Adventures of SuperMom...wait, what?
SuperMom status is not worth the trouble to reach, but I am enjoying my Mom-jobs and we have a super-sized schedule...
I have learned several things in the past month:
1. Homeschooling is a job.
2. I like it.
3. Alee likes it.
4. Gideon does not like it.
5. Gideon is a toddler; toddlers are trouble; therefore, Gideon is trouble.
6. Toddlers are cute; therefore, Gideon is cute.
7. Individual time with children is nice. I wish I could fit in more weeknights and weekends.
8. Alee is a lot like Seth.
Enough of that! Let's jump into the last month of our calendar!
The middle school girls performed in their school's semi-annual "coffeehouse" - a talent show of sorts - no winners or contests, just a night to come together and enjoy the "local talent".
They joined with 5 other kids (for a total of 8) to do a Disney Medley. They did a good job and were really cute. Last time, they had a group of 5. My mom came in the fall, and Rob's mom was able to come this time, so they've both gotten a chance to see them perform.
Kaitlyn and Natalie were the self-proclaimed leaders of a group of leadership-rate children all trying to cooperate. Oh boy, was it fun to be the parent volunteer over two of those practice sessions!
When I decided to homeschool Alee, I decided to take the remaining "school holidays" of the other children and turn them into fun family days that would also count for school for Alee. (She gets to finish earlier than they do, she sees learning can be fun and an adventure, and we get to do something not from a book or classroom style. Win win, right?)
We went down the Charleston on that first school holiday (because it was also Rob's flex day - 1 of 2 that work out that way), and started with lunch on the beach behind Fort Moultrie.
Alee is learning to get along with Gideon (and vice versa). She is also learning that the world does not revolve around her. This is a hard lesson, but it is beginning to sink in. :)
(That's Fort Sumter out there in the water - a little island fort where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It was Federal property that SC decided should be handed over to the Confederacy in 1861.)
We didn't visit Fort Sumter (because you have to get there by boat and it's not cheap for a family of our size!) but Fort Moultrie is very affordable, so we went there. (The view from the beach behind Fort Moultrie is where we could see Fort Sumter.)
Fort Moultrie has history from the American Revolution through WWII, so it's "set up" like different time periods in different parts of the Fort. Really cool.
Note Gideon's distress....he didn't like that Seth had Mommy's phone.
Photo 2 (to include Seth) - totally chill now that Mom has her property back.
Gideon is very "possessive" (not just of what is his, but of others' property.) He does not share.
We did a walking tour (self-guided, free!) and the kids mostly listened to me read/tell them information about the places we passed.
White Point Gardens at the battery was halfway and a nice rest.
The park we passed could have just been the entire visit for some. (We've been here before years ago when Seth was in 4th grade and we came down for a music event he participated in.)
It was Friday, so what else for dinner...Pizza! (On the road meant Cici's instead of homemade. Not as awesome, but fit what we needed.) Gideon blended his meal with his dessert. (He's gotten to be quite a challenge with food lately.)
Pi DAY! (Yes, I practically missed Valentine's, but we rocked Pi Day.) For those less excited about math, the number "pi" (familiar if you know the circumference of a circle and the area of a circle have PI in their formulas) is about 3.14... so March 14th is celebrated among math lovers.
Guess who's 16 and old enough for prom??
Seth wore my dad's tux (that he bought for my brother's wedding and wore only once). Seth unexpectedly found this chocolate (that we thought was a cookie) in the side pocket of the tux. My brother was married in 2010, so that chocolate is nearly 9 years old!
The next day was a fun library activity named "The Cosplay Ball" - although it's nothing like a ball - just a library activity with crafts and games for teens after library hours. The kids all dress up as some character (probably anime, but could be other pop culture) that they like.
Kaitlyn picked a girl from some show with a cartoon friendly witch that makes deliveries on a broomstick. (Kiki)
Natalie picked some Pokemon character that I don't know (and whose costume we modified to modesty). Fortunately, the odd color combination made it clear who she was to anyone who knows the character.
I have no idea who Seth is? He told me and sent me a picture and we went from there, but I didn't know who I was creating? (I made him do most of the work. I sewed on some pieces of brown knit fabric to the edges of that shirt I got at Goodwill. He painted a PVC sword we had outside, collected other clothing items and made his "armor" seen in the group picture.)
Carolyn is a book character (of course!) from Percy Jackson. No one in particular, just any camper from the modern Greek Mythology twist.
Seth drove them there and back. They're growing up and it's so fun to watch.
We are usually boring in our scripture study - we do have good discussions, but with only Gideon little, it's just that usually - a discussion as we read. But one suggested idea from the study guide was to draw pictures of the parable of the sower (wheat/tares). Except for our resident artists who took FOREVER making theirs perfect, it was great!
Rob them put his phone on "cast" screen to the den TV Chromecast while he used his camera to "show" the photos we each drew. (Like a smart board.)
We missed St. Patrick's day (because it was a really busy weekend with prom and cosplay ball (and the other stuff in the middle!) But I made the planned dessert the following week when we were supposed to feed the missionaries. It's a rainbow ice cream cake.
Carolyn and I went to a Homeschool Convention in the upstate the following weekend since I'm considering continuing next year (with her...not sure about Alee yet). We had fun spending time together going to workshops and looking at possible curriculum resources.
She's super excited I'm finally considering homeschooling her - it was her top "if I could have anything I want" on her Christmas list last year.
Gideon likes blocks.
The twins have an awesome teacher in Young Women class at church. Her food-driven lesson on chastity made the topic simple, understandable and memorable. She ended with mini "wedding cakes" that they got to take home. (For more information, you'll have to ask Kaitlyn or Natalie!)
Museum Field trip! (It was very bright outside afterwards.)
Some everyday homeschool moments from the past month:
(Piano lesson is now her "music class" each week.)
Sometimes they play so nicely together. (I put the table in there to be a train table or block table. Gideon likes to climb up and sit on it to play.)
Oh, bless me with patience...I know it will be funny looking back, but if I have to dig him out of my 25-lb flour box or take another bottle of flavored syrup away from him (as he drinks it from the bottle!) I think I might lose my patience with him!
Today was another day of digging in my large box of flour and sprinkling flour from kitchen to den. I finally moved it up high, but when I refill it, it'll have to go back on the floor because of its weight. Our pantry doors don't shut and lock, so I'm not sure how to keep him out now that he can open doors?
"Trampine!" "Jump jump jump!"
After the flour incident today, he was exploring the light patterns on the floor.
Typical toddler - from aggravating to adorable in 10 minutes.
I have learned several things in the past month:
1. Homeschooling is a job.
2. I like it.
3. Alee likes it.
4. Gideon does not like it.
5. Gideon is a toddler; toddlers are trouble; therefore, Gideon is trouble.
6. Toddlers are cute; therefore, Gideon is cute.
7. Individual time with children is nice. I wish I could fit in more weeknights and weekends.
8. Alee is a lot like Seth.
Enough of that! Let's jump into the last month of our calendar!
The middle school girls performed in their school's semi-annual "coffeehouse" - a talent show of sorts - no winners or contests, just a night to come together and enjoy the "local talent".
They joined with 5 other kids (for a total of 8) to do a Disney Medley. They did a good job and were really cute. Last time, they had a group of 5. My mom came in the fall, and Rob's mom was able to come this time, so they've both gotten a chance to see them perform.
Kaitlyn and Natalie were the self-proclaimed leaders of a group of leadership-rate children all trying to cooperate. Oh boy, was it fun to be the parent volunteer over two of those practice sessions!
When I decided to homeschool Alee, I decided to take the remaining "school holidays" of the other children and turn them into fun family days that would also count for school for Alee. (She gets to finish earlier than they do, she sees learning can be fun and an adventure, and we get to do something not from a book or classroom style. Win win, right?)
We went down the Charleston on that first school holiday (because it was also Rob's flex day - 1 of 2 that work out that way), and started with lunch on the beach behind Fort Moultrie.
(That's Fort Sumter out there in the water - a little island fort where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It was Federal property that SC decided should be handed over to the Confederacy in 1861.)
We didn't visit Fort Sumter (because you have to get there by boat and it's not cheap for a family of our size!) but Fort Moultrie is very affordable, so we went there. (The view from the beach behind Fort Moultrie is where we could see Fort Sumter.)
Fort Moultrie has history from the American Revolution through WWII, so it's "set up" like different time periods in different parts of the Fort. Really cool.
Note Gideon's distress....he didn't like that Seth had Mommy's phone.
Photo 2 (to include Seth) - totally chill now that Mom has her property back.
Gideon is very "possessive" (not just of what is his, but of others' property.) He does not share.
We did a walking tour (self-guided, free!) and the kids mostly listened to me read/tell them information about the places we passed.
White Point Gardens at the battery was halfway and a nice rest.
The park we passed could have just been the entire visit for some. (We've been here before years ago when Seth was in 4th grade and we came down for a music event he participated in.)
It was Friday, so what else for dinner...Pizza! (On the road meant Cici's instead of homemade. Not as awesome, but fit what we needed.) Gideon blended his meal with his dessert. (He's gotten to be quite a challenge with food lately.)
Pi DAY! (Yes, I practically missed Valentine's, but we rocked Pi Day.) For those less excited about math, the number "pi" (familiar if you know the circumference of a circle and the area of a circle have PI in their formulas) is about 3.14... so March 14th is celebrated among math lovers.
Alee's just learning about perimeter and area of quadrilaterals, so circle numbers are a little advanced, but we introduced the concepts anyways!
In public schools it's "junior" or "senior" prom, but for the church prom, it's just 16+, so if you turn 16 in your sophomore year before the prom, you can go.
Seth asked a girl he's been friends with a while.
She's older than he is, so this is his first prom and her last prom, but they had fun together and were fun to chauffeur around for the night. Their friend/group plans got a little messed up, so we got to spend extra unexpected time with just Seth and his date, so we took lots of fun pictures before taking them to meet friends at the prom.
The next day was a fun library activity named "The Cosplay Ball" - although it's nothing like a ball - just a library activity with crafts and games for teens after library hours. The kids all dress up as some character (probably anime, but could be other pop culture) that they like.
Kaitlyn picked a girl from some show with a cartoon friendly witch that makes deliveries on a broomstick. (Kiki)
Natalie picked some Pokemon character that I don't know (and whose costume we modified to modesty). Fortunately, the odd color combination made it clear who she was to anyone who knows the character.
I have no idea who Seth is? He told me and sent me a picture and we went from there, but I didn't know who I was creating? (I made him do most of the work. I sewed on some pieces of brown knit fabric to the edges of that shirt I got at Goodwill. He painted a PVC sword we had outside, collected other clothing items and made his "armor" seen in the group picture.)
Carolyn is a book character (of course!) from Percy Jackson. No one in particular, just any camper from the modern Greek Mythology twist.
Seth drove them there and back. They're growing up and it's so fun to watch.
We are usually boring in our scripture study - we do have good discussions, but with only Gideon little, it's just that usually - a discussion as we read. But one suggested idea from the study guide was to draw pictures of the parable of the sower (wheat/tares). Except for our resident artists who took FOREVER making theirs perfect, it was great!
Rob them put his phone on "cast" screen to the den TV Chromecast while he used his camera to "show" the photos we each drew. (Like a smart board.)
We missed St. Patrick's day (because it was a really busy weekend with prom and cosplay ball (and the other stuff in the middle!) But I made the planned dessert the following week when we were supposed to feed the missionaries. It's a rainbow ice cream cake.
Carolyn and I went to a Homeschool Convention in the upstate the following weekend since I'm considering continuing next year (with her...not sure about Alee yet). We had fun spending time together going to workshops and looking at possible curriculum resources.
She's super excited I'm finally considering homeschooling her - it was her top "if I could have anything I want" on her Christmas list last year.
Gideon likes blocks.
The twins have an awesome teacher in Young Women class at church. Her food-driven lesson on chastity made the topic simple, understandable and memorable. She ended with mini "wedding cakes" that they got to take home. (For more information, you'll have to ask Kaitlyn or Natalie!)
Museum Field trip! (It was very bright outside afterwards.)
Some everyday homeschool moments from the past month:
(Piano lesson is now her "music class" each week.)
Sometimes they play so nicely together. (I put the table in there to be a train table or block table. Gideon likes to climb up and sit on it to play.)
Oh, bless me with patience...I know it will be funny looking back, but if I have to dig him out of my 25-lb flour box or take another bottle of flavored syrup away from him (as he drinks it from the bottle!) I think I might lose my patience with him!
Today was another day of digging in my large box of flour and sprinkling flour from kitchen to den. I finally moved it up high, but when I refill it, it'll have to go back on the floor because of its weight. Our pantry doors don't shut and lock, so I'm not sure how to keep him out now that he can open doors?
"Trampine!" "Jump jump jump!"
After the flour incident today, he was exploring the light patterns on the floor.
Typical toddler - from aggravating to adorable in 10 minutes.
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