"I've got an idea...when I want your opinion, I'll ask."

I know that I have shared with some of you that the neighborhood that we have just moved into is really "post card-ish". I mean...the truth is that the second day that we were here three neighbors came by to meet us, the Chairman of the Historic Whatever came by to bring us a "throw" blanket with some of the houses from the street detailed on it, and no joke, when you walk down the street people wave and yell, "Welcome to P**k Street." And they mean it. I mean, they LOVE their street, neighbors, and their neighborhood.

Since I am 3 weeks into my recovery I have been trying to take the girls for a walk at least once a day. There are sidewalks on this street so we are making good use of them. Today, my mom went with us for a walk and while we were out, about 10 minutes into our walk, when a lady that I had never met from the street waved and yelled, "Welcome to P**k Street." "Thank you." I said politely. Because it is endearing for everyone to be so welcoming.

"So, which house are you in?" She asked.
I pointed across the street a ways and said, "We just moved into that one on the corner."
She says, "Oh! I would love to see the inside of it." What's the harm? She's 70 ish.
"Sure. Anytime. Feel free to stop by." I say.
"Ok" she says, "I'll go tell my husband that I am going to run down with you real quick."
Now, I was a little uptight, strictly because I had not done the dishes, all of our homeschooling materials were on the table and our bedroom, for lack of a better term, looked like a tornado had hit it. For some reason it is the gathering place for everyone's crap. But, I was thinking, "No biggie. She can walk through and in the grand scheme of things, it's neither here nor there."

Well, I'll skip the part where she asked me how much we paid for our house...and get to the good part. When she was leaving, we were standing out on the back porch, and she said, "Did I tell you that I was in public education for 30 years?" "Yes, you did." I said. Now, maybe I am naive but I really thought that she was going to say...."So, if you need any help or any advice in homeschooling...."
That' not what happened.
"Well," she said, "You need to get your kids back in school as soon as possible."
Stunned, because I met her 15 minutes before this advice...I said, "My kids were in school and we pulled them out this semester."
"Well, haven't you seen all of those women on the news who killed their children...it's b/c they homeschooled." she advised.
"Well, we are doing fine." I informed.
Then she went into this long story about her daughter who homeschooled for a couple of years and she called them because she needed a "break" and finally "they all ganged up on her and she put them in school."
I responded by saying, "Well, I definitely think that our family is doing fine right now."
And she said, "You need to think about your extended family also."
At this point I am taking everything in because I really cannot believe that her lips are still moving. Then, she approaches her final point very skillfully....
"Even for people with teaching certificates homeschooling is difficult."
I knew that was really a question....so I say, "My husband and I both have our Master's Degrees- it hasn't been that difficult teaching my first grader." Which is a lie. Only Greg has completed his Master's. I , of course, began mine on three different occasions and completed only 15 hours toward a Master's in Public Health. I guess I should've clarified...oh well.
There were many more words falling from her lips....about "the mom's well-being and mental health" but the conversation ended with her saying, "Oh listen to me I'm already mothering you. See you later."

I mean, when do you hit the age where your opinions are so strong that you can not hold them in your mouth. I was troubled by the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of homeschoolers and she saw 2 or 3 on TV who were crazy and has formed this entire belief about homeschooling. That would be like me saying, "Well, I am opposed to public education because there are so many school shootings." I was also troubled by the fact that she didn't believe the "evil" was in the hearts of these women but rather some "outside force (homeschooling) made them do it."

Anyway. The only really funny thing that Abby said this week was : "When I grow up, I think I'll be a Hieroglyphic." She meant Chiropractor. I said, " I think you'd be a great one!"

Back in the Saddle, Again.

Today has been my first "official" day back at homeschooling since the move and surgery. It was a little difficult to keep Abby motivated. I'm sure every teacher in the system would agree- the first day back after Spring Break is like a squirrel on speed.

We had to do...and will do more tonight...ALOT of math review. I was reallly suprised at how quickly she had forgotten things that we had studied only 3 weeks prior. I need to do alot more review with manipulatives, using real money and more speed drills. I'm sure that some her age are past this...but she's moving a little slower in this area. I know, just like other things, it will just "click" one day.

We had a great discussion today in history . The "plan" that we are on has us cycling through different time periods....beginning with The Ancients and progressing to The Moderns...every 4 years. Well, today we talked about Life in Athens. We talked about Life in Sparta last week.
It was Great!

About a month ago I attended a conference that dealt with parenting & homeschooling. The main idea that I took away from there was : Teach your kids to interact with ideas.

Todays lesson was a fabulous example of this. It began by describing a young Spartan male's life and then the life of a young Athenian male. We did a lot of comparing. When the word democracy was introduced, we discussed Plato's idea that every citizen needed to be educated in order to vote responsibly. This was a great experience for me - to see her begin to interact with ideas about society & education. We also discussed the public forum. She also said that the Athenians needed to "rule" the Spartans because they "knew how to read, write and think through laws....and the Spartans knew only how to fight." I know that that is elementary...but hey- that's what she is and I think that it is pretty good for a 1st grader.

Her writing exercise for today (we do this everyday after history) was:

"Spartans would rather die than lose a fight. The boys were seven years old when they went to military camp. They were strong and silent."
"The people of Athens were educated. They were always fighting about the law. They had a vote. Plato thought people should be educated. Women could not vote."

Well, that's it for day one of "In Recovery".

more tomorrow.....

"Greetings Star Shine, The Earth says, 'Hello'!"

Hello World. I must say that the current state of the household is not as good as it could be. I have literally been on bed rest for 2 weeks. I have been spasing out about the amount of time that I have not homeschooled. Now, I started this blog to be honest. I want to give a real picture of what it is like to "do" life and "school" at home. Remember, we moved and I had major surgery within 2 weeks. On top of this...Spring Break has been this week for all of her friends. We have sit down at the table and formally studied about 3 days out of the last 3 weeks. I know that I am going to get slammed for admiting this. Now, in that time we have accomplished a lot, we just haven't been able to do it. Remember, it's one on one...so we are getting a lot done. However, I can not teach her very well when I can not sit up or pre-plan. Greg has encouraged me to not freak out about this because we only have about 20 more lessons left to complete for the entire school year and of course, we can do them any time. He has offered to start teaching a couple of her subjects in the evening. However, I really enjoy the interaction with Abby and the discussions that flow from the subjects. I feel a little "protective" of our time together. That's a little selfish, I know.
We will be visiting Head Start this next week to look at some options for our 3rd born child. It feels very fluid to know that we would have 2 being homeschooled, one in public school and the other in diapers. However, there are some challenges at this point that I really feel like I need assistance with and I think that the educators at Head Start are more equipped to help at this point than I am. We'll see after the interview and observation.
I thought that I would, again, share with you the paragraph that Abby wrote. She went to Christi's house one day for "school" and I asked her to give Abby the first sentence and to have her do some "free" writing....Here's what we got-

"One morning I took my favorite stuffed animals outside for tea. I said, 'Would you like some tea?' But no one answered. So I asked again. But everyone was quiet. Then I yelled at my stuffed animals and everyone said, 'Yes.' "

So...for those of you who want to homeschool because you want your kids to have great memories of what a patient & kind mother you must have been...sacrificial and self-less....never answering in a harsh tone...

Rethink it.

No, I have not died.

On March 3 we BEGAN moving into our new house. We love it and feel so blessed to have it. Moving in town is a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because you really do not have to pack anything very securely. We stacked dishes inside of a box, drove over and unpacked them. We moved room by room...etc. The curse of this is that everything that is "left over" is moved -with really no place to go...but it's not trash...you know what I'm saying. So...for several days we were trying to "put" "STUFF" somewhere...anywhere...

On March 7 I had to drive to R. to pre-register for surgery. It would take place on March 9, Friday. It would be a day surgery so my mom was going to watch the girls for the day and then things would get back to normal. As normal as it can be unpacking after a minor surgery with 4 children.

On March 8 my mom got sick. Really sick- to the point that I called my Mother-in-Law and my friend from Waco, crying...pleading with someone to come to my aid. So...LeeAnn drove in that afternoon and my Mother-in-Law prepared to come on Saturday. It's a good thing...

Today is Tueday...I returned from the hospital yesterday at 2:30 pm. The day surgery turned into a more extensive 4 day hospital stay!!! Now I am home...2 weeks in bed, 6 week recovery. My friends have been great...we have food, my house is almost in order (no kidding) and my Mother-in-Law is here until Friday...at which point LeeAnn will return for 4 days. My friend Christi, who also homeschools, had me write out my lesson plans and I sent Abby to her house today for school with her kids. Man, I am exhausted...but I wanted to give you an update. So please pray for a quick recovery with no major "kid" injuries!

In the throws of moving!

sorry i haven't posted! we are moving...more on homeschooling soon. we are still going...and it is hard.