summer is half over

I cannot believer that summer is half over. I have spent half of it obsessing over what to do next year for curriculum. While "I" love Tapestry of Grace and have learned so much from it my kids are barely tolerating it and we are just dragging our way through the school day. Don has encouraged me to try something new by doing some old. Once upon a time I loved to homeschool and I loved to teach and my kids loved to learn. Soooo we are returning to KONOS. I know my kids will love this I just need to make sure I can be prepared. So now I am obsessing over what units to teach in KONOS and for how long. We have chosen the Russian study and I am not sure how long to make this study and who to include.

Speaking of returning, we have started to use the PEGS chore system again. Mainly it keeps everyone accountable not just in chores but in behavior attitude and communication. It helps me remember to praise and reward for good behavior, attitude or communication. On Sunday Noah came to me to button his pants and I had Aliyah in my arms, Melaina totally unprompted said here I will help you Noah. ah hah, she gets a green disk. They save up their green disks for prizes. http://www.familytools.com/ They are saving for candy bars, rent a dvd, walk with mom or dad, an extra 30 minutes at night etc.

This is Melaina earning a green disk. She is saving for gum

Comments

Brain Cells

Josiah (11) total left brain. This looks identical to the one he was shown. Ben, age 12 (learning delayed) When snapping the picture of his cell. He hollared "wait, I think it blinked" Then of course he laughted hysterically. Ben is definitely right brained. Melaina is 9 and is left brained. While her brain cell was not detailed her explanation sure was. On our journey I have learned so much about my children. One of my favorite things about Konos is observing my children. By nature I like to jump in and take over and I like things done just so. Left brained I guess. But by sitting back and observing and letting my kids do the work they learn so much more and I learn about them. What they think, how they tick, there sense of humor. The three brain cells my kids made were a true reflection of their personalities. They each took their time and were serious about their project. The younger kids (1st, K and preK) did not participate in this. They were busy making ta...

Jordan Lee

Jordan Lee entered this world still on February 10, 2011 at 10:35 pm weighing 3 ounces and was 7 inches long. He was a perfectly formed baby boy. He was in his 16th week of pregnancy. This is his story. After his big brothers birth, his mom and dad wrestled with trusting God to bring more blessings. In April of 2010 they took a huge leap of faith and said yes to God. They began praying for him, asking God for a brother for his brothers and sisters to grow up with and to help teach him to serve and love one another and God. They discovered he was on the way on their 24 th Anniversary. They kept this little one a secret and struggled through fatigue and nausea waiting for the day it was safe to share the news. They were waiting for his mother’s first doctor’s appointment to confirm he was safe before sharing this joyous news. The plan was to begin doctor visits on February 1 st . On January 19 th his mother had some cramping and spotting. It was just once but ther...

I yearn for order, I love order, I crave order.

Messes seem to paralyze me. You would not guess this from the state of my house. (this is our sock and laundry pile) However, I am also a low key, not a high energy person mostly due to health issues and fatigue. So... I plan. I love to plan actually. I plan meals, I plan organizational ideas, I plan school, I plan to plan. My school year starts out with me reflecting on what I didn't like and did like about the last school year. There are some years I realize that we used a method or curriculum that is diametrically opposed to our homeschool philosophy. This past year is a good example of this reflection. For our family, workbooks aren't necessarily a good tool for us to learn, neither are lapbooks. This year I picked up a workbook for everything. I even had more than one for most subjects. Just the 3 R's took hours, retention was lower than I wanted and the fun Konos stuff tended to be left out in favor for, another workbook. So armed with ...

The HerdKeeper

Search This Blog