Homeschooling Pros/Cons 4: Odds, Ends, & Updates

I really did intend to finish this series in a timely manner.  

Meanwhile, we made a decision about what we'll do for Aubree's school next year (update at the end) and suddenly the urgent need to ferret out every possible pro and con vanished.  So, better late than never, right?

Here are some of the more random, but often weighty, considerations...

*When I am newly pregnant or have a new baby, sometimes school becomes less of a priority and we end up doing just the bare minimum.  Some people might argue that, "the baby is the lesson," and suggest the other kids learn great life skills by being a part of that process.  I agree to an extent, but the fact remains that public school teachers are more likely to be consistent and follow through with academic tasks regardless of what might be happening externally. 

Graham with his adoring fan club

* I've addressed the issue of time previously, but didn't discuss the "problem" of having less time to focus on the younger kids because of continued obligations to older children and their academic needs.  For example, I've done co-op preschools for both Aubree and Bryce, but it would be much harder to do the same thing for Thane and Graham because I'll have all my kids with me.  

*Further, the question should be asked: is it better for each child to have the opportunity to be the oldest at home?  

*And since I always have all my kids, it makes some tasks much more complicated to complete, things like: visiting teaching, play dates, doctor appointments, errands, etc.  That's a con, but a positive result of that reality is that by being in those settings frequently, my kids learn how to behave in those situations and I  am forced to learn to handle it too.

When Aubree was a baby, I refused to take her grocery shopping because I found it too distracting and stressful.  Now that I have four, I always take them grocery shopping with me and the vast majority of the time they do great.  In fact, they look forward to our trips to Costco and Winco.

Graham is always strapped on in my Ergo

*By homeschooling, we are not tied to the school's schedule (both day-to-day timing and vacation planning).  This is a MAJOR plus in my book.  We can start our days when we want.  We can take field trips whenever we want.  Last year we took a two week trip in May to California for my sister's wedding.  No big deal.  I love that!

PE fun and games

*Two words: no homework (yeah, yeah, I get the irony there).

*Two more words: no fundraisers!

*There is a very real possibility of burn-out among homeschooling parents.  There is no "break" from the needs and demands of needy and demanding little people. (But to be honest, sometimes I wonder if the idea of needing a "break" from our kids is a 20th/21st century, First-World idea. But that is a very undeveloped thought and perhaps a subject/question for another post).

Getting ready for a Medieval Feast

* I don't have to pack lunches or pay for school lunches.  

*One reason I decided to homeschool was because I really wanted my kids to be great friends with their siblings.  I'm not suggesting that kids who go to public school aren't friends with their siblings, but having my kids together all day, every day gives them more opportunities to interact. Since their siblings are their primary playmates, they tend to seek them out, even when given other choices.  I've also noticed that they often get along the worst after spending time with friends.

* After my last homeschool post, the concern of lack of exposure to different people and ideas was raised.  Great point!  I do worry about the often homogeneous environment among homeschool circles.  I want my kids to be able to have close associations with individuals with varying backgrounds, beliefs, socioeconomic levels, etc. 

 I am not as concerned with them being exposed to different ideas and beliefs at an organizational level.  A common criticism frequently lobbied against homeschooling parents sounds something like, "you're too close-minded, you shouldn't be afraid to expose your child to different (usually secular) philosophies."  

I wonder, "Hmmm... I don't see those secular parents choosing to send their kids to a private catholic school as a means to 'expose them' either."  Does it only go one way?  

Reader's theater

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Okay... so now that I've gone into way too much detail and FINALLY finished (cheers all around!), here's an update on our plans for next school year...

Aubree did get into the program I mentioned at the beginning of this odyssey.  I talked to a bunch of parents who had kids go through the program, and without exception, they raved about it.  We met the teachers and the students and were duly impressed.  It's very fast-paced, student-led, application oriented, with tons of art, reading, and fun projects.  So, come fall, Aubree will be a full-time public school student.

trying to grind corn

I can't say I completely love the idea, but I'm really excited for her and I think it will be a wonderful experience.  I had a lot of great things planned for her in the Fall, but I don't think this is an opportunity we can duplicate or pass up.  And, as Mark pointed out, "We can always choose to pull her out if it doesn't work out, but we can't choose to put her in later."  

Bryce will still be homeschooled for Kindergarten and I've set-up a preschool co-op for Thane (just once a week).  There will be a lot of changes for our little family, but I feel a lot of peace about these choices, and I couldn't ask for more.  

Brag on Bryce Week Continues

Today was a good day.  

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This morning was our Ward Conference.  For the second hour meetings, all the adult ward members met together while Stake leaders and volunteers took over the primary.  When we got home from church, I received the following email:

Brother and Sister Winters,

This morning I had the privilege of sitting next to your son, Bryce* in Primary. If our "Friend" magazine had a picture of a primary youth who demonstrates reverent behavior it would be a picture of Bryce.

In addition to reverence Bryce has a true spirit of brotherly love and compassion. At one point the Stake Primary Music leader handed the adult volunteer teachers medallions in the shape of shields with the letters "CBR" on them. "CBR" stands for "Caught Being Reverent", with instructions to present it to the child who was demonstrating reverent attributes. Bryce absolutely was the most reverent child in the entire primary. Not that others were not, just that Bryce was the poster child.

Immediately, and quietly, Bryce leaned over and up to my ear and asked me to please give the medallion to someone else, not him, because he had received it before. He also mentioned that Braeden had previously received it, and therefore recommended I select the young boy at the end of the row.I was emotionally impressed with the quality of this young boy, your son. Thanks for all that you have done, and do, to teach and raise your children.

Warm regards,

Brother Bean

Stake High Council

*Brother Bean misheard Bryce and thought he said his name was "Price."  I changed all the "Price" references in the letter to Bryce.

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In addition to the email about Bryce, Aubree also gave a talk in Primary.  She's given talks before, but usually does so grudgingly.  Last Sunday however, when she brought home the slip indicating she'd been selected to give a talk, she gushed, "How did they know I wanted to give a talk?!"

That evening she asked, "Instead of reading to me, can we work on my talk?"

She already knew exactly what scripture story she wanted to use as the basis of her talk.  I sat at the computer and she dictated exactly what she wanted to say (I only suggested the idea for the very last line).  

When I Repent, I Can Be Forgiven

Jonah was a prophet of God.  God told him to go to the city of Ninevah and tell the people to repent.  Jonah didn’t obey because he didn’t want to go to Ninevah.  He did not want to tell the people to repent. 

So, he got on a ship that was sailing to another city.  There was a storm with really big waves.  Jonah was asleep and the Captain of the ship woke him up and told him about the storm.  Jonah told the Captain to throw him overboard and the storm would stop.  They didn’t want to throw him overboard, but Jonah convinced them that the storm was because he didn’t obey God.  They threw him overboard and the storm stopped.

Heavenly Father sent a big fish and it swallowed him! Jonah was in the fish for three days and three nights.  He prayed and told Heavenly Father that he was sorry and that he would go to Ninevah and tell the people to repent.  The fish put him on dry land and Jonah went to Ninevah and taught the people. The people listened and  Ninevah became a good city. 

Because Jonah repented, he was forgiven.  It is the same way for us.  If we do something naughty or bad, we can repent and Heavenly Father will forgive us.  We can pray and tell Him we are sorry, just like Jonah.  And hopefully we won’t have to be swallowed by a fish to know we should repent!

I was teaching my primary class when she delivered her talk, but Mark and others indicate that she did a marvelous job, with inflection, humor, and gusto.

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Immediately after church we hurried home for lunch.  Aubree said the prayer and when she finished, Thane piped up, "Me learned about reverence in nursery, and then me WAS reverent!"

Not only had he remembered what he learned in nursery, he applied it (and being reverent during a prayer is not a common occurrence for him)!

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And the icing on the already delicious cake... 

I got a text from the parents of one of the boys in my primary class thanking me for being his teacher and making a positive difference in his life.

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I'm grateful for days like today that give me hope that we're on the right path.  When things are hard and go wrong (as they often do) and I want to throw up my hands in frustration, I'll think back on these moments and press on.

I'm also reminded how important it is to take the time to acknowledge and express appreciation and admiration for those around us who influence us for good.  

Brother Bean didn't have to make the effort to send Mark and I that email.  We'd never met him before and possibly won't cross paths again.  

My primary child's parent didn't need to send me the text, I'm sure they were busy this afternoon.  

But both efforts were meaningful to me and our family.  I need to try and do better at that.

Expand Your Vocab with Bryce

Here are a few words you might not know:

Bessert: As in, "I can't wait to have brownies and ice cream for bessert after Family Home Evening!"

Exsamples: As in, "I love getting exsamples when we go to Costco!"

Allowances: As in, "I just put 6 allowances of water into my cup and I drank it all!"
Constructions: As in, "I need to read the constructions so I know how to make my Lego car."

Turns out he's a pretty great air hockey player

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 One more Bryce story... The other night Bryce was still awake an hour after we put him to bed (an unusual occurrence for this good sleeper).  He slipped out of bed for more water and we had a short conversation as follows:
Me: "Hey buddy, what were you thinking about in your bed?"
Bryce: "Two things mostly, building train tracks and church."
Me: "Oh yeah?  What were you thinking about church?"
Bryce: "Just how much I love it."
Me: "That's awesome! What do you love about it?"
Bryce: "The big class [Sharing Time], because I just LOVE singing!"

The Father of our Home

In honor of Father's Day, I'd like to take a few moments to answer the question, "What kind of Dad is Mark?" And this time, I'm going to let pictures tell the story for me...

Hanging contest with Bryce

Making banana bread with his "helpers"

Ahhhhh, so sweet!

Helping Aubree build a model

When Mark came home from work wearing a yellow shirt, Thane immediately ran upstairs to change so he could match

Playing freeze tag with the littles

Examining critters @ the Butterfly House

Stroller duty

Every day when he gets home from work, he grabs Graham and plays with the other kids

Military press? Nah, kid press.

So, in case the answer isn't already abundantly clear... what kind of Dad is Mark?  Simply the very best kind.
I had each of the kids fill out a little survey about their dad.  Here are Thane's answers...

The older kids were a bit less random.  Bryce thinks Mark is 20 inches tall and weighs zero pounds.    Aubree said that what made him the best was that, "he is fun and kind."  Both Aubree and Bryce indicated that their favorite thing to do with Daddy was father/child outings.  

We love him SOOOOO much!

A Little Push From Behind

Aubree has four main things to learn/accomplish this summer:

1. Learn to ride a bike

2. Learn to swim

3. Learn to type

4. Master her multiplication/division facts

Before summer officially started, she managed to cross item #1 off her list.  That's right folks, we've got a bike rider!

I've been nagging Aubree to practice riding for months (years?), but she always put me off.  What changed?  Well, last week we got a bike for Bryce.
I'm not sure which was a bigger impetus - the availability of a slightly smaller bike on which to learn, or the idea that Bryce might learn before her - but as soon as she had a chance, she hopped on Bryce's bike and promptly figured out how to ride.  It took a few more days before she was comfortable on her own bike, but now she insists that she, "loves it," and spends every afternoon riding around the cul-de-sac with her friends.

The bike we got for Bryce is the perfect size for him to ride, but a little too big for him to learn to ride (he can only reach the ground with the tips of his toes).  Mark took the pedals off our old toddler-sized bike (effectively turning it into a balance bike) and I figured Bryce could start his practice on that bike.  But we ran into a few hiccups with that plan.  The first being that Thane promptly claimed it as his own  and refused to get off for more than a few moments at a time.

 The second being that Bryce wasn't interested in riding the little bike.  Instead, he put his tiptoes on the ground and set about learning to ride his own bike.  By the end of the first day, he was trying to put his feet on the pedals... and falling and falling and falling.

But more importantly, he kept getting up and getting back on.  By the end of the second day, he could get in a few pedal rotations before crashing.  By the next day (hours upon persistent hours, and countless bruises and scrapes later), he could legitimately ride a 2-wheeler!

I am so proud of his courage and determination that it sometimes leaves me in tears.  The end result of knowing how to ride is well and good, but it's the character he demonstrated during the learning process that I most admire.

Bryce spent today learning to use the brakes (an important skill, for sure!).  Now, he and Aubree are zooming around the neighborhood.  It makes me want to get a bike for myself so I can join them!

Thane following the "course" (chalk line) that Bryce makes for him

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Last week at swimming class Bryce showed similar impressive determination.  He was supposed to jump off the edge of the pool, but at the last moment he got scared, and instead of jumping out he turned around mid-jump to try to grab onto the edge.  I expected him to say, "oops," and continue on with his swim across the pool.  Instead, he immediately got out to try again.  Obviously, it was scary for him.  No one asked or insisted that he try over.  But on his own, he decided that he wanted to do better and overcome his mistake.  I was more impressed with that than I would have been if he had jumped off perfectly the first time.

Let's just pretend that his knee pads are red, okay?

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A couple weeks ago we were driving and I was trying to get Aubree to practice her multiplication facts (see learning goal #4).  That day we were working on the 3's.  I would ask a question and if she didn't answer within 3-5 seconds, I would tell her the answer.  She was not interested in participating.  

Me: "What's 3x3?"

Aubree: silence

Me: "9!"

Me: "What's 3x4?"

Aubree: "I don't want to practice now."

Me: "12!"

Me: "What's 3x6?"

Bryce (from the backseat): "18!"

Me & Aubree: ?????????!!!!!!!!!

Me: "What's 3x5?"

Bryce: "15!"

Aubree: "15!"

It was sooo hilarious to us that Bryce, just by listening for a few moments, had memorized the three multiplication facts.  And guess what?  Suddenly Aubree was extremely motivated to learn/answer quickly!

See, Aubree is 2 1/2 years older than Bryce, and because of the way their birthdays fall, she is three years ahead of him in school.  As a result of that gap, there's never been much of a push from behind, but with the way Bryce has progressed in the last few months, that's all changing.

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And because it's just not a complete post without a picture of Graham, I ask you: Would you consider this cannibalism?

Outings and Aboutings Part 2

When I started writing the first Outings and Aboutings post, I quickly realized I had too many to include in one entry, so I split it in half.  These activities all occurred closer to home...

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A couple weeks after Thane's birthday, we finally had weather warm enough to pull out his new water table.

Since we had the water going, we figured we might as well set up the sprinkler.

Since the sprinkler was going, we decided we might as well invite some of the neighborhood kids to play.

Even Graham jumped crawled in on the action.

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Every semi-sunny afternoon we head outside to ride bikes and trikes and hang out with neighbor friends.  I still have a small pile of dirt leftover from setting up our backyard garden.  No surprise to learn that dirt attracts boys like a magnet.

Extra baths around here these days.

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We've visited a few new parks...

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It was our turn to host pre-activity days again last Friday.  I taught the girls how to make friendship bracelets, something I loved doing when I was a girl.  Isn't nostalgia great?  It was especially nice that the girls all seemed to enjoy it too and they caught on very quickly.

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Last Saturday our Stake hosted a Fun Run.  Aubree, Bryce, and Thane participated in the 1K Primary race.  Next year we should do a better job preparing ahead of time for it, but regardless they all did great.  Aubree and Bryce took off and ran with their friends.  I "ran" with Thane. A few steps into it, he declared, "No, me not want to run."

I convinced him to keep trying (the promise of Gatorade at the end was a big motivator for all three), and he managed to run almost all of it.  Granted, he did take a short break at the middle to tell the volunteer at the turn-around spot all about what he was doing and to try to convince the man that, "he could run too."

Mark ran the 5K and insisted that he push Bryce and Thane in the stroller.  (Well, to be fair, he wanted to push Thane and Graham, but Graham was sick, so I wouldn't let him go.)  What can I say, Mark is a glutton for punishment!  Despite the heavy load on a gravel trail, he still rocked it!

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After the run, we raced home to change, then headed out for our community's annual parade.  This was our first year experiencing said parade, so we weren't sure what to expect.  Turns out it's a lot like the small town parades I loved as a kid growing up.

Highlights included the school bands, antique tractors, gymnasts & dancers, and racing tractors (told you it was small town!).

Oh, and of course the candy that was handed out.

Poor, sick Graham was a trooper.  By late that night he was really sick (103 degrees fever, wheezing, whimpering, scary), but thankfully he's better now.

Outings and Aboutings Part 1

Though I've lacked motivation to blog lately, we've nonetheless had more than our share of fun adventures.  

With the last of Aubree's homeschool stipend money, we got annual passes to Point Defiance Zoo/Aquarium and Northwest Trek.  Along with those passes is the ability to bring 3 guests with us every time we go. Score!

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We visited the zoo with friends and managed to visit on a perfectly mild day that wasn't overrun with end-of-the-year-field-trip groups (a pretty serious accomplishment).  We've been to this zoo numerous times and always have a good time.

Enjoying lunch and entertainment

Graham wasn't too happy to be in the stroller and would only sleep when I put him in the Ergo (my new wrap).

The best part had to be watching the polar bears swim around, separated from us by only a few inches of glass.

photo by Kali from Kalilu Photography

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The following week Mark joined us to check out Northwest Trek.  This time we invited his favorite former co-worker from Florida, John (who recently got a job in Seattle as well) and his wife, Sue.  We've had them over for dinner a few times, and to say my kids adore them would be a categorical understatement.

Bryce discovered that he and Sue share the same birthday, and though he already thought she was pretty fabulous, that special link elevated her to super-star status.  He insisted he be able to sit next to her on the 45 minutes tram ride to see all the native Northwest animals.

The tram ride is pretty neat.  We all loved being so close to the animals and some of us appreciated learning more about them.

Mark, Thane, and John 

Aubree mostly wanted to use my camera to take pictures of everything, but briefly gave the camera back to me so I could snap a photo of her.

with bison in the background

After the tram ride we stopped for a picnic lunch.  John and Sue were so patient and loving and wonderful with our kids.  

John and Bryce comparing chin scars

It was a breathtakingly beautiful day, and it's times likes these that make me wonder if I can ever live anywhere else again.

As always, the underwater viewing areas were major hits.  The beavers and otters were especially active and playful, and kept coming right up to the glass to interact with the kids.  More than once, that resulted in Thane jumping back off the platform in alarm.  Guess he's not overly confident in the few inches of glass.

 Mark and John learned a simple trick that brought the big brown bear right in front of the viewing area.  Amazing.

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On Memorial Day we were invited to join our Bishop (who is also our home teacher) and his family at his cabin up the Snoqualmie Pass.  Our string of beautiful weather outing days came to a grinding halt, but we still had a fabulous time.  But, how can you not when it involves fire?

 And quad-riding?

and no, she didn't drive by herself

And a gorgeous cabin, novel toys, great food, and even better company?

 I truly feel spoiled.