When I homeschooled my oldest, she was 9 at the time. We used IXL and it wasn't what she needed. I'm sure it works wonders for some kids, but it just stressed mine out and made her cry.
I personally worked out a curriculum for science, history, we threw in yoga, emotional recognition, recess/organized sports play. That half hour of IXL math and half hour of IXL reading completely ruined the rest of the fun we'd had all day. Eventually, I felt like I was failing her even more than public school, so she went back to public school.
Ever since then I've been quietly, and waaaaay too slowly, developing a fun online curriculum that hopefully won't stress her out. It's hard to code websites when you have helpers pawing at your legs all day.
ALL DAY! EVEN WHEN I TRY TO PEE! They're always there. They're always watching... They're always calling "Momma!"
My little ones are too little for school. I mean, I suppose we could pay for Preschool, but it just feels like sacrificing my precious mommy-babies time. I suppose maybe two 15 minute blocks of Preschool would be nice, ya know, so I can go potty.
Anyway. I've been trying to teach them at home. Basically Preschool Homeschool.
When I homeschooled, I had a schedule I tried to follow. For the first four months it worked out, but mostly, in reality, most of the day seemed to slip chaotically through my fingers.
Today, though. Today has been one of those elusive "good days" where everything falls into place without a hitch and you feel confident. Today I feel like I could homeschool all my kids, all the time.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Ruthless Kid's Clothes Apocolypse
We have way, way, way too many clothes.
Granted, I have a family of 6. However, if I assume each of us has 40 articles of clothes (this is more generous than the standard 37 I see online) there should only be 240 articles of clothes in the house.
. . . There is probably 20 garbage bags FILLED with clothes, and two very large boxes full.
So, I went through and pared my own wardrobe down to 40 about this time last year. Mischief and Mayhem, my two middle girls, have minimal clothes. Most of those are up here, not in bags. Teeny Tiny Baby just got a huge box of clothes that I need to pick through, but she has about 30 clothes currently.
This means that majority of the clothes and clothes and clothes down stairs in those bags and bags and bags are . . . (drum roll please) My husband's and my oldest daughter's!
Oh, my, dear, god. OMDG.
It does make sense. I have most of my clothes up here. I have the smallest threes' up here. That leaves Hubby and Oldest.
20is bags, of two people's clothes.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Granted, I have a family of 6. However, if I assume each of us has 40 articles of clothes (this is more generous than the standard 37 I see online) there should only be 240 articles of clothes in the house.
. . . There is probably 20 garbage bags FILLED with clothes, and two very large boxes full.
So, I went through and pared my own wardrobe down to 40 about this time last year. Mischief and Mayhem, my two middle girls, have minimal clothes. Most of those are up here, not in bags. Teeny Tiny Baby just got a huge box of clothes that I need to pick through, but she has about 30 clothes currently.
This means that majority of the clothes and clothes and clothes down stairs in those bags and bags and bags are . . . (drum roll please) My husband's and my oldest daughter's!
Oh, my, dear, god. OMDG.
It does make sense. I have most of my clothes up here. I have the smallest threes' up here. That leaves Hubby and Oldest.
20is bags, of two people's clothes.
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Slackin Redefined
Holy crap I've been slacking. Well, slacking on blogging.
It's probably because we moved into our new house about a month and a quarter ago, and I have a baby who turned 6 months old, three days ago, and my oldest daughter just started a whole lot of counseling and OT for her recent Aspie diagnoses, oh, and my husband is working the night shift now so I've been toting all four of my girls around in the day alone.
Boy, I need to figure out a way to blog more!
So here is how my beloved bipolars are doing:
Sweet husband and I miss each other terribly! He comes home about a half hour before I have to take my oldest to school. Team Tiny wakes up after that and they wind down for bed as he is showering and getting his work clothes on.
I see him Friday and Saturday. It's kind of lame, but this house is amazing, my husband is already in line for a huge promotion, and this is the first time since about pre-school that my oldest hasn't been complaining about school weekly.
Overall, I think life is improving for us and it's on an uphill climb!
woo!
Still super tired though.
It's probably because we moved into our new house about a month and a quarter ago, and I have a baby who turned 6 months old, three days ago, and my oldest daughter just started a whole lot of counseling and OT for her recent Aspie diagnoses, oh, and my husband is working the night shift now so I've been toting all four of my girls around in the day alone.
Boy, I need to figure out a way to blog more!
So here is how my beloved bipolars are doing:
Sweet husband and I miss each other terribly! He comes home about a half hour before I have to take my oldest to school. Team Tiny wakes up after that and they wind down for bed as he is showering and getting his work clothes on.
I see him Friday and Saturday. It's kind of lame, but this house is amazing, my husband is already in line for a huge promotion, and this is the first time since about pre-school that my oldest hasn't been complaining about school weekly.
Overall, I think life is improving for us and it's on an uphill climb!
woo!
Still super tired though.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Considering Gameschooling
Next year, my oldest daughter is destined for middle school.
I have honestly never met anyone who was like, "Yeah, middle school was fine."
Everyone I know had an awful time in middle school. After her diagnoses as gifted and Aspie, she's gotten a lot of help and this is the first year she's been enjoying school.
I'm so lost. I really don't know whether I should homeschool her again, now that I know more about her and how she learns, or potentially fight with a new school.
I've been fighting her school for six years. This is the first year they are listening to me and it's the last year she's there.
Ug. It's a gamble either way.
I'm not a gambler. I hate gambling.
I have honestly never met anyone who was like, "Yeah, middle school was fine."
Everyone I know had an awful time in middle school. After her diagnoses as gifted and Aspie, she's gotten a lot of help and this is the first year she's been enjoying school.
I'm so lost. I really don't know whether I should homeschool her again, now that I know more about her and how she learns, or potentially fight with a new school.
I've been fighting her school for six years. This is the first year they are listening to me and it's the last year she's there.
Ug. It's a gamble either way.
I'm not a gambler. I hate gambling.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
New Home
We are settling into a new home. It has such a yard! I'm quite excited for the room these kiddos will be able to frolic in! We have room for a nice wooden playset, a sandbox AND a "jumpoline" (Bubble speak for trampoline) AND a sizeable veggie garden, roses, bees and even chickens!
It's amazing! But it buried under about 3 and a half feet of snow!
My oldest is excited about the yard because she's old enough to know it'll be accessible soon. The littles however. They find it to be an impenetrable cold tundra of doom.
I set up a tiny hill and we've been sledging, so they are beginning to like "outside."
I never thought I'd have to train kids how to outside.
It's amazing! But it buried under about 3 and a half feet of snow!
My oldest is excited about the yard because she's old enough to know it'll be accessible soon. The littles however. They find it to be an impenetrable cold tundra of doom.
I set up a tiny hill and we've been sledging, so they are beginning to like "outside."
I never thought I'd have to train kids how to outside.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Holiday Headache
I realized, last Halloween, that Halloween is my favorite holiday because it's one of the few that doesn't require being around my extended family for hours.
It became my favorite holiday when I was quite young. Kindergarten.
Now that I'm an adult, I almost take joy in missing holidays.
We decided to have our own Thanksgiving again this year. It was a relaxing day.
Christmas however, is still up in the air.
I don't want to deny my kids the opportunity if they want to go to family events.
I also will never, ever ever again leave any of my children with those people unsupervised, so, this means that if they do want to go up there, it's the same stress that I've lived through in my childhood.
Lame.
I also have a deep resentment for the winter holidays, which I'm sure my kids can feel.
I get exciting ideas about cutting snowflakes or frosting cookies, and then when the time comes around, I'm cursing up a storm in my head about my mother and grandparents. Instead of doing fun, together things, I have a grumpy day.
I don't know how to fix it.
I've been trying to celebrate alternative holidays. Obscure holidays that my family doesn't celebrate, or care about. Like Wintereenmas, a video game playing week. Or pi day, a day to celebrate the math idea of pi, by eating pie!
I'm not sure how to alleviate this stress.
One very stressful solution would be to give those that stress me out a list of "What I need in order to continue our relationship."
Like "I don't feel comfortable leaving my children with you without me present. If you want to continue to have a relationship with me, don't ever tell my kids that they are staying the night with you, ESPECIALLY before asking me. Unsupervised time with them is not an option. In return, we can all go to public places together, like the carousel and parks."
It seems very aggressive, but I doubt it's any more aggressive than trying to remove myself from the family and not talking to them ever again. That's what I've been doing so far and despite my stubborn intervals of silence and grumbly hatered, they still as me to holidays.
It became my favorite holiday when I was quite young. Kindergarten.
Now that I'm an adult, I almost take joy in missing holidays.
We decided to have our own Thanksgiving again this year. It was a relaxing day.
Christmas however, is still up in the air.
I don't want to deny my kids the opportunity if they want to go to family events.
I also will never, ever ever again leave any of my children with those people unsupervised, so, this means that if they do want to go up there, it's the same stress that I've lived through in my childhood.
Lame.
I also have a deep resentment for the winter holidays, which I'm sure my kids can feel.
I get exciting ideas about cutting snowflakes or frosting cookies, and then when the time comes around, I'm cursing up a storm in my head about my mother and grandparents. Instead of doing fun, together things, I have a grumpy day.
I don't know how to fix it.
I've been trying to celebrate alternative holidays. Obscure holidays that my family doesn't celebrate, or care about. Like Wintereenmas, a video game playing week. Or pi day, a day to celebrate the math idea of pi, by eating pie!
I'm not sure how to alleviate this stress.
One very stressful solution would be to give those that stress me out a list of "What I need in order to continue our relationship."
Like "I don't feel comfortable leaving my children with you without me present. If you want to continue to have a relationship with me, don't ever tell my kids that they are staying the night with you, ESPECIALLY before asking me. Unsupervised time with them is not an option. In return, we can all go to public places together, like the carousel and parks."
It seems very aggressive, but I doubt it's any more aggressive than trying to remove myself from the family and not talking to them ever again. That's what I've been doing so far and despite my stubborn intervals of silence and grumbly hatered, they still as me to holidays.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Something New
It seems like, I'm happiest when I get outside every day. So, I'm thinking about trying to wake up all the babies and get them dressed before 7 am. That way, we can all go to our little park in the morning to drop the oldest off at school.
I'm hoping that playing in the morning will wear them out and they'll be more willing to sleep at bedtime. Maybe even nap time to.
I believe step 1 is to get them dressed and out the door as soon as they wake up at 9.
I'll do that for a while, timing how long it takes them to get dressed when they have the promise of park. Once they can get dressed on time, I'll start waking them up at 8, and then 7.
Today is an early day, so I'm off to try right now at 8.
Wish me luck!
I'm hoping that playing in the morning will wear them out and they'll be more willing to sleep at bedtime. Maybe even nap time to.
I believe step 1 is to get them dressed and out the door as soon as they wake up at 9.
I'll do that for a while, timing how long it takes them to get dressed when they have the promise of park. Once they can get dressed on time, I'll start waking them up at 8, and then 7.
Today is an early day, so I'm off to try right now at 8.
Wish me luck!
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