Bout time!

Finally a short update. Still homeschooling, still loving Sonlight. Have started this year out very slow, building up, adding a new subject as we are able to handle them. Next week, I am going to start adding in the Sonlight schedule.

I am very excited to finally get it all going full speed. Will adjust if I have to and slow down for awhile.

I am very grateful to be able to homeschool, even though we have challenges like learning disabilities, add, depression and other stuff! :)

If I can use Sonlight...

Well truthfully, if I can do it, ANYONE can.

Years ago, I started w/ K. for my oldest child. I loved it, but at that time didn't stick w/ it long enough to learn it. I switched to FIVE in a Row for an easier educational experience. At that time, I had 4 kids in 5 years. A slew of health problems hit me and I still deal w/ some of them...

Well one day on the FIAR website, I happened upon a comment about high school. FIAR doesn't offer high school. I got it in high gear looking around at high school for my oldest who was jr. high age at that time. I wanted something that I could "go all the way with" and not piece together curriculum on my own every year, for every child.

So I pretty much high tailed it back to SL. My plan was to do 1+2 and 3+4 for jr high and then my oldest would be ready for the upper levels. After buying 1+2, I decided that it wasn't that great of a plan, at least for my oldest and I ordered him some used Alt. 6 stuff off of ebay. The 1+2 stuff was too easy and the Alt 6 was too hard. Not to mention that I had a low comprehension extra student who joined us. My younger 3 totally loved the 1+2.

At first I quickly noticed that it would have you pretty much read through a book chapter by chapter, so I quit looking at the schedule and would just read on my own.

Then I tried just reading the books w/ out the schedule on my own. I just couldn't organize it! Couldn't adapt it for all the students I had!

Fast forward to my oldest's ninth grade year, I went back to Five in a Row for my sanity's sake and for the sake of the extra student. I just didn't know how to blend him into our SL experience even though my kids were loving it. I bought Starting Points from Cornerstone Curriculum for my oldest and decided SL was too hard for him.That was settled, breathe a sigh of relief!

Before the new school year started, the extra student went back to public school. I was glad, but now I had to re evaluate my choices. If it was just going to be my younger 3, I didn't need all the FIAR stuff I'd just bought. I'd rather do SL if it was just our family.

So I decided to try 1+2 again. Hey I have only been trying this curriculum for 2 YEARS! lol But it wasn't going to cost me anything, so why not? Should be easier now that I didn't have to deal w/ a student w/ low comprehension.My dyslexic son LOVED SL, he just had to listen to me read all the subjects. But the low comprehension wasn't something I had experience w/. It frustrated me that I didn't know how to help!

My children were now 11, 10 and 8, still in the range of the core, maybe they were a little old for it, but it was what I had and I didn't want to waste it. And I would just use it as a book list if I had to. The books were so compelling! Boring and dry at times, but so worth it!!!

One day I read a review of SL that said it was just a booklist, that the schedule was unneccesary, it just had you read a chapter of the book each day. Well, that was my impression too. So I thought I was fine. I'll just read these books one at a time, chapter by chapter...

Then another day, I read that SL is not a booklist and people are mistaken when they say SL is just a booklist, that the schedule is the heart of the program! What was I missing!!!????

Now that my oldest was using his own program, I could focus on the youngest kids. Instead of trying to figure out how to adapt the schedule, I just started following the SL schedule. I did drop some of the books SL suggested, but kept following the schedule otherwise.

I was starting to understand the beauty of the SL schedule.

The Christian history text would mention something, then it would be mentioned again in the secular history text. Forget the kids, I felt like I was understanding history from a biblical perspective for the first time ever!! I had never understood where Biblical events fell in w/ the history I was taught in public school. Eventually I heard another point of view(Christian), but I doubted that as well. It was hard hearing a different view after so many years of hearing just a secular account. And sometimes it seemed overly Christianized...

But this to me is such a balanced way of learning! My kids can learn mainstream history the way most of America learns it, but also see how Christianity falls into it. They are getting the full package, not only half the story or a cleaned up version of the story...

Actually let's not pretend the school history textbook is as good as the stack of books SL has us read for history, but you get the picture anyway!

Now that I am getting the feel for the schedule sometimes we double up the reading and finish the 4 day schedule in less time. It really helps for those times when life is overtaking us! I am probably able to do this because 1.they are in the upper age range for the core. I don't imagine that I will be able to do this when we move on to next year's core and they are closer to the recommended age. And 2. Now that we have been w/ SL for a while, we are both used to reading alot.

As for my oldest son, after he finishes the year w/ Starting Points, he will be going back to SL for the rest of high school. I am slowly building him up to do more and more rigorous assignments.

We didn't stay w/ SL for Language Arts, we went to Writing strands. It is a much better fit. My oldest daughter did love SL LA and often does it on her own. We still do the readers.And although SL Science goes above and beyond, we(probably ME!) just can't do it and it is pricey. Worth it, but just not in our budget. We do the opt. Bible, it is wonderful. Just today the kids remarked that they loved learning about the Bible at church and then learning more at home. They feel like they are going to Christian school my daughter said!!

It does feel fantastic to have found our perfect match and to not devour every catalog, every website, pick every homeschooler's brain...but it still isn't easy... just because of the various challenges that we all face. :)

SL vs...the ultimate review

After homeschooling for 9 years, I finally get it! My chosen curriculum is Sonlight. And I get that too!!! It is unbelieveable! My husband was right, he always is.

So what took me so long? Well, the extra student I had for 2 years had low comprehension and didn't retain all the reading aloud that you do for SL, so I kept trying to find something that would work for him and my kids.

I had decided to move on over to WinterPromise or My Father's world.

First I checked out WP. I searched the SL forums.

"Lots" of people seemed to find they preferred WP, it was every that SL lacked. The author of the curriculum corresponded w/ me by email and she was wonderfully helpful. In the end, the big thing for me was the high school offerings. And it was really expensive. I am sure there is a cheaper way to do it, but my first year, I was just going to buy what they suggested and it was pricey!

Plus, upon closer inspection, "lots" of people on the forums mixed and matched programs and books from WP and SL, so there really didn't seem to be a mass exodus or anything. Just more of an appreciation of WP.

UPDATE: To clarify, I never purchased WP. I found the author of the curriculum very accessible and very helpful. It just didn't seem to be the right fit for our family.

Then I checked out MFW. I found out they now have high school. Well, one or two levels, w/ more to come. I liked the courses and the fact that they are written to the student. They also include grading guidelines.

The online forum was awesome. It had a real gentle feel to it.

I read and compared. MFW seemed so much cheaper! W/ 4 kids though, it really isn't cheaper than SL, but may be if there is only one child. And although the booklist is optional, many expressed frustration in finding the books and/or racking up huge fines!(that would be me!!!)

Hands on stuff intimidated me(would I have the energy?) and I didn't really want to do it, but I thought it would be good, esp. for the extra student I had.

My mind was made up to do it. It seemed to be just what I needed.

I posted about it here and Sonlight left me a comment wishing me well! I was blown away. My husband said it didn't seem like I wanted to give up on SL.He didn't think I would be able to hunt for books. He really didn't think I would turn them in on time. He didn't think I would have the energy to keep up w/ projects. Why couldn't I just buy all the Sonlight books and use them to the best of my ability? No projects, just reading. No library searches or fines.

He thought the 2 books we had managed to finished were pretty outstanding. Red Sails to Capri was so dry and Ginger Pye had me about bored to tears. I found out on the SL forums that alot of people don't love those titles, but just finish them, it would be worth it. So I did.

W/ Ginger Pye, every day, my little boy would say "Isn't this a good book?!"

When we finished Red Sails to Capri and I went online to check out the real place, I gasped aloud. When I showed it to the kids the next morning, they did too. Every time we hear the word grotto, or Capri, everyone gets excited and says "remember!?" It wasn't a book, it was an experience we shared. It was one of those Sonlight moments.

When my extra student went back to school this year, it was a perfect opportunity to try SL again. The kids are older now. We have built up our reading and listening ears a bit and can listen to 2 or 3 days worth of history reading at a time.So when I get behind because of co-op homework or because I am not feeling good, we can still finish the week.

When I looked at other curriculum choices, one thing they all agreed on, was doing the one God leads you to do. God has led us to SL and He will equip us to do it.

I get it now that SL is a buffet and you don't have to eat all of it. It just took me a LONG time to understand. I don't use Window on the World all the time, for example. But I use the other 2 history books. I love how history is just me reading and us talking about it! What could be easier? I love how the bible reading, the history readings all tie together!

The other day my husband was home for lunch and we were going over the bible memory verse. Our youngest was doing great, her little voice carefully speaking out the long verse. My husband jerks his head around"Is she READING that?!" He couldn't believe she had it memorized. Another one of those Sonlight moments!!!

Pick it and stick it

It's been a while, I'll say it again: blogging is one of the first things to go.

We are getting ready to start school around here pretty soon. My extra student won't be joining us. I sure wish I'd known that before I ordered for this year, but oh well.

It is time to "Pick it and stick it" so to speak. No curriculum is perfect. I have recently realized that I have some "obsessive tendencies" and that sure makes it hard to choose curriculum and then adapt it, etc.

But I am learning to work w/ myself. After all, I'm all I've got!!! :)

Anytime I mention Sonlight, it gets lots of traffic, so I try to give any and all insight I have on the subject because people seem to be interested in hearing it. Maybe some of you are a little obsessive too? ;)

Sonlight bugs me because I am a "box checker" and naturally want to complete every task in the teacher manual(the instructor's guide or IG). But I am told there are too many activities, much like an all you can eat buffet has too many choices for you to eat everything. So you can do one Core level over 2 years or a lower level core than your children need, I suppose.

But even with that, SL is what we declared we will stick w/. The books are memorable, and reading aloud is hard for me because I'd rather read it faster by myself, but it is BEAUTIFUL sharing the wonderful stories. And they schedule so many books, even if I end up doing only a fraction of them, I have still done alot.

And all the books come w/ it. I won't lose library books and that is huge for me.

Nevermind that I am still trying to complete the same core I bought 3 years ago. Now that the special needs student won't be joining us, I can give it a real true test!

What if your curriculum doesn't make you happy?

Something that has taken me a long time to learn, and that I still struggle w/ from time to time concerns the curriculum living up to the advertisements.

Especially w/ specials needs, school won't always be fun. At least not all parts of it all the time. It is hard to know when to change programs and when to keep going.

But just because you aren't having every good experience promised in the catalog doesn't mean the curriculum is a failure.

It takes me forever to learn how to use a program. I found that sometimes I was giving up on a program before I had fully learned it.

Sometimes I wish I was a classroom teacher and the things I learn could be used again next year!!! ;)

Sonlight vs.....AGAIN?????

Well time marches on.

As we wrap up this school year, I am excited about the changes to come. Well, it's hard to be "excited" w/ so much going on, but I am looking forward, let's just say.

The neighbor that I have homeschooled for 2 years is going back to public school.It would be more beneficial to the family for him to be engaged 8 hours a day at school, instead of coming over here for a short time of tutoring.

I really feel that God led us to homeschool him and we have been blessed in unexpected ways from it.

However, his special need is different from the special needs that my kids have, so it will be good to get back to only dealing w/ our crazy stuff.

And I have tried so many different things trying to find what works best. This child has low comprehension, so having him join our Sonlight Core didn't work out. Well my husband says I should have just kept reading aloud and letting him get whatever he got, but I was trying to address his learning needs and thought that there had to be something out there to fit him. I eventually just found the level where he worked comfortably and let him work there, building his skills. Pretty much, all the kids just started working on their own and we didn't do alot of group stuff.

As you may recall, I recently started using Five in a Row and Beyond Five in a Row. Each child has a scrap book and I print out things from enchanted learning.com that correspond w/ the story.

I thought it would help the neighbor remember what we read. I thought that by looking at the projects, he would recall the book and info. It hasn't really. My kids enjoy the scrap book, I guess, but they seem to just enjoy being read to. They do not enjoy the crafts like I thought they would. I am surprised. They rush to get done.

So I will continue doing what I am doing for now, but having one less student does make me start thinking again about curriculum choices. What curriculum has a lot of reading aloud(my dyslexic son especially loves being read to), no projects...? ;)

OH my.

The stress level just goes higher and higher.

I am slowly making some good improvements, but sometimes change is painful. And sometimes pain causes crankiness and other negative emotions.

It has been really hard to keep up w/ the blog. I so would like to be a "famous" blogger w/ tons of comments and followers or an active forum participant whose every word is relished. ;)

But I don't have the inclination to put in the time to cultivate an internet following.

I write when I write. About what I feel like writing. Letting off steam, sounding off my opinions and recording memories...

There you have it.

And for those interested in the whole SL vs...

Part of this decision was $, part was needing to go from a "heavy" schedule to a lighter one. I love the idea of learning through making memories. We have a lot of fun memories from our time w/ SL. I still use the readers, and will try to continue to read the read alouds I have.

I am currently using Five in a Row unit studies, adapting them for an older crowd. I have an enchanted learning.com account and I print up corresponding pictures and sheets, which they glue into a scrap book. I also have 2 volumes of Beyond Five in a Row which I plan to utilize one of these days...

My oldest(end of 8th grade) is doing Starting Points from Cornerstone Curriculum. It teaches the student how to develop a world view.So far so good. He has already started it and will continue on w/ it for ninth grade.

Sonlight, My Father's World and even WinterPromise still catch my eye. But I am doing so much better w/ the FIAR. I find that I like adding to the curriculum.

From MFW, I bought Writing Strands and another LA book. My oldest loves it! I bought a lower level of it for my other kids. It is written to the child(except for the first 2 levels), it is very specific. Just what we need!!!!

I bought alot of items from SL because I qualified for free shipping, I think it is after $100. So it's not like I completely left.

One of the things I bought from SL was miquon math. I just started w/ the first book for JD,my dyslexia boy and JJ,the 8 year old. Neither will use the rods, but they like it otherwise. The pages are very "clean", not alot of busy pictures or writing. And the print is large enough for him to see clearly.

And in the fall, the neighbor who joins us currently is going back to school in the fall, so that will change things. So I may(ok, you know I definitely will!) revisit all my curriculum choices when it is time to buy again.

I haven't worried so much, I haven't written out potential long term plans on every scrap of paper I touch, so that is an improvement. :)

There are days!

Some days I just feel so weighted down w/ all that we are dealing with. I am not in a deep depression, but I do feel an overwhelming urge to whine "Why?" But I won't. For now. ;) I'll keep traveling forward. Sometimes that is all you can do.

Diet Alert and other news

For the first time in my life EVER, I have found a diet that I can stick to!! It hasn't been easy, but I have been pretty successful. It's called "Cracking the Fat-Loss Code" by Wendy Chant.

Fat loss is acheived by varying the diet so the body does not have a chance to adapt to the diet changes, causing a plateau.

AND, here's the best part, you don't give up any foods! Not that you are able to pig out on junk everyday, but you do get to have days where your favorite foods can be included. It is part of the cycle that helps the body think it is getting plenty of food.

That is a mistake I have made in the past with diets. But it is unrealistic to try and give up birthday cake, pizza, etc. for the rest of my life.

I can do this! I don't feel hungry, but I still want to pig out at night. But I don't give up because I know one of my free days is just around the corner.

And in other news...

in a constant uphill battle to have some sort of enjoyable-ness(for student and teacher) when it comes to school and differently-abled learners, we took the day off the other day to watch the inauguration. JD and I had a knock down, drag out stand off, when I foolishly tried to coach him into answering "Bush" when I asked the name of our last President. I knew he knew it, but was just blanking out. At some point he hollered out, "Why couldn't you just move on when I didn't know the answer?!!"

To which I answered that I should have.And that he should have pointed this out to me, minus the freak out. :)

Talking like this is totally improving our interactions. He honestly misses the cues that others are being upset by his behavior, he is so caught up in managing his own feelings.

And I am so not a saintly mothering type, and sometimes I just get so weary of managing emotions and behaviors that I argue back instead of taking charge the way a leader should. So after addressing the issues I had w/ his behavior, I explained that I didn't choose the best way either and would do it differently next time too.

Still on the hunt for some school time that isn't completely painful to one or more parties involved, I took out my Five in a Row(fiar) stuff and found 1 lonely fiar book on my shelf. It is hard finding a good match for my 4 kids and their needs PLUS the neighbor whose needs are completely the opposite!

Fiar is aimed at ages 4-8,which would probably be a comfortable comprehension level for the neighbor and my 8 year old JJ. The neighbor is totally inexperienced in making connections so this would be good for him. My kids have done fiar before and are old pros at noticing details, predicting, etc. Would it be too easy for them at ages 10 and 11? Or would they enjoy it and still be able to take something away from it?

I decided that it wouldn't hurt to try out a few lessons. At first glance, I think the concepts are still valuable for older children, but at this age can be explored in more depth. It would be very easy to "beef up" the lessons, esp using something like enchanted learning to do extra activities w/ the concepts covered in the lessons.

The other night, I consolidated some scrapbooks so each child can have a scrap book to put their projects in.

Yesterday, I read Mirette on the High Wire to everyone. I pointed out France on the map, sang the Geography song, printed a map for them to color, and we talked about the artwork in the book, which was done w/ watercolors. We looked at the last illustration in the book and discussed the color choices of the illustrator.I talked about the color wheel and then they created their own paintings.

I was very satisfied; the neighbor did not seem overstressed and tuned out and my kids remembered the Eifel tower and Madeline, and recalled learning about the color wheel previously.I hope the neighbor will one day make such observations!

Connecting two ideas together, associating one thing w/ another...I am convinced that is what learning is, realizing that "OOOOh, this is just like ____________!!"

Good thing this blog isn't a pet!

I haven't been very attentive to it! Today I am forcing myself to just throw out any old words. ;)

We are easing back into homeschooling.Slowly, but surely.

I am looking ahead to next year as we purchase our curriculum in Feb(w/ our income tax refund).

For those of you fellow curriculum junkies, I am no longer using Time 4 Learning. I still feel comfortable recommending it, though. It totally saved my life and helped me not to lose my mind last year. Now I am able to continue on w/ Sonlight.

For those who really love specifics, here are the specific reasons we stopped doing T4L:

The oldest(13) liked T4L, but didn't really retain the info. He did like the lessons, but for whatever reason(learning style, maybe?), it just didn't sink in.So we decided to stop it for him, but continue on w/ a few of the others.

JD,(10 at the time), has dyslexia and some other learning disabilities. No curriculum could be fun enough for him. But he did like not having to read or write and he liked having choices for the answers. Eventually, I decided if he was just going to fight me on it, we could fight about something that wasn't costing us $20 a month! ;)

My nine year old, Jr. liked T4L just fine, but she also liked Sonlight LA and the math program that we use. So after a time, I felt I was able to let her go on back to SL LA and our math book and keep some of the others on T4L.

My youngest(a 7 year old girl) would actually still like to be doing T4L!! And if I had the $20, I probably would let her. I think this is a GREAT program to allow the youngest child to "play on". Sometimes she gets left behind. I am sure she is still learning, but w/ T4L, she could be independent and it was "grade level". It made me feel good. But since she was the only child still needing/wanting to do it, I made a deal w/ her to buy her a work book she wanted. She was ok w/ me cancelling after that. :)

As for N, my extra student, he was the main reason I switched from SL to T4L in the first place. Before I knew better, I thought all learning problems were the same. Let me assure you THEY ARE NOT. ;) T4L was great for him because he had choices for the answer. Then if he got the answer wrong, it would explain why it was wrong and what the right answer was. It helped improve his comprehension skills and his reading level. But the higher up he went, the information just got to be over his head. By that time, I felt more comfortable doing things on my own.

Right now, all 4 younger students are using a workbook from WalMart that cost just under $8. It covers basic skill for a grade level.

JD works one page from each section w/ me every day. Jr. does it all on her own, several pages at a time. I only bought her one because she wanted one too.N does one page from each section w/ me everyday and then one page(from each section) for homework everyday. JJ just started and for now we are doing one page from each section. That is where each child is able to work comfortably. I cannot tell you what joy and peace this brings to me!!!!!

From here, it is my plan to add on other subjects now that these basic subjects are being covered.

These last 2 years I did not finish my SL Core 1+2. But we have accomplished so much learning.

I am just going to move on and purchase Core 100 American History for my oldest who is a few months away from 14. He is going to go ahead and start 9th grade.

The 3 younger ones will all move on to Core 3 American History part 1.

I am just going to teach what my kids need, on the level that they need it. If it takes one or two of them more than 4 years to get ready for college, then so be it. A wise woman told me recently, that if the kid can't do high school work, then he certainly isn't ready for college, and did it really matter if the kid started college at 19 instead of 18?

Busy, busy.. dreadfully busy

Too busy living real life to write about it! I am glad about that, but hope to squeeze out a few moments to be creative soon.

In the mean time, my son w/ Special needs is doing well. I think it is because I am doing so well right now.

As far as Sonlight vs. _______, I plan to continue posting my thoughts on that.

Here's the secret though: If you are a Christian, it's about doing what God has for you.For us, it's SL. And the short reason for that is the Holzmann family ministers to us in such a strong way. That is what God has for us.

MFW, SL, WP are all good Christian companies(what I have seen of all of them), that is why I think I would continue to look over the websites and magazines all the time.

But I always kept being drawn back in to SL for one reason or another. It was my husband who noticed and realized it was because it was the one for us.

No I don't believe simply being drawn to something is a "sign", but I can't think of any other way to describe our experience.

Life is calling me back, I hope to return soon though. Blessings!

It is such a strange feeling to be doing so well w/ homeschooling-the scheduling, the subjects- and at the same time doing so bad w/ housekeeping and chores, esp. in the area of getting the kids to participate.

I really feel myself growing and being more tolerant of things not going perfectly. Which is so good, but nothing ever goes perfectly! At least not for very long!!

Yesterday on PBS, I watched a special on the brain w/ Dr. Amen. Very interesting. He said that many things we think of as bad behaviors are do to brain malfunction.I definitely want to research this more. When I did a google search, quackwatch came up, but I don't plan on doing anything "quacky". I am interested in exercise and fish oil and not giving a place to negative thoughts. None of that will hurt. They may not be miracle cures, but won't hurt anyone.

(Also yesterday and on PBS) I watched Randy Pauch's The Last Lecture.One of the things I took away was the choice of being an Eeyore or a Tigger in life. If I have to chose the one I am most like, I hate to say I have been like Eeyore. I don't know that I can immediately become a Tigger, but maybe I could certain AIM for being more Tigger-like.

There are so many good things. It is so important to determine what God has for me. I feel that I am leaning more and more on God's direction and not just the fine opinion of what works for others.

Continued tweaking...

So this week I am going to attempt to plug in history to our schedule.

So far the school day looks like this:

Prayer
go over homework
spelling (avko, so everyday I call out words)
Geography songs
Copywork quote
Bible verse memory work
reading tutoring (avko, alot like spelling)
math
science reading
read aloud

I think I am going to add bible reading after spelling and before Geo songs. Then add history reading between copy work and Bible verse.

After finishing the copy work quotes of Ben Franklin( a copy work notebook by knowledge box central, part of a set from homeschool radio shows called Four Great Americans), I am going to use Sonlight's LA for 3rd graders for everyone but the 8th grader. And I am only going to do the copywork and the grammar, not the writing. They just aren't ready yet. But they are going to continue to write sentences for 15 minutes a day w/ their spelling and/or reading words. Sentences before paragraphs, I say! Well, actually Don McCabe of avko said it first, I am just agreeing w/ him.

The oldest joins us for everything through bible memory. Then he goes and watches his math dvd(systemath.com) and is supposed to do his LA also, but often he doesn't. Gotta work on that. I bought him some LA materials from My Father's World because I thought I was headed there. I have added reading, he is reading Gladys Aylward, a read aloud from SL 1+2. He is going to use it as a reader. I am also going to have him read through a Child's History of the World on his own.He hasn't started that at all. And he hasn't started Writing Strands(also bought through mfw).

Ok, I haven't given up yet. Or even lost hope. So that is progress. ;)

Ok, here's the new plan. I was all set and ready to declare Sonlight "not for us". However...

This semester I am going to give it another try. I just listened to 2 podcasts from SL and I need to make some changes to the way I have been doing some things.So I can't "grab and go" and maybe all the planning isn't done for me like the catalog says.

And maybe there is a bigger learning curve for me than other homeschool moms OR maybe you just don't hear about people who seem to struggle as much as I do.

Last year I couldn't find a way to make SL work. I think it might have been easier if the neighbor hadn't joined us. My kids love for me to read to them and answer questions, but really...Who knows? I love having the neighbor join us, it makes me do more than I normally would do and I take the school day more seriously.

I didn't understand that if the writing was too much, I could drop it for a while. I thought that since I had a lower core, we could just follow the teaching manual(IG) as is. I didn't get that if the reading was boring everyone, I should slow it down.

I didn't understand that if things don't work out perfectly, it doesn't mean that it is the wrong thing to do. I grew so much last year, I had to learn how to teach:

a middle schooler, somewhat unmotivated
a dylexic/dysgraphic who can't read or write, but comprehends well
a motivated elementary student wanting to go and do!
a motivated lower elementary student getting lost in the mix

and the neighbor who can read and write, but has low comprehension, burned out w/ school


Instead of starting day one of school with a full blown schedule, I am building. Each week I add something. I have tweaked the daily schedule, Doing handwriting, then Geography songs, then spelling, then another non-writing activity. I break it up that way for my son who is dysgraphic as he finds writing tedious.

I am really going to challenge myself to try to find my way w/ SL and finish the core I started last fall.One piece at a time. I find myself slipping into the old thought patterns, wanting to add too much, too fast, but I am staying on top of it so far.

The first week was hard, but ended up good. This week is starting off well. I have actually found myself thinking"Now this is the way I wish I was taught!"

Like I said, I fully expect this to be the best year ever.

School, so far

I do think it is good for me to purposefully write everyday. :) Earlier I thought I was going to have to say how bad our homeschool week has gone, but I can now honestly say that the week has ended on a fairly positive note.

The "feeling" of school isn't in the air because the public school kids haven't started yet. I don't know if I will start early again next year or not.

Sleep has not been sweet and I have been sleeping very late, getting started w/ school late...that is frustrating. But for now it is the best I can do. It doesn't do anyone any good if I have a pity party for myself the whole day instead of just going ahead w/ school.

Having an extra student while I am going through this is a little embarassing. I need to meet w/ his parent and mention that I am just a mom, sometimes I run late and have issues. If they are looking for their child to be gone all day, I cannot provide that. He is welcome to join us. This is a family homeschool, not a professional institution. But we won't beat him up, so to me it is worth it! ;)

Something I am working on is continuing even though things get uncomfortable.

Right now we are reviewing math facts(This whole week was addition), and establishing spelling and reading tutoring routines. Each day I tweak the schedule and today it went very good. I didn't feel overwhelmed at all.I had time leftover and we listened to Ginger Pye , (a read aloud from last year that we never finished) on Cd and I even read some science to them.

One thing AVKO recommends is copywork w/ quotations that make the kids think. I have a book of Ben Franklin quotes to be used as copywork. The quotes make them think and I point out the grammatical reasons for the puncuation in the sentence.

It was a real light bulb moment for me. I realized that Sonlight LA does this too! But what was bogging me down about SL LA was the writing part.

I have had a hard time teaching the kids writing w/ all their learning differences.AVKO has them write sentences every night w/ their spelling or reading words. I agree w/ the author that writing sentences should come first, before paragraphs and stories and creative writing.

So maybe I should give SL LA another go round and just use the dictation only for awhile?

And today I opened one of the Science books up and just read about something that was interesting to us instead of what was scheduled. We had a lively discussion. A homeschool mom's DREAM!!! :D

Here is what is hard for me about SL in a nutshell:They give you too much(on purpose) and you decide what you want to use from it.

I decided I didn't like this style and made plans to change to a program that gives you a little and you add it if you want to.

I am wondering if I am finally learning to use SL??? Stay tuned, if you can stand it. ;)

More homeschool story

After waffling back and forth all summer, the 3 younger kids went to school that fall. Joe never doubted that I could homeschool, but I wasn't sure.We were going to give school a chance for a year, til Christmas if it was really bad.

Once again, my kids were not misfits or dunces. They were bright students and except for spunky little JJ ;) were perfect angels as far as behavior. She was just "pretty good" I would call it, which is still good.

I will spare you most of the long drawn out saga by just saying that it didn't work out. In a huge way. Every time something would come up, I would freak. We would get it resolved, I would get ready to relax and then another something would cause me to freak. I would have had to invest myself at the school on a pretty near daily basis to make it work out and I decided that if I was going to go to alot of trouble for something, it was going to be on my terms.

So after 6 weeks of public school, one Friday I'd had enough. The last straw was that they could not keep my son from getting hit by other kids. That very day I had written a letter to the school telling about my kids being hit and bullied. I was so proud of myself until that evening when JD casually announced he'd been put in a headlock in the bathroom that day. He considered it just another part of the school experience!! I realized that this was not the right place for him or my other kids. We were better off fending for ourselves.

And it's a good thing the message was so clear that my kids did not belong in school because later on in that school year, we would find out that JD also has Learning Disabilities and ADD.I kindly declined the school's offer of services. We would continue finding private services for him, even though they were costly.

Just an aside when I took JD to be evaluated for ADD, I also took my youngest daughter JJ. She was disagnosed w/ ADHD.

By this time we were using Beyond Five in a Row. And not very well I might add.One day I suddenly realized Five in a Row had no high school program and my oldest was in 6th grade. So I began to research and I found my way back to Sonlight.

The Lord is so funny. The neighbor's grandson joined our homeschool that year, bringing us some much needed structure. He doesn't have Learning Disabilities, but has some comprehension issues and some catching up to do. I would have never thought that by adding another child our family would be helped so much.

I eventually came to believe that I bought the wrong program from SL that year, but at the time I thought it was best.(They do have a guarantee, but I didn't utilize it because the level did fit some of my kids, just not all the way I'd hoped) I did buy some things used, but they ended up being too much.At the second semester I had to add time4learning.com because I just couldn't keep up w/ all the specials needs. 3 of the kids will begin it again in Sept.

Now my oldest JC is in 8th grade, JD is in 5th, Jr. is in 4th and little JJ is a 2nd grader.

We looked at WinterPromise, but it would have been very costly. And I didn't want alot of activities.

My Father's World is developing a high school program. That is what we are going to try next.It seems to have everything I want without me forcing it to be what I need. For example, this year w/ SL Core 1+2, I kept wishing they would emphasize the flags of each country more. I notice MFW has geography course and each child gets a flag sticker book. It's little details like that that make me think I may have found a match w/ mfw.

But really it remains to be seen.

All my fears of being behind are slowly melting away as I settle in to some programs that really match what we need.We are finding our niche and making some great strides.

By the way, we no longer pay the big bucks for dyslexia tutoring. I use avko.org. I am really pleased w/ their approach. I use the materials for all the kids for reading, spelling and writing. And even learning comprehension.

It has been a long and winding road and I am all the better to have walked it. :)

Our homeschool story

Now, before I start w/ all the gory details, please remember that the story has a happy ending! :) Everyone is fine, health problems get resolved, it's all good! Or if not good, then getting better, ok? ;)

I started out buying w/ workbooks and such from WalMart and the education store. Pretty schoolish. Esp. for my little preschooler. I had energy to burn back then and I wanted to "school" someone!

So in the midst of having my little guy do preschool workbooks, I discovered the Weaver curriculum. I bought the preschool/K program called the Interlock. By this time, I now had a preschooler and a toddler. Before we finished the program, I would also have a newborn.

I didn't know it at the time, but it was a unit study.I really liked it. It was lowkey, not schoolish at all.Seemed overly simple, but very effective. When I have to remember what God made on each day of creation, I still think back to the project we did: items glued to large numbers, representing what God made that day. I still remember the moon phases and cloud formations. And so does my son, all these years later.

I went on to the elementary level, Volume 1, which required alot of planning and studying on my part. At this point, I had a 4 children ages 5 and under.Not the time for a big time unit study. (Just a side note, I still don't want to study and plan!)

So we veered over to Five in a Row.Also very low key, but very effective.I didn't even do it consistently, but my kids were learning alot.

Then I decided I didn't like going to the library and getting the books so I bought Sonlight for the first time because you could get all the books you needed in one package. Level K w/ advanced readers. I dropped it pretty fast. It was just too much for the time.

My first grader wasn't reading well. I felt like a failure and he sensed that he was the cause. It was heartbreaking to me that I was messing this all up. Meanwhile, my newborn baby had colic. For months I stayed awake all night and slept all day. My mom was living w/ us at the time and watched the kids during the day.We eventually switched to formula and I started sleeping more at night!

But that didn't clear up everything.Actually, it was during my last pregancy that I began to feel bad. I didn't know it, but I had depression. I asked for help during the pregnancy, but was told they couldn't do anything for me unless I couldn't get out of bed. I wish they'd recommended counseling or something because I took this to mean that there was nothing wrong w/ me.

Even after, the baby's birth, I believe I had post-partum depression or maybe even "regular" depression. One day during that summer, I couldn't bring myself to get the kids ready to go outside to play so they stayed indoors all day that day. I dont' remember now what the exact hold up was, but it scared me that I could not do what needed to be done for the kids.

This was also at the same time of the Andrea Yates thing. It scared me that she was a homeschooling mom, that she had a bunch of young kids, that she had post partum depression. My friend that is a nurse explained to me that having depression makes you feel low, about YOU, it doesn't make you want to hurt others, that is something else. I definitely was only feeling blah, low, about myself.

So, I didn't need to panic or fear, but we decided I needed some help. Of course, I was seeing a dr. and we enrolled the 2 oldest in school for the fall.I wonder too, if I already had sleep apnea at that time, because no matter now much I slept, I never felt rested.

BTW, my kids did really well in school. We got compliments from the teachers. My son caught up in reading and they commented that he was such a bright, eager learner, even though he was behind. Whatever I had done at home was right on they told me. Funny, huh?

Anyway, the school year went pretty well and we enrolled them for the next year.That year was ok, but we began to investigate our options. We looked into a charter school, but it was going to be so much work, we decided to homeschool again.

I breathed a sigh of relief and bought some workbooks from WalMart. We picked up w/ Five in a Row again. I homeschooled fairly uneventfully for about the next 2 years. I never really found my niche, I never really got completely consistent, I never fully got in the groove but we were doing it.

Then at a well check, I finally brought up my suspicions about my 2nd son to my pediatrician. I'd asked about him before to other drs, but always been told he was fine. She suspected right away that he had Sensory Processing Disorder and dyslexia. I just knew she was wrong about the dyslexia. My older son was suspected of having too in 2nd grade and he didn't have it.

Well he did have dyslexia. And sensory processing disorder.And muscle and coordination delays. At that point, I mentally checked out of homeschooling. I never signed up for this, I could barely do it w/ "regular" learners, how could I even think, even dare imagine that I had the patience and whatever else it took to homeschool a special needs learner?

As far as I was concerned, I would continue to homeschool the oldest, but the younger 3 were going to school. Who knew what undiagnosed needs they had that I didn't know about? Let them go to school and get the services they need. I am not good at this, let the professionals do their job, a better job.

Bless my heart, I tried to homeschool and it just didn't work out, I had no other choice but to send them to school. I had done my best and now I could rest.

Because I was done.

To be continued......

A few thoughts on homeschooling and ADD

I think writing everyday is helpful to me. Getting it out of my brain could only help, I imagine.

Certain topics seem to attract more visitors. Specifically, I have seen several visitors here searching for "Sonlight and ADD".

My short answer is that I think SL could be very good for a kid w/ ADD, unless the kids needs alot of activities and the parent wants activities provided. I also think SL can work for dyslexics if the parent is willing to read to the student or provide books on tape.

HOWEVER~ For me, a parent w/ ADD, the SL schedule rattles my brain. Science is separate, then LA. History, Bible, read alouds are all on one page all together. What really gets me is the notes are organized according to book. So during week 3, I have to go to the back of the giant binder, go to the history section and pull the pages for that week's reading. Then to the read aloud section and pull the questions for the read aloud.

The short answer solution to this is to create your own schedule, either on a spread sheet, or on paper so everything can be in one place. That still doesn't address all the notes scattered everywhere.Surely there is a way to make it all work, but my brain gets all jumbled in the process.

SL makes it this way for a reason, and they make improvements based on customer responses, so I am guessing people like it that way.

Just my 2 cents.

You might be a homeschooler if...

You LOVE, LOVE the first day of school!!!

In spite of the picture above, my children are not 5,3,2 and 4 months old.

They are actually 13, 10(for a few more weeks), 9 and 7(8 in 3 months).

When I look at old pictures I feel a little sad for all the time gone by. They were so cute! I used to dress them in matching outfits!

Although, when I took this picture, I remember I'd only had about 2 hours sleep. I'd driven 4 hours to meet a fellow homeschooler I'd "met" through the internet.

The baby had terrible colic and for 4 months I nursed her all night long. Then I discovered soy formula and my life took a turn for the better.

Actually I still deal w/ sleep problems, but that is not what I sat down here to write!

Today was our first day of school. Well sort of. Have you ever noticed that when you make pancakes, the first one is often a dud? I set aside this day as a dry run of sorts, to work out any kinks. Thursday, I started organizing paperwork and everyone's backpacks and today we dove in.

This year is going to be our best ever. I got a scheduling idea from Joyce Swann. Now her kids were accelerated and all earned masters degrees at home by age 16 or so.I am not interested in that, but I like the idea of school for 3 solid hours a day(I may have to make it longer, but I like having a set time). No messing around, no goofing off.No talking about anything else, but what we are doing.

Even my spelling/reading/dyslexia materials(avko.org) say to only do activities for 15 min. If it takes longer, it becomes tedious, so we are working up to completing the lessons in under 15 min. We can only get about 1/2 done right now, but I am sure glad to know that we were spending too much time on it before.

And no fits! Fit throwing, whining, complaining, wasting my time and/or the other kids' time is going to result in detention(fancy word for time out) after school.

Another addition this year is homework! Homework builds responsibility and teaches time management. And this year, each child has a backpack w/ all their stuff(another Joyce Swann idea) Last year, we had a school cabinet. It was a big disaster; we were always hunting for our stuff!

Another change on the horizon. I am probably going to quit Sonlight and go over to My Father's World when we get our income tax.Sonlight is a wonderful curriculum. The set up of the schedules and heavy course load are too much for me. This semester I am going to quit using my SL Instructor's guide and just read the books. I am going to see what I have in the way of American History, because when I switch to MFW, they won't get that right away!

So far everything I have planned feels doable, not overwhelming. For about a month, we are going to review math facts, do some reading instruction, things like that. In Sept, the 3 kids that will continue w/ Time4Learning will begin that.

I was thinking today that my littlest didn't have anything to do when I remembered she has time4learning to look forward to!

That is it for now, it's enough!! whew....