Today's Gem:

My oldest asked me again today, "Mom, when are we going to start homeschool again?" 

Awesome! I love when they do this! It means it is time! 

Children crave structure and routine. They need to know what to expect each day. Giving them clear expectations and goals to achieve and work towards betters their attitudes, increases their confidence, and makes them more independent people. 

How to set up a homeschool daily routine:

-Be Realistic

Dictating what will be done every hour and minute of the day will only frustrate you when it doesn't happen. Life happens! Sometimes we sleep in. Sometimes we get a phone call that just can't wait. When setting up your schedule, make sure you give yourself room to breathe, juggle, and change if needed. 

-Don't forget the chores

Many people think it is impossible to do both. Sometimes it is! Chores, like laundry, often times get put on hold when first starting out on the homeschool adventure. Don't worry! There is always more laundry that needs to be done. I would often laugh at my Mom when she would come to visit. She would want to help with laundry. I'm pretty good at keeping up with it so it was never a huge need for me, it may be for you. I would laugh because once my mom finished the laundry, she was so happy! But in my mind I would think, there's more getting dirty as we speak! That's pretty rude of me huh?! I'd much rather someone cook me dinner! Lol! 

Kids need chores too!

If your kids aren't doing chores, you are not teaching them the most important thing in life, work. You MUST teach them how to work. Plus, there's no way you can do all this yourself! 

Here is my Schedule to help you get an idea of how I work:

Wake up

Eat breakfast

Get dressed

Start a load of laundry

Direct kid's morning chores (kitchen duty)

Morning devotional ( we all join together for a mini FHE)

History/guided reading (this is one of the only subjects we do together as a whole family. So, I do it first before the little ones get too rambunctious.)

Grammar 

Piano

Handwriting

( I have one child doing Grammar with me while another is working independently on HW while the other is practicing piano. Got that?) 

LUNCH

Afternoon chores- switch over laundry, clean kitchen

Individual reading time while I Put babies down for nap

Math

Computer time- this is educational computer time that includes typing, research, and reports

(I call one child to me to do math lessons while the little ones are playing quietly and the big kids are having computer time and rotate them through math like that) 

Free play

Clean up

DINNER

Evening chores- this consists of kitchen duties, tidying up the school room, putting away folded laundry, etc.

Bedtime routine

Lights out!

Mommy time-blog, FB, pay bills, eat cookies, and watch a movie ;)

Notice there are not hours associated with this schedule. Yeah...I made that mistake my first year. It was awful! I never could start school at 8am and have everything done before lunch at 11:30am. Most themes, I would be exhausted by lunch and not start school again until after 3! No more set times for me. I know what order things need to be done in and that is more attainable for me. 

What about shopping and Dr apts?

My kids used to  take piano on Tuesdays at 10am. After their lessons, I would do my shopping. I would TRY to schedule Dr apts on this day as well. It didn't always work but trying to plan is better than not planning at all. I love that saying, "failing to plan is planning to fail!" It is sooo true! You need a plan. Even if it doesn't always work. Have one! 

~Bekah

Homeschooling: Where do I start?

Where Do I Start?

So, you have your "Why" and are gonna homeschool. Now what?!? There is SOOO much information out there that one can get tremendously overwhelmed. I STILL get overwhelmed and I've been doing it for 3 years now! Here's my thoughts for whatever they are worth:

1) Find out what kind of homeschooler you want to be. 

• Are you looking for an unschooling method? Some people love just living life and embracing any and all experiences as "learning opportunities". As a public school kid, I find I do not do this easily. I learned to test and retained nothing :(

• Would you like to teach/learn through unit studies? I love unit studies but find I need more structure than this

• Do you want a laid out curriculum that comes all boxed up with a pretty bow? (Me, Me, Me!)

• Would you like someone else to teach and direct your child but still keep them home? There are many free online homeschools that will do just that. K12, Connections Academy, and several others. Ohio has one called OHDELA they will even give you a printer and a monthly stipend to help you pay for extra curriculars. 

2) Read the homeschooling laws for your state. 
Go to http://www.hslda.org/ 
Becoming a member of Homeschool Legal Defense would also be a step that I would take if you are looking at doing this for an extended period of time. They've got your back. Always! 


3) Purchase your curriculum
There are sooo many sources to choose from! Homeschooling used to be so obscure and difficult. Now you can practically do it completely free and online. I have numerous websites pinned on my Pinterest boards, if you are interested. But for your information and since this is solely my blog and my opinion, here are my favs!

• Bekah's favorite multi-subject Curriculum in a box:                                                         

Sonlight http://www.sonlight.com . If I had the money, I would buy Sonlight. I love their readers and use their list in my own homeschool adventure. 

~You could choose instead the tried and true- Abeka  Warning: It's pricey too! 

• MATH:    

Saxon- This is what I use mainly because of peer pressure. Seriously, my hubby was taught using Saxon and swore by it and then my SIL said it was the "best" so I went with Saxon. It is a a GREAT curriculum. Pros: It is heavy on manipulatives which works for me and some of my kinesthetic learners. It is thorough. You know the student is learning the concept before another is taught. Cons: It is tedious. It is repetitive. I have to edit a lot to save my sanity and the sanity of my kids. Because I am not using the whole program the way it is written, I feel guilty, push my kids too hard, and then math becomes dreadful for us all. (sigh)                                                                                                                                      
Math U See- I ALMOST bought this whole program this year. I have a ton of friends who use it and they all love it! I was nervous to start something new and totally different at this stage plus my practical side wouldn't let me buy new stuff when I have another one that works great and is paid for! Pros: Heavy with manipulatives. Cons: each workbook is one concept heavy. Ex: Their Beta book is primarily addition and subtraction. If you were to put your child into public school after only one year, I am not sure if they would have the well rounded knowledge of their grade level math concepts.                                                                                               
 Right Start Math- I attended a LDS homeschool conference in May where the creator of Right Start Math was there and gave a presentation on the program. I was VERY impressed and enthralled! It seemed like a wonderful mesh of Saxon and Math U See. Probably would have been perfect for me IF I had let myself spend the $. Pros: Good solid math program. Heavy on mainpulatives but more cyclical than Math U See. Cons: only goes up to 5th grade. Price.
 

•  HISTORY: 

Story of the World www.peacehillpress.com. This is a classical education based program with a 4 year cycle of History volumes. It comes with an Activity Book which is full of student coloring pages, recipes, crafts, and other readings to go along with the chapters and subjects you study in the history book itself. It also has a test book to keep tabs on retention. My kids beg for history! It is their favorite subject!                                                                          
ABEKA- This is probably the longest standing homeschool curriculum out there. Its pricey though!                                                                                                                                                   My Father's World-Christian based. Cute graphics. Fun. Pricey. 

• WRITING:

Let's face it, all kids at the elementary age REALLY need to focus on is Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.  My favorite handwriting learning curriculum is...
Handwriting Without Tears www.hwtears.com. It is SUPER fun, easy, and the kids like it instead of dreading it like I did in school. You don't even need to buy anything. There are TONS of websites where you can print off handwriting sheets for free. Google is my best friend! 

• READING/GRAMMAR:

First of all, READ TO YOUR KIDS!!! Read to them! There are sooo many studies that prove that IQs are higher in children whose parents read to them at young ages. (I start reading to mine while they are in utero!) 
We have Guided Reading, Individual Reading, and Free Reading at our house.
Guided Reading is where I read to my kids a book of my choice (usually a classic). We spend 20-30 mins depending on behaviors with the little ones. Sometimes it will be up to an hour if its at the climax and the kids just don't want me to stop!
Individual Reading is where the kids have to read at least 30 mins of a book on their reading list. (Remember the Sonlight list?)
Free Reading- this is where they can pick anything they want to read and read it. Yes, even Calvin and Hobbes, Pokemon, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid ~cringe! The point is to let them read things that are fun to them. I usually do this during quiet/nap time to help us all stay quiet!

Grammar: I LOVE Grammar!
I use First Language Lessons from www.peacehillpress.com
I also like Abeka and Shurley English. Because First Language Lessons only has 4 levels available, Zechariah has finished them all. This year he will graduate to Shurley Grammar for his middle school grammar studies.

• SPELLING: 

First of all, I believe the more you read and write, the more proper spelling will come naturally to you (at least it did to me). However, I am realizing that not everyone can just see a word and know how it is supposed to be spelled. Shocker! I have used a workbook called Spelling Workout. It's like $8 on amazon or something. This year I am starting a new Spelling program that many of my homeschooler friends RAVE about: All About Spelling. I will let you know how it goes!

• SCIENCE:

Oh science, I hate you and you hate me! I am terrible at teaching science! Why, you ask? Because I was taught out of a textbook but am a kinesthetic learning. Therefore, I have NO applicable knowledge in this field. AT ALL! My kids ask me questions and I have no answer for them. I feel stupid. I am also a bit OCD and cannot stand the mess of a science project happening in my house. :( I do have loads of science readers I make them read and I put my kids on National Geographic, NASA, and other science related websites. But that is the extent of my endeavor...until now. Realizing my disdain for science, I enrolled my kiddos in a science class taught at a Fossil and Science Center here in town. I'm ecstatic and so are they! YAY!
There are science curricula out there! My fav is Apologia. It is a Creation based approach to science instead of evolutionary, which I appreciate. We finished the Solar System book and had a blast doing it. They have many subjects to choose from and the price is fairly good.

Did I forget anything? Gosh, I hope not! Please comment, FB me, or email me with any further questions you might have. I really hope this helps at least a little.

You can do it! I know you can! Good luck on your new adventure! It is super crazy but crazy rewarding!

I'm BAAAAACK!

HI! Did you miss me? I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted on my blog! I will not even try to catch up. I just want to start anew and fresh. I am new, I am different, my life is SO not the same. So here we go!

This particular blog post is specifically to answer my many friends who are asking the questions: "How do you do it?" and "Is home-school really hard?"

How do you do it?

If by "it" you mean raise and home school 5 children while pregnant with my 6th; one day at a time. You see, the first 7-9 years of my marriage and child bearing years were full of high expectations of myself.  I kept my house immaculately clean. There was NEVER dirty laundry laying around. You would see no dirty dishes in the sink. I vacuumed every single day. (seriously, I did) I had a strict schedule for my kids. I read every parenting book I could get my hands on. I did story times and playgroups. I home schooled, then I didn't. I served in huge callings both while my husband was deployed and state side. I fulfilled my role as the supportive military wife. This meant I did everything by myself; finances, bedtimes, lawn care, home care and maintenance, car maintenance, child rearing, even hosting and caring for our numerous family members and special occasions.  ~I love to throw a party! I took many judgements and advice from others, I gave a bit of my own-sorry :( I drew close to the Lord and sometimes I ran away from Him. I have loved my husband and at times, despised my husband. I have learned. I have grown, I have changed. One day at a time. You see, I restart every day with a fresh pallet. I always tell my kids that once their punishment is over and they have apologized, its done. Its over. I do not continue the punishment or guilt trip. Its over! So I try to do this with myself, and my mate, as well. I have to. I disappoint myself everyday. I am not who I want to be. I do not act the way I know I should all the time. But I'm trying.
Now, I have learned a lot of 'tricks of the trade' along the way that I will be sharing with all of you as soon as I figure out how to make a most amazing blog! But, I "do it" one day at a time. This also means one baby at a time. They get older you guys! They grow and learn as well! Its scary and crazy cool all at the same time.

Is homeschool really hard?

Oh boy! How do I answer this? No. and Yes. Is it harder than putting your kid on a bus at 7am and not seeing them again until 3pm or later? SURE! I've done both! I can guarantee that it is harder. It takes more of your time. It takes planning, scheduling, juggling. But it is also easier in some respects. I HATED that the kids would come home from school and we'd rush off to piano, then come home for homework and dinner, then rush off to soccer practice, then get home just in time to do our bedtime routine. It was chaotic! It felt like we were constantly rushed. It felt hectic. I hated it!!! Homeschooling allows us to take our time. It allows us time for scripture study. We sit at the table longer and talk about silly things. We are forced to communicate and work together. The children have stronger relationships with one another because of being home together all the time.

The choice to home-school is a personal one.
You need to choose first for yourself, with the help of our Lord through prayer, if this is right for you. I am not going to spew all this anti public school garbage that you can get from many people. It doesn't help convince anybody to do or not to! I can share my "Why" and let you discover yours. My "Why" comes from a quote I read in Pres. Uchtdorf's talk "Of Things That Matter Most" (http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/of-things-that-matter-most?lang=eng). I had prayed for many months about whether or not I should pull my kids out of public school and homeschool them. Zech had been picked up for TAG and Gabriel was doing great at the school too. I even attended a LDS homeschool convention in hopes of receiving that AH HA! moment. One day I was soaking in the tub, reading the Ensign and this hit me like a ton of bricks,

"Elder Dallin H. Oaks, in a recent general conference, taught, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.” 

There you go.  That was it.  That was my answer.  Public school was good!  But home-schooling my children was better or best because it would allow us to develop our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen my family.  I knew it.  Without a doubt, I knew it.  So I did it!  Ok, so once you've made the choice...where do you start?! That, my friends will be tomorrows post :)

Gabriel turns 7

Gabriel celebrated his 7th birthday by watching "The Amazing Spiderman" and having cake and ice cream with all his cousins at the farm for Cousin's Camp. I hope he realizes how lucky he is to have his birthday at a time when the entire family is always together.

Here's a little about 7 year old Gabriel: (interview done today actually)

Favorite movie: NinjaGo and Lego Clutch Powers, the movie

Favorite color: fire red

Favorite book: Magic School Bus books

Favorite song: Tantrum from Dog Train CD

Favorite thing to do: Play Legos with Zech

Favorite Person: Emma Lee (and Mommy and Daddy and everybody else in my family)

Least favorite thing to do: school

Favorite thing that happened last year: going to Disney World

Favorite thing learned in school: Learning about the Romans and Galdiators

Biggest accomplishments: I scored my first goal in my last game of the soccer season. Someone kicked the ball to me and I kicked it into the goal. I was so excited and happy!

Mommy's thoughts: Gabriel is so mature for his age. He is still the sweet sensitive boy he has always been. He is learning to stand up to Zechariah when Zech is wrong. I am happy to see that. I let him know that it is ok and support him as much as I can. Gabriel is a big brother and finds that the role brings a lot of responsibilty. He is more than happy to take that on when it comes to Emma Lee, he is not so willing with Ammon and Elijah. Gabe and Zech have been friends for so long that they tend to not let the younger boys play and hang out with them. Gabe is getting better about playing with and including Ammon in their circle. Gabriel is thoughtful and picks up on people's thoughts and feelings. He asks questions and listens well. Gabriel is smart. He is a fabulous reader and is doing well in Math. His talents continue to develop. He is beginning to reallize his likes and dislikes and understand that it is OK if he likes something that someone else doesn't or vice versa. I love my Gabriel. He is and always will be "My Angel".

Our Move to Ohio: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: 

•  I have great friends who love me and support me.  I had some awesome people come in and help me pack, clean, and watch my kiddos so that I could get out of my house in Waldorf. Thank you guys! I couldn't have done it without you!
• The Griesmyer farm is BEAUTIFUL! It is quiet, serene, slow paced, and completely different from the hustle and bustle of the DC area.
• The boys have plenty of room to run and play.
• The weather is nice and warm
• We take trips to the creek and go on walks just to explore.
• Cousin's camp brings all the family together and is a load of fun (and noise, and confusion)

 The Bad:
 
 

• Moving a fully furnished house into a fully furnished house is really hard and..well, impossible. My stuff is stored in 3 different places on the farm and is driving me nuts. I slowly unpack boxes and am constantly searching for things. Actually, I've given up. I'll find it when I find it.
• I broke my truck door. It was SO stupid too. I decided to take the kids to the city pool one day. I sent Zech inside the house to get something and decided to back up the driveway to get him-with the door open. It caught the side of the hill and BAM!!! Broken door! I didn't think anything about it since I supposedly have the best car insurance ever-USAA. I call them to come get my car and fix it when they tell me they have no record of my policy. WHAT THE #$@!!!  2 weeks prior I had changed my policy over from MD coverage to Ohio. Well come to find out, they cancelled my MD and did not initiate my OH! I was out of a car for 2 weeks! Not a fun and easy thing for a family my size.
• A HUGE storm hits the farm as well as my house in Waldorf.  We lose power for 3 days. We have 15 children and 7 adults in the house. Tensions and tempers rise! Our camp's theme was "Survivor" this year! We seriously learned a lot!
• My neighbor's tree comes crashing down on my house in Waldorf causing $8,000+ in damage. Because we rented out our house, 2 weeks before the storm, I had JUST changed my insurance to fire and upped the premium to $2,500!!!
• Gary is still working in VA. I have no friends here. I am in the middle of nowhere. I have no leads for my Premier Jewelry business and I fall into a deep depression.

 

The Ugly:

• Ammon contracted impetigo from the baby pool at the community pool. It was nasty and gross and to make matters worse, we had no power or running water to keep him clean. Thank goodness for antibiotics and antibacterial lotion! Poor baby! :(

 

 



The power of calm

This past week I had the privilege of attending an LDS home school conference in Fredericksburg, VA. It wasn't too far from my home and since my DH has to practically travel all the way down there to work everyday, I just drove with him. My wonderful mother flew out to take care of my kiddos so I could go. And even though she doesn't read my blog: "Thanks Mom! We love you and miss you already!" 

About the conference:

Wednesday- I took a special seminar from Susan Wise Bauer, author of "The Well Trained Mind". It was cool. She was good. I learned a lot. I learned that my expectations for the children are often based on the public school model which, let's face it, is not a great model AT ALL! SO I decided to chill a little. That was good. (I'll blog the highlights of this seminar a little later Lia!) My DH came with me but basically just talked to his brother the whole time because they haven't seen each other in a while.

Thursday-Nicholeen Peck, an LDS woman who has a background working with troubled kids, has developed a parenting program titled "Teaching Self Government". She was a special guest speaker and gave multiple classes on different subjects. I had heard about her last year from this conference but never checked her out until a few months ago. That's where I watched her videos from the BBC show, World's Strictest Parents. I was really impressed by the way she dealt with those kids. I then saw she was going to be at our conference and was stoked! Check out her website here

I am sure you will be surprised to know that I even had an acting debut! I did! Nicholeen asked for a volunteer, I raised my hand along with a few others in the room. She then said to wait because the volunteer had to be able to act and stay in character. My hand shot up again-this time I was alone. (I was also really excited to try!) She wanted to show 3 different things we as parents might face with our kids, how to be calm, and how being calm helps every situation. She had me first rage at her, then be passive aggressive, and finally be the whiner/crier. It was awesome! I felt more alive than I have in a LONG time! Do you realize how much I love to act, direct, sing, perform? I love it! 
I LOVE it!!! I often wonder what I am supposed to do with my talent? (sorry, I digress)

I learned SO much from Nicholeen. I bought her book and came home with a few simple techniques to use and try on my little family. Yeah... Do you know how hard it is to stay calm, never raise your voice, and always have teaching moments instead of critical or correcting ones? YIKES!!! I got home late Friday night so my first real test was Saturday. I had told Gary a little bit about the program on our drive home Friday so he was on board. It took every ounce of energy I had to maintain a calm mind, body, face, and voice. I mean, it was so much work!!! Don't believe me, just try for one day. I'm still working on it. I'll keep you posted...

I believe in her ideology. We are trying to teach our children (and ourselves) how to govern ourselves. How to be in control of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. True self government is obedience to God's laws and commandments. Obedience to God is true happiness and power. When we are disobedient, we have no power or control. We must teach our children how to control themselves. This is tough to do in a world that teaches it is ok to do anything and everything that feels good! I know that I have been entrusted by with raising an Army of God and I could use all the help I can get.

Emma Lee Rose

A few pics of Emma in all her cuteness:

Checking out the trampoline for the 1st time (9mos) Emma desperately wants to play outside with her brothers but I don't want her crawling through mud. The day was nice so I let her check out the trampoline. She was fascinated!

 Passed out after church (9mos) Since church is at 1pm-it really gets in the way of nap time. Gary usually puts her to sleep but the noises tend to keep her up or wake her up prematurely. She always conks out on our way home from church.

 Frenchfries are yummy! (8mos) Emma loves to eat but refuses baby food. She wants to eat what we eat!

 Pretty in pink! (8mos) It is so fun to dress Emma. And it is so fun to see the boys cue at her, "Oh Emma, you look beautiful!" LOVE!

She loves to smile and is so quiet! (8mos)

 She adores her brothers. When she sees them or they talk to her, she kicks her legs and twists her wrists in excitement! (at Great Wolfe Lodge @ 7mos)

Being serenaded by her "favorite" Uncle, Ken! (7 mos)