Homeschooling Prep

The question Elias seems to be asked frequently of late is "will you be starting kindergarten this year?" To which he has developed a couple of replies: "I'm not ever going to school...(long pause, sometimes a prompt) I'm homeschooled." Or "My mom is going to homeschool me." I love when he uses the first one, you can see the question in peoples eyes as they try and figure out if he is serious and then the dawn of understanding when he finishes.

He is very happy with the fact he will be staying home and not going to a public school. I don't think he really understands the difference, except that we have told him he is very lucky to have parents who are able to provide the home schooling opportunity. The question of when are we starting is always hard to answer or at least its a vague answer. We have started - years ago, and will just continue in the same vein without a real start date.

Being a mostly unschooled structure we are just providing materials and opportunities for Elias to take. We recently added a couple new resources to our already accumulated stash. Hands On Equations, The Adventures of Penrose - The Mathematical Cat, more origami books...we have lots of other books for math (Singapore, Miquon...), many good reading books, he loves to write and is picking that up by practice and we also have some history and science books. Mostly we just go with an interest and incorporate all we can into it. All in all the hardest part is finding time (Eva free time)to sit and work with him. He has a ton of interest in so many things and we have lots of resources, we just have Eva who isn't able to sit with us and work on something similar because she always wants what he has.

So this years *kindergarten* is really just finding time to sit and help him through what he is already working on. He is just fine, I am the one who needs to learn how to handle our time. :)

Saguaro Colors

Saguaro National Monument

Spring Prickly Pear - Summer Green

Wind in my face - Burgeoning driver

This is a favorite location for us. It is an eight mile loop, traffic is 15 mph....lots of riders, walkers and hikers. Craig and Sam cycle it often, we do some of the smaller hikes with the kids and I have gone out to walk it.

Saguaro is gorgeous in March and April, being covered in cactus blossoms, brittle bush flowers and spring greenery. The spring colors are peach, yellow and purple. The temperature is perfect at that time of year too. Summer offers another view of Saguaro, the monsoons bring water and so there are lush green cactus, green grasses and brush. Vines are lush and crawl down the arroyos, the ocotillo are so covered in leaves they hide their thorns. All the vegetation is topped with seed pods and red juicy prickly pear fruit. The summer heat is a bit too much, but early morning rides and hikes provide a nice start to the day.


Part of Saguaro's charm for the kids is the chance to ride outside the car seat. Going 15 mph around the loop allows us to let Elias sit in a lap or look out the window at all the animals crossing the road or the cyclists zooming past. Elias even gets to try steering once in a while!

Flipping for Flexibility

Elias has been doing gymnastics the last few months. It is a preschool class where they walk balance beams, stretch, swing on the bars and in general try to gain some coordination. Elias loves this class and is gaining confidence with every lesson. You can now regularly find him upside down against the wall or couch, flipping over on the bar on the play set or somersaulting across the grass.

On several occasions his class has been small with just him and one other kid or on Thursday, just him. He spends these classes going from one piece of equipment to another practicing, jumping and never taking breaks. His teacher came out to talk to me after the 45 minutes of non-stop action and told me "he is such a dream to work with". That is SO nice to hear when you have spent the week feeling like he never listens! She has made comments before about how well he listens and understands what she is teaching and at this point said he has to move up. He has the skills and the behavior to move up to the 5-6 year old boys class. So next week we will have a new teacher, a new time and a longer more involved gymnastics lesson. He is thrilled!

Change on the Horizon

A few minutes of reading.

As most of you know Craig has decided to leave his current job and take a position working from home. This was a tough decision as Craig was not looking to change jobs; he likes his boss, his coworkers and has worked there for 7 years. He had lots of vacation time, a flexible schedule, coworkers to go to the gym with and all that comes with a good job. The move to a work at home position is exciting! It goes along with our desire to home school and eventually move out of town on a larger piece of land. It explores new areas of programming and he is looking forward to working on the new projects. He will be traveling once a month for a couple of days, but otherwise will be home.

It should be fascinating to discover how the kids, Craig and I deal with the challenges of this new situation. Craig does a remarkable job working from home on an occasional basis. Elias is thrilled to know he is here and will come out for a quick break once in a while. I hope that Elias' willingness to let him work will be maintained on a long term basis. Craig says he gets more done at home because no one comes in to take him away to another project. He also feels guilty not concentrating on work since we are around and the sooner he gets done the sooner he can be with us. This might wear off with time, but we can hope not!

We do spend a couple mornings in town which will allow Craig several hours of uninterrupted work. If things are too hectic or noisy around here he can also go get a cup of coffee at a cafe with wireless access. In preparation for this new job we have placed a wireless router in the house. This will hopefully allow him to get the quiet needed or be involved as he desires. He can work with Elias at the table, go watch us play outside on the porch or get away to the back bedroom.

There are some many benefits to working at home. Craig's bike rides will be more than commutes and a couple longer rides. He can now stay out of the middle of town and ride the more scenic, hilly routes. If it is cold, he can leave in the afternoon and on a hot day he can ride in the morning. He can play more of a role in homeschooling, reading or watching here and there. Starting work earlier in the morning and having more time in the afternoons for family time. He won't be commuting an hour and a half a day.

The few drawbacks are merely things we will have to work towards: Going to the gym will take planning since it is a drive into town. Socializing in general will have to be something we are proactive about. Craig will try and meet his old coworkers at the gym, continue to ride with those he rides with and we will have to try and have company over more often. The lower vacation amount will be balanced by not having to take time off for me being sick or appointments.

So here we go onward with this new endeavor!

Everyone Needs One

Sliding down snow on Mt Lemmon.

Sam has been dog sitting at a friend’s house this last week and boy have we noticed her absence! Having her home to talk to, tease, bounce ideas off or just smile takes up more of my time than I imagined. This is without even mentioning the help she provides. My showers were harder this week because she wasn't here to take Eva in the afternoon. Craig occupied the kids while dinner was prepared instead of taking turns helping me and watching them. Everyone thought we were nuts for taking in a teenager, but I am just wondering if we can live without her. She has definitely become my friend, helper and an integral member of this family.

Sam has grown so much in the last couple of years. She is now an avid cyclist, fluent in sign language, on the road to graduating in 3 years, taking college classes and in general becoming quite the confident, generous, loving woman. With all the clubs, classes and teenage events she has she still takes the time to help out, sit and talk and keep us in her life. I was told you look at a teenager’s life, but are not a part of it....she does do a good job of keeping us in (or at least making it seem like it!)

Introduction to The Post Family

I have been inspired! After reading several blogs of other homeschooling families I have decided that I do indeed need to keep some sort of a record of the accomplishments, hobbies and events in our lives. Hopefully by blogging we can look back and see where we have grown, what changes made a difference and in general provide another glimpse into our home for our friends and family members who we wish we could see more of. As an added bonus, I hope that I can provide the help and inspiration that some other bloggers have provided me! So introducing the Post Family in Tucson!

Post Family on Vacation - Look at the sun everyone! (September 2007)

We are currently a family of five:
Craig - Husband extraordinaire, cyclist, software engineer and an incredible father.
Kristin (Me) - Stay at home mom of an homeschooling family. Natural living, vegetarian chef and reader.
Samantha - Our teenager! We obtained guardianship of Sam in the summer of 2006. Cyclist, sign language expert and house helper.
Elias - Our son. Born February of 2004. Happy, obstinate and full of energy!
Eva - Our daughter. Born June of 2007. Happy and healthy!