9.25.2009

Grumpy

Now, if I asked you this question first thing in the morning, what would your response be? Angry? Defensive? Kind? Patient?

"Are you going to be grumpy like you were yesterday?"

Now, if the same question were asked to an ultra-sensitive sibling first thing in the morning, what would his response be?

Now, let's say that the 2 people asked the offending question got themselves together and became happy again, like we were first thing in the morning, what effect would that have on the one who asked the question?

Would she

a) get herself happy, since the other people were now happy?
b) become grumpier, and get sent to her room?

9.23.2009

Just a Minute

Literally... that's all I have. This week is all-soccer-all-the-time. 4 away games between now and Sunday.

People are still asking me when we will put the kids in school. Any of our reasons to keep the kids don't seem to matter when faced with the overwhelming opinion that a) I need the break, b) the kids will respect someone else more than me as a teacher, c) they need to be "socialized", d) they are somehow missing out on the public school experience, and e) it's just plain odd to be homeschooling. This last one is never spoken out loud and yet it is there. Please, please, give us homeschoolers the benefit of the doubt that we are doing what we think is right for our children. Not your children, but OUR children. I will get off my soapbox now. Also, you may realize this from raising your own children, but the more someone tells me I'm not "doing it right," the more I dig my heels in. I'll yield if I'm just being stubborn, but we've gone round and round the whole schooling issue, and so far the pros of being home outweigh the cons.

Anyhow, on the subject of school. This year got off to a better start. I converted a whole room into our classroom, gave the children their own drawers and work spaces. We usually do about 3 hours of school a day. This includes writing, spelling, reading, and math. There is often another enriching subject thrown in too. A friend of mine and I sat down last night and decided what we were going to co-teach our kids this year. We divided up the subjects by what we each felt comfortable teaching, which pretty much covered the whole list. Neither of us like poetry, but we decided we shouldn't cripple our children with our dislikes. (Wish me luck! I drew the short straw.)

I had her 2 kids over yesterday and we studied about the solar system in general and did a craft with the planets and their order from the sun. I plan to continue the space theme, as it was pretty popular. The kids all asked good questions... lots about the sun and moon, so next time will be devoted to the moon.

My time is UP. Rats. Off to Soccer. (Oh, yes, it's capitalized to show it's importance to us right now... just like the other 's' word: Sleep.)

9.18.2009

I know, I know....

Where's all that awesome blogging been? Ha ha. Soccer started and, man, is she a needy sport.

SOCCER!

I had a friend ask me if Lee and I were mad at she and her husband, because we haven't hung out since this summer.

SOCCER!

A friend's children asked her why my children HAVE to play soccer now, and will they ever see them again?

SOCCER!

Filled out my calendar with all H and Y's games and had to give myself an adrenaline shot straight to the heart. 10 games didn't SEEM like that much. Until it doubled when Yordi joined up.

SOCCER!

One tournament didn't seem like such a big deal until it became 3 tournaments in September alone. Next one is in October.

SOCCER!

Practice 3 nights a week seemed totally doable back in August, until the tournaments and games started.

SOCCER!

The kids are having a great time, and honestly, it's one of the few things I don't have to strong arm them into. I say, "Soccer practice tonight!" and they say, "Do I wear the green or white shirt?" (They have 2 practice shirts, which should, in theory, cut down on my laundry, but somehow I'm always washing soccer stuff.)

If you want to see us, we'll be at a soccer something-or-other until the middle of November. Oh, yeah, and probably LOVING it. It's fun to watch them play and improve. And, here's an awesome benefit ... having them run around for and hour and a half 3-4 times a week until 7:30 means they're asleep before Lee and I get to the bottom of the stairs.

I keep writing blogs in my head, but my head is usually on my pillow, and therefore nothing gets written, because I can never remember what I was thinking about as I was falling asleep, but I'm sure they were awesome.