Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Strangeness

What a strange couple of days. Levi is going to science camp all week so he is gone from 9-4. The baby naps in the afternoon and the other 2 play very quietly together, inside or out. I can't believe how peaceful it is and how unmotivated I am to do anything. I wonder why this is? It reminds me of the Depeche Mode song "Enjoy the Silence", because that is exactly what I am doing! I can see how moms could really get used to having their kids in school all day! :)

I am in the midst of planning my Unit Studies and have my Veterinarian one almost completed. I am looking forward to trying this "new" method of homeschooling.

I web-cammed (is that really a word?) with my sister today. It's her birthday! I usually just chat on the phone, but with the webcam, it was like we hung out for an hour or so. Loved it! I have really missed her lately. I love being with my family! I wish we all lived close together still. :(

I am a bit tired today. It's too bad that going to bed at 1am and getting up at 7am just isn't enough sleep for my old body anymore. But, I am married to a night owl, and I am sure that our current trend will continue on. Ah well, sleep is overrated!

Well, this post is pretty random. Hope nobody minds:)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Just a quickie!

I don't have much to say, except that I am LOVING summertime! It's fun to do summer things and have friends around to do things with (except this week:) It's fun to plan big things like camping trips and road trips. It's great to get together with family. I just LOVE it all!

I looked back a few posts ago and saw my summer "To Do" list. Hmmm. I am loving this lazy Summer. The kids love it, too. So I am not crazy to do all of those things...though some will happen anyway. I thought we would hit that "I'm bored" phase, but it's not here. I think this is a blessing of homeschooling. The kids have lots of time to themselves and enjoy filling it how they want. So when summer is here, they know how to entertain themselves. Now, don't get me wrong, I still hear the occasional, "I'm bored" but it's not that often.

On another note, George and I have decided that if our house doesn't sell, we are going to use our TV/family room for the school room. It's perfect with built in bookshelves and lots of wall space for maps and our white board. We will use a collapsible table that we have in the garage. That way, we can move our food storage back in the house...I am sure that it is too hot in the garage, really. Also, George wants to knock out the back wall of the closet under the stairs and make more storage room in that closet. It should be a substantial amount of storage.

We're off this weekend, first to Chicago and then south to visit my parents. Yay for parents being home on Mother's/Father's Day! It's nice to be able to just "run down" and visit them. I have really missed that!

Friday, June 4, 2010

DONE!

It's been a long year...well, at least May was long. I think it wasn't so bad until then. It's amazing how homeschool days are so different. It all depends on the kids moods and what they are excited about. We had some good and some bad things go on this year, but all in all, the kids learned a lot. I think we just really got burned out at the end. Does this happen to public school kids too? When the weather starts to get nice, it's just hard to sit through school work.

Hopefully, that will ALL change next year! We are going to do actual Unit Studies-meaning I include all subjects (except math and phonics) in our topical study. I picked up this wonderful book for $4 at a garage sale entitled "Everything You Need to Know About Homeschool Unit Studies". I have read it once and am ready to read it again. I started last night planning a Veterinary Unit and it was so simple! I am excited! I just need to get to the library and write my final plan. I hope this method will help us to get lots more done with less complaining. It should just streamline the whole process and have lots more reading time. The kids will be begging to "do school" :)

I am also going to get rid of morning TV, which may perhaps, cause mutiny. More field trips. More projects...because I will be better prepared. For each subject, we will keep a notebook so the kids will have something to show all the people that say "What did you learn in school today? while my kids look at them blankly. :)

I think it will go well. Luckily, homeschool is pretty forgiving. If something doesn't work, you throw it out and try something else. Good times!