Our Umbrella School Choice and Why!

I have had so many people ask me a million and one questions about homeschooling that I thought it was important to give direct details and information that pertains to the way we choose to educate our children.  We have had some legal issues (post to come) but overall this has been a wonderful experience all the way around.  I stand firm on my decision to homeschool and my decision to use the umbrella school, Daniel One Academy, of Cookeville, Tennessee.

The website to the school directly is www.d1academy.org .  Here is a little info about the school provided by the website -

Daniel 1 Academy is a church-related school committed to enabling parents to educate their own children. Parents can register their children with D1A to satisfy Tennessee’s legal requirements for homeschooling. Daniel 1 offers its parents opportunities to help themselves and their children make the most of their home education experience.

Daniel 1 Academy is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International, ACSI, and is a Category IV (private) school. The founders and administrators are Jack and Cindy Holman. The Holmans have 2 grown children that they homeschooled K-12 grades. Together they have been helping other families homeschool since 1992.

I know firsthand just how wonderful that Jack and Cindy are.  We had some issues with paperwork due to a move, a death in the family, and some communication issues.  There was some missing information that was very valuable and the school could have easily either turned us away or just given up.  My grandmother passed away on March 30, 2012 as most of you know and she had me put all of my family's most important paperwork including birth certificates, social security cards, health insurance forms, life insurance forms, etc, into her safe.  After her death, I had completely forgotten about the items.  When I removed the children from their former school, I was under the assumption that their former school would help get the necessary paperwork to their new homeschool, but I was unfortunately very wrong.  They had me do a Withdrawal check list including paying lunch fees, returning books, talking to teachers, and picking up all of their purchased items.  I signed them out and completed the list assuming that they would help me help my children get the very best education possible.  I never expected them to be so difficult with anything and everything pertaining to children.  When a school boasts that they want to help the children, doesn't that include the process to help the children exceed even if they are no longer at that school? It floored me as I was told it was my responsibility and not the former schools.  They had access to this paperwork, yet instead chose to withhold it thereby delaying my children being legally enrolled in this school program... but as always, D1 stepped in, stayed calm, listened to my concerns, and helped me with anything and everything I could have asked for.  Cindy was especially helpful while listening to my concerns and guiding me in the right direction.  I cannot thank them enough for their positive attitude and willingness to help us get the most of our homeschool experience.

If you are considering enrolling your child for the 2013-2014 school year, their enrollment will be opening on June 1st.  They give discounts to those who enroll early so if you are able, go ahead and do it now!

The thing that I found the most wonderful about this school is their basis for starting the program.  It's all about JESUS!  Everyone who works for or is on the board is a Christian and professes their beliefs.  This was something very important to me as I want my children being raised on the morals and beliefs I stand and build my family upon.  On the school website they discuss their beliefs by saying:

D1A is a Christian organization meaning it was started by a group of Christians, the board members are Christians as well as the staff. It is run on Christian principles and uses and promotes Christian homeschool materials. We do not allow things in the newsletter, on the website or taught in workshops that would contradict Christian values.

If you are wanting to homeschool but possibly not interested in the Christian faith or not a believer, D1 will not turn you away on that alone.  Even on their site, they say this in regards to those who believe in homeschooling but may not share the same faith values:

However, we believe all children are given to their parents by God and therefore, all parents, regardless of religious beliefs have the God-given responsibility to educate their own children. We do not require parents to sign a statement of faith in order to homeschool under D1A. We do ask that all parents respect the Christian foundation of Daniel 1 with appropriate behavior at all school events.

If only all people of this world could profess that same statement and love one another without judgement! What a wonderful place this world would be!!

So, for those of you who were asking me to blog about our homeschool choice, I hope that this post will help you find the school that we have chosen.  For those of you who do not feel D1 is a good fit, I will try to find more school resources and post them at a later time! For now, I must go because we are studying the sun and it is about to set for the evening!

Homeschooling Adventures: Feb 2013

We were off and running full speed in our homeschooling adventures.  We may have been moving and having to transition but we didn't let that stop us from learning!

February was a big month for our homeschooling adventures!

It was our second month.. and the kids were starting to get used to the schedule - even liking it and not complaining! (Thank you Jesus!)

We had packed away some books that we really weren't able to read.. until now!  What a joy it is to see your children be able to read a book without help - and Blaze is now reading chapter books!! 

Someone sent me this picture and I had it blown up and then posted it above my desk.  Sometimes we really need a reminder about just how important our job is as a mother.  Some days I get up and wonder why I chose homeschooling or why I chose to stay at home with these children since the day they were born.  There are days that I question my abilities as a teacher, a chef, a maid, a nurse, a mentor, and everything else we as mothers have to be.  But then, something little for most happens like my son scrapes his knee or one of them learns to read a word they never have before, or they get a 100 on their paper and the excitement in their eyes leaves them happy the rest of the day, and I realize that this is what I was made for.  This is what is best for my children.  Nobody is going to love them nor educate them better than me. I wholeheartedly believe that choosing homeschooling was the right thing for my family and I still stand behind that now.  The proof is in the pudding!



This month, Landon Ace Jackson, has learned short and long vowel sounds completely.  This was one thing he seemed to struggle with in school.  We have done research on bullying as he was bullied while at his former school.  He has learned about Jesus and shown interest in the bible so we have started reading it every night as well.  He has mastered addition and subtraction and we are starting multiplication.  We are working on cause and effect and he seems to grasp the idea, but needs more work to really master this.  His grades has been very good for the most part and he is now an honor roll student.  He has done exceptionally well with his behavior, sitting still, not talking while I am talking, and following simple and complex directions.  He found his interest in the weather so we worked on things such as tornadoes, rain, clouds, and the sun.  We have also been graphing the differences of the moon.  He loves homeschooling and seems to mention not going back to public school at least once a week! 

This month, Colton Blaze Jackson, has learned more about synonyms and anonyms. He has learned more about cause and effect and also differences of opinion.  He dove right in to the bible and seemed the most interested in the new testament especially Revelations.  His favorite thing to do during our homeschool time is tutor his brother.  Ace says that Blaze is his second favorite teacher - behind mom of course!  We have continued his learning about the life cycles of plants and animals like what he was learning at public school before he left.  He had already planned on doing a science experiment and had already turned in his syllabus so we decided to go ahead and finish it as well!  We did our experiment on which Nissan vehicle gets the best gas mileage!  I may let Blaze do a future guest post on this blog to talk about what he learned - and what this means for his future!  We picked right back up on long division and multiplication and we finished up learning the multiplication tables through 12.  He started reading chapter books and also the bible every night.  His favorite thing to do at night is read to his little brother, Ace, and this seems to help both of them with their reading and comprehension skills.  Blaze has done wonderfully in homeschool so far and is also now an honor roll student!  Way to go Blazey!! 

We were trying to find some fun ideas for snack time and something that the kids would find creative but also could grab on their own and we found these adorable butterfly snacks (pictured above).  We made 28 so that each child would have one snack bag per day for 2 weeks.  When they are at "school", they are allowed one snack and one lunch.  Sometimes if we get into something deep enough where we go over our time, I will choose to grab a quick snack or play a movie pertaining to what we learn during dinner.  DJ (their father for those who do not know) has also jumped into homeschooling!  He is now doing their physical education and jumping into History when we find something of interest to all of us!  He was so skeptical at first about the whole homeschool process (post on that to come) so to see him come around has made me so happy!  I think, in time, everyone of my family and friends who first thought homeschool was wrong or weird will join the bandwagon of homeschool lovers and see why I pushed and believed so much in this process!



So, As I finish this post I had to post the picture above.  Two years ago when I first even thought of homeschooling, I had a severe misconception of what it was all about - and now I am finding out that many who have not seen it firsthand or have not done their research believe these lies as well.  I have seen teachers, family members, friends, etc. not believe that this is what is in the best interest for my children.  They do not believe in the homeschool process or that a child can learn as much at home as they can in public school.  I feel that cannot be farther from the truth!  But, this picture tells the story of what society thinks of homeschooling and how it effects everyone along the way.  Our neighbors think its weird that their kids are at school and our kids are not.  They ask what reason our kids are sometimes out playing before school is out or how they learn in a short time frame each day.  Well, first of all we are not outside just playing, we are actually learning.  Everything is a learning process when you are in homeschool.  Even our grocery store trips become a learning experience!  As for the short time frame,  I teach two kids instead of thirty and that leaves alot of time to learn without it taking a full 6 hour school day.  We still learn at least 3.5 hours each day, but many days we end up discussing things or finding interesting things on the internet and some days, we are 8 hours in and realize we are way over time!  Today's society seems to think that we are either hillbillies or crazy religious, that we make our own clothes and soap, and that we do not use technology or watch television.  This could not be further from the truth!  I do not believe that I have to do it all to be successful as a mother, wife, or homeschool teacher, and we use alot of technology to learn different things at different times.  Don't be so quick to judge just because we took our kids out of public school,  Look at some of the horrible things going on in today's schools and you will see why! I can tell you firsthand that the public school system still does not support parents who choose to remove their children from their schools.  I have seen this in our situation on more that one occasion.  They seem to think that they are better equipped to teach my children than I am and I will tell you, that is a huge misconception on the school's part.  As a mother who has been home with her children since the day they were born, nobody knows them or their way of thinking better than me!  And then there are your friends and family who think you are crazy or that you are making a big mistake!  I had family members tell me I was being lazy, that I was making a poor decision, and even so far as that they wanted to call the school board and report me because my kids deserved an education!  Well, Yes, I cannot agree with that enough, but what I disagree with is how they are to be educated.  In my first post I discussed the straw that broke the camel's back for our family but it is happening all over the world.  I can say two words to help you understand one main reason my childen are at home today - Sandy Hook!  When your children are terrified of school or have to walk beside an armed officer to get into the building, this leads the children to feel unsafe and therefore prohibits them from learning to the best of their ability anyway!  My kids belong with and to me and I am teaching them to the best of my ability with the help of our wonderful umbrella school.  I believe in this process and I look forward to continuing this for years to come. 

I truly hope that this blog sheds light and opens more minds to the possibility that if I can do it, anyone can do it.  I am here to help and to answer questions for anyone who is thinking about homeschooling and what is best for their family.  I believe this is right and nobody so far has been able to persuade me otherwise.  Thank you so much for coming here and reading my blog and helping me to make my homeschooling dreams come true!  

Homeschooling 101 (1st Year)

Below is a list of some of the sites that I have used or are currently using to further help my homeschool experience.  I am 100% on my own with the curriculum and I prefer it that way for now.  In the future, I may choose to do a program, but that just isn't in my budget right now.  So, for those of you who homeschool or want to, here are some great sites that will help you for free!

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/

http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/

http://busyteacher.org/

http://www.theteacherscorner.net/
http://www.schoolexpress.com/
http://www.abcteach.com/

http://pinterest.com/kiboomu/teacher-worksheets/

http://www.softschools.com/

Homeschool Schedule And Curriculum (1st Year)

I wanted to do a seperate post just on my schedule and the curriculum I have chosen.  I am new to the blogging process when it comes to education.  I have had a personal blog for years, but this is completely different.  I want to share my journey and help other people and I also want to be able to look back and see all the great things my children have done and learned.  This first post still will not be as detailed as I will do in the future.  I will try to highlight some of my favorite books and curriculum so that some of you can make the decision as to whether or not you will use it also.  I may choose to do a Friday post every week about a different book or just use a week to highlight different things I'm using and loving.

  I am hoping that this blog shows other moms that homeschool life is not as scary as it appears at first.  I feared every single thing about being a homeschooler and that my children's education rested solely on my shoulders, but now, for the first time, I feel so confident in the teacher that I am becoming and the choices that I am making and I know all of you out there following this blog, will feel the same way, just give it time.

This is all of the stuff that I have purchased within the last week.  I am trying to do homeschooling on a budget but I am finding that to be a struggle.  I never realized how much stuff teachers have to have just to keep everything going.  I have found some great deals at Books A Million but for the most part I am trying to either swap for free or buy used.  Hopefully I can get a group of moms local that I can try to trade off items so that we stay under budget.  I am also doing some babysitting on the side on some days to try to counter the money that is being spent because we have to stick to a budget.

I went to a local book store called Mr.K's Books in downtown Oak Ridge and I got a great deal on some older books.  I have been reading the book below when I have some down time.  It has given me some good ideas, but I am learning that I just have to do what's best for us and not what everyone else does for them. 

For good behavior, I have chosen to do Incentive charts and "Free" Days.  Once they have filled up one chart with stickers, they get a prize from a prize box.  I have gotten toys mainly from the Dollar Tree and most of them are educational such as puzzles or coloring books.  I also added crayons, markers, and pencils because the kids seem to really enjoy getting new supplies also. Once they have both incentive charts filled with stickers (see below), they can turn it in for a "free" day of no work.  The ways that they receive stickers are -  Random Acts of Kindness, being good a full school day, completing homework and turning it in on time, making an A on a paper, or exhibiting good behavior while outside of the home.

 For bad behavior, we chose time out, sentence writing, paper erasing, and losing free time.  Time out normally last 7 minutes per child in a corner during the time that we are doing something fun such as art or recess.  Sentence writing seems to be the thing they dislike the most.  I normally have the sentence either contain spelling words or something from the bible.  Paper erasing is an idea I got from a local FB page.  You find papers that you would like to reuse that have pencil writing and you make the child sit and erase all the writing.  Normally I do five pages per time, but since I just started, I don't have much to be able to use this as often.  In the future, I hope to have something better than all of this because the children are really outgrowing time out. 

And now to our schedule:

Monday:  9am to 2pm

Tuesday:  9am to 2pm

Wednesday:  9am to 3pm

Thursday:  Noon to 4pm

Friday:  9am to 5pm (outside of home)

Curriculum:

Monday:  Science, Critical Thinking, and Lapbooks

Tuesday: English, Handwriting, and Reading

Wednesday: Math, Spelling, and Review

Thursday: History, SS, PE, and Health

Friday: Field Trips, Library, and Make Up Work

First Week Of Homeschooling in 2013

Our first week went very, very well.  The kids were quiet and followed the rules pretty well.  Due to the local schools being closed for weather, we still didn't get a chance to tell our friends good-bye or let the school know we wouldn't be coming back.  I have emailed both teachers and made things clear, but we still must do the formal paperwork to make things legal.  This is all going on while we are packing and attempting to move into our new home... let's just say hectic but blessed and move on!

We found some "locker blocks" at Walmart on clearance for $4 and I felt it would be the easiest and most organized way to keep their stuff together and make them be accountable for their own books.  I used name tags I got from the Dollar Tree and attached them to the top of the locker.  I also found some blankets on clearance for $2 and decided to allow the boys to buy one and put in their locker for days they are cold or maybe don't feel as well.  Both of my kids are blanket boys and need something to cuddle some days.  My school, my rules.  I will be bringing my blanket as well :)

I struggled to figure out how to incorporate our lunch time within our required hours because we are on a tight schedule.  I will post more about that in the next post.  I do five hours of homeschooling a day so that we do not have to do actual work on Friday's and can focus on our field trips or Library trips.  This may not work for some people and some days we will have to rearrange, but for now, that is what works for us.  The boys have decided they want to watch movies during lunch time and I think eating in the classroom and staying focused will be better than allowing them to go eat in the kitchen and then try to come back to class.  This way if I have a video for that day, they will still be working on something educational and if not, I have alot of videos that I want them to watch about bullies, religion, sports, etc..

I found a tornado maker at Rite Aid on clearance for $3 and it even came with a Storm Chasers video so we chose to work on that this week.  The maker is so awesome!  It has real sounds and you can turn it to different sizes and it looks so real.  You can even

Our first week turned out to be so much fun!  I loved the light I saw in my children's eyes as they began to realize that the world is their classroom and we don't have to put limits on what we can learn about!  I look forward to doing this for many many more days to come! :)