Back to School...kinda

This week marks our first official week back to school.  We encourage the kids to continue their studies over the summer break, but seriously? with all their friends running amok what do I expect from my kids? Saintdom? Nope, most of the summer was spent back and forth between our house and our neighbour's place.   I considered the neighbour's kids part of my count when planning anything, and likewise did she.  The 5 were a pack, quite often increasing in number to 7 or even 11 on occassion.  What a joyful sight to see all these kids playing on our court.

Unfortunately back to school means back to the fight.  Rowan and I have a difficult time agreeing upon the amount of school work he must do in a day.  He wants nothing to do with any of it. I want him at 'grade level', thinking that if he had to go to a traditional school, he could integrate with little academic struggle.  Today was the worst day yet for us.  At one point I had the phone in my hand, the number for the local school on a piece of paper in front of me, tears streaming down my face.  This was rock bottom.  My cry for help on G+ was answered by a good friend who talk me off the ledge, so to speak. We discussed pros and cons, ways to help R understand the importance of education.  In the end, Rowan and I had a conversation about Education laws in Ontario and how it states that all school-age (6yr+) children must have adequate instruction either at a school or at home by their parent.  We talked about school, why it's ok to go and it's ok to be home.  We talked about that if he went to school right now, he'd be very behind, a full grade behind in reading and writing, but fine with math and the other subjects.  By the end, he sat down and did his math lesson, declaring how much he enjoys math but doesn't like reading.  He also joined Eliana while she did her Explode the Code workbook.  He worked from a Kumon writing words book, a grade 1or2 level book.  Hopefully Rowan will continue this better attitude tomorrow.  We shall see.

Rough Road to Reading

Rowan and I did an online reading assessment.  He flew through the easy words, but stumbled on 'here' and 'you'.  He scored at a pre-K reading level.  He showed no interest in that fact either. He should be in Grade 2.

Eliana has spent the past hour working in her Explode the Code 1 phonics book.  She loves it.  We initially bought it for Rowan, when he was in JK/SK. We even have the 2nd and 3rd books in the series.  He did about 1/3rd of the book.  She has flown through the rest of the book, and knows the next two books are waiting for her.  She is excited to read, can't wait to read with us and loves doing her schoolwork.  When she starts book 2 tomorrow, it's rated at a Grade 1 reading level.


I love reading. I have always loved reading.  It makes me sad when I think that Rowan isn't enjoying reading as much as he should be.  He loves being read to.  He even enjoys copying books passages at times.  But to actually read something?   I hope that this will soon be behind us.

Time4Learning Review

We are a homeschooling family with 3 kids, ages 8,7 & 4.  Until this year, I have struggled to keep a schedule, often missing the a math or language lesson as we had too many outside activities going on, forgetting where we left off, or even where I put the books.  This past September I decided to try Time4Learning (T4L) with my 8 year old daughter, as she's now in Grade 3.  She has always been drawn to the computer so I felt this would work for her.  It also looked like it would help keep us on track with what she needs to learn this year.  I sometimes feared that if she had to go to school that she would be behind her peers.

What a difference this year has been!  She's is about to start her grade 4 level language lessons as she's nearly complete the entire grade 3 language component. Mostly on her own, with little nagging from me.  Yes. No nagging.  I am no longer worried of the 'what ifs' of her entering school.  She easily completes all her work and knows what she has to do each day.  

This week my 7 year old son started T4L on Grade 2 Math and Grade 1 Language.  He is a reluctant reader.  I was unsure if this would work for him as he's not a big computer kid like his sister.  He has really enjoyed it.  I like that the math is read to him, which was a major problem with our other math programs. The lessons are interactive and capture is attention.  He is excelling at his work and most of all, enjoying it! 

The parent reports provide me with an easy-to-read list of what they have finished, how long it took them and what they scored on the quiz or test.  I can choose to save it or print it for our records.  In Ontario, Canada, we are not required to keep any records, reports or portfolios for the local school boards.  


Time4Learning is an online education program that can be used as a homeschooling curriculum, an afterschool tutorial or for summer learning. As a member, I've been given the opportunity to share my experiences. The content in this review was not written by Time4Learning. While I was compensated, the opinion is entirely my own.

Veteran Homeschooler.

I realised earlier this school year that I have reached 'Veteran Homeschooler' status.  What does that mean? Well, it means that I've been doing this for long enough to know that when a product/curriculum isn't working, change it. Not to hang on too long to a bad fit because: a) others loved it. b)I paid a lot for it c)it looks great d) it worked for child A.

Now I also laugh and shake my head when I hear parents with toddlers/preschoolers say things like "I have been working with my son, who is 21 months now, on literacy and counting. I have been working from books that I picked up from a local store . I am looking for materials to continue his education at home..."  Oh you have got to be kidding me. At pre-2 years of age, shouldn't one be focusing on Play? Playing with toys, other kids? Seeing life around them.  Reading books to them, with them.  Does someone really need a curriculum for preschool?  I'm sure when I was at that stage, there were 'veteran' homeschoolering chuckling at my comments too.  

From the been-there-done-that trenches, I'll bite my tongue, keep my opinions to my blog and not reply directly to any parent without their request. :)

School Planning - Hey.. it's August!

I'm trying to not buy print-bound curriculum this year.  I hate hate HATE that we have 2 years of Saxon here and only 1/4 of each year completed.  It just doesn't work for us.  Likewise LLATL. I like the program, but just don't have the discipline to present it each day.  Or I'm too cheap to buy a second workbook so both kids can work at the same time. I have toyed with the idea of going completely online with our curriculum.  I have checked out Time4Learning a couple times, only I find that $19.99/month (14.99 for 2nd child) subscription  is hard to swallow.  That's $200/year (10mos)  Now if I put that into perspective,it IS for Math, Language with some extra subjects depending on grade level.  That does make it a bit better, however with 3 kids, I'm not able to 'recycle' the previous material for the next child, as I would with printed curriculum.  I also worry that I'll still need to supplement with workbooks and printed materials which will add to our schooling costs.

I spend 5/week/child for art. which is approx. 20/month/child. one hour, one subject with supplies included.
Gym works out to be 5/week/child, one hour, one subject at the gym.
Swimming: again, 5/week/child 1/2hour at the pool.

I spent $35 for a lifetime subscription to ClickNKids Phonics, which is transferable to my next child, and then on to anyone else I chose after that. It's a single subject, learn to read website.

Maybe just maybe if we managed our money better this would become a non-issue.

Rowan and Reading

Rowan has started reading.  He's slowing progressing through the first set of phonics readers. Slowly. Many times he doesn't remember a word that was just read in the previous sentence.  He still needs to sound out 'it' 'is' 'in' 'on' but finally knows 'the' and 'and'  His motivation to continue is building a LEGO kit.  For every 2 readers he gets to put another 8-10 pieces on his LEGO RV kit that he really really wants.  Unfortunately for me, I have endured 6 or 8 phonics readers today alone, with words like Pat and Pam being repeatedly sounded out, even though they are the main characters in every book.  Even tougher for me to take is how sounding out S-A-W gets pronounced 'was'  'no' and 'on' are regularly interchanged.

Soon this will be a slight bump on our path to fluent reading, but right now it's a hill.

The benefit to homeschooling is that we don't have anyone to impress, no one to say 'Mrs. Wilson, he's not reading at level blahblah yet'   He will read. Fluently. When he is ready.  The LEGO goal seems to be a good reward for him and best of all, a motivator to continue trying. 

I'm being called to read another book...

homeschooling

3rd day of school for us.

3rd day of 'I can't do this, I don't know and I'll do it later'

3rd day of 'Maybe I should just send you to school'

My ideals for homeschooling include 3 kids who care about where they live, each other and what they're doing. Do their lessons with a joyful spirit, or at least not a grumpy face. A place where, once our studies are done, we can do crafts, play games and have fun. Go for walks and enjoy the weather.

In reality, my kids and I are miserable. Every lesson includes me threatening to call the school and enroll them. That makes my son upset, he dives into his work. If it were just him and I we would be fine. But my eldest, she complains about everything! Even the threats don't work with her. Nothing ever has motivated her to get moving about anything. Time outs never worked when she was little. Taking things away didn't work.

I know I'm to blame for this. I am unable to provide consistent discipline and rules. I can't stick with anything for more than a few hours, if that! I work terribly with a schedule. How can I expect them to follow a routine if I can't?

Today I can feel the stress creeping up by back into my neck.

Now I hear my youngest crying and all I want to do is hide.

CurrClick website!

http://www.currclick.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=90&products_id=14780&SRC=Newsletter

I love this website. All PDF files, making multiple copies for a couple kiddies is easy. This copywork book looks like an interesting way to get C and R to practice writing/printing.

Daily Ramblings of a Homeschooling Mom

Nice title, but what does it mean?

I am listening to Calla use Spellingcity.com for her spelling practice. The other 2 are napping. A rare but momentous occasion when it occurs. I'm thinking of spending time on www.freerice.com but it's an addiction I shouldn't feed right now, with 1/2 my Theory book still to complete, and my mentor telling me I should be done already. The Exam date is May 8th. I should be starting my practice exams next week. It's going to be a tough month.

Calla really wants to start grade 2 math. Problem is, she doesn't realise that we're only 30 lessons into Grade 1 math, (of 100+ lesssons) I am a baaaad organizer and have let our math slip. Hopefully, now that she had a goal, we'll get through it quicker. I guess Calla and I will also stop waiting for Rowan, and just work on her doing it alone. He can do it next year while she's doing grade 2.

A Quiet Wednesday

Wednesday is our home day. It's the day I keep for home-based learning activities.

How many subjects does baking cover?
Well, let's break it down:
1. Reading-I read the ingredients to R, he had to look at the list and find the right box on the shelf. (salt, baking soda...)
2. Math-explained fractions, read fractions, measured ingredients
3. Science-mixed ingredients, discussed whether we could separate them again, baked the muffins

C read a chapter from a Fairy Magic series book with few problems. (ugh, can they PLEASE stop making those books, each one has the same boring plot!) She likes them, they keep her reading which is good. Maybe I can sneak in some Magic Treehouse books for some variety.

We now have sight words stuck to our basement stairway walls. 20 words for R to learn to read, same 20 for C to learn to spell. And I thought I'd never get to the cross-teaching stage!! I know!! I'll put the colour words on coloured cards for E to learn her colours, while R learns to read the colours, while C learns to spell the colours.

I had a great idea for E & R. I want to make (or buy) an alphabet pocket chart, so E can put the letter in the pocket, R can put an item that starts/ends in the matching pocket. If they can play together, they can learn together.

an Aha! Moment

After reading the 10 tips for teaching highly distractible children, I put one to practice today during our lesson time. All R wanted to do was play with the Magnadoodle, since he found the stencil sheets hiding on the shelf. So, as nothing was to change his mind, I just continued our language lesson with C, asking R to join in on the oral repetition parts. He remembered each part, no flaw. Almost better than C, who paid full attention during the lesson.
Now, if I could just be less distracted...

homeschooling freedoms!

The snow was beautiful this morning. And with +6&rain in the forecast for the rest of the day, we quickly donned our snow gear and headed to the hill. It was wonderful! With Calla and Rowan's new sled, they made many treks down and back up again, leaving the yellow sled for Eliana and I to enjoy. What fun! The more we went down, the fast and further we'd go. Eliana had the easy task of hanging on while I towed her back up the hill.

Now it is pouring rain. A dismal afternoon, good for hitting the books in our bright basement classroom.

Quiet time

It's quiet here. We had friends over for a Christmas get together. 9 kids. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed now, the basement, kitchen and remaining rooms are a mess. It's grey and dismal outside. I pushed lunch off too long and now have a fuzzy head.
We decorated gingerbread cookies with the kids. Rowan's had the most icing. Probably more than all the other cookies combined! I had one cookie with just a bit of icing, and still feel off, an hour later. I'm going to make a cup of tea and hope that helps.
It's good to get together with other homeschooling moms. It helps me realise that everyone is doing just fine, we're all in the same boat, even if some of us unschool and other are more conventional.