ACE World Geography 9th Grade Review

I've never used anything from ACE before. I've heard many negative reviews, and not so many positive ones. The reviews I've read all say it is too "easy", or that students just read the paces, and "regurgitate" the answers in fill in the blank, multiple choice workbooks. Parents also complain that their children don't retain the information they read.

I beg to differ. Unsure what to use for Colleen's 9th grade year for social studies, I researched several options. Eventually I came down to deciding between Abeka's 9th grade World Geography, and ACE's. The deciding factors were 1.) price. ACE is several hundred dollars less expensive than Abeka, and 2.) A comparison from a fellow homeschool mom who owns both of these. I figured, for the price, I might as well give it a shot, and see for myself.

Colleen has just completed the first PACE. Normally, a pace is to take about 3 weeks to read, answer, do the mapwork, and do the self checks and final test. We took over 4 weeks, due to the deaths in our family last month, and the plumbing and vet emergencies we had. Is it easy? Colleen says, "Yes." Does she have to mindlessly regurgitate answers? Yes, some of the time. She reads, and answers questions, just like any other publisher or textbook. She answers FAR more questions than were she to use a textbook curriculum, and although many of them ARE just multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank, she also has mapwork, and open ended questions that require thought. She can not just skim through her reading, because she would not be able to answer the questions without fully reading the material, and she spends much time flipping back and forth from her workbook pages, (called an Activity Pac) and her actual reading in the PACE. She spends maybe 30 to 45 minutes a day with this subject. She says it is interesting, not boring. (Which it is; I read the PACE too.) It is colorful, which believe it or not, I never knew ACE was, till I had it in my hands. Colleen likes that they explain things, and not just write a bunch of facts, with no explanation. She doesn't like the mapwork, but she has never liked any mapwork in any curriculum.

She averaged an A throughout the PACE, usually only missing 2 or 3 questions, if that, each day. Last week she had her test. I warned her to study, and her reply was, "Studying is stupid. I don't need to study." I thought, "Hmm. We'll see about that tomorrow when you take your test then, Little Miss Smarty." Even with her begative attitude, and not studying, she certainly DID retain the material. She got an 88% on the final test. While, in my opinion, that isn't great, it isn't horrible, either. It's a good, solid B, and it's her own fault she didn't want to review or study. And actually, it gives me an even better gauge of how well she retained the information learned because she DIDN'T review it one bit.

All in all, after completing the first of `12 Paces for the year, both Colleen and I like ACE's 9th grade World Geography. She did well. She found it interesting. We both prefer it to the standard, boring, dry textbook production of the topic. There is virtually no lesson planning or teacher-intensiveness to it. She can do this completely independently, with me only helping her if she truly can not find something, and me to grade the test and self-checks. I like it so well that I would definitely consider, and AM considering, using ACE for some other subjects. I wouldn't want to use this format for every subject, but I wish I had checked it out much sooner than going-into-my-6th-year-of-homeschooling.

Homeschool Math Curriculum

Today the girls and I go back to school after an almost 3 week long Christmas break. As I posted last month, for Colleen's high school years, we are deviating from Saxon Math. It was great for her elementary years, but she was slowly losing ground with it in the middle school years. High school is important. Everything we do counts towards credits and transcripts. And everything she learns helps her that much more.

Many people are of the belief that Algebra isn't used in "real life". I beg to differ. I use math and algebra all the time here at home, and coming from a medical profession I couldn't have made it one DAY in work without higher math. Seeing that Colleen hopes to enter the medical profession in a mere 4 or 5 years, treating animals, she is going to NEED to know how to do algebra. It is impossible to do chemistry without a solid knowledge of algebra. It is impossible to figure out dosages and treatments, or even program IV pumps, if you can not figure out WHAT equations to use and how to operate them. Colleen hopes to one day run her own no-kill animal shelter, similar to the one she currently works at. Even if she fulfills that dream, it will be helpful to her to have a basic animal medicine background, and running a non-profit organization takes quite a bit of math skills in and of itself. Being a vet tech OR running a shelter, (or both) will require that she master higher levels of math.

That being said, today we begin 9th grade math, aka Algebra I. I'm a math geek. (and history geek, and geography geek, and literature geek, and writing geek....apparently I'm just a geek period. ) Colleen, on the other hand, has grown frustrated and bored with math. She doesn't understand it. She can DO it, but she doesn't know WHY she must do it, and she is so bored with it that she doesn't CARE about doing her best, most careful work.

I have now had Jacob's Elementary Algebra in my hands for 3 weeks.

I have purused it fairly thoroughly. I have today set aside to simply go through the introduction together. Mr. Jacobs has some really cool algebra puzzles to introduce his book, and all 3 of us will be working through them. Yes, Emily can, and in fact, is needed, to help do these puzzles. They are fun. They are interesting. I THINK even normal people that AREN'T math geeks would agree with that. Spending an hour or two doing these puzzles is important, not only to catch Colleen's interest, but so that she can see how differently Jacob's Algebra is written, and how it is a complete change from Saxon Math. She might be lost if I just hand her the book, and say, "Ok, do Lesson 1." And I really like that he begins every, single lesson with a "real life" example of algebra being used.

I have a few other things I'd LIKE to get to today. We have just a few lessons left in a couple of subjects that we need to finish before each girl is "officially" promoted to their next grade. We have another few subjects I would, ideally, like to also begin today. And I have a LOT of curriculum to still order, and would like to at least get started on getting to that. But if we do nothing today but begin Algebra I, that is fine by me. That is all I have scheduled for SURE today. I don't want algebra to be just another thing to cross off for the day. My girls are fine on their required number of school days, and they are both basically ahead of where they would be if they were in public school, and we are all 3 having trouble getting out of our nice break mode, and back into school mode.

We had a very nice break, accomplished a lot of extra cleaning, sorting, relaxing, game-playing, shopping, and Colleen worked many extra hours/days at the shelter the past 3 weeks. Winter still has a few months to go, before they can be back outside enjoying play time and softball, and this is the best time for us to get lots of schooling done. We don't have to do it all at once, though. We are very blessed to have plenty of time to TAKE our time. I am excited to begin our new school year! : )

Good-bye Saxon

After 9 years, we are finally saying good-bye to Saxon math. Colleen began using this when she was in public school. I have a certain sentimental attachment to Saxon math. BECAUSE she used it in ps, and I was familiar with it, and because I was a homeschooling novice and knew of no other math program back then, Saxon was what I ordered for her. In fact, Saxon 54 was the very first homeschooling purchase I ever made. I actually ordered it 4 months before I pulled Colleen out of ps.

Saxon worked well for us up until this year. This year we have been doing pre-algebra. We are almost finished with the book. It is December, a time when I typically have been researching and choosing the next year's curriculum. Colleen normally begins her next grade level in January or February. Because she will be moving up to 9th grade, a FRESHMAN, AND because she has really been struggling with pre-algebra, I have been stressing myself out to the max over what math to use for her. Saxon seemed fine for the lower grades. Colleen caught on and moved through each grade level quickly. For 4 months now, I have known I would NOT continue to use Saxon math for her. For four months I have looked and looked, researched, asked other parents what works for THEIR child, looked at samples online, watched videos, discussed math programs ad nauseum with Colleen, made HER watch videos, read reviews, take placement tests.

Each day we struggle through math. Colleen takes about an hour, maybe a little more, doing her 30 daily problems, and each Friday she takes a test. However, we then have to take ANOTHER 45 minutes or so correcting all the problems she is missing. Saxon calls itself "incremental", which is a code word for spiral mathematics that just leap from topic to topic randomly, with only about 3 problems each assignment that actually have to do with the lesson for that day. Ok, maybe SAXON has a rhyme and reason for them leaping from topic to topic, but I sure don't see it, and it isn't working for us. And of course Saxon is well known for its tedious, repetitive practice OVERLOAD in the primary grades. But then we get to the higher levels of math and there is less and less practice. The past couple of weeks I have actually been spending my mornings making up my own practice problems for Colleen to do before we even open her book.

Um....why am I writing out pages of practice problems when I HAVE a book? Why do they introduce a concept, such as solving for 2 variables, and then only have 2 problems per problem set dealing with this? Yes, to ME, it is easy. I LOVE algebra. (I'm a geek, what can I say?) To my 14 year old daughter, it is difficult, and she doesn't "get it". Well, if you are in softball, you don't expect to show up at practice and hit fair balls, only batting twice a day. Ok, yes, for some people that works. My younger daughter doesn't even need to keep hearing me explain a new concept; she tells me, "Ok, Mom, I know." and has the problems done while I'm still talking. Colleen, on the other hand has reached a level where she simply needs more practice, and more consistency in the lessons, not jumping from one topic to the next. Then Colleen gets frustrated and angry, slamming the book and declaring herself stupid.

Ok, so for 4 months now I have known this was it. I knew Saxon was done in this house. I just haven't known WHAT was going to replace it. Colleen doesn't LIKE any of the samples we have looked at online. She doesn't WANT a video/DVD teacher. Colleen is pretty set in her ways for such a young girl. She doesn't like change of any kind. She actually WANTED to stick with Saxon through high school math. She figures I can just keep holding her hand and getting her through it. We went with change for math once, 2 years ago, and went with a mastery math program, and it was a dismal failure. Most likely because it revealed WAY too many gaps that Saxon had left.

I have been stressing out over ALL our soon-to-be-ordered curriculum, for both girls. But Algebra has definitely been my main worry. I have never spent this much time deciding on curriculum. I've been close to choosing a popular video text math, but Colleen just could not abide the thought of the man's voice doing the teaching on the DVD. Can't say I blame her. I almost chose another program, too, but something kept stopping me. Other than that, I was up in the air, starting to panic over it being almost Christmas break, and not only do I not HAVE next year's math here at the house, I don't even know WHAT next year's math will be. I was just about to throw in the towel, and just order Saxon, but I just couldn't quite make myself do it. Much as I love algebra, I just don't want to spend all my free time writing out equations and problems. That's what the book is for.

And then. Last night. (hear the choir of angels singing in the background here?) I was idly on another site reading math reviews. This is for a company that only has math for grades 1-6. BUT.....it has suggestions for what to move on to from that particular program. And since, like most homeschooling mothers, I am addicted to researching curriculum, I clicked on the links to read reviews of higher maths. And there were several there I had never even heard of. Then I read user reviews. Then I went over to Amazon, and read their user reviews. Then I made Colleen come over here to the computer, and I showed HER, because it was truly the best looking Algebra program I've seen yet. AND SHE LIKED IT TOO.

And so...an end to an era....good-bye Saxon. You were good for awhile, but it's time for you to move aside for: Jacob's Algebra. As soon as I looked at Jacob's Algebra (and their Geometry, too, because what homeschooling mom doesn't look ahead at the upcoming years?) I just KNEW this was the one. Really, I felt it was right. And when Colleen agreed, and was SMILING over a MATH prgram? Yeah, that clinched it. So, in just little more than an hour, I will be calling Rainbow Resource (yes, I'm old-fashioned, and like to CALL in the order, as opposed to ordering online.) and ordering this. We will start it as soon as we go back to school in January after Christmas break.

Why We Began Home Schooling...part 4....final chapter

During Christmas break of C's 3rd grade year I noticed something strange. Her night terrors stopped. Completely. And then it dawned on me that she NEVER had night terrors during the summer, or any other times school was on break. She didn't wake up screaming, yelling, thrashing around, crying, throwing up, or crawl into bed with me when there was no school!

Coincidentally...or maybe NOT coincidentally, I tend to believe God sends us SIGNS we can either choose to follow or ignore....I happened to read an article in "Parents" magazine during Christmas break profiling a family in new York City that home schooled. I thought to myself, "Well THAT'S a cool idea, too bad it isn't legal." And then....another sign....I happened to see something on TV about home schooling...perhaps an episode of the Duggar family, if I'm recalling correctly. And I thought again, "Wow, I wish *I* could do that. I wonder what the laws are about this home schooling stuff. Maybe it's NOT illegal, since I keep hearing about it."

So you add C's boredom with being held back academically, the bullying and verbal abuse, the tyrannical lunch-lady, along with the fact that I'd suddenly realized during breaks from school C wasn't suffering ANY of her night time terrors and sickness, AND add in the fact I kept "coincidentally" seeing things about home schooling, and I decided one morning to do a little google search online to see what I could find out about this home schooling stuff.

Much to my surprise, I found out home schooling is not only perfectly legal in all 50 states, it is growing exponentially every year because LOTS of parents were having the exact same issues I was worrying about with my daughter. I began researching obsessively. I couldn't STOP reading websites. I couldn't get enough books from the library on the topic. I found home school blogs. I found home school forums. I asked questions. I made up my mind, and decided that this is what I wanted to do...that homeschooling was a completely natural extension of parenting, and that no one would be able to teach my individual child as well as i could, that no one could invest the time, the love, the energy into her well-being better than I. I decided that I would make C finish out her 3rd grade year in public school, but that for 4th grade she would stay home safely with her mother teaching her. I even, after MORE research, chose and ordered her 4th grade math curriculum. (Saxon 54)

Then I decided maybe I should broach the subject with my then-husband. LOL

I was scared to talk to him about it. I thought he would think I was nuts. I thought he would be against the idea. I excitedly opened the Saxon math box, and then hid it so he wouldn't find out. And then I just couldn't keep it from him any longer, because I wanted to tell C about home schooling, and I couldn't tell my 9 year old without first at least NOTIFYING her dad of my plan. LOL I printed off pages of information off the internet, and marked places in books to show him. I went into this discussion fully prepared to defend my stance, argue till I wore him down, and no matter what he said to home school anyway.

One evening I finally brought it up. And he said, "Yes! Yes! That is PERFECT! Yes! You HAVE to do this! We have to do ANYTHING to keep her out of these schools. They are ruining A and B, and I can't see another child of mine go through this. YES! That is a GREAT idea!" I didn't even have to say anything other than, "I have been thinking about C's problems in school, and I've done some research, and I'd like to try homeschooling her." And then I said, "Oh, good, because I've already ordered her math, and I know what else I want to buy." LOL

When I talked to C about it, she began crying. Crying because she was so happy to know she had an "out". Happy because her mommy had figured out a solution to her problem and was going to help her, save her. And sad because she didn't want to go back. Ever. It took a lot of coaxing to get her to agree to go back. I made a bargain with her that I would call her in sick every Wednesday; that way she never had to go to school more than 2 days in a row. And reminded her that Mondays were ok because she had that 30 minutes of violin. And Fridays weren't bad because when she got through the day she had a whole weekend. Of course, she tried to get me to call her in sick EVERY day, and since I was already doing "school" with her every night at home, it was hard for me to adhere to making her stick the rest of the year out.

By March, the ONLY thing keeping her in school was those 30 minutes of violin once a week. I began calling her in sick more and more often, but not too many days in a row, because we didn't want to get in trouble for truancy. By mid-March it was time for Spring break. And once again, for 2 weeks, I had my happy child back. The one who LIKED to get up in the mornings, and the one who slept the nights through peacefully.

April 1st, 2008, was C's first day back to school after spring break. It was also her LAST day of public school. As always, she walked out of the building at 2:15, crying, miserable, mad because her class was so boring, and the teacher wouldn't let her work on multiplication because "it would make the other kids feel bad since they are still working an addition and subtraction." She had to go to the bathroom, because she refused to go at school because that's where some of the girls cussed at her and pushed her around if she went in. She was hungry, because she never ate lunch unless they served something with rolls or mashed potatoes. Three girls had called her a "white b***h" and poked her with pencils waiting in line on the staircase. That night she woke up screaming, crying, and yelling again.

Early the morning of April 2nd, as her dad watched the news, and got ready to go to work, and I sat drinking my coffee, I said to him, "Enough is enough. I can't take this for another 6 weeks, and I'm not putting her through this anymore. (as we listened to her crying in her sleep in her bedroom) I'm not sending her back. I'm writing a letter of intent to the school, and I'm taking it up there in person this morning, and I'm never making her go back to that hell-hole." And he said, "Good!Thank God!"

So I let C sleep in late that morning, and when she woke up, I told her she didn't have to go back, but that she and I had to drive up to the school and take her principal the letter of intent. C said, "Really? You MEAN it, Mommy? I don't have to go back?!?" And began bawling her head of out of relief. I showed her the letter. We delivered it. We thanked her teacher, her music teacher, and picked up her school supplies. As we walked out of the classroom, the teacher's aide followed us into the hall, and whispered to me that she, herself, had been home schooled, and that she intended to home school her own children, and that she was SO happy for C, but not to tell anyone she had said that to us because she had been instructed not to ever tell anyone at the school she worked at about home schooling.

I have SO much more to say about home schooling. It is truly my passion....educating my daughters, spending time with them, finding curriculum that matches their own individual learning styles and personalities, their strengths and weaknesses. I'd love to talk about all the things *I* have learned through teaching my daughters. I'd love to ramble on and on about this whole new lifestyle. Because it is NOT just "school at home", it is our whole way of life. I'd love to talk about some of the wonderful people I've met through home schooling, or tell you about all the people who are positive about it. (and in fact, I've not had any negative reactions to it at all.) But I've rambled on enough for right now, and the only thing I'd like to add to THIS post is that from that night on, C has not spent ONE NIGHT in my bed. She has not woken up crying or screaming or yelling or puking ONE TIME since I pulled her out of public school.

My daughter left public school on April 2, 2008, and I have NO regrets. I KNOW I am doing the right thing, the best thing for her, and also for little E, who I've home schooled from the beginning and is now in 3rd grade. I have so many thoughts, so many ideas, so many opinions, but at least now I have finally gotten down in writing the story of WHO we are, and what led us to home schooling.

School Update

E, in first grade, is flying right along. She has completed 200 pages in her math book, 12 of which she did this week. She continues to learn a concept immediately, which I'm thankful for. Her handwriting is still a bit sloppy, but I have been correcting her more, and she can write beautifully when she takes her time. She also completed 8 pages in her English this week, and LOVES finding word opposites, and counting syllables. She is still reading well, but her spelling is not doing as well as I would hope. She spells more phonetically, than correctly, but for being only 6 she is normal in that area.

C, in 5th, has now completed 99 out of 120 lessons in math, and still earns A's with each assignment. If she would consistantly double check her work she would get A+'s. We finished her unit on pronouns this week. Somehow they had 2 extra lessons, so Monday and Wednesday she did 2 English assignments. Again, all A's. A+ in Spelling, as always, and a very imaginative journal entry for her this week. Not the best writing she has ever done, but I love her imagination. C also did 4 lessons in Bible, and 2 pages in geography.

She and E completed chapter 9 in Zoology. I'm amazed at how fascinated E is with science. It is the only class she is never bored in, and actually sits still to listen, and answers comprehension questions.

As for myself, I learned what antecedents and reflexive pronouns are. I'm not really sure why they are important, and have never heard of them before, but always nice to learn new things. LOL

D and I have come to an agreement with the attorney, and signed all the papers Friday. We both must attend mandatory parenting-of-children-going-through-a-divorce classes next month, and then it will be final. Still waiting on child support. For the first time in my 38 years of life I've had to get my home phone disconnected, and cable TV is next on my list of cutting back on expenses. I have also had to apply for assistance with my power bill, so we still have power for another month or two. Thanks to my friend, M, the girls and I have been eating very well, though. So, even though I am having to make adjustments, and dont like things such as applying for assistance, God is, as He always does, providing, and the girls and I are very blessed.

First Day Back After Christmas Break

Since this is technically supposed to be a blog about homeschooling, I thought I'd post about our first day back after a 2 week break. We had a very productive day.I know I haven't been very good about keeping on topic lately, but personal life affects homeschooling, too.

C spent more time than usual on math today, almost an hour, but she only missed one problem. She got an A+ on Spelling, and 2 A+'s in English. (We did 2 lessons, a cumulative review, and the first lesson on her pronoun chapter.) She didn't do as well with Bible as she normally does....missed 3 questions, but understood better after we went over the assignment again. C also did some "social studies", ironically through her English text. Each unit has a theme, and this unit's theme is Australia/New Zealand. We looked New Zealand up on the globe, talked about Sydney, the "outback", Aborigines, how English prisoners were the original white settlers of a continent now predominantly white, the differences between seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres, the awesome, and unusual animal life in Australia (kangoroos, koalas, Tasmanian devils, and platypusses [platypii???lol]). I wonder if we could take a field trip to The Outback Steakhouse....? LOL

E did 2 pages in math, 1 page in English, read me a book, and practiced skip-counting by 5's. As of this writing, she still needs to do her Bible lesson.

Both girls together did science, an introduction to pterosaurs. Almost every child is fascinated by dinosaurs, and pterosaurs are similar, but NOT (as the science book informed us) dinosaurs. The 3 of us ended up spending 45 minutes to get through 4 pages. We always tend to get into long discussions when doing science and social studies.

While it was nice to have a break, and I dreaded getting back to school every day, it went well, and we accompished lots. It was kind of nice to be back doing something productive, and while C may complain about doing school, I think she secretly likes it. I know it sure helps her attitude, which has been sorely lacking in repect and kindness lately, part of that due to boredom. E is always happy to do school, just not too much at a time.

Week 4 Review

Both girls did very well this week.

In first grade E completed 2 more lessons (in addition to the 2 posted below), and got an A+ on test #11 in Saxon. Her dad also did a few pages one night in her Abeka 1 math, and I might have done 1 page in there yesterday, but I won't admit that.

She also did 3 lessons in her Queens Language Lessons, and 2 pages in Abeka Language 1.

She read me 3 stories aloud. E also completed a chapter in her Reading Comprehension workbook.

She did 2 pages in geography, which she loves, and is up to lesson 9 in CLE Bible LU 104, which she also loves. I, however, and getting tired of stories written to 6 year olds about all the evil kings, and torturous punishments going on in the Old Testament. I'm hoping they soon move to the more peaceful, and pertinent to Modern-day Christianity, New Testament soon.

We did not do any spelling this week, although I hope to get back to that over the weekend.

As usual, E also hung around listening to her sister's science lessons. We are all still loving the Zoology, which is good, since we are in book 1 out of 3. This week we completed chapter 4, which centered on migratory birds. *I* even learned a ton, and it was fascinating. We went out in our backyard one day, and pretended to "migrate", which all 3 of us enjoyed.

In 5th grade C completed 1 test (A+), and 2 lessons in math. It's hard for me to get used to doing math only 3 days/week. C won't admit it, but she ASKED to do math Thursday, so maybe it seems strange to her, too.

We flew through English 5. C did the review of Chapter 2, got an A on the test (only missed 1 this time), and has completed 6 lessons of Chapter 3. She also did a daily gram each day, and is up to #50 in the book.

She also completed chapter 14 in spelling, getting an A+ as always. She doesn't really NEED spelling, but it's good vocabulary practice.

In history we learned about "Illumination" writing, and mosaics. I have intended for the past 3 days to make our own mosaics using paper, but haven't gotten around to cutting up millions of tiny pieces of paper for the "tiles". This week has been a good one to be able to have internet for, as we found some gorgeous examples of both the illumination writing, and mosaics online. C also did 1 page in her weekly geography book.

We haven't begun Literature yet. I still have to read the first book I plan to assign, and I've been reading a series of books my brother sent me, and can't get motivated to read a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder at the moment. Not a big deal, as I only plan to study 4 books in depth this year.

C also completed 3 lessons in her Bible, not to mention daily reminders on how God wants us to treat others....especially little sisters. LOL

I am missing a subject, but can't for the life of me remember which one at the moment. Anyway, it's been a very productive week, and I hope to tie up loose ends over this weekend. (Reading that biography, and making the mosaics.)

In non-school life we have been watching the kittens grow and falling more in love with them every day. They are now a month old. We took our pool down, as the nights have been so cold we haven't swam for 4 weeks now. We have been dealing with more spiders than I've ever seen in years past, including one at 11:00 last night that ran under E's bed. (Thank you, hubby!!!!!)

This week has also been full of step-daughter-15 issues. I don't want to say too much here, but I've been in frequent e-mail contact with her caseworkers, frequent phone contact with her biological mother, (always a joy) and dealt with B running away and missing for 3 nights in a row last weekend, a court hearing Wednesday, another one scheduled for Oct., a probation appointment next week, and a very important meeting scheduled for the 29th, at which something might actually get done to get help for this wayward child. I think I spent more time on this child's issues this week, than school, and she doesn't even live here anymore!

~May God bless you all~

Week 3 Review

We had a very productive week, even though it was shortened by Labor Day.

In Math, C completed Lessons 52, 53, and 54. She missed one problem each day, and every time it was a problem on using the distributive property of multiplication. She obviously isn't getting it, but since she can multiply those numbers in her head, I don't really care. Yesterday she was so tired of missing the same type of problem she actually voluntarily took notes on my explanation to refer to.

E did 3 pages of math with her dad. He's not being very consistent, so I've started orally drilling her on facts and skip counting, so she doesn't forget. She does fine; it's just that they will never get through the book at this rate, even though I had her 1/3 of the way through it before he took over.

C completed the next 4 pages of Daily Grams, and wrote a compare/contrast essay all by herself. She earned an A. This is a huge accomplishment for her...an A on writing, with no help from me. She has completed 19 lessons in her 5th grade English book now. E did 7 lessons in her Queens Language Lessons, and 2 pages in her Abeka Language.

Both girls finished lesson 3 in Zoology 1. I hadn't intended for E to participate in C's science, but she loves it, and is having no trouble retaining the information, so we've been doing science together. C is notebooking through this course, and writing lab reports on all experiments. E just listens, and helps out with the experiments.

Both girls also completed a few pages in their respective mapwork books.

C did Chapter 13 in BJU Spelling 5. She got A+ on it, as always. E completed Step 4, and half of Step 5 in her All About Spelling.

Both girls completed 4 lessons in their Bible workbooks.

C and I began the first 2 chapters in history. They are all still pretty much review of the fall of the Roman Empire, which we just finished studying a few weeks ago. She did get to read an abbreviated version of "Beowolf", which was pretty cool. She liked the poetry style of story writing.

We have not started literature yet. I will next week. It has a ton of time-consuming work, so thought it better to hold off until she wasn't on a writing chpater in English.

E read me 3 stories. She actually asked to. She doesn't like the stories in her graded reader, but she begs to read to me from real books.

Both girls have sinus infections, but not severe ones. They've been well enough to play outside with friends every day this week. I think it is interesting that this is the first time either one of them has gotten sick since I pulled them out of public school a year and a half ago. I'm almost positive they caught their bugs from a little boy they play with who was over here, and didn't mention he'd been out sick from school until my girls had been playing with him for over an hour.

This week was a very good week school-wise for all of us. It has also been a very busy week with step-daughter, B. She is having more issues, and has a court hearing next Wednesday. This was an unscheduled hearing, but due to her extreme problems, it was requested.

Yesterday...(5th grade)

...was just one of those days where school flowed smoothly. C was up at 8:30, ate breakfast, and began her independant work by 9. (Bible, Spelling, and Grammar.)By 10, I'd given her math lesson and assignment, and her English assignment. She and I spent last week writing a Compare/Contrast Essay together. This week she is doing one entirely on her own. While she did those assignments, I finished cleaning the kitchen, and switching laundries around. By 11, all we had left was science. (We alternate science and history/geography.) By lunchtime we were done.

After lunch I made the suggestion that, even though she did very well all day, and had her work done, she might want to consider working ahead, since she had 2 writing assignments today. Her choices were to do her journal writing a day early, or go ahead and begin her rough draft of her essay. I let her know she didn't HAVE to do either, but it would make her day easier today. Shockingly...she chose the essay. Even MORE shocking...she wrote it fairly well. She didn't ask for help one time. She wrote it in the correct format, and had zero punctuation or spelling errors. I only saw one thing she could add, and I'm trying to make her figure it out on her own, without pointing it out.

So...here's my reminder to myself in black and white (okay, technically GREEN and white, LOL) that C CAN write, and she can even do well at it. And some days we can do 6 subjects in just 2 1/2 hours.

What is it About English?

I love teaching my daughters. Some days it's hard to find time, and some days I get incredibly bored, but the teaching itself, is usually actually fun. I loved that my daughters aren't wasting hours waiting for other students to catch up, and I love that when they "get it", we can keep moving on to new material. My daughter used to literally cry over math in public school. They spent almost 2 hours a day on it, and C was done in 1/4 of that time. She still won't admit to liking it, but we do the entire lesson, and homework assignment in under half an hour most days. Science is more of a fun activity than boring. I couldn't stand science in school, but my daughters and I love it now. Rocks, birds, clouds, it doesn't matter, it's fun. History is apparently my strong point. I'm a history buff, anyway, so teaching it is easy, and I always have a flair for turning some boring old war into a funny story. (If I do say so, myself. LOL) I get so into history that I've caught my husband eavesdropping in the hall, and laughing out loud. Whatever it takes for her to remember the stuff.

Then...there is English. Growing up, English was one of those subjects I called a "blow off" subject. An easy A. No work involved. I never really got into poetry, but I could spout something off if I was assigned to. I could write volumes of stories, essays, persuasive arguments...you name it, I could take 10 minutes, and have an "A" paper. We didn't do a whole lot of grammar, but that was easy, too. Noun, verb, adjective...guess the rest. Essay question that I didn't know the answer to?..no problem. Just baffle 'em with B.S. I could cover half a page in answer to said question, and say absolutely nothing, and get one of those little "Excellent" comments written in red pen next to it from the teacher. Another A. Spelling...no problem for someone that taught herself to read AND write at age 4 during naptime. Literature...easy....just read a book, something I did non-stop back then, and still do now. I didn't have to take English classes of any sort in college, because I was allowed to "test out" of them. (I did the same with college math.) I did, however, take some just for fun. Yes, I'm a nerd.

So......WHY IN THE WORLD CAN'T I TEACH IT?!? It is my daughter's weakest area. She's not really bad at English, but she certainly isn't good, either. She loves to read, and thankfully seems to be a natural speller, like me. We do a spelling curriculum, but only because it has really good vocabulary exercises, and there are some thinking skills involved. Up until yesterday I would even have said she's good at the grammar portion of English. Her weak area is writing. She can not stand to write, and will always take the easiest (read...laziest) way out of a written assignment. I KNOW part of it is that I expect too much from a ten year old. I expect that because she excels in other areas that I excelled at, she should go above and beyond in writing. (If anyone has ever noticed that I occasionally let her type "guest posts" here in my blog, that is why. If she manages a decent paragraph, she feels very special to be able to type it up on the computer and put it on Mommy's blog.) I rarely yell at my children, but poor C gets frequent rants from me about English.

We just started the year. I have it planned that, although we will do grammar, we are going to concentrate on writing this year. Her book is set up so that every other chapter is grammar, alternating with a writing chapter. It is written very well. I had high hopes for this English program, after going through 2 last year. (And the second half of last year I wussed out, and did only grammar. My excuse being, that some children need a little more time for their brains to grasp the abstract thinking involved with writing.) C has never (until yesterday) had any problems with grammar. She has a good, solid background in grammar. The first chapter we doubled up on lessons, and did 2 each day. She did the chapter review Monday, and took the test yesterday. She didn't miss a single thing the entire chapter. I didn't expect her to, as it was mainly review of things she has done for 2 years now. She missed SIX test questions yesterday, earning her an 82%. That's a C. On things she's never had a problem with, and should have easily aced. For those of you that know me, C's are completely unacceptable. B's are barely tolerable, but C's?!? I figure if you know the stuff you will get an A. Anything less means 1.) I didn't do my job as a teacher, and 2.) the child is a borderline idiot, and needs more work. (Sorry to offend. If you don't like it, don't read my blog.)

Remember, this C was on a test of things she KNEW. She's done hundreds of times. She had no issues whatsoever on the entire chapter, but when she did the test apparently the word "are" became a preposition, and interrogative sentences suddenly became confused with imperative sentences. (Cute side note.....during my rant after grading the test I asked C, "Why do you think they call it an interrogation when the police question their suspect after arresting them???" Poor C said, "I don't know, Mom. I've never been to jail." LOL!)

So, on day 7 of our official start of 5th grade, I am already having issues with English. I would like to call in a substitute, but as the only legal substitutes for homeschooling are other, immediate family members, that won't be happening. My choices are limited to a 6 year old, and a man that skated through school with D's, dropping out at age 16, and has read a total of two books in twelve years that I've known him. (both having to do with snipers in Iraq killing the enemy.)

I'm not sure who dreads English more, me or my daughter. Yes, I realize she zooms in on the "subtle" little clues I give her, and that my attitude affects hers. My attitude reguarding English has not been subtle at all. I have not been patient or humble. I have a mental block when it comes to people that don't understand concepts quickly. I am, basically, a horrible English teacher. I have no qualms about admitting that. I am not helping my daughter out. If I could afford to hire a private tutor, I most likely would, for this one subject. If it was legal to do so, I would skip English entirely until I get her into high school.

However, the moral of this story/rant is that I, at least care. In school a C is perfectly acceptable, and they move on. In homeschool we CAN work through this, and if we have to do it in baby steps we will. If I feel myself getting angry we should stop for the day. If I see C becoming frustrated we should stop for the day. We school year round, and we are far ahead in every other subject. We have plenty of time. I love this girl with everything in me. I want her to learn, to do well, and to enjoy learning. We CAN make it through 5th grade English.

Today we begin her first writing chapter, and I promise to remain calm. In the event I feel my blood pressure rising, we will stop.

Week 1 Review

C began her first official week of 5th grade this week. We are only doing half days, until after Labor Day.

She finished her 3rd grade Bible program. The curriculum we use runs one year behind in publishing their new, revised versions, so she will do 4th grade for her 5th grade year. I'm not concerned about grade levels for Bible, as it's not something like English or Math.

C completed 6 more lessons in Math, and got a 90% on test #9. I wasn't too thrilled with the 90%, because her mistakes were, as always, careless ones that should have been caught by checking her work before turning it in.

She has done the first 9 lessons in her 5th grade English. We were able to do 2 lessons each day thanks to Easy Grammar last year. It was all review, although she and I are both learning a new technique for grammar...diagramming. I don't see the point of diagramming sentences, but others swear by it, and BJU English uses it, so we're seeing how it goes. She got A+'s on every assignment.

For Science, C completed unit 2 in her Zoology 1 book, and began unit 3.

I hadn't intended to start History for 2 more weeks, as we JUST finished a summer of reviewing Ancient History, but C asked if we could please start it, so we've done the first chapter of the Middle Ages. I have an entire box of "living" books to go along with our History, but if anyone has any really good recommendations for books pertinent to the Middle ages, please post them in my comments. C and I are both voracious readers, and we can never have too many books.

E is continuing on with her 1st grade work. We completed 2 lessons in her spelling/phonics program. She finished LU 103 in Bible. We began a new geography book, and she completed 2 pages. She has been reading aloud to both her Daddy and I, and particiapting in C's Zoology lessons for science.

The big news with E is that Daddy has agreed to finish teaching her math this year. She is already 1/3 through her book. He managed to do 3 pages in her book 1 evening this week. I was looking foward to getting a break from at least one class, freeing up a little more time each day, but Daddy isn't too consistent, and I'm not sure how long this arrangement will last. LOL

What is Homeschooling?

Two years ago I didn't know a thing about homeschooling. I had no idea exactly how one went about homeschooling, where one obtained books and materials, or even that it is perfectly legal in all 50 states. Different states have different criteria to meet. I live in a state where it is very simple and easy to stay within legal boundaries, but even the most rigid states aren't that complicated. It is such a part of my life now, that I forget the "average" person doesn't know what it might entail. Recently, I was asked a question by someone, and this is the thought that popped into my head to write about this morning.

Everyone chooses to school their children in different ways. One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling is that we parents have a HUGE variety of materials and curriculum to choose from. We can choose which math program works best for each individual child. We can choose whether to use textbooks or "living" books, or just life. We can choose secular or Christian content. We can choose whether to spend the next year concentrating more on grammar or more on writing depending upon each child's needs. In other words, we are free to choose what works best for each child, AND what works best for us, as teachers. Some mothers (I will use mothers as teachers, because they are most often the ones staying home and educating the children. I know of a few fathers who homeschool, but they are in the minority.) find a program they like that includes all the subjects, and stick with it for each and every one of their kids. Some mothers always second guess their choices, and try something for 6 weeks, only to drop it, and try another program. Some use textbooks only. Some are die-hard unschoolers, and never once do their children see a book or workbook. Virtually everyone begins the same way...reading a myriad of books written by homoeschoolers and researching the topic. Most of us nowadays find our way to a website or two devoted to homeschooling where we can "talk" to other homeschooling parents, and gain insight and knowledge from others' previous experiences.

I've been fairly blessed with my curriculum choices. Of course, I'm the type of woman who can't ever make a serious decision without researching it to death first, but I've only had one issue with one of my daughters. Everything else I've bought has worked well for the child I bought it for, and exceeded my expectations. With the exception of C's English last year, I've stuck to all of my original choices. I don't use one program for all subjects; I mix-and-match with whatever works for each child in each subject area.

More about curriculum choices in a later post....for now I'll get back on topic. Homeschooling is basically educating your children at home (or in the car, or out in the park, or waiting in a doctor's office...)in the way that works best for your particular family. For my family, this means I use textbooks for Math, English, and Science. My daughters are definitely allowed to state their likes/dislikes with each book, and they have input in decisions when choosing a textbook, but we DO use textbooks. I feel that not using a textbook in the basic subjects leaves a good chance for "gaps" in their education. On the other hand I detest textbooks for History and Geography. I don't remember one single thing I learned in 13 years of school, and 3 years of college that had to do with history. Do you? I learned more about the Civil War from trashy romance novels I read in high shcool, and anyone that knows me knows I have a fetish for anything related to WWII. I will read ANYthing having to do with the 1930's-40's. I have a series of books I use to keep myself going in the right direction, but mainly I use living books. Living books are just your normal book read for pleasure. Of course, I choose these books carefully, picking ones that have to do with the time frame in history we are studying. Last year, for US History I used a text for our spine to ensure I didn't skip any major historical events, but C was saturated with living books that she read to herself, or that I read aloud with her. I found the textbook was very boring, and very innaccurate, and left tons of history completely out. We read biographies of Helen Keller, Louis Braille, George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, and Thomas Edison. We read the entire "Little House on the Prairie" series aloud. We read books by Mark Twain. I almost ommitted the Mark Twain books, because I thought they were boring, but C adored them, and found them hilarious.We read "The Witch of Blackbird Pond", and we read others that I can't even recall now. C really enjoys biographies. (just like her mother LOL)

Not only did we read tons of enjoyable books having to do with our history, we utilized the TV. I hadn't even intended the story of our country and its' foundations to coincide with the presidential elections last year, but it did. C watched the national debates with me. She attentively listened to my opinions on Barack Obama and John McCain. She helped me research their respective voting records, and political history. We compared the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and The Articles of Confederation and what our founding fathers had in mind with the state of our union in current times. We watched the election and innauguration speech. Although I completely was against Obama (don't even start with me about him!) his election worked perfectly into not only our study of what our country was founded on, but also went along with slavery, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement of the 1960's. Enough said on that before I get myself in trouble with the blog police.....

Homeschooling just becomes a way of life. I probably annoy my children to no end. We frequently enjoy studying nature. Not for school, but just because nature is cool, and I enjoy being in solitude out in a forest or down by a lake than being around other people. Lately, though, my poor children can't find something neat in the woods without me researching it online or in books when we get home. Find a bone? Let's look it up and compare it to animals native to our area. Find a cool rock? Let's find out what kind it is, and how it was formed. Poor kids. Yesterday C and I had an hour-and-a-half long discussion about labor, delivery, and the female reproductive tract just because our cat is soon expecting kittens. Who needs a health book, when it worked so well into the natural conversation? (An added bonus that she loved...she learned all about her own personal labor/delivery story, and how pitocin works. LOL)Final exam will be watching (hopefully) the cat actually give birth. C loves animals, and has seen many surgeries and 1 birth (of a Panda) on TV. I know birth won't bother her a bit in person. E, on the other hand will probably gag, and go to a room as far away as possible. C even got to hear the stintilating stories of my high-school boyfriend who was a hog farmer, and the deliveries of piglets he and I assisted at many times. (Well, okay, not me. I just watched him assist. If you've ever seen someone have to assist a pig having trouble giving birth you will know what I'm talking about. It ain't pretty.)

Homeschooling takes more time than any full-time job. It takes time away from your housework (not neccessarily a bad thing), your husband, your friends, and your own personal time. Actually....I think I've forgotten what my own personal time is. I literally have both my daughters with me 24/7, but that's the way I like it. It makes it a little difficult to shop for birthday or Christmas gifts, but other than that I feel it's what I am meant to do, and SHOULD do. It's not something we do only from 9:00 to 3:00. We are learning all the time, and just because we complete assignments in school-books, we aren't done. I'm completely involved in all aspects of my daughters' lives. I never have to ask, "How was school today?" or "What have you learned in Math this week?" The worst problem my girls have with school is they do a lot more work than in public school, and they have one of those teachers that has a tendency to ramble on too long. : )

Schooling Year-Round

This is our second summer of schooling year-round. I've had several people ask us why we don't take a break in the summer like public schools. There's really only two simple reasons.

First, we get bored. Summer is our busiest season with softball, swimming, and other "outside" activities, and it's my time to catch up on all that housework that barely gets done when we are schooling full-time. However, these things don't take up every second of our time, and both my daughters actually ask to do school some days. (C will never publicly admit that, though. LOL)

My other main reason for summer-schooling is because it allows me to fit in the extra subjects we do, and actually gets our work ahead enough that we can school 4 full days, and one short day each week during the typical 9 months of the school year.

What does our summer schedule look like? Well, it is certainly not the same as our main part of the year schedule. We only do "light" days, and only a few days each week.

For C, who is in 5th grade, we do one Math test each week. The way Saxon Math is set up, there is a test every 5 lessons. I allow her 1 missed problem on a test. (out of 20 problems) If she misses more than 1 we will stop the tests, back up 5 lessons, and that is where we will begin doing lessons and assignments. Yesterday, she took test #7, and got 100% on it. Therefore, currently, she has "tested through" 35 lessons in her math. Adding the 7 tests and 3 investigations to the 35 lessons she won't need to do equals 45 days of math we won't have to do through the school year. So, once again, she will be able to have a 4 day week in Math, as she did last year. Technically, she could even do a 3 day week at this point, (M-W-F) and still finish by next May. I'd prefer to finish a little earlier, though, so I won't do a 3 day week unless she passes at least 3 or 4 more tests.

Public and private schooled children don't have the option of testing through parts of the book they already know. Even the more advanced children will have to slog through wasted lessons with 20 or more other kids who have forgotten over the 3 months of summer break.

C also is still working through her Bible lessons. Normally we only do formal Bible 2 or 3 days a week, no matter what time of year it is. C also is working through Grammar 5. Our goal is to complete 40 pages in her Daily Gram book. She has already completed several chapters in Easy Grammar, and 19 lessons in Daily Grams. Again, I set this goal with a 4 day week in mind.

For history, we are re-reading Story of the World, Volume 1, Ancient History. We did an in-depth study of the Ancients last spring and summer, then skipped to a full year of American History for the school year. As I plan to stick to a chronological approach to history and do an in-depth study of the Middle Ages for 5th grade, C and I both thought we should do a quick review study of the Ancients over this summer. This is her favorite subject, and doesn't even seem like school work to us. (She never says it is her favorite, yet it is the one subject she asks most frequently to do.)

We haven't done any formal science since April. This week, we finally began our first book in C's Zoology series. She will be working much harder in science this year, keeping a notebook and writing reports, and also writing up formal experiments. As she chose Zoology, she has 3 full-length textbooks to finish in only 2 years, so we HAVE to work on science through the summer. I want her to take the usual 7th grade General Science, 8th grade Physical Science, and be right on track for the high school sciences. I'm somehow also hoping to add a 4th science in the next 2 years: Exploring Anatomy, which won't be released until this August. So, in order to cover what she wants, and what I want, we have to do science full-time for the next 2 years. We don't have the luxury of taking summers off.

Summer school for E, 1st grade, looks exactly like her schedule any other time, except that E gets a little MORE school in the summer, as I have more time, doing so little with her older sister. We try to do 2 pages of math a few days a week, practice reading, (which is coming along wonderfully, btw!) and work on E's, Moving Beyond the Page concepts. MBTP is aimed towards gifted children, and is a complete program that works in every area of study, except math and phonics. (social studies, science, reading, thinking skills, handwriting, etc...) It's a combination of lit/unit studies, and has wonderful hands-on for "active" learners like E. And no, I'm unsure as to whether E is truly a "gifted" child. She comes from a highly gifted family, and has the advantage of one-on-one tailored-to-her-needs learning. So, maybe she is, maybe she isn't, but I really don't care. She seems so, but I refuse to push my children more than a few months ahead of their peers, and don't receive any government funding for having such a labeled child in our school, so it's irrevelant.

So, that's why and how we school year-round. Summers are much lighter than the main school year for my 10 year old, and the same for my 6 year old. We do it because we enjoy it, and because it gives us 1 day a week through the school year to concentrate on only 3 or 4 subjects, instead of 7. Mom's gotta do housework and get bills paid sometime, right?

C's artwork

Ok, I think April's wedding pictures have been on top long enough. She dominated all my posts in May, and since then I have been way too busy to get on my blog and update anything. Last week C had the opportunity to attend college. No, she's not one of *those* homeschooled kids; the local community college has several summer enrichment classes, and she chose to take one on watercolor paintings. Her teacher was awesome, and C completed 12 different paintings over the course of a week. I will post my favorites. Please forgive the blurriness. I had to zoom in a little too much on a couple that have her full name on them to get it "out of the picture". (ha ha)

Her first one is still one of my favorites: When it's not zoomed in it looks very realistic, and the tree is beautiful:


I chose the next one because I love the double border:



This one is my husband's favorite. I never knew he had a thing for still lifes.



My final choice for posting is a tribute C drew, then painted, of our late kitty, Goldie:



I would like to mention "Happy 1 Month Anniversary" to April and Lance today. We all really miss you, and appreciate all the phone calls, e-mails, pictures, videos, and e-cards you send us. It seems to have hit E the worst. She REALLY misses big sis!

Almost Done....

Look how short the "4th grade curriculum" list is over on my sidebar. That's all we have left!

Guest Post by my Daughter, C. age 10.

10 year old C writes a weekly journal entry for her spelling class. Her assigned topic this week was to tell about a time someone she knows did something wrong. She was to write about how she reacted, how she could have responded, and what she would do differently, if anything. C chose to write about a certain girl who made her life pretty miserable 2 years ago in public school. As this is her final weekly journal entry for 4th grade, and as I thought she did a fairly decent job free writing, we decided she could type it here for all to see a sample of her writing.

The following is written and typed by C:

People were always mean to me when I went to public schools. They called me names. Once T shoved her desk into my desk and hurt me. When I hurt my foot, T made fun of me.

If I could go back to second grade, I would try to be nicer to T, by inviting her to my house and birthday party, and trying to play with her on the playground. When T called me a name I could have told told her the Bible says to treat others as you would want them to treat you. I was not ever mean to T, but I could have been nicer.

A Typical Day Teaching 4th and K/1st

I just read a typical day in the life of Susan Wise Bauer from fall of 2000. At the time she had 4 children, ages 9,7,4, and newborn. I got a headache just reading it. I do not know how this woman has time to author so many books! For any non-homeschooling parents reading this, SWB was homeschooled, and now homeschools her children. She also teaches college part-time, and has written/co-written with her mother several books about the "Classical" method of teaching, and various textbooks. We use her "Story of the World" series as a history spine, and once E is old enough (next year) I plan to use her "First Language Lessons" and "Writing with Ease" books. C is, sadly, too old for the levels of grammar/writing that SWB has published thus far. I also just ordered the infamous, "Well Trained Mind" book for myself. I have been wanting this book for a year, and finally decided to splurge for myself for once, and buy it. My teaching doesn't fall into one, specific category, but I'm somewhere in the middle of "classical" and "Charlotte Mason". Much more classical, than CM. If you'd like more information on schooling methods, you'll have to google these terms. There are oodles of sites to find who can explain it much better than I, and I want to get on to my typical day. : )

After reading Ms. Bauer's day with her 4 young children I first want to remind myself to NEVER complain, or think I have it hard, again. She didn't complain, but, her day was just so hectic, and I could commisserate with her on the issue of her constatnly hungry, crying baby. My little E was like that, for what seemed like forever. She is still constantly hungry, but, thankfully, somewhere in the past 5 years or so she has outgrown the crying, and whining she did the first year, and turned into a sweet, gentle, intelligent, yet intense, little lady.

Our day is something like this:

I wake up anywhere from 5:00-6:30. This is my favorite time of day. I drink my coffee, as I read and reply to any e-mails, check out a couple of forums, blogs, and news sites. When it is light enough to see I pay bills, read the Bible, and begin laundry. I clean cat-boxes, start dishwater, make our bed if D's working, (otherwise he sleeps in), and deal with letting dogs in and out, giving all dogs water, feeding the inside cats and sometimes the outside cats. Most days C(10) takes care of the outside cats' food and water, and the dishes. If D works, I also try to practice my guitar for 20-30 minutes before the girls wake up.

I wake the girls up between 8-8:30. E eats breakfast, cereal, and C almost never does. We try to begin school around 9 every day, but this isn't set in stone. The glory of homeschooling is doing what works for *us*, and I can't understand people who act like their home should be run like a miltary schedule, with mom and kids fully dressed, mandatory breakfast, and sitting at a desk like a bell is going to ring and make them tardy. We are at home, and we like to be comfortable. I never shower until our basic school day is over, and chores are done. I certainly don't waste time putting on clean clothes, when I haven't showered yet, so I'm in my p.j.'s. The girls usually dress, but not first thing, and usually only when the weather is nice enough they will be going outside.

C's school takes much longer than E's. Even a full day with E takes only 60-90 minutes, and rarely do I do a full, complete day with her. C starts off doing her spelling, grammar, and Bible. She can do all these herself, except Monday's, when we do a spelling "pretest". She also does her English alone most days, but that's only because the book we're using to finish this year is really, really simple, and alll review for her. When she runs out of work she can do on her own we do math. (When she isn't done with it for the year.) Most days I run over the lesson with her, ask her the mental math problems, and sit with her while she does the practice problems to make sure she understands the new concept. Sometimes the concept requires her to write the problems, and most days she just does it orally, and I wonder why they think someone needs to practice something so simple. I do not make her write out every problem of every lesson. Saxon has 30 problems/day, and most can be done mentally. I have never skipped a single problem, but I just don't make her write them all. That's just busy-work, and a waste of time. If she *can* do them in her head, why write every, single one? I couldn't stand that when I was in school, and until she reaches Algebra I see no point in it. We can do half the problems orally in under 5 minutes, or add another 20 minutes to our day to write them all down. One day a week I make her write all the problem. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because I want to make it look like she actually did something. LOL *I* know she does them all, but if the homeschool secret police show up they'd want proof. For C we only do math 4 days/week, Wednesday's being our light day, with no math or English. As long as she continues excelling in math, and being ahead, she can keep doing it that way. If she ever slips down to a "B" , or gets behind, she will have to do it 5 days a week because I'm just mean like that.

While C does her written work, I do school with E. You must understand, though, that E is a free-spirit, and learns things the first time we discuss them, so we do NOT do school every day, and we do NOT do it on a set schedule. I try to at least have her do phonics, reading, and math 3 days a week, but those days might be on the weekend, they might be in the evening, or they might actually be in the morning when most people do school. She may also go a month between any written schoolwork. If E is happily playing or doing puzzles, or (gasp) watching TV, I'm not going to bother her. If she is bored, and wanting some school we do 2 pages of phonics, and at least 2 pages of math. If she still wants more we do Bible, more phonics, flashcards, Language Lessons, map work, or read some science or health. E is SO easily bored that I vary her schoolwork quite a bit. This is why she has so many different books. Many times I just let her pick which phonics or math book she wants to do, or we do them both. I let her pick what she wants to read aloud to me. I let her pick if she wants to write in pencil or varying shades of green colored pencils. : ) She just turned 6, and technically would still be in Kindergarten. She's been doing 1st grade work with no problems, and if we did it daily, and with only one book per subject, she'd be done with that now too. I don't WANT her to get too far ahead, and I don't WANT her to dread sitting in a chair doing busy work. So, as long as she remains 6 months to a year ahead, she can take it easy in these early years.

Another thing with E, is that she is extremely kinsthetic. That means she is a "hands-on" learner. She cannot stand being read to, but if I give her something to DO while I'm reading she is happy. She cannot stand writing, but if we break it up into short increments she does well. One day she might complete 2 pages of math and 2 pages of phonics in under 5 minutes, with perfect handwriting, and the next she might take half an hour because she is busy making up stories about the pictures, or drawing pictures because there aren't any, or somehow falling out of her chair or poking holes in her clothes with her pencil that is supposed to be on her paper. She may go along just fine, and then jump up to go run and play a self-composed song on the piano. She likes "sad" songs, and will play the most beautiful things. Then she will turn to me, and ask, "Did you like my sad song, Mommy?" and tell me an entire story to go along with the song she just played. Then, like nothing happened, she will return to her little chair and finish whatever worksheet she was doing.

I really can't tell about a typical day with E, because every day is different, but I assure you, she learns and progresses no matter how it gets done.

By this time, C will be finished with math, and most likely she has done the dishes for me, and fed the outside cats. If I'm still busy with other things, C will read a book or occassionally watch TV, although most of the time I discourage TV until school work is done. Lately, C likes to get on the computer and write e-mails to her e-pal. Our longest subjects are science and history, and I learned early on to leave these till the end of our school day. We get carried away talking or looking things up, and if I began our day with science or history we'd probably never do the 3 R's. Whenever we get to them, we sit on my bed and read together science and history. We read the textbooks, and about half the time I have her do the review questions, or make a list of vocab terms for science for her to look up. If she has any experiments we do them. For history we either take turns reading aloud, or I assign her a section to go to her room and read, and then have her narrate back to me what she studied. Once a week or so I have her do mapwork, which she loves. If History seems to be in one of the chapters the publisher just skims, and leaves most of the interesting, or important stuff out, she just gets to listen to me ramble on and on until I notice her stomach is growling, and it's almost noon, which is lunchtime. : )We add many read-alouds to history. I choose appropriate books to coincide with the time period we're learning in her textbook. If the book seems a little "difficult", or has things in the story I want to discuss with her we read it aloud. If it's just a fictional story or biography she reads them on her own. C loves biographies, and they are excellent learning aids.

I always try to finish C's schoolwork by lunchtime. In 3 hours we have no problems completing grammar, spelling, english, Bible, math, and at least one of science or history, and usually both. The girls eat at noon, and when they finsish I take a shower or bath. (I'm paranoid about one of them choking on food while I'm in the shower, so I won't go in the bathroom until they finish lunch.) While they eat I check my e-mails, and talk to D on the phone if he's working. After lunch and shower time we either have "quiet time" or the girls can go out to play in nice weather, or sometimes visit the neighbors across the street. If it was up to them they would go visiting everyday, but I don't want them to be pests. : ) C enjoys talking to her friends on the phone, but only one of them is homeschooled too, so usually C has to wait till after 3 to get her phone time. Now that E has a girl her age on the block she usually runs down to this girls house to get her to come over here to play for the afternoon. When we have quiet time one of the girls goes to their room for an hour, and the other one can play at the kitchen table or watch TV. After an hour they switch area's. C likes to play "Guitar Hero", which I allow because it REALLY helps her learn to read notes and learn basic music topics such as rythym, melody, and timing. C is awesome at this game, and the only one in our house that can beat her is me...because I'm even more awesome at it. LOL D and I have even discussed letting her compete, but most people that play it are teenage boys, not little girls or middle aged housewives.

One of the reasons I bought my own guitar is because I intend to teach C how to play after I get better. Real guitars are far different than plastic video game ones. I also have recorders for both girls, but I don't want to start them on those until I teach E such basics as time, counting, and reading notes on a staff. She knows a little from piano, but I'm sort of lazy on giving piano lessons. E makes such pretty songs without me interferring, and C has no interest in the piano at all.

I'm sure many people reading this (if many people actually do read this, which I doubt.) are by now probably thinking what a horrid mother I am letting my children watch TV or play video games. D and I both think all the people who carry on about how dangerous video games are ridiculous. If someone thinks a video game corrupts the mind of a child into a serial killer then they probably should spend more time with their children, playing WITH them, and teaching them the difference between cartoony images for entertainment, and real life. I don't let my girls play any games with killing, or violence, or sex. (And yes, there are tons of those, but seriously parents...pay attention to each game, and if you think it's bad don't let them play those. ) They play the Wii games, and C will play GH. Wii is about as tame and innocent as they come, and gives great physical exercise, in addition to one of our favorite games, "Big Brain Academy". BBA is basically critical thinking skills, and problem solving skills on a TV that the whole family can compete in for better scores. As for TV...the girls are limited in WHAT they watch, but I don't limit amounts of time they spend watching. If it's raining, or cold, and school is done, chores are done...they can watch. C adores the "Animal Planet" channel, and learns tons from watching real life surgeries, animal rescues by the A.S.P.C.A, and specials on different breeds of animals. Why in the world would I NOT want her to watch that? I could never in a million years teach her all that. C also likes game shows, in particular, "The Price is Right". I don't see any harm in that. They also watch plenty of junk, but I hope I've raised them to see how stupid most of the junk is, and even to argue the discrepencies on certain shows. C enjoys watching the "History Channel" with D and I too, and seeing the places is much better than reading about them in a book with maybe one or two photos. We've actually gotten her up out of bed before to see a show on the Roman aqueducts, Great Wall of China, or the Pyramids of Egypt. Our family has had great discussion and Bible study over a certain show that airs disputing Biblical prophecy. There's nothing like pulling out the Bible, and laughing at how the government sponsored show only tells 1/3 of the story.

So...there you have it. My long-winded account of a typical day in our home. Summer is far different, because we spend so much time outside. We swim daily, C does softball for 3 months 4-5 evenings a week, and we only work on school very lightly...2 or 3 subjects, 2 or 3 days a week. E's schedule doesn't change...in summer we still do school when she asks, or when I feel it's been a while, and we should do some. They watch far less TV in the summer than during the cold months, and in fact, we sometimes go days only watching the news or weather channel.

If anyone read all this you deserve an award. : ) I began this blog as a journal and a place to write my own personal opinions, mainly on homeschooling,. although sometimes I digress. It remains that way, but I imagine it is only interesting to myself, and even then, it will only be interesting years down the road. *I* don't even want to go back and read what I just spent an hour writing, so as usual, please excuse the typonese, and have a great day!!

How about a Week in Review?

I've had this blog almost a year, and never done a Week in Review.I see them all the time on other hs blogs; I'm just too inconsistant to do our own.

E, grade 1, actually did 5 full days of school this week. Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

In Math she worked through Lesson 52 of Saxon 1, and had a test. She also completed 4 pages in Abeka's grade 1 math. She got A+ on all of it, with the exception of side 1 of a worksheet yesterday. She wrote in colored pencil, so sloppily that I couldn't tell what she wrote. She decided she couldn't count by 10's anymore (after having been able to do so for over a year.)and counted by 5's instead. Apparently she can't even count to 10 anymore, as directions dictated she color 10 of an item, and in one picture she colored 11, and the other she colored 13. After me blowing my top she completed the other side with no problem.

E also did 4 lessons in her Language Lessons book. She completed a unit (chapter 6) in ETC 2. I believe that's 10 pages.

In Bible she finished Light Unit 102, and learning about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, (Israel), and was introduced to Joseph.

She read aloud 2 stories in her CLE Primer.

We didn't do any formal science or social studies this week for E. We did some, just not formal, out of a book, and it was a family venture, so I'll get to that in a moment.

E's most memorable moment this week was yesterday. E FINALLY HAS A FRIEND!!!!

We noticed a little girl about E's age had moved in 2 houses down from ours. We decided to let E walk down to introduce herself, but before she could, the little girl came over here. This little girl was very polite, and invited E to her house. They played together there for an hour and a half, playing dress up and enjoying a "tea" party that the girls mother set up for them. This was all on their front porch, so she was within sight of us the entire time. They then moved playtime to our house, as it was getting dark. What well behaved children! They were so quiet, so polite, and so well-behaved. The new girl moved here because her family had a house fire. C and E picked 2 books to give her, as she lost most of hers in the fire. I offered clothing (with 4 girls we have plenty), but the mother assured me between her family, and the Red Cross they were fine. The only issue was when it was time for her to go home. The little girl sat quietly playing in my girls' room, and said, "I like it here. I don't want to go home, thank you." She was fine after I assured her we loved having her, and she could come back again. : )

I have been praying for someone E's age. She loves to be with other children, but all the ones we know or have over are older than her by 4 or 5 years. E has tons of friends, but no one her own age. She's always been the little tag-along. Finally, another child just her age, who doesn't boss her around, or leave her out of "big-girl" things.

As for C's week: In math she completed 4 lessons. She is now up to Lesson 105. A+ all week!

She completed 10 pages in Easy Grammar.

She did Unit 5 in Spelling.

We completed our chapter on the Civil War, and checked out 2 more books at the library pertaining to that war.

In Science we began our unit on Weather. I never knew clouds, humidity, and winds were so technical. We did an experiment, making our own wind with heat.

In English she did several lessons. I'm not sure how many. She does 2 or 3 per day to finish the book this year, so 10-15. We are on Lesson 65, I think.

C read 4 books on her own, and we finished reading, "These Happy Golden Years" in the "Little House on the Prairie" series aloud.

C finished light unit 302 in Bible Monday, and we took the rest of the week off in that subject, other than some reading the actual Bible aloud and discussing.

For both girls: We took a drive Thursday to enjoy our lovely weather after 3 months of below freezing temps. We ended up at one of our county parks. I hadn't been there for years, and last time we went to this particular one they had nothing of interest. This time we were able to visit a replica of a pioneer homestead. We also, by chance, got a lesson in the making of maple syrup. There was no one at the park during a weekday. We noticed they had trees tapped for sap everywhere. Asking a ranger about this, he directed us to an out-of-the-way syrup making building. The ranger there was so sweet and helpful. Not only did he take a half hour to completely explain and demonstrate to the girls (and us) how it comes from the trees, and ends up in jars to pour on pancakes, he let the girls taste samples from each step. Free, unplanned field trip! And what timing...after 8 years of not bothering with this park we end up there on one of only a few days out of the year the sap runs to make syrup. We then asked another ranger if they might have any informational pamplets for us. He led us to the ranger station, and gave us a ton! The girls'favorite is a 3 page worksheet to fill in about animals native to our area.

Both girls also accomplished some art. E painted several pictures, and both girls made their own purse out of nothing other than 2 bandanas and some scissors. I have intended to post pictures since they made these last Sunday, but peruse through my blog and see how I am about actually posting pictures. E also cut and pasted a beautiful picture of a wetland habitat...which I, again, did not photograph yet, although I can see it hanging on my wall right now. : )

There's our week. It was a fairly average one, with the exception of the field trip, and E's new friend. I hope yours was just as great!

: )

Decision for 5th grade Social Studies

I have been in a quandry over social studies for C next year. I ordered Abeka's Old World History/Geography. I have all the components for it sitting on the bookshelf. I wanted to look something up, so referred to this text. Nothing was in the book at all about this country. (Afghanistan) Puzzled, I randomly selected other middle eastern, and SW Asian countries in the index. Many were not mentioned, and of the ones that were, the mention was only a tiny blurb, lumping such-and-such a country in with other countries in that region.

I don't care whether you are Christian, Jewish, or secular; I haven't heard of one person that disagrees where civilization began, and it began in the middle eastern regions, and spread to northern Africa, and SW Asia. Out of curiousity I checked out all the maps in the book's atlas. Believe it or not I found at least 3 countries missing on these maps. Right smack-dab in the middle of one map was a big, green space, unlabeled...again...Afghanistan. I wonder if this changed after 9-11-01? Even so, I would think that would make this country even more important to learn about, as opposed to pretending it doesn't exist.

This---in a reputable private and homeschooling curriculum---a company among the tops in hundreds of companies producing schoolbooks! In a book specializing in a continent by continent study comparing Ancient History to Modern history of same regions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that region pretty important both in the past, and currently?

I've read several fictional and nonfiction books that take place in this area. I have a fondness for biographies and "documentary-type" books. I feel, especially with the current world climate, that the middle east, and the SW Asian countries are important to learn about, and educate our children about.

I don't want to bad-mouth this company (as if this blog has so many readers I wcould single-handedly shut it down), but I just feel, after spending $100 on their History alone, that they don't do justice to the time period and areas this text was supposed to cover. (Just so anyone reading this knows...Abeka has the greatest science texts ever. Amazing, meaty, and very accurate.) But their history is another story. I spent much of this year supplementing American History. I realize you can't cover in detail every, single aspect of history in one elementary book, but I felt they could have added much more to the text this year, too. We didn't start U.S. History/Geography until a month after our school year began, and here it is March, and we are almost finished with it. This is WITH all my add-ons of assigned reading, read-alouds, and additional research online, and we still have the book almost finished in a total of less than 6 months. I had to add on extra reading, or my daughter wouldn't have much of an idea about U.S. History. She would have a very basic sketch, but nothing in-depth.

So...considering all of the above, I opted to find something else for 5th grade social studies. Check in at a later time to find out my solution. (Gotcha on the edge of your seats, now, haven't I?)

: )

Six year old Quote:

While reading to me the other evening E said, "I like learning. The more I learn, the more I know. And the more I know, the more I can learn." : )