Just quick...

Finally posted over at the Good Grief Blog...check it out. :)

Home again.

Whew. You may not have known it, but we're home again. We were on the road since July 9...attended a baptism, watched the World Cup with friends, helped finish wedding prep for my baby sister's wedding, went camping at Mt. Rainier, saw friends in Seattle, did the whole rehearsal and wedding and reception thing, went to a family reunion, spent a day in Yellowstone, and drove about 4000 miles altogether. Pulled in to our driveway about 3 am early Wednesday morning (and thankfully had the presence of mind ahead of time to move the garage door opener so we wouldn't accidentally try to pull into the garage with the cartop carrier attached, LOL).  

Just finished downloading (or is it uploading?) 2045 photos (not counting the ones Nathan took which are still on his iPhone). Spent all day yesterday just doing laundry. Finally tackling mail and such today. Will take me a bit to catch up...hang in there... ;)

Back to homeschooling stuff...

Sorry. Insert summer vacations and family events here. ;) I'll try to catch up when I can. In the meantime, here are a few Q&A type dealios about homeschooling that I get a lot of...

What type of homeschooler are you? I’m what I’d call an eclectic homeschooler. I don’t stick to a single curriculum or schedule so am not really a “school at home” sort. I don’t homeschool for religious reasons. I’m too fond of organization and plans to be a true “unschooler.” ;) I take what works for us and piece it together…I’m eclectic. 

Doing the math, you don’t homeschool that many hours of the day. Shouldn't you do more? (This also answers the “How do you find time for yourself?” question.) True. Some days I stop and question whether I do enough. I think every homeschooler…every parent…does. But. My thinking is that they’re still just boys and they need to play. Studies have shown that kids learn more from playing than from homework anyhow, and I think that learning how to play together and work things out or how to occupy one’s self are incredibly valuable skills. Because my boys can do this, I don’t find myself needing “me” time nearly as much as I might otherwise. I’m finally to a place (Micah’s old enough) where I can more easily do things like exercise or read a book or watch a movie by myself while they play in the basement or something. It’s good.

Also, if you stop to think about how much time during the regular school day goes into busy work or standing in line or gathering materials or recess or waiting your turn, really, there aren't that many hours in a day devoted solely to education (particularly one on one, or even one on three instruction) even in schools.

How do you handle teaching multiple kids/levels at the same time? This is something I continue to struggle with. My solution thus far is to handle the “basic” subjects like math and reading individually. Each boy has his own materials at his own level. We generally sit together at the table and they work independently, with me available to answer questions. Lately, I’ve also had Noah helping the younger two from time to time. I’m trying to work more one on one time in with each boy as well. For all the other subjects, so far, I teach them all together. I know some things end up being too easy for Noah or too advanced for Micah, but I figure/hope that it will all work out in the end, as I’ll revisit most of this stuff in more detail.

What advice would you give a new homeschooling family? … Three main things. First, do what works for you and your family. It’s easy to get caught up in seeing what “everyone” else is doing (I know I still have my moments!), but ultimately you have to make choices that work for you. That’s part of what makes homeschooling so appealing in the first place, right?

Second, pay attention to your child’s learning style. Work with that. It makes a world of difference. Don’t expect your kid to be able to sit and study from a book just because your neighbor’s kid can. He very well may learn best by walking around listening to a recording of the same book. One of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to tailor instruction to the child, so take advantage of that!

Third, pay attention to your own learning style. While it’s important to know your kids, figuring out your own learning style is often overlooked. This was key for me. Once I realized that not only did something have to work for my boys but it also had to work for me, things worked much more smoothly. Now, I’m not saying that the curriculum, itself, had to be the approach that would teach me the best…rather that it had to be organized in a way that worked for me. If it didn’t, even if it made perfect sense to one of the boys, I found myself having a difficult time following through and making it a part of our routine.

Aren’t you concerned about *gasp* socialization? … Nope. Not in the least. According to a dictionary, “socialization” is “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; to adapt to the needs of society.” From what I can see, that’s just what we’re doing at home. ;) In fact, I’d argue that my boys are better able to develop personal identity at home than they would be at a public school dealing with peer pressure or being forced to learn curriculums that may not have their best interests at heart.

Yes, yes, I know that generally when people ask about socialization they want to know about interaction with other kids. Well, first, there are three of them. ;) Second, I find it irrational to assume that sitting in a classroom with 25ish other kids the exact same age is preparation for “real life.” Do you work with a bunch of other people the exact same age as you and not interact with people of other ages for the full day? I didn’t think so. By homeschooling, my boys are with me…in society…all the time. They get to interact with people at the store, people in the library, people on the street. Plenty of people. Third, through our homeschool group, soccer teams, karate classes, swim lessons and other such things, we get plenty of time with other kids. 

And now, folks, I must get back to some of these other things. ;) Please leave a comment or email with any other homeschooling questions you might have! I'd love to share my own little thoughts on them. ;)

Complete randomness.

- Why isn't it considered littering when newspapers and flyer people leave stuff all over my driveway and front step area? I find it highly irritating that I have to take the time to then recycle or otherwise dispose of all of that when I did not ask for it.

- How is it that my office keeps filling up? I haven't been scrapbooking much lately and haven't even been scrapbook shopping in months...yet I keep finding little stashes of product all over the place that need to be put away. :)

- If you need a little retail therapy and are in the market for some scrap goodies, check out this! (Not at all affiliated...just a fan, lol!)

- I recently realized that I've never picked strawberries. Many, many other fruits...yes. But, never strawberries to my recollection. Is it worth it?

- So. What did you do for the Fourth? We were utterly rained out here. Well, technically, we had a couple severe thunderstorm warnings, a tornado watch, a flood advisory and a flash flood warning. And then it stopped pouring rain and hailing just before the local fireworks show times. Amid all that, the Loveland show ended up being rescheduled for the next evening...which was beautiful and perfect and much appreciated! I have some fun pictures that I'll try to share soon.

- My layouts were up over on the Good Grief Blog recently and I forgot to tell you. I'm telling you now. ;)

- I think it's awesome that Fort Collins continues to place so nicely in the 100 Best Places to Live in America dealio. I know that we love it here...nice to know others do, too.  

- Someone recently shared this article with me and I just had to pass it on...it's awesomely perfect!

Eight.

Oh my heck. My sweet Asher is EIGHT years old today! Here he is at one of his swim lessons last week:

And here, in his words, are eight great things about being eight:

1. I'm halfway to being able to drive.
2. I'll get to blow out 9 candles next year.
3. Now I get to say that I'm 8.
4. I'll have more skills at making snowmen because snowmen are basically just big figure 8's.
5. An 8 sideways is infinity (and infinity is cool).
6. I might be old enough to ride more rides now.
7. I'll get to go to third grade now at Options.
8. I'll get a bigger allowance!

(Yes, our allowances are based on age. ;) They each receive half their age each week...which might seem like a lot but actually has ended up saving me loads of money since I had a tendency to buy more stuff for them before we started making them responsible for buying anything they wanted, lol.) 

And, because I don't like being left out of the list making...here are 8 things I just love about Asher:

1. He's, well, adorable and, for reasons unknown, still often likes to be upside down when watching tv. (He's always done this...no idea why.)
2. He's such a good helper...always trying to lend a hand.
3. He loves his brothers...just absolutely loves them.
4. He sticks up for people and looks out for them.
5. He's a stickler for rules and isn't afraid to voice his opinion.
6. He just lights up when playing with or talking about or looking at Legos.
7. He has the most glorious laugh and smile and, with the exception of food, lol, is willing to try new things.
8. He's mine. :)

I could go on, but that will do for now. Happy birthday to my Asher and happy Thursday to everyone else! :)