General update.

Don't  think I've spoke much about how school is going this year, especially science. It seems to be everybody's favorite lately...well maybe not the little one. I can truly admit, never dreamed I'd have fun teaching chemistry, but I'm totally enjoying it. We've done several experiments from buoyancy, density, legos as atoms, and our last we made hydrogen and oxygen atoms using candy to represent all the electrons, well Timothy my four yr old wanted in on the fun, I knew it would be over his head but none the less he joined in. He was perfectly fine until he tried to eat the candy with glue on it. lol. When I  told him no, my response from him was something like this...
Him: "well, well, this is no good. Why are we just wasting all the candy?"
Me:" I have candy left for us when we finish."
Him:"We are wasting perfectly good candy mom, and all your doing is just reading,reading, reading. ..ugh"
Me: "You don't have to do this experiment if you don't want too..."
Him:(starting to cry)" This is supposed to be fun, but this is no good science experiment....(pouting) just wasting candy." he walks off.

Have to admit this was one meltdown at the kitchen table homeschooling that was more humorous than most. Kinda felt bad for my little guy, and my smiles and laughter from the other two were just really upsetting him more and more. Oh, and yes I did give him his left over candy. lol.

We are full swing into guitar lessons as well, and I have heard the first line to jingle bells more times than I want to admit. I'm thankful though as they are practicing now for their Christmas concert its been really rewarding watching them learn to play.

Timothy is excelling with his schooling, infact he's sounding out everything...at home, in the store, wherever, and asking a thousand questions. He amazes me in math because at four he adds in his head. Its so weird to me he doesn't use the pictures in his work book, for instance two fish plus a picture of three more fish and then normally a child will count them to get the total, he does it in his head and just rights the answer. I will say it has me a bit scared. I know my other two children's learning styles but this is different than either of them. He's going to be a fun one to teach in the future that's for sure. 

Happy reading yall.

United front and a firm foundation

I can only hope you've never faced conflict amongst your family when it comes to homeschooling. Unfortunately, many times talking with other homeschool families, it seems everyone has a skeptic, and rightfully so, shoot I was one myself before I started homeschooling. I can say we've had our share in our family, most respectfully disagree, some have changed their view a whole 360° and are my biggest supporters, but then there are those...

You know, doesn't matter what you say, they won't budge, always critical, the ones that quiz your kids to see if they really know anything, and mostly the ones who are so close minded they see the results yet still refuse to acknowledge them.
Like for instance, you hear the comments, "your boys are so well behaved." or they praise their achievements yet ask "when are you going to put them in real school?" "You really think you can teach them everything?"

Oh how these comments infuriate me. I'm sure having all in laws as public school teachers, you can imagine the uphill battle we have amongst some of our family. (Though, haven't quite figured that one out because every other school teacher I've met has given is a wealth of support, including my oldest sons kindergarten teacher, who we told we had future plans to homeschool.) Back to the point. So as we seem to continually face conflict, I decided I'd complie a list of ways we try to handle these beloved situations.

1. Stand United!
Just as you keep a united front with your husband when you discipline your children. Your immediate family comes first. When conflict arises, you always back your husband and he should back you as well. Homeschooling is a team effort, after all he is the principal right? Our family likes to nit pick us separately, not sure why, if their trying to drive a wedge or what, but what I do know is even though my husband can tell me at home what he sees the children need improvement and sometimes be my biggest critic. He is also my number one fan! We support each other and always have each other's back any negative comment made about the other or our children, will simply not be tolerated.

2. Nip it in the bud
As soon as you see a conversation going in a negative direction, stop it, change the subject, don't entertain it, don't argue. Sure, do I believe my kids are smart? Yes. Do I think their set apart from most other kids their age? Sure, but I also know my children's strengths and weaknesses, and they aren't perfect my any means. I've heard my husband say a number of times at home, "I'd put my kids up against any kid their age any day." Lol, proud Dad I know and rightfully so, but making those comments to another is not benefiting to you or your children. We all know there are kids in school who are gifted as well as strugglers, just as in homeschool. Don't put your children on such a pedestal in front of the nay sayers that you  become just as closed minded as them. Just stop the negative talk. Reccently we were visiting with family and the comments were icing on the cake compared to other visits, my husband's simply said, it's time to go. We packed up and left, that simple, and sometimes you have to do just that.

3. Your children are not preformance actors
Seriously, don't do that...here let me quiz my child in front of you so you can see they are learning, in the same way, stop letting them ask your child a thousand questions so they can decide wether your actually educating your children or not. Kids are Kids, they don't want to be put on the spot when family comes around all the time. You know as well as I do, Homeschoolers have a natural love for learning, rest assured they will share what they last read, some interesting fact, or what science experiment they did last. Let them do that in their own time and chances are those nay sayers still love your children enough to at least listen.

4. Children should not be an audience
Again, especially if your children are lurking, nip that negative talk in the bud. Kids hear more than we think, they are little sponges. They don't need to hear negativity from people in your family they love. They don't need to hear others question your ability to educate them. They don't need to hear anything that would make them feel they aren't as smart as they should be, or anything else that can be detrimental to them.

5. Children are not tools.
Don't know about you, but my children will not be your tools to mold and bend. They are my children, and last I checked God blessed me with the opportunity to raise them. If you have family members who disagree with your homeschooling, closely monitor their interaction with that member. Kids tell all, You don't need your children questioning why there Homeschoolers, or being influenced with some crazy ideal they'd be happier if they went to "real school" or did this or that. Truth is last year, had you asked my eight yr old he would have said, I don't like homeschool, I want to go to public school." When we sat down with him, his answer was, "so I can have chocolate milk at lunch and more friends." Well, had we entertained that idea he would of been in for a rude awakening. We rectified both complaints he had, and I haven't heard a word since. Now, had he said to one of those family members he hated homeschooling, you can imagine..all hell would of broke loose. Lol, then that oh so famous comment I've heard to many times to count, "your depriving your children." Yep, your right! (Another day, another topic.)

6. Hold your head high.
God gave you your children to raise, they are yours and no one else's. Even on your worst day homeschooling when your ready to throw in the towel. Know, I will make it, my children love me, my husband believes in me. (If you don't have your husband's support, I wouldn't suggest homeschooling in the first place, just my opinion, maybe topic for another day.) Have confidence, do what's right for your family, and don't let those negative comments dwell inside of you. I am raising my children to the best of my ability, the best way I know how. How they turn out is on me and my family. I will not cave to negative comments from others and let it influence how I raise my children. If I screw up, and my children don't succeed, its on me, but I don't ever want to sit back later and regret making poor decisions for our family based on another person's opinion. If I have regrets later on, it will be because of my own foolishness, no one else's.

Kids and Current Events

Saturday afternoon sitting around the table at Grandparents drinking coffee and talking politics, religion, etc...when my oldest waits his turn sips some of his coffee, (half milk half coffee) and reply's..."well, I know one thing that plane that went down in Ukraine,  Russia better watch out, looks like their going to be in big trouble..." (yep. My 11 yr old talking current events.) I believe that's the joy of homeschooling they socialize with all ages, you all know what I mean...they can entertain the little ones, play with kids thier age or make profound statements in a grown conversation that u think they couldn't possibly understand. Anyway back to topic, if your like me, you tend to guard your children from the world, tend to change the channel from the news when the kids are around for fear of what may be said or heard? (Not easy to do when you have a husband who could happily watch CNN all day.) I come to realize, sheltering isn't always the answer, its taking time to have discussions with them, help them understand what's going on in the world around them, how to make good choices, make them decide how they can be part of the solution or part of the problem. I don't know about you but I love those discussion times with my kids, it's amazing to me what they are capable of understanding. I love watching the wheels turn in their heads and most importantly I  love that their thinking. In today's society we definitely need more thinkers, more people grounded in what they believe, those who know when it's time to take a stand and when to let it come to pass. We seem to live in a society that changes directions as the wind blows, and quite frankly I don't even think America as a whole knows which direction its going. Its our job to teach or children, not just academics, but about life in general about the world around them. I had a highschool economics teacher that used to make us watch the news each night and would quiz us on the topics the next day. At the time I hated it, could of cared less, I had better things to do...now, I completely understand what she was trying to prove. So, my question is, how much discussion time to you allow with your children, are current events used as important teaching tools, or would your children even be aware of the world around them?? Truth is we can't shelter them forever, but we can lead them, teach them, and guide them as they grow.

Summer camps.

I don't know about you, but this year our summer has been so busy with camps and VBS. Looking forward now that things are settling down that we can get back into a routine and I can have all my boys back together. First, Taylor and Nolan spent the week at their grandparents and attended baseball camp where their grandad is the highschool baseball coach. They learned a great deal and we're able to sharpen some skills on the field, but my real highlight was when they brought them back. Understand that they love our children dearly but they are public school teachers so they have never been 100% on board with our decision to homeschool, which is fine. I don't ask anyone to agree with it I just ask you to respect our decisions on what we feel is the best way to raise our children. So, of course first conversation with my husband's  mother, "They are having so much fun at baseball camp, and they're making all kinds of friends." Lol, really. I wanted to be like well yeah, did you think we keep them locked up in the house all day?? Sad reality is most think homeschoolers do that, and maybe some do, I don't know. It was certainly good that they were able to see them socialize with kids "their own age." After that they went on to tell us, how many compliments they got at restaurants and such as the boys were so well mannered. Praise the Lord. Now, tell me again how public school is the best option for them? You really want them influenced by today's generation?? At least most of them, that have forgotten "Please and Thank you", or how about, "Yes, Sir? No, Ma'am?" Hmmm. I think I'll stick to homeschooling and raising them against the grain of what society has deemed acceptable behavior. After baseball camp, we had our week of Vbs at church. My oldest got the opportunity to be a Junior helper in a younger class. It was really rewarding watching him help teach songs, lead his class to different stations and be a help to the teacher, sort of a new responsibility for him. Next on the list, we sent him off to Church camp for the first time. I can definitely tell God has been working in his life. He had such a good time, from water slides to four story zip lines, archery, paintball. The theme this year was a new selfie. If your like me, I have yet to understand the craze of everyone posting pics of themselves on social media sites. So, they spent some real Bible time talking about how your made new in Christ, and you should present yourself as Christ would and not looking to the world for acceptance. Whew, it's been fun but sure is nice things are slowing down now.

A little work never hurt anybody.

So today we are driving around, doing a little shopping and we come up to this intersection, third one  with a ridiculous amount of traffic. We see kids as we're approaching, which we already knew from the previous lights, they were young kids raising money to go compete, cheerleading and football I assume by the clothing they wore and the signs. Now my first response is "What on earth are these parents thinking.." letting their kids ask for donations on a busy street like that? Someone could get hurt, kidnapped, who knows anymore. Well, apparently we weren't the only ones who thought it was poor judgement. As we pulled up two Police officers motioned for a Dad (or the adult, coach, whatever) and we watch him argue with the officers for a bit at first and as the officers don't budge he then collect all the kids as they go elsewhere. Really? Where's the common sense?? Sorry if I sound judgemental, but you had to know that was not a bright idea.

So, after I got over that...my husband and I had the conversation in the truck as we're driving. Surely every kid has done fundraisers at some point in their life if they were involved in any extracurricular activities. Bake sales, car washes, girl scout cookies, I've done several, but I can honestly say I have never stood with a bucket and begged for money. Not the first time I've seen this either. I'm all for helping sure, but why are we teaching are youngsters to be beggers?? What happend to hard work pays off? A strong work ethic? A little elbow grease? Things don't get handed to you on a silver platter, you earn them in life, and the sooner our kids learn this the better. My oldest just returned from church camp, and he worked several fundraisers inside the church to earn his way. Could we have paid his way sure, but if he worked for it doesn't it mean twice as much to him? The One fundraiser I remember the most was a pancake breakfast they did, he (11) worked the griddle all morning flipping pancakes, no parents in the kitchen working other than supervising, I watched him wipe sweat from his brow it was so hot and crowded in there. And ya know what...He survived!!! I bet he made 100 pancakes or more. The biggest reward came when we were in the youth room and the children's pastor tallied up his cost after working thes fundraisers, His original cost was $230. We only ended up paying $49 The look on his face when he saw how much he earned for the hard work was priceless, even more priceless when he looked at me, and I was just as shocked. Lol, I said "Boy, you made your Momma proud." He was all grins to know that he had helped contribute. Is it really so hard you can't bake some cookies with your kids to sell?? If my 11 yr old now knows how to mow a lawn and my 8 yr old can follow instructions and bake some cookies, I assure your kid can earn his way to whatever event he's wanting to go. Just my two cents for what it's  worth.

2014 Awana Bible Quiz

Wow, I knew it had been awhile since I last blogged but two months! Sorry!! :( Well, I just wanted to talk about my oldest for a minute. Not sure how many know what AWANA is, but its what several churches use as their curriculum/program for childrens Bible study. Most churches usually do it on Wednesday night or Sunday evening. It stands for approved workmen are not ashamed. They have a system of completing Biblical applications and scripture memoriziation, as they complete them along with other task they earn awards and badges. Each year they hold events for all chuches in the area to come together and compete in what they have learned throughout the year. You compete on teams of 2-4 people in three different parts. Speed drills where you have a buzzer and you have to chime in the fastest to answer the question correctly. A multiple choice on teams, where you raise a paddle with the correct answer, and a written 20 question exam. Each section of the trivia is worth so many points. So this year our church put two groups together and went to compete for the first time. 

We figured one of our teams placed but we thought probably third or fourth. It's hard to know how exactly you place until awards ceremony at the end. So during the ceremony they called fourth, third, then second, and in my head Im thinking okay we must have gotten beat out somewhere. Nope They called us First Place!! Of course we all jumped up and cheered, almost broke my phone in my lap. Hehe. So proud! My son also recieved a medal for placing a high score on his written exam.

All our kids did so well, I was so proud they even took the time to do it. There were at least 600+ kids divided into six groups dependent on the book they were quizzing over all from the DFW area, I'm not sure about how many actual Churches were there, but you know in the whole scheme of things my son sacrificed a baseball game willingly and put in an extra hour every sunday for the past 5-6weeks just to prepare, along with studying at home.

Above all I absolutely loved getting that opportunity to teach those two most important lessons, hard work pays off, and rememering to put God first in your life.(pics to come when Im not mobile)

Bonkers joins the crew

Been awhile since I last posted. Sorry I know, unfortunately with three boys, I just simply dont always have the time Id like to, to actually write down whats happening. Been so busy lately we even decided to throw a fur baby in the mix. Lol. We were told we couldn't have a dog but we could have a cat?? Make sense right? Ah, the joys of renting...well I love animals but I will say cats are not my first pick. Sorry. But after some thought and a few mice we caught in the house. Yes mice, Im petrified for lack of a better word. We decided why not? Right? So we set out to adopt our fur ever friend from the spca cats at the local petsmart. I fell in love with an adult male cat, Siamese mix with the coolest bright blue eyes. His temperament with our boys is unbelievable. He is so calm with them, he loves the attention and when he's had enough he just hides. So Im thinking this cat is a perfect fit. And, the older two boys can use some responsibility in caring for an animal. Lol. Little did I know Timothy would have some learning to do too, before we left the store, Timothy ask my hubby, "Daddy, How are we going to teach him to go potty in the toilet?" Curious little booger. Oh and then at the check out he tells me, "Mommy I think the kitty would like to eat some ice cream." So, yeah, Im now thinking in my head, this is going to be fun... Thankfully, Timothy is doing well with his new friend. Well, other than the trail of dry cat.food I keep finding around the house where he has tried to hand feed the cat. Lol. Fun times. I wish I could say he is a really useful cat that catches mice, but actually, I think he is only could for two things eating and sleeping. He is the absolute laziest cat I have ever seen, at least until everyone goes to bed at night. We named him Bonkers, a spin off of his original name Bucky. He supposedly was given to the spca because his owner died. Hope to post more soon. Here are pics of our new fur ball friend. :)