Today I am thankful to have access to the public libraries! I went there this afternoon while That Other Kid was in his karate class (3 hours of PE, HELLO!) and found several books on my list of books to read this week and next. I also found a book about the history of Thanksgiving that I thought would be fun to read on Thanksgiving morning. I am so thankful to have a library that I can use as much as I want to! The area libraries enhance our school studies sooooo much!
Now...onto something fun that I found from one of my new Marine mom friends on Facebook! Enjoy!
MARINE CORPS CHRISTMAS
On the first day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, a D.I. yelling at me.
... On the second day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the third day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the fourth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the fifth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the sixth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the seventh day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Seven seas to sail, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the eighth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Eight brand new rifles, Seven seas to sail, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the ninth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Nine ladies dancing, Eight brand new rifles, Seven seas to sail, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the tenth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, the Tenth of November, Nine ladies dancing, Eight brand new rifles, Seven seas to sail, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Eleven general orders, the Tenth of November, Nine ladies dancing, Eight brand new rifles, Seven seas to sail, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, the Marine Corps sent to me, Twelve months of training, Eleven general orders, the Tenth of November, Nine ladies dancing, Eight brand new rifles, Seven seas to sail, a Six month deployment, Five M.R.E.'s, Four days of "Libo", Three months of bootcamp, Two yellow footprints, And a D.I. yelling at me!
Showing posts with label homeschooling That Other Kid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschooling That Other Kid. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Thankfulness - Day 15
Today I am thankful for the opportunity to be flexible with the new schedule I created for That Other Kid in our homeschooling journey. He decided he wanted to do spelling today even though it wasn't on our schedule! Because we have the freedom to create our own schedule I was able to forego history today and we did spelling instead! I love that he wanted to do spelling - All About Spelling is a great program!
I am also thankful for my friends who told me about All About Spelling! I had never heard of this program; even though I have been homeschooling FOREVER!! Whooohooo for friends who try new programs and aren't afraid to recommend them even to a veteran homeschooler!
I am also thankful for my friends who told me about All About Spelling! I had never heard of this program; even though I have been homeschooling FOREVER!! Whooohooo for friends who try new programs and aren't afraid to recommend them even to a veteran homeschooler!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Thankful for Homeschooling...
Today I am thankful for the privilege of homeschooling! I spent time this afternoon working on some lesson plans which for some strange reason excited me and made me think of how thankful I am for this opportunity.
I was also at the library gathering books for the next couple of weeks. I found this to be both exciting and frustrating! There are so many great books I want to read with That Other Kid but I just don't have the time to do it all. Our library has a decent number of classics and books off my list but there were some they didn't have! Ugh! That means I forgo reading those or I look elsewhere!
While I was working on the lesson plans and looking over my stack of books I realized how blessed I am to have a husband who works so much so I don't have to. I would hate to miss this opportunity to homeschool That Other Kid!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Confession of a Walker
I'm a bad girl --- Over at the 'hood
they are doing a weekly meal plan and encouraging us to do the same and post it. I have FOREVER been meaning to do this BUT....when it comes to actually doing it, it never gets done! They asked if I would do it if there was peer pressure. I said I could be coerced to do it with enough peer pressure, but STILL I haven't done it! I am a slacker when it comes to meal planning but I have been preparing healthy meals with salads this week for dinner....that's good, right?
As most of you know (if you've been reading my post lately) I am participating in the Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure in November. This will be the first year for me to participate in the walk and I'm not planning on it being my last either! As I've been training for the walk we have been sweating it out in the hot Texas summer and walking early in the morning to avoid heat stroke! This weekend was actually a bit chilly and when we first started walking I wished I would have thought to bring a long sleeve shirt or a jacket but by the time we were done walking it was quiet comfortable! This week we are back in the heat of summer breaking our hottest summer on record record with 70 days of 100 degree or more! Yes, welcome to fall summer! While most of the country is already breaking out the sweat pants we are still wearing shorts and running our air conditioners 24 hrs a day! So, you might ask what does this have to do with my confession?
Well it has to do with I'm tired of this freaking heat!! I thought it was going to be cooler so I could start enjoying my training walks but instead it was so stinking hot this morning at 9:45 when I walked that we had to walk in a shady area of town just so we wouldn't melt in the heat! So if you are already enjoying those nice cool fall temperatures PLEASE send me some cooler weather, k?
I finally fixed my blister problems! YAY!! There is a podiatrist that offers his services to the Komen 3 Day walkers free of charge every other weekend at one of the local running stores. Every time he has been there I have been busy but this week I decided I would go no matter what was going on. I am soooooo glad I did! I have an incredibly high arch in both my feet and because of this I put a lot of pressure on the balls of my feet (like 100 pounds each foot!)
. and when I walk more than an average days worth of walking I am putting too much pressure on the balls my feet, and end up getting blisters. He cut a hole in my insole of both of my new shoes and "just like magic" NO PAIN! I walked 11.25 miles on Sunday WITHOUT BLISTERS!! It was heavenly!! I'm so glad I took the time to go down and talk to him!
Moral to this story....take advantage of the professionals!!
Yesterday I started a 24 Day Challenge with the product Advocare. I'm also participating in a fitness class kind of like a bootcamp that meets Monday, Wednesday, Friday for 4 weeks. Yesterday was our first class and ohmygoodness my back and arms HURT! I can only imagine what the other women who have NOT been working out at all are feeling today! I'm hoping that this will boost my metabolism and I will be able to break through my plateau again! I've been working on losing the same 5 pounds all year and it has gotten very frustrating. One of the first things they told me to cut out was SODA! Duh, that one is pretty much a no-brainer but what have I been craving ever since I was told NOT to have it? You guessed it, SODA! When I first started losing weight back in March of 2009 that was the first thing I cut out and I was able to lose 5 pounds in one week. I'm not counting on losing that much this time since soda is not an every day occurance in my life any more (more like a 2 or 3 time a week occurance) but I am counting on it adding up in my weekly weight loss.
I'm kind of looking forward to getting on the scale tomorrow morning...I want to see what I have lost this week, if anything! I have been VERY alert and attentive to what I have been eating yesterday and today so I'm sure that will help greatly.
My Marine leaves for bootcamp on Monday morning. We will take him to the recruiters office Sunday afternoon and then I won't see my baby for 13 LONG weeks!
That Other Kid and I have done school for 2 days in a row! and they have been productive days! Whooohooo! It's been challenging since My Marine has been home and a constant distraction but it has happened! That Other Kid told me he loves math, spelling and history today! I must be doing something right, huh?!!
Well that's enough confession for today....
Please help me in raising money for the Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure!! It's easy and TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! Donate here and I will love you FOREVER!!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Homeschooling -- Curriculum Choices
I've been a fan and reader of DeeDee since I first started reading blogs. She is humorous and has great stories from her kids. She is also a homeschooler which in my opinion makes her even more special!
I love to see what other homeschoolers are using for curriculum and I know others do too so I am once again participating in this Curriculum Roundup. I'm basically cutting and pasting from the Heart of the Matter's Curriculum Roundup that I participated in a couple of weeks ago since who really has time to type all this out twice, right? And nothing has changed in those 2 weeks either, ya know?!
So here you have it....a little background to my family, in case you are new to my blog and my curriculum choices for this school year!
I have a recently turned 21 year old son that I homeschooled all the way through high school. He attended a private, Christian University (yes, you can homeschool and then get into a good college!) for 1 1/2 years. He decided that college wasn't for him so he took this past spring off and worked. He has signed up to join the Marines and will be leaving for boot camp sometime in the next 6 weeks or so. Although I am proud of him, it is hard to let my 'baby' grow up and leave for such a huge life changing thing. I know that it will be the best thing for him....but....blah, blah, blah.
I am now homeschooling my 7 year old son, whom I call That Other Kid on the ol' blog. He will be doing a combination of 1st grade and 2nd grade this fall. He has a winter birthday and I pretty much stick to a loose year round school schedule, with the "grade change" happening at the beginning of the calendar year. Seems to work well for now, so I'm sticking with it.
Now...on to the curriculum choices for this year.
I am a very eclectic homeschooler and I live in Texas!! Whoohhooo! Texas has great homeschooling laws and allows me to basically teach what I want, when I want as long as I am teaching math, reading, spelling, grammar, and civics from the time they are 6 till graduation (or 17). The hard part is choosing the right stuff to teach, right?
This year I am trying something new and different for me. I am trying a more "Well Trained Mind" plan with lots of 'living books'. I have pulled alot of books off the Ambleside Online site and I'm hoping to use a lot of the resources that are there for the first and second grade student. My son loves to be read to and is starting to read decently so I'm wanting to do a lot of reading and have him read alot this year, so that takes care of the "reading" requirement!
For Language Arts (grammar) I am using a combination of Critical Thinking, Language Smarts and First Language Lessons-Levels 1 & 2 from the Well Trained Mind Company. I think my son will do well with both of these curriculums as long as I make sure I don't overwhelm him with "the boring stuff".
For Spelling I am using "All About Spelling". I bought it back in February but never got around to actually using it since we were so busy with just the basics of learning to read and phonics. I think he will breeze through the first level since he has a really good grasp of words and letters, thanks to Hooked on Phonics and then we will move on to level 2, hopefully by October or November.
Math is his favorite and by far his best subject. At the age of 4 he could count to 100 by ones, just because. By 5 he could count to 600 by ones, just because. He understands time, money, fractions, addition and subtraction and can do it all in his head - all instictively! I'm shocked daily at his ability to do math! It also scares me! I'm not very good with math so I know that I will definitely be sending him to classes or co-ops for math in a few short years. BUT...for now I am teaching him 2nd grade ABeka math. It is advanced, colorful and easy enough for me to teach (for now)!
We are going to be using Story of the World for history this year. This one is new for me, and honestly I am scared! I know it's going to take time and consistent dedication from me to sit down and do the lessons with him but I love history and so does he so it should be fun as long as I do it!!
For Geography we are doing a mish-mash of Cantering the Country by Geography Matters, and a book The Star-Spangled State Book by Bramley Books and whatever else I pick up along the way! Geography is the funnest subject to play around with and I know we could spend more time with geography than I have allotted for a school day if I let it happen that way!
For Science I will take him to a couple of bi-weekly classes. I'm not a sciencey person and there are classes in the area that are inexpensive and really good at teaching what I don't want to and what he loves to learn...so it's a win-win situation for me! Not to mention I get to hang out with friends while he is in class!
For our Fine Arts I have purchased Handle on the Arts and Maestro Classics and I am excited to use both of these this year. My son also loves to draw and create so there will be times this year when I just let him draw and create whatever is in his heart to do. This will be a first for me to use fine arts as part of our regular curriculum, and I regret that I didn't make the decision to do more fine arts study with my older son, so I'm not making that mistake again.
For his PE and socialization (since everyone is always concerned that homeschoolers don't socialize and get enough PE) we go to the park at LEAST once a week from late September to May (even through a lot of winter since it doesn't get that cold in TX usually) and he also takes a karate class that meets twice a week throughout the year. We also get together with friends throughout the school year when the weather is nice out and do field trips and excursions to do and see things that we wouldn't normally do if he was in a traditional school setting.
The only thing that I was wanting to work on this year that I don't think we are going to do is a foreign language. Although I want to do study several foreign languages with him I know that with the schedule we have this year I won't get to it, so I didn't even look at it.
Ok...so that is our curriculum choices for the upcoming year with a brief description of what our year will look like. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you won't be a stranger and will come back. Please leave a comment so I know who stopped by and so I can see your curriculum choices for this year. Homeschooling is an adventure of a lifetime!!
I will quickly add that this fall we will be spending a lot of time WALKING and calling it PE because I am training to partipipate in the Komen 3 Day for the Cure that will be on November 4-6 here in Dallas. I fyou would like to support me as I raise money for breast cancer research I would greatly appreciate it. You can go here to donate to my specific page! Thanks so much!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Debby Downer Confessions
Today is Tuesday and over at the world famous Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans we post all about our confessions of the good, bad and ugly that we might have encountered over the past week. This exercise in confessions is designed to help us feel like we aren't alone, we can turn things around and get back on track again!
I desperately need to get back on track again.As evidenced by the giant Heath bar I just finished consuming right after eating a big cheeseburger, french fries and drinking a coke!
So anyway....here are my excuses...just so you know I completely understand that they are nothing more than excuses!!
I just can't seem to stay away from the junk this summer!!
I have been on an emotional roller coaster this summer. One minute I am happy and excited to be healthy and alive, and the next minute all I feel like doing is plunging my face in a bowl of chocolate or ice cream or candy or....you get the idea!
My oldest son will be heading off to Marine boot camp any time now (with a DEFINITE date of September 19 UNLESS something changes that date to an earlier one!) How's that for decisiveness?? Yeah, that's what I thought, too! One minute I am sooooooo ready for him to be GONE and out of my house and someone else's responisiblity to "fix" and the next minute I don't want him to leave at all! He's been drinking and smoking cigars and overall a VERY bad influence on his little brother and it's basically pissing me off!
It's time for me to start back to schooling That Other Kid and I don't feel prepared mentally or physically. There are so many things I want to work on this year with him but with our schedule I'm already feeling that the fun things aren't gonna happen.
I am supposed to raise $2300 for the Komen 3 Day Walk and so far I only have $75 in my account! I'm getting scared that I won't be able to raise it all and we will have to fill in the gap with our own money! That is freaking me out! The women on my team have told me repeatedly that the money will be there in time for the walk but I still keep having a little breakdown weekly when the money doesn't "just magically appear"!
I have been doing well with my weekend Komen training walks and this past week I even managed to walk afew extra miles during the week! This weekend was a major milestone. Saturday I walked 4.21 miles in the POURING DOWN RAIN!! YAY!! It finally rained here in North Texas!! It was very exciting to know that the rain didn't keep me from doing what I needed to do. Then on Sunday I walked almost 12 miles! It was HOT AND HUMID! By the time we were done with our walk we were all drenched in sweat! After walking I went home, fixed breakfast, took a shower and slept for almost 2 hours! Then I went out to eat and ATE BACK ALL THE CALORIES I BURNED!! If this was the exception to the rule it would be ok but it seems like since I have started doing these training walks I am CONSTANTLY HUNGRY! As in never can get enough to eat hungry!
This has been very frustrating and is making me upset with myself! I know that my hormones are all out of whack (cuz I'm an emoitonal basket-case most days) but in order for me to go to the doctor and get medicated I would need an extensive blood workup which is costly! We are finally getting to the point where we are paying our bills and having a bit of money leftover and I really don't want to blow all that "left over" money on stupid blood work, ya know?! So I'm wondering if anyone knows of any way to get my hormones regulated without spending a boatload of money at the doctor! (We don't have health insurance yet - working on it but it hasn't happened yet!)
Ok...so...enough Debby Downer from me! Hope your confessions aren't as doom and gloom! But if they are please don't keep them to yourself! I don't want to feel alone!
If you are able to help support me in my efforts to raise money for the Komen 3 Day you can donate here.
I desperately need to get back on track again.
So anyway....here are my excuses...just so you know I completely understand that they are nothing more than excuses!!
I just can't seem to stay away from the junk this summer!!
I have been on an emotional roller coaster this summer. One minute I am happy and excited to be healthy and alive, and the next minute all I feel like doing is plunging my face in a bowl of chocolate or ice cream or candy or....you get the idea!
My oldest son will be heading off to Marine boot camp any time now (with a DEFINITE date of September 19 UNLESS something changes that date to an earlier one!) How's that for decisiveness?? Yeah, that's what I thought, too! One minute I am sooooooo ready for him to be GONE and out of my house and someone else's responisiblity to "fix" and the next minute I don't want him to leave at all! He's been drinking and smoking cigars and overall a VERY bad influence on his little brother and it's basically pissing me off!
It's time for me to start back to schooling That Other Kid and I don't feel prepared mentally or physically. There are so many things I want to work on this year with him but with our schedule I'm already feeling that the fun things aren't gonna happen.
I am supposed to raise $2300 for the Komen 3 Day Walk and so far I only have $75 in my account! I'm getting scared that I won't be able to raise it all and we will have to fill in the gap with our own money! That is freaking me out! The women on my team have told me repeatedly that the money will be there in time for the walk but I still keep having a little breakdown weekly when the money doesn't "just magically appear"!
I have been doing well with my weekend Komen training walks and this past week I even managed to walk afew extra miles during the week! This weekend was a major milestone. Saturday I walked 4.21 miles in the POURING DOWN RAIN!! YAY!! It finally rained here in North Texas!! It was very exciting to know that the rain didn't keep me from doing what I needed to do. Then on Sunday I walked almost 12 miles! It was HOT AND HUMID! By the time we were done with our walk we were all drenched in sweat! After walking I went home, fixed breakfast, took a shower and slept for almost 2 hours! Then I went out to eat and ATE BACK ALL THE CALORIES I BURNED!! If this was the exception to the rule it would be ok but it seems like since I have started doing these training walks I am CONSTANTLY HUNGRY! As in never can get enough to eat hungry!
This has been very frustrating and is making me upset with myself! I know that my hormones are all out of whack (cuz I'm an emoitonal basket-case most days) but in order for me to go to the doctor and get medicated I would need an extensive blood workup which is costly! We are finally getting to the point where we are paying our bills and having a bit of money leftover and I really don't want to blow all that "left over" money on stupid blood work, ya know?! So I'm wondering if anyone knows of any way to get my hormones regulated without spending a boatload of money at the doctor! (We don't have health insurance yet - working on it but it hasn't happened yet!)
Ok...so...enough Debby Downer from me! Hope your confessions aren't as doom and gloom! But if they are please don't keep them to yourself! I don't want to feel alone!
If you are able to help support me in my efforts to raise money for the Komen 3 Day you can donate here.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Homeschooling....
Although I don't talk a lot on my blog about homeschooling it is indeed a very BIG part of my life. In fact next to my weight loss/exercise activities it is the most important thing I do on a day to day basis, so when I heard about this "blog hop" for 'not back to school' I wanted to jump on board. If you are new to my blog Welcome! I will give you a quick background then I will hit you up with my curriculum choices for this year.
I have a recently turned 21 year old son that I homeschooled all the way through high school. He attended a private, Christian University (yes, you can homeschool and then get into a good college!) for 1 1/2 years. He decided that college wasn't for him so he took this past spring off and worked. He has signed up to join the Marines and will be leaving for boot camp sometime in the next 6 weeks or so. Although I am proud of him, it is hard to let my 'baby' grow up and leave for such a huge life changing thing. I know that it will be the best thing for him....but....
I am now homeschooling my 7 year old son. He will be doing a combination of 1st grade and 2nd grade this fall. He has a winter birthday and I pretty much stick to a loose year round school schedule, with the "grade change" happening at the beginning of the calendar year. Seems to work well for now, so I'm sticking with it.
Now...on to the curriculum choices for this year.
I am a very eclectic homeschooler and I live in Texas!! Whoohhooo! Texas has great homeschooling laws and allows me to basically teach what I want, when I want as long as I am teaching math, reading, spelling, grammar, and civics from the time they are 6 till graduation (or 17). The hard part is choosing the right stuff to teach, right?
This year I am trying something new and different for me. I am trying a more "Well Trained Mind" plan with lots of 'living books'. I have pulled alot of books off the Ambleside Online site and I'm hoping to use a lot of the resources that are there for the first and second grade student. My son loves to be read to and is starting to read decently so I'm wanting to do a lot of reading and have him read alot this year, so that takes care of the "reading" requirement!
For Language Arts (grammar) I am using a combination of Critical Thinking, Language Smarts and First Language Lessons-Levels 1 & 2 from the Well Trained Mind Company. I think my son will do well with both of these curriculums as long as I make sure I don't overwhelm him with "the boring stuff".
For Spelling I am using "All About Spelling". I bought it back in February but never got around to actually using it since we were so busy with just the basics of learning to read and phonics. I think he will breeze through the first level since he has a really good grasp of words and letters, thanks to Hooked on Phonics and then we will move on to level 2, hopefully by October or November.
Math is his favorite and by far his best subject. At the age of 4 he could count to 100 by ones, just because. By 5 he could count to 600 by ones, just because. He understands time, money, fractions, addition and subtraction and can do it all in his head - all instictively! I'm shocked daily at his ability to do math! It also scares me! I'm not very good with math so I know that I will definitely be sending him to classes or co-ops for math in a few short years. BUT...for now I am teaching him 2nd grade ABeka math. It is advanced, colorful and easy enough for me to teach (for now)!
We are going to be using Story of the World for history this year. This one is new for me, and honestly I am scared! I know it's going to take time and consistent dedication from me to sit down and do the lessons with him but I love history and so does he so it should be fun as long as I do it!!
For Geography we are doing a mish-mash of Cantering the Country by Geography Matters, and a book The Star-Spangled State Book by Bramley Books and whatever else I pick up along the way! Geography is the funnest subject to play around with and I know we could spend more time with geography than I have allotted for a school day if I let it happen that way!
For Science I will take him to a couple of bi-weekly classes. I'm not a sciencey person and there are classes in the area that are inexpensive and really good at teaching what I don't want to and what he loves to learn...so it's a win-win situation for me! Not to mention I get to hang out with friends while he is in class!
For our Fine Arts I have purchased Handle on the Arts and Maestro Classics and I am excited to use both of these this year. My son also loves to draw and create so there will be times this year when I just let him draw and create whatever is in his heart to do. This will be a first for me to use fine arts as part of our regular curriculum, and I regret that I didn't make the decision to do more fine arts study with my older son, so I'm not making that mistake again.
For his PE and socialization (since everyone is always concerned that homeschoolers don't socialize and get enough PE) we go to the park at LEAST once a week from late September to May (even through a lot of winter since it doesn't get that cold in TX usually) and he also takes a karate class that meets twice a week throughout the year. We also get together with friends throughout the school year when the weather is nice out and do field trips and excursions to do and see things that we wouldn't normally do if he was in a traditional school setting.
The only thing that I was wanting to work on this year that I don't think we are going to do is a foreign language. Although I want to do study several foreign languages with him I know that with the schedule we have this year I won't get to it, so I didn't even look at it.
Ok...so that is our curriculum choices for the upcoming year with a brief description of what our year will look like. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you won't be a stranger and will come back. Please leave a comment so I know who stopped by and so I can see your curriculum choices for this year. Homeschooling is an adventure of a lifetime!!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Couple of Conclusions
I came to a few conclusions Monday that I would like to document.
*Taking more than a couple of days off school is A BAD IDEA!! Getting back into the swing of things is frustrating for both That Other Kid and myself. He doesn't want to do school and I have lost my momentum and have to figure out what needs to be done. Maybe if I did "real" lesson plans this problem would be solved, but doing lesson plans right now for this stage in school seems kind of goofy to me. I mean we are going to do phonics, reading, math, handwriting, and now spelling every day. We are going to do geography at least a couple of days a week. Why do the lesson plan for that?
*I decided that we need to finish up with 1st grade math as soon as possible so I can start challenging That Other Kid in math. He keeps telling me "this is so easy ANYONE could do this!" I have been having him work through 2 lessons a day, but I decided today that we will start doing around 4 lessons a day till it gets more challenging for him. At this pace we should be done with 1st grade math by mid April and ready to do 2nd grade math. (Remember I do school 'mostly' year round and he didn't officially start 1st grade till November.) Now it's time to start researching math curriculum's so I can find something that will challenge him!! We are using Abeka now...it needs to be a visual, challenging curriculum. Suggestions???
*Asking for "chocolate" for Valentine's Day through a text message is kind of goofy but had good results! A box of chocolate and chocolate covered strawberry's taste really great...but create a serious sugar rush! I rarely pull the "I need chocolate" card, but I did tonight. I hope it doesn't backfire on me this week on weigh in day!
* I decided I needed to do something different for my workouts to try to push past this plateau I've been on so I started working out with the EaSports Active2 Wii game Sunday night. I started up the 9 week program, which I will do for 4 days a week for the 9 weeks. I'm planning to do this in addition to doing some workouts at the gym. I scoped out some classes and I have them "scheduled" into my week. This should help me make sure I actually get there! I decided that I needed to push myself harder and I'm hoping that doing all these things will push me past my plateau.
*Last conclusion for the night...I have worked out 44 out of the past 45 days!! I love being able to say that!! Feels soooo good!
*Taking more than a couple of days off school is A BAD IDEA!! Getting back into the swing of things is frustrating for both That Other Kid and myself. He doesn't want to do school and I have lost my momentum and have to figure out what needs to be done. Maybe if I did "real" lesson plans this problem would be solved, but doing lesson plans right now for this stage in school seems kind of goofy to me. I mean we are going to do phonics, reading, math, handwriting, and now spelling every day. We are going to do geography at least a couple of days a week. Why do the lesson plan for that?
*I decided that we need to finish up with 1st grade math as soon as possible so I can start challenging That Other Kid in math. He keeps telling me "this is so easy ANYONE could do this!" I have been having him work through 2 lessons a day, but I decided today that we will start doing around 4 lessons a day till it gets more challenging for him. At this pace we should be done with 1st grade math by mid April and ready to do 2nd grade math. (Remember I do school 'mostly' year round and he didn't officially start 1st grade till November.) Now it's time to start researching math curriculum's so I can find something that will challenge him!! We are using Abeka now...it needs to be a visual, challenging curriculum. Suggestions???
*Asking for "chocolate" for Valentine's Day through a text message is kind of goofy but had good results! A box of chocolate and chocolate covered strawberry's taste really great...but create a serious sugar rush! I rarely pull the "I need chocolate" card, but I did tonight. I hope it doesn't backfire on me this week on weigh in day!
* I decided I needed to do something different for my workouts to try to push past this plateau I've been on so I started working out with the EaSports Active2 Wii game Sunday night. I started up the 9 week program, which I will do for 4 days a week for the 9 weeks. I'm planning to do this in addition to doing some workouts at the gym. I scoped out some classes and I have them "scheduled" into my week. This should help me make sure I actually get there! I decided that I needed to push myself harder and I'm hoping that doing all these things will push me past my plateau.
*Last conclusion for the night...I have worked out 44 out of the past 45 days!! I love being able to say that!! Feels soooo good!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Homeschooling: The First Grade Edition
I don't talk much on the ol' blog about the fact that I homeschool That Other Kid, but it's true, I do. During the time when I was working full time it was EXTREMELY difficult and if I'm being honest here (which I want to be) I really didn't do much in the lines of school the entire 7 months I worked, but in my opinions that is one of the beauties of homeschooling in Texas. I didn't have to "prove" my work (or his) to anyone other than myself and dh. Now don't get me wrong, we worked on some math and some handwriting and even attempted working on phonics occasionally it just wasn't consistent and it wasn't much. It never really seemed to matter that much to That Other Kid because he was busy playing, watching tv and just doing whatever. UNTIL we went to Kansas for my 5K and he started talking to his cousin who is 5 months younger than he is! He then found out that "she is in first grade and I'm supposed to be in the same grade as she is because I'm older than she is!!"
Hold on here...peer pressure from the cousin...hum, something I had never thought of!
So when we got back to good ol' Texas I told him I was no longer working and I would be home almost all the time now, so we were going to get moving with school, so he could be in first grade like his cousin. Before I continue I should mention that he has been doing first grade math (ABeka) and handwriting (A Reason for Handwriting) since he started kindergarten last fall because he basically knew everything in the kindergarten curriculum before we started doing ANY school....but phonics was another story. He knew his letters but start putting sounds to those letters and he was stumped so we had to take phonics at an incredibly slow speed (at least it seemed to me). So we were about half way done with math and handwriting and only about 1/3 of the way done with Level 1 of Hooked on Phonics, which is what I am calling kindergarten phonics. So...enter in some peer pressure. He wanted to know when he would be in "real" first grade like his cousin, so I told him once we finish Level 1 of phonics he would be in FIRST GRADE! So we did a little math and a little handwriting this past month but mostly concentrated on phonics! On Friday he had 10 little books to finish reading and then he would be done. Over the weekend, YES, I SAID WEEKEND, he finished all 10 books so now we start this week as "an official first grader"! He was sooooo excited yesterday when he finished his last book that he was literally bouncing off the couch and screaming, "I'm a first grader!!"
So...today we start first grade and I plan to add spelling (spelling words from Hooked on Phonics words he is learning), geography and art into the mix and see how that works. We already go to a cool science class every other Friday, so that subject is pretty much taken care of for this year. We will probably finish his math and handwriting up sometime in January so then I will need to decide if I'm going to buy the 2nd grade level or just do some "extra" things for math and handwriting until he "catches up". Just another day in the life of a homeschooling mom!
So...I just wanted to let ya'll know that I have an "official first grader" and I will be spending more of my time getting That Other Kid edjamucated!! I am almost as excited as he is but don't tell him!!
Hold on here...peer pressure from the cousin...hum, something I had never thought of!
So when we got back to good ol' Texas I told him I was no longer working and I would be home almost all the time now, so we were going to get moving with school, so he could be in first grade like his cousin. Before I continue I should mention that he has been doing first grade math (ABeka) and handwriting (A Reason for Handwriting) since he started kindergarten last fall because he basically knew everything in the kindergarten curriculum before we started doing ANY school....but phonics was another story. He knew his letters but start putting sounds to those letters and he was stumped so we had to take phonics at an incredibly slow speed (at least it seemed to me). So we were about half way done with math and handwriting and only about 1/3 of the way done with Level 1 of Hooked on Phonics, which is what I am calling kindergarten phonics. So...enter in some peer pressure. He wanted to know when he would be in "real" first grade like his cousin, so I told him once we finish Level 1 of phonics he would be in FIRST GRADE! So we did a little math and a little handwriting this past month but mostly concentrated on phonics! On Friday he had 10 little books to finish reading and then he would be done. Over the weekend, YES, I SAID WEEKEND, he finished all 10 books so now we start this week as "an official first grader"! He was sooooo excited yesterday when he finished his last book that he was literally bouncing off the couch and screaming, "I'm a first grader!!"
So...today we start first grade and I plan to add spelling (spelling words from Hooked on Phonics words he is learning), geography and art into the mix and see how that works. We already go to a cool science class every other Friday, so that subject is pretty much taken care of for this year. We will probably finish his math and handwriting up sometime in January so then I will need to decide if I'm going to buy the 2nd grade level or just do some "extra" things for math and handwriting until he "catches up". Just another day in the life of a homeschooling mom!
So...I just wanted to let ya'll know that I have an "official first grader" and I will be spending more of my time getting That Other Kid edjamucated!! I am almost as excited as he is but don't tell him!!
Monday, August 16, 2010
I Have 20 Minutes So Bare With Me
Blogging at home (heck sitting at my computer at home) has been a bit of a challenge lately and I really miss my computer time but my family and my sleep is my important so for now I will probably be blogging from my phone during my lunch breaks. Not ideal but better than not at all. Just excuse typos and grammar errors, please since my phone is meant for texting not blogging. Anywho, I wanted to let ya'll know I am still around just not very visible. I have been consistent with my exercise (doing 14 of the last 16 days of the 30 Day Shred) and going to the gym for my 5k training. I can run 5 minutes now (most times) when I try it. Next time I go (probably tomorrow) I am supposed to run 8 minutes.....I have to tell myself, "I can" because right now that seems pretty daunting to me. One thing I am learning while training for this is that I have to eat RIGHT! This weekend I ate some crappy food then I went to the gym and tried to run. I didnt do well at all. I couldnt finish the whole workout and I was able to the previous time. Needless to say food is an important part of my running and training. I just have to remember thqt while I am eating or getting ready to eat! I worked with That Other Kid today and we did school. Not our best school day, but I am happy to report that I finally "taught' him something from his math curriculum - place values! He is so good in math that most times he "knows" what is being presented already. He just has the math gene or something! Not from me though!
Well I gotta go lunch is almost over. Talk to ya'll later!
Well I gotta go lunch is almost over. Talk to ya'll later!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Bunch of Random to Catch Up With You
As the title states, I have a bunch of random info to share to catch you up with my life. Nothing special has transpired over the past 10 days since I last blogged but lots has happened. I'm sure you understand...
* I got a new phone Friday afternoon. I'm still learning how to use it, but at least it WORKS!! I had a Blackberry that I was absolutely HATING (mostly because the screen was tiny and it didn't work half the time!!)and I was due for an upgrade. I sacrificed some sleep Friday afternoon and went down to the AT&T store to look for a new phone. I'm not the kind of girl who can look online and decide what kind of phone to get. I need to go in and touch and feel it and get an idea of what it does by actually checking it out. My dh just doesn't understand that. He researches phones online for (literally) months and decides what he wants based on what all the forums, reviews and other users have to say about it. Then he orders it online, sight unseen. He's usually happy with his choice, too. That's not for me...gotta see it and hold it, ya know? Btw, my new phone is this one. So far I LOVE it...it is easy to use and has everything I need. Now I just have to figure out how to make it do everything I need it to and get all my info off my Blackberry which may be difficult since I can't seem to get it to do anything! Couldn't even get a text off from there that someone sent me while I was in the store upgrading! UGH!!
* Next bit of random, I am training for my FIRST 5K!! I am following the Couch 2 5K program....and I'm actually finding that it is kind of FUN!! Did I just say that?'
I think it is more fun knowing that I am going to run my first 5K with my brother and sister in law this October! Yes, that's right the 3 of us are going to do this together, because she started training this week too! I am just finishing my 2nd week of the training plan but already I can tell that I am progressing. Saturday I ran at 4.2 on the treadmill and walked it at 3.2. Last week I was only at 4.0 and 3.0. Next week the plan calls for me to run 3 minutes at a time....I'm kind of concerned about that, but I know that I can do it if I just focus on the final result not the actual time I am running.
* I am begging, pleading, whining the managers for a shift transfer. I have been working 3rd shift for the past (almost) 5 months and it has been a struggle to have any kind of life with That Other Kid. I am supposed to be homeschooling him but just don't have the energy or time to do it. He has been lonely and watching WAY too much tv while I sleep in the mornings. Not to mention I don't get enough sleep and am grumpy most of the time. But since That Kid is home now and will be taking this fall semester off from college we will have access to a second car so dh can go to meetings and such for his business and I won't have to worry about getting to work on time...I am working on getting 2nd shift, meaning 4p.m. to 1a.m. This is an ideal shift for me. I can work till 1 a.m. then come home and be in bed by 2a.m. I will be able to sleep till 9 a.m. and then get up exercise, do school and everything else that needs to be done before I leave for work about 3:15p.m. I know that 7 hrs of sleep is still not ideal but it sure beats the 4 or 5 I am getting now. Not to mention I will be able to spend some good quality time with That Other Kid and do school.
So far, I have been told that they have a position open but they just have to make sure with all the other managers that it will be a permanant full time position. This has been going on for more than 2 weeks and is beginning to run me insane. Please pray that they get everything worked out early this week. I want this so much and the indecisiveness is really stressing me out. Also pray that I can still have my weekends off. Right now that seems to be a big deal to them...but I don't really understand why I can't keep the same days off...It's not going to affect them in any way, since they don't have ANYONE in this position now...what difference does it make if I have the weekends off? Ya know??
* For my final bit of randomness, I have been eating crap, and consequently gaining weight over the past 2 months. I don't really understand WHY I am not eating the way I know I should. I know what I need to do, but seem to be at a standoff with myself. I want to eat right, but every time I go to eat I look for the worst things to eat. Just tonight I ate 1/4 of an Oreo Pie that That Kid's girlfiend made for him. I doubt that he ate ANY of it. I think over the past 48 hrs I have eaten 3/4 of the pie. Needless to say, the pie is gone now and for that I am grateful, just wish I would have let him eat it or thrown it in the trash instead...I think the lack of motivation comes from my stress and frustration level. But, since I am now training for this 5K I'm hoping I can make myself eat right because I won't be able to "really" do it if I am feeding my body junk.
Just tonight I was watching the last 2 episodes of Losing It With Jillian, thinking "Wow, if she came to my house right now what would she say about my food choices? Would she be disgusted and start screaming or would she look at me and say "no wonder you are fat and can't lose weight?" Don't answer that...She would do both! and she would totally kick my a** in the gym, too. So...my 5K training lasts another 7 weeks and during that time I want to be proud of myself for my progress with the running as well as the food choices, so I'm clearing out the junk and eating the way I know I need to....
Feel free to "go Jillian" on me if you hear differently! I need some help, seriously.
Ok..so that's enough time on the computer for the night...I need to get in bed so I can get some extra sleep for my new work week that starts at 10p.m. Sunday night and I've promised That Other Kid we would go swimming after I do my run so I will have to get up early enough to do that and everything else that needs done Sunday. Pray that it is my last week of 3rd shift!! Hope ya'll have a great week...
* I got a new phone Friday afternoon. I'm still learning how to use it, but at least it WORKS!! I had a Blackberry that I was absolutely HATING (mostly because the screen was tiny and it didn't work half the time!!)and I was due for an upgrade. I sacrificed some sleep Friday afternoon and went down to the AT&T store to look for a new phone. I'm not the kind of girl who can look online and decide what kind of phone to get. I need to go in and touch and feel it and get an idea of what it does by actually checking it out. My dh just doesn't understand that. He researches phones online for (literally) months and decides what he wants based on what all the forums, reviews and other users have to say about it. Then he orders it online, sight unseen. He's usually happy with his choice, too. That's not for me...gotta see it and hold it, ya know? Btw, my new phone is this one. So far I LOVE it...it is easy to use and has everything I need. Now I just have to figure out how to make it do everything I need it to and get all my info off my Blackberry which may be difficult since I can't seem to get it to do anything! Couldn't even get a text off from there that someone sent me while I was in the store upgrading! UGH!!
* Next bit of random, I am training for my FIRST 5K!! I am following the Couch 2 5K program....and I'm actually finding that it is kind of FUN!! Did I just say that?'
I think it is more fun knowing that I am going to run my first 5K with my brother and sister in law this October! Yes, that's right the 3 of us are going to do this together, because she started training this week too! I am just finishing my 2nd week of the training plan but already I can tell that I am progressing. Saturday I ran at 4.2 on the treadmill and walked it at 3.2. Last week I was only at 4.0 and 3.0. Next week the plan calls for me to run 3 minutes at a time....I'm kind of concerned about that, but I know that I can do it if I just focus on the final result not the actual time I am running.
* I am begging, pleading, whining the managers for a shift transfer. I have been working 3rd shift for the past (almost) 5 months and it has been a struggle to have any kind of life with That Other Kid. I am supposed to be homeschooling him but just don't have the energy or time to do it. He has been lonely and watching WAY too much tv while I sleep in the mornings. Not to mention I don't get enough sleep and am grumpy most of the time. But since That Kid is home now and will be taking this fall semester off from college we will have access to a second car so dh can go to meetings and such for his business and I won't have to worry about getting to work on time...I am working on getting 2nd shift, meaning 4p.m. to 1a.m. This is an ideal shift for me. I can work till 1 a.m. then come home and be in bed by 2a.m. I will be able to sleep till 9 a.m. and then get up exercise, do school and everything else that needs to be done before I leave for work about 3:15p.m. I know that 7 hrs of sleep is still not ideal but it sure beats the 4 or 5 I am getting now. Not to mention I will be able to spend some good quality time with That Other Kid and do school.
So far, I have been told that they have a position open but they just have to make sure with all the other managers that it will be a permanant full time position. This has been going on for more than 2 weeks and is beginning to run me insane. Please pray that they get everything worked out early this week. I want this so much and the indecisiveness is really stressing me out. Also pray that I can still have my weekends off. Right now that seems to be a big deal to them...but I don't really understand why I can't keep the same days off...It's not going to affect them in any way, since they don't have ANYONE in this position now...what difference does it make if I have the weekends off? Ya know??
* For my final bit of randomness, I have been eating crap, and consequently gaining weight over the past 2 months. I don't really understand WHY I am not eating the way I know I should. I know what I need to do, but seem to be at a standoff with myself. I want to eat right, but every time I go to eat I look for the worst things to eat. Just tonight I ate 1/4 of an Oreo Pie that That Kid's girlfiend made for him. I doubt that he ate ANY of it. I think over the past 48 hrs I have eaten 3/4 of the pie. Needless to say, the pie is gone now and for that I am grateful, just wish I would have let him eat it or thrown it in the trash instead...I think the lack of motivation comes from my stress and frustration level. But, since I am now training for this 5K I'm hoping I can make myself eat right because I won't be able to "really" do it if I am feeding my body junk.
Just tonight I was watching the last 2 episodes of Losing It With Jillian, thinking "Wow, if she came to my house right now what would she say about my food choices? Would she be disgusted and start screaming or would she look at me and say "no wonder you are fat and can't lose weight?" Don't answer that...She would do both! and she would totally kick my a** in the gym, too. So...my 5K training lasts another 7 weeks and during that time I want to be proud of myself for my progress with the running as well as the food choices, so I'm clearing out the junk and eating the way I know I need to....
Feel free to "go Jillian" on me if you hear differently! I need some help, seriously.
Ok..so that's enough time on the computer for the night...I need to get in bed so I can get some extra sleep for my new work week that starts at 10p.m. Sunday night and I've promised That Other Kid we would go swimming after I do my run so I will have to get up early enough to do that and everything else that needs done Sunday. Pray that it is my last week of 3rd shift!! Hope ya'll have a great week...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tiny Talk Tuesday
Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.
The past couple of weeks have been rather unusual for our household. Instead of having one 6 year old boy in the house, I have had 2 of them! One of my friends needed to go to Pennsylvania to help care for her ailing MIL and FIL. Our boys get along pretty well (for the most part) so he came over during the day to hang with us while dad worked and big brother did school. Some interesting conversations were heard between the two boys this week so I thought I would share with you. I also want to tell you that I am SO THANKFUL THAT GOD KNEW I COULDN'T HANDLE 2 young boys at the same time....that's why he decided to bless me with 2 boys, but seperated by 13 years!!
I will call our friends little boy "the lion"...if you knew them you would understand why...but that's all I'm saying about that!!
The Lion: "I don't want to play that with you, it's boring".
That Other Kid: "Ok, what do you want to play?"
The Lion: "Um...I think I want to play that with you. Maybe it will not be boring!"
During a rare time when I managed to get them to both work on school work at the same time this conversation was heard:
The Lion: "Handwriting is my mostest favorite thing to do for school."
That Other Kid: "Math is my bestest thing....cuz I'm good at it! I know what 6 times 9 is...it's 63!" (Of course he doesn't bother to tell his friend that he learned it by watching a tv show!)
The Lion: "I don't know what "time" is. My mom hasn't told me that yet!"
Both boys are extremely competitive and it was nearly the death of me over the past 2 weeks!
The Lion: "Ha, your mom is starting school with me first!!"
That Other Kid: "Why do you always start school with him first? I want to be first, cuz I am YOUR kid!"
Do you think I would have heard that from a kid in public school?? I think not!!
I love my friend and her kiddo, but I am so happy to have just 1 kiddo in my house today!!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tiny Talk Tuesday
Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.
As a homeschooling momma I have joy and (sometimes frustration) of help my kiddo learn to read, do math and all the other wonderful things he has to learn to be a well rounded student/person. As a general rule teaching That Other Kid has been a breeze compared to what I had to go through with That Kid. However, since we started back with school the Monday after the New year it hasn't been such a breeze!
Over the past week he/we have struggled with putting the toys and video games away long enough to concentrate on school. I have struggled with juggling all the chores, computer time and helping dh with his job search.
Today was the day that shall go down in history as our most unfocused day "so far"!!
I am using "Hooked on Phonics" for Phonics and learning to read. Up to this point it has been great. Some days he struggles with focusing on the reading, but most days he is excited to do it because he knows he is learning to read. Yesterday we started school and he seemed to be unfocused but did ok with everything. Till reading time. He was supposed to read the words: On, And, Is, The. He listened to the speaker, and repeated. Then it came time to read it for himself.
This is the scenario from yesterday.
TOK:
"On
And
Is
The"
"On
And
Is
ummmmm I forgot"
"On
And
Is
ummmmm I don't remember"
"On
And
Is
ummmmm I have a bad memory"
At that point (after helping him numerous times to "remember" I gave up) and said we would work on it tomorrow.
So today's scenario went something like this --
We read through the words with the tape PERFECTLY! Then I turned off the tape and had him read through the words. First time through he read the words, perfectly again! Then the troubles started!
TOK:
"On
And
Is
And"
"On
And
Is
Is"
"On
And
Is
On"
Me: "No, the word is THE. Look at the word and spell it out!"
TOK: "I don't have a good memberer and I don't remember what that word is."
Me: "Yes, you do. You just need to concentrate. Try it again!" So we go through the words again. ON, AND, IS, THE! "Read the words to me again..."
TOK: "On, And, Is, On. On, And, Is, The. On, And, Is, I don't remember! I don't have a good memory!"
After working on this for at least an hour, I told him we were done with school.
5 minutes later he read his brother's name on a video game!! He also told his brother what 9 + 9 equals!! Um....do you think he had a focus problem today!! Or maybe a mental block about the word THE!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Trying To Establish New Routine
We are finally offically all moved in. I am down to unloading 5 boxes and getting the bookcases and cabinets organized. Those things will hopefully happen this week! Today is the first day I have been home since last Tuesday. It seems this time of year gets even busier than my normal! I am usually home on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, but this week that schedule didn't happen. I'm hoping that I can be home a bit more for the rest of the month. I have to make sure we are completely organized and situated by the first of January when we need to hit the books again for school.
The first week of November I decided homeschooling and preparing for a move just were not a smart combination so I decided we would take some time off for the holidays and the move, but by the time January rolls around I think we will both be ready to establish a routine of doing school! Already he is starting to get a little bored, since it is sooooo stinkin' cold right now and we don't have a place for him to just run and play, but I think he's adapting pretty well. Moving for kids is really difficult and I think last week was his most challenging. He was moody, and angry about various things. Today he has seemed more "normal" playing hockey in the living room and playing with his toys in his room.
I need to establish some new routines for myself, too since I am having a hard time exercising at night now. Bedtime seems to be getting later and later for both dh and That Other Kid, so by the time the house is quiet and ready for me to exercise it is after 10:30 and I'm ready to go to sleep myself! So when do you exercise? How do you manage to do it with kiddos in the house? I can't even imagine doing it with more than 1 rugrat and I know there are many of you that have more, so tell me your secrets, k?
Well it's time for me to get off my duff and get some more boxes unpacked, laundry folded and the kitchen cleaned up! I have spent far too much time on the computer catching up with everyone today...now it's time to get busy! Hope ya'll are having a good Monday!!
The first week of November I decided homeschooling and preparing for a move just were not a smart combination so I decided we would take some time off for the holidays and the move, but by the time January rolls around I think we will both be ready to establish a routine of doing school! Already he is starting to get a little bored, since it is sooooo stinkin' cold right now and we don't have a place for him to just run and play, but I think he's adapting pretty well. Moving for kids is really difficult and I think last week was his most challenging. He was moody, and angry about various things. Today he has seemed more "normal" playing hockey in the living room and playing with his toys in his room.
I need to establish some new routines for myself, too since I am having a hard time exercising at night now. Bedtime seems to be getting later and later for both dh and That Other Kid, so by the time the house is quiet and ready for me to exercise it is after 10:30 and I'm ready to go to sleep myself! So when do you exercise? How do you manage to do it with kiddos in the house? I can't even imagine doing it with more than 1 rugrat and I know there are many of you that have more, so tell me your secrets, k?
Well it's time for me to get off my duff and get some more boxes unpacked, laundry folded and the kitchen cleaned up! I have spent far too much time on the computer catching up with everyone today...now it's time to get busy! Hope ya'll are having a good Monday!!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Entertaining Tiny Talk Tuesday
Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.
This morning in the "Big D" is foggy and rainy and dreary and blah!! So I'm movin' even slower than I normally do in the mornin' time. I just HATE dreary days....they really grate on my nerves....anywhoooo...
As I sit here watching That Other Kid play Mario Kart on the Wii I'm listening to his rambling conversations with himself and trying really hard not to laugh out loud! He is so comical without even trying.
So here are some of the things he is saying as he plays his favorite video game of the day:
That Other Kid -- "Get ahead, boy! You don't want to lose, do you?"
"B-b-b-b-b I know what starts with "B"! The word bed! and I think I know how to spell it too...B-E-D !!
Me -- "That's right, bed is spelled B-E-D! What else starts with "B"?
That Other Kid -- "Bell starts with "b", too! and so does boy!"
I love how he will just sit and play and try to figure out what letter the words he would normally say, start with! It makes me realize that I am doing something right with my little boy!
It also makes me realize that "all the time is learning time" not just when we have a designated "school time"!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tiny Talk Tuesday -- School Time
Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.
As a homeschooling mom I get the distinct pleasure of watching my child learn something new every day! This is the most exciting part of homeschooling for me.
This week has started off well for us in the school department. Time to just spend learning and doing -- as well as playing! That is one of the most important parts of learning, I think (at least for a boy).
Yesterday, That Other Kid was working on a worksheet. Just 3 weeks ago, he hated working in this book, but he has really started enjoying it. You have to write the lower case and upper case letters as well as color the picture. The picture is color coded according to upper case letters and lower case letters, so he has to pay attention to the picture and color it according to right colors.
While he was working on this page he was looking at the colors and trying to figure out for himself what colors to color the picture. He looked at the word "red" and SOUNDED IT OUT!! phonetically!! I was so stinkin' proud of him. Phonics is not his strength, but he is GETTING IT!!
He has been walking around the house sounding out letters and trying to figure out how they sound! It's soooo exciting for me to see him sorting it out "on his own"!
Just another day in the life of a homeschooling mom with a kindergarten boy!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
You Capture -- Happiness
Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry (and btw, so should I) as is evidenced by the pile of laundry that has been sitting here the past couple of days....
anywho...she is holding her weekly photo meme and this week the subject is Happiness.
As I just told you in the previous post I've been in a funk this week so getting school done has been a bit of a challenge (not for That Other Kid, but for me) so I'm looking for creative ways to call our activities "educational". Yesterday was PE -- we went to the park with friends for several hours and he ran himself to exhaustion, then we went to Half-Priced Books and sold some CD's, and I called that Marketing and Sales, then we went to Karate and he had more PE and Science (balance was the object of study). Today I wanted to work on some "real" school but he had other ideas, so I had to think of more creativity.
He got the legos out and wanted me to play with him. I haven't played legos with him in quiet some time so I obliged. But I decided to make a lesson out of it -- Yes, I can be creative! We did science and math! He had to count the Lego holes to make them match, and then we each made our own cars to have a RACE down a ramp (science/physics and the study of gravity, ya know!)
It was a lot of fun and it brought great happiness to my boy who is always looking for some kind of competition! We changed our "cars" around and checked out the sizes that would roll fastest!
Here is just one of the test races:
This boy brings so much happines!! Now he just brought me his Bible and asked me to read it him....wow!! What could bring a momma more happiness??!
Gotta go!!
anywho...she is holding her weekly photo meme and this week the subject is Happiness.
As I just told you in the previous post I've been in a funk this week so getting school done has been a bit of a challenge (not for That Other Kid, but for me) so I'm looking for creative ways to call our activities "educational". Yesterday was PE -- we went to the park with friends for several hours and he ran himself to exhaustion, then we went to Half-Priced Books and sold some CD's, and I called that Marketing and Sales, then we went to Karate and he had more PE and Science (balance was the object of study). Today I wanted to work on some "real" school but he had other ideas, so I had to think of more creativity.
He got the legos out and wanted me to play with him. I haven't played legos with him in quiet some time so I obliged. But I decided to make a lesson out of it -- Yes, I can be creative! We did science and math! He had to count the Lego holes to make them match, and then we each made our own cars to have a RACE down a ramp (science/physics and the study of gravity, ya know!)
It was a lot of fun and it brought great happiness to my boy who is always looking for some kind of competition! We changed our "cars" around and checked out the sizes that would roll fastest!
Here is just one of the test races:
This boy brings so much happines!! Now he just brought me his Bible and asked me to read it him....wow!! What could bring a momma more happiness??!
Gotta go!!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Dominoes Can Be A Great Math Lesson!!
This morning we were getting ready to work on school, but That Other Kid wanted to play dominoes, so I decided to incorporate a game of dominoes into his math lesson of the day!! Nothing like playing and doing school at the same time, huh??!!
So every time he down a domino I had him add up the 2 numbers that were on the domino, for example if he had a 2 and 4 he was going to say the equation 2+4=6. He had to do this for the domino that I sat down too! So when were all done with our little game of dominoes he had 28 math problems solved! And he had FUN!!!
This is what I love about homeschooling!! He even wanted to play again!!
So every time he down a domino I had him add up the 2 numbers that were on the domino, for example if he had a 2 and 4 he was going to say the equation 2+4=6. He had to do this for the domino that I sat down too! So when were all done with our little game of dominoes he had 28 math problems solved! And he had FUN!!!
This is what I love about homeschooling!! He even wanted to play again!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Kindergarten Tiny Talk
Tiny Talk Tuesday celebrates our children and their view of the world. They continually make us laugh and by recording their Tiny Talk we can focus on one of the many JOYS of parenting! If your kiddos made you laugh this week (don't they always), then feel free to share the humor! Check out more Tiny Talks with Mary.
Today was day 5 of kindergarten for That Other Kid and it started off rather shaky, but ended on a much better note. I love homeschooling for the flexibility it allows and the opportunity for me to watch my kids "get it"!! It is not for the wimpy, though! It is challenging and it does take time, but so does parenting...so you just have to decide what is best for you and your family.
As I said today started off shaky -- That Other Kid didn't want to do handwriting, but I have learned do the things that are most difficult first thing or it won't get done. He has learned to write all of his capital letters almost to perfection, just because he wanted to, but lower case is a real struggle for him so that is what we are working on. I handed him a handwriting paper and told him to copy the letters by following the dots and tracings offered. He looked at the paper (keep in mind it was the first assignment of the day) and promptly informed me that "I'm just too tired to do school today!" I knew this was his way of telling me "I don't want to do this", so I told him "Ok, I guess if you are too tired to do school today then you should go take a nap, instead of playing with your toys or doing school".
Amazingly he was energized enough to complete the assignment!! After doing his handwriting assignment we moved on to phonics worksheet. No problems there, when he paid attention! Next we moved onto math! Math is his favorite subject and he is really good at it (probably related, huh?). Kindergarten math was not going to be challenging enough for him so I bought 1st grade ABeka -- So I'm telling him how to do the assignment and he looks at it and says, "Oh, that's EASY PEASY!! Why is this (simple addition) so easy??" (In case you don't know "easy peasy" comes from Dragon Tales on PBS.) It cracked me up!
Next we moved onto Geography (he loves maps and identifying everything to where it is in relation to Texas). We got the US map out and the World Globe and I explained and named all the continents and oceans, then gave a little pop quiz! He is so intrigued by maps it's amazing! Everything relates back to traveling from Texas to "wherever" whether in car or by plane, so it was a fun exercise in distances!
Homeschooling at it's finest!! Gotta love learning!!
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