I wish I could write all day sometimes, reflecting on how the school day is going. School is ongoing throughout the day, and I'd love to record the different things we do that address certain skills. For example, yesterday Caley helped me put away the dishes and it was a great sorting activity. We are always working on kindness with one another, and obedience. When we listen to music I try to tie it into whatever else we might have been learning. And when we're driving Caley reads the signs. I am really enjoying homeschooling because I get to see my girls learn all day long. And God is stretching me in many good ways.

Busy few weeks

The last few weeks have been really busy. We took a weekend trip to Astoria at the beginning of September so I could run the Great Columbia Crossing (which was really fun) and while we were down there we took a tour of the Lewis and Clark Expedition replica fort--Fort Clatsop. We will be learning about Lewis and Clark and other frontiersmen next week. I'm hoping the girls will remember at least some of the tour while we read books and do expedition projects. I'm excited for them to learn about Sacajawea and relate to her possibly because she was just a young girl when she lead Lewis and Clark as their guide.

Before we went to Astoria we studied music and listened to a lot of classical music, drew instruments, and made a leaf craft. Caley read some books to a resident at the retirement center, she and two friends, Mina and Lenora. It was really fun and Caley did great. On Friday that week Caley went to speech therapy for the first time, and she did great and had fun. Mrs Rose is very good with her and she played some games and got some cards with words she is practicing (right now k sound).

So last week we were just getting back into the swing of things from being gone, and we didn't do much school, besides the math book and reading book. Caley also went to speech therapy on Friday. She even had some homework we had to do! I can tell you right now I didn't expect homework to be a part of my homeschooling plan, but what can you do, I think it's good for her. Caley continually amazes me with her reading skill. She has started reading to Amelia and Wesley, actually reading the words instead of just telling the story. It's very fascinating to watch. Last week we also did some potato crafts which was a blast for the girls.

I am very much enjoying the Saxon math book. It moves slowly and gets the kids used to the materials before doing explicit "math." Yesterday we acted out a story problem. And I haven't bought any of the Saxon materials, just improvised with things I already have. Frugal!

KONOS

As mentioned previously, we are using KONOS unit studies to organize what we learn and when during this school year. Here are a list of links about this curriculum.

• KONOS website
• KONOS review
• Homeschool Mom KONOS review
• Old Schoolhouse KONOS review
• Homeschool graduate KONOS review

First Few Week's Report

I've been meaning to write this blog for a few weeks, but could never seem to find the time. Today God gave me the time and I was sitting here twiddling my thumbs, so voila blog time!

We made it through the first few weeks of kindergarten! Week one was fun and busy. Tuesday and Wednesday we squeezed school in between women's group and another babysitting commitment. Those were pretty busy days and I felt kind of flustered. Friday however, we stayed home and it felt much more relaxed and natural.

The unit theme is "Attentiveness" and we have studied hearing, deafness, blindness, Helen Keller, memory, reading book, and intro to math using the Saxon book. I found it pretty easy to do school with both girls, even if Caley needed to do something tailored to her, Amelia was very easy to keep occupied in the meantime. We played Husker Du, colored some silly pictures with hidden drawings, watched "The Miracle Worker."

The first week of school we got Caley a library card, she filled out the info sheet herself and checked out 4 books.

During Week 2 we learned more about hearing and seeing, Alexander Graham Bell and telephones, safety and dialing 911. We also had "Whisper Day" which was amazing for everyone. In the math book we are playing with legos (parent hack of unifix cubes) and beads (hack for teddy bear counters) and the lessons are very gradual, which is surprising for me. It's a very natural progression.

Now we are halfway through Week 3 and we are learning about music and the orchestra. We have been exploring musical instruments such as the piano and guitar, and made our own instruments out of household items. We read "The Nutcracker" and listened to the Tchaikovsky music.

Caley is on lesson 78 in her "100 Easy Lessons" book. The lessons are transitioning from the Distar font to regular font and Caley is doing well. Next week we are going to start reading at the retirement center, in which Caley will bring some books she feels confident reading and sit with a resident and read. Our playgroup friends Lenora, Rachael and Noelle will be there too. This week we also went to Japanese storytime at the library. No, I don't speak Japanese, nor have I been to Japan (falling asleep in the Tokyo airport doesn't really count). But I thought it'd be fun to expose the kids to another culture somewhat, and meet moms I wouldn't normally meet. All the directions, stories and even name tags were in Japanese, but there were a few kind strangers who spoke English with me. From the gestures and pictures they showed, I/we got the gist that they did calendar, weather, and a hello song. We really liked the songs with the hand motions.

One thing is for sure, God is really using this homeschooling adventure to sanctify me and turn me into a Mary more than a Martha (http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/luke/mary-and-martha). I am list-oriented and sometimes forget to slow down and let life take it's course. For all the talk I've done (or written about) school being natural, I have been very checklist about kindergarten so far. And when something comes up that ruins my plan, I can get very frustrated and short with my kids. Which is totally opposite what I want. Sure they need to obey, but I also need to let go a bit too so school can continue to be a positive experience.

A good example is what happened this week on Monday. I had planned on some fun activities in the school room, but the kids were just pushing my buttons and I needed a break. I let them read in their rooms for 15 minutes while I took a shower and tried to press "reset" on the day. I told myself, "whatever, today will just be 'reading day' and I'll forget about the plans I had." Post-shower, we went downstairs and read books (the ones I'd picked out for this week's theme). Suddenly I heard faint music from outside--it was the middle school marching band practicing. We stood outside and listened. That naturally morphed into doing all the activities I'd planned. The day had been redeemed. And the kids had fun and learned. God is good. (God would have still been good if we'd just done reading day!)

Hopefully the next entry will be sooner so I can actually record more rather than just summarize!

It feels like Christmas Eve...

Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for for about 3 years, the first day of school! I'm so excited. I remember being so excited for school when I was a kid. I would always set out my clothes the night before on the floor in the way I wanted to wear them. I remember the day before freshman year in high school, I watched "The Wedding Singer" with my parents and brother, just contemplating how the next morning I would be an official high schooler and all the excitement and nervousness that came with it.

Looking at Caley's school I am excited that I will get to see her grow and learn over the coming year. I don't know how long God will have us teach her at home, and I am thankful I get at least this coming year to spend the days with her. Although part of me is sad she will have a different kindergarten experience than many of her peers, I kind of hope she won't know what she's missing because intermixed in the fun there can be a lot of scary times too.

I loved kindergarten, actually I loved school, so it surprises me that God called me to homeschooling, at least at this point. But I figure now, it's worth a shot.

Tomorrow's first day will not be a typical school day, since we have women's group in the morning. Actually, with just a few exceptions, we won't even do school on Tuesdays. But I guess that's why homeschooling is great, it's flexible. I planned some games and other activities for this week, knowing we have some commitments already. We will do math and reading as well.

You can be praying for my heart as we go into this year, that I would keep my eyes on Jesus throughout the homeschooling process. Also that I would have discernment to say "no" when I should and "yes" when I should to outside activities. Some opportunities have already come up which I feel torn about accepting responsibility for.

Here we go, woohoo!