Humor

Ok, I admit it. I am a blog junkie now. I am going to turn this one more into a humor blog because I found a site that just does homeschool blogs. Blogging has really become an emotional outlet for me and I think a humor one would be good.

So, my first humorous event to record happened the other night. The cat got in the house and headed down the hall toward the kids bedrooms. You have to understand what my sons bedroom smells like. He pees out his anger and so it is QUITE ripe. We have him clean it but he pees more. The odor drifts through the house through the vent system - we have tried to block that but are not completely successful.

Well, as the cat headed down the hall, she was moving along pretty well, then she slowed down at about the bathroom. I caught up to her at this point and picked her up and walked down near my sons door to do something (can't remember what) and noticed the cats nose twitching rapidly. Poor thing, she must have thought someone should clean that big litter box in the house. I just started laughing - which is a good thing. I need to find things to laugh at in the crazy life we live with these 2 kiddos.

Public School Time

Jonathan's teacher caught me today. We will meet next week to discuss how he can succeed in the classroom better. At least she supports the homeschooling - she says he can learn more at home.

Success

We are doing much better at school. Jonathan has really been difficult but I am just pushing him anyway. Becca cooperated VERY well yesterday - it was SO nice. Now that we are getting going and the kids are accepting it better, I am going to get some real planning done. I reorganized the school room and had some confusion on where I had put things - so I have to spend the weekend getting it straightened out so I can function better.

I am also looking into the state virtual academy to take some of the teaching pressure off of me. It is free through the state. I have concerns about the history and we are going to look at it more in depth before we decide what we will do.

Progress!!!

We have made progress this week on getting school done. It has been slow but at least we are getting on track. I am looking into numerous options to help me to keep the parent-child fight down as we work on that bond than my kids need so badly. I feel better and more successful.

Major Classroom Renovation

I rearranged my "schoolroom". I now have 3 different areas that we will work instead of one main place. We will shift places throughout the day to separate the kids at times and to allow them to get up and move.

I bought workbooks and dividers so they can quit saying things like, "(s)he's looking at me", "(s)he stuck her/his tongue out at me", etc. I also have plans to find more videos to teach them about some of the things we study. I am also going to plan some indivdual time for each child - in teaching, allowing freetime and snuggling.

Tomorrow they both attend the public school, that will give me some time to alternate my lesson plans for the week.

Kids Who Make Sure School Doesn't Happen

Randy talked to me the other night about how the kids are hurting themselves when they suceed at keeping me from homeschooling them. I was aware of it but have been very frustrated in figuring out how to solve the problem. He suggested giving them workbook pages and taking the pressure off of me to teach them. As I thought about it yesterday, a number of ideas came to mind. I made a quick stop at a learning store yesterday while we were in Spokane and picked a few items up, including workbooks. I will need to sit down over the weekend to figure out an approach that will take care of the needs of my kids and will also get them working.

They are going to school very part-time at the public school. They attended 1 1/2 days last week and did pretty well. I know full-time would be a disaster for them but hope that they can handle 1 day a week so I can have a break and they can get some social interactions.

Life has been incredibly stressful the last 2 weeks. I planned and arranged a surprise birthday party in Calgary with our older kids for my husband. When we got home Stephanie's cat was really sick and we had to put her down yesterday. And, of course, the kids have reacted to having a weekend away from home and are having a hard time adjusting to the changes in routines.

I really pray that next week will start a little smoother phase for awhile. I am more than ready to get into a good routine.