College...here we come!

I have been blessed to homeschool my kids since Turned Loose was in second grade. It's been challenging, it's been fun, it's been overwhelming.

My cute little 7 year old second grader is now and almost17 year old (in two weeks) eleventh grader and college is right around the corner. College preparation can be scary for a simple homeschooling mom! My job has gone from teaching him (Who am I kidding? I haven't taught this kid anything academic since he was about 8!) to being a full time guidance counselor. Problem? I have no clue how to do this part of the job!

So, I've been researching. Turned Loose is a scientist at heart and he is interested in very intense and very competitive schools. I'm the opposite of a scientist and cry in fear at the thought of stepping foot on the campus of the likes of CalTech, MIT, or Harvey Mudd-all schools that my son would love to attend!

I'm learning and growing and attempting to equip myself to make application to one of these schools within reach for my high schooler. I thought maybe someone out there might be interested in some of what I've learned so I'll begin sharing my thoughts and discoveries as I press on through this junior and senior year.

I will also have a ninth grader next school year and will start my preparations for her much earlier now that I know better.

I hope that some of what I've learned will be a benefit to someone else out there. I wish I would have had my hand held starting a few years ago but I really didn't even know where to look at that time. If I can help hold the hand of another mom who is a little intimidated by the prospect of college I'll be thankful!

If there's anything that anyone would like to see me address specifically, I'd be happy to do that, too. I hope to post at least once a week with my ideas about college prep planning.

Here's a hug for all of my fellow homeschoolers navigating these waters!

Preschool Fun

I haven't been as regular as On the Loose would like with preschool these days, but we still manage to have some fun.

He is still greatly enjoying his bags we collected as part of our preschool bag swap with our Five in a Row friends!

This one uses foam shapes to organize by color and by shape:

This is one of his very favorites! You "fish" for the letter fish with a magnetic pole and place the letters on the card one at a time.

This is the one he and I made for the swap. It's another magnetic fishing pole. There are 10 magnetic items and 10 non-magnetic items. The goal is to classify them by what sticks and what doesn't.

Here's some play-doh fun with his brother. He's made a "circle shaped pizza with tomato sauce and cheese on top. ":-)

We've also read a wide variety of library books, played blocks, experimented with numbers, etc. I think we've been successful in spite of our not being regular. We'll see what next week holds!

Five Years

Can it really be five years? Some days it feels like it was yesterday. Some days it feels like a lifetime ago. Some days it feels like it was just a nightmare and that it never really happened.

Five years ago today, September 17, 2004, our family welcomed our beautiful Katherine into our lives. We went into that day thinking we were going to meet a perfectly healthy baby and that she would soon be home with us and fit into our fun. However, our world was turned upside down a few short hours after her birth. I will never forget my husband turning to me and saying, "We have a problem. It's her heart." Our world changed in that moment.

Our perfect little girl was broken on the inside and we had no power to fix things. A simple kiss from Mommy couldn't make things better. All of the skinned knees, bruises, etc. that I had spent nearly 12 years kissing away did not prepare me to be able to fix it this time. We had to completely and totally turn her over to the One who had knit her together.

And turn her over we did. We cried and begged and prayed for God to heal her broken little heart. I sat by her bedside and whispered into her ear all of the plans I had for her. I looked for God's goodness in her life every day.

In the end, He chose to take her home to be with Him. She lived exactly six weeks. In that time, my faith grew and I developed a new sense of what it is to hope in God. He has proven Himself over and over again over the past five years as He has held us and comforted us.

This day is always hard for me as I can imagine celebrating with her. I can imagine the cake and the ice-cream. The dolls. Her smile as we sing Happy Birthday. Instead of those things, the Lord has replaced them with hope. Hope in seeing her again someday as we feast with Him and sing His praises forever.

Happy Birthday Dear On the Loose...

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear On the Loose
Happy Birthday to you!!

Our little guy turned 4 years old today! I can't believe that I was holding a sweet smelling little newborn 4 years ago tonight. He's growing into such a funny little fellow. We are blessed by him for sure!

One of his new fascinations is music. His instrument of choice is....the drums. Don't laugh! I know you're laughing and saying, "Better her than me!" At any rate, I took him to Toys R Us today to buy him a bike. I also found this fun electronic drum set. Apparently, drumming is dangerous business.




Last Mother's Day we went to lunch at an outdoor shopping mall. This giant ferris wheel is a focal point. On that day, he wanted to ride the wheel but, well, I'm afraid of heights and did not want to ride an overgrown ferris wheel on my special day. So, he asked (on Mother's Day) if he could ride it on his birthday. Four months later, his birthday finally arrived and we made good on our promise.






He was very excited! :-)



When we got to the top (yes, I swallowed my fear and rode the darned thing!), he said, "Look, Mommy! You can see everything from up here!"



After riding the ferris wheel, we had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. He always orders a "circle shaped pizza with tomato sauce and cheese on top!" He got that from an episode of Blue's Clues. But, I don't like dealing with tomato sauce with a little guy, so when he places his order and the server just looks at him, I say, "He'll have the honey chicken pizza please." :-) When they ask if he'd like tomato sauce on it, I just inconspicuously shake my head. On the Loose doesn't even notice.



Nice and full, we headed for the carousel. He enjoyed his ride. On the way out the exit, a nice, big red button was just at his level. He couldn't resist and he pushed it before I could grab his hand. It instantly turned off all of the lights on the carousel and it was plenty dark outside. Red faced, I profusely apologized to the carousel operator and she said, "It's OK. It happens all the time." I'm not sure if that's true or if she was just trying to make me feel better. He still lives up to his moniker of Mr. Naughty Pants!



To top off a fun birthday celebration, we headed to a cupcake shop! Yum! Here you can decorate your own cupcake and they'll give you a candle and some matches to make your experience complete!



He chose blue frosting, M & M's and gummy bears.



We sang Happy Birthday and just enjoyed the moment.




I think he had a fun and fabulous day! :-)

A Legacy of Faith

How can one begin to document the influence that a loved one has had on her life? How do I recount the love, laughter, care and tenderness that one woman has bestowed upon me over the past 40 years?

As I spent these last days with my grandma, so many emotions flood my heart. My memories are so fond. Her closet full of high heels and square dancing costumes were at the constant disposal of my cousins and I as we twirled around and around and around in those full skirts. Her laughter as we played “shoe store” with our grandpa (he was always such a good sport!) was contagious. She lovingly tucked us into the “antique bed” more times than I can count. She gave me my first taste of coffee. Well, it was actually a mug of cream and sugar with a drop of coffee in it. She also tricked me into tasting buttermilk straight from a glass.

There was always room for me in her home and I availed myself of the opportunities so often! I would have rather been at my grandma’s house than at any other place on the earth, including Disneyland. I spent my spring breaks and part of my summer breaks with her. We went to the pool. We went to the beach. We played UNO for hours.



She’s always given to me. She’s always cared for me.

During the past ten years, I have had the blessing of being able to care for her by helping her with certain tasks. I have done her grocery shopping, taken her to the doctor, done her bookkeeping, etc. Yes, I’ve given to her. But…the blessing of what I have received far surpasses anything I have given!

Over those same ten years, my grandma passed on a legacy. She lived her faith every day. She donated her time to helping pack Braille Bibles every Tuesday morning for 26 years. She loved her neighbors, her friends and her family. She was content in everything.

My family and I shared her last moments with her and the peace that surrounded her was amazing. She was so ready to meet her Savior! True to form she was a bit impatient about it but oh was she ready.



Over the past two months her kidneys failed her. Her body became weak but her soul became that much stronger! She longed to see the Lord face to face and she spent hours praying for that meeting and for the family she was leaving behind.

At the age of 87, my grandma passed away just two weeks ago with us at her side. I miss her more than I can possibly express. But, I embrace the legacy she left for me; the legacy of her faith. Not only that but I look forward with joy to the day I will reunite with her on those streets of gold!

I can only pray that my own legacy will be as rich!

Wordless Wednesday

Buried under a pile of curriculum

We officially began our 11th year of homeschooling today. Turned Loose is a new 11th grader. Footloose has begun 8th grade. And, On the Loose is enjoying pre-kindergarten.

I must admit that, due to the events of the summer, I have had no motivation to plan the new year. The older kids take classes through The Potter's School (see the left side bar for a link) and those classes do not start until September 14th. So, I only have to plan the lessons for the classes I facilitate for them. Even so, my motivation is non-existent.

Maybe this is part of the reason why. This pile is just history books:



I had to dig into the box where all of this was stored in order to find the logic book and Bible curricula that Footloose will be using this year. I also need to find some pre-k stuff.

I really must figure out a better, more efficient storage system then just throwing it all into a big rubbermaid bin!

When I dig myself out, I will post about how I plan high school: how I store records, what I keep, what forms I create, etc. That way, maybe I can remember my system when it's time to plan again! :-)