So, I guess we're moving?!

If you're reading this, you're probably a close personal friend, so you've probably already heard (or read on facebook) that we're moving back near my childhood hometown.  But, you may not have heard our story.

At the end of last year (2014), Ben had some vacation time left over, so we decided to spend a week with my family in my hometown.  It was a really nice week.  We all got along really well, and just enjoyed our time together.

Well, the next week, (December 30 to be exact), Ben and I were talking about our future, when he mentioned that he thought we should move to my hometown.  To be honest, I was in shock.  For many years I had wanted to move back, and the timing wasn't right.  But now, moving wasn't even a thought of mine.  I had assumed that we'd remain here forever. We have great friends, a wonderful church family, great neighborhood, Ben loves his job and the company that he works for, we found a great homeschooling community, etc.  So we prayed about it, asked a couple of others to pray for us as well.  And, we started applying for jobs.

Everyday I would spend 30 minutes or so looking for a new job for Ben.  He'd apply to any of them that he thought he'd enjoy.  He heard back from someone, but the pay wasn't right.  So we continued searching.  Two weeks ago, I did a google search on the best companies to work for in my hometown, and found a company in his current industry.  So, on January 26 (we think, the date is a blur), he applied for a position that was very similar to his current position.

Within two days, they called him and screened him as a potential candidate.  They wanted him to come in for an interview the next day.  So, he did.  The interview went well.  They informed him that the reason the position had opened was because the previous employee unexpectedly retired earlier that month.

Well, three business days later, they offered Ben the job.  They LOVED him and made sure he knew that THEY wanted him to work with them.  They negotiated salary (they raised the offer to get him on board).  And we talked it over and prayed about it.  The next day, he accepted his new position and resigned from his current position.

He begins his new job on March 2.

Let me backtrack for a moment.  When we first talked about moving, we thought it would be a very lengthy process.  Months.  And instead, the biggest part, getting a job, took only a few weeks.  Really, just a blink.  And through it all, we truly felt that God led us here.

• Many years ago, when I craved my hometown, we couldn't move back.  Our very best friend was here, and we would never leave him.  Well, in recent years, he's gotten married (to a WONDERFUL woman) and gained a new family, and he's going to be a dad next month!
• I had a very strong relationship with one of my friends here.  Our relationship is still strong, but in the past year, she's really bonded with another friend, and I'm so happy she has her now.
• Ben's mom was single, but in December, she got married.  She's very happy, so we know she's taken care of.
• We've become involved in Classical Conversations, and because of that, I've seen how easy it was for my children to make friends, so that part isn't scary.
• The job that Ben applied for wouldn't have been open until this very month.
• We were planning on taking a pay cut to be closer to family, but that all worked out better than we thought. 
• When he accepted his new position, he also asked for a couple of weeks off for a vacation and camp week we have scheduled, and they granted that too.

I feel like the timing is perfect.  And I can't believe how it's worked out.  It's been fairly simple (only because of God), and VERY quick.  But now, we have a house that I don't consider to be market-ready, and it needs to be sold.  FAST.  And, we need to find a new house.  It's going to be so much work, but I feel so much peace.  If God has provided everything else, I know He's got the house thing figured out too.

School Choice Week!

Did you know this week is school choice week?  We are so incredibly fortunate to have a choice in our children’s education.  Whether you choose public, private, or homeschool (which is illegal in some countries), we get to choose what’s best for our children.  I know many of my friends are content with their decision in education – if that’s you, carry-on.  If, however, you’re even a little interested in homeschooling, please read on; I’d love to share a little about our life.

We’ve been homeschooling for almost three years.  To be honest, it was a very difficult decision.  I didn’t want them to miss out on having friends (the great socialization myth!), and I felt inadequate to be in charge of their entire education (gulp!).  So, after much prayer and advice from friends, we decided to give it a try.  We were committing to one year, and then at the end of the year, we would re-evaluate.

Well, you know how that first year ended.  We began our second year, then our third.  Lord-willing, next year will be our fourth year.

I enjoy being with my children.  Maybe it’s a little selfish, but I want to spend all day with them.  I know that before long, they’ll be grown, and then I won’t see them as often.  In homeschooling, I have more time with them.  And I savor it. 

Not always.  Sometimes it’s really tough.  Sometimes I need a break, sometimes they need a break.  I was not equipped with super-patience. Sometimes we grow frustrated. But, over time, I’ve discovered that when they grow frustrated, often that means that we’re working on something that they’re just not ready for.  So, we back off and try again later.  I love that we can customize their education, and go at their pace based on their ability and skill level.

I get to teach them.  It’s the most amazing feeling when you hear your struggling reader read for the first time.  It’s amazing to watch your child (who HATES handwriting) develop a love of cursive.  When something questionable comes up, we get to discuss it together. 

I learn from them.  I’ve learned so much with them this year.  I hated history when I was in school, but now I can’t get enough.  I’ve learned some Latin, and the Presidents in order, and all the capitals of the US.  I’ve also learned how to live in the moment and not worry about being adequate.  I’ve learned (the hard way) how to be more patient.  We take it day-by-day, and learn what we want. 

They’ve made so many friends.  And they’re not all the same age.  I remember when I was younger, I was afraid of older kids.  It may be because I didn’t have older siblings, or because in school, we stayed with kids in our grade, or maybe it was my own insecurities.  My children love to play with children of all ages.  We meet most of the kids at church, gym class, or our co-op, so I know their parents, which is awesome too.

Now to be totally honest, I will tell you that this is the first year ever (so far) that I haven’t considered sending them to school the next year.  It can be really challenging, but so rewarding.   

Enjoy this week.  No matter how your child is educated, celebrate the fact that we have an option.  We are all so blessed!  Happy school choice week!

Birds, Bees, and Babies

Yesterday, we had 'the talk'.  Well, sorta.  We had an age appropriate (for my kindergartener and first grader) study on babies and where they come from.  I know this subject can sometimes be a tough one for parents, so I wanted to share what we did.

First we talked about where most babies today are born (hospitals). Then, we talked about how 100 years ago, not many people had cars and may have lived far from their neighbors - where would their babies have been born?  What about thousands of years ago when people lived in caves?  Or baby Jesus?

Next, we started reading.  Our book list - along with notes is below:

• The Story of Me - this book is designed for ages three through five, but I thought it was perfect for my kids.  Some things I really liked about this book: God is the focus - it talks also about how God wants babies to be born to married people.  It is written in story format - it's basically parents answering questions to their four year old son.  I also liked that the story quickly mentioned inappropriate touching and that we don't have to share our love with people if we don't want to.  Something I also want to mention is that they use the actual names for genitalia - I know this will make some people uncomfortable.  I read the book as is, and the kids didn't really ask questions about the proper names. (phew!)
• The Birds, the Bees, and the Berenstain Bears - this is a pretty 'safe' book.  It uses terms like 'womb' and 'birth canal'.  It is pretty generic, definitely appropriate for a younger audience.  It's mostly a cute story.  A good follow up to this story is The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five.
• Usborne Internet Linked Children's Encyclopedia - I love this encyclopedia.  So much content.  And, there's internet activities for each page (more info down in the internet links section).  We focused on pages 108-109.  It used the words 'sperm' and 'egg', but didn't describe how the sperm got to the egg (which, I think is totally fine as I'm not sure that my children would be ready for that conversation!).  

After doing some reading, we talked about babies and decided to do some searching online.  Here's some links that we enjoyed.

• Usborne Quicklinks - these are the links for pages 108-109 in the Children's Encyclopedia.  We especially liked the 'pictures' of the growing baby.
• Video of baby growing inside of mother - this is an animation beginning with conception until the baby is full grown.  It wasn't the clearest video - poor pixel quality (or something... I'm not really techy).  I really liked it though.  We watched it without sound - I don't really care for the soundtrack, but that's just me.
• Week by week ultrasound pics - this was great.  We enjoyed seeing the pictures of the developing baby.  There were some 4D pics, so it was neat to see the babies moving.  This is another one that I muted.  I just didn't care to listen to "We are the children."
• A home water birth - this starts with a family who is excitedly waiting for their newest addition to arrive.  They prepare for the baby's birth.  Then, the mother goes into labor.  You can tell she is uncomfortable, but I love the way her husband stays with her, supporting and comforting her the entire time.  Her other children peek in from time to time to see how the mother is doing.  Then, it happens!  You see her baby come out, but the mother's 'parts' aren't visible.  It is beautiful.  Totally made me cry (and it just may make you want another baby!).  Then, the whole family greets the baby by having a first birthday party for her.  Amazing, and beautiful.  

If you wanted to, you could incorporate some Bible verses as well.  Some of my favorites are:

• Psalm 139:13-16 - For you formed my inward parts;
      you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
  ¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
  Wonderful are your works;
      my soul knows it very well.
  ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
  when I was being made in secret,
      intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
  ¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
  in your book were written, every one of them,
      the days that were formed for me,
      when as yet there was none of them.
• Psalm 127:3-5  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
      the fruit of the womb a reward.
  ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
      are the children^[a] of one's youth.
  ⁵ Blessed is the man
      who fills his quiver with them!
  He shall not be put to shame
      when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. 

There are many, many resources out there.  What have you used to have 'the talk' with your young children? 

January Recap

January was a great month.  My little guy turned seven (how is that possible?!), we made some much-needed changes in our home and homeschool, and we had lots of quality time with family and friends.

The first week of January was good.  Every year we have a New Year's party, so this year was no different.  As we get older, the party ends a little earlier, but we still had a wonderful time with our friends!  I also began my fast from Facebook.  I mentioned in this post that part of the reason that I quit was so that I could devote more time to focusing on family.  To be honest with you, Facebook was becoming an idol to me.  I was spending so much time on it and it was constantly in my thought process - for example, whenever someone took a picture of me, I would make sure the photo was Facebook-worthy.  I spent time on it when I should have been doing other things.

We also started making some changes around the house.  I've started washing one load of laundry every day, which has been helped me to be more productive.  I'll put away one load at a time.  If I try to do more, the clean clothes will sit in a hamper for a week before I put them away.  I try to get the kitchen cleaned each night before bed so that I don't have a mess to wake up to.  I do dishes throughout the day, and clean/pick up things throughout the day.  Otherwise, I won't have energy to do it all at the end of the day.  And, I take Sundays off.  Sunday is family and church time.  Not cleaning, running around time.

Our children went to a fun kids event without us (they were with an adult family member).  It was really scary for me because I am always concerned that something will happen to them when I'm not there.  But, it ended up being great.  Ben and I got to go out to breakfast together and then go to the mall for the afternoon.  I can't remember the last time we (just the two of us) went out for breakfast, it was definitely needed.

X-Man had a family birthday party which was very nice.  He also had a friend (as in, HIS (under 18) friends) party. We had it at our community center, and the kids got to run around, play games, and burn energy! It was on a super-snowy day - church was actually cancelled that day, so we didn't get everyone we had expected, but it was still a lot of fun. 

We've started reading a chapter (or two) of a novel to each child every night.  I was rushing their bedtime routine, then Little Lou would come out of her room every night asking to be snuggled.  Then, as soon as she asked for snuggles, X-Man came out for snuggles.  It ended up being stressful and taking way longer that it should have - so Ben and I weren't able to spend much uninterrupted time together.  So, we each take a child to bed.  Then, Ben or I read one or two chapter of their book to each child in their bed.  It gives us snuggle time, and gets them sleepy so they fall asleep quicker.  X-Man and I just finished a Magic Treehouse book, and Little Lou is working on Charlotte's Web.  X-Man is into History, so the Magic Treehouse books are perfect for him (Little Lou probably wouldn't pay attention to these books at this time), and Little Lou loves animals, so Charlotte's Web has been great for her - X-Man doesn't seem to like books that are obviously fictional (talking animals and whatnot, whereas Little Lou does).

For school, we changed our planning as well.  As I mentioned in this post, I was spending each night prepping for the following days lessons.  We changed that too.  Now, on Saturday, I write our entire weekly schedule on a white board.  We erase each thing as they are completed.  This past week it worked really well for us.  We began reading A Grain of Rice, and on Tuesday (the second day), the kids were HOOKED.  They wanted for us to keep reading, we read the entire book in two days instead of four.  I just erased the assignment from Wednesday and Thursday and added new books.  Also, if we fall behind, we can leave uncompleted assignments on the board for us to finish later in the week.  For example, for the first time ever, X-Man is struggling with his math work.  He wants to rush so he forgets to regroup.  He already completed his lessons in the Math-U-See book, so I've been creating new worksheets for him.  One thing that has helped is making his math problems multiple choice answers.  That way, if he doesn't get one of the answers I have listed, he HAS to go back and figure out where he went wrong.

I also made my first sensory bin for the kids.  It's Valentine's themed and Little Lou is LOVING it.  She's been playing with it all morning. There's shreds of paper; foil; felt hearts; red, pink, and white pom-poms; cups; spoons; tongs; heart cookie cutters; small red and silver presents; and pink, white, and red foam squares, beads, and gems.  It's messy and fun, and since everything goes right back into the box, it's easy to clean up.

 We attended two Classical Conversations open houses and have decided to join.  We are attending one more next week, so at that point we'll make a decision on which campus to attend, but we're pretty excited about it.  In fact, registration begins today for next school year, so I'll be doing that soon. 

All in all, it was a great month.  The weather wasn't always cooperative, we had gym class cancelled because of snow, and have had a few days with sub-zero highs.  But at least the snow is pretty, and we can stay inside if we want.

Now, onto February and the countdown to Valentine's Day.

A Series of Fortunate (homeschool) Events

Remember this post?  It's the one where I talked about how we made a couple changes and now school is glorious and easy and blah blah blah?  Well, as is usual - the week after I posted that, we changed our minds.  Again.  It seems that whenever I make a public proclamation, something happens to make me change my mind and do a total 180.
I don't know if it's weather, or losing mid-year steam, but the kids turned into monsters.   I was seriously doubting that we'd be able to homeschool.  My patience was gone.  My kindness was gone.  I was frustrated and counted down the seconds until my hubby came home each day. 

Then, a series of fortunate events unfolded.

First, as I mentioned, my children were acting like monsters (I'm certain they couldn't have learned this from their mother...  Right?!) .  I felt that if we were stuck in the house together all day that arguments would ensue and everyone's mood would be negative.  It just so happened that we had a heatwave last week and the temperature rose to 45 and sunny.  So, I did what any true Ohioan would do - I decided we would spend all day outside burning energy.  We packed up and spent time at the zoo.  We guessed which animals would be outside by considering whether they were warm blooded or cold blooded and which part of the world they lived in - quite educational.  As we were walking the zoo (along with maybe two or three other families), I realized that we wouldn't be able to do this if we didn't homeschool.  I also realized that my decision to 'escape' for the day, was okay - it's alright to leave home and experience life - in fact, that's one of the reasons we started homeschooling.  And it was really nice to spend some time enjoying each other while learning.

Second, we joined a homeschool gym class.  The kids LOVED it.  They got to run around with other kids their age and play games.  I began talking to a mom there and she mentioned that she was a part of Classical Conversations and it just so happened that the next day was their open house - more on that in a second.  When we got home from gym class, the kids behaved so well!  They got along much better with each other and seemed to listen better too.

We decided to attend the open house at Classical Conversations.  I'm glad we did.  The day begins with a prayer and the pledge.  They then break up into groups with other kids.  They learn some geography, history/timeline, Latin, science, math, and a few other things (we had to leave early so we missed some).  The kids seemed to enjoy it - Little Lou said that she liked it, X-Man said it was too early in the morning, but I think he enjoyed himself.  Again, when we did our schoolwork, they listened really well and got along with each other for the rest of the day.  I have since met with the director and she gave me some more information and I asked a few questions.   She said that if we're interested in joining, that I could actually be hired on as a paid tutor since I have previous homeschooling experience.  So there's a lot of opportunity there.

We're also going to attend some private school open houses in the next month, just so that we can see what's out there before we make our decision for next year.  But again, as of this moment, we're leaning toward homeschooling.  Come back soon to hear how I've changed my mind again (smiley!). 

Back to School

Almost all of my state's schools were closed at least two days this week to cold weather (highs just barely broke zero degrees Fahrenheit).  But, in our homeschool, it was our first full week back from Christmas break.  And, it went REALLY well!

Last year (beginning of 2013) I made some changes in the new year which helped things to go more smoothly during class time.  I think Christmas break is a really good time to evaluate how things are progressing, get organized, and reevaluate curriculum/schedule/priorities.  I knew we needed to make some changes, and (one whole week into it!) so far, things are going well.

Nightly Prep
I had gotten into the habit of waiting until each morning to go over plans for class time.  Now, each night, I spend some time diving into the next day's work.  I skim everything we are going over the next day, and make an easy-to-follow schedule on the whiteboard.  On the whiteboard, I also include any discussion questions I want to go over, which really helps things to go smoothly.  When I wake up the next morning, I have additional  ideas that I wouldn't have had if I would have waited until the morning to go over the curriculum.

I also make sure all the resources and materials I need are in the classroom and are easy-to-find.

Hot Breakfast
Often, as I'm going over the days plans, I get the kids a quick bowl of cereal.  Since I've been getting everything ready the night before, I can spend time making them a nice, hot breakfast.  And, I can sit with them and eat with them - it is wonderful!  We talk about our day, and spend time getting into the right mindset for school.  As they get dressed, I can get the dishes done from breakfast.

Expanded Quiet Time
This was an issue I tried to resolve last year as well.  We were only spending a little bit of time in the Bible each day - just the daily amount recommended our curriculum.  Now we've been adding to that.  Each morning, X-Man spends some time reading a Bible or devotional book to himself.  Little Lou isn't quite reading, so I'll either read to her (whatever Bible story or devotional book she wants) or put in one of our Bibles on CD for her to listen to.  I also try to spend some time in the Word when she's listening to her CD. 

Then, we read a devotion together from a book that contains 365 devotions - they're geared toward small children, so they're short and perfect for my little people.

Clean as we go
By the end of the day, our homeschool room is a mess.  Papers, pencils, toys, craft supplies, everything.  Well, not now.  As we go, they must pick up everything they had out for the previous subject.  This also gives them some time to get up and move around.

Two Language Arts Sessions
This has been one of the biggest helps and positive changes in our day.  Before, I would have both kids work on their Language Arts work, and ask me for help as they went along.  Well, Little Lou still needs help with almost everything, and X-Man gets very frustrated with handwriting.  So, as a solution, for our last subject of the day, we do Language Arts in two sessions.  During the first session, I work directly with one child.  This means sitting there and kindly reminding them how to properly write their letters as they go.  If they start getting frustrated, I can spot it right away; instead of frustration ending in screaming or crying, I spot it, we take a deep breath or take a break and play with floam/playdoh/snuggle a stuffed animal.  During this time, the other child has options on what they can do.  They can write, color, read/look at books, do fine motor work, puzzles, Boggle, or even an educational app on my phone.  Once the first child has completed their language arts work, they switch.

Since it's our last subject of the day, they can continue working on whatever they would like as soon as both are done with their work.  I then have them stay in the classroom with me (contained mess) while I get everything ready, for the next day.

The Two Minute Rule
I get very overwhelmed when I see a sink full of dishes, or stacks of laundry in the hampers, or clutter.  Before, I would wait until the end of school to get any house work done.  This often meant that I rushed through the day so that I could do a quick clean-up before the hubby got home. Sometimes that quick clean up turned into a half hour or more of clean up. Now, I use the two minute rule.  If something will take me less than two minutes to do, I do it right away.  It could be wiping the kitchen counters, washing the dishes from breakfast, sharpening pencils as they break, filing school work in their portfolios, throwing a load of laundry in the washer, wiping the toothpaste off the sink, etc.  As long as it takes less than two minutes, if it will bother me to leave it, I just do it right away.  Then, when we're done, I don't have more work to do.  I can get right into dinner preparations.

It's amazing to me how a few easy modifications can make a world of difference.  Due to a few, minor changes, school is much easier, and it was pretty painless.  What changes have you made in the new year?

Day 3 - Facebook Fast - Why I Need a Change in Priorities... Or do I?

When the hubby came home last night, I informed him: "Yesterday, I was certain we were going to do private school next year.  But, today, I decided that I think I want to homeschool."

His reply: "How much of this decision has to do with going to Disney World?"

"Um... Not, er... Not muuuch..."

And his response: "Well, none of this decision should be about Disney."

GUILTY. 

Now, to be honest, part, as in, like, 5% of my decision is based on travel.  I love that the last two years we were able to go to Disney World during the slow season.  We had low prices, low crowds, and got 'free' dining.  Had we traveled when most do (summer, holiday breaks), we would not have been able to get as much as we did for as little as we did.  It would have been miserable - long lines, big crowds, hot weather...  No thanks!  Sure, some places are best seasonally, (beach, seasonally opened resorts); but, some are best when no one else is there...  And, it just so happens that WDW is one of those places. Also, if we were to send them to private school, unless the hubby got a giant promotion, regular travel would fall out of reach for us.

So, yes, it (travel, WDW) did have a place in my current decision (which, again, will likely change several times).  Flexibility is one of the biggest pros for homeschooling.  When the other kids are in school, we get our zoos, museums, parks, to ourselves.   We can take vacations whenever we want.  We can take advantage of huge discounts at touristy places during the week while school is in session (we recently went to the biggest waterpark in the US and stayed in a suite with our friends for a total of $80 for our family's two day admission tickets and hotel).  I plan their doctor appointments for when other children are in school.  I do my grocery shopping when others are at work or school.  I love that part. 

After talking to the hubby, I felt a little guilty about travel being such a priority.  Then I thought about it some more.  Some of my favorite childhood memories are when we traveled.  It was time as a family with minimal outside distractions.  I always learned something without realizing that I was learning. 

These kids won't be little for long.  I want them to have cherished memories of us as a family. I want them to remember the times they spent having wonderful experiences, not the hours they spent sitting in a classroom.  I want them to see their learning come to life before their eyes.  Bottom line: I won't feel guilty about allowing travel/flexibility to be a part of our decision process.  It is a huge pro, and should we decide to homeschool next year, we'll take full advantage of this awesome benefit.

Day 1 and 2 - Facebook Fast

Today is the second day of my Facebook fast.  So far I've only typed facebook.com in the URL maybe five times.  Which raises a red flag - I wasn't thinking of going on facebook, but apparently that was the main site I was visiting since this was an automatic thing...

Anyways, a long time ago, yesterday, when I started this non-facebook journey, I was 95% sure that I wanted to send the kids to private school.  I've been spending time doing some research and am now about 75% sure that I want to homeschool next year.  I'm sure that I'll be waffling quite a few times in the upcoming month, so I'm excited to see what our decision is going to be - are you on the edge of your seat too?!

Come back soon - I'll be posting often :)

Why I'm Giving Up Facebook... For Now.

Most of my readers are people that I know in real life; and, most of these people are connected to me on Facebook.  I have a feeling this post won't get many views until February since my main 'marketing' technique is posting on Facebook that I've added a new blog post.  Also, there's something to be said about consistency - of which I have none. 

Anyways, earlier this week I announced that I would be off of Facebook for the entire month of January - that announcement was mostly for accountability.  If I publicly profess that I'll be abstaining from Facebook, then it's more likely that I will actually stay off.

I also want to be more transparent, so, I thought I'd let my few faithful readers know why I have decided to (at least for this month) give up Facebook.

Facebook is a major time-suck for me.  If I'm bored, I get on Facebook.  If I don't want to clean/wash dishes/do laundry/do homeschool, I get on Facebook.  Basically, it is an escape and an enabler to my procrastination.  And, I need to face a big decision without distraction.  I need to spend more time in prayer and research and less time in distractions.

So, here goes. 

Homeschool is not easy.  Even with only two kids, it's not easy.  And, in some ways, I just want to give up.  I don't want them to fight constantly and I don't want to argue with them everyday about handwriting.  But I also (to be fair), haven't been giving it my all.  I've been lazy and I've been selfish, and it needs to stop. 

This month we're going to attend some open houses for Christian schools in our area to see what they have to offer.  I'm going to be spending the time that I normally would have spent distracting myself (on Facebook), in prayer and spending time with my children putting their education as a MUCH higher priority in my life.  I'll also be making pro and con lists and asking for advice from probably everyone I know...  So, if you are a praying person, won't you pray for discernment for us? 

I truly have no idea what our decision will be, but we want it to be the best decision for them.  I don't want it to be a fear-based decision nor a pride-based decision.  I want it to be a faith-based decision that puts their needs first.  I want to be open to what God wants for them and I want for us to find peace in this decision.  I'm sure I'll be posting much more on this in the upcoming days/weeks/months, so stay tuned.

For now, Happy New Year!  Come back soon!

Our Disney World Curriculum

If you're here to check out our pre-Disney World curriculum, I wanted to make things a little easier and have a list of each day's lesson/books/activities.  So, here you go!

Day 1 - North America
Day 2 - Italy, Germany, and France
Day 3 - Norway and UK
Day 4 - Asia and Ocean Life
Day 5 - Africa and Additional Ideas

Hope this makes navigating a little easier.  I am so glad that we took the week before our trip to do some studying on countries in Epcot.  Last year, my kids really didn't enjoy Epcot; this year they LOVED it.  We could have spent a few days there.  Another thing we did was try foods from many of the countries while we were there, of course they really liked that too!  Some of our favorites were the lamb and chicken platter from Morocco; chocolate croissants, ham and cheese croissants, and napoleons in France; Kaki gori in Japan; school bread in Norway; and the chocolate gelato in Italy (this is not part of the meal plan, but totally worth the splurge!).  We also had dinner at the Rose and Crown in the UK, so they had fish and chips there along with a super yummy dessert.

Like I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we plan on creating an additional post with trip tips and some of our favorite moments.  We haven't completed this yet, so please check back!

Disney World Curriculum - Day 5 - Africa and Additional Ideas

Today was our last day of the Disney World curriculum.  We focused on the one remaining (and, my personal favorite) country in World Showcase: Morocco.  Since Morocco is in Africa, we thought it would be a great time to learn about some of the animals at Animal Kingdom. 

Africa

• National Geographic DVD: Swinging Safari 
• National Geographic Little Kids book: African Animal Alphabet by: Beverly and Dereck Joubert
• Water for One, Water for Everyone by: Stephen R. Swinburne
• We All Went on Safari by: Laurie Krebs

Morocco

• The Children of Morocco by: Jules Hermes
• The Storytellers by: Ted Lewin
• Mirror by: Jeannie Baker (this one was really neat - it compares the lives of a family in Australia to a family in Morocco)
• We also watched Aladdin - partly because it was helpful so that I could get some work done
• We tried mint tea - you would've thought that I tried to poison X-Man (and I wish I would've had the event recorded!)

We did a few other things today too - I looked up some info on the architecture and landmarks at World Showcase.  I look forward to being able to share information on the martyrdom of St. George in Germany, and the church in Norway, I think they'll enjoy trying to figure out which totem pole is the real one in Canada, and seeing the Terracotta Army in China.  I think our preparation is going to make Epcot much more enjoyable for them this time around.

We've also been listening to Disney music as we rented a few CDs from our library.

Additional Ideas

We decided to skim a lot of information this week.  I think when they're older, I'd love to go back to Disney after a more intensive curriculum.  Here's some additional ideas that we just didn't get time to do:

• practicing with money
• time (keeping track for shows, etc)
• reading the non-Disney versions of fairy tales and comparing them to Disney versions
• write a new ending to a fairy tale
• write a new fairy tale
• write a dialogue between two characters from two different stories
• practicing reading maps
• looking for spiritual applications in movies/stories
• creating packing lists
• creating foods from various countries
• physics and magnetism - how rides work

We have packing lists ready and our house sitter in place.  We're getting pretty excited and can hardly wait to get there!  In the next few weeks, I hope to add additional information and tell you all about our trip.

Thanks for reading -  "See ya real soon!"

Disney World Curriculum - Day 4 - Asia and Ocean Life

Wow, isn't it amazing how quickly time flies when you're busy?  I'm so glad that we decided to take a break from our regular curriculum this week.  It's given me more time to prep for our trip (which, somehow, there's still so much more to buy/do/plan than what we've already completed) and learn new things to prepare us for our trip.

You'll notice that almost all of our curriculum has been based around World Showcase, and there's a reason for that.  The least stimulating parts (for young children) of WDW include World Showcase and Animal Kingdom (more on that tomorrow).

So, today, we focused on China, Japan, and Ocean Life (Epcot's aquarium is pretty cool!).

We started in Japan.

Japan

• National Geographic Website
• Japan by: David F. Marx
• We also had rice for lunch, tea with our snack, and talked about Hello Kitty (Little Lou's favorite!), also, since Japan is an island nation, we decided that it would be a good intro to ocean life.

Ocean Life

• Ocean by: Cassie Mayer
• Coral Reef - this book mysteriously went missing as I was typing this
• Tell Time with Turtles by: Melissa McDonnell
• Out and About at the Aquarium by: Amy Rechner

China

• National Geographic Website
• Postcards from China by: Zoe Dawson
• Chinese New Year by: Nancy Dickmann
• The Emperor's Silent Army by: Jane O'Connor (we looked at the pictures and discussed each one)
• Watched Mulan - prior to our last trip, I hadn't ever seen this movie - I was really missing out.  Mulan has a wonderful message about loyalty, friendship, and bravery.  Plus, it empowers women, which I think is refreshing.

Over the past few days, we've also done a few supplemental (FUN!) activities.  We've gone on long walks to prepare them for the walking they'll be doing, we've played "Just Dance: Disney" as PE, we've talked about our must-see attractions, we've worked on reading maps, made some iron-on shirts for our trip, and we've watched some videos (only a few).

Tomorrow, we'll be learning about Morocco and African animals (AK safari!).  Stay tuned :)

Disney World Curriculum - Day 3 - Norway and England

I think today was my favorite day of our Disney World lessons so far.  I learned quite a bit about England (it's embarrassing how much I didn't know).  I also realized just how gorgeous Norway must be (though, COLD!).  You'll notice we didn't have an art lesson to go along with today's countries.  That is because a month or so ago, I signed them up for a two hour art and creativity class for this afternoon.  There wasn't time or energy today.  Tomorrow is a new day though!

England

• National Geographic Website
• England By: Kay Melchisedech Olson - mostly skimmed this one
• A to Z England  By: Byron and Rebecca A. Augustin
• Postcards From Great Britain By: Helen Arnold (this one was one of my favorites!)
• Skimmed through National Geographic Kids: Everything Castles By: Crispin Boyer
• We talked about a few words that differ in American English from British English (loo vs toilet, trainers vs. sneakers, sweets vs. candies, etc.)
• We talked about characters from England, including: Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Pongo and Perdita and others from 101 Dalmations, Mary Poppins, and Alice

Norway

• National Geographic Website
• A Primary Source Guide to Norway By: Elizabeth Rose
• Norway By: Elaine Landau
• Three Billy Goats Gruff - many Norwegian stories a centered around trolls, so we thought this would be a good additon
• Last week in our normal homeschool curriculum, we also discussed vikings, so we talked about that for a few minutes today too

 I do hope you'll check out the National Geographic Website - the videos they post are about things that aren't typically covered in traditional kids books, which I think is refreshing.  There are also breathtaking photos (especially the one of the Northern Lights in Norway).

Tomorrow, (I think) we'll focus on Asia.  Or Morocco...  I guess you'll have to remain in suspense until then!

Disney World Curriculum - Day 2 - Europe (Italy, Germany, France)

Yesterday was a pretty busy day, which is part of the reason I am just now posting this.  Epcot World Showcase has five European countries, which I thought was too many for one day.  We chose to focus on just three.  Here's what we did yesterday:

Italy

• National Geographic Website - this is a wonderful resource (since we just found out about it yesterday, we also looked up the countries we learned about on day 1).  There's photos, facts, maps, and videos about several countries.
• Find Out About Italy By: Patricia Borlenghi
• Michaelangelo By: Diane Stanley - we mostly skimmed through this, but enjoyed looking at his work.
• We also talked about Pinocchio being from Italy.

Germany

•  National Geographic Website
• A Look at Germany By: Helen Frost
• We talked about how Snow White is from Germany (at least in World Showcase!)
• I learned that many composers are from Germany - Beethoven, Bach, Brahams, Schumann, and Wagner just to name a few.  So, we listened to a few songs:
• Brahms Lullaby
• Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata 

France

• National Geographic Website 
• Find Out About France by: Duncan Crosbie
• We talked about which Disney characters are from France, including Belle and the Beast, Aurora, The Aristocats, Remy and others from Ratatouille

Europe - Art

For an art lesson, I had them decide which country's flag they would like to make.  Since all three of these countries have simple designs, I thought it would be good cutting and pasting practice.  Little Lou chose Italy, and X-Man chose France.

Stay tuned.  Our next blog post will be about England and Norway.  We're getting so excited for out trip, and learning about the various countries is making it even more exciting! 

Disney World Curriculum - Day 1 - North America

Next week, we'll be in my favorite place, THE Walt Disney World Resort!  We're so very excited, and since we are homeschooling, we really want to make the trip as academically rich as possible.  We've decided to take a break from our normal curriculum this week and instead focus our studies on subjects and themes that can be enriched by our experiences at WDW.

I've had a hard time finding Disney lesson plans from other homeschoolers, so I thought I'd post our resources here in case it would help another family.

Today we began in North America (or, at least, the North American countries represented in World Showcase).

North America

• We Live in North America By: Susan Ring
• Famous Places of the Word, North America By: Helen Bateman and Jayne Denshire (we kind of skimmed this one)

1 - Mexico

• History/Geography
• Mexico By: David F. Marx
• 1, 2, 3 Suddenly in Mexico: The Protective Jaguar By: Cristina Falcon Maldonado (this may be my new favorite (geographically, historically rich) book series
• Mexico's Great Pyramids - National Geographic DVD (we only watched 15-20 minutes of this as it was a little dry and talked about human sacrifice (Mexico in World Showcase looks like a Mayan Pyramid)
• Fine Motor
• Lego pyramid

• 

2 - Canada

• History/Geography
• Canada By: David F. Marx
• Niagara Falls By: Sarah De Capua
• Totem Poles By: Jennifer Frantz (Two faux and one real totem pole in World Showcase)

• Fine Motor/Art 
• Stamped totem poles onto construction paper

3 - The United States

• History/Geography
  
  • America the Beautiful - A Scholastic book
  • Florida By: Carmen Bredeson
  • Celebrating Florida By: Marion Dane Bauer
  
  
  • Landmarks
  • The White House By: Susan Ashley
  • Visit Independence Hall By: Alexander Wood (Hall of Presidents is modeled after this)
  • The Liberty Bell By: Nancy Harris (Replica in Liberty Square)
  • Biographies
  • Mark Twain By: David and Patricia Armentrout (Co-host of American Adventure, also, ties to Tom Sawyer Island)
  • The Life of Ben Franklin By: Maria Nelson (Co-host of American Adventure)
  • Walt Disney By: Joanne Mattern 
  • Read About Walt Disney By: Stephen Feinstein

• Literature
• Tiny Dreams, Sprouting Tall: Poems about the United States By: Laura Purdie Salas 
• Brer Rabbit Down the Well Retold by: Louie Stowell (Br'er Rabbit is the main character of my favorite ride - Splash Mountain)
•  Br'er Rabbit Caputred! By: Jean Cassels
• Meet Me in the Magic Kingdom By: Kathy Jakobsen

• Art
• Created Hidden Mickey's by reusing recyclables
  
  
  
  Please check back tomorrow for day two of our Disney World curriculum.  Thanks for stopping by!

Countdown to Disney! The Grey Stuff...

I'm super excited to say that very soon, our family will be heading back to Disney World!  We're going with some of our very best friends, and can hardly wait.  We've been watching lots of Disney movies, and I'm shopping for clearance and sale items to take on our trip.  Tonight, I began creating a Disney homeschool curriculum for the week prior to our trip.  Once I have the (50 plus) books I requested from our library, I plan on posting more details about the curriculum in case it would help anyone else.

But for tonight, I wanted to share an idea that was inspired by this pin on Pinterest.  The plan was to theme meals to our movies.  That didn't exactly happen tonight (and, I failed to get photos as everything was delicious and promptly inhaled), but the idea was to watch Beauty and the Beast.  (What actually happened is three other movies - but still, it was the thought that counts, right?!).  For dinner, we had American-French-inspired food: croissants with cheese and ham, french fries, and veggies.  For dessert, we made a special treat: the grey stuff ("Try the grey stuff, it's delicious!  Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!").  It was very tasty.  I contacted Lisa at The Disney Diner and was granted permission to share this yummy recipe with you!  Please note: while ours was delicious, we scooped it into cups so it wasn't the prettiest dish - her presentation is gorgeous, and looks like photos I've seen of the grey stuff at Be Our Guest Restaurant at Disney!

So, without further ado - the grey stuff.

Please let me know about your fun countdown to Disney ideas - we're always looking for ideas to make this time even more exciting.  As always, thanks for reading!

One Week In

We're just over a week into homeschool, and so far, we're loving it.  Sonlight's materials have been wonderful - they grab our attention much better than last year's curriculum did.  I've also been checking pinterest for art activities to go along with our History lessons.  We've also figured out a schedule that works really well for us and keeps us on (a very loose) schedule.

Here's a list of the weeks highlights:

As I mentioned, we figured out a schedule, so each day, we know what happens next.  Below is our schedule:

1. Bible - I feel that it's important to begin every morning in God's word.
2. History
3. Art - normally our art projects go along with our history lesson.  Some projects we've done (relating to cave people) include cave painting (we created a dark, cave-like area for them to paint in), bone painting (using a straw to blow paint - they would've used a hollowed out bone), and making a coracle (a type of boat used by the first people).  We also do Spanish during this time.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Reading - their reading selections are the same, so it makes sense to me to do these earlier in the day.
5. Math - they use different math books and sometimes have to separate to watch their weekly DVD.
6. Next, we always do lunch.  I try to get them something fun to do, like an educational game or fine motor activity while I make lunch.
7. An afternoon activity.  This could be physical education, gross motor games, music, an additional art project, or health class.  We've even made desserts on slow days, just so that they have something to do (hey, measuring and planning count as homeschool lessons too!).
8. Language Arts - they each have a different book, and handwriting lessons.  Sometimes they aren't able to work independently, so I'll have one play with a cash register, educational game, a workbook, or color.
   
9. Science - they have the same science curriculum, so it's nice to have them back together at the end of the day.  Also, I love science, so I like keeping it for the end of the day, almost like a treat.
10. The very last scheduled thing we do each day is a small journal entry about something we've learned.  For example: "I would (or would not) like to be a caveman because ________," or (when learning about emotions in health class) "Something that makes me happy/angry/sad/scared is _________. " This also gives me time to write out the next days activities on our whiteboard.
11. At the end of the day, sometimes we'll go to the pool (PE!) or play outside, or make dinner. 

So far, school is going really well.  X-Man has had a tantrum nearly everyday which has been completely exhausting (we've decided to go back to gluten-free to see if that helps), but as far as the materials go, we're very pleased thus far.  Little Lou is so excited to have her own school books and has been wonderfully behaved most days.  I plan on keeping this blog updated as the school year continues - so stay tuned.

Also, just as a heads up, I am no longer comfortable with posting many photos of my children on this blog.  So most photos that you see of them are going to be poor quality, or of the side of them, but probably not a portrait.

Curriculum 2013-2014

Just in case anyone was wondering, I wanted to share out curriculum choices for this year.

• Core (History, Language Arts, Bible): Sonlight Core A - I absolutely fell in love with this package when I saw it at a homeschool convention.  Last year we used Heart of Dakota, and it was okay; however, my kids didn't like the reading selections.  We really enjoyed their Bible and History, but we were ready for a change.We also purchased Sonlight's kindergarten and second grade readers/language arts.
• Science: Sonlight A.  Luckily, we found this on ebay in like-new condition.  I'm also pretty excited about this (it came with several books and a DVD). Last year we used Apologia.  I think Apologia would work well for older kids, but it didn't work well for my kids.  It was a big text book that in my opinion wasn't reader-friendly for younger children.
• Math: Staying with Math-U-See.  Little Lou will do Primer, X-Man will do Beta. LOVE MUS.  The only issue I have is that there are 30 lessons and our school year is 36 weeks.  Small issue, but I thought it was worth noting.
• Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears kindergarten and first grade.  Last year X-Man's handwriting improved VASTLY with the help of this program.  We really liked it, so we'll use it again this year.
• Health: Alpha and Omega, Horizons Health 1.  This year we added a health program.  It looks like it covers quite a bit of info, but only on the surface level.  There's 50 lessons, but they appear to be pretty simple, almost an introduction.
• Additional: We also purchased a PE book, some art appreciation books, and some classical music CDs.  Due to X-Man's fine motor delays, we also purchased a few activities that should help him (Little Lou is VERY interested as well!).

So, there you have it.  There are thirteen more days until school, and I've prepped for two weeks of them so far.  We're pretty excited!  We can't wait to share more with you throughout our school year!

Checking In and (finally) Catching My Breath

As usual, December was a whirlwind.  Actually, the last few months have been a whirlwind.  I'm finally able to sit down and catch my breath.  And, I wanted to update ya'll.  Okay, so we have a few friends from Texas, and I now say ya'll - not often, but sometimes.  I swear, I pick up dialect like some people catch colds.

Anyways.  Homeschooling is going very well!  X-Man loves it.  I had a schedule planned earlier in the year - the schedule is no longer applicable.  X-Man has been loving math, so he's a few weeks ahead there.  And, we took our time to study the planet Earth, so we're a few weeks behind there.  We've also added in some Presidential studies (X-Man can tell you the order of Presidents, which number each one was, and the dates of their Presidency - I however, cannot).

Also, we started back (after taking a couple weeks off for Christmas) last Monday, and now we begin each day with a quiet time.  I work on my Bible study, X-Man reads devotions, and L picks out some picture Bibles to look at - she often prays during this time (unfortunately, she thinks this means she can play  but call it praying "No, I'm praying over here!").  Overall, this change has been great!  It gives us time to ease into our day, and starts the day in the right mentality. We also added a basketball hoop to our classroom.  If X-Man starts getting antsy, he can hold the ball (it seems to help him focus) - he also gets to shoot a basket between each subject if he was a good listener.

I feel much more confident, so we often change what we were going to learn about to make it more interesting for them.  We've been using our library and are loving that.  Anything he wants to study is easy to study when you have a fantastic library with tons of resources.  We've been adding activities and games and even movies - all of which have been great.

Our family also started 2013 by adopting a weekly budget.  I take X-Man grocery shopping while Little Lou is at school.  He brings a calculator and keeps track of how much we're spending so that we don't overspend.  I also have him help me cut coupons - this helps him with fine motor skills, alphabetization, and matching similar items.

Little Lou is still loving preschool three days a week.  She is still learning Bible/History and Science with us, we also read some stories before she goes to Preschool.  The days she is home all day are much easier (I thought it would be easier when she was at school). 

Oh, and one more (huge) thing.  Remember when I left my job to begin homeschooling?  We talked about how this meant that we'd be bringing in less money.  Well, God again provided for us in ways that we never planned!  The hubby was offered a new job (a few months ago) that has more than provided the amount of lost income from my old job!  And, he loves his new position.  Again, I'm so thankful and can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year.  And, He has great things in store for you too :)

Thanks for reading!

Thanksgiving - Homeschool Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had a great week.  On Monday, we decided that we would do our last day of regular school before Thanksgiving.  Afterwards, I had them watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving while I made their lunch.  What did they have for lunch you ask?  This:

Yes, we had the menu from Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Except, they don't really like jellybeans, so I gave them Mike and Ikes instead.  I didn't tell them what they were having, and they were so cute when they made the connection.  I hope they remember this for a long time, it was fun (and delicious) for me.