Big Changes!

For the past 14 years, I have homeschooled all three of my kids off and on, but I have always had at least one of them home with me.  So when you consider my oldest child turns 21 next month, I have been home caring for and teaching my children for 21 years.  That all changed today!

Chad, 9, attended preschool through 1st grade, then was homeschooled for the past two years.  Today he began 4th grade at Children's Christian School, a local private school for K-8th grade.  I love their small class size (10 in his class!), and we were blessed with a Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship!  The school is just about 1 mile from home, so after we get into the routine, Chad can even ride his bike to school.  He was very excited to begin school today!

Alyssa, 17, is a senior this year and continues with Open High School of Utah.  She does this program online, which gives her the flexibility she needs with three part-time jobs (nanny, retail dance store, and dance teacher) and her dancing.  So although she officially is home to do school, I don't see her too often during the day. 

So, it appears I'm going to have some time on my hands!!!  As much as I will miss my kids, I am looking forward to getting some long-awaited projects done.  Six hours a day sounds like a long time, but I'm sure it will fly by!  We also have an addition to the family that I will happily spend some of my time with-you will find out who that is in a future post (very soon, promise!).

Product Review~MathRider

I'm very excited about this math game for kids! There are many ways out there you can practice your children's math facts with them, such as flash cards.  Do your kids like flash cards?  Mine do not!  Anytime we can play a fun game though, they are all for it, especially computer games!  MathRider is a latest generation math game for ages 6-12.  Direct from their website:
"Ride your horse on noble quests through the magical MathLands. MathRider combines fun math game play with a highly sophisticated question engine that adapts to your child. The game propels your child to mastery of all four math operations using numbers 0 to 12 in record time."

This game was created by parents who wanted to improve their children's memorization of math facts in a fun way.  You can choose from addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Your child begins a 'quest', complete with storyline, and then rides their horse toward obstacles. A math problem will appear on the screen and they must solve it correctly to jump over the obstacle.  I was very impressed with how the program adjusted to how well Chad was doing.  It sped up as he was doing well, and it also repeated problems more frequently that he got wrong.  Parents can check their child's mastery level and know exactly which problems need more practice. Click here to learn more about how MathRider is played.

Chad loves MathRider!  He enjoys the challenge of completing the quest, and has even played the game during 'non-school' time!  I have noticed a big improvement in his memorization of math facts, especially subtraction, which he wasn't too strong with.
I love that Chad can do this on his own, has fun, gains confidence, and is learning!  It is much more pleasant to have him play MathRider than make him do flash cards!!

MathRider is very affordable.  It is available for Windows and Mac OSX as an instant download for only $37!  That is a great price, considering it is yours forever to use with as many children as you want.  This price is only good until February 25th, when the price will increase to $47.  You also have a 30 day risk-free guarantee when you purchase MathRider.  Want to try it out first?  Go to the MathRider website and click on 'Try MathRider now!' for a free 7-day trial.  Click here to read more crew member's reviews of this product.

*Disclaimer: I received a trial of MathRider in exchange for my honest review.

Review: We Choose Virtues

Teaching my children godly character traits is very important to me.  In today's world we can only shield them so much from the negative attitudes and actions that are out there.  I was extremely excited to learn I was going to review We Choose Virtues!

We Choose Virtues was created by Heather McMillan, who was a Children's Pastor, preschool teacher, and is a Mom herself!  She was discouraged by the lack of good character skills she was seeing in the kids she worked with, and We Choose Virtues was born!

First off, let me say that this is not a big curriculum or unit study that you need hours to devote to every week.  It is a tool you can use daily all year round!  I was given several products to try out from the Kids Set (3-11 year olds).  There is also a Youth Set for Middle-High School age.  The Teacher's Handbook was very helpful.  It goes through steps on how to teach virtues, how to use each of the products, and more.  It is full color and very user-friendly. 

After reading the Teacher's Handbook, we sat down as a family and went through the Family Character Assessment, which was very interesting to hear everyone's thoughts on different areas. This will be a great tool to use every few months to watch our progress in these areas. 

My VERY FAVORITE part of the products we got to review from the We Choose Virtues line was the Virtue Clue Cards.  They are great-colorful, sturdy, and in their own plastic case with a velcro closure.  As the cards are business card size, this would be easy to throw in your purse to go over while waiting for an appointment with your child.  The characters on the Virtue Clue cards and throughout all the products are just adorable.  My son Chad, 9, was drawn to these cards immediately!  We decided to let him close his eyes and draw a new card every day until we have gone through the entire set.  The different virtues on the cards are:

I am Diligent

I am Kind

I am Helpful

I am Obedient

I am Forgiving

I am Perseverant

I am Gentle

I am Patient

I am Self-Controlled

I am Content

I am Honest

I am Attentive

Each card has a catchphrase, an antonym, a clue, and the matching character.  For example: I am Patient.  I wait, and wait, and wait with a smile.  I am NOT...pushy or controlling and I don't get frustrated or bored when others are slow!  Choose to go the whole day and not rush or push anyone.  Piggy Bank Frank knows you can do it!  I really like that the catchphrases are short enough for kids to be able to memorize. 

We also got to download the Kids of Virtueville Coloring Book, which has all the characters from the Virtue Clue cards.  This is great to use after you have gone over your Virtue Clue card, and find the matching coloring book page to go along with your card!

We had a great experience with everything we reviewed from We Choose Virtues, and there is a lot more on their website! These are good quality products! There is a great sale and clearance going on right now (the Virtue cards are only $5.99!!), and during the months of January and February The 100 Days of Virtue Poster and Stickers will be included FREE with any Homeschool Kit purchase during these months. Here are some promo codes for you (you may only use one per order):

VIRTUE15 for 15% off the shopping cart is still available

SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping

I really hope you will go check out this great line of products! They have Homeschool Kits, Classroom Kits, Kids Church Kits, Teacher Kits, and so much more! Also, for more tips on parenting, leadership and inspiring lasting Virtue, check out and 'Like' We Choose Virtues' Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/wechoosevirtues

To read other crew member's reviews of this product, click here.


*Disclaimer: I was given these products free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

Our Curriculum for 2011-2012 School Year!

Better late than never, I'm telling myself :)  Don't get me wrong-we did start school about 1 month ago, it's just this post I've been delayed at getting to!!  So-in case anyone is interested, this is our lineup. Keep in mind this is what we have designed for our own family, not a post on what I think everyone should use! I don't know about you, but I'm always fascinated by other homeschooler's curriculum choices, and I often learn about a product or two I didn't know about!

Alyssa is enrolled in 11th grade at Open High School of Utah (OHSU), which is a virtual High School we are very pleased with so far!! She is attempting to get most core classes taken care of so next year she can take the community college dental hygienist program, which covers 4 electives. So far it's straight As! I'm also considering using the Dave Ramsey Foundations in Personal Finance program for teens. Here is a recent photo of my sweet girl, doing schoolwork while on vacation!!

 Chad is officially a 3rd grader, but is at a 1st-2nd grade level in most areas.  He's consistently stayed about 1-2 years delayed since he became ours at age 2, but this past summer we found out he has numerous learning disabilities, including Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.  You can read that post here.  So, armed with this information, we've tailored a curriculum to really focus on reading and writing much more than anything else.  We are also getting some special education assistance-speech therapy and reading/writing help as needed.

 I decided to go with a school district in Southern Utah (we are northern), for their state-wide K12 program, Washington Online School Utah (WOSU). We are using them for the special ed, Math, History, and Science.  This is a program we used in the past with my oldest two, and were very impressed.  Chad will have lots of opportunities for field trips and fun which he needs having no siblings at all close in age. Plus I get the special support I need to learn how to teach him effectively. They also have awesome online classes and teachers there when you need them.  Some homeschoolers have big issues with what I am doing, as the state school system gets money for our being enrolled.  I believe you do what you feel/know is best for your child, and reassess that each and every year for each and every child.  Even after homeschooling for 14 years, I know when I need help, and the private kind is way too pricey.  I love that I can still involve special ed. assistance and tailor my own curriculum! Our curriculum may change later in the year based on how he is progressing.  This year I decided to try out my own version of a workbox system.  This is getting long, so our workbox system will have to wait for another post.

K12 Math, Science, and History (all 2nd grade) through WOSU.
Reading Horizon's Discover Intensive Phonics (K-3 program on computer, Orton-Gillingham based)
Susan Barton's Reading and Spelling program
Writing With Ease
Handwriting Help for Kids (will be Handwriting without Tears next)
Building Christian Character/60 Day Wonder Devotional

Later in the year: Read, Write, and Type
Occasionally: First Language Lessons, All About Spelling (click button on right sidebar for more info)*

Plus, we have so many wonderful products we get to use and review through the The Old Schoolhouse Crew throughout the year.  And after homeschooling for so many years I have lots of good unit studies and crafts to do at a moment's notice!

*I love the All About Spelling Program, and Chad had completed level 1.  We decided to start back at the beginning, now knowing his diagnosis, with the Barton program and see how that goes.  I would like to eventually get back to AAS. 

Well, that about covers it!!  I really don't have a good enough feel yet for how these products are going to work out for us, so I'll check in again a month or two down the road.  Happy Homeschooling!!

Product Review: Big IQ Kids!

Let me just start off this review of BigIQkids by saying this program is a favorite in our home! Any educational product that my kids ASK to use during their free time is a favorite of mine!
Here is a description of BigIQkids from their website:

BigIQkids.com turns your computer into an online learning academy by providing daily academic lessons for young learners in an interactive, easy to follow format. 

BigIQkids is for kindergarten age-adult. Their spelling and vocabulary programs are completely free, and their math and geography have both free and premium versions.  There is also a premium spelling junior program. The cost on the premium programs run from $39.99-$49.99 per year for each program. For BigIQkids pricing, as well as the difference between the free and premium versions, go here.

Chad enjoyed all the different programs, but I think his favorite was math:

He liked that the drills were timed, and enjoyed trying to beat his best time.  What I liked about the math program was that I could customize it to what we are working on right now.  Chad also loved customizing his 'buddy':

By the way, this is not his buddy, just a representative one! Chad also really enjoyed playing the games he bought with his coins.  What I liked about the games was that he earned coins for doing his lessons (only 10-15 minutes each), and then he could spend his coins on quick games.

I was very impressed with the spelling and vocabulary program. I customized Chad's spelling lists myself with high-frequency words we have been studying. Then BigIQkids would create lessons around my words! Here is a description from the website:
With a over 40,000 word dictionary, BigIQkids spelling & vocabulary program comes pre-loaded with 40 lessons for K-adult appropriate word lists. Or, as a parent or teacher, you can easily enter your own word lists and the program will automatically create a week’s worth of lessons, quizzes and tests around your own list with the goal of achieving 100% on the Friday spelling and vocabulary tests. The program includes tracking and progress reports. You can build your own curriculum or use our default settings. The program is completely customizable and goes around a student's progress.

The bottom line:  I think BigIQkids is a great supplement to our homeschool.  If I'm having a bad pain day with my illness, I would feel completely comfortable having Chad work on BigIQkids on his math facts, spelling, vocabulary, and geography (states). BigIQkids sends me emails on Chad's progress, which is helpful. I'm impressed with all of their programs and plan to continue using BigIQkids.  The only negative in my opinion is the premium price.  Being a one-income family, we could not afford to pay for all of the premium programs.  I could see using the free programs, and possibly upgrading one of the programs to premium.  I'm also planning on trying out the SAT vocabulary prep program with Alyssa (11th grade). I will definitely continue using all of the free programs in our home. To find out more, click on any of the links highlighted above, or go to http://www.bigiqkids.com/.  To find out what other TOS reviewers thought of BigIQkids, click here.

Disclaimer: I received this product free in exchange for my honest review.

My Most Frequently Searched Word This Summer Is.........

Dyslexia!  Earlier this summer, we finally got an answer as to why Chad can't read or write higher than a 1st grade level.  Some background:  We adopted Chad when he had just turned three, and it was a special needs adoption because he was delayed in several areas.  We really figured he just needed to catch up in a nurturing environment.  Even though I was a veteran homeschooler, my other kids were teenagers and I was sick with a chronic illness, so I thought he would be better served in school.  He plugged along through kindergarten, a little behind the others, but actually was sounding out CVC words at an early age. 1st grade was a disaster-he did not progress at all.  We kept asking the teacher if he thought Chad had Dyslexia.  He continually said no(but never tested him), we just need to read with him more.  More??  As a homeschooler, we already read more than the average family! 

At the end of 1st grade, after a particularly upsetting 'incident' involving Chad's teacher, we pulled him out of school  with only a few weeks left of the year.  My husband and I both felt that I could do better one-on-one with him.  So last year we set out to learn to read and write closer to grade level.  The results?  He did progress-a little.  Not as much as he should have for all we did.  So, this summer we had him tested privately.  It turns out he does have Dyslexia, quite a severe case actually, as well as Dysgraphia, Irlen Syndrome, and several other auditory and visual learning delays.  We weren't surprised.  He has had a small amount of tutoring this summer, and I have spent a lot of time researching how to teach him.  I've had lots of great support from my friends at the TOS Crew, as many of them have experience with Dyslexia.  I've recently ordered my curriculum, and I'll do a separate post about that once it all arrives.  I'm actually excited about the promise this year holds-we finally have a direction to go in, and my prayer is that we can discover whatever it is Chad needs to understand how to read and write.

Product Review: The Curiosity Files-Platypus e-book

'The Curiosity Files-Explorations with Professor Ana Lyze, Expert in Outlandish Oddities' is a series of e-books published by The Old Schoolhouse magazine.  We reviewed the Platypus e-book in our homeschool, and had a blast with the fun activities! This unit study is aimed at the 8-13 age range and is $6.95-well worth the price, in my opinion.


Every subject you need is included in this e-book. Some of the topics are:
*Everything You Never Wanted to Know about the Platypus
*Platypus baby math and cooking
*Platypus 10s (counting by 10s math activities)
*The Write Stuff-includes limericks, spelling and vocabulary word lists, activities and puzzles
*Copywork-scripture verses in both manuscript and cursive
*In The Lab-science activities
*Good Old Days-history activities including mapping skills and timeline
*Let’s Get Creative-craft ideas
*Curiosity Fact Files-mini books and folder to make
*Read All About it-lists of books to read about the Platypus
*Hands On Learning-for special needs learners

I was impressed with many aspects of this unit study. It is written in a fun way for kids to really get excited about learning. Colorful pictures are throughout the study, as well as questions to answer about what you have learned. The games and activities were great-the Platypus Bill Scoop using out leftover Easter candy was a big hit! Other favorites at our house were the Platypus Burrow (using blankets to make a burrow-what kid doesn’t LOVE doing this?), and the Platypus food (gummy worms in chocolate pudding). The all-time favorite with my 8-year-old son was the Limericks!! He laughed so hard I didn’t think he would stop! Now he is trying to make his own Limericks about everything. That was the great thing about this study-my son had so much fun he didn’t realize he was doing all the ‘school’ subjects. (Don’t tell, but Mom had fun too!)

Throughout the Platypus e-book, activities are separated by lower and upper grades, which was very helpful. Although the suggested age range for this e-book is 8-13, I truly think you could expand to younger and older ages. There were many book and website suggestions for further research, and answer keys in the back. I think it would have been helpful to have the book list for further reading also separated by lower and upper grades/ages, as I had to go through each book to check if it was at my son’s level.

Now that we have finished the Platypus unit study (although I do plan to use it again when he’s a little older and can do the upper grade activities), I would like to get more unit studies in The Curiosity Files line. They are enjoyable and educational for kids and parents!


If you are interested in this e-book or others, visit the store at The Old Schoolhouse magazine: http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/

What we're up to!

There have been some major changes in our lives in 2011, so I thought I'd do an update on what we're up to these days.  There are some big changes going on with our house itself, but I'll save that update for later in the month when all the work is done-exciting! The biggest change in our lives is our oldest son, Nick, left to go live in Minneapolis for six months!  This is part of a new job-he will be selling cable and phone services there.  It is really strange having him so far away for such a long time, but it does help that Jeff is from Minnesota (Mankato), and has lots of family in the Minneapolis area, as well as his Mom, brother and his family in Mankato, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from where Nick is.  So it is a comfort knowing he has family close by.  He actually chose Minneapolis over Nashville for that reason.  I have a feeling it is going to be a long six months-especially for his little brother Chad, who adores him. Update 4/24/11: Nicholas is home in Utah!  The job/situation just was not a good fit for him.  We are glad he's home,  especially his wrestling buddy Chad!

We also had a big loss a few months ago-our 17 year old miniature schnauzer Raley passed away.  We had him for 11 years, and he was honestly the best dog.  Up until his last day, he was still full of energy and fun.  The great thing is he was so in love with everyone, but especially the kids.  He adored the boys' rough and tumble energy.  It was great because Nick was about 8 years old when we got Raley, so they were best buddies for years, and then we got Chad as Nick was becoming a teenager, and Raley had another round of loving on a boy!!  He loved us girls too, but there was something special about that 'boy and his dog' bond.  Raley also loved his sister Iris, our other schnauzer.  She is having a rough time being without him, but it is getting better.  The house sure is quiet without him, and we miss him a lot.  This picture was taken the day he died-Iris (in sweater) knew something was wrong, and kept smelling him.

I've already blogged about another big change-Alyssa driving!  She is gone all the time now, driving herself  everywhere she needs to go.  So Chad and I are often home without a car, which is okay because we need to get our schoolwork done!

The rest of us are just doing our normal stuff-homeschooling for me and Chad, Jeff working his two jobs (which we are very thankful for!), and our activities outside the home. I did read the Bible in 90 days, which was awesome! We are looking forward to Spring coming (it is still snowing and cold here, which is normal for Utah), and surely more changes to come!

Meeting Author Cindy Woodsmall!

Last Saturday I went to a book signing by author Cindy Woodsmall, who was promoting her latest book, Plain Wisdom.  You can read more about Cindy and the book in my most recent blog post.  I must say I have never been to a book signing but figured it would be a quick greeting and generic signing of my book.  It was just the opposite!  We chatted about the book and homeschooling (she homeschooled her boys), among other things.  We took this picture together, and I must say it was really a delight to meet her!  She is a very sweet, genuine woman, and now we are even Facebook friends!  I wonder if meeting her will make her books seem even more enjoyable than before?  I have a feeling it will, having that personal connection now.  Thank you Cindy for coming to Utah!!

                                                                                                      

Happy New Year!

January 3, 2011-My first post of the New Year.  I'm hoping to post more this year, I'm thinking shorter but more often.  This past year I've linked up with several encouraging homeschooling Moms who blog, and they have been an inspiration. 

Our holidays were nice and quiet-ahhhh.  We of course would have loved to spend them with our families in California or Minnesota, but it didn't work out this year again.  Times are tough and it is expensive for a family of five to travel!  So, it was just the five of us.  Nick came home from school in mid-December for a 2 1/2 week break!  He just went back to Clearfield last night.  It is looking like he may finish up his certification within the next month or so, then hopefully a job and an apartment will be next for him. 

So, today was back to the regular routine of homeschooling and activities.  I didn't make any resolutions this year, just loose ideas of what I'd like to do better.  With chronic illness, I think I beat myself up enough throughout the year when I can't do what I planned to, so why make it worse on myself with resolutions?  Some things I"d like to improve this year are:

Food/menus/meals: I already started this last year, and I've done pretty well.  I'm trying to make home cooked dinner from scratch most nights.  We stopped eating fast food (except for the occasional big treat) a few years ago, and aside from frozen pizza and leftover nights, I'm trying to not use any prepackaged, processed foods for our dinners.  I'd love to make out menus far in advance, but I buy each week based on what is on sale, so it doesn't work out well to plan too far ahead. 

Budgeting/couponing: I'd like to get a tighter reign on our budget, and keep better track of my savings using sales, rebates, and coupons. I don't want to have to use Credit cards at all (had a few emergencies last year that we had to), and work on using Dave Ramsey's plan to pay down debt and increase savings.  I'd also like to completely pay for Christmas gifts with earnings of gift cards, etc. from rebates, surveys, points earned in various programs.  This past year, I earned about $200, which was just a little short of my goal of covering everything. 

Exercise:  This is a very vague one.  I'm really not supposed to exercise in any way, except pool therapy, which is too expensive. The fear is all the hardware in my neck and upper back and base of skull-there is just way more than there should be, and the neurosurgeon worries something will break.  But, I can handle very short walks or pedaling a stationary bike for short bursts.  So, I'm going to try to do that more often.  My semi-regular diet of steroids puts on about 5 lbs. each round, and in the past few years I've gained about 25 lbs. from my normal weight.  That may be a losing battle, but who knows? 

Reading/Bible: I want to continue reading more and watching TV less.  I'll continue reading one fiction book at the same time as at least one non-fiction book (mostly bible studies).  I also want to spend more time in the bible this year, and I think I'm off to a good start!  I'm participating in The Bible in 90 Days!

Today was the first day.  I'm on a team of several other women and one man, many of us are homeschooling moms. Many have blogs. Some are living in other countries-China and Africa are where two participants live. We have a mentor, who is encouraging us and I'm enjoying getting to know her as well. We check in with each other and are getting to know each other along the way. It is a lot of reading to get this done in 90 days, so obviously not much 'studying'.  What I'm looking to get out of this, aside from reading through the bible completely, is to make a better habit for myself by spending a large chunk of time daily in the bible.  I'm really excited about this!

That's all I can think of at this time, not that there isn't a lot more rolling around in this head of mine!  This year should be an exciting one in our family, with lots of changes, especially for our oldest two, Nick and Alyssa, as they navigate these older teen/young adult years!

                                                               

Six weeks down............

So, I've been busy the past six weeks. I've neglected lots of things, one of them being this blog. What was the big change six weeks ago? I started homeschooling my youngest, who is seven years old. Now, I have been homeschooling for 12 years so you would think I'm a pro at this by now. No. Every child is different. Also, my oldest two are much older-one has graduated and is in technical college and the other is a sophomore in High School. Technically I am still homeschooling the High Schooler. But her program is different-she has teachers for each class and live classes through the internet. I am basically a supervisor, or 'learning coach' as they call it in her school. I help her when I can (if my brain cells can recall the high school days, that is), but she is mostly independent. So, it has been several years since I have homeschooled a child who needs my one-on-one teaching all the time. Wow-I forgot how that is!

The other difference is that curriculum has changed-there are still the old tried-and-true curriculums out there, but also a lot of new stuff. I bought some new curriculum, and I must say I absolutely LOVE All About Spelling! I put a banner at the bottom of the blog if you want more information. Chad learned very little in public school last year, I think it was for several reasons, but he just seemed to get lost in the shuffle. So he is at a kindergarten/early 1st grade level in reading and math. This program is making a huge difference.

Thanks to my friend Amy at Life's Little Crazies for her help and direction with this newer curriculum, and also for heading me in the direction of Homeschool Creations. Jolanthe has great ideas, downloads, and is just amazing with all the information she puts out. I don't think she sleeps!

Back to being busy this past six weeks! As all of us Moms know, being a Mom itself is a full-time job. Taxi-driving for the teens is major, getting everyone to music, sports and church activities. Throw in a handful of chronic illnesses (some with fatigue), lots of meds daily including narcotics that make one sleepy, and then homeschool a seven-year-old. He is now with me 24/7. He is high-energy. It's not easy, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. He is halfway through some of our 1st grade curriculum, so it is obvious that he needed this one-on-one time to catch up. Aside from the academics, we are creating an even stronger bond than we had, one that I have treasured with my oldest two as well. I also noticed he is not coming home with the sassy-mouth remarks that he would learn in school. So, it's difficult at times, but totally worth it. I must add that I couldn't do it without my wonderful husband, who is willing to jump in and help out when he is home. Over the years, we have scrimped and stretched and gone without pretty much everything 'extra'(i.e. eating out, entertainment, new clothes, etc....) on a social worker's small salary to be able to homeschool, and it was and is worth it all. That topic is for another post though-I've been asked by several people to post how we do it on our income, so I am planning to post on that soon, promise.

I said at the beginning of the year that I would post our curriculum choices for the year, so here they are:
All About Spelling
First Language Lessons(Grammar)
Explode The Code(phonics)
Horizons Math
Abeka History and Abeka Health, Safety and Manners
Peterson Directed Handwriting
God's Wonderful Works(Science)
Writeshop Primary(Creative Writing)
Leading Little Ones To God (Bible)
He also is part of the Awana program, which I highly recommend!
Throw in some art and music, field trips, sports and that about covers it. Whew. Thank you Lord for your strength and grace!
Here's to the next six weeks and beyond!

Goodbye Summer, Hello School!!

I can't believe summer is coming to a close!! It went by so fast. We had a very quiet summer, with no trips or adventures. Just lots of time at home, swim lessons all summer for Chad (he passed off level 3!), and I worked a lot on organizing in the basement and getting ready for the school year. It was enjoyable to not have to be running around crazy the past few months. We did have an exciting (and exhausting) week doing respite foster care for two little ones. They were lots of fun and sweet, but I'm not used to chasing toddlers around anymore! Alyssa had the busiest summer, with clog camp, Hemophilia camp where she was a counselor assistant for the first time, and some fun day trips to water parks. She also got a lot of driving time in with her learner's permit! Jeff worked all summer-they are so short-staffed that he just couldn't get vacation time. We are considering a quick family getaway in the Fall.

So, last time I posted about my kids and their schooling, Nick had graduated High School (whew!), Alyssa was a Freshman in UTVA, and Chad was in 1st grade at the local elementary school. Things have changed! Nick is still at Job Corps but is going off-campus to the local Technical college to train to be a Composites Material technician. He is doing great and we are very proud of him! Alyssa just started her Sophomore year at UTVA yesterday. Chad is the big change-at the end of his 1st grade year, we pulled him out of public school. We were quite frustrated and unsatisfied with many aspects of his education there. We had hoped to keep him in public school for at least a few more years because he has no siblings close to his age to play with. There came a point where we knew he needed to come home for school. So he had a nice, long summer off of school (he would have only had 3 weeks off for summer break had he stayed in school) and we are ready to go next week.

I must admit, it has been many years since I homeschooled a young one, and I am apprehensive. Nick was in 1st grade 12 years ago and Alyssa 9 years ago. It seems like forever! A lot of the curriculum has changed, and there are some great new things out there! I poured through my Rainbow Resource catalog (the Homeschool curriculum bible), spent a lot of time on the internet, and finally made my choices. I'm excited for this upcoming school year-Chad is quite delayed in most every subject, so even though he is beginning 2nd grade I am starting out with 1st grade curriculum. I hope to get through 1st grade quickly and onto 2nd grade this year. He's a smart little guy-just needs the one-on-one I will be able to give him to catch up. I'm really not worried about Chad having to keep up exactly with the public school, but I know his potential and that he was lost in the crowd in school, so it is time to get busy!

I'll go into more detail on curriculum and what I'm doing in other areas in my next post.