Crazy County

I love clipboards. I never met a clipboard I didn't have a use for. Or a binder, for that matter, but we'll get into that bit of crazy another day.

The truth is, I love office supplies. I'm almost as happy to be in an Office Max as I am to be in a yarn or craft store. (Almost. Nothing truly beats the smell of wool in a small, cramped yarn store...)

I'm not sure why, except to say that I love the potential that is found in almost every standard type of office supply. They all have the potential to organize. The bring order from chaos. And since most of the time my life (and my house) tend to lean more to the chaos side of the force, this bringing order thing appeals to me.

The clipboard thing started about 11 years ago when I was doing my music therapy clinical internship. It lasted 6 months, and my clinical training director was a very organized woman. She organized her life on a legal pad attached to a clipboard. She had her schedule, her to-do lists, important notes... all of it right there. I loved the idea and got my own clipboard.

Over the years, my system has gone through many transformations. There was the brief period of the Day Runner. There was the year or so that I used a 5x7 clipboard in an effort to save space. There were the two serious attempts to get rid of paper and keep every thing in my phone. There was the steno book phase that ended badly. But always I came back to the clipboard. I'm currently using a clipboard with a Daily Docket sheet (which I customized for my life).

Do try not to notice that this is Tuesday's list. I tend to only keep a docket for Mon-Fri. This week, I got a lot done on Tuesday so I took a picture of that day.

I might have gone a little crazy with the clipboards for summer school, too. We have four of them.

These are Tyson's. Riley has a set that are very similar. The small orange one is the token economy. Ty gets a sticker for every lesson he gets through without whining, arguing or refusing. (Motivation, attitude and work ethic are a big part of our summer this year.) After he fills up the chart, he gets to trade it in for a reinforcer. (Which could be an item from the prize box, a family trip to the ice cream shop, extra time to play video games, etc.)

This is the plan for what we will work on this week. (Obviously, there is a lot of trying to figure out what Ty picked up this year and what he didn't... so I know what he still needs to learn on.) I went ahead and filled in the full week, knowing that not all of it will get done exactly as it says. We'll go to the library one day, which will take the place of something on the list for Monday. We'll also probably go to the park one day. But this way I have a plan for each subject, and we'll just make up what we missed later in the week or next week. The items in yellow are the assignments Ty will need to complete mostly on his own. (Again, work ethic is a big focus this year.) I can't decide if I should make him finish every assignment each day, or make him finish all for the week by Friday...

I know. I'm trying so hard to be organized that I might be crossing a line & maybe setting a foot into the Land of Crazy with this. "Oh, no," you say, "It's good to have a plan. You're just being organized. God likes a little organization."

Really? Would you think it was just a little over the Crazy County line if I told you that Riley (the two year old) also has a full sized clipboard with tasks like "shape sorter," "sort colors," and "picture vocabulary" on it? With the same subject headings...

Welcome to Crazy County. Population 1.

On Your Mark...

I've been working all week to get things ready for the official start of our Summer {Home}School v2.0.

Here's a little peek into just a few of the things I did this week:

The schedule is done & posted:

Last year we did a "routine" that did not include times. I was worried that having times would stress me out because, although I definitely need a structure to my day, I can sort of become a slave to what the clock says. I know. It sounds strange, but I am a woman of extremes. I tend to hover either near the "parked on the couch in my pajamas all day" end of life... or at the "anal retentive, type A control freak" end of life. So this year I've added times, and I am taking them as a suggestion for myself. I understand that very few days will actually follow this schedule and that when things interfere it in no way means that I am an irresponsible mess. I know this. I do. Really.

You'll notice that all of the academic subjects are in white. That is so that they can be moved by Tyson. One of the things I taught him this year is how to "eat the frog." Some days he wants to get the worst stuff done first (i.e. eat the frog) and some days he prefers to put it off until later. Either way, it helps him to have a little control over his day.

I have a few spare subjects on the other side of the door:

Also, I reworked the chore lists. Riley now has a list of his own, and they are both posted on the fridge daily:

The lists are in top loading page protectors so that they can use dry erase markers to mark each task off the list when it's done.

This is an example of one of Riley's lists. (We have a different one for each day and I change them in the evenings.) I drew pictures to help him figure out what he's supposed to do. (I'm not sure why I put pictures on Tyson's list since he can read now. Maybe out of habit? Maybe to make it a little more fun? Or maybe out of some subconscious need for him to retain a little of his littleness...)

I also put together Tyson's summer reading folder. He has so many papers for this subject that this one needed its own folder. Since we won't be doing a lot of worksheets this summer, I don't think he'll have a folder for any other subject.

In this folder he has:

• Summer Reading Club Log for our local public library
• Our own summer reading log to track book titles, minutes, etc.
• Summer Reading Log for school
• Recommended books for summer reading (from school)

Tyson's school encourages reading over the summer. The thing I thought was funny is that they give the kids a prize if they read ten books over summer vacation (chapter books count for three). Summer vacation is 12 weeks long. It doesn't seem like they are setting the expectations very high. We read almost every day... at least 4-6 days a week. (Even when we are camping.) And that's just the days that Tyson reads to us! That doesn't count all the books I read aloud to him. Needless to say, I'm confident he's going to earn the prize from his second grade teacher.

So, do you read a lot in the summer? How do you encourage your kids to read?

God big.

When the sky begins to darken...

...and the wind begins to blow...

...my Wild Thing looks at me, looks outside and with such serious concern says,

"Momma. Windy. Windy, Momma."

I pick him up and hold him close. I take him outside before the rain begins to fall. We go out to see the thing he fears, to feel it blowing our hair.

And then I hear myself say the words before I realize they're in my mind...

"Don't be scared. There's nothing to be afraid of...

"...God loves us.

He gives us rain to water our garden.

He gives us wind to cool our faces.

He gives us thunder to remind us that our God is big."

And I have no idea where the words came from. I wonder why I didn't just tell him the old standby about God rearranging the furniture in Heaven. And then I see it in his eyes, and I think he's beginning to understand. In that very basic way that a two year old understands anything. And in his toddler-speak he says,

"God big."

Memorial Day

I cannot tell you how thankful I am to the men and women of the armed forces and their families. They volunteer to give up years, and sometimes the rest of, their lives in order to ensure our way of life. In the name of freedom and liberty, these people leave the love and comfort of their homes, families and friends to put their lives at risk... many of them knowing that they might not return... to make this world a safer, better place.

I must admit to feeling a little sad when I think about what Memorial Day weekend has become. It was meant to be a solemn day to honor and remember those who have lost their lives, who willingly made the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I could continue to live our lives that are so full of freedom, liberty and safety. But Memorial Day has become a gluttonous festival of one-day sales, pool openings and bar-b-ques. People gather together, not to honor our fallen soldiers, but to shop till they drop, guzzle beer and burn meat.

We have determined not to teach our children the new and commercialized start-to-summer version of this holiday. This is not to say that we do nothing fun, but we take the time to teach the meaning of this day. And we honor our men & women in uniform.

Yesterday, we spent several hours at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery with more than 5,000 members of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Adventure Club and Girls Scouts. It was the Good Turn. We had a ceremony where the flag was raised, then lowered to half staff, and then the scouts and their families place a flag on each an every grave in the cemetery. It is a solemn and reverent occasion. Here are some photos I took:

School's out for Summah!

There are only two Alice Cooper songs to which I know any of the words... the title of this post would be one of them.

Summer vacation has begun.

Wednesday was my last day of school, and I've been doing pretty much nothing ever since.

Oh, there are lots of things I should have been doing...

but it is so rare that I have two whole days to myself.

Yesterday I went to see Sex & the City 2. Yes, I know it's a very Christian movie to see. Ahem. But it's really not that bad. Despite a few naughty words and two (I think)... um... gratuitous scenes, it's mostly just about a few girlfriends who trip & stumble though their lives. I think my favorite part was when the two moms in the group (Charlotte and Miranda) toast all of the moms who raise their kids without a full time nanny! Most of the women in the theater laughed out loud at that!

Today I also didn't do much. I sorted a few magazines. I went to the gym. I shuffled a few papers here & there.

Next week I being preparing in earnest for summer school.

Next week I also begin blogging in earnest about summer school. (I know that everyone is probably very interested in my very exciting summer plans...)

I'll also be blogging about the garden, the boys, the house and anything else I find interesting, amusing or otherwise noteworthy.

So, check back Monday for some sort of incredibly fascinating post about some sort of incredibly fascinating topic. Cheers!

3 - 2 - 1

SUMMER VACATION!!!!!

Well, it's almost summer vacation.

I have four music therapy sessions to do this morning, and then I will finish the day by cleaning out my car & packing up instruments for the summer.

And then I can sigh. I can breathe. I can throw the stress by the wayside.

I can get everything ready for our Summer (Home)School v2.0

I'm excited. I'm using next week to clean up the house (because by the end of the school year, it resembles Oscar the Grouch's home), and to organize materials for three very full months of home education. I'll also be blogging about the organization process, as well as our adventures as we go through the summer.

So, if you enjoy the likes of The Three Stooges and Abbot & Costello... then this will be the blog for you. I am quite certain we will be bumbling through lessons in Bible, Patriotism, spelling and math. I am sure to trip & fall flat on my face. But, it will almost certainly be a comedy of errors, as I am determined to embrace this summer with grace, humor and joy.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Wave!

Hi! I'm still here, though some days it feels as though I'm barely here.

As the school year winds down, my stress levels (and the amount of time I have to spend addressing work matters) goes way, way up.

Hence, my lack of presence around the blogosphere.

sigh

I promise, I will be back soon. (The countdown currently stands at 9.5 days left in the school year!)

And when I come back, Purple Brick Road will be bursting (yes, BURSTING, I say!) with posts on Mother's Day, homeschool, teaching the nontraditional learner, faith, gardening, kidspeak, recipes and maybe even a good, old fashioned giveaway or two.

For now, I will leave you with a photo of my Mother's Day gift. My husband & boys are so awesome!

Sorry the quality of the photo is so bad. The problem with wanting to take a photo of one's fancy new camera is that you have to take the photo of the fancy camera with the less than fancy camera on the iPhone.

Oh yeah, I'll also be posting all about my hi-jinx adventures in learning to use this thing...