Graduation! - Marlayna

We are so proud of our children! We are pleased to officially "graduate" our daughter, Marlayna. She is a bright young woman with a fabulous future ahead. We know she will continue to live a life where learning never stops and her progression through the Phases of Learning will bring her to the knowledge to fulfill her Mission in life.

I am often asked what we do to graduate a high school student while educating our children at home. She will not receive an official diploma. It is a myth that you need one in life. Yes, there are entities that will ask for a diploma. However, she has successfully received 11 credits at Brigham Young University - Idaho and maintains 2 part-time jobs outside the home. One in a fast food restaurant and one as a FBI cleared babysitter for HRT, a foster care licensing agency where she babysits children during training meetings.

Here is an overview of what Marlayna accomplished in her education using the Leadership Education (aka TJED or Thomas Jefferson Education) method since we brought her home in 4th grade.

• Concurrent Enrollment - BYU-Idaho - 11 credits in English, Science, Psychology, and History.
• Foreign Language - Latin - Wheelocks Latin
• Foreign Language - Sign Language - Various textbooks and software
• English - She did well on her SAT and passed BYU-Idaho English 101 with an A her Senior year. We also used Winston Grammar in the early years to solidify her grammar and a long list of classic books for her knowledge of the English language. (See Classes by Classics)
• Math - Mastery through Aleks Math online math program. She is taking College Algebra this summer at a local community college.
• History - Science - Government - Etc. - See our Classes by Classics listings. Marlayna studied a great deal of these titles to constitute a "class".

I know that she has studied far more than a traditional public school education. Marlayna is very well read learning from authors like C. S. Lewis, Tocqueville, Jane Austen, and Locke. Her studies include hours and hours of reading combined with real-world knowledge in working with people of all ages in the community with her work and church service.

Great job, Marlayna!

April Showers? or Just Windy?

April Showers Anyone?

Where are the April Showers? We have either had snow or blasting wind that closes highways and rattles windows at night. I do not remember so much wind the last time we lived here. I know the weather patterns seem to have changed a little bit in the last few years...but this is ridiculous! I hope we get a few showers in to help keep the forest green over the summer. We saw a lot of smoke yesterday due to a forest fire.

Finding Joy!

It was one of my goals this year to focus on happiness and joy in life. I can say that I am happy, even through the trials and tribulations. I have learned, thanks to previous trials and tribulations, to be patient and realize that things could be a lot worse. Really, things are very good! After watching April General Conference, I felt that despite our economic hardships, everything else is really, REALLY GOOD!

We are very busy in our new home with getting the land "fire safe". The previous occupants let the back 3/4 acre become very overgrown. We have worked on the weeds, but the wind keeps blowing our neatly piled weeds around. We have tried to burn the weeds but cannot because of high winds, I had to get a burn permit and I call every day to see if we can burn. So, we stopped working on that for now and pray that the winds will cease long enough for us to get the weeds gone!

The flower bed is planted with seeds and Marly diligently waters it every day. Our eight chicks have more than doubled in size and are now living in their remodeled coop. We do not let them outside much yet because we are afraid they will blow away! They are not big enough to handle the wind yet.

We found a local homeschool group...there are five other homeschool families in our ward alone. We have been excited to have so many "close by"...meaning within 20 minutes drive. LOL! There are TONS of teens here. There are 40 young women and about 15 young men in our ward. They have all welcomed Marly and Chris with open arms and invited them to lots of things already. The boys are particularly happy to have another boy so they are not so outnumbered.

I hope to get some more pics up soon. I have just been so busy...

2009 - Week 5 - This Week in Homeschooling

In addition to Marly and Chris's babysitting job, Chris has been sick with a sinus infection this week. The level of his education was greatly effected this week and we hope he will get better soon!

Kid's School:

• Devotionals - Gospel Principles lesson 12 - We spent the entire week on the Atonement.
  
• Classes/Clubs Attended - Principles of Leadership
• Read Aloud Book - Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (and my kids THINK they have chores)
  
• SAT Prep vocabulary & spelling words - Review last week's words - New Words - winsome, meager, haughty, foster
  
• Grammar & Writing - Journal Entries on each book read - The Winston Grammar Program: Basic Level - Word Roots Level A A1 & A2
  
• Science - The Human Body Unit - Respiratory System - Usborne Science Encyclopedia pg. 358-359, How the Body Works pg. 69-77, Human Anatomy Coloring Book p. 218-23 (College level book - we do not memorize the terminology, but the detailed diagrams are really good).
  
• P.E. - Daily dog walks. Chris was too sick to do much else.
  
• Math
• Marly: Math-U-See - Epsilon - Chapters 9-11
  
• Chris: Math-U-See - Delta - Unit 2 Test, online math drills
  
• Individual Reading
• Marly: The Story of the World: Vol.2 2-18, Molly Moon Stops the World, Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure, The Hounds of the Baskerville's (1st half)
  
• Chris: The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Vol. 1, 1-38 thru 1-39 (1st half)
  

Mom's School:

• Reading list - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (still working on this one), The Love Dare (a 40 day challenge so I'll be reading this one every day for awhile - see this movie "Fireproof"), Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning (studying up on the levels of Scholar Phase to present to the family next week)
  
• Projects - cleaning and perfecting my bread making skills. See my favorite recipe at The Solar Cook.
  

Spring is for Science!

While most of the country is still pretty cold, we have had 80 degree temperatures this week. We have taken advantage of this fantastic weather and been enjoying the great outdoors. The bikes are getting used frequently, the dog is ecstatic getting so many walks, and the windows are thrown open to receive the gentle breeze. I love this time of year and hope the desert heat stays away for quite a while. My Fibromyalgia pain decreases during this time as the cold leaves. My joints feel better already!

Marly's Project

Last year we started using the Square Foot Garden method. We were successful with our radishes and strawberries, but not our carrots or lettuce. We are starting again. Marly has chosen this as her project. She tenderly cares for the boxes we made last year and we are clearly another section for two more 4' x 4' boxes. She researched and found planting guides for our area and has created a plan for the planting seasons this year.

Chris's Project

Chris has been progressively working on learning about electricity. Last year he made a complete circuit and this year he has been building several types of circuits using an Electronics Snap Kit. We purchased a kit called Crystal Radio, but have been unable to get it to work well (I do not recommend this kit). His project of game programming and HTML is still ongoing.

Sam's Project

Our stake is preparing for a Pioneer Trek. Sam is making most of her own clothing for this event that will take place this summer. We are starting with her apron. She has been on a trek previously and is very sure about what she wants this time. I'm happy to see her geared up to be an experienced trekker!

Homeschooling 4 - 5 Kids

Adventures in Homeschooling! My sister-in-law, who also homeschools, is on mandatory bed rest for a few weeks. She is pregnant and there is a hole in the placenta. They lost a baby in August 2007 also. So, she is an at-risk pregnancy in a couple ways right now. I offered to take her kids for the next few weeks to homeschool along with my own. Sam was home because she had her wisdom teeth out (poor baby!) and she schooled right along with us, working on an online world history class and studying for her other classes.

It is easier than I though it would be. I feel comfortable enough in educating the kids that it was easy to find things for everyone to work on and they have a great time!

I used to stress myself out with complicated curriculum, both public online school and curriculum I purchased. Now I've worked to simplify our education by focusing on a good math program, classic reading materials, and the interests of the children in science, history, and PE. My children are becoming more focused on their own education and actually OWNING it, rather than doing it because they were told to. They chose their own reading materials from the classics list and from the racks at the local library. I have some unit studies and lapbooking materials for times when they just need a creative outlet to show what they are learning.

Here are what we are educating our children with right now:

• Teaching Textbooks - Awesome math program!
• Classics list #1 - Thomas Jefferson Education List
  
• Classics list #2 - 1,000 Good Books List (by grades)
  
• Old Testament Lapbook - (history)
  
• Book of Mormon Lapbook
  
• Discover the Scriptures - Book of Mormon & Life of Thomas S. Monson
  
• Science Kits - Electronics Snap Kit, Froguts, Astronomy for Kids, and the Science Channel.
• Kid's personal projects - Chris is working on a website and Gamemaker. Marly is working on knitting, cooking, and crocheting. Sam is sewing her clothes for an upcoming Pioneer Trek reenactment.