Homeschool Conference

In February, Jackson, Hudson, Deacon and I traveled to our capital city to attend a homeschool conference. While mommy was looking forward to the quality time with these three and the encouragement that comes with getting together with other homeschool mammas; the boys have been looking forward to it (and talking about it frequently) for 2 years! This was Hudson's first conference to attend, so he was extra excited, especially to make new friends and have the stories to come home and share with his younger siblings, as Jackson did after his last conference.

The boys loved their small classes they attended each day with other TCKs (Third culture kids), made new friends (and enjoyed the time with old friends as well), and generally wore themselves completely out each day. We stayed at a hotel with resort like amenities one can only find in India. The usual tennis courts, playground, and grassy area...along with a petting zoo, bouncy house, mini train ride, life size chess board & real life camels/pony/goat cart rides!

The boys each had a project they worked on for a few weeks leading up to the conference, that fit in with the theme, "Made in America." Jackson chose to research bald eagles, and Hudson chose baseball. It was really fun for us to include these projects in our day to day homeschool work and teach them how to research and write about their topics. They were especially enthusiastic about the art work they made for their projects and their costumes. At the conference they displayed their project books, while in costume, and had verbal Q&A time as  the teenagers and adults walked around to view everyone's projects.

In addition to working so hard on their projects, I was especially proud of how hard they worked on their talent show act. Jackson got a guitar for his birthday in October and decided to sing "Never Once" by Matt Redman, with Hudson accompanying him on the djembe. They both did so well and were so brave, performing for the first time ever, in front of nearly 100 people! Hudson also remained on stage to recite one of the several poems he has learned this year in school. He had to turn and face the wall with his back to the crowd, but he recited it with gusto.
Here it is:

"Work" by anonymous
Work while you work, play while you play
This is the way to be happy each day.
All that you do, do with your might.
Things done by halves, are never done right!

Here's a video of their talent show act.

The last night each child who participated in the talent show, fun run, art auction, and project displays received certificates. My boys did everything, so their name was called multiple times. Hudson was hilariously coming back each time with a new certificate with a confused look on his face like "why do I keep being called?" He was going up there so often, that when they called for moms to come up when the awards were over (to get a goody bag) he just immediately walked up there all by himself and stood next to the volunteers awaiting patiently for whatever they wanted to give him next. He is such a 5 year old boy...always in his own little world. Although I did have a flash back or two of myself at that age, walking strait off the stage to my mom at the end of my first tap-dance recital, totally oblivious to what the other kids on stage were doing.

It's such a rewarding feeling to see your kid's beam with enjoyment and pride over achieving their goals. Seeing them both thrive this year in homeschooling has been such affirmation to my frequently doubting heart, that this is the right "schooling" path for them at this time. They are both reading well (AND enjoying it!) for their ages, loving math, eager to explore and learn. Praise God! It is only by His grace that this school year has been so smooth and enjoyable. It has not always been this easy, nor will it be in the near future, as we add another student or two next year to our one room school...but I'll enjoy it while it lasts and use these memories to encourage me on hard days to come. The fruit is worth the labor!

What am I?

During our homeschool hours, we have some pretty funny conversations. Jackson often replies to my history lessons with something to the effect of, "well, true, BUT...." and goes on to teach me something, often not related to the topic at hand." He has the undeniable 'gift of gab' or 'gift of blarney" that my mom always claimed was a Giblin family trait (Irish, of course). It apparently is very strong in the male descendants.

Today was a good example, but Hudson stole the show with his typical comical reasoning skills.Jackson: Are there still Romans?

Me: No, Romans described people's citizenship, not their ethnicity. There are no longer Romans, because there is no longer a Roman Government. But there are Italians, Greeks, Turks, etc. still. Just like being "American," describes citizenship to the American government, not our ethnicity. Ethnically, you are Irish, German, Greek, and a mix of others.

Jackson: Well, I am Irish.

Me: Yes, you are partly Irish.

Jackson: Well actually, I'm Thai. And since we are related, you are Thai too. Me: No, you're not Thai, you were just born in Thailand, but you don't have ethnically Thai blood.

Hudson: Well I'm a Roswell-y, because I was born in Roswell!

Homeschool Conference

Proud of his certificate of participation.

Jackson and I got away for a week in February to chilly New Delhi for a homeschool conference. Besides being big sissies in the cold, wet climate, we had a really great time. Jackson got to be in a Kindergarten class all week long, which he now accredits nearly everything he knows to. He was able to play with a couple good buddies and make some new ones too. Mom had sessions everyday, including some great breakout sessions on Classical Education and daily encouraging sessions from Pam Tebow.

Her sessions were so uplifting as she spoke from experience of living abroad, homeschooling her kids in the US and abroad, and discipling her children with God's word. The biggest take-away I got from her, was the importance of speaking scripture to our kids, daily. And not just in the form of reading bible stories, but in daily life, applying scriptures to every situation we can, and helping them to hide the Word in their (and our) hearts. She always put scriptures to a tune, to help her kids (and herself) memorize it. I have been trying to grow in this area this school year, as we have included the ABC bible verses in our school day. We do a scripture a week and the boys have amazed me with how much they remember. I've always been poor at memorizing so I've bee motivated to learn along with them, but also on my own. For the past two years, I have been trying to memorize scripture that is applicable to what I'm dealing with in day to day life. (i.e. our adoption process). Our family enjoys Seeds Family Worship, which has helped us all to hide God's word in our heart. This year I'm using Desiring God's Fighter versus app for a weekly verse to memorize and I plan on using that with my kids when we finish up ABC's Bible verses. The Fighter Versus app even has the verse put to song for you! That's a huge bonus for those of us like me, who are not so musically talented.

I also loved the Classical Education Sessions and felt like I walked away with a better understanding of the philosophy and an ambition and excitement to educate my kids this way. I've 'drunk the cool-aid' on Classical Education and even look forward to teaching my kids Latin someday (and learning with them).

We are nearly done with school year and are excited to have a summer break that will be full of other activities. The boys start Hindi lessons 2x a week next week, either tennis or football (soccer) soon, and lots of swimming and art at home. I really need to use this time to have regular speech therapy sessions with them both as well. I was so grateful to have speech therapists and reading specialists at the conference! The ST gave me lots of helpful tips to work on my boys lisps.

Jackson is STOKED to be in First grade. Achieving that status has been his motivation on lazy days. He is in such a hurry to grow up :( Hudson, while already teaching himself to read, is going to do another year of preschool, or what we'll call Lower KG (Indian-lingo for PreK 4).

So here is my homeschool plan for first grade for Jackson:

All About Reading Level 2 (We have LOVED this phonics program)
All About Spelling Level 1
Singapore Math First grade (We love this math!)
Hand Writing Without Tears Level 2
Tapestry of Grace Primer (for K-2nd graders) Humanities subjects which we will spread out over two years. We are super excited about this! It's designed to teach mom how to teach as well.

Lower KG for Hudson:
All About Reading Level 1-He's already doing it on his own, so I might as well encourage it.
Learning Palette math and phonics from Usborne Books. 

Homeschooling Art

Wednesdays are "art" day in our house. The one day of the week I can use this sweet leverage to get homeschool started and finished on time, because our neighbor-friend comes over to do art with us. Most weeks, it works out this way, although lately it's been skipped too often b/c of sickness or our family traveling. I love letting the boys paint and create, but I am not good at thinking up projects to do. We I bought a dvd this year called The Home Art Studio, and there is one for each grade level. It's perfect b/c she is a sweet teacher who walks them through the whole project and includes a simple one page lesson plan for mom to see what supplies she needs...the morning of :) I enjoy just facilitating this and watching them enjoy creating. Here are a few samples of what they've made this year.

Learning about primary and secondary colors

I love how J and H are making the same faces in this pic

Making Sunflowers like Van Gough

Water color geometric trains

Sweet Discipleship Time

One of the things I am enjoying most about homeschooling my kids is the daily bible study in our routine. It is J's favorite part of school and he and H have different activity books that go along with the story we read that day. I'm using Positive Action bible curriculum, the pre-k and kindergarten work books along with the God's Love bible storybook. I LOVE this bible storybook and think it's the best written kids bible I've come across. The pictures are beautiful and large and each story weaves together in the theme of redemption and need for Jesus' sacrifice for salvation.

Today we were totally off our routine so J and I did homeschool while H napped (we usually do it all together in the morning). It was a really sweet time together and he loved the one on one attention. During bible study, we read the story about the little children coming to Jesus and the disciples trying to turn them away. We talked about why Jesus said all must come to him like these little children in order to go to heaven. That we need to realize our need for Christ and depend on his sacrifice for our sins, not our own ability or good works. He responded with, "well I know I need Jesus, do YOU know you need Jesus mommy?" "Yes, I know I need Jesus." I said. "Well I hope daddy knows he needs Jesus too. Does Hudson know? What about Jeremiah and Tirzah?"

I love the sweet discussion that we get into from the reading of these bible stories and that it makes being intentional in discipling my kids, easier on a daily basis. It's a perk of homeschooling, to just include that time in their day and I hope I can continue to find good material at each age level and that all my kids continue to have enthusiasm for God's word.

If you're looking for a good bible curriculum for your kids, whether you homeschool or not, check out Positive Action. They have curriculum for all ages and are made for churches and home use.

First Day of Kindergarten? No way?!!?

First Day of Kindergarten for J and First Day of Pre-K for H! Let the fun begin!

My sweet boy is growing up too quickly!

Despite appearances, this kids LOVES school time and wants to be included in everything big brother does.

HS is exciting! Sometimes Superman even shows up!

I keep looking at my boys lately and wondering, "Where did my babies go?" Daddy is gone all this week and the boys and I have been watching lots of old videos of them to help pass the time (and to gets peeks of daddy as we miss him lots). The boys just love to see themselves as babies and it makes me long for those days and their tiny-ness that we'll never get back.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to just treasure the days! Isn't that what every woman or man with grown children in our lives advises? And it's usually right before our kid throws a monster tantrum in the middle of the store or whacks you in the face in front of a playground full of people?....When you have two (or more) so close in age and your days are FULL of changing diapers, cleaning up messes, putting kids to nap/bed, feeding them, getting them yet ANOTHER cup of juice, breastfeeding, trying to squeeze in a shower for yourself or a quiet time during nap...it's hard to slow down and soak them up. You try your best to take the moments you get to sit and play with them or admire them... soaking those precious commodities up and storing them away for later days when you'll have more time for remembrance.

Our oldest is nearly 5!  I would say daily, or at least every time I am on the playground in the middle of the day with my kids, I get asked "So your kids aren't in school yet?" or "where are your kids going to school?" I usually reply with "Yes they are. I am homeschooling them" which bring son more confused questions as to why my kids aren't in "real school". It's a huge social expectation here, to put your kids in school by age 2.5 years. Many do at 1.5 for 'play group' and continue on from there. I'm learning to not take offense at the baffled looks I get or the neighbors who've asked me for the 14th time...and it helps to reply in confidence that yes, homeschooling is a very real thing and a legitimate alternative. I have come up with a pretty standard and non-offensive answer as to "why" we homeschool and "yes I am indeed qualified to do so."
For those of you who have not yet been to S. Asia, these kinds of persistent personal questions by complete strangers are completely routine and not seen as rude  or inappropriate (at least by those asking the questions).

One of the blessings of living here, is that I get to homeschool my kids. I know not everyone views it as a blessing, but I sure do. Besides having been convinced of how beneficial it can be (no matter what country you dwell in), I really see it as an opportunity to invest fully into my kids.  My time with them is SO short after all and will be over in a flash. It's an awesome responsibility which I believe anyone who has a desire to do it, can do it successfully. I know it can and will present challenges and it is WORK but I love the idea that I can taylor school to fit my child's strengths and weaknesses. I know them better than anyone else and I am passionate about challenging and equipping them to be the person that God wants them to be. And how, where, and by whom a child is educated contributes greatly to their character molding and the likelihood of them reaching their potential. I know it is not for every kid or mom,  but I am really grateful I can and am excited about the adventures and memories it will bring. I am also really grateful to have a spouse who is passionate about me homeschooling our kids. He agrees with it's merits and benefits and his confidence in me is constantly encouraging. He will have to play more intricate roles further down the road when we get to high level math and science :) I look forward to naps while he teaches physics and chemistry :)

Excited about homeschooling? YES! Ready for the challenge and blessings? YES! Confident teacher? eh...not exactly... Thankfully I really feel like God has lead me to some good curriculum choices that will work well for J and myself. It's been a long process of deciding as I have NO personal experience to lend from. I prayed about curriculums, researched, and listened to experienced HSing moms a lot! As far as this year goes, I feel confident in my very loose 'plan.' I like to plan (that's no secret to anyone who knows me) but I have become so 'go with the flow' and reluctant to planning since we've moved to S. Asia. It's a good thing, I think, as S. Asia has a way of ruining any plans you make anyways. I find myself feeling way less up tight and controlling, which is a plus too. Our routines here are constantly changing, so our HS will need to have flexibility for the spontaneous and inevitable transitions.
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My Curriculum Choices for Kindergarten

I've had a few friends ask what I'm using, so I thought I'd just share it here.
The planned curriculums we're using and loving so far are... (all of which we have started except for Handwriting, but will start on Monday)

Positive Action's God's Love storybook bible w/ kindergarten (and pre-k for H) activity book. This is the best children's bible I have every read, and we have a LOT! Seriously it's SO good. I am pleasantly surprised by it every lesson.
Five In a Row- a read a-loud program using 18 classic children's books. You read one book a week, the same book, 5 days in a row. Each day you read the book, you do an activity or talk about an aspect of the book from a specific subject like social studies, art, literature, math, and science. My kids love the repetition and look forward to this time everyday!
Singapore Math- I have high hopes for this curriculum and so far we like it. It seems like a very solid math curriculum using spiral learning method and teaches in both concrete and abstract ways. Lots of fun activities and interactive worksheets, which my boys love. I really just chose this one b/c it's highly praised by those who use it and b/c the Singaporean approach to math has supposedly produced some impressive results.
All About Reading-I am very excited about this phonics program. It is multi-sensory and so clearly laid out for the parent with 49 simple lesson plans. I basically open the book and it tells me what to do, which is what I wanted in a phonics program. Not sure why, but teaching my kids to read (and High School chemistry) are the scariest responsibilities of homeschooling my kids. I also chose this one because it's sister program, All About Spelling is highly praised. I plan to use it for first grade.
Hand Writing Without Tears- Again, I heard and read great things about this program. The teachers manual offers multi sensory options and lots of pre-writing skills that I may not need to use with my oldest, but I think it will be great to do with H whom we are doing pre-k with. With J, I think just working through the workbook will be all he needs. The workbook looks so well planned out and their system of learning seems fool-proof (good thing b/c I'm a beginner!). I am looking forward to adding this to our HS time on Monday.

Supplementals we are using and loving are...

Leap Frog Tag pen with books and the World Map. We LOVE the world map. It's fun and my kids are learning so much about geography which is very applicable when you have family and friends all over the world!
Magic School Bus dvds The boys' new favorite video to watch and it is even on Netflix!
Liberty Kids dvds Another new favorite and is teaching my boys about America. I want them to know about their country's heritage and identify themselves as Americans. I think it's especially important to be intentional about this when you live overseas.
Carmen SanDiego dvds We have only watched one so far, but they are good and reinforce world geography lessons we're getting through Five In a Row.
DinoLingo Hindi dvd Program- I watch these with them as I want to learn Hindi also. It's fun and a great program so far. It comes with flashcards that mommy uses for herself :)
Explode the Code online phonics games/program that is a fun way to practice what he's learning through All About Reading.
PBS Kids Play online educational games. It's especially great for our 'gaming' child in the making, H, who also needs something special to do while I'm doing one-on-one activities with J.

Homeschool & Play Time

So Jackson is officially a lower KG drop out! We tried Indian school for a little over a month, hoping that it would be a good outlet for Jackson and offer up some more time on mommy's hand for language study. It ended up being another stresser in our life due to a few factors, so after giving it a good try and praying about it, we decided to pull him out and offer a "homeschool" alternative. What's so funny is he's not even 4 yet! India is intense when it comes to school and they start at a very young age. If his school had been merely organized play time and activities (which we hoped for) it would have worked out, but they were wanting him to sit for an extended period of time to write line after line of letters and numbers. That's hard for a 5 year old boy, much less a 3 year old. 

He still needs the structure and organized activities so we're trying to do a relaxed "home school" in hopes that he will also gain a love for learning and look forward to the real homeschool years we have ahead. It's great for me too, because Hudson loves to sit at the table with us and participate, making it easier for me to study a few Marathi vocabulary words here and there. I basically do a routine of these few elements: Alphabet review then activity, Number/Math review then activity, Story and snack time, Art time. We also are going through the BOB books for beginning readers and we usually do that right before bed while we wait for Hudson to go to sleep. I love the fun-learning environment and it's been really good for me to make sure I'm sitting and doing interactive activities with my kids each day. The last year of transition and me always having other big responsibilities outside of the home has not helped me with my desire to sit and interact with them well each day. So "homeschooling" is proving to help in a lot of ways and we're enjoying it! 

Busy at work during "activity time"

Jackson is more enthusiastic about homeschool than this face lets on!

My caterpillar

Brotherly Love in the midst of tunnel wrestling

Back to wrestling

Having a blast!

This picture displays Jackson's awesome photography skills. I need to get him his own camera soon.