Morgan and Dad

Dad and Morgan went on a special outing to the library and to the store to get ice cream cones, and do some shopping. This conversation happened on the trip.

Morgan: Dad I love you most of the time.

Dad: When do you not like me.

Morgan: I hate you at 12:30, but I love you at 6:30.

(Morgan has no clue how to tell time. His old favorite time was "20 minutes". Apparently he has branched out)

Homeschool No More?

I was going to blog about this last week, but it was still a little too close to the surface. Last Thursday, we got notice that two of my kiddos had been accepted to a charter school in the area. Last year I signed up all the kids for their lottery. I thought it would at least give me some options. If the kids made it in, I didn't have to enroll them in the school, but if we decided to have them go to school this next year, it would be good to have them in a school that I approved of. This school seemed perfect. It is very close to our house. We have many families who attend charter schools in our neighborhood, and they all have pretty awful commutes. This school is new this year. Many families in our neighborhood will be transferring to it. My sister in law researched all of the schools in the area, and found one that has a curriculum she is very pleased with. The charter school we applied for is patterned after the one my niece and nephews attend. It seemed like the perfect answer. If my kids are going to go to school, this is the school I want them to go to.

The first month, Allen was accepted to the school. Allen will be going into 7th grade this year, and I was beginning to realize that I wasn't pushing him as hard as I should be. Before he was accepted to the charter school, I had enrolled him in an online homeschool program so he would have a more age appropriate curriculum. When he was accepted to the school, I was very nervous. I love homeschooling my kids. I love the easy pace we have with our day. I love being able to decide what to teach my kids. I love spending lots of time in the scriptures and not having to rush through it. We have some of our best discussions during scripture time. I think my kids focus their lives on the things that matter because of those discussions. I was worried that Allen would not be a part of all of our homeschool activities. I also was excited because it would allow me to spend more time with Michael and Makenzie and we would be able to work on subjects that they have a harder time with. It would be less stressful, and I would be able to get more done.

I had been spending the last several months getting ready for this next school year. Most of my lesson plans are done. I found great deals on curriculum materials that I love! The more I planned, the more excited I got about this coming year. Then we found out last Thursday that Michael and Makenzie have also been accepted to the charter school. I don't want to send them!! I can't decide why I don't want to send them. If I could figure out why I feel the way I do, I could analyze my feelings and see if they are valid, or just based on my fears. My biggest question is, what is the best decision for my kids? Which choice is going to help them develop into the kids and adults they need to become? I know in my heart I want them to stay home. They are very excited to go to school. Hubby also wants them to go to school. He is very concerned about their social development. We have decided to go ahead and send them, and see what happens. We know that homeschooling works for our family. It will always be an option to go back to it. The thought of having an empty house for the majority of the day makes my heart ache.

History Curriculum

I haven't posted anything about homeschooling for a while, and I think it is about time I do. One of my splurges for this year is a disc of timeline figures. It was a little pricey, but I think it is definitely worth it!! I am such a visual learner, and I love being able to see how everything fits together. One of my favorite history learning moments was in a class at BYU. The Professor brought religion into all the history lessons I had learned through the years. I had been learning about the history of the world for years, and I had been reading the scriptures for years, but suddenly it all connected.

The history curriculum we have been using is called Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. We use the book and the activity pages. I think this is a great curriculum for early elementary students. It was really too easy for my 6th grader, but he still learned a lot from it. My kids really like it, and they are starting to get it. They understand the maps, and they love learning about all the different people and places. The history does jump around a bit, and so the timeline has been a perfect way for my kids to see how everything fits together. I love how it also includes stories from the bible, and it lets you know where they fit in history. We will be adding the stories from the Book of Mormon so we can see where they also fit into the timeline history.

The timeline figures that we use are beautiful. Amy Pak does an amazing job, and I am having so much fun putting our timeline together.

The timeline figures are available in booklets to be copied. There are 4 different booklets. I got the CD with all of the timeline figures included, and then we print them off when they are needed. You can also download the images onto additional projects. I used the images on my kids history journaling pages. Amy Pak also sends out amazing free newsletters. They are packed with information and worksheets and activities. Her website is http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/.

Fears

I have realized for a while that my fears keep me from experiencing a lot in life. I am afraid of dogs, bees, getting lost, being alone and on and on. I go way overboard on many of my fears.

I was terrified of dogs growing up. I knew all the houses in my area that had "free range" dogs. There was actually a house at the end of our circle, and if the garage was open, I would walk all the way around the block to get home instead of walking by the house. We tried several times after we were married to get a dog, but it never worked out. Finally, about 3 years ago, we bought Max, our huge black lab, for my son Allen. He has always been our dog lover, and it has been a great purchase for him. I think if Allen had to choose between Max and our family, there are days he would choose Max. I am still afraid of dogs, but I think it is a much more rational fear now. Learning to understand Max has helped a lot. Max is huge. He weighs more than 100 pounds. For some strange reason, Hubby always likes to point out his sharp teeth, and talk about exactly what kind of damage they could do if Max decided to turn on us. It doesn't bother me at all.

One of my fears is taking the kids anywhere alone. I am always positive we would break down somewhere, and my kids and I would be at the mercy of some stranger to help us. This summer, I finally decided to try a family trip without Hubby. I packed up the kids, and drove 3 and a half hours to my sister's house. She had some bum lambs that she wanted to have some help with. She thought it would be a great homeschool lesson. It turned out to be one of the best trips ever. My kids LOVED helping her with her animals!! We were able to homeschool, and it worked out really well. We went back up a month later with the whole family, and my kids are talking about going up again before the summer is done. My fear now is that I will drive my sister (or brother-in-law) crazy by visiting too often. :)

Most of the time when I finally conquer my fears, I find that I wasted a lot of time being afraid instead of enjoying life. I really need to push myself more to try things that push me out of my comfort zone. I think my whole family would benefit from it.