We had always sorta planned on sending Alana to visit her class for the Valentine's Day party. We had been signed up to bring a treat, and I thought it may be a good time for a visit. Partly, it was sort of a "I hope this will make you feel better as I pull you out of school" kinda thing.
On Monday, we got an email from her teacher saying she had gotten permission for Alana to visit all day, if she chose to. Of course, she did. I was SO nervous all week. I knew she'd have a good time....everyone would be very nice and welcoming to her....and then she'd want to go back. Lots of praying, I did....lots.
As I drove her to school, she said it was the best day of her life. Great.
I ended up taking Erin to the Valentine's Day dance they have for the Kindergarten thru 2nd graders at the end of the day....she was bored and missed Alana a lot. I knew she'd have a blast with her friends....and she did.
Alana, not so much. She was NOT happy to see me there with the camera. She hates dancing...at least in front of people (gets that from her dad)...she just looked miserable. When we picked her up at her class, her "best friend" McKenzie started crying because Alana was leaving again. I told M that we'd have to set up a time for her to come over and play...I felt so bad for her. As we walked out, it was like being transported back in time...to the Alana who went to public school. She was quiet, angry, sad, and wouldn't talk. We had to stop at the library... she wouldn't come in.
After about 5 minutes at home, she finally warmed up. I was convined she hated me and wanted to go back to school.
"Alana, are you mad at me?" "No."
"Did you have a good time?" "Yes. Except I hated the dance."
"Do you want to go back?" "No."
(Mommy does invisible happy dance) Yes!!!! Well, I must be doing something right, after all!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Bad & Good
Sometimes in life, and more often, seemingly, in homeschooling, you just need to learn to take the bad along with the good. Alana was in one of her "moods" again this am. Yesterday, she had been a little lazy and hadn't finished all of her work...so it got put into this am's folder, along with today's work. Well, by the time I was done with my "work" she was over the edge....crying, whining, accomplishing NOTHING! So, in one of my guilt-trip pouts (which usually occur when I'm being too mature to throw a temper tantrum myself) I say, "Fine. We'll send you back to school on Monday." It was an empty threat, of course, and luckily it didn't backfire. She started crying harder..."No, Mommy, I don't want to go back!" See, good....she likes homeschooling better than public. Bad...she still gets in those moods! :)
And you know how God just seems to know when you need him? And sometimes he doesn't answer your prayers in the way you ask him to, but He answers them just the same? I've been feeling discouraged, alone, lonely. Always questioning my ability to do this. Then a friend, Paula, who I luckily ran into at hubby's Christmas party (which I did NOT want to go to) puts me in touch with Julia, a 5-yr veteran of homeschooling. When I called her she was SO friendly and supportive...just what I needed. She's a keeper for sure!
And then last night, after a long day of school and a church meeting, when I usually read homeschooling books or Christian books, I decided instead to spend a few minutes with my "Organization for Scrapbookers" book...an easy read. And there I found (well re-found) a spread featuring Kelli Crowe...a very talented scrapper AND a homeschooler! So, this am I did a search, found her blog,
http://kellicrowe.typepad.com/kellicrowe/random/index.html
and discovered another place for inspiration and encouragement. Yeah God!
And you know how God just seems to know when you need him? And sometimes he doesn't answer your prayers in the way you ask him to, but He answers them just the same? I've been feeling discouraged, alone, lonely. Always questioning my ability to do this. Then a friend, Paula, who I luckily ran into at hubby's Christmas party (which I did NOT want to go to) puts me in touch with Julia, a 5-yr veteran of homeschooling. When I called her she was SO friendly and supportive...just what I needed. She's a keeper for sure!
And then last night, after a long day of school and a church meeting, when I usually read homeschooling books or Christian books, I decided instead to spend a few minutes with my "Organization for Scrapbookers" book...an easy read. And there I found (well re-found) a spread featuring Kelli Crowe...a very talented scrapper AND a homeschooler! So, this am I did a search, found her blog,
http://kellicrowe.typepad.com/kellicrowe/random/index.html
and discovered another place for inspiration and encouragement. Yeah God!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Growing Pains
Yep, I admit, despite all that I've read about the typical homeschooler' first year (tears, bumps, more tears, etc) I really thought we'd be different. Welcome to reality...we're not!
By the end of our third week, the girls were angry and in tears, and I was very dissillusioned. Their biggest (and basically only) complaint was that I was being too hard on them...too much work that was just too difficult. It was a wake-up call for me. Erin's in Kindergarten...she's used to counting, learning letter sounds, singing, cutting, gluing and playing. Just because I see untapped potential in her, doesn't mean I should tap it all out at once. Time to relax, Mom. I had fallen into one of the homeschooler's first year traps...trying to prove my (and my children's) abilities to the world. I wanted to show how successful and smart we could be by pushing them.
This attitude to my complaint. I had pictured homeschooling as being snuggled on the couch reading great literature in our jammies. Going for nature hikes with a notebook, camera and magnifying glass. I imagined a slower, less scheduled, more relaxed way of life. And here I was, dictated by a self-created schedule, screaming at my stressed out kids to hurry up and get done with their math cuz it's time for science/math! First of all, do you know of a Kindergarten, or even 2nd grade class that teaches science or history. Right.
So, last week, I tried to relax. I dumped the schedule and stopped watching the clock. If we didn't get to science or history, then so be it. My girls are still getting more one-on-one attention than they would be in school. Academically, they'll be fine.
I also had a wake-up call from God. These are His children, on loan to me. I had already realized my responsibility to educate and protect them...hence me bringing them home. However, with all of this science and history work, I had been neglecting the most important subject...God. Time for me to refocus.
Things are going well. The girls seem happy. They appear to be getting along much better than they did when in school...even after being together all day. And they don't hate me either...most of the time anyway. And, now that I've relaxed a bit, I'm happier, too.
We went on our first field trip on Friday...the EC Children's Theater production of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". I love that book! I'm always threatening to move to Australia! The girls won't let me, though. (They have crocs, you know.)
By the end of our third week, the girls were angry and in tears, and I was very dissillusioned. Their biggest (and basically only) complaint was that I was being too hard on them...too much work that was just too difficult. It was a wake-up call for me. Erin's in Kindergarten...she's used to counting, learning letter sounds, singing, cutting, gluing and playing. Just because I see untapped potential in her, doesn't mean I should tap it all out at once. Time to relax, Mom. I had fallen into one of the homeschooler's first year traps...trying to prove my (and my children's) abilities to the world. I wanted to show how successful and smart we could be by pushing them.
This attitude to my complaint. I had pictured homeschooling as being snuggled on the couch reading great literature in our jammies. Going for nature hikes with a notebook, camera and magnifying glass. I imagined a slower, less scheduled, more relaxed way of life. And here I was, dictated by a self-created schedule, screaming at my stressed out kids to hurry up and get done with their math cuz it's time for science/math! First of all, do you know of a Kindergarten, or even 2nd grade class that teaches science or history. Right.
So, last week, I tried to relax. I dumped the schedule and stopped watching the clock. If we didn't get to science or history, then so be it. My girls are still getting more one-on-one attention than they would be in school. Academically, they'll be fine.
I also had a wake-up call from God. These are His children, on loan to me. I had already realized my responsibility to educate and protect them...hence me bringing them home. However, with all of this science and history work, I had been neglecting the most important subject...God. Time for me to refocus.
Things are going well. The girls seem happy. They appear to be getting along much better than they did when in school...even after being together all day. And they don't hate me either...most of the time anyway. And, now that I've relaxed a bit, I'm happier, too.
We went on our first field trip on Friday...the EC Children's Theater production of "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". I love that book! I'm always threatening to move to Australia! The girls won't let me, though. (They have crocs, you know.)
Monday, January 7, 2008
Just keep swimming....
Four days into it. How am I feeling? A bit overwhelmed. Still nervous and scared. A tad disappointed. But not ready to throw in the towel. I promised myself I'd stick out this year no matter what.
It's really not that bad. The days have litterally flown by, so I guess it's not "drudgery". It's simply just a matter of adjusting to a new life...all of us. I admit, so far it's not what I imagined. I had dreams of snuggling on the couch, reading classic literature to two adoring and totally absorbed girls. Instead, I have one who "hates" handwriting and phonics and wants to do harder and harder math (Erin), and another who rocks at spelling, but is sooooo slow at math and copy work.
It's mostly me. I have to figure out where they are in their learning, and then come up with a way to meet them there with the curriculum I have on hand. I have to figure out how schedule our day, making sure I am able to do one-on-one time with each when needed. And as soon as I figure this all out, Tony will go back to school and I'll have to go back to working in the mornings, and then I'll have to figure out the schedule all over again!
I'm realizing, though, that I need to carve out "me" time very quickly. For the past two months, this is all I have focused on. Not scrapping, organizing, exercising, reading for pleasure...just schooling. I had an "aha" moment last night regarding my time management. When the girls were in school, I had sort of "stopped everything" at 3:30 when they got home from school, so that I could be with them and available to them. Well, if I spend all day with them, there's really no reason that I can't have "my" time once we're finished with school. Hence, me here now. :)
Bottom line is that I'm grateful I read as much as I did before beginnig this journey. Learning from the experience of others, I know that this feeling passes, and things eventually do get easier.
Until then, just keep swimming...
It's really not that bad. The days have litterally flown by, so I guess it's not "drudgery". It's simply just a matter of adjusting to a new life...all of us. I admit, so far it's not what I imagined. I had dreams of snuggling on the couch, reading classic literature to two adoring and totally absorbed girls. Instead, I have one who "hates" handwriting and phonics and wants to do harder and harder math (Erin), and another who rocks at spelling, but is sooooo slow at math and copy work.
It's mostly me. I have to figure out where they are in their learning, and then come up with a way to meet them there with the curriculum I have on hand. I have to figure out how schedule our day, making sure I am able to do one-on-one time with each when needed. And as soon as I figure this all out, Tony will go back to school and I'll have to go back to working in the mornings, and then I'll have to figure out the schedule all over again!
I'm realizing, though, that I need to carve out "me" time very quickly. For the past two months, this is all I have focused on. Not scrapping, organizing, exercising, reading for pleasure...just schooling. I had an "aha" moment last night regarding my time management. When the girls were in school, I had sort of "stopped everything" at 3:30 when they got home from school, so that I could be with them and available to them. Well, if I spend all day with them, there's really no reason that I can't have "my" time once we're finished with school. Hence, me here now. :)
Bottom line is that I'm grateful I read as much as I did before beginnig this journey. Learning from the experience of others, I know that this feeling passes, and things eventually do get easier.
Until then, just keep swimming...
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Baptism by Fire...
I've spent the last two months barely thinking of anything else. Tons of reading, research, planning and prayer finally put into action. I finished my daily schedule on New Years Eve (exciting life, I know!). Today was our first day homeschooling.
We stayed pretty much on schedule. I had planned to start at 10am with Dad in charge til 11am when I'm usually done with work. But with Tony home on vacation, I've given him my working hours, freeing me up in the morning. But thanks to a late night watching Dirty Jobs, I didn't get going til 10am anyway.
We began with a half hour of "Calendar" time, consisting of today's date and then important people or events of this date (or in today's instance, yesterday's date), such as Austrailia becoming a Commonwealth, the opening of Ellis Island (both providing a bit of map time), and the birthday's of Paul Revere and Betsy Ross.
This was followed by a half hour of math. Erin was bored. She went through her first two 1st Grade lessons and a wad of worksheets. But she still wasn't happy....she want's "pluses & minuses". So, I may have to push her through faster. Alana, on the other hand, took much more time than I had figured. I had thought her first few lessons of 2nd Grade math would be very easy for her, but she only made it through one lesson and half of a worksheet. I'm not sure if this is due to the lesson being too difficult, or Alana being slow and methodical. I'll have to watch that.
We then spent an hour talking about the Vikings and how their childhoods differed from ours for History. It was a little boring, I admit, since I had to use material printed from the internet as my library books haven't come in yet.
Then lunch break. We next tackled Language Arts for Alana, Phonics for Erin, and handwriting for both. Erin was bored again. She claims she already knows what we're talking about, but I really don't want to take any chances....I'm trying to teach her to read, for Heaven's sake! We read a book, had some free play before Daddy left for work, and then wrote stories.
Overall, probably a success. Both miss their friends. Erin was a bit dissillusioned and bored. I realize I need to change things for her. She wants tougher math and more artsy-crafty stuff. And more "mom time". I admit, I had pictured more cuddling on the couch with a book...and we had barely none of that. And Alana just wants more art. So, we have a few kinks to work out, but that's expected, I guess. No worries....I'm not giving up yet! At least the day flew by for me!
After dinner I'll reassess my plans for tomorrow. I need to anyway, as we're going to visit the Kindergarten tomorrow at 2... for a project and much-needed social time. Hopefully, Erin won't refuse to come home!
We stayed pretty much on schedule. I had planned to start at 10am with Dad in charge til 11am when I'm usually done with work. But with Tony home on vacation, I've given him my working hours, freeing me up in the morning. But thanks to a late night watching Dirty Jobs, I didn't get going til 10am anyway.
We began with a half hour of "Calendar" time, consisting of today's date and then important people or events of this date (or in today's instance, yesterday's date), such as Austrailia becoming a Commonwealth, the opening of Ellis Island (both providing a bit of map time), and the birthday's of Paul Revere and Betsy Ross.
This was followed by a half hour of math. Erin was bored. She went through her first two 1st Grade lessons and a wad of worksheets. But she still wasn't happy....she want's "pluses & minuses". So, I may have to push her through faster. Alana, on the other hand, took much more time than I had figured. I had thought her first few lessons of 2nd Grade math would be very easy for her, but she only made it through one lesson and half of a worksheet. I'm not sure if this is due to the lesson being too difficult, or Alana being slow and methodical. I'll have to watch that.
We then spent an hour talking about the Vikings and how their childhoods differed from ours for History. It was a little boring, I admit, since I had to use material printed from the internet as my library books haven't come in yet.
Then lunch break. We next tackled Language Arts for Alana, Phonics for Erin, and handwriting for both. Erin was bored again. She claims she already knows what we're talking about, but I really don't want to take any chances....I'm trying to teach her to read, for Heaven's sake! We read a book, had some free play before Daddy left for work, and then wrote stories.
Overall, probably a success. Both miss their friends. Erin was a bit dissillusioned and bored. I realize I need to change things for her. She wants tougher math and more artsy-crafty stuff. And more "mom time". I admit, I had pictured more cuddling on the couch with a book...and we had barely none of that. And Alana just wants more art. So, we have a few kinks to work out, but that's expected, I guess. No worries....I'm not giving up yet! At least the day flew by for me!
After dinner I'll reassess my plans for tomorrow. I need to anyway, as we're going to visit the Kindergarten tomorrow at 2... for a project and much-needed social time. Hopefully, Erin won't refuse to come home!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
We begin the journey....
that began over 2 years ago. During the summer leading to Kindergarten, Alana begged me to homeschool her. She didn't want to go back to school. Although it really wasn't a case of a coddled baby clinging to her mama (she had already completed two years of 4-Year Old Kindergarten), I was afraid to give in to her desires for fear of being over-protective. Not generally one to buckle to public opinion, I was, admitedly, scared to "rock the boat" to that extreme. So, after a couple of weeks of online research and discussions with an "absolutely not"-minded husband, I gave up the idea. The homeschooling seed, however, had been planted and continued to grow.
Looking back, I believe I was not in the right place to consider homeschooling, which is a very good reason not to do it! I think of it like marriage...if you have to talk yourself into it, it's not the right time. But now is the right time. It's been a rough year for Alana. In fact, when the girls arrived home on their first day of school, I had the camera at the ready (of course!) only to be met with two angry, frustrated faces. I never was able to get a picture of a smiling face that day.
Alana has just grown more angry, frustrated and emotional by the day. A typical day includes her getting off the bus and entering the house either slamming doors and yelling, crying in her room or fighting with her sister. "Hate" has become a word used way too often by her. I get her calmed down after a half hour or more, just to have her explode again at the mention of homework. Her father sees nothing of this. He's at work. So, it's harder for him to understand the frustration and sadness that drives my decisions.
Erin, although generally happy with the social aspect of school, is already bored and feeling "held back". She is seriously smart and loves to learn. Every day she tries to read and do math that her sister is doing, while at school, she's learning to count and write letters.
Through none of this do I blame the teachers or the school. I know they do the best they can, with the number and multi-leveled students they have. They cannot personalize their schedule or curriculum to suit my children. I can.
It was in a discussion with my sister that I realized I was finally ready to homeschool (funny, it was also after spending time with her that I became a born-again Christian!) In my praises of homeschooling, I finally realized that I am in a position to do it...that God has givin me the gifts and abilities to serve my children. Aha! I saw the lightbulb. And I set to work showing Barry the light. I'm not sure how many homeschooling books have been read since the beginning of November. I just know that all other aspects of my personal life took a backseat to the research. Can I do this? How do I do this? Barry became convinced, yet still a bit skeptical. He won't truly believe until he sees it working. That's ok. This isn't a lifelong commitment...more of an experiment. Can this work for our family?
Why this blog? I've read so many stories from other homeschooling families...and they'll never know what a help they were to me. So, partly, this is a chance for me to share my story in the hopes of helping someone else. This adventure is also a major life change, and I think it deserves documenting. We'll be able to see how far we've come. And although we've been blessed with lots of support for our decision by friends and family, I realize that there is some doubt in their minds. Can this work? Will the girls become sheltered outcasts? Will they learn anything at home in their jammies? This blog will be a place for them to check in on us to see what we're learning.
I say "we" because I'm convinced that by homeschooling my girls, I'll gain more knowledge than I ever retained in my years of public schooling. And, nerd though I may be, that excites me! I'm looking forward to being able to dive into literature, the Bible and history in ways not available to the girls at school. I'm excited to bring the girls home...to be the one guiding them through their education while strengthening our family unit. Lack of socialization? I'm beginning to think that's a good thing. Our society is not doing well. Families are weak. Morals are nearly nonexistant. It's more important that my girls can communicate with their Lord and family than be able to text their friends about that latest gossip, movies or music that I don't approve of. Call it a journey to simpler times. Call it getting my girls back. This is our road home.....
Looking back, I believe I was not in the right place to consider homeschooling, which is a very good reason not to do it! I think of it like marriage...if you have to talk yourself into it, it's not the right time. But now is the right time. It's been a rough year for Alana. In fact, when the girls arrived home on their first day of school, I had the camera at the ready (of course!) only to be met with two angry, frustrated faces. I never was able to get a picture of a smiling face that day.
Alana has just grown more angry, frustrated and emotional by the day. A typical day includes her getting off the bus and entering the house either slamming doors and yelling, crying in her room or fighting with her sister. "Hate" has become a word used way too often by her. I get her calmed down after a half hour or more, just to have her explode again at the mention of homework. Her father sees nothing of this. He's at work. So, it's harder for him to understand the frustration and sadness that drives my decisions.
Erin, although generally happy with the social aspect of school, is already bored and feeling "held back". She is seriously smart and loves to learn. Every day she tries to read and do math that her sister is doing, while at school, she's learning to count and write letters.
Through none of this do I blame the teachers or the school. I know they do the best they can, with the number and multi-leveled students they have. They cannot personalize their schedule or curriculum to suit my children. I can.
It was in a discussion with my sister that I realized I was finally ready to homeschool (funny, it was also after spending time with her that I became a born-again Christian!) In my praises of homeschooling, I finally realized that I am in a position to do it...that God has givin me the gifts and abilities to serve my children. Aha! I saw the lightbulb. And I set to work showing Barry the light. I'm not sure how many homeschooling books have been read since the beginning of November. I just know that all other aspects of my personal life took a backseat to the research. Can I do this? How do I do this? Barry became convinced, yet still a bit skeptical. He won't truly believe until he sees it working. That's ok. This isn't a lifelong commitment...more of an experiment. Can this work for our family?
Why this blog? I've read so many stories from other homeschooling families...and they'll never know what a help they were to me. So, partly, this is a chance for me to share my story in the hopes of helping someone else. This adventure is also a major life change, and I think it deserves documenting. We'll be able to see how far we've come. And although we've been blessed with lots of support for our decision by friends and family, I realize that there is some doubt in their minds. Can this work? Will the girls become sheltered outcasts? Will they learn anything at home in their jammies? This blog will be a place for them to check in on us to see what we're learning.
I say "we" because I'm convinced that by homeschooling my girls, I'll gain more knowledge than I ever retained in my years of public schooling. And, nerd though I may be, that excites me! I'm looking forward to being able to dive into literature, the Bible and history in ways not available to the girls at school. I'm excited to bring the girls home...to be the one guiding them through their education while strengthening our family unit. Lack of socialization? I'm beginning to think that's a good thing. Our society is not doing well. Families are weak. Morals are nearly nonexistant. It's more important that my girls can communicate with their Lord and family than be able to text their friends about that latest gossip, movies or music that I don't approve of. Call it a journey to simpler times. Call it getting my girls back. This is our road home.....
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