Big Win

I'm sorry that I keep talking about homeschool. But, well, that's our life now- and it's pretty all consuming, so it gets blogged about.

As you read this post, you need to understand a few things:

1. I am only three weeks into this homeschooling journey. I have A LOT more to learn, and everything I write today might be completely false tomorrow.

2. I fully understand that I am turning my children into guinea pigs and that this experiment might fail miserably, regardless of how it goes today. Thankfully, there are a lot of other homeschooling families who have led the way quite successfully.

3. I know I am in the honeymoon stage of homeschooling. There are so many different ways this can go.

With that said...

This week has been a breakthrough week!

On Monday I pulled out our awesome math workbooks. After a ton of research, I decided on Horizons Math- which is similar to both Everyday Math (which is what she used in school) and Saxon Math. They are all pretty much the same. Horizon math books are more colorful and come highly recommended, so I thought they would be great.

I pulled out the workbook and Audra started sobbing- yelling and screaming about how much she hates math.

I knew last year that Audra was struggling with math. Her teacher pulled me aside to ask if he could tutor Audra after school once a week. He noticed that things weren't quite clicking with her- that she would get a "deer in the headlights" look. She was a good enough student and a good enough kid to not get pulled out with the struggling kids, but she needed help. Basically, she was getting lost in the shuffle.

I went in with her for her tutoring sessions, and I realized that her teacher was right. She could make good guesses, but she wasn't getting it. We would practice at home, but it just frustrated her more- leading her to feel stupid.

On Monday, I realized that Saxon or Everyday Math or Horizions Math simply weren't going to cut it. I had to find something absolutely different- something that broke things down into simple segments.

Thankfully, with homeschooling, I can do that! I can actually find a program that WORKS for her! There are so many wonderful curricula- that teach to different learning styles in ways that every child can learn from. Audra can't learn with the classroom mentality- in regards to math, she really needs one-on-one attention and lots of visuals and use of manipulatives.

I pulled out some popscicle sticks. We were working on 10's, something she really struggled with. We put them in bundles of 10 and then I had her make piles with 14, 16, 22, etc- putting the correct amount of 10 bundles together, and then the ones. All of a sudden, she could figure out the 10's place- and she was EXCITED! I had her try to trick me and give me different numbers, which she thought was the most fun! She even came up with a game that we could play using 10's- all of a sudden, she was EXCITED about math! She LIKED math!

This was a HUGE win- I was so happy! I can't stand the thought of my 7-year-old hating math. If the only reason I am homeschooling is to get her to enjoy and understand math, then homeschooling is worth it! That doesn't mean she has to be a mathematician. It just means that she hopefully won't feel stupid and less than the other kids in class and that math is horrible.

After doing even more research, I have decided on Ray's Arithmetic. This is the curriculum that was used in the 1870's- yes, the 1870's. It is a lot of story problems that build on each other. It is recommended by my new favorite home school advocate Ruth Beecher- who teaches that we should simplify our homeschooling, not over-complicate it. She wrote a guide to go along with the text that uses tons of manipulatives and puts math in every day life- not on a worksheet. This is what Audra needs! I don't know if it will work, but we are getting closer. I ordered it from Amazon and it hasn't come in yet, but I can't wait for it to come!

Then yesterday for school we went to the zoo. Ben has every other Friday off, so the plan is to get school done quickly on those days and then go have fun as a family.

(Sidenote: We LOVE LOVE LOVE our library. Audra won a year long family pass to the zoo from them! She and Claire were both automatically entered into a drawing that we didn't know about by signing up for the summer reading camp. They called and said Audra won this pass- and we were ecstatic!)

As we were walking around the zoo, I had the overwhelming thought: Homeschooling is awesome! Why doesn't everybody do it?

I know that sounds ridiculous. Believe me, I know that. This was never going to be my life. But, three weeks in, it is going so well. I love it! I feel really blessed that we can do this.

Of course, it really isn't about me- it's about Audra and Claire. And so far, they also really enjoy it. In fact, last week Audra said, "Mom, how come when I was in school, I had to do school until Daddy came home from work?" No more homework until bedtime. It's nice.

Anyway, back to the zoo.

We did our schoolwork and headed out:

 While at the zoo, the girls chose 6 animals. They counted those animals. Then, when we got home, the girls made a graph of the animals to show what animals had the most and the least.

This was a great week- hopefully we will have more of these!!

Claire's Talk

Today Claire gave a talk in primary. Actually, she got super scared when she got to the microphone- her shyness definitely came out and all the people scared her- so I read her talk for her. She held up a picture of she and her sisters.

Here's her talk (I found it on-line and she helped me modify it to fit our family):

In my family, we sing. We dance. We laugh. We tickle.  I cook with my Mom. I play chase and video games with my mom.

I play with sisters. We have lots of fun.

In the winter, we go sledding. I really like sledding. We also like to go swimming.

In the summer we go to the North Pole, and I love going on the big rides with my sisters. The cars are my favorite.

I love spending time with my family. I know the fun things we do together are important, but I want to be with my family forever.

My family and I read the scriptures, and we have family prayer. I know this helps us to become a strong family. And this will help me to prepare to deal with the hard things that will happen as I grow up. I know my family will always be there for me and love me.

When I think of my Heavenly Father and Jesus, I know they love me like my Dad and Mom love me. Heavenly Father and Jesus gave me my family to help me get back to Them. And I want to. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus and my family, and I want to be with them always.

God gave us families to help us become what he wants us to be. This is how he shares his love, for the family is of God.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Shirt

Today we made a trip to Goodwill. They were having their 50% off sale, and I was hoping we could find a black shirt for Ben because we had pictures taken today and he needed one (basically, I have decided that Goodwill is the only place we are ever allowed to buy clothes again- the deals are too good).

Ben assured me again and again that he hates black shirts and he would never wear it again. I didn't care, though, because we really only needed it for tonight.

We found a shirt. He didn't even try it on. We bought it for $1.50- if it didn't fit, who cares?

We came home, I washed it, and then he put it on. Dang, he looked HOT! Even he admitted it looked nice. He actually admitted that he really loves the shirt and he is married to the best wife in the world for picking it out for him.

We looked at the tag and saw that it is a Saks Fifth Avenue shirt. Just for kicks, I looked up how much this shirt cost retail.

Are you ready for this? $150!!!!!

Ben says it feels like a $150 shirt.

He says when he wears this shirt out he is going to want another one. I told him we weren't going to buy a t-shirt for him that costs more than his wedding tuxedo.

The shirt is officially the most expensive article of clothing in his wardrobe.

We decided we are now part of the 1% because we only paid 1% of the original purchase price- that's our kind of 1%!

Anyway, that's just our fun story about our VERY successful trip to Goodwill- we LOVE that place!

Odds and Ends

It's been a ho-hum week. Nothing too exciting to report, so I'll just post a couple of cute things the girls have done.

The other day Audra and Claire worked very hard to do make this:

It is a closet for their doll clothes. They are both absolutely OBSESSED with their dolls at this time! They both take their dolls everywhere- feed them, change their diapers, put them to bed every night, change their clothes morning and night. And if Camille touches their dolls- watch out!

They came up with this idea all by themselves. They were very proud. Here's the conversation we had last night:

Audra: "Dad,  look what we made! We made it all by ourselves!"

Dad: "That looks great!"

Audra: "Yeah, mom didn't even help us. I took some scissors and I stabbled holes in the box for the hangars."

Mom: "I probably should have helped them."

I love that they are using their creativity, however.

And, here's some of their latest artwork:

 I think the one above and below are Claire's

 And, I think the butterfly is Audra's, but it could be Claire's:

Fuzzy Giraffe Elementary

One week down, 35 more to go.

Here's some first day of school pictures.

Claire, kindie:

 Audra, 2nd grade:

 Camille- Audra labeled her sign "Mess School" because she is so good at making messes:

 We started school off on Tuesday. After devotional (which consisted of reading a story from The Friend, a song, and reciting an Article of Faith) I sat the kids down to name our school and create a banner. After some discussion, the kids decided on "Fuzzy Giraffe Elementary." This might be why 5-year-olds are not allowed to name regular brick and mortar elementary schools. I think I will make us all some Fuzzy Giraffe Elementary t-shirts.

Here is their banner. Camille's poster is on the bottom:

 Fuzzy Giraffe Elementary: Develop and learn through nature and authentic opportunities as a family knit in love and unity. (That's a lofty mission statement. We'll see how it turns out)

 I also asked the girls what they would like to learn and do this year. Here are their answers:

Claire
-Catch butterflies
-Catch worms
-Explore nature
-Learn to read
-Pick flowers and put them in a cup
-Do crafts
-Learn to bake

Audra
-Do crafts
-Have music and dance
-Play games
-Learn to flip pancakes


Overall, the first week went well. Not great, but well. There are definitely some things I need to figure out! The biggest challenge so far is keeping Camille entertained. I have learned that if  I spend 10 minutes just with her first thing in the morning, she does better the rest of the day.

It is taking us awhile to figure out our rhythm. I wouldn't say the days are running smoothly quite yet. But, we are figuring it out and it's OK. The first day we pushed through, but I realized it was too much. The second day we had more breaks- we read books while eating snacks outside, which was WAY better than just reading. Also, I need one-on-one time with each child every day. I found some on-line games that one can play while the other works with me. They love being able to be on the computer- even though it is only for a few minutes- and I get time with each kid. Basically, we're figuring it out.

So far, the girls seem to like homeschool. We were eating lunch one day and Audra was saying how much better it is to eat lunch at home because she wasn't rushed and wasn't getting yelled at. This was validated when I met with one of my friends that same night and she talked about how she met her daughter at school to eat lunch with her. It was the second day of school, and she said the lunch lady was yelling and screaming at the kids to be quiet, and they only had about 13 minutes to eat lunch. She was upset, but it made me happy because Audra wasn't there.

Plus, we do get done by around 1 each day. Unless it is a park day with friends, where we switch and go to the park in the morning and then do school later in the day (which works out really well because then Camille is taking her nap!). I love the flexibility!

Ben has every other Friday off, so yesterday I told the girls that as soon as they finished school, we would go to the park and they could play in the river- something they LOVE to do, but we haven't had time to do all summer. They did work hard and were done with their work by 11:30. We packed a lunch and headed out.

 The park has a train, where we take an annual picture:

 They also have a petting zoo:

 We are reading Charlotte's Web for school, and this petting zoo had a tribute to the book which was pretty neat:

 Then they got to go play in the river. Pretty cool recess, huh?

It was fun to think that while her former classmates were still in school,  Audra got to be playing in the river with her sisters.

But, of course, that isn't to say that this week was all kicks and giggles. The girls are expected to do work, and there were a few tears this week. This is a complete lifestyle change, and this will take us weeks, months, and possibly even years to figure out as we tweak and decide what works best for us. Even in just this week, I can see the pros of homeschool and can easily see why so many choose to do it. But, I can also see the cons and why so many people quit homeschooling after a year or two. It's a balancing act.

Soon, the co-op classes will start, as will ballet and piano and all that life has to offer. Once we get in our full schedule and figure out our routines, I think things will run more smoothly.  Until then, we will keep working hard and trying our best. It will all work out, I am sure.

The Decision

We have had a wonderful summer. Truly- lots of trips, play dates, beach days, and FUN. The girls have gotten to play with all of their cousins and catch up with many of their friends. We have slept in and stayed up late. It has, quite simply, been fantastic.

But over the summer there has been one over-arching question: What will happen come August?

As I posted before, I have been toying with the idea of homeschooling. I have researched, and researched, and researched some more. And then more.

And the research is quite impressive. Homeschooling is not like it was when I was a kid! It used to be that the parents in our neighborhood would say that they were homeschooling, while really they just let their kids watch TV all day.

While I am sure that does still occur, that really isn't an issue anymore. Now, after the pioneers have led the way, there are amazing curriculums, organized co-ops, and a vastly diverse population of homeschooling families. There are over 2 million homeschooled kids every year, and that number grows every year!

Why? Because (according to my research, which admittedly might be quite biased), homeschoolers are so successful. They are typically one year ahead of their elementary peers, and by middle school they are roughly 3 years ahead of their public/private school counterparts! It is quite impressive.

But really that wasn't enough of a reason for me. And, even with the research, I have been plagued by doubts this summer.

I pretty much decided by the end of the last school year that I would homeschool. I bought an awesome curriculum and joined a co-op to start to meet other homeschooling families in the area.

I have realized that everybody has different reasons for homeschooling. And, even though I don't have 12 children (and I have NO desire to have 12 children) and even though I don't raise my own chickens (though part of me does want to do that), I can still homeschool.

Here are some of my reasons for choosing (or being forced to choose) to homeschool:

-I philosophically disagree with our school board and the direction they are taking our schools. I believe what they are doing will hurt my children educationally, and I can't idly sit by and let that happen.

-Audra hates to learn. Having my first grader tell me that she is "stupid" and "not as smart as the other kids at school" was simply too much. I don't care if she is stupid, she shouldn't think she is in first grade. In first grade, learning should be fun- and it wasn't for her. One of my top goals with homeschooling is to rekindle the love of learning in Audra that she had before 1st grade but then lost.

-In Colorado, our kids are now expected to take 3-6 weeks worth of standardized testing which will begin in kindergarten and continue every year until they graduate starting in the 2015-2016 school year. This is a statewide mandate, and I think it is a complete waste of time, money, and other resources. I believe it reduces our children to a test score while wasting months of valuable teaching time. How can they learn when they are constantly being tested? (To be clear, I am NOT against all testing- of course children need to be evaluated to make sure they are learning. But it has gotten out of hand in CO, in my opinion.)

-The school schedule along with nightly homework left no time for play or other activities. In talking to homeschooling families, most of them say they are done right around lunch time- leaving plenty of time for playing outside in the backyard, piano lessons, and family time. This is one thing I am looking forward to the most!

-Freedom and flexibility! I get to choose their curriculum- not the school board or the state! We get to go to Disneyland in November if we want- no worry about missing school! In fact, if we really wanted to, we can bring it with us!(By the way, I will not be bringing school to Disneyland)

-Safety. Not only do we have a propensity for gun violence in Colorado, but there is, of course, general teasing that goes on. While I admit that kids do need to learn to deal with things like this, I am glad that my kids won't have to endure bullying or taunting from schoolmates. Audra was starting to have a couple of issues on the playground. Her second front tooth hasn't come in yet, and some of the kids were saying she was a "witch" because she only has one tooth. Audra is a pretty sensitive soul, and while this isn't reason enough to pull her out of school, I won't miss that aspect of the playground. Of course, the school shooting thing is a real and valid concern if you live in Colorado- and anybody who lives here and tells you otherwise is lying.

With all of these reasons and many more, for better or worse we start school tomorrow. I am nervous, and I have had some concerns. Will I screw my children up for life? Am I going to cause them to be total freaks and have no friends? When I plan their Birthday parties next summer, will they have friends to invite???

I started having a panic attack the other day thinking about this.

But, today I met with other co-op moms. We are in the beginnings of putting together the co-op schedule for this next year, and I felt comforted. All the other moms have the same concerns. Yes, I will have to work harder to make sure we go to play dates and meet with other homeschooling families. But, it will all work out. Claire made a friend today, and they live close by, and that left me feeling comforted.

 Here's our curriculum- whew! It's a TON of books!!! Here's a small sampling below:

I have a lot to be excited about for this year. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the curriculum I chose! It is Sonlight, and it is a literature based program, which is what I wanted. We will read A LOT together, but we love to read so it should work out perfectly. I also believe that reading to your kids is the most important part of learning, which is what Sonlight believes, so it fits.

Audra and Claire will have mostly the same curriculum. We will do our read-alouds and history together. They can also do science, art, and music together. They will, of course, have separate math and reading assignments, mostly because I need to teach Claire to read this year, whereas Audra already knows how to read. Audra's work will be more advanced, but Claire can do a lot of what Audra does.

While we're "doing school" Camille will play and draw and "help" us out I suppose. We will figure that out as we go.

I never in a million years thought I would be homeschooling. That is what the weird and crazy moms do. I am independent- not crazy.

I very much feel like this decision was thrust on me as a result of what is happening in our school district, and I hate that part. I hate feeling disconnected from our community- but that is what our board wants, and I can't fight them anymore- I lost to them already.

Despite all of the anger that has come out of this last year, I am genuinely excited to try homeschooling out. I honestly don't know if it will work or not. It might be an epic failure. But, I am committed to trying this for one year and seeing how it goes. If it doesn't work, we can try something different.

For now, I am cautiously optimistic that this will turn out well. I have a Master's Degree in Education and a lot of teaching experience, and while not all of that will be useful, I hope some of it will prove valuable in this endeavor.

This is a learning experience for us. While realizing this could be the worst thing I could possibly do for my children, I also know this could turn out to be the greatest blessing. Probably, this will turn out somewhere in the middle- good at times, and not so good at times. But, hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad. In case it does not, I have started a fund for their future therapy sessions.

Starting tomorrow, the story will unfold. I'll keep you updated as to how it goes!

The Best Laid Plans

Last Saturday we took the girls up to the mountains for a "Slithering Snakes" class. We love these classes that Jeffco puts on! The kids (and I!) learn so much.

 Here they are getting to touch a real snake. Claire was a little shy, but eventually jumped in.

 Then they went out to figure out where snakes would go when they are hot, or when they are cold. Snakes can't control their body temperature, so they have to move to cooler or hotter places depending on what they want their temperature to be. It was great for the kids to learn so much.

After the snakes, we decided to head down to Invesco Field to watch the Broncos scrimmage. They open it up to the public for free and thought it would be fun.

Boy were we wrong!

We would thought we would be smart and park at our rental property- it's about a mile from the stadium. Traffic was bad and we missed the turn-off. We were already late, and this missed turn made us even later. But, we figured a scrimmage was the same length of a game, and even though we would miss seeing the starters, we thought we would see the 2nd and 3rd string players, which was fine.

It was very hot, and we had  to carry Camille for a lot of the way.

We get there, and they wouldn't let me in because I had my purse. Ben had to go to the bathroom, and everything was going WRONG. I was so mad that I couldn't go in! I had to walk back to the townhouse. Ben went in with the girls while I headed back. Thankfully, a friend happened to be driving by and gave me a lift back to the townhome (quite a case of serendipity, but we took whatever good luck we might have come our way!).

Ben texted me where they were sitting. They got super great seats.

Why? Because they walked into the stadium right as the last snap of the scrimmage went off! We all missed the entire thing! The scrimmage only lasted a little over an hour.

We were hot, grumpy, and frustrated.

 It was definitely NOT worth the effort, except for this:

 If you look VERY closely, that is Peyton Manning's head. Right after the game he ran over to right where Ben and the girls were sitting (I missed this completely) and Ben got to see Peyton up close. That made him very happy, and he thinks it was worth the effort.

I think we learned a good lesson: IF we go next year (a BIG if), we will need to go several hours early.

 

 Here's some more players getting interviewed. I think. I can't tell.

I will say it was neat to see Invesco Field. It is beautiful- absolutely a sight to behold. Perhaps someday we will go to an actual game there. We'll see. It was such a mess with so many people, and the stadium was hardly full at all, that I think it is much easier to just watch the game in the comforts of home!

Bear Lake: The Final Adventure

Well, what would this flexible, adventurous trip be without one more wrinkle in our plans?

Yup, we popped a tire.

We knew our tires were bad- we didn't realize they were THAT bad. But, they were.

Thankfully, we got stuck right in front of a super nice lady and her daughter and their ranch. They let the girls feed their pigs and see the chickens. We were very grateful for that. Then, we thankfully were able to make it another 30 miles to Evanston to get all new tires. They were able to get us fixed up in an hour. Another blessing.

It was crummy- but it could have been SO MUCH WORSE! I am grateful that things were not nearly as bad as they could have been.

From start to finish, we created a lot of memories this trip! Not all of them good, but definitely memorable!