The 5 Secrets Of Why We Homeschool

What's the secret reason we homeschool? You might not believe me! Is it because we don't want our kids in harmful public school? Is it because we think our kids are so brilliant they can only be taught by hand?

No! Ted and I believe every family has a different path that's right for them. We homeschool because we love it, because it makes us feel like the Keys family, it helps us appreciate each other as well as the wonder that is in the world. Here are our secrets about homeschooling;

1. We wake up when we are ready. We take naps if we need to. Sometimes we wear pajamas all day. Sometimes (ok most of the time) pajamas are just our comfortable clothes and they are worn for unstructured amounts of time. A couple days in a row? Just change when they get dirty or when we are about to leave the house.

2. Lots of recess! As in a normal day for my ten year old consists of daydreaming outside, then breakfast on the porch, then swinging or riding scooter outside, and then we are ready to begin school. Going outside happens anytime our brains get stretched too far. I personally sometimes check the mail three times in a day just to breathe and clear my brain.

recess!

3. Field trips are better. We go on train rides, to events at the local college, to farms and so much more. We schedule ahead or just pop over if we need to get out of the house. Sometimes a library trip or a trip to Daddy's work are a great added learning experience. There is nothing like walking through a city on a week day and having a whole museum to yourselves!

4. Cooking and cleaning up are part of the curriculum. They naturally have learned to make thier own breakfast and lunches. I just try to keep healthy stuff available. If I ask sweetly my older child will even make an extra sandwich for me. 

Downside to homeschool; When your kids are home all day the house gets messier faster. Upside; your kids learn that cleaning is part of life  is part of thier lives now. My kids are not all naturally good at housekeeping, but we are learning to work on picking up and cleaning a little bit all the time (and sometimes we take a day off to deep clean under thier beds and in thier closets). I feel like this gives them skills they will need for real life!

5. Their schoolwork is geared toward them. My ten year old is a reader so we have an Essentials of the English Language Class for writing, but for reading I just hand her my favorite Junior Fiction reads and call it done. My son is quicker with math than reading, so we have a more step by step reading curriculum and when he has mastered a book I have him read it to his baby brother or at story time for the 1-5 year old's at Daddy's daycare. That gives him a lot of confidence with reading and he is not comparing how well he can read with other kids his age every day. Sometimes the kids create videoes to learn thier schoolwork (you can see one here).We watch science and history videos as a family and basically nerd-out with science, books on cd, and trivia games at home. Everything is school for us. I love having our whole family culture be learning and Ted loves it too.

6. We get along we love each other's company. 

It's easy to hold a grudge against your family member when you only see them a few hours a day.  I know this because I did for most of my childhood with my younger sister (sorry sister!). If you are alone with your siblings all day I've noticed most siblings get along. If you think about it, it's too hard not to! We are together nearly all the time. Maybe it's easier to band together as kids against parents if you are also students against teacher! Whatever reason I am grateful that my kids for the most part enjoy each other, and I think this home lifestyle helps. We are invested in loving each other.

Our home is not a day's end destination it is where everything stems from. We work, play, learn here together. We share it all.  While sometimes I want to escape, sometimes so do the kids! We all learn how to forgive quickly.  More importantly we learn to hang in there together, and not write each other off.  At times we are mad at each other and sometimes we have a blast, it's all part of relationships! 

We started homeschooling to give our unique kids what we thought would be best for them. I recommend praying about it if you think it could be right for you, every family has different needs and callings. Homeschooling is no joke, it's a lot of work as well as a lot of fun.

Now however, relationship with my kids is the main reason I homeschool.  Honestly I feel like I am having my second childhood. This time I am enjoying learning, and loving a lot more deeply. If that ever changes we will reevaluate homeschooling, but for this season, we are all in! Why do you homeschool or public, or private school? What is special about your family that helps you make that choice?

The 5 Secrets Of Why We Homeschool

What's the secret reason we homeschool? You might not believe me! Is it because we don't want our kids in harmful public school? Is it because we think our kids are so brilliant they can only be taught by hand?

No! Ted and I believe every family has a different path that's right for them. We homeschool because we love it, because it makes us feel like the Keys family, it helps us appreciate each other as well as the wonder that is in the world. Here are our secrets about homeschooling;

1. We wake up when we are ready. We take naps if we need to. Sometimes we wear pajamas all day. Sometimes (ok most of the time) pajamas are just our comfortable clothes and they are worn for unstructured amounts of time. A couple days in a row? Just change when they get dirty or when we are about to leave the house.

2. Lots of recess! As in a normal day for my ten year old consists of daydreaming outside, then breakfast on the porch, then swinging or riding scooter outside, and then we are ready to begin school. Going outside happens anytime our brains get stretched too far. I personally sometimes check the mail three times in a day just to breathe and clear my brain.

recess!

3. Field trips are better. We go on train rides, to events at the local college, to farms and so much more. We schedule ahead or just pop over if we need to get out of the house. Sometimes a library trip or a trip to Daddy's work are a great added learning experience. There is nothing like walking through a city on a week day and having a whole museum to yourselves!

4. Cooking and cleaning up are part of the curriculum. They naturally have learned to make thier own breakfast and lunches. I just try to keep healthy stuff available. If I ask sweetly my older child will even make an extra sandwich for me. 

Downside to homeschool; When your kids are home all day the house gets messier faster. Upside; your kids learn that cleaning is part of life  is part of thier lives now. My kids are not all naturally good at housekeeping, but we are learning to work on picking up and cleaning a little bit all the time (and sometimes we take a day off to deep clean under thier beds and in thier closets). I feel like this gives them skills they will need for real life!

5. Their schoolwork is geared toward them. My ten year old is a reader so we have an Essentials of the English Language Class for writing, but for reading I just hand her my favorite Junior Fiction reads and call it done. My son is quicker with math than reading, so we have a more step by step reading curriculum and when he has mastered a book I have him read it to his baby brother or at story time for the 1-5 year old's at Daddy's daycare. That gives him a lot of confidence with reading and he is not comparing how well he can read with other kids his age every day. Sometimes the kids create videoes to learn thier schoolwork (you can see one here).We watch science and history videos as a family and basically nerd-out with science, books on cd, and trivia games at home. Everything is school for us. I love having our whole family culture be learning and Ted loves it too.

6. We get along we love each other's company. 

It's easy to hold a grudge against your family member when you only see them a few hours a day.  I know this because I did for most of my childhood with my younger sister (sorry sister!). If you are alone with your siblings all day I've noticed most siblings get along. If you think about it, it's too hard not to! We are together nearly all the time. Maybe it's easier to band together as kids against parents if you are also students against teacher! Whatever reason I am grateful that my kids for the most part enjoy each other, and I think this home lifestyle helps. We are invested in loving each other.

Our home is not a day's end destination it is where everything stems from. We work, play, learn here together. We share it all.  While sometimes I want to escape, sometimes so do the kids! We all learn how to forgive quickly.  More importantly we learn to hang in there together, and not write each other off.  At times we are mad at each other and sometimes we have a blast, it's all part of relationships! 

We started homeschooling to give our unique kids what we thought would be best for them. I recommend praying about it if you think it could be right for you, every family has different needs and callings. Homeschooling is no joke, it's a lot of work as well as a lot of fun.

Now however, relationship with my kids is the main reason I homeschool.  Honestly I feel like I am having my second childhood. This time I am enjoying learning, and loving a lot more deeply. If that ever changes we will reevaluate homeschooling, but for this season, we are all in! Why do you homeschool or public, or private school? What is special about your family that helps you make that choice?

Summer's End

(No babies were really left to float alone in the pool. Wink.  I photoshopped myself out of the picture.)

I asked the whole family what thier favorite parts of this summer were. Here are thier short lists;

ha ha! D did not swim at the deep end of poop! That was a mommy slip of the hand. 

Ted's been running a business (a Daycare) and we have a new baby. I wanted to be more intentional about the shorter family times we have. We prayed for meaningful summer activities. Viola! I found an inexpensive pool membership that has served us well.  Fridays we go to work with Daddy and put on a Storytime. There were a couple trips to see family. Ted spent a little time sharing books he loves with the kids, and teaching them tennis. 

Even with that though it was great to hear what really spoke to the kids. Jonathan (playing), Dorathea, new accomplishments. For all of us friends and simple things spoke loudest. 

Now we are knee-deep in school and I am already lonely for friend time and alone time! The oxymoron of an extroverted homeschooler! Hopefully, I will soon find more balance, more encouraging conversation, and some great long workouts.

As fall enters, what are you investing in time-wise? Individualy (like Dorathea's porch time?), What relationships do you feel drawn to invest in, and what are some activities that will playfully do that? I'd love to hear you're answers! 

The airboretum exhibit at Virginia Tech

storytime!

Until I get to chat with you about it lets bid summer 2016 farewell.- Allison 

Tips for traveling by train with children.

I have a six month old who is all smiles until you put him in a car seat. That is why we Keys made a routine visit to family into an adventure by deciding to go by train. It worked! Baby was happy, kids enjoyed the ride, and I arrived a little less tired. Here are some tips I found along the way to make it  more of an adventure for the older kids and a happier ride for baby and Mommy!

1. Buying tickets, kids ride for half fare! 

One of the main reasons I was up for this trip is that as I tried different dates and times on Amtrak's website I found tickets comparable to the cost of gas. I was amazed at how affordable train travel is becoming! If you can play with different dates and times to find some great fares.

2. Let the older kids pack and carry thier own rolling suit cases

Amtrak is generous with thier luggage allowances, even if you are just bringing carry-ons. Even so I wanted needed the kids to be able to carry thier own things since I had a foldable stroller, baby and infant carseat, my own carry on, and the baby's diaper bag stuffed with snacks. I put thier clothes in the suitcases first, then let them pack a few toys and books. Then we tested if they could pick up thier suit case alone. This is important as they might have to go up and down stairs with it. I think it taught them some packing light skills too (They whittled down library of books they were bringing to just a couple). I was so glad we decided on rolling suitcases for them. Backpacks would have been too heavy as we waited for the train.

3. Bring a small infant carseat.

This was great for baby naps on the train, and to give my arms a little rest! An infant seat fit perfectly at my feet onboard The conductor called Isaiah a little stowaway (because babies ride for free) which made the kids giggle. I brought a foldable frame stroller that it snaps into, put my luggage and diaper bag on that. later the carseat strapped into my mom's car.

Sleeping while mommy packs the diaper bag, the morning of the trip.

4. Check Amtrak's arrival site in case your train is running behind. 

You can even download their app. I found the train might be a few minutes late in the morning, and possibly an hour late later in the day, so it is important to check!

5. Leave an extra hour or so to meander around the train station. 

I wish I had allowed more time because only got their thirty minutes early, not enough time to make it to the train museum next door.  We didn't have to check into a station at all we just hopped onto the train with the digital tickets Amtrak sent by email. It was fun for the kids just to talk to other passengers in the waiting room. Next time I will give us an hour to get a coffee and explore the more around the train station. 

6. Pack an activity book with maps, drawing paper, and puzzles. 

I found some great travel printables (my favorite one from this Family Education site)

 I also went to Amtrak's website and printed out a 

map of the trip (just click on the small map on your route to pull up a larger customizable map to print)so the kids could mark off the cities as we rolled through them. For my reading ten year old I added the Amtrak Route Guide which includes a paragraph about each stations history and feature to learn more about where we are at any given town. 

I also found these pages with instructions on how to draw trains;

and one for smaller kids here. 

I just put a few blank pages in with the drawing pages. I placed the pages in a very cheap 3  prong folder.  I stuck a Mad Libs book in for D and a kid's magazine for J to make them even cooler.  The activity books seemed to help them enjoy the trip even more. The kids loved finding them in thier carseats the morning of the trip. It was akin to Christmas magic when we got in the car. Make sure they pack colored pencils in thier luggage!

6. When you get a little stir crazy go to the Dining Car!

This is one of my favorite things about train travel! The Dining Car. It might not be fancy but their is something about sitting down at a table while traveling that I love. We brought UNO and a plastic bag full of lunchy snacks to the dining car. We sat at a table and watched the world go by while we ate and played. It's kinda nice to talk with your people face to face, light pouring in on your table. Plus my kids love the change of scene, to stretch their legs, and push the buttons that open the doors between the cars (as long as their not fighting over them).

Ok that's all I've got! I loooove riding on trains.  The scenery seems undiscovered. The quiet rocking of the train makes my kids sleepy. Also it seems romantic, tied into so many books we've read, Harry Potter, The Boxcar Children, The Railway Children, A Bear Called Paddington.

So many different kinds of people to see. There were friendly city people, people from other countries, suburbanites, and even a couple Amish families. It was fun asking people where they where from and watching them get on and off the train.

I think we all enjoyed it, learned a lot, and had fun making a train memory!

Happy Travels! May your bags be light and your kids not fight (too much).- Allison

They are Trying to Control My Life!

Jonathan came to me yesterday and said almost crying,
"Why does Dorathea have to clean my room?"
"Well she cleaned your room to earn computer time."
Jonathan, "I don't like it. I can't find my Lego instructions now."
Me, "Well you can tell her that and ask her where the instructions are."
Jonathan thinks and then, suddenly angry, "She is trying to control my life!"
Then he goes to the backdoor, opens it, and yells out at his sister, "Stop trying to control me!"

D comes in a couple minutes later and I said, "So what did you think of what Jonathan just said to you?"
D "Aw, he is so cute!"
Me laughing, "Yes he is awesome, but maybe you should ask before you clean his room next time?"
D- smiling, "Ok Mommy"

I have the best kids, really.
I've been reading "The Grace Filled Parent". I usually cringe at rule, I mean parenting books but I love this one! It talks a lot about loving our kids like Jesus. Realizing we all sin and we all need Jesus to help us love each other.

 The sneaking of computer time, and other small infractions were really getting to me. Our summer was starting to feel like one big time of giving out punishments ALL DAY LONG.

Then I ran across this meme that really got my attention. Disclaimer: It's a little harsh in style. Throw out the condemning tone .

It was just what I needed when I needed it (aka answer to prayer).  I've really working on not overreacting (rolling my eyes, acting dissapointed, raising my voice) to things before I hand out discipline. Its amazing how fast MY view of my kids changed. With me toning down my reactions to sneaking, the infractions got smaller. Now my kids awesome selves seem bigger and I'm finding myself laughing more than scolding.

They are not "Trying to control my life!" They are just making mistakes  trying to rise above them, just like I am.

P.S. Having one type A child and one type B is educational, hilarious, and not for the weak of heart.
- Allison

Isaiah finds his toes!!!

 Breaking news!
Isaiah made two adorable new friends.

His feet. And he has been playing with these cuties all day.


He is completely enamored with them and who can blame him?

Here is Jonathan when he made the same discovery;

And here is Dorathea;

 All so cute!

This one wins the contest for most hair though!

Life is good when you have ten pink toes and a head full of faux-hawk hair.

Dream of where you will go with them sweet Isaiah.

Mother Nature's Son

We live in a beautiful neighborhood right where the town meets the farmland. There are two organic farms right in our backyard! Nearly every day I take a walk to the end of our road pushing the stroller and look over the rolling farmland and watch the sun set. I decided to take a basket along for some sunset pictures of Isaiah. 

 We have used this basket as a changing pad but I fear he's about to outgrow it!

I grabbed the pillow from my bed. 

The last of the "little bed" photos. He's outgrown the doll bed too!

Love this Nature's Son. He is a calm and happy baby when I take him outside.