Green Day

So it's been ages since my last post, our whole family was struck with some sort of sickness for about 6 weeks, one right after another, strange coughs, the flu, allergic reactions to who knows what, then the boy decided to do a number on my tata's, I won't go into detail but recovery is slow and painful! Ugh! There are times where holistic, all natural ways of healing are best (which is how we handled our colds and flu's) and then there are times where nature can just move over and make way for the drugs! Thank God for great Dr.'s and Pediatricians! Needless to say, the past few months have been solely about day to day survival. No fun.
I decided to make St. Patrick's Day our motivation for returning to the land of the living. I planned some fun themed things to do throughout the day (broken up by a trip to the Dr) and the day ended well and everyone was even willing to do chores this morning! What a reward for me!

We started the day by having Green Monster smoothies for breakfast, I found the recipe here. Z and FB love all smoothies, PP won't drink them so I just put a drop of food coloring in her milk to make it green and she was just as happy.

Then we all got dressed in something green, obviously. How beautiful are these guys?!?! And you know I can't post just one!

Next we all got comfortable in front of the computer and watched the Veggie Tales short story about St. Patrick. We actually own the episode that's on VHS but have no working VCR's. Go figure. This is where we watched the story, you can also find it on YouTube here. I'm pretty sure by the time the day was over it had been watched a good 8 times.


After that we had a rainbow scavenger hunt. I let the girls use the little point and shoot digital camera and find something of that color in the house to take a picture of. They took turns finding and photographing the items nicely! Until I left the room. We actually skipped indigo, it was tricky, we just stuck to the easier colors. Here's what they found.


Little Red Riding Hood cape

Orange (extremely loved) fairy wings

Yellow clock

Green pieces to the stacking toy



Blue tissue box



Purple crayon bucket

  

 At the end we took a picture of our bowling pins that make a perfect rainbow!

Lunch Time! We ate spinach quesadillas and guacamole. You can't be a part of this family and not love guacamole. It really deserves to be its own food group! One of the best parts is the baby being able to eat it with us!

This is where our day was interrupted by a trip to mommy's Dr. At least the girls were able to go enjoy the park with their Grammy until I was done. We stopped at the store on the way home for some yummy stuff to make the greatest. cookies. ever! Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you know me at all you know that I'm a sucker for mint. Thin Mints, Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream, Mint Oreos, York Peppermint Patty's, Blue Bell even makes mint choc chip ice cream, covered in chocolate, on a stick now! THIS is the way to my heart! So back to the cookies, YUM! They will now forever be in our rotation of goodies! This was the part of the day I looked forward to most! I found the recipe here.

We wrapped up the day with a green bubble bath. This is the part of the day the girls looked forward to most! I was a little worried about Z's hair turning green if, scratch that... WHEN she got it wet, but all is well, it's still blonde! They splashed around and squealed until the water got cold, then we bathed in clear water, got PJ's on, prayed, did our girl devotional, and everyone fell asleep pretty quickly! Nothing like putting your kids to bed happy!

I hope your green day was a great one!



Prissy Pants is a Smarty Pants

Since starting PP with official math curriculum last year I've learned that anyone can be a math whiz!  Sure, some will pick it up easier than others, but really it just takes learning it the right way and getting an understanding of it to become a math whiz!  In the public school setting it takes someone with a natural knack for numbers to truly succeed and especially to retain it.  Math just isn't taught correctly and there is not enough one-on-one for it to make sense to each individual child. In my opinion.

When choosing a math curriculum I did my "homework" and read countless reviews.  I don't personally know anyone who uses Math-U-See but the reviews sucked me in.  Just the name was convincing enough for me!  I want my kids (and myself along the way) to be able to SEE the reasons behind math.  To really understand it and not approach it as a four letter word like I did through my entire 13 years in public school!

PP and I both were excited to start our new math workbook, Math-U-See Primer, last year for Kindergarten!  There were a few instances of struggle, but it mostly revolved around learning to ignore distractions and focus on the task.  Overall, she proved to be a math whiz and loved opening up that workbook the entire year!  This year we've moved on to Alpha and more times than not she's working alone and I'm checking it when she's done - I wasn't expecting that to happen for a few more years!  She loves math and never complains about having to do it.  I'm even learning a few things myself and I'm actually looking forward to the middle school and high school level math!  I can't wait to finally get it! Math-U-See was definitely the right choice for our family and we highly recommend it! What mom doesn't want to see their child smile this big when doing math? MUS = two thumbs up from each of us!

Since PP finished learning to read with Reading Made Easy last year, I wasn't sure what to do about reading this year.  I decided to work on reading comprehension.  Every day PP grabs an early reader from our stack (that we received from a teacher friend a few years ago), she takes it to her room, reads it twice, then comes to me for a "quiz".  I thought being able to comprehend what she reads would take some practice, but I noticed even last year while learning to read that she was really getting what she was reading. Needless to say, our reading comprehension is going extremely well this year!  Most days she pretty much recites the book to me!  I can always tell when she's got toys on the brain and really just wants to finish reading and go play, but even still, she's doing fantastic!

My kids abilities to learn so quickly and easily never cease to amaze me! Thank God for children who love to learn and who can understand and retain it!





Rosetta Stone Giveaway!!

Now is the perfect time to give your child the gift of possibilities for the holidays with Rosetta Stone Homeschool — and you can WIN a Level 1 Homeschool program, language of your choice (valued at $249)!




Right now Rosetta Stone is having a special Holiday promotion on our Homeschool Edition program and we’d like you to help spread the word! Everyone can save up to $150 on Rosetta Stone Homeschool by visiting our website at http://www.RosettaStone.com/hsw1110.



By helping us spread the word you can win a Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Level 1 program, language of your choice, valued at $249.



This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever!





Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.



To win this program, copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR post about this contest on your facebook page. Then go to the original page at

http://www.othersuchhappenings.com/2010/12/rosetta-stone-giveaway-yay.html

and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post, and good luck!

K 4 Z

My sweet baby Z Girl is 4 years old and has been doing K work in school this year. She learned to recognize, name, speak, breathe, juggle, and be friends with the entire alphabet and numbers 0-10 last year. Shapes and colors, been there - done that. She's pretty much done everything PP has done from the very beginning and learned right along with her, it's amazing! I teach PP, and both of them learn! How cool is that? So anyway, Z was bored to tears with PreK stuff but I was afraid to buy her K curriculum this year since villain #4 was due to arrive just as school was starting and I didn't want to overwhelm myself (pretty sure that was a run-on sentence. That's right, I be teaching my kids at home!). I ended up getting Z a huge K workbook from the bookstore and every day she wanted to tackle it like 6 pages at a time! And now she's finished it. Smarty pants. If I can ever get my Math-U-See account and my visa check card on the same wavelength then Z will get her Primer workbook and start official math.

We have, however, started learning to read with Valerie Bendt's 'Reading Made Easy'. This is what PP used to learn to read last year and it worked fantastically! I wasn't sure how Z was going to do with reading since she's only 4 and went into it with expectations of going very slowly. But, Reading Made Easy doesn't require the child to recognize the letters or know their sounds in order to start, so Z already knowing them put her at an advantage (as it did PP last year). Z is doing so well, of course, she's always one step ahead of me! She's reading short sentences and last week started learning how to read words with silent letters in them! Way to go Z Girl! In our house, Reading Made Easy makes learning to read easy and fun! Hopefully it will prove consistent with FB and the Boy!

And now, for your viewing pleasure and because her eyes and smile are too stunning not to share, here is my amazing Invisible Z Girl who comes out every so often for a good photo and leaves me speechless! 

 

Just look at those lashes!



Little Learning

FB did some hands on color matching with primary colored blocks and bears in school yesterday. She enjoyed it very much!

First we reviewed the colors

Then she got started

Just look at the concentration on that face!

WAY TO GO FB!

 

Eventually color matching turned into kissing bears

 

And a little later it turned into bucket head.

But, 'Bucket head' loved the blocks and bears and we'll definitely be doing that again! We can also use them for sorting and counting, we love manipulatives in this house!

Home's Cool!

The decision to home school our villains came long before the villains themselves. Intelligent Man was homeschooled from 6th - 9th grade, where he then moved to a tiny little town, went back to public school, and most importantly, met me! What a lucky dog! I was also homeschooled for a very brief time during high school when I was trying to figure out which parent I wanted to live with after their separation. But these home school experiences we had were only a small fraction of what made up our decision, there are so many elements involved.

Perhaps one of the most convincing reasons for me was how awful my public school experience was, not just a year here or a year there, but pretty much from beginning to end! Thirteen years of agony (if you count Kindergarten), that's what I'd call it.

Well, that may not be entirely true since I don't really remember much of anything before 3rd grade, I could have enjoyed K-2nd, but I don't remember it, so it doesn't count.

We moved around a lot when I was little and I believe I missed some very basic skills that would have made learning much more of a breeze. I always thought " I must be dumb, everyone gets it but me" but looking back - I wasn't stupid... I wasn't taught! So, I struggled through each and every grade, passing by the skin of my teeth and never really understanding or retaining anything I learned.

Then there's the whole good teacher vs. bad teacher thing. Now don't get me wrong, teachers are very important and I respect their jobs, after all, I am one (I've just decided to teach on a personal level, not a public one). I remember only 1 teacher in all my years of school that ever made me feel worth a darn. To most of them I was just another face in the classroom, and to a few of them I was even a nuisance! I was FAR from a trouble maker, but because I needed extra help understanding, because I was shy and reserved and they didn't "get" me, I was a bother, and it was very apparent they felt that way. How devastating as a child, to feel rejected by the adults you're supposed to be able to trust.

There are amazing teachers out there that make a difference in kids lives every day! There are outstanding teachers who deserve much more recognition, not to mention pay, than they will ever get. However, there are "not so great" teachers out there as well. I don't ever want my kids to be in the hands of a "not so great" anyone. Then there are good teachers that have their hands tied, or are limited in some way by the politics of public school and can only reach so far for their kids. There are no guarantees when it comes to my kids teachers.

Will all of my kids get good teachers for every subject, every year of their school careers? No. Will my kids teachers wait for them to master a topic before moving on? No. Will Prissy Pants' teachers recognize when she's trying so hard to please them and encourage her accordingly? Probably not. Will Z Girl's teachers understand that when she gets embarrassed and lashes out all she needs is reassurance and comfort, and will they give it to her? Not likely. When the time comes, will Funny Bones' teachers find new and creative ways of grabbing her attention instead of labeling her as ADHD or a "class clown"? I highly doubt it. Knowing these things, and as a mom who is both willing and able, how can I not take this responsibility into my own hands?

Please understand that I am talking about MY family and OUR situation and why WE have chosen this lifestyle. Homeschooling is not for everyone! There are also those who simply can't home school for various reasons. This is not meant to make anyone feel guilty about decisions they've made for their family, I am merely sharing us with you!

God has blessed us tremendously! Intelligent Man had the opportunity to go back to school while FB was occupying my belly, and now he has an incredible job doing something he loves! He's just been promoted too! Because of this, I can stay home with my kids and raise them and teach them the way God has called me to. This is something He wants from our family and that is the #1 reason we are where we are. Here are a few more...

1. I can monitor outside influences.

2. They can have one on one learning time.

3. They can advance quickly when ready.

4. They can hang back on a topic when necessary.

5. We can pick whatever we want to learn about and run with it.

6. No waiting in drop off/pick up lines for countless hours each year.

7. No spending 99% of the school year preparing for a standardized test.

8. No taking standardized tests.

9. No stinky boys to distract my girls from learning.

10. No parent/teacher conferences about Z's attitude or FB's cutting up.

11. No seeing PP's nervous face when she has to walk into a big, scary class room full of strangers.

12. No worrying about my babies being bullied.

13. No worrying about a bullied kid taking revenge and shooting my babies.

14. No getting up before the sun to catch the bus.

15. We can sleep late and watch cartoons every single day.

16. We can start and stop school whenever we feel like it.

17. We can go on field trips whenever we want with no crowds - all the kids are in school!

18. I get to watch the expressions on their faces when they finally "get" a concept!

19. I get to teach them to read and write.

20. I get to see all of their "firsts".

21. I get to spend more quality time with them.

22. I really get to know and understand each of them individually.

23. I get to learn right along with them.

24. I get to hear them say they love homeschooling and love me being their teacher!

25. And one of my favorites: my younger ones learn without much instruction because they listen and pay attention to what PP is doing! They surprise me all the time by what they've picked up.

There are still plenty more reasons to add to this list, I pretty much find a new reason to love it and be thankful for it every day! But no matter how long my list gets, it's still a tough job. It's not a decision to be made lightly. It takes immeasurable patience and die-hard dedication. There are plenty of days I question my ability to do this with 4 kids for the next 18 years. Just saying that sends a chill up my spine. But I know what God has called me to do, and with Him, I will get it done. I mess up, sure, but I pray every day that He helps us to reach our home school potential, and as long as this stays His plan, that's what we'll strive to do!

So, here on our side of the world, home's cool!!