Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The decision
Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Things have been busy and I've been agonizing about what to do for school next year for Seth and Taylor. After many conversations with Josh and conversations with friends along with a lot of prayer, we've decided to send Seth and Taylor to public school next school year. Now, to all my homeschooling friends, before you start posting comments on my decision, it is my hope that I can homeschool again in a few years, I just don't feel like this is the right time. This decision was not made lightly and was extremely hard. Homeschooling is in my heart, I've wanted to homeschool since Seth was 2 years old. Seth is doing fine in homeschool now. However, at this stage in my life, I feel like I cannot give Seth and Taylor the attention that they need for me to homeschool effectively. Along with Seth and Taylor I have Scott, who decides to whine and fuss during school time and demand my attention, and then I have Ethan who I'm constantly chasing so he doesn't get into something he's not supposed to. He likes to pick microscopic pieces of paper and lint (and whatever else is small) off the floor and try to eat it. It doesn't matter if I've just swept or vacuumed, he'll find what I missed. I'm also not getting a lot of sleep because Ethan is still waking up in the night and doesn't nap well. Also, I've been a bit more stressed since I began homeschooling, although I think it was just because I put so much pressure on myself to be the perfect teacher. I think that having Seth and Taylor in school to learn the basics and then to homeschool in a few years makes sense. Seth learned to write in school even though he already knew how to read. I feel like Taylor really needs the classroom experience and structure next year and will learn the basics of reading and writing at school. What I want to do in homeschool will be much more appropriate when they get a little older and I don't have to work around a baby and a toddler and nap schedules. I want to visit places like Washington D.C. I want to study advanced subjects and read great literature. I want them to pursue their own interests also. For now, though, I want them to have that classroom experience and to do all the fun things that you do in kindergarten and first grade. I need to concentrate on being a mommy to Scott and Ethan and to do things with them like take them to the park. I admit that part of me feels like a failure for sending them back next year. I know that lots of moms homeschool who have little children also. I feel selfish for wanting to spend that extra time with Scott and Ethan. Part of me feels like I failed Seth by taking him out of public school in the first place. However, I do also feel confident in my decision and am going to be involved in my children's education and make the most of the public school experience.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Blizzard
A few days ago we got an unexpected 20 inches of snow here. It was incredible! The snow was coming down at a rate of 3-4 inches per hour for several hours. Here are a few pictures:
Monday, February 7, 2011
My homeschooling story
When I began this blog I meant to write out how and why we came to the decsion to homeschool but I never got around to it, so here it is:
Ever since Seth was about 2 years old I had been thinking about homeschooling when it was time for him to be in school. I began unofficially teaching him at home during his preschool years. We didn't use a curriculum or anything, I just read to him a lot and through that he learned the alphabet and the sounds they made. Through daily life he learned how to count, etc. When he was 4 1/2 I began to teach him to read using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." He was reading by his 5th birthday. He self-taught himself many things once he began reading. I also wanted to be the one to teach morals and to teach him to love the Lord. I know that schools cannot teach morals, but they do.
Enter May of 2010: it was time to make a decision on whether or not to homeschool Seth. After much discussion we decided that we would send him to public school since I had the other 3 kids and my husband really wanted him to experience public school even though both of us were very bored by 5th grade. We have a very good school system here and wanted to give it a chance. Seth began school in August. Those first few days were hard for me just as I expected but I did begin to get used to it. As the weeks went by I could tell he was not being challenged at all. He already knew all of his letters and how to count to 100. He was already reading well. When I would ask him what he did in school he would tell me about the special classes they had such as art and library (his favorite). They also watched a lot of movies in his class. They spent about a month or so watching a Leapfrog movie that taught the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they made. He also didn't like all the coloring he had to do in school and for homework. He did enjoy school though. He made some friends and had a very nice teacher.
Seth's behavior also changed while he was in school. He was overtired. He came home tired from being in school all day but full of energy because they sat a lot. He became more on edge and nervous. He began doing things like kicking and hitting his siblings because that's what he learned when he was around his classmates. He also talked about how some of the kids in his class behaved badly. I began entertaining the thought of pulling him out at the semester or finishing out the year and then homeschooling him in first grade. I had a very good friend tell me that when the time was right to pull him out and begin homeschooling I would know.
I believe it was the last week of September or early October when our family took a week long trip to visit my parents in Indianapolis. Seth would miss a whole week of school. That week was absolutely wonderful! Seth calmed down and his behavior improved. I had my old Seth back. That was when we knew we were going to pull him out, but we were still not sure of the timing.
In mid-October it was time for parent/teacher conferences. Seth's teacher talked about how well behaved he was and how he was doing great. She also mentioned that she knew he was bored. The conference didn't last long enough to really discuss our concerns though. We finally made the decision that we would pull him out at the end of the month.
Seth's last day of public school was the day of his fall party. I went to his party and then cleaned out his cubby. His teacher's only words to me were "I'm still in denial. We will miss him." I left wondering if I made the right decision.
Since then we have been working through math and phonics/handwriting workbooks as well as writing in a journal every day and reading various books. I am planning on ordering a new science curriculum for him as I didn't like the one we were doing. His reading is improving greatly. We still need to work on some comprehension though. He is learning to count ny 2's in math and is working on adding and subtracting 7's. For example, 3+4=7. He is fascinated by astronomy so I will be ordering Apologia's elementary science curriculum. He also loves legos and spends hours building and playing with them. We also have several friends with children his age who homeschool so we get together with them regularly. He also goes to Awanas every wednesday with his best friend. He memorizes scripture there. He also goes to Sunday school every week.
Taylor is also learning a lot this year too even though she's not officially homeschooling. We are going through "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." She can read some simple words and knows the sounds the letters of the alphabet make. She is also learning how to write her name and a few other letters and numbers. She can count to 100 and has a great vocabulary.
I have had overwhelming support from most people. I have become friends with new people and have also deepened friendships with several great women.
Am I anti-public school? Not at all. We have a very good school district here. I have made the mistake of comparing what I'm teaching to the public schools. The bottom line is that yes we are covering the same things, but we are also doing some things differently which is one of the reasons I'm homeschooling. After I wrote the previous blog post I found this article. It pretty much sums up my worries and gave me lots of encouragement. Please read it if you have the time: http://simplehomeschool.net/i-want-to-homeschool-but-dont-want-the-responsibility/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SimpleHomeschool+%28Simple+Homeschool%29&utm_content=Twitter.
So, have I made the final decision on whether or not to homeschool next year? No. Do I have a much better idea? Yes. I am leaning towards homeschooling.
Ever since Seth was about 2 years old I had been thinking about homeschooling when it was time for him to be in school. I began unofficially teaching him at home during his preschool years. We didn't use a curriculum or anything, I just read to him a lot and through that he learned the alphabet and the sounds they made. Through daily life he learned how to count, etc. When he was 4 1/2 I began to teach him to read using the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." He was reading by his 5th birthday. He self-taught himself many things once he began reading. I also wanted to be the one to teach morals and to teach him to love the Lord. I know that schools cannot teach morals, but they do.
Enter May of 2010: it was time to make a decision on whether or not to homeschool Seth. After much discussion we decided that we would send him to public school since I had the other 3 kids and my husband really wanted him to experience public school even though both of us were very bored by 5th grade. We have a very good school system here and wanted to give it a chance. Seth began school in August. Those first few days were hard for me just as I expected but I did begin to get used to it. As the weeks went by I could tell he was not being challenged at all. He already knew all of his letters and how to count to 100. He was already reading well. When I would ask him what he did in school he would tell me about the special classes they had such as art and library (his favorite). They also watched a lot of movies in his class. They spent about a month or so watching a Leapfrog movie that taught the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they made. He also didn't like all the coloring he had to do in school and for homework. He did enjoy school though. He made some friends and had a very nice teacher.
Seth's behavior also changed while he was in school. He was overtired. He came home tired from being in school all day but full of energy because they sat a lot. He became more on edge and nervous. He began doing things like kicking and hitting his siblings because that's what he learned when he was around his classmates. He also talked about how some of the kids in his class behaved badly. I began entertaining the thought of pulling him out at the semester or finishing out the year and then homeschooling him in first grade. I had a very good friend tell me that when the time was right to pull him out and begin homeschooling I would know.
I believe it was the last week of September or early October when our family took a week long trip to visit my parents in Indianapolis. Seth would miss a whole week of school. That week was absolutely wonderful! Seth calmed down and his behavior improved. I had my old Seth back. That was when we knew we were going to pull him out, but we were still not sure of the timing.
In mid-October it was time for parent/teacher conferences. Seth's teacher talked about how well behaved he was and how he was doing great. She also mentioned that she knew he was bored. The conference didn't last long enough to really discuss our concerns though. We finally made the decision that we would pull him out at the end of the month.
Seth's last day of public school was the day of his fall party. I went to his party and then cleaned out his cubby. His teacher's only words to me were "I'm still in denial. We will miss him." I left wondering if I made the right decision.
Since then we have been working through math and phonics/handwriting workbooks as well as writing in a journal every day and reading various books. I am planning on ordering a new science curriculum for him as I didn't like the one we were doing. His reading is improving greatly. We still need to work on some comprehension though. He is learning to count ny 2's in math and is working on adding and subtracting 7's. For example, 3+4=7. He is fascinated by astronomy so I will be ordering Apologia's elementary science curriculum. He also loves legos and spends hours building and playing with them. We also have several friends with children his age who homeschool so we get together with them regularly. He also goes to Awanas every wednesday with his best friend. He memorizes scripture there. He also goes to Sunday school every week.
Taylor is also learning a lot this year too even though she's not officially homeschooling. We are going through "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." She can read some simple words and knows the sounds the letters of the alphabet make. She is also learning how to write her name and a few other letters and numbers. She can count to 100 and has a great vocabulary.
I have had overwhelming support from most people. I have become friends with new people and have also deepened friendships with several great women.
Am I anti-public school? Not at all. We have a very good school district here. I have made the mistake of comparing what I'm teaching to the public schools. The bottom line is that yes we are covering the same things, but we are also doing some things differently which is one of the reasons I'm homeschooling. After I wrote the previous blog post I found this article. It pretty much sums up my worries and gave me lots of encouragement. Please read it if you have the time: http://simplehomeschool.net/i-want-to-homeschool-but-dont-want-the-responsibility/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SimpleHomeschool+%28Simple+Homeschool%29&utm_content=Twitter.
So, have I made the final decision on whether or not to homeschool next year? No. Do I have a much better idea? Yes. I am leaning towards homeschooling.
Decisions
Well the time has come to decide if I want to continue homeschooling next year. Honestly it's a very hard decision to make. I love having all the children at home but I also feel a little overwhelmed sometimes. I also feel like if Seth and Taylor were in school then I'd have more time to spend with Scott and Ethan. The public schools here are good, but I'm afraid Seth would be bored again. I'm not sure how I would homeschool two kids at one time and sometimes the kids just drive me crazy.
On the other hand, I'm not sure public school is the best place for the kids. All the kids have to learn at the same pace. I'm not sure exactly what was covered in kindergarten in the public school after Seth left so I'm not sure exactly where he'd be in a first grade class. You also have to provide more documentation if you are enrolling from homeschool and it says that the child has to take some sort of test to determine what grade they would be in. I don't like that for some reason. There are some great curriculums out there too.
Maybe I just don't have enough self-confidence. I know that many families manage to homeschool with many kids. I know that the first year of homeschooling can be a learning experience for everyone. I know that homeschooling is a learning process for everyone. So many decisions. I'll let you all know what we decide.
On the other hand, I'm not sure public school is the best place for the kids. All the kids have to learn at the same pace. I'm not sure exactly what was covered in kindergarten in the public school after Seth left so I'm not sure exactly where he'd be in a first grade class. You also have to provide more documentation if you are enrolling from homeschool and it says that the child has to take some sort of test to determine what grade they would be in. I don't like that for some reason. There are some great curriculums out there too.
Maybe I just don't have enough self-confidence. I know that many families manage to homeschool with many kids. I know that the first year of homeschooling can be a learning experience for everyone. I know that homeschooling is a learning process for everyone. So many decisions. I'll let you all know what we decide.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Snow Day
One of the aspects of homeschooling that I really like is that we don't have to make up snow days. This morning I woke up to sleet and freezing rain which quickly turned into snow. All the area schools were closed. I love how our schedule didn't have to be interrupted. We went about our normal routine and had school this morning. We had a delicious hot chocolate treat and had snow ice cream for dessert after lunch. Then the kids built houses out of boxes and blankets. They played outside for a little while, but it was bitter cold and the wind was blowing so they didn't last long. It was such a treat to have Josh home today too. He got to see some of what we do every day and Seth was just thrilled that he got to show him how well he is doing in school. For dinner I made homemade chicken soup with the stock and rotisserie chicken that I had froze in the deep freeze. I added barley instead of white rice to make it a little more healthy. The kids loved it! While I look forward to spring and warm weather, I have to say that I do enjoy a good snow day.
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