Doing Less Better

So this week was basically a bust. We got some math, science and history in, but that's about it. It's still ok with me because in my mind we still have until after Labor Day.

Tonight I talked with the leader of our co-op and convinced myself that I could teach a class this year. I'm so excited and yet nervous at the same time. I'm going to be teaching Indiana History to the 4th graders. It's a smaller class, so that will be nice since it's my first time teaching. Plus my youngest son will be in there so that will be fun. (At least for me.)

Doing Better

We had school today. I'm still just easing into it. Most kids don't even start back until after Labor Day and that's probably what I should have done, but here in Indiana we have to have 180 days just like public schools so... to keep up, we started early. Oh well, there are a few field trips we are taking in the next couple months that are on Saturdays so we can slack off a little here and there I guess.

I've been busy checking out curriculums again today and all I have to say is WHY is everything so expensive? I'm a single mom with little money, I can't afford these $500 curriculums... plus I have two kids! I'm continuing my search and hopefully I can find something more in our price range.

Anyway, the library is our friend and everything there is free, so until we go through all their resources and the things we already have, I'm not going to stress out over a packaged curriculum.

Today my youngest and I took a trip to our library and found some books for him, a movie for Tyler about the White House (since we're studying the Presidents) and a Math video. I also had some stuff from the fair (learning material), so today we learned about watersheds. They had a lot of information about them at one of the booths so I grabbed a handful of info and some worksheets to go along with it. It was very interesting. I didn't really realize how important all of our natural resources are. I also didn't realize all the simple things that we can do to help out. One of my daycare moms works for the DNR so I'm going to ask her if she can bring me some more information on that and other topics.

We also have "cooking" to do today... we're making homemade dog biscuits for the dogs. Tyler found the recipe online.

That's the good thing about homeschooling, just about anything that "teaches" your child is considered learning.

Fair Pics

Even though it rained some while we were there, I'm glad we went. It was a good time. Here's some pics - Enjoy!

Here's why we went:

Here's Taylor at the "Garden":

Here's why my mom went: (don't tell her I showed you this!)

Me and Tyler: (remember it was rainy and nasty out)

Taylor and Grandma:

Taylor on an old fashioned combine:

Tyler and the "Geico" gecko:

For more pics, visit Tyler's Blog or Taylor's Blog .

*Update*

Went to the fair. It was fun. I'm exhausted. More tomorrow.

Friday (Fair Day)

Well, so far this week we have really failed at keeping a schedule for our schooling. I don't think we're going to be able to get into the swing of things until after Labor Day and after we go back to the co-op. So... until then, we'll just work at our own pace. Besides, this will give me more time to figure out our curriculum plan for the year.

Fair Update:
8:58am- raining cats and dogs - fair trip postponed for now.
Maybe we'll hit the mall instead? Sounds good to me!!
I'm sure we'll think of something to do. (Inside)

OH- I've been meaning to post this... for anyone who may be thinking about a trip to Walt Disney World anytime soon... go here! She's got 4 awesome posts on how to manage, survive, pay for, and have the best time on your Disney vacation. If you've got a lot of children, no problem... she has 7! And she knows her stuff!!

Our First Day

Of course the day did not go as planned, but did you think I really had a "plan"? Nope. Not on a Monday. Not as long as I had daycare going on. Daycare children are not at their very best on Mondays.

So, although I was disappointed that we didn't get any schooling done during the day, I was excited about the fact that even though I was totally drained from my screaming daycare kids ALL day long, I managed to get the books out the minute I told my last kiddo good-bye and we sat at the table and our new year began.

Lots of review.

I *Heart* Garage Sales

I've been finding the best stuff this summer.

I picked up a few more books today. One was free and the others were just $1.

I got:
Prentice Hall - Writer's Companion (High School)
My Fun With Learning - Great Stories From World Literature
My Fun With Learning - Real Life Heroes, America's Story
My Fun With Learning - Parents As Teachers

And... for myself, I found a huge "Herbal Remedies For Women" book.

And my biggest bargain of the day was a sound machine. It was only 25 cents. I figured even if it didn't work, it was only a quarter. But... I got it home, cleaned it up a little, put batteries in it and walaa... it worked!! Now I can fall asleep listening to the rain, a stream, the ocean, a heartbeat, or white noise.

I'm sure I'll end up turning it off and turning on my fan - but hey, only a quarter!

We're Going To The Fair

We got our free ticket and next Friday we're headed to the Indiana State Fair for "Home School Day". Anyone else in the area going? If so, I'd love to meet you real quick! Head over to the Pfizer Fun Park... we'll be there. If you'd like more information, go here. There's info on where to go and what activities they have going on. It should be fun!

Where Do I Begin

I have decided we are going to start school on August 14. Meanwhile, my kitchen table is covered with curriculum books. So much so that we had to have our dinner in the living room tonight. Anyway, I have quite a few books that I'll still be able to use this year, which is good. I just don't know where to go from here though. I always second guess myself around this time of year. Am I doing the right thing, should we be using this curriculum or would this one be better? Should I hired a math tutor for my oldest? Is my youngest really reading on his level? (Of course he IS, it's HIS level!) Should we go back to a more text book curriculum? Are they really learning?... And so on and so forth. And of course all of these questions will come back to me again around the beginning of January and I will have to go over all the second guessing again. I'm glad that there are so many different styles to homeschooling, I really am. But sometimes, I just wish that there was one online store, they had one curriculum, and that was the only choice! You ordered it, you used it, and if your child didn't do well, you had no other options - your child failed.

OH wait... they do have that option, it's called public schools.

Is It Homeschooling?

I'm not sure if what we really do is "homeschooling" or "unschooling". Why do we have to put labels on everything? There is so much that we do that isn't in a text book. I like to get my kids away from their seats and out where life is happening. Why don't people think that's schooling? I understand that my kids need to know the basics of math, spelling, english, science, history, language, etc... But really, when is the last time your boss announced a pop quiz and asked you how to graph quadratic functions and convert logarithms between bases and find inverse relationships between exponents and logarithms?

We decided to homeschool 3 years ago when the private Christian school that my father started was going to be ran by someone other than my father. We also thought at that time that we were going to be moving and I didn't want to take my kids out of one school and put them in another in the middle of the year. Well, as it turned out, we're still here and we're still homeschooling. We will probably always homeschool now. It's our way of life and my kids don't want to go to public school. I ask them every now and then, (just to make sure they are happy homeschooling) and they always say they want to continue to homeschool. My 9 year old son says he can't go to public school because they don't let you pray in school and how could he have lunch? He is very big into praying before every meal, no matter where he is. I love that he thinks like that and I remind him that no one can ever tell you, you can't pray! And even in places where they don't support praying, you can always pray, even with your eyes open.

Homeschooling isn't easy! It's not "taking the easy way out" by any means. I still work - more than the average working person. I work 9-11 hours a day. I'm lucky enough to be able to do what I do from home, and run my own business, but I'm still working. I'm also lucky that my mom is close by to help out. Of course it would be easier if I were married, didn't have to work and could spend all day just teaching my kids, but we manage. I know what we're doing is right for us. Which leads me to another topic of discussion.... why do friends and family think they need to chime in whenever given the opportunity to do so, and tell us what huge mistakes we're making? It used to bother me at first, but now I let it go in one ear and out the other. Actually, no one in my family has ever said anything negative about homeschooling, it's only a few friends of mine who say things. But then I look at them and some don't even have kids and the ones who do, have their own ways of doing things that I don't agree with. I don't usually say anything, but if they want to throw the homeschooling thing in my face, I'll throw their parenting skills in their faces. Cause that's just how we are.

I have nothing prepared for this coming year. I know on August 18th, we are going to "Homeschool Day" at our state fair. But as far as this year's curriculum, I haven't even began to think about it. I did buy a couple lesson planning books. I have their names on them and important dates written in. And we also will be able to go back to our local homeschool co-op every Thursday. We went the year before last and it was great! Last year we couldn't go because of my job and we really missed it. There's just something about being around so many other moms and kids who do what we do. It makes you feel like you're not the only one and there are other people who agree with what you're doing. Then you look at all the other normal, happy, intelligent children and you say "HEY, we're all ok!"