Where does the time go?

Man, it's already October 31st!!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

We have been really busy with trying to stick to a Learning Schedule. I'm incorporating many of the suggestions that A's Grandma has given, at the same time trying to be flexible. Last week was actually very difficult! We were experiencing A LOT of resistance. There were many tears. Poor A was really struggling. I'm still trying to figure out why. But I think we are still DE-schooling.

Anyway, today we are going to concentrate on enjoying Halloween festivities. We are going to do crafts, we're carving our jack-o-lanterns, working on their costumes, and then trick-or-treating tonight with our friends!

A little break in the action is a great thing!

Why I LOVE HSing

One of the many reasons. We get to spend time, as a family, doing really fun things!

Today, our little HS group went to a local farm - The Berry Patch. Each kid got to pick any pumpkin they wanted, they took us on a hayride, explained how and when they plant the crops, let us feed the goats, pigs and chickens, let the kiddos jump into a HUGE pile of hay, played with the "potato-sling"(picture a big sling-shot overlooking a field), and then they topped it off with free home-made ice cream!!!

What a super way to spend a beautiful (but HOT) day with our friends and families. It honestly makes me wonder why we waited so long to do it. Homeschooling that is.

I often think about the kids that are in public school and feel really sad for them. Especially when the school buses drive by. I know that for most families, public school has it's purpose. I was one of those parents at one time that had no other options. I wasn't in a situation that made it possible for me to stay home. It had always been a desire though to HS. Since A was an infant, it was something we discussed a lot! It just took me 8 years to make it happen.

Anyway, on a day like today, I count my blessings. I'm thankful that I'm the one who gets to experience these things with them. I'm grateful that they aren't sitting in a mobile classroom with 30 other kids. I'm glad that they can learn through living, through being out in the real world, meeting real people.

I know I'm still really new to all of this, I'm trying to figure out what works best for us, but the fact still remains...being together, learning together, cherishing our time together, is what matters most to my family.

Wow, all that from a trip to a farm! haha

The support of Grandma

How great is it that A's Grandma is a teacher? Well, a retired teacher from the U.K. (Thumbs up).

I was very nervous when the whole HS thing came up last year. A little background, this is my ex-husbands mother! We have maintained a very close relationship regardless of the circumstances. A has always been everyones first priority!

So, they come to the US a few times a year and A visits them every summer in England. They actually just finished building a second home in S.C., about 2 hours away from us. A just spent the last week and a half "helping" them move in, decorating HIS room, watching the cement trucks lay the cement around the back of the house. He also explored the woods, found a waterfall and went fishing in the lake with his cousins!

Grandma also spent every morning doing his lessons with him! She brought some really awesome books over from England. They are not like the school books that are used over here, by any means!! They are so engaging and comprehensive! They are colorful and logical!
The best part is, he really enjoys doing them!!

I want to really be more UNschooly, but when I see him responding to these sort of approaches it's very exciting! And also, Grandma was explaining (which I already KNEW), "one on one is so much more intense" and "you can be so much more flexible because it's one on one" - my sentiments EXACTLY:) I really love the flexible part! haha

I'm just so pleased that coming from a life in public education, Grandma can appreciate and support what our family is doing! She is a wonderful resource.
It means a lot.

War....

The economic crisis is worsening. Families are losing their jobs and their homes. Some even losing their lives, i.e. the father who shot his entire family and then himself because he couldn't find a job! Retirees are losing life savings. And the war(s) continue.

Thank God the election is right around the corner.

Here a some quotes I came across:

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948), "Non-Violence in Peace and War"


One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.
Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976), Autobiography


Politics is war without bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed.
Mao Tse-Tung (1893 - 1976)

Sorry to be so gloomy today... it's gloomy outside as well.

Bumpersticker of the Day!

Jesus was a community organizer.
Pilate was a governor.

Day at the Zoo

Yesterday was Girls Day Out!!! B & I along with a new mommy-friend and her 2 girls spent the day at the zoo. It was a beautiful Autumn day. We took a wagon and pulled the girls around to all the animals. They were so cute. Standing up in the wagon to scream out "HI" to the zebras!

The elephant area was amazing! They have a huge pool for them to play in. As we got there, that's exactly what one of them was doing. This massive creature was swimming & splashing, going under and blowing water out of it's trunk. All this was going on only about 20 feet away from us! It was like watching my kids in the pool. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

Hanging out with my new friend was cool too. She was one of the moms that came to our HS meet & greet bbq. Our girls really hit it off that day. And so did we. Its not that easy in this area to find like-minded people. So I think we have maybe found a kindred spirit.