The Homeschool Mother's Journal (with an AWESOME coincidence!)

In my life this week: It was back to reality after a week of vacation. My piano students are in a competition on March 12, so I am teaching double this week to help them prepare. I did manage to continue reading for pleasure and actually knit a little bit last night.

In our homeschool this week: We stuck close to home and buckled down, so we accomplished quite a bit. Tonight we are having our African Feast (that goes along with the Story of the World chapter we are currently studying). Wednesday night we had Green Eggs and Ham with a great reading of the book by daddy! We fell in love with The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White - what a sweet, sweet book. A unit on seashells was started, and we learned about place value to the billions.

Places we're going and people we're seeing: Not much this week, just co-op as usual on Thursday. Considering the price of gas right now, it was wise to stay home most of the week!

My favorite thing this week: I found out yesterday that the house next door to us (a foreclosure which has been on the market since last summer) has sold --- to another homeschooling family! A sweet woman sought me out at co-op and told me she had bought a house on my street. Lo and behold, she will be my next door neighbor! She is in her second year of homeschooling (just like me) and we have much in common. We got to eat lunch together on Thursday and we chatted again today on the phone. God is good!

What's working/not working for us: I found this great idea, called "Just This 1 Thing" at the Practical Pages. It is a post worth reading and I think it will be effective in our house. The word for my daughter is immediately and for my son is cheerfully (read the post and you will know what I'm talking about!)

Homeschool Questions/Thoughts I Have: I'm wondering how to better structure our weeks so that I feel like we aren't missing anything. I think maybe we need a special day just for art, music, and extras? We do a little of everything now, but I want to go deeper. Does anyone have any tips on scheduling that has worked in your homeschool?

A photo to share: This is the new Nook for Kids app on our iPad. It's great! The new iPads came out this week and we have iPad envy, but there is still so much our first generation iPad can do. We use it so much in our homeschool, and I think this new app. will be used a lot, too.

*Hop over to Hip, Homeschool Moms to read other mom's journals this week!

It Takes a Wonderful Man To Support a Homeschooling Mom

My children and I couldn't lead this life of educational luxury if it weren't for the support of my husband. When we met sixteen years ago we were both fairly career driven and into ourselves. I was pursuing a Masters Degree in Education while teaching elementary school music, and my husband was beginning his career with the company he still works for today .... we talked about having children and thought maybe "one would be plenty". We couldn't see beyond the age of 30 and life seemed so very simple.

A month after I had Miss B the September 11th attacks occurred, and a month later I went back to work (for two whole days); then we had an epiphany of sorts (brought about by the fear that gripped America at that time and the fact that I was just so in love with my daughter and couldn't bear to leave her with anyone) and saw the value in me staying at home with her. I broke my teaching contract and became a stay at home mom, the BEST decision I have ever made. My husband has always worked above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I could stay at home with our children, and when we decided to begin homeschooling he was with me 110%. I am blessed to have him as my partner, and my children are some of the luckiest children in the world.

If you know us personally you would say I am the extrovert and my husband is the introvert. He is quiet and reserved. He is good with numbers and works in technology. He is level-headed, considerate and patient. I, on the other hand, am more gregarious, offer up opinions (when I sometimes should keep them to myself), and can be quiet impatient. I like to think my spur of the moment thinking helps balance us out. Our children are really a mix of both of us, and I love this.

Yesterday evening the children and I planned a little celebration for Dr. Suess' birthday. We made green eggs and ham muffin cups from a recipe I found at Super Healthy Kids. Miss B devoured the spinach egg creations, and GMan tried without complaining, which is pretty good for him!

We added some fresh fruit and Pop-Tarts! (I had to inspire my little guy to try the spinach somehow, didn't I?)

I texted my husband on his way home from work (he'd been up since 4:30 a.m. and it was now 6 p.m.) and told him the menu and that he would need to do a reading of Green Eggs and Ham while wearing a Dr. Seuss hat. He texted back "great!" and the evening was set. I'm sure one of the last things he felt like doing after a long day was a rendition of this book, but he did so cheerfully, and I think by the time he got going he was having a lot of fun.

The looks on the kids' faces were priceless, and the laughter was contagious!

After dinner, they continued reading Dr. Seuss books in the family room and it was so cute to hear both of my children trying to be as dramatic as their dad had been earlier. It was one of those warm and fuzzy homeschooling moments, which make me realize that this choice was SO WORTH IT.

So, all of you moms out there, be sure to thank your husband today and tell him how much he means to your family. Too often our husbands get the last of us - tired and frazzled at the end of the day - and we forget to tell them thank you for working hard all day. I am guilty of this, and I hope to be more appreciative in the future. I'm also guilty of thinking I know the right way of teaching the children and I am the expert. Last night I watched my husband and saw him as the expert, too -- he knows them just as well as I do and teaches them in his own unique way.

I never dreamed sixteen years ago I would be a homeschooling mom and my husband would be dressed like the Cat in the Hat reading to our children. It just goes to show that life can turn out better than you imagined it could.