Countdown to the Road Trip

Only 3 more days until we pack the car and we're off, over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go! DH can't take off from work, but since I'm off while the pool is drained and resurfaced, I'm taking the boys to the north woods. I'm looking forward to getting away from our summer doorbell, but I'll miss DH tons! I wonder if the boys will go through friend withdrawal or be too distracted to notice.

I hope they enjoy exploring the woods around Grandpa's house and fishing on his boat. I hope the drive goes well. It will be a long ride for us. I'm packing the books on CD and portable DVD player.

I need this trip to reconnect with my boys. They've spent so much time playing with PS friends. When we get back, they'll have one last weekend and then school starts. That means our Heavensville Homeschool can get back to longer days rather than shorter ones. I've always viewed our homeschool being 24/7, 365 days a year. Learning doesn't just happen between the hours of 8-3:30, Monday through Friday. But our style of learning at home changes when friends are over. There's a group dynamic. When its just us, the peer pressure influence is gone and the boys have more freedom in their choices. I'm looking forward to getting back to that.

Give a Little Bit

I've recently been feeling down because of the lack of humanity on this planet. I'm going to pull myself out of it by singing this song today. I'm going to sing it all day long. Join me!

"Give A Little Bit" by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
See the man with the lonely eyes
Take his hand, you'll be suprised

So I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your time to me
Now's the time that we need to share
So send a smile, we're on our way back home
ooh yea yea
We gotta feel it
Yea yea yea yea...
Ooo
Don't you need to feel at home
Ooo you gotta feel it
Yea you gotta want to
OO you gotta sing, we've come along way tonight

So give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
Now's the time we need to share
So send a smile, we're on our way back home
Yea come along too
Yea we gotta feel it
Cause I need to feel at home
Come along too
Such a long ride
oo come a long way
Such a long ride
Come a long way
Sing it tonight

Sleep, beautiful sleep...

This past weekend, we took a road trip to Grandma's and Uncle Chip's. Sleeping away from home is always a challenge for us because we are such creatures of habit. We need a fan and our own pillows and blankets, our soft mattresses, etc. We had a wonderful time visiting everyone, but we were sleep deprived.

Upon returning home, DS10 and I had to head right back out to spend the night at the hospital. DS10 needed to have a sleep study done. This was an experience I do not wish to repeat. It seemed like they had 100 wires hooked into my son. The ones on his head were glued on and in the morning had to be disolved off. In his sleep he kept pulling off the oxygen tube until they taped it to his face. I was balled up on a cot next to his bed and every time a wire came off I was awakened by them coming in to hook it back up. Niether one of us could have gotten much sleep.

Monday night I was so grateful to be back in my nest! I slept long and deep and realized what a gift a comfortable bed is.

Hi Maija!

I've just been reminded by my favorite SIL that I've neglected this blog once again. Summertime does pull me away from the computer. This isn't a bad thing however really. Here's what we've been up to since recovering from Strep throat:

Garage Sale!! We hid away from the heat in our basement going through container after container of toys. This sure did cure my "afluenza." The boys made close to $100.00 and I freed up several containers for storage. My long term goal is to bring organization to our basement.

We've also been working on a project for H.E.A.R.T.S- Homeschoolers Educating And Reaching out Through Service. We've been turning in cans for money to buy school supplies for needy families. We don't use many school supplies ourselves as unschoolers. We seem to be able to reuse what we have.

We installed a basketball hoop and we're all enjoying it. I had to convince DH to allow us to spoil him with this gift for Father's Day. He didn't want us to spend that much on him, but when I pointed out its use for "homeschool P.E", he reconsidered. It was more of a project putting together and cementing it in than I thought it was going to be, but being unschoolers we figured it out. Of course having a DH with an engineering background helped! Now the family hangs out on the driveway when dad gets home from work. I have yet to win at Horse.

Our DK (dear kitten) is quickly becoming a DC (dear cat). She is turning out to be a brute. Her favorite kitty fight club move lately is a head lock on poor old Kita. I'm feeling guilty now for exposing my senior citizen cat to a young wild thing. Kita has lost weight though which she needed to do.

As far as my soap box, I'm upset the circus is coming to town. I don't believe animals should be chained up and whipped for our entertainment. This circus even has an elephant which breaks my heart.

I'm also upset about spanking. Its the anniversary of my life changing moment at the WI State Fair. Years ago I witnessed a man beat his son at the fair and it awoke in me a desire to stop child abuse. Last week I witnessed a mother spank her naked daughter's butt because she wouldn't put on her swimsuit. It broke my heart. I'm ready for an anti-spanking law.

Many people say child abuse education is the key, not laws. I've been asked, "As a homeschooler, how can you say you want the government making parenting decisions for you?" The way I see it, education and child abuse are two separate things. Law currently prohibits us from spanking the obnoxious person in front of us. You'd be arrested and made to register as a sex offender if you spanked anyone under the age of 18, unless of course, they are on your tax return.

Parents have the right to establish their own discipline, but slapping your kid across the face or the butt is not discipline. I'm so sick of Right Wingers trying to use the Bible to justify it. They need to learn Hebrew and learn the true definition of "the rod."

As a Christian myself, I prayed about how to help my DS behave. He was strong willed and time outs didn't seem to phase him. After prayer, God didn't lead me to spank him. God told me to give my son a mission, a job, a responsibility. Redirection really does work. DS went from troublemaker toddler to responsible helper. He thrived on the direction and it gave him self esteem.

Well, I suppose this is plenty of blogging for now. I'll get down from the soap box and actually pick up a literal box of soap to wash clothes. Peace and blessings!

Happy 4th of July!

I am spending the holiday in pain. I don't understand why, but I'm always getting sick on the weekends. I now have strep throat. It erupted over the weekend and I had to wait until Monday to see the doctor. He took one look and wrote the prescription, doing the culture was "a technically", he said. Before I was home from the office, they had called and said it tested positive. Now I'm waiting for the rest of my family to fall ill.

Sometimes I think God allows me to get sick so I appreciate my health more. Its so easy to fall into a rut. When you are brought down by disease, you really appreciate how being healthy allows you to get the most out of life. When I was unable to sleep and my tonsils were so swollen even breathing was a chore, I remember telling God, "Please heal me and I'll never complain about cleaning my home again. I'll do it with joy because I will have the health to accomplish it." Believe me I'm very thankful for the blessing of Azithromycin!

We're back!

I lost all my bookmarks, including the bookmark I had for this blog! I know I should have saved them in another spot. I know I should have written them down. Now I have the joy of searching for all my favorite sites all over again. On a positive note, I guess it took care of all the old bookmarks I really wasn't visiting anymore. I've obviously found my blog again, so its not the end of my cyber world.

We have a new addition to the family! We brought home a 7 week old kitty a few days ago. We think we'll name her Yoko, after the Rosemary Wells character. She is gray and her personally is so sweet! She had me wrapped around her little paws very quickly. She really enjoys the boys and prefers to hang out around them. So far our other cat, Kita, is tolerating her but they are not snuggle buddies yet. I wasn't sure we'd get another cat after losing Jones, but I've had dreams where we welcomed home a new kitten. Then a few weeks ago, DS10 said to me, "Mom, I think it would help my anxieties if I had a kitten who would snuggle with me." Kita never has been very affectionate with anyone else but me. Yoko seems to love to snuggle already. Any second thoughts I had quickly melted away the first time she fell asleep on my chest.

Summer sick day

It didn't take very long. School's been out for 5 days. We had our first school friend visits at the end of last week, and now we have sore throats and runny noses. We dodge many of these viruses by being homeschoolers, but now that we are mingling again its caught up to us. Of course we could have picked up this virus anywhere. We really aren't hermits, but it just always seems to cooincide with visits from the neighborhood gang. I know I was just worrying about losing my children to their friends over the summer. Be careful for what you wish for! At least we'll get to our summer reading now.

We signed up to particiate in the library's reading reward program. I know of the dangers of using rewards for motivation, but when it comes to reading, the boys are still reading for pleasure. When it comes to chores and their desire for more spending money, its too late to expect self motivation. Most of us work at jobs which are only a paycheck for us. In my perfect world, my children will be able to support themselves doing something they love. If this doesn't happen however, I still want them to appreciate good work ethic.

Summer's In Full Swing

Nothing like a night of baseball to give you that summertime feeling. We recently had a wonderful evening of cheering on the Mallards! The boys received promotional duck billed caps and ate ball park food. I really prefer these minor league games to the big ones. For one thing, its way less expensive! But the best part is the extra fun in between innings.

The other sign its summer around here is the extra company on our doorstep. I really don't mind that our house is the hangout for the neighborhood gang, but I do end up missing having the boys to myself. I'm fully stocked on lemondade and popcorn and for the next few weeks, I'll take the backseat and let boys be boys. Summer tends to blow through rather quickly.

We have Weevils!!

Today in our botany study, we read about oak trees making acorns. We learned that inside many of these acorns are Acorn Weevil larva. We have a collection of acorns from our many nature hikes, so DS7 decided to look for weevils. It didn't take long to find one! So now the acorn collection must be kept in the garage instead of the bedroom!! I knew acorns were abundant, but I didn't know that oak trees only produce a masting once every five years. I also did not know that an oak tree must be 20 years old before it produces acorns. Learning with your children is so rewarding!

To catch up you

Times flies when your having fun! We've had a busy past couple of days.

The boys have been taking full advantage of their surroundings. From building projects using left over wood from the construction site next to our home, to becoming foster parents to an abandoned Mourning Dove egg. We've been too busy to notice we've ended one "school" year and started a new one.

In our state, we are responsible for "875 hours of instruction" and an attendance record. To satify this requirement, I keep a calendar from June to May, marking the boys "P" for each day they are "present" in our "home based private educational program." I've unceremonally filed away last year's calendar and started marking our new one. To my children, nothing's changed. Each day brings life's lessons.

As the "adminstrator" of our "home based private educational program", I can't help but reflect on the past year and wonder where next year will take us. I used to go about this very formally, drafting up progress reports and lesson plans. But so much of their education was taking place outside of my expectations. You just simply can't plan life. Nothing goes exactly as planned and its not suppose to, that is the point. We play out each day with the hand we've been dealt.

Each day in our homeschool feels like a fresh start to me. I don't bother worrying about what we haven't accomplished, because we have so much to look forward to. Some homeschoolers experience burnout, but I can't see this happening for us. We follow our own natural rhythym. My children learn at the pace God has planned for them. Trusting in that has freed me of any fears.

Mean People Suck

I'm sure you've seen this bumper sticker. Now I know why its out there. I don't know why, but I've been running into more than my share of mean people lately. I'm losing faith in humanity big time.

Yesterday DS10 had his MRI, and I was butting heads with the "anti-Dawn". The first nurse we were greeted by, who happened to share my name, was giving me attitude about our decision to not sedate our son for the MRI. I knew DS10 was mature enough to understand the importance of the medical scan and he follows directions. After the hour long scan, the MRI tech, (who was warm and friendly), said DS10 did better than most adults at staying still! Of course the anti-Dawn had to get her two cents in and make a comment, but I felt justified. I know my children better than any professional.

Later that day we were suppose to see the neurologist, but the clinic had changed our appointment on us and failed to notify us. DH had taken the day off from work, so needless to say, this was annoying. They could have said, "We're sorry. We made a mistake," but this never came out of anyone's lips. Instead we got to hear, "We always notify people if we change appointments." We however did not receive any notice so obviously, someone dropped the ball. I needed to hear a simple, "we're sorry," but heaven forbid anyone admits fault.

My other mean people experience this week was at my part time job. We had a tornado warning and had to evacuate the pool. I was surprised to find out parents were angry about the interruption during the swim lesson. You would think their child's safety would have been their first concern. This truly shocked me, and I couldn't understand why people were blaming me for the weather!

People have lost their compassion. Or maybe they never had it to start with. I'm always amazed at how clerks rarely look you in the eye. Occasionaly I've run into people who haven't lost the art of pleasantry, and it causes me to step back for a second because the action is so unfamilar!

I know I need to look harder for the good in people. I'm just bummed out that I have to look for it. It should be something that shines from all of us.

Out of the box

We spent last weekend at an antique flea market. When DH and I led our BC life (before children), we loved to go antiquing even though we couldn't afford anything. Now that the kids are older, we thought it would safe to visit the flea market once again. We still can't afford anything, but at least we didn't have to worry about a baby stroller knocking over something we couldn't pay for!

As I was walking around, I realized none of this stuff could be bought at Target. We were out of the Big Box store mode. My children could see things from years past. It became a historical field trip! They each found a personal treasure for only $1.00, and I have to consider the added value of the environment.

Their grandmother bought an antique goose crate she'll use as an end table. You're definitely not going to find that at Target! It's really cool and an awesome example of living and thinking out of the box.

Over the Hedge

We saw Over the Hedge last night for "Family Fun Night" Friday. It was a really cute movie with an underlying editoral on how we humans worship food. Of course it didn't stop us from gorging on movie popcorn. I must stop my food worship!

DH has been losing so much weight, he's leaving me in the dust. He's on the treadmill at least an hour each day. DS7 has been out enjoying the sunshine riding his bike. DS10 and I have to get off our butts. Yesterday I told DS10 to go outside and he asked me if I had been on the treadmill yet. He was so right on target to throw that in my face. Of course at the time, I was left speechless with guilt.

This was just another reminder of how I must continue to unschool myself. I can't ask my children to learn and grow if I'm not willing to. For some reason, Thursday night I had a rare panic moment about whether I was doing the right thing homeschooling my children. This happens mostly when I'm lacking confidence. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to help my children become self sufficent, self motivated, independent adults. I know my children are 10 and 7, but for some reason, it feels like they will be 20 tomorrow.

I suppose this is because lately DS10 is talking about getting his own apartment. He used to tell me he'd live with us forever. Now he wants his own apartment. He's trying to figure out how he's going to pay for his necessities. He was pretty pysched to learn for the price of a french fry at McDonalds, he could buy a huge bag of potatoes. "All I need is a microwave mom, and I can live on baked potatoes!" I guess I shoudn't worry about my children's resourcefullness so much.

Another use for Legos

Legos have got to be the best toy out there. Their uses are endless. Today DS10 created an elaborate jungle gym for our pet mice. He had wanted to purchase hamster tubes at the store, but I've been putting him off. Tired of waiting, he constructed something way better than any hamster tube. He used toilet paper rolls and Legos and now these mice have quite the fort.

Each year we try to bring some type of living creature into our homeschool. A few years ago it was Painted Ladies and last year we tried growing a tadpole into a frog. This year we chose 3 mice, Cheddar, Chocolate and Chahiro. The bedding is recycled paper product so my allergies aren't affected. The mice are vegetarian eating grains, nuts and fresh fruit and veggies. I thought I would be a bit creeped out, but they actually are quite cute. You get used to grabbing their tails when you have to clean out the tank.

Today DS10 asked, "These mice are spoiled aren't they?" Yes, of course they are spoiled. These mice were once living at the pet store waiting to be bought for the purpose of filling a snake's stomach. As fate would have it, they found their way into our Heavensville Homeschool and the heart of a 10 year old willing to make their housing dreams come true.

Why "Heavensville"

When we first moved to Evansville, our little cousin called it "Heavensville." The Grove has really proven to be our little slice of heaven. Homeschooling has kept our family together to grow and learn in an environment of unconditional love. I can't imagine heaven being much better than being surrounded by the people you love the most.

Every family homeschools differently. You try it all and use what works best given your needs. Some may say our family uses a "relaxed" or "unschooling" approach, but those labels don't really fit. When I hear "relax" I think couch potato. Although we do a fair share of learning on the couch, we seem to be constantly moving about. This blog will serve as a record of our adventures in life learning.

Unschoolers sometimes call themselves life learners, learning from daily life experiences. This blog for me is true unschooling. I'm learning as I go, hands on the keyboard!