Some Soccer Season Snapshots

Our School Room

So, this year we actually have a school room. 

I know a lot of families who do their school work on the kitchen counter.  We tried. 

Could. not. focus. 

We tried it in the living room and dining room.

 Too much distraction. 

Not for the kids, for me.  All I could focus on was all the other things that needed to be done.   

Then we moved upstairs to the middle room between the two bedrooms.  It got to messy because that is where the toys are too.  We were stepping over things to get to our desks (which we got because I thought that would help us focus). 

Unable to concentrate. 

And the temptation to play with the toys was too much. 

There is so much to teach to four kids in various grades I needed a place to focus.  So, out went one of the bedrooms and we turned it into a class room.  Here are some pictures of our room:

 Here are the desks against the wall (so they won't get distracted (*smile*).  The green school desk use to be my husbands when he was little, so it is special to have in our house.  The one to the left we found on http://www.craigslist.org/ and the other two a great friend of mine gave to us. 

 Here is our craft area and a relaxing couch to sit on to read.  You can't see it in the picture, but on the table we have a classroom pet (we are pet sitting).  His name is Hamilton. 

 Above is my school des and to the left is a place to store things and my copier sits.  We have art and so some of the projects are displayed behind my desk. 

Here is a special computer station which the kids are doing a Spanish program on.  The closet is perfect because it is separate and less distracting.  I also can print out anything we need on the copier. 

So here is our school room.  The best part is I can close the door when we are doing school AND when we are not doing school.  It is used for just that.  School.  And nothing else. 

I would love to hear where you do school and how it works for you?

Progress Report Night

Tonight was Progress Report Night at our house.  This is the first year we have done this.  My son last year said he would really like our school to be like a "real" school...homework and all.  So this year, I have done just that.  I will post more about that in another post.  So, tonight was our first Progress Report Night and the kids were excited. 

They got the school room ready.  Cards for Dad made.  Excitement to find out how they are doing. 

We had a special meeting with each one.  J.W.,our third grader, knew there were days he did not do his best and was worried about getting a "C".  I went to Donna Young website and printed off templates for a report card and had it all filled out.  They showed off the art work they have done so far this year and enjoyed explaining things they do during the day.  It was a great night to encourage and guide.  It was an "easy" way to let them know where they needed to work harder or where they were doing a great job.  In six more weeks there is a Report Card that will go out.  There are a couple of companies near our house that reward good report cards and the kids can't wait to get their grades where they need to be to get the extra special treat. 

New website for homeschooling only

Hi, if you followed my blog because of the homeschooling aspects then just to let you know I have moved over to a new website.  You can check it out at http://www.teachertofour.blogspot.com/ .  We look forward to seeing you over there.  Thanks. 

Personal blogs will continue soon on here. 

Is homeschooling right for me?

So, the common question is, is homeschooling wrong or right?  I think it is neither.  Every kid is different, every family is different, every city and every school is different.  So, I can't say if it is right for you or not.  For my family, right now, this year, it is right.  Next year. We shall see.
                          We take one year at a time. 
Some people ask me all the time if we are going to do this the whole time they are in school.  I. don't. know.  Only God know that. Literally. 

So, you are wondering about homeschooling.  I prayed.  I asked God if that is what He wanted me to do.  I looked at all the situations. 

Do I have a degree in teaching...NO WAY!  Can I learn.  YES!  I will be honest.  My first grade teacher never taught me phonics.  Yep.  I learned phonics with my son, as I taught him.  My husbands saying, "You only have to be one lesson ahead."  I told my son, as I was teaching him, that I was learning with him.  He appreciated it. 

Do I like teaching?  Nope.  I specifically didn't want to be a teacher.  But, I am.  And I am starting to find my way and loving it. 

Am I perfect?  Nope.  But, I can try.

Am I going to get everything right?  Nope.  But, I can try.

Do you get where I am going?  No.  You can try! 

Homeschooling is decided on what you think is best for your child.  In that time.  That is what matters.  Right now this is what is best.  Do I despise school, no.  Schools are great.  I use to go to one myself and loved it. 

Bottom line:  What is best for your family and your child... and do it!

Soccer Season Starts Soon

As you can tell John is quite excited about soccer this season.  8-)  He is so grateful he is on a team with his friends Nathan, Ian and Josiah.  The other boys dads are coaching too.  The girls friend Lillan is on John's team as well, but luckily they have practice at the same time and games at the same time too.  It is going to be a fun season.  And as always Dad can't get out of coaching, so he is co-coaching with another dad for the girls team.  They love it.  The only hard part and good part is that both teams are playing almost every game at the same time.  8-)  The fields are right next to each other, but that means my head is going to look like I am watching a tennis match. Hey Dr. Chiropractor...I think I am going to need an appointment this season.  8-)

Our Fall Harvest

This is our "farm" (as the neighbors like to call it).  We decided to do all corn this year.  There was a lot going on at our house when it was time to plant, so we decided to try our hand at corn again.  They said it couldn't be done.  But, look at this corn!

We had some with our meal the other night.  It was delicious!This corn is especially special.  It reminds us of my wonderful father-in-law who was the most amazing guy when it came to growing a crop.  This crop is in honor of him.  We happened to plant the corn the morning he past away (before we found out).  So, it was very memorable when we ate it.  We thought of him the whole time.  I think that must be why we did so well!  He taught us well!  Thanks Wes! 

NY vacation- New York City

Ok, so I have tried three times to put the pictures of our New York City part of the trip on here...and it has failed all three times.  So, I guess I am not suppose to put them on here or something!  Anyway, it was a fun end to our trip and if someday I actually have time to try and add them I will.  But, for right now...I don't. 8-)  So, the whole trip was a great experience and we sure needed it!  Stay tuned for new blog updates on homeschooling and other things that are going on in our lifes.  8-) 

Our NY vacation - Mohonk Mountain House

We headed to this place: This was a treat. This was a gift from Jason's dad to us, as we all mourned his loss. It was a great time to spend as a family (with Jason's mom, brother, sister-in-law and our family). We went to a place that he would have loved with fishing, hiking, swimming, fishing, fishing...8-). A time to build new memories, and remember old ones. A time for fun, but to relax too. It was a treat. Thank you Wes.

A paddle boat ride across the lake for the girls and I.
But, I am getting a little bit ahead of myself. Before anything, and what we started with was a Sunday brunch. It all begins with food.

All the meals were included. They had a great service staff that we at your beckon call. If you wanted OJ, it was there. Water too. There. As you can tell Karli is telling us all to back off from her delicious food!

Here is a picture of Jason's brunch...well part of it anyway. I think this was plate three...j/k.

One of the options they gave us was the choice between the buffet inside or lunch cookout buffet outside. We chose outside one of the days. It was great! This is all of us at one of our meals. Again, the food was wonderful!

At night you could choose the dinner buffet or the formal dinner. So, the first night our family at at the buffet while Jason's mom, brother and wife went to the formal dinner. The next night they took our kids and we got to go...just the two of us! It was wonderful!

There was a lot to do around there. At night they had activities like campfires, magicians, Broadway singers...other things we did included:

Relaxing in our room!

They had a Kid's Club that you could send your kids to if you wanted some alone time. We only made the kids go for one session on one of the days and they had a blast. So, the four of us snuck off and played some tennis. Yeah, it has been a while for me. It was obvious. I am glad they gave us the court furthest from everyone. It would have been quite embarrassing! We also got to play shuffleboard with Jason's mom.

We also took the kids on rides around the lake.

Our favorite thing by far was the water. We had some fun time at the beach.

There was even a time every morning when they opened up the whole lake and you could swim across it. So, we swam across it. When I had reached the other side we rest for a moment on a big rock that was there. A woman was talking to another gentleman about the snakes in the lake. You have to understand I did not grow up swimming in many lakes, so I knew they were there I had just forgotten about them. Until she mentioned the "S" word. But, then I realized there was no other way back. So, I took the plunge and headed back across...although I think I made better time than before! 8-)

This is kind of out of order, but one of the small gazebos around the lake was named "The Twins", so we had to get this shot:

But, we loved the beach.

They had a log attached in the water and you could try over and over to stand up on it.

And of course, the pool.

If you notice in this picture (and a few of ours that aren't on here) I am floating on my stomach. This is a common find at this pool. They have relaxing music playing UNDER the water.
Yes, under the water. So, as you were gliding through the pool you could hear this peaceful music playing under water. So, each of us adults would take turns just relaxing by the speakers. It was so peaceful and you were just floating.

There was actually a lady that brought this older blind gentleman into the pool. He was having a hard time adjusting to the water. Then my sister-in-law informed her of the music under the water, that it might relax him. We helped her find the speaker and the gentleman just wanted to lay on his back and feel the music. And that is what he did for the next half hour. You could tell he was so peaceful and relax. It was a beautiful sight to see.

The sign above is the directions for the the Labyrinth, this rocky terrain and climbing hill. We were all excited to climb it, we had heard so much about it. As I was reading the above sign I noticed at the bottom it mentioned that those 8 and up were probably the only ones that could do it. The girls, depending on the day, can be strong or wanting to drop at any second. Since, it mentioned that once you were in it there was not a way out I decided to walk with the girls up the side path and meet them at the top. The last thing I wanted for the relaxing afternoon was to be stuck in the middle of a rock climb and have to push the girls through. On our way to the other path I stopped by the Kid's Club to fill out some paperwork for the kids to enjoy an afternoon there. I asked them their thoughts about it. They said they wouldn't take my girls, but I know them better. They said they have only taken one 5 year old before. The girls were begging and so I told them there was no turning back. Jason, John, Eric and Elisabeth had already gone, so I started the adventure on my own with the three girls. Crazy, yes, impossible...no...didn't you know that ALL things are possible with God. He was there. It was fun.

I was amazed.

I was impressed.

I think the climb from Chimney Mountain a couple of days before helped them realize they could do more than they thought they could. John ended up climbing this a second time with dad and found an even harder part to finish at the end that went further up the mountain. He LOVED it! It was a great climb for them! Father-son bonding time.

In light of the previous note above, I have to say I was so impressed by the girls determination to complete this. It was difficult in some places and they pressed on...ahead of me. There were some scary parts, but they did it. I think I was most shocked and amazed at Kiley. She is our worrier. And she took the challenge and lead us on our exhibition. She crossed places by herself that had deep crevices. She lead the way. This was a HUGE thing for her. And the girls followed her. Usually Emily is the leader of the pack...but today was Kiley's day and she did GREAT!

This is tea time. I find this picture funny as the boys were the only ones of us that enjoyed tea time. They have it every afternoon on the veranda with cookies. This is the last thing we did before we left that day. Here are my boys having tea and crumpets. It was one of the highlights of our trip. I don't know that we will ever be able to go back, but are thankful for the time we had. This will definitely be on our family wish list when the kids get older.

From here we headed to New York City and Brooklyn...here we come.

Our NY vacation - West Point

On our way to Mohonk Mountain house (that is my next blog) we stopped by West Point for a tour. A few years back when John was 2 and the twins were 9 months old we went on a trip to Colorado and went to the Air Force Base there. So now, all we need to visit is Annapolis and then we will be set. That will be cool anyway because Jason's cousin Billy just graduated from there. Anyway, on to this trip! 8-) It was amazing to see all the different places where the people train.

Here is a common thing you find around the cemetery at West Point:

There are rocks on top of the graves. They do this for a lasting reminder that they are remembered. Instead of flowers that will die and be lost forever, they put rocks on top of the stones so that it will last forever and will show that they were caring and thinking and praying for them. I thought it was a great sight to see all over the place.

We were able to go to the Chapel and see its beauty. We could only go this far as a substitute organ player was practicing. You can tell in the picture, but it made the place look even more magnificent.

During the tour, this plaque, placed in the older chapel, made the most impression on me. As you can tell the name is scratched out. This is the plaque honoring Benedict Arnold. They have scratched out his name due to his later traitor status to the United States, but they still wanted to honor him for what he did before his betrayal. I thought it was interesting. And of course, it was in the back of the chapel.

This was a sphinx, yes, a sphinx. They now have a size limit on how big a tombstone could be. There is literally a pyramid behind us. I honestly can't remember who is buried there right now, sad I know, but he and is wife are in sarcophagus inside the pyramid. you can look through iron bars and see them. After this and another tombstone they now have limits on how big they could be. I did not think I would be seeing a sphinx when we went to West Point. 8-)

We had to get our picture at the end with this gargantuan tank. 8-) It was a good day. We then headed to a hotel, at dinner at Denny's and played Phase 10 and the kids watch the Disney Channel. Then the next morning onto Mohonk Mountain house...