Another quarterly report finished

We're in the home stretch! Just two more months to go. I'd love to hear what my readers would like me to write about. Drop it in the comments below.

Stern center for the arts

X has taken a textured slab mug class and a try it on the wheel course. They were $35 each and we had to travel an hour away but he really likes his accomplishments. They have a melted crayon art coming up in June. 

Our first group field trip

It went great. The other parents were very inviting. We took a fire safety class where fireman Don geared up and showed us how he would call out and crawl on the floor while trying to rescue anyone inside a burning building. Then we took a tour of the station. There was the very first motorized fire truck, a hovercraft and smokey the dalmatian. All the kids got a chance to sit upfront in their #1 fire truck.

Helping the local community

Yet another benefit homeschooling has allowed us to do. X was a volunteer yesterday for Autism Law Enforcement Response Training AKA ALERT. I'm so proud of him. He did such a great job. He stood up in front of everyone and answered all their questions. Hand flapping and all Autism Acceptance is what I ask for!

Library

We love our library. We go once a month to read to Ranger the therapy dog. We go to Friday movie nights. We even rent DVD's. They have workshops we've attended for Alzheimer's. All of it is free! Be sure to check out your local library. I'm sure you won't regret it. 

We have a name

We named our school and ordered ID cards!

Structured homeschool gym and swim

We finished our 9 week session this week. The best part was we weren't the only 1st timers :D Made it less awkward. On the last day, the kids climbed the rock wall!

Life skills

For math, X helped DH measure a new railing for the basement. Then they went to Ward and purchased the needed lumber. Came home and measured what needed to be cut. <3 Homeschool life! It is now 100% decided that we will keep X home at the very least through the end of 8th grade. High school I'm still unsure of but we can revisit that when the time comes. I'm horrible with keeping this updated but I'm going to try and post once a week. Possibly on Wednesdays starting next week...

The best moments

X's face lit up and said: "I get it now!" These are the moments I cherish. Another great thing is that my MIL said how she has noticed a difference for the better in X. He is much more engaged with his learning. She said how he will rattle off various things he has been learning while he didn't do this before homeschooling. I know I've made the right choice. He is happier home and it is noticeable.

Clay, cloth and wood

Another art class away from home. We stopped into a local ceramic shop and X painted R2D2.

Field trip

We visited The Saranac Laboratory Museum and learned about local history on TB. Located in the actual building used for the research of tuberculosis. X stayed interested for over an hour. I highly recommend it.

Home Depot for art

The 1st Saturday of every month Home Depot offers a FREE kids building workshop. We've used them towards art class. Lowe's also offers free build and grow programs but they're not on a set schedule. We've been going months before we even started homeschooling.

Some of the reasons we homeschool our son X

I knew within 10 days that homeschooling was for us. Here is a small list of our why:

<3 Homeschool life because...

1. X will never have to hear another student say lets kill X and nothing be able to be done about it because of the age of said student.

2. X will no longer have to deal with inappropriate conduct from a teacher.

3. It removes the possibility of school shootings and bomb threats.

4. There are no bells for his sensitive ears.

5. X gets real socialization from all age groups by experiencing the world through everyday situations. Life itself becomes the classroom.

6. Doctor visits don’t count against him. They can be educational and have the flexibility to work into our schedule.

7. Unlike the public school system X won't won't fall behind if he hasn't grasped a concept because we can keep working on it instead of the class moving forward. He will be able to learn at his own pace in ways that work best for him.

8. We get to SEE him learning and growing instead of HEARING about it from teachers.

9. No school traffic.

10. We can learn where we want, even outside.


Why do you or want to homeschool?

Welcome to our journey of homeschooling

Hi! We recently started homeschooling in late Oct 2016. I only wish we had started sooner. It can be done and this is where I'll be sharing our experiences.