Monday, August 24, 2009

Homeschooling: A Survey

A good friend of mine who is praying about homeschooling sent a survey to a group of ladies, some who were currently homeschooling and some who had in the past but currently had their kids in school. I really enjoyed thinking through our reasons for homeschooling and spelling them out. Here are my answers, for any of you who wonder why we feel God is leading us down this path:

1. How did you come to the conclusion that homeschooling was right for your family? I know this is a loaded question, but what were a few of the stronger motivating factors?

Where do I even begin?
A few of my reasons are completely selfish:
*I cannot stand the fact that another woman (or man) would be spending more waking time with my sons than I would be. That crushes me. I am their mother and I am selfish with my time with them. Not codependent, mind you, I just value every second that I am privileged to be with them. I am busy soaking it in.

*You know that joy that washes over you when your child learns something new, her letters, her Bible verse, how to draw a square? I love that feeling and I love watching my child rejoice in finally accomplishing something he has been working on. The pride I felt when Owen stumbled through his first Bob book was overwhelming! And I taught him that. And I got to witness it. Selfish, I know, but I don’t think a public school teacher would rejoice quite the same way a mommy would.

On to a bit less selfish reasons:
*There are things I want my kids to have written on their hearts, so very many things. I don’t feel that if my kids were gone for 7-8 hours a day, I could possibly train them up in the few hours that are left. God gave these Boys to Jeremy and me, blessed us with these lives, trusted us to train them to be godly. How can I possibly do that if they are at school more than they are at home? Even if we had intensive Bible training at home after school, there would be so many missed opportunities throughout the day. Opportunities to mold character and shape heart attitudes. Jeremy and I are to be good stewards of these lives we have been trusted with.

*I also feel like it is our responsibility to guard these little hearts until they have a firmly established foundation in the faith and the Word. There are things they may be faced with during their school day that they are not equipped to handle quite yet. One day, when faced with these same issues, they will know the Truth and be able to form a godly opinion on the matter, or at least be able to search the Bible themselves for God's view. For now, I want to offer them just a bit more protection.

*Now for the education aspect: I think O is probably a little advanced as a four year old. I want to ensure that he is challenged, not bored, and that his creativity is encouraged, not squelched. I also want to use his time wisely. The curriculum we bought says kindergarten should take about 1-1 ½ hours/day. The rest of the school day, O can be living life with us, learning life lessons, playing, being a kid instead of sitting at a desk. Plus, we can move through curriculum as fast or as slowly as we need to depending on each kid.

2. Is it something you feel/felt pretty strongly about and plan to do through your child(ren)'s entire education?

I feel very strongly about it. Jeremy does not feel as convicted at this point. We will take it a year at a time and see what God does. I would love, love to homeschool through 12th grade!

3. If you had a public school right down the street, we're talking 2 blocks away, in a great school district, and you keep hearing wonderful things about it as well as the teachers and you even know a teacher or two at the school, would you be more inclined to send your child there?

Nope. That would not change any of my above reasons. We actually do have a school just like that 3 blocks away.

4. Are you, or do you plan to be involved with any homeschool co-ops or organized groups on a regular basis?

YES! I just need to find one and see if they will let a 4 year old (and mom and brother) join!

5. What do you use for curriculum and how did you choose it?

I had visions of piecing together the perfect curriculum for O by gathering the best of the best. I wanted to take a somewhat loose Charlotte Mason approach. However, when it came right down to it, I chickened out. I hope to do that in the future as I gain knowledge and confidence, but right now, I have no idea what I am doing! And I am afraid of missing some important piece if I put my own curriculum together. So considering that and all we have to deal with lately with Noah, I went the easy route and bought the A Beka Box o’ Kindergarten. It is fabulous!! It lays everything out for me, what to do each day, extra fun if needed, resources. It was more expensive and I am sure it will stifle some creativity by being super planned out, but it is what I can handle right now. And since A Beka is what mom used with me, I know it is a challenging enough curriculum to keep up (if not surpass) the public school requirements (if we were to put the kids into public school down the road). We will do Bible on our own using resources from Doorposts and Truth & Grace books from Founders Press. I also love literature based stuff, so I will supplement with crafts and lessons based on what books we are reading at the time.

6. How do you do your "lesson planning," or do you just go by a pre-planned curriculum?

The past two years, I have planned all my lessons myself: first a very simplistic preschool curriculum; last year we did a character-based study. Let me tell you, it was A LOT of work! And since I planned week to week, there were weeks we just winged it…not ideal! I am so looking forward to using A Beka and just filling in my whole lesson plan this summer. It will all be laid out for me!

7. How do you balance homeschooling the older ones with a preschooler/ toddler/ baby as well?

Nosy (2 ½) does pretty well. He loves to be involved in whatever we are doing, so he joins us at the school table. He will listen and participate on his level. It is amazing how much he picks up on! He loves to do the crafts with us. When he gets restless, he will either play quietly alone or I can toss him a ball to chase while I work with O. Keep in mind that last year for O, school only lasted about an hour and we would usually do half in the morning and half in the afternoon, so it is not a great length of time for Nosy to occupy himself. This year (for Kindergarten) the curriculum says to plan about 1-1 ½ hours per day.

8. How many mid-week activities or extra curricular things does your family participate in on a weekly/ monthly basis? (this can be related to, or not directly related to academics...ie: sports, music lessons, church events, etc.)

Usually we have AWANAs weekly, a weekly church mtg in which the boys play with the other leadership kids, and growth group every other week. In the Fall, Owen will start soccer. We usually have one play date per week. I feel it is important for the boys to learn the social skills and manners required for being in group settings, so I definitely want to give them opportunities to be with other kids. I also want them to learn to submit to and respect other authorities besides their parents.

9. Did your schooling as a child in anyway influence your decision making regarding your kids education?

Yes. I was homeschooled and loved it. Jeremy went to public school and had almost a "Leave It to Beaver" type of experience: great friends, popular, no peer pressure or acting up. Entering marriage we were both open to whatever God would lead us to do regarding educating our kids. When O was born though, my heart’s desire became to homeschool (for the above reasons). After a lot of prayer and discussion, we have agreed to take it a year at a time to see how God leads. Jeremy is realizing the importance of it more and more. He does not feel as strongly as I do, but he is definitely supportive. Especially with Noah’s health situation now, the loose plan is to home school at least when they are little.

I am not posting this on my blog to be judgemental in any way. These are the conclusions God has brought us to, and I thought maybe some of you were wondering about our choices. I know it is not going to be easy, but Jeremy and I feel like this is the right path. It is more expensive, much more time consuming, hard work with no "me time" scheduled in...and yet we are so excited...and the Boys are excited. This is right and no matter the sacrifice, this is the plan we will joyfully carry out. I can't wait to see how God works in all of our lives this year as we obey his plan for us!

My Kindergartner

Since Plano ISD started back to school today, as did all of O's friends and cousins, we thought it fitting that we begin kindergarten for Owie and pre-school for Nosy today also. I have been lesson planning and organizing school stuff for weeks, so I was already in the zone. Jeremy and I have been talking it up to the Boys too, so they were more than ready when they bounced out of bed this morning.

This is what they found! Each kiddo had a few special things at their place, plus a back to school gift to share: a golf game they have been eyeing for weeks.

Noah got brand new crayons, his very own drawing pad, blue (his favorite color) pencils and a new book to learn the days of the week.

O got colored pencils, green mechanical pencils (his favorite color) and a new read aloud book to start. His new folders had all his worksheets for the day all ready to go.

My enthusiastic students

Being goofy

Owie is instructing Noah that he is saying "CHEEEEEEESE!" way too loudly in the house. What a subtle reminder, O!

The first day of school was fantastic! Both Boys were attentive the whole time. I think it helped that I had several activities planned where we could jump around a bit. When we had worked through all of our lessons, O asked, "Do we really get to have school every day?! YAHOO!" Neither one wanted to be done for the day. I love their zeal!


As for me, I hope my prep time gets a little shorter as the year progresses. The day went very smoothly because I was so prepared and organized, but it took me a long time to get that way. Although I have the lesson plans written out for several weeks ahead, just gathering all the worksheets and supplies, cutting pictures out of magazines, making the games they recommend we play took several hours this weekend. But the day was great and we all enjoyed it! Everyone behaved and actually learned some things. I can't wait for tomorrow!


Just for my own records:

We are using Bright Gems for His Crown by Maxine Randall and Truth and Grace Memory Book, Book 1 for Bible. All other subjects are A-Beka kindergarten. I will supplement with my own science and art from various sources.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

You Can't Take the Boy Out of the Man

...and I'm so glad about that. Here Joel and Jeremy enjoy one of life's simple pleasures at Hawaiian Falls when we all went for some family fun. (Sadly, none of my pics will upload, so we'll have to save them for another time.)

That's Nosy's precious voice in the background.

More Hawaiian Falls Fun

We were all so excited that Daddy could take the day off from work and experience Hawaiian Falls with us!

Nosy only has eyes for his PB&J.

Look who else joined our day of fun!
Clayton and Joel

Oliver and Erica

Even Gigi!

Noah plays ball wherever he goes.

We all had so much fun...and enjoyed super long naps!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Cousins' Fun in the Sun

Julianne invited all the Halpin cousins, plus the Sosbees, over for an end of the summer swimming party. The kids haven't seen a whole lot of each of each other lately, so it was especially fun to get everyone together. I was so disappointed when looking back through my pictures. I didn't take nearly as many as I thought I had. I guess I was busy keeping track of my little fish. Here are the few good shots I took:

Erica actually took this one. I love how she caught O mid-air!

Nosy loved floating with Gigi.

Evan was so intent on his "work" of transferring water from one place to another.

Mia relaxing for a minute.

Will found a great spot to take a break in the shady boat.

It's so funny to watch Noah and Oliver interact. They crack each other up!

Ally and her noodle.

Clayton and Maddie played some elaborate form of Batman.

Thanks, Amezcuas, for your hospitality! We all had a great time!

Friday, August 14, 2009

An Evening to Treasure

Some traditional late summer fun in our own backyard: B-B-Q chicken and a water balloon fight.

They're after me!

We all made some wonderful memories tonight. Even as it was playing out, it was almost as if I were watching a movie or something, everything was so perfect: no arguing; such sweetness; one boy so long and lean, the other full of yummy chubbiness; the most wonderful Daddy ever cheering his boys on. Thank You, Father, for times like this to treasure up in my heart forever.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

This Is the Life

I can't believe I have never thought of this before.

Toady we built the hugest clubhouse ever. We incorporated three tables, the slide, plenty of sheets and blankets, even padded the floor with rugs and piles of fluffy pillows. It was cozy, dark, and comfy.

My Guys wanted to play house. Hooray! That was my fave growing up!! O assigned the roles: He was the dad, Nosy was the mom, and I was the big sister. My baby sister was Julie (the doll) and we were the proud owners of Tree, the pet dog. I dove right in, playing my role to the best of my ability. All to soon though, I was banished to the clubhouse to babysit. Shucks, I thought. I was having so much fun...

...until I crawled in the clubhouse, which was remember, so cozy and dark and comfy. O and Nosy explained to me that they would be away for a long time, making food at 10 Pieces of Hamburger (O's restaurant). They would be sure to bring me some dinner when they were done. After that, they had to take down church and load the tubs onto the big truck. (Can you tell we're part of a church plant?!) I made myself at home in that dark cave and rested...relaxed...even daydreamed a bit while the Boys played brilliantly together.

Every few minutes I was expected to sample a bit of food or answer a question, but it was the most peaceful afternoon. I emerged from that clubhouse refreshed and ready to make a dinner of my own.
(Check out our new floors!)

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Aquarium

So we've been remodeling. That means the house is wreck and Daddy is busy working hard every night after work. (See our cool new fireplace? I just love it!) The rest of us have two options while Daddy and his friends work: either vacate the premises or find something quiet and out of the way to keep us busy. Since we have already visited everyone we can think of, I was trying to come up with fun, quiet activities to fill our evenings. Thus was born our aquarium.

On clearance, in the dollar aisle at Target, we found tiny brightly colored capsules. The label promised that if soaked in warm water, the capsules would transform into marine life! I have always wanted to try one of these "experiments," and the Boys were intrigued. So $0.50 later we had our activity for the evening.


We filled our bowls with warm water and plunged our capsules in. Then we waited...

...and waited...

...and patiently waited.

Look! A sea creature! A squid sort of animal! Amazing!

Many bowls of warm water later, we had a whole herd of semi-recognizable sea animals.

After so much hard work birthing the little guys, we decided they deserved a nice habitat. We filled a tupperware with water and settled them in.

The boys decided that something was off. It didn't seem quite like home for the marine life. After a quick brainstorm, it was decided that the water was not quite blue enough. Phew! It was a problem I could easily remedy. So after dashing to the kitchen for some blue food coloring,

our new friends had a comfy, cozy home. The tupperware hung out in our kitchen for awhile, where it was visited quite a bit at first, but gradually less frequently. A few days later, it met with some unforeseen circumstances that caused its disappearance. It has never been seen again. :-)

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Life Is Precious, Life Is Sweet

Gallivanting in the rain after our rather drippy picnic.

By the way, the Boys dressed themselves today. A navy blue swimsuit completed Nosy's ensemble. Did you notice O's shirt is on backwards? He insisted it was much more comfortable that way. He was especially proud that both his polo and his shorts had "black" (navy blue, actually) stripes in them. "I am so matchy, Mommy!" We even ventured out to Kohl's dressed this way. I am sure the Boys thought the second glances were admiring their style. Love these guys with every bit of me!

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

For the Love of the Game

This Guy would seriously play baseball 24/7 if it were humanly possible. When he pops out of bed in the morning, his first request is for "my Longhorn baseball and my guv (glove)." He usually sleeps with these two favorite playthings. He's actually pretty good at the game, frequently catching the ball in his glove. He's pretty consistent with the bat too. We have had to make batting practice an outside-only game to preserve the house. Play ball, Nosy!

Comic Relief

In the midst of all the orneriness, O has said the funniest things!

"I am all tangled up with sleep! That means I slept SOOOOO long!" (I could only wish!)

Owie spontaneously came up to me and gave me a huge hug. "It's so hard being a kid, Mommy." I asked him what parts were especially hard for him these days. "Mostly taking a bath..."

Regarding using good manners: "I can't use them all the every time by-cuz then I would use them all and there would be no more left in my heart."

After eating a special treat of strawberries with whipped cream, I asked him if he would enjoy some more. "Actually I'd like a bowl of just whipped cream, please." So polite, that Boy.

O has been very interested in the sun and the earth's rotation. In order to avoid going to bed, he asked if the sun could stay up on our side of the world all the time. "What about those poor kids that live on the other side of the world?" I asked him. "They would only have darkness all the time if we only had sunshine." "They could just be nocturnal, Mommy."

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Dinner Guests

Even though the kitchen remodel is only half done, our guests braved the mess as only family can do to join us for dinner. Joel, Erica, Clayton, Oliver and tiny Elliot joined us for some burgers, dogs and splashin' good times.

Oliver can't get enough of that hose!

"High-er, o-WEN! High-er, please!"

Oh, the pure sweetness of a sleeping baby.

After dinner, we headed out back for some baseball. (The sun was filtering through my lens in a very odd way. Sorry.) These four mean business! We chased countless balls that were grand slammed over the fence.

We are blessed beyond measure to live so close to all of our immediate family and to get to enjoy everyday life with them. So blessed...