The Adventures of Homeschooling

I am doing it, I have taken the plunge and I am homeschooling Judah! Last winter I read the book A Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. We started with a trial run of her suggestions for one week this summer to see if it would be something we would enjoy and we loved it.

For the time being, I am only homeschooling Judah because of Kaleb's great need for the speech therapy that he receives in his preschool. I love the therapist that works with him at the school and am so excited about the progress she is bringing forth in him. Also, Kaleb has a more shy disposition that I believe he also needs the social aspect of being in preschool. That said, I have ordered him books to help supplement the education that he is getting in preschool. He enjoys having "homework" like his big brother.

In preparation for our school year, I totally revamped the playroom by getting rid of toys, adding in several book shelves, decorating the walls with posters of the United States, the alphabet, our schedule, etc. I also set up a desk organized with pencils, paper, and craft supplies.

Our first few days were good, we bumped around a little until we eventually found our groove and a schedule that works for us. I am someone who has to have organization and thrives on schedules. Here is what school looks like for us so far:

8:30 wake up and have breakfast
9:00 Start School

• 15-20 minutes of Spelling - I am using Spelling Workout Level B
• 15-20 minutes of Grammar - I am using First Language Lessons by Jessie Wise
• 20-30 minutes of Reading - Our first reading assignment is Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick
• 10-20 minutes of Writing - I am using Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer
• 30-60 minutes of Math - I am using A Beka Books Arithmetic 1
• 60 minutes of History -Mon,Wed,Fri - I am using The Story of the World Vol 1 Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer
• 60 minutes of Science- Tue & Thu - I am using several books for this the main one being The Usborne Live World Encyclopedia
• 60 minutes of Art -Mon,Wed,Fri - I am using Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes
• 60 minutes of Music -Tue&Thu - I am using The Usborne Piano Course Book 1
• 20-30 minutes of Bible - I am using Genesis: Finding our Roots by Ruth Beechick
• 20 minutes of Italian - I am using the Rosetta Stone Level 1 for Homeschool

Again, we are only in our third week of lessons and are still learning about what works for us. One thing I have noticed with Judah, is that he loves projects! So things like creating rain gauges in science or making our own cuneiform tablets for history really helps him with connecting with what he is learning. And who doesn't love a good project? The challenge is keeping learning fun and engaging.

One of my favorite things about this homeschooling adventure is the time I get to spend with Judah. Kaleb came along the day after Judah's second birthday and has never been shy of demanding my attention. This is becoming a wonderful way for me to connect with Judah and really pour into his life. I hope he will look back on this years from now and think of it as a fun and special time.

Did I mention that we also signed him up for Cub Scouts? More to come on that later...

Operation Sweet TEA (Trementozzi's Ethiopian Adoption)

As many of you may or may not know, David and I have started our first steps toward adopting from Ethiopia. David and I both have backgrounds in missions and have visited overseas orphanages in several different countries. Because of this, international adoption has always been something we have talked about even before we married in 2000.

I recently had a wake up call while taking my boys to see the movie Up. (Spoiler Alert!) In the movie, the couple who are unable to have children, have a dream to move to South America. The beginning shows a montage of them over the years saving then spending then saving the money needed for the move. As time passes by they grow older and the wife becomes very ill and passes away never living her dream to live in South America. My first initial reaction was, "Lord, what are you doing to me? I had just lost two babies and I am watching a movie about a woman who could not have children die and never see any of her dreams fulfilled?'' It was then that I was reminded of our dream to internationally adopt and then the thought came to mind, "Would this be something we always talk about but never see to fruition?"

I discussed it with David and he also felt like it was time to move forward. In the past it always seemed something that would be so daunting; Where do you start? What country do you choose? How do you pay for all the fees? We spent the next month researching and praying about what directions to take. Ethiopia was the country that we felt an immediate peace over. We both have always had a heart for Africa. David spent time in Africa, David's father spent three years in Africa in the peace core, my grandparents have been on missions there, my father has been involved in missions to South Africa, and I have always dreamed of going on a missions trip there. This could be something the whole family could get behind and I could see my dream of traveling to Africa when we go to Ethiopia to pick up our new little one.

After several recommendations from neighbors and friends we decided to go with FTIA (Families Through International Adoption) out of Evansville, Indiana. We submitted our applications during the last week of July and was approved to move forward with the home study process. We are going with Catholic Charities out of Owensboro, Kentucky for our home study. We had our first meeting at our house on August 17th and it went very well.

We have also scheduled our first fundraiser, an indoor garage sale/ bake sale/ mum sale in the basement of the Christian Assembly on September 19th.

I will be posting all of our progress on this blogspot so you can stay up to date with the process.