Christmas Time

I just heard this guy's music for the first time today.  His name is Buck Storm, which you have to admit, is a cool name.  I hope you like this song.

Next Time: The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth.

Resolved

Here are some Home School Resolutions I am going to try this year.

Many of these are not new. 

1.  To every day demonstrate  to  my children that teaching them is a privilege and something that I cherish.

I am not the first person I want teaching my kids.  I am the second.  And until God works it out that I can get a job that can provide for our family, I will be the one teaching at home.  Sometimes, I think I give the kids the impression that teaching them is a burden.  Every day I want to convey how happy Amy and I are as a family for the privilege of educating our children.

2) To be prepared to teach.

I am not much of a planner and flying by the seat of my pants doesn't work.  So each day and each week, I need to be planning for the next days and the next weeks.

3) To model the behavior I am teaching.

During the course of the week, I often "teach" by example, the exact opposite that I am trying to teach by words.  Much of the reason why I get frustrated with my children is not because they are not learning, but that they are learning some of my behaviors a little too well.

4) To focus on the basics.

Writing, Reading, Spelling, Times Tables. 

Some of the kids have come pretty far, but there is still a long way to go.  These things need to be drilled and drilled and drilled and often I get tired of fighting them and move onto other things that I can manage more easily.  This year I want to focus on these main things.

5) To shower my kids with love and praise.

This may just be a rewording of resolution 1, but I think it bears repeating.

What about you?

What goals and plans do you have for 2012?

This post is in this week's Carnival of Homeschooling.  To return to the carnival click here.

1 3 12 = 6

I recently  received an e-mail from Henry Cate and he says that the home school carnival has been going on for six years.   Since I am a host of the carnival, he has asked me to include a post for the upcoming anniversary and also to invite you, my readers, to do so as well.   After reviewing the guidelines, send  your post by  e-mail to CarnivalOfHomeschooling@gmail.com.  If you would like to participate, you should  do so by January 2, 2012, at 6 PM.   Now I just need to come up with a post by then!

My HSBA profile is on the winner of Best Nitty Gritty Homeschooler.  So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler is a fantastic blog that goes the extra mile.  Here is a Sample Post from Thanksgving 2011.

From my mouth to your eyes

This is kind of amazing for me. Here I am, laying down ready to sleep, and I think , "Hey, I haven't really posted on my blog for a while." So, I grab my new Christmas gift, an I pod touch and simply start talking. Cool. I've talked before, what's different about today? Well I'll tell you what's different, I am using the Dragon voice recognition app. It is typing everything I say.

The past few days since Christmas, we have gone on our annual library week. It has turned out to be more screaming and yelling week. This is really a problem for our family, because I love screaming but hate yelling and Amy loves yelling (and Cheetos) but can't stand screaming. The goal is more libraries tomorrow and Friday sans the screaming and without the yelling.

Typing not talking here. In the future, I will not broadcast (pun intended) what methodology I used to bring these posts to life.

Have not forgotten about HSBA spotlight. The winner this year of best encourager was the Home Scholar. The thing I like about this blog is that the encouragement found within is practical and pragmatic. Here is a sample post.

The Queen's Speech