August 31

So where were you 10 years ago today? It's amazing how certain moments become ingrained in your memory, I guess because they are just so shocking. I remember where I was when I heard President Reagan had been shot (my mom told me the news as she picked me up from middle school); when I heard about the Challenger disaster (we lived in Fairfax and school was out that day. My brother had been watching TV: "Hey, the space shuttle exploded!") and where I was when the Berlin Wall fell (home from college on Christmas break). I remember where I was when I found out about the school shootings in Paducah (at Mr. Gatti's Pizza Parlor with my kids) and where I was when the Twin Towers fell (coming down the stairs in our previous house). And, unfortunately, I remember where I was when I learned that Di had died. My mom's house in Florida. In the restroom. Yes, my husband simply could not wait another minute to tell me the news and there I was. It was A Very Memorable Moment. Sigh.

I had followed Diana's story since I was 12- the perfect age to become enraptured with a real, live fairy tale princess. Of course, we all learned that fairy tales just don't exist, in spite of castles, carriages, gowns, jewels and a prince. She never knew that the Prince of Peace was the one she was really searching for. Her death still makes me sad.

On a happier note, we enjoyed the gorgeous and much-cooler weather this evening by grilling Ribeye steak with vegetable kabobs basted in garlic butter. Add broccoli in cheese sauce, baked sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon, and a peach cobbler and... well, it was REALLY good! Tonight John and I are having movie night on the couch downstairs; John Mark is at Kevin's having Movie Night with his Literature class (Clash of the Titans with Harry Hamlin, anyone?) and the other kiddos are watching High School Musical for about the millionth time. It's a pretty nice start to this long holiday weekend.

Ant Invasion

We've been invaded by ants. The vegetation outside is brown and dying from lack of water and the ants are desperate. They've been streaming into our kitchen, first around the kitchen window, and then straight on in through the front door. The kids eagerly accepted this challenge to their domain, and their attempts at ant-catching have become increasingly more creative. They began by stopping the ant holes with play dough, then graduated to spreading glue on kitchen floor so the ants would "get stuck in it as they came in," as they later explained. Dad was not happy, in spite of the good intentions. A later attempt at ant-catching involved helium balloons with Cheerios as bait: Fortunately, Dad stepped in with the Real Deal Ant Killer before the ants rebelled and carted off one of my kids. You'll be happy to know that we are now the happy owners of an ant-free home... for now!

The Ant Catchers

A Simple Prayer

Today it was Nathanael's turn to pray after morning Bible Study, before dad left for work. We all stood in a circle holding hands and he screwed his eyes shut and wrinkled his face in concentration:

"Dear God...

Thank you for today.

Thank you for not letting Dad go back to Texas.

Thank you for my family.

Amen!"

Amen.

Good News- Bad News: August 07 Edition

Good News: John is home again
Bad News: Football season is beginning

Bad News: Dishwasher has broken glass stuck somewhere in the motor
Good News: John is home again

Good News: Laundry is half done
Bad News: Laundry is half undone

Bad News: Everything in our yard is either dead or dead-looking, thanks to drought
Good News: Do not need to mow or weed

Good News: I have great pictures of the pool party and cookout we held for John's outgoing class of middle schoolers
Bad News: Still have not reinstalled all my software since The Black Screen of Death appeared and cannot download (upload? whatever...) them

Bad News: I have a huge basket full of clothes waiting to be ironed
Good News: I haven't seen some of them in so long that it's like going shopping in my own basement!

Good news: I have lots and lots of wonderful new books waiting to be read
Bad News: School has begun again and I have no time to read them

Good News: I can plow my way through Clair de Lune
Bad News: It doesn't quite sound like this. Well, maybe, if we pretend pages 3-4 don't exist...

Good News: I can listen to the videos on You Tube again
Bad News: It only took me about 6 months of wondering why I couldn't hear anything to figure out that You Tube has a volume button on each video!

Bad News: 32 weeks of school left
Good News: The first four weeks have gone pretty well, all things considered

Bad News: Having a hard time keeping up with my blogging
Good News: Other bloggers are doing just fine, thank you, making for some great reading. Antique Mommy's family story, The Box, is a must-read, and these vintage advertisements from Chilihead's blog are good for a few laughs, because We've Come A Long Way, Baby!

Water Park Revisited

The person who did this search was probably really disappointed with what (he?) found in this post!

Back to Homeschool Week: Our Activities

The topic for today's "Back to Homeschool Week" is Getting Out There. What does our family do, other than sit around and do math problems all day? *cough-cough*

Since all of our kids are roughly two years apart from each other, John and I had to make some decisions early on about how to handle activities. It's very easy for homeschool families to get sucked into so many outside activities that they're hardly home enough to do school! What's really ironic is that the general feeling among public school advocates is that homeschoolers are too "sheltered", i.e. our kids don't get enough socialization.

I generally try to stay off my soapbox on this blog, but I just want to say two things:

1) Every parent should be sheltering their children. That's your job as a parent. No child is ready to face all of the things that life is ready to throw at them and public school teachers daily face the daunting task of dealing with children who ought to be a lot more sheltered than they are. Each family will make different decisions about how and when they want to expose their children to different types of people and situations. Homeschoolers understand the importance of letting our children experience the difficult things in life. The only difference is that by spending our days with our children, we have more control over when and how it happens.

2) On socialization: when most people ask "What about socialization?" they are really asking, "How will your child learn to interact with and get along with others if they spend all day at home?" There are a lot of homeschoolers who address this by pointing out that having your 13-year-old spend 7 hours a day surrounded by a few hundred other 13-year-olds is probably not the best way to insure that they are learning positive social skills. I believe this is the primary reason that, when asked, most adults would say they would rather eat dirt than go back to high school again.

But that's not the argument I'm going to make. I'm just going to point out that most homeschooling families are highly involved in their churches and communities, as well as community sports leagues, clubs such as Scouts and 4-H, and a whole slew of other activities ranging from the theater, dance and chorus to academic and service clubs.

As I mentioned before, with five children, we had to make some decisions about how to handle outside activities. After watching our friends spend every evening and weekend running from ballpark to ballpark to watch their children play ball on different teams, we decided to pursue activities that mutiple children could do together. This automatically precluded sports, since the kids are grouped by age. Instead, our kids joined AWANA, 4-H, Scouts and the Children's Chorus, in addition to piano and church youth activities.

During the summer, our activities include a variety of camps (Space Camp, Carpentry Camp, Bible Camp, Sports Camp...) as well as community service at the local pregnancy crisis center. Believe me, this is plenty! All of these activities have the added benefit of having a great deal of adult involvement by parents. In addition, this year, John and I talked it over and decided to allow the three little boys to play Upward Flag Football. All the practices and games are in the field at the end of our street, so this is do-able for us: no driving involved, and an older sibling can walk the younger ones back and forth.

And now you can see why one of my biggest challenges as a homeschool mom is not Getting Out There but Staying In Here!

A Brief Interruption...

Pardon this brief interruption from Back to Homeschool Week while I correct my personal memoirs. This is all about Senior Prom otherwise known as The Night My Date Looked Better Than I Did. These are great memories, folks... that must be why I completely blocked it from my mind.

The discrepancy at hand is #22 on my Highschool Meme. I did not, in fact, go to Senior Prom with Ray Yeh Fun-to-Seh as previously touted, which is a shame because I actually looked a lot better for Junior Prom. I looked better than Ray too, and you know that way back in the *cough* 1980's, it was all about The Look. On this particular night, I did not have The Look. Not that this is all about me. Wait, this is my blog... it is all about me! Anyhoo, I went to Senior Prom with a Saxophone player named Kevin... Kevin Something. He would probably be grateful that I cannot remember his last name, thereby saving him the embarrassment of admitting in front of the entire internet that He Was There.

Kevin Something was a very nice guy and my BFF Christy and I used to have a lot of fun at his expense by making up aftershave commercials that involved Kevin, his saxophone and a sultry night. I'm pretty sure the two of us cajoled him into going to prom with me. And this is the result. Serves me right, doesn't it?

See, this was back when prom still was some semblance of normal, which meant that it did not involve expensive salon visits, limousines, or hotel rooms. For better or for worse (in this case worse), I did my hair myself and Kevin drove his dad's car. I had my hair in a bob at the time and I desperately wanted it to be pulled back. Desperate is the right word. I'm not quite sure what possessed me to purchase the yellow Scarlett O'Hara gown, other than the fact that it was kind of shiny and I really like shiny. But back to the story.

We double dated with my friend David (clarinet)- I told you, in band, these things matter- and his date, Bass Clarinet. We were just a big ol' Woodwind Gang. Our prom was held in a fancy hotel in Crystal City and I got irritated with my date for rummaging through my purse (did his mother never tell him NOT to do that??) Other than that, I can't remember a blessed thing about the whole evening. But apparently something other than my hair was pretty funny.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Back to Homeschool Week: The Story of Our Co-op

The topic of the day in Back to Homeschool Week is "How do you homeschool?". Like Randi, we also co-op. I have had the opportunity to be a part of our co-op from the very beginning, so I thought I'd share our story.

Our co-op grew out of a weekly, area-wide "Activity Day" offered by our homeschool support group. It offered a variety of classes for 8 weeks each semester which ranged from scrapbooking to ballet to German to aeronautics. As my children grew older and their studies became more time-consuming, it became harder and harder to justify spending several hours a week in subjects which were essentially just-for-fun "add-ons" to our regular curricula. A group of moms began kicking around the idea of a more structured day which would focus on academics. We would share the burden of teaching; each mom could teach in her area of giftedness; and our children would benefit by the opportunity to learn from other teachers, be accountable to a more structured schedule, and experience the fun of group learning.

A number of moms came to the first organizational meeting and we agreed that we'd like to teach Latin, history, writing and science. Five of us finally made the commitment to join the co-op. That first year was fun in a lot of ways. Our eldest student was in 8th grade and the youngest was preschool, so we were pretty relaxed. We did lots of hands-on projects in history; my two-year-old wandered from class to class throughout the afternoon; and I completed my Beth Moore bible studies during my break! We spent a lot of time preparing for a Medieval Feast in which all guests came dressed in costume; we ate "authentic" Medieval fare; and the kids performed plays, dances, and displayed their work. That spring we all took a road trip to a Renaissance Festival to cap off the school year.

We realized, however, that we would have to require more accountability from our students. Teachers did not grade work that first year, so if moms had a busy week or students were unmotivated during a particular week, they would come in without their homework. The teachers found it very difficult to teach unprepared students. During Year 2, we began report cards and became a little more rigorous in our expectations. We held a big Pilgrim Thanksgiving feast in the fall and began performing the American Girl plays for our end-of-semester banquets as we reached the appropriate era.

Each year we had some moms bow out of the co-op and new moms join in. We added or deleted classes, such as Art or PowerPoint, based on the students' ages and interests. We learned the importance of clearly communicating our expectations and goals to new members. During Year 3, there was a good deal of conflict over course and teacher expectations as well as conflict among some of the 4th-8th grade girls. We had a stressful couple of months before it all worked itself out. Afterward, we made the decision to personally invite families whom we felt shared our academic goals and mindset, rather than extending the "come one, come all" invitation we had offered in the past, and we decided to cap membership at 10 families. When a co-op gets larger than that, you are really dealing with a whole different ballgame: the organizational challenges increase, the space requirements increase, and the potential for conflict multiplies with each family added to the group.

Our co-op is currently beginning its 5th year. We have classes for grades K-10 and we meet once a week from 10am-3pm at a local church building. We begin the first week in August, which is painfully early, but it allows us to take off the week of Thanksgiving through the week of New Year. We then meet January through the end of April. We also have two 1-week breaks each semester, for a total of 29 weeks. Each family is free to determine how they work in the remaining 7 weeks of the school year, and that time allows us each the opportunity to focus on family school subjects and other at-home projects.

Our co-op has a changed a lot over five years and it's been difficult at times, but we have now reached a point of equilibrium where peace generally reigns and things run pretty smoothly. We have a website (actually a wikipage which all the teachers can access and edit) and this is where we send moms who express an interest in joining the co-op. Many read the expectations and realize our co-op would not work for their family. Others read the website and find that the co-op provides the perfect blend of "home" and "school" that their children need. If you are considering beginning a co-op of your own, here are my suggestions:

*You'll need someone who communicates well to be a planner and an organizer. She'll be the one to create the schedule, calendar, phone list, etc. and make sure each school year gets rolling again.

*You'll need to decide how to handle co-op expenses. Our co-op treasurer collects $50 per family per school year and purchases copy paper, construction paper, art supplies, building fees, etc with the money.

*Clearly define your expectations for teachers, students, and attendance in writing. You will continue to change and refine your expectations from year to year, but this is the only way to be certain everyone is "on the same page".

*Plan on conflict and be flexible. There were semesters where it seemed the co-op might completely fall apart, but there was always a core group which was committed to the goals of the co-op and made it work. We were able to push through the tough times by remaining flexible, open to change, and giving each other lots of grace!

My kids love co-op, and I think it's also one of the reasons they really enjoy homeschooling. It keeps our family accountable to our educational goals; it allows my children the benefit of learning from teachers who are gifted in areas which are not my strengths; and it allows them the opportunity to challenge and be challenged by their peers in a positive environment. Our co-op has been both a challenge and a blessing to our family, and it's a homeschool option I can highly recommend.

Back to Homeschool Week: Curriculum

Well, I missed Back to Homeschool Week last week at Randi's, so I'm just doing it this week. Always late to the party, that's me! And I'm not going in order either. Maybe I'll stretch this out and have a Back to Homeschool month... or quarter. Then I'll have half a chance of getting through it all. I so admire people who every day can write things that are both thoughtful and coherent, rather than endless posts about piles of laundry and pepper shakers behind the toilet. Ok, so I'm giving this a whirl: Back to Homeschool!

Friday's topic was curriculum. I believe my ducks are finally in a row here. We began school the first week in August, because that's when our co-op starts. We start with all the co-op subjects and then I add one or two other subjects a week until we get everything in. John Mark is in 9th grade this year and is fortunate to be taking Biology, Literature, Latin and History at co-op. I teach co-op history and I love, love, love Tapestry of Grace. I wish we could really do Tapestry at the high school level, with all the hands-on activities, literature tie-ins and all, but I only have an hour a week with the co-op kids so I have to pick and choose. This year is ancient history: Egypt, the Israelites, Greece and Rome. Fun stuff! JM is also taking Videotext Algebra, which he enjoys so much more than Saxon.

In co-op, Becca, 7th grade, is taking history, literature, writing and grammar (Easy Grammar), and Apologia General Science. In history, we are using Story of the World Vol I and the History Portfolios from Homeschool Journey. She is doing Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra, and next week, I plan on starting her in Phonetic Zoo spelling and one of the Critical Thinking puzzle books. The boys love the logic and visual puzzles in the Critical Thinking materials, but that's not her strong suit, so maybe this will help her strengthen those skills.

Philip, 5th grade, is taking the same co-op courses, with the exception of Apologia Zoology I instead of General Science. He will be doing Italic Handwriting, Phonetic Zoo, and Teaching Textbooks Grade 6, which is due to be released this month. The kids really like Teaching Textbooks, therefore *I* like Teaching Textbooks, but I think the levels are on the easy side so I have moved Philip ahead.

Ben is in 3rd grade this year and in co-op, that's a big step. He has big-time work compared to last year. In co-op, he is also doing Story of the World history, as well as literature, writing, and Considering God's Creation science. He is studying Abeka Arithmetic 3 this year, Pathway Readers and workbooks, and we will be starting handwriting and Natural Speller this week.

Nathanael, 1st Grade, takes science, art, history, and Draw Write Now at co-op. At home, we add Math-U-See, Handwriting Without Tears, and Pathway Readers and Workbooks (after reaching a satisfactory point in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons).

I have supplemental materials we use when time allows, such as Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and Quartermile Math. In addition, all of the kids have in-depth Bible study with their dad every morning and piano every week.

My list of curricula probably looks overwhelming for new homeschoolers, but then again, I've been homeschooling now going on 10 years and I've had lots of time to do trial and error. Early in our homeschooling career, a speaker at a convention warned the homeschool dads that moms need the freedom to try different curricula and make mistakes- it just takes time to figure out what works for your children, and perhaps more importantly, you!

Computer Trauma

Oh, I had many plans for blogging this week, but I've forgotten most of them due to computer trauma. Yesterday I ran into a printer glitch while trying to work on some co-op stuff, so I shut all my programs and rebooted... and lo and behold, The Black Screen of Death. John had to reinstall Windows for me last night, but fortunately, my files seem to be intact. Problem is, I can't access them until I reinstall a whole bunch of other software. I know... it could be much worse. But I still need to scream: ARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

A High School Meme

Fun- a High School Meme! But I think it's more fun to answer questions about high than it was to actually attend it. I had three distinctly different high school experiences, thanks to two different family movies, once from Huntsville to Atlanta during my sophomore year and then to Fairfax, Virginia right before my Junior year.

1. Who was your best friend?
Huntsville: Nora- (oboe); Fairfax: Christy (clarinet). When you're in band, details like that count :-)

2. Did you play any sports? Ha-Ha. Next question!

3. What kind of car did you drive? The car I inherited was an old, light blue Ford Fairmont that sometimes quit running for no apparent reason while driving down the road. This led to some tricky situations on the Washington Beltway. After I crashed the Fairmont, my parents purchased me a fabulous used red Chevy Cavalier. I never would have imagined that I would be driving that car for the next 16 years, thanks to my husband (who is a car-junkie in more ways than one!)

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? Fall: Marching during half-time at a football game. Spring: Hanging out with Nora or Christy

5. Were you a party animal? Please. Next question.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Probably more of an airhead than a flirt

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Umm... all of the above!

8. Were you a nerd? I didn't look like a nerd, but I was definitely a nerd (without the nerd-like grades)

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? I was paddled once in the 4th grade for not bringing in my signed papers, and in the 7th grade, I received a lecture from my English teacher, Miss Smith, for wearing a headband with Martian antennae to class. That is the extent of my trouble-making during my school years. But I got my homeroom buddy, David V, in trouble once for giving him a (presumably dead) grenade that a crazy boy who liked me gave me as a "gift". David thought it was cool, so I gladly gave it away. But he got caught with it and the school called his mother. We were all very fortunate that this was all during the days when common sense could still be found in the public schools, before Columbine and West Paducah and Zero Tolerance. Otherwise I might be giving a different answer to this question!

10. Can you sing the fight song? Of course- I played the fight song a gazillion times!

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mr. Casagrande- band and Mrs. O'Donnell- Latin

12. What was your school mascot? In Huntsville, we were the Butler Rebels (In politically incorrect Alabama, it's still possible to find such Civil War remnants) In Virginia, the Cavaliers.

13. Did you go to the Prom? Yes, but with guy-friends, not boyfriends. Prom is highly overrated.

14. If you could go back, would you? Maybe for a week and only if I knew then what I know now.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I dropped my diploma on the way off the stage, which freaked out the photographer. I took the ACT test the morning after graduation because it was required for admission into LSU, where I had already been offered a scholarship. On the bright side, I figured at least I knew everything I was ever going to know from high school.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? Skip school? Are you kidding??

17. Did you have a job your senior year? At the Pfaltzgraff Pfactory Store. I actually spent part of my paycheck on dishes and other household items that I knew I would need in the next few years. I was weird like that.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? The cafeteria?

19. Have you gained weight since then? Next question.

20. What did you do after graduation? Majored in Music Education at LSU.

21. What year did you graduate? 1987

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? Ray Yeh. I know it looks like "yeah", but it's "yay"- Ray Yeh. Fun to Seh.

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? Clearly this meme was written by someone much younger than me... my 20 year reunion just passed, and I didn't go.

So It Begins

The first day of co-op went well. The kids were all highly excited for the co-op to begin again, but this year, older and wiser. They knew that the best day is the first day and from here on out... homework. Such is life.

It's been a frantic few days since picking them up from Indiana this weekend. Uncle Mike and Aunt Laurie kept them for an entire week last week and they had a ball playing with their cousin, aunts and uncles and grandparents at the zoo, the water park, the children's museum, the park... Nathanael even got to conduct the Greenwood Community Concert Band and Philip won a big trophy in a limbo contest!

While they were gone, John and I used our "vacation" to stay home and enjoy the quiet. Ahhh, peace. The house stayed nice and clean all week long. And quiet! We went on a cheeseburger binge; spent a day at the lake on a pontoon boat (John fished, I read the new Harry Potter book); stayed out late at night; saw four movies (Transformers, Harry Potter, Die Hard and Hairspray), and lollygagged in bed. It was fabulous.

Now they are home again and I am happy to have my babies back, but I am having a hard time adapting again to the messier State of Being that five kids entails. Sigh. This week, the school train begins moving down the track again, first with co-op, then over the next month, slowly picking up all the other activities we do during the schoolyear. So it begins.