School...one month in

So, we've been at this "school" thing for a month now...and I have already learned a couple things.

Maybe you want to know them.
Maybe not.
But I thought I'd write them down just the same.

****I do NOT have an issue with people who choose to homeschool. This is not an attack against anyone. The following thoughts are purely my reflections on our public/Christian school experience thus far.****

For those who don't know, I live in Mayberry. Really. My neighborhood is like stepping back in time to when life was simpler. My girls (7, 5, and 3) are allowed to ride their bikes around the block without supervision. Our neighbors are lovely. We all look out for each other - we return errant children; help take each other's trash out; pick up packages if someone is out of town.

It is idyllic.

I've heard there may be a bit of Wisteria Lane thrown in to keep things interesting, but I've not experienced it!

Homeschooling last year kept me from getting to know my neighbors. It kept the beans from building relationships with friends on the block. 

Instead of investing in our community right next door, 

I was driving all over the place to build community.

Already in this month, through twice daily bus stop encounters, we have gotten to know our neighbors better than we had in the two and a half years we've lived here. 
Why the distance before? 
Partially, because I just didn't have time for this community - the one actually right outside my doorstep - I was too busy with all my other things and places and people. When we were home, I was homeschooling. Which meant, for me, I couldn't be out building friendships like I wanted - because I had too many other jobs to do. 

My children were around others a'plenty last year - socialization was never a concern. However, being in classes with children who don't live in their house, has been a very good thing. They are learning about how other people do things. They are learning how to stand up for themselves - and others. They are not surrounded by only people from church.

Which is good. (For us)

String Bean and Jumping Bean pray each night they are living in a way that shows they are "God's girls." We've been able to talk about the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.") and what it looks like, lived out. 

The traditional school setting has forced us to be on a schedule. Which I love and String Bean loves and Jumping Bean loves and Bitty Bean loves, and Boy Bean, well, he hasn't voiced an opinion. We have specific chores to accomplish at specific times of day. Could that have happened when we were homeschooling? Yep. It even did at times. But there's something about knowing if you don't accomplish your job in a timely fashion, you will miss the bus - that is a motivator. A good one. 
The set routine is also forcing children who are not as inclined towards personal responsibility to learn good habits. I don't carry their backpacks. I don't put away their shoes. I don't check to be sure they have their homework. We have set routines in place - so they just have to remember the steps, and they will have everything they need. This is a very good thing. 

Our house is calmer, more efficient, more welcoming, and actually, more relaxed, since this change up.  

Each child is thriving with the space to develop away from their sibling's shadow.  
They enjoy time together more - because they have time apart.

I am thankful every single day for where we live. 
That String Bean can be in this district and Jumping Bean can attend her Christian school. 
The teachers at both schools have been superb. When I look to the future and see deployment, I am thankful to have them on my team. I'm thankful for their knowledge in education, and in life. 

Basically, here is my sum-up:
I do not think our decision is right (or wrong) for anybody else.  
Educating your children is a multi-faceted thing, and I seek to support my friends as they follow the best path for their family.
For us, this year, this is our best path. 

~Whitney 
 Copyright 2012

The Why's and What for's....

Well, change is happening. Or happened.

I'm NOT pregnant.

We had planned on homeschooling String Bean (2nd grade) and Jumping Bean (Kindergarten) this year.
Here is the why behind that decision:
It worked pretty well last year.
My Love is still on a sea tour and will be deploying early next year.
We wanted the flexibility of the homeschooling schedule so we could be with My Love whenever possible.

Really, that was the primary reason FOR homeschooling: Flexibility/time with Daddy.

But when we found out his schedule (And realized how very little we will see him over the next year) homeschooling didn't really seem to make sense for us.

I've never been a die-hard homeschooler.
I guess you could say I'm reluctant at best.  
And I was really, really, really nervous about starting up school knowing that a deployment was staring me in the face.

I was beyond nervous. I felt overwhelmed.

I knew that no matter what I did - one of the areas (at least!) I'm responsible for, would fail.

My Love knows me very well, and he trusts me to tend to the things of home when he is away. But when we learned his schedule - he became much more concerned about the weight of homeschooling on my shoulders.  Work-ups and deployments are HARD. They are hard on all members of the family and they are EXHAUSTING.

He wanted to alleviate some of that pressure.

I finally admitted to My Love that I was dreading starting school. 

I was terrified of the work load it would bring. 

And I didn't know if that terror was because I am lazy and just didn't' want to DO the work; 

OR if it was because I was adding work I wasn't supposed to bear. 

Sometimes, it is really hard to tell the difference.

The night before school officially started, the decision was made:
"Whitney, we're sending them to school."

I almost cried, I was so relieved.

God knew all along we would be here. He planned it out so beautifully.  
For them to go to school, they are required to have physicals and updated shots...back in June when I made their annual appointment, the first opening the Doctor had was on Tuesday, September 4th.
The First Day of School.
The day I was going all over the place enrolling them.
So, on THAT day - unknown to me 3 months ago - I went to: 2 schools and picked up paperwork; the Pediatricians office and had 2 physicals and 3 children caught up on shots (highly NOT recommended);  had String Bean do a reading assessment; dropped off paperwork; saw 2 classrooms; met 2 teachers; and did all the back to school shopping. (Thank you Target!)
Did I mention ALL 4 were with me the WHOLE time?! I was exhausted.

So now, String Bean is happily enrolled as a 2nd grader at the public school for our neighborhood; and Jumping Bean is attending Kindergarten at a small Christian preschool/Kindergarten down the street. They are both over-the-moon excited! AND  - they only missed 1 day. :)

We've been at this for one week now...and everyone is thriving.  This house is loaded with 3 over-the-top-off-the-charts extroverts - and all 6 of us are loving this change.

String Bean comes home almost giddy every day. (Even yesterday, when she got her finger stuck/pinched in a door and had to wait for someone to come by and set her free) She loves riding the bus. Her classmates are lovely. She loves the competition, the schedule, the workload.

Jumping Bean loves her teacher. She loves meeting new people and doing new things. She has the space to show her personality without being constrained by her siblings. She loves having her own place - her own things - her own friends.

Bitty Bean and I have been doing school together - and she loves the uninterrupted time she gets. I can focus on just her. When we dropped Jumping Bean off that first day, Bitty Bean buckled back into her seat and said, "Oh yeah. I'm the big boss lady now!"

Boy Bean is also developing through this. There are more quiet moments and time where he can talk for himself. He is learning to do things, because a sister won't do it for him. I am able to teach him (and Bitty Bean) things that had slid to the side...following through on cleaning up, obedience, speaking, cooking together, reading together, time to enjoy each other.

For the first time in forever, My Love came home to a clean home, a good meal, caught up laundry, happy children, and a happy wife.

I think that about sums it up. :)

~Whitney Copyright 2012

Summer....and what ISN'T growing

School officially ended on Thursday.

There has been an OBSCENE amount of rejoicing since that moment. 

(The kids are excited too)

We have been doing a whole lotta this....

this....

and this.

I've also discovered why my Cilantro won't grow...

Here's a hint:  Boy Bean

Like a good mama - I took pictures of his naughtiness.  

According to my Mama-in-law, cilantro is over-rated anyway. Maybe the Boy just takes after her!

Basically, we are soaking up the sun, chilling in the pool, and (apparently) killing herbs at random. Sounds like a good start to the summer to me!


~Whitney
 Copyright 2012

Slightly Belated....

Well, I will probably start writing full sentences again in about 2 weeks.

Why 2 weeks?

Because in 2 weeks we will be done with our first year of home schooling!!

It has really been a GREAT year.
It has really been a HARD year.

Seriously.  I've realized I should be labeled a reluctant homeschooler. I've loved many things about this year....and I've struggled with many things this year. (More on all that in about 2 weeks.) :)

Yesterday marked Mother's Day - as I am sure most of you realized.  It kinda snuck up on me.

(Like every holiday and birthday and special day in the past 9 months or so...9 months....that is the same time that I've been homeschooling! Coincidence? I think not.)

I'm so thankful to be Mama. 

To wear this title.
To have the tired eyes, the snot covered shoulders, the peanut butter and jelly smeared pants.
I'm thankful for the stretching. (Thankful for the figurative kind....not so much the literal)

I'm thankful for my Mama....a woman I'm becoming more like almost every second.  A woman I want to be like. A Mama who passionately attacks life and desperately loves her family.

I'm  thankful for my Mama-in-law...a woman I want to be like. A Mama who joyfully sacrifices for her family.

I'm thankful for my "Mama support team." The women I watch and learn from. The women in various phases of mothering....from Grandma's, to Mama's of teenagers, to New Mama's, to Prayer Mama's....I don't know what I'd do without each of them!

On Mother's day, I want to celebrate so much more than the Mama's who wear the title - the one's with strollers, and hurting backs, and obscene amounts of laundry - I want to celebrate the women who realize that no matter where they are, there is someone they could be (and probably are!) nurturing, encouraging, and loving.

Happy Mother's Day!

~Whitney


 Copyright 2012

Honest!

So, I could write a post about today outlining how it is only 1:15pm and

.....I already have dinner cooking in the crock pot filling the house with yummy smells....

Chicken cacciatore :)

....We only have to review our spelling words and school will be done for the day - even with some extra-fun of hunting for videos all about caves,

....all 4 children have been fed - TWICE! - and kept with clean bums!

(As in rear-ends, not a tidy person off the street)

....all beds have been made,

.....I made 2 days worth of fresh applesauce for the boy.

And, while all of the above is true...it is NOWHERE NEAR the whole story.

I haven't showered yet.

Not a single dish has been done.

(Including emptying the clean dishes from the dishwasher.)

The house is swiftly exploding on itself.

And I still need to get to the commissary.

Oh well.

Just keeping it real folks.

I hope you get your "have to's" (and even some of your "want to's") done today; but if you don't, it will be okay.

We can both rest our feet on the pile of laundry currently procreating throughout the house.....

Copyright 2011

The WHY...

Well, if you didn't hear the big news...we are now a homeschooling family! Since my post regarding the decision only stated the decision and NOT the rationale, I thought you might want some insight into why we concluded home schooling would be the best fit for our family.

At least this year!

Disclaimer: I am NOT  saying we have made the right decision for all humanity.  This is the decision we have come to for OUR family - and these are our reasons why.  Home schooling is not for everyone - it wasn't for me last year!  These reasons hopefully will spark talks or thoughts - but they are not a judgement on someone who has chosen differently.

Whew.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out a light-hearted, back-handed-funny way to outline our reasons. So this is gonna be a bit of a departure.. . bear with me!
There were numerous little reasons - but two primary issues that swayed us to the side of home schooling.

1. The pervasiveness of Post-modern thought.
Basically, the postmodern world view claims reality is not fixed or determined. There are no absolutes - there is no sure truth, because all things are relative to each individual's viewpoint or life experience. 

As a Christian family seeking to follow the Truth of the Bible - postmodernism is completely opposed to how we view the world. 

Being exposed to different things and other world views is definitely a good thing. 

However, we determined that 6 years old was a little young to have the majority of your time spent in a setting oppositely aligned with our stated family goals.

2. 40 hours a week is a lot of time
I know modern American culture thinks nothing of our young children going off to their "job" of school for 40 hours a week....plus homework. But it was just too much for us! We would miss her terribly. Being an active duty military family also played a role in the "time" issue - sometimes My Love is gone during breaks in school and home when school is in session. We want to capitalize on our time together, so the flexibility afforded by homeschooling is a huge benefit.

Some other reasons were logistical - 


3. Where to fit the extra-curricular stuff
It is very important to us that the beans have a solid foundation in music. So, where do we fit piano/music lessons in the schedule? And what about dance or sports? When do we get to have time together as a family? The tailored schedule of home schooling became both highly attractive, and made some of our other goals more feasible.

You put all those things together and we did not think we would be able to maintain the stability and consistency we would like with a traditional school setting. Home schooling should allow us the flexibility to move, travel with My Love, and participate in extra-curriculars that would have been impossible otherwise.

I say "should" because we haven't done it yet! 

I'll let you know how/if it actually worked. 

I guess that pretty much sums it up! Not funny. Not heart-wrenching. Just basic. 


And that's a wrap.


(Soon I'll write a post on the "how" and the "where" because those are the next questions I get!)  :)


Copyright 2011

Developing My Palate....

So here's the deal. I like food. A LOT.

I like dark chocolate. 

And fruit.

 And chicken salad. 

And chips and salsa. 

And brussels sprouts. 

And cilantro. 

And coffee. 

And chai.

 And every-salad-Shannon-has-ever-made.

 I like crab. 

And lobster. 

And borscht. 

And moo-shu pork.

And, apparently, I like crow.

Yep, I have been making it a habit to eat crow on a regular basis.

See, my problem is this:
I talk WAAAAAAY too much. AND, I'm slightly opinionated.
(Okay, really opinionated - you lover of accuracy!)
So, if I like something - think something is great - thoroughly enjoy something....you are gonna know it.

Unfortunately, the flip-side is true too. 

Which is no big deal....except when I exert my female-right to change my mind. 

Then problems arise....and I typically get a large serving of crow.

Recently, I've been getting more than my usual serving because we made a BIG decision. A large, life decision. A decision I said I WOULD NEVER MAKE. In fact, I've been exceptionally vocal about NOT wanting this particular route in the past.

And yet, here I am. Excited. Thrilled! And extremely happy to have arrived at this conclusion.

What decision could I be alluding to?

It deals with how we will be educating our beans. (At least this year!)

I have joined the ranks of homeschooling mamas. 

Please pick your mouth up off the floor.

After much prayer, thought, deliberation, numerous lists, and sleepless nights.....we have decided to homeschool String Bean (first grade) and Jumping Bean (pre-K/Kindergarten).

(I'd be happy to outline our reasons/rationale if you are interested)

Just be sure to keep my plate warm....I've a feeling I'm not done eating yet!

Copyright 2011