Mariposa Academy Homeschool

Bit by bit, I’m putting together our Sonlight curriculum. I love finding deals on Ebay or VegSource, and I jump up and down every time I get a package. I’m a geek, I know. So far I have the Language Arts and Science Instructor’s Guides and the Readers Schedule. I just wrote to someone selling a History IG so I probably have that, too. This weekend I am going to buy a 3-inch binder. I can’t wait to start setting everything up. Llani is excited each time a box comes. She already read one of the readers and one or two of the read-alouds. She wants to know why she can’t just read the read-alouds herself. I might let her, if she can keep up with the schedule. I don’t see why not.

Today she decided that she Hates Math and that Math Is Boring. She procrastinated for a good couple of hours, and finally breezed through the work in ten minutes once I sat down next to her and kept her on task. We have tried several math curricula over the past couple years, and I honestly think she is going to complain no matter what we use. I’m not even sure that she really hates math. I think it’s more that she hates having an assignment when she’d rather just play. She hasn’t memorized her basic math facts, but she understands math concepts very well and I think as time goes on she will do very well in math. I just have to get her to sit down and do it.

Yesterday my sister was over and she cleaned the kids’ room. She is amazing. Where I am overwhelmed to the point of immobility, she can’t wait to get in there and tackle the mess. She threw out a bunch of stuff, got everything up off the floor, organized some of it, and vacuumed. It looks almost spotless in there, whereas before it was a hazard to walk across the floor. There is still stuff in boxes and bins that we have to go through and organize, but it’s such an enormous change from what it was. I am so grateful. Because of this, Llani was actually able to sit at her desk and work today.

It’s official; we’re using Sonlight next year. I’ve been scouring Ebay and other sources for bargains and putting the curriculum together piecemeal. Tomorrow is the one day of the month when FS/WTB ads are allowed on the Sonlight Secular Yahoo list, and I’ve half a mind to post a WTB at midnight. I’m a woman on a mission.

I’ve decided that since we’re going to have designated “school time,” I might as well relax for now and let this officially be summer vacation. So I am not pushing any structured activities at this point. Once we get our math curriculum, though, I’m going to start doing math and Spanish every day. I think Llani could stand to bone up on her math, and math and Spanish both benefit greatly from regular practice. Also, we need to get into the habit of following a daily routine and “having school.”

Llani has said she can’t wait till school starts– but that’s because she can’t wait to do science experiments. I hope her enthusiasm holds when she has to do math work or listen to history read-alouds.

Luz is three months old today. To celebrate, she rolled over onto her tummy for the first time at about four in the morning. Hee! I can’t believe it’s been three months already; it really went by in a flash.

I started Zoloft on Saturday. I was going to wait until after my cardiologist appointment, but I couldn’t get that appointment until late this month, and I did not want to wait that long for the Zoloft. I’m looking forward to feeling better soon.

I am 99% sure that we’re going to take a more structured approach to homeschooling for second grade, and 98% sure that that approach will be Sonlight. It is a Christian curriculum, but it can be used secularly without a lot of hassle. It is literature-based and features many high-quality children’s books. Lots of classics and Newbery award winners. I have always resisted boxed curricula, but ever since I looked at Sonlight I knew that if I did use a boxed curriculum, it would probably be Sonlight. And now here I am, thinking a boxed curriculum might actually be the best thing for us, after all. Having everything all planned out would free me from planning lessons and gathering materials. It would alleviate my stress about learning gaps. I would always know what to do next, and we could go through our scheduled lessons within a few hours and have the rest of the day for free play and exploration. I know it will be a challenge for us to get used to a schedule, but once we manage that I think everything else will be easier.

I’ve linked it before and I do so again now:

Every face I look at seems beautiful to me, Melissa Wiley’s blog post about patience.

Why am I linking it for a second time? Because I am reading it again for inspiration, and finding it very helpful. And if I find it helpful to refer to this post time and again, my readers may well find it helpful, too.

The kids and I were waiting at the bus stop today, coming home from speech therapy. I saw a few motorcycles coming toward us, flying flags– American and a couple others. “Look, look,” I told the kids excitedly, “a motorcycle parade!”Because really, what’s cooler than a motorcycle parade? But as they got close I saw it was just four motorcycles. With the American flags were black POW-MIA flags, and yellow flags that said “Patriot Guard Riders.” Then I realized that they were riding in front of a hearse. It was a funeral procession. A funeral procession for a fallen servicemember, and they were riding to protect the servicemember’s family and loved ones from the intrusion of the Fred Phelps assholes.

That servicemember was a stranger to me, but I teared up anyway. What a tregedy. As if it weren’t fucked up enough anyway that so many young people are over there dying so that W can play cowboy and oil companies can increase their profit margins, now when they come home in body bags their families have to contend with vitriolic bigots intruding on their personal grief.