I know I've become a bad blogger. I found pinterest, that thing is like crack. I've managed to make a few of the do-it-yourself things on there. I'm pretty much done my dress, the corset had to be taken in because it was too big, but it fits now or it did last time I tried it on. I keep losing weight somehow. Adriel turns one this Sunday, and in the year since his birth I have lost over 50 pounds.

Skyler is turning into such a kid now. It's weird, he's not a baby anymore. And Adriel isn't far behind him. That kid copies everything his big brother does. I've been using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with Skyler and so far he is doing great, he can sound out several simple words. If he keeps up with it I'm sure he will be reading by the time he's 4.

I hope you are all well, I have to run off and do some cleaning!

Sewing, Sewing and More Sewing

Today I'm working on making my first ever corset. I'm using a pattern, so we'll see how it turns out. It's not a proper garment pattern, but more of a costume pattern. That's alright though I have to start somewhere. The only problem is I need to find my red twill which is hiding somewhere in my storage closet. I can't wait to be finished making my costume for the medieval festival. It's not until this summer, but I am so excited. I've always wanted to go to a ren faire, but there aren't many around here. This is the first one I've found that's close enough for us to get to.

I also have to make a costume for my mom, and the boys. I'm thinking family pictures will be a must once we're all in costume. I'm still undecided as to whether I want to dress the kids as knights or pirates or little princes or what. Any suggestions?

And on top of that I want to make myself a cloak, and I need to make a petticoat/crinoline for under my skirt because it's a very very full skirt and it would be a waste not to poof it out. I know it's more historically accurate to use a farthingale, but I'm going more for comfort and a fantasy style than historical accuracy. So if anyone has any advice on how to make a petticoat let me know. I've read several different ways online but I'm not sure which one to go with. I'm hoping someone will have some experience to share with me.

I also got a tiara today, though I'm not sure if I should wear it or not. I'm still debating between that and maybe a circlet of flowers. Not sure how well flowers would go with the dress though.. I will have to see once it's finished. Now the hard part, getting C to serge the hem of the skirt for me so I can hem it and finish it up.

It's kind of nice having all these projects to do though, keeps me busy.

January

Has it really been since November? Yikes. My kids are growing up so fast it seems. I often wonder where the time has gone. Right now I'm busy working on my friend's wedding. She's doing a steampunk DIY kind of thing, and I think it's going to be fabulous. I'm currently crocheting the shawls in her wedding colours (peacock blue and black). We're going to be dressed in Victorian/Steampunk style dresses and I'm very excited for the pictures, Skyler is also in the wedding party as the ring bearer. It's not until July though.

Adriel is walking unassisted now. 4 or 5 steps at a time, but I think by tomorrow or the next day he will be full blown walking on his own. I found out there is a medieval festival thing going on the summer time in a little town not too far from here so I am also making a dress to wear to that. Can you tell I like period costumes? And crafting.

Skyler is doing well, we've been practicing letter recognition and phonics on his chalkboard and his whiteboard (which is actually a bar fridge). He is learning so much, and so quickly. I have little doubt that he will be reading on his own before 5 years old. And Adriel is eager to copy anything he sees someone else doing, especially his big brother. Yesterday he climbed right up onto the couch from the floor by himself. I was astounded. Especially since he doesn't really know how to get back down on his own!

My birthday is coming up at the end of the month. I'm going to be a quarter of a century. Sounds so old when I think about it that way. I've been working on my family history and I just love finding out all sorts of things about the past. It's fascinating. It makes me wish my great grandparents were still alive so I could question them about all sorts of things.

Anyway I have two wonderful little boys who need my attention. Hopefully I will be able to write more before another month or two pass by!

Homeschool is Awesome Because...

-You get to stay up late if they can't sleep
-You can wake up any time & do your learning/lessons
-You can learn/teach in your pyjamas
-You don't have to walk/drive to school in -40c weather
-If it's nice out you can do your lessons outside
-Your child learns at their own pace
-If they have troubles you can slow down and explain it again and do extra review
-If they're ahead they can keep working ahead
-One on one instruction
-Everyday errands become part of lessons (grocery shopping etc, you can teach about money)
-Don't have to worry about what they might be learning (or not learning) in school
-No bullying
-No peer pressure
-You can teach ANYTHING you want, things they don't have time for in school
-Any subjects you need help with teaching you can outsource
-You get to spend time with your kids
-You never have to go to the principal's office to talk about your kid
-They're not exposed to a ton of germs every day
-You can do field trips wherever you want to go whenever you want to go
-You can go on a family vacation any time of the year
-You can choose to use a curriculum already made for you or you can make your own
-You could unschool and not use a curriculum at all
-You can decide to school year round, or break it up any way you want to
-If your kid(s) show an interest in something you can do a huge project on it and incorporate just about every subject (If your kid likes cars you could do a project encompassing art, math, English, science etc by having them draw cars, write an essay, build a model car, calculate how much their favourite car costs etc)
-Extracurriculars are limited only by your budget & your kid's interests (swimming, horseback riding, gymnastics, you're not stuck to whatever public schools offer)
-Homeschooled kids in general are better at socializing with people of every age group and tend to be more mature.
-Homeschooled kids score higher on standardized tests in general
-Standardized tests in most places (though not all) are completely optional
-Colleges and universities are starting to search out homeschooled students because they tend to have a passion for learning
-You learn just as much as your kids
-Even simple things like cooking and baking become opportunities for learning (math in measuring ingredients, science in how heat changes the ingredients into something edible etc)
-You have a completely flexible schedule, do lessons in the morning or after lunch or in the evening, whatever works for your family
-You don't have to miss lessons if you're snowed in. Or you could choose to go outside and build a snow fort instead
-Discussions with grandparents about how they grew up can be valuable history lessons
-Lessons don't take anywhere near as long at home as at school. 2-3 hours a day is generally enough
-Homeschooling is fun!!

I know there's more, so tell me if you have any I missed!

Almost 3 Years

Wow I let time slip away from me again! We're getting ready for Skyler's birthday around here. I can hardly believe it's been 3 years! It doesn't help that amidst the chaos we have all caught a cold. Yuck. We've been back and forth to the hospital to visit one of my family members who caught pneumonia and then had several other complications on top of that. She seemed to be doing better last time I saw her but we haven't been able to go visit for a while because I didn't want to risk getting her sick. I hope this cold is gone soon so I can go catch up.

As Skyler approaches 3 I am wondering if I want to start doing some more "formal" learning. I know for the most part we're going to just do play and play based activities. There's only one thing I am debating working on with him and that's reading. There's a huge debate in the early childhood education community and in homeschooling circles on formal education about whether early is better, or late is better. I usually tend to come down on the later is better side, but when it comes to reading specifically I don't know. Personally my mom taught me to read before I was 4 years old. It always served me well, as I love to read and write. In fact I am a speed reader.

I know that each child learns differently however and at different rates. I'm not looking to 'push' him to read at the same age I learned, but I am wondering if I should try something like Hooked on Phonics and see if he has any interest. (I played a Hooked on Phonics game when I was a little person too and I remember enjoying it quite a bit) I mean as it is right now we enjoy reading together and he likes to pretend to read, and he describes pictures and points to words, so he is showing definite interest and some signs of readiness.

I don't want to be one of those people who forces their kid into becoming some sort of child prodigy just for the sake of bragging to their friends "look what my kid can do!". I'm thinking that learning to read is just such an integral thing and it will open up worlds for him, plus I guess I want to share my love for reading. Anyway I know that if he doesn't catch on or show interest that I won't push it.. He will read when he is ready, whether that is now or a few years from now.

Any thoughts? When did you/your kids learn to read?

Sky's Eyes

Homeschooling Part 1

Why We're Homeschooling

We decided to homeschool Skyler when he was still just a baby. The first reason we ever considered it was because of his special needs. His medications require monitoring in the sense that if something happened to him that was stressful on his body he would need an emergency dose of prednisone. Which means he would have to have someone with him at all times who was trained in administering his meds (oral or intramuscular needle) and who knows how to judge what causes his body to become stressed, they would also have to track the administration of the meds and communicate with us so we don't over/under dose him at home. Plus they would have to be trained to work with a child with low vision (and at the time we made the decision he was still blind). The chances of having a good EA who is trained in all that and with him consistently are very low. Then on top of that, he is small for his age and having an adult follow him around will inevitably make him a target for bullies. Coupled with the fact that I have worked in several schools and seen a lot of nasty things that happen behind the scenes.

Aside from our worries about Skyler I had my own concerns about my school experience and my husband's as well. Public schools are full of unpleasant experiences that don't contribute to a positive learning environment. There's bullying, drugs, peer pressure, teachers hitting on students, teachers who shouldn't be working with children (we had one who used to jump on top of the desk and smash things while screaming at us. He also made the boys wear dresses and run races while he videotaped it..), school shootings, bomb threats, and the list goes on.

Then when we examine the learning environment of the "traditional school", we find even more reasons to home school. I'll put them in list format to make it easier to read.

-Schools assume that everyone learns the same way, they use a one size fits all approach. Children don't all learn the same way. Some are auditory learners, some are tactile, some visual or a combination of the different types.

-Learning periods are set up in such a way that keeps kids from getting too interested in a particular subject. As soon as they start to enjoy something a bell rings and it's time to change subjects.

-Teachers don't have any real interest in your child's future, they do their job to get a pay cheque.

-Teachers are overloaded, they have 20-30 kids in a classroom and can't spend individual time with each child.

-If your child is behind or ahead they get left behind as the class moves on or they sit there bored if the class is behind where they are.

-Most school systems force teachers to teach to test because their funding gets cut if the kids don't pass.. Which means your child is memorizing mainly useless facts and learning how to take a test, not getting much real education out of it.

-Subjects are decided by the school board, the child and you the parent get little to no say in what your child is learning.

-If a child is fidgety (who wouldn't be, when forced to sit at a desk for several hours when all your body wants to do is move) they are labelled problem children or ADHD and often teachers will try to get you to put your kid on drugs to make them more manageable.

-Children need time outside in nature to play, make connections and calm their bodies, most schools have cut back on recess and outside/play time in order to cram in more test-based learning.

-Children spend most of their 5-6 hour school day waiting, including waiting for other students to settle down before the teacher can teach, waiting in lines, etc.

-Lots of schools are now implementing weird and unnecessary policies in order to prevent law suits. These policies don't help our children. For example there are schools in TX where children are not allowed to touch anyone (no high fives, no hugging, no handshakes nothing). Some schools even force kids to wear tracking devices that only work on school grounds. Those are only two examples I'm sure you can find a lot more.

-Children learn best by hands on experiences and they create more meaningful memories and are more likely to retain knowledge gained this way, however schools provide very few opportunities for meaningful hands on learning.

-There is little to no flexibility in scheduling. The staff have to follow what the school board sets out for them.

I know there are a lot more points I could make about this, but I don't want to come down as completely hating public schools. I know they serve their purpose and for some families they are a good fit. Next post I'm going to move on to the positives of home schooling. But for now I am going to go rest because I'm fighting off a nasty cold.

And on an unrelated note, Adriel signed his first word today and stood unassisted for the first time!