Homeschooling–one month in (part 2)

On Thursday and Friday we do Math and Science.  For Math we are using Singapore Math and he LOVES math.  He’s a total nerd.  Gets that from both Paul and I! 

_{Halloween 2010}

Knowing that math is really easy for him I started him in '>Math 3B which is supposed to be the 2nd semester of the 3rd grade year. The program has an instructor book, a textbook and a workbook.  So far we’ve studied Mental Math Strategies, Length, Weight, Capacity, Graphs, Fractions and Time.  All that is left in the book is Geometry.  I don’t make  him do every single problem, because he “gets it.”  It’s really easy for him and I don’t need him to do busy work.  In an hour and a half we typically get through what the book says should take us a week or 2. 

I’ve already purchased the Math 4A stuff and I assume we will continue to blow through the math curriculum really quickly because he enjoys it so much.  This is one of the reasons I chose to homeschool him.  So he could continue to learn new things at HIS pace. 

When I asked him what he wanted to study for science he chose chemistry so I found him a chemistry book called '>Adventures with atoms and molecules, Chemistry Experiments for Young People.  We do one experiment on Thursday and then another on Friday and we’ve had a lot of fun so far with only one experiment not working so far.  For each experiment he writes in his notebook 1.  What did we use?  2.  What did we do?  3.  What happened?  4.  What did we learn?  Plus definitions of what we are learning about.  It’s pretty basic stuff, but I doubt he’d be doing more science in public school. 

Both Math and Science have been pretty fun to teach him.  Sometimes it’s boring having to remind him to stay focused on the math problems or getting him to write in his notebook about the science because his easily distracted, but teaching him something he enjoys makes it all worthwhile.   

I’ve got one more post about homeschooling then I’ll get back to pictures of the kids!

Homeschooling–one month in (part 1)

The number one question I get these days is: “How is homeschooling going?”  (Either that or “Mom, can I have more milk?”-seriously, they drink a lot of milk these days…what is it going to be like when they are teenagers?  Maybe it would be less expensive to buy a cow!)

But back to the real topic – I am enjoying homeschooling. 

There are challenges I wasn’t totally prepared for, and it does make some things in my life more complicated, but I truly am enjoying homeschooling Aaron. 

Let me walk you through a typical week.  Mondays and Tuesday we do Grammar, History, Spelling and Handwriting.  Wednesday is our Unit Studies. Thursday and Friday we do Science and Math.  Every day he is expected to do a typing lesson on the computer, practice the piano, read something I’ve assigned him (usually corresponding to what we are learning in history or his unit studies), read his scriptures, and read for fun.  Things like art and PE are kinda hit and miss.

For Grammar we are using First Language Lessons which has an instructor book and a student book.  It completely walks us through what the instructor needs to say, what the student should say, etc.  We do 4 lessons a week, 2 on Monday and 2 on Tuesday. So far we have been studying what the different parts of speech are and have started diagraming sentences.  It also has dictation exercises and poem memorization and I’m having him memorize scriptures too.  So far in this first month he’s memorized 2 scripture verses and one poem.  This is one of the things I’m enjoying teaching him.  We laugh together at me having to repeat the definition 3 times then him saying it with me 3 times.  I think it’s great and I’m having a good time teaching him this stuff.

In History we are using The Story of the World and are reading it out loud to each other.  Again, we do 4 chapters a week, 2 on Monday and 2 on Tuesday.  After reading each section we talk about it and then after we finish the reading I ask him to write down in his notebook at least 4 sentences about what he learned that day.  Again, the one on one of reading with him is a lot of fun.  I really like spending time with him and talking about history.  His grandfather in Utah loves history and has been sending him e-mails asking him about what he’s learning, so I usually ask him to type a few sentences each each day to Grandpa Thomas telling him what he liked learning about history that day.  More typing practice!

Both Spelling and Handwriting are workbooks therefore I feel he should be able to do this independently and this is where I get frustrated sometimes.  He gets distracted.  I find myself nagging. This part of homeschooling is not so much fun. But it’s necessary because I can’t sit and give him my undivided attention all day every day. 

The daily typing lesson is a free 12 stage program on the computer he’s done several times already, but both he and Brian are still really slow and I’m hoping to get them faster, so I keep asking them to do the lessons over again.  We’ll see. 

I’m teaching him piano lessons and while I bet another teacher would get him farther, we get along and he is getting better, so we’re going to keep doing it.  He’s expected to work on it for 30-45 min a day.

Now I gotta get more stuff done, so I’ll type about Wednesday, Thursday and Friday later.

Why I am choosing to homeschool Aaron this year

I have been asked this question by many people lately and I’m sure I’ll be asked by many more (not to mention those that wonder and don’t ask!)  So I decided I’d just answer this via the blog for those who were wondering.  Here goes: 

I see some potential in Aaron that I don’t feel the public school can adequately address and I’d like to try to meet his needs on my own this year.

I recognize that this sentence might not adequately answer everyone’s questions, so here’s a few more of my thoughts based on some questions you might have.  Oh, and by the way, Aaron is 8yo going into the 3rd grade. 

Have you really thought about this? Of course! I have thought long and hard about this and fasted and prayed many times and I really feel this is the right decision for Aaron and me this year. Please don’t try to talk me out of this. That’s not very helpful. I may not totally know what I’m doing, but I honestly think I’m doing what’s best for us.

Where did you get this idea? I happen to read a lot of blogs of people who homeschool. They write a lot of articles about homeschooling. The more I read, the more I felt “I could do that.” If you want to read some of the articles that influenced me I’d be happy to share them with you.

Don’t you like public school?  I love our local elementary school!  Love the staff and all the teachers I’ve come in contact with.  All the teachers we’ve had so far have been great and have loved and taken care of our children wonderfully.  But even the best teacher of 20-25 students can’t give each child individual attention and meet all of their specific needs. 

Aren’t you worried about Aaron’s socialization?  Of course I am.  Aaron has some inherent social awkwardness to begin with.  We’ve seen it ever since his first year of preschool when his teacher was concerned that he’d rather play by himself than with the other kids.  Being in elementary school hasn’t fixed or really even addressed the problem.  He is in cub scouts and interacts with kids at church and in the neighborhood, and we’ll probably try to involve him in another sport this year.  If we homeschool longer than a year we will look into co-ops and other programs to increase the amount of time he interacts with peers.

What curriculum are you going to use?  After the third time I checked out the book “The Well Trained Mind” from the library I decided to buy it.  I am using a lot of the curriculum they recommend.  I’ve bought First Language Lessons For the Well Trained Mind: Level 3 to teach grammar, Spelling Workout Level B, Singapore Math 3B, Adventures with Atoms and Molecules: Chemistry Experiments, and The Story of the World. We will also continue to do piano lessons, typing lessons and he’s starting some computer programming online. (plus of course some religious education that he obviously couldn’t get in school.)

One of the reasons I want to do this is to have the ability to advance him academically at his own pace.  When I first began looking into homeschooling I had him take some math practice tests to see which curriculum to buy.  One of the tests put him ready for 7th grade math!  He LOVES math.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he blows through the math books I bought and I buy him several more before the year is done.  If he wants to learn algebra, I want to teach him!

What will your day be like? Probably pretty crazy! I’ll still have to pack Brian’s lunch and get him on the bus. Then I’ll still have housework to do and 2 little boys at home that need my attention. And I’ll need to teach school for Aaron! But I honestly think that it’ll work out pretty well. Both Aaron and I thrive on organization and I bet he and I figure it out pretty soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets his school work totally done by lunch time most days!

What about next year?  I don’t know yet.  I am currently only thinking about this year.  I assume that he’ll go back to Stephens Elementary.  But it’s possible we’ll love it and want to keep doing it.  It’s also possible we will hate it and I’ll send him back in a few months!  At that point I’ll probably cry and feel like I failed, but Paul will buy me Ritters and that will help me feel better. 

What about Brian?  Brian THRIVES in the normal public school environment right now.  He has LOTS of friends and would not want to be away from them.  This is also his first year in the Gifted program and he’s excited to be a part of that.  I assume I’ll still be the homeroom mom and teach Junior Achievement to his class too.  Maybe I’ll homeschool Brian for 3rd grade too?  Who knows!

Are there other reasons you haven’t listed?  I feel like I’m missing important moments in his life.  One of the things I don’t love about public school is how much the boys are gone every day.  They get on the bus at 7:45am and get home at 4pm.  They are hot, tired, hungry and their eyes are glazed over with a need to relax when they get home.  Unfortunately, they then need to do homework which can often take an hour or so.  Then it’s dinner time, chores, and bed.  And I don’t feel like I really get to spend much quality time with them.  Aaron is 8 now and I think it’s a wonderful age.  He’s so inquisitive and fun to be around and I just want to treasure the time I can with him. 

I could probably continue to write about my thoughts and feelings about this for another hour, but I bet many people stopped reading ages ago!  I’m sure many of you think I’m crazy, and hopefully some of you think it’s a great idea.  It’s an experiment we’re going to try right now.  I hope to continue to post about this as we continue.  Please wish us luck as we embark on this endeavor.

Weekend at Lake Conroe

Last Saturday we spent the day at our house on Lake Conroe.  As soon as we got there I immediately got on the jet ski as I hadn’t ridden it in a few years!  I had forgotten just how much fun it is! 

First Brian and I went out. 

Then Paul took the 3 older boys in the Fulbot. 

Then Aaron and I went out. 

Then Christian and I went out. 

Then Aaron and Brian and I went out.  (Brian wanted us to go faster and Aaron wanted us to slow down!)

Lastly Paul took Brian out.

We also played in the sprinklers

and played games inside.

 

By the end of the day the boys were exhausted and I’m sure all 4 boys were asleep in the car on the way home (not to mention the 2 of them that fell asleep while there!)

I’m sad the summer has flown by so fast and that we haven’t had more weekends up at the lake.  Hopefully we’ll do a few more this year even after school starts.

 

Summer Activities

This post doesn’t have any pictures, but I’m going to share what we’ve been up to this summer.

I began this summer with a plan for what we were going to do every day because I didn’t want the boys just watching TV or playing the video games all day long.  I sat down with Aaron back in May and we decided on a summer schedule. 

• 8am – breakfast and morning chores
• 9am  - typing lesson and workbooks
• 10am – playtime
• 11am – typing lesson and workbooks
• 12am – lunch
• 1pm – naptime and scriptures and piano lesson
• 2pm – playtime
• 3pm – reading
• 4pm – pick up house

Both Aaron and I thrive on schedules and this has worked pretty well for our family this summer.  Now don’t get me wrong, we aren’t totally regimented on this every day, and they still play video games way too much, but when they complain that they don’t know what to do, I look at the clock and say “It’s 3pm, it’s reading time!” (We had this awesome reading bingo chart and it totally motivated the boys to read a lot!)

This is the first year Aaron has participated in Cub Scout Day Camp and he had a great time.  We carpooled with 2 of the other boys from our troop and over the course of the week he earned LOTS of arrow points, belt loops and pins.  I think his favorite was the archery!

Both Aaron and Brian participated in a Science Camp this year too.  They got to study electricity and magnets, the human body, sticky gooey oeey things, dinosaurs, flight and more.  They had a blast!  It was held at the local Methodist church where Brian did preschool in 2009-2010. 

Aaron, Brian and Christian also did swimming lessons for 2 weeks this year taught by a wonderful young woman from our church who is now in college.  Both Aaron and Brian had taken swimming lessons before but this was the first year for Chris.  The first day he cried, but by the end of the second day he was swimming.  When the lessons were over the teacher was able to throw him into the pool and he could swim to the side!  He still doesn’t know how to take a breath, he holds his breath the whole time, but he loves swimming and it’s been fun to watch him learn.  Aaron and Brian are getting better at swimming too and I hope they join the local swim team next summer. 

There was also a week where Aaron and Brian went to friendship day camp which is put on by several young women in our church.  They invite the local kids for 3 hours every day of crafts and fun.  The boys love it.  We look forward to it every summer!

Other than that we’ve just been hanging out here.  Lots of hanging out at Grandma’s house and her pool.  Lots of trips to the library (seriously at least every 2 weeks, usually dropping off and picking up 20-25 books!) Lots of being superheroes with foam sword fighting and nerf gun fighting.  Lots of building with Lego, Tegu, geo-mags, Lincoln Logs, and foam blocks.  Lots of matchbox cars.  We’ve danced to the music on Pandora a lot (even David gets into it) and I’ve been a horse with one of the kids hitching a ride more times than I can count.  (After re-reading that paragraph I realize those of you who have only girls probably have a REALLY different experience than me!)

Christian has watched WAY too many movies, but he just can’t get enough of Cars 1 and 2 and Toy Story 1, 2 and 3. 

Aaron and Brian each took turns helping cook and plan meals this summer with Aaron being in charge on Wednesdays and Brian on Thursdays.  I still have a hard time just letting go and letting them make messes in the kitchen, but I’m trying to teach them and let them make mistakes.  Actually I’m still really bad at letting them make mistakes, but I’m still trying!

There’s only a few weeks left in summer and I’ve got at least 3 more post coming so be ready!

Other pictures I just had to post!

This is my 8th and final post for July.  Make sure you see all the posts though, not just the ones at the top!  I’ve got another one in process which will get posted next month after a vacation we go on a quick vacation.

Here are a few other pictures I just had to share because I think they are so cute and I need to have memories of them. 

David took his first steps in May and by the end of June he was taking multiple steps and could go the whole length of the house while pushing this lawn mower!  He now walks all around the house without falling with ease and can go up the stairs with confidence.  Down the stairs?  We’re still working on it, but he’s done it a few times.

He loves toys just like his brothers and just looked so adorable with this sword I had to snap a picture. 

Christian is obsessed with these capes my mom made for Christmas and put one on David the other day.  David didn’t love it, but he still looked cute!

He is a generally happy baby. I’m still nursing him (despite 8 teeth) but he eats everything too. We’ve even put away the high chair and just have him at a booster seat up at the table. I can’t believe he’ll be a year old in a month!

Paul took Christian to get a haircut the other day and Chris chose to have “Blue Spikey Hair.”  Add the sunglasses in the mix and he thought he looked pretty cute.  I love how he’s sneaking a peek at the camera here. 

Thankfully Chris still takes a good nap each afternoon.  It allows me to have some good time with the older boys or get projects done without his “help.”  He does love to help set the table or empty the dishwasher or do laundry.  Cleaning up toys though…not so much.  He has needed quite a bit of discipline lately for hitting or throwing toys or just plain disobedience, and he can’t sit still if his live depends on it, but he’s still a great kid and is a lot of fun to be around.

As part of our daily summer schedule (I’ll write more about that next month) the boys are to be reading every day.  This has happened several days though.  Brian falls asleep reading on the couch or even the floor.  I’ve often said he has 2 voice volume levels.  LOUD or asleep.  Brian and I butt heads often and I’m still trying to figure out how best to parent him.  But he still loves everyone and hugs and kisses us all very often!

Aaron continues to grow up at an amazing pace.  There are so many things he can do.  He has lately been more interested in building lego creations.  I’m not a huge fan of all the little pieces which David puts in his mouth, but watching Aaron follow the instructions of a set like this airplane is fun to be a part of.  If I don’t know where he is, he’s probably laying on a couch somewhere reading.  We typically go to the library every 2 weeks getting 25 books or so each time. 

Here are all my boys ready for church one Sunday in their suits and vests and such.  Super handsome.  So proud of them all.

And finally a quick family picture from back at Easter.  We have a great family and I feel very lucky. 

The end of the school year

Right before school got out the kids had awards presentations.  Brian got awards for completing kindergarten, having outstanding citizenship, completing the kindergarten level of PE, Art and Music, and then his teacher gave him the special award of being the Merry Music Maker.  He learned ALL the songs they had practiced all year and is an exuberant singer!

You can only barely see Brian’s head at the back of the class.

Brian LOVED his teacher Miss Jones. 

My little guy is growing up!

Aaron had end of the year awards presentation too, however, he was sick that day and was unable to go to school.  He still got his awards, but we obviously don’t have any pictures of it.  Aaron received awards for building the strongest bridge in his gifted class, being a student ambassador, having outstanding citizenship, getting straight A’s all year and then his teachers gave him the special award of being a Bookworm because he is always reading.

Now here are some before and after shots.  This is what they looked like on the first day of school

and now this is what they looked like on the last day of school.

They’ve grown up so much in so many different ways.  They loved their teachers, loved school this year and both did very well.  I am so proud of all they’ve accomplished and I’m loving having them home this summer.

Little League

This spring Aaron and Brian participated in a local little league program called Katy Pony Baseball. 

Brian’s group had 4-6 year old kids and was T-ball.  His friend Jared was on his team and Jared’s dad, Travis was his coach.  Their team was the Phillies!

Brian really enjoyed the socialization of being on a team for the first time.  He played in the dirt, hit the ball off the tee, ran the bases and really enjoyed himself.

Aaron’s team, the Rangers, participated in coach pitch baseball. 

It was more competitive at this age and Aaron’s team only won a few games.  Aaron made a few hits and got on base a few times, and had fun. 

But to be totally honest, neither Aaron nor Brian loved baseball season as much as Christian did.  He is often “Baseball Ready!” 

In a few years I am CERTAIN he will want to play himself!

Trip to New York

At the end of April I took a trip with Christian and David to visit my sister, Marcia.  She and her family lived in Jersey City, New Jersey in an apartment right on the water with a GORGEOUS view of New York City.  The weather was a little cooler than I was expecting and so I had to borrow jackets for everyone, and the wet weather also prevented us from doing some of the things we had wanted, but regardless, we had a great time.

On Friday we went to see the 9/11 Memorial. 

The World Trade Center is big and they are making good progress.

The memorial is beautiful.  There are 2 LARGE waterfalls that occupy the footprint of the twin towers.  In the center the water disappears and you can’t see where the water goes, there is no bottom.  It’s beautiful. 

Around the edges are the names of the people who were killed in the terrorist attacks and there are kiosks where you can look up the location of individual people.  There was also 1 tree from the site which survived the attack.  It was re-planted somewhere else and nursed back to health, then re-planted again on the memorial site.  It is aptly named “The Survivor Tree.”  It was very sobering and beautiful.

We then walked (it was A LOT of walking) to a playground at the South Street Seaport and let the kids out of the strollers to play for a while until John got off work. 

The next day we walked all around NYC.  And I mean, ALL AROUND!  We saw Times Square, the LDS Temple, Radio City Music Hall, and so on and so on. 

We ended up in Sheep’s Meadow of Central Park where we ate some yummy cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery and the kids played for a while. 

It really wasn’t that cold, he just wanted to wear the hat and gloves because…well, because he could.  This kid loves to accessorize!  We also rode the carousel in Central Park then went back to New Jersey to have some New York pizza.  It was yummy!

On Sunday we ended up just driving around a little.  We saw the back of the Statue of Liberty, and we were going to let the kids play at a park, but we ended up with 4 sleeping kids, so we didn’t stop.

I had a GREAT time visiting my sister and her husband and I’m glad I got to see where she lived.  I say “lived” because she just moved this week back to the Salt Lake City area. I look forward to visiting her again when we go to Utah at Christmas time. 

Bluebonnet pictures 2012

The last weekend in March/First weekend in April we took some pictures in the bluebonnets that grow wild along the side of the freeways and in beautiful fields. One of these days we’ll get a nice family picture taken, but this year it was just us trying to get the little ones to sit still. There were a few winners though.

Paul was taking the pictures (as usual) so he’s not in any and we never got one with all 4 boys looking straight at the camera.  But it was pretty and kinda fun.  We’ll try again another year!

Aaron’s Birthday and Baptism

The biggest event in March was Aaron’s 8th Birthday.  On his birthday Paul and I took him out to a private dinner at The Melting Pot and celebrated just with him.  Of course he got lots of great presents (clothes, games and even a real camera), but it was nice to spend that special time with just him.

About a week later my brother, Marc, and his wife, Kayleen, and their 3 kids, Jackson, Lance, and Ellie came into town and then a few days later Paul’s parents and his sister, Sara arrived.  We did a lot of fun things together including attending more little league games, an Astros game and had a great time being with the family.  We ALWAYS try to go to the opening day for the Astros!

The real reason for everyone coming though was Aaron’s baptism.  Aaron chose to be baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was a beautiful service and we are all very proud of Aaron for making this choice!

 

That same weekend was also Easter and the kids had an Easter egg hunt at my moms house.  She even got a piñata for “the kids” to hit!

 

And since Aaron turned 8 he began to attend cub scouts.  Doesn’t he look so cute in his uniform?  He has already earned his bobcat and wolf rankings and is now earning arrow points and belt loops and pins.  The whole family is enjoying the activities with him.