I Haven’t Jumped Ship! October 14, 2009

No, I haven’t jumped the homeschooling ship, just neglected my blog!  I was trying for a while to be really diligent about posting, but fell off the wagon.  But, now I’m back and there is a ton of exciting stuff going on.  There should be blog posts a-plenty from now on. 

I’m not going to recap everything since May, just move forward from here. 

Logan is now in 3rd grade and is just zooming right along.  Math finally clicked for him and is not causing him any problems.  We’ve also discovered a great way to get him to do his writing assignments – by letting him write about what he is interested in!  (I know, what a concept, right?) 

Gavin is in 1st grade, and not much has changed for him.  He is still speeding through his math course and hating phonics.  We are being creative, though, and getting him to read things without him realizing he’s really doing anything.  You’ve got to be creative sometimes. 

My two little ones are as busy as ever and keep me going all the time.  And, we recently found out we are expecting baby number 5 in April! 

I’m hoping to finish much of this school year’s curriculum before the baby comes, that way we all have some time and room to adjust to our new little addition.  We’ll have to see how that goes. 

The holiday season is rapidly approaching and that means lots and lots and lots of activities!  Hooray for fun activities!  I especially love it when I can incorporate learning (usually without them realizing it) into whatever we are doing.  For example, on Oct. 31, we’ll be attending a super fun event where the kids will participate in all kinds of fun things, and learning about Nevada history at the same time.  (Yeah, Nevada Day is on Halloween.)  Think I can get a way with telling them that all the candy and costumes are just to celebrate Nevada Day?  Yeah, me either.  Anyway, it should be great and there are a ton of other activities going on that we have to look forward to. 

That’s all for now, but stay tuned…

Where, oh where, has the time gone???? March 3, 2009

So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything.  Life has just gotten away from me.  I feel like I might one day eventually slow down, but hey, what’s the hurry? 

Well, we’ve been trucking along with school.  After my dad passed away, it took a bit to get back into the groove of things, but we are getting there…again.  So, since it’s been so long, I thought I’d just give some quick updates, then make a goal to say I’m going to post much more often.  Really, I want to. 

Gavin:  Well, Gavin is getting really into things well again.  A little over a month ago, he finished kindergarten math!  That’s right, completely finished!  He just has a math brain, at least right now anyway.  He was so excited, and frankly, so was I.  He can move on to first grade math anytime, but we are waiting until he catches up on phonics a bit more.  Speaking of phonics, he’s pretty jazzed to do phonics now, not just because it means that he will be getting first grade math, but because he’s reading.  It’s still really hard for him, as he has to sound out the letters most of the time, but he does get the words.  He’s getting more and more all the time, though, and he likes it.  We are also making a ton of progress in language arts.  Since phonics and language arts have been his hard areas, it’s great to see him progressing and wanting to. 

Logan:  Logan is doing really well, too.  He’s also getting caught up on language arts, which is good.  He doesn’t like doing it, but we get through it.  He asked me today why he had to do some of the language arts, but I told him that it really is good to know.  It’s hard to understand that when you are in the midst of really disliking what you are doing.  But, he does it and remembers most of it.  He’s really come a long way with language arts and I’m really pleased with all the progress he’s made.  His other big triumph has been with math.  Wow, what a difference a semester makes!  We’ve switched from doing arithmetic to doing geometry.  He went from struggling and taking a few days for one assignment, to doing a whole unit in one day- by testing out of it.  He’s just got a good brain for the geometry stuff.  He likes it too!  It’s so nice to see him happy and not discouraged about math!  He’s been doing well with all his other stuff, too. 

So, while we’ve been really busy and things have been a bit hectic, we’ve been getting quite a bit done, too.  All-in-all, I think things are going well, and I love doing it!   

And, I really will try to do better with my posts.

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.