Homeschooling Perks

It has been a very full week here - actually much busier than I prefer, but with a lot of fun activities. That is one of the huge benefits of homeschooling...the flexibility and time to do the things we want to do. What most students spend 30 hours a week at school doing (and then additional time doing homework at home), we can accomplish in a mere fraction of the time. I can speak pretty confidently about that because I used to be a teacher prior to having kids, and so I know firsthand how much wasted time there is in a typical classroom. That is not a knock on teachers. It is simply unavoidable when you are teaching a class of 20-35 students. Of course I am able to accomplish much more in a much shorter amount of time with my 2 students than with 30, and can then use the rest of the time to do whatever we want to do. And, although we are trying to stick to a regular daily schedule, I can choose to rearrange that schedule in any way that I want at any time that I choose. So, this is a big perk. Homeschooling is not always an easy path, but we believe strongly in its benefits (obviously...or we wouldn't have chosen it). And, believe it or not, as much we love the flexibility, it's not even at the top of our list of reasons for homeschooling. But, I digress...

This is what our week looked like outside of our regular "class time."

Mondays are nature days for us, and this week we headed to the tide pools and a little secluded cove by hiking around that point in the picture above with our small homeschool group. This year, we brought in an instructor (Mark Hay from Coast Live Oak School) who will join us once a month on our nature days. He teaches weekly nature classes to homeschoolers year-round, but we approached him about doing a private family class for our small group on just a monthly basis. We needed to tailor it more to our younger group and also didn't want to commit the time or money to something weekly. Fortunately for us, he agreed. Our nature days consist mostly of letting the kids just explore and discover, run around, and enjoy nature. But, it's also nice to have someone along who is extremely knowledgable and can teach them much more about God's creation than us moms can do. Plus, we are getting to learn right along with the kids, which is great.

The kids were learning to keep a close watch on the waves before trying to continue around the rocks.

Mr. Mark helping the kids around the rocks.

This is the private little cove that we ended up at and it was awesome. The kids then proceeded to turn the rocks into their castle, complete with a king and queen, princes and princesses.

Exploring the Tide Pools

Then Wednesday, we got to take a field trip to the Long Beach aquarium. (If anyone is interested, the homeschool group rate is only $6/person.)

Thursday, I took the kids to Disneyland (actually to California Adventure) and celebrated the fact that the Disney blackout days are over and they can again enjoy their new passes. I didn't particularly look forward to taking them on my own for the afternoon - what with being almost ready to give birth, swollen and uncomfortable - but I really want them to get to take advantage of the passes that they worked so hard for, and I wanted to try to get a special day in for them before the baby arrives. So, we went, and it turned out to be great. In fact, I might try to do it again one day next week if Tate has still not made his appearance. I warned the kids ahead of time that we would only stay for a few hours and would then have to come home and get some school work done. Their end of the deal was that they needed to show me that this would work, and that they could come home and not be too tired for school if they wanted to try to do days like this more often. It worked out great. We spent a few hours at CA Adventure, took advantage of the fact that most kids are in school and there were hardly any lines, had a great time, and came home and learned more about the first settlement at Jamestown!

And, lastly, on Friday, they started a couple of classes that we're trying out. Addi is enrolled in a 6 week art class, and Jake in a 6 week "Pre-Engineering with Legos" class (how cool is that?), and then they are both in the same Spanish class. That's for about a 3 hour block of time on Fridays. I had originally thought that that would be a great time for me to be able to get a few things accomplished on my own, but it looks like I'll be hanging out and helping in the classes instead. Oh well. So much for grocery shopping and running errands by myself.

And, yes, there's the rub...homeschooling, without a doubt, requires some sacrifice - sacrifice of my desires and time that I would sometimes love to have for me. I wish I could say that I love being with my kids constantly, but that is certainly not always the case. As I think I've mentioned pretty frequently, I am FAR from being the most patient, perfect mom. I lose my temper and get frustrated with my kids far more often than I would like to admit. But, when I start to feel sorry for myself because I am tired of my kids and "deserve" some "me time," I try to remind myself that, really, none of it is my time anyway. It is all time that God has given me with which I should be serving Him; and these little people that He has blessed us with are the people that He has put in my life to be serving right now. And then, I remind myself again of all the reasons that we have chosen this path for our family...but that is certainly a post for another day!

School is in Session!

I hadn't planned on starting school until Monday, but we ended up having our first day today. The kids have been really excited to start - probably because they've seen their new markers, colored pencils, etc. sitting there for weeks and haven't been allowed to touch them - but, I've been holding off. I've been holding off for a few reasons: One, because I've been busy getting organized; two, because I've been waiting on some materials to arrive; and three, because starting school means actually committing to that schedule that I've been working so hard on, and I haven't been quite ready to do that. After all, it's still summer, and who wants to be committed to a schedule in the summer (or anytime, really)? The materials that we had been waiting on finally arrived yesterday though, and the kids actually begged to start school today. We didn't have anything going on and so I decided to go ahead and have our first day a few days early.

Here are the obligatory first day of school photos: I figured that I'd keep it real and show what my kids really look like for school most of the time - little unkempt ragamuffins with unbrushed hair, soccer uniforms (that have been slept in), pajamas, and, of course, cowboy boots. That's how we roll at the Herron Family Homeschool.

The morning went smoothly and I'm hoping that the kids excitement lasts at least a little while. I'm actually really excited too about the new curriculum that I'm using. Last year, I attempted a kind of hodge podge of various things without really having set goals in place. That didn't work so well for me, and by the end of the year we were pretty much just flying by the seat of our pants. I definitely learned that I need a better plan to follow. So, for anybody at all interested, here's what I'm using this year (Jake: 2nd grade; Addi: Kindergarten):

• Adventures in My Father's World (for Jake and Addi): This is the 2nd/3rd grade My Father's World (MFW) curriculum and includes our Bible, Literature, Science, Art, Music Appreciation, and History curriculum. Addi will have no problem participating in this as I can tailor it to meet her needs and level as well.
• My Father's World 1st Grade Curriculum (for Addi): I'm only using a very small piece of this curriculum (the Reading and Writing portion) for Addi.
• Math: Singapore Math (1A and 1B for Addi, 2A and 2B for Jake)
• Spelling (for Jake): Spelling by Sound and Structure Book 3 from Rod and Staff
• English (for Jake): Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl
• Handwriting (for Jake): Pictures in Cursive by Sandi Queen
• Art Instruction: I Can Do All Things art curriculum (this is included with our MFW curriculum)
• Art Appreciation: Child-Size Masterpieces
• Music Lessons: Piano (Jake only - taking lessons from me)
• Foreign Language (Jake and Addi): Spanish class once a week
• Extra-curricular for the fall: Soccer (Jake and Addi), Engineering with Legos class once a week (Jake)

Give me a few weeks and I'll be happy to tell you what I think of our choices!

Summer is Coming to an End...But I've Got a Plan in Place!

Certain events are marking the end of our summer...for example, Jake had his first soccer practice yesterday. He has been so excited to start back up again, and has been counting down the days. Addi is going to play this year as well, but she's still at the age where she won't have a midweek practice. They will just practice a half hour before their games on Saturday. She's pretty excited to start as well, but for very different reasons. I think that the only thing she really cares about is finding out what color her uniform is going to be. If it doesn't meet her approval, we could have a very long season ahead of us! I mean, what fun is playing soccer if the uniform's not acceptable?

Here is a rare photo of me included in the bunch. I'm NEVER in any pictures because I'm the only one who ever takes the pictures. But, Jay happened to take one of me this time. I have had some complaints that I haven't posted any pregnancy pictures. Unfortunately, due to the way the picture is, you still can't see my belly...just my puffy face and arms! I actually don't think I have one single photo of my pregnant self this time around. I'm going to try to remember to have Jay take a profile shot and post it on here. Just last night he said to me, "Your stomach's getting really big." Gee, imagine that. We've only got about 6 or 7 weeks to go!

We also had an end-of-summer family room campout. We have talked many times lately about trying to take the kids camping, but have just never actually done it. Instead, the kids built a fort in the living room and we all "camped out" in there one night. Needless to say, it was extremely cramped and uncomfortable and we ended up carrying the kids up to their own beds and sleeping in our own bed about halfway through the night. That didn't matter though. They got to fall asleep in their fort and didn't know any different after that.

And, finally, the plan that I have put in place for the Fall...you would laugh at me if you knew the ridiculously insane amount of time that has gone into making this little schedule. It has been an ongoing process this summer that has been visited, re-visited, changed, and color-coded. You would laugh even more if you realized that it will be a miracle if we stick to it for even a week (a new baby certainly won't make my schedule any easier to stick to either). I think I have mentioned though that I'm great at planning, and not so great at follow-through. Here is my goal for our fall schedule though.

I have named our first official day of school to be Monday, August 29th. So, come mid-September there will probably be a post about how my much toiled over schedule has been scrapped. But, we'll see. My personal goal for the school year is FOLLOW-THROUGH!! So, maybe the post will be about how great it is that I have such an awesome, color-coded, toiled-over schedule to stick to!

St. Patrick's Day Fun

Ha ha ha. That title was just a joke. If you know me, then you probably know that there were no St. Patrick's Day festivities around here. The kids did not wake to green eggs and ham for breakfast, or shamrock decorations, or green footprints left by leprechauns. Always a little too late, I end up thinking things like, "Oh, I wish I would have done something festive to make the day fun for them. Next time, I will." Then the next opportunity comes around, and, again, I forget.

So, I am going to just dispel right now one of the many, many myths that float around out there about homeschoolers and homeschooling moms - we are not supermoms! I know, I know, if you know me, that comes as a bit of a shock (HAHAHA). Granted, that is one of the more positive myths out there about homeschoolers, considering that there are so many negative ones - but, untrue, nonetheless. I guess I should probably clarify that statement by saying that there probably are some homeschooling supermoms out there, but I am just not one of them. I hear people say things like, "Oh, I could never homeschool. I just don't have the patience;" or, "I'm not creative enough, or organized enough, or structured enough, or ________ enough to homeschool." Well, here's a little secret...neither am I! I really wish that I was all of those things, but I am so incredibly flawed. I am constantly losing my patience, usually unprepared with the lessons, and always promising myself that I will do better tomorrow.

But, here's the thing - I still wouldn't choose a different path for our family. Even at my worst, I would rather have my children with me, learning from my example, than with everybody else, learning from the examples of a classroom full of kids who are just as immature as they are. Don't get me wrong, my children do not live under a rock. They are involved in sports and church and with the neighborhood kids, friends, cousins, etc. (Don't get me started on the "socialization" debate because I promise...that one I will win!) But, they spend the majority of their time with me, and with Jay, and with each other. And, yes, because I am NOT a supermom, there are many days when it absolutely DRIVES ME INSANE! But, I still believe it's worth it. One of these days, I will write a post about why I believe it's worth it, because there really are so many reasons. But, not today.

So, coming back now from that huge tangent, and back to St. Patrick's Day. I didn't even realize that it was St. Patrick's Day until mid-morning, when Jake realized that it was the 17th and informed me that it was. How he remembers that March 17th is St. Patrick's Day, I have no idea. It certainly has not been a topic of conversation around here. For the past several years though, our neighbor has left green leprechaun footprints and goodies at the door so that the kids think that a leprechaun visits each year. (Actually, two years ago, she accidentally used non-washable paint for the footprints, and we have had permanent green footprints leading up to our front door ever since. It adds a nice touch.) However, they have been out of town and just returned last night. So, there was no visit from the leprechaun today. I, of course, should have been prepared instead, but, you have already heard about my flaws.

So, the kids just wondered why he didn't visit this year, and were slightly disappointed. They even complained to our neighbor about it when they saw her this morning (having no idea that she is actually the leprechaun). She, of course, did something about it. I kid you not, as I sat here typing this post tonight, with the kids already in bed, I heard a loud knock at the door and knew exactly what it was. I got the kids out of bed (I actually give myself points for that one) and we went down to see who could possibly be knocking. But, ALAS, nobody was there. There were, however, gold coins, and green confetti and a trail of things that the leprechaun had left. Apparently, he was just running late this year. I even went with the kids around the neighborhood for a little while, at bedtime I might add, to try to catch the leprechaun. (More points for me. I probably wouldn't have done that though if I hadn't just been in the middle of writing about how I am no supermom and how I screwed up St. Patrick's Day!)

So, where was I going with all this? I'm not really sure. But now, I'm feeling grateful that even though I'm no supermom who does cutesy projects and festive activities with her kids, at least I have a neighbor who picks up the slack for me sometimes!

Psalm 23

We are working on memorization and presentation skills around here, so here is Psalm 23, recited by Jake and Addi...

Nature Class

We just got Jake signed up for a weekly outdoor homeschool class where he will get to learn about nature, animals, building shelters and fires, etc. He would probably choose to be outside every hour of every day if he could, so he's very excited about the class. I'm excited too because I really want him to learn about nature, but I certainly can't teach him. I can't tell one tree from another, one bird from another, one track from another...you get the idea.

We showed up for the first day of class and the first person we saw was this guy...

The hilarious thing about that is that we see him ALL THE TIME walking down our street (barefoot) and into the canyon. Then, we'll see him, hours later, walking back. We always laugh about what in the world he could possibly be doing down there all the time. Well, it turns out that he is one of the assistant instructors for this class...and he knows his stuff! He's also super nice. I had always assumed that he spent all his time down in the canyon smoking something from nature, but it turns out that he really is learning about nature. He could answer anything I asked him. (The other instructor has her doctorate from MIT, so she's pretty smart herself!)

The other funny thing was that Addi loved him. She didn't actually talk to him much, but she wanted to sit by him, walk next to him, and be near him the whole time. She isn't usually like that with people that she doesn't know, so Jay is concerned that this is foreshadowing her teenage years and the sort of boys that she'll be bringing home.

Jake has been to two classes now and is loving it so far. He learned how to create fire from simple things they gathered and rubbed together, has explored the only natural hot springs in Orange County, and has fallen into a creek. Heaven.

I, on the other hand, do not fit in with the group quite so well as he does. I sometimes think of myself as being a little "earthy," what with our increasingly alternative lifestyle, whole foods, and natural medicine instead of conventional medicine. I realized, however, once I was actually with a group of "earthy" moms, that I am not so much. These women had walking, talking toddlers coming up to them nursing on demand, without so much as trying to cover any of it up. I considered taking a picture to post on the blog (I don't think they would have had a problem with it!), but I thought that might not be appropriate. We've got a whole semester of these classes ahead of us though...so stay tuned! :)

Homeschool Perks

Sometimes there are some definite perks and advantages to homeschooling. One is that we can decide where we want our "classroom" to be and when we want to have class. We missed out on our group nature day today because Addi has a bad cough that is sounding a little like croup. She's not sick enough to want to just lay around and do nothing, but sick enough that our friends would probably not appreciate us coming around and spreading the germs. So, we did our own nature day. We packed up all of our school stuff, some snacks, and a blanket, and spent the entire afternoon playing and doing school outside.

 

Our afternoon went like this - we would do a little school work and then Jake would run up and down the hill and practice doing some shooting with his slingshot while Addi hung out and colored or wandered around, and then back to do a little more school work. It was really far more enjoyable than most of our school days (they're not all rainbows and lollipops, so don't be fooled!), and I want to try to commit to doing it that way more often. It also helped that it was 85 degrees here today...in November! I'm not sure I'll be so commited when the temperature starts to drop. I don't do well outside in the cold!