Well, we are in our third week of the school year and things are going pretty good. Alexandra is doing harder words this year in spelling and so far is doing good with it. She got a 93 on her spelling test last week. Makenzie's words are much harder. They are a challenge 4th grade level with words most adults spell wrong. She did great on her spelling test, only missing 3. Jacqueline got a 100 on her test. She was so proud of herself. She hopes of course to do it again this week.
Home school is an adventure, but, one I am glad we are doing for the girls. There have been a couple of changes in our lives and I am going to be looking at taking on a part or full time evening job. In fact, I have an interview in about an hour that I is for a job I hope I get. It will allow me to bring in some extra money and be flexible with my time. This will be helpful for both school and work! crossing my fingers things go well. If not, I have a couple others I am looking at as well.
We don't have anything too crazy going on right now, just trying to get into some routines and make things work.
I hope to plan a field trip or two, but, it will have to wait until after I know if I will be working and what day's I will have off! I'll keep everyone posted.
Dana
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Back-To-School
This is our table =) This is where we do all of our workWell, we made it through our first day of school! It was pretty easy to get back into it. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this. I read several blogs from other homeschooling moms and at times I feel almost like I'm doing it all wrong. Like, they know something about home school that I don't. Then I realize there are no rules and I can do it how ever our family needs things to be done. This is hard for me. I need rules, I work better with knowing how it should be done. I have read that some have classes where ever the mood strikes them; the couch, the table, the park, even the bedroom! Some parents report they have no set curriculum, they just "go with the flow" and believe that children will learn when they are ready. For example, if a child is ready to learn about why the sky is blue or how the car runs, they will ask. I know, please don't lecture me about this kind of learning =). There are many forms to homeschooling, many beliefs and religions. I can't point a finger at these schools or say they aren't doing it right, or should be doing something different anymore than I think someone should look at how I've decided to run mine.
The truth is, we are all homeschooling our kids for our own reasons. Those reasons determine how we will teach them. Some do it for their religion, some for the well being of the child, some do it because they have a child with special needs, or the child is not learning enough at school. Some do it for safety others do it because they think that public education is lacking.
For what ever the reason.... I am at awe at the amount of work it seems to take me! Why?
Well, I know this is going to shock you...but... I run a pretty strict ship here at the Eiffel Academy! My curriculum is not one set, page by page book we use. I do research on what we will be doing and every Sunday sit down with all of my books and computer and work on this weeks plan. One for each of the girls =)
I am homeschooling the girls because we believe the public education system, no matter it's 'wonderful intentions' is lacking. It's failing our children and our society. We are pushing kids through 12 years of school with no better than an 8th grade education and then throw them out into the world not knowing what in the hell is going on. There are too many rules for teachers, too much politics and too little learning. Too many kids in one class and not enough teacher to help those who need it. Too little time or energy or funding to push kids into expecting more out of themselves. Okay, off my soap box here =)
When setting up my school room, it never occurred to me that we didn't need a structure. A room for learning. A place of calm and peace and predictability. Having class in the bedroom or where ever we land every morning was not a thought that ever crossed my radar. I have to say, it's just not in me! There is NO WAY I, Dana, can just have a 'see how it goes' plan for the education of the girls. I can't even fathom how I would go about doing that? No, our poor children sit every morning at 8 am in our class room. We start with spelling, we do English, Math, take a break. We do Science and Social Studies, we read, we have computer time which includes; typing, writing letters, searches, games, learning CD's.... we practicing writing skills. We have a book shelf (we call a library) that we add to all the time from our local used book stores. We have a computer/media center, a filing cabinet, school supplies have homes, we have journals and work books, text books etc. We even have a bulletin board and a dry erase board. We have posters, maps, clocks and a globe. We even have a desk/table where we sit and work. It is called the classroom and it's no mystery as to what is going to happen in there!
The girls have a folder (one each) they turn in all their work at the end of the day. I grade them at the end of the week. Yes, we keep grades!! I am harsh about it too. We take tests and study. We get report cards. We are as much a regular school as you can get with out the federal funding =). The truth is while I am not a fan of how much my kids were learning in the public school. I am a fan of the structure. I think kids do better when they know what is expected of them, when they know whats going to be happening and have a routine. I think kids rise to the expectation you set for them and will push beyond them given the chance.
Yes, it's strict and a lot of hard work. However, we have some cool sides to our school too. Field trips, early days nearly everyday (we school from 8 till we are done about 12 or 1) days off for no reasons. sick days are not a big deal!! The girls love it, they are doing well and don't seem interested in going back to a regular school. They are socialized too in several of the million upcoming events and programs our co-op and support groups have going this year.
I get asked all the time 'how long do you plan on doing this?' The answer is until the girls graduate or I can no longer do it. We don't plan on bouncing them around cause it's hard or a lot of work. When we decided to do this, it was for good. A better or worse choice that we went all in on.
Today, was our first day of the school year. It was a light day and the girls loved the new ideas I had for this year. We have some very cool plans for this year and a ton of stuff we are going to be learning. We started a theme on Arctic animals for this month and the girls are going to be writing reports and a making a book. They seems happy about that this morning.
I took some pictures so I could put them on here. A lot of people keep asking me for them, so, I am going to attempt to show you our little world.
Well, I know this is going to shock you...but... I run a pretty strict ship here at the Eiffel Academy! My curriculum is not one set, page by page book we use. I do research on what we will be doing and every Sunday sit down with all of my books and computer and work on this weeks plan. One for each of the girls =)
I am homeschooling the girls because we believe the public education system, no matter it's 'wonderful intentions' is lacking. It's failing our children and our society. We are pushing kids through 12 years of school with no better than an 8th grade education and then throw them out into the world not knowing what in the hell is going on. There are too many rules for teachers, too much politics and too little learning. Too many kids in one class and not enough teacher to help those who need it. Too little time or energy or funding to push kids into expecting more out of themselves. Okay, off my soap box here =)
When setting up my school room, it never occurred to me that we didn't need a structure. A room for learning. A place of calm and peace and predictability. Having class in the bedroom or where ever we land every morning was not a thought that ever crossed my radar. I have to say, it's just not in me! There is NO WAY I, Dana, can just have a 'see how it goes' plan for the education of the girls. I can't even fathom how I would go about doing that? No, our poor children sit every morning at 8 am in our class room. We start with spelling, we do English, Math, take a break. We do Science and Social Studies, we read, we have computer time which includes; typing, writing letters, searches, games, learning CD's.... we practicing writing skills. We have a book shelf (we call a library) that we add to all the time from our local used book stores. We have a computer/media center, a filing cabinet, school supplies have homes, we have journals and work books, text books etc. We even have a bulletin board and a dry erase board. We have posters, maps, clocks and a globe. We even have a desk/table where we sit and work. It is called the classroom and it's no mystery as to what is going to happen in there!
The girls have a folder (one each) they turn in all their work at the end of the day. I grade them at the end of the week. Yes, we keep grades!! I am harsh about it too. We take tests and study. We get report cards. We are as much a regular school as you can get with out the federal funding =). The truth is while I am not a fan of how much my kids were learning in the public school. I am a fan of the structure. I think kids do better when they know what is expected of them, when they know whats going to be happening and have a routine. I think kids rise to the expectation you set for them and will push beyond them given the chance.
Yes, it's strict and a lot of hard work. However, we have some cool sides to our school too. Field trips, early days nearly everyday (we school from 8 till we are done about 12 or 1) days off for no reasons. sick days are not a big deal!! The girls love it, they are doing well and don't seem interested in going back to a regular school. They are socialized too in several of the million upcoming events and programs our co-op and support groups have going this year.
I get asked all the time 'how long do you plan on doing this?' The answer is until the girls graduate or I can no longer do it. We don't plan on bouncing them around cause it's hard or a lot of work. When we decided to do this, it was for good. A better or worse choice that we went all in on.
Today, was our first day of the school year. It was a light day and the girls loved the new ideas I had for this year. We have some very cool plans for this year and a ton of stuff we are going to be learning. We started a theme on Arctic animals for this month and the girls are going to be writing reports and a making a book. They seems happy about that this morning.
 |
| computer =) |
.JPG) |
| working on some papers. Behind the girls is our book case, white board and prize box =) |
 |
| girls working hard |
 |
| working together |
 |
| our bulletin board-beneath it is where we keep our text books. Each section is a diff subject. |
+(2).JPG) |
| Our text books and my stuff. My printer (couldn't live with out!) a log cabin Kenz made last year, the laminate machine I kidnapped from my mom =) and my COFFEE!!!! |
.JPG) |
| Our book shelf. Each shelf is a different level of reading. It's way more organized than this looks. All the books are in alphabetical order and by type =) To the right is our supplies and to the left is our white board |
 |
| looking into our classroom |
The picture above the white board says.'teachers are great! Whatever, can I have an A?' the girls love that poster
|
| everything has a place! |
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| from the front door..that black and white 'object' is Jasmine |
  |
| our map and file cab. Well, that's us! Our little world five mornings a week =) |
Friday, August 6, 2010
sooo, it's been a while
Well, I could sit here and tell of the million reasons I have not sat down and written about our little lives. The truth is, it's the very thing I write about that has kept me from writing, life!
I can't even really remember where we left off. So, if you have heard it before, just skip over it!
In March the girls and I went on a very long road trip to visit my dear friend Sarah. It took us about 3 days to make the drive to Nevada. The drive was fairly uneventful (for us) with only some snow showers and a such. We spent several days there before heading to Ca. There we spent some time with an old friend and his family, Adams sister and family and Adams dad and grandma. It was a nice visit and we were happy to see them. When we left there, we were trying to beat a nasty weather system out and did not get to see as much cool stuff as we would have liked on our trip back. We stopped in Oklahoma for a few days and spent some time with my family before heading back to Nevada. All in all we were gone about 3 weeks. Adam said we were never allowed to be gone that long again lol.
We spent the last couple of days in March hanging out at home. In April, we got back into school and spent much of the month just doing school stuff. The girls all did well and made the honor roll. Lex all a's and Makenzie 1-b. Her first ever and she was not happy about it.
We were able to sneak away for a weekend to go see my brother for his bday before he deployed to the sandbox. It's always nice to see him, and if you get to read this Phil, we love you, miss you and think and talk about you all the time (most of it good ) =)
May was not too exciting around our house, we were trying very hard to make sure the girls were caught up and where they needed to be for school. I felt a lot of pressure as the year wound down to make sure we had them caught back up.
Adam and I ended up having to spend a lot of time in May dealing with the lawsuit that was brought by the lady I hit in our accident. We had to spend some time meeting with lawyers and filing paper work. It was a pretty stressful month in our house.
UPDATE: Last week (the 28 of July) we got the papers from our attorney that they settled with the lady and she took the insurance money and signed a waiver that will not allow her to ever file another suit for this accident. whew!
On to June: Well, what can I say it was a very busy month for us. We wrapped up school with two on the A honor roll (sweet) took a little break and the busy stuff began. I share a birthday with my grandmother and sister-in-law. But, since we don't live by them, I get to celebrate it with just me =)
We had a nice dinner with the family, then the next weekend we had a little birthday party with some friends. Everyone we know got together and pitched in to buy me some diving classes. It was a very nice thing for everyone to do and I felt very loved. Adam threw a nice party and spent forever looking for the perfect cake. He found it and it really was very nice.
The next weekend was Adams birthday. My dad and brother came in that day, so we were able to go and have a nice dinner with everyone. The next day, we went on a long camping trip with some friends, us and my dad and brother. It was a very nice weekend weather wise (far cry from our last trip) This camping trip will forever be in our memories. On the 3rd of July, my brother (17) and Lex and Kenz went on a hike in our campground. What should have taken them 45 min turned into over 3 hours. By the time Adam and my dad decided enough was enough and we should start to be concerned, it was getting dark and we were not sure where they might be. We flagged down a ranger -who must not have kids, as he did not seem worried. However, the trail we found out that they were on, was like a 5 mile trail. They had only taken a couple of bottles of water for their short hike and no flashlights since it was the middle of the afternoon when they left. We knew they would freak out once it got dark. I also knew lex was not much of a hiker and would not be okay walking that far.
Dad and Adam went off after them to see if they could find them. It took them a bout an hour or so to reach them and when they did.... my poor brother had been carrying Lex for over half of the hike-and this is not some flat nature trail...we were in the mountains, the trail was steep and rocky. He kept them going and did a wonderful job. By the time we got them back to camp it was after 10 pm, pitch black and no one had eaten. The kids were all tired, hot and thirsty. We ate dinner around midnight and the kids all passed out hard! They have said they don't want to hike there ever again.
The next day as we were getting ready to go to fireworks we got a phone call that an uncle had passed away. It was a hard moment for my family. We made some calls, sat and talked for a while and then took the kids to see the fireworks. We will all miss Uncle Jimmy who had been battling cancer and is now not suffering anymore.
We made it back from camping in once piece (so we thought-see Aug). We spent July spending as much time with Tyler as we could. It was a very, very rare treat to have him around and the girls ate it up. Adam took him to a race and Ty was able to tour the speedway. He even mowed some lawns while he was here for some Summer cash. He played with the girls, watched TV with them, helped them clean their rooms... the girls loved spending time with him and miss him a lot.
My dad will be staying with us for a while, so the girls are loving that. They love their papa's and enjoy having my dad around to pick on.
Late July brought another scare as we thought Adams step dad was not going to survive his latest complication. It was a tense week around our house and we had to sit the girls down and explain to them that their papa was sick and that he would not be with us much longer. The girls are sad to think of him not being around soon, but, are very strong girls and know they are loved and that they will always have people around them that love them very much.
Adam and I celebrated our 9th anniversary this year July 27th! We went out to dinner and a movie while my dad watched the girls. It was a nice quiet evening =)
We have had a couple of 'minor' scares the last couple of weeks. I thought I was having a heart attack a couple of weeks ago. A trip to the ER and a LOT of tests later and they don't know what was causing the pains or how to prevent them. They have told me to reduce stress =)
However, after all the test were ran-other than being over weight, I am pretty healthy. All my blood work came back perfect.
A couple weeks later, I was still feeling tired and just wore out. (back to the camping trip) I had a bad time with the biggest ants you will ever see!!! I was bit a couple of times. One of those bites did not heal and in fact was looking pretty bad on the underside of my arm. All of the sudden I had like 7 of the same puffy, red, hard lumps on my arm and side. After talking it over with my dad and Adam (and by talking I mean they were griping at me to go back to the Dr.)
I went in. The Dr. took one look at them and said, "This is a staph infection, and a pretty concerning one" UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
So concerning in fact that he upped the dose of medication and it's duration from a "normal course of treatment of 10 day's to two full weeks worth"
The medication makes me ill....very, very ill! It lasts for about 3-4 hours after I take it and I have to take it 2 times a day...one more week of this stuff! However, the lumps are nearly gone and I am feeling better! I would like to say, this has not helped my "get rid of some stress" order my Dr. gave me three weeks ago!
My dads birthday was the other night and Makenzie made him a cake... she decorated it and was very, very proud. yes I have a picture and maybe one day Ill get it on here.
tonight I am going to the paint your own pottery place with my mom and a friend. Adams kicking me out of the house for some relaxing time.
Tomorrow my sister in law and nephews get in for a couple of days, then Wed. We start back to school.
I will try to do a better job keeping this thing up to date. Here's hoping the rest of the year is less eventful than the first half!
I can't even really remember where we left off. So, if you have heard it before, just skip over it!
In March the girls and I went on a very long road trip to visit my dear friend Sarah. It took us about 3 days to make the drive to Nevada. The drive was fairly uneventful (for us) with only some snow showers and a such. We spent several days there before heading to Ca. There we spent some time with an old friend and his family, Adams sister and family and Adams dad and grandma. It was a nice visit and we were happy to see them. When we left there, we were trying to beat a nasty weather system out and did not get to see as much cool stuff as we would have liked on our trip back. We stopped in Oklahoma for a few days and spent some time with my family before heading back to Nevada. All in all we were gone about 3 weeks. Adam said we were never allowed to be gone that long again lol.
We spent the last couple of days in March hanging out at home. In April, we got back into school and spent much of the month just doing school stuff. The girls all did well and made the honor roll. Lex all a's and Makenzie 1-b. Her first ever and she was not happy about it.
We were able to sneak away for a weekend to go see my brother for his bday before he deployed to the sandbox. It's always nice to see him, and if you get to read this Phil, we love you, miss you and think and talk about you all the time (most of it good ) =)
May was not too exciting around our house, we were trying very hard to make sure the girls were caught up and where they needed to be for school. I felt a lot of pressure as the year wound down to make sure we had them caught back up.
Adam and I ended up having to spend a lot of time in May dealing with the lawsuit that was brought by the lady I hit in our accident. We had to spend some time meeting with lawyers and filing paper work. It was a pretty stressful month in our house.
UPDATE: Last week (the 28 of July) we got the papers from our attorney that they settled with the lady and she took the insurance money and signed a waiver that will not allow her to ever file another suit for this accident. whew!
On to June: Well, what can I say it was a very busy month for us. We wrapped up school with two on the A honor roll (sweet) took a little break and the busy stuff began. I share a birthday with my grandmother and sister-in-law. But, since we don't live by them, I get to celebrate it with just me =)
We had a nice dinner with the family, then the next weekend we had a little birthday party with some friends. Everyone we know got together and pitched in to buy me some diving classes. It was a very nice thing for everyone to do and I felt very loved. Adam threw a nice party and spent forever looking for the perfect cake. He found it and it really was very nice.
The next weekend was Adams birthday. My dad and brother came in that day, so we were able to go and have a nice dinner with everyone. The next day, we went on a long camping trip with some friends, us and my dad and brother. It was a very nice weekend weather wise (far cry from our last trip) This camping trip will forever be in our memories. On the 3rd of July, my brother (17) and Lex and Kenz went on a hike in our campground. What should have taken them 45 min turned into over 3 hours. By the time Adam and my dad decided enough was enough and we should start to be concerned, it was getting dark and we were not sure where they might be. We flagged down a ranger -who must not have kids, as he did not seem worried. However, the trail we found out that they were on, was like a 5 mile trail. They had only taken a couple of bottles of water for their short hike and no flashlights since it was the middle of the afternoon when they left. We knew they would freak out once it got dark. I also knew lex was not much of a hiker and would not be okay walking that far.
Dad and Adam went off after them to see if they could find them. It took them a bout an hour or so to reach them and when they did.... my poor brother had been carrying Lex for over half of the hike-and this is not some flat nature trail...we were in the mountains, the trail was steep and rocky. He kept them going and did a wonderful job. By the time we got them back to camp it was after 10 pm, pitch black and no one had eaten. The kids were all tired, hot and thirsty. We ate dinner around midnight and the kids all passed out hard! They have said they don't want to hike there ever again.
The next day as we were getting ready to go to fireworks we got a phone call that an uncle had passed away. It was a hard moment for my family. We made some calls, sat and talked for a while and then took the kids to see the fireworks. We will all miss Uncle Jimmy who had been battling cancer and is now not suffering anymore.
We made it back from camping in once piece (so we thought-see Aug). We spent July spending as much time with Tyler as we could. It was a very, very rare treat to have him around and the girls ate it up. Adam took him to a race and Ty was able to tour the speedway. He even mowed some lawns while he was here for some Summer cash. He played with the girls, watched TV with them, helped them clean their rooms... the girls loved spending time with him and miss him a lot.
My dad will be staying with us for a while, so the girls are loving that. They love their papa's and enjoy having my dad around to pick on.
Late July brought another scare as we thought Adams step dad was not going to survive his latest complication. It was a tense week around our house and we had to sit the girls down and explain to them that their papa was sick and that he would not be with us much longer. The girls are sad to think of him not being around soon, but, are very strong girls and know they are loved and that they will always have people around them that love them very much.
Adam and I celebrated our 9th anniversary this year July 27th! We went out to dinner and a movie while my dad watched the girls. It was a nice quiet evening =)
We have had a couple of 'minor' scares the last couple of weeks. I thought I was having a heart attack a couple of weeks ago. A trip to the ER and a LOT of tests later and they don't know what was causing the pains or how to prevent them. They have told me to reduce stress =)
However, after all the test were ran-other than being over weight, I am pretty healthy. All my blood work came back perfect.
A couple weeks later, I was still feeling tired and just wore out. (back to the camping trip) I had a bad time with the biggest ants you will ever see!!! I was bit a couple of times. One of those bites did not heal and in fact was looking pretty bad on the underside of my arm. All of the sudden I had like 7 of the same puffy, red, hard lumps on my arm and side. After talking it over with my dad and Adam (and by talking I mean they were griping at me to go back to the Dr.)
I went in. The Dr. took one look at them and said, "This is a staph infection, and a pretty concerning one" UUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
So concerning in fact that he upped the dose of medication and it's duration from a "normal course of treatment of 10 day's to two full weeks worth"
The medication makes me ill....very, very ill! It lasts for about 3-4 hours after I take it and I have to take it 2 times a day...one more week of this stuff! However, the lumps are nearly gone and I am feeling better! I would like to say, this has not helped my "get rid of some stress" order my Dr. gave me three weeks ago!
My dads birthday was the other night and Makenzie made him a cake... she decorated it and was very, very proud. yes I have a picture and maybe one day Ill get it on here.
tonight I am going to the paint your own pottery place with my mom and a friend. Adams kicking me out of the house for some relaxing time.
Tomorrow my sister in law and nephews get in for a couple of days, then Wed. We start back to school.
I will try to do a better job keeping this thing up to date. Here's hoping the rest of the year is less eventful than the first half!
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