Affordable Homeschooling

Affordable Homeshooling and keeping it CCS-FREE

One thing homeschoolers love are FREE resources. However, with CCS (Common Core Standards) free might not be the best thing.  I haven't talked much about CCS, or at least not here on my blog, but I am a strong Anti-CCS supporter.  I believe CCS is meant to "dumb down America". I believe the public school system is broken and that no child should be in the system.

I believe that homeschoolers should fight to keep homeschool curriculum CCS-FREE and do their best to use CCS-FREE resources.

Thankfully we have resources like The Homeschool Resource Roadmap to help guide us and inform us of the CCS status of nearly 2,800 curriculum and resources options. I should disclose at this time that I have no financial gain from Homeschool Resource Roadmap, but I am an admin of  Christian Homeschool Oasis (CHO) , the facebook group, that was born in conjunction with Homeschool Resource Roadmap.

I see homeschoolers, in general, recommend things like Starfall, Khan, Spelling City, and others. These things are recommended because they are free, but they, in my opinion, are not the best options because of their CCS connections.

There are other resources that are CCS-FREE and good for the pocket book too. It just requires maybe looking a little bit deeper on the net, being okay with not being an exact copy of the CCS connected resource and sometimes being a little bit more involved and a little bit more planning on your part.

On today's periscope I talked about some of these things and as promise here are the links I mentioned:

What is CCS?

See Truth In American Education for more information.
Also this Youtube Video by NoTo CommonCore is helpful in answering the question: What is CCS?

Is the Curriculum/Site/Resource I want connected to CCS?

As I mention above The Homeschool Resource Roadmap is a good resource to find out if the curriculum/resource you are looking at has CCS connections. It is a database that is being added to and updated regularly that list the CCS status of nearly 2,800 items. Out of the the nearly 2,800 items listed about 60% of it is CCS-FREE (known as Independent on the Roadmap).
The Roadmap list things based on 4 categories

• Independent

• Correlated

• Coincidentally Connected

• Explicitly Aligned

Check out the roadmap. Nearly the whole site is free to access. The subject area where it takes the same info from the Common Core pages but list the resources based on subjects does require a ONE time fee.  Currently that fee is $4.99.  The Homeschool Resource Roadmap owner is thinking of raising the subscription in the next few months, but if you buy now you don't have to worry about that. Your subscription is a one time fee so if you you buy now at the $4.99 price you don't have to worry about the price going up -- seeing you already have access. 

Why have a subscription to the subject area if I can access the common core page for free? Well the simple answer is the the common core page requires you to know the name of the product you are looking for.  With the subject area you don't need to know the name of the product you just have to know the subject you want.. If I'm looking for math options then I would look under the math section.

Okay so I have decided I want to keep my homeschool curriculum CCS-FREE now what? 

Now you use the Roadmap to find CCS-FREE materials, but I will give you some pointers to start with. 

Instead of Starfall maybe Mighty Book or Kiz Phonics or Sight and Sound Reading or Progressive Phonics. Instead of Spelling City/Vocab maybe Spelling Help Online or AAA Spell. Instead of Khan (math) maybe XtraMath or AAA Math or CIMT.

Missed my live periscope? "Katch" the replay on katch.me or watch the embedded video below.




Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something.

My homeschooling is NOT a reflection of you

My homeschooling is NOT a reflection of you

So I did it! I took the plunge and did my very first periscope. I will admit it's not very good. I was nervous, thoughts I had planned out in my head didn't come out of my mouth.

It's it funny how you can have a whole conversation in your head and when it's time to speak you loose it.

Things to do different next time:

• make a list of power points I want to talk about. Actually write it down!
• have more a prep time. I decided last night I was really going to do this thing and picked this morning as the date. What I should have done was give myself more time to focus in on what I wanted to discuss.

In the grand scheme of things it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't what I planned on in my head.  I was going to focus on how my homeschooling is not a reflection on you and I was going to address what to do with those awkward moments when you tell someone you homeschool and they give you a litany of reasons they don't homeschool. Or how your homeschooling can be different from other homeschoolers and they or you shouldn't feel bad for not homeschooling the same way even if using the same materials.

I wanted to point that you shouldn't feel bad for choosing to homeschool that even when you are 8 years into it, like me, you are still going to be faced with people that will give you a litany of reasons why they can't homeschool, or all of the sudden get defensive. It's okay they do that. You don't have to take it personal. Just know that what I'm doing with my children is not a reflection of you and your parenting, your choices, and your lifestyle.

That is where I wanted to go that is where I wanted to talk about, but I spent more time rambling about why my son is in public school this year and myself then anything else. The result really of not being fully prepared for today.

See for yourself! You can "katch" the replay on my katch me page or you can see it below. 

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something.

Just a homeschooler - Not a know it all

Just a homeschooler - Not a know it all

Homeschoolers by nature, I think, are genuinely helpful people, enjoy helping others, enjoy giving advice, enjoy giving out pointers, and being there for others.  I know this to be true because of my blog, other homeschoolers blogs, and being apart of the homeschooling community for the last several years. It's great to have friends (even if they are just on facebook) to turn to for help, advice, tips, support, etc.  It's great knowing depending on the platform, group, or forum you can have access to 10, 20, 50, 100, 5,000 or even 20,000 plus other homeschoolers. Homeschoolers that might not share all your values, but they have one thing in common with you: They homeschool and love their children. Okay 2 things in common....

With all this access I see a disturbing trend:  Expecting these homeschooling friends, groups, forums, to be your ONE stop shop for EVERYTHING! Expecting these circles to essentially be your research department, your doctor, your gardening expert, your bug expert, your --- do I dare say --- your GOOGLE!

This is very frustrating! While homeschoolers are helpful, willing to help, they are not experts on every topic.  Need to know what type of bugs those are? Google, search a bug ID site, ask a local bug guy, go to the library get bug ID books. Need to know what type of apples that tree is and if they are edible? Go ask a local small business, family owned, apple orchard, seek out library books, seek help from a gardening or canning group.  Need help ID mushrooms.... well you get the point.

I'm just seeing a trend where to many people expect other homeschoolers do things that they should be able to do themselves.  -- Part of homeschooling is teaching your child how to research things, how to find information, know where to turn when you don't know the answers. While your peers might be helpful on giving you pointers on where to find information they should NOT be called upon for the answers for everything under the sun -- unless they are experts, it's their hobby, etc.

When I looked into homeschooling several years ago I read either in a book, blog, website or newspaper article -- okay maybe not a newspaper article -- that homeschoolers like to be helpful, but they don't want to be bothered with questions you can find yourself.  They rather you spend time trying to research it, find the answer yourself, and if you can't then ask for help.

When I first read it I thought it was referring to homeschooling laws, curriculum, schedules, routines, etc. Now, I think it means much more then that. It means stop relying on your homeschool circles to be your Google and stop asking them for  help for things that are better suited in other forums and quit "hiding" behind the label while it's for school there for it apply to homeschooling.

I've been in this game for a long while. I know that homeschooling is a lifestyle and under that premise anything under the sun is really apart of the homeschooling -- but use some common sense. You wouldn't go to the auto shop looking for a bug exterminator. You wouldn't go to drug store and ask to speak to the pharmacist about your car issues.  While I love all of  you and I'm glad to help when I can and will continue to do so: I'm just a homeschooler - Not a know it all!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something.

Socializing

It's funny how after all these years that dreaded s word can still come up. It in the beginning it use to throw me through a loop and I used to get annoyed and didn't know how to answer. Now I just point out how school is not for socialization. Socializing at school means being sent to the principal office or letters home.  Think about it!  The only time a child can truly freely talk to the other children is at recess and maybe at lunch time. Although, some schools discourage talking at lunch time.

Homeschooling doesn't mean you are home all the time. There are still many of the same outlets available to homeschoolers. My kids still go to church, youth groups, scouts and chorus. Over the years they have, also, participated in sports. All of these things are after school programs. Programs that generally open themselves up to more socializing and free time with other children. Yes there are times within these programs where the kids have to listen this is especially true with sports and chorus, but relative to the time spent at these events and school there is more time for free talk or play.  Plus there are homeschool groups that offer classes, field trips, holiday parties, and just time to hang out. My kids have friends they invite over or call on the phone regularly.

Really where a child goes to school (or not go) does not prevent them form socializing. Socializing takes place in the real world around all kinds of people and situations: grocery store, other stores, scouts, sports, church, post office, doctor office, nursing homes, soup kitchens, libraries, homeschool groups, etc.

When sickness has you down

Everyone in the house has been sick this week. Superstar, 13 now, and Web-Princess, 12, have been dealing with a nasty cough and fevers at night. They wake in the morning fever free and still coughing, but as the day goes on their fevers come back and the coughing gets worst. Hubby has been sick and so have I. It makes for a long week.

It is hard when they are sick not to get into that "oh, no we will be behind" mind set. You would think after 7 years of homeschooling I would be over that. Nope, I'm not! I think as they get older it gets harder to fight that. Especially, seeing Superstar will be high school next year. Yes, I'm just one year away from having a high schooler. As I look back at my older posting here I wonder where the heck did the time go.

How do you fight the "Oh, no I'm behind" thinking?

Glasses ARE making a difference.

It's amazing what some glasses can do for your child!  She still struggles with some reading, because she's lacking some basics skills, but she grasping and getting the information so much faster now. I really think it's helping her that she can see! She was just on the boarder line of needing glasses and we went with it, because we could also get them to be prism to correct for convergence insufficiency.

I so wished we went with this passive route several years ago when we learned she had convergence insufficiency. She's even doing math work with no fuss.  For the last several years I've had to deal with I don't understand it and had to work through her whining over the work. Looking back I think she was this way, because she couldn't see properly.

When she got her glasses on she said without my glasses things are 'normal'; with my glasses things are super clear and just pop-out at you!  I had to explain to her that super clear and pop-out at you IS normal!

She even this last week has been, are you ready for it, doing WORD problems WITHOUT my help!! For the last several years I've have had to sit next to her while she reads the word problems and correct the mistakes she was making.  This week she just did it without having to have me sit next to her while she read them to me! Can I just as that's awesome! She said for the some: I didn't know the person's name so I just skipped that part, but I understood and read the rest of the word problem just fine. That is a HUGE improvement for us. I really can't share how that's an improvement.


We've always have done spelling, math, reading, writing, and all the other subject required by my state, but this year I'm going to make spelling, writing, and reading more of a priority and  focus. We still will be doing all of subjects we just will be doing more language arts then in years prior.  I was given the first level of All About Spelling so I'm looking forward to giving that ago. I also have a list of books I'm going have the kid read this year in addition to reading to mommy and other free reading materials.

In years passed I've done history with a text book. This year I'm going to approach it with literature. I'm looking forward to that as well.  How have things been going with you? Are you doing anything new this school year?

How can you homeschool?

I promised those that followed my facebook fan page that I would have this post for you later this week. I know as homeschoolers we get asked this all the time, but its generally coupled with about your education level? What makes you qualify to teach? About socialization? What about college? If you are a homeschooler you know what the common cliche questions are.

The question I received this week wasn't one of the normal cliche questions. It was  a new question. I have to admit that when the question started I almost didn't listen, because I was sure what the question was going to be before it left the questioners lips. However before I answered his question I actually paused to think about what was said and thought "oh wait my answer is not going to apply in this question".

I should have taken that lesson of the importance of fully listening and applied it other areas of my life this week, but that's another post for another day. Anyway.... The question was "How can you homeschool when HE (my son SS) doesn't know everything?"

Yes, how can I homeschool Superstar when he doesn't know everything? This question, once I stopped to actually listen to it, made me smile and chuckle and I asked the critic in reply "Well do you know everything?" The critic responded with "Yes, I do", but what I can expect from an 11 year old.

Yep that's right a 11 year-old question my homeschooling this week. His concern wasn't about my son being around other kids, or about MY qualifications, his concern was the fact that my son doesn't know everything, thus how could I homeschool him. How is that possible?

Out of all the questions we get asked, I never thought I would have to answer questions from a 11 year old. Not only that but that question didn't have anything to do with the normal cliche questions homeschoolers get. It wasn't really about anything, seeing we go to school to learn! So it really is okay that my son doesn't know everything, that's why he's being homeschooled!

Life With A 3 Year Old

I've been enjoying having my nephew here, but at times I wonder my gosh how did I get anything done when mine were that little. It's Aunt Nikki can you play with me? Aunt Nikki can you help me? Aunt Nikki I want....; Aunt Nikki....

Actually it hasn't been all that bad, but it just made me realized how independent my own children have become over the years. Gone are the days of sitting in the bathroom with them while they take a bath, and gone are the days of.... It doesn't really matter if I list them all or not the point is own children are very independent now and having my nephew here has made me realize that.

School work over all is going okay. It's a bit of struggle to figure out the new routine of things with my nephew here but we are doing it. Some things I'm waiting for during nap time to do so that makes my kids a little on edge because they are so use to having most things done before lunch.  It's not bad, but it is an adjustment.

What's has been happening with you?

What do you use to teach a Foreign Language?

Foreign Language Help! Do any of you know of curricula or program that will be helpful? We over the years have had people give us various version of Rosetta Stone, but the kids don't like them! They want to learn things like French, German, but I don't know what to use to teach them.  I don't know much myself; so I need a program, curricula, that will teach them (and me) everything including proper pronunciation. 

Any suggestions you have would be great! Thanks for the help!!!

Shaving Cream Gone Wild

I know I've mention before we do lot of writing in shaving cream. Well this is what happens when it gets a little wild! Yes, even at 8 and 9 they have their moments were they are a bit like toddlers with the shaving cream! This isn't how it is normally here, because I normally stop it before it goes out of hand.

I could never homeschool!

One of the most common things I hear from non-homeschoolers, family, other bloggers, and friends is "I could never do that!"; "I don't have the patience to be with my child 24/7"; "I need adult time: Time with other adults"; "I need me time"; etc.

First, I would like to say I'm not a saint, nor am I super human. I have my days where I'm pulling out my hair, stressed to the max, and saying "Why?" Then I have my days were everything is peachy keen and right with the world. Those days make everything worth wild!

I understand where my relatives, fellow bloggers, and friends are coming from. I was in the same mind set at one point in my life and at times slip back into that mind set. If a person chooses to homeschool then they are choosing to take on some personal growth.  Growth that up to that point they may have been resistant to do and growth that at times they may fight even with homeschooling.

Choosing to homeschool is like choosing to get married. It requires some personal growth and determination from everyone evolved. Like marriage, it takes hard work, some days are better then others.  Everyday I get up and everyday I make the choice to love my husband and to homeschool my children that day. Some days it's an easy thing to do; other days it leaves me pulling out my hair. At the end of the day I'm glad that I made that choice. It's a choice I have to make everyday.

Homeschooling like marriage is not for everyone. It takes some deep soul searching to find out if you got it within you to do. It also takes daily work and a renewal each day to hold fast to that commitment. It, like marriage, also requires you to grow....

What about me time? Time with adults and all the rest?  Well honestly most homeschoolers network with other homeschoolers. Those networks allow you to connect with other parents (i.e. adults). How much interaction you get is totally depended on you and how much you want or need.

If you connect especially well with another family then you will find yourself making play dates with these other families above and beyond your homeschooling group meetings.

For me time? Make arrangements with your husband. Perhaps he can watch the kids for a hour or 2 on a Saturday and you can just take off doing something you like: walking in the park, reading a book at the library, window shopping, just grocery shopping without the kids in toe. Or just go for a walk around the block without the kids, join a gym if you can afford it. Whatever really. Honestly even if you worked outside the home you would still need to find that little bit of alone time at some point. If mothers and fathers that work outside the home can find that little bit of alone time so can homeschooling parents. It just takes some creative planning and cooperation with your spouse on making it work.

Do you want to join us for a pizza?

I know not everyone approves of homeschooling and thats fine. Everyone has to decided what is best for THEIR children. If you feel that sending them to a public school is fine, then great. If it's a private school, fine. And if it's homeschooling, so be it. All schooling methods have pros and cons, plus and minuses. What works for one child might not work for another.

However some people have such hatred for homeschooling and Christianity that their OPINIONS are over heated and they share those OPINIONS as if they are facts!

Recently I read an article that can pretty much be summed up in the opening statements:

Until the 1980s homeschooling was a benign activity that effected very few children. After homeschooling became dominated by right wing Christian theocrats, millions of vulnerable children (estimates are suspect because of poor reporting requirements) became virtual prisoners in their own homes, pawns in a scheme to overthrow the United States Government and replace it with a theocracy. (source)

See what I mean about hatred for homeschooling and Christianity? I shared the article with some of the ladies at THL: The Homeschool Lounge and asked them if they wanted to go out for a pizza when we are done overthrowing the USA government. LOL

So I really just wanted to post this here and ask you my dear readers: Do you also want to join us for a pizza when we are done overthrown' the government?? LOL We've decided that we are going to meet in Chicago because Chicago is the land of pizza! (Chicago Style Pizzas IN Chicago are the best).

Seriously anyone that thinks that homeschoolers homeschool to overthrow a government has some issues. It's really not worth debating with him because honestly when there is so much hatred you can't reason with them.

So what do you want on your pizza?

PS: going out for pizza is a bit of scarcism if you haven't caught on yet!

Are they behind? Homeschooling vs. Public Schools

A while back I gave my opinion about Public Schools, Homeschoolers, and Socialization. Now I feel as if it's time to give my opinion about comparing homeschoolers to public schooler in general. This like the other post is a bit of a rant! Let's just say you have been warn!

I love my kids and like most moms I think my kids are the best! I'm often very proud of what they can do, and perhaps time to time will boast about their accomplishments just like any other mother would do. I will also at times will compare what my kids are learning here at home to what some of my friend's children are learning at pubic and private schools. I do this really for myself and not as a means to say my kids are smarter, more advance, etc.

Honestly, I'm really sick of those types of generalizations. It makes my stomach turn in disgust. As my regular readers will know my son, Superstar, is recovering from ITW Surgery. Over all he's doing good, but does have a bit of a break down in the afternoons, evenings, because he's overtired. I made mention these break downs in a live internet chat recently. I even mention  that at one of these break down moments Superstar flipped out crying that he didn't want to die.

You see he was complaining that his leg itched and we offered to blow-dry it for him. DH told him how blow drying it would take the water away and that's when he lost it and started to say "I don't want to die". When asked why he felt that he said "I need water to live, so if you blow dry it away I won't have any". Cute I know! When I mention this in the live internet chat a poster came on and said something along the lines. Got to love those homeschoolers they are so smart!

Really? I just wanted to say hey, hold on, wait a moment.... My kids are not smarter just because they are homeschooled! Sure homeschooling has it advantages, sure test scores for homeschoolers tend to be better; but lets be honest, homeschoolers are NOT any smarter then those in public schools. Let's get of our high horse and have a reality check!

Public Schools are NOT evil! I sent my kids to a public school and I would do it again tomorrow if I felt that was best for them. I have no real ills again public schools. As a matter of fact I have a vested interest in how my local schools do because I still pay taxes for these schools. I care about what is taught, how things are handled, who the schools employ, because I still support these schools via my tax dollars. Let's not throw out the baby with the bath water okay! Sure, they aren't perfect, but how can they be? Even homeschooling is not perfect! Nothing is perfect...

I have seen homeschoolers posse questions like "Is it normal for public school children to be so far behind?" Behind compare to what? To what your little Johny or Janey is doing? I thought I read in the parent manual, that came the day the kids were born, that we aren't suppose to compare our kids to other children. That they all develop and learn at their own rate, blah, blah, blah.

We tell ourselves that. We say we shouldn't compare, but then they hit school age and it all changes. All of the sudden it's my kids can do this, mine can do that, we can explain how quantum physics work at the ripe age of 7. We can write a paper, have proper grammar, we can....the laundry list goes on and on and on.

IN GENERAL homeschoolers get annoyed when their kids are compared to public school students, especially if their child seems "behind". (Behind compare to what exactly?) If a person was to compare a homeschool child to a public school child and the homeschooler seemed "behind", the homeschooler would automatically tell you "Well we learn at our own pace. We have plenty of time to 'catch up', etc". In other words it's okay, no biggie. BUT at the same time if the homeschooler is "ahead" then it's a in your face attitude: Homeschooling rocks, My kids are so much smarter, etc. These were GENERALIZED statements. I know NOT all homeschoolers feel this way, but I'm seeing it more and more and I'm disgusted with the attitude.

Perhaps some of it's a natural defense to defend our children and our parenting choices. Perhaps some of it's just plan pride. There is nothing wrong with either one of those things, but lets keep in mind how we feel about those things, when talking about public schools and public school students. Let's get off of our high horses, accept people for who they are, and learn to help each other grow and not stand around comparing and gossiping about how so much better we are because of...

Yes my kids are homeschoolers! Yes my kids have areas they exile in, but they also have areas that they struggle in. Yes I'm proud of my kids and will boast about their accomplishments. However I want to be clear my kids are NOT smarter just because they are homeschoolers.They are smarter because I am their mother! (FYI: that's a bit of a sarcasm there.)

Honestly, the statement my son made about dieing and water was made because that is his personality. It HAS NOTHING to do with the education he has gotten or where he goes to school. I know my son, and I know, he would have made that statement even if he was in public school.

If he was still in public school I know that response to that statement would not have been "Oh public school kids are so smart"; The response would have been something along the lines of "What a sweet kid" or "Poor thing, to have so much worries right now"; or "I hope he feels better soon". Or my personal favorite "LOL-Kids really do say the darndest things don't they!". They would have a chuckle and moved on, not make a statement about his education or where he went to school.

I just wanted to end with if you are going to compare your child's education to other child's education keep some things in mind.

• 1) Not all schooling methods are equal
• 2) Not all curriculum are equal.
• 3) Not all homeschooling curriculum are equal
• 4) Not all schooling methods follow the same scope and sequences
• 5) Each child is different and despite what they are expose to will learn at there own pace.
• 6) Not all schools have the same priorities
• 7) Not all homeschoolers have the same priorities.
• 8) What seems like a valid comparison could actually turn out to be comparing apples to oranges.
  

Our Daily Schedule

I don't know so much if it's a bid for trying to get more "free" time or what, but Web-Princess over the weekend asked if we could do school like this. Work-Free Time; Work-Free Time; Work-Free Time.

I thought about it and said why not? I could use the Free Time to make sure I had the subject ready and they wouldn't have to wait on me. So we agreed that we would do a subject then have 20 minutes of free time, do a subject and then have 20 minutes of fee time, do a subject.... (I'm sure you get the picture)

During that free time, the kids can play or whatever, and I can makes sure I'm ready for the next subject, do a chore, read a book, or even blog. I just have to make sure the timer is set and when it goes off we go back to the school work.

We'll try this for the week and I'll let you know how it went. :)

CurrClick: It's a cool site!

So I got my CurrClick Newsletter (via email) today and it mention a few LIVE classes that I thought was cool! However, this time once again it will not work for us. I had the same issue before, either the classes are just not at a time that we can do it or it's a cool class, in my opinion, but the kids are still a little young for it.

In today's newsletter 2 of the classes that caught my attention but will NOT work for us (so sad):

1. Astonishing Atoms. Astonishing Atoms -- LIVE Class; Cost FREE
2. Beginning Guitar Lessons -- LIVE Class; Cost $40

CurrClick is NOT just for live classes they do offer all kinds of materials for all age ranges (some free; some not)  2 recent examples:

1. TBB Periodic Table of Elements Cards Kit -- FREE
2. Labor Day Holiday Helper -- FREE (I wish I realized that was there earlier, maybe it's not to late. Just because Labor Day was today doesn't mean I still can't do something this week.)

If you don't already then I think you should sign up for CurrClick's Newsletter. It's always loaded with cool information!!

Michael Jackson, Children, Homeschooling

Michael Jackson and Homeschooling? Really? I never thought I had much in common with the "King of Pop". I knew he had kids, but to be honest I didn't really pay that much attention to his children. It never crossed my mind! It's funny how death can draw things into the light things that we may not think about!

Who will take care of the kids? Where will they go to school? Or will they continue the education that they have now? Ideas that many of us don't think about!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The reporters are all speculating who will raise and care for Micheal's kids. From the segment above I gathered that Michael Jackson's kids have been "homeschooled". It never crossed my mind that Michael Jackson would be a homeschooler! It never crossed my mind that Michael Jackson's kids were homeschooled!

The only thing I have to say is that I was disappointed by what I took to be a negative reaction to homeschooling from the middle guest. First I do know that Michael lived a shelter life and that he, like most celebs, tried to keep the kids out of the media. Second, even if they did go "to school" it wouldn't have been normal by any means because of who their father was!

Seriously I'm sure they would have wondered: Are they being friends with me because they like me? Or are they being friends with me because of who my father is? My Aunt is? My Uncles are?

Does anyone think that Obama's kids are having a "normal" childhood and are making "normal" relationship with other children just because they are "in school"? Do you think they can just have sleep-overs, or go to play date at the park with John and Jane?

Related Stories: Michael Jackson's Kids Catholic?

Heat Wave Over: Back To School!

Last week we had a heat wave, temperatures in the 90's. Not only that but when it gets hot here it gets sticky because of the humidity! So I canceled school! This week the temps are going to be a balmy low 70's! So we are going to have school this week! No school today, but tomorrow and the rest of the week we will do work! :)

Word Problems for 3rd Grade Math

Our first week of our new year is going well. The kiddos are enjoying the work and we are getting through it at a pretty good rate. Of course the first weeks back are in some ways review so it's pretty quick.

DS, math problems confused me today and I'm not sure how to find the answer, other then making a calendar (and that's what we did). I took the easy way out today. Now mind you it's the 3rd day of 3rd grade so I'm really not sure what they expected him to do.

I'll give you the word problem here: (We are using MCP: Mathematics Level C)

In the United States, Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November. What are the earliest and the latest dates on which this holiday can fall?

The following word problem for the day had to do with Canada's Thanksgiving:

In Canada, Thanksgiving Day is the second Monday in October. What are the earliest and latest dates on which this holiday can fall?

There was a total of 10 word problems today and these, listed above, were the last two of the day. He was able to use the steps for the other 8 problems today easily. These last ones confused him, and me, so I told him just to draw out a calendar and do it that way. I'm sure there is a way to do it mathematically, but I was lost on how to do it on a 3rd grade level.

The steps they expect the kids to do are

SEE: What do you need to find?
PLAN: What you need to do?
DO: Follow the plan?
CHECK: Does your answer make sense?

I don't have teacher manual for the book, but for the most part I don't need it! It's just these word problems above really stumped me today! So how would a 3rd grader solve these problems without making a calendar?

Starting School...NOW!!

I know that most of my fellow homeschoolers are finishing up their school years, but we are going to be starting ours on MONDAY!!

We just finished up our first year of homeschooling the last week of April 2009, and have been on "vacation" every since. I had plans to start the new year the second week of July, but the kids begged me to start sooner! So after talking it over with DH we've decided that we will start the new year on MONDAY!!! The kids are excited!!! They have been hugging on me all day and praising me, telling me, that I'm a GOOD MOMMY!!! (Thankfully I have all my books right?? LOL)

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

My favorite post this week had to do with my children.

The first had to do with how I don't understand them. The second shared clips and pictures of the play (Peggy the pint sized pirate) that they were in this week.

For more Sunday Snippets from other bloggers visit: This That and Other Thing