Reason #7

If you feel like just doing art, you can.  We did four art lessons today on symmetry.  We painted, colored, cut, glued, and had a lot of fun.  Some days we get carried away in math or read lots of stories.  It is fun to focus in to a subject when you are in the mood, or to have an eclectic palette of subjects on other days!

Crazy Fall Time

Reason #7

This time of year is crazy for us.  So many activities going on that we want to enjoy with multiple ages of children.  Our day from 2:00 on included: 3 piano lessons, a soccer game, football practice, dinner, Family Night.........hardly time to breathe.  But......we already had 5 good hours of down time together doing school, so we don't feel like didn't see each other.  I got to labor over phonics with one son, hold kittens with my little girl, give spelling tests to two sons, do some pre-writing with one, some water color painting with another.  We had a good day, even as busy as it was.  

Homeschooling gives me the chance to have a lot of time with my kids.  It also allows us to participate in a lot of extra-curricular activities without losing all of our family time.  I like it.

Time

One thing you don't get much when your children are doing an ONLINE Virtual School, is personal computer time..................mom is last in line for the computer : )

Reason #6

I can't believe how much I am learning!

Today I can recite to you the four types of clouds.

I also can break words into syllables.

I know the history of the Mona Lisa.

I found out that I still can do algebra pretty well.

I love singing "bunny bunny hop hop" to the first Suzuki twinkle.

And most parents think they need to know all of this BEFORE they can start schooling their children.  But really, you get to have the learning adventure together!

I love quiet.

It is the evening, and I just need some quiet time.  

Every mom needs it, and deserves it.  We had a very busy, getting things done, piano lesson started, type of Monday. 

And now I just want to BE STILL.  Thank goodness for a husband who lets me take a quiet moment by myself, even if it is just at the dining room table :)

Tears of Joy

I cried today. Do you remember how exciting it was watching your baby take his first steps, teetering and tottering, falling down, and getting back up? Well, you should try being there when your child learns to read. It is amazing.

My first grade son is having a hard time breaking through the "learning to read" wall. Both of my other boys quickly learned to read while in kindergarten, succeeding with all of the typical book methods. They caught on quickly, and progressed quickly. And then I started teaching this one to read. It hasn't happened yet after a long kindergarten year.  He learns in a completely different way than they did and do.  I have found myself reading books about learning styles and trying all kinds of new ways to help him read.  He definitely fits into the "doer" kinesthetic type of learner.  Sitting still he can have trouble counting to 15, but spinning in a circle he can count to 100 beautifully.  It has been a journey for us........already.  It is hardest to teach those who learn differently than you do yourself.  I am definitely a visual and auditory learner.  This is foreign territory for me.  Who knew that teaching my children would teach me so much?  All of this even led me to drop the curriculum that I had been doing successfully for 4 years and jump into WAVA, Washington Virtual Academy, with all of my children.  What did I have to lose, my old ways weren't working.

Well, today the lights began clicking, the synapses started snapping, and HE WAS READING WORDS.  The joy in his eyes was beyond description.  The tears in my eyes were obvious.  And I must mention that the PhonicsWorks program from k12 is awesome, an answer to my prayers.  He gets to touch, feel, move, and hear the letters.  It is just what he needed.

And I would not have traded this experience for anything.

We survived!

First day of school, and we survived. Very pleasantly, in fact.

I used to teach 4th grade once upon a time. After the first day of school, I went to bed at 6:00. It is just plain exhausting to get a new school year on its feet, set up routines, and help the kids know the routines. Ask any teacher, the first month of school is grueling, and then it gets a lot better and EASIER.

So..........you can't expect it to be much better when educating your own at home, but it is a much smaller class size! That is a positive.

Everyone was very excited to start the day, and very exhausted when it was over. But, we made it.........and we will be back at it tomorrow morning.