AHHHH!

Okay....I said I would be real.  I would tell the good the bad and the ugly.  I would say this post is going to be somewhere between bad and ugly!  I don't know if all families go through a transition where things are rough, but we definitely have hit a rough patch.  The kiddos are whining, complaining, stalling, disobeying, fighting, and I have lost my patience.  My younger 2 kids won't include my oldest in any playing activities and my oldest is an extravert which is becoming a major problem (the younger 2 are introverts and they could care less).  It seems right now that everyone in our house is unhappy.  I'm going to keep praying for guidance and ask for you to pray for us as well!

Now, on a positive note, the kids are learning.  I beginning to see areas of growth and understanding concepts that need extra focus.  I'm forming short term goals for each child and tailoring our curriculum to meet their needs.  Also, my children STILL desire to be homeschooled.  I don't want you to think I have given up on homeschool.  I need to focus on the long term results and understand that everyone in my family needs to develop better habits and self-discipline (including myself).  I had a friend tell me, "It's a marathon, not a sprint".  I understand the concept it's just hard when you only a tenth of a mile into the race and you have a side cramp :)  OK folks..that is all I have today.

School is out for summer....not really!

So, the kiddos had their last days of school and preschool last Thursday.  I know they will miss their teachers whom they have grown so close to over the last year but they are all very excited to start this new adventure together.  We immediately jumped right into homeschool.  The plan for the summer is to finish Abby's kindergarten curriculum (she has completed half) including Aleigha and Austin in all the fun activities, read alouds, science, and Bible.  She will complete her reading, phonics, spelling, math, etc. without the other 2 kids.   Meanwhile, Aleigha and Austin will complete a semester in Singapore Math, begin Primary language lessons, Spelling Power, Handwriting without tears (Abby too) and of course do their daily reading!   Also, we plan to do character studies over the summer as a family covering several characteristics that our family seems to struggle with most.  The crazy thing...this all takes less than 2 hours per day! 

After the summer, we will settle into our curriculum Adventures in U.S. History.  All of the kids will complete this curriculum together learning history, Bible, science, geography, art, and music.  Each child will have their own curriculum for math, language, spelling, and handwriting.  I am considering Latin for Aleigha but we may wait until next year.  We should wait to see how the summer goes before I even consider that ;)

I will try to update frequently now since there should be plently of material to discuss :)  Until next time...

Jumping in!

I've never been a writer (and I'm not going to pretend that I am now) but I am hoping to chronicle our first year of homeschooling.  I want to record the ups and downs, the areas of growth of my children and myself, little lessons we learn, books we have read, service projects and field trips we are doing, etc.  I want to provide a REAL honest view of the transition from public school to home education and the struggles and blessings that come with the change.  Our family is excited about the future and the possibilities that exist.  If this sounds interesting to you, I hope you follow us through the year.