I have written several post about AJ in the past. He has struggled for many years with learning disabilities primarily in the area of reading and writing. I also posted how this year has been his year or growth. Yesterday he uttered words that I would count as my most treasured since I began homeschooling 8 years ago.
""I LOVE reading."
To hear this from Maddy, Ginny or Gabby would be nice and not unheard of. They are each natural readers who required very little instruction to learn to read. But AJ... it was 4 years of rigorous instruction and going over and over the phonetic rules again and again. It was special colored paper and little colored transparent rulers, it was large fonts on the nook. In short it was the biggest challenge I have ever faced and it was likely the same for him.
So this year when his reading just exploded I sighed with relief a little. I never expected him to begin to love reading. It is still a challenge for him at times when he sees the words differently than they are written, but he is loving it. My in-laws bought him a boxed set of the How To Train A Dragon books for Christmas. These are silly, nonsensical books with crazy drawings but plenty of challenging words. He has devoured them. I rarely see him without one in his hands. He is reading in the car. He is reading on park benches. He is reading by booklight late into the night.
And he loves it.
He has excitedly reported to me that he is on his fifth book since Christmas. Five books in four weeks or so. Not a bad accomplishment for anyone let alone a boy with learning disabilities. This year has by far and away been our very best homeschooling year. We have found curriculum we love and all of us- including me, are growing in our knowledge. I am already looking forward to planning next year and praying fervently that it goes as well as this year has gone. Is it possible that we have finally hit our stride? I think so!
I almost type Scrapventure in my title until I realized that I really hate when people mash words together. It's just not my thing. I think I have finally caught up on all the sleep I missed out on while I was cropping with my friends. The first night I went to bed after 2 am and the second night it was after 3 am. Since I have been home I think I have been in bed before 11 pm every night and for those who know me, this is unheard of!
I completed over 35 layouts on my weekend and I wanted to post a few more of them on the blog for all to see. Now I have to get the gumption to upload them to Costco and have them printed. One great thing that came out of the weekend is that I am fired up to work more on my scrapbooks. The downside? Finding the time to do it!
I'm not one to sugar coat the realities of having a large family. It would be very easy for me to state that I have ample time to give each and every child and my husband the exact amount of my time that they need to feel complete. I certainly try to be there for all of them but the truth is I am spread thin. There are certainly positives on the flip side of this, my kids are very independent and are strong self motivators and logical thinkers. I just can't always devote time to work out every issue with them and they know this and thus move to figure it out themselves. This should not be taken that I ignore my children, truthfully I spend every waking minute with them on most days but generally as a whole group or a partial group.
I know many parents who eschew the idea of individual time at all. While I do think that parents coddle their children at times and do not expect a whole lot of them, I do think there is some merit in carving out a niche of time to spend with each person on their own. When I am alone with one of my children I get a glimpse into what is going on inside their little head. I see a part of them that they may not let out when they are in the group. I think they appreciate the little bits if time we get to spend alone together and in truth, they value it more.
On Wednesday nights the eldest girls have their youth group meeting about 45 minutes away from where we live. At first the thought of having to drive them all the way over there every week seemed like a burden. But after the first week I realized it was a blessing in disguise. Wednesday also happens to be Cub Scouts night. The boys are already gone with Daddy that night and Genevieve goes with them because there are a lot of sisters who meet and do crafts together at the scout house. That left me, Jillian and the twins home alone. Now we head out to youth group and I drop the girls off. This leaves me with an hour and a half of time to spend with Jillian. Just the two of us.
Generally we just pop into the Walmart that is right across the street. It's huge and still has fabric. Double bonus! Jillian and I wander the aisles, take pictures doing silly things, make birthday lists, buy groceries. After our wandering we get a snack and then I might teach her about crossing the street or safety in the Parking Lot. We both enjoy the time together so much and it is at these times that I get a glimpse of the life of a non homeschooling parent. This would be one of the downsides to having your kids at home all the time. You miss out on those couple of years with just the 'baby' at home. God has given that back to me at least for Wednesday.
Of course my children are not starved for attention or wasting away in neglect and lack of love. They are smothered in affection and drowning in attention. But I would be a fool not to recognize that there are certainly some trade-offs in living the homeschool life. Would I want it any other way? No. I think that while I must make more of an effort to spend time alone with each child, I cherish it a teensy bit more than I would if the opportunity came up a lot more often. Grabbing one of the children when I run errands and buying them an ice cream while we pick up things at the store...I treasure it. It's special to me.
And moments like these will always remain in my heart.
I am away on a scrapbooking retreat this weekend and I have to say it was a much needed respite! Who knew there were entire houses available for rent solely for the purpose of scrapbooking? I certainly didn't! So, here we are nestled in a cozy (just kidding...this house is 4000 sq feet!) house and I am getting lots done. Of course I miss all my crew terrible but I received this photo last night and it was water to my soul!
Don't you just love them? They are having a great time with their daddy and had plenty of things to do to keep them occupied. I've taken lots of pictures of this grand house and will post them later. For now I will leave you with a sneak peek at some of the layouts I have completed this weekend.
When I first began to homeschool I would often hear the comment, "Homeschooled kids are weird." On a rare occasion I still do. The socialization argument still continues to come up once in awhile when a person becomes aware that none of my children have ever gone to school. Mike's favorite T-shirt ever has a label across the front much like the 'Parental Advisory' labels that are emblazoned on c'd's and video games but it stated, 'Caution: Unsocialized Homeschooler." To be in on the joke you just might have to have been homeschooled or to have children who are.
I have to admit that in the early days this statement used to get under my skin. It was frustrating and had no weight behind it. Most people who ask, "But what about socialization?" have never given a second of their time to understand the life of a homeschooled child. Personally I do think homeschooled kids are weird but only in the sense that all kids are weird! Have you ever spent any time with a middle school child? They are strange creatures! Happy and sweet one minute, sullen and moody the next. Toddlers are weird, they eat boogers and draw on themselves with markers. Preschoolers are weird, they eat paste and dislike bathing. Elementary aged kids are weird, they talk in funny made-up languages and have scabby knees. Yep, kids are weird.
Unsocialized. What does this mean? Ironically when I googled Webster's the very first suggestion that came up was for a blog called..." Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers". Interesting, no? Unsocialized wasn't listed in the free online dictionary so I found the exact definition in dictionary.com. Apparently there is a great deal of legwork to be done to find this word so I looked up socialize instead. Here is what I found.
so·cial·ize
verb \ˈsō-shə-ˌlīz\
transitive verb
1
: to make social; especially: to fit or train for a social environment
Ok, so what does social mean? Let's have a looksee.
1so·cial
adj \ˈsō-shəl\
Definition of SOCIAL
3 : of or relating to human society, the interaction of the individual and the group, or the welfare of human beings as members of society <social institutions>
4
a: tending to form cooperative and interdependent relationships with others
Oh, I see. By educating my children at home perhaps they may not be able to speak when spoken to in a public situation. However will they act when they live in society? The horror.
My first response to people voicing concerns over socialization is, "Have you met my children?." My second response is, "They already DO live in society." While I do not believe that homeschooled kids are superior to schooled kids, I can say with certainty that the majority of them handle the real world quite well and in some instances better than their schooled counterparts. Of course there will always be exceptions to the rule but there will be those in a regular school setting as well.
I think many biased comments come out of fear of the unknown. The general average Joe knows very little about the homeschool life. Ignorance breeds fear and concern. Some who may be in the field of education immediately feel insulted that a person would rather educate their child in a home setting and not send them to school. I speak for many homeschooling parents when I say that we do not choose this life to insult teachers or to feel superior. Homeschooling is tough!
That tangent aside, I want to revert back to the socialization argument. Certainly there are a select few who isolate their children from the outside world. Let me assure you this is the exception rather than the rule. This is why you hear about it so much, it's news because it is uncommon. My unsocialized homeschooled children have had the pleasure of enjoying these activities over the last 12 years.
Ballet, Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Zoo Camp, Softball, Baseball, 4-H, Art School, Irish Dance, Karate, Swimming, Keepers of the Faith, Cub Scouts, Acting Class, Community Theater, Diabetes Camp, Piano, Guitar.
It's so terribly sad that they are unsocialized. I am not sure how they will ever function in society. ;) Which brings me to...society. Homeschooled kids, or more specifically my homeschooled kids have spent much of their lives already living in society. They speak with adults on a daily basis in all types of situations and they observe a lot of daily life activities that many schooled kids miss. In essence they know what goes on in the real world. They live in it. School can be the isolated place. Kids are segregated into age groups or peer groups and they learn to socialize within that circle. At home, kids are involved in many peer groups (provided they have siblings) and often homeschool group activities include all age ranges. My kids have always been very comfortable speaking with adults as well as playing with and interacting with small children. This is because I have not ever isolated them in a peer group. There are no cliques in our school.
I am confident, and always have been, that there is no social detriment to my kids in the homeschool situation. The proof is in the pudding as the saying goes. This post is not to say, "My way is better." It is to say, "My way is valid." We all make our parenting choices based on what we think is best, one person's best will vary greatly from the next. This is what makes humanity great. The ability to both be right is a great thing. We can all function in the world together and bring our best qualities to the table. So if your weird schooled kid wants to hang out and play with my weird homeschooler....give me a call.
We followed the lead of the public school system yesterday and took the day off in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 5 of our little friends came over to play and silly me, I forgot to even bring out the camera! They all had a great time playin play-doh, building forts, squeezing oranges and scavenging and building in the backyard.
I myself was in the mood for some baking and cooking so I made some yummy cupcakes to serve to our guests for snack.
For dinner Maddy and I tackled a copycat recipe for P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps. We made chicken and shrimp wraps and they came out so very delicious! Thank goodness I have a kid who loves to peel shrimp, she is my designated shrimp peeler! She is also a very good saute chef and hopefully soon an accomplished saucier. We are working on her sauce making skills. I used this recipe for the filling. but I modified it some. (Come on, when do I not modify a recipe? ) I made roughly 2 batches of the filling (because I changed the protein in one batch to chopped shrimp). I tripled the sauce (for two meat batches) but I cut back the sugar by about half. I also added a teaspoon or two of sweet hot mustard to the sauce. We served rice with ours and we also used very fine rice noodles which I pre-soaked for 20 minutes and then dropped into hot oil in my wok to make them crispy. Now that I think about it I was pretty liberal with the ginger as well. I love ginger. My favorite part of making this dinner was when I was talking to myself while converting the sauce measurements and I said under my breath, "I need 9 tbsp of Hoison." Gabby was washing dishes behind me and she whipped around with a shocked look and said, "POISON!!!??" We both cracked up. So the dinner was a success, just make sure if you make it you have plenty of lettuce on hand!
** I promised I would post my recipe for Chicken with mushrooms and brie in white wine reduction. I am still hammering out the ingredients. I will get it up soon!
I finally pulled out my fisheye lens to play with it a little. I hung some things in the freshly painted hallyway and overall I am pretty happy with it.
One of these days I will scrape that yucky acoustic off of the ceiling. Add it to my long to-do list!
Yesterday Jillian needed a bath and a haircut. After she was all fresh, clean and trimmed I put her hair up into two little buns and she chose a cute denim jumper to wear. She looked so adorable and (sadly) a little grown up so I took a few pictures of her sweet face.
Lisa- The Blogger
This is me. I like to think I am complex and multi-faceted but I think much of the time I am a silly, zany, free-spirited person who really enjoys life. I like to make people happy, I like to be happy. I am a sanguine through and through. I love crafting, Pinterest, gathering ideas, computer stuff, watching movies, sleepovers and hugging on my offspring. I don't like internet haters who assume to 'know' me just by what they read here. There is a reason this is called 'Pieces' Of Us. It's just a small peek in the window. You may think you know, but you have no idea.
Mike- The Sportsman
Mike is more than just a sportsman but he does like to shoot a deer now and then. In his other spare moments which are few and far between he is taking college courses to finish his degree or tending to his pack as Cubmaster. He loves to spend time with the kids and they think he is pretty great even if he is a goofball who loves to embarrass them.
Madeline- The Free Spirited Bohemian One
This kid could be happy with just some books, a drawing pad and a pencil. She has an aptitude for art and has really excelled at drawing over the past year. She is patient and kind but has a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Maddy is dependable, if you want something done, she's your girl and she does it with a cheerful spirit.
Gabriella- The Creative Ray of Light
Gabby has sparkle, she has pizzazz, she has talent. She is the kid you never have to tell to practice the piano instead you tell her to take a break. She loves to chat with her friends on the computer (what teen doesn't?) and write stories with her twin sister. She's a practical joker and has a terrific sense of humor. Did I mention she is also a talented actress as well?
AJ- The Deep Thinker
This boy is going places! AJ is always thinking. He is a true philosopher pondering the whys of everything but he is also an inventor/engineer also determining the hows. He spends hours building and taking things apart. We worry that he will one day blow up the house but for now he is pretty darn useful at optimizing our computers and rewiring things that break around here.
Genevieve Audrey- The Spunky One
Spunky doesn't even begin to describe it. She is a social butterfly and she loves to sit and chat as long as her victim will listen. Ginny is a tiny little thing but her spirit is huge and she's smart to boot. She is proving to be an excellent big sister and is teaching Jilly the ropes.
Caleb Allen- The Littlest Man
He doesn't like it when you run your fingers through his hair so we do it all the more. Caleb is just so cute and snuggly. He is always full of enthusiasm whether it be positive or negative. He either really loves something or he doesn't like it at all. We love him regardless.
Jillian Clementine- The Boss
She may be small but she makes up for it big time. Jillian likes to let people know who is in charge and we often have to take her down a peg... or five. She says funny things so often that she has her own blog Jillyish. She loves to use huge words like intrusive and incredible or any other adjective that shouldn't come out of a three year old. She will also tell you that she is too shy to say Hi but don't believe it because she is pure drama.
Jess..ica- She hiccups
She may not be blood but we claim her as one of us. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without her around. She makes us laugh and she can sing like a hamster. Everyone needs a friend with a hamster voice. Now she'll probably ask me to take this down but I'm not gonna. Because we love her.
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