School Calendar

I'm working on creating a few school calendars. Basically, I had a calendar this past year where I just checked off the days we worked in order to keep track of how many school days we completed. However, I couldn't remember where I got that one from, so I made my own calendar :) It's nothing special, but it will get the job done for now. I realized I had already lost track of when I started working with Lovely again--shame on me! I managed to add it to this post, but I don't know why it saved with some extra blank pages. Plus, the alignment is a bit off now for some reason...please remember, I'm still a novice at this!

School Calendar

On a great note, I asked Lovely if she liked 'this school' better than the other school we did, and she replied, "Yes! It's fun!" YAY!!! We've only been working a few days, but she almost has her first poem completely memorized, I've found she's pretty good at narrating (despite being so young), she's really into using living books...so far, so good! Now, I just hope math doesn't make her cringe like it did last year!

On another note, I'm really, really looking forward to the used homeschool curriculum sale next week! I mean, I'm actually having dreams about it! Although I don't really need many books, one of my fondest memories as a child was the school book fair, and to me, this is like that!

Plans for the Next School Year

Even though I got back from the Midwest Homeschool Convention Saturday night, I'm still feeling the excitement! This was my first homeschool convention, and although I was at first a nay-sayer regarding conventions, I have quickly changed my ways! I have so many more inspiring ideas now for teaching and learning, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to most of the speakers (and those whom we found boring, we simply left the room and found a speaker we did enjoy), and I wish I could have spent even more time walking around the exhibit hall! Here's what we covered:

Seminars/Workshops:

• Jessie Wise & Dr. Susan Wise Bauer: An Intro. to Classical Education at Home--we were late arriving for this, but we got there as Dr. Wise Bauer was discussing the Grammar Stage, which is the stage Lovely is in right now. What was discussed during this session really made sense, and I love the concept of learning history in order instead of a little history from this time and a little history from that time, etc.
  
• Andrew Pudewa: Nurturing Excellent Writers & Speakers--Mr. Pudewa is a very interesting speaker who is comical with some great advice. I wish I could have heard him again.
  
• Dr. Jobe Martin: The Evolution of a Creationist--He really didn't have a speaker's voice, so it was difficult to hear him at first. I would have appreciated more information on the assumptions evolutionists make as scientific fact, instead of the entire life story of Mr. Martin. This would have illustrated his evolution even more in my opinion. He was an enjoyable speaker once he spoke up, however.
  
• Carol Barnier: Empowering the Shy Child--We came in on the tail end of this speaker as well since we had been to the Tim Hawkins Performance. Mrs. Barnier said out loud what I had been thinking to myself several times. I need to concentrate on manners with Lovely, in order to boost her self-confidence in doing the right thing. I had known this before going to the seminar, but I kept finding other things that seemed more important--WRONG!
  
• Mary Harrington: What is Christian Classical Education--this speaker seemed a little....scattered. I wasn't thrilled with the information from this session, which focuses simply on manners for younger children. I believe other educational goals need to be thrown into the mix.
  
• Rebecca Kochenderfer: Homeschooling and Loving It! Mrs. Kochenderfer was probably the best speaker we heard! I enjoyed her voice, her pacing, her comedic anecdotes, and her advice. She is upfront and honest, and it was no wonder the room was overflowing with attendees.
  
• Shelly Noonan: Five Keys to Guarding Your Daughter's Heart--I would have preferred a father giving this lecture instead of a mother, or a mother/father team. I would have also preferred more statistics, although I enjoyed some of the stories she told. This was more for my husband's relationship with his daughters.
  

Materials Purchased:

• History of the Ancient World, text and activity book by Dr. Susan Wise Bauer
• Writing with Ease by Dr. Susan Wise Bauer
• Various classical books (Little House on the Prairie--I know--gasp--I never owned it nor have I read it--, Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, etc.)
• World Atlas
• Owl Pellets for dissection (I plan on studying owls this week with the girls, as part of summer school)
  
• Map software for my husband (he actually found a book for himself and the software)
• Music lessons and violin (YIKES!) Here's the story: Violin.com was selling a package of music lessons and a violin kit (with case, pitch pipe, rosin, etc.) for a certain price. The lessons are do-it-yourself, which I was EXTREMELY wary of. However, the creator of the lessons has had 35 yrs of teaching experience, she's been on several university music faculties, her father-in-law helped with the books, who was part of the NY Philharmonic, and she demonstrated both her playing and her method. I was still nervous about making the purchase, but my husband and I finally did so, considering Lovely has been asking to learn violin for two years! We haven't given her the instrument or lessons yet (so shhh!), but I was snooping through the books last night. I am so impressed with the metaphors, teaching tricks, learning games, etc.! Now, I'm even more excited! And, my husband said he wants to get a full size violin and learn with her, as something they can do together! How awesome is that?!
  

To Be Purchased (used, of course):

• BJU Math 1
• The grammar lessons book by Jessie Wise (for 1st & 2nd grade)
  
• Drawing with Children, or a comparable art book (for as long as I can use it!)
  
• A Beka phonics readers (from my sis)

I'm estimating materials for 1st grade to cost around $150.00, but the history program and the grammar & writing program are used in two different grades, and then I'll be able to reuse all of it for my 4 yr. old, so I'm thinking it really won't be that expensive in the end. I will supplement with lots of library books, and I plan on doing unit studies for science that won't cost that much.

How Many Days Left?

As I dropped off my two darlings at my mom's this morning, I almost felt excitement akin to the feeling I used to get as a teenager when I finished another class. I have been working a temp job this week, but since I don't go in until 10 a.m., I do schoolwork with Lovely first; well, I do some schoolwork. Anyhoo, before I left, I went over with my mother what was left for Lovely to complete. Her response:

"I thought you didn't do school everyday?"

Becoming a little defensive, I declared, "Yes, we do," and gave her a strange look to make her feel like her thought process must be off somehow. Cruel, I know, but don't homeschool moms become a little defensive when our methods are questioned?

"We are on lessons 156 and 157 today. That means there are only 8 lessons left," I stated triumphantly.

"Then the school year will be done?" My mother's mouth seemed to drop.

"Well, we'll be done with A Beka. Then, we'll work on art and reading and my other projects."

Did you grasp the gravity of that statement? Let the fun begin! We are almost done with all those worksheets that I have learned to despise, despite their colorful, cheery, all-too-happy animated characters. I remember loving worksheets as a child, but come on! Worksheets in each subject, sometimes multiple worksheets, is a bit--no, way--overboard in my opinion! I felt like I had to complete all of these worksheets (although I did finally begin crossing off sections and writing the word "SKIP" next to other sections--if Lovely could read the word, then she was allowed to skip that part) and by then I was drained for having any fun. In two weeks will be the Midwest Homeschool Convention and I'm hoping to find some great ideas for next year's curriculum. I'm planning on switching to BJ for math, but I'm not sure about anything else yet.

Highlight of the day: Realizing there are only EIGHT A Beka lessons left!

Help!

If you are like me, you often feel drained after a long day of schooling. Sometimes, I have to combine lessons because we have too much going on either the day before or the day after. Here's my latest article on how dads can help by relieving some stress:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-22200-Louisville-Homeschooling-Examiner~y2010m3d23-How-dads-can-help-homeschooling-moms?cid=publish_facebook:22200

Indiana & Cincinnati Homeschool Conventions

For those homeschool convention-hoppers out there, which convention do you feel is better? The one located in Indianapolis, or the one in Cincinnati? I've never been to a homeschool convention (Yes, I can tell the room has gone silent now--not even my keyboard is making the normal clicking sound), but this year I'm giving it a whirl. My inspiration: a very, no an extremely stressful kindergarten year! A Beka seems to have a huge following, and although I don't plan on teaching this to my children, I followed the crowd. Now, I'm regretting my decision. Reading is MUCH better now, but even I dread math every day. So, instead of struggling yet another year, I'm looking into different curricula available for first grade. Subsequent posts may include my reflections on each type of curriculum I find, so I apologize for boring those of your who have found a favorite and are sticking with it.

I've decided against going to the Indy convention, despite my residence in Indiana, and instead I'm opting to attend the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati. I've based my decision on the following:

• Cost. Then Indy convention is a minimum of $68.00 per married couple, not including children if you bring your kids. They are an additional $13.00-33.00, depending on their ages. Grandparents are an additional $10.00. In comparison, the Cinci convention is $50.00 per family (INCLUDING grandparents), although the price does go up to $70.00 if you buy your tickets at the door.
• Distance. The conventions are about equal distance from my home, so this didn't really help make the decision, but it didn't hinder it, either.
• Accommodations. I have been able to find a nice hotel for approx. $80.00/night (yes, you must drive 15 minutes to the convention, but I'm OK with that). When checking Indy hotels, everything was a minimum of $100.00/night.
• Attractions. If we do bring our children, we have the options of the Cinci Zoo, Cinci Art Museum, Newport Aquarium, The Creation Museum, and so much more. Indy offers a zoo and The Children's Museum, but I've been to both of those. All this depends on time restrictions, of course.
• Speakers. I've looked through both lists of speakers, and the ones at the Cinci convention really appeal to me. Not to mention, they have a HUGE list of exhibitors as well.
• Extra Entertainment. Attendees have the option of going to the Tim Hawkins show for only $6.00/person. Two of the three shows are sold out, but I've reserved my tickets! If you haven't seen his videos, do a search for them on You Tube, or click Tim Hawkins. He's very clean and hilarious, a combination so rare today!

If you go to the Indy convention, let me know how it went and share what you've learned!