I'm going through How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, by Siegfried Engelmann, with Ethan. We're on day three. Tonight, right before bed, I wrote this on a post-it note:
I am sam
I told him I'd give him 5 M&Ms if he read it. He did. His first sentence read...I am sam.
Way to go buddy!!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Where to begin? How about at the beginning.
Today marked the first day of school for The Loft Academy. I must say I wasn't the least bit nervous as their teacher since I feel like I've been preparing for this day for months. I've researched, read, planned, shopped, organized, prayed and dreamed. And today, it was do or die.
Since this is our first year homeschooling I was prepared for all of the times my kids would tell me I wasn't doing it, "like we did at school." I'm okay with that because it's new to all of us. You see, doing school at home isn't quite like sitting in a classroom with 20+ other kiddos. It's going to be different and it's going to feel different. We'll work through it.
One of the highlights of the day was getting to see exactly what my kids were learning. Yes, most of the day was complete review in terms of content, but it was fun to hear their comments, questions and declarations of knowledge. When learning about ecosystems we learned that the word biome is short for biological home and the world ecology stems from the Greek word oikos (oekologie). Who knew?!? This will be fun for all of us.
Overall I'd give today an A. It went much better than I expected but I purposefully set my expectations low. So, tomorrow, we'll rise and shine for day two. Only 149 more days till summer vacation ;)
First Day of School Pictures
Since this is our first year homeschooling I was prepared for all of the times my kids would tell me I wasn't doing it, "like we did at school." I'm okay with that because it's new to all of us. You see, doing school at home isn't quite like sitting in a classroom with 20+ other kiddos. It's going to be different and it's going to feel different. We'll work through it.
One of the highlights of the day was getting to see exactly what my kids were learning. Yes, most of the day was complete review in terms of content, but it was fun to hear their comments, questions and declarations of knowledge. When learning about ecosystems we learned that the word biome is short for biological home and the world ecology stems from the Greek word oikos (oekologie). Who knew?!? This will be fun for all of us.
Overall I'd give today an A. It went much better than I expected but I purposefully set my expectations low. So, tomorrow, we'll rise and shine for day two. Only 149 more days till summer vacation ;)
First Day of School Pictures
Friday, May 6, 2011
I wonder what 2am looks like...
when you know you have to rise and shine and teach school the next day?? Our youngest was up last night vomiting and it occured to me, if I home school, I'd have to get up the next day and STILL be ready to teach my kids. Or would I?
You see, some of the appeal of teaching our kids at home is the flexibility offered by setting our own "rules." I've been so engrained by the school schedule that I know I'm going to fight with myself when our days go against the "normal" structure of a school day. I'm prepping myself for that on a daily basis. I want to be flexible with a sense of duty. Does that make sense?
So, last night as I was using our carpet cleaner on my son's bedroom carpet, I was thinking, if we were home schooling I wouldn't have to get everyone out of bed at 6:30am to get them out the door at 7:10am. I could let them sleep in and that way I would feel a bit more rested when the day started. But, instead, I was up at 6:30am staring at my ceiling thinking, "I just want to lay here for another hour."
I'm partially writing these thoughts down for myself to maintain sanity in the future. Marti, when you read this in 9 months, and you've been up all night with a sick kid, and you still feel the need to do a full day of school with the kids...DON'T. I give you permission to take it slow. Breathe. Rest. Look at the day for what it is, a sick day, and don't push it. There...feel better??
You see, some of the appeal of teaching our kids at home is the flexibility offered by setting our own "rules." I've been so engrained by the school schedule that I know I'm going to fight with myself when our days go against the "normal" structure of a school day. I'm prepping myself for that on a daily basis. I want to be flexible with a sense of duty. Does that make sense?
So, last night as I was using our carpet cleaner on my son's bedroom carpet, I was thinking, if we were home schooling I wouldn't have to get everyone out of bed at 6:30am to get them out the door at 7:10am. I could let them sleep in and that way I would feel a bit more rested when the day started. But, instead, I was up at 6:30am staring at my ceiling thinking, "I just want to lay here for another hour."
I'm partially writing these thoughts down for myself to maintain sanity in the future. Marti, when you read this in 9 months, and you've been up all night with a sick kid, and you still feel the need to do a full day of school with the kids...DON'T. I give you permission to take it slow. Breathe. Rest. Look at the day for what it is, a sick day, and don't push it. There...feel better??
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The Pre-Dawn Shuffle
Ok, it's truly not pre-dawn but it sure feels like it. Kids out the door at 7:10am to catch the bus. Hubby out the door by 7:20am to drive the 20 minutes to work. Our kitchen left in a post-tornado state after the morning shuffle is done. I sit in my kitchen chair, sigh, and begin to clean up, coffee mug glued to my hand.
I'm ready for this to be done. I don't have some glamorized view of what home school mornings will look like but seriously...it has to be better than this. I've considered purchasing a cattle prod for the last month of school to jolt my kids out of bed in the morning. It's funny how they rise and shine at 6:45am on Saturday but 6:30am on a Thursday is, "TOO EARLY!!"
Anyway, I'm sure I'll post this fall how our morning is once we start home school. I'm praying for a little more peace and a little less tornado.
I'm ready for this to be done. I don't have some glamorized view of what home school mornings will look like but seriously...it has to be better than this. I've considered purchasing a cattle prod for the last month of school to jolt my kids out of bed in the morning. It's funny how they rise and shine at 6:45am on Saturday but 6:30am on a Thursday is, "TOO EARLY!!"
Anyway, I'm sure I'll post this fall how our morning is once we start home school. I'm praying for a little more peace and a little less tornado.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Why, "The Loft Academy?"
Well, a big part of this journey for me, as shallow as it sounds, has been reconciling who I am as a person with my preconceived notion of what a "home school mom" is to me.
Let me list some of the thoughts that come to my head when I think of home school mom (remember, this blog is about the good, the bad and the UGLY as it relates to my journey...this happens to be kind of ugly. My apologies.):
Ok, all kidding aside, I have had many preconceived notions I've had to personally work through as I've prayed about and researched home schooling our kids. Yes, these are some of the most shallow but real none the less.
So, in my quest to start things out on the right foot, I racked my tiny brain for a blog title that would instantly boost my home schooling ego up to a slightly higher level of educational couture. Our home school landing pad will be the loft in our house that overlooks the living room. And, doesn't Loft have a slightly urban ring to it? Not bumpkin-ey at all huh?
Then there's the word Academy. I don't know about you but I feel it's pretty much guaranteed my kids are going to come out as some form of genius having attended an Academy of some sort right? It's worth a shot! ;)
Anyway, just thought I'd give you a little insight into my twisted way of thinking. And, just so you don't think I'm totally superficial and shallow, I truly have nothing against buns, mom jeans or fanny packs. Really.
Let me list some of the thoughts that come to my head when I think of home school mom (remember, this blog is about the good, the bad and the UGLY as it relates to my journey...this happens to be kind of ugly. My apologies.):
- Hair pinned back neatly in a bun (hair net not necessary):
- Denim mom jeans hiked up above the navel:
- Fanny pack, although a popular accessory, not necessary UNLESS heading out on an exhilerating field trip to the local library (one never knows when a paper cut may ensue requiring a bandaid. BE PREPARED!)
Ok, all kidding aside, I have had many preconceived notions I've had to personally work through as I've prayed about and researched home schooling our kids. Yes, these are some of the most shallow but real none the less.
So, in my quest to start things out on the right foot, I racked my tiny brain for a blog title that would instantly boost my home schooling ego up to a slightly higher level of educational couture. Our home school landing pad will be the loft in our house that overlooks the living room. And, doesn't Loft have a slightly urban ring to it? Not bumpkin-ey at all huh?
Then there's the word Academy. I don't know about you but I feel it's pretty much guaranteed my kids are going to come out as some form of genius having attended an Academy of some sort right? It's worth a shot! ;)
Anyway, just thought I'd give you a little insight into my twisted way of thinking. And, just so you don't think I'm totally superficial and shallow, I truly have nothing against buns, mom jeans or fanny packs. Really.
Sweaty Armpits
I've been sweating for months. I sweat at night, in the day, my palms are clammy and my feet are wet. Why you ask? It's simple, my husband and I have been contemplating home schooling our three boys for the past several months. Thus...I sweat.
This whole notion came about probably at the start of this past school year. There wasn't one specific reason we started to talk about home schooling as an option. It was more like a compilation of many different reasons. We currently have a 3rd grade son, a kindergarten son and a pre-school aged son.
About two months ago I read the book "Family Driven Faith," by Voddie Baucham, Jr. (highly recommended read for families considering home school). It was at this point, I started more frequently conversations about homeschooling our kids with my husband. He was very supportive from the very beginning and we started to move forward in our investigation of this "educational phenomenon" from there. The sweating began...
When I say sweat, I don't necessarily mean it in the bad way. You know like, "Man I'm really sweating seeing that cop in my rear-view mirror." It's more like, "Man, I'm really sweating as I sit crouched in the blocks at the start of the 4x100 relay at Drake Relays," kind of sweat. You know, a good adrenaline induced sweat. A heart pumping excitement based sweat. A God-given sweat borne of love He's given me for my kids.
Back to my story...
After weeks of calling on good friends who home school, checking out every possible book on homeschooling at the public library, researching home schooling on the internet until my fingers bled and my eyes dried out, messaging all known home school families on facebook, interrogating home school kids in an undercover manner while at Sunday School (kidding!!!...maybe!!??!!) and just generally devouring everything there is to "know" about home school I decided this...I'm still lost.
If I've received one consistent piece of information from EVERYONE I've talked to about being a home school family it's this: You just have to do what works for you (AND, you don't have to wear a denim jumper). :)
So, we're about 95% sure we're jumping into this abyss/adventure and praying ferverntly we'll all come out unscathed on the other side. We will attend a conference in June for home school families where I pray I'll receive divine revelation on which curriculum we should use.
My heart is to post on this blog so you can follow our journey into the land of home schooling. Good, bad, ugly or indifferent...our story is yours to follow. Stay tuned...
This whole notion came about probably at the start of this past school year. There wasn't one specific reason we started to talk about home schooling as an option. It was more like a compilation of many different reasons. We currently have a 3rd grade son, a kindergarten son and a pre-school aged son.
About two months ago I read the book "Family Driven Faith," by Voddie Baucham, Jr. (highly recommended read for families considering home school). It was at this point, I started more frequently conversations about homeschooling our kids with my husband. He was very supportive from the very beginning and we started to move forward in our investigation of this "educational phenomenon" from there. The sweating began...
When I say sweat, I don't necessarily mean it in the bad way. You know like, "Man I'm really sweating seeing that cop in my rear-view mirror." It's more like, "Man, I'm really sweating as I sit crouched in the blocks at the start of the 4x100 relay at Drake Relays," kind of sweat. You know, a good adrenaline induced sweat. A heart pumping excitement based sweat. A God-given sweat borne of love He's given me for my kids.
Back to my story...
After weeks of calling on good friends who home school, checking out every possible book on homeschooling at the public library, researching home schooling on the internet until my fingers bled and my eyes dried out, messaging all known home school families on facebook, interrogating home school kids in an undercover manner while at Sunday School (kidding!!!...maybe!!??!!) and just generally devouring everything there is to "know" about home school I decided this...I'm still lost.
If I've received one consistent piece of information from EVERYONE I've talked to about being a home school family it's this: You just have to do what works for you (AND, you don't have to wear a denim jumper). :)
So, we're about 95% sure we're jumping into this abyss/adventure and praying ferverntly we'll all come out unscathed on the other side. We will attend a conference in June for home school families where I pray I'll receive divine revelation on which curriculum we should use.
My heart is to post on this blog so you can follow our journey into the land of home schooling. Good, bad, ugly or indifferent...our story is yours to follow. Stay tuned...
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