Thanksgiving Thoughts

OK, OK, so it's been a while since I've posted. In my defense, coming home from our and getting caught up with life was hectic! The article about the trip appeared in our paper today, reminding me that I need to do a bit more writing for some of the publications that expressed an interest in our trip story. Plus, I'd rather spend time writing than folding laundry, so here I am.

Before I forget, the link to the article is here:
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/2006/11/23/features/education/edu1.txt
and I think that expires in a few days, so I will try to figure out how to get that to work after that if I can.

This was the laziest Thanksgiving I can remember. Katia, Ed, and Alyona helped Wednesday evening with making pies and our side dishes, so all we had to do today was reheat them while Brian grilled the turkey. We usually do the big dinner and sit around at the table with guests and all that traditional stuff, but today seemed like a day to do something different, so we ate in front of the TV. Gasp!! Well.....what can I say except that, for us, that is a pretty rare thing, so it seemed like something fun to do. Of course, we discussed what we are thankful for before we got started, and everyone mentioned family at the top of the list. Turkey was up there too, so we're in good company.

We never can figure out when the Macy's parade is, so we ended up only seeing part of it. I guess it looks the same either way, but watching it in Spanish gives it a whole new twist.
Adios!

Cracker Barrel

Yesterday we left the Grand Canyon a bit earlier than planned so that we could add some drive time. The kids agreed to push through past Barstow, so we added 3 hours to the drive in order to make today, our last day on the road, a bit easier. When we hit Kingman, Brian fulfilled a trip-long dream of going to a Cracker Barrel store/restaurant. He had been seeing signs along the way, and something about them interested him. As it turned out, the one in Kingman was the last one on our trip. It was a cute little place, and we had a good time rocking on the porch.

We ended up staying in Tulare, about 5 hours from home--I think. I'm getting a little punchy and I am really ready to be home.

Grand Canyon

We spent 3 relaxing days in Pinetop, AZ where we lounged by the pool, played games, and wandered about. Brian and Katia did take a ride in to vacuum out the van, and Brian picked up some groceries so we could make use of the kitchens in the units where we were staying (we always need 2).

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the Grand Canyon. We made a brief stop at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff which was a bit of a letdown for the kids--lots of exhibits to read, but not a lot of hands-on things to do.

We walked around quite a bit along the rim trail, and Brian took a lot of pictures. I walked out to the first observation point and made an observation of my own. I am afraid of heights. Now, I know this about myself, it is not a new revelation. For some reason, I had not equated being terrified even of standing on a ladder with having any reservations about looking out over the canyon. I did manage to drag myself to the rail a couple of times. As long as I look out over the expanse, I am fine, but as soon as I look directly down, I am overcome with an irrational fear. I was quite content to stay on the rim trail from that point on, and, I have to confess, there were moments where I could not even look at the kids as they ventured in closer.

This morning, Brian and Ed went to watch the sunrise. I stayed back with the sleeping brood. We are all anxiously awaiting their return so we can head out to breakfast. We are back to the canyon today for a bit more exploring, then we'll head out. We expect to cross over into California this evening and head home tomorrow.

More Directions Gone Awry

September 27, 2006
Phone call to the Holiday Inn Express in Albuquerque, NM.

Rose: “Hi, I’m calling for directions. I’m coming in on I-40 West.”

Desk Clerk: “You can’t get here from I-40 West, you have to come in on I-40 East.”

“I can’t come in on I-40 East, I’m driving from Texas.”

“You’re driving here from Texas?”

“Yes, on I-40 West”

“Well, you’ll just have to get on I-40 East then.”

I think I should stop calling for directions.

Quite a Discovery

Wednesday September 27
After calling information for the number for the Don Harrington Discovery Center in Amarillo, TX, the conversation went something like this:
Operator: “(muffled speech)…..help you?”

Rose: “Hi, I’m coming in on I-40 West, and I need directions.

“OK, are you familiar with Amarillo?”

“No, I haven’t been to Amarillo in about 20 years.”

“No problem. From I-40, you take the Coulter exit. That’s C-O-U-L-T-E-R. Turn onto Coulter and then take a right onto Wallace. We’re right there.”

“OK, I exit at Coulter and turn onto Wallace. I got it. Thank you.”

“So, are you coming in for a breast exam?” (long pause--maybe the cell phone is acting up).

“Ummmmm, what was that?”

“Are you coming in for a breast exam today?”

“You know, I might have the wrong number, I’m calling for the Don Harrington Discovery Center” (and I’m wondering what sort of discovery center this is!)

“Oh, the Discovery Center is just down the road, also on Wallace.”

“Good. Thank you. Bye!”

I was a little cautious going in, and completely relieved to find that the Discovery Center was, after all, a hands-on science museum for kids with a new exhibit on engineering and a planetarium show. Whew! What a relief.

Where the Buffalo Roam--or something like that

Tuesday, September 26
Somewhere in Oklahoma, along I-40
We stopped at a roadside “trading post” because we are ahead of schedule. We are supposed to be meeting my aunt and uncle for dinner and we stopping more often than usual to keep everyone occupied. I took the little girls on a little walk to see some buffalo that were in an enclosure. I felt sad to see such creatures penned up. It is hard to imagine the plains they used to roam. Of course, if I had a vote, I’d give the plains back to them, and they could deal with the infernal wind.

OKC Memorial

Tuesday, September 26, 1:30 P.M.
The chairs in the yard are hauntingly empty, a reminder of what we have lost. Not only the bodies and souls that might have occupied these spaces, but the innocence we knew in that time before. The memorial marks this time 9:01 on April 19, 1995, and references it often, as a reminder that there was a time when we did not know what it was to have a large-scale terrorist attack on American soil.

Maybe it is because I have a lot of kids, but I found it easy to relate to the parents in the videos today when we visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. I was often moved to tears, and my sentiments and thoughts were just as often interrupted by my younger children who had no concept of what we were doing in this place. I wasn’t sure how I should even feel about them being there. I did not want them to be disrespectful to the memories of those who were killed in the attack, and they did not understand why everyone was so solemn.They sometimes ran over and were exuberant at buttons they could push. Other times, they were whiny and fussy that they couldn’t do what they wanted.

We kept them in line as much as we could--Bella, at 6, is old enough to understand some of what she was seeing. I was frustrated that I could not spend more time focused on the information that was presented. I wanted to give each of the victims a moment of my time, to honor their memory in some small way.

I tried to block out the bickering. It is wearing after a while. I tried to look at it in a different perspective. For the parents who lost their children--children who would be about the age of my Alex and Alyona right now--I tried to imagine what they would trade for a chance to see them today.

Toward the end of the memorial, there is a room where there is a picture of each person who died in the attack on the Murrah Federal Building. Most pictures have a small object that the family of the victim selected. One child has a pacifier, another a favorite toy. One adult had a work I.D., some had Bibles or plaques with favorite verses, others had sports items or stuffed animals. It got me to thinking: If I had to pick something to represent my life, my passion, what would that one thing be? And if my family had to choose, what would they choose as the one object that defined who I am?

Heading to Tulsa

Monday, September 25
Tulsa 9:00 p.m.

Back to traveling today. We managed to leave St. Louis around 10:30. We are heading west for the first time in our trip--headed toward home. But first we had to navigate Missouri. After a flurry of phone calls, we figured out that the Philipp family was now living about 30-40 minutes from Lebanon. We would be passing through Lebanon, and they would be able to meet us. Jim, Daisy, Faith, Justice, Boaz, Esther, and Jubilee moved to Missouri about a month ago to study with New Tribes Missions.
We figured out that they would be driving south on State Route 5, so we turned off of I-44 onto SR 5 and called them. As we were driving and talking, calling out where we are, we realized that we were waiting at the same stoplight--just driving in opposite directions!

It was really great to spend an hour and a half talking over some ice cream. The only plus to having them out of town is that we no longer get our vans mixed up in the church parking lot. Just in case, after this picture was taken, we did a quick head count to make sure we all had our own kids before we got started.

Once we got to Tulsa, we got a visit from Caroline (college roommate’s mom) and her friend Glen -The-Computer-Genius who came to see if there was any hope for my laptop. He was not able to fix it, but he had some ideas for Brian once we got home and had access to some recovery disks--so there may be hope yet.

The night ended with laundry--and picking corn kernels out of the dryer after washing the little girls’ clothes.

Godfrey, IL

Sunday, Sept. 24
Today was Godfrey day. We started out at Heritage Days on the Goshen Trail, an annual event held in Godfrey. All the vendors were in period costumes. Bella got to make a rope, and Jolina, Katia, Ed, Alex, and Alyona all got to fire a musket. Olivia, Sophia and I discovered kettle chips made right before our eyes, and we were enjoying our bag immensely when the rest of the family discovered us--so we had to go back for more.

We had lunch and headed over the corn maze. Brian and I decided that official T-shirts were in order. He asked if there might be a discount for “real Godfreys”, but the girl behind the counter just laughed. The little girls were most impressed with the ability to play in a big corn pit which we did while Brian made a run to the bank. Ed, Alex, and Alyona took a second turn through the maze while he went.

Welcome to Godfrey

We had to get a picture in front of the sign.

Apple Picking Time

Saturday, Sept 23
We decided to rent another car so that Brian could go to Six Flags with the big kids. Emily and I took the younger ones around town and then out towards Otterville to pick apples at Yates’ Orchards. I think we got too many, but they were so yummy that we couldn’t stop picking!

We arrive in St. Louis

Friday, Sept 22
Our arrival into St. Louis came with the realization that we would be staying well north of the city and that Six Flags--our destination for Saturday--was well south of the city. In all, it was about 1 1/2 hours away. We started to rethink our plan of going in the morning, going back to the house for lunch and then returning to the park. That would mean about 6 hours of driving.

Brian got us settled at the Grafton Homestead Retreat, and we stayed there while he made an airport run to pick up Jolina and Emily. It was pretty late before we got everything squared away. It was a tight fit, but we managed. We loved the grounds, but it was a little rough with only 1 bathroom. Still, you could hardly say we were roughing it. It was a welcome change to cook some familiar food and have a nice dinner.

The kids will have fun exploring some of the 60+ acres of the property and enjoying the paddle boat.

Meramec Caverns

Friday, Sept. 22
The caverns were....cavernous. We are off to Illinois.

We are not in Kansas anymore!

Friday, September 22
We are not in Kansas anymore! Falling gas prices met us in Kansas City--a welcome sight!

Wee are on the way to Meramec Caverns after a night in Kansas City, MO. We are expecting to have lunch there, tour the caverns, and then head on to Grafton, IL to the Grafton Homestead where we will spend the next 3 nights.

KANSAS

KANSAS--September 21, 2006
Barely into Kansas, we pulled over and picked up a copy of The Wizard of Oz to watch on our way through the state. This was really the only bad day we’ve had. We started out from the hotel with a hot breakfast and very full tummies, only to discover the Kansas Wind. Our van was buffeted all over the road which made for a very tumultuous ride in which several kids wondered if they would lose that breakfast after all.

We made a pit stop in Salina to eat our lunch and see if we might pick up a laptop. Finding a laptop was impossible, but we were able to eat. All the kids chose to stay in the van, but Ed took Max out to get some air. It took him 5 minutes or so before Max headed back to the van and started trying to climb in. He was begging to be back in his carseat, and even started pulling it over his head to show that he was ready to be strapped in and go. I didn’t think there was anything that would make him want to get back in that seat, but the great Kansas Wind did the trick.

DENVER AND BEYOND

Sept. 20
After the amphitheater, we headed out with sleepy little ones for another half hour or so drive to Denver where we met up with my aunt Carolyn and cousin Cara and her son MalachI. My aunt brought along some homemade cookies, milk, and tea, and the kids climbed and played in the park while we talked for a bit.

I was beginning to suspect that all of America was one big mountain range, and then we drove out of Denver and into eastern Colorado. We stayed in a little town called Stratton which is close to the Kansas border. We drove down the entire length of the “business district,“ an activity that took 3 minutes, including the turnaround time. It was in Stratton that I plugged in my computer to charge the battery, and I am wondering if we had a power surge--of course I didn’t think of a surge protector for the road, and it was an older building.

RED ROCKS

RED ROCKS (pictures later :)
Wednesday, Sept 20--reconstructed since my laptop crashed and burned.

We started out from Glenwood Springs, CO. On the advice of my aunt Carolyn, we stopped at a rest stop in the Glenwood Canyon and went for a nice walk alongside the river with the canyon walls just on the other side of the water. Although we were only yards away from Interstate 70, which was elevated a bit, we rarely heard the traffic because of the roaring of the river. Saying that Glenwood Canyon is “magnificent” is kind of like saying that a 7-course meal at a 5-star restaurant is “alright.”
After getting back into the van, we drove out of the canyon and through resort areas like Vail and Breckinridge. We made the mistake of pulling into a grocery store in Breckenridge to pick up some sandwich fixings for lunch. That little adventure left us wondering how anyone in the town can afford to eat with those prices.

We headed on into Denver. I had intended to work on my laptop, but the scenery was too striking to take my eyes off the trip. It is just as well that I didn’t do any work since it would have been lost in the great computer brain dump anyway. Just outside of Denver we stopped to see the Red Rocks Amphitheater.

We thought we might find a place to let the kids climb the rocks, but ended up just going into the amphitheater instead where we found a lot of stairs waiting to be climbed. We started at the top level, so we headed on down. I tried to talk Katia into going down on the stage and getting a feel for what it would be like to be on stage in such a big place, but she was too shy. She did eventually head down, but I couldn’t talk her into singing even one little note. Sophia was about to belt out “God Bless America,” but she changed her mind at the last minute.

To quote my favorite children's book, it has been a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. The storm we have been just ahead of for the past couple days caught up with us last night. My laptop crashed this morning. And then we drove into Kansas. We had to slow down on account of the weather. We had not considered slowing down on account of weather because, frankly, we don't have weather in California. At least, we don't have Kansas Wind in California. We blew all over the road and listened to tornado watches and warnings coming in all across central Kansas--where we were driving.

The highlight of the day was meeting up with my college roommate Nancy. It is late now, so I will post more tomorrow about the past 2 days as I reconstruct my trip journal on my new laptop (ouch).

So tonight we are sitting in our room trying to adjust to a time change and listening to the rain turn to hail outside our window. I am asking how we got into this mess, it seems a good time to pause and reflect on how it all began. My column in the Appeal-Democrat ran today and the story goes something like this.....

Oh, MOM!” she squealed. “These are perfect! I'm gonna get these for Dad!”
I turned to see my 5-year-old daughter holding a pair of boxers with a bold flag motif. One side sported a blue background with white stars; the other side was emblazoned with red and white stripes.

I tried to imagine my husband's face when he opened this gift.My job was supposed to be to guide my daughter's choice of gifts for Father's Day. Just as I was turning to point out some sensible black socks, she found the boxers and made her decision.

“This is what Dad needs for the Nine States of America,” (more)

Colorado

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time

We are beginning day 4 on the road. Things are still pretty even, but we have had a few frayed nerves. Overall, though, we have a good group. Max is even coming around as long as we have occasional breaks to get out and walk around. We’ll turn him into a traveler yet! As we gas up for the morning, Brian noted that we had driven 995 miles thus far. We will make a brief stop at Glenwood Canyon for a short hike then head out to Denver for lunch. Today we expect to put in about 5 hours of driving today and end up in eastern Colorado for the night.

Dinosaur National Monument

September 19, 2006, afternoon
After lunch we drove a few minutes outside of Vernal over to the Dinosaur National Monument. Just as we got there, the hike of the day was about to start. It was billed as “strenuous” and she wasn’t kidding. The ranger seemed a bit skeptical with all the kids, but the big ones quickly grabbed a buddy, and we headed up a steep slope. Max was content to be in the backpack on Brian’s back—as long as he stayed in motion. We had several stops along the way for rest, water, and explanation of geographic formations. We got to see a spot where some dinosaur rib bones were sticking out of the ground.

Sophia was having a blast. Her only disappointment was the she had to hurry. Sophia doesn’t hurry anywhere! She has exuberantly enjoyed every aspect of this trip, from proclaiming everything she encounters as her “favorite” to loudly announcing that we should pray for the woman behind us who happened to be carrying a ski pole to use as a walking stick. The woman either didn’t hear or didn’t mind. She kept up a conversation with Sophia for much of the climb, complimenting her often on what a great hiker she is. Sophia, as is her way, took all of this as a matter of course. Self esteem has never been an issue with her—she is beautiful, she is good at everything, and if you aren’t sure about it, she is happy to remind you.

Wednesday, September 20
This morning we walked over the Utah Field House of Natural History. Max had the backpack which lasted long enough to get to the museum then he wanted to be down on the ground. It was great to let him run around and do all the hands on things. Of course, I think the highlight for him was getting to climb the stairs, as always. We then went back to the motel to pack up the van and head out. We’d had such a relaxing morning that we decided to splurge and buy lunch out, so that was kind of fun, and dan unexpected treat for the kds. They know up front that we are on a budget, so they are being really good abut not asking for every little thing. They usually are pretty good about that, though the younger ones haven’t really figured out that part yet.

Time Changes Everything

September 18
4:23 Pacific Time

Brian made the point of showing the kids the sign that said we were moving into mountain time. As a result, the kids have been so helpful as to remind us—repeatedly—that we are technically off schedule since the schedule did not take the time change into account with the travel time. Next time, I told Brian, don’t tell them about the time change while we are on the road. Maybe we can sneak around at night and reset watches.

Evening
We arrived in Vernal, UT. We will be heading to the Dinosaur National Monument tomorrow. We learned why Nevada is called The Sagebrush State. We started out yesterday at home in summer time, drove through winter with snow just above Salt Lake City, and came out on the other side to emerge in fall with leaves changing along the hillsides of Utah. We are all ready for an exploring day with minimal driving.

The Adventure Begins

9/17/06--Evening

When the travel bug stopped by our house to give us all a good bite, he bypassed Max entirely. He is the boy who doesn’t like change, who cries when he wears long pants because they touch his legs, and has no interest at all in wearing shoes.

This journey from Marysville, CA to Godfrey, IL should be interesting. We will either learn to put up with screaming or he will learn to tolerate a carseat for more than a half hour at a time.

The first two hours were great. Max was asleep. But when he woke up, he wanted out of his carseat, and that was that. He screamed, he squirmed, he wailed. A quick stop in Fernley, NV allowed us to heat up a bottle and give him a brief reprieve from his carseat. He grudgingly accepted the bottle, and it kept him content for a while, but he ended up screaming again for the final 30 minutes of our drive to Winnemucca.

The past 2 weeks of intense preparations have been a blur. I'm exhausted, and if I didn't need a vacation before all of this, I sure need one now. But, carrying the bags out to the van always gives me a second wind. It is proof that we are almost ready to go. I still have to stuff the maps into the console and wrap up a few loose ends.

They say you aren't really having fun until someone gets hurt, so Brian must be having a blast. He is on his way to Urgent Care to get checked out for what is probably an ear infection. That should make crossing the Rocky Mountains real interesting for him. I guess it is better than the time he got strep throat in Russia....

We are a few hours away from departure. The little ones are too keyed up to take their naps, but that is OK--they can pass out on the drive to Winnemucca. I know I plan to!

Back to (Home)School

I'm seeing evidence everywhere that school is back in session--or awfully close. We are gearing up around here as well with the big letdown today coming when we discovered that one of the school computers will not last much longer. Six years is a long time in the life of a laptop. What is that? 42 in dog years? Well, laptop years are even longer than dog years. I just can't bring myself to put this one down and buy a new one.

Preparing for the new year is eclipsed as we plan our trip. We have a big map posted in the dining room with the route mapped out and an enormous calendar on the other wall where we cross of the days until we leave. Some of the kids drew pictures of what we would be doing on the trip days to help the younger ones make sense of it all, so they can see when we'll be digging dinosaur bones or meeting up with friends along the way.

I'm looking forward to blogging along the way. Until then, there is more planning to be done.

Vacation

The little ones keep asking "When are we going to Godfrey?"

It feels like we are at that in-between place where we still have so long to plan and plan and yet, if we don't hurry up and make reservations and other mundane things like that, we'll never get things together in time.

We spent a while tonight discussing the best snacks to take on the road, figuring in the mess to cost to quality factors. I was the only one voting for broccoli and dip, but maybe they'll come around in time.

We also went over the budget and figured out that the only way to make budget is the increase the budget. Some things can't be helped. Lodging, of course, is the biggest expense, and we even decided to look into buying a trailer. Obviously that raises the price altogether, so we're evaluating how much time we'd use it otherwise. Something to sleep on and discuss another day.

Summer time

Well, it is summer, so we're officially taking a break, but how do you take a break from learning? We have learned about broken arms and building fences and painting (sadly it was of the functional sort, not so much the creative sort).

My younger ones did learn that using Sharpie pens to make a masterpiece means we have a masterpiece on the table underneath as well. We learned that coffee, left in the coffee pot, will mold after a few days if the weather is hot enough. All in all, it feels pretty uneventful.

The kids are growing, the business is growing, and we just keep trying to keep it all in balance, God first, family second, and the rest shakes out after that, one way or the other.

But with the end of July here, it is time to start looking ahead. We haven't targeted a specific start date, but we have hatched a plan to take a big road trip. This will be our most ambitious trip yet. Of course, with 8 kids, a trip to Wal-Mart is ambitious. We're still in the planning stages, but putting it all together is half the fun. Our tentative plan is to cover the Western half of the U.S., or as much as we can in the time we can get away from the office.

And speaking of the office, our painting expertise (learned from painting the porch) is coming in handy as we add a reading tutoring service to The Speech Works.

That reading lab, and the other services we are adding, are big dreams that are coming true a little ahead of schedule. So the "uneventful" summer is actually a summer of blessings. The kids are healthy, we are blessed with work, and we have a trip to plan.....

Slip Slidin' Summer

Homeschooling--and life--took a turn for the bizarre when my son had an incident on the slip-n-slide. He slipped, but......didn't really slide so much as he fell. After a ride in the ambulance, some x-rays, and a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon, he went home in a brace, and now has a little plastic thing holding his arm together.

We had 3 ace bandages in the closet which the little girls have had fun with since then. They play 9-1-1 and take turns bandaging each other up. It looks like a real trauma ward around here with assorted "broken" arms & legs and occasional head wounds.

But the arm seems to be healing up, and life is getting back to normal--or as normal as it gets.

The curriculum we ordered for next year arrived today. The kids were pretty excited to see that big delivery truck in the driveway....right up until they figured out what was in the box. They weren't too disappointed in the end, since my younger ones had been hoping to move onto computer-based work, and that is what was in the box. Still, they would probably rather have seen any number of other gadgets coming out of that package.

Funny to be getting things for next year already. We are all looking forward to a bit of a break. We will be targeting reading comprehension this summer, using some of the tools from my life as a speech pathologist. I've been really excited over the past month to see the changes in my daughter's reading comprehension with the little bit of extra work we've been able to squeeze in. I can't wait to get some more time to help all of them get that extra reading edge!

choosing curriculum

Since we're using Switched on Schoolhouse as our basis for curriculum, we'll be ordering ahead to get a bit of a discount. Their website is abysmally difficult to navigate for ordering, but the phone support is always wonderful. Choosing curriculum is always a mix and match affair with a bit of scheduled work (SOS, which the kids can do on computer) and a lot of other stuff we call learning from life experience.

digging

I wonder what he is thinking as he digs. This son of mine has dug many holes in his life. When he was younger, we used to send him out with a shovel when he’d gotten into trouble to work off his energy. Some days it seemed he dug nearly to China. When he got older, he assumed other tasks. When the septic tank needed to be dug up so it could be drained, he stepped in with a shovel and dug through the hardened driveway. When the plumbing in the house backed up, he dug up the cleanout and dealt with the problem while his younger siblings ran around holding their noses.

Ed was the one who usually buried the chickens when they met an untimely end, but I never really hung around for that. The day he buried the family dog, I didn’t know how or if he would make it through, but he dug steadily, and his tears were absorbed by the fresh dirt before anyone could notice.

But today, my son was digging for me. He was the one who found the cat who had been my baby before the babies came along. Peanut had longed to be an outside cat, and that worked out fine as soon as we moved out to the country. Over the years, the children had taken her place in the house, but she was independent enough not to mind too much.

My son didn’t want me to look at her and tried to protect me when he found her. “Mom, you can’t be here,” he said, blocking the entrance to the shed with his body. But I reminded him that seeing her there was better than thinking the coyotes had gotten her. She had died in a warm, comfy spot.

I took the shovel out front, and then my son came and gently removed it from my hand and began to dig a deep, deep hole. We stood in the unexpected rain and I watched this boy who is becoming a man and I wondered what he was thinking as he dug another hole.

Last minute

I'm as bad as the kids!

I tell them to pace themselves, not to leave everything to the last minute, but tonight I found myself up against a few deadlines and writing furiously to get everything completed as promised.

Tomorrow we will scramble to get all the assignments together since we save that for Monday. We assign a full week of work at the beginning of the week. We set up a few guidelines as to how that has to come together, but for the most part, the older kids regulate their work flow pretty well. When they don't, we get to say things like, "I give rides to kids who are caught up." That usually takes care of any additional procrastination.

Sometime in this next week we have to fit in time to build a fence for the goats. There has to be a math lesson in there somewhere. :)

Planning and supervising a child’s educational future is an enormous undertaking. Nearly 7 years ago, our family embraced the challenge of homeschooling, and now 5 of our 8 great kids are school age.

We are often asked why we homeschool—the query came again just this past weekend—and it is a hard question to answer. What started as a makeshift solution to a temporary problem turned into a lifestyle change that strengthened our family bond. Along the way we learned that reasons to homeschool are as diverse as families themselves.

So here we are, at the end of our 7th year, and I get a lot of questions about why, about how-to, and, of course the enduring, "are you out of your mind?" And the answers are because it just feels right, anyway we can, and yes.

For those of you who read my column in the Appeal Democrat, welcome to a more informal look--and occasional rant--at homeschooling life. I'll be posting a link to my website soon, and I am hoping to get my email newsletter in the works now that the school year is drawing to a close and I have a bit more time on my hands. Until then, happy homeschooling!