I'm Not Perfect and Either are You AND That's OK.

Progress, not perfection. That's been my motto lately. I think if didn't say that, I'd go bonkers comparing myself to others. Let me start out by telling you things about myself that I wish you didn't know: I yell more than I should, I used to work out daily and now I just go for short walks with the kids so I've kind of let myself go, I can be impatient, I get up too early then stay up too late, I don't like being told what to do so I can't decide on a curriculum, I can be critical(I am actively working on this one), I can be a push over, I hate to cook unless I am in the "Zone", then I like it, I hate doing laundry and am bad at putting it away, I let my dogs kiss my face.

Whew!!! That wasn't so bad but, it's hard to see it all in print. I am sure there is a ton more but, I have to clean tonight because we are having people over tomorrow. I have found that, when I became a mom I was guilty of making judgement's. Experience has taught me that there is no BETTER way. There are lots of ways to do things and I can usually find some way that they would make sense to me if I try. Lets make it a point not to be so hard on each other. As women, we are constantly pitted against each other in the media. Whether we work or not or whether our lifestyles are the same shouldn't matter. The point we need to see is that most of us are doing our best each day for those we love. Period. We could learn so much from each other if we focused on that and let go of our judgement. For me, judgement comes from my insecurities. For this next week I am going to make it a point to read about those whose lifestyles are different from mine for inspiration. Will you join me?

http://wwwthatcrazyhomeschooler.blogspot.com/2012/08/as-promised-here-is-list-of-great.htm

As promised, here is a list of great resources for both HS families and mainstream families alike:

1-Memrise: Learning based on Science, fun and community. http://www.memrise.com/home/

2-Time4learning: A wonderful Full Online curriculum for HS, summer, or after school that will keep your kids up to speed. We have used it and it is our main source of curriculum. http://www.time4learning.com/

3-Ted Ed- Animated adventures and gripping video's to enhance your knowledge. http://ed.ted.com/

4-Mentormob- The youtube of learning materials. http://www.mentormob.com/

5-Open Culture- A giant collection of over 400 Ivy league course. Free learning at it's best! http://www.openculture.com/

6-Khans Academy- http://www.khanacademy.org/

7- learnist- http://learni.st/

8-Coursera- https://www.coursera.org/
free higher education

List of useful stuff for HS or for moms who want their kids to learn cool stuff!

I've got to go to a B day party now but, I'm compiling a list of great websites and books that would benefit homeschoolers, unschoolers or families with kids k-12. Look for it later today!

Say this every night to your kids....

Memories....and other musings about the 1st day of unschooling

So, I was just thinking back to a few years ago when I embarked on homeschooling the first time. My boys were ages 6 & 7 and , at the time, I had custody of my teenage God-daughter. Wow, how life has changed! My God daughter is on her own in the world, we have moved, my kids are older and life couldn't be any more different! On that note, I tried "unschooling" full throttle today and frankly, it was really hard for me. My kids bickered a lot more without ANY structure. I am pretty happy with the way things were so I am not completely sure if this philosophy is going to be for us, full time. I like it for when we need to switch things up or need to have a break. I will stick with it for next week but, as of now, I didn't see how it could be a positive thing for my household. Here's how my day went:

  We all woke up, one by one then the kids jumped on the computers to play roadblox. Then Nikolas decided to play Scrabble with my mom online. Lexi ran around like a crazy person just trying on all of her brothers clothes because they were in "media zone" and weren't paying attention. Then the kids decided to play "store". They fought over every aspect of how the store would work. Then they decided to play restaurant. The problem started there, when Andy envisioned a fine dining restaurant and Nikolas envisioned a burger joint. Then the boys argued about how the menu would look. Andy thought it should have calligraphy on it and Nikolas thought it should have men farting and propelling through time. Next, we gave up on the restaurant and went for a short walk. That ended with Nikolas storming home because he was still upset over the menu choice(he is our resident grudge-holder) and me finding a stray dog who literally tried to jump inside my body!!! He had on one of those shock collars that goes with an invisible fence so, even though I kept trying to get him to go back in his yard, he was afraid to get shocked so just kept sitting next to me giving me big, lab, puppy dog eyes. I can't say I blame him.
  On a side note, I have a new Ergo baby sling that is great! However, my 4 month old is a little sweaty beast and when we got home and took him out of it, he looked like Elvis. Finally, by noon, my kids decided to make brunch. That was a lot of fun! My kids can really cook well! I hate to admit this but, they cook a much better breakfast than me. After that, the kids all curled up and read for a while, which was really nice. Then, the fury erupted again when Andy and Lexi started playing make believe. Nikolas tried to "play" too. His idea of "playing" was repeating over and over "you know this is not real right?' Needless to say, this didn't go over well!

All well, I am sure the kids learned something today. If anything they learned how to resolve conflict by playing "who yells the loudest". Sigh"

I think I might need to invest in a good leash. Lexi could hold Andy.

Some books that might be helpful if you want to look at unschooling or just how we learn, in general:

In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging Your Child's Personal Learning Style by Thomas Armstrong

Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation by Edward L. Deci

"Little Johnny learned to read at 4 months of age"

"I wonder if I can fit in there?"

Cuddles!!!

I want you to know that my kids fight. They bicker as a sport on some days and there are times I just want to run away. I say this because I think it's important to point out in these types of blogs. Do I love being with them 24/7?  Most of the time, yes. However, I also have times where I wonder what I got myself into. I used to work out religiously everyday. Now, I barely have time to walk the dog. I take walks with the children several times a week but, that could hardly be considered exercise! We stop 110 times to look at bugs or to have a conference about what the kids are eating for a snack when we get home. Needless to say, it's slow moving.

I have read so many home school books where the families sound unreal. They sound like prodigies in the making. I want my kids to be able to obtain success but, most importantly, I want them to be happy when they find it. If the road leading to it is filled with days upon days of cramming for things they might need to know, what's the point? If they are interested in, let's say science and pursue all types of "scientific" adventures, my guess is, the information will stick. This is what I am watching and waiting for. In each of our children they have the latent curiosity to discover things about the world. I just wish that in these home school books it didn't sound as if the kids are all going to grow up to win the noble peace prize! Of course, I hope for that for my kids. Don't we all secretly imagine our grown son or daughter accepting it and then saying to an audience packed full of people "most importantly, I would like to thank my mom for her dedication and love for me".(Come on, you know you've done it once or twice). However, my goal is for my kids to have the resourcefulness and knowledge to make his or her life "abundant" and "genuine". I want them to enjoy the journey, not just the destination...

Duplicity pulling at me.....

As I have embarked on our little Home school journey this summer, I have been torn about how I wanted to go about it. On one hand, I am pretty neurotic about curriculum and really do enjoy "teaching". I have spent SO many nights scouring the Internet for good buys on curriculum. I have read books on learning styles and have learned each of my kids "style". I have planned lessons and checked off lists and made "schedules". Then, I started reading several books on unschooling and they set a little fire in my belly. I tried to not like it. I even sat up late at night talking myself out of doing it. These "conversations" started off worrying that my kids would just eat snacks and watch tv all day if we adopted this philosophy. Then, once I began to read more in depth, my "conversations" with myself went to the opposite side of the spectrum. "I don't have the time or resources to explore each of my kids interests", I thought. Especially considering they change their minds like Lady Gaga changes clothes! No matter how much I try to put it out of my mind, unschooling keeps popping back in. I find myself reading blogs and seeking out those that do it. They seem to be having fun and learning SO much! My days of living vicariously through them are over! After cajoling my son Andy to do his perfunctory writing assignment and seeing how stagnant it makes him for hours afterward, it's time for change.

The next two weeks are going to be "unschool weeks". We have been homeschooling since the 3rd week in June and have only taken off for 4th of July so I have some breathing room if this doesn't work out. I spoke with the kids about it, in depth, and they can't wait to get started! We are making up an idea jar that has things in it like "play restaurant" where the kids will plan a menu, buy groceries, use a budget, be a chef, be a waiter, collect tips. That's filled with life skills and things like math and chemistry. plus, it's well, fun! Fun because they feel grown up and independent and irrefutably intelligent for doing it.I will be on hand to expedite this venture and those like it. They may also just read or draw or play barbies(Lexi, ok and maybe Andy, too...sshhh). I hope that I have elucidated what unschooling is and maybe the fallacy that it's just being a lazy mom will begin to change. I never thought of myself as a iconoclast. I'm not trying to make history. I'm simply trying to help my kids learn in a way that is salubrious and exciting. I want the information to stick. I will keep you posted. Wish me luck!

Breakfast the kids made!

Andy "reading"

Friends!

All leashed up and ready to go to Disney World!

Clearwater trip!

Kole: Our "official" homeschool/unschool mascot

Bro's

Little "Cootie"

Andy, my budding artist

If there were ever "soulmates", it's Nik & I

I'm lucky....

I am super tired but, I wanted to get this on paper before I closed my eyes. Today has been another one of those days where I know in my heart that the decision to take my kids out of public schools was the right one.I have nothing against public education or teachers. In fact, I am in awe of what teachers do on a daily basis. I just feel that I had my children. I am raising them and know their strengths and weaknesses more than anyone. Education lately is all about test scores and pressure to perform. Kindergarten starts off right but, then it's all downhill from there. Learning shouldn't have to be something one does by being lectured to. If you want to learn a new skill you will find a way. Much of what I learned in school I did not retain if I had no interest in it. What if you could only learn about all the things that interested you? What if that changed pretty frequently(which, it will and that's ok). Think about how much more you would retain. Think about how exciting each day would be if you had the FREEDOM to learn and learning wasn't something done to you like homework and quizzes? This is the gift I hope to give to my children. This is what I believe "EDUCATION' can be. For this reason I think I am lucky. I think our family is lucky. On that note, I need sleep. The kids and I have a lot to do tomorrow :) I hope I got you thinking a little outside the box.