First Words

Sahara speaks:

• Bye-Bye
• Da-da (Daddy)
• Pow-pow (gun sound)
• bud (bird)

"Momma" has not made the list! ;) YET !!!

Teeth!

I get emotional about teeth!! Seems strange that teeth can bring out such emotion for me, but they seem to hit a tender spot. ;)

Just recently Sierra (5) and Savannah were talking about Sierra having a loose tooth. It is common talk around here, so I brushed them off when I heard them saying to me that Sierra's tooth was loose. I was busy with something and just simply thought they were being silly. I am embarassed to say that a couple of days later I realized the tooth reaaly is loose!! I had to fight back the tears and say, "Oh my! Ya'll really were serious! Your tooth is loose! Soooooo exciting!" Of course, they are both saying they tried to tell me.

The next day we are sitting at the table for dinner and the "tooth talk" came up, again. I told them all that I secretly had to hold back my tears. Sierra misunderstood and sadly asked, "Why?" Cody quickly interjected to tell her that it just makes their momma sad. Not at all true! He was trying to help, but the truth is what I told them, "No, it does not make Momma sad that you are loosing a tooth. It just makes me think of those long awaited teeth first breaking through the skin like Sahara's are doing right now. I remember all of your little teeth coming in... each tiny precious one. The thought of those little teeth falling out makes me think of how little you all use too be." It is a symbolic moment of the end of those "baby and toddler days". They are crossing a threshold that they will only cross once. Yeah, that makes a momma have a flash of sadness, but the joy that they are growing as God intended them too is far greater. I thank God for EVERY milestone they reach!

So, we are waiting for that BIG moment when her tooth falls out. She is so excited and I am excited for her. Meanwhile, I noticed Sahara wince when something touched her upper gums yesterday. To my suprise I felt one little tooth... then..... another little tooth! Two in one day! They were just barely through the skin and I could not physically see them at all. Today they are visible. My tiny darling now has FOUR teeth..... TEETH.... and my tiniest darling (Sierra was our smallest) is losing her first TOOTH!

Hmmmm... The tooth fairy better get the fairy dust ready... Shhhh!

More Potty Talk

Okay, if you have been reading my blog this week I have had too much Potty Talk. If you are not into all that I am very sorry and you may want to skip this post. I mean, I am not forcing you to read it... so, this is your warning..... funny.. I should create a warning label graphic for postings that contain potty talk! ;) So, here's your WARNING. {Note: No pics today! My husband informed me that I am disgusting for posting such things. LOL! I guess when you deal with poop constantly you forget your manners! ;) }

We had a a breakthrough in potty training Caden today !!!!! We had a birthday party to attend for my nephew today about 45 minutes away at a skating rink. For some reason Caden wanted to go potty there and pooped in the toilet!!! That is a first for him. If you are not familiar with my potty training talk from previous posting, then I will brief you. With all my kids I start letting them sit on the potty chair around 13 months old just to familiarize them with the potty. They usually will pee quite easily because they pee so much anyway as babies. We act very excited and clap. Very quickly they realize that there is a connection between the potty, the pee, and the excitement. Before long they are grunting and making silly faces and they poop... or we catch them pooping and run them to the potty to show them how to do it there, instead of in their diaper. We do not force it, but just do it all in fun... uhhmmm, who ever thought I would refer to such things as "fun".... Anyway, we try to make it fun and rewarding for them. Both girls have been potty trained by the age of two. Caden has been a different story... a boy story... first I don't have his kind of "equipment", so I just can not seem to relate to him with potty training... Do we sit him on the potty or the toilet? Do we sit him backwards on the toilet? Do we stand him up and hope he aims correctly? Do we toss in Cheerios to "shoot"... and many more questions. Now he sits backwards or stand. One time he pooped in the potty and was horrified. We never have been able to get him to do it, again. Not ONCE has he ever pooped in the toilet. At two years and 8 months old he finally pooped in a toilet today! Now I am hoping that he does not expect us to drive 45 minutes to the skating rink to do it again! ;)

On a different note... Sahara had a repeat display of her poop talent today. All over her and her outfit I had just dressed her in, all over me and my shirt and pants I had just dressed in, and all over her blanket. She seems to keep giving me a Keeping It Real post even when I don't need one!!

Well, I am going to bed now... I am POOPED out! (Pardon the pun! I need a laugh really bad.)

Ready For The Weekend & Camping Unit

Well, I had hoped to accomplish great things this week, but early in the week it became obvious that Sahara was not feeling well. Well, let me just say that I think she has not felt well for a few of weeks. It is teeth sprouting time. She only has two, but her upper gums look like all four are going to sprout at once. Her gums are bulging, but it is not swelling. Her teeth are showing their form on her gums and they look big. Anyway, on Tuesday she spit up a couple of times. I know that babies are supposed to spit up, but she is almost 11 months old and she is kind of past the spit up stage. I thought it was odd, but did not ponder it too much. I just thought she was over-nursing due to teething pain and I was also having a bit of problem that seemed like a clogged duct, but could have been some engorgement... not sure still, but I say that to say that if it was engorgement then she could have been getting an abundance of milk, hence the spit up issue. Okay okay, I forgot to mention that she had a running nose for a couple of days at that point. I awoke to a very warm little body next to me on Wednesday morning.... 102.8.... lucky us... Our kids all run high temps. Rarely do we have one with a temp in 99 range. We always seem to have 102 and higher. Savannah, our oldest, was feeling a little croaky, too. We obviously have a virus of some sort, because Caden has had some nasal issues and coughing. Those two have not had fever, though. Thank you Lord!

In spite of all this we have been getting our school stuff done and trying to manage the other household duties. When I have a little one sick it seems that everything stops, though. I want to hold them and cuddle them. If they are fussing I just want to give them what they want... cuddles and love. So, that has been my primary focus this week. I have thrown together meals on a whim and just kind of gone with the flow of the week.

Meanwhile, our little potty trainer, Caden, has been busy whizzing on everything! He is 2 1/2 and he just does not get it. Much to our amazement he is not really interested in potty training. We can take him potty and put his underwear on, then five minutes later.... whiz!! :O On Monday we put fresh sheets on our bed. On Tuesday Sahara was laying on our bed. Savannah, Sierra, and I were laying around her Oooohing and Ahhhhing at our little one. Along comes Caden who climbs up on the bed and stands there and whizzes all in middle of my bed!!! :O What is going on in the mind of a boy!! Oh! And he has starting swaying from side to side when he stands in front of the toilet to whiz. It is like his own little water gun! He is quite impressed with his ability to spray it in different directions... some of which do not make it into the toilet! We are using a lot of bleach at our house. The same day he whizzed my bed he pooped in his underwear! I just can not be changing poop underwear. By this age my girls would only do that if they had diarrhea. I mean, who wants poop in their pants?! And yes, I realize there is too much poop talk on my blog this week. Sorry... really... very, very sorry!!! Okay, so off that subject. I will give you all a break!

Hmmmm... so one of my main purposes of this blog is to share ideas with others and I have not really done that lately on a little kid level. I am trying to tie my kids school work together with a theme, so that arts/crafts time is unified.... science, also. Kind of like Unit Studies, but much more simplistic. If it has a name, please feel free to share that info with me in the comments. Anyway, Savannah's A Beka Math has camping as the final theme for the workbook pages. Everyday we are trying to focus on camping related things to do. So, this is my "share" on camping ideas. Some things we have done in the last few weeks are:

1. Roasted marshmallows on the grill
2. Had hotdogs for lunch
3. Had Fishy Crackers (Ritz with a squirt of Squeeze Cheese with a Goldfish cracker on top
4. Made fishing poles (Find a stick from outside approx. 2' long. Tie a piece of string or yarn to the end. Make a "hook" using foil that you scrunch up and shape like a hook and tie to the string.)
5. Made fish. (Fold paper plate in half. Make a quarter sized whole through both layers for an eye. Decorate with anything.. markers, crayons, tissue paper bits, bingo markers, paints, whatever you like.)
6. We caught our fish (#5) with our pole (#4). I had the kids "fish" over the edge of their desk and I put the fish on the hook through the eye. Ouch!!
7. We made boats out of a regukar white sheet of paper. Folded origami style... then, they colored their boats.
8. We did a Hidden Picture activity in a book where they had to find all the fish.
9. For science we studied mosquitoes.
10. We observed a dragonfly.
11. We found some lapbooking print-outs that we used to "pack" camping supplies. We cut out camping clipart and glued it in a simple (very simple) booklet.
12. We packed a First Aid Kit.... another lapbooking print-out. We cut out a double side medic bag, folded it in half and taped the sides to for a purse-like pouch. We cut out some more clipart for our First Aid supplies.
13. I checked out some library books that were camping themed for us to read.
14. I thought about pitching the tent in the backyard... Does "thinking about it" count as doing it? ;) We might still do that.
15. Suprisingly some of Sierra's workbook pages were camping themed. And some could be like stars and constellations.

I just worked in what I could... nothing real complex. It may appear complex, but we kept it simple. We will be doing camping as our theme through the end of our school year... a couple more weeks. So, if we walk outside and see June bugs they could easily become part of our camping unit and become a Science project. I still might put some mosquito larvae in a jar with a screen over it and let the kids observe it molt into a mosquito. Our study says they "pop" out one day... Weird! There are so many things that go with camping... studying bears, raccoons, birds, butterflies, and other creatures. Smores would be a good snack! Catching fireflies... or worms for fishing. I think tomorrow we may do leaf rubbings. Maybe we will end our unit willl real camping!! We'll see! I am just trying to learn how the two girls schooling can work together... BECAUSE ONE DAY IT IS GOING TO BE FOUR OF THEM. :o ;)

So, What do you do to unifiy your various age kids schooling? Got a tip to share? Got a wonderful curriculum or other book, etc... I would love any suggestions and tips!! Let's share our ideas to become better homeschoolers!!

KIR: My Girl Still Has Talent

When is this going to end?! My girly showed me some more of her Poop Talent today. She was sitting on my lap cuddly after nursing with her back against my chest. My hand was across her belly and she tensed up and I felt air bubbling through her clothes... on my hand... on her BELLY... I thought, "Surely not!" The bubbling continued and sputtering sounds and as I peered around in horror I could see it bubbling up and seeping through her shirt! When the bubbly ceased I lifted the front of her shirt and she was covered in poop! Miraculously, it did not get on me. I yelled for help as I carefully navigated her to the tile floor and Savannah brought me some newspaper to lay her on as some of it splatted on the tile. Tip: Newspaper makes a wonderful disposable changing pad and I tell people my baby is "paper trained" (like a puppy... hehe!) :O Well, I think it is funny! Also, thank God for tile floors and the bleach to clean them with. Anyway, right at this moment my husband walks in... great timing for me. He is wanting to hose her down which I did not allow, because she has a high fever today... and I needed to wipe her down some to prevent dripping of more poop on the floor. ;) So, he warms the water at the kitchen sink while I remove the diaper (having to get my fingers in it to release the tapes) and the majority of the poop. It was obvious at that point that a spray down (with kitchen sprayer) was going to be necessary. Her daddy did the honors and bathed her while I disposed of the diaper (rolled up in the newspaper) and bleached the floor.

Yes, this is a gross photo. No, Sahara's face is not in poop, but her sister took the pic and we only took time for one and we were not going for a pose or a smile. ;) Meanwhile, the other kids are laughing hysterically and Caden almost gets in the poop about three times. After that is when Cody walked in. How's that for Keeping It Real?!

Oh yeah, an hour or so later she did it all over again.... while her daddy was watching her during the older girls' school time... on her sister's comforter. She loves to display her TALENT, but we missed the pics on that one! Lucky you!

KIR: Where Is Quinn?

I was working on my KIR post and tried to link to Quinn and it says "This blog has been removed." How can that be? You better still be blogging Quinn. I just noticed today you are following my blog... finally. ;) Come on.... Surely, this is an error! Anybody got a comment on this? What is going on?

Pondering A Homeschool Questions

I was just thinking tonight about the ever popular question we hear as homeschoolers:
"How are your kids going to learn how to handle life in the real world, if they are homeschooled?"

I was just thinking how funny it might be to say, "Have you figured out how to handle life in the real world, yet?"

I mean, Seriously most of us don't really know much beyond our small community do we? I know kids that are living in the real world (public school) that have never been outside the town they live in, have never touched the sand at the beach less than two hours away, never seen a skyscraper in neighboring Houston, never been in a mall, never hiked a mountain or camped out, never been in a museum, never been to a theme park/fair, never touched a farm animal, never kissed a frog, never gone to a nice restaraunt or stayed in a hotel, never thrift store shopped, never made snow angels, etc.. Should I go on? And how many of those kids even have a real conversation with their parents everyday. I know, because Savannah was in public school and we were not around each other much. She talks a lot, but she is one of those kids that when asked, "What did you do at school today?" she would say, "Oh, nothing." What about church and God? I know we were skipping Wednesday night church to get the homework done. Is that what we should be doing? Of course, not. Now, even if we do skip church service we are together and we have time to talk about God and beliefs... and read Bible stories... and pray more together. Aren't we preparing them more for the real world? I think so!

Handwriting Practice & Sierra

I have been meaning to share this for awhile. I am not sure it will be of great interest. The following photos are taken of partial pages in Alpha Omega's Horizons PreSchool workbooks. I am not sharing this to "review" this curriculum or it's workbooks, but overall I do not like the program well enough to use in the future. The reason I am showing these pages is to point out what I like regarding teaching writing skills on these pages. I like the three options given on one page for letter tracing. Some of this may be able to be done in a simple wordprocessor program, such as, Word or Works. For example, in Works you type your text and highlight it and choose Format: Font: Outline. This will give the hollow looking font.

I think it is important to give children different ways to trace letters. Some children just do better with a certain methods. At first my five year old, Sierra, tried to color in the hollow looking version instead of tracing the letters. The dotted lines worked better for her at first. After some coaching she does well with all the methods... uhmmm, well enough. She is not a perfectionist! She is quite the "wild" handwriter... and you should see her with scissors! :) Chop-Chop!

Look at this cutey!

An answer to prayer after my first miscarriage....

This time almost exactly six years ago I was sitting in the hospital waiting room awaiting the birth of my nephew and I realized that I was pregnant after seven months of longing to be! I was happy to be getting a nephew, but it was a difficult moment to be sitting in the waiting room awaiting his birth and knowing that the baby I had miscarried would have only been a few weeks away from being born. Suddenly, while sitting there it occurred to me that I was pregnant!!! I did not even need a test, although I did take one later. I knew.... I just knew it! When I realized it I looked at my husband and mouth the words, "I am pregnant!" He must have thought I was nuts, but I just knew it. Gods timing is PERFECT! In my darkest moment he gave me a wonderful gift. "He turned the water into wine!" Yes, I would have made it through that day... and with joy over the birth of my nephew, but God took a bittersweet moment for me and made it pure joy!

Sierra.... doesn't she just look like she has spunk! I bought this cute little depression style hat for Caden thinking how cute he would be in it... and he does look cute in it. Sierra has laid claim to it, though. And I have to say it looks very cute on her, too.

Momma

loves

you

Sierra !

It All Comes Back To Jesus

Tonight was the finale for our church Vacation Bible School! Wow! The church workers really did a great job! We are new to this church, so I had no idea what to expect. It was not just a program for the "members" kids. It was a huge outreach program... the way VBS should be. They ended up with 351 kids attending!! I plan to try to help out next year.

So, the main song is what I want to share with you tonight. The words are so powerful. Here is some of it:

"On the Boomerang Express it all comes back to Jesus!

No matter where you go or what you do

the most important thing in life is that you choose

to live for Jesus....

I'm glad you could make it for a ride that could change your life..."

So, the whole week the kids have been singing this and other songs along with the hand motions, which really reinforce the meaning of the songs. I think learning the hand motions helps the kids really think about what they are singing. All of the songs were wonderful and the church gave each of the kids a CD of the music! The kids have been listening to the songs all week due to their Daddy putting it on for them. I am so glad, because I do not always remember to do the little things like start the CD for them. One day I know they will take the initiative, but my kids are all young and they just don't do that, yet. So, if I let them forget they will and the CD will never get listened to. I am going make a point to start it for them and encourage them to start their music themselves. Music is such a wonderful learning (& fun) tool that I under use! And it has such power! All of us can remember words to songs, but can't remember simply poetry or facts sometimes. The message in Christian music is so much better that what I grew up listening to! That is what I want to "hide in their hearts". And I love it when you realize that what you have been singing is actually a Bible verse! Anyway, all of the lyrics are on Lifeway's website here. They are all in the form of PowerPoint presentations, so you have to download and "open" or "save". If you "watch" the presentations the kids can read along and sing like karaoke. Or you could print it out as a booklet for sing-a-long. Great practice for reading and for increasing reading speed without pressure.

So, if your kid's get a chance to "ride the Boomerang Express" this Summer you might want to take advantage of the PowerPoints... and purchase the CD, if your kids don't get a copy. The music is Contemporary and a great way for them to have cool non-secular music that is geared for their age.

School's Out For Summer... School's Out Forever...

Okay, well not forever and technically I am refering to my husband the public school teacher. We are going to be homeschooling year round with lots of breaks! And excuse the reference to secular music, but who can resist a song that most of us have sung at the end of every school year of our life! I am so excited because I am ready to gain some order after out trial run of seven months of homeschooling. It has really taken it's toll on our house, but now I have a clearer picture of what I want our homeschool experience to be like. It seems that my husband and I are on the same track ... at least, some. We went our seperate ways at the SETHSA conference with me hoping that we could come together at the end and collaborate what we had gained. It seems that may not have been the best approach and after I realized Cody was just "putting on a good face" for me I suggested we go in a workshop together... the last one of our final day. David Hazell was the speaker and the workshop title was "Developing An Independent Learner". Something you should realize about David Hazell is that you are going to get so much more from him than just what the workshop title states. That is how it should be. Yes, he gave a great cram-packed one hour presentation on "developing independent learners", but in the process he shared his ideas of how the home should be run, scheduling your day, financially preparing your kids, sharing the world with your kids, how to change you to change them, how to teach from different perspectives and ages, etc.. Cody really was on board with what David Hazell had to say and liked his ideas. I was to and that made me realize that many of our (Cody & I) ideas for what we want are the same. I know it seems we should already know that, but Cody and I both very different. I am structure... Cody is unstructure. I think that workshop made him realize that to have all the unstructured time you have to have the structured time. When you have a house full you have "marry" the two... structure marries unstructure... Shannon marries Cody.... LOL! So, if we can have that structure in the early part of the day, then we can have unstructured afternoons. Anyway, I think we can start our Summer restructuring this house! LOL!

So, when he gets home in an hour I am ready to get the ball rolling! I can't wait to collaborate on our ideas and really focus on what we both want for our family! I am very excited!

KIR: Judging Ourselves

First of all, I don't iron... well occassionally, but I have learned to purchase things that don't require ironing... or I cheat... If I don't get to the dryer while the clothes are still hot, I grab my handy water spray bottle and open the dryer and give the clothes a spritz. I start the dryer and let it go 5-10 minutes. I try to pop the wrinkles out and then, lay the clothes flat in a stack until I get them hung... more KIR is that my husband usually rescues me here and hangs all the clothes! I am sure I am not the woman of his dreams... ;) He also irons his clothes... and yes, I am very thankful because I just can not swing it all! Another way I cheat is to dampen a spot that is excessively wrinkled and finger press and let dry (i.e. the hem of a denim skirt, etc.). So, Quinn... give yourself a break.... or a pat on the back... if you iron all that stuff normally you need someone to help you Keep It Real by saying give yourself credit for what you do accomplish! Don't let that laundry beast steal your joy! (laundry beast= my term for laundry)

That is so hard isn't it? I am my own worst critic. No matter how much success I have I always see myself as a failure. Thank You to God that He does not judge us like we judge ourselves!

***Special Note: Click on the KIR button above and it should take you to Quinn's blog.

We LOVE Our Baby !!!

Thursday, June 4th on the ride to the SETHSA Conference I found that another tiny little tooth had emerged from Sahara's gums. That and her swollen upper gums explains her squawking little screams lately. She is fine "as long as I hold her", but when a girl needs held... well, a girl needs held. And at our house a girl GETS held. Yes, she gets her way every time.... sad to say, but nobody wants to hear her "cry". Really, she rarely gets a chance to shed a tear! Several months ago when my sister-in-law was visiting she said, "I didn't know the fourth one could be spoiled!" I said, "Well, apparently they can." I treasure all those moments of "spoiling" my babies and my kids do, too. This fourth baby has everyone doting on her! We love her and we ALL want to comfort her.

It occurred to me yesterday that Sahara and Caden will probably be the best of friends! They were sitting on the floor playing together so sweetly. Seems like a normal thing with siblings, but for these two it is not... not yet, anyway. Caden is a very rough, rambuctious two with very little self-control or understanding of how dangerous he is to an infant. Sahara loves him, but is very frightened by him. She constantly looks to me in fear to make sure I am keeping her safe. When she sees me she goes right back to smiling and grinning at Caden. I know this is just a time we have to get through. One day they are going to be running around here having the best times. They are the closest in age than any of our children. Caden being a boy will mature slower than girls do and by the time they are teens it will be very much like they are the same age. I know he will be very protective of her, also. It was an epiphany moment for me! I have a brother that is older and it was wonderful to have someone watching over me (even when he did not always like me... Hehehe!)

Today we went to a neighboring town and took the kids to the park there. I have noticed lately that Sahara has been babbling "Bye-Bye, Bu-bu, ..." While we were at the park I started saying it with her to reinforce it and waving my hand like hers. It just seemed to just click for her today. So now my baby is saying her first word!!! I told Cody and he was skeptical until I finally got him to come over and say "bye-bye" to her. She immediately started grinning and saying, "Bye-bye! Bye-bye!" while rotating her little wrist around in the sweetest little wave ever! As the other kids were playing I called them over one by one and told them to say "bye-bye" to her. Savannah's face beamed when Sahara said it back. We discussed what a genius we think she is... ;) When I called Sierra over she was thrilled as well. We just love our baby!

She is a genius to US! We laugh often about her talents (poop talents, joint popping, etc.). I have blogged recently about her poop talent, but I have not mentioned her freaky joint popping talent.... Yeah, really freaky... we are wondering if she may be double jointed! She can just sit still and suddenly start popping her leg in and out of the socket at the knee... repeatedly!... both legs!... And it does not hurt her or I am certain she would cry, so we are NOT worried... yet!.... We we will see if it continues and maybe ask the doc at her one year visit... maybe..... just to see them look at us like we are imagining things. Hehehehe! We love her and all her talents!!!

Bible At The Center

More Conference talk about David Hazell... In his workshop he said that he and his wife had searched various curriculums trying to find one that Bible was the center of and they never did. Sure there were the ones that had Bible in them, but it was not the focus. The focus was academics. So the question becomes what are we teaching our kids concerning the Bible?

When we have a dentist apoointment, etc. and we take our schoolwork along is it Math and English we are focused on taking with us? Are those the subjects it is important not to miss? Shouldn't it be Bible?! Think on that.

When we miss schoolwork completely for a day, what do we "make-up"? Once again is it Math and English? Not Bible? What is the message we are sending our kids? Math and English are more important than Bible!! Yikes! Is that the message we want send? So, let's put Bible at the center!!! Let's send the right message!

So, this is my version of David Hazell's story that lead to the development of My Father's World curricula. By the way, I would totally switch to MFW! I am not because I am going to make use of what I have for the three R's and apply the principles I want into it. If you are searching for curricula I would highly recommend looking into MFW.

Home From Conference

I am home from the SETHSA Conference and I have much that I want to share. I would love to share it all in one post, but I am not going to have time to sit and type as I have much work to do this week. Unpacking for six will consume much of my time, as well as, another busy week. My kids all have VBS this week at church! I am so excited for them. VBS was a precious treasure for me as a child the few times I got to attend. I was not raised in church, so I really looked forward to the one time of the year that I would get to go. I would go to my aunt's house for the week and go to VBS with my cousin. I soooooo loved it!

Okay... re-focusing on the conference. First thing I want to share is a program that I am interested in that goes beyond Chore Charts. And let me just say first that I am strongly considering the MOTC (Manager's Of Their Chores) system, but I saw this one and I am intrigued. See, I don't really want to be going behind my kids forever asking and nagging them about what they have done... Nor do I want to have to check off check marks or put stickers on their charts. I have tried some approaches like that and I simply forget the chart myself then, it does not work out and we are back to square one. I want to make them accountable for their own actions. So, I bought the book for the Accountable Kids system. You can check it out at www.accountablekids.com . Go check it out, if you are interested and I plan to review it somewhat here on my blog after reading the book. The system is quite expensive for multiple children, but would be worth it if it works well. I chose to read the book before I invest any more in it... and I am considering using it a bit differently, too. After reading the book I will know if I can adapt/merge it with what I have in mind or if it needs to be used as it is. The basic theory is that your kids come to their board at the start of the day and as they accomplish their goals they move their cards over. They then go to mom and ask for their "Privilege Card" which they take back and hang on their board. The responsibility and accountability falls on the child and they learn that there are consequences for THEIR actions and without confrontations. If done properly this system encourages SELF discipline. Now couldn't all of our kids use more self discipline!? You can't have too much of that! ;)

You are going to be hearing a lot from me about David Hazell! I know.. I said that last post already, but what I want to quickly share right now is that if you go to his website at www.mfwbooks.com you can buy his workshop CDs super cheap!! I could have gotten his recordings at the SETHSA conference for $7 each, but he has his own on the site for $3.95 each or you can order all SEVEN for only $17.50 !!! I have had a couple of you say that you would love to go to his workshops, so stop waiting for the chance and order his CDs. I went to THREE of the four he did at the conference and I wish I had gone to the other one... Shucks! I missed it, but thank you God that I went in the other three!! Also, I know he is going to be at the THSC Convention in Houston, TX in August. I know a couple of you are going to that, so you are going to get to see him there. Take advantage of seeing him then!!! Seriously, if I end up going to that one I will go to every one of his workshops. :) Well, maybe just the ones I missed, but I might attend a repeat! Hehehe! I just looked and one of the workshops that really hit the nail on the head for me ("Combining Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Unit Studies") is not on his list of CDs. I really enjoyed it and found myself thinking, "Yeah, that's me." after every sentence he said. I was suprised because there is so much confusion for me about "labeling" what type of homeschooler you are. I have not been in it long enough to know what all the methods are, so previously I thought I must not have a category! LOL! Apparently, I am turning out to be Ecclectic which encompasses Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unit Studies, etc.. Previously, I had thought I was for sure not Classical or Charlotte Mason, but he talks a bit about some misconceptions. An example of that would be that some think that to be Charlotte Mason you have to teach your kids to speak French. He explained that CM believed in teaching a second language, but not a specific one. CM lived in Europe and France was a neighboring country, so it made sense to teach her kids French. In Texas you might teach Spanish because we border Mexico or you mighth simply choose a language significant to your culture (Ex. You live USA and speak English, but are Spanish and so you teach your kids Spanish, also). (.... to be continued... goodnight!)

Conferences Is Over!

We are still in Houston at the SETHSA Conference, but it is over! Whew! No one mentions how tiring it is. I heard all about how it can be life changing and refrshing, but not about the exhausting part.

I have to say that I did enjoy it in the end, but it started out as kind of a let down to me. OOOOhhhh... did I say that?! I am being totally honest here, so I hope I do not step on anyone's toes. The first two workshops I went in were just not worth my time and it is sad to say, but it seems that much like the public school system we are so desperate to gain knowledge and encouragement that we will take anything we can get. I have never mentioned on my blog that I used to work for Region 5 Education Service Center in Texas in the Special Education & Pre-School department. I used to put together Conferences and Workshops for the public school system. Ok....Ok... yeah... my husband and I are a strange pair for homeschooling.... a public school teacher and an ex-ESC employee. Given my experience I know good speakers are few and far between. I think I thought that it would be different and better in the homeschooling world! And much to my suprise there were actually Presenters that were public school teachers who had never homeschooled. On day two for the first workshop I chose I got one of those.... Do I have to tell you how fast I walked out of that workshop! And after some thought I realized why the Presenters name was so familiar to me... I think the ESC had used her for workshops. Her information was good and useful and I will keep the handout, but I didn't come here for something I can get in a handout. I am way to informed for that. I want to hear from someone that can speak about the experiences I am going through! I am not writing this to focus on the negative side, but I think it has to be said that as homeschoolers we need to expect more! Make sure that when you got to Conference this summer or in the future that you GET what YOU go for! Keep your focus on what you want to attain and search it out... and don't be afraid to POLITELY walk out and look elsewhere. And on that note... I do not want this to turn into a rant so off of that and on with other things.

When I walked out of that workshop I meet two amazing ladies in the hallway. I did not initially realize that they had also walked out of the same workshop. We began talking and I got more from talking to them than they will ever realize. We exchanged names and email addresses and I so look forward to contacting them in the future! I also met another lady that just moved to Houston from Oklahoma and immediately noticed some common ground. I only wish I was nearby to offer her some support.... maybe through email will be enough. I can't imagine being a newbie homeschooler and new to the area, also. I think I can put her in touch with some people or just be a friend and that is all great. We exchanged email, also. My husband met some guys, but of course God will have to work a miracle because men do not exchange contact info. ;) It did my husband good to talk with some guys involved in homeschooling. Of course, now my husband is more aware of the nerdiness factor for male homeschoolers and we will be on a mission to make sure my son who is surrounded by girls will not be a "weirdo" (husband's qoute). Uh-hem.... I am totally on board with that, too. It is a great thing to be a Jesus Freak, homeschooling, individually different, and kind young man, but you can do it and look good at the same time.... ya know! My goal is not to raise a total "momma's boy", but rather to raise a man that can lead his home when the time comes. I challenge you as mothers to do the same. They are with us so much that this will need extra emphasis and even so much that I am going to have Man School for my Caden. Watch for coming blogisodes of Man School coming soon! LOL! ;)

What was good at the conference? Seeing other homeschoolers, being able to look through the materials on display, and the freedom to drag your kids along through it all without concern for what they SEE or that they are a bother to others. What I mean by that is that is nice to be around people that enjoy being around kids! The speakers that I saw that were good were Charlene Notgrass and Rosie Watson. And I will go into that more in a future post, but for now I "should be" packing, so I have to keep it short. The speaker that I saw that was GREAT was David Hazell. He is the co-founder and co-writer of the My Father's World Curriculum. Once I skeptically wandered into "a guy's perspective" workshop I went to all his workshops from then out! I did not expect it!!! I totally got more out of one hour with him that I got out of the entire conference. Awesome! I will blog about it all later.... gotta run before they kick us out of this place!! Hehehehe!!

Quick Thoughts

I seem to be on blog hiatus, but not really. I have even typed up some posts and had to stop mid-point. When I come back to it I just can't seem to finish my thoughts. I have commented less than usual on other blogs, but I am reading... and enjoying all of it. I am going to seem to be on a hiatus a little longer, because my family and I are going to the SETHSA Conference for our first ever home school conference. We are all so excited! I have been planning and packing and sorting through stuff.... deciding on curriculum purchases... making note of special things I want to check out at the conference.... all that stuff. I will have internet and my laptop (my precious laptop... Hehehe), but I am going to take this time to truly BE with my family. There will probably be times when I will be blogging, but maybe not. I love, love, love vacations of any kind.

Also, since my husband is a public school teacher he is home for Summer.... well, almost... He has to go to a three day workshop next week and then, he is done! So, we have lots of Summer plans and much to accomplish. I'll be busy and I have to stay away from my computer some to make hubby happy. :) Hmmmm... I might have to send him to the store on errands to blog. ;) Anyway, I am still here... just lying low for a bit!!!