Home School Post

*Non-homeschoolers, feel free to talk amongst yourselves, here. * ;-)


For the last several weeks I’ve been trying to get us back on track. I haven’t been happy with the way that school and our life in general has been going for the last several months. It felt like I just “lost it” somewhere along the way and just never could get everything back within my slippery grasp again. I guess with Race being “home” (he isn’t really, but at least he is in the states right now, and the bullets flying at him are only fake ones) I began to realize how uptight I get when he is away. I don’t even see it in myself when it’s happening, but I guess the combination of underlying concern that I have for Race along with the constant running pace to keep on top of things here makes me a little…….TENSE.
So, for the past few months, I’ve been slowly relaxing my grip on the wheel, slowing down and gazing around at the scenery a bit. And I haven’t been liking what I’ve been seeing.

In short: High school has been kicking my butt.

School for the older 2 had become little more than a checklist of textbook assignments. And while I love the different curricula that we are using, we just weren’t making the most of it. The love of learning was gone. The interest, the curiosity………….gone.
Jackson had become undisciplined in his academics and was routinely bored and looking for an escape route. The kids still had all of their activities, and I was usually completely frazzled and tired at the end of each day. To top it all off the household chores were all left to me and I had allowed this to be the case.

This is not what home schooling should look like.

So, while Race is “home”, I took a breather and decided to reanalyze my strategy and then regroup my army.

I took a look again at the method of home schooling that drew me in to this crazy world of home schooling to begin with:Charlotte Mason . I began reading her books again, only this time, Book Six (kind of the high school age) really caught my interest.
I really BELIEVE in this method. It really resonates with me. And if Charlotte Mason were alive, and living in VA, you can bet my 3 kids would be attending her school!

But alas, she isn’t and she doesn’t and so, the kids…aren’t. So I started to scan the internet. But as I joined email groups and perused message boards, I was left feeling that most of those using this method for high school had settled for something much less than what I believe Ms. Mason would have recognized as a whole education.

SO I pulled out my tried and true “go-to” book for home schooling The Well Trained Mind. I love the classical method as it is presented here. But , alas, I am no academic. And while I loved, Loved, LOVED this when the kids were younger, I was really struggling trying to accomplish this in our home with grades 10,8,and 5 all at once. I was just falling woefully short.
But the more I studied, the more I realized that these 2 methods actually dovetail beautifully together. They are , in fact very similar in many ways. They are both meant to educate the “whole” child and to encourage the child to learn to focus so that he/she becomes disciplined to learn for themselves. And as an EFFECT……… learning itself, becomes enjoyable. Learning becomes a task worthy of one’s time and effort.

SO I set about to make a master schedule. Perhaps re-inventing the wheel at times, but, hey- my family needed a little different wheel!

My curricula and my end goals ….my SPINE comes from TWTM, but many of my methods are now drawn from Charlotte Masons work, along with getting back to Journaling, Shakespeare, art and music study. And you know what???
IT’S WORKING!!!!!!!!!!

The older kids have their schedules for the week. On Sundays I make out their lists. Every subject , along with the chapters to be completed, any assignments, and written work. And for the most part they regulate their own work each day. On Fridays, we discuss the readings for the week and all written assignments. This is where the Socratic dialogue comes into play as well. ;-) Discuss, discuss, discuss. This is my favorite day of the week with the older two. This has really given them a renewed focus.
With the older two knowing what to do and staying on task, I am freed me up to work with Jackson. We have our list too. Jackson is dyslexic, so there is still a considerable amount of reading that he cannot do on his own. But he is working above grade level in almost every other subject, so we don’t let this hold us back.

It’s really been going great and I have seen such a renewed interest in each of the kids. Their own ideas are flowing forth from them again and they are EXCITED about learning.
Now, the REAL key to this new system is what we will call……. The Daily list. I will try to explain this a little bit better.
To keep everyone on task, they each have an additional list in their notebooks. And before anyone has free time, all the things on the list must be completed.

The Daily list looks like this:

Shower
Make bed
Room picked up and laundry put into place
School finished for the day
School books put away
Choose 1 chore from the kitchen list , complete it and cross it off
And:
Austin: Dirty dishes in dishwasher
Savannah: put away clean dishes.
Jackson: take out kitchen trash

The kitchen list referred to above is a list of things that I would like to have done each week. Things like cleaning their bathrooms, cleaning out the car, doing their laundry, etc. I printed it out and placed it in a page protector . It is posted on the kitchen with a marker. Each day they pick one, do it, cross it off and initial it.

This has been working really well. I think the beauty of it is that it places the responsibility back to the children, and helps everyone see a clear-cut goal each day. It also helps each person to be able to look back on the day and realize all that has been accomplished. Of course some have taken to the list faster than others, but I have found that with constant encouragement, each of them is “getting it”. The kicker is, that without exception, the Daily list MUST BE DONE before anything else can take place. That means baseball, martial arts, running around outside…….whatever. And if for some reason the older 2 don’t have their work ready on Friday then that means you have to work through the weekend until it’s finished. Not to be seen as a punishment at all, just a direct consequence of taking your free time during the week.


So. We’ve turned a corner here, and it actually feels really good. I’m thinking that we may not screw them up completely after all, and maybe……………….just MAYBE………..we might make this whole thing work!

At the ball game..........

Bases loaded. Jack is up to bat.

The kids are in the dug-out chanting, "Jack-SON!!!, Jack-SON!!!, Jack-SON!!!!!"

And then the pitch....... fast ball.........right down the middle.

*CRACK!* There it goes!!!!!!!!!!

GRAND SLAM HOME RUN!!!!

Congratulations Jackson!
Wish that Race could have seen it. It was awesome.

I don't need to remind my readers that Jack has been in that situation before when it didn't turn out the same way.

When he ran across home plate and made it back into the dugout I thought that his teammates were going to kill him in their excitement. And when his big brother and big sister came over and congratulated him with that fist-to-fist thing that all cool big kids do.......well..........the team was awe-struck. (*whisper,wisper*....woah.the BIG kids) It was a great night. This is only the 2nd game we've won this season.

I love the game of baseball.

Cheers!
Melissa

P.s.- Homeschool posts coming soon! (*snort!* What??? Did ya think we weren't educatin' the lil' sluggards anymore??)

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Shoot!! Or.......rather......DO shoot.

We may have another competitive shooter in the family!
(I was hoping that you'd all be so focused on the gun that you wouldn't see that sock hanging over the kitchen chair. (sigh))

Enter Race .

Race has been stateside for a bit and one of the things that means is that the kids get to pour over tons of his cool gear. (He believes that you can never have too much “kit” in that the way that I believe you can never have too many shoes.)

Race being home also means firearms training……..for me and the kids.

Now, while I am not able to do it blindfolded, what other wife do you know that can disassemble a Glock and put it back together? (Dy, put your hand down….this is my moment.)

But, enough about me, silly. Let’s talk competition shooting. Race began shooting competitively some years ago in the military. He would not be able to legitimately hold his Johnny Bad Ass title without a few state and national wins to his name, now would he?

But a few years ago we were introduced to IPSC. This, my friends is like the shooters nirvana. It is the competition that levels the playing field. I’ve seen a shooter under 16 yrs old, absolutely destroy the competitive time and accuracy of every cop in the group.

By a mile.

Quickness and accuracy. That’s what it’s all about. And of course, that’s what every shooter wants to be better at. Whether you are a professional, a novice, or just a gal hoping to hit the unlucky s.o.b. that tries to harm your loved ones, it’s speed and accuracy that you need. Watch the video, you'll get the idea.

Uh-huh......uh-huh..........How cool was that?
So, anyway Race got bit by that bug. And we followed along. And, oh my, what a wonderful group of people! All walks of life, lots of family members and everyone willing to help out the beginner, (or the cop learning for the first time to MOVE and SHOOT ;-) ). It’s good stuff. This brings me to Jack. He is using a Glock practice gun. An “Inert” It has no firing pin, but everything else is the same. Even has pink practice rounds.





We aren’t ready for the Jr. Olympics yet. But, hey... it’s a start.

Savannah and Herriott

For those of you who don't know, my daughter Savannah has a cat named Herriott. She is a girl cat, but she is named after the author James Herriott. His stories have always been some of Savannah's favorites.

My Sister has been working on getting her photography studio opened up and she thought that some "pet portraits" might be nice to add to her collection. So, naturally, she thought of my girl and her beloved cat! (It is SOOoooo beneficial to have a sister who is a professional photographer!) I absolutely LOVE these images os Savannah. They really show her personality. She has turned into such a beautiful girl, inside and out.
I have to choose from these for an enlargement for our dining room. I have the room decorated with a B & W picture of each of the kids, so the one that I choose will need to be B & W to replace it. The frames are a pretty cherry.

The one below is Savannah's favorite.

I have never seen a pet more devoted to it's owner than Herriott is to Savannah. I swear, if Savannah was out in the ocean, that cat would swim the waves of the sea to reach her.

When did this happen? My little girl is growing up so fast!

SO which one would you choose? I think that I'll get the one Savannah likes for her room. Tough decision.

You can see more of my sister's work here at her website. Thanks again Thom for the awesome photos.

Cheers!

Melissa

ooooo......that hit's the spot!

This is from E. Elliott

Does Prayer Work?

The answer to that depends on one's definition of work. It is necessary to know what a thing is for in order to judge whether it works. It would be senseless, for example, to say that if a screwdriver fails to drive nails into a board it doesn't "work." A screwdriver works very well for driving screws. Often we expect to arrange things according to our whims by praying about them, and when the arrangement fails to materialize we conclude that prayer doesn't work. God wants our willing cooperation in the bringing in of his kingdom. If "Thy kingdom come" is an honest prayer, we will seek to ask for whatever contributes to that end. What, after all is said and done, do you want above all? Is it "Thy will be done"? If so, leave it to Him.
Is it "My will be done"? Don't waste your time and God's by praying. Have it your way.
I am hoping to be back tonight with a few pictures and stories. See you then! Have a wonderful day!
Cheers!
Melissa

It's ball season again.......fill up my flask, please

Baseball is going good for the boys this year, so far. Austin is having a blast for playing for this high school team. He 's playing so well at short stop and his team really looks up to him.As I watch him this year I realized that while I am immensly proud of the baseball skills that he has worked so hard on......what has really impressed me this year is this kids character. It does a mom's heart good to see her son, as one of the stand-outs on a team go out of his way to truly encourage the younger kids whose abilities aren't there yet. (Sigh)....Now THAT'S good stuf.

Jack is playing 1st base and pitching. He's really found his bat this year and he's sending them to the fence.

But He's pitching.

And that's why I need a flask of strong drink.

Don't get me wrong. He's doing a great job. And he loves it.

But I am a nervous wreck.

I want to stand and run away. I want to shake someone(just anyone) by the shoulders really hard. I want to stand and shriek, "THAT"S MY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

But not Jack. He's cool as can be. And to show his ultimate coolness, every so often he reaches up adjusts his cap and then turns and spits on the mound. (A lot of the boys at this age adjust their CUP on the mound after each pitch instead of their CAP and I can tell you that the latter is much cooler).

Have I ever told you that we have an umpire for Jack's age group that only has one eye? Yep, it's true. We have a one eyed umpire. (Could I MAKE this stuff up?)


And no, he's not very good. at all.

One time there was this adorable little boy on the mound pitching. The handsome little guy went through his wind up and let the ball fly. The one eyed ump called the pitch a ball.

It was at this precise moment that everyone heard the little boy's well dressed, and usually poised mother yell from the stands, "C'MON UMP!! TRY WATCH'N IT WITH YOUR *GOOD* EYE!!!!" .................. and then she sat down, saying "that was a strike"......but in a much smaller voice now.

Honestly, what kind of mother would yell such a thing????? (*blush*)

( But in my own defense it WAS a strike)

So.......I'm dustin' off the ole flask and fillin' her up.

Let's PLAY BALL!!!

Cheers!

Melissa

P.S. Huge HUGE thanks to my sister Thomasina for taking the awesome photos. I can hardly wait to show y'all the one's she just did of Savannah!!