Spy Car Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) So, as it appears T.S. Elliot was a couple months off and February is actually the "cruelest month", how about recounting a few little (or big) moments from your home education adventure that make your heart warm when you recall them, and give you the lift you need to say: This is SO worth it!!!. Hopefully this will lift a few spirits and we can all proclaim: Death to February! Bill Edited February 28, 2011 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Our new homeschool room is only halfway unpacked. I can only find enough shelf pegs to put shelves in 2 of my 14 bookcases. I'm not sure if they were lost or if there is a ziploc of pegs somewhere. I also cannot find the feet to my sofa. This is not a terrible thing for me, since I'm only 5'1", my feet actually touch the ground now. Makes the sofa fairly low for tv viewing though. BUT, it's supposed to be 81 today and we have all of our necessary school books unpacked. So, maybe it's a tie between me and February at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 :) It was already up to 38 degrees when I ran errands this morning. It's a start!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooblink Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Nice and short and it isn't a leap year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen500 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Hey, tomorrow is MARCH! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Ok, well, this has been an incredibly stinky February!! But, one thing actually happened this month that made me laugh. When staying at the hospital with my mom, a Filipino woman showed me how to do finger multiplication for 6's-10's. I told my son I wanted to show him how to do multiplication on your fingers (he's 7 and knows how to figure them out) and he said, "Mom, I wouldn't want to do that... that's CHEATING!) So, at least with math he's good :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 The tax refund came and I'm able to order next year's supplies, how's that? We've had a good month; I just don't love February. True story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Well. I'm so totally burned out, I can't even think of anything. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 We took last Thursday off and drove down to watch the Discovery launch. It made February feel sooo much better.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 We are about at the 1 yr mark for pulling the kids out of PS. It has taken us this long to find out what curriculums "fit" each child, and for each child to develop a feel for their subjects. What has helped us this month: going to the homeschool store a lot! Just browsing the shelves, and realizing "I don't need that curriculum!" Has been a wonderful relief. We also got a season pass to the Museum of Natural Science and have visited twice this month ;) My boys cannot get enough of the Dinosaurs and Chemistry areas, and my dd loves the shell and gem areas. DS5 is proving to be a bit difficult. He's cooped up with the olders, but isn't quite ready for the amount of school work they do. Hence he has become their personal distractor ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertechmom Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 The garden is in. The weather is 80!! These homeschoolers have ditched school and are taking a much needed recess. Instead of keeping our nose to the grindstone, we are outside checking for bugs, hummingbird return, nest building and observing the signs of full blown spring. We can tailor our days to do school when it's so hot you can't breathe outside without searing your lungs. And we can take beautiful spring days with warm breezes and make kites, play outside, dig in the dirt and have fun. The kids completed basic fundies like math, grammar, spelling, and reading and have the rest of the day to find all the creepy crawlies that are creeping outside. The ability to change up when work is due and when we school and where is so worth it!!! Sorry about all of you still sloughing through snow. Think about us when it's too hot in the summer to do anything and you are outside playing and we can't cause our skin will melt off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdalley Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I was able to hear my oldest read fluently at a 6.2 level for the first time. Thanks to his great tutor and Wilson Reading. The boys are more independent with their schoolwork. Spring is in the hair - 77 yesterday - 73 today. The month only has a day left in it. :) I have finally settled into what we will use for the duration unless a new curriculum comes along that really knocks my socks off. That is if AAS works for my other two boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I decided to get over my own fear and try Singapore Math for my oldest daughter. Math is finally clicking for her and she doesn't groan when it's time for Math anymore. Now, if I can just teach myself how to use it. We actually took two weeks of February off. It was just too dreary. I think it is more important to my mental well-being than summer breaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 My previously-homeschooled-now-first-year-college-student son emailed me this morning to report that he had an A on his philosophy test. Keep your eyes on the prize, people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 February is the month in which my dd went from reading "C-A-T" to reading "cat", a huge turning point. Not only for her reading, but for my ability to do phonics lessons without longing to put a fork through my eyeball. So, good things *can* happen in February. (But someone sideswiped our car and didn't leave a note, our washer conked out, and hubby got a ticket, all in February. So it about durn time something decent happened to redeem this wretched month.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Barton Reading Level 1 should be delivered today. My 13yo is looking forward to homeschooling in the future and keeps begging me to let him leave ps early. This is the same child who said I was torturing him and that he wanted to go to school where it was "easier" work.:tongue_smilie: I love being RIGHT!:lol: There are only 8 more mornings where I have to coax the almost-10yo out of bed and send him to that dreaded school.;) March is when I get to see dh again. February was when I realized that the 2 special needs boys hadn't really been helped all that much by school and that it wasn't homeschooling that made them the way they are.:D So, maybe February wasn't all that bad after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Our co-op takes the winter off, and we start back with our spring orientation this Wednesday. My classes are filling up and I can't come online without my students tracking me down to IM about how excited they are. Their excitement is infectious and inspiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 I was trying to think of something positive related to homeschool, but honestly my first thought was "we got a new couch". :lol: That's no doubt because of all the enriching cuddle-time learning that took place on the old one :D Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 My previously-homeschooled-now-first-year-college-student son emailed me this morning to report that he had an A on his philosophy test. Keep your eyes on the prize, people. Impressive! And congratulations to you and your son!!! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarolineUK Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I was trying to think of something positive related to homeschool, but honestly my first thought was "we got a new couch". :lol: :lol: Mine was "we got a new puppy" (two days ago) - a gorgeous, adorable Labradoodle puppy and she's really good - better behaved than the kids in fact (better not get back onto 'socialisation' again though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Dd started writing & illustrating a story (a real story, different from her previous ABC & number books). She says it will be 20 pages. She is also voluntarily reading a book repeatedly HERSELF (she greatly dislikes not knowing a word & used to refuse to read aloud), Frog & Toad Together. We started a fun princess study. Also, dd3 sounded out her first word entirely on her own in Feb (but it was "cook" and she used the short o sound twice instead of oo, so it sounded like a dirty word :lol::lol::lol:)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyz Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 This is what I want to remember about home schooling in February. Here's my sweet little man working happily on his Song School Latin lesson in his cutie pie pajamas, with the sun streaming in the windows behind him, and snow on the trees. The only thing better than this would have been a photo of all three of us (Little Man, Mommy and Daddy) snuggled up together on the couch, sharing a blanket in front of the fire, reading and reading and reading. We did a lot of this and loved every second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 DD is doing borrowing subtraction problems without protest as we speak. Of course, we took 3 weeks off this month for Estrella War Break. (1 week to pack, 1 for the event, and 1 for recovery). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 This is what I want to remember about home schooling in February. Here's my sweet little man working happily on his Song School Latin lesson in his cutie pie pajamas, with the sun streaming in the windows behind him, and snow on the trees. The only thing better than this would have been a photo of all three of us (Little Man, Mommy and Daddy) snuggled up together on the couch, sharing a blanket in front of the fire, reading and reading and reading. We did a lot of this and loved every second. Adorable! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Dd has made huge gains in math and piano this month! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I'm looking forward to March because we'll have decent health insurance for the first time in ages and I can take the kids to the eye doctor and maybe even get some contact lenses for myself! So, everyone please pray that my husband won't get in a car wreck today. February was good in that we started riding lessons (paid for by our charter) and got baby chicks to raise, and the annual spring bloom started which always makes me happy. It was also ridiculously cold and now our house is starting to smell like baby chicks because they get cold if I open windows. :glare: It is not supposed to snow and hail in late February around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 We just moved from Japan to DC. We found a nice house just down the street from a new library branch. About two days after bringing the kids here, we took them up to the library to get cards. My older kids have had them before, but this was the first time for my youngest (who is also my most reluctant reader). He is so proud of his card, which is even marked as "My First Library Card". Last weekend was the friends of the library sale. There was a sneak peek for Friends members. We hadn't joined yet, but still went and found some great stuff. BUT, my youngest kept asking when we were going to "make friends with the library". So when he and I went back a second time to the sale, we stopped by the desk and signed up. He's quite excited about being able to do the sneak peek in May. And really, how do you say no when a little boy looks at you and earnestly asks if he can "make friends with the library today"? Death to February. Up with daffodils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) Not this February, but a SOTW/hsing pic. Edited February 28, 2011 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Hmmm.....how's this--we've enjoyed a great read-aloud this month: Hitty: Her First Hundred Years. I'm so glad spring us on its way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 DD10 won the adventure story writing competition in her enrichment school. DD6 (who had a terrible problem with midline jump last year) read Hop On Pop all by her little self. As she was reading she exclaimed, "This book is all phonics!" Oh and I need to update my signature. DD20 turned 21 and is working part-time in a Japanese kindergarten while he's finishing college. Try to picture it - he's 6'6" and blonde. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 T..S. Eliot!!! Duh!!! How could I have forgotten that?! (All that public school education, presumably.) I was just thinking last night, "April? April is not my problem." We learned an astonishing amount about the Arctic and Antarctic this month, my oldest didn't have to use his inhaler once (banging frantically on wood), and it appears as though the playground has FINALLY thawed out. Let's hear it for March! Jane, that's fantastic about your son. Good for him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Well. I'm so totally burned out, I can't even think of anything. :tongue_smilie: You are not limited to February (either this February, or Februaries past). You get the whole gamut of your home education experience to draw upon. Any little memory that brings you (and hopefully us :D) cheer. Bill (who wonders if it is still to hard :tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Great thread. Favorite memory by far: Hearing the girls each recite The Caterpillar with such pride, enthusiasm and joy. Other good stuff: (1) We went to the mountains and the girls built their first snowman and fell in love with tobogganing. (2) Right now they're literally squealing in delight over the 3-D World Atlas and Tour book. (highly recommend) (3) Older DD has increased her reading fluency by leaps and bounds (thank you, Funnix 2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I can't think of that many great moments for this month that are school-related. My younger dd did pull our Latina Christiana off the shelf and decided she was ready to do latin now and not when I found the perfect program for her. She did the first lesson and brought it to me and has been listening to Lingua Angelica on her cd player. :D This was motivating! Otherwise, we accomplished so little this month. But, we did get to see dh who is now in the Army. We hadn't seen him in 6 weeks and went a whole month with only one 5 minute (and I mean 5 minutes only) phone call. For those of us not used to this, this was agony for all three of us. We had a great visit!! He's now at AIT and we hope to move closer to him very soon. Bill, I just wanted to thank you for this thread. You've been so supportive and encouraging to us homeschool moms today. Thank you!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWOB Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Positive things about February: My anniversary was the 18th. Eleven wonderful years! We took a 5-day vacation and went to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. We took the kids to the fabulous art museum there. They actually loved it! We also went to Science City in KC. Again, kids loved it. This morning I had to visit our church preschool. While I had planned to have the kids work on schoolwork while I was gone, I just couldn't pry them away from what they were doing. They have been creating this island world, complete with towns, Indian tribes, mountains, grasslands, and treasure. Dh taught them how to make their map on Paint, so they did that instead. I will have them work on a story to go along with their world this week. We went to a Dr. Seuss birthday celebration at the local college last week. The drama students act out a few books. My favorite skit is performed by two graying professors (one of whom my dh swears is a pothead). They preform the most hilarious rendition of "Green Eggs and Ham" every year. This year the alleged pothead professor dropped a "What the he!!" accidentally and I laughed hysterically. I am really just glad this month is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 They are going to put a lovely clay dike in FRONT of my house this year, rather than BEHIND my house. This means I'm on the "dry side of the dike" this year. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 My younger son was in preschool the first three years I homeschooled my oldest and I had a lot of worries about adding him to the homeschool. I thought he would be disruptive, he seemed to have such a short attention span, etc. But we have had the greatest time with him. Before he started homeschooling, I did literally no math etc. with him, but he is just amazing me with his attention and how well he is doing and especially how hard he is working. He just started piano four weeks ago and he is so excited to practice and play his little version of Ode to Joy in the primer level book. When we all work together on history and science and discussing stories and practicing our Spanish phrases it is so much fun. I have learned that when we have longer days where we do a lot of our work together and do history and science projects and read together it is better than trying to rush through the minimum. The past few weeks when I have been better at planning and preparing everything ahead of time so we can move smoothly onto the next thing have been great. We feel like a real family school working on this project together, and as we do more it gets better and better. We are in the groove of taking turns working on math and writing separately, doing their own grammar and Latin lessons, but sitting together for the rest. I feel so lucky to be able to do this with them. Now I just have to keep this in mind on days when I am tired and would rather just turn on an educational video instead of doing schoolwork. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Goldwater Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 (for the older girls), dear daughter 5 thoughtfully announced, "well, then, dogs and goats have 4 feet, so they are quadripets." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 A good reason to be happy February is on its last day: today is our first-date anniversary, which we always celebrate (and skip V-day). My husband has something planned but doesn't know if it will come together for today. But, yay! (We have yet to go out to dinner for it, since we had yucky colds all weekend...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arghmatey Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 It's summer in Houston. I'm wilting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 We went to Outback Steakhouse last night and my daughter spontaneously added up how many ounces of steak were on the table. This is notable because it meant crossing 20 (which we haven't done yet in lessons) and because for quite some time she has refused to do any math whatsoever, even answering her own questions, outside of lesson time. For an encore, she added her age to mine. I haven't taught her how to do that yet either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 The fact that we took January completely OFF might have had something to do with it. ;) The plan was to have us start back up again after the New Year, but there was so much organizing still to do around the house, the girls are so young, they had all these cool new Christmas and birthday gifts to play with, the weather was dreary... Eh, I let them play. They had a blast, I got my shelves put up, we had a great time getting "ready".... We started back up in February and I've been "practicing" -- how to rotate through three little kids, how to work with our file box system (just for the 3 Rs), how to keep our small house functioning through it all. Now we're incorporating our once-a-week subjects into the weekly agenda. The girls have happily moved back into school times, they love their new routine, they love their new materials, they enjoy having more as-a-group activities, and we've gone a few times out to the farm and to Jer-Z-Jump, as a way to get rid of those Winter Wiggles. My oldest (6, 1st grade) told me that at first she felt insulted at having to begin All About Spelling with a-b-c. :toetap05: Really, Mommy? Now that we're past that little speed bump, she's very happy with the program and admits I made a good choice. :lol: Two points for Mommy. My twins (4, Pre-K) have learned to read. :001_huh: I'm not quite sure how that happened, but they are both reading up a storm. I would say that's encouraging, wouldn't you? ;) My husband isn't driving down to Delaware and back every stinking day. Just Philly, but at least that's half the distance. So February has been a better month for us than January was. Let's not talk about January. Or 2010. At all. Oh, one more good thing. My crocuses are coming up. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imprimis Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 My kids often put on impromptu concerts for me in the middle of the day. Some examples from the last couple of weeks: my two older kids played guitar while my little daughter sang; teen daughter played through most of her piano portfolio while little daughter danced through the house :001_smile:; my son finger-picked a song on acoustic guitar; little daughter plugged her guitar into an amp and played and sang. I LOVE music, and really love watching my children get excited about learning and performing new music. Plus, it provides a wonderful break in our homeschool day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzyfizzle Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 I love these! Thanks Bill! Our middle son is actually going to a quiet room to read on his own this year!! He has actually enjoyed books and told me so. When we pulled him out of PS three years ago, he would literally cry if told to read. This alone has made it all worth it for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferB Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 No matter how hard it gets, or how much I want to quit, I still love to teach reading, and I have one more who will be there soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Yeah, our tax refund came and now I have lots of glorious books to pore through before we start anew in the fall. I love getting the new stuff! Also, my girls' birthdays are in March, so hooray for that. My 2 biggest blessings ever... :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Good home school moments this month: DS11 asking whether he would be allowed to watch some more of a King Learn play because "this is my favorite play by Shakespeare". DS11 talking about the Battle of Agincourt and going off on the wildest tangents about Edward the Black Prince, and the vikings and the Battle of Hastings and what kind of bows the Turks used, and what kind of weapons the Persians used (all of which, I guess, had SOME connection to Agincourt). And how shooting a long bow at charging cavalry was doing more damage because of linear momentum. I have never laughed so hard during a history presentation. DD13 when I took her to the classics section of the university library and she heaped her arms full of books, was drooling over Catull and Horace and announced "I would like to live in here!" DD13 this morning after her Physics lecture which had a large part of the class with glazed eyes because there was a bit more math than usual (gasp, logarithms and such awful stuff): "I liked it because for once lecture was not boring. I had to pay attention". Gee, thanks daughter. So, they are learning and enjoying themselves. Even in February. And tomorrow will be March, yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Our February has been pretty darn good, actually. We've really started hitting a groove. Even the discipulus most prone to dawdling has been getting done in reasonable time frames. The little crew are flying through their books. Everyone is reading strong. The newly 3yo loves showing off how many letters she knows, and due to her 5.5yo sister's insistence she's picking up numbers, too. (The number teaching is because 5.5yo dd "needs" a new Go Fish partner.) So, naturally, next week we're starting winter break, boxing up the books, and packing up the rest of the house. Who knows how long it will take to get back into the strong pace we've had this month. :tongue_smilie:On the other hand, we've kept up with our goals in nearly all subjects, and they seem excited about what's to come when we unpack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 DD13 translated a whole paragraph of Latin verbally and very quickly. She got all of the grammar correct too. All without having to do one lick of rote memorization. Latin Prep has exceeded my expectations. DD8 has really taken off in her reading fluency and is asking for more challenging books. (Funnix 2 too!) DD11 has been showing great improvement in math. She is getting over her math phobia and is able to work 4 pages a day fairly quickly. Instead of staying in the 2nd grade level we moved to working with specific topics(MM). She is much happier and is progressing very quickly and building confidence. We started Classical Writing a little over a month ago and after some whining and confusion (on my part:tongue_smilie:) I've done some tweaking and we are all much happier with it. Even though I'm liking CW I couldn't pass up Killgallon and due to a kind relative was able to purchase the elementary and grammar books! They should be here tomorrow. So that's what has stood out as being good about the last few weeks. We only have about 12 weeks left in our school year, and even though the year has been really difficult with learning problems, attitudes, the 2 year old's shenanigans...I think we have found the root of some of our problems and discovered some things and changed some things that will make next year go so much more smoothly. I sometimes wish I could have a lot of this year back as far as academics go but when I think of how we have all grown so much in other ways I realize that this year was a very important year for us and I wouldn't trade it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 This will probably want to make you all egg and TP my house and throw tomatoes at me, but where I live, February is actually the most beautiful month. It's gorgeous outside. Some kids are swimming in the pool right now actually. **ducks and runs** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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