Keeping It Simple

Look at me writing 2 posts so close together!! So... I have loved listening to the podcasts on morning time called "Your Morning Basket". I have listened to all of them. Very inspiring! They are all worthwhile to listen to, but I have to tell you that episode #2 with Andrew Pudewa is a game changer (in the homeschool sense). We have had our own variations on morning time in our house. When my girls were younger (they are now 31, 30, 28 and 22 years old), we had "seat work time" and "couch time". I'd say that couch time was our version of what is now being called morning time. For the most part, we read historical fiction, discussed history (I would either read from or discuss from a text), learned a little geography, read the bible, had prayer time, and had some pretty fun discussions. There was a transition when my now 28 year old became sort of a teachers helper for her younger sister. I remember working on art appreciation with her at the h...

As I end our 23rd year of homeschooling, I am struggling with what homeschooling looks like in our home now. I confess it does not match my ideal! But, I know that our homeschool has had different seasons and this is just one of them. Although, I suspect it might be the season that brings us through to the end.  I have always maintained, and still do to some extent, that to have a successful homeschool, you have to be home . My ideal has always been to be home for 4 out of the 5 school days of the week. I have settled for 3 out of 5 many years. But those days are gone, and I am struggling with that.  My three boys have knocked me out of my comfort zone and taken our homeschool on the road.   Smee, A.K.A. James, has been bitten by the theater bug. He participates in a fairly low key program, but that is one day a week gone driving to and from theater. Sometimes one of the older boys comes with me to work on school, or I can sit in the car and conference c...

My son, who drags his feet over doing his math each and every day, came trotting over to the table with his iPod and headphones in his hand to complete his assignment. I quickly stopped him. ME: Ah, heck no, we do not do school with distractions in our ears (yes, I sometimes do sound that snarky). HIM:  But mom, look how much I got done last time. I completely lost track of time and finished a WHOLE page while listening to music. Okay then.

In no particular order, this sort sums up the last year or so. Lots of blessings, lots of busyness, and lots of fun. :) 1- In case I have not mentioned it a thousand times, we welcomed 4 grandchildren in to our family (in addition to the 4 that were already here!). Just wow! That's kind of blurry, but you get the idea.  Can you tell my husband does not take the pictures in the family?  2- Paul took his first classes out of the home as a high schooler and he did amazingly well. With scores of over 90% on most of his work, he really stepped up to the plate. Paul has several learning struggles and he struggled right through them! 3- James was in his first ever play with a few small rolls in a children's production of Willy Wonka and LOVED it! I have my sister to thank for helping me through this obligation as item #1 on this list was taking up a bit of time. That's James second from the left as one of his characters, Mr. Salt.  4- James loved hi...

Boy, do I have a lot to share, but this is what is most on my mind: The other day I read a FB status that a friend posted about her children. It was about some of their homeschool successes. My initial reaction was to "like", of course. And, I really do like it. She was not doing any grand bragging. Just sharing some accomplishments. I have done that occasionally here as well. But it gave me pause to think. One of my children has done some "amazing" things lately. They are not things that other people would understand are amazing. They are ordinary every day milestones that come with a struggle so big that he might as well have climbed Mt. Everest. And I am amazingly proud of him because these milestones have come because of his hard work and willingness to do what it takes to get the job done. I am not going to share what those milestones are- like my teens before this one, I keep their blogger profile pretty low. It is just not good for their dignity to be...

(or)  If You Were To Ask Me  Not sure that is the correct way to begin this (it sounds so pretentious!). Let me explain. As my daughter left our house today with her two young boys in tow, I half-heartedly offered her a few educational items that I am getting rid of. I say half-heartedly because I really did not want her to take them. S tuff can be a homeschoolers enemy- stuff is my enemy. To me, the best way to have an effective and enjoyable homeschool is to keep it simple (note the title of my blog). Especially during the younger years. These years are a great time for our "students" to explore. Lots of time can be spent building Legos, painting, climbing, swinging, inventing, exploding , creating, sewing, investigating, digging in the dirt... and most of these things don't require much stuff . The times that learning was at its best in our young family (aside from when my children were free to explore and learn on their own) was when we had ...

Because I trust in that each choice we make is what is best for the moment... I am revamping our school year to include more workbooks! Yes, I love hands-on learning and am thankful for all the opportunities that come our way, but sometimes workbooks are good enough. I also trust that my children have enough curiosity and initiative to make their learning hands-on in their own way. Just to show me that He has got it covered, God has sent me this very dear friend who has come over to do some hands-on type learning with my boys already!! :) I am not all that sure what it was even all about but it had to do with "states of matter" and making Oobleck (and other gooey substances ;)). Today, the same friend took my two youngest boys on an awesome field trip to visit an old cemetery (where graves of Union AND Confederate soldiers were seen) and explore the waters of Santa Cruz (and play a bit). So, I am trusting that God has a plan for this year that is be...

Happenings I mentioned that some outside classes were on the schedule for this year. Yikes!! Think long and hard before you go there if you are one of those "homebody" homeschooling types (and I am:)). That being said, we are three weeks in and I think it's a good thing. Paul is taking Biology and Art at his Friday co-op.  He also takes an Algebra class taught by his older sister, who works with many homeschool families in our area. All of this is a huge stretch! With reading being a challenge for Paul, it is taken us this long to come up with a format for him to accomplish his work as independently as possible. The great thing about homeschooling with learning challenges is that you can work at your own pace and help is just a hollar to mom (or dad or sisters...) away. That being said, I can see how working this muscle to "keep up" with class is going to be a healthy thing. It helps that there are friends in his class and that he has very understandi...

I am guest blogging over at Jen's ( @ Forever, For Always, No Matter What ) today with a homeschool post. Come see me! :)

I have been asked to write a guest post for next month. I am not sure how or if it will come together, but I am honored!! In doing research for that post, I am sort of interviewing each of my adult children on their perspective on homeschooling. This lead me to an interesting conversation with my second daughter, Jessica (homeschool graduate, class of 2001). Jessica graduated from college with her degree in Structural Engineering. That means if you have a building design, she is the one that tells you how to build it to withstand earthquakes and such. She did two summer internships and worked at an engineering firm after graduating. When children entered the picture, she quickly switched to tutoring a subject near and dear to her heart- mathematics. So, her perspective on homeschooling may be unique in the fact that she is a homeschool graduate who tutors current homeschool high school children and traditional high school students. As she explained, her homeschooling students ofte...

Sometimes I have those moments. Moments when I can look back and say "good for you".  I am by nature a  little  on the high stress side (watch my kids snort water out their noses if you say that to them while they are taking a sip).  So, when my 11 year old starts pulling out the art supplies- unplanned- I sometimes have an unstoppable urge to put a halt to the project. I am tempted to say "not now" or "we can plan a time to do this".  But this time I didn't.  For Mark, it is all about the process. Something about painting, drawing, gluing,... is just soothing to him. Note to self: Leave art supplies out. Don't freak out about the mess! 

This turned out to be a rather long, rambling post. I should have a prize drawing for those who actually read it. ;) I'll have to think on that. My most recent homeschool grad is going to what might be called a trade school. This has brought about some interesting reactions. I am asked where my daughter is going to college. I respond that she going to a salon school, and ... ahem... awkward silence and a raised eyebrow follows. Not from everyone, but from lots of people. Especially homeschool people! I find this interesting and it has given me lots to ponder . As homeschool parents we are very vested in the "outcome" of our children. Are they proper scholars? Will they attend the best colleges? As a whole, we are parents who want results, and we take our children's success or perceived lack of success personally. I have experienced this firsthand- I know more than one parent who now rethinks his/her position on homeschooling because of the "result". ...

We began our dog unit study today. I just posted a really cute, fun little movie that might lead you to believe that it was all sugar and spice and everything nice around here today. Oh, that's right- I have boys! What was I thinking? ;) Plan A (the one that did not go smoothly): 1- We walk out to the school room to find an unexpected mess (another story all together). 2- The dog notebook pages that I thought I had bookmarked on my computer weren't there. 3- Found some notebook pages at a good price. It took ten minutes to find a credit card to pay for them, and then the download would not work. 4- Four vocabulary words were just too much for my 10yo to write (picture big crocodile tears). 5- 8yo had a major case of the sillies. 6- Every time I turned around, the item I needed at that moment went missing. Sigh!! Big sis walks in and offers to take the boys to the pool this afternoon- my first thought: No! They are going to stay and get this done. My s...

I bet you thought I was going to brag about our homeschool- huh? Well, of course we think our homeschool rules, but that is not what this post is about. :) This is one more response to a homeschool forum post that I found in my files. I have saved many articles and posts over the years from other much more articulate writers, but there are laws about posting other peoples stuff. ;) This one, of mine, is from 2006! With all the computer problems we have had, I am surprised that it is still there. The forum question must have been something along the lines of "what do you consider successful homeschooling?". #1- Not getting too busy! I saw the terrible results of committing to too much last month. Our schooling went down the tubes, the house was a disaster, my kids were cranky, I was a lunatic... you get the point. Someone once told me that a good home/out ratio is 3 out of 5 days at home. I wholeheartedly agree! Only I'd be happier with 4/5. #2- Life is homescho...

The following is a slightly modified version of my response to a forum post from three or four years ago asking what homeschool regrets that homeschool parents with older children had. I don't know why in the world I kept it, but it was fun for me to read. I am not sure how my answer would change today- I'll have to think on it. I was fortunate to begin homeschooling with some guidance from an experienced family that encouraged me to start off slow. Also, thanks to ill health and other difficulties, we kept a fairly relaxed approach to our school. I really do mean thanks. I probably would have much more intense if I was able to be. I have always loved seeing and doing things with my kids- historic sights, fun places, service projects. Those are the best memories, and the things I wish we had done more of . When people tell you it goes by fast, you have no idea. Fortunately, in spite of my many failings, my oldest three children are very capable adults....

For those who don't know me, I am going to start with a little personal introduction: I am a 48-year-old (yikes!) wife and mom of seven. Along with my magnificent 7, I am also now mom-in-law to three son-in-laws that I honestly love like my own children. Our growing family includes two precious grandbabies and counting. I am blessed. I am also tired. Trying to stretch myself in every which direction has gotten to be exhausting. Which brings me to attitude... First my attitude- if my attitude is less than positive, my boys’ (my 3 at home under my full time care) attitude suffers. Attitude is contagious. I have a confession to make. I never planned on doing this for 30 years, which is what it will be if I homeschool my youngest to graduation. I honestly thought I would “grow up” and have my own life. I have friends who have done it! They do big girl things like book clubs, luncheons, hold down jobs… I thought that is what I would be doing. So, I have allowed myself to wallow a ...

The following is from a previous post about our school schedule. Other moms may not struggle with this, but for me it is something I need to constantly remind myself- free time is important. I tend to walk in to a room and see a child "just sitting" and start barking orders. This leads to general discontentment among the troops. When I am in that mode, cooperation (attitude) suffers- my children are much more likely to complete chores and school with a good attitude when they know they can anticipate some uninterrupted time off. I also don't underestimate the educational value of that time. Building Legos, reading, playing outdoors, shooting hoops, or just sitting and stewing on a problem are all easily as important as "book learning". Free Time I would love to say that my boys are always super enthusiastic about school (sometimes they are) but, for them, it is often about "free time". The one thing I have learned this year is to really carve out ...

Some day my children are going to be telling their children about today. I can picture it now, "do you know what your grandma did one day when we were little?".  And, I will deny it. Who are they going to believe their dad or their grandma?  Honestly, after 27 years of parenting, you would think that I would be grown-up enough to never act immature and foolish!! I guess I have a way to go. After the storm settled, we had a "re-do" on starting our day. We sat on the couch and finished reading "The Littles" while the boys drew dragons (their new favorite thing to do since seeing "How to Train Your Dragon"). Praying that the rest of you are having a calm, peaceful day!

For the past few years, I have overlooked the "first day of school photos". Being of a more traditional school mindset when I first started to homeschool, I was diligent about taking pictures on the first day of school- my girls would sit at the table with their new school supplies and big smiles on their faces. Looking through old photos during my recent organizing efforts, I have realized how absolutely precious those memories, caught on film (or today's equivalent), are. First day of school for Shauna, Jessica, and Michelle in 1993 Well, we did not purchase new supplies this year, and the school room was not ready on our first day (there is post coming on that;)), so we opted for a backyard shoot. Either way, I am glad we remembered to take pictures!