Homeschooling 2010

Often, people ask what we do for school. There is no way to truly describe our average day, but I have come up with a list of what we are doing this coming year, just to give an idea of what we are learning.

I have learned a lot about curriculum over these past homeschooling years. I really like the ideas I've read about in Susan Bauer's "The Well-Trained Mind," but I am definitely not as rigid as her, and after reading about the High School years, we may be parting ways. I also like to talk with other people and see what they have had success with in teaching their children. I would say that my curriculum choices are eclectic, and while I believe whole-heartedly in the unschooling method and use it over the summer, I can't let go completely during the regular schoolyear.

As my kids have gotten older they have actually preferred more structure. I break down what I want them to do for the year and print out weekly lists that they check off at their own pace. My oldest likes to get it all done as fast as possible, while my second takes his time and gets things done by lunch on some days, by dinner on others, and sometimes gets them done right before bedtime. My younger two are still figuring out their pacing, and I try to help them get things done in the morning, because by the afternoon they have no patience left.

This is my list of what we are doing this year from oldest to youngest:

Math: Teaching Textbooks-Pre-Algebra (This is a new series I am excited to be starting. So far I like what I see, plus my son likes it),

Singapore Math for the others with a little Saxon mixed in to fill in the gaps.

Language Arts: Spelling Workouts for all, A Beka Grammar (at a much slower pace than they recommend....I have 3 boys after all), Writing Strands (They like the structure but not too many guidelines), weekly journal entry, and for the younger kids Draw, Write, Now and Some writing and grammar workbooks at a mellow pace.


Music: Piano Lessons with Theory for my older three and Singing songs with my girl. (I'm stuck teaching them myself this year, since there is no one to teach them; but I feel alright about it now that I decided to spend the money I was spending on lessons on a housecleaner every other week: ).

Reading: Luckily my kids love to read and do plenty of it, but I am assigning specific literature every other week and having them type a book report to keep up their typing skills. They blow me out of the water with what they do in Word Processing. They think it's fun, and they hate to write by hand. I'm also adding a poem a week to my oldest that we can discuss. My younger two will still read out loud to me, and my favorite part of the day is reading to all of them. Right now we are deep into The Long Winter.

History: Story of the World for the younger three.


I wasn't sure what to do with my oldest, so he's reading the Usborne World History book as a springboard into whatever interests him.

Science: Monday experiments for all (we started that last year and I have an earlier blog about it), and Science Detectives for the older two.

Art: A family art project every 3 weeks.

Plus: Critical Thinking, Rosetta Stone Latin and Hands On Equations for the older two, as well as a Surprise day every two weeks.

I do a 4-day school week which leaves one day for Doctor's appointments, visits to the library, playgroup, and field trips, of which we have plenty.

Some days I feel like we have too much to do for school and other days I start to panic that we're not doing enough, but overall I like the pacing we have. It works for us.

The End of the Day

Summer is supposed to be a break from homeschooling, and it is. But that doesn't mean it is a break. So far this summer I have spent the past few weeks driving kids to three separate swimming lessons a day, taken the boys to a two-week long pottery class, added an exercise time to my morning routine, packed for a camping family reunion 11 hours away (which was wonderful!), and today I just got back from girl's camp.


Sometimes I wake up in the morning and don't know how I will be able to do all that needs to be done in the day.

That is the plight of a parent and a responsible woman: when you have nothing left to give......but you have to anyway.

It works out in the end, and there are lessons learned.

I am grateful for this season of my life. I am right where I want to be, and it's good at the end of the day to step back and regain perspective. It's worth it all!


But at the end of the day, I'm just plain exhausted.

Soupz On

We went to Breckenridge a few weeks ago, and as always one of my favorite things to do was eat at some really great restaurants. We had some good Chinese, Italian and some awesome burgers. But my favorite place I discovered on the last day was called Soupz On. They had about half a dozen different freshly made soups, a few different salads and some amazing sandwiches. I came home wishing that I had a Soupz On in Alamosa.

Then it occurred to me that I have a cookbook full of Soup, Salad, and Sandwich recipes. I pored through the recipes and they all looked good to me, so I have decided to make one or two of these recipes each week. So far we've have a few of the soups, a couple of the salads and one of the sandwiches. Nathan tells me that I'm a structural person, so I like to go through the book in order, suspending judgment until we have at least tried it.

I find that it's often easy to get stuck in a rut. We all have our tried and true recipes, mostly because they are easy or we know the kids will eat them without complaining. After a while though it's nice to have some change.

Some of the kids are enjoying this change and learning about different flavor combinations....and some of them are trying to choke it down. Poor Andrew had quite a time last night with Creamy Tomato Soup. It's actually entertaining to watch, when they aren't ticking me off with their reactions. I finally told them that I don't want to hear just how gross that it is or what ingredients they hate in this particular meal. I figure they're old enough to eat what they are served.

I have really enjoyed the variety, and at the end of each new meal, Nathan and I rank it 1-5 stars, so we can keep track of the recipes that are keepers. Tonight Nicole informed me that she really liked this chicken (we were having steak).

Our favorite new recipe so far was an Italian soup. The title was not very promising and was definitely one I would have skipped past, but it tasted much better than it sounded:

Spicy Zucchini Soup (from Home-Style Soups, Salads, and Sandwiches) 1 lb. Italian sausage 3 cans (28 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained (I just used a jar of my canned tomatoes) 3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) beef broth (I used boullion to make broth) 2 pounds zucchini, diced 2 medium green peppers, diced 2 cups thinly sliced celery 1 cup chopped onion 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 3 cups cooked macaroni (I used Farfalle or Bow Tie noodles because I like them better) In a Dutch oven or soup kettle, brown and crumble sausage; drain. Add tomatoes, broth, zucchini, green peppers, celery, onion and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the vegetables are tender. Add pasta; heat through.
(I actually sauted the onions and celery with the sausage, because I don't like crunchy onions too much)

This tasted like pizza in a soup minus the cheese, but also felt healthier with all that zucchini. All four kids liked it, which was a miracle. Who knows what else will come from this 300 recipe cookbook. I feel a little like Julie and Julia with my little endeavor, only down a few notches. (or a few hundred notches).

Belated Birthdays

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and I didn't remember until today. I felt really horrible and wondered why I never remember people's birthdays. I know we were pretty casual when I was growing up. We didn't have birthday parties every year. When we did have one though it was all-out. My favorite birthday in memory was when my mom threw me a costume party (October birthday), and she dressed as a gypsy and told everyone's fortunes. It was incredible.

My mom was named Julie I think because she was the third of three girls to be born in July. She is not a person who pushes herself to the front and is content to do all the work in the shadow of others. She is a selfless person to the point that she sometimes loses herself. I admire her lack of materialism and her generous spirit. I remember the few times that I was sick as a child she had cool hands and just what I needed to feel better, be it freshly cooked chicken broth or consoling words. I'm nowhere as sympathetic with my own kids, I'm afraid.

I remember many birthdays where our present was pulled out of a closet and presented still in the store bag. Often we get birthday cards a couple weeks after our birthday....and that's just fine with me. I know that my mom won't be at all offended when I give her a call later this afternoon a day late. That's one of the many things that I love and appreciate about her.