2013-2014 School Year

I really don't like the word "school". It really does not describe what we do, but since that is how others view it, I'll use it here.

We consider ourselves year-round home educators. Education doesn't stop with certain days of the calendar. We do, however, have some planned yearly breaks mingled into the mix and the month of June falls into that category for us each year as various camps, conferences, and trips take place during that time. Now that we are into July, it's time to get back to a more Structured Time commitment.

I do purchase a few new items each year. Here are my "curriculum" purchases for this year:

English - Writing and Grammar
We will continue to use Excellence in Writing  and Winston Grammar products, focusing on the "Teaching Writing: Style and Structure" core materials for writing. Christian and I decided to add a curriculum this year that he can follow on his own in preparation for college. We have not yet decided if we will buy American Literature or British Literature. He is looking each over to see which one will suit him. I may just buy both so I can do them too. $29 each or $58 for both if I buy them new...not sure yet!

Math - Algebra and Geometry
We are using Aleks Math online program with videos from Khan Academy and some things we found online about The Human Calculator. Plus, he is a programmer so his normal, every day activities include lots of math. I purchase our yearly subscription at a discount from Leadership Education Academy for $99.

Science - Foundations of Science
My children take advantage of BYU-Idaho Concurrent Enrollment. This will be Christian's first year and will start with Science Foundations. While some feel the foundations classes are a waste of time because they may not transfer to other universities, I think they give my children confidence and a good taste of what college classes are like. The tuition for this 2 credit class is an amazing $60!

History - United States
We love Living History books. This year we are doing US History, an LDS Perspective by Dan Hunter. We loved the other sets we have and just want to keep going! He meshes history with modern and ancient prophets words. So nice that someone has taken the time to put these all together. $49.95 for Volume 1.

PE
I'm pretty relaxed about PE. We do weekly planned events were we invite others to play basketball, tennis, football, or volleyball when the weather is good. This year we are adding a subscription to the Aquaplex which includes a gym. We will have access to the indoor gym and weight facility for the entire family. With 6 people that boils down to about $80 a year for Christian.

Music - Guitar
We are blessed to have a free music program called Young Jammers. Christian loves the instructor and the down-to-earth way they learn to read music and play with a group. I hope to add personalized music lessons later this year, but that will be about $100 a month, so not cheap but well worth it!

Yearly Budget
I do not usually spend this much for the year, but with only one child educating at home now, I guess I can afford to give him the extras. I don't even consider all the extra books I buy on a regular, ongoing basis. I find things at second hand stores, garage sales, used book stores, and even purchase some books for NOOK.

This years budget totals about $347!

I don't usually spend that much for one student, but I am buying the gym membership and a college class this year.

Getting it Together

When life throws you some curve balls, it can be hard to get back on track. Having challenges is part of life. We all have them at various times, some more than others it seems. With educating our children at home, we often find that difficult circumstances greatly alter our ability to stay with our education plan. We find ourselves detoured as we meet the challenges we face. Sometimes we are detoured far longer than we expected and it is easy to feel guilty, depressed, frustrated, or all of these things combined. If our trials have been of a very severe nature, like death, loss of job, new baby, etc. then we may find ourselves so discouraged that we may give up completely.

How do we overcome challenges that slow down our education?

1. First, realizing that everyone will face challenges in life at some point makes it a bit easier. We need not feel alone or that we are the only one. Yes, other people's challenges will be different than ours, the focus is on that everyone HAS challenges that derail their education at some point, even though they may be very different in nature.
2. Next, we need to not beat ourselves up over lost education time, passion for education, and loss in attitude towards education. When we face difficult trials in our lives, we turn to what is often called "survival mode". We cut back on things that are non-essential and turn towards getting through the day. This is a built in coping mechanism that is given to us by our creator to protect life first. We shouldn't feel guilty about doing this during the most difficult parts of our trials. Over time we can add more of the non-essentials back in. I know, how can education be non-essential? In terms of survival, education is not on the level of essentials, it takes back seat to food, shelter, safety, and personal relationships.
3. The first two steps are mental preparation and giving ourselves permission to cut back. The third step is to look forward to a return to our educational plan in a timely manner. Depending on the trial, it could be months before you can return to a full educational path. Trials that derail us completely like death, severe health problems, and a new baby will take the longest to recover from. Trials of a financial nature, discipline problems, moving, etc. will often take a change in attitude and a few weeks to get back on track. You are the only one that can determine when you are ready to return. Your children may even be very happy to be off-track! That will discourage any mother and make you wonder why you do it all. But, you will find that one day you will feel inspired to return to the schedule and you will feel the pull to bring the family back to the way of education that you need.
4. Once you feel that pull to return your family back to education, take some time to write notes or make a plan to ease back into the schedule. One of the most damaging things I've done in returning to our education plan was to "jump in with both feet". My children were suddenly told that the next day we were starting back to a full education schedule. It was a difficult day and I've learned since to add things in week by week rather than all at once. Usually it is the guilt that drives us to suddenly return to our education schedule in full force.

As we are getting it together after a month of trials, it feels good to get things back into action one step at a time. Our approach is to:

1. Pick a date we will begin returning to our education schedule. For us, that will be after our oldest goes back to college. We decided to extend our annual break a few more weeks to allow us to have more quality family time together. Normally I would start to feel guilty about this, but with so many deaths and health issues in the family, I think we need this extra time.
2. Decide what parts of our schedule are the most important to start first. One area that has crept in is a lot more entertainment than I normally allow. The first thing to change will be a reduction in our entertainment and to make the hours it is allowed to be firm again.
3. Make a plan for which week to add in schedule/rules to the plan. Our next schedule changes will be adding in devotional, kid school, and classes outside the home. These will have various start dates and will be added into the schedule with a plan in place, knowing that our schedule will steadily increase in demands.
4. Follow through with the plan to return to full education schedule. Knowing the plan helps everyone have an understanding of what is expected and when it will be expected. We typically discuss the schedule and the "step-up" plan a few weeks before we start it. Having the plan laid out helps everyone transition with a good attitude and makes the transition much less painful.

There will always be hiccups to any great plan. Learning to roll with it and adjust and tweak the plan as needed is important to remember. I'm feeling much better about our return to home education and hope to have a smooth transition.

Please share your tips and experience on getting back to home education after life's trials.

July - A Month of Trials

I often write about the ups and downs of homeschooling. Today's post will be of that nature. I feel it is important to share all aspects of home education and family life in order to put things in perspective...

If you read my personal blog, then you know both of my grandparents on my dad's side passed away in June within 10 days of each other. That has been a trial for me even though I have a strong belief in life after death and eternal families. I still miss them. I did not get to go back to their funerals and feel sadness about that. Now, my father has been very sick and in the hospital and my mother's health is failing rapidly. My mother has either severe Alzheimer Disease or dementia. They are not sure which, but in the last 3 months she has lost the ability to speak almost completely, making communication with her non-existent.

With all of these family trials, it has been very hard for me to focus on our education right now. My personal studies have almost completely stopped for the time being. I'm thankful that we had already planned our annual break for the month of July. It seems perfectly timed with all that is going on. I leave that in the hands of providence and recognize that this decision was made without prior knowledge of how our lives would be right now, but I know the Lord's hand is in it all.

We did take a day to enjoy nature in our favorite nature conservation center (see picture). It had rained and cooled off considerably and we seized the opportunity! What a happy day!

I hope to resume some semblance of our regular routine in August as planned. The kids feel my sadness. They are doing well with everything really and everyone is relieved that we have this break.