{it}

Passion.  Life's "that's it" for each of us has ever the playful heart.  Peek-a-boo like, your inner mojo can be hidden.  Impatient & anxious, it rests behind cubby holes and inside cluttered closets.  It pokes out from under crumpled rock piles as you go along the mundane.  You know, the mind management otherwise known as your space here on Earth.  For those acutely aware of time & journey, unveiling tiny tidbits of their most masterful is like magic. Early on, these are the little ones who are lost in story.  The ones buried in blocks or mystified with eyes behind microscopes fervently flipping the pages of books for the simple sake of knowledge. They're the ones ones shooting ghost ball jump shots or making last second touchdown catches in living rooms. The kiddos cloaked in constant costume.  It's there for them.  And, they know it.  They feel it.  It's as if they can't live without it.  It. Their passion perfectly placed for soaring in the who God keenly created them to be. It pulses out of them. These are the magical ones. The special. The ones who innately know their it.  

I'd like to think many of us knew our magical at an early age.  God spoils us like that.  I blame the methodical mindset of maturity for the suffocation of passion.  Life's hustle simply flattens us.  Schedules and scores squelch out the joy in the God given great for many of us.  Lucky are the ones still cloaked in costume and mystified by the magnified of the lens.  

{Casey reading to Eli  his first published book.}

I was one of the lucky for awhile.  A stuffed animal owl and eagle were my wildlife rescues in my very own television show about endangered species.  It aired at least 3 times a week in my back yard.  I was the sequined bodice lead majorette in countless Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades. I performed in sold out stages across America as a Rockette.  I wrote television jingles and screenplays too.  With the two button duo press, I recorded and directed radio shows on my cassette recorder with my brother and the neighborhood kids. I wrote journals full of soap opera scripts.  I advertised markdown sales for TG&Y. I choreographed a multitude of dance routines to the sounds of the Judds, Madonna, Tiffany and Debbie Gibson.

 {A collection of the boys' writing journals.}

But then things like formal lessons of "You have to learn with the right hand to twirl the baton not the left" and "Don't you think you would like to play basketball better?" found their way into my heart.  My it changed. I slid into a world of the succumb.  Breathes became more shallow and life's color turned to sepia for a bit.  Confidence lessened and insecurities increased in this left handed little girl.

{Eli reading to Casey his fourth published book}

But, God's got a way of giving back to you what is rightfully yours.  I took a detour from my inner me. It's not that I didn't excel in my off road excursion. I did. It's just my heart had inner most happy elsewhere.  And, when that innermost sidled back into its comfy spot on the couch of me?  The pillow cushions possessed the warmth of its presence long ago as if it had never left.

I create.  That's my it.  It's like breathing to me.  I love expressing emotions.  I move. I write.  Rules like "you have to twirl with your right hand" run a pesky parallel to "you can't write a sentence without this grammatical rule in tact".  My it does not exist for red markings or measure ups.  

And, the more I reunite with the little girl ever present in her back yard studio/stage of dreams, the more of the best me I become.  For myself.  For my family.  For others.

{I began writing journals with them when they were 3 years old.}

My innate sense of creating is a strength. God wouldn't have given it to me if it wasn't.  The gift of writing is a joy that I can't help but share.   Only this time it's not scripts for back yard radio shows, for the latest sale on TG&Y's storefront window or for soap opera screenplays.  It's for my boys. I am using my it to teach them.  To teach them that words have a profound purpose on paper. With eyes as their staircase, words wind upward into corners of minds and down deep into souls.  They open up new worlds, mold hearts and make more of people in wonderful ways.  For better.  For happier.  For good.  

I write this post for confidence's sake.  I write it as a reminder too. We all have a passion.  It's inside each of us and naturally born.  Find it.  Don't forget it if you're like me and lost it for a time.  Don't hide it.  As parents, don't stifle it in your children.  Savor it in yourselves and your little ones growing.  Celebrate who they are with a resounding joy that banishes all preset rules and fancy mainstream ways of saying "you can't".  

Impatient & anxious, it rests behind cubby holes and inside cluttered closets.  It pokes out from under crumpled rock piles as you go along the mundane. 

Don't let it.

.mac :)

Our Town Together

Homeschooling lends itself to such rich learning.  It's the kind of learning that I can get lost in.  The kind where time lines are chucked in the trash and concepts like quality & content are just the best river stones you want to rub over and over in your hands.  In the fall, the boys and I learned about community.  We read books about parts of a community, discovered different types of communities and examined more of how a community is made based on location and job opportunities.  As an educator,   I have always struggled with pigeon holing learning and memorizing facts. As in, I have a hard time making them narrow cities and communities into areas considered rural, suburban and urban.  Perhaps it's because I, myself, am unsure of just what constitutes a suburban town.  We live in a town just 30 minutes from a big city in Tennessee, and our town is anything but suburban.  Our town is rural with a capital "R".

And, I guess, what I want the boys to gather most from my time as their teacher is knowledge not facts. I want them to have a devout curiosity for learning and observing.  I know that facts are important, moreover, that they are a necessary part of making life easier.  We are on that too.  Fact families are drilled. Reciprocal processes are enforced.  Time tables are tested.  But, before all of that, I gotta know that they know the process and the why behind it.  Teaching Eli his multiplication tables in 1st grade was so much easier to facilitate as he was the one who observed that addition could be grouped and counted.  Once he had this discovery, it was simply the best next step to show him grouping and multiplication.  I cared not that he was 6 or in 1st grade.  He was ready because it made sense to him to learn a better way.  This is the joy of learning; this is the reason I love being their Mrs. Cobble.

For our community project, the boys and I decided to define our community.  We simply talked this out on our daily routines and routes that we drive.  What made their space theirs?  Eli was the first to state that cardinal directions were important for knowing where things were located.  Yeah, Casey and I could care less about which way was up.  So, cardinal directions were included for E-man.  Casey wanted the places we visit and use as a part of the project.  Particularly, the eating establishments we frequent.  The boy is sure to be in the entertainment/social job field, I have no doubt.  They both wanted to have  the elapsed time included to places they love to go nearby {Mom-Mom & Larro's house, Nana & Papaw's house, and Knoxville's sun sphere.}  We don't visit the sun sphere often, but they love to locate it when we are traveling west to see family in my hometown.  Plus, they love knowing that on our return home, there's just 32 minutes to our front door once they spot that sparkly copper ball in the sky.

They work brilliantly together on these collaborative projects.  The boys are so astutely aware of the other's strengths.  The same holds true for when they tackled this art piece.  Like bookends, they see a project through with nothing more than guidance, supply lugging and a few re-directions from me in between.

The boys made a list of the roads most traveled in their community, places that were necessary to their community {our bank, our church, police department, our grocery, our local hospital, the trash dump, nearby schools, etc.} It was important to Casey that the community center shaped like an octagon was included as that's where he attends gymnastics.

Eli wanted the rail road documented.  We, by no means, live as close to the tracks as we used in our old home, but  for Eli, either be it for nostalgia's sake or for the sake of proper documentation, the railroad was included.  As were the barns.  The boys have it on full authority that from our house to the turn off to Mom-Mom & Larro's, there are 69 barns.  We counted, remember?  Smoky Mountains were in there too, in addition to the surrounding counties and their names.  

They drew with pencil and then used multi-mediums for final construction.  Acrylic paints, oil pastels, colored pencils and crayons did the job just right.  For further depth & detail, they went through magazines and cut out cool words/images that had meaning to our community.  Casey found a patriot in one magazine and could hardly wait to paste it on Daddy's football field they drew behind the high school.

Next, it was time to label.  The boys gave me their list with which I typed & printed only to give back to them.  They took turns typing each piece of their community on the computer.

Efficient Eli had the brilliant idea to highlight each word to signify its completion.  Where does he get this?

I was most impressed with both boys' ability to type.  Initially, I thought they would tire of this mundane process, and that I would be the one to finish the job.  Nope.  With efficiency, these 2 knocked out their list completely on their own.

Ahh, cutting and gluing.  So not my strong suit.  I would like to blame that on having right-handed scissors for the first 3 years of my left-handed education.  I find it funny that much of my profession as a designer is cutting.  E & C plowed through the snips chatting the entire time.

I really was quite concerned the gluing process would end in torn typed pieces to which would lead to major melt downs and disgruntled-ness.  Wrong again.  These 2 had about 40 labels to adhere to their canvas.  Only one was torn.  Wow.  

The water/Mod Podge glue solution was like magic potion to them.  The delight they took in using angled sponges attached to sticks was such a treat to watch.  Casey got all over-gluey as he was "Bob Ross'n"  with his play-play verbal description of what he was doing each step of the way. Eli, the dictator, was quick to snap him back into proficiency in the world of adhering.

I mentioned in my end-of-the-month November review post that I had big plans for their community finished project. I framed their masterpiece and placed it in our kitchen in between the Dan Gibson painting I purchased from a local craft festival I attended this fall and the self portrait art pieces the boys did of themselves when they were just 5 and 3.  I have enough space to the left of their portraits for a narrow piece of art.  I would like it to be a piece Kenny & I create together.  My mind isn't concrete just yet on what that piece will be, but I look forward to watching the beauty of our piece unfold when just the right idea hits.

I adore their finished product.  I love it even more that it helps to define the composition of our home. I look at it everyday with pride as this piece is yet another symbol of the boys together and immersed in creating and collecting knowledge under their roof of home.  Together.  Immersed in collecting and sharing knowledge to create good in your space.  Sounds like the perfect community to me.

.mac :)

{week 51:  my 2 in 52}

on the playroom floor

Busy. It takes over us all.  Its sneakiness fashions our days into a whole lotta with helpings of hurry up, wouldya?  I continually fight the battle of public school teacher vs. homeschooling mama/designer.  The two have starkly different daily compositions.  Public school teaching is purposeful with definitive time lines of moving on and what's next on our list to complete.  Scheduling is regimented right down to the elapsed time in the bathroom and how long you have to eat lunch.  To say you are tired when the last little one loads the bus, would be a far cry off from real.  You.are.toast. But, duty still calls.  Lesson plans, paper grading, hoop jumping, and faculty meetings are just a smattering of what is still left on your plated day.  

Homeschooling has home.  You are in and amongst your living space.  The boys have their most precious belongings right nearby to the touch.  I can remember Casey working on skip counting last winter with his "B" snuggled up in his lap.  Eli's most favorite time of his day is reading in the sunshine with his Jack cat.  This intimate component of home provides a comfort that hopefully fosters growth and initiative with regard to the value of learning. I want the boys to choose knowledge for its sake.  I want them to be self starters in seeking answers and solving problems.  I want to remove myself from the rat race of score and ranking that I am so used to as a public school teacher only to replace it with the freedom of childhood progress at a pace that promotes purpose and proficiency.   

I have nearness that needs my attention as well.  k.Mac is Christmas for many clients.  My days are split seeking out newness and knowledge for the boys in addition to stitching and creating for others.  The fall is chock full with designs and deadlines.  The internal battle of balance and obedience to both of my occupations is hard fought during this season.  Giving less than my best to both is not an option.  

Providing the boys with what my heart longs for and providing myself with what my heart longs to do crossover.  The income that k.Mac provides is a blessing to our family.  The intimate times with my boys are too.  I cannot tell you the joy I have collected in the keeping corner of my heart knowing that  their mama has been the one to teach both boys to talk, walk, potty train, tie shoes, write, read and calculate.  Mine and Kenny's decision for me to stay home with them has paid off in more dividends than I could have ever accumulated in a state paycheck.  The journey of my time with them is one we continuously evaluate on the scale of what is best for them.

I don't have all the answers to what constitutes their best.  As a mama, I wish I did.  I wish the answers were definitive.  Evidence of yesterday's learning is in the photograph you see above.  This image has value worth memory keeping.

I will remember Eli seeking out a flat head screwdriver to fix the Leapster for Casey.  I won't forget that he explained to Casey the difference between a flat head screwdriver and a Phillips head.  I see the plane toppled over from the big crash in the middle right of this image.  I also see the evidence of the boys attempts to replicate additional planes out of Legos to increase the fleet in number. They used the toy plane as their building guide.  It should be noted that older brother has an addiction to good books.  On his belly, he crinkled his bare toes into the playroom's squishy carpet and entered into his own magical world of fiction.  Younger brother was in a vicious battle against some viking/pirate type dude nearby.  Once the battle concluded victoriously for the younger brother, he did what is becoming a bit more natural to him more and more each day.  Off his shielded vest went, and onto the carpet floor he lay.  Beside his older brother in silence, he began reading a little more of his very first chapter book. I need not forget that he used the pirate hook still on his hand as his official finger follower from word to word.

These were the answers I received yesterday as my eyes cast a motherly glance onto the playroom floor.  Definitive or not, they were real.  My hands were busy setting up stitches as the boys had just finished up addressing their envelopes for their letters to Santa and math time on the iPad and in their math journals.  Before that, there was more reading from the three of us together.

In this moment on the playroom floor, I found my answer.  Real.  No rat race or rank.  They chose knowledge for its sake. Perhaps there is good in busy after all.

{week 21:  my 2 in 52}

.mac :)

{lost & found}

There are places he goes, and I'm not with him.  He gleans creativity, power and knowledge there.  Between two pages over & over again.  His look is transfixed and serene; he is lost.  Unbeknownst to him is the world of life spinning.

I catch him leaving me without permission.  A golden boy with places to go.  Through the kitchen glass door on the back porch, in his favorite travel reading pose no doubt.  Remember here?  I snap from the inside evidence of his trips chartered taken whenever he can.

Before school and just after bed making when Mr. Sunshine smiles sweetly though his bedroom window, he is daily found lost.  Lost with a Jack cat and without me.  Staying gone for sometimes up to an hour or more, he considers not his responsibility to our school day.

Or, does he?  These trips unplanned and unauthorized and unchaperoned are taken with a travel partner a little more often in the early evenings.   Like stowaways on some secret boxcar, these two travel the rails  of two pages over and over again. I hear far off echos of "Bub, I'm gonna read this page and you read the next one, okay?" His hand is always  atop his little brother's locks too.

Without me.  

Unattended and unsupervised. 

 I watch him leave.  

Daily, he is found lost.  

"found lost"

{lost & found}

FOUND

Keep traveling, Eli.

Mama :)

{week 22: these 2 in 52}

{getting a grip}

It's the day before Halloween.  And, yet my mind keeps coming back to this place. This photograph is well served in the art of reminiscence.  The water was smooth. The paddle was productive. My feet were steady. My balance held accord with my being.  Simply put, I was present in motion.  I spoke little; I concentrated lots.  This image conjures up the deep importance of rest and introspection.  Gently, it nudges me to find the paddle once again in my hands. Metaphorically, I need to make the sequential movements of stroking the collective ripples from side to side.  My balance and breaths have to be unified; my heart mindful of upright.  

Life is fast.  Faster than ever before.  Peering out into this world of schedules and deadlines, I find myself looking inward for a haven of relief.  For it is in that peaceful place that my creativity connects with my heart.  I want time to slow itself.  I want space for dreaming to be a little bigger.  I am quite certain that is why homeschooling the boys happens for us.  As I scurry about my days inside our 4 walls of home, I find the boys blissfully in harmony with their balance & breaths.  Curled up reading, stacking and measuring, defending our country in backyard battles and authoring stories of grandeur with detailed pictures to match.  Their learning is in progress and peace is present.  

{peace & progress}

{balance & breaths}

{present in motion}

I must be reminded that we all fight the current of confusion and constant commotion.  With the tugs of now and the concept of hurry, it's easy to lose ourselves only to miss out on those moments of protected peace if we're not careful. Today I remind myself that my motions can be in peace; I set the tone of my progress too.  My mind must make time for my heart to settle as that's when my creativity rests.  I am thankful for 2 little boys who teach me this on a daily basis.  I am thankful for a God who so keenly keeps my compass when I just let Him soak into me.  The grip on my paddle never felt more perfectly pleasant than it does today.  

.mac :)

Rollem

We like to move.  Yep, this camp doesn't enjoy stillness so much.  As the teacher mom big dawg in this thing we call homeschool, I make it a point to give the boys a happy mixture of movement and sitdownanddotheworkinfrontofyou. Balancing joy & pain is real world.  I want to make sure that my guys get rockstar lessons big & fun, but I also want to be sure that they 'get' that sometimes paper work and the un-fun is a part of life.  You know like sunshine & rain?  I got the beat in my head, cats.  Sing it if you know it.  Pump it up. Pump it up. Give it to'em, Rob Base.

And, we kick it in the driveway with trend too.  Don't you know neon colors are all the rage now?  Here's how the beat goes:  MATH.  It's got lots of tiers and layers.  It requires concepts like process and critical thinking.  It can be heavy at times.  Boys typically enjoy math more than girls.  There. These are things I know from my background in education. 

Now, here's what I know about math as a little girl who struggled with thinking I could even do it (Up until 8th grade, that is.  Thank you, Coach Lamar Davis.  You were the first teacher who ever told me I could rock math like no other.  From that point on, I loved it.  Positive words and good energy.  Who knew it could make that much of a difference in a child's attitude?)  Math.  It's got some jazz to it.  Think of it like a game.  We do. We look at numbers like they're puzzles and play doh.  They can be stacked, grouped and molded together to create something new just depending on how you wanna spin'em. 

Our game.  We call it Driveway Dice. We play it about once a week.  For supplies, you will need some "osom" (Casey's spelling for the word "awesome".  I'm starting to want to change its officially spelling in our house.  I like 'osom' so much more than 'awesome'.) large foam dice from the DollarTree.  We bought every color.  You will also need 4 different color highlighters, a clipboard and whistle.  Take a sheet of copy paper and put numbers in columns or rows as high as you want.  I went to 18 for Casey and 32 for Eli. 

   

Make a chart like so at the top of the paper.  

                       

Now, for the fun part.  Each boy rolls the die on the driveway takes a set of dice and throws them as far as they can possibly throw.  Then they have to add them together and put the corrected highlighted mark under the answer on their paper based on the chart at the top.  

We do this for about 5 minutes. The boys are really quick at fast facts.  Fast fact are simple fact families that are needed to know without using fingers or counting up in your head.  These are the basic fact families from 1-12.  How do you get good at learning fast fact families?  Repetition.  That's how.  

One whistle blow from the big dawg (me) means that the boys now add another set of dice into mix. Then, the boys are adding larger numbers and charting whether their answers are even or odd.  Believe it or not, the boys are becoming masterminds at even this.  Eli especially.  Casey is still working on his accuracy and quickness, but he is catching on nicely to this higher level adding.  

The boys do this for about 7 minutes.  Then, the big dawg blows the whistle 2 times.  This signals the flip of the script.  They are now subtracting with one set of dice.  Pavlov Big Dawg has them trained to take a swig from their water bottles and toss their 2nd set of dice back into the tub before changing processes.  They now are working on quick subtraction facts with one set of dice each and still continuing to tally their answers with their even/odd highlighter system.  This goes on for about 5 minutes.

3 whistle blows means they add back the 2nd set of dice and subtract the totals of each set from the other to find the difference and then chart its answer in our neon even/odd way.  This takes place for about 7 minutes. 

Eli likes me to blow the whistle four times for him at the end.  He then works on quick multiplication facts with one set of dice.  As he does this, I am working with Casey helping him tally which numbers on his chart won in the following categories:

• Even Number Sums
• Odd Number Sums
• Even Number Differences
• Odd Number Differences

Casey likes to draw gold, silver and bronze metals for each.  

When Eli is done with his multiplication round, we talk through his tallys.  He uses the addition highlighters to tally his multiplication as he knows multiplication is just a faster way to add.  I go one stop more with Eli in my math talking time.  I ask him questions like "What is the highest double dice sum you could have gotten?"  "What about the lowest double dice difference you could have gotten?"  He loves these questions.  

The entire lesson takes about 40 minutes.  It's repetition.  It's tiered in process levels and critical thinking. It's outside.  It's moving. (Your welcome, Michelle Obama.)  Most importantly, it has a theme song.  We thank you, DJ EZ Rock and Rob Base.

Math. 

Joy!  Pump it up, pump it up, 

.mac :)

Penny Books

{Casey's penny book selections}

I wanted to take time here in my cyberspace spot to field some questions regarding how our homeschooling works.  Specifically, I wanted to focus on one segment of our reading program. Teaching a child to read and read well at that is one of the most profound gifts you can ever give.  It takes a whole lotta patience as well as a whole lotta practice.  To be effective in this endeavor, I feel like children need 7 key elements for success.

These elements have derived from my teaching experience both in the classroom {7 years} and now at home {in my 3rd year}.

They are:

1.  To be read to

2.  To be read with

3.  To have reading modeled for them

4.  To have autonomy in their reading selections

5.  To have allotted time for reading alone

6.  To be held accountable

7.  To celebrate their success

I have friends quiz me about how homeschooling works exactly for us.  I also have friends who are unsure of just how to help their little ones learn to become good or better readers.  I am in no way an expert, but I do feel strongly in the success of the above key components.  For the sake of those out there anxious or unsettled with just what to do or perhaps considering the purchase of a reading program the equivalent to a monthly car payment, I thought I would take the time to share how we operate using elements #4- #7 at home in greater detail.

So as not to ignore #1 - #3, allow me to give an overview of those steps:

1. To be read to-- Read to your kiddos.  Anything and everything age appropriate.  Spend time looking at books and magazines or newspapers.  One of my boys' favorite things is to pick up the free "car trader" magazines outside the grocery store and circle cars or trucks they "want" in addition to spouting off their mileage, make and model.  I have a chapter book usually about one to two grades above their reading level, that I read daily to them.  They LOVE this time of our day.

2.  To be read with-- This reading should be done on their grade level.  It is you sitting down with them individually and listening to them read.  You are engaging them with questions about the book and encouraging them with sounding out words and understanding the story.  This takes time and PATIENCE especially with the emergent reader.  This component is, by far, the most crucial.

3.  To have reading modeled for them-- Set aside time in your day to read silently together.  That means all of you reading with no talking.  Children need to see that reading is important to adults.  I love reading, but I rarely have time to get lost in a book due to my busy work schedule with k.Mac in addition to homeschooling.  I actually really love this time of our day.  I use the timer and we read for 15 minutes.  Slowly, I am plugging away at a juicy novel that otherwise, I would not make time for.

4.  To have autonomy in their reading selections-- Children choosing what they read is so very important.  It encourages decision making, it further defines their interests and boosts confidence additionally.  This is where we begin our PENNY BOOK program in our home.  We use the local libraries.  Every other week we make the trip for them to select what new books will fill their "penny book" basket.  I use this time to pull books for their content learning in their core subjects.  We do not have a specific curriculum that we use for homeschooling other than grade level state standards and the wonderment of creativity and work ethic.

{shown here:  Casey's penny book baskets for the week.}

{The left basket is what is yet to be read.  The right basket is what has been read.}

With Casey, my K/1st grader, I am reading with him for his "penny books".  I use this time to fulfill component #2 as well.  The time spent with him inside these books of his choice is so critical.  My tone and my expectations are everything when it comes to him learning to read well.  Time is everything.  I make it a point that he sees me encouraging and engaged in what he chooses to read.  Oftentimes, he reads the same book to Kenny when he comes home from work that evening to reinforce fluency and share a great book with dad.  This re-read along with my place reading with him during the day is the first stab at taking care of component #6.

For Casey's books to count as complete, he has to read them fluently with no help.  Thus, his done basket may not have as many in it at the end of the week when compared to Eli's "done basket".

The amount in the "done basket" is where #6 component rallies out.  A penny is earned for each book read for the week.  The boys keep these pennies in a mason jar in their rooms.  These pennies can be turned in for larger coins when applicable.  This is one of the ways I foster teaching money to the kids.  This money is used for things they want when enough is saved.  Mostly, packs of gum or Dollar Tree toys.  The kids also use this money for their tithing at church.

{Casey's penny jar}

And, lastly, component #7.  CELEBRATE!  The boys choose their favorite read of the week.  This year I am going to do my best to document with a photo and them sharing a video of what they loved best about this book.  It is my hope to blog weekly about our favorite reads.  Alas, should life get in the way, these videos and photos will make great clips to send out to grandparents, aunts and uncles.  Plus, the boys LOVE watching themselves on video!

{Casey's favorite read:  week 8/6-8/11}

"All Together Now"

by Anita Jeram

Casey's favorite book interview:

And, I can't leave out our big 2nd grader Eli...

{Eli's penny book selections compared to his "done basket"}

Eli's "done basket":

I will often ask him to bring me 2-3 books from his "done basket" throughout the week.  I read them and make written quizzes out for him to answer.  If he answers all 8-12 questions correctly, he gets to roll the dice to see how many additional pennies he receives for reading these books.  This helps to follow through with component #6 as well as encourage Casey to become a stronger reader for a chance at this next phase in our penny book program.

Eli's penny books left still to read:

{Eli's penny jar}

{Eli's favorite read:  8/6-8/11}

"The Red Racer"

by Audrey Wood

Eli's favorite book interview:

Eli's finish up interview {Oops! Small recording hiccup}:

Finally, the boys read their favorites one to the other.  This time for Casey is priceless.  His big brother is so fun to listen to.  In time, Casey's fluency and intonation will increase and Eli will think the same about his little brother.

Time, patience and practice.  It's what we use to hopefully give these guys one of the greatest gifts of all.

.mac :)

-lift off-

Lift off.  I love comparing myself to solid rocket boosters.  I teach.  I work for no school system.  In state records & on tax documents filed, you will not find a W-2  with my name on it. Our decision for me to homeschool our boys is one Kenny and I take seriously.  It is a decision we make on a year-to-year basis. We are human.  We lament over what a 'normal' education would be like for our boys right down to the yellow bus rides and the 20 minute recesses with spelling tests on Fridays.  And, at the same time, we rejoice in the rhythmical pace of learning that homeschooling fosters.  The intimacy & immediacy of child-to-parent along with the powerful component of play are, by far, the precious tugs on our hearts bringing us back to another school year of home.

We began with bare feet this week.  Wading in nice and slow and with purpose.  My year of rhythm has put such convictions on 'why I do what I do' in so many facets of my life.  I want to see validity in my time invested.  Moreover, I want them to see the great reasons of why we do what we do.  As individuals, as a family, as citizens and most importantly, as God's children.

To be clear, I want to address an argument that exists out loud for several people regarding homeschool.  This is the argument that school at home is just a whole lotta free time for the kids paired with lackadaisically low expectations & standards set from the parent.  I know this argument all too well.  I was a public education teacher for 7 years.  This was my complaint of homeschooling back when I did, in fact, have a W-2 on file.

In my third year of homeschooling, I can whole heartedly say that this argument in our home has been rebuked as hogwash.  Learning together at the same table you say grace around while holding the hands of your family members is a concentrated collaboration of just that:  holding hands.  

{Casey's word work.  First day of K/1st grade}

Lessons are directed with a tone of teamwork and togetherness.  Sounding out and does it sound right? are blended harmoniously with what do we know about letters and the how they work together to make words?

{Eli's word work. First day of 2nd grade}

Choices are made with what words they want to further expand on and investigate more through rhymes, journal time or dictionary discovery.

Fresh new math journals are cracked open for skip counting practice with number drills to cypher on.  Calculators are lugged out only for the boys to check their own work and put grades a top their own papers.

I look at the life that God has given me as a chance.  A beautiful chance to mess up all while making more of who I am for myself and for others.   The others?  They are my sons.  The rockets in which I am to provide the most concentrated amount of liquid fuel to.  It is only when they have maximized their fuel source and power that I am to be separated from them as they defy gravity and soar.  Home.  Our expectations are high.  These 2 are worth it all.  The time invested.  The sacrifice in pay.  They are my rhythm.

2012-2013 Year Long Theme:  "It takes big steps to be a great man."

Concept:  cooperation

Have I mentioned I love being compared to solid rocket boosters?

.mac :)