One of the most common questions I get about home schooling is, "Do you meet with other families?" Yes! (In fact, we were at ACES today!) When I started home schooling, I did not know such things existed, but one day I had Hope and Sam with me at a dental appointment and the hygienist asked me if I home schooled. Turns out she also home schooled and had a part time job. She introduced me to Southern Cross Co-op in Apple Valley, MN where the kids and I met some great friends and made some lasting connections that have blessed us immensely. 😇
We also learned about some other great organizations and activities such as Math Team, Chess Club, South Heights high school age co-op, Out of the Box Ministries drama camp, and many great friends, as I said. I also gleaned a LOT of great advice and information from the more experienced home school moms there.
Since then, we have also utilized YEAH Academy, FAITH Co-op, and New Life ACES co-op.
At the co-ops where there are paid tutors, I have really loved the fact that the tutors are people who really love the subject they teach. It is usually someone with a great passion for the subject and that rubs off on the students.
Until Next Time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Flexibility (Day 12/90)
So - two days in a row, baby!
This week I am thankful for the flexibility of home schooling. I needed to take my dad to therapy on Monday morning and Hope to clinic on Tuesday, but Rose and I still made time to read and make progress on math and grammar. I also remembered how nice it is to take time and be flexible with subjects when it seems like things are not going smoothly. Math is, so far, not as easy for Rose as it was for Hope and Sam. (However, that could be her simply being uninterested or being stubborn.) Either way, it is nice to be able to slow down and teach in a less formal and more creative way. (It's a little sneaky, but I don't think Rose is fooled often. 😉)
I was listening to "Office Hours" podcast tonight. (It is done by the Praxis co-founders, so I like to stay in tune with the voices that Hope is hearing as part of the program.) They said some very bold things in this week's podcast about college. The main thing I take from it is this: Who someone is at their core makes a world of difference - more so than a degree does. Are they hard working, self-starting, good with people, daring enough to take on a challenge, confident, willing and competent to stand on a foundation, able to get along with people from various backgrounds and ages....... etc......?
You don't have to be home schooled to have any of these characteristics. Not by any means. It just says something about what is most important - and I would contend that grades, although a tool and a measurement, are not near the top of the list. Someone might have a very logical reason for not caring about an A vs a C. It doesn't really measure their future success in life.
Until Next Time,
Blessings,
Heidi
This week I am thankful for the flexibility of home schooling. I needed to take my dad to therapy on Monday morning and Hope to clinic on Tuesday, but Rose and I still made time to read and make progress on math and grammar. I also remembered how nice it is to take time and be flexible with subjects when it seems like things are not going smoothly. Math is, so far, not as easy for Rose as it was for Hope and Sam. (However, that could be her simply being uninterested or being stubborn.) Either way, it is nice to be able to slow down and teach in a less formal and more creative way. (It's a little sneaky, but I don't think Rose is fooled often. 😉)
I was listening to "Office Hours" podcast tonight. (It is done by the Praxis co-founders, so I like to stay in tune with the voices that Hope is hearing as part of the program.) They said some very bold things in this week's podcast about college. The main thing I take from it is this: Who someone is at their core makes a world of difference - more so than a degree does. Are they hard working, self-starting, good with people, daring enough to take on a challenge, confident, willing and competent to stand on a foundation, able to get along with people from various backgrounds and ages....... etc......?
You don't have to be home schooled to have any of these characteristics. Not by any means. It just says something about what is most important - and I would contend that grades, although a tool and a measurement, are not near the top of the list. Someone might have a very logical reason for not caring about an A vs a C. It doesn't really measure their future success in life.
Until Next Time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Again and Again (Day ?/90)
Ok. Missed yesterday and today is after midnight, but I haven't gone to bed yet. What am I thinking?
Yesterday, I learned the power of a little sugar. Rose was not participating in grammar review very well, that is until Terry started giving her little bitty pieces of Swedish Fish every time she answered a question. Hmmmmm. It was very nice to have cooperation and get done. Hmmmmmm.
Don't judge. 😮
Until next time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Yesterday, I learned the power of a little sugar. Rose was not participating in grammar review very well, that is until Terry started giving her little bitty pieces of Swedish Fish every time she answered a question. Hmmmmm. It was very nice to have cooperation and get done. Hmmmmmm.
Don't judge. 😮
Until next time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Sunday, January 7, 2018
And again! (Day 10/90)
At this rate, it'll take almost double the time to get 90 days in a row.
Ugh.
I listened to some great audios yesterday while painting the kids bathroom. The eggshell paint the builder used was not dealing well with the humidity. Six hours went by like nothing.
Our habit of listening to positive and educational audios has rubbed off on at least one kid so far (Hope). It has made a huge difference for her. More positive in than negative, which is all around us.
Unail next time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Ugh.
I listened to some great audios yesterday while painting the kids bathroom. The eggshell paint the builder used was not dealing well with the humidity. Six hours went by like nothing.
Our habit of listening to positive and educational audios has rubbed off on at least one kid so far (Hope). It has made a huge difference for her. More positive in than negative, which is all around us.
Unail next time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Friday, January 5, 2018
Missed Again! (Day 9/90)
Oh, I can't believe it! I totally missed writing yesterday, so today is Day 9 instead of yesterday. (It is supposed to be Day 11 because I missed another day last week as well. Bummer.)
This week, Rose and I are still on Christmas vacation ... but we have been reading by the fireplace anyway. The Children's Bible, the Promised Land Series, and Everyday Graces have been fun to read together. Sometimes she plays, wanders, eats, and rolls around on the floor like a dog or a cat, but I think she is still listening most of the time. I remember when Sam was little and he would bounce around while I was reading to him and Hope. I quizzed him a few times, and he almost always knew what I had been reading to him. I eventually had him see how long he could stand on his head while I read to him. He got pretty good at it! That led to a short, but fun stint as a gymnast. :-) (This past fall, he even resurrected the back flip and showed it off a few times.)
It has been nice having less places to go lately, especially since it has been so cold out. Snuggling on the couch and reading is a nice winter activity. For exercise, I used to bring the kids to the kids' care at various gyms I was a member at. They actually made some very good friends with the ladies who worked there because they were the oldest kids in the care room during the day. (During the school days the kids their age were in school, obviously.) To save time, I started working out to videos on YouTube instead - and walking in the summer. It has saved so much time!!
I have also saved time by bringing Terry (wonderful husband) along when I grocery shop for the seven people in our house. It helps the packing, loading, and unloading process quite a bit. It is kind of like a date. :-) Time together at the store. Very peaceful.
Lately, though, I am thinking about using Instacart. It could prove very useful!
And - next week we will go off of Christmas vacation, I guess. :-)
Until Next Time,
Blessings,
Heidi
This week, Rose and I are still on Christmas vacation ... but we have been reading by the fireplace anyway. The Children's Bible, the Promised Land Series, and Everyday Graces have been fun to read together. Sometimes she plays, wanders, eats, and rolls around on the floor like a dog or a cat, but I think she is still listening most of the time. I remember when Sam was little and he would bounce around while I was reading to him and Hope. I quizzed him a few times, and he almost always knew what I had been reading to him. I eventually had him see how long he could stand on his head while I read to him. He got pretty good at it! That led to a short, but fun stint as a gymnast. :-) (This past fall, he even resurrected the back flip and showed it off a few times.)
It has been nice having less places to go lately, especially since it has been so cold out. Snuggling on the couch and reading is a nice winter activity. For exercise, I used to bring the kids to the kids' care at various gyms I was a member at. They actually made some very good friends with the ladies who worked there because they were the oldest kids in the care room during the day. (During the school days the kids their age were in school, obviously.) To save time, I started working out to videos on YouTube instead - and walking in the summer. It has saved so much time!!
I have also saved time by bringing Terry (wonderful husband) along when I grocery shop for the seven people in our house. It helps the packing, loading, and unloading process quite a bit. It is kind of like a date. :-) Time together at the store. Very peaceful.
Lately, though, I am thinking about using Instacart. It could prove very useful!
And - next week we will go off of Christmas vacation, I guess. :-)
Until Next Time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Filling Blank Pages (Day 8/90)
Staring at a blank page, whether it is physical or on a computer screen, can be daunting, can't it? It reminded me of helping Sammy with his writing class he had last semester. It can be intimidating to come up with one thousand words on something and do it intelligently with good grammar and all. Rough drafts are so nice because they let the ideas flow without worrying about the details, but I did notice that the big picture and the topics that each paragraph covered was the harder work - and the more thought and creativity that was put into that - the better the paper was because grammar is something that software can help correct. The flow of ideas and the coherence of an entire paper, however, cannot be corrected simply. You have to step back and look at the big picture.
I think the older and wiser we get, the less "rough" our drafts are. Sometimes we mess up, but we can always learn and do better next time.
So - maybe life can be compared to writing a good paper.
Always understand the big picture.
Know what the main point is.
Communicate well.
The details matter.
And -
end well.
Until next time,
Blessings,
Heidi
I think the older and wiser we get, the less "rough" our drafts are. Sometimes we mess up, but we can always learn and do better next time.
So - maybe life can be compared to writing a good paper.
Always understand the big picture.
Know what the main point is.
Communicate well.
The details matter.
And -
end well.
Until next time,
Blessings,
Heidi
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Day 7/90, unofficially, because I haven't gone to bed yet
Is it still day 7 if I haven't gone to bed, but it's after midnight? Purely theoretical.
Anyway, today I read an old favorite to Rosie. .... Everyday Graces by Karen Santorum. Mrs. Santorum compiled many classic stories and poems about manners and values. Rosie loved it! And there are such good messages about things like saying "please". I also recently obtained a copy of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm by MacDonald and illustrated by Maurice Sendak at a cute little used book store in Stillwater, Mn. (Used book stores are so fun! I always find good stuff at used book stores. I got Hope a cool printing of Sherlock Holmes stories for Christmas. I also got her a cuddly blanket. Perfect combo gift for an avid reader. ) The children in the local town go stay with Mrs. Piggle Wiggle on her farm to correct behavioral issues. She always succeeds. I want to be like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle when I grow up.
Until next time,
Blessings!
Heidi
Anyway, today I read an old favorite to Rosie. .... Everyday Graces by Karen Santorum. Mrs. Santorum compiled many classic stories and poems about manners and values. Rosie loved it! And there are such good messages about things like saying "please". I also recently obtained a copy of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm by MacDonald and illustrated by Maurice Sendak at a cute little used book store in Stillwater, Mn. (Used book stores are so fun! I always find good stuff at used book stores. I got Hope a cool printing of Sherlock Holmes stories for Christmas. I also got her a cuddly blanket. Perfect combo gift for an avid reader. ) The children in the local town go stay with Mrs. Piggle Wiggle on her farm to correct behavioral issues. She always succeeds. I want to be like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle when I grow up.
Until next time,
Blessings!
Heidi
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