homeschooling

All posts tagged homeschooling

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em

Published November 9, 2013 by Angela

After tossing the idea around in my head for a while, and figuring now is as good a time as any, I sent in my application to begin working on my MBA. I had promised a few people I would NOT take any classes in 2013, and I kept that promise. If accepted, my classes begin January 2nd, 2014 🙂

This thought excites and terrifies me at the same time. Is it too much? Can I maintain the GPA I need for my company to pick up the tab? Can I keep up with Erin homeschooling when she gets behind so quickly?

My own doubts have always been my biggest enemy, and have kept me from too many opportunities and experiences than I care to count. So I am going to do what seems to have become a habit for me lately, and just go with my gut instinct.

I am hoping that me studying at the table with Erin will help motivate her to try harder, and not have the opposite effect and make things more difficult for both of us.

How fun would that have been? Perfect for me!

How fun would that have been? Perfect for me!

P.S.-To my oldest who is likely reading this, don’t panic, it will be OK! 🙂  (the last 2 degrees were a bit of a challenge)

I Owe You An Apology!!!

Published November 7, 2013 by Angela

I owe some of you an apology for my previous post! I feel like I said some things without explaining my point enough which as I thought about it throughout the day I realized I likely offended others.

I believe that being a stay-at-home Mom is the toughest job in the world. I have done it for short periods of time, and it is the one job that a woman can never, ever leave and go “home” from. My 50-60 hours I work a week is nothing compared to how much I would be working if I never left my home.

I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for women (and stay-at-home Dads!) who have this career. I have never had the opportunity to be a stay-at-home Mom due to circumstances beyond my control, so I am just accustomed to finding sitters and leaving my home for work.

So if I offended any of you, PLEASE accept my sincerest apologies.

Now I am just going to go sit over here in the corner and chew on my foot that I put in my mouth for awhile!

Did I Really Just Think That?

Published November 6, 2013 by Angela

OK, I can’t even believe I am going to fess up to this, but I will. I told myself that when I started my blog (2 actually) that I would be straight-forward, honest, and not hold back.

So, as I continue to work through this homeschooling with my 12 year old, and after several hours of going over homework last night, the following is what I thought to myself:

“Well, maybe I can teach her how to cook and she will meet a nice Doctor and make an excellent housewife.”

Yes, I thought that to myself. Yes, I felt bad after I thought it. I know I was thinking it to myself half in jest, but just half.

Now, before anyone decides to get all righteous on me and tell me how many steps down the ladder I just threw women all over the world, let me explain what goes on in MY house.

Single parent, 4 daughters aged 21 down to 9 years old. The majority of their lives have been spent with me raising them alone, with the exception of my oldest who has an active, loving relationship with her father. Heck, I still go to his family’s birthday and holiday parties, summer cook-outs, and drop in for a visit when I’m nearby J Now, I certainly did not ever start out planning on raising 4 daughters alone. But stuff happens, mistakes get made, and lives change.

As a single parent, I do NOT get child support for my 3 youngest children whom are still at home. I do not get ANY assistance from my city or state in the way of paying for my home, food, or utilities. I am very blessed to have an amazing job with one of the largest companies in the world for over 17 years. I love my job; I love to work. I would have settled for a househusband as well, but that never panned out either 🙂

I have worked my way through college getting 2 degrees while working full time and raising my girls. However, it was never my intention to be a teacher. If I wanted to be a teacher, I would have went to college to be a teacher.

Now, with that being said, I also knew from 3 previous years’ experience that my 12 year old was not going to get up on a daily basis and go to school.

You’re saying– “Just make her go, you’re the adult!!”

Mmm-hmmm.

It doesn’t work that way. I have threatened, punished, physically put her in my car and drove her to school (she got out of the car and ran home). Called the school principal, teachers, counselors, superintendent of school, asking for ideas and help. I’ve called the police and had a state police officer stand in my house for 45 minutes and he could not get her to go to school (He told me she needs her behind whipped). She is on medication, she goes to therapy, I cry and get stressed out because I do not know what to do with her.

So I homeschool. I don’t get threatened with fines and jail time anymore, and she is learning.

It works for her, so I am making it work for me. I would do anything for any one of my girls, which I have shown time and again, usually without them even knowing it. But I am also smart enough to realize school and college are just not motivating to everyone in the world. She has a purpose and destiny in life, and it is my job and responsibility to help her find out what that is so she can nurture that and grow in it. Who knows, maybe she is meant to be a stay-at-home Mom and take care of her husband, raise children, and homeschool. Or maybe she is the next CEO of a major corporation who just hasn’t found her motivation yet.

What I do know is that she is important. She matters, she has a purpose, and she will make a difference. In her own, special, unique way. And I also know that I will be proud of her no matter what path she decides to take in life.

 

What I do when Everyone is asleep but me!

Published November 4, 2013 by Angela

I really enjoy my quiet time when my girls are all sleeping and I have the house to myself for several hours. Yesterday it was laundry and cleaning. This morning, 6 loaves of homemade banana bread. My house smells amazing!

Ingredients

Ingredients

Normally I use pre-mixes when making anything, but I have been getting back into the habit of taking my time cooking things, whether it be dinner, snacks, or desserts. This bread was a hit with my girls; it was super-moist and delicious. I did not have walnuts, and since I did not feel like going to the store at 6am, I used the sliced almonds I had on hand instead. The girls said it was a nice change that made it better!

The finished bread, soft, warm, and the butter melts right in!

The finished bread, soft, warm, and the butter melts right in!

This is definitely a recipe I will use again, it was super easy, I had everything on hand (yeah, yeah, yeah, except for the walnuts) it was quick and the clean-up was easy. Continue reading here for the recipe Read the rest of this entry →

Let’s try Plan C

Published October 30, 2013 by Angela

The homeschooling Plan A didn’t work out too well for Erin and I. Plan B was an utter failure. So today I am implementing Plan C. I think I have figured out all of her tricks, excuses, and games, and I got two steps ahead of her.

I have to say, she is an extremely smart 7th grader, who spent the last 3 years of public school being bullied and fighting with me daily about going to school. I have talked to more teachers, counselors, mediators, police officers, and truancy officers, only to be threatened with jail, fines, and paying $50.00 every day my daughter didn’t go to school.

Hence, she said this summer “Mom, if I go to school I am going to be harassed, and bored.” So here we are. Homeschooling. She is also doing very, very well considering she is getting going everyday on her own (my work schedule currently offers me no other options). At night we do her math and science together, and anything she didn’t understand.

The problem became she was not doing simple assignments that I knew she was more than capable of doing, telling me she didn’t understand it, but also didn’t remember what it was she didn’t understand. Clever, huh?

So her new rules are if she has any questions, she has to write them down for me so I can read and understand what she is asking. For every assignment she completes, she will get 15 minutes of supervised computer time. For every assignment she doesn’t complete when I know she could, she will lose 15 minutes, even if she is currently at zero. (This girl loves to play plants vs. zombies).

I told her I will help her 6 hours a night if necessary, as long as I know she tried her best.

I also told her I love her, that she is smart, funny, clever, beautiful, talented, and important and she and I together can do this.

So here’s to crossing my fingers and hoping this is the motivation she needed.

Too Funny! (and no one would get hurt!)

Too Funny! (and no one would get hurt!)

We’ve lost our Motivation

Published October 13, 2013 by Angela

Maybe it’s the weather, since the days are getting shorter. It seems like it is always dark out now, and as much as Erin has lost her interest in getting her homeschooling work done, I am starting to lose my desire to keep her ahead of the game. I think it is time to switch things up a bit. She keeps getting further and further behind, and I need to get her back on track. I have to say she is doing extremely well, she just seems to be bored now. Hence, field trips and science experiments.

I explained to her today about STEM and its importance from my perspective for my girls. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics are important for everyone, but also a male-dominated area generally in school and work. I want my girls to be comfortable with match and science, and also enjoy it!

So, I will be investigating some science experiments that I can get her going on, besides the rotting “Bob the Chicken” that is still in his bag and box, decaying on top of my refrigerator. He’s due for a change of salt mixture tomorrow, and I am going to ask Erin to do it tomorrow while I am doing things elsewhere. He really, really stinks and it’s a bit more than I can stand 🙂

Do you have any great motivators that work for you and yours when you get into a slump?

How to kill a dead chicken

Published October 2, 2013 by Angela

Yes, I said it. Yes, it’s an oxymoron 🙂 I am still trying to wrap my head around letting a chicken “rot” for 6 weeks in my refrigerator. Apparently all it takes is a raw chicken, 2 lbs of salt, a box of baking powder, and a box of baking soda. It needs to be checked once a week, and the salt rinsed off and changed if it is wet. We can add spices later if we want. Hmmm, I know when people were mummified back in the day (OK, way, way back) that sometimes they were covered in spices. To help with the odor, I would imagine.

Now I don’t know exactly what kind of spices I can find at my grocery store that would have been common back then, but I do know if this chicken starts smelling, he is going to be taking his deep sleep in cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices so he at least smells good 🙂

This experiment is set to begin Friday. Expect some rather disturbing pictures in the near future 🙂

Well That Explains A Lot!

Published September 17, 2013 by Angela

For over two weeks I have been struggling to get my 12 year old to want to work on her Science homework. Even though both my 21 and 15 year old said “Mom, we didn’t do this stuff until High School” I said “It came with the 7th grade curriculum.” Lo-and-behold, after digging around on the internet where I ordered her books, her Science book is for 14-18 year olds, 9th grade school level. Now I didn’t buy her the easiest set they had, because she really is quite bright, but I certainly did NOT order the hardest set they had that would justify this book. All the other books in the set are age and grade appropriate for a 12 year old 7th grader. So today I get to go to the only local place I have that sells home school books and hope to find some type of Science books that she can work from. I did get quite the smile this morning though when I told her to just skip her science hour 🙂

I don’t think she realizes that this just gives her more time today to study for her math test! I will get the hang of this homeschooling thing yet, hopefully before she graduates 🙂

When did setting up a computer become so hard?

Published September 15, 2013 by Angela

So I broke down and got a laptop for my girls to use for homework, mainly for my 7th grade homeschooler. Titanium security was recommended for me and I was told I could lock out all websites and get reports. Not so, but it was only $17.00 for the 1st year and it does do what Norton Security does. Accessing my 12 year olds newly created account, it took me right to Facebook when I typed it in. So back to the Microsoft Family Safety site (which I was told not to use with Titanium). Sorry, but I am. I can get updates anytime I want on all activities of each of my children, and set allowed and blocked sites. We will see how it goes tomorrow morning when I finally her have the laptop.

Now if I could just get it to do what I want it to. The laptop that is, not my children 🙂 (I pretty much gave up on that years ago LOL) The toolbars are at the bottom, and I cannot seem to switch it. I think it is the new version of Windows and not the laptop itself. I guess I won’t let it bother me too much since I don’t necessarily need to use it. And when it comes to computers my kids are smarter than me anyhow 🙂

Downloading the software for two classes to their laptop, I am hoping I can lock out the kids from the teacher’s information while allowing my homeschooler to use the learning games and other tools that will help her.

Working full time and doing homeschooling has me feeling like I am working on my Bachelor’s Degree, again. I was going to start on my Master’s Degree this September, I am sooo glad I didn’t go down that road.