School Is Back In Session

Hi!!
Long time no see...I mean type =D

Anyway, you would think over the summer months it would be easier for me to blog right?
WRONG!
Turns out the girlies want my attention & stuff like that. And ya know what? Three people shorter than me are actually quite organized. They did things like tag team all night waking me up then want pancakes in the morning followed by laughter & games! Seriously, that's a lot from one Mama..
Well, we had a really nice summer. We went swimmin by Grandma's a few times, had a great time at Six Flags, & had a ridiculously awesome time with our homeschool group on the 4th. Our summer was packed with all sorts of health issues too. My lil Bear had a lot of tummy troubles. I had to put her on a special diet, take her to multiple appointments, she had lots of needles stuck in her, & my baby was even sedated & had a scope stuck down her throat.
I was not a happy Mama during that last one, I never prayed so hard in a hospital hallway my whole life! Hopefully, I wont have to do that again for a very long time!! Like when I'm old, gray, & wrinkled & in some weird out of body experience where I'm praying for myself. Well, it's not like I want to be praying all hard for someone else I care about...but I'm rambling now.
As you can gather my summer was pretty full & blogging was way at the bottom of my list. But now that the girlies are sitting at the table I can type a bit.
Yay me!

Our first day is pretty laid back & the work load is light so as Bear would say things are "easy peasy" That is if it wasn't for The Homeschool Tyrant...

Yes, this is The Piggie Tyrant laughing at me...seriously, at me. See those two white boxes behind her? Under that is one of those plastic bins used for storage. Well, I use em' for school, notice how it's slightly open? Piggie thought it would be hysterical to tear into that bin & the boxes on top, then thought it was even funnier for Mama to crawl around on the floor trying to stop her. You know how this goes right? I snag something from her & put it back in the bin, she pulls out 4 more "toys" then she laughs at me.
Since I was already on the floor & apparently she was winning I figured I'd take a pic =)

My little Monkey girl was way more cooperative, excited actually. She kept telling me she didn't want her little bit of morning play time, she wanted to do school.

She even put on a dress! Now that may not seem like a big deal but for this girl to where a dress is like asking a dog to fall in love with a cat & have little mouse babies.
OK, maybe that was a little weird but you get the point right? The kid don't dress up but she did for school so this Mama is encouraged.

Then I have my oh so wonderful gentle flower, she makes me so happy.

She tries so hard & doesn't give up. Bear is downright brilliant when it comes to logic. Math, analytical thinking, deductive reasoning. Honestly, I'm not too quick in those areas but it's where she flourishes. She's my struggling reader but I know when it "clicks" she'll take off like wildfire. She dressed up too, when school began she was rockin the Little Red Riding Hood gear *happy mama smiles*

And so here we are, first day of school & the girlies are just about to wrap things up. We are start our study on the state of Alabama this afternoon & I can't wait til Thursday...we're making a pecan pie! The pecan is Alabama's official nut...hmmm...kinda like me!!

Oh & one last thing, I had to add a pic of the piggie not being so much of a tyrant...she's just too darn cute!

The Blessed Supermom

Sooooo EXCITED!!!

The Illinois Christian Homeschool Educators Convention begins tomorrow!!! I am so stinkin' excited! I'll admit I wasn't feelin' it this year, see we go EVERY YEAR & this is my 4th time so I wasn't real motivated.
but now, WOO-HOO!
A weekend chock full of so many great Christian speakers. Last year we had Erwin Lutzer & Voddie Baucham just to name a few This time around we are looking forward to awesome speakers like Ken Ham, that guy rocks! And I'm goin' just to get some needed encouragement, for you homeschoolers out there you know how draining it can be. I'm not saying it's not worth it but I know seasoned homeschoolers who still get fried. It's a huge responsibility so it's really nice to get together with like minded folk.
I remember when my girlfriend first told me about convention, I still wasn't on board with the idea & thought she was nuts, sorry Jacki =)
Anyway, I had this vision in my mind of a simple "get together" of women in blue jean jumpers in a little hall hearing someone (in a blue jean jumper) talking about education.
Boy! Was I wrong!! There are literally thousands of people & the speakers are encouraging in the call of homeschool.

There are workshops on education but there is so much more.
Such as 6 Day's or Millions of Years? an informative workshop on the validity of the age of the Earth. Or A Holy Influence:Be The Crowning Touch In Your Husband's Life, pretty self explanatory wouldn't you say =)

And there's stuff for the kids (tween's & teens) like Experience The Majesty Of The Night Sky
this is an awesome tour of the star filled sky using the planetarium projector.
There's also "Lets Pick Your Brain" a workshop explaining the anatomy of the brain & the kids get to dissect an actual sheep brain!!! yuck yuck gross...eeeweweweewwwwwwww!!!!!
The Cow dissected a sheep eye last year. Weird huh? A cow dissecting a sheep?? Children & little ones are welcome too. Last year we brought The Wee Piglet & this sweet girl asked to hold her..

Then there's the fun shops about couponing, Friday Night movie night, father/son activities.

But the Grandaddy of all Grandaddies is....THE VENDOR HALL!!!!

It's a homeschoolers dream come true!! It's like our candy store! It's not some dreary room where you pick up the kids curriculum for the year. It's full of excitement & all sorts of cool stuff, yes there are books but there are vendors set up like Nature's Workshop Plus that have cool & interesting items for kids. I plan to pick up an ant farm, butterfly habitat, & frog hatchery kit. There's also Miller's Pad's & Paper which has awesome art supplies, or Kids Love Travel giving you great ideas on vacations to take that are easy, affordable, & fun.

This convention is all around wonderful. It has EVERYTHING you could ask for. And did I mention Grandparent's & Pastors can come for FREE?!!! Yeup, pretty cool huh?
If you are a homeschooler in the Midwest area I strongly encourage you to check this out. And if you aren't homeschooling yet & just thinking about it this is a great resource of information. If you don't hear from me for a few days it's cuz I'm running around in the vendor hall trying desperately not to blow off my budget =D

The Blessed Supermom

Wordless Wednesday

Math...U See??

History In The Making *UPDATE*

Tomorrow, I'm taking my kids & making a stand. Tomorrow, my children will witness firsthand a hearing in which Senate Bill 136 will be discussed. SB 136 may not ring any bells for you, but for us Illinois Homeschoolers it's the "hot topic"
Simply put, back in January Senator Edward Maloney filed a bill in reference to non-public private schools (homeschools are in this category) mandating registration. Now, what's the big deal with registering right?? Really, "if you have nothing to hide, why can't you register your children"

I'm making an angry face right now...

Well, let me 'splain a few things. Senator Maloney has stated that homeschoolers in Illinois should be registered with their local school districts and admitted that he doesn't understand why they are so opposed to his newly-introduced SB 136.

"We're not going for the private school students, we're going to change that [in the proposal]. What we want to know is where the homeschoolers are. It's as simple as that," Maloney said from his Springfield office.

Well, why?? Plain & simple...why??
Why does the state have any say so over where my children are? Why should Senator Maloney have any control over how a free private individual chooses to raise their child. This is not a police state, in fact we live in a country founded on liberty & freedom so again I ask...why??

Now, it doesn't just stop at registration, it appears that way but it's so much more. Background checks & fingerprints run on the teachers A.K.A. mommy, attendance records, teaching diversity....ummm, no.

And so on & so on. This really is just getting a foot in the door of our households & I honestly feel it's a money issue as well. Do you know how much money the state of Illinois spends per child???

A whopping $8, 000 bux! And that's just an average, it can range from $5,000 to $18,000. Oh! And by the way, the numbers I'm giving you are from back in '07.
So basically if we go with the low end here, $5,000 & it was 2007 then the state would be losing 10 grand a year from my family alone. Considering, I've been homeschooling 4 years, that's at the very least $40,000.

It has been more than well determined all across this nation that government run education programs have been deemed high-priced failures. How much money has been spent to date?? Yet there are countless studies, proposals, suggestions and plans all across the nation to improve public education, still the public school students in this country continue to fall behind their peers in other nations.

Now, can you could understand how I, who have stayed out of government run education might be opposed to that same government now attempting to insert itself into my own freely chosen and clear education methods.

Tomorrow, thousands of Illinois homeschoolers will make a stand for our God given freedom. Tomorrow, my children will see History in the Making...

* Unfortunately my family was unable to attend, things fell through at the last minute. However, the Capitol was flooded with 4,000 homeschoolers...

The Home School Legal Defense Association stated that this was the largest turn out they've witnessed, many came to peacefully demonstrate their opposition to the proposed bill. While waiting for the hearing to start, the crowd began to sing. Strains of "America the Beautiful," "God Bless America," "Amazing Grace," and "The Star-Spangled Banner" drifted into the committee room. I'm certain it was more than beautiful & no one present will ever forget the passionate crowd of parents, grandparents, & children singing, and the sense that their presence made a powerful statement in defense of liberty.

Those in favor of SB 136 began their testimonies, a truant officer stated that if our children were out of doors, they were considered "truant" & not in a teaching environment. He also stated that through registration he would have access to info to "check on us & offer his help"
When asked how would he knew whether or not a home school needed help he stated "the ones who are doing a great job won't let me go, they'll want me to come in. The ones who say we don't want you around, well then I need to take action"

Sir, I don't want you around....

Some senators worried about homeschoolers "falling through the cracks." The sad truth is that the public schools do not have the solution to "falling through the cracks!" Why have the least effective system of education supervise the most effective system?

I'd like to end this post with a quote from Scott Woodruff of HSLDA when testifying at Tuesday's hearing....

"You may have been surprised by the level of intensity & opposition to this bill. Many homeschoolers frankly, are content to focus on hearth & home. But, when their children are threatened, or their freedom is threatened, by a bill like 136. Ordinary folks are turned into political activists"

First, please..bring this before the Throne of God..ask for His blessing & favor.
If you haven't already...Please contact Sen. Maloney and ask him to withdraw--NOT AMEND--his bill.

Springfield Office:

Phone: (217) 782-5145

Fax: (217) 557-3930

Chicago Office:
Phone: (773) 881-4180
Fax: (773) 881-4243

Chicago Office:
10400 South Western Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60643
Phone: (773) 881-4180
Fax: (773) 881-4243

Free Dipeys & A Hilarious Phone Message

So scrolling through my blogger dashboard I came across an awesome giveaway from a new Supermom Blogger. She's awesome because she has perfected making her own cloth diapers & is even more awesome because she's giving away a 50 gift certificate!!

Check out her cute dipeys here http://niftynappy.com/

She also has an awesome blog about her life as a Supermom to 6 kiddos! How cool is that?! Take a peek at her blog & follow to show we Supermoms stick together http://6andstillsane.blogspot.com/

Last but not least I hafta share this video/audio from her Blog. It's honestly hysterical & soooo true! Enjoy!

The Blessed Zookeeper

RRRRRRRrrrrrrr....

Another older post, but as schooling season is swiftly approaching I thought it was a good read.
Enjoy!

Fall-08

OK so I'm crazy. K? I just wanna get that out there, a disclaimer. First of all I LOVE homeschooling my kids. Really, I do. I love seein all the cool stuff happening. It's like when your baby starts walking & they keep tryin & tryin, toddling, tripping, falling & getting back up. Then when they finally get it & they're walking it's like "WOW!!! AWESOME"
Thats how it is for me to homeschool. When The Bear catches on, sounds out a word & with big ole amazed eyes starin at her book she says MMMAAATTT, MAT! It's like "WOW!! YEAH!!! YOU SAID MAT!"
Ok but heres the down side, I'm a freakin lunatic.
I just have to say teaching a kid to read...not that easy. I mean you would think it's easy because I mean come on, do you remember NOT reading? Probably not, it's second nature, & obviously you can read cuz you're reading this.
But here's my problem...OK ready?
Here it is
"rrrrrrrr"
Yup, thats it.
It's trying to get a 5 year old to make that sound, now lets be specific here OK. It's nor "arrrrr" or "errrr" it's "rrrrr" & that my friends makes a 5 year old angry. Which in turn makes a mommy ANGRRRRRYYY.....ya know like the Hulk(yeah I'm a Superhero, It's on my Facebook profile)
I mean it's not an easy sound to mimic, go ahead say it...sound it out...I'll wait...
SEE!!!
If you did it right, the way the "PERFECT GONNA MAKE YOU GO INSANE" book tells you how, the sound comes from the back of your throat.
Tell Bear that & she looks at you like you're insane. Why would she want a sound to come from the back of her throat???? There's no mouth there...makes no sense! Thats her neck!!!

Well, here we are...stuck on RRRRRRRRR & apparenly learning to read is something I can't blow off. So I'm venting to you in hopes of not going completely bonkers.
I really do appreciate the time to ramble on because running ouside, screaming, pullin' my hair out, climbing up a tree & barking at a bird is generally frowned upon.
"RRRRRR not ARRRRRE" OK? Lana?
Ok, Mommy..."ERRRRR"

AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

The Blessed Zookeeper