1st grade. Where did K go?

So as we near the end of June, we near the end of "kindergarten". We will go register soon for our 2012-2013 school year. Yes. We will keep on keeping on with school. Honestly, if you ask Mae she would tell you "we don't really do school work". I love that our "school time" happens naturally and all the time and she doesn't see it as "work". It is part of our daily life. We are always learning, even as adults.

But this next 12 months, we are going to buckle down a little. We have a list of books started that we want to read aloud together and we bought some curriculum. We are diving into spelling, health, art, math, we bought a unit study book and I am working on an American History timeline. I have laid out a basic week for us and what area we will cover each day......but I left it at that. We are setting goals for the year but going to go at Mae's pace and follow her lead. If she "gets it" quickly we will press forward, if there's something she gets hung up on then we will take our time. No pressure, no rush. I think this scheduled yet flexible approach will fit our family perfectly. We can throw in a field trip whenever we want, vacation on a whim, take a day off.......total freedom.

Once a day. Once a week.

I want to blog. I really do. I have do much to say. Frankly I never am really the one left "speechless". So why not just do it? Well. I forget. I forget to out it on my "list". I just don't think of it. It isn't a deal breaker and I don't lose sleep over it.......just wish I did it more.

So over the last month since I blogged last.......we've had a dance recital, I went to Haiti for a week, and now little Fergie girl is playing tennis this summer. Oh and an impromptu weekend fling to Gatlinburg.

Unschooling myself.

I was really not EVER even contemplating being a homeschooling mom. EVER. It never even crossed my mind. I had not given it a second thought much less a first one. Homeschool my littles? No. Home-schooled children are weird and unsocial and their moms wear long plaid dresses and white Keds.......right??? (no offense meant if that's your choice of style) I am not the "kind" to homeschool. Nope. Not me.
Flash forward to meeting a great new friend and her presenting me with the idea of it. Uh huh. I tuned her out. I wanted no part of this keeping my children at home and "playing school" for real business. Nope. Not happening. I'm not "that" mom. I was looking forward to the days of solitude and grocery shopping in silence. Lunches that I didn't have to share and actually could find time to eat. That was the "plan".........and yes one day I will learn to quit telling God my plans and start just giving into His first. :)

3 days before Mae was to go meet her Kindergarten teacher, I called my dear friend. I said "tell me what you know and what I need to know". Then I called my husband and said "I really believe God is screaming at me to homeschool and I honestly believe I have been ignoring Him on this. He said "you better listen up then but it's up to you". But really I think it was up to God. He put all the right people in my life to direct me to this, laid all the right convictions on my heart at exact moments and in true Pamela fashion........at the FINAL moment I said YES to homeschooling.
But what is homeschooling? My darling daughter and I collide daily, we are too much alike and both strong personalities and how in the world can we sit at a table for hours a day together?? Uh huh. Yeah right. So the beauty of homeschool is that it's NOT school and that's why you do it AT HOME! If homeschool is going to look like public school or private school, then obviously you're missing the point, purpose and fabulousness of it!!!
So I've been UNschooling myself this last 9 months and I realize weekly that I am still not completely UNdone from what I have been taught school to "look like" and what homeschool really can (and should) look like-------and it's a far cry from what children in brick and mortar schools experience. Isn't that why we keep them at home??? To give them a different experience? To teach them in a different way? To expand their horizons and build their character and to let them be little longer????????
After some sweet time today with my sweet friend who sweetly brought me into my homeschooling momma days.........I learned I still have some unschooling left to do. Absolutely. And it's fine because I'm doing what's best for my littles and we are all having a great time while mommy forgets everything she ever knew and is learning a whole new world of what school and learning can be!

Tuesday. The day after Monday.

Yesterday we entered into "place value" in our math lessons. While I was good at math in school, it was not my favorite subject. I must admit that while a bit nervous to teach math to Mae, I figured I would be good at it at least. Uh. Yeah. Not really.
So we have "skipped" math and frankly "avoided" it some days. Yeah. Great approach to homeschool right. Ha!
Luckily for homeschoolers, you're not truly behind and there is always time to catch up or make up the difference..........whew, grace in homeschool. Because there will be concepts she whizzes through and some where we have to camp out for a bit. Flexibility, grace, awesomeness. So yesterday we entered the world of place value. I had no idea how you would "teach" this........but I can tell you I would not do it the way Math U See does it. It is amazing! And so easy for her to grasp and the hands on is way beyond a worksheet with numbers. Their "build it, write it, say it" really reenforces it and helps the student to "get it". I am really enjoying Math U See and so is Mae, which I'm sure is much more important than what I think. :)

I want real "fake" eyelashes!

So my darling daughter is gearing up for her first dance recital. She is going to be rocking out solos in tap and ballet and this momma couldn't be prouder!!! In preparing, there are a few costume checks and "face rehearsals". My sweet baby has worn makeup for Halloween but never to "enhance" her face.......she doesn't need an ounce of help there. However in putting on the mascara, can I just say that she has THE most fabulous lashes EVER!!!! And we are still "in the works" with her costumes.......blessed that I am able to see these for her. Recital is less than 3 weeks.......I'm still waiting on the "time management" portion of my personality to kick in........see previous post regarding my lack of organizational skills and my professional level of procrastination.

What in the world???!!!!!!

Well. You know the "stuff" that makes it life????? Yup. A whole big pile of it slapped us in the face last fall.......and well I didn't blog one single time from September to May??!! Isn't that pretty much the ENTIRE school year? Was I not going to blog about our incredibly amazing homeschool learning experience? Wasn't I going to keep something of a "blog diary" to remember these fleeting moments?? Apparently they all fleeted right away along with all my glorious plans and intentions and here I sit........in MAY with not a single solitary blog entry for 8 months. That's almost a full term pregnancy, I could've grown a baby in the time I ignored blogging. And it's not that I don't have anything to say! Oh my, oh my. I always have something to say, maybe shouldn't always say it but definitely never run out of things to talk about. So why no blogging??? Why no sharing of our fun exciting times?????? Here's my "thought out excuses".......ready??

*****I was busy moving to a 2br apartment and trying to learn the definition of organization.......and compromised closet space.
*****We were trying desperately to figure out what homeschool "looks like" for us........and changing up our curriculum plans and being overwhelmed with the vast array of choices!
*****I was in prayer OFTEN that I don't screw my little diva up by choosing to keep her at home instead of sending her out to the world. I'm going to teach her?? Umm. With no qualifications required? Yup. Scary.
*****Holiday season, need I say more??
*****Then waiting and anticipating the arrival of my sweet niece. Then playing "top mommy advisor" to my baby sister.
*****Now caring for sweet niece 3 days a week........while still trying to figure out this homeschool business AND can I take a class on organization and time management PLEASE??!!!
*****Spent much time with amazing families taking their photos and raising money for my 3rd trip back to Haiti. Leaving in 25 days! Eeeek! That time management is critical to making sure I'm packed BEFORE the plane actually takes off.
*****LIFE! It happens. It's been happening, I just haven't had time to share.........ahhhh correction, I just haven't managed my time to allot for time to share! (accountability, I'm trying)

SO what have we done the last few months..........here is a super quick photo recap, sort of. :) They are completely out of order and all jumbled up pretty much........kinda fitting for a post such as this I think. Ha!

Week 2, Ss Sun.

With our curriculum, we will cover all 26 letters of the alphabet over 26 weeks. Each week has its own letter and theme......and to kick us off was "Sun". I am enjoying watching her light up with excitement and having those "ah ha" moments. And I am enjoying learning stuff myself!! One thing I learned this week is that Pluto is no longer considered a planet??!!! What??!!! I had to double check the publish date of the book we were reading to be sure that this was correct. Yup, apparently there are only 8 planets now instead of 9! Who knew!!

Our biblical view tie in with "Sun" is "Jesus is the light of the world." The curriculum layout does an amazing job of tying it all together and doing it at her level. And the exercises and activities are very helpful at reinforcing it! One exercise we did was that I blindfolded her.......before I could even explain what she needed to do, she took off and ran straight into the fridge! After convincing her it would in fact be fun IF she had instructions first, we started over. She ended up loving it!!!

She enjoyed feeling around with her hands and feet to guess where she was and to "see" where she was headed. It was very enlightening too when I explained how some people are blind.....to which she quickly responded "momma! We gotta go help some blind peoples!". Ah, my big hearted girl.

I was very happy to watch little man sit at the table with us while we "did school". One day he actually sat with us for 2 hours! This is so not his normal manner.......he can barely sit still long enough to eat a meal. So to see him sit and actually be focused on some activities and tasks was quite inspiring. He loves his new pegs we purchased and loves flipping through flashcards.

He even got in on the action when we made binoculars so we can use them this year to see all that is in our Father's world.

While we have so much fun with reading and art projects and hands on fun stuff........we definitely have our rocky spots. We are so much alike and sometimes that makes for some tough moments. But we are working through them and finding our groove. She is enjoying being at home and I love that I am blessed to continue to spend the days with her. This is my first year to home-school.......something I never imagined I would do. This is her first year of some kind of organized, planned learning........something that is new to her. Between the two of us, we are entering new territory that needs to be mapped and charted. But we are exploring it together and learning and growing and I hold fast to what I heard someone say about homeschooling......"it's not a sprint, it's a marathon".

Week 1. Creation.

So we started our kindergarten time together this week and we learned about the 7 days of creation. Mae loved that we were reading in my "big girl bible" and that she was able to recite back so much information as the days passed.Even daddy got in on some of the artsy craftiness in helping make her Creation book......
Which she (I think daddy helped her) wanted to title "In the Beginning".........she is quite proud of all the pictures she made each day. She was elated when I showed her that when we put them all together they make a story book! We'll be taking it to Staples to be spiral bound to have as a keepsake. It is a great token from our first week of Kindergarten and that we didn't kill each other!! Hehe!
My highlights that I jotted down as we went through the week were these:

1. We were reviewing the date on the calendar.......we do this every day discussing yesterday, today and tomorrow. She decided that she was going to just count out the rest of the month......I then learned that August has a "thirtieth one" day and not a thirty first. :)

2. I was trying to tell her something quietly and she told me "just secret it into my ear".

3. When drawing Adam and Eve in her Creation book.......she didn't draw clothes on their stick figure bodies. I guess she knew they were "born" that way.

4. In learning about the 7th day........our page in our book is blank. There's nothing on it because God did nothing on the 7th day, He rested. Insert Tony who suggests to her to draw a bed and pillow to remind her that God rested.......Mae explained that God doesn't sleep in a bed. Tony left the kitchen, Mae leans over rolling her eyes and whispers "He don't know what he's talking about."

What we covered in 6 days was supposed to take 10! So um.....yeah, I will be digging deep into some creative supplements and we'll be taking many field trips too!

YUP!!! It was a GREAT GREAT first week of home-school!!!! Praise God!

Our "kindergarten in a box" came!!!!

We pulled up to our house and there was a big brown box on the front porch and she exclaims: "MOMMY!!! Look!! Kindergarten in box came!!" I loved that she was so excited to get it and to be doing Kindergarten at home.........the curriculum we went with is "My Father's World--Kindergarten." http://www.mfwbooks.com/products/M50/20/0/0/1#products It is very hands on and incorporates God's word into each weekly unit.

She could not wait to tear into the box and see all the goodies inside!

Very proud of her ant farm......BUT was sad to learn that the ants have to be ordered.

After convincing her that we were going to be waiting another week to start school......I was able to put everything away and start reading through the Teacher's Guide. I had lots of stuff to cut up and cut out......I laminated it all (in case I use it for Logan or resale it later) to keep it all in good condition. I did all the prep work my guide suggested and labeled folders for each week and separated out her worksheets accordingly. The thing I really love about MFW is that she does not have more than 5 worksheets or so each week......that's about 1 a day. So everything we do will be hands on and reading and art. Who wants to sit and do a bunch of yucky worksheets, not my Mae!! :)

So we're all set and ready to go.........and we will be starting our first day on August 15th!! We will start with the 7 days of Creation. It's supposed to take 10 days to cover.......but after reading through the lessons, I am thinking Mae will go much faster than that. I am already planning ahead on supplemental items and activities for the 26 weeks that will follow. She will require more activities and learning opportunities to consume in her 4 hours a day. :0)

SO..........ready or not----Kindergarten starts on August 15th. We're pumped!

Why Home-school???

Oh my, oh my! What a lot of funny things go by!-----Dr. Seuss

So......I never planned on being a mommy when God decided it was apparently time. I never planned on being a stay at home mom, BUT God mapped it out just perfectly to put me here----at HOME. And I PROMISE that home-schooling my children was never even a thought, much less an option. Until about maybe a year ago.........

I have a dear friend (whom I love!) and she told me she was going to be home-schooling. She invited me to a few events and talks, that sort of thing. Of course I never went. Why would I? Because clearly I am NOT a home-school mom. I am completely unorganized, suffer from mild ADD-whatever that thing is and I am very unorganized......so unorganized I had to say it twice, or was that because of the ADD? Well.......anyhow!!! We talked a few other times and the topic would come up and I would quickly change the subject. I wasn't fully comfortable with sending my sweet baby girl out into "the world" just yet.......let's face it, there is so much out there that I would just prefer to shield her from and I don't want her growing up too quick. Kids are smacked in the face so much now with worldly junk at such an early age! Their little minds cannot comprehend or process it and they shouldn't have to! So we looked into a local magnet school and signed her up to test to see if she could get in there......this was just a happy compromise for this mommy's heart and soul. So we went, she tested, she didn't get a spot. So at this point I am telling myself that the school I am going to sign her up for is a good school, I always hear such great stuff from other parents about it, she is going to love it AND I am going to love the "break" every day.

Summer came......and summer was almost done and I was tuning in really closely to things I was hearing. Just "stuff" that goes on "out there" and things that our children are being exposed to much earlier than I would prefer and insert the ACLU stomping it's nasty boots in our county lately regarding prayer and God-------let's just say I could hear God trying to get my attention. I began learning that several of my friends were going to be home-schooling.......how did I not know this??!! AND then my dear friend mentioned (that I mentioned at the start) shared one more of those "stuff" kind of stories and it literally shoved me over the edge! I started asking her questions.......lots and lots of 'em! And I realized quickly that home-school was SO NOT what I had made myself believe it to be. I was imagining long drawn out days at the kitchen table doing worksheet after worksheet after worksheet. And having a strict schedule and spending tons of money on I don't know what! And the whole scheduling thing and my organizing shortfalls would totally clash! And my sweet friend set me STRAIGHT!!! I came to learn that what was in my head, was ONLY in my head!!!

Home-school could be whatever me and Mae want it to be! It can be planned, set up and changed as need be to keep her interested and learning and growing! We can move at her pace and speed without any extra pressures. If it takes her 5 days to get something, great! If she gets it in 5 minutes, we move on! She can still take her usual 1 1/2 hour long nap (my girl is a sleeper) and she can sleep til 7 and if we aren't home in time for bedtime on occasion........NO BIGGIE, cause she can sleep in and nap the next day! I love it! The freedom for us to be the one's in charge is wonderful especially when your husband runs his own business. We need to be able to plan trips and family time and vacation around his work......not what the school district sets in place. This just works way better for US!!!!!

SO YES!!!! YES I am a home-school mom!!!! And I am proud and loving it!!!! I love that I will get to keep spending these fleeting days with my sweet girl! I love that I get to mold and shape her much more than if she was away for those 30+ hours per week. I love that me and Tony still have the upper hand on what she is learning about the "world" and YES keep her in a bubble for a bit longer. Just call her The Bubble Girl. Hehe! She is going to be thrust into the world soon enough and I am loving that I get to keep her innocent and sheltered just a bit longer..........yes, I said sheltered.

So here we are..........so here we go.........it's going to be an amazing year of KINDERGARTEN AT HOME!!!

The stuff that makes it life........

This blog will be full of the "stuff" that makes our life.......LIFE!!! Life worth living! Life worth living for HIM! And well.........how we are living the LIFE He has blessed us with. Now I admit, there are days that I dig deep inside trying to figure out "what in the world God is doing"!! Hehe! And I PROMISE I will be nothing short of honest and blunt about what we do, where we go and this fabulous journey He has us on......in this LIFE. <3