Grueling Homeschooling

It’s the most amazing thing. Yesterday Gabriel (6) and Emma (7) both came to me and wanted to read me a book. Read. To me.

And then they did!

What a kick I got out of them. Here they were, reading, and I had had nothing to do with it. You see, I turned the job over to my eldest (at home) daughter, Molly, at the beginning of this school year. She’s been working through the Veritas Press Phonics Museum with them, and may I just say that she is doing a stellar job?

It is the biggest blessing in my life right now when I hear them up in her room, laughing and learning with her. I know she has more energy, more enthusiasm, and more time than I could give them. For years, I felt I was not giving my littles enough attention due to the time the olders required. We did the basics but never seemed to have time for the fun stuff. It made me sad.

Not this year.

Do I feel badly that it’s not me teaching them? To put it bluntly: not one iota.

Homeschooling multiple children is tough. There are so many layers of chaos that are happening at any given moment here that sometimes I wonder if anyone can learn anything in this madhouse! If I had known what a difference having just one grade level covered by someone else would make, I’d have found a way to make it happen years ago.

There’s no shame in asking for help, which is hard for someone like me (read: control freak) to learn. If you are struggling, may I suggest that you get just one subject, or just one grade, pawned off on someone else? Because help = good. Nervous breakdowns = bad.

Yes, I know…this place is sadly neglected…it has lain fallow many a month…yet I hope to breathe life into it yet again; perhaps it will yield even greater fruit after its protracted rest!

I haven’t got anything earth-shatteringly wise to open up with, but got this email fwd from My Beloved this morning and thought it was chucklesome enough to share!

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A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a compass, a slide-rule, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, the attorney general said he believes the man is a member of the notorious “Al-Gebra” movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

“Al-Gebra is a problem for us,” the attorney general said. “They derive solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like ‘X’ and ‘Y’ and refer to themselves as ‘unknowns,’ but we have determined that they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.”

As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, “There are three sides to every triangle.”

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Obama said, “If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, he would have given us more fingers and toes.”

White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the president.

It is believed that the Nobel Prize for Physics will follow.

If anybody reads Pioneer Woman’s blog (if you don’t, be sure to check her out, she needs the traffic, poor dear) you may remember these T shirts she proposed making back about a year ago…

I absolutely LOVED this one. I wish somebody would make it for reals because I would totally shell out for it.

But it brings me to my current quandary. I am now standing on the opposite banks of the current plague running through my family like a swiftly-moving-current-of-mucous. I feel better. Not 100%, but no longer struggling to keep my head above water snot.

We took yesterday off because I simply wasn’t up to teaching. But today I have various children in various stages of decline, along with a few who are just peachy. I never know what to do. If I teach those who are still upright, those who are horizontal will fall behind (many subjects we do are lumped together unit-study style, regardless of grade level) and then I’ll have to spend more time with them later. If I leave everybody alone then we can all pick up when the plague is completely gone, and move on together.

Trouble is, with so many people in one household, it often takes two weeks for a plague to completely move on.

What we usually wind up doing is a modified format, with the core subjects covered (science, math, writing) and let the rest slide. However, then Martha won’t let Mary scratch the day off our “how many days till school is done” countdown. Then they get into a mud wrestling match, and it gets really messy.

I really hate those two.

Anyone else want to share their particular method of schooling (or not) when illness rampages?

According to my records, we have now accomplished 5 weeks of schooling. As such, I thought it would be helpful to have a record of the new stuff that is working, and perhaps more importantly, not working, thus far.

Caleb and Connie (10th grade) have been using the new, and highly-recommended Balancing The Sword books for their Bible studies. BTS comes in a two-volume set, with each volume covering the entire Bible but using different questions for each passage. It also comes with a cd with which you can make your own schedule. I decided Caleb and Connie could stick with the New Testament this school year and printed out schedules for them accordingly, giving them each a separate book.

So far, they are dutifully reading their passages and answering the questions (using separate notebooks…no writing in the book!!). I assume they are learning from it, but I haven’t seen any OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO GREAT!! sorts of reactions. It would probably be better to use these books in a family setting…as in, family devotions, where the passage is discussed and whatnot, but I thought Caleb and Connie were old enough to begin doing their own private devotions while I worked with the youngers. I know they are learning, but I’m not sure we’re taking full advantage of the BTS format. Sometimes I wish there were at least one or two application questions to go along with the fill-in-the-blanks format! 

In any case, we’ll press on with that for now. Any time in God’s Word is good time spent!

For spelling this year I chose a couple of new programs. For Caleb (16) who oddly enough spells very large words correctly but then puts “chees” on the grocery shopping list, I thought he might benefit from some remedial rules-based instruction. Thus, I purchased The Spell Of Words thinking it would fill the bill.

Caleb does the exercises, but I cannot say with any confidence that it is helping him. Basically, it has convinced him that although there are some general rules for spelling, there will always be exceptions, so why bother? Might as well just memorize a list, right?

And actually, I have realized that I pretty much agree with him. I mean, does anyone actually memorize the rule “if a word has one syllable, and ends with one vowel, with one consonant before that, then you drop the vowel before adding a suffix” (after which they list all the words that flagrantly break that rule)?

Plus, I have a problem with a spelling book that also includes copious amounts of composition work. I have a separate writing program that covers composition. I don’t need my kid to write paragraphs for spelling, for pete’s sake. I just need him to learn how to spell “cheese” correctly!

So anyway. He’s going to finish the book, but I don’t know what we’ll do after that.

For the younger kids, I bought Sequential Spelling. This is a program that teaches spelling by building upon a root, which is a system that makes far more sense to me. Something you need to know about the program, however, is that it requires teacher participation. You can’t just give the kid the book and leave it at that. Basically, each day is a test in which you give the word, the kid tries to spell it, and then you help them correct it. It’s actually working really well for us. Really big words like “assassination” (always good for a giggle) and “relinquishing” are mastered within a couple of days with the self-correction method.

History this year is The Mystery Of History by Linda Hobar, and can I just say that I love it? I used Story of the World last year and was disappointed in parts of it (perhaps a separate post sometime), but TMOH is just GREAT. You get the basic lesson and then there are suggestions for activities and further research geared to different ages. I bought the cd of reproducible maps, etc, and I am VERY glad that I did. No more chunking my change at Staples for copies! TMOH may be responsible for the first year in which we consistently and successfully use that most hallowed of all homeschool icons: THE TIMELINE. Hobar’s suggestion for how to create a timeline that doesn’t take over your entire house was priceless to me.

Last year, my mother heard a guy named Andrew Pudewa speak at a convention, and suggested that I might look into using his materials for composition in our homeschool. Now, as a writer myself, one might wonder why I would need a curriculum to teach my own children to write. The simple truth is that something that comes naturally to one is liable to be the most difficult thing to teach. I don’t understand what’s so hard about it! Just put some words on the paper, for crying out loud!

I bought the Student Writing Intensive, and we are thoroughly enjoying it. The most difficult part by far was getting past Mr. Pudewa’s (and I apologize in advance for this) extremely nerdy voice in the dvd. He’s a perfectly lovely man and an excellent writing instructor, but we had to push the pause button for a full 5 minutes so we could all get ahold of ourselves. Once we were braced for it, it was GREAT. I think the kids are learning a lot from him, and *I* am learning a lot about HOW to teach writing! I will talk more in-depth about this program in a later post, methinks.

Caleb and Connie are doing Apologia Biology with their father this year, and can I just let out a little YAHOOOOOOOOO!!!! for that? It is so, so, so, so (etc) nice to not have to deal with that subject this year, at least on a high school level. So far they are not having the time of their lives, but hey, that’s okay. My Beloved has had a teeny bit of an eye opener himself as to the frequent heel-dragging I have been dealing with for the past 18 years, and I think he understands just a hair better my semi-annual meltdowns…

Apologia is a rigorous curriculum, and though we have used it in the past, I have never had the time/energy/ability to milk it for all it is worth. My Beloved, however, is determined to do so this year in spite of the weeping and wailing and protests. What a meanie! Haha!

The Youngers are going through Christian Kids Explore Chemistry with me this year, and as I said in the below post, it is quite a gem of a book. I highly recommend it.

Lastly, I must comment on my early-elementary students. This year, for the first time, I handed them off to my eldest at-home daughter, Molly. They are progressing through Phonics Museum, and can I just say that it is quite possibly the loveliest curriculum ever? Seriously. From the artwork to the real-story readers, it is a delight. So far it has lived up to every glowing review, although I might have to get Molly to write her own extensive review of it eventually. For now, I am just delighted with the enthusiasm with which the K and 1st grader scamper up to their sister’s room to “do school” while I concentrate on the other kids. For the first year ever, I don’t feel like somebody is getting shortchanged, and that is a wonderful feeling!

Still need: a Civics program for my high-schoolers, and a science curriculum for my youngests…any suggestions?

I’m working through Christian Kids Explore Chemistry with a couple of my youngers. I’ve never used this book before, but I find myself enjoying it greatly.

Which is phenomenal, if you knew how very badly I bombed Chemistry in high school.

Elementary Chemistry, however, is quite a different animal. The book is right at my speed; talking about atoms and molecules at a pace that I can absorb and possibly, eventually, comprehend. I have hopes that I might graduate to High School chemistry right along with the little ones and finally understand it as well someday.

Where there’s life, there’s hope, right?

The other day the book suggested baking “atom sugar cookies” to reinforce the idea of how an atom is constructed. I thought it would be a fun little diversion, but I didn’t expect it to be terribly helpful. I was pleasantly surprised, however!

We picked a few different atoms for models, and used M-n-M’s for the protons, neutrons, and electrons. Each atom has a different number of the little buggars, so we had to be thoughtful in the arrangements. I would quiz the kids as they placed the candies, seeing if they were remembering just what they were creating.

Reds were protons, blue were neutrons, and brown were electrons. This is helium.

The first batch of cookies was so enormous that we had to split them in order to eat them, thus generating a conversation about nuclear power and mushroom clouds over our kitchen.

(hydrogen)

Occasionally, a stray “electron” would slip out of someone’s hands and go flying into another cookie. This was a great opportunity to teach the concept of negatively and positively charged ions!

Then, over the next few days (few days, who am I kidding…they lasted maybe 2, tops), when they would request a cookie, I’d make sure they knew just which element they were eating.

(four heliums, two lithiums, and three hydrogens)

I love books that have a great balance of fun with academics. This one is proving to be a rare find!

It’s hard to argue with the logic…

;o)

First of all, do you know how much a trillion dollars is? Check out this site for a real eye-opening demonstration of the sheer enormity of that number. You’ll be amazed. And aghast. And maybe even appalled.

On an only-slightly-related note, when I saw this posted on the wall this morning (apparently a bloodsucker had made it into the house and was terrorizing the general populace), it made me smile and think…sometimes a genuine thank you is worth more than all the money in the world.

So thank YOU…for reading, commenting, and encouraging! Have a fabulous Wednesday!

I know, I know, it’s only Thursday, but my first homeschooling week is over for the simple reason that I have Other Places I Gotta Be tomorrow.

The Martha in me is really chafing at the fact that Friday’s schedule for August 21st is completely superfluous now, but Mary is doing a happy dance on her head.

The week was pretty successful overall. I’d rate it an 8 out of 10, success-wise, and I’ll explain why it wasn’t a 10 out of 10 if you’ll just hold your horses for pete’s sake.

First, a few notes:

1. It’s too early to tell for sure, but the new curriculum I bought on a whim seems quite excellent indeed. Hooray for not wasting money!
2. Having fully-growed children to help with young-uns is invaluable. Martha wants to be able to do it all herself; Mary wants to delegate. Listen to Mary.
3. It’s hard to have a good day when your night was filled with nightmares.
4. Do not, under any circumstances, run out of coffee filters during the first week of school. You will weep.
5. Some children will practically beg you to offer them up as sacrifices to the gods of peevishness and obstinance. It’s not just your hormones. They really are determined to destroy your last nerve.
6. If a curriculum comes with an optional cd of printable reproducibles, buy it. I don’t care what it costs, it’s not really optional, unless you own a fork lift to help you haul all your copies home from Staples.
7. Losing your temper on day #2 is, in fact, entirely possible.
8. Chocolate is good. Especially if it’s hidden and eaten in secret at the end of a long day.

I know. The wisdom is overwhelming, isn’t it? But that’s what I got. Here’s why the week was not a 10 out of 10:

• The no-Friday thing.
• The no-coffee thing.
• The number 5 thing.
• The number 7 thing.

Overall, however, we all survived, we learned some stuff, the schedule worked, and here we are. To say that I can hardly wait for next week would be a wee bit dishonest, but I can safely say that I’m not dreading it. And that makes me profoundly happy.

Good grief, if I’m this tired just preparing to homeschool this year, what will the actual homeschooling do to me???

I used to do the first day up royally. I would decorate the dining room, make posters, blow up balloons, make a special breakfast…I’m not sure how I got derailed from that. I guess I just decided it didn’t really add to the school experience in any tangible way, nor did it keep the enthusiasm going any longer than if I desisted in such revelry. And so I desisted.

This year however, given the amount of groaning that has ascended to the heavens every time the word “school” is mentioned, and given the gross and pervasive level of slackitude we accomplished this summer, I thought I’d at least start the new term out with some little gifts. A token of my devotion.

Okay, a bribe.

I remember how much I loved going to the store for school supplies at each summer’s end. Is there anything quite as entrancing as the smell of a new box of crayons? That aroma transports me all the way to 1975 and first grade (I didn’t go to Kindergarten). It really is a happy smell, right up there with Play Doh. 

And I loved new pencils, oh my! They had to be just right, though. None of those waxy-type leads that smeared all over the paper. Just crisp and freshly sharpened (again, that smell)! I still swoon over a crisp sheet of blank notebook paper…oh, the possibilities…

So here’s my little assemblage of whatnots for The First Day. Obviously what goes into the bigger kids’ is a little more mundane, but here’s what’s going into the pencil bag for Charity, my 9 year old.

The pencil case is in itself a flowery delight, and then we have the tic tacs, stickers (strawberry shortcake), spankin’ new eraser, sparkly pencils, two heart clips that I just thought were cute (and will almost certainly be put to good use in pinching her siblings), new crayons, glue stick, and funny pen with squishy critter whose eyeballs pop out when squeezed.

It’s not much. But I think they’ll like it. As long as I don’t let on that some children in the world are receiving these.

So I plan to start school Monday.

My plans are amusing to my eldest here at home because the “start school” note on the calendar was first placed somewhere in July. Then it moved to the 3rd of this month. It was then scratched out and put upon the 10th. Finally, it was scribbled furiously from the calendar, never to be seen again.

So you could say I’ve been a little indecisive.

However, all the curriculum is here. THE SCHEDULE (duh duh duh DUM!!!) has been made. Programs have been installed. And public/private school here has already begun.

I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.

My children have run amok all summer. I have not tried to retain any semblance of discipline or order. I have lolled, splashed, and otherwise revelled in the lack of structure: going grocery shopping willy nilly, making plans to see friends, saying “sure! I can do that!” without even checking my schedule (since I didn’t have one), pretty much any damn time I felt like it.

It’s been a fabulously unproductive summer. Just like I like them.

But frankly, it’s time for some order. There is only so much anarchy one can stand before somebody has to stand up and say just what the hell is going on here?!

So ready or not, here comes the structure.

Or at least structured chaos.

At this point, I think anything would be an improvement.