Purging on my Day Off

Goodbye papers!

I had the day off work today but the kids still had school. I love these extra little days. After getting everyone off to school I tackled a big job: cleaning the boys' room. I don't usually clean their room, I consider this their job. However, since they've both been working and Nolan has play and band practice, football games and competitions, I've been giving them a little slack. Needless to say their room (which is small for two large teen age boys) was DUSTY! I also wanted to change to the winter sheets and blankets. 

The one nice thing about living in about 1,000 square feet of house is that it forces us to be picky about what we keep and is easy to clean. So even cleaning the bedroom of two teenage boys took under an hour. It sure made me feel better once it was done.

That's the thing I know about me: I feel deep contentment when my house is clean and clutter free.

Not everyone is like me, I get it. Nor does my house look like a magazine. It certainly looks lived in and could use a paint job in several rooms. Our kitchen is small and thus always has food-in-progress and drying dishes (no dishwasher here) on the counter. 

Mike is in the process of moving his music students to a new location (out of our living room!) which has gotten me thinking about our living space again. We've lived with an upright bass in the dining room, amplifiers in the living room and students and parents coming and going throughout the evenings most nights. It has been a blessing to have Mike's business be so fruitful but an adjustment to our living schedule.

In November I'll be able to sit on my couch whenever I want to. 

This fact as well as my ongoing pursuit to minimize the "things" I own in addition to my aforementioned day off work led me to do a little purging.

I recently read a book about minimalist living. I can't now remember the name of the book but it was very interesting. The author talked about their shift from living in a home to a one bedroom apartment with their two young children and the amount of "stuff" they purged. I went online and saw photos of their home. I don't like to judge another person's choices but in my mind I kept thinking I could not live like her family. It was not the lack of possessions they owned that bothered me. It was the fact that there was not one photograph of the children or family in the home. The apartment looked like the timeshare we used one summer. Furnished but void of personality.

I do not wish to live that way.

And that's ok. We all have to find our way in this world. Some people love to collect things. Some enjoy looking through old photos in albums. Others get out their children's papers periodically. 

So today I decided to clean out the closet. We don't really have an attic that is usable in this house so our storage tends to be in the basement and the shelves in our bedroom closet. I have gone through the boxes on these shelves many times. Each time I get rid of a little more. Since I've been doing a lot of self reflection about what is important in our lives on my own and with Mike I've been wanting to go through the closet.

Today was the day.

I had three objectives: Purge my fabric to one box, decide if any of the boys homeschool portfolios needed to be saved and go through the artwork box.

The fabric box was easy. I made a trip to Lancaster Creative Reuse with a little less than half my stash. I then tackled some homeschool books I've been saving. I realized that while the books I saved were really good ones, they are not ones my boys will need in the future and they are too advanced for the preschoolers I work with. I decided to see if the elementary teachers at my school can use them. If not, I'll donate them to the library. 

I then tackled the art box. 

Fortunately the boys were coming home at the time I was going through the box. Mike was also around so we all had a grand old time looking at all of the artwork and crafts the boys made since preschool! I even found a pasta necklace. We saved the most important works and were able to get rid of the rest after having a good laugh at much of it!

After tackling the art (which was really the hardest) I went through the box of homeschool portfolios. There was little that was hard to get rid of. I again saved a few things that showed the boys personalities or growth and pitched the rest. I think the thing I had difficulty with was the realization that I was "throwing out" my hard work. Of course this isn't true. All of the hours I spent with the boys during our homeschool years have contributed to something much better than papers and music and artwork. I have my fantastic men to remind me of those days. I don't need the binders full of math and english work.

So my shelves are a little emptier and my heart is full of memories. I wonder what I'll tackle tomorrow?

Best Intentions

Our read aloud, prayer cards, Nolan's rosary and Advent candle (getting low).

I had the best intentions of blogging more this Advent season. Time has a way of getting the best of us. Our lives have been full and busy. Here we are a week before Christmas. I decided to give the boys a few extra days off school this year. I've never done that before but we are just shy of 90 days of school (which is half way finished) so I think we have plenty of wiggle room to take a well deserved break. To be honest, I think I'm more excited about the extra time than are the boys!

More on the mantle. The boys like to rearrange the nativity each day. Sometimes it gets pretty wild.

I wanted to share a little of what we've been doing. This year I changed our Advent tradition just a little bit. For many years now, I've had Advent boxes for the boys to open. Each box contains one piece of their nativity. There's plenty of days that also include a little candy. We also usually read The Jesse Tree each day and for many years put up the homemade ornaments the boys created many years ago.

Here is Mary peeking in her basket at a little kitty. Can't you just imagine her really doing this 2000 years ago?

This year I made advent houses that adorn our mantle. I'm really pleased with how much better they look than the boxes did. They don't hide the contents quite as well, though. The boys don't seem to mind. This year I also bought the boys each an advent candle. This is our second year doing this and it is a BIG hit. You know how boys love fire. I changed up our reading this year a little. If the day included a saint's feast, I read the boys a story about that particular saint. If the day did not, I read a story from our St. Nicholas book. Starting on the 16th, I began reading One Wintery Night. I've had this book since the boys were toddlers but sort of forgot about it. It is a longer picture book with beautiful illustrations and tells the story of Christmas from Creation to the Cross.

More of the mantle. St. Nicholas made by Nathan so many years ago and his candle. The snowmen were gifts from my nieces and sister-in law over the years.

I feel fortunate that my boys still love a simple story read to them. They love all of these little traditions that we include in our day. I didn't grow up with the Liturgical Year and as a family we didn't really have many traditions. Perhaps that is why I love them so much now. I would love to hear about your traditions. Leave me a comment or send me a link. And have a wonderful Saturday.

Language Arts Puzzle

Here's post number two about curricula I'm excited about using this year. This particular curriculum is a hodge podge of language arts that I've created just for Nathan. Like I said in my chemistry post, curriculum is exciting because I can choose to use whatever they need. In the case of Nathan, he is in need of extensive language work.Here's what I've finally come up with:

• Speech/Language therapy 45 minutes per week. You have no idea how hard it is to find a good therapist that takes your insurance. The school denied our request for speech therapy. They never deny our tax money, do they? We love Miss Patty and I'm thrilled to be working with her. I mean, I'm thrilled Nathan will be working with her.
• Social Skills group 1/x per month. This is run by Miss Patty and an OT. They ran a group over the summer that Nathan participated in and will continue with a few of the boys over the school year. 
• Mobile Therapy, 2 hours/week. To work on social skills and anxiety. We're still waiting on the therapist. You have no idea how long it takes to get things up and running. Lets pray for a good MT.
• Reading Fish comprehension program. This program will be used intensively for the first two months of school. It focuses on visual imagery and cognitive skills training. I bought the ebook for $19. 
• Earobics for Adolescents. Earobics is a program I looked into when Nathan was very young. It is a reading program for kids with auditory processing difficulties. Nathan learned to read very easily and so I didn't think this program would benefit him. Now I am wondering if he doesn't have some auditory processing issues. I was able to find the program on ebay for very cheap and plan to use it as a fun school activity. Nathan loves using the computer and needs to have some part of school that isn't stressful.
• Vocabulary Cartoons. This book is amazing. I feel like I've been looking for it Nathan's whole academic career. Nathan is a visual learner. Teaching him vocabulary with only words is like teaching ESL by speaking louder. This book uses rhyming and visual mnemonics to teach vocabulary. Example: Abduct. Sounds like duck. The page includes the definition and sentences but also a cartoon of robbers at a lake sneaking off with ducks under their arms. I used the book with Nathan for a week to test the waters. He was able to memorize five words, tell me the definitions and use the words in a sentence after only three days of five minutes a day. This is amazing for him. The book also includes a review test after every ten words.
• What Did You Say? What Do You Mean? This book was written to help kids with Asperger's understand idioms. It also involves pictures (many of them silly). I bought this book last year and never used it. Since Miss Patty was working on idioms with Nathan I figured I'd do so as well.
• Teaching Writing Structure and Style. I used this last year and Nathan was very successful with it. It is very structured and involves teaching writing not by making the kids come up with their own stories but by outlining something already written and rewriting the story. I'll focus on research writing with him later in the year and simple informational writing at the beginning. Writing will be used mostly in conjunction with history and science. 
• Math class and orchestra. What???? Yes, I consider these part of Nathan's language arts curriculum. I signed him up for Algebra 1 with a local co-op. Math is one of his best subjects and I think he needs to be challenged with a class outside our house. He needs to be with kids his own age. Orchestra I consider to be good for his brain. He really takes in the music and again, will have social opportunities with kids who are genuinely nice to him. Kids who have gone out of their way to greet him and talk to him. 

Well, this turned into a long post, didn't it? Most of you won't use this curriculum for your kids. Maybe you will find something that works. I can't tell you how many hours I spend looking for just the right thing. Hopefully this post will save some of you time and effort. I'll keep you posted on Nathan's progress throughout the school year. I'm most interested to see how the Reading Fish program works for him.

Real Science 4 Kids

As a homeschooling mom, I love planning curricula. I love the catalogues, the books, the ideas, the choices, the freedom! Freedom? Yes, the freedom to choose to teach my children in ways they will enjoy and be captivated (I hope). That being said, sometimes they have to work on things they don't enjoy. That's life, right? Well, I thought I'd do a few posts about some of the curricula I've chosen this year that has me excited. These aren't in any particular order. Although my children always ask me what favorites I have, I hate choosing one thing over another. So, as I said before, these posts won't be in any particular order.


Nolan has always had an interest in chemistry. Just yesterday when we were making pasta he asked what made the bubbles in the boiling water. I was surprised by this question as I know he knows heat makes water boil (212 degrees F., right?). Yes, he knew that. What he wondered was why the bubbles formed in the water? What made the air pockets? Where did the air come from? 


Of course, if I had had my brain together, I could have talked about H2O. My brain wasn't together, we needed to eat and get to a piano lesson. So.....I just told him it was good he would be studying chemistry this year. Not a proud homeschooling mom moment. Reality is, I am glad he will be studying chemistry. He asks me questions I can't answer all the time.


In the past, I've always followed The Well Trained Mind when it came to science. One topic per year in four year cycles (Biology, Earth Science/Astronomy, Chemistry, Physics). Use a spine science book (generally from Usborne or Kingfisher), read, experiment, sketch, write. The only downside to this method was that I was having to decide which topics to cover. So, when it came to chemistry this year, I wasn't feeling confident in my ability to pick the correct topics in the correct order, etc. I went on a search. 


I discovered Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry Level 2. This is real chemistry. I took chemistry in my junior year of high school. That was a long time ago. To be honest, I didn't actually understand it then (although I loved all the math that went with it). I really wanted Nolan to have the opportunity to study chemistry in a systematic but enjoyable way. This curriculum does it. I bought the ebook because it was more updated than the paper copy (and less expensive, too). A teacher's manual and lab book are available, too.


The program is only 10 lessons long but I think we'll have plenty to work on. To be honest, there were lots of things I didn't remember learning (what's a mole?). Here are the chapters:

1. Matter, Mass and Moles
2. Chemical Bonding
3. Chemical Reactions
4. Acids, Bases, and pH
5. Acid-Base Reactions
6. Mixtures
7. Separating Mixtures
8. The Chemistry of Carbon
9. Polymers
10. Biological Polymers

This level 2 program is geared for 7-9th grades. I read all of the first two chapters and felt it very challenging stuff but well explained (ie: I was able to understand it after thinking A LOT). Since Nolan tends to be smarter than I am and can remember many more things than I can, I think he'll be fine. We'll take it slow unless he wants to move faster. The chapters are colorful with lots of large diagrams and pictures. The end of each chapter includes a summary and study questions. There is a lab for each chapter that utilizes the scientific method and encourages the student to come up with his own experiments. 

My hope is to purchase a chemistry set for Nolan at Christmas to further enhance this program and to keep his interest. I also have the book The Mystery of the Periodic Table to include in his study. He loves to read and so I am always trying to find living books to incorporate in every lesson.

Real Science 4 Kids is published by Gravitas Publications. It seems to be a growing company with new products every time I look at the web site. The Level 1 (grades 4-6) programs include Biology, Chemistry and Physics. They also have Pre level 1 for early elementary. Check out their web site for more information.

I'll keep you posted on Nolan's progress with this program throughout the year. We start school on August 30th so we have just a few more days of summer. Look for more posts about my favorite curricula for this year in the days ahead. 

Taking a Hard Look

I don't like to say no. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. If I can help, I will. Sometimes, even if I really can't help or don't have the time, or see that it really isn't what my kids need, I do it anyway.

As the school year is approaching I have found myself in a few situations where I tried to fit in activities or classes to please other people. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to remind myself that my priority is to my children, not others. Don't get me wrong, these other people aren't pressuring me to be involved nor are they guilting me into anything. I don't need the guilt of others, I've got lots of my own. It's all me.

I'm learning. Slowly. I've been able to say no this year. I've been taking a good, hard look at what my boys need academically, socially and most importantly, spiritually. That means doing for them, not for others. It means going against the flow. It means leaving old groups and joining new ones. It means pushing them and myself into sometimes uncharted waters. It feels uncomfortable at times. Other times it is freeing.

So I'm finishing out the summer months trying to remember that it's o.k. to put ourselves first for a change. I know that if we are worn out and over extended, we are no good to anyone. To fill my own cup means that I will always have something left over for others. I want my cup to be full. I want to have enough to share.

Updates

There is so much happening, my head is spinning!

First, I've done a bit of sewing in the last few weeks. Of course, I don't have any pictures but will try to get some up this week.

It has been unbearably hot here in PA the last week or two. We only have air conditioning in our bedrooms so I'm not very apt to get a whole lot completed due to the heat. It was only 92 degrees today so it felt absolutely balmy.

I finished My Antonia by Willa Cather. I just adored this book. The characters feel so real to me. Their trials and tribulations understandable. The description of the late 1800's prairie so real. Oh, I wish I could have seen it. The hard work of those pioneers seems so romantic when put into prose. Next is The Picture of Dorian Grey. I'm hesitant about English Literature now but blazing forward....

I went fabric shopping at the quilt shop today. I bought another dress pattern when they were on sale for $.99. I've wanted a dress in designer fabric for a while. I bought some Amy Butler flower print. I'm hoping to cut into it tomorrow.

In other news, I have a job interview. I don't HAVE to work but it is a struggle. I look in the paper every week just to be sure that I COULD get a job IF I needed (or wanted) to. Having a degree in social work was probably the best economic thing I ever did. Every week there is at least one job posted that I'm qualified for. Really, I haven't been looking but wanted to keep my eyes peeled in case the perfect thing came along.

Ok....it came along. A job that is part time, pays a decent wage and is flexible with our homeschooling schedule. I sent my resume' off on Thursday and got a call today for an interview. How's that for the old ego? So now I'm desperately trying to figure out how I can work and homeschool without being crazy.

Lastly, but not leastly, I also was diagnosed with Lyme disease. AAAACK! I found the tell tale rash and high tailed it to the doctor. I have no symptoms other than the rash. So I'm on antibiotics and need to stay out of the sun (how do you do that in July???). My husband and son are freaked out about the whole thing while I'm not worried at all. I feel fine and am being treated in a timely manner. No worries.

Well, I'm off to get those pesky boys to bed. Have a great weekend everyone.

Nature Study....unintended

I've been doing a LOT of thinking about school lately. We've really done it all. We've preschooled, public schooled, homeschooled, private schooled, public schooled and homeschooled again. I really can't think of anything we haven't tried, especially since we've also worked the special education system for Nathan. All of this has been tremendously difficult for us, especially for me. There is so much societal pressure on our kiddos.

What I have found is that we are most happy homeschooling. Traditional school involves a LOT of homework, which for our family, means a tremendous amount of time spent after school doing school. This is not my idea of childhood. I spent Nathan's young childhood looking at spinning fans and so now that he is more interested in the world outside his head, I want to explore it with him. My children have little to no interest in the social world of middle school and I thank God daily for that. My children enjoy being home. What greater pleasure can a parent receive than that their children in the middle years yearn to be together as a family?

All of this being said, homeschooling is the hardest thing I have ever done. Day in and day out being with my children 24/7 isn't easy. I don't always want to carefully guide their journey on the road of mathematical or literary excellence. They don't always want to acquiesce to my higher knowledge of subject matter. Mother is not always the same as teacher in their minds.

What I am pondering these days is a head knowledge of the positive traits of homeschooling for our family. I am too easily swayed by my emotions on this front and need the reminder of intellect not emotion when the chips are down. In February of every year, I need to reread my homeschool manifesto (which I am slowly writing) to remind me that, although February is the "dark night of the homeschool soul" there is Spring light at the end of the tunnel and that the slow progress we make in education and character building is far superior to what we would have found in the public school system.

Finally, today Mike informed us that a mom and dad duck were inhabiting our neighbor's yard. So.....what did we do? We took camera and TIME to walk across the street and watch. As we stood and observed, several families walked by on their way to school. Not one parent or child asked what we were watching. Not one parent or child thought to stop and inquire or view. Had the boys been in school they would have been long gone prior to the arrival of the ducks. A few days ago when the boys and I were in the midst of studying I don't know what, Nolan peered out the window (as he is wont to do) and saw a "giant bird."

We ventured outside with camera and video camera. Nolan was sure we were seeing a Turkey Vulture but I think it was probably a female Pheasant. Not bad for living 2 miles out of the city. I feel so blessed that we are able to take the time to stop our studies and watch the world outside. If only the boys could see the fox that I've seen now twice. With homeschooling, one of these days we'll see him.