Peace Out, 2015

I like 2015, as a number. I like that it ends in a nice 5. It's crisp.

I am not sure if the events of the year have reflected the crispness of the number. It's been quite a year. It had a lot of ups and downs. I think that's how I would best categorize 2015: up and downy.

We started the year with water backing up in the basement that led us to thinking about home repairs and the possibility of moving. We started the year house shopping. We even made an offer on a house! I'm glad someone beat us to the punch. We decided to hold off moving until we've got the means to make a more significant jump. No sense going through the hassle of buying, selling, and packing if we aren't moving into a place we really love.

We had our kitchen walls and cabinets painted. We had to strip down 50 year old wallpaper to do this. Please, humans,  STOP layering wallpaper on top of wallpaper. In fact, just stop with the wallpaper in general. It's not cool. We also did a lot of rearranging and shuffling of people and things. I honestly feel quite content with our house now. I like being here. I know Tim is a bit restless, so who knows where we will end up.

I ran a couple of 5Ks this year. I went to the gym regularly for a while. I ran a lot. I did weights. I felt strong. I tried a few different fitness programs and lost 15lb before crashing and burning and putting it back on. Ah, well. I started karate, which I love, and I am hoping to continue in my quest for fitness next year. Maybe something will stick better. I am going to keep searching out ways to stay active. Maybe I'll even learn to make healthy eating a habit.

The girls continued to grow and change. Lexi learned a lot this year. How to swim, ride a bike, tie her shoes.  She played softball and piano and did karate and grew three inches. Lydia came into her own as well. One of the biggest changes I noticed was with her speech. She came into the year talking like a cute toddler and is going out of the year pronouncing and enunciating like a big girl. They're clever and energetic little people with explosive imaginations, that's for sure. They aren't babies any more. They're kids. I love that.

We got another cat this year. I almost forgot that Luna has only been with us since April, it seems like she's been around forever. She's gotten huge. Arya does not like her, and it is kind of funny to watch. But I still can't get them to stop pooping in the basement, which is driving me crazy. Overall, they are worth the hassle. They sure are snuggly.

We got a new niece this year as well, and she is great! Such a happy and sweet baby. It's weird to think I didn't even know about her existence at the beginning of the year! My other niece is 2 and a half and growing like a weed as well. Her speech is exploding. She's quickly becoming more of a kid and less of a toddler. I really love them. Being an aunt is a special kind of awesome, it's a role I embrace wholeheartedly. I look forward to watching them grow and inviting them over to bake cupcakes and watch Harry Potter movies.

Speaking of him, Harry Potter rejoined my life this year, which was a welcome diversion. I began reading the first book to the girls in October and we made it through the first four books and movies before I decided to stop them for now. It's definitely going over Lydia's head and is getting a bit intense for Lexi as well. They were NOT happy with me, they love Harry. Lydia tried to get me to start re-reading them again last night. I understand. There are no other books out there that have ever made me feel the way these books do. So, of course, I've re-watched all the movies myself and am currently 300 pages into the 5th book. Y'know, so I can better determine when the girls will be ready for it.

I read a lot of books. Over 30 grown up books, and I read thousands of pages out loud. I've made time for reading again. I love it. I'm still watching my shows (I just discovered Grey's Anatomy, so excuse me while I binge watch 11 seasons of that) but I am reading more and writing too. And now I have a friend to come over and watch TV with me and I love that! It's fun to share that with another person.

I've been writing a lot. I enjoy blogging. I am trying to keep something of a handwritten journal again. I'm not as consistent as I should be. I should probably work on that in the upcoming year. Perhaps I will buy myself a nice new journal. I received a cool writing game for Christmas that has been a fun way to flex those writing muscles.

Tim and I took our first solo trip this year. It was nice. We flew to Reading, Pennsylvania for friend's wedding. It was weird and nice to be without the kids for several days. I liked it. I did miss them. I'm glad we went. It's always fun to visit a new place. I hope we get the opportunity for a family trip next year.

Tim ended the year accepting a new job within his company that will hopefully provide new challenges, build new skills, and start him on a pathway with potential for advancing. He welcomes the changes. It should be exciting. I'm really proud of him.

The more I write, the more I realize that this was a rather good year. There were more ups than downs, honestly. Nothing gigantic and overwhelming, as we've had in years past. It was a pretty steady year.

The most prominent ups and downs, for me, have been in the way I've felt. It's weird, but I finally found the words to describe it. For much of this year, the way I feel upon waking up has determined my day rather than my day determining how I feel. It's like I'm overcome by these moods and feelings that seem to weasel deep into my brain without cause. It's frustrating, because that means I can feel super angry or super sad for no reason. I'm tired of it. I've been to several different doctors and tried several things, looking for causes and solutions. Yesterday, I spent a total of 3 hours at my doctor's office. I waited for nearly 2, then spent some time hashing things out with my doctor. He was worth the wait. We've got a plan, and I'm hoping it works.

2015.

It's been a good year. We are very blessed. I can't believe it is nearly over.

2016.

I don't like the number as much as the nice solid 2015, but I think I will like the year.

I hope it will be full of family adventures, books, laughter, travel, and challenges. I want to grow. I want to maintain a healthier lifestyle. I hope I will feel more consistent. I hope Tim finds satisfaction in his job. And more money, to tell the truth. That never hurts! Perhaps in a year we will even be in a new house.

So, peace out, 2015.

Bring it on, 2016.

I'm ready.

Faces of Homeschooling - The Hook Family

Welcome to a new edition of Faces of Homeschooling!

 This week, we're talking with Jana Hook, a mom who homeschools by day and works by night. Jana and her husband Bradley share the responsibility of homeschooling their daughter.
 

Today, Jana discusses how her family made the decision to homeschool, as well as her unique experience of balancing working outside the home while homeschooling her daughter, who is an only child.   Take a peek into life with the Hook family!

Introduce your family.

My name is Jana and my husband Bradley and  I have one daughter, Arya. She will be 5 in January. We started homeschooling last spring.


What made you decide to homeschool? 

Bradley was homeschooled and always wanted his child(ren) to be homeschooled. I attended a Christian school preschool- 8th grade. I always felt (and I think it was the Lord preparing me for homeschooling) that I would not send my children to preschool and would homeschool for AT LEAST Kindergarten. Our plan is now to Homeschool all the way through high school. Two of my cousins were homeschooled and did very well academically. That made it positive to me. My best friend was homeschooled and is also homeschooling her children.

Bradley and I both feel the traditional school -especially public school- has a lower quality than it used to. In speaking to other parents, teens and children we feel that traditional school is not adequately educating children. We believe Arya can receive a better education when we can learn her learning style and gear lessons towards that. I also like that Arya is being taught my values and that I know exactly what she is learning.


What has kept you at it?

We stick with it because it is something we feel strongly about. We recently moved. Before moving I had a whole room as a playroom/school room. And I was a stay-at-home mom. When we moved, I knew I had to go back to work, and now we do school at the kitchen counter. Bradley and I discussed it and knew we still wanted to homeschool. I am home with Arya during the day while Bradley is at school. Bradley is home with her in the evening while I am at work.

Arya working on an art project.

What does a typical day look like for you?

It really depends. I work and Bradley is in law school. I am home with Arya during the day and Bradley is home with her when I work in the evening. We usually do school in the afternoon after lunch before we go pick up Bradley from school. We do school Monday- Friday. I do writing phonics, math and Bible during the day. Bradley does the others with her in the evening. We both practice her spelling words with her.

How have you been approaching preschool? Do you use a curriculum?

We did preschool workbooks last spring. We are now doing Kindergarten workbooks for phonics, math and writing. We pick out own spelling words for her. She has learned some Greek and philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, etc) from Bradley (my husband) as her history and we do experiments we find on the internet for science. We do devotions and a kids learning Bible for Bible. We believe in a lot of unstructured/unschooling right now. Learning through play, through life. Finding words, sounds, shapes, etc in our world around us. Bradley has started to doing logic with her. And I'm teaching her our address and such.


What's your favorite part about homeschooling?

The freedom. The other day we did school on the balcony since the weather was nice. We can do school work in the morning if we have a doctors appointment in the afternoon. We can do it in the afternoon if we have women's group at church in the morning. Also, confidence and security in knowing what she is learning. We feel that the usual standard of education has gone down a lot lately so we want her to get a perhaps superior education (not to be prideful or egotistical).

Arya made homeschool completely worth it the day she turned to me and said "You sure are a good teacher."  

Taking advantage of a sunny day by working outside!

What's your daughter's favorite part of homeschooling?


Math, I think. She loves doing school. Tonight when I was putting her to bed, she said "We never did my school work!" I reminded here we take a break from school work on Saturday and Sunday.


What are the biggest challenges of homeschooling?

Sometimes, I am really tired after work. I am not a very patient person. But I remind myself, Arya is 4. She just learning. When needed, we take a break to stretch out, get our wiggles out and chill.


Has it been challenging to strike a balance between working and homeschooling?

It's been a big transition. I haven't worked since 2009. I was a stay-at-home mom until Bradley started law school this fall. I feel I'm fully time homeschooling stay-at-home-mom during the day and a working mom in the evening. But we've made it with so far because homeschooling her was a priority for us.


Are you worried about the social skills your child isn't learning by not being in a traditional classroom?

Arya has no problem with socialization. She has her Sunday school class on Sunday. We have a Homeschool play group on Thursday. We go to a women's group at our church on Wednesday (which has child care so she is with kids there). We used to be in MOPs and storytime at the library. And you don't get that much socialization in a classroom. You sit at a desk. You get the socialization at lunch and recess.


Do you see any special perks or challenges to homeschooling an only child?

It's nice that I can focus on just the single grade level. I don't have to try and find curriculum that works for more than one age/grade at a time. Also, school doesn't take very long each day when you just have one child doing her school work or needing help/instruction.

Jana and Arya

How are you planning to teach your child subjects you haven't learned?

Bradley teaches her the subjects that aren't my strong suit (Math and Science). They aren't difficult for me now- but higher level math and science will need to be done by him. But for other things, I do research online and study up all I can. I am a huge fan of the public library and they have so many resources.


Where do you find patience?

From the Lord :)


What would you like others to know about homeschooling?

It is fabulous. I truly enjoying teaching Arya. I know it will be harder as she grows older. But it is completely worth it!

Thank you, Jana, for sharing your experiences with us! 

Check out our previous Faces of Homeschooling interviews by clicking here. 

If you, dear reader, are interested in participating in this project, please drop me a line in the comments. 

Christmas Cards

Do you send Christmas cards?

I have mailed Christmas cards once, maybe twice.

One year, we got some great family pictures taken at Target and went ahead and ordered cards to send on the spot.

Another year, we had pictures taken near the holidays, and were given a couple of sample cards that we then mailed to grandparents.

One year, I sent out an email update with a few pictures attached.

My biggest reason for not sending Christmas cards is money. It doesn't seem like much, but this time of year is so expensive that it is hard to justify spending another $50+ on portraits, cards and postage. I know that makes me sound like a cheapskate, but non-essentials are hard to work in sometimes.

But I love Christmas cards. I look forward to receiving them in the mail. Photo cards are my favorite, but I've received some really pretty traditional cards as well.

I keep all the cards that I receive. I used to stick them on the fridge or let them pile up on the counters, but a few years ago, I found a way to display them.

I got crafty and made myself a card wreath. (Thanks Pinterest!)

I spent a windy day spray-painting a bunch of clothespins green, and this is what my efforts yielded:

It's my favorite thing that I've made, aside from my children.

Each December, I hang it up and anxiously await the cards that will fill it.

Each year, I get nervous when it is mid-December and I only have two cards. But then my busy friends and family come through and it inevitably gets filled up with smiling faces and beautiful designs.

Then Christmas comes and goes and I am ready to tear down all the decorations.

But I can't bring myself to throw away those beautiful cards.

So I hole punch them and stick them on a binder ring.





Yep. I'm a pack rat.

If you have sent me a card since 2011, I still have it.

It's fun to flip through and see how much everyone has grown and changed. It's interesting to notice families come and go as time passes and friendships change.

Will I be sending cards this year?

...Are you serious? It's Christmas Eve. I'm totally out of time.

But perhaps I will put together an online card, in the form of a blog post, sometime within the next week.

And perhaps I will set aside money for cards to send next year. I could take my own pictures to lower the cost.

I doubt I'm the only one who loves them so.

Night Wonderings

It is 5:24AM and I am awake.

I am not a morning person, so this is not intentional.

I went to bed shortly before midnight. Around 3:45, I woke up and heard some scuttling noises indicating that a child was up and using the bathroom. For some reason, I could not get back to sleep.

I got up and saw that a crack of light under Lexi's door, so I went into her room. She was sitting on her bed, examining her toe by the light of her reading lamp. Apparently she got up to go to the bathroom but her toe was hurting a lot.

It looked like a hangnail/someone possibly biting their toenails (ew) situation, so I got her a bandaid and wrapped it around the offending toe. She then told me that she is too cold with the fan on but too hot with the fan off. I helped her change out of the Christmas sweater she decided to wear to bed and into a t-shirt instead. Then I tucked her back in and made a mild threat about how I do not want to see light under her door in the middle of the night anymore.

She went back to sleep and I proceeded to lay in bed and think all of the things.

I guess I am not going to sleep any more tonight, or should I say this morning.

So here I am.

I threw a load of hand towels and napkins into the washing machine, sent an email I've been meaning to write for a while, and turned on the lights on the Christmas tree.

Since the middle of the night/early morning is the perfect time for insomnia-induced self-reflection, here goes.

I haven't been doing well with my goals this month.

My goal was to write five posts per week, and I have written about one per week.

My goal was to do a work out video two days per week and a walking video three days per week.

I have not done a work out all month and it has been weeks since I have done a walking video at all.

Normally, I would just cut myself some slack. It's December. Christmas is nearly here. It's a busy time.

But.

I haven't been feeling great. I've been feeling kind of slumpy and irritable still.

I wonder if it's because I have not gotten enough (any) real exercise.

I wonder if it is because I haven't taken the time to write and process my feelings as much as I need to.

Perhaps I need to start eating meals that include more nutritious items than ramen noodles.

I need to take better care of myself. I do!

There have been a few times that I have wanted to write, but I've not had the time to create or edit graphics, so I have refrained.

Pictures are nice, but writing is good for me, and I need to do it even when it looks raw and messy and without an accompanying photo.

I'm going to write more.

I need to exercise more. I think it would do me good to get outside and walk, even if it is a little cold. It's been tricky to do this because I don't like walking in the dark and it is dark by the time Tim gets home from work.

Too bad.

I need to move anyway.

I am going to exercise more.

I need to find some warm, filling, nutritious meals that I can look forward to this winter. Easy things, that I will actually make and eat.

I am going to look up some recipes. If you have any, please share them in the comments.

When I was a kid, I could not sleep at all on Christmas Eve. I was up most of the night, my stomach a ball of excited nerves. I couldn't wait to get downstairs and open presents.

When I heard Lexi stirring a few hours ago, I was afraid that she was having the same problem I used to have. Excitement induced, holiday-specific insomnia. It would only be fair.

I once woke my parents up at 2AM on Christmas morning because I was too excited to sleep.

Sorry Mom and Dad.

Lexi's night waking and toe injury seem like no big thing compared to what I used to put my parents through.

Plus, it gave me the opportunity to reflect and get some laundry done.

I am going to try to take better care of myself.

Perhaps I will start by going back to bed.

Faces of Homeschooling - The Copley Family

This week's edition of Faces of Homeschooling features the Copley family, veteran homeschoolers (they've been at it for 19 years!) who manage to run two businesses while homeschooling and providing foster care for several children.

 I first met Julie when my family began our homeschooling journey a few years ago. At that time, Julie and Irl's Home Works business had a storefront near my home where books were sold and classes were offered. I spent quite a bit of time there as Lexi took dance, acting, and participated in a summer camp. Julie was a great resource for me- she answered lots of questions I had about curriculum and homeschooling in general. Julie and Irl have graduated three children from homeschooling and their experiences have given them wisdom. I'm grateful that Julie took the time to share some of her story with us.

Introduce your family.

Julie and Irl Copley
Cliff, Irl's oldest son, and Sara, his wife, and our two grandkids, Violet and Arlo.
Melissa, Irl's step-daughter
Our bio kids: Kurtis (24), Katherine (18), and Karl (15).
Our adopted kids: Christina (21), Jade (10), Raven (10), and Tyler (7).
Two long term foster kids: Shawn (10) and Braxton (11) who has CP and is blind and deaf.
Plus 2 other foster kids. From Kurtis on down, all live at home still except Christina.
My mother also lives in our home.

What brought you to homeschooling?

We have now been homeschooling for 19 years, starting with 1st grade for Kurtis.  We had been looking for alternatives for schooling Kurtis.  He was bored in Kindergarten and had a hard time with peers. I attended an Usborne book party and stayed until midnight discussing homeschooling with the consultant.  From that point on we were hooked on homeschooling.  We enjoyed the families that we met and have always felt that is was the best thing that we could do for our family. I am not against a brick and mortar school because they are also in our life with foster kids, but homeschooling our own kids has been the way to go with our adopted kids since several have special needs.  Christina did Insight Virtual school all throughout high school and now Shawn is doing Lawrence Virtual as a foster child to meet his special needs.

What do your days look like?

Since we also have two businesses and try to work in homeschooling, our days are very flexible.  Usually, I do try to get homeschooling done in the morning.  Jade and Raven are now able to work on their own and do their Horizons Math and Easy Grammar and Daily Grams first thing.  At that time I will sit down with Tyler and get him started on Singapore Math and Explode the Code while I work with Shawn on his K12 Math and phonics.  We follow up with writing projects, history using Story of the World with History Pockets and holidays.  We use Magic School Bus videos for science along with using Evan-Moor science workbook pages.  All the kids basically participate in the history and science together, although Shawn does do social studies and some science online.  Some days we are lucky to just get math and English/phonics done. 

After school is done, the kids usually read, play outside, play with Legos, or do crafts.  I do not let the kids watch TV; movies are earned.  They have lots of educational activities that they can choose from.  They also help with chores and learning how our businesses are run.  From Jade and Raven on up, the kids do their own laundry, help with dishes and cooking, break boxes down, take trash out, etc.  I hope to start Jade and Raven with customer check-out this year.

Tell us about what your older children are up to now.

I have graduated 3 kids from homeschooling.  Kurtis graduated 6 years ago and attended University of Kansas for a computer science degree.  He started his own programming business and is working on releasing his first computer game soon.  He has several partners within his business and has learned more being on his own than from his college classes.  Christina graduated two years ago and is attending Johnson County Community College for a degree in criminal justice.  She recently moved out on her own and is also working at Freddy's and AMC.  Katherine graduated last year and is also at Johnson County Community College in the Chef Apprenticeship / Pastry Chef program.  Katie has been working since she was 15 in a local bakery.  She is just starting at the Pig & Finch in Leawood as their Pastry Chef.

What do you love most about homeschooling?

The best thing about homeschooling is that I have been able to allow my kids to follow their own interests.  If my husband or I are unable to provide instruction in certain areas, then we look for classes or opportunities for the kids to pursue these interests.  Kurtis had opportunities in music for his flute and piccolo.  He was in various symphonies, band camps, and private instruction. He also loved Boy Scouts and became an Eagle Scout at 13. Christina enjoyed volleyball and swimming.  Katherine has always been drawn to cooking classes.  Karl enjoyed fencing. All of them have taken foreign language classes or various history and science classes outside of our home.  Their "socialization" is met through these activities and various activities offered through our homeschool group.  Our kids are more socialized with adults and kids of all ages versus the peer-only idea of socialization. 

What do your kids love most about homeschooling?

My kids have enjoyed homeschooling because of the self-paced learning.  Kurtis said this was his favorite part of being homeschooled.  All are able to compare homeschooling to brick and mortar school except Katherine and Karl.  Katherine was truly the most "unschooled" child in our family and is now excelling in the honors program in college.  Karl will start Johnson County Community College next fall.  Kurtis has stepped in and taken charge of his schooling for me this year.  He is helping him with Chemistry and Physics, Algebra, and Writing.  Karl is taking a Literature and History class outside our home this year.  I have been unable to keep up with the younger set while homeschooling the older.  It has been wonderful to have the older kids step in and help the younger.  Any given day in our home you will find Katherine teaching the younger girls to cook and Karl helping them with math.  These truly are my favorite moments with homeschooling.  Having all the kids to come together to help run Home Works at conferences is also another favorite moment of mine.  They all are great with each other and I truly cherish the fact that we are a close knit family even with all the ups and downs of having foster kids in and out of our lives.

Tell us about your businesses.

We started our plumbing business, Copley Plumbing, LLC, in 1994.  In 2006, we bought Home Works because we loved homeschooling so much.  It has grown from two spaces at the MPE Conference to six spaces of new and used curriculum.  We also try to attend 2-3 other conferences in other states.  We tried running a retail shop for a year but it just wasn't what the homeschooling community needed at that time.  I now concentrate on selling online and attending conferences.  It is too hard to sell out of my home to the direct homeschool community due to city regulations and having a large amount of special needs foster kids.  My days tend to also consist of lots of social worker, therapy, and family visits for them.  It can be very hard to balance the needs of my family and the needs of a business.  It does help to have my mother here to help with kids or take books to mail out.  And, luckily, we have a nurse to come in and help with Braxton. 

(Visit the Home Works website here)

How do you stay sane?

The older kids and my mother help by watching the younger kids so that Irl and I can get away for the occasional dinner.  Irl is great in knowing that I need my time, too, and so I get away for a Mom's Night Out with friends.  In turn, Irl gets out and plays table tennis every Sunday.  We do have a gym membership but, unfortunately, only the older kids seem to use it right now.  Right now, Irl and I just keep going and do what we have to do to keep things going in the family.  They are the most important thing in our lives.

What advice do you have for families who are just getting started?

Homeschooling has been the cement in our family's life.  The most important thing to remember as a homeschooling parent is to be patient.  Enjoy the time with your kids.  Let the kids enjoy learning.  Don't worry about covering everything.  Teach the kids to learn on their own because that is what life is about; we are always learning something new all the time.  Let the kids figure out what they want to be, not what you want them to be.  Homeschooling is such an awesome opportunity to give our kids.  I believe that all parents are able to homeschool if they are honest about their limitations, but they also have to realize that it is putting the kids first in their lives.  There are days that I want to be out in the world with adults but realize that these kids are my responsibility.  That is also the time that I know I need to take a break and that's okay, too.  Have patience, it will all work out!

Thank you, Julie, for sharing your wisdom and encouragement!

Regurgitated Thoughts

I have not published a blog post for a full week! That's the longest I have gone for over a month. I'm truly having one of those "too long" phases with my writing. The blog is living up to its name. I have so many different things to say, and ideas about how to say them, that I'm just not saying anything.

I think I will try to say all of them. A list is a good format for this due to the random nature of my brain and its ramblings. So here's what's been up for the past week.

1. I had a book idea. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I had a scene playing in my head that could perhaps be turned into a book, if only I could figure out how the scene works in the context of a larger story. Maybe it would be good short story material. I didn't actually consider that until I started typing that sentence. Hmmm.

2. I had about five days where I felt terrible. It was weird. I think my hormones were seriously out of whack because I felt really down, yet also really irritable and anxious. It was not a fun span of time. I am still trying to figure out the words to use to describe the whole thing to my doctor and hopefully stop it from happening again. I have a sneaking feeling something is off with my body and I would like to solve whatever it is.

3. I am officially done Christmas shopping and 90% done wrapping! This is pretty unusual for me. I've done the majority of my shopping online this year, which I love. Thank you, Amazon! I am waiting on a couple more things for the kids. I got everything out to start wrapping last night and realized that things looked a little uneven (It appeared that Lydia was the favorite, if you were to judge by the piles) and so I had to even things up a bit by placing one last order. I'm really excited for the kids to open their gifts this year. I think we're going to surprise and delight them. I love Christmas. I don't buy them much outside of holidays and birthdays so it's a fun time for me.

4. I am a Harry Potter nerd. I started reading the first book aloud to the kids in October. Now they are hooked and we are over halfway through the fourth book, which is over 700 pages, in case you didn't know that. I think I'm reading aloud for at least an hour per day. My voice is tired. I've also rewatched the movies recently  and I have had the joy of watching A Very Potter Musical for the first time, which is an absolute delight. Right now I am watching A Very Potter Sequel and I have not laughed so hard in a long time. It's good to be a nerd. It's satisfying to hear Lexi call Lydia a "dung bomb" and to hear Lydia pretending to be Hermione, or Crookshanks, or Hedwig. The books were a very enjoyable part of my growing up and it is wonderful to share it with my kids.

5. We've been listening to the Beatles. I recently went through a giant book of CDs from my high school days. My dear friend Kayla and I used to drive around listening to show tunes, so when we got together last Friday, I needed to get those CDs back out. I also found my "1" CD and pulled that out. I forgot how many awesome songs are on there. The girls are enjoying it as well. They both sing along to Love Me Do, which, along with Lady Madonna, is one of my favorites.

6. I am reading. Tim has been trying to get me to read The Name of the Wind for years. It's one of his favorite books but I've been resisting because I'm typically not a fan of the epic fantasy novels he loves so much. I dislike all the verbose descriptions. I decided to finally give this book a try and I'm liking it a lot. It's like 900 pages so I doubt I will finish it any time soon.

7. I am struggling with what to blog about. I've been working on my Faces of Homeschooling project. I've been tweaking interviews that I have done and have been searching for new people to chat with. It's coming along, slowly. I want to be sure to keep it fresh and interesting. I dunno. I guess I'm having a bit of writer's block as far as the blog goes. I haven't had any great ideas for posts jump out at me recently. I had a goal of writing five days per week this month, but that is not happening. I am wondering if I need to do another 30 Day Challenge in January.

8. Changes abound. In the past week, several potential job changes have been presented for Tim. Nothing is certain yet, but he may be facing an important decision. It's exciting but it is also a little scary to think about the choices we make today affecting us down the road. We also went and looked at a house! It's not the right house for us, but it reopened the idea of moving. I personally am happy where we are but I know we probably won't be here forever. It would be nice to have more space. The idea of moving makes me tired. Changes are a little scary.

9. We're still doing school. The plan is to continue through December 23rd, which would enable Lexi to finish her 2nd grade reading program and start the 3rd grade reading program in January. I like the roundness of that. I think we all like the routine of school. The kids don't complain about being bored and seem much more eager to entertain themselves after a morning full of reading and learning. We'll take a week or so off for Christmas, depending on how everyone does.

So, in a nutshell, that's what is going on over here lately. I expect to write another Faces of Homeschooling post tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Faces of Homeschooling - The Lackey Family

Welcome to another edition of Faces of Homeschooling! 

This week, we're chatting with Gretchen Lackey. Gretchen and her husband Brad have two children whom they homeschool, Evan (6 and a half) and Lauren (3 and a half). Their family will also welcome Baby Lackey in January. 

While balancing homeschooling and her family's needs, Gretchen also runs a daycare in their home. How does she do it? Take a peek into their lives to find out!

What brought you to homeschooling?

So many, many things! First off, I was an elementary teacher for nine years. I taught 2nd-5th grades. I absolutely loved my job and was very passionate about it, but there were many glaring faults of such a large system ran by the government. Additionally, once I had my son, my priorities changed and I didn't feel as connected to my profession as I once had. I always felt torn between being the mom I wanted to be and being the teacher I wanted to be. So, I ended up quitting teaching to open my own daycare, which naturally, led me to teaching within the daycare, and eventually, homeschooling.

The kids on their first day of school. 

What has kept you at it? 

Some days, I don't know! But, mostly, I have channeled my love of teaching and learning into my own family which is extremely rewarding. In some way, I have guided a majority of their learning and been there to see all of their "a-ha" moments. I am blessed that my children love to learn, read, and absorb knowledge. They really are eager students, which definitely helps in those tough moments.

Walk us through a typical day in your school.

We are probably different from some homeschool families because we run an in-home daycare alongside homeschooling. So, our mornings are spent welcoming the kiddos to our home, eating breakfast together, free play, then about an hour to an hour and a half of preschool activities right before lunch. Usually these activities include an engagement activity around a central theme that we have been exploring. Then, we'll read a related story, participate in a kinesthetic activity or experiment, do a craft or follow-up activity. Most of this time has been focused around letter recognition, days of the week, number sense, or other preschool standards. All daycare kiddos, as well as my own daughter, starting at about age two typically participate during this time. My son is either my "co-teacher" or he does his own thing at this time. Usually, he is right alongside helping out our littles. I love to see him teaching the little ones; he is so gentle and patient with them.

Evan's school work is mostly done in the afternoon. After lunch, we have about an hour of quiet time for the bigger kids or nap time for the littles. Then, Evan gets started on school. He is doing Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool this year and really enjoys it. It is mostly done online, but there are a lot of experiments and engaging hands-on activities as well. Typically his school work takes about 1-2 hours depending on the day. If needed, he'll take a couple ten minute breaks throughout that time. I am usually with or near him guiding him or helping if need be. He is currently capable of doing about half of his work independently, but we enjoy doing it together as well- I learn so much from teaching him!

After he is done with his work for the day, Evan & I co-teach two of the older girls, Lauren, and a 4-year-old daycare kiddo, the preschool curriculum on Easy Peasy, which is mostly literacy based right now. So, I'll supplement with some math games or other learning activities as needed. This preschool time is usually about 45 minutes or so.

Working hard and having fun!

Do you have a Secret Weapon or Hidden Gem that you'd like to share?

I don't know that it's a secret weapon, but I struggle with anxiety and have just learned that sometimes I have to relax. Rome wasn't built in a day, right?! The same goes for homeschooling, not everything will come together at once and some days, nothing does! But, I just remind myself to keep things in perspective and to not be so hard on myself if things don't work out the way I had hoped or imagined. Tomorrow is always another day to make it right.

Lauren practicing her letters in shaving cream.

Favorite moments?

I have so many! Reading with my kiddos every day is huge for us. I also love that at any point during the day I can pull my kiddos close and just cuddle them and let them know that I love them. And, I absolutely treasured teaching my son to read from infancy to now. It's been an amazing, constantly progressing and evolving process, but so incredible to get an up-front seat for!

A pajama day read-a-thon.

Biggest challenges?

The one thing that we struggle with each day is writing. Evan will fight me on him having to write the smallest of sentences just because he doesn't like to do it. So, we are working on that. Also, some days, motivation to "do school" dwindles now that I am so pregnant & exhausted! But, I typically work through that! ;)

How do you pick curriculum?

Last year, which was the first year that I was consciously homeschooling, was Evan's kindergarten year. I created all of the curriculum for him based on month-long thematic units of particular areas of interest to him or things I thought he'd enjoy. So, all of the subjects- math, science, history, literacy- were worked into one particular theme each month. I got most of my resources from various blogs, experience, teaching manuals, and, of course, pinterest. I did the same with preschool plans last year as well, while using the same themes, concentrating on different indicators for the little ones.

This year, I knew that I wouldn't be able to be so hands-on in the curriculum creation department since I am expecting and due in the middle of our school year. So, I wanted to choose a curriculum that was all there for me, which ended up being Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool. At first, I was hesitant to use an online curriculum of sorts because I didn't want the kiddos on the computer all the time. I wanted their learning to be more engaging and active. But, after looking through Easy Peasy, researching it, and learning from other families who used it, I thought that a lot of it was quite hands-on, motivating, and interactive. So, we gave it a chance. And, it has been wonderful! The children love it and are learning so much. Plus, when the baby comes, we will hopefully be able to stay reasonably on track with our school work.

Evan showing off his model of The Great Sphinx .

When do you lesson plan?

With Easy Peasy, there isn't much lesson planning that I do. Typically, on Sunday night, I take some time to look over what I anticipate Evan doing the following week and print anything that is applicable. Also, I determine if I want to make any substitutions or additions to what is planned in EP. For the preK activities, I have to devote a little more time (probably about 2 hours a week) drawing on various resources I've found and putting together what looks like a good plan for the kiddos. I do this on Sunday evening as well.

How do you homeschool while nursing/with an infant?

Since I run a daycare, I am faced with this challenge daily. Our major chunks of homeschooling times occur throughout the day when the younger kids are sleeping. For our morning preschool time, the youngest child here (18 months) is napping. Then, in the afternoon, when a bulk of our work gets done, the toddler aged kids are napping. However, I have a feeling that once January comes and I will be nursing a newborn, all of this will be up in the air!

Lauren proudly showing off some flowers she planted.

Where do you find the patience?

Some days are easier than others, but I have been blessed with a natural patience for children. And, I pray! I pray a lot!! ;)


What do you say to people who say, "I could never do that--I don't know enough about all the subjects kids need to learn!"

Evan with his tomato plant.

So far, I just kind of laugh it off and reassure them that I too, don't know everything. But, there are so many helpful resources and guides to ensure that I am not messing it up too badly!





How do you respond to,"Are you worried about the social skills your kids aren't learning by not being in a traditional classroom?"

Oh, this question! Usually, I just respond with a generic, "No, I'm not." Typically, people don't really go much further with that line of questioning. But, I have many, many thoughts that I would share if pressed. Kids don't need to be in homogeneous peer groups for a majority of their educational experiences- most adults aren't! My children are learning how to socially interact with children their own age, younger, and older than themselves. Also, school settings really aren't the best atmosphere to develop social skills. A lot of what happens in school is too structured (learning conversations) or not structured at all (recess situations). Children learn conformity in schools and rarely learn the value of uniqueness or being able to get along with all ages. Additionally, my children are learning how to get along with people of many walks of life, not those who are ultimately very similar to themselves.


How do you find balance?

This is tough. I am a perfectionist by design and it is hard for me to balance work, homeschool, being a good wife and mother. But, the bottom line is prioritizing and trying my hardest to do as well as I can at any given time in any of those arenas. Sometimes, one area demands more of my time and I have to step back and decide what I can take off of my plate for awhile. Then, the scales will shift to another area demanding more of me. It's a constant evaluation of myself and my surroundings. And I can't forget that I need time to spent solo and some time with friends, too.

The kids unwrap brand new school supplies they received during a First Day of School Scavenger Hunt. 

How do you teach your child something you don't really understand?

In these cases, we do research together. I am not ashamed to be a constant learner. In fact, my children eat it up! They love teaching me or discovering alongside me. We are all in this together.


How do you go about your schedule when you teach different grades?

It goes back to balance and prioritizing. Also, determining if there is any aspect of the different levels that can be taught using the same concept or theme, but going deeper with those in the higher grades.

Hard at work in their school space!

Do you plan to homeschool through graduation?

This question is very up-in-the-air. Right now, we are taking it year-by-year and continuing because it works best for now. I am absolutely falling more in love with homeschooling the more experience I gain, but you never know what could happen in the future.


What would you like others to know about homeschooling?

There are a lot of things I wish people understood about us as homeschoolers:

1. We aren't weirdos or religious fanatics or eccentrics, we are just doing what we feel is best for our family at this time. 
2. We love our children with all of our hearts and want to extend that love to their education and just to be with them as much as we possibly can! 
3. My children are social, smart, creative beings- have a conversation with them and you will discover that beyond a doubt. 
4. Homeschooling and public education are not foes. One is not better or worse than the other. Both are choices that families can make. 
5. I absolutely love homeschooling and feel incredibly blessed that I have been led down this path.

The whole family celebrating the Royals' victory together. 

Thank you Gretchen for sharing your wisdom and for giving us a peek into your world!

If you'd like to be a part of the Faces of Homeschooling project, just leave a message with your contact information in the comments.

Pumping Iron

Ever since my 4-year-old was born, I have not felt entirely like myself.

I've experienced exhaustion, anxiety, and irritability in varying degrees unlike I'd ever felt before she was born. I haven't felt that great and it has been frustrating. I've been to a variety of doctors in search of answers and have tried different medications without finding anything that got me back to feeling like myself in the long term.

I think I might finally be on to something.

Over the summer, I had my blood checked and discovered that my iron was freakishly low, so I've been on supplements since then. At a recheck in November, my ferritin level had climbed from 4 to 22, so I'm making progress, but I still have a ways to go. According to my doctor (and quite a bit of research I've read) a woman's ferritin should be a minimum of 30, with 50-100 being better.

The other day, my husband Tim sent me this article called The Missing Element in Female Fitness - The Iron Deficiency Epidemic, and I wanted to share it with you all because I found it to be really informative and pertinent to women's health.

The write explains that there are subtle levels of having low iron, and that even a slight deficiency can cause the symptoms I was experiencing. I'd been feeling exhausted and irritable (outside of what is normal for a mom of two) for quite some time and had had so much trouble pinpointing exactly what was causing it.

The writer goes on the explain the difference between adequate and optimal iron levels and that many general practitioners differ as to what level of iron they consider to be fine for women. I've been to a multitude of doctors in the past few years, and this was the first time my iron level was mentioned. I'm wondering how long I've had low iron for and if it is the main cause of the issues I've been dealing with off and on since Lydia was born over four years ago. Time will tell, I suppose. I hope I continue to feel better as the iron stores in my body climb to where they need to be.

By sharing what I have gone through, I hope you're moved to do a few things.

First, I think having a physical and blood work done on a regular basis is important. Especially if you aren't feeling like yourself. Our insurance completely covered a physical for Tim and I both this year. My doctor asked questions pertaining to nearly every area of my body and in turn, helped me solve a few other minor issues I've been experiencing but never would have thought to ask about.

Second, I think it is crucial that we busy moms take the time to take care of ourselves. Approach your health issues the way you'd approach your kids' health issues- do your research, speak with your doctor about your concerns, and take care of yourself. Get enough sleep. Give yourself time to relax now and then. Go easy on yourself when you are feeling under the weather. You can't take care of your family if you don't take care of yourself. Set a good example for your kids.

Third, don't give up on feeling good. If you, like me, have had issues you've been struggling to overcome for a while, I understand how frustrating that can be. Sometimes it just feels like it'd be easiest to accept feeling crummy and give up on finding a cause. Please don't give up on yourself. Keep searching until you find a doctor who is willing to stick with you until you find answers. 

So, my iron is (hopefully) still on its way up and I am feeling much better than I have in a long time. The quest for wellness is hard, but worth it. I want to encourage you to seek out a state of feeling good. If you don't feel good, life can be a real struggle. And sometimes, it doesn't take much to feel better. Get a physical, have some blood work done, and see if there is anything out of whack. Consider it a Christmas present to yourself.

Life is too short to accept feeling crummy.

Hibernation

I feel kind of slumpy.

I think it's the weather, even though the weather has been pretty nice.

Maybe it's the season.

Could be Daylight Saving Time. It gets dark so early now.

I'm not sure what it is.

For whatever reason, I don't really feel like doing anything.

I don't feel like doing my work out videos even though they are only 15 minutes long.

I don't feel like watching my shows. I am actually behind on them.  For those of you who know me well, this should come as a real shock.

I haven't particularly felt like writing. I didn't write enough to do a Too Long, Did Write this week. I'm not even going to go downstairs and create a cool graphic for this blog entry. I'm sorry : /

I don't want to eat salad, or anything cold (except ice cream, there's always room for ice cream) or remotely healthy and I actually like salad a lot. It just doesn't sound good right now.

I want to hibernate.

I want to put on comfy clothes, eat a bowl of chili (with Fritos, of course) curl up in my bed with a stack of books, and never come out.

I understand why animals hibernate.

Why can't I have that for myself?

I have not felt like doing much of anything this week.

I read a book from cover to cover in 24 hours (It's called The Sea of Tranquility and I give it 5 stars) and I just want to do that again and again. I don't exactly have a specific book I want to read though.

There are plenty of books on my night stand, but none of them are begging me to turn their pages.

I could drag a CD player in here and listen to audio books. I've got a pretty funny one going right now. That would be the least active form of reading ever.

I might need to try that.

I am a mammal and I am choosing to hibernate this winter. If other mammals can do it, so can I. I'm supposed to be smarter than them, and frankly, hibernation seems like a fantastic plan right now.

I will fill up on delicious warm foods (Ramen noodles, anyone? The kind in the little styrofoam cup) make a nest of blankets in my bed, put a cat or two on my lap, and go to sleep until March.

I mean, wake me up for Christmas, but after that I am going back to bed.

See you in the spring!

The Cost of Quiet

I like to read.

I like to write.

I like to watch grown-up shows on TV. 

I like quiet in which to do these things.

I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of two chattery children. Quiet is a luxury.

Quiet is highly coveted and highly prized in my home. After a long day of feeding children, answering complex questions, cleaning up cat poop, teaching lessons and breaking up fights, I am tired. I like alone time during which I get to be an adult acting on my own interests rather than those of someone else. I think this is entirely normal. As parents, we all need the opportunity to do our own thing outside of our children. Although I would not change it, I must admit that I have not chosen a pathway that has made "doing my own thing" very easy.

Some of you are in my shoes. You're with your kids all day long. You hear a constant hum of questions and blaming and whining and crying and overly loud voices.  You might even have a baby, and while babies themselves can make finding a chunk of quiet difficult, when coupled with older children, they make it nearly impossible. Some of you have more children than I do, and I have a feeling that with each extra child, the chances of obtaining quiet diminish exponentially. 

Some of you are stay-at-home-parents with school age kids whom you drop off in the morning, pick up in the afternoon, then wrangle with until you cart them off to bed.  You might have a glorious span of 6-8 hours of quiet during the day.  I am happy for you, and sometimes (ok, most days) I envy your quiet. I keep telling myself that if I had all that time during the day, I'd work out all the time, keep the house spotless, and learn some cool new skills. But we all know the truth is that I'd read all day long, in my pajamas, whilst eating poptarts, and only change to go pick up the kids. If you have kids that are gone all day while you are home, please enjoy your quiet on my behalf. Please use it wisely. Please do all of the things.

Some of you go to work, then come home and deal with children until you put them to bed and then crash into bed yourselves. You might get a little more adult interaction and brief opportunities for quiet during the day than I do, but you have to use your brain for meaningful tasks and you are probably much more exhausted than I am. You understand the struggle. You are living it. 

It is possible to create quiet in your day. 

But quiet is not free.

Quiet comes at a cost.

When I took Economics in school, I learned about "opportunity cost" which is basically the idea that nothing at all is free, because even if something doesn't cost you money, it costs you time, or costs you the opportunity to do or have something else. 

You can actually pay directly for quiet in the form of giving your money to a babysitter and then heading for the hills. Sometimes, that's the best and easiest way to obtain quiet. It can be totally worth it to spend cold, hard, cash on quiet.

Other times, you're strapped for cash or there is no one to watch your children, or you just want to be in your own home, in the quiet, and you're desperate and have to try something else. 

Quiet can still be attainable, but this kind of quiet comes with a hefty opportunity cost. In my 7 years of parenting, I've discovered that there are three ways in which I can achieve my delicious quiet. But all three come at a cost. 

Quiet = Gigantic Messes

There are some toys that my kids will play with for hours. Play-doh. Legos. Spielgaben. These toys happen to be, for lack of better words, a real bitch to clean up.  Tiny pieces are spread all over the carpet and under the furniture. Dried up play-doh is caked to a variety of surfaces. Paint is another one on this list. My kids could paint for days but they are going to cover every inch of themselves and the kitchen with it in the process. The way this usually works is that I get out said messy toy, set the kids up in the kitchen or living room, then bolt back to my room to pretend like nothing is happening outside of whatever it is I am enjoying during my quiet. When I emerge later, I almost always gasp at just how awful the scene is. Sometimes, it is worth it. Sometimes, it's not even close. 

Quiet = Zombie Children

In our house, we have rules about screen time. The kids aren't allowed to use screens until 4pm. This is for a reason. Once I turn on the TV, my kids will be quiet until they get hungry. They sit, nearly silently (unless they are fighting over what to watch) like little zombies, their bodies still and their eyes transfixed on the screen. Turn on the TV and provide them with sustenance and I can probably get three straight hours of quiet. The TV can make a really great babysitter, if I let it. If I pass the kids on my way to the kitchen to refill my coffee, I can see their little faces blank and staring and I feel guilty. I feel as though my selfishness is turning my children into puddles of goo. It's unfortunate. Maybe instead of quiet = zombie children, this should say quiet = guilt. Hmm. While I do allow the TV to babysit now and then, I feel too much guilt to let it happen very often. 

Quiet = Sleep Deprivation

This one is tricky. It starts out harmless enough. Yay, the kids are in bed! Time to do all the things! I unload the dishwasher while listening to an audiobook. I put on a workout DVD. I read my book. I take a shower. By then, two or three hours have passed and I should probably get myself to bed. But I don't. Because I am way behind on my shows. And my book is SO good.  And I have a funny idea to write about. So instead of going to bed, I keep reading and watching Netflix and blogging and before I know it, I'm doing the math and my kids are going to be up in less than 5 hours. Crap. I'm going to feel this in the morning. The next day will be long, and I'll be cranky with my kids because of my poor choices. But the quiet is just so enticing. I'm a night owl, and I find myself making this choice a lot. And therefore I am exhausted most of the time. 

I was given the gift of quiet, but it came with a huge side of tired. 

In short, there's a reason why my house is a mess, screens sometimes babysit my kids, and I am frequently tired and cranky. I just need some quiet in my days to keep me sane.

What is the cost of quiet in your household?

Faces of Homeschooling - The Hoagland Family

Welcome to another edition of Faces of Homeschooling! 

This week, you'll get a peek inside the lives of the Hoagland family. 

Mom Melanie and Dad Brian have two daughters who are 7 and 4.

What brought you to homeschooling?

I never wanted to homeschool, especially as my firstborn approached kindergarten age. We just butted heads too much. But I also didn't want to send her to public school - she was just too easily influenced, and I didn't like where that was going. So we talked private school for a while. But my husband came from a big pro-homeschool church and his sister was homeschooling all 6 of her kids. So when he asked me to consider homeschooling our kids it wasn't a surprise, but I was NOT happy about it. I agreed to pray about the decision, went to bed, and woke up the next morning super excited about the idea! I guess that's what you'd call an answer to prayer. :)

The Hoagland family's homeschooling space.

What has kept you at it?

Sheer will. Seriously. I've had days where I literally almost called to enroll her in the local public school. But then I would tell myself that I would probably regret that decision the next morning. It takes reminding myself why we are doing this... sometimes hourly. :)

Walk us through a typical day in your school.

Typical? That means a schedule.... hmmmmm. Well, we have a fairly basic layout of our day. Get up around 7:30. I read to them while they drink their morning cup of milk. Then we eat breakfast, get dressed and ready, and start school around 9:00 or 9:30. First we do Bible together, then my 2nd grader works on some things independently (cursive handwriting, spelling, and math) while I go through my 4-year old's pre-k curriculum with her. How much she and I get through depends on her mood. :) Then I do history, language arts, and science with my 2nd grader again, while the preschooler does some on-line learning games. We can usually get done around 11:00 or 11:30, but there are days it takes us until 1:00. It all depends on how motivated the girls are to finish their work. We do a lot of extracurricular things in the afternoons and evenings.

Panning for gold at Mahaffie Farmstead.

Favorite moments?

Seeing my oldest "get" reading, and watching her take off with it. Learning and watching their strengths, and not just being told by their teacher once a semester. Like discovering that my 4-year old has a serious math bent. It's so awesome!

Biggest challenges?

Ugh. The lack of motivation and perseverance (some days) of my second grader. It can take 15 minutes to get through math, but sometimes it takes 2 hours. Very frustrating.

What do you (and your kids!) like best about homeschooling?

My fave thing about HS is the flexibility we have in our schedule. Fun new park to visit on a beautiful fall day? Girls, let's do double school tomorrow! Family in town? We'll work some extra to get done early. Vacation in October? Take the books with us in the car. Also, the community and support there is in the HS world. My kids and I have made some great friends doing this. And I think they would say the same thing. I point out to them frequently that they would just be getting back from school at 3:30 in the afternoon, followed by an hour of homework. They love not having to get up early in mornings too.

Tribal necklaces and bark "cloth" that were part of a unit on Africa.

What have you learned in your time as a homeschooler?

Patience. Perseverance. Humility. Complete dependence on God.

Tell us about the curriculum you use. How did you select it?

Trial and error! We pick some things that I think they'll love, and 2 months into the year I see it's not working at all. So we switch, and we CAN! I love that. We used Logic of English to teach reading and I really loved it. Now that we finished that one, we are doing Rod & Staff for spelling, and just reading & writing poems for LA. Life of Fred for my non-math-loving 2nd grader. Reading really cool living books for Early American history. And Rod & Staff Pre-K books for my 4-year old. Those are really great! We do Notgrass Draw-to-Learn Bible with both of the girls.

A peek at the curriculum the girls use!

Do you have a "Hidden Gem" or "Secret Weapon" to share with other parents?

Let it go. If it's not working, it's ok. Just let it go. Not worth your relationship! A really great book I would recommend is "Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace" by Sarah Mackenzie. Very game-changing book that all HS moms should read.

How are you going to teach your kids subjects that you haven't learned?

Oh dear, I haven't gotten that far yet. I have no idea. I will say though, that I am learning right alongside them. It's really fun! Hopefully I will approach those subjects the same way.

What about socialization? Are you worried that your kids are missing important skills by not being in a traditional classroom?

Seriously? If my kids were any more "socialized" we wouldn't have any time for school! And no. A traditional classroom is not prep for "real life". As mom, I have the opportunity to instill our family's values in my kids before we send them out into the wide world. In a classroom, they learn their peers' values. Which aren't much to speak of. We are involved in enough other activities to teach them skills like taking turns, helping out, being kind to each other.

A chromatography experiment in which the colors separate as the liquid moves up the paper.

How do you find balance between homeschooling and your other responsibilities?

I don't! Ha ha! Don't show up at my house unannounced please! :) We get school done in the mornings, so we can get the house cleaned/laundry done/dinner made in the afternoons. That's the plan at least. Some days we just have to take a day off (or have a light day) for getting things done.

How would you respond to someone who says they are not patient enough to homeschool?

Then don't. I don't think everyone must homeshool. Although if you feel like this is something you are supposed to be doing, consider it a great growth opportunity! I'm not patient either, but I am learning to be. Slowly. It's like saying that you aren't fit enough to work out. Hmmm. How is that ever going to change?

What keeps you sane?

My HS friends! I live for our weekly get-togethers! And the chance to have spontaneous down-time during the day.

Watching a blacksmith at Mahaffie Farmstead.

What would you like others to know about homeschooling?

You CAN do it. It's the best, hardest, coolest, most challenging adventure you will embark on. But having the opportunity to teach your child not only school subjects, but also values and life skills, while watching them grow and grow up is priceless. I wouldn't trade it for anything.