A few Pictures

Creative addition to the local highschool....I think I'd like to do this to my house...from the roof!



I could not get them to quit goofing off...the were filled with fun and wanted that carried into the picture.






It was overcast all weekend with showers, but it did not dampen our spirits. Lake Koocanusa actually is in both Canada and the USA...it is huge...and beautiful! and sparsely used.



On the first morning there, I gave the little ones a camera to share. The little one came back quite quickly upset because he missed a picture he wanted to take. I don't know why this tree appeals to him, but this is the shot he wanted.

Ultimate Field Trip

A week ago today we headed to Libby MT. My dear husband counted on me to make the arrangements for our long weekend, but he learned a very valuable lesson. I have no sense of distance. I thought it would take about 4.5 to 5 hours. He was not happy when he found out that we still had at least 2 hours to go...OOOPS.

We stayed at Lake Koocanusa resort and marina, on the shores of a lake created when Libby Dam was built. The lake is huge and gorgeous. We arrived around six and the kids were thrilled to find the cabin had a loft they would sleep in.

We went to the shores of the lake where my princess found deer tracks in the sand. The boys quickly started skipping rocks across the lake.

For dinner we ate at the resort, Buffalo Burgers MMMMMM!!!, the waitress there informed us they did not have any boats to rent, and that if we tried shore fishing about the only thing we would catch was suckers so we opted against fishing. Back to the cabin settled in and sleep.

The next day, my Knight in scorched armor took the kids for a walk near the lake to give me some time to clean up and pack lunch, and enjoy a quiet cup of coffee on a deck attached to the cabin. The little ones came back with their pockets filled with treasures...rocks, leaves, flowers and whatever else they could find.

From there we went to the Libby Heritage Museum. Since it is a small town, I did not expect to much, but was pleasantly surprised. They have a variety of displays from the history of mining, native american culture, a taxidery display of birds and animals of the region. All three kids were thrilled to see a stuffed Barn Owl with a mouse hanging out of it's mouth.

We had lunch in the parking lot and headed to Kootanai falls and the swinging bridge. We had taken our old (15 year old) dog with us and I pretty much knew she would not be able to make it down the 68 stairs and back up, so I stayed with her while the family went. I gave an old camcorder to one of the kids, but he forgot to open the lense cover (oopsy) I hear him interviewing his older brother..."So what do you think of this field trip!". All three kids were skepitcal about crossing the swinging bridge but opted to do so.

On the way back to the cabin, the oldest wanted to go see Libby Dam from the other side, I am so glad he did, they had an awesome visitors center with history of the lake and the dam. They also showed how the dam made electricty as well as many other exhibits.

That night the oldest help "papa" grill bratwurst for dinner the oldest said grace, remember to thank God for the perfect day, and that this had to be the most perfect place HE made in all the earth. Time for baths and bed for them.Hubby and I talked it over and decided that we would head for Missoula the next day that would limit the time on the road in one day and we could stop by the National Bison Reserve.

After breakfast we packed up and headed out. We went to Ross Creek Cedars...well almost, because of rain and lack of signs we found out later we did not make it all the way. On the road again.

Our next stop was in Paradise...Montana that is. We found a wonderful little park where we ate our lunch. The kids were thrilled when a train came by and tooted the horn and waved at them. For a while they played and burned off some pent up energy...It's neat to say they had lunch in Paradise!

The National Bison Reserved is about a 2 hour drive around the "park", princess saw the first animal, spotting a female elk laying in the grass. We saw Pronghorn, antelope and of course Bison, the kids were picking out the different kids of birds and loved being the first to spot and identify a bird or animal. At the peak of the tour, is a "rest area" where we stopped near a field of blackeyed susans. Hubby took pictures and princess examined many. There is a sign talking of Lake Missoula and the evolution based discussion of a glacial lake. I was thrilled to see home lessons take place when my oldest asked "haven't they heard of Noah's flood"...

On the way out of the park, we stopped to "use the facilities"...the youngest was off to the side and yells SNAKE!!!!.. the older two tried to reprimand him for yelling but I let them know this was a time to yell. We went over to find the snake had escaped into a culvert. When the little guy described the snake it was probably a black racer.

Off we go again...We head toward Missoula, and get a room for the night. My Knight took the kids to dinner and brought dinner back to me, as I stayed with the dog unsure of how she would react to being alone. Three exhausted kids and two equally tired adults did not take long to fall asleep.

The next day... Memorial day. We went to take the kids to the carousel, but it was not open (for which I am grateful). We went to walk by the river and stumbled upon a Memorial Day service. It was incredible as the kids remembered to stand at attention with their hands on their hearts and the colors posted. The bagpipes playing, and a bugle playing revelee. I looked around with great sadness as mine were the only kids there. The service was to honor those who had given their lives in the navy, a wreath placed in honor of them. My beloved was in the navy and served on the USS CARL VINSON prior to our marriage, my grandad served in the Royal Navy on submarines until he went deaf from damage caused by the dives. I was very proud of my navy men. I held it together until "TAPS" was played...The little ones were concerned as tears streamed down my face. Thank you Lord for the men who protect us, and thank you LORD for providing this for us!

On to the park, Dragon Hollow is an incredible playground for the kids, they played there until the carousel opened, then onto the carousel. I stayed outside with the dog so my knight could get pictures for me. Which he did.

Lunch in a park, potty stop then on the road...to Garnet. Garnet is an old ghost town that was very active in the gold mining days. The kids were thrilled to find that they had a scavenger hunt for them. We went through each building meticuously filling out their little forms. They were told they would recieve a prize if they brought the pencils back. I took them to turn in their pencils and they were told they could choose a rock or coloring book. The eldest picked an arrowhead, the princess picked a rough amethyst stone and the youngest a coloring book with the history of garnet. The best part is they had to answer some questions about the search, and they answered each question...in detail. Many adults were listening to their answers intently and applauded them.

The best part...a geologist was there and gave the kids a lesson on the stones they could choose from. When the youngest realized what gold was, he started looking down...and found a piece of quartz with gold in it...then another, then another. He started making plans on how he was going to get the gold out, I asked what he would buy, he said he wanted to give the money to papa so papa did not have to go to work any more, but he could stay home with us every day. I am not sure when I am going to tell him, but I am pretty sure it is fools gold!

We headed home from there...a stop in Lincoln (our usual stop when travelling between home and Missoula) and rolled in...unpacked then bed. The kids want to do another field trip...when do I break the news to them that this was just for fun?

Hubby and I want to do the trip to lake koocanusa again...but for longer...and to book a boat rental so we can catch some fish!





The princess checking out the flowers at National Bison Range






Libby Heritage Museum....well worth the stop! IF your ever in the area, put this on your agenda!











Playing on the shores of Lake Koocanusa....

On Tuesday the kids were exhausted, Wednesday and Thursday we did light work, Friday off because our dog had to make an emergency vet trip...

10 years old...one active kid!

I don't know if I buy into ADHD being as commonly diagnosed as it is now, I still hold that sometimes it is just lack of discipline children.

My oldest has been diagnosed with lead poisoning. This happened under the supervision (or lack of) by his parents, primarily his father, who left a box of lead bb's out, and at 18 months the baby ate some of them. Looking back, the oldest has alway had a fixation with things in his mouth. I believe this started when he was first born...born with strep B complications, he was not fed orally until he was about a week or so old, as he had pneumonia and the medical staff were concerned that he would aspirate the food. They kept a pacifier in his mouth, and from the point that he could grab, everything went into his mouth and we struggle with that today. Especially paper and plastic.

Lead poisoning can "mimic" ADHD symptoms so I went surfing to see what behavioural things we can impliment to help. Since we started the SOS, that has helped, even moreso since I got him a set of headphones. When he uses them the work goes much smoother.

He wants to excell in school, but as I sit here and he has had problems getting his work underway, and now is at 30 minutes working on the same problem, his sister is distracting him, which does not help, she is not doing it intentially, she is just working on math and tends to talk herself through it. The youngest is playing on the floor in the living room, and the oldest, I see him trying to ignore the distractions around him, his head jerks to the "newest" sound and thoughts of what he was doing are gone.

He has perfectionist tendancies and would rather fight doing the problem rather than doing it wrong. I see this predominatley in spelling and have been looking for alternate ways to get that done.

Below, I found this "Bill of Rights"...wow...that is my oldest to a "t"...


Bill of Rights for Children with ADD

HELP ME TO FOCUS ...
Please teach me through my sense of touch.
I need "hands-on" and body movement.

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT COMES NEXT ...
Please give me a structured environment where
there is a dependable routine. Give me an
advance warning if there will be changes.

WAIT FOR ME, I'M STILL THINKING ...
Please allow me to go at my own pace.
If I'm rushed, I get confused and upset.

I'M STUCK, I CAN'T DO IT! ...
Please offer me options for problem solving.
If the road is blocked, I need to know the detours.

IS IT RIGHT? I NEED TO KNOW NOW ...
Please give me rich and immediate feedback
on how I'm doing.

I DIDN'T KNOW I WASN'T IN MY SEAT! ...
Please remind me to stop, think, and act.

AM I ALMOST DONE? ...
Please give me short work periods with short-term goals.

WHAT? ...
Please don't say "I already told you that."
Tell me again, in different words.
Give me a signal. Draw me a symbol.

I KNOW IT'S ALL WRONG, ISN'T IT? ...
Please give me praise for partial success.
Reward me for self-improvement, not just for perfection.

BUT WHY DO I ALWAYS GET YELLED AT? ...
Please catch me doing something right and
praise me for the specific positive behavior.
Remind me--and yourself--about my good points
when I'm having a bad day.

{Author Unknown}

Then I found this...

Teach self-monitoring. Help your child become aware of the things that distract her. With time and practice, she'll get to know what being distracted feels like, and will recognize when her attention is drifting. ADDers benefit from positive affirmations, such as "I will pay attention to my work" and "I will stay focused until I'm finished." Teach your child to repeat these as needed to encourage herself to keep going.

This we already do, but additional reinforcement always helps....Biblically...self-control which Titus teaches us to teach the young men. It may just take longer with him. The most relevant statment I read was "it is not that they cannot pay attention, it is that they pay attention to everything."

I see this when we are around people. The oldest has a hard time when there are a group of kids versus when it is one on one playtime. Or at church when there is a smaller class. (Once, in a bigger church, he walked out of the classroom and there were so many kids no one noticed, he ended up exploring the whole church and it was not noticed until I came to get him.) In Awana when he was a "cubby" they actually assigned one teacher to him specifically because he would complete his assignment and leave. I think this would probably hold true to a point even now.

Then I found this:

Homeschooling an ADHD child can be a real challenge. Here are some of the issues we deal with regularly in our home:


•Distractibility - cannot keep on task when given an assignment
•Frustration - low frustration levels when given an assignment that is confusing or repetitious
•Boredom - easily bored with repetitive tasks like spelling and handwriting, or math facts
•Clueless - unless you are working with a gifted child, you will reach times where the information just isn't understood
•Careless - sloppy work and careless mistakes
•Endless school days - unaware of the concept of time and prove this by taking 3 hours to complete 5 math problems
•Insanity - can drive even the sanest parent to question their sanity
•Noise - 3 or more children chattering away at the same time, tapping pencils, rolling desk chairs across the floor; child 2 distracts child 1 while child 3 has disappeared to who knows where
•Grace - God's grace is sufficient, for His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)

My first thought....someone has been in my house watching...especially under the noise and insanity headlines! I have know for a while that my oldest is a uniques and different child. This explains how different he is.

I pray that God will give me the ability to remember this as I interact with this child daily.

Our adventure at home

Monday was the little man's last art class. He was sorely disappointed to see it come to an end. While he was in class the older two and I went to the library. My oldest was complaining as he did not want to go. Once we got there, he actually found the most books! And found some more he wants to check out next week

Wednesday, we knew a storm was coming, so while the older two finished their art lessons, the little man and I went to pick up supplies in case we were stuck for a few days. Good thing we did.

Thursday we awoke to a raging storm, the wind howled and snow blew. Sprintime in Montana! We had just started our schoolwork and the power went out. The kids finished as much as they could on the computer battery power, but that does go down quickly.

I was able to get the radio running and found there were power outages all over yhe area. I called to let the power company know we were out and they told me it may be a while, we had a transformer station down, as well as broken poles and a fire on 2 poles that lead to our house. We got to practice homesteading and self sufficiency.

We kicked up the fireplace, which the kids love when we do that, I called DH and asked him to pick up some water as we loose our water supply when power goes out.

The kids and I did chores as best as we could, then we read for while. Mostly fun stuff, poetry and short stories. Lunch was leftover fried chicken. I did get a giggle as each of the 3 children headed to the microwave to heat up their lunch and the realization that it does not work without power. To funny!

We gathered buckets to melt snow for the toilet, which they found fun. The oldest saw we were going to run short on firewood, so he took the inititive to go outside in the snow/rain and mud to get more to dry out so we could burn it for heat. He provided enough until well after Papa got home.

When hubby got home, he stocked the house with firewood, brought in 30 gallons of water in jugs, and took over the managing of the fireplace.

Dinner was soup, as I can use our gas stove, but not our oven when we have no power. We also ran some hot soup and Tea down to my mom's house (we hoped she would join us but she did not).

After dinner we broke out games. Popped popcorn on the stove and made hot chocolate.
When it was time for the younger two to go to bed, there was still enough light, but soon we had to light the oil lamps and candles. The oldest got a kick out of writing a journal entry by oil lamp and remember that is how Abraham Lincoln learned.








By the time I went to bed, the bedroom was cold, I snuggled under the blankets praying that the Lord would guard us through the night. Hubby slept by the fireplace to keep that running all night.

Friday we woke to still now power. The kids were impressed with the fact that dishes can be done by hand, after warming water on the stove. They were not so thrilled at the "spit bath" idea, but those were done quickly and into clothes that had been warmed by the fire. We continued with our chores and played some more games. The kids were disappointed when the power came back on. I was relieved, concerned that we would loose all the food in the fridge and freezers.

It is now Saturday morning, we have electric now, but still no water (damage done to a specific line, we are waiting on the power company to come fix this.) I MISS RUNNING WATER. Hubby has taken the empty jugs to refill them as we have no idea at which point the lines will be repaired. The power company has their hands full with this storm.

A good lesson as we are learning what we need to do for future outages (like water storage!), things that worked well and things that did not. HMMMM how do I put this in their schoolwork? life lessons?

What looked like a regular week at the start, quickly turned into an adventure!

April 23 - weekly wrapup

Our "schoolwork" started on Saturday...I had purchased some grape vines to try to grow around my front deck. The kids were thrilled to help. I had 8 vines so enough for everyone.

We dug up an area around the deck, where the boys soon found treasures in God's earth...worms. Kids are so amazing, each worm (and there were many) was treated like a treasure, we looked at the different sizes, we looked at how some were active and others weren't, each one new to them. We found pill bugs, and spiders (eeewww) and a few other creatures I would rather stay outside.

As we planted the vines, I showed each child the roots. I reminded them that our learning about God and his word are like the roots of the plant, offering stability, food, nourishment we need to grow our lives in HIM. Without nourishment, the plants would die, just like us, and we need to be sure to feed our souls.

We moved some Iris's tubers around as I had to many in one area, we examined the root system on these to compare against the vines and how different they were.

Monday, we bought some "new" laptops for the kids. This way I am not trying to coordinate 3 kids to do their computer time. I have strictly set their internet capablities, but already this is proving to be such a blessing to our day.

Little man had art on Monday afternoon, so after we dropped him off the older two and I headed to the Library, with the oldest groaning the whole way that he did not want to go. Of course, the princess was eager as she is loving being able to read.

The oldest has to write a report on one of the apollo missions, he chose Apollo 11. He still needed some info, so we found a couple of books and a DVD called "When we left earth". His excitement increased as he found a book on racoons, the legos...he checked out 3 lego books. Little Miss checked out another owl book and 5 others, her favorite being a book about "Tinkerbell".

Tuesday, the oldest started watching the DVD set.I told him he only had to watch the Apollo mission, but he ended up watching about Mercury missions and Gemini Missions as well. His report is only suppose to be one paragraph, think I will give him "extra credit" for the additional research.

Tuesday the kids were all anxious to get on their own computers. Schoolwork was a breeze!!!

Wednesday, again to the new computers (I hope the newness doesn't ever wear off!) Right into their lessons, I had to remind them breakfast comes first! Even tho' the youngest is not able to do the SOS yet (it starts in 3rd grade) I did load the teacher side of it and manually put in what his lessons are and showed him how to report to me with it. He loves being included.

The two older kids had their art class so the little one and I headed first to a thrift shop where I found two laptop cases (at .90 each, we can afford that!) Then we headed to the Library. The little one was looking for some books about "Biscuit" He loves being able to read them, but we looked and looked and were unable to find them. Just before we left, I found where they were and he came home with 6 of them! He was so thrilled, and read one of them on the way home.

Little Miss cooked dinner solo for the first time once we got home...grilled cheese and tomatoe soup.

Thursday, we took the day to practice Home ec...catching up on laundry and doing odd jobs that kept getting overlooked.

Each day we check on Molly and McGee, tracking what they are eating, and the size. The kids were concerned when Molly started leaving the nest for the day, I reminded them this is what owls do. With this, we also were watching Owliver and and Owlivia, yesterday one Owlivia's babies died, we learned this morning another one died. There is a lot of speculation as to the "why's" but I remind the little ones that this is part of life on earth.

A sad ending to the week. Today Schoolwork as normal...we tend to keep it light on Fridays.

Overall, a very wonderful week!

Week in Review

http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/search/label/Weekly%20Wrap-up

The 3r's were accomplished this week under the groans of less enthusiastic "students", our goals however have been accomplished.

The oldest is researching his first paper, on one of the space missions, no suprise he chose Apollo 11. He is actually enjoying it, his growth in getting work done and not complaining (as much) has been wonderful over the past few months. Nice to see.

Sunday we went to a children's museum after church, the kids had a ball playing house, dressing up, running from one exhibit to the other. They were also having a book sale so of course I could not pass it up. All 3 picked out a book. Princess's book was actually 4 books in one and I figured she would take a week or so to read it...she read it all once we got home.

We have been checking in on Molly and McGee all week. I don't know who is enjoying it more, me or the kids. Watching the owlets grow is amazing and a full reminder of God's wonderful creatures. Princess is not so anxious to watch feeding time, but the boys think it is cool. We have done some reading on Barn Owls and Birds of Prey, and we did a virtual disection of an owl pellet that the kids had a ball with. We will probably be wrapping up the research part of this next week, but will still follow the babies until they fledge and are on their way.

The art classes, the little guy loves his, he loves his teacher, the older two are not as excited to go, their teacher makes them sit at the table quietly until I come to get them....not something we do at home since we use most of the house for schoolwork and don't sit much. I did not realize this until this art class, but we move from one room to the other, on the floor, cuddled on the couch, stretched out on the table, guess we are all ADD! I explained to the kids they must follow the rules of the classroom, and explained that this is to control the kids in the classroom. Princess asked me if that is what PS is like...she doesn't want to go to PS now or ever....

All in all...a very good week!

Molly

We have been working through Apologia's Fifth day of Creation and was thrilled to find this site on Homeschoollounge.com.

The kids check on Molly and the crew daily and have actually listened to some of the Q&A sessions offered by Carlos, the man who has the box in his back yard.

On You tube, (look under Sircarlosr) there are snippets of various things that have happened including the hatching of the owlett named Wesley.

All 3 have been watching the growth of the owls, the little princess was the first to notice that Max (the oldest) has started growing the heart shaped face of an owl already.

The male (McGee) has been a great provider, and we listen for signs that he is on the way, (only the oldest and I) as McGee usually shows up after the little two have gone to bed. Be we do get a "head count" of what McGee has brought home the night before.

We are looking forward to see the growth and development of the babies.

Weekly Wrapup

This week, school was week, but the learning was not.

We got the 3 "r's" done, and from the Shiver Acadamy, we have been using their Book of Vitures Project as a guide for Character Studies as well as the bible studies from Christian Liberty Press.

The oldest was definately challenged this week, starting with math, doing equivelant fractions. Then for Language Arts, he had to Start a project Essay as well as a couple of other small writing projects, he is so afraid of getting it wrong, he gives up before he starts. He did okay once he got rolling.

Little Miss, still struggles getting her addition down, I wonder if it is her doubting herself and wanting to double check or if she is still having a problem with them. She worked on a couple of crafty projects.

My little man, pushes himself over and over,he continues to try to work on his mulitiplication tables with his older brother (The Timez Attack game is proving to be worth the money spent). He loves doing Italian, especially since it also is computer based and he has figured out that he can hear himself and get feedback.

We are going through a remodel of the house. We have been spending time painting and finishing the new bedroom for the boys. The are tickled as we have new beds for them in the garage awaiting the ground work, and I was able to find some old gym lockers for their room.

The Book of Virtues project, I bought the kids each a composition book for notes and pictures and where we can put the lapbooking components. All three really enjoy the work, it is putting the lessons into practice they are not so thrilled with. Right now we are working on Self-discipline (like I am the one to teach that).

Our Math and Language Arts Curriculum are both through computer based, and I wished I would have used these sooner. I love both subjects but am learning that I do not teach them well. This relieves a lot of the pressure from me on "am I doing it okay", because I can supplement as needed.

Now we start looking forward to next week....

Just let him go!!!

When the youngest was about 4 (barely) I would settle down the older two to start some work and the youngest would we his pants. He would stand there, look at me and wet.....Sometimes I am not the brightest lightbulb in the box, as this went on for about 3 weeks.

SO at his young age I picked him up a kindergarten curriculum, we started with the abc's and numbers, and the wetting stopped. He wanted "real" work like the older two.

Fast forward to today. He is now 6, I decided to buy his 2nd grade curriculum with our tax return so we would have it when he was ready...he looked through the first units of both Language Arts and Math and proudly proclaimed "this is easy stuff"...so we agreed that we would try it...

He is whipping through these no problem...this child scares me, will I be able to keep up with him?

We were at Ross' a while back and they had some "Talk now" disks for the computer...Italian and French. For just a couple of bucks I figured I would give them a shot. I put them in the little book we have for disks for school and forgot about them. My little man/child found them and proclaimed he wanted to do them. He has now learned colors in Italian and is going through the numbers...

My oldest was doing his Timez Attack (he cant seem to get passed the 4's)...my youngest starts telling him the answers...by the time his sister goes through this, he will have no need as he will have them all down. Today he wanted to know how they worked, so I showed him. A little while later, he came to me and showed me that he had figured out the 5's....

This child is amazing with what he is learning...he is knocking my socks off!!!! Thank God I homeschool this child, for he would be bored and frustrated in ps.

Last weeks wrap up

This past week we focused our attention in different areas. The oldest was "freaking" over his spelling and needs to get his multiplication tables down.

I purchased the timez attack upgrade...now the problem is getting him off of it! YEAH!. We worked on his spelling list, doing just a couple of regular language arts and he aced his test! A real confidence booster for him.

For the princess, we worked on her reading a bit. Seems she missed some of the lessons and was struggling so I sat and read with her, we also worked on addition and subtraction facts.

The little man...Aint no stopping this boy. He still was working his lifepacs..he just about finished unit one. (I thing these are suppose to take longer than 2 weeks arent they?)...But he is getting it...he has to be the best "student" because he asks until he is sure he understands, not skipping anything with him. The language arts is not as fast, he enjoys it, but at only 6, his reading is a little behind the work, so we have to do the reading portions a couple of times.

Today..my keyboard on the computer froze...so we took the day off of schoolwork time. After dinner, I was thumbing through a book I had...the little one climbed into my lap to see what I was looking at...an old book (actually one of a set) THE BOOK OF LIFE. I was thumbing through volume one...he started reading to me. He read and read until bedtime. How awesome.

On Saturday, I was "window shopping" on the computer, and found a refurbished laptop for under $200...talked to DH and he said to order it...so I have a laptop on the way that I will be able to dedicate to schoolwork...YEAH...Coordinating computer time for the kids is getting to be a challenge, as I have 2 on SOS, one on Timez Attack, and all 3 love spelling city. The youngest loves starfall.com and the princess loves addition games. This should ease up "waiting" time. Thank you Lord. My dream is in time each child have their own.

We had been using "THE NARROW WAY" curriculum, but I think we may need to set it aside as the kids arent seeing the correlations. I think we will work on The Book of Virtues first.

Oh how I love the flexibility of homeschool!

Weekly Wrap Up

I found this as I was surfing...what a good idea...

This week was a little off, Tuesday we celebrated my granddaughters 8th birthday. Wow, time sure goes quick. The intention was not to do schoolwork that day with the exception of our swimming lessons, but Little Miss was so thrilled with her math she did it anyway:)

I love new curriculum, as do the kids. The two oldest worked their Switched on Schoolhouse math, just yesterday we recieved the Language Arts for the 3rd grade, so Little Miss has not had a chance to use that yet. The oldest has learned to hate the spelling as hecannot do it all on the computer. He has to do some independent study of the words. He finds this challenging (I pray he lives up to the challenge)

The Little man (6 year old) has started his 2nd grade lifepac's for math and language arts, I really did not count on starting this for a month or so (he just turned six in September) but he was so anxious to try it. He now wants to finish the 1st grade AND work the 2nd grade stuff. It is challenging for him, but he can do it. With the other two doing their work on the computer, I am able to devote more one on one with him so he can do it. He does like to challenge himself (besides, he knows that when these are done he can go to the computer lessons like his brother and sister.

Science we have started Zoology 1 and wrapped up the first lesson this week, they all love when I break out Science.

American History, right now we are covering 4 presidents a week, learning about them and "notebooking"them. I am leaving room on the pages so they can add more over time.

Thursday was a bust, the new 8 year old caught a bug, she spent Thursday and Friday on the couch, running a fever, unable to move. She did manage a math lesson (because she wanted to)on Friday.

We have been using "The Narrow Way" for our bible studies,we are currently working on "faith" and we are up to lesson 14.

We have also been working on Italian, using the "Talk Now" programs, I was able to pick up French, Italian and Spanish. I try to have them each do 20 minutes a day, but since we are sharing computers and also use them for keyboarding (15 mins each) and SpellingCity.com time is often a factor.

The oldest is reading Magic Tree House Books, the8 year oldis reading level 2 and 3 books and the little man and I are working through "Teach your child to read in 100 lessons". Each child is reading a lesson a day in Mcguffeys, Little Man is working through the primer, Little Miss is on Level 2 and the eldest working on book 4. Personally I love these as the lessons are not to long, but they areall challenging and honing their reading skills. I also have the Abeka Readers for grades 1 and 2 and the little man will try to read those as well.

Overall a good week when we take into account illness and birthday.

Mondays...

I love Mondays, The Kids get so excited when I pull out the science book! We are doing Exploring Creation Zoology 1 and today we did a glider experiment. It is fun watching the kids learn about the variables.

Because of our tax return, I was able to get just about all of our curriculum for the next year. The only thing I am lacking is American History, but since we are going through the presidents then the states, making a notebook for each. I am grateful to do this this way as I have yet to decide on what to do for American History, I don't want "alterted" history like so many of the textbooks now have.

I ordered sos 3rd and 5th grade SOS math and language arts so once we have finished up where we are at, the kids can just roll up into their next course. For the little one we are using the lifepac for math and language arts.

Pen Pals

Each of the 3 agreed to be faithful to have pen pals. It is awesome that all 3 got letters today. 2 of the writers aresibilings and are from Oklahome, the 3rd is from pennsylvania. It was so fun to see the kids soooo excited about their first pen pal letters.

What we've been doing

My oldest is a couple of weeks into his SOS math and still loving it.I have ordered the language arts for him as well. I think that since this is pretty self driven, he is enjoying the independence, and hope the Language arts program is still the same

Science we are doing the apologia Zoology 1, the kids love this, me to..I joined the yahoo group and have found some wonderful resources there.

I am starting to implement some grading. I did not think it important at this age since I look for mastery, but I am finding that the kids are more motivated to strive for the higher points. I saw this with the SOS math as that is set up with grades and he was devistated when he missed two problems (carelessness errors) and was thrilled when I reassigned them so he could get them right!

Spelling tests are done on a point for each word. Math 1 point per problem correct, (this goes for the little ones who are still in workbooks). On the Science site they posted a syllabus for grades for a coop and I am going to use that as a guide.

For daily work (this includes chores) I am grading on attitude...4 being the highest they can achieve. If it is done with an excellent attitude they get the full 4 points, a fair attitude 2 points...bad attitude is 0. I am doing this for each subject, especially those we do together (history and science.)

They seem more motivated as they can see their efforts being acknowleged.

Time to get moving. Thank you Lord for this day.

Homeschool Tracker

For the past couple of weeks I have been using the Homeschool Tracker system to keep records. I am not required by my state to keep detailed records, but I find that it helps me keep the kids on track. The kids like the fact that I can print out their daily assignments and they can cross off each one as it is finished.

I did learn a valuable lesson on backing up...in cleaning up my harddrive this week, I deleted all the previous weeks info, however that turned out to be a blessing as I had become more familiar with the system and am much more satisfied with the new way I set up the kids info.

This and setting up a system for what rescources I have is making our "schooltime" easier for me as I am not running circles, and obtaining duplicates.

As the oldest was watching me set this up he asked me about grades (which this system can track nicely) I have never really graded them, so what I have done is classes we do together (Devotions, Character Curriculum, History and Science) I grade on attitude based on a point system. Classes like math with be "graded"at 1 point per problem solved. They all seem to like that for now.

IF you need to track attendance, grades etc this is free (you can upgrade to a more advanced program, but this works for me for now) The forum on there to get started or help is wonderful too.

Our New Math Curriculum.

As much as I really wanted my oldest to go through saxon math, he found the work repetative and boring, he despised doing it, to the point he would often battle about getting it done. Initially he was enthusiastic until he reached the point that he was doing the same type of problems over and over.

So, I ordered the Switched on Schoolhouse computer math course and it arrived today. I set it up on the computer and played around with it enough to become familiar with how it works then called him over to it. I pray that this will be a sign of things to come, he did 2 lessons after dinner, played with his home page and is sending me "emails". The first one was after his first lesson in which he wrote..."I love SOS math!)

We shall see as I hope it is not just because it is new. If it works well, I may get the appropriate ones for my other 2....

A whole year went by

Not sure quite when that happened, time just flies by so quickly and I forgot all about this.

Lets see:

I was having problems with staying focused on the kids lessons.I would find something new and try it then move on to something else. This has got to stop for my sake as well as theirs.

SOOO>>>

I have downloaded the planner at www.homeschooltracker.com to try to keep me on track. With that, I am waiting for SOS math for the eldest. The workbook ends up being nothing but a fight as he cannot seem to concentrate long enough to complete one problem. 2 hours of math is just not needed. I pray this will work. A side benefit that I have found for the past few weeks, my oldest does not fight as much, because I can print out his "to do" list and he just gets to it...

We are using American Heritage for American History, and I am supplimenting with additional reading and projects. For world history we are working Mystery of History vol 1, I had been using that then veered away, but this is the easiest for me when working with all 3 kiddos, and they asked if we can go back to it.

For Science we have started Apologia's Zoology 1. My mom bought me that and Zoology 2 and Astronomy for Christmas. (Thank you mom!).

Spelling and Vocabulary is through Houghton Mifflin for the older 2, Since the youngest is learning to read, I am compling lists through Spellingcity.com...the kids love working on that site for review, and I have been having them do their tests there, so that I can print out the lists and scores.

Today we started "The Narrow Way" character curriculum. I like it I hope the kids do. As well as this we do morning devotionals and bible reading while they eat breakfast.

For the youngest we are still working the How to teach your child to read in 100 lessons, we are almost done with that.I supplement with Abeka readers that I already have and McGuffeys Primer. The older 2 also read from McGuffeys (levels 2 and 4 respectively), and independent reading that they narrate back to me (the older one does not know it yet, but he will be starting book reports.

We are also reading together. Today we finished Adam and his Kin...what a fun book. We are discussing what next(I want them to have some input, but I have a list to limit their selections.)

The kids had a wonderful Christmas, my mom (their great-Nana) came up along with my sister and one of her sons (17). As much as I enjoyed the holidays, it will be nice to settle back into a normal routine.