Abdonded Ship

We did it.  We've got one year of homeschooling under our belts and I've already switched curricula.  I very much believe in Charlotte Mason's style of learning/teaching.  I quote ""In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mothers first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet and growing time, a full six years of passive receptive life, the waking part of it for the most part spent out in the fresh air."  I agree with a gentle approach to my children's childhood, Affording them time to be a child and exploring their world.  I find it important to instill a love of the outdoors and nature for them.  I want them to be able to foster their own curiosity and seek out information on their own one day.   That's when we known we've succeeded as a teacher, when the student is capable of teaching themselves.
We used My Father's World for first grade and I really appreciated the approach in the way they lay out their lesson plans.  I do liked their planning and putting together a curriculum that teaches the Bible, but in my opinion they failed in a few key areas for 1st grade.  I didn't like their phonics program or their math.  Phonics really lacked any true rhyme or reason for the way they presented the sounds and there were no rules as to why.  As for their complete book of math, it's for grades 1-3 and also didn't seem to follow any sort of reason.  It had no real lessons, only work pages in the book to be completed.  Now in MFW defense, I have noticed they've upgraded their 1st grade phonics program, but not the math.  I have a friend that utilizes it for later grades and has nothing but good things to say so maybe I'll try it again some day.  Not sure.  I debated last year, when starting to homeschool,  using Sonlight but shied away from it due to the high price.  Little did I know they had a payment plan.  That's a really nice option.  I looked at it again for our second year and knew I was going to do something different no matter the cost.  Our first year wasn't a total waste, it was a great learning curve for them and for me.  We pounded out basics of learning to tell time, got the calendar down, we worked a lot of character building.  I also spent many days with them outside collecting leaves, bugs, feathers and pine cones.  We walked off Noah's Ark in the backyard, that was a pretty good sized boat and the science projects they suggested were easy and fun.  After pouring over many homeschool reviews I still kept coming back to Sonlight.  I caved and ordered Core B with the first grade readers on a 4 day lesson plan.  I also ordered All About Spelling because they needed a spelling program this year and also because I've heard so many good things about it abilities to teach phonics too.  A little tip, we took the back of a white board ( white board was purchased at Lowes for around $30) and I painted the back of the white board with magnetic paint.  It's perfect for what we need!
For math Sonlight suggests  Saxon Math, but I went with Math Mammoth.   It uses the heuristic approach,  which refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery and it was very affordable.  Probably the cheapest part of our year so far!
The Sonlight box came the other day and the kids were so excited.  They pulled everything out, we put it all together and I got everything ready to go for our first day of school.  Our first day came and after we did our seat work part of the day,.......math, writing, spelling, we moved to the couch with a snack and read all the required reading for the day.  It was such a nice change of pace, being in our jammies on the couch reading about people of the world doing a few devotionals and reading aloud Charlotte's Web.  The kids also brought something out to play with on the living room floor when they couldn't sit still on the couch any longer and I actually think they participated more freely because they were not stuck to a chair behind the kitchen table.  There are questions Sonlight poses for thought after you've read  the stories and I've been amazed by my little ones answers.  They're intelligent thought out responses and sometimes very poignant.   My little girls!
As for them talking in public, we're still working very hard on being brave.  They're asking more often when we go out on errands if they can be brave.  They still are earning "be brave" cards during the week and once they've hit their quota for the week they're allowed to turn them in for a reward.  They do get instant gratification rewards too when we're out, the very first time we stop somewhere they need to 'be brave' and they'll get a Hershey's Kiss when we get back into the car.  Then the rest of the day is for working toward their cards.  I've been doing more of the hand over techniques that one person on here suggested, but still not getting any spontaneous speech on their own, however they aren't nearly as shy about handing over their gum, money or whatever I hand them to give to said person.  They have taken huge strides in the past year which I can not dismiss so easily.  They are much more apt to make eye contact.  They hardly ever hide behind me anymore and I don't have to coax them near as much as I used to to get them to speak.  They will readily answer forced choice questions without much difficulty and I can even get them to parrot back a whole sentence like "Have a good weekend" to complete strangers!  I'm really pleased and proud of their progress. 

Other than curriculum changes we have more on the horizon, but I'll post more on that later.
   Please know we're praying for your success with the little ones that you love who are affected by Selective Mustism too.
If you have any questions for me or comments then please leave them below.

God Bless.  

Continuing Speech Therapy

Last week I was contacted by the kids' old school mainly because I left last year telling them I was still intending to keep the children in their speech therapy sessions.  They listened and inquired if I was going to bring them in this year.  I have to admit, I'm very impressed by their willingness to help my kids and to work with me and my families decision to homeschool.  I also have the opportunity to put the kiddos in extra curricular classes at their old school which would include PE, Art and Music.  I've been thinking and praying about this option all summer and I believe this would afford the kids opportunity to relate and socialize with their former and new class mates on a regular basis.  In their speech therapy, the therapist puts them together with kids out of their class to help with their 'being brave' work.  Since they're not in a 1st grade class per say, I thought that maybe if they were in the extra classes it wouldn't make them feel nearly as awkward when paired with their classmates.
SM kids need plenty of opportunities to 'be brave'.  My children had progressed a good deal last school year and family and friends were voicing they could see a significant difference in their attitude.  I'm hoping all the opportunities this year, especially with me being at a lot of them, will help settle their anxieties.
I have to report my pride.  The kids have been asking to 'be brave' when we go out on errands.  I will negotiate with reward cards or a candy bar if their efforts are turned into audible words strangers can hear.    The last few days when practicing they have been twice as loud as normal.  I've upped the ante and told them they have to 'be brave' to two people or say "hi and bye" to one person on our outings to receive rewards.  They've even been as loud and ambitious when out with their Father too.  It's a small gain, but I'm counting anything that looks like a giant one.
On a side note, I want to express my pleasure in the curriculum we're using.  We're on our second month of using My Father's World and on Friday the kids had to listen to and then draw the story they heard.  The story was of a fisherman, his boat and fishing lines getting tangled.  The fisherman leaned over to untangle the lines and fell in and then he sent up a balloon distress signal.  This story was meant to help the kids remember the bodies of water in the region we will begin to study.  They were able to recreate the bodies of water on paper and then we learned a way of labeling them.  It was incredible to see the light in their eyes turn on when I compared their drawn maps to the globe.  They kept asking if these places were in "real life"?

On Exploration Day we saw these two yellow finch .

In science this past week we've been studying rain, clouds, thunder and lightening.  We've read many books on the subject and now they've even been introduced on how hail is made.  They can answer questions intelligibly on how clouds are made or how you can tell how many miles away the storm is.    I'm amazed how fast they are picking up their vowel sounds and learning how to read.  I've read to them since they were babies and it's hard to tell if they just are remembering words they've seen over and over or if they can really sound the words out.  I think it's a mixture of all the above but leaning more toward calling it a growing ability to sound it out.  It's exciting to see them become critical thinking little people.
It's such a blessing to be able to be home with them and I'm so grateful that I've been given this chance to teach them.  Such a rewarding experience even on the days when they're being challenging and there have been a few so far.  They're all teachable moments.  Everyday we're gaining so much and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.
Be encouraged, stay positive and look for the blessings that each day may bring.

 this post is linked to Homeschool Highlights in MFW at Discover Their Gifts or 2ladybugsandalizard

Pictures of our Schoolroom

Our School Room

I thought I'd drop some pictures of our school room and suggestions of what we use.  Liven it up a little with some photos.  I've read and seen others who have whole rooms and shelves dedicated to schooling at home.  I aspire to have one of those lovely rooms someday, but in the meantime.  This is what we're working with and it's just enough for us so far.  I'm sure as the years go by, I'll accumulate more "stuff" and a shelf to stick it on.    We have school in our dining room, under the sunny kitchen window at a little bar height table.    We use a converted shelving unit that my husband put caster wheels on as the central nerve of the operation.  It holds all our workbooks, supplies and my teacher's manuals.  On the back of the shelves I attached a foam board to hang our morning board from.  So first part of the day I pull this out of the corner to turn around and we go over our morning board routine.  I copied the general idea from here and then tweaked it to my liking.

Our Morning Board

We read our devotionals first.  A dear friend gave this book to me and I really have loved starting our school day this way.  We talk about the days of the week, month and date.  The date cards are hanging on three different hooks.  There are up coming holidays cards and they have their own hook and "special days" such as birthday, field trip, etc have their own hook too.  You can't see them very well, cause they hang sideways.  I got the date cards, the months, days of the week, the weather wheel and graph from a close out teacher supply store online, they literally were going out of business.   They came in huge poster like size, but I cut them down to manageable sizes for the board.  I got the clock from the Dollar Tree.  It came in a big poster size too and again, I cut out just the pieces I wanted to keep.   I saw the "Make the Date" idea but couldn't find a print out version so I just made one of my own on Wordpad.  I put a large piece of velcro under the title and then used real money and put corresponding velcro dots on the back of the coins with another long strip off to the side to keep the extra coins.   Here's a video from 1plus1plus1equals1 explaining it.  I printed off the Days in School at Homeschool Creations.  Thank you Homeschoolcreations.com!  We are using My Father's World curriculum for 1st grade.  So we also do the number of the day and bean counting, on a popsicle sticks to teach place value.  Kindergarten Crayons does a very good job at explaining it.  We do this along with our Days in School manipulative.

Make the Date & Days in School

I got the pledge of allegiance off of a Google image search here.  Just noting quickly, there are some
copyrighted images in that search.

Godly Character Traits from Sarah's Sweeties

I loved the idea of working on Godly Character Traits, but the link supplied from Homeschoolcreations was a little pricey for my budget.  So I found these from Sarah's Sweeties    for the cost of my own printer ink and they're perfect!  There's even a whole curriculum designed for these here at Hubbards Cupboard.  We've been working on one a day, I made the title again on Wordpad, printed it and mounted it on a piece of construction paper and then again used velcro to attach the cards to the board.  I would like to add most of the manipulatives  are laminated.  But if you don't have a laminator or access to one then just use card stock and contact paper or clear packing tape for the smaller pieces.  I've heard they hold up just as well.

We're use the Skip Counting sheets that I printed from Homeschoolcreations again, and they are stored in a page protector that's glued to the foam board.   I love the way she put her morning board together.    But there are many sites that utilize great ideas and layouts.  Here are a few more sites that I like and took inspiration from.
Mama Jenn's Website
Confessions of a Homeschooler Website
1plus1plus1equals1
homeschoolparent.blogspot

A re purposed kitchen cabinet turned bookcase/dry erase board

My Fater's World focuses on one memory verse a week.  Usually a Proverb and I've incorporated a Charlotte Mason system to memorize and review them.  You can review it here.  I write them on the board and then I've also printed off from Mama Jenn.  for the board as well.  I just haven't put them up yet.  I only found them a few days ago.

I've got a bookcase that is an old re purposed kitchen cabinet that I turned over and now it also is a great space for the dry erase board.  My husband got it at one of the big box stores.  I  just leaned it up against the wall and the turned over cabinet makes the perfect ledge to catch and hold the board and all my dry erase markers and erasers.  I originally wanted to put it on the rolling bookshelf somehow, but I think this way turned out much better.  This is where I got my bookshelf inspiration from A rolling easel, isn't it awesome?  My husband did a good job on ours and it wasn't nearly that expensive.  I wish it had one more shelf, I'll have to talk to him for an addition.
(The aloes look pretty pitiful in this photo.  Between the cat chewing on it and us using it for cuts, burns and homemade soap, it doesn't stand a chance.)
That's about it.  Our morning board routine and a glimpse into our school room.  It's meager but it works and we're making memories.

Blessings onto you,

Officially Homeschooling!

We are official.  We're a couple weeks into our curriculum, "My Father's World" and enjoying it immensely.  We're made clay jars that hold scrolls, a worm terrarium, growing sweet potatoes and beans from seeds.
I'm teaching them how to draw and we've created many works of art so far.  My girls are also a lot smarter than they let on.  I'm finally beginning to understand how much they learned in Kindergarten, and I can confidently say their previous teachers have done an excellent job.
It's been trying at times, as usually most new things are, but I think with lots of prayer and a stickler for routine, we've found our groove.  I can say I've truly enjoyed these last couple of weeks....we're on school day #17.  Today I drug out "66 thin books" to help the girls visualize how many books are in the Bible.  They both agreed they'd much rather carry around an actual Bible than all those books.  It was entertaining watching their eyes bulge while trying to pick up a stack of books.  They are enticed by our science projects, they remind me when we need to check on the beans or sweet potato that we're growing.  The worm terrarium did not wow them so I'm going to see if I can send away for some ants instead.  We are also studying how things grow while enjoying the fruits of the garden we planted this spring.  Strawberries are sweetening on the vine, the potatoes are ready to be harvested and I have quite a few onions, bell peppers and even a few cucumber for pickles that need picked.  Ummmm, refrigerator dill pickles!  I'm gonna try my hand at canning this year for the first time and am looking forward to making my own salsa and spaghetti sauce.
So back to the kids.  I really wanted to share my insight on their anxieties and speech interactions.  I've asked them if they like having school here at home and each child has said yes, they're not interested in going back to public school in the fall.  They've been pretty resistant to the idea of starting the Co Op on Fridays this fall as well, but that's one thing I'm going to stick to for certain.  They need the social interaction whether they're comfortable with it or not.  Some of that cognitive behavioral therapy stuff.  I called the school district yesterday to make sure they're ready to go for Speech therapy through the school district and I'm even thinking about making them take the music and art class at their old school.   The school they used to go to will allow their participation in 'elective' classes which I found quite interesting.   I haven't sprung this on them yet, but I think I've noticed a calm that has overcome them this summer.  Wishful thinking?....maybe.  Maybe not.  I'm hoping and praying God sees us through this and that He can lead me to help strengthen their confidence and find their voices.

Long Overdue

Summer is upon us, and me and mine have enjoyed a lengthy vacation already.  My two "graduated' from public school Kindergarten and as I picked them up from their school on the last day.  I've not looked back. This spring I attended a curriculum fair and got to touch, pick up, flip through and ask questions about several home school products.  I highly advise you check one out if you ever plan to do this, or if you're a veteran, then you know the value of these events.  Also, I can't express enough my pleasure of being able to meet and talk to like minded folks there.  As a newbie to the home schooling thing, it was extremely validating.
As I stated earlier, we've enjoyed a summer filled with sleeping in late, staying up even later, playing outside in the wade pool, making mud pies and just generally relishing in our freedom from the day to day grinding routine.  All things good, usually come to an end.  I decided to start home schooling the children earlier on in the summer to make sure I get cooperation from them and that I will be confident in my own personal abilities to do this whole thing.  Besides, if I failed miserably, my back up plan was to send them back to public school.  Now that sentence is used as a threat and the great motivator to get cooperation from the children!  "If I can't get you to participate in today's lesson, then I'll send you back to school and you don't have to be home schooled."    Understanding Selective Mutism as a social anxiety, you can see their motivation for wanting to stay home.  That being said, it doesn't lend itself to CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) but I've got a solution for that too.  We joined a home school co-op that the kids will attend on Fridays this fall.  For now we're getting our socialization opportunities with friends, family and a few select waitresses, cashiers and the librarian.  I'm excited about the co -op, it should prove to be a valuable time for all of us to connect with other families.  
The curriculum we've chosen is called, "My Father's World".  It's a Charlotte Mason"ish" type approach and I'm hoping it instills a love for books and learning.  We made clay jars today from modeling clay and it was fun watching my children trying to manipulate the clay into their own creations.  One day out of the week, typically mid week, is set aside as a day of exploration.  Science projects, watching ant hills, making an enviornment friendly for a bunch of earthworms to love are done on this day.  I'm really looking forward to spending this quality time with my kids.  Watching their faces light up is the best!
I'm grateful for the Kindergarten foundation the children have acquired.  It makes my job of picking up where they left off that much easier.  
As for all good things coming to an end?  I think we're going to be alright, the "back up plan" is securely on hold.  Now, if only I could get a raise?  (My husband loves that joke.)