We did it!

We did it!! We survived our first week of homeschool!  Did we get everything done in our plans? Nope!  Did I ever get everything done in my plans when I was teaching PS? Nope!  I would say it was a successful week.  Nadi never once asked to go back to school.  I asked her she wanted to and she said NO! 

I am a little overwhelmed, but I expected that. Trying to get the house clean and dinner cooked and have a few quiet moments in a day when Nadi is with me constantly... I am still glad I did it. She is much more calm and less frustrated.  Granted at this point we have not done anything very challenging.  

The very first day, Nadi pitched a fit when getting her hair done.  That is par for the course so after we dropped Moo off I took her and got her hair cut.  It will still fit in a pony tail but it is not nearly as long.  Way less tangles! I love her long hair but it is not worth the fights.  

Moo started school on Monday and so far so good! Let's hope it stays that way!  I want her to be happy at school.  I want her to enjoy getting out of the house and maybe doing something she enjoys.  Her teacher is kind and gets that she can't work for 8 house and she needs some down time!

All in all the first week was a success! Thank goodness!

It's official!!

We did it!! We survived day one of homeschool!! First things first we dropped Moo off at her new school and prayed that she would have an enjoyable day! Then I took Nadi to get her hair cut.  She had long, pretty blond hair and a very tender head.  Now she has shorter, blond pretty hair with 1/3 of the tangles.  That should make my morning easier.  It will still fit in a pony tail.  

We are using Sonlight Core B+C, world history condensed into one year with their 3rd grade language arts program.  We are using Teaching Textbooks 4 for math.  For science we are doing unit studies, the first being birds. For a little Charlotte Mason we are doing Artist Studies starting with Degas for the first 6 weeks.  We are going to do nature studies as well and of course the first six weeks will revolve around birds.

  On Saturday we went to a state park near us and went on a guided beginning birding class so Nadi could get some tips and hints on birding.  I figure since she wants to be an ornithologist she should learn a thing or two about birds...

So how did today go.  She only had one melt down and that was writing related...Imagine that.  We will be doing lots of vision therapy and occupational therapy type activities as well!  Overall it was very enjoyable. We got through everything in my lesson plans for the day and she was happy doing it.  Next week we start park days with our homeschool group and I want to get her signed up for girl scouts.  I missed the sign ups for the Friday classes they have.  The sign ups were clear back before I had even decided to homeschool.  We will sign up for the January classes though. Meanwhile there are lots of field trips etc we can participate in.  I am limiting us to 2 a month! I figure that is way more than she would get at school.  Of course if there happen to be 3 in one month that we REALLY want to do, we can do it.  As it is I am planning 4 academic days a week, with the fifth day being for field trips, library etc.

I feel like a have a big secret hiding in my closet.  We have decided to homeschool Baby in the fall.  

Baby's kindergarten teacher was a cold fish but she was good.  She made her students tow the line and she had high expectations. Most of all she did not but up with Baby's shenanigans! Baby likes to lower her chin and bat her big blue eyes at people to get her way. Some times she will even add tears to those baby blues if it will help her cause. I so appreciate that the kinder teacher saw right through all of that.  

First grade...UGH! That is a year I don't want to relive!  Baby got the teacher that everyone wanted.  I was happy with that. The school year started out just fine. Shortly after Halloween Baby started complaining that her teacher didn't like her and she didn't want to go to school. Things just got worse and worse. The teacher started missing a lot of school and every time there was a sub Baby was super happy about it.  In December I requested to meet with the teacher and set up and appointment. She canceled the appointment and never rescheduled.  I hoped that after the holidays and a little vacation things would improve, but they did not.  In late January I met with the teacher and the principal. To say the least I was not impressed!  The principal was new and I don't think she knew I was a teacher.  I don't remember all the details but I was NOT happy when I left.  They mentioned the 4th grade writing test and Baby not being able to pass it, and all sorts of other stuff.  They talked about Baby refusing to do any writing work. They also mentioned if she got further behind she might end up in resource. That is where I "blew my top" in a very controlled way.  I told them over my dead body would a child of mine go to resource.  Resource is the cesspool of public education and if you don't believe me go watch a resource class at the high school level.

(Disclaimer: I know many amazing resource teachers, my MIL included.  

Again, it is the system not the teachers. I don't for a minute profess to know what the answer is.)

At this point I knew I had to do something.  I knew that Baby was not just refusing to do her writing for the fun of it.  There was a pattern that was for sure but I wasn't sure what the cause was.  So I stepped out of my mommy hat and put on my teacher hat.  I knew baby had some "quirks" but I wasn't really sure what all that meant.  She had/has lots of sensory issues, tags, embellishments in clothes, loud noises, constantly chewing on the neck or wrist of her shirt, and on and on.  I knew all of this meant something but I wasn't really sure what.  Long story short Baby has some visual processing problems and we started therapy for that.  The eye Dr suggested having her allergy tested because of some of the behaviors she was seeing.  Indeed she has a significant dairy allergy.  Getting her off of dairy has been huge!  

Meanwhile her teacher missed more and more school and by late February she never returned.  There were a million subs in her class (or at least it felt like it) and some days there was not a sub and her class would be split up and sent to other classes.  Finally the last 8 weeks of school she finally got a permanent sub.  Oh how I wish that person could have been her teacher all year!  

Over the summer we moved and started at a new school.  I talked to her teacher and told her a little about Baby's first grade, gave her a copy of her vision report that also has suggested accommodations in it, and we started the year.  So far it has been a pretty good year.  I have seen some of the vision stuff creeping back in and really need to start doing the exercises again. 

Baby has also acquired some interesting skills.  She knows her teacher doesn't grade everything so if she doesn't want to do it, she was folding up her work and putting it in her pocket and bringing it home.  So this is all a brief history of her school experience.  

Currently I am reading a book called 

The End of Molasses Classes: 

Getting kids unstuck, 101 extraordinary solutions for parents and teachers

by Ron Clark.

This book has reminded me of a conversation I have had several times with a friend of mine about how we allow our kids to get away with things we would have NEVER allowed our students to get away with. It has also pointed out to me something I already knew but didn't want to accept responsibility for... I am way to easy on Baby. I let her be "the baby". I let her get away with stuff I shouldn't and I often make excuses to myself about it.  Enough of that!  

So why on earth would I want to homeschool.  After spending 9 years as a teacher in public education, my philosophy of education has grown and change.  I don't like that our child is being educated to pass "the test" I don't like that when our child is missing a skill there is no way to back up and get it.  I don't like that when our child is ahead in an area she can't move forward. Our child doesn't fit well into the public school mold.  She needs to move, she needs it quiet to think.  She is easily distracted and when she is overwhelmed she shuts down.  I want to bring her home and give her what she needs to do well academically. By Halloween I might be rethinking myself but I need to do what is best for her. 

As of right now we are planning on using Sonlight. I love their curriculum and it fits Baby's learning style. 

So that is my skeleton in my closet.  

Box Day!

I decided that this year I am going to use Sonlight's boxed curriculum along with Singapore math K, hooked on phonics K, The ordinary Parent's guide to Teaching Reading and Scripture Stories (starting with the Book of Mormon). I decided that I am going with a packaged curriculum this year because I am worn out from the last 4 years of teaching. I also know from 9 years in the classroom that planning is not my favorite part of teaching. In the future I plan to follow the Well Trained Mind with a classical approach to education. Though Sonlight is not perfectly classical, it does have lots of reading and that will be good prep work a classical education. My biggest goal for this year is to get Baby reading.

So on to box day. I ordered my Sonlight box back in June and asked them not to send it until August as we were going to be out of town a lot. I was very pleased that they did not send it early and it arrived when we were home. Baby was still in her pajamas when the box arrived. I told her she had to get dressed and ready for the day before we could open the box. The waiting about killed me! It was the fastest she has ever gotten ready. She was very excited to get started! (Oh yes, that is a broken arm you see. Two hours after we arrived at our summer vacation destination-my sister's house, Baby tripped over a curb as she was running to help unload the car and broke it.)
The pattern blocks were a big hit! She ended up playing with them for awhile.
Now she is very excited to start homeschool. I am too. I am trying to get our office all set up and ready to go. I need a space to do homeschool that can be locked away. Moo loves to tear covers off of books and use them as fans, all paper is made for flapping and chewing on, and book shelves were made to have everything pulled off of. So I want a space that we can go to, work, and then lock the door behind us and if we leave something out, we will find it the way we left it. In a perfect world, Moo will join us at home in a couple of years. She does enjoy leaving and going to school but some years (depending on her teacher) I worry about what her day is like. I hope to have Nadia reading fairly well, and good work habits developed before I bring Maile home. That is the plan anyway.

Box day was a success, now we are just waiting for the official start day.

Why homeschool????

Why homeschool? That is a good question! Because I am crazy, because I want to be crazy, because I want everyone to think that I am crazy! Maybe but not really. After teacher for 9 years there are lots of reasons why I don't want my kids in public schools but I won't even mention them. After missing the last 4 years of days with my children while I was teaching all of the other children, I want my babies with me! I am selfish, what can I say. I love my babies and the thought of dragging them out of bed at 6:30 and sending them off to school is enough to kill me! Not only that, I really think I can do a better job at home then can be done in the classroom. Don't think for a minute I am trashing teachers. I know lots of wonderful teachers out there that dedicate themselves to their students. The system is broken, not most of the teachers. So this year is a trial run in a way. I am going to homeschool Nadia 3 days a week and let her go to the preschool that she has loved for the last two years. Maile will still be in school. I want to try it. My goal for this year is to get Nadia reading a bit and to build our relationships within our family. So here we go!