Appointments

School stinks on appointment days!!!  I would call off school when I have to get a dental filling except that I'm going to a women's conference Thursday through Saturday and so we won't have school then.  I don't know how people who run all the time can do homeschool.  We got home at 10:30 and one child still doesn't have work done from last FRIDAY!  It is almost 3 PM!  OK in defense of my children, I'm having a bad day and that really reflects on how they act.  I had to run to the church library and post office too this morning.  It seems they work better when I am nearby. 
Here's to tomorrow!!!

No longer a servant

John 15:15 (NIV)  I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Our servant day is complete and our slave day is complete.  The kids fulfilled their contracts on Wednesday and earned themselves Sonic milk shakes.  Kind of a mistake for me because that was a lot of sugar before bed.  Live and learn! 
Yesterday, the kids were slaves.  I was a kind master and only had them pick things up that I dropped a few times.  They were repulsed at the thought of touching my feet.  I would be too if they weren't attached to me, so I didn't make them give me a foot massage.  Previously, I typed out random chores on slips of paper and put them in a pencil bag.  It was from a ransom box idea I found on Pinterest, but I felt it would work for this too.  At the beginning of the day, they each had to draw 2 chores from the bag and each time they mouthed off or didn't obey quickly, they had to draw another chore.  This was fun for me and really for them too.  One child ended up with 6 chores and the other child 4.
Their chores were:

1. clean the bathroom mirror while singing (I wish I'd recorded that one)
2. clean an air vent with a toothbrush (I have a special one for cleaning only)
3. vacuum the stairs
4. wipe down a wall on the stairway
5. pull weeds for 10 minutes
6. clean out the ashes from the fireplace and clean up after yourself
7. fold 10 pairs of socks
8. wipe the table with a spray cleaner
9. clean out the cabinet under the kitchen sink
10. hand wash 3 dishes

They got no rewards for doing these chores, but they completed their tasks without complaining ... except the spray cleaner said to keep out of reach of children, so my daughter was freaking out about that one.  Once I told her not to eat the spray and she would be fine, she did her chore.

This morning at breakfast, I shared John 15:15 with the kids and we talked about slavery and how we are blessed to be free.  We also touched base on human trafficking without details about what was happening to the kids after they were taken from their families.  Even though we had our little experiment, my kids still have no idea what it would be like to be slaves and I cannot truly treat them as slaves ... not even for a day!  Hopefully some of our discussions and projects will stick with my kids so that when they're old, they appreciate freedom!

Facelift

So now that my children are growing up and I have a 6th grader, I am now realizing that I may be falling a bit behind in techy skills!  So as my son opens his own blog, I've realized that mine could use a little facelift!  I made a few changes and the background is no longer bookshelves, but something more representative of what we want to be as a school!  I do love books, though, and even laid back atmospheres are enhanced by good books!  I like the new look and hope readers do as well!

Slave vs Servant

This week we are learning the difference between indentured servitude and slavery.  Story of the World has many suggestions for extra activities following the chapters and we've chosen to do a day of servitude and a day of slavery.  The kids thought it was funny until we made contracts.  I added that they would clean the living room and dining room as well as the sink toilet of their bathroom.  They felt empowered by the right to refuse terms of a contract until I told them that I refuse to give a reward for something that already occurs on a daily basis in this home.  So only doing chores and school and behaving at church tonight was just not enough.  They became reluctant to participate until the reward was announced.  A medium milkshake at Sonic after church tipped the scale in my favor and we have signed contracts!

TOMORROW

Tomorrow, the kids get to be my slaves and I'm working on a few things that may make them squirm!  They will have no choice!  I may have a foot massage and my nails painted by my little slaves.  I might even have them make me lunch.  As punishment for disobedience, they may have to watch me eat before eating any of their own snacks!  Hahaha!  The devious plans of a homeschool mom!

I'm liking this idea so much, I may have to start doing it weekly!

Getting into the swing of things

I suppose most families that home school have gotten into a great routine by now.  Our school has an expected pattern, but most days we fall short!  Today is our 50th day of school and we still are a bit off course much of the time.  Now to clarify, we have not done book school all 50 days.  We've gone on several educational field trips and have included sports in our physical education program starting in July.
I don't have a structured schedule as in we do math at this time and language at this time, but I do have a schedule where we start school at 8:30 AM and take scheduled breaks.  I let the kids decide which subject to start with.  Today, I started with history because we do it together on activity days and read aloud days and I like to get that over with.  Last week, we had 3 days of field trips or living education and 2 days of school.  Needless to say, yesterday was miserable getting back to the swing of things.  Its not like they have just started school and don't know what the expectations are.
We started the school year off with yet another new curriculum choice.  We are still using Story of the World and Apologia and Spelling Power, but for the rest of our subjects, we've made the switch to Easy Peasy All-In-One Homeschool .  We really do enjoy this and it requires a lot less planning for me!
I have made the mistake of letting a few days go and just trusting the kids to do their work while I do other things.  I then go to my gradebook to log assignments to find that they have only played the games on the site and not followed instructions to do the paper work required.  I quickly learned to have their assignment pages pulled up on my computer and ask them, "Where is that poem in ABCB format?" or "Did you write out definitions for these words?"  Usually my questions are met with a sigh of exasperation or a dumfounded look as if they didn't think they were really going to have to do that particular portion of the assignment.  Recently, I've not met as much unfinished work.  The part I don't understand is the fact that if the kids really focus on school, they could be done with book work in 3 hours or less each day and have time for documentaries or art studio or what I call living education.
One thing I've had to let go of is the idea that each subject needs a numerical and letter grade.  I see the point in high school for transcripts, but right now, I would rather see them learn and they are.  My gradebook app has 2 options.  One is grading scale and another is basically pass/fail.  How do you put a letter grade on someone working through a grammar game until they get 100% correct?  I really appreciate that my kids want to "win the game."  If I were to give a worksheet to them with the types of verbs and they got 50% correct on it and then we touched it again and then took a test where they got 70% correct and then move on, I don't think they would retain as much.  This personalization is something I love about home education!  I still give a numerical grade in language on some assignments, science on the vocabulary and review questions, history on the review questions if applicable and math on worksheets and online quizzes.  Typing, Bible, Spelling, Life Skills, Computer, Music, Art, and Physical Education are all given pass/fail in this school.  I was always graded with a letter grade in PE.  So subjective!  Most of our assignments are graded on a, you did it, or you didn't basis.  How can one grade a child with no artistic or athletic ability beside one who excels and not be swayed?  Life is not going to down grade an accountant who can only draw stick men.
Living Education to me is the time where you skip math class and go to the kitchen and make a recipe.  You ask the child to double the recipe and cook.  If the cake doesn't turn out on a recipe that you know is good, then math must not have been good or reading as they may have put baking powder in instead of baking soda.  Or we are studying Rosh Hashanah and make Challah, blow a shofar, read a story about it, go to the pond to cast our bread crumbs out on it.  Return to eat your bread and apples and honey.  Those things are great and some homeschools are solely living education.  I'm impressed with those who are able to do that, but for us I like the mixture. 
I'm not going to end with a promise to blog more often because every time I do, it takes me months to get another one typed out.  School is still happening and we are doing more than sleeping in and watching movies.

Oh yeah!  I made a new logo for our school and put it on the bottom of the blog. :)

Summer camp

You know, if you've been around homeschooling for any amount of time at all, the most asked question to a homeschool mom.  "What do you do for socialization?"  Well, since we don't have recess or a lunch room where schools have free time socialization, we have to do what other kids do for further socialization.  Extracurricular activities!  I'm glad for no lunchroom or recess because, well, those are the places I hated as a child!  I went clear through school in public school and I still get a sunken feeling about those place.  I was punched in the face by a boy at recess while most of the school kids looked on.  I spent many lunch hours with a tray of food looking for someone as lonely looking as I felt to sit by or hoping someone would choose to sit with me.  That was probably the worst part of school for me!  Anyway, what was I talking about?  Socialization!

My son has always been a social butterfly.  He easily meets friends.  We go to the park, boom, leave with 3 new friends.  Daughter, not so much.  Ok I can't attribute this to homeschooling because when she was born until nearly age 5 I worked full-time as well as served as a leader in my church.  I began my life as a stay at home mom just over 4 years ago.  My kids went to daycare and private school until 2 1/2 years ago.  They are 9 and 11 now.  My girl didn't come home telling me the names of the other kids like her older brother had, she was timid.  She hid her face when an adult spoke to her ... Still does sometimes.  When she went to kindergarten, she was more focused on goofing off to get people to laugh at her.  She came home at one point saying that a child at school was mean.  I brushed it off and told her that maybe she misunderstood, but she insisted.  A few weeks later I had lunch with her and that child was saying very mean things to my daughter.  We prayed for the child and later they became good friends.  It's hard when people say mean things to your child!

I had a conversation with my girl a few months back about someone hurting my feelings with words.  I asked if anyone did that to her.  She told me a story that made me cry.  I am now realizing that it was a situation that I watched play out, but thought she didn't notice because she seems so care free about so many things.  Wherever they are schooled, in social settings, there is a chance for bullying, rejection and hurtful words.  Thankfully, after gatherings with our homeschool group, she comes home recharged.  When my kids are hurting, I hurt too, when they're happy, I am overjoyed!

So tomorrow, she will go to summer camp.  I was her counselor last year and she was really clingy to me.  She didn't try hard to make friends and was a bit whiney.  I opted not to go this year because I felt she needed a break from Mommy and Mommy from her.  I want her to experience camp.  She was really anxious when I told her I wasn't going.  She was to the point of not wanting to go, but finally asked me to find her jobs to raise money for camp.  I got to sigh relief.  She is fully funded and is packed and ready to go.

Who's getting anxious now?  This Mom!  The situation from before that I thought she didn't notice is upon us again in a little different format, but it I am afraid to bring it up in case she really didn't notice!  I could make it a thing when it may not need to be.  Pray, pray, pray!  Big brother will be at camp as well as trusted adults from my church.  It's hard to know when to step in!  It was conflict like this that helped shape me into who I am today, but makes me often suspicious unnecessarily as well.  Sooooo, yes, she is going!  Yes, I will pray for her tender heart and mind.  I know one day I will need to let her go out on her own into this big dark world, but that day is not today.  Lord, give me wisdom to guide her and let our conversations prepare her for what may come!  May her heart pursue You more than any other thing at camp!

Towels and Shirts

So by homeschool mom standards I may be behind the times, but maybe in general mom terms I'm on target or ahead of the game.  Or maybe it really isn't worth comparing.  We use KONOS Character curriculum as a supplement.  Some people use it as core and up kudos to them, because I don't spend that much effort in planning.  We are at the end of our unit on responsibility and there are checklists for to help evaluate what you can teach your kids.  Wow!  I've spent so much time focusing on the info about early colonists that I almost missed this amazing part!

We've been going over the checklists for the past few days and I'm not grading the kids, but I'm mostly just keeping these things in mind.  Today we had "laundry," on the checklist.  I never thought about it.  I have the kids put their dirty clothes in a basket or hamper in their rooms and the bathroom and they haul the laundry downstairs once a week and then deliver clean clothes to rooms when it is their chore.  Why did it never dawn on me to teach them proper folding techniques?

I can give you a hint... CONTROL.  There are certain things I like done just so, and laundry happens to be one of them.  Now I know people who have their young kids do all of the household laundry and act like they should win a merit badge for doing so, but that isn't my ultimate goal.  Over the past 2 years, I have never upped the ante for my kids on chores, though and maybe after today's lesson, it may just be time.  My husband knows that I'm, well a little particular on the way things are folded and my closet is organized by item and color.  O.K. I'm OCD!  This shouldn't prohibit me from teaching my children my OCD ways, should it?  

I brought a whole load of clean towels into the classroom and showed my kids how to fold them.  They had some nice ideas of how we can fold, but I told them to hold on to those ideas and use them in their own homes.  For now, we do it my way because they fit into the cupboards and drawers best this way.  After a few attempts, they actually did pretty well.  I admit, I was tempted to fix a few, but the stacks were neat enough that they didn't fall over, so I let them be.

The next load was done as well (yes, I let unfolded towels sit over the weekend, and the washer and dryer sat unemptied too), so I gave instruction on shirts, pants and undergarments.  They already know socks because they are hard to get wrong. They did a great job with each article of clothing and were actually excited for the next load!!  Wahoo!  Unfortunately, we had to do a little math, spelling and you know other school stuff or I might have them be my laundry slaves today.

Well, I'm glad to know that my kids can do laundry all the way through.  I need to do a few things now. First, I need to let go of some of my OCD or teach it to my kids.  I also need to learn a balance between giving the kids responsibility and letting them be kids.  I need to learn to be sensitive about time and place for just plain old fun!  They are not my slaves, but they are mine to teach.  Balance!  They one day will leave my home and need to survive in this world without me and the training began even before we home schooled.  My goal is to release my kids into the world and watch them thrive and not just survive.

Really I think I'm learning as much or more than my kids.  I thank God for the opportunity to train up my children.