Labor Day

There aren't too many kids in the neighborhood. Actually, I haven't seen any. But the neighbors have grandkids who stay with them occasionally so we arranged to have the kids meet. They met first a couple of weeks ago and seemed to get along well, so this time we invited them over for swimming, homemade pizza and a movie. Jitterbug is 10 and full of energy; she got along well with both Mr. S and  Divagirl. Coolcat is 13 and pretty quiet; he and Mr. T got along well.

The 3 youngers watched the movie E.T. while the oldest boys played xbox. It worked out quite well. And when the movie was finished, Jitterbug made Divagirl her pet cat and Divagirl couldn't have been more thrilled! She finally had someone who would play imaginatively with her.

We definitely need to do this again. :)

Tropical Storm Isaac Update

Evidently Isaac decided to follow the European model and not hit much of FL (besides the Keys) at all. Good for us, potentially devastating for Louisiana if it does land there. The up side is that Tampa is pretty much unaffected so I plan to skate on Thursday.

The boys are making great strides on their piano lessons! They are working on Fur Elise and some Christmas songs (thinking ahead) and have nearly mastered Ode to Joy as you can see in the video.

Divagirl has completed her Reading Lesson textbook with flying colors which puts her at a 3rd grade reading level. I am so proud of her! She's just picked up the first of the Boxcar Children books and will hardly put it down. Unless its to play Presidents vs Aliens on the ipad... its pretty addicting. I feel confident in saying that she no longer has any reading issues.

I figured out the ordering issues I had with Am@zon and I do have to commend them, if the books ship from KY we get the shipment the very next day. Amazing! I found some delightful books I plan to use for history with Divagirl (now that she's a reader) entitled "...If You Lived With_____". Its a whole series and I got several on Native American life in different regions as well as Colonial times and Revolutionary life. They are very informative and will hopefully bring American history to life for her.

Hurricane Isaac

With the possibility of Hurricane Isaac passing through and causing rain, wind and flooding along the coastline from Miami to Louisiana we've been battening down the hatches for potential external flying hazards. We should be perfectly fine here even if we lose power since we have a well and a generator and enough food for an apocalypse. It does mean, however, that I most likely won't get to skate this week since Tampa may or may not get hit hard depending on whether or not the American model or European model for storm tracking is correct.

Either way we've been getting lots more accomplished on the RV since the weather has finally been rain-free and beautiful for the last couple of days. I'm sure our days are limited though for this week which adds a bit of pressure to the mix. I'm not keen on pressure. Up next we need to install the carpet in the cockpit area.

Next week officially starts our full schedule of lessons for the kiddos. We've been in the swing of things for a month now but only in limited subjects: Reading, Cursive, Writing for the older boys, Music, Art, History and Mine Craft. Oh wait, Mine Craft isn't a subject! Although more time is spent on that game than on their lessons I fear. (Not for much longer...<insert maniacal laugh>mwuahaha)

On a related note, I'm a little miffed at Am@zon because I've been trying to purchase some of the free e-classics and free e-textbooks I've had on my wish list for school (some I already downloaded, some I was on the fence about) and now they are no longer free or they are in a format that can not be downloaded in the US. What!? Are you kidding me? We are really making an effort to conserve resources and adhere to weight limits. With limited access to libraries we can check out books from on the road (browsing will be unlimited) I was counting on finding suitable alternatives for the Kind!e. Boo, hiss Am@zon.

Let the Homeschooling Begin

After way too much electronic freedom, its time to detox the kids' minds and get back to learning. We are using August as a fill in the gaps month and get a head start on some subjects that need some brushing up. Its a fairly light schedule to ease back into lessons. They will all start their music lessons: piano for Mr. S and Divagirl and guitar for Mr. T.  Divagirl should be able to finish her Reading Lesson book and refresh her memory on All About Spelling. The boys will also work through the All About Spelling program albeit at a much faster pace. They can probably get through the first 2 books in a week. We will start reading The Wind in the Willows aloud each night as a family round robin. The boys will also start their first assignment with Teacher-Grammy reading The Outsiders. Lastly, everyone will work on Cursive First since Divagirl is still learning to write and the boys need some maintenance on their established handwriting. We also started some art lessons. I bought the Kindle edition of this Art Lab book and the lessons are really delightful. 

All remaining subjects will start around the 1st of September.

Passing The Time

Sundog on the way home from Tampa.

So what have we been up to? It has been so ridiculously hot and humid with enormous mosquitoes that we typically spend most days indoors. Captain has been busy with work, the boys have been amusing themselves with unlimited electronics time, Divagirl has been bouncing off the walls and shadowing any person or animal who moves, and I have just been trying to cope. Some evenings, when it doesn't thunderstorm, the kids are able to go with dad or grandpa to the neighbor's pool. Here are some of the other activities we managed to get photos of...

Divagirl is learning some animal husbandry skills when she's not amusing herself in the rv.

We had a BBQ and marshmallow roast planned but the weather had other plans. Not to be dismayed by the torrential downpour, the marshmallows were roasted anyways and the s'more assembling occurred indoors.

One nice thing about having an ex-sheriff as a grandpa, free target lessons. When the boys aren't learning how to be deadly assassins, they enjoy cheating at boards games. (Not really...well, maybe a little)

Second Verse, Same as the First

One advantage to the kids spending another night with us is that Divagirl (far right) got to spend one last fun-filled evening with 2 of her best friends. They went to the movies and out to dinner and had a blast. She was so happy!

After the airline mishap yesterday I did not have high hopes for today. The kids were automatically re-booked on a new flight leaving at 6:41am and connecting through Chicago. Anyone who has connected through O'hare knows that this is bad news. More bad news is that due to the cancellation the rest of the week's flights are completely full. Nonetheless, Captain woke up at 4am and took the kids back to the airport to do an instant replay of yesterday. Only it was not to be. Turns out the level of incompetence was higher than I thought. United does not allow a six year old to fly without an adult 18 or older, even if she's flying with someone who is allowed to fly alone. They basically told him that they have no idea how they made it through yesterday. Or why no one knew on the phone. So Captain needed to pay an unaccompanied minor fee for her, but not for Mr.T, although they both received wristbands since they were flying together. Then all sorts of fun kicked in. They oversold a direct flight and bumped 2 people. Captain had to stay with them until the plane took off. Thankfully, the flight was on time. But the new flight was at 10. After packing all day and night, getting up at 4 and then having to wait at the airport for 5 hours, coming home to pack afterwards was not fun.

They got to Florida 13 min. early and their grandparents met them at the gate. I actually got to talk to the flight attendant and she said they were absolutely wonderful (of course they were) even though they couldn't sit together. Divagirl sat between two gentlemen and had them wrapped around her little finger within minutes. They waited on her like a princess and she talked their ears off the entire trip. I wouldn't recommend United if you had minors flying alone.

 

6/27

Who Needs Summer Camp?

On Monday we called Comcast to schedule internet shut off for Thursday. As soon as Captain hung up we lost our wireless connection. Coincidence? He called back to see if it was a glitch and we had already been terminated and removed from the system. Really?? Meanwhile he was still supposed to be working online. The kids were using the wireless for the ipad and their ipods so they weren't pleased either. Therefore, I haven't been able to stay connected or update the blog until now. I've been totally relying on my phone to stay connected and using tons of data. I'll do my best to catch up...

I really don't see why all our friends stress out about finding summer camps for their kids all day. Just do what we do, drop them off at the airport and come back for them 7 hours later! Okay, before you call CPS, that's not really the entire story. We had planned on Mr. T and Divagirl flying early to their grandparents and we booked them on United months ago. I even called the airline to clarify their somewhat beguiling policies. We got there an hour and a half before the flight and its already delayed 45 min. We find the Special Services desk and ask for a gate pass. Because Mr. T was allowed to travel as his sister's guardian only one parent can get a gate pass. Hmm, ok, Mr. S and I waited until Captain got them through security and settled comfortably at the gate. Then we bid them farewell and went home to pack. We'd been following the flight info through notifications and the flight kept getting delayed. Long story short, after many hours at the gate and 2 hours on the plane the flight was cancelled. Stop packing, return to airport, pick up kids and carry on. (to be continued...)

6/26

Locks of Love and Ballet Wrap Up

Divagirl (on the left) is our little ballerina. She takes 2 classes a week, but during the month leading up to the Spring performance she can take up to 4 classes a week. And she still wants more! That means that up to 4x per week her slick, slippery Chinese hair is wrangled into a sleek bun. There has been a considerable amount of breakage over the year, so back in February we started talking to her about donating her hair to a child that needs a hairpiece due to medical conditions. She loved the idea as long as it went to a girl "because its girl hair".
The day after the performance we went to the salon and had nearly 11" cut off. She was a little concerned initially, but after it was dried and she got to swish and swing it, she was sold. Since we are heading to FL in a week, she will be much more comfortable in the heat and humidity. She even made a little card to send in with her donation. I don't know if anyone will ever receive it, but its the thought that counts.

I think she looks adorable, but I might be a little biased. ;)

6/22

And then there are days...

...when you feel like you are talking to a wall.

Just when you've finished patting yourself on the back on how well Divagirl has been progressing, you take a day to review some concepts she'd mastered months ago. Sounds easy, right? Evidently not. She's had her numbers to one hundred since January. Every once in a while she'd forget some of the bigger middle numbers so we'd been working on numerical order NOT starting with 1. Things had been fine. Until today. I challenged her today by having her start at 33 and end at 51 and all went well until 39. So I reviewed tens place and ones place and asked her what comes after 3...(4) and what comes after 9...(10) and showed her the pattern of the other numbers such as 30 is 3 tens, 20 is 2 tens, 60 is 6 tens, you need 4 tens, what would that look like? Um, 5? (insert head slap) No. Repeat previous lesson, she says she gets the concept, there should be a 4 and a 0, do you know of a number that has a 4 and a 0? Yes, 90! (hitting head on table) No. I finally guided the process more by putting the number in front of her and asked her to find the number 40. Yes, I totally cheated and she totally needs more work in this area, but not today.

Lessons al Fresco

 

It was so gloriously wonderful outside today we just HAD to do our lessons on the patio. We reviewed our presidents 1-15 and learned 16-20. Is it weird that I have a crush on Franklin Pierce??

 

Then we moved on to our Spelling lesson and worked on spelling with the short 'a' and short 'i' sounds. She's getting really good at segmenting words into sounds.

 

Next came handwriting. She wrote 4 new letters for the first time today: h, k, f and qu. We learn them as phonograms so 'qu' is the team we learn instead of 'q' since its very rarely used on it's own in English.

 

Finally, we finished lesson 11 in her Reading Lesson. I can't say enough praise about this book. It breaks new concepts down into manageable increments and uses temporary hints to help decipher different sounds. After you've had enough exposure to the new concepts the hints slowly disappear.

 

Time to read aloud together. Snack time is over and my computer time has expired, lol.

I hope you are having blissful weather wherever you may be.

Reading Update

Divagirl is a Daisy Girl Scout and yesterday she had a troop meeting. They worked on Sunny's petal, friendly and helpful, and the girls who wanted to participate could take turns reading Sunny's story out loud to the group. Divagirl took turns reading! I was so proud of her progress I could've burst :) She did so well reading fluently for the most part, sounding out the bigger words when necessary and getting a little help now and then. And to think in January she couldn't retain a handful of sight words! I really had my doubts whether or not she'd be reading anything at all until next Fall. It just validates that I made the right decision to homeschool her.

My Baby is So Grown Up!

Sometimes its hard to believe I'm the mom to 3 awesome kids, and then I remember my oldest is turning 14. And then its extremely difficult to believe that I'm old enough to have a teenager! (One look in the mirror usually brings me back to reality pretty quick)

Yes, my baby boy who made me a mom for the first time, is turning 14 today. (*sniff*)

Happy Birthday Mr. T!

Last night I booked the flight to Florida for Mr. T and DivaGirl at the end of June. We thought it would be easier to send them to grammy's house ahead of time and let Mr. S, who was a little bent out of joint that big brother got to travel across country in November, travel with us in the moving van. Can I just say that airfare is getting ridiculous?! Last night I was logged in to the airline and figured I'd just book round trip tickets since we will need to get back to CA in the near future for ortho appts. While I was logged in, my first search brought up $439 pp rt. A little high, but okay, book...alas, in the time it took me to decide to click 'book now' I get an alert that says "This fare has gone up. The lowest fare is now $480 pp rt." Well, crap. Let's do a little more research...da da dah...okay, still the best deal, let's book it. What??? Another alert: "The lowest fare is now $509 per person..." Are you kidding me?! The price hiked twice in the 2 hours I spent making reservations. So I changed my strategy and booked a one-way for each and total for 2 passengers my total came to $509. Blarg.

A little note about unaccompanied minors traveling by plane, it can be easy-peasy or it can be very challenging depending on the airline. Obviously you will be limited by the airlines that fly into your closest airport. For us we had a decent selection as we fly San Francisco to Orlando. We also have the equally close options of San Jose or Oakland. So here's a breakdown of policies by airline with the best, IMO, at the top.

1. Alaska  ages 5-12 pay $25 fee, non-stop flights only; age 13-17 service fee is optional (Flights are generally on time and crew members are pleasant)
2. Virgin  ages 5-14 traveling without an adult who is at least 15 years old, $75-125 fee; ages 15-17 service is optional, non-stop flights only, includes a complimentary snack. Children under 4 years old are not allowed to travel unless accompanied by an adult who is at least 15 years old. (Awesome flying experience)
3. United  ages 5-11 pay $99 service fee, non-stop flights; 12-17 service optional or can travel as an adult. (Not my favorite carrier, flights are often late)
4. Southwest  ages 5-11 pay $50 service fee each way, non-stop flights only. (Would be ranked higher, but never fly to where we want to go)
5. Delta  ages 5-7 non-stop flights only, $100 service fee each way; ages 8-14 non-stop or connecting flights, $100 service fee each way; ages 15-18 service is optional.
6. American Airlines  ages 5-7 non-stop flights only, $100 service fee each way; ages 8-11 non-stop or connecting flights, $100 service fee each way; ages 12-18 service is optional.

These are the top 6 that I would consider. If you have had experience flying unaccompanied minors I'd love to hear about it.

In our case they kids won't technically be considered unaccompanied minors since Mr. T is 14.  I actually had to call the airline to figure out how to book him and they told me to check him in as an adult. That means that DivaGirl, being 6 at travel time, is accompanied by a guardian. Either way, we can still approach the counter and pick up gate check passes for the rest of us to see them to the gate and through security. Being well flown kids, they will not need grammy to do the same when they arrive, they will just follow the signs to baggage claim and be met at the end of security.  Mr. T has flown unaccompanied before and has been at this airport before so navigation shouldn't be very difficult.

Socializing the Kiddos

The first thing a non-homeschooler asks a homeschooler is "What about socialization??" (gasp!) And whenever I'm asked that I know in my head the answer, but I'm usually so busy or distracted with other things that it comes out all mixed up like I'm defending it as I go along. Or, if I'm having a bad day the comment may be more on the snarky side like "Of course public schools socialize better, just look at all the bullies and standardized testing that will help them succeed in the real world if one of their suicidal peers doesn't shoot them first." Yeah, probably shouldn't use that one too much.

All kidding aside, homeschooled children are more real-world socialized than those in a traditional school setting. I think the question that people are meaning to ask is usually "How will your kids meet new people?" But I'll get back to that, let's start with the definition of socialization.

so·cial·i·za·tion

[soh-shuh-luh-zey-shuhn]

noun

1. a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position.

2. the act or process of making socialistic. the socialization of industry.

When you put 24 five year olds of varying backgrounds in a room together do you think that each child will seek out the most polite and respectful child to emulate their behavior or do you think they will pick the child that is doing something new to them or is gaining attention (positive or negative) from the adults and kids around them? You better believe that they are going to emulate the kids with the grossest, loudest or most demanding behaviors! These kids aren't "socialized" to society's standards yet, however we expect that putting them in the same setting is going to end up with positive results. The schools make an attempt at teaching positive behavior but with demands for higher test standards and shorter class days, character development is an afterthought.

Now to draw a parallel to the real world, how many of you have friends and co-workers that are all exactly the same age as you and have had exactly the same education as you? I would venture to guess NONE. But if I am mistaken I would love to hear all about it. It is more likely that you have wide variety of friends, co-workers, acquaintances and family that you choose to hang out with. The age ranges and backgrounds could be staggering! Yet, somehow, you all get along and enjoy each other's company. How can that be?? (insert sarcasm)

My best friend growing up was a year younger than me, not in the same grade, not even at the same school, but we were neighbors and spent practically every waking moment together. We live on opposite sides of the country now and have very different lifestyles and even though 6 months can slip away between phone calls we can pick up as if it was yesterday.

You don't need to have friends your same age. You just need to have one true friend that understands you and will support you for who you are.

One of the drawbacks of having introverted children is that many extroverts would consider them anti-social. That's not the case at all. And to be honest, public school (and private school) did nothing positive to encourage them to "come out of their shell," in fact it tended to do the opposite since classroom teaching is developed for short attention spans. By the time my kids had observed the situation, made a decision to engage, the class had moved on to something else and the cycle started all over again. My daughter had the opposite problem. She was eager to jump in feet first without completely listening to what was required of her and then got royally bent out of joint when she'd have to redo her work according to the teacher's requirements. She was also easily distracted by the other 24 bodies in the class making a simple task take forever to complete.

I really find the second definition intriguing. The process of making socialistic. Isn't that exactly what our current president is getting lambasted for? His supposedly hidden socialist agenda. Yet, this is what is expected of our children.

Back to the intended question of "How will your kids meet new people?" My answer is simple, the same way you meet people everyday. When we homeschool out of a house you meet your neighbors who are out when kids are typically at school, like the little old lady with the lovely roses or the chatty neighbor who is raising chickens. When we go on field trips and really, nearly everything is a field trip! When we visit our own friends who love helping kids learn. When we volunteer at the Food Bank. When we participate in homeschool co-ops or go to playdates at the park. When we road school it will be meeting the people that are temporarily living next to you or the family you meet at the laundromat. When we visit National Parks it will be docents, volunteers or Park Rangers. We will also be visiting all our friends that we've left behind over the years including the kids' friends. I feel that having the ability to strike up a conversation with a stranger is a very important life skill to have. What if you need to ask directions, most likely that person will be a stranger. What if you need to pay for your groceries, another stranger. Get separated from the family in a big store, ask an employee for help, who is a stranger to you. Can't find a book in the library, ask the librarian, another stranger. Stranger Danger is dividing our nation and making everyone think the worst of everyone else. You have street smarts and instincts to help you discern a safe situation from a potentially life threatening one. And sadly, many of the potentially life threatening situations revolve around people who weren't strangers to the child. :( But its difficult for a child to develop instincts if their parents never give them the opportunity to be responsible for themselves and possibly make mistakes.

My kids will also be keeping in touch with their friends the same way we will, by face time, texting, phone calls, emails and letters (and for Mr. T, facebook as well). They will also be making new friends along the way.

So did I answer the question? Probably not and kudos to you if you read through to the end! (Aren't you glad you didn't ask me in person!?)

Kindergarten Update

We've been "de-schooling" of sorts for the past month and its going really well! I've eliminated all worksheets and writing assignments for the time being since it nearly always brings tears. We have been working on the "school is fun" concept and using the word "lessons" instead of "school" to disassociate the bad memories. (But sometimes I forget and call it school)


I haven't been focusing on reading, just remembering the alphabet and sounds of the letters. She had some sight word work in Kinder but she couldn't remember the words she'd learned if we skipped a day practicing. I made what I call "Word Gems" using glass vase gems and printouts of the Dolche sight words. I had several colors of glass gems so I used clear for the Pre-Primer list, yellow for the Primer list and lavender for the First list. I found the idea on Pinterest (LOVE Pinterest for school ideas!). I glued the word to the flat side of the glass gem and then painted it with clear nail polish after it dried so it would hopefully be waterproof. It has been so great! Its a way that she can hold onto the sight word in her hand and its a visual cue of how much she already knows. I even used some scrap fabric to make a bag to keep them in. We take them out and review, make sentences, make longer sentences and play recall games. She doesn't get to "keep" a gem until she knows it, not just by sounding it out, but automatic. We've been doing other things to help her learn new words: stamping the word, saying the word, writing the word, and highlighting the word in a photocopied nursery rhyme. No flashcards needed.


As for Math, she already counts to 20 pretty well, so I've incorporated some Montessori methods using base ten. She helped me make base ten rods using chenille sticks and pony beads we had on hand, then we used loose pony beads as the ones. She picked up counting by tens and 1:1 matching of numbers almost immediately. I then showed her how to determine place value and she understood that as well. We've also been taking advantage of the conversation hearts in stores now to do estimation and graphing lessons. Very tactile (and sweet) activity.


I've ordered a handwriting book called Cursive First and its designed to help kinetic learners, lefties and dyslexics write better. (How could I resist that?) For the beginning at least, I will have her do the exercises with both hands and then later she can choose which feels more comfortable for her.

I'm finding now that the pressure is off, she is recalling information that she learned earlier but was unable to retain. I think she really needs to have time for new concepts to sink in which is why we have backed up to basics and will take our time moving forward.

One Homeschooler

Well, there was this time when I said I had to try very hard not to pull the kiddos out of public school now. One escaped. That is, Divagirl is now being homeschooled. Hehe. The school curriculum and processes were failing her and it was painful to watch her try to keep up and learn to hate school. There were aspects that she loved (teacher, friends, playing) but most of it she didn't love. Although she was ever the trooper and went to school with a smile and told everyone how much she loved school. Which was why it was with great trepidation that I suggested to her that I might homeschool her instead of going to school everyday. It was with great relief that I heard her say "Yes mom!" And when I took her to her class the next Monday so she could say goodbye to her teacher, I felt a little guilty when she bounded up to her teacher with a huge smile and said "My mom's going to teach me at home!!" as tears rolled down her teacher's cheek. (Oops, oh well)

But really, it was inevitable. The only reason it hadn't happened sooner was that I was heavily invested in that class. I was Room Parent, classroom volunteer and website manager. And, selfishly, I liked my alone time, brief as it was. Trouble is, I never did anything productive with it. I did talk to the teacher, but she was teaching at an accelerated rate that the top 10% of the class could keep up with and her methods included vast amounts of worksheets. Divagirl loathes worksheets. She's a kinetic learner and most school settings aren't the best place for kinetic learner to thrive. One thing that clinched it for me was that I followed a hunch that Divagirl might be left-handed so I had her write her alphabet with her "wrong" hand and then her right hand. Aside from it being awkward because she didn't know how to hold the pencil and floated it across the paper, all of her letters looked as good or better than the letters she wrote with her right hand that she's been practicing for 3 months! When I showed it to the teacher and told her I suspected she was a lefty the teacher basically responded with I don't really care what you do with her at home and implied she wasn't going to change anything at school. Really? I then asked her how many lefties she has had in the last 10 years. None. Yup, that explains it. Teach by demonstrating the right hand. Unless the child comes in fully grounded in left-handedness, they will be a right-hander by default.

I also have a hunch that she may have some form of dyslexia. Its not the kind where you transpose letters, but the one where you can't remember whole words, but can spell and sounds them out. She also has difficulty reading the word on the next page after successfully reading the same word on the previous page. The type that I'm watching for in her is called Dyseidetic. Perhaps also mild Dysgraphia since she hasn't chosen a dominant hand yet. At least now I can keep an eye on her progress.

Doing the best for your child is what its all about. So homeschooling here we come!

Road Schooling

As I've mentioned before we'll be roadschooling the kiddos, which is really just a very mobile form of homeschooling.

The biggest challenge will be having enough room for all our materials and still keeping it simple (oh, and not exceeding our gross allowable weight).

This affords us an amazing opportunity to live, walk, and see historical sites and make our American history lessons come alive!

I've been sorting through the materials I have already and trying to simplify things due to the space constraints we will have imposed on us. I have lists on my phone and the computer that detail my ideas and the kids ideas on what they want to study. That's one of my favorite aspects of home schooling, letting the kids have input on things they want to learn. Our methods tend to fall into a classical, eclectic, secular, unschool approach with an emphasis on real-world experience. We teach everything that's mandated by the state we are registered in, but in addition to that we develop our kids minds so that they learn how to learn and can think for themselves while being resourceful and productive members of society.

I plan on posting individual curriculum lists for each kid (first grade, 6th grade and 9th grade).

The kids waffle between being excited about homeschooling again and being sad that they'll miss their friends. I won't miss the colds, bullying, drop-offs and pick-ups, early mornings, packed lunches, acquired bad habits, classroom volunteering, PTA meetings, expensive field trips, state mandated testing, and the peer pressure. I might miss the hour or two of free time I had that really only went to keeping the house clean. With only 200ish square feet of living space, I don't think I'll need 2 hours a day to keep our home clean.