Little Moments

Occasionally I cut the boys hair at home.  It saves money and since I am a licensed stylist the boys look nice no tipping required.  Recently I have had a lot of trouble with my five year old.  Cutting his hair rarely is a cakewalk but generally he stands still and we get through it.  Since our last haircut he has been adamant that he no longer wants his hair cut at home.  After some probing I got to the real reason he wants to go to the barber shop.  He says he wants a mo hawk or a few designs on the side or back of his head.  When I heard the words mo hawk and designs, my thoughts went immediately to my very conservative husband.  What would his reaction be?  Surprisingly my conservative hubby agreed. So with  dads blessing I have gave Christopher a few days to think about it.  He decided that he wanted designs now and would try a mo hawk later.  In this little moment I see my son growing up.  Of course children are always growing but something about this moment was different. 

For five years I have cut his hair or given instructions to the barber to cut his hair however I see fit.  It never occurred to me to ask him what he would like or if he wanted to try something different.   This moment has showed me that my son can assert himself and should be allowed to make more age appropriate decisions.  I think I can accommodate that.

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To my Christopher now is the time for you to try new things, explore and discover you. My job is to provide a safe space for you to do these things and give you wings. Mommy loves you and I feel so blessed to that God gave you to me to shepherd your heart.

One Month In

Yesterday 6/24/10 was officially one month of hs.  Technically we have been hs longer than that but that does not include using our curriculum.  So what can I tell you after one month.  Well, its hard work, our days certainly have challenges, my house has gone to the dogs but it's worth every minute. A veteran hs mom told me once that many people quit after the first year. I can see why people give up. She said if you can get through the first year you can do it.   I am revamping my plan for science, adding a biblical perspective so that my children will have both sides so to speak.  I also purchased bible curriculum, this will replace our Hodge podge devotional times.  What can I say, I work best when I have structure.  In addition I purchased another math curriculum, yes another math curriculum.  I purchased this math curriculum because it really focuses on math facts.  I will continue using my current math curriculum and use the new for drills and additional practice.  The new items are all from http://www.christianlibertypress.com/

For my middle son I am using a combination of tot trays, lap books and play time.  He loves participating in school so I have to have something that keeps in occupied during my time with Christopher. 

I set several goals for us this first year of hs.  I wanted to instill a love of learning in a safe positive environment. Next I wanted to create positive learning experiences, along with a host of other goals and we are well on our way to achieving them all and going above and beyond anything I ever expected.

 

Memory Verse

Patterns

Art

Flag Day

Tan grams

Co-op Here We Come

It's official we have been accepted into a local Christian Co-op. Yay, I think. When I began my journey homeschooling I felt strongly that we needed to be apart of a co-op.  Currently, I am not sure what I feel about co-op but I am willing to give it a try.  The opinions on co-op's are as different as homeschooling families. Some people love them others are happy to stay away from them. It was very important to my husband that Christopher have this experience so beginning in the fall we will attend Enrichment. Seriously I had no idea how vast the ocean of homeschooling options was.  I have stepped in the water and there is no turning back.  I think the class time with other students once a week will be good for Christopher. However, I am not sure what the impact will be on the other things I am doing with him at home.  This will take some time and consideration.
 I have chosen to explain co-op to Christopher as Friday school.    He is excited about it from what I can tell.  Our co-op is rather large, there are four hundred plus children that attend every Friday.  Registration opens up in July I will post what classes we have decided on later.  I am teaching the basics so unless we let something go at home I will be using co-op for PE, art and music etc.  More on this later.

Honey Bee Lapbook Underway

Our first lapbook is underway.  We are having a great time.  Christopher told me today 'Mommy I love science'.  I am thinking we should finish this up soon. 

Mama Is My Name

This is an old poem I never published it because it is incomplete but I like where I am going with this.

Mama is my name

My first name

My only name

Two babies screamin' and a crying

Beckoning me all day

One betwixt my legs everywhere I go

Grabbing me,

Reaching up for me

Eyes watery, beggin please mama carry me

How can I deny him

I try reasoning with him

Boy, I got things to do

There's cooking, cleaning, washing

This means nothing to him

What matters most at this moment is that

Mother's arms are here to soothe him

Tender kiss on the cheek

Then there is a small voice

Mommy I need juice, I feel hot

Mommy my head hurts

My tummy is bubbling......


This was written in early 2009, since this time I have had another baby boy.  When I came upon this poem I was reminded of how overwhelmed I felt during those times.  There has been so much personal growth, which is always good.  What I am most proud of is the writing itself.  There are times I need to be reminded that I have talents and while those talents may need refining they are talents just the same. 

Under Construction

Pardon our progress.

Honey Bee Field Trip

Today we got to meet real honey bee keepers.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to help my oldest son get over his fear of insects.  Yesterday in preparation for the trip I downloaded a Honey Bee mini book from http://www.currclick.com/ and went over some of the basic information about honey bees and then we made honey butter and spread it on bread for a snack.  This was our science for the day. 

Emmanuel looking at a sheet from a man made hive.

Christopher holding honey. The dark is honey produced in fall. The light is honey produced in summer.

Emmanuel holding beeswax.

Once the presentation was over the students got to view live bees from the hive.

He was all over the photos.

At the end we got to sample honey from the hive.  It was so good.

Both of the boys enjoyed the presentation. Christopher said he is still afraid of bees but that he had a good time.

Game Night

Tonight was game night for my husband and some of his friends.  Game night is a night that happens quarterly where old college buddies get together play Monopoly and just have some good ole guy time.  It was our turn to host so we ordered wings, purchased some drinks and there you have it game night! The catch is no women or children allowed.  Game night is only for the M-E-N.

 I did my best to keep the little ones upstairs.  Christopher wanted so badly to have his own game night so I tried to play Scrabble with him, the version for five year olds.  I got frustrated and gave up ten minutes in.  Explaning the rules of Scrabble to a five year old was more than I could do today.  I did my best to persuade him to use the other side of the game board that has the words already there, all you do is put your tiles down over them but no that was not good enough. 
The boys eventually settled on a movie The Incredibles and then went to bed.  Thank goodness! It was so nice spending some much needed time with old friends.