Curriculum Switch Trap

I've been searching the internet for that perfect curriculum. The perfect curriculum that will: teach my children, clean my house, run a home based business, care for my ill child, be a perfect help-meet, all while I vacation in Switzerland.

So far I can't find it. I'm not sure why. I've googled every key word possible.

I get this way. Maybe I'm the only one. Maybe not. I do know that perhaps this time I do need to make some changes in my curriculum. But a curriculum does not make the home school. Mom's attitude makes the home school.

If I stay focused on God and his leading I'll find the way.

God, not google.

Schedules... Again

We are on Holiday break. It came at a perfect time- the kids have been passing a virus around. What's more fun than being sick when on vacation, even if it is just a vacation at home?

This Fall was not a stellar semester of school. In fact I would give myself low scores as a mom in general, much less as a home school mom. I spent too much time feeling overwhelmed and under motivated.

The culprit? I allowed too many activities to overwhelm our routine. So what if everything we do is worth-while? If it is too much to do, then none of it ends up being done in a worth-while manner. Not to mention that when life gets too hectic, toddler-training takes the back seat to expediency.

I'm back in the saddle again and thinking about next semester. I've already cut out some time (and money) sucking commitments.

1. We are taking a semester break from band. The kids will continue their music lessons, just not the home school band organization.
2. My senior is not taking a dual enrollment class next semester.
3. I'm dropping my Thursday night church church group.
4. I'm only buying from the whole-foods coop every other month.

These may sound like small things but added together and then subtracted from my life they add up to a bunch more time to be, well, to be an actual mom.

Maybe even a sane, fun mom, one who loves to learn with her children.

Dual Enrollment- Lessons Learned

In Tennessee a home schooled junior or senior in high school can take college classes for either college credit or dual credit. Scholarships are available to help cover the cost.  

My oldest child is a senior this year and takes his first college final exam on Monday. He's learned a lot of college level math and I've learned a lot about home schooling high school students. Everything he's learned is way above my head but I thought I'd share what I've learned:  

1. Colleges usually require an SAT or ACT score to apply to take dual enrollment courses- so plan ahead.  

2. A dual enrollment scholarship is a breeze to apply for online, and is a breeze to get.  

3. Most community colleges are also a breeze to apply to online.  
4. Your umbrella school may require you to fax copies of your grandmother to set up the dual enrollment, so plan ahead to leave time for registering for actual classes.  
5. Your umbrella school may rather arbitrarily decide not to allow dual credit for the class your child wants to take, but that does not mean your child cannot get college credit. Once again, plan ahead.  
6. When figuring the cost of the class don't forget to figure in expensive college texts and possibly required computer software.  
7. When figuring cost of the class don't forget to budget commuting costs. Oops, my bad.  
8. When scheduling classes don't forget that parking on most college classes requires a lot of walking- which greatly adds to time spent commuting.  
9. Keep in mind that some college scholarships will not be available to students with too many dual enrollment hours. The reasoning behind this escapes me. Our reasearch indicated that you only start running into problems if your child has upward of 9-12 credit hours of dual enrollment.  
10. Letting my son figure out how to not study well, helped him to learn a lot about how to study.

This is part of Thirsty Thursdays at Five J's

Super No Va

Or, Poetry for the Sleep Deprived

Motivation

Mo' vacation please?

Motive shunning, shirking notice of mental relocation.

Motivation.

Where's the sense of my vocation?

Motive shrinking, shrieking gone, chased by mote sleep's ration.

Motivation

Found Object Lessons

Preschool at my house is a low key, homemade affair. In fact I don't call it preschool at all, it's just life. Sometimes life is pleasantly slow and full of free connections that my toddlers create independently.

My 2 year old was enamored of the newly emptied baking powder container. When I handed it to him and saw how perfectly it fit his chubby hands I had to laugh. It looked made for him. Immediately he sat down to screw the lid on and off and then flip open and shut the flip side of the lid. He looked up at me from time to time to make sure I was sharing the delight. Quickly I cannibalized a board game for plastic counting chips. My son then slowly and deliberately dropped in each piece as I counted for him. We did this approximately a billion times. I was just glad I had only found 12 counting pieces.

Learning/playing in an empty cupboard while wearing jammies; life doesn't get much better.

My two toddlers love the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom", by Bill Martin Jr. I don't know which is more appealing to them, the rhythm, or their toddler fascination with all things that fall. One day after reading the book my 3 yo suddenly exclaimed something I didn't understand and ran off. He came back with an old box of wooden magnetic letters and proceeded to open the book to the inside cover and match the magnet letters to the drawing. The fonts were almost identical. Not a formal lesson, not an object lesson, merely a free found-object lesson.

This post is linked to Thirsty Thursday- have fun.

The Great Penguin Search

While I was out schlepping the girls to their band practice my 17 yo, Luke, stayed home to babysit his youngest brothers. While I was still out I got a phone call from Luke that raised the hair on my head. There was a strained quality to Luke's voice that had me on instant alert- until I realized that his voice was strained because Luke was struggling to speak without laughing.

"Mom"

"What's wrong, are the Littles up?", I asked in a panic.

"Um, yes I just called to-"

"Have they eaten?" I interrupted.

"Yes, they're fine, I just wanted to tell you that I was explaining to them about penguins and showed them a bunch of pictures on the computer." Luke continued, now snorting more uncontrollably.

My hair settled back on my head and I was able to listen to the rest of the story.

Evidently after Luke showed his little brothers pictures of penguins and explained that penguins live in cold places on ice, he then left the den for a moment. Passing through the kitchen on the way back to the den he discovered the two yo standing on a stool in front of the wide open freezer searching inside it for... penguins.

Chartres Cathedral

In 2000 my husband shot this footage while on a job in France. The amazing thing is that the audio was captured by the video camera.

Very peaceful. Enjoy.

This is part of the Mom Link Round up, enjoy all the links!