Homeschooling Play Day at the Park

 A fun day at the park. As one of those fun homeschooling perks, we can just cancel school and head to the park when the mood strikes. Swinging, swordplay and Sonic. Life is good! The boys had a ball!

Hmmm, some of those aren't as good as I had hoped! Well, it serves them right for not cooperating. I'm posting them anyway. Ha ha ha!

Is it Just Me?

I don't know why, but April always seems to run me over. And over. And over. I think it's just that it's the culmination of lots of things at our house. Holidays, birthdays, moving (we always seem to be moving in the spring recently, ugh) travelling with the gymnastics team, etc. Anywho, now that all those things have passed, I quit almost all of my jobs and only work 5 hours a week at the gym...and now Dan is unemployed and underfoot. (inset hysterical, maniacal laughter here) *sigh* Isn't that always the way? Suffice to say that we got one whole day of school accomplished last week, and this week isn't looking too good either. I think I'm going to wrangle Dan into giving car maintenance lessons. Change a tire, check the oil, change oil, etc. That way, 2 birds with one stone, right? ; ) At any rate, I think I've decided that instead of trying to CRAM the rest of the school year into the next few months, a feat that would include lots of crying, hysteria and gnashing of teeth, and the kids would be upset too. So I'm going to stretch the current curricula, thus saving money on next year's curriculum, and some sanity, which I can use all I can get. SO, what I'm wondering is, Is it just ME that is struggling with "I don't want to/can't manage to get school done" blues, or it is everyone?
Next week will be better. It will, right? Right. God always provides a way to make it work. <3
   

Have I Ever Mentioned That I LOVE Homeschooling?

Hey everyone! Just passing through on the run (as usual) and wanted to just say that I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING! We are in Co Springs for the weekend awaiting the gymnastics regionals for David. The glorious part? Homeschool can come along since we've been slacking a bit between the move and all the travelling for gym. David's math CD-Rom came along as well as some library books, puzzle books, and brain games. And, of course, one can always draw a picture and write/narrate a story about our adventures here. *sigh of contentment* Homeschooling rocks. That is all.
Blessings,
Kristy and the Man Crew

Back to School, Back to Posting, Back to Something....or at least I Hope!

Hi everyone. It's been a long break, a long winter, and a long travelling season for gymnastics. Add in a last minute move (so that my parents can live with us) and it's no wonder I've lost my mind, my computer's flash drive, and my lesson planner. HA! At any rate, all is not lost. David (the gymnast has been kicking some heiny at the competitions) Patrick is finding his groove again after the move (this normally takes MUCH longer then 2 weeks) and I think I found my lesson planner today. I do, however, make no promises about ever finding my sanity again ; )
As for school, we managed to get several weeks worth of school done between the middle of January and mid-March. Then we did 2 weeks of inde schooling while I packed like crazy and then got a week of almost spring break the week of the move while David's best friend spent the week with us while he was on spring break. In case you are wondering, inde school is what I call all lessons/activities that do not need adult help. So, things like CD Rom math lessons with the lectures pre-recorded, online videos about the Constitution, quiet reading time each day, educational videos, lots of games and lots of outdoor play. Also things like "how many boxes fit in the truck?" - "Where did Mama put her purse?" - "If I fill this box to the top, can I still pick it up?" These all count as life skills, quite useful in the 'real' world after school. ; )
We are now back to school, David is REALLY loving his math studies this year and is doing quite well in his pre-algebra class and has even already asked if he finishes it early, would I order him another. Why YES, yes I will! Patrick still struggles with 'wanting' to do school, but is putting forth a good effort most days. I do still need to find his math disc, and then get back to curriculum studies. We've been doing some random worksheets I've found in the move, so all is not lost : ) Derek is getting back to his studies as well, although he's got Grma snowed into believing that if he says he doesn't want to do school, he doesn't have to do anything. Oops. I haven't brought his curriculum back out yet either, just so he and Patrick can stay together in their lessons, but I have enough K-1st grade workbooks, manipulatives, games and such to fill at least one whole 5 shelf bookshelf, so he is moving right along. I'm almost worried that he will be ahead once we get back to actual My Father's World studies. But a nice little repeat never hurt anyone anyway, right?
Over all, all is well again in the MeYeR Man Crew Homeschool. I love, love, love homeschooling, even on the tough days. And hopefully, those are over for this year. Travelling is nearly over for the year, the move is over, and we are settled. Life is good.

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas: Grandma's Trunk Alphabet Game Review & Sweepstakes

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas: Grandma's Trunk Alphabet Game Review & Sweepstakes

Homeschooling Hiatus~ Winter 2011

As this Mama has gotten smarter through the years (or lazier, you decide) we've
started taking our long break in the winter months while Mama is working MORE
and LATER hours at her Kohl's job, so that she has a chance to sleep once in a
while, plus we don't end up frustrated by trying to stay on schedule while the
season gets busier and busier. So, we've been on break since the week of
Thanksgiving and we've LOVED it!
Now, before you think I've got and thrownall caution to the wind and that my children are irreparably and irrevocablydamaged, let me also add this. We've done lots of hands on learning, lots ofreading, lots of enjoying family time, and lots of projects. All interspersed
with tons of Christmas music, movies and activities. We've done puzzles and
games, played outside while the weather was nice (and even when it wasn't) we've
baked, cooked and crafted our way through the season. We've even thrown in a
random math or grammar lesson as the whim struck. And yes, at least one of my
boys ASKED for school work so he wouldn't get behind. Can I get an "AMEN"?
Soa quick update on each of the boys and I'll close. (I'm working on not being so
long winded, wish me luck) David is in the 9th grade and enjoying the
opportunity to pick his own projects. Right now he's working his way through the
Famous Men of Greece book and the Greenleaf Guide to the same. He's LOVING it!!
Next up, Famous Men of Rome. Earlier this year, he memorized the entire first
book of Genesis. I should mention that I'm loving this curriculum as well. He
gets to pick the projects, but they are all appropriate, Bible based, God
fearing choices. Patrick is working through his My Father's World Creation to
the Greeks package, but he and I had a rough start this year, so we may need to
go back and redo some of the lessons. His writing, grammar and math are
excelling, so I'm thrilled about that! Derek is coasting through his 1st grade
year, and while he LOVES to be read to, and to spend hours poring over books, he
is still showing little interest in actually learning to read for himself.
However, I am not worrying over it, he will read when he is ready. His
handwriting/scissors skills are improving recently, as if his fine motor skills
are finally catching up to his gross motor skills.
So truly, good news on all fronts and that's always a good feeling. I'll post more later about some of the projects and activities we enjoyed over the break, along with some pictures.
Thanks for your support!
Blessings,
Kristy

How's YOUR School Year Going?

Hi everyone! Just popping through here to say hey and give a quick update about school so far this year.
~Overall, couldn't be happier. It's probably our best school year ever. Everyone is content, there is little complaint about starting school each day, there is not tons of busywork and everyone is enjoying learning.
~David~ He's enjoying his Blessed is the Man curriculum. He likes being able to make so many of his own choices, even on the days that he doesn't like any of the options. This month he's been doing some heavy reading, memorizing the entire first chapter of Genesis and starting his study of Spanish. He's enjoying that so much. He's got it downloaded to his MP3 and he keeps popping in and out of his room to tell me what new word he's learning and how to use it. GOOD STUFF! His practical arts hours and PE hours are already worth a semester of credit each, so he will have no problem fulfilling the requirements there. He's liking it a lot and I am super pleased.
~Patrick~ is going strong with his 2nd year of MFW. There's not much busy work, so he is glad about that. We're doing the teaching textbooks on the computer again and he's thrilled with the short lessons and no paperwork. We added in art and music this year. He's not sure how he feels about the music yet since we are studying Vivaldi right now, but he is excited about the art part. He's busy reading "Swiss Family Robinson" reading through Genesis and getting his time line going. He still enjoys our map above the dining room table so he can locate things while doing schooling or eating a meal. His new fave place on the map is the "Drake Passage" south of South America since Drake is the name he's chosen for himself since he wants a "D" name, like everyone else. : )
~Derek~ Is enjoying his first year with official curriculum. We're digging into his My Father's World 1st grade set. We've made pottery jars and will be finishing our 'scrolls' tomorrow. He is sounding out short vowel words and starting to recognize some words on his own. He likes Exploration Day, library trips and art. His book basket by his bed is full of 'topic' books or seasonal books and he falls asleep every night while looking at them. It's good. I add a fun game or activity as it applies or sometimes, just for fun. Like today, we found a alphabet game printed on paper leaves, so we played 'leaf gathering' for a while and identified the letters. He is participating in some of Pat's lessons since some of the topics overlap, and that makes him feel BIG.

I guess that's all for now. Just really enjoying this year and glad it's going so well this far. In a few weeks, we'll be taking our break from Thanksgiving until after the new year, but I'm not worried about losing momentum this year. The older 2 are capable of doing so much on their own, Derek's lessons only take about an hour a day and if we add in some reading and educational videos or links on the days that we don't do school, I think all will be well.
So, how is your school year going? Are you loving new curriculum, enjoying an old favorite, still looking for that special set, or making it up as you go along? Share your homeschooling adventures with us!