Happy Birthday to me! Big changes are ahead.

...almost two weeks ago. I'm 28 now. I've been "feeling" 28 since Christmas though. I got to spend my birthday weekend in California with my parents, brothers, SIL, and newest niece Camilla! And also Patrick. It was his very first plane ride and he did reasonably well. He was a bit fussy but not unconsolable, and we sat next to a grandpa on the way there and a mom with a 2 year old on the way back, so very understanding seatmates. :)

Patrick had fun playing with my parents' dog Emmy (their new favorite child ;) and Camilla was a cuuuuuuuutie pie! It was so nice getting to see family again, and being in California wasn't all that bad either (I've never really been a huge fan of the state, even having been born and raised there). The weather was sunny and mild, lots of flowers were blooming, and there was lots of green everywhere. It was still nice to get back to Washington though. As often as I complain about the rain, when the sunshine comes out in Washington it blows California out of the water (in my not-so-humble opinion. I love this state :).

This past year, between ages 27 and 28, has been interesting for me. I've read more non-fiction in the past year than I think I had in the 27 years previously! I finished reading the Book of Mormon and started reading the Bible (still plugging away. I'm wading through Isaiah currently). And last summer I considered doing something I *never* thought I'd ever consider doing and, being as I am incapable of making big decisions without first researching it to death (I have/had a rather extensive collection of pregnancy and childrearing books!) I've been buying books by the dozen to help me prepare. I've wrestled through the mind-stretching exercise of shifting paradigms and the way I view society and my roll in it and it's roll in my life and in my childrens' lives. I'm only just now starting to feel prepared to jump off the cliff into the new adventure.

Perpared for what?

Homeschooling.

What? Me?! The daughter of two public school educators? Me, who can't even memorize my own phone number in less than a month? Ya. Me.

We've researched Washington state's homeschooling laws, we've (I've) looked into all the different homeschooling "philosophies" that are out there (did you know there was more than one?! I didn't!) We've purchased curriculum, art supplies, pipe cleaners, and a bunch of other stuff we may or may not use to cram information into the heads of our unsuspecting children.

I've also been prepping Raia to the idea that next year mommy is going to be her teacher. It still feels wierd to think of it that way. But it's also a little exciting.

Being the daughter of public educators I've spent more than my fair share of time inside classrooms. I've helped set up bulliten boards and done one-on-one reading with kids. When I was in the classroom helping my parents I typically enjoyed it. But then on the drive home I'd listen to my parents complaining about clueless administrators, the confines of state education regulations that tell you what to teach, where, when, and how. And then all the crazy parents and problem students. Yikes! I've always enjoyed the act of teaching, but all the other crud that comes with it, when you do it professionally, killed any desire in me to become a professional teacher.

Homeschooling doesn't have that crud. Or at least not as much of it. I can admit my kids are sometimes "difficult students". But hey, I can send them to their rooms without worrying about Tommy's Mommy calling to complain about how I'm "out to get her son" who is nothing but an absolute angel!

If a curriculum doesn't work at teaching my kids' math facts, I can change it.

If one of my kids' is a bit slower at math, they can take their time. If they're faster, they can zip right on ahead.

If they're sick, they can take as much time as they need to recover.

We can have "Sun days!" instead of "snow days" (because who wants to be stuck inside on the first gorgeous sunny day of Spring?)

We can have scripture study and prayer as a regular part of the school day.

No homework.

No balancing act of elementary vs. middle school scheduals both competing with the baby's nap schedual.

Homemade lunches!

Regular fieldtrips.

No jumping through administrative hoops to deal with a bully. We can just walk away.

Travelling in the "off season".

All that extra time to spend together as a family!!!!!

I could go on...

I'm sure we'll get some flack for our decision, but I've always been the "wierd one" in the family, so I'm used to being the odd dog out. :op

If you're interested in learning more about the homeschooling philosophy we've decided to go with (Classical, aka Teaching the Trivium, aka I'm-going-to-drive-myself-nuts-trying-to-teach-an-8-year-old-latin) you can read The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. It's become my Homeschooling Bible (quiet literally. it's a big book!). But don't worry, you don't have to read the whole thing. Just pick the chapters from the table of contents that most intrigue you and take a peek.

Some highlights that really sucked me into this teaching method:

*History is taught in order in a 4-year rotation (Ancients, Dark Ages, Reinessance, Modern) 3 times between 1st and 12 grades.

*3 4-year "phases": Grammer (1st-4th) filling children's heads with stories and facts and building memorization skills; Logic (5th-8th) teaching kids how to see facts as part of a whole, and delve into the waters of abstract thinking, and Rhetoric (9th-12th) diving right into abstract thinking, gathering information in order to make judgements, and learning to communicate those thoughts and insights clearly.

It makes my inner nerd get all twitterpated just thinking about it. Of course it includes the 3 R's, history, geography, and even Latin! (Yes, Latin!) It should be interesting trip, to say the least. :)

We start this Summer!

(Note: I realize this post has spelling errors. Rest assured that I have already purchased a solid spelling curriculum for teaching my kids how to spell! I intend to do a bit of learning myself ;)