Homeschool Week 1 & 2 Recap

Well, two weeks into school and I'm feeling grrrrrrreat!

Miracle has a nurse that comes 4-5 hours a day while I school the other kids and it is amazing what I'm able to accomplish with that help!  We have gotten done with school between 1 and 2 every day!  Last year when I was bouncing between Myra's needs and homeschooling, it wasn't uncommon for us to be doing school right before I put dinner on the table.  Between multiple naps in my arms, tube feedings every three hours and her wanting to be cuddled, it was difficult to put Miracle down for a good amount of time to focus on the school kids.  I often read books from the rocking chair and did lessons with Miracle in my arms at the table.  We got through it, but I knew with teaching all four kids this year that I wanted some help.  Though I've had to train four nurses in the past 10 days, it's still obviously been extremely helpful to me.

You can read about my daily schedule HERE, but I'm finding my estimated times were more than I truly need to teach each child individually.  I gave each an hour before lunch, but they really only need 30-45 minutes.  I might be able to get all my teaching done before lunch if I actually started school at 8am like my schedule suggests!  These past two weeks with Mr. Prince still being home on summer break from school, I've been sleeping in until 7:30/8 and not starting school until closer to 9 most days.  Once he's back to school next week, I'll be up and ready by 7am when he walks out the door, so my days will get started earlier.  Oh, to have every afternoon free...how awesome would that be!  So, needless to say, I'm not behind at all after two weeks and I even got most of Friday's lessons done on Thursday this week so we could do a longer Tapestry project!

In Tapestry of Grace Year 1 we studied ancient Egypt, Pharoahs, pyramids and the Nile River these first two weeks.  The girls made Paddle Dolls and had a blast.

 Here they are playing a self-directed time-telling game with their Paddle Dolls.  Homeschooling at it's best (PJs and all)!

Sid the Science Kid made an ancient Egypt Senet game. I still have not had a chance to play with him, but the kids have played together many times.

Princess Pea and Sid started their salt maps at the end of week 2.  We will paint these in a week or so when they are completely dry.  I'm not sure if we did them 'correctly', but they each sculpted 10 to 17 geography terms into their imaginary lands. I was very proud of their work.  I was actually shocked Princess Pea did this on her own.  I figured she would just help Sid, but she did it alone and did a fabulous job!

We are studying the 10 commandments in depth for 10 weeks and for the 1st commandment we used 24 blocks to represent what we do with our time in a 24 hour day.  We placed blocks in piles labeled sleep, God, school, reading, playing and eating.  The idea was to see how we spend our time and see what we need to give up to spend more time with our Lord.  The kids were so excited to make some changes that the next day they did it again and showed how they had changed their activities to spend more time with God!

In science we learned about plant cells and made our own version with dish soap and fruits.  Even the little ones could tell you the parts of the cell and the differences between the animal and plant kingdoms!

Boo Boo is loving All About Reading Level 1 this year!  I love seeing his little face when he sounds out a word...

"Mmmmhh..aaaaahh..p......mmmaaa..p....map!"

I stole this off of Pinterest and I love it!  My kids tattle a lot sometimes and daily occasionally beat hurt each other.  So, this will be an easy way to get their attention without a long lecture on what they should be doing.

So, that's all I have to show for Weeks 1 & 2!  Excited for yet another week!  It says a lot if I even have time to blog at the end of a school week!  ;)

School Room....sort of....

Well, I'm back to share my 'School Room' for the Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop 2012!

We don't really have a 'School Room' in our house.  Our entire house is a school! With two elementary teachers, we have more books than any one home should ever have. ;)

I wish I had a week to re-organize my entire house, but that will never happen.  So, my OCD organizational methods shall only be used in corners here and there throughout my house.  

We tried to use cute little metal buckets last year for our crayons, colored pencils and markers but it was a disaster.  Every two seconds someone was knocking the top-heavy buckets all over the table.  So, I'm trying a new idea this year.  The buckets will only have glue, scissors and dry-erase markers, which can be pulled out individually to be used.  Coloring materials are in baskets and shouldn't topple over on the table. So far I'm liking it!

I found these pencil holders at the Dollar Store.  I got them thinking of my two older kids who need a set of highlighters for their Character Quality Language Arts curriculum.  There is a side for pencils and an eraser and the other side for the highlighters.  We had major issues with pencils being lost last year.  Even with assigning everyone their own color and keeping all the pencils in the middle of the dining room table, I still had a child almost every week who had lost all three pencils I had given them.  Annoying.  So, this year they are responsible for their own and have to pay me to buy replacements.  So far, it's helping them keep track of them.  

But, we are only on week two.....

This is the drawer system I used last year for the kids' school books, right next to our dining room table where we do most of our schoolwork.  Sid the Science Kid's is missing because I still have it in the office near his school desk.  Boo Boo didn't have an official drawer, as you can see.  I didn't like the digging, so these are now their artwork boxes.  You can see their old artwork boxes to the right.  Those I'd like to pitch get rid of as soon as possible.

Here is our kids' bookshelf.  The top shelf is writing paper, folders, notebooks, their school binders from last year and some lapbooks/History Pockets that we've done. They still like to show these off to people who visit, so I keep them out.  Plus, we are covering some of the material again this year and they will be good resources!  The second shelf is for my 5th grader, third shelf for my 1st and 3rd graders and the bottom shelf is for my PreK kids, and the 1st grader still enjoys most of these books.  I have three, large, overfilled bookshelves in the office to swap books out often.  Us teachers...I know....

This is my homeschool bookshelf (also in my dining room).  The bottom shelf is where all of my teacher's manuals are for math, language arts, Tapestry, spelling, etc. These are organized by student.  The middle shelf is all my homeschool magazines, parenting/homeschooling books I am reading (or want to read), extra curriculum I'm deciding on incorporation this year or next that I need to look at when I have a moment (art, Spanish, etc.), and lots of character training resources I'd like to work through this year.  The top shelf is my Bible resources I use daily and a couple to-do piles.  I'm currently working on putting together the curriculum I created last year for my own kids for a good friend of mine.  If it's not out to remind me, I'll never do it!

This is my schooling corner.  Yeah, it's at my dining room table and it's not real pretty, I know.  But, there really isn't a good place for all this stuff if I want easy access to it.  The first basket (under the table) is my science picture books for the first 10 weeks of school.  We are using God's Design for Life: Plants and I have added a book (or two) to almost every chapter so my kids have more visuals and my younger kids can enjoy science with us without being lectured to with just the textbook.  The second basket is all my teacher texts that I teach from daily: All About Spelling/Reading, God's Design for Life: Plants, Vocabulary from Classical Roots, First Language Lessons, etc.  I'd like to eventually get these onto my top homeschool shelf when my to-do piles disappear.  The third basket is my Tapestry of Grace books that I'm using for the next month.  I have another basket in my office for future weeks.  Books, books, books!  On the table is my bucket of highlighters, markers, pencils and pens (I don't spill my bucket), my teacher binder with lesson plans and other lesson paperwork.  My stuff is ready to go all day long.  My biggest worry is spilling drinks at lunch or dinner, but I pretty much sit at my chair for meals so that no one is near my stuff.  ;)

This is Sid the Science Kid's school desk.  After getting distracted a lot last year, we made a space for him in our office to do his schoolwork.  He does much better behind a closed door.  To the right on the floor, sandwiched between Myra's medical supplies, is his red drawer of school supplies.  His incomplete work stays on top of the desk, and as he completes it, he puts it away in his drawer on the floor.  When the desk is clear, his school work is done!  On the wall you can see his name tag (for fun) and his weekly checklist.  This tells him exactly what needs completed daily and I can see exactly what he's done at any point in the school day.  He is actually a very diligent worker and I'm proud of his efficient, accurate work most days.

One of the benefits to having a husband be a public school teacher is all the fun 'school' stuff my kids get that I normally wouldn't bother to buy.  This year they all have name tags from left over years my husband taught 1st and 4th grade.  The kids thought they were fun and the math charts will come in handy.

This is the girl's school corner (1st and 3rd).  It's actually in the corner of my kitchen, right next to our piano.  LOL, our house isn't a show home by any means!  I wouldn't put the girls near each other, except they will probably never be at their desks together.  I work with Angelica Pickles between 8 and 9 and Princess Pea from 9 to 10.  So, any independent work Angelica Pickles might have will definitely be done by the time Princess Pea and I are done at 10.  We got these desks from another homeschool family and I honestly didn't think I would ever put desks in my house.  But, with two doing a lot of independent work and having a PreK and 1st grader I'm also teaching, I needed a place for my older two to do work without distraction. And if the older two have a desk, you can bet the younger two wanted one, also!  The girls each have a little space for all their school books in their desk, too.  That keeps things nice and tidy throughout the school day.  You can see on Princess Pea's desk to the right (3rd grade), her weekly checklist is adhered to her desk.

And, of course, Boo Boo had to have a desk!  He doesn't even have a chair right now.  If he wants to be at his desk while I'm schooling at the table, then he pulls a chair over from the table.  You can see our color words on the wall and on the left wall is all the kids' All About Spelling/Reading sticker charts.  I need to find a new place for these...

Our window sill in the dining room is storage for math games/manipulatives, Bob books and kid Bibles. It's usually our display shelf for projects, too.

Our dining room wall has always been a large display board.  This is the only wall you can see from our living room, and for a time I tried to keep it clear from homeschool stuff.  But, it's just too large a wall to not use!  Currently we have the names of God and the Lord's Prayer up from last year's bible lessons and we have up our Tapestry timeline, family rules, books of the bible poster, 10 commandments poster and a science project displayed from these past two weeks of the 2012-2013 year.

I think that's pretty much it.  Our poor dining room is our classroom.  No formal dining room here!  All my other school books are on five large bookshelves in the office surrounding Sid's school desk.  Wish I could create a fabulous space, but until we get some more room, that's not going to happen.  I am content with what I have.  ;)

Looking forward to drooling over other school rooms at ihomeschoolnetwork.com!

A Day in the Life of the Kelloggs.....

Back for the last week of the Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop 2012!  Today, a day in the life of the Kelloggs!

I'm going to make this brief, otherwise it will take you all day to read it! ;)  I posted a moment-by-moment day a few years ago HERE.  Of course, this is more of an ideal schedule.

Here we go...

6:15 Mama showers and gets ready for the day.  May forfeit shower for extra sleep some days.

6:50 Personal devotions

7:20 Make Breakfast before the kids come downstairs.

7:30 Wake children, eat breakfast together.  We go over family rules and memory verses and also pull up worships songs on the iPad for family worship time over breakfast.  We try not to listen to I'm a Soldier in the Army DAILY per BooBoo's request. Then we do a formal bible study together.  This year we are following a curriculum based off THESE movies.  

7:55 Helping Habits (chores) 

8:00 Myra's nurse arrives and starts Myra's checklist of therapy, brushing teeth, stretching, massage, cloth diaper laundry, etc.  This is new to me and I will have a hard time not being very involved with her throughout the day.  But, the help is much needed because I could never get through all I need to in a day without some extra hands these days. Last school year was very difficult.  They will be here until noon.

During this time Sid and Princess Pea are working on independent work like piano, devotions, copywork and math.  Each kid has their own "independent work" checklist that they work through each day, so no one is asking me constantly what they should be doing.  BooBoo is playing alone upstairs, reading books, doing file folder activities and hopefully staying entertained.

I start working with Angelica Pickles (1st grade).  She has to be very motivated to work hard and not be difficult.  I allow her a candy treat after morning or afternoon work is completed with a good attitude.  We are working on Horizons Math 1, Language Smarts B, First Language Lessons, All About Spelling Level 1 and eventually All About Reading Level 2 when it comes out in September.  This isn't her only individual time with me, so we don't have to get through all this in an hour.

9:00 Angelica Pickles continues work we've started together and Sid continues independent work like CQLA, Wordly Wise and Drawn into the Heart of Reading.  BooBoo will have some computer or iPad time.

I start school with Princess Pea (3rd grade).  She is a fast, hard worker.  We will get through jump starting lessons in CQLA, Beginning Reasoning and Reading, Drawn into the Heart of Reading, Language Lessons for the Young Child 2 and any math that needs explained.  The rest of the work she will continue on her own in the few hours before lunch.  I have scheduled some time for reading aloud Laura Ingalls or American Girl doll stories in this hour.  Angelica Pickles and BooBoo might sit in on these stories, too.

10:00 Princess Pea continues work we've started and Angelica Pickles and BooBoo are now playing nicely together upstairs....ideally.  ;) The older kids take little breaks when they do piano practice, bathroom breaks, playing with the kitten or getting distracted by the little ones.  They aren't working constantly for 4 hours.  They have plenty of time to get their work done and still take little breaks.  Sid needs lots of redirecting but Princess Pea does a good job of not getting too distracted.

I begin jump starting lessons for Sid the Science Kid (5th grade) in Reasoning and Reading, Drawn into the Heart of Reading, CQLA and Vocabulary from Classical Roots if needed.  Most of his curricula really do a good job teaching right to the student.  I'll just be here for guidance when needed, such as for writing lessons and using graphic organizers for reading.  I also have scheduled time to read to him the Cooper Kids Series during this time. 

11:00  By this time it's possible Princess Pea is done with her morning work and is playing with BooBoo and Angelica Pickles.  Angelica Pickles will have computer or iPad time.  Sid will have some work.  He may have a longer break between 9 and 10 if he's waiting on me to explain some things and finishes his independent work before 10.

I start PreK with BooBoo (PreK4).  We are reading books together and working through All About Reading Level 1 and Horizons Math Kindergarten.  A full hour seems like a long time, but I expect to be PLAYING with him during part of it.  Games, maybe Starfall.com, light sabers...whatever.  I just wanted to block some time with him, otherwise he will get lost in the mess of older homeschool schedules. 

11:50 If Myra isn't happy with the nurse I'll need to make lunch quickly so I can take her at noon when she leave.  Kids will do Helping Habits to help me get lunch on the table.

12:00 We do Character Training stories over lunch time.  Thursdays we leave for Myra's therapy at noon, so those days the kids get a little less time with me in the morning.  

12:30 Helping Habits to clean up lunch and prepare for afternoon school.

Our afternoons get a little crazy.  We leave for therapy at 4:30 on Mondays, 1:30 on Tuesdays, we leave for dance at 3:30 on Wednesdays, we leave for therapy at noon on Thursdays and have swim lesson at 2, and on Fridays we have co-op from 9am through lunch for 8 weeks every Fall and Spring.  

So...our schedule is different every day.  Sigh.

But, almost every day I try to give the older three kids another 20-30 minutes with me individually to answer questions and check their daily work.  We do God's Design for Life science on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I do All About Spelling with Sid and Princess Pea on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.  And this is also our time for Tapestry of Grace.  I will have at least and hour daily to do read alouds, work on maps and work on projects.  I hope that's enough!  Some days we will do Tapestry at therapy to not waste another hour.  The kids can finish projects during their independent work times if needed.  BooBoo and Miracle will hopefully nap well!

And that's it!  Phew!  I really hope I can sustain this schedule for 36 weeks.  I have scheduled in 6 catch-up weeks throughout the year to help me from getting behind, and hopefully give us a lighter schedule for that week.  Then I have all of June if I need it.  So, I have some wiggle room.  

I look forward to reading about more schedules at Heart of the Matter!

2 year Family Update

Alright, an update on the family is overdue.

You are probably are wondering why I could go TWO YEARS without posting and I've posted a few times in a week.  Well...that's what VACATION is for, right?  Actually, over the last three weeks I have been preparing for the new school year and I'm finally done...and still have 4 days left of vacation!  Pretty pathetic vacation time when you look at 365 days in a year, but I'll take what I can get.  ;)

For those of you who remember where we were 2 years ago, Miracle is still very time consuming with her needs.  She will be three in September!!   She started playing with toys this winter and her vision and arm control are getting better, so she's actually been learning to entertain herself for periods of time.  We also got a wheelchair in December and she is enjoying sitting in that more often than our laps these days.  She still prefers the floor, though.  And our laps after dinner closer to bedtime.  And still takes all her naps in my arms.  We are working on this... ;)

She has just recently learned to roll on her own through an intense physical therapy program in Pontiac, MI called Euro-PEDS.  I was very impressed with the program when she came home rolling and taking her first steps with a gait trainer! She receives physical, occupational and speech therapy all twice a week and it's 30 minutes from our home.  That kills our homeschool day.  We are trying to do dual therapy and cut down on how many times I have to leave the house in a week.

 Miracle at Euro-PEDS in Pontiac, MI doing intense physical therapy

Sadly, she stopped nursing at 2.  I wanted to nurse until she was taking a bottle again, but after seizures (I assume) her ability to latch on and stay on to nurse was getting worse daily.  We also were teaching her to bite on food and she loved to practice her new-found skill while nursing!  And she didn't just bite, she never let go!  Between biting and taking close to 50x to latch on each feeding, I had to give up.  It was too stressful for both of us.  Unfortunately, she is now full-time g-tube fed.  We will get back to oral feeding some day.  I just don't have an hour multiple times a day to devote to working on oral skills and practicing eating, which is what it will take to get her eating again.  I have lots of stretching, massage and therapy to do with her daily and it hasn't been getting done on school days either.  I feel like a Special Needs Mom Failure most days.  I still will never understand completely why God gave me Miracle after giving me four other children and I still have a desire to have more!

Yes, undeniable insane. That's me.

She got hearing aids at 18 months, though I had been concerned since she was an infant about her hearing.  At least she has them now.  She cries when you forget to put them on after naps or wait too long in the morning to put them on. Apparently the first 18 months she had a hard time hearing my voice (heartbreaking for me) and could only hear when her siblings screamed, cried or yelled.  THAT is why she always smiled when they cried.  We always thought that was funny, but really it was cause it was the only time she could hear them well.  Eh, I think she still smiles when they cry... But, by the amazing power of technology, Miracle can hear just as well as I can now (it just sounds like everyone is talking through a tunnel).

Wish we could fix everything that way.

She also uses hand splints to keep her thumb out and in a useful position, ankle-foot orthodics to keep her right foot from getting contractures in her ankle from constant pointing of her toes and high tone, a stander to work lower body muscles and practice head control and she will hopefully be getting a gait trainer soon, too.  She took 16 steps in a row on her own with a gait training at Euro-PEDS this month!  Never been so excited for the first steps of any of my children...  She also takes Zantac and two anti-seizure medications daily.  She has been having seizures more regularly since February of this year.  We went 1.5 years without them.  Very disappointing.  And now she is regularly getting boils on her bottom - I assume from being in the same positions all the time.  Sigh.

Miracle with her new therapy kitten, Oreo

Homeschool has been rough the past few years.  Still enjoying it, just finding it difficult to get it all done.  The year Miracle was born (2009-2010) we started Adventures in My Father's World and Sonlight K science and it took us a year and a half to get through it.  Their math, phonics and grammar was all done in a reasonable 9/10 months.  Then in 2011-2012 I created my own curriculum studying cultures and geography around the world and I didn't get as much done as I wanted and we schooled through June.  Though when I gave them their final quiz and saw all that they had learned, I felt much better.  Again, their math, grammar and self-studies were done in May, just my teaching didn't get done on time.

Needless to say, Miracle takes up a lot of my time and I love her to death.  But, I realized this year bouncing between my 5 children, that I truly needed help.  More than I wanted to ask for.  So I began a search for some kind of respite care and found out that she qualifies for nursing care via her g-tube and I can probably get whatever I request!

Score!

So, I found an agency and we've been working all summer getting things in place for help as soon as school starts in the fall.  I originally requested 2 hours a day.  Then I planned my homeschool and decided I needed 10 hours each day.  ;)  Right now they will be coming in 4 hours a day and I may request a few more hours on certain days once we get started.  We had looked at Preschools in May because I was desperate to get a few hours of school in without interruption.  I just do not want her away from me AT ALL.  I wanted to cry thinking about all the stress I would have wondering how they were caring for her and what she was doing knowing she couldn't tell me herself.  So glad we found another route.  I think I would have taken a year off of school illegally before taking her to Preschool.

An update on 2 years of my life and it's kind of depressing.

It has been rough and stressful, but I'm still loving being home and my kids are too.  They are doing excellent in their studies and I'm very proud of them.  We have enjoyed the school we have crammed in between sports, swim and piano lessons, therapy sessions and life.

 Chess Tournament 2012

Sid the Science Kid 2nd Place

Princess Pea 3rd  Place and she got the Sportsmanship Trophy!

Sid the Science Kid is 9 and currently into baseball after his first year of Wildcat.  He is above average in all his school studies and makes my teaching more difficult in some ways as I try to challenge him but still keep him young.  He is talented in piano and is taking off in his lessons.  He's just one of those kids we all hated in school that was good at almost everything he does.  He is pretty obedient, but a negotiator in all situations.  That's where the brains get him in trouble.  And he has some issues with getting into others personal space and keeping his hands to himself.  But, all around he a great kid.  And he still loves me.  At least for a few more years...

Sid and his Lego creation at the Children's Museum in Indy

Princess Pea is 7 and exactly that, our princess.  She is very obedient and helpful.  She has a little of her mama in her and has the most trouble with compassion and saying sorry to her siblings.  She loves reading and most school.  She is currently into American Girl dolls and has saved up enough money to buy her own this month!  She is also showing some talent in piano and moving through her lessons steadily.  After having a little brainiac to follow, she is following very close behind her brother's footsteps.  I expect a lot of her, almost like another first born, but she takes the pressure well.  She loves Miracle to death and is always holding her and helping me.  And, of all of my children, I see an undeniable love for God in her.  She was baptized last fall and she just loves her devotion time and sees God in everything.  Her Christmas list was split into things she wanted and things she 'needs' last year - Jesus, God and a clean heart.  Melts my heart.

 Princess Pea swinging with Miracle at the park

Angelica Pickles is cute as a button, but rotten to the core!   Oh, she can be oh so sweet....when she wants candy or gum or a special trip or icecream or to play a game or a snack or a friend over or or or or... She is a child who is never satisfied or content.  And when she wants something, she lets the whole neighborhood know.  But, she loves Miracle to death and pretends to do therapy with her all the time.  That is when I see her the softest.  Her and BooBoo have gotten closer over the years and they have that love-hate brother-sister relationship.  Her and Sid have a hate-hate relationship most of the time.  Her and Princess Pea can get along, but more often they are competing with each other.  I wish I knew more ways of softening her, but for now we just survive her fits and move on.  Kindergarten was interesting this year.  She is super bright but not very motivated.  She gets frustrated more easily.  This year will be a challenge, I'm sure.

 Angelica Pickles lost her first tooth this month

BooBoo is still my spoiled little boy.  He is still so sweet for the most part, but with the influence of his older brother and Star Wars, this sweet little boy can quickly turn into a light saber swinging, baseball playing monster some days.  He is also a media junkie.  I don't like the tv and we often go weeks without turning it on for the kids at all.  But, he loves the iPad and iPhone and Angry Birds.  I used to give him my phone a lot to read books while I schooled, or at appointments or whatever.  But, once he discovered Angry Birds, The Tortoise and the Hare just wasn't as appealing anymore.  Disappointing, I know.  Once school starts I will have a strict rule that he has to read or do an educational game half of his iPad time, but for now I just try to avoid him getting a hold of it!  Hoping he will enjoy Starfall. com this school year, or other educational sites for his age.  I have lots of hours to keep him entertained.

BooBoo being the goofball he usually is

BooBoo with cape held together with a pantyliner, complements of my friend Michelle 

(great babysitter, huh?)

Mr. Prince is teaching 3rd grade for the first time this year.  I like teaching the same grade he is and comparing my curricula to his.  ;)  Mine are always better and more advanced.  Hehe.  He was able to play basketball, soccer and baseball this past year.  We decided that we needed out of the house more last year, so we each got involved in a lot. Probably too much, so we are cutting it down for this year.  But, it's good for the both of us.

And then there is me.  School dominates most of my daily and even nightly schedule, but last year I did dance in the same Christian dance troupe as my girls and did Bible Study Fellowship.  BSF was a lot and I couldn't keep up in the spring once all our outside activities had their end of the year bashes.  I loved dancing again after over 17 years of being away from it.  I got my flexibility back, lost 20lbs and just enjoyed myself.  Unfortunately, we can't afford for me to dance again this year.  But, it looks like my church is putting together a performance based dance group for Sunday worship services that I'm going to look into.  That would probably better suit my schedule anyway.  BSF is actually studying Genesis this year too, just like we are in homeschool, but I'm not sure I want to make that commitment again.  We shall see.  For now, I look forward to the few GNOs I get and chatting on the phone when I have a moment.

Me, Angelica Pickles and Princess Pea at the Restored to Glory dance presentation 2012

There is your update!  Probably no one ever needs to know THAT much about my family, but it's a good summary for our family scrapbooks.  Hope to someday browse the blogs I used to frequent and see what everyone else is up to two year later, also!

It's been almost TWO YEARS since my last post...

THAT will tell you how stinking busy I have been!  ;)

I'll have to update the family later, because right now I'm posting to join in the Not-Back-to-School-Blog-Hop 2012!

It's the first week and I'm here to share curriculum choices.  After slaving over these things for week, months and even years (yes, that would be my history choice), it's nice to be able to share and possibly help another homeschool mom at the same time!

Wow, I miss blogging...

Well, it's a BIG year coming up for our family.  Lots on everyone's plate, which means even more on Mama's platter!  This year Sid the Science Kid (9) is doing 5th/6th grade work, Princess Pea (7) is doing 3rd grade work, Angelica Pickles (6) is doing 1st grade work, BooBoo (4) is doing Kindergarten work and Miracle (2) is doing her own kind of work with physical, occupational and speech therapy!

I have actually been looking forward to this year for a long time.  This is the year we start Tapestry of Grace Year 1!  I have been drooling over this curriculum for over three years now.  No joke.  I had some stuff I wanted to do with the kids before I jumped in, but it's been on my calendar for 2012 since before 2009.  We did some early American History with Adventures in My Father's World in 2009-2010 and then I put together my own curriculum for studying the continents, countries, world religions, major ecosystems, famous landmarks, and famous people for 2011-2012 school year.  We loved both those years of history/geography and can't wait to start Tapestry next week!

But, that is not all we have on the calendar this year...

For science we are using God's Design for Life by Answers in Genesis covering Plants, Animals and the Human Body.  We have used Sonlight science in the past, and I'm more of a living books kind of teacher, so I'm adding to this curriculum to make it what I want it.  It's great information and I love the Creation-based information throughout it that I can't find elsewhere, but I miss the books! So, I have picked up a picture book and/or video for almost every chapter of Plants for this fall and I think I have exactly what I want for my kiddos!  Plus, BooBoo and Angelica Pickles can do science with us and it won't be completely over their heads!

For Bible we are doing a number of things- and I'm loving how they all complement each other!  Sid will continue with the Studying God's Word series with book E studying Genesis through Ruth this year.  This goes right along with our study in Tapestry of Creation through the fall of Rome and Church History.  As a family we will start out the year studying the 10 commandments in detail with a curriculum based off THESE videos.  Our Character Training studies are usually based off of great books like In Grandma's Attic, Storytime with the Millers and A Hive of Busy Bees, but for the first part of the year we will be reading through Susan and Richie Hunt's Discovering Jesus in Genesis.  Are you starting to see a theme here?  I promise, it wasn't all of my doing.  Even the girls' dance program with the Christian dance troupe Restored to Glory is portraying the story of the Israelites traveling to the Promised Land!  So, I'm just running with it.  When we are done studying the 10 Commandments we will be using Answers in Genesis Bible Curriculum for Kids for the rest of the year.  I'll have books and books for Character Building, but I'll decide on those later based on what exactly my children need  to be drilled into their minds encouragement in at that time.  Each child has their own age-appropriate devotional they do daily, we do daily family worship in the mornings (or sometimes just in the car when we are on the go) and we use THIS Charlotte Mason system for verse memorization.

Those are the curriculums we do together as a family.

Sid the Science Kid (9) is always one step ahead of me.  I teach him something and he often adds to my teaching, already knowing more than what I've taught.  He reads SO MUCH, though it's slowed down a bit this summer with his interest in Baseball.  But, the boy usually devours nonfiction, biographies and realistic fiction.  He is working his way through The Chronicles of Narnia currently, reading each one more than once.  If only I had that much time to read...sigh.  So, he's a bit of a challenge curriculum-wise.  I need to cover the material he doesn't know without boring him, repeating too much and giving him some challenges along the way.  He took the Stafford this spring and his average grade equivalency was 8th grade 9th month, getting post high school GE on a few subjects like math and reading.  Yeah, a challenge.  So, here is his line up this year:

Bible - Studying God's Word E (finish Queen Homeschool study Honorable Boy, also)
Math - Horizons 5 (scope and sequence more like a 6th grade math text)
Language Arts - Character Quality Language Arts (CQLA) Red Level A includes copywork, writing, dictation, grammar and editing but we skip the spelling
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 3 & 4, I'm keeping Sid and Princess Pea together and we are halfway through Level 3 and LOVE this program!  Sid hardly ever spells anything wrong, so this is just foundational teaching as far as I see it.
Reading - Reasoning and Reading 1 - reading skills and word relationship in the context of reading
Drawn into the Heart of Reading - character, plot, setting, climax study with living books
Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 5 and Vocabulary from Classical Roots 4 & 5, I just found this program and can't wait to teach him Latin and Greek roots without taking a college course in it myself!
Poetry - Institutes for Excellence in Writing Poetry Memorization unit
Extras - piano lessons, soccer, swim lessons, co-op and church choir
I am also reading the Cooper Kids Adventures Series by Frank Peretti to him.  I think these are a little dark, so I wanted to be there to explain some things as he read them.

Princess Pea (7) is following very closely in her brother's path.  She doesn't devour nonfiction books like him, but she does read a lot and she's probably around 4th grade reading level.  She loves learning and is an easy one to persuade to do one more chapter or one more lesson.  She is ahead of her peers but doesn't mind being challenged, so I take the liberty of doing so.  Here is her line up this year:

Bible - Finish Leading Little Ones to God, Personal devotions with I Am Loved by Sheila Walsh, SOAP method or Veggie Tales Obedience devotional
Math - Horizons 3
Language Arts - CQLA Red Level A, I could have put her in PreA but it seemed easier to have her doing the same lessons as her brother and just adjusting the lessons for her level if I need to
Language Lessons for the Elementary Child 2- I'm using this for reviewing grammar from last year and learning to write poetry. It includes narration and pictures narration that CQLA doesn't have.  She will also being doing extra copywork to improve some sloppy handwriting she's developed.
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 3 & 4
Reading - Beginning Reasoning and Reading & Drawn into the Heart of Reading
Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 2 & 3, we are finishing up 2 and moving on to 3 in the fall
Poetry - Institutes for Excellence in Writing Poetry Memorization unit
Extras - piano lessons, dance with Restored to Glory, co-op, swim lessons and church choir
I will be reading Laura Ingalls and probably some American Girl Doll series books to her this year. We will start with McKenna since she just purchased the doll in Chicago all by herself after saving since last October!

Angelica Pickles is, well....Angelica Pickles!  Don't you remember her from Rugrats?  Antagonistic, bratty, I'm-an-angel-when-I-want-something attitude?  Sigh....this is my 6 year old little girl.  I love her to death, but she will be the death of ME someday.  She is definitely my challenge, both in parenting and schooling.  So, we will be taking school slowly so as to enjoy learning and avoid as many battles as possible, while still moving forward and accomplishing my goals for her.  Here is her loose line up:

Bible - Finish Leading Little Ones to God
Math - Horizons 1, she is excellent in math but doesn't like the repetition so I'll be adjusting the lessons to be less work while still knowing that she's learned the information
Language Arts - First Language Lessons, we love this 1st/2nd grade book and it's gentle and oral
Language Smarts B- we LOVE this large, colorful book and it complements FLL well, filling in where it misses some stuff and we will probably do this into 2nd grade also
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 1 & 2, we are halfway through Level 1 currently
Reading - while waiting for All About Reading Level 2 to come out in September we will continue with Language Lessons for Little Ones 3 for reading instruction, thought it isn't my favorite book
Phonics - Explode the Code 3 & 4, all my kids love this series and I use it for review of concepts
Handwriting - Copywork daily
Poetry - Institutes for Excellence in Writing Poetry Memorization unit
Extras - dance with Restored to Glory, co-op, swim lessons and church choir

BooBoo is 4 but he's already started his Horizons K book and is reading some words.  So we will be working slowly through Horizons K and All About Reading Level 1 this year.  Then we will be reading books from the Sonlight book lists and maybe some Five in a Row books together. I have blocked a full HOUR every morning to spend with him and I'm very excited for our time together!

I think that's it!  Our checklists, binders, lesson plans and workbooks are all ready to go for Monday, August 6th!  We won't do every subject the first week, but by week two we will be full blown into the 2012-2013 school year.  We are doing a new schedule this year, taking a break or catch-up week every 5-7 weeks throughout the year.  That way I don't feel like I'm 'behind' all year long!  This gives me 6 full weeks to get behind and never really be behind.  Then, I also have June to fall back on if needed.  Hoping it works out!

Looking forward to reading more posts at www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com!

Birthday Party Fun

Well, since Myra's birthday we have had a super busy schedule. Besides the weekly homeschool, ballet, piano, soccer practice, soccer game, Wednesday night church and kids choir, physical and occupational therapy...I was trying to plan a birthday party for all three girls and get Sid the Science Kid ready for his first Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) meet of the year.

Doesn't sound like much, but it is.

The girls' party got canceled the weekend of the 25th because I was advised to take Myra to the ER since it looked like she was starting her spasms again. Very long story short - the ER did nothing and it was a waist of my time and Myra's 1st birthday! Though, me and my friend Mandy had fun together! And, she seemed to be happy there most of the time...

She loves her new book that folds out!

Sleeping on Mandy's shoulder as we leave.

Because I wasn't home to finish last-minute preparation for the party, we canceled it that Saturday and rescheduled it for the weekend of Oct 2nd. That happened to be the same day at the first JBQ meet for Sid the Science Kid and that was a little crazy.

In the morning we went to the meet and watched two of Sid's matches, drove around to three different stores to pick up balloons (because a store closed that I usually use!), and picked up our fabulous babysitter so she could be with the girls at the party.

Side-story: While I was on my way home from getting balloons (ones I had to get while leaving all 5 kids in the car because the store was decked out in Halloween decorations) there was a man walking up and down the median of a huge intersection in the middle of the city wearing a horrific mask advertising a Halloween store! I was livid! I avoid taking my kids places the entire month of October, and now much of September, to sheild them from the horrors of Halloween. We turn off our lights and do not participate in the festivities per our own beliefs and convictions, and also to not scare my young children. Why must a store advertise with a scary mask? Why not Superman or a clown? Isn't Halloween supposed to be for children? Why can I not drive through my own city without being forced to see such garbage? Thankfully this man was walking toward my car from behind and my children did not see him walking. I was almost shaking with anger when I opened my door and asked the man to turn around and walk the other way because I have young children in the car, and that I would be contacting his manager for the grotesque way in which they were advertising. Grr, it still irks me to talk about it...

ANYway.... the party began and it was so fun! It was a Fairy Theme for all three girls...Princess Pea will be 6 at the end of October, Angelica Pickles turned 4 in May (her party was originally canceled because Myra started a steroid/immune-suppression treatment for Infantile Spasms) and Myra just turned 1 on September 24th. I had fun making tutus and head pieces for the party, but it was time consuming. And thankfully I have great friends, and even their husbands, that helped!

Myra (12 months) and cousin Avery's (3 months) tutus

That's 15 tutus from over 80 yards of tulle

Angelica Pickles fairy set she chose

Princess Pea's fairy costume

Each girl had a tutu, leafy head piece, wings and a wand to take home

I went for simple with the cake - chocolate and vanilla...

....and cupcakes!

Angelica Pickles and Princess Pea awaiting the arrival of their friends...

Friend Savannah coloring Tinker Bell pictures with Angelica Pickles

Backside of Jayden and Elle - too cute!

Miracle Myra is 1 year old!

Wow.

I'm a little overwhelmed this day thinking about last year. This has been one of the longest years of my life. Yet, I am so very grateful for all I have learned this past year, how my relationship and trust in Christ is the best it ever has been, and how many miracles I have been privileged to witness. I think we all witness miracles in our lifetime if we are paying attention. But, how many people get to witness them daily, weekly or even monthly? Why God chose me I do not have to ask. He is my Creator and He knows me. He promised to walk with me through all life's challenges, and I can honestly say He has calmly led me this past year as I clung to Him with a sort of death-grip. God is good, all the time. And I will never again be the same person after this year.

Me just weeks before Myra was born.

The first time I saw Myra at just a few hours old, 5lbs 15oz

And now look at her! 12lbs 8oz

Cracking up...

Sweet smiles...

Sleeping peacefully...

You can see her beautiful curls here - the curls mentioned prophetically by my pastor who had a vision of Myra dancing at 3 years old with the glory of God upon her. Yet another small glimpse God is allowing us to hold onto right now as we wait for what the future holds.

So, though Myra still currently has challenges, I see how God is continuing to chip away at me and Mr. Prince, continuing to form us into who He wants us to be through this whole experience. And, though I wish for Myra to just be miraculously healed, I know there will be incredible benefits in my life for us to continue to walk into this 'world of the unknown', trusting God and His plan for Myra. But, I will continue to petition my God for her healing. And, I am still looking for miracles in our daily lives. I don't want to miss what God is doing!

Dear sweet Myra Annette,

You have no idea the impact you have made in the lives of so many people in your short 365 days of life. You have given people a window into the heart of a loving, gracious God. You have given people hope in their own desperate situations as they see your miracles. You are a privileged creation, fashioned by an Almighty God of the Heavens and the Earth in my womb. He knew your life story before you were even born. He also knows the ending to the story, which is only the beginning for us as believers. Myra, someday you will understand the love your God has for you and all the things He has done for you. We will tell you every day how much you have been blessed. I have no doubt you will be thankful and use your birth history as HIS-story. I look forward to having the privileged of being your mother for yet another year. I love you so much, Myra. Happy 1st Birthday!

Your Mommy

You can read more details about Myra's birth HERE.