School's out! Well... Caleb still has 6 phonics lessons, but other than that, we are ALL DONE!! Jimmy finished all of his math lessons with ease. Caleb had a little trouble on his last math lesson (which was a test), but we'll continue working on those things - days of the week & naming coins - as part of normal life.
I am so glad that I decided to cram it all in at the end of the year. It was hard at times, to the point where I was seriously wondering if I had made a huge mistake. But now that all but a few dribs & drabs are done, I can focus on this impending move.
Speaking of, after some tense moments, it looks like the move is actually going to happen! We nearly lost both sides of the deal at a few points, but it seems to have all gotten resolved. The closing for the new house is around noon on Friday. We'll see if that actually happens. After this whole experience, I know better than to assume it will all work out the way we expect! Lesson learned - when you pray that God helps you overcome your control freak habit, He'll make sure you feel like you're not in control! Lord, I hope I have learned this lesson thoroughly, 'cause I'm not ready to go through that again!
From a homeschooling perspective, my summer plans are to attend the NJ homeschooling conference in June (ENOCH), to do the pushed-aside-to-prepare-for-the-move Five in a Row work, and to generally take a well-deserved break for the summer. I'll start actively planning next year's stuff after the dust settles post-move. So... October. lol
Have a great summer!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Almost there!
One more week to go! (Of official 2010-2011 school year, that is.) After next week, we'll be all done. Well, Caleb has one extra week of phonics to finish up. But the main stuff will be done.
This week's lessons went very smoothly. Caleb is a lot less combative with only one phonics lesson. Jimmy & I reached an agreement that he doesn't have to do all of the questions on his math worksheets. Even if he gets to skip only one question, it feels like a lot less work. The mind is an interesting thing!
We're supposed to be closing in two weeks. But we still haven't finalized either deal. This is so frustrating! I wish we knew what was happening. This is a classic example of God forcing us to trust Him as we step out in faith. He isn't allowing us to do anything else! He is very wise - He knows we would be trying to control the situation. I am praying for Randy, since most of these last minute details fall squarely on his shoulders. It is his job to make the phone calls & ensure that everyone is appraised & up-to-date. God is in control of the outcome, but He has given Randy quite a lot of work in the meantime. No more can I brag about my work getting the house ready for sale; Randy has had just as much work!
With all that is going on, we could certainly use your prayers. Specifically: patience, trust, and faith in God's master plan. I wouldn't mind if you threw in some prayers that the contracts would all be finalized quickly, either. ;)
This week's lessons went very smoothly. Caleb is a lot less combative with only one phonics lesson. Jimmy & I reached an agreement that he doesn't have to do all of the questions on his math worksheets. Even if he gets to skip only one question, it feels like a lot less work. The mind is an interesting thing!
We're supposed to be closing in two weeks. But we still haven't finalized either deal. This is so frustrating! I wish we knew what was happening. This is a classic example of God forcing us to trust Him as we step out in faith. He isn't allowing us to do anything else! He is very wise - He knows we would be trying to control the situation. I am praying for Randy, since most of these last minute details fall squarely on his shoulders. It is his job to make the phone calls & ensure that everyone is appraised & up-to-date. God is in control of the outcome, but He has given Randy quite a lot of work in the meantime. No more can I brag about my work getting the house ready for sale; Randy has had just as much work!
With all that is going on, we could certainly use your prayers. Specifically: patience, trust, and faith in God's master plan. I wouldn't mind if you threw in some prayers that the contracts would all be finalized quickly, either. ;)
Friday, May 13, 2011
Preparing for the Move
So it looks like we'll be moving at the end of the month. The closing dates are both June 3rd. It's been crazy trying to get ready. The biggest craziness is trying to finish the school year before the movers are scheduled to arrive. I hope, in light of this, that you can forgive the missing posts for the past few weeks!
I have cut the boys' lessons to the bare bones. Jimmy's focus is math. Caleb's focus is phonics, although he also has to finish this year's math program.
Caleb's math is the easiest to complete, since he was scheduled to finish in time anyway. Phonics, on the other hand, has been a bear. We were doing 2 phonics lessons a school day to try to catch up, but it was getting to be such a fight! Caleb didn't even want to do 1 lesson, let alone 2. Yesterday, I had a moment to sit down with my lesson planner. If Caleb does only 1 lesson a school day, we will go over my hoped-for end date by 5 school days. I've decided that this is worth it. Caleb will, from yesterday on, do only 1 phonics lessons a school day. We'll try to sneak some lessons in on the weekends to try to knock those extra 5 days down.
Meanwhile, Caleb FINALLY passed his counting test in math. He really doesn't like counting. He loses focus, which then makes him lose his place. I've told him that he doesn't have to count for school anymore, but we'll practice in the car.
Jimmy still gets 1-3 math lessons per school day. Lessons with tests will be the only lessons that day (unless we need to do some catching up). We'll triple up at the end of the school year, which shouldn't be a problem since those last lessons are merely reviews of what we've already done. Jimmy was miffed that Caleb gets a lighter load, so we agreed that he won't have to do every question on the worksheets. I will go through the worksheets before I give them to him, circling the questions he is required to do & x'ing the questions he doesn't need to do. If the x'ed questions look fun, he is allowed to do them. ;) I thought that was a silly rule, but lo & behold, he did one of the x'ed questions on his worksheet today! I have also cut out the speed drills for the rest of the year. Jimmy was thrilled when I told him that, but the joy quickly faded when I told him that we might use those drills during the summer to keep his math skills fresh.
The boys are continuing their memory work & we'll keep reading through the Psalms.
Here's hoping we make it through this!
I have cut the boys' lessons to the bare bones. Jimmy's focus is math. Caleb's focus is phonics, although he also has to finish this year's math program.
Caleb's math is the easiest to complete, since he was scheduled to finish in time anyway. Phonics, on the other hand, has been a bear. We were doing 2 phonics lessons a school day to try to catch up, but it was getting to be such a fight! Caleb didn't even want to do 1 lesson, let alone 2. Yesterday, I had a moment to sit down with my lesson planner. If Caleb does only 1 lesson a school day, we will go over my hoped-for end date by 5 school days. I've decided that this is worth it. Caleb will, from yesterday on, do only 1 phonics lessons a school day. We'll try to sneak some lessons in on the weekends to try to knock those extra 5 days down.
Meanwhile, Caleb FINALLY passed his counting test in math. He really doesn't like counting. He loses focus, which then makes him lose his place. I've told him that he doesn't have to count for school anymore, but we'll practice in the car.
Jimmy still gets 1-3 math lessons per school day. Lessons with tests will be the only lessons that day (unless we need to do some catching up). We'll triple up at the end of the school year, which shouldn't be a problem since those last lessons are merely reviews of what we've already done. Jimmy was miffed that Caleb gets a lighter load, so we agreed that he won't have to do every question on the worksheets. I will go through the worksheets before I give them to him, circling the questions he is required to do & x'ing the questions he doesn't need to do. If the x'ed questions look fun, he is allowed to do them. ;) I thought that was a silly rule, but lo & behold, he did one of the x'ed questions on his worksheet today! I have also cut out the speed drills for the rest of the year. Jimmy was thrilled when I told him that, but the joy quickly faded when I told him that we might use those drills during the summer to keep his math skills fresh.
The boys are continuing their memory work & we'll keep reading through the Psalms.
Here's hoping we make it through this!
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