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We did start on time. *bowing* Thank you, thank you.
The bad news is, I didn't sleep at all the night before. And woke Wolf up at midnight, rummaging through our closet. Normally, the man sleeps like the dead. Or, if he seems to be awake, even talking, has no memory of it what-so-ever the next am.
Yeah. Not so much this time. Man, did I get in trouble. Whoopsie. Apparently *counting* on him to sleep through wasn't considerate of me. I didn't even get into the, "Well, normally you don't remember anything the next morning." train of thought...Just didn't seem very pc of me. Normally I don't care about pc unless its my desktop, but marriage does need a certain handling to keep it from imploding...or your spouse's head, which I think amounts to pretty much the same thing.
So, we did our first day, Wolf came home, kids showed him their accomplishments proudly, and I staggered off to bed.
The rest of the week went pretty well. Tazzie is using Singapore math, and that's going great, and we're doing Handwriting Without Tears with both the Littles, as well as assorted odds and sods.
I picked up Magnets and Mudpies (or is it Mudpies and Magnets? Whatever). I've heard great things, but thumbing through, it seems to need a lot of supplies I don't have readily at hand. *sigh* I'll dig deeper in it, bounce around and gradually get things as needed.
One thing I've discovered...When formally homeschooling, life is soooooooo much nicer around here! No squabbling, fighting, blah, blah, blah. They're all intent on their own things. Loving it!!!
So, school starts tomorrow.
Ummm, probably not.
For one thing, I'm missing an integral part of Diva's curric. Order sat at the company for over 10 days before they did anything with it. It was supposed to be shipped out on FRIDAY. Seriously.
I realize that this is a busy time of year, but wouldn't you think that a company would plan for that? Kinda like a retailer prepping for Christmas if they sell nativity sets? Hello? Why do so many things seem obvious to me, but not common sense to the world at large? Am I in the wrong, or is common sense just commonly lacking these days?
Anyways, I'm missing a big part of her program. Tazzie's joining formally this year, and I *think* I've got him covered, but as usual, have a nagging feeling I've forgotten something.
And since Tazzie's formally on the roster, it means Princess will be joining full force, but informally. Things are mapped out in my head, but not in any hands on meaningful way around the house.
Wolf's going to be raising an eyebrow when he gets in from golfing. Perhaps I'll just hand it all over to him and go to bed?
*shudders at the thought*
The interesting thing about homeschooling is the new discoveries you find on almost a daily basis.
For example, Diva is a writer. She astounds me with the maturity she writes with. She wants to do NaNoWriMo this year, so that's going to be a chunk of our LA for next month.
I also (because I am disorganized as all get out) discover books I've purchased on a whim, or more likely, because they were a set of books someone was selling, and since I wanted 3 out of the 4 in particular, I end up with books that get shoved aside because they weren't what I was looking for.
I ran across one of those books today. Its called, "The Childrens Book of Virtues" and although it was published in 1995, it has illustrations that are in the 1940s style. I was reading through it this am, and was thrilled with what I found. Aesops Fables, Robert Frost, stories taken from First Nations culture...divided up in the table of contents with sections such as "Courage/Perseverance" "Compassion/Faith" etc. Most definitely a Christian resource, but that works for our family.
Diva, as part of her writing exercises, has been copying Proverbs from the Bible. I think she's going to be copying out some of the short poems from this as well. Its also going to make a wonderful read aloud for the Littles.
On another note, I really need to get my space organized. I simply don't have the shelves I need. *sigh* I do have some, but its going to mean a total reorganization of the house...which means Wolf has to tote and carry, since I can't manage it one armed.
I wonder what other books I'm going to find? LOL
Called my school board about Tazzie. They have a reading program that he's eligible for. So, I signed him up, figuring, no biggie. Uh huh.
Til I ask, innocently, "So what do I do next year, sign up for this program again?" (Understand, Tazzie isn't 5 until February)
"Oh no. Next year you'd register him for grade one."
My heart and stomach plummeted. Tazzie? Grade one? Next YEAR?! I thought I had two more years before registering him for grade one! I thought he had to be six in September to be eligible. Nope. As long as he's born before the end of Feb, he's eligible. Holy old crackers! Mama wasn't ready for this. No Sir, No Ma'am!
The upside is, I can register him the first year in 'traditional', and then have him reregistered the next year *the year I thought he would be registered* in blended or aligned. (For those unfamiliar, aligned is following provincial standards. Blended is a 50% minimum provincial standards, the other percentage parent led. Traditional is all parent led)
I can't believe that I'm planning to flunk my son for first grade. Girlfriend K says not to look at it that way, its simply having 12 mths to complete 6 mths of work. *sigh*
On the upside, he is homeschooled, so nobody is going to be teasing him. I just honestly can't see Tazzie having the maturity for grade one. Truly. His birthday is smack in the middle of Feb. Two weeks, and he wouldn't be able to register for anything til next year.
And what whacked out school board has end of Feb for age cut off? Mine, apparently.
What also has my heart thumping and racing is that I could have been unregistered with him for a year, completely unaware that he should be. I can't imagine the fall out potential from THAT, legally speaking. "Hello, Mr. Truant Officer. You're here for WHAT?!"
And here's some irony. Princess, our youngest, whose birthday is in Sept, won't be allowed to register for anything for two more years, despite her and Tazzie being a mere 19 mths 7 days apart. She will have to be five before any registration of any kind is allowed.
Weirdos.
Yes, I'm totally committed (or is that should be totally committed?) to continuing our homeschooling efforts, including Tazzie and Princess.
I seriously believe I'm not only doing whats best for my kids, but also my bank account. There's no doubt in my mind that sending the Littles to public school would result in at least one lawsuit from a teacher for mental cruelty.
I bought the beginner level Bob books last night.
This am, he read THREE of them to me!
Woooo hooooo Tazzie!!!
The really funny thing is, Tazzie has been reading here and there for over a year. He won't, however, do it on command 
He does stuff like know the difference between Ceasar and ranch dressing because he can read the word 'cheese' on the ranch...but wouldn't do it if asked to.
I *think* I figured out why last night. I had said something about him being able to read his own books, and he was unhappy and said he didn't want to. The light finally dawned. He thought if he read, I wouldn't read him bedtime stories anymore, that he'd have to do it all on his own. I reassured him that Mommy would always read him bedtime stories, and when he was reading, we could take turns if he wanted, and move on to bigger and better stories like his big sister, and that he could read whenever he wanted to during the day.
And suddenly today, he's reading the Bob books. Awesome!For those that don't know what Bob books are, look here.
Now, it so happens, as a homeschooler, you tend to get asked, "Why do you homeschool?" Sometimes its asked of genuine curiousity, even from someone that's considering homeschooling themselves. Othertimes, its asked from someone whose really just looking to be obnoxious and start a debate or argument. Trust me when I say, as a seasoned homeschooler, you begin to know the difference. The belligerent tone of voice is usually something of a clue, lol!
So, I was recently asked, "Domestic Goddess, how do you handle those moments?"
Simple. Flying monkeys.
When someone comes at me in an aggressive tone, looking for a debate, and demands to know WHY I homeschool, I reply, "Flying monkeys." Sometimes I say this calmly and matter of factly, other times I'll say it in a fearful tone, scanning the skies in a worried sort of way.
They never ask you anything again. Trust me.
Its sort of a disappointment to me, actually. See, I have this whole scenario worked out in my head, if only they WOULD continue. Goes something like this:
Woman runs, off, grabs a friend, talks to her while wildly gesturing in my direction. Both women then head over to me.
First woman: "Tell her what you said!"Me, giving a blank stare: "I'm sorry?"FW: "Tell her what you said about homeschooling and flying monkeys!"Me, concerned: "Ma'am, are you quite all right?"Second Woman: "She says you homeschool because of flying monkeys."Me, taking a cautious step back from the two women, and eyeing them warily, as if expecting them to suddenly turn into flesh eating zombies,:" Reeeeallly now. How...interesting. Kids? We need to go. NOW!"FW, getting a bit hysterical: "You did! You said, flying monkeys! You did! You did!"Just doin my bit to add a bit of interest to a mundane day
Uh...where did you hear that word?
