A Work in Progress

Don't you love it when the Lord provides in a way you didn't even think to ask?

A couple of week's ago, I came across a free piano through our homeschool group.  Yes, it is enormous and was (I've been told) incredibly difficult to move.  It was in pretty rough shape on the outside, but the sound is excellent and I've always wanted a real piano.  Joey wasn't so sure about the piano at first, especially since he had to move it.  Then, I started to play it.  The kids gathered around the piano right away because they recognized the song and started to sing, "This is my story, this is my song."  Joey changed his mind about the piano right then.  It was so sweet to hear them all sing together.  They were so excited about the piano.

So, my sweet husband, started working to make the piano look a bit better.  It has turned into quite a project, but we are all enjoying watching the progress.  Joey is removing one panel at a time from the piano and sanding it smooth, working out all the damaged areas of the wood carefully, then putting each piece back together.  It is amazing to watch it all come together piece by piece. 

It made me think about how we are all a work in progress.  I love the children's song, He's Still Working on Me.  We are all in different stages of life and God isn't finished with any of us yet.  I think sometimes we expect everyone else to make exceptions for us when we are sometimes unwilling to make exceptions for others.  Sometimes, it seems (at least to me) that we expect more out of children than we do adults.  We don't consider that someone might be tired, or sick, or struggling.  God is still working on each of us to draw us to Himself or to make us more like Christ.  I am thankful that God isn't finished with me and that I am a work in progress each day as God makes me more like Christ.

Here are some pictures of our progress  . . .

Pajama Day!!!

Okay, I decided to write a post about our pajama days.  I've had a lot of people ask about our schedule and our 'dress-code' and I thought I would share with all of you a little of what we do on a weekly basis and why. 

I am a supporter of school uniforms.  I tend to agree with the crowd that says it is an equalizer in schools making upper and lower income students more equal in the classroom.  Now, I understand that there will always be cliques of popular girls who have thousand dollar bags that go with these 'equalizing' uniforms and set them apart from the other students.  Still, I believe that in the classroom, a uniform or dress code helps to turn the focus away from the students and toward learning.  Of course, this is coming from one of those students who was never part of the cool group, the athletic group, or the 'pretty-girl' group either.  I loved school because I loved to learn, I could really have done without all the drama that distracted from learning.

Also, as a teacher in a school that had uniforms, I appreciated how it helped to bring order to the classroom.  We had a few days for spirit week or when we were going on field trips when students were allowed to come to school in something other than their uniforms.  These days were always more chaotic.  Of course, there were field trips they were excited about or pep rallies to look forward to, but the lack of uniforms contributed to a slightly more chaotic classroom environment. 

Because of this, we have a structure in our daily routine and the children all wear something equivilent to a uniform most days.  My mom found an amazing little dresser with 5 wicker basket-style drawers at a garage sale for us.  I love it!!  Josh and Joy choose what they want to wear for school each night before bed and put their clothes in their drawer.  I get Hudson and the twins' clothes for them and put them in their drawers.  Although they aren't uniforms, we have the boys wear polos or button-up shirts with khaki-style pants.  The girls have several cute jumpers and tops or skirts and sweaters.  They all know where their clothes are when they need to get ready for school.  I find that preparing for school in this simple way helps to bring order to our day and to the classroom each day.

Now, here is where our orderly days take a slight detour . . .

Wednesdays are busy for us.  We have Wednesday night prayer meeting at church at 7:00pm.  Because Joey doesn't get home from work before church, we don't eat dinner until after we get home from church on Wednesdays.  We have Bible Club for the kids during the church service.  We generally don't get out of church until 8:30 or so and then it is a 20 minute drive home.  Having dinner at 9:00 or later makes for a very late night for five little ones.  Because of our craziness on Wednesday nights, we have an altered Thursday scchool schedule.  I let the kids sleep in later on Thursday, we have a quick and easy breakfast, and then we have school in our jammies.  Well, the kids wear their jammies anyway :)  I know, I could just as easily skip Wednesday night services and keep our schedules on track, but we, as a family, decided that being in church was more important to our children's life-long education than sticking to a schedule.  Plus, we love pajama day.

Obviously, we love pajama day!!

Work Samples

Our homeschool is technically included in a charter school here in Alaska.  We are assigned to a state-certified contact teacher who lends help if we need it.  Our contact teacher helps to keep records of our progress throughout the school year.  If we decide to transfer to a brick and mortar (not that there are any brick schools in Alaska) school someday, all of our records are complete and easily transferrable.  If we decide to homeschool through graduation, each student receives a diploma and their permanent records are complete.  Alaska is unique in its approach to homeschooling for several reasons.  Mainly, Alaska needs to be supportive of homeschoolers because of the geography of our state.  We have a large number of rural communities with very few students.  The state requires that a public school be built and a full-time teacher be retained for any community meeting the minimum number of students each school year.  Still, there are a considerable number of communities that do not meet the requirements for a public school.  For this reason, Alaska has several 'distance learning' programs throughout the state that are established as charter schools through the state.  They allow for funding for homeschooler's needs, assistance for homeschool families, and accountability for students.

I recommend any homeschool family do some research into what programs are available where you live to assist you in your homeschooling and to help maintain your records.  Many Christian Schools are beginning to add benefits for homeschoolers.  They offer music and sports programs, science labs, etc . . . for homeschoolers on a class by class basis to supplement the homeschool education.  Some video or internet based programs maintain permanent records for your students as well.  I would recommend that any family interested in homeschooling research the available options and be sure that there is a reliable means by which to maintain records of your children's work.  You may desire to homeschool your children from preschool through graduation, but permanent records are always helpful whether you are transferring to a traditional school or applying for college. 

As part of our charter school program, we turn in work samples each quarter and progress reports (a.k.a. report card grades) every semester.  This year, I was inspired to do something unique with our work samples each quarter.  I purchased 5 each of 4 different colors of 2-pocket folders.  That would be 1 folder for each child in a different color for each quarter.  We chose a cute cut-out to decorate the folder and filled it full of some of our best work and our favorite activities.  I will (Lord Willing) also include a photo in each folder of something we've done this quarter.  I just wanted to share the pictures with you, because I thought they were a fun way to showcase our work.

Since I've missed another Friday's worth of my favorite things, I wanted to share these with you.  They are Reading Response pads from Lakeshore Learning.  I purchased them last year and I love them.  They come in a pack of four pads.  Each pad contains 100 sheets of full-color pages for students to fill in with information about any book they are reading.  They have been excellent to add to our literature units.  We use them once a week or so as part of Josh and Joy's independent daily work.  Joy loves them because she gets to draw and color.  Josh doesn't really like the coloring part (as you can tell by his paper) but he does like to 'report' on his books.  I love them because they are colorful and help the kids think about the books they've been reading and encourages them to share the things they liked or disliked about the book.

Life Cycles

It is Friday!!!

Today, I am celebrating a major accomplishment.  We have completed our first quarter of core curriculum.  Now, before I get too excited about it, we haven't started working on Spanish or piano yet and our social studies have really been slow so far.  Still, It is exciting to see the progress we've already made this year.  We are technically enrolled in a charter school and through the school we are required to submit quarterly work samples and semester progress reports as well as participate in standardized testing.  This allows the school to maintain permanent records for us and check up on our progress throughout the school year.  Whether you have this as a requirement or not, I highly recommend that you keep a portfolio of student's work on file and maintain some type of records for the school year.  I wish my camera were working so I could show you some of the fun work samples we are turning in for this quarter and the fun way I decided to compile everything for our contact teacher.  During the huge back-to-school sales in August, I purchased 20+ generic 2-pocket folders for 5cents a piece.  I purchased 5 each of several different colors.  Then, I used some of our extra colorful cutouts and used the xyron machine to make them adhesive.  I attached a cute cutout with each child's name to their folder-full of their work.  I will post pictures if I can find a way to take photos before I turn in the work samples.

Okay, On to one of my favorite things for today.  I realize this is the wrong season to be studying life-cycles, but we've been studying life cycles during science this past month while studying insects.  The life cycle of a butterfly, a ladybug, and an ant.  Now, we are transitioning to the life cycle of plants as we study plants in science this month.  Still, year after year, one of our favorite activities is raising butterflies.  We order caterpillars from insectlore.com and the kids watch the caterpillars grow and change into their chrysalis.  Whe the butterflies emerge from their chrysalis, we keep them in the house for a week or two and then release them outside.  It is so much fun.  These pictures are from several years ago and I've never been able to get very good pictures since then of the butterflies being released.  The butterfly pavilion is so wondeful, we get one every year.  This past year, I purchased a set from Costco for a great price and they shipped the caterpillars for FREE!!!

Organizing, Re-Organizing, and Re-Re-Organizing

I know homemakers are known for constantly moving furniture and reorganizing and moving pictures and changing curtains and all of those stereotypical things.  I, on the other hand, am constantly organizing and reorganizing our classroom.  When I taught in a classroom, I had a class-room, I had a specific space with a desk and filing cabinet for me, lockers and desks for the students, etc . . . I was able to acquire a wonderful second chalkboard, two sets of bookcases, and a couple of extra bulletin boards.  The school provided the basic core curriculum and I purchased a few extras to enhance the curriculum.  Still, for the most part, everything was provided for me and the setup was very straightforward and simple to manage once I found a system that worked well for me and my class.

Homeschooling is so much different though.  Yes, my husband has acquiesced to my pleas to have a room set aside for just school and I've taken over what was intended for a dining room.  It is completely devoted to school.  Still, there are some major differences between organizing a classroom in a school and organizing a classroom for a homeschool.

1. I have more than one grade level in a homeschool.  This makes more of a difference in the amount of basic core materials I have alone.  Having only five students sounds amazing to a classroom teacher, but having four different grade levels in one room is not as easy as one would think.  There is no end to books, lesson plans, workbook pages, etc . . . Organizing it all is a challenge I was simply not prepared for when I started homeschooling and it is a constant job to keep up with.
2. My students never leave.  This is major.  When I taught in a classroom, I was able to arrive 30-45 minutes before my students and prepare for the day, pray for each student before they arrived, etc . . . I also had time after the students left to prepare my materials for the following day, file papers, work on grading, etc . . . Homeschoolers do not have this luxury.  We do not have in-service days.  It's like they say, "trying to clean your house when you have young children is like shoveling your driveway while it is still snowing."  It is difficult to make any significant progress.
3. Limited space and materials.  I have been extremely blessed to be given a chalkboard, a couple of desks, a filing cabinet, and a yearly allotment to use for our materials as well.  Most homeschool families have to work with what they have available.  Of course, you don't need a perfect 'classroom' to teach your children, but I think most homeschoolers would like a space and a system that works for their family. 
4. I never have the same grades to teach year after year.  Classroom teachers do sometimes move from grade to grade, but generally they find a grade that they like and stick with it.  This way they can expand their curriculum each year and gather materials over time to add a little extra each year since they teach it every year.  Homeschoolers have to adapt and change each year as their students progress which is exciting but requires a lot more planning and preparation.  This is compounded if you are teaching more than one child.  This year I have two preschoolers, a kindergartener, a second grader and a third grader, but next year that will all change.

Because of these differences and many others, I am constantly changing the way our classroom and classwork is organized.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy it.  It is just a process of learning and adapting that I never anticipated when we chose to homeschool.  Making learning a part of our home whether it is 'school time' or not is what makes homeschooling such a blessing in our home.  If it takes a while to find an organization method and a schedule that works for you, don't despair.  I've been homeschooling for four years now and I am still trying new things all the time.  Besides, it keeps the kids on their toes.

P.S.

Sorry for the extremely long-winded post today.  I am trying to avoid the mountain of laundry that is waiting for me.  :)

Unconditional Love

I was reminded today (by a friend on Facebook) how blessed I am to have a husband who loves me unconditionally.  It made me stop and think.  Some people never experience the unconditional love of another in their lives and my life is overflowing with it.  There are times when I ask my husband, "Why do you love me?"  Now, sometimes I'm just fishing for compliments, sometimes I am just not sleepy and trying to keep him awake with my questions, while other times I really want to know why would someone love me.  I know who I am and sometimes I am not a lovely person.  I am human and make mistakes.  I am unloving and unkind.  I can be selfish and self-centered.  So, why would someone love me? 

Then, I have to think of the other unconditional love in my life.  First, and most important of all, God loves me unconditionally.  The Bible says that He loved me so much that while I was yet a sinner, He died for me.  He loved me enough to sacrifice himself for me.  God, who knows me better than I know myself, who has more right to judge me than any person.  This perfect holy God loves ME.  He doesn't love me only because I read my Bible.  He doesn't love me only because I teach Sunday School.  He doesn't love me only when I have a sweet spirit.  He loves me even when I fail.  He loves me when I sin, even when I sin on purpose.  He loves me and there is nothing I can do to change that.  My God loves me unconditionally and I am so thankful.

So that brings me back to the previous question.  Why would my husband love me?  He has also experienced this unconditional love that God offers to us.  He knows who I am and that I'm not perfect, and yet he still chooses to love me - with no strings attached.  I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that he has the unconditional love of God in his life and it just flows over to others.

If you have children of your own you know the unconditional love a child can give as well.  From the first moment you find out you are expecting a child, you have a love for that child that really can't be explained.  As children grow, they have that special way about them that says, "Mommy, I love you."  They love you when you are a mess, the house is a mess, dinner is a mess, everything is a mess.  They love you when you are dressed up and pretty, they love you when you look like a disaster.  They love you at your best and they love you at your worst.  The unconditional love between a parent and a child is just priceless and I enjoy each day knowing that whether I'm perfect or a perfect failure, my children still love me.

Unconditional love is a blessing God gives to us each day and it should inspire us.  We should not do good works to be saved, we should do good works because we are saved.  We should not do special things for our husbands to make him love us, we should want to do special things for him because we love him.  I shouldn't work at being a perfect mother to make my children love me, I should constantly work to be a good mother because I love my children.  God has filled my life with unconditional love and I am truly blessed.  It is my responsibility to bless others now and share God's unconditional love with them,

Kohls!!!

Okay, I am trying to make up for some of the Fridays I was sick and unable to update the blog with my favorite things.  This one might sound a little crazy if you aren't familiar with Kohl's and their Kohl's Cares for Kids items.  As an Alaskan, I was completely unaware of these wonderful items for way too long.  Now, I am reduced to finding the previous items on ebay.  That is why I, now, periodically check Kohl's website to see if they have a new collection available.

One of my favorite things is Kohl's Cares for Kids books and plush toys.  They are adorable.  Kohls will choose an author and sell a selection of books and a toy that matches.  The books are always larger than average hardcover books with dust jackets and the plush toys are always even bigger than the books.  I have never been disappointed with their items.  And the best part of all . . . . they are only $5.00 each. 

This month is our Dr. Seuss month and Kohls has done several Dr. Seuss theme sets so we have books and toys from multiple Dr. Seuss books. 

Oh Say Can You Say

Horton Hears a Who

I have several of the plush toys around the classroom this month and we use them as part of our story time each day.  The children get to have the toy sit on their desk if they can answer review questions from the story or if they are listening well.  They love the toys and I love the books.  It is a win win win!!!

I have a huge plastic storage container in the garage full of Kohl's plush toys.  I just pull them out as we read new books.  I have a moose for If You Give a Moose a Muffin, a cat for If You Give a Cat a Cupcake, A pig for If You Give . . . Well, you get the idea.  We also have a great collection of Eric Carle plush toys to go along with our Eric Carle theme coming up in November, which goes along nicely with my next 'favorite things' post coming up this Friday so be sure to check back to find out what my favorite thing of the week will be this Friday.

P.S. I would love to hear what some of your favorite things are around the house or for school.  I am always looking for ways to improve our household routines or organization. 

Greenhouses!!

Yes, Yes, I know, I know . . . . It has been a very long time since I last updated the blog.  I apologize.  We were blessed to have Joey home for several days.  Unfortunately, his vacation time coincided with my being sick.  Then, it was the children's turn.  Needless to say, we've all been sick for the past couple of weeks.  Except of course for Joey who never seems to get any of the sickness that makes the rounds at the Seiber house.  Still, God is good and we are all well again and back to school.

September is an exciting month for school around here.  It is Dr. Seuss month which means we get to read some of our favorite books every day during our literature / story time.  It also means we are working each day toward our goal of reading 150 books during this month.  Plus, we have started studying plants for science which has been a lot of fun.

We began the school year with a study of insects which lends itself very well to a study of plants.  We studied the life cycles of butterflies, ladybugs, and ants and now we get to study the life cycles of different types of plants.  We studied honeybees and how they help flowers and plants.  Now we can study the flowers themselves.  I enjoy anything I can add to the curriculum to help the children see God's wonderful creation and how He made everything to work together in harmony.  When we study plants, we get to talk about God's plan for plants as found in the first chapter of Genesis, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."  This is a great opportunity to show the children that God has a plan for plants, they are to yield fruit after their kind and yield seeds to make more plants.  God has a plan for each of them too.  I love how science and Bible work together in the classroom and out of the classroom to point us to God and his plan for our lives.

Okay, I'm finished preaching (for now).  Since I missed several Fridays lately, I wanted to make up for them by posting a few blogs about some more of my favorite things.  We have some fun materials to help us study plants, but our favorite so far has been the Watch-it-Grow Window Greenhouses from Lakeshore Learning.  They hang in the window with suction cups and we have planted pea plants in them.  The children have been waking up each morning and checking on their plants.  It has been exciting to see how it grows.

There is a place to write each child's name so they can watch 'their' plants grow.  Our classroom window is covered with 6 of these fun greenhouses (1 for each of the kids and 1 for Mommy).  Lakeshore sells them in classroom sets of 20 or you can buy them individually for only 2.95 each.