Today was a great day for learning. 

1.  We started the morning off outside.  I hung laundry on the line while the boys played, then we had apple slices for a snack, and Trevor started asking questions about plants.  So I ran inside and got a Childcraft book (we bought a used set at St. Vincent's in Wisconsin) about plants and turned to the part about flower parts.  We talked about pollination and flower parts.  We walked around the garden plots and looked at all the different flowers and talked about how each plant made seeds.  We ended by eating ourselves full of green beans.

2.  Trevor wanted his reading lesson outside (Lesson 7).  He was very distracted, but we got through it somehow.  Then Trevor got a special package in the mail later.  It was his Bob Books!  I ordered them last week and they arrived just in time.  The first book has all the sounds from lessons 1-7, so it really was perfect timing.  Trevor got to read his first book!  At bedtime he wanted to read it again.  He was so excited that we had him call Grandma Arndt and read a few pages to her.  She was excited for him, of course, which just added to his momentum and after hanging up and reading a few bedtime books together, Trevor wanted to do another lesson!  It went really well, and we're so proud of him for working so hard!

3. During church I often have to run out to the car for a snack (morning sickness).  One Sunday while in the car I put an April 2010 General Conference cd into the cd player.  I listened to Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk titled, "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus".  Lately I haven't been going in any order with our scripture reading with the boys, just reading stories I think they will be interested in.  For family scripture time, Sean has been reading the Book of Mormon to us.  As I listened to the talk, I felt impressed to start reading the New Testament with the boys.  It's amazing how the Lord knows what we all need.  Trevor kept asking me to read another "Jesus story".  I could almost hear him singing the primary song, "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus".  

Today after Conrad went down for a nap I read Trevor some books, and he chose to read the New Testament.  He wanted me to read the story about "how Jesus died with nails in his hands".  It was really good bonding time for us.  He was so sad after reading about Jesus dying, that of course I had to continue and read about how Jesus came alive again and will never die ever again.  He had lots of questions about death and resurrection.  He liked it so much that he asked for it again at bedtime.

We're six days in and Trevor has six lessons down.  He did two reading lessons on the second day, and none today since we had family in town and he fell asleep at 6 PM!  Though Trevor did two lessons one day, the lessons got longer and I'm actually considering splitting each lesson in half and doing half in the morning and half in the evening because he gets a little silly halfway through.  So far he knows the sounds for m, s, a and e.  We were both so excited at the end of the last couple of lessons when they put sounds together and had him sound them out.

History

Since I'm starting this log long after I got the idea in my head to homeschool, I wanted to write a bit of the history of my researching and the other steps I've taken to come this far. 

It all started when I was really young, in middle or high school.  I decided that when I had children, I would homeschool them at least for middle school.  I was worried about the things kids taught each other at such a young age.  I was slow to notice things like fashion and trends, but when I finally realized there was a pecking order starting already and that it was based on silly things like clothes, how early puberty set in, and who you were friends with, I decided I didn't want my kids to have to deal with those issues if they didn't have to.  I knew already that how a person views themselves should not come from how others see them.  And I also gained a skewed sex-education from my peers.

As I got older, my reasons for wanting to homeschool multiplied.  I decided that I wanted to homeschool at least till high school, but if my future husband didn't really like the idea of homeschooling, that I would still try to convince him to let me homeschool for middle school.  I didn't know if I would feel confident enough to teach my own children.  In college I took an educational psychology class (I was an elementary ed major for a little while) that helped me to feel more comfortable with the possibility of teaching children.  I actually felt that I had a good education in my public school (as far as the subjects were concerned), but once I started classes at college I realized there were a lot of school districts that weren't as concerned about the students.  I was never in an English class where the students weren't excited about writing or reading, and I realized how blessed I was to always have been placed in advanced courses in so many subjects.  My peers who weren't so lucky in grade school didn't always get as much attention.  And that made me realize where the public school system can fail so many students. 

I won't go into all the reasons I want to homeschool.  Maybe another post.  But as I got married and we started having children, my reasons for wanting to homeschool multiplied again as I realized how big a responsibility it truly is to nurture and teach children.  I thought over and over to myself, "These kids are in my charge!  How am I supposed to feel good about someone else taking care of them for 3/4 of their waking hours for five days of the week?  How do I know if they're getting what they need?"  Dramatic, maybe, but I still feel that way, which is why I desperately wanted to feel confident enough to teach our children in our home.

I really didn't feel confident enough at first, and Sean hadn't warmed up to the idea of homeschooling yet, so I just decided to start looking for preschool material to teach my kids on my own anyway, whether we were going to homeschool or not.  A friend of mine back in Wisconsin, who also hadn't convinced her husband yet, was a great support to me.  I had no idea where to start and she was able to point out a philosophy she liked, as well as recommend books and answer my questions.

I plodded along, wondering what to do next, when I spoke to my Grandma Naegle on the phone, who recommended starting a joy school.  I had no idea what it was, but she explained a little and told me my Aunt Alissa had participated in one with her girls.  I called Aunt Alissa and asked her tons of questions.  A joy school is a preschool co-op taught by the parents that focuses on values rather than just academics.  I knew I would get too scared to start one if I didn't do it right away while I was excited about it, so I immediately emailed some women at church to see if there was interest.  The friend I spoke of earlier already wanted to start one as well, so it seemed perfect.  Between the two of us we had three preschoolers and two infants.  A few other women dropped by occasionally with their kids, but smaller numbers seemed to work well for us (less chaos).  It was a great experience for me to be able to see how other moms taught their children.  I realized how uptight I was about planning, too, which was a huge revelation for me and very freeing.  When I tried to plan everything out and give responsibilities for teaching certain things, my friend said, "Let's just do it.  No one should have to stay up late planning anything."  And it worked better that way because we both agreed with the idea of teaching our kids what they were curious about anyway, which can vary day by day.

During the months of joy school, I attempted to do homeschool at home on the off days.  I realized how much Trevor craved the consistency of a schedule, so I started reading books that gave suggestions about schedules.  I loved the TJEd philosophy of "schedule time, not content", so I tried planning chunks of time with just a very general idea of what we'd be doing (mostly it was mornings for "reading learning", or more formal, sit-down lessons, and afternoons for "play learn", usually outside time).  The only thing I had a schedule for was the beginning of the "school day", when we'd have a little devotional, say the pledge of allegiance, and have music time afterwards.  It made mornings after breakfast less hectic to have the kids know what they were supposed to be doing.

We also planned out our errands (library, grocery, play dates, etc.) at the beginning of each week.  We had Family Counsel every Sunday night, which was just Sean and I talking after the kids went to bed, about what each family member's needs were and what the schedule should be for the week (including our date night).  Sean especially likes that because he wants to be part of the family and know what we're doing even when he's away at work.  It helps us all feel more connected, and Sean has more of a say in what is being taught and knows what I need help and support in teaching. 

Then we had the Big Move.  Everything fell apart.  I had such a firm resolve to at least keep up the bare bones basics of our schedules, but remodeling the house took too much energy and time.  At first I justified it by telling myself that homeschoolers can plan their vacations whenever they want, so maybe this would be like our vacation.  It dragged on until Sean started school in May, though, and I'm just now starting to get back on track (after a period of morning sickness as well).  We always read a lot, no matter what craziness is going on in our lives, and we always make time for library trips as well.  Trevor has been begging to learn (in his own way).  He is very interested in watching Sean's study habits, and when Sean goes down to the office to study or heads off to school, I can count on Trevor asking me, "Mommy, can I do homework too?"  We bought a preschool workbook (though I don't really like worksheets) at Sam's Club just to get him through my morning sickness.  He loves the book and was really sad when he got to the point where he couldn't do anymore because he hadn't learned sounds yet.

So here we are!  What's next?  Well, I'm still going over The Well-Trained Mind and enjoying it immensely, and I will be trying to implement some things I learned there as well as from A Thomas Jefferson Education.  I like the idea of the trivium and classical education.  I plan to start adding subjects, slowly, to make sure Trevor isn't overwhelmed.  If he simply is not interested in something, we'll put it aside and start again later.  He loves to learn lots of different things, so I'm confident that even if he gets frustrated with something or just isn't interested at first, that he will eventually want to learn it as long as I continue to present it to him.  We've already started reading lessons (see next post). 

Phew!  That was a lot, but I really wanted to have it recorded.  Now that that's out of the way, the posts should be much shorter, as we'll record daily or maybe just weekly what we're working on. 

Trevor's First Reading Lesson

I've had Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for a while now, burning a hole in our bookcase.  Trevor just turned four in March, so I've been extremely hesitant to begin.  Of all the things I want our kids to learn really really well, it's reading.  I know that a child who can't read well will have a hard time with every other subject.  I've read so much literature that warns of the dangers of starting kids too early (especially boys).  But Trevor was asking for it and he knows all of his letters.  He often points to words and asks, "Mommy, what does that say?"

So I promised him that we'd start reading lessons as soon as my morning sickness went away.  I keep telling myself that if it turns out to be another potty-training experience (we tried much too early and had a very difficult time), I can always put the lessons away for a few months and try again later.  I absolutely refuse to go on if Trevor shows any signs of developing a dislike of reading.  He will love to read if it kills ME (not him).

I ordered another book, Phonics Pathways from ILL at the library, because though 100 Easy Lessons has tons of awesome reviews (and a few good friends have recommended it as well), another book I love, The Well-Trained Mind, recommends Phonics Pathways because it's simpler and it refers you to books that work well with the program to read along.  But...I told Trevor we'd start today and the library still doesn't have Phonics Pathways for me, so we're taking the plunge and going on ahead. 

I told Trevor we'd start after lunch, when Conrad was napping, so we'd be uninterrupted, but he kept asking if we could start.  I set Conrad up with some playdough, cleaned a workspace off the counter for Trevor and I, and we set to work. 

Trevor did a wonderful job!  The lessons are super-simple and short, so they don't outlast Trevor's interest.  He wanted to keep going at the end, but I could sense he wouldn't last much longer.  I wanted to end the lesson on a positive note, so I told him we'll do it again later today so Sean can see.  I'm very excited!

Welcome!

There are a few reasons we're starting another blog:

1. We're mostly doing this for ourselves to keep track of what we've done and when, so we can track our progress.  This may end up being a bit of a hodgepodge: parenting/homeschool book reviews, what each child/parent is working on, field trips, homeschool/education links, etc.

2. As a journal for posterity specifically about education.  We're still planning on homeschooling (99.9% sure), so if any of our kids ever decide to homeschool as well and ask us, "Where in the world did you start?" or, "How did you teach us that?" we'll just tell them to read the log. 

3. We wanted to invite a few people to view the log who might also be interested in seeing how we do things and/or who would be able to give good comments and advice. So please leave a comment!  I love to hear how other people do things and we're so green to homeschooling, anything helps!