Sunday, February 9, 2014
CHANGE YOUR MINDSET AND YOU'LL CHANGE YOUR WORLD
Okay... I am going on a rant... I am so tired of logging onto Facebook everytime the weather is bad to see people complaining about being forced into close quarters with the children that God has blessed them with, and that I know they love dearly. It feeds into the societal perspective that children are a burden and are to be avoided. I believe that most of it is a mob mentality... Once everybody starts saying it... You start believing it... And YOU make it a reality. One person complains, then another and another... Then it becomes something to dread. Not because you really don't love your kids or enjoy spending time with them, but because this is the mind set you've chosen to have. The REAL inconvenience may be lost wages or... Well.... I can't think of another... But you project these things on to your kids. What about all the mothers out there who have lost children or have been unable to have them at all? What they wouldn't give to be snowed in with the ones that they mourn. Your words affect other people's hearts. Some of you have children that read your words. How are they to feel? Or they see and hear your reaction to yet another snow day. Of course they are beginning to actually WANT to go to school... Would you want to spend an entire day in a house where you are made to feel you are not wanted? CHANGE YOUR MINDSET AND YOU'LL CHANGE YOUR WORLD. Get excited about every unexpected moment and you'll learn to enjoy them.
Monday, January 6, 2014
2013 Part 3- Sleeping at our House
This is my 4th post about sleeping arrangements... my last one bragged that we had our bed all to ourselves...ha! I like to blame Scott because he like co-sleeping with toddlers better than I do, but I have to take some blame too.
In May we added to our family again... this time a rescue cat the kids named Ms. Kitty or as Sierra liked to call her... Kiki. Also back in March we had bought a new leather couch. So... I was going to sleep on the couch for the 1st few nights/weeks to protect it from said kitty. Scott being the lonely sleeper decided he would invite the little boys to sleep with him in the mean time. Raiden had grown used to sleeping with Jacob. They would end up crashing in the living room because I had taken the TV out of their room so they didn't disturb Sierra with it, who was right across the hall. But Ronan loved having that one on one time with his daddy.
Sierra was still nursing at 5 or 6 in the am and going back to sleep until 8 or 9, so being in the front livingroom closer to her was easier anyway. Summer joined me in there but on a palate on the floor because Sierra was such a light sleeper until school started back and bed times went into effect. Sierra weaned by the end of July at 27 months and became an early bird. Sometime around Halloween she learned how to climb out of her crib. I took the rail off and side-carred it with Summers bed. For about a month I would lay down with her until she fell asleep and then Summer would go in there and sleep. Then she started making me feel bad because she would keep asking if I was still mama or was I Summer. Plus, it would sometime take 45 minutes for her to fall asleep.
I then kicked all the boys back to their bedrooms and for a week or so, put an air mattress next to out bed, and she slept there. Bonus...she has started staying up later and sleeping later. After Christmas was over and my in-laws left I decided to get Raidens crib back out of the attic and side-car it with our bed once again... she loves it. The boys still end up sleeping in the family room next to our bedroom most nights...but that's okay. Technically we are back to having our bed to ourselves, just not our room.
In May we added to our family again... this time a rescue cat the kids named Ms. Kitty or as Sierra liked to call her... Kiki. Also back in March we had bought a new leather couch. So... I was going to sleep on the couch for the 1st few nights/weeks to protect it from said kitty. Scott being the lonely sleeper decided he would invite the little boys to sleep with him in the mean time. Raiden had grown used to sleeping with Jacob. They would end up crashing in the living room because I had taken the TV out of their room so they didn't disturb Sierra with it, who was right across the hall. But Ronan loved having that one on one time with his daddy.
Sierra was still nursing at 5 or 6 in the am and going back to sleep until 8 or 9, so being in the front livingroom closer to her was easier anyway. Summer joined me in there but on a palate on the floor because Sierra was such a light sleeper until school started back and bed times went into effect. Sierra weaned by the end of July at 27 months and became an early bird. Sometime around Halloween she learned how to climb out of her crib. I took the rail off and side-carred it with Summers bed. For about a month I would lay down with her until she fell asleep and then Summer would go in there and sleep. Then she started making me feel bad because she would keep asking if I was still mama or was I Summer. Plus, it would sometime take 45 minutes for her to fall asleep.
I then kicked all the boys back to their bedrooms and for a week or so, put an air mattress next to out bed, and she slept there. Bonus...she has started staying up later and sleeping later. After Christmas was over and my in-laws left I decided to get Raidens crib back out of the attic and side-car it with our bed once again... she loves it. The boys still end up sleeping in the family room next to our bedroom most nights...but that's okay. Technically we are back to having our bed to ourselves, just not our room.
Friday, January 3, 2014
2013 (Part 2-Diet) Should we eat meat?
During the summer of 2012 Scott and I watched a Christian Documentary about Vegetarianism. I know that there is nothing unbiblical about eating meat. We are no longer under the law. But why did God give laws about food in the 1st place? Did you know the the Israelites are, and have always been among the healthiest people in the WORLD? God gave them rules the same reason we give our kids rules. Because we love them and we want to help them make the best choices.
Before sin entered the world God said in Genesis 1:29... “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so." No one ate meat. There were no carnivores or omnivores. In fact, God did not command us to eat meat until after the flood. Sure Abel raised sheep, but that doesn't mean he ate them. His offering was more pleasing to God because of what it represented and the things to come. Genesis 3:21 describes the 1st sacrifice, "21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." This was to cover their sin... but ultimately a greater blood sacrifice would be needed to to atone for us. Part of Abel's sacrifice was also fat, which later God specifically says not to eat even though the meat is okay.
So then why the change of heart after the flood? One word... necessity. The land was pretty much slug and it was no surprise to God that an ice age was coming. He had Noah make all the preparations by having him bring more of the clean animals. Later he sends quail to Moses and his followers... but only after they complained that what the Lord had provided for them wasn't enough. Meat is a yummy, nutrient dense food. It is great in a pinch. Settlers to our country and in cold climate areas would not survive without it, but it is not the perfect food that God designed for us when the world was perfect.
There is plenty of scientific proof that eating a diet high in animal protein is carcinogenic. Red meat is particularly is bad for our hearts. Pork is still full of nastiness. All of this information was like a mustard seed to us. On our cross country trip we drove through Texas, some major cattle country cities. That whole trip was pretty spiritual for me and the meat thing really started to tug. We drove pass Tyson plants in other states. We talked about it, cut out the worst offenders for a while, but eventually reverted. At some point we watched Food Inc. and Forks over knives. Finally in February we decided to try to go vegetarian.
All of the kids did pretty well but Joshua. He is not a big fruit and vegetable eater so it was hard for him. At first we didn't get any of the meat substitutes but started buying them for his sake. They like the morning star chik'n nuggets, hot dogs,, sausage patties, and facon... the ribletts are AMAZING. They are the only ones Scott and I eat. I know all of these are super processed and not the healthiest choices, but one thing at a time. They have all started eating so much better and all the big kids now will eat pretty much everything I cook. We've got our staples down. I try to be creative with beans and just substitute them for meat in everything. We do cheat sometimes. We try no to eat out very much,but if we do I let the kids eat whatever. At Taco Bell everyone but Joshua will still eat vegetarian so that's where we go mostly. Other places Summer and I may have chicken or fish if there isn't a better option and we don't want salad, but it's not often.
I've tried to go more vegan, but its hard... I love cheese. We do get Almond milk to avoid too much animal protein. Processed foods is what I'm trying to limit the most now. I watched Fat, Sick,and Nearly Dead a few weeks ago. Summer has psoriasis and is starting the have thyroid problems. Both are autoimmune related and it says(and I have read) that these types of problems can be alleviated through a natural diet. After doing more research, I'm not buying the whole detox thing. Our bodies will detox themselves if we would just stop pouring garbage into them.
An article I read called "Lord, Please Bless this Poison", really put thing into perspective for me. People want to eat what they want to eat. and do what they want to do, and then complain when they are sick. We want to pour money into cancer and heart disease research for "cures", instead of trying to prevent them in the 1st place. It reminds me of modern childbirth. Lets fill her and her baby with all kinds of thing that we know can harm them, just because they think they can save them when something goes wrong. Hey...could you please give me some poison to get rid of the other poison you just gave me.
Before sin entered the world God said in Genesis 1:29... “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so." No one ate meat. There were no carnivores or omnivores. In fact, God did not command us to eat meat until after the flood. Sure Abel raised sheep, but that doesn't mean he ate them. His offering was more pleasing to God because of what it represented and the things to come. Genesis 3:21 describes the 1st sacrifice, "21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them." This was to cover their sin... but ultimately a greater blood sacrifice would be needed to to atone for us. Part of Abel's sacrifice was also fat, which later God specifically says not to eat even though the meat is okay.
So then why the change of heart after the flood? One word... necessity. The land was pretty much slug and it was no surprise to God that an ice age was coming. He had Noah make all the preparations by having him bring more of the clean animals. Later he sends quail to Moses and his followers... but only after they complained that what the Lord had provided for them wasn't enough. Meat is a yummy, nutrient dense food. It is great in a pinch. Settlers to our country and in cold climate areas would not survive without it, but it is not the perfect food that God designed for us when the world was perfect.
There is plenty of scientific proof that eating a diet high in animal protein is carcinogenic. Red meat is particularly is bad for our hearts. Pork is still full of nastiness. All of this information was like a mustard seed to us. On our cross country trip we drove through Texas, some major cattle country cities. That whole trip was pretty spiritual for me and the meat thing really started to tug. We drove pass Tyson plants in other states. We talked about it, cut out the worst offenders for a while, but eventually reverted. At some point we watched Food Inc. and Forks over knives. Finally in February we decided to try to go vegetarian.
All of the kids did pretty well but Joshua. He is not a big fruit and vegetable eater so it was hard for him. At first we didn't get any of the meat substitutes but started buying them for his sake. They like the morning star chik'n nuggets, hot dogs,, sausage patties, and facon... the ribletts are AMAZING. They are the only ones Scott and I eat. I know all of these are super processed and not the healthiest choices, but one thing at a time. They have all started eating so much better and all the big kids now will eat pretty much everything I cook. We've got our staples down. I try to be creative with beans and just substitute them for meat in everything. We do cheat sometimes. We try no to eat out very much,but if we do I let the kids eat whatever. At Taco Bell everyone but Joshua will still eat vegetarian so that's where we go mostly. Other places Summer and I may have chicken or fish if there isn't a better option and we don't want salad, but it's not often.
I've tried to go more vegan, but its hard... I love cheese. We do get Almond milk to avoid too much animal protein. Processed foods is what I'm trying to limit the most now. I watched Fat, Sick,and Nearly Dead a few weeks ago. Summer has psoriasis and is starting the have thyroid problems. Both are autoimmune related and it says(and I have read) that these types of problems can be alleviated through a natural diet. After doing more research, I'm not buying the whole detox thing. Our bodies will detox themselves if we would just stop pouring garbage into them.
An article I read called "Lord, Please Bless this Poison", really put thing into perspective for me. People want to eat what they want to eat. and do what they want to do, and then complain when they are sick. We want to pour money into cancer and heart disease research for "cures", instead of trying to prevent them in the 1st place. It reminds me of modern childbirth. Lets fill her and her baby with all kinds of thing that we know can harm them, just because they think they can save them when something goes wrong. Hey...could you please give me some poison to get rid of the other poison you just gave me.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
A Look Back at 2013 (Part 1)
All in all 2013 was a good year even if it had a bumpy start. In January, through a menagerie of symptoms we figured out that I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome(POTS) most likely due to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome(EDS) Type III(aka hypermobility syndrome).
I have had weird joint pain my whole life. Then of course, the more kids a had the more tired and achy I became. I would joke with Scott that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Then I started having palpitations mostly when I would lay down after having to get up at night, or when I would 1st sit down. What I didn't realize was that when I am upright my heart rate jumps to 120+ beats per minute. Sometimes this happens in response to a drop in blood pressure, but in my case my normally low BP(avg 90s/60s) elevates slightly(100-110/80's). It took a while to figure out what was going on because the bp cuff would error, so at 1st we thought it was dipping. What was actually happening though is that the pulse pressure(difference between top and bottom number) was narrowing when I was standing. Sometimes I could only feel a beat or two while taking a reading. Then when I would sit or lay back down the diastolic(or bottom number would drop suddenly widening the pulse pressure, causing palpitations... sometimes the systolic even goes up slightly more when I first sit down. This is all caused by blood pooling in my legs when I am standing because I don't have good elasticity in my arteries. The reason my blood pressure doesn't tank is because my body kicks in a back up plan... release epinephrine and norepinephrine(stress hormones)... lovely huh? So I really have been more tired and stressed than the average person... for good reason...other than having 6 kids, but it compounded it.
During pregnancy your blood volume increases, stretching your vessels. Each time I got pregnant they had a harder time bouncing back. Which is why even though this is something that I probably have always had... it has gotten worse. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that can effect any connective tissue in the body. The good part is that it is probably why I have has short relatively painless labors.
The best treatment for the POTS is to increase salt and water intake to increase my blood volume and exercise. Some people do take medicine to help regulate their HR and BP, but they have even higher numbers than I do, or the back up plan fails and their BP crashes and they pass out. Exercise is a double edge sword and fine balancing act. If you don't do it you become deconditioned, decreasing blood volume, but if you do... it is exhausting. I started out by getting a recumbent exercise bike. People with POTS are advised against any type of resistance training and I figured out why the hard way. When I put any resistance on the bike my thighs would burn with lactic acid and my diastolic bp would go up. Even without resistance, if I let my heart rate go above 120, the same thing would happen... this is called exercise intolerance. I have always complained that the reason I could never stick with an exercise program is because I could never get that "high" everyone talks about. Well, that's because instead of endorphins, I get stress hormones coursing through my veins. I got some old lady compression hoses, but the summer hit and I gave up. To be honest when I quit pushing myself, emotionally I felt sooo much better. Did I mention that I am Heat Intolerant as well? Everyone's heart rate increases somewhat when its hot... but I can just be sitting around and get tachycardic. The upside is that my heart is very strong... after all it runs like I'm running a marathon when I'm doing the dishes. Exercising would also be beneficial because it would increase my leg muscles which helps with circulation, I just don't know how to get over the hump. Jacob is starting another running program Saturday. I'm contemplating trying to walk more. I walked about 2 miles with him about a month ago. It took me 40 minutes. I used 2 different calorie counters to compare. One used age, duration, and type of exercise; the other used age, gender and average heart rate(which was about 135) and duration. So the average person would have burned 145 calories in the time that I burned around 350. The bad thing is that I really don't feel bad when I'm taking it easy so It's hard to motivate myself...how much is enough? I think the key is slow and steady. I don't do to bad at the grocery store as long as I take my time(until I get in line). Next up... a new diet.
I have had weird joint pain my whole life. Then of course, the more kids a had the more tired and achy I became. I would joke with Scott that I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Then I started having palpitations mostly when I would lay down after having to get up at night, or when I would 1st sit down. What I didn't realize was that when I am upright my heart rate jumps to 120+ beats per minute. Sometimes this happens in response to a drop in blood pressure, but in my case my normally low BP(avg 90s/60s) elevates slightly(100-110/80's). It took a while to figure out what was going on because the bp cuff would error, so at 1st we thought it was dipping. What was actually happening though is that the pulse pressure(difference between top and bottom number) was narrowing when I was standing. Sometimes I could only feel a beat or two while taking a reading. Then when I would sit or lay back down the diastolic(or bottom number would drop suddenly widening the pulse pressure, causing palpitations... sometimes the systolic even goes up slightly more when I first sit down. This is all caused by blood pooling in my legs when I am standing because I don't have good elasticity in my arteries. The reason my blood pressure doesn't tank is because my body kicks in a back up plan... release epinephrine and norepinephrine(stress hormones)... lovely huh? So I really have been more tired and stressed than the average person... for good reason...other than having 6 kids, but it compounded it.
During pregnancy your blood volume increases, stretching your vessels. Each time I got pregnant they had a harder time bouncing back. Which is why even though this is something that I probably have always had... it has gotten worse. EDS is a connective tissue disorder that can effect any connective tissue in the body. The good part is that it is probably why I have has short relatively painless labors.
The best treatment for the POTS is to increase salt and water intake to increase my blood volume and exercise. Some people do take medicine to help regulate their HR and BP, but they have even higher numbers than I do, or the back up plan fails and their BP crashes and they pass out. Exercise is a double edge sword and fine balancing act. If you don't do it you become deconditioned, decreasing blood volume, but if you do... it is exhausting. I started out by getting a recumbent exercise bike. People with POTS are advised against any type of resistance training and I figured out why the hard way. When I put any resistance on the bike my thighs would burn with lactic acid and my diastolic bp would go up. Even without resistance, if I let my heart rate go above 120, the same thing would happen... this is called exercise intolerance. I have always complained that the reason I could never stick with an exercise program is because I could never get that "high" everyone talks about. Well, that's because instead of endorphins, I get stress hormones coursing through my veins. I got some old lady compression hoses, but the summer hit and I gave up. To be honest when I quit pushing myself, emotionally I felt sooo much better. Did I mention that I am Heat Intolerant as well? Everyone's heart rate increases somewhat when its hot... but I can just be sitting around and get tachycardic. The upside is that my heart is very strong... after all it runs like I'm running a marathon when I'm doing the dishes. Exercising would also be beneficial because it would increase my leg muscles which helps with circulation, I just don't know how to get over the hump. Jacob is starting another running program Saturday. I'm contemplating trying to walk more. I walked about 2 miles with him about a month ago. It took me 40 minutes. I used 2 different calorie counters to compare. One used age, duration, and type of exercise; the other used age, gender and average heart rate(which was about 135) and duration. So the average person would have burned 145 calories in the time that I burned around 350. The bad thing is that I really don't feel bad when I'm taking it easy so It's hard to motivate myself...how much is enough? I think the key is slow and steady. I don't do to bad at the grocery store as long as I take my time(until I get in line). Next up... a new diet.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Minor incidences...
Over the years we have made a few trips to the ER but luckily none have ever been serious. The 1st was when Joshua was close to a year old. My sister had a fireplace in her basement with a brick hearth that was about foot tall and he fell into it. I took him to an immediate care center.
Jacobs first injury came from jumping off the top of a six foot ladder I was using in our garage to put Christmas decorations away. He was almost two.
Right after his second birthday he ran into the corner of the wall in the hallway and busted his face.
Ronan fell and hit his nose on the base of an old metal swivel kitchen chair when he was two.
So far Raiden and Sierra are injury free except minor bumps and bruises.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Advent Calendar
Our house is is bringing the focus of Christmas back where it should be... On the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior. We are coming up with new traditions to help us stay on track. Thanks to Lora Green we have the perfect Advent Calendar for our family. The original idea was to number muslin bags and put an ornament in each bag to put on the tree each day. I decided we wanted to put treats in the bags. I wish I could have found bigger bags, but these will hold the 6 little chocolates we are using. I was short on time so I couldn't search online. I purchased these at Michael's in the bridal section.
I decided to dye ours so each child would have specific ones to open.
The colors don't show up real good in the pics but I dyed them to match their stockings. They are green, blue, red, natural(Ronan's stocking is actually white), brown, and purple.
Then I numbered them with fabric paint I already had.
The bags were sold in lots of 12 so we decided to do a big bag for the 25th... I haven't decided what I'll put in it yet.
We are also using the scripture tags of Lora's. Who's ever color bag it is that night, that child will read the verse. Joshua will read Raiden's, Jacob - Ronan's, and Summer - Sierra's... evrybody get a treat each night though.
We are also going to hang them on the tree like Lora. Ronan is just learning his numbers so it will be his job to find the number we are looking for on the tree.
Merry CHRISTmas!!!
I decided to dye ours so each child would have specific ones to open.
The colors don't show up real good in the pics but I dyed them to match their stockings. They are green, blue, red, natural(Ronan's stocking is actually white), brown, and purple.
 |
| from left to right-Joshua, Jacob, Summer, Ronan, Raiden, Sierra |
Then I numbered them with fabric paint I already had.
The bags were sold in lots of 12 so we decided to do a big bag for the 25th... I haven't decided what I'll put in it yet.
 |
| front |
 |
| Summer found this iron on to add to the other side |
We are also going to hang them on the tree like Lora. Ronan is just learning his numbers so it will be his job to find the number we are looking for on the tree.
Merry CHRISTmas!!!
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Homeschooling 2012-13
I'm really excited about this school year. After much prayer and
deliberation I think I've got a great plan for our family. Around
Christmas last year I considered doing Christian unschooling... But I
just don't think it's right for us. I need a schedule.
I've combined our History and Geography, Bible, Reading, and Art this year. I'm mixing some curriculum to see what works best. We are going to follow a Classical Education somewhat but I'm modifying. We are starting with the Ancients; progressing through history chronologically over the next four years, then doing it again 3 times. I'm just not going to be doing the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages, like CE would suggest. For Jacob and Summer(5th &6th), I'm using Story of the World, text and Activity book, and a list of Books that I got from classical-homeschooling.org I start out reading aloud, but the ones we don't have time to finish during our schedule, they are encouraged to finish on their own. We have built a cave and did cave paintings, made cuneiform clay tablets, Egyptian hieroglyphic scrolls, and are in the process of mummifying a chicken so far. I got some Egyptian toy Toobs for Ronan(K) to play with during our reading time to get him into it. I'm not requiring memory work or narration from him though. Joshua(9th) joins in with us for History Revealed which I LOVE. It tells history strictly from a biblical prospective. I also got Reese's Chronological Bible that we are going to attempt to read through completely. Although I do intend to skip over a lot of the laws and lineages. It's cool to be able to turn directly to a specific time in the bible. Joshua is also reading from a list of "Great Books" I got from The Well Trained Mind. They say to shoot for 8-12. We are only doing 7 but the Iliad and Odyssey are long and I have a hard time getting him to read. We have finished Epic of Gilgamesh and started Iliad. There was a lot of groaning to start with but today he read more even though he already read the required pages for this week.
Last year everyone did Switched on Schoolhouse for Science. We decided not to do the experiments in the curriculum and I bought some kits and they took a science experiment co-op instead. It's was fine but I want to follow the Classical Education format here as well. Doing Biology this year; followed by Astronomy, Chemistry, and Physics. Joshua is still doing SOS without the experiments. We took a six week dissection lab over the summer. I'm not using any text books. Just resources from the internet and library, home experiments, and field trips. So far we've talked about cells and fungi. We have 50 darkling beetle larvae/pupae we are observing and we are planning a trip to find some slime mold to experiment with. Again... Ronan is more of an onlooker.
We are also changing up our math. Last year Jacob and Summer did Teaching Text books. They found it boring, they like the interaction of having me do it with. Plus, I can give them helpful tips as the opportunities arise. Joshua did Jacob's Algebra last year and didn't enjoy it either. This year we are using Life of Fred. Some people say its not a full curriculum but others... And the company... Say it is. So far I like it and think its plenty. Summer, who was hating math at the end of last year, asked if we could do math everyday instead of 3 days a week. I went ahead and got Joshua the Beginning Algebra and Advanced Algebra. We are just reading through Beginning to compare the content and get a good feel for it. We are enjoying it too. I've got flash cards, videos, books, some counting bears and workbook, some blocks with a workbook, some play money, and clock books for Ronan. Very laid back.
Everyone is still doing SOS for Language Arts. Last year I took the writing assignments out and tried to give them more liberty on their topics, but that was a mistake. Then I tried three other writing curriculum that didn't work. This year they are doing the one in SOS.... No negotiation. I have flash cards, videos, Leap Pad Phonics, teaching tiles, Bob Books, Curious George Books, and a ton of other books for Ronan. I also have Hooked on Phonics but I can't see him sitting for it... It's not near visual enough for him.
That just leaves foreign languages and computer science. I got Pure and Simple last year for Joshua for CS. He didn't end up completing it. I'm guiding Jacob and Summer through it this year; Joshua says he want to finish it when we get to where he left off. Also they learn 3D digital design through a game called Mind Craft.
Last year Joshua started out the year doing SOS for Spanish but didn't like it. He's using Visual Link Spanish 1 this year. Jacob and Summer did like the SOS and are doing Elementary French now on it.
I haven't found a good way... or the time... to incorporate music into our schedule yet. I'm thinking it will work itself in to history but we will see. Summer has a keyboard she plays some and a guitar, and both boys have ocarinas, but no one has expressed the desire to take any kind of lessons. I'm sure Summer would like to; I'm just not ready to commit to that right now.
I'll try to post periodic updates on our progress... every six weeks or so. Happy homeschooling!
Its kind of hard to read because I copied over from excel but our basic schedule looks like this:
When the time "falls back" we will shift to a 9-4 schedule... this gives us more time to ease in.
I've combined our History and Geography, Bible, Reading, and Art this year. I'm mixing some curriculum to see what works best. We are going to follow a Classical Education somewhat but I'm modifying. We are starting with the Ancients; progressing through history chronologically over the next four years, then doing it again 3 times. I'm just not going to be doing the trivium: grammar, logic, and rhetoric stages, like CE would suggest. For Jacob and Summer(5th &6th), I'm using Story of the World, text and Activity book, and a list of Books that I got from classical-homeschooling.org I start out reading aloud, but the ones we don't have time to finish during our schedule, they are encouraged to finish on their own. We have built a cave and did cave paintings, made cuneiform clay tablets, Egyptian hieroglyphic scrolls, and are in the process of mummifying a chicken so far. I got some Egyptian toy Toobs for Ronan(K) to play with during our reading time to get him into it. I'm not requiring memory work or narration from him though. Joshua(9th) joins in with us for History Revealed which I LOVE. It tells history strictly from a biblical prospective. I also got Reese's Chronological Bible that we are going to attempt to read through completely. Although I do intend to skip over a lot of the laws and lineages. It's cool to be able to turn directly to a specific time in the bible. Joshua is also reading from a list of "Great Books" I got from The Well Trained Mind. They say to shoot for 8-12. We are only doing 7 but the Iliad and Odyssey are long and I have a hard time getting him to read. We have finished Epic of Gilgamesh and started Iliad. There was a lot of groaning to start with but today he read more even though he already read the required pages for this week.
Last year everyone did Switched on Schoolhouse for Science. We decided not to do the experiments in the curriculum and I bought some kits and they took a science experiment co-op instead. It's was fine but I want to follow the Classical Education format here as well. Doing Biology this year; followed by Astronomy, Chemistry, and Physics. Joshua is still doing SOS without the experiments. We took a six week dissection lab over the summer. I'm not using any text books. Just resources from the internet and library, home experiments, and field trips. So far we've talked about cells and fungi. We have 50 darkling beetle larvae/pupae we are observing and we are planning a trip to find some slime mold to experiment with. Again... Ronan is more of an onlooker.
We are also changing up our math. Last year Jacob and Summer did Teaching Text books. They found it boring, they like the interaction of having me do it with. Plus, I can give them helpful tips as the opportunities arise. Joshua did Jacob's Algebra last year and didn't enjoy it either. This year we are using Life of Fred. Some people say its not a full curriculum but others... And the company... Say it is. So far I like it and think its plenty. Summer, who was hating math at the end of last year, asked if we could do math everyday instead of 3 days a week. I went ahead and got Joshua the Beginning Algebra and Advanced Algebra. We are just reading through Beginning to compare the content and get a good feel for it. We are enjoying it too. I've got flash cards, videos, books, some counting bears and workbook, some blocks with a workbook, some play money, and clock books for Ronan. Very laid back.
Everyone is still doing SOS for Language Arts. Last year I took the writing assignments out and tried to give them more liberty on their topics, but that was a mistake. Then I tried three other writing curriculum that didn't work. This year they are doing the one in SOS.... No negotiation. I have flash cards, videos, Leap Pad Phonics, teaching tiles, Bob Books, Curious George Books, and a ton of other books for Ronan. I also have Hooked on Phonics but I can't see him sitting for it... It's not near visual enough for him.
That just leaves foreign languages and computer science. I got Pure and Simple last year for Joshua for CS. He didn't end up completing it. I'm guiding Jacob and Summer through it this year; Joshua says he want to finish it when we get to where he left off. Also they learn 3D digital design through a game called Mind Craft.
Last year Joshua started out the year doing SOS for Spanish but didn't like it. He's using Visual Link Spanish 1 this year. Jacob and Summer did like the SOS and are doing Elementary French now on it.
I haven't found a good way... or the time... to incorporate music into our schedule yet. I'm thinking it will work itself in to history but we will see. Summer has a keyboard she plays some and a guitar, and both boys have ocarinas, but no one has expressed the desire to take any kind of lessons. I'm sure Summer would like to; I'm just not ready to commit to that right now.
I'll try to post periodic updates on our progress... every six weeks or so. Happy homeschooling!
Its kind of hard to read because I copied over from excel but our basic schedule looks like this:
| Schedule | |||||||
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |||
| 10:00:00 A | MA/LA | LA | MA/LA | LA | MA | ||
| 11:00:00 A | F.Lang | Lunch | F.Lang | ||||
| Co-Op | |||||||
| 12:00:00 PM | Writing | Writing | |||||
| HW/T | HW/T | ||||||
| 01:00:00 PM | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| 02:00:00 PM | Reading | Reading | Reading | Reading | |||
| H&G | H&G | H&G | H&G | ||||
| Bible | Bible | Bible | Bible | ||||
| Art | Art | Art | Art | ||||
| 03:00:00 PM | |||||||
| 04:00:00 PM | Sci | CS | Sci | CS | |||
When the time "falls back" we will shift to a 9-4 schedule... this gives us more time to ease in.
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