A Day in the Life of the Jackson 5

Welcome to the new "A Day in the Life" series! This weekly string of blog posts will feature individuals or families here on the Big Island, describing what "a day in the life" (or a week!) of a homeschooler is like. This weeks post is by (me) Sally Jackson of Hilo, mama to Zadok, Odin, and Jonah.

 Aloha friends! I thought I would take a stab at sharing what a day in the life of our homeschooling family is like. We don't normally refer to ourselves at the "Jackson 5", but it sounded catchy, so I'm sticking with it (just for today.)
So yes, there are five of us in our family. My husband Micah is a public school science teacher and awesome father of the family, and I am the stay-at-home nurturer and domestic manager of the house! We have 3 sons: Zadok is turning 7 tomorrow, Odin is turning 5 in two weeks, and little Jonah  is 2 1/2. We may be a young homeschooling family just starting out, however, I feel like this homeschooling journey is a natural part of our progression in life. We love being together, we love learning, and homeschooling seems to fit us perfectly.

Our days start early, as my husband gets up at 6am to get ready for work. However, Zadok wakes up before everybody else and usually watches Wild Kratts while he waits for the rest of us to drag ourselves out of bed. By 7:30am we are all up, and eating breakfast. Pancakes are a favorite around here!
One thing I learned early on as a homeschooling Mom is that I stink at  following a schedule, but I love having a routine. So, each morning we aim to accomplish 8 basic things, which  I call our "Important Things." We don't move on with our day until these things are accomplished: 
1. Rise and Shine
2. Eat breakfast
3. Brush Teeth
4. Get dressed for the day
5. Personal prayers and praying together as a family
6. Scripture study and/or Spiritual focus time
7.  Morning hugs for everyone
8. Daily chores (hang laundry, vacuum, wipe walls, scrub floors, dust, mop, clean out the car, etc)

After we're done with our "Important Things," it's usually about 9:30am. Now we can move on to whatever activities we have planned for the day (or make it all up as we go along.)
If it's a sunny day we'll head to the beach to explore the tide pools and swim. My boys love to run around and collect specimens to be identified. Last week we found blue-bubble jellyfish washed up on the shore, and sea turtles resting on the rocks. Odin loves to collect sea glass and also collects cans for recycling money. 

Catch and release!

We have a handful of favorite beaches we love to visit, and consider this our exposure to the natural, physical, and marine science world.  We  also love to  hike up at Hawaii's Volcano National Park, and explore the parks near our home. Anytime we are spending time in nature is valuable to our family.

If it's Tuesday, we'll head over to play kickball with our homeschool friends. Starting a weekly kickball game was something we really needed to do for our children. I am so grateful for kickball! You can read more about that here on my personal blog. 

If it's super rainy we might head over to Keiki Steps, which is a free, interactive  pre-school for children and their parents. While we are there for 2 hours, I get to do crafts and activities with Odin and Jonah, while Zadok hangs out and does games on his computer like Minecraft. Or, we'll stay home and play board games all day. My kids are really into Scrabble, Battleship, UNO, and well, basically any board game that exists. They learn a lot through playing, so we really value our board/card games. Sometimes we'll set up a fake store with fake money and sell our stuff to each other. They get a huge kick out of this, plus it gives them great practice in adding and subtracting bills and coins. 

Would you like to buy a dinosaur?

By 12'o clock we are hungry for lunch, usually sandwiches and veggies or fruit.  Zadok makes pb&j and Odin makes turkey and cheese. Jonah will eat anything I give him, thank goodness. I usually take this time to make myself something yummy, too. After lunch we will either read a bunch of library books like Magic Tree House, make something crafty like hot glue and Popsicle sticks, or find computer games for the kids to play online. Lately it's been Cool Math Games, Animal Jam, or StarFall. Odin  likes to work on Star Fall, as he is just learning his phonetics. Next the boys take turns on the computer while Jonah naps, which allows me to get stuff done for myself. I try to alternate days exercising, blogging, reading, or catching up on emails, as I can never do everything I want all in one day. Does anyone else have this problem? haha

Reading book to little bro

After Jonah wakes up from his nap and the boys have met their quota with "screen time" we hang out and wait for Dad to get home, which is about 3:30pm. During this time the boys will wrestle, or play freeze tag with me, or play Yu-Gi-Oh card games.  
Zadok is really into the Yu-Gi-Oh card game and has converted his little brother along with him. He collects the cards and plays tournaments against other kids on the weekends. As his parents, we totally encourage his passions, and have seen immense growth in his reading skills  and problem solving abilities since he began this hobby. Odin is a couple steps behind him, but eager to follow his big brother in whatever he does. 
When Dad gets home we often head out to the beach, or play games around the house, or spend time in the yard with our chickens and garden, until dinnertime, which is about 5:30pm.  (I often even sneak out the door by myself for a surf session or a long jog to unwind from the day after he gets home.)

Okay, I guess that's it for now! Every day is different and not every day goes perfectly. Some days are really hard, where all I feel I'm doing is breaking up arguments and entertaining boredom, but, there's also so much I love that makes up for the tough days.
 One of the things I love best about homeschooling is the variety of interests our children have and their excitement to pursue them on their own.  I remember a couple years back when everything was about animals! Our eldest son was suddenly on this personal mission to find out everything there was to know about animal's lives, their habitats, their defense mechanisms, and so forth. We found ourselves at the library, weekly, checking out animal books, watching animal documentaries, and drawing animal life cycles. It was an exciting time for our family, and one I look back on fondly.  Then, as the interest in animals waned, he soon moved on to dinosaurs,  then Star Wars, helicopters, plants and seeds, the Universe,  then Yu-Gi-Oh, and on and on. We just let the learning flow, and let his curiosity lead the way, whatever it may be. I realized that no matter what they are interested in, we can tie it into learning. For us homeschooling isn't just about excelling academically, but also about being passionate about living  life, about having a strong spiritual foundation, and about being happy with who we are. 

So that's a day in the life of the Jackson 5!  Thanks for reading! Next year might be a little different since we signed up for the Myron B. Thompson Academy. We are looking forward to a new challenge, and maybe even some extra free-cash for gymnastics classes and Imiloa.

Painting a playhouse to live in. 

Kickball, March 12th

Sorry for the short notice on the blog, but there will be kickball this morning at the Kea'au Shipman Park at 10am. Hope to see you there, rain or shine!

East Hawaii Homeschool Hui

In case some of you weren't aware, we have a group on facebook (or Google Groups, for those not using fb) called "East Hawaii Homeschool Hui" which is for homeschooling families on the east side of the Big Island. Thank you Heather Gilbert for getting it started up in 2010- It just keeps growing and growing with more and more of us! Woohoo!

If you are in the area, are homeschooling, and are seeking an active, supportive, and family-friendly  group to network with, please join! 
Feel free to post pictures from your latest activity, helpful links, or information that would be useful to other homeschoolers in the area. You could even plan activities for everyone else to join! Click the links below:

EAST HAWAII HOMESCHOOL HUI on facebook

EAST HAWAII HOMESCHOOL HUI on Google Groups

A Day in the Life of the Aughe Ohana

Welcome to the new "A Day in the Life" series! This weekly string of blog posts will feature individuals or families here on the Big Island, describing what "a day in the life" (or a week!) of a homeschooler is like. This weeks post is by Pauline of Hawaiian Paradise Park, mother to 6 year old Aaron.

A Day in the Life of the Aughe Ohana

My son, Aaron, is 6-years old and has just completed first grade.  Ever since he was an infant, he has appreciated routine, mostly set by himself.  He created and followed his own daily naps, eating times and play times.  As he got older, I noticed that he did better in situations that he was prepared for ahead of time.  Observing his preference for routine as a planner, which I'm grateful for because I'm a planner too, I knew he'd do better with a structured environment as we approached homeschooling.

Although our days may be predictable, our personal approach to homeschooling helps Aaron (and me) succeed.  Here's a sneak peek into our daily routine:

7:30 AM - Rise and Shine! Dad (also known as Ted) usually enjoys waking Aaron up with a few minutes of cuddle and tickle time.  This ensures a happy morning.

7:45 AM - Before his breakfast, Aaron feeds our dog and cat. Then breakfast with Dad, followed by bed making, teeth brushing and changing his clothes. 

8:15 AM - I join in after getting myself together and we say good-bye to Dad who's off to work.  After settling down and cleaning up after breakfast, we pull out the books we will be using according to the subjects assigned for the day.

*Side note: Rather than doing a little of each subject a day, we have chosen to do 3 standing subjects along with 1-2 other subjects that we really dive into.  We use Seton, a Catholic Homeschooling Program.  So everyday, in addition to Religion, Spelling and PE, we study 2 weeks worth of 1-2 more subjects. Mondays we do English and Handwriting.  Tuesdays we conquer Math.  Wednesdays we focus on Reading/Phonics. Thursdays we examine History and Science. And Fridays we take our Spelling test.

8:30 AM - Sitting in our kitchen, we begin our schoolwork: first Religion, then spelling.

9:00 AM - Snack time (I've found that incentives are key).  While Aaron is taking a break, I get a chance to do some of my own work.

9:15 AM - Back to the books. 

9:45 AM - Time for a run.  Aaron has struggled with focusing for long periods of time.  After much emotional tug of war, I did some research on techniques other homeschool parents have used.  Across the board, many parents suggested that the kids go do an exercise that releases their energy.  So, when I notice Aaron getting antsy, I tell him to go take a run in the backyard.  After about 3 laps, he comes back  and tells me he's ready to study.

10:00 AM - The learning continues.

10:30 AM - Depending on our pace and amount of work, we will do more running or PE exercises outlined in the lesson plan to release more energy.

10:45 AM - More learning.

About 11:15 AM - We are officially done with the academics and now we can have fun.  We eat lunch together and then we're off to go swimming (PE) or a play date.

Some days, I have meetings I need to go to either online or in town.  Aaron has been very cooperative in finding quiet things to play with during those times, usually consisting of reading books on his Kindle or playing some games on my iPad such as Math Ninja, Doodle Buddy and Magic Piano.

4:00 PM - Back at home, it's time to get dinner together, with which he has to help me.  But before we prepare dinner, Aaron takes a shower.

5:00 PM - Dinner time, followed by dessert.  Aaron makes sure he gets his dessert.

6:00 PM - Aaron changes into his PJs and brushes his teeth. 

6:30 PM - During the week, Aaron gets to watch a 30 minute show.  Right now his favorites are Scooby Doo, Sonic and Kung Fu Panda.

7:00 PM - Dad arrives home and they spend some time together talking or playing tricks on each other.  It's always entertaining when they get to hang out.

7:30 PM - Every night, we read a chapter in a book that we've chosen together. I like choosing books that have a movie we can watch together after we finish the book.  So far, we've read the Indian in the Cupboard and we just completed the first two books in the Chronicles of Narnia series, which includes the Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  So this weekend, we'll be watching the movie.  On Fridays and Saturdays, Aaron gets to watch a movie.

8:00 PM - Cuddle time until he falls asleep.  Sweet Dreams Aaron (and Mom if I fall asleep with him). 

Homeschooling is hard, tiring and self-less work, but being able to witness Aaron's development is priceless.  Having our son was a conscious choice and ensuring that he's given the environment and opportunities to excel is a privilege and responsibility that we are happy to be a part of.

Thank you Pauline for sharing a day with us! Your optimistic attitude and obvious dedication to your son's individual needs is inspiring! 

The Latest, March 1st

It seems the helpful resources won't stop coming in, which proves to me what a vibrant, and active community we live in! We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place, with so many talented and diverse people to occupy it. I  wanted to fill you in on some of the fun and interesting things I have discovered recently, in case you've missed them on the homeschool and community resources pages. Many of them are free or low cost, and for all ages. Here we go!

The Volcano School of Arts and Sciences is doing their Spring musical next Thursday evening, March 7th, at 6pm. Located at the KMC Theatre in Hawaii Volcanoes National park. It's free of cost and a wonderful opportunity to expose our kids to the arts! Contact the school for more info.

Puna Happenings. This is a web page dedicated to posting the latest events, classes, and workshops in Puna! Everything from Capoeira, to African Drumming, to Naturopathic Talk-Story, to Art Shows, are listed here.
What an amazing resource for our Puna families who may be needing a  little extra enrichment in  their lives.

Kupukupu Center for Healing Arts, located in Pahoa. "A center where diverse cultural and healing art forms can be shared and practiced with the aims of transforming our communities, ourselves, and uplift spirits."
Check their classes and events schedule for an amazing array of opportunities to grow and learn from others!

Interested in gardening? 4-H of Hilo is offering a  Junior Master Gardener class every 1st and 3rd Saturday at 10am to 11:30am at the Boys and Girls Club in Hilo. Free for all ages. Call Becky at #969-8213 for more information. 

I've heard RAVE reviews about Mr. Lee's  Puppetry and Art class at the East Hawaii Cultural Center in Hilo!**Saturdays at EHCC there is an "Ohana Art Class" for ages 4-11 years old. Class includes mask making, mime, puppetry, makeup and more. 10am-12pm with a $10 per class fee. Contact Lee for details: leemichael@walczuk.com  

Are you busy chasing older children around while also caring for your baby? Join the Big Island Babywearers to learn more about the comfort and ease of "wearing" your baby. Big Island Babywearers is a networking group of parents who come together to share their knowledge and experience of various baby carrier options. You can try on carriers, learn about the various styles and prices of each carrier, and maybe even discover one that suits your lifestyle. Free of cost.

And last on my list, The Aloha Co-op (a group of families who exchange homeschooling days with each other) is offering a class  every Wednesday at Hawaiian Acres Community Center. They are doing a “Half n Half Class”, which is half tumbling and motor skill activities, and the other half reading stories out loud. They are currently looking for ages 6 and above to participate,

Please call Lori for sign up details # 854-6138.

Remember, if you have anything you'd like to add, don't hesitate to shoot me an email!

A Day in the Life of "The Fun School Factory"

Welcome to the new "A Day in the Life" series! This weekly string of blog posts will feature individuals or families here on the Big Island, describing what "a day in the life" (or a week!) of a homeschooler is like. This weeks post is by Tamara, mother to 5 year old Rogelito and 2 year old Katalina.

Here is a little peak into our home school..."The Fun School Factory" as my son has officially named it (he made a sign for the school room door one day).  My son, Rogelito, is 5 and in kindergarten.  My daughter is 2 and is our official master of distraction. Our days are never the same, so this is a typical Wednesday.

5:45am I hear my husband leave for work, then drift back to sleep.

6:15am Rogelito comes sneaking into my bedroom to snuggle and spend some time convincing me to wake up and eat breakfast with him (he is one of those people who wakes up immediately thinking of food).

6:45am Katalina wakes up and yells for me from her bed so now I have to get up and get her.  I bring her back to my bed and try to keep the two kids still so I can "sleep" a little longer, but eventually I give in and get up.

7:00am Breakfast time. Oatmeal for Rogelito. Waffles for Katalina. Cereal for me, and COFFEE.

7:30am Kids are playing while I do the dishes and throw a load of laundry in the washer. During this time Rogelito comes running to tell me that Katalina hit him with the toy sword. Katalina says Rogelito hit her with the sword.  I didn't see so who knows. They both apologize and we are off to get dressed.

7:50am I have gotten myself dressed in my "day sweats", helped Katalina pick out the perfect princess dress, and convinced her to let me comb her hair. I asked Rogelito to dress himself before I started all that. I go to check and he has on underwear and socks. I convince him that he needs to at least put on shorts for it to qualify as being dressed. He eventually gives in and puts on shorts.

8:10am We head to the couch to read a couple chapters of James and the Giant Peach, our current read aloud chapter book.

8:30am We head to the school room for calendar time.  Rogelito fills in the date, and sets the hands on the paper clock. Katalina looks out the window and reports the weather. Rogelito fills in his monthly weather bar chart.  We do some memory work, reviewing the names and places of the continents, mom's phone number and the kids' birthdates.

8:45am We race out the door for Katalina's mommy and me gymnastics class. Rogelito plays IPAD games while I chase Katalina around the various apparatuses.

9:40am We are back home and head back to the school room. We all sing a song from Rogelito's phonics program. Then I get Katalina going with a stamp pad and a letter D stamp. She stamps away while Rogelito and I complete a page from his Phonics book. We all sit on the couch to listen to Rogelito read a few pages from his reader. He asks is we can do "mommy reads a page, I read a page" and I say yes. Katalina starts singing and skipping around the room about a page into the book and Rogelito is totally distracted and frustrated. I try to get her to play in her room but she doesn't want to. I ask her to play quietly in the room we are in and she tells me she "NEEDS to sing." I turn on a 15 minute hooked on phonics video for her in another room while Rogelito finishes his story.

10:10am We all play a game of Sound O. Rogelito gets upset that Katalina is not following all the rules.  I explain that she is two and doesn't know enough to really play right yet.  He is still upset, so Katalina and I become a team and everyone is happy.

10:00am We head back to the school room for Brave Writer. I read this month's book, A Kiss for Little Bear, to the kids. Katalina stops at least once every page to ask me about the pictures. Rogelito stops me at least once every page to ask about the meaning of a word, or what I think will happen next, or why someone did something. We make it through the book and Rogelito copies a short sentence from the book.  He comes close to a meltdown at one point because he is having a hard time making a "perfect" letter 's'...I tell him it looks great to me, but he disagrees.  So, I explain to him that it is ok and that is why we write in pencil and have erasers. He gets his 's' written to his satisfaction and finishes off the passage.

10:20am We head to the kitchen for a snack. Katalina tries to talk me into cookies for snack. I want her to have an apple and cheese. We compromise and decide on peanut butter crackers.  Rogelito is easier. He is happy with anything. Then the kids play a bit while I switch the laundry and sweep the kitchen because half of the peanut butter crackers somehow ended up on the floor.

11:00am We head back to the school room for math. Katalina builds castles with the Cuisenaire rods while Rogelito uses them to complete addition and subtraction problems. Then Rogelito gets out his math journal. He examines a plastic cone and describes it while I write down what he is saying. Then he hunts around the house for cone shaped things and draws them in his journal.

11:25am We play a game of Sum Swamp which surprisingly finishes without a single argument.

11:45am We watch a Brain Pop video on magnets. Then we tape magnets to the top of toy cars and push them down the hall using other magnets to learn about what happens when you put north next to north or north next to south. We have a few races down the hall this way, which leads to an argument about who won the most races, which leads to a discussion about how winning isn't everything and as long as we are having fun we all win. Rogelito agrees with this idea, Katalina still disagrees, but we all agree to move on for now.

12:15pm We have lunch. Bean burrito for Rogelito, grilled cheese for Katalina, and tomato soup for me.

1:00pm We head to the library. I remind the kids in the car to use inside voices, walking feet, and not to bother each other. We get there and they immediately start running through the doors yelling "Yeah! New books!" and pushing each other out of the way to get in first. I let them pick a couple books each, then I pick up my holds at the front and we get out of there before the librarian can give me anymore stink eye.

2:00pm We are back home and reading our new library books.

2:30pm It is mommy's time to work out. Rogelito works on a sticker mosaic, Katalina plays with her doll house, and I get to do 40 minutes of Pilates.

3:20pm The kids play together while I shower. I have one of them poking their head in the bathroom at least once a minute to tell on the other one for something. I do my best to mediate from inside the shower and end up having to get out quickly to settle a dispute about who has the most super powers. Then I head back to the bathroom to rinse the rest of my conditioner out in the sink since my shower was cut short.

4:00pm We bake oatmeal cookies...our house favorite. The kids actually do pretty good taking turns stirring and measuring ingredients, YEAH!

4:45pm The cookies come out of the oven and  the kids both want one NOW! I say they have to wait until after dinner. That is followed by a lot of complaints and attempts to persuade me otherwise. Eventually they give up and go to play super heroes while I cook dinner.

5:30pm Papi is home!  Everyone is always thrilled by this. The kids hide behind the door to "surprise him" as they do every day.

5:45pm We eat dinner. Lentil soup, which Rogelito loves and Katalina despises...you can never please them both at the same time. So, Rogelito gobbles down a big bowl and Katalina whines her way through half of hers.

6:30pm Bath time. Papi is in charge of this while I clean up dinner.

7:30pm Brush teeth, put on PJs and read bed time stories.  The kids are very excited to have Papi read their new library books.

8:00pm Bed time.

I absolutely love homeschooling and being home with my kids and wouldn't have it any other way. I love watching all the discoveries and insights that they have each day. I love watching them develop such a close sibling bond that I know they wouldn't have if they were separated from each other in school all day. I love being able to make learning more relevant for my kids by making connections to the things we do in school all day because I know exactly what we my kids are learning about.  I have the best, most rewarding job in the world (though I do definitely have the occasional moment when I question my own sanity ). Our days are busy, but we are always having fun laughing, learning, and enjoying life together. I feel very lucky to be in a position where we are able to home school.  I also feel very fortunate to have a husband and extended family that are so supportive of our decision to do so. 

 Thank you Tamara for not only a fun and detailed description of your day, but a real and honest look into the day of a homeschool Mama! 

Indoor Kickball Tomorrow, Feb. 26th!

What: Indoor Kickball

When: February 26th at 9:45am
Where: 1373 Kilauea Ave Hilo, HI
Who: Homeschoolers!

*Giant indoor gymnasium, bathrooms, and water fountains. Plenty of room to run.
Located in the large, LDS church next to 7-ll, down the road from Island Naturals. Please park in the gated area on the north entrance.
See you there!

(I don't know about you all, but I'm not betting on the rain letting up for kickball tomorrow! It's been non-stop wet-ness, leaving everything muddy and swampy, including our kickball field!
If you'd like to play indoor kickball please meet tomorrow at the Gymnasium at 9:45am. We'll start playing at 10am and go til we get tired.)