New Year's Resolution's "Do you make them?"

     Now if these guys were around NO ONE would over eat!! Just think of it... Xmas Party and a little too much egg nog with a third helping of cherry cobbler. Driving home and darn if the car doesn't stall, what to do?You don't want to be out "walking" with these guys around!! LOL Just one more reason to hope they never figure out how to make "Jurassic Park" REAL!
     I have been exercising and watching what I eat for two years now, at first I really, really hated it and everyone around me. But I also kept it to myself for the most part, hubby knew cuz he was doing it with me and friends knew cuz they would see me. All in all I didn't want to toot my own horn... still don't! I am still working on my not so beautiful belly that my boys help make into a jiggly mess and wanting to get those last 10 pounds off before I turn 40  in 2012! Nope not dreading it... you know life does really get better with age. I have a awesome,supportive, hot hubby! Two boys who are loving and helpful to me (most of the time!) and others (all the time, funny how that works!)
     Just sitting around (ya right, if you know me then you know I just can't sit still and vegggggg out!) trying to get together our school schedule, work schedule and trying to run the house without going nuts. If trying to sell the house has taught me anything it is that I really do like the house clutter free and not too many nick-nacks. (as my grandma Simmons used to say) Also realizing just how much STUFF we have and the books, I have told you that I am a curriculum junkie right? ANYTHING that promises to help the boys I try, now going thru and getting them out; deciding if they are keepers or to be sold, donated whatever. Also going thru my bookmarks on the computer, really I really only use one site for spelling and vocabulary games, a couple different online math game sites and really, really wanting to downsize the amount of "things" I have to look at! When I am in this kind of mood the boys and hubby keep me out of their rooms, hide their "junk" I mean collectibles and go into the fetal position until it passes!
     So bring in the new year with a refreshed outlook on the upcoming year, and enjoy your family while they are with you. The boys will grow up and someday move out of the house, ((GULP)) not something I am looking forward to at all. Just ask hubby, he is already a little frightened to see what I do when I have more time on my hands!!

     Have a restful (if possible) rest of 2011, and start planning now for the BEST year ever for you and your family!

Love this photo

    OK I love this photo!! SO cute and my new saying over the holidays when the desserts are just calling my name!

    Well we are officially on Xmas break as of yesterday, well I should say the boys are! I still have some reading to catch up on for my homeschool literature site, and varies other little tweaks to make in our schedule for the new year! On top of all of that I am still moving forward on staging the house to sell within a couple of months. ALL the boys in the house are groaning about that one! It means good-bye to endless Lego battles that are all over the floor in the playroom and back to the bare minimum on "things" out at one time! BUT those are worries for after the holiday, I am going to try and relax today..... well maybe try and organize the bookshelves one more time. Just so when the realtors come thru to tell me what needs to be done I can say ummmm all the books that I can do without is up!! LOL and that still leaves us with 6 bookcases filled! Just wanted to say Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to all the ones  I forgot or can't spell. LOL

Well 2011 is almost over... PANIC

Well the year is almost over and we are starting our break in a couple of days (the boys both have a list of things to complete before they can be off!) but my work is get beginning! I am in panic mode right now, not having a clear plan on how to complete Alex's 9th grade year. We might be well into the summer before we finish, and that's OK. What we need is to know EXACTLY what is left to complete before I start the challenges of finding the curriculum for next year.
Oh for the days of just looking for a phonics curriculum or even learning basic math facts! This phase is so overwhelming and usually my own ADD tendencies get the best of me. So while I am trying to get ourselves more organized and with a plan or planner that works for more than a month! So I searched for "organizing my homeschool" in Google and came up with more links that I can possibly process in a week. However, I did go thru and find some helpful examples of what others are doing (being a visual kind of girl). I found a great thread on how secular homeschoolers organize which is important to me. When searching for ideas on organizing, I found that most of them are from Christian homeschoolers, so just keep that in mind (you can, like I do, just omit what doesn't fit with your life style).
More this year than ever, I have to find something that fits me, and our family to organize not only homeschooling, but work, co-op classes, practices, volunteering and other things that we are involved in for this coming year.  The main reason for this determination to make it work for us THIS year, is we are going to be "hopefully" selling our house. Yea right in this market right? But that is what is driving my desire to make this work, because I need to have a schedule organized (however loosely) so that we can still accomplish our school work even with interruptions.

So what is your plan? Do you have one? COME ON share it!!

Night out for MAMA:)

OK you see a pile of wood here right? I see a perfectly squared and planed pile of wood ready to be glued together and made into a beautiful shelf:) Well in about two more weeks that is... I decided that with all the running around I have been doing for the boys that I would take a night off for ((GASP)) myself!!

So I loaded up some games for the boys to do while I was away like ..hink pink online and some fun spelling games for them to practice their vocabulary and spelling words. Then I was off for 4 hours to play in the wood working class at the local arts center! Its something new so there were only two other peeps in the class. Of course, I was the only girl there. Silly men thinking I know nothing about working with power tools and I had to not act insulted when I received a lesson in CAD. (For those of you who don't know, in my previous life BEFORE kids, I went to school for Computer Aided Drafting and did house plans for a local architect.) With might I add some very CRUDE drawings, LOL.

Within about an hour, when the men in the class were nervous to go first on the joiner and planer machines, I think they realized that I knew my way around power tools. This pile of wood above is about an hour and half of work, even though it would have been done in less but there is a thing that I tell my boys is good to have.... patience and sharing the toys. Not saying I could make this by myself but thinking after a couple of classes this might just be my new hobby to relax. I have tried doing stained glass WHICH I loved but my hands didn't, pottery classes which.. well I think that one project turned out keepable but this one might be up my alley. At least I hope that I can continue to do it!! Stay tuned for the finished project.... and thanks to listening to me talk so highly of myself! LOL

Being Thankful

Another thing to be thankful for, being able to take off and go to Charlotte for the day to meet up with friends!

Well I have noticed that there is a lot of people saying what they were thankful for on Facebook, I figured it was for Thanksgiving. Even though I didn't do my "thankful for" on there, I am thankful for a lot in my life. Most important thing I am thankful for is a husband who supports my decision to homeschool our boys. Yes, I did talk to him about it but he knew that once I had my mind set on taking on this adventure with our boys that no one could stop me! It has been a curvy road of homeschooling our ADHD son, he has challenged me since the beginning to find out how best to go about teaching him in a way that he could get the most out of each lesson. But when you see that "I get it" look in his eyes then you have a feeling that this is why we are doing this!! Our youngest was at that age where he LOVED being around his family (right after Kindergarten) and since he didn't have to go through the challenges that "are" related to school, he has blossomed into a child who LOVES and I mean LOVES to learn about everything!!

Other things that I am thankful for is that both hubby and I have a job, a roof over our heads and food in the frig. When we were trying to think about what we were doing for each other for xmas, neither one of us really wanted anything! Another surprise is that the boys' lists are not long and filled with things that they will never use or play with.

I am thankful for my friends and family both far and near, they have been here for me when I was down and needed them! And for my friend/boss, who is always challenging me to learn, try and create something new for all of the homeschoolers out there!!

So a big "THANK YOU" to everyone in my life!!

American Indian Festival

Anthony and I did something fun last weekend! We went to the American Indian Festival at the NC Museum of History in Raleigh. I can't tell how much fun it was for just me and my youngest to get out and spend some time together learning about the native American Indians. We saw several of their tribal dancing complete with live singing and music. Anthony tried his hand at some games that they had set up, made a coil bowl,  watched several demonstrations on arrows and baskets being made, along with a table filled with how animals were trapped. They even had a live demo on making a dug out canoe. There were lots to see and do at the festival I especially loved seeing and hearing all the stories of what the attire that the dancers and others were wearing symbolized. We played several nature games online when we went back home, along with Anthony trying out his bow and arrow that he made! Well it was raining when we got home so he tried it out in his room! Needless to say there are a couple holes that we have to fill in his wall! He now knows something that I thought was a given, no bow and arrow  in the HOUSE!

Big Success! Mama visit and Book Release Party

HomeschoolLiterature.com 's first ever Online Book Release Party was a huge success! I am always proud of the things that I do for the site but that was one of the exciting things I have done thus far. Yes a lot of work and sleepless nights beforehand for those things you just don't know how it is going to go. I was so amazed by all the people involved~ Kerry,Joy and Michael ,three wonderful people I get to "work" with via the internet, Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley, mom,wife, author and oh yea publisher!, Leslie Schultz , author of "The Howling Vowels", Caja Coyote, a group of five teen authors who wrote "Fractured Fate", Heather Newman, illustrator for "The Howling Vowels". All of these great people did an phenomenal job, so my THANKS TO THEM ALL:)

While doing all of this I am relived that my boys still had a full week of learning! Well minus Monday, my mama came in for a four day weekend so we didn't do a whole of schooling on Friday or Monday. While I wasn't always able to break away from the computer, Anthony had our favorite online tutoring program to help keep him busy when I couldn't be right there. (it is also our supplemental educational program but this week it felt more like a paid tutor;). Alex was busy with his new lizard unit study, co-op classes, and more that I can't even remember now. It seems to be a blur!

Well that was my week last week, how about yours??

My First Ever Book Release Party!!

Well my favorite" roadschooling writing"author Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley's publishing company has several new books that we are going to be hosting an online book release party on Homeschool Literature! I can't even tell you how excited I am to be a part of new authors writing stories with homeschoolers as the main/supporting  character. Along with Joy and Kerry, great friends and helpers on the site, we were given copies of the books to read. We are going to be doing some special reviews for the party so that everyone can see what we thought of the books, along with some giveaways. (both on the site itself and on our Facebook page)

here's the list of great things that we are doing for the party!

• First 50 visitors on the 16th receive a free ebook from Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley
• Giveaways on both the site and our Facebook page on that day
• Live chat with author and homeschooling mom ,Lisa M. Cottrell-Bentley, on "helping the reluctant writer"
• Video interviews with the authors
• Audio excerpts from the books
• Interview/video with the illustrators
• Book activities and games
• Book reviews

Well another week has come and gone!

What's that saying my mom always said when I was wishing for things as a kid? "If wishing were horses we'd all have a ride.." Well I am wishing for a week, NOT like the last couple!! Household fixing up that NEVER ends, car in the shop, having to ask about school work for the millionth time,running the boys around( for classes,appointments& volunteering) and oh yea NOT sleeping worth a darn made for a week from HELL! This week again is slotted to be another busy one but hoping for a relaxing weekend with my mama this coming weekend:)
Things on the "to do" list include finding an online writing program for Alex, getting ready for an exciting online book release party on my other site(more on this soon!) , getting starting on the next literature book for Anthony, getting the car back from the shop, hopefully getting the home improvements DONE (for a while) and starting to relax a bit as we head into the holiday season. Its going to be a hard one this year especially Thanksgiving, because last year my beloved Grandma Simmons was here to still chat about how she makes this and that, all the kiddos that are coming to her house, and stories of her childhood holidays. But the "show" must go on.....



PHOTO recap of SOME of the things we did this past weeks, I am so terrible about taking pics especially when I am busy:(

Me painting 18 ft walls

Alex's new permit

Anthony and me at go cart track

NEW snake wreath I made

Just lovely~ my boys in all black and deathly

Alex BB lesson

Alex's owl report

Noah's Landing Volunteer

Alex's new friend "Cody"

4 Out of 5 Days

Well this week is scheduled to be almost as busy as last week!Our normal weekly activities of Spanish,music  co-op classes and Alex's fav Nite Life Cafe (teen hangout night), are just a few things that we are doing! On top of the other activities we have some new or almost new things planned, which include flag football, our new 4H homeschooling group, and our favorite CHS event the annual Halloween party. Then Saturday, we have two Halloween parties at the same time (not sure how that is gonna work!) while driving a total of 4 hours so that Alex can volunteer at Noah's Landing Halloween event! Maybe I will just stay in bed this week and peek out next week? OK maybe not!

I have already started searching for some samples of  standardized tests for homeschoolers for my 9th grader, why you ask?? I have decided since this is such a huge step for us, high school that is, I need to give him a test in another month to see how he(we) are doing. That way if I find something like his spelling skills are lacking (again) we can ramp up even more on it. I know that some other homeschoolers I hang out with say that they don't care about spelling as much as they should and I should relax some... But I just can't seem to let it go!! By spelling I also mean his vocabulary, I want him to have a broader base for the writing he is doing for his co-op literature class this year. One way I have researched last week is to have him start a blog, I am thinking on animals, so that he can practice writing about cool facts he finds as well as sites he likes. I have a blog writing online course ready to go when I get all my ducks in a row:)

So that's my plans for this week, what are you planning to get done with this week?

OH what a week!!

Anthony singing Metallica songs with T an T-oh a proud moment:)

Bambi telling us he didn't like our side door!

Driver's Permit test passed!

When you start a week with cute boys singing Metallica, you think the week is going to be OK, right? We went from that to having Bambi hit us! Poor deer ran right into the side of the door, thankfully we are all fine, well maybe except for Bambi:( On Monday we had a bday  and passed the learner driver's permit. Oh and the fun didn't stop there! From that day on we haven't stopped...car estimate (why does it take so long?), music lessons, meeting with my boss,doctor appt for Anthony, getting leak in roof fixed, meeting with a bazillon tile and granite peeps( did I tell you that we are trying to get the house ready to sell??) Spanish lessons, gameday, co-op classes and OH YEA having my son drive me around any and everywhere EVEN ON THE HIGHWAY!! To top off a lovely week, our weekend has been filled with renting 16ft (a frame ) ladder, paint sprayer , taping the hell out of the first floor (prep just sucks) then painting the ceiling, removing tape,paper and plastic. Today fun is filled with taping off trim (where we need to) and painting 18 ft walls in the living room and entry! Paint ball for Alex and hubby from 12-4ish, while Anthony and I stay here and try to get some painting done. Well while I try to get some painting done..... so that we have at least the living room back and my school room has a path thru it again!

I was very happy with all the school related things that we managed to get done this week! Owl unit study is done (OMG FINALLY, topic for another post!), almost done with our MBTP unit 1( I know I know but its a new curriculum for us and we are trying to do everything!),research about a blogging course for Alex to take (thinking of him having a blog on animals), managed to find some more books about homeschoolers for my site, finally getting into the groove for our days, and managing to stay somewhat sane during the process!! Well I did say somewhat!!:)

 This week is chalked full of appts,classes, repairs, painting and oh yea schooling, how about yours?

The Day is Almost Here!!

 Everything that I have done up until now from finding out if there were any special education 
requirements to homeschool the boys. Or discovering the best way to teach the writing process, have not prepared me for our next adventure. Can you guess what it is?? If you have been reading my posts OR friends of mine on Facebook you probably already know, the pic above gives another good hint:) NO not a new girlfriend even though that's another adventure on the horizon I am sure!!

Tomorrow morning Alex and I are heading up to the DMV to get (hopefully) his learner's permit!! I am both nervous and very proud of him, he has been taking samples tests and been doing well on them. He has a lot more growing up to do and I am thinking that this just might help. No not a mom who can't wait for the stage in life for her boys, just wanting them to be happy in the now!! We have also talked a lot about what the future holds for him, trying to get him to help himself and me too, figure out what direction to take his high school years education. I think that it is one of the hardest things in life to figure "What makes me happy??" Every parent wants their kids to be happy but also to be able to make it on their own. We won't be around forever, and as much as I don't want to think about that day in the hopefully far away future, is as certain as the sun rising. I am just feeling very emotional today because after tomorrow the state of NC just might be handing my oldest a permit that gives him permission to drive! Crossing my fingers that all goes well and you know that I will be talking about the results VERY SOON:)

What's GROSS and INTERESTING?

 And the answer is..... OWL PELLETS!! As you can see (well kinda of!) from the pictures above, he documented the size of the pellets. Then much to my grossing out factor, he gently dissected the pellet by pulling the fur and bones apart.  Yes, I am grossing out just thinking about it, but I just couldn't walk away!! He only did one of the pellets and Anthony did one of the others, both boys had to figure what it was that this owl ate (which in this case was a Barn Owl) The poor victims here were rodents.  As our unit study on owls is wrapping up, Alex has been studying owls a little longer than expected. He has had some field trips that involved seeing owls and then other things that have come up, like driver's ed driving,vacation, having a sick mama for over a week, you name it it came up:)  This week we will finish up the owls and move on to the next animal that he is wanting to learn more about. But to finish up this unit study, has to get together all his findings and put the information into a visual aids such as a lapbook or power point presentation. Also he has a report that is due by the end of the week which he will be reading to all of us next weekend. As always, we are working on his paragraph writing and increasing his vocabulary, at least I could make his vocabulary a little more exciting with online vocabulary games from one of my favorite sites~ Vocabulary/SpellingCity.

This whole unit study was a great learning experience for both of us for his first lessons as a 9th grader. As we move forward to the next animal, I have learned of some things to take out or worksheets that were redundant.  It makes this homeschooling through high school an ever involving adventure that I can't wait to hear the ending!!

Starting to get my blog out there!!

Thanks to my friend Yoda, I am starting to get my blog out there!! I recently registered with http://technoratimedia.com/ to have my blog added to their search engines:) When you register with them and put in the details to claim your blog they give you a code like this one 4XPJYBGUFZ7F, so that they can verify that you are the author of the blog. Pretty cool!!!


For more info on Technorati Authority: Technorati Authority FAQ - Technorati

A little play on words

This week while doing our MBTP lessons, we did some fun crafts, that actaully went with the bee class we took a couple of weeks ago. Anthony made a fun bee topper for his pencil and flowers for it to pollinate! We went over the how the bee gathers the pollen to make yummy honey. It was fun afternoon of making things and sampling some honey:)

Then on to our grammar and writing, which is always a challenge to get excited about in our house. I decided to see if he could distinguish between multiple meaning words and went to my favorite site for any related to words Spelling City! They had these fun play on words sentences.....

Never desert your friends in the desert.
Close the window before the bee gets too close.
Lead poisoning can lead to health issues.
Does the deer see the does?
The dove dove down to its nest.
Shut your mouth or a fly might fly into it.

These were part of the sentence writing and I was even surprised when they had things like capitalization of different words like... may (as in May I help you?) and May (the month). Usually, I let him do these types of lessons/games on his own but this time even I stuck around so that we could play together. It's hard to always make the days fun when there is sooo much to do, so I enjoy days like this one just as much as he did!

The Bugs/Insects Have It!

BeeKeeping Class at Museum

YUCK! 

There was this great class at the Museum that I signed us all up for right after we got back from vacation. Alex was gracious to let us do this class on his birthday weekend(yes on your birthday weekend you get to pick what you and everyone else gets to do!), once we all got there it was bug crazy at the BUGFEST! So we all took the beekeeping class, everything that you need to know to start keeping bees. I always thought that it would be cool to have bees and this class was full of information and the most delightful beekeeper Bob Alderink. This man even gave total strangers his email and phone numbers to get a hold of him to  ask any more questions. LOVE IT! I am thinking once we get into a place with a little more distance between us and the neighbors that I want to start keeping honey bees. It's not just for their honey either, these little hard workers help the garden (both veggies and flowers). Well I decided to make another homeschool literature arts lesson out of the whole experience. We found out many new facts about bees and this cool site for supplies, how to videos and more! I am in love with this English garden bee hive and have it on the wish list;)

All this bee and bug research had an unexpected surprise, Anthony while on his way out to put the recyclable to the curb came across this caterpillar.

Black Swallowtail Caterpillar

 

 

He decided to do his own research to find out what kind of caterpillar it was and what butterfly it would become! He found out it was a Black Swallowtail Caterpillar and see those orange antennas on its head? Those come out only when they are scared and emit a foul smell. Anthony said like dead buffalo!! LOL, not that he knows what that would smell like!! I think it is because of our literature unit study on Little House in the Big Woods, along with that story I have several Chester Comics on the wild west and one has a buffalo on it that he was reading:) Imagination on this boys I tell ya!

So from bees to giant yucking bugs( yes that's their scientific name, I can't remember what it was sorry) to in the front yard caterpillars. We are a bug family this is if they are not in the house!!

What sounds like?

A recent vet visit for the dogs, was an interesting one to say the least! We are rushing around trying to make sure that they all have their shots so that they can be boarded while we are away. I took this pic while waiting for the vet to come in to check them out! It was so funny that they both jumped on the bench and tried to sit as close to me as possible. Since the boys were at home, of course, doing their lessons! When I went back home I told the boys about the visit and turned it into a fun play on words.  We are trying to do Scrabble with the boys as a way to get their spelling skills up and lately I have been doing homophones or words that sound-alike as a easy way for them to think of different words.  We have used the words like, to-too- two , read - red, sent- cent- scent, stationary-stationery, etc. But after this visit, I came home and when it was time to think of as many words as possible to spell, I started with vet and tried to think of words that had the same ending sound (we came up with pet, net,set, etc).  I started naming everything else I could think of that I saw at the vet's office. You know, like floor, table, pill, shot, etc: it made for a interesting play on words!

For your information, the doggies were all good with their health even though we found out that Tuffy (Scotty) is a little over weight. I can't use the word "fatty" cuz it makes Alex mad, even though he does have little pork chop legs, LOL. So on a diet and exercise he goes, right now Alex is taking both dogs for a walk to work off the breakfast;) All and all everything is good to go for the trip, I am sure that Tuffy will be very vocal when we drop him off because he doesn't like going to be boarded but our little Dino isn't nice to people coming in the house so having someone watch them here isn't an option!

Birthday parties, special field trips and school!

Two weeks down, and phew I am tired already! We have had some fun days of playing with friends, kick off party with other homeschoolers, fun field trip to Alex's favorite place (Noah's Landing) and of course the big birthday of leaving the single digits behind! The last one bums me out to no end, no more kiddos in the single digits!

Well we are trying to get into full swing with all the things I have on our "to do" , we are going along at a pretty good pace, considering we haven't been home as much over the past two weeks. One of the many things on the list is to FINALLY get the boys, familiar with the all the states and their location on a map. I look for anything, like US state games or US state board games to play with them that re-enforces the things we are learning about in our studies. It can be hard to fit everything in so we usually do some "carschooling" on the way to this or that!

So much to do and so little time, but we will get through it one way or another!!

High School Transcripts, YIKES

I have been a little spoiled up until this point. The only kind of records I have kept have been tests scores and my Time4Learning homeschool portfolio. This year is the year that all that changes, I have been busying researching high school transcripts samples, programs and anything else high school related. I know with my attention span I have to maintain a class/subject list as we go through each one, including grade, hours spent and credit received. So that when it is time for Alex to go to college, trade school or whatever he decides to do it will be ready! I am very, very lucky that I have a lot of local homeschooling friends and some online friends who are already doing this so I can ask them any questions I might have! (Cuz if you know me I am going to have some questions!)

I am both excited and nervous with this new year's requirements for Alex especially but I know that I can get this accomplished!! It is not always easy to homeschool your teenagers, I mean my mom was ever so happy for school to start;) (right mom?!) As a family we have decided that this is the best thing for our boys and they NEVER want to go back to regular school. They could change their minds and if they do we will jump that hurdle when the time comes. For now I am trying not to stress too much and enjoy this thing called high school (the first time around I can't say that I enjoyed or retained anything! hoping that changes this time) with my baby boy Alex! (OK,OK so he is taller than me, probably stronger, has a mustache and his voice is deeper than before! BUT he is still my baby!)

Dealing with a loss of a beloved pet

Boys with Schultz, 2009

Something that happens in everyone's life is dealing with the realization that no one lives forever, we all die. The subject is never an easy one, when it comes to our children. Losing a loved family member or friend is one of the worse things that can happen in anyone's life. Especially so, for a child, whether they are 2 or 18 it brings all kinds of questions and emotions into their minds.

August 26, 2011 is one of those days for our family. We didn't lose a human family member but a family member all the same. Our beloved dog, Schultz, passed away, and was discovered by my kind-hearted, animal-loving son.  The emotions that the boys are feeling are ones that I as a mother wish I could take away and put them inside me instead of them. This loss is very traumatic for my boys and for us as a family. We are a family that moves around, or at least in the past we have, and one of the constant beings in their lives have been Schultz. Our family doesn't live right down the road from grandma's house or have cousins, aunt and uncles that come for xmas dinner. The boys haven't been able to grow up with weekly, monthly or even yearly visits from relatives or to relatives' houses. We had one constant in the past 15 years(besides each other of course), our dog Schultz. He ran and played with Alex since he was 1-1/2 years old, grew older and welcomed Anthony into the family. Schultz played with the boys when friends were not there, listened to their stories, gave them comfort by just placing his head on their lap and letting them pet his head. He ran along side them when they were mad at the world or just mom and dad, and was always happy to see them. How do you explain to them that yes yesterday he was there and today he just isn't there? And the question of why, even though we all know that he was an old dog, it still doesn't make the pain any less in our family's hearts. It is a part of life, this thing called death! Another lesson even though a painful one that everyone learns about sooner or later in life.

I loved that old dog too and now I have to show them that life does go on.  Sometimes one painful step at a time!

FINALLY, We Started;)

Well we really started the full course school work this past Monday! I was meaning for us to “go back to school” about four times this summer, but it seemed like for one reason or another I just couldn’t commit to it. I think that I was having problems with knowing that I was going to have a high schooler and a fourth grader this year. I was spending more time looking for spelling lists by grade or trying to find that perfect writing program that is going to get us up to where “I” think we need to be at. Plus the added “stress” of knowing that Alex is in ninth grade, going to be getting his driver’s permit, and basically that he is about three years from being EIGHTEEN!

I mean where the hell did the time go? Seems like yesterday I was bringing home my first little baby boy and then just a few seconds later I had my second little boy. (with his big brother saying” If I would have known you were going to have that baby I would have stayed!! Yes, he wasn’t at the hospital when Anthony was born, he had gotten to stay the whole day with his Aunt Kellye and Uncle Brieee being spoiled rotten).

So I guess that you figured it out, mama was having issues! The boys were enjoying a much longer time off from school. It didn’t even faze them when I would say “ We will start on this date” then the date would come and go with no school in sight! If you are homeschooling you probably know what I am talking about, we are with them 24/7 but it still isn’t enough time to be with them. The things that they say, do and experience~ we are there with them!

The first day back was rough, I thought that Alex would have a melt down because besides the World Literature and History that he is taking with his group from last year, he has a FULL schedule. It was actually Anthony who was like I HAVE TO DO THIS IN ONE DAY! He melted down about four times, over things he “couldn’t” do. Guess what turns out he CAN do them he just didn’t think he could. How refreshing to see him figure out things and really enjoy OUR time together with our new and old curricula this year. Even Alex is all about the Owl Study that I put together for him. Sure when we went over their work on Tuesday of everything that they had done the first day, there were things that need to be improved. I thought that over all they did a wonderful, amazing, fantastic job of learning about a little self awareness, time management and challenges that lay ahead of them for this year.

Well, we are on our way to another year of learning and experiencing all our life has to offer.  I, for one, am looking forward to seeing this year be our best year yet, only time will tell;)

Taking a little Spanish 101, here!

jpg from http://www.123teachme.com/learn_spanish/hello_in_spanish

It's amazing to me that the same ways I have taught the boys to figure how to spell words in English, is the same way our Spanish tutor, Noelia, is teaching the three of us to speak Spanish! She is teaching us by using syllable or segmenting activities, especially important for me, LOL. My Spanish is not so good, well you probably noticed my English is not so good either! hehe, but I am working on both of them!

I know, I know there are tons of freebie sites for teaching Spanish, more still that have foreign language games, and even more videos on YouTube. "But this is serious", (yes just like those lovable "Wonder Pets" use to sing when things got serious on the show), Alex is beginning 9th grade and it is important for him to learn his foreign language choice from every possible way we can find and afford! My visual learner needs all kinds of different media to learn something new, and Noelia is doing a wonderful job with us.  I have always wanted to learn to speak Spanish and now is my chance! I did take Spanish in high school as well, but do you know I don't remember a thing about it? I guess because growing up in Missouri you didn't hear too many others speaking Spanish too much. Also, the fact that I was well.... not the best student! (let's leave it at that shall we;)

Both the boys are enjoying the classes, as am I, and we started as you would teach a child (like Pre-K aged) with songs and the basics. Alex especially loved the song about "The San Jose Flea Market" or "La Pulga de San Jose" (well I tried to find the song for you all to listen to but of course I couldn't find any ones with someone else singing it;) Anyways, it talked about all the instruments that you can buy at the San Jose Flea Market, it was fun to say all the instruments and Alex really got into the song. We are still practicing about four or five songs that we were assigned along with other things. This week it is conversations, hello, how are you?, that sort of thing. This assignment scared me most of all because we were supposed to find a stranger that speaks Spanish and go up and say Hello, etc.! Later she revised it and said just to practice on someone that knows Spanish and US, so that they didn't start going into a long conversation with us left scratching our heads wondering what they were saying!

All and all, I love homeschooling the boys, not only for all I can teach them (with lots of help) BUT also the wonderful and interesting things that I learn everyday! It's amazing what you appreciate when you are older and learning something new is most definitively first on my list!

It's that time again!"NOT" Back to School

End of science fun

End of week of animal fun

So raise your hands if you are NOT going back to school or not taking out a loan against your home to pay for everything that you HAVE to buy for your kids? NOT rushing around with one of those lists of a million school supplies that your kid probably will not use? NOT having a melt down with back to school shopping in general? Don't you remember doing all those things before you pulled your kiddos out of school? OR if you were lucky enough to be homeschooling since the beginning, then when you were going to school and your parents running around getting all your supplies for school? Well this is just another thing I am so happy that we don't have a set time that we need to run out and get anything! I am not losing my mind trying to make sure that the boys have the latest, coolest fashions, just letting them pick what THEY think is cool to wear.

SO what do you have planned to do for your "NOT" back to school party or get together? We have a Kick Off with our local homeschool groups at the park that everyone brings a dish (AKA potluck) and the kids have fun games to play.The moms can sit back and relax, and we mostly talk about things like the coolest new site for learning compound words, spelling games, our new curricula, or even something fun we are doing like planning field trips. Meanwhile the kiddos are running around playing with friends (getting stinky and sweaty) or playing card games. After this day is over we all retreat back to the AC and I relax, yes again. It's hard chatting about school and life for 4 hours, LOL.

Are you joining any fun Co-ops for this year that you are excited about?  We have one that Alex did last year that is Now going to be on Fridays for World Literature and history with a great friend. He really enjoys the history class not so much with the literature class! (only because he is writing a lot;)  Discover a new planner that makes your life of scheduling a breeze? Still haven't found one that I am in love with OR that my ADD tendencies allow me to do for more than a month. Just my standard pen and paper so I can cross the HELL out of each thing as I get it done!

Maybe you are starting to blog about your homeschooling experiences? I have great inexpensive resource for anyone looking to start blogging, it is a blogging writing course that I took before I started blogging. Some of the stuff I already knew but there was tons I didn't even think about.   Make sure to share your blog in the comments, it is always fun to see what others are doing! (and inquiring minds want to know)

A Week for Summer Camps

Anthony's Camp through Wake Co. Libraries~ Science in the Summer

Alex's Camp is at Noah's Landing in Coats, NC~ Teen Junior Zookeeper

As you can see even Anthony was able to say hi to some of the unique animals at Alex's camp! This week has required A LOT of running around for all of us but the rewards are well worth it! We are only two days into the camps right now and all Alex can talk about are the animals and experiences that he has done each day! Anthony as you can tell from the pics is smiling and learning as well but once he saw and heard Alex talk about his day he was a little jealous!  You can't please everyone all the time right??

I am taking the little time that I have to myself this week (after all the running back and forth) and getting ahead on things that I have been putting off. I know you don't believe it?? I pretty much have our secular homeschool curriculum taken care of for the first six months of school but there are always something to add to it! Or even after getting it together realizing that I missed something fun to add to the lessons! Fun activities, like these camps or crafts projects even field trips are a part of what we do every year and make the boys ready to jump into the lessons!

Have you done any fun camps for your kiddos this summer? I know that with our school system that they have kids on different tracks so the Wake Co. has programs throughout the year for kids to do when they track out. I will be looking more closely at these programs for fun camps for the boys to participate in!