Have a good summer...

The boys and I are going to Castle Dale for a while. My sister, Velvet, is having a HARD pregnancy, so we're going to stay til the baby comes. I won't be posting til we get back. I hope you all have a good summer.

Jammie

Why I homeschool

After my last post, my friend Shelly asked why we decided to homeschool. Well, there are so many reason, my answer got too long to leave as a comment. So that's why I'm making this post...

In 2005 Perrin came out of 2nd grade with a Kindergarten reading level. Kindergarten and 1st grade where a challenge for him. But 2nd grade was brutal! He was the kid in class that couldn't read. Instead of pulling him out of class for in school (free) tutoring, we chose to find a private tutoring program. It worked well, but at $20.00 an hour 6 hours a week, we couldn't keep it up for more than a year.

Connor had the opposite problem. He was the bored kid. We spent so much time practicing reading skills at home with Perrin that Connor went to Kindergarten reading at a 1st grade level. All of Kindergarten was a repeat for him. He is also a really fast learner and spent most of his public school time driving the teacher crazy.

When it was time for Perrin to start 3rd grade, we had to make a change. Deciding to homeschool wasn't easy. This was the year that both my kids would have been in school full time. I had been looking forward to getting a part time job and doing more volunteer work. When we started I committed for no more that 2 years. I thought I'd get Perrin back on track and chuck them both back into public school. :o)

In the fall, we will start our 3rd year of homeschool. Perrin's reading is getting better everyday. He is still not at grade level but is much closer. His math skill have increased as well as his knowledge in history and science.

Connor soaks up everything I teach! He is a very good reader and can remember science and history facts with ease. He is also very good at math, he has caught up with Perrin, so I teach the same grade level to both my boys.

As for the future...I don't know how long we'll keep homeschooling. My vague plan is to teach core curriculum at home for Jr High and High school and have them attend public school for extracurricular activities. Many high schools offer college courses now, so it is my hope that my boys will leave me at 18 with an Associates Degree. You never know what the future will hold, but this is what I'm planning and hoping for.

I'd also like to say, homeschool is not for everyone! It is a huge (and hopefully prayerful) decision. There are not only academic but social issues to think about. I often tell people the hardest thing about homeschooling is just doing it. Getting up everyday and having school when no one else is telling you to.

Anyway, I hope I answered your question Shel. If anyone else has questions just let me know.

Saxon Math

For those of you that are currently homeschooling or thinking about homeschooling, I'd like to share my thought on Saxon's Math program. All in all I'd have to say Saxon Math is the best curriculum (for any subject) I have ever come across. It is a complete and intense system.

But 1 warning: Saxon is not for the faint of heart. It is not the kind of program that has you hand your kid a worksheet and walk away. Saxon Math is very heavy on parental involvement.

From the reviews I've read, people either love Saxon or hate it. Here are a few links for Saxon Math reviews:

http://www.illinoisloop.org/mathprograms.html#saxon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxon_(teaching_method

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/30937/saxon_math_review.html?cat=4

While I'm at it, I thought I'd throw in some links to homeschool artices:

http://parentzone.babyzone.com/school/homeschooling/a935/1

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/368590/home_school_why_one_mother_wont_put.html?cat=4

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/zysk1.html

Summer School

I am officially the "meanest mom in the world!" I am making my kid do (gasp!) summer school. I tried to tell the boys they'd thank me when they get into a good college. But they aren't buying it. :o)

Our summer subjects are Reading, Math and Language Arts (which includes Grammar and Explode the Code) We are also going to send some time studying The Sermon on the Mount and Christ's visit to the Americas. All in all it only takes about 4 hours out of our day. By lunch we're free.

One thing Perrin and Connor are really enjoying this summer is piano. They are just getting to the point where they're adding the left hand to their songs. We just had a recital . They each played 4 songs and did very well.

Fire Pit

My handy hubby built a fire pit up at Grandma and Grandpa Gundersen's campground. He did such a good job, I couldn't help but share the pictures!

How does your garden grow?

It finally warmed up enough to put the garden in...I hope :o) We spent most of last week tilling, fertilizing and tilling again. All so we could plant beets, beans, squash, peas, carrots, spinach, radishes, pumpkin, zucchini and my favorite the salsa garden. I realize that I am basically posting pictures of dirt. But maybe you can see the vision too.