Lessons I have Learned from Homeschooling

When someone usually says homeschooling no one really realizes the enormous responsibility you have taken upon yourself, and no one realizes at first how much you will learn.  Most peole just think that you are going to replicate a public school system at home, with desks, chairs, a lot of paper work and memorization.  But for the everage homeschooling parent this method of homeschooling does not fit your family or lifestyle.

So things I have learned are this that the homeschooling classroom is vast it is everything around you for this family it was a summer adventure that made memories and learning experiences along with coming closer together because we had to depend on each other.  We learned a thing or two about tending a big garden and reaping the rewards.  We learned more about fishing and how 2 little boys love to do it and can sit in a boat for 6 hours waiting.  We learned that when you take on the responsibility to raise rabbits and care for them then find them good homes you feel accomplishment and then get to have a little spending cash that was well earned.  We learned that dinosaurs are in all sizes, daddy's are really silly with a bike and a lake, and that a dirt road can take you to many places and make many memories-without money. 

I have learned this about homeschooling, my children are great and have finally embraced this lifestyle with both hands.  They have learned now to look at things very differently and ask why either aloud or with those eyes that you see the wheels turning.  My eldest has done great she is doing online charter school, she is also running a online shop and has kept the responsibility great. Her time management skills are great.   She is keeping a 3.7 gpa and is the VP of her class.  My second has overcome a hurdle in her life and now has a goal to attend the online school as well and learning all that she can.  As for my boys I have learned how free they are, they do learning time every day and then they have their chores, but they do have play time-real play time-
not just 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon to go home to a mountain of homework.  The are reading, exploring and becoming best friends.  They interact and love their sisters and there is no competition. 

I have learned that my patience is great but my love for them greater and that I would not have my life anyother way because I would be missing to much.  I like to see their reactions when they learn something new and it clicks, I like to reward them and make them feel important.  But what I like most is how my family has come together and how much I can see that we love each other, and that makes my heart so full.

Is it Fun or Corruption?

Well I vote for both, but the children always know they have to have adult supervision when playing. Earlier this summer O built a potato cannon. But it was having a hard time firing after many different types of fuel we learned that static guard is the best and fires great. The kids love it and shooting at targets, they play at who can get the most points. Finally we put a laser pen on it so that it is better to aim. We have shot it at the deer that come into our garden but they still don't move, I guess that they are to used to humans and noise to be really cautious.

PT's Birthday

Hey there we have been busy and I have not posted since the 23rd of July, so I am going to do a lot of catching up this week so stay posted!

Well For PT's Birthday I asked him what he wanted to do and gave him a laundry list of choices and the one he chose was the park. So I called M and had her meet us there with her cute daughters and all.

We made sandwiches, bought chips and instead of ice cream or cake, we had sno-cones, we packed up our snocone machine and brought that and luckily there was power at the pavillion. That way when ice melts it's not that big of a deal, or near as messy as ice cream.

We opened presents there and he got a football and a softball set so the park was a great setting for the gifts as well! When O got home that night, he gave him his gift, a box of 22 bullets and later that week took him and B shooting, PT has wanted to do this since last October when the girls and I went through hunters education and had to practice.

When I asked him if he had a good birthday he said it was the best and very fun.

Jones Hole Fish Hatchery, Saturday June 27,2009

Day Trip #1

What a great day! O visited a local bike shop a couple of weeks ago and picked up these pamphlets full of one day self guided tours, they also have a website you can visit here; http://www.dinoland.com/Tours-and-Trips. And today we went on the first one to Diamond Mountain Jones Hole & Fish Hatchery.

The drive was beautiful its been raining a lot so its very lush and green. On our way up we saw a Vulture in the middle of the road after scaring her off we noticed that she was eating some crickets, they where Mormon crickets, they were so big. There where a lot. After driving for 40 miles you go down into this small canyon against some rugged cliffs and there at the bottom is the fish hatchery. It was great because as soon as we got there we walked up to the building and there was holding tanks outside with brown trout in them all about 5 inches long. When you stand by a holding tank its funny its as if you have some sort of force field around you they perfectly arch around your shadow.



Then the ranger came over with 2 buckets with fish food for the kids to throw. What a feeding frenzy that was! The Ranger was great because he refilled the buckets a couple of times when the boys asked.

Inside the building we saw where all the smaller fish were held. And we also saw the incubators but they were empty. So I asked when they would be filling them up again and got a schedule to go back when they are full, and that will be in the fall. There we got coloring books, posters, and stickers.

We then went down into some lower holding tanks where the larger fish are and fed them the last of the food. We walked down the path that leads to the spot where the Jones River meets with the Green River, but only a little ways. That was just before we had lunch and headed home. There are pics enjoy, we did!