First Week of School

So we started school this week. I love love love our curriculum and I love playing teacher. I am so happy to have all my kids back home after sending the oldest ones to public school last year, this year will be one of filling in gaps and smoothing things out especially for the oldest and I am excited for her. I'm glad to have my boys back together so we can work on Greek. And it has actually worked this year. It is nice that the twins are finally old enough to entertain themselves and my wild 1 yr old. I got everyone's cubbies and books together early in the week, I printed off their lists so they know exactly what is expected of them. It feels good to be back in control. I do need to get our chores organized better, but I can see how it is going to be a good year. The biggest downside I see to this year is that we don't have many friends. I didn't want to do the activities our homeschool group chose this year, so we will miss those friends. We have started a homeschool sports day which will start next week, so hopefully there will be friends for the boys there. We just haven't made any good friends in our current church ward, there are some nice people and acquaintances, but no good friends for any of us, my husband, me, or any of the kids even though the 3 older ones went to public school last year, all their friends lived outside our ward boundaries. This makes homeschooling especially hard I've found through sad experience, because we still go to church without any friends and it becomes our main social interaction because we have to spend so much time at home studying, cleaning and cooking. It makes it that much more important to have good positive interactions outside of church. Because if church were to be our only social outlet, life can get depressing quick. That is probably the single most important thing sending our kids to school last year did, was to give them an opportunity to be judged and to compare themselves to others their own ages outside of church. And it was very positive. I am really grateful for that. The school administrators were super helpful and nice, the teachers were great and really cared about my kids. It was really really nice. I am a little worried about homeschooling with our ward the way it is now, just not having any friends and having to deal with very uncaring unfeeling people who really don't care about my kids or me or our family. It is hard. But we are working on moving. We almost signed a lease to rent a house in New Hampshire, but our better judgement took over, we have to wait for my husband's business to make money first. Patience! It took us a year to move an hour away, it will take some time to move further, but my husband already has a couple job options out of state if it doesn't work out, we just have to wait and see! So that was a big tangent, but that's where we're at. The girls are each taking a couple classes at the junior high, so I think they'll have the social interaction they need, the boys are the ones I worry about most right now, but they'll do flag football and our weekly sports day, so hopefully that will be enough til we move! I can't wait to move. I know there is no perfect place, but I'm ready for a new set of problems. I'm tired of Utah problems, give me New Hampshire problems or Texas problems or New Zealand problems or I would love to have some France problems. Not Germany though, forcibly removing the children of a homeschooling family recently, at least I can homeschool in Utah, everybody just looks down on it, but that's better than having the police take my children away. That is really sad. Counting Blessings! http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/police-storm-homeschool-class-take-children-by-force/

Ready or not School Begins!

I am excited and nervous about this year! The girls 7 th and 9th graders are pretty much independent from me this year. They are doing BYU independent study for math and their dad is teaching Latin and Logic. They will do science and history and religion with everyone and I will watch history lectures with them, make sure they are doing their reading and have them do a little writing, and drive them to volleyball and school, so I guess I'm still doing a lot, but it seems manageable. The boys' cubbies are all cleaned out. I wanted to have some new chore charts posted and have all their worksheets printed by tomorrow, I'm a little behind, but I'm pretty excited about it all so I'm sure I'll get some done tonight and the rest done in the morning. We are going to focus on our meal time chores this week, getting the kitchen completely clean after each meal, if we can do that combined with the kids keeping up on their zones, we'll be in much better shape as far as being organized goes. We have a lot of stuff to go through and throw out, we'll get there, this week meal time chores is our focus. Organization and cleanliness is a must if we are going to get anything done! Ready or not, the time has come!! We begin tomorrow!

School starts next week!

We have had a great summer, lots of swimming TV and video games, my kids' dream come true. We have done some school work, but not a lot! My middle school girls will be taking a couple classes at the public school and doing the rest at home. We will take next week to get organized get notebooks ready to be filled and find all our books and lay out all the curriculum for the year. I am really excited, I don't have a newborn, the twins are potty trained, I think we may be able to accomplish a lot this year! Here is a piece from my 14 yr. old, she makes me proud. She is amazing I hope she continues to develop her talent and skill. I knew she makes beautiful music, I get to hear her play all the time, it has taken a while for her to figure out how to share it, we all had to go downstairs so she could record it, she also loves making videos, I didn't know she made the video too. I am proud and relieved, she's not raised yet of course, but wow, she is a great person and a wonderful daughter with a talent to share, and on a good path. Well, here you go: http://youtu.be/DvjVFn4oRj8

Camps

June was the month of camps. We enjoyed our time out of school, we went to 7 peaks water park a couple times, we started Logic with the girls, and have been focusing on piano and math for everyone. Then the 3rd week of June, #1 went to BYU music camp doing jazz piano because regular piano and violin were already filled. It was challenging for her, they really worked them, but she made some friends, enjoyed the fun activities and participate in a wonderful performance at the end of the week. We are very proud of her, she did well. She grew up a lot that week too. I think she understands a little better what college will be like and why we've homeschooled and what she needs to do from here if she wants of focus on music. #2 participated in a day camp where they performed Annie for kids in a week at UVU. It was fun for her too, and it was fun to watch. #s 3&4 had Cub Scout camp that Friday, and it was awesome. I was very glad they all had a good time and learned a lot. Then the next week, those 4 went on a backpacking trip with their dad and grandpa in the Uintahs, they camped next to Wall Lake for 2 nights. My husband and FIL said they did great and while they were tired, again I think they had a great time and learned a lot. We went and saw Despicable Me 2 this week in the theater on the 4th. We also colored American flags, talked about the Revolutionary War and watched big fireworks. It was a great way to celebrate. I can hardly believe June is over and my baby turns one this week! This summer is going much too fast!

Public school is over!

We made it! I am so looking forward to having my kids home again and to get back to our awesome curriculum and home life. So how did it go? How did the kids do? Do they prefer homeschool or public school? What did they like the most, what did they like the least? So let's start with #1, she just finished 8th grade. She was the most excited to go, and really needed to see what school is like, what kind of experience most people here in Utah have. She loved it. She made some good friends. Two of her teachers told her that they saw her progress from being a bit shy and reserved to being more outgoing and participatory. That made her feel good because she really hated it when people told her she was quiet-- her response to that became "no, I'm just thinkactive." And over the semester she became more talkative too. She was great about getting up everyday and getting all her assignments and reading done. She was also picked to be a soloist in her orchestra which she loved. She enjoyed watching the student news from CNN in her US History class. She loved science, she and a friend built a Rube Goldberg machine and got 3rd place. She learned a lot in drama and in creative writing and English. She got an A in math, even though she still doesn't like it much (her brain doesn't like being sooo exact). Actually she got straight As a 4.0 which we were surprised- we thought she had an A- in math, but then she got a certificate for a cumulative 4.0, so we'll see on the official transcript. So yeah, the girl rocked junior high! What she didn't like was PE and annoying kids mostly boys who would make the teachers' jobs extremely difficult. She was also very disappointed that most the other members of her orchestra were not nearly as excited as she was about practicing and doing well. She also wished the classes were a little more demanding. But it was a ton of fun! She prefers public school because more than anything else she liked being with other kids. My take-- I'm glad she liked it, I wish she hadn't liked it sooooo much though. I think she does recognize the value of her education thus far and I think her wondering mind of what would it be like? has been answered. In Utah there are few junior high to high school aged homeschoolers and there are a lot of good people out here so the schools are not scary yet, although I'm not sure how common core may change that at least academically. In Utah once the kids reach junior high, the best option may be public school because they need friends and some external validation at that age, and the schools can provide that. It was really good for our kids to see that when they did the homework studied and did well on the test-- basically fulfilled the requirements of the class, then they got a good grade. That has not always been the case in other organizations in which they have participated. If we were to stay here, I would have her at least take a couple classes at the local school. Utah is really good about part time enrollment. #2 also rocked 6th grade. Her teacher loved her and wished all her students could be like her. Everything was very easy for her and she loved all the extra projects and homework. She did them all on her own on time. I don't think I helped her with a single thing except to sign stuff. I liked the quote book she brought home, I liked the books the teacher read to them and I liked that she would play classical music and broadway musical scores for the class at different times. I think she learned some interesting things in social studies and science. Battle of the Books was another awesome program in which she also excelled. She made some good friends too and really tried to help anyone in the class or on the playground who might need it. She got to play her ukulele and sing for 2 talent shows. She got participate in a host of "advancement" parties and activities and a field trip. She also got straight As and earned the Presidential Academic Award and the Hope of America Award which was given to 1 boy and 1 girl in each 6th grade class. The only thing she disliked about school was one annoying boy who would bug her and touch her even though she tried to keep far away from him and the teacher talked to him-- he bugged everybody. Her absolute favorite thing was access to the library without having to rely on me to get her there. She was the least excited to go to school and would have been fine doing homeschool the whole time. She really liked it though and enjoyed that sense of belonging and community she had by going and also being recognized for her good work. My take-- bless this child! She really appreciates homeschool. If given the choice she would just go to junior high for a couple classes and do the rest at home. She sort of would like to go to junior high to see what it is like and her friends really wanted her to go, but she just told them that we won't let her because she needs to study Latin and formal logic. She is the least affected by social cues and what others think. She's just kind of in her own world and it is a lovely one. School was made for little girls like my #2! #3 just finished 4th grade. I also really liked his teacher and she seemed to really enjoy my #3. He really missed his free time, but he got up and made it to school pretty much every day. He got all his homework done and turned in on time. He was very diligent about it. He had a hard time with spelling because we just hadn't focused on it, so we worked on it and he improved quickly, also once he brought back a packet of tests and work he had done, I realized I needed to help him learn his spelling words better and help him review his vocabulary. Language Arts was the only class he didn't get an A in-- he got a B and the first time he got a B-, so he really did improve. He got a certificate for doing the best on a Dewey decimal assignment that he was proud of-- and he got a free burrito at Del Taco for it. He also played his ukulele and sang for his class talent show which I was happy about. I couldn't have him do any extra school type stuff at home after being at school all day. It was hard for him to sit and work all day, but he was OK with it as long as that was all he would have to do. Math was super easy for him. And he really liked it when they had people come and do demos for the 4th grade. The aquarium came and I think some Natural History museum at least. He also enjoyed his field trip and he loved recess. His least favorite thing was being hall monitor because he had to sit in the hall during recess and monitor. He also got to work in the lunchroom and came home with a little hat. His teacher told me that he was quiet and reserved at first, but that he found his way and made some good friends. The hardest part was missing his free time, but at this point he prefers public school. My take-- The most important lesson he learned in school is that you don't have to be perfect at everything. He is so much better now about practicing the piano and doing his chores. I think he learned some discipline at school and to do things even though it seems hard. I am really proud of him, but I missed him a lot. He is just a really nice boy to have around. For me-- getting up early everyday to make breakfast and lunch and making sure I had bread for sandwiches was hard. I really missed the flexibility we have with homeschooling to choose the schedule that works for us. At the beginning of the semester I made sure to read to them all and we kept up on piano lessons fairly well, but by the end especially after spring break, it was all I could do to get everybody to school, and they needed some down time, so I let that go. The boys participated in basketball, soccer and scouts, and the girls in choir and YW, and they kept practicing the piano but that was pretty much it. Also, so that we could have some family time together we would watch an episode of Donald Trump's Apprentice at night. The kids had some questions about business and we thought it would be a good way to educate them so I haven't even been reading any chapter books to them at night. Often #2 would call from the school needing me to bring something and especially at the end of the year, there were activities for me to attend. Also, to go to the dentist I had to go check them out of school and it always took a minimum of 10 min. which being time-challenged I never anticipated. Overall, it turned out how we had hoped. They went to school and conquered it. They weren't behind and they weren't socially awkward. They really liked it, and I am very grateful to their teachers. They did an outstanding job. I can't imagine teaching a class of 30 kids of varying abilities. They should be applauded for their work. I am also grateful to the kids for being open and welcoming to my kids. This is a very nice area to live in. And I am grateful for the school, they were well organized and well run. I am very glad that my kids got to have such a great experience. I don't think public school gets any better than it is here. But I am really looking forward to getting back on track. Homeschooling works well for us and we want to give the kids a strong academic foundation so that when they get to college, they can focus on things that really interest them or do whatever. We also really like our flexibility and the time we get to spend together. The kids are all a little behind our schedule but we'll adjust it. I'm looking forward to being the boss again and helping the kids with Greek, Math, Science, Latin, Logic, Spelling and all the reading we do together and all the field trips and all the extra projects that come up-- and of course some summer fun. I'm also hoping we'll have a better cleaning schedule where we can spread chores throughout the day. Aaah, it will be nice. I think we will start some tomorrow!

Just a week and a half left!

My 3 older kids have done well in public school. They have all grown and proved to themselves that they could do it. I am really proud of them. They have made some good friends, I have been complimented and thanked for raising such nice kids to befriend other kids. They have learned some things we would have never covered. They've gotten to go on field trips and be part of performances. They have each been recognized for high acheivement in various ways. I am really pleased. I am also really glad that this time period is almost over. I am excited for them to get back to studying Greek, Latin, math at their own pace, lots of music, and more time together to work in chores and practicing and reading throughout the day instead of concentrated outside of school hours. I am also excited to go on hikes, to fun places and do learning activities at home and around. #4 has been making huge leaps of improvement in his vision. I am really proud of him. I didn't realize what he couldn't see until he could see it, if that makes sense. He has really missed his older siblings, but he has been a huge help with the young kids at home and he has stepped up and taken on greater responsibilities at home. I am very pleased with him. #5 is still very innocent and sweet. He is a true joy. He has a ways to go in learning to be more obedient and doing his chores better, but he does try and he is really good with the 3 little ones. He is doing great with reading, writing and math. He still likes to be read to and enjoys singing time. It makes me happy. My four older kids really don't like singing time anymore, and the twins don't like to sing or do actions, they feed off each other, one of them is extremely stubborn, but we still do it and I love that my little #5 still enjoys it. The twins are doing better potty training. I cleaned up a lot of poop today because of all the watermelon they ate, but overall, they re improving a lot. They love to be read to, they are learning the alphabet. They want to do their "math" too. They are still very high maintenance, but they can get in and out of the car now and find their shoes and it continues to get easier. They are also able to do some chores, and I can see how all of the sudden, they'll be boys instead of toddlers and able to do more and even be helpful. We are getting there. The baby is way cute, he is getting his top two teeth in and he is just a doll. Life is good. I think I'll take the little ones swimming tomorrow to end our school year, I'll have the two boys take their math tests and then we'll call it good for a couple weeks. Then we'll just have fun. I am looking forward to summer!

Nice homeschooling info graphic!

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