BOX DAY!

Yesterday was what other Sonlighter’s popularly refer to as “Box Day”. It’s the day you anxiously await the arrival of the FedEx Driver because he is bringing a box of shiny, new, never-been-read books! A day some chose to make up rhymes or poems in an effort to speed up the driver, or at the very least make the day go by faster. My boys laughed heartily at me as I stood in front of the kitchen window for the 10th time in an hour and wondered what could be taking FedEx so long! Their laughter increased exponentially as I began to chant:
Oh FedEx man, Oh FedEx Man,
Wherefore art thou FedEx Man?
Your truck, it carries such a load
Our books inside, I’ve been told!
I stand all day and watch the drive,
Waiting for our books to arrive!
Oh FedEx man, Oh FedEx Man,
Wherefore art thou FedEx Man?

The excitement was contagious, and the kids could hardly contain themselves when they saw the familiar FedEx truck in the driveway. “Our Books!”
We sat down and systematically checked off our order with the kids reading titles and me checking them off of the inventory sheet. Putting them back into the box was rather depressing though, so anxious we are to start!
The kids don’t know it, but I got all of the boxes back out by myself last night after they were in bed. I sorted, arranged, pre-read a little, and re-stacked them all in the boxes again. Soon enough we’ll be waist deep in another school year, which looks to be as exciting as this year was!
For those who are interested here is a layout of the coming year:
Gavin
Math-Combination of Singapore Math and Math-U-See
Language Arts-Sonlight Language Arts, Grammar Ace, Spelling Power, A Reason For Handwriting, Word Roots
Science-Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry
History/Readers-Sonlight Core 4 American History pt. 2
Electives-Latina Christiana, Draw Squad
Benjamin
Math-Combination Singapore Math and Math-U-See
Language Arts-Abeka Letters and Sounds with Sonlight Readers Level 1, Language 1, A Reason for Handwriting
Science-Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry
History/Readers-Sonlight Core C Intro to World Cultures
Electives--Art Appreciation, Color Shading
We are really excited about learning Latin. This is something that I’ve never learned before so I will be learning right along with Gavin. Both boys are extremely excited about their Chemistry books. You can see in the picture above that those were the books they wanted to hold when I snapped the camera. By the way, the photo above only shows about half of our books for this year! In the movie Jaws the character, Brody, played by Roy Schnieder says “I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Well folks, I think we’re gonna need a bigger bookshelf!

The Researcher

Gavin has been working hard at his research project. The research phase is over and he has begun to organize his note cards. He did a pretty good job of jotting things down as he read and making notes on printouts. Monday he begins the writing part, the part he most dreads. But I think he will find that since he is pretty well prepared with notes that the sentences and paragraphs will flow fairly easily.
Benjamin’s evaluation is Monday. Please keep this in your thoughts and prayers. We like the psychologist and pediatrician we use, and trust them one hundred percent. But we are embarking on “unknown” territory with this and are hopeful that we have Doctors who will work with Ben on OUR terms. We want to do what is best for him, and that may or may not involve medications at this point. Ben has such a darling personality and is so affectionate and loving. We just worry that if we medicate him those things we love about him might change or become more subdued. I will update with news after the evaluation is over.

Learning: It's the Family Business

Luci likes to be near the boys and me when we are working on school stuff. In the photo above she proudly announces “I’m Reading!”, as she turns the pages of Gavin’s science book. Her favorite topic: Giraffes! No surprise there since that’s her favorite animal at the zoo!
We had a pretty good week, albeit a busy one. I had a taste this week of what it must be like to be a single mom. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, for sure. Brian’s schedule was different this week and added to that he worked an average of 4 hours of overtime each day--including Saturday! The kids were able to spend only about a half hour each day with their dad so they were really happy to see him get home this afternoon!

Spring!

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here for the past several days. Spring is finally upon us and we’d better enjoy it before the sweltering heat of the deep south engulfs us. We spent the late afternoon yesterday outside with the kids cooking on the grill, swinging in the swing, and playing soccer (actually it was more like two boys trying to keep mom from scoring a goal and my legs sure had something to say later about all that kicking). It was a lot of fun though, until the mosquitos started to feast on us. After dinner we played Clue with the boys--It was Mrs. Peacock in the library with a revolver, by the way.
The picture above was taken a few days ago at sunset. It was a breath-taking sunset and Gavin yelled “RUN MOM, Take a picture!” So, there it is. Almost looks like the trees are on fire, doesn’t it! I didn’t get any pictures of the outdoor fun yesterday afternoon. Too busy kicking a soccer ball and chasing Luci, I guess!
School is going great. We are SO close to finishing up now. Gavin has one math lesson left in his book, but still a few more weeks left of everything else. I’m going to use that time to work on multiplication facts and word problems. He’s still rushing through word problems so fast that he doesn’t take the time to figure out what he’s trying to find out. He just takes the first two numbers and does some figuring and leaves it at that. I don’t think its a matter of ability, just a matter of applying himself to doing it. He’s still working on his research paper. It’s due in less than two weeks now. In case I haven’t mentioned that already, he is doing his research paper on Henry Ford. Should be interesting, and no one really has to wonder why he chose Henry Ford! He has finally decided on a science project for the science fair next month. I hope he is happy with his decision, but I suspect he ‘settled’ on something out of frustration. His project is “What type of infrastructure makes a skyscraper the strongest?”
Ben is doing a great job with developing his reading skills. We played a sentence game today and he had so much fun with it he hardly realized he was doing school. I wrote words on small cards and had him read them and put them in order to make sentences that made sense. “Can we do this again tomorrow, Mom?” He moved into learning about place value today and really flew through that! I think he is very mathimatically-minded so all of this comes really easily to him. He still struggles with paying attention and focusing and this affects both his reading and math. However, we have done some experimenting and he has responded remarkably well to small doses of caffeine. Yes, I know... we are giving our kid caffeine! But the reality is, in kids with ADD or ADHD caffeine works the same way that ADD drugs work--without all the side effects of those prescription meds. They are basically just stimulants, like caffeine, and have the opposite effect in kids who suffer from ADD. So, while caffeine might wake you up, make you jittery or hyper, it settles Ben down and the result is a little boy who can do all of his school work in one sitting and who experiences far less frustration in his day. He is going to be evaluated next Monday by a psychologist and after he is given an official diagnosis Brian and I will be working with his pediatrician on an effective treatment plan that will include dietary changes as well as behavior modification in addition to any medication (or caffeine) we decide to try. It is our hope to avoid medications, but we want to do what is best for Ben so that he can have a better grasp on his impulses and emotions.
Be sure and check out the video of Luci riding her trike. I plan to try and put up a new video here every week, so be sure and check back so you don’t miss one!

Potty Queen

The kids are doing great right now. Luci has been the “potty queen” for a few days now. We had a potty marathon this past weekend and are continuing this week--just with less frequency. She is doing fairly well, using the potty about half of the time now. I think I started something bad with the ‘rewards’ though. I think she goes to the potty now just so she can get a jelly bean or spice drop! She’s pretty proud of herself though, and rightly so! As a result of the time spent on the potty she has learned how to sing the Eensy Weensy Spider with gusto:) I actually took a video of that today, but I took the video with my camera turned vertical instead of horizontal and now I can’t figure out how to get it turned. I’ll try again to get her to sing it for me and turn the camera the right way this time.
Ben is doing remarkably well with his reading now! I am so tickled with him! He has begun reading from his readers daily now and is fairly independent on his phonics workbook. He is learning about ordinal numbers in math right now. Along with that he is learning to count 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc...“from the left”, or “from the right”. He always surprises me with how enthusiastic he is with his math lessons, often completing them before I can even sit down with him.
Gavin is studying the Lewis and Clark Expedition right now. What a journey that was! I added a documentary to his lessons, one produced by PBS, and it has solidified a few things for him. He is working on a research paper right now on Henry Ford. This will be his first major writing assignment, but we are breaking it up into chunks so it does not seem so overwhelming for him.
The Pringles Challenge results will be official on Friday. The last time I checked, Gavin was in 11th place. He’s just happy his chip arrived intact!

How Do You Do It?

This entry was originally written on Jan. 24, 2007.


Believe it or not, as a homeschooler, I am seldom asked those annoying questions that most homeschoolers get from family, friends and strangers. I am seldom asked why I homeschool, what about socialization, or what's wrong with the public school (private school, charter school, etc...) just up the street. The most common question I am asked is "How do you do it?" That question doesn't have an easy answer and the more I think about it, the more I realize just how multi-faceted that question and its many answers are.
If you mean, how do I manage to keep up with the housework AND be my children's only teacher? That's just a matter of priorities and scheduling. School is first, always. If there are dishes in the sink, or laundry in the dryer then some days it must sit there until all of our lessons are complete. It wasn't always like this though. Five years ago when I first began doing preschool with Gavin I obsessed over making sure the house was clean before we could "do school". Unfortunately, some days the house didn't get clean and school wasn't even attempted. But Gavin managed, in spite of my disorganization, to learn anyway at a rapid rate. Somewhere along the way I started to realize that if homeschooling was going to work for us it had to be a priority for me. It had to be my job and I had to view it that way. A working mother can't decide not to go to work on Monday or Thursday this week because her house wasn't clean before she was ready to leave the house. So I had to to make that same commitment to educating my kids. It is a full time job. So, do I live in a pig sty now that my priority is school? No. Somewhere else along the way I learned what was important and had to be done daily or weekly or even monthly. The kids help too. Ben and Gavin are able to take on responsibilities like emptying the dishwasher, feeding the animals, helping with dinner and kitchen cleanup, etc...Is my house always clean? That is a resounding NO. On any given day you might find laundry on my sofa, dishes in my sink, books spread on the table, and toys on the floor. But, we don’t live in a museum. We live in a home. A home where exciting learning opportunities happen every single day! Learning can be messy, don't ya know?
If when you ask "How do you do it?" you mean, how do you manage your toddler while your teaching the other kids...well the amazing things about kids is that they so easily fall into a schedule if you keep it consistent. Luci's been an absolute angel when it comes to sitting in her high chair and coloring, putting together a puzzle, or doing her lacing shapes. It's what she's always known. She's been sitting at or near the table since she was an infant in her car seat. She loves the interaction at the school table and she loves pretending like she's doing school. Just recently she's become really interested in doing flash cards with vocabulary words, shapes, numbers, etc...And it is amazing what she picks up by listening to her brothers. All of that is wonderful, but she's two and there are limits to how long she will sit still without beginning to throw things and grab books and papers that are not hers. For those times I have a stash of fun developmental toys for her to play with only during school time. One of her favorite things is a tupperware container filled with uncooked oatmeal and measuring spoons and cups. Put her on the floor on a towel with her bowl of oatmeal and you have an instant miniature "sand box" without the hassle of sand. The oatmeal cleans much easier! And for the rare time when she's into everything my most secret weapon of all is the play-doh. She makes a horrible mess with it, but the 5 minute cleanup is worth it for the hour or more of quiet play. One other important way that we manage lessons with a toddler in the house is to take advantage of her nap time.
If your "How do you do it?" means how do you teach two children at two different grade levels, then that is probably my easiest answer. Gavin is becoming more and more independent the older he gets, and he is usually occupied with assignments (that require only occasional help from me) for an hour to two hours each school day. When he is finished he takes a break, sometimes playing with his sister. Ben's school day takes a total of about two hours right now, and those are two "parent-intensive" hours. He needs my full attention for nearly everything he does. But Ben's attention span doesn't allow him to do his two hours all at once, so we do 15-20 minute bursts of school, letting him take a break in between. It is on those breaks that Gavin can ask for instruction or help. Ben is finished with school by lunch time, so I am able to focus on Gavin's more parent-intensive subjects after that time. It is a continually changing arrangement though, as Ben gets older his attention span grows and he becomes a little more independent every week. And by the time Luci is old enough to "do school" Ben will be as independent as Gavin is now.
Occasionally someone's "How do you do it?" might mean, "how do you handle being with your kids all day?" Amazingly there are parents who long for summer's end when the kids can get back on the school bus and they can have peace and quiet again for a full 8 hours every day. They can't fathom that I would voluntarily keep three children home every single day of the week. Ok, I admit that there ARE days I fantasize about the school bus coming to pick up my school age kids and taking them away for 8 blessed hours! But the reality is that I would miss them terribly. I enjoy being their teacher and seeing them learn new things. It is such a blessing to have such a big part in my children's lives.
So, How do I do it? I've grown into it. It has been a 5 year growth process for me and my kids. It didn't happen overnight and we aren't finished "growing into it" yet.

The End of a Season

This entry was originally written on Nov. 5, 2006, however, it is one of my favorite entries so I wanted to make sure it was moved here.

You may think I'm off a little when I titled my entry today "The End of a Season". Your right, November is just beginning and Fall is in full swing. That is evident in the brilliant hues of red and orange that surround us. Fall certainly is a beautiful season and always brings reminders of seasons past...times spent with family and friends. Each of the seasons bring about a certain "charm" and I always look forward to the beginning of each season. I think knowing that the seasons will pass is easier knowing that they will come around again in just a handful of months.
I think life, especially parenthood, can be broken into seasons as well. I have spent the past 9 years of my life in my "baby season". For 9 years now I have either held a young infant or toddler in my arms, or I've carried a growing life in my womb. But now I am facing the end of that season and it brings tears of sadness along with pride and joy in my children. I will be happy to be finished with diapers and tantrums and time-outs. But there are so many things I will miss when my season is finished. I know that the next season will be wonderful and brilliant and I do look forward to seeing my children blossom into independent young people with intelligent minds and a wonderful outlook on life.
I know that I will forever remember my babies' first movements. Those hesitant little kicks that soon turned into somersaults and soccer matches. I can never forget the first time I saw my babies and held them in my arms. And how they would fall asleep in my arms making those cute little baby noises. I'll never forget how Gavin stretched and how Ben yawned and how Luci slept with her hand resting on her forehead. Those first steps and the first words are all engraved on my heart. And then of course, there is the way they, as toddlers, always turned back into babies when they slept. Such sweetness. I will miss midnight feedings. As hard as it was to get up from a sound sleep it was always heavenly to sit and hold my babies in the silence. It was "our" time. No one was watching or talking. I cannot forget hugs and kisses and that barely intelligible first "Love you". No words were ever sweeter!
So, as I come to the end of this season in my life, I look back on what a wonderful season it has been and I look forward to what the next season will bring. I'm not ready for driver's licenses, college exams, and dating...Thankfully that is a whole other season away! But, I am ready for whatever it is that this next season brings my way.