Way too long since I've posted

It's been awhile since I've made a new post and thought I should update.  We are still plugging away at discovering how to make this homeschooling thing work.  We have good days and bad days and I'm learning that a lot of it has to do with me.  The better prepared I am, the better is generally goes.  My attitude makes a big difference as well.  I have two big goals for this month.  One is to the Spalding book read and ready to implement in December.  The other is to start doing the Science curriculum we have sitting on the shelf twice per week.

In other news, we are buying a house!!!!  We put an offer in on house that we thought we would never get for what we were offering and it was accepted.  The closing date is January 15th. We are over the moon with excitement!  It is an older home that is well build but needs some cosmetic work.  It has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, an eat in kitchen and a living room on the main floor.  The basement has been used as a apartment and has a kitchen area, two bedrooms, a living room with a gas fireplace, a bathroom and the laundry room.  The backyard is HUGE and also has a heated workshop.  It has so much potential and everytime we talk about it we come up with another renovation idea.  It will be hard to hold off and do things slowly (aside from the issue of not having the money for it, lol).  We are still working on getting out of our lease.  The landlord has said that we can terminate at the end of February as long as we find him new tenants.  We were hoping for the end of January but I guess one extra month isn't too big of a deal.  It will also give us extra time to do some of the small projects on the house before we move in. 

That's it for now.  I'm going to try and be a little better at keeping up with posting.

Feeling very down today

We just got back from Windsor late last night and I'm really struggling today. Tim ran a half marathon yesterday and I am so proud of him.  But I think it has hit me really hard because it is reminding me of how far I am from the goals that set for myself at this time last year.  I was going to finally get in shape and be healthy and I was doing great.  I lost almost 40 pounds and was loving being active again. Then we moved back to Ontario and I fell off the wagon and haven't been able to get back on.  If I had stuck with the track I was on, I could have run that race with Tim but instead I was on the sidelines.  I'm just really disappointed in myself.  And then to top it off I received an email yesterday from a friend that really threw me for a loop.  I'm feeling very misunderstood and alone. AND I have a major headache from being sleep deprived and emotional. ARGH!  ARGH! ARGH!  No homeschooling has been done yet today because I just can't stop crying. 

Going to take the kids for a walk to try and clear my head....

A brag session

Nate had his first math "test" today and finished it in 12 minutes (instead of the 20 minutes I allotted him).  He got 100%  and wrote everything very neatly.  I'm so proud of the progress he is making.

At Nate's hockey practice today Caleb asked me to quiz him on his addition (adding 0 and 1).  And then asked me for paper to practice writing his numbers and letters.  AWESOME!!!

In the car the other day, the topic of homeschooling came up and Tim asked the boys if they like it.  Caleb answered "No" and Nate said "I love it" so then Caleb said "Oh, OK, maybe I like it a little bit."  I guess Caleb missed the memo that they are supposed to like it now.  LOL!

Nate has been writing a story called "Under My Bed."  He's excited that he is going to be an "author".  We told him that we will try and get a real hardcover book made with the story once it is done.  It is all he wants to work on. 

I love that my kids are starting to love to learn!!!!! 

One month in

So it's been a bit over a month since we started the school year and although I feel like we've made some progress I'm still worried that we aren't getting enough schooling done. It just seems like there are a million things that get in the way of getting our work done. We get math and reading done daily but the rest is hit and miss. The kids are getting a bit more cooperative but its still a struggle to get them down to work after breaks. I'm really hoping that it will get better still. I've also been slacking a bit when it comes to preparing and I don't know why I lost steam.  I think the lack of planning is my biggest deterrent.  We have been talking about doing an army rank system as a reward system.  I think it will also help with motivating them...if only we could find/make the time to get it set up.

On another note, the kids have chosen Niagara Falls for their next research project. The library only had one book on the topic. I was very disappointed.  I'm hoping we will be able to find more info online and maybe do a field trip this month as well :)

I'm also not as impressed with the online Bible overview course we have been following for our Bible lessons as I used to be.  More and more it is getting dependent on reading books other than the Bible (mostly that I don't own).  I think I may continue to use it as a guideline and do my own thing (which I was kind of doing anyways, but now more so).

We also really need to get the Spalding program book read and implemented because one of my biggest goals for Caleb for this year is to get him to read. I know that it is a good program, but it seems like it would "easier" to just get a program that is all set out for me....like All About Spelling.

Ahhh...so much to do.  This homeschooling stuff sure keeps me on my toes.

And here are some random pics of my beautiful children...the reason all of this work is necessary and so worth it!!!!

Halloween costumes were purchased this week and have been worn around the house non-stop!

ABC's

I just had the best laugh I have had in a long time.  We were sitting working on writing out words with the same sounds and Caleb got bored of it.  So I told him to play with blocks while Nate and I were still working.  I look around and he was making letters with the blocks.  He is so creative.  Then he decided to start making letters with his body.  Nate and I were laughing so hard at his imagination.  Then of course Nate had to join in, then the camera came out...

Try and guess which letters they are:

First field trip of the year

Today we went on our first field trip of the year. We went to Willowgrove Farm. We learned about honey bees and their importance in apple orchards. My kids rocked it! We had borrowed a book from the library last month about bees and read it a couple of times. They knew the answers to all of the questions. It was a good "review" for them. I have to admit that my kids were the smarty pants of the group. ;)

Here's a few pics from the adventure:

Cake decorating

This is post is not about homeschooling but it is part of what keeps me "calm".  My hobby is cake decorating.  I started it seven years ago for Nate's first birthday.  I bought a simple cake decorating kit and taught myself how to do it with the help of the internet (mostly  www.cakecentral.com).  I've come a long way and made my first wedding cake last month for my cousin's wedding (see pic below). I still have a lot to learn because I've mostly done it for the kids birthdays and occasionally for a baby shower or something.  I've had people pay for them a couple of times but I never charge enough.  I would love to some day do it as a part time business so I am starting to try and get my skills up to par.  This weekend was the Baking and Sweets show in Toronto and I got to go!!!  I attended a demo class from Michelle Bommarito.  She is a celebrity chef from the food network. She was great!  I learned a lot from her about fondant and I'm looking forward to trying out some of the techniques she suggested.  I also scored a bunch of  bakeware and decorating supplies for super cheap!!!

I'm hoping that maybe in the near future I can take some hands on classes somewhere and also start selling my cakes on a more regular basis to help supplement our income.

Disappointed yet encouraged

So we went to a ladies bible study this morning in Uxbridge that we were invited to and were told that it would be OK to bring all three kids since there are other families there that homeschool and their kids would be there.  I'm a little bit upset and disappointed by the experience.  Nate came in to me halfway through crying because he had been pushed down by some other kids and "tied up with a rope" and stepped on.  I realize that Nate was mostly likely exaggerating and not innocent in the situation and they were not prepared for the large number of kids that were there this morning, but I don't see how it got that out of control.  I managed to get him calmed down and settled back in with the other kids and then went back to the study.  When I went to pick them up, the lady who organizes the kids program asked if we would be coming on a consistent basis because she needs to plan for it.  I realize that she was just taking care of it all but it came across in a very negative way.  I am probably being overly sensitive, but I am really struggling with trying to fit the homeschool life with the rest of the world's way of life.  I realize that we aren't doing the mainstream thing and so it is bound to happen, but I really don't like feeling "abnormal" or being an inconvenience. 

On the other hand I was really encouraged by the talks that were given this morning.  It was an open session and there were a handful of ladies who got up and spoke about goal setting and journaling.  The lady who spoke on goals mentioned that goals need to be : Meaningful, Attainable, Measurable and Accountable.  All very good points. I've decided that I need to sit down and make some goals about various things and determine how I'm going to measure them and who is going to keep me accountable.  The two main areas I am considering setting goals in are weight loss/getting healthy and getting my house organized.

There were four ladies who spoke about journaling.  I was struck with how it doesn't have to be just sitting down with a piece of paper and a pen and writing about your day.  There are many ways to journal.  One lady explained that her son journals through artwork.  She brought a few examples of his work and they were BEAUTIFUL!  Another lady said that her picture scrapbooks are a way of journaling as well since she is capturing life's moments and displaying them.  There was a lady who was given her mother's journals after she passed and has been so blessed by reading them.  It has been an encouragement to her to do the same to leave behind a piece of her heart for her children.  The one that was the neatest to me was an 80+ year old woman who has been "scrapbooking" for over 60 years.  She cuts out newspaper articles that have to do with family and friends or situations that they encounter. She keeps all wedding invitations, programs, funeral programs, birth announcements, thank you cards, and either hole punches them or glues them on paper and puts them in binders.  She has bags full of these binders and they are SO NEAT.  They essentially are personal history books for her family.  It really showed to me how much she treasures life and the blessings that God has given her.

I also got the opportunity to chat with a few women.  I met a woman who grew up in Cottam and went to the University of Windsor for engineering.  I can't remember what year Tim graduated, but she graduated in 2002 so they might have been in some mutual classes.  What a small world.  She gave me her phone number and invited us to come over to her house anytime.  I'm looking forward to connecting with her.  She has two kids that are preschool age.  She mentioned that she and her husband and talking about possibly homeschooling their kids in the future.  Hooray!

The bible study I signed up for is based on the book "Resolution for women".  It is a book that came from the movie "Courageous".  It has 13 different resolutions to make. I  think it is very fitting.  Tim and I have been talking a lot lately about how we need to make choices to start doing things better and then just do them.  Which is totally the impression that I get from this book.

So I guess we go back next week and see how it goes with the kids.  If it's not working, then I guess we just move on.

So proud

Nate completed his first research project/notebook today. I started him off by asking him to choose a topic that relates to Canada. He chose the Canada Goose since we've been seeing them all over the place this time of year. We went to the library and picked out some books on the topic, we did google searches and even watched a movie (Fly Away Home). With everything we read, we jotted down key points. Then we divided them into groups and completed the notebook pages. He was very reluctant to do so much writing so I helped him with that. Although he narrated most of it. We found pictures on the internet that we printed and he cut and pasted. I'm so proud of it and looking forward to the next project!!

Bad day

OK...so today was my first major hiccup in this homeschooling journey.  I woke up feeling just plain crappy today.  My head has been pounding all day (borderline migrainey-should-be-in-bed kind of headache), my stomach hurts and Caitlin keeps saying "what's that smell?" LOL!  So my patience is very low today and of course the kids are in bad moods too.  I handed out so many time outs today and only got minimal school work done with them.  ARGH!  And then to top it off, the GO train before Tim's hit a bicycle and he was stuck on his train for over 2 hours.  When he got home, he ate supper and was out the door again for bible study.  ARGH!

I have to figure out how to deal with days that I'm not feeling well.  A regular teacher would call in sick, but I don't have that option...so what do I do????

Fly away home

We are watching "Fly away home" as a supplemental to our Canada Geese research project. The boys are LOVING it and keep spotting all of the things about the geese that they have already learned.

A little bit of phys ed

It has been a couple of days since my last post and they were pretty eventful.  On Friday we went to Newmarket for a drop in homeschool gym session. Unfortunately there were no other families that showed up. But we still had a blast! We played basketball, dodgeball, "What time is it Mr.Wolf" and had races. It was well worth the drive and $9. This coming Friday there are 6 families that have said they are going.  We are really looking forward to that.  Here are a few really bad pics from my stupid iPhone 3G.  It is dying very quickly and doesn't have a flash.  I've preordered my iPhone 5 and will hopefully get it this week...SOOOO excited!!!!

This is a "trophy picture".  Whoever won whatever game we were playing got their picture taken as a trophy. (Caleb's idea)

Caleb's "trophy pic"

Hahaha...so hard to coordinate a pic with all three

Saturday and Sunday were HOCKEY DAYS!!  The boys had their first ice times of the year.  They were evaluation sessions.  They both did fairly well.  We are still trying to figure out how to motivate them to do their best throughout the whole practice.  They don't skate their hardest and sometimes don't pay attention to what they are supposed to be doing for their drills. It's very frustrating to watch.  They could be doing so much better if they just tried. 

Tim getting Caleb dressed for his 1st ice time

We also spent the weekend doing some rearranging of the house.  The garage used to be the boys playroom but Nate's birthday present this year was a homemade lego table (two ikea coffee tables attached together with lego baseplates on top).  They wanted the table in their room.  So this weekend we also brought the rest of their toys into their room and transformed the garage into our schoolroom!!!  It is not perfect but I'm really proud of it.  We used it this morning for the first time and it went really well....except that Caitlin kept getting into everything.  I still have to figure out how to keep her out of trouble while I'm working with the boys.

Desks and bookshelf

Circle time area

"Working" on Math.  Nate was very distracted by the world map in front of him.  Tim and I had talked about how that would happen.  He's going to memorize it before the week is over with his memory for details.

Our bible craft for today and Caitlin's art work as well.  One of the advantages of being in the garage is being able to paint on the floor and then just wipe it up when we are done!!!!

After one week of committing to homeschooling, I am really starting to love it more and more each day.  It's still a struggle getting them to sit and do work, but it is getting less and less.  I read someone that it takes 6 weeks to get into the swing of things with homeschooling.  Hoping that is true.