The Williams Family Academy

This is our homeschool. I have a total of 7 students lined up for next year and have begun to prepare our lessons already. Actually Meyson and Cody have kept up their schooling over this summer. Just math really.

Neither one has the patience to learn the concepts necessary to move at a rapid pace. Which in itself is ironic. They do not see the humor. Meyson will work problems thoughtfully until he gets tired of sitting there and will then just half attempt the rest. Cody will start out rebelling against the assignment, stretching it out over hours until she finally breaks down crying and doing her best to convince me that the material I already taught her has fallen out of her head.

I understand how the fear of a subject can intimidate a student. I was completely unsettled by algebra II and calculus as a student, but as I return to those subjects now as the teacher, I cannot understand what I was so afraid of. It's all very logical when you look at it. But I am more eager to learn now than I was then. I'm sure that makes a difference.

Anyway, we use Alpha Omega for our curriculum and have been more than satisfied with the content. This coming year Meyson, Brianna, and Cody will be utilizing Switched On Schoolhouse. The lessons, tests, and quizzes are all done on the computer with essays, projects, and experiments to be done additionally away from the computer. Three students full time on the computer means that our resources are tapped. We have one desktop that we bought almost 3 years ago, one desktop that was given to us last year, and my personal laptop which is about 5 years old. One of the desktops needs some help. I think it is overheating and it just shuts down. Usually when you are in the middle of something important.

Carson, Memphis, Silas, and Nicole's son Dexter will be working directly with me. Poor kids. Actually Memphis, Silas, and Dex will be attending preschool at our church 2 days a week, but will be forced to endure me on the other 3 days.

I have struggled with myself and any curriculum I've used because providing education for children is very high pressure. Or at least it should be. Their chances for success depend on the things they are taught. And not just in regard to academics. But I have a desire to provide as well-rounded an academic experience as is possible.

I hope the kids are ready for a challenging year. We've never used SOS full time before so I don't really know what to expect as far as the daily commitment is concerned. We will be finding out. Wish us luck!

George

A few weeks ago, we noticed that we had a visitor outside one of the windows in our homeschool room. He (we decided it was a "he" not because of anything having to do with his anatomy, but because none of us were excited about the thought of baby Georges) built his giant web there and has been camping out waiting for...well, hopefully for food and not because he really likes us.

George arrived at an opportune time, as we had just been discussing how spiders eat. Since the kids have seen Charlotte's Web, they know that spiders drink the blood of other bugs they catch. But, they wanted to know what happens to the rest of the bug's body. I had no idea and when George showed up, I was doubtful that he would provide the answer.

Fortunately for our little homeschool, he proved me wrong. One morning, George caught a fly in his web and we watched as he wrapped it in web, carried it to the center of his web, and proceeded to eat the whole thing.

Cody and Meyson were fascinated with watching the show. This is when Meyson named him George and I became grateful for a little real life science added into our curriculum. I began to wonder what else George would show us. But the next day, he was gone and we haven't seen him since.

This has Meyson and I a little on edge. We really liked George when we knew where he was. Now that he has vacated his web, we are a little worried that he may have liked all of the attention he was receiving and come inside for a closer look at us. In fact, sometimes at night I have to whip the covers off because I just know George is crawling up my leg.

You can see here how he compares in size to Cody's hand:

These pictures were taken through a double paned window, so he is even bigger than he appears.

If you happen to see George, don't send him home. He was fun and educational for a while, but I do believe I am over it.

Once Upon A Time...

As part of our homeschooling, Cody and Carson have been doing a study of Cinderella. This has more educational opportunities than you might think. The study includes botany (the study of the pumpkin), math (telling time, measuring feet), social studies (how a princess acts), etc. By far my favorite activity came today. For the language arts portion of the study the girls had to write their own version of the story. There was a prewriting page to help them gather their thoughts and keep them on track. Carson, of course, had to dictate hers to me. Here is her rendering for your enjoyment:

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a girl named Cinderella. She was a maid and she lived in a faraway house on the beach in Mexico.

Her step-mother and step-sisters were always nice. They bought her what she wanted. They let her go hunting and get a starfish and they let her pick leaves and flowers. They bought her pumpkins. They ate pumpkins and they bought her scissors. They let her ride on a horse, go to a restaurant, and go fishing. They let her go to the ball and sharpen her own pencils.

Cinderella asked if she could go to the ball and if she could go see her fairy godmother. Her fairy godmother waved her wand and said the magic words:

"Poopy Locky Wo Poo Pea Soup Dee!"

She gave Cinderella a dress and a carriage made from a pumpkin. It was pulled by a horse and a horse was driving and there was a pig that made it go.

There was a storm and the pig ran away. The storm went away and a big pencil came. Cinderella was outside and she got smooshed by the big pencil.

The End

This story is the opposite of the traditional Cinderella. In every way. It cracks me up that it is so sunny and wonderful up until Cinderella is smooshed by a giant, runaway pencil. Carson is too short to use our pencil sharpener, and apparently this is an issue for her. She considers it a privilege to get to sharpen her own pencil. She may grow up to be a science-fiction writer.

The Thrill

As a parent, I'm never really sure how much of what comes out of my mouth actually sticks in my kids' brains. Sometimes I feel like I could talk all day long and they would never hear a word I say. Wait...that is what happens! Cody and Meyson are especially exasperating because I can physically make them look me in the eye when I tell them something and five minutes later they won't even remember having talked to me.

But, I did get some validation today. Last week we had a small unit on eyes and sight. We talked about how the eye should work, read a simple biography on Helen Keller, and even made our own Braille out of salt dough.

Today while riding in our humongous new car (more on that later), Meyson told Carson to look at the sun. Carson immediately said, "Meyson, do you want me to be blind like Helen Keller?" to which Meyson laughed and replied, "No." And Carson said, "Then don't teach me to look at the sun!"

I was cracking up in the front seat, silently celebrating the victory of knowing that one of the kids remembered something I taught her about. Just enough fuel to keep me going for awhile.

Yes, You May

We are a homeschooling family. At least partially. Meyson and Brianna go to public school because they always have and, for the most part, that's where they want to be. Cody went to a private kindergarten after spending six weeks in a public school that she and I hated equally. The irony there is that I spent the six months before her first day of kindergarten visiting no less than six different elementary schools in two different school districts to find the right one for us. Somebody should have told me that you can also hand pick your teacher. Or maybe it worked out better this way.

Before anyone gets offended, let me just say that I don't think there is anything wrong with public school, homeschooling just works better for me. I'm a control freak. The first step is admitting it and, apparently, the second is homeschooling.

Anyway, because I teach my daughter everyday, I was able to decipher this:

"dir momy my hoolluhooq is in the groj maigo git it sind me a nathr noot abaoot it from cody"

into:

"Dear Mommy,
My hula-hoop is in the garage. May I go get it? Send me another note about it.
From,
Cody"

She slipped this note under my door while I was in the shower this morning. While school is in session here, I am very strict about spelling and spacing, but when she is left to her own devices, laziness prevails.

My response to her note:

"yesuma luv mom"