Being a homeschool mom can be grueling. You have to find time for yourself, because there will always be a million things that will need your attention. I fell into the trap of not taking time for myself, and paid the price. It doesn't help when you are older and have a lazy, wreckless metabolism either. So, this year, I dedicated myself to taking care of me.
On January 2nd, I started Keto. Why, you ask, would I torture myself to a life of few carbs? Well, when all else fails, you go for the other path. I've tried the usual low-fat, lower calorie way of eating, and guess what, it didn't work. They say when women get older and are reaching ripeness that things get more difficult. Things like staying in shape and constantly gaining weight no matter what you do make life unpleasant. Seemed to be the case with me and I wasn't happy about it. Who would be, right? So, I decided to try something new to see if I could reverse the damage. It was and is a different way of thinking about eating. What Keto does is takes the fats you consume and have naturally in your body and converts it to energy. How it does this is by greatly reducing the carbs, the sugars, in your diet and increasing your intake of fats. Your body wants to go to the sugars first, which will curb the fats being burned. If you can't burn fats, you can't lose weight. Even though I had more than enough fat to be burned, my body wasn't ever seeming to get around to them, because of the carbs, which my body wasn't processing efficiently enough. Now, I keep my carb intake very low. I have cut out most breads, pasta, grains, beans, fruit, some high sugar vegetables, and increased intake of good fats, like extra virgin olive oil, butter, dairy, avocado, coconut oil. How can this be good for you, you ask? Well, I am not a scientist but it seems to be working. Of course, it is a bit more complex than just eating more fat. You have to have enough protein as well, but not an overabundance. You also need to stay hydrated, which means drinking plenty of water. When I first started keto, I found that I was incredibly thirsty. I drank so much that my husband asked if I was maybe drinking too much water. I said, "Is that possible?" Perhaps, but I was only giving my body what it was telling me it needed. Now, I am drinking a bit less but it is the main thing I drink every day, as it always should be for everyone. Our bodies are 60% water, after all. I find this interesting, as the Earth is roughly 70 % water as well. It appears that to be healthy, we need be be mostly comprised of water! What else do I eat? I usually have some form of protein, a meat, fish, or eggs and couple it with veggies, mainly greens or cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. I also have reignited my love for cucumbers. They have been a go-to food for me. I also add in cheese at meals or for snacks. What would life be without cheese in it? I hope to never find out! I average 2 meals a day but occasionally I just eat dinner. I am usually not as hungry if I balance my food choices properly.
With this change in diet, I also reignited my exercise regimen. I restarted the program Body By You that I tried last year in the fall, but stopped because of a nagging knee issue. I am happy to say that I am still doing it, and reaching the end of possible exercises. This program gives you 5 groups of exercises, of which you start with the most difficult one you are able to do for about 8 reps without failing. Each day will include 4 of these exercises and you follow the number of reps and sets for whatever cycle and week you happen to be in, working every major muscle group with each day's routine. If you are doing it consistently, you should continue to be able to move up to the more difficult exercises. Out of the 25 exercises, I am at at least 19 in all groups. I want to move on to other exercises, routines, but I thought I'd do this to see how far I could go. The one exercise group has pull ups as #25. I am a little below that with assisted pull ups, but I have done some unassisted. I am not ready to do all my sets with no help yet though! Being a Marine, I wouldn't want to quit though, right? So, I continue. I am feeling stronger and looking better, so says the hubby. I am able to do push ups easily once again and I used to really hate them. Now I do them for fun. Fun? Yes, that's right. I said fun. I like to use our push up bars to get an even deeper exercise. I also usually combine this workout with time on the elliptical. I will normally do at least 20 minutes. I am looking forward to better weather so I can take my workouts outside. I may even take up running again, something I used to absolutely love.
You may wonder what kind of results I've had with all of this. I guess if they weren't very good, I wouldn't even bother to tell you, huh? I hesitate because to say what I have accomplished is to also say how much I wanted and needed to lose. How far the mighty had fallen! No, I was never mighty and I always have had a slower metabolism, but after 40, and especially after having my youngest child at 42, things went south more and more each year. Depressing! I finally said, "Enough is enough!" and started this journey. Next year, people, I will be hitting the dreaded 5-0, and my goal is to be 50 and fabulous. I am on my way. I know some of you may be saying I am already fabulous. Thank you! But I mean in mind AND body. I have lost, drum roll.....just under 25 lbs. I am floored and thrilled by this, but in some ways depressed by it. I should not have waited for so long to change my life. I am feeling better, feeling stronger, and happier with things in general. I have rediscovered my love of exercise. I am motivated by my results to this to keep it up indefinitely. I am often asked how I can not cheat or be tempted, because I have not cheated even once since starting. I guess I am focused on my goal. Thinking long term. I want to be the best me I can be and be around for as long as I can for my husband and my kids. Plus I want to enjoy life more and cheating may give me temporary joy, but knowing I'm impeding progress will lessen that joy. Once I get to my goal, I may slacken the reins a little and occasionally enjoy some things I have been denying myself, but I am not sure I will ever go back to that old way of eating. That is what many people mistakenly do when they lose weight. They gain it back! Keto is definitely different and can seem difficult, but I think it is worth it.
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
I recently revisited the blog scene, mainly because I thought it would be a fun idea for the kids in my writing class to start their own blog. I completely forgot about my old blog, this one, from the year I started homeschooling. A lot has happened in that time, as you can imagine. I now have 2 boys who I homeschool. The oldest is now about to finish 5th grade and my youngest is finishing kindergarten. I find that a lot of what I went through with the first one, I also experienced with the now kindergartner. Only now it is more difficult because there are two of them to worry about. Fortunately, the older one is somewhat independent. That helps a lot. Every little blessing helps when you are homeschooling.
If I were to summarize my years of homeschooling so far, I'd say that every year has had its own challenges. I am out of the deer in headlights stage, that first year, and feel fairly confident in what can be accomplished. Some things never change, though, like my kids' dislike of school work. Boys! I would love to teach a kid that loved school! I must say that my younger boy is doing pretty well with reading and actually said today that he likes reading the most of all his school work. I was a bit surprised by this admission. When we first started the year, he'd want to do math first and always would want to do his reading lesson last. Admittedly, he struggled early on with reading, although he seemed to want to know what things said. We faltered quite a bit the first half of the year and I wondered if anything was sinking in at all. After Christmas, I started to see a change. Things were starting to improve. It was like things were finally clicking for him. Recently, he told me he had something for me that I was "really gonna like." Once we were finished for the day, he handed my a paper that he had written on, a paragraph about himself. While it wasn't perfect, I understood what most of it said without having to ask him, and it was done with sentences but no punctuation. I was floored! Yes, I am one of those mothers who cry over stupid things and this made me tear up. We haven't technically worked on writing sentences, although we have read a lot together. One on one time is very important at this stage and I found that All About Reading, the curriculum I used for both boys, works if you can stick with it. I wasn't sure with either of them early on, but after the first year with both, they were decent readers. That is my one triumph for the year because I feel that if I at least can teach my kids to read, the rest will come along. Reading, I think, is the foundation to a good education. If they can read, they can find the answers they need to anything else.
Finishing up this update, I find that absence does make the heart grow fonder. I stopped writing this blog before maybe because I was too busy to keep up with it or maybe it just grew stale. Not enough viewers (followers) perhaps as well. But I told my writing class today that they just need to write. Even if you don't think it's good, just write. I also like to say that "Writing is a contact sport." Putting it down is what counts. Write now, edit later. That can also be said of homeschooling. What we teach today may not sink in or seem to sink in. If you never teach it, it won't ever have the chance. They may complain but eventually, I hear my words come back to me and I smile. I am doing something right.
If I were to summarize my years of homeschooling so far, I'd say that every year has had its own challenges. I am out of the deer in headlights stage, that first year, and feel fairly confident in what can be accomplished. Some things never change, though, like my kids' dislike of school work. Boys! I would love to teach a kid that loved school! I must say that my younger boy is doing pretty well with reading and actually said today that he likes reading the most of all his school work. I was a bit surprised by this admission. When we first started the year, he'd want to do math first and always would want to do his reading lesson last. Admittedly, he struggled early on with reading, although he seemed to want to know what things said. We faltered quite a bit the first half of the year and I wondered if anything was sinking in at all. After Christmas, I started to see a change. Things were starting to improve. It was like things were finally clicking for him. Recently, he told me he had something for me that I was "really gonna like." Once we were finished for the day, he handed my a paper that he had written on, a paragraph about himself. While it wasn't perfect, I understood what most of it said without having to ask him, and it was done with sentences but no punctuation. I was floored! Yes, I am one of those mothers who cry over stupid things and this made me tear up. We haven't technically worked on writing sentences, although we have read a lot together. One on one time is very important at this stage and I found that All About Reading, the curriculum I used for both boys, works if you can stick with it. I wasn't sure with either of them early on, but after the first year with both, they were decent readers. That is my one triumph for the year because I feel that if I at least can teach my kids to read, the rest will come along. Reading, I think, is the foundation to a good education. If they can read, they can find the answers they need to anything else.
Finishing up this update, I find that absence does make the heart grow fonder. I stopped writing this blog before maybe because I was too busy to keep up with it or maybe it just grew stale. Not enough viewers (followers) perhaps as well. But I told my writing class today that they just need to write. Even if you don't think it's good, just write. I also like to say that "Writing is a contact sport." Putting it down is what counts. Write now, edit later. That can also be said of homeschooling. What we teach today may not sink in or seem to sink in. If you never teach it, it won't ever have the chance. They may complain but eventually, I hear my words come back to me and I smile. I am doing something right.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Hooray for Friday
It's been a couple of weeks since my last entry but I'm back. Seems every week is busier than the one before these days. Not that I'm complaining. In any case, we've logged in another two weeks of school. Some things have changed, some haven't. What hasn't changed? Well, Josh doesn't like school work any more now than he did before. Reading is a daily struggle. We get through it and he's learning but his desire to do it isn't there. Normal? From what I hear, yes. I keep trying to remember if I liked to read when I was his age, but my memory doesn't seem to be that good, sadly. I know I liked it by age 10. That I do remember. I recall reading A WrinkLle in Time and loving it. The story still sticks with me today and I can't wait to introduce Josh and Liam to this story one day. I do realize though that they may not share my enthusiasm for it, which is okay. My concern is mainly that they learn to love reading, and I hope I can help propagate that.
What is new? Well, we found a group to go to that I think will be good for all of us. (Thank you Laurie!) It meets on Fridays. Both Josh and Liam can socialize with other kids in their age range. They have lessons for school age kids that include some things that I am lacking in my curriculum, like music, science and art. I am covering science to a degree but since it is one of his favorite subjects, I am sure the more the better in his mind. Art is something that has been hit and miss so far for us. We don't get around to it as often as Josh would like. Sadly, this is also a favorite subject of his, which surprises me since when he was in preschool he never seemed to like it most of the time. Well, now he will do some every week. Yay! The thing I have failed to cover the most though has been music, but with our Friday program now, he will also have exposure to that. I now find that I really look forward to Fridays. We all get something out of it so it's a win-win.
The past two Wednesdays were a lot of fun for us. We took a field trip to Montour Preserve in Washingtonville where we looked for fossils, took a short nature hike and checked out their environmental center. Place was practically empty but that's okay. Josh really enjoyed looking for and finding some fossils. He learned that you can find them a lot of the time by cracking open the rocks. He didn't want to leave after he started finding them, but all good things must come to an end at some point. This Wednesday, we did an arts and crafts day, with a Halloween theme, instead of our usual science day. Not everything I had planned went according to plan but we still managed to have fun. Liam, I find, is still a little young for these kinds of activities. Looking back on it, I have to laugh but when we were doing the crafts, it was chaos. I honestly don't know how some people do it. I probably should not have been so ambitious or at least been more organized. I had too many things out, which spells trouble when a 2 year old gets involved. He had a field day! Next time I try this, I hope I learn from my mistakes. I'm an old dog though so not sure if I can learn new tricks.
So that is all our excitement for now. We are moving along with our studies and getting into a sort of groove. Things could be smoother but I am learning to chill more. Sometimes I wonder if I am teaching some things the wrong way, because every kid learns differently. I want him to enjoy learning and maybe there is a better way to do it. But for now, we will forge on with our current path. Once we are finished with the reading curriculum, I imagine I will have some time to experiment with other things there. Seems like that won't be too far off in the future, by the looks of things. More games or activities to sharpen reading skills perhaps. I need to look into this before the time is upon us. Onward and upward! Life is an adventure.
What is new? Well, we found a group to go to that I think will be good for all of us. (Thank you Laurie!) It meets on Fridays. Both Josh and Liam can socialize with other kids in their age range. They have lessons for school age kids that include some things that I am lacking in my curriculum, like music, science and art. I am covering science to a degree but since it is one of his favorite subjects, I am sure the more the better in his mind. Art is something that has been hit and miss so far for us. We don't get around to it as often as Josh would like. Sadly, this is also a favorite subject of his, which surprises me since when he was in preschool he never seemed to like it most of the time. Well, now he will do some every week. Yay! The thing I have failed to cover the most though has been music, but with our Friday program now, he will also have exposure to that. I now find that I really look forward to Fridays. We all get something out of it so it's a win-win.
The past two Wednesdays were a lot of fun for us. We took a field trip to Montour Preserve in Washingtonville where we looked for fossils, took a short nature hike and checked out their environmental center. Place was practically empty but that's okay. Josh really enjoyed looking for and finding some fossils. He learned that you can find them a lot of the time by cracking open the rocks. He didn't want to leave after he started finding them, but all good things must come to an end at some point. This Wednesday, we did an arts and crafts day, with a Halloween theme, instead of our usual science day. Not everything I had planned went according to plan but we still managed to have fun. Liam, I find, is still a little young for these kinds of activities. Looking back on it, I have to laugh but when we were doing the crafts, it was chaos. I honestly don't know how some people do it. I probably should not have been so ambitious or at least been more organized. I had too many things out, which spells trouble when a 2 year old gets involved. He had a field day! Next time I try this, I hope I learn from my mistakes. I'm an old dog though so not sure if I can learn new tricks.
So that is all our excitement for now. We are moving along with our studies and getting into a sort of groove. Things could be smoother but I am learning to chill more. Sometimes I wonder if I am teaching some things the wrong way, because every kid learns differently. I want him to enjoy learning and maybe there is a better way to do it. But for now, we will forge on with our current path. Once we are finished with the reading curriculum, I imagine I will have some time to experiment with other things there. Seems like that won't be too far off in the future, by the looks of things. More games or activities to sharpen reading skills perhaps. I need to look into this before the time is upon us. Onward and upward! Life is an adventure.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Measuring the marigolds
This is one of those weeks where it's hard to pinpoint something special. We had good days, we had so-so days. Nothing completely terrible, although Josh is still difficult to get going at times, which frustrates me. If I had to specify one particular thing, I'd say this week he seemed to gain more confidence in his reading ability. Perhaps some people may have seen my post about him reading a story to his brother this week. To some, this may not seem like that big a deal, especially if I were to tell you it was a book meant for a young child to be read aloud. With Josh, he hasn't felt confident enough to attempt this until this week. He reads with me all the time and there are even times when he's reading aloud that he barely whispers the words. Usually, I must admit, this aggravates me because I think he's only doing it because he just doesn't want to read. I am beginning to realize though that he does it when he is not sure of something and doesn't want to get it wrong. I told him that he doesn't have to be afraid of getting it wrong with me. That's what I'm here for. I want to encourage him and help him when he needs help. How will I know what he needs to work on if I can't tell what he knows? So, in picking up this book and actually saying to his brother, "Hey Liam, you want me to read you a story?", I knew that he was gaining confidence. His brother sat down with him but didn't stay in one place the entire time, as toddlers tend not to do. However, Josh kept reading the book out loud until he got to the end. He struggled a little bit but, for the most part, did an awesome job. He never seems to want to read and this act surprised me, in a good way. Progress!
Wednesday we had another science fun day, which we again took outside. I will continue to do outside activities with this as long as I can. It serves two purposes. One, we all get out of the house and get some fresh air, and two, we get to enjoy nature. It is a bit challenging with the younger one but we've been choosing areas where we can take the jogging stroller, which helps. This week he wanted to do a nature scavenger hunt. He got the idea from his scout meeting the night before. They had their meeting at the park, where one of the rangers took them on a little hike and they did a little nature hunt of sorts. For our scavenger hunt, we prepared the chart of things we thought we'd like to see before going to the park.( Why do these things always take way longer than you anticipate?) I made a chart and Josh drew pictures in the blocks of different animals and plants he thought he might see. Of course, some of the things he drew, I was PRETTY sure we would not. He had at least 4 different snakes on there and a coyote. Wishful thinking. We did get to see a belted kingfisher when we were walking around the dam, but sadly I must admit, no coyote. Snakes I am even more glad we did not see. Especially the rattlesnake. He is a big snake nut and thinks it would be so cool to see them in the wild. (I do not agree, however!) We saw a black snake when we were riding our bikes once. In fact, Josh nearly ran over it because he didn't realize what it was at first. That is the only snake we've seen...so far. But Josh says he'd like to be a herpetologist, so more snakes would be great for him. We saw most of the plants on our chart but not too may animals. Lots of different birds and plenty of grasshoppers. Time of day is probably key in what we see I imagine and we've been there late morning to early afternoon. The best laid plans...sadly my plan for an early start went by the wayside with the prepping of the chart. Oh well, we can also say he got in some art for the day! Hopefully this coming week, we can have another outdoor adventure.
That about sums up our week. We marched on with our math, unit study, reading, language arts, spelling and writing, although the writing is beginning to seem more like a chore to him. He isn't as happy to do it for me as he was in the beginning. In fact, it's like I ask him to write the great american novel when I ask him to do it. I keep trying to rethink how to get him to want to write more. It is the biggest challenge right now I think. Math is going pretty well, for the most part, except when it comes to some of the counting. Counting by 4's, 3's, 2's, etc. He is good with the 5's and 10's but everything else turns him off. He says it too hard and he really refuses to even attempt it most of the time. He does well with time, what we've covered so far at least. We started learning money and he's doing well with that. Addition is coming along but I'd say it's a work in progress. He tends to want to give a good guess rather than figure it out a lot of the time. I know he is capable of figuring it out, but he's very stubborn. Like mother, like son I guess.
Through it all, we march on though and we learn from each other. This experience teaches me to go with the flow sometimes more than I would normally like. I try not to compare my methods with others, but it is difficult. I read about other people's school days, those who homeschool, and wonder if I should be doing what they are doing. Then I have to remind myself that their situation is different than mine, that there isn't really a right way or wrong way as long as I'm teaching and he's learning. I also wonder what he'd be learning if he were in school, but then remember why I decided to do this. I feel it is the thing I need to do right now. We have some things to iron out but I think we'll figure them out in time. Heck, we have almost two months in the books so far and he's starting to read. I think that's great. I am glad I am there to see it. Life is full of surprises, but I don't want my children's education to be one of them. I want to know they are being taught the things they need to know. This gets tricky, but I guess I just want them to have access to the same information that I did growing up. But I don't want to go on a rant so I must bid you all adieu. To another good week and let it be one where the surprises come in love of learning!
Wednesday we had another science fun day, which we again took outside. I will continue to do outside activities with this as long as I can. It serves two purposes. One, we all get out of the house and get some fresh air, and two, we get to enjoy nature. It is a bit challenging with the younger one but we've been choosing areas where we can take the jogging stroller, which helps. This week he wanted to do a nature scavenger hunt. He got the idea from his scout meeting the night before. They had their meeting at the park, where one of the rangers took them on a little hike and they did a little nature hunt of sorts. For our scavenger hunt, we prepared the chart of things we thought we'd like to see before going to the park.( Why do these things always take way longer than you anticipate?) I made a chart and Josh drew pictures in the blocks of different animals and plants he thought he might see. Of course, some of the things he drew, I was PRETTY sure we would not. He had at least 4 different snakes on there and a coyote. Wishful thinking. We did get to see a belted kingfisher when we were walking around the dam, but sadly I must admit, no coyote. Snakes I am even more glad we did not see. Especially the rattlesnake. He is a big snake nut and thinks it would be so cool to see them in the wild. (I do not agree, however!) We saw a black snake when we were riding our bikes once. In fact, Josh nearly ran over it because he didn't realize what it was at first. That is the only snake we've seen...so far. But Josh says he'd like to be a herpetologist, so more snakes would be great for him. We saw most of the plants on our chart but not too may animals. Lots of different birds and plenty of grasshoppers. Time of day is probably key in what we see I imagine and we've been there late morning to early afternoon. The best laid plans...sadly my plan for an early start went by the wayside with the prepping of the chart. Oh well, we can also say he got in some art for the day! Hopefully this coming week, we can have another outdoor adventure.
That about sums up our week. We marched on with our math, unit study, reading, language arts, spelling and writing, although the writing is beginning to seem more like a chore to him. He isn't as happy to do it for me as he was in the beginning. In fact, it's like I ask him to write the great american novel when I ask him to do it. I keep trying to rethink how to get him to want to write more. It is the biggest challenge right now I think. Math is going pretty well, for the most part, except when it comes to some of the counting. Counting by 4's, 3's, 2's, etc. He is good with the 5's and 10's but everything else turns him off. He says it too hard and he really refuses to even attempt it most of the time. He does well with time, what we've covered so far at least. We started learning money and he's doing well with that. Addition is coming along but I'd say it's a work in progress. He tends to want to give a good guess rather than figure it out a lot of the time. I know he is capable of figuring it out, but he's very stubborn. Like mother, like son I guess.
Through it all, we march on though and we learn from each other. This experience teaches me to go with the flow sometimes more than I would normally like. I try not to compare my methods with others, but it is difficult. I read about other people's school days, those who homeschool, and wonder if I should be doing what they are doing. Then I have to remind myself that their situation is different than mine, that there isn't really a right way or wrong way as long as I'm teaching and he's learning. I also wonder what he'd be learning if he were in school, but then remember why I decided to do this. I feel it is the thing I need to do right now. We have some things to iron out but I think we'll figure them out in time. Heck, we have almost two months in the books so far and he's starting to read. I think that's great. I am glad I am there to see it. Life is full of surprises, but I don't want my children's education to be one of them. I want to know they are being taught the things they need to know. This gets tricky, but I guess I just want them to have access to the same information that I did growing up. But I don't want to go on a rant so I must bid you all adieu. To another good week and let it be one where the surprises come in love of learning!
Sunday, September 21, 2014
The Facts of Life
Another week in the books. This week definitely had its ups and downs that's for sure. Let me start with the downs. First of all, the beginning of the week started like most other weeks, which kind of depressed me. I always have such high hopes for the start of the week. After a so-so Tuesday, I decided to try something new on Wednesday. I let Josh decide what we studied on Wednesday, for the most part. We told him we still had to do reading because we think that is important to keep up with. So we did some science stuff most of the day on Wednesday, in between chasing Liam around and keeping him from making too many messes, as he is opt to do. In the morning, Josh got his shells out from our last couple of trips to South Carolina and we looked them up online to identify them. He put them on paper and traced them and I helped label them once we figured out what they were. This activity was enlightening for both of us. He couldn't decide what else to do so I decided to take it outside since it was a beautiful day. Impromptu field trip to Bald Eagle State Park. Here we went for a short nature walk where we checked out the pond to see if anything interesting was lurking thereabouts. Josh saw one frog but mostly we spied lots of grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies and bees. Not much else. After the pond, we took off to the other end of the trail and saw some goldfinches and a hawk, although Josh swore it was an eagle. Wishful thinking on his part I believe. Poor kid is dying to see an eagle in the wild. Since animals are his thing, I thought going "creature adventuring" would cure him of his homeschooling ho-hums.
Well, Thursday I had such high hopes for a really good day. He whined and complained about doing his math, as usual. Later when it was time to do reading, I got more whining and complaining and we had a serious head-to-head, where I must say I really lost it. I thought my head was going to explode. On the bright side, after this near-rupture, Josh and I really seemed to have a good bonding experience. He told me he didn't think he was learning anything, that he can't read, but as we were chatting, I was absently quizzing him on words we've gone over so far this year (and there are many). He got every one of them correct. I pointed this out to him after we were done chatting and I could see a smile come across his face. I told him he's learning and doing really well, that he just has to apply himself and give me his attention when we're doing lessons. It was a really good moment for both of us. In fact, when I look back now and think about it, I nearly tear up. Friday when we did our schoolwork, it was probably the best day we've had so far this year. He did his math without complaining. Reading was done with lots of energy and what I'd say was almost enthusiasm. It was a very good day. We even did twice the amount of time on read aloud than normal and he didn't seem to mind. Who is this kid I am thinking.
Today Josh tells me he's going to do really well this week. He got me to start a system like they used in school (positive paws) and he tells me he's going to earn a lot this week. So far this year, I have only given out 8, two of which I gave him Friday. I really hope he keeps his word. I know there will be tough days and he isn't always going to cooperate. He's 6. I'm sure it's expected. I guess I need to see things progressing for the positive. It's hard to constantly feel like I'm fighting. Josh is smarter than he gives himself credit for and I know he's capable of figuring this stuff out. I am also learning though that I get more out of him when I let him be a boy and don't expect him to sit still all the time. One way we got through reading Friday was for him to read a little then throw himself on the couch. He got his exercise and I got to see him really read like I never have before. I have some tweaking to do with my methods of teaching but this week showed me that it can be done. I also decided to do a fun science day once a week, even if it does set us back a little on other things. We will catch up. The world will not end. This too shall pass.
Well, Thursday I had such high hopes for a really good day. He whined and complained about doing his math, as usual. Later when it was time to do reading, I got more whining and complaining and we had a serious head-to-head, where I must say I really lost it. I thought my head was going to explode. On the bright side, after this near-rupture, Josh and I really seemed to have a good bonding experience. He told me he didn't think he was learning anything, that he can't read, but as we were chatting, I was absently quizzing him on words we've gone over so far this year (and there are many). He got every one of them correct. I pointed this out to him after we were done chatting and I could see a smile come across his face. I told him he's learning and doing really well, that he just has to apply himself and give me his attention when we're doing lessons. It was a really good moment for both of us. In fact, when I look back now and think about it, I nearly tear up. Friday when we did our schoolwork, it was probably the best day we've had so far this year. He did his math without complaining. Reading was done with lots of energy and what I'd say was almost enthusiasm. It was a very good day. We even did twice the amount of time on read aloud than normal and he didn't seem to mind. Who is this kid I am thinking.
Today Josh tells me he's going to do really well this week. He got me to start a system like they used in school (positive paws) and he tells me he's going to earn a lot this week. So far this year, I have only given out 8, two of which I gave him Friday. I really hope he keeps his word. I know there will be tough days and he isn't always going to cooperate. He's 6. I'm sure it's expected. I guess I need to see things progressing for the positive. It's hard to constantly feel like I'm fighting. Josh is smarter than he gives himself credit for and I know he's capable of figuring this stuff out. I am also learning though that I get more out of him when I let him be a boy and don't expect him to sit still all the time. One way we got through reading Friday was for him to read a little then throw himself on the couch. He got his exercise and I got to see him really read like I never have before. I have some tweaking to do with my methods of teaching but this week showed me that it can be done. I also decided to do a fun science day once a week, even if it does set us back a little on other things. We will catch up. The world will not end. This too shall pass.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Reality check
Okay, it's about time to get real. In the past, I've mentioned that homeschooling is tough. Maybe what I should say is that it is probably one of the most challenging things I've ever done. I'm not a wimp. I was a Marine (although they say you never stop being a Marine). I went to college. I've had my fair share of challenges in this lifetime. Nothing really prepared me for this though. Some days I feel like I need anger management classes. It's only been a month. I keep telling myself that and pray that things get better. I am not a quitter and I keep reminding myself why I decided to do this in the first place. I am still hanging in there.
So what makes it so tough? Well, perhaps it is a 6 year old that doesn't want to cooperate 99 percent of the time, even though he promises he will do what I ask before I tell him what we're going to do. I know he has definitely inherited my temper. Not a good thing. I keep telling him we need to control it before you regret it. I am sure it is difficult for a kid, any kid, to suddenly see their home turn into their school. I get that. I just need to keep telling myself that things will be alright. I pray he will come around one day, soon hopefully, and start working with me. When he does work with me, I think he does an awesome job. He is learning and I love seeing him learn. We even did some art this week. (Yay!) It was nice to see him want to bring something he learned to what he considers "fun" stuff. He painted a few pictures, fall themed mainly because it is getting pretty fall like here. The last picture he said was Mt Vesuvius, which we learned about when we did our volcano study last month. So, there is some good that came out of the week. I'm am trying to take something good out of each week. This week was just harder to find the good because when it was bad, it was hard to see the positive. I am not one to cry but I nearly did this week. I do not want to fail. I truly believe this is what is best for my kids. I just have to find more ways to show Josh that learning can be fun and that it doesn't have to be torture for both of us.
Another thing that makes this new challenge so tough at times is that I often feel alone in this venture. My days are filled with trying to get lessons in and take care of everything else around here as well. I see people doing amazing things in their free time like canning and going on adventures. I haven't figured out yet how to encompass stuff like that into our days. We did have a garden and I currently have an abundance of tomatoes but I don't have the time to do much with them. I did make some awesome salsa though, if I do say so myself! We also hope to one day meet some other homeschooling families, which we still haven't done. I think that would give both Josh and I something positive. I feel the need for support from those who understand what it's like and I think Josh would like someone to spend time with that is going through a similar schooling experience, as well as perhaps make a good friend or two. So perhaps that is in our future to look forward to. I guess we need to take things one step at a time. Left left left right left! Keep step via Marine Corps style!
This coming week I am going to try mixing it up more. Try to make things more fun. I am not sure how I'm going to do that yet. This experience is definitely testing my creativity. Steve and I are trying to come up with a game to make his fluency reading more fun for him, perhaps make it seem less like work. I am going to continue with a couple things I started this week. Writing is one thing that he seems to think is sheer torture. So we are trying some new things with that. On days when we get done early, we are going to try doing art or some other fun thing. We are also going to try doing some field trips before the weather gets too bad to get out. Well, that's the plan, Stan. I will keep pushing ahead, going forward. Quit is not in my vocabulary, unless I am telling Josh to quit the whining. (Side note on that word "quit". When Josh learned that word in reading a couple of weeks ago, he immediately told me he was done with our lesson! I knew that was a bad one to teach a kid who did not want to be doing reading.)
So what makes it so tough? Well, perhaps it is a 6 year old that doesn't want to cooperate 99 percent of the time, even though he promises he will do what I ask before I tell him what we're going to do. I know he has definitely inherited my temper. Not a good thing. I keep telling him we need to control it before you regret it. I am sure it is difficult for a kid, any kid, to suddenly see their home turn into their school. I get that. I just need to keep telling myself that things will be alright. I pray he will come around one day, soon hopefully, and start working with me. When he does work with me, I think he does an awesome job. He is learning and I love seeing him learn. We even did some art this week. (Yay!) It was nice to see him want to bring something he learned to what he considers "fun" stuff. He painted a few pictures, fall themed mainly because it is getting pretty fall like here. The last picture he said was Mt Vesuvius, which we learned about when we did our volcano study last month. So, there is some good that came out of the week. I'm am trying to take something good out of each week. This week was just harder to find the good because when it was bad, it was hard to see the positive. I am not one to cry but I nearly did this week. I do not want to fail. I truly believe this is what is best for my kids. I just have to find more ways to show Josh that learning can be fun and that it doesn't have to be torture for both of us.
Another thing that makes this new challenge so tough at times is that I often feel alone in this venture. My days are filled with trying to get lessons in and take care of everything else around here as well. I see people doing amazing things in their free time like canning and going on adventures. I haven't figured out yet how to encompass stuff like that into our days. We did have a garden and I currently have an abundance of tomatoes but I don't have the time to do much with them. I did make some awesome salsa though, if I do say so myself! We also hope to one day meet some other homeschooling families, which we still haven't done. I think that would give both Josh and I something positive. I feel the need for support from those who understand what it's like and I think Josh would like someone to spend time with that is going through a similar schooling experience, as well as perhaps make a good friend or two. So perhaps that is in our future to look forward to. I guess we need to take things one step at a time. Left left left right left! Keep step via Marine Corps style!
This coming week I am going to try mixing it up more. Try to make things more fun. I am not sure how I'm going to do that yet. This experience is definitely testing my creativity. Steve and I are trying to come up with a game to make his fluency reading more fun for him, perhaps make it seem less like work. I am going to continue with a couple things I started this week. Writing is one thing that he seems to think is sheer torture. So we are trying some new things with that. On days when we get done early, we are going to try doing art or some other fun thing. We are also going to try doing some field trips before the weather gets too bad to get out. Well, that's the plan, Stan. I will keep pushing ahead, going forward. Quit is not in my vocabulary, unless I am telling Josh to quit the whining. (Side note on that word "quit". When Josh learned that word in reading a couple of weeks ago, he immediately told me he was done with our lesson! I knew that was a bad one to teach a kid who did not want to be doing reading.)
Sunday, September 7, 2014
The beast within
This week is week four of our first year homeschooling. Can't believe we've gotten through our first month already. Lots of lessons this week but not just for the kids. I am trying to learn to be more patient. I also am learning to let my 2 year-old learn for himself how to do things and not hover so much, trying to prevent accidents all the time. Case in point, this week when we were outside, Liam saw his big brother's skates. Typical me, I took them away and put them where they belonged, assuming he'd only hurt himself by attempting to use them. After putting them away twice, Liam still persisted to do what he set out to do...put on the skates and attempt skating with them. So I backed off. I let him have the skates and just made sure I wasn't too far away if he needed me (i.e. medical attention!). Well, let me tell you this little boy is persistent. He put on one skate, tried to balance to put on second, started rolling and took off one skate, sidled up to a chair and held on to balance. That didn't work. So he went at it from another angle, sitting on floor of patio and then putting skates on. This time he couldn't get up and balance himself so he took them off again. He tried several times and even used the dog to balance himself at one point, and I'm happy to say, the dog cooperated to an extent and didn't just walk away from him. Eventually he succeeded and managed to skate a few steps with those over-sized skates on his feet. He couldn't have been happier.
I saw things in him I guess I already knew but usually saw as negatives. He can be difficult and headstrong, but in life, persistence is usually a positive quality. Sometimes I don't see the positives. This stepping back and letting him try, even though I feared he'd hurt himself, became a lesson for me. I just hope his determined and persistent nature stays with him and that I continue to allow him to try things. Little boys, as well as big I suppose, will try things that drive us mothers crazy. They don't see the danger involved. Sometimes, though, we have to allow them to explore and try things, even if in our brain we are screaming, "No! You're going to hurt yourself!" This lesson was one I should have learned long ago, as this is my second boy. I know I did the same overprotective stuff with Josh. My brother told me many times to just let them be boys. For me, though, letting go wasn't easy. I still may be nervous and overly protective at times, but I think this showed me that it's okay to let them try, even if I think they may fail. That's life.
As for the actual schooling this week, we concluded our volcano study with a volcano model and experiment. Josh, with the help of his dad, made playdough and molded it over a bottle attached to cardboard base. They built a cinder cone volcano and then used water, vinegar, food coloring (to make it the color of lava), and baking soda to simulate an eruption. This was the highlight of the study for Josh, the thing he waited for the whole month. They tried another experiment with only partial results. Done properly, it should have been a very messy experiment, but as we learned, you have to drop the reactants in at same moment, and quickly, or it doesn't quite work. The experiment was done with a bottle of red soda, again for the color of lava, and 3 Mentos. Josh only managed to get one of the Mentos in, so that is the reason for only partial results. Perhaps we will try this again one day. It was a good end to our study though. Too bad the volcano in Iceland didn't erupt before we finished our study. That would have made a nice wrap-up.
So, many lessons for the week. Patience is indeed a virtue. That beast inside me needs to take a chill pill and learn to let things go with the flow at times. I'm learning and I hope Josh is learning to bear with me as we go through this together. Parenting is a life-long lesson and I continue to work at it. Sometimes I fail. The trick is what you do with the failure. I want to be like my son, and pick myself up and try again until I get it right.
As for the actual schooling this week, we concluded our volcano study with a volcano model and experiment. Josh, with the help of his dad, made playdough and molded it over a bottle attached to cardboard base. They built a cinder cone volcano and then used water, vinegar, food coloring (to make it the color of lava), and baking soda to simulate an eruption. This was the highlight of the study for Josh, the thing he waited for the whole month. They tried another experiment with only partial results. Done properly, it should have been a very messy experiment, but as we learned, you have to drop the reactants in at same moment, and quickly, or it doesn't quite work. The experiment was done with a bottle of red soda, again for the color of lava, and 3 Mentos. Josh only managed to get one of the Mentos in, so that is the reason for only partial results. Perhaps we will try this again one day. It was a good end to our study though. Too bad the volcano in Iceland didn't erupt before we finished our study. That would have made a nice wrap-up.
So, many lessons for the week. Patience is indeed a virtue. That beast inside me needs to take a chill pill and learn to let things go with the flow at times. I'm learning and I hope Josh is learning to bear with me as we go through this together. Parenting is a life-long lesson and I continue to work at it. Sometimes I fail. The trick is what you do with the failure. I want to be like my son, and pick myself up and try again until I get it right.
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