A staggered start

 

 

You would think that after 6 years of homeschooling under my belt, I would have this gig all figured out. Not so. Every year has consisted of different circumstances, schedules and temperaments.

I want this to be *the* year that we take the 'schooling' part of school a little more seriously. I've got my plate full now, as Owen has joined the ranks and will begin doing regular work, just like his older brother and sister. Jordan is now an eighth grader, and I've got a lot of ground to cover. Rylan is in second grade, and not quite where I had hoped she would be. So, this is the year for change.

I know from past experience that doing the full schedule on the first day is a huge mistake. The kids need to transition out of their lazy days just as much as I need to. It was surprisingly easy to put homeschool out of my mind for June and July. As much as I had planned on schooling through the summer, my heart was just not in it, and with Jordan gone and our general summer activity busyness in the way, schoolwork was just not going to happen.

So here we are. It is August (and it's almost over !?!?), and our school year is well underway. I thought about school in short snippets here and there, and one of the decisions I made was that we would do a staggered start. Each week, as August progressed, I would add another kid to the schedule. And as each day passed by, we would add another item or two to the work load.

I began with Jordan, and after three weeks, he is running at almost full tilt. The only exception is World History. Neither of us are really grooving on History Odyssey. We cannot seem to move beyond ancient history!! After six years of homeschooling, we have left all the world history beyond ancient history virtually untouched, with the exception of what we read about in the yearly Core Knowledge books. I think that of all of the school subjects, history is my absolute favorite, and so I don't know why I am struggling with this. I need to figure out what my issue is with History Odyssey is, and fix it. Quickly.

We are using Homeschool Schedtrak again this year to track our hours, and Jordan has logged over 40 for this month already, so I think we are off to an excellent start. Please don't roll your eyes or secretly hate me when I tell you this, but Jordan has remarked, on numerous occasions over these past few weeks, that he is really enjoying the work - especially Physics, and looks forward to checking off his schedule as he goes. I am only making note of it here because I understand how fleeting and remarkable it is for a 13 yr. old to say something like this in the first place, and I need it here to remind me of the good times. I know that hard and difficult times are to be expected. I just want to be prepared. Now, I am not going to lie, there is a dangling carrot for motivation here. A completed schoolwork checklist = Minecraft, so that is truly what is pushing him here, at the moment.

Rylan's turn came up, and, just as I expected, she was less than thrilled. We are working at about half the desired work load right now. I think it is going to take a while to get her into a comfortable routine. The one highlight came last week, when upon the completion of a math lesson, she remarked in an astounded and pleased voice that she was excited to be doing 'real math' at this point, 'just like Jordan'. Not sure why solving the same sort of problems all of a sudden feels like the real thing, but there you have it. Another happy customer, so I'll file it away in the Good Times folder, for later use to remind me why it was a good idea to homeschool in the first place.

Owen is officially known to the school district now, as I just added his name to the Notice of Intent to Homeschool letter we have to send to the local district each fall. Owen loves his big yellow pencils and putting stickers on things. I no longer think he will be a lefty, he is most definitely a righty. I am a little disappointed...I thought that would have been kind of cool. We have only started up two things at this point - Reading Eggs and Explode the Code, so we will just continue to work on adding stuff as we go.

It has been a very good start - our best ever, to date. I think that it has also helped us that the extra stuff doesn't really start up until next month. Jordan has joined our homeschool Lego NXT group, and will meet twice a week until the month of November, when they go to competition. The group just started up meetings this past week, and he is enjoying it. He is also doing Boy Scouts, of course. And that's it! I think that not going to karate five days a week will make a huge difference for him. I'm still sad about that, but in the big picture, it's a good thing. Rylan wrapped up her summer tumbling session a week ago, and is enjoying not having anything to do at the moment. And I hope she does, because in another week's time, she will be a busy, busy girl. She will have three nights of dance in a row - jazz, tumbling and ballet, plus violin, and then Girl Scouts starts up in October, along with extra Nutcracker practices. I am glad we are not starting up scouts in September - I still need to get my feet on solid ground before I take on seven little Brownies!

So that's it! Things have been quiet here on the blog as I got stuff rolling - not much down time as of late. I have been keeping up with how fellow homeschoolers - both local and on the blogosphere have been ramping things up, making changes here and there - always good to self-evaluate and know that we are all in the same boat, just carrying different cargo...

 

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Simplicity Parenting: thoughts about scheduling

 

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and more Secure Kids
by Kim John Payne, M.Ed.

 

 

I have just finished reading Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, M.Ed.  It has been a long, long time since a book has given me such excellent food for thought...and I highly, highly recommend that every parent read it and reflect on their own relationships with their kids, their stuff, their activities and so forth...   The author has an excellent website and blog.  Here is a link for blog posts dedicated to the subject of scheduling, and how to simplify the process.

 

Scheduling has been on my mind lately, as you will notice from the Crazy Busy posting a few days ago.  I read through the whole scheduling chapter in Simplicity Parenting, TWICE, yesterday, because I needed to know how to get off the CraZy Train.  Do I just jump?  Hang on the back and drag my feet for awhile?  Toss my luggage off, a few pieces at a time?  None of those sound appetizing...yet jumping provides the quickest, surest exit.

 

 

There were several important aspects to consider with scheduling, and one that I didn't really consider deeply until this book, was the point of taking a child's temperament in hand when devising a schedule that works for everybody.  Some children can do okay with really active days, others need a calm day beforehand, or afterwards or both.  Some children can handle only one thing per day or per week.  It just gets more complicated when you have multiple children and multiple temperaments.

 

The massive physical exodus from front yards and local parks have left children no place to congregate other than gymnastics class on Wednesday afternoons at 4pm., Library Story Time on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 am., Little League on Friday afternoons at 5pm, and Scout meetings on Monday evenings at 7pm., and about 50 billion different combinations of like activities.  The more, the better, for socialization and future preparedness, right?

 

One thing that the author touched on (and looks like has been expanded on in another book), is youth sports.  Kids begin classes, leagues, clinics, whathaveyou at increasingly young ages.  Because of this, kids typically peak out on interest at about age 11.  Beyond that age, the rate of dropping chosen sport increases with age.  By the age of 17, 90% of youth have quit.  At the age when they should be getting really REALLY good - maybe parlaying their skill into a college scholarship, they are quitting.   They have suffered repetitive stress injuries, they are burnt out and the fun is gone.

 

This is a bitter pill to swallow.  Rylan began karate when she was 4 1/2.  I confess that I was sitting there, right along with all of the other parents, gushing at how cute she looked in her little white gi, and feeling proud that our daughter yelled the loudest.  Honestly.  What 4 1/2 yr. old needs to know karate?  Oh yes  - they learn discipline.  They learn patience.  They learn a physical skill that will serve them well.  I've heard it, I've believed it, and it sounds great...on the surface.  But.  There are better places and more meaningful ways that a child can learn discipline and patience.  I don't think a 4 1/2 yr. old is really into thinking about the most effective way to disable a grown person.  There is huge discrepancy between a balance of emotional/physical maturity when karate would serve a person well, and when kids are actually allowed onto a mat and invited to start 'training'.  Don't get me wrong, there are all sorts of merits that I can attribute to karate, and it would be a great place for a teen to spend their time and energy in a positive and productive manner.  But I don't think it serves a younger child as well.  In the 2 1/2 years that Rylan has been doing karate, all I can say is that, yes, it boosted her self-confidence.  To the tune of $1,800 and 320 hours of time spent in that pursuit.  And that's just Rylan.  I need to hang on to my lunch, so I don't think I will run Jordan's numbers...  :(

 

The same net results could be said about soccer, baseball, peewee football, gymnastics... Doctors are reporting repetitive stress injuries in young players that were unheard of a decade ago.  Kids (and parents) push it to the extreme.  It is a society thing.  A parent living-out their-dream-through-their-children thing.  It is pressure to succeed.  Be the best, get the edge.  It leads to year-round practice and competition.  Summer and weekend clinics.  The kids never. get. a. break., and what do they really get out of it in the end?  They learn to be a team player??  By their rules or someone else's?  By engaging in play with other children they could get the same results, in a much more meaningful way.  They devise the game, they negotiate the rules, and adjust as they go.  And play is free! (minus the snacks and occasional Band-Aid)

 

So I am taking all of this in, and churning it around in my head.  I am good with letting karate go.  Totally good with that.  It frees the kids to have more uninterrupted time to do something they feel really passionate about, to explore a new interest, or to do absolutely nothing and revel in that freedom from constant go-go-go.

 

I am not sure how to reconcile with dance.  I love dance, and I love that Rylan loves dance.  This coming year may test her devotion to it.  She wants jazz.  And tumbling.  I am pushing for ballet.  And I am sad that she doesn't want to include tap.  I love tap.  I know that I am projecting my passions on her, but I also know that of all of the forms of dance, ballet is the foundation and it will serve her well - and she needs to understand that. So, if she and I both get our way, we are now looking at three separate classes.  I don't believe in age limits when it comes to dance.  This is where I diverge from the advice Dr. Payne espouses of avoiding the young age at which a child engages in a specific sport.  I think that it is perfectly acceptable for a four year old to do a once-a-week ballet class.  (or tap, tumbling, gymnastics, etc...)  Admit it, there is nothing cuter that a little girl in a tutu!

 

But how much is too much?  I am very afraid that three dance classes is too much for our seven yr. old. (PLUS girl scouts AND violin...)  That is three roundtrips to Loveland.  That is three hours (plus drive time) that I have to somehow occupy the time with one teenager and two precocious little boys.  That is three different outfits that I need to keep track of, washed and ready to go.  And what IF Jordan decides that he doesn't really want to quit karate??  That's five classes a week, right there, plus regular gi washing for a stinky teenage boy.  And then there is Owen, who is campaigning hard for gymnastics.  That would mean another round trip to Loveland.  That is now NINE trips in one week's time.  I've not only NOT left the CraZy Train, I've just dumped a shit ton of coal into the fire box and slammed the door!!!!

 

Maybe I need to reread this chapter for a third time, because I obviously haven't got the message about how to simplify our schedule.  I think there was a specific word  that he used.... hmm.  What was it??? 

 

 

Oh yeah...... "No."

 

 

 

 



The Crazy Busy Train

I think, that even though we are only midway through this year, this year will be known as a transformative year in our family...

I'll start with me...

My major gripe for the past couple of years is that we have become waaay to busy.  I don't push activities on the kids, so I guess it is more of a gullible thing - I'm a "YES!" mom.  You want to try dance?  Yes!  Gymnastics?  Yes!  Art class?  Yes!  I am prone to fall for the power of suggestion.. If something comes through our homeschool group list that sounds interesting, I ask the kids, and naturally they want to try it.  School began to take a backseat.  Life began to take a backseat.  We were just driving to one 'experience' after another.  All experiences the kids wanted to do, of course, and all experiences of merit, but absolutely nothing was taking priority...other than to try and make it semi-on time and have plenty of snacks in the car.

I am on activity overload.  So... now I am working hard to reverse course.  I am subtracting and adding things, with simplification as the focus.  I am not sitting in the board of our homeschool group anymore, so I'm not dealing with membership squabbles...  I quit a month ago, and it has been soooo nice.  I am not chained to my computer or iPhone anymore!  I agreed to step back into a leadership position with our girl scout troop, but I am sharing the workload with another mom, who has great ideas and a fantastic positive energy.  I will be guiding the Brownies, and she will be guiding the Daisies.  I will have about 6-7 girls, and she will have 5-6.  We had such a fabulous year this past year that I really don't see any additional stress coming from this - maybe just on the front end, as we get our upcoming year planned out.

My only other major stressor right now is doctor appointment overload.  I will be doing two physical therapy appointments a week (for my shoulder) through to the end of July, along with 1-2 other progress checkups with the doctor.  I am trying my hardest not to overdo it at home...but I am hoping that if I work diligently with my shoulder exercises, that I may be able to knock off the last week of therapy, by 'passing' early.  We'll see.   I have a long way to go.  I am still working on range of motion - we haven't even addressed the ability to push and pull and work with any kind of weight yet.   Now that is just me and my appointments.  We have also had the yearly appointment schtuff for the kids these past couple of months.  All four went to the dentist (no cavities!), all but Rylan had their annual physical, three went to the eye doctor - Jordan goes next month (yay - no glasses....yet!), the dermatologist(3x), the orthodontist, the psychiatrist, blood draw for Jordan, and a repeat hearing test for Owen.  This is when having four kids SUCKS.  Thank goodness for insurance, and THANK GOODNESS everybody is healthy.  I can't discount that.. that means everything.  I've counted them up - between all of us we have had 28 doctor appointments in the past 8 weeks.  Sigh.

I can't just blow off the need for doctor appointments - they are a necessary evil.  But with my unruly crew, each appointment stresses me out.  They mess with stuff, fight, ask for candy at the front desk, and test the acoustics of every room they enter.  At least with the dentist, I can get them all seen at the same time, and they can all give each other moral support from adjacent dental exam chairs, lol...  and they have an awesome play area for the kids to blow off steam before and after the appointment.  We actually like going to the dentist.  I was able to combine Owen's and Colin's annual physicals this year, so that was one less trip.  It was cute, they sat side-by-side, and the doctor would tap the knee on one, and then the other.  Look in the mouth of one, and then the other.  Since Colin is refusing to do most things lately, this actually worked out great.  He liked having Owen by his side, for once.  He didn't even try to shove him off the table.

So.  How do you get off the Crazy Busy Train?  I am taking a lot of advice to heart from a book that I am currently reading, Simplicity Parenting, by Kim John Payne, M.Ed.  It has a strong Waldorf approach, but it completely makes sense.  It addresses simplifying a child's environment, rhythm, schedule and filtering out the adult world.  These are all things our family desperately needs.  We have too much stuff on the calendar, in the closets, on the floor, in our heads and weighing on our hearts.

Jordan...

Even before I began reading this book and contemplating some changes that we could make, Jordan addressed this issue head-on last month, the week of his birthday.  He had a meltdown.  Not an angry episode...just a 'TOO MUCH!!!' sort of thing.  He actually broke down and cried on the way to karate.  He did NOT want to go.  He was ready to quit, for a whole host of completely valid reasons.  He hated that we always had to drop what we were doing and leave to go to karate.  (he goes 5x a week).  He felt like karate was mostly work, and not really fun anymore.  (Nobody gave him the impression that earning a Black Belt was going to be all fun and games...).  I think some of this was a classic teenage hormone stress response, because he did feel better about it a couple days later...  After I made him explain to the sensai that he was quitting.  As of right now, he is on the fence about whether or not he will go back.  Right now he says he is "on a break".  We all know how that goes...

Rylan...

Funny enough, Rylan had her own karate-related breakdown last week.  She had the tears, the drama, and same explanation.  Too much stuff to do, and she didn't enjoy karate anymore.  This saves us a combined $200 a month, 150 miles per week of driving (plus gas), and $90 dollars every 9 weeks for testing fees.  Plus, we gain back 11 hours of time that we desperately need to give back to schooling - plus the before-and-after time that we lose to getting ready to leave and getting back into school mode.  So how can I complain???  I feel terrible about it anyway.  I like the instructors and the relationships the kids and I have made with them over the past 2 1/2 years.  I like that the kids were challenged mentally and physically (plus, it counted for P.E. time!!!), and how much it improved their confidence.  Karate is absolutely a worthwhile endeavor (albeit an expensive one), and I was proud that our kids were doing it.  Dean is thrilled.  He has always thought that they were a 'belt-mill', and there may be a shred of truth to that, but when I see Jordan, at the hint of any kind of physical threat, go instinctively into guardian stance, I know it was worth it.

Owen...

Owen started gymnastics last Sept., along with karate.  He earned his white belt, and then promptly quit.  He didn't like it at all.  I had quietly let gymnastics go as we had continued the karate Sept and Oct, because karate was 'free' (multiple sibling discount), and gymnastics wasn't.  It took Owen a few months to figure out that he hadn't been to gymnastics in awhile... (he's quick, isn't he??).  So, after a very effective badgering campaign, he started up again in January.  It lasted five weeks.  He left class early two times in row, in tears, for some perceived infraction on the part of who-knows-what...  Now he is at it again, asking - on an almost daily basis, when he can go back to gymnastics.  What do I do?  I want him to have 'something', but he doesn't have a terrific track record of sticking with anything..

Dean...

Don't get me started.  Dean took over the Troop Master position in Oct/Nov, and it was a huge undertaking.  There are 50 some scouts in the troop, and a lot of them are on the younger side.  In the past month or so, the stress has been ratcheted up unbelievably high, as he organized the troop tribute to the previous Troop Master as part of his Wood Badge ticket, and then there was summer camp.  For the second year in a row, summer camp has been derailed by a forest fire forcing the evacuation of the chosen summer camp location.  The day before departure (this past Sunday, Father's Day), many adults were scrambling to assemble new contact information, merit badge schedules and equipment lists as they prepared to go to a secondary camp location.  For a month now, we have had to tip-toe around the premises as Dean tried his best to keep up with work requirements, house stuff and scouts.  It hasn't been fun.  For any of us.  I will be so glad when this week is over and the boys are back from camp, and I can have my husband back.  Sorry troop 191, but some of you needy helicopter parents can just shove off - we have a family that desperately needs some no-stress family time!

The trouble with distraction...

I totally suffer with distraction.  Too much input, too many irons in the fire, too many areas of interest, too many children....  Blogging about daily life is hard when you are distracted.  Because stuff comes up, you wander down this rabbit trail and then that one, and then you forget to actually document the life you are living!

Case in point...

The second Saturday in July was the most recent round of belt promotions for the kids.  Jordan didn't participate because he missed a significant portion of that 9-week cycle due to visitation with his mom and summer camp, so we just opted to skip it (and save a little money, to boot).  I try to remark on the things the kids are up to, but I realized I've missed a promotion here and there - and I didn't even attend the last one - my mom took her.  But this one, for Rylan, was a little different, and definitely requires some introspection.

My goodness.  This little girl's form has grown by leaps and bounds!  I am so very, very proud of her.  She even gets to sport her favorite color, purple, for the next 9-week cycle.  The testing went great.  She was able to do her forms correctly, she answered questions correctly, and she watched and responded to her instructors.  That, right there, is what is significant to this conversation. 

You see, just as I snapped this last picture of Mr. Schuett, lead instructor and owner, tying on her belt, he looked her in the eye and said to her that during this next cycle she needed to work hard and do a better job of paying attention during class.

Ouch.  On many different levels.

1.  Mr. Schuett was spot on.  He, as well as all of the other instructors, have high expectations - and that is what I love so very much about this academy.  He has mentioned, on previous occasions, that Rylan is highly distracted and he is concerned.

2.  I kinda wish he hadn't said it in such a public way, but Rylan is, sadly, a little oblivious when it comes down to it.  The timing did actually lend itself to him congratulating her as he presented her belt, but letting her know that there is definite room for improvement.

3.  It hurts me deeply to acknowledge that we are, once again, navigating this difficult road (ADHD) with another child.  But there is bitter truth in what he had to say.  She is unable to attend to what the group is doing in a satisfactory way, and she needs to be made aware of it.

4.  It didn't help matters that in a few weeks after this her swim instructors said the same thing to me during her lessons.

I'm not crazy about other people covertly labeling my child, but on the other hand I know that these observations are being made by adults who are have spent a significant amount of time with all sorts of kids, and they know when there is a problem.  I'm guilty of it as well - I can remember making 'suggestions' to some of my students' parents as well.  I guess it just hurts when an outsider confirms what you have been long-suspecting.

I am not sure how we will progress with this.  When Jordan hit 5 1/2, he was on meds.  Rylan is 6, and I keep holding out hope that her case is not as extreme.  But the symptoms are all there...

1.  interrupting everyone and everything
2.  inability to attend to any one activity for even just a few minutes
3.  extreme need to be physically active - especially at the end of the day
4.  tremendous range of emotions in a short span of time - anger being the most extreme
5.  staring into space, looking out the window - even in the midst of fun activity
6.  inability to stay with a story, game, show, event for its duration
7.  handwriting is a chore - although she enjoys writing/drawing/painting for fun
8.  wide range of interests, but engagement is fleeting - to the extreme

I know there are those who would say that my list represents any ol' average six year old.  Not so.  Not until you actually live with a child who has ADHD, and try to work with one will you understand the complexity and frustration that develops in your relationship with that child.

I did shun meds for a short time, and tried working with diet (Feingold) and environment, but it wasn't enough.  Our personal relationship (mine and Jordan's) was suffering greatly, and it was jeopardizing our ability to continue on the homeschooling journey, so we returned to medication, and it has greatly improved things.  I am now concerned that the same is happening with Rylan.  She is more negative than positive when it comes to doing schoolwork.  She is more concerned about what hoops she has to jump through to just get it over with, rather than really absorbing or enjoying any of what we are doing.  And yes, I am constantly changing my game, my approach and even my expectations, and I am exhausted by the process.

This is, again, when I hate being a grownup who must make a judgement call with regards to someone's well-being.  What if I make a bad decision???  And what will it look like if I approach Jordan's doctor with my concerns about Rylan?  I don't want to be a mom who thinks there is something wrong with all of her children and wants medication to 'fix it'.

Well, if we have anything going for us... it's that Rylan does, in fact, like stickers....

Maintain eye contact...

Look at her.  He's got her by the lapel...  But no.  She's pursed her lips in concentration.  She is looking him square in the eye.  So that's it... my little girl is a thousand times braver than I am.

I know who I am sending in to fight the fight if we ever get caught in a dark alley.

No smiling!  There's no smiling in karate!

You know what she said on the way home?

"I was the loudest, mom.  I was even louder than the boys".

It's lonely at the top...

Green belt, 11/12/11

Another nine week cycle has ended, and today was the day for belt promotions.  Rylan has moved up from a blue belt to a green belt.  During the blue to green cycle, the student learns a form called Tiger Set #3.  Rylan is/was the only blue belt, so she has practiced on her own, with her instructor, Mr. Baptista.  As the students lined up for promotions today, Rylan was at the end of the line, which made her lead student in her class (I wasn't aware that an older, more experienced student had moved up to the next age group, the Eagles).  This meant she would be doing the form all by herself today (with her instructor by her side).  I was a little nervous for her, but Rylan took it all in stride.  Here she is performing her form... (and I love, love, love, her confident voice - loud and clear!)

(I am having issues with loading this video...grrrrrr)

Jordan and Rylan have been taking karate lessons for one year now.  They have learned so much!  I am constantly amazed at the skills they already know and how much their technique is improving.  I love to watch them individually and when the school performs as a whole.  The instructors are so dedicated and invested in helping the kids succeed (many of them have children in the school as well) and the whole atmosphere is positive, yet you can readily sense the high level of expectations placed upon each and every student.



Advanced orange belt, 11/12/11

 When this upcoming cycle ends in January, Jordan will be promoting to purple belt.  Which means he will also be eligible to join the black belt club, which he wants to do.  So next promotion Jordan will also receive a red gi.  It's a big step up, and Jordan is pretty excited about it.  A junior black belt is still around three years away, but Jordan wants to go for it.  It is awesome that he has a goal like that.   We will be watching and waiting...

Cleaning House

There is a recurring theme here, as I work through the past week's events...

Last Saturday, Rylan went through promotions and earned her blue belt.

A warm up round of jumping jacks

Star block set

 

Blue belt!  I love the confidence showing here... When she was started last November, she was afraid to look her instructors in the eye.  This makes me very happy to see!

Here is a short video of our Rylan, along with the other Rylan (love it that there is another Rylan  - it is such an unusual name to begin with - and to have a classmate with the same name is just plain hilarious in my book)  doing the Tiger Set #2 with their instructor, Mr. Baptista.  The other Rylan then went on to do Tiger Set #3 on his own.  He was the highest ranked belt in this current promotions, and our Rylan is just one belt below him.  I think Rylan is only just beginning to learn Tiger Set #3 - and there are only nine weeks between promotions - I'm anxious to see if she will learn it in time...

Rylan's grandparents, (my dad and stepmom) attended the promotions - this was their first time seeing Rylan doing karate.  They loved seeing all the little kids in their outfits and they were very impressed with how long they could stand still, at attention.  (quite frankly, so am I!).  It was great to have them there.  Afterwards we went to walk around a sidewalk chalk art show that was going on across the street from the academy.

This square was just one of about 70 that various local artists were creating as part of a fund raiser for a safehouse.  There was some amazing stuff - I wish I had taken more pictures.  :(

On Sunday afternoon, our Girl Scout troop held a fall picnic and beginning of the year ceremony, including Rylan's Daisy Troop Investiture Ceremony.  I am the Daisy Troop Leader, and I can say, without a doubt, I have no idea what I am doing.  I just wing it.  I am trying to invest myself emotionally in this, but it is not working.  I have spent untold hours trying to make sense of the Girl Scout website and the program... but I am just lost as to what the end goal really is.  This is where Boy Scouts really shines for me - they know what they are doing.  I just can't really understand what the GS leadership is thinking here  - and they have had 100 years to figure it out.  I read about tremendous frustration on the GS message boards every day - so much that it is dragging me down and feeding my negative vibe here...  The bottom line is that if this is the way to bring Rylan together with other little girls - then in that respect, it is working.  Our group of girls is wonderful.  They are inquisitive, respectful and cheerful.  I just feel so much like a fish out of water with all of this, I hope I am not doing them an injustice by being so aloof.  Anyway... I digress.  Here is a photo.  Dean was running the camera during the ceremony, while I was bumbling my way through, pinning the Daisy pins on the girls and distributing patches.  I wish I had more pics to share, but they all contain a lot of other girls, and that requires a lot of parent permissions, so I am not messing with it.

We also had the girls do a flag ceremony.  Apparently this was the first time the troop has ever done that.  I had asked the other two leaders (Brownies and Juniors) during a planning session how they did the flag ceremony, and I got blank stares. (no, I am not indicating that my fellow leaders are in anyway negligent - it just had never been done before)  See, that is the thing about the Girl Scouts organization.  There is none!  The whole entity is just this feel-goody nebula of ideas for activities that girls could do, if they felt so inclined.  Here is what bothers me deeply.  See that American flag patch on Rylan's vest up there?  The Girl Scouts organization indicates that the patch is a required emblem.  Well of course, they do - they are a patriotic organization.  Why, in the second line of the Girl Scout Promise it reads : To serve God and my country.  If that is the case, why are there no clear and defined guidelines for proper flag ceremony procedure for the organization?  Sure, there is a loosely detailed run down on the GS website - complete with what to say, but here is the kicker.  It is listed as *optional*.  There is no *optional* when it comes to this.  If you are nationally organized patriotic entity, a flag ceremony should not be optional, it should be required.  Major fail, Girl Scouts.  I'm not some patriotic fanatic - but I have been to enough Boy Scout events to know that they take their flag ceremonies very seriously, and it is eternally shameful that the Girl Scout are all *whatever* about it. 

Long story short, we did one.  We took our awesomely huge flag that hangs on our house, and Dean rigged a pole and stand with stuff he found in the basement.  The extension pole from our paint roller, some PVC pipe and a patio furniture umbrella stand were used.  The beautiful thing is is that it worked.  The older scouts were excited to do the ceremony, and they did a pretty good job for only getting the instructions on how to do it about five minutes before we began.  My biggest fear is that they would forget what they were doing and accidentally drag the flag on the ground.  That would be bad.  But, nope - they did great.  I was also a bit pushy about doing a flag ceremony because our picnic fell on the date of 9-11, and it would be a shame if we skipped it.  As an afterthought - I really need to make it a priority to teach Rylan the Pledge of Allegiance.  There are just some procedural things in life that you never think about when you homeschool.  Saying the pledge is one of them.  Teaching the kids their phone number and address is another.  And fire safety.  And self-protection. (stranger danger).  I need to get on the ball with some of this stuff.

The rest of the week is a bit of a blur.  I spent a good deal of time cleaning (I just 'met' FlyLady - oh boy....) and working on making organizational tables for writing out short-term lesson plans.  I have always wanted to make a homeschool binder that would house everything.  Our schedule, lesson plans, book lists, long-range checklists...  So I started with the basics and will go from there.  I also had an incentive - we were holding a meeting with our homeschooling group (the topic was organization), and I, the organizer for this particular meeting, didn't want to look like an unprepared fool.  I've got all these great ideas in my head, it is just hard getting them down on paper.  I know that organization is THE number one topic of concern when it comes to homeschooling, and a lot of parents would be looking for ideas/help/answers and so forth. 

Wednesday we picked up Jordan from the airport - he was coming home from a six week stay with his mom.  The visit seemed to go okay for the most part.  Jordan sounded massively bored, whenever we talked with him on the phone.  His grandma (Dean's mom) kept him very busy with field trips and stuff to do on the days that she had him, while Jordan's mom was at work.  That was a huge help!  Jordan got to go on a behind-the-scenes tour of Braum's (lucky dog), several museums, do a volunteer day at the food bank, and play with his cousins.  He also came home with a ton of new toys - courtesy of some doting grandparents and money he earned cleaning the house for his mom.  It was a little bit of a rude awakening for him to come home with this 'stuffitis' mentality (gotta buy more stuff) and we are in the midst of our financial crisis (see other blog) and we have the mentality of BUY NOTHING.  I think he is over it, at this point.  The re-entry period is basically over.  He went through his typical gaming withdrawal, and has rediscovered the joy of reading.  The novel that he took with him for the six weeks was barely touched while he was there, but when he got home he started reading again and he is done with it.  Glad to have him home.  We are back on the full-blown school schedule with him this week, and he is actually happy to be back at it.  That says something about the level of boredom he experienced.  His mom apparently had a CT scan while he was staying there, and it is supposedly clean - no signs of cancer.  The odd thing is, there was no email message about this to us, so we are not sure what to make of it.  It is good news for sure - if it were me, I would have told the world!

Thursday night was the meeting.  I brought absolutely everything that I could think of that fit along the lines of organization.  I talked about grocery shopping, meal planning, house cleaning, scheduling, tracking school hours, short-term and long-term planning, goal setting and so on.  That got me thinking that maybe I would do a series of posts about each topic.  Then you won't have to hear me complain about anything else.  :)  The meeting went well, was fairly attended and I learned a lot from a couple of other moms who were there.  I am sure I came across as a psycho-organizational-fanatic, but oh well.  I hope not, but I think after passing around page after page of different sorts of lists and tables, the reputation couldn't be helped.  I tried to convey the fact that I have no short-term memory - no front OR back burners working here!!  If it is not written down somewhere, I will forget it.  If I don't plan my day, I will fritter it away without fail.  I use these lists for basic survival, people!

There was some emotion at the meeting - it has been a rough month or so for our group.  We have exploded in size (we are now 140+ families strong.  When we joined five years ago, there were only 50 or so active families), and there are so many differing opinions about which direction the group should go.  The email traffic went off the charts during the month of August, and it got to the point where I could no longer face my inbox, I was so overwhelmed.  I organize one of the three Park Days (three different days, three different cities) for our group, and made a change last month to the time frame to include a portion of the morning hours as well, to accommodate moms (like me) that have afternoon nappers.  Since no one hardly attends the park day, I felt I was well within my rights to do so.  I had sent out an email two months ago soliciting comments/suggestions, and I heard from no one.  140 families.  NO ONE!!!!  Excuse me?  So I said, f*#k it - if no one cares, I'll customize it to suit the few moms that do go.  We've had rain the past two Wednesdays, so I have no idea if this new time will actually bring more people to Park Day or not.  So, now I've heard that one mom in particular, who attended one of the other park days was talking smack behind my back about the fact that I had no right to change it. (I have never seen her there)  Talk about high school mentality.  So you wanna go there?? 

 Uh-oh....my inner high school bitch coming through...

* You've been a member how long?? Uh-huh... that's what I thought.

* You can get off your fat a$$ and organize your own thing if you don't like it.

* You can read your f*#king email and respond when I was ask for opinions instead of complaining after the fact.

* You can take your rude comments and go join the Christian group instead...

ooooo... now that felt good.  A little too good.   Just like cleaning house - I had to sweep that crap right out of my brain.  So sorry it had to fall in your lap, though.  Let's shine this all up with something pleasant to look at.

That's better

What a Melon Ale, belts, ugly armpits and fishing for pennies

I began my weekend early by enjoying an evening out with friends last Thursday.  We met under the pretense that we were going to discuss our latest bookclub pick, Don't Breathe a Word, but we all know that it is really just a monthly excuse to get together to eat, drink and discuss other stuff.  I saw 'What a Melon Ale' on the menu, a seasonal offering (we were at a local brew pub afterall), so I tried it.  Oh. my. goodness.  If you can imagine summertime in a glass, complete with a watermelon wedge as a garnish, then that, my friends, is What a Melon Ale.  (A blonde ale, with fresh watermelon juice).  Yummy!

Friday was a pretty light day, just swim team and swimming lessons, and a playmate came over to spend the afternoon.  She brought her American Girls dolls, so Rylan was one happy little girl!




Colin looking on as Rylan and Owen have their lessons



Saturday morning was devoted to karate belt testing.  Rylan was moving up to purple, and Jordan was earning his orange.  Testing lasts about an hour for each of them, so it was a full morning.



Naomi and Jordan demonstrate behind-the-back wrist grabs  (the girl that Jordan likes...)



Saturday evening was a night out for Dean and I - we were off to a concert!!  A few years ago, Harley Davidson built a huge complex just off of the interstate, near Loveland.  They constructed a large amphitheatre as well, and put on about 5 concerts each summer.  Several weeks ago I saw that Kenny Wayne Shephard was performing there and I snatched up tickets faster than a biker can hop on his hog.  The concert was wonderful - he performed several of my favorites.  The lightning show all around us was fantastic, and we got rained on a little - but we were prepared.  It was entertaining to watch the ones who weren't.  KWS is a blues man, but the concert goers were a (ahem) rather colorful group of people.  I saw a lot of women in tank tops that were exposing a lot more than they probably realized.  I tried to just focus on the stage.  Dean also pointed out the sad fact that we always seem to get stuck behind a group of stupid drunk women who are still single for obvious reasons.  My Droid took terrible pictures, this is the only decent one I got..  That's Noah in the white, and Kenny in the black.



Kenny finished the concert with a ten minute long performance of Hendrix's Voodoo Child.  I remarked to Dean, "No wonder Woodstock went on for days.... the songs are never ending!!"

If you aren't familiar with KWS, I included this audio treat just for you - an instrumental number called 'While We Cry'...  Lean back, close your eyes, and just let the music transport you - think of it as a six minute mini-vacation!

On Sunday, Jordan and I participated in the Mother & Son Amazing Race, put on by our city's Parks & Rec. department.  We were one of seventy teams that attended the event.  We had to complete 10 different tasks, plus a couple of extra surprise ones.  It took us a little over an hour to finish.  We had a lot of fun! 

Here were our tasks:

(Extra) - Join up with the next team to arrive at station, and 'toss' a water balloon back and forth, using only a beach towel stretched between each team.

1. Fish around in a baby pool filled 8 inches deep with green oatmeal and locate 10 pennies.

2. Water bucket brigade - transport water from one bucket to another, using just a plastic cup.

3. Indoor obstacle course.

4. Choice between spoonful of 'mystery food' inside a can labeled 'Dog Food', or transport six dumbbells, one at a time, across a room and back.

5.  Keep a balloon up in the air, hitting it back and forth for 30 seconds, without using your hands.

(Extra) - shake two different step counters to a combined total of 200 'steps'as quickly as possible

6.  Lego building challenge (just assembling and then disassembling a small lego kit)

7. Newspaper leapfrog - get across a gym floor using only two pieces of newspaper.  BUT.  You both have to be on the same piece, at the same time.  So you stand on one (holding on to each other helps), and then scoot the piece you just stepped off of around from behind you and get it in front of you again.  Repeat.

8.  Scooter canoeing.  Kneel on a little square scooter and use a rubber-tipped stick to push yourself across the gym floor.

9. Toilet paper toss.  Toss a roll of TP through a target (much like a football)

10.  Remember each and every helper's name that operated each station (we were given the advice before hand to remember their names) and write them down in order - that was hard!

We each got a t-shirt and enjoyed some bbq afterwards.  It was a very hot afternoon, and we both sweated and panted as we raced back and forth, but we had a good time!  It was interesting (and a little sad) that we witnessed some mom and son teams blatantly cheating - what kind of role modeling is that??  You could also tell which moms were in it TO WIN, and dragged their sons along to do so.  Kudos to the teams where the moms made it fun and exciting.  This was the inaugural year for this event, but alas, Jordan was at the top of the age range, so he won't be able to participate again.  Hopefully the event will be bigger and better when Owen's turn comes around in a couple of years.  Boys K-5 can participate.



In the meantime, my dear husband worked and worked on the computer all weekend to get a project for work finished on time.  He had to man the little ones as well, while I ran back and forth to all of our events.  Thanks hon!  I am now making up for lost time on the computer.... can you tell?

Karate Kids

Last November, Jordan and Rylan began taking karate lessons.  We heard about a fantastic homeschool class that was offered by a karate studio in Loveland, so we tried it out.  Loved it!!   Northern Colorado Karate offers a class for homeschoolers on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, as well as another class on Saturday - so the kids go three times a week.  It is a lot of driving back and forth, but boy, is it worth it.   The class attendees span three different class levels: Tigers, Eagles and Youth.  That means that the class structure handles multiple ages: from roughly age 5 and up.  I think the oldest student right now is about 11 or 12, and the youngest is 4 (Rylan).  There are typically about 20 students in the class.  The class begins with everyone doing warmups and basic stretching together.  There are 4-5 instructors that then split the class up into the different levels, and if there are a lot of students in a particular level, they then split that class into subgroups based on belt heirarchy.  So the student:instructor ratio is roughly 4:1, which is really nice.  Here is a picture walk through what our experience has been so far....

Rylan began in the Dragons class.  Dragons is for 4-5 year-olds, and is considered "pre-karate".  They learn the basics of Universal Karate/Kenpo as well as work on self-control, courtesy, sharing and kindness.  You can see me in the background taking this picture - ha!  I was taking a picture of our reflection in the mirror to get a shot of Rylan's group as they sat on their bench getting ready for testing.  They all look so cute in their Dragon uniforms.



The first thing they do is stand at attention and shake the instructor's hand as he greets each student in turn.  The Master Instructor/Owner is Mr. Keith Schuett (shaking Rylan's hand).  He is just awesome with the kids!



Attention!



Every class session begins with warm-ups.  Can you guess what they are doing?  (ahem)  Jumping Jacks!



These pictures are from the first testing session that Rylan and Jordan took part in, in mid-January.  One of Rylan's fundamental skills was called the "ice cream punch".  Really, it is a portion of a move called "The Lion".



Crane stance



Rylan earned her yellow tip!  At the Dragon's level, each succession of rank means an additional color on the belt tip.  It is customary for the students moving up in rank to remove their old belt, put it around their neck, and the instructor ties on the new belt.



Rylan's group, after testing.



Then it was Jordan's turn.  Jordan is in the Youth class, and they progress through the junior ranks first.  Jordan is currently going through the basic course, that goes through the ranks to the purple belt.  Then he must decide whether or not he wants to join the Black Belt Club (he does).  Again, this pic was taking during January testing.  Jordan is testing for his advanced white (a belt that is half white/half yellow.  They begin by focusing on what they are about to do for testing.



After warm-ups and basic drills, Jordan is demonstrating a defensive move with a partner.



Jordan earns his advanced yellow!



Jordan's group.  The students with red gis (g-eez) are members of the black belt club.



Now on to the next round of testing, in mid-March (each round of testing is a 9-week cycle).  Rylan is still wearing her Dragons Uniform, but she is testing with the Tigers.  Tigers is the next age group up from Dragons.  The age group is 5-6, and Rylan is almost 5, so we made the switch.  She was mature enough to handle moving up and the instructors thought it was a good idea.

 First, stretching.  Rylan has improved so much in the past two months!



Colin sees his twin!!

A hug and a kiss from Daddy

Now back to the show... Colin watches his big sister as she prepares to do her Star Block Set

Rylan earns her advanced yellow belt!  This belt is a lot different from her Dragons advanced yellow.  The week after this testing round we got a new Tiger  gi for Rylan.  They had to order a size 000.  :)  Rylan is also thrilled to be in Tigers because she is no longer the only girl in her group- her friend Brick is standingto Rylan's right.

Group shot of the Tigers

Jordan's turn.  He is demonstrating the Deflecting Hammer

Deflecting Hammer

Yellow belt!

 

Group shot











The kids are really enjoying the experience.  Some days Rylan complains that it is hard, but I think she has a lot of fun - especially if other friends are there.  It is a lot of driving, but because this is really our only outside activity, I really don't mind.  Some factors to consider:

Pluses:
* It is reasonably priced: $60 per homeschool student, per month.  That is a GREAT deal!
* They provide the (first) uniform (gi). (When you progress to another class level, you need to buy the next uniform.  Which is a reasonable $30 or so)
* They run on-time, and don't mess around - I love that!
* They have high expectations for behavior from students.  Again - they DON'T mess around.  LOVE it!
* The instructors are all talented martial artists and really good at working with kids.  - Many have kids that attend the academy as well.
* They are up-front and transparent about what the program is all about, how much it will cost, what it entails, and what the expectations are  - which is great for a person like myself who has virtually no working knowledge of what the martial arts are all about.
* All sorts of students attend, including special needs.  Awesome!
* There is a nice stadium-style seating area for parents (just wish it was bigger)
* There is a play area for the little ones

Minuses:
* I have to wash white karate uniforms 3xweek.
* Class time on the weekdays is 1:00 - 1:45.  Sometimes it's okay, and other times it falls right during naptime for Colin, or that we are in the middle of an activity.  I wish it were a morning class time instead...
* Each new belt is $35.  Per kid.  Every 9 weeks (if they get approval to go ahead for testing).  That gets a little expensive.
* Saturday mornings are now dedicated to karate.  Sometimes I wish we could sleep in.  But then again, it's a good excuse for Dazbog coffee, which is just down the street from the studio.

What I love most is that this is an activity that the kids can do together.  They can grow with it, and will be constantly challenged for years to come.  Karate is also one of the few activities where they can make strides on multiple fronts: physically, emotionally, intellectually, and yes, even spiritually.  All we want for our kids is for them to be strong, confident and courteous kids.  I think this fits the bill perfectly!