Three weeks??

I didnt even realize it had been so long...
So, lets get you up to speed.

I think her Anxiety has gotten the worst of her the last few weeks - I know its an adjustment period, but its still hard. We have found BOTH of our eyes red and puffy from crying, and some days we are sitting cuddled up on the couch calming each other down.

Other days we zoom through so quickly that its crazy!!
I think back and realize that on those days, I have read her the Lessons, and sometimes the test. But we always stop after each page, or after a couple slides,and go over what she has learned. I don't want to make it easy on her, I just want her to find a way to learn that works for her.

Sadly I don't know her bio-dads Medical History. When I asked, I never got a response.
(If you're reading this, any of you, I would love for you to tell me if ADD, ADHD, or Anxiety is up in the air with her medical history!!!)

At any rate - some days are harder than others, and I know the same applies to B&M schools. But in the end, I know this is what's best for her. I need her to learn, and retain information. What she chooses to do with t later is up to her.

You know me - I am not about TEACHING, I am about her Learning!
I want her to find a way she learns best.

She has this amazing plan, and I am SO SO SO SOOOOOO proud of her!!

She wants to graduate HS, go into Design School, and then Architecture School. I think this is an amazing plan! So, we went over what she needed to really focus on - MATH, Art,  and History.

I told her Science won't play a huge role in Design. Math - you need that to plan out materials, be they cloth, or building. Art - for the obvious reasons. History - because someone may want to build based upon a historical vent or time that she will need to better understand.

I think a lot of times we over look the most important things - our childrens goals. Why are we so worried about our own goals? Shouldn't we be giving our Children the ability to set and reach their own goals? I know we need to help them along - help them find a way that that can achieve their goal. But we need to play a positive role in it.

Damn it, if they want to cook burgers - good for them!!! Doesn't mean they have to be at a Fast Food place. They could be working at an upscale Mediterranean spot, with delicious Lamb & Feta Burgers with a Kalamata Tapenade.

If they want to be an architect, they don't have to design skyscrapers - they can design small scale Mom & Pop shops.

We don't need to push them to do more than they wish the achieve, unless we know they are doing it for lack of self-faith.
But if they have a goal that is a good goal, a firm goal that they have thought out. Nurture it - let it be THEIR goal, don't adjust it to be your goal. Thats just bad parenting.

Don't live through your child, let your child live for themselves!

Testing, Testing, 1... 2... 3...

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted...

UGH,
Today is PARCC testing for my daughter and its not our favorite thing to do, obviously.
I know what my anxiety issues are like, but then we think about how a 12 year old is handling them, and I feel horrible for her.

She has been down once to check in with me, and I sent her back up with a bottle of water. I hope she is ok.

I always feel bad - have I created this?
I know she has seen my anxiety through her own eyes, I fear it was a learned thing, and not a DNA thing.

At any rate, I am thankful for the woman who is overseeing the testing. She brought my LO down and had all good things to say, did all she could to ease the Anxiety. I am so thankful.

I hope it gets better as the day goes on...

Test #2 is this afternoon at 1pm

Learning with ADD.....

Let me start off by saying, its been a LONG emotional week.
I'm going to add a new tag to my blog this week - #ADD

Most of Monday was spent fighting for her to focus - fighting for her to stay on track, and crying over what I knew she could do in seconds.

I spoke with her to find out why - why do you keep doing other things?
I wanted to hear from her - I didn't want to offer an explanation of my own. I didn't have to.

With her knees pulled to her chest, and the tears rolling down, she mumbled, "I just want to do my work."
My heart broke. No - my heart shattered. I knew this feeling all too well.

(Recently this has started arguments with my spouse - I myself have ADD, and it makes something as simple as focusing on a TV show a task that I'm not equipped to undergo.
One minute im so into the TV that I don't hear or notice anything around me, the next I don't even realize the TV is still on because i'm breaking some sugary treats on my phone, and the next, my husband is upset because we went from cuddling up on the couch with TV, to missing the most important parts of the show and him feeling ignored. - The point of me telling you this, is to let you know that I understand how she feels.)

Tuesday was so easy - she whizzed through EVERYTHING by lunch time. The afternoon was used to try and focus on Study Island; It didn't happen.
I think she had used up all her focus bank for the day.

Yesterday was ok, but long. I don't know if it was the ADD or if she just was having a bad day (tired, etc).

I think I'll blog about the diet changes I plan on making in our home - I heard they have helped quite a few!

Today - it was back and forth. Realizing she hadn't taken ANY notes and had a unit review was frustrating. But, we talked about how the New Unites will be a fresh start - Vocab on Notecards, lesson notes in notebooks, utilizing ALL work sheets, etc.

Tomorrow - we see the Dr. I know there will be no meds given tomorrow, but I am hoping there will be a Child Psych on hand that can give us some pointers for home until we can see the Dr.
If I'm being honest, I'm hoping that the changes they suggest will make a difference, and the meds wont be needed!

Well, I know this has been a weekly wrap up, but I am hoping once we get settled into a routine, I will be able to get back to the daily grind.

Wake up, Start LEARNING!!

** Let me start off by explaining this -
LEARNING - the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.
TEACH - to impart knowledge of skill in, give instructions in.

I do not want to give my child instructions on anything except for the three exceptions you will find as you read.
What I DO want, is for her to learn through experience, so that she can make the best choice for herself - not pick the best option she has in front of her.
Opportunities are endless, choices are limited.

"Life is about what you LEARN, not about what someone TEACHES you." - Me

The truth is, there is so much more to life than what you're going to learn sitting behind a desk! Does this mean I don't think kids should have math, science, history, etc?
HELL NO!!
But I'm not going to let her live life thinking that, retaining and repeating back information is an education.

My daughter will still be taught all those courses. But not in public school.

I sit here and watch her at her desk, LEARNING her studies. And I know all the anxiety attacks, all the fits, all the complaining, it will all be worth it.

What did she LEARN in B&M?
1) That not everyone who does something wrong will be punished
2) That adults are always right, even when they are wrong
3) That what you have to say doesn't matter if you're not in a position of authority
4) That your social status and financial status is more important that your education

What was she being TAUGHT in B&M?
1)...............
2)...............
3)...............
4) What ever the teacher could fit in between interruptions from one of the 28 classmates


I want my daughter to LEARN how to live life - part of that is responsibility. Responsibility for her own actions, "Today, you can choose to do your school work, or sit in your jammies all day. But if you sit in your jammies all day, you will have twice as much work tomorrow."

I will not TEACH her that her opinion is invalid. I will NOT let her think that her views, or her questioning a lesson is unacceptable.

There is only a SHORT list of things I will TEACH my child
1) Love everyone
2) Morality is more important than social acceptance
3) Life life happy

I don't want our daughter to be another public school case. She gets enough negativity from the people in society in general. Why confine her to a building where she will get it even more.

I've spent a good long many years teaching her acceptance (exception rule, #1) and the public schools have don nothing but reverse all of that.

My Mission - to bring her back to reality - even if that means creating our own path, and eating granola along the way .

- Momma

Endnote:
all definitions were pulled from Dictionary.com

Scantron what?!?!

Well, that was about 5 hours we will never get back.
I completely understand the need for the testing - i just wish it didn't all need to be done in the same day.

So, with class connects, and Scantron, I think we ended up with about... 8 hours of school work (including breaks), and about 6 hours with breaks.

Today my DDs teacher called - it was nice to hear from someone and actually get some info on the classes; what's mandatory, what isn't, what we can do if we need more help, and different things that are available for us to utilize.

So, we found out the Class Connects are NOT mandatory, but that they do go further into detail about the lessons on Study Island, which IS mandatory.
Kind of cute - in math class the teacher told the kids to make a deal with their parents that if they get a blue ribbon for mastery, they should get doughnuts. So, I have not problem with that :)
4 Blue Ribbons = 1 bag of mini munchkins! (Hey, don't judge me, maybe she will start eating breakfast!)

I was SO happy yesterday when all the materials came, and I saw that there were Learning Coach Guides, and Student Guides. It will save us from printing and wasting papers.

Tomorrow we will dive into all the coursework, and try to catch up. Thankfully we have no class connects, so that option is out. I really am seeing how this OLS is so much better than B&M. There is no limit to the time frame on the Lessons.

Well, thats it.

Have a Homeschool Blog?
Leave it in the comments and I'll share it with my followers :)

- Momma

Too Much, too soon... Pt. 2??

So, with our LO starting homeschooling, we knew there would be quite a few outing options. But, we also knew they weren't mandatory, and we knew we wouldn't always have the money to go.
But, if there are three things my LO s good at, its - Making plans, Spending Money, and getting people to do what she wants. Yea, I'm not going to lie lol. She is good at many other things, but we wanted to find a way to put these three things to use.

So, we decided to let her start her own little mini business. Its from Endless Xpressions - it seems perfect!! No minimum sales requirement, no fees, no huge shipping and tax fees, AND, they sell EVERYTHING you can think of, that has to do with fashion. Thats perfect for her.

Well, maybe we picked the wrong time to start. BAH!! I know we did now.
I've been doing most of the foot work for her, but honestly, im ok with that. I want her to have a good start, and this is one of the few things i can actually do for her, without ruining it.

So, if you wanna help this 12y.o. get her but out to all those outings, and having some fun while doing it. Check her out :)

http://www.endlessxpressions.com/store/#Kats_Xpressions

Too much, too soon...

So, I thought, we has a pretty rough day yesterday - but today will be better. No Class connect yet, still needs to do Scantron SY, so, we are still on the easy road.
I let her sleep in an hour because of some things we had to deal with last night. So, 8am rolls around, and I figure, better get her up, and let her start her testing.
Then, I sign in, and see THIS ^^

I almost crapped my PJs.
I hadn't even sipped my coffee yet, and I knew there wasn't enough in the house to help me deal with the wrath that would be unleashed upon me.

So, lets start with Class Connect. Obviously the optional wasn't an option this morning. So, skip forward to Math. I'm sitting 3 feet away from her - her at her desk, me on the couch. I poke her and whisper - "Hey, why aren't you taking notes?" she responds, "We already learned this stuff at [B&M]"
YUSSS!!! This will be easier than I thought.
Break for snack, and then back to the PC at 10am.
Language class is over, phew - that went well.

Well, the guy came to repair the internet, so I had her try to focus her attention on school work, and that was not happening.

(Let me put a little side post here saying, I stopped writing yesterday at this point, because she had come back home from walking her girlfriend home, and it was time to buckle down. No her g/f wasn't here, but goes to the school at the corner, and they usually walk home together. At any rate, it is now 9:02am the NEXT day. Why so late? Because we were up doing course work until almost 8 last night. FUN!!!!)

So, there are a few things I realise I HATE about home schooling - number one being, GUM. Why?What is the point? Do we not hurt enough when we stub our toe on the additional piece of furniture (the desk) that we now have in our home? You now need to pour salt on the fresh wounds of home schooling?

What is the point?.... I'll save that for another blog.

At any rate - some of these classes we just don't seem to have the time to get to yet.
Spanish - honestly, how do we have time for this? Secondly, I have heard from other parents stating that the kids arent even graded on this. Yea, its not even on the progress page. And, we havent been able to get it.
Huge fail, K12

Now, ART- While y daughter LOVES art, I think I'm going to save the Art for Fridays, I need to figure out how to change that. We have no class connect on Fridays, and I think it would be easier to just do it on a day when we have some wined down time.

Everything else - ok. Its going pretty smoothly. But the whole GUM this - thats whats throwing us off. I just dont get it.

Any other issues we had with other subjects, I will gladly blame on it being a crazy day, and my daughter being more worried about seeing her girlfriend, than doing her lessons.

Well... time for.... today! [1/22/2015]