Weekend of Indoor Fun

I've never really suffered from allergies. Until Georgia. I'm not suffering as much as my children, but my eyes are dry and itchy and every so often my throat feels a little raw. The kids, however, have been learning fun phrases like "do you have a frog in your throat?" and "you sound like you're hacking up a lung!" Since you could see the pollen in the air the last few days of last week, I decided to stay in this weekend.


We stayed in our jammies and enjoyed all sorts of fun and relaxation inside. Jace and Gracie were pretty understanding about this, but Tyler...he wanted one thing. "Ow...ow..." That sound could be because he racked his head on the wall (which he did tonight), you're holding him and he wants to get down (although he's been saying "walk" more than "down" lately), out, or car. This weekend it surely meant out. Poor little guy went to every door, pointing in his cute, new jammies, with boogers running down his face, begging, "Ow...ow..." He never got to go out.

Hopefully this week the allergens won't be so bad and we can have tons of outdoor fun!

Grandma asked if I'd taken a picture of my little beggar. I didn't get one with whining and boogers, but here he is saying, "cheese" for the camera!


So, since I was being a mean mama (or thoughtful, depending on how you look at it) and keeping the kids inside, what did we do? Well, we watched movies, some cartoons, baked cookies and ate them, painted, colored, read, and napped. It was a wonderful weekend.


The kids have already drawn a dozen pictures for Dada. He's been gone for two days. They're enjoying themselves, though. And if it helps them to draw Dada in Army camo when they miss him, far be it from me to mention that he's actually in the Navy. Besides, there was enough correction going on. Gracie, as the teacher, suggested that Jace draw his Army picture on purple paper.


"I don't think so. Purple is not an army color." He drew his on orange instead.

The kids did most of their coloring at their new lap desks. Since we're going to be on the road for approximately 80 hours of driving, not including stops, over the next few months I thought it might be nice for the kids to have an easy way to work in workbooks, draw pictures, read. they love them and have been using them at home a ton!




Jace even hid his CRCT (assessment test) practice at his the other day! These are going to be great not only for the road but also for homeschooling! woo hoo!



I mentioned that we read too. Jace got yet another book from the library that is probably too old for him. It's called Good Bye, Billy Radish by Gloria Skurzynski. I googled it and read a few reviews. It's called a young adult novel. It's a 5.8 level book, meaning it's almost 6th grade reading level. I decided we'd read it together. We've read two chapters now and he's learned lots of new words. Today's chapter was a little sad. Hank, Billy's friend, had to take his brother a dinner pail at the steel mill. (The book takes place during WWI in Pennsylvania.) While he's there a ladle of molten steel breaks and a man melts into the liquid steel. Thankfully we didn't read this right before bed. (whew!) We talked about it a little and if Jace ends up having nightmares then we'll put the book back on the shelf and leave it to read another day...a few years from now. But if he's OK with it, we'll continue reading.


And don't worry, we read lots of other books too. All the kids piled on Mama and I tried to read about trucks, animals, and Fancy Nancy amidst the elbows in my kidneys and the hands in my face.


Let's hope for some clean, fresh air this week, though! We also played hide and seek and there are so many more places to hide outside!

Gebel Family Homeschool Mission Statement

So, I mentioned a few days ago that I had decided one of my early steps in planning next year's homeschool would be to create a mission statement. I first read idea in an article written by Brenda (her personal site) at Curriculum Choice. Thankfully she gave me permission to add or delete from her list of suggested topics. And I did just that. I wrote it the night that Scott was out fixing things long after bed time. He got a chance to read it today and commented. And here's the final result:


Gebel Family Homeschool Mission Statement

I. School’s duration
a. We’re agreeing to one year of homeschooling. Mama will be focusing on Jace and Gracie, but admits that Tyler will probably learn something in the process.
b. Our Family School will begin in late summer/early fall (depending more on when Mama feels settled after moving than anything else). We’d like to flow into a relaxed year round schooling experience, being able to take breaks (or loosen our schedule) when Dada has leave or family visits.


II. Extracurriculars
a. If Tyler still needs some one on one regarding speech, we’ll do our best to incorporate that into our homeschool. It would be great for that to be an in-home process again, but if we need to take him someplace we can do that as well.
b. Jace and Gracie will be allowed to choose one thing to join to begin with. Depending on finances and life we may allow more later on, but we’ll start with one.
c. We’ll find a support group or co-op that jives with our style of schooling.


III. What we’ll teach
a. Our academic goals will be based around the Core Knowledge Sequence. We’ll start with Kindergarten and 2nd grade ideas but will likely overlap with 1st grade and 3rd grade ideals as well.
b. We hope to teach practical skills as well as academic knowledge. Things like sewing, cooking, and woodworking will be included with various units.
c. Fitness and health are also important topics that the Gebel Family Homeschool will enjoy learning about and engaging in.
d. Responsibility and independence will be high on the list of traits we’ll encourage during our schooling and the rest of our lives as well.


IV. How we’ll teach
a. Mama will be the primary teacher. However, if friends or family have any talents we can tap into…we will.
b. Mama plans to use mostly unit studies, working as many subjects (writing, reading, art, music, math, history) into one theme (butterflies, presidents, dinosaurs) as possible. Some will be purchased curriculum but most will be homemade, integrating the things from III on the outline.
c. Mama plans to do lots of hands-on activities and go-sees.
d. We’ll utilize the library, the internet, our game closet, anything and everything we can to learn, learn, learn!
e. Jace and Gracie will both have opportunities to “teach” the other.


V. Money matters
a. Since we’re not purchasing a particular curriculum it’s hard to say how much we’ll spend on homeschooling. We hope to use the library for most of our books and our pretty well stocked art closet for crafts and activities. There will, however, be items that need to be purchased. At this point I’m budgeting $20 a month for materials.
b. As often as we can, day trips and activities will be free. We may invest in yearly passes, though, to the zoo or a museum or some other really cool place to learn!
c. Extracurriculars will need to be less than $30 a month.
d. $100 a year is set aside for Mama’s continuing education.
e. Money may be set aside for babysitting as well, unless some sort of sitting exchange can be found.


VI. Continuing education
a. To begin mama’s continuing education, she’s investing in a few books that she’s previewed and learned a lot from.
b. Mama is attending an online expo this year and hopes to attend a conference or convention at some point over the next year, especially if it looks like we’ll be keeping our Family Homeschool open for another year.
c. Mama will continue to read books and blogs on the subject of homeschooling. She’ll also write frequent posts on her own blog sharing and learning what works for us and what doesn’t.


VII. Record Keeping
a. We have binders for progress reports and select art work/projects/awards already. We’ll continue to pull out things we really want to keep for looking back on.
b. Goals will be assessed in a free style “how are we doing” write up each six months, in November and May.


VIII. Tid bits
a. Mama will take time to herself.
i. This may be as simple as an hour of quiet on the weekend where the kids have to be in their rooms, outside, or watching a movie so she can write, take a bath, or sip wine.
ii. She will also take time away from the house and the kids. Massages will be had!
b. Tyler will be allowed to wander to and fro, but will also have a set of toys that are specifically for homeschooling times. He may get to join in art projects.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to put your family goals in print?

Driving To and Fro

I'm not sure if I'm mentioned it on here, but I drive a lot. I basically have an hour commute each way to my living room. As a stay at home mom I have put more miles on vehicles than I did going to school or working a "regular" job. Most of the time I'm fine with it, though. After all, I chose to have this commute, twice.

See, the year we moved to Georgia was the year Jace started preschool. I found out before moving that Georgia has free, full-day pre-k and I was thrilled for Jace that he'd get so much academic attention...he was ready! In fact, we'd talked it up as part of the excitement of our cross-country relocation. So, when I found out that we'd missed the lottery for his chance to get into the local program I was bummed and so was he. Then someone told us that some day cares also had the same state sponsored pre-k as well. We found one, the closest one, half an hour away and - almost without hesitation - signed him up!

This year we faced a similar situation with Gracie. We didn't miss the lottery, but I didn't have an actual birth certificate for her...who knew? The day care Jace went to was full, but we got Gracie into a pre-k class at a different day care, also thirty minutes away.

I have felt that both times the decision was a good one. But, it does put me on the road a lot. And I see some crazy things out there. I've seen Superman walking his dog and a dog standing on the top of a truck cab...maybe he thought he was superman. (I know, I shouldn't joke about someone letting a dog ride on his vehicle like that, but...this is Georgia. At least he was going slow...around 20 MPH in a 55 MPH zone!)

Today I didn't see anything too insane as far as costumed pedestrians or anything like that. Maybe because it's unusual to have such a slow day for antics I was especially noticing the expressions of the people all around me. I found myself annoyed at the guy behind me who looked annoyed with me that I was waiting for a break in traffic before turning. I wondered what was going on in the car where the boy in the passenger's seat was looking out the window and the mom (?) driving looked determined to keep her hands on the steering wheel and her eyes facing forward. I felt a little bad for the woman looking left and right, waiting to turn left onto a very busy road at a very busy time of day. I was glad for her, though, that she didn't have anyone staring her down through her back window; she seemed tense enough without that!

While I was creating little stories in my head about the lives of the people I was driving past during my commute today I decided to smile. I'm sure I mostly have a rather relaxed, blank face when I'm going here and there. But today, if anyone was sneaking a peek into my mama taxi van they might wonder a little about me.

I was trying to look calm and content. Did anyone see me? Did I succeed?

Will They Learn Enough?

Scott (and others) had three main points he wanted to discuss in depth when the subject of homeschooling became something I wouldn't let him shrug off. He wanted to be sure they wouldn't turn out weird. He was worried I might go crazy. And he wanted to know how we'd be assured that they were actually learning what I was teaching.

I laughed at the first point. They're all a little odd in their own right already, but there's not a thing wrong with that. Everyone has quirks. Where they are educated doesn't say much about how eccentric they'll be in adulthood. And we'll keep them involved with other kids so they won't be sheltered and only exposed to me all day, every day. Now that would be scary, and not only for them. I might just go crazy if i were sheltered and only exposed to my three adorable, wonderful monkeys all day, every day. But since that won't be the case...maybe we'll all grow and learn, and not lose our marbles in the process. One can hope.

Now the third item was something that I wondered about too. I know there are two ways to keep progress in check in Washington, giving the kids a standardized achievement test or having their academic skills evaluated by someone certified in the field of education. That's according to the Washington Homeschool Organization. I get what that means, but I still don't know what that looks like. If the same person assesses the kids progress year after year then they'll see what academic growth has occurred. However, I don't know how they gage that the first year, but I'm guessing they'll simply be compared to others their age.

OK. So...what's that mean for me? Do I need to keep detailed records of everything we do? Do I need to assign grades to work? Do I need to have a portfolio of their lap books and art work and whatever else? In black and white...what do I need to do to assure the state that my kids are learning enough of the right stuff? This had become my biggest concern. Even so, I still wasn't super stressed about it. I figured once I got to Washington I'd connect with others and hear how they go about record keeping and academic evaluation.

Then, last night, I read something that took even the little weight from these questions, off my shoulders. Here's an excerpt from The Homeschooling Handbook, by Mary Griffith:

Consider, though, the matter of physical health: How do you tell when your kids are sick if you're not a doctor? It's easy to recognize a healthy kid, and most parents have little trouble determining when their kids are sick. At some point, parents may need professional help for a a diagnosis and treatment, but noticing that there is a problem in the first place is not something most of us have trouble with.
The matter of learning is pretty much the same. It's obvious when kids are learning, and it's a rare parent indeed who cannot tell whether kids are learning as they should be.

I read this and a big ol' light went on! Why, of course, I know when my kids aren't feeling well. And, better yet, I know when they are and aren't learning. I know when they're interested and how they show that they're not getting anything out of whatever is going on. Who can't read that glazed over look? In fact, our interest in how and what our monkeys are learning is the very reason we're going to be homeschooling.

Cool, huh? Nothing to worry about at all. Later in the chapter homeschooling parents give examples of how they keep records and why. I found something middle of the road that I think will work for us and tucked it into our mission statement (still a work in progress, but coming along!).

Another reassuring thing regarding learning...Jace read me a book in Spanish on the way home from school today. He doesn't know Spanish and I haven't spoken it in a decade, but it seems that he did OK, I guess. Why did he read me a book in Spanish? Well, he has a plan to be a commando or special forces agent, something in the military elite. He figures he'll probably end up in Iraq or someplace and need to talk to the enemy in their own language so that he can trick them and, therefore, he'll need to know a lot of different languages. He decided to get a book in Spanish from the library today so that he could start practicing.

Are you worried they won't learn enough?

Dear God, What Are You Saying?

I've been known to say that life would be easier if God communicated with neon signs. Well, I think he might be doing something similar these days...but I still don't understand the message.

Scott is supposed to leave tomorrow to head North for a short visit with family in New York and then school in Connecticut. He might still try for it, but he might have to put it off for a day. Yesterday the heat pump/air conditioning unit...whatever it is we have...broke. He was going to fix it but the part needed to be ordered. So he set it up for it to be delivered to a company that has done a little maintenance on that particular item before and they'll call me and come fix it once it's in.

This morning we both noticed that our showers were only lukewarm. I don't even know what was wrong with the water heater, but he figured it out and fixed that. Then, while I was at the library with the two oldest kids, Scott heard water running and saw Tyler pointing at the shed saying, "Uh...uh..." The water pump from the well to the aerator was spilling water out all over the place. When I got home he ran and got some new piping and fixed that but now the pump won't work at all. So, he just kissed me and headed to Brunswick for a new pump.

This is all on top of all the issues he's had with his truck over the last several months.

God...you have our attention. But we're merely human...and dense. What are you trying to tell us?

Please feel free to interpret for yourselves and chime in...God knows we aren't getting the message. (He really does!)

Wait...I Should Have Goals?

I mentioned a day or two ago that one of the homeschooling starting points I've read about is writing a family mission statement.

I think this is a great idea. We tend to be planners anyway but don't often set actual goals to meet, or at least I don't. This is a great time to start. We are talking educating our children, right? So, Scott and I talked briefly last night. Being that he's packing today and leaving Georgia in his dust tomorrow we probably won't be discussing it too much more for the time being. But it's on my mind. What we agreed on doing, which we've done successfully with other topics, is think about it separately and use email and phone calls to to come together about what we'd like to accomplish this coming year with homeschooling.

Some of the topics that can be included in a family mission statement we've already talked about and agreed on. For example, our time frame. When we first agreed to homeschool this next year we agreed we'd do it for a year and see where to go from there. We also agree that the kids will be enrolled in something outside the home, whether it be a co-op class or something fitness related, but Scott's leaving it up to me what, when, and where. And I'm waiting until we move to make those decisions.

In fact, Scott's leaving a lot of it to me, in regards to homeschooling and life in general. He has told me before that he thinks so much at work he appreciates not having to do it too much at home. Don't worry, though, if I head in a direction that he's not OK with, he'll let me know. With that in mind, this family mission statement will probably be written by me and approved by him.

I'm not sure if that's a cop out or if I'm just that good!

I have been doing the research and will be doing most of the schooling, so I guess it makes sense that I answer the questions regarding what I'm going to teach and how. I'm planning on teaching the kids together using unit studies. Scott just wants assurance that they'll be learning what they need to according to someone's standards. That's something I worry about too, but I've found a few places where standards have been written and they will be figured into our studies.

We'll use a combination of reading, hands-on, and field trip studying to accomplish our goals. I'm going to attempt to use units that appeal to both Jace and Gracie. I would like to have some things that Gracie is more interested in, though, so that she can "teach" Jace a little bit. He is a little cocky about knowing more than her, coloring better than her, etc. I'd love Gracie to feel some pride and joy in telling him about something.

Scott and I have always tried to allow the kids to follow their natural interests, but we also want them to be well rounded. Boy or girl, our kids will know how to cook, clean, sew, change a tire, use a hammer, and put things together. This will be kept in mind throughout all our studies. Even though I'll be doing most of the teaching, I plan on using Scott when he's available. When he's in off-crew I'll plan a study where the kids can do a little wood working with him, or something fun like that. I'm also not opposed to getting extended family and friends into the mix too. If I happen to know that someone has a special talent and they come close enough to tap that talent for a lesson or two with my students...well, then we will.

That's what I've thought about the past few days. I would like to create a formal statement but still have a few more areas to think about. But I guess I've got a good start.

Hmmm...maybe I am that good.

Four Year Olds Don't Gargle

It's allergy season here in Georgia. A few days ago Scott had a sore throat and no other symptoms. We figured it was due to all the pollen in the air. He gargled with warm salt water and that helped him quite a bit. He also took Nyquil to sleep and something over the counter during the day to continue easing the soreness of his throat.

Yesterday, when we picked Gracie up from school she'd been complaining of a sore throat, made worse by "singing the whole song, so I just sang half the song. My teachers knew I wanted to sing but that it made my throat hurt." Such a strong little girl. When she got home she asked what Dada had used for his sore throat. Strong and smart. However, we couldn't very well drug her up. And spitting the toothpaste out is still a bit tricky, so I don't think I'll be getting her to gargle anytime soon.

What we did do for her is this: I read her lots of stories last night. I figured if I was reading she wasn't talking (as much) and her poor little throat could rest. She got plenty to drink and I even warmed some honey and stirred it in a few glasses to help soothe her throat. This morning before school I did give her some children's allergy medication and clear instructions to try not to talk too much today. We'll see how that goes.

If her throat keeps hurting we'll have some cool, easy to swallow pudding later tonight. Or maybe just chocolate milk. Special treats are always nice when little ones aren't feeling up to par.

Do you have any special tricks to ease the discomfort your little ones go through with allergies, colds, growing pains?