Time

It's been a while since I last posted on here. Life has been busy! My two littles are like energetic puppies. I was raised with five brothers, so I am familiar with boys, but man, these two...they make me tired just watching them! Crawling, jumping, climbing, tumbling, tugging, pulling, in, out, up, through...and don't forget the wrestling! Constant wrestling! I'm surprised one of them hasn't gotten injured or broken a bone yet. (cross fingers it doesn't happen any time soon!!)

Harrison has now been busy doing his online school/regular school mix for a few months, and I think he is really enjoying it. It seems to be a good mix for him. He is doing really well keeping up with his online school work, and he works very hard and diligently at it. Then he has orchestra at the regular school, and seminary, and he is really enjoying those too. It makes me happy to see him liking school and doing great at it.

Hazel we are still trying to help her catch up, but she is getting there. I am glad she has the teacher she does. I really like her, and she does a good job, and she is very understanding and empathetic to Hazel's needs. It's just right for Hazel.

Jeffrey, boy Jeffrey has just done a total turn around! He is talking more, interacting in conversations, wants to read books, count, say colors, it is just thrilling and amazing and makes my heart happy! The doctor checked out his ears and throat the other day, and Jeffrey interacted with him! Our pediatrician always makes little bird chirps when he looks in little kids' ears and when he did it this time, Jeffrey looked at him and said, "There's a BIRD in my EAR!!!" It was so cute! It makes me smile just writing it!

Emmett is so super smart! He already counts to ten. I'm sure he doesn't understand the significence of it yet, but it just amazes me that he does it! He also recognizes a few sight words (very few) and letters. He's just fun, and crazy! I love him though. I love them all. It's not that it's super easy and all just smooth sailing, but being a parent is very rewarding.

So, now onto the other stuff...

I have a growth on my jawline. I know. Eww.. I had it checked today by a surgeon, and it will need to be removed. So, there may be a small surgery in my future. My doctor said it looked like a sebaceous cyst. The reason it needs to be removed is it has grown like crazy the last six months, from being the size of a pencil tip eraser, to more like a big marble (the big steelys). It's also infected and not a happy sebaceous cyst, which also points towards it needing to be removed. I'm supposed to have an ultrasound on it so they can see all the structures and make sure it doesn't involve any facial nerves, large blood vessels, etc... so, hopefully that will be all okay and no problemo... praying for good outcomes on that one.

There are other intriguing things going on that I can't write about yet. So...I may write about it next time. We'll see.

School is in session...kind of...

Hazel started school this week. This is a week earlier than they started last year, and last year they started a week earlier than the year before that. So...yeah. Still, they get out for summer about a week before everyone else. BEFORE memorial day so that will be new for us.

Harrison's main school starts on Wednesday next week, and then the school he takes orchestra at and seminary will start on the 31st. He's actually been working on one of the classes this week because it is self paced and if he can get it completed before the school semester starts he won't have to do work from that class because it will already be passed off.

Jeffrey starts preschool on the 31st. His teacher came to visit just to meet him. He hid behind the recliner. That's his spot. His teacher from the year before came too, and she mentioned to me that he also had a spot in the classroom that he liked to go to. I guess he likes to have a safe spot where he feels in control. :) He will be going to school four days this year. If it is too overwhelming for him they will back it down to three and then try to get it up to four. I really didn't ever want him to start kindergarten right after he turned five, because he would be the youngest in the grade. I just didn't think that would be a good thing. I still don't. I am going to use all my parental power to have him go to preschool another year.

I was pretty impressed that all the kid's school holidays are pretty evenly lined up except for spring break. Harrison's main school is off for spring break one week before the other schools in our family. Still, we may be able to work it so he does his school work that week and then takes the next week off when his orchestra and seminary will be having spring break. That's the cool thing about online school.

It's going to be a busy year!

Summer is Here!

School is out. At least for my kids. Seems kind of weird since the district we live in doesn't get out for another week. :)

I decided once again that our summer would be a little more structured than it has in the past. We'll see if I am successful at achieving this! I told the older kids that I thought it would be good to set some goals so that we would have something to work toward. They liked that idea, so hopefully it will be a good motivator.

Basically the morning will be filled with doing chores for the day and working on the goals, which for both my older kids includes practicing music. The goal setting begins today. I would also like to have a wake up time. Not super early, I mean, it IS summer and I don't want to totally kill their fun, but if I let her, Hazel would sleep in until 10:30 every day.

The other thing we need to work on is getting things ready for Harrison to do online school. Of course he is already registered, it's just making sure he has a space that is suitable for doing school work. I know that they say they can do it "anywhere" but it seems in our family, that if there is  specific place set aside to work on schoolwork it just seems to go better.

At the very least I would like my kids to work on practicing their instruments. This one is especially crucial for Harrison since he hurt his wrist in February and is just now getting to the point where he can start working with it again. He's lost a lot of muscle and wrist control in his bow hand, so hopefully he can gain some of it back.

Of course it's important for Hazel too. She has a lot of building blocks she needs to work on. We'll see how that goes. She doesn't like having me for a teacher. Lol. I really have to be more aware of her frustration triggers when I teach her.

So, 1, 2, 3, here we go!

Where were you...

My son came home today from school and asked me where I was when the towers got hit in NYC. We talked about it. He was almost one when it happened. My other kids hadn't been born yet. I'm glad it's something they discussed at school. I'm glad they felt it was important enough to remember and talk about with the students. My son's class watched a documentary by NOVA about how it was possible for the twin towers to collapse and fall down. My daughter's class talked about one of the airplanes and how ordinary people became heroes that day because of what they did.

I was sitting here thinking about how one of my friends described it as "our generation's day of infamy."

It got me thinking about other things that I remember happening...

The Challenger space shuttle blowing up...

The Berlin wall  being torn down...

Columbine...

It's interesting to reflect and see the impact these things have on our lives.

I hope we always remember. I know I will.

Busy busy

It has been a busy time this past week!

Jeffrey turned three, Harrison and Hazel started school, Emmett got an ear infection, and the county fair is happening! It makes me glad that Harrison and Hazel don't raise animals for the fair, or my definition of busy would have just gotten expanded. :)

Hazel is so excited to be in 5th grade. I think she has been waiting for this for two years, because now she gets to play the violin! The school my kids go to has an orchestra program that starts in the 5th grade. (I personally, cannot believe that she is in 5th grade!! Where did the time go?!)

Harrison is in 8th grade now! Wowza! He is still playing the viola, but this year, if he can practice really hard and learn the solo I picked out for him in the next two weeks, he wants to be in the local chamber youth orchestra. Our area has two youth programs. The youth chamber orchestra, for middle school/junior high aged kids, and the youth symphony, for high school kids. I have a feeling we will be involved with these groups for a while. I am grateful really, because it is so good to have programs like this available!

Jeffrey was so funny on his birthday. Every time we tried to sing to him, he would cover his face. Then, we had gotten a small cake to celebrate with, and Shane was holding it with one hand, and it fell over onto the floor. I was glad that we hadn't lit the candles yet, and that it was a smaller, fairly inexpensive cake. Apparently that cake really had issues with being dropped, because more pieces dropped when we would try to put them on plates. It was quite hilarious.

Poor little Emmett started having a runny eye a few days ago, and we decided it was time to take him to the doctor. I am glad we did! He has an ear infection. If he hadn't had a runny eye along with the changes inside his ear, they probably would have waited to see if it improved or got worse, but since he did, and his eye was running, and you could just tell he felt terrible, the doctor felt that antibiotics were a good idea at this point. So, hopefully he will start to feel better soon!

Now we've still got to go to the fair to see how our entries did.

For a week that is barely have over....it feels like it's been a complete week!

Wondering

Yesterday I went to the student led conferences at Harrison and Hazel's school. I remember when I went to school they were called parent teacher conference, and while bringing your child was encouraged, it wasn't a requirement.

I guess they try to make it a more positive experience? And your child being there is to help them help you understand what they are having a struggle with or not struggling with?

Anyway, Harrison is in 7th grade now. He will be at the charter school he goes to until he completes 8th grade. Ever since school has started I have asked him if he has any homework, or assignments due. Imagine my surprise to find out that he was missing 6 assignments in his math class and comparable amounts in his other classes as well.

He honestly didn't know that he had missed turning them in.

Obviously there is a learning curve going on here, so we talked about school, the difference now that he is in 7th grade, his responsibilities, expectations, etc...

If he'd gone to the intermediate school this change would have happened when he started 6th grade.

In that regard, I guess I have never had a problem being organized when it came to school. Without anyone telling me or showing me, I decided on a folder system for all my classes. It worked well. At some point in high school I switched to a binder with page tabs, and that worked even better because then I didn't have to keep track of all my folders.

I didn't ever think I was a super braniac in school, I just turned my assignments in on time, and did my homework. There weren't a lot of distractions in my world, so it wasn't a super complicated thing for me to do.

Shane often reminds me that I wasn't the typical kid though. :) I guess most kids DO struggle with this change, and it is hard to figure out how to keep everything organized and all together.

So, I am going to teach Harrison how to keep his schoolwork organized. I tried to buy him a planner yesterday and the store didn't have any!!! Seriously! So, I guess we will have to go to an office supply store and get him one.

I am also going to make charts for Harrison and Hazel so they can remember and determine if they have their schoolwork done.

I am glad our kids are going to be out on fall break for the next few days because we can start implementing this, and they can get used to what they need to do.

Summer Days Past

Well, my older kids have been back in school for three days now. This has been a little odd for me because they went back a week before the other schools in our district. Their school decided to align school schedules with their sister charter school, which is in a different district.

The other reason it has been odd... because it's fair week! That's why our school district always starts almost last out of all the districts in our state. We have the last county fair before the state fair starts.

So, it has been interesting to have to worry about taking the kids to school, and also remember the days to take things to the fair, and the schedule of the fair. If my kids raised animals for the fair though...I don't know, they would have a tricky time being involved with that and going to school... They don't, so it's not really a worry. Knowing our school, I'm sure they would work with whomever had that situation. They are pretty good about things like that.

It's been an unusual August in that in has been cooler than all of July. So BIZARRE!

And in kidling news...

Jeffrey is talking up a storm. I don't think I would be able to count all the words he says. I guess we use polite words all the time because he says those too. Water please. Tank you. C'mon please. Everything has a please. I am not complaining! He has a hard time with the yeh sound though. So, if you ask him something and the answer is yes, he will say "sure" instead.

He loves cars and pretty much anything with wheels.

Emmett is five months old...getting closer to six months old every day, which is just crazy! He loves his jump a roo and wiggling and rolling on the floor. He loves to watch people talk to him, and just a few days ago started reaching for my face so he could touch it. It is so cute. We started feeding him baby cereal since he constantly tries to grab the food off our plates. He has handled that really well, and eats it really well too.

And that, in a nutshell is pretty much all that has been going on the past little bit!

A Different Adventure

So, a new charter school was approved for our area. I have always liked the idea of a charter school because I feel like there are things that can be done at a charter school that can't be done at a district school even though it is technically still a "public school."

Anyway, I put Harrison and Hazel on the list and then waited for the time when they would do the lottery drawing to see if they got in.

Well...they BOTH got in!

I was very happy about this. It is a K-8 school, and I think the style of learning there will be very beneficial to Harrison, and maybe Hazel. Hazel...well...we will see what happens. Both of my kids tend to be thinkers. They are exceptionally smart and I don't think they are very challenged with the school work they are given. They are both above grade level in every area. I think the type of teaching style at this school will be more suited to their needs in learning. So, we will see what it is like!

If it is something they both excel at there is also a charter high school fairly close that teaches in the same style of learning. Who knows really, maybe by that time a similar charter high school will be even closer to us.

The style of learning is called "expeditionary learning." One of the reasons why I am interested in this style of teaching/learning is that it teaches kids to be thinkers, which in today's world, I think is a very crucial thing. It also teaches them to think outside the box.

So, we will see. They will be required to wear school uniforms, which is also pretty typical with charter schools, and is also something that does not bother me.

We will be getting the information/registration packet pretty soon, and I must admit, I am excited to see it all play out.

The Last Day

Today is the last day of school for the kids. I think they are both really excited. When we took Hazel to have her "tonsil evaluation" a couple of weeks ago, one of the options for surgery dates was May 31st. I knew that if she got her tonsils out then, she would miss the last few days of school.

From an academic standpoint, that wouldn't have been a big deal, since they haven't technically really learned anything since last week, but from a kid standpoint, I knew it would be huge.

So, we asked Hazel. I reminded her it would mean she would miss the last few days of school. She sat there for a minute, and then responded... "But then I would miss all the parties!" She is one smart kid! :)

Anyway, yesterday was my appointment with Dr. Arrington. I think it went well. He told me that as long as my heart rate doesn't stay up high, we should be okay. Since my heart rate went back down to the low hundreds fairly quickly, that was a good thing.

I guess when you are pregnant your body has a higher volume of blood, so it is not unusual for the heart to beat a little faster, but 120's is kind of borderline, and above that, they don't like. At least my doctor doesn't.

The other good thing is my blood pressure is really good, and my legs aren't swelling. Those were the other things he was concerned about. If they weren't good...well, I'm sure I would have been put on bed rest instead of just "taking it easy." :)

He gave me the okay to go on our camping trip...yay! Unless of course something happens, but I think as long as I just keep taking it easy, I will be okay.

I always find it interesting that when you can't take it easy and rest, you always wish you could, but when you are FORCED to do it, it is one of the most difficult things to deal with. I keep looking at my house and all the things that need to be done, and actually have a desire to do, and...I can't.

Oh well! :)

Nice and interesting...

Well, I think we had a pretty good Thanksgiving weekend. We went to the in-law's for Thanksgiving, then my parents' the day after (after shopping of course), and then Saturday was pretty good too. Most of our Christmas shopping is complete, just a few odd gifts here and there.

The main thing on Saturday was spent taking Harrison to his appointment with his new Psychologist. It was very interesting. Since the last appointment we had with her, we had filled out a questionnaire, as well as his two school teachers. We went over the results, and found out some things that weren't surprising really.

Here's the jist of it. Because of the types of things that were noticed or written on the surveys, she very strongly thinks that Harrison is bipolar. She also told us that a very high percentage of people who are bipolar have ADHD, but not all people with ADHD are bipolar.

So, now we need to still meet with her, and also go and have him evaluated by a psychiatrist to see if he really is bipolar, and then what type of medication he should be on.

Also based on the evaluation, she told us he definitely needed to be on a behavior modification plan at school, and that if the behavior modification plan was not effective then he would qualify for special ed. She told us that people always think of special ed as developmentally delayed, but there are 17 other reasons a person could need special ed.

The nice thing about Harrison's psychologist is that she was a school counselor in our state for 20 years before she became a psychologist so she knows all the state laws and what the school is required by law to provide for us. Kind of overwhelming, but if it is what Harrison needs, then that is what needs to be done.

The plus side is once he has his evaluation done, and possibly gets put on medication, it may solve the behavior problem part. So, here's to hoping.

Green is Great!

So, the kiddos have been back to school for a whole month now. It never ceases to amaze me how the time seems to fly by.

When Harrison left public school to be homeschooled a few years ago, things had reached a very low and frustrating level. I still remember him being in Kindergarted and 1st grade and having him NEVER stay on GREEN, EVER. I had come to think of the pullcard system as stupid and not effective (at least not for him).

We would get called all the time. He would see the principal ALL THE TIME, and nothing mattered. Then in 1st grade a bully was thrown into the mix, and it just got worse.

So, fast-forward to now. I guess there are a few things...he is more mature. He is in 4th grade, which I guess is a "turning point" grade for a lot of kids. As a parent I took a more pro-active route and talked to Harrison's principal and teacher BEFORE he even started school there.

This year, so far, he has been on green more than the other colors. There was a week where he was being impulsive, and got on yellow and one red, but we talked about his behavior, and then after that...green!

Part of me feels like I am in the twilight zone because it is SO DIFFERENT from prior years.

Hopefully it is a sign of good things yet to come!

Hooray for Low Census!

Well, today anyway! On Friday the charge nurse told me I was on low census today. That is always kind of...not a wonderful thing because then you have a very slim chance of getting all your hours, but it was a great thing today! Mainly because today was the first day of school and I had wondered about not being able to go to my kids first day of school in their "new" building. (New to us anyway!)

Things went really well, and one of our neighbors even asked if we wanted to carpool, which will work out really well because they will take Harrison and Hazel to school in the morning, and Shane will pick all of them up in the afternoon.

I hope their first day of school went well! It will be interesting to see the stories they have to tell when they get home today.

Time flies...and a bunch of random things...

Well...it hasn't really...I keep waiting for when I can post my "anniversary song" and we are definitely getting close, but not there yet!

I have a new cello student coming today for a lesson. We will see how that goes! It is going to be an adult student with NO music experience whatsoever, so woohoo! I have never had a cello student that I had to start at the very beginning, but I am up to the challenge. It definitely helps that there is a strong desire to learn.

Shane signed up to be a substitute teacher for the school district. We are hoping that he will get some assignments soon! It works pretty well as part-time work, especially where he works swing shift now. I must have angels helping me, because most days it's not too stressful, and I don't know...I can just feel the extra help. I know that sounds kind of weird, but it's true.

I have been enjoying the mildly cooler weather, but apparently it is going to be short-lived. Bummer. I guess we'll see. It's not like the weather-man has never been wrong before!

Hazel is still loving kindergarten, and I am glad about that! It is kind of weird having a student who fits in the public school box. Instead of getting notices that my child acted out and was on red all week long, the teacher tells me every day how much she loves having Hazel in her class! It's a nice change, but I wouldn't want Harrison to be completely that way, because then he wouldn't be who he is, but a little like that would be nice...we're working on it! :)

Still, it "feels" like September. Fall is a close second to Spring. The only reason I like Spring more is because Spring has things bursting into new life. Fall has lots of warm cozy memories, which would probably explain why I like Thanksgiving so much.

School is in session...

So, Harrison's virtual school officially started yesterday. I was a little (okay, A LOT) apprehensive about this year, because when the books came there were so many and I just about had a panic attack. What was I thinking? How would I be able to do this? And I think I was still trying to deal with all the crazy things that happened this summer anyway.

Still, I decided that we had come this far and Harrison really wanted to do homeschool for one more year, so I decided to stick it out and see how things went. Well, so far they have gone really well. At least, I think they have!

The books aren't that intimidating, there's just a lot of them, because most of the work is done offline this year. Not a bad thing in my book. I still need to get better prepared for science and art, but we are getting there.

Hazel is SO excited to meet her teacher today. Her school starts next Monday, so there is a week difference, but I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Although, every day she asks me..."Is today the day I get to go to Kindergarten?"

I know you are probably wondering why I homeschool one child and not the other. Well...one child needs the flexibility, and the other child needs the structure and rigidness of a "brick and mortar" school. Hazel fits into the box quite nicely. She could be the mold for all other students. Harrison is an explorer and curious about everything. Neither one is better than the other, it's just that homeschooling lends itself better to Harrison's learning style and emotional needs at this point in time.

When I ask Harrison if he still wants to homeschool, he gives me a very emphatic YES! and then tells me that next year he wants to go back to regular school. Hopefully by that time he will be able to handle it better and have a better experience. I think he will be bored out of his mind...but it's what he wants to try, so we will try it. :)

Onward and upward we go!

Only one more day!

So, there is only one more day until school is out for the summer! Yippee!! I think I have learned A LOT since January, and I've come to realize a lot of new things that I guess I hadn't really thought about before.

1. We take public school teachers WAY TOO MUCH for granted. I already knew this, but really, we should give all teachers an award for making it through the school year with their sanity intact.

2. I always knew homeschooling was hard, but it is HARD! Hard for the parent, hard for the kid, hard all around, but...SO WORTH IT if you do it right.

3. I have come to appreciate all the effort that my teachers went to to try and make learning interesting. I never thought about how hard that is until I taught my own child.

4. I feel sorry for year round teachers who don't get a break. I need a break, and I only taught since January! (and only one child, can you imagine teaching 20+ kids every DAY?!)

I wanted to make it 5 things, but that just isn't happening today, so, four it is. Still, I am so GLAD that summer break is here!!! WOOHOO!!!!

A Clarification...

So, reading my past few posts, I kind of feel like I give the impression that I am now anti-public school. Well, I'm not. :) I think that everything has a purpose, and what works for some doesn't really work for others. I feel that way about a lot of things.

I kind of liked what my sil told me when I was talking to her about the struggles Harrison was having at school. She said, "Public school can be hard when you don't fit in the box."

I really have to agree with that. Where homeschooling is concerned, I am kind of more in the, if my child wants to be homeschooled, I'll do it. If they want to go back to public school, I'll let them do that too. I just want him to learn and be happy doing it. Before I pulled him from school, he was bored, acting out, being teased and bullied relentlessly. I saw my child literally crumpling before my eyes.

So, homeschooling is working. I think I've mentioned before that I can already see a difference in his behavior. He is more respectful to me, his father, his sister... he is more polite. He is beginning to think more highly of himself.

I do however still agree with the socialization article. If the only reason you are keeping your child in public school is because you are worried what will happen to their socialization skills...well, I guess that's your perogative. I admit that it was one of my hangups too, until I really thought about what he would be missing, and realized it was all the things I didn't want him learning anyway.

What About Socialization?

I came across this article when I was looking up homeschool curriculum. I really liked it because I felt the same way. Before I pulled him out, I had more than one person ask me what we would do for socializing.

While most people were very understanding about pulling him out because of the horrible social environment that he had to deal with every day, I did have one person basically argue with me about why they felt what I was doing was wrong.

Did I really want to remove him from a situation where he could LEARN how to deal with bullies? It occurred to me then, and still does, that WHY would I want him to? WHERE would he EVER have to utilize his "bully knowledge" skills as an adult? (I guess if he became a teacher or administrator he would...wouldn't he...) Other than that? No. So, anyway, this article just really rang true to me and I enjoyed reading it so I thought I would share. Here is the link.


What About Socialization?

Home schooling parents are frequently asked, "What about Socialization?" Some well meaning people think that you can not teach children to socialize with others without a traditional school environment. I just look at my children with gratitude. My wife and I have six daughters. What a pleasure it is to see them develop healthy relationships with people of all age groups, and treat others with respect. Home schooled children naturally associate with people of all ages, including adults.

As children attend public school they are segregated into groups by age. Children become part of these groups for years. Their class mates are basically the same, with little change for all of the elementary school years, and sometimes much longer. These friends become all important, hence the source of negative social pressure. Home schooled children run with a different gang, their families. The social pressure exerted, by those who truly love and care about them, is very different from that experienced in the public schools. The wise parent will be involved with a church, where values are taught. Once again, a positive influence is present.

Many home schooling families go on frequent field trips. They experience the theatre, museums, and many cultural activities. These experiences, along with attending church, and normal interaction with families and friends give these children a wide variety of experiences, in various settings, that many children attending public school never will receive. Add to this the experiences that they do not receive, because they are not in public school.

There are many experiences that I received because I attended public school, that I never would have experienced in any other way. Most of us would never meet the following kinds of people if it were not for the public school system.

The Bully: I will never forget my friends who told the class bully that I had said something bad about him. Because I had been taught not to fight, I just sat there as he hit me in the mouth seven consecutive times.

Have you ever heard of a co-worker bulling someone on the job? Yes, but it is both rare and illegal. No employer, in today's litigious society would tolerate such behavior.

The Thief: Who could forget the fellow who was always hungry. So hungry in fact that we felt obligated to buy him lunch every day. He was always bigger than the others, and so was hungrier. I remember meeting this fellow in the boys bathroom one day. He was in the sixth grade, while I was in the third. I felt so sorry for him that I gave him my lunch money (not to mention the fact that I didn't want to get beat up).

Have you ever gone to lunch with some coworkers or friends, and have one of them demand your wallet?

The Great Orator: Everyone loved this fellow. He knew words that nobody else did. He expanded all our vocabularies. He used words that nobody else even knew. Because of him, I discovered the taste of soap, as administered by my mother.

The Show off: Without a large audience, and a class to disrupt, this fellow would never have anyone to entertain.

The list goes on and on and on. The girls all felt that they were in a fashion show, wearing revealing attire, and attracting attention in any way that they could. Children who thought out of the box were forced into silence by the group, and their creativity went untapped. We all learned what was acceptable and unacceptable to the group, and behaved accordingly. Discussing God was against the unwritten laws, and so God was rarely discussed. Actually studying was also taboo. The teachers all graded on the curve, and excellence on the part of one meant lower grades for the rest.

When was the last time you heard of a child picking up a good habit from the public schools? Where do kids learn about sex, drugs, and so many other things. This is where one of my children learned that men used to have tails, and lived in trees.

I have never met a home schooled child that was not polite and respectful. They relate well with adults. They are more caring, less self centered, and better balanced than other children that I have known. There are exceptions, however, just as many children come out of the public schools unscathed.

The socialization problem with home schooled children is a myth. Those who have a conflict of interest usually point to this issue. Why not? They cannot point to academic performance, home schooled children systematically outperform the public schools year in and year out.

The word "school" has many meanings. Fish travel in schools. They see themselves as a part of a group. Schooled children develop "group think" and learn to conform to the demands of the group. There are also "Schools of Thought", where people learn specific ways to think, not how to think.

Home schooling parents have many different reasons for doing what they do. Isolating their children from the world is not one of them. Most home schooling families are involved with a church. They usually participate in activities with other home schooling families. A friend of mine mentioned that her children had more friends after they started home schooling their children than they had while they were in the public schools.

As one man said "Take a walk down the hall ways of a local public school, and then decide, what behaviors you want your children to emulate?"

I'm back...

I know, it's been a few days. I took a break! :)

Harrison had his last day of school Friday and he was so glad for it to be over! He has a "new" teacher next year for 2nd grade. I don't know what their name is, so I will have to find out!

Here is Harrison and his friend Haven. This was taken before their little skit plays. Haven obviously was a mouse. Isn't she cute?! Harrison was "boy getting ready for earth day." His costume was really easy! Although, it was kind of funny because the other kids that had parts like Harrison's all had red circles of lipstick on their cheeks. Harrison opted out on that one. :)

Hazel didn't get to go to her last day of school because she had a nasty cold. Her new teacher called us though, and told Shane how excited she was to have Hazel in her class next year!

I now have water for my washer again! Woohoo! Shane put new shut-off valves on the pipe that went to the master bath (where the water was leaking). I never thought I would be so excited to do laundry in my house! I'm just so glad that I don't have to go back to the laundromat!

Sylvie's big day!

On Friday we got to take Sylvie to Hazel's preschool class. They thought it was great! Hazel was so cute. Her teacher asked her what kind of dog Sylvie was and she actually said schnauzer! I was way impressed. So was Shane.

After they all got to pet her inside and ask questions then we took her outside and Hazel got to run with Sylvie on her leash. Hazel thought that was great. Then the other students ran with her too. It was super cute.

Sylvie thought it was great because she got some running exercise! She loves being a house dog, but she really enjoys going outside too. A lot of times if you let her off her leash she'll start bouncing around, rolling in the grass, and all sorts of other fun things. She's a fun dog. :)

Teddy Bear Picnic

Harrison's class had a Teddy Bear Picnic on Friday...sort of. They were going to walk to a park close to the school, play games, have a picnic on the grass with their stuffed animals, and walk back to the school, but the weather didn't cooperate. It was cold and wet, so they still did the picnic indoors...

I thought it was a pretty creative way to get the kids to have a "field trip" of sorts, without costing any money. Harrison's class went on their big yearly field trip at the beginning of the year, which is why they weren't going on one at the end of the year like all the other grades.

Harrison still talks about it. They went to Hogle Zoo in SLC, and Shane went with them. Their group was called the "White Alligators" because one of Harrison's classmates that was in the group thought the albino alligators were the coolest animals that he'd ever seen.

Anyway, Shane went and did the teddy bear picnic because I wasn't feeling well. They had a lot of fun. Shane told me they played a really fun card game called "funny bone." Ever heard of it? He wanted/wants to buy it, but I guess it is an older game that probably isn't made anymore. We'll have to research it out and see!