Life in the Hangman's Noose

This picture is a great indicator of how my home school days go...

I had to laugh when Jared came up wearing the hangman's noose- obviously his brother got ahold of him! When I told them to work on their knot tying- I didn't mean on each other.

The boys are also working on their second paper of the year. I am a little bit of a task master about writing because I believe that it is important to be able to express yourself verbally and on paper. Their first assignment was on an animal. It was 5 pages long with 5 sources (1 Internet, the rest books.) They really did well. Jared is VERY dyslexic so I am still trying to figured out some of his paper. I will proofread it and give it back. Then they will have 2 weeks to fix it and return. Their second paper is a little easier- 3 pages, 4 sources. It is about something in science. I am curious what I will get in return. I love that fact that we are able to work on writing in a relaxed format in order to learn it and still like it- that was one of my goals when choosing my teaching style. I really wanted the children to gain a love for education. They also just completed the Novel in One Year Curriculum and are looking forward to the Sci-fi one (second year.) They will start that as soon as I get my ducks in a row and order it. Man, teachers today...

This is black history month and since Jared is black- I had tons of information to use for him. It is such an interesting part of our home school- having such cultural differences among the 3 children. Our exchange student offers another cultural experience. No wonder we have been called (jokingly of course) The United Nations Clan.

Jacie is still working through her reading and basic writing. As I said earlier, it is very important to me that she enjoy reading so I am taking it slow. I do a lot of reading to her like I did with the boys. It is harder for her because the boys grew up listening to me read, visiting book sales and spending long afternoons buried in books. She did not. Having been here only 1 1/2 years and turning 10 in April has brought a different scenario to the table. Truthfully, it has stretched me as a teacher. I have to admit, I got comfortable with the 2 boys and knew how to get the best from them. In the past 1 1/2 years, she has changed homes, changed countries, changed cultures, changed languages, had 2 major surgeries...need I say more. Just reading it makes me tired. I think that is why I am so happy that we chose to homeschool her- she has so much more time to focus on learning in an informal way.

On the whole- this little family that I have been blessed with is growing and developing. I couldn't ask for more- it is such an interesting journey.

~Camo Pants