School Week Preview!

I decided that I'm going to try to refocus this blog back to its original purpose, our homeschool adventure. So to this I'm going to try, emphasis on try, to do a weekly preview of our upcoming activities. Then I hope to do a refection on the week at the end. This way I hope to see what works, what doesn't and how lazy I am, lol.

So what will happen this week? Well, Poogie will continue her study of pronouns in English, supplemented with writing activities in her history unit. She will also continue with Teaching Textbooks 4 three days a week and Saxon 3 daily. I did this because she loves the TT but needs the Saxon. Math skills will focus on subtraction of larger numbers, finding the square root, making predictions by collecting and analyzing data and adding larger numbers.

In science she will be learning about he life cycle of a frog and the characteristics of amphibians, fish and reptiles. I have supplemented this will some fun activities with the frog life cycle.

Geography will focus on cardinal directions and using a map scale to measure distance between two points.

History will include reading Meet Felicity and doing reading comprehension activities. Reading and doing a famous person activity on George Washington. This unit also includes activities for our newspaper, writing an editorial and friendly letter. The fun part will be writing using our berry ink, which we will make and write using a quill. The week will end with a day of cooking Queen Cakes and sipping some tea!

Poogie's week at the dance studio will be exciting. It's Parents Watch Week!!

T will continue working through his new math Saxon Algebra 1/2. So far it has been challenging but well worth the stress. In literature we are taking a break before we tackle Tom Sawyer. I am letting him read some novels for fun. In language he will be learning about and diagramming gerunds.

In science T will be reading and doing a report on biomes. And finally, in history he will continue reading about the Revolutionary War and watching John Adams.

Extracurricular for T will include dance and voice lessons. His dance will also include parents watch week, and continue rehearsal for the spring production coming up in 3 short weeks.

American Girl History Unit

The Abeka history is gone. We just couldn't take one more minute of it. We also stopped using Bob Jones reading. BORING! Both of these made us dread these subject each day. The solution was found in a unit study called Portraits of American Girlhood by Cindy Sotelo. It is a seven unit study using the American Girl books. Perfect!



We were so excited to find that the first girl we read and study is Felicity! Poogie received Felicity and Elizabeth for Christmas. Since we only have the first book in her series I called my local library and found that they had the next two in the series so that will keep us busy. The study also calls for the use of Felicity's cookbook and craft book which I got from my library also. After looking through those two books I know those are books to put on my purchase list, they are wonderful.



The unit study is laid out for us Monday-Friday with reading and/or activities daily. Mrs., Sotelo recommends that you supplement the unit with a math and phonics program. You may choose to also use a separate spelling program if you wish. Most of the activities are grammar and language based so that is not needed. I however, will still use all of these programs we are currently using. The only thing I am changing is to use this unit study for history and reading. I am also replacing the writing portion of my current curriculum with the writing activities in the unit study. These just make more sense to me.



I also purchased a very inexpensive lapbook on the Felicity reading series from Curric Click. It has comprehension exercises, vocabulary, writing prompts, handwriting, sequencing, and the list goes on. Poogie is really looking forward to the newspaper activities in the lapbook. She works on pieces as we go and when completed with have a full newspaper layout.



So what have we done so far in the unit. We started by doing a book activity, naming the author, illustrator, copyright, etc. This is in the lapbook. I made vocabulary cards to go with each chapter, also from the lapbook. Today we will be doing a lesson from the unit study. We will be visiting a website about colonial Williamsburg and design a sign for a business of our choice found there. I hope to take photos and keep a log on my blog of the unit study. ttfn

Change is good...

We are well into the new year and looking forward to thawing out after a very cold and snowy few months. These months have been full of change and surprises. My hubby started a new job, which was a welcome change since it would mean more money and a chance to save a little money too. I continued my part-time job that began last fall. Also a good change, although it does bring some craziness to our daily lives.


The other changes have been small, some personal and some educational. I have found a little time to explore my spiritual path. Wish I had more time for it but alas I will have to make due with late nights and stolen moments.



Homeschooling has offered up its own group of surprises. I, as always, began to plan for next year early. I like to have plenty of time to research all options when it comes to curriculum. This year is even more important since I will be planning for a high schooler. The surprise came along when I began searching math programs. I always look at the scope and sequence of each program and was in shock to find that many of the hs programs were very advanced vs. his programs this year.

He is just now getting into doing some real algebra and it is very basic at that. I sat down and discussed the situation with him since it is he who will be faced with the Algebra 1 next year. T was not surprised but concerned. So we decided to order a stronger pre-algebra curriculum to work through the rest of the year. I will start by testing him through the easy chapters and hitting the new material hard. What was hard to recognize was that the curriculum we were using was failing him. We were using Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. I did a lot of research before I ordered it because it was so expensive. But even the best research will not prepare you for the real deal.

What brought all this to my attention was when Poogie was given TT 4 to try out. We use Saxon 3, so this was new and interesting for her. She loved it of course, it was really easy. I waited and waited for her to be challenged and so far that hasn't happened. Needless to say we did not stop using our Saxon program. But I did begin to look closer at T's TT to see if it too as behind. Not surprising it was.

So here I am mid February ordering new curriculum. I have ordered a few other things and made some more changes but will post that another day. Enjoy this warm weather.

Christmas is almost over, now what??

As I listen to my hubby and kids playing new video games in the other room I am beginning to think of the new year to come. What do I want to accomplish? What goals to I want to set and hopefully meet? Time seems to be in overdrive. The days, weeks and months are going by so quickly I can't really catch my breath. But I feel the need for a game plan.

For the last few years I have felt that I am at the mercy of life. What's the use in making plans if I can't reach them. I have felt beaten down by just life. Every day life. I don't want to feel like that anymore. I want to set goals, reach those goals and feel good about things again.
I'm not saying that my life has been awful, wonderful things have happened in the last year. It just seems like the stress and the bad stuff makes it where I cannot enjoy the good stuff.

So I'm going to take some time in the next week to reflect and determine what I want to focus on. Then I'm going to make a plan of action. One that can be carried out. Nothing so far out there that it realistically cannot be done. That only sets you up for failure.

Along with all this I need to come to terms with the knowledge that my family and I are never going to fit into what is considered the norm here where we live. We are different. We homeschool, we beat to our own drummer and that's okay. I also need to face up to the fact that our beliefs about life and spirituality are different than most. It is scary being different. But we have to be who we are not who others think we should be. Just some thoughts at the end of Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

I know it's been a long while since I posted. What can I say Nutcracker just took up every extra minute we had. It was such a wonderful experience. T threw himself into the role of the Nutcracker with everything he had. I was so proud to see him shine up on that stage. This experience has brought about so many positive changes in him. He is more focused, driven, and is even setting his own goals. The ballet company that he is a member of is a wonderful way for teens to find their way and grow up among other dedicated and focused teens.

Poogie was also a shining star on stage. This being her second Nutcracker was much easier. The bon bon routine was faster and more challenging than last year but she loved every minute of it. I will post pictures soon. I just need to find some "free time" in which to do it.

I have been working part-time for the last several weeks to supplement our income. I have to say it is nice to have the extra cash but exhausting to try to do it all. It will get better when we are all over this crud and are feeling better. It is that time of year when we all get the sinus crud, fun fun.

My plans over the holiday break mostly consist of continuing school and preparing for the second semester. I may take a day to rest, that would be a nice treat:) I hope all of you find time to chill and enjoy your families this holiday season too.

It's Nutcracker Time!

It seems only a few months ago we were preparing for Poogie's first Nutcracker. Now here we are again busy with rehearsals, dance classes, costume fittings and all that goes along with preparing for The Nutcracker. The difference this year is I have two performers, not one. Not only is T the Nutcracker Prince, but Poogie will be a tumbling Bon Bon again.

I am so excited for both of them. Poogie has worked her butt off to perfect the tumbling tricks, especially the back-handspring for this performance. T is so excited to be the Nutcracker Prince and he has been blessed to have the sweetest Clare ever. The look adorable together and will light up the stage. This year's performance will require T to lift and truly dance with a girl like he's never done before.

My time has been spend doing Ballet Arts work to get ready for the event. I love being involved and have enjoyed every minute of it. It has been so much fun since T became a member of the group.

Alas, it can't be all wonderful. It has been a time of trials too. As with any other activity there are those that are left out of roles or do not get the ones they hope to get. I know this will be something we have to deal with in the future also. But for now I want to enjoy and bask in the wonderful honor my children have been given to be part of such a wonderful production. My heart hurts for those dancers who did not receive the roles they wanted. I tell my children that you don't always get what you want. But you must enjoy what you do receive. That one day they too will be faced with not getting the roles or parts they want. But what they are given they must do their best, because it may lead to something greater.

That said, if you are in my area come and see the 2010 Nutcracker! I can promise you a great production. :)

They are growing up so fast.

This is my sweet Poogie. I can't believe how much she has grown up in the last year. I wish I would have gotten a picture of her with her hair down but that is hard to get. Her hair is so long and she wears it up most of the time. At least the picture shows off her sweet smile.

I am in shock when I see this picture. Can this be my little boy?? Wow what a difference a few years make. I am proud of the young man he has become. He is a good soul. Can't wait to see what the next few years bring.

Update!!

We have had a busy, unusual and exciting start to the school year. We are not only a Ballet Arts family, but my son T is this years Nutcracker Prince!! I can't believe that he has come so far in less than a year. He is so excited. Of course this means that we will have even more rehearsals and time at the studio than we already do but it will so be worth it. T loves dancing. His favorite classes are ballet, jazz and tap. He takes too many for me to count, lol. He is also taking hip hop, which is not his favorite class but he keeps working at it. It is awesome how your children can surprise you. We haven't found out yet if Poogie is a Bon Bon this year or not. Hate the waiting.

As far as school goes we have had a wild year. We started out okay, but Poogie wasn't being the most cooperative child. Everyday she wanted to go to school. Several of the kids she knows returned to school this year and she thought it would be fun. I told her no, I knew it would be hard on her with her stomach issues. Then my hubby didn't work for almost 2 months and I thought I was going to have to return to work at least as a substitute. So I gave in and enrolled her in school. Biggest mistake we ever made. By the second day she was back on her stomach medicine, crying all the time and stressed to the max. What is funny the stress didn't come from her knowing how to do the school work or not, it was from the other stuff. What did the teacher want her to do, what was the homework assignment. She wasn't given a buddy, or anyone to help her. She couldn't' hear the teacher most of the time over the talking of the other students. And every lesson was rushed through where she couldn't tell me what it was about. It was like going back in time 3 years ago to T being in school. Needless to say she is so much happier and appreciates being at home so much more. I will not be returning to work, end of story. My kids and I are happy homeschooling and that is what we will keep doing

The few days that Poogie was in school I was so shocked at what little time I got to spend with her. A few minutes here, another few minutes there. I missed being with her. Heck, I miss them even when I do get away for a few hours to myself. I like being with my kids and they like being with me and my hubby. I cannot imagine spending just a few minutes a day with them and those few doing homework or whatever. I hope I have to never return to work until at least T is graduated from high school and even then I want to have that time with Poogie. You only get these few short years with them at home, I want to cherish every moment. No regrets.

Just in case you didn't know....

we are a Ballet Arts family. T is a first year trainee in the company. He is so excited. Now all he has to do is dance and work hard till the parts are given for Nutcracker. He is taking lots of dance classes. I stopped counting at 6. But he's loving it. So now we are at the studio 5 days a week. So what's a few more when rehearsals start.

Poogie is enjoying her 4th year ballet class. She got to move on up an extra year and is loving it. She is also taking 2 other ballet classes, 2 jazz, 2 acrobats, and 1 tap. But she helps out in other classes especially hip hop, she loves it. Since starting back in acro she has been working on her standing back handspring, which she finally got last week, and the side aerial. Not too bad for an 8 year old. She amazes me everyday.

Summer's End

The days of sleeping in, staying up late and spending all day in the pool are almost over. The kids attended their last summer dance classes for July, and have a whole two weeks off. It feels like it just begun and now another school year is upon us.

We have been busy this summer with dance, hanging with friends, being lazy, and just plain having fun. I was so lucky to get to watch T dance in his final day of classes. He amazed me at the progress he has made in such a short time. This crazy ride he has taken us on with dance has been well worth it. Yes, I do get tired of going to the studio and setting there for hours several days a week. But when I see the smiles on their faces when they accomplish something they have worked so hard for, it is well worth it. I can't wait to see what this year brings with dance. I now have the privilege to have two dancers in the family. What's funny is I keep saying how surprised I am about it. But, then I remember that dancing was how my hubby and I met. Weird, huh. I guess they might get it from us after all:)