Our reasons for homeschooling change daily. ;) I wrote about this on my blog. Here's a link to the post. You're invited to take a look. :001_smile: http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/06/why-do-you-home-school-im-asked-that.html

If you are in the mood to "do school," I'd get right to it! :D This is what I have been doing... When I am motivated, I don't wait till the mood passes. ;) I really dig in and focus on all the "school work" at those times. My daughter feeds off my motivation and she makes a lot of headway in subjects like math, phonics and handwriting. We focus hard for a month or two and when we reach a point where we are both can "take a break" without messing things up, we usually do... She continues doing her free reading times... usually an hour or more a day and we continue the read alouds we are doing together, etc. But, during these "breaks," we do more cooking, experiments, art, nature study, interest based learning, field trips, etc. So, if you are in the mood to "do school" and you are fresh off your plans, I'd get right to it and see how much you can accomplish. When you need to change the pace, you will know it. And, by then, you will have gotten so much done, it won't be a big deal to slow down for a time. Good luck!:D

It will get better. :grouphug: You will get settled into a routine soon enough. Don't give up (as it will be harder to start again after that). Your kids will learn how to deal with the distractions. You set the tone, if you "give up" or get annoyed because of distractions, so will they, etc. :tongue_smilie:Try and teach them to focus until the distraction has passed or that they need to come right back to what you all were doing once it's over. I have a fifteen month old and she is constantly trying to distract my five year old. But... we manage. Some days it isn't pretty, but we "do school" anyway. I am learning it's not that we WON'T have distractions with home school, just that they will be DIFFERENT than the kind kids deal with in PS. Here's a blog post I wrote about that. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/04/back-when-norah-my-oldest-was-baby-and.html I don't seem to have enough time in the day for school work and fun stuff like arts and crafts, too... not if I am going to cook and clean, too, so... I have been devoting four to six weeks for "school work," get into a groove for math, phonics, handwriting, etc. and then, once we reach a place where I can take a break without messing things up for my daughter, we take a week or two for "fun" stuff like art, nature study, hikes and field trips. That might work for you... Just take this first month or two to settle into the "school" parts and then take a week off for all the stuff you aren't getting to that you have planned. That could work. ;) And, be honest with your kids and tell them you are still figuring things out, but make sure they know you are still "the boss" even if you are not a know-it-all. We don't have to be perfect for them to respect us. :D

This doesn't exactly answer your question, but I tend to go through phases. We do fun stuff for a week or two THEN we do "work" for a few weeks- month and then we switch back... I haven't been doing this long, but I have been doing it long enough to see that we go through these "phases." When I say fun I mean interest based unit studies, coordinating field trips, vacations, group activities, nature studies, hikes, intensive focus on art instruction, etc. Then we get back "to work" and follow our core and math, handwriting, formal phonics diligently for a few weeks... We always do free reading time and read alouds and go to the library, no matter what we are doing. This works well for us. I feel like we get the best of both worlds this way. :D

I notice you have six children... ;) I have TWO (and I am only homeschooling one of them) and I have no formal plan. What's MY excuse? :001_huh: I just do the next thing, like you said. So, give yourself grace.

I haven't read anyone else's comments, but I think you should send the camera back/ set up a time to give the camera back to her (with a smile on your face). I can't believe anyone would give you a camera then ask for it back??!! But, none the less, I'd give it back with new batteries in the box. It's just a camera and if you try keep it, even if you use it everyday, you will need to explain/ argue/ fight with her to convince her that she's wrong for asking for it back and it's never productive to try and argue with someone like who you have described... even if they are your mother in law and she "should" be like this or that. If you don't get this one "right," it will just be ONE MORE BRICK in the wall between you and the unity you want for your family. And, you are teaching your kids right now. She's teaching them, too, yes, but YOU are the one they are looking to as the standard. I do speak from experience. I have a "Don't tell Mommy" mother :glare: and a "Where's that tiny dollar store doll I gave her five years ago? I didn't see it in her toy box!!!" mother in law. :001_huh: PS- I did just read and really, really like "homeschooling6's" comments. She's got the grace I wish I had. Pray and pray some more and I like the thank you card idea she mentioned. Just pray till you mean what you write on it. Good luck!

I live pretty close to Boston, too. It was a few hours drive, so that's the main reason we could go. :001_smile: The trip was right at $100 for us and only took one day, otherwise it would have been much harder to accomplish. I did not use the FIAR books for ideas. But, I loved this experience, so I think I'd like to do more with FIAR in the future. :D

The link below will take you to my blog post about our first FIAR experience. We read Make Way for Ducklings and took a trip to Boston's Public Garden. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/07/we-took-field-trip-to-bostons-public.html It was the first time we ever "did" a Five in a Row book (and I think we may move on to studying ducks and ducklings from here. My daughter showed interest in the babies.) Hoping I can keep making our home school experiences come alive like this one did! Lovin' FIAR right now! :001_smile:

I didn't "get it" at first either. What's the big deal about FIAR? It's just a list of books, right? I preferred to have plans and to SEE what we had accomplished. I still feel that way, but that being said.. We just read Make Way for Ducklings, a book on one of the FIAR lists, over and over last week and THEN took a family trip to Boston on Thursday to visit the Public Garden where the book is set. We rode the swan boats and saw REAL baby ducklings trailing behind their moms and the boats and we saw duck island and took pics with the Make Way for Ducklings statue there. This made the book come alive! Here's a blog post how I came to plan the trip in the first place. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/07/were-headed-to-boston-for-day-we-just.html I will also have another post with pics of the actual trip on my blog tomorrow, July 18, 2010. You could come back and see those, if you want. I don't think we will be able to take a trip for every single book on the FIAR list. That's not practical and not every book would even lend itself to a trip. This was an exception, certainly. BUT, I have to say... This book has became a PRECIOUS memory that our entire family shares now. We read it together leading up to the trip and then read it with Daddy under one of the willow trees after we had a picnic by the pond where the fictional Mr. and Mrs. Mallard swam. :001_smile: This book was really something and the first on the FIAR list I really "took seriously." I think even if you don't use the FIAR all by itself, you could consult the book lists and read the books on it with your kids. That's what I did at first, but... I will probably use the lists more and more now that I see these books can become and were probably created TO become meaningful to families in just these ways. Everyone we passed at the Public Garden was saying "Mr." and "Mrs." before they said "Mallard." It's like the book itself has become PART of Boston's conscious. We were not the only ones celebrating that beautiful story that day. It was awesome! I think I will use FIAR over and over now and look for ways to make all the stories come to life like that. I mean, this is WHY we homeschool, right? ...To have precious learning experiences with our kids. I feel like I've finally found the soul of this homeschool experience. So... Yay! for FIAR! I think I finally get what all the fuss is about!:D

Your daughter sounds like mine. :001_smile: I am currently using Sonlight's P4/5. I waited till she was almost 5 to start that Core, because I thought it would be too much an "almost four year old..." But, she WAS ready when she was three, almost four. If I could go back, I would have started P4/5 Core with her sooner, like when she was just turning 4... and then done the next Core K with her at five to six. So, I suggest looking into Sonlight's earliest Cores. I like them. The books on the list are great to own, even if you don't use their schedule. If you want something "serious" but not too serious for math, Math U See's Primer book might be good for a smart 4 year old. BUT... the program is expensive and I wouldn't buy the Primer unless you thought you'd use Math U See for the future. And, depending on your daughter's current handwriting abilities, she might have a hard time filling in the Primer blanks with numbers, something the kids have to do pretty soon after starting the program, unfortunately. You could write the answers with her or for her... Those are my suggestions. You will have to consider what you think your daughter is ready for and what you prefer, obviously. Unfortunately, I am not glad "I waited," like so many people are. I took that advice and for my daughter, it proved to be completely unnecessary to wait to start formal instruction. She is not behind or anything like that now... If fact, she is still way ahead, five and reading on a second grade level, but she was ready to "do school" early and if I had done something more formal sooner, we would have been able to have more beautiful memories together. :D You know best, Mom. ;)

I'll repeat the words of my beloved mentor growing up, "If you have sex, you can get pregnant." ;) That's obvious, but oh so important to remember (and to teach our young men and women). My husband and I use a form of birth control, but I am always "prepared" to be pregnant deep down in my heart since, after all, I am having sex. ;)

Disclaimer: I haven't been doing this long, so I am not sure what a long break would mean for all your kids with their ages and their subjects... But, if I were you, I'd probably just stop everything that I didn't WANT to do and then just force myself to keep up with the phonics, at least, for your youngest kids. For me, phonics is an absolute. I've had to force myself to do it often, but now, I am always thankful that I did, at least that, on days when I could do nothing else for whatever reason. The other subjects seem to be able to be "picked up" later. At least, that's my experience. Maybe you could take your kids to the library A LOT more often. Maybe try a new library. It sounds silly, but a new library and different librarians can make a real difference in your experience with libraries and books, etc. I am not sure what your county-state rules are about this, but we can go to any number of libraries within our state. Libraries often have free passes to museums, etc. You could try and use all of those. Try learning the same thing in a new way, like science through experiments or nature study or even baking or cooking. I bet there are cookbooks from "around the world." Try to do them all. Take your kids to the park and just enjoy them. Spend time talking to them individually, looking them in the eyes, etc. Read a lot yourself. Do what YOU like for a day or two. ;) Sew! (That's what I'd do...) Teach them to sew a simple project! Not sure if you are a movie fan, but you could also watch all the historical movies. You can find lists online of all the movies based on true events or all the movies that won an award, etc. Try and find those at the library or rental store. Try and read every children's book that's been given a certain award or... Read all those novels out loud to your kids that you've been putting off for "more important" subjects like math and grammar. ;) All that said, there are lots of things to do to keep learning and be productive and make memories, even when you aren't going through the motions of school. And, I bet you already do many of these things, if not all of them... but I thought I'd mention them. When I don't feel like "doing school" I try and still find something I can get excited about to do with my daughter. Good luck!

Stacy Z, Sorry for taking so long to reply to your question about the frames. I got those from IKEA. If you don't have an IKEA near you, you could probably order them (or something similar that you prefer even more) online at their website. :001_smile: http://www.ikea.com/ And, yes, my daughter was four (almost five) when we started DWC last August. We drew together before that, but we started implementing DWC then.

Wow. Thanks for those links Satori. There was so much of the book we didn't do because it just wasn't arranged in an easy to use format, like the first website you showed. Looks like I can get the book again and easily take my daughter through some more lessons. Thanks!

I almost forgot to show you this post! ;) It's about my "decorating craze," but if you scroll down, you will see some original artwork my daughter drew using the skills she learned with Drawing With Children. This is something our whole will treasure forever!!!! http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2010/05/disclaimer-up-till-today-i-hated.html And, about the levels, I would just start in the first book with both you girls and "move on" from there... I am not acquainted with the other books, but like I said, I think I need to check the books out (or buy them) and get re-acquainted with the program again, anyway. :D

I used Drawing With Children with my five year old. We started about a year ago, I think. Here's a link to a post on my blog about us using it. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/2009/08/i-am-drawing-with-norah-few-times-week.html We don't use the book anymore, but my daughter is using the skills she learned to create the drawings for her narration notebook now. Here's a link to my blog posts about that. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/search/label/Narration We did "follow the rules" that the book lays out. My daughter visualizes what she will draw and where she will place it on the paper before she puts her marker on the page... very important. I encourage her not to talk. This was a strict rule at the very beginning and we are more lax about it these days. But, when I notice she is not doing well, I say, "No more talking, okay." and she remembers the early days of pleasant, quiet drawing and then goes along and her work is all the better for it. For a five year old, it really matters that she NOT try and talk and draw at the same time. She really can't do both, like Mona Brookes says. I never owned the book. I just borrowed it from the library. But, I think I should take another look at it now... just to refresh myself now that we a drawing so much stuff for her narration notebooks. As far as supplies go, we started with a set of thin, colored markers. I don't remember the count. It was probably 100 colors. We got them at the craft store like Micheal's. And, we also started with a ringed pad of thick paper made for "drawing with ink" (also at the craft store). Since then, we have purchased a less expensive set of Crayola brand markers at Walmart. I think the set we got is also 100 count. The Crayola markers are actually MUCH better than the overpriced set we started with. ??? Not sure why, but they work! ...And, now, we use plain copy paper that you can buy in bulk. This works well enough for us for now. Hope this helps. :D

I am currently buying books and making plans for first grade with my five year old (almost six year old), so... I look at it throughout the day, every single day. No kidding. It has given me the "big picture" like someone else said. :D It's a "must own" and not only that, but it's a "must use." The only thing I've ever heard is how much people love it OR... how much they wished they'd read it sooner. ;)

I stopped in to see how everyone answered this question. :bigear: I've been wondering if we should try and keep a record of what we read out loud or what my daughter reads to herself, too. I keep photos on my blog of the books we LISTEN to on CD or tape... it would be too many pics to take to keep track of the ones we read aloud or she reads to herself. We also do narrations and keep them in a notebook (but for only SOME of the titles we read, mostly short stories and fables). Here's a link to my blog. It shows some examples of the narrations in my daughter's notebooks. Read all the way down, down, down to see more posts with the most pics and explanations of the notebook. http://www.veronicaboulden.com/search/label/Narration :D (I know high school students will often make a list of books read to show with college applications, but that's a long way off for my five year old.) Right now, we are participating in the local library's reading program. Your library might have one, too. It's mostly targeted to public schooled kids, but we are welcome to do it, too, and I am happy to have someone else provide the prizes. :001_smile: But, for that, we have to keep track of hours spent reading, not titles...:glare: Anyway, I loved the idea for the leaves on the trees and the links in the chains! :D Maybe we could do both... the leaves on the tree in the spring AND the links of the chain in the winter and then use it on the tree... Maybe I could make a deal with my daughter to get to 100 leaves or links and then get a BIG treat.

Pretty sure KJV is the only translation they use, as a rule.

I am almost embarrassed to admit my worst job now that I've read the previous posts. It's actually pretty cushy compared to some of those. :) It was in the registrar's office at my college one summer. I filed schedule change request forms for hours and hours a day, thousands and thousands of them. That's all I did. I got REALLY good at alphabetizing. I could look two similar last names and tell, down to the third of forth letter, which came first. MINDLESS and it would have been okay if I had been allowed to wear headphones and listen to music or books on tape... but no. :glare:

Thanks, Chrissy. I think I'd like the teacher's guide, too. Can I buy that and nothing else? I wonder.

Did any of you (who actually used Abeka to teach your children to read), purchase the Abeka phonics lesson plans? (I believe they are included in their Language Arts plans, along with spelling, etc.) If so, did you use these plans to teach your children phonics or did you find them a waste of money? I like Abeka phonics and I taught my oldest daughter to read with their Handbook (read back-story below)... so should I buy the plans for the rest of my children, since I think I will use Abeka phonics for all my kids? Or could I continue "doing without" them like I have been? _ I used Abeka's Handbook for Reading to teach my oldest daughter (now almost 6) to read. For the longest time the Handbook was, basically, the ONLY thing we used for phonics, going page by page through it, going back is she seemed to need review, then moving forward again, etc. At this point, we have almost gotten through the entire Handbook for the first time. I just purchased some used Abeka 1st grade readers like The Bridge Book and Secrets and Surprises and we read out of those now and then, too. My daughter is also reading early readers from the library like Frog and Toad and Mouse Tales, etc. I am very happy with how she is doing, but feel like it would have been nice to know which pages in the readers go with the pages in the Handbook. Any impute would be welcome. Thanks!

Glad you asked this question. I am wondering the same thing for my kid. My daughter is six and we used Abeka and she is reading on a second grade level (even though we haven't gone all the way through the Handbook yet). It's good to know other mom's have been or are where I am. ;)

Thanks for all the great ideas.:001_smile: I found the text of Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study online and I've started reading that and pulling quotes and ideas from it. Keep the suggestions coming!

Thanks for sharing. I'll have to check some of these resources out for my daughter, too. :001_smile: