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D is for DIY

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I think I love figuring stuff out. Our dryer died a few months ago and I took the top part apart, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. I thought I knew and after ordering a part, taking the old one out, and installing the new one – it didn’t work. But I tried! And then I bought our new dryer, moved the old one to the garage and set up the new one.

I also fixed a hole in a wall – it was a big hole and I did have to make a few phone calls to my Dad and Uncle, but in the end I did it. That was great, figuring out what was wrong and fixing it. Of course that wall does need to be painted still, I need to work on my follow through.

Chris was amazed when I fixed the screen in our screen door. The kids constant pushing and leaning on it caused it to pop out. Fixing it was easy and took just a couple of minutes. But the amazement that Chris showed, you would think it took all afternoon!

D is also for Dad – mine who I talk to a lot and Chris who is getting another baby so does that make him more of a Dad? Haha.

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All the involvement

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Getting out there…

Socialization is the biggest thing my family is concerned about. It is legitimate since though we’ve lived here for about a year and a half, we aren’t all that involved in the community nor have we become close with many other families. We joined gymnastics last fall and that was a lot of fun. I never felt like I fit in with the other moms, but that was okay because the kids had a blast in each class. Alice was moved to another age group after the first class and that only threw us off because that meant two trips instead of one.

We took the summer off and plan on going back next month, even if we go to the Y gymnastics vs the private gym we were attending. The kids are also interested in soccer and I think that would be a lot of fun. I do wonder how many activities are too many? I like the Y because of just being able to play with other kids in the daycare area (in addition to all the activities we have available to us).

The kids play with the neighbors at least a couple of times a week, more if they can. And we get together with other friends a couple of times a month. It can be hard to get together just because Chris’ and my friends husbands schedule are different. It’s the neighbors we plan on doing some sort of activity with this year which I think will be very fun. I tried to get involved in a homeschool group locally but it just didn’t work out. I’m always open to new ideas so I’ve been looking around for what else is out there.

Of course when I think of socialization I think of this cartoon over at Hathor the Cow Goddess – click the link, you won’t be sorry, it’s hilarious! It reminds me of my kids – always talking to people, waving at people, saying hi, etc. I’ve been lucky, people don’t ask me if we homeschool, they ask Alice if she is in school. And she always says “yes, we homeschool, that’s doing school at home!” and they think she’s a cute little girl and smile and most of the time continue asking questions.

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How to Homeschool

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How do you homeschool?

I’ve been doing a lot of rereading about homeschooling and this year is going to be a lot different then last year. Last year was Kindergarten for Alice – we did worksheets sometimes, crafts, played, cooked, measured stuff, talked a lot. It was fun and didn’t feel like school, at least not like the whole sit at a desk and ‘do school’ for three hours a day kind of school.

I filled out our homeschool association paperwork last week and I realize what we need to work on now. Our last year was very go with the flow, more unschooling then anything, and juggling working with Alice and entertaining Jake was a test. This year we decided not to school Jake – I suppose if we were in WA still he would attend the same preschool that Alice did. He’s a very smart kid – people are always amazed that he is so young and talks so well. We didn’t really notice how advanced he was until gymnastics and being around other kids the same age. Right now he’s working on spelling words, all on his own. We probably will end up working with him a little but not at the same level we will with Alice.

I’m going to work on doing lesson plans two weeks in advance. We are starting in a couple of weeks so we can take time off when the baby gets here (nevermind what will happen if we have to move during the school years!) so hopefully I can keep up the planning. I have no idea how things will be once the baby is here – entertaining Jake is one thing, but having him and a newborn will be a test of sorts.

We are also going to work with our neighbors in a few different ways – we are going to do a reading group together as well as possibly outside activities and outside lessons. We may do some science lessons together too, Alice and their youngest daughter are roughly the same grade. We just talked about doing various lessons, but haven’t planned anything out.

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Why Homeschool

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Monday, August 6—What led to your decision to homeschool?
Why do you do what you do? What brought you to homeschooling? What factors played a part in your decision?

At first the biggest thing for us was not being able to find a close private school of the same variety that Alice attended when she went to preschool. She went to a Montessori school that was about a five minute drive for us – the teachers were so great, the other kids were nice and the parents rocked. Here the closest school is at least a half hour or so away, not including the traffic. The cost of that school was also a factor because it was more then double what we were paying in Washington.

I toyed with the idea of homeschooling last summer and Chris and I casually talked about it. As a military family we know we are going to have to move around a lot, which means changing schools, resettling down, making new friends, etc. And considering I grew up in the same town, around my family and the same friends since I was four years old, the idea of my kids having to go through that for the entire amount of their school lives definitely freaked me out. Chris moved quite a bit as a child and teenager and doesn’t have very many good memories about it, nor does he have any lifelong friends. I know it’s not realistic for me to think we can have the same kind of life I had since the military is so different, but I wanted something for the kids to be able to hold on to – and as few ‘bad’ memories as possible.

It has to be said that we are living in the south where education is not that great. We are ranked at the bottom, have a horrible graduation rate and add to the problems in schools in general and it’s not a place I want to send my wonderful kids. After hearing a friend tell about all the problems she has with her five year old, the teacher, the other students, the getting into trouble every single week – I’m very glad we didn’t send Alice to public school last year.

So maybe a part of what influenced the decision is a bit of overprotectedness – and I’m okay with that. We will end up moving again and when the time come, we’ll reevaluate where we are in homeschooling and the schools where we end up and go from there.

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C is for

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the title would be WAY too long…

C is for Chris, Christmas, Computer, Cold, Crayons, Color, Caulk, Crochet, Countdown

Chris – working a 12 hour shift work schedule right now (really 14 because you need to add the commute), also taking three classes, being a good friend to a guy having a hard time and still finding time to hang out with the family. I’m glad and hope it lasts!

Christmas – I need to make my list! I usually get started fairly early and am thinking if I want to make something for someone, it needs to start now. Of course my list gets written and rewritten a handful of times so maybe it’s good that I haven’t started yet.

Computer – the laptop rocks, I love it and want to take it everywhere with me. Except Chris needs to use it sometimes. Like all weekend because that is his only time off. He needs his own computer. Darn desktop that crashed.

Cold – I’m sick. I’ve been sick for a few days now. The Target pharmacist told me I could take sudafed since I am in my second trimester and it did make me feel better earlier today. I just need to take it as recommended so I don’t have moments of feeling bad and having to get the meds back into my system. I’m sleeping well at night and hopefully that keeps up.

Crayons – I showed the kids our school supply section in the closet yesterday. They were amazed at how many boxes of crayons we have! In my own defense some are from last year which means I shouldn’t have bought as many this year. But I usually give crayons and a coloring book as birthday gifts to kids so I should just restart that practice again.

Color – We need to pick paint colors soon. Or now. Yesterday would have been better though. I think we are going to start with Alice’s room, then do Jake’s and follow the flow of the house after that. We have to do something at least once a month, or even twice a month, so if we have to move in a few months it’ll be good to go.

Caulk – I just walked by the pantry and forgot I need to caulk the seams in the boards around it. It’s the little things that just add up!

Crochet – I had to take the blanket I started apart today – I miscounted while watching tv and added three stitches a couple of different times. That messed it all up! But I worked on it today and am back up to the six rows that I had. And I’m being diligent about counting!

Countdown – the kids birthdays are soon! One this week, the birthday party over the weekend and then another birthday next week. I found the kind of cake I am going to make for each of them and need to remember to call to schedule a picture taking moment.

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