Adventures in Homeschooling...

Elie *officially* started Kindergarten in July. We have had 18 days of school since then. I am going to be working two days a week in the fall, so I thought we would start doing school a few days a week in the summer to compensate. One thing is for sure, doing school consistently will be a LOT easier when it is rainy and cold outside. As it is, 18 days is not much to show for a months worth of time. =) I have learned SO much in that time period though. I am really excited to start "real" school this fall. I fully recognized that the first few weeks.. uh hem.. years might be a lot of trial and error and every day I learn something. Elie is doing WAY better than I anticipated her doing. She is such a smart kid and is so open to learning (properly presented material). I am learning a lot about how she learns and who she is. I did an online assessment for her math in order to know which curriculum to buy and she tested into first grade math. So far, we haven't hit anything that was really new to her. She is also doing such a great job reading!

We will be starting Classical Conversations in a few weeks. It is a Christian organization that provides supplemental material for homeschool families. Elie (and I) will be attending once a week for three hours. We will learn SO much. I am very anxious to get started. I am also praying that we will both make some good friends. It will be good for her to get some "classroom" experience and spend regular time getting instruction with someone other than me.

I have sort of ignored Lainey for the last few years. Not really ignored her, but with Elie I spent so much time doing songs and finger play and working with her on colors and shapes and all that. Lainey was/is so busy playing with Elie that I haven't really done any of that with her. Elie being in school has given me the opportunity to spend some pointed time with Lainey too. When Elie is doing copy work or a math worksheet, I am spending some one on one time with Lainey. I can also include Lainey in a lot of what I do with Elie; bible stories, memory verses, "circle time", etc. It has been really great and I am learning how unique she is.

Homeschooling also provides a whole new opportunity for me to grow as a person and put more confidence in myself. I (and I hope I am not alone in this) am constantly second guessing my choices and decisions in regards to my kids. I am so worried I am going to do something that will screw them up for life. Now, not only can I potentially emotional scar them, damage their bodies by feeding them sugar or non organic peanut butter, I have the potential to destroy their hopes and dreams of going to Harvard or Yale. I think we are doing pretty well and then I look on Pinterest and see these mom's whose homeschool rooms are cute and crafty and organized, where the kids are learning three languages and are reading Hemingway in Kindergarten AND having time for karate, soccer, swimming and arts and craft classes. The feelings of inadequacy can so easily start to drown me. I have to work every day to be comfortable in doing my best and showing that to my daughters. We all carry calculators everywhere anyway, right?

28 and counting...

Birthdays have always been a time of reflection for me. During childhood I always felt excited about hitting that next milestone. I vividly remember how excited I was to turn 10 and hit the DOUBLE DIGITS. I turn 28 this week and I think I have finally hit that place where my heels are starting to drag in the dirt a little as I cry out "wait, wait. I am not ready yet!" I think it is worse because of Nick. He is a year older and therefore I feel like I have lost a year of my life just by association. I am going to have a really hard time when he turns 30, I think. Anyway... in the spirit of reflection I decided to do a quick snapshot of who I am at the ripe old age of soon to be 28.

Favorite books- I have been a pretty voracious reader this year. I have talked about before my "reading with intention" and I have been pretty proud of my literary accomplishments in the last three years. This year, I already have 27 (and two halves) books under my belt. My favorite books are (in no particular order and as I remember them)
1. North and South
2. Anne of Green Gables (the series because the pressure of choosing is really too much)
3. The Raging Quiet
4. Lonesome Dove
5. The Road

My favorite things to do-
1. Sleep
2. Eat chocolate
3. Bake (not exclusively) chocolate
4. Read
5. Ride/ spend any amount of time on or near horses
6. Walk/hike with my family

What I am obsessed with right now-
Surprisingly, I am not really obsessed with anything right now.  There are plenty of things that I could easily slip into if I allowed myself, but I am trying to be more controlled.

My bucket list-
1. Live in a foreign country
2. own property and have horses, chickens, pigs and cows
3. Raise lovely, God-loving, independent, wise, confident, intelligent, happy children
4. Go to South America again and THIS time visit Antartica
5. Swim with sharks

My ideal birthday-
Waking up fully rested and spending the day in a forest field somewhere riding with my family. Eating a picnic lunch somewhere with amazing food that I didn't have to prepare or even think of. sigh. That sounds lovely. I just read a book that had a magic tablecloth in it (yes, it was a children's book) and if you said to it "tablecloth, please set thyself" it would magically fill with wonderful food. That is a great idea.

Hmm. I can't really think of anything about myself at this stage of my life. I have been very happily married for 8 years. I have three little girls that that make me laugh, cry and scream in frustration (often within seconds of each other). I definitely have few complaints about my life right now (I'd rather not be quite so exhausted all the time) and have a great life so far.

Delia Jayne

My baby. When I was pregnant with Delia I prayed for an easy going baby who loved to sleep. I did not get that. She is seriously high maintenance and some days I feel like all I did in that day was try and get her to sleep. She just turned 8 months and is already so determined and stubborn. If she doesn't want to sleep, she will not. If she wants to nurse, she will scream for HOURS until she gets what she wants. She is also so attached to me. I did not do anything differently with her than I did with my other two, but for whatever reason, she is an INTENSE momma's girl. She will scream and scream if I leave the room, house, 3 inch vicinity. It makes things difficult for me and whoever is with her when I am not. We get paged every week at the nursery at church after about 15 minutes and I never get to work out. I get really great cuddles though. She is at the stage where she really wants to be mobile but she has a serious aversion to being on her stomach. So crawling is pretty much out of the question. She loves to grab my hands and walk around and she is getting good at cruising around the furniture. I am hoping she will get a little bit easier once she starts walking. Then she can follow me around and grab my legs instead of me having to carry her everywhere... oy vey. When I am around and holding her though she is a great, happy baby. She is always smiling at people and making them think she wants to be held by them. She is such a tease. It is pretty incredible to be loved so completely though. How can I not reciprocate?

Plus, she is stinking cute.

Lainey Kate

My Lainey is my goofy, crazy, easy going, happy kid. She makes me laugh every day. And she has THE greatest laugh. She has recently discovered her inner two year old and is embracing it fully. She asks me the same question over and over and over. Even if my answer is yes. If she doesn't get whatever she asked for IMMEDIATELY I get to hear about it indefinitely. Patience is definitely not something she is skilled at currently. She is also a mischievous little thing. I always know if there is silence she is in trouble. One of my favorite Lainey stories is one day I walked into the kitchen and saw her digging in the silverware drawer for a spoon. I told her to put it back and she slumped her shoulders, said "oh man" and put it back. She then walked to the table with the same dejected manner, screwed the lid back on the jar of Nutella and put it back in the cupboard. Apparently, I had walked into the kitchen just in time. I have also discovered her completely naked covered head to toe with jam. She knows exactly how to push Elie's buttons too and what used to be friendly play no frequently involves shouting matches. She calls Elie "Elie Fae" and "my sisssy" She has this particular way of tilting her head and opening her eyes really wide when she is trying to be insistent about something. Her answer to every "no" lately is "but I am two and a half now." Which she says with her two fingers held up and her head tilted. "No Lainey you can't have ice cream for breakfast." "But I am two and a half now." I love to tickle her. She is such a fun kid and I adore her. She is also my only sleeper. Although she is not ALWAYS happy...

Eliahna Fae

Blogging just hasn't really been my thing lately but I felt a profusion of words today and needed an outlet. So... I am going to write do an update on my children. Eliahna turned 5 in February. She is an amazing kid. Her imagination is incredible and I hope she never stops finding "friends" (aka kindred spirits) everywhere she turns (real and imagined). She is so smart and surprises me with how she processes and thinks about things long after they've been mentioned. A few months ago, Nick and I decided to homeschool her next year. It was a serious roller coaster decision but I finally feel peace about it (most days). We enrolled her in Classical Conversations, a really neat program that she will attend once a week as a supplemental curriculum. There she will get the classroom setting for a few hours as well as other kids her age to interact with. A couple factors went into our decision and how much I agree with the philosophy and material that Classical Conversations has was one of my main reasons. I am SO excited for all that she will learn and all that I get to teach her (and all that I will learn as well.) We have sort of started doing a few subjects and she is doing very well. She can read some simple books independently and the more success she has the more enthusiastic she is to continue. I have learned so much about her in the last few months. About what motivates her, what scares her and how she learns. I am so excited to see the woman she will become. And terrified at the same time. She is a great big sister and loves to carry Delia around and boss Lainey. She is a great helper and can keep Delia busy long enough for me to get something done. I love her so much.

She loves to take self portraits of herself with my phone and text the picture to people.

She is rarely actually dressed in normal clothes. Still.

crazy girls.

She can entertain herself for hours. She came out of the playroom one day and had kept herself busy making a diorama and a whole wardrobe of kleenex clothes for her barbie.

Jessye's Fantasy Land

If I had any control over my life here is what it would look like:

After a restful 8 hours of sleep I would get up at 6, work out and spend some time in my Bible. I would shower and get dressed, put on make-up and maybe even some jewelery. I would make some bread and then a hot breakfast. One by one, my sleepy eyed children would wake up and wander in to the kitchen for some morning cuddles and a well-balanced, hearty meal. The rest of the morning would be spent bathing, dressing and playing with those well behaved, happy, well-rested angelic children of mine. Maybe we'd go for a morning walk, exploring and finding leaves to bring home to do projects with. Or visit the library... We'd come home and eat lunch and take naps. Elie and I would spend some quality one-on-one time together. We'd read some books or practice her letters... When Nick came home from work the house would be clean, dinner would be on the table and I would still be wearing my jeans and earrings.

*keep in mind this fantasy is partially based in reality. If it was TRUE fantasy there would be horses, chickens, pigs and a maid.

Ahhh. dreaming...

Reading with Intention 2011

I counted up my books for this year and was a little disappointed in myself. Last year I read 40 books. I was really hoping to beat that this year. Unless I manage to finish one of the two books I am reading in the next four days (highly unlikely given the papers I have to grade and the house I have to clean) I will have read the same amount. I comfort myself with the knowledge that a number of the books I read were LONG not to mention I bought a house and had a baby. ANYWAY... My top 5 books of the year were... (drumroll please)

In no particular order:
Lonesome Dove- Larry McMurtry
Rebecca- Daphne du Maurier
The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand
The Good Earth- Pearl S. Buck
Our Hearts were Young and Gay- Skinner and Kimbrough

Okay I will just make it my top 10-
Winnie the Pooh- A.A. Milne
David Copperfield- Dickens
The Elegance of the Hedgehog- Muriel Barbery
Rilla of Ingleside- L.M. Montgomery
The Horse Boy- Issakson


Oh and Farenheit 451. (Can you believe I was an English major and I've never read this before?!)

It was a very good year as far as reading goes and I am excited about what adventures I will go on next year. I think I am going to FINALLY commit to reading Harry Potter...