Question....

I have been trying to finish up my planning for the upcoming home school year but one question remains from last year and I cannot seem to answer it.    What to use for Science curriculum? 

We are mainly Charlotte Mason style but I am not against using a different style of curriculum.   I have thought about just doing Nature Study with them until they get a little older. 

Also, at what age would you generally start a specific Science curriculum?  This is where it gets confusing looking at all the different curriculums out there.  Some dont start until "grade" 3 or 4 and some start at "grade"1.  So what "grade" or age do you really start with the Science....and Geography and History for that matter? 

We started with some History last year and some Geography and some Science, but the girls quickly lost interest in all three....so we laid back and concentrated on Reading, Hadnwriting and Math...with Fun stuff thrown in.  But now I am back where I was last year....with the questions of when do I start teaching these and what do I teach. 

Any input would be much appreciated!
 Crystal

My Babies......Homeschool

If one thing over the years keeps me homeschooling through all the trials and all the frustrating days, it will be the fact that everytime I get frustrated, my kids start singing Christian Songs! Thats right, they dont know any other songs. All they know are Church Hymns and Praise and Worship songs....and thats what they do when Momma is about ready to pull her hair out...

Gotta love my precious babies! Thank YOU GOD!

Blessings
Crystal

What Does God Tell You To Do?

Our Lesson this morning was about obeying and diligence. We were talking about how we need to do what God tells us to do and how He tells the kids to obey their parents and us as parents need to teach our children. We also talked about how we need to do what we are supposed to do with a willing heart and not take forever to do it, just get it done and over with.

After we talked about it for a little bit, I asked them "What does God tell us to do?" Alaina's response......"Dont get in trouble..." How cute. How can you not laugh at that? But at least I know she was paying attention to some degree.


Love and Prayers
Crystal

Well, we have started trying to get on a schedule for our school year. But.....they stayed up late last night watching a movie with daddy so I am letting them sleep late.

My house is clean to the point that all I have to do is upkeep and some deep cleaning now and then. You know the days when you really need to clean that kitchen and then the days when you just need to declutter an area...well today is the office and my checkbook.. they are both in a mess.

Schoolwork has been going okay. I was going to try and do Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons With Kylie but She looked at it and told me it wasnt colorful enough for her to do....What? When does a four year old decide that? So we are still doing crafts and play and she is still bored and done in five minutes. I am going to try and order a curriculum to start with in January, which means that our school year will be off from everyone eleses but oh well, when have we been like everyone else?

I will try and post more on our schedule when we get all the kinks worked out.

Sorry for the errors I am typing this one handed...:)

Kylie and Homeschooling

I have a few questions for those of you that read my blog...

To start with, Kylie is so frustrating sometimes. I mean, she knows her ABC's, she just doesnt want to sing it right most of the time. If she is singing it and she says the wrong letter, you can look at her and she will sullenly say the right one. Ughhhhh....

Then, she knows what most of them look like but when you ask her what that letter is, she will say the wrong one and keep saying it until you get so mad at her.

Paul and I have discussed it and we really believe she would be more productive learning to read. She just seems so bored with everything else and she is always wanting me to read to her and she is constantly asking me what that word is or this word....And she is always sitting around with a book in her hands acting like she is reading.....

I just would like to know some opinions of more experienced homeschoolers....

Thank You
Prayers

Our Homeschool

Tiany over at Less of Me ~ More of Him, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Tiany is hosting a Homeschool open house.

We are a family of five, my husband paul, myself, four year old Kylie, two year old Alaina, and 5 mth old Jason. We do not officially homeschool yet. We have been working with Kylie and Alaina on their basic skills and are looking into Curriculums for next year, maybe in December if Kylie is ready.

Our days are very unscheduled and fun. We usually get up in the mornings and eat breakfast. Kylie prays and then we have a little bible story and talk about it. Then we clean up the kitchen, start laundry, and pick up through the house. When we get all this done, we usually sit down and do some worksheets and puzzles and some days a craft. Our schooling also includes lessons in everyday life such as cooking and getting dressed. We also have lessons when we go to the grocery store.

I recently bought "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" and "Slow and Steady Get Me Ready" . We will probably start with these in another month or so...Right now we use alot of books....bought and checked out from the library.

If I had to give advice to anyone new to homeschooling it would be to not stress, do research, and pray. It all gets better with prayer.

Questions I have....too many to ask. I am still new to this myself and I will probably always have questions. But I guess, Does it always feel overwhelming?

Our school isnt much right now but then again I only have one that is really ready to do school the others are still playing. Although Alaina is very smart and is catching on fast.


I think this is everything, just your typical life with toddlers and infants.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Homeschooling

I am answering Julies question on her blog about how people homeschool their toddlers preschoolers.....

With Kylie, I always was talking to her and all through stores, we would name the color and shape and sing the alphabet song and count and name fruits and vegetables and all sorts of things.

I kinda got out of the practice of it when we were buying out house and now she hardly remembers any of it and she is almost 4... She can still name most colors and shapes but her ABC's and counting are out the window. And she doesnt want to learn them back, she just wants to read. So I am going to try a different approach of trying to teach her to read first and then maybe she will learn her ABC's in order... who knows.

Alaina, is doing okay. She doesnt get worked with as much as Kylie did and so she doesnt know as much. She is also a little more immature than Kylie was too. I am working on her AbC's and counting. She loves to sing the song. and her colors. she knows green most of the time and sometimes red. She can tell you that Elmo is red.

I used Sesame Street alot with Kylie and am fixing to start using it with Alaina. SesameStreet.com (I think) I also used alot of board books with Kylie... I used refrigerator magnets (which are lost does anyone know where to get more. Wal Mart does not carry them anymore.) I used food. (manipulatives) Blocks as we stacked them. The shape sorter that you can get at Wal Mart or Target (its better) I also used everday things like getting dressed, fixing their hair (ponytail holders are circles.) Brushing teeth, square, how many times do you brush one side and then the other. Kylie also helped me cook alot, Alaina is going to start next week.

I really dont know what else to do with them. They love the projects on Creation Kids. We dont really stay on track because we arent organized enough. I need to start though.

Something else we do is Color sheets. We print out the letter color sheets off of the internet, there are several websites that have these. They color them and we put them up through out the house. Then whenever we are around them, I will ask them what letter that is. Sometimes I will give Alaina a specific color and she colors with it. And she can sometimes tell me what color it is the next time.

I would like to get an ABC chart and a number chart put up on my wall. If I get more organized then maybe I can. I have read about a chart that you put up that has the numbers 1-100 on it and everyday, the child writes the next number and counts from 1 to that number and by the end, the child can count from 1-100. Would like to try this too. We will see....

And yes Julie, I get lots of Criticism on homeschooling, especially from teachers (not you Chris or Tammy) but I dont let it bother me. I know that if I can spend more than three minutes a day with my child, then I am doing better than the school system. Usually, if I dont feel like arguing, I just tell them that I would rather homeschool and thats that.

I am not putting down the teachers out there. I went to college to be a teacher. I know what you are taught to do and I know what is best for my children. I am glad that there are teachers out there like my sister in law and my two good friends from Church. (you know who you are) I believe that for the kids that their parents dont have any choice, that these wonderful people were put in the system for a reason. (Gods Plan for them). Maybe there is one life out there that they will change and it is all worth it then. I just honestly believe that Gods plan for me is to stay home and teach my children Gods way. There is so much crap in the world today that someone has got to be there to filter it out. And plus, the schools around here just arent what I would want to send my kids too,.....(except Aunt Chris's 3yr old class...I am sure it will be great :) cause they have a great teacher.....GOOD LUCK CHRIS) (22 3yrolds) :) Say a prayer for her will you....

Anyway, If I think of anything else on homeschooling toddlers I will post it. I need to organize my life first though. But that is another post. I might do that as soon as I get my son out of the movies.....lol....yes he started scooting about a month and a half ago and I forgot to post it. He also goes almost anywhere in his walker except on carpet...... He is getting so big....

Pictures soon.......Time to intervene before the movies get demolished..

love and prayers

Alaina

Alaina had her doctor appointment today. He was a very nice pediatrician. He is foreign I am not sure what nationality, (maybe afgan or something like that.) Anyway, he said her lymph node is probably a symptamatic lymph node. It probably swelled because of her ear infections or because she may have had tosilitis and we did not know it. He does not think it is cancerous or anything to be worried about at this time. He does want to do a TB Skin test to make sure she hasnt contracted that. He is also doing another blood work and a blood virus scan to make sure she does not have a virus in her blood. We will do the skin test next week and the blood work at the end of July and then go back to see him at the first of august to check and make sure that the lymph node is not swollen any more and to make sure her labs are okay. If there is anything wrong then we will go from there.

Anyway, I have got to go get my kids in bed and get some school stuff done. No homeschooling is not just a joy ride. It takes patience (something I am lacking), knowledge (something I am gaining), and love (something I have a lot of) and oh yeah planning which takes time. Time, I dont have a lot of because I have kids. I am sitting here tired as can be typing this but I like to keep up on here. It is my journal and I like to keep up with what is going on. I will keep you updated on Alaina.

Love and Prayers

Different things.

Some different things

First, We have had a bad week. Hasnt anything went right and when we try to get caught up or ahead, everthing seems to get behind. Anyway, I only lost one more pound but I havent been eating right and no exercise to speak of. I will try to get back on track next week. (I had ice cream this week with the kids)

Second, We had a fun day the other day (we gave up since nothing was going right and took a break. I will try and post pictures later but I have got to pay bills and buy some groceries today and Jack is supposed to come over tonight and we are going to go to the park (if it is not raining.) We try to spend all our time with him when he is over. So if I dont get them up before he gets here, i will try to do it sometime later.

Third, I am really trying to get my bearings on this homeschool stuff...there is so much stuff out there and so many different resources. But the more I read about it and the more I watch my kids while we are doing school, the more I am convinced that this is the best thing for them and that We will be okay. I CAN DO THIS!!!!! It may be tough at times but I can do it.

Fourth, I realized why our week was going bad yesterday. I am not spending enough time studying and praying. Sleep deprivation and little or no studying or prayer does not go well together. I have got to make time to study more.

I guess that is all for today and I will try and get the pictures up. I may wait and put pictures up of the park if we get to go.

Love and Prayers
Crystal

Its a Monday for sure!

It has been Monday today....We usually stay home and do laundry on Mondays but We had to go to a town about an hour away and switch cell phone companies....yes me with three kids in the middle of the mall in a cell phone store....very funny picture.....anyway, we got that taken care of and had lunch with Paul and was going to go to Target, but I had to come home and call in some info for our new phones and had a door loaded in the back of the truck for our Church building anyway so I will probably go running around this weekend. Just to get out of the house with the girls for a while....Kylie really likes Target and I need some stuff from there anyway.



Jason is not feeling well at all today. He has been terribaly congested the past two or three days and it seems to be getting worse. He does this when we change environments for two or three days or when he is outside very much...We were outside Thursday and went to a birthday party Friday night ( which meant night air and change of environment) then Saturday, we went to the library and to another birthday party.....



Alaina is not feeling well, her ears were almost cleaned up at their doctors appointment but she had a lymph node that was really swollen and I dont think it has gone down any plus she says her ears hurt again, so I will have to call the doctor in the morning....She is an excellant doctor, I just cant say enough about her...She is great with the kids and is really patient and very thorough.. Kylie was playing with that light thing that they look in your ears and stuff with and she let her...She just laughed...





I made some changes to my blog. Verse of the day...at bottom of blog page-------Bible Gateway website link....You can read the Bible online here and search from many different versions-----Changed the prayer list----Added links to several of the ooks that I am reading.....



I will change my Menu next week. Right now I am winging it as I cant seem to get stuff prepared on schedule with sick kids.



Homeschooling is going okay...We dont have a set schdule yet..We are just doing it whenever Kylie says she wants to...I drop whatever I am doing and we do school for 30 to 40 minutes....She is doing some handwriting worksheets and a workbook that we have.



I will try and post more later tonight, I have a couple of things that I want to post on but have a cranky baby righ now and amtyping this between screaming fits....



Love and Prayers

Wednesday update and apology

I am sorry I didnt update yesterday. My internet is acting up and I dont even know if this will make it on here. I did not lose any more weight according to the scales, but I can get on a size smaller pants and a size smaller dress that I had hanging in my closet. Now keep in mind that they are not a very good fit but the fact that I can put them on and actually button them makes me happy. I did not get to walk very much last week because of all the rain and I have not purchased my DVD's for walking indoors yet. I found some that are supposed to be really good and want to try them but we have to put new tires on Pauls car this week and since he uses it to go to work I think they are more important than my DVD's dont you.

I started really trying with the school stuff this week. I have finally found enough energy and Kylie is all for it so we did some handwriting worksheets and worked with the letter A and Alaina colored with a red Crayon and Colored the letter A. It is so cute cause when I would ask her what color she had she would tell me ELMO.....well he is red at least she can match colors but hey, she is only two so what more can I expect since I havent really worked with her all that much.

Anyway, Jason's Colic has returned in full force so I have less time at nights now and since my days are so full of learning I may not post as much, I will try though. But if I dont, have patience......

Love and Prayers

Science and homeschooling

We had a science lesson yesterday. Whoohoo....It was over frogs....We have several that have been climbing onour windows and patio door. I dont know why they want to climb on there but they are. Yesterday, Kylie noticed one climbing on the door and asked me why they do that and of course that led to how do they do that. Well, we got on the internet to look up Frogs and wy and how. This particular frog we think is a gray tree frog and the other one I discovered when I went out to take pictures is a green frog. Whether it is a tree frog or not, it is really green. But we also got an upclose look at the underside of a frog and his webbed feet. Kylie thought that was really cool and Alaina now when you ask her how a frog swims, she hold up her hand and points to inbetween her fingers. It is really cute and funny.

this morning, we had another science lesson. just a little bit ago, their was frost on our window. Yes I know frost in May sounds crazy but it was. Kylie got up and wanted to know why it was their so we looked it up on the net and found out why colliding air tempatures make moisture.

She may or may not remember this stuff in the future. Chances are when you ask her about it, she wont be able to tell you but if you listen really close to her playing, she will be telling her dolls or reading it out of a book. it is so cute to listen to them playing.

This as I have been reading and finding out is a form of homeschooling called unschooling. Most people when they think of School in any form, think of it being like public school. You know desk and lesson plans and learning certain stuff by a certain age or you fail. Well unschooling is where you let life dictate what you teach and when. Like the frogs, I wouldnt have thought to teach it until at least fourth grade level. but we taught it and we may teach it again and again depending on what comes up.

I dont mean that I am not going to teach how to read and write and count and all that stuff, I just mean that we are going to have a schedule and goals but if something more interesting comes up that day then we will study it. Our curriculum will be some books with a lot of life experience added in.
I really think Kylie especially will learn better this way. If she was in public school right now, she would be labeled as disabled. Just because she is stubborn and doesnt want to learn her ABC's. What I have learnt is that alot of kids learn how to read before they can say their ABC's. When I was in school, they taught us our abc's and then how to read and they taught us our numbers and then how to add.....kylie wanted to know the other day what 1 + 5 was. She is learning at her own pace and I may think that she doesnt know her numbers or her letters but if she can ask that question, she is smarter than even I give her credit for.

anyway, more ideas and comments in my head but I need to go and get Alaina up. She was running fever all night and I need to see if she is okay. or if I need to make a trip to the doctor today.

Love and Prayers.