Homeschooling Heartcheck

Ah, Christmas break. A very nice time to sit back and reflect on the whys and hows of our homeschooling journey. I know some people might think I am still in the "honeymoon phase" but I am seriously so glad that we have been able to start this. There are headaches along the way. I mean, five people being together 24/7 can seem a little cramped. We do get on each others' nerves. I wouldn't have it any way, though.

If we were not homeschooling, we would not be able to pick and choose our own field trips. We would have to do what ever the school deemed appropriate for each age, and the boys would have to go separately. There are countless times that we either had to get a babysitter or only one of us go on a field trip with the kids because siblings were not allowed to come. There have even been a few trips where our kids were the ones with no parent along for the ride because dad had to work and mom could not get a sitter. So now we are able to do things as a family. If we decided to go somewhere, we just do it. We can rearrange our schedule to fit our needs. We have done school at night, and on Saturday, just to be able to do something that we wanted during the day.

This might sound a bit selfish, but I like the fact that our kids are learning from us. They are not being forced to learn boring crap that never gets used in life. Even their word problems in math are something useful such as: there are three boys in the family. Mom cooks nine pieces of bacon. How much bacon does each boy get? Very unlike the the stuff about how one canoe left port A at 5:00 heading north while another canoe left port B at 6:30 heading south. When will the two canoes meet? I have never to this day as an adult used anything to do with canoes or trains leaving separate places and meeting somewhere. Making sure everyone gets the same amount of bacon (or candy or chicken or whatever) is something I do frequently. I don't have to worry about them being told dirty jokes by their teachers. I still remember a joke that my pervert 8th grade history teacher told our class. I think one reason that the joke has stuck with me so long was because I did not get it at first, then when I finally did get it (months later) I had one of those EEEWWWWW moments. And as far as pervert teachers go-I do not have to worry about that. My kids are here.

We have had so many moments that would not have been possible if the guys were at school. Times that are not anything magnificent- just times of laughing together about our new Captain Underpants names (I am Flunky Lizardnose and over there is my husband-Pinky) or watching a movie together, maybe just watching the older boys read a book to Samuel or Samuel read a book to one of his stuffed animal friends. We have just had a lot of good "moments".

For the most part I have been very pleased with our curriculum choices.
Math-I can not imagine ever changing from Math-U-See I have had so many aha! moments myself with it. Like for instance, I always got confused as a kid about area and perimeter. One thing MUS teaches is that a good way to remember perimeter being the rim. peRIMeter-outer edges. Cool, huh?
Science- Once again I can not imagine changing. Apologia has really great books. Nathaniel will be in the more advanced books next year, but I have looked at the sample given on their website and am very impressed. It is not stuffy, boring science. It reads more like a real book (literature) than a text book. Not that I am saying text books are all bad, but most of the time I would not want to just sit and read one like it was something by Charles Dickens. These books are different. I have to hide our science book sometimes because Nathaniel and Benjamin want to read ahead. Who would have ever thought that????
English-Nathaniel is not too wild about Shurley Grammar. He would prefer not to do English at all. So sometimes English with him is quite the chore. I have to set a timer most of the time or he will waste the whole day on a writing assignment or vocabulary words. Benjamin and Samuel, however love it. Samuel is not actually doing it, but he is in the room when I am working with Benjamin. He can spot the subject noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and article adjective sometimes faster that Benjamin. (much to Benj's chagrin)
History/Literature everything else- When I first began researching homeschooling I really like some aspects of Konos and some aspects of Veritas Press I even told Mark what I really wanted was something that had the awesome educational value and classical styling of Veritas, mixed with the unit study style and the hands-on learning approach of Konos. In the end we went with konos because it would not require me to be teaching totally different things to each of the boys at the same time. Now I have found what I was looking for. Tapestry of Grace. It is a unit study that covers k-12. It is classical. They will be exposed to great works of literature of the English-speaking world. Most importantly, it is very Christian. They got the name Tapestry of Grace because they said all of history is like the threads of a great tapestry God is weaving. Everything works according to God's plan. We might not always be able to see what He is weaving into our lives, but we do know it is for His glory. I saw something on a TOG user's blog where you could order a free three week sample. I was blown away! This feels like home, so to speak. It is very teacher involved (ah, dang! no sneaking off for a nap during the middle of the day) and very meaty. The kiddos will be learning stuff I never learned in elementary or middle school. I really think it is awesome. Our first year we are going to be studying creation through the fall of Rome. I like the way they break it down into each year having having four units. Each unit has nine weeks. So it is organized in a way that keeps you on track.

It is late, so I must leave you my blogging buddies. Before I go I would like to ask, if you are homeschooling, what are some of your favorite A) aspects or benefits of homeschooling; B)curriculum choices or curriculum changes that you have made over the years.

Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!

Silent Night Gilliland style ;-}

Hope preparing for your Christmas Feast goes better for you than for this poor woman:



Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Just a Quick Post

We went to finish up our shopping today. We went to this dumpy little junk store called Mike's Merchandise in Guntersville. (Why did we go to a dumpy little junk store you ask? Because it has BOOKS!!! LOTS of books. Sometimes really good books) While digging through the disarrayed mounds of children's books, with all three boys going "I want this one!" To which I quickly replied "No, we are not buying for ourselves today." Mark walks up carrying two books with a sheepish grin on his face and says "Hey, want to get me another Christmas present?" I gave him the one eyebrow up look and said "what is it?" Would you believe that they had Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion Volumes 1& 2 for $4.00 each!!??!?!? HARDCOVER!!!
(That is not a misprint-they were really marked $4.00 each) How could I say no to that cute kid at Christmas look and a remarkable price all at the same time????????

Gingerbread and Paper Plates.....These are a Few of my Favorite Things

MMMMMmmmmm..... tis the season for making cookies!!! Yesterday we made gingerbread. Benjamin and Samuel helped. Nathaniel was in an ill mood. But we had fun without him.


For some reason I did not get a picture of Benjamin rolling the dough, or a picture of either of them cutting out their ginger people. (Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I was covered in dough) At least I got several of them decorating, because that is what makes a cookie special, right???








The first finished cookie by Benjamin


Samuel started chowing down on his before I got the picture.


It's the Little Gingerbread Mom!


We ended up with two plates full of gingerpeople. We would have more, but one fell on the floor, everybody ate the first one they decorated (at least) and one was so ugly I just had to eat him before anyone saw him. ;-}

About the paper plates..... Mark makes paper plates for a company called Huhtamaki. They make Chinet paper plates. Everyone we know knows this. So guess what everyone we know (even people we do not know that well) ask us? "Hey, do you think you can get me some paper plates?" It has been VERY strongly hinted that several family members wanted boxes of plates for Christmas. We did that two years ago. You'd have thought we would have given them a million dollars. The plates that employees buy are not always available. So he hasn't been able to get any lately. (I have had to wash more plates than I ever imagined. Homeschooling has added to my housework) We have been racking our brains on what to get certain family members. You know the ones-they have everything they need, you don't want to get them something that is just going to take up space. So he went into work early yesterday in the hopes of getting five boxes. He called me and said "Well, I've got some bad news. I did not get five boxes." Aw, bummer. "Well, we'll figure something out, I guess," I replied. "I got six." You could hear the grin in his voice. I was so excited!!! No more eating every little thing off of a plate that has to be washed!! Hooray!!!

I got even more excited when he got home. Turns out he actually made some of the plates! How cool is that???

Mark showing off his handiwork.

So for now, our shopping is done with the exception of a few small items for a few small people. He-he, we are all enjoying the no Santa thing. All of the boys presents are under the tree, but instead of Nathaniel, Benjamin, and Samuel the packages say Jimmy, Carl and Sheen. Mwah-ha-ha-ha!!!!

It is Hard to Believe That This is Going On So Close To Home

A little over a year ago I was shocked to hear that a brothel had been busted in my home town. I did not live in a big city. I lived in Albertville, Alabama. The details of that bust were sickening. There were two women working there, and they met with dozens of clients each day.

A few months after that I moved. I heard on the news that there were more brothel arrests, but at first I thought it was in connection with the same brothel. No, another one. Two separate brothels, just months apart.

Recently there has been another. This one on the same street that the company Mark works for is located on!! What is this world coming to when THREE brothels are found in the same town so close together?!?!

Fun Days, Christmas Parties and an Ugly Cake

I always thought that Benjamin was the boy who looked the least like his dad. I, was wrong.

It almost reminds of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito in Twins

I know that this is going to seem really weird, especially in light of my post a few days ago about not "doing" Santa anymore. The company that Mark works for has a big Christmas party every year for the employee's kids. Guess who is a special guest that gives all the kids presents????

You know you are out in the country when Santa arrives in the back of a truck!


Benajmin with Santa



Samuel with Santa

Santa at Huhtamaki only buys gifts for kids up to age 10. This was Nathaniel's first year to be a big kid that did not get anything. He got some cars later from Wal-Mart.

Benjamin got a hand-held football video game. (Ha-ha!! I bet Annmarie likes that!!)


Samuel got a helicopter thing. He loves it. It even sounds like a real helicopter!!

Later on that same day we had a birthday party for Jesus at church

The pizza lady had wonderful timing-right in the middle of the Bible story


Nathaniel, Benjamin and Brenton chowing down


Samuel almost always sits close to his buddy Sophia


The girl table


Kavan wanted to sit all by himself


We played Pin the Star in the Sky


And ate a special cake. Notice the cake is round, like the world. And white. White stands for the purity of God. God is perfect and holy.


See the hearts? They represent God's love going all around the world.


Like the Star of David? Jesus was from the family of David. (there was later a candle in the middle of the star, showing how Jesus is the light of the world, but it did not make it into the picture)


Inside, the bottom layer (chocolate) represents the blackness of our sin. The middle layer (Red Velvet) represents the blood of Jesus. The top layer (white) represents our new life in Christ. Cool cake, huh???

So we attended two very different parties today. Afterwords, we came home and I wrapped Christmas presents while the boys played. Mark came into the room where I was (our bedroom) and asked when I wanted to tell the boys about Santa. We decided to do tonight. Now was a good time. So we called them into the room. We told that we hoped they had had a good day. They said they did. Benjamin said he liked the party at church better because it was about Jesus. So we told them we had to apologize to them about something. That we had been lying to them. They did not get upset. They did not freak out. As a matter of fact, Samuel looked at the presents I had been wrapping and "That longest present must be mine. I asked for a lightsaber with spikes and lightsabers are long so that one has to be mine." Then Benjamin figured out that while we had been in Wal-Mart earlier and Mark "had to go look at something" he was getting something without them seeing it. We have some sneaky kids.


The ugly cake: I had no idea what this was supposed to be until my sister looked at it and said "It's a chimney. See, Santa'a legs are sticking out of it." Wow, I thought I was the smart one!!


Benjamin came into my room wanting his picture made because he was looking all silly. He said "Maybe you should blog about this"


Samuel had to join in too. Word to ya mutha. Peace out, dawg!

Homeschool Humor

Berean Wife Posted a very funny song about homeschoolers on her blog. Which led us, being the super-nerds that we are, to go to Youtube and look at more songs like it. I think my favorite is Beware the Homeschoolers:

Ha-Ha!! The homeschool kids are going to take over the world!!!!

So that reminded of this little gem I first saw several months ago:

They have the same kind of timeline on the wall in this video as we do in our kitchen!!

Found this one this morning

The line about "missing out on all the good cafeteria food" was priceless!!! HA!


This is so funny!!!!

My Dilemma

di⋅lem⋅ma-
–noun
1. a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives.
2. any difficult or perplexing situation or problem.
3. Logic. a form of syllogism in which the major premise is formed of two or more hypothetical propositions and the minor premise is a disjunctive proposition, as “If A, then B; if C then D. Either A or C. Therefore, either B or D.”


It's that time of year again. The time where we are wrestling with our consciences over the great "to believe or not to believe" debate. I am talking about the "S" word: Santa Claus.
Keep in mind, our kids KNOW what Christmas is all about. As they were decorating the tree Samuel would say "Look, Mom, I am hanging this one up for Jesus!". They know that Christmas is about our Savior been born on earth, not about a fat man bearing gifts. So, what's the hubub?
In our earlier parenting days, this was really a non-issue. We read books about Santa, watched some cartoons, but we did not stress that he was a real person. He was something along the same lines of Winnie-The-Pooh. He only existed in those books and movies. Then, Nathaniel started Kindergarten. Every kid believed that Santa was real, that SANTA brought all their Christmas presents. (I am not trying to turn this into a rant of the evils of public school, it could happen in Sunday School or a homeschool co-op. The fact is he was with a big group of believers and started believing too. The church we went to at the time had Santa come visit the kids.)
God has really been weeding out things from my life. This was our first non-Halloween year, I recently watched Phantom of the Opera and did not enjoy it as much as I used to. (That is not the only movie that has left my realm of enjoyment.)So now we come to this. For as along as I can remember, we have been on the fence with it. We do not want to lie to our kids. However, I saw how people treated the kids around Halloween. "Don't you like to dress up and get candy? Where's your costume? Your mom and dad won't let you dress up?!?!? That's awful!!" Those are the things I heard. Who knows what was said when I was not around. Look, you can me a religious nut-job all day and I don't care. But don't mess with my kids or I just might end up saying or doing something that I later regret. I really had to bite my tongue at the church Harvest Festival.
Samuel is the one that really gets me. He so much believes in Santa. He thinks that he is going to get a lightsaber because "I really have been extra good. I just know Santa is going to bring it to me". (Yes, the lightsaber he wants is already purchased) He really thinks that being "good" gets rewarded. In the Bible we are not referred to as "good" we are called depraved, filthy, enemies of God, unrighteous, unholy... things along that line. We are in need of a Savior. Even after we repent of our old ways and trust in the Savior we really have nothing good we can brag about. It is His goodness that saves us. But even if you consider "good" as being moral and decent, look at what happens to people: all across the world there are people being persecuted for their faith. (I am talking about Christians) It may range from the small look at the little Christian goody-goody to something more serious-imprisonment, torture, death. God never promises a reward (earthly reward) for being "good".
Another thing is how do we explain it to all the kids who do NOT get what they want??? Kids who are precious, who try to be very good, but mom and dad got laid off, or got sick, or died? How do you explain to them why Santa did not come? How do unhurt their feelings? How do you make them realize that their worth does not come from a fat guy in a red suit?
So, I am asking advice from those of you in blogger land: How do you handle this? If your kids are non-believers how do you handle the angry mobs of "What makes you want to rob your children of childhood innocence" bullies?

 

The Best Songs ....With a Twist

Mark and Berean Wife have started a conversation on Berean Wife's blog about what are the 10 most God-honoring hymns. Since it is so close to Christmas I thought I'd take this idea and put a little tinsel on it. So, what do you guys think are the most God-honoring Christmas songs? I am going to narrow mine down to 10. Here they are, in no particular order.
************************************************************************************
Mystery

Joy To the World

Rose of Bethlehem

Jesus, Born on this Day (who'd a thunk a song written by Mariah Carey would a made this list?!?!?!)

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Holy Night

Silent Night

Sweet Little Jesus Boy

One King (ok, not the most scriptually accurate song, however, the "one King held the hope of the world" and the "tiny Baby, born to wear a crown" parts get me every time)

Joy
The ones in bold can all be found on Selah's Rose of Bethlehem CD


***********************************************************************************

These are wonderful songs. Some of my favorite songs that are not necessarily the most God-honoring are: Sing, Mary, Sing; The Little Drummer Boy; Strange Way To Save The World; Did You Know and Christmastime is Here The Charlie Brown song)

Jesse Tree Update

I have not posted anything about our Jesse Tree in a few days. Here is what we have been reading about:

Abram was told to count the stars and told that his descendants would outnumber them.


God told Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God provided a ram caught in the thicket


Jacob had a dream about a ladder stretching from Heaven to earth.


Jacob gave Joseph a tunic of amny colors. Joseph had a dream about eleven stars, the sun and moon bowing to him. (Mark was the odd ball who painted the picture)


Moses was called by God from the burning bush


God spared the first-born of each Israelite household when He saw the blood of Passover lamb on the door of the house.

We watched the movie Joseph, King of Dreams and talked about the differences between it and the real Bible story. The boys also talked about the differences in it and Little Joe (Veggie Tales movie)

Wish List

In the spirit of greediness that has taken over Christmas, I thought I'd share my wishlist with you. Don't worry, it does not cost a thing to fill this list. However, if you are reading this, you are probably not the kind of person who is being referred to in the following. I do not remember where I first saw this. I DO remember getting tickled about it because it vocalizes several things that I think but do not say. I have added my own thoughts in italics under the original points.


The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List
By Deborah Markus, from Secular Homeschooling Magazine, Issue #1, Fall 2007
1 Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and it is — it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
I have been asked by several people if I had to get certified to teach. Like that has really helped some of the kids in public schools.

2 Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean, and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.
ARG! My kids get out more now than they ever did before!

3 Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.
ARG again!!!

4 Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.
Or that we are weird and creepy like the one you know.

5 If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality" show, the above goes double.
Ha! I like that one!!

6 Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so please go away.
These people are so wonderful to be around, aren't they???

7 We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.
Actually, my kids are kind of bad of asking questions to other kids (homeschooled or not) to see if they know the same things.

8 Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
Some are not.

9 Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.
And that we must beat our kids and handle snakes.

10 We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision, tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.
Really, it has nothing to with you. It affects our kids, so therefore it had to OUR desicion

11 Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
Even worse than "what about socialization?" is the "what makes YOU qualified to teach your kids?" Makes me want to say "Can I see proof that you are fit to breed and raise children"


12 If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.
He-he

13 Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
Refer to my response in #2

14 Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.
Some days "school" might only last a couple of hours. Other days we work until dark.

15 Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.
Do you KNOW how many kids get drunk and/or pregnant on prom night?!!?!?

16 Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.
AMEN to that one!! Unless you really want me to start filling your kids in on what they are missing by being school, do not try to make kids think that they would be better off in school!!!

17 Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.
I don't bother arguing. I usually say something to the effect of how it is not for everyone. Most of the time I am thinking "with that attitude I am sure your kids are better off in the hands of strangers".

18 If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.
What is great is when you have a kid like Nathaniel who is so advanced in science that he is above the average adult. So that way, you can say "Well, why don't you talk a little Einstein or Galileo with my son and see what kind of education my kids are getting". That's good for shutting smart-alack mouths. (unless it leaves them gaping open)

19 Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.
(((grin))))

20 Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as representative of anything but childhood.
Don't think my kids are weird because we homeschool. They were plenty weird before.

21 Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.
They struggle sometimes. Some subjects are just hard to certain people.

22 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.
I do not write all my own curriculum from inside my head. They make these things called "teacher's manuals" that are available to homeschool parents, as well as public/private school teachers. You did not think that your teachers really knew EVERYTHING did you????

23 Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.
Some days I lose my temper and have to apologize for yelling.

24 Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.
Ever seen someone throw up at school and it caused a chain reaction of sympathy barfs? That happened at Mark's elementary school. The people in charge got on to the vomiting kids (cause you know they all did it on purpose) and MADE THE KIDS CLEAN IT UP!!!

25 Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!
Enough said!

Strange Wedding

Well, the wedding took place last night. Plans were in place for a small, simple wedding. Thursday night Amanda called and said, "Let's do a Polar Express Wedding." I am not kidding.

Don't get me wrong, I think that the Polar Express is a sweet book. Samuel had a PolEx birthday party one year.

Cute idea for a three year old's birthday in July. I felt a little weird in pajamas for a WEDDING!!!


The couple


Even Mark had to wear jammies.


Saying their vows


The kiss


Mr and Mrs Chambers


Bride and Maid of honor


Nathaniel and Grandpa look really happy to be there


With the groom's grandmother


Groom's parents


Bride's parents


The caterer, uh, I mean pizza man


My first (hopefully last) wedding cake. My biggest comfort is that since I am not professionally trained it will not end up here

I hope that they have a wonderful marriage, despite their unusual beginning. All in all, we had a nice time, meeting my new brother in law's family, and spending an evening with family.