This is our thirteenth year of homeschooling. We began when Caroline was in the 3rd grade and Mary was in Kindergarten. Now Caroline is a college graduate, as of December 13th, and Mary is a Senior in high school and taking college courses, too. Bobby is in the 10th grade, and will most likely take a college course or two next year. That makes this my last year of full-time homeschooling. It's a very strange feeling to look back at the years gone by and see just how fast they flew. Even weirder is the feeling I get as I look ahead, realizing that in about two and a half years I will no longer be a homeschooling mom.
Caroline graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Criminal Justice. She did it in three and ahalf years, and I'm so proud of her! She worked hard at her academics, and worked equally hard at her job at Chick-fil-A during the whole time she was in school. Now she has transitioned into working nearly-full-time at the restaurant while pondering whether or not to seek a job with her degree. She is planning her June 6th wedding to Shane Farrar. Or maybe I should say "we" are planning because I don't want her to have to do it all by herself!
Mary is taking three college courses each semester this year. There is a program in Georgia called Dual-Enrollment through the state university system. Since Armstrong State University is about ten minutes away from our house, it makes sense for her to go there. Student who score high enough on their SAT can take up to three courses each semester. She could have started doing this her junior year, but she really didn't want to. Last school year she just took one course, College Algebra. This year she took three courses first semester along with studying Advanced Biology: Human Anatomy and Physiology at home. At Armstrong she took Pre-Calculus, Civilization I, and Intro to Psychology. I'm happy to report she got As in all three! This coming semester she'll be taking Civ II, Intro to Sociology, and English 1101 (a required Freshman English course.) She wants to be a Physical Therapist, and Armstrong has a really good Rehabilitation Sciences major and then a doctoral program in PT, so she has set her sights high. Also, in addition to playing the piano, she has taken up the violin (as of summer 2013) and is progressing nicely with that.
Bobby is studying Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, Bob Jones University Press World History, BJUP British Literature, my co-op class on Advanced Composition, Apologia Biology, Switched-on-Schoolhouse Health and S.O.S. Physical Fitness this year. He's doing very well in everything! He's also learning to play the piano now.
As the kids have gotten older homeschooling has gotten easier in a lot of ways and harder in others.
It's easier because they are much more self-motivated and do not require much assistance with the actual work. With Mary this year I have only had to help when she has asked me to assist her in studying for exams in her college classes or in reviewing her science with her before a test here at home. Bobby, too, does not need me to help him understand things very much any more, with the exception of the occasional math problem. It's also easier because we've been homeschooling for so long that many things are now habitual and ingrained, so we aren't having to reinvent the wheel.
It's harder because we have to keep track of all the requirements they need for graduation here in Georgia, and we have to be thinking ahead to their college years, to be sure we're not missing anything.
I praise God that things are going well academically for us this year, and pray that we will continue to enjoy our school year!
Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
Thursday, December 04, 2014
Life Marches Inexorably On...
I haven't written on here in a over a year and a half. I don't know if anybody will even read this, but I suddenly felt the urge to write again. The last year has been fairly normal for us, with a few exciting things happening:
Caroline got engaged and will be getting married next June. She's graduating from college in a little over a week.
Mary began dual-enrolling in college, taking one course last year during her junior year in high school, and now three courses a semester this year. She will graduate from high school next May. She also started learning how to play the violin a little over a year ago, and is doing well with it.
Bobby grew about five inches and is now taller than all three of us girls. He likes this.
Eric is still working at JCB, and I'm still homeschooling, teaching piano, tutoring, and teaching at the homeschool co-op.
Eric edited a book for which he wrote two chapters, and I wrote one, and it was published two days ago. We are excited about this.
Caroline got engaged and will be getting married next June. She's graduating from college in a little over a week.
Mary began dual-enrolling in college, taking one course last year during her junior year in high school, and now three courses a semester this year. She will graduate from high school next May. She also started learning how to play the violin a little over a year ago, and is doing well with it.
Bobby grew about five inches and is now taller than all three of us girls. He likes this.
Eric is still working at JCB, and I'm still homeschooling, teaching piano, tutoring, and teaching at the homeschool co-op.
Eric edited a book for which he wrote two chapters, and I wrote one, and it was published two days ago. We are excited about this.
Overall we are doing well, and I plan to get back into writing on here at least once a week. My next post will be about this school year and how our homeschooling is changing now that we are nearing the end.
Monday, April 01, 2013
Monday, Monday...
We are all back to work today after a nice relaxing weekend and a bit of a break all last week for Mary, Bobby, and me. Eric is at JCB working, Caroline is at the Chatham County Courthouse working, and Mary and Bobby and I are working at home. It's a dark-cloud-and-thunderstorms kind of day here, so here is a picture to cheer me up:
On the bright side of things, we're entering the home-stretch of our school year, with about seven or eight weeks left, depending on how motivated the kids are to finish up their various subjects. As they finish up one subject they can begin doubling up on others, which hastens the end of the school year. Did that make sense? For example, Mary has worked hard on her American Literature this year, and only has about two weeks more of work. Once she's done with that she can do twice as much of her American History every day, thus finishing it much sooner. We should be completely done with school by the middle of May, or at the end of May at the very latest. Bobby has already completed his history for the year, so he has more time to work on his other subjects, too.
I'm looking forward to summer break.
On the bright side of things, we're entering the home-stretch of our school year, with about seven or eight weeks left, depending on how motivated the kids are to finish up their various subjects. As they finish up one subject they can begin doubling up on others, which hastens the end of the school year. Did that make sense? For example, Mary has worked hard on her American Literature this year, and only has about two weeks more of work. Once she's done with that she can do twice as much of her American History every day, thus finishing it much sooner. We should be completely done with school by the middle of May, or at the end of May at the very latest. Bobby has already completed his history for the year, so he has more time to work on his other subjects, too.
I'm looking forward to summer break.
Saturday, March 09, 2013
The Privilege of Teaching
I didn't post yesterday because we had Kingdom Builders Homeschool Co-op all day, and then when we got home it was time to cook supper and spend time together as a family. My day today looked like this: get up, eat breakfast, make up a grocery list, go grocery shopping, come home and bring in all the stuff, put it all away, eat lunch, do several loads of laundry, deep clean both bathrooms, sweep and mop the dining room and kitchen, vacuum everywhere else, sweep the front entry and walk, clean up the back patio, bleach-clean our four white plastic patio chairs (they were nasty from sitting around all winter,) re-do the peanut-butter-and-birdseed pine cone that I have hanging outside my kitchen window, (the nuthatches are thrilled!) cook supper, (chicken pot pie and a tossed salad,) and now I'm on here for a few minutes before I have to go direct the troops in the kitchen cleanup, and fold more laundry. Whew! This was a good, productive day. But that isn't what I want to write about today.
At Kingdom Builders Co-op I teach two classes of Spanish: Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. I have ten students in the first and fourteen in the latter. I love teaching them. I have always loved teaching. Even when I was little I liked helping out other students, explaining things to them and enjoying that moment when understanding lit up their faces. From 1989 to 1997 I taught high school English and Spanish, and although it was difficult to juggle having children and working full-time, I always enjoyed my time in the classroom with the students. In 1997 I quit teaching just before having Mary, our second daughter. A few years later I began teaching piano lessons from our home, and since then I have taught piano for all but two years, and I love doing that, but it isn't the same thing. There is something dynamic and energizing for me about classroom teaching with a group of students, and being able to teach one day a week at co-op is a real blessing. This is our fifth year in the co-op, and over the years I've taught Biology, AP British Literature, Expository Writing, Spanish, and Sign Language. It has been lots of fun. It is a privilege to take part in the students' lives. I pray for my students every day, and have seen the Lord at work in their lives.
I plan to continue teaching at the co-op for at least four more years after this, until Bobby graduates from high school. After that, who knows? I still haven't decided what I want to do whenI grow up my kids are all grown up.
At Kingdom Builders Co-op I teach two classes of Spanish: Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. I have ten students in the first and fourteen in the latter. I love teaching them. I have always loved teaching. Even when I was little I liked helping out other students, explaining things to them and enjoying that moment when understanding lit up their faces. From 1989 to 1997 I taught high school English and Spanish, and although it was difficult to juggle having children and working full-time, I always enjoyed my time in the classroom with the students. In 1997 I quit teaching just before having Mary, our second daughter. A few years later I began teaching piano lessons from our home, and since then I have taught piano for all but two years, and I love doing that, but it isn't the same thing. There is something dynamic and energizing for me about classroom teaching with a group of students, and being able to teach one day a week at co-op is a real blessing. This is our fifth year in the co-op, and over the years I've taught Biology, AP British Literature, Expository Writing, Spanish, and Sign Language. It has been lots of fun. It is a privilege to take part in the students' lives. I pray for my students every day, and have seen the Lord at work in their lives.
I plan to continue teaching at the co-op for at least four more years after this, until Bobby graduates from high school. After that, who knows? I still haven't decided what I want to do when
Tuesday, March 05, 2013
This Homeschool Year
One of my friends, Jamie, recently started blogging here, and she has inspired me to start writing again on a regular basis. I may not have much to say, but I think I need the discipline of writing daily or at least several times a week, even if it's just a short post. So here goes...
Since I haven't posted on here since last June, I never wrote about what we are doing this year for our homeschooling. Mary is in 10th grade and Bobby is in 8th, so I'm already planning for next year when for the first time I'll have two in high school at once. That'll be interesting.
This year Mary is studying: Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, Apologia Biology, Lifepac American Lit, Lifepac American History, Switched-On-Schoolhouse Spanish 2, Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 10, S.O.S. Physical Fitness, and Mixed Media Art (co-op class.) Bobby is studying: Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, Apologia General Science, S.O.S. Civil War History & Spanish 1, literature as determined by me, Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 8, Music Appreciation (co-op class,) and two half-year classes at co-op, Art 1st semester and Cooking this semester. Their days are full, and so are mine! In addition to teaching them and helping them with their co-op classes, I teach both the Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 classes at co-op each Friday. I also teach piano three afternoons a week. We stay very busy, and I love it. Off to do more homeschooling......
Since I haven't posted on here since last June, I never wrote about what we are doing this year for our homeschooling. Mary is in 10th grade and Bobby is in 8th, so I'm already planning for next year when for the first time I'll have two in high school at once. That'll be interesting.
This year Mary is studying: Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2, Apologia Biology, Lifepac American Lit, Lifepac American History, Switched-On-Schoolhouse Spanish 2, Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 10, S.O.S. Physical Fitness, and Mixed Media Art (co-op class.) Bobby is studying: Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, Apologia General Science, S.O.S. Civil War History & Spanish 1, literature as determined by me, Easy Grammar Ultimate Grade 8, Music Appreciation (co-op class,) and two half-year classes at co-op, Art 1st semester and Cooking this semester. Their days are full, and so are mine! In addition to teaching them and helping them with their co-op classes, I teach both the Spanish 1 and Spanish 2 classes at co-op each Friday. I also teach piano three afternoons a week. We stay very busy, and I love it. Off to do more homeschooling......
Saturday, December 24, 2011
And Then There Were Two....
In May our oldest child graduated from home schooling. Yes, home schooling can be done successfully all the way through high school. She is currently doing quite well in college, majoring in English just as I did. The nine years I had with her at home, teaching her and watching her grow, are so precious to me now! She's off on her own, although still living at home, forging her own way on the collegiate scene. One advantage she has discovered in living at home is that she has a live-in proofreader and discussion partner for her papers. So in a way the home schooling continues.
So I have two children still attending Salt & Light Christian School full-time. It seems odd to only have to keep track of two kids and all their work. As I have done in the past, here is a summary of what we are doing this year for their schooling.
Mary is in 9th grade this year. Through our co-op she's taking Physical Science, Spanish 1, Art-Mixed Media, and Art-Drawing. She currently has an "A" in every class. At home she also studies Geometry, Geography, Health, and Language Arts. For Language Arts this year she is doing Easy Grammar 9 and four Progeny Press Literature Guides (A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fahrenheit 451.) She has completed the first two so far. The Progeny Press guides cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, literary terminology, literary interpretation and criticism, and writing everything from short answers to long research papers. In addition to the assigned books, Mary is constantly reading books from the library, and about 90% of her Christmas wish-list consisted of books. Mary is also still working on writing left-handed; she can already print very neatly and is starting to learn cursive. I never knew that someone could decide to be ambidextrous!
Bobby is in 7th grade. At co-op he's taking Art-2-D (taught by a former home schooler who is a junior at SCAD,) Critical Thinking, and a middle-school level Human Anatomy & Physiology. At home he adds to these: Pre-Algebra, Sonlight World History and Literature (what used to be Core 6 and is now Core G,) Jump-In Writing, and Daily Grams 7. The literature in the Sonlight Core G is not really challenging him this year, so we are supplementing with lots of books from the library.
I asked the two of them recently what they would like to be doing more of, or learning, that we are not already doing. Mary said that she would like to be doing more community service (at the Humane Society and America's 2nd Harvest,) and Bobby said he would like to study Middle English. Their personalities, likes, and dislikes are so different! Mary's request is pretty easy; we can just schedule in time to do that. Bobby's seemed a little daunting until I discovered that you can study Middle English online. He has always loved all things Medieval, and now he can learn to read Chaucer in the original. How about that!
Next post: what I'm reading in all my spare time!
So I have two children still attending Salt & Light Christian School full-time. It seems odd to only have to keep track of two kids and all their work. As I have done in the past, here is a summary of what we are doing this year for their schooling.
Mary is in 9th grade this year. Through our co-op she's taking Physical Science, Spanish 1, Art-Mixed Media, and Art-Drawing. She currently has an "A" in every class. At home she also studies Geometry, Geography, Health, and Language Arts. For Language Arts this year she is doing Easy Grammar 9 and four Progeny Press Literature Guides (A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fahrenheit 451.) She has completed the first two so far. The Progeny Press guides cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, literary terminology, literary interpretation and criticism, and writing everything from short answers to long research papers. In addition to the assigned books, Mary is constantly reading books from the library, and about 90% of her Christmas wish-list consisted of books. Mary is also still working on writing left-handed; she can already print very neatly and is starting to learn cursive. I never knew that someone could decide to be ambidextrous!
Bobby is in 7th grade. At co-op he's taking Art-2-D (taught by a former home schooler who is a junior at SCAD,) Critical Thinking, and a middle-school level Human Anatomy & Physiology. At home he adds to these: Pre-Algebra, Sonlight World History and Literature (what used to be Core 6 and is now Core G,) Jump-In Writing, and Daily Grams 7. The literature in the Sonlight Core G is not really challenging him this year, so we are supplementing with lots of books from the library.
I asked the two of them recently what they would like to be doing more of, or learning, that we are not already doing. Mary said that she would like to be doing more community service (at the Humane Society and America's 2nd Harvest,) and Bobby said he would like to study Middle English. Their personalities, likes, and dislikes are so different! Mary's request is pretty easy; we can just schedule in time to do that. Bobby's seemed a little daunting until I discovered that you can study Middle English online. He has always loved all things Medieval, and now he can learn to read Chaucer in the original. How about that!
Next post: what I'm reading in all my spare time!
Sunday, October 03, 2010
On How Our School Year is Going...
It has been an eventful August and September, and October is already shaping up to be busy as well. I love the new planner I bought. It has helped Mary and Bobby be a lot more self-directed in their work. We've (I've) also done a lot better staying organized this year, and keeping up with all the corrections and grading I need to do. Here is our each of us are doing:
I am still teaching all three kids at home. I also teach piano two afternoons a week, and have more people interested, so that may increase to three afternoons a week. In addition, I'm teaching two classes on Fridays at our home school co-operative, Kingdom Builders. The two classes are Expository Writing and Biology; I have a dozen students in each class. I challenge anyone who thinks home schooling isn't a full-time job to come spend a week with us!
Caroline is working about 15 hours a week now (Chick-Fil-A) in addition to doing her Senior year. At home she's taking Pre-Calculus, Advanced Chemistry, Health, and Literature/Language Arts/Grammar. Through the co-op she's taking my writing class to supplement her language arts at home, Art, and Yearbook/Advanced Photography. She is a very busy girl! She will graduate from high school next May, and is already in the process of college applications.
Mary is an 8th grader this year. At home she's studying Algebra I, Sonlight Core 7 World History and Literature, Human Anatomy, BJU Grammar & Writing; through the co-op she's taking Geography, Cooking, and Art. She's also teaching herself to write left-handed this year by using an elementary-level handwriting book to make herself write left-handed every day. She draws ALL the time, too. She has also just joined a local American Heritage Girls troop, and will begin to work on badges for that.
Bobby is in the 6th grade, and he's realizing that school doesn't get any easier as you get older. He's taking Geography, American History, and Art through the co-op; at home he's doing Math 7, Zoology (Land Animals,) Handwriting, BJU Grammar & Writing, and for Literature (the pièce de résistance) he is doing Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. It's a great curriculum that incorporates Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Shakespeare as well as the LOTR trilogy. Right up his alley. He is also a Tenderfoot rank scout in Troop 47 and is working on merit badges for scouts.
Obviously, we are all pretty busy. Our other current events:
#1 My sweet husband will be stepping down as pastor of our current church at the end of October. He has explained this over at his blog, in the post I linked and in another called "Reasons for Resigning." We love the people at Chevis Oaks! We will continue to be friends with them and I hope we'll continue to sharpen and edify one another as Christians.
#2 We were able to buy a nice four-year-old van a couple of weeks ago, thanks to the incredible generosity of my in-laws as well as the dogged efforts of our friend Rickey Tyre, who found the van for us at an auction. It's such a relief to have an newer vehicle and not be worried about breakdowns, A/C not cooling well, etc. The van is a Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Nice.
#3 Bobby is the Honored Hero for the Savannah Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk on October 15th. Our family has a team, creatively named Team Carpenter, and we'll be walking that night along with hundreds of other Savannahians who are trying to raise money for people with various blood cancers. Our team page is here.
#4 A month ago we bought a Wii, with Wii Fit Plus. I'll write a longer post about it later, but we are all loving getting off the couch and playing sports as well as other fitness games together. I have started to lose weight and tone up, and I feel so much better. More soon on that.
I am still teaching all three kids at home. I also teach piano two afternoons a week, and have more people interested, so that may increase to three afternoons a week. In addition, I'm teaching two classes on Fridays at our home school co-operative, Kingdom Builders. The two classes are Expository Writing and Biology; I have a dozen students in each class. I challenge anyone who thinks home schooling isn't a full-time job to come spend a week with us!
Caroline is working about 15 hours a week now (Chick-Fil-A) in addition to doing her Senior year. At home she's taking Pre-Calculus, Advanced Chemistry, Health, and Literature/Language Arts/Grammar. Through the co-op she's taking my writing class to supplement her language arts at home, Art, and Yearbook/Advanced Photography. She is a very busy girl! She will graduate from high school next May, and is already in the process of college applications.
Mary is an 8th grader this year. At home she's studying Algebra I, Sonlight Core 7 World History and Literature, Human Anatomy, BJU Grammar & Writing; through the co-op she's taking Geography, Cooking, and Art. She's also teaching herself to write left-handed this year by using an elementary-level handwriting book to make herself write left-handed every day. She draws ALL the time, too. She has also just joined a local American Heritage Girls troop, and will begin to work on badges for that.
Bobby is in the 6th grade, and he's realizing that school doesn't get any easier as you get older. He's taking Geography, American History, and Art through the co-op; at home he's doing Math 7, Zoology (Land Animals,) Handwriting, BJU Grammar & Writing, and for Literature (the pièce de résistance) he is doing Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. It's a great curriculum that incorporates Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Shakespeare as well as the LOTR trilogy. Right up his alley. He is also a Tenderfoot rank scout in Troop 47 and is working on merit badges for scouts.
Obviously, we are all pretty busy. Our other current events:
#1 My sweet husband will be stepping down as pastor of our current church at the end of October. He has explained this over at his blog, in the post I linked and in another called "Reasons for Resigning." We love the people at Chevis Oaks! We will continue to be friends with them and I hope we'll continue to sharpen and edify one another as Christians.
#2 We were able to buy a nice four-year-old van a couple of weeks ago, thanks to the incredible generosity of my in-laws as well as the dogged efforts of our friend Rickey Tyre, who found the van for us at an auction. It's such a relief to have an newer vehicle and not be worried about breakdowns, A/C not cooling well, etc. The van is a Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. Nice.
#3 Bobby is the Honored Hero for the Savannah Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk on October 15th. Our family has a team, creatively named Team Carpenter, and we'll be walking that night along with hundreds of other Savannahians who are trying to raise money for people with various blood cancers. Our team page is here.
#4 A month ago we bought a Wii, with Wii Fit Plus. I'll write a longer post about it later, but we are all loving getting off the couch and playing sports as well as other fitness games together. I have started to lose weight and tone up, and I feel so much better. More soon on that.
Sunday, September 05, 2010
Homeschool Organization for This Year
This year I actually regressed, technology-wise, and bought a good, old-fashioned paper planner from Home Education Family called "The Well-Planned Day." Now the kids don't need to worry about keeping their lesson sheet from getting lost. They can just look in the planner and see what they have to do. I also changed my planning in this way: I used to figure out the whole year, roughly, and then only write lesson plans a week at a time. This meant spending a LOT of time planning. This year I took a day and planned out six weeks worth of lessons/schedule. We've done two weeks already, and in about another week or two I'll take several hours and assess how the school year is progressing. Then I'll plan out another six weeks. The planner also has report cards that can be used for each child, a gradebook section, and other household planning helps like budget lists, reading lists, tear-out to-do lists, and year-long planning sheets for each child.
Another nice thing this year is that I'm only doing the planning for two of them. Daughter #1 decided over the summer that she would plan out her own Senior Year, with my help. Awesome!!! She sat down and figured out what she has to do each week and day in order to be finished with her school work by her graduation date, which will be May 21, 2011. She's working now in addition to doing school, so she has to stay organized. It's so nice to see her becoming a young adult and being responsible!
So far the school year is going well. This week we'll add a little extra work for each of them, since they are taking classes again through our home school co-op, which starts on Friday. I'm teaching two classes at the co-op this year: Expository Writing and Biology. Fun. I have14 students in each class, so I'll be busy with that!
We never took first day pictures this year.....I'll have to take some "first month" pictures and post them soon. I love home schooling!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
It's late at night....
...and I'm still up listening to Caroline and her friends giggle and laugh....but they are having such a good time! I'm going off to bed....
Today I made everyone breakfast, went to co-op, taught British Lit, taught Beginning ASL, helped in Chemistry class/lab, took Caroline and three of her friends to paint pottery and out to eat (late birthday celebration), came home and watched a movie with them, and now am definitely ready for a good night's sleep. Hope they all go to bed and get a good night's sleep, too.
God is so good. All day today I've been thinking about how blessed I am to have a Saviour! And beyond that, to have a great husband and wonderful kids is just icing on the cake.
Today I made everyone breakfast, went to co-op, taught British Lit, taught Beginning ASL, helped in Chemistry class/lab, took Caroline and three of her friends to paint pottery and out to eat (late birthday celebration), came home and watched a movie with them, and now am definitely ready for a good night's sleep. Hope they all go to bed and get a good night's sleep, too.
God is so good. All day today I've been thinking about how blessed I am to have a Saviour! And beyond that, to have a great husband and wonderful kids is just icing on the cake.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
The More Things Change....
The more they stay the same....
So here goes:
Today we're doing school as usual, and Caroline isn't feeling well. I think it's allergies. It's cloudy and rainy, which I'm sure people will complain about, but we need the rain after so many years of drought. My scarlet amaryllis (which my friend Allison gave me for Christmas) is starting to bloom. I'll post a picture of it when it does. Later today I have piano students, and then tonight I have Women's Missionary Union, which should both be worthwhile endeavors. I'm currently reading or re-reading several books:
Pride and Prejudice (teaching it in my AP Brit Lit course)
Frankenstein (will be teaching it in a couple of weeks)
Pontius Pilate (Christian historical fiction)
The Time Travelers Guide to the Medieval World (just for fun)
David Livingstone (YWAM biography)
The Bedside, Bathtub, & Armchair Companion to Jane Austen
Genesis, Mark, Job and Romans (reading through the Bible in a year using this resource)
So there you have it, all three of you who still read this blog! More later today....
If things go much longer this way I may have to give up the blog entirely. I have so many things floating around inside my head, brewing and boiling, and yet rarely have time to sit down and write about them. Even now, as I'm writing this, there are other more pressing responsibilities that I'm ignoring. If I don't blog, I feel guilty, and if I do blog, I feel guilty. It's time to go somewhere and indulge in a primal scream.I wrote that in September 2006 before we headed overseas. Here it is 3 1/2 years later and it's still the same story. I think I need a new approach---perhaps just blogging a little here and there about more mundane things, not thinking that I have to expound on a subject and sound smart all the time....
So here goes:
Today we're doing school as usual, and Caroline isn't feeling well. I think it's allergies. It's cloudy and rainy, which I'm sure people will complain about, but we need the rain after so many years of drought. My scarlet amaryllis (which my friend Allison gave me for Christmas) is starting to bloom. I'll post a picture of it when it does. Later today I have piano students, and then tonight I have Women's Missionary Union, which should both be worthwhile endeavors. I'm currently reading or re-reading several books:
Pride and Prejudice (teaching it in my AP Brit Lit course)
Frankenstein (will be teaching it in a couple of weeks)
Pontius Pilate (Christian historical fiction)
The Time Travelers Guide to the Medieval World (just for fun)
David Livingstone (YWAM biography)
The Bedside, Bathtub, & Armchair Companion to Jane Austen
Genesis, Mark, Job and Romans (reading through the Bible in a year using this resource)
So there you have it, all three of you who still read this blog! More later today....
Monday, December 07, 2009
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.--George Santayana
Sixty-eight years ago today Japanese navy planes attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Most of you who read my blog probably don't need a long description of this event and its consequences for our country. That's not what I'm writing about today, although it's a fascinating subject. When I was in high school I read everything I could get my hands on about WW II, and wrote a lengthy research paper on the Battle of Midway. Names like Nimitz, Yamamoto, and the Enterprise, Hornet, Kaga, and Akagi still bring back memories for me of studying that battle in depth.
What's on my mind today, however, is this: today will pass, for the majority of Americans, with little thought of the historical import of Pearl Harbor. In February 2008 journalist Steven Knipp wrote for George Mason University's History News Network:
In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education reported that nearly six out of 10 high school seniors knew so little about their own nation’s history that many are basically historically illiterate.
The rest of his article is worth reading, if you can stand to read about just how uninformed American teenagers are these days. I wonder how much they know about World History?
I don't have the time to get into the "Who is to Blame?" factor, especially since right now I'm supposed to be doing school with my own children, whose schoolwork has devolved into sitting across the table from each other seeing who can roll their tongue or turn it over. Is it the schools' fault? Parents? TV? iPod? Video Games? Individuals? I really don't know. I'm merely lamenting the fact that most people I know don't care about history, don't know about history, and apparently haven't learned anything from history. As a Christian who believes God's Word is true AND historical, I value history highly. It makes me sad that most people do not.
I don't have the time to get into the "Who is to Blame?" factor, especially since right now I'm supposed to be doing school with my own children, whose schoolwork has devolved into sitting across the table from each other seeing who can roll their tongue or turn it over. Is it the schools' fault? Parents? TV? iPod? Video Games? Individuals? I really don't know. I'm merely lamenting the fact that most people I know don't care about history, don't know about history, and apparently haven't learned anything from history. As a Christian who believes God's Word is true AND historical, I value history highly. It makes me sad that most people do not.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
On Preparing for Another Homeschool Year
I'm spending time this week cleaning out school shelves, organizing curriculum materials, and preparing for the upcoming school year. As I look at all that needs to be done, it's overwhelming. This is my next-to-least favorite part of homeschooling. Therefore, I have to remind myself of these things:
God is with me, His Holy Spirit indwells me, and He will give me the strength to get it all done.
I have done this for seven years already, even while we lived in India and during Bobby's chemotherapy.
My kids are doing well academically, and enjoy learning.
No, they aren't lacking in socialization.
It is worth all the effort.
Now that I have my shelves all organized, it's time to get started on lesson planning.
Oh, and my least favorite thing about home schooling? The paperwork we have to do for Chatham County Public Schools. We used to joke that they probably just stick it in a file box under somebody's desk....and then we went to get Caroline's attendance/student status certified (in order for her to get a learner's permit for driving.) We found the right office, and told a nice man at a desk what we needed. From where do you think he pulled our file? A plastic file box that was by the man's feet under his desk. I AM NOT KIDDING.
Now back to work......
God is with me, His Holy Spirit indwells me, and He will give me the strength to get it all done.
I have done this for seven years already, even while we lived in India and during Bobby's chemotherapy.
My kids are doing well academically, and enjoy learning.
No, they aren't lacking in socialization.
It is worth all the effort.
Now that I have my shelves all organized, it's time to get started on lesson planning.
Oh, and my least favorite thing about home schooling? The paperwork we have to do for Chatham County Public Schools. We used to joke that they probably just stick it in a file box under somebody's desk....and then we went to get Caroline's attendance/student status certified (in order for her to get a learner's permit for driving.) We found the right office, and told a nice man at a desk what we needed. From where do you think he pulled our file? A plastic file box that was by the man's feet under his desk. I AM NOT KIDDING.
Now back to work......
Monday, December 17, 2007
Homeschool Family...
Here is a great video one of my friends sent us recently. (Thanks, Jenny!) Enjoy.
And in the same vein, here are some Christmas lyrics I really like; feel free to sing along as you read them:
To the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas:"
On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"
On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!
And in the same vein, here are some Christmas lyrics I really like; feel free to sing along as you read them:
To the tune of "Twelve Days of Christmas:"
On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"
On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!
Monday, September 17, 2007
A Few Vignettes From Recent Days...
Ummm...we homeschool...
As I mentioned in my previous post, I met a lady last week while caring for my nephew at a local hospital's Meditation Garden. This other mom and I began talking, sharing about our kids and asking each other questions. At one point I turned to her and asked, "So where are your kids in school?" She got a wary look in her eyes, and answered "Well...umm...we home school..." Now I know what I look like when people ask me that question. I always feel like I need to prepare to be grilled with the inquiries that inevitably follow: What about socialization? How do you teach all your kids at once? Isn't it hard to make your kids obey and do their work? How do you know everything to teach them? Is it legal? And so on...So it was with great joy that I said to her, "Hey, I understand--we home school, too!" She breathed a sigh of relief and we began discussing the ins and outs of home schooling a high-schooler, what curriculum we use, and what a blessing it is to be able to spend so much time with our children. We had a nice time of encouraging one another.
Unity of heart...
Last night we had the privilege of going to Ephesus Baptist Church, where Eric preached the Word and we shared in a spaghetti dinner with the church members afterwards. What a nice time we had! I'm always thrilled at the bond that we have instantly with other believers. What was especially nice at Ephesus is that they have been praying for us for a year now, first while we were overseas and then since we have been back for Bobby's cancer treatment. Ephesus people came to visit us in the hospital, e-mailed us encouragement, and supported us financially with a love offering. Although we are just getting to know the people there, they know us very well already! And in a sense, we know them, too. Our hearts are united in love for the Lord and in seeking that He be glorified. It was wonderful to talk to many different people there and put faces to names from our e-mail list. I'm looking forward to going there again. Every time we have this sort of experience it makes me long even more for heaven, where we will be together with ALL believers, praising God and worshiping Him forever.
Unsure until November...
Today we took Bobby to the clinic, and the upshot of our visit is that we will not be sure whether or not he is relapsing until November, when they repeat the PET/CT scan. This is VERY hard for me. The waiting really gets to me, and even thought I'm trying to see things from an eternal perspective, and trying to trust the Lord, and trying to be patient, I am feeling weak in these areas right now. I know that God is teaching me patience and total reliance on Him. I'm just not thrilled with the lesson right now. Is that okay to say? Oh, yeah, the author of Hebrews talked about it, didn't he? Chapter 12:1-11 lays it out pretty clearly, especially verses 7-11. I am looking forward to the day when my life displays the "peaceable fruit of righteousness" on a consistent basis. In the meantime, I'm practicing fixing my eyes on Christ.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I met a lady last week while caring for my nephew at a local hospital's Meditation Garden. This other mom and I began talking, sharing about our kids and asking each other questions. At one point I turned to her and asked, "So where are your kids in school?" She got a wary look in her eyes, and answered "Well...umm...we home school..." Now I know what I look like when people ask me that question. I always feel like I need to prepare to be grilled with the inquiries that inevitably follow: What about socialization? How do you teach all your kids at once? Isn't it hard to make your kids obey and do their work? How do you know everything to teach them? Is it legal? And so on...So it was with great joy that I said to her, "Hey, I understand--we home school, too!" She breathed a sigh of relief and we began discussing the ins and outs of home schooling a high-schooler, what curriculum we use, and what a blessing it is to be able to spend so much time with our children. We had a nice time of encouraging one another.
Unity of heart...
Last night we had the privilege of going to Ephesus Baptist Church, where Eric preached the Word and we shared in a spaghetti dinner with the church members afterwards. What a nice time we had! I'm always thrilled at the bond that we have instantly with other believers. What was especially nice at Ephesus is that they have been praying for us for a year now, first while we were overseas and then since we have been back for Bobby's cancer treatment. Ephesus people came to visit us in the hospital, e-mailed us encouragement, and supported us financially with a love offering. Although we are just getting to know the people there, they know us very well already! And in a sense, we know them, too. Our hearts are united in love for the Lord and in seeking that He be glorified. It was wonderful to talk to many different people there and put faces to names from our e-mail list. I'm looking forward to going there again. Every time we have this sort of experience it makes me long even more for heaven, where we will be together with ALL believers, praising God and worshiping Him forever.
Unsure until November...
Today we took Bobby to the clinic, and the upshot of our visit is that we will not be sure whether or not he is relapsing until November, when they repeat the PET/CT scan. This is VERY hard for me. The waiting really gets to me, and even thought I'm trying to see things from an eternal perspective, and trying to trust the Lord, and trying to be patient, I am feeling weak in these areas right now. I know that God is teaching me patience and total reliance on Him. I'm just not thrilled with the lesson right now. Is that okay to say? Oh, yeah, the author of Hebrews talked about it, didn't he? Chapter 12:1-11 lays it out pretty clearly, especially verses 7-11. I am looking forward to the day when my life displays the "peaceable fruit of righteousness" on a consistent basis. In the meantime, I'm practicing fixing my eyes on Christ.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Homeschool Curriculum
Our family is starting our sixth year with home schooling, and I thought I'd just comment briefly on curriculum for anyone who is interested. There are so many curriculum choices out there that it can be overwhelming making decisions about what to use and what not use. The spectrum of choices runs from ordering a complete, packaged curriculum for your child's grade level to creating all your own materials. I've never had the desire to create all my own materials (why re-invent the wheel?) and we tried one year using all materials from one publisher. What we've discovered works best is to pick and choose the materials that fit our family's learning style, and the materials that I've found to be tried-and-true for us, while making sure that the curriculum is content-comprehensive for each grade level. We don't want our kids to have huge gaps in their learning. So here are the materials we chose for this year:
Caroline--9th grade:
Teaching Textbooks Geometry
Alpha Omega LifePac Spanish I
Vocabulary from Classical Roots Book B
Analogies Book 2
Bob Jones University Publishers (BJUP) English 9
Sonlight Core 200--History of Christianity, Bible, Literature, Creative Writing
Apologia Physical Science
She's also working on piano lessons, computer keyboarding skills and will be learning to sew.
Mary--5th grade:
Horizons Math 5
Megawords Vocabulary Book A
BJUP Writing & Grammar 5
Piano lessons and learning to sew
(see below for shared curriculum)
Bobby 3rd grade:
Horizons Math 3
BJUP Writing & Grammar 3
Dangerous Book for Boys (going through with Daddy)
(shared curriculum below)
Mary and Bobby both use these:
Apologia Elementary Science: Astronomy, and Swimming Creatures
Spelling Power (each at their own level)
A Reason for Handwriting (at grade appropriate level)
Sonlight Core 3 American History, Reading, Bible memorization, Creative Writing
Powerglide Spanish Elementary Level
So we have our work cut out for us this year, but I think we are up to the challenge. It has already been fun seeing them learn new things in the week and a half that we have been back at school. I'm praying we'll have a really successful school year.
Caroline--9th grade:
Teaching Textbooks Geometry
Alpha Omega LifePac Spanish I
Vocabulary from Classical Roots Book B
Analogies Book 2
Bob Jones University Publishers (BJUP) English 9
Sonlight Core 200--History of Christianity, Bible, Literature, Creative Writing
Apologia Physical Science
She's also working on piano lessons, computer keyboarding skills and will be learning to sew.
Mary--5th grade:
Horizons Math 5
Megawords Vocabulary Book A
BJUP Writing & Grammar 5
Piano lessons and learning to sew
(see below for shared curriculum)
Bobby 3rd grade:
Horizons Math 3
BJUP Writing & Grammar 3
Dangerous Book for Boys (going through with Daddy)
(shared curriculum below)
Mary and Bobby both use these:
Apologia Elementary Science: Astronomy, and Swimming Creatures
Spelling Power (each at their own level)
A Reason for Handwriting (at grade appropriate level)
Sonlight Core 3 American History, Reading, Bible memorization, Creative Writing
Powerglide Spanish Elementary Level
So we have our work cut out for us this year, but I think we are up to the challenge. It has already been fun seeing them learn new things in the week and a half that we have been back at school. I'm praying we'll have a really successful school year.
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