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!

Thankful Thursday...Friends

Brooke and Bari have been doing a "Thankful Thursday" post for a while now and just this week I thought about how much of my blog is used for moaning and complaining or talking about my weight loss journey (that isn't happening right now) and I need to branch out a little and do something different. So...here is my first Thankful Thursday post. I'm hoping that I will make it a regular part of the ol' blog!

The first thing I am thankful for (and hopefully it won't sound corny) is all my online friends. Women I have met online and have truly become great friends with. All of these women have picked me up when I am down, celebrated with me when I am up and helped cheer me on when a cheer is appropriate! Some of you have kicked me in the booty when I needed that too! I have always been a pretty social person but since I'm not your usual gal I have had difficulties making true, lasting friendships. However, with all of y'all the miles that seperate us don't seem to matter. There is always someone available to "be a friend" when a friend is needed.

The second thing I am thankful for is having the "in real life" friends that are here in the "here and now" that I can phone, text or drop by and see whenever I need a personal and up close friend. These are the people that know the ins and outs of my life and see me when I am at my highest and my lowest. These are the women that are here to just be there when necessary. I also know them the same way, which is kind of nice!

Proverbs 18:24 says, "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I can definitely say I don't have unreliable friends and I am so thankful for all of them but I am even more thankful for the best friend of all - Jesus!

Bursting Into Summer

It's Wednesday and that means weigh in time with the 'hood. For the first time in a really long time I did not want to get on the scales. Last night while wearing a pair of capris that I have worn losely for sometime I noticed they were pretty snug. So this morning I knew in my heart that I would not like seeing the number on the scale but I figured I couldn't ignore it forever so I hopped on and looked down.

Yep, pretty much what I thought! I started this challenge at 194.6 and this morning I saw the number on the scale that I keep telling myself I will NEVER see AGAIN! You guessed it:

200 pounds!!

I am NOT proud of this. I am not happy about this. In fact I'm pretty stinkin' upset about it. NOw the true test of just how upset I am will be in the results it pushes me to make. For example will I stop drinking soda again? Will I go back on the low glycemic index diet plan that I continue to have great success with? Will I eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies daily?

Only time will tell but I can tell you that I am tired of feeling this way. I also know that if Ii will just do the things I need to do the weight will come off and it will stay off!

For the challenge this past week we were supposed to try something new....um...I walked 4.21 miles in the pouring down rain on Saturday morning at 5:30 AM for my Komen 3 Day Training!! That is definitely something new for me! Then on Sunday I turned around and walked nearly 12 miles starting once again at 5 AM!! Definitely new things for me! Nothing compared to my running friends like Kirsten, Tiffany, Lisa, Christy, Brooke, Bari and ChristieO who regularly RUN WAY more than that but for me it was new and I'm counting it! I also bought a fruit called a pluot. I haven't tried it yet but it looks interesting -- kind of like a plum??

Ok... this week's challenge is to take deep breaths!! Um...yeah, I think I need to do lots of this! So I will be doing this A LOT this week! as long as I don't get too stressed out to remember to do it that is!

Ok...so that is all from me this week. Hope you have had better success than I have in this challenge and if you haven't please let me know so we can help each other out, k?

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.

Need Some Motivation

ChristieO is doing a little project to help motivate us in our health and fitness journey. And can I just say it could not have come at a better time for me (and based on what I have been reading I'm not alone)!

So won't you participate? I've already sent her my picture and can hardly wait to see what she has up her sleeve! All you need to do is send Christie a picture and a line describing how that picture made you feel.

Well here is what she says....

■You know those photos you have from racing or race day or perhaps even from training? Send me one! It can be before during or after when you’re a hot smelly mess. In fact, the stinkier the better. They haven’t invented smellovision yet so we’re ok.
■Send your name and blog url so everyone can know where to visit you (yes! exposure for your blog too!) If you don’t have a blog, put your town and state (ex: Tampa, FL) You’ll be famous!
■THEN send me ONE short line of what was going through your head during the photo. Did you finish a marathon? Did you so totally not want to do this race but you were glad you did? Were you proud? Were you hurt? Were you on fire? Did you never think in a million years you’d have just done what you did? Were you defeated inside? Was there drama goin on up there? Give me one line of what you went through or how you got there or what you were thinking.
■Email to christieo@averagemomswearcapes.com
■Then please RT this post so that our fun-loving community of awesome bloggers and friends can get involved! OK? Well that part’s not mandatory but it would be nice to spread the motivation!
■Grab the button below. I will create a list of participating bloggers on my sidebar with their url (feel free to blog about your participation in the project too but don’t share the picture you sent me in that post, it’s a secret until the final project day, ok?)

Go over and see what else she says! She is all kinds of awesome, wouldn't you agree?!

Burst Into Summer

It's weigh in time for the Sisterhood. I'm starting to sound like a broken record!What can I say that I haven't been saying all summer long? Not much! Here we are in the beginning of August and I still haven't lost any weight. I just haven't done what it is gonna take to lose the weight. I have eaten too much junk, too much ice cream, too much sugar and too many high glycemic index foods. The month of May I lost over 8 pounds because I was sticking with the low glycemic index foods. Since then, not so much! Thus, no weight loss!

Starting weight for this challenge: 194.6

Last week: 196.0
This week: 196.0

Last week we were challenged to eat/drink 3 servings of dairy a day. I did good until Tuesday and then I guess I forgot what dairy was! NONE! My bad!

For this week we are being challenged to give up the ICE CREAM!! Seems A LOT of us are having ice cream cravings and we are eating more than our fair share! Since it has been sooooooo hot throughout most of the USA I can totally understand how ice cream has been such a issue for so many of us. I know it has been for me, too! So I'm going to give it a try! Surely I can live 1 week without ice cream, right?!

Exercise has been ok...not what I would like but here again it is so hot outside and I've been wanting to do boot camp but can't really go out and sprint when it is 100* at 10 p.m.! I have been doing my training walks for the Komen 3 Day so I am getting some good exercise on the weekends, but we have been walking starting at 5 a.m.!! I can do that 2 mornings a week since I can come home and sleep but NOT GONNA HAPPEN DURING THE WEEK! I'm trying to figure out how to do training walks during the week, so any suggestions would be welcome.

"My Marine" still isn't sure when he leaves for boot camp, but it could still be as soon as Monday, the 8th!! In one regard I hope it happens then, but on the other end of the spectrum I hope he stays as long as he can! I will let ya'll know as soon as possible so you can send therapy!

I guess that's it for the week. Hope ya'll had a good week!

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!!