UncategorizedOctober 30, 2007 3:25 am

We are always busy…..

Gone are the days of boring calm.  Gone are the days when there truly is nothing to do….   The boys are working their tails off on school work, I have picked up a couple of writing assignments and Scott is in the throws of month end with a new computer system…..  Our weekends have been and are consumed by something going on until Mid-December, never a free moment to relax.  On top of everything else, my friend and I decided we needed a month to get back on track with weight loss and are meeting every day at the gym to "pump it up" a bit….

I have a travel proposal that I want to write, I have a book that I started on and two more that are coming along but with not a minute to spare I can’t seem to even look at them.  I have not played WOW in weeks and get on now only to humor my husband but usually I am alt-tabbing working on something else at the same time.

The boys are doing so well in their school work and we have to find a day to do a few of the science projects that are looming in the background…..  Their soccer season is over and we are waiting for the call for their end of year parties.  

So very sad are the days gone that there is nothing but lazy days ahead….  My construction list keep growing and I never pick up my hammer to start them, wood sits in stacks waiting for the day to be nailed into place.  I just don’t know when the days will be long enough or the work finished enough for me to push myself away from my computer and actually start on them!

Oh well, better to be to busy than idle and non-productive I guess…..  

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UncategorizedOctober 25, 2007 2:59 pm

school work is all the time

Last night I started making apple sauce way to late.  It was not going to be done on time.  My youngest son wanted to help me so I gave him a pile of apples and a knife and we went to work.  He loves to cook and I enjoy when he cooks with me.  For a while each boy had to plan and make a dinner and we really need to get back to that.  My oldest was not as thrilled with it and enjoyed opening a can but we set rules and they had to actually make dinner.  Sept, Oct and Nov are so busy that we are lucky if we can get a meal in them on different days……  We have to get back on track.

So, Z and I cut up about 50 apples and started them cooking and then ate dinner.  Unfortunately things were not done on time and it was well after 9 when they were ready to be strained…   It was almost 10pm when I was straining them and each boy was helping.  As I watched them it occurred to me how nice it was that I did not actually have to rush them to go to bed, they did not have to get up early and they enjoyed eating the warm apple sauce… 

Learning happens….   All the time when your homeschooled….. My boys are lucky..

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UncategorizedOctober 17, 2007 10:57 pm

Hello world!

This blog will mostly be about our home school curriculum Our family has been using Time4Learning for about 2 months now and we are enjoying every bit of it.

To give you a little background:

We have been rather eclectic in our home schooling.  We used Modern Curriculum Press and then a wide assortment of other material to cover most all that we needed to.  My father (a master craftsman) is my boys "shop" teacher and my mom has been their "arts, crafts, and cooking" teacher since they could sit up on their own.

My husband changed his work schedule so that he could be home the better part of the day with the boys, actively participating in their education. (he gets up at 2:45 and gets home about 2pm every day)….  My in-laws are great and lend a hand with the boys when we need them to. 

My boys have never gone to public school and when things got bad last year we asked our oldest (then 8) if he wanted to try public school.  He said the only reason that he would go was to "ride the bus" but I quickly informed him that he would not ride the bus because our school system puts every child of every grade on each bus so it would not be uncommon for my children to ride the same bus as a Junior or Senior.  That was the end of that discussion.

We have struggled for the last year because my oldest son could not learn to read and my youngest son (then 5) learned to read on his own….  Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum.  We needed a change.  Both boys took their IBTS tests last spring and did very well but we knew that our Oldest was behind.

Two very important things happened in our lives….  One was a family that we met who was exactly like us and the second thing was they introduced us to Time4Learning  I was against online schooling because our family spends a great deal of time on computers.  We each have one and our world revolves around on-line games, emails, IM’s and now blogs……   But I plunked them down in front of their computers, signed on to the lesson demos and they started.  By the end of the lesson demos they were begging for more!  It was amazing and I could not sign them up fast enough!  They had never "begged" to keep doing work before and their enthusiasm has not stopped……  2 months later and they are "Mastering" their English and enjoying every bit of their science and Social studies!

So basically this is a public forum that is open to discussion and hopefully will enlighten a few people about "online" learning!  

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