I Failed at Growing out my Pixie

I did it.  I failed.  I got my hair cut.  I couldn't stand the humidity and curls.  I was wearing a bandanna in my hair every day!  So I decided to get it cut.  This is what I chose.





Cute right?  Sassy, wispy, not too short, shaggy.  I showed the stylist what I wanted, discuss the 'wispiness' in the picture and well, this is what I got.






Now, the lady did a nice job on the cut............ but it isn't the cut or style I wanted, or asked for.  Really, does it even look like the picture at all?  Where is the wispy, sassy pieces?  And where is the back? Anyway, I'm not mad, just disappointed because I didn't get what I ask for.  I wasn't expecting miracles or too resemble Sharon Stone in any way, shape or form.  But I did expect it to be similar in some way!

Sigh.  So I'm back to square one.  On the flip side, I do love a pixie cut on me.  It's easy, fun and cool for the summer.  I don't know if I really want to grow my hair out long anymore, but I still do want to aim for the Sharon Stone style above.  Shouldn't take too long to grow out.

So if you are growing out your pixie, STAY STRONG and don't let anyone give you a hair cut.  lol.

A Whole New Outlook on my Homeschool

Wow.  Just wow.  I've been homeschooling for 12 years and I have a whole new outlook on how I will be homeschooling my son this year and future years.

This past month, I was introduced to Sarah Janisse Brown and her company called The Thinking Tree.  She has several books, and several of them are set up as journals.  Sarah learned that she has Dyslexia later in life although she always knew that she wasn't like other children in school.  From early on, she recognized her creative ability and talked her mother into homeschooling her.  In her book Life, Love & Dyslexia, she tells her story and explains how God had a plan for her and her family right from the beginning. 

This 294 page paperback is filled with encouragement, God's plan for her, and how she became a writer of these amazing books!  One of my favorite parts of this book is how she (after convincing her mom to hs her) would go to her little house in the woods, that she built herself, and do her schooling.  She would spend all day out there, alone in the woods.  She claimed to be free from all the nonsense that she experienced in public schools.  She says that when she would sit inside a classroom (in public school) that all she could think about was being outside, in the sun, painting or drawing whatever she wanted.   See, we contain our children (yes, even us homeschool mothers) in a confined area and do 'school' daily.  Why not let the children do what they love everyday!  

She has created books called Fun-Schooling Books for those who have Dyslexia to help them learn.  Did I mention that she is a homeschooling mom of ten children?  In these fun schooling books she has such creative ways  for children to learn.  The day dreamers or slackers out there are ready to get out of their shell!  We just need to give them the opportunity to do so!  Every homeschooling mom needs to read her book Life, Love & Dyslexia.  Whether your child is dyslexic or not, it will change your whole outlook on home education!

Here are a few of my favorite Fun-Schooling Journals.  I have a running list of ones to buy for our school year.

Picturing the Past






Charlotte Mason Homeschool Journal & Delight Directed Learning Handbook

Christian Families Homeschooling Curriculum Delight Directed Learning Guide




There are so many to chose from.  I read somewhere that she has over 200 books just like these listed above. Check them out on Amazon!

Sarah Janisse Brown also has a blog - http://www.stillsmiling.net/


I thought I had my curriculum choices ready for this fall until I found these books.  I now will be using these for my homeschool!  

Happy homeschooling!

Why we chose to homeschool & how you can too

I hear mom's say to me quite often how they wish they could homeschool their children.  I ask them why they don't and I get several different answers, but the two most popular answers I get are "I don't have the patience" and "I can't because I work for time".  So I will explain my opinion on each answer and then I will tell you why we chose to homeschool.

#1 -  "I don't have the patience"

Please don't think that I have patience with my children.  I pray almost daily for patience.  You teach your children everyday while you are home with them in the evening, after school.  Do you have patience with them then?  Some nights, maybe not.  But no one, including me, claimed that homeschool moms have patience with their children.  



There have been several days where I have locked myself in the bathroom for 10 minutes crying and praying for the Lord to help me and give me patience and I will be starting my 13'th year of homeschooling this fall!  It's not easy, but I will tell you that it is worth it!  So don't let patience but an excuse.  You can do it and you will find patience......trust me.

#2 - "I can't because I work for time"

There are several moms that work and homeschool.  I'm sure Youtube is loaded with videos on this.  However, being a homeschool mom isn't just teaching, it's delegating and felicitating.
If you have older children (that can stay home alone), you can have lesson plans all ready for them.  Explain how and what is expected of them; meaning they need to finish their work by a certain time.  If they do, give them rewards; if not, punishments.  As far as younger children go, you can do the same but have someone else stay with them during the day.  Grandma's are great for this!  Also, another homeschool mom may be willing to do this as well.  (It is legal to have someone else homeschool your children.  Just keep in mind that you are still responsible to follow all your state laws.)  

Another thought, if you truly, seriously want to homeschool your child, find a way.  Can you work from home?  Night shift?  You can always homeschool on your day's off.  In our state of WV (under the Notice Option), there are no set days or hours on which you need to homeschool.  You can homeschool 2 or 3 days a week all year around if you want.

Now, why we chose to homeschool.  There are several reasons. The first reason was because I believe the Lord instructed me to do so.  Other reasons include:  I want to be with them, I want to teach them in the way they learn (no every student learns the same way), I want learning to be fun, I want them to learn things from a Christian point of view, I want to teach them Creation not evolution, I want to chose what they learn, I don't want negative influences and peer pressure to be an issue, I want to be able to chose the environment they learn in and who they socialize with, etc.  As you can see there are several reasons why we chose to homeschool and many people have different reasons.   




Choosing to control their environment, influences and social atmosphere is my job and responsibility.  Call me a controlling, over protective or a "helicopter" mom.  I don't care.  I made some bad choices in my younger years (just like everyone else) and I if I shelter my children from unGodly influences, they will be free to make better choices than I did or just better choices in general.  My job is to raise my children to be responsible, caring adults and support themselves and their families.  

Something I hear and read often is that homeschoolers won't be able to function and socialize in the real world as adults.  I find this both very amusing and utterly ridiculas.  If sitting behind a desk with other peers within your own age all day in a classroom is the real world, then I must have missed that boat because the real world I live in I socialize with people of all ages daily, and it's not in a confined environment with limitations on what I can say and do.  My children can hold entire conversations with other children, adults and groups.  They know how to behave in public.  They are respectful and kind.  I've seen them help strangers load groceries in their cars when needed, help a stranger clean up a mess in a food isle at a store, etc.  They function and socialize very well in public.  Have you ever heard the line, "It takes a village to raise a child"?  (I absolutely cannot stand that saying by the way.)  My response is, "Yes, I've seen the village and I'll raise my own child, thanks anyway".  

So for whatever reason why you are telling yourself that you can't  homeschool........ think about it.  Think about what you want for your children.  If you decide to keep them in public school, private school, virtual school, etc. that is your choice.  You are the parent.  Just please don't let an excuse hold you back from something that will change you and your child's future forever.  Homeschooling is great.  If you are willing to take charge of your children's education, it's totally worth it!

  

Curriculum picks for 2016 - 2017 school year, 8'th grade

I thought I'd share my curriculum picks for this coming homeschool year.  However, I am still undecided on a few but this is what I have so far.  (Click on all the pics to take you to a website to purchase or find more info. out about them.)

Math -  



 

At this time (8'th grade) my husband and I decided that we aren't going to teach Algebra.   I know, some of you are like "WHAT????".  Take a minute to think about that for a minute. When is the last time you used Algebra in your life?  Really.  If he decides to go to college, he'll learn it.  ;)   I didn't learn how to balance a check book, pay bills or learn anything about interest in the public school system.  Why is that?  I do know that they teach high school students on how to attempt to beat the interest on credit cards.  (Ya, sore subject for another day.)  Anyway, this is what we feel that B will apply in his life more than Algebra.  

Science-

A Reason For Science - Level H

This science has colorful pages that will keep B's interest.  He isn't the type of student to read and answer questions.  Lets face it, that's boring anyway!  This is hands-on science with cool worksheet pages.  (You can also buy the experiment kit as well that contains all experiment supplies.)


History -




Rush Revere!

B started this book right at the end of this past school year.  We will continue reading it and then through the series next school year. (Click on the book to take you to the website with the whole series and more info.)  He loves it!  It's funny, quirky,and keeps him in suspense waiting to see what happens in the next chapter!  Not your typical Pilgrim story.  ;)  I plan to add a Geography / map workbooks and read/learn about our Constitution more this year as well.



Bible / Reading / Character Development -




The Purpose Driven Life by:  Rick Warren

This is great!  Can't wait to start this devotional book.  Has scripture and 365 devotionals.  


Language Arts -




This one was tough.  I really like the Easy Grammar series, but this was so inexpensive, I couldn't pass it up.  Grammar at this point in our education plan is just to keep the basic grammar sharp in the mind.  ;)


Writing - 

We may continue 'Excellent in Writing' next year, however, I am thinking of going back to my old school method of free writing.  I had the older boys (when they were younger) write a story.  I begin with writing a few sentences.  Then hand the notebook to them so they can add 5-7 more sentences.  This goes on daily throughout the year, passing back and forth.  But then I found this......


Funschooling Books by The Thinking Tree!





There are several types of these fun journal workbooks for ages 3-17! (Click on the pic above and it will take you to their website with tons of books and Dyslexia games and curriculum!)  This one above is more like a portfolio, but not your typical portfolio.  It lets the kids be creative and tell what they did throughout the school year!  This is a great alternative to those who put together a hand made portfolio every year.  They also have planners for homeschool moms.  So cool!

Spelling -

We will continue (and even through high school) with Spelling Power.





So that is the game plan for this fall.  I may switch it up a bit.  I still have this on my mind, but it is expensive.





One of the best things about homeschooling is that if you find something isn't working, ditch it, sell it, change it up!  I remember one year we changed my middle sons math 3 times in one year!  He went on to college and scored a 97% in Algebra his freshman year. So it pays to find what works for your child.  Most of the things I buy, can be resold on ebay or to fellow homeschoolers too. 

Our goal for our children is .........

#1  Love the Lord
#2  Be able to support yourself
#3  Be able to support your family
#4  Be happy in the career your choose for yourself 

So Happy Homeschooling & remember, BE CREATIVE AND LOOK FOR CURRICULUM OUT OF THE BOX!  Besides, homeschoolers can learn about anything they want! 

Homeschool Lesson Plans Ideas

I admit it, I'm a planner when it comes to everyday life.  However, in my homeschool, I kind of plan as I go.  I do use a lesson plan though but it's more for an idea on "what I did and when".  This is only for my records.  I live in WV and our state law doesn't require us to turn in any kind of lesson plans.  We only have to have an outline plan of instruction.  (Funny how they try to control our homeschool by adding dumb laws like this.)

I thought I would share some of my lesson plans over the 12 years of our homeschooling experience.  Some of these are old, may have even been printed off the web, but are worthy of sharing.  I also wanted to mention that the reason why I have so many different kinds of lesson plans is mainly because I like to change things up a bit.  I get really tired of using the same plans through out the year.  I actually use about 4 different ones for one year of homeschooling.  Call me weird, I would say I'm unique. ;)  I keep these lesson plans in a 3 ring binder along with my field trip logs, reading lists, etc.





This one above is my "go to" lesson plan.  For me, it's easy and stress free.  I just have to check my boxes when completed.  I place the schoolyear in the top right corner, child's name and grade in the middle and the week in the top right. Again, I just do this for me. Please don't poke fun at my self drawn boxes.  ;)




I created this one myself.  It has all five school days are on one page and I just have to fill in the lesson numbers.  There are boxes to check when completed.  By the way, kids LOVE to check boxes of completion!  




This one is a 2 pager.  Monday, Tues., Wed. on the left side and Thurs. & Friday on the right.  It is pretty plain.  You write in what they did for that day in that subject.  Small boxes of completion to check as well.





This one above I found online.  I didn't use it after all.  It was too much writing for me.  So if you are one who likes to write everything in, this one may be for you.  






This was created by me for my son (who graduated last year and is in first year in college, woo hoo).  I wanted something with very little writing and very simple.  All through high school, he chose to do all his work on his own, I just provided the lesson plans weekly for him.  This helped to keep him on track.  This is great for those independent students who want to do everything on their own with very little instruction from mom.  ;)  Basically, he just had to write in what lesson # he did, or circled it, and the page #'s.  Very simple. At the end of the week, Friday afternoon, he gave it back to me.  I would make sure everything was completed and I would have a new one for him by Monday for the next week.






This one is totally different from those I've mentioned so far.  It was copied out of a book (legally) for me to use.  It calls for more detail, writing, etc. so I didn't use it very long.  But I did like it.  It isn't all on one page, but it is very detailed.





This one I created quite a few years ago.  Everything fits on one page.  You just write in what was done or to do.  There is a place for Notes as well.  (Excuse the blue lines, this was the only copy I had.  Not sure what those lines were for originally.)





This one is for 2 students.  You could print more off of course for multiple students.  I would say that this one is for younger children as well.  As you can see, the boxes are set up for one box, one day of homeschooling.  So you need to write in all the work in one box.  This wouldn't work so well if you have older children due to the work load they have wouldn't fit in the box.  






This last one above is just another box type lesson plan.  You just write in what is needed to be done or what has been completed.  

For more ideas on how to build your own Homeschool Planner, go to http://www.donnayoung.org/index.htm

There are all kinds of great, free, printables on this site to create your own planner!

Of course, you can always buy your own if you don't want to print your own.  There are wonderful pre made planners out there.  This one by HEDUA (below) is great.  Click on the pic to go to the link to purchase.






Hope these lesson plan ideas helped!  Happy Homeschool Planning!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I ran out of dishwashing detergent for my dishwasher.  I hate it when that happens.  But I've been doing research on homemade products over the past few months and I remembered that I came across a homemade detergent for the dishwasher.  So I looked it up and tried it today (with fingers crossed).

The recipe is:

Add 3 drops of your regular dishwashing liquid to the compartment
Add (ontop) Baking Soda to 2/3 full
Then fill the rest with salt


Well, it worked and my dishes are clean!  :)  This is definetly cheaper than buying it at the store.  I always have those 3 items in stock in my pantry anyway.  The only downfall is I have to get them out each time I do a load.  I could put the baking soda & salt in containers with a scoop (with exact measurement needed), then I would just have to add the dish soap drops in (first of course).

Hmmmmm.  I may be on to something here.

The Right Way to Homeschool & Our Children's Future

If you were asked this question, what would your answer be?  

Mimic the public school setting?  Used only boxed curriculum? Ditch the books and dig in hands on only?  Join a co-op group and get plugged in to everything they offer?

My answer to this question would be the right way to homeschool is the way that best fits your family.  Yep.  Pretty simple.  Too vague for you?  Ok.  Well, for me, the right right way to homeschool my youngest differs from my older two boys.  (I have one adult in the working world, and another one in college.)  One of my boys was, and still is, a huge bookworm.  I had to ground him from reading to get him to finish his work and go to bed on time.  Yes, this is true.  He asked me, "What kind of mother grounds her child from reading"?  Um, me.  So for my middle child, the right way to homeschool was books, of course.  The reading, answering questions, worked for him wonderfully.  My oldest wanted nothing more than to work independently.  Some days he would have his entire day of homeschool work finished by the time I got up in the morning at 8:30am.  Giving him a schedule with lesson plans worked for him.  My youngest one, well, none of that would work for him.  He is a more hands-on, auditory learner.  If he had to read an entire lesson and answer questions we would have a melt down for sure.  I know what some are thinking, "You are the teacher, he should be able to read a lesson and answer questions."   My response to this is, "Says who?".  This is why the public school system has failed some kids.  Not because of the books or teachers, but because of their learning style.  Let me explain.  

My youngest can listen to me read his entire lesson while he builds things with Legos and he will retain just about everything I have read to him. Same with the TV.  If he watches something on the History channel while building with his Legos, he will retain it. But if he had to read it to himself, he would retain maybe 25% of it if not less. Why?  He doesn't like to read.  He does struggle a bit, but he can read pretty decent.  I didn't like to read when I was a child, but once I graduated, I would go to the library and get books on my own and read without anyone instructing me to.  Some kids don't like to read, period.  

This also goes for his spelling words.  If I give him the traditional spelling test (give him the word, in a sentence, and he writes it down), he gets about 50% wrong.  I struggled with this thinking that I was failing him or he is just failing spelling.  NOT THE CASE!  One day I decided to give him the words orally, upon his request, and he scored a 95%!  He hadn't studied them, written them several times, etc.  Could there be an issue with the brain getting the words to his hand for writing them onto paper?  Possibly.  I do know he has Dyslexia, that could very well be a large part.  But why stress over this?  When in his life will he ever have to write down a group of words and be graded on them?  Sure, he will have to write, but lets face it, this is the world of electronics, spell check, auto correct, etc.  (I am not a fan of auto correct, but hey, it's there to help.)  So he will do fine.  I am not worried.

The public puts so much pressure on these kids to study, work, study, work, study, work.  Well, how has that worked out for this country?  We have more entitlement issues and welfare than we have ever had in the past.  I know several people who are in debt with student loans and can't find a job in that field.  Sad.  Very sad. I encourage those to go to college if they want to, but make sure it's something they love and plan to relocate if necessary to achieve that career.  

I have always told my boys that it doesn't matter to me what they do for a living as long as it's honest, they can support themselves and their families, and they are happy!  If they want to work for the county and dig ditches, fine by me.  If they want to be an associate at Walmart, fine, as long as you are happy.  I'm sure some may be thinking that I am not setting goals for my children or encouraging them to do better.  That isn't true.  How many people have high paying careers and top positions in a company and absolutely hate going to work everyday?  And lets not get on the stress issue.  Some of these jobs consume people so they are so stressed they need to go on medication just to function day to day.  Really?  Why would I push my children toward that type of life?  

Think about our "typical" life.  We work as soon as we get out of school.  Then work until we are 65 years old or so, then we retire and deal with health issues for our entire retirement and some struggle financially.  For what?  To pay a mortgage or have a nice car?  To pay for nice things?  Maybe we need to evaluate what is really important and what we really want out of life.  Kudos to those who are working a part time job (or no job at all), supplying their own family with food from their farm, even living off the grid.  I think that is great!  This country has become to dependent on our government to take care of us.  It isn't their responsibility. It is ours.  I feel that the public educational system is not helping with this at all, but adding to it. And as far as happiness goes, only YOU can make YOU happy.  If you aren't happy, change your lifestyle.  Pray and ask the Lord to show you the desires of your heart, how to eliminate stress, provide for yourself in all aspects of life.  He will show you how to live the life you have always desired!  :)

Happy Homeschooling to you all and find your RIGHT way to homeschool and go with it!