Sunday, December 23, 2007
I'm not sure why my kids have to grow up so fast!
But there's one thing I AM sure of, and that is how lucky I am to be a mom. OK, two things I am sure of. How much I'm enjoying my dd10...at least when she's being her sweet, pleasant self (not the pre-teen with attitude!) I remember being 10. I remember having FUN with my mom. I remember cuddling together and talking, and her just listening to me. I think 10 is a cool age. So now I'm the mom, and I've got this 10 year old girl, and all of a sudden we're seriously friends. We cuddle and talk. I listen. We like being together and having fun. How did I get to be so lucky? I wouldn't want a clone of myself but I think we're going to have a good relationship just like my mom and I have. Hurray!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
"12 Blogs of Christmas" Contest
Just Some Stuff is hosting a contest. The prize is a $50 gift certificate to HomeschoolEStore. Here are my answers :-)
1.How many children do you have / homeschool? 2
2. How long have you been homeschooling? I've homeschooled my kids since birth (so that makes it 10 years) plus I was homeschooled grades 9-12, so really I've been homeschooling since I was 16 because I planned this for a long time!
3. Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school? Always been homeschooled.
4. Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation? God willing, yes
5.Do you belong to a co-op? Yes, we participate in a middle school service co-op. Each month, 5th-8th graders (and their families) choose a project to do together. So far this year we've sorted winter clothing for a charity clothing give-away, cleaned up a local park, and sang Christmas carols at the Veterans Hospital.
6. Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule? We school year-round.
7. Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials? We try to avoid textbooks, choosing instead to use living books with a few workbooks and fun materials.
8. Are field trips included in your school plans, or are they just family time? Usually they're just family time, although early next year our local museum will have SEVERAL exhibits that all seem to tie in with this year's learning, so if we call visits to the museum "field trips" they'll tie in nicely to our school plans ;-)
9. Do you and your kids do crafty stuff together for school time? My kids like to do craft projects while I read to them, so other than providing assistance where needed, I'm not usually directly involved in their endeavors.
10. Would you consider everyday household life stuff ‘home ec’? Most definitely!
11. Do you have any advice for new homeschoolers? Homeschooling is a way of life. It will permeate your family and everything you do. That's a good thing! The longer you homeschool, the better you'll get to know your kids, and the better they'll get to know each other as well. Don't panic if things don't go as you'd dreamed they would initially. Kids need time to destress if they've previously attended school. You need time to discover their learning styles and how best to help them learn. You may need to make changes in the materials you use. What you thought would be the ideal curriculum may end up being a bad fit for your kids. Don't be afraid to change!
12. Do you have advice for homeschoolers with little ones under foot? Little people are going to think they need to be involved, so you need to have a plan! First of all, take advantage of nap times to give your older homeschoolers individual attention. If nap time doesn't work, have some special activities for your little ones to use during school. Make simple worksheets for them if they want to "do school" like their older siblings. Have one older sibling amuse the little one while you work with another. Don't be afraid to use videos for entertainment once in a while, either. And on the worst of days, remember--they'll grow up and not be underfoot, and you'll miss those days like crazy!
1.How many children do you have / homeschool? 2
2. How long have you been homeschooling? I've homeschooled my kids since birth (so that makes it 10 years) plus I was homeschooled grades 9-12, so really I've been homeschooling since I was 16 because I planned this for a long time!
3. Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school? Always been homeschooled.
4. Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation? God willing, yes
5.Do you belong to a co-op? Yes, we participate in a middle school service co-op. Each month, 5th-8th graders (and their families) choose a project to do together. So far this year we've sorted winter clothing for a charity clothing give-away, cleaned up a local park, and sang Christmas carols at the Veterans Hospital.
6. Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule? We school year-round.
7. Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials? We try to avoid textbooks, choosing instead to use living books with a few workbooks and fun materials.
8. Are field trips included in your school plans, or are they just family time? Usually they're just family time, although early next year our local museum will have SEVERAL exhibits that all seem to tie in with this year's learning, so if we call visits to the museum "field trips" they'll tie in nicely to our school plans ;-)
9. Do you and your kids do crafty stuff together for school time? My kids like to do craft projects while I read to them, so other than providing assistance where needed, I'm not usually directly involved in their endeavors.
10. Would you consider everyday household life stuff ‘home ec’? Most definitely!
11. Do you have any advice for new homeschoolers? Homeschooling is a way of life. It will permeate your family and everything you do. That's a good thing! The longer you homeschool, the better you'll get to know your kids, and the better they'll get to know each other as well. Don't panic if things don't go as you'd dreamed they would initially. Kids need time to destress if they've previously attended school. You need time to discover their learning styles and how best to help them learn. You may need to make changes in the materials you use. What you thought would be the ideal curriculum may end up being a bad fit for your kids. Don't be afraid to change!
12. Do you have advice for homeschoolers with little ones under foot? Little people are going to think they need to be involved, so you need to have a plan! First of all, take advantage of nap times to give your older homeschoolers individual attention. If nap time doesn't work, have some special activities for your little ones to use during school. Make simple worksheets for them if they want to "do school" like their older siblings. Have one older sibling amuse the little one while you work with another. Don't be afraid to use videos for entertainment once in a while, either. And on the worst of days, remember--they'll grow up and not be underfoot, and you'll miss those days like crazy!
Monday, December 17, 2007
The ponderings of a 5 y/o's mind...
Can anyone figure out a 5 year old? I doubt it, LOL!
Yesterday we attended the local theatre group's performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Love this show, btw--why haven't I seen it before???? Anyway, ds5 wanted the cast autographs, but he was worried that if they were written in cursive, he wouldn't be able to read the names, so he wanted to ask if they would print their names. I persuaded him to forgo that plan! Fast forward to after the show--he gets his autographs and then inquired of me why "Linus" printed his name instead of writing it in cursive. I pointed out that Linus is really a little boy, and he probably didn't know how to do cursive yet, to which ds5 replied "Mommy, I know he's at least a teenager--he's a big boy!" ROFL, you just can't win, can you? (He also had difficulty figuring out why Linus was taller than Lucy but he was the "little" brother ;-)
Yesterday we attended the local theatre group's performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Love this show, btw--why haven't I seen it before???? Anyway, ds5 wanted the cast autographs, but he was worried that if they were written in cursive, he wouldn't be able to read the names, so he wanted to ask if they would print their names. I persuaded him to forgo that plan! Fast forward to after the show--he gets his autographs and then inquired of me why "Linus" printed his name instead of writing it in cursive. I pointed out that Linus is really a little boy, and he probably didn't know how to do cursive yet, to which ds5 replied "Mommy, I know he's at least a teenager--he's a big boy!" ROFL, you just can't win, can you? (He also had difficulty figuring out why Linus was taller than Lucy but he was the "little" brother ;-)
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Missing my sister
Sylvia Lee
You never got to have a first Christmas
No first babbles or coos or smiles
No first steps
I miss you so much, little sister
In heaven, every day will be better than any Christmas here on earth.
What a great day to look forward to.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Virtual Cookie Decorating
Well, here's a nice, calorie-free way to waste a few hours. Create and email virtual cookies to all of your friends ;-) Hmmmm, wonder if my kids would go for this instead of baking and decorating cookies like they make me do every year????????
(Oh, and for every cookie you create, a $0.10 donation is made to Toys for Tots. It's definitely a win-win :-)
(Oh, and for every cookie you create, a $0.10 donation is made to Toys for Tots. It's definitely a win-win :-)
Holiday Music
DD10 is in her third year of singing in the Youth Honors Choral Program for 3rd-8th graders in our town. She moved up to the middle level choir this year, which means she gets a bow tie and cummerbund, along with more preformance opportunities and harder music ;-) Here she is with her friend, prior to singing at the annual Love Light Ceremony at the hospital. Funny camera angle is because I gave the camera to ds5 and told him to squeeze thru the mob of kids and find his sister and take a picture of her, LOL.
Here they are singing--DD10 is at the end of the front row.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
New family member!
Look, we've adopted a new family member. Isn't it cute?
Here it is, posing with its creators--
Hope it likes us and decides to stay awhile!
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