 5th Grade Lists) with Dictation and Homophones
IEW: Following Narnia
McGuffey's Eclectic Readers
Latina Christiana II
Memoria Press' Greek Alphabet Book
SM Primary Mathematics, Standards Edition 5B, 6A, and maybe 6B

*We will also continue typing and cursive practice.

Lilly: 1st Grade
All About Spelling 1
McGuffey's Eclectic Readers
Bob Books
Explode the Code
Song School Latin
SM Primary Mathematics, Standards Edition 1A and 1B
Life of Fred

Together:
Finish our study of the world's biomes (learn all about that here.)
RS4K Astronomy PreLevel 1
RS4K Biology PreLevel 1/Level 1
Story of the World Volume 4
Memoria Press Geography 1

I plan to be more purposeful with bedtime reading time this year. We have always just let the kids pick from the 100s of books we have in the house and we usually end up reading the same book for weeks! This month it has been Food Hates You Too, which is a great little book of silly poems - but reading it over and over gets old!

Bedtime reading is going to be a part of "school." My husband is on board with reading more classic literature to the kids at bedtime so I have made a list of books I want to finish this year.

I really had no idea where to start! I have lists of good literature for kids, some is broken down by age and others by subject. I have a house full of wonderful literature, I just could not narrow it down to a manageable number for a year of school! My solution was to look at what various companies suggest for each grade. I love everything I have tried from Memoria Press, so I looked there first. I pulled a couple books from the 1st grade list and a couple from the 4th grade list. Some I just knew I wanted to be sure we got to this year. We have already started The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe because good literature just can't wait until the first day of school!

Literature Selections:
Beatrix Potter's Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends
The Courage of Sara Noble
Charlotte's Web
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair

If we finish all of these selections, I have a list ready for next year too!

What are some of your favorite literature selections for elementary aged kids?

Playing Catch Up: Homeschooling Through Illness and Hospitalizations

In April, I had what was supposed to be minor outpatient surgery. I had my gall bladder removed. Due to complications, I had full open surgery instead of laparoscopic surgery. After a night at home I was back in the hospital for the rest of the week due to a biliary leak. I was useless as a homemaker, dance teacher, or a homeschooler for a couple of months. Our house was a wreck, we only finished the very basics of school work, and I got behind on everything!

I have spent the last month playing catch-up. Slowly, our house looks like a home and not a disaster area. We are working through the school work we did not finish, and I am doing a little paperwork every day.

Summer school has been light. We are reading through A Child's History of the World a little each day. We read a few science books, do some activities to support what we are learning, and then we do field trips. We have spent more time at the zoo this month than we did all year, and I love it! We have also been reading some good literature out loud.

For the most part, we are just having fun. We do about 2 hours of read alouds 4 or 5 days a week. We have also spent plenty of time at Mema and Papa's new pool!

Riding the timber wolf after a long swim.

We have two weeks before we start our regular school year, we will keep having fun and see what we get done. We may spend the first month of the new year finishing up work from last year. But that is one of the great things about homeschooling, we could just take that time off. I spent my energy being mom not teacher. The kids did not miss anything while they spent a week with my parents and no one had to worry about getting them to and from school. We all focused on time together and helping the kids not be stressed about how sick I was.

We are almost back to normal around here - well as normal as we every were!

What's for lunch? The Most Stressful Meal of the Day!

Everyone is awake, breakfast is eaten and the mess is cleaned up. The school books come out and everyone works hard. Focus is great! Things are being learned! Everyone is happy. Then it happens, someone says the words that end all productivity - "I'm hungry, what's for lunch?"

You try to keep going. "Let's just finish math, then we will get lunch."

Your attempt fails. "I'm too hungry!"

Your brain starts to race. "What will we eat? I don't want to cook lunch AND dinner! We just finished breakfast. Think of all those dishes that will have to be washed! I wanna go back to bed!"

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day; lunch can be the most stressful for a homeschool mom! Don't panic. Mealtime is only as stressful as you make it. Here are some helpful hints for a stress less lunchtime.

First things first, you know your kids will have to eat lunch. Plan for it. I try to keep a variety of quick and easy lunch options around. Many of them my kids can get for themselves. I try to keep as many healthy options around as possible, and we round out the less healthy meals with fruits or veggies. These staples save me stress at lunch.

frozen chicken nuggets
PBJ
pepperoni and salami
canned soup
Ramen Noodles
boxed pastas (mac n cheese, shells and cheddar, etc)
sardines
planned-overs (strategically planned leftovers)
ready to eat fruits and veggies
cheese
frozen pizza crusts (I make these and roll them out to the size of my stone, and freeze)

My kids can make their own PBJ and chicken nuggets, they can fix a plate of pepperoni, cheese and fruit, and my oldest (8) can make mac n cheese, Ramen, and a can of soup. On days when I am tired or we are very busy, these options allow my two older kids to get their own lunch, and many times get lunch for the toddler as well. When there is cooking I am in the room to supervise, but I can continue lessons with one child while the other cooks, or we can do a read-a-loud.

My second big secret is the use of divided lunch trays! It may seem silly, but it makes thinking about lunch optional. I can talk about math, history, science, or grammar and fill lunch plates and know that we will have a variety of food groups in our lunch. It has also taught my kids to fill their plates with a variety of foods. Each section must hold something different - meat or protein, fruit, veggie, pasta, bread. My 6 year old will fix herself a lunch that looks like this: the large section will have pepperoni and cheese or sardines. One smaller section will have strawberries and the other will have carrots.

Third, what are these planned overs? We have many meals where I purposely cook more than we will eat and then turn the leftovers into a quick lunch. Cook a whole chicken, turn the leftovers into chicken salad or chicken and dumplings, or just a cold chicken sandwich. Leftover tacos become a taco salad. A casserole will get us through 2-3 days of lunches. These can be quick and easy lunches!

Fourth is the one thing that makes our days run the smoothest! I cook lunch and dinner at the same time. I may cook chicken and dumplings for lunch. While that is cooking I fill the slow cooker with a roast and veggies, chicken and BBQ sauce, or dump a premade freezer meal in to start (or get one out to thaw and cook in my Rock Crok 30 minutes before we eat). Other days I prep a casserole or lasagna that just needs to go in the oven right before dinner. Once lunch is over, we clean up from prepping both meals and then go on with our day. When I do two meals at one time, we have a better day.

Finally, turn lunch into a class. Lunchtime is home ec. You can teach so many valuable skills during lunch preparation. Basic cooking and food preparation skills, health and nutrition, cleaning, and team work. This lapbook/unit study from Knowledge Box has some great introductory information. Currclick.com also has several nutrition studies that you can download. Everything your kids do is a learning opportunity. Use them to make your day easier. Check out the options like this lapbook on homeschoolshare.com as well.

Don't let lunch derail a productive school day. The kids have to eat, find ways to make it a stress less meal.