Sona Creidhe Homeschooling

Anyone who watches CSI: Las Vegas will know what the title is all about. Either that or just read this whole post. LOL.

I have sorely neglected this blog and I hate that because I have so many things to share and say. Time is not a friend of mine though and so I end up not getting to do half the things I want to.

Learning is going well. Big B and Sis both have finally realized that they need to put forth effort in order to learn. Instead of just blaming me and saying they're not learning because I'm not teaching, they now realize that I've put out many things for them to grab on to and learn from. They just didn't want to put any effort into trying to learn. Hopefully now things will go smoother though and we'll all feel a sense of accomplishment.

To work towards that end, the kids and I sat down the other day and decided to do a Unit Study together. It was hard to get to one they both wanted but finally we weeded through American Hockey, Italian Cooking, Football, and Thomas Edison to get to Crime Scene Investigation. Big B and Sis both enjoy watching the show CSI so I figured I would incorporate something they already enjoy into our learning and see where it takes us.

HOW do we do a unit study on crime scene investigation? Well here is what I have so far;

- I checked out as many books as I could find from the library on reading levels that suit all three children so they will be reading about how investigating is done and what investigators look for.

- I have bookmarked various websites on the internet that deal with crime investigation, evidence, and Science experiments that we can do.

- I have also purchased a Fingerprint Kit that we will use to dust for prints not only around the house but we're also dragging the girl across the street into our search. She's a good sport and thinks the whole thing sounds fun so I might even make her one of our victims. LOL.

- We will also be studying hair samples, do mouth swabs, collect evidence from a "crime scene".

- I plan on contacting the local CSI Unit to see if they would give us a tour/talk telling us about the new crime van they just bought and how they do their jobs.

- The kids talked me into letting them do chalk outlines of each other but I drew the line at chalking me. The last thing I want is to see how wide my hips are on the driveway!

- We will watch CSI (the Las Vegas one) and discuss the show as we watch it. So far we are getting pretty good at solving the cases before they do on the show. The kids are learning to look for clues and are even telling me what tests they will need to run on their evidence.

- We'll always remember to have fun and enjoy ourselves!

I have a feeling that this unit study is going to take a good month at least and I plan on covering all subjects while we do it (obviously...unit study...duh). My hope is that this will just be the first of many unit studies that we all do together. Big B even mentioned doing the Immune System next. Of course, he wants to learn about it so he can laugh at me and my suppressed immune system. Rotten child!

I will try to catch up on here and post more about our homeschooling fun. Also, I changed the name and url of my review blog. It is now LWH Reviews as an extension of my Life With Heathens blog.

My friend Summer over at Mom Is Teaching did a post on 8 Reasons To Love Homeschooling which I thought was pretty great. So I'm doing it here as well and encourage others to do the same. I'm not tagging anyone so don't worry. Just enjoy doing it if you wanna.

8 Reasons I Love Homeschooling

1) When my kids were in public school we didn't get along very well. They were both extremely mouthy and disrespectful. Since we started homeschooling they have become so much more mature and appreciative of things in their lives. It's been amazing watching them actually grow each day. So many things I missed when they were little but now I get to enjoy these teen years.

2) I know my kids aren't being taught the crappy History and Geography lessons that I was in school. So little of actual importance historically is taught in school and by the time most of us graduate we couldn't recite the first line of the Constitution much less the first paragraph! With homeschooling I am able to share my love of history and geography with my kids and know that as adults they'll know where Madagascar is or what "The Plague" was.

3) I get to spend time with my kids. With my health being as yucky as it is most days I enjoy getting to be around the kids and make memories now. No mommy has to go to work or mom can't help right now. Laughing, talking, learning, reading, and enjoying each other's company now fill our days.

4) I really KNOW my kids now. I know what they like and dislike. I know who they have a crush on or who their best friend is. I am ashamed to say I didn't have time for those things as a single working mom so I am very thankful for this second chance.

5) Since my kids spend more time with me they are able to understand our disorder and the affects of it better. They see how it has affected me and the tests I take and know that if it's ever their turn for all this it will all be okay.

6) Not having to do the mad back to school shopping crap! I both loved and hated when it was back to school time. In a way it was fun to take the kids shopping for new stuff but it was never fun dealing with hordes of people or school supply lists. Now I just hit sales when I want to and enjoy the savings all year long.

7) FIELD TRIPS!! I never got to go on field trips with the kids when they were younger and now we can go on one whenever we want to. I love that! During our homeschooling time we've been to an ice cave and dormant volcano, a wolf sanctuary, a wildlife refuge, a pumpkin patch, several museums, the zoo, the botanical gardens, to the movies, hiking, and on and on. We've taken more trips in 2 1/2 years than they ever did in public school.

Getting to watch the youngest one start his homeschooling adventure right from the start. The difference in the way he learns and the way the other two were programmed to learn is amazing. No stress, no tears, and he doesn't have to sit still in a desk all day at the age of 4. I just wish I would have known about this when the other two were little so I could have guided them as well.

Those are MY eight things I love about homeschooling. Honestly? I think I probably could have kept listing things so it's probably a good thing this stops you at just eight. LOL.