Play Time!

As a kid, I remember loving to run around in the yard, getting sprayed by the lawn sprinkler. Here at the Forshee house, we take it up one level. We just get out the hose. I mean, why not? It's fun and I get to spray my kid who thinks that's fun and not a way to get out my frustration! **Evil laugh**

We more or less got to skip winter this year and for that I am grateful. The past two winters have been too cold for me. All of you northern people, quit laughing at me! Yes, all of our winters are mild by comparison, but I am  not built to withstand anything below about 40F. I don't do snow. I don't do coats. I barely do tolerate shoes that require socks.

It's still a tad cold to be outside playing in the water for me, but I guess kids don't care! I never did!

New Thank You Postcards

I recently taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator in order to make the pattern pieces for my second sewing pattern, the Coupon File Organizer Clutch. Then, I designed some new thank you cards that are now included with every order from my shop! I am very excited about them! I even made my own QR code (see it there on the bottom right?)!

{Homeschool} Field Trip: International Auto Show

Kendall is going through a car-craze phase, so I thought that taking him to the auto show would satiate him for a while. I was wrong. It made it worse. Oh well, there are worse things he could be the focus of his obsession.

First, we saw the Fox 5 Storm Chaser!

Then, we dropped a $5 bill near the vending machines and they sucked it up under there into the black hole. We never saw it again.

Kendall sat in almost every single car there. I sat in the ones I was interested in: Acura TSX Sport Wagon, Volvo S60, Nissan Maxima, and (the best for last) Cadillac CTS V Coupe. I love that Cadillac. 556 horsepower has something to do with it, you know. 0-60 in 3.9 seconds. It could be yours for $75,000. Anyway, here's Kendall in a Mustang:

And my 2nd choice if the whole Cadillac thing doesn't work out:

A green car:

And, last but not least, a new sports car by Lexus. They are only making 500 of these. At $375,000, the Cadillac looks like a bargain!

Overall, the auto show was fun. It was basically like a super dealership, and I was glad for the opportunity to look at that Acura station wagon since the dealership here was not helpful when I wanted to test drive last year.

{Time Management} Lists

A while back, I wrote a post about using your time wisely and effectively. Today I'll share a simple way you can keep yourself on track and feel a sense of accomplishment each and every day.

It seems really simple and easy, but the only thing I use to help me be productive is a list. Well, there is actually more than one list. I usually have at least 3 lists, and that number can go up to about 15.  It might sound neurotic, but it works!

I will just tell you about my main, daily lists. The first is the "to do" list. If there are things I MUST do today that aren't routine, they go on the "to do" list. This includes making doctor's appointments, making phone calls, etc. Things like sewing, homeschool, returning emails, etc. do not go on this list. 

The second list is the "done" list. It's really just a daily log of all the stuff I did. The reason I started keeping this list is that I was having a lot of days where I was busy all day but did not feel that I accomplished a lot. I began writing down everything I did (within reason--feel free to leave off breathing, using the bathroom, showering and such...) and I felt a lot better about the way my time was spent. Here's what my daily log looks like:

The daisy is hiding a client's last name...I don't think she wants her full name on my blog!

It's just a little notebook with a list of stuff I did. Simple, right?

Once you get in the habit of keeping a list, you'll be on track and focused like crazy!

I Painted My Kitchen!

New paint! The color is by Behr (Home Depot) and is called River's Edge. I love it! I am not a huge fan of Behr paint, though. I find that it doesn't cover as well as Valspar from Lowe's. Either way, two coats are always required from either so I guess it doesn't matter!

Also, every plant is blooming here in Georgia. The ground is covered in yellow pollen. This happens every year, but it came early this year! I am definitely allergic to this mess, so I just stay inside! I did venture out to clip some little blooms off my cherry tree.

Aren't they pretty? Since I took this photo, the blooms have turned pink instead of white. Gorgeous!

Next, I am going to paint my laundry closet! It will be Valspar Poppy Petal:

I wanted a hot pink, but my husband disagreed. I figured that since he uses the laundry room also, that I should not use pink! 

{Homeschool} Never Too Old...

I seriously don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. It's one of those things that you suddenly think of trying and then it hits you...DUH! I'm talking about flash cards. It seems so simple.

The problem was that Kendall was taking way too long on his math assignments. I couldn't really figure out why. Then I noticed that his computation was incorrect a lot of times. I think I was thinking that if he did more problems, he would get better. He wasn't. Again, I'm not sure why I didn't realize this earlier.

It dawned on me that I should stop progressing with the new math material and spend a week or so doing each set of flash cards and worksheets (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing) a few times each day.

So that's what we did and it has worked. When we started back with the regularly scheduled program, I noticed that he had ZERO computation errors. ZERO! What a success!

The reason I'm sharing this with the worldwideweb is because I want other homeschool moms to know that it's ok to stop moving forward if you need to. I mean, what's the point of moving forward if your child's foundational skills are a tad shaky?

{Homeschool} Change in Plans

By the time I figure out how homeschooling is going to work for us, Kendall will be 30.

I love love love to plan. I am a scheduler & a list maker. This is what I do. Now, things hardly ever go as planned, and I don't usually check everything off my prized lists. Even though that's the case, I find it very important to have an idea of where I'm headed for the day/week/month.  I honestly think people who don't plan might have lost their minds. It's definitely a right brain/left brain issue. Guess which side I predominately think with?

The rules in Georgia state that each homeschool student must "attend" 180 days of school. A day must consist of 4.5 hours of instruction, including the basic subjects. Easy, right? We do our 180 days and much more than 4.5 hours a day. We do a year-round 4 day school week, but we're not doing school every single week. We do take weeks off from time to time. Also, during the Christmas rush of my business, the boy is more or less left to fend for himself for about a month. He's 11, he can feed/clothe/water himself, right? 

The extent of my daily planning for homeschool only consists of the things Kendall has to get done that day. We do start around 8:30am and I have him work until he's done with the list. I don't keep a schedule such as "at 11am, we do math, at 12 we have lunch, etc.." I think that would be a waste of my energy, given that I have one child. If I had multiple children, I think the day might have to be slightly more structured. I do make my list of things he must do for about two weeks at a time.

My point in all of this is that I think I have to be a tad more flexible and embrace the homeschool way of life. I've tended to want to have Kendall sit and do school at prescribed hours & days for the past 1 1/2 years, and I'm not sure it's working. Most days are frustrating for both of us. I think expecting both of us to stay focused and engaged for 7ish hours (with 1 1/2 hrs for lunch) is a bit too much.

So what I'm thinking is that I will still expect the same amount of work to be done during the week, but I will spread it out over more days. Kendall will probably end up qualifying for 200 days of school this way, but the point is not to satisfy the state. It's to make sure my child is prepared for high school, college & life. Any words of advice or encouragement on schedules & amount of work are greatly appreciated in advance!