Finding the Right Fit

My regular readers know that my family homeschools.  We started homeschooling right after my son finished kindergarten.  We were in a very transitional time for our family with lots of moving and traveling and even the prospect of moving overseas.  We didn't want our kids school-hopping and figured that once we settled somewhere, we would enroll our kids in a school nearby  (most likely private but we weren't sure).  Well, three years later we are still homeschooling and it's really working for our family.

Why?  Because it's allowed us to help focus on our kids strengths.  It's allowing us to help our kids figure out NOW "what they want to be when they grow up."  That allows us the flexibility to tailor our days in such a way that we spend time working on things that will help our kids in their future career.  Our children are 9 and 7 so we realize that things may change.  And for our 7 year old her dreams for the future have changed somewhat.  But for our 9 year old, he's only become more sure of what he wants to do.

Our 9 year old wants to build and program robots.  And with the help of his father he's already working on that.  So what does one need to learn to do that?  Programming skills of course, but also how electronics work.  So what have we done?  We allow him to dismantle broken electronics and try to fix them or find alternative uses for them.  In fact, one of his favorite things to do is go yard saling with his dad looking for electronics things that he can use for parts.  I'll have a post in a couple days with some of the things he's done lately (My mind has been blown by some of the things he's done, I'm sure yours will be too).

Son watching Daddy fix the air conditioner (he's always watching Daddy and learning)

And what about our daughter?  Well, for a long time she wanted to be a vet.  So we started to foster kittens.  The thought was that she would learn what it's like to take care of an animal.  Fall in love with it.  And then have to give it to someone else.  The fostering process has taught her though that perhaps being a vet isn't the right fit for her (oddly enough because she doesn't like to clean up after animals).  So now she's thinking about becoming an animal trainer or an animal photographer. 

We are still fostering kittens and she gets to help mold their behavior (you know keep them from jumping on the counters and making them more friendly) and she's also taking pictures with a camera we gave her for Christmas.  She is very crafty, so secretly I'm thinking the photographer route might be her thing (as in going to the safari and trying to take pictures of animals for National Geographic and such) but I'm not trying to push anything at this point.

This cat came to us feral at 7 or 8 weeks old and hadn't been handled by a human.  She LOVES my daughter

One of the things that's helped my family with this sort of thing the most is that when we moved to Florida we ended up connecting with a homeschool group.  The women who lead this group have a heart for children like you wouldn't believe.  Not just homeschooled children but all children.  Their catch phrases are "Raising leaders from cradle to college & parenting with the end result in mind." 

Jenni and Jody are awesome ladies and have 9 children between them, ranging in age from 26 down to 2 years old.  One of them has a child who recently passed the bar and is now a lawyer and one has a child that is autistic, so they've definitely been there done that and experienced just about everything in between.

They also have a website http://www.jenniandjody.com/ where they regularly post blog articles about all kinds of parenting topics.  They have a radio show on Saturday's that are also released on their website as pod casts for those who aren't local.  And they are also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jenniandjody

Do yourself a favor and at least look at their website or Facebook page.  If you like what you see, follow them.  That way you will see all their new articles and any other interesting news from them (a book is in the works, as are conferences).  Hopefully they can help your family like they've helped mine.

I Need Your Help

OK folks.  I'd really like some responses here.  You can make them here or if you know me in real life you can let me know somehow.  I'm planning on creating a blog in the not so distant future designed to help people not familiar with my part of Florida discover what is so great about my part of Florida.

Here is where you come in.  What kinds of things would encourage you to choose one area over another? Are you more likely to look at a specific location (neighborhood you've heard about) or to enjoy a certain lifestyle, such as beach, waterfront, golf course, or an arts community. 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Steppin' Up

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed that you wish you had someone to help you out?  A maid, a personal chef, or a chauffeur to get your kids from place to place.  I have.  Many times.  And now that I find myself out of the house for a few hours every few days (if not every day), I find those feelings coming less frequently.  WHAT you say?

Since I started working more, my hubby has really stepped up and is helping out more around the house.  Not only is he watching the kids while I'm gone, but he's making sure they do their school work (he's even gotten my son to do some handwriting = a miracle!).  He's made dinner a few times (and not just something grilled either).  In fact, as I write this, he's making homemade pizza.  He's done laundry, dishes, and even cleaned the bathroom (my least favorite thing to do in the world).  I've come home to a mostly-clean house a couple times too (The kids rooms could use a little more work but even I have trouble getting that done.  At least the main part is clean though).

And the other day, my hubby did some experimenting in the kitchen.  He made me homemade mocha / coffee drinks that turned out really well.  Sometimes I think he's trying to show me up; to prove that he can do things better than I do.  Then I remember that he's not like that.  He's just trying to be helpful and make my life easier... He's definitely a keeper.

My kids are even being more helpful.  When asked to be quite so I can make a phone call, they get quite (most of the time).  When I ask them to help me clean up a mess or gather together dirty laundry, they do it.  It's been refreshing.

This is the way I always thought a family should be... helping each other out just because we are a family and we love each other.

Help From the Village

This time of year, my parent's (my mom in particular since she was born and raised in Florida) get stir crazy living in Virginia.  That's why, for the last 5 years or so, they have gone on a cruise in January or February.  Not ones to buck such a wonderful and warm tradition, my parents went on their cruise earlier this month.  They decided to extend their warm weather enjoyment by staying at our house for a week before their cruise as well as a few days after.  A couple days before they were planning on heading back home, they were in a car accident (a little whip lash for my mom, but otherwise they are fine).  The damage to the car however, necessitated that it be fixed before they leave.  They are now scheduled to be in the area for a week and a half more while the car gets fixed.

I admit, that fitting 4 adults and 2 kids (one of each gender) into a 3 bedroom house has been a bit difficult, but considering we stayed in their house for 6 months, it's the least we can do.  We figured out the best way to deal with the sleeping arrangements after their first week so that's all fine now.

The interesting side-effect to all this is that I now have extra hands.  I've been able to go grocery shopping without the kids (and occasionally with my mom).  My dad has even taken the kids to a local park a couple times so they could ride their bikes (which means I got stuff done and the kids got worn out at the same time - win win!).

I know I've had this kind of help before.  We used to live close to my parents and we had a few friends who I could count on to watch the kids when I needed the extra help.  My kids were also in school back then so I usually packed "school time" full of errands and other things that I couldn't do with the kids around.

I don't know why it took this long, but I really think I get the phrase, "It takes a village to raise a child"  It's not that a child MUST have many people to help rear them to be productive members of society, but it certainly doesn't hurt.  It also helps the parent be a more productive member of their family if they have a little time to themselves.

Here's to hoping I find some new villagers to share the burden with soon.  I think we will all benefit from it.

Using the Off Switch

I don't know what it is, but today my son just does not seem to stop talking.  Since getting home from church he's been building with his K'nex (of course) and as he's doing so he is talking to the K'nex, giving me a play-by-play of what he's doing, and just filling any empty space with humming and chatter.

I told him that if he expect Mommy to listen to this all day, that I would overload.  He then asked me what that meant.  Being that my husband is an electrical engineer I told him that when an electrical circuit is overloaded, one of two things happen.  1.  It either turns off, or 2.  It explodes.

Being that he hasn't stopped talking since this conversation, I have opted for option 1.  I am now doing my best to tune him out (turning him off) so that I don't end up doing option 2.

Fun, Homeschool Style

I recently participated in a homeschool swap (coordinated by The Homeschool Post).  The idea behind the swap is for homeschoolers to connect with other homeschoolers in such a way as to help support them (through prayer and ideas) as well as to send them a small care package that will help them with their homeschooling journey.

My swap partner was Michelle.  She is a homeschool mom of 3 in Arizona.  She happens to have a blog that I am now a religious follower of; she used to be a kindergarten teacher, but then decided to stay at home with her kids.  I have been able to get so many great ideas from her blog (as well as some emails we've exchanged).

When signing up for the swap you are asked a few questions about your homeschooling style, personal style, etc.  In my answers I put that some of our families favorite supplies are construction paper and tape.  Guess what, Michelle sent me construction paper and tape including a nice dispenser that makes it hard for the kids to lose (something they do quite often with disposable tape dispensers).  She also gave me some food goodies (yum!).  See the pic below of what I pulled out of the box. 

One thing you will not see is a gift code she emailed to me so that I could purchase a software package.  It is a digital scrapbooking program. She had mentioned it on her blog and it sounded great to me. I love crafty things and a part of me loves the idea of putting pictures in a scrapbook.  That said, our household doesn't tend to go to print on photos.  Hubby's family had a house fire when he was little and they have a gap in their family photos because of it, so we go digital and store a copy of them off-site.

I figured this software would allow me to arrange the pictures like a scrapbook, while still keeping it digital.  I've decided my first project will be to create a scrapbook of my son's creations.   Here's the beginning (there are lots of pics to sort through so I haven't gotten any further than this).

 

Thanks Michelle!  You did a great job picking things for me and my family.  I think you've created a monster when it comes to the digital scrapbooking too.  :-)

Good help is so hard to find...

but when you do, it's great.  A few weeks ago I mentioned that hubby and I had been having some trouble with DMV.  I then explained that sometimes all you need is to find the right person who really knows what they are doing.  On Thursday I got to experience that again.

You see, the weather was so nice and we'd been learning about the different types of animals (reptiles, mammals, etc) that I decided a trip to the zoo was in order.  Even though Friday's weather was going to be warmer I decided to go on Thursday; that way I could avoid the heavy traffic on the way back home.  Unfortunately I didn't realize there was a bunch of construction, so a trip that Google maps said would take just over an hour took 2 hours.  When we got there we were the 5th person turned away from the last parking lot with space.  Arghh!!!

Then my daughter proceeded to tell me that she needed to use the bathroom.  Of course?!?!  I knew that I would not be able to find a place to park in DC much less a place with a public bathroom, so I ended up parking in the bus zone and found a zoo employee there and told him what happened.  He told me that I could park there while we used the bathroom.  When we got back to the car, he told me to follow him over to a lot nearby, because 3 people had just left the lot.  He ended up moving the cones and let us park (one of the best parking spots I've gotten there too).

We then spent 4.5 wonderful hours at the zoo looking at animals and enjoying the weather.  The National Zoo is still one of my least favorite zoos that I've been to, but this trip certainly did help me to appreciate it a bit more.

Being that I'm a cat person, seeing the 6 and 7 month old lion cubs was a plus too.