I truly am clueless when it comes to homeschooling. I've been reading hundreds of blogs and books. It's completely overwhelming. How much easier would it be to just pack Max off to public school every day. But no, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is what is right for our family. So now I need to figure it out.
We started with the book "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" in January. With sickness and lazy days, we are still 30+ lessons before we finish. But it's working. Max can read simple sentences. He can sound new words out 95% of the time, and today he figured out the word "feather" without any help. So that's definitely a great step towards homeschooling.
Max learned the numbers and alphabet quite a while back, so that's something that we don't have to "teach". We're going slow on math, since he tends to get distracted, and easily frustrated. And if he is distracted or frustrated, he refuses to give correct answers. So that's a hurdle.
We've started doing Time4Learning (let me know if you want to sign up for that, I can send you an invite and get a free month ;-) ) which Max really likes. Is it worth $20/month? I don't know yet, we're still in early days of it. But Max enjoys it, and he seems to be learning. And it's teaching him how to use a computer beyond watching roomba/train videos on Youtube.
Ah. I feel overwhelmed, but since I know that it's the best thing for our family, and most especially for Max, I'll keep chugging along, clueless as usual.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Our homeschool adventure begins
As some of you may have noticed from my twitter posts, we have made the decision to homeschool the boys. This decision did not come easy for either of us. I'm extremely lazy. The thought of the kids trotting down the sidewalk to a waiting school bus sounds absolutely heavenly, mainly because of the utter silence that would follow. I'm sure my husband is sick and tired of coming home to me complaining that I need a vacation from the monsters that are our children. Not that I call them monsters. Out loud.
But the thought of turning my kids over to a complete stranger for ~8 hours a day, when I won't even hire a babysitter. The bullying that I know for a fact that my boys will endure. Max has already had a sampling of that just at the park from the brats that live in this town. The boys are too sweet, too nice, too innocent not to be bullied. Max thinks that everyone is his best friend, and I don't want him to lose the love that he has for everyone. And the influence of other kids scares me. The disgusting language alone that I hear at the park from preschoolers!
I admit that the new school standards are quite disturbing. That, I believe, is the biggest issue that swayed my husband over to homeschooling. Neither of us want our kids to have a substandard education, and frankly, the new standards are not acceptable to me.
So after literally months of talking about this, Eric and I finally agreed to homeschool the boys. It's a daunting road ahead. I'm terrified that I will not do a good job. I feel completely overwhelmed, like I need to teach them everything right now! And yes, I do know that is not true, but I still feel that way.
So I am wading through the thousands of homeschool blogs, curriculum reviews, meeting people on Twitter and Facebook, getting advice from veteran homeschoolers, and entering giveaways! I've won quite a few giveaways for samples of curriculum, trials of computer programs like Time4Learning and AppleCore System. We have signed Max up for Time4Learning for supplemental curriculum, but that's another post entirely.
So. That's where we are right now. I'm planning to do more frequent posts (I've really fallen behind in my posting!) about what we are doing, what is working for us, and what isn't. I will be reviewing some of the things we are using-- like Time4Learning, Math Mammoth, etc. hoping that something will help someone else out there.
I'm truly a clueless homeschooler, but I have faith that I will do a better job than a stranger that won't have patience with my boys. And they do need patience. Lots of it.
And so do I.
But the thought of turning my kids over to a complete stranger for ~8 hours a day, when I won't even hire a babysitter. The bullying that I know for a fact that my boys will endure. Max has already had a sampling of that just at the park from the brats that live in this town. The boys are too sweet, too nice, too innocent not to be bullied. Max thinks that everyone is his best friend, and I don't want him to lose the love that he has for everyone. And the influence of other kids scares me. The disgusting language alone that I hear at the park from preschoolers!
I admit that the new school standards are quite disturbing. That, I believe, is the biggest issue that swayed my husband over to homeschooling. Neither of us want our kids to have a substandard education, and frankly, the new standards are not acceptable to me.
So after literally months of talking about this, Eric and I finally agreed to homeschool the boys. It's a daunting road ahead. I'm terrified that I will not do a good job. I feel completely overwhelmed, like I need to teach them everything right now! And yes, I do know that is not true, but I still feel that way.
So I am wading through the thousands of homeschool blogs, curriculum reviews, meeting people on Twitter and Facebook, getting advice from veteran homeschoolers, and entering giveaways! I've won quite a few giveaways for samples of curriculum, trials of computer programs like Time4Learning and AppleCore System. We have signed Max up for Time4Learning for supplemental curriculum, but that's another post entirely.
So. That's where we are right now. I'm planning to do more frequent posts (I've really fallen behind in my posting!) about what we are doing, what is working for us, and what isn't. I will be reviewing some of the things we are using-- like Time4Learning, Math Mammoth, etc. hoping that something will help someone else out there.
I'm truly a clueless homeschooler, but I have faith that I will do a better job than a stranger that won't have patience with my boys. And they do need patience. Lots of it.
And so do I.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Quick review of Walgreens Training Pants
Simon, 2, is pretty much completely potty trained. He has been for a while, but we're still putting him in Pull-ups for bedtime (not naps, just at night) and if he's going to be in the car for an extended period of time. So he wears 1 pull-up a day (at night) and maybe uses a couple more throughout the week for extended car rides.
So Pull-ups, by Huggies, are pricey. We like them, they work well, but again, pricey. So I was looking for something a little cheaper. That's what I get for trying to save money.
The Walgreens brand Premium Training Pants caught my eye one day while I was there, so I grabbed a package. I got them in the same size that I get Pull-ups 3t-4t (he's skinny, but too tall for the 2t-3t).
So how'd they compare?
1--they are huge. The size is more like a 4t-5t compared to Pull-ups. The height/length is okay, but the complete lack of elastic, and the faulty tabs, mean that these are so loose that if he were to have an accident, he would end up peeing out of the pants.
2--while they are supposed to be like the Pull-ups as far as side "velcro" goes, more often than not the tabs rip entirely, making them impossible to reuse. And if you need to tighten them, as we do before he even put them on, you risk the chance of the tabs tearing before the child has even gotten them on.
3--flimsy. Perhaps we're spoiled by Huggies, but these are like paper. Crinkly (which makes me think they wouldn't be comfortable to wear), and thin. The one time that he didn't make it to the bathroom in time at night he almost soaked the entire thing. Kind of ridiculous considering there wasn't that much pee in the pants.
4--$$ The price isn't that much less than Huggies. I paid $6.99 for a pack of 23 (on sale), and can buy a pack of 21 Huggies for $8.99 (regular price at Wal-mart).
Conclusion
Spend the extra money for Huggies. I'm all for using generic where-ever possible, but when it comes to training pants, the little extra money is definitely worth it.
Little post script: I do not like Huggies diapers, Parent's Choice all the way. But the Pull-ups are definitely the best, in my opinion.
So Pull-ups, by Huggies, are pricey. We like them, they work well, but again, pricey. So I was looking for something a little cheaper. That's what I get for trying to save money.
The Walgreens brand Premium Training Pants caught my eye one day while I was there, so I grabbed a package. I got them in the same size that I get Pull-ups 3t-4t (he's skinny, but too tall for the 2t-3t).
So how'd they compare?
1--they are huge. The size is more like a 4t-5t compared to Pull-ups. The height/length is okay, but the complete lack of elastic, and the faulty tabs, mean that these are so loose that if he were to have an accident, he would end up peeing out of the pants.
2--while they are supposed to be like the Pull-ups as far as side "velcro" goes, more often than not the tabs rip entirely, making them impossible to reuse. And if you need to tighten them, as we do before he even put them on, you risk the chance of the tabs tearing before the child has even gotten them on.
3--flimsy. Perhaps we're spoiled by Huggies, but these are like paper. Crinkly (which makes me think they wouldn't be comfortable to wear), and thin. The one time that he didn't make it to the bathroom in time at night he almost soaked the entire thing. Kind of ridiculous considering there wasn't that much pee in the pants.
4--$$ The price isn't that much less than Huggies. I paid $6.99 for a pack of 23 (on sale), and can buy a pack of 21 Huggies for $8.99 (regular price at Wal-mart).
Conclusion
Spend the extra money for Huggies. I'm all for using generic where-ever possible, but when it comes to training pants, the little extra money is definitely worth it.
Little post script: I do not like Huggies diapers, Parent's Choice all the way. But the Pull-ups are definitely the best, in my opinion.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Indy Review
Indy is one of our favorite cities, and as such, we go there several times a year. We like to stay at Hilton properties because we are HHonors members, and Indy has several.
With the kids, we like to stay in suites, mainly because we want the bedroom to be separate so that when they are sleeping, we don't have to be! And with Hilton, that's pretty easy. The higher end Hilton hotels have separate bedroom suites, unlike the lower end (Hampton Inn) which generally calls a larger room a suite...But that is another ranty post entirely.
Anyway, after changing the dates to visit Indy several times, we finally decided to go down the weekend before July 4th. And we decided to stay at Hilton Garden Inn. I'll be honest, the main reason we decided on HGI was because of their Twitter person. I was hemming and hawing about which hotel to stay at, and they piped up "Stay with us!" So we did!
We've stayed at HGI before in Indy, but it's been 5 or 6 years. Let me tell you, the staff was amazing! We were greeted with smiles everywhere. The front desk staff was awesome--we were met with coupons for the in-house restaurant, a lovely note thanking us for staying with them, free breakfast, and a present! The present was a gift card to Giorgio's Pizza, the yummiest pizza you can buy, which is right across the street from the hotel. Talk about awesome service. I was just blown away by how we were treated. It is rare that we stay at a hotel that I don't have a complaint about someone, whether it be a rude front desk member, a rude house keeper, etc. But not this time. Even the housekeeping staff was awesome. We ate in the restaurant for breakfast, which was the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. Even the staff working in there was great. We had Jeff as our waiter for both mornings, and he went out of his way for us to be comfortable. Dining in that little room (because that is a very small restaurant) with the kids was pretty harry at times, but Jeff did a great job for us. Not only that, he remembered our drinks the 2nd day! Oh, that's awesome service. (And I wrote down the names of the front desk staff that we had dealings with but I can't find it now! Suffice it to say, they all rocked)
We did go swimming one night in the hotel pool (which is in the basement if you ever stay there, we had to look for it!), which was nice. The water was warm, not cold like hotel pools usually are. Plenty of towels. Careful though, the floors in the pool room are super slippery.
We did use the free wireless with a laptop one night, my husband had no complaints with that. I couldn't connect with my tablet, the signal wasn't strong enough to grab with a tablet wireless card. Oh well. I read instead.
The room was lovely. We had one of their 1 bedroom suites. These rooms (there's 1 on each floor I believe) are right by the elevators--no noise complaints from me, perfectly silent room--in the corner. So there's tons of windows and a great view to the north.
In all, the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Indy (located right off Monument Circle!) is an amazing hotel for anyone, including families with small children! The staff is great, the rooms are great, the breakfast is awesome. We will definitely be staying there again!
With the kids, we like to stay in suites, mainly because we want the bedroom to be separate so that when they are sleeping, we don't have to be! And with Hilton, that's pretty easy. The higher end Hilton hotels have separate bedroom suites, unlike the lower end (Hampton Inn) which generally calls a larger room a suite...But that is another ranty post entirely.
Anyway, after changing the dates to visit Indy several times, we finally decided to go down the weekend before July 4th. And we decided to stay at Hilton Garden Inn. I'll be honest, the main reason we decided on HGI was because of their Twitter person. I was hemming and hawing about which hotel to stay at, and they piped up "Stay with us!" So we did!
We've stayed at HGI before in Indy, but it's been 5 or 6 years. Let me tell you, the staff was amazing! We were greeted with smiles everywhere. The front desk staff was awesome--we were met with coupons for the in-house restaurant, a lovely note thanking us for staying with them, free breakfast, and a present! The present was a gift card to Giorgio's Pizza, the yummiest pizza you can buy, which is right across the street from the hotel. Talk about awesome service. I was just blown away by how we were treated. It is rare that we stay at a hotel that I don't have a complaint about someone, whether it be a rude front desk member, a rude house keeper, etc. But not this time. Even the housekeeping staff was awesome. We ate in the restaurant for breakfast, which was the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. Even the staff working in there was great. We had Jeff as our waiter for both mornings, and he went out of his way for us to be comfortable. Dining in that little room (because that is a very small restaurant) with the kids was pretty harry at times, but Jeff did a great job for us. Not only that, he remembered our drinks the 2nd day! Oh, that's awesome service. (And I wrote down the names of the front desk staff that we had dealings with but I can't find it now! Suffice it to say, they all rocked)
We did go swimming one night in the hotel pool (which is in the basement if you ever stay there, we had to look for it!), which was nice. The water was warm, not cold like hotel pools usually are. Plenty of towels. Careful though, the floors in the pool room are super slippery.
We did use the free wireless with a laptop one night, my husband had no complaints with that. I couldn't connect with my tablet, the signal wasn't strong enough to grab with a tablet wireless card. Oh well. I read instead.
The room was lovely. We had one of their 1 bedroom suites. These rooms (there's 1 on each floor I believe) are right by the elevators--no noise complaints from me, perfectly silent room--in the corner. So there's tons of windows and a great view to the north.
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| The room as soon as you walk in the door (and Max) |
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| Looking from the door towards the bedroom (there's a microwave, fridge, and coffee pot) |
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| Looking into the bedroom (and Simon) |
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| View from the beds. The bedroom is L shaped. |
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| View from that corner of the beds--queen size with comfort control mattresses, which were a little hard even on soft.... |
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| Looking into the bathroom |
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| Tub perfect height for Simon to climb in. Nice for small children. |
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| SEPARATE door just for the toilet! That was awesome. Also, shoe shine machine! |
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| LOVED this. They have recycle bins in the rooms! How awesome is that?! |
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Potty Training Day 4
I skipped posting what happened the past couple of days with potty training, mainly because there wasn't much! Simon is doing awesome, in my opinion. No accidents since day 2 (which was just 1 accident--poop on the floor), and he's going voluntarily, I am not prompting him. And this morning he went on his own into the bathroom and pooped in the potty. Of course, then he stood up, ran out yelling "OH NO!", ran back to the toilet, and pooped on the floor. I don't count that as an accident because he did the initial poop in the toilet and was freaked out by it. lol
However, he will not wear underwear/pants. He just wants to be naked.This is an issue, because we have places to go. If he cannot be potty trained in pants/underwear, what on earth do I do? This country is not one where toddlers can roam naked and pee and poop in the bushes. (although, how awesome would that be?!)
So I bought pull-ups for the times that we will not be at home. I didn't want to use pull-ups if we didn't have to, but I can't be taking 3-4 changes of clothes everywhere we go, just in case he has to pee and refuses to tell me because he's mad that he's wearing pants.
So, pull-ups it is in public. He's already better at going potty than Max was at his age, so I'm hoping that in a few months (I'm not rushing things, obviously) he will be completely trained--poop, pee, underwear or not, and naptime/nighttime.
I really think that doing naked potty training is the way to go. Wish I had had the patience with Max to do it. His potty training took forever!
However, he will not wear underwear/pants. He just wants to be naked.This is an issue, because we have places to go. If he cannot be potty trained in pants/underwear, what on earth do I do? This country is not one where toddlers can roam naked and pee and poop in the bushes. (although, how awesome would that be?!)
So I bought pull-ups for the times that we will not be at home. I didn't want to use pull-ups if we didn't have to, but I can't be taking 3-4 changes of clothes everywhere we go, just in case he has to pee and refuses to tell me because he's mad that he's wearing pants.
So, pull-ups it is in public. He's already better at going potty than Max was at his age, so I'm hoping that in a few months (I'm not rushing things, obviously) he will be completely trained--poop, pee, underwear or not, and naptime/nighttime.
I really think that doing naked potty training is the way to go. Wish I had had the patience with Max to do it. His potty training took forever!
Monday, July 2, 2012
Bread I baked today
Yes, I did bake bread today in the midst of potty training. I must be insane. But it worked out quite nicely. I just let the boys color in the kitchen while I was kneading.
Here's the recipe I used. I think I've posted this (or something similar) before. But this turned out the best it ever has, I'm not sure why! This is the easiest bread you can make without a machine or a mix.
Ingredients
~1.5T yeast (or 2 packets if you are using them)
~1/2 cup warm water
~2 cups warm water
~1/2 cup dry milk powder
~1/2 cup oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
~2T agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice--honey is awesome as well)
~1T salt
~approx 8 cups flour (I just used all purpose since I had enough of that on hand)
~butter for greasing pans and basting
Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Let sit for just a minute or so to proof a little. Add remaining water, dry milk, oil, sweetener, salt, and 5 cups of flour (one at a time, beating until smooth between each cup). You should have a sticky dough at this point. Start adding flour 1/2 cup at a time until you get a nice smooth dough.
Generally be the time you get to cup 7-8, you will be kneading because you can no longer stir it. I make sure my hands are floured and I just knead in the bowl, I do not turn it out onto the bread board. (You can also flour your counter and knead there, no problem) Once I am kneading, I add flour a handful at a time, no longer using the cup.
2. Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a nice dough that bounces back when you poke it. If it doesn't spring back (or takes a long time), knead longer. In fact, when you think you are done, knead for another couple minutes. I never knead long enough, but this time I just kept going. Worked!
3. Place dough in an oiled bowl (just a splash of oil spread with a paper towel works great), cover with a damp towel, and place in a warm area. I just left mine on the counter, as it is pretty warm in our house. Let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Punch the dough down, knead a couple times (for about 30 seconds), then let rise again for about an hour, or doubled again.
5. Punch down again, separate into 2 loaves, and put into buttered (or oiled) 9x5 pans. Cover again and let rise again until doubled (30-60 minutes).
6. Heat oven to 375F. Butter the tops of the loaves just a little (I use the butter left over on the paper towel that I used to butter the pans.), then bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and sound hollow when thumped. You can also check by inserting a knife (just like you would a cake). If it meets resistance that is NOT the pan, the loaves may need another couple of minutes.
7. Immediately turn out of pans and onto wire racks to cool. Let them cool for a couple of minutes before slicing if you cannot wait. If you cut into them too soon, the bread is more likely to tear and not have a nice slice.
Potty Training Day 1
Simon (almost 27 months if you are wondering) (and no, I don't generally speak of him in months. I actually had to check to see how many months he is. He's 2, okay?) has been fighting getting a diaper put on the past few days. Not that fighting diaper change is anything new, but he's now actively fighting the diaper going back on, not the act of the change itself. Unfortunately, we were in Indy over the weekend, so we couldn't really do anything about that.
So last night after we got home, we stuck him in a pair of underwear. He kept them dry and used the toilet several times in the hour or so before bed. So this morning, I asked him if he wanted a diaper or underwear. He said underwear (well, he actually said "wear", so I guess that counts, eh?), so diapers have been shunned.
After changing 2 pairs of wet underwear (he peed in them, then told me, then raced to the bathroom to finish on his potty), I decided to let him be naked. Easier right? Less clean up for me!
So far, I've cleaned up 3 pee accidents. Not bad, considering he's peed on the toilet about 100 times, and pooped on it once (that was an accident actually. He finished peeing then stood up and pooped in it.).
I am exhausted though. It's amazing how tiring it is to keep an eye on your 2 year old constantly. Don't get me wrong, as a SAHM I do pay attention to him, but he also does a lot of self play, or playing with Max. Now I can't even leave the room without worrying he's going to pee on the couch. Which, of course, I would discover after sitting in it.
Also, I am leery of putting him in bed without a diaper, so for his nap (which he is taking right now) I did put him in one. Now I'm feeling like it's undoing all the work we already did today! On top of that, we have several places we need to go this week, but now we can't since he's decided that it's time to get rid of diapers.
I am hoping that this is it. That a week of hardcore training will at least get the hard part out of the way so that we can be away from home for a couple of hours without having to worry about wet pants. I'll be using pull-ups for longer times in the car (like driving to my parents' which is over an hour away).
Also, I'm not using rewards. I don't think I ever did with Max. But we are doing lots of praise and cheering when he does use the potty! Even just a drop. And even when he runs in there and nothing comes out? He still gets a "Good try, buddy!" That's good, right?
Ugh. I was dreading potty training, and now that it's here, I just want it to be done!
So last night after we got home, we stuck him in a pair of underwear. He kept them dry and used the toilet several times in the hour or so before bed. So this morning, I asked him if he wanted a diaper or underwear. He said underwear (well, he actually said "wear", so I guess that counts, eh?), so diapers have been shunned.
After changing 2 pairs of wet underwear (he peed in them, then told me, then raced to the bathroom to finish on his potty), I decided to let him be naked. Easier right? Less clean up for me!
So far, I've cleaned up 3 pee accidents. Not bad, considering he's peed on the toilet about 100 times, and pooped on it once (that was an accident actually. He finished peeing then stood up and pooped in it.).
I am exhausted though. It's amazing how tiring it is to keep an eye on your 2 year old constantly. Don't get me wrong, as a SAHM I do pay attention to him, but he also does a lot of self play, or playing with Max. Now I can't even leave the room without worrying he's going to pee on the couch. Which, of course, I would discover after sitting in it.
Also, I am leery of putting him in bed without a diaper, so for his nap (which he is taking right now) I did put him in one. Now I'm feeling like it's undoing all the work we already did today! On top of that, we have several places we need to go this week, but now we can't since he's decided that it's time to get rid of diapers.
I am hoping that this is it. That a week of hardcore training will at least get the hard part out of the way so that we can be away from home for a couple of hours without having to worry about wet pants. I'll be using pull-ups for longer times in the car (like driving to my parents' which is over an hour away).
Also, I'm not using rewards. I don't think I ever did with Max. But we are doing lots of praise and cheering when he does use the potty! Even just a drop. And even when he runs in there and nothing comes out? He still gets a "Good try, buddy!" That's good, right?
Ugh. I was dreading potty training, and now that it's here, I just want it to be done!
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