Welcome Summer

Our official first year of homeschooling has come to an end and WE SURVIVED and even THRIVED (with the occasional meltdown or two or three)!!!!  This year was such a huge learning experience for me.  I don't think I would even recognize the me that was walking the earth exactly one year ago.

We learned alot, but since I already posted about most of what we did that was exciting, I won't bore you with the details again!!  But I am super excited to share with you what we are doing next year!!   I even made a super fun daily schedule that we are going to try really hard to stick to.  This year I think that was our biggest struggle, finding a schedule that we liked.  If it were too rigid, I ended up feeling defeated and behind.  If it were too unstructured we ended up not doing science or history.  I think I have come up with something somewhere in the middle.  Most importantly, I think, is that I have learned that we have to start before 9.  I really want the girls to each have some independent time to work {and for me to do some housework} and it just doesn't happen if we start school later than 8:00 or 8:30.  There just isn't enough time.  So for the upcoming year we will definitely start school at 8:00.  That will take some getting used to, so for the summer I am going to slowly move up ALL OF OUR bedtimes to prepare us for some early rising in the fall!!

Here is our tentative schedule for the 2011-2012 school year...

Hopefully this one will stick!!!  Last year we just seemed to go round and round with schedules!!  Im finishing up my curriculum selections and getting getting ready to start buying!! I will let yall know what I pick as soon as its all decided!!!

And as promised, my new obsession post is up next!!!!

What I have been doing...

These last few months have been like a whirlwind to our family.  While trying to finish this year of school and making sure that we have mastered everything we need to for next year, I experienced on of the most painful situations of my life.  Very suddenly my grandmother, and one of my closest friends, passed away.  Sure, she was 81 years old, yes she had just had hip replacement surgery and we knew that she wasn't recovering super fast, okay she had lost all of her spunk....but just dying...not something that I ever gave a second thought to.  We talked every day.  We had lunch once a week.  My girls and her were working on their Presidential Dollar collections and had completed the state quarter collection earlier in the year.  She had her dress bought and ready to wear to my cousin's wedding in April.

But she didn't make it to her wedding.

She died 2 weeks before.

With the dress hanging in her closet and Avon on her kitchen table to be delivered.

My Maw Maw and I at my sisters wedding shower last summer.

So while you may be thinking this post is super depressing and thinking that you need to "x" out right now, I encourage you to hear me out.

Everyone has heard the old saying "We aren't guaranteed tomorrow."  I have said those exact words to my girls a million times.  But the truth is, we really aren't.  The prince of this world would like us to believe that we are going to be guaranteed tomorrow, but that is just because he lies to us and deceives us.  The reality is that when we live like we are guaranteed tomorrow we aren't living at all.  Instead we are just floating along on this planet taking up space.

Nothing matters really (we can do it tomorrow)

Nobody is important enough (we can call them tomorrow)

And we miss the whole point.  Things really do matter.  People really are important enough.  And the blessing I have received from that is that the Lord allowed my maw maw to be one of those people who was important enough to me.  One of those things that did matter to me.  She was my friend and so I wanted to talk to her, I wanted to go to lunch with her.

And so I have no regrets.

What a peace that is.

But what about others in my life???

Could I say the same???

I have learned to live like I am not guaranteed tomorrow because I AM NOT.  As cliched as that sounds, until you really have a grip on it, you just aren't living.

Which leads me to the second thing I have learned.

I better get up and get to living before its too late.  Because if we aren't guaranteed tomorrow, then tomorrow may be too late.

I have so many things DAILY that I convince myself can wait until tomorrow.  Well, if tomorrow is too late, how will those things get done.

After my maw maw's death I just sat {truly just sat} in a state of disbelief, shock, with a mild case of "checked out" syndrome.  It is like nothing was real.  I even called her at 11:00 the night before her funeral to "read to her the eulogy that I had been asked to give at her funeral." SERIOUSLY I DID!!!  Oh, how I wanted to talk to her and make sure it was okay with her.  She would have been such a huge help to me when I was trying to decide exactly what to say.  When her answering machine picked up something just clicked inside of me and I HAVE NEVER BEEN THE SAME!!

I cannot wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow may not come.

So some things must change for me.

And here they are...

While blogging is fun and I have made some great friendships, I can't blog every day.  It is keeping me from living.  Instead of living, I am watching everyone else live.  Huh???

I love my kids and must start helping them build a life.  Learning to knit, reading good books, baking bread on their own, gardening.  These are all things that I love to do and that they love to do, but that we don't make enough time for.  Its much easier for me to leave them upstairs playing and go tend the garden or bake a loaf of bread.  But they need those memories with me. Because what if tomorrow doesn't come for me...or what if it doesn't come for them?

I must live what I believe, day in and day out, in season and out of season.  And by that I mean that my life must reflect Christ.  I must shine my light.  I must show myself approved because I want to hear "Well done good and faithful servant."  Even if I may hear it tomorrow.

Will I keep blogging? Absolutely.

Has my life changed forever?  You better believe it.

So that is what I have been doing over the last couple of months.  We are now beginning the process of going through her house and dividing up things that she wanted us to have.  It is not fun, but the smell of that house is just the best smell in the world and any chance I have to breathe in her sweet existence I will take!!

I love you all dearly, and hope that I haven't bored you to tears!!!

Kellye

p.s. Do I think it is coincidental that I began reading Ann Voskamp's 1000 Gifts right before my grandmother's death?  Absolutely not a chance.  Because if the God that created this universe sees fit to wake me up this morning, isn't everything then from today a gift?  You better believe it is.

Its time to start living.

New and Improved

Okay, so I am back and have FINALLY updated my page from Christmas!!!  My little blogging hiatus was nice, but I missed posting the happenings over here!!  So for all 3 of you who are still hanging around and visiting this ghost town, thank you and I am glad to see you again!!

Soon I will be posting my latest obsession and our curriculum for the 2011-2012 school year!!

Oooh la la!!!

So here is what I bought...Walking in Memphis Part 2

As promised here is everything I bought in Memphis and a few things that I just fell in love with, but will have to wait until next year or a few years from now....

Math

My most exciting purchase was a new math program for both girls!  What we have been doing,  just isn't working for us.  Karsyn was beginning to get frustrated in math and wanted to know WHY things were and to be honest, I didn't know.  Kamryn was doing a very watered down math curriculum (didn't know it was watered down when I bought it) and we have realized that she has a knack for math that was literally being extinguished before our eyes.  Every day she has been begging for something harder, and I just didn't know how to give it to her.  Then I met the writers of Right Start Math and finally things began to make sense.

This program is the premier choice as an elementary math program by the creator of VideoText, which I will explain to you more in a minute.  He had many wonderful things to say about this program and I fell in love with the writer.  I knew it was right for us.  I asked her if she thought it would be okay to change programs in March and she used the perfect analogy.  She said,

Did you have a boyfriend before you met your husband?  Did you break up with him?  When did your break up with him?  Was it the first minute you realized this wasn't working or did you wait until you absolutely couldn't stand the sight of him ever again and you were D.O.N.E?  Imagine the heart ache, frustration, agony, money, and time you could've saved yourself if you would have just ditched him the first moment something felt wrong.

Hello...that was such an ah-ha moment for me.  This program should be arriving via UPS on Thursday and we are hoping to begin on Monday.  Karsyn will begin in Level C and Kamryn in Level E.  Another great thing about this program is that it doesn't deal in grade levels.  Instead, they use the level system that will allow the students to stay for as long as they need in each level or move as fast as they are comfortable.

The rundown:  Very little worksheets, lots and lots of manipulatives and games to reinforce concepts.  It is a teacher intensive curriculum that will require us to do math together, but I am very excited to LEARN math and learn how to think mathematically which is what this program will do.   After Level E, students move to the Geometry Level {6th grade} and then onto VideoText for higher level mathematics.

So, about VideoText...what can I say besides WOW!!!  This program is unreal.  It is a very thorough, concise, and deep interactive, computer based math program for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry.  The author says that once these levels are completed the student should immediately go to the local college and test out of Algebra and then go on to Calculus at a university to obtain college and high school credit at the same time.  That is what I'm talking about.

I am hook, line, and sinker in love with these math programs.  Dr. Jay While is too.  He was hanging out at the VideoText booth and chatting with us about why the program is so great!!!  I couldn't be more impressed and would encourage everyone to hear either the author Tom Clark or Dr. While speak on this program.  I would also encourage you to attend the other Great Homeschool Conventions to talk to these folks in person to see how amazing Right Start and VideoText are!!

Spelling
Another purchase that I am over the moon about is All About Spelling.  I was in love before the conference, but then I went to a workshop on the Institute for Excellence in Writing and they recommend it.  I was pumped.  I totally respect Andrew Pudewa and the entire program and was so excited that they not only recommended it but also were selling it at the conference.  I high tailed it to the IEW booth and bought them out!!

The rundown:  I'm starting both girls with Level 2, even though both of my girls are way above this level.  They recommend starting way low and just moving quickly because it is a program that teaches you how to put words together based on common patterns and the only way to learn all of the patterns is to begin early.  Both of my girls had Abeka phonics so I felt really good that they would do fine in Level 2.  We will begin this on Monday as well.  No lists, no writing words 5 times.  Lots of games to reinforce patterns.  They use letter tiles to piece words together in common patterns and then use the tiles and games to write more words with the same patterns.  The only words you write are the ones that have that pattern that you are practicing that day.  I'm just giddy I tell you!!!

Grammar
And speaking of IEW, they have a brand new Grammar program that I bought and will start next year just with Kamryn.  I have been wondering how long to teach grammar, and how could a student possibly understand high level grammatical concepts by learning rules.  This program is my answer!

The rundown:  This program works alot like Easy Grammar as it is just a sentence per day that students who have had basic grammar instruction will dissect and correct.   What I love about it is that it is $30 and it is for grades 3-12!  All right there in one book.  Never buy a grammar book again!!  I love it!!  It is divided by level with a set number of sentences per level.  No need to worry about what to do if your child hasn't learned a particular part of speech that comes up to be corrected, no biggie, because if they miss it, you teach it right there using their notes in the margin!  Perfect-o!!!

Writing

And I guess it goes without saying that we will be starting IEW next year!!  I love that program, it just had to take a backseat for now!!!

So that is what the remainder of this year and next look like for me!!  I had such a great time in Memphis and learned a ton!!!  If you are near another convention location GO!  You won't regret it.  Just prepare yourself ahead of time that the food will be gross and there is no wi-fi!!!

I am taking a break from blogging for Lent, so I will see you guys soon!!!

Walking in Memphis Part One

As you may already know, the MidSouth Homeschool Convention was this weekend in Memphis!!

Kayce, from Pastorette's Progress, and I left for our road trip early Thursday morning and arrived in Memphis around lunch time.  We unpacked and headed to Beale Street to see the sights and grab some lunch.  We immediately fell in love with the city of Memphis and the soul that just oozed out of the people. It is an amazing place!  But our tour ended pretty quickly as we rushed to the Memphis Convention Center to check in, get a game plan, and get ready for back to back workshops, a HUGE exhibit hall, no wi-fi, no coffee, overpriced food, 30 degree weather, and rain!!!

And for the next 2 days we wouldn't see the light of day...And every second was worth it!

While the lack of wi-fi and overpriced gross food {think JUMBO HOT DOG} were both equally devastating, the workshops and exhibit hall did not disappoint.  We learned so much!!!  Tomorrow I will be back to tell you what I bought in the Memphis greatness!!

To start though, I think I should just tell yall what sticks out with me the most out of the whole weekend.  What I learned this weekend could never be summed up in 3 sentences, but I will say, this is what I walked away with!  Some was taught to me in a workshop, some was taught to me while I chatted with vendors, and some I learned while Kayce and I laid in our hotel beds chatting at 3 am.  Here are the highlights...

1.  Whether they choose Harvard or home, our children should be ready!


2.  Shyness is not a disease, it is a by product of a very unique package of wonderful qualities that God is going to use!


3.  We must expose our kids to the wrongs of this world NOW...while we  are with them all day to defend what we believe.


Maybe these 3 things don't sound like rocket science to you, but for me, it was like I had never thought about them before in the way that I think of them now.

The very first thing that the very first speaker said was that her family's homeschooling goal was whether her children chose Harvard or home, they would be ready.  That was like the "ah ha" moment of the weekend for me...and it happened in the first 20 minutes of the first speaker.  I have just not been confident in my homeschooling philosophy so far this year.  One minute I am on the Susan Wise Bauer train, the next I am nature studying in the backyard, and a week later I am all about unit studies.

AND THAT IS OKAY!!

How about that?  Its okay that I want my girls to be prepared.  That doesn't make me an overachiever, it makes me a Momma.  Sure, I almost always wish my day looked like someone else's but truly, my goal is for my children to be prepared.  Period.  And if that means that our day may look different from yours, that is okay.  I learned this weekend that as much as I wish we could just read all day and somehow math would just evolve, that isn't reality.  Its not reality for the girls, and its not reality for me.  I am very hands on...I am very visual, I need manipulatives, and so do my girls.  And what is my goal?  For them to be prepared for whatever comes their way.  So, what should I do?  Fill my day with as much of those things as I can.  I don't want my girls to just know 3+3.  I want them to understand math concepts.  I want them to be able to think mathematically.  I want them to be confident in this subject.  And they can be!

So empowering huh??  Im telling you, I was just amazed at some of this stuff.

So tomorrow, I will be back to tell you all about what I bought and what Im starting when!!  Mr. UPS should be paying us a visit on Thursday and I can't wait!!!

I am so thankful for this weekend and for all that I learned {and bought}!!!  And I can't wait to tell you all about it!!!  But its late and I'm rambling so it will have to wait until tomorrow!!!!