Where 'they should be'... Those 3 dirty words!

     "C'mon buddy, this is simple stuff, you should not struggle with this. You are 9 years old now!"  Way to many times I have said that or something similar to my son. He is a '3rd grader' doing work in the 1st-early 2nd grade range (except for Science, he is doing 6th grade science work without the writing) I have come to realizes a few things.

1) They WILL learn when they are ready.  I have had countless people tell me that. While I agreed in theory, when it came to MY child it went in one ear and out the other.

2) Its okay if they are not 'where they should be'. Really, it is!

     Why is it so hard to believe advice for other peoples kids when logically you know that advice is spot-on, but when it comes to your own child you  (I in this case) just cannot accept it?   Why do we  feel the urge to make sure our kids are 'where they should be?' What does that even mean? Who sets these standards? Your children (and mine) ARE where they should be if you are diligent to keep working with them.  Some kids just take longer. It is as simple as that. Sure, we can push and push but what does that accomplish? For me, it accomplished nothing but tears and frustration. And so much frustration  for my son... My poor son who I expected things from that he just was not capable of yet. :(

     Why does all logic go out the door when it is your child? I am one who can give amazing advice when it comes to other people's children. Good, logically sound advice. But when it comes to  my own, I go into panic mode.

"But he can't do __________ and he still can't ______________, and he should be able to _____________ by this age."

     I can fill those blanks in with MANY different things.  Finally I had to force myself to take a step back, and look at what he couldn't do a month ago that he can do now. Wow! It was amazing. So I took it a big step farther and looked at what he couldn't do a year ago. Mind.Blown. Seriously! He is learning and improving in so many areas, but I totally failed to see it because I was focused on what he couldn't do. It takes him a bit longer to be ready to learn something, but once he is ready he learns it well. 

    When you really think about it, what is the harm in learning basic math facts at 8 or 9 instead of 5 or 6? No, he will not be in college level courses at 12 or 13 and you know what? That is okay! That is not what God intended for him. That is not what I want for my kids. I want my kids to learn at their pace and in own special learning style. (Each kid has a different learning style, that is for sure!) I want my kids to be kids while they can. I say that all the time, and yet I continue to push them into stuff that they are not ready for academically.  I have this horrible problem of looking at what other peoples kids are doing that mine are not. But you know what? MY kids are doing some pretty amazing things that other peoples kids are not! (so there :P ) 

     I am writing all this to encourage those whose kids are not 'where they should be' (that is a dirty phrase in this house ;) ). If you are diligently working with your kids then they ARE where they should be! Its okay! Play some educational games. Have fun! You won't have this opportunity for long. Don't stress. It WILL happen when the time is right. For some that is sooner than others. That is ok! It really is!

My poor, poor neglected blog.

Life has thrown us a BUNCH of lemons, but what do we do?? Make lemonade! Even when you are drowning in it!

2013-2014 school year was off to a rocky start but we are plugging along. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, right?

S is in 10th and doing well. Math last school year may as well have been Greek to her, but this year, the same program, she is getting all 90% and higher. Amazing what a year can make!  She is nearing the end of her Ancient History studies. She is excited to get into Medieval/Renaissance history.  After going from history program to history program, we have settled on the one that we LOVE and works wonderful (why switch if it works so well you ask? I don't know, isn't that what curriculum junkies do? ;) ) She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the science program we settled on.  LOVES it!! (did I mention that?) She is learning SO much! 

May I present that gem of the 2013-2014 school year... Da da da DA TADA:

Discovering Nature Series


I wish I would have known about this program sooner! The kids can dig into what they are interested in as MUCH as their hearts desire, or as little as they want. They are learning more than any of the 'rigorous' programs we have used in the past. I am SO thankful for Queen Homeschool Supplies!

English is still her nemesis, but we are getting it done. And reading, yeah... no worries there.


T is doing well in 6th grade. We bumped up her rigor as a middle schooler. She si doing well and thriving on the increased work load.  She is about 1/2 way through Ancient History, LOVING her Discovering Nature Science, tolerating English (do you see a pattern here) and getting amazing grades in math!


B still struggles. He is really working as hard as his squirrel brain can ;) He requires a LOT of breaks and a lot of redirecting but that is okay! He is amazing at remembering history and science facts. He is actually a WHIZ in Science (Thank you Magic School Bus books!)  He actually likes English! Unlike his sisters, math is a struggle for him. Rod and Staff Math works wonders for his brain though. Line by line, concept by concept, he is getting there.

J is my little whiz kid. He just get it. What is it you ask? All of it. He just gets school. He doesn't like it, per se, but he gets it.


We are really hoping to fit in more nature study. That seems to be hard but its coming together! Glad to back back blogging and can't wait to share our homeschool journey with you!

Time 4 Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning's online education program in exchange for an honest review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so come back and read about my experience! For more information, try their lesson demos or find out how to write your own curriculum review.

Please check back for that review once the kiddos get using it for a while! I am excited because I think this will be a great program based on what I know of it :)

And we are off!! School started August 22, 2011

2 weeks of school down and we are off to a great start! I LOVE the curriculum choices this year and think I found the right fit for our needs in that respect! Very happy. This is the first year I am 100% happy with curriculum! (so far- This is only week 2!)  It has been a challenge getting used to all 4 kids in full time school now but we are getting there.  I decided to hold off starting B in the Classical history and science cycle until 2nd grade because otherwise I would have the other 3 kids in the Ancients/Biology cycle his 2nd grade year and he would be in Rome- Reformation/Earth Science. I just want to keep them together and since the other 3 kids grades fall naturally on the same cycle he can wait a year. I don't foresee that being a problem.  Its going to be a busy year with B in Cub Scouts, Awana and 4H, J in Awana, 4H and wrestling, T in Volleyball, Basketball, Awana, and 4H, and S in 4H, Awana, Youth Group and an Awana leader (she is a Cubby's teacher) Should be a very fun and productive year though! We are excited!


This year T and S (4th and 8th grades) are doing Physics and they both love it! They are having so much fun because both of their science books are loaded with experiments and they do their experiments together so its been fun.  Plus I bought 3 Physics science experiment kits. S love history! Can you believe it? This is the same child that fought me the first 2 years we homeschooled because she "hated history"  I guess correct curricula and the way you approach it makes a huge difference!!

The boys are focusing on the 3 R's this year and Bible. That also is going well. I expect a great year this year! Sorry about the quick post but I need to run. More later :)

Wow Its been a really long time since I updated this

All I can say, is I am so glad we school year round after the way this year has gone. My short 6 month (is that short???) stint of working while Jerry was looking for a job really put us behind! Lets just say that he was NOT created to be a homeschool teacher  :)  We are getting nicely caught up. Sierra is behind in History and Science but those will be caught up by the end of July! Unfortunately it appears that I did not catch her math weaknesses this year while its been so hectic so I am doing some remedial math with her this summer. Then we will start VideoText Algebra in the fall. (albeit probably a bit later than the rest of her 8th grade materials, I have a plan on how to get her nicely caught up and that may run a bit into the fall) That is one of the good things about homeschooling! I have to freedom to take as little or as much time to get my kids where I feel they need to be. Would she be behind if in the public schools? Probably not but for our goals and her long term goals, she is at the moment. Anyways, It will take maybe (if all goes well) 3-4 months (not to bad in my opinion) to get her caught up and going again. I really struggled with where to go with her for math after getting her caught up. Do we stick with Chalkdust? Do we move on to Teaching Textbooks. I just could not get past the review of teaching textbooks to go there with her. Although the reviews are decent for the most part, nearly every one said that it was atleast a year behind grade level. Sounds ok right? Just put her in a year ahead? Nope- they do not have the depth I am looking for. I would LOVE to continue Singapore with her, but her learning style completely clashes with the Singapore method :( .  So at the moment, I plan on doing VideoText Algebra with her and Patty Paper Geometry once I have her caught up to par.

I am so excited about starting this school year! It should be so fun! We are going to do My Fathers World Exploring Countries and Cultures. I am going to add onto that and teach also about the government and economic systems of each country we learn about. I can not wait! For some reason that is something that has always fascinated me!  Sierra and Taryn will be doing most of that. The boys will be listening in as their ability lets them. They will cycle through and do ECC 1 more time before they both hit High School so I am not to worried about it. It sounds weird to talk in terms of my Kindergartner and 1st grader and high school LOL.

Brock has come such a long way in his school abilities! He is at a 1st grade reading level, end of 1st grade math level. If you know what the boy put me through at the beginning of the school year, I didn't think he would EVER read or do math! I am so excited. The last few months he has made such amazing progress. Now that I know more about his needs it has helped me to really teach him where HE needs me to teach him at! I am going to wait a year to start formal science and history with him, because in his second grade year Taryn will be in 5th grade and Jayce in 1st grade and they will both be beginning the Classical history and science cycle over again. So I will have him do it with them (much easier instead of doing 2 cycles with him just 1 year ahead of the other two) I am so excited about restarting the cycle again! Using My Fathers World's history cycle looks so fun! I will be adding to their science though and they will start over again in 1st (and 2nd for Brock) and 5th grade biology.  We will be using the Gods Design for Life series, plus adding in supplements for Taryn to make it more rich for a 5th grader.

Now it appears I am rambling because I am talking about plans for over a year away... I guess its time to go LOL.

So back to the point. This year with Brock and Jayce I am planning on just doing a light science over view with experimentation! That should be fun. I am getting books from Sonlight Core A (or B??) Whatever the core is that is for cultures.  I have so many books to add to the girls studies. I have to some how narrow it down. That is going to be hard!  I love adding in lit to our studies. It makes our studies so rich and deep. Amazing! Classical Education is about a rich and deep education, I wish I was taught this way. I am so glad I am able to do this for my kids!! God has been so good to us :)

Let the Games Begin

And it starts again, planning what curriculum to use next year. I actually think I have it (mostly) figured out.

J- He will be using MFW K and following along Gods Design for Science- life science with B

B- He will be using MFW 1st grade, Singapore Math, Horizons Math and MEP math. Sounds like alot of Math? Well through is testing we found out he is a math whiz! So now I have the responsibility of developing that natural math ability of his. He will also be doing Phonics Pathways, Reading Pathways and Explode the code along with MFW phonics (plus various readers, I have Sonlight core 1 level readers and Bob books so far.)  He is going to do God's Design for Science- Life Science. I think he might listen in with the girls read alouds for ECC, not sure yet though.

T- She will be doing MFW Exploring Countries and Cultures for Bible and History. Property of Ecosystems, and God's Design for the Physical World (since 4th grade is Physics according to the WTM) That was the best I found so far since Apologia does not have their Physics books out yet... <sigh> I have been praying that would be ready but its not. Oh well. God's Design is an awesome curriculum as well. (after all it is put out by AIG)She will be doing Singapore Math and Horizons Math 4. Intermediate Language Lessons by Emma Serl. She will start writing strands. Continue with Spelling Power. She might possibly start vocabulary cartoons, not sure thought.

S- She will be doing MFW Exploring Countries and Cultures for Bible and History with T (S will do the 7th & 8th grade add on package though). She will also be doing Properties of Ecosystems with T. In addition to that she will be doing BJU English/writing 8, Writing Strands, All American History 2, Apologia Physical Science with the Red Wagon DVD's, Chalkdust Algebra 1, Patty Paper Geometry (1day a week), Logic I am unsure about. I guess it depends on how far we get this year. She is almost done with Fallacy Detective then will start The Art of Argument. She is going to do vocabulary vine science roots. I think for literature we are going to do Excellence in Literature: Intro to Lit. We are going to take it slow but I am going to have her do the honors course.

So that is our plans for the 2011-2012 school year. I will have a Kindergartner, 1st grader, 4th grader and 8th grader... YIKES!

B- testing, testing and more testing

We we finally decided to get B tested. We found out alot of things that I feel like I should have known. He has a sensory processing disorder (SPD), a sensory integration disorder (they think- but they are certain enough that they told me about it so that would lead me to believe they are very certain just not 100% positive) low tone, severe visual/spatial delays, low eye tracking and his eyes do not work together like they should. Now they think he has a form of Autism. He also has tourettes syndrome but we knew that. (not an official diagnosis until now though but sometimes you just know) I have mixed feelings. I feel like I should have seen this. I feel like I let my son down because I knew something was "off" but didn't get this looked into until now. Now he is about 6 months behind in kindergarten and its my fault.

On the other hand I am glad we know. Now I can look into what my son needs to help him. So that he can learn in the way HE needs to learn. I can meet him at where he is and we can go from there. Now I know that some of  the things he does are not just him being defiant (how many times did I get after him for some of this stuff???) 

I guess the past is behind me and no matter how much I would like to change I can't, I just know that now I can better deal with things now that I know. It could be worse- they didn't want to test him until 2nd grade. How far behind would he have been then? How many times would I have gotten after him for things he is not purposely doing to be defiant? Now I know.