So..... we have decided to homeschool Halle.

If you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever homeschool I would probably have slapped you.  Not really, but I never thought of myself or my kids as the homeschooling type.  Even with my best friend and some of my other friends being homeschoolers, the thought of me homeschooling made me shudder.

In the past I've had the same reservations toward homeschooling as the rest of organized-school advocates:
*she won't get to interact socially with others
*I'll fail to teach her what she needs to know in order to get into a good college and/or to be a successful adult.
*she won't learn how to solve problems on her own. 
*she won't learn how to work with peers during team projects.
*she won't get to experience the good, bad, and memorable "rites of passage" that traditional school offers (i.e. school dances, prom, drama class, football games, favorite teachers, bad teachers, school spirit, passing notes in class, lockers, gossiping, bad cafeteria food, the social hierarchy, secret crushes, etc etc etc.)

So what made me change my mind?  Well.... Halle did....along with a lot of research.  Halle approached me in the Fall of last year and said she wanted to be homeschooled.  I think I probably laughed..... laughed very loudly.  But she has been adamant about it, and over time God has softened  Brian's and my heart toward homeschooling.  Now I couldn't be more excited!

Initially she came to me with a list of pros and cons on homeschooling.  She wanted to show me that she was serious about her request to be homeschooled and that she had already weighed out her options.  I asked her to pray about it everyday over the course of a few months and then let me know afterward if she still felt the same way. 

Some of the pros that she listed were: learning at her own pace, field trips, more free time to do extracurricular activities, not having to deal with negative peer pressure, not having to deal with pre-teen/teen drama, tailored learning toward her interests (dolphins for example),  doing a lot more project-based learning, and family vacations are not limited to school breaks.

After doing a lot of research on homeschooling this is what I've learned:
*On average a homeschooler with outperform a public schooler on standardized tests such as the SAT.
*Homeschoolers are not socially inept like much of society thinks.
*Close to 100% of homeschoolers become responsible members of society and are active in their communities.
*There are many social opportunities, support systems, homeschool co-ops, college classes, and teaching resources available.  The sky is the limit!

So..... Will we homeschool Halle all the way through high school?  Will we homeschool our other children?  Will we put our kids in a private school if homeschooling doesn't work for our family?  I have no freaking clue; that's too far in the future :).  We can only take it one step at a time.  There's too many variables in play to decide right now.  I am committed to the next year of Halle's education, and then we will make a decision from there.  I am open to enrolling her back in public school if this doesn't work out.  I trust that Halle will be successful no matter the circumstances.  I just have to trust in the Lord and the right decisions will come at the right time.

It Keeps Going and Going and Going....

This is the saga of Halle's Science Fair project.  For her project Halle decided that she wanted to test three different battey brands to see which one was the most cost effective.  Halle learned a whole lot from doing this project.  These are the things that Brian and I learned from this project as well:

We are dumb.
Hmmmm, we are dumb.
Oh, and we are dumb.

Science is my thing.  I'm nerdy when it comes to science stuff, and I always aced my school projects.  I even have a degree in Biology/Chemistry.  But apparently that doesn't qualify me to help with a 5th grade science project.  Brian is a guy.  He's suppose to be naturally good at this stuff.  Nope.

Her teacher required her to submit a topic for her science fair two weeks before it was due for approval.  So that's only two weeks to do the project. We were busy the first week so she didn't get started until the week it was due.  Halle tells me that she needs to test three different batteries and do three separate trials.  She wants to see how long they last by hooking them up the old school way: connecting the batteries to light bulbs via wire.  She said that she did this at school in fourth grade with her Science teacher and that it was simple.  I believe her.

I took her list to the store:
3 brands of AAA batteries- 3 each
wire
9 light bulbs

After debating hard over which batteries to get in order to keep the cost down as low as possible, I decided on Rayovac Heavy Duty, Energizer Max, and the regular Duracell Coppertop.  I was also in the craft section and saw some jewerly beading wire which is what I grabbed because I did not want to go to the Man section (you know, the automotive, tools, confusing and foreign section of the store that I'm not familiar with) and try to find wire there.

I get home and Brian just looks at the wire and then at me like I'm an idiot.  The beading wire isn't really wire at all.  It's pretty much plastic.  But he tries to strip the plastic off to make it work. I'm proud of him for trying to be resourceful.  I'm not proud that he didn't know you can't stick any ole battery to any ole light bulb.  I didn't know this either, but I'm a girl so it's ok.  Even after YouTube-ing how to connect light bulbs to batteries he and she still couldn't get it to work.  She says, "Oh, maybe it's because we used 9 volt batteries in class."  I'm done with the project at this point.  I've aided my kid with her project and provided the emotional support (yes her science fair packet said that our job was to provide "emotional support."  What???)  and Brian is more than willing to help out because he's a control freak like that.  So I go off to do what I do best.  Take a nap.

I woke up to find that Halle and Brian got smart.  They said screw the lightbulbs (haha I seriously didn't see that pun coming) and wire.  They went to Home Depot and bought some small LED light devices that took AAA batteries.  They placed batteries in each light and planned on testing them by observing which light went out first.  Unlike flashlights, these fancy lights could stick to the project board thus making a good display item.  Ok.  This could work!  No more messing with finicky wires.  Each light took three AAA batteries, so he had to buy more batteries, too.  Now Halle only had five days to complete the project, but  Brian was positive that the lights would go out within a day.  Halle could then perform two more trials with plenty of time to spare.

So she turned on the lights and waited.  And waited.  She checked the lights every so often.  She went to bed.  The next morning Brian took the lights to work to monitor them since Halle had school.  He brought them home.  He was CERTAIN they would die that evening.  Waited.  We went to bed.  We woke up.  The lights were still on.  The Rayovacs started to dim, but were on nonetheless.  The Energizer and Duracell were still going strong.  He took them to work.  He came home.  Still on!  Just die, stupid batteries, die!!!

Day 3.  Duracell and Energizer going strong on the left, and the fading, yet resilient, Rayovac on the right

Halle is sweating because she knows she has to do repeated trials and she wasn't going to have enough time.  Why didn't we buy more lights and test them all at once, you ask?  Well because the lights were $6 each and that would be another $36 to the $60 we already spent on this "little" project.  For all we know anyway, the Energizer and Duracell could last for weeks.  She tells her teacher her dilemma and her teacher just tells her that she should have started sooner.  Sigh.

 So.... being the honest people we are we do what any good parents would do;  we decide to cheat.  Brian and I want to fake that the batteries died and lie to Halle about it so she can move on with her results and finish her project.  We even concoct a plan to make our cheating plausible.  Shhhhhh.  We don't want to tell Halle because we don't want her to know that we are cheaters and that cheating is ok.  Plus she's a high achiever and wouldn't ever go for that.  I'm thinking, it's just a stupid science fair project, right?

But of course my conscience takes over and I head to the store.... again.... to try to find a solution to Halle's problem.  Halle recommended we find an electric moving toy that drains the batteries down quickly.  That's a great idea, but I don't want to have to buy 9 expensive toys!

She is two days away from the project being due.  We walk into the Dollar Tree hoping to find some electronic cheap device that will drain down batteries quickly.  I'm praying as I'm walking through the store,  "Lord please help me find something cheap for this project since we are trying to be honest and give honest results and teach our daughter the right way to do things."  I turn the corner and I see...... ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES!  For a dollar each!  Woohoo!  They take AA rather than AAA, but at least they only take one battery each.  They surely will drain a battery quickly if continuously left on.  I purchase nine of them.  I then go to Walmart again and buy three different types of AA batteries.  We get home and immediately started jamming the batteries into the toothbrushes to get them going as soon as possible.  The first three toothbrushes wouldn't turn on!  Ugghhhhh, stupid dollar store cheap crap!  Thankfully after some more praying and banging them on the counter they turn on.  We now have nine dancing buzzing toothbrushes!

the nine dancing toothbrushes

Halle was able to complete the rest of her project in 1 1/2 days and turn it in on time!  She recorded her results and worked on her board the whole evening.  And it looked really good!  She was exhausted and didn't get to bed until midnight.

You're itching for the results aren't you?  Without further ado, the Duracell batteries (at $0.94 each) lasted the longest.  They went over thirteen hours.  The Energizer lasted 12 hours, and the Rayovacs (at $0.24 each) lasted only about four hours.  But when you look at the cost comparison the Rayovacs lasted the longest for the price.  It would be a pain in the butt to change out the Rayovacs three times as often as the Duracell, but still the Rayovacs were more cost effective, which was what she was testing.  So the solution is to buy Duracells when they are on sale!

This is the finished project board.  Those LED lights got their spotlight afterall (again no pun intended) by lighting up her display board.

Wire $2
Project Board $6
Lightbulbs $7
Toothbrushes $9
LED lights $18
Batteries $41
Ink for our printer $45
Doing something the right way and learning from your mistakes Priceless

If you are ever an overnight guest in our home and forget to pack your toothbrush, don't fret.  We have plenty!

I am so glad this is over.    

Arden Learning to Read

Arden is practicing reading with a classic Dick and Jane book.  I had success teaching Halle how to read with these books, so this is what I'm using to teach Arden as well.

You can hear Jack having a good ole time in the background jumping up and down in his bouncer.  :)

Halloween week

This year I made Halle and Arden's Halloween outfits.  The outfits were mainly made of tulle.  I think I did a great job!

Arden wanted to be a scary witch

and Halle was the Queen of Hearts

Since Jack can't walk yet, I thought this would be the perfect time for him to be a Jack in the Box!  I ordered his clown suit off of Amazon, but constructed the box myself.  Because Brian stayed behind to pass out candy while we went trick-or-treating, my brother-in-laws took turns walking Jack to the door to collect candy.  They got a major workout repeatedly carrying this 25 pound box.  They were more than willing to do it, though, because of all of the attention they were getting from Jack's costume.  Jack had celebrity status on Halloween.  Many people in the neighborhood stopped to take his picture and he even won a prize for the best costume. 

The kids had several opportunities to dress up leading to Halloween, too.

Crazy hat day at school

 

 

For career day at school Halle dressed up as a marine scientist

Arden also had an Alice in Wonderland costume that she wore.  This is her with the other dancers at her dance class

My godson, Austin, had a costume party for his birthday.



Having fun at the Halloween store



 

my kids and two of my nephews all ready to trick-or-treat

The adults also dressed up for a Halloween party.  Amanda as Katniss from the Hunger Games and Aaron in his space suit

Alicia and Rusty as pirates

Brian and I as the Queen of Hearts and a card soldier.  I made Brian's costume, too, out of pleather and table cloth vinyl. 

The action shots while we were playing this ping pong game kept coming out blurry, so this is Brian faking an expression

This is his real expression just as I scored the winning point, lol

 

and since I worked so hard on the Halloween costumes.... and because Jack has no teeth to eat his share of the candy, anyway, I treated myself to the candy stash :)

 

 







Halle for President!

****************UPDATE***************************************************
Halle won!  There were 7 candidates total, and she was voted in as president.  I'm so happy for her!  Congratulations, Halle.  You deserve it!

*****************************************************************************

November 6.  Election Day for our country.  Well move over Barack and Mitt because there's someone else running for president- Halle Hargrave!  Haha, just kidding.  Halle is running for student council president at her school, Hancock Elementary.


Posters

We have been working hard all week on her campaign.  This has been serious business.  In order to be considered in the running she had to submit essay questions and get 25 nominations.  Now that she is a candidate she will have to give a video speech.  We have also made posters to hang in her school, made her a campaign shirt, and made stickers for her to pass out. 

This has been a great opportunity and learning experience for Halle.  If you know Halle then you know that she is a bit shy and soft-spoken.  She has been practicing her speech repeatedly and is learning a lot about public speaking:  eye contact, speaking loudly, speaking slowly, enunciating, smiling, and speaking with passion. 

stickers for other students to wear

closeup of one of the stickers

 We came up with a couple of campaign slogans:  "Rally for Halle!" and "Remember the 4 H's- Halle Hargrave 4 Hancock Hawks!"  Cheesy I know, but we're trying to win the votes of 10 year-olds. 

Hancock's election is later this week, and according to Halle the competition is stiff.  I'll update you as to whether or not she wins.  Win or lose, I'm proud of her for being bold and taking on this challenge!  I love my Halle Monster!  Below is the questionnaire that she had to submit.  She did this on her own.  I just proof-read it and did slight editing. 

 

Questionnaire for Student Council 

Halle Hargrave

1.       Why do you want to be a Student Council officer?

I want to be a student council officer because I care about helping other people, my school, and the environment.  I feel that this job will help me accomplish good outcomes for those three important things.  I want to make sure that every student has a voice when it comes to his/her education. 

 

2.      Describe your leadership characteristics.

I am very creative.  I am capable of coming up with new ideas for the student council and the school.  I am very honest and trustworthy.  I will be responsible and committed to the goals that the student council sets.  I am also a kind person and a good listener.  If any student comes to me with an idea, I will give him/her my attention.  I promise that I will be available everyday to listen to my classmates’ ideas.  Lastly, I am not a quitter.  I follow through with projects to make sure they are complete and done right.  If something doesn’t work the first time then I do not give up until it’s right. 

 

3.      What can you accomplish for the school if you become an officer?

One of my biggest concerns for the school is keeping it clean and eco-friendly.  When I become an officer I can accomplish tasks such as organizing a committee that keeps the school environment clean.  The committee could perform jobs such as picking up trash from the playground.  I would also make an effort to recognize those employees that keep our school safe and running; such as teachers, custodians, and those that serve us in the lunch lines.  I would also establish a program that recognizes students who work hard to keep our school clean as well. 

 

In closing, there are many things that I can make possible if I become an officer of the student council.  I will work hard and rally the other members of the student body to meet our goals.  When we all put our heads together then anything is possible.  Thank you.   
 

 

Name writing

Today Arden wrote her name and drew a self portrait. You can see 'Arden' on the top and 'Rose' on the bottom.... sort of. I wish my arms came out of my head, too. Oh, and feel free to detangle your hair with the 'E.'

Love her :)