The trouble with homeschooling

This is my second blog and I am not keeping up on it very well. I really wish I could. But the main problem is that homeschooling doesn't happen between the hours of 9 and noon, it happens all day everyday. Homeschooling and our daily lives all intertwine. I keep up on my main blog WAY more than I do on this one. So much of our normal every day lives influence the happenings in schooling. I feel so much pressure, from myself, to try and keep this one going. But I just can't :( So, after long conversations with myself, I've decided to stop writing in this one. But I welcome you all to join me at my main one. I really love the fact that people actually care enough to leave me comments and encourage me. I would hate to see you guys leave me. So PLEEEEEEASE follow me over HERE. I will miss you if you don't.

Weekly review- with pictures

Well, this week was a fun week, I think. We finished up China finally. It felt like we were there forever. Did you know that fortune cookies didn't come from China? That's a U.S. thing.

Wednesday was our last MAFA day. The kids were supposed to perform in the production next Saturday, but they totally freaked out, with tears and everything. They start to panic with the thought of singing in front of people. And Little Man hates to sing. So we decided to let them skip it. Who needs that kinda stress. I know we should make them sing, but I know they would just stand there, or even cry up there.

Then, on Thursday, it was 84 degrees in Michigan. 84!!!! So we decided to build my new garden. So we had 5 yards of dirt delivered that morning. So we didn't do formal school. Sassy had Woodshop.




They both helped shovel dirt in the wheel barrel. So we'll call that Gym. Then they played for hours in the dirt pile. Boy, were they a mess!!


Then today, Friday, I decided to sew a skirt for Sassy. So they did math and LA, then we went to the library(which they actually read books while waiting for me!!), then off to the store for fabric. I found THIS PATTERN and it looked easy. No gathering!! It was a bit long, but I'll shorten the next one I make tomorrow. I am actually making three more tomorrow.


Next week, I am combining the two weeks of Japan into one. I am itching to get done with school. This nice weather is making it real hard to teach and not send the kids outside all day long. :)

Who's ready?!?!

As in, who's ready to call it a year now? I don't know if it's the weather, even though we had rain for three days straight, or what. I always get like this in the spring. I'm just thankful that I didn't order CtC yet, or I'd really not wanna finish. :) But we're still trudging along.

I went to my homeschool mom's night out last night, and one of the moms was telling us that she is done for the year. So, now I really want stop. Maybe I should've stayed home. :) Yeah right. I haven't been to a MNO in a couple of months, so totally needed it. I miss staying up til 1 am talking to my girls. I may go to another one next week. I need to take advantage of Hubs being off on Fridays.

Have a great weekend.

Weekly review- Easter edition

Well, I had every intention of teaching this week. But, then Monday came and I felt like not. :) I was ready to go, I had the week planned. I even came home early from Easter celebration so I could get my lesson plans done. Then, we made plans to have the kids spend the night at my parents on Wednesday. Well, that means no school on Thursday. And, since Kmart was having double coupons up to $2 all week, I needed to get there early everyday to get the deals. So I have a hard time teaching after I've dragged my kids shopping. SO there was no way teaching was gonna get done.

Little man did get math and spelling done on Monday and Tuesday. And Sassy worked on this cool reading/phonics game thing that I have, and some math. So we will do our second week of China next week. I really want to do the crafts, so this will give me time to get them ready.

We have been listening to the Narnia series in the car. They actually wanna leave the house, just so they can listen to it. They won't listen to them in the house, only the car. Strange. But if it keeps us having a quiet car ride, I'm all for it. We are now on the Silver Chair. Only one more to go. They are spoken really well. It's very exciting to listen to them. I can't wait til the Dawn Treader comes to the theater this year.

I hope all your weeks went smoother than mine. :)

Am I the only one??

OK, I have a question. Am I the only one who gets irritated when other people say they homeschool, but they don't? They say they homeschool when they teach their kids after school and on the weekends, or in the summer. Isn't that called being a parent? Or if their oldest is 3 or 4 and they are teaching preschool. I consider homeschooling if your kids are of school age. Preschool isn't school age. That's again, being a parent and preparing your child for school.

Sorry, but some people just irritate me. I needed to vent.

Weekly review

I must say, this weather is making it really hard to concentrate on teaching. But, I have been doing it, amazingly. :) This week went went to China, but I didn't do all the extra stuff like crafts and reading extra books. So next week should be packed with stuff. We aren't taking an Easter break. We're feeling pretty motivated so why stop now. :)

Little Man is doing excellent with the geography game. He is totally picking it up fast. I'm trying to keep up. We are having trouble with the "stans" though. You know, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and so on......I'm sure we'll get it eventually. Sassy is trying to read the country cards to us. I just laugh. Since she can't manage to read normal words, why on God's green Earth would she try to read those. So she gets mad if we say them first, and the quits. No big deal. We are looking for a general knowledge, not mastery.

Sassy has been trying to read more lately. Even as I type this, she is sitting on the couch with a stack of easy readers and trying to read them. Yesterday she was sitting at the kitchen table with Little man at breakfast, and they were both reading Calvin and Hobbs. It was too funny, cuz 1. They never eat at the same time and 2. They never are that quiet when they eat. It was silent. I was checking blogs and such and no one was talking. I wish everyday was like that. But I'm happy she is finally taking an interest in reading.

I ordered the five Wrap ups for math, and they came in last week. So everyday they are grabbing them and trying to solve the problems. They think they are playing. They don't realize they are learning. Shhh...don't tell them.

Today we are skipping school to go to the zoo. It was 80 degrees yesterday, and they say today will be hotter. So I am getting my review one fast today.

Happy Easter!!

Our day

I need to write this down, cuz it seems to change every year. I like to have a general order in my morning. Everything runs smoother if everyone knows what to expect. I'm not a schedule follower really, but my kids are, so I kinda have to be. I'm sure I'll do another post like this next year and laugh at how different it is. Here goes:

Anywhere from 7-8:30 Little man and Sassy wake up. I refuse to get up before 7. So, if they do, they must go back to their rooms and sleep or play, til atleast 7. :) Then I will get up and make them breakfast. Yes, I know they should be making their own, but who needs that stress of trying to get the toast crispy enough, or putting enough butter on it so the cinn/sugar mix will melt. I don't need drama in the morning. They are creatures of habit, so they eat the same thing everyday. Right now it is plain toast with cinnamon and sugar for Little Man, and Sassy eats chocolate oatmeal. A girl after my own heart. Plain oatmeal with a handful of chocolate chips and a spoonful of peanut butter. Yummy!! I must admit, I eat a bowl also.

On a side note, I am the only person who makes breakfast right. Daddy doesn't. When I leave I have to tell him exactly how to do it. You would think oatmeal and toast, how hard can that be? But, have you met my children?

8:30-9 If I am motivated I will take a shower, otherwise it waits til after lunch.

9-9:15 Bible lesson

9:15-9:30 Geography

9:30-10:30 Language/phonics and math

10:30-11 is either reading or craft.

11-12 Lunch

Yes, we are done with school within two hours. The kids don't like to waste time. They want to get it done NOW. I would love to take our time and take breaks, but they won't let me. Also, I've tried to schedule LA and math first, but they won't let me. Pick your battles, right? I don't like to rush. So that's why some days that I know we're going to be busy with shopping or running around, I declare an only math and language day. They won't do geography after, but they will do LA and math alone. Strange kids, I know.

So that is our day for our 2009/10 school year.

By, George, I think she's gettin' it!!

I must say that I am super excited I went to Homeschooling works(see last post). Since I bought 20 Boxcar Children, Sassy has been wanting to read them. So today, Little man and I read five chapters and Sassy kept asking to try. She'd read a paragraph every now and then. She did struggle with many of the words, but she wanted to do it. I cannot explain how happy I am because of that. She NEVER asks to read. Then, after I was done reading, she went and got another reader, and continued to try. I am hoping this is a sign that it's finally starting to click.

Curriculum fairs

On Saturday, I went to Homeschooling Works. It is a yearly thing for me. It is the local curriculum fair of us Michiganders. Since Hubs and I have have been buckling down in the budget, I needed to be smart in my purchases this year. Which meant I couldn't go and buy everything I saw that I think I might use sometime. :) I was going to buy what I needed first, and if there was any extra money, then I could buy stuff I wanted.

Well I go there early so I could go to the used book sale first. Since the only thing that I needed was Math U See Gamma, I was free to look at things I kinda needed, but it wouldn't kill me if I didn't get. Cuz if you order the math and they don't have it there, they'll ship it for free. So I could shop for other things knowing I can still get the math. So I made a B-line to the readers. Sassy wanted easy readers and The Boxcar children. Little Man NEVER wants books. So, there were no requests from him. :) He was gonna suffer with whatever I get him.


Well, I hit the jackpot in the used book sale. I bought 20 Boxcar Children, a book about Amelia Earhart, Ben Franklin and a couple of readers. I didn't get sucked into buying things I would never use. I know our local library has all of them, but I want them to be able to grab them and read them whenever they want. It's good to have a home library.

I also got Handwriting without tears Cursive for both of them. And a bunch of other informational books that they can either read or just look at the pictures. The knights/castle one is for Little Man. I also bought a multiplication wrap up for Little Man to use with his math this year. Gamma is all about multiplication, so I thought this would work perfectly.

At first, like every other time Little Man gets something new, he didn't like anything I bought, and told me I wasted my money. But I remained calm and today he told me that did think some of the things were cool. Now I'm not expecting my kids to get as excited as I do when I buy lots of books, but a simple thanks would be nice. Sassy was thrilled with her dot to dot coloring book and all the other books I got.

I love going to this book fair, not just because I get lots of wonderful books, but because I get to see lots of wonderful friends. Some of these people I see on FB, but not in person, and some of them I only see here. So it's kinda like a mini homeschool reunion. :) And the best part of this one, was that I actually had money left over!! That NEVER happens. (insert sheepish grin)

Our curriculum budget, this year, is $500. Since My Father's World is NEVER at Homeschooling Works, I didn't need the entire amount. So I had $200 to spend here, since MFW is about $300 for both kids. Like I said before, I was focused on what I needed. Since I have about $50 bucks left, I can buy a little LA workbook for Little man and a new science or board game for them both. Or I may have to order the addition and subtraction wrap ups instead of the games. After the reaction I got from the multiplication, I think that's what I need to do. :)YAY, more shopping!!!

I can't wait til next year.

weekly highlights

This week was full of well, school. I actually did school. I am so proud. And I was complaining to my friend Terri that at the rate I'm going, we won't be done til the end of June. That is too much pressure. I want to take July off, then start up in August with Creation to Greeks. But I was a poor planner this year, between the many sicknesses and deciding to take December off at the last minute, I don't wanna be stressed at the end. So, my wonderful friend told me that she combined two weeks into one. WHAT?!?! Why didn't I think of that??? Well, guess what we did this week? Saudi Arabia all in one week.

We even did science too. They were very interested in the endangered species and pollution sections. Since we are really jumping into recycling, they are very curious about the enviroment. I must say that this is the most interesting parts of the whole science program.

The weather was perfect this week, so we spent a lot of time outside. By we, I mean the kids. I'm an indoor girl. :) Although I was plotting out my new garden site. I can't wait!! I know the kids are gonna love doing the garden again. I'm just trying to figure out what kinds of fruits and veggies to plant. Hmmm....

I was even approached my a new neighbor who was wondering if we homeschool. I guess the kids screaming down the sidewalk on scooters in the middle of the day was a dead giveaway. :) The funny thing is, that when the neighbor yelled from across the street, I knew what she was gonna ask. I almost stopped her by saying "Yes we homeschool , and my hubby works for the fire department." But, I think that would've came out strong. So I let her ask the questions. And sure enough, that's what she wanted to know. Gosh, I am so smart.

The only day I didn't do school was Wednesday. Usually I like to atleast do math, but it was busy day, electronically, for me. Which means, I was busy texting, emailing, Facebooking, and talking on the phone all morning. I NEVER do that, but sometimes it happens. I'm usually quick in conversation, but the kids weren't being bad, so I figured I'd keep talking. Next thing I knew, it was lunchtime, then MAFA. Such is life.

I'm attending a local curriculum fair on Saturday. I am so excited!!! They even have a used book sale there also. I have my list all typed out and ready to go. Little man needs Gamma and, if I can find some new to me books, that would be great. I'm shooting for Magic tree house and Boxcar children. Sassy doesn't need anything, but she wants me to find some easy readers for her. I think I may pick up Handwriting without Tears cursive for both kids. Sassy's been asking for cursive all year, but I knew Little man wasn't ready for it. But, since he'll be in 5th next year and she'll be in 3rd, that makes them about even in the maturity level. :) I didn't wanna teach it twice. So next year, should be an interesting one. Who am I kidding, I'll probably start using it now. The only downside of the fair, is that MFW is never there. So I still have to buy it later. But that actually works out better for. Cuz, if I get it now, I wanna use it now. So, it's a blessing in disguise.

The weather man is reporting MUCH colder temps for next week, so hopefully I can keep moving along, even though "we" won't be able to play outside. I want this year to be over!!! It's been fun, but it's time.

My room, Link restored

Blogger was being silly yesterday, when I was posting. Here is my room.

We got a new kitchen over the summer. I am sooo grateful for it. Now I have a school area. I just cleaned it today. So, now I can see the counter. :) I like it cleaned off, so we can do crafts and let them dry there, and not on the kitchen table.

I've been thinking about moving the school room to the basement, but it gets sooo cold in the winter, and I won't go down there for long periods of time. Then we'll end up up here, so I might as well stay up here.


The underneath part is the best part. It is very deep so I can fit two rows of books. The downside is that I can fit two rows of books. :) You see, when you can put that many books in there, you forget what books you have in there. So I took everything out today, and only put things we'll use this year underneath. So one the left is all of our main curriculum, reading, phonics and math. On the right is all the art stuff. That is their side. They can go into the right side anytime and make something, as long as they clean it up. The drawer also has their scissors and tape and other odds and ends. I love my space!! Thank you Hubs.

weekly highlights--Well, we tried.

Another week down the drain. Kinda. We did another week of the basics. I realized that if I don't prepare on Sunday, I bomb the rest of the week. Well, guess what didn't happen on Sunday? So I tried my best to do it on Monday, but that's too late. And another reason I didn't do much was that Hubs was off M-TH. And I don't know about you, but it's very hard to focus when Hubs is home. Not his fault, but we like to see him, so school is hard to focus on.

I did have Sassy read "The Cat in the Hat" a few times. She is almost there. Little man and I have been reading "The Boxcar Children" back and forth all week. He doesn't like reading out loud for a long time, so we went back and forth to make it easier and more enjoyable.

We had our first all boy playdate at one of my friends house this week. There was about 12 moms and 20+boys. It was a blast. Sassy stayed home with daddy cuz she had the sniffles. The Little man got a sore throat, which he gladly shared with me. What a sweet kid. So now I sit here in pain. So no school yesterday or today.

But after reading a few other blogs, I realize that We're not the only ones dealing with this. Remember, next week will be better. :)

weekly highlights

OK, so I said that I was gonna do school everyday, well....... Does only math on Tuesday still count as school? I did school school every other day, but that day I went grocery shopping and hit a million stores while Hubs helped them with math.

We are loving our Geography game that comes with ECC. Sassy struggles, but Little man and I try to beat each other, while Sassy tries to read the names for us. Even though next week we start Africa, we still haven't mastered Europe. But we are getting a general knowledge of where the countries are, so that's all that matters.

We were moving kinda slow through our Olympic lapbooks, but to day we plowed through a bunch of it. Little man likes it, and again Sassy is being a stinker. I think the task of reading frustrates her. Oh well. She'll get it when she gets it. She did like the word search though. I have to find more for her. Or I can just use this site and make our own. I think I'm actually gonna do this for our spelling words. Little man will do much better if he gets to practice them like this. Sassy got excited when I showed her the one I made this morning with all the countries we're learning in Europe. I made an extra master copy, for later in the year.



This is the first of three lapbooks that we've done. I'll get a picture of the rest when we're done. I was in the process of taking bread out of the bread maker and sticking it in the oven, so we didn't ge as far as I wanted. :) Such is life.

I started Phonics Pathways with Sassy this week. So far, she's more confused than before. But we're gonna keep at it. It's hard for her to learn the first two letters as opposed to word families.
So far she's done Sa-se-si-so-su, Ma-me-mi-mo-mu, Na-ne-ni-no-nu, Ra-re-ri-ro-ru. I review previous letters and teach another letter each day. I decided to give her a penny for every lesson she does without complaint. So if we get two new letters done in a day she gets two pennies. Then when the jar is full, I'll take her to the penny candy store near our house. Candy is the key word around here. :) I am determined to have her confidently reading by next school year.

Little man is trying my patience with reading also. He can read, but doesn't like to. He says it's boring. I get every book he asks for from the library. I think a trip to the library is due for us today. He will find books that interest him. :)

Usually at this time of the year, I feel like giving up, but not this year. I'm having fun staying home and teaching. They actually want to stay home, which helps. In the past we were always going somewhere and always falling behind. But we're figuring it all out this year. I think it helps that they are older now. Sassy just turned 8 last Friday, so I think she wants to learn. And the promise that she can join American Heritage Girls next year helps a bit also. :)

Hope your week went well.

Monday fun

Today, we actually got everything done. We even did two parts of our Olympic lapbook. We learned about the stadium and the prizes. I'll be taking pictures of them for my weekly review.

And today we had a special dinner. Rachlette(pronounced rock-lay). It requires special cheese, of the same name. You place different meats on the top grill, and different veggies, covered with the cheese, underneath the grill in special trays. It's actually a Swiss dinner, but since we were doing Europe, this would work great. We have a friend who's from Switzerland, and he introduced us to this. It's a great meal to have company over. It takes a long time to eat. Your food can digest and you can have lots of conversation. We like it cuz no one has to get up for anything. All the food is in front of you, it's perfect. :) I wish I thought of taking a picture when it was covered with food, but I was too busy eating. :)




I'm hoping the rest of the week is equally fun.

weekly highlights

I wish I could say that we did an awesome job, but I cannot. Chalk up another week of incomplete. But, it wasn't all my fault.

Ass you know, the kids stayed up WAY too late watching the Superbowl. So we didn't do school on Monday. Then we did do school before the dentist, and had every intention of finishing afterwards. But I got to thinking that I didn't want to have my cleaning before MAFA, and be rushed. So they told me that she could clean my teeth after the kids. But I'd have to wait an hour, cuz she already had an appointment. So that means I couldn't go home, but it was lunch time and they were starving. So I took them to Burger King. I really hate eating out, but I had no choice. The roads were starting to get slick, cuz of the snow that decided to grace us with its presence, so we had to go somewhere close. So never finished what we started. We'll do it another day.

Looking back, I'm glad they got me in when they did. We got 7-9 inches of snow overnight, FINALLY!! So all the schools had their first snow day, which meant MAFA was cancelled also. So we did school on Wednesday, then played outside with Daddy on his day off. We made forts and things. :) Gym class, right?

Thursday we did double the work, cuz I should've done school on Monday. Then we went sledding with some homeschool friends. It was perfect, since all the public school kids were back in school, we had the rule of the hill. Gym again!!

Sassy's birthday is today, so we don't do school, so we had to do extra. Movies and eating out all day. Yuck! Go to my family blog for a Sassy update. :)

We never got a chance to work on our Olympic lapbooks at all this week. Little man kept asking, but we were too busy. :( Maybe today we can. They don't consider that school. :)

Next week will be better!! Nothing is on the calendar, except MAFA. So I have every intention of completing the entire week on time.

Problems?!?!

The title says it all, I think. It's a question and a statement. The statement is that I am having a hard time keeping up with two blogs. I don't know how other people do it. I am falling behind and I feel guilty. Who wants to feel guilty about not blogging about school? I am too busy doing school to write about it. I don't wanna pull out the camera to take pictures, but I know in 8-10 years, I'll want to look back and see all the stuff we did. I can't believe my son will be graduating in 8 years, and Sassy in 10!!! Holy moly!! Where did the time go!!! Now I feel like crying.

Sorry, I went off on a tangent. I'm back. The question form is, is anyone else having trouble doing school? I haven't had a complete week since before Christmas. I hate that. I just wanna get done, but something always comes up. I'm really trying my darndest, but it's sooooo not working. Example: Yesterday we stayed at a Superbowl party til the game was done, which was 10pm our time. So the kids slept in and I didn't get a chance to get the school stuff together this weekend, so I knew we were gonna start late anyways. But I needed to hit the store before the snow they say we're supposed to get. I'll believe that when I see it. :) So we didn't get to do school today. Tomorrow they have dentist appointments, Wednesday I have a dentist appointment, then MAFA, then church in the evening. Then Sassy's birthday is on Friday, so no school. AUGHHHH!!!! I need a complete week.

Is anyone else having trouble? Not that I ant you to, but it would make me feel better if atleast one person was. :)

Ah...Monday

I love Mondays. Now I know that makes me a bit nuttie, but I do. I love the fact that on a relaxing Sunday, between washing and drying laundry, I can prepare the week's lessons. On Monday mornings I can wake up and just start school. I don't have to think of anything, or print out papers. It's the best way to start out the week. I am confident in myself, my children are ready to get to work, we are motivated to get things done and move on. It's generally a perfect day.

Although, if you talk to me on Tuesdays, it's all going downhill. :)

Happy Monday!!

Thanks!

Thank you, everyone, for all your kind words. I feel 100% better. We even did school this week. We are loving the Olympic lapbook. We are doing do parts everyday. It says if you do one part, it will take a month. So, I'm hoping to be done around the start of the Olympics.

We only did two days of France this week. We're going to Splash Village tomorrow, so we're done with school for the week. Today is MAFA. So, it's a light day. So, we only did lapbooks and math. Sassy did have to write, but not by choice. 25 sentences of "I will obey my mom" She whined and crabbed and talked sassy and she earned sentences. Lucky girl. :) She earned her name today, too. :)

I remember learning the countries of Europe when I was in Jr high, I think. Well, I forgot almost all of them. We're really trying to do the geography game, but we are doing terrible at it. :) We have forgotten almost every country. So we decided that we are gonna work on one at a time, not all three at the same time. Way too confusing. But they know more at their ages than I did, so it's all good. An understanding, not perfection, right?

Hope your week is going well.

Olympic lapbook

This isn't much of a weekly recap. But here it goes.

With the Olympics starting very soon, some of my friends were looking for lapbook ideas. One of my friends in my homeschool group sent this to us. I bought it. It looks so cool. Here's the site.I can't wait to start next week. It says it can take up to a month to do all of it. But, I plan on doing it in less. I also have Mario and Sonic at the winter Olympic games, that we're gonna do with school also. The kids are gonna be surprised when they get to do the Wii during school. I am gonna earn brownie points with them. :)

I've been sick all week AGAIN! I feel like bricks are sitting on my cheeks. So, needless to say, we didn't do school this week. They did do some math. So now Sassy is done with Alpha and is taking next week to do only online drills. She is super excited. Little man has 5 more weeks to go, then he can take a week off before he starts Gamma. It's only fair.

OK, I'm off to steam my face again. Have a good weekend.

weekly review- Norway

I don't know about you, but last week went by much better than this week. :) Little man had trouble with his asthma, which then turned into a cold of sorts. So we did no school Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday we were able to get some things done. We learned about hibernation and migration. I was so thankful it was simple. I haven't been in the mood for anything lately. I think it's the weather, and the fact that my kids haven't had a playdate in over three months(sickness). And if the kids don't see their friends, I don't see my friends. :)

Anyways, yesterday we did our Lapland felt squares. Well, actually they ended up making maps and things. But it was art, so no one cared. It's been forever since art was done at home. They do it every week(when they're not sick) at MAFA, so I don't really worry about it. Again, another thing I'm trying to work on. Making school more fun.

Little man is doing so well with his math. I am so excited that double digit subtraction with carrying is not hard. Clocks seem to be giving him more trouble. But, he got a watch for Christmas, and I think it helps him to look at it and then look at the digital clocks to check himself. Kinda neat to see. Sassy is on her last week of Alpha. Then she is gonna do online drills til February. She needs a break.

Today, we only got as far as math. I'll have them read to me later. I was busy making biscuits and bread and cleaning the house a bit before our guests come over today. PLAYDATE!!!

I'm looking forward to going to France next week. I'm hoping to find some yummy food to make. Any suggestions?

Hope you're having a great week.

We're baaaack!!!

Well, actually, we never left. It just feels like it. :) After taking all of December off we are finally getting back to it. Monday was super hard. The furnace guy came while we were schooling. And let me tell you, it's VERY hard to yell and not let everyone else hear. My kids were awful. Little man didn't remember how to make 63 using his manipulative's and Sassy wouldn't try to read to save her life. They both lost Legos for the day and Sassy lost her Barbies as well. And mom lost her mind. When you take toys away form your child you have to be prepared to be the child's toy. Normally they'd be fine, but since Legos is all my son plays with, I was in trouble. :) I made it.

And now, two days later, he remembers his math and he knows how to subtract double digits with regrouping and carrying. I though it was gonna take longer, but he got it. And that is a miracle in itself. Here I thought it was gonna take him weeks to get it. Two days....No problem.

I did have a talk with Sassy though. I told her she NEEDS to start reading more. And if she isn't where she needs to be by the end of the school year, I'm gonna have someone else teach her. She was not too happy about that. I'm trying to push her a bit, that's all. I refuse to read her EVERYTHING next year. She'll be in third grade, and I think that's long enough time to learn to read.

I have decided to keep going with My Father's World next year. Creation to Greeks. I am so excited for this. All the Bible stories in the beginning is gonna be great. I've also decided to do Handwriting without tears cursive for both. I'm gonna start practicing the printing with them now and throughout the summer. But, then cursive. I tried Bob Jones cursive, but we stopped. I can barely read Little Man's printing, so we need that first. :)

I am so thankful that I have a friend who gave me math u see Beta and Gamma teacher books and DVDs. Now all I had to do is buy the student books. Little man will start Gamma around March, Sassy will do Beta in February. She has one more week left, but I want her to do some online drills first, just to practice.

I am always rejuvenated after the holidays to get back into school. We have a curriculum fair in March that gets us all excited again. This is why I am discussing next year. I need to get my list together, and compare vendors. This fair has a used book sale, so I REALLY need a list, or I end up with all kinds of stuff I don't need yet. And this year we're trying to pay off debt, so I can't go wild. But luckily, I can teach them all year for under $350. That's including math and LA. That will make Hubs very happy. Heck, that will make ME very happy. :)

I'm wondering, am I the only person who starts making her list when this year's not even half way done?

Back into the groove

I don't know about you, but I'm soo ready to get back into the groove of school again. We've had the best, less stressful December ever. That is a goal of every year, be done by the first week of December. We had a great Christmas and we are looking forward to a wonderful year. Go to my other blog for my thoughts on this coming year.

My school goals are very simple. Sassy will learn how to read securely by the end of 2010. We will be "caught up" to the other kids out there. By caught up, I mean Little man will be doing math that everyone else is doing. We do math-u-see and he isn't very motivated, so we're farther back than I'd like. But I am determined to rearrange my teaching habits to more of a sit down with him and make sure he understands before I send him to do it by himself. I've just sent him to do it, then when he gets it all wrong he has to do it again with me. I'm hoping if I take the time to work with him, he will understand and be less stressed about it.

I've always loved the fact that we're done by lunch time, but I think they aren't "getting it" in that time period. So we're gonna take our time and have fun, and if it takes til after lunch, that's fine by me.We're gonna be doing Europe, so that will take a while. And, I am NOT gonna stress about them learning where the countries are. As long as they have a general idea to where they are, I'm good. Less stress.

As for Sassy, I need to her to read. She can't go into third grade without secure reading. I refuse to read everything to her next year. So she's gonna have to do it and try a little. She's stubborn and won't even try to sound out a word, she just moves on and forgets about it. Arg!! I need her to read. She is embarrassed when other kids find out, but that's not enough to motivate. Maybe bribery will work. Money always works, right?

Well, here's to 2010. May it bring everyone health and wealth, with a bit of smarts rolled in. :)