My kid can't shut up!

For part of our character development, we've implemented Bible Verse Memorization. Most behavior problems aren't very severe. A lot of our problems sit back on understanding when to speak and when to listen.

Right now, we're having a lot of trouble understanding "family business" and "polite conversation". A lot of the problems are just my children having childish behaviors and that is perfectly fine. I would like to believe I can talk to my 10 year old without him telling the first person we come across every single thing he knows. I would like to think I can have a serious discussion with my oldest son. Maybe I really am expecting too much for his age.

It's bad. Very bad. Just the other day, a craft store cashier responded to his blunt outburst of knowledge by stating "Wow. You sure do give out a lot of information." I was purchasing some glass jars for a fun and creative way to keep track of trips we take as a family. My son told the cashier this... which isn't a problem. I think that is okay to talk about.

But wait! My son wasn't done explaining what we were to do with the jars. "We're taking the jars with us on a big trip that's coming up. It's going to cost a lot of money. Around $000 and we have $000 saved up right now in the bank. We live in xxxxxx and we're probably going to leave on this date and be gone about 0 weeks. And we're going to put dirt and stuff in the jars."

The entire time he was speaking, I was looking at him and saying his name. My jaw about his the floor when I heard the amount of information he was giving out to someone we don't even know... In the middle of a store... With a decent sized line behind us. I finally put my hand over his mouth so he would stop speaking. Once I did that, he laughed as if he thought I was only playing with him.

I explained to him in the car what was wrong. I hope he understood. This isn't the first time, and it most certainly will not be the last. I got very blunt with him. He cannot do that when we are not at home. He cannot tell random people how much money I am carrying on me, or what I have in the bank. I told him that people have been murdered for less than $20 before. He is to not EVER tell anyone what amount of money I have, or that he has.

Anyway, I started to turn this post into a little bit of a rant on my oldest son... And it's not.

This week's verse is Ecclesiastes 3

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

In his daily schedule print out, I absolutely did underline the end of verse 7. This is the longest verse memorization I've given them, but they can do it.

Does anyone else have thoughts on what to do? This needs to stop or I can't trust to take them in public anymore. It's dangerous if they spill too much to the wrong person at the wrong time. Especially if we are away on vacation.... Our next vacation is a camp trip, so we'll be out in the sticks... a bit vulnerable if he tells too much to people with not-so-nice intentions. I really don't want to be hacked into a billion pieces and thrown about the hills during our trip. The idea just doesn't thrill me much.

10 Weeks of Poetry and other things...

Obviously this is our first year of homeschooling. I want to make this transition easy on my boys. Some subjects I had to just break down and purchase a textbook. Other subjects are a bit more lenient, in my opinion. Literature is easy! Or it should be... I love literature and I didn't want to buy a box curriculum when we already own so many books. I created a literature packet, with the names of books that I would like to cover during the first year. 

First, my oldest is doing 10 weeks of Poetry. Here is the link -> 10 Weeks of Poetry Link. The first 3 weeks involved quite a bit of reading. We own a few poetry books with authors like Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and William Shakespeare. We also checked out a huge poetry book from our local library.

My oldest started writing his own poetry. I read some of it...and...well.... :-/ It could use some work. That's okay though! I'm not sure what I expected - but let's just say it definitely wasn't 'O Captain! My Captain! :-) He also wrote me a paper on Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee. It seems that paragraph writing may be another thing we need to work on... ;-) We'll just keep adding to the list.

He's really not having fun with poetry. At all. He would rather read books like Harry Potter, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, or even his Lord of the Rings book set. That's okay... I didn't like poetry much at his age, either. I keep thinking that if I keep it up with him, it will make writing so much easier as he gets older. 

After the 10 weeks of Poetry is complete, I would like him to continue writing poetry every Tuesday and Wednesday. Just regular free-writing assignments, but on topic with whatever book we may be covering. 

Does anyone else have to create extra assignments to ensure your children are actually reading the assignments? My oldest doesn't read. He skips pages and lies about reading what's assigned. Once he bombs a test and it's obvious he didn't read, he acts shocked. Does anyone run into this? More narrations? More comprehension checks? Outside of just beating him over the head with the text, I'm pretty lost on what to do.

Just kidding about beating him with the text.
#NotKidding

I really can't wait until we're through with this poetry unit. Our first actual book in literature is My Side of the Mountain! I LOVED that book when I was a kid. I still do. The idea is so fascinating to me. Wouldn't it be nice to just live off the land? I'm not as confident as the boy is in the story. My first forest meal would probably be joyfully delicious berries that have me lose it from both ends, then cause me to seizure into a coma. Once my body stops shuddering, I would just die by myself in the woods. 

I am not a pessimist. I'm a realist. 

A day in the life...

I wrote this about 2 weeks ago and saved it as a Draft.
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Right now... Our schedule is fresh and new. Among academics, we are also attempting to iron out behaviors that have been picked up. Routine will help. Keeping their hands busy will also help. My 10 year old is really trying to please, so he is doing better.... Until he is surrounded by other kids, that is. My 6 year old breaks down into toddler-like tantrums whenever he's asked to anything that isn't his own idea. It's my own fault for treating him like the family baby for so long, so I deserve this. He will come along, too. Even though he resorts to babyish behavior, he also wants to please.

Daily Schedule:
6-7 AM: I wake up, depending on how many alarms it takes to wake me up.
7:30, no later: Kids wake up. Eat. Shower. Dress. Play with the cat or dog. Beat head against a wall until fully awake. Whatever.
8-8:30: School starts!

** This is where our actual "timed" schedule stops. Both of the boys have a daily schedule printed.

My youngest starts off with Bible Verse study, Latin Study (unless it's Monday. Latin comes after the packet on Monday's), and then his worksheet packet. It covers:

• Math Practice (Add, Subtract, Basic Geometry, & Telling Time right now)
• Grammar Work (Capital Letters, Punctuation periods and exclamation points this week)
• Vocab (Synonyms, Antonyms, & Compound Words)
• Reading Skills (Finding the Main Idea, Reading for Details)
• Phonics/Spelling (Initial and Final Consonant Sounds, Special Consonants, etc)

After the Packet is complete, we will read from his 20th Century Children's Book Treasury, which is nursery rhymes and poetry.
Geography is next.
We finish up with some more easy reading.
Piano Practice.

My oldest starts off with his Bible Verse and Latin Flashcards (he created them, and he studies with his brother).
Roughly, this is what happens after Flashcard Studies

• Piano Practice
• Violin Practice
• Math - Saxon Mixed Practice 1-30. We do not skip problems and we only do the Mixed Practice.
• Science - A chapter section a day, unless there is supplemental reading, quizes, or a test coming up
• SoTW - At his own pace... Usually 2-3 chapters p/ week, plus supplemental reading
• Geography (I try to keep this sort of in line with his younger brothers studies so my youngest can pick up information from the older ones studies)
• Literature - 10 Weeks of Poetry is our current focus. Lots of supplemental reading and writing. Introducing him to Edgar Allan Poe, Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman, and many more. 
• Latin - Both of them work together. Monday is the beginning of a new lesson. Tuesday-Saturday is studying. Test after every 5 lessons on Vocab, Prayers, and Derivatives. 

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My oldest works independently...for the most part. He asks questions if he's confused. On Tuesday morning, I had let 2 math papers slip by ungraded. I've learned that I can't let that happen, because Monday's 30 questions came back with 13 incorrect. He gets sloppy...FAST... if he doesn't think anyone is watching him. Tuesday he redid the entire lesson. It's a little frustrating to see this happen when you are excited about how well your children are doing... But it's a process! We're all learning. :-)

My youngest can not stop talking. Ever.