Sona Creidhe Homeschooling

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.

Scary I know. I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I've been very busy with my Sona Creidhe Reviews blog which I hope you will check at least weekly for educational links to websites and reviews of educational products. I'm having alot of fun with it. I have 87 companies I'm doing reviews for and ALOT of great stuff to share with you. Every review is my honest opinion and if I think something is junk I will tell you so. I'm not going to lie to you and say something is great if it quite frankly sucks.

Our new year of homeschooling is going slowing. I've been so busy (and sick I'm afraid) that we've been piecing it together as we go. I'm happy to say though that Big B and Sis are actually doing work on their own now. Big B took a bunch of textbooks I got for free to his room and started going through them. I loved it when he said "Those are boring and leave out so much!". hehe My evil plan is working!!!! Just kidding. Sis is reading everyday and even doing MATH on her own. It's scary I tell you!

Thanks to doing reviews I have everything I need to teach MonkeyBoy this year. I still don't believe in organized school for kids his age so he is just enjoying playing with stuff as it comes in and he is learning so much. We received a Leapster from one company along with some other things and he is just learning in leaps and bounds with them all. He even showed me the other night that he knows numbers by sight now. *tear* I was so excited and it hit me so hard. Here I have been worrying over how to teach him these things in a fun way and he already knows!

So my little family is doing well. I hope to get on the ball with HSing very soon and I'm actually trying to do this thing called "ORGANIZING" this year. It's an amazing concept. hehe

My daughter received her first set of practice poi from our friends Kristin and Karl for her birthday last week so she is more determined than ever to be a fire-spinner.

She has decided against being a bellydancing fire-spinner though since there is a higher chance of catching on fire that way. lol. Gauzy skirts and veils with spinning balls of fire on the end of chains just don't go well together. So now she will just spin fire and do tricks with the poi. When she bellydances though she will now use burning fans.

*falling over laughing hard*

I know some of you are saying "How in the world can she think something like that is funny"? Well to be honest the whole thing scared me to death at first because my daughter is usually very clumsy. When she saw Karl spinning a spark lit up in her eyes but I just figured she could spin unlit and that would be the end of it. The thing is though that my usually clumsy daughter is very good at spinning. She also literally comes alive when she's taking her lessons from Karl and is so happy and in her element that it would be more negligent of me to not allow her than it would to allow her. I think knowing Kristin and Karl (mother and son) and seeing how it works for them has put me more at ease.

Yes, there is some danger and risk in it but I have seen that if it's done currently with the proper fire safety it is really very safe. Besides, for now she is learning to spin without fire and won't be allowed to try it lit until she and I both are sure she is ready. That could be in six months or a year or by then she might decide she's not so interested after all. We will see and that is another reason why I am taking it one day at a time.

The bellydancing with lit fire fans as shown in the pic here? Heck, I might just try that one myself!

very painful but better. lol

Saturday I took both of the boys to a Radio Disney giveaway/program at the big mall. Big B fell in like with one of the dancers and now wants to be one. I can't help but laugh because if you knew my oldest you would know that he'd only be in it for the girls. lol. Lil Man got to meet two of the Ninja Turtles and won a prize basket from Kandoo! He was so excited and when he also won a Turtles DVD he was on Cloud Nine!

Sunday Sis and I went to Pagan Pride Day here in town. It was neat seeing all the different vendors and things to see. It was honestly more like a Medievel Faire than anything else so I'm sure that confused non-Pagans (we're non-Pagan but somewhat use to the religion). lol. Sis' friend, Karl, did his fire spinning (that's not him but just to show you what it looks like during the day which is when Karl mostly does it) about five times during the day and Sis spun with him inbetween with the practice poi (unlit of course). She's actually pretty good and if she gets better she might be able to do fire spinning herself...someday. When mom isn't so heart attack prone! lol.

So she spun the practice bags and I sat on the grass which was wonderful. Sis also got a henna tattoo on her wrist and we bought her a Buddha pendant for her birthday. The funnest part for me was when Sis and I took a free bellydancing class. Of course, it made her decide that she now wants to be a Fire Spinning Bellydancer. LMAO

Monday we went to our homeschool group where all the kids ran around, Sis practiced spinning some more, and I got to sit again. I LOVE when I get to sit around for a bit. The kids also showed off their bird knowledge by naming every bird and whether it was male or female that came into the park. I'm so proud of them for paying attention at WRI.

As for "school" work, we read, Lil Man and I colored shapes, Sis played her agriculture game, Big B figured out pricing for his YuGiOh collection he's selling, and we discussed our upcoming trip to the State Fair.

Tuesday we were able to do Quiet Time (which we were all looking forward to), I did some proofreading and retyping for something for the hubby, we got all our chores done, and had our first Tea Time of the new school year. That was the best part of the day and Lil Man's favorite thing to do. This time though we had hot cocoa instead of tea and I had planned on reading The Family Under The Bridge but the kids wanted me to read Chronicles of Narnia instead (even though the holdest has read it all before). So I read the first chapter of that and we all really enjoyed the time.

Wednesday we went to the School Days at the State Fair. School Days is where the parking and admission is free if you fill out a form and send it in. Luckily we did and had a great time! The Lil Man loved McDonald's Farm where you do "chores" throughout the little farm area (pick up an apple, ride a little tractor, milk a fake cow, etc) and then at the end you get a reward. He also loved the free petting zoo which was practically overrun by goats and sheep begging for your attention (and small cup of food of course). They also had a miniature horse, two camels, and two cows.

Sis got a free face painting as advertisement for this one stand and the Natural Resources building was pretty cool too. They had different fish in little ponds, baby rattlesnakes, a fossil dig where after you dug around you got a fossil to take home, and our friends Kristin and Karl were there with Hawks Aloft showing off all the beautiful birds with other staff. There was a peregrine falcon (Lil Man's Fave), hoot owl, great horned owl, mississippi kite, and many others. Very beautiful birds.

After that we looked at the sights, watched show with tigers from a preserve, they rode some rides, we all got a little bit of a sunburn, and came home extremely exhausted. It was a wonderful day and Lil Man thanked me with "Thank You Mommy so much! I wuved today and it was so fun and the State Fair is fun and the dragon ride was AWESOME! Thank you for taking us to the State Fair and for wuving us". Awwww I think I honestly got the best reward of all with that.

Today is Thursday and thanks to my fibro and CMP we aren't able to go to our homeschool group or really do much of anything. In fact, my fingers hurt so badly after typing this out that I am pretty much done for the day. It was so worth it though. I would hurt even more for the rest of my life just to have days like this more often. The kids learned so much this week and had fun. I got to see their smiles, hear their laughter, and just enjoy being a part of their childhoods.

I definately give this week an A+. If you read all of this then thank you very much.

I've seen all the homeschooling memes going around and wanted to join in but at least half of the questions usually don't apply to us and our kind of homeschooling. I would say we are definately eclectic because we use part unschooling theory and part homeschooling theory. We don't follow any one style and just pick and choose what works for us.

So I saw that A Room Of Our Own had done an Unschooling Meme (that PhatMommy came up with) and since this one I can relate to more, I'm doin' it!

1) ONE FIELD TRIP YOUR CHILD LEARNED A LOT FROM- The field trip we took to a wolf sanctuary in March. The kids learned alot about wolf rescue, their behavioral habits, the kind of abuse that people put them through, and why it's important to care about them. It was a wonderful experience.

2) THE GAME/TOY THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE- That's a hard one because several have been used extensively. Our electronics lab is used alot, Monopoly is their fave board game, and we all love Apples to Apples (thanks Meg).

3) ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD ITEM THAT’S GIVEN YOU THE MOST EDUCATION MILEAGE- That would be a tie between Animal Planet on the TV (who knew dust mites were so icky!) and the measuring cups which have been a huge help in teaching Sis about fractions while cooking. I try to keep away from the TV but I do have to admit that when we watch Animal Planet we learn alot of really neat stuff.

4) NAME THREE MAGAZINES/BOOKS ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE- Well we don't have a coffee table (takes up too much floor space) but magazines/books we have around all the time would be National Geographic, Lil Man's Dr Seuss books, and one of my Fibromyalgia books unfortunately.

5) ONE SKILL YOUR CHILD LEARNED FROM GROCERY SHOPPING- Just one? Comparing prices, division, multiplication, and figuring out which is the better deal by price per ounce. Also how to make lists (because we all know I'm big on list making) and categorizing. I couldn't do just one sorry.

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING, BUT THEN REALIZED YOUR CHILD COULD LEARN THAT INFORMATION JUST BY LIVING LIFE- A curriculum period. When I started I thought I had to buy a curriculum in order to do things "right" but thankfully we were too broke at the time to afford anything so that is when I started figuring what each child really needed and how to help them the best. I learned to trust them on some things, guide them on others, and use my money saving skills to get the resources we needed.

7) AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU’VE SAVED BY NOT PURCHASING CURRICULUM- I couldn't tell you to be honest because I don't really think about it. I can definately say for sure though that we've not only saved money but also saved ourselves alot of headache because I don't think this family would fit well with a curriculum.

Only seven questions? Bummer, I was just getting on a roll. lol