Our Homeschooling Day

We have been Homeschooling for over a week now and it has been going great. We are using the Seton curriculum. Our two oldest are enrolled and our 1st grader is not.

I read a lot about Seton and talked to a few homeschoolers about it. From what I gathered, you either love Seton or you think it's a bit harsh. I happen to love it. I was worried it would be to advanced but my children seem to be doing just fine. We are only on our 2nd week and haven't written any book reports yet, so I hope the good feelings continue.

I do think art appreciation is a good thing to have and my children do like looking at the art and learning about the artists but they need some more hands on fun art. I found this site I really like, The Incredible Art Department and the blog That Artist Woman, we will be doing the Fall Trees project.

Our days are going pretty much as planned. We have been starting school around 8:45am-9am. My first grader gets done around 12:30 (besides daily reading) my 4th grader gets done around 1:30-1:45 (besides reading and studying) and my 7th grader gets done around 2:30 (besides reading and studying)

Some people have been asking me if home schooling is hard and how do I do it with five children. I know people who do it with 10+ children. I am no hero!

Is it hard? No harder than any parent raising children and teaching them. You do need some discipline in place. The children need to know school is school and the are required to do what is asked of them. And I need discipline too. I need to get up and do it everyday and try to be cheerful about it. It's like anything, if you want to do something and enjoy it, it will be easy. I also feel Seton's curriculum makes it easy. There are a lot of ways to home school and many different curriculum. I like Seton because it spells it all out for me. Here is an example of Seton's daily lesson plans for 7th grade English.

How do I do it? My children have taken to homeschooling very well. Sure there are days that are not filled with sunshine and smiles, but that happens no matter if you're homeschooling or not. I count on my children to do what is required and they count on me to be an example of how the day should go. I guess I just do it. For me success has a lot to do with prayer. I pray for the confidence, patience, and grace to give my children what they need. No different than any other parent.

Watching my children learn and how they learn through home schooling is a big plus to me. My 7th grader was looking at art pictures in her History book. She wanted to know about the story that went with the painting of Judith beheading Holofernes. She also saw the painting at the art museum we went to. We found the story in the Bible (Which is in the Book of Judith 13) I believe my daughter said, "Judith is one bad lady." Bad meaning "tough" in tween language. :) We went from History to Art to Religion and Bible Study. I love that type of learning!

This has been our experience with homeschooling so far.

On to the new week, I can't wait to see what happens!

Traveling on The Homeschool Road

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. ~Sydney J. Harris

After much thought and prayer my husband and I have decided to homeschool our children again

We homeschooled for one year and towards the end of that year I believe I was experiencing what other homeschoolers call "burn out." Along with the feeling of being burnt out came the feelings of being an inadequate teacher and every negative comment that was said by others pushed those inadequate feelings even further to the surface. I was also expecting my 5th child and the thought of dealing with a newborn, homeschool, and the feeling of no confidence was overwhelming.

I told my husband we were putting the kids back in Catholic school. The school they attended is very good so we were not that hesitant to put them back.

During the year they were back at school, I noticed that my children were at the same level, and above in some areas, as the peers in their grade. That gave me a little boost. I really did teach them something the year they were home! I also noticed my son did a lot better when he was home. His teacher recommended tutoring in math, but when I pulled out his math work from being homeschooled it showed something different. It showed A-B work, not the C-D work he was bringing home from school.

Whenever I would look at their work they brought home from school, I couldn't help but think, "Oh I can teach them this!"

People in my life usually ask the question why when I say I am going to homeschool. There are many different reasons that I can explain, and then there is the feeling of being drawn to it that I can't explain.

Another factor in our decision was when I asked my oldest daughter how she felt about homeschool, she responded in a positive way. She was all for it and ready to say goodbye to away school. A reaction like this coming from my daughter really made me think. What was missing for her that she would so readily leave her classmates and "social life" behind so quickly? Maybe I was good at homeschooling and she really enjoyed it!

A Catholic education is top priority in our family and in these economical times tuition for 5 children is not possible for our family. And knowing I can give my children that kind of education at home for a fraction of the cost is also appealing.

I think I am more prepared this time around. I have seen that my children did learn while being homeschooled. I look back and see that my children got along better, they weren't consumed with what they didn't have and what other kids did have, and we really did have a good time.

I have also noticed that when we said we were homeschooling again and I received blank stares or the whys, it didn't bother me in the slightest, that is a good sign. :)

We are going to do things a little different this time around. We are going to use Seton and enroll the oldest two. I think this will help me to be more organized and accountable. And the good thing about homeschool is if it doesn't fit we can change it.

The most important thing is that we grow as a family and that we give all we can to our children, right now for our family that involves homeschooling.

Prayers and encouragement are still very much needed and very much appreciated.

Our First Day of Homeschool

Today was our very first day of homeschool.

The kids woke up and got right to work. It was a challenge in the beginning because Bug and Oney did not realize that all the toys I put in the living room meant that they actually had to stay in the living room and play.

After I got the little ones to understand what school meant and how they had to behave, things went more smoothly.

Lil D was very focused and did his work in a flash. Miss took a little more time with her work. She did get upset once; she thought I was going to get mad because it was taking her a longer time to get through some of her subjects.

In Miss’s old school she was rushed and was never able to finish. That meant at least three hours of homework for her and I to do when she got home from school.

I must admit I was becoming frustrated with her use of time. I was in traditional school mode that put strict time limits on the work Miss was doing. I called Big D to share my worries about my abilities of being an adequate homeschool mom. (It was my first day and I got a little case of the jitters)

Big D reminded me of the reasons why we are homeschooling in the first place. I went to Miss and explained that she was not in a race and that she needed to focus and take her time.

Miss felt better and used her time more wisely. She picked up her pace and got to work.

We ended with our Viking unit study. The kids enjoyed picking out a Viking name and writing a poem. When we finished with the unit study I looked at the clock and saw that it was only one in the afternoon.

School went by so fast and we still have most of the day to go. Although the beginning was a little bumpy and I was a little nervous, I think the day went well. The most important thing I learned today was to go with the flow. Teach my kids the way they learn best. If one child takes longer than the other there is no reason to panic.

Our very first day of homeschool is over and we all made it. I think we all had a lot of fun too.

Lil D, fast and furious


Miss working hard


Bug practicing the letter O .


Oney hanging out and getting banana split pie everywhere. (Yes, I gave him pie to keep him happy for a few minutes. It was my first day, sheesh!)

Preschool

My two oldest children Miss and Lil D have never attended preschool. Big D and I taught them the basics at home and then sent them to Kindergarten.

Not sending my children to preschool was a hang up that I had. If I had known more about homeschooling back then I would not have sent them to Kindergarten either. My reason is kind of silly. My heart ached when I put backpacks on my kids. The backpack was so big on their little bodies. All I could say when I looked at them was, "They are still babies!" My hang up with the backpacks kept my children from preschool. I know it's silly but I can't help it.

Now that we are homeschooling I have become adventurous and decided that I will bring my Preschooler Bug into the mix.

When she thought she was going to school in a building away from home she was not happy. When I told her we were going to do school at home she became excited and seems willing, for now.

With my older two we read books and did flash cards. They would do an occasional workbook that I picked up from Target and that was the extent of their preschool education. This worked out fine and both were ready when Kindergarten started.

Now that I am homeschooling I am always on the computer looking for ideas to do with my kids. I was visiting the blog Weird,Unsocialized Homeschoolers and came upon all her great links for preschool.

I really like the site Brightly Beaming Resources. This site gives you a complete Preschool curriculum that you can print out. It has a beginning curriculum and then you can go into the more advanced curriculum.

Another great site is Kidzone. They have crafts, many printouts, and preschool lesson plans. Core Knowledge also has preschool lesson plans.

When it comes to online games Bug and I like Starfall.com. Especially since I am focusing on teaching her letter recognition and letter sounds.

I have always been interested in the Montessori way of learning, Although I do not intend Montessori to be the only method of teaching Bug. I do hope to add a few of the learning techniques to are curriculum.

Some of the Montessori sites I find helpful are Montessorimom.com. This site gives a lot of Montessori techniques and explains how to do them. They also have lessons and worksheets that you can print out.

If you want to order Montessori materials for your preschooler, Child of the World has a nice catalog.

I prefer not to buy a Preschool curriculum, so I found the sites I mentioned above to be great resources.

I hope teaching preschool will be a good experience for Bug and I. If it goes as smooth as I plan, it will be wonderful, if it doesn't we still have the tried and true books and flash cards.

P.S My post is up over at The Homeschool Classroom. If you are interested you can check it out.

I Once Knew a Homeschooled Kid and They Were Weird

I was reading a post over at Conversion Diary (formally known as ‘ET TU”) the post is about how kids use their peers instead of their parents, family and other adults to find their identity, morals, and values. This post had me thinking of the comment I have come to expect from those who wish to express their feelings about homeschool to me.

The statement I sometimes get is, “I once knew a homeschooled kid and they were weird.”

I find it strange that people have known one homeschooled kid and this child was extremely weird.

Then I ask weird in what way? Usually they can’t give me a specific weirdness, so I come to my own conclusions. Are they weird because they respect adults, children, and the elderly? Are they weird because in social situations they want to talk about things that matter and not superficial ideas that society shows our children? Are they weird because some have a deep relationship with God? Unfortunately in today’s world this is weird.

I have not had the privilege to meet that one unique, weird, unsocialized homeschooled child that so many of my acquaintances have met.

I am sure there are traditional “weird” children who are or have been homeschooled. But have you been to a public school or a private school lately? I have known many so called weird kids and I was never homeschooled or even met a homeschooled child until recently. The homeschooled kids and young adults I have met have not had a sense of weirdness to them. They seem petty normal to me.Who knows, maybe I am the weird one.

There are a lot of things that influence children in school, some good and some bad. If teaching my children that the bad parts are in no way cool will make them weird, then they are going to be weird. If loving God and having respect for themselves and for others is weird then so be it. If teaching that family is the most important influence in their life is weird then I would like you to meet my four weird children.

You can read what another Homeschooler has to say about this topic at Weird,Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Qualifications

Starting on this homeschooling adventure I have read and heard many opinions on the homeschooling subject

I would like to throw in my two cents on some of the opinions I have heard about homeschooling. Some say parents without a teaching degree are not qualified to teach their children. This is something I thought about as our family was deciding whether to home school or not. I have only had two semesters in college. Big D will have his bachelors this November, but not in education. The question kept coming up. Are we qualified? Can I really teach my children what they need to know?

We taught our children how to speak. We taught them the alphabet, colors, shapes, and many other things they needed to know at that age level. But now we are talking about History, Math, Science, ect… Can I do this? Am I qualified?

My son will be in second grade and my daughter in fifth grade. I was also a child in these grades and I did pretty well in school at that time. I did all the work and I even received good grades. But does that qualify me to teach the subjects needed in those grades?

I really want to homeschool, but my first priority is my children’s education. So I went on with the doubt of my qualifications in the back of my mind. I picked out the curriculum and looked it over. The books tell you what to teach and how to teach it. But it gets better, if your child is not responding to the way the book suggest teaching the subject, you the parent can change the teaching method.

Now I was building confidence. I looked through the science book and thought hey I know this stuff! And the things I did not know I can read the textbook and learn it.

For subjects that I am not good at like Math for instance, my husband will step in. For Miss, her teacher at her old school tutors her in Math once a week and prepares her for the tests I give.

As I looked over my child’s curriculum and read the books, I remembered when we would sit on the couch when they were little and read books about colors and shapes. How we taught them their address and phone number and how to write their names. For a child who is 2,3,and 4 those are hard tasks. But all parents are qualified to teach these things to their children. Now that they are older the learning is the same only at a different level.

I do think all parents are qualified to teach their children. As long as the children’s education is top priority. I don’t think homeschooling is for everyone. But on this journey to the homeschooling lifestyle change, I do believe that Big D and I are quite qualified to teach our children. We have been doing it for years.

“Educating a child is a natural process. Home schooling is nothing more than an extension of parenting.” ~Sue Maakestad

New Homeschooling Blog (Two Givaways!)

Angie over at Many Little Blessings has started a new group homeschooling blog. I am excited about the new blog and grateful to be apart of it.

We are having two awesome giveaways that you need to check out. There will be a 25$ Amazon.com gift certificate and a 10$ Starbucks gift certificate.

Click on the button at the top to visit our group homeschooling blog, The Homeschool Classroom.

Don't forget to get in on those giveaways!

Home School Conference

Big D and I went to the Michigan Catholic Home School conference this weekend. This was my first conference; I was really excited about going. I was also excited about having a night and a whole day just hanging out with Big D.

The conference was great. I already had a list of the curriculum I wanted, so I was not overwhelmed with the choices at the conference. As soon as we got there we purchased what we needed and the rest of the time we looked around and went to some of the talks.

The speakers were great. Marcus Grodi gave one of the talks we went to. He hosts The Journey Home on EWTN. His talk was about the early Church fathers. I encourage every Catholic and Non Catholic to read about the early Church Fathers. In the short time Marcus was speaking, he gave us a little insight on some of the Church Father’s letters, what they were trying to tell people, and how they instructed everyone to follow the Church Christ established. As I sat there I was thinking, “This is so clear, everyone needs to read about the early Church Fathers.”

Marcus recommended a book, Four Witnesses. Big D and I read this book when we were coming back into the Catholic faith. I remember having the same thoughts as I read this book as I did at Marcus Grodi’s talk, “This is so clear!”

We were also fortunate enough to hear Laura Berquist who wrote Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum, she gave a talk on home schooling children from toddler to teen. Laura gave great advice for parents who are teaching children in different grade levels. Laura’s tips and experience gave me a sense of reassurance and peace. All the people we met and talked with were so kind, I felt right at home.

We went to this conference to hear the talks and to buy our curriculum, but Big D spotted some very cool Catholic T-shirts. We found out that a 16-year-old girl who was disappointed in the fashions for her age group decided to make these shirts in her home. They are her designs and I think she did a fabulous job. We had to buy one for all the kids and of course Big D. Here is her website www.jmjdesigns.biz

This conference was a nice little get away for Big D and I. It also brought us in closer to the world of home schooling. It reaffirmed for us that we are doing the right thing for our family. This weekend was a wonderful experience for the both of us.