Adams In The Country

9/20/10

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians

Over the weekend the kids were playing in the woods next to our house. They found a tree that had grown in an arc and decided to make it into a tee-pee. They had already found sticks to make bows & arrows using some of my natural twine. I am so proud of them for using their imaginations. They played for hours out there this weekend. This is one of the many reasons we wanted to get out into the country.

Alex did not want to have his picture taken as an Indian but here are Sarah and Jake.....

Jake in the "living room" of the tee-pee.

Sarah puts some "food" on the fire for dinner.

Alex uses the broom they made from a bent piece of wood.

Jake just sat there waiting, as if some real food would magically appear!

8/30/10

Whatever you do, DON'T laugh

Last night, for the umpteenth time since moving into the new house, I went in to tell the boys to settle down, turn the light back off and go to sleep. The sight I beheld when I opened the door was this...... Jake standing in the middle of the room wearing nothing but Mr. Incredible underpants with 2 Nerf guns tucked in the waistband and coming out the leg holes. As I stood there speechless, trying desperately not to laugh, he proceeded to pull them out and raise both hands in the air and ask me "WHAT?!?" as if he had absolutely no idea why I was back in their room a mere minutes after I had just been there. It took everything I had in me not to laugh hysterically. I have found that laughing while disciplining kids really is not every effective. If only I had the camera in hand.

8/27/10

One week down, how many to go?

We are finishing up our first week. All said and done I am happy with our decision to do this and the curriculum that was chosen. Have we had some stressful moments? Yes. Has there been some whining and crying? Yes. But we have made it through the first week and still are able to look at one another without crying.

Sarahs teacher has changed her to a different math book since having been in a traditional school and not been very strong in the subject. This way she will be back up to speed next year.
Alex continues to whine, resist and daydream. This too shall pass as he finally realizes he has to pay attention and do the work if he wants to go outside, play the Wii, etc.
Jake is still pestering both of them. One day I am sure he will stop. Maybe when I am able to catch my breath enough to work in a little preschool with him.
I am able to teach Science one semester and History the other instead of doing both at the same time, alternating days. Better for them to follow along & easier on me.

I actually had a moment last night when I realized I was smiling. As I thought about why this was I realized that I am a homeschool mom, my kids are doing well and I haven't pulled my hair out yet. Each day gets better. They even hunkered down yesterday and got their work completed by lunchtime and were able to go outside for the afternoon!

8/24/10

Day One of Homeschooling

Well, we started right on time, 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning. Soon after that the whining started, internet quit & Jake was crying. In a nutshell I was flustered. We got through the day though with 90% of the required lessons completed by 5:00 p.m. Thank goodness for crockpots otherwise we may not have eaten last night.

Kevin have some wise words for Alex... "Mom is your teacher during the day. You wouldn't whine & refuse to do work for Mrs James or Mrs Ward so you will not be doing it for Mom. If you continue to misbehave you will get sent to the Principals office. Know who the Principal is now? ME!" The reply was a sheepish "Oh!"

Here they are at the start of the first day, ready to go at their workstations. Jake was happy to watch Bob the Builder. Well, for a little while anyway.

8/23/10

Anxious, Apprehensive and Unable To Sleep.

Well, it is 11:47 P.M. on the eve of my first day as "teacher." I admit I am excited to actually start using all these great materials, a bit nervous about how to juggle it all and tired beyond belief. Unfortunately I wasn't paying attention and had WAY too much sweet tea to drink today so sleep is not likely for awhile, even though I really should be in dreamland by now. Grandpa and Grandma brought the kids new desks today. They helped me get everything set back up and Sarah and Alex are now separated into different sides of the room. It looks really nice and now they have much more space to work.

I have gone into the Online School and made sure I have checked off all the "Advanced Prep" needed for the days to come. Still, I worry. I cannot help it, I am genetically programed to worry. Will I be able to juggle educating 2 kids as well as keep a 4 year-old occupied, entertained and hopefully a bit of education there too? When will I get the lawn mowed, house cleaned, laundry done, get to the 4-H meetings, etc? How are they going to deal with me as the teacher as well as Mom? How am I ever going to prepare for Jake's Sunday School lessons or have time to make it to Wednesday night class? Will we ever eat dinner at a reasonable hour? Kevin brought home a ton of lunch meat & cheese on Saturday. He thought it might help take some of the stress off if we just had subs for dinner. I am blessed with a wonderful, thoughtful husband. He may regret it when we have subs for dinner all week! :0)

I have joined a Yahoo! Group for families enrolled in Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA) and that has been very helpful. They are all very supportive and always ready to offer tips & suggestions. K12, the curriculum we are using, has their own private version of Facebook called the "Parents Lounge." There are families from all over the world using K12 there to support, connect and interact. That has been a great resource for help as well. I have also picked the brain of a traditional homeschooler and Sister in the church. She had some wonderful advise and helpful ideas borne of her experience. I am sure it wont be long before I am leaning on my sister-in-law for ideas and help too.

I am in no way doubting my decision to make this change. I am confident in that at least. I am tired of sending them off to let others influence, bully, tease & intimidate them while no one does anything about it. My kids are very bright, they have that advantage. Otherwise I think they would be far behind in the education they have thus far received at the local public school. Add to all this internet connection problems, not having sold our old house, a bum knee and feeling like I am coming down with a cold......and you have one very frustrated Mom.

Well, this frustrated,worried, anxious, apprehensive Mom is finally going to try to get some sleep. I am sure that I will look back at this in the days, weeks and months to come and think....."What was I so worried about."