We've gotten to the age group that Lexi and Lilly are big enough to start doing some things... Since Lexi just turned 5, we started piano lessons with a lady through the Wayne Center for the Arts. We go on Wednesday afternoons to her home for a half hour lesson. We have had one so far, and Lexi did really well. We went to Larry's and got her a book and CD and she has been practicing at home and doing pretty good. Lilly may even pick a little bit up before she turns 5 and can start.
We also started karate and Tracy's Studio here in town. The owner is awesome, and the girls enjoy it a lot. Ages start at 4, and since Lilly will be 4 next month, they let her start so it's something they can do together. We go Tuesday evenings for the group lesson, which is them and 4 boys, and then we go on Wednesday mornings for their private lesson. They do really well, and we have a list of stuff they get to do for their first belt, a yellow belt. They should have their uniforms in a few weeks. So exciting!!
Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Friday, April 8, 2011
Friday, June 12, 2009
Homeschooling Ramblings...
I’ve been doing a bunch of thinking lately about starting “Preschool” for the girls this fall. Lexi will be 3 ½ and Lilly will be 2 ½. Lexi is old enough to send her to preschool this fall, but the only one around we would even entertain would be the Montessori school, and that’s a few thousand dollars a year! ::cough:: Not happening here. I’m not really sure how Lexi would take to being by herself with other children anyways. She is extremely shy, even towards family members she has been around for her entire life. It takes her quite awhile to warm up when we go to visit, I cannot imagine how long it would take her to get used to a school setting with a bunch of strangers. I had both of the girls in the YMCA’s Tiny Tumbler gymnastics last summer, and she never once interacted with the teacher, and really not even with the other children. Last fall I had her in an art class at Wayne Center for the Arts. She would never answer a question for the teacher, or interact with anyone. I think she is just a homebody right now, so I think it would be best to start her off at home, and supplement with story time at the library, or an art class or gymnastics to get her out with other kids her age.
Lilly on the other hand, is still too young for preschools around here. The problem with her is the lack of attention she will give you. I highly doubt she could stay seated and listen to a teacher at all right now. I know that she probably won’t pay much attention to the schooling I do at home with Lexi, and get bored easily with the work, but she will still somehow pick it up. She is just a hyperactive kid, but somehow still absorbs things.
Right now Lexi and recognize her name (mainly just the “A”), say her full name, and she can sing her ABC’s. She recognizes A, B, and sometimes C, but only in uppercase. She can also count to at least 12, knows some colours and shapes, and can sing other nursery rhyme songs. She knows the road we will on, and the city we live in, and can recognize our house when we drive by it.
Lilly knows her name is Lilly, and can count to 10 most of the time. She knows some shapes and colours, and sings her ABC’s, but really doesn’t say all of the ABC’s, its just mumbles. I know she recognizes A and B in uppercase. She will also sing “Row Your Boat”, and knows parts of many other nursery rhymes. She can also recognize the house when we drive by it.
This website: http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1696&ContentID=14936&Content=66487
Has guidelines as to what your child would learn in each grade, and I’ve looked at the Preschool guidelines and have come up with the very basics I want to touch on this year. I just want to start something a little more formal, and see how the kids respond and make changes accordingly. I have until they are 5 or 6 before I really have to worry about Kindergarten, so I have at least 2 years to get the preschool stuff down for Lexi, and I’m sure it won’t take that long. She loves learning things, and I know she will love to learn to read, so she doesn’t have to keep asking me to read things for her!
I have some simple supplies I am going to start off with. I have a colouring book with the ABC’s that I can use more for Lilly, to keep her occupied with something. I am using the http://www.starfall.com block manuscript printouts for Lexi, along with their computer game they have for the ABC’s for both of them. I also have the Hooked on Phonics Learning to Read for Pre-K that I found on clearance at K-Mart last year for $12 (normally $46) that teaches the ABC’s, both uppercase and lowercase and a CD Rom disk. I also got another Hooked on Phonics deal through a bargain board forum I frequent, and got a Pre-K gigantic workbook, and the Spanish program with a CD Rom disk. I also have a few math workbooks that Lexi got for her birthday to help learn numbers. I also have 2 sets of science books from when I was little. One is a Discovery Kids series, and the other one is a Weekly Reader series. Both are very informative about seasons, weather, nature, and practically everything we would want to cover.
The Wilderness Center and some neighboring counties park systems have some preschool age workshops and story times that I would like to do with the girls. I’d much rather Luke go with me, and they all seem to be during work hours, so I don’t know how feasible it will be, but with a new baby coming this fall/winter, next year will not be nearly as hectic as this year, so maybe we can schedule something to attend a few of these. The library also has story time, and the YMCA will have gymnastics they can do, and the Art Center will have art classes they can take as well.
I much rather go with a year-round schedule, so we never have too much time off (I would probably never start back up), and it will keep things fresh in their minds. I found tons of different schedules for this upcoming school year, but really found one that fits our needs for this year. School will not start until August 24th, so our shuttle vacation will be over with. It gives a week off in October, lots of time for fall foliage and hiking, or a small fall vacation. It gives the week of Thanksgiving off (which is when baby is due) and gives 2 weeks off for Christmas, which is usually a standard for schooling. In March there is a 2-week spring break instead of 1 week, and school ends June 18th. That gives us a bunch of summer still. Other calendars I found start school back up in July, and that just won’t work for us this year with the shuttle launch being the beginning of August. Of course, between now and August, I will finalize what my school schedule will look like, how long will we focus on each letter, and we will continue to touch base with all of the things we plan on learning throughout the year.
I’ve got a couple plastic tubs of craft and school supplies; the girls have book bags I got on clearance from Oshkosh, and lunch bags I just got from Pottery Barn for a great sale price. I want to make it as fun as possible, so having the responsibility of the book bag, and packing a lunch will keep there attention just a little bit longer during the day.
At most, I think we will only be at everything for an hour or less. I’m not sure if it will be morning or afternoon, I guess it depends on if we do any outside activity, and when that would be scheduled. It’s a bit long-winded, but it helps me get my thoughts in order, and keeps me accountable to get things ready this fall! I'm hoping if we have a nice little routine going before the new baby gets here, it will help the transition go a lot smoother then just chaos with 3 kids 3 and under!
So here is my quick calendar rundown and basic concepts we will touch base throughout the year.
2009-2010 Year-Round Schooling for the Cowgar’s—Grade Pre-K
August 2009
24th-(Monday) First Day of School
September 2009
7th-(Monday) Labor Day—No School
October 2009
19th-23rd—(M-F) Fall Break—No School
November 2009
23rd-27th—(M-F) Thanksgiving Break—No School
December 2009
21st-1/1/10—(2 weeks) Christmas Break—No School
January 2010
4th—(Monday) School Resumes
18th—(Monday) Martin Luther King Jr. Day—No School
February 2010
School as usual. Will have school on President’s Day.
March 2010
8th-19th—(2 weeks) Spring Break—No School
April 2010
School as usual.
May 2010
24th—(Monday) Memorial Day—No School
June 2010
18th—(Friday) Last Day of School
July 2010
Summer Break as usual.
August 2010
23rd—(Monday) First Day of School for 2010-2011 school season
Special Craft Holidays:
Labor Day—9/7
Columbus Day—10/12
Halloween—10/31
Veteran’s Day—11/11
Thanksgiving—11/26
Hanukkah and Christmas—December
MLK Jr. Day—1/18
Valentine’s Day—2/14
President’s Day—2/15
Easter—4/4
Mother’s Day—5/9
Memorial Day—5/31
Father’s Day—6/20
Independence Day—7/4
Subject Focuses for the Year:
English:
ABC’s—Sight Recognition and Sound
Practice Handwriting of Letters and Numbers
Math:
Numbers 1-20—Sight Recognition
Counting Groups
Basic Shapes
Concept of Time
Science:
Seasons
Weather
Animals/Insects
Nature
Earth/Moon/Sun—Day/Night
Art:
Colours
Using scissors and glue
Drawing
Zippers/Snaps/Buttons/Velcro/Tying Shoes
History:
Holidays
Calendar—Days of Week
About Me:
Learn Name-Recognize and Write
Learn Home Address
Learn Mommy and Daddy’s Cell Phone Numbers
Learn Birthday and Age
Spanish:
1-10
Shapes
Colours
Simple, everyday words
Lilly on the other hand, is still too young for preschools around here. The problem with her is the lack of attention she will give you. I highly doubt she could stay seated and listen to a teacher at all right now. I know that she probably won’t pay much attention to the schooling I do at home with Lexi, and get bored easily with the work, but she will still somehow pick it up. She is just a hyperactive kid, but somehow still absorbs things.
Right now Lexi and recognize her name (mainly just the “A”), say her full name, and she can sing her ABC’s. She recognizes A, B, and sometimes C, but only in uppercase. She can also count to at least 12, knows some colours and shapes, and can sing other nursery rhyme songs. She knows the road we will on, and the city we live in, and can recognize our house when we drive by it.
Lilly knows her name is Lilly, and can count to 10 most of the time. She knows some shapes and colours, and sings her ABC’s, but really doesn’t say all of the ABC’s, its just mumbles. I know she recognizes A and B in uppercase. She will also sing “Row Your Boat”, and knows parts of many other nursery rhymes. She can also recognize the house when we drive by it.
This website: http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1696&ContentID=14936&Content=66487
Has guidelines as to what your child would learn in each grade, and I’ve looked at the Preschool guidelines and have come up with the very basics I want to touch on this year. I just want to start something a little more formal, and see how the kids respond and make changes accordingly. I have until they are 5 or 6 before I really have to worry about Kindergarten, so I have at least 2 years to get the preschool stuff down for Lexi, and I’m sure it won’t take that long. She loves learning things, and I know she will love to learn to read, so she doesn’t have to keep asking me to read things for her!
I have some simple supplies I am going to start off with. I have a colouring book with the ABC’s that I can use more for Lilly, to keep her occupied with something. I am using the http://www.starfall.com block manuscript printouts for Lexi, along with their computer game they have for the ABC’s for both of them. I also have the Hooked on Phonics Learning to Read for Pre-K that I found on clearance at K-Mart last year for $12 (normally $46) that teaches the ABC’s, both uppercase and lowercase and a CD Rom disk. I also got another Hooked on Phonics deal through a bargain board forum I frequent, and got a Pre-K gigantic workbook, and the Spanish program with a CD Rom disk. I also have a few math workbooks that Lexi got for her birthday to help learn numbers. I also have 2 sets of science books from when I was little. One is a Discovery Kids series, and the other one is a Weekly Reader series. Both are very informative about seasons, weather, nature, and practically everything we would want to cover.
The Wilderness Center and some neighboring counties park systems have some preschool age workshops and story times that I would like to do with the girls. I’d much rather Luke go with me, and they all seem to be during work hours, so I don’t know how feasible it will be, but with a new baby coming this fall/winter, next year will not be nearly as hectic as this year, so maybe we can schedule something to attend a few of these. The library also has story time, and the YMCA will have gymnastics they can do, and the Art Center will have art classes they can take as well.
I much rather go with a year-round schedule, so we never have too much time off (I would probably never start back up), and it will keep things fresh in their minds. I found tons of different schedules for this upcoming school year, but really found one that fits our needs for this year. School will not start until August 24th, so our shuttle vacation will be over with. It gives a week off in October, lots of time for fall foliage and hiking, or a small fall vacation. It gives the week of Thanksgiving off (which is when baby is due) and gives 2 weeks off for Christmas, which is usually a standard for schooling. In March there is a 2-week spring break instead of 1 week, and school ends June 18th. That gives us a bunch of summer still. Other calendars I found start school back up in July, and that just won’t work for us this year with the shuttle launch being the beginning of August. Of course, between now and August, I will finalize what my school schedule will look like, how long will we focus on each letter, and we will continue to touch base with all of the things we plan on learning throughout the year.
I’ve got a couple plastic tubs of craft and school supplies; the girls have book bags I got on clearance from Oshkosh, and lunch bags I just got from Pottery Barn for a great sale price. I want to make it as fun as possible, so having the responsibility of the book bag, and packing a lunch will keep there attention just a little bit longer during the day.
At most, I think we will only be at everything for an hour or less. I’m not sure if it will be morning or afternoon, I guess it depends on if we do any outside activity, and when that would be scheduled. It’s a bit long-winded, but it helps me get my thoughts in order, and keeps me accountable to get things ready this fall! I'm hoping if we have a nice little routine going before the new baby gets here, it will help the transition go a lot smoother then just chaos with 3 kids 3 and under!
So here is my quick calendar rundown and basic concepts we will touch base throughout the year.
2009-2010 Year-Round Schooling for the Cowgar’s—Grade Pre-K
August 2009
24th-(Monday) First Day of School
September 2009
7th-(Monday) Labor Day—No School
October 2009
19th-23rd—(M-F) Fall Break—No School
November 2009
23rd-27th—(M-F) Thanksgiving Break—No School
December 2009
21st-1/1/10—(2 weeks) Christmas Break—No School
January 2010
4th—(Monday) School Resumes
18th—(Monday) Martin Luther King Jr. Day—No School
February 2010
School as usual. Will have school on President’s Day.
March 2010
8th-19th—(2 weeks) Spring Break—No School
April 2010
School as usual.
May 2010
24th—(Monday) Memorial Day—No School
June 2010
18th—(Friday) Last Day of School
July 2010
Summer Break as usual.
August 2010
23rd—(Monday) First Day of School for 2010-2011 school season
Special Craft Holidays:
Labor Day—9/7
Columbus Day—10/12
Halloween—10/31
Veteran’s Day—11/11
Thanksgiving—11/26
Hanukkah and Christmas—December
MLK Jr. Day—1/18
Valentine’s Day—2/14
President’s Day—2/15
Easter—4/4
Mother’s Day—5/9
Memorial Day—5/31
Father’s Day—6/20
Independence Day—7/4
Subject Focuses for the Year:
English:
ABC’s—Sight Recognition and Sound
Practice Handwriting of Letters and Numbers
Math:
Numbers 1-20—Sight Recognition
Counting Groups
Basic Shapes
Concept of Time
Science:
Seasons
Weather
Animals/Insects
Nature
Earth/Moon/Sun—Day/Night
Art:
Colours
Using scissors and glue
Drawing
Zippers/Snaps/Buttons/Velcro/Tying Shoes
History:
Holidays
Calendar—Days of Week
About Me:
Learn Name-Recognize and Write
Learn Home Address
Learn Mommy and Daddy’s Cell Phone Numbers
Learn Birthday and Age
Spanish:
1-10
Shapes
Colours
Simple, everyday words
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Welcome to our Family
So I decided to start a life blog for the New Year, to keep my family in check with the goals we are working towards. It also gives me a place to vent, and a place to hold myself accountable. So, lets get started with some background.
The Cowgar family consists of my husband Luke, myself (Holly), and our two daughters Alexis (2) and Lillian (1). We also have our dog Athena, our cat Socks, and some miscellaneous fish. We live in the very liberal artsy-fartsy type town of Wooster, Ohio.
Our goals and how we are achieving them are as follows:
1. Live as eco-friendly as possible.
Our town has blue trash bag recycling, so we put all recyclables in a blue trash bag and take it to the curb every week. There is also a yearly hazardous waste recycling in our county, so we save electronics, batteries (hoping to go rechargeable sometime soon), chemicals, and tires. We were composting our organic scraps, but since it’s really cold out now, we have really been slacking on that. We use CFL bulbs in most areas of the home, and are slowly making the transition complete (except Luke’s office, because he is a pain). We have bunches of cloth rags to use and reuse. We clean a lot of things with baking soda and/or vinegar. We make our own laundry detergent out of washing soda, Fels Naptha soap bars, and Borax powder. We don’t use dryer sheets, and in the nice weather, we hang out our clothes to dry. We do use some hand-me-down and thrift store clothes, as well as some new, (but new is mostly from other people or very much clearanced).
2. Eat as healthy as possible.
We buy cage free/free range eggs. We just purchased locally raised beef and pork (From SIL’s father and my Uncle). I plan to have a more productive and bigger garden than I had this past year. We try to eat more fruits and veggies. We try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup, MSG, red dye #40, yellow dye #5 (well most dyes in general), sucralose (and other refined sugars), and anything else we find out is really yucky for you. We also try not to eat out much, although Starbucks and Arby’s tend to be our weaknesses.
3. Get out of debt and be financially responsible.
I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 2 years, and just recently picked up a part-time gig at the local K-Mart on nights and weekends. Not because I needed out of the house, but out of necessity to our current budget. Luke makes plenty to live by, if we didn’t have the debt we have. We got off to a rough start after buying a house, needing repairs done to it, having high deductibles and lousy insurance while having 2 kids. To top it all off, we were set to be consumer debt free by the end of 2008, but we suffered a miscarriage in May 2008. On top of that my beater car of 7 years had a structural break on the frame, so in about 2 months time, we racked up about $12,000 in debt, both consumer and car. We just lost control and ate out so much. We were devastated and didn’t grasp hold of the situation. We also had over $800 in medical expenses, since everything is out of pocket until we reach our high deductible, so needless to say, we need money…ASAP! On top of about $20,000 in consumer debt, we have about $5,500 for the car, and around $10,500 to Luke’s dad, because he was kind enough to loan us the down payment on our land we purchased before we bought this house. Then of course there is the land mortgage, which is around $15,000, and of course the house, but I don’t care about the house, because hopefully one day (sooner than later) we will sell it, but we do have some unfinished projects that need done. So, to combat the debt, we have a detailed excel spreadsheet for our budget, and we are snowballing our debt, curbing our eating out, lowering our grocery bill, cutting out some unnecessary expenses, selling on E-bay and Craigslist, and I baby-sit my friend’s daughter, so hopefully we will make some quick progress.
4. Starting up business ventures.
Luke has expressed interest in starting up a photography business. With the equipment we already have, we should be able to do it without needing to tie up any more money into it. He has 2 cameras, numerous lenses, photo editing software, and a lighting kit. He is still in the practicing mode right now, and we have a blog set up http://willowspondphotography.blogspot.com/ The money is in portrait and event photography, but he does enjoy nature photography more, and we hope to create a website soon that will feature some of his nature shots available as prints to buy. On another side, I completely dislike working out of the home right now. I worked for 7 months after Lexi was born, and it was the toughest months of my life. I missed so many family activities, my first Mother’s Day…just everything. I’ve been working at K-Mart now for a month and a half, and not a day goes by that I don’t cry because I have to leave the kids and work there. It’s taking a toll on life in general right now, and I think we would all be much happier if I was back at home, even if it meant paying off debt a lot slower. I think it would be fun to have a small home-based business, so there would be no need to leave the home, and we would have the freedom we had when I didn’t work. In the 6 years we’ve been together, I have talked about it off and on, so we purchased a web domain that we could use not only for Luke’s nature prints, but use for other products as well. Primarily, it would be the crunchy hippie stuff, like candles, soaps, and homemade trinkets of sorts. We need money and time to invest in setting it up, so right now it’s just a brainteaser, but one day it may happen.
5. Start the path towards home schooling our kids.
The girls’ cousins on the Cowgar side are home schooled, and that has been an influence on Luke and I considering home schooling. I love the idea of no set wake-up times, field trips wherever-whenever, and the ability to go into detail on things the kids find interesting, instead of them skimming over it in a public school setting. It gives Luke and I the opportunity to give so much more to the children education wise, that I know they wouldn’t receive at a public school. I want them to be able to learn things for real life applications, and not focus so much on mumbo jumbo that they may never use again. Luke and I are both products of a public school system, and not a day goes by that we wish we had learned something useful there. I have a few tubs of miscellaneous school books, teaching aides, and crafty supplies. I had every intentions of starting something up this fall, but I haven’t been able to manage the house, the kids, and this new job very well, so it just hasn’t happened.
6. Start living with less.
One look at our house, and you can sum it up with one word; CLUTTER! We have too much stuff, and not enough room. We hold on to things we will never use, or feel bad about letting go, and enough is enough. Luke and I talked recently about how cool it would be to get debt free and buy and RV, and then just live in it for a while and travel the country, since his job would allow him that freedom. Well we wouldn’t fit in an RV with all the stuff we have shoved in this house, so it’s time for a change. I have boxes piled in the foyer for a yard sale next year, and bigger items we have put up on E-Bay or Craigslist to sell. We cleaned the basement recently to organize it better, and we had boxes that had sat down there since we moved in…back in 2004! Obviously we have more than we need, so I am slowly downsizing and reorganizing the house. Hopefully this blog will keep me in check, and I can put some before and after pictures to help keep myself motivated to the task.
7. Live an adventurous life.
As stated above, Luke and I have talked about the RV experience once we are debt free, before building a house on the land. That being a few years down the line anyways, we need to make changes now to our life. We are hoping to be a lot more active outdoors, taking more hikes, attending more functions and classes at the surrounding park systems, and showing the girls appreciation for nature. It will also help out Luke with many opportunities for nature photography throughout the year. We are saving our tax return for a trip to Florida sometime during 2009, so we can see a shuttle launch before the current shuttles are retired for good. We plan to spend some days at the beach, and drive home, hopefully stopping in North Carolina at the Emerald mines, and making our way up to Washington D.C. before heading back home. I’ve never seen any of those places, and it would be a great family adventure for the girls.
To sum everything up, I am keeping this blog to keep me in check with all of these goals. I am hoping by putting everything on the table, out in the open, that it will keep me motivated and hold me accountable, so we can achieve these goals more easily. I guess it will also give the extended family an insight to our everyday life, and a journal the girls can look back on later in life. So sit back, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride…hopefully!
The Cowgar family consists of my husband Luke, myself (Holly), and our two daughters Alexis (2) and Lillian (1). We also have our dog Athena, our cat Socks, and some miscellaneous fish. We live in the very liberal artsy-fartsy type town of Wooster, Ohio.
Our goals and how we are achieving them are as follows:
1. Live as eco-friendly as possible.
Our town has blue trash bag recycling, so we put all recyclables in a blue trash bag and take it to the curb every week. There is also a yearly hazardous waste recycling in our county, so we save electronics, batteries (hoping to go rechargeable sometime soon), chemicals, and tires. We were composting our organic scraps, but since it’s really cold out now, we have really been slacking on that. We use CFL bulbs in most areas of the home, and are slowly making the transition complete (except Luke’s office, because he is a pain). We have bunches of cloth rags to use and reuse. We clean a lot of things with baking soda and/or vinegar. We make our own laundry detergent out of washing soda, Fels Naptha soap bars, and Borax powder. We don’t use dryer sheets, and in the nice weather, we hang out our clothes to dry. We do use some hand-me-down and thrift store clothes, as well as some new, (but new is mostly from other people or very much clearanced).
2. Eat as healthy as possible.
We buy cage free/free range eggs. We just purchased locally raised beef and pork (From SIL’s father and my Uncle). I plan to have a more productive and bigger garden than I had this past year. We try to eat more fruits and veggies. We try to stay away from high fructose corn syrup, MSG, red dye #40, yellow dye #5 (well most dyes in general), sucralose (and other refined sugars), and anything else we find out is really yucky for you. We also try not to eat out much, although Starbucks and Arby’s tend to be our weaknesses.
3. Get out of debt and be financially responsible.
I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for 2 years, and just recently picked up a part-time gig at the local K-Mart on nights and weekends. Not because I needed out of the house, but out of necessity to our current budget. Luke makes plenty to live by, if we didn’t have the debt we have. We got off to a rough start after buying a house, needing repairs done to it, having high deductibles and lousy insurance while having 2 kids. To top it all off, we were set to be consumer debt free by the end of 2008, but we suffered a miscarriage in May 2008. On top of that my beater car of 7 years had a structural break on the frame, so in about 2 months time, we racked up about $12,000 in debt, both consumer and car. We just lost control and ate out so much. We were devastated and didn’t grasp hold of the situation. We also had over $800 in medical expenses, since everything is out of pocket until we reach our high deductible, so needless to say, we need money…ASAP! On top of about $20,000 in consumer debt, we have about $5,500 for the car, and around $10,500 to Luke’s dad, because he was kind enough to loan us the down payment on our land we purchased before we bought this house. Then of course there is the land mortgage, which is around $15,000, and of course the house, but I don’t care about the house, because hopefully one day (sooner than later) we will sell it, but we do have some unfinished projects that need done. So, to combat the debt, we have a detailed excel spreadsheet for our budget, and we are snowballing our debt, curbing our eating out, lowering our grocery bill, cutting out some unnecessary expenses, selling on E-bay and Craigslist, and I baby-sit my friend’s daughter, so hopefully we will make some quick progress.
4. Starting up business ventures.
Luke has expressed interest in starting up a photography business. With the equipment we already have, we should be able to do it without needing to tie up any more money into it. He has 2 cameras, numerous lenses, photo editing software, and a lighting kit. He is still in the practicing mode right now, and we have a blog set up http://willowspondphotography.blogspot.com/ The money is in portrait and event photography, but he does enjoy nature photography more, and we hope to create a website soon that will feature some of his nature shots available as prints to buy. On another side, I completely dislike working out of the home right now. I worked for 7 months after Lexi was born, and it was the toughest months of my life. I missed so many family activities, my first Mother’s Day…just everything. I’ve been working at K-Mart now for a month and a half, and not a day goes by that I don’t cry because I have to leave the kids and work there. It’s taking a toll on life in general right now, and I think we would all be much happier if I was back at home, even if it meant paying off debt a lot slower. I think it would be fun to have a small home-based business, so there would be no need to leave the home, and we would have the freedom we had when I didn’t work. In the 6 years we’ve been together, I have talked about it off and on, so we purchased a web domain that we could use not only for Luke’s nature prints, but use for other products as well. Primarily, it would be the crunchy hippie stuff, like candles, soaps, and homemade trinkets of sorts. We need money and time to invest in setting it up, so right now it’s just a brainteaser, but one day it may happen.
5. Start the path towards home schooling our kids.
The girls’ cousins on the Cowgar side are home schooled, and that has been an influence on Luke and I considering home schooling. I love the idea of no set wake-up times, field trips wherever-whenever, and the ability to go into detail on things the kids find interesting, instead of them skimming over it in a public school setting. It gives Luke and I the opportunity to give so much more to the children education wise, that I know they wouldn’t receive at a public school. I want them to be able to learn things for real life applications, and not focus so much on mumbo jumbo that they may never use again. Luke and I are both products of a public school system, and not a day goes by that we wish we had learned something useful there. I have a few tubs of miscellaneous school books, teaching aides, and crafty supplies. I had every intentions of starting something up this fall, but I haven’t been able to manage the house, the kids, and this new job very well, so it just hasn’t happened.
6. Start living with less.
One look at our house, and you can sum it up with one word; CLUTTER! We have too much stuff, and not enough room. We hold on to things we will never use, or feel bad about letting go, and enough is enough. Luke and I talked recently about how cool it would be to get debt free and buy and RV, and then just live in it for a while and travel the country, since his job would allow him that freedom. Well we wouldn’t fit in an RV with all the stuff we have shoved in this house, so it’s time for a change. I have boxes piled in the foyer for a yard sale next year, and bigger items we have put up on E-Bay or Craigslist to sell. We cleaned the basement recently to organize it better, and we had boxes that had sat down there since we moved in…back in 2004! Obviously we have more than we need, so I am slowly downsizing and reorganizing the house. Hopefully this blog will keep me in check, and I can put some before and after pictures to help keep myself motivated to the task.
7. Live an adventurous life.
As stated above, Luke and I have talked about the RV experience once we are debt free, before building a house on the land. That being a few years down the line anyways, we need to make changes now to our life. We are hoping to be a lot more active outdoors, taking more hikes, attending more functions and classes at the surrounding park systems, and showing the girls appreciation for nature. It will also help out Luke with many opportunities for nature photography throughout the year. We are saving our tax return for a trip to Florida sometime during 2009, so we can see a shuttle launch before the current shuttles are retired for good. We plan to spend some days at the beach, and drive home, hopefully stopping in North Carolina at the Emerald mines, and making our way up to Washington D.C. before heading back home. I’ve never seen any of those places, and it would be a great family adventure for the girls.
To sum everything up, I am keeping this blog to keep me in check with all of these goals. I am hoping by putting everything on the table, out in the open, that it will keep me motivated and hold me accountable, so we can achieve these goals more easily. I guess it will also give the extended family an insight to our everyday life, and a journal the girls can look back on later in life. So sit back, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride…hopefully!
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