Filling Out Homeschool Forms

June 30th, 2011

We talked recently on Tri-Moms about how to begin homeschooling.  Part of that process in Arkansas requires us to sign forms.  A waiver that says I won’t hold the state of Arkansas responsible if my kids end up uneducated and stoopid.  I love that one.  And one that gives details of who will be homeschooled, what schedule we’ll keep, what grades they’re going into and what credentials my husband and I have to homeschool.  I hate that one, but whatchya gonna do?

It’s time to be thinking about filling out those homeschool forms.  Especially if you live here in Arkansas.  The deadline is August 15.  Here’s The Education Alliance’s site that will take you to the forms you will need to download, print, and take to your local Superintendent’s office.  You can follow Education Alliance on Facebook as well and sign up with them to get their newsletters, forms in the mail, and your home educator card (not required, just nice to have for discounts and proof and such).  They set up the annual conventions each year, facilitate the homeschool testing sign ups, host the Arkansas Homeschool Talent Show and much more.

I’ve had several questions of how I fill out the required forms.  Especially since I have a loose year-round schedule of teaching.  And a belief that learning never stops.

Here’s how our real life reconciles with those forms.

I list all of the subjects I teach and the curriculum I’ll be using in each.  That’s fairly extensive for the upcoming 5th grader, but bare bones for the upcoming 1st grader.  And somewhere in between for the other one.  I use extra plain sheets of paper because there’s not enough room for all my kiddos on those little lines.

The next section of hours, days, and weeks is where I get my most questions.

Hours In Our School Day

I figure in all the non-traditional learning.  Our school day looks very much like a public school day.   It starts when Matt goes to work (sometimes before) and stops usually when he comes home.   I figure in lunch, breaks, pottying, napping (for the kindergartners), art, discipline, clean up time, P.E., movies, “circle time” and actual book work just like the schools do.  It’s all part of the school day.  So my school day is technically 8 hours long.

Days In Our School Week/Year

And we go to school about 180 days a year (just like the public schools’ schedule here).  And we aim for 5 days a week (just like public schools).  Sometimes that’s 3 or 4 days a week and sometimes that’s 6 days a week. But generally it’s 5 days a week.  It’s just that ours stretches out over the year.  But our new “official” school year always coincides with the public school’s (that’s when we take our school pics and celebrate “not back to school day”).  Partly because we like the back to school sales; churches promote with schools (when we go to church, that matters); and my kids like to declare they are in “so and so grade”.  So, we “officially” start with the schools.  Even though we may not start all new books and curriculum on that day.  We keep going forward whether we’ve finished a school book or not.  Usually not.  We just keep going.  But we pause when all the schools start back and celebrate that we are staying home.  But we declare on that day – “Hey!  Look!  You’re a 5th grader today!!  Woo hoo!”

Weeks In Our School Year

So here’s the break down.. There are 52 wks in a year. In public schools they go a minimum of 180 days a school year.  That breaks down to roughly 36 wks dedicated to school work (figuring on a 5 day school schedule) and 16 weeks off.  We start when the new school year starts (this year in our local district that is August 15).  I now have 16 weeks between August 15 of 2011 and August 14 of 2012 to take off anywhere I want.  This part I don’t have to report, but thought you’d be interested in… I know that I will want to take off Thanksgiving week, a couple of weeks around Christmas, and a spring break.  This year I will also be trying to have another baby and I will take into consideration time off for those hard last weeks of the pregnancy and the post partum time.  Though remember, with the last 2 babies I have started back to school within a week or 2 of the births.  It’s just what works for us.  But I will want to have ample time for the beginning and end of the pregnancy when things are pretty tough on me.  Knowing all this and that I’m not a strict scheduler, I work as many days as I possibly can when we can.  All through the summer, even when we’re sick, and some Saturdays.  So that I can take off when I need to guilt-free.

So, the short of all this is… We have an 8 hour school day, 5 days a week, for 36 weeks a year schedule.  And the curriculum/subject list per child I report is here in my curriculum post.  I just don’t include why or how I’m doing all of that on the form because they aren’t asking for all that, just the child, subject, curriculum name for the 3 school age children that I have.  I list the kid, the subjects with the curriculum name next to each subject.  Pretty simple.

Breathe, don’t stress, this is just a legal technicality.  No biggie.  I promise you, you can still homeschool!!  Don’t be intimidated by a form or a secretary at a school office (because, yes, sometimes our office has been less than exuberant that we’re homeschooling, but really who cares?  Just smile, nod, drop the forms and go back to teachin’ those babies!)

Routines

June 20th, 2011

This week Kristin, Kathi and I are sharing about our routines.  Specifically if those routines will look any different now that it is summertime.

Well, first of all, lemme say I tried to figure out routines according to other people (kinda like you might be doing right now, with pen and paper in hand readin’ this link up, right?  You know you are, admit it!) I would get my notes ready, scour  homeschooling moms’ blogs, books, and large family sites and make my well-laid plans.  And then I would be so frustrated and aggravated and think I was a failure when it didn’t work.  And it never worked.  Because their family wasn’t my family.  And hey, ready for this?  You might find some tips that will help you here, but really the best suggestion I can give you is “Your family is not my family.  Your quirks and emergencies and husband’s work schedule is not ours.  Go with your flow.”  Yo?  So take a deep breath, know that you don’t have to achieve anything, therefore you won’t fail.  Now, you may continue reading with absolutely no pressure whatsoever.

When I quit trying to force us into a fake schedule and started just watching our natural rhythm of our days I had a lot more success.  And that rhythm changes.  I do what works until it doesn’t work anymore.  And then I do something else.  But I’m learning my kids, myself, and my husband enough that making those changes is much easier than it used to be.

Being year rounders we don’t actually take the summer off.  We work right on through.  But it’s hot outside (in case you hadn’t noticed the 3 digit numbers in the van recently) and the kids don’t really want to hang out outside anyway.  Add to that thought that I am an anti-social homeschooler and I don’t like hanging out with a bazillion barely supervised kids everywhere (that’s right, I said it) then it makes summer the perfect time to stick our noses in our books and keep on keepin’ on.  Winter’s similar for us (at least after Christmas, we usually take a good bit of time off then) otherwise we work hard through the winter months.  Because spring and fall are just so marvelous to soak in the outside fun, that we take more smaller breaks then.

I did mention to Matt recently that I was ready to change things up a bit.  School’s been going along great for months now, but I just kinda want to mix it up, do a unit study, drop our books for a bit.  But then when we also discussed trying to have another baby before too long I started to think about how sick I got last time.  And how that morning sickness didn’t just last a couple of months.  And how, if I just kept right on going through summer (like I like to do anyway) then if I were to get pregnant I could switch up the humdrum routine and do some fun activities (lapbooks, read-alouds, unit studies) from the couch more.  And feel a whole lot less guilt.  So, no, we won’t be changing our schedule for the summer anytime soon.

But I would offer this.  If you do keep going through the summer (or if you’re new to homeschooling and just can’t wait to jump in early to that new curriculum!) adjust your schedule not only to the kids’ needs (who’s hungry when, who got enough sleep and who didn’t, when will the toddler sleep so we can read out loud already?!), and not just to your hubby’s schedule (you do know you’re going to need to work around what time he leaves for work – the kids will want to stop their studies to see Dad off – and there’s lunches to consider if he can come home and do you want to have all the schoolwork done by the time he gets off work or will he be helping with certain subjects?  all things to consider) but also consider the weather.  Seriously.  If it’s going to be so very hot by noon then why don’t you think about playing outside first thing in the morning and doing your schoolwork in the middle of the day.  If there’s going to be a rainy day, maybe you could hit the books hard that day and plan to take the afternoon off the next day when it’s going to be much prettier out.  Monitor and adjust.

If you’re interested in the nearly minute by minute way our day plays out you can check out this post I wrote a year or so ago (be sure to read through the comments there as well, I get real with what my house looked like at the time and not just our “this is what I try to do in a day” plan).  It still reflects the ebb and flow of our days pretty well, except the Baby is now a toddler who destroys everything he can get his hands on, you know.

If all of that is just as clear as mud please feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

First and Second Samuel

June 16th, 2011

We are still trudging along through the Bible together.  Here it is halfway through the year and we’re not halfway through the Bible, but it’s not a race, right?  We’re in 2Kings10 and I want to catch up on my thoughts so far, but every time I start to write I get overwhelmed at how much I haven’t filled you in on and walk away.  Then I sit down to write and the cycle continues.  So, I’m gonna try to remember what I wanted to tell you from the 2 books of Samuel.  It may be disjointed, but something’s better than nothing.

Okay, enough disclaimers.

We really like reading about David.  We really liked the relationship between David and Jonathan.  Had noble and selfless that Jonathan could befriend someone he knew would take his place as king.  What loyalty.  What faith.  One of the most notable things while reading this was when my 8 year old Middlest asked me when David ran away why Jonathan didn’t go with him, “I’d have gone with him, Mama, I’d have stayed with my friend, especially if my Dad had just thrown that fit the night before.”  And as Matt told us and we then read the next day it would definitely have turned out differently for Jonathan had he gone with his friend.

Nearly all of Saul’s life was sad to me.  I think he meant well.  I think he tried.  I think he failed miserably.  I hated the evil spirit that would settle on Saul and how he was so very different at that time than when he was focused on following and listening to God.  Just sad.

Interesting the passage about Saul calling up Samuel from the dead.  That’s something that has stuck out to me since I became a Christian.  Some proponents of “silly” witchcraft, silly games, palm readings, and astrology say, “Oh, it’s just nothing.”  But as we saw here the Bible says some of it is real.  And that we are not to dabble in it.

Yet, how noble of David to not speak ill of Saul after his death.  And more, to honor him with such a song and prayer.

We talked about David’s sins surrounding Bathsheba.  And there were several, not just one.  We talked about how his first sin was that when he saw Bathsheba bathing he should’ve looked away.  True for us as well.  When we see scantily clad people we should look away.  Period.  Discussing this with my kiddos has opened my eyes to how we watch movies and tv as well.  When we watch a “love story” on tv (even kid shows and cartoons) we should feel awkward when watching people kiss.  We are invading their moment (real or fake, doesn’t matter, the concept is still the same).  Look away from and get out of their moment.  We could learn a thing or two from David and Bathsheba.  David’s sin then multiplied upon itself.  One hidden sin led to another.  It’s how it works.  Live in the light, look away from what we shouldn’t be looking at, stop at the first sin, repent.

And then we got to 2Samuel13.  I knew what was coming before we got there.  I prayed for wisdom.  And then read every word of it.  Whew.  Difficult reading, but we stopped and talked through it.  And then we kept going.

We enjoyed the sweet words of David in 2Samuel22.  Words to read and dwell on in your times of trouble.  David knew times of strong faith, times of blessings unsurpassed, and times of deep sorrow, deep trouble.  We can find comfort in and identify with David’s praises to the Lord.  Go, read again, be refreshed.

You can read 1 and 2 Samuel in their entirety on Bible Gateway.

Today I Have Hope

June 12th, 2011

¹⁸ But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

-Psalm 9:18

So, this morning I started a post.  But then the Baby got into stuff and I had to jump and run to get him out of it and then we ran to town for a couple of errands and looked for some of y’all’s remedies for my ahem, ailment.  Here’s what I started writing before we left for town:

Though nothing has changed since yesterday (and I do mean nothing), I feel differently today.

Well, okay, y’all made me feel better and gave me great advice (I just knew I could turn to you!), but this is a different thing.

I feel like today there is hope.

As Carron said yesterday (and had me laughing hysterically!), my butt will feel better soon.

And the money woes will ease, just like they always do.  I have hope that they will.

I was gonna go on to tell you that I had a peace about yesterday and our next 2 weeks.  That Matt and I had made amends after our arguing (are we the only ones who get at each other when money gets tight?)  That, though I’m still stressed about the money and the pain there’s really no point in worrying like I was yesterday and I might as well relax and trust in Him (but gosh, it’s hard in the midst of troubles, right?)  But your prayers and your kind words, they were heard.  I woke up with peace this morning.

And then we stopped by the mailbox on the way into town and our prayers were answered.  Literally; concretely.  I have been praying for a way to make money even temporarily (like, to get us through the next few weeks a little easier) and then we read 2 Kings 4:1-7 the other day about the woman who was going to have her 2 sons taken into slavery because she owed debt she couldn’t pay and all she had was just a little bit of oil.  And Elisha told her to go ask her neighbors for jars (and not just a few, he said) and then to take those jars home and begin to fill them.  And she filled them until they were out of jars.  Then Elisha told her to go sell the oil at market, pay her debts, and keep what was left for her to live on.  It resonated with me.  I’ve been praying vigilantly for God to show me some way to work for some money, even if I had to humble myself and ask for something in order to work and make money.  I was open, I just wanted the wisdom and opportunity.  And in the midst of that I had been praying for a flat out miracle.  For a check to just fall plum outta the sky to rescue us in this time of severe tightness. A “miracle check” or a “Christmas miracle” is what we call it.  And God has provided those before (check out my archives from 2007, whew, those were some tough times and some amazing times).

So, anyway, I’ve been praying like crazy, we need a big miracle to make it better all the time, but we really just needed to get through this next couple of weeks right now.  And then we opened the mailbox and there it was.  The only thing there.  Our mortgage company had sent us $200 plus escrow check.  Out.of.the.blue.  We haven’t gotten one of these checks in nearly 2 years.  And you can only receive one of these checks if you’re current on your payment schedule.  Which we were for 5 days straight last week.  For the first time in months.  Just long enough to qualify for this check.  This check that came just in time for the next 2 weeks.  This check that was sitting in our mailbox on the very day that we were being defeated and fighting about money.  God had provided it and was just waiting on us to trust him.  To settle, to have hope.  To check the mail.  He had provided He was just waiting for us to take it.  Un.believable!

¹ I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

-Psalm 9:1-2

Too Many Kids and Wanting More

June 9th, 2011

I confessed the other day that I want more kids, right there in the face of the scrutiny of having “so many” already.  I’ve had quite a few people tell me I sure do have my hands full and a few not so nice stares.  More than a few “you know what causes that right?” and even a couple “Y’all need to get a new hobby!”  But I’ve never encountered firsthand disgust and vehemence at my larger than average family.  (I’m not reading too much into those comments, am I?  You got that too, right?)  Okay, there was that one time from that one person who was borderline not so stable, but I basically just dismissed it.  Anyway, back to those comments..  So at first I was taken aback.  Then I was worried.  Then all my super loyal friends stepped up and said funny and sweet stuff and I relaxed a bit.  Then Matt started mouthing off about her.  And as non-P.C. as his comments were they were truthful and bear repeating.

The comment that started all the mixed emotions was this one by a woman I do not know:  (all typos were left in place)

“When someone chooses to have 5 children they make a pledge to themselves to support them in all ways. Clearly, this is a decision of yours not to do this so I don’t feel sorry for whatever hoops you need to jump through. We all pay taxes and I am sure with your husbands 7 deductions you are not paying that much and getting most back. When I was young I could only afford two kids and be able to support them, feed them and educate them. If someone takes state aid and “freebies” they get what they get and must be able to jump through hoops. I am a liberal democrat and just hope all of you who take free aid vote for Obama or all these freebies will disappear. Religion has guided you into something you can’t afford-5 children. Be thankful you can stay home and homeschool and do all the things you do because most can’t. They usually need to working parents to raise those 5 children with all the advantages and education they need.”

And the same woman came back again later and had this to say:

“I thought WIC was for people who were low income and needed help for their babies not to be on for 10 years as the women wrote. If you choose to keep having children because of religious reasons than your church should help you rather than the government since they are promoting having more kids than one can afford.”

There were several things in there that I did not (as my daddy used to say) want to get in a piss fight with a skunk over there at that time, but that I would like to clarify and address now.

First of all, I will not be voting for Obama or any other “liberal democrat” because that’s the whole reason we have had to justify taking that stupid government aid in the first place.  If the government would get out of my (yes, I said “my” even though I don’t “work” my husband and I are of one mind, we have one bank account, it is as much mine as it is his) wallet I would have more money to buy the whole milk in the first place.  Quit taking money and redistributing it and I wouldn’t have to seek money from the handouts that came out of my husband’s pocket in the first place.  Yeah, so that’s how I feel about that one.

Next, the whole “religion guided me to have 5 children and my church should help us not the government” arguments…  I am a Christ follower, correct.  And it is our conscience that has led us to not desire birth control.  Of any kind.  However, unlike you suggested, we do not view our children as tax deductions.  It would never even have occurred to me to call them that.  The fact that you used that language makes me wonder how you see children.  They have been planned and desired and hoped and prayed for.  Oh, and by the way, we don’t go to church.  Stick that one in your neat little box you have pictured that we fit into.

She went on to talk about how she only had 2 children and they had all the advantages she could afford.  There’s where Matt got completely un-P.C. and wanted to ask her how that relationship is with them now.  How enjoyable that household was when they were growing up.  Because it’s not just about what events, toys, clothes, and ballet classes you can provide them with.  It’s about dancing in your own home, it’s about the joy on their faces as they pass down their clothes to the next child and remembering how much they loved wearing that Batman shirt.  It’s about making time for people, not just shuffling off to the next time-filling event you’ve “provided” them with.  It’s about people.  Not stuff.

Which brings me to my next inflammatory statement.  I want and am trying for another baby.

Yes, we’ve thought we were through before.  Several times if you recall.  And every time I said we were through I remember a few of you snickered and said, “yeah, right” (Maury!!).  And you were right.  And if God would bless us so, we’d welcome as many as He would have us to have.  That’s a bold statement of faith, folks.  It makes me tremble a tad to write it.  But the reality is this… life is about.. well, life.  And I will embrace it for all it has to offer.  In the fun expansive Dallas vacation times and the lean there’s barely enough for whole milk times.

One last thing, Dear critical Mother of Two,

They have names (nicknames here in the blogworld).

This one is TheOldest.  He’s 9, but he’d tell you he’s 9 1/2.  I only get as long with him before he’s graduated and out in the world as I’ve had already.  Time is slipping away before my eyes, but I’m laughing with him, snapping his photo and reveling in his love of American History and studying the Bible.  He adores children and babies and is developing his daddy’s sense of humor.  He’s struggling to find his way into manhood.  And we’re guiding and celebrating that journey with him.

*****

This one is TheMiddlest.  He’s 8.  He’s a dreamer and a tad bit clumsy at times.  He enjoys the moment so much that he forgets there are walls and couches in the way of his roller skating, punk dancing, Wii playing, and chasing.  He’s a competitor at heart and can smack talk with the best of ‘em.  He laughs and taunts and sometimes is so tenderhearted he cries.  He desires to follow Jesus with a quiet strength that amazes me.

*****

This “tax deduction” is our only girl.  She’s a 6 year old who’s breezing through her math work and cursive writing and reading complete children’s books.  She’s totally princess and pink and sparkly, but she has this raucous laugh that’s so contagious that the toddler has taken to imitating her.  She loves dancing and twirling and singing.  She loves playing dress up and learning to wear her dollies just as I wear her siblings.  She told me the other day that she wants to cook and stay home with her own babies some day.  And I couldn’t be more proud.

*****

This child is 4, another of the ones I would never have gotten to meet if I stopped having children when you did, is who we call BigMan.  He’s the one I wrote the controversial post about.  Ironic name, no, with that small frame?  He nicknamed himself.  And it was quite a story.  He’s been quite a child, full of excitement, independence, sweetness, busyness, and funny talky voices.  He is one of the many lights of our life.  My snuggle bug.

*****

This “kid”, one of “too many”, is the one we still call TheBaby, though, really at 20 months (today!) he’s more the toddler, but I just can’t bring myself to let go of the “Baby” name just yet.  We laughingly called him TheFinalist for a bit, but couldn’t bring ourselves to keep calling him that because we just couldn’t embrace the concept.  We wanted to focus more on him, than on some temporary false desire for our own independence.  He still nurses and now is beginning to ask for it: “Wanna Nur!”  But he has some word for it that sounds something like “nurdaydoe”.  I don’t know what it is, but I sure know what it means!  He still cosleeps part of the time, he has fluffy curls that I can’t bring myself to cut just yet.  He does this little back and forth dance thing to any music, but the move that really gets everyone laughing around here is his arms in the air rap song move.  He climbs everything, gets into everything, and loves chasing his siblings, but hates getting in the pool.

*****

And if God, the living Father of my “religion”, sees it best to bless us with another little person we would welcome that life with such joy as you might have never seen.  Our life may be chaotic and confusing to you, but the joy bursts the seams of this tiny house you might thumb your nose at.

Our lives reflect life.  And it’s a marvelous Light.

How To Begin Homeschooling

June 7th, 2011

Kathi, Kristin, and I are all talking about how to take the plunge and start homeschooling.

First of all, take a deep breath. And believe me when I tell you.. You can do this!

I’ll be approaching this from the standpoint of a first time homeschooler from nearly the very beginning.  You can read my story of how (and why) I first started homeschooling, you can see what my curriculum looks like today nearly 6 years of homeschooling (and several more kids in the mix) later, and you can check out the progression, scrapbook, and how-tos of all those years in between.

But today I want to give you a much drier kind of how-to.  I want to give you a bunch of links that I used just after I first started homeschooling and still scan at the beginning of each year.  I want to give you a starting point.  Let you meet others who are doing this too (check out the comments here, leave one yourself, write a post, “like” my TheJoyfulChaos Facebook page and introduce yourself).  And reinforce again and again that you can do this.  One day at a time.  One list, one book, one child at a time.  You can.

Okay, here’s what I’m assuming.. you have thought about this, stressed over this, talked to your husband about this, and mostly made a decision.  If not, if you’re in the researching phase, that’s perfect, just read, take in, and keep praying.  For those of you who will be homeschooling for the first time, but have older kids that you’ll be pulling out of public schools, first of all let me say “Yay you!!”  Secondly, I don’t have much experience in this area, but there are those who do.  Ask around.  One thing I’ve seen about pulling older ones out is that you need to expect an adjustment period.  A cocooning time, where you relearn your family, you reconnect in a whole new way, and you ride out the bumps that came along in public school.  Take the time to do that.  Your family is more important than any checklist.  Watch them, pray over them, ask for wisdom, and take it one day at a time.  You won’t ruin them in one sabbatical year.

For those of you who have decided and know “Yep, I’ll be homeschooling a Kindergartner come August.  Now, what?”  Here are some first steps.

1. Find your state’s laws If you aren’t in Arkansas you should google your state’s laws regarding homeschooling.  If you live here in Arkansas your first and frequent stop should be the Arkansas Education Alliance.  They are here to help you.  Get on their mailing list, scour their site.  They will be your best friends as you get your feet on the ground.  To begin in Arkansas you only need to fill out two forms (we’ll get to those in a second) each year.  And your older child will have to test each spring between 3rd grade and 8th grade.  Those scores aren’t seen by anyone but you and the scoring agency.  It’s not nearly as daunting as it first seems.

2. Is your child old enough to start school legally? Decide if your child should really be starting school.  Officially, anyway, because you know you’ve already been teaching your child from the very beginning.  But this is one thing I didn’t know.  And for some reason no one in either of the school districts that I spoke with when I was enrolling my son told me.  First, if your child is not going to be 5 by August 15, they will not need to be officially enrolled in homeschooling through the district.  Second of all, if your child’s birthday is near that and you want to homeschool for a year, get your feet on the ground, and let your child get a little older, more ready then you can opt out of Kindergarten until they are 6 years old.  I sure wish I had known those things.  If I could go back I would’ve held my oldest back.  He has a September birthday and back then the cutoff date was in September.  He started school when he was 4 and no one told me I should do anything differently.  In fact I didn’t think I had any other option other than putting my tiny one into school.  You do have options.  You can find the form to opt out of Kindergarten on the Arkansas Department of Education’s site  – look for the “Kindergarten Waiver Form” link.

3. Fill Out The Forms Once you’ve decided your child will be of age and legally homeschooling in the fall you’ll need to make it legal.  Under the Education Alliance’s “Getting Started” category are some links you will need.  Arkansas’ rules are pretty lenient, but you should be familiar with them.  You must print (or pick up from your local school district’s superintendent’s office) 2 forms: the Notice of Intent form and the Waiver.  The Waiver simply says basically yes, I know I’m responsible for my own child and I will not hold the school district or the state of Arkansas liable if my kid ends up stupid.  Really.  Sign the form and you’re done.  On the Intent form, it’s a little more involved, but don’t let it scare you.  It always scares me.  But I’m getting over it.  Print off the example form, it will help you.  Now, when you get ready to fill out the curriculum section know that no really cares or looks at the form more than likely and that you are not bound by what you put on there.  You can change your curriculum at any time in the year.  You just need to write down whatever you plan to use.  Now, as for the days and times and all that, I figure up how many school days are in the public school year and basically adhere to that.  Last I checked the minimum required days of mandatory school days is 180 per year.  But check that on your own.  It could change.  Though I’m a year rounder I take off about the same amount of time the public schools do I just take them off throughout the year.  You have that freedom.  Just report your amount of days.  Also, on your daily schedule.. I always write that our day is basically a 7 hour day.  If you know me, you know that we’re usually through with our book work by around noon.  That seems to not add up, right?  However, figure in your breaks, your breakfast, your lunch, your recess time, your naps, your coloring pages, your home ec time, your field trips and the fact that I start our school day by about 6am you have a full 7 hour day.  You must remember that public school kids are not sitting in their desks writing 7 hours a day.  Now, make copies of those 2 forms, take a deep breath, and go turn them into your school district’s superintendent before August 15.

You’ve decided you want to homeschool.  Your child is old enough.  You know the laws.  You’ve obeyed the laws.  Now it gets a little more fun!

4. Curriculum and Styles – You may have already done your research in these areas, you may be winging it and have never heard of this stuff.  Either way, it’s kinda fun to see what all’s out there.  There’s a ton of ways to homeschool.  None are perfect.  Several may be right for you and your kids.  Google “homeschooling styles” and you’ll be amazed.  Click around, check out some library books, ask others.  This post is not all about this, but I will tell ya my style is mostly eclectic.  Shocking, I know.  There is everything from mega-expensive all laid out for you curriculum to all free plan it yourself, print it off, do it online curriculum.  It is amazing how much is out there.  Do what works for you and your child.  Let me warn you though, do not over do it.  Especially in Kindergarten your first year out of the gate.  Really, under buy.  Keep reminding yourself of the big picture – you’re lighting the fire of excitement about learning, you’re teaching them how to learn, you’re giving them foundational basics.  Please don’t try to teach them everything they’ll ever need to know before they turn 6 years old.  Please?  For me?  For them?

5. Decide what they need to know when I like this part.  I start by looking at my state’s Kindergarten readiness guide.  I print that out and check off what they can do for sure.  Then I star the things they need to cover.  I put it in a binder for future reference.  Then I go to the Arkansas Department of Education’s siteand print out their “Refrigerator Curriculum” checklist.  They have one for every grade.  This is not a comprehensive list, it’s a minimum list of what they’ll cover that year.  But again, it’s just a safety net for me, I like to know that I’m covering the basics that the schools would cover.  Also, it helps me see that most of the time I’m going above and beyond what the schools are doing.  Then I make my own list of subjects that I think they should learn: reading (phonics of some sort), writing, and math are the basics I hit hard in Kindergarten.  I make sure to cover the checklists and expose them to many field trips and make science and history and geography and social studies a fun exploration of the world around them.  Again, you can seewhat my Kindergartener used this year in my curriculum post.

6. Find support Find a local group (here’s a list of local homeschooling support groups around Arkansas), ask around at the library, your church, check your newspaper.  There’s the very large Home Ed group in Little Rock that you can get connected with that has sports teams, senior banquets, and graduation, just to name a few of the things they offer for their older students.  There’s a bunch of us out there, we’re just kind of underground.  But once you start asking, you’ll be surprised how many of us homeschoolers are out there just dying to connect and offer support and find encouragement.  In addition to finding playmates in the real world, find a support group online.  Moms want to help other moms.  If nothing else, speak up here, you won’t be alone.  But I want to mention here again, don’t overdo the outings with your little one.  Sure they need socialization, but as conscientious as you are that will happen, don’t over schedule them.  It will wear them and you out.

7. Don’t overdo it I can’t stress this enough.  Don’t go overboard with anything.  Not with the money spending, book buying, coloring page printing.  Not with the making them sit there for way too long, not with the playdates and outings.  Don’t try to overschedule your school year and thereby suck the fun out of your days.  As Melissa said recently childhood is for playing.  It really is.  And there is so much they learn while they play.  Just breathe.  Just take it one step at a time.  Ask as many questions as you want.  But don’t put so much new pressure on yourself that you forget why you’re doing this in the first place.

I know that I’ve forgotten a lot of things to tell you.  It’s a broad topic and I’ve already used a billion words.  But I would love to take your questions and have future Q and A’s.  Also, if you’re local to me, let me know, I have a friend who’s having an informational meeting complete with snacks, curriculum to browse, and it’s a bring-your-kids-event in July.  Let me know, I’ll get you connected.

*******

Don’t forget to stop by everybody’s blogs who link up and see their suggestions!

Now, please, since I only have my limited view of beginning homeschooling with a 5 year old (or younger) and in Arkansas no less, I would love, love, love if sometime in the next week you would write a little something (even if it’s just a Facebook note, yes, you can link that here too) and link up or leave me a comment with your best suggestions or questions.  We really need to learn from each other!

Downtown Little Rock

June 5th, 2011

We hit the Farmer’s Market in Little Rock early yesterday and scored some produce, ran into a long lost friend, and had a blast as always.

I {heart} Little Rock.

After we bought some fruits and veggies we walked over to the Peabody Park and played on the playground.

We forgot to bring our swimsuits for the water park this time, but promised we’d come back soon.

Then I let Matt talk me into walking across Junction Bridge.

I’m scared of heights.

Like, cried at the top of the escalators at The Galleria in Dallas.  But this bridge was okay for me, you know, when Matt wasn’t taking pictures of my super scared face going up the glass elevator.  It was beautiful, by the way, once you get over your neurosis.

We took an impromptu family pic.

We got a picture of the trolley across the way, didn’t ride it yesterday, but it’s one of our favorite things when we go downtown.

Another of our favorite places downtown that we didn’t hit this time around is the Nature Center, if you haven’t been you should go, they have free classes for little ones.

I love Little Rock.  I love this little fam of mine.  And I sure do love this man.

It's Never Easy

June 5th, 2011

I have people say all the time to me, “I don’t know how you do it.”  You know, referring to having a bunch of kids and …. (fill in the blank: going grocery shopping, playing at a playland, homeschooling, keeping my sanity).

And usually now I just smile and tell them they could do it too.  Because really though it feels like it’s gotten easier, not harder having more kids, I think the real answer is that I’ve simply adjusted.  Therefore, I know for a fact you could adjust just as well as I have.  Really, I promise.

Saturday morning we got up at the crack of dawn (which is nothing new), I served the kids hot dogs before 7am, Matt brewed us some coffee and we hit the road.  A garage sale, the Farmer’s Market, a park, Blue Coast burrito divided between Matt and me on the road, Chick-fil-A playland for the kids, another garage sale, and home to grill and play in the pool.  Sounds idyllic, right?  I know I used to think, “How do people do it?  They talk about doing all these things with their kids, but when we try it somebody always pees their pants.”

And you know what?  Somebody always does.

Today’s trip to town brought with it a poopy diaper and a discovery that I left the wet wipes out of my bag.  I looked around my dirty I-Spy van (which comes in quite handy; you thought it was just laziness when really it’s a survival skill I’ve developed), I found some napkins and a bottle of water.  Knowing that the napkins would disintegrate if I poured the water directly on them before wiping aforementioned dirty bottom, I left the diaper under his little bottom, poured the water on that cute little booty and then wiped.  Rinse and repeat.  It wasn’t a show-stopper.  Nobody cried or flipped out or even cussed.  Nothing was bought to fix the problem.  Just a little resourcefulness and a “go on about our rat killin’”.

There were other issues, somebody spilled the hand cleaner, there were 2 potty emergencies, there was an unplanned side of the road nursing session (yes, for the toddler, that’s how we roll), the van started making a new noise, we got to the burrito place 15 minutes early and had to drive around to kill time, and other varied and sundry issues.

But such is life with kids.  Embrace it, don’t fight it.

The days that go well, I’ve noticed are the days I roll.  Not the days I feel entitled to things going smoothly.  Not the days I dig in my heels and grit my teeth.

That’s how I do it.  No secrets.  Having 5 kids, being an attachment parent, homeschooling, staying home and consequently choosing way less money.  It’s all hard.  If there’s any secret it’s this: It’s never easy.  Not having one child, not having 15.  Not homeschooling, not public schooling.  It’s all hard.  Breastfeeding, formula feeding.  Staying home, working.  It’s all hard.  Life is hard.  I just pick the things that work best for us.  I choose the things I like most, I don’t let much scare me off.  And I’m learning to roll with the punches.

Teaching Independence

June 1st, 2011

(After worrying about the beginning homeschooling post for Tri-Moms yesterday – and wondering why the other moms’ posts weren’t up, nor why they weren’t fussing at me – Kathi contacted me and reminded me that we post the 1st and 3rd of every month, not every other week. So, that post isn’t even on the schedule until next week. Good grief, I’m such a slacker! I already had this post in the cue, so today this is what you get and I’ll try to not wait until the last minute for next week’s post!)

This is nearly all of the curriculum we’ve used this year for all four “school age” kids.  This includes the 4 year old, 6 year old, 8 year old, and 9 year old.  The plan has changed just a little from the beginning of the school year.  But not a whole bunch.

This year’s breakdown looks like this:

Preschooler (age: 3/turned 4): BigMan

I’m still using Teach Me Joy – Animal Play.  And we’re still loving it.  I use it very loosely.  I don’t follow a strict 3 day schedule, we just do a little here and there through the week.  We’re covering Bible, colors, numbers, shapes, animals, crafts, and the alphabet.  Everything he does is dependent on me.

*****

Kindergarten (age 5/turned 6): My Girl

At this age I lean heavily on just the basics.  Everything else is just icing.

Phonics – For this child this time around she has loved Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (the 2 older boys liked Hooked On Phonics – I like them both, just depends on the child).

Handwriting – Once she learned all of her letters in manuscript and she asked to learn cursive we moved onto Handwriting Without Tears.  I just use the workbook and no other manipulatives.

Sight Words – I teach using this method mostly and supplement with workbooks.  Right now we’re using the one pictured, but I’m not wild about it.

Math – Math-U-See, Primer.  I love it.

Any science, history, art, or other subjects are gleaned from me working with her brothers and are solely dependent on her interest and attention span.  We watch a lot of educational shows together, read a lot, and discuss nature.  We supplement with lapbooks.

*****

The Boys (ages 8 and 9) Roughly 2nd grade and 3rdish/4thish grade: TheMiddlest and TheOldest

Amazingly (and it is amazing, I don’t really know how we got here, I couldn’t have imagined it 2 years ago, but it’s just evolved) we are working towards more independence in the older kiddos.  When they learned to read fairly independently we started moving some of their work in that direction as well.  Some of their subjects they are assigned and know just what to do and some they must wait for me to teach first then they are to complete their assignments.  They are always welcome to ask questions, have help with their reading, it’s just that for the most part they are to do it on their own.  The subjects that I teach are combined.  I don’t teach 2 different grade levels.

The 9 year old’s stack of work.

Combined Teacher-Led Subjects for the 8 and 9 year olds

World History – Mystery of History, you can read how I’ve adapted this for our family here.

Science - Jeannie Fulbright’s Astronomy, again you can read how I teach this subject to the boys here.

Language Arts (this is the main thing that has changed since the beginning of the year – we began this around February)  Rod & Staff English Book 2.  Here you can see my review and how I teach it.

Bible – I read nearly every school day from the Bible, we started in January at Genesis and we’ve gotten to 1 Kings so far.  You can keep up with my kids and the Bible posts here.

Art (I have also added this subject since that first curriculum post) – The Lamb’s Book of Art 1, I mention how I teach art from it and what I think of this curriculum at the bottom of this post.

Math – Math-U-See, we are finishing up Alpha now and will be moving into Beta this week.  This is a subject that falls into the inbetween categories of Teacher-Led and Independent.  When they begin a new lesson I sit with them and we watch the dvd lesson, then they complete their worksheets (I assign 2 worksheets a day).  On days that are a review of the previous day’s dvd lesson they are to complete their 2 worksheets independently, they don’t have to wait on me to guide them.

The 8 year old’s stack of work.

Independent work for the 8 and 9 year old boys

Handwriting – They are both in cursive but one is still working in Handwriting Without Tears and one has completed it and has moved onto another workbook.  They are to complete one page a day.

U.S. States – I have printed off state maps from Enchanted Learning and put them in a folder for them according to region.  They are to highlight the state name, capital, motto, and write out the abbreviation.  They are to do one state a day.  We will do a more in-depth study when we finish this folder up (which will also be this week).  This is just an introduction and overview.

American History Reading – We use Abeka for their American History.  I was asked in the comments recently what we use for American History.  Here’s my response: “When they can read fairly strongly I begin with http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnli… (sometimes this is first grade and sometimes this is closer to 3rd grade). Then when they complete that book they move to this one and read it mostly on their own with help from me on some words :http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnli… Again, when they complete that one they move to this one: http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnli… My 9 year old is just completing that one and looking forward to moving onto this one in the next couple of days: http://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnli… I plan to have him read a lot of this to me (mainly because I want to learn some of this stuff!) I got these as hand-me-downs and at the time didn’t have the money to get all the consumables. So I just used it as a read-aloud or independent reading. That’s working for us right now.” They know they are to read a section or 2 at a time so they do that on their own.

I use that clip board up there so the 2 older boys can mark off their work as they complete it.  It helps them feel more in control and can actually see their progress.  One makes one slanted mark and the other crosses it to make an X as they finish each subject for the day.

When I first made the chart we were alternating World History and Art (not covering both all days) so I have them blacked out.  However, I learned quickly they like to do art everyday and we could fit World History in each day so they now complete them and mark them off every day.

They cannot play any “screens” (Wii, PS2, DS, computer, watching tv) until they have completed all of their school work.  This has proven to be an unbelievable incentive.  Most nights they gather their “independent” work and finish it in their beds the night before so that they can watch tv and play video games when they first get up while they are waiting on me to teach the other subjects.  Works for me!

This is the first year that our school time has taken all morning long.  We take small breaks through the morning, but our work for all 4 now is usually not finished until about 12:30, then we read the Bible together while the 2 younger ones nap.  Once naptime is over we have our afternoon free.   They do a quick pick up of the house and it’s playtime for the rest of the night.  Though mornings are hard, I do like that our afternoons and evenings are free.  I really like that!

When I started I could not have imagined that nearly half of their school work would be completed without me.  It’s a nice progression.  Have you started seeing yours move to a more independent schedule?  If you have youngers can you even imagine that yet?!