First year...2010-2011

Ok, so the first year is almost over but I figure I should keep some sort of record of our awesome adventure.
I guess I have some catching up to do!

Meet the kiddos:
Treyton is 7 and in 2nd grade.  He went to public school until he go Leukemia in March of 2010.  We spent much of our time in the hospital with him on chemo.  He basically just dropped out of school at that time.  The public school was supposed to be setting up a home teacher but by the time they did she came to the house one time.  They also had a school room in the hospital and when he was feeling good enough to go to school he could bring his IV pole and get his chemo during his 2 hour class.  His PS teacher sent his work home with his brother and we would keep it in a folder that would go to his hospital class with him.  He loved his teacher there (he also loved his PS teacher, who still sends her love often!).  His comprehension has seriously improved since we have been homeschooling.  He loves the computer and is very proud of his own notebook.  He is very needy of attention and complements but likes to work independently. He loves to read and reads very well. He loves his baby sister and is very protective of her.  He is really excited that he will be able to play football this year now that he is cancer-free. He loves being the oldest and thinks that means he gets to boss his siblings around.  He gets embarassed easily.  He loves to wrestle and rough house with his dad.

Tyler is 6, 1st grade.  He went to public school through kindergarten.  Loved being the liaison for homework while Treyton was in the hospital.  He wasn't doing well in public school and I never even noticed.  His teacher said that he sucked his thumb almost all day, he barely sucks his thumb while we are schooling unless we are reading.  I also never noticed how he wasn't reading well until I took him out and started reading more with him, I read to him often but never had him read until we were schooling at home.  It only took him about 2 months to catch up!  He now reads fairly fluently and with out pausing much in between words.  He is my sweet boy, he is always thinking about others and tells people he loves them all the time.  He loves to do crafts and make cards, he is very creative. He loves being outdoors. He loves animals and is always wanting to help them. He once told me he want to run a free 'animal doctor office' when he grows up.  He also loves football and is getting pretty good.  He gets along with anyone and makes friends easily.

Trace is 5, he barely misses the kindergarten cut off date (not that matters now though, right?)  I wont complain, that gives me an extra year free of record keeping for him!  This kid is a genius, we often joke about him being on the computer and hacking into NASA.  He loves the computer and loves working on worksheets.  He reads simple stories fluently and comprehends them well.  He does1st grade math and begs for more.  He loves to annoy people, especially his sister, he does it for fun and has a hard time making friends.  He is super-excited about play football this year. He loves practical things and loves to shop for shoes (I LOVE this kid!).  He is very money conscience and doesn't spend his money frivolously.  He is a home-body and doesn't like to be away from home for long (was that redundant? oh well!).  He loves writting letters to "Spike" (my grandpa) and keeps his pictures of Spike close.

Mylee is 2...yup, definitely 2!  She is a princess and knows it.  She has her Daddy wrapped around her tiny finger and knows how to get her way with him.  She tests her boundries as a hobby.  She LOVES her baby dolls and doesn't do anything with out at least of them tagging along.  She loves to color.  She can be found using glue sticks for chapstick quiet often.  She loves to do 'homework' with her brothers even though her attention span is a half a second.  She trashes our homeschool room and then tells her brothers to clean it up.  She knows most of her colors and counts to 4 (is that bad?).  She has a crush on my friends son who is a twin...they look exactly alike but she knows which one is Bryan.  She sings songs about "lubbing Byan" almost daily.  She loves music.  She loves to be read too and loves to sit and 'read' books alone in her bed.  She talks non-stop...unless there are strangers around.  She likes to do puzzles and likes dinosaurs. She is potty trained when she wants to be.

Why we choose to homeschool:
-To be able to incorporate God into their learning
-I have always had the idea in my head...just finally got the guts to do it
-To spend more time with our kids
-To choose and be involved in their education
-To set our own schedule
-To guard their hearts from the wiles of public school and protect them from the very sought after 'socialization' that happens there
-I was tired of wondering what they were learning in PS
-I was tired of keeping up with all the useless paperwork they required

And lets face...we get to sleep in!

Curriculum:
I chose to use Sonlight this year. We are using Core 2. I wasn't sure what to expect our first year so I wanted a few things from a curriculum...all-in-one box and an easy to follow, thorough instructors manual.  I wasn't sure if I would planning or could be creative or would forget some important information.  The newcomer package had it all, no trips to the library, no buying extra books, no spending hours putting together a lesson plan...just in case.

I have been regretting that alot, I have found that I really enjoy creating my own lessons.  I also feel that the core is pretty advanced for the recommended ages and honestly quite boring.  It is alot of nothing but reading and I would like to get my hands dirty once in a while!  Home schooling is alot easier than I expected, in fact it is nothing like I had expected.  I thought the kids wouldn't listen to me. I thought I would procrastinate. I thought I would love having everything laid out for me.  The kids listen great...most of the time.  I get school started right after break (so what if we don't have breakfast until 10, right?).  And I am not enjoying the curriculum.  I also want to add some art lessons and maybe a music.  We are slowing learning some ASL as a second language.  Tyler played football last year and all boys will play this year, but they are boys, I dont feel I need to schedule PE.