Posts Tagged ‘Homeschooling’

Last week I spent sometime at the Midwest Parent Educators Homeschool Conference.  I love looking in the vendor area.. and always wish I had money to buy each and every book or program that would benefit my kids.

View of the vendor hall

Here's one of my kids favorite spots.. Miller Pad and Paper!

I went to the following conference sessions:

• Raising a Mighty Man of God Kevin Swanson

This session was packed.  There were probably 200+ people in the room, and the speaker lost me when he said; "The problem with our society today is that 25-30 year old men are living in their parents basement.  Why are they living there?  They can't get a job, because their female counterparts have taken them."  AACCK..

• Entrepreneurship: Seven Disciplines of Biblical Business Success Russ McGuire

This one was really for #2.  It was informative, and I think he learned a few things.

Justin, #3.5, some bird and #3.

 

 

• Help! My Child Won't Sit Still!! Margaret Porch

This was a good one.  Took lots of notes.. after I took my ADHD meds.

#3.5 and #3 they couldn't get hooked up to the internet…

• Strategies for the Struggling Reader Margaret Porch

This one was really good.  I think I'll be able to apply this stuff to one of my struggling readers.

 

You want to know something you usually only see at a homeschool conference?

Dad's with snugglies.

I take #4 to speech at our local public school for a couple of hours everyday.  #5 goes with me to do his school work while #4 is there working on his R's and L's.  Each day we walk by the cafeteria and smell the food, each kid takes a turn trying to guess what the kids are having each day… and the same thing happens.. they beg and beg to stay and eat lunch.  I promise them we will eat someday, and our someday came on Tuesday.

They did great standing in line, getting the silverware, napkin and food… but apparently homeschooling doesn't teach a kid everything they need to know in life.

Like how to open a milk carton.

Really.

He asked for help from a friend sitting next to him…

And was on his way to drinking chocolate milk and eating his mashed potatoes and chopped steak with gravy.

 

1:15 am: Woke up with hacking cough.. Then said cough woke up #6. But neither the cough or the baby woke up The Man.

1:22 am: Got #6 back to sleep.. looked for remote..

1:28 am: Remembered that #4 hid the remote (that goes to the TV in my bedroom) from #5 and decide I'll go to sleep listening to the infomercial about some jeans I can sleep in or something.

Yes I have a TV in my bedroom.. don't tell my mother.

4:30 am: #6 wakes again

6:45 am: #2 comes in to tell me we need to leave.. 10 minutes ago if we are going to be first in line to get the good junk.

7:00 am: Leave and head out to the sale and errands I need to run. Wonder if I have enough time to get breakfast before the sale. (I don't)

 

 

#2 very happy he's the first in line! That kids mom should cut his hair!

7:30 am: FIRST in LINE at Sale buy some junk to sell.
8:45 am Breakfast and Grocery Shopping

Entry way…

10:00 am  Unload the car.. realize that my entryway looks like a box company threw up in there.

10:00:15 am: Remember I have company staying over this weekend and allow my mind to race.. to try to figure out what to do to make my house look better than my entryway.

10:00:25 am: Remember that I am responsible for feeding the little kids at this weekend's "Art of Marriage" weekend at our church.

Chicken and Noodle's

10:30 am: Make Chicken and Noodles (for tomorrows lunch). Cook sausage patties for tonight's "breakfast for dinner" for the kids at church.

11:00 am: Remember that I need to try to make my house look like company is coming over,  force children to clean.

11:00:25 am: Bribe children with Hostess products and Transformer Movie (that came out today on DVD) if they pick up.

11:01 am: While the children are picking I remember I bought some cute little sparkly doo-dad's to put in a glass jar I have.

Wish I had more doo-dad's to fill this jar.

11:02 am: Realize that sparkly doo-dad's are not doo dad's.. but SKELETONS!  Nothing like a glitter skeleton to say "Welcome to our home.  Come in, relax! Don't worry we won't go all "Criminal Minds or Dexter on you!"

11:03 am:  Realize I could make a little "Fall Harvest" centerpiece on the island in the kitchen.  THAT says "Welcome" right?

11:07 am: #2 mocks my display of Fall, and #1 says: "What's with the Fall, we are CHRISTMAS people."  I take my grocery store donuts out of the box and display them on a cake plate..  Store bought DONUTS for breakfast are welcoming RIGHT?

11:08 am: I make sure the kids are still cleaning and then #6 starts making those "I'm hungry" noises.

#6 with a cookie. 

Sometimes when he wakes me up a couple a times a night, I think maybe I'll let the dog take care of him.  Then he looks at me and I think.. He so stink' cute, I'll give him a cookie to tide him over.

#6 giving his puppy the cookie.

Then the starving baby gives the cookie to the dog!

11:15 am: I sit down to write a few things up, and remember that I have not done school today.  Friday's are normally light days at our humble school.. but I haven't even thought about giving them a spelling test.. I haven't even walked up to the school room to see what I wrote down to do today. 

I resolve that we will do Friday's school on Sunday afternoon. (Dad will be here.. and no one will give me any grief when The Man is home. Just one of the many things I love about him.

11:18 am: I ask #1 if she'll take a few pictures for me. Then I tell her to forget about it because she's wearing her TASKMASTER hat helmet and making all the other monkey's clean.

11:19 am: Facebook has called my name.

11:20 am: I've got to get a few things written up! 

11:39 am: Did I do any Follow Friday's on Twitter?

11:43 am: Write up some more junk.

12:01 pm: I need some iced tea.  I wonder if I can get a kid to make me some? I then realize if I ask a monkey to do it, I will stop their cleaning momentum.

12:02 pm: I go in the kitchen and see this kid. He informs me he is S-T-A-R-V-I-N-G, and it is WAY past his lunch time. "Can he have a Ho-Ho?" Once he says starving, the rest of the vultures (with their keen sense of hearing) decide they are hungry too.

12:03 pm: Ask #1 to make lunch and #3 to feed #6 so that I can get some of the junk written up.

12:04 pm: I check Facebook to see if anything cool has happened in the last 12 seconds.

12:05 pm: The Man calls.  I whine to him about how I've done nothing today. We have whitty banner about this weekend, and "did I get any good stuff at the sale."

definition of whitty: An awful attempt at commenting on something in order to sound clever.  (this my life in a nutshell)

12:09 pm: I realize I haven't written a blog today… and  here we are.

** No children were harmed in the making of this blog.. all children have been feed, including the dog.

** The entryway still looks the way it did at 10:00 am. My guests will now know how I really live.  If they give me any grief, facebook, tweet or blog about it.. I'll feed them to the glittery skeletons.

** Just Kidding

** Kinda

As you are reading this I'll be at the homeschool convention. If you've never been to one… you don't know what you are missing. There are tons of people… looking for the perfect book… and these people..

There are plenty-o-mothers in these bad boys. The denim jumper USE TO BE the staple in every homeschool mothers wardrobe.. then this Homeschooling mom came along…

This homeschooling mother.. not only looks good but she intimidates this mother..

(yes.. I know this is Eva Longoria, but she's just here for an example) All of these homeschooling mothers freak this mother out..

I use to go to these conventions with a bunch of other moms that were normal.. and then their children all grew up and graduated. So… now I'm left alone to fend for myself and try not to be intimidated by all the bread baking, 2 year old's already reading, nursing until their kids are 12, homeschooling mothers… that intimidate and freak me out. Because well.. my kids aren't doing any reading when they are 2.. nursing until they are 12 .. and I don't bake my own bread… wish me luck..

Just in case you were wondering I'll be taking photos to share with you… They don't scare me that bad