Dear Followers:

Changes are coming. One of those changes is that I am deleting this website. Don't worry, we're not really going anywhere except to a different site. All future posts will be found at my other blog: A Life Conceived
So, delete this blog, and go follow the other one, if you wish. Thanks for sticking by our side for this trip so far. ;)

~V

Happy New (School) Year!

Working hard at hardly working

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but back in November we placed the children in daycare and public school due to my mental health. Between July 2012 and July 2013 I was hospitalized three times because of my symptoms. I was unable to properly teach and take care of my children. Things have been crazy ever since and only now are we beginning to slow down and get settled.

As of the first of this month, J and I are no longer married. We have 50/50 custody with me having the children on the weekends and every other Monday. Since he has them during the week and works during the day, we decided to keep them in public school and daycare. This year, according to age, Lily will begin 2nd grade, Iris will be Kindergarten, and Rose will be Pre-Kinder. Dorian is only 18 months old. :)

While they had a great time in public school last school year, we were disappointed in having to put them there. The teachers were great, loved the kids, and the kids did well socially, but because they are two years ahead of everyone academically, they were bored and we had a lot of behavioral problems. I decided that this school year, if I was stable enough, to continue homeschooling. Due to how the custody is set up and me still being easily overwhelmed when trying to teach three children at different levels and a toddler running at full-tilt, I thought it best to do this on my custody days with the help of my mom.

Today is our first homeschooling day. Lily is reviewing 3rd grade, Iris is reviewing 1st, and Rose is reviewing PK. I was able to sit with them for an hour and help them with any questions they had. My mom helped out by sitting with Dorian and watching Super Why or else he would have caused havoc in the background while I helped Rose. We are currently on our lunch break. I will let them play for a bit before getting them back on to learnings, and then break for snack followed by nap/quiet time. I'm considering having them do a little more schoolwork before or after dinner, I'm not sure which just yet. I may try one today and the other tomorrow to see which one works the best for them. 

My goal is to continue this pattern for the rest of the school year, with exceptions for field trips, holidays, illness, and emergencies. I'm hoping this will help them stay challenged so that their minds will continue to grow and that all the hard work they've put in the past few years isn't lost.

Here's to new challenges in the new school year. :)

)o(

Now and Beyond

Many changes happening and coming soon...

Part of the Wagon

Due to circumstances out of our control, this will be the last year we will homeschool. Next year, the girls will all be going to the public school down the street. This breaks my heart and my husband's even more, but, because of my mental illness, I can no longer handle the stress alone any longer.

I hope everyone has been enjoying their school year so far. <3

Highlights for 2012-2013

August 17, 20-24: Lesson plan prep, classroom organization
August 27: First day of lessons
September 3: Labor day holiday
October 19: Progress assessment
November 12: Veteran's day holiday observed
November 21-23: Thanksgiving holiday observed
December 21: Progress assessment
December 24-January 4: Winter break
January 21: Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday holiday observed
February 18: President's day holiday
March 8: Progress assessment
March 11-15: Spring break
May 27: Memorial day holiday observed
June 6: Last day of lessons.

**Calendar dates are based on dates provided by the local school district. Dates are subject to change based on events and lessons planned and holidays personally observed.

Summer Learning Ideas

We like continuing our learnings during the summer time. It's pretty lax, but lately, we've been so bored! While we do take them time to play with toys, run around like we're crazy, and go outside to play with the neighborhood children, have playdates, or just head to the park, it seems like we're missing something. I don't know if it's just that we've gotten so used to doing more school-related things, or if we really like learning, but holy crap are we bored even though our days are busy.

I'm considering doing the world wonders as projects for the summer. Maybe a new world wonder per week, or even every couple of days? I'm not sure; I'm just now hashing it out. I think it would be something fun for all of the children to do, regardless of age or grade. I do have to take into consideration that I have my own classes to keep up with as well as the fact that we are in the middle of a move.

More planning is definitely needed, especially some scheduling...

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER

We are officially done with schooling! Hope everyone spends the next couple of months having a great time! See you in August!

Week 37: Wrapping it up

We're wrapping up the end of the school year this past week and next week. The days were spent finishing up undone bookwork and reviewing while my nights were spent creating assement tests for kindergarten and 2nd grade. Iris has 70 questions, mostly done with pictures with answers orally. Lily has 100 questions, mostly based in math and language arts, with a few history and science questions sprinkled within.

Making these assessment tests for the girls made me realize my bad study habits. Lily had asked me what exactly she needed to do to make sure she received a perfect score in her exam. I told her to try and memorize as much as she could. She stared at me blankly. I had nothing else to offer. Thankfully, J has been on the Dean’s list for his 4.0 these past four years (he finishes up his BaS next month) and knows what needs to be done to study. I’m hoping he can show her how it’s done. I have always been a terrible test taker. It’s a wonder why I’m still in college myself.

assessment tests

Anyway, this will be the last end-of-week post until mid-August when we start prepping for our new school year. Next week will be nothing but assessments and review and then it’s vacation time. While we will still be doing little things here and there, such as reading, book reports, languages, and a lot of math; science and history will be put on the back burner and we’ll be moving into our new place in a couple of weeks. Come June, I’ll be writing lesson plans, and in July, buying supplies, that by August we can slowly get back to some science and history review, so that by the first week of September, we are a go.

I know many of you are finishing up the school year if you haven’t already. Regardless on when your vacation starts, have a very wonderful summer!

Wordless Wednesday: Learning Laptops

Week 36: HUZZAH!

So implementing our sticker chart really helped get the girls to do their bookwork. It has worked so well, that Rose, my two-year-old, has begun simple bookwork to achieve a sticker for the day. I'm not as tough on her as I am with, say, Lily, who is doing 2nd grade, but sometimes she does lose focus. I'm not worried, though. She's two.

Speaking of Rose, she is doing splendidly at her bookwork. I have to say that my kiddos are not the norm. My daughters (and now my son) have always been above average when it came to developmental milestones. Academically, they have always excelled, and have helped children their age better understand concepts that they already know. It's actually quite wonderful to watch my girls patiently help a friend learn a new concept that they have already mastered. I just wish they were that patient with each other! But I digress... Rose has begun her line tracing. She is doing such a great job that I've added angles to the lines. Not only that, but she surprised the heck out of me by counting further than I knew she could. She even recognized the number 100. I didn't even know she knew that number yet!

Lily and Iris are excited for their certificates. I've actually had to tell them that they should wait to have a collection so they can use them for something BIG. They keep shoving it in my face asking for cake, but I want them to be patient and learn to save them and spend them wisely. I think this is good practice for when they start earning an allowance for chores and such.

Good news: at the end of May we are moving into our own apartment! FINALLY, we will no longer be homeless and we will be able to get our hands on all of our supplies once more. I am super excited for this and have already started planning the ideas for next year's lessons. It makes go *squee* just thinking about our schoolroom. *sigh* If time only moved faster.

Weeks 34 & 35: War and Peace

Last week, which I will dub WAR, was a complete and total failure. I struggled to keep the kids focused, and I struggled in keeping my temper. Many tantrums were had, both by the kids and ME! Both my mother and my husband had to sit down with me and tell me to just chill out. I admit, I don't handle stress well, and last week, I was feeling super overwhelmed. I had a bajillion things on my to-do list as well as all the stuff running through my head. Put homeschooling and taking care of four children on top of that as well as doing my own homework, and I snapped.

So I had to organize myself. I realized just how out of sorts I was and horribly disorganized. The kids NEED to do their work. They can't half-ass it. I need to do my work, too. I can't half-ass it, either. I'm not speaking of just my homework, either. I need to be the best at being a teacher, a mother, and a wife, as well. All of us need our PEACE. That is what I had focused to achieve this week, and we did it!

the girls chose their letter stickers
to make their names

Digging through our supplies, I found a few things that I was saving to use for next school year but decided now is a better time than any to dig into it, even if we are closing in on the last few legs of the school year. Grabbing some sheets of stickers, name plates, and a weekly to-do list that was actually for me, but I voted against it in this time of need, the girls made their own "I Did My Homework" charts.

The plan was simple. I need them to do one assignment from each subject every day. Some subjects they have already finished and they recieve a sticker at the completion of the section to place on a certificate. I don't know why I didn't do this more often, but now we do. They recieve a sticker at the completion of that one assignment, a sticker for each subject. On Monday, Lily had 12 subjects left while Iris had 5. On Friday, Lily only had 6, and Iris had 3. They both recieved all the stickers. At the end of our lessons, they would recieve one large sticker for completing all the subjects. They could not recieve a large sticker unless all of the small stickers were won. At the end of the week they recieved a certificate of completion for that week.

Rose gets in on the sticker action

I'm not one for bribery. I hate bribing. It doesn't teach responsiblity. I don't want them to think that just because they did something, I'll give them something special. I want to teach them that they have to be responsible and by doing so they EARN something special. This reward system is the best form of subtle bribery. :) They need to earn the certificate throughout the week. After earning so many certificates, they can then trade them in for something special. Even the two-year-old wanted a piece of the fun. She refused to be satisfied unless she made her own nameplate and was able to recieve stickers.

The week is done!

I'm considering "pricing" special treats. Like a trip to the park equals one certificate. A trip to the indoor playground or the zoo (both an hour away) is five certificates, etc. I think I may even price a field trip or two. Whenever we get into bats and caves and things, I could easily get them to do their work if they earn a trip to Inner Space Cavern. So many things I can charge!! I'm excited to see what they plan on "buying" now.

Here they are at the end of the week, super happy to have finished the week!

Wordless Wednesday: I MADE A "U"!!

Secular Thursday: Homeschooling and Homelessness

First off, I have to say we're lucky. While technically, we are homeless, we have always had a roof over our heads and a place to sleep at night, clothes on our backs, and food in our bellies. We could have ended up a lot worse, but family has been helping us out a lot. Regardless, it has been a very challenging experience.

Homeschooling in itself isn't an easy task, but when all of your things are gone, you have to get creative. When your initial classroom no longer exists and you were a Montessori and Classical homeschooler, it's very much overwhelming. You suddenly realize your life has become a bubble. A very large balloon, stretched so far out and so thin you are afraid you're going to pop.

Now, again I say, my family has been lucky. We've had a place to sit and do our studies when we can. We haven't had to get rid of our laptops, and all of the people we have stayed with have had internet. I have grade-level specific educational programs that I downloaded onto my laptop for the kids to use. On top of that we have our "mobile" resources.

One thing we learned while being homeless and hopping from place to place was to always have everything you need at hand. EVERYTHING. Our schooling currently revolves around things shoved in canvas shopping bags and large diaper boxes.

Workbooks and supplies are carried around and easily found in a green shopping bag that I bought at Walmart for about $3. Along with the books, it has pens, pencils, rulers, crayons, markers, erasers...etc. I also bought, for $.50, a little handled box to carry the tiny supplies when in use.

Our reference books are currently stored in two large diaper boxes. Having two kids in diapers has had the benefit of us being able to reuse the large boxes for storage. It's a plus that those boxes have little hand holes for you to stick your fingers through. It makes transporting them around easier.

For books we don't have, we have used three addresses we have stayed at to get three different library memberships in three different towns. I keep a note in my planner on when they are due and to what library so that we don't acquire any late fees, and we carry those library books in a canvas shopping bag that was given to us for that purpose.

It has been a blessing to be able to have all of the tools necessary to continue our schooling. Even if we didn't have our laptops, we have made due with the books we do have. Sure, we don't get to do elaborate projects like we used to, but we also use the great outdoors as our classroom. Due to the ridiculous climate changes, we've had an unseasonable warm winter and hot spring. We've been able to go outside and due nature studies and even other lessons where we can utilize what's outside.

It doesn't matter whether one has an actual building as a home or not. Homeschooling starts at home; home is definitely where your heart is. My heart lies within my kids.

Weekly Wrap Up: Week 33

Note: This was intended to be posted on Saturday, when I wrote it. My days feel like they are just melding together, we've had so much to do.

Monday: School lessons were slow. While Lily made her day interesting by doing her bookwork starting from the back sections of her book and working her way forward, Iris spent TWO HOURS doing the same two pages. I was on the brink of insanity with that child. She absolutely refused to get any work done. While they lunched, I made some phone calls to my old school to see how much I owed them and what I needed to do to get back to my own classes. We then headed to the district attendance office to sign an affidavit that states we are homeschooling and to not bother us. It makes it easier. If for whatever reason the truancy officers are called about my kids running about, all they have to do is check the system and find us there. :) Afterward, we headed to the store and did math while adding up the total for groceries. This was my first day hauling ALL four of my children around without my husband to help. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the day.

Tuesday: Lessons went along like they did on Monday. Lily continued her work backwards just because it made it more interesting that way. Iris spent another two hours on the same two pages. I had a WIC appointment, which was tedious. It was a class on nutrition. Seeing as I've done this four times already, I'm a pro. So both my children and I were bored. Thankfully they had a little hackey-sack game that the girls played while I answered questions and the girls got to win prizes. They then grabbed a bunch of toothbrushes from the dentist who was talking to everyone there, and we left, headed to the library. Library day is usually fun, but unfortunately I have to hover around the children's section with them as they are under the age of ten and are not allowed unattended. I MISS the old library we used to go to where my children could browse without my hovering. The librarian knew them and knew they would stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, because of this, they were reprimanded and I was scolded frequently by the staff because I was letting my children browse the aisles. This was also the last day my children were to see their grandpa Doug. Doug was moving to Oklahoma for a new job endeavor and wouldn't be back again until June when he would pick up Gin and their things to their new home. The kids' uncle Joey and aunt Lauren came up from Austin and we spent a little bit of family time (unfortunately without J who was working) before heading back to my mother's house. Day two of being alone with the kids everywhere and I was beyond tired.

Wednesday: CRASH AND BURN. I could not wake up long enough to get out of bed. I am ashamed to admit that I turned on the TV to Nick, Jr. and had the girls watch it until lunch time only getting up long enough to feed them and the baby. I crawled into bed and snuggled with my little man while the girls watched their shows.

Thursday: My mother came home with a wading pool and set it up, along with buckets, outside. The girls stripped down to their underpants and the two eldest played a game of sink or float with Rose. Great learning activity for the toddler that I didn't have to do. :) I hung out on the patio with my little man and watched them learn and play. As the day cooled, they got out, received haircuts from my mother, and were able to spend some much needed quality time with their daddy who came home from work early.

Friday: Back to book work it was. Lily plowed through as usual, switching up her sections so she wouldn't get bored. (Smart kid, that one.) Iris FINALLY got through EVERY single section that day and we were able to place stickers on three chapters for completion. Lily was a bit bummed that she has yet to complete a single section, but seeing as she is six and doing 2nd grade, that's a feat in itself and I told her so. :) I then threw them outside to play.

Saturday: J used this day as a make-up day for Wednesday since I had TV babysit them while I recovered. Using our feet as units of measure, we mapped out the backyard until they became disinterested and played with the wading pool where they got muddy and gross until we headed to their Abuela Gin's house to play.

J worked from last Wednesday until Thursday. He's been off since Thursday afternoon and has spent most of his free time either catching up on sleep or catching up on homework. I'm dragging him to church tomorrow for my mom's Easter shindig.

2011-2012 School Photos

So, I realized something today while we were in Lily's therapy session...we need "school" photos to commerate the look of the year. Seeing as, for once, my kids' faces were clean, and they were wearing clothes not covered in whatever little kids like to get into, I took the opportunity to take a picture of the two eldest as this school year's photos.

Iris

Lily

Seeing as they were taken with a basic $60 digital camera, by the front door for natural light, behind the recliner for a more uniform background, I think they came out rather well. :)

What Day Is It?

I realize I have not kept track of this year at all, but in all honesty, things have been so crazy, it's amazing that we've done any work at all.

We've been homeless for quite some time now, using the tools we saved on our hardrives, the workbooks and supplies we carry in a large canvas shopping bag, and memberships to the libraries in two different cities (going on three as soon as I get a permanent address). We changed location back in December, and then again a little over a month later. I had my son in February and we will be changing location to a temporary address again in June if things don't change for us.

So currently, Spiral Goddess Home School is a traveling nomad type school. If things don't start looking up by August, we're considering having Lily go to an online school instead. Things have been pretty much in the air since December. Our lessons are simple, mostly workbook related, and a lot of journal entries from the girls. Until things settle down and we have our own place, my blog entries will be few and far between.

Lily is currently doing her 2nd grade work. Iris is in Kindergarten. We are expanding Rose's preschool knowledge until next year when she will continue preschool but will begin actual bookwork like her sisters.

I keep getting issues from the department of human services about my children being homeschooled and compulsory attendance laws, so tomorrow I'm headed to the local school district office and getting a letter from them so that I can show everyone who asks and they can leave us the hell alone with this. Tonight, I'm printing out school IDs that he girls can have in their pockets when they go and play outside.

Things are hectic but the kids are still learning. That's all that matters to me.

Week 01: Mostly Fail

Monday: Homeschool FAIL. I forgot we planned to start school this day and ended up just putting on educational cartoons for a couple hours. All of our textbooks are in storage and there is such a large amount of boxes in there, we don't know where to begin. Spent the day watching educational cartoons on Nick, Jr and discussed the topics within the episodes.

Tuesday: For the time being, I went ot Target and grabbed some basic educational supplies, and then to Walmart to replace our dry erase and bulletin boards. I also bought basic school supplies that needed replenishing that had been, unfortunately, destroyed during the move thanks to the triple-digit weather the south is suffering through these past two months. The girls spent time going over the books (not doing work, just skimming through pages) and asking questions about the material provided.

Wednesday: Absolutely nothing. J was studying for his finals and I was sick. Girls had a free day but we talked about being a hero without super powers and how to measure.

Thursday: All the boards and supplies were still not situated, but that didn't stop me. We still did our foreign language with the month, day of the week, number of the day, and color (orange) of the day in English, Spanish, French, German, and (phonetic) Chinese. Lily worked on her cursive by writing letters A - H and the sentence "Amanda eats apples." For math, I gave her a pretend object that she had to pay for. She had to add pretend coins in the exact change to buy the product.

Iris refused to do any work whatsoever that morning and kept making up excuses, so since she didn't want to "go to school" she spent the entire time in her room and missed out on 1/2 an hour of TV. For math, Lily took over while I made lunch (I didn't ask her to, she just did it anyway) and helped Iris practice addition using Othello pieces.

Rose worked on identifying colors. She refused all colors except orange (ownj) and black (back) and then threw a fit because she wanted to "write," too. Lol.

The day's lesson was: "Try new things; you never know if you may like it."

After lunch we tried some reading and comprehension. Iris actually did it, but was terrible at it. :) Lily refused. Rose enjoyed the pictures. The book I was trying to have Lily read was at a higher level than she was used to and she didn't want to try. She just refused. I had to remind her about the day's lesson and told her to sit at her bed and think about the lesson for the day and how it pertained to her assignment. Eventually Lily caved after some time spent contemplating in her room and read her story wonderfully (with minimal help from me) and did great at her quiz afterward.

By then it was already 3pm (we start our lessons at 10am) and I was pooped from all the whining and excuses laid out that day as to why no one wanted to do anything. I called it a day and took a nap.

Friday: The girls had an uncle and aunt come to visit so they didn't get started until sometime after 1:30. We did our basic foreign language with Yellow as the color of the day, then proceeded to our new arrival. Last week, J sent out for the Team UmiZoomi math kits and we broke one of them in, partially anyway. This covered reading and comprehension, math and recognition, and all three of the children were able to participate.

Rose surprised me by being able to point out the shapes when asked. She can't say the names at all, but knew which ones to point to. Lily read the entire story by herself as well as did some of the activities. Iris did the activities requested, and all three of them had a great time. Even the older two girls excelled at the reading comprehension quiz I surprised them with at the end of the story. They then watched a DVD of TUZ and took turns filling out the pages of the corresponding workbook.

We finished everything up by 4, which was nice. Hitting so many subjects at the same time is pretty awesome.

I wonder what next week will bring...

Secular Thursday: Sometimes, They Want "Proof"...

...even if it's not required.

So, to get welfare assistance where I am at, the application process is pretty extensive. One of the proofs needed is who is going to school, what school, and what are they learning. Since my husband and I both go to university, that's a bit easy. We can give them a partial transcript that has all of that information. There is the cumpolsory attendance here in Texas, but if you homeschool, according to state law, you don't need any paperwork. You don't even have to notify the school. However, the department of health and human services wants to make sure that your children are at least being taught the basics of every grade level. When I was told this by my caseworker at my interview yesterday, I almost threw a fit.

It is not mandatory to get this information unless requested. Most children go to public school, so they could always just check with the school, but it is still not a requirement for *me* to give them any sort of paperwork, and I told my caseworker that same thing. I understand she is trying to do her job, and this is apparently a first for her, so she just asked me to write her a letter saying that I am homeschooling so that no one gets up my ass about not sending my child to public school. Either way, no court could convict me. To be nice, however, I'm making a copy of what we plan to do this year, which is where I hit the roadblock.

I have absolutely no idea what we are doing this year. We've started taking an unschooling approach. We have a personal library full of non-fiction that the girls can peruse through. We like it when they pick a book and say "I want to learn that." They even have a set of encyclopedias for that purpose. We then take whatever information we can find on that topic and teach it to the girls. So I'm thinking I might as well just pull something out of my butt like I normally do. I didn't create the OMB curriculum last year just for S & Gs.

So this is what I'm planning...

Lily: age 5, grade 3

• Reading: Short-story workbook for reading comprehension practice. Books to read (in no specific order) - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Veleveteen Rabbit, The Phantom Toll Booth. Reading comprehension tested.
• Writing: Composition practice in manuscript - daily journal. Practice cursive.
• Mathematics: Adding and Subtraction practice. Introduce multiplication
• Social Studies: History Channel documentary - America: The Story of Us. in conjunction with The American Nation, Volume 1, John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes
• Science: Introduce basic chemistry with toddler-safe expirements
• Art: A World of Art by Henry M Sayre, third edition
• Physical Education: 1/2 hour of Nick Jr. Wii Fit
• Foreign language: Continued from last year - Bookwork: Using BBC's Muzzy series, draw picture, label picture in English, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. Continue practice of these languages.
• Theology: basic history and practices of holidays

Iris: age 3, grade 1

• Reading: Phonics practice. Read level 1 books (with help when needed). Lapbook activities for reading comprehension
• Writing: Practice manuscript. Daily journal - topic given, picture drawn with descriptive words below.
• Mathematics: Practice addition
• Science: Basic chemistry with toddler-friendly expirement
• Physical Education: 1/2 hour of Nick Jr. Wii Fit
• Foreign language: Continued from last year - Using BBC's Muzzy series, practice English, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese
• Theology: basic history and practices of holidays.

Rose: age 2, grade PK

• Continue to work with vocabulary, shapes, colors, and letters. Story and nap times included.

FIN. That looks presentable, right? It's nothing fancy, and I literally just made this up on the spot, but I think we can work with this and still be able to add on to it whenever the girls get a bug up their butt to learn something new. I have absolutely no intention to be super committed to this curriculum considering I'm 4 months pregnant and my body HATES it, but this will do and show anyone who wants to be a pain in the ass we *know* what we are doing.

Day 1: OOPS!

Hi, Everyone! Summer vacation is over and it's time to get back in the groove!

So, we have finally settled into our new home. As many of you already know, due to the economy, we could not keep our beloved house. We moved from our small town in Iowa to our hometown back in Texas. It took us two weeks to pack all of our things, two days to move, and two more weeks to settle down and not be so stressed. We are currenlty staying at my mother-in-law's house and have 90% of our things in a storage unit not too far from us.

Today is the first day of school here. We try and keep our school year similar to that of the public school system. There are a few changes, such as the Pagan holidays we observe are days off from our studies and we focus only on the history and celebration of that day. Not completely a day off, but not a complete day, either. (Every day is a learning day!) BUT, I *just* realized today is supposed to be the first day of school. Guess who still has the textbooks in storage? Yeah, that would be me. *facepalm* HOWEVER, Rose has been practicing her words by rhyming, so it hasn't been a complete homeschool fail. ;)

We'll see what the week brings...

Summer Vacation

This school year ended for us on Friday the 13th, where we left (after the girls were asleep) on a 14 hour road trip down to Texas to come and visit family. We are still here, and will be her until about the 29th. It feels like we don't have enough time to do every fun thing we want!! <3


I know how you feel, Calvin.