Ever Changing

December 2021: 

With my oldest four kids we were able to stay with the same curriculum from the start to finish. However, with us having five kids with special needs that we are still schooling, what works one year might not work the next. Sometimes it can be a challenge to know what to do so they continue to learn and grow. We are currently in our second year using Abeka and it is by far my favorite to teach. I love everything about it. We do the dvds as well as all the work that comes with it. 

However, they are more advanced than some and while it is great to be able to learn so much, it also means that some of our kids struggle sooner than they would have if it was easier. With that in mind a couple years ago we tried an "easier" curriculum and we were very disappointed and went back to Abeka. As I watch our kids doing their work and watching the videos, I notice that for some, this will be their last time using Abeka. As much as I love it, for some of our kids, they are starting to get lost, the work has gone beyond what they are able to do. A few years ago I would have argued that there is nothing that we can not do without a lot of work, and while I do still think that hard work makes progress, I also understand that instead of continuing on trying to teach someone something for years and years and year we should find the things that they are good at and focus on helping those get better instead trying to get them to continue in work that is too challenging. 

I think as years go on, we will have to just do a reevaluation to see where we are, where we are going, and what we need to do to get there. It certainly keeps me on my toes researching to see which will best suit their needs and the needs of our family. 

For now, they are learning, and doing well with Abeka and we are loving seeing them discover and grow.

 February Update:

Since I started writing this in December, we have continued on in our Abeka books and videos and are now on lesson 102 in Abeka. There are 170 lessons total. We took off time for Christmas and in January we took off time when we all came down with covid. Then one of our kids had surgery, so we took a break for that. However, since we did not take off time for Thanksgiving or New Years, or other holidays, we are still on schedule. 

While we all love the Abeka curriculum and videos and having the teacher and students to learn with we have decided to change curriculum. If all of our kids were keeping up then we would have happily stayed with Abeka, however, as the year progresses our kids are having trouble keeping up. We will finish this school year with Abeka, but this is our last year. We have learned SO much and I will be forever thankful and grateful for the videos and the Abeka program. I will miss having the help of the teacher in the Abeka videos but the best part about homeschooling is that when you see a need you can always change things when you need to. 

We have ordered our new curriculum for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year and are excited with all that this coming year will bring. I can hardly wait to share all that they are learning. 

Most of our books have already come in, but we have several more on the way. We are packing them up for now so nothing is damaged and everything is in a box labeled for easy access when we move. 

We finally got good enough weather to go out to the park. The kids had a great time playing on the playground and then rolling down the hill and running back up. Here are some pictures of our recent outing. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!! 

A few pictures of our Thanksgiving Day!

Trying to get everyone smiling at the same time isn't easy, lol. 

For the last 31 years I have made Thanksgiving by myself. I had a system, a routine. Making everything on my own required having perfect timing so everything was warm when it was time to eat. When I was younger, I felt like I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. A few years after that and a routine had been established, a method and process that had everything smoothly flowing. But as years passed, it became harder, more of a chore. I missed the big family Thanksgivings when I was growing up, where everyone came and everyone brought a side dish. Part of me hated to have anyone else help out because then I felt like it was saying that I could not do it anymore or that I was letting others down. Finally, this year, and considering we are moving, we made changes to our Thanksgiving. Thirty-one years of doing something a certain way, and a person who hates change. I was worried. 

I should not have been. I was needing a change, even if I did not even know it.

The normal routine was to do the pies the night before, and then the oven would be free for the turkey first thing in the morning. However, we decided do wait until the day of Thanksgiving to make the pies. By doing this however, it meant *I* could not make the pies as I was working on all the other side dishes. So as part of our new Thanksgiving tradition, Mark and all the kids made the Thanksgiving pies! And what an amazing job they did!! Having help allowed me to relax and just enjoy being around my family and the kids felt so proud of the pies they made. After the turkey came out the pies went into the oven and cooked while we enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast. 

Afterwards, we all watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - and Mark napped, sang and danced to Christmas music, read a story, ate pie, took down our fall decorations and started putting up some Christmas decorations. It was a wonderful day. Everyone agreed that they love the new traditions and are looking forward to next year when we can do it again! 

May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

Making pies

Helping peel potatoes for homemade mashed potatoes

Watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

After turkey naps....

We did not get a picture before we started on our meal but we did get one before we cut into the pies. They did SO good and the pies were delicious!! They even had enough apple filling to make an apple turnover!

I made a few changes to how I do the turkey as well and everyone said it turned out better than it ever has! 

Mark fell asleep even with children climbing all over him

One of Gavyn's favorite Christmas things is the Santa that his Auntie Helen made. This poor Santa has been so loved, that his tunic has come off  he certainly has been well loved. 

And a few other pictures from the last few weeks

Daddy reading the Long Winter from the Little House on the Prairie series

Making peanut butter cookies to give to a friend of ours and their family