Excelsior Academy
Friday, March 30, 2007
No School....Well kinda ;D
Today, we had school at a local convention center. Woohoo! We had praise & worship, awesome prayer and a dynamite, much need message on "The Blessing." I am so glad I choose to do this. Now to get back to those books. LOL
Hope you all had an awesome day too!
til next time ~ in the life & times of the Excelsior Warriors!!
Labels: home, life n times
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Nothing Much....
Yelp, nothing much has been happening around this place. We've managed to get the basics done ~ Bible, Reading, Penmanship and little Math ~ but for the most part our days were spent out in the sun. I think we had spring fever but not sure and the neighborhood children were on spring break. It has been fairly peaceful and the kiddos are actually getting up in the morning to do school. Yeah! We still don't have a consistent time table but we follow my loose schedule to get things done. They've started a little knitting group, going to the park, walking and riding their bikes so I don't have any compliments because they usually laid around all day doing nothing. I've had my prayers answered ~ I wanted them to have more acquainces their age and they have started meeting more teens. This is neat because they feel a sense of belonging that is definitely needed.
Overall, we are doing well. Progress is definitely being made. I just need to update my blog more regularly. Not sure why I'm not motivated but I'll get it together soon. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the spring weather.
Overall, we are doing well. Progress is definitely being made. I just need to update my blog more regularly. Not sure why I'm not motivated but I'll get it together soon. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the spring weather.
til next time ~ in the life & times of the Excelsior Warriors!!
Labels: blogging, homeschooling, prayer, weather
Friday, March 16, 2007
Reflections....
I've not been blogging much for our hs but thats okay. I've got most of it written in my journal and when I make time, I'll do a proper update. I have been thinking about what I want us to do next and what direction to proceed in. We've experienced several setbacks, nothing major, just little things that have sidetracked me a bit. More than anything, I have figured out that I am very tired and it was due to never resting while working. I don't know what I thought would happen once I stopped working but I was tired when I worked and I'm still tired because I don't rest. I was listening to a ministry cd tonight and the speaker talked about just that, resting. He discussed how God had dealt with him on resting and he didn't get it. I am like that too. Just too stubborn, pig headed or something until it hits me upside the head.
Well, life hit me upside the head last week. I have been dragging myself around, not able to get up before 9a and the worse, didn't bother to do lessons. I'd just sit, knit or do absolutely nothing. Then the car broke down and started to put some things into perspective. We've been w/o a car for 2wks now and my home has been more peaceful until this afternoon when I began to worry about how I was going to get to work. Well, enough of that, I realize that I need to rest more than I need extra spending $. I need to be more discipline with the finances I have and simply rest. My dc need me to be the best teacher I can be and that begins with me taking care of me.
Now don't misunderstand, we have been working but no formal lessons have been done. No big either, we have done Bible, we read together or alone, and we do lots of math even if its just working in the kitchen. I've managed to make lots of things by hand, you can read more here. My dc are starting to do more with their hands and we've taken 3 walks this week. Yeah! Its been a very long time since we actually did any physical activity. It has been good for us and we have been reflecting on why we are here, what we have learned and where we will go next not forgetting what we've been through. Oh, we really would like to have transportation but it has given us time to consider our ways and what is best for our family. Plus the dc have been able to spend time w/their dad too.
So as far as academics go, I think I am now finally doing what I had been praying and planning about in this post. I am finally teaching, and living, so that my dc know life isn't all about academics. It is about living a life that is full, content and in service to the Most High. This is a full life and I'm going to enjoy every single minute of it.
Have a great weekend!
til next time ~ in the life & times of the Excelsior Warriors!!
Well, life hit me upside the head last week. I have been dragging myself around, not able to get up before 9a and the worse, didn't bother to do lessons. I'd just sit, knit or do absolutely nothing. Then the car broke down and started to put some things into perspective. We've been w/o a car for 2wks now and my home has been more peaceful until this afternoon when I began to worry about how I was going to get to work. Well, enough of that, I realize that I need to rest more than I need extra spending $. I need to be more discipline with the finances I have and simply rest. My dc need me to be the best teacher I can be and that begins with me taking care of me.
Now don't misunderstand, we have been working but no formal lessons have been done. No big either, we have done Bible, we read together or alone, and we do lots of math even if its just working in the kitchen. I've managed to make lots of things by hand, you can read more here. My dc are starting to do more with their hands and we've taken 3 walks this week. Yeah! Its been a very long time since we actually did any physical activity. It has been good for us and we have been reflecting on why we are here, what we have learned and where we will go next not forgetting what we've been through. Oh, we really would like to have transportation but it has given us time to consider our ways and what is best for our family. Plus the dc have been able to spend time w/their dad too.
So as far as academics go, I think I am now finally doing what I had been praying and planning about in this post. I am finally teaching, and living, so that my dc know life isn't all about academics. It is about living a life that is full, content and in service to the Most High. This is a full life and I'm going to enjoy every single minute of it.
Have a great weekend!
til next time ~ in the life & times of the Excelsior Warriors!!
Labels: general, homeschooling, life n times, plans
Friday, March 2, 2007
~January Update~
Whew it has been a very long time since I last posted about our progress. It has really been slow and steady. Part of the re-adjustment to me being at home. I’ve taken up a new hobby ~ knitting and I’ve been spending more time reading, listening and being. This has allowed me to be active in other areas than hsg. But I’m returning because I really enjoy recording our progress and sharing w/others on their journey. It keeps us all connected.
So w/o further ado, here is a summary of what’s happening with the Warriors:
Jan. 10th ~ marks the first day of our new term. We began slowly with me focusing on what is most important and what schedule will work best. I used our time to have discussions with Da Boy and Riley about what they’d like to accomplish this year and what they thought needed to be improved. After this discussion, I decided that things needed to be kept short and sweet ~ very simple for my sake. We would officially begin on the 31st, my last day at the library.
Jan. 10th ~ marks the first day of our new term. We began slowly with me focusing on what is most important and what schedule will work best. I used our time to have discussions with Da Boy and Riley about what they’d like to accomplish this year and what they thought needed to be improved. After this discussion, I decided that things needed to be kept short and sweet ~ very simple for my sake. We would officially begin on the 31st, my last day at the library.
Week of 1/15 ~ 1/19
I began planning our term, working to determine where was the best place for us to start. I decided on our art and picture study, it would be the same as AO. I selected the pictures to be used and then I selected our group reading material. I created a separate entry to keep up with these are listed in the sidebar.
I began planning our term, working to determine where was the best place for us to start. I decided on our art and picture study, it would be the same as AO. I selected the pictures to be used and then I selected our group reading material. I created a separate entry to keep up with these are listed in the sidebar.
Week of 1/22 ~ 1/26
My plan was to move them both up to Yr 7 in AO, however, I found out neither is ready for this jump. I worked out a school calendar to help me stay focused and to include breaks, exams and such info. However, it is a very flexible calendar so that when life happens we are able to roll with it. I created our daily schedule to be about a 3 1/2 - 4 hour day which will include 1/2 of drill/exercise. This week was a no lesson week due to ice storm and the necessity of prayer and planning. We spent time reading, enjoying the comfort of our cozy home and the snow. ;D
I have decided to move slowly back into the flow of learning. I will work on habits and take my time with what is to be covered and when. I will be transitioning into a full schedule by using CMs school schedule to help. We will begin with the Form 1 schedule to allow us time to develop and reinforce needed skills and habits. Our schedule will rotate on a 6 day cycle and will be done by order of day. So, if we miss a day, we begin on the next day )i.e Day 1 last worked day begin with Day 2 assignments).
Jan. 26th ~ was our first day of lessons. This was done to determine where really stood. I wanted to see how each would work on the new schedule, where they were in math and what I needed to address as I created my lesson plans. I have begun using lesson plans again and they have been a life savior.
Our schedule looked like this:
20m ~ OT Bible - Gen 5
20m ~ Penmanship - Frost poem (actually 10m)
10m ~ Recitation - Bible Ps 37:5
10m ~ French - Lesson 1 (actually covered Spanish-tape player wouldn't work)
20m ~ Math - Lesson 1 MEP Yr 5 (actually 25m)
15m ~ Break - outside
15m ~ Drill - outside
30m ~ Reading - audio Da Boy- Trumpet of the Swan, Riley - Treasure Island
10m ~ Natural History - organized books
Music appreciation ~ Schumann cd1 hour home blessing ~ living and dining rooms, bathroom and kitchen
*overall a very productive day. 30m was cut from schedule due to starting late and I wanted to be done by 12:30p.
Week of 1/29 - 2/2
Mon & Tues - reading and copywork. Da Boy began Black Beauty. I spent both days fine tuning lesson plans and working out math strategies, reading CM and printing materials.
Wed ~ snow day. No formal lessons today and my last day at work. Developed my lesson plan outline to be able to keep track of where we are and where I want to go over a 6 day period. Though there were no formal lessons, the following was done: Bible NT ~ John 2; Copywork ~ John 2:23-25; Math ~ p2 #1 & 4; and Reading.
Thurs ~ we began lessons again which was Day 2 on my lesson plan that included art study. Art study was amazing. I read over CMs notes as well as WCL2L’s section, and had tremendous results. They both really surprised me with the work. The oral narrations were very good as were their illustrations for Bible. We worked through Week #1 of math and I am finding that we need to add in more mental math and basic arithmetic for reinforcement. We began Ps 91 for recitation and I believe this will be ready in 4wks for a formal recite. I am spending time actually lesson planning like I did when I taught computers, this has been very helpful in keeping me on track, flexible and confident. Definitely a plus around here.
Fri ~ another eventful day and we managed to complete all but 1 lesson ~ crafts. We did drill, mental math and had a read aloud. I’m exhausted but I was before we started, its the second day home and I’m finding I was very tired. We did the first lesson in the “Italics” book.
At the end of this week I discovered that there was a lot that needed to be done in order for us to have a successful hs. The following is a brief list of things I am working on:
1. attitude ~ too much time spent alone has developed some tudes that aren’t appropriate
2. communication ~ nothing is said w/o it being ugly or degrading
3. responsibility ~ too much time alone has created an air that they are in charge and need to tell the other what to do
4. habits ~ they appear non-existent at this point but I am sure they just have become dormant
5. character ~ also appears non-existent though it too was new before them being left alone
6. organization ~ its a mess, enough said. need a plan
I am confident that things will improve. I will work slow and steady, individually and at their level of understanding. I will endeavor to develop confidence, trust and cooperation in them and allow them the time necessary to adjust to this again. It is an adjustment for me and them, however, I am hopeful and the Lord has not given me this assignment to fail nor left me w/o the proper resources to get it done. My main resource ~ prayer. We will work more on their level, not mine and there will be some weeks we do less and some we will do more. I am not discouraged and I am at peace with this plan.
Well that’s all for now. I’ll update soon on February and then start fresh with March. I am journaling all our progress, including the little details of what is working, why and what I do when it doesn’t. I may share some of my notes on this but for now I’ll “keep it simple ~ just the facts.”
til next time ~ in the life & times of the Excelsior Warriors!!
Labels: habits, homeschooling, life n times, plans, tos
