Tuesday, August 25, 2009

I have a really hard time with this....

I have decided that blogging is hard. Especially if you feel like you really have nothing worthwhile to say! I keep thinking, oh, I should go and blog........get here.........and then chicken out because I have no idea what to write about.

It stinks.

So let's see.....what's been going on this week....

Avery and I kept at school, despite my inclination to skip a day and just be lazy. (Yay me!) She's learning her phonics combinations like nobody's business and read a total of 3 stories all by herself this past week.

I started work on some of my Christmas projects. I'm making a jump rope for Avery out of her old socks and tights, so I've spent a good bit of time cutting those up, and began finger-weaving the jump rope a couple of nights ago. It's a good project to work on in front of the TV! Today I started working on some chipboard ornaments for family gifts. I've currently got six painted and smeared with Stickles. Just waiting on those to dry now so that I can embellish them up and add ribbon hangers.

And that's pretty much it...other than that, I've spent a lot of time on the computer (what else is new?).

I'm getting fairly antsy to start doing some sewing for Avery, but I am also chicken as all get out to start! Sad, I know. I'm really getting into the idea of repurposing things for new projects, and having been surfing craftster.org for lots of inspiration! Might as well put things to good use instead of just donating them or throwing them out! Hopefully this week I can get my patootie on gear and start working on some things!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

First Official Day of Homeschool

Well, we did it! Today was our first official day of preK homeschool. Everything went great! In fact, I don't think it could have gone better. Avery was extremely cooperative and attentive. I was worried about the difficulty of breaking out of our normal morning routine and doing something more structured, but as far as this morning went, it went okay! Hopefully we can keep up with it and establish some better morning habits. I know it's up to me to do it, and I just have to not let myself get lazy about it.

We started off our school time with prayer and asked God to bless our school time together. I think this is super important for me especially (I know I need all the help I can get!), and to set a good example for Avery. Then we did our first Hooked on Phonics lesson. Avery already knows all her letters and sounds, and she breezed right through the first lesson. Then she read her first story all by herself! So now I can officially say that my daughter started reading at age 3!

(It may sound silly, but this was kind of a big deal for me. I started reading at 3, and I really, really hoped that Avery would also. I want her to have the lifelong love of reading that I do. I know that I also can play a big part in that by reading to her more and I mean to do so. It's definitely an area where I need to improve. I don't take enough time to read to her.)

After our reading lesson, we did our first Hooked on Bible Stories lesson. I read the story of Creation to her and then we had some discussion about it. Tomorrow's lesson involves memorizing a verse and listening to some songs.

Then we did a few worksheets. Mainly coloring, and little bit of writing practice. After that we read a counting book from the library that she had picked out. Then she read along with a story on Starfall.com and did some of the alphabet activities. Right now she's just finished up watching Word World and is starting Between the Lions on PBS. I love those shows! She has learned so much just from watching them!

And THAT was our first official day of homeschool! I can only hope that we continue to go smoothly and I can come up with some fun activities to keep her interested!

I feel like I should be relieved (and I am), but I'm also feeling even more overwhelmed. We took the first step on a HUGE journey today, and there is no going back! My daughter is not a baby anymore, she's a student! WOW. Okay, not going to cry! Really...

At any rate, we made it through the first day and now it's time for lunch! And I feel in desperated need of a Mountain Dew! ;)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I am a BAD blogger!

It has been forever since I blogged.

For-ev-er.

That might have something to do with the fact that it has also been forever since I scrapped! And since originally I was just going to use this blog as a place to post my scrap projects, it's been a little neglected this summer. Not that anyone reads it anyway, LOL!

I have decided, however, that it might just be good for me to have someplace to just get out all the things that are swimming around in my head on a daily basis. Because then maybe they'll stop swimming around and driving me crazy!

So from now on, I'm going to try to make an effort, at least every couple of days, to come here and just write about what's going on with me. What's going on in my head. What's driving me crazy because I can't figure it out or I can't fix THIS MINUTE. And then, maybe, that will help me have a little bit more sanity. (Because, let's face it, with the history of mental illness in my family, I need all the sanity I can muster!)