Mountain Lions and Picnics and Sodas...oh MY!

We went on a Field Trip yesterday with our local Home Educators Group to one of my favorite little tows 45 minutes away and had a blast! We first perused the Mountain Lion Exhibit being sponsored at a college. Of course in the hustle and bustle of shepherding five children out of the van and into the building I forgot the camera. But the kids and I (and the entire group of more than 25 kids and their parents) thoroughly enjoyed the mountain lion "bone clones" of their skulls, the fifty million times Leah pressed the buttons as we listened to the blood curdling mating calls of female mountain lions and other sounds they make, and looking at the taxidermied displays. Roman wanted to know how they died. Apparently they were roadkill.

After a nice picnic in the park where the kids got to release lots of pent up energy, we headed dowtown to a local soda bottling factory. To say the kids were entranced is an understatement. I had to drag Roman away from the bottling machines as he would probably still be standing there mesmerized by the swoosh-swoosh-swooshing of the Rootbeer as it poured into the bottles and the CLINK as the caps were sealed on. Afterwards the kids were allowed to pick out their favorite soda selection and then we headed back home.

It was a long, full day. Teagan was so tired that she fell asleep in the shower at 6:30 that night. Which is why we are both up at 5:30 this morning. But, I digress. It was a great day.

Air Show

We took the kids to the Air Show last weekend. For 25 bucks we spent the morning perusing the airport lot wandering aroud checking out all kinds of planes, watching them 'do tricks' in the air, and wondering how Fuddruckers can really get away by charging $6 for a hamburger.

Hali and Melody were pretty fascinated by the whole ordeal. But Hali was also pretty tired of Mom snapping pictures every 10 seconds.

Teagan wanted to take the "kitties" home with us.

Leah wanted to get inside and ride one of the airplanes.

For an extra 300 dollars she could have.

Hali and Melody could not believe "how cute" it was inside this airplane.

You have to admit, it DOES look cozy. Uno anyone?

How did Teagan like the show? Well, to be honest, she was so excited that

it really blew her hair back!

Soul Purpose

We are in the middle of our second week of homeschool and I've received several phone calls from curious friends and family members wondering how I'm handling it.  The answer?  Honestly? 

 

I am happier now than I have ever been in my life.  I wrote a while back about Soul Purpose--you know, finding that 'thing' you were meant to do in life (or one of the several)-- and I feel like I have surely found mine.  

 

Although we have just been doing this for a short while, I can feel changes taking place inside my children, myself, and our home.  I feel closer to my husband as he is my biggest and best supporter.  I feel closer to my children as I spend so much more time with them than I ever have before.  And I feel closer to becoming the person I know I was meant to be as I work through the challenge of digging deep for the patience, knowledge, and inspiration I need to carry out this daunting task. 

 

The most common reply I get from moms when I tell them I am now teaching my children at home is, "Oh!  I could NEVER have the patience for that!"  And I really want to respond, "Well, patience is learned best by practice!"  And boy am I getting in a lot of practice!

Home Education, Day Two

{Big Breath}  I checked the girls out of school officially this morning.  The sentimental side of me wanted to hug the secretary when I left, but I got a squeeze in with the music teacher who is a friend of mine anyways. 

 

With all of our supplies heaped on the kitchen table we dived into our studies this morning.  I'm still not sure which method or curriculum (if any) our family will adopt but I feel confident that we will eventually get things all figured out.

 

The support I am getting from bloggy friends and IRL friends and family has been encouraging.  I'm sure many people disapprove of our choice but so far all of them have kept their doubts and skepticism to themselves.  I appreciate that because from moment to moment my faith in myself is shaky.  But my love for my kids and my desire for them to become bright, happy, healthy, family-oriented, faith-filled adults is steady and sure and that is what I am clinging to right now.

 

 

 

 

This I Know

What a whirlwind weekend!  Do you ever have a thought come crashing down upon you so suddenly and instantenously but once it settled you realized that you knew it all along?  That happened to me this weekend.

 

Jimmy and I have received a powerful confirmation that it is time for us to take our children out of pubilc schools and educate them at home.  Phew.  There.  I said it.  I know this notion is absurd to many of you and frankly the idea of implementing it in reality is both overwhelming and exciting at the same time. 

 

When the idea of homeschooling, of really actually doing it, began to feel like it fit right...kinda like a pair of jeans that I never thought I would wear but actually, when I tried them on, fit just perfectly and made me feel beautiful.... 

 

{Sigh.  If that were only the case.}  Ahem.  But I digress.

 

When the idea of teaching my kids at home began to solidfy we decided to pray about it.  Really.hard.  Throughout the course of two days we received a crystal clear answer that we needed to do it.  And once I was filled with that energy and comforted by the uninterrupted surge of rightness that consumed me I realized that I had actually known the answer all along.  The course I am about to take is one that has been laid out for me from the beginning.  Prepared.  And now complete and ready.  And I'm about to set foot upon it and venture on my Journey.

 

Don't think for a second that I'm not fully grasping the chaos and clutter and constancy of kids that will now be mine.  I get it.  Don't imagine that I am fooled into thinking that this is going to be easy and that we are not going to struggle and perhaps feel overwhelmed and irritated with eachother throughout the process.  But I have something to carry with me along the way and that is knowing--KNOWING--that this is the right thing to do and being able to move forward without looking behind.

 

Let the journey begin. 

Don't Judge. I was just curious....

Have you ever wondered what the conversations of your kids are like when they are on the phone?  I have a 10-year-old who--very much like her father--is not a phone talker.  But she has this adorable little girlfriend who calls her everyday.  I have always been curious what in the world little girls talk about on the phone.  I may or may not have eavesdropped on their conversation today.

 

If I had, however, eavesdropped this is HYPOTHETICALLY what MAY have transpired:

 

Hali: Hi, C..  Hang on while I go find the cordless phone so I can watch TV while you talk.  (No, I am not kidding.)

 

{Hali enters my bedroom looking for the cordless. I, of course, am asleep on the bed.  She cannot find the phone.  That may or may not be because it is underneath my pillow. }

 

Hali: I can't find it. 

 

C:  {Giggle giggle} So what are you doing tonight?  Maybe you or I could come over.

 

Hali: {crunching noises}

 

C:  What are you eating?

 

Hali: {still crunching} Fri {crunch-crunch} tos.

 

C: Oh!  That sounds cool.  {Giggles}  That is a really cool sound.  I have so many bruises on my feet.  There's one and then another one and, oh!  Another one!

 

H:  {Crunch}

 

C: So, do you like Ashley?

 

H: {Crunch}

 

C: Hali, are you there?

 

H:  Huh?

 

C:  What are you doing?

 

H: Watching iCarly.

 

C: Oh.  I hate iCarly.

 

H: {Crunch}

 

C:  Um...so do you like that Angela girl?

 

H:  What Angela girl?

 

C:  You know!  Angela!  In our class!

 

H:  Hang on.  I gotta get some water.

 

{C .giggling and singing to herself while waiting for H to return}

 

H:  I'm back. 

 

{About 5 minutes of silence.  I may or may not have been about to hang up until I heard...}

 

H:  Hey, C.!  Stephen is wearing boobs!

 

{What the...?  Boobs?  Did that word just come out of my Hali's mouth?  What the heck is she watching???}

 

H: {Gasp}  Soandso is about to kiss Suchandsuch!  {Hey, I don't watch the show and forgot their names!  Hypothetically.  IF I actually were eavesdropping.}

 

Mom:  HALI!  WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING??????   TIME TO GET OFF THE PHONE.  I NEED TO CALL SOMEONE!

 

H: C., I gotta go. 

 

C: Why?  I just called you.

 

H:  I know but my mom said I hafta get off.  I gotta go.

 

C:  {Huffing}  Am I on speaker phone?  If I'm on speaker phone I will never talk to again or be your friend for the rest of my life.

 

H:  Bye, C.

 

C: Bye.

 

 

And now I may or may not be wrestling with the fact that I want to tell my daughter it is rude to chew and crunch while talking on the phone.  And it is also not very polite to ignore the other person on the phone and watch TV while they are talking to you.  But if I did that she would know I was listening on the other phone.

 

Hypothetically, of course.

The Quest to Request

Since I'm home with my four and one-year-olds all day long I have a lot of time to read "BOB" books, play blocks, teach the alphabet and play in the park. What I don't have a lot of is adult conversations where I can pose the question, "What do you think?" Granted, I could ask my four-year-old what he thinks about my mind meanderings, but I have a feeling the answer would be something in the neighborhood of, "Huh? [pause] Can I go play Wii now?"

I have a fourth-grader this year. She's my oldest. I love her teacher. A lot. But I personally hand-picked her so I guess I'd better like her! I was lying in bed today thinking about her upcoming fifth grade year and wondering what teacher I should request for her when I realized that I did not know a single fifth grade teacher. Then the thought occurred to me that I could go and observe each fifth grade classroom and decide from there who to send her to. And then I had a memory.

When I was in fourth grade I remember the class being interrupted briefly as a mom was escorted into our room and the secretary explained that this is Mrs. So and So, her son would be coming to our school and his mother was going to "observe" all the classes. As a 10-year-old I remember thinking, "Wow! This kid must be from a really important family! Maybe he is a prince from another country or something!" The idea of a parent "observing" a classroom to determine which one was the best one for their child was completely foreign to me. I don't think my parents did this or even knew about that option. But I never had a teacher I didn't like.

So, my question today is, What do you think about requesting teachers for your child? Do you think it's too controlling? Too helicopter-parenty? Or is it just being an active participant in your child's education and doing all you can to ensure your child has the best possible chance of succeeding? Do you make requests for your child(ren)'s teachers? Has it always seemed beneficial? Leave me a comment (I accept annonymous, too!) and let me know what you think!