Update: Field Trips and Progress October 29, 2008

It’s been a while, but life is busy.  Let’s update.  We’ll start with field trips. 

A couple Fridays ago, the boys’ teacher at NVVA arranged for a field trip to McKee Ranch.  The kids all had a great time!  There were animals, and pumpkins, and ranch “stuff.”  It was all very exciting!  They got to feed carrots to a goat, donkey, and horses.  They also saw a pig and chicken, which they got to pet.  Logan, Gavin, and Daphne went on a horseback ride.  Genevie was too little, and too tired.  While they were on the horses, they got to learn some interesting things about the horses, which Logan especially liked.  Here’s some pictures. 

                       

Sadly my camera battery died right after that picture of Logan, and I couldn’t get Gavin or Daphne on horseback. 

Also in the last month, NVVA arranged for a field trip to the Planetarium.  This one was just Logan and me.  It was pretty good.  They had some getting to know you activities for the kids, and they were all pretty shy, but it was still fun.  Then we got to go watch the Planetarium show which was Black Holes.  I was pretty excited about that.  It was actually very good.  (Nerd alert!  The narrator for the movie was John de Lancie, who played Q on Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  I thought that was pretty nifty.)  After the movie, the kids got to ask lots of questions.  It was a fun trip, and one I’d definitely like to do again! 

October was a busy month.  The Library District also held a Scottish Festival and an Autumn Arts Festival, both of which were fun.  Here are some pictures from the Scottish Festival.  (I LOVE the costumes!!) 

               

 

On to actual schooling.  The boys are doing great!  We’ll start with Gavin.  Gavin has 17 math chapters in kindergarten math.  They are meant to last the whole year, but since everything is mastery based, if you know it, you can test out of it, or move through it quickly.  Gavin has gone through the first 9 chapters already, testing out of more than half of it.  He really loves math, too.  Once he finishes kindergarten math, he can move up to first grade math.  He’s had a bit of trouble with phonics, because he says it’s boring, and he’s right.  It really is dry.  But, we’ve got to get through it so that we can get to learning how to read.  I tell him you’ve got to know the sounds before you can read.  So, it has been a bit of a battle getting him to do phonics, but I discovered two great things that have changed things completely.  First, if we do it while he is eating, he doesn’t mind doing it.  Also, if I chunk together 3-5 lessons at a time (which he gets through really fast), it is much easier.  Then, I pointed out to him that when we get through all this, he will be learning to read.  That got him pretty excited, and now he is asking to do phonics!  He came out the other day in the middle of me cooking dinner and asked if he could do phonics right then, because he really wants to learn to read! 

Now, for Logan.  He’s doing really well.  He really likes history and art.  I enjoy doing history with him, too (and Gavin as well).  He’s been learning about Ancient Rome, and is really sailing though the lessons.  At the end of each lesson, he gets to draw a picture about what we’ve learned about.  He seems to enjoy that quite a bit.  I’ve loved it, too.  I’m learning things that I was never taught about, or that I’ve forgotten.  Being a history lover myself, I’m pretty tickled that Logan has taken a liking to it.  Also with his history, I’m able to draw a lot of parallels to our society and politics today.  I love being able to tie things together like that, and I think it helps make it more real for him.  With art, he’s been learning about different artists and styles.  He likes to experiment with all of them.  I love seeing how creative he can be.  He’s pretty talented, too.  Logan had a little struggle with math, but is still ahead of the game with it, and seems to be understanding stuff more.  We’ve just worked with him and done extra practice.  I found that if I make it relate to real life, he does a better job.  For example, one morning I was cooking pancakes, and I asked him something like “If I have 15 pancakes, and Gavin eats 4 of them, how many do I have left?”  It worked well for him. 

So, we are progressing.  Some days I feel like I want to pull my hair out, and other days are just great.  But, such is life.  So far, I’m glad we went with this program, and I’m pretty satisfied with it.

Where Does the Time Go? September 29, 2008

Wow!  It’s been a long time since I posted.  We’ve just been really busy!  Life as a homeschooler, I’ve discovered, is much more crazy than I thought it would be.  Now, granted, a lot of that is just getting used to not being on the school district schedule, and finding our own routine.  That has been a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I think I had pictured this wonderful thing where both the boys would sit down at the table at 9am and we would begin school and have our little school day with little to no interruptions, with the boys paying close attention and doing all that I ask of them without a problem, while the little ones play with their educational toys, and have it all done by lunch-time. (Oh, is that Beethoven playing in the background?)  Hello!  Real world!  It’s great to dream, but then reality sets in.  Some days it’s tough as nails to get one or both of them to cooperate.  Other days they are excited about our lessons.  Then, there are those days where I throw my hands up and wonder what the heck I’m doing!  But, all-in-all, things are getting better.  We all have to adjust to this new lifestyle, and it just takes time.  I think we’re getting there, though.  We are having many more good days than bad.  I love being able to teach them good things.  I love being able to tie what we are learning in school to the scriptures, the prophets, and the Gospel.  I love that they have both been able to test out of math that is too easy for them.  I love that we can spend as long as we need to on things that are difficult, while breezing through some of the easier stuff.  I love that I get to spend that time with my kiddos! 

We are going through Nevada Virtual Academy (K12), and that is working out well for us.  I love having the curriculum and lessons already set up, but still having SO much freedom with them.  For example, they had Constitution Day lessons available, and of course I wanted to do those.  So, we went through their lessons about James Madison and the Constitution, which I have to say were surprisingly well done, and then I talked to them about what it says in the scriptures about the Constitution, and my feelings about the Constitution, and how it was really authored by the Lord.  I got to talk to them about patriotism and how blessed we are to live in the United States.  I love being able to do that.  And that is just one example.  We’ve done that with other subjects and lessons, too.  It’s great to have that ability and to be able to make our values part of their education!  One will never find that with public school! 

I’m going to try to post more often, and hopefully as we get into the grove of things better, I’ll be able to.

Catch Up September 2, 2008

It’s been a while since I’ve given any kind of update as to what is going on with our homeschooling, so here we go. 

About one week before the official start of the school year, I got an e-mail from an online school that I looked at months ago, saying they have opened up to K-12, instead of just 4-8, in Nevada.  I thought I would go check into it, and see what they had to offer.  We have since enrolled with them.  Here’s the deal.  I am the one teaching.  I am the one who can control the learning and the environment.  My kids are able to learn at their pace and go as fast or slow as they need.  They offer the whole curriculum.  A small part is online, but most everything else is done offline.  They sent me, and are still sending, tons of materials, including a computer and printer.  I really like the curriculum and the way it is set up, and I’m able to accomplish what I wanted to when we first set out on this journey.  I think it is much the same as it would be had I bought a boxed curriculum, except with this, I have more resources.  I’m still homeschooling my kiddos and enjoying all the wonderful things that go with homeschooling!  It’s been a bit crazy this last week, just trying to get a schedule down.  But, I’m confident that once we do, things will run really well. 

Check out k12.

Quick Update August 11, 2008

It’s been a while since I have posted on here.  I think it is just a crazy time of year.  Most people I talk to feel that way lately.  Anyway, just wanted to post a quick update on what is happening in the homeschool realm. 

A couple weeks ago I took the kids on a field trip to one of our police substations.  That was pretty interesting.  The kids’ favorite part was getting to see and sit in the police car.  My oldest even got to talk over the loudspeaker.  They really enjoyed it. 

Now, we are focusing our efforts on the Olympics.  We are keeping track and graphing the medal count for six different countries.  We are going to be learning more about China, the Ancient Olympics, and all kinds of Olympic trivia.  In a couple weeks we will cap it all off with our own little Kid Olympics.  It should be a ton of fun.

On Thursday, I got the official approval from the school district, so that’s good.

I have also edited and updated their educational plans. 

education-plan-kindergarten     education-plan-2nd-grade

Homeschool Convention June 25, 2008

I attended the homeschool convention last Friday and Saturday, with my friend and fellow homeschooling mom, Amy.  It was way awesome!  Friday they had a used curriculum sale, at which I got lots of good history and writing books for cheapy cheap!  Amy got some very good stuff, too.  After we did the used curriculum sale, we attended a presentation on the Constitution, by Stewart Rhodes.  So amazing!  I loved it!  And, really that’s putting it mildly.  Of course, those that know me well, know I’m very politically involved and that I’m passionate about the Constitution.  So, that was really great!  Then, on Saturday, we went and all the vendors were set up.  Also very cool!  We got our math program, Math-U-See, purchased, which was the main point in going Saturday.  We were also able to see some other really great vendors, like the Atomic Testing Museum and the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, and get lots of good info, especially about more field trips and educational programs.  So, all in all, I would say we had a really great experience and it was pretty fun.  I’ll definitely be going back in the future!  Thanks to Nevada Homeschool Network for putting it all on! 

Math-U-See June 19, 2008

I’m so excited because I think I’ve found the math program that I want to use!  I really thought I was going to use Saxon Math, which really looks like a good program.  However, this looks even better!  You’ve got to check out Math-U-See.  This looks perfect.  A DVD to refresh my brain (because it’s been a long time for some of this stuff), manipulatives, the textbooks look great.  This really looks like it’s it.  I’m hoping to be able to attend their demonstration at our homeschool convention this Saturday.  I’ll report back. 

Decompression and Schooling Types June 1, 2008

I’ve been doing a lot of reading about homeschooling, and have been giving a lot of thought to the idea of decompression time for the kids.  I read somewhere that for every year a child has been in public school, they need a month of time off to readjust.  I think there is a lot of truth to this.  I know, just watching Logan now, he’s getting really burned out.  I think if I were to try to go right into homeschooling, it would really cause problems.  But, by giving him time to adjust to the new schedule, and really it’s a new lifestyle, he’ll be so much more ready to go when it’s time. 

Also, I read in The First Year Of Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson, about the different types of homeschooling.  I found this very interesting.  I could see some that definitely do not fit me, like unschooling.  But, two of the styles really hit right on what I want to do:  school at home, and unit studies.  I thought it was intersting how she nailed down these styles so well.  Lots of good info in reading these.  It also gave me comfort to know that there is a large chunk of people out there doing what I want to do, in a similar way to how I want to.  

Educational Plans May 27, 2008

In order to comply with Nevada Law, when we submit our Notice of Intent to Homeschool, we also have to submit an educational plan.  So, with a great deal of information taken from Rebecca Rupp’s Home Learning Year by Year, I’ve completed the plans for the boys.  I know this is much more detail than the school district requires, but this also serves as a great guide for me.  Anyway, I thought I’d post them, in case anyone was interested. 

 education-plan-kindergarten1     education-plan-2nd-grade

I also went to Barnes and Noble today and ordered Rebecca’s book.  Should be in next week.  I’m pretty excited.  Thank you to Erin for finding it for me!  What a blessing this book has turned out to be! 

Our Classroom May 20, 2008

In my last post, I said I would put up pictures of our classroom, so here they are.  The kids are really loving this space.  We are using our spare bedroom, which is working out really well.  (It’s also used for storing food, crafts, laundry detergent, diapers, toilet paper, and paper towels.  It’s a multi-function room.) 

Here’s the room, before getting it ready. 

     

     

So, it was pretty messy, and kind of our catch all room. 

But, now, I think the change is remarkable! 

   

    

We got it all done in just a couple days, with the help of Grandma and the kiddos. 

Progress and Rewards May 15, 2008

Well, I’m doing much better now.  I think I’m over my Yikes moment, for now.  I’m sure there will be more in the future.  As I’ve read, I’ve come to discover that homeschooling takes some getting used to and some trial and error.  I have every confidence that we will be able to make things work out well.  I’ve started already, with some small things with the kids, and so far so good.  We’ve also got our classroom all ready.  That was a lot of work, but it was actually really fun to do.  The kids helped a bit with it too, as well as Grandma.  I’ll have some pictures of it up in a day or two.  And, a special thank you goes out to my friend Erin, who discovered two amazing books that outline and detail grade by grade curriculum and expectations.  Hooray!

Also, this week I’ve discovered the rewards of telling people that you are a homeschool teacher.  First I went to Learning Is Fun.  When the sweet lady asked me if I was on their mailing list, I replied that I wasn’t, but should be since I was going to be homeschooling four kiddos.  So, when I told them that, they not only put me on their list, but also gave me some teacher magazines, but also some of the coupons teachers get to hand out to their students to get a prize at Learning Is Fun.  Then, when I took our calendar over to OfficeMax to get laminated, I was asked if I was a teacher, and I told them I was a homeschool teacher.  Then, they gave me their teacher discount and reward card.  So, that’s pretty cool.  These stores are now on my newly created list of homeschool friendly businesses.