Homeschool Vacation

It's pretty obvious that our homeschool is in full swing. I haven't blogged as much as I'd like.  We've been busy doing school....doing life, and even squeezing in a vacation. We were all able to take time off from work for a few days at the same time. I'm so thankful that my kids, who are now working part-time jobs, work for a company that is flexible enough to give them a week off at the same time. Yes, they both work for the same company.  And my husband, who's employer is not as flexible, was also able to take an entire week off. I, on the other hand, still managed to get my work in. But that's okay because I love my job. Besides, when does a mommy really get time off?! :) But I'm not complaining.

Do we need a reason for a vacation at the beginning of our homeschool year? It's too early to be burned out or overwhelmed.  We're just starting to get adjusted to our new schedules, and yet here we are taking a vacation. And yet it's a perfect time for homeschoolers to take a vacation. When all the kids are in school and there are no long lines at the amusement parks. We've been taking this vacation for the last few years in celebration of Amber's birthday.  It's also at the same time as Rock the Universe, which are concerts of some of our favorite Christian rock bands all in one place: Universal Studios.  Amber and Noah saved their money and purchased park hopper passes so they could enjoy the rides at Islands of Adventure as well as Universal Studios.  We stayed at a timeshare resort with lots of amenities and activities, which Samantha, my husband and I enjoyed while the older kids were at the park. I think my favorite was the lazy river (pool). Samantha will tell you that her favorite was getting to sing Karaoke by the pool each evening.  I wish I had taken a picture of that. I didn't get many pictures of us at the parks or the resort, but I did take a ton of pictures at the Museum of Science, which are good keepsakes in our homeschool portfolios.

What's a vacation for a homeschooling family without getting in some educational fun? I wanted to find something else to do with my kids other than the amusement parks, and we hit the jackpot with our choice of the Science Museum. I think it was one of the most memorable times of the whole week. The first thing we walked up on was a giant chess board. My older kids didn't get past that until they played a game, which took them a good 40 minutes or so. In the meantime, Samantha and I visited every station that was close to the chess game. There were so many hands-on exhibits for all ages. None of us were bored. Samantha's favorite was the weather station where she got to be the weather reporter in front of a live camera.  She enjoyed watching herself on screen as she read the prompter and reported the weather.  Once done with the chess game, we moved on to other hands on activities, like the flight simulator and the race cars.

There was a Whisper Dish that held our attention for some time. This was a large dish that you would whisper into, and then across the room was another similar dish where you could hear what that person was whispering. We learned that before World War II, and before the invention of the radar, acoustic mirrors were used to detect incoming enemy aircraft by the sound of their engines.  My son found this most interesting.

            

                     
My daughters were enthralled with the Laser Harp. No strings. Rather than plucking strings to produce sound, we plucked laser beams, which lit up in beautiful colors. Another favorite was the Anatomy Challenge, which was actually a giant Operation game. Remember those? You need to have a steady hand to remove the organs from the 'patient' without setting off the buzzer. This one got Samantha a bit frustrated, as she couldn't quite get it.  Amber, Noah and their friend Jeremy challenged each other on who would be the best surgeon.  It hasn't been that long since they did an online science program, which included anatomy, so they were familiar with the lessons in these exhibits. It was definitely a fun day and money well spent, teacher's discount and all.

Full Schedules, but never too full for......

It's August and school has started. If you're on social networks, like Facebook, you can see it by all the 'first day of school' pictures posted by parents. How about you homeschool mommies?  Did you take first day of school pictures, too?  I hope so. Why not?  It's a good way to see how the kids grow and change from year to year. We have a picture frame with a picture for each year of school. And it's so special to me because I can easily see their physical growth from the time they were five years old until their cap and gown graduation picture at eighteen years old. Yes, we have a homeschool graduation with cap and gown.  And they get to choose any color cap and gown that they want. Our daughter just graduated, and I'm surprised she didn't pick a tie-dye cap and gown. I'm telling you, she would've tie-dyed it herself, like she does with most of her T-shirts. She chose, instead, a pretty baby blue....although, I would've been fine with tie-dye. Homeschool graduations are far from boring, though, with our graduate slide shows and personal dedications.

So now my graduate has started college. Her plan is to stay home and attend our local college for her Associate in Arts degree. Then she plans to transfer to a university when she has a better idea of what she wants to do. Right now she's thinking of going into education or be a sign language interpreter, but that could change. This semester she's taking a sign language course, which may give her a better feel for that field. She's registered as a full time student this semester. She's also working part-time. And she now has a boyfriend. Yes, a boyfriend. If it were up to me, that would not be happening. Only because she will always be my little girl and it's a little hard to accept that she's growing up. Having said that, he's a really nice young man. Her mom and dad approve. ;)  We're really not concerned with her making a bad choice in that department. Dad doesn't have to put the fear of life into him. Instead, we trust we've raised her smart enough to be with someone who will honor and respect her. This week we got to see a lot less of her. She was either at school, at work, on a date with her boyfriend and friends, or with her nose in a book or computer. After a summer of just hanging out together at the beach, watching movies, going out for ice cream...or just hanging out at home, this is a new routine.  We will need to get used to her full schedule...but never too full for some family time here and there.

Moving right along to our next child still at home and homeschooling is our son in his last year of homeschool high school. He's got a full load as well. He's also working part time. He works with his sister, who is in a supervisory position at work and is the one who does the scheduling for all employees. This can be a benefit for both of them when they need a particular day off. It's also a benefit that they get to drive to work together or play tag with the car as one arrives to work while the other one is leaving work. Noah is also dual enrolled in high school at home and college. He's taking English 1101 at the same college as his sister. At home he's doing math, anatomy, pre-calculus, worldview, and a Literary course. He also meets with his local Sea Cadets on a weekly basis and serves in the children's worship team at our church. Full schedule for him, as well....but never too full for family time here and there.

Last but not least is our youngest, Samantha. We homeschool Samantha all year. Because of her Down syndrome, it's just best that we don't take time off from school for more than a week or two at a time. She did take a week off each summer month. Now that we're officially starting a new year, we're working on some lesson reviews. For math we're reviewing her first grade homeschool curriculum.  We use Time4Learning curriculum for Math, Language Arts, Science and Social studies.  In Language Arts we're reviewing 4th grade and then moving on to 5th grade. This is one of the things that I love about this curriculum. She can work at her own pace and at the grade level she is really at. She's not struggling to keep up or moving ahead before understanding a lesson.

We've added a P.E. day to her schedule this year, which she is really excited about. We have a homeschool sports organization that is simply amazing. There are about a hundred kids on each P.E. day meeting at different parks around the city. Kids are taught about almost every sport, including archery, which is a favorite. But most importantly, kids are taught to encourage and respect one another and work as a team. I'm also looking into adding a science day at the park with a group of kids from our homeschool support group. We did this a few year ago with a few families. The kids learned a lot from the park naturalist. It was nice to get out once a week and do school at the park.

As you can see, each of us has a pretty full schedule.  I don't know how people are still asking about homeschoolers and socialization. Looking at our homeschool support group's calendar, we're going to have a hard time saying no to a lot of events and activities planned for the year. Already this month we've registered for a field trip to the zoo.  Even my daughter in college is coming with us. We're excited about this field trip because it's been a long time since we've been to the zoo, it's been a long time since we'be been on a field trip with this group, and we'll be seeing lots of old friends we haven't seen in months. And we're happy to have a day planned ahead for family time.

What does your school year look like? What are you doing differently this year from last year?  Please comment below. I love new ideas or comments.

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I Can Let Go

I've been thinking today of moms whose kids have graduated high school this year and will be going off to college in the fall, just a few weeks away.  My daughter just graduated this year from our homeschool high school, but she is staying home. She'll be attending the local college and then transferring to a university in a year or two. My son, hopes to go away to college as soon as he's done with homeschool high school. And the reason I'm thinking of moms sending off their kids is because we just dropped Noah off for a two-week Recruit Training with the Sea Cadets. This is the longest he will be away from home.  It's only been three days and I miss him terribly. I think it's even harder for me because I cannot communicate with him. He cannot just pick up a phone and call.

A couple of years ago he and his sister went to a church retreat, which was a few days. But they were together and we could communicate with each other.  This time he has no electronics. So that means no texting, phone calls or emails. Parents can send emails. The emails get printed and passed out to the recruits at the end of the day. He cannot email us back, though. He can only write to us.  I packed him a mailing kit...addressed and stamped the envelopes so all he had to do was write the letter. We just received our first letter from him. He must've been too tired to write because the letter was quite short. But it was clear that these first two days were pretty rough. I know the first day there, the cadets were awakened at 4:45 am and went on to do physical fitness training immediately after waking up...then breakfast.  So I can imagine that by the end of the day, the only thing he wants to do is just sleep.

You may be wondering what possessed me to send my son to recruit training! Well, it wasn't my choice. It was his. He is 17 years old now and he's been looking forward to this for a long time. He knew how hard it was going to be, and still he wanted to go. He has a desire to join the service some day. It's not a direction that we have been taking him in, but it's a desire that has grown in his heart. So I think this is a very good opportunity for him to get a small taste of what it would be like. I think these two weeks may be life-changing for him. It will certainly be character-building and teach him self discipline.  I'm happy he's learning time management and to set goals and remain focused. I've been told by parents of recruits from previous year that their sons went as young boys and came back as responsible young adults.

These are all good lessons he's learning, of course.  But I cannot help but then think of the near future when he goes away to college. I'm not even half way into the two week period and I'm missing him. I cried reading his letter and I tear up talking to my daughter about where he is and what he may be doing. So I cannot even imagine when he goes away to college...or if/when my daughter goes away to college. I still have a year or two to worry about that, but I'm also aware that time passes oh so quickly.  It seems like just yesterday I was trying to decide what elementary homeschool curriculum to use. I cannot forget I still have my youngest daughter, and she's a long way away from making plans about moving.

When I start thinking of my kids leaving home and what I'll be missing with them, it is so easy to fall into depression or sadness. I can't let myself stay there for long.  I've found that it helps to remember that I've not just been raising children, but I've been raising adults.  This was the goal.  To raise adults who are productive citizens in society and live out God's plan for their lives. I change my focus from what I'm losing (the past) to what my kids are gaining (their future).  I meditate on their bright futures and my future with my husband and the time we'll have together, rather than the past.  The past is beautiful, but it is past. It had its purpose. I treasure those moments, but they are just beautiful memories now. Instead, I want to get excited for the opportunities, the new experiences, the new life lessons and adventures they will have, and that my husband and I will have, and that we can share with each other.  We'll be able to have some very cool talks. In the meantime, they are all still home and my work as a homeschool mom is not finished.  I can work on friendships with my children, my soon-to-be adult children, by being intentional with our conversations and time together. I need to start counseling more than disciplining, releasing them, allowing them to make mistakes, and letting them fly. It helps to know that God is in control and I can let go.

Independence Day...lessons learned

Yes, here it is, Independence Day, 4th of July, and I'm blogging.  I'm so excited to share our day with you so far. It's three in the afternoon and it feels like I should be getting ready for bed and like my day should be over. I'll tell you why.  I'm not a morning person. It's one of the many benefits of being homeschoolers, in my humble opinion, that we get to set our own schedules and work at our own pace. We don't normally start our school until late morning. I'm not saying we wake up that late, but by the time we have breakfast (my favorite meal of the day), have our quiet time and do some chores, it's late morning or early afternoon before we actually start with our 'academics'.  Well, yesterday we made plans to go to the beach today. But more than that, my daughter suggested we wake up at 5am so we could get to the beach before sunrise!  We all joked about who would change their mind come 5am or who wouldn't be able to get out of bed. My husband said it would be easy for him because he's up early every morning for work anyway. But I questioned whether he'd be tempted to sleep in since he had the day off.  Our teenage son, Noah, who likes to sleep in and doesn't like the beach, said there was no way he was getting up. And I told him even if we had to carry him to the car, he was going. All in good fun, though. I was the first one up, and as I went to wake Amber up, her alarm went off. She loves the beach and it was her idea to begin with, so I had no doubt she'd be ready in no time.

Our original plan was to be up at 5 and be at the beach by 6:30, in time to see the sunrise. We should've gotten up a lot earlier because we didn't get out of the house and on our way until 6:30! So we got to see the sunrise on the way to the beach. It took longer than we had expected to get the kayak strapped to the top of our van. And to be quite honest, our family tends to be late more often than I care to admit. Our son Noah is the only one who is punctual. He's the one who wants to be a Marine. I'd like to simply grab some towels and the umbrella and just head to the beach. But some in my family, who will remained unnamed (cough*cough* hubby), want to pack like we're going camping. It was a little stressful just getting things together and trying to get out of the house and on our way. When we all (I) decided to just surrender the idea of getting to the beach before sunrise, and be happy with just the fact that we were going to spend the day together, whether we saw the sunrise outside our house or on the way to the beach, 'we' were able to just live in the moment and have joy. Lesson learned.

So we finally made it to the beach and with arms full of coolers, towels, bags, umbrellas, chairs, and, of course, the kayak, we found a nice spot on an empty beach. Sunrise is definitely a good time to arrive at the beach on a busy holiday. The water was perfect for kayaking. Amber bought this kayak several months ago. She's my adventurous child. Today was the first time we all got to use it. And and best of all, Samantha got to use it!! Samantha, for those of you new to our blog, is our daughter with Down syndrome. My husband and Amber gave her a few tips on how to turn the kayak in the direction she wanted it to go. It didn't take but a couple of minutes before she was off on her own and loving it! I was a bit scared of drifting out to the middle of the ocean, but once I saw her doing it and having such a great time, I knew I had to try it too.  We each had our turn kayaking. Kayaking out on the ocean, especially when the water is so calm, with no waves, is so relaxing. Of course, I didn't go out too far. And knowing my husband would swim out to rescue me if I needed him, was nice too.

We really had a great time together. At one point I saw something floating in the ocean. It kind of looked like a ball.  Amber thought it was a coconut, though there are no coconut trees on the beach. So she swam out to see (sea).  Haha.  I had to put that pun in there.  Sorry.  Anyway, would you believe it was a whole watermelon?!  I cannot imagine how that got out there...maybe it fell in the water from one of the boats we saw out there. Maybe even a cruise ship. We had a good laugh about that one. We wondered if it would be good to eat, but we just left it at the beach when we packed up to go home. On our drive home we talked about the meaning of Independence Day. And it was actually Samantha who started the conversation by asking what the holiday means. She's always so curious and eager to learn. We each shared what rights we personally think are most important to us and what a blessing it is to have been born in America and enjoy the freedom that we have, especially the freedom of religion.

We made it to the beach by 7am and back home by 1:30, just in time for the our teens to have lunch, shower and head out to work for a few hours. And now that we're home Samantha is playing some matching vocabulary games. She's getting ready and excited for our American Girl book club, which starts next week. Although I'm ready to just call it a day, it's far from over. The Colombia vs Brasil soccer game is starting soon.  Have I mentioned how much our family loves 'futbol'?   My husband's and my parents are Colombian, so this is one game we CANNOT miss! And then tonight, of course, we'll be going out to see the fireworks. Our kids will be home from work by 7, just in time to go out and meet our older son and his wife and baby at the park for the fireworks show and some more fun. I'm so glad that even with all these changes we're going through with our older kids growing more independent, that we can still make time to be together and enjoy each other. The many years of homeschooling have created a bond with each other. My kids are close. They are best friends. And even if one of us doesn't like the beach, we don't mind it so much, as long as we're together. We're thankful for the memories.

What about your family? What did you all do for the 4th of July weekend?  Any new lessons learned?

Changes

Our daughter-in-law is starting to homeschool our 4-year-old granddaughter.  She's very excited and eager to start to homeschool preschool.  Today we both searched through my shelves of books and materials for things that she could use to teach the baby to read.  I know.  At four years old she's not a baby, but it's a hard habit to break. She's still the baby in the family.   So we started pulling out the books I used with my own babies.  I showed her how I used each one, even sampling one with the baby.  Just like our kids have different learning styles, we have different teaching styles.  So I wanted her to take a look at each one and choose which would be best for her.  For our older kids we used Alpha-Phonics, and with our youngest we used Phono-Graphix. We've homeschooled for thirteen years and have made many changes over the years. We've used so many different resources.  I have my favorites.  And actually, there are some books and resources that I may have a hard time surrendering, even after I'm done homeschooling all our kids.  But I'm happy that our daughter-in-law is homeschooling and we'll be keeping my favorite ones in the family.  So I'll be sharing with her,  and hopefully someday sharing them with our other kids if they homeschool.  Of course, as I say this, I'm reminded that  there's always new homeschool curriculum coming out.  Our youngest uses Time4Learning, and that wasn't around when our older ones were little. They would've loved it!

We've used so many different things over the years. Some have stayed with us and some haven't lasted more than a few weeks.  Through our elementary years we're more eclectic.  I'll use a little of this and a little of that, even getting creative with materials at times.  When our kids reach high school, it gets a little more structured, as we're more concerned with the credits needed for high school transcripts.  I just don't want to take a chance that I may mess them up if they want to take their education further. So structure equals less freedom and more discipline with our schedules.  It means more responsibilities. Especially once they're dual enrolled in college.  If they want to dual enroll, we start with one college class to be sure they can handle it.  If they're registered for a college class and homeschool writing courses, they know that the college class takes priority over any other course, extra-curricular activity or job.  The college course grade is one that will be on their record and affect their gpa, not just for high school, but also for college. For example, one of our kids took an online college class. That was not a good idea for this particular child.  The idea was that the online class would allow more flexibility, but instead, our student often forgot to check in for assignments and tests. Of course, our student got a less than acceptable grade. That was one lesson learned by our student and by us! 

This year two of our kids became drivers, started college classes and part-time jobs.  The changes have meant we've had to adjust in different ways.  We've had to be more mindful of our schedules.  We've had less freedom to take spontaneous trips or vacations.  Also, family dinners have always been important.   However, with additional activities, classes, jobs, friends and schedules, there have been fewer family dinners.  At times I'll cook a meal for six, and it'll end up being just three of us.  Sometimes the kids have been at work, in class, or even out at an event or with friends.  Sometimes they've planned to be home, and their schedule changes when they get called in to work. This summer they didn't take college classes, so it's meant more time to be together.  We're having some sweet times together.  At times we've had to intentionally plan it, and other times it's been spontaneous.  Either way, it's always fun to have time together, whether it be a planned trip to the beach for the day, the library for a few hours, or a game or movie at home for the evening.  Even if it's only for a few minutes, they'll take time to play two-player games with Sami.  The World Cup has also afforded us more time together, since our family loves soccer. We've watched games together either at our oldest son's place or at our home.  It's been fun cheering for our favorite teams together.  Also, our kids are making new friends at work, and we've had more opportunities to be intentional to invite them over more often to get to know them.

What about your family?  Some of you may just be starting out, but some may have older kids.  What brings your family together, if you have older ones?  And if you have little ones, what traditions are you starting in your family?  

Learning Games for Preschoolers

Our son married a wonderful girl last month. I now have a new daughter....and I also have a new granddaughter.  She has a soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter, and she's a sweetheart. I know you may think I'm biased, but believe me when I tell you that she is super smart, kind, considerate, lovable....this is the moment when a mom of a toddler is reading this and she says, "Sure she is. She's your granddaughter." or "Sure she is. She doesn't live with you." You're right on both counts. Her mom and I agree. We do agree she's got her moments, like most toddlers. I've actually seen her when she's had a tantrum. And I'm so impressed with how gentle and patient my daughter-in-law is with her. Perhaps that's why baby is so tenderhearted and sweet.

Well, my daughter-in-law has decided to homeschool. She was homeschooled through the last half of her school years. So she has experience and knows the benefits of homeschooling.  Can I say that I'm happy that they're choosing to homeschool?!  I hope all my babies will be homeschooled. Baby is only 4 years old, but mom is eager to get started. And baby is also excited to do 'schoolwork'. It's been a long time since I've had a little one. She's stayed with us a few times while they go out on a date or when mom needs to run errands. We have tea parties and dress-up parties. We play with puppets and have puppet shows.  She's such a little actress.  She's been taking ballet and loves to put on little dance shows.

There's lots of learning going on through play when she stays with us.  Sam loves to play with her.  She's a wonderful auntie.  She loves playing on the computer, too. We've found some fun learning games for preschoolers.  We've installed some fun educational apps on our iPad that she enjoys playing. When my kids were little, our greatest resource was the library.  We spent a lot of time at different libraries, children's museums, the park. And I look forward to doing that with Sam and baby, too.  Our library has fun Story Time scheduled several times a week, which includes a craft. 

The internet is a great resource today. I have a Pinterest account and I'm finding loads of hands-on learning activities there.  I also found a fun program at our local humane society for young readers.  They've joined with the libraries to create a program called Wags & Tales Reading Program.  Kids can read a short story of their choice to a therapy dog. This helps boost kids' confidence in reading, plus it's fun for them. So I'm starting to put together some fun activities for the summer because our granddaughter, who lives in North Carolina, will also be visiting us this summer.  Of course, we'll be doing days at the beach or the waterpark here in Florida, but I also want some fun things to do at home besides swimming in the pool or baking cookies.  So if you have any fun activities or suggestions, please comment below and let me know. 

Getting Ready to Meet Felicity and Kaya

Samantha has been invited to an American Girl summer book club.  She is so excited. This is the first personal invitation she's received to be part of a group or club. She's especially excited because it's a book club, since she loves to read, and it's an American Girl book club, since she loves and has American Girl dolls. She needs to read two books, Meet Felicity and Meet Kaya, before the end of next week. She's almost done with the first book.  To prepare, I've gone through the book and picked out words that she's not familiar with, like fret, ginger, harness, scoundrel, breeches, tannery, to help her with word meaning and comprehension. I wanted to create my own list at SpellingCity, but then as I did a search for Meet Felicity, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were a number of lists already created by other members, which we can use. These word games give a boost to her reading comprehension. While some of these may be words that most girls her age would know, they're not words that we use in our everyday conversations or that she may have read too often in other books. Also, Samantha has Down syndrome, so her vocabulary knowledge is not as extensive as a typical child her age. Which is why I'm so glad that she is an avid reader. The more she reads, the more her vocabulary will grow and the more her comprehension will improve.

She reads every opportunity she gets.

To be sure she's understanding what she's reading, after she's read a few pages, I ask her what she's read. If she doesn't have a good understanding of it or if she cannot answer some of my questions, I'll read it with her again. It's okay if we read the book repeatedly. The important thing is that she read the book from beginning to end and that she understands the flow of the story, the problem in the story and the solution in the story. We also talk about lessons to take away from each story, the characters and what she thinks of each character. Sam and I haven't done a book club before. So I look forward to her being a part of this with other girls and their moms. It'll give her an opportunity to hear the girls discuss the books and to have some input into conversations. This is an area that Samantha really needs practice in, and this will be the perfect setting for her. She'll be with friends who know her and care about her, and she'll be familiar with the topic of conversation. I'll tell you more later about our book club experience. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your experience with book clubs. Maybe share with us some ideas we can bring to share with our friends.