Wrapping up the school year

I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by.  I have one finishing up her junior year of college, one graduating high school, one finishing sophomore year and one finishing up jr. high.  WOW!  Learning challenges aside, we are growing, thinking, and having great conversations about what we're learning and what our plans for the future may be.  I'm so proud of my kids and so proud to be their mom.  Even with me taking on a pretty full part-time job, they are getting their work done daily and making great strides.  Isn't that what life's all about? Keep on keeping on...even in the face of adversity.  God is able to pull us through even the darkest storms.  Sometimes I wonder if I would be better off putting them into the public school system, but then He gently reminds me that His plans and purposes for them are unique and He has them in the palm of His hand.  Thank you, Lord for putting us on this homeschooling path 14 years ago.  We have seen our share of twists and turns, but it has been worth every bump in the road and every road block.  Now to wrap things up and enjoy the summer and college applications!

Draw Write Now on Sale at Zulily

Head over to Zulily and get a boxed Draw Write Now set (Books 1-8) for a 50% discount, which is quite a bargain.  This is a wonderful set for your right-brained or visual/kinsethetic learners.  We love these books and recommend them.  

Note: my affiliate link is embedded in this link. Thanks for supporting my family :)

Busy Life

I know it has been a while since I last blogged.  Life has gotten crazy-busy and school has taken on a life of it's own.  Today on a Facebook group I'm on, someone posed the question about home schooling and cyber school.  They are considering Connections Academy, a cyber school, for their young children, but are afraid that they won't live up to the expectations of a home schooling parent.  As a homeschooler, I wrestle with cyber schools.  On one side of the coin, my kids use the internet and computer for a lot of their learning and they enjoy it.  My daughter does reading and Spanish daily on my iPad apps and the boys use an online portal to learn algebra and geometry.  However, what the discussion centered around was cyber school, where everything is inclusive and the parents act more as facilitator than teacher and the school dictates curriculum, graduation and report cards.  I am of the mindset that this isn't really home-schooling, but rather, school "at home." 

Homeschooling is so much more than just checking off lessons on a daily basis and worksheets.  It's about discovery, following ones passions in learning and learning how to learn.  It's not about regurgatating facts and figures to pass a test, but to figure things out and to be able to explore the world in which we live.  Kids have a wonderful sense of discovery and creativity, if we allow them to function in those things.  My kids, admittedly, hate textbooks and worksheets.  I use them to "measure" how they're doing, but in reality they learn better when they can figure things out for themselves.  For example, my oldest decided that he loves computer animation and animee.  So, without my knowledge, he found videos on YouTube which taught him how to make animee shorts using Windows Movie Maker.  One afternoon he showed me his new YouTube channel (with his 1500+ subscribers) and the shorts that he made in his spare time.  Could I have ever taught him this?  No way.  But I was impressed that he figured out how to search for the skills he wanted to learn and taught himself.  I doubt he would've been given that freedom in a traditional high school classroom.  What did he learn beyond that?  He learned how to create a script for his short (English), art and design and how do do voice overs (Fine Arts), and publishing to social media (Computer Science/Internet).  Far stretch?  Not by any homeschooler's imagination or standards.

By the way, this week we also added another member to our family.  This little guy is our "science project" for the remainder of the year.  We got a kit a few years ago and finally sent in for him. He arrived yesterday and will soon have a new habitat and a friend added to his little world.  We've decided to wait to name him/her until we know for sure what the sex is, which will be in a few weeks.

So, I'd love to hear your thoughts about cyber schools or our tadpole.  What do you think? 

Holiday Turkey Hunt Blog Hop

It's my joy to be a part of this year's Holiday Turkey Hunt Blog Hop, sponsored by The WIC Project! Be sure to check out The WIC Project's page for more chances to win an Amazon Gift Certificate. The grand prize is open to eligible US and Canada residents (excluding Quebec) and is (currently) a $120 Amazon GC.

As part of this contest I am giving away Arbonne's Pampermint Bath Set, valued at $27 to my winner. This set contains an 8oz. Pampermint Body Wash and an 8oz. Pampermint Body Lotion with a light Peppermint scent.   

This set will be sent to my winner directly from Arbonne and will arrive the week of December 9th. (I will be out of town from 11/26 - 12/5.) 

Thanks for stopping by today and good luck! Happy Holidays!!

Disclosure: The WiC Project and the Holiday Turkey Hunt Blog Hop bloggers are not responsible for prize distribution or for sponsors who do not fulfill their prizes unless it is noted that they are self-sponsoring the prize(s).

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From my family to yours...

Back to School in the Hood!

Join the "Back to School Bash" with me!  Back to school in our 'hood usually means lots of kids ringing the doorbell at 3:05pm, just after the bus drops off the neighborhood kiddos and they're anxious to blow off some steam. However, as a homeschooling family, we often start our day much later than the PS kids and are still working at 3:05. To, hopefully, alleviate some of our interruptions and stress this year I found these cool magnetic sheets (used to cover air vents in the house) and printed up signs to attach to them. They are paintable too, but I used my publishing program so that I can manipulate them and reuse the magnets later on for other signage we may need. I'll post again later to let you know about the progress of our little sign experiment. 

 Here's a photo of the printout before I adhered them to the magnet paper (which you can probably get in 8x11 sheets at a craft store too).  It's just an 8.5X11 piece of card-stock that I divided down the middle and made two signs.  It took me about 30 minutes to get them done and put onto the magnet.  I'd love your feedback - what do you think?

LD Entering College & the Workplace?

I just read an inspiring article in "The Atlantic" about a young man who obtained a job right out of college and had to decide whether or not to disclose that he has a learning disability (LD), and what the implications of such a disclosure could be.  I've often wondered, for the sake of my own children, what that will be like when they are ready to venture off into college and into the work force.  I worry about them and I worry that it will harm them in some way.  My kids are sensitive about their individual issues, but I also think that they will end up doing things that play on their strengths rather than their weaknesses.  What do you think?  If you were job-hunting would you disclose? 

Sight Words Cards

I just stumbled across these little ditties that I think are going to help clear up a lot of confusion in our home.  They are called Picture Sight Word Cards and were created by an Orton-Gillingham tutor out of California.  This is one of those "Duh! Why didn't I think of that!" moments for me.  So I bought the set and can't wait to use them with Princess this year. 

His Masterpiece

Spring Flowers, Princess 2012

"Let God's big had close gently over yours. With His help, even the discouraging scribbles of your life can become a masterpiece. Nothing would delight a Father's heart more." ~ Joni Earackson Tada   

The verse with this is: "I know that you can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

Sometimes it's really overwhelming to homeschool.  Sometimes it's extremely overwhelming to homeschool kids who don't learn the same way we've learned...who might be more right brained than we are or who look at life completely differently than we do.  My Princess is like this.  She said to me last night when struggling over an easy reader that she picked out, "books hate me."  Now, my left-brained mommy voice kicked in and I told her that books are inanimate objects and cannot have feelings, but she was convinced last night that reading is evil and it's not for her.  I've had this battle with her for a long time.  Some days she loves to pick up a book and try to sound out the words, and other days it's a battle just to look at one.   Can I blame her?  She's 13 and reads at an early 2nd grade level.  Her dyslexia is a daily battle.  Her self-esteem is a daily battle.  She writes and draws like a kindergartener.  She can't put together a sentence on paper without an incredible amount of help and frustration.  It's in these moments that I have to remember that God created her and is helping her.  It might not be on her timetable (or mine), but He knows what He's doing and what she's capable of.  So I have to allow the scribblings of her life to become her masterpiece.  One day at a time.  We might not get everything accomplished in this next year that I want to accomplish, but slow and steady wins the race.  We are HIS masterpiece, so I must trust the Master to perfect that which He began. 

Why Mosaic?

My name is Cindy and I’m a curriculum junkie!  Yup, it’s true.  In my homeschooling journey, which began in 2000, I have purchased many different types of curriculum for my four children (ages 19, 17, 15 and 13) in our quest to learn at home.  You see, what I didn’t realize when we began formal school instruction at home was that each child has their own learning style and what works for one child may not work for another.  In trying to make my round pegs fit into square holes, I discovered that what I had purchased wasn’t working and that my children didn’t enjoy their homeschooling as much as I did.  After several thousands of dollars (gasp!) spent and countless tears, I finally broke away from the cookie cutter mentality that I had developed and realized that what Mom likes may not work for what my dear blessings needed.

A little about us… My oldest daughter (I’ll call her “EC”, age 19) graduated from our home high school in June of 2011.  She is now entering her 2nd year of college (as of this writing) and is doing excellently in a lecture hall setting.  My son (he likes his nickname, Luigi, age 17) was my first clue that what EC loved in school wasn’t necessarily what he would enjoy.  Luigi has OCD/Anxiety disorder and has dyslexia and dyscalcula.  He was misdiagnosed by a well-meaning preschool teacher as having ADHD but he wasn’t formally tested until 2009.  He’s a very visual learner who thrives when he can draw and be creative too.  My next son (who likes his nickname, Mario, age 15) has been riding his older brother’s bandwagon since they’re both close in age.  Although he’s two years younger they do a lot of the same work and share a lot of activities.  While Luigi excels at video games and computing, Mario is the one with a knack for statistics and justice.  He’s harder to teach at home because he often thinks he knows it all already (yeah, me!).  Finally, my youngest is Princess.  She’s 13 and has a public school skill level of around 2nd grade due to severe dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalcula, visual and auditory processing disorders.  She has been my biggest challenge and my biggest source of frustration when it comes to the homeschooling experience and community.   She has a wonderful imagination and is very sensitive to others, but she also battles with insecurity and has to fight daily to keep up with her peers in the neighborhood.  However, I know that she was a gift to us and I look forward to seeing her blossom into everything she was created to be.

Why Mosaic?  When you look at a mosaic piece from a distance you simply see a beautiful picture.  However, as you step closer to the art  you come to realize that the artist used many different sizes, shapes and colors of tiles or glass to create his finished masterpiece.  Homeschooling is much like a mosaic at times.  From a distance it seems like it’s as simple as doing “school at home” or that everyone has the same end results in mind.  However, when you step closer in you can see that each child is unique, even "flawed", and has his or her own set of needs, learning styles and calling in life.  This blog was created with the hopes that maybe, just maybe, some other mom or family can avoid some of the pitfalls that I’ve been trapped in while educating my children.  Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to look around.  Please feel free to message me or leave a comment and please check back often or join my RSS feed or email list.