The Homeschool Mother’s Journal meme is hosted by Sue a.k.a. The Homeschool Chick. You can click the link or the button below to see how you can participate or to read other link ups.
In my life this week...
This week has been a week of firsts for us. A first prom, the first time the kids have gone ice skating, the first time they’ve ridden horses and the first time I’ve invited friends over spur of the moment when the house was a mess. Wow! If I could tell you how hard it was to extend that invitation for the perfectionist in me! I do have to say that after I got over myself, I really had a great time and the kids and I were so happy to have spent the time with new friends.
In our homeschool this week...
Have you figured out that we are on the verge of being unschoolers? Though I do use curriculum, a lot of our schooling comes as a result of our many field trips or impromtu discussions, discoveries and interests.
This week we continued reading Boy Meets Girl. My kids are really enjoying this book and look forward to our read aloud time. Yes, I do read aloud to my teenagers. Though they read plenty on their own, they really enjoy this special time. We also added God's Smuggler, a story about Brother Andrew who smuggled Bibles to countries hostile to God's Word. It was my desire at the beginning of the year to encourage my children to read more biographies of great Christian men and women. They’ve read books about Amy Carmichael, Frannie Crosby, Billy Sunday and a few more but this is our first biography together. So far all I can say is that it has certainly gotten our attention.
The kids worked on their individual studies and lessons, including Latin Alive! Book 1 that I just reviewed.
Places we're going and people we're seeing...
In addition to the field trips that we’ve taken, we also went to a meeting for a homeschool football team. My kids are extremely excited to be playing this year because after years of searching and all of the places we’ve traveled, this is only the second time we’ve discovered a high school team and the first time they’ll actually be able to play.
My daughter is considering joining the cheerleading squad. The way she looks at it, she won’t have anything else to do because we all know she doesn’t want to watch her brothers’ play. I don’t think she’s figured out that if she cheers she’ll actually have to pay closer attention to the game, but the way I look at it, she’ll make that discovery soon enough.
My favorite thing this week was...
Hanging out with some new friends and discovering that we all homeschool similarly. It was like a mini-support group meeting!
What's working/not working for us...
Crock pot meals! Seriously, we’ve been busy this week so my crock pot has really been worth its weight in gold.
Homeschool questions/thoughts I have...
I have to admit that lately, I’ve been just a tiny (okay, maybe more than a tiny) bit aggravated that I’ve set up several field trips, have had quite a few people sign up and then quite a few no shows. I was really embarrassed a couple weeks ago when I was expecting almost 20 people and only 6 (counting my family) showed up. 11 people that I’d counted on just didn’t call or email which has led me to believe that homeschoolers may be too flexible. Meaning they will sign up for something but if something better comes along or if they just don’t “feel” like going, they won’t. Have you experienced anything similar?
A photo, video, link, or quote to share...
My kids went to their first prom last Saturday and had a great time. I really think a lot of the pressure was removed because they went with friends as a group and not as a date. They were able to really cut loose and be themselves. I took quite a few pictures but I thought I’d share my favorite…
…it really shows their personalities! If you have a prom to prepare for you may get a few tips from my post, Ten Ways to Save Money on Prom Expenses.
Until next week~ Happy Homeschooling!
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Hi! Just stopping by from thmj. I love reading about your the things you do with your teens, it sorta gives me hope that we CAN make this work all the way through high school : )
ReplyDelete(my oldest is only 8, my youngest 2)
Cute photo! Stopping by from THMJ! Take care.
ReplyDeleteJust take it one day at a time and you'll get there, Yara. When your children are young the finish line seems a long way off but it creeps up faster than you think.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard for me to believe that I will actually have a child graduating next year. Who knows? I may have two. lol My almost 16 year old wants to graduate a year early so we'll see how motivated he is.
We had a similar problem with our support group field trips, here is a great tip. Each family that signs up needs to write a $10 (you decide) check out to the group to hold their registration when they sign up. When they arrive for the field trip they get the check back. If they do not show up, the check is deposited into the group account. Just a little bit of accountability goes a long way. They setup a checking account up just for this purpose.
ReplyDeleteWe won't be doing prom, but they look like they had fun :) I wish I could be more unschool. Trying!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE my crockpot and we're usually home!
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the no-show problem! It's not just in homeschool circles that I've noticed it though. People don't want to have to explain themselves so they'd rather say nothing at all. Of course, I have always felt that the flip side is that we tend to demand an answer and it had better be good enough. Whatever happened to a common courtesy of accepting someone's no and leaving it at that, and offering a simple no and nothing more?
ReplyDeleteHappy Homeschooling to you, too! What a fun filled up week you all had.
ReplyDeleteGreat point! Just what excuse is good enough for not attending a field trip? I understand completely. Personally, I'd rather not know why you don't want to go or changed your mind, unless you need prayer for your circumstance, you really don't need to share it with m. I'd much rather have someone say "We can't make it" and leave it at that then just not show up.
ReplyDeleteI scheduled a tour last month and had nearly 30 sign ups- I had a lot of cancellations, but on the day of the tour, 11 people didn't show. Our final count was 6 people, not even enough for the group discount! I really think that people think it's okay to cancel or not show if they decide that they just don't 'feel' like going, but what they don't realize is that other families may do the same thing making it uncomfortable for the organizer and the facility that has planned the field trip and scheduled help, etc. It's not such a big deal if we're hanging out at a park or going for a hike, but when it comes to paying extra money on my end because people don't show, I'd just as soon cancel the outing and find something else to do with my time. Thanks for letting me vent. :)
Great tip! I have decided that I will need to put something similar in place and hopefully that will cut back on some of the no shows. :)
ReplyDeleteTonya, I highly recommed "The Hiding Place" - by Correy Ten-Boom
ReplyDeleteYou've probably heard of it- I read it over and over as a child & look forward to sharing it with mine! i'm gonna check into a few of your recommended reads too- God Bless!
Love the photo .I enjoy my crock pot they come in handy when you are busy . Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteCaroline(estop4 cajun schoo)
Love the prom picture!
ReplyDeleteI need to find some good crock pot recipes. I don't use mine nearly enough.
Sounds like a productive week to me. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting week! I have also experienced "no-shows" for field trips, or people cancelling at the last minute. It's crazy! Not sure what that's about.
ReplyDeleteJust dropped by to say hi! http://www.ramseysathome.blogspot.com
Ahhh, prom. My teen never wanted to go to the homeschool prom. She didn't know enough people (or didn't allow herself to get to know more), so she didn't go. Now she is dating a local public school boy and is heading to prom next weekend. I'm hoping the experience is positive, but I'm nervous. Your kids look wonderful in their prom clothes!
ReplyDelete