Standing for Spencer

We got to take part in a very patriotic and emotional farewell to a young serviceman from our area who died in Afganisthan. His name was Spencer Duncan and he attended the local High School, he was just 21 years old.

My Mom was here to go with us. People from all over our city and the surrounding cities lined one of our main streets and they brought his coffin from the airport and drove down past the High School and Middle School and past a lot of businesses.

It was very somber and everyone held flags and wore red, white and blue. There were a lot of police motorcycles, and the Veterans Motorcycle Club that escorts a lot of our soldiers funerals. Luckily there weren't any protestors.
It was actually very quiet. Spencer's family also drove behind the hearse, they held up signs that said thank you. You could see they were very moved by the communities outpouring of respect. There have been too many of these.

We are standing across from the Middle school and the high school is to the right of us. All the kids were also standing out on the street. They were very respectful, no shouting or pushing.

Togetherness

I think this picture captures it all for me. If homeschooling accomplishes nothing else for my children but brings them together as a close family, then I will be absolutely satisfied!

Last year Katy and I became so close after spending so much time together. I noticed that she showed more respect for me. How else, but by spending your days together will a mother teach her daughters how a life should be lived. How else would I show them what is important to me, how I do things, what kinds of ideas should be embraced?

We start our day at breakfast, together at the table. Then I drive Madyson up to the local public school and the girls clean up after breakfast. They clean off the table, wipe the counters, sweep the floor and put away anything else.

At 9am we sit down at the table in the school area, and we start with a prayer and then bible study, and then we sing a couple of songs or learn a new one.

Next we do History together and talk about the lesson. By this time it is usually around 10:30am, I give the girls a list that has Science, Math, Handwriting, Spelling and Word of the Day on it with boxes to check off when they are complete.

At this point I work one-on-one with Ava Marie by doing a letter lesson or just reading to her. She does towel time while I am with the big girls. Sometimes she chooses a towel time activity to play with me.

By 11am I am in my office and the girls are finishing up the rest of their schoolwork on their own. After they are done they make lunch and play with Ava Marie or watch Math-Tacular or How It Was Made videos. We also set up an art studio in the basement so they like to go down there and work on projects. They love to paint and sew and create little cities out of cereal boxes.

We also have voice lessons on Wednesday, dance on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, and Youth Group on Wednesday night. We are just starting to get involved with a local group called The Homeschool Hookup, a Facebook group that organizes all sorts of activities and fun stuff for homeschoolers. Most are pretty young, but we have had fun in the things we have gone to so far!

A Recap of the start of our 2011 School Year

And this year we have 3 students! Wow! We had such a great school year last year that I made the leap to bring Mackenzie home also. And this year Ava Marie is really ready to do some table work with the big girls.

So here is our 2011/2012 Homeschool Curriculum:

Katy - 12 - 6th Grade

Sonlight History of the US combined yr 1&2, Horizons Math, The Reason For Handwriting, Sonlight Science F - Health, Medicine & Human Anatomy, Bible Study - Book of Psalms.

Mackenzie - 8 - 4th Grade

Sonlight History of the US combined Yr 1&2, Horizons Math, The Reason For Handwriting, Sonlight Science A - Animals, Astronomy & Physics, Bible Study - Book of Psalms.

Ava Marie - 3 - Pre-School

Various Workbooks, All About Reading - Level Pre-1, Hooked On Phonics - Pre-School, Bible Study - Listening to the big girls read from Psalms.

Ava Marie has her own table, though she is welcome to sit with us at the bigger table. I reconfigured the formal dining area, which had never actually been used as a dining area but instead was called the "children's area" with a small size table and chairs, play kitchen, book shelves, etc. I made it our schoolroom , moved from the kitchen table. Mostly I did this because this room is directly outside of my office and my office door is all windows, so I can be in my office and still see what is going on at the school table.

Mackenzie had been asking to be homeschooled last year. At the beginning of summer I told her I would think about it. It kind of all depended on her behavior. By the end of summer I told her I thought it would be a good idea. I also decided to skip her up to 4th grade. She has an October birthday and so the public school made her wait to start until after she was 5, this means she is older than most of the other children in the class for most of the year.

I know it suits boys well to wait, and I kind of think it depends on the child, but Mackenzie was sooooo ready to start school the year before they allowed it. And every year since then she has been so far ahead of what they are learning, both in performance and perception. She can read the same books as Katy and totally understands what is going on.

I am ready for an awesome year!