Emerging From Winter

borrowed from fieldandswamp.com

Where has the time gone since my last post? Homeschool is back on track. We have been hunkered down during the winter months catching up on schoolwork. It seems, according to my hourly charts, that the end of November through mid-January were hit and miss as far as getting anything done. Some weeks, great! Some weeks, oh my goodness. We might as well have taken them off. And we did take off several for holidays and vacations. The last 7 weeks have been spent reevaluating where we are at in every subject, seeing what needs to be accomplished, seeing who is lacking in what.

The little one (4th grade): She FINALLY has her times tables down. Kind of. She can't spout them out immediately like she can her list of favorite cartoon shows but she knows them well enough to do all her math. For science we quit winging it because she couldn't decide on a subject to study and we opened a book I had that is quite colorful and direct. We've been studying volcanoes, earth, and fossils. I may have to give in this week and build a volcano and grow some crystals like a good homeschool mom should. Ugh.

The piano lessons she started taking in January are going so well. At least I think so. She loves her teacher (who wouldn't) and it just squeezes my little ole' heart when her dainty fingers reach out to make chords in a song. All week we've been belting out 'Down In The Valley' while she plays. I'm so proud.

The teen (11th grade): has been ACT driven. Almost all schoolwork went by the wayside while we brushed up on every subject known to man for the ACT. She took it last week. Up til the test we didn't feel confident about her knowledge at all even though we had studied non-stop. But after the test she was all smiles. We don't really care what she gets this time. It's the experience of test taking that we care about. She can take it many times during the next year.

She has been reading all over the board for World Lit. She read a lot of Grapes of Wrath, really getting the gist of the time period. I didn't require her to finish it. Maybe she will over the summer. Right now she is engrossed in Watership Down.
I love to see my kids huddled in bed, glassed perched on noses, reading big books. Last night she couldn't sleep until she had found out what happened to BigWig (if you don't know what I'm talking about, read the book!) After she is done I plan to rent the movie for her to watch.
This week has been all about painting. We've just felt like it. The teen takes watercolor painting instruction from a very talented friend of mine. Every week we meet and they paint and talk. Good relationship being built there as well. Always good for the teen to have good christian mentors outside of her parents. Anyway, her painting is improving drastically.





The little one has been watching videos I picked up from the library for her art; Art Lessons for Children (several volumes) by Donna Hugh. I've order Ms. Hugh's Drawing Lessons for Beginners as well. Excellent video series. I've seen her painting improve immensely!




The little one was so excited about what she is learning that when DH came home early from work today, she sat him down and taught him how to paint a chinese dragon. So cute!

DD's painting, DH's painting



We've also started doing the Illustration Friday prompt each week. See my blog here, here and here for the newest examples, or search my art blog for 'illustration friday'.

I think that's enough of an update. I'll be back soon. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're in the homestretch. Seven more weeks until Summer break! Hallelujah. I think we all need it.

Sickies Homeschool

What do you do when everyone is sick? My tendency is to let all lay around and not do anything. But I always feel like we could be doing 'something' so I try to have kids read, watch science videos. SOMEthing so I can count it for school. I know, I'm a mean mom. I'm thinking if I always let them do fun things when they're 'sick' they'll want to be sick more often! ha We do sit and watch a movie together sometimes. Can you tell I'm wishy-washy on the subject? It's hard to get the almighty homeschool-hours-counter out of my head... (in our state we have to keep track of hours.)

This is where we're at today. A whole household full of sickies with the flu including DH and me. I let them sleep in while I'm up catching up on paperwork, making calls, packing some packages, scheduling repair & installation people (shower and cable.) Is a mother's work never done? I'm ready for a nap.

(Clemie the rotisserie chicken dog.)

Homeschooling On Vacation

Not to say that our homeschool is uninteresting and I have nothing to post, but its been the same-ole same-ole lately. January and February is always full of catching up. Although I've tried to be very good in keeping up with school paperwork, I start scrambling to reorganize us. I don't want to be caught in May/June with my pants down so to speak. I don't know if I'm just destined to be disorganized or if its a curse. I've tried having certain notebooks/folders, certain places to put paperwork, certain rituals and habits. We don't stick with a one. I'm blaming it on the holidays. Between Thanskgiving and Christmas, we get schooling done but we're a wreck. Nothing is every organized. How to change this, I have no clue.

We went on vacation the beginning of January (with my parents, SIL & her kids) which didn't help my organizing problem one whit. But we did have a lovely time. Some schooling was definitely included. It went down like this (and for those who can't see how a vacation can count as school, watch...)

ENGLISH: Word games played out loud on several long car rides. Mad libs on the plane.

READING: Many books were read, magazines. Watched Neverending Story and found the book at the thrift store to read too!


SCIENCE: Visiting Kennedy Space Center 5 hours. Visiting the ocean; gathering shells, identifying them, finding crabs, stingray and fish on the beach. Visiting Orlando Science Center for 4 hours.

HISTORY/GEO: Visiting Epcot Countries & cultures all day (plus Epcot's greenhouse & fish farm)




ART: Making posters for the marathoners (DH & my dad ran it). Making sandcastles at the beach. Drawing at the house.



PE: Walking in Ikea's 300,000 sq ft facility for 3 hours, walking at Disneyworld and Universal, Epcot parks 3 days all day, Swimming in the pool and the ocean, Walking on the pier in St. John's Pass, Running from the seagulls trying to eat out ice cream.




I'm spending my evenings these days, catching up on paperwork so I can quit pulling my hairs out... Maybe I'll just pull the gray ones. I'll be dreaming of the beach while I'm doing it though...