Girls Weekend.

I just got back from a very fun weekend in Chicago where my sisters and I did some girl bonding. We got a tattoo, drank beer and jello-shooters, played poker, and analyzed our parents to pieces (one sister is getting her major in psychology at Wheaton). We took 1001 pictures and did quite a lot of shopping as well.

My sweet husband was quite willing to be home with the kids for 5 days. In the course of those days, both kids got sick, the car broke down and he cleaned out the garage. Needless to say, he stayed quite busy. I almost think the worst part for him was figuring out how to get a comb through our daughter's waist-length hair after her bath. He took it all in stride and never make me feel guilty for being gone, and never called me in a panic begging me to come home. What a guy.

Family Update

It's been awhile, I know. Sorry...

So here is the latest in the family- My dear husband just bought another motorcycle. Apparently he has some ambition for buying old things and fixing them up. He will try to resell this one for a bit of profit. Note: he still has not finished the first one. He is enjoying himself immensely, and since snowboarding season is effectively over, this should keep him out of my hair.

Also, I am going to Chicago this week to see my sisters. We are getting tattoos! We decided to get the same tattoo with minor differences. It's a sister bonding thing, and I am very excited.

I am attempting to get Ian into a homeschool academy for next year. He would go 2 days a week and do the rest of his work at home. It is a very small school and dosen't have many openings, so the chances are not to good but I have peace leaving it in the Lord's hands. Of course, I do have a back-up plan if he doesn't go and have already researched curriculum for next year. Mayah will be home with me, regardless of where Ian goes next year and I am looking forward to doing 2nd grade with her.

JP and I will be going on vacation this summer- sans children. They are spending a week at "Grandparents Camp" in Tennessee while we sit in a cruise ship, or warm tropical beach. I am sooo looking forward to that! Not quite sure yet where exactly we are going, but be assured it will involve sunshine and relaxing.

So, other than making exciting plans for the next few months, things have been relativley quiet around here. Homeschooling is going great- we have accomplished so much this year buy staying focused academically and not participating in many co-ops and extra curricular activities. JP's job is stable and he is enjoying what he does. I am happy at home with the children and- as ever- burried in mounds of books. It tickles me to see Ian following in my bookworm footsteps. On some mornings he wakes up early just so he can lay in bed and read for a few hours before he has to get up and start school. I do the same thing :)

My son has always hated writing. I mean, he LOATHES it. Imagine my surprise when we had this conversation this morning.

Me: "Finish your history, and then we will be done with school today. We have to leave in half an hour to go bowling."

Son: " But I want to write in my journal today."

*shocked blinking*

Me: "Ok, well we might not have time."

Son: "Can I write in my journal when we get home?"

*still blinking in shock*

Me: " Of course. If you finish your history quickly, you'll have time before we leave."

Son: "OK!"

I believe the reason he likes writing in his "journal" is because of the topic on which he writes. He likes to draw pictures of battle scenes from history (French Revolution, American Revolution, Civil War, etc.) and then write descriptive narrations of what might be occuring on the battle field.

Who would have thought it?

It's a sad state of affairs when I can't do the dishes because I am out of dishwasher detergent. What? Wash them by hand, you say? Perish the thought!!!

To Finish Or Not To Finish..,.

At the beginning of each school year, I sit down and write out all of my goals for the year. I make lists of the subjects and curriculum we will use, and I also list the extracurricular things we plan to do. I also write out the goals for my kids concerning their character and behavior training.

In December or January, I review all of this and adjust things as I see fit. Sometimes I switch curriculum, sometimes I drop or add a subject and I also evaluate our schedule. Are we doing too much... too little? It also helps to evaluate where we are in each subject and figure out how much we have to accomplish in the remaining year.

There are some subjects that we just never finish- like math and history. I have never gotten to the end of the book before the end of the year. If you are one of those who feels like you have to finish the book, let me give you my perspective.

#1- Public schools never finish the book.

#2 We as homeschoolers should be striving for mastery- not just completion. We should not be pushing our kids to "just get it done". We should be taking the time to make sure they know each subject well and can demonstrate a thorough understanding of each subject. Otherwise, why bother teaching it?

#3- When we push kids to hard, they balk and loose their joy of learning. We should be "lighting the fire, not filling the bucket".

#4- Curriculum should be a tool that you use, it should not be your crutch. You should be using your curriculum to aid the education of your kids. You should not rely on it so heavily that it does all of your thinking and planning. (I know that most curriculum is designed to do just that- it plans and organizes the subject for you, but you should be able to be flexible with it: add stuff in, take stuff out, skip this lesson, do this lesson later... you get the idea).


Ok, so what do I do when we get to the end of the year and we still have 10 chapters left in our history book? It's simple- we just stop, and pick up next year where we left off. Before I start volume 4 of Story of the World, we finish volume 3 from last year. It makes life so much easier, believe me. I don't stress over what we are missing, I don't rush them through a topic that they are enjoying just so we can keep our momentum. ( My son is totally digging the Civil War right now- we spent an hour today just discussing his opinions on the value of human life and whether or not it was right for someone to own someone else).


My ultimate goals are to teach my children HOW to think, not WHAT to think and to teach them how to learn. First through twelfth grade is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a life long love of learning. In the end, I don't want my kids to grow up and get a job. I want them to have a full and exciting life that includes financial independence and spiritual and emotional growth. I want them to know why they believe what they believe and how to eloquently express those beliefs to others. If I do my job right, they will be able to do that even if they don't finish their math book by June of this year.

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.
- Dr. Seuss

My husband has taken up 2 new hobbies this week: snowboarding and motorcycle riding (perhaps I should say "motorcycle fixing"). As I write, he is on his way to pick up his new bike. Well, it's not precisely new, of course. That would be way too easy. No, he likes to have "projects" in the garage at all times. So, he is picking up said project and will be using it as an excuse to get my bathroom dirty with grease and dirt. I think he likes to enrage me by making sure he leaves black grease smudges on the tub and walls. Snowboarding is easier to clean up after, as it involves, well, nothing. He is dry by the time he gets home.

Some of JP's work-mates want to get bikes too, but they all live in apartments and have nowhere to work on them. So my husband magnanimously volunteered his garage. It could very well be that by the end of the month, I will have several men traipsing through my bathroom with dirty hands.