Joshua's Birth: An Induction After Two Cesareans

Well, I finally finished Jessica's birth story, so I suppose I can write the next child's birth story now that he's over 17 months old... I don't remember as much as with my first stories since I was able to write them sooner, but I'll share what I do remember!

Just to set the scene of this birth, this was probably the hardest pregnancy I've had emotionally, and maybe even physically. (Yes, harder emotionally than even Danielle's pregnancy.) We found out we were expecting a baby two weeks before the pandemic shut down the entire country. (We managed to purchase a 12-passenger van the following week.) One of my friends was about a month ahead of me with twin girls and planning a c-section for their delivery. She had her c-section several weeks early, and something went wrong that still has the doctors a little puzzled. It nearly killed her. I was delivering with that same group of doctors (the same health system that did Danielle's c-section), and because I had placenta previa, for most of my pregnancy, they were telling me I would also need a c-section. To say I was terrified between my past experience of a c-section with them, and watching my friend go through all that she went through, would be an understatement. Because of the pandemic, I couldn't get together with my other mom friends and process the whole thing with them. My doctor, Dr. Amy Fisher, told me I needed to see a therapist when she realized that she knew who my friend was that was lying in her hospital and knew her whole health story. I believe it was around 36 weeks that I had my final ultrasound to see if my placenta had moved enough to make a vaginal birth safe. Thank the Lord God, it had! But, there were a few concerns about some rather large blood vessels left behind as it moved that were very close to my cervix. 

And with that, I will begin the story of Josh's birth... As pretty much any pregnant woman will tell you, we get up often throughout the night to pee. And, as usual on the night of October 28th, I did. In the wee hours of the morning from the little bit of light that came through the window, I thought I had seen something in the toilet other than just pee. I was tired though, and went back to bed. I thought it might be a small blood clot, but as it was very small and not the size that concerned doctors when you're postpartum. Closer to morning, I again got up to pee. This time I realized I was bleeding lightly and figured that we should probably go into the hospital now that I was awake enough to actually process what was going on. I was having absolutely no contractions though. 

My mom came over to watch the rest of the kids and off we went around 8am. They originally put in me triage and the doctor on call, Dr. Kim Fischer, was great! I was concerned about being induced, since I was a VBA2C, but she assured me that my Bishop score of 9 meant I would be just fine. She also knew that I did not do well with needles and wanted to negotiate (they wanted to do a blood draw and place two IV ports, I was only willing to do one IV port with a blood draw from that port (which they told me that they can't do, but in reality they can). She wanted one IV port placed, then a blood draw, then the second IV port placed. I said she could have the first, and if it went well, she could have the second, and if they both went well, she could have the third. With the bleeding, even though it was very light, she said that I "would be having this baby today," so I was admitted.

This picture doesn't even show the entire room.

I was told that I had the biggest room in the Mother Baby Center, and if it wasn't, then the size of the other rooms is even more ridiculous than the size of my room! Once I got settled in, we figured out a plan for how to get IVs placed and blood drawn. They had a specialist from the NICU come with an ultrasound to find my veins to place an IV in each arm. She marked the spot and put numbing cream on, and said that she used to work in the ER where they would draw blood from IVs that they had just placed. So, I had gotten the right lady for the job! She got the first IV placed without too much problem, and drew blood from it, so I let her do the second one as well. We did decide though that on top of the numbing cream, giving it a shot of lidocaine might be a good idea for next time as well. I think not being in labor helped a lot with getting the IVs placed so well too. 

With the IVs placed they were able to start me on Pitocin to try to start labor. They increased the dose every so often to get bigger contractions that were closer together. I remember in the early stages we asked the nurse if there was a deck of cards that we could play to pass some time. She managed to find some for us and we played a couple games of cribbage using the bed as a table while I sat on the birth ball. Eventually the contractions got to the point where I couldn't focus enough to play cards. I remember standing and swaying with my arms wrapped around Adam for support, but I found that my legs were really feeling crampy and I wanted to just sit or lay down. I don't remember this from naturally induced labor, so in hind sight, I'm blaming the Pitocin, but I don't think I had the mental capacity at the time to realize that that was probably what was causing it. 

The nurses would come in to check my cervix periodically. And at one point, a nurse came in and unwrapped all the things in the baby warmer. When I saw that happening, I knew we were getting close to meeting our little man! I could keep up with the contractions and crampy legs for a little while longer. It would be over soon and I would be holding my baby! Whenever I needed encouraging thoughts between contractions, I would look over at that warmer just waiting for him. 

Then a nurse came in to check my cervix. I was at 5 cm. Not much farther along than the last time I was checked. I felt utterly defeated. Not only was I not laboring on my own, but I wasn't progressing as fast as I was hoping. Dr. Fischer had promised that I would have my baby today! I told Adam that I wanted the epidural. The contractions weren't any worse than they had been with Jessica when I only used the nitrous oxide, but emotionally, I was done. 

At this point I had had three other epidurals. With Nora, I could feel absolutely nothing and needed to be coached by a nurse watching the monitors as to when to push. With Sam I could feel pressure on my cervix, so I knew that I needed to start pushing and I could feel the contractions enough to know when to push. With Lily, I could feel the contractions, but didn't know when I was ready to start pushing. This time, however, I felt like I needed to push, but when the nurse checked me, she told me I was only at 9cm, and she had me adjust how I was laying to try to thin out the last of my cervix. Not more than 10 minutes later, I pushed the nurse call button again, and told her that I really thought I needed to push. So, she checked me again, but told me I was still 9cm and adjusted how I was laying again. Again, not more than 5 minutes later, I really, really felt that I needed to push. By the time she got there and asked if she could check me, I was feeling enough pressure and need to push and I almost yelled at her, "No!" but, I managed to say it at least without completely yelling. She called the doctor on call to let her know I was ready to deliver. She took me seriously and helped me roll to my back, and I started pushing. With the first push, my water broke. Nope, sorry, let me explain that again. My water exploded all over the poor nurse. I've never wanted to laugh in labor before, but I sure did then. My brain was laughing while my body was dealing with labor. With that first push, once she saw what was happening, she quickly went to the phone again and called the doctor to get there now. With the second push, she stood at the end of the bed, waiting to catch the baby, but, I think to her relief, the baby wasn't out yet. Between that push and the next, the doctor walked in the room and was suiting up on the way to my bed. The doctor made it to my bed for the third and final push at 10:42pm, when Joshua Michael entered the world. 

Now, let me give you a little background again. With Jessica's birth, the doctor that was on-call, was actually the back up to the on-call doctor. His name was Dr. Chang, not that he introduced himself. He walked in the room, starred at the contraction/heart rate monitor and told me my baby was going to die if we didn't do a c-section. No one else in the room was panicky, so I tried to ignore him until he left. When my nurse came back later, she asked how we liked this doctor that we had never met. We both said we hated him. She said we could switch doctors, and so we did, and had a beautiful birth with her. 

Now back to Josh's birth. The doctor that showed up at the very last minute to catch him was his wife, Mrs. Dr. Chang, as we've come to refer to her as. My doctor had given me a heads up after I told her that we had kicked the last doctor out, that his wife worked with them. I would love to be able to tell you that she was the complete opposite and was absolutely wonderful. But, she was there for such a brief period of time that I really don't have an opinion of her one way or the other. She caught my baby just fine and didn't threaten a c-section or death like her husband, so she has a one-up on him there. Though, she didn't introduce herself, like her husband either, but, at least for her, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that if she actually had time for niceties, she probably would have. 

Once Josh entered the world, he was placed right on my chest. I wasn't super focused on what was going on with birthing the placenta and whatnot, but it seemed that the doctor was getting annoyed or something (since she was wearing a mask, it was hard to get an actual read on facial expressions & emotions) with what was going on. Because this was my seventh kid and because there were a few pesky larger veins that were still hanging out around my cervix from when the placenta had moved out of the way, my doctor had told me that they were more worried about hemorrhaging this time. That must have been what she was annoyed with, because they ended up giving me two other drugs, on top of the Pitocin, to stop the bleeding. The first went into the second IV port in my other arm. But the third needed to be stabbed into my leg. When the nurse told me that she was going to give me a shot, this time I did yell at her, "WHAT!?!" She took a step back and kind of looked a little stunned that that would be my reaction. (She wasn't around for the negotiations with the IVs and whatnot, so maybe she missed the part of my record that says I don't do well with needles.) I did consent and she stabbed me in the leg. Lucky for her I had an epidural, and while I could still  feel and move my legs a little, I didn't end up screaming at her again. It didn't take them too long to get the bleeding to stop. Then I just got to enjoy the cuddles and let Adam have some time meeting his new son. 

We were eventually ready to call it a night around 2am and Adam was looking to get settled in on the couch. But, the nurse stopped him from looking for sheets. It was time to move down the hall out of the poorly named "Mother Baby Center" (it should really be called a birth center, since the kick the mothers and their babies out when they're most exhausted). We went from this over-sized gigantic birthing suite to a literal closet where Adam was shoved in a little jut-out on a chair-bed that barely fit in the space. We were all exhausted though, and settled in for the night. 

With Nora's birth story, I was able to tell you about all the visitors we had the next day that came to meet her, and with the others after her I was able to show you pictures of the older siblings all meeting their newest sibling in the hospital all gathered around me (still looking tired, of course) sitting on the hospital bed with me. But instead, no one came to see us, since there were visitor restrictions due to the pandemic. Since he was born before a little more than an hour before midnight, I only had one whole day to stay at the hospital. The next day was all the paperwork to get me out of there as fast as they could. But, what I do have is a picture of us leaving the hospital with only one of our children while wearing our masks. 

Afterward: Adam tells me that at some point I did use the nitrous oxide with this delivery. I didn't believe him, because during those early months of the pandemic, they wouldn't allow you to use it. But, he showed me a picture on his phone as proof. I think I vaguely remember being told that they had just started allowing its use again. 

Bringing Hope & Joy into a Scary Pregnancy

I received a phone call this afternoon from a woman in my bible study group. She told me that her son and daughter-in-law were expecting their second baby in May. But then she told me that their baby has a heart issue. She knew that our first baby was diagnosed with a heart issue in utero as well, and called to ask what I found helpful or hopeful during my pregnancy with Danielle so she could try to do the same for her son & daughter-in-law. I had never been asked that before, but I thought it was a great question to ask. 

Terrible picture of me at a baby shower 
when I was pregnant with Danni.

The first thing I told her that brought me hope was to hear that people were praying for us, and I would hear even after she died that people I didn't even know were praying for us. But, I think that just scratches the surface. It's a deep and profound thing and honestly if anyone would have asked me back then what they could do for us, my response would have been to pray for our baby girl. But, then I started thinking about things my own mother did during my pregnancy with Danni that brought a little joy into a scary time. I remember her bringing me shopping for maternity clothes and trying to cheer me up. I remember the baby showers she and others threw for us that made becoming a mother seem more normal and joyous. I remember my mother coming with to every ultrasound that Adam couldn't go to so that I would have someone there to support me. I remember planning out a nursey and putting it all together and the excitement at the thought of bringing home this baby. 

My mom helped me paint the nursey.

Anything that helped to make the pregnancy seem like a normal pregnancy was something that brought joy and hope into our lives during that time. 

The Birth of Jessica Rose

Do you know how to make sure you go into labor? Plan a last date before baby comes with your husband. Adam had bought tickets to see our friend's play on Sunday, April 29th. In hindsight, I started early labor the day before when I was at our church's Spring Salad Luncheon with my mom. I remember having a couple contractions that were definitely more than Braxton-Hicks, but didn't really pay much attention, because I was still 4 days from my due date, and I expected to go a day or two past. But, by 1am on Sunday morning, I was awake with contractions and timed a couple of them. I don't remember waking Adam to tell him that I was in labor, but he says that he remembers being woken up.

Around 6am, I texted my mom to come over and pick up the kids. The plan was for me to labor at home for as long as possible. I've had either an epidural or a spinal with all of the other kids, and this time, I wanted to do it without. I wanted to be able to offer up my pain and unite it to Christ's suffering in His Passion for an intention near to my heart. We figured if I were at home as long as possible, I was away from the epidural as long as possible!

I hadn't really packed up the kids yet, so between the older kids, Adam, and my mom, they got everyone packed and ready to go. Lily came in and kept me company. I don't think she really knew what was going on, but she enjoyed pointing to the mole on my tummy and telling me "mole." (Oddly enough, Jessica at 18 months or so started poking that same mole while she nurses.)

I don't remember all that we did to keep ourselves occupied during the waiting game. I believe Adam dished me up some peaches (the only thing that sounded good) for lunch. Once the afternoon rolled around, I texted my neighbor to see if she had a birth/ exercise ball that I could use. I remember Adam working on one of Nate's many puzzles while I pretty much just watched him and sat on the birth ball.

Once it started getting late, we decided that we wanted to settle in somewhere for the night, so we headed to the hospital around 10pm. I wanted a wheelchair at this point. No more walking around. A nurse came down from the L&D floor to the emergency room entrance to wheel me on up while Adam parked the car. It always seems that when we head to the hospital, my contractions slow down quite a bit. This time was no different. So the nurse brought me over to a triage room, thinking I was not actually in labor. I remember asking why we were there. My L&D nurse, CaraLin, who would end up being a saving grace for me, was kneeling in front of my wheelchair, and the other nurse was asking me to get up and move to the triage bed for examination. CaraLin started asking me questions, like how many kids I had and their ages and such. I wasn't super great at answering, but managed to tell her I had six kids, their ages, and that our oldest died. I wasn't having contractions, even though I felt like I was still in between close contractions. CaraLin told the other nurse that I knew what I was talking about since I was on my 6th child, but I think she was waiting for the proof once a contraction hit. I could tell the others around CaraLin and I were getting a little impatient, and I remember praying for a contraction to hit! And, thank the Lord, it did. They all were then in agreement to admit me and brought me straight to my room.

When you're a VBAC (and definitely when you're a VBA2C!), they want to get a 20-minute "strip" on your contractions and baby's heart rate. I hate being hooked up to them. You can't move to get comfortable during a contraction, because you need to make sure that the monitors don't slip out of place and not read baby's heart rate. I sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat comfortably while we tried to get a 20-minute strip. CaraLin stayed by my side the whole time. My doctor (whom I had never met before), Dr. Chang, stared at the readings on the monitor. He wanted me to lay down on my back (super uncomfortable in labor for me!). The baby's heart rate wasn't variable enough for him. I could feel a calm in the room around me, but an induced panic from him. He started talking, while still staring at the monitor, about how if we couldn't get some variability in the baby's heart rate, that we'd have to do a c-section or the baby could die. Oddly enough, even the mention of our baby dying didn't panic me. Everyone else in the room was calm and unconcerned. I didn't like Dr. Chang. He reminded me of Scary Doctor with no bedside manners.

Eventually, everyone left the room when they had the information they needed, leaving Adam and me alone. After the click of the door shutting, the next thing I heard was Adam's voice, "I don't like him." So I wasn't just an over-dramatic laboring woman. "I don't like him either."

After a few minutes, CaraLin came back in with another nurse, and she knelt down by my side at the edge of the bed I was sitting on. "I understand you haven't met this doctor before, what do you think of him?" I explained that we didn't like him, and she explained our options. There was another doctor, their on-call doctor, Dr. Burroughs, who I could meet, and if I liked him, I could switch. We both agreed that was a great idea.

Dr. Burroughs came in and introduced himself and said that everything looked fine to him, so he let me continue to labor.

(At this point I'm writing the rest of this just before Jessica's 2nd birthday, so it's not as detailed as it could be... But it's my story, nonetheless.)

I know an IV was placed and my cervix was checked. I labored on a birth ball for quite a while, and eventually used the nitrous oxide for some pain relief during contractions. Adam laid on the couch either reading or playing video games or napping. I'm really not sure which. 

(And now I'm continuing when she's almost 4 years old! At this point in time, I don't remember as much as I could have had I written this sooner.)

I remember sitting on the birth ball laboring and trying to rest as best I could in between contractions. At one point, I must have actually dozed off a bit, because I tipped backwards on the birth ball, and lost my balance. Thankfully the IV pole was right next to me, and I grabbed it to keep from completely tipping over! I think after that point I stayed more awake, and I think it actually helped to kick up the contractions a bit. 

I must have moved to the bed at some point, because when I was ready to push, I the nurses asking me how I wanted to position myself. I literally couldn't move and I had no idea what position I should move into. One of the nurses decided to put up the back of the bed so that it was almost straight upright. I used my arms to hang on the edge of the bed and squatted on the part that was still flat. Adam was standing behind the upright head of the bed. One of my top love languages is physical touch, and he was present, but not touching me, so I remember telling him that I needed his hand. As I pushed a nurse, probably CaraLin, held my hips and pulled them down as I pushed each time. I remember that Dr. Burroughs was in the room, but I also thought that he was across the room, and not right by my bedside. I honestly thought that no one caught our baby and that she just landed on the bed. Adam told me later that Dr. Burroughs did indeed caught her!

Once she was born, they helped me lay back on the bed and gave me my newest daughter to hold. I remember thinking in the moment that I would never push a baby out of me again without an epidural, but by the next day, I was convinced I'd try it again. 

4-28 Spring Salad Luncheon @ church - contractions
4-29 Contractions at 1am
head to hospital at 9:30-10pm
11:35pm 7cm
4-30 Jessica born at 3:08am 8# 6oz 21 1/4 inches

Encounters with God: The Bronze Statue Smiled

One of our churches is doing a "School of Prayer" during Lent. Father talks about prayer in the Bible and how Jesus and others have prayed, and adds in some Catechism. Then someone gives a testimony about prayer in their life. And we end with time to pray in front of Jesus. 

Lately I haven't felt as close to Jesus as I have at different points in my life. Most of those points were during the trials in my life. As I was meditating and talking with Jesus last week during the "School of Prayer," I found myself telling Jesus of my desire to be as close to Him as I was during those trials. Then I realized what I was kind of asking for... more trials! So I told Him that I did NOT want Him to send me any more trials! And as I looked up at the bronze statue of the crucified Jesus in our church, I saw Him smile at me. Then I realized I was telling Jesus what to do, and laughed at myself.

You see, God thinks He's funny, because as I sit here typing this, I'm waiting to be connected to an urgent care virtual visit. I have four puking children today, two of whom like to puke within minutes of each other. It's uncanny how in sync they are with each other! I guess I'm getting what I asked for... I've been praying a lot more earnestly since the first child started puking two days ago. (Thankfully she's doing better today!) 

Part 4: Subjects to be Taught & Our Curriculum

This is the fourth post in a series about beginning homeschooling. In my first post, I talked about how to let your school district know that you intend to homeschool your child(ren) and assessments. In my second post, I talked about getting reimbursement for curriculum from your school district and applying for a tax exempt status. In my third post, I started talking about curriculum, and promised to continue in another post (which happens to be this one!) If you missed either of those posts, and are just beginning your homeschooling journey, you might want to go back and read those posts.

In Minnesota, you are required to teach these subjects:

- reading

- writing

- literature

- fine arts

- math

- science

- history

- geography

- economics

- government

- citizenship

- health

- physical education

(If you're in another state you may or may not be required to teach certain subjects, and if you are, your list may be different. To check out your state's law, visit HSLDA.)

Does that list seem overwhelming? I think it does, and I've been doing this for a couple years. But some things to keep in mind: all of these subjects don't need a separate curriculum, and you don't need to teach EACH subject EACH year. When you group some subjects together, and consider rotating through some each year, the list doesn't seem so long. 

Here is what I have chosen for our kids, why I chose it, and how it fulfills the required subjects that I listed above. I'll start with math since I've had some people ask for my recommendations on this particular subject since I was a math teacher before having kids. (For kids in kindergarten or younger, you can scroll past most of this to the bottom where I talk about ABC Jesus Loves Me.)

Math Mammoth (Light Blue Series) 

Subjects covered: Math

Math was probably the subject I spent the most time debating on. I had it narrowed down to Singapore Math and Math Mammoth. Both programs are very similar, but in the end, it came down to pricing. I could get Math Mammoth grades 1-7 in digital format to print as needed for $175. (You can also buy individual grade levels for less.) At the time we had three kids (we now have five and are expecting the sixth in November), so that would have been 21 workbooks for $175 (or a little over $8 a piece). With Math Mammoth, I could print out each grade level for each kid. I can also go back and reprint pages when I think a child needs review. 

Cathy Duffy Reviews compares Singapore and Math Mammoth quite nicely, "Both explain concepts thoroughly, generally using visual illustrations to present new concepts. Also, both programs employ a number of different ways to explain new concepts so they can reach different learning styles." 

While I think most kids can succeed with Math Mammoth, I know some kids may be only kinesthetic learners, and have trouble processing the visuals in Math Mammoth or Singapore. If you think this might be your child, Math-U-See is a great option and one that I considered in the beginning. It uses a lot a manipulatives that the kids can touch, feel, and move. The down side is that then you will have to spend more on these and find a space to store the ones you're not using. But, if it's going to work for your child, then it's worth it!

Purchasing Math Mammoth (Light Blue Series): Grades K-8 for $175. You can also buy grades 1-3 for $75 or grades 4-7 for $100 (Make sure you scroll down to the Light Blue Series, not the Blue Series.)

Handwriting Without Tears

Subjects covered: Writing

When my oldest first started trying to write letters, I pulled out that trusty old 3-lined set of papers. You know the one, where there's a solid top and bottom line and a dashed middle line. It was confusing for her to figure out which letters touched which lines. Someone recommended Handwriting Without Tears to me (not because she was crying over it, mind you), because it taught handwriting using two lines instead of three. It was a game-changer for her. If you child hasn't started a handwriting program, or is struggling the same way my daughter was, then I'd highly recommend this program. If your child is doing just fine with the program that your school has been using, you may want to consider continuing with it. If your school doesn't have a handwriting program, I'd consider starting one, and making sure that your child learns cursive. (You can find lots of research on why it's still good to teach, even in the digital age, but that's not the point of this post. I'll let you look into that yourself, if you're so inclined.) I have not used their Building Writers program, because I cover writing (sentence & paragraph development, etc.) in other subjects. I have only used the handwriting workbooks. 

Purchasing: I have always bought them directly from Learning Without Tears for $11.50 per workbook. 

Spelling Workout and Plaid Phonics

Subjects covered: Reading, Writing

These are two workbooks, spelling and phonics, that somewhat line up with each other and reinforce the phonics topics being taught in the spelling words being studied. I like that they work together, so the kids are being exposed to a concept from both the spelling side and the reading side at the same time. (For example, while they're learning to read long O words, they're also learning how to spell them.) The downside for me is that the pages aren't lined up with each other. We've decided to work through Spelling Workout in order, and I've lined up the corresponding pages in Plaid Phonics (so they're skipping around in their phonics workbook a little bit.) The upside for you is that I'm willing to share my hard work, so if you're using a grade level I've already used with my kids, I'll share it with you! Their workbooks aren't numbered by grade, but rather lettered by grade (so level A is 1st grade, B is 2nd, and so on). I have also made spelling test pages using the 2-line system that Handwriting Without Tears uses that I can share with you as well. 

Purchasing: You can find them on Amazon, which is where I had bought them in past years, but this year, my husband discovered that they're cheaper at The Curriculum Store, so that's where I'd recommend buying them. I have not ever bought the teacher's manuals or anything, just the workbooks. For the lower levels, chances are pretty good that you'll be fine without them, but it's totally your comfort level. 

Elemental Science

Subjects covered: Science, Writing, Fine Arts

Science was a tricky one for me in selecting. I wanted something that I could teach at multiple levels, so I could group my kids together. I didn't want to have to do 3, 4, or 5 science experiments each week. With Elemental Science, I will be having my 1st, 2nd, and 4th grader all working together this coming year. Since the reading levels are different, I do have different levels of reading for them. I also expect more from my 4th grader's notebooking than I will from my 1st grader's notebooking. My 4th grader will be writing several sentences about whatever topic we're reading about that day. My 1st grader will be writing one sentence that he found most interesting on the same topic. We have covered Biology, Earth Science and Astronomy, and Chemistry for the Grammar Stage books and will be doing Physics for the Grammar Stage this year. Then we will cycle through the four areas of study again, but my oldest will be using the Logic Stage and working separately from her younger siblings.

Purchasing: I think the only way to buy it is directly from Elemental Science, but I could be wrong. If you will be using this with more than one student, I would recommend considering the ebook package, since you can print multiple copies of the student workbook and keep it in a 3-ring binder. I like having the Teacher's Guide in a book format, so I have been buying the Printed Combo. But, I've emailed them, and they've been able to sell me the Student Workbook in ebook form for $10. The books that the students read from I've purchased second hand from Amazon (which I mentioned in my last post). 

Connecting With History

Subjects covered: Reading, Writing, Literature, Fine Arts (art), History, Geography, Citizenship, Government (in volume 4)

I hated history in school (other than map day... that was fun!), so I wanted an engaging curriculum. I also wanted it to make sense. To me, it makes sense to start at the beginning and work to the end, so I wanted a curriculum that started at the beginning of time (or as early as we have some records) until modern time. Connecting With History (CWH) has four volumes that starts with the early world through 63 B.C. in Volume 1, and ends with the 15th-19th centuries in Volume 4. As with science, I didn't want to have to be teaching five different histories, so I needed something that could do multiple levels together. Each level of CWH covers kindergarten through 12th grade. My kids are all learning the same topics at the same time, but from different books at different levels. While my youngest will reading easy reader books about Abraham Lincoln and others this year, my oldest will be reading several chapter books about many of the events that occurred during the same time period. We study, label, and colors maps of the eras and areas that we're reading about. And at the end of each unit, we do art projects, write about the people, places, and events they read about, and often times they do a presentation for grandma and grandpa on what they learned. I also love that it's a Catholic history program, so they are also learning about saints that lived during those times (like St. Joan of Arc, and how she led the fight to win France back from England). The down side is cost. History is by far the most I spend on curriculum. The reason being, your kids aren't reading boring textbooks, they're reading historical non-fiction books. Lots of them. But, they're interesting. They're learning stories, not memorizing dates. But, since they're studying it all in order, they might not have the exact date that the Great Wall of China was built memorized, but they know what other worldly events it fell between, and what was going on in the world when it was built. 

Purchasing: Like science, you have to buy the curriculum directly from RC History. She does offer all the books that go along with the curriculum on her website, but you can find many of them for less second hand on Amazon, or even from your local library. 

Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes

Subjects covered: Fine Arts

This book someone just gave me, and after looking though it, I realized that I'm pretty sure my middle school art teacher used something very similar if she didn't use this exact book. I remember some of the drawing exercises and instructions and pictures. I wasn't really looking for a separate art curriculum, but we are working through this together. I try to get to it once a week, but it doesn't always happen. If you're really interested in wanting a separate art curriculum, we are enjoying this one so far, but if there are art projects built into your other subjects, I wouldn't go out of my way unless it's a passion of yours. 

Purchasing: I would just get it from Amazon or a second hand book store. 

You may have noticed that we don't have a curriculum that covers some of the subjects. We didn't have a formal art curriculum for the longest time until I was given the book I mentioned above. We did (and still do) art projects all time though, sometimes together and orchestrated by me, sometimes they just grab their art supplies and go to town! We also don't have a health or physical education curriculum. But, we're teaching our kids good health habits by how we live our lives. We're eating fruits and veggies at lunch. Some times I'm asking them what veggies they want and we're talking about what are veggies and what are fruits or meats or carbs. We brush & floss teeth and go to the dentist regularly (okay, so we're overdue for a visit right now, but we haven't wanted to take all the kids to the dentist office during this pandemic!) For physical education, we're going for walks all summer long. We're playing catch in the back yard and teaching them how to hit a ball. They're exploring movement while playing on the play set in the backyard. We've had them in swimming lessons (again though, we're not doing this during the pandemic). For economics, our kids are earning allowances for chores and we're teaching them to save, spend, and tithe the money they earn. 

PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN

Now for kids that aren't yet 7 years old, these aren't all required. I tend to start at age 5, if they're able to read, with just Spelling Workout, Plaid Phonics, and Math Mammoth. The younger kids often will sit with us when we're doing read-alouds or art projects for history or they'll watch our science experiments, but I'm not expecting any written work or anything from them. It's all just for them to have exposure, and because they like participating in these fun activities. 

ABC Jesus Loves Me

If you're looking for a preschool or kindergarten curriculum, I have used ABC Jesus Loves Me with all my kids to some extent. When I first started using her curriculum, she had Years 2-5, but has since added Year 1, which I have not used. I have used different parts of Year 2 with all of my kids. But, my favorite is Year 3 when they start to learn letter sounds. I make sure to use this part of it with each of my kids at age 3 to encourage them to start reading. Two of my kids taught themselves to read (at ages 3 & 4) after going though this. My third child wasn't as motivated about books, so we worked with him on learning to read. My fourth is currently anxious to learn to read. I haven't used much of Years 4 & 5 with any of my kids, since I take those years to focus on learning to read. 

Purchasing: This curriculum is free for family use, but you can purchase it so you don't have to print it yourself. I believe it then comes with some extras that used to be available for free.  

LEARNING TO READ

McGuffey Primer through All in One Homeschool

All in One Homeschool is a complete PreK-12 online curriculum that is totally free. While I did consider using it in the beginning (who could pass up a completely free curriculum?!), I didn't want my kids to spend all their school time in front of a computer. But, I do like using the McGuffey Primer they have online for when the kids first start to learn to read. Each day they're learning a few new words to read, and she often has a game from Starfall (another app/website I would recommend) to go along with what sounds they're learning. Some days it's a different learning game from another website. The games can be a great motivator for kids that aren't really excited about learning to read. 

Purchasing: While I have always used the online version for free, you can order it from Amazon. 

Here are quick links to the other posts in this series.
Part 1: Reporting to Your School District and Assessments
Part 2: Reimbursement and Tax Exempt Status

Part 3: Homeschooling Styles and Curriculum

Part 3: Onto the Guts of Homeschooling!

This is the third post in a series about beginning homeschooling. In my first post, I talked about how to let your school district know that you intend to homeschool your child(ren) and assessments. In my second post, I talked about getting reimbursement for curriculum from your school district and applying for a tax exempt status. If you missed either of those posts, and are just beginning your homeschooling journey, you might want to go back and read those posts.

In this post, I thought I would discuss choosing curriculum. The hard part with this is that it will look different for each family. But, I will try to give you some tools I've come across that have helped me in making choices for our family.

For our family, I wanted to go with a classical curriculum, and I found Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise's book, A Well Trained Mind, to be very helpful in guiding me with my choices. There are other styles of homeschooling though. The seven main styles are classical, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Unschooling, School-at-Home, Unit Studies, and Eclectic. Because others have already explained in length, much better than I could, all these different methods, I'll leave you with a link to The Best Schools that describes all these methods. You can read through it and decide which style best suits your teaching style and your children's learning styles. I would suggest to pick one style and go with it, and not try to fit a style to each child.

Cathy Duffy Reviews 

Once you've figured out what style of homeschooling is right for your family, start researching curriculum that fits into that style. My favorite site to helping to select what I want is Cathy Duffy Reviews. She has detailed reviews of pretty much any curriculum out there. I would suggest looking at her website on a computer instead of your phone. One of my favorite parts of her website is the "Instant Key" (on phones you have to scroll all the way to the bottom to find this, which is why I suggest using a computer instead). This can tell you at a quick glace some of the key things you'll want to know. Another thing you'll notice is by many of the links to reviews have a little red apple next to them. These are her top picks. Many times they'll also be "endorsed" by other sources as well, such as "A Well-Trained Mind," that I mentioned above. If you're not sure where to start, these are some good ones!

If hand-picking curricula for each subject seems overwhelming to you, there are many "boxed sets" of curricula to choose. Cathy Duffy Reviews has a list with links to all of their reviews for boxed sets.

Once you have selected the curriculum you want to use with your children, you can being the search to buy it. When it's not a workbook, I like to buy second hand books. It's cheaper, and if you're friends with me, you know that that's how I roll! There are plenty of places to buy curriculum. Cathy Duffy does provide links for you, making it super convenient, but sometimes with a little looking around, you can find it elsewhere cheaper. Some curriculum is only sold through the publisher's website though, unless you can find it on Ebay or a Facebook curriculum re-sale site. A few places that I've bought curriculum from that aren't specific to just one publisher are The Curriculum Store and Amazon. With Amazon, when I'm looking at non-consumables (things that aren't workbooks), I always look at the used copies and select either a "Very Good," "Like New," or occasionally a "New" copy from a seller that has decent reviews. It can save you some money! Remember to use your sales tax exempt status and to save your receipts using an organization system that will work best for you as I discussed in my second post about homeschooling.

I think it's important to make many of these decisions yourself and choose what you think will work best for your family, so I don't want to list the curricula we use in this post. For now, start your own research. I know some of you have specifically asked me about math, since I was a math teacher before having kids. In my next post, I'll share my math recommendations and what we use for other subjects, along with why I chose them. If my reasons for choosing them seem like reasons that would work well in your family, then I'm happy to recommend it!

Here are quick links to the other posts in this series.
Part 1: Reporting to Your School District and Assessments
Part 2: Reimbursement and Tax Exempt Status

Part 4: Our Curriculum Choices

Part 2: Homeschooling... What's Next?

This is the second post in a series on beginning homeschooling. Here's the first part about informing your school district.

In my last post, I mentioned at the end that you should ask your school district liaison about reimbursement forms (Aids to Non-Public Schools). Each district has their own, so unless you live in my school district, I don't have an easy link to share with you. I simply email my district person each summer for the forms for that upcoming school year, and she emails them on over. Reimbursement will vary from district to district (and even if you get reimbursement can vary from state to state, but it's completely worth looking into). For us, in Minnesota, in our district, we get about $80 per year per kid in full day kindergarten through 12th grade. (Half day kindergarten gets half the amount.)

What does reimbursement cover? Curriculum and standardized testing (in Minnesota, other states may do it differently, so for more specific information on your state, I would recommend checking with your school district). At this point, you may not know what curriculum you will be using, but it will not cover "religious" curriculum. I'm not talking about Sunday School-type stuff, I'm talking about anything that may have a religious slant to it. (I will try to do another post about curriculum choices that may explain this more if you're just beginning to look into homeschooling.) From other homeschoolers I've talked to, most of us use this money to help cover the standardized testing (that I mentioned in my first post about filling out the reporting form). Many also use it on "consumables," such as workbooks. Since the school district is "purchasing" the curriculum for you, they are technically the "owners" of these books. Things that are "consumables" aren't things that they are ever going to want back. (Though, I've never heard of a school district asking a homeschooling family for "their" books back, so really don't fret over this too much.) Reimbursement does NOT cover supplies such as printer paper, pencils, art supplies, or the like. Something to keep in the back of your mind, is that for reimbursement, you will need receipts for what you have purchased to submit to your district. You will want to find some organizational system that works best for you. For me, I purchase pretty much everything on-line and I submit my receipts via email, so I have a file folder on my computer where I save a copy of my receipts for easy quick access. I have a folder for each school year with the amount we will be getting that year in the title, so I don't have to look that up again. Then when I save my receipts to that folder, I name it with what it is along with the amount, so I can easily add up my receipts to the total (on the name of the folder), and pick which receipts I'm sending in.

Receipt Organization (Click for a larger view)

Once you've got the reimbursement figured out, you can look into getting a tax exempt status. In some other states from what I understand, you don't have to worry about paying sales tax on your curriculum purchases anyway, such as Florida and California. In other states, I guess you're just out of luck. Heppner's Legacy Homeschool Resources has an excellent walk-through for Minnesotans to apply with links to all the forms you will need, and where to send them. With the tax exempt status, you not only don't have to pay sales tax on the curriculum you purchase, but also on school supplies that are used exclusively for homeschooling. (So you can't buy a computer for the family that will be used for things not related to homeschooling.) Keep in mind that if you live in a different state, the laws may vary on this if you have a tax exempt status for homeschoolers, so make sure you check your own state's laws. If you do get a tax exempt status, and you're purchasing some of your curriculum from Amazon or other online stores that you frequently use for other purchases, you will want to be careful when ordering other things. Sometimes your tax exemption will apply itself to things you're not purchasing for homeschooling. With Amazon, you can easily remove the exemption with the click of a button. I'm assuming other online stores are also as simple, but it's the only one I've used.

I think the next logical step is figuring out your curriculum, so unless I see other questions arise, that will likely be what my next post is about.

UPDATE:
Here are the links to the other posts in this series.
Part 1: Reporting to Your School District and Assessments
Part 3: Homeschooling Styles and Curriculum

Part 4: Our Curriculum Choices