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:

			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.

Early Empty Nest

Long time no blog... I can't really say I haven't had time to blog or that I haven't had anything to blog about... I just haven't. I actually wrote a couple I never published. A lot has happened in the past year and hopefully I can get all caught up in the the next few months.

The last time I posted about co-sleeping we were still living in West Virginia so we've transitioned a few times since then.  Raiden, who was such a great sleeper before, started climbing out of his pack n play while we were staying at my moms last summer. It was really hard because Sierra was a newborn... I was very sleep deprived. My bassinet comes off of its base and the bed I slept in there had a foot board... I put it at the foot of the bed... Raiden on one side of me and Ronan on the other most nights.

After about six weeks we got into our new house, for two weeks  we slept on air mattresses until Scott could get back to WV for our furniture. We had two queens in our bedroom for me, Scott, and 3 little ones. We decided it was time for us to upgrade to a king size bed  a few weeks later. Raidens eczema was getting worse and worse. We took him to an allergist and found out he had a lot of food alleries. His sleep was awful.

Our new house has four bedrooms. Joshua and Summer started out in their own rooms. Jacob was sort of sharing with Ronan. Sierra would start out the night in her bassinet but like my others before her, once she woke up for a feeding she just stayed in the bed with me. For a while Scott slept in in the boys room so we didn't have to worry about toddlers in the bed with a newborn.

I felt bad that Sierra and I had a king sized bed to ourselves though. We started getting the little boys to sleep on the couch since it is right outside of our bedroom.

After Christmas, Sierra was rolling and crawling too much for me to fall asleep with her in my bed. I would lay her back down after each feeding in her crib next to our bed. Raiden would wake up quite a bit because of his eczema too... it was exhausting.

We then decided to get another crib and move Sierra to Summers room so we could let the little boys back in our room. I took the rail off of the crib in our room and sidecarred it with our bed for Raiden. Plus we had Ronan in there too. At first Sierra wasn't quite sleeping through the night. I spent many nights on the couch so that I didn't have to get woken up by her and Raiden all night.
 
Ronan is getting ready to turn five. I felt it was time to encourage him out of our bed. We got him so sleep on the couch a few nights but he kept wanting to come back in. I think part of it was jealousy that Raiden was still in our room. I decided to put the bunk bed back together in Jacob's room... and we have a mattress that goes under the lower bunk that can be pulled out like a trundle. Joshua was using the other bed... we got the futon out of the garage for him. Tonight is the fifth night the three boys have share a room and Scott and I have slept by ourselves ALL NIGHT.

Homeschooling

When Joshua was going into the 1st grade I wanted to homeschool him. I bought curriculum and everything. Two weeks before the start of public school he began begging me to go back. We lived in a subdivision with a lot of kids then and he wanted to do what they were doing. I was already a bit nervous... I had a two and three year old running around at that time too.... So I decided to let him return to public school. I wasn't very organized back then and just wasn't ready. I've always admired those who had the patients and skills to teach their kids at home. When we moved to West Virginia I was glad I had chosen to let them go to public school because I didn't think they had the homeschool community Kentucky does. Plus we lived out in the boonies with no other kids to play with. It was good for them though because it help them learn to rely on each other. But now we are back..... The last year has been a huge transformation for our family... Physically and spiritually. Sunday will be the anniversary of Cambreys death... Our turning point. We've become a lot more organized and schedule oriented and we have put God in the center of it all. I also want Him to be in the center of our children's education. I've been stressing out since we started moving about where they are going to go to school this year. I don't think public schools are necessarily bad but I do worry about negative influences... Not that all Christian kids are good either but at least they have a solid foundation. I would like to think our kids would naturally be drawn to the "good kids" but you never know. We looked into private Christian schools but they were a little beyond our budget. And there was still the concern of... Where are we going to be living come August! We are 99% sure we will be in Lexington but of course they are breaking out the hoops. I really hate it that both Joshua and Jacob are looking at having to go to a new school this year and then they would have to go to a different school again next year because they will be going onto middle and high school  Here it is mid July and I still don't have them registered anywhere. I honestly don't recall the moment it came to me but, I had a revelation that the answer is homeschooling. First I mentioned it to Scott(after having a little talk with The Big Guy upstairs) and he was in complete agreeance.  I then ran it by the kids and they were on board as well.  I've spent endless hours this week researching curriculum and other area resources. I'm planning to stick to a traditional school schedule with four 45 minute blocks in the morning and four in the afternoon. Our school day will start at 9 and end at 4. We decided to go for an 8 week summer with longer breaks at Christmas and spring. I have found co ops in both Lexington and Georgetown. They can go to them once a week for a half day to socialize and have some out of home learning time. Plus we have been going back to church so they will have their Sunday school friends. Not to mention all their cousins and my friends kids. We are also looking into local businesses that have homeschool days and group planned field trips. There is one scheduled already for the state capitol in March. We are all very excited for our new adventure!

Family Crest Joshua Created

School Logo Summer Created

House Hunting

When we bought our last home we thought/hoped we'd never move again. The first day we went looking I was in tears because I didn't like ANY of the houses. When we found one we liked, we didn't like the neighborhood. We thought about building, but couldn't stay at Scotts Grandmas that long (long story). The house we ended up getting, we had tried to see before, but couldn't get in. I had almost forgotten about the place. I knew when I walked in... It was the right place. We negotiated a little and borrowed for some updating. We spent months fixing the place up. The first couple of weeks were brutal. Raiden was a month old at this point and my mom came up to help. I busted my rear, hardly sleeping at all, to take advantage of the time she was there. It ended up being about 3 weeks. That was part of the reason I wanted another baby. I didn't feel like I really got to cherish each moment of his newborness, like you should with your last. It took 6 months to get to a stopping point. We quit for a while, then started finishing up when I got pregnant. 

After God blessed us with another baby, he decided we needed to move again. She was only 4 weeks old. So once again our life got chaotic with a newborn. Thank the lord my mom was already there. I wanted to take 2 full weeks after she was born to rest and just focus on Sierra. Even though Scott got laid off on day 10, I still took that time. 

We first contemplated staying at my moms lakehouse.  Once we found out Scott would be getting his old job back we decided that would be too far of a drive. So we are staying at my parents which is still an hour and a half commute for him. 

We started looking at short sales because unfortunately, it will probably take a long time for our other house to sell. The first one we looked at was horrible. And although it would have been a great location for me, in my best friends neighborhood, it would have been over an hour drive for Scott. 

We started looking in an area that would be 45min to an hour for him. We really liked the first house we saw there, it was plenty big enough. We decided to put in an offer. After we had signed the papers it occurred to me I should check the sex offender registry. There was a pedophile living on the SAME street!!! His victims were ages 7&9. I was devastated. But then I thought to myself... God has a plan... And this house isn't in it. 

The next one was okay. I loved the yard and the area but the house needed a lot of updating. I was going to bring Scott back to look at it but decided to expand our search a bit.  I tried a few smaller towns and didn't find anything then tried Lexington. A lot of houses in our price range showed up. I decided to get in touch with the realtor that was the buying agent when we sold our last house in KY. She is actually the woman who bought our houses sister and we became friends on Facebook. I know she is a Christian and thought God could help guide her. 

I knew big cities had a lot of pervs but it is ridiculous!!! I had asked our realtor about the neighborhoods we were considering. To be tactful she told me which neighborhoods were considered more desirable. I checked the zip code on the less desirable area and found 5 pages of sex offenders. The more desirable area... "only" had a page and a half! I plugged in each address to see how close they were and what they're charges were. The house I liked the best had one a little over a mile so a scratched it off the list. I prayed about it then decided to add it back on at the bottom.  There was a major road dividing the areas and even if you get a house without one for 100 miles, if your in a neighborhood, there's no guarantee one might not move in next week. I thought they couldn't live next to a school or park.  Apparently that's not true because there is one that lives right next door to an elementary school in Lexington. His victim was 11 years old!

We looked at 4 other houses first. Two I didn't like at all, two had potential but needed some work. I really didn't like either of the yards. Then we looked at my internet pick. It's smaller/cozier than ideal but, honestly, we weren't using a lot of the space we had in WV. I grew up in 1000 sqft with 3 siblings. This house is 1600 all on one level. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. One of the things I was sad to have to leave behind was my whirlpool tub Sierra was born in.  Well this house has one almost just like it! Like the house I grew up in and the house I loved in WV, the master is in an addition. Although it's bigger, it kind of reminds me of the house I grew up in. The main difference will be that I intend to use the front room as a dining room instead of the back room in the addition, which will be the family room. The back yard is already completely fenced in. It had a one car garage that was converted to a workshop that Scott can use for a workout room. Another wired out building. A kids playhouse with a sandbox underneath, swing set, a place for a pool, and room for the trampoline. And... a little garden area, two apple trees and a pear tree.... for me!!!

I had Scott meet me back over there after work to look at it. He really liked it too, so we made an offer and the seller accepted!  Cosmetically, the house doesn't need any immediate work. I do plan to take up the carpet in the front room though, there are hardwood floors underneath. The inspector found some things but the seller has agreed to have it all taken care of before closing. We ordered the appraisal today. We are scheduled to close by the 25th of July, hopefully all the work can be done by then.  Or at least before school starts!

So is this our forever home Lord? I guess only time will tell. Am I still sure Sierra will be our last baby?... You'll have to ask Him about that too!!!

Sewing Project: Kimono Christening Gown and Bonnet

Before Sierra was born and before Scott got laid off we were planning a trip to the beach. I had all these wonderful shots planned out in my head for taking family photos and pics of the new baby. I bought a few props and started looking for an old fashion christening gown. I searched eBay and found some gorgeous ones but they were either too expensive or too fancy and girly. At that time we didn't know what we were having and back in the day even boys wore long gowns. I wanted something kind of peasant looking. I decided I would make something! 

When I got the material to make Summers dress I picked up some muslin fabric. It had the old look and feel I was looking for. At first I was going to just do one little button in the back with a loop of elastic but I thought that it would be too plain in the front. I didn't have enough confidence in myself, especially since I was doing it by hand, to do button holes. I then considered faux buttons on the front. I still didn't like the vision though so I started looking around online for ideas. I came across patterns for kimono style dresses. One even had a variation for a christening gown. I wanted it long! The pattern I choose was very basic. I made my own bias tape and adjusted the length and the length of the arms to suit me and be within my one yard of fabric. It ended up being about 27 inches and the sleeves are 3/4 length (I think). I had two pieces left that were 10x12 to make a bonnet. I was going to make two, one girly with crocheted trim and one plain for a boy. I stitched the entire gown by hand! I had a little trouble around the back of the neck but it turned out beautifully.

The last couple weeks of my pregnancy were a little rough and I didn't get the bonnets done. Then 10 days after she was born Scott got laid off and we had to cancel or vacation plans. We got busy with packing, moving, and unpacking. Finally, yesterday with the help of Granny and her sewing machine, we made the girly bonnet and added some of the trim to the gown.

I had bought a Moses basket that I wanted to take her picture in at the beach. Now I need to figure out where to do the pics and I need to do it before she out grows it all!!!!

God is Good!!!

Those who have been following my blog know that we started doing bible time every evening back in January. We have been using a guide called Character Building for Families. During multiple lessons there have been scripture references about being joyful and content during times of trouble. On Tuesday, May 10th, when Sierra was just 10 days  old, Scott was laid off from his job. I know that God had been preparing us for this in many ways and is with us now guiding us. I'll admit that I did get a little emotional at first. I just experienced a life changing, awe inspiring moment in this house, the birth of Sierra. I knew we weren't going to be able to stay here. I love my house, it's perfect for my family, but apparently God has other plans for us. It's just a house, home is where we make it. I have not been the least bit concerned about our future though. I have faith that God will see us through. I recently posted a verse on FB:

Philippians 4:11 (NIV)
"...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

Having these lessons have made what would be a stressful time an opportunity to see God work in our lives. We were having a conversation with the kids about the situation and Summer, who just turned nine, said "God has a plan, He knows what He is doing!" How comforting is that!?

Starting in January as well, I thought my nesting had gone into overdrive! I attributed to having a home birth this time. I made a home maintenance list for Scott and became very obsessed with getting the house clean and organized. I told Scott at one point, I couldn't help it, I had this drive inside me, that said, we NEEDED to get all this stuff done before Sierra was born. Little did I know, that it was God talking to me!!!

God comes to us in all sorts of ways. Every Friday night we have Family Movie Friday. We had already received our movie for that Friday when Scott got laid off. I knew what movie it was, but not what it was about. It was Ramona and Beezus. It was about their dad getting laid off. Our circumstances are a bit different and so will our ending be, but it was still good for the kids. They know that we don't believe in coincidences or luck... Just Gods hand and blessings. 

Wednesday, the day after the lay off, Scott called a friend from his old job. It was late in the evening, that friend just happened to be out with two of his old bosses!!!! A week later and he has a tentative start back date of 6/1, given all the details are ironed out. That evening our concluding statement, that was in our book at bible time was, "Thank God for supplying our needs through Dad or Moms job, and also for other ways He has supplied." My eyes filled with tears and my heart filled with joy!! 

I'm not quite sure yet what He has planned for our next home. We are planning to stay with my parents until our house sells or another opportunity becomes more clear. I decided to look online even though I didn't think we could buy anything yet. I found a house in my best friends neighborhood that is listed below market value. That, combined with some other blessings, may allow us to buy our next home before this one sells. I'm assuming the seller is going for a short sale so it's no guarantee and will take time but we will see. It's in His hands... If it's meant to be, it will be, if not, it won't. We are just along for the ride. 

Some may wonder if I regret ever moving here. After all, we didn't even end up being here two years. Things didn't turn out the way we thought they would with Scotts family. The kids weren't crazy about the school or their lunches... Lol. They were starting to find other ways to occupy their time, but they missed being in a neighborhood and having a place to ride bikes. I, on the other hand, loved the break from small town suburbia! Did I mention I love my house here?! And the view is amazing. We tried to sell our old house before to move within Kentucky with no luck. Then when we put it on the market to move here, it sold in six weeks. I think it was part of His plan for us to come here. Who knows, if we hadn't, maybe I wouldn't have even gotten pregnant with Sierra and had my homebirth. For me, it was like an extended, mountainous, vacation. I'm ready to come home now. 

Prodromal/Precipitous Unplanned Unassisted Home Waterbirth

It started on Friday, April 29th. My mom and I took two laps around the block. When we got back I started having a lot of Braxton Hicks. We always watch a movie with our kids on Friday nights so we started watching Inception. I started thinking maybe this was the beginning of labor although the contractions weren't very strong at all yet. I went upstairs and ran my straightened through my hair and put on a little make up... Just in case. I sent my Midwife a text to give her a heads up. While I was up on my feet is stopped though. So I retired to the couch and movie. They started up again. After the movie I cleaned up the house a bit and it stopped again. I went to bed and slept better than I had in weeks!

My wonderful hubby and daughter brought me breakfast in bed at about 9:30. We went for another walk at about noon but only once around. Then at 2 twice around.... Then we went to Walmart and Tractor Supply. I was having Braxton Hicks.... Or I guess pre labor contraction all day but nothing significant. My wonderful friend Ferne brought me some baby girl clothes just in case, at about 6. We sat around chatting until 7:30. After she left we took 2 more laps!  I bounced a little on my exercise ball I had picked up earlier. Played on my phone and went up to go to bed around 10.

I sent my Midwife a text at 10:55 to tell her I was contracting again but that it would probably go away again. I mostly was giving her an update on another little issue I had been having. We shot a few back and forth. I told her I was going to time the contractions for a bit even though they weren't very strong still. This was 11:19. They started coming every couple of minutes so I sent her another text. She told me to get up and walk around or get in the bath to see if they stopped. I stood up at 11:25... Had a pretty strong one and felt a pop. At first there was no fluid but another came a minute later with just a small gush. Told my Midwife and she headed out the door. I woke Scott... He asked if he could lay there until she got there. I said, "No you have to get everything ready!" I started the bath while he attempted to make the bed up. I told him to get the cameras. First he got the video camera but forgot that I had told him.... And written in the birth plan... That it needs to be plugged in to work bc the battery is shot! So he went to get the charger. I had another contraction, they were right on top of each other, I felt the urge to push this time. I yelled to Scott to get back in there or he was going to miss it. He got in there in time for the next one and the head emerged. I told him to grab the other camera. I reassured him that everything was fine, one more push and we'd have a baby. Then the rest of her was born!!! The time stamp on the picture was 11:44!!! I got my April baby!

We tried to stay calm while Scott fumbled with cell phones. She made a few short cries but I really couldn't tell if she was breathing in between or not and seemed gunky. Scott got my Midwife on the phone. She said to lift her bottom higher than her head a little and sure enough the gunk came rolling out! I looked then to see she was a girl. Of course this was a very short amount of time and the cord was still attached, pulsing, and giving her oxygen. I had Scott go wake my mom to tell her.

She started rooting so I started to try to nurse, then Joshua came up so I covered up. She started rooting again while he went to get Summer and Jacob. I offered again and she latched right on! This was at 11:55. My midwife arrived at 12:15. She stayed latch until 12:30! 15 minutes later the placenta was delivered and I cut the cord.

We moved to my bed, everyone got to hold her and her newborn assessment was done. AMAZING!!!!!

Birthday Cupcake via Breastmilk